On being three

"Being three means buckles that refuse to unhook when you're desperate for the bathroom, towering people who continually rub the top of your head, and five annoying words that are repeated every five minutes: "You'll just have to wait."

It means that every time you really start having a great time, someone walks in and lectures, "Look at this mess! What in the world are you doing? I just washed those clothes, young man!"

It means that every time you proudly dress yourself and walk out into the kitchen for your grand, morning debut, the whole family snickers. Mom looks at your feet and says, "Your shoes are on the wrong feet, dear." You look down and study your feet and proclaim, "But, Mom, these are the only feet I've got."

Being three means that when you go to church, your parents make you sit on a hard bench that is so wide your legs stick straight out from your hips. You can't see a thing except the bench in front of you. You hear voices up front but haven't the foggiest idea what's being said. Every time you pop up to see that's going on, your parents shove you back down. Every time you make weird noises your parents scowl at you and blow air through their teeth like a snake saying, "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

When you're three, eating can be a real pain. your wrist tends to lock, your spoon tends to tip in the wrong direction just when you get it to your mouth, and your glass of milk is forever getting in the way of your swinging elbow.

No one takes you seriously when you're three.
When you say, "On, I won't eat it- I hate that," your parents say, "Fine with me, young lady. But just remember-- no beets, no apple pie." When you say, "No, I don't want to go to bed," they throw you onto the pillows and promise that if you come out again, you'll be one sorry turkey or that they'll paddle your canoe down the Suwanee River.

When you say, "I don't want to take a bath," they pick you up and stick your soapy head under the running faucet. When you say, "I don't have to go to the bathroom. I already went last week," they push you into the bathroom and hold the door shut until you try one more time. It's humiliating.

You can't see what's going on when you're three. But every time you crawl up onto the kitchen counter, your mother yells,"Now, you get down from there before you fall and break your neck!"

Finding play partners is tough, because your mom won't let you leave the yard, cross the street, or talk to strangers. Sometimes even family members are hard to enlist for buddies because everybody is always too busy working.

Being three is no piece of cake. It takes bravery, skill, and cunning to master the ropes of semi-fearless three-hood."

-- Janene W. Baadsgaard- The LDS Mom's Almanac

I loved this. It's got to be tough being three.

As I type this post, my little three year old brought me a lego bouquet of flowers. Awww. I love that little monster. Here is a picture of him helping me weed. I pulled the weeds, and he carried them down and threw them into the field. You give a three year old a pair of gloves, and you can get a lot of mileage out of it. :)

Let the campaigning begin

Ahh, a new post. Even better, a new tab on my browser that covered up the other two tabs- my bank account and my credit card statement. I was comparing the two... ugh. I mean who ever compares their bank account and credit card statement and says, "WOW! We made thousands more than we spent this month. Honey, lets buy new couches!" The next time that happens to you, feel free to contribute to the Low Family. ;)

Anyway, this post is about Dave. I think (I don't dare declare it yet) he is really going to run for city council. Last night was the "Meet the Candidates" night, and he said if it went well he would still run. I thought it went just fine, so I think he's moving forward. His hesitancy comes from 2 things- 1. He can't stomach people being mad at him. 2. He's worried it will take up too much time.

As far as time, I think it will be work he will enjoy enough that it won't be an issue. He has also decided to stop teaching his BYU class if he gets elected, which I would LOVE! So I think it would be fine.

There is a big divide in Providence as there is in so many towns. We have the pro-development folks and the anti-development folks. Since there are so many new homes in this town, there is a large group of people who would be hypocrites if they didn't support development. There are also a lot of parents who would be thrilled or are thrilled to have their children build in Providence. But there are many older people who have lived in their homes in Providence for a long time, and do not want to be "downstream" as they called it, from hundreds of new homes. They will do anything and everything to halt development, and they have a lot of anger. Dave has already had some people who could have heard nothing about his campaign (since there was no campaign), who are accusing him of what side he's on based on the fact that he lives in a new home. This is where Dave gets sick. He hates the controversy.

There are 11 candidates running for 3 spots. I think 9 of those 11 are good candidates, they seemed very intelligent and were decent at introducing themselves. Unfortunately the 2 that I think would be disastrous for the council are the "radicals" 2 favorites. And one of them I don't understand why. She isn't a good speaker, she struggled to introduce herself. I also know her from the ice skating world, and she causes more drama than you could imagine. A very immature woman. But the radicals love her. Go figure.

