Independence

Caleb learned how to ride his bike without training wheels last week. With this new accomplishment has come a whole new feeling of independence for him. We'd tried to get him to ride his bike last fall. But his tire went flat and then it got cold. So we quit trying for several months. Then last week Parker finally fixed that tire. He handed the bike over to Caleb. He hopped on and rode away. That was it! No teaching. No running behind him telling him you're there when you're really not. He just rode his bike. I couldn't believe it! What a big boy!

So now it's all he wants to do. He is ALWAYS riding out in the driveway. He comes in for mealtimes and potty breaks. We hardly ever turn on the tv since he's been riding his bike now! Anyway. On the first day he wanted to ride to all the neighbors and tell them all what he could do. He walked into the house, "Mom! I went to the house with kids!"

"You did what?"

"I crossed the street to the house with kids!"

Ok. Hold the phone. He took me outside and pointed to a house across the street that belongs to a family in our ward. There were a bunch of kids playing in the front yard. So. We had a little discussion about crossing the street. I told him he was only allowed to cross the street if he comes and asks me first. One great thing about my son. Stuff like this....I usually only have to tell him once. He's pretty obedient.

Although today he told me he would be going outside to ride his bike in the driveway. I sat down for a few minutes on the computer while Angie was taking a nap. After about 15 minutes of silence I started to wonder where he was. (He almost always comes in every 5 or 10 minutes to tell me about a new trick he can do, or to tell me about something he found outside). I peeked my head out in the garage....and he wasn't there. Ok check inside the cars. Nothing. Maybe he's in the house. I yelled for him and no answer (he never doesn't answer). I go BACK outside and start yelling for him. A twinge of panic in my voice. My thoughts are easily getting out of hand. He's been hurt. Hopefully he's just hiding? He's not kidnapped..... ok. Lets just check next door. (the neighbors have a 4 year old boy that Caleb loves to play with). There he was, sitting on the living room floor. Relief. Now I'm angry.

The boy's mother said Caleb had told her I knew where he was. Hah. I pulled Caleb outside and we had a little chat about telling mommy when he goes to Victor's house. About how scary it is when mommy can't find her little boy. And of course there was tears and sobbing and lots of "I'm sorry!" Then I left and he stayed and played.

He's just growing so fast. I can't even believe it. He's starting kindergarden this fall. And he's just so big. The other day I asked him, "Caleb- how come you keep growing so big?" and he answered, "I duno. Maybe it's the food."

Last here are some videos of Caleb doing some tricks on his bike. A couple days ago some teenage boys came riding by on their BMX bikes while Caleb was outside. He stood there in amazement while they did tricks for him. Now he thinks he's gonna try some as well. I suppose we'd better get him a new helmet. The one he has is broken and uncomfortable. He won't wear it.

Does anyone else love how he sticks his tongue out when he's doing tricks? So cute! And Angie's yelling in the background "Wow! Wow! Wow!" Which I never really noticed when I was making the recording. Incase you were curious....right after taking this video angie stuck her arm up the tailpipe of the explorer. Bleck! The girl has no shame.

Oh gross....

Not in the mood for much "fun" today. I kinda had a rough day at work. When I got home, Parker decided to stay in Jackpot and play a round of golf. This meant I had the entire evening with the kids. They were actually really good.....for the most part. We did microwave burritos and green beans for dinner (they gobbled it up) and then I let Caleb go outside and ride his bike in the driveway for a while so I could get Angie in the bath.

Angie had thrown a bunch of her green beans on the floor, and so once I got her in the tub, I tried to get them all cleaned up before my little HOOVER (Angie) could make it over there and start eating them off the floor. I peeked my head outside to check on Caleb and then went back into the bathroom to get Angie washed up. Something smelled funny....

