(1) Fri Jul 03 2009 21:45 Juxtapose this: We went swimming at the neighborhood pool today. It is so fabulous, and free. It comes with the lease, and the owner pays the HOA fees. It is such an awesome neighborhood pool b/c it is so close and they have a baby pool that is pretty large that my kids love. Although, Gunnar who is the biggest nancy boy there is, is starting to actually get in the big pool after seeing that his friends could do it and didn't want to be left out.

So today after we were at the pool for about an hour, it started raining. It got progressively worse until we were forced under the big tarp canopy sitting at the table, eating snacks, waiting for it to calm down. Gunnar sat tentatively in his chair wrapped in his towel. He had a disconcerted look in his eye and said "mama, I scared of the rain. I don't like it". It was raining pretty hard at that point, but like I said...nancy boy. So I devised a plan. To make a first trip to the car carrying Gunnar snug in his towel so he wouldn't be bawling or lagging behind dragging his towel and getting it soaked. As I was cradling Gunnar in my arms like a baby (my kids always ask to be held "like a baby" after we get them out of the bath in the warm dry towel) Gunnar and I made eye contact and he said in a soft voice mama, I wuv you. oh.my.gosh. I adore this little boy so much. So I said "I love you too Gunnar, you are my little baby." And he goes yeah, I your baby. I could have died, he was so precious.

So then I put him in the car all sweetly wrapped up and sit him in his seat, but I don't buckle it b/c I britney spears it down the street b/c we don't live that far. I threw my keys in the passenger side seat because I didn't want them getting all wet and I needed hands to carry the bag of pool toys and the pool bag with snacks, my book, sippy cups, etc.

So Lily and I make a run for it and what do I see in the windshield but Gunnar's little head bobbing around. That little scamp. He had my keys in hand and had locked us out. I stood there in the rain for 5 mins trying to explain which button Gunnar should push. To make matters worse, there's five in an automatic doors minivan, and he pushed every single one of them ten times before he pushed the right one. He got the big button down (the one that locks) and of course the red "panic" one was cool, so he set the alarm off a couple times. So embarrassing. I can just imagine the passerby's seeing me yelling through the window "no, not that one, the one right under that button. Push it!" while the alarm is going off and on. Nice!

What happened to my sweet little baby that so tenderly exchanged voluntary i love you's with me? Here I am frazzled, yelling at him through the window with him giggling and getting kicks at my expense. What a little buster. Folks...that's what we call motherhood.

Tue Jun 30 2009 20:05 When I grow up: I was reading a Dora book to the kids that talked about different jobs grownups have. At the end of the book it asks 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' Of course Gunnar points to all the pictures throughout the book of Boots in a baseball uniform and soccer uniform. We wanted to be all sports player. Lily said she wanted to be an artist and a doctor. Cuties.

UPDATE: In the car Lily said she can't wait for "you and daddy to get married so I can have a baby sister." I told her daddy and I were already married, and she said she can't wait for Jesus to send me a baby in my tummy so she can hold her baby sister. She also said she wanted to be a Dr. so she can deliver babies.

(1) Mon Jun 29 2009 14:57 Husbandless: I dropped Aaron off at the airport this morning. We won't even see his face until Aug 1st! He's at the officer version of boot camp. Can't wait to hear about their first day tomorrow to see if there is any in your face spit screaming going on. Hopefully it won't be too physically taxing. I guess it just depends on each year and what commander is there.

The kids are funny. They don't really get it. When we got home and saw Aaron's truck in the driveway Lily goes "daddy's home". Umm, daddy's on an airplane, remember? I told Aaron to take a good look at Gunnar b/c he won't look the same when he gets back.

