This is gonna be a good day. I can tell. This story may be geared more to the females in my audience, but you 'males' can still read it. ;) I had a dream last night that I was on my period. It was awful. I was so disappointed and cried a lot in my dream. Then I woke up, so happy that it was all a dream! A short time later I found out it WASN'T a dream. A period isn't a huge thing. I have had quite a few over the years. But when I wake up, sooo happy that I am not having one and then I get thrown in the opposite direction... well, it was hard to take. So tears in my dream and real tears this morning. *sigh* I am already having some pretty bad cramps and I am ready to just go back to bed and gorge myself on sweets. But Russell had this super stinky diaper, so I went to his room to change it. I had wiped him all clean but was looking for some cream for a little rash he had. When suddenly, much to my dismay, he started PEEING ALL OVER ME! I screamed and he stopped. I just sat there for a second in shock -- he hasn't done this in a really long time. And then he STARTED PEEING ON ME AGAIN!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I told him to stop and quickly put on a diaper this time. WHY ME!??

That's it. I'm going back to bed.

Scott and I had a very eventful evening last night. It began regular enough... We were rushing to finish dinner, sending kids to the bathroom, helping Erin get dressed for her soccer game, and trying to clean off the baby. How he manages to get food on the back of his head is beyond me. Richie had been sitting on the toilet for quite a while. I had, in fact, managed to get everyone except Russell finished and sent out to the van when Richie called out that he was done.

I went in there, wiped him off good, and flushed a very full toilet. The water began to run... and rise... and continued running... and rising... and I took off in a panic to find the plunger. I came back and began plunging the toilet, careful not to splash and careful not to throw up. It's so gross sometimes to be a mom. The plunging was working, but very, VERY slowly. Scott came in and offered to help and I bit his head off, telling him to go load Russell in the car if he wanted to help. I finally started out to the van. Erin was supposed to arrive at her game early so the coach could work with the kids on some stuff. And we were already late. I met Scott on the way out and told him it was fruitless work and we were probably going to have to take the toilet apart. He started towards the bathroom and promised to join me later. I told him he would miss Erin's game if he got too involved with that toilet. He promised he would get there on time. So I left. As I was backing up, I asked Richie if he had put anything into the toilet. He said, "Ya. Ruffie." That's his word for dog. AARRGH!!! I got after him pretty good about putting things in the toilet and told him he had ruined it!! Now it was broken because he had put Ruffie in the toilet!! I called Scott and told him what Richie had done. I was super upset and complaining about how we were going to have to take the whole toilet apart, but Scott just said, "It's ok. We love having kids." I don't know why he was so calm about it. I guess we can't both lose control at the same time.

So the gist of the matter is, he made it to the game on time. And after we all got back from Erin's game, we had to to take the toilet completely apart. It was a lot of disgusting, smelly work, and I think it made both of us a little sick. Here is a picture of the little bugger who clogged up our toilet:

And here is a picture of the "Ruffie" he decided to flush down the toilet:

Scott wasn't as easy-going about it with Richie once he had to dig this guy out of the bottom of the toilet. He kept getting after him and saying he was going to spank him. Richie kept saying he wouldn't do it anymore and "NO! Me don't like spankings!" I kept laughing and laughing. Scott was even able to get the toilet all put back together again and it works!!  He is such a great handyman to have around. And amazingly enough, I think that -- yes, we both still love having kids.

Wow. I have so much to say. This may take awhile... :)
First of all, SCHOOL HAS BEGUN!!!! Hooray!! As you can see from the picture below, everyone woke up early and was excited for this big milestone. Erin began 3rd grade this year and Zach began 2nd!! I can't believe how old they are getting. Wally will start Preschool in about a week and a half. He is very anxious to begin since the older two have already started.

So our fall sports have also begun. Zachie is playing football with his first game on Friday!! Erin and Wally are both playing soccer. Erin's first game is next Wednesday, but Wally has already played his first game and he was so excited for it. He kept reminding me that if someone on his team scored a goal, it was okay because it was like he scored a goal too since they were on the same team. I wondered if he was trying to convince me or himself.

