Two More B's

Two more B's I forgot (I hate when that happens). B is for BURN. As in, the floor burn on the back of Ky Ky's head. She heard from a PV girls b-ball player that SGB (skin grows back) and asked Damon to drag her across the carpet so she could find out. I panicked a little when I saw it, not knowing what in the heck it was until I figured it out.

B is also for BRAT. Jeff was commenting that he thinks Allie will be a B-R-A-T when she gets older. Damon piped up, "what's a brat?" I guess we have to remember that we have a spelling-loving kindergartner in the house now, and graduate to other forms of communication. If only I could learn horse latin...Jeff is really good at it.

B

This post is brought to you by the letter B (and the color red).

B is for BLOWOUT. As in, Kyla has had 9 in the past 7 days. I'm quickly running out of outfits for her, especially since it has finally cooled off and I want her to be dressed appropriately. I have decided that she just isn't ready for White Cloud diapers and I'm going to have to go back to something a little pricier (I think I'll start with Luvs and see how she does with those). Jeff said a more expensive diaper isn't going to keep her from pooping. I explained that I am not trying to keep her from pooping; I am merely trying to keep it contained.

B is for BELT. As in, I have to wear one to get my pants to fit. I think I must have stretched them all out trying to wear them last fall/winter when I was pregnant. I know it's a great problem to have that my pants are all too big for me, but it's kind of annoying. B is also for BIRTHDAY, and mine is coming up. Maybe I'll get some new pants then.

B is for BOXING, BASEBALL, and BOWLING. As in, that is why I was sore for days. That Wii sure is fun. It's fun to watch Damon, and even Allie getting into it.

B is for BALLARD. As in, Elder Ballard was supposed to be here this past weekend for Stake Conference. But he couldn't make it. We got Elder Hinckley instead (Pres. Hinckley's son, who is a seventy), and it was good. But Ballard would've been really cool.

B is for BOSTON. As in the RED Sox. They won the World Series. I have been a Red Sox fan for several years and it's been a lot of fun watching them play. It wasn't quite as dramatic as 2004, but still awesome. B is also for BROOM, because it was a 4-game sweep. I'm glad the playoffs are finally over and I can get to bed earlier than 12:30.

B is for BUCKEYES. As in we're still the #1 team in the country. Ohio State gets no love here in the South (a radio show today listed the top five teams in their opinion and we weren't even in the top five), which makes it even better that we're #1. I'll wear my SCARLET and gray and cross my fingers that we can win the rest of the games on the schedule and march into another championship game (and because we know we won't be playing the Gators, maybe we'll actually win!).

B is also for BEACH. As in, we are probably finished with our beach trips for the time being. Fall came late and we were able to enjoy a few more beach days than we had planned. These are all the crazy Trapnell kids atop the fort. Russ and Julie's three boys (Cole, Parker and Mason) are on the either side of Damon, and Greg and Noel's little boy (Tyson) is in front. Poor Allie is severely outnumbered. She doesn't mind, though.

Finally, B is for BOO, BUILDER, BROOM and BONES. The kids can't wait for Halloween tomorrow. Damon is going to be a construction worker and Allie a witch. Kyla wore her glow in the dark skeleton pajamas to the ward party, but will probably be a green M&M tomorrow night. Happy Halloween!

Quote O' the Day

Sunday morning, Damon was sorting through his candy from the ward Halloween party the night before and giving Allie all the things he didn't want. Allie was having a hard time refraining from all the candy, and unwrapped a sucker. When Damon saw her, he reminded her that they couldn't eat any until later in the day. Then he said this: "Do you know how that makes me feel to see you eat it? It makes me want to eat some, too, because I love candy with all my heart."

I'm laughing now just thinking about it. I remember loving candy with all my heart, too. Now I just love it with about half my heart.

Five Months

My baby is now a big girl. It's official. She is five months old now and really trying to get around. It's fun. She has been rolling over for a couple of weeks now, as evidenced by this video clip. I should've tried to film her without Damon and Allie around, but this is much more realistic.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting She is also eating rice ceral (who knew they made brown rice cereal?) and has taken to it really well. She gets excited, flailing her arms around, when she sees that spoon coming her way. Allie and Damon keep begging to feed her. That will be the day.