Dave is the son of one of the most respected judges in the state of Utah. I think being raised by Gordon has helped Dave to be very level-headed. I really believe that Dave isn't on a "side." I think he is very good at making decisions, and would be excellent in politics. However, he isn't a politician. If he gets elected, it won't be from the people who really are into politics, it will be because he is very well known, loved, and trusted in the community.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I think either way, he will feel good about the outcome. He will be honored and excited if he makes it, and he will be relieved if he doesn't. I think he will do a great job if he does make it.

Here is a pic of Dave's sign. Josh designed it for him, and I think it turns a lot of heads since it is so different.

Calling All Nick Jr. Moms

I know there has to be someone reading this blog who is a Nick Jr. Mom. My question is, do you like this new show Yo Gabba Gabba? I've only seen it twice, but it is REALLY annoying to me. I think it teaches great things, but every time I turn and look at the T.V. when it is on I feel like I'm on some kind of psychedelic mushroom high or something. I loved last year's Nick Jr. lineup, and I'm disappointed that they added this weird show, hopefully I'll get used to it! If you agree with me, will you please comment?

The fruits of my labors

Here is a sampling of my pickings from today. On the left you have an average old red tomato to compare colors with the pink lady tomatoes in the middle. They really are pink, and they are very pretty! The next tomato is my green zebra. I wondered how to know when they are ripe, they turn a little bit yellowish when they are ready. I think the Green Zebra tomatoes have a taste and consistency that can't be beat. But my yellow Kellogg Breakfast tomatoes aren't ripe yet, so we'll see how they compare to the green ones. Definitely next year I will plant more Green Zebra plants, and less red tomatoes. I also think they will make a beautiful green spaghetti sauce. And of course on the right side we have the purple beans. Remember, they turn green as soon as you cook them. And they taste just like regular green beans.

I will NOT be posting a picture of my garden as I already mentioned that it is overgrown. But as unattractive and difficult to maneuver as it is, it has produced really well. We have probably already harvested 2 bushels of tomatoes, and probably 15-20 pounds of beans. Not to mention the crookneck squash that I am getting really sick of! I don't know what I was thinking planting that much squash. Next year I am going to have to find a sturdier tomato cage, and I'll plan a little bit more room for my tomatoes since they are growing so well.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE????

Dear Son,

I know that this situation isn't permanent, and it certainly isn't ideal. I realize that it's hard on both of us, we are both very squished. But my question for you is... What are you doing in there? I mean seriously, what could you possibly be doing that requires so much movement? There is nothing in there for you to do, so why do you need to move around so much?!! My Mom tells me that's the problem: there is nothing for you to do. You're bored. Maybe if I smuggled a game in there for you, it would keep you occupied, and you wouldn't have to wiggle around so much. Do you like Gameboys?

Now listen, if you were the second child I would just assume that this is a normal part of pregnancy. But your older brother Dawson NEVER moved around like this. He was so calm and gentle. But he was a difficult baby. So here is my deal for you: You can wiggle around all you want right now, kick, push, hiccup, whatever you want--- but as soon as you are born, you are to be a perfect little angel baby. Deal?

I look forward to meeting you. Please make it sooner rather than later, but of course not too soon. We're a little bit weird here, but I promise we are a lot of fun. We love you a lot already, and you must know that I am a very forgiving mother to keep you after all this prenatal monkeying around. That's true love.

My doctor told me that the brand new Women's Center is supposed to be done October 24th. So hopefully you will have a beautiful new place to be born. They even have a bed for Daddy this time so we don't have to share the hospital bed with him like Dawson and I did. That was a little bit squishy.

We'll see you in November.

Love,
Mom

Another Power Outage

Last night I thought I heard Isaac fall out of bed again. So I got up and checked on him but he was fine. I laid back down in my bed, and was looking out the window at my beautiful view as I tried to fall back to sleep. I noticed a few lights go out at the same time, which I don't usually see. Within half a second of that I watched the power go out over the entire valley. It was so crazy to see. I can see a pretty good portion of the valley even when I'm lying down, so I watched a ton of lights go out. I don't know how long the power was out, but it was quite a few hours.... I wonder what happened?

