A little overwhelmed

I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Today is one of those days. You know, one of those days that you would rather just climb back into bed and throw the covers over your head. I would be perfectly happy there, but unfortunately... I have a life and three kids who have needs. I guess I should change that to say: Fortunately I have a life and 3 kids who keep me going. I really am thankful for them, they get me out of bed in the morning and keep me going all day. It's a good thing I have them.

So.... instead of climbing back into bed, I thought I would get going on this blog and all of my photos from my trip. I thought it would be nice and relaxing to come in my room and sit and relax and organize photos. Wrong. Now I am really overwhelmed. So, here is the deal: I will post my favorite photos on Facebook as I sort through them. Later (soon I hope), I will do one post with my very favorite photos and a quick run down on what we did, who we saw, etc.

Ahhh. I am starting to feel better. You can even head over to FB right now and check out some photos from our trip to the cabin :) Now I can blog some current things going on, without feeling guilty!

Do you ever worry that your child might not EVER learn something? That it will just be to hard for them and they will give up and never figure it out. Like being potty trained (worst nightmare), learning to tie shoes, or ride a bike? Well, eventually they learn and when they do it is so exciting! Last week Evan learned how to ride a two wheeler :)

Evan has had me take off those training wheels, and put them back on soooo many times this summer. When we got back to Indiana he begged me to take them off again, claiming that he knows how to ride without them. So, On Friday I took off the training wheels on Makiah's bike (it's a little smaller) and he took off riding! I helped him a couple times, but he really didn't want or need my help. He could ride down the length of our sidewalk and to our neighbor's house and by the next morning he was riding all the way around the pond in our neighborhood.

Today I took off the training wheels on his big bike and he took off riding with no trouble. I am am so proud of him!

It's cheaper to drive... right?

That's what we thought. But it wasn't.

That's okay though, we made it to Utah, Wyoming and back. We are all in one piece and we had a great time.

We drove. It's a lonnnng drive. We did it once before, and yet we were crazy enough to do it again. This time with 3 kids.

We decided to buy a van a little earlier than planned, so we could drive instead of fly. Then I got this brilliant idea... I could leave a couple weeks early with the kids and Dallas could fly out and meet us there when he can. That way we get plenty of time to do everything we want to. So, I found a friend to drive with me along with her husband and daughter and we headed out at the end of June.

Day one was going very quickly, the kids were doing great and the drive didn't seem half as bad as I thought it would be. Around 4 pm we hit Omaha, and it was a HOT day. Our AC died. We pulled into a gas station, got the kids out of the van, put coolant in the van, called my dad and he told me to take the van somewhere to get it looked at. We put the kids back into the car and headed to Walmart (I really don't know why we didn't think, but Walmart doesn't do repairs like this). Once in the parking lot the van died. We (and some helpful guys behind us) pushed the van out of the way and got the van running again. We pulled around to the service side of Walmart, got all of the kids out of the van only to find out that Walmart couldn't help. We put all the kids back into the (hot, humid) van just to find out that it wouldn't start. We got the kids out one last time, went inside and called a tow.

By this point, if I would've been alone, I think I would have been a mess. Crazy lady crying in Walmart. I am sooooo glad I didn't make the drive alone. I am so glad I had my friend's help.

We waited to hear from the mechanic. Hoping it was an easy fix and that it would be done that night and we would be off. We had two carts full of kids, carseats, suitcases and coolers. We hauled them up to the front of the store to get dinner at Mcdonalds (yeah, we looked a *little* ridiculous). And waited. Little did we know that this was just a start of all the waiting that we would be doing during the next 24 hours.

Yeah, I know. We rock and you wish you would've been there too....

The car needed a new water pump and thermostat. It also needed a coolant flush. It would take at least 4 hours the next day to get fixed. We took a cab to a hotel and got some much needed sleep after a 10 hour drive and almost 4 hours at Walmart. My cab driver was great, he turned off his loud music as soon as I started loading kids in his car, asked about my hard day since he could tell by our situation it wasn't good. And then he wouldn't let me pay him when we arrived at our hotel. It was only a few dollars, but what a great act of kindness. The world could use more people like him.

The next day the 4 hours we thought we would be waiting turned into 8 and we finally got back on the road by 4 pm. Waiting was the hardest part. We spent the day walking outside around the hotel and hanging out in the lobby. We were sure glad to get back on the road.

We stopped again that night. We had to drive a third day rather than the two we planned on and finally arrived in Utah the next day. Overall the ride was not bad. I was amazed at how well all 4 kids did. My friend's daughter didn't cry at all. Daphne sat in the back next to Evan and he took care of her the whole way. She was getting her first two teeth and hardly cried at all. When she did cry she was either hungry or tired and quickly calmed down. The kids kept busy doing puzzles, coloring, stringing fruit loops (best car activity, seriously), playing with glow sticks at night and sleeping. Evan liked to watch the mile markers, the clock and he had a chart of different cars that he had to watch for.

It's crazy, but even though it took an extra day with car repairs the trip wasn't all that bad. I wouldn't mind doing it again. I have a whole month of pictures and stories to tell you!

July in a nutshell

I feel like I've blogged a lot this month, but there is a lot I haven't shared yet. Here is to a very fun, but WAY TOO HOT July...

Staying up late to catch fireflies...

Swim party and BBQ with friends on July 4th...

Cotton candy... there's just something about that stuff, Mmmm...

Watching fireworks with friends...

Balloons and face paints at the Riverfest...

Drawing with window crayons. Evan has a tear rolling down his cheek because Makiah kept drawing over his words. Evan has been writing and drawing constantly. He is always making someone a card or trying to figure out how to spell new words. He LOVES it....