So I'm a single mommy, but it's all good. On the agenda-trips to the park and pool, and quesadillas, little pizzas, and Mac and Cheese for dinner. I'm not going to knock myself out. I should be just fine. I'll let you know in 2 weeks if it is going as well as I planned. :)

Fri Jun 26 2009 22:18 Best compliment ever: Today during Gunnar's nap, Lily and I were chilling in her room. I was laying on her bed and we were playing eye-spy. I was trying to get her to cuddle with me b/c I really felt like a nap for some reason. So then I said 'how about you give me a foot massage?' She was like ok, and then goes to touch my feet and said hey, I know what you need, let's buy that thing on the commercial that gets rid of all the white stuff on feet. Wha? lol, she must have been referring to the pedi egg or something like that. How did she know my calloused heals were the thing for that? She wouldn't flat out say no she didn't want to massage my feet anymore, she just said 'why don't you just rub my feet?' So I did. Give me a break, I wear a lot of sandals.

Gunnar was picking his nose at the pool. His finger was up so far and he was digging away. I asked what he was going in there and he replied boo-ghers like it was some French delicacy. I asked what the boogers were for and he goes, dinner. You can't make this stuff up!

Fri Jun 26 2009 11:16 Quacks: Our neighborhood claims a trail around a lake. It's really a glorified duck pond. There are duck ponds everywhere here. Driving along, Gunnar exclaims duck pond! for every single one. And you have to acknowledge him and repeat him or else he screams it over and over again. Just like when we go over the Potomac and he screams the beach!, you have to to say "yes Gunnar, a river" with as much gusto as him and only then does he deem it an acceptable response.

With ponds, there are many ducks and geese and little duck crossings. When we first got here and our A/C was not working, we had the windows open. Around 3AM I was awaken to this wah,wah,wah,rwah,rwah,rwahwah,wah,wah, as you could hear them approach the house, walk by the house, and head away from the house. Cutie things, they are.

Wed Jun 24 2009 21:26 Treasure these times: I see Gunnar coming down the stairs, which surprises me b/c he was supposed to be napping. He has his hands out to his side, palms forward, and says in his deep, scruffy Gunnar voice uh! big! mess! Go and clean it mommy. I see lotion all over his hands and shirt. I tell him to show me where the big mess is, not wanting to be surprised later. He leads me to my bathroom where he relieved the lotion bottle in little squirts all over the tub and floor and appliances. If only he weren't so dang cute I would have spanked his little bottom.

After waking up, and calling for me before I had yet gone to bed, I came in. It was dark and I asked him why he was out of bed. He ran back toward his bed but tripped on the pile of shoes he had unloaded from his drawer. He goes ahh, look at this mess. Clean up the big mess. I asked him who made the mess, and he goes in the same gruff voice I did. I made the mess. We'll clean it in the morning you goof. We all know it will be out again when I come get you anyway. Gotta love my cute little man.

(1) Wed Jun 24 2009 21:13 gone 'n done it: Upon Lily's discovery that her father had shaved his head (not bic'ed, there is a difference) she goes daddy! why's your hair all dead? Why is it not coming back again? She knows a few bald people, and I think Lily thought Aaron was going bald. Although, I don't know why b/c all of Aaron's hair was showing still, just really short.

The shaved head is just a temporary thing. It's not b/c he has to wear it that way. All the while Aaron's dad was in the military you could never tell by his hair cut. No flat tops or buzzes. His regular hair cut could pass. It's just because he is about to leave for COT (bootcamp for officers) in less than a week (wah!), and it is just better to not have hair to worry about while in Alabama and sweating from the physical training. Much cooler, much easier.

He will be growing his hair back out. Not that he looks bad. Just that he has a full head of hair, why not show it off?

(2) Wed Jun 24 2009 20:54 I like, I love: I like the new gym I found. Nothing will compare to Spectrum. Of course it is a lot cheaper. You get what you pay for.

I LOVE Bob Evans. I know I am weird for loving IHOP. What can I say, I LOVE pancakes. For me, it's like eating dessert for breakfast. Bob Evans is SO much better than IHOP. I think it is an East Coast chain b/c I have seen it in FL too while visiting Aly. They've got great salads as well.

I like the cooler weather. I can't say I love b/c from what I hear, it has not yet gotten into "Summer heat". It's hot and humid here in the summer too. It's just that Summer doesn't last as long. So in that, I LOVE the short summer. (I know I will HATE the long winter. I like my winters to be broken up into 2-3 weeks excellent weather, with one week cold weather, SA style.)

