couldn't be sweeter

Hazel Margarite SmithMy great grandmother. Born and raised in Michigan. Passed away 5 years ago. The only great grandparent that I have ever known; she was dear to me. Kristen MarieMy cousin. Born and raised in Arizona. Is at the ripe age of 20. Is getting married in just over 8 days. The only cousin I have ever known; she, too, is dear to me.
Yesterday, my dear cousin Kristen went through the temple for the first time. I had the opportunity of being a part of her session. Yesterday, my dear great grandmother Hazel went through the temple for the first time as well. I had the opportunity of acting as her proxy (Robert acted as proxy for her husband, Max). If going through the temple with my cousin in place of our great grandmother were not amazing enough, Robert and I had the opportunity to act as the witness couple for our session. I cannot describe the sweet simplicity that came from this. Pure. Bliss. I am filled with love and gratitude beyond measure for the blessings I receive.
As a side note, Robert and I have been attending the temple weekly recently in order to prepare my great grandparents' names. I knew that it would be meaningful to take my great grandma's name through when my cousin went through for her own endowments; Kristen and I are Hazel's only great grandchildren. Although it was difficult at times (with two kids and busy schedules), it was well worth the effort. Robert and I will be doubling with my cousin and her fiancé next week to do a sealing session before they get married. During the sealing session, Robert and I will be able to seal my great grandparents together. My heart swells just thinking about it.

i did, now they are

Two friends getting married soon (well, one is technically a cousin, but she is my friend, too). The first: Marie. One week. Lie. 6 DAYS. Celebrated with her at a surprise bachelorette party. A BLAST. Shakespeare's Pub in Mesa/Gilbert. 9 girls. A bunch of lingerie (it was a bachelorette party for a girl who is getting married, so stop spazzing). A basket full of wonderfully scrumptious goodies (non-edible). Laughter. Tears. We had a candlelight vigil for Marie's previous "boyfriends". She had to say adieu to her beloveds by blowing out the flame. Yeah... we all look phenomenal. Beyond words. Um... redo?The second: Kristen. My baby cousin. Two weeks. Lie. 13 DAYS. Celebrated her upcoming nuptials at my mom's house. Threw her a smashing soiree. PINK. Everywhere (slightly resent that color as a result). I made some yummy dessert. My mom provided delish finger food. I am proud of how the decor turned out, especially the food table (yes, you can hire me for your upcoming event). Made a kitchen cake which included a bazillion things. Showered her with all the love I could; she is my ONLY cousin, after all. Yes. I did it all. By hand. The food was done the DAY OF the party (which is why the chocolate drizzles on the strawberries are not PERFECT, 'cause normally I would freak over something like that).

free

It is no even 10am and it has already been an eventful day. My daily morning routine:

• Wake up at 8am.
• Go downstairs and ready breakfast for the troops.
• Wake the boys up at 8:30am (and by wake, I mean let them free... at this point, they have been awake for nearly two hours).
• Go downstairs and fed breakfast to the troops.
• Finish breakfast at 9am.

Now, it doesn't HAVE to be this scheduled. But, despite how late or early I wake up, we always seem to finish by 9am. Today's routine was the same. Woke up at 8am. Went downstairs and readied breakfast for the troops. Woke the boys up at 8:30. Upon opening the door, I found a surprise. No. Not quite like the surprise I received in the last post. Yes. There was a small amount of clothes on the floor. Nothing too frustrating. But Lucas. Oh Lucas. Lucas decided to take off his pajama pants (still don't know how he figured that one out) AND to take off his diaper. Lucas. Sans bottoms. Just sitting in his crib playing with himself. I had to laugh. Since there was no devouring of poop, it was quite hilarious. I put a diaper on him and get them dressed for the day. Go downstairs. Joel refuses help going down stairs; he has been doing it on his own for about 6 months. Today he falls. Down 5 or 6 stairs. Somehow flips in the process. Luckily I was RIGHT there, so I was able to stop him from falling down the entire flight of stairs. He freaks out a little. He refuses help for the rest of the way. Whatever. Fed breakfast to the troops. Kix. Joel loves them, but since we had Rice Krispies the last 2 or 3 days, he HATES Kix. Throws a fit. Elmo's World on Sesame Street. Joel loves it, but since he is angry over breakfast, he HATES Elmo's World. Screams at the top of his lungs. I go into the kitchen to breathe. Joel devours the Kix and says "Elmo" about a billion times. Sigh. Whatever. This has been our morning. I am interested to see what the rest of the day brings...

