The List

I blog-lifted this idea from my cousin's website. She read once that every Labor Day Weekend, you should make a list of all of the things you wanted to do the last summer and never got around to. Then the next year you get that list out on Memorial Day weekend and start planning to get them done. Sounds like it's worth a shot to me. So here's my list. It's pretty ambitious considering our 3 young 'uns but maybe next year we'll actually get around to some if I have them in a list.
1. Get out that snowcone maker Mike bought me a couple years ago and use it!
2. Take Caleb to run through the fountains at the Gateway
3. Go to a Drive In movie
4. Go swimming more
5. Go to a real apple orchard and pick apples then make a mean apple crisp with them
6. Walk the gardens at Thanksgiving Point
7. Go camping at least 3 times
8. Make it to Swiss Days in Midway next Labor Day weekend
9. Scrapbook More!!!!!

So there it is, our challenge for next summer. Wish us luck!

Weee!

Before we knew that I was quitting, Mike bought the TV of his dreams. A huge 52 inch plasma one. Well to get our old heavy one out, he was pretty innovative and made this cardboard ramp to slide it up our stairs since me and my whimpiness wasn't of much assistance. It took Caleb all of about 30 seconds to also think of a use for this ramp. An indoor Slide! What could be better? He went down it several times and was having a ball until Mom and Dad figured out that it was very hard to go up and down it especially while carrying babies so we had to take it down, but it was fun while it lasted.

Peachy Keen

We started feeding the boyz solid food a couple weeks ago. Tonight was peaches. You can see in these pictures the phases of "what the heck are you doing to me" to the happy full belly faces in the end. The first ones are Zaden and the next Zaric. Should have seen the faces they pulled for the sqaush yesterday, now that was entertainment!

I've Been Out-voted

So as you know Caleb's 5th birthday is coming up in November. All summer long he insisted that he was going to have a dinosaur birthday party. How fun I thought and was starting to get excited about it. You all know that I am a planner so I started thinking of things and looking up party supplies and whatnot. I even bought a cricut cartridge that had dinosaurs on it so that I could make the invitations myself. Lucky for me though, that's all I had actually bought so far.
While at the Dr's office a couple weeks ago when Caleb had strep from out of the blue he says "Mom, I want a Spiderman birthday party." Where did this come from? He has recently started a new obsession with Spiderman, I guess he gets a new one every year because last year at this time everything was Diego. He constantly wants to watch "The Black Spiderman" or Spiderman 3 for those of you not in the know. And as you saw in a previous post, loves his spiderman costume.
I was totally bummed out about the dinosaurs so last night we took him to the party store. I was thinking that maybe if he saw the dinosaur stuff I would be able to persuade him back. It almost worked! But only because they had dinosaur squirt guns. I told him that if we had a dinosaur party I would get them for all the kids for their goodie bags, he thought about it then decided that maybe I should just buy him one. We couldn't really get him to focus on one thing and he changed his mind several times and I almost came home with a football themed party. But at the end, we walked out of the store with what else but a bag full of Spiderman stuff. I am keeping the receipt with the small hope that he might still change his mind one more time, but not counting on it.
I guess he is getting older and isn't as easily persuaded as he used to be. At least for now, he still lets me pick out his clothes.

Round 2

Today is the first day of Caleb's 2nd year of preschool. He's so excited. He's been dressed and had his shoes on since about 6:00 this morning. I keep telling him we still have plenty of time but he doesn't care, he's just so happy to be going back to see Miss Karen and Miss Kristen. He told me that teacher was going to love his outfit and that's why he picked it out. I am glad he's so excited about this year. But then a little sad that it means next year at this time, he will be starting Kindergarten. My, how time flies.

My Name is Stegosaurus

We tried to have Caleb sing this at the family reunion for the talent show but he got scared when he got up on the stage and saw all of the people. Some of you have heard this song before as you have visited. However, this has an improvised ending that you have not heard before. So with no further adu.....My Name is Stegosaurus, sung by Caleb Ouren.