Bus tour with our ward playgroup...

And another round of Swimming lessons...

Evan bought goggles (or "govles" as he calls them) with his own money the other day and was so excited to use them. He has a hard time getting them on the right way though and won't leave them on. He loves them though and is always asking if he can go to the pool with his daddy. 

The kids did such a great job with swimming this time around (they did before too, but they have learned so much more). Evan isn't afraid to go under the water and Makiah isn't afraid to get her face or head wet. They followed directions and listened much better. Makiah wasn't afraid to try everything without having help first. I could see a big improvement with both of them. They will miss swimming... but I need a break from sitting out in the sun! We chose the hottest two weeks to have swimming lessons. 

New outfit and some crazy weather

Makiah got this super cute outfit from her Grandma and Grandpa Bateman. She even let me put a matching flower in her hair and take her picture :) She sure looks all grown up! 

Last night Makiah said her prayers and thanked Heavenly Father for her cute outfit from Grandma. It was kinda sweet :)

The heat here this week is insane. Our poor little "garden" is wilting on us. We moved it to the shade and gave it plenty of water... today it is looking much better then it does in the pictures. We got one tiny little bell pepper from one of the plants :) Not much, but it is still fun!

The kids have swimming lessons again this week and next. Lucky for them it isn't cold this time around. Unfortunately for me I have to sit in this insane heat to watch them. I feel like I need a shower just after watching them swim for a half hour. It is crazy hot out there. 

She is 3!

Makiah turned three yesterday and we had such a fun day! We had a fun water party with friends in the morning and then enjoyed the rest of the day together. She was on cloud nine all day... she loved every minute. 

Leading up to her birthday the kids were so excited. Everyday Evan would ask how many nights were left till the party. He made her a card and wrapped it up along with some gifts he picked out. He carried the gifts in a bag all day Friday... I think he was more excited than Makiah. 

We were so happy that so many of Makiah's friends could come to the party! We had such a great time...

Makiah needed some help blowing those candles...

My lazy attempt at a birthday cake (*cough* cup cakes I should say), though I think it turned out kinda cute...

Makiah loved all of her gifts (thank you everyone!!). She has not been bored for a second this weekend. 

Grandma Johnson saved the day with a dress... Makiah has been talking endlessly about ballerinas, princesses and dresses. She has it all with this cute little skirt, leotard, ballet shoes and crown. She was in heaven all afternoon!

A few weeks ago I was putting Makiah to bed and she said that she wanted Grandma to get her a ballerina dress for her birthday. I said okay, we can ask her. Makiah continued and said... "Get your phone out of your pocket." So we called Grandma right then and she asked her for her precious dress. Practically every day after that Makiah was thinking up something that she wanted Grandma to send her. I hope Grandma doesn't think Makiah is greedy... we are trying not to spoil her... I promise!

I finally got her some cute doll house people... she didn't play with the funny wooden ones much. She loves playing with her doll house now :)

After the party we left the mess (we were so hungry!) and went to lunch. The kids had coupons to Texas Roadhouse and Evan was so excited to go. When we were waiting for the food he was so frustrated that Dallas and I were already eating our salads. He kept asking where the food was and said that he was so hungry. I thought it was funny because he really doesn't eat much, especially at new restaurants. Finally he got his food and he ate it ALL so fast. I felt so bad that he was that hungry. Never has he eaten all of his food at a restaurant.

As any mom would say... I really can't believe she is 3! She has grown up so much. She is such a fun, silly girl with so much personality. We love her so, so much!

Time

Time is such a hard concept for kids. Yesterday Evan had a little experience where he realized that he couldn't simply start over. What happened, happened. It was too late to try again. We were on our way to swimming lessons and he realized that he forgot his "baby" (his teddy). He fell to pieces and begged me to go back. Since we were already leaving later than I wanted too... and since he didn't need his teddy bear to swim... I said no (I am such a mean mom). He wasn't too happy about that and insisted that I turn around. Well, lets just say that his tears didn't stop when we got to the pool. He refused to go to his lesson. So he missed it.

Later, on the way home, Dallas was with us. Evan told him that he didn't get in the pool today. I talked to Evan and explained that now he only has 3 days left of swimming lessons with his friend Carly. He said... "No! I have 4 days left!" I had to explain to him that he missed day 4 and now he only had 3 days left. He was so sad and quietly said... "I want to start over..."

Poor kid :( I wanted him to start over too. Maybe then he would have remembered his darn bear and the day would have been so much more enjoyable for the both of us.

I had to explain that we can't stop time, and we can't start over. The day was done and swimming lessons were over. Lucky for him, today he remembered his bear.... and he had a great time.

These pictures were from their first day of swimming, last week. They have two days left and they have loved it! Kiah was slow to get into it. The first week she stood around and waited for a teacher to show her exactly what to do. This week she jumped right into it. She isn't afraid to get her head wet and she loves to pretend to be all the different animals. Today she was sad because they went to the bigger pool with the life jackets. She wanted to be in the little pool and pretend to be a mermaid... :)

Evan isn't scared to get in the water... but he hates getting his head wet. He is the only one who won't dunk his head under the water. At first the teacher got him to stick his chin in and then on Monday a different teacher got him to put his face in. He had a bad day last Friday when it was cold outside. He refused to move away from the wall because he was so cold (and I can't blame him!). Other than that he has fun and enjoys the water. He is quite silly and loves to swim. He does get a little stiff and nervous when it comes to floating on his back or getting his head wet. Today he had fun with the life jackets... but he was nervous to jump of the side of the pool. Tonight we are going to take the kids swimming and hopefully get rid of some of their fears of the water. They are taking another session of lessons next month, so hopefully they will have the chance to learn a little more.