I LOVE all the trees. You can tell the trees are truly native and not planted by the first settlers of the area. They're huge. And GREEN, and gorgeous. I can't wait for Fall when they all change colors!

I like that Waldorf is smallish and that I have almost figured my way around most of it, or at least what I need to know about it.

I LOVE Ikea. We have already been once and made a few furniture purchases that were needed, and I love that it is within a reasonable distance.

I like my new ward. I have only been once, and can't say that it was love at first sight, but I think I like it.

I LOVE BJ's Wholesale. It is literally 3 minutes from my house (as is the mall, yay). It is like Sams or Costco-except not as good in some things, and they have cheap gas. I like that I can fill up right by my house and not have to plan trips in that area for fill up. Plus, the best part is they accept ebt. We have a little left over and we are needing it since Aaron has no pay check until Aug.

I like that I am a resident of Maryland. Sounds exotic to me, though it is not, exotic. I will say that I am glad we are only going to be here a year. Not even a month and I feel isolated. Mainly because I have no friends yet, except a girl named Stephanie that I talked to at church and bumped into at my gym. Score! We have had our first visitors (Joe and Louise) so that is good. Keep em coming. I miss everyone!

Me no likey things.

I don't like that when people get in accidents here, which seems to be like everyday, they pretty much camp out in the spot and don't move until everything is taken care of. Once they blocked off a whole entire light (all 4 lanes) and just made everyone wait. Get the heck on the side of the road people and cops. No wonder there are traffic jams here.

Next one, traffic. Part of life here. Hasn't been too atrocious...yet.

GPS. You suck Mr. GPS. Get your crap together and rub a couple measly satellites together once in awhile, will ya? A girl can not be going to the airport and not have satellite reception for 10 minutes. I NEED to know these things. They are vital, that's why I bought you. And don't tell me wrong streets to turn on in downtown. I swear, you would think 2 yr olds are sending the GPS directions. Haha wouldn't it be funny if I made them take a right, then the next right, then the next right, then the next? Going in circles is fun! not!

I don't like the busy season. It will be nice to go downtown when there aren't a lot of people.

My wireless is spotty here. Might be the provider, Verizon, but it is supposed to be the best. It's fiber optics. And we ordered regular cable- just your basic channels, nothing special. We only get one major network. This is probably nationwide since the switch to digital, but I am mad. I am paying for channels I don't even get and I have to pay more to get a box to be able to get them. It's not like we have old tv's either.

Renting sucks, I feel bad calling the landlord about all the kinks that need to be fixed that you find out after living in the house. I shouldn't feel bad b/c it is his responsibility to fix it, I just hate putting people out. I liked having a new house that had nothing wrong with it, and if something did go wrong, we would just fix it. No calling, no waiting. At least he is a nice landlord.

Things are freakin spensive! (I know, I need to stop using crude language, but I like it. Gunnar saw a pic on a billboard of a frog, one with the red eyes variety and Gunnar goes "look! a freaky frog". Must stop using bad language in front of children.) Gas is comparable, slightly higher than in TX, but my trash service is $40 a month! I paid around $60 for 3 months in TX. Generic hair cuts are $16 not $12. Ben and Jerry's is like yowza! Luckily groceries I can get at the base (I paid a dollar fifty for a gallon of milk thankyouverymuch) but they really get you in other things. I like this house and all, but if I was not in the military and having to pay out of pocket for housing I would not live on the east coast. It's great and all, but so is TX and it's so cheap. Plus it has my peeps there.

That's the story so far.

(5) Sun Jun 21 2009 20:13 A note on Gunnar's new bed: Since the move, Gunnar has been sleeping in a big boy bed. I thought he might not be into it since before the move he would cry and say it was too scary. He didn't want to sleep in a crib but also wasn't into a bed, so he agreed to sleep on the crib mattress on the floor. It worked well, we'd often find him on the ground when we would check on him but whatev.

