Happy Anniversary to us

Yesterday was our 8th anniversary. Lindsey watched our kids for us while we went out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse (great steak and ribs) then to see the movie The Forbidden Kingdom. Thanks Lindsey! I thought I would leave 8 little facts about Matt and me:
1. We were the first couple married in the Reno Temple
2. We have lived in 5 different houses/apartments since we have been married
3. We have 3.9125 children
4. We have visited 3 foreign countries together
5. We have gone camping only 3 times together
6. Neither of us has owned a bike since we've been married
7. We've coached a combined 19 teams
8. Matt has used the same bathing suit for 8 years

Lame, I know, if anyone would like to add any more interesting facts, please do. Here we are before our date last night.

Fun days for the boys

I'll start with Howie and his big day with Matt. This story starts 4 years ago. I remember we had just moved into this house and Howie was about 5 months old. He had been up a lot of the night and Donovan woke up really early. I was SOO tired and Matt was getting ready for school and I said, "Isn't today bring your child to work day?" Matt laughed and gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder to help me face the day. I swear I was built with some pretty powerful mother's intuition because what do I find out when Matt gets home from school that day? Yep, it was really bring your child to work day. Pretty ironic huh? So with that background, it's become a little joke, or whatever you want to call it, for me to find out which day he can bring the kids to school for a little taste of what Matt does (and for a little taste of peace and quiet for me). Donovan went last year and felt all big and important and this year it was Howie's turn. He got all dressed up, helped pack his backpack (with books, pencils and of course, cars) and okayed his lunchbox contents. He loved his day with Matt. His highlights were helping Matt make photocopies, getting a picture from one of his books enlarged so he could color it, and having one of Matt's students share their crayons with him. He was a little shy and hid under tables and desks, but eventually got over being afraid.

I tried to get Howie to wear a tie like Matt, but he says that he would be a teacher who doesn't wear ties. I guess he has a more laid-back style.


Now to Crazy Hair Day. This part doesn't have a whole lot of story to share. Today was Crazy Hair Day at Donovan's school and we loaded up his hair with gel, pomade and hairspray to create this glorious look. Very fashionable wouldn't you say?

How we celebrated Earth Day

Confession - I have never "celebrated" Earth Day before. Donovan has been totally excited about Earth Day. Apparently he has been learning about it at school and he thinks it's the greatest thing ever. His prayers have included things like, "please bless that no one can ruin the trees or the grass", "please bless all the flowers to grow", etc. At 2 of Matt's lacrosse games I have caught him running around picking up all the garbage he can find. He LOVES the idea of taking care of the Earth. So of course, we needed to celebrate Earth Day. Our celebration was simple, we planted a little pine tree in a pot. Donovan was thrilled. I love it when we can please our kids with something so simple!

Grandmas - please help!!

Nina + lipstick + white dresser =

a couple of weeks with one of her grandmas?? Correct me if my math is wrong.
(and this is not her first offence with lipstick as my mom already knows)

some good weather messes

The spring snowstorms have allowed a few scattered days of great weather and the kids jump on those opportunities to play outside. I love that they are not watching tv or playing video/computer games. My only complaint is how filthy they are when they are done playing, particularly Nina. Their favorite game right now involves shovels, John Deer diggers and lots of dirt. I would be happy if they played this game in the sandbox, that seems a little bit cleaner, but they prefer the dirty dirt from the garden. But all things said, I can handle changing outfits and doing a little more laundry. They are so happy to be outside. Donovan and Howie also love to play soccer, lacrosse and baseball. They learned they are "powerful" enough to hit balls over the fence when they use the tee so they line the tee up kind of close to the fence and swing away. I think we will all love summer break! Here are some of the dirty faces I found lingering around the backdoor the other day. The pictures don't do justice to the mess.

A conversation with Nina

(setting: I am changing Nina into her pajamas)
Nina: I don't have a clock in my room.
Me: No, you don't have a clock in here.
Nina: You buy me a "hola" (Dora) clock?
Me: You don't want a princess clock? (she says she needs a princess everything, like a princess haircut, a princess whistle, a princess you-name-it)
Nina: I want a hola clock.
Me: Let's save some money so you can buy one.
Nina: No, you buy me a hola clock.
Me: (nothing)
Nina: Baby brother doesn't have a clock.
Me: What kind of clock will the baby brother want?
Nina: A Pony clock. I put mine right there (pointing to above her bed) and baby brother put his right there. (pointing above the crib)
Me: (nothing, but thinking what the heck???)