She did great for my parents while we were cruisin' and my mom claims she was very verbal (she isn't with me). Maybe I am too quiet here at home. And maybe the other kids are too loud and she never gets to hear her own voice. She loved having Kimmy here to play with, too.

Kyla also loves her bed, and already has a hard time falling asleep if she is not in it. She likes to have something touching her face (sometimes covering it) and she prefers to suck on her finger, but her orthodontist daddy insists she always be offered a binkie first. I don't know why I still use that wedge--I was trying to make sure I rotated which way she slept every night so she wouldn't get that all-too-common flat head and I haven't broken the habit.

You can tell from her five month pictures that she is no longer going to lie still and let me take pictures of her. It's all part of the fun, though, and Allie couldn't pass it up.

Birthday Boy

Last week (the 18th) was Jeff's birthday. I just got around to getting new photos uploaded onto the computer so this is a bit late. For our anniversary, I posted some things about Jeff that you may not have known (see here), so I didn't think I needed to do that again. Here is a slight variation. A Jeff Birthday Quiz. There will be a prize for the person who gets the most answers correct.
1. Jeff served his mission in a Spanish speaking country, where the world's best baseball players come from. Name that country.
2. His favorite baseball team plays their spring training games in Arizona. Name that team (it's not the Diamondbacks).
3. One of his least favorite people is the head football coach of the Florida Gators. He is also the former coach of the Utah Utes. Name that traitor.
4. His favorite tv shows are: a reality show where "fast forwards," "yields," and "road blocks" are important, and a comedy at Dunder Mifflin. Name those two shows.
5. His favorite football player of all-time was a 49er. And he had a stint on "Dancing with the Stars." Name that player.
6. His favorite band sings the songs "Bad," "One," and "All I Want is You." Name that band.
7. His two favorite desserts are Lemon Meringue Pie and the one he is holding in the picture. It was his only request for his birthday. Name that dessert.

Happy Birthday Jeff! I love you!

Daily laugh

We had a fhe lesson about laughter and how we are going to try to laugh more and whine less. Kids are so much better at finding joy in life than adults are. One of the things I love about being a mom is remembering how much I loved being a kid. Here is one of my reminders.

"My favorite color is light tan."

You may have seen this going around lately--I've been tagged to share six things about myself that you may (or may not) already know. I love learning new things about all my (blogger) friends, so consider yourself tagged if you are reading this. I'll be checking to see what new tidbits I can learn about you. Oh, and my favorite color is not light tan. Whose is?

1. I like structure and routine. I always assumed it was for my kids that I tried to keep a consistent schedule of eating, naps and bedtime, but I have come to realize that I like it for myself. I like knowing what the day will hold. We usually eat lunch at 12:00, and I find that I will wait until it is actually noon before we sit down to eat, even if we are all hungry and it's 11:45. I make Kyla wait a full three hours before I feed her again. I start to get anxious if it's past 12:30 and Allie isn't in bed... I am learning to be flexible, though, because having kids means giving up a lot of the control I wish I had. I'm just not very good at being spontaneous.



2. I do things because you are supposed to do them, without really even questioning why. And I feel guilty for not doing things I know that I should do (like visiting teaching, which I despise, or not exercising one morning, or spending money on anything..seriously, the list goes on and on). I wish my conscience wasn't so strong--I think I would enjoy life a little more.