...

Today has been an... adventure (that's a fairly safe word). It started with a trip to Tempe Beach Park with our friend Gina. Scratch that. It started with a trip to Paiute Park (a hidden park in Scottsdale) with our friend Gina. Paiute Park has a decent splash pad, but bees outnumbered us nearly 10:1. Needless to say, we decided on Tempe Beach Park instead. I love getting out of the house, but 9 times out of 10, it throws off the boys' nap schedule. As it did today. Passed out. In the car. On the way home. WHATEVER. I fed them lunch and put them to bed for their nap. Regardless if they sleep, I have ME time each afternoon (selfish? maybe. but a must for sanity). I knew they wouldn't sleep. If they did fall asleep, it would be at 3:15, fifteen minutes before their nap-time ended. No such luck. 3:30 comes and I can still hear them over the monitor. I ready their afternoon snacks. I go upstairs, trying to be silent to make a sneak attack and surprise them. I open the door. The surprise is on me. Joel has emptied ALL of the clothes from the dresser. ALL of the burp cloths and bibs from the changing table. ALL of the blankets and diapers from the shelves. Heaping pile. In the middle of the floor. MY BIGGEST GRIEVANCE (if you know me, you know how OCD I am about order and organization). I instantly go from calm to furious; I felt my blood begin to boil just thinking about how long it would take me to fold each individual item and reorganize. This is when I notice a particular odor about the room. I turn to look at Lucas. My jaw drops to the floor. He is sitting in his crib. Half his diaper undone. Next to his feces. My eyes must have popped out of their sockets. I look directly at Lucas. He is drooling. Brown. Smudges all over his body and bed. His fists are closed around dark lumps. I screamed. Ran out, closed the door, bounded down the stairs, went out front, and screamed. Sounds a bit over-dramatic, but that is exactly what I did (I am surprised I did not faint). I know that this happens. I have heard stories before. That is not the issue. My OCD brain cannot wrap itself around this (well, it can. just hurts). I am not a negligent parent. The boys have skipped naps previously without such an outcome. But TODAY. An adventure... I will never put my children down to nap in nothing but a diaper again (a rarity previously). And the next time they refuse to sleep, I will check in on them regularly...

(for obvious reasons, no photo with this post)

9 months

This little one is 9 months old (as of June 30th). CRAZY. His stats:19lbs 11oz (37%)28.5in (52%)head circ: HUGE
He is EVERYWHERE. Scooting, crawling, climbing, walking (along furniture). Now that he is use to holding up the gargantuan weight that is his head, he is always on the move. A tongue clicker (like brother), people lover, and army crawler (can crawl the other way, just faster this way). Learns by accident. Such a joy.

fourth

We have gone swimming a lot lately. Sometimes just us. Sometimes with friends. Regardless of who we swim with, it is always nice to take a dip in the pool during this sizzling season. Swimming with J and baby cThese baby floats are amazing! I use to have one when I was this small...
Fourth of July was pretty low-key for us. Went to church. Visited with Robert's family. Ate with my family. Steak. Steak fries. Dill cucumbers. Tomatoes. Rainer cherries. The most delicious all-American meal ever. Took a swim afterwards (guess what. Don't care if it was Sunday. Swimming on the 4th is a family tradition). No fireworks (too difficult with two kids an hour past their bedtime). When we left my parents' house, though, we got a little sample of Joel + fireworks. My parents' neighbors were lighting firecrackers. Joel walked out the door right as one went off in front of him. Stopped dead in his tracks from a full run. BOOM. SCREAM. Loudest I've ever heard him (and the kid has lungs). Tears. shaking. He has never clung so tight to me before. I will admit, the firecracker caught me off guard and I may have let out a little yelp. Maybe. You'll never know. All in all, our Fourth was pleasant. I celebrated as much as I felt I should. Seriously. Mouthwatering.

wild things

Went to the zoo with a friend and the two kiddos she babysits. NOT going again until it cools down. Phoenix Zoo with four kids when it is 110 degrees... not going to happen again. We had fun; we just melted in the process. Saw a lot of animals trying to escape the heat. We, ourselves, escaped into the waters of the splash pad (this mother's summer favorite).