He did a great job and ran hard, but all those little 4-year-old's were getting pretty tired by the end of the game. They just kind of stood there and kicked at the ball. Then one of them would fall on top of it and they would all stand there for a minute. A coach would help the kid up, and then they would all start to tumble. (It probably helped that a few little ones would shove their way through the throng of children gathered around the ball) I swear the last 5 minutes were spent just falling and getting up. Scott and I were laughing so hard. Afterwards, Wally told me that soccer games were really hard.



Ok, next on my list is Erin got glasses!! Towards the end of last school year, she began complaining that she couldn't see the board at school and things, and so we promised her that we would get her eyes checked out for the next school year. We were a little late, and she didn't quite have them for the first day of school, but we picked them up yesterday and she wore them to school today. It is funny how excited you are to first get glasses. It's the wearing them year after year after year that gets old... She is sooo incredibly cute in them though! She is such a beautiful girl. After school yesterday, she and I were just sitting and chatting about school and kids and her teacher. At one point we were both laughing so hard, tears were coming out of our eyes. I haven't laughed like that since I was a teenager. She is already becoming one of my best friends, and she's not even nine years old. I am so lucky to have her!

Scott and I have passwords set up on our phones to mostly protect them from the kids. Wally hates the fact that he doesn't know our passwords and is constantly begging us to tell them to him. The other day he was asking Scott to please tell him the password. Scott shook his head. "PLEASE Dad?? I have a really bad memory and so I'll just forget it anyway." What a smart kid! I can't believe he's four years old and using that kind of logic on us already.

Zach lost his front tooth!!! He had been talking about it being loose all week long and asking his dad to pull it out. So finally, Scott announced to the whole family, "Tomorrow, I am going to pull out Zach's tooth." Then he warned Zach he needed to really work on it so it would be loose enough to come out. Zach worked on it and wiggled it all day faithfully until night came. After scriptures, Scott called him over and yanked that tooth right out!! Zach said it hurt a little but he didn't cry and was very brave. :)
He was holding the tooth and came over to me and asked, "Mom, is there really a tooth fairy?"
"Of course there is a tooth fairy, Zach. Who do you think gets your teeth and leaves money under the pillow?"
"Well, I was thinking maybe you and dad did it."
"What?! What would we want to do with all those teeth?"
*pause*... "Make a bracelet?"
Scott and I couldn't stop laughing. Oh, Zachie. You are the most creative kid I know. It's so much fun to be your mom!

It has really been awhile since I have added an entry. It has been too much fun of a summer for me to sit down and write, I guess. We have been so busy and gone on several little trips as a family and had a ball! I sure love my little family!

So last week Scott and I talked about the possibility of heading up the canyon and going camping. Neither of us were super excited about the idea (although compared to Scott, I was thrilled). It was funny because he was the one who suggested it. Maybe he feels obligated because the kids talk about it all the time... But anyway, Scott and I finally decided we just couldn't go through with it. We have our little 9 month old, campfires aren't allowed right now up the canyon, we have none of the fancy camping cooking stuff, and... we don't really like camping. haha... However, to pacify the children, Scott set up the tent in the backyard and let them sleep in it. They were soooo excited!

They pulled out their sleeping bags and pillows but did not want to go outside. It was too dark, even with the lights on in our house and the neighboring houses. So I went out with them and got them all settled. They started begging me to stay, everyone talking at once. Erin kept asking if they were going to have enough light and whispered to me asking, "What if Wally has an accident all over everybody?" I quietly assured her he would be fine but secretly just crossed my fingers. I always feel like it's a 50/50 chance with Wally. I always joke that Wally never has an accident during the day, only at night. Richie never has an accident during the night, only during the day. *sigh* Wally was whining a little and asked me if bugs could get inside (I shook my head), and Richie wouldn't get in his sleeping bag. He kept crawling and jumping all over everybody. Zach said he was going to have nightmares, and I gave him kind of a sideways glare and harshly whispered for him to "BE QUIET SO YOU DON'T SCARE EVERYONE" through my teeth. I was not going to have gone through all this work for nothing. Besides, I liked the idea of the memories it would create if they could just muster the courage and stay. And staying out there with them was not an option. :)

I told them I was going to go get my camera and come back. I took a bunch of pictures, which they thought was great fun. I told them they were so lucky because they got to sleep right by each other for the whole night!! And they could tell each other stories as late as they wanted, as long as they weren't scary, or sing songs, or do whatever they wanted. Zach was thrilled when I agreed he could play out in the yard as soon as he woke up. They seemed much happier. I told them all good night, zipped them up, and headed inside.

