Don't Wanna Drink the Water...Yikes!

So yesterday I learned of yet another woman who has "drank the water" so to speak. You know the saying...'there's something in the water' and that's why all the women are pregnant. I got counting last night and I personally know ten women who are pregnant! TEN! One is my sister, four are good friends of mine, three are church associates, and two more are other associates. When my sister got pregnant her husband wanted me to jump on the bandwagon, but I said no thanks. While I would love to be pregnant with her I am not ready. Granted that I do want Braxton to have a sibbling and yes I agree he would love to have a sibbling soon, but I am not ready to share my body again.

Why you ask? We'll partly because I am selfish, but also (for those who are not following my health blog) because I am working to lose 40 lbs 14 of which I have already lost! YEAH!!!! I have also lost 4 1/2 inches in my waist. I was a size 16 and I am now down to a size 12. When I am making such great progress why would I want to balloon up again with another baby? (I'd like to believe I can say no to ice cream this time, but who knows if it's possible for me) No thank you! Maybe in 4 to 6 months I will have lost the weight and I will be willing to take on a new project. Even more amazing would be if Kent was ready to take on that new project. Either way if any of you pregnant women offer me a glass of water and I decline you will now know why...I don't want to drink the same water that got you in your "delicate way" ha ha. Congratulations to ALL of you, but I will be waiting until a later date to make my three person family into four.

P.S. If you all keep reminding me of how sick and tired you are then what would possess me to want to join you. Lol love you all. Good luck and we'll be happy to see all your babies born between now and March!

Sunday Clothes

Yesterday we were having Family Home Evening and Kent and I started singing primary songs that Braxton has learned in nursery. We sang The Wise Man and the Foolish Man as well as Roll Your Hands. After we finished those two songs Braxton ran to his bedroom and came back with his church pants. He handed them to me so I put them on him. Then he ran to his bedroom again and grabbed his church shirt out of the hamper. He came back and I put that on him. I thought it was very funny and quite clever that he associated that when he sings those songs at church he wears those clothes.

I'm not really sure why, but last night Braxton felt the need to

bring me my toothbrush and toothpaste... a hint maybe?

I gave him wodden spoons to tap like the sticks they tap at church and then had him drum on his bucket

Aren't digital camera's amazing. You can even let your two-year-old take pictures because they can be deleted and it doesn't cost you a penny.

Braxton and the Toilet Paper Incident

Yesterday I was taking a shower while Braxton played in the bathroom. I would periodically look out to see what he was doing. When I first looked out he was drinking water from the faucet. Gross I know, but he was not hurting anything and he was behaving so I let him. I continued showering and checked on him again a minute later. When I looked out the sink was filling up with water and it was a murkey yellow color. I quickly jumped out to see what the yellow substance was and discovered he had placed the whole roll of toilet paper in the sink (he seems to have this facination with discovering what happens when things get wet and I'm sure this was quite and interesting experience for him). Because of his curiousity with toilet paper earlier in life we are in the habit of leaving the toilet paper on the counter.

I kicked Braxton out of the bathroom and finished my shower so I could clean the mess up. I climbed out, got dressed and discovered that my wedding ring was also in there among the toilet paper. Thank goodness I found it!!! I went over to the neighbors to laugh about it so I wouldn't scream or cry. I was so frustrated with him. The neighbor girl Audrie asked to come help me clean it up and I accepted. She actually strained all the toilet paper out for me and enjoyed it. I finished cleaning up the water mess and was grateful to have it taken care of. After that all I could think of was 'Where ever this two-year-old came from you can send him back and give me back my baby!' Luckily I was able to stay composed and realize that Braxton wasn't being bad he was just exploring his world. I just wish exploration was not so destructive and messy!

The Sweet Bliss of Forgiveness

This blog post started a long while ago when I decided to have a horrible prideful attitude about something. I tried (a little) to change that attitude and it only seemed to grow worse. It all came to a head on Saturday and I just had had enough and allowed that attitude to fester inside me all day long. On Sunday when I went to church I began to realize that this horribly negative attitude was holding me back from feeling in touch with the spirit. I decided there was only one thing to do about it. I asked for forgiveness from my Father in Heaven.

As I prayer I asked Him to forgive me and also to help me to know when I was forgiven as well as if there was more I needed to do to be forgiven. As I sat through Sacrament meeting I was in tears because of the peace the message on faith gave to me. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I was reminded through my thoughts that because I had exercised faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ that I had been forgiven and the peace it brought was such an amazing peace. There is no pride that can compare to the sweetness of the Lord's peace.

What I have learned from this experience is that if I do have problems that rather than allow myself to become upset by others sayings or doings I should turn to the Lord and ask Him how I should deal with it. If I will place Him at the helm of my ship and allow Him to direct my life I will not lose sight of Him or the lessons that He would have me learn. I am thankful for this lesson as well as the beautiful reminder of how sweet it is to be forgiven as well as how sweet it is to forgive. Holding things in and finding anger with them is only hurting ourselves it is not showing anyone anything and it often doesn't even occur to them what is going on. I pray that I may always practice forgiveness quickly so that I can stay close to the Lord my God.

