Way to go, Emma!!

Sorry, Chels! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Mike! I feel so privileged to be raising these sweet girls with you. It melts my heart to watch how tender and loving you are with them. You are such a wonderful daddy, and I am so grateful that my children have such an amazing man to look up to. There is no one I would rather be sharing this crazy journey of parenting with! We love you!

I warned you!

I'm going back in this next week to have some darker blonde hues woven back in to break up the fluorescence, so I don't mind posting these. Just remember, it's a work in progress!

Avert your eyes to save your retinas!!!

After a year and a half of being brunette, I've decided to go back to blonde. Turns out it was a much lengthier process than I had imagined. My scalp is soooo sore, and my hair is . . . hmmmm . . . very, very blonde. We had to go bright because it first went to red. So more bleach. Then orange. Then more bleach and color. So now . . .

. . . my hair is yellow. Yellow. Like Marilyn Monroe. Or Gunther on Friends. Like the sun. I glow in the dark. Do not look directly at my hair, or your retinas might burn.

It's okay to laugh when you see me. I do. Every time I look in a mirror. As much as I enjoyed being brunette, it will be a long time before I do it again, because the recovery is comical.

Our fun day . . .

One card table

One giant box (we've been saving it for just such a thing as this)

A bunch of chairs

Some baby gates

1 blanket

1 sheet

=

HOURS of fun!!!

I broke out the washable marker for Aiva to decorate the inside of her "house."

We had lunch in our fort, and then brought out the portable DVD player and watched Madagascar.

She had been quiet far, far too long, so I went to check it out . . .

Good thing the markers are washable!!! :)

Memorial Day Weekend

I love Memorial Day weekend. It never meant much to me until I married Mike. His family has such wonderful traditions, and I am so grateful to be a part of them now. Sunday afternoon we all drive up to Idaho to visit Mike's paternal grandparents' graves. It is such a tiny, beautiful graveyard, in the middle of nowhere, flanked by a mountain on one side, and a stream on the other. I've discovered Photoscape, and it's AWESOME, and I went a little crazy. So in warning - there's a lot of pictures!

The stream right behind in front of the graveyard

Me and my girls. Interesting story - this is my uncle's gravesite. Earlier in the day of mine and Mike's first date, I attended the funeral for my uncle Steve, who passed away from cancer. I called Mike on the way home to tell him I was on my way. When he asked me where I was, I told him I was out in the middle of nowhere, and it'd mean nothing to him. He said, "Fairview Cemetary?" Crazy coincidence! Now it's nice, because I'm able to visit my uncle's gravesite every year the same time we visit Mike's grandparents'.

Aiva was very drawn to this monument for some reason. She kept hugging it and leaning on it. She'd walk away, only to return a few moments later.

After we visit Fairview Cemetary, we go back down to Logan to a park there, where there is also a small zoo.

Emma and Grandpa Larry

The Fam feeding the ducks

Mike and Aiva looking at the ducks

Okay, going a bit nuts with PhotoScape. So fun!!! You can make the most ordinary photo amazing. :)

There are sooooo many different kinds of ducks and birds!

Memorial Day morning. Aiva was so excited about the flag in our front yard. She was sad when the scouts took it away that evening.

Monday morning we always visit Mike's mother's parents' graves in South Ogden. Again, a beautiful site. This year I learned that Mike's grandfather chose this site specifically because he wanted those who visited to have a beautiful view while there. Good choice!

The fam telling stories about Grandma and Grandpa Lewis

Happy Memorial Day!!!

Okay, Moms, I Have A . . . Um . . . "Number 2" Problem!!

Okay, so here's the situation. We have been working on potty-training Aiva for the last several months. Little did I know when I started this process that it is just that . . . a PROCESS. Not an event in itself. #1 has gone fairly smoothly beyond the occasional accident. Our problem is with the "other kind." She will have NOTHING to do with the toilet in that regard. I can tell when she needs to go. She complains of a stomach ache and then hides to do her "duty." We used to try to get her to use the toilet when we saw the signs, but she totally freaks out. Then we started getting mad. We'd put her in the tub and wash her off with cold water, so she didn't get to have a "fun" bath afterward. Then I did some research online and found that everything said to NOT punish or make them feel bad in ANY way. So then, we resorted to bribing. At the present time, if she will just go #2 in the potty ONCE, she will get a movie, ice cream, pizza, stickers, and will get to go swimming in her Papa's hottub, her favorite thing to do. She can happily quote the list of rewards for you, but when it's go time . . . she is not the least bit inclined to even ATTEMPT using the toilet. I now have her trained, most of the time, to at least ask for a diaper so that I don't have to clean out dirty underpants. (And I can't tell you how many pairs of underwear that have gone straight into the trash. I get enough cleaning out nasty clothes with Emma's frequent blow-outs. I think my grandmother would just die if she knew I was throwing out perfectly good underwear.) This has gone on for months, and I am getting just plain sick of it! We have lately been trying to act disappointed to try getting her to feel just a little remorse for having accidents, but we getting literally no reaction from her whatsoever. She just smiles and continues talking about whatever is on her mind, and completely ignores any comments or conversation from us on the topic. We might as well be talking in a different language for all that she acknowledges us.

Has anyone else dealt with a problem like this? Does anyone have any ideas? I have had some people suggest just forcing her to sit on the toilet until she goes. But Aiva is just not the type that you can force to do anything. We've tried sitting her on the toilet with books or a portable DVD-player and a movie, and nothing works. And five minutes after she gets off the toilet, we find her hiding someplace with that guilty look on her face. I have been trying to be patient, but this has been going on for months, and I am so sick of it!!!