My Ebay box of awesomeness

Last summer, I found a deal online where you could buy a box of 25 sunglasses online for about $30.  They were a random collection of unsold sunglasses from stores like KMart and CVS Pharmacy.  You didn't know what you were going to get, but being a person who does not really care so much about style and is constantly losing her sunglasses, it was a great deal.

We loved having them.  Jon and I would wear a pair until a kid snapped them for us or they were unwittingly left behind somewhere and then pull out a new pair.  This was a big financial improvement from our early married days when Jon used to think it was okay to spend $50 for one pair of sunglasses, only to then break them at a job site a week later.

But, thanks to our children dipping into the glasses pot as well, we eventually ran out of our supply and I have been checking the same site ever since for a similar deal.  Months and months went by and, nothing.  Summer was fast approaching and we desperately needed some cheap eyewear, so I decided to branch out a little and see what Ebay had to offer.  And it paid off, big time.

I purchased a box of 100 sunglasses for $40.  That is .40 cents a pair people.  The box came and we spent a fun afternoon sorting the pairs into Womens, Mens and Kids styles and none of us will run out any time soon.  There are even a few pairs that fit Asher and almost all of them are Ringo-style circular frames that are worth the $40 all on their own when I can get him to wear them.

And where but in a box of 100 sunglasses would you find awesome shades like these ones?  Worth.  Every. Penny.

Summer Survival Guide

Over our long tenure in Las Vegas, we have learned a few cardinal rules to surviving the summers.

Rule #1 - Always park in the shade whenever possible.  Even if this means a longer walk to your final destination, not getting burned by your seatbelt and steering wheel make it totally worth it.

Rule #2 - Do your best to ignore your electricity bill for a few months.  We can be scrimpy with our heat in the winter if it means turning on your AC without guilt or concern.  The escaping cool breeze when you walk in the door is worth a significant amount of dollars.

Rule #3 - If you are lucky enough to have a friend with a boat, treat that friend VERY VERY WELL!

We take our rules very seriously and when our friends did purchase an amazing boat, we instantly became the best boating buddies known to man.  We are available to come at a moment's notice, we come well stocked with food and water, but avoid anything that could be harmful to the boat interior.  We are fully complicit to all rules involving shoes on the boat, and we are generous with our gas reimbursement.  See, you should invite us on your boat too!

And we have thankfully enjoyed multiple boat outings.

We helped them take the boat out for the first ride of the season this year in early May.  The weather wasn't being totally cooperative and the lake was pretty choppy when we got out there but it was still an awesome time at the lake.

We fit in some wake boarding and some skiing (from Brian and Jon, two of the three women in the boat were pregnant and one had a two months old) and the kids enjoyed some boat cruising.

What's better than a baby that is willing to nap like this?

Our beautiful boat owner, just weeks away from her due date.  We strategized over how to construction a boat bassinet for their new little one...

 And even though the water was just a touch above freezing, my boys had no qualms about jumping in and taking a swim.

This was taken shortly before Brian threw Rhode back flip style into the water.  Brian is the best fill-in Uncle ever.

Thank you again Rosenlofs for the fantastic outings!  You have singlehandedly made living through another Vegas summer that much more bearable.

Girl's Weekend

It was Courtney's last year on the BYU Ballroom team and I wasn't able to make it to even one performance all year!  It was devastating... she only had one performance left before they took off to Blackpool to compete and then tour Europe and I knew I had to be there.  It was not a good time for me to be out of town but there was no doubt in my mind, I was going.  

It was only a few days before I left that I considered bringing Scarlet with me.  She is getting big so fast, I had forgotten for a moment how much fun she is becoming.  It is so great when they make that transition from "more work than fun" to "more fun than work" and Scarlet is really right there.  So, we both hopped in the car and took off to Utah.

We had a great weekend doing some wedding shopping for Courtney and attending a Bridal Shower in her honor.  I hadn't really though about Scarlet being at the shower... and the things she might hear.  I had to answer some interesting questions after the shower, the most difficult one being, "Why did Kylie get Courtney genuine possum fur nipple warmers from New Zealand?"  