Cherishing My Pioneer Heritage

I wanted to take a moment today to share my gratitude for my deep heritage of mormon pioneers. In order to discuss some of these pioneers I did a little research and discovered something more about one of these pioneers. My great-great-great grandfather Jesse Nathaniel Smith was not only a pioneer, but he was also cousins to Joseph Smith Jr. the prophet as well as George Albert Smith the prophet. There is much to say about him but I think I will write about him later.

Another pioneer I have learned about is my great-great-great grandfather Johannes (or John) Kunz II. If you go back through their lives they too had a very interesting story as they learned of the gospel of Jesus Christ and came from Switzerland to the United States. It was this family who settled Bern, Idaho. They too deserve their own individual writing.

There is one other pioneer I would like to specifically show my gratitude for and that is my Grandpa Kunz. I have still to write or blog about him, because I am waiting to get some more information from my Aunt so that I don't misrepresent him. The reason I consider him a pioneer is because he came from a very poor family but improved upon his circumstances. I learned at a family reunion of a story of his sister and mother going out to collect weeds for dinners stew. That same day I learned that it was my grandpa who bought the first car in the family and even lent it to his parents at times. He bought up some land in Sandy, Utah and eventually sold part of it to a couple of his brothers. He built his own home out of interesting materials as the war (world war two I believe) was happening and no one was allowed to build homes as all home building materials were going to the war. The details are unclear to me and that is why I will wait to get clarification before I write more about him. I do feel he had that pioneer spirit in building up his life, his family, and his ability to provide a better life for his family.

There are quite a few pioneers in my family and I would like to learn about all of them. As I learn about them I will share their stories either on my blog or my families blog. If I do post it there I will try to post a link on here so you can check it out if you are interested. I am so very grateful for those who have laid the way before me and have made sacrifices so that I too may enjoy the knowledge that the gospel brings to me. I pray that I may be able to live a life worthy of the rich heritage these wonderful pioneers have left for me. I am thankful to live in a state where a whole day is dedicated to celebrating these wonderful pioneers and their marvelous accomplishments.

A mouse in the house...?

No, just a two-year-old with divisive ways when he gets hungry during nap/rest time.

I can now see the need for the evolution of man

~1st he got married and needed a storage room for safe keeping.

~Next the wife got pregnant and the baby couldn't share a room with the food storage so it moved into the closet.

(my brilliant child uses the cooler to get to the cereal)

(see the cereal is on the top shelf in the back corner)

~Then the baby became old enough to open the closet (as shown him by his friend nine months older) so the man took the knobs off the closet to keep him out.

~Finally since the man cannot remember where he put the knobs this was his solution to keeping the chipmunk out of the food...

...for now that is. Until the child evolves and the man/woman has to evolve further.

This innocent face is just a ploy. I you fall for it you will surely be deceived!

My Big Helper

Braxton has always been an excellent helper whether you want his help or not.

He is great at getting his books out for you...

He is also good at grabbing the camera for me now when he feels he needs a photo shoot.

That is what happened here. He handed me the camera and said, "Cheese."

Aren't we all glad he did? I thought these pictures turned out cute!

After the photo shoot I needed to hang up clothes from the dryer. As I hung them up Braxton was there waiting with another one to be hung. After I took the remainder of the clothes out of the dryer this is what I found.

Just to prove that he has always been a big help with the laundry

I had to dig these pictures out of the archives.

Braxton helping dad fold clothes In February 2008

Pulling clothes off the couch in August 2007

Sorting through them on that same day. The most helpful one-year-old I know

January of 2007 (seven months) he was helping with the hangers

October of 2006, 4 months old he was holding down the washing
Even in July 2006 when he was just a month old he was keeping the laundry safe from laundry theives!

Were we blessed or what?

Just a few fun pictures

This is how Braxton took a nap the other day...the boxes started out on the freezer.

This is what his bed looked like that day...notice the bed sheet missing?

This is waterbiking. Fun, very fun.

See mom, I didn't get too wet.

July 12, Kent turned down work to take Braxton and I to the all horse parade. It was ok, but a few more entries wouldn't hurt.

I thought these horses were cute. They have very nice clothes...for horses that is.

Sorry I didn't take this picture for the horse. Just the mustache.

Braxton and Daddy watching the parade.

Ok so it wasn't an all horse parade. It had a donkey too.

Braxton loved the slide that went into the pool at our friend Brianna's birthday party

The birthday party was Sunday and I had forgotten to buy a gift so I hurried and sewed up a baby doll blanket. I figured it was the better option if I was going to break the Sabbath. I never claimed to be perfect ok. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

I thought it was pretty cute to give her her own cake since apparently she LOVES cake.