Richie lasted about 3 minutes. Erin brought him in crying, but then she headed right back out. The other three made it all through the night. I was so proud of them! Nobody coming in crying with bad dreams, and Wally didn't even wet the bed (sleeping bag). What a great adventure!

We have some big news!! We have cement in our backyard now!! I'm not gonna lie. I feel pretty proud of our backyard. We have a basketball goal with a court that extends back to the three point line at least in some spots. We have a tramp and a big swingset! And we will get a little kiddie pool for Richie's birthday in two weeks (shh... don't tell him). I feel proud of how fun it is back there! We are so blessed!! Here are some pics of the process. It was so fun to watch! Even the neighborhood kids loved watching them work their magic. We even got to put the kid's handprints in the cement! I added a pic of Russell's. It doesn't look perfect, but it will still provide some great memories! :)

I had the most amazing thing happen to me yesterday that testifies of the goodness of people in general and also of Heavenly Father's watchful care over me. So yesterday I had a doctor's appointment with my OBGYN in Salt Lake, just my regular yearly checkup. Since I was driving into Salt Lake and gas isn't cheap, we tried to combine everything I could into that same visit. I left as soon as the kids left on the bus, bringing all three little boys with me. I got the oil and filter changed and tires rotated on the van and then headed to my appointment. After that, I promised the kids lunch at Costco. Then shopping at Costco, Walmart, and Deseret Book. Unfortunately, my doctor was running about an hour behind. And then, when I got into the room, it still took about another 20 min before I saw her. So by the time we were eating lunch at Costco, it was about 1:15. The kids get off the bus at 3:45, and Lindsey had to go into work at that same time. I determined I was going to have to cut something out to make it home in time, and since I was already at Costco, I decided I would cut out Walmart. We did all of our Costco shopping. I had planned on spending about $50, but it rang up about $98. Depressing.
Then I remembered that I had no idea what my PIN number was. Costco doesn't take my VISA card, which is what I always use. I had to use my debit card. I had written down my PIN number at one point but had lost it, and I haven't had to actually use my debit card in months and months. I could vaguely remember the numbers, but after three tries, the checker and I both decided I wasn't going to get it right. I did not have my checkbook, and I informed the checker I lived too far away for them to hold the groceries for me. I was so embarrassed because Costco was SUPER busy and all these people were waiting, and I was so angry at myself for wasting all that time on a day when I was already pressed for time. Now I would still have to cut out the Walmart shopping and I wasn't going to get Costco done either. I was biting back tears and apologized several times to the workers as she announced a "1021" or whatever into the loudspeaker for someone to come get all my stuff. I began unloading my kids from the cart when the lady behind me in line came up and handed me a receipt. I said, "Oh, thank you," confusedly. She smiled at me and told me to have a nice day. I looked at the receipt and realized she had paid for all of my groceries. I just started bawling. I am still crying now even writing about it. A $100 is a lot of money to just give away to a total stranger. I reloaded the kids and thanked her again, but I couldn't talk very much through all the tears. She just smiled again and told me to have a great day. I don't even know her name. She doesn't know mine. But she is my sister and truly an angel from my Father in Heaven, and she was definitely on His errand yesterday. She was a huge blessing to me, and I only pray that someday I will be in that same situation and I will be able to help someone like she helped me. It meant so much.
The Lord truly watches over us and takes care of us and sends us angels like this when we need them. I did not expect the help. I don't know that I deserved it. With just a little foresight, I could have avoided the whole situation. But the Lord blessed me anyway, and I am so grateful for Him and for the wonderful woman he placed in line behind me.