Doris

Three times a week Tyler and I head to Curves to work out. Well, I work out and Tyler charms the ladies. He is the star of the circuit, and he makes a lot of ladies' days.

One of the ladies at Curves is named Doris. She is one of those people with such a big heart and who is always serving others. One day she showed up to Curves with some gifts. She had made Tyler 2 super cute (and super needed) burpers and 2 adorable button babies.



Here's a close-up look at the horse and elephant. Aren't they so cute?



Doris also wanted to know if I could do a favor for her. This cute little plaid outfit originally belonged to her grandson. She has a picture of her grandson in the outfit and has since "collected" pictures of others wearing it. She wanted to know if I could get a picture of Tyler wearing the outfit. I was only too glad to do it.

I hope to someday be the kind of person Doris is--constantly looking for some way to bless the lives of others

Future Cougar?

On Saturday we went to Darrell's work picnic. Cosmo, BYU's mascot, and Swoop, the mascot from the OTHER school, were both there. Obviously you can see where our devotions lie. (Um, Ignore the fact that I'm wearing red!) Thanks Uncle D for Tyler's very first Cougar apparel!

Happy Birthday Greg!

August 22 is my brother Greg's birthday. He's a year younger than me, so we go back a LONG ways! I hunted for some pictures of us growing up and I found a few. The quality isn't that great, but they'll do.

Here's me with Greg when he was just 4 days old.



This one shows off one of Greg's "owies." He had a lot of those in his younger years.



This is a picture of Greg and I before one of our band concerts in high school. (You gotta love the 80's hairstyle I'm sporting.) Greg was the drum major for the marching band his senior year and won the Best Drum Major Award at competition. I was so proud of him for that!



Greg and I shared some of our college days together at Ricks and BYU. I loved going to BYU football games together. Here we are at a game with Derek (in the shadows) and Kimberly.



Here's Greg and his cute soon-to-be wife Brooke right after Greg proposed.



And here is Greg with his fabulous family when they came down for Tyler's blessing. Greg is such a great husband and father!

Back to School

So today is the first day of school for the kids in our school district. We live near an elementary school, and I watched the students, with some parents in tow, head back to school this morning. I've had mixed emotions the last few days as I've thought about not teaching this year. As a teacher I love back-to-school time--getting the classroom ready, putting new supplies out on the desks, anticipating new students, etc. There's nothing quite like taking a group of students at the beginning of the year and watching them struggle, learn and then master whatever it is they're learning. I seriously get a "high" from being a part of that process.

Having said that, I also get a "high" from being a mom. There's nothing quite like going into Tyler's room in the morning and have him smile and kick his little legs because he's happy to see me. As the Bible says, "To everything there is a season...." I truly believe that, and I'm so grateful that it's possible for me to be at home with Tyler during this season of our lives. I'm grateful I'll be the one to see my baby at each new milestone. It was really brought home to me when I realized that I most likely would not have been there last Friday when Tyler first rolled over because I would have been at the school getting things ready for the new school year.

So here are some things that I'll really enjoy about this school year:

1. The great teacher/child ratio. You can't get better than one on one.
2. Reading. Tyler and I have so many books to get through together (as long as he doesn't eat them!)
3. Recess. Practically the whole day is a recess. And before I know it I'll be chasing Tyler all the around "the playground."
4. Parent/Teacher Conferences. These happen every day when I tell Darrell about all the things Tyler has done throughout the day.
5. English. I can't wait to see Tyler master this "foreign language."
6. History. We'll be making this together.
7. Math. One mommy + one daddy + one "wee one" = One great life

I will get my "teacher fix" each week when I go in to do 4th grade music for a half hour on Wednesdays. So I guess I'll get the best of both worlds.

So here's to the great years I've had of teaching at public schools (You gotta love those school pictures):



And here's to the great years I'll have of teaching in my home:

Baby Olympian

The past few days Tyler has been warming up and practicing for his Olympic event--rolling over. In his practice runs he'd kind of get over, but that darn arm kept stopping him. Well yesterday I turned away from him while he was on his back. Mere seconds later I turned to look at him and he was on his stomach with his arms underneath him! I guess the drool on his chin is the baby equivalent of perspiration!

