The Tooth Fairy Came!

I can't believe I have a child old enough to be losing teeth, but I do. I took Gage and Landen to the dentist a few weeks ago and was told Gage would be losing his two front bottom teeth soon. I didn't think much of it at the time. Then last Friday night on July 25, Gage came running into my bedroom saying he had lost a tooth. I didn't believe him at first because he never even mentioned his tooth being loose. He held up his tooth proudly to prove it. I had originally dreaded this day because you always hear stories about kids with teeth hanging on by a root and having to trick them into letting you "see it" when in reality you are going to yank the sucker out. Gage said he just kept wiggling it and he simply pulled it out. He said it didn't even hurt.

As many people know, Gage is a junk collector and he wanted to save his tooth "forever and ever." Mike and I had to really talk the tooth fairy up and tell him how much money he would get if he left it under his pillow. Finally, Gage agreed and went to bed that night dreaming of tooth fairies and dollars. I had to work the next day, but when I called him to see if the tooth fairy had come Gage was so excited. Mike said he woke right up and checked underneath his pillow and showed Mike the surprise waiting for him. I hate to say how much money we gave Gage but we had to get him to agree to not keep it. We told him you get more money for the first tooth you lose. The tooth next to it is really loose so we could be getting another tooth fairy visit relatively soon. This could get expensive!

Move over Michael Phelps!

Gage and Landen finished out their intense swimming lessons last Tuesday. I wanted to recap lessons 3 through 5 since the first two were full of crying and screaming. Lesson 3 was on a Thursday and pretty much went the same as the previous two lessons. Gage cried and whined for the entire 2o minutes and Landen screamed. The instructor initially said by Lesson 3 the kids know who's boss and listen to him. I'm glad my kids could be the ones to prove him wrong. Mike attended this lesson and couldn't believe it. He took away their prized possessions. Gage's Ben 10 watch and Landen's cars were hidden.

Monday was Lesson 4 and I had to endure it alone. I know bribing isn't the best policy but sometimes there is a time and a place for it and I was desperate. I told Gage and Landen they could pick out a toy at the toy store if they were good for their last two lessons. Both agreed and I was prepared for the worst. Lesson 4 started with Gage and he was an entirely different child. He did awesome! He was swimming and actually enjoying himself. When Gage finished he said, "Wow mommy, that was a short lesson." It's amazing how short a lesson seems when they aren't crying. Landen was up next and I actually thought he would just follow in Gage's footsteps. I was wrong. The screaming continued for the entire 20 minutes. Landen always has to go to the bathroom right after because he swallows so much water.

Tuesday was Lesson 5. On the way there I was telling Gage he still needed to be good for this last lesson if he wanted his toy. He said, "No problem." Landen and I had the following conversation:

Me: "Landen you need to be good for this lesson or I won't
buy you a new toy."
Landen: "Mommy, I don't want to be good."
Me: "You don't want to be good? Don't you want me to buy you
that shiny new fast car you saw?"
Landen: "No, I'll just get it for my birthday because I don't want to be good."
Me: "Landen, if you're not good I'm not going to buy it for your birthday."
Landen: "Ok, I'll just buy it myself."
Me: "Landen, you don't have any money. How are you going to buy it?"
Landen: "I'll use Gager's money."

Needless to say, Landen was not good. Gage was wonderful again and while sitting there listening to Landen scream during his lesson Gage and I had this conversation:

Gage: "Mommy, I get a toy right?
Me: "Yes, Gage. You did great."
Gage: "Landen's crying so he doesn't get a toy? Won't he be sad?"
Me: "He's not being good for his lesson. Landen does not get a toy."
Gage: "Mommy, I don't think Landen is crying. I think they are tears of joy."

Nice try Gage. Glad he tried to stick up for his brother.

Overall, I am very impressed with how Gage is swimming. He never has been able to swim as much as he is now. Landen on the other hand took a step back I think. I just wish the instructor wouldn't have been so confident when I first signed my kids up. He said he could get any kid swimming from one end of the pool to the other by the last lesson. He really should have excluded three year olds.

I actually have signed them up for another week of 5 2o minute lessons starting on the 21st. Hopefully Landen will do better.

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July. It is so fun hanging out and relaxing with the family. We had a great time this year. I actually worked the night before so my mom came over and watched the kids so I could sleep until 1pm while my Dad and Mike went golfing. Thanks mom! Then we all went and saw the new movie Wall E which is really a cute movie. Landen sat through it which means it must have been good. After the movie, my parents, my sister Cami, Corey and Bobbie, and Casey and Annie all went to have a BBQ at Mike's parents' house. His parents are in San Diego so we thought using their yard would be a lot funner than hanging out in our dirt. Below are some pictures of our fun!

The master chef!

The food was so good. My mom marinaded chicken and pork for over a day.

My dad took no time returning to his old eating habits after his weight loss competition. Oh, that's right, he never really participated in the competition. Now he is introducing Tanner to bad food already. We don't have a chance when it comes to sweets.

