Family weekend! (this is VERY long winded)

We spent last weekend with family. It was lots of fun....and lots of work. The kids and I loaded up with my mom on Friday to Idaho. The kids were great in the car (thank you portable DVD players). Jax even slept most the way! The family reunion in ID was for my grandma's family. She comes from a family with 14 children. WOW!!! Needless to say I didn't know very many people there but it was still fun. Friday night was at one of my mom's cousins house. We walked in the door and my kids noticed other kids in the basement and that was the last I saw of them for a little while. They had a swing set, sand box and a toy room, so my kids were happy. Jade found a few friends they kept her busy! It was a food night. We didn't end up leaving till about 10:00-which was ok since they had napped in the car. We got back to the room around 10:30-the kids wanted to swim (which we had told them earlier they could) and my mom was fine with still going so that we did! They swam for about 30 min-enough to wear them out a little-and we were all to bed by midnight. I got up around 6:30 to work out and was happy to see that the kids were still asleep when I got back at 8:00. The day started a little rough as Jade cried over not being able to wear her pajamas, the fact that she had to take a shower, that I was doing her hair....you get the idea. We headed to the reunion. There weren't very many people there so we decided to take Jax to a park. Jade cried again-she didn't want to leave! Seriously, I was getting irritated by this point! The park was ok-kids were hot and wanted to leave soon after we got there. Whatever. We headed back to the reunion. My cousin Caroline was there and Jade was so excited to hang out with her. Caroline was sooo good to Jade. Caroline is 9 but was so great to hang out with Jade all day. The reunion was at a place called the "Booth Barn". It was a good place to hold a large gathering and had a big shady area in the back. Unfortunately there was also a stream back there. Jack noticed it about 2.2 seconds after we got there. I knew it was going to be a long day....and it was. By 1:30 I needed a break. Jax had no interest in listening and LOTS of interest in playing in the stream and taking coco the dog on the leash and running her everywhere! I took him to the car for about an hour. He watched a show and I read. It was nice. We went back in. It was rough. We left around 4:30 to go swimming at the hotel. Jax was pretty good. We went back to the reunion for dinner. He wouldn't eat. He took a kids marshmallow gun and chucked it in the stream. It floated away. I asked him why "Because I dont want it anymore" Hmmmm...it was never yours to have!!!!! He threw fits, he threw sand, he ran away. He ended up back in the car by 6:30 (1/2 hour after we got there). He watched a show for about 30 min and then I decided we just needed to go. He hadn't napped and I knew he was past tired. My mom said she would drive Jax and I back to the hotel and watch Jade. He was asleep before we left the parking lot. Sigh....it was 7:20. I crossed all crossables he slept for the night. I read for about an hour before my mom was back with Jade. I called Scott. He said he cleaned in the morning, went golfing, went to dinner with his family and was on his way over to his dad's to visit with everyone. He said it was kind of a lonely day. I cried. I am not a crier. He was "lonely" and the past 10 hours I had spent struggling with Jax. I said we must be doing something wrong-need to find a different way to parent him. I felt bad for being mean. Scott felt bad, but it wasn't his fault. It was just a rough day.
He slept for 13 hours. He must have been cery tired. We packed up and headed home. We stopped by my mom's cousin's house. Her yard was soooo beautiful! It was amazing! The kids even got to feed her gigantic gold fish! As we were leaving my mom's cousin said "Did your mom tell you what Jadyn said to me yesterday?" Great....so she says "I was in the bathroom washing my hands and Jadyn walks in and says-You are going to have to move, my leg is really dirty- I asked her if she could just wait until I was done washing my hands and she said-well....my leg is really dirty!" Awesome....she is bossing around adults! Fantastic way to end the weekend. So I got in the car and we had a talk...again....about respecting adults and that she is not the boss! She fell asleep for most of the drive home and Jax stayed awake but was REALLY good.
So....long story short? It was good to get away and the kids had fun. So I will call it a success-even if I nearly went a little crazy battling with Jax!
We got home, relaxed a little and then headed over to Roy's house. A lot of Scott's extended family was in town and they were having a BBQ. It was so fun to see them and catch up! Scott was bummed he was out of town and didn't get to see a lot of them. We ate, talked, and played volleyball. The kids had fun together too. Scott's family couldn't get over how much Jax is such a mini me of Scott. They mentioned it all night! We didn't end up leaving until about 10:30! I was ready for bed!
It really was fun to spend the weekend with my mom (though I'm sure next time she might opt to vacation alone) and see so much family. I am grateful for all of them.

