Oliver 2.5

My two and half year old is well on his way to being 10. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. I figured it was time for one of these update Posts on Oliver.

• He is currently into watching: Despicable Me which he calls "Pee-pos me", Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs or "Chance of Meatballs", Home Alone and Toy Story or "Choy-try".

• He loves jumping off the couch, jumping on the bed, climbing up anything and wrestling. Such a boy. He loves wearing shoes...Any kinds and any ones shoes, especially boots.

• He is currently learning how to be reverent during prayers. He struggles with sitting still.

• He has been getting more cuddly which I love and gives us hugs and kisses regularly.

• He is trying to go potty like a big kid. If we are in the bathroom while he is on the potty, he will tell us to get out. He will even yell "Wipe bum please" because he hears his cousins say it all the time. So far he hasn't gone yet.

• He loves Chocolate Milk and asks for it through out the day. He has even sneaked a few of my protein drinks because they are chocolate.

• He is very grumpy in the morning if he ever is woken up...He must get that from me.

• He loves going to the bank of Fridays with his cousins and mom, because he knows he'll get a sucker. He always says "I want purple one".

• He is loud. He talks loud, breathes loud and screams loud. I think it's from having such a big mouth. Love it!

• He is messy. He eats like someone is going to steal his food from him. He shoves it all in his mouth really fast, but then he savors every bit of it.

• He loves to play with his cousins and tries to copy their cartwheels and standing on his head. He's pretty good for having a body that doesn't quite allow him to do that as easily.

• Ever since he really started to play in the snow, he can't seem to get enough of it. He always wants to be outside now.

• He loves taking showers. Sometimes when I'm about to take one, I'll turn around and find that Oliver has taken most of his clothes off because he wants to shower too.

• He says some of the funniest things. Yesterday when he was watching Home Alone, I heard him copy Buzz when he says "I wouldn't let you sleep with me, if you were growing on my ass!" Oliver of course said the last four words of that sentence.

• He also called my brother an ass when he was watching him the other night. They video taped it to show me. I have no clue where he might learn such language ;)

We love that boy so much. I think that even though this age has been harder for me, it's been my favorite. Can't wait to see what other crazy things this boy does. And that's all for now.

Sweets

Ever made cookies with kids? Somehow it makes things just a little sweeter when you see how excited they are to help. I had Oakley, Paige, and Morgan over to hang out for a little while. We wanted to make a treat for their parents, so we decided on Snikerdoodles. The girls did a great job helping me crack the eggs, measure the sugar and flour and add all the ingredients to the bowl. They even rolled their own dough into balls and dipped them into the cinnamon sugar mixture. I had to keep reminding them not to lick their hands just yet.

And when we got to the last little bit of dough, I let them indulge a little.

Can you tell which sheet of cookies they rolled and which sheet I rolled?

I can't say it enough, but I am so lucky to have these cute little girls in my life. They really do make life a little bit sweeter.

The Moab Experience

Last weekend we were able to go down to Moab with Trent and Amy to run and have a little fun without any of the kids. Trent and I were running in a race and we thought it would be perfect to make a weekend trip of it. We started the trip by having a late lunch at the Training Table. A group favorite. We hit up REI where we spent our dived end and added some more items to our want list. After a 3 hour drive, we arrived at the expo where we picked up our packets, bought shirts and looked around. We got to our camp sight and set up for our stay. We had an okay dinner at The Moab Brewery and headed back to call it a night. After a restless sleep, it was time to get ready to run. We woke up at 6:45 and started our day. I was a little nervous about running this course, but once I was bussed up to the starting line, I started to calm down and get excited...That is until the wind reminded me that I shouldn't get too excited to be running against my most dreaded running condition. The race went pretty good. I ran the 5 miles in 49:55 and Trent finished 25th overall with a great time of 1:23:23. Not our personal bests, but fair enough for running against the wind the whole time. Best part about finishing is having someone there to cheer you on. I loved that Amy and Luke were there to cheer us to the finish line. Another favorite thing about finishing is all the good food. So far Moab has had the best food. I even went back for seconds, but who can blame me when there is Cinnamon Burst Great Harvest bread, sliced oranges, chocolate milk, chips, cookies, and bananas. After showering, we enjoyed a nice lunch at La Hacienda and then hit the trails for a little Jeeping. Trent and Amy have the coolest Jeep around and going Jeeping with them was pretty awesome. We got some pretty good video footage of being on the trail, Amy screaming, and Luke filming the Baja experience. I couldn't believe some of the rocks/walls the Jeep could crawl up. There were some pretty tense moments, but when we got to the top, these were the views. Pretty incredible and well worth those scary moments. The rest of our trip was made up of eating...a lot. Laughing...a lot and enjoying this time together...a lot. Of course a trip with Amy wouldn't be complete without a little shopping...and documenting it. And to finish off the Moab Experience, here are a few notable quotes and memories we would not want to forget.

• "You should like it!"


• "Who's Lindsey?"


• "You know, the same Lindsey."


• "Eeeeeewwwwwww."


• "Whatever we do, I'm not going back to camp empty handed."


• Whistling the tune of "Firework" in the bathroom.


• Watching the sand lady


• Listening to Depeche Mode 1...and 2.


• Having Aron Rawlstons raven follow us around Moab.


• Someone freaking out over finding their favorite breakfast drinks and ice cream.