Quite the quiet night

How is it that I am about to open a book and read totally in peace? How is it that I am posting something without someone on my lap? It's called Friday Night Stay Up Night! We have been letting the kids have a "stay up" night on Fridays for a few months now and it is a big hit around here. It started out with the boys being able to leave the light on in their room, but it has evolved into a camp out in the basement. We've tried sleeping in the tent, making elaborate forts, and boring old sleeping bags in front of a movie, they like to mix it up. Tonight is one of the less exciting nights, plain old sleeping bags in front of a Pokemon movie, but they are all happy down there. I love Friday nights!

Oh yeah, the Rapids game

I forgot that I didn't post these until I read my sister's blog and she had her pictures up. Not that our pictures are great or anything, but I just think it is neat how close we were to some pretty famous people! So the Rapids had their home opener on March 29 against the LA Galaxy, the team of David Beckham and Landon Donovan. We didn't get season tickets this year, but we made sure we got to this game. Our seats were so close to where the players come out from the locker room, some of the players even gave Howie a high-five. It was fun to see the world famous David Beckham though. Landon Donovan is kind of old news for us after we interrupted his dinner and took our picture with him in downtown Denver (twice!) last summer with Jeff and Kim. Thank goodness Kim made us approach him, we were a little starstruck. But anyway, the game was fun (Rapids won 4-0), the weather was nice and the kids were very well behaved. It took our Donovan a little while to realize that the fans weren't talking about him when they yelled, "YOU SUCK DONOVAN!" I don't know how important it was to let him know they weren't talking about him, he had to ask me what "suck" means.

Donovan's April Fool's joke

Donovan lost his second tooth on April Fool's Day. It fell out right before school so Matt was already gone and he didn't know anything about it. We came up with a good joke to play on Matt. When Matt got home, Donovan was going to tell him that his tooth hurt so much and he wanted Matt to just pull it out. Then when Matt looked in his mouth, he would see the big surprise. Donovan got a little nervous about carrying out the joke, but he put on a great "in pain" face and Matt thought it was a great trick. That was the big April Fool's joke in our family. We're crazy over here aren't we? I mostly just wanted to journal this since my memory isn't always reliable.


Isn't it weird how his tooth was growing in behind his other teeth? It worried me at first, but I love having a dentist brother and brother-in-law, they help to calm a lot of nerves.

My Baby Daddy

No this is not my pet name for Matt. So as most of you know, Nina is my little shadow. She follows me everywhere I go and tries to help me with every task I pursue. And she's not always nice either. She wonders (sometimes with a hugely frustrated "whyyyyyy")why I don't want her to be around me when she hits, calls me names, or her newest thing, saying "I'm gonna kick your butt mom". Well that brings me to this post. I have been so pleased to see Nina's affections being transferred to Matt, even if it is only for a few minutes at a time. She has taken to calling him "my baby daddy" and loves for him to hold her so she can hug him tightly and rub his scruffy chin (when there is scruff to rub). This is making me less nervous for when this baby comes. I'm hoping we can get her fully attached to Matt in the remaining 7 weeks and he can deal with the threats and name calling and leave me to the late night feedings. Long live the baby daddy!!

The mini-Matt

I caught Donovan in the hallway playing Matt's old Gameboy the other night, way past his bedtime I might add. Matt was searching and searching for this thing last week and it has been in his hands or next to his bed ever since. (I did try to hide it one time, and that didn't go over too well) Donovan and Matt are two peas in a pod sometimes. When Matt brought the gameboy up, Donovan was instantly intrigued and watched over Matt's shoulder until it was his turn. And unrelated to gameboys, Donovan has also made his first fantasy soccer team to be just like Matt. He came home from school on Tuesday and said, "I better check to see how my fantasy team is doing." It begins already!

The 32 week belly

Only 8 weeks to go.