I knew it wouldn't be long before they found the...

MUD in the backyard. Several weeks ago, I sent them out to play while I finished fixing dinner. They were playing so well together and it was quiet, so I knew something was up. I went outside and found them playing in the portion of the yard that is waiting for some kind of pavers or flagstone. I think the grass had just been watered so there was some fresh mud.
Usually, I would have stopped them right away and been upset that I had to clean up a muddy mess. (Yes, I am that kind of mom, but working on trying to relax more.) But then I realized they were already muddy and having so much fun. Why should I ruin it? So I let them continue to play and go crazy with the mud.



It finally came to a stop when the mud was in their hair and on their face. I'm sure Katelyn tried to eat some too. I think they were also done at this point and happily undressed and came in to be cleaned up. I love how happy they look in this picture and that I relaxed and let them have this kind of fun. I must have been in a really good mood this day, because if it happened today, the outcome may have been different. :) Yes, I have been a grouch today and woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Almost Done

Our backyard is almost done and I love looking out the windows and seeing green grass and some plants instead of dirt. I have to give a big 'shout out' to my husband for ALL his hard work. With the exception of help loading cement and top soil (thank you to friends and family for help w/those things) to the backyard he has done it all himself. I told him he should have kept a count of how many wheelbarrow loads he made to the back yard w/blocks for the wall, dirt for the hill, sand for the sandbox, wood chips, and sod. I have been pregnant the whole time he has worked on it so I had a good excuse not to help. :) He has never once complained, but just got things done. Sometimes working at night w/flood lights and sometimes working with some little "helpers". So a big THANK YOU to my husband!!!!!
With the beautiful weather we have had this week it has been so much fun to go in the backyard and play. We are still trying to decide on an outdoor play set/swing set, some more plants, and what to do with a few spots.
Here are some pictures of the process:

Rented a Bobcat to pull back some of the dirt from the hill.
Luke loved riding along for a few minutes.

Picking away at the hill to get it ready for a retaining wall.

Katelyn watching the workers smooth out the concrete for the patio. You can see a little of the retaining wall in the background.

Enjoying the new patio.


Top soil is down, another little retaining wall, and plants and dirt are starting to go in on the hill. All those orange buckets are what Kevin would use to haul dirt up to the top of the hill.

Sod is in and most of the plants are in on the hill. We still want to put some trees and bushes at the top, but have not decided what exactly to put in yet. The wood chips Katelyn is playing in are where we are going to put a play set.

The grass has done really well and looks so pretty. I hope we can get it to stay that way. :)
To the right of the patio, when you are facing the yard, Kevin put in a sandbox that has gotten a lot of use already. We just need to teach Katelyn not to throw the sand.

In Honor of Valentine's Day (A day early)

I have seen this on several other blogs and thought it was kind of fun. I can't remember if I have been tagged to do it, but I'm going to anyway.

About my Valentine...

What is his name? Kevin

How long have you been together? We will be married for six years at the end of March. We dated for 9 months before getting married, with a short break at about the 3rd or 4th month of dating. :{ (I take full responsibility for that break. It was hard, but now looking back it was something I needed to do.)

How old is he? 34

Who eats more? I probably do right now being pregnant, but that has got to change as soon as this baby comes. :) We both have a major weakness for chocolate and sweets. He can usually eat more in that department, although I can put up some pretty good competition.

Who said I love you first? He did. He knew pretty fast. I was a little scared so it took me awhile to say it back. Poor guy. I can't believe how patient he was with me, but I am sure grateful.

Who is taller? He is.

Who sings better? He does. He has a great voice. I love to hear him play the piano and sing.

Who does the laundry? I usually do the laundry. He will put a load in every once in awhile and will help me fold the clothes on occasion.

Who pays the bills? He earns the money, but I make sure the bills are paid on time.

Who sleeps on the right side? If you are in the bed, he sleeps on the right side

Who mows the lawn? He does, but I wouldn't mind doing it every once in awhile. I grew up helping my brothers mow the lawn so it would not be a big deal to me.

Who cooks? I usually do, but he can cook really well. He is usually the one to make breakfast if we have pancakes, waffles, or french toast on the weekends. And he can make some great chocolate chip cookies.

Who drives? He usually does the driving. I prefer it that way, even though I think he would like me to drive every once in awhile.

Who is more stubborn? I would have to say I am definitely more stubborn.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

Who has more friends? I would say we are pretty equal on this one.

Who has more siblings? He does. He has 8 siblings and I have 5.

Who wears the pants? I think it depends on the situation, but I'm sure he would say that I wear the pants. But I think we work pretty well together.

