Where Do I Even Start?!?

Wow, it's been a hot minute since I last posted! So much for my goal to update this blog every month, haha! My last post was the end of February, and it was the very next month that Mitch started working in California Monday through Friday, then he only came home every 2 to 3 weeks for about 24 hours, then he was out there full-time so the kids and I lived out there with him this summer for 9 weeks! It was quite the adventure.

I should probably break this blog post up into several posts, but I don't have that much time so here goes....

In March we celebrated Mitch's birthday. We gave him a smoker and he LOVES it. He has made some delicious meat on that thing, so it has benefited us all. :)  I can't remember the details about his birthday now, but it seems like we made a special dinner and some pie and celebrated with our families too.

In April we celebrated Layla turning 9! How is she that old? On the other hand, she seems much older than 9- she is so mature and smart. She chose to have a Harry Potter themed birthday party with 8 of her closest friends. We played games and had brownies and ice cream. It was fun and she sure has a great group of friends.


We spent spring break in Cali with Mitch. The kids and I played while Mitch worked. I wish he could join in more of our fun-he has been busier than ever this year!




The kids also played some epic April Fools jokes on me this year. Layla woke up early and put tissue paper in all of my shoes (I was finding it days later), she put lotion on our doorknobs, and she saran wrapped my door frame hoping that I would walk into it when I left my room in the morning. Little did she know that Harvey threw up just on the other side of my door, so I simultaneously put my hand on the slimy doorknob, walked into saran wrap, and stepped in cat throw up. It was hilarious (mostly because Layla thought she was SO clever) and crazy that the cat played into her plan so well. Then Marcus had to get into the action. He hid my cell phone, which I was very aware of but let him think he was tricking me anyways, and then when I pretended to look for my phone he had to cover his smile with his hands. It was so cute and funny!

In May we had a party for Marcus. We held it in the gym at the church since we invited 12 little boys and I could only imagine the chaos and damage that would have come upon our home had we hosted them here, haha! He had a Minecraft themed party. We played games, had a pinata, and ate cupcakes and ice cream. It was fun, and very loud. I'm glad Marcus has a huge group of little boys his age to run around the neighborhood with.



Now that Marcus is 6, I asked him if I  can still kiss him. He said, "Yes, until I'm 13. Wait, Mom? I mean 11." (Sadly, he more recently told me that first graders don't give kisses. So I told him that it's okay because I sneak in his room every night while he's asleep and kiss his face. He didn't seem to mind that. :) )

I went on a field trip to the zoo with Marcus's class in May. My sweet boy, he held my hand almost the entire time, and he insisted on sitting by me on the bus to and from the zoo. At first I thought it was because he loves his mama so much, but then he said, "It sure is easier not to get lost on a field trip when you're with your own parent!" and I realized it was because he was worried about getting separated from the group, haha!

My parents treated us all to the best week ever in Disneyland! It was perfect and we truly had such a great time! There is just something about Disneyland that makes everyone happy. We had good weather, all of the kids were well-behaved and had enough energy to last the whole day, and we were all safe and healthy. We stayed in a house my parents rented close to the park. WIn the mornings we all piled in two cars, had two of the husbands drop us, and while we waited in line, they took the cars back to the house and then took an uber back to the park. Most of us walked back to the house each night. We figured the kids would be too tired to walk both ways, so this was a good compromise. It worked out really well.

It was SO MUCH FUN having our kids be older and riding the "big rides" with us! They both loved Space Mountain, which made my heart so happy. They were both laughing throughout the whole ride and when it ended, Marcus said, very enthusiastically and with a big smile on his face, "That.... was.... CRAZY!" Layla was almost speechless, which is incredibly rare for her, but did say that she wanted to ride it again. Score! Marcus did not like Indiana Jones- too scary. He didn't cry or anything, just said he didn't want to go on it again. They loved everything else. We rode Space Mountain twice- they said it was their favorite. Oh, correction- Marcus did not like It's A Small World, haha! No surprise there, right? That ride is LAME! I kept telling them that I wouldn't go on it because it's not fun, but it ended up being the last ride we went on, on our last night in the park. We went with Brock and Natalie and Evelyn and Carson. E and C loved it, of course, Layla thought it was "cute, but boring" and Marcus said, "Well, that was the biggest waste of time I ever did!" Hahaha, that kid has the greatest way of saying things.

