Summer!!!

Summer is finally here! That's right, summer does come to Wisconsin. Yesterday we had friends over and played outside all day. It was fabulous! They ate pizza, played in the water, blew bubbles and ate popsicles. After they left, we grilled hot dogs and then went to watch Mike's softball game (which they won-go team!).

Now I just need to look back at this in January when I have forgotten what grass looks like.

Love it!

Samantha's face isn't allowed to see the sun. I have become quite the sun nazi since having kids.

Sugar and Spice

That must be what Carter is made of because the mosquitoes LOVE him! Poor kid. We were all outside all day yesterday and he got at least 8 bites. None of the rest of us got bitten. I don't know why they love him so much, but he has such a reaction to them! He gets all swollen - his right eye is swollen halfway shut and he has 2 more on the other side. I tried Benadryl, but it makes him incredibly cranky. It just seems cruel that the one who has the worst reaction is the one who always gets eaten, regardless of how much I spray him. Anyone have any mosquito repellent tips? They are everywhere around here, especially with all the leftover water from the flooding. At least he is still smiling!

Open Wide!

Carter had his first dentist appointment this week. We got him in at the dental school with our good friend Jessica. For the record, Carter has a little crush on Jessica, so he loved it. He was the perfect patient, chatting up all the other dental students about his Batman toothbrush and anything else that came to mind. No cavities, and he came home and told Mike that he (Mike) needs to floss more so he doesn't get cavities. So young, so impressionable. Let's just hope his love for dental hygiene lasts! Mike and I both just got work done and I would rather pay for just about anything else. They had these "magic" glasses to wear while they get work done. Carter chose these over the blue ones. Love it!

South Dakota!

I didn't expect much going into South Dakota, and so I was pleasantly surprised! There was actually a lot to do, much more than we had time to do, so we just hit Mount Rushmore. It was very interesting. I added to my little library of random facts that I will never need again (unless I somehow make it on jeopardy, in which case they will still probably be useless). For example, Jefferson's head was originally supposed to be to the left of Washington, but there wasn't enough workable granite, so they just blew up what they had and started over on the other side. Also, there was supposed to be a hall of records behind the faces where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would be kept. Alas, they ran out of money with WW2 and all that was blasted was a small entrance. And, the sculptor behind the whole thing, Gutzon Borglum was Mormon. At least his parents were. Lastly, there is an ancient city made entirely of gold somewhere behind the heads - oh wait, that was the movie I saw last night. Anyways, now you have added to your library as well. Wonder what you will push aside to make room for that.

Here are the rest of the pictures from the trip:

I'm not sure how Samantha got a hold of the entire box of cereal, but she was sure glad that she did.
On the way out of Wyoming, we had to stop for a herd of cattle crossing the street. This is what the road trip is all about! Carter loved the sound of all the cows. I loved the cowboys. Especially the one on a dirt bike (not pictured here).

I saw buffalo for the first time! This was one of my major expectations, so I am glad that it was fulfilled. We saw some closer, but Mike wouldn't stop long enough for me to get a picture. So this is all you get. Mount Rushmore!
Somehow Mike ended up carrying both of the kids. What a man.

You can't go to South Dakota without having a buffalo burger! We stopped at Al's Oasis and Mike had one. It wasn't great, but at least we can say we tried it!

Oh, give me home...

Seriously though, you could give me a home and a hundred acres of land in Wyoming and I wouldn't take it. Who actually lives in that state? Apparently not many people, they have the lowest population in the nation. The city of Milwaukee has more people in it than the entire state of Wyoming.

Having said that, in spite of all the wind and freezing cold weather, we really had a good time. My brother and sister in law have been planning this trip for about 2 years now. Some of my family and a bunch of my sister-in-law's family met up in Wyoming for a little bit of handcarting. We didn't handcart the whole time, there were about 20 kids there, and we probably would have died. We camped at one place and then just went out on little mini-treks 2 days. It was our first time camping for more than one night with kids, so I wasn't sure we would make it, but we did.

We started out at Martin's cove. Mike and I were the first people there, and so while we were waiting for everyone else we decided to take advantage of the wind and fly Carter's kite. It was great, all we had to do it hold the kite up and it was immediately ripped out of our hands and just kept going higher. Unfortunately, this was it's first and last flight here. We lost a crucial piece to the kite as we were putting it away. So sad. Bubbles were another favorite pastime. We didn't even have to blow them. Just dip the wand and hold it up. Samantha was entertained for hours.

The next day we trekked into Martin's Cove. It wasn't too bad pushing the handcarts because we had 7 of us taking turns. Carter rode the whole time and Samantha rode in the backpack. I absolutely cannot imagine doing that across the country though. I got just a small taste of what those pioneers went through and have a lot of respect for them. It was sad to see the places where so many people died and especially to hear of people who had to leave loved ones buried along the trail where they knew that the coyotes would eat them. I can't imagine.

