CJ's NEW HAT

Friday July 15th

Mommy got CJ this hat a couple of weeks ago and he's been wearing it non-stop. Even though it's a little big, it still looks really cute!

Mattie wanted to join in the fun so she put on her hat...maybe we should get Mattie a hat that's a little more versatile than Minnie Mouse :)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday July 12th - Monday July 18th

- 7/12 I asked CJ what he wanted for dinner tonight and he matter-of-factly said marshmallows, strawberries, and taquitos...Ok. I can work with that.

- Ok yes, I haven't started potty-training Mattie yet. I know, I know. I need to. And I'm going to...soon.Like after CJ's birthday. I promise. But while she's still in diapers, I thought I'd just share that she has started to be really "helpful," in both good and bad ways. Bad way: she takes her diaper off herself, which has resulted in a couple of wet accidents. Good way: after we change her diaper, she offers to take it to the garbage in the garage for us. So sweet, right? :)

- I realize that there's not very much about Bryce on here. I need to be better at keeping him involved in this "family" journal (it's just that it's my journal. You know, from my point of view and I spend the majority of my time with my kids, so that's what it ends up being about), so let's see...Bryce has been pretty busy as work lately. He goes through lulls, which I kind of like. He'll have weeks where he's home by 5:15-5:30 every night, which is great. Then he'll have other weeks where he may be home by 5:30-6:00, but then he goes back in from 9:00-midnight, and may even get up and go into work at 6:30 or 7:00 AM. But I don't mind it that much when he goes back in later. We still get our time with him - especially the kids - and he's getting plenty of hours (he has a required number of billable hours that he's supposed to hit each year). Plus he likes being able to go back in and really focus, so it works for everyone. Anyway, so he's been busy lately, which is really great. That means he's really impressed a lot of lawyers/partners at his firm who are entrusting him with work (especially since it doesn't seem that some of the other associates are as busy). I'm not surprised. The only downside is that it's a lot of litigation, which is not exactly Bryce's favorite. He doesn't like the pettiness and irrantionality that's invovled. Too bad he's pretty good at it or maybe he wouldn't be getting so much work :)

- And speaking of Bryce working, our (and when I say "our," I mean "Bryce's") paper route got canceled last month. It's kind of a relief to have our Tuesdays back - no more folding papers at 10 PM and delivering them at midnight - but I've got to be honest, that extra $272 a month was really great (it paid our cell phone, internet, and cable bills), so we're bummed. We'll just have to try to be frugal these next few months until Bryce is up for a raise in September. Of course, that's much easier said than done...especially considering we have CJ's 4th birthday with a party, Chuck E. Cheese, and portraits, an engine, brakes, and muffler to replace, school loans to pay, landscaping to do, a shared room to set up for the kids (so a new bunkbed, mattress, bedding, storage, dresser, etc), a wedding out of state to attend, baby gifts, wedding gifts, and graduation gifts to buy, and CJ starting preschool again - all before the baby and a raise comes in September. Wish us luck!

- We started reading scriptures as a family this week. After evaluating our relationship last week, and both agreeing that our marriage and our family needs more spirituality, we decided to commit ourselves to reading scriptures as a family daily. I know...duh, right? Well since our kids are so young, we'd, or at least, I had convinced myself that we didn't need to start yet. Bryce and I read on our own, and we read a little from the scriptures when we have family home evening, but that's it. And since CJ is about to turn 4 it's time. He's old enough to know who the prophets in the scriptures are and some of the stories, so we bought the classic Book of Mormon Stories book from the distribution center and have been using that as we read. We only read 10 verses a night, but already on the second day of reading, both kids started all of their verses with "And it came to pass," regardless if that's what it said or not :). It's so amazing to see how children, who are innocent and so close to the Lord, really gravitate toward things that are right and true, and this has been no exception. To my surprise, our kids are excited to read the "squipehs," as Mattie calls them, and have even been the ones to remind us.

- Before I forget, I wanted to write down that Mattie calles oatmeal "eat-meal." It makes me laugh every time I hear it!

- Bryce and I switched the kids into one room on Saturday. Well, almost. We got the bunkbed up and CJ's been sleeping on it, but the other mattress for Mattie hasn't come yet, so she's still sleeping in the crib in what will be the baby's room. She's not too happy about it. It may be her crib that she's used to, but the room is not and so she cries every time we put her to bed. We're just hoping that after her mattress comes, the kids can quickly adjust to sleeping together (and Mattie to sleeping in a regular bed). We don't need to have all 4 (5) of us adjusting when the baby comes, that's for sure! 

- The kids started swim lessons today. As expected, CJ was so excited all day, but when we got there, he cried and did not want to do it. Bryce was able to calm him down and walk him over to his class, with the promise that he would go in the water with CJ if CJ needed it. Once CJ got to his class and his teacher started talking to him, he was fine. No crying the rest of the time. He let go of Bryce's hand, got in the water, and spent the rest of the class doing just fine (besides having to get out at one point to warm up a bit because he was shivering so much). Then it was time for Mattie's Bobbin' Babies class. Mattie had a hard time waiting for her class - she wanted to jump in the whole time CJ was swimming and we really had to distract her. But the second she got in the pool with Bryce, she was done! She wanted out, and unlike CJ, she spent most of her class clinging to Daddy with a death-grip. The teacher was great and really understanding, explaining that the purpose of the class was to help the kids get comfortable with the water so she told Bryce to just do whatever made Mattie comfortable (meaning, he didn't need to follow the instructions she was giving). Mattie finally started to warm up the last several minutes of the class and Bryce was even able to get her under the water. I was very proud of both of my kids. It's not easy doing something new, especially when it scares you, so I'm proud of them for doing it anyway! CJ, by the way, spent the time during Mattie's lesson entertaining himself by following the water aerobics instructor on the other end of the pool. It was pretty funny!

