Conversation with a 2 year old

We take a break from our regularly scheduled update to bring you breaking news... okay, it's not news at all. It is just a little peek into my life.

Today, I had another 2 year old, named Jakob, here. I put Miana and Jakob both down for naps at the same time and then J's mom came to pick him up before M woke up. Here is the conversation after she woke up.

Me: Hi! Did you have a good nap?
M: Yah. Where Jakob go?
Me: He went home, his mommy wanted him home.
M: Jakob go home? Jakob go home mommy. I wear this (now pointing to a rain coat she had on earlier, she then put it on). I (mumbles something) this. Jakob home.

She then walked around for about 10 seconds with the rain coat on and then went into the hallway.

M: Jacob have this (pointing to the jacket Jakob borrowed when we went outside). I have this. Jakob home. Mommy Jakob home. I have drink. This Jakob cup. Where Miana cup?
Me: Here's your cup, do you want water?
M: Yah. Miana have water. (takes a drink, then a quiet pause) Where Jakob go?

I love 2 year olds! This all happened in about a 3 minute time period. She was talking fast.

Yah.

My parents came home!

We have had such a busy summer! School got out the end of June and just 2 weeks later my parents came home on July 4th! It was amazing to see them and have them back in "my world." I had truly missed being able to just call my mom up on the phone and talk. I think I called her every day that next week just because I could! To prepare for their arrival I had the kids do a 3 day project during HW time. Day 1 assignment was to figure out what they wanted to say on the sign and write (or trace) the words onto the sign in pencil and go over it with paint. Day 2 assignment was to draw a picture on the front but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was supposed to be of. I remember that on Spencer's he was supposed to look up on the computer and draw pictures of the 3 flags from my parents mission and 1 flag for the US and draw them on the poster, but I can't remember what Carter's assignment was... somehow both posters ended up with lots of suns drawn on them. Day 3 assignment was to turn the posters over and draw what they thought Nana and Papa would as soon as they got home. Carter predicted that they would walk all over their house and look at everything, Spencer predicted that Papa would go on a 4-wheeler ride and go all around his property. (I thought they would eat dinner and go straight to bed). Here is a picture of us at the airport:

Spencer's sign is the best, it says, "I love you... I like you" After the airport, we stopped and picked up pizza and went out to their house for pizza and some dessert. The first thing my dad did was go inside and start wandering around the house (good prediction, Carter!) We then had dinner and the boys had to explain their signs to Nana and Papa (oral presentation) as part of homework. We didn't want to stay too long with them being so tired, so we had dessert and packed up the kids. I found out that right after we left, my dad got on the 4-wheeler and went out to look all around his property (Spencer's prediction!) My kids really know their Nana and Papa!

Once again, I am WAY behind!

I find myself being months behind in my blogging. I have never posted about my parents coming home from their mission, Tayla's blessing, our trip to Utah, the trip to the lake, my sister's new daughter, my brother's new son, my other sister's engagement, my precious stones, soccer starting, treating shock, AND finally, school starting! I am going to try to cover at least 1 thing everyday until I get caught up... starting tomorrow... :)

Clean up negotiation

The kids have been playing in the basement for the last 3 days. I have been avoiding going down there to see the mess. Today, I asked the boys if there was a mess down there and they said yes. I told them that I was coming down to check in 10 minutes and that they should go clean up. Spencer starts down the stairs and turns to say, "Okay, we'll clean up, but you have to pay us for it." So I turned to him and said, "Fine, I will pay you for cleaning up the messes, but you have to pay me for every mess you make." He agreed and went down to clean up. They came up when they were tired and Spencer demanded his money. I said, "okay, get your money box." They both ran to find their money and came back. I told Spencer that he needed to pay me for making the mess first. It was a $5 mess. He paid me $5. I then said, "well, you didn't clean up EVERYTHING, so you did a $3 clean up job. He seemed disappointed that I didn't pay him $4, but took the money. Carter paid me $2 and I paid him $1 for his work.
Overall, I got $3 and they did some work without crying. The rule is, if you clean up without getting paid, you don't get charged for the mess. Eventually, they will clean up everything and we will break even OR they will clean up without asking for money, either way I win!

Indiana Jones and the... Enfamil Lipil of Doom!

In case you can't tell, that's Lego Indiana Jones in the formula container. I found Miana sitting on the counter next to this and I said, "what happened?" She said, "bad guy in there," proudly pointing at the container. She calls all of the boys' action figures/lego people "bad guys" because the boys are always talking about fighting the bad guys when they play with them. Apparently, this is part of the next Indiana Jones adventure. He will be stuck trying to climb out of the sand-like substance in a giant container. He will be nearly to the top when someone will add water and the whole thing turns to liquid. It will be a box office smash!

"The best day of my life"

On Thursday morning we drove to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple to go through an open house. You can find out more about it here. We were able to take the kids and it was a really good opportunity to teach them about these wonderful buildings and the things that happen there. We were inbetween rooms and my mom leans forward and says to Spencer, “maybe after this is over, we should go get a donut.” Spencer is looking around and nods. He says, “yes, this Temple is SOOOO beautiful, it makes me want to eat a donut.” Then at the end of the tour, they invited us to a reception area for cookies. Mom said, “Spencer, did you hear that? They have cookies, we won’t need to eat a donut.” Spencer said, “I think we should have cookies AND a donut.”
On the way out of the Temple, Carter leans over and says, “Mom, THAT Temple was AWESOME”
We then went to the distribution center and let the kids each get their own copy of the Book of Mormon and pick out a case for it. Spencer was super excited.
After lunch, we changed clothes and the boys went to MyGym for summer camp. They love this camp. Spencer said, “This is the best day of my life. We got to go to the Temple AND go to summer camp.”

Beany Babies

S: MOM!! Guess what!?! Little Teeny Baby Beanies are coming back.
(I start to wonder what he is talking about, but I don't have to wait long for an explanation)
S: Remember? You used to play with them when you were little. (actually, I never had any, but they were around - my siblings had them)
S: They are coming back in McDonalds Happy Meals. You will be so excited because they used to be retarded and they are bring them back.
(it only took me a second to realize that he actually meant "retired" not retarded.)
S: They won't be retarded anymore and we can get some in McDonald's happy meals, right, Mom?
Me: (trying not to laugh) that's right, they won't be retarded anymore, nor will they be retired. Maybe in a couple of weeks you can get a happy meal with one in it.

He left with a big smile on his face... came back a few minutes later...
S: Mom, Carter wants to know what a bing-y baggy thing is.