waaay too many cute pictures of zeb the cow.

I hope everybody has been checking out my "free stuff" section to the right! Last night we dressed up like a family of cows and went to get free dinner at "Chik-fil-a" with some ward friends! It was so much fun.
I had totally spaced that I had a cow costume in our halloween box until yesterday afternoon. When I went to get it out of storage I realized that I had bought TWO because they were so cheap (2.97 at the gap!) so we gave one to Ellie to wear.

Zeb loved watching the big cows from a distance. These two look like the "Chik-fil-a" baby calves.
Here is the zebster trying desperately to get away from the giant cows. Sorry about my strange neck bone/muscle. I was trying to not drop zeb while also putting my arm around the mom cow. Zeb was a mad cow.I can't believe how much free food we got. Each of us got free combo meals! Mine would have been 7.39. Zeb loved his chicken nuggets and cow toy- but mostly enjoyed sipping his milk. Isn't he so cute as a cow?! The costume is a 12 month costume- but we still squeezed him in to it. Our friends, the Ericksens, dressed up as a family of brown cows- I wish we'd gotten a big group picture.
Even Kent got in on the action with ears and spots. He'd had a crazy 6am-6pm first day of rotations doing pediatric surgery but he still came and played along. He knows how much I love doing stuff like this :)

Hooray for Chik-fil-a. Thanks for dinner!

busy busy busy

We had so much going on today and I'm exhausted so I only have time to post some of our adventures. The rest will have to wait until tomorrow.

We had a little swim party with some friends here at the pool today. I wish I would have gotten some more pictures of everybody!

The humidity has increased quite a bit and it was really nice to get in the water. Here's Zebby lounging poolside with his pal ellie (who decided she needed to go shirtless for the day--possibly to match zeb?!).and here's the turkey doing his "kick, kick, kick". He'd sit backwards like this all day if I'd let him. He just wants to kick his feet around in the water but they don't quite reach when he hangs them over the edge while sitting.Zeb has such wonderful friends here in Toledo- it makes me worry for when we have to move! When we are at home he is constantly talking about them and asking to play with them. The other night he was yelling out their names at three in the morning.

I think he must have a special place in his heart for ellie, though. When they are at the same place they are nearly inseparable- although often at each others' throats and fighting over something.

Ike was getting restless by the pool so I tilted his stroller against a bench, put him in it, and voila!- he was DEAD asleep in ten seconds.

is it over!?!?

Is summer really over?! Kent is back to school (rotations) full time now and I feel robbed. In actuality I am spoiled rotten. I'm 28 and complaining that we didn't get a real summer break. Kent and I have been in school (or taught school) long enough that this is our first year EVER without a long summer break. Are we finally becoming adults? Is this some sort of rite of passage? I miss being a kid.

At least zeb and Ike and I have some summer left. The weather is still extremely cooperative and there are lots of other great people to play with us even though kent can't.

Today we went swimming with friends and had a great time. I got Zeb out of the pool, changed him into a regular diaper, put on his shirt and next thing I knew he was BACK in the pool. He is such a little turkey sometimes.

Oh- and just this week Ike finally mastered sitting up. If you can't tell from the pictures- he drools ALL over. I'm not sure if his new teeth are just completing their appearance or if he's getting more. Time will tell.
Thank you gma Pat for the matching pajamas! They finally fit the little rugrats. There is nothing cuter than kids in footie pajamas. sorry for all of the random kid pictures. I'm just continuing on my quest to make sure that I have a picture of my kids for EVERY day of their lives :)

brown bag lunch concert downtown!

For playgroup we went to the downtown library's brown bag lunch concert. They had a band for kids that involved all sorts of singing and dancing. Too bad both my rugrats were hot and tired! The weather wasn't even bad, either. The humidity has been unseasonably low for this time of year but Zeb kept turning to me and telling me he was hot. Luckily we found some drains (and shade) for him and he ended up having some fun.

