New Camera

Well we decided it's time for a new digital camera. The other one was a gift we got about 2 years ago. It's been a good camera. But lately the action shots of the kids have been pretty blurry. And kids won't stop for pictures. So, I figured it's time for a new one. It seems like so far, digital cameras only have about a 2 year life. Anybody else have some in-put about that? It seems like 2 years is also the perfect time-span that the cameras are WAY cooler and you need to keep up with the times anyway. So here's just a few random pictures and videos about the kids and how much they've grown!
Caleb has out-grown all his clothes again. I just had to buy him a whole new wardrobe for fall/winter. All his pants are too short. And Angie, of course, still outgrows her clothes every 3 months! I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY buying things for her!...and not because I can't resist how cute it is. But because her stretched out legs and body just can't hold the same outfit for very long.

Angie just started waving "hi" and "bye-bye". And she can clap her hands. She also likes to scream. I'm not talking, a loud baby yell....I mean....SCREAM. She thinks it's fun....especially when I'm feeding her babyfood. No word on if she'll have teeth like her brother or not. She's still got nothin. But....she's only 8 months old. There's still time. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high.

Caleb has learned how to count on his fingers. He's been able to count for....forever. But the actual comprehension of knowing how to count how many fingers, or how many chicken nuggets on his plate.....was kinda a blur until about this month. Something clicked, and now he's counting everything. He spends more time counting things on his plate than eating his food.

He's also had quite a few lessons on what words we're NOT supposed to say. Too much coming out of the TV I'm sure....and some may think WAY too young for such a lesson. But censorship is hard. I know if we would shut the tube off a little more, it wouldn't be an issue this young in life. But....it is what it is. And he's learned. And now he has become extra cautious, and likes to ask me "can we say......_____ mommy?" when he hears something new. 98% of the time the answer is, "Yes son, we can say that."

Caleb is also learning about what it means to be "respectful." And about how we don't talk with an attitude to people who are older than us....especially moms and dads....and grandmas and grandpas. Also when he does something he's not supposed to, and then is supposed to apolagize. He's learning how to do so nicely and respectfully....and not with the growly "sorrr-yyyy!!" kind of way. And he likes to try things out. Say it out loud, and then ask, "Mommy, is that being respectful?" Usually, the answer is no. But I think he's starting to get it.

Caleb has also proven himself to be an AMAZING big brother. He adores Angie. He picks her up and moves her when she's gotten into something she shouldn't. He's VERY protective of her. And has even begun to play with her a little bit.

As you can see from this video....Angie loves to grab things! Anything she can reach. Which makes her a PAIN to hold in church. If she's facing you, she's grabbing your face or breaking my jewelry. If she's facing outward, she's grabbing the people who sit in front of you. I'd just let her crawl around on the floor....but that's no good either, till the sacrament is served. Too much traffic in those aisles. She's also getting very......loud. as I mentioned earlier she loves to scream. And she does.

Only in Filer

Here in Filer (about 2 blocks from my house) is this old truck that is painted up to look just like "Mater" from the movie Cars. Caleb has to stop every time we drive by it.

Razored

I can't re-arrange the pictures today for some reason. I uploaded them backwards. Oh well. I razored my hair. It's very uneven. Lots of layers. And it's the shortest it's been since I bobbed it in 2nd grade. I needed a change. I liked long hair for 2 reasons. It curls well when it's long. But lets be honest. I wear a ponytail or pigtail braids 4 days a week cuz I'm working all the time. I never have time to curl my hair. Second....I've always been a long-haired kind of girl. And I've kind-of gotten used to it. Hence the change.

After you have a baby....3 months later all your hair falls out. It comes out by the HANDFUL! You lose a load in the shower. Then when you brush it after the shower. And then when you pull out that flat-iron even more comes out. Then.....when baby is 6 months old....it all starts to grow back. What does this mean? Short, can't pin it or curl it, fly-away, baby hairs start to frizz their way back onto your head. Ponytails look rediculous. It's just short hairs that look like frizz because you can't do anything with it. So.....as much as I love long curly hair.....it was time for a cut. And since I only get a haircut about once a year....I decided to do something dramatic. Cuz a year from now....it'll just be long again. Soo. Here's the results. Oh and don't judge.....I am TERRIBLE at taking pictures of myself. And no makeup today because I didn't work....and I just don't get to do that very often.

Vegas Vacation Day 1, 2, and 3

I know it's taken forever to post this....but at least I'm doing it right?

Last week we went on a family vacation to Las Vegas!