3. I am terrible about approaching people about anything. I would be a horrible salesman (just like that 4th of July when my parents had us sell water and pop in wagons at Vernon Worthen Park and I hated every second of it). I get nervous calling people on the phone, even my close friends. I know that is weird, but it's true. I also hate confrontation and would do anything to avoid it, even if that means



4. I get excited walking down the aisles of sporting good stores, office supply stores and libraries. One year for Valentine's Day, Jeff came home from school and told me I had 2 hours to do whatever I wanted and I needed to go buy something for myself. I spent an hour browsing shelves at the library (something we moms never get to do) before running to the mall and buying myself a pair of pants from Aeropostale (one place I know I will be able to find something cute that fits). That was a great day. Maybe my perfect day would be spending an hour (or more) at the library, Staples, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

5. I like cute clothes but don't really care for shopping. It probably goes back to my aversion to spending money. I do like buying clothes for my kids, and have had good success with clearance sales at A Children's Place, Target, GAP, and JC Penney. I loved shopping the thrift stores in Ohio--the ones in Florida just aren't as good--and second-hand stores, and I love looking at my receipt and seeing how many things I got for just $20 or $30. I do buy my kids underwear new. Jeff makes me.

6.I love the sunshine. I'm sure growing up in St. George has a lot to do with that (although, Jeff grew up in Mesa, AZ, and he handled the constant gray skies of Columbus a lot better than I did). And there's nothing like gazing into a blue sky, free of clouds.

There you go. Six things about me. Now go do yours.

Bahamas Mon!

We did, in fact, just get back from the Bahamas. We had wanted to go on a cruise when Jeff graduated from dental school last summer, but we were in the middle of moving to Jacksonville and it just didn't work out. He promised me that we would still go on a cruise while we lived here, but I wasn't sure that would ever really happen. Well, we made it happen. We flew my mom out here to watch our kids (my dad and youngest sister decided to come, too), and we set sail from right here in Jacksonville on a 4 night Carnival cruise to the Bahamas. There is much to tell, but I think I am going to condense it all into two lists.

Things we didn't like about the cruise
Not being able to escape the rest of the tourists. We wanted to be able to do whatever we wanted, but that was a little bit difficult. Taxi drivers want to wait until they can fill their van (8 people, usually) before they leave, and they want to take everyone to one spot. We would've preferred being able to set out on our own and not just go to the same places everyone else was going. Also, a lot of Americans are just rude, and we hated being lumped in with the rest of them.

Bad weather. There was nothing that would've changed this, but it rained both days in the Bahamas (we spent one afternoon in Freeport and the next day, all day, in Nassau). It was really a bummer, and we ended up spending a lot more time indoors than we wanted to.
The rocking of the boat. The first few days were fine, but we hit some bad weather that really sent the boat swaying (especially down below where our room was). I still feel a little seasick and we have been home 48 hours.

Being somewhat limited to what you could do on the boat. Our ship was a smaller one (about 1500 people), and there were a lot of activities onboard, but we still wished for more.

The aggressive Bahamians trying to get us to buy things from them. I just don't like trying to wheel and deal to get the best prices on things, and I really didn't like every person we saw at the market trying to force things into my hand.

Things we loved about the cruise

The location. We left from the port here in Jacksonville, about 15 minutes from our house. We didn't have to fly or drive anywhere, but got to just get right on to the boat and never had to worry about travel again. Also, because it was October, we got a really good deal. We just couldn't pass it up.

It was completely relaxing. Because we had basically no time restrictions, we could do whatever we wanted without ever feeling rushed. I didn't feel like we needed to hurry home to our kids, or worry about when/where we would eat, and so we really did relax and enjoy ourselves.

The food, of course. Not everything was delicious (we give it about 3 1/2 stars out of 5), but there was always something to eat. And eat we did. The seafood was awesome, some of the beef was really good, the nonfat yogurt was one of my favorite things...Jeff said that no cruise line can afford to have bad food because they will lose so much business if they do. I have never seen so many people eating so much. It makes me sick to think about. We ate our fair share, too, and I'm honestly relieved that part is over. I just wish I could have one more lobster tail.

The movie channels they had in our room. We got caught up with Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Evan Almighty while we were cruising. It had been a while since we had seen any movie, and it was fun to get to do that.

Snorkling in the most gorgeous water I've ever seen. Even though we had bad weather, we still managed to see all kinds of fish, stingrays and conch. The bad weather may have helped us out a little, because no one was out on the beach. That was pretty cool. You can see one of the conch shells Jeff found in this video clip. The animal inside is alive and he left them in the ocean.

