No, no, no

Little Lani is learning to communicate very effectively. Mostly, she likes to shake her head no at me a lot. But really, it's like a whole head and shoulders movement where she twists and turns. It's cute and I thought you guys might enjoy seeing the "No" dance.

Speaking of dancing, here's another cute one.

Vegas Baby

Friday night we arrived at the California Hotel which caters to Hawaiians. It's like going to Hawaii without the ocean (especially since all my cousins and some Auntys were there). The kids were tired, but we dragged them to Freemont Street anyway to enjoy the lights and the crowds. After a little dancing to the bands and over stimulation of lights we called it a night. Saturday we went to Town Square Mall where we did some shopping and the kids enjoyed a really cool park with fountains and a treehouse. Aaron could've stayed there all day. After some breakdowns, we decided to go back to the hotel for some "quiet time." Unfortuneately, my kids decided to show their true colors and not sleep. After another buffet, we set out for the strip. There are kid things on the strip, but so much walking and if you have a stroller, you have to take about 5 elevators to get anywhere-kind of a hassle. So after M&M World and the Coke Factory and Gameworks we were done and more than ready for some shuteye (after another 5 elevators back, of course). Sunday provided more rest for the kids. After breakfast with the family we found a sacrament meeting, then headed back to the hotel where all the kids fell asleep together. Instead of sleeping like we should have, the parents watched 1/2 a season of the Justice League on Brad's laptop (If you know what that is, then you know it was a little ridiculous and yes, my family is full of geeks, Brad now one of them). We finished the day on the bus with my cousins who payed for it to take us to the different attractions on the strip-this is the way to go. We visited Ceasars Palace, the Bellagio fountains, and the Stratosphere (the ride was closed, thank goodness!) Monday was kind of sad due to our impending departure (except for when I won $60 on a machine). It's interesting to get together with my Father's side of the family. I don't know them very well, but they are very open arms and I feel like I find another piece of my puzzle around them. I'm glad that my kids are able to meet them at a young age and grow up knowing a little more of their history. But next time we go to Vegas, I don't think it will be a kids included trip:) For all the kid-friendly hype, I don't think it really is a kid place. Plus, the casinos all smell like smoke.

Kindergarten

It's official. Aaron is a kindergartener. I'm afraid because of our broken camera, I did not get a "first day of school picture." But, I already had to order school pictures so that's the same, right? Anyway, I think Aaron has mixed feelings about school already. He doesn't seem particularly excited about it, but I think that will come after he makes more friends. While Brad's family was in town, Aaron gave a fantastic talk in church. As his mother I think he is the smartest kid in the world and too smart for kindergarten. I guess that's why I wasn't very teary eyed when we said good-bye on the first day.

I want to play!

Memories

1)As a comment on my blog, leave 1 memory you and I had together whether you knew me a little, alot, or not at all. (of Brad or Me)

2)Repost this same thing on your blog and see how many people leave comments, it's fun to see what people say! If I know you are playing along I will come to your blog and leave a comment.

P.S. Looks like we may have pictureless posts for awhile...see previous post.

California Vacation

We made it home so we've been taking a rest from vacation for the last few days. The drives to and from Cali were long, we didn't get much sleep while we there, and the time went by way too fast. We all hated leaving, but it was nice to get home to our beds. We had so much fun seeing everyone. Brad actually got to surf almost everyday we were there. Chelsea was a beautiful bride and it was so good to see Jana again. It was also fun to spend the week with Uncle Bennie who had special business in Calabasas while on a return trip from Guatemala.

Brad's highlights included winning the family Most Improved award in surfing (barely edging out Jana despite her not surfing for 18 months), demonstrating his ability to bottom-turn, maneuver 1 ft faces at C-Street and channel his inner Eagle Powers.

Tara's highlights consisted mostly of accepting compliments on Brad's involvement with the children this visit. Not to mention the breaks she got when Brad lived up to the hype and watched the kids. (Two girls-only shopping trips in one week - VERY impressive!!)