How Did This Happen?

I spent some time last night doing the inevitable.....cleaning out the babies drawers and bagging up the clothes that they have outgrown. They are officially out of the 0-3 months clothes. How did that happen? In the bottom of one of the drawers I found their "coming home" outfits. These are the same outfits that Mike and I laughed about while putting them on in the hospital because they were so big on them. We could have fit both of them in one. Wasn't that just a couple of weeks ago? Who said they could grow up so fast? To make matters worse, after I was done, I came downstairs to see the box of 4T's that I cleaned out of Caleb's drawers earlier this week. That's right, Caleb is officially a 5. I need something/someone to blame here...so here's what I came up with...

1. Global Warming-It works to blame about anything on
2. HGH- It's in our food...right?
3. Video Games- I don't know why, but since Caleb starting playing on his own, they just aren't right.
4. George W. Bush- Another easy scapegoat to blame matters that can't be explained easily

I am sure there are many more since it can't be simply the passing of time. I turn the clocks back everyday to avoid this. I will be starting a picket line somewhere soon to protest this injustice!

It's Official....

... I'm unemployed. After an "incident" yesterday with the new drector, I decided it was time to leave sooner rather than later. The VP asked me to sleep on it and I did and still felt the same way this morning so I spoke with HR, cleaned out my office and was gone by 11:30. It felt good leaving the campus like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Now I can focus on my family and will continue to keep in touch with those in the Financial Aid Community that I adore. Now, if someone would invent that money tree...life would be simpler.

Just 4 Giggles

I was so glad to capture this. Mike got Zaden giggling big time last night. It's amazing how babies can giggle and change the whole outlook of your entire day.

Too Cute Not to Share

I still have alot of reuinion pics to share and will do so here and there as I need something to talk about (yea as if I never have anything..right?) But I had to share this cute one of Zaric that I got while camping. I think it says enough by itself....so enjoy.

Shopaholic

So I had one last hoorah to Park City this weekend with my friend Scott's wife Holly. We have been going there together every few months for a couple of years I think now. I decided I better get in one more time before I am unemployed in a couple of weeks. It was the last weekend before most schools start here, so the stores were packed as you can imagine. Mike would have been going crazy (good thing I left him home with the kids). But of course, that didn't stop us. We shopped from about 11m to 6pm with a short stop for some soft pretzels for lunch.
The weather was perfect and the deals sweet so I am very glad I went. Of course I overspent on all 3 boyz. I can't help it....that Carter's and Osh Kosh get me every time, it's like they see me coming and throw up some sale signs which I always fall for. Should just have a "sucker" stamp on my head.
But what a blast and I was also able to score me a choice outfit for my November outing with the girls to the New Kids On The Block concert!!!!! I can't wait, been tuning up my voice with the songs and reminiscing my pre-teen years. "Oh..Oh...Oh oh oh, The Right Stuff". Look out Jordan and Jonathan Knight...you aint seen nothin' yet. And I am still hanging onto a kiss for both of you after all of these years.

Reunion Time-Part 2

This is my Uncle Ralph. He and his Wife, Aunt Adele were pretty content just holding the twins all day. And trust me, the twins didn't mind the attention one bit.

Below is a pic Mike took. It rained quite a bit off and on but what a pretty view it left from our camper.















I am not sure what's going on in this next picture. Apparently Mike mouthed off to my Dad and this is what he got. I don't know what was said, but I'm sure he deserved it. Then the last in this group is a picture of my nephew, Taylor, holding Zaric.

Reunion Time

So I am finally getting these out. It's only a week late. I think that's pretty good considering the kind of week this has been. Warning: There will be a lot of photos!



This first picture is a group of the kids with the water guns my sister and I brought up to camp. The grown ups can thank us later : P. You notice Caleb's pose right there in the middle. Looks like he's up to something with his orange squirt gun.