Getting to spend so much time alone with Jeff. That was definitely the best part of the cruise. We could take a stroll on the deck and take in the beautiful ocean on all sides of us. We could go to sleep whenever we wanted and didn't have to worry about taking care of anyone else. We could sleep in as much as we wanted and when we felt like having it quiet, it was quiet. So nice. And we got to be the people we were before we had kids. It was a fun walk through memory lane. If nothing else had gone right, it would've been worth it just to spend that much time with Jeff, remembering why I fell in love with him.

Here are some pics (a little out of order, but who cares) . We probably will cruise again. We would like to go with some friends or relatives next time (dinner was a tad awkward with couples we didn't know who weren't big conversationalists). Anyone want to come with us?

Borrowing some chairs from a resort in Nassau. We took a bus to this beach and ended up being some of the only people there. We saw some of the prettiest fish just a few hundred yards away in the ocean. It was the worst weather day, but we both agreed that it was our funnest day.

Getting back on the boat in Nassau. You can tell that it was a bit blustery.


Cute towel pig our stateroom steward left in our room one night. Jeff is making a pig face, and wasn't crazy about this picture. Too bad for him.

Our formal night. I wish we would've finished dinner a little earlier so we could have had the sunset in the background.

The first day in Freeport. It was great weather for a couple of hours and then the rains came. At least we had some gorgeous water/sky as a backdrop for some photos.

Just before we got off the boat in Freeport. Gorgeous, right? The water isn't bad either.

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Teaser

I have been out of town the past few days and am trying to get everything back together. I'll be posting soon. As soon as I stop swaying.... (any guesses where we've been?)

This and That

Conference weekend was really nice. It was really nice because it finally stopped raining, and I feel more like we live in Florida and less like we live in Forks (ah, Edward...).

Damon loves Conference. In keeping with a tradition from my childhood, he gets to play some type of Conference Bingo with Skittles. This year we used the Friend's idea and assigned six topics a different color. When he heard any of the words on his list, he would put a Skittle on it. As soon as the speaker finished, he could eat any he had on his page (usually all in one bite). The first 5+ minutes of the talk were the best. The rest of the talk was filled with "when is he going to be done?" Still, I'd say it was a success.








Damon also had his second encounter with the Tooth Fairy. This one was much more positive. He actually put this tooth under his own pillow and collected his own dollar. Progress.

If you wondered why my Avatar is wearing pajamas at the doctor's office, there is a reason. I spent Thursday taking care of a severely plugged milk duct/mastitis. I will spare you the details of the condition of my breast, but it was extremely painful. My doc felt sure it had abscessed and sent me to get an ultrasound on it while he was making me an appointment with a surgeon. Fortunately, there was no absecess and I was able to get the plug out later that night with another round of pumping. I am on some heavy antibiotics (most likely unnecssary, if you ask me, since there was no abscess) and I can't nurse while I'm taking them. Kyla is a champ and will take any combination of frozen breast milk/formula I offer her. The good news is that I'm feeling much better, although the drugs make me dizzy, drowsy, nauseated and give me diarrhea.

Here are a few more pics from the weekend for your enjoyment. Do you think Kyla looks like Damon?

I love this one of Jeff and Kyla. I love the expression on Jeff's face just as much as the one on Kyla's.




And finally one to prove that I do, in fact, exist. I love this Halloween outfit of Kyla's, and asked Damon to take the picture for me, hence the unconventional angle of the shot.

Cut

I have a lot of pics to post, but I wanted to put this one on while I have a second. Allie had her first haircut today. She spends most of her time naked (well, she has "undies" on) and with her hair a mess. Truth be told, if I tell her she needs to get dressed she asks, "where are we going?" I took her today to get a haircut. And she had clothes on. Definitely camera worthy. I think it turned out pretty cute.

10 Years Younger

Once when I was in college, I went home for a weekend and ended up at my brother's track meet. It was one of those "field days" you have in junior high, where everyone shows up in tank tops, with a cooler full of gatorade, and interrupts their tanning and socializing for the required one or two events they have signed up for. You all know what I'm talking about, right?