The other day Braxton grabbed one of my old dolls to watch signing time with him.

Tagged again (seriously?!?)

Janessa tagged me and I must list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections ,and 3 surprising facts. Here goes.

Joys:
1. First huge surprise is that I love family. I have even grown to love spending time with Kent's family as well. Whether it is Kent's family, my family, or our own little family I love to do things all together.

2. I love flowers. Ever since I worked at a plant nursery three years ago I have had my porch filled with flowers. That will probably be my mothers day present every year. This is a joy that I have had since I was a little girl.

3. My last huge surprise is that I really love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I find a lot of joy and peace in trying to live the way the Savior did and I have difficulty understanding those who don't seem to care. Especially when they claim to have a religious affiliation.

Fears:
1. Living in a world where there is absolute chaos because our world has forgot God and dismisses his commandments as unimportant (sometimes it seems life that fear isn't too far away).

2. Losing my husband and child. I don't know how I would live life as a totally single woman all over again.

3. Wet hairs. This isn't as much a fear and a huge gross out deal, but I can't stand wet hair stuck to my body. It grosses me out.

Current obsessions/collections:
1. The only one coming to mind right now is this silly blog. I spend more time that I'd like on it sometimes.

2. I guess you could say that I like to collect toys for Braxton. I wanted to buy him more for his birthday and Kent told me it was time to stop.

3. Currently it seems that I collect laundry that needs to be folded on the couch. I think this is a good collection don't you? Maybe this is more of a confession than a collection.

Surprising Facts:
1. I mud wrestled some of the choir girls in high school. It's true.

2. I have lived in Utah about 23 years and I still have never been snow skiing.

3. I fight my laziness. Sometimes I have a really hard time motivating myself, but I am working on that continuously because I hate laziness and I really don't like to be lazy I just am way too often.

I am now tagging Stacy G, Stacey S, Lacy, Nicole, and Brandy...if you will.

Do You Remember When?

I am doing a MEMORY post. Here are the basic rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If we're only blogging friends, write about a post that is most memorable.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

3. Remember what your mom taught you; "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." lol Ready? Set? GO!

Celebrating Our Freedoms!!!

For our Independence Day celebration Braxton and I went with the neighbor to see a parade. I figured Braxton would really love to see the fire engines and the horses and I was very right. I think he was excited by the whole thing though.

You can see that Braxton is very interested as the fire trucks go by!

He doesn't look happy to be taking pictures when there is so much to see

I thought this cycler was amazing. He had one long chain connecting the top wheel to the bottom.

Here he is checking out the horses. The guy with the bandanna in front of Braxton called him his little buddy because anytime he got candy he gave it to Braxton. It was the same with the lady on the right with the white purse. Everyone was giving Braxton candy. Aren't you all glad that I am teaching my son to take candy from strangers?

For those who know about Kent's Uncle Trav's long horse this idea was up the same ally except the horses we all separate. I thought it was a really cute idea.

Not sure where this picture came from, but I thought it was REALLY cute!

In addition to the parade we also attended a barbecue here at the apartments and enjoyed an evening of fireworks at Randall's house. I hope that you all had as happy a fourth as we did. May we all thank those who have made these freedoms possible and pray that God will continue to bless us in this land as we do his will!

Finally get to post FISH LAKE 2008!!!

I've been wanting to post these pictures from Fish Lake since we got home, but our monitor went out while we were gone. We had a great time and wish that it wasn't over quite so soon, but life must go on. These first pictures are of Braxton's little birthday party up at Fish Lake.

This toy from Spencer's family was a hit. He carried it everywhere up there. I love how interested the older kids are in what he got.
Easton looking tough for the camera...and how do you like Tilden's belt?

See, he loves that loader!
The men played 500 and had a good time.

Talk about your fish stories. Kaitlyn told us she caught this fish
off the shore with her bare hands.

It was 38" long and 15 lbs. after being gutted.

We later learned the real story...

some guy came in from fishing and asked her if she wanted it.

Still are you kidding me?

Kent and I took Braxton out fishing and he loved it.
Instead of fishing I spent the whole time trying to keep him out of the cold water.
I was able to distract him for a while when I asked him to drive the boat.

He looks like a natural.

Can you tell he's a boy? Just look how dirty he got!
Of course he would want to walk the boards near the road!

Back home we put together the chair from Grandma and Grandpa and he loved it!

In fact yesterday he insisted he sit on it to eat.
Since he wouldn't be able to reach the table I had him eat on the chair.
What a silly boy.

We missed a few of our family. This is the first year without Grandpa Kesler. He passed away just after Fish Lake last year. I know I really missed him. Also we lost Kevin and Robyn Saturday due to a wedding and we missed them and their slide show/movie. Lloyd and Kathy took their place that night, but we missed having everyone together. Also Gordon and Holly had a new baby and we not able to make it and we truly did miss them. We can't have everyone every year, but we sure do miss those who can't make it. Looking forward to next year!