- And FYI, I have now graduated into wearing Bryce's tee-shirts for comfy clothes at night. Ugh. This baby couldn't come soon enough.

Happy Monday!

UNDIE ENVY

Sunday July 10th

Mattie often entertains us with her antics, and this Sunday was no exception. What's she doing here, you ask? Take a close look...

She came running into the living room to show us all what she had done. She was so proud of herself! And we all fed her pride with our laughter and picture-taking.

But wait! What's that?!

She has not one, but TWO pairs of CJ's undies on!!

LAKE CHELAN

Saturday July 9th

Our good friends, the Bromiley's, invited the Kershner family and us to join them at their family's cabin at the lake a couple of weekends ago. It was a wonderful day to introduce Paige and the kids to Lake Chelan. The water is crystal clear and the surrounding landscape is beautiful...but what really made it was the company!

CJ and Mattie warmed up to the water by first playing on the boat ramp

The dock was where all the fun was: a pool filled with warm water and toys to warm-up (if needed) and relax in, water fights, snacks like fresh cherries, Red Vines, and Cheetos, and lounge chairs to chat and sun in! 

As is the case most of the time, Bryce was the Pied Piper of all the kids there

CJ and Mattie got to experience everything: the dock, the floating tube, the boat (CJ even went on the tube with Daddy), and even canoe rides with Marin Kershner. They had a blast!

We really enjoyed Lake Chelan and are so glad the Bromiley's invited us. Hopefully we can make many more family memories there!

VROOM VROOM

Thursday July 7th

Our friends, the Bromiley's, had us over for a BBQ with a couple of other families last week. They have this great kids' 4-wheeler in their backyard that both Mattie and CJ LOVE! CJ's actually pretty good at driving it. Anyway, the battery had died at this point, but Mattie didn't care. While all the other kids were inside playing, Mattie was outside making her own engine noises (that's what she's doing in these pics) and having a blast!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday July 5th - Monday July 11th

- Have I told you about The Adventures of CJ? It's this really great series of stories in which CJ is the hero! He does things from find Amanda's wedding ring (Cameron's fiance), to visit the temple, to take care of Mommy and his soon-to-be baby brother. They're pretty great stories, and based on the demand (from CJ), I think the author (Bryce) should seriously consider a book deal :)

- I haven't really talked about my pregnancy much. Maybe because there's not much to report, except that I'm bigger than ever and that this little guy is apparently pretty cramped in there because he is constantly kicking and jabbing and moving. And I've got to be honest, it's pretty uncomfortable. I can't believe I still have 11 weeks to go - they are going to be the longest 11 weeks of my life! It's not that I'm ready for the baby yet, but more just really ready to not be pregnant any more. I sleep horribly, I'm uncomfortable most of the time, and summer has finally hit Wenatchee, making me hot and sweaty (and irritable) just about always. I seem to have energy in the morning, but by 1 or 2, it's gone and I'm wasted the rest of the day. My poor kids. Last summer was the "lost summer" because Bryce was studying for the bar, and this summer is going to be the "boring summer" because I'm too hot and tired to do anything. And I won't even talk about how I've already gained as much weight as I gained with Mattie the entire pregnancy, and  I STILL HAVE 11 WEEKS TO GO!! Ugh. My doctor is really nice about it, and I'm frustrated because I've been trying to walk and keep active and not eat a bunch of junk, but I still seem to put on about 50% more weight that I'd like each month. It's been very frustrating and I just hope that I can get it all off when this over (and that I don't gain 60 pounds, like my mom said she did with each of her babies...but she always got it all off). And I'm trying not to be too vain, because I can really get caught up in that kind of stuff. I just need to focus on my good health (besides getting ginormous) and the good health of the baby. 11 more weeks to go...

- Speaking of 11 weeks to go, we got my mom tickets to come here a few weeks ago. We bought her tickets for a week before my due date and to stay for two weeks. Part of me hopes that I have the baby before then, but she's our babysitting plan, and I really don't want to call anyone in the middle of the night to come be with our kids, so I guess I'm leaning more towards going to 39 weeks than going before that. But if I haven't had the baby before she gets here (39 wks), I'm asking the doctor to strip my membranes the minute her flight lands!

- Hopefully by the time the baby comes we'll have decided on a name. We're between two names, leaning towards one more than the other, but it might just come down to looking at our little guy to get a sense of who he is. It's kind of unnerving because I knew before CJ and Mattie were even conceived what I wanted to name them. And if this baby had been a girl, it would have been the same thing, but now we're torn. Oh well. At least we'll have another boy's name for any future baby boys.

- Mattie has started calling Bryce and me "Dad" and "Mom" instead of Daddy and Mommy. On the one hand, I'm not a big fan. She has the rest of her life to call us that - it's only this small window of toddlerhood that we get to be called Mommy and Daddy. However, it is cute to hear her talk so grown-up with her little voice.

