Run like the wind

Yesterday afternoon when I got home from work, I changed into my work out clothes to go for a run. I sat down in the living room to put my running shoes on and Darren asked me where I was going. I told him that I was going running and that I would be back in a little while. He he asked me if he could go running with me. I looked at Michael and gave him the "what do you think?" look and he said yeah, let him go with you. So I got Dare all ready to run. We walked out the door with a water bottle, my phone and a towel. We walked to the cotton fields behind our house to a very long straight away that looks never ending. To Darren, this was a big deal and I am sure from his perspective it seemed like there was no end. As we were walking I told Darren that we couldn't stop and that we had to make it all the way to the end of the road. We started to job and Darren kept up the entire time. We stopped 2 times so he could get a drink of water and the last 30 yards we sprinted. Of course, Dare fell behind on that and got discouraged because he wanted to win and beat me to the finish line. When I turned around he sat there pouting. So I walked to him and told him to finish the run as fast as he could. He got a huge smile on his face and took off! My bony little man ran as fast as he could with elbows swinging! He couldn't stop talking about how proud he was that he ran all that way. He said "I bet dad is going to say that he is proud of me when I tell him that I ran super far!" I told him that I bet he was right! Darren held my hand the entire way home and when we walked through the door he ran right to Michael and said "Dad, I finished with mom and we ran so so far!" Michael said "Wow, you kept up the whole time? Great job Darren!" Dare ran over and gave Michael a high five and had the sweetest smile on his face. Man that kid! He gets me right in the heart!

Soooo not funny!

So Michael and I were watching TV last night after the kids went to bed. Darren passed out right away but apparently Jaycee wasn't quite ready. So in the middle of Two and a half Men we hear a noise from down the hall where the kids rooms are. Michael presses pause and says that he will check it out. Within a minute Michael comes back into the living room and says you gotta come here. What could Jaycee possibly be doing? Well, she decided to go in the bathroom first, take out a small wooden box that I keep all her little rubber pony tails and clips in, bring them into her room, proceed to dump the entire thing onto her bed and play with them. Seriously, these mini rubber bands are just that, tiny little rubber bands that you can barely wrap even the thinnest hair twice in. So Michael and I start to clean up the mess, putting everything back into the box. We had Jaycee stand up to make sure that we got everything and when she did, I noticed that she had wrapped one of those tony rubber bands around her ankle. I could barely get the thing off it was so tight on her!!! But I did. I couldn't believe it! So I checked her other foot and her hands and thank god I did!!!! She had 3 of them wrapped so tight around her wrist that Michael had a hard time getting them off before I started to panic. Again, soooo not funny! All I could think about was what would have happened if we wouldn't have checked? I mean, really? Maybe an overreaction but she could have lost a foot or hand if she wasn't able to take them off herself! Needless to say all of those mini rubber bands are put away where she can not get to them anymore. Whewwwwww!

Memorial Day

The weekend of Memorial day was a good one! I took the Friday before off, had Monday off and took Tuesday off. We spent the weekend in Payson. My cousin Steel graduated from high school the previous Thursday so Dana threw him a party that Saturday. It was nice to be able to see all the Payson/Camp Verde gang again. Ryhin and Vance went with us to the party. It was interesting. Kirk came and picked Michael up to go fishing and I was there with all 4 of the kids. They were all really good and listened really well. The only thing that was difficult was trying to make 4 plates of food with only 2 hands lol. Everything was fine! The kids ate and had cupcakes after. Vance hung out by the ice chest so he could eat ice the whole time. Ryhin played with the baby hound dog and ate salsa from Aunt Tani. Jaycee walked around like she owned the joint and Darren played with his new friend Race, my cousin that is Darren's age. I got to see my Uncle John that I haven't seen in years! We also took the kids bowling which was a sight to see. They had a lot of fun and were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for their turn. They were loving it until Lisa brought soda and french fries to snack on.

It was good to see the family and spend some time in the awesome Payson weather. A storm just isn't a storm unless you are there! I am already missing that place!