The main reason was to go and see Robyn (parker's sister) and John. We haven't been to their house in over 3 years, and we really wanted to get away this summer. Plus Allegiant Air does direct flights from Twin Falls to Vegas for about 30 bucks a ticket (one-way) once you add all the stupid fees and taxes that you DON'T tell you about, it was about 350 dollars to fly our family round trip. TOTALLY worth it in my book. Twin to Vegas is an 8 hour drive.....with 2 children?.....no thanks.

However..... our flight to Vegas was delayed for like 3 hours due to some technical problems with the plane. We were supposed to take off at like 8:50 or something, but instead it wasn't till like 11:30. Needless to say, the children were EXHAUSTED! And Angie did so well, but finally as we were taking off she decided she DIDN'T want her bottle, and was just so tired that she cried for about 5 minutes on the plane before falling asleep. I felt so bad for her. She just doesn't sleep in my arms anymore. And hadn't gotten a nap since we left for the airport around 6:45. (By the way....even though that stupid paper says to arrive 2 hours early.....that does NOT COUNT if you're in Twin Falls. It's a one-room airport!! Check-in AND security takes like 30 minutes. What a waste of time it was showing up that early! When we heard about the delay we left and got dinner in town. Then came back 45 minutes before take-off. Needless to say, Angie was a trooper, but couldn't take it anymore when we finally got onto that plane. I can't tell you the relief I felt once she finally zonked.

We got to Robyn and John's house around 12:30 (which was 1:30 OUR time). I put the kids straight to bed, and I quickly followed. That was Monday. Oh and lets not forget! I worked Monday. Since the flight wasn't till almost 9:00 that meant I was able to go to work. It made for a LONG day....and a very sleepy me at the end of it.

TUESDAY

We hung out with Robyn, and that evening we went to the Nevada 51's baseball game. AAA baseball. It was pretty fun actually!! Sorry. I didn't take pictures.

What kind of a team name is the 51's you might ask? I know I did! Well.....it's for AREA 51. Oh yeah. Their mascott is an alien. Caleb was scared of him. Naturally. He's scared of everything.

Although....I'm not gonna lie.....who designed THAT costume? He lookes more like a derranged bunny than an alien.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday was our day to relax. We took the kids to a children's science museum in the early afternoon. We packed a lunches, and let the kids pretty much play to their heart's content. This museum has 2 floors of hands-on science demonstrations and play areas. Lots of mazes, puzzles, and activities to keep those little minds buzzing. Below is a picture of the wind tunnel. The winds get up to like 75 mph or something. Caleb didn't like it towards the end. You can watch the video....

They also had this area just for babies. It had a padded floor, with all kinds of little toys that make noise and roll around. Angie loved it! We put her in there with Kayleigh. I think those two had a ball. Incase you forgot....they're only 3 weeks apart.

Kayliegh is a little more mobile than Angie. At the time she could roll and sit up all on her own. And she had a silly scoot of a crawl so she got pretty much wherever she wanted to. Angie can pretty much roll anywhere too....but can't quite pull herself into the sitting position.

Robyn's boy, Lucas, liked to dress up in the costumes they had there. Firemen. Construction workers, etc. This kid's pretty cute. Thank goodness Robyn had a double stroller!! Those girls are getting HEAVY!!

Caleb's favorite part about the museum was the airplane. They even had luggage there to load onto the plane....and a security area to run the suitcases through on a conveyer-belt. And laminated plane tickets! Caleb thought it was so cool to pretend he was flying the airplane. At one point, we moved to the 2nd story of the museum and Caleb disappeared. It took us about 5 minutes of looking for him before it crossed my mind that he might've gone back to the 1st floor to play on the airplane some more. Sure enough. That's where he was. Boy was I mad. I think he understands that he's not supposed to go off on his own. "What if somebody took you?" "I thought you were lost" I told him.

Wednesday night we stayed at Robyn and John's house and played games and just hung out. It felt like the o'l days all over again. Before Robyn and John moved to Vegas, we all lived in Pocatello, and we used to go to their apartment and play games and eat popcorn all the time. (cuz popcorn was cheap, and we were broke). We played LIFE.

Corporate Parker

I've neglected the blog lately. I just haven't had much to say. But I decided we at least need a journal entry to keep things up-to-date. Some things that have been going on:

1. We finally got callings! 7 months in the ward....and we're glad to serve. I am a relief society teacher. I teach the lesson once a month. Nice. I can handle that. They originally wanted me in Young Womens (which I would have LOVED!) but they called Parker to Young Mens....and since we have little kids, we couldn't both be with the youth.....it's too hard. So a month ago I had substituted and taught the lesson for someone else.....the next week I got the calling to just go ahead and keep on doing it.

