I'm ready for the cold weather. I'm sick of wearing long sleeves in 90 degree weather to camouflage my arms ( the 18 lb weight gain has made them kind of .... sausage-y). I'm tired of putting Jaisa in the car and cool off the metal seat belts so that they won't burn her when I strap her in. I am so done with the thousands of bees, that all seem to want to see a fat lady run around swatting at them on a daily basis (hey, I could be allergic). Jai has run out of Summer clothes. She has grown out of all her 18-24 month Summer clothes and has a whole stash of Winter ones ready to be broken in. We are down to about 3 shirts and a pair of "booty" shorts. The one thing that does makes me sad to see Winter approaching soon, is for my little guy. He loves mowing the lawn with Todd and catching all the bugs. He loves playing with water balloons outside and practicing baseball and soccer.He loves riding his scooter and picking at the garden. What are we going to do with him stranded inside all day everyday? Tyson caught this little green moth thingy outside, last time he was "helping" Todd with the yard work. He had never caught a flying bug before and was not too proud to brag about the whole experience of "creeping up on it and bam". I loved watching him cradle the bug in his hand (I think as the little thing was on it's deathbed), and tell me about all the things that he could do with it as a pet. After several minutes of watching him "play" with it, I insisted that he put the bug back outside in the grass. I don't know if the little bug ever made it past the whole traumatic experience of being lovingly squeezed in my son's dirty fingers, but to that bug.....thank you! Thank you for making Tyson's day. Thank you for being the one to give him this experience of catching his first fly er. Thank you for sacrificing your life for this little 4 year old!

So this is why they say "making up is the best part". Tyson got a little mouthy with Todd the other day and got grounded to his room for awhile. It was hard on him knowing that his dad was disappointed. I think that it was harder for him knowing that, than actually being sent to his room. When he was finally able to come out, he brought with him a gift for his dad. THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE!!!

I would say that Jaisa likes to swing at the park with her dad!

My quest to get through a pregnancy without the additional weight gain in the "wrong" areas has failed - surprise surprise!! So I have decided to take a week or more if needed, off of diet and exercise(I know you are not supposed to diet while pregnant, but I am the exception). Really, do I need to have gained 15 pounds already? Why is it that the Dr. wasn't concerned, and laughed at my concern (or embarrassment)? I am only at 22 weeks. Does the water retention really need to force me to consider removing all jewelery for fear that it will need to be professionally removed? What is the deal with all of the "fine print" during a pregnancy and unwanted side affects? Why don't I remember them all from pregnancy to pregnancy? My little sister flew up from Arizona for the week and we headed to my parents new home in Idaho Falls. My parents have only been there a couple of months, but have settled in quite well and are really enjoying it. While visiting, we decided that we wanted to learn the "art" (and it is an "art") of roll making. My mom is the best baker, and who better to learn from than the best? As I have FAILED to only add the needed baby weight - I am going to eat, and I am going to enjoy it!!! When do you ever get to just eat and blame it on the fact that the baby needs it. I found a recipe for cinnamon rolls and had to try it. I asked my mom for her "expertise in teaching us step by step how to know when the dough is "soft and sticky". They were the best straight out of the oven, and they were still soft after 3 days! We made the Lion House dinner rolls (my favorite) and went to town baking up a batch with some fresh peach jam. They were huge and really doughy when they come out of the oven. Baking yeast is now my friend and no my foe!

Tyson started school this week and it made me a little nervous. You never know with this kid if he will be stubborn and put up a fight or if he will be a good little boy and just go with the flow. I am happy to report that he has decided to go with the flow and beyond. He LOVES it!!! The one complaint that he had was on his first day. While playing star wars with another little boy (doesn't that just sound so cute?), the teacher came up and told him that they were not allowed to play star wars. He was disappointed as he told me the story but quickly came to a conclusion "maybe we can just play it tomorrow?"