We decided not to take the crib with us, so as the old adage goes, out of sight out of mind. He hasn't asked about it at all. He accepted his bed without protest. So that's that. I looked around for cute bedding to go in his room. Here I was on Pottery Barn browsing, not really into spending that much. Then we were at the BX. Gunnar spotted some Cars sheets. So hideous, but he grabbed them and put them in the cart. When I tried to put them back, he screamed no, my Cars sheets, I want em! while clutching them to his chest. How could I say no? It is his room anyway. I couldn't take it if he brought it up in his 30's at a family reunion saying yeah, I remember the time when all I wanted was Cars sheets and you never got them for me. So he won. We bought the eye sores. He is so cute with them too, it was worth it. Plus, the hit on the pocketbook was a fraction of what we would spend on cute sheets. Also, David and Ashley already bought him a large Cars fleece blanket so it's a set. Done deal. Boy is happy so I am happy.

Tue Jun 16 2009 19:16 Waldorf, Naptown, worldwide. What?: We're here. We took our time getting here, four days. It was pretty uneventful, which is good. I didn't want any drama since I drove in the minivan the whole way here by myself with the kids while Aaron drove the truck. I thought early on that we might make a road trip out of it and go to Nashville and see some other sites, but when all was said and done and the movers had taken our stuff, I just wanted to be done with it. Moving is stressful and so not fun. Especially when you clean your place really good and you get to your new place and it is kinda gross. Not that it was filthy, but other people's dirt is not doable for me.

We finally got internet so that's good. The gas company was being a huge pain b/c there was a balance left on the house when the other renters were evicted and didn't pay the bills. They wanted me to come into the office in DC to show our lease and id's. We finally got a minute today to do that. Cold showers are painful, I tell ya. While trying to find the gas company building I asked guys working on the power lines where it was. The man was like girly, you should not be on this side of town. You have the wrong texture skin if you know what I mean. You need to be really careful and hold your stuff close to you because these people will take it if you know what I am saying. Be careful. Don't even come here at night. It didn't seem that scary in the daytime, but it was in a poor neighborhood you could tell. I was the only white person in sight. It's kinda different being the only white people at the play ground or whatever. Lily made her first friend. She's a cutie girl in the neighborhood.

The kids have said some pretty cutie things lately. When we got to our house and Lily tried the door she was like gasp, maybe Barack Obama is in there. She knows very well we are living near DC where the Pres of the USA lives, and she takes it literally. She gets really excited when she sees his picture and told her teachers before we left that she was going to live in DC where BArack Obama lives.

Gunnar was so hilarious when the movers were packing our things. He heard one of the ladies ask me if we wanted to take the pillows with us or if we wanted them to take them. When I told her to pack them, Gunnar shouted No! ah my mommy's pillows. Not yours. He thought they were taking all our stuff away. When I took the kids into the house one last time to say goodbye after it was all empty, Gunnar walked into his room and busted out in tears. He said Where'd my room go? I love my room. I want it. Ah where'd it go? Same with his blankets they packed- but I love my Cars blanket, I want it. Or I need my cars, I love my cars.

I thought I would only give a quick update. There is still a lot to unpack and I thought I would just be quick, so I will have to write more later.

PS The a/c was broken when we got here, and although it is not as hot as texas, quite nice weather actually, it is still too blasted hot for no a/c when you are moving boxes around. I am glad we got that fixed today too.

Fri Jun 05 2009 21:47 To die for: I haven't had much time to blog lately. Super busy with the move and all that entails. Getting medical records, change of addresses, registering the car-huge headache, last minute appointments. Aaron and I were able to steal away on a date though. David and Ashley wanted to hang with the kids. They took them to Chuck E Cheese. (Their favorite place in the whole world. Lily talks so much about her past and future birthday party there, now Gunnar is asking for "uh my birthday party at Chuck E Cheese.") They also took them to Build A Bear. Gunnar got the cutest bear with glasses! that he named "super boy" and Lily got a ballerina bear. They're spoiled rotten by them.

So with a free babysitter, Aaron and I went to Melting Pot. We got a gift certificate there from some super nice person (Jenni!! oh my gosh, thank you!) for Aaron's graduation. It was great. I seriously love that place. It is very delicious and not the worst thing for you...cheese is cheese and chocolate is chocolate, but the main course and salad are quite low fat. I enjoy myself immensely when I go there. It was awesome and a great treat to a crazy day. We then went to Academy to spend the rest of the money I have on a gift card. I don't think they have any Academy's where we are going so I had to use it up.