2. Parker's little sister, Katelyn, got engaged last weekend. The wedding is in January. She's getting married to a guy named Jared Wright. He's in the army, and he's getting deployed 6 months after they tie the knot. We're so happy for these two....and our prayers go out to them in hopes that they can be strong when he goes to Afganistan.

3. Angie is ROLLING. Everywhere. And somehow she manages to ge her hands on things I didn't even think she could reach. This I think I've mentioned already...but she's also VERY close to sitting up. I'd say she's DAYS away.

4. Caleb turned four. My baby boy!! Four years old! I am amazed at how big he is every time I look at him. He's TOTALLY into Transformers right now. It's his favorite movie. He watches it pretty much every day. So for his birthday, we couldn't think of anything to get him besides Transformers. We got him Optimus Prime (for ages 5 and up....by the way YEAH RIGHT! No five year old could figure out that toy. It took Parker 2 hours to transform the robot into a truck....and that was by watching a YouTube video that demonstrated how to do it!) Caleb really likes it, but of course he has to ask his daddy to change it to and from truck/robot mode. He also got bumblebee (ages 3 and up.....much easier....he likes that one a lot). And Rampage (a bad guy). He likes that one too.

Caleb was also sick with a fever on his birthday (I was too). So we didn't have much of a party, cuz we couldn't invite other kids and get them sick. So it was just mom and dad, and Grandma and Grandpa Lyons came over. But that's allright. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said "Cupcakes!" So....I made cupcakes as well as a birthday cake.

5. We bought airplane tickes to fly our family out to Las Vegas next week. We're going to spend the entire week with Robyn and John. We are VERY excited since we haven't been out there for over 3 years. Yes we're crazy to go to Vegas in the middle of August...it's going to be SOOO hot. But flights were cheap....and I have a week's vacation that I HAVE to use before the end of the year....or it's gone. So we're going. And we're pretty excited about it too.

5. (This one's a biggie). A few months ago Parker had applied for a bunch of jobs....one he was particularly excited for was at Idaho Central Credit Union as a financial officer. He had lots of promising interviews.....but they never offered him the job. He'd also applied for a spot at CSI in Burley (extended campus), and a HR position at Cactus Pete's in Jackpot. Never heard much from any of them. Then a couple weeks ago he got a call from Cactus Pete's. They said they wanted to interview him for the Human Resource Coordinator position they'd just created. So he had some interviews. (this was so out of the blue.....they called like 4 months later!) The following Tuesday (last week) they called him back and offered him the job!

PARKER GOT A JOB! It's a full-time salary position, including health, dental and optical benefits, as well as 401K after 90 days. They also offter 90% tuition reimbursement! This means Parker can finish his Human Resources degree and we won''t need to take out any more student loans! (at least not very much!) AND paid lunches every day! And guess what? It's GOOD food too! It's the same stuff they serve at the Buffet! The starting salary is fair....but the good thing is that there are tons of opportunities for advancement. They can do merrit salary increases at any time. And he gets bonuses (GOOD bonuses) if he does REALLY well....up to 10% of his salary. His boss told him he'd been there for about 5 years....and he'd already DOUBLED his salary. Parker is a hard worker, and fits this position very well. With his Spanish degree, and his Human Resource experience back in Pocatello.....he was a shoe-in. And they were impressed with him. The health insurance he will be getting will cost us HALF what we are paying right now.....and the coverage is MILES better. (Oh PS our health coverage right now is absalutely REDICULOUS!! Crappiest insurance I've ever heard of). I am just so grateful!

He started his first day yesterday. And he's really enjoying it. We've had to spend a little money and get him some more collar shirts and ties, new shoes and some more slacks. So now he's lookin like a high and mighty business man. I am just so proud of him. And I'm SOOO grateful that he DIDN'T get that job at the Credit Union. He'd be traveling FARTHER and making less money.....I really feel like this is a miracle.

This also means that we are in pay-off-debt mode. Living in a home that we can afford with only MY income means that with both of us working.....we'll have all debts and student loans paid off in 5 years. And when that time comes, I will be cutting back to part-time. one or 2 days a week.

Down side yes.....there's always something. My kids will no longer be at home with their daddy every day. We have to send them to day care. I've already shed my tears over this fact. It is such a hard thing to do.....and even more hard because I always SWORE to myself that I would never put my kids in daycare. Life just hasn't happened that way for us. But one bright side.....our primary president lost her job this summer, and as a result she will be starting a daycare in HER home. Small. 6 kids at one time max. Caleb knows her from primary....and it's somebody I trust. We haven't always been so lucky in that department either. So once again, I'm grateful.