The next day we switched campsites. We went about 45 minutes away to 6th crossing. If we had been trekking the whole thing, we would have started at Martin's Cove and this is where we would have ended up. It's where they crossed the Sweetwater river for the 6th time, hence the name. We had a day off to just hang out. It's a good thing that we did, because the next day was pretty rough.

It started out freezing cold. It snowed on us while we were making breakfast. I didn't even take the kids out of the tent it was so cold. We all met and decided to trek that day anyways. Daniel and Holly had put a lot of work into planning it and if the pioneers could do it so could we, right? So we bundled the kids and headed out. It did warm up, but the wind was vicious. Carter hid under a quilt in the handcart the whole time and cried when it would blow off. Samantha wouldn't keep her head inside the cover on her backpack, so she was miserable. We all got some serious windburn. It was a lot more realistic, though. Trekking at Martin's Cove was on a gravel path, not too bad. There was a trail, it was the actual one they used in a lot of places, but we had to go over sagebrush and through water at one point (mostly just a little marsh). At one point they "drafted" all of our men into the army and the women had to pull all the carts up the hill. Luckily for me, 5 of the 7 adults with me were women. Suckers. Alright, we helped everyone else, but we still had it pretty easy considering the wind was blowing about 100mph. I wasn't much help - I had Samantha on my back and the carrier was like a sail. I couldn't walk straight and kept running into my sister. I am pretty sure I looked drunk.

When we finished our hike for the day is when the real fun began. When we first arrived at the campsite the cute old missionaries suggested that we lower our tents when we left for the day because the winds can be brutal. Mike and I are thinking "we have the best tent in the world, nothing can take this puppy down". Wrong. It turns out that it is all about the tent pegs, which in our case were not great. We came back to the campsite to find our tent halfway to the river. That's right. The wind picked it up with the pack n' play and all of our stuff inside and blew it across the campsite. The only thing stopping it was a picnic bench which had torn through the front door. We managed to get it set back up for the night, but all the poles are bent, a zipper on the rainfly is ripped, and there is the hole torn in the door. Needless to say, I kind of want to puke when I think of all the money that we spent on the dang thing. I am hoping that Kelty will take care of at least some if it, but who knows. Quite possibly it will be me patching it up with my lackluster seamstress skills. It could have been worse, though. About half of the other tents were either blown away completely or completely demolished. They went to a hotel for the last night. I was a little jealous when I thought about the hot showers they were taking, but glad that I still have a tent.

This is getting long, and I think I hit the highlights, so here are the pictures, enjoy!

My favorite sister Amber. Thought she was too good for my sunblock. Sucker.

Camping is no excuse to not look your best. Can a girl really have too many accessories?Me and my pops. A true outdoorsman. My brother and a friend were throwing hatchets at a stump one night. My dad went over and tossed it once right in the center where it stuck. Go dad!My sisters. They belong to a Provo-based gang. Hence the bandannas. Watch yourself. Samantha just keeping hydrated. It's hard work riding around all day!Mike and Amber puuuuling the handcart (imagine Carter straining as he says that).My crackhead brother found a rattle snake. They tell you before you leave that if you find a rattle snake, just tell the missionaries and someone will come take care of it. Right. My crazy brother picked it up for all to see and feel if so desired. I just want to know what goes through your mind when you do this for the first time (I know this isn't his first time). What could possibly make you think that is a good idea??? This is the father of the 3 cutest girls of all time. They currently have a pet snake and have had a pet black widow at one point - by their own choice. Carter got to shoot a BB gun. Thanks. As if his affinity for turning everything into a gun wasn't annoying enough. He LOVED it. Still riding the BB gun high. Mike and I on the Oregon/Mormon Pioneer/Pony Express trail. Did I mention it was windy?Our kids never would have made it as pioneers. Pansies. My mom made Samantha a bonnet. She wasn't a huge fan, but it was super cute and very utilitarian. Yes, that is snow. And yes, we are crazy. This was one of the views as we were leaving. There actually is a lot of beautiful land.

Sorry it's so long. Stay tuned for South Dakota!

Road Trip!

I have been putting off blogging about our trip because there is just so much! I took about 300 pictures, so I have been putting off downloading and editing all of them. I know I can't fit all of our trip into one post, so I will break it up for you. We went to Denver first, then Wyoming, so I will start with Denver.