- Our good friends, the Bromiley's, have a family cabin up at Lake Chelan. Bryce has been telling me about Lake Chelan since before we ever even moved to Washington, and so we jumped at the chance when the Bromiley's invited us up for some fun on the lake. And it did not disappoint! Besides not being as hot as we had anticipated (which was great for me because I didn't jump in the cold lake, like some of the others), it was just as beautiful as I had heard. That, and it helps to have such great people to hang out with. The only thing that wasn't great - besides my pregnant self in a bathing suit - was dealing with our kids. I hate to use the word "dealing," but that's what it felt like most of the time. It's hard sometimes for CJ, or rather, for us, when CJ is around older kids because he wants to play with them and do what they're doing and ends up completely ignoring us. For example, after a few hours of playing at the lake, we walked up the street a little way to a cute resort to get some ice cream. We were walking on the shoulder of a two-lane road so we needed to stay pretty much single file. But in his attempt to keep up with the older kids, CJ kept ending up in the road. And even worse than that, when the older kids started to run, CJ ran too, tripping not once, but twice, with the second trip being pretty bad, especially on the palms of his hands. Then when we got our ice cream, the older kids were walking on the dock, and so CJ wanted to run on the dock (again, not a good idea in his flip flops), and they were sitting on the ledge by the water. Considering CJ has an issue with balance, and had already fallen in the lake (he was sitting on a tube in the water reaching for the rope and just reached too far - thank goodness for life jackets), we weren't too keen on him sitting on the ledge, or running on the ledge either like he kept trying to do. And he kept completely ignoring us and running away from us. It was frustrating, to say the least. However, at one point, it was just CJ and Bennett, who is his age, and Austin, who is 5. All the kids were on the boat (except Mattie), and CJ was great. No issues of craziness. And then there was Mattie. She kept wanting to play in the water, but get there by practically walking off the dock. And then, a couple of hours after being there, the kids all went on a boat ride. They came back sooner than expected to drop Mattie off because she was crying. And then she cried inconsolably for almost half an hour. I could not figure out what was wrong. She said she had an owie on her privates, but when I took off her diaper, she looked fine (no redness, no rash, no scrapes or dirt or anything). It really was worrying me, but after about half an hour she calmed down and then was fine the rest of the afternoon. Anyway, if you can't tell, it was fun but exhausting for us. I like to think it would have been a little better if I wasn't pregnant and had a little more energy. But regardless, it was TOTALLY worth it and we'd go again in a heartbeat! Thank you, Bromiley's!!

Happy Monday! 

SPLASH PAD

After the 4th, summer decided to finally come to Wenatchee, so we headed over to the splash pad for play group. It was only our second time there this season (and the first time was pretty cool so it was a bust), but we're hoping for more warm, windless days so we can enjoy the fact that we live so close to this park. 

CJ looks like he's having fun, but he wanted to go home the whole time

Mattie refused to let Paige take a picture of her

Paige's friend, Andrea, insisted on taking a picture of Paige with the kids because moms are usually behind the camera. Despite feeling like a tub-o, Paige reluctantly was in the picture and it actually turned out pretty cute. Yea for taking pictures with the kids!!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday June 28th - Monday July 4th

- Bribery, coercion, incentives, motivation, whatever you want to call it, Mattie has finally started responding to it, especially at meal time. You know, "Mattie, you can have some more watermelon after you eat a bite of chicken." It has made things a lot easier around here.

- CJ's been watching So You Think You Can Dance with us and that must be where he is getting his new dance moves. Almost once a day he tells us to watch his new dance moves, and then he goes on to wow us with his abilities :)

- 6/28 Mattie put on her own shoes today! Ok, they were flip flops, but she got the correct shoes on the correct feet and the strap of the shoes between the correct toes, all by herself! Such a smarty pants!

- I went to a little birthday girls' night for my friend, Lana, this week. It was so fun and nice to get out, but it also really made me miss some of my close friends. Though I've made friends here, being at Lana's party and seeing how close some of the gals are - like best friends - it really made me miss my best friends and wonder if I'm ever going to have such close friends again.

- CJ had soccer again this week. Bryce stayed home with Mattie because he had a scout activity at our house at the same time, so it was just me with CJ this time. When we got there, he was super clingy at first and I was worried that I was going to have to hold him the whole time - ugh. Before class started, the kids were just playing with balls, but CJ had absolutely no interest. In fact, he kept trying to go back to the car. I tried to motivate him with promises of slurpees, gum, and treats, if he'd go and play with the soccer ball but all CJ wanted to do was sit on my lap. When it was time to start and the coach called all the kids into the middle of the field to start, I walked CJ (it was practically pulling) out to the center with the other kids. And to my surprise, he let go of my hand and joined the other kids and was fine the rest of the time. Thank goodness! He actually has some great skills. At one point, they set up tons of cones all around, and the kids had to walk their balls, without using their hands of course, through the cones without touching the cones, and shoot it into the net on the other side. CJ was, I would say, one of two kids who were the best at this, not using their hands and getting the ball through the cones at a decent pace without knocking any of the cones over. I was very proud! I was also really proud of his pseudo-cartwheel that he did as his celebration after he made his goals (per the coach's request). Who knew he could do that?!