I know this next picture is pretty lame-o- but I bet these kids walked on this drain around the tree for twenty minutes. Zeb wouldn't even raise his eyes up for me to snap a picture. He was so focused on the drain.


He also found this pencil and was over the moon about it. He sure loves his writing utensils. And at least I got a picture of them both smiling. It is a nigh impossible shot to get.

Ike sure is growing up. I swear that I when I returned from girls' camp- he was a different baby. He is such a happy cute fatso of a kid. Did I mention that he's sleeping 13 hours a night?! I haven't had this much good sleep since before I was pregnant with zeb!

oh, how I love dtv.

Somehow in the dtv transition- and our recalibration of channels in order to get our digital channels- we picked up full blown cable. My goodness. I'm pretty sure we always had it but just didn't know. I'm also pretty sure it's a good thing we didn't figure it out before now. I am an addict.

Over a year ago when the cable man came to fix our internet he told us we'd have some "extra" channels- we just didn't know it was ALL of them.

I'm obsessed with the Duggars. I also love truTV. It's COPS almost 24/7. We now have Fox news :) and HGtv. What else do I need?! Having Kent gone long hours and even on far away rotations won't be quite as devastating now. At least I'll have something to keep me distracted.

He's so cute. the cutest kid in the world, really.

I should just fill my blog with pictures of the rugrat. Even on the days when I want to ring his neck- or when his screams are piercing my ears- or when he's chucking random trains in fits of rage- his pictures make me happy.

Here is just a small sampling of his two year old pictures- a month overdue. This kid would NOT smile. Really, I think we got two or three smiles the entire night. Luckily some of his serious/angry faces turned out pretty darn cute. Also, none of the pictures are posed. This kid just does weird things.

I haven't seen the rest so I haven't chosen my favorites- but when I do, I'm sure I'll post more.

I feel old.

I have never actually "felt" old before this week. I got home from girls camp and was beyond exhausted- but I loved nearly every second of it. I have crazy bruises all over (from who knows what!) and my hip bones are sore from tossing and turning and trying to sleep on the rocky hard ground.

We camped for four days at the church owned John Johnson farm in Hiram, Ohio. It was absolutely beautiful and minus a few bouts of crazy rain- the weather was DIVINE! It was chilly at night- and even chilly enough some days to wear jackets. I had planned for hot and humid so was ecstatic with how it turned out. We camped in tents- but did have flush toilets and showers so the term "camping" was a bit of a stretch.


We had so many fun activities to keep us busy. The first day we played volleyball- tried out archery- and cooked over dutch ovens. The menu for the four days would have to be my only complaint. I haven't had that much white starchy food in YEARS and it didn't do nice things to my bowels. The night I got home I ate a plate full of broccoli for dinner. My body was craving vitamins and fiber!!!

My favorite activities were canoeing and hiking! The canoe trip was quite a workout. We did a seven and half mile trip along some river. We nearly died a few times and got stuck a few more- but had lots of laughs and tons of fun! I just LOVE how green Ohio is. Not to mention the fact that fireflies were out in FULL force. I looooooooove fireflies.
Our hike went into Cuyahoga Valley National Park and was unreal. I have to take Kent back. The hike was amazing and we only saw a little itty bitty portion of the park. I can't imagine what the rest has to offer. I am usually very opposed to non people pictures- but I had to include this one.

There were all sorts of great rock formations that we could climb on and hike through. The forest was so green!
We also got to tour the John Johnson farm- which was really fabulous. Joseph and Emma Smith lived here for a year and the history of the farm is incredible.
The ward here is wonderful- and the young women are even greater. I haven't laughed so much in quite awhile! I missed Kent tremendously- and even missed my rugrats a little bit- but I am so glad that I went. I came home to a spotless house and a baby with two teeth. I'm glad I missed out on the house cleaning and teething :)

our 4th

the 4th is always a hard holiday to be away from home! Yesterday we had a really nice family day- and I almost forgot about the whole fam dam watching the fireworks together in utah.