The dog Jax wanted to take everywhere

Jade and Caroline

Jade and her headband she made at the reunion. She was VERY proud of it!
Scott's Aunts and Uncles and cousin
Cousin Paul with the kids!

The girl is a poser!

Cute Jax!

Jax in action

Volleyball game

and the bruises that prove I am not good!

My Baby Girl's first graduation

Today (05/26) Miss Jade graduated from preschool! I can't believe she starts Kindergarten in 2 months! Crazy! The day started off with tears over her dress (she wanted to wear a different one), her hair (she was mad I was blow drying it) and her shoes (she didn't want the kids to see her new shoes....they are for Kindergarten ;) )! Whew...we were just glad to get her out the door this morning!

She has LOVED preschool. She loves Miss Amee. I have enjoyed seeing how much she has learned! On their last day of school Miss Amee showed the kids a video had made of them with pictures throughout the year. When Jade got home that day she said "MOM!!!! I watched the movie and I cried!" I said "You cried?!?" "Yes, I'm going to miss the kids so I cried. One tear on the right said and hundreds on the left!" She is such a girl!
She is so excited for Kindergarten. I, on the other hand, am so nervous about it. Sigh. I just wish I could be there to protect her from "mean girls" (trust me, I learned the hard way to know they are always there), to make sure kids are nice to her and that she is nice to everyone. But, it is inevitable. She must go.
Congrats and good job baby girl! We Love you!

Jade and Miss Amee

Mr Jaxon at the graduation

Jade and Skyler! Her first crush! She would blush every time we would talk about him! Too funny!
Jade and Tessa. She lives in the neighborhood and we carpooled all year

Our Performer

Jade loves dance and gymnastics. This past year has been great as we found a studio-and teachers-that she has really enjoyed. On May 22nd she had her year end performances for both. Because of her performances she had to miss her soccer game (second one in a row since we missed the week before when we were in Ogden). She wasn't sad about that at all! :) It was definitely a little crazy that day as her gymnastics was at 11:00 and her dance at 1:30. She did great at gymnastics. I am amazed at how far she has come this past year! She loved her teacher-Presli. She is actually taking gymnastics this summer.

The dance recital was long...er...um...I mean great. I love watching Jade dance. She always dances with a lot of sass and it cracks me up every time. If only we could just watch her dance! It seems like her class is always one of the last 5 dances (out of at least 30) so it gets a little long. And Jax...at a dance recital? Well, let's just say he would rather poke his eye out! I said to him while we were there "Jax, do you want to go up there and dance!" He said "No!! Dat's for gurls. I pway Baseball!" Scott couldn't have been more proud!

Jade- We are so proud of you! We love watching you as much as you love performing!

Field Trip with Brand

Jade had 2 field trips in May. I took her on one to Mrs. Fields and Brand took her to the Candy Factory. Jade was excited that Brand could take her! She definitely picked the right person to take her. They came home with LOTS of camera thanks to Aunt Brand!

Whew....no rest for the weary.

We had such a fun weekend. We spent Friday at home with dinner and a movie. I fell asleep pretty quickly once the movie started....I'm sure it was good though!
Sat I got up early for a 9 mile run. I made it 4 before my ankle hurt so bad I had to stop. I never stop. Never. I have had hip pain for awhile and I run through it and endure it. This was different. I couldn't go anymore. It sucked. The worst part is I am supposed to run a 1/2 on Sat. Not sure that will happen and I am way disappointed. I am going to rest and ice it this week and hope for the best. When I got home we decided to go do some yard work. I hate weeding. But....we spent 2 hours our there and I think I sweat enough to make up for the 5 miles I missed on my running! The kids had fun playing outside too!
We came in long enough to shower and rush to Jade's soccer game. She played really well this week!