Well, I showed up to watch my brother run (or jump or whatever he was doing), but felt quickly out of place amidst the 12-14 year old crowd and left as soon as he was finished. As I was walking out of the gate toward the parking lot, a teacher stopped me and asked if I was leaving with a parent. Embarrassed, I muttered that I wasn't a student at the school, but was actually in college. The teacher apologized and let me go, but I started to wonder whether or not I could really pass for a middle schooler. I consoled myself with reassurance that the teacher must not have really been looking at me very closely, because I still find it hard to believe that I could pass for someone 5+ years younger than myself.

~

The summer just before I got married, I had the best job in the world; I worked as a BYU Sports Camp Counselor. We had nothing to do with the actual athletic training, but instead spent the afternoons and evenings "chaperoning" the various activities going on. We went swimming, took weekly excursions to Seven Peaks Water Park, had watermelon spitting contests and talent shows, and attended weekly dances with our campers. Basically, I got paid for having fun. Everyone should be so lucky to have a job like that. Most of the time, we counselors wore one of three different counselor t-shirts that easily identified who we were. But the dances were a different story. We were dressed up in skirts or dresses, and boys would frequently ask us to dance, unaware that we weren't campers like they were.

My fellow counselor friends and I quickly found that the second we told the boys we were counselors, they would get embarrassed and not know how to act around us. And so, we decided the best thing to do would be to fib a little about our identities, merely to protect the boys feelings. My two friends and I became DJ, Stephanie and Michelle. We were always 17 and going to be a senior. Our hometown and the camp we were attending changed depending on what came to our minds in that instant. We were friendly, but never flirty (that would've been weird) and it worked like a charm; the boys were not embarrassed that they had asked a counselor to dance (gasp!), but (hopefully) went away having a good experience.

~
I think my days of "fitting in" with the younger crowd are over, thanks to my kids. Saturday night confirmed this for me, although I had suspected it for a while. One Sunday, I caught a glimpse of our reflection in the window as we came into the house after church. "We are a real family with three kids," I said to Jeff, somehow surprised. "I know," he said, "We're old."

Jeff's oldest brother, Brian, was visiting for a few days and we took advantage of him being here by treating ourself to one of our favorite restaurants, Koja Sushi. The restaurant is located at the Jacksonville Landing, right next to the river, and is a really fun place to eat. Usually there is some type of live entertainment in the courtyard downstairs and there are always people walking up and down the riverwalk taking in some awesome views. We didn't realize that Saturday night was anything special until we tried to find a place to park. That's when we found out that the Florida State/Alabama game was being played at the Jaguars stadium a few miles away. Thousands of college coeds had made the trip from Tallahassee and Tuscaloosa, and the ones who didn't have tickets to the game were gathered at the Landing for a party reminiscent of New Year's Eve in Las Vegas ("Happy @#($&# New Year Guys!" for Heather and Tara). We decided to go to Koja anyway--the sushi is that good.

Between the four Trapnell families (Brian, who had none of his kids with him; Russ, who had his three boys; Jeff, with his three; and Greg, with his son), we made quite the entrance into the tiny restaurant. Everywhere we looked (but mostly at the bar), there were college kids eating, drinking, laughing and watching the game. I took Allie into the bathroom, squeezing in between more tan girls in tank tops than I'd seen since my last field day in junior high. Allie used the toilet and as we were washing our hands, a coed was puking into the sink next to us. Good times.

Dinner was awesome (as it always is) and we got free soup, salad and some amazing fried ice cream balls because we had to wait a while for our food. Not a bad night, if you ask me. But as I sat there, looking around at the college kids, I realized that there was no way I was going to be mistaken for one of them that night. I didn't have on a necklace of flashing breasts (red lights flashed on a breast shaped piece of plastic) or a plastic cup of beer in my hand; instead, I had a leaky pair of breasts and a baby in my hand.