- Speaking of CJ being clingy, he seems to have developed some stage fright. First it was his talk that he refused to give on Sunday, then his preschool graduation on Wednesday. All the kids, which was about 30, got up to sing some songs they had learned. CJ did not want to go up with the other kids, so I went up with him, but he didn't even want to stand. He wanted me to hold him. So I sat at the end of the group of kids and CJ sat on my lap...and cried. It was really sad, and disappointing. Only one other little girl refused to go up as well, but all the other kids did great. I was bummed to not see CJ sing these songs that I know he knows - he sings them around the house - with his friends. They only sang a handful of songs, so it wasn't much, but it's just got me wondering. I know this is probably a phase that he's going through, but I just wonder what we can do to help build his confidence in front of crowds...

- However, CJ's confidence definitely is growing when it comes to physical activities. It's almost strange for me to have a son climbing up huge slides that are meant for big kids and telling me that he can do it by himself, or insisting that he jump off big things, etc. I'm not used to having to be more aware of what CJ is doing because he was never one of those "crazy" kids. But his occupational therapy seems to be bringing out the crazy in him, for sure, and it's a good thing, something I can definitely get used to :)

- Ok, one last thing about CJ. I'm so glad that I have a kid who is not aggressive. The other day at his preschool graduation, CJ saw this little blond boy and pointed him out to me as his friend, Landon. CJ said hi and waved and a few minutes later, a group of 3 boys showed up by CJ. CJ was excited and tried to talk to them and join them. They kind of ignored him, not intentionally I don't think, they were just already playing something. CJ didn't seem to mind because they left as quickly as they showed up and CJ was more interested in waiting for Bryce to show up then playing with the other kids. Anyway, this Landon boy comes trailing behind these bigger boys and walks up behind CJ and closed-fist hits CJ in the back! CJ turned around, surprised, and said, "He hit me." As Mama Bear, I tried to contain my anger towards that little boy, reminding myself that he is only a 3 or 4  year old kid and is (hopefully) still learning about not hitting. The boy didn't say or do anything, just hit CJ and left. But what made me proud was that 1, CJ didn't cry or get upset, and even more importantly, 2, CJ didn't hit him back! I made sure to tell CJ how proud I was of him that he didn't hit him back and that just because someone else hits, does not make it ok. Part of me struggles with the fact that I may be teaching my son to not stick up for himself, but I'd rather err on the side of tolerance and compassion. Man, this parenting thing is hard.

- And it's especially hard when you have no control over the influences your child gets outside your home. I knew that CJ would face things in school, but I didn't expect it to start in preschool. I mean, not only is CJ telling us he needs Sketchers, because everyone has Sketchers (someone is already telling him he has to fit the mold?!), but now he has picked up taunting. You know that sing-song that kids do: "nah nah nah nah naaaah nah"? Well CJ uses that same little song for things like, "I got a popsicle" or "I got a piece of gum." I know he doesn't mean to be hurtful, but I've been trying to teach him that saying those things to Mattie, in that way, can hurt her feelings and that he needs to stop singing that little song. However, it's proving to be a hard habit to break :(. How do you teach your kids to empathize and have compassion for others, especially when they are so young??

- This weekend we headed over to Seattle again for our friends, Kate and Kyle's wedding. Kyle started at JDSA when Bryce did, and so we've been able to build a friendship with them over the last 9  months. They are great people and we felt very honored to be at their wedding. They were married on Vashon Island and it was a beautiful day, plus it was nice to leave the kids with Bryce's parents and enjoy just each other for a few hours (seems like a rarity these days). The only other people from the firm (which surprised me) was one of the managing partners, Jim Danielson, and his wife Carol. We spent pretty much the entire time with them, both at the ceremony and the reception, and it was great to get to know them better. The whole experience just reiterated to us why we came to JDSA: because of the people.

- And I really must be pregnant because my emotions are getting the best of me lately (even worse than when I'm not pregnant). I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but Jim Danielson, one of the partners at Bryce's firm, reminds me of my dad. He's got the round face, glasses, salt and pepper hair, and gray/white beard. But it's not just his looks. He's one of those guys who can talk to anyone and who has a story for everything, usually with some sort of joke, just like my dad was. And this past weekend at the wedding, I saw another side of Jim that really got the best of me. After Kyle and Kate had their first dance, and danced with their parents, they opened the floor to everyone. And who walks out on the floor but Jim and Carol, who really showed all of us boring young adults what it really means to dance. As I watched Jim bounce to the beat, and twirl his wife Carol around, I literally started to cry. My eyes welled up and I had to excuse myself so that I could get some control. It's funny because I never really saw my dad dance much, but I know how much he loved music, and I know that dancing was a huge part of my parents' life. It's actually how they met. So as I saw this man, who reminds me so much of my dad, enjoy himself so much on the dance floor, I was just swept with emotion. I can't even really put my finger on what I felt...sadness that my dad is gone, regret that I never got to see him enjoy dancing like this, happiness in the memories I do have of him, enjoyment in the reminder of him...I'm not 100% sure. But I am sure that I'm glad I got to see Jim and Carol dancing...and I'm hoping no one saw me. 

- It was also 4th of July weekend, but I must admit, it was a bit of a disappointment for me. I guess I'm just used to the 4th in Utah, where it's pretty big. Growing up, we used to get up for the stake flag raising ceremony and breakfast (not every year, but I do remember going), go to the big parade in Provo, maybe walk around and enjoy the festivities afterwards, go swimming, BBQ (often at a park), do our own fireworks, and even go to my Grandma's to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. I just remember it always being a holiday of family, patriotism, and even spirituality (probably thanks to my dad), and that's probably why it is my favorite holiday. But since leaving Utah, I just haven't found the same type of celebration, the same sentiment, as we had in Utah, and so every year I'm a little disappointed. Guess I'm going to have to make more of an effort to make it a special holiday for my family (that, or just make it to Utah for the 4th every year :).