I am pretty tired, not much sleep going on here with Gunnar kicking down the door at 6AM. I'm waking up early for my last long run with my dear running bud Nancy. :(

(6) Sun May 31 2009 21:15 Church stuff: Today in church I hear this quote that I thought pertained to our day and time. What a testimony that the leaders of our church really are being Divinely inspired.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell "Meeting the Challenges of Today" Oct. 10, 1978. "Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself."

(4) Tue May 26 2009 21:27 Nation's capital: We are house hunting in DC now. We think we found a good match. Aaron wanted something close to work...it's just not feasible here. Our realtor says (commuting) it's just a way of life around here. It's not too bad though. About 25 minutes without traffic and 45 with. That is old news since that is how it was in San Antonio. Aaron just needs to be one with his ipod and some good audio books.

So it's south of downtown in Waldorf, MD. It is in a very nice community with a hiker/biker trail, 'lake', tennis courts, swimming pool, 'tot lot' playground, and near shopping and conveniences. A huge plus, the school is great and within a couple blocks of the house. Overall, I love it. Especially going into it with the notion that everything is teeny and super expensive, close together and crowded. Not the case at all in this town. It's a 4 bed 2.5 bath, two car garage, hardwood floors in the downstairs. It is pretty new, built in 2003, and we have a good deal of money left from our housing allowance to pay for bills and help out with other expenses. We feel very fortunate.

I do feel sorry for Aaron's commute, but that's DC for ya. Seriously, there was nothing safe near the base. I flat out told him we would not be living in one house...he agreed.

We even had some time to get in some sites. Very exciting stuff. Looking forward to being east coasters.

Tue May 19 2009 15:48 I feel like a huge weight is lifted.: 3,600 pounds to be exact. I listed my car on craigslist yesterday and minutes later I got a few emails. Some people came to test drive it last night and a lady gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. I went and signed it over today and I have a wad of cash in my purse now. Aaron said I could spend it on myself and that I deserve the money for whatever I want. Laser hair removal came to mind, haha.

Alas, the money is already spent. Such is the life of a student. The cash is going straight to paying down the new car and credit card. Woohoo. I felt rich for a second. It was kinda fun to pretend to spend it in my mind. I did, however, reserve the right to buy a new graduation dress for Sat. After bed time, I'm going to the mall. Who wants to come with me? :)

So thank goodness I got to check that big item off my list of things to do before I move. Also, a bonus it sold before we left town and had to deal with that mess.

Sat May 09 2009 13:54 The Graduate: HoRrAY! David got his bachelor's degree. He walked the stage this morning. I am so proud of him. He is one of the hardest workers I know. He earned his degree with night classes and what not, working full time with his jobs pretty much the whole time he was in school. I have so much admiration for him b/c I tried working full time for one semester while going to school and it wasn't pretty. That is the hardest thing to do. I am so proud of him! Great job little brother! He says he is applying for Masters programs. Have fun with that. hA!

(1) Sat May 09 2009 13:46 "Closing Time": Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.-Semisonic

The house is no longer ours. We closed on it yesterday, and by Monday we should have a large sum deposited into our account. It all happened so fast, and since we still live here it doesn't seem real. I am very grateful for it, I love it. It is almost like a member of our family. My mother-in-law always says her favorite house is the very first one they owned in Seattle. Not because it was the nicest or biggest, but because it was the first. I love this little house. It was so perfect and wonderful for this phase of life we are/were in. It is cute and comfortable and we are so glad it was ours. We have so many fond memories here, I hope the new buyer treats it well. I can't wait to come back after a few years and see how big the trees have grown.

We go out east the end of this month to look for a place to rent for the year. Hopefully it will be a teeny bit bigger than this house. We are busting at the seams.

(1) Thu May 07 2009 22:24 Bubba boy: While pulling weeds in the garden, Dubya was walking the perimeter of the garden too scared to come in b/c I told him mean scary ants would get him. I told him that b/c there were ants but mainly because his "helping" is pulling out the plants and not weeds. The tomatoes were in the middle and still green and small, and he kept saying "I want some grapes." I told him, no they are tomatoes. He argued no ah moes, ah grapes. I have some grapes, please. He was so cute, I wanted to give them to him anyway.