My babies' pictures

These are the pictures of my babies that I took on my trip. I looked at them daily, and it made me feel better. I really did just fine leaving them, but I think 7 days is all that I really want to leave them for. Maybe even 6 days. Past that, I really wanted them with me. I feel like this trip made me a better Mom. I feel refreshed, I enjoy playing with them more, and I have new ideas of activities to play with them. I even enjoy feeding them breakfast more! It was difficult to remember to change diapers again though. We had a couple of soakers, but I think I'm back into the hang of it. It's been hard for me to have Dave back to work, after spending 10 days with him by my side 24/7, I really miss him.

It is wise council to have a weekly "date night", but it's really hard for us to organize getting a babysitter, and then go spend a bunch of money on a date. So instead we save up that money throughout the year (yeah right) and go on all our dates at once. It's such a great thing for our marriage, and just for our sanity. Thanks again Biadas, not only for tending our kids for 10 days, but for spoiling them and teaching them too!


I love those piercing blue eyes
I love this picture of my boys. I especially like how Dawson is pointing. I think the pointing stage is so cute!

Karaoke

Here is Dave Karaoke-ing. The Karaoke Staff loved us. They gave us special announcements before we sang, and whenever we saw them around the ship they would stop to chat with us.

Back again...

We're back again, and I'm starting to integrate into the real world again. Before I post about the trip, here are a few updates:
- Dawson walks about 85% of the time now, very cute! He also learned 4 new words while I was gone, tries to say Isaac, and can go down stairs. I think I'll take him to the Biada's more often!
- My garden that I was so proud of is overgrown. Every one of my tomato plants fell over while I was gone, I'm going to have to make my own tomato cages next year if I'm going to have such healthy, huge tomato plants. Eventually I'll figure this gardening thing out.
- Isaac is 100% in underpants 24/7, and sleeps in a bed (Common, he's only 3 1/2) I was worried we were going to have to buy a third crib.

So.... the trip. It was awesome. It's frustrating, because it really was so awesome I can't put it into words. It was one, long, marathon date for David and I.

First of all, we loved being in a group. Our group consisted of: 5 retired couples, 1 single lady, and 3 younger couples. We had some walking issues, and diabetes, but they all worked it out just fine. We loved the older people so much, and they made us laugh so hard! They were always looking out for me, one lady gave me her battery powered hand fan to use on the trip, it saved my life at the Polynesian Cultural Center! We played cards with them, ate meals with them, went to the shows together, we loved them! One of the younger couples was David's best friend from High School, Ryan Jensen. I learned on this trip that Dave had even been on a date with Ryan's wife Monica, and I heard some other good stories as well. I loved getting to know them better, they are great people. Our other young couple was named Spencer and Amy Clements. They are both 30, and we became really good friends with them on the trip. They went on 3 of the shore excursions with us, and I don't know if Dave and I have laughed that hard in a long time! Between laughing uncontrollably, and walking a little crooked because of the ship moving, we think people must have thought we were totally drunk. Little did they know, we didn't spend one penny on alcohol to make fools of ourselves. Just a few jokes.

One of my favorite stories of the trip is about one of our older couples on the trip, who shall remain unnamed at the moment to prevent embarrassment. They are from Providence, and they have known David for a long time! They are very cute, I'll post a picture of them holding hands. They got called up to be in the "Almost Newlyweds" game. I wish I could have been there, I don't even know where on the ship we were at that moment. They were asked some very uncomfortable questions such as: Where is the strangest place you have made whoopie?, What is your wifes bra size?, and What is the funniest thing your spouse has done naked? You have to understand, they are only a few years away from 80, and very proper. I think it could be one of their most embarrassing moments in all their years.

Second of all, we loved being together without our kids. We held hands, snuggled, and went on a hundred dates together. We went to every show, karaoke, dinner, comedy act, everything we could on this cruise ship that we could never have done with kids (While the Biada family was back in Utah scrambling after 2 kids, we were sipping Pina Colada at the comedy act... Thanks guys) On our shore excursions we tried to do all the crazy things we can't do with kids: steep, difficult hikes, swimming in huge waves, even a nude beach ;). We loved spending time together, and it made it so refreshing to come home and REALLY enjoy our kids.

Third of all, this was really an incredible trip. We spent 3 days in Oahu, one of which we spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and 7 days on the cruise ship. We ate so much food, it's embarrassing. We saw some of the most beautiful sites in the world. We loved this trip, it was so fun.