Truth be told, I never would've felt comfortable in an atmosphere like that, even before I had kids, but I would've been able to blend in more than I did Saturday night. We might have been able to sit there relatively unnoticed, as the drunken coeds partied all around us. But I don't think it's such a bad thing that we stood out this time. I hope all of those girls (even the one who was yakking in the bathroom) someday get to be as lucky as I am--staying home and raising my kids, knowing that a good man who loves us all is going to walk through the door at night. It kind of snuck up on me, but I guess I really am living my dream.

Little of this

Things here have been busy as always. One major event that happened was the first visit of the tooth fairy. You may recall Damon's irrational fear when he learned such a being existed (if you are new to my blog, you can read about it here), but we felt safe in our assumption that it would be another year before he had to really worry about her, and would get over it. The tooth expert in the family said he shouldn't start losing his teeth until he turns six. Instead, a couple of weeks ago, Damon announced that he had a loose tooth. Sure enough. It fell out a few days ago.

Because he had been aware that it was loose for some time before it actually fell out, I thought he would probably have had enough time to prepare himself for the coming of the tooth fairy and that it wouldn't be as traumatic as he had anticipated. But when it came time to actually put the tooth under his pillow, he refused. He was ready to throw the tooth away in the trash, rather than face the prospect of a "scary fairy" coming into his room while he slept. We tried to reason with him for a while, but eventually gave up. Instead, we let Allie put the tooth under her pillow. She was good with the plan until Jeff and I got up to leave the room. Then she started crying, "I don't like the tooth!" Instantly, Damon jumped in, trying to convince her that it wouldn't be scary, as long as he didn't have to have the tooth on his bed (not even at the foot of the bed, as Jeff suggested). Allie eventually calmed down and was the proud recipient of one dollar the next morning. Damon didn't seem to care too much that she was collecting his tooth money, but did admit that he will probably be ready to put his next tooth under his own pillow. Crazy kid.

Allie has become quite good at dressing herself; that is, if your definition of "dressing yourself" means getting some type of clothing over some part of your body. This is a particularly memorable outfit she conjured up so she could go outside.

Pajama shorts over one arm, and a different pajama top around the waist. No underwear. Perfect! When she tried to go outside this way, though, she was sent back in by her daddy for being too immodest. Does anyone else think he was being too strict? Look from the backside and then decide.

Lastly, the mosquitoes have come back in full force. Since it's been nice enough to actually go outside in the evenings, we've been out a lot lately (Allie, only when her bum isn't showing). One night was terrible and we all came in with dozens of bites. Allie and I got it the worst. Here we are sporting calamine lotion all over our bites. I HATE mosquitoes.

Elevator Music

Okay, not music. But at our bookclub the other night, we got talking about people we wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with, and it was determined that we should all blog our top ten list. So, here is my list, in no particular order.


Ernest P. Worrell, even though he always seemed to make Heather cry (we knew you were faking, Heather!)

Charlie Weis. For those of you who don't know, he is the coach of the football team at Notre Dame. I don't have anything against him personally, but I would just feel uncomfortable trying to stay out of the way of his pear-shaped body.

Hilary Clinton. I would hate trying to defend my belief that being a stay-at-home mom is the best thing I could do for my kids (wasn't she known to say, "What should I do, stay home and bake cookies?" Um, what's wrong with that?).

Mike Tyson. Thanks to Jeff for helping me come up with this one. I don't think there is anyone more unstable than he is. I'm afraid he'd want to "eat my children."

Former Senator Larry Craig. Regardless of what he was planning on doing in that bathroom, I wouldn't feel comfortable being stuck with him, and I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with him if Jeff were there.

Howard Stern. Not Anna Nicole's lover. The other one. No further explanation needed?

Gilbert Gottfried. I will always think of him as Iago from Aladdin. And not with any degree of fondness. I'm just glad I haven't had to hear his annoying voice much lately.

Donald Trump. Is there a more arrogant man on the planet? There definitely aren't any with worse hair.

Jeff, who broke Zack and Kelly up on Saved by the Bell. His name is actually Patrick Muldoon, but I don't dislike Patrick. Just Jeff. I still wouldn't want to watch that episode.

Allie when she hasn't had a nap, or is throwing a tantrum. I'm sure you all would agree...

