Oh kids say/do the darndest things!

So today began as a pretty crappy day as far as weather went. It was actually a great morning for me because since it was so dark and rainy, we were all fooled into thinking it was earlier than what it was. We slept in till 9. That is late for us folks! We are usually up pretty early in this house! After the rain quit, we went to the pool with some friends and I have to share this one thing that Lauren said. Im sure other kids have said this at one point in their life, but this cracked me and my friend up when we heard it. So Lauren kept grabbing herself so I asked her if she needed to go potty...she told me over and over that she didnt have to go. I didnt push the issue because in all honesty, I didnt feel like walking her to a discusting swimming pool locker room so she could go. Well, I asked her again when she walked up to me in the pool if she had to go pee. She said, "No, I did!" I busted out laughing when she said that. I hope she doesnt think it was cute and continues to do it because thats pretty sick! Kids will always pee in pools...what can I say...I used to! You know you did too so dont even act like you're grossed out! If you didnt...good for you, but most have sometime in their life!

We are oh so cool!

A couple weeks ago we went to a KMOS (PBS) sponsored event with some friends from church and it was so fun. Misti and I thought we should take a second to meet our heros while we had the chance! We weren't afraid to make all the parents in line mad just so we could get our picture with Super Why! Parents just barge in and they dont care if you're taking pictures. They let their kids walk in your picture as if we wanted their child in our picture! Its okay...we had our 25 seconds of fame with Princess Pesto! Lauren was excited to meet all the characters, but still very surprised to see them IN PERSON! I loved when she would walk up to them with her neck 90 degrees (b/c they were so tall)! She would just stare trying to figure them out! Im sure they look so huge to her in person since they are all midgets on the show...Im talking about the Super Why crew...Clifford was actually disappointingly small I thought! They were giving all kinds of free health information out as well as free books for the children. Lauren got her face painted too. I should have gotten Nolans done....no wait...bad idea...he cant stay still for a second! He would have tried to eat either the hand of the person painting his face or the brush with the paint on it! Everything goes in the mouth right now! Well, we had lots of fun and were glad we went.

Five Years!

Next Tuesday will be me and Joe's 5th wedding anniversary. Five years flew by so quickly. I never dreamed we would be in the situation we are right now. I dont think I would have ever thought I would have already had two kids by now 5 years ago. In the last five years I believe Joe and I both have grown up so much. We never have argued much, but we really have learned to respect each other and each others opinions. I am so happy with who I chose to spend eternity with. I know he feels the same way. I have never been with someone that wants to be with me all the time just like I want to be with them. Most men like lots of time alone with the "guys" or a lot of alone time, but Joe isnt really like that. He does enjoy his X Box, but he doesnt care if Im down there with him...in fact he prefers I be. I cant believe how well we get along. Of course there are times when stress gets to be a factor and we all know what comes out of that.

Right now Joe is in Qatar on a 6 month deployment and he has been there for only 1 week and 2 days. It seems like he has been gone longer though. We are carrying on as if he were here. I of course am playing both mommy and daddy which can be tricky, but women do it all the time and they survive! I really dont feel too stressed yet though. Lauren has been such a sweetheart asking where her daddy is all the time, and Nolan doesnt care about anything as long as he gets fed! I hate deployments, but they strengthen all of us. Joe and my marriage is stronger b/c of them. I am more independent and have more confidence b/c of them too. The kids learn to adjust to change well. I think adjusting is a good quality to gain b/c life isnt always a bowl of cherries and things can change on a dime. Joe I believe has it the hardest b/c he has to leave his family and home and everything he knows for 1/2 the year. I at least get to sleep in my own bed...which is soooooo comfortable...we love it!

In the last 5 years we have lived with my parents, moved out into our own apartment, gone to college....still working on it!...,moved to Utah, joined the USAF, had 2 beautiful children, gone on many vacations, bought 2 cars, sold 2 cars!....We still have the two we bought and they're still kickin!, gone through 2 deployments and many TDYs, paid off our debt, re charged debt!, paid it off again! We have been through some tough times, but more good than bad. We are very blessed and I know that. I love where we are today and look forward to a lifetime full of more anniversaries! Joe you are so wonderful! Thanks for what you do!

Knob Noster Fair!

A couple weeks ago Lauren was having a hard time taking her naps so it resulted in bribing! Joe was at work finishing some things up for his deployment. I told Lauren that if she would go to sleep that when she woke up Daddy would take her to the fair. Shortly after I told her that she was asleep. About 2 hours later Joe came home and then not too long after, Lauren woke up. I came in to greet her and the first thing she said was, "Daddy take me to the fairy?" It was so cute how she called it the fairy! I then bit my tongue because I didnt think she would remember! Joe hates rides and so do I. I went outside where Joe was and explained to him that I volunteered him to take Lauren to the fair earlier when I wanted her to go to sleep and now she is up and ready to go! He laughed and was okay with taking her. We ended up going together the next night (Joe's last evening with us before he left). It was pretty pricy so we only bought enough tickets for a couple rides. Joe took Lauren on the slide and I took her on the Ferris Wheel. Niether one of us handle circle rides very well and since Joe had to be on a plane the whole next day, I got to go on the ferris wheel! It wasn't too bad though. Lauren and I paid our 4 tickets each, which ended up being $4 a piece to ride....rip off I know! Anyhow, we got on and everytime the ferris wheel reached the top and we could see everything below (all the bright lights from the fair) Lauren would say, "Wow Mommy this is awesome!" It was so funny to me for her to say that because she has never used that word before, and I didnt even know she knew that word! I love kids and how they learn so quickly! We had a great time and walked over to Sonic for slushes afterwards. Their prices were much more affordable than "carny" prices! We had a great time and the kids went home and slept really well that night!

About 8 hours after we got home and to bed, Joe was up and ready to leave. He had to leave at 6am. I woke Lauren up because I wanted her to be able to see him leave. I ended up waking Nolan up so Joe could see him interact one last time at this age. Nolan was just as sweet as can be too. Lauren was tired and kept slipping back into her room. I knew she didnt realize that her Daddy was leaving right then so I kept waking her back up. I would tell her that he was leaving, but she was so exhausted she didnt care! She ended up waking up long enough to wave and blow kiss him off! Shortly after me and the kids went back to bed and finished our night of sleep! Things have been just fine for us since he's been gone. I thought I would be more upset, but we were really prepared for him to go. The first time he deployed I seriously felt like he had died. It was pretty tough. I of course miss him, but I have so much to keep me busy that I have very little time to be upset. Lauren asks where he is all the time and I explain that he is a long way away working and helping people. She always replies, "what his friends names?" She's so sweet! I love the things 2/3 year olds say. They are so smart. A couple days before Joe left Nolan said "ah Da"...we took that as a "dada!" The day Joe left I was taking Nolan out of his bed and said to him "Dada" and he replied, "Dada!" I was so glad he finally said it! And it was the weekend of Father's Day too! We celebrated Father's Day the week prior so Joe could be honored even though he was going to be gone. It was nice. I fixed Chinese and we went on a family walk. We only went to sacrament that day b/c Lauren wouldnt stay in nursery and Joe was so overwhelmed with everything he needed to be getting done. We enjoyed the day together as a family. We are together all the time as a family and love it. Thats why I thought it would be harder when he left. I guess all the TDY's this past year have really prepared us for this. I am grateful. We are such a blessed family.