Gotta Love Goggles

I was excited to find goggles in the $1 section at target and bought 2 pair for my boys. I was excited, that is, until they broke. After the first use. So, I broke down and bought the speedo goggles from Costco. So far, so good. Spencer's so cute here. I love how the goggles push up his eye brows and how he scrunches his nose.

We had a great time at Alison's pool. Until it turned sad.

Yeah, even the pool has a time-out chair.

Luckily Alison had crackers to revive the good time! Thanks Alison!

A Budding Super Hero

What little boy doesn't like super heros? O.K., don't answer that. My kids love 'em. Lance has taken a particular interest in Ben Ten. Ben Ten is not the typical super hero, it's a cartoon on the cartoon network (I hate that channel). He has never seen the cartoon, only previews for it. Apparently Ben Ten has a magic/power watch of some sort and Lance really, really wants one. In an effort to save money and more importantly encourage creativity I tell him to make his own watches. He's clever. He surprises me most of the time. And the "ingredients" are always things I would never think of. (Another good reason to "forget" to take out the trash . . . )

He used part of an apple container from Costco and the rest you can see for yourself. He even cut the plastic by himself. I'm telling you, this kid's got sKilLs! He's made probably 20 different watches (not caught on camera). He's really creative. I'm glad about that.

Clearwater Beach

I look at this picture and think, "man, he's really cute." I love my kids. They're good lookin'! But that's not the only reason I love them. Promise.

I know, an infant suit? It is rediculous, I won't disagree. She doesn't even go into the water. But it's cute. And she's adorable in it.



Spencer was sad all the other kids had shovels and he didn't. He found this and said, "Look mommy! My shubble!"

Yep, we like the beach.

i love these

i wish i could eat a package a day. no, seriously. i do.

i've been eating better since moving to florida--promise. it helps that i'm one of the few without a perfect body at the beach. everyone works out. no one eats. . . much anyway. don't like the sound of that. i know i need to lose 35 lbs. i just hate what i have to go through to get there.

a little background: i like to indulge. in secret. so, if there's an open package of say. . . oreos, they'll be gone before morning. brian has learned to hide his treats from me. i, on the other hand, can't handle hiding treats from myself. i always give in. so, i just don't buy them. or make them.

that said, i went to target yesterday in pursuit of a swimsuit. yeah, i know. nursing mom, 35 lbs. overweight. not a good combination for beach wear. but i've been out of the water far too long since arriving here. needless to say, no suits fit, so i opted for the built in sports bra exercise top. and the reinforced exercise skort. close enough to a tankini. i can at least nurse at the beach now. (i'm getting to the point of the story i swear).

so, i'm walking around target and around every corner i see oreos. mmmmm. so, i take a stroll down the cookie isle. brian likes to keep tabs on me to help me with my "fitness" goals. (lose weight no matter what i eat or do...hehehe) really, though, he tries to help. but i really wanted those cookies. mint oreos. there's no better cookie. my world turns around these little gems.

i think to myself, "how am i going to get away with this? i do have a suit to purchase, so i wouldn't have to enter a separate receipt into our budget. brian would never know. . . oh yeah, we itemize. that won't work. wait! i have cash. i can buy them with cash and throw away the receipt. yes, this will work."

i pick up a package. i stroke it. but i realize that i won't be able to eat the entire package by the time i get home (we live right across the street from target). so i put the package back. but i still want them. so i look around for a small package. you know, the one with 6 cookies. no luck. so i go back to the package i set down. i pick it up again. i'm thinking, "o.k., if i don't eat them all now, where can i hide them so he won't find them? not the van, we're going to the beach, he'll find them. cupboards? no, he rummages through those daily. my closet? won't work." i pretty much went through every possibility and realized i would have to eat them all and destroy the evidence or not buy them. sad. it just wasn't going to work out.

so, i'm holding the package and stroking it. staring at it. wishing i could eat them all. but, i put them back. i walk away. but i just can't resist, so i go back. i pick them up again. i feel the weight on my hand and i just stare. but then i think about the beach. eating those oreos would give me no less than 15 new dimples on my rump. can't do that to myself, so i put them back. i walk away.

for good.

Did you ever wonder . . .

I've been contemplating how to incorporate physical activity that I enjoy with motherhood. I hate getting up at 6am and I hate going out to exercise after Brian gets home from work. Seriously, with 3 young children, what can I do? I think I may have found my answer.



Jen B., I know you really liked that swing, but tell me THIS isn't the coolest thing ever. HAHA

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better . . . Brian can lug me around if I poop out.



Or, he can haul me and all my friends around when I have a party.



All pictures from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cleverchimp/434051576/in/pool-bakfiets/

I'm starting to get really excited. Oh the traditions we can start!


A different breed:





Click here for more eye candy. I'm confident you'll get as much of a kick out of it as I did.

a true character shining through

(Thanks Diana.)

Ivy :: 5 days old

I love these pictures Diana, thanks for taking them. Thanks for your help that day, and thanks for the activity box you made for the boys. You're simply the greatest!

A Tribute to Toria and Elisabeth K.

I'll spare you all the mushy, gushy sentimentalities (saved for my journal)--but here's a little shout out to Toria . . . and her Ivy.