Who would be in your Ten?

Orlando...again

I love many things about living in Florida (and I keep reminding myself that often when I start to forget). I love the people here, and our ward is so wonderful. Even though we have only been here a little over a year, we feel like we are a part of the ward family and will really miss these people when our time here is up.

One thing I don't love about Florida is the temple here. Please don't stop reading now, thinking I have become an apostate here in the sunshine state, but bear with me. I have posted previously about how I didn't get to do any intiatory on our last visit to the temple because they didn't have enough workers (you can read about it here if you care to). On our most recent trip to Orlando, we had tentatively planned for the men to do a session Friday night and us ladies would get up Saturday morning and go before we left for Sea World. When the guys didn't get out of their lecture until 5:00, we gave up the evening temple trip (the last session is at 8:00--just when we were getting to Orlando), and I called the temple to find out what time the first session was Saturday morning. The sweet lady on the phone told me 7:30 and my heart sank. Sea World opens at 9:00, and we were planning on getting there between 9:30 and 10:00. There was no way we would be able to make it back to the hotel in time, and we decided that we just couldn't do it. I was, again, frustrated. Naively, I assumed that they would have a 6:00 am session, considering that Saturday should be a busy day and Orlando is not a small temple.

Obviously I overestimated the number of people who are going to the temple, hence the lack of temple workers and lack of early morning sessions. I know that we're not in Utah, but I get the feeling that these great people here in Florida could probably do a little more (myself included).

Stepping down from that soapbox now...

We had a great time at Sea World, like we always do. We like Sea World much better than any of the Disney parks (it's less expensive, they let you bring your own food in, if you get hot you can always sit in the soak zone at the shows...) and I won't be sad if we never go to another Disney park again. Here are a couple pics from our day. This is a hungry sea lion. You can buy fish to feed them and they will come right up to you (we didn't have food and this one wasn't too happy about it). Jeff and Greg found it odd that people were willingly paying to do someone else's job.

This is the kids standing by the life size Shamu. We were on our way to the whale show when we ran into him (it?) and we had to get a pic. Jeff was trying to save our seats, practically coming to blows with an English couple behind him who were attempting to steal them, but I think it was worth it to get this cute shot. Allie's shorts are on backwards and one of her hair elastics has snapped, but I still think it's cute.

And here is one of my favorite memories. Jeff took all three kids while Noel and I went on Kraken, the crazy roller coaster that made us both light-headed and a little nauseated. Why is it that roller coasters used to be so much more fun than they are now? The teenagers on the ride with us were racing back to the front to do it again, as Noel and I staggered off, trying to calm our stomachs. We felt rather old just then. But here's Jeff, in a rare appearance on the blog, sporting Kyla in the Baby Bjorn he never liked wearing much.

We bought a season pass (very reasonably priced) and are planning on going back soon. Maybe we will be able to have a better temple experience. I'll keep you posted.

Sleeping Positions

I have more to write about later, but I wanted to post a few pics while I have a second. Damon and Allie have gotten to be pretty good about bedtime. There have been struggles in the past, but I think we have all figured it out and bedtime is no longer a sad time for everyone in the family. Last night I went in to turn off the music and found this:

Damon told me this morning that he wanted Allie to sleep with him, and it appears that he didn't mind being forced to the very edge of his bed. I moved her back to her bed, knowing how uncomfortable it is to sleep with her constant squirming; Damon would have been pushed out of bed at some point during the night. This was the first time we had encountered them sharing a bed (and a pillow!), but not the first time they have wanted to sleep together.

This pic is from July, when the kids decided to sleep on the floor. I don't know what prompted this "campout," but it's fun to see them having fun together.

Kyla is four months old today. Wow. She is still the most fun thing in my life. These are her four month "diaper shots." The first one is her imitation of the Michael Jackson crotch grab. She's still working on the "OWW!" that goes along with it. Notice Allie's hand on the side. She was generously allowing me to put Bexley in the picture, but she didn't want to be too far away from her baby.