 School ended and we were gearing up to join Mitch in California. We decided to wait a week after school ended so that Layla could attend her Activity Days Girls Camp. They were going to spend a day seeing historical church sites and hiking Ensign Peak. Sadly, Layla got sick the day before and couldn't go at all! It was sad- she and I both cried! We are planning a Saturday this fall when she and a friend can go do some of the activities that she missed out on. The whole thing was extra sad though for several reasons: Layla was REALLY missing Mitch since he has been gone so much this year, the school year just ended and she found out that ALL of her best friends (and I really mean all of them) would not be at her school next year and she was trying to cope with that, and on top of it all, we couldn't go to Cherry Hill because we would be in California all summer, away from the comforts of home, family, and friends. It was a stressful  and emotional time for Layla, and I didn't want to discount those feelings, but I also tried to help her through it in a positive way. I am proud of her for making it through that rough patch. Now it's September and she is thriving. It made her stronger and I'm happy for her!

I have been calling the summer in California, "The Summer of Contradictions." California in general is a contradiction for me: I love the weather, hate the traffic. I love the beach, hate the expensive parking. I love the many fun things you can do there, hate how expensive everything is. You get the idea. But, we lived in an apartment in Playa Vista, a beautiful city just south of Marina Del Ray and Santa Monica. It was such a cool place to live! 5 minutes from the beach and our favorite Amazon Bookstore. :) We were also just minutes away from my uncle in Marina Del Ray. It was great to spend so much time with Lily, Alex, and their kids. We also spent time with Mitch's coworker's wife, Ali, and their two kids, London and Crew. It was fun to have other kids to hang out with.

We drove up the California and Oregon coast over the 4th of July and stayed in a house on the beach in Waldport, Oregon with the Craguns. It was such a great week! So relaxing! Oregon is beautiful and I definitely want to visit there again someday. We rented a boat and went crabbing, we saw lots of sea lions, we played on the beach, we watched fireworks over the ocean, and we chillaxed and ate good food. It was just what we needed.

After Oregon, we headed back to Cali. We went to a lot of children's museums, science centers, beaches, swimming pools (at our apartment), we went to Griffith Park, and we had passes to Universal Studios. I felt like we did A LOT in 9 weeks. But by the end, we were definitely ready to go home. My sweet mom flew out to Cali so she could drive home with the kids and I. It was so nice to have her with us and the drive went by much faster than when I drove the kids and I out there alone. We made it home with no problems and one week to spare before school started..

Ahh, school. Layla is at a new school this year since the gifted program she's in switches schools for 4th grade. She was nervous about making new friends since her besties decided not to continue on in the program for various reasons. But, she has an incredible teacher and she has already made friends with a few girls from class. She does know about half of the class from 2nd and 3rd grade, she was just sad that the friends she spend the most time with aren't there. But she is already so happy at school and has a smile on her face every day when school ends. I am doing carpool this year with Karlee Dutson, so I pick Perry and Layla up after school every day. I pick Perry up first at one school, then drive less than a mile to pick up Layla at the other school. I love seeing Layla playing with her new friends when I get there to pick her up. She always has a smile and looks so happy.

Marcus is in first grade now. My big boy-I can't believe he's gone all day! He has grown up so much just in the past month! He has the most coveted teacher at his school- Mr. Barlow. He teaches French and is a super fun, silly, kind teacher. You can tell he genuinely enjoys being with his students. Marcus talks about him all the time and thinks he is so great (because he is!). The first day of school was a short day with school out at 1:25 instead of 3:25. Marcus walked home from the bus stop (Layla and I make it home from carpool about 10 minutes before Marcus gets home from the bus stop) and I asked him how it went. He gave me a thumbs down and said, "Longest day ever! And Mom, tomorrow is going to be even longer!" Poor kid! He had a hard time with the long days for the first week or two. But now he's doing great and is adjusted. He seems to enjoy learning French and still sings his little French songs at home.

