Just when you think you know the kid...

I've always been quite pleased with the fact that Jacob has never attached himself to a blanket, toy, bottle, etc. He is very attached to his paci, but that's better than a ratty stuffed animal like the ones I see many 2 year olds toting around. Well, that all changed this week when we found this pink horse. I don't even know how he spotted the thing in the store, but he did and was very insistent on playing with it. I let him play with it while we wandered up and down the aisles feeling pretty confident he would tire of it quickly like he does with everything else. When I was ready to leave, I told Jacob we needed to put the horse back and he was so upset. He was not about to give it up. So to avoid a major meltdown at the store, I forked over $3 to buy the thing again feeling confident he would tire of it quickly at home, and I would be able to save it for somebody's baby girl. Now that it's been a few days, I don't think somebody else's baby girl will be receiving this horse as a gift. Jacob has taken the horse to play on the swings, to bed with him, and the worst--to the grocery store. AHHH!!!!!!

Another surprise. Today Jacob wanted to watch his letter video after lunch. I agreed thinking I could take a quick shower (yes I usually shower in the middle of the day) then put him down for his nap. Well I showered and got dressed then went to get him for his nap, and this is how I found him. WHAT??? He NEVER just lays down and goes to sleep by himself. I was flabbergasted and had to capture the moment.

Almost 2

So Jacob will be celebrating his 2nd birthday next month. I was trying to decide how I feel about that. I always hear other moms say how sad they are when their babies grow up or when they start school or leave home for college/mission. As I was pondering this at the gym this morning I realized that I'm not really sad about him growing another year older. Ooh, I panicked. I'm supposed to feel sad, aren't I? I then decided that it's ok that I'm not sad and here's why: Jacob is such a fun toddler. He's so full of energy and has such a cute personality. I love teaching him something new and realizing I was successful when I see him doing or saying the new thing I taught him. He brings me so much joy and happiness. He makes me laugh everyday and can also frustrate me in the same day. I guess I've tried to make the best of every stage he goes through so that I don't have regrets or wish I could go back in time. So I will continue to make the best of each day and not wish for things that aren't.

Solitude

On Saturday we spent a few hours at Solitude. We had free lift tickets so we rode the lift then hiked to Solitude Lake. It was so beautiful and a few degrees cooler than it was in the valley. Jacob loved the lift ride and asking Daniel to get rocks for him while we were hiking. It was pretty funny. When Jarom wouldn't get him some rocks to carry, Jacob would yell, "Danel, rocks pease." Of course Daniel will do whatever he is asked by this little man. Thanks for being a good sport little bro and for watching him while we went to the temple. Natalie-you too.

Les Miserables

I have been wanting to see this musical, oh, for about 10 years. I first fell in love with the story when reading the novel in my high school English class. Mrs. Burr was so good at making the story come alive for us. I loved the music she would play during class and the movie as well. I've been meaning to reread the book for, oh, about 9 years but haven't gotten around to it. Don't ask me why. After seeing the musical, the novel is now at the top of my books to read list. The actors/actresses were amazing with the exception of maybe one or two. I'm glad we decided to go even though it was still 95 degrees when the musical was over at midnight.

Girls Trip

We took our first annual girls trip this past weekend. My mom, Liz, and I made the drive to Cedar City on Saturday morning where we picked up Natalie & Aly. Our first stop was Cedar Breaks where we received a very personal tour from Alyson. For those of you who know her this it is kind of funny. She's never been the outdoorsy type per se, and I can remember her hating camping or going hiking. Maybe hating is not the right word, but she was never thrilled about it. Anyways, she is spending the summer working at Cedar Breaks and Kolob Canyon. I was very impressed with her knowledge, and I can tell she loves her job. And she sends everyone she knows to one or the other places to go hiking or watch the sunset. Who wouldn't love spending their days in these beautiful places? We stopped at Kolob on our way to St. George, but it was too hot to really do anything there. In St. George we did a little bit of shopping then drove around in circles trying to decide among the 5 of us where to have dinner. We ended up at the Cracker Barrel which I'm sure is never the first choice for any of us, but it was pretty good. At least my food was. The finale was tickets to Les Miserable at Tuachan which deserves its own post.

Camping

We went camping with Jarom's family on Friday and Saturday this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, and it was so beautiful to be up on the Alpine Loop. The only pictures we got were of our hike to Stewart Falls. We forgot to take the pack for Jacob so he hiked right along with us. What a trooper! We did carry him when he got tired aka I carried him the whole way back to camp on my shoulders. Ugh!!!!

SYTYCD

I didn't get to watch the whole show last night, but this dance was AWESOME! And these two are my favorites this year. Whoohoo!

Brain dead

I'm trying to get registered for fall semester, but since it's been 10 years since I took college algebra I have to take a placement test to see if I can register for the health science math I need for nursing school. I've been taking practice tests online for the past hour and pretty much have failed all of them. So I think I might just pray that my brain works better when I go test this afternoon. I'm almost positive nurses don't use algebra on a daily basis but whatever. Natalie--I need your brains right about now. Too bad you can't come take this test for me!

More from the weekend

On Saturday my aunt rented this blowup slide for her kids/grandkids so we took Jacob over to play. I think we went down it twice. He liked it and giggled both times, but for whatever reason, the trampoline was much more exciting than the water slide.


I guess we might need to get one of these when/if we ever get into our house (whole other post).

Hometown 4th of July

The 4th of July is just not the same if it's not spent in my stomping grounds. So of course I want my children to enjoy the same traditions that I did growing up. We went to the parade in Richfield in the morning. Jacob liked to watch everything go by and waved to the pretty girls and was fascinated by the horses. When the candy started coming he was a little bit unsure what to do. He'd pick up one piece and take to someone to open it then eat it. After awhile he caught on that you get as much candy as you can. He'd run out and grab as much as his little hands could hold and bring it back to us then go for more. He was pooped out by the time the parade ended and fell asleep in the car when we headed back to Aurora to play games. So he missed out on the games and races this year.

Later we had a BBQ then went to the rodeo and fireworks in Salina. Jacob had a hard time sitting still for longer than about 20 minutes at a time. He liked watching when he paid attention but mostly wanted to dig in the dirt and play with rocks. He finally crashed during the fireworks.

Jacob, can you say OCD?

Jacob's favorite toys to play with at home are his cars and trucks. This shows one of his favorite things to do with them. If anyone touches one or tries to move one out of line he flips out...

Playing at the Gateway

Jacob absolutely loves water--Loves to swim, splash in puddles, play in the bathtub, etc. So we decided to take him downtown to play in the fountains at the Gateway last week. He was petrified. He would not go in the water without one of us with him and then he wanted to be held. I think it took a good hour for him to warm up to the idea that it was fun to run through the fountains, but he still would not go alone. Jarom and I were baffled!!!!