Below are a picture of me and my sister being the Pepsi twins. We ran to town on Friday for a few things and ended up buying the matching hats, along with the guns. Oh and we didn't get a picture of this. But we took my Dad's old Geo Tracker (Tractor as the kids call it) to town. He told us not to hot rod it (not that we can with it's max speed of 60 on a good day) so we happened to run into some flame decals at the store and put them on. Told him that we drove it so fast...it burst into flames......I think deep down he likes the flames. I bet they are even still on there. Anyway, then the other pic is obviously one of my Dad holding the boyz.


















These bottom two are a pic of Caleb and My Dad in a serious conversation. I wonder if this is when Caleb got his "Moon" idea. See my previous post on this. Then a picture of a tiny pug dog. This is Missy, my cousin Ashley brought her up. Her tongue stayed out like this the whole time and both me and Mike kept trying to get them to let her come home with us. My Nephew Leyton kept telling us there were 2 Mophie's there. Too much fun.

A Bitter-Sweet Resignation

As you all know, coming back has been a trying time for me and I have tried to make it all work. However, I have decided that it's time for me to move on. I handed in my official resignation this morning and my last day will be August 29th.

This decision has been very hard to make and after a meeting with the pediatrician on Monday and concerns about the twins development (caused from being born so early) and then being caught blind-sided... yet again...last night by a phone call from Joel putting Elizabeth in the Director slot, I have come to the conclusion that after 10 years, my heart is just not in this job any longer.

I have no official plans. For the first month or two I will probably just be at home with the boys deciding what to do with finding a part-time job vs. being a full-time mommy. If you hear of anything out there, let me know.

Today has been a hard day with letting the office know and a lot of tears have been shed. But we are excited, scared and happy at the same time to be starting a new chapter and adventure in our lives.

Look what I can do!

I can't help it, I think this is adorable. Mike is against having a thumb-sucker, but I say since they won't take pacifiers, if this calms them down and makes them comfortable then that's just that. And who can resist this? Zaric is so precious and was soaking up the fact that he got held all weekend at the family reunion. Plus, that means that he is getting better at those fine motor skills and can purposely stick it in there now. So there Mike, take this! You know your heart melts just like mine when you see it!

Weigh In

Finally it was time for our 4 month Well Baby Check up Today. Zaden (Tank) weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz and Zaric (Skinny) weighed in at 12 lbs 12 oz. The Dr. is impressed with their growth and so are we. They are almost the same length as well only 1/2 inch in between the two. These are a couple of pictures from the weekend of them in their camping hats.

A Full Moon

I was going to write and post pics from my family reunion tonight, but instead Caleb gave me a different story to write about. About 30 minutes ago, I was upstairs changing Zaric into some new pj's after a leaky bottle incident and Caleb came up. He asked "Mom guess what I have behind my back?" I said "what honey?" and turned around to see him pull down his pants and give me a FULL MOON!!! I couldn't help but laugh and he of course thought himself to be pretty funny too. He then came downstairs to tell Dad about it and show off his "moon" to dad. I don't know where he learned this but after spending so much time with Papa this weekend, I think I should give him a call ;). Stay tuned for those reunion pics.

Wagadorf and Friends

This is Wagadorf (or Mike Oveson to be fair). I deemed him Wagadorf in Jr. High and have called him that ever since. This past weekend was my 10 year High school reunion and who did I run into but Wags (for short) himself and his lovely wife Kassy. Turns out that he actually remembers the very day that I deemed him Wagadorf in Mr. Moss's Science class. He thinks I named about 5 people that day. The only other one we could remember though was Moydie, which by the way, turns out everyone still calls him. Moydie didn't make it to the reunion which is a shame. Anyway, I had a good time visiting with him and meeting his wife. After the reunion he invited me to his parents house to say hi to them since I also hadn't talked to them in a while and his little boy Joshua. A couple other friends showed up as well and we had a good time reminiscing about the past. Man, I miss hanging out with them and wish I would have made more time for them in high school ( I know hind sight...). Well Wagadorf was also nice enough to invite me for a Sunday picnic with another good friend, Errol, who had every excuse in the book for missing the reunion ; ).
So this next picture is from the picnic this afternoon where I also got to meet Errol's wife and his 3 kids. It was a great afternoon and we are hoping to do it more often as I have promised myself to keep in better touch with these guys now that I have their info. Whether they like it or not!