The boys' highlights were mostly swimming days, playing with cousins and staying up late every night. The low point was probably on Saturday at the beach, when both boys were rolled in the whitewash despite daddy's ardent promise that he wouldn't let either of them drown in the ocean. (Coincidently, daddy was in the water holding the camera when Ian went under - the good news is that daddy chose Ian, possibly with a $200 price tag attached.)

Lani's highlights were the pool, the food and LOTS of ice cream. She is definitely a Jones. She did VERY well with all the activity, strangers and other people watching her; mommy and daddy are looking forward to future date nights as a distinct possibility.

As a side note, Uncle Bennie's highlights included his business in Calabasas and popping up switch at C-Street (with witnesses). Hopefully he didn't mind his membership in the Babysitter's Club and wedding setup crew. He also owns high score on Dance Dance Revolution.

A Day In the Life

So, my friend posted what she did on a typical day and I thought I'd do the same. The smart thing would be to plan to do this ahead of time, but with our impending trip, I thought I'd just backtrack today. I just read this back and it's pretty boring, but here it is anyway. First off, I almost always make a to do list the night before. Here is where I write down everything I can think of to do so that I can check off as many things as possible (it makes me feel productive).

Lani was up at six and in our bed with her milk by 6:30 when Ian wandered in. For about ten minutes I pretended I could go back to sleep wedged between Ian and Lani before I gave up and got them breakfast. Usually, I limit them to cereal, but we had leftover pancakes from Saturday. Monday is trash day so I checked that off and continued on to the dishes and folding the whites. I can't seem to fold laundry without the tv on so I turned the Today show on (surprisingly no requests for Super Y) and was informed the Olympics start next week. I explained to Aaron what that was and somehow managed to get emotional about how our countries all come together to compete in these games. Silly, I know.

Swim lessons are over so we don't have to rush off anywhere.

9:00am-Put Lani down for a nap and headed outside to mow the lawn. I love how it looks mowed because you can't see the weeds as well.

11:00am-Ran to Wal-mart (for milk again) and came home with more than I intended. I hate running errands in the afternoon because the kids (and me) are tired by then, so I try to do all that before lunch.

12:30pm-Lunch. PB and Jelly for Lani, PB and Honey for Ian, and just PB for Aaron. Meatballs and rice for Brad and I. Only one milk spill.

1:30pm-Rest time (aka tv time). We read a couple books, then I sat and watched Batman while the kids played around the basement. Yes, I watched Batman.

2:00pm-Lani's nap, my computer time.

2:30pm-Ian pees in his pants and on Aaron's blankie (so much for potty-trained) so I start a load of laundry. The boys continue making a mess of the basement and I finish my blogging and emails until play in the sprinkler time and clean up time.

2:45pm-My neighbors interrupt my little bit of personal time to tell me about something I don't really care about. (This may seem rude, but it's part of the daily routine). First they call, then they ring the doorbell to bring me something I will not use, inevitably waking Lani up. Neighbors.

Boy Talk

First, last week I had my wisdom teeth out and even though I was a little nervous, I lived through it. The trauma has worn off and made me able to update my blog again. However, nothing interesting has happened here and probably will happen here until Thursday (when we arrive in California). So, stay tuned for that. For now, I'd like to share some wonderful excerpts from the mouths of my boys (because Lani is limited to ma ma, pop (not for daddy, just everything else), some rendition of hewwo (hello on her pink power ranger phone), and uh (which usually means I want what you have).

Awhile ago:
Aaron: Mommy, will you always be my mommy?
Mommy: [Ahhh, how sweet] Yes, Aaron I will always be your mommy.
Aaron: But what if I want a different mommy?
Mommy: You're stuck with me, why? Who do you want to be your mommy?
Aaron: Aunt Sara.

About a week and a half ago: (PG-13)
Daddy: Ian, go potty!
Ian: I don't have to.
Daddy: Then why are you holding your pee-pee?
Ian: So it doesn't run away.
Daddy: [Brief pause amidst stifled laughter] Ian, mine has never run away.
Ian: Mine did. I had to chase it.

Today:
Aaron: Mommy, do you want to get up and do something for me that I want you to do?
(He wanted something off the counter and didn't want to get up.)

Today:
Ian: Aaron, pretend I have a sword up my bum.

That's all I can think of for now, but don't worry, there's always more.