Quick Update

I should be going to bed right now, but all day long I planned to update my blog after the kids went to bed. I never get a chance to sit down at the computer long enough to update during the day, and Mitch is usually using the computer at night for school. He is out of town this week, so I've been telling myself every night he's been gone that it was my chance to update. Unfortunately tonight while I was at a meeting and the kids were home with a babysitter (Brandon Whitesides), Marcus dropped a 5 lb weight on his toe and the result was a bloody mess. His toe is not broken, thankfully, but he will definitely be losing his toe nail. Soon. I'm so thankful for my friend, Tami Halford, who is a nurse and lives across the street. She came over at 9:00 pm to help me clean and bandage the wound and assure me that I didn't need to take him to the doctor. I don't do blood, at all, and I was on the verge of puking the whole time, so I was SO grateful for her! Now it's all bandaged up and Marcus is sleeping peacefully. And poor Layla. She cried almost as much as he did! (Though I must say Marcus was so tough and didn't cry nearly as much as I expected!) Layla felt so bad for him, and my idea for her to be a nurse or doctor won't work because she was as queasy as I was, poor girl! So this update will be quick because I've got a messy kitchen and I need to go to bed so I can be ready to babysit Vivian at 8 am tomorrow morning!

Here are a few things I want to remember:

Marcus and his best friend, Mason Mudrow, are quite the pair. They are in the same Sunbeam class at church and apparently they're causing trouble. I have asked their teachers if Marcus is good and they always say yes, but then I hear from Mason's mom that they're knocking chairs over, wrestling, and smoosh-hugging each other, lol. Their teachers have learned to not let the boys sit by each other, but sometimes it just happens and that's when the trouble ensues. I'm thinking they won't be in the same kindergarten class .... a couple of Sundays ago I heard that they were knocking chairs over in Primary, so Mitch and I talked to Marcus about being reverent at church and not causing trouble with Mason. Marcus then told us that, "If I can't cause twouble wif Mason, then I will just make a new fwiend and we will cause twouble togevew." I told him he can't cause trouble at church, not even with a new friend, so he said he would cause trouble at home. I told him he can't cause trouble at home, and he said, with slumped shoulders in an exasperated voice, "Then where can I cause twouble?!" Before I could answer (because I was trying to muffle my laughter), Layla chimed in and said, "Outside!" No! Not even outside! Hahahaha. I'm not concerned and find the whole thing humorous only because I know Marcus doesn't want to cause trouble, he just wants to play and have fun and doesn't understand why church is not an appropriate place for that. It's hard when you're a 4 year old boy at church with your best friend and are expected to sit still for 3 hours!

The other weekend Marcus ran in my room at lunch time and said he had made me lunch. I was so happy, thinking he and Mitch had made me lunch and I thought it was SO sweet! As I went to give him a hug and say thank you, he slugged me hard in the shoulder and said, "It's a knuckle sandwich!" Stinker! I still laugh every time I think about it. He totally got me.

We had the Whitesides family over for dinner recently. They have three sons ages 8 to 12 and a 6 year old daughter. We just love their family and Liz is one of my best friends. Liz and I are planning an arranged marriage between their son Cameron and Layla. :) After dinner the kids were playing downstairs when we hear crying. Apparently Cameron was playing with a ball and Layla asked for a turn. Cameron wouldn't give her the ball, so Marcus walked over and slugged him in the face (Cameron is 8 years old, and a big 8 year old at that). I go back and forth between being mad that Marcus would hit someone, and proud that he stood up for his sister in the only way a 4 year old knows how. Of course we talked to him about it, but I am still impressed with his bravery at taking on a kid twice his size! Ha! Now we just need to teach him to solve those problems differently...
Later that night they were all downstairs again, laughing about something. The Whitesides are all hilarious, but especially Cameron. I don't know what he said, but he made Layla laugh so hard that she peed her pants! She came running upstairs so fast and into the bathroom, so embarrassed! Poor girl! Luckily the other kids didn't know what had happened. Fun times with the neighbors! ;)

Marcus turned 4! I can't even believe it! I don't even know where to start, but I can say that he makes my heart so happy. He is a happy, hilarious, handsome little dude. It is just fun to be with him and soak in his sunshine. He was a blast at his birthday party because he was extremely excited for every present. It was great! He let Layla help him open all of his presents and she was sweet and very excited for him. I just love them! Marcus was spoiled, of course, and we were grateful for our awesome family who celebrated with us!

Learning to write his name is our goal for this summer!

Playing with cousin Viv.

Painted nails!

We also finished both of Marcus's preschool groups. This was bittersweet because while I was excited for summer, I truly enjoyed teaching these cute kids! I am grateful for their moms, who are all great friends, and that we could work together this year for preschool. LtoR: Marcus Bott, Taysom Molyneaux, Anna Lifferth, and Mason Mudrow.

Went on a family bike ride one Sunday after church. This needs to happen more often!

Tried to hike Duel Canyon, but went on the wrong trail and ended up on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was still fun. The kids LOVE hiking. I just wish there were more kid friendly hikes near by!

Got ice cream after the hike and then washed the cars!

I helped with field day for Layla's school. I remember my field day as being actual field games and we had pizza. Layla's school rented a 20 foot blow up water slide, a blow up relay bounce house, and had more water games than I ever thought possible. It was amazing and so much better than what I had as a kid! I brought Marcus along and he brought a bucket of Transformers to play with while we were there ... he ended up with a group of 6th grade boys surrounding him and playing with him. Pretty sure he was in little boy heaven and he kept telling me he "made SO many fwiends!"

Liz and I each made a sign that said, "Welcome to summer"! and hung them on our garage doors on the last day of school. It made me happy for the kids as they rode/walked home from school and saw the sign. Some would cheer and others told me they liked it. I just liked the excitement around school finally being out!

We went boating and can't wait to go again! The water was still freezing cold, and both the kids shocked me by getting in the water, especially Marcus! Layla is a fish and always loves to swim, but Marcus getting in was a surprise! Must have been my dad's crazy example of swimming in freezing cold water. They had a blast!

I'll have to write more about our summer next time I get a chance. I'm exhausted and need to catch some zzzzs!