I tag whoever thinks this would be fun to do on their blog. (I'm not sure why some of my answers are in bold. I tried fixing it but it wouldn't change to normal.)

Funny Kids

(Are you all shocked? A post one day after another. I think that might be a record for me.)

Today while we were doing our grocery shopping, Luke was sitting in the shopping cart car watching me get some bananas. When I was walking back to the cart he said, "When are you going to take that tummy off?" It made me laugh. If only it were that easy. I would love to take it off on some of the days and just get a little break from the lower back pains.


Here are two pictures of Katelyn and the adventures of feeding yourself.
Apparently, it is important to wear goggles while feeding yourself yogurt especially if you are still in the learning stage. (She wanted the goggles on before her snack and then insisted on having them on during her snack.)




This is why you don't leave your child for even a second while ketchup is involved w/the meal. I got the ketchup away from her right before it became hair gel.

He is FOUR!

It is hard for me to believe that I now have a four year old. In some ways it is finally nice for him to say he is four because he has looked like he was four for the past year. So now he will just look like he is five. :)

Four things about my Four year old
1. He is so into Transformers right now that he can hardly think of anything else. He also still loves Spiderman and Superman too!
2. He has the best imagination and can get pretty creative while playing with his toys.
3. He loves to use big words and most of the time he can use them correctly. It always surprises me!
4. He loves to talk and ask questions. He has a very curious mind.

He really knows how to test me and we go the rounds many times. But he also knows how to make me laugh, can be a good helper, is a good big brother, and still loves to cuddle.
I LOVE MY LUKE!

It's Been Almost a Month...

since I have posted anything. I have wanted to post throughout December the fun things we did to get in the mood for Christmas and just other fun things, but then I never felt like actually sitting down and doing it. Now it is seems too overwhelming to post it all, but I am going to try and do little snippets (is that a word?). So here is a rundown for "journaling" purposes:

• went on the Santa train ride in Boulder City-it was windy and cold, but fun-Luke loved it
• made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers
• went to Ethel M Factory and saw their light display
• I attended a great Relief Society Enrichment at the church
• celebrated Kevin's birthday
• went on a date with my husband
• attended the Ward Christmas party
• went to a babysitting co-op Christmas party for the kids
• celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Kevin's side of the family
• Luke's favorite Christmas present was his Transformers and Katelyn's favorite was the play kitchen
  
• ate way too many sweets, but loved it
• celebrated New Year's Eve quietly as a family with a fun movie night

That is all I can remember right now. Here are some random pictures from the month:

Spent the majority of the month keeping Katelyn away from the decorations. She only managed to break a few. (I can't figure out why blogger is underlining this and I can't turn it off.)








Luke and I made a gingerbread house together and this is how it turned out.








I am glad they had Santa at the ward Christmas party because I didn't have the energy to take them to the mall to see Santa. Katelyn was crying before she sat on Santa's lap because she wanted a candy cane. She stopped crying as soon as she sat on his lap. The picture doesn't show it, but Luke was so excited to see Santa.





Christmas Sunday attire.









The kids were shepherds in the nativity we did with Kevin's family on Christmas Eve. Luke looks like a scared shepherd and this was as far as we got with Katelyn. I think she was pretty tired at this point.












Christmas morning!

I Can't Handle It!

(Warning: If you can't handle throw up talk, then do not read.)

My poor 3 almost 4 year old is sick with a yucky cough again and sometimes the phlegm builds up and it makes him throw up. I have always had a very sensitive gag reflex. It is so sensitive that even just hearing the sound of someone throwing up makes me gag and I almost throw up myself.
I was hoping that being a mom would give me some extra strength in this department, especially when my own child is throwing up. No such luck!
For the most part I have been lucky enough to have my husband home when these episodes occur. But the last two times I have had to "deal" with it myself. When I say "deal with it" I am really not saying much.
For example, today my son started coughing and he had the "look" in his eyes. I asked him if he needed to throw up and he just nodded. So I helped him run as fast as he could to the bathroom and had him lean over the toilet. I was going to try and stay there to help him, but as soon as I heard him I immediately started gagging and had to leave the room and cover my ears. My sweet, sick boy just stayed there and did what he needed to do in the toilet and told me when he was done. He just took care of everything himself. I am definitely not going to get the mother of the year award for this one (not that I was getting it anyway). I am just grateful that he has figured out what to do. I did help him wash his hands really well and rinse out his mouth (does that count for something) :(.
I hope my daughter can be as independent in this department as my son. But who is going to hold her hair back when she gets sick. AAAAAH, I guess I will just have to figure it out when the time comes.