"First day of school! First day of school!"

We got the kids off this morning. After a confusing bus stop search, and Ethan getting home on the wrong bus we got our math homework done and are off with friends. All in all it was a good day. Ethan is amazed that at lunch you can pick any chair in the whole cafeteria to sit in. Carter promptly stuffed his papers in his back pack and left his binder that we set up to stay organized in his locker. Should be a great year!

Olivia is going cold turkey from diapers. After being promised a Barbi movie she took herself potty on Saturday and thought that was all she needed to do to hop in the car right then and get the show. Wrong little girl...If you can take yourself potty you can be dry for a week before you get that movie! Lazy bones has peed 3 times on the floor and lost a pair of Little Mermaid panties to a poop accident.

I had to say what!?!

We are in church last Sunday and of course JaDee is up on the stand (it's a bishopric thing) and I am wrestling 3 kids. We are on the 1:00 schedule and Sacramnet is last so you can imagine what my last hour of church is like. We are tired, hungry and bored!

So Ethan and Carter are actually getting along, maybe a little to well becuase while i was occupied with Olivia I hear the giggles of 2 little boys. I look over and Ethan is tracing pictures on Carter's back and giving "noogies" on his head while Carter tries to wiggle away. I hiss at them "Stop giving your brother noogies in church!" What did I just say? They try to tell me that it's OK. It's a game theyre playiing and the game aparently has rules kind of like "Flinch." Carter has to try to squirm away from Ethan witout gettng noogied...blah...blah...blah. I don't care! NO NOOGIES IN CHURCH!

Boys. Enough said.

Faster than a speeding dog!

I went out to run with Champ (our 80lb yellow lab) for the first time on his leash. He runs miles and miles with JaDee but never on a leash and he is always so good for JaDee. Whenever I even try to take him for a walk he is so awful! Running and pulling my arm, stopping to pee when I want to keep going...So I don't run with him. But with it staying dark longer in the mornings I can't run and feel safe. And with school starting my day has to start earlier as of tomorrow. So today Champ got to come with me on a leash and he did great! I thought it was the dog, but it really might be me. See I can finally run at Champ's pace. I have been getting faster ant my 3 mile loop. In fact Champ didn't pull and stayed right next to me for a lot of the run. Therefore, I have caught up to my dog. Whoo-hoo!

School is when???

That would be 7 days in case anyone is counting. Not that I don't love my boys around, but Olivia and I are ready to get our house back. Although I do hate the school schedule and how it dictates my life and my spare time (homework anyone)? We have had a great summer visiting Arkansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. All in all we touched 8 states outside of Utah! Not to bad! I must say I am glad to be home for a while again. Probably staying put until the holidays. Ugh are they around the corner too!

Not to be forgotten

So July 22 was Carter's 11th birthday! And that day was extra special because he was awarded his Arrow of Light. It was the best way to throw a birthday party. The scouts sent out invitations, cooked dinner, organized a pool party, provided entertainment, and brought ice cream. I brought a cake. Sweet deal if I ever heard one! We are so proud of all of Carter's hard work and happy to see him as a fine young man with goals to push him forward. As an 11-year-old Scout he has already been on his first cam pout and had a great time. He is always a good help with Olivia and his younger cousins. His best friends include his cousins and a whole lot of kids from the neighborhood, school and church. He started school band this week and has advanced in his swimming in advanced lessons! He is a busy boy but always makes wise decisions when he know enough is enough! We are proud of you Carter!

PS Check out the watermelon pictures I added down the sidebar!

A little dorkie

So it is August 2 and the must anticipated release of Stephenie Meyer's 4th Twilight book, Breaking Dawn has hit the shelves. To celebrate my sister and I went to the book release party at Borders last night. We were surrounded by die hard fans who dressed up and made T-shirts declaring their love for Edward. I might be a Jacob fan. I have always had a thing for very tall dark men. (Sorry honey, but my track record prior to you shows a distinct pattern to this attraction)! However the scenes with Edward are certainly hot. And after the first 100 pages today they get even hotter. Are we sure this is a "young adult" novel???

Anyway, while we were their we ran into several of my sister's middle school students who gushed over her and her cute little pregnant belly! Yes she is 21 weeks along with a girl! She has decided to break my monopoly on Smith grandkids! We are excited!

Other pregnancy news include my long time friend, Kim in NY. She is expecting her second. Joining her is my other friend since middle school, Karen in FL. I am so glad to no longer be the only crazy one out there! But take my advice...stop at 2:)! I love Olivia with all my heart, but my marbles are completely lost!

Speaking of Olivia we were out on the tramp tonight. Just her and I, and I asked her if she had to go potty. She laughs at me, "Mom, there are no potties in the backyard!"

And in our quest for finding a name for Courtney's little girl we were looking at a name book and finding the meanings of all of our names. Nicole: victorious heart, Carter: one who pulls a cart, Ethan: firm or steadfast, Olivia: Olive tree. JaDee's name has no meaning other than it is a combination of both his grandfathers, Jay and Doyle (who was also known as JD in his younger days because his real name is Joseph Doyle).

Whew this is a long and meandering entry. I am supposed to be watching Batman Begins in preparation for viewing The Dark Knight. I guess I better pay attention so I am not asking questions in the movie theater!

Memory Tag

So my sweet cousin Sarah has joined me in the blogging world. I am so excited to have a new blogger friend! She had this fun game on her site so I thought I would have fun with it too. I even stole her picture!

Here's how you play:

1. As a comment on our blog, leave one memory that you had with any of us: Nicole, JaDee, Carter, Ethan, or Olivia. It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot -- anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about one of us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, we'll leave our memory of you in our comments.

Let the memories begin!