I slept in until TEN. I don't think I've slept in that long since high school. I was so exhausted after girls' camp and fireworks from the night before. After I rolled out of bed we decided to check out the festivities downtown. The weather was perfect and downtown was nearly empty! Parking was easy- and we enjoyed a stroll around promenade park along the river. Zeb played in toddler town and got some balloons and we just enjoyed people watching! You can't really see Zeb's face- but he loved this little bouncy place. Too bad one of the little girls playing in it peed her pants and all down the slide. We decided to get out after that.They had bands playing- and different booths handing out free stuff. Zeb really wanted to jump in the water and kept trying to sneak under these giant chains.All of the food they had at the booths smelled DELICIOUS - but was waaaaay overpriced so we decided to try out "Pizza Papalis"- a downtown toledo gem. Downtown is so dead and scary- but every few blocks or so they have something amazing! Kent had heard all sorts of great things about their pizza- and he'd never tried true chicago style pizza, so we decided to check it out. It's definitely a place we'll be taking visitors from now on! The pizza was so so good! too bad it was past zeb's nap time and he'd also had a late night!
We took the kiddos home and they both took long long naps. We ended the day with some friends roasting smores, doing fireworks, and eating lots of snacks! It was a really good 4th.

I'm hoooome.

I am home from girls' camp and BEYOND exhausted. I came home and got to shower and relax for a short while -and then it was off to the 4th festivities. We hit the small town Maumee fireworks tonight because we figured that downtown may be too crazy for us tomorrow! Plus- we have friends who live close to the bridge where they shoot off the fireworks and we parked at their place and all walked down to the river together.
Zeb looooooved them. He really enjoyed yelling "boom, boom" at each firework. I also tried to teach him how to "ooh" and "ahh" at them like his Nannie Annie.

Ike was in complete awe. Even though it was far past his bedtime he made sure to watch every last one. There wasn't a single tear shed between the two of them! They must not take after cousin tanner. Do you still cry and hide under your blanket during the fireworks, tanner?

Day 3

Yet another exciting day in single parenthood.

I'm really glad that I've had this experience to take care of the boys without the pressure of school, studying, and deadlines weighing on the back of my mind. I'm hoping it was a terrific break for Leisy and that she will love the boys even more from having had a break from them. I've had a lot of time to think about staying home with kids these past few days. It can be draining, boring, and a little annoying but all-in-all it is wonderfully rewarding, and with creativity and a lot of energy, tons of fun! It would be exceptionally difficult for me to throw away all of the schooling I've completed to this point, sacrificing any future of a promising career, to become a full-time care giver. And yet there are so many amazing people who are willing to give up or postpone careers for the betterment of their family. I am (and always have been) exceptionally grateful for Leisy for not only doing this but for doing it SO WELL! It's not easy to get up and run 6-7 miles everyday even without adding post-delivery recovery, two children and a running stroller into the picture! She not only does that she teaches early morning seminary, cleans the house, forces herself to enjoy cooking and constantly seeks to find better and more healthy recipes to have ready for me when I walk in the door, puts up with me when I am stressed and overwhelmed with school, magnifies her callings, is constantly looking for ways to stretch what little money we have, and is an exceptional friend to many. This is selflessness I can only aspire to have.

Ike cut his first two teeth sometime since I last posted. I thought they were still weeks away from emerging. He had no fever, wasn't overly distressed or uncomfortable - just refused the binky. Zeb was much more dramatic about getting his teeth! Ike is a great baby! I am a fan.

I ran for about an hour this morning at Swan Creek Park. I met some of the other parents (okay... moms) at the park for walking group. I ran on my own but met up with them after at the playground. It was perfect running weather; there was a chill in the air and it was misting rain so it felt like someone was spraying water in my face. There were quite a few people in this park who recognized Zeb and Ike and asked about Leisy. I ran past the group of women that always say to Leisy, "You go skinny girl!!". Zeb of course loved the playground and was more than willing to dry off the slides for all the other kids.

Great naps once again. Project deep clean: Kitchen drawers and coupon organizing (where does she find all of these!!).