Since I am not entirely sure what the true purpose for nipple warmers really is (other than the seemingly obvious reason) and why someone would want their warmers to be made of genuine possum fur, it was a rough one to explain... but totally worth it.  Thank you again for the laugh, Kylie.

Then, we got to go to Courtney's show and see the premiere performance of their Blackpool routine.

Courtney had given us some vague details but I was blown away when the dance began with a beautiful lift sequence involving all of the boys and Courtney!  The dance also ended with her in an amazing lift surrounded by the team.  She was the star of the number and she didn't even tell us beforehand!  I would have been shouting that kind of information from the rooftops....

Scarlet's second cousins, Carolina and Grace came along as well.  Fun fact, Carolina is two years older than Scarlet and Grace is about 7 months older.  They make Scarlet look extremely tall... :)

It made all of the ignored obligations and long car ride totally and completely worth it.  You will always be a star to us Courtney!  Until another sibling does something equally or more impressive that is...

Gardening

Our gardening efforts have not gotten much more exciting over the seasons.  We can usually get some cherry and pear tomatoes, the basil grows pretty well, and everything else just kind of shrivels and dies as it gets hot.  

Last year, Scarlet really wanted to plant an artichoke plan during our spring garden shopping.  I had never actually seen an artichoke grow on a plant so I was game.  Our artichoke plant grew slowly but surely all season long but never looked like anything more than a big weed.  But, it didn't ever die so we just left it alone.

It survived the winter and then, all of a sudden, it was sprouting artichokes like mad!  

We were not really sure when to cut them so our first few were a little young.  We got better and had plenty to practice with.  I am pretty sure at last count we had eaten eight artichokes from our plant.

All three of my kids love artichokes.  I occasionally try to make them fancier, but they prefer the "steam and dip in butter" method.  Why fix what ain't broken?

The craziest thing I have done this year... so far

"So my friend is doing a 100 mile race and he wants me to come run through the night with him as a pacer and I think I want to do it."  

This is the sentence that led to Jon's craziest stunt of the year.

Unfortunately for him and our schedule this spring, his training time for his 25+ run/hike was not sufficient.  So a few days before the race, he expressed his concern at being able to run all night long and then get in a car that morning and drive back safely (Scarlet's dance recital was that afternoon).

"Why don't we just go with you?  I will sleep while you run and drive us back."

And that was my sentence of doom.

We literally decided the night before to make this happen.  The plan was to take off for Bryce Canyon as early as possible, after getting important stuff done like, you know, packing.  Then, we would hike around with the kids, set up our sleeping area, get a fire going, eat some food and then send Jon on his merry way while we got some sleep.  

It was a fine plan and we headed out the door only 30 minutes later than we scheduled, laden with bedding and some food, with plans to pick up more on the way.  And then things started to go badly.  There was the snail traffic trying to get through the canyon to St. George, there was the extremely long lunch break in St. George (but kinda necessary due to how long we had already been in the car).  And then there was the time Asher threw up.  All of these little mishaps led up to a car trip to Cedar City, usually made under 3 hours made in over 5 hours.  And, we hadn't gone to the grocery store yet.  By the time we made the final 2 hour drive up the mountain (we also hadn't calculated how long that would take) we were going to just barely make it in time for Jon to meet his friend and start the race.

So, we found our way to the meeting spot, Jon got all of his warmest running duds on (sun was going down by now and it was getting chilly really quickly) and the kids and I wandered around the forested mountain area and watched the runners come into the checkpoint.

We had only been there about 45 minutes when Garrett came running up the path.  He took a short nourishment break and then they took off up the mountain. 

And it was not until that moment that I realized it was now just me and my three children.  On a mountain.  For the night.

Garrett's girlfriend, Amy, was going to be camping in the area with us and it was nice having another adult around, but since it was someone I barely knew, it wasn't exactly like having a second set of hands.  We hopped in the truck and found our way back to the camping ground.  