Sand and Mud Drags

Darren asks every day to go ET when we drive by in the morning and when we drive by in the afternoon. I cant believe that Michael and have both, for the most part, lived in QC all our lives and have only been there about 2 times. Saturday night we went to watch the sand and mud drags. Darren was in hog heaven watching all the dirt bikes, quads and trucks that came to race. Jaycee wasn't so fond because all the noise scared her. When she would finally get comfortable enough for me to put her down someone would drive by on their quad or dirt bike and rev their engine. Jaycee would turn around and run like a mad women to find me so I could pick her up. Funny but sad at the same time. But Darren, now that's a different story. He was talking to anyone and everyone that cared to listed or entertain him. He went on and on about how much he liked quads, dirt bikes and monster trucks. Ali and Essat were their with their cousins racing truck. Ali sat on top of the truck with Darren and they talked and talked about how he would teach him how to ride. All Michael and I could do was watch how happy he was and give each other the "yeah right, over my dead body" look and nod and let Darren soak it all up. Then there was the mud drags. They were so close it looked like you could reach out and touch them! Jaycee liked this more and was willing to get down from my hip and play in the dirt. Darren liked it too but there wasn't enough action to keep him as entertained. The highlight of the night was when a fuel car raced. The announcer let everyone know that it was an earplug worthy race but they were all sold out of them. They said to cover your kids ears because it was going to be loud. I held Jaycee, used my shoulder to cover one ear and held my free hand over her other ear. Darren and Michael stood on top of the truck to watch. The noise? Loud. Very loud actually. But Darren was just so happy to see the flames on this car and the parachute afterwards that he couldn't stop talking about it. It was pretty neat and surprisingly Jaycee didn't even flinch from it. I think the crowd screaming afterwards scared her more than the actual noise. It was quite the memory to share with the kids.

Oldies for the kids too

For those that follow my personal blog, you know I posted an Oldies for me too. Here are some of the kids ones that I found too. Don't mind the ones of me, I was pretty sick that day, from what I can remember. I LOVE the one of Darren with the curly fro! He was so little and young in that picture! And looking at the ones of Jaycee, its hard to think that she had straight short hair. Anyway, I thought it was fun to look back at some of the pictures.

Early for Mothers Day

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; They don't have time to make it. (Unless they buy it from Costco ;) Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox. Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids. Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets. Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up. Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' And get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best..' Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade... It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother....

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEAR S OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, Because that is the doorway to her heart, The place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Chicken Noodle Soup with a Soda on the Side

Where do I start with this one? I started a bad habit about a year ago and I have been paying for it ever since. You see, a while back anytime that a song came on the radio that I liked I would say "This is MY song!" And I would turn up the radio. The emphasis on the "my" was simply done for instructional purposes. Eventually Darren caught on to this and EVERY song became his. Now that was a long time ago but there is a valid reason why I bring it up. Every morning and every afternoon when I bring the kids anywhere, both Darren and Jaycee fight over whose song is playing on the radio. It has even gotten to the point where Darren negotiates with Jaycee and tells her she is only allowed to sing girl songs and he the boy songs. Depending on which station we are listening to, one of them is always sadly disappointed. They have also both determined that when it is "their" song, no one is allowed to dance to it or even so much as bob their head. Irritating, I know! Its a constant battle that I wish had never started. Shame on me for claiming a song, right? And know how is my title even relevant to this topic, you ask? Well, Michael got the kids happy meals last night for dinner. In the happy meal the "toy" was a lame CD. Kidz Bop, that is. And let me forewarn any parents planning on taking their kids to get a happy mean anytime soon, DON'T! Darren begged and begged to listen to his new and first CD. I told him that we would listen to it in the morning on our way to Lisa's house. Jaycee and Darren both got the EXACT same CD, with the EXACT same 5 songs on them, but that just wasn't good enough haha. So what was the first words out of Darren's mouth this morning? You got it! "Are we still listening to my new CD today?" Of course! I wouldn't miss it! Not only did we listen to the thing with both kids dancing like crazy in the back seat, we also listened to Jaycee same CD. Wouldn't you know that in playing all 10 songs we listened for a half an hour, the entire way to Lisa's? So now I find myself at work, dreading the declaration of the "my song" wars between my kids and the fact that I cant get the stupid Kidz Bop song Chicken noodle soup Chicken Chicken noodle soup, Chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side, song out of my mind!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes

