we're just glad he's not shorter...

I love Home Depot. Home Depot is the ONLY place here open on Sunday. There is ALWAYS something we need that we no doubt forgot to pick up on Saturday that we needed to finish up on Sunday. This last weekend was no exception, except that it was a holiday weekend, which makes it a LONG weekend if you've forgotten something. Digging the sprinkler system happened to go a bit faster/farther than DarRell had anticipated for the weekend and we ended up with not enough pipe to finish up what we had started. So, instead of waiting till Tuesday and wasting all of Monday because we didn't have enough to finish up, we decided to take a little trip to Home Depot to get enough pipe to finish up where the swimming pool will sit, and then get the rest on Tuesday.

I also had this great idea of putting lattice in front of the pipe rack to cover it up a little bit. So while we were there i thought we'd go take a look at the wood poles they have there and at least get started on the hole digging i had in store for me if i wanted to get going on it. Who would have known that that very day, i would be forever thankful that my little guy is as little as he is.

As we were walking down the wood isles, Sam took off running. The next thing we knew he was on the ground, face down screaming. DarRell took off running towards him, and rolled him over to see his face covered in blood and him holding his eyes. Before i even realized what was going on, DarRell had him to the front of the store rummaging through their first aid kit. Apparently, a store employee was demonstrating a new product, a metal beam that takes place of a board in between two posts. They had left this metal beam on top of a cart in the middle of the isle going cross ways. When Sam took off, he hit head on into this beam hitting him right across his nose. After cleaning him up, we realized that we were so incredibly lucky that he wasn't just a bit shorter than he is. It could have been so much worse. He ended up with a nice gash on his nose.

It looks so much better the day after it happened. It's not as swollen, and the gash healed over quite nicely. Today it actually looks worse than it has in days since the scab is starting to get darker. We spent the first couple of days trying to keep it covered so the gunk stayed out of it. However, the only bandaids we own right now that are small enough to cover a little nose are Scooby-Doo bandaids. Cute but they draw attention to the poor little guy like a sore thumb.

As for what happened at the store. They had us fill out a incedent report. We had a personal shopper follow us around for the rest of the trip (perhaps the guy who left the beam out?) and i've never had anyone treat us as nicely as they had that day.

Locks Of Love

Rianne has been dying to cut her hair "just like Ali's" for a few years now. I've been putting it off and putting it off and putting it off, hoping she'd change her mind. It became more and more obvious that she wasn't going to change her mind at all. The longer her hair got the more she hated it and the more determined she was about getting it cut. We finally decided it was time to get it cut. I told her that we REALLY needed to wait until after her dance recital before we could do anything with it. She has waited VERY patiently for the last week for a time that we could go get it cut.

Today I decided that today was the day. I made arrangements with DarRell to stay with the kids for a few hours so i could take Rianne to get it cut, just me and her.

Since we are as poor as we are, I opted for the one place i knew i could afford. So we hit the local Wal-Mart salon and had it cut there. Rianne was super excited to have it cut off. In fact, she had the girl cut it shorter after she was done, because it wasn't as short as she wanted it. Now, it is cut EXACTLY how Rianne wanted it. Her pony tail measures 12 inches without it being braided. After all was said and done, a total of about 13 inches was cut off.



I'm so amazingly proud of her wanting to donate it to Locks of Love. It takes someone special to be able to WANT to do it. She had no prompting or persuading of any sort from anyone. Frankly, i'm not quite sure how she found out about Locks of Love except for maybe when Maria and Tory donated their hair. Regardless, I am SO proud of her. And for the record, I absolutely LOVE her new do!

Speaking of locks. I just got some pictures back from Joline of the kids' dance recital. Check out these beautiful curly locks of Riannes (and my new do).

Obviously i'm not the typical Utah fan...

Last night was the American Idol 7 finale.

I love David Archuleta and honestly, what Utahn isn't so incredibly proud of him! He is SO incredibly talented! He's amazing. But in truth, i was totally rooting for David Cook.

Does that make me a terrible Utahn? Not being there to back up "our" American Idol 100%?