Tanner is obsessed with anything round. He kept picking up this huge basketball and throwing it.

I spent $35 on fireworks this year and only 1 out of my 3 children appreciated it. Take a look at the pictures below and you can decide which of my three children was having fun with the fireworks.

Swimming Boot Camp

Gage and Landen have taken swimming lessons at the Clearfield Acquatic Center a few times and my kids still don't know how to swim. I blamed it on their lack of muscles, but have seen many other kids their size actually swimming. Back in May, I signed my kids up once again at the Clearfield pool and they barely started this last Monday. They go twice a week for four weeks. There are usually 6 or 7 kids in each class so one can only guess that maybe the problem lies in the fact that the kids don't get too much one on one time with the teacher. Therefore, I signed my kids up for swimming with a one on one instructor that also started Monday. They go everyday this week for 20 minutes of one on one time. If my kids don't know how to swim after this, I don't know what else to do. The one on one lesson is pretty intense. There are no breaks. It is straight swimming, dunking, floating, and turning for 20 plus minutes.

Monday's lesson went ok. Gage looked like he wanted to cry towards the end because he was so cold and tired but held strong. Landen whined the whole time continually asking the teacher if he could be done. Tuesday was entirely a different story. Gage was doing awesome for about five minutes until the guy told him to get out and jump in the deep end. Gage got out and flipped out. Later I found out Gage just didn't want to jump in the deep end, but instead of simply stating this fact he started crying. I made him get back in and he cried the remainder of the lesson. I wish I had the patience this instructor had. Gage cried and the instructor just kept teaching. He made Gage swim, float, and flip over whether he wanted to or not. It was really difficult to watch. Not because I felt bad for Gage, but because I felt bad for the instructor. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it was Landen's turn. Landen didn't cry the entire time, he screamed the entire time. Needless to say Landen swallowed a whole lot of water. The instructor didn't seem bothered by it. When the lesson was over, I looked at the instructor and said in more of a question, "See ya tomorrow?" He said of course and that by the 3rd lesson the kids usually understand that he is going to make them swim whether they cry or not so they might as well do what he says.

I wish I could tell you what happened on this day 3, but the instructor canceled on me today. We will resume tomorrow but I hope it doesn't mess up all the progress my kids have made. Ha, ha. I kept my kids in the Clearfield lessons because they are layed back and they have fun. Not to mention the fact that I had already paid for them. Below are some pics of today's lessons.

Landen is on the verge of whining about how cold it is.

What a backfloat!

Gage is patiently waiting his turn.

Gage doing his backfloat.

Syracuse Heritage Days

Syracuse City does a lot of fun things for their Heritage Days. Above is a picture of some of us waiting for the parade to begin. We went with my in-laws, our good friends Chris and Heidi and their kids, and Matt and Jamie and their kids. This parade was awesome. It lasted only 45 minutes and the kids got tons of candy, water bottles, frisbees, shirts, flags, etc. By the end, Gage was tired of picking up all the candy.

Landen loves police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks, but apparently the loud noises were just too much for his ears to handle.

Tanner didn't appreciate the loud noises either.


After the parade, we went to my cousin Angie's house to celebrate her son A.J.'s 2nd birthday. The kids had a blast at his swimming party. I forgot my camera, but the kids had so much fun and wore themselves out. I let Landen sleep in the car for two hours. Don't worry mom, I left all the doors open and stayed with him and read a book.

That night we went to the fireworks. Landen complained that the fireworks were too loud, but we were pretty far away from them. I don't know what's going on with his ears lately. Tanner slept right through it so it couldn't have been too loud.

T-Ball Wrap Up

T-ball unfortunately ended a few weeks ago. We had so much fun going to Gage's games and watching him play. Mike and I are so proud of him. Gage hasn't been interested in sports until T-ball started and he really enjoyed playing. He looked forward to going to every game and did his best. I have to say that I am really impressed at how T-ball is ran in Syracuse. I don't know if it is the same everywhere, but there are no winners or losers. Everyone gets to hit and no one ever gets out. Gage will get to play the same way next year which will be nice. I bet it is quite a shock when the kids have to start playing by the rules.

I want to thank my parents and in-laws for coming to a lot of Gage's games. I know their support meant a lot to Gage and he always looked forward to seeing his grandparents there.

I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing Gage in a baseball cap. He looks so cute! Maybe next year I will spring for the tight baseball pants if they don't fall off his skinny little waist.

Gage loved playing catcher. He liked being able to throw the ball back to the pitcher and getting everyone out at home plate.

Perfect fit!

Happy 9 Year Anniversary!!!

Our story.....