We finished out the night with a barbecue. A friend of mine from school had a bunch of us over to celebrate being done with boards. We decided these get-togethers need to occur regularly since we will no longer be seeing each other in the classroom everyday. We are all doing different things now and may see very little of each other. Leisy will be sad about missing this. It was great to relax and enjoy some great food and reflect on how life is going to get very complicated come Monday morning. Yikes! Back to work - but real work this time. No more security of the classroom. This is now the real thing. Real patients and real decision making.

So this blogging thing is kind of liberating! I can type whatever I want and feel like people actually care about reading it!! If you made it this far Hooray - if not... Leisy will be back tomorrow!!

Day 2

Getting out of the house is a much bigger deal for me than it is for Leisy. Leisy can whip up breakfast, gather everything she needs for herself and the two boys for the entire day, and get out the door around the same time I'm leaving for school. Zeb did sleep in a little bit longer than normal today, but I still took much longer than Leisy to get ready and direct Zeb to the car with my arms full. I decided to explore Wildwood park. I know Leisy has a place in her heart for Swan Creek park, but Wildwood is AMAZING!! Leisy took these pictures a few weeks ago of the park (I think she already posted them as well - oh well). It is beautiful. I ran for about 45 minutes through amazing, neon-green folliage with all sorts of comments about a crazy guy running with 2 little boys.

Zeb played on the playground by himself and had a great time. This little kid isn't a baby anymore!! I loved being with him all day long and noticing his little antics. He is going to be the class clown - he loves being silly and making anyone around him giggle (even if it's just himself). Ike was a champ during the run and even enjoyed swinging afterward. He mostly just sucked his thumb and fingers the whole time - he refused the binky. I think teeth are on their way.

The boys took great naps again today which allowed me to commence project deep clean. I did my superficial cleaning yesterday, now it's time to get serious. I started on the laundry room. Moved the washer and dryer to sweep and mop, organized the shelving, and did some badly needed de-junking. I also spent plenty of time on Pandora internet radio (my new obsession). Zeb and Ike are getting their fair share of classical music and opera while mom is away!

After naps we went to the store to play with toys. Why are toys so much more fun at the store than at home? Zeb ran around the store like an uncaged monkey. I should have been concerned but it was Walmart. Everyone acts like that at Walmart.

I think my very favorite time of the day is putting Ike to sleep. I'm not sure why - maybe it's because that is my normal responsibility. I love to cradle him when I feed him, make him giggle when he is tired, sing to him, and watch his little eyes unsuccessfully fight off sleep. He's spoiled. Zeb never got this preferential treatment. We just put him in his crib and he rolled over to sleep. I'm a crazy baby lover and Ike is already getting too mobile for my liking. I just want him to stay 5 months old for a few more months. Is that too much to ask??

I miss Leisy. I'm sure you all miss her posts. Mine will have to suffice until she gets back.

Mama went bye bye

Zeb had a difficult time parting with his mama this morning. We bid farewell to Leisy for 3 days while she parties at girl's camp. Zeb tried to latch onto the van's window when he gave Leisy a goodbye kiss. I pried his little fingers from the glass and did my best to comfort him - he cried all the way from the church to the apartment stairs where he crumpled in a little ball of tears. I had to carry him into the apartment. Then he started crying for his best friend Eli. After breakfast and getting the boys ready for the day we made it to the park in time to see Zeb's little friends. He's been happy ever since.

I think I'm getting eased into the full time parent role because both Zeb and Ike napped for 3 1/2 hours while I cleaned the house. Hooray for long naps! Ike has been so much fun lately - he's my little buddy. He gives me the goofiest little grins whenever he catches my eye. He's just been the greatest little kid ever.I just got off the phone with Leisy and it sounds like they have had an incredible amount of rain. I'm glad I made Leisy take 2 sleeping bags because some of the girls already have wet sleeping bags. I will never forget the night a leader went cold because I wasn't prepared for a campout. At least I know she won't have to give up her only bag. I'm sure she is loving every second and so happy that it isn't blistering hot.