I must admit, I'm not much into the crooning (sorry David A.), I'm much more of a rocker. I could totally get lost in his gruff, rock-n-roll voice. *SIGH*

Sadly i didn't keep up the all the AI buzz until the last two episodes. Makes me sad that i missed it all. But i did go back and listen to all the songs from the dueling Davids and i stand by my vote, David Cook is the winner in my book.

Sadly, I'm sure the heart of my buddy, the FedEx overnight delivery man, is smashed to a million little pieces. He made it (almost painfully) obvious that he is a AVID fan of David A. He made it a point that i MUST vote for David A, since i was a fellow Utahn. After 10 minutes of the low down of what was going to happen here in the state of Utah for our little favorite American Idol, he gave me my package. I didn't have the heart to tell him that David Cook was my man. I was tempted, just to see his face. But honestly, i didn't have another 10 minutes to chat with him.

So here's to you Mr. FedEx guy. If you listen closely you will hear 3 of my absolute favorite David Cook songs... just for you.

should i be embarrassed? Maybe just a little

i read this blog occasionally (ok... daily). She cracks me up and i just seriously want to be like her somedays. She updates her blog daily, sometimes even several times a day (which comes VERY useful for me when I'm avoiding stuff i should be doing like the plague) and has TONS of great tips and whatever, AND she's just plain entertaining.

Today she has this messy car thing going on right now. My first thought was: "YES!!! I'm SO doing this!" But then i let reality hit. I am so NOT doing this. For one, it's just super cold outside right now. Secondly. I just don't have the patience to chase down Sam while trying to clean out the van (or even the truck). I just don't have it in me today. And really, do you really want to know what is in my van? REALLY? i can guarantee it's not the cleanest (but i'm guessing that is the point). I'm positive it consists of lots of junk mail and food crumbs. I'm pretty sure its got a lot of odds and ends in there too. I know there are at least a half of dozen water bottles, some probably open. A month or two of trash mail piling up between the front seats on top of a box of tissues, some hand wipes and other odds and ends i usually keep in the van. A diaper bag that needs to REALLY be refilled with stuff that actually fits the little guy now. Winter hats and gloves for all three kids and one pair of snow boots minus the match (? i have NO idea where it went to, thus why it's still sitting under the seat in the van... hopefully one day it'll appear again and we'll have them both together). At least one jacket. Which reminds me that there is also at least a pair of 24M jeans in there that DarRell peeled of Sam while waiting for me to finish up in the store... apparently he leaked through them. There is probably a shirt and a pair of socks and maybe even shoes to match somewhere in there that just never got taken out due to groceries that needed to get in first. What i hope isnt' there is a diaper. A used diaper of any sort. I DO try to get those out ASAP. But i'm not going to guarantee it, expecially since i'm not the only one to use the van or take the kids out with me, namely the only one who uses diapers in this house.

And not only does it have THAT stuff in it that i know of, it also has some serious scrubbing down to do inside. I do know that there is a old hot chocolate stain/mess on the dashboard from when DarRell hit a rock and stopped us dead in the middle of the road. Everything that wasn't bolted down ended up at the front of the van including my hot chocolate..... all over the passenger dashboard. It's still not cleaned up except for the initial "hurry and mop up what we can and we'll get the rest later" clean up. There is also the usual vacuum the floorboard of all the trash. For some reason, the kids can't seem to remember that the floor is NOT a trash can and proceed to drop everything on the seats or the floor if it doesn't go in their mouths.

Maybe perhaps, i NEED to clean out my(ahem... DarRell's van) van today. I should probably find that little ounce in me that can do this today and do it. Maybe, just maybe, Sam will be easier to handle than i imagine.

one more milestone hit

Rianne has been waiting for this day for MONTHS. That little tiny tooth has been loose for 3 months now. Finally it's happened. She played with it until it wiggled enough that she couldn't stand not to take it out. After her asking me a million times to check it, i finally grabbed it and popped that little baby out. The girl turned immediately giddy at the thought that she just lost a tooth. Giggling, like... well... a 6 year old! LOL.