I then got to make a fire by myself (my first since my girls camp days) and help my children cook their dinner while also keeping Asher from jumping into the fire pit.

 These are the only pictures we got before it was too dark to see very well.  We had just enough daylight left to cook our hot dogs and scarf down some smores.  By the time we headed back to the truck (we were going to sleep in the truck bed that evening) it was dark and it was COLD.  We found out later it got down to 30 degrees that night.

Luckily, Jon had packed some headlamps so we threw them on and made our way to the bathroom.  The kids then jumped around the front of the truck while I haphazardly tried to put together a bed in the back of the truck with just the light of my little headlamp.  Maybe the cold was slowing down my brain processing, but it took me until this moment to realize that I was about to attempt to sleep outside on a night that was getting colder and colder by myself with my three crazy, not good at sharing sleeping space, frequently have to pee in the middle of the night children.  Not to mention my ever growing belly and constant need to pee myself.

But what was there to do but pile all four of us back there and get as cozy as possible?  We snuggled all in a row, Scarlet on the far end followed by Rhode, Asher and then myself.  We marveled at the amazing amount of stars overhead and tried our hardest to find a shooting star.  We found a few satellites floating by and saw a couple of airplanes.  The cold had one benefit, there was no way any of my children were going to leave the comfort of their blanket/sleeping bag layers for anything.

But it was getting late and they were all still giggly and wide awake and I saw the disaster that was going to be that night looming in the air...

And that is when the camping miracle happened.

Within about 30 seconds of each other, all of my children fell asleep.  Rhode and Scarlet pulled their heads under the blankets to keep their faces warm and I did not hear one peep from them until morning.  Asher also quickly drifted off to sleep but continued to readjust through the night.  He kicked me out of my spot a few times during the night but he did not once wake up.  I definitely didn't sleep as well as they did, but I was always grateful for how much worse it could have been.

Jon arrived at the car at about 4:30 a.m. and he was cold to the bone.  We pulled him into our little truck bed of warmth and layers and it still took about 15 minutes of violent shivering before he was able to warm up enough to sleep.  He told me later that was one of the hardest things he has ever done.  In total, they hiked 30 miles through the night up and down the mountains of Bryce Canyon.  His friend was in such distress, he couldn't actually talk the whole time so Jon kept them going by talking non stop for the entire hike, seeing only what their headlamps could show them of the path ahead.

About an hour later, the sun came up and it was time to hit the road again.  We packed everyone up and were able to make it back to Las Vegas incident free in less than 5 hours total.

For all of the potential disaster, it turned out to be a pretty amazing experience for both of us.  One we will not soon forget... nor tempt again any time soon!

Gaining a belly, losing a brain

I am barely over halfway done with this pregnancy now and it has been a doozey few months.  I am no stranger to first trimester nausea but it used to be kind enough to show up around dinner time and then be gone by morning.  This time, the ickiness started at about noon and continued through the night.   Blech.

I went through a few different food phases that seemed to quell the nausea a bit.  The longest lasting one was the grapefruit phase.  I picked up some enormous ruby red grapefruits from Costco and would just sit in front of a show at night and eat the whole thing.  Those were good times...

But right at about 14 weeks, the clouds were lifted and blue skies were here again!  I felt awesome for about a month and it was a glorious month.  I just started showing, had a great ultrasound with all good news, told the kids and enjoyed their excitement, and got the maternity shorts on ready alert for when the button on my jeans started digging.

And then I went from "can't even really tell under the right shirt" to strangers asking me when I was due, shocked that I was only halfway done, in about a week.  Luckily none of them asked me if I was having twins or there might have been an incident.  As facebook did not seem to do me the justice, I tried to get the pregnancy announcements out at church as quickly as possible today after four or five awkward, "Soo... I heard a rumor that you were expecting..."  aka "Your stomach is sticking out of your dress.  Baby or too many cookies?"