Sometimes I look at my kids and think, man, they have changed so much! After I gave the kids a bath Sunday I was looking at Darren playing outside. He looked so tall! All I could think was that I wanted to remember how he looked right then because it was then that I realized that he was a kid, and not a little boy anymore. Everything about him screams KID. So that got me going, especially when I thought of how close he is to being 5 and Jaycee to 3. I know I don't have the best memory, although it is sometimes selective, but I wanted to take some pictures to help remind me of what they both looked like that day. Darren, who normally doesn't like pictures lately, was all for it. And there was no question about Jaycee who now proudly goes by Jaycee Jeanine Beauty Queen.

Easter 2009

Okay, picture overload time! Easter was AWESOME! We had lots of fun, there was lots of candy and family left and right. The weekend went WAY too fast but time sure does fly when you are having fun! Since my pictures are in no particular order, I will describe as I go. First, Michael was the best sport in letting me paint his face like a bunny! Anyone that knows Michael, knows that something like this is not his cup of tea. But he did it for me and the kids and they loved it! Darren and Jaycee loved it so much that they ate their dinner with it on too.

Don't mind the food on his mouth! But I do have to say, that is one CUTE little Willis bunny!

Jaycee had the bunny face down! After the paint dried, she was picking at it and scratching it off so I had to get some pictures quick. Darren asked if he could keeps his on and wear it to Lisa's like that the next morning. He is such a funny little guy!

Here is Darren and Aunt Cindy at our family Easter party at Aunt Marisa's house.

Dare and Dad at the end of the party. Man do they look alike!

And of course a group shot at after the egg hunt. Of course Darren and Jaycee didn't care about any pictures, not when there is candy and eggs involved! haha

My niece Ckyrah hitchin a ride on Uncle Michael's back on our way back from the park.

All the cousins! Nick, Dominick, Ckyrah, Jaycee and Darren.

Granny Goose wanted a picture with all the grand kids. I don't think one turned out even close to okay, but they were still pretty funny.

Okay, maybe this one did, if Jaycee weren't crying cause the park seemed like more fun than a picture at the time!

And why was my mom trying to kiss everyone? I don't know, but am glad that it wasn't me! Poor Michael!

Michael and my mom at the park.

Jaycee and Dad chasing each other. She is daddies girl ALL THE WAY!!!

And could they be more adorable? I don't think so!

So sweet!

Darren and cousin Kace playing with Jaycee's ball from the Easter bunny.

Michael helping Jaycee out with her drink.

Man he is such a sweet boy! I think he wanted candy or something for this one! haha

Me and my grilz.

Jaycee going down the slide with Aunt Cindy.

Doesn't seem like the safest playground toy to me but the kids had fun on it. And some of the adults too! (kace)

All waiting in line to go to the park! And you will notice, Darren has a new camera face. Whenever someone whips out the camera, he crosses one eye and sticks his tongue out. I am not sure what it is all about :)

My little Easter bunny!

Loving the bunny ears from Granny!

Opening their baskets from Grandma. Jaycee loved the mini crayons.

The kids after a successful egg hunt Easter morning. That bunny sure hid them well ;)

At the end, one egg was still hiding somewhere so we told Darren to look real hard. He actually checked inside the hose! hahaha, little goon!

Did I mentioned that Jaycee has a new face too? Opening her mouth as wide as she can and sticking out her tongue is her new thing! And here is the perfect picture of what my day to day is like with these two! Michael and I colored eggs with the kids and they had so much fun. Thankfully everything was kept neat and clean in the process.

The end results. Note Michael's famous watermelon egg that he was ever so proud of! I thought it was pretty cool!

Here is Dare, proud of his bright blue egg.

Jaycee was proud of his bright blue egg too! So much that she needed a picture with it too.

There's that face again :)

And hers haha.

Another successful Easter! Too much candy, too much food, staying up way too late. Gotta love it!