A Poopy Day.....Literally

It feels like we've been elbow deep in poop around here. Both kids have had the runs for a good week, maybe more. Brynn has been pooping 8-10 times a day and her poor little bum is so sore no matter what I put on it. Mason has had a few surprises in his underwear when he thought it was just a toot. I don't know if they've got some sort of stomach bug or if it's just their love of yogurt to blame (50% of Brynn's diet consists of gogurts, no lie). Whatever the cause, today I found myself wanting to scream after changing my 6th poopy diaper in as many hours.

Then I remembered this gem of a card my sweet brother Brandon made me several years ago.

I was feeling down and discouraged by some things going on when this personally made card (using the Paint program) showed up. I'll keep the simple but very sweet note that was written on it for myself, but couldn't resist sharing this card that has brought me so much joy. This card was a turning point for me at that time and has reminded me many time since that it's up to me how I react to the trials I am given. Plus, it just makes me laugh everytime I see it. Did you see the "paint" on the artist's pallet?

So for anyone out there who might have had a Poopy Day, hope this put a smile on your face.

And Uncle Beetle we might just take your advice literally and whip up a special painting just for you, so keep checking the mailbox.

Zion Getaway

Last weekend we took our good friends the Dastrups, Carliles, and Lemons down to the Murray Family cabin at Zions Pondarosa Ranch. Although the cold weather managed to follow us down there, the change of scenery and good friends to play with made it a wonderful getaway. Mostly, we just hung out around the house watching all the march madness action and playing games while the kiddos played together in the bunk room (it's amazing how a room full of bunk beds gets the imagination going) and downstairs with all the toys and games. It's Jimmertime!! Scott taught everyone how to play Ticket to Ride, a long time Murray favorite.

The kids must have come to see what all the excitement was about.

The girls.
Brynn, Halle, and KatelynThe boys.
Jackson, Andrew, Mason, Tyce, and Sky

Friday's weather cleared up enough that we were able to drive into Zion National Park and go for a hike. We chose the Riverwalk, a nice kid-friendly hike.

Brynn walked most of the 2.2 mile hike herself. Her and I made a lot of stops because she was surprisingly enthralled with all of the nature around us, especially the river which she wanted to swim in. When her hands got cold I gave up my socks to keep her little fingers warm. It was too cold for the lizards and frogs we usually see all over on our hikes, but it didn't stop the squirrels from coming out.

Here Brynn is trying to share her granola bar with a squirrel. She must not have read the sign saying there was a $100 fine for feeding the squirrels.

If we had put a pedometer on these boys they probably hiked and extra mile with all the running around they did.Together they collected as many rocks and sticks as possible.

Put three 4-year-old boys together with sticks and good luck trying to stop the sword fighting. I'm surprised we didn't loose an eye.

My little family.

All of the kiddos.

This is what our crew looked like hiking along.

The boys found this slanted rock for us to climb up that made a great slide coming down.

Brynn couldn't get enough sliding down the rock and wasn't very happy that I wouldn't let her go down by herself.

It was fun to get away, but as always it's nice to come home.

A big thanks to Mike and Linda for letting us use their cabin for the weekend.

Rolo the Dog

Scott has been trying to talk me into getting a dog for the last month. There have been several times he has teased me so much about it I have expected to come home from work to find a dog at our house. In a way, that's exactly what happened. One day this adorable puppy named Rolo (self-named) showed up at our house. We built him a house for him to spend the night in, which he did, and gave him a food and water bowl.

It didn't take long for him to win us over with his many wonderful games and tricks like playing fetch, shaking hands, rolling over, and of course those wet slobbery kisses. We found he was much more obedient than our children and would do pretty much anything for a doggy treat, aka fruit snacks.

Our amazing dog is like Lassie in that he is able to communicate messages using only barks and a pointer finger. (and sometimes a sentence or two in a "barky dog voice" if we aren't getting the message.)
Rolo stayed with us for 3 days straight and now he visits us from time to time.
Scott was right. Having a dog really is great!

*side story*
Scott tried to win the dog battle by getting the kids on his side. Brynn was a given. Have you seen her around dogs? She is crazy about them. Mason was originally on Scott's side of the debate until I told him a dog would eat all his toys. I win.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

We are big fans of Dr. Seuss around our house. So, naturally, we had to have a little celebration for his birthday today. First, we visited the bookstore and each of the kids got to pick out a new book. Then we came home and read our new books along with some of our favorite classics while we enjoyed a dinner of Green Egg and Ham omlettes.

Did you know that Dr. Seuss wrote the book Green Eggs and Ham after his editor bet him that he couldn't write a book using 50 words or less. Green Eggs and Ham uses exactly 50 words, which are:

a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

That is absolutely incredible to me.

Happy 107th Birthday to the wonderful Dr. Seuss who has fostered Mason's love for reading.

So tell me, what is your favorite children's book? I am looking for some new favorites to introduce to my kids.