My dad helping jax bury his "turkeydo" (torpedo)

After the game Scott headed off to play golf and Brand and the kids and I went to Classic.

The was the first time we have been the season and we had so much fun! It wasn't very crowded which was nice. We are hoping to have many more trips there this summer! We stayed for about 2.5 hours and then headed home. Both kids fell asleep VERY quickly-Jax before I even pulled out of the parking lot!

They slept for about 2 hours and then we went and grabbed dinner and headed to a park with some neighbors! We ended up staying at the park for about 2.5 hours and the kids had so much fun! We didn't get home until about 10:15. Jax was so nice and calm the whole way home. Scott wondered if something was wrong with him! :) I told him I was sure it had something to do with the 12 hours he had been outside for the day! We definitely wore him out! :)

It is nice to have the kids at the ages they are. We can go do fun things and they usually play on their own. I don't have a little baby to hold or a really little toddler that I have to constantly follow around. We are eventually going to try to have a 3rd baby, so I know it is best to just enjoy this time while I can! The other thing I need to enjoy while I can? Taking a 3 hour nap on Sunday's!

Jade's 1st race

Jade has always enjoyed running the end of races with me. I told her that this year I would find her a race to do. We signed up for one the first weekend of May. It was a little cold and rainy but it turned out ok. Jade sprinted the first minute, whined and wanted me to hold her for the next few minutes-which I didn't- and then we ran/walked the rest of the one mile and she ended up having a great time! The race was only $5 and we even got shirts! Hopefully she will do more when she is bigger!

Before the race: A bit cold!

The beginning: she took off running!
Almost done!

Released

I was released today from Relief Society. Although it was a calling that took a lot of time, it was a calling I really enjoyed. I was able to meet so many sisters in the ward. My testimony grew and I served with an amazing presidency. Our R.S. President was a living example that personal revelation is real. She was so inspired and in tune with the spirit. So many times she would call me and just say "I really feel that we should do ....." or "I just really feel that we need to visit..." and every time she was spot on. It has been such a wonderful experience to serve with her. The 1st Counselor is one of those ladies I aspire to be like. She has the personality that everyone is drawn to. She is always so warm and loving and treats everyone like a friend. She is amazing. The secretary was one of the kindest people I have met. She is just a good person.
I am so grateful for the experience I had in Relief Society. I don't have a calling right now-not sure how long that will last but I will admit to some anxiety of what is to come! :)

A worm?

Yesterday we weeded outside for 2 hours. While Scott and I weeded jax played with worms. He loved his worms. Gave them water and food, buried them. He was sad when we had to come in. So...today at my mom's he insisted on finding more! After about 15 min of searching and not finding one I sent Scott out to dig with him. A few minutes later I hear scott say "Hey Jax- I don't see a worm but here's a huge snake!" The snake got away before Scott could catch it. My brother heard about the snake and decided to try to catch it. He jumped the neighbors fence and they eventually caught it and put it in a bucket! Jax and Jade (and the other cousins) thought it was great. I screamed. Sick. Then the neighbor said she found one in her garage too! Jon and Scott eventually caught that snake as well. We decided we should walk the snakes over to a field/canal. My mom-who is not afraid of snakes-carried them. One got out. My mom put the bucket on it. My niece tried to pick it up-the snake bit her. My mom then picked it up-it bit her. Sick. Jade was concerned my mom was bleeding. Jax just wanted to hold them!
It made for quite an eventful evening when all we were originally were looking for was a little worm! :)
(I'll get some pics from my mom)

This is funny....

Oh man....I have watched this video at least 20 times and I laugh every time I see it. Last weekend Jax started using a new phrase "You're not the boss of me!!!!" And the way he says it kills me. So on Sunday we may have had Scott taunt him a little. It worked...we got him saying it on camera-even Jade laughs about it at the end!