First Grade

Jackson officially started 1st grade!

It was an exciting morning. We went to his friend Izac's house in the morning so we could all walk to school together. The boys were so excited that they ran the whole way there. We couldn't keep up with them.

The three boys (Jackson, Braxton & Izac) were all in the same class last year and the cute little McKenna was in the other afternoon class. Me and the other mothers of these cute kids are besties, so naturally the kids are on a semi-bestie basis. (I love this picture because Payton looks so cute there in the corner of the picture.)

After school Jackson ran to me, hugged me, then jumped up and down while he told me that "first grade is awesome!"

Payton really missed Jackson, and I think deep down inside Jackson missed Payton too. I think this picture says it.

School

So Jackson starts school on Tuesday. In the past when I thought about my babies going to school I thought it would just be so dang heart-wrenchingly painful that I'd just sit and look at the clock and wait impatiently for the moment that I could go pick them up. But here we are, less than 48 hours away from Jackson going to ALL DAY school and I'm sitting here giddy as a school girl.

Payton will also be starting pre-school. In order to prepare him for when I go back to school full-time I'm putting him in ALL DAY pre-school 3 days a week. This will be a little harder since he and I are bff's and totally tied at the hip, but I'm so freaking excited.

While they're in school I can just be a real person. I'll go to the grocery store and hear nothing but the voices in my head and the distant bumblings of the other customers (I don't really hear voices in my head...). I'll be able to go to Target (my happy place) without emotional breakdowns about Transformers. I'll get to spend time with my girlfriends without worrying about taking a baby to the bathroom or wiping a runny nose. I'll be able to clean my house and not have a child follow right behind me and make a huge mess again. I'll get to go to the gym and not have to rush through the workout because I have a child in the nursery. I can workout for 3 hours if I want to. I won't, but I can, and that's the whole point.

Oh the possibilities!!

Hide your kids, Hide your wife

I usually don't watch the news because it usually depresses me or makes me angry somehow, but this little clip is the kind of news I like to watch.

Then someone out there that is far more creative than I could ever hope to be turned it into a song.

{WORD}

adventures at target

95% of the time my kids are wonderful. they are sweet and nice and a joy to be around. the other 5% of the the time i wonder where my kids went and how they got replaced with devil children.

tonight i was that lady that every one stares and and secretly judges because it seems like i have no control over my kids. after trying to reason with them i resorted to the usual discipline tactics. those failed and things escalated to threats. once i realized that wouldn't work i just decided to ignore them.

the people at target sure got a show.

payton was screaming about candy. jackson was going crazy because i wouldn't buy him a transformer (and seriously, this kid has a million transformers. i've never seen a kid with more transformers). when he realized whining wouldn't work he started crying and yelling stuff like this, "you just want me to be sad and to cry and to not be happy. you just want to be a mean mommy. you never want me to be happy. you like to see me cry about not getting transformers. you never ever want me to be happy again. and i won't ever be happy again until you buy me a transformer. you just want to save money and not buy me more toys."

if i weren't so angry i would've totally laughed at him like i'm laughing right now.

when i wouldn't reply to his complaints about his happiness he started screaming "MOMMY!" over and over again and when that didn't work he started hitting me. for reals!!! he was literally punching me in the back.

so needless to say. my boys had a very early bedtime tonight. the sun wasn't even beginning to set when they got tucked into bed. i'd be lying if i said that this evening wasn't relaxing. i got to sit in my chair and relax in silence.

it was priceless.

taps

My cousin passed away two weeks ago and we just had his funeral on Saturday. Funerals are always so hard, but this one really got me. Not just because he was my cousin and he was so wonderful, but because he was also a soldier and got military honors at his funeral. I burst into tears when I saw the American Flag draped across his casket, but surprisingly I kept my composure during the funeral. I thought the worst was over but at the burial he was honored with a 21 gun salute and taps. I couldn't contain my emotion at that point.

Not only was I overcome with sadness for my dear cousin, but I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that I could be in this same spot again anytime in the next year since I just sent my husband and am about to send another brother to war in the middle east. Between my husband, 3 brothers and 1 sister-in-law our family has been in Iraq going on 8 times. After a while you start to wonder if your luck has run out and one of your loved ones might come home in a casket.

Please support the troops and pray for our soldiers!

Buddy

When my husband left I confessed to one of my girlfriends that although I was sad that he was leaving, I was excited for Payton to share my bed with me again.

{He's just so cute and cuddly}

Pure Vanilla. From Mexico

Since my husband is gone I went to my parents house this year for my birthday. My dad also invited my other siblings over for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and go to his ward father and sons camp-out. There just happens to be 10 grandsons in the family.

My brother Jacob was there and loves me for so many reasons. #1) He loves to listen to me play the piano #2) I give his wife and daughter beautiful hair-dos #3) I'm funny #4) He thinks I'm a wonderful baker.

It seems that every time we're in the same house I end up finding all the ingredients for cookies or a cake or some other treat neatly placed out on the counter and he's got a big smile on his face like a little boy waiting for Christmas.

My birthday present from him this year was another one of those not-so-subtle hints that he'd like me to do some baking for him.

He travels a lot for his job and recently found himself very close to the Mexico border. He brought me a little souvenir from his trip that could be used to make him many little treats.

I feel like I'm buying a lot of Vanilla when I buy the 8 oz. bottle of Imitation Vanilla.

But he went all out and bought me 32 oz. of pure vanilla.

And I feel super cool because not only is it pure vanilla. But it's pure vanilla From Mexico.

eclipse-ish

since yesterday was my 28th birthday i had a girls night with my mom and my sister. We went out for buffalo wings and saw eclipse. I find the best thing to do when going to watching any movie from "the twilight saga" is to go with absolutely no expectations at all, then you'll really find that you enjoyed yourself!

for real though, the part that really excited me about the whole eclipse experience was the harry potter trailer!!!!!! Yeah I've already seen it like 29 times, but I can't get enough of harry potter. if he were a real live person i would stalk him. i would be his biggest fan and i would beg him to have babies with me. that's how much i love harry potter. i've read all 7 books at least 10 times each, but really probably more.

after we watched the movie i went home, went to bed, then got out my ipod touch and watched the harry potter trailer in bed for another twenty minutes. i get chills every time. then i fell asleep and had harry potter dreams. he's my dream lover.

so, who wants to see it with me when it finally comes out in theatres?!?!?!?!

{Goodbye}

My husband got deployed a week ago. I'm not supposed to say much about his deployment. In all honesty, I don't even know where he's going. I mean, I know the country, but I don't know what part he'll be in or what he'll be doing. (And that's not because I don't pay attention, it's because he can't tell me)

It's really comforting sending your husband off to war when you have absolutely no idea what's going on!

In a weird way it's been a relief to have him go. Not because I want him over there, but because it just feels like we've been waiting for this and working towards it for the last three years of our lives and now he's finally going and we can get it out of the way.

I only took a few pictures while we waited for their plane to arrive. One with Jackson, Payton and some of the nieces and nephews. And the last one is Nate with his Mom and 3 of his sisters.

Good Luck Nate! We're proud of you!

Just complaining

My computer is G-A-Y

Not in a homosexual way, just in a "I'm a crappy PC and I freeze up all the time and won't let any programs open because I'm a loser" kind of way.

I was sitting down at my good ol' lame face computer to edit pictures of my husbands departure for all of you to see and once again it's pulling the same crap as usual. I'm about ready to throw the thing over the balcony and wash my hands of it. But, I'll wait to do that until I can buy a MacBook Pro

{Apple rules all}