Happy Monday!

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

Our friends, Kyle and Kate, got married over the holiday weekend, so we headed over to Seattle to attend the wedding and enjoy the weekend with family. On Saturday, we went to the park in downtown Bellevue and had dinner. Then the boys (minus little Zack) went to the Mariners game and the girls went shopping.

7/2 Mattie, CJ, and Zack playing at the park in Bellevue. And, look! CJ swinging on the big-boy swing all by himself for the first time!

After sacrament meeting on Sunday, Bryce and Paige left the kids with Gramma and Papa, and took off the catch a ferry to Vashon Island for Kyle and Kate's wedding. They were married by the lighthouse and the weather was beautiful...but not as beautiful as the bride!

7/3 Bryce and Kyle are both first year associates at JDSA, but the only other people from Bryce's firm at the wedding were Jim and Carol Danielson (Jim is a managing partner), so we spent most of the day with them. It was great to get to know them better and really was such fun!

The 4th was spent at the park, at the Crossroads mall riding the 25 cent rides (isn't that great?!), playing in the kiddie pool in the backyard, at a BBQ at the White's, and seeing the fireworks of Wenatchee as we drove home.

7/4 Happy 4th of July! The cousins - CJ, Zack, and Mattie - wearing the holiday clothes Gramma got them

CJ was trying to hug Mattie and she refused. Why can't we get a picture of these two actually showing some love for each other?? :)

These kiddos could have stayed on this 25 cent carousel all day

Happy 4th of July!

THE REST OF JUNE

Mattie's First Haircut

 6/14 BEFORE: Look at that mullet! Though it looked so cute in pigtails, Paige couldn't stand it any more and didn't even wait to take Mattie to a salon. She just grabbed the paper scissors and chopped it off!

AFTER: Ok, so it's not the most professional haircut, but what 2 year old needs that? Mattie's longest hair was growing from the middle of the back of her head, so Paige just cut that hair to be even with the length of the hair underneath. And even though it doesn't look like it in these pictures, it really is even. Now it can hopefully grow out a little thicker and a little more even. And Mattie can still wear cute pigtails...but now she doesn't have to, thank goodness

Pool Time

6/16, 6/17, 6/21 click on the grid to enlarge the pics

Father's Day

This is the banner the kids made for Bryce. Mommy wrote the letters, but CJ traced them with the paint all by himself, and the kids put the stickers on. Mommy also asked them what they love about Daddy and wrote what they said all over the banner

This is what Bryce woke up to: a banner of love and his favorite breakfast in bed

After breakfast, the kids couldn't wait to give Daddy his gifts. CJ made Daddy some special gifts in preschool

After CJ's special gifts, the kids helped Daddy open the rest of the gifts from them and Mommy. Then Bryce had a good day of church, his favorite dinner and dessert, and a day of relaxation. We just hope he knows how much we love him!

Soccer

6/20 CJ started his first organized sports team: The Fire Tots Igniters! His class is for 3-4 year olds and is once a week for an hour. It's not competitive, which we're ok with, though we would like to see him play some games. Maybe next year. This class is more about learning some skills and learning to listen and take direction. As usual, CJ was pretty timid at first. The above pics are how the first 15 minutes went (poor Bryce :)

But after CJ warmed up, these pics show how the rest of the class went. CJ loved it and couldn't wait to go back!

6/23 CJ's class ended up switching days so CJ had soccer again a few days later, and as you can probably tell, the difference between the two classes was like night and day! CJ was so excited to go and kept telling us that he was going to be a big boy and do it all by himself this time...and he did. He was so much more comfortable the second time that he was able to really perform and he really does have some great soccer skills, one of the best in his class (if we do say so ourselves :)

Spotlight

6/24 CJ's preschool class asked all the kids to make a collage so they could be spotlighted. Here is CJ's collage with just a few of his favorite things. Now that school is over it's hanging in his room

Fun with Papa

6/24 We went over to Seattle the weekend of the Rock N' Roll marathon. On our way downtown to pick up Bryce's packet, we picked up Papa (Bryce's dad). He squeezed in back with the kids and they were in heaven! In this pic they were singing songs together. See how happy they are?

Little Mozarts

6/24 Someday we'll have a piano at our house (hopefully sooner rather than later), but for now, the kids like to take advantage whenever we go to their Grandmas' houses. Here they are at Gramma and Papa's house in Redmond working on their duet skills :)

Seattle Rock N' Roll Half Marathon

6/25 Up bright and early - 5 AM - and ready to run

Here's the crew (top L-R): Tyler, Cameron, Bryce, and Sheila all ran the half marathon. Greg ran the full marathon. If Kelsey had run, the entire Mackay family would have been in the race!

Back in December, Bryce and his long-time friend (we're talking from his childhood!), Jessie, committed to run this race together, and here they are after finishing those 13.1 miles together!

What's a race without some cheerleaders?! 

 

CJ's First Mariners Game

6/25 CJ was so excited to go to his first Mariners game! He was talking about it for several days before we even left to go to Seattle. And that's Ichiro, CJ's favorite player, in the background.