• "I didn't know the wind could ____"


• "Sure it can. Just run like this."


• "I ordered a Chicken Chimichanga and I have no idea what this is."


• "We have fifty six DOLLARS"


• Lesbian lovers, the hot kind.


• The Baja Adventure


• "I only scream when we got backwards"


• Butt burps


• "That's the same smell!"


• Trent drinking the best Coke he has EVER had.


• "Since all the real runners were in the race, the streets were empty."


• Deja-vu with the T-shirt shop employees.


• "I have a huge one."


• "Aaaaammmmy....Aaaaammmmmy!"


• "Uh I don't know that guy"


• Popping "sleeping pills"


• "Not me, I came here to get away from kids."


• Black night


• "Because you look tired and have a big watch."


• And our favorite quote of the trip "And they would!"

We had so much fun on this trip. Being in Moab with your best friends, doing multiple things that you all love, is a good recipe for a fantastic time. We are already looking forward to doing it again soon.

And of course I can't forget to thank those that made it possible for us to get a little break from real life.

LENT and then some

I decided this year that I wanted to give this whole Lent thing a try. I can live without something for 40+ days, but what could I give up that would be difficult and that would present many times of temptations along the way...make it worth my while and help me in turn. Meat? No, that's too easy. Sugar? No, that's too impossible. I've got it...SODA!! (which sadly includes my beloved Coke). Booo.

So far this week has been good. I have only had a few moments where I have stared into the fridge at the vegetable bin, which in now the soda bin, a few times...mouth watering and wanting.

Only 40 more days, but I'm thinking I may push this to May 4th, my birthday, and then celebrate with an ice cold Coke and a Sprite float.

Here's to 50 more days!

Remember Monday?

Well, we were so excited that it was snowing and that Luke got to stay home tonight so how did we celebrate?

By throwing on our snow clothes and going outside to play in it.

We went sledding down our drive way...not much of a steep sledding path, but we think Oliver enjoyed it.

What we are certain that he enjoyed was eating the snow. He was even belly down at one point shoveling handfuls into his mouth.

And we built a snowman...well, mostly Luke built it.

As you can see after 30 minutes of being out in the wet snow, we were soaked and so was my camera.

It was a great night to go play outside at night in the snow as a family. Sadly, this was the first time we had done this together and even though I didn't mind our family time in the snow, I'm ready for warm spring conditions to arrive.

Easy Breezy St. Geezy

Last month, we headed down to St. George with our friends Ryan and Karina. It was pretty fun to be down there without kids and acting like kids. Seriously. Ryan and Luke make for some of the funniest conversations. There is also never a dull moment when Ryan is around. He says some pretty dang funny things. I was in tears 2x on this trip because of his weird antics.

So what did we do down there?

We relaxed...

I think everyone had a turn at the yellow blanket.

We did a lot of shopping....and I mean a lot! In total I bought 14 shirts! But most of them were ridiculously discounted. I love a good bargain.

We ate a lot...Don Pedro's, Texas Road house, Nielson's Frozen Custards, Olive Garden, and In and out.

We played games. Settlers of Catan and Domino's...We even played Settlers 3 times in one day. And I can't count how many games of Chicken Foot Domino's those 3 played. I opted out.

Luke, Ryan and Karina looked at some houses. I stayed back at the house and read. Looking at houses is just not my thing...


We also watched some of the first season of Modern Family...one of my favorite shows alive.




And of course, going to SG wouldn't be complete without going for morning runs. I always love running down there...always. Enjoying this alone time and doing something that I love was one of the best things about my trip. One morning, it was warm and rainy (47 degrees warm). I had only planned on running a few miles, but I felt so good that I kept going and when I got back, my shirt was drenched and I remember thinking to myself that I felt incredible.

I also love any chance I get to run in these bad boys...

Next time, we'll have to go down in the summer with our kids. Summer in SG may just be on my top 3 look-forwards-to of the summer.

Until next time!

Only in Dreams

I had a dream last night.

and it wasn't too pleasant.

It was of me swearing

and it was the big swear word.

I admit.

I swear a tiny bit,

But nothing like I did in my dream last night.

Here is what the dream interpretations say about this...

" To dream that you are swearing suggests that you need to stop allowing others to harass you. You need to stand up for yourself and don't allow yourself to be taken advantage of."

Will you all just quit harassing and picking on me...

wink!

Chubby

I am convinced that by bosses have plotted against me to make me chubby. They know I can't resist when then place donuts and hot chocolate in front of me...



... and fill the fridge with Coke.

Seriously, It's hard to say no to anything at Parson's Bakery and of course to Coke. I'm going to be in big trouble if they keep this up.

Going for Green

I decided Oliver's green room needs to be a little {okay, a lot} greener....

As you can see, I also decided to match my paint job.

Something about today just made me think GREEN...and I love it!

THANK YOU MARCH...

...FOR FINALLY MAKING YOUR MUCH ANTICIPATED ARRIVAL!

I have felt like I've been suffocating in the month of February, so to finally be able to flip another calender page feels like I may be able to breathe again.

I think I may go all out this year for St. Patricks day in celebration of this month and because I never really have. We'll see...

I am also super excited for spring this year. More so than any other year. I can't wait for everything to be pretty again and for the newness and freshness that springs brings.

Happy HAPPY MARCH!