Just Peachy

Last Friday I got out my breadmaker and made some peach freezer jam. It was so yummy that I bought more peaches and did 2 more batches today. I love that the breadmaker does most of the work. OK, maybe not most of it--I spent plenty of time peeling and chopping the peaches, but the breadmaker still makes it pretty easy.

Last Friday it took me FOREVER to finish just one batch because of a cute little reason named Tyler. He was quite fussy that afternoon so I decided to put him in the baby backpack while I peeled the peaches. Tyler did pretty well with this cheap form of entertainment, but alas, it soon grew boring. So between peeling and chopping peaches and entertaining and feeding Tyler, my Friday afternoon was shot!

Today I started out right away after Tyler went to sleep for his morning nap. He slept for so long that I was able to get 2 batches done before he woke up. Yay! I must admit that I take glory in getting even the smallest things done now that I'm a mommy!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Uncle D and Tansy on August 11!

My brother Derek and his wife Tansy share the same birthday (although they were born in different years). What are the odds? I think that is way cool. They are 2 terrific people, and I'm so glad they found each other. Tansy fits right in to our family and we think she's great. Oh, yeah, we think Derek's great too!
Happy Birthday "Two" You!

Cabin Fever

Last Friday and Saturday we were able to spend some time up in the beautiful mountains at a cabin that belongs to one of our friend's aunt and uncle. It is such a great place to be. It's not too far from where we live, but far enough to be away from everything. It was especially nice to be away from the 100 degree heat. It was 15-20 degrees cooler up in the mountains. Besides the beautiful scenery and laid back pace, it's fun to be with good friends. Darrell has had these friends for years, and they were gracious enough to welcome me into their circle when we got married.





It was great just to sit back, relax, play games and nap.





Tyler loved being up in the mountains also.









The weekend wouldn't have been complete without a hot dog roast. Later we roasted marshmallows and had S'mores. I love S'mores!



It's traditional to sleep out on the deck under the stars. Tyler and I stayed inside the cabin, but I slept on a couch next to the big front window and I was able to take in the stars at night. It's amazing how many stars there are when you get away from the city lights.





Tyler slept really well on the floor. Here he is in a blanket sleeper and the ever-present burp rag. It kind of makes him look like a butterfly or dragonfly.



Around 2:30 a.m. I heard him stirring. I looked over to see he had squirmed his way off the blanket. I put him back on the blanket and he slept until the sun came over the mountain--around 6:00 a.m. He was kind-of cold then, so I fed him and then put him in my sleeping bag with me until he warmed up. Then I made a "baby burrito" out of him and he slept for another couple hours.





Darrell, Tyler and I walked down to the Provo River. Tyler loved hanging out in the baby back pack. He even fell asleep for a little while.





We can't wait to go back again next year.

Barf Boy

You wouldn't know it from these cute pictures, but Tyler is a puker, barfer, hurler, throw upper, spit upper, etc. There's usually no warning--it just comes out. We always have a burp rag or two handy. So today in church I got plastered not once, not twice, but THREE times. The first time was in Sacrament Meeting. He had just had a bottle and had burped, so I thought I was fairly safe. Well without warning, he threw up on my skirt. No big deal--I just used the burp rag and a baby wipe to clean me up. Then I was holding him in Sunday School. He was hungry again so I gave him another bottle. I had him up on my shoulder to burp him when it started to come out. And wouldn't you know it...the puke went down my shirt--as in down my tank top and into my bra. (Sorry if that's a little too much information.) Anyway, I discreetly used the burp rag to clean myself up. I really thought I was safe after that. Well, a few minutes later I had him back up to my shoulder so he could look around and I got doused AGAIN...same place. This time as I was cleaning myself up, a lady from the row in front of us looked back and probably wondered what the heck I was doing with a burp rag down my shirt. Se la vie!

New Layout

My former layout was pretty boring. I wanted to do something new, and I came across this great website. And the best part is that the layouts are free. The link to leeloublogs.blogspot.com is on the sidebar.