I love the OTS!

The first day of our trip, Brian got the results of an 8 week long exam at the bank. Needless to say, the poor guy had to spend a little time on the phone.

Can I just say there ought to be a law against government agents examining a bank when those agents are going to be out a job in a few months. It doesn't make for, shall we say, "Nice play".

Ashlynn's response to this picture was, "Oh, c'mon, Dad."

We had a lovely day on the ferry and in Sausalito.

(OTS stands for Office of Thrift Supervision)

Here's to 10 wonderful years!

On the roof of the Oakland Temple, where we were sealed.

(the temple, not the roof...)

Brian and I just spent this last weekend in San Fransisco for our 10th Anniversay. We had so much fun. We spent the first day of our Honeymoon in the city 10 years ago, so it brought back a lot of memories.

Thanks, Annessa and Kurt for hosting "Cousin's Camp" and watching our kids for us. I know they had a blast, as well.

Odds and ends

First, I must give credit where credit is due. I've gotten a few compliments on picture I've posted- and I have to admit, I can't take the credit for them. The shot of Ashlynn and the roses and the grandkids shots were taken by my talented sister-in-law, Lisa with her awsome camera. I wish that I had gotten the photography gene from my dad, but alas, I must live life without.

I'd like to pause here to say Happy birthday to my two sister-in-law's. Both of them are named Lisa, and both of them have the same birthday. One of them married a man named John, and the other has a brother named John. Which means: one of them married a man named Mark, and the other has a brother named Mark.

Next:

Ty has discovered that my electric tooth brush is a really good tool to use to brush his elbows. As distrubing as that was for me to see yesterday, it was more disturbing for me to think about how long this has been going on...

Next:

You know it's been a long night when your son wakes you up in the middle of the night and he's not making any sense to you. So you get up to try and figure out what he's talking about, only to trip on a kid on the ground. The kid you tripped on is the one you thought you were talking to... This isn't making any sense even to me.

In other words, Briggs was sleeping on my floor because he was throwing up. Ty came in just to visit and I start saying things like, "Briggs. Do you need to throw up? What is it? What do you need? Go into the bathroom if you need to throw-up!" This goes on for a few moments when I finally get out of bed to escort who I think is Briggs into the bathroom. Then I trip on Briggs and realize there are two of my sons in my room. "Will the real slim shady please stand up?"

Lamenting the Essence of Ty

Easter with Grandma and Grandpa and all of the cousins
Please note Ty

Why is it that when I turn around at a birthday party, Ty is punching the **** out of a life size Hannah Montana balloon? What is to be expected from this wild child?

I recently read an excerpt from a book describing a young child that reminded me of the little leprechaun that we call Ty:

"A relative lull followed while Guy Farne primed his muscles, coordinated his limbs, and secured a few basic necessities in the way of teeth and hair. Then, some three months earlier than expected, he began to crawl and subsequently to walk. Life had now begun in earnest."

Remind me what the importance of being earnest is? And can I pause here to tell you that Ty has turned into one. giant. muscle. He is like an adult man, but 2 feet tall. Everything is solid and tight.

As the character grows, this is how his teacher describes him. Again, note the similarities:

"'He's a devil, Mrs. Hodge,' said Mr. Forster. 'A thorough-going, copper-bottomed fiend in hell.' He embarked upon a recital of the damage that Guy Farne had inflicted in his short time at... School. 'However. . . "

" Martha, lifting her head at the however, was then informed that her foster child had a remarkable capacity for learning; had, in short, more brains than any child that had passed through Mr. Forster's hand in twenty years, and could, in his opinion, win a scholarship to grammar school."

Could we please say that this is Ty's problem? He is too smart for his own good?

Returning to Guy and his foster parent:

"Going out with her rolling pin one day to rescue a neighbor's little boy who was pinned against the sooty brick wall of the shipyard, Martha discovered that the child was warding off not Guy's threatened blows but his determination to explain the second law of thermodynamics; then she knew that the battle was won."

So, apparently what I need is a good rolling pin, and a few more years for him to understand the discoveries of Sadi Carnot.

The other night, the middle of it, to be exact, I was dealing with Ty and his need for (fill in the blank). I finally tucked him in, kissed him and said, "Good night. I love you." He responded, sounding like Walowitz's mother, "You already said that."

I feel like the Hannah Montana balloon - me, Ty and his 1-2 punch.

Welcome Summer!

Found in our hanging flowers...

New room

We have been working on Ashlynn's room since January - a true work in progress. She wanted to share some of the photos of her room. No matter how "catalog" like you try and decorate your child's room, their personality is always going to come out. As you can see, Ash's personality is overflowing in this Ikea/second-hand inspired room!

Silhouette in Ikea frame

Eiffel tower and Amy Butler pouffe, a-la mom

The royal piggy bank with her huge wad of cash she is hording, p.s. Ash made the pillow

She is very proud of her book worm status

P-e-a-n-u-t B-u-t-t-e-r

This is how Ty started his day today:

"Mom. Peanut Butter is spelled S-k-i-p-p-y!"


I can't even begin to describe how the rest of his day went. If I did, I'm sure you all would burn a few calories just reading about it - because it was that exhausting. (Funny. Why can't I seem to burn any calories? Maybe it's because S-k-i-p-p-y is the bottom part of my food pyramid...no. That's not true. It's H-e-r-s-h-e-y'-s.)

They're Ba-aack!

We have brought back the token system. The kids needed a motivator to stop killing each other.

We got the idea from my friend over at V and co. We have used it before, but we kind of forgot about it, ironically when Vanessa and her kids came for a visit. I think I was intimidated to be using her method in front of her!(What if I was doing it wrong?! What if I awarded a token when I should have taken one away?! Gasp! Just kidding.)

Basically it is a reward system - you get a token for good things, lose a token if you do something bad, etc. It is a really good motivator, and this time around, Ty can get in on the action. He was too young to understand before, but he is ALL over it now. Maybe it's because he is earning tokens, which is what you use at Chuck E. Cheeses, which is his idea of heaven on earth ( like Target is for me...)

What prompted this new incentive program? That would be the nasty red bite mark that Ty gave his sister in her back yesterday!

Wish us luck!