This one just makes me laugh. Her eyes disappear into those chubby cheeks when she smiles like this. But it doesn't stop her from showing us her big cheesy grin often. I love this girl!

More Quotes

Two from Damon:

1. Damon, sitting in the back of the van: "A snake has a pattern of red, blue, green. What's that in the alphabet?"
Jeff, confused:"Uh, R, B, G?"
Damon: "No, like ABC, 123, what is it?"
Jeff, still very confused about what Damon was getting at: "I don't know."
Damon, very serious: "Dad, you need to go back to Kindergarten."

2. On the way to the bus stop this morning, Damon noticed the huge puddles of water on either side of the street. "I wish I was Survivorman," he said, pointing to one puddle. "I would drink that water."

And one from Allie:
We were talking about her brother, Chance, that lives in Heaven with Jesus. I asked her if she knew his name. Thinking I was talking about Jesus, she said, "Jesus Karen Trapnell."

Sunshine

This has been the view I have seen repeatedly over the past four days. I have felt like I was back in Ohio; the gray skies never cleared, and it would rain off and on all day long. There are times I really miss Columbus (mostly the friends we had while we were there), but the last three days have served to remind me that I am just meant to live in a place where the "skies are not cloudy all day."

I have been singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Kyla lately, probably in an attempt to conjure up a little sunny weather, and this song has been exactly what we've needed. Even with my limited singing abilities, Kyla smiles at me, making me believe that she's never heard anything so great in all her (albeit short) life. I even sing the creepy third verse that says "if you leave me to love another you'll regret it all someday," just so I can prolong it, and get back to the chorus.

Silly as it may sound, I got a little teary-eyed yesterday when I got to the part "you'll never know, dear, how much I love you." I couldn't help but think about how I wanted to protect her, shielding her from all the gray skies that are in her future. Out of nowhere, I imagined Allie all grown up, about to become a mother herself, and wondered how it is going to feel to watch my own daughter experience the joy and pain of bringing a child into the world. Despite all the frustration she has caused me in her two plus years (she turned two on April 30th, Jaesi), I can't believe how much I love her. I took both my girls in my arms (Damon was at school, or he would've gotten it too) and squeezed them long and hard. I know I needed that after the trying afternoon/evening we had the other day, and I am always grateful for the Lord's tender mercies in my life.

As I type this, I am looking out the window and I can see blue sky. Ah, what a welcome sight! But, strange as it may sound, I am grateful for the past few days of storminess. They helped me find my sunshine elsewhere--in two little girls who make me happy when skies are gray.

Update

If you notice the timestamp on the previous post about Allie's bad day, you'll see that it was 4:44 when I posted the video clips. Allie released herself from the bathroom by cleaning up the tub toys at 7:00. She didn't scream the whole time (in fact, she didn't scream for longer than 30 mintues), but instead she laid on the floor, refusing to do anything. I locked her in there for a while, during which time she peed her pants. I probably would have blamed myself had she been locked anywhere BUT the bathroom.

Damon and I ate dinner at 6:00 (Jeff was at school late), but even the cornbread and honey butter weren't enough to entice her to clean up. I don't know what finally changed her mind, but at 7:00 she announced that it was all done. And it was. So ends another power struggle. Stubborn little thing.

Allie's Defiance

Allie has had a rough day. I'm not exactly sure why, but she decided that she didn't want to cooperate today. This was this morning. I'm not sure what she was refusing to do, but she told me five times this morning, "You not very nice. I'm not talking to you."



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This was a few minutes ago. She has yet to clean up the tub toys from her bath this morning. I told her she could come out of the bathroom when they were cleaned up. After trying, "it's too hard for me," she decided to scream. Unfortunately (or fortunately for those of you watching), she stopped screaming when I grabbed the camera. This is her trying to get her emotions under control, yet still refusing to clean up the toys. I love how she picks one up off the ground, but instead of putting it away, puts it on her finger. You'd think she was sleep deprived, but she actually took a nap today. She is just exerting her independence. I love two year olds...


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I'll let you know tomorrow how long it took to break her. She is still wailing right now. Also, the headband was her choice.