Not only is this baby suddenly making its presence very obvious but it is also hanging much closer to its eventual exit space than ever before.  Instead of enjoying the pleasant transition that usually is my 2nd trimester, I already have constant pressure on my hips, bladder, and nether regions.  To find the baby's heartbeat, the Doppler has to head as south as you can go on what would still be considered 'stomach'. Hey, it's a pregnancy post.  TMI is just a part of the game.

I tried to go on a seven mile run with my friend on Friday.  It was a bad idea.  Three miles, perfectly fine.  Five miles, no problem.  Seven is officially the clincher.  I caught myself full on waddling multiple times that afternoon.  

But the craziest part has been how much of my brain this child has sucked out of me.  Trying to handle my work stuff has been one disaster after another of not sending things, not calling people, not changing things that need to be changed.  It is truly a miracle I am still in business.  

I double book myself at least once a week.  And it always takes me up until the day before to realize that I still cannot be in two places at the same time, no matter how hard I try.  

I have forgotten the names of people I have known for years.  And if I met you in the past 3 months, there is a slim chance I will remember you face if I see you again.  Remembering your name, not a chance.

But the kicker was last Sunday.  My family woke up, I fed them a hearty breakfast and started the bathing/dressing/church readying process.  All went fairly smoothly and we walked out the door with five minutes to spare (we only live 2 minutes from the chapel).  We were about 100 yards from the parking lot when I looked at the clock and realized... it was 8:55.  We have church at 11 a.m.  We have had church at 11 a.m. since January.  It is now May.

I expressed this to Jon who replied, "Yeah... it seemed like we were leaving kinda early, but I figured you knew what you were doing."   Hate to break it to you buddy, this girl officially does NOT know what she is doing.

And, though it may seem like complains, I really am so very grateful for this baby and for how well my body handles pregnancy.  It is definitely a blessing and one that I do not take lightly.

Rhode recently got a little shy when changing in front of me because I'm a girl and I responded, "Rhode!  It's okay if moms see their sons get changed!  Remember, my body made all of your body.  And when you came out of my tummy, you were naked!"

"I was?"  he asked.  I had no idea this was new information.

"Yeah, all babies come out naked.  I can grow body parts but I can't grow clothes!"  

We are all now very excited and giggly for our totally nude baby to join our family.  Four and a half months to go!

Adventhure is out there!

It started out innocently enough with a simple pizza dinner.  

It was followed by a frantic search through the kitchen, looking for our newly missing object that was hopefully somewhere on the floor and not traveling down a digestive tract.

Yes.  Scarlet lost her front tooth.  It thankfully turned up on the floor and was safely secured for the tooth fairy.  And now we are graced with this lovely toothless grin every day.

The gap was quickly followed by a slight toothless lisp that is oh so 6 year old charmingly adorable.

But... when we are having a good case of morning hair...

or... as above... when we are temporarily permitted to try our hand at doing our own hair...

she frequently reminds me of this adorable little girl. 

She used to oblige me when I asked her repeatedly to say, "Adventure is out there!"  She now ignores me.  Boo..

And, just as we are getting used to her new look, the one next door is quickly threatening to follow suit.  The loose tooth is driving her dad absolutely mad, and it is taking all of his self control not to reach in as she sleeps and just end the tooth of its half life misery.  But Scarlet is very patient when it comes to her loose teeth.  She doesn't really bother them, letting them fall out at their own pace.

"Scarlet,"  I commented yesterday, "I am so surprised you don't like wiggling your loose tooth!  I remember when I used to have loose teeth that were even just a little bit wiggly I would just sit there all day long wiggling that thing until it finally came out."

Mustering up her best voice of exasperation, she responded, "Mom, I have a lot to do everyday.  I don't have time to just sit there and tooth wiggle all day long.  When would I get anything done?"


**** Update ****

After hanging on by a thread for probably a week, the other front tooth is now also gone.  Because of the big gaps in her teeth, it looks like she is missing four teeth instead of just two.  I love how it makes her look so big and so little all at the same time.  They grow up so fast!  (small tear.)