She was holding the washcloth and rubbing it between her legs. Wait.... what? Why? Oh no. Oh no no no no no NO NOOO! There they were. About 6 or 7 little brown balls floating around in the tub. That's right. She pooped in the bath. AUGH!! Ok think. How do I clean this up? Our bathtub drain has a rather large mouth. I can't just drain the tub.....the poop would go down too. I don't exactly have a little net or anything. Well. I ended up getting an empty can (which housed the green beans before dinner) and scooping out what I could, then dumping the....poo onto a LARGE wad of toilet paper and then throwing the wads into the toilet and flushing them one by one. All the bathtub toys that were ALSO in the tub were put into a bucket of clorox. And Angie was allowed to run COMMANDO around the house for 15 minutes. After the major floaties were removed, I drained the bath. That took FOREVER. (I've never had to actually SIT and wait for the tub to drain before. Normally you take the kids out, pull the plug and walk away. Do you have ANY idea how long it takes for that thing to drain? Well, anyway. Then there were still TONS of MINIATURE floaties stuck to the bottom of the tub after the water was gone. I used MORE large wads of toilet paper and essentially mopped the floor of the tub till all brown-ness was gone. Then I scrubbed it with Comet. I put the can of Comet on the bathroom counter so Angie couldn't get it (forgetting that even tables and counter surfaces are no longer safe because she climbs EVERYTHING! Including chairs, bar-stools, and toilets). After scrubbing the bathtub I turn around to see naked Angie STANDING on the bathroom counter ( I didn't even hear her behind me!) She has Caleb's toothbrush in her mouth as she knocks down my FULL can of Comet onto the floor. AHHHHH! Ok. I try to sweep it into a pile with some toilet paper. And Angie squats down and tries to help. "No no no!! Don't TOUCH!!" Ok.... So. Re-fill the tub and put Angie inside so she won't cause any more trouble. Get out the vaccuum and suck up all that Comet sprinkled on the floor. THEN finish washing Angie and drain tub again. Blah!

For some comic relief....I just thought I'd add this little blirb. This is what was going through my head as I was trying to keep any poo from going down that drain.

Wicked

A few weeks ago I got a phone call. It was Jesse- one of my friends from the Dental Hygiene program back in the days at ISU. She had 2 extra tickets to Wicked, which she'd bought in advance MONTHS ago.....she was going with her husband and another couple. But the other couple couldn't go anymore and so she wanted to know if I'd want to buy them. 65.00 a piece. HECK YES! Those tickets were going for almost 200 dollars a seat at that point.
Now I have to say....I can't BELIEVE that I've lived my life without seeing this play, or even hearing the music. I actually consider myself a musical buff- bu it turns out I've REALLY been missing out on this one.

I asked Parker if he wanted to go. Now please note: in 3 weeks we have tickets to see Les Miserables in Salt Lake City. We also got these tickets WAY in advance.....like 7 months ago. And Parker (who was raised listening to the music, just like I was) has never seen it. The poor soul. ;) Anyway he's super excited to go. And wouldn't you know....it also happened to fall on the weekend of our anniversary. Nice. So anyway. When I told him about the Wicked tickets, he replied that he didn't want to go, because he wanted his first broadway musical to be Les Mis. Hmm...... Really? I guess I get that. He's only wanted to see it for his entire life. But. This was too good of a deal to pass up. I told him if he's not going then I'm going with my mom.

I informed Parker before I left that I would be buying the soundtrack while I was there (fully knowing that I'd love it and want to listen to it every day). I packed the binoculars (a MUST-HAVE at all broadway plays) and mom and I went to a nice dinner beforehand:
Only having been there one other time (also with my mom). I have to say....to do dinner AND dessert, be prepared to be stuffed. But so good. Rediculously expensive, but it also takes like an hour and a half to eat. It's more of an experience than just a meal. But talk about DELICIOUS! I really do want to go there with Parker one of these days.

This picture is JUST dessert. Whoo! Very good. We had all 4 courses. Which included a cheese-dip appetizer, salad, entree (which had chicken, steak, and lobster), and THEN un-do your pants for dessert. :)

Ok. So Wicked. We found our seats. About 1/3 the way up the balcony on the right side. As we're sitting down, I feel a SLAP on my arm. "Ouch!" I was about to say. Then when I turned around to see who would do such a thing, we saw the Kjar family! (members in my mom and dad's ward). Sitting RIGHT behind us. How fun! I let them use our extra set of binoculars, since I brought 2 and mom had one as well.

