catching up (part 2)

1. Elise is growing up so very, extremely fast! She is NINE. MONTHS. OLD! When did this happen? Where was I? She's been crawling for a couple of months now and has even started to pull herself up to stand a couple of days ago. She's still cute, sweet, and pretty dang happy all around. Luke still can't seem to control his excitement around her and she still gets ultra excited whenever he's around. We love, love, love her!

A few things that she does, that I love, and need to capture on film before it's too late are: 1) She sucks on her lower lip when she starts to get hungry or tired - it's a sure sign that she is needing something. 2) One of my favorite things that she does is blow raspberries when she is on the verge of getting cranky... almost like a warning signal... I love it. 3) She does this funny squirming thing with her little body when she's happy. I call her my wiggle worm because of the way she wiggles from side to side... so cute.

2. One thing I love about my boys is how good they are at telling us how much they love us. How can you not feel good when you have 3 little shmoozers expressing their love for you constantly. The way Asa says it is too sweet: "Mommy! I sure (sir) love (wuv) you." And Luke... well, let's just hope his feeling never change: "Mommy, I love you. I'm sure glad you're not dead."

3. Isaac's got some mad skills. So, our DVD player broke a while back, and I set it aside to through out, but for some reason, never did. Isaac asked me if he could take it apart and try to fix it - I said sure, figuring it would keep him busy for an hour or so. Well, wouldn't you know it, the little handy man fixed it! Even at one moment when Adam told him to just through it away because it wasn't looking so good, he persevered, got it back together and we now have a working DVD player again. He was quite proud of himself, as was I.

4. As we were driving down the road, Isaac asked me if the van we passed was a police van. I told him that I thought it was a van full of convicts doing community service. Of course, he needed further details, so I told him how some people in jail have to do good things to help make up for the things they did wrong. Isaac's reply, "And sometimes they have to break rocks." You know, like the prisoners in the cartoons do... so funny.

5. So, my first Ragnar experience that I "trained" for? A big, fat DNF. I was so excited/nervous for the big race and in the end, I got sick and couldn't do my last leg. It still frustrates me to think about it. Really, the only reason I wanted to do the race was to get one of those stickers to put on my car to earn the respect of the general public. But it looks like I'll have to wait for next year to redeem myself and earn my sticker.

Life in pictures:

The boys first T-ball game... can you feel the excitement? Note the yawn from Isaac... and then there's Luke. Luke just refers to it as "Isaac's T-ball" now since he refuses to participate. At least Isaac finds some fun in it though.

Nap hair... but, still cute.

The boys scored some sweet trophies from Fast Track and Luke has carried his around with him non stop. He loves it so much I saw him trying to ride his scooter with it.

Elise's first time standing.

Asa's footwear choices are quite comical. Usually he grabs whatever pair of flip flops are by the door (I'm impressed at how well he is able to keep Adam's on), but I guess this time the only thing nearby were these knee pads. Why not? And, he didn't want a picture because he was mad that I took a hammer and nail away from him.

Elise is such a good sport - she puts up with Asa constantly insisting on holding her.

I had to include this picture, because it showcases Asa's LOVE of avocados (babacados). If Elise is eating some, he makes sure to stay close so that he can clean up any leftovers. And, when we have guacamole, he will always finish up whatever is left in the bowl.

catching up

Wow. I feel like I have so much to write about... or maybe it just seems like I've been really busy for the past few months, which makes me feel like I have so much to write about. So, in no particular order:

1. We have chickens! Lots and lots of chickens! Seventeen to be exact. You can't imagine what an exciting addition this has been to our family. Luke has been the most excited about it - and, true to his nature, he has become obsessed with egg collecting. It starts as soon as he wakes and continues until dusk. And, his enthusiasm beams with every. single. egg. "MOMMY! Aren't you SO glad that the chickens laid an egg?!?!"

Although, not as obvious as Luke's love for the chickens, Adam is quite taken with them as well. I was the one who had suggested that we get a chicken coupe, but Adam has been the one to take care of their every need - without me ever asking it of him. He even has a chicken forum that he now spends more time on then his beloved hunting/snowmobiling forums. I'm relieved that he has taken on this responsibility, because I have been busy with...

2. a garden! My weak attempts with a couple of small "practice" gardens haven't produced much, other than a few peas. This year is going to be different. I'm going big (or big-er). And, with my mom holding my hand along the way, I hope to not only gather some peas, but a few other things along the way. Now, I'm a realistic girl, so I'm not expecting to get anything out of at least half my plants... but, if I can get a few tomatoes and an ear of corn or two, all the hours of work this summer will be worth it.

3. The ol' Loveridge family reunion went down earlier this month. So much fun! Adam and I had the "privilege" of planning the big event. We decided to take the family down to Pinewood's (down by Brianhead - Adam has ATV's down there). It was a much needed vacation for our family. We had fun spending a day at Zion's, doing some Ranger riding, and getting attacked by mayflies while trying to catch some fish. We had tons o' fun just relaxing with my family, whom I think are pretty much the coolest people I know (aside from Adam's family, of course). And, of course, Isaac DID NOT like the fact that it had to end (neither did I). When I asked him what his favorite part of the trip was, he said, "The fire and the park (there was a playground at the lodge)." I'm glad it doesn't take much to make my boys happy.

4. Well. One of the more exciting things I did over the last couple of months (or years, for that matter), is go to the U2 concert with my brother, Matt. Adam ended up renting out some machines to some of their roadies and they told him they could get him and a friend into the concert. He knows I am a fan, so he told me to invite someone and go. Well, as I considered who to invite, I thought of Matt... and our days in Moroni, when he would play his collection of U2 cassettes for me - telling me various U2 facts that only a true fan would know. I felt cool that my older brother let me in on this super cool band. It was a time in my life when I was anything but cool (not that much has changed). We had recently moved, and I was painfully shy, so it took me a while to make any friends. I don't know what I would have done in those days without my siblings. Seriously.

Anyways, enough about my debilitating shyness. We had SO MUCH FUN! I must be getting old though, because instead of being ecstatic, like I should have been, upon receiving the news from Adam, my first thought was, "I'm not sure I want to go... I would be up pretty late... and, I might have to go out of my comfort zone and call someone I don't know (the roadie who gave him the tickets)" What?! I'm such a loser! Well, I knew I would regret it if I didn't go, so I mustered up a little life, and headed out. Oh, I'm so glad that I did! The girl gave us a backstage (or understage) tour and it was pretty dang cool. The concert was great - I think both of us were surprised by how much fun we had... and we were proud of ourselves for doing something as crazy and youthful as going to a concert (seriously, when did I become so old?).

5. Speaking of old... my boys are on a kick lately. Isaac has learned that there are a lot of things in his life that haven't always existed (imagine - no computer, cell phones, or DVRs in a home!). So, he continually asks me, "Did they have (fill in the blank), when you were little." My favorite was when he asked me if there were roads when I was little. Luke's constant question, lately, is "Mommy, did you used to do this (whatever he's doing at the moment) when you were little?" He loves hearing about what I did when I was his age.

An onslaught of pictures:

We managed to get the boys out for a ride before the snow was gone (May?!). Asa was definitely ready to head out.

Luke and Uncle Neil

Neil and Kilee. Poor Kilee.

Anybody's claustrophobia kicking in?

You know, I am almost intimidated by his web slingin', but then I notice the pink & purple flip flops, and his credibility goes down a notch. Thanks Dani, for the hand-me-downs - Asa loves them, as usual.

Luke graduating preschool. I was relieved by how much he learned this year. It just takes a loving professional to teach my children.

Luke and Drew