MY PERSONAL VOW

I vow to NEVER make fun of other mothers who report on their blogs that they got teary eyed while dropping their kids off at preschool. You never think it will happen to you - and then it does- big time!! Two days straight, both picking up and dropping off I almost lost it. This is of course, no shock to my family or my husband who sees me cry nightly, whether it is during Big Brother, Oprah, Deal or No Deal or any other meaningless show I choose to spend my time watching. This is Tyson's second year at preschool and I thought that I was "safe" from the emotions that ALWAYS get me, but I should have known. There is something about dropping your kid off, knowing that they are responsible to make their own friends, use the potty - in a timely matter, learn lots of new things and feel safe without you. Then, picking them up and seeing a huge smile letting you know that they had a great day. I love it!

My little sister Carlie and I took the two 1 year old and went to Idaho Falls for a week. The weather was perfect and the kids had so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa Weston took us to the park across the lake from the Temple. It was so fun to watch the kids run around and get to "know" them again. Jaisa loved the ducks and was quite content sitting with Grandma laughing and pointing at them. Later the first night, Jai got in the jacuzi with Grandpa to spend some quality time, before he left for the week on business. Dane, who is only 6 days younger than Jaisa finally decided on the last day to be niceto her. He spend many hours- honestly hours- pulling Jaisa to the floor by her hair and hitting her. Tyson used to do the same thing to his cousin Truman that he is 6 days older than. It was sad to watch, as I got my turn being the mother of a tortured child. The trip was fun and way too short. We took the kids to the zoo, park, Temple and other fun things in the area. What a cute town! Luckily it is only 2.5 hours from Salt Lake, so I will be making lots of short trips back and forth to visit my parents

LAST CAMPOUT OF THE SEASON

Todd and Tyson went camping again.... in the backyard. I had no clue that this kid would love it so much. I never got a chance to take the boys up on their offer to sleep outside with them. Having the bed and t.v. to myself in a warm house sounded too good to pass up. Maybe next year they will get me out.

I tried to make things interesting by putting marshmallows on a stick (we only had mini and i could only find a chopstick). We don't have a fire pit, so we used a match thinking "it might work". Tyson took one bite and spit it out gagging. I didnt try it, but it smelled like burnt wood. Hey, it was the thought that counts, right??

This guy.......... and this girl........ had lots of fun this last weekend while staying in Fairview at Todd's sister's cabin. It was great to get away and enjoy the outdoors, without having to sleep in the outdoors :)

Tyson took Todd "hunting for bears"......... and talked him into letting him drive the four wheelers. We decided that we need a hammock. I don't think that it gets much better than laying around and cuddling with your kids while enjoying the perfect weather. Due to the fact that no makeup or hair was done during this short trip, I opted to stay behind the camera this time. Just didn't want any one's mind to wonder thinking that Todd took that kids to give me a break for the weekend, because THAT has not happened - yet :)

We woke up to a cold, windy and rainy day. No big deal- right? Add a power outage for an entire 8 hours and yeah- THAT IS BAD! We decided to take the kids to get some hot chocolate and go for a drive. The kids lasted 20 minutes and were crying that they wanted to go home. Came home, and lights were still out. It was too dark to hang out in the basement, so we thought of fun things for us to do in the living room. Put a one year old in an inflatable pool, throw and swing her in the air- VOILA - 10 minutes down and only 7 hours of power outage left. We decided to take a trip to Walmart, where we would hopefully find some legos or some sort of long lasting activity for the kiddos to waste a little time. While there, I decided that we needed some groceries. The only problem- once driving home, I remembered no power - no fridge AGH!!!!! Luckily the power was on within a couple hours of getting home.

Poor Jai split her lip open 3 times in less than 24 hours. Her day consisted of sucking on popsicles (which makes me wonder - did she "slip" down the stairs, "fall" into a table and "trip" while running too fast on purpose?) just a theoryALL IN ALL - THE KIDS HAD A WONDERFUL DAY OFF WITH THEIR DAD:)