I have NO idea what teeth are going for now-a-days but I'm sure it's more than we, ahem... the tooth fairy can afford (BTW... Daylon asked if he could be the one to leave her the money. I was shocked at the comment and asked how he knew. He said that he just figured it out. No doubt that the "Santa Clause" talk from his dad contributed to this. I still stand by my decision with his decision on that). So $5 it was. DarRell suggested $1 (cheapskate) but left the decision to me. I figured it's her FIRST tooth, she should get more. I'm sure Daylon got just as much, but DarRell doesn't believe me.
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We inherited a trampoline over the weekend. The kids are ecstatic. Sam feels picked on and left out cause i just won't let him have free rein on the thing. He actually did quite well but being the paranoid mother i am, i nearly had a heart attack. I think he was on it for a total of maybe 10 minutes before i snatched him off and ran him into the house screaming and kicking.


Funny thing about these pictures. It doesn't show one ounce of the work we've done on the back yard. How disappointing. Yes, there are a TON of weeds still there but you don't see what's done of the trenches dug for the sprinkler system. Or the SMALL veggie garden I've got going on. Or the super adorable tree house we built. All you see is a terribly weedy back yard and the pipe racks. And about those pipe racks. The swimming pool will be going in front of them (YAY! this weekend will be the weekend we put it up. This weekend also marks the start of gutting the old house, everything is coming out, starting with the HUGE swimming pool!!! We will no longer be a storage unit for everyone else, including ourselves). But I'm also thinking about putting up some lattice or something to help hide them... UGHH it's such a eye sore with all those ladders and pipes everywhere. I'm all for hiding what i can and this just may be the starting point. I think that will be on my list first thing to buy at the first of the month (who knew lattice cost so much!).

in the last week...

Graduating Kindergarten.

Mrs. Albrecht has been a AWESOME teacher. Rianne already misses her. Graduation was fun. I think I'm going to miss Rianne being in school. She easily bored and i feel this will be a long summer without it being chuck full of activities and fun.

We go back tomorrow for end of the year testing and then off to first grade she goes!

Daylon still has a week left of school. He's now counting down the hours!

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Dance Dance Dance

Saturday was the kids dance recital. We've spent the last week back and forth between dance classes, rehearsal and finally recital.

It was SUPER cute! I just love these dance recitals even if DarRell doesn't so much. Both kids had told me that they want to do it again next year! I'm excited. Apparently it was SO bad after all.

I can't wait to see all the pictures that everyone else got. Joline got the first bunch and DarRell ended up getting the second bunch. So hopefully we got a good combination of it all.

Here are their professional pictures they had taken at the studio... SUPER cute! Rianne's group picture was a tad bit scary but Daylon's turned out great.

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We've been working pretty hard around the yard lately. I'm determined to get some sod in before it gets TOO incredibly hot (although the last few days seem pretty darn hot).

We built a little fence in the front yard and i planted some pansy seeds in front of the fence. Hopefully they'll grow.

The back yard is slowly moving along. We've been digging trenches for the sprinkler system for the last few days. Even if i have to do it myself, it will get it done. I've been doing a lot of weeding and planting of veggies. Love it! So far I've got in two tomato plants, spaghetti squash, some garlic and some onions. I've also planted quite a few pots of flowers for the front steps. None of the pots match but it looks quite springy.

We inherited a trampoline. It's taking up a lot of the backyard but the kids are so excited to have it. We will be moving the swing set to the other side of the old house with the tree house to make room for the trampoline and the swimming pool.

This coming weekend marks the end of the school year and the starting point of gutting the old house and remodling it into a shop/guest house. Frankly i can't wait to get started on it. I know it's going to go a LOT slower than i could ever imagine but at least we have a starting point.

Simple, Satisfying Things

fresh turned soil
vanilla scented shampoo in Sam's hair
comfort food
the smell of a rainstorm
packages in the mail
homegrown tomatoes
laugh lines (not to be confused with frown lines)
hugs from Sam
curling up on the couch, watching a good show with a big cup of hot chocolate
freshly cut lawn in barefeet
garlic
the smell of the heater the first time you crank it up (burned dust?)
a day when the kids cooperate and make life just a bit better

all of which I've experienced in the last week!

Totally stealing from Rocks in my Dryer

April Scrappi-ness

Not much done... i guess i just haven't been in the mood. *SIGH*
Some stuff really sucked cause i was trying out new techniques
Some stuff was REALLY good

Here's what i got done though:
11 layouts, 3 cards and one altered birdhouse

the season is over?