We didn't quite make it in time for batting practice - we opted to scope out the vendors outside the stadium first to get a classic ball game meal: hot dog, chips, and a soda. CJ was disappointed to not get a ball, but that quickly faded when he saw the cotton candy man walking up and down the stairs :)

Besides not getting a ball, it was a perfect first game for CJ: yummy dog, tons of treats and pop, lots of laps to sit on, good weather, and a relatively short game (2 1/2 hours). Pretty sure he's a fan! 

Messy Face

6/26 Mattie enjoyed herself on the drive home from Seattle, if you can't tell :)

Girls' Night

6/28 Lana's birthday celebration (top L-R): Camilla, Lana, Kirsten, Christie, Noelle, Andrea, and Paige at Tastebuds.

After relaxing pedicures, we all headed to Tastebuds to get a bite to eat and chat until the place closed it's doors on us. What a great way to celebrate Lana's birthday! Paige has really enjoyed making great friends in Wenatchee!

CJ's End-of-Year Preschool Party

6/29 Preschool ended for CJ at the end of June with a party at the rotary park. He loved his 3 teachers, especially Miss Heather (pictured in the middle of the three ladies in the pic above), and enjoyed his friends. Based on the fact that he refused to sing at the party with the other kids, you wouldn't know it, but he really did like school :). We're glad he had a great first year of preschool, despite having to change schools halfway through, and we look forward to what he'll learn this next year as he goes back to his preschool teacher from last fall, Miss Sarah at Blossom Preschool.

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday June 21st - Monday June 27th

- Mattie is so funny. She calls her swimsuit her "swim soup," the pool "the cool," and ointment, "right-ment." Makes sense to me!

- The other night Bryce was putting CJ to bed and CJ said he needed Sketchers because all the other kids had Sketchers. What?! He's not even 4 yet!! There are a lot of consequences of preschool that I'm not a big fan of...

- Mattie has started calling things she really likes her "favorite color." For example, the other day she wanted a drink of apple juice and kept repeating, "Juice is my favorite color." Miraculously, Mattie has recently decided she likes chicken (hallelujah!), and so she has started saying, "Chicken is my favorite color." So funny!

- Speaking of eating, CJ has gotten so much better at his eating lately. He's been eating more - even cleaning his plate sometimes - and he's been more easily bribed into trying new things. It's been great! Maybe there is some light at this end of this picky-eating tunnel??

- CJ's soccer class got changed from Monday nights to Thursday nights, so he actually got another chance to do soccer this week. His second session went so much better than the first. Before it was even time to go, CJ told me that he was going to be a big boy this time and do it all by himself. I was happy and encouraging, but inside was skeptical. But he proved me wrong. Despite being a little shy when we first arrived, he did the whole class by himself. He listened very well, and even spoke-up and participated. It's great to see him becoming more comfortable and more confident! 

- 6/25 CJ went to his first Mariners' baseball game today. He's been talking about it all week and has been so excited! When I was a kids I used to LOVE going to BYU football games with my dad...mainly because we always stocked up on treats and it was one big sugar-fest for 3 hours...and this baseball game for CJ proved to be no different. He ate a hot dog, drank a can of rootbeer, downed cheetos and gummy bears, as well as got cotton candy and ate Kettle corn. Hello! That's ok, besides all the junk food, he really wanted to catch an Ichiro ball. We got there early enough for batting practice, but then got our hotdog dinner outside the stadium to save some cash. By the time we got back, batting practice was over :(. Hopefully next time, as I'm sure there will be many more Mariners games in our future

Bryce also ran the Seattle Rock n' Roll half marathon this day. Like last year, he didn't train at all, but unlike last year, at least he's been playing basketball twice a week for the last 9 months. Bryce said he actually felt really good and he and Jessie made it to mile 10 before poor Jessie had an injury that he could no longer run with. So Bryce, even though he felt awesome and could have kept going, wanted to stay with Jessie and finish the race with him, and that's just what he did. They ended up walking the remaining 3 miles. We saw them at about mile 11 or so. Both Bryce and I thought it was closer to mile 12, so Bryce actually took CJ with him, thinking they were closer to the finish than they actually were. It ended up being closer to two more miles to finish, and CJ refused to walk, so poor Bryce had to carry our almost-4-year-old the rest of the way. At mile 13, Jessie and Bryce (who was carrying CJ) ran the remaining tenth of a mile and crossed the finish line together. I know Bryce wouldn't have had it any other way. Hopefully next year it will be Bryce and me crossing the finish line of the full marathon together :)

- 6/26 CJ gave his first talk in Primary today. It was on faith, and he had practiced several times with us this week and before going to church. But sure enough, when it was time for him to talk, he refused. In fact, he refused to even stand by himself. Poor Bryce, who had come in to help in with the talk (since I'm already up there doing music and whatnot, we thought it might be better to have Bryce do it), ended up having to hold CJ the whole time, and then give CJ's talk for him. CJ did tease us a couple of times, making us think he wanted to talk, but then ended up just blowing into the mike, which the Primary kids thought was hilarious. I thought it was kind of funny too, but had to keep that under wraps because Bryce definitely did not think it was funny. Anyway, CJ was the first Sunbeam to speak, so we'll see how the others do. We're hoping that this will be like soccer, that next time he'll be more confident and want to do it on his own.