We have so many things to be thankful for right now. I feel so blessed.

Thousand Springs- Fishing

After all the swimming, we decided to cast a few lines and see if we could catch some fish. Thousand Springs has the pool....but it's on the edge of the Snake River near Hagerman....it's so pretty! The kids were really tired, but Caleb wouldn't let it go. "Are we going fishing?" he kept asking. So Parker got his little ice fishing pole and let Caleb fish with that one.

They sat down, and Caleb reaches into Parker's tackle box. He grabs some sinkers, "Are these rocks?" and then chucks them into the river! Parker's like, "HEY!" Naturally he'd thrown in the biggest sinker he could find. I told Parker, "Don't get mad....he doesn't understand. You're just gonna have to teach him."

So Parker rigged up the pole and they fished for about fifteen minutes.

Parker is the luckiest fisherman I've ever known. It seems like when NOBODY can get a bite. When nobody catches a fish....Parker ALWAYS does. And so it was today....

It's about 6:00 PM and around 90 degrees outside....not exactly ideal fishing weather or time....and wouldn't you know.... Parker gets a hit.

The second video is of the fish. We've never seen it before. Parker actually didn't recognize what it was. And he still needs to look it up... enjoy!

Thousand Springs

Today my work schedule kinda went to crap. People keep cancelling their appointments....and when that happens, I get sent home.

So today I got off at 12:30. I ask you 12:30?!!! It wouldn't be that bad except I got sent home at 3:00 yesterday too. I'm losing so many hours....but what can you do. It's a job and I'm grateful.

So we decided that since we had some free time today, we should take the family swimming. We decided to go to thousand springs, since we've never been there. It's about 30 minutes from where we live. It's a nice pool. And very warm. I'm pretty sure they're open year round too....which is good to know because if we ever get bored in the winter.....we can go for a swim. Anyway.....some details about Caleb when it comes to swimming.....

The kid's a frady-cat! He's SOOO terrified of getting his face wet, or getting water in his ears, or eyes, or mouth. Or getting splashed. Or sinking. He's PARANOID!

When we first climbed into the pool, he had a DEATH-GRIP around my neck, and would not let go. I tried to hold him on his tummy so he could practice kicking his legs a little. Oh no. He wouldn't let go of my neck. I don't know what his deal is. Parker can throw him 10 feet in the air (not literally....but close I swear) and he doesn't even care. He'll jump off the counter tops into your arms.....six feet away. But he won't jump off the edge of the pool into your arms. I can't quite figure it out. Except that my mom says I was EXACTLY the same way when I was a kid. We really have to be patient with him, because he's really GENUINELY freaked out. and even though we say "I won't let go." or "I won't let you sink" he's still so scared. I know the only thing that will make it go away is to keep on taking him swimming.


There's a little kid's swimming area that's 2 feet deep....separated by a wall. He LOVED that. Wasn't scared then. Although he did slip once and fell, and his whole head went under. He came up so stunned! He didn't even get any up his nose. No choking. He was like, "Whoa!" He wanted to cry....except there was no reason to cry....cuz he was fine. So he said, "I fell!" And I said, "Yeah! You're fine too!" And that was the end of it!

Parker's the REAL water baby! He could swim all day and just love it! I hope we get a pool someday.....Parker would go swimming EVERY day I just know it.
Now Angie. She has no choice but to trust us. And she did AWESOME in the water!! We put her in the little baby float tube.....which kept her head just above water if her arms were tucked in. Towards the end....she started kicking and splashing! It was so cute! She totally loved it!

We swam for over 3 hours I think....or close to it. We really had a blast!

I have one thing to say about that diving board. The tall one. I watched Parker jump off.....no big deal. It doesn't look that high when you're in the water looking up. But then I climbed up there. OH MY GOSH! I felt like a 7 year old child again. And when I was 7.....that diving board FREAKED me out. I stood there for like 30 seconds before building up the courage to step off (no jumping....that's too scary). I'm such a scardy-cat I know.....I don't blame my son at all. I know it's because of me he's like that. But I'll tell you ...... I only jumped off that high-dive like 2 times. I just thought it was a little too much for me.

These pictures are some of the best....my camera really isn't good at stopping motion. We get a lot of blurry pictures. I'm wondering if it's time for a new one.....we've had it for 2 years now. How long is a camera supposed to last. I don't remember the pictures being blurry before...

Here's some videos from our day!!