Wed May 06 2009 19:21 The Reader: After reading the synopsis of the movie that Kate Winslet won best actress for, I realized that the story sounded very familiar. I googled it and it turns out that I read that book years ago. Strange.

(2) Mon May 04 2009 15:33 We have arrived: WREB is officially over. Aaron thinks he passed. I guess they let us know for sure before graduation. So last night we went to mom's for Michelle's birthday dinner. My mom is the best cook, hands down. She made awesome mahi mahi, salmon, mango chutney, coconut lime rice, crusted pecan feta salad, asparagus and peppers, and chocolate cake and as an appetizer hummus and pita chips. It was one of my favorite meals.

Aaron joined us at the tail end after he finished the exam. What a relief. I feel exquisite! Aaron and I stayed up late chillin with Julie who is in town. it is fun to see her and I love patting her pregnant belly! We stayed up way too late, and for some reason I couldn't sleep when I went to bed. Probably bc I took a nap.

This morning I took advantage of Aaron being home all day and went on a run outside. It was such a nice morning. I enjoyed being by myself. I love where we live and that in one direction we can get right to stores and conveniences, and in the other direction is a calm road with cows 8 feet from the road. Country and city, that's how I like it. Here's to a 2 month long vacation!

(2) Fri May 01 2009 16:09 May Day: Mi-chelle, ma belle, Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble très bien ensemble. Happy 22nd birthday, Michelle.

Today was eventful. This whole week has been pretty busy actually. I thought I would be ushering in my 30's with a new van. It turns out that our little sedan, the one I bought in college, is not what it used to be. I would have loved more than anything to drive it until #3 made it's debut. It has been a cheeky fellow and picking and choosing when it wants to start. I am done paying for repairs.

So Aaron and I did our homework and decided to go with a new white Hyundai Entourage. It's got everything and we got it super cheap. We just got it this morning in from Nebraska. They literally only had a handful of the Limited ones left in the United States. It exceeded expectations in real life. I mean it is a minivan, but a pretty sharp looking minivan. I am already feeling regretful about the dvd player b/c I don't believe my kids need to watch any more TV than they already do and that, of course, is their favorite part.

Lily has called the seat in the back as her own. Gunnar wishes he could be back there but the point was easy in and out, not mom crawling over seats to buckle kids in. I know, I'm mean. It is fun to drive and I am still getting used to the buttons and gadgets. For example when I am reversing, it started to beep at me when I was getting close to the curb. Pretty cool. And anytime it is in reverse the mirrors point down so I can see stray children and whatnot. Pretty neat safety features. I can't wait to know what does what like the back of my hand b/c it is not easy to figure it out while driving.

Gunnar had an eye appointment this afternoon as well. Everything looks good, but he didn't dilate his eyes. He said to wait until sept to measure his eyesight again. I said "I really hope it doesn't get worse" and the Dr said "it will". Nice manners. I guess if Drs can't be honest, then who can I suppose. Aaron has the WREB tomorrow and Sunday. I hope everything goes as planned. Also, we close on our house a week from today. Pretty crazy stuff happening in the next little while.

(1) Thu Apr 30 2009 16:19 From the mouth of babes: "Mommy, you need to hurry up and get married so I can have another sister and brother."

I am not quite sure what she thinks 'married' means...even more unusual was the other day Aaron was scolding Gunnar for something and Lily retorted "don't yell at him, he's my husband". She will also say that she and Gunnar are going to get married when they grow up. Pretty amusing.

Thu Apr 30 2009 12:25 Animal lovers: We have a neighbor kitty that takes naps in our backyard in the same spot. It frequently visits us and my kids get really excited to see it. Gunnar is surprisingly kind and gentle with it. He loves to go and say hi and pet it when it lets him. Sometimes he will try and feed grass to it. It is very sweet that he likes animals. We all know he didn't get that from me. Although I liked our cats when we first got them, I grew out of the animal thing when I became more aware of smells and dirty hands feeling.