Already? didn't it just start?

it's true. All my favorite shows are coming up on their season finales here soon. I have two weeks of new episodes and then... nothing. I guess that is a good thing though. Sitting in front of the TV all evening long just isn't a good thing. Especially during the summer time. Who wants to be vegging in front of the TV when they could be outside enjoying a great summer evening? So in two weeks, i will no longer be glued to the TV all evening long. Sad but true.

Last night was Rianne's first T-ball game. It was freezing cold. It was raining and the wind was blowing super hard. 4 teams of cute little 6 year olds toughed it out and played two innings of ball. They were so much tougher than their parents... we are wimps! Rianne loves T-ball. I don't know if it's because of the actual game or just because that is where all her cute little friends are. She is quite the social butterfly and it shows off AND on the field. I didn't get any pictures this time around because i thought for sure they wouldn't be playing due to the weather. Next time... i promise.

This year Daylon begged to not have to play baseball, so we agreed. Now he's changed his mind and has decided that just maybe, next year, he'll want to play. I can't help love our new neighbors because of that! Daylon and the cute little redhead across the street have become best buddies. They just moved in Saturday and so far, they have played nearly every day. He's gotten Daylon interested in sports again, which beats sitting in front of the TV all day playing video games (leave the vegging to mom, I'm the professional!). Daylon was super excited to find out that he plays soccer too. It's great having someone living across the street again, and a extra bonus that they have young children too. Rianne spends a lot of time over there too playing with the other two girls. Although I'm not sure they've become such great friends as the boys have. But then again, Rianne is still heart-broke that it wasn't Ali moving back home. I imagine it's hard to go over there and see everything that has changed. Going over to that house that was almost like their second home and not having Ali there to play with has got to be a bit devastating. Most evenings are spent comforting Rianne. She comes home crying because she loves playing with the new girls but she misses Ali. i'm guessing she feels guilty and sad and happy all at once. Tough being a kid.

My baby is 2!

I can't believe it. My baby, my last baby... forever... just turned two! Crazy how things have change since having Sam. I'm a emotional mess... all the time. I've got grey hair (i really don't want to HAVE to dye my hair but isn't early 30's a little young to be sporting natural grey?). I think i aged 7 years over the last 2 years (this last year was quite the doozie). And all because a beautiful little guy named Sam. And, he's the best! Complete with ear to ear smiles, crocodile tears and raging tantrums.

OK - on to the birthday party. It was great. DarRell reserved the firehouse again. I'm so glad we have that option now. I just couldn't see having the party in my messy house this time around. We had a good turnout with Grandma and Grandpa Payne. Jody, Wayne and Tory. Perry and RaDawn. Colleen, Hayes and Wyatt. Maria and Justin. Michelle, Andy and Kole. The other birthday girl was a no-show but i guess they ended up having their own plans that night, which was too bad, but i hope they had lots of birthday fun.

Sam ran around like a madman all night long. We had huge punch ball balloons out for the kids and Sam LOVED them. He ran around all night long throwing and kicking them around. I was surprised at Sam knowing how to blow out the candles. He didn't need much for prompting and had the candles blown out before i could even get a picture. We ended up lighting them a couple of times so i could get just one quick shot of him blowing them out.
I made cupcakes with a fish theme since he has a huge love of fish right now. When it actually came to eating the fish candies... he wasn't so thrilled (although those pure sugar candy things really are kinda nasty).

He made out like a bandit when it came to gifts. Lots of great boy toys and he loved every single one of them (Daylon and Rianne do too). All three kids spent Sunday hitting baseballs into the street, mowing the lawn with his musical (could it be possible that this toy lawnmower is louder than a real one? i think so) lawnmower. Playing farm with his new little people legos and begging to get out the water toys because it's "too hot" not to. The last few evenings Sam has spent the tub playing fish with his new tub fishing toys.

Oddly enough, even the pez dispenser was a HUGE hit! He's still flying from the pez sugar high! He is now driving the new pez around in his jeep along with the old easter pez people.







Here are the rest of my pictures from the evening. I'm really wishing i had gotten more.