Long story short: I met Toria last summer at Westgate--knew her for 2 months before she moved away. We all had a great time together, but more than anything I was deeply impressed by the outstanding mother she is to her Ivy (and son Asher). This was my introduction to the name Ivy. Beautiful. Feminine. Classic.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to naming our children. We had 4 names on our list that I was o.k. with when we had our daughter. Emma, Ivy, Eva and Anna. For some reason (they're all pretty names), I just couldn't settle on one. Brian finally made a list of women we admire and we wrote down what we admired about each of them. We wanted to somehow work those characteristics/names into the name we chose for our daughter. Toria was obviously on this list. Toria has a daughter named Ivy. Perfect. I love Toria and I love the name Ivy. Worked for me.

Now for the middle name. Hmmmm. Another woman on our list was Elisabeth K. from Norway.

The reasons we love her are confidential. Just kidding. But I'm keeping this short, remember? Needless to say, she's amazing. Love the name, didn't love how Elisabeth sounded with Ivy.

Ivy Elisabeth Kisby. Say that 10 times fast and it sounds like you have a lisp.

Anyway, Brian loves the name Elise (shortened form of Elisabeth), it topped his name list, and I think it sounds so pretty with Ivy. Ivy Elise. Ivy Elise Kisby. Flawless combination.

So, there you have it. Ivy's name. I feel so good about it. She has a lot to live up to. :)

just after we chose her name, before leaving the hospital.

(6-03-08)

The Isle Club. . . aka our pool

i wanted to do a slide show, there are lots of pictures. but, i think my computer is missing something b/c it won't download it properly. forgive the long picture post.

it's not a flattering picture of me, but i have to prove i am here.

this is pretty much how ivy and i hang out--moby wrapped together. it's hot, but it keeps the sun off her body.

Yep. He's hot. Rrrrrow.

Ivy Time

I think I've taken 500 pictures of Ivy so far. I think Brian's a little irritated. I can't blame him. I nearly fill a memory card a day. I don't know what it is about this little girl, but I cherish this time with her--I wish she would stay this small for much longer. She's so sweet and beautiful.

Kickball

We were invited to play kickball with several families Monday night for Family Home Evening. The boys had a great time, in spite of the bugs. I did spray myself with bug spray, (Ivy was in the wrap so no bites for her), but after more than 35 bites I finally gave up and moved to our van with 2 other women. The bugs were rediculous. I'm still itching.

Spencer didn't care to kick the ball, which really surprised us. He did however, have fun in the mud. Surprise, surprise. :)

Oakwood Apartment

We arrived at our new apartment 10:30pm Saturday night, (6-14-08). Wow, what a difference it makes arriving to a fully furnished apartment. No unpacking . . . beds calling our names! It's a beautiful feeling after 4 long days of driving. Gated community, bottom floor, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, dishwasher, washer and dryer, 1450 sq. ft., 2 pools, a fitness facility, a tennis court, and a small playground. Costco, Supertarget, Famous Footware, restaurants, (many other shops), all right across the street from us. (Don't worry, we can't see them from our apartment...). This is a paradise! :) AND, I have to credit this ward as being the most friendly ward I've ever been in. I was overwhelmed by introductions and grateful for invitations to be a part of this community. What a blessing.

Looking out from our parking lot.

Honeywell sure is taking care of us. We're looking forward to the next several months here!

On a different note: Have you ever read

It's a great book for teaching perspective, empathy, negotiation, etc. We love this book.

It begins, "Hey, little ant down in the crack Can you hear me? Can you talk back? See my shoe, can you see that? Well now it's gonna squish you flat!"

Through the course of the story the ant tries to change the boy's mind. The ant is shown at one point, as a giant looming over the boy asking, "If you were me and I were you, what would you want me to do?" The book ends showing the ant in the shadow of the boy's shoe and asks its readers, "what do you think that kid should do?"

It's always the same response from my boys. . . "no way!" Uh hu, looks like it. Here Spencer's rolling over a line of ants and Lance is squishing them with a piece of bark. When questioned about it Lance responded gleefully, "I'm squishing the ants!" "Lance, do you remember the book, Hey Little Ant?" "Yeah." "Well, should you squish the ants?" "No mom, I'm not!" He defensively answered. "I'm just picking them up and putting them in a little pool! I was just tricking you before." "But you know if you put them in that little pool they'll drown . . . right?" I asked. "No mom, they're just swimming." He smiled.

Nice.

Whatever.

(update: I have found several ants in our house. squished them all. there is a huge line of ants that trails from our parking lot, through the hallway and ends right in front of our door. every time we open the door, they try to get in. I'm going to call maintenance and have them spray. Hypocrite you say? . . . eh, it's all relative).

We're here!

I don't have any pictures to post . . . in due time. :) But, we're here and it was a great trip. We drove 3 days in a row, stayed in Georgia for a day with some friends and finished the last leg of our drive late last night. Ivy slept the entire time, except for feedings, and the boys were exceptional travelers as well. We made it safely and so far we love it here. It's beautiful, obviously, and our church ward is so friendly! We met a lot of people today and we're going to play kick-ball with several families tomorrow night. We're excited to get more acquainted with this city, especially the people!