Lily asked me what the point on the unicorn's head was called. I told her it was a horn I guess, but it was just pretend anyway, because unicorns were not real. She argued, they are real because they are nice, and nice things are real. Only mean things are not real. I like that kind of selective acceptance. Like the nice unicorns in movies are real but the mean antagonists (witch/monster) don't exist. I too take on this philosophy. When eating a sweet, the calories consumed are only what it says on the box, regardless of serving size...yes please, I'll have another. And we all know that treats eaten on the Sabbath don't count altogether.

(2) Mon Apr 27 2009 15:01 Convos with Aaron: Aaron and I were outside pulling weeds from the garden and I said I sure hated that when you pull weeds it turns your fingers and hands green.

Aaron: That's why it's called green thumb.

Me thinks: Oh, so that's why. I thought it was because you want to keep your plants green.

Even funnier--listening to Aaron's one sided conversations with his buddies while playing WoW. He is such a dork! Now grab the sacred staff. I need res...heal, heal, quick heal me. Oh man, that battle was epic. Summon again. Pretty sure a game where you have "mounts" named fiery war-horse you are pretty 5-star LAME! During his raids I just picture him as a 14 yr old pimpled face dork in his parents basement playing games. Kinda like Bill Haverchuck in Freaks and Geeks.

Wed Apr 22 2009 11:27 Sunshine on my sholders makes me happy: In honor of earth day, I am going to enjoy the sun and weather out by my mom's pool. I *heart* the earth. Especially spring time. It's a great day to be alive.

I have to say that Lily has said some pretty funny things lately. She refused to wash her hands claiming that she is allergic to water. But mom, I am allergic to water. As I drag her kicking into the bathroom. She got that from me when I told her Aaron is allergic to cats after she begged to get one. She also fell and scrapped her knee pretty deep at recess yesterday. It is the kinda cut that it hurts to walk on b/c it is so tender, and she was limping around. When I saw it I gushed you poor thing, oh Lily, are you ok? And she said It's ok, I didn't cry. I was very brave, mom.

Also, she drew a picture on the magna doodle and was like Look mom, it's our family. (There were 4 bodies in the picture) But that's not Gunnar. He's not in the picture. That's my new baby sister. Now I have to clarify I am not pregnant, but Lily keeps telling people I am pregnant and that I am having a baby in the summer. Whenever we go to Target or Old Navy she asks to get an outfit for Emerson. She's got something right, if we have another girl I told her we will name her Emerson (which could change whenever), but she honestly thinks we are having a baby sister for her and she asks when she is coming all the time. Not for awhile sweet pea, sorry. Poor Gunnar though, he is on Lily's bad side right now. Most the time they play great, but every now and then...

Gunnar, too, has said some quips. Mommy Sir!, when he is angry with me or trying to get my attention. I'm pretty sure it derived from me reprimanding him by saying No Sir! Another crack up is when he is very upset he goes Never, ever, ever again! Never, ever! I think he is telling me to never do whatever I am doing to upset him again. It is hard to take seriously, and oh so funny.

Happy Earth Day!

(6) Tue Apr 21 2009 13:43 It's official: Aaron is heading home from his last day of clinic. He is now Dr. Aaron Smith. I am a Dr.'s wife. teehee He still has the WREB to pass so he can officially practice on patients, but right now he has his DDS earned with blood, sweat, and tears. His patients blood, Aaron's sweat, and my tears.

Aaron's group leader, Dr. Hill, told Aaron that he has the best hand skills in the whole group. He said even though he is not totally on the ball, organization-wise, he said those people don't necessarily make the best dentists. You don't have to tell me that he has great hand skills, heh heh. (I'll wait for you to come back from the bathroom vomiting.) But it was very gratifying and sweet to hear that, especially after feeling like Aaron cannot plan his way out of a paper bag sometimes. (Don't think I am mean, he'll tell ya.) I've always known Aaron is talented, and I believed in him even though we were scared spitless at BYU wondering if we were ever going to make it here. He hates school!! For his professor to endorse him as one of the best dentists in his year, I find that a big payload. Here's to Dr. Smith!! You rock, babe!