Here was our Itinerary:

Friday- Arrive in Oahu, eat dinner, shop, and early bedtime
Saturday- Temple and Polynesian Cultural Center
Sunday- Church, Board the cruise ship and explore
Monday- Kauai
Tuesday- Kauai
Wednesday- Hilo
Thursday- Kona
Friday- Maui
Saturday- Maui
Sunday- Cruise ended, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Fly home

Now for the pictures....

Here we are in the Bamboo Forest in Maui

This is called a Mountain Apple I think. I was excited to find it because it reminds me of a certain fruit that I saw in a movie that I have always wondered where to find. It only makes sense it would be in Hawaii. Let me tell you, it ISN'T delicious.The seven sacred pools in Maui
Red Sand Beach in Maui. We learned after a very steep hike that it was a nude beach. Luckily the 3 naked guys were laying out, so I just turned AWAY from the beach.

When we were on one of our bus tours, the driver pulled over so we could see the pineapple field. The manager drove up right then, and picked us 3 pineapples. He cut them and served them to us right on the spot. I'm not a huge pineapple fan, but this fresh pineapple was to die for!
We both Karaoke-ed. I entered in the Karaoke Idol contest.... I lost!
This is Rainbow Falls on the Big Island.

Kissing under a waterfall. Don't say ewwww, saw awwww!
The old "belly shot". This is up on the Napali Coastline in Kauai, does it look familiar too?
Waimea Canyon in Kauai. Mark Twain nicknamed it "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"
This is the picture I was most excited about. I couldn't wait to show Isaac that we got our picture taken with "Dum Dum" I told Isaac I didn't bring him any "gum-gum" and Isaac wanted to know what Dum Dum said. Unfortunately this Dum Dum didn't talk.
This is the Queen's Bath in Kauai. You can't tell from the picture, but it is quite a bit higher than the ocean. Every 15 minutes or so, a big wave hits, and some water comes into the pool. There are some pretty fish in there too.
This is our whole group at the Kona Temple. It is a beautiful temple, but very small.This is the cute Providence couple that was in the Almost newlywed game. Aren't they cute?

Off to Hawaii.... without kids!

We're off to Hawaii tomorrow, and as lucky as I am to be leaving my kids for a romantic getaway, I'm missing them already. These boys are my best little friends all day long, and it's going to be hard to be without them. Plus, I'm worried my baby is going to be walking all over when I get back. (So are my parents ;) I'm also dreading this flight. I almost wonder if the trip is worth it when you have to make that terrible flight. Especially with this little wiggler inside me, I HATE sitting still. So 6 or 7 hours on a plane is a nightmare. But...... I think it will all be worth it once I board that cruise ship. It's going to be amazing!

I already have orders to bring back some Maui onions... any other orders? Common Aimee, don't you think a good first food would be Maui Carmacks? If anyone wants me to bring them something from any of the Hawaiian islands, let me know, I'm happy to!

We'll be back on the 20th, so everyone take care until then.

The Dirtiest Baby on Earth

I really think I have the dirtiest baby in the world. I bathe him, I really do, but as soon as he gets outside he is in the dirt. My boys are 110% boy, and they find dirt anywhere. The problem with Daws is that he crawls in it, and eats it. He also eats rocks, but he is fine with giving the rock to you after he has tasted it. Here is a picture of my cute, little, dirty boy.

Electrical Fires and Power Outages

On Wednesday night at 5:00 p.m. the power went out. This seemed kind of strange since it is the middle of the summer, but we patiently waited for it to come back on. After about half an hour, it started to feel warm in the house, and I started getting really bored. So I walked outside and this is what I saw

Well, it turns out that everyone else was hot and bored inside their houses, so our neighborhood ended up getting together on our front lawn. We all brought our ice cream that was going to melt, and we ate ice cream and popsicles. Here is a picture of the party (After most of the people had left.)
As we listened to the radio, there was some kind of electrical explosion that took out a ton of power lines etc., and they didn't have any estimate for when the power would be back on. They just told us to get out our 72 hour kits, which made us think it would be a long time. But luckily, at 3:30 a.m., the power was back, and I could sleep in air conditioning again! The other good news was that it didn't get to any houses, and there were no injuries.

Our neighbor is the Fire Chief, and it was fun listening to his updates on the radio. We also enjoyed watching the planes circling. Here is a great pic of Isaac and Caleb watching the excitement.