Zenon and Zanidoo

The Director of IS for Westminster can not seem to remember the boyz names on a regular basis. When he comes into my office lately he always asks how Zenon and Zanidoo are doing. He can remember these names, but not Zaric and Zaden for some reason. I have come to accept that to Robert this will always be their names and caught myself a couple of times this weekend referring to them as Zenon and Zanidoo. Who knew these boyz would have so many names? Although, I haven't heard them called Ned and Ted for quite a while now.

Caleb Mc-Big Heart

During our 24th of July state holiday, we went to a bbq at a friends house in Lehi. As we were hanging out in the back yard we heard this huge boom like something exploded about a block or so away from their house, saw a huge gust of smoke and then there was silence. A few minutes later we watched a firetruck, police car and ambulance cruising to the scene. Then the life flight helicopter came overhead. We figured it was something serious but didn't know what, we heard a couple different stories about illegal fireworks and homemade fireworks. Turns out that an 11 year old boy was riding his bike while and adult neighbor (who happens to make fireworks for a living) was igniting gun power in a pipe bomb like device for the kids to watch it burn. Well it backfired and this kid was right in the line of fire and was hit by shrapnel. It has been on the news every day since. He has underwent several surgeries already and they are unsure if he will be able to keep one of his legs or not. The good news is they have upgraded him from critical to serious condition and as of last night he was breathing on his own.

After the explosion, Caleb was convinced that it was a T-Rex that came through making the loud boom and was making sure that everyone knew about it. Even strangers that stopped to ask us if we heard the boom when we moved our celebration to the front yard to light our fireworks.

A couple of days ago from out of the blue Caleb asked me what happened to "the guy". After I asked for clarification he wanted to know about the guy that the T-Rex got. I explained to him that it was actually a small kid that got hurt and explained several times that while it sounded like a T-Rex it was a firework type thing that exploded and hit the boy and that he was badly hurt and the doctors were trying very hard to "fix" him. He has since asked me everyday how "that boy" is doing. Lucky for me the news is keeping us up to date as well.

Last night was different though, when the story came on the news I kept asking Caleb to be quiet so I could hear it. He of course didn't then afterwards asked me his daily question about "the boy" I told him I hadn't heard because he was not listening when I asked him to be quiet for a minute. Then instead of calling him "that boy" again he wanted to know his name. I told him Bridger was his name and then he asked me what he looked like. I told him that he also missed seeing the picture that was on the news of him. At that he became very sad that he missed it and I could see some little tears in his eyes.

This morning shortly after he woke up he said that he was sad that he missed Bridger last night. I got on my laptop and brought up a local TV station website to show him a picture. At that he seemed a little better. Mike asked him why he was so upset about it when we don't even know him and he responded "I do know him."

Although, we really don't know this person or his family. That statement really touched my heart and I was reminded what true compassion was about. I think we tend to forget that in our busy everyday lives. There is a fund set up here at a local bank for the family as it turns out they also don't have insurance and the hospital stay is costing them upwards of 50k per Day. Caleb has compelled me to go donate to this fund. If anyone else wants to donate with us I would be happy to gather up the money and take it all at one time. Let me know. I will be taking Caleb to the bank with me sometime next week to do this. Mike also suggested that we have Caleb write him a letter or draw a picture that we can send to him, we may be doing this as well.