I was SOOO impressed. The voices were flawless! The music was amazing. And the storyline was quite intrguing as well. I just loved it. At intermission, I was gonna go buy the soundtrack, but sister Kjar suggested I download it on itunes. Oh yeah! The CD was selling for 25 dollars that evening. I decided to wait. I wanted a program too....but I resisted. Besides, I actually spent the entire time at intermission standing in line to go to the bathroom. Then once into the door (maybe 15 people in front of me) I heard the chime that the play would be starting in a few minutes. No way was I getting locked out when it started again. I left the line and made it back to my seat. Turns out I COULD hold it. :) The play ended late. 11:00 PM. Mom and I couldn't stop yawning. But it was totally worth it. I loved, loved, loved it! When I got home I downloaded the soundtrack. 11.99 for the album. Less than HALF the price. I'll take it. It downloaded in less than 2 minutes. Sync to the ipod took like 10 seconds. And I was listening. Oh yeah! Listening to the soundtrack is almost like re-living the experience! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this music! It's all I've been listening to. I really can't even pick a favorite song. There are SO many that I like. Please. Take a second and watch this video. You'll want to see it to!

Thank you Jesse SO MUCH for calling me!

I was right....

Well.....I was right. It turns out she COULDN'T have eaten her green beans that fast.

And for your personal enjoyment. Here's ANOTHER snapshot of Angie at mealtime....

And then, the resulting BATHTIME

She's so much fun!

The greatest Mothers Day gift ever!

On Mother's day my children slept in. AND I DIDN'T EVEN ASK THEM TO!! The down-side to this: church is at 9. So sleeping in means we're late for church. Oh well. Parker made me breakfast and we didn't even miss the sacrament. During sacrament meeting, I got to watch Caleb go up to the front and sing "I often go Walking." This was the first time I've gotten to see him up there singing (last year we were out of town). He KNEW the words and he sang his little heart out. He even gave me that cheesy "Hey mom" wave when he first got up there. I bawled. I was so proud of him that he knew all the words! And that he actually sang, and didn't just stand up there and pick his nose or something. I was SOOO proud. Then (and for some reason, this was the best part) there was primary. I was asked to substitute for the piano player in primary on Sunday. And I got to watch my son in primary for the first time. He is such a good little boy! He volunteers for EVERYTHING! And he wants to say every prayer. When they asked one of the boys if he had his talk prepared Caleb said, 'I'll do it! I'll do it" even though he had no talk prepared. And the best part: he SANG AND SANG AND SANG! He learned all the new songs and sang so loud! I just sat there and smiled from ear-to-ear as I plucked out the melody of the song they were learning. It totally made my day. I am so lucky to be the mother of this AMAZING child!! To be the mother of BOTH my children. I just couldn't be more proud. I love my kids!

Spiritual Gift

My son has a love for the scriptures, and he can't even read. At daycare, Tresa lets him watch "The Jesus movies" (living scripture cartoons on DVD) every day after lunch....and he LOVES them. But aside from the movies, you can tell him a scripture story (for example last week I told him the Easter story) and he'll re-tell it to you PERFECTLY. He's ALWAYS telling me scripture stories. About how the people were wicked. Or how Jesus has power. Every night he asks to read scriptures even though he can't really understand them. He LOVES to say prayers, and sometimes will get upset when Mommy or Daddy want to say it instead of him.

He's just SUCH A SPONGE!! He's learning so much from Primary too! Yesterday he learned about when Jesus calmed the sea. It's one of his favorite stories now. He ties the gospel into EVERYTHING.

"Mom....does Heavenly Father like us to speak Spanish?"
"Uh.....yeah I think he does."

He carries his Book of Mormon all around the house whenever he's home. Two days ago he got out of bed, pulled Angie out of her crib and turned on the TV while I caught a few extra minutes in bed. When I DID get out of bed a few minutes later.....his Book of Mormon was open sitting next to him on the couch. I just can't believe how much faith this little boy has. He truly has been given a spiritual gift of Faith. And I know it will never leave him. I'm so grateful for the example this child is to me. Everything is simple. Everything is about the gospel. He knows it's that way. And he's only four.