This trip definitely started out rocky. We left an hour later on Wednesday than we wanted to because of my insane need to have a spotless house when we leave (it was soooo nice to come back to, though). Then we forgot Samantha's blanket, so we had to turn back, wasting another 30 minutes. Finally, that storm that flooded the Midwest? We drove through it. All in all, we arrived at our hotel in Omaha at 4:30 am. We had planned on getting there at about 1. Exhausted and so ready for sleep, we were so excited to finally get a few hours of sleep. The kids, however had a different idea. They both woke up on the way into the hotel room and decided not to go back to sleep. As soon as one would settle down, the other would start making noise and wake them back up. Finally after an hour or so of trying to get them to sleep I took them down to get breakfast and made them play in the car for a few hours to let Mike get a couple hours of sleep. I think we were both thinking about how easy it would be just to turn around and go back home at that point. But in the pioneer spirit we went on to Winter Quarters that morning :). It was nice, but I really expected more - old houses or something. It was just an "historic" (read really old and run down) town with a visitor's center and temple. They were both nice, but I guess I had just expected more. It was a nice start for our handcart trip though.
We got into Denver late Thursday night and luckily the kids were tired enough to sleep. Samantha came down with a fever that day and was miserable on the drive. I felt so bad for her. She had it the whole time we were in Denver, and of course we still dragged her around with us. We did keep her on Ibuprofen though and I did take her to the doctor (a very old doctor as it turned out). It was just a viral upper respiratory infection, so there really wasn't much we could do. Luckily she was doing much better by the time we got to Wyoming.

This is pretty much how she looked the whole time - no smiles. She was very, very, very clingy. She wouldn't let anyone else hold her, not even Mike. Yeah, that got old pretty quick. My left arm is now bionically stronger than my right from toting her around constantly.

We mostly just hung out with family out there. We found out the Mike's mom would be coming to live with us within the next month or so and so a lot of time was spent figuring out all the logistics with that. We did go back to Casa Bonita -it's a lot like the Mayan in Utah if you have been there. They have shows and cliff divers, an arcade, and they even break a pinata for all the kids every half hour (that's a lot of pinatas!). It was definitely the highlight of the trip for Carter. Samantha even played a little bit. This picture cracked me up. Samantha takes her skee-ball very seriously. We had a barbecue with a bunch of Mike's family on Saturday. His family is great. They have been so generous with letting us stay with them and they have been the ones taking care of Mike's mom - no easy task! I have really loved meeting them and getting to know them. They are some of the most down to earth people I have met. In spite of Samantha being sick, we had a great time! Mike and his mom and siblings Jon and Shar.

We left on Sunday for Wyoming. That was where the real adventure began. More on that later. I'm all blogged out.

Things work out

I have been really bummed that I haven't been able to get a job. I thought I did well in my interview with Aurora, but they never called me. I was starting to think that maybe I was less qualified than I thought I was. The next stop was the mall (nothing against those that work there, but it wasn't my ideal job). Then, while we were in Denver, we found out that Mike's mom will be coming to live with us within the next month or so. She is pretty sick and needs full-time care. It would have been a lot harder for me to accept this and be ok with it if it meant quitting a job that I just started. It's very interesting to see that Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, even when we don't. I have been praying so hard that I would find a job, and now I know why I didn't!

It will be challenging, and we have a lot to get ready before she comes, but we are looking forward to having Mike's mom close by. I am excited for the kids to get to know their Grandma Jayme better. She is a wonderful person and a great mother. I am hoping that some of that will rub off on me!

Will he ever be potty trained?!?

I swear, I have tried EVERYTHING!!! I am beyond frustrated with this kid. He has been potty trained at times, it will last about a week and then he will just stop. This has happened 3-4 times. I know he knows how to do it, he just won't. It's probably my fault--I wasn't consistent enough, I got upset when he had "accidents" (not at first, but come on, everyone has their breaking point), we started too early, I let it become a power struggle, I passed on my oppositional genes, whatever. Haven't I paid for my mistakes? Everyone else that I know of has been able to potty train their kids. He is 3 1/2 for crying out loud!!! We started potty training him a year ago!

Mike went to New York today for work. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Mike to come back to potty trained Carter. We have nothing planned, so I thought I would do that very last thing that I haven't tried - letting him run around naked. We decided that a spoonful of ice cream would be a great pee treat. He peed once in the toilet and then was done. After that, I would gently remind him to go potty for some more ice cream. But no, he would just wait until I walked away for a minute and then pee on the floor. After 2 of these "accidents" I asked him "do you want to use the potty, or just keep wearing diapers?". Of course, he just said diapers. I asked if he would ever be potty trained and he said "yeah, in about 3 months." I am seriously thinking that Samantha will be potty trained before Carter. She will be teaching him to use the toilet. How sad is that?

We may be crazy.

We are leaving tomorrow for the trip of a lifetime. Probably the last trip of our lifetime. No, really we leave tomorrow night for 3 days visiting family in Denver, 4 days camping with my family in Wyoming, and at least 4 days in the car. Just let me tell you, planning and packing for one trip is hard enough, doing it for 2 has about done me in. Plus, I hate leaving my house messy when we go places. I guess I don't want to be embarrassed when someone breaks in :). Anyways, I am not getting nearly enough done, and what I do get done, my kids undo. So, I need to get my butt in gear and finish everything up now that the kids are going to bed. It will probably be a few weeks until you hear from me again. Hopefully I won't lose my mind out on the Wyoming prairie - wish me luck!