I must add that Marcus was accepted in the PAL program for first grade, but we chose not to put him in. Mostly because I don't think it fits his personality and that he would be happier at his current school learning French with all of his friends. But also because he would have to test again to continue in PAL for 2nd grade, and I didn't want him to test and not get in for 2nd grade, and then since we would have pulled him out of French immersion for PAL, he would go to a regular classroom and miss out on PAL and French. He's a smart boy and needs at least on of those classroom settings to keep him happy and challenged at school. So, for now he is staying in French. If he ends up getting bored or showing signs that he's not happy at school, then we can put him in PAL later or in SPECTRUM in 4th grade. The important thing is that he's happy and learning right now.

BIG NEWS: I was accepted in the Utah State Psychology School Counseling Grad Program! I still can't believe I got in on my first try! Especially after meeting the other students and knowing that I am one of five, out of 90 that doesn't already have either a psychology or teaching degree! I definitely don't fit the mold of the typical student there, but I'm happy I got in and willing to work my butt off to keep up. I will graduate in December of 2021 or May of 2022, depending on how quickly I complete my internship. For now I want to work in a secondary school, but I am keeping myself open to elementary schools as well. I have been fascinated with my classes so far and look forward to learning more! I go to class one night a week for 5.5 hours. It's a lot of work to finish everything during the week, but I don't have a job, so I can't complain, haha.

Well, this is a novel already, so I'm going to end it now.

Here are some more pics:

Piano recital. They both did great!

Marcus cut his eye at a playground in Cali and had to get it glued shut.

With London and Crew.

Our favorite fountains in Playa Vista. We walked here often.

On my uncle's motorcycles.

The Bott and Cragun children, Oregon, 2019

Funny Things The Kids Say

I realize these are mostly Marcus quotes. But Layla is most often reading a book these days, lol.

She finished the Harry Potter series this summer!

In the morning, Marcus sometimes chants, "I want Waywa, I want Waywa!" (Layla in his baby voice.)

Marcus's favorite stuffed animal is a cow that wears a blue Utah State shirt. He got it when we opened his bank account as part of the Kids Club promotion they were running at the time. He named the cow Bow Bow (rhymes with cow) and he sleeps with Bow Bow every night. One night he wanted to snuggle with me, but instead of asking he said, "Mom, you can be my Bow Bow."

Something I want to remember: Layla can currently type almost as fast as me. She can also create Power Point (or Sway) presentations that are phenomenal! Last school year she did a research project on Paul Revere. She created a slide show, made a marrionette doll, and dressed like him for the wax museum her class did. Layla is very talented and impresses me with how much she can already do!

One day Layla was telling me that she learned about alliteration at school (when two words start with the same letter or sound). Marcus was in the room during our conversation. About a week later, Marcus said, "Mom, what's the word for when two words start the same?" I told him alliteration (only after I looked it up because I couldn't remember!). He said, "Oh, then that's the opposite of rhyming because rhyming words end with the same letter and alliteration starts with the same letter." Whaaaa??? My kindergartner just came up with that! His wheels are always turning, I tell ya. Sometimes I wish I could hear what his thoughts are, because they always seem so fascinating!


Marcus is really flexible. He can legit do the middle splits. One day I said, "Marcus, you are so flexible!" to which he responded, "Well that's because I'm a rare type of boy!" You sure are, buddy!

We bought some craft supplies while in California this summer. I told the kids to have quiet time and I didn't know what they were each doing while we were having said quiet time, but I assumed they were each quietly crafting away in their rooms. Imagine my surprise when it was over and Marcus said, "Hey Mom, you know how that tape you bought is called 'invisible tape'? Well I put it on a bunch of stuff to see if it's actually invisible!" We found tape on stuff for days afterwards!

While looking for the salsa in the fridge, I finally realized that it was right in front of my face. I commented and laughed at myself for not seeing it. Marcus laughed and said, "I love it when things like that happen. Especially when they happen to other people!"

Our microwave has a very pleasant, but very persistent beeping sound it makes when your food is done. Layla said, "Whoever scheduled the microwave is not a patient person!"

Marcus language: scribble knots= cursive handwriting
                              hair needles=bobby pins
                              wood crumbs=wood chips at the playground

Marcus was sick and his stomach hurt. Then it felt better and when we asked him how he was feeling, he said he's "at a 98." (That's out of 100, by the way.) Later his stomach hurt again, poor kid, and he said, in the saddest voice, "Now I'm all the way down to a 61!" Hahaha, Marcus has always been so funny about numbers and using them to describe things.