- So I got dressed today and I put on a shirt that I wore when I was 9 months pregnant with CJ. I even have a picture of my mom and me in Park City and I'm wearing this shirt. Well I put it on today and it didn't even cover my whole belly! What is going on here?! I know it's my third baby, but really? I'm not even 7 months pregnant yet and I can't wear clothes that I wore when I was 9 months pregnant with CJ?! I know I haven't been like a total stickler about what I eat, but I'm also not eating junk all the time in massive amounts. When I was pregnant with CJ I remember eating cheesy gordita crunches from Taco Bell and Dairy Queen sundaes all the time. Now, with this pregnancy, I've been a lot more conscious of what I'm eating and I've been trying to exercise, but I am just bigger than ever and feeling down that I still have 3 months left in this pregnancy. And I know I shouldn't be comparing my first pregnancy to my third pregnancy, but it's hard. And part of me worries that I've got a giant baby growing in me - 10 pounders run in my family. I just hope that I can get rid of this weight in a timely manner and that this little guy brings about 20 pounds with him when he finally comes out!

 Happy Monday!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

Tuesday June 14th - Monday June 20th

- 6/14 Bryce brought the kids' bikes in from the garage (which I'm not a big fan of since it's no longer winter - they are scuffing up my baseboards, so they are back out in the garage where they belong), and Mattie was big enough to actually ride her adorable pink trike that she got for her birthday back in March. Her legs finally reach the pedals well enough to actually get the thing moving! I can't believe how fast she's growing...and she knew exactly what to do, though she does prefer to go backwards :)

Mattie actually got her first haircut this day too. I had waited until after the wedding because I wasn't sure how her hair would do in pigtails, but I just couldn't stand the mullet any longer. I didn't even want to wait to take her to a professional, so I whipped out our cheap IKEA paper scissors and chopped off Mattie's mullet and even trimmed her front a little (I really don't want to do bangs, but I also hate it when her hair falls in her eyes, so I just kind of trimmed up her whispies so that when her hair does fall forward, it's not in her eyes anymore). It's not the most professional haircut, but her hair is still so fine that you can't even tell, and even though I miss the length, it's a welcome relief to just let her hair be down instead of feeling like it always had to be pulled back to hide that horrendous mullet.

- The weather here in Wenatchee is still very disappointing. Though I don't want heatwave weather, I do want to be able to have my kids go outside and play in the water without freezing to death. It was in the low 60s one time this week, and the other days it was only in the 70s with 20+ mph winds, making water play not too fun. Even if we're not playing in the water, if you happen to be sitting in the shade, it's chilly. The thing I hate the most is the wind. I'm ready for summer already!

- Speaking of playing in the water, we bought a blow-up pool a couple of weeks ago (on the ONE Saturday that was actually pretty warm without tons of wind), and the kids want to play in it all the time. We've ventured out a couple of times and CJ has decided he's not a fan of his swimsuit. He'd swim in the buff - heck, he'd probably do everything in the buff - if we'd let him, but I'm being kind of a stickler about it. We're only in our backyard so I don't mind that much if he's naked, but he needs to get used to wearing a swimsuit because he's got swim lessons starting in July. That, and we live just a street away from the splash pad so we'll be spending a lot of time there (if the weather ever gets warm), and he can't be running around naked everywhere. I've been trying to teach him that our privates are special and that we need to keep them covered and protected, but I know how much he hates wet clothes, so it's a battle we're still fighting...

- And speaking of battles, holy cow, our little Mattie has turned into quite the little stinker. On the one hand, she melts us with her sweet songs and stories and silly antics, but then, in a split second, she can switch and be screaming about something she wants or giving us total attitude about something we've asked her to do ("No Daddy! Stop it!"), and in the last few days she's even started hitting CJ once in a while. We're really hoping this is as horrible as her two's are going to be, but I have a feeling the new baby is going to instill even more craziness from her.

- Still on Mattie, she has regressed a little bit when it comes to attachment. It actually started about a week before we went to Utah. I took the kids to a RS function which had babysitters in the nursery room. CJ went fine, but Mattie refused to let me go. She cried and cried, and so to not upset the other kids, I ended up bringing her in with me for the first half an hour. Then I took her in and the girls babysitting were able to distract her enough for me to slip out, and then she was fine. However, that next Sunday, Bryce had to stay with her for 15 min in nursery before he could leave, which was surprising because she loves her nursery leader and never has problems. And then we went to Utah and it was as if she had PTSD or something because she wouldn't go to anyone but Bryce. I could only take her if Bryce wasn't there, but for 5 days she literally clung to him. It was very frustrating! She was especially scared of the boys (cousins and uncles), which we couldn't figure out. I was most sad because she spent no time with my mom, who hadn't seen her since November. It wasn't until the last night, at the wedding reception, that we actually saw glimpses of our fun Mattie. She was smiling and talking to my siblings and even danced with her Uncle Brent. I wish it hadn't taken the entire trip for her to warm up to my family. Hopefully it won't be so long in between visits next time so she'll remember them more and warm up faster.

- On a tender note, CJ talks about his "baby brother" all the time. When we go places he asks if "my baby brother" is coming, and every night he kisses and hugs my belly (Mattie does too, always making sure to kiss my belly button :). I wish the baby would be more active in the day...for several reasons, really. Besides being able to maybe sleep better - this little boy likes to get his exercise all through the night - if the baby would kick more in the day, CJ would get to feel it. I've tried to catch it a few times, but with no luck. So in CJ's eyes, the baby is always sleeping.

