Its Like Ridin' a Bike

So I have been searching the entire planet (or Rexburg/Cedar City) for a used toddler bike seat for cheap. And I found one, for FREE!! Yep, on freecycle.org, I have been given the bike seat AND a beautiful lamp for free. Amazing. Well the reason for the bike seat is that Nate typically takes the car all day (which is good for me because I usually spend money if I take the car) and there isn't much goin' on this side of town because Rachael refuses to play at the playground at our complex (because of the sand, she is not a fan) and we just need OUT! So the last two days we've had some little excursions, you know, going to the Elementary School playground after hours, hittin' up Arctic Circle for a 60 cent cone, those fun things. Rachael loves it and even loves her helmet, and she looks super cute in it! Much to my dismay, however, going up hill is killer on my poor legs, especially with the 31 pound child on the back. Ugh. But its good for me, right? Right? Right. And its good for Rachael to get outside. Here's to more happy pedaling!!

She was complaining about the shoes, not the helmet, contrary to her body language.

I love this classic Rachael face

I can do hard things

A friend shared this blog with me and I was literally bawling as I was reading their story. Find their blog here, and be prepared to cry. (The link is only the most recent on Preslee, read the older posts, or try to scroll to the beginning)
Their story is about their little girl, Preslee, who fell into a canal in Rigby, ID, about 10 minutes away from Rexburg. She was life flighted to Idaho Falls, and then to Primary Children's. Preslee was about the same age as Rachael, which is why this story hit so close to home. As I was reading this, my own sweet little girl was over in the family room crying for something, and at first I started to get annoyed, but then I remembered what I was reading. I stopped, went to help her, then brought her to the computer with me where she was doodling on my lap. As I was bawling, my sweet little angel would gently caress my face or give me a little kiss, which made me cry harder. I cannot imagine what this mother is going through. I hope and pray that I will never have to go through something like this, because in this case, I don't think I could do the hard thing. I would break. My little princess is my entire world (not saying Preslee wasn't to her mother). This story has given me a new outlook on motherhood. It will always be hard, but I would rather do it than not.
(Even though I say I couldn't do it, deep down I know I could. Because of the Gospel and because of Jesus Christ, but I don't ever want to find out if I can or cannot)

Camping!

Camping this weekend was tons of fun! We got up to my parent's trailer on Friday afternoon, and long story short, my parents had left their trailer in a sweet spot (totally allowed) and some bums came and parked THEIR trailers and four wheelers all around it. So annoying. Anyways, my brother came up and found a spot and we all set up camp. Nate, Rachael, and I stayed Friday night and Sunday night but not Saturday cuz Nate had homework to do, lameo. It was nice to get a break and a bath though :)

Here is my cute hubby settin' up the tent. My dad was shocked when he found out we didn't even have an air mattress to sleep on. Yeah, we roughed it. It was Nate's first time camping this summer so he had fun starting fires w/OUT matches, reading, and going on the four wheelers.

On Saturday we went to Bryce Canyon, so beautiful!

Rachael and Liam. About 30 seconds after this was taken Rachael was on the other side of this barricade. Ugh! The stinker. She literally doesn't stay still for more than 10 seconds.

We also went on a spur of the moment 1.3 mile hike. Our little family had half a bottle of powerade, Shane and Laura had one bottle of water, the Morgan's had a big bottle of water, and my poor parents had didilly squat. Good thing I had some gum to share :) Nate went temporarily insane and had Rachael on his shoulders the whole time, and even practically ran the whole way out. No thank you, I walked and almost died.

Then we got some ice cream with Curt and Mel's family. This is Rachael rubbing her belly saying, "Mmmm!!"

Back at camp, Rachael and Liam had a sand throwing war. Her tub that night was seriously dark brown when she was through. The next day my sister in law, Laura, told me Liam started playing in the sand and she told him not to throw it and he said, "Yeah, no no, Rachael, no dump," because she literally was dumping buckets of sand on his head. Poor Liam was still camping and didn't get a bath, just a hose down :)

This was the only shot I could get of her filth, and it doesn't even do it justice.

It was a great weekend, and it is SO much nicer camping with Nate, especially when Rachael wouldn't stop crying for like 30 minutes last night and I could ask him to get me stuff. What an adventure :)

Labor Day!

Well, we're off on a Labor Day camping adventure up Cedar Mountain. We'll be visiting Bryce Canyon, which I'm so excited about because Nate has never been there and it is a pretty dang cool place, and quadding, and eating s'mores, maybe a trip to the lake. Its time to rest from our labors (do parents ever really get to do that?) and have a bit of fun!! See you next week and so long summer!