It was the spring of 1996 and Roy High was playing Layton in boys soccer at Roy. The Clearfield High boys' soccer team came to watch the game since they had a bye and they wanted to scout out the two teams. My dad and I went and started talking to Aric Manning who was Clearfield's soccer coach. Aric used to coach me a few years back. After the game, I noticed two hot guys from Clearfield's team. Aric was yelling at them to clean up some pizza boxes and one of them was complaining that no one else was helping. Aric basically told them to buck up, be the captains, and clean up. Later I found out the two hot guys were named Mike Merrill and Kelly Sellers. I certainly noticed them, but later Mike tells me that he never noticed me. He just saw some guy (my dad) talking to Aric. Isn't that great? Mike didn't even notice his future wife.

Fast forward to the summer and my older sister Brandy started dating Jeremy Bair from Clearfield. He always brought a bunch of his friends over to our house which included Mike although I didn't recognize him at the time. I always happened to see them when I was in soccer shorts and ponytail all sweaty from soccer practice. I usually tried to avoid them the best I could. Then in August, I was sick one weekend night lying in bed and in walks my Dad with Mike. I looked awful! My dad proceeded to ask me if I remembered Mike from that last spring as the one whining not wanting to clean up after the Roy High soccer game. I immediately recognized Mike and wanted to run and hide. Mike was so cute and I was about to puke being sick. I must have looked gorgeous.

Mike seemed to always be at the house, but I was busy with my senior soccer season starting. I think Mike just liked hanging out with my Dad. I don't know why though they both talk so much I don't know how they ever had a real coversation. My dad kept asking Mike to come to one of my games, but he just made up excuses. He said he didn't want to get too involved because he just got his mission call and was set to leave mid-September. Finally, Mike did come to one of my games and according to him, fell in love once he saw me in my soccer uniform. Pretty cheesy huh? Our first date was two weeks before he left on his mission. We wrote the entire time he was gone, but nothing serious. He came home in September of 1998 and we just started dating where we left off. On June 26, 1999 we were married. And now, 9 years later look what mess I am in.

I am so grateful for Mike. He is a great husband and father. I really don't know where I would be without him. He supports me in everything I do. I love ya Merrill!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Yesterday morning, I woke up and made Mike a nice French Toast breakfast with chocolate milk. His favorite (I hope). He had an early morning church meeting so he wasn't able to sleep in much. Last weekend we went to Park City and he picked out some clothes for Father's Day, but I did surprise him with a book he has been asking for called "Scream Free Parenting." I promise he really has been wanting this book because he knows he needs it. Mike doesn't have the most patience when it comes to our boys so I will keep everyone posted on how well this book works.

After church, we went to my parents house and had a BBQ. Here's a pic of my awesome dad. I know he will be reading this so I hope all of this won't go to his head. I really do have a great dad. We have always got along. Growing up I think a lot times my friends liked to come to my house to hang out with him. I love the above picture of him because we joke about how that big chair makes him look small. I love ya dad!

Here's Mike doing his favorite thing. I let him relax and watch tv all day yesterday. Who am I kidding? I have three rowdy boys. He got to relax and watch Tiger Woods for maybe a good hour or so.

Mike is a great dad. I am so lucky to have him as my husband and the father of my children. I love ya Merrill!

Farewell BBQ

After highschool, I assumed my soccer playing days were over. I had no idea that there were lady rec leagues. After playing a few years on a team with girls from Ben Lomond/Ogden, I was asked to play on a team with girls mostly from Clearfield High. A lot of the girls are married to Mike's friends from school. Anyway, I have had a blast playing with them. What's funny is I played against most of them growing up. My sister Cami and I played for the comp team F.C. Pride and they played for Chaos. We usually battled it out for 1st and 2nd place and it was always ugly. Anyway, a girl named April has played with us the last couple of years and she is moving to England with her husband. We had a farewell BBQ yesterday. It was so fun hanging out with everyone. We will miss April on and off the field. Hopefully, Mike and I can make it to England to visit and catch some English soccer games. That would be awesome. Check out the pics of our fun.

What little posers!

Gage got a hold of the camera.

The boys ate so good because they only got dessert if they ate. There were lots of yummy desserts. I need to go on a diet!

Anyone who ever played soccer will recognize this classic soccer pose. Players stood tall in the back and the ones in the front knelt on one knee. The only thing missing is the soccer ball.

Yard Update

So, we started our yard over a month ago and not much has happened since. I will blame most of it on the weather, but in reality Mike and I haven't been able to agree on how to layout our yard. We are now moving forward and I have won most of the battles. I wish he would have just conceded to begin with. Anyway, our sand is in for the sandbox. I got the size I wanted. The kids have been enjoying it already. The basketball court is dug out, the fence posts are in, and the flags are set for the sprinklers. The court was supposed to be poured this week weather permitting. Our sprinklers are supposed to be pulled tomorrow, weather permitting, and rocks will come Saturday. We still have tons to do, but here are some pics of what has been done so far. No more big dirt piles!

Here are the kids enjoying the sandbox. I couldn't let Tanner play in it too long because he kept eating the sand.

Ok, I guess we still have dirt piles. That is where our island will go and the dirt is for my flowerbed.

Here's our fenceposts and you can see where the basketball court will be. To the left will be another flowerbed in the corner and a firepit if I get my way.