- Yesterday was Father's Day. I'm still exhausted! I got up with the kids at 7:30 and went non-stop working on a big banner with the kids, making breakfast in bed for Bryce, feeding the kids, doing the dishes, getting dinner started, getting the kids lunch, and then getting ready for church. Before I realized it, it was ten to noon and I hadn't even showered yet for our 1 PM church. So to my disappointment, I had to ask Bryce to help me get the kids ready for church. Don't get me wrong, Bryce ends up getting the kids ready for church every week without being asked, but today, on Father's Day, I didn't want him to have to do anything, so I was bummed that I had to ask. He, of course, was totally fine getting the kids and their bag ready. And if I didn't already know, I definitely was reminded of how much I really need Bryce. I could not do it without him. I love him very much and he is a wonderful father and husband!

- I missed my dad yesterday, though. I guess that might be obvious to some, but it being the first Father's Day without him, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. I haven't lived at home for years, and we haven't even lived in Utah for 4 years, so not seeing my dad is nothing new. But on this day in particular, I definitely felt the sting of not being able to call him, chat, tell him our goings-on, ask for advice, and tell him I love him. I still miss his big hugs and the smell of his Old Spice cologne. And even though it was Father's Day, I felt like I should call my mom. It was good talking to her - we spoke for an hour and a half - but she expressed her feelings of missing my dad as well. She's usually pretty stoic about how she's dealt/dealing with my dad's passing, so I didn't expect her to say more than she missed him, but she did. She told me about how she thought about how they would have gone to Outback the night before so Dad could have a steak, and how she would have made him a special dinner on Father's Day - one of his favorites: swiss steak - and probably would have had some of my siblings over. Father's Day is usually a bustling weekend filled with dinners, desserts, church, visits and phone calls, but this year she wasn't even able to go to church do to some eye problems she was having, so she didn't have much to distract her from really missing my dad. It's times like these that it almost hurts that I can't be closer to my family, especially my mom. But that's life, I guess.

- CJ had his first soccer class today. I'm so glad we finally got him in something. I keep seeing my friends' blogs and their kids, who are younger than CJ, are in tee-ball and soccer, and I SO wish we could get CJ in tee-ball. But unfortunately, they only start tee-ball at age 5 here in Wenatchee. And I wish we could get CJ on an outdoor soccer team that actually plays games, but that's ok. This is an indoor soccer league that doesn't do competitive play. It's more about just learning skills, which I'm ok with since it's his first organized sport. The first class went as expected...CJ so excited to go, and then clinging for dear life to Mommy and Daddy once we got there. Poor Bryce met us there straight from work and wasn't expecting to have to run around with CJ, so he was all dressed up in suit and tie, carrying our 3 year old son across the field in the poorly-air-conditioned arena. Such a good dad. What was great was that it only took about 15 minutes for CJ to finally warm up and feel comfortable on his own, so Bryce was able to join Mattie and me on the sideline and enjoy the remaining 45 minutes of CJ's first class. CJ did awesome! They stretched, played Red Light Green Light, practiced running with the ball and then stopping and putting their foot on top of the ball (good practice for CJ's balance), and then kicking cones before they did some activities to kick the ball into the net. At the end, all the kids (3-4 year olds) ran to the middle of the field, put their hands in the middle, and shouted, "Fire Tots!" Unfortunately, CJ had to go potty the last couple of minutes so he missed that part, which is a bummer because I think he would have really like that. Overall, soccer was a success! Here's hoping that when his swimming lessons start in July they'll go as well...

- Mattie has become the seat belt Nazi. Almost every time we get in the car, if I don't have my seat belt on before we start moving, she literally yells at me to put my seat belt on. Glad she's watching out for me :)

Happy Monday! 

COURTNEY AND MADHAV'S WEDDING EXTRAVAGANZA - PART 3

After the ceremony, we headed back to Bryce's grandparents' to get the kids and change clothes. Then we headed up Millcreek Canyon to Log Haven Lodge for the real party.

Despite being super clingy the entire trip, Mattie loved spending time with her Aunt Jenny, especially when she took Mattie on walks, and to look at the waterfall here.

Mattie with her pink bindi (the decoration on her forehead between her eyes)

Family shot at the reception...maybe the only family photo the whole trip

All the men protectively watching over Courtney (wedding photographers can be so cheesy sometimes). Gee...which guys are from Madhav's side? :)

Mattie finally warmed up to the family and loved dancing with Uncle Brent

Enjoying the party

Paige, and her sister, Courtney, the beautiful bride

We had to head home the next morning, and got a late start because it was hard to pull ourselves away. That, and we were exhausted from a crazy and exciting weekend.

 

CJ and Mattie wanted to take advantage of Grandma's new trampoline one more time

 

While Mommy and Daddy packed up, Uncle Brent taught CJ how to play

Since this was our first time back to Utah since Paige's dad passed away in September, we stopped by the cemetery on our way out to check out his headstone. Only a few feet away is Paige's maternal grandmother's grave, whom Mattie is actually named after. We couldn't resist getting a picture of our two kids by the headstones of their namesakes

And only 13 hours later we pulled into the garage of our sweet little home in Wenatchee. It was a fantastic trip, but as always, not long enough. Paige already misses her family and wishes that somehow she could have them all in one town...or at least one state :). But distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? It will just make our next trip to Utah (Thanksgiving couldn't come any sooner) a whole lot sweeter.