Who needs a breadmaker when...

I've got me!!

Seriously, I don't know what it is, but I have been LOVING making bread lately! Any kind, french (see above), banana, whole grain (with this amazing flour you can only get in Canada!), flat bread, cheese bread (woah, yummy.), anything! Don't think I'm weird, but I think yeast is SO COOL! Seriously, you take a few tablespoons of it, put it in some water and sugar, five minutes later its bubbling out of the cup, so you put it with some flour, oil, and salt and VOILE! In just a little while you have this amazing piece of deliciousness in front of you. I also think I've been baking so much cuz I've been so bored. Some people are lucky enough to have a sewing machine (which I would LOVE!) but I just have flour and some yeast. I'm probably going to gain about 3985 pounds, so I really need to start taking stuff to neighbors to make some friends. I'm going to try out an amazing looking vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!! Man, oh, man, this is gonna be a delicious week!

Affection

So apparently Rachael has been in need of some serious affection lately. She will be scribbling away on her little note pad and will come plop in my lap and continue scribbling. She will be playing with her doll house while I'm making dinner and come squeeze my legs. Currently she is watching Bolt but keeps coming back to sit with me (while still watching, of course). If any of you have ever spent any time with this kid, you KNOW she is not starved for attention. Obviously, she is my only child, and cute to boot! But really, sometimes, I just need a break. Not a break from her cuteness when she just wants me to sit and hold her while she drinks her milk, but a break. Example: Last night she would NOT stay in her bed and would freak out every time we would try to put her back down. I finally tried to give her a time out and then put her back to bed. No go. She came back to her door, stood in the doorway with a look of complete and utter sadness on her face, saying, "Moooom, moooom!" while reaching out her hand to me. Can you say no to that after 2 hours of fighting? All she wanted was some snuggles. If you could say no, you're stronger than I am. So, she came and snuggled with us. Cute, but really, I just want her to go to bed like she used to. Bedtime is now the hardest time of day for us when it used to be bliss. Oh, and I forgot to mention she came waltzing into our room at around 6 a.m. for some more snuggles. Hence why I'm blogging at 7:30. Rachael sleeping on daddy's shoulder last weekend at Strawberry Point. It is a rare occasion when she will fall asleep on us.

What She's Up To

(She loves going quadding!)

Well its been a while since I've done a post on Rachael's happenings, not even for her birthday! I'm a terrible mom, I know. But, since her b-day wasn't that long ago, I'll go for it now.

• She will NOT stay in her playpen unless dad puts her down (so annoying...), but then she'll usually stay down all night! Sweet!
• When she climbs out of bed in the mornings, she comes into our room and says, "Mom?" Pause. "Wee-ish-ee?" (Where is she?) Pretty cute.
• She is currently sitting in her baby doll stroller saying "Nie!" which means either "Nice" or "Cute"
• She colored on the couch yesterday with pen and got her first real punishment. Time Out. *dun dun duuuunnn*
• She knows the sounds to a ton of her letters: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, S, T, U, X, and Z. Pretty advanced for a barely two year old!
• She randomly comes and snuggles with me, slaps my cheeks between her hands, and brings my face to her's to give me a big smooch! My favorite :)
  
• She will NOT sit still to get her toenails clipped or painted (stink bug...)
• She will also not sit still to let me teach her new things (i.e. colors and other important things)
• If she wants to tell you something ("Woah" being the most common phrase), she will NOT stop saying it until you acknowledge it.
  
• She has started screaming to get attention
  
• She will not keep her hair bows/ponies in.
• If she gets an owie, she must have it kissed.
• I'm pretty sure her version of "Popcorn Popping" is the most adorable in the history of the universe.
• She is constantly opening the DVD cabinet for a show, which most of the time I refuse her.
• I think she is on her way to not taking naps anymore. (lameo)
• Her favorite book is "Princess Tiana and the Royal Ball" and would literally read it all day long if I was up to it.
• She calls all blankets "boo" and hides under it (she got it from "peek-a-boo"). She's not afraid of dark, enclosed spaces. She seeks them out.
  
• She really is not talking a whole lot, but she understands everything so we're just gonna let her go her own pace.
• She still loves her sippy cup, but in trying to wean her from it the only cups she'll use are my big glass ones. Go figure...
• She is a two year old. She brings me so much joy, but also makes me want to rip my hair out at times. I love this little babycakes!