More Than Ready to Go!!

Repelling at Arch Canyon in Southern Utah.


For the past 3 days, every time we get in the car to go somewhere, Wesley asks,"Are we going to 'Ewetah' (Utah) now?". I have been busy looking for a portable DVD player (found one at Best Buy.....Dual player with 4 headphone jacks! Attaches to the head rest and everything. Even came with two sets of headphones and a remote and a carrying case! Cool!), and doing other random errands and shopping. I let the kids pick out a couple new movies and books but told them they can not have them until we leave for Utah.
We are now down to packing, and purchasing a cooler that will fit on the floor in between the front and back seats, for all the perishables I am bringing along so we don't have to stop for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is another story.
Wesley is so excited to go so he can watch his new movies and see his cousins and grandparents and uncles and aunts, as are the rest of us. I told my dad, this past week has been dragging on and on! It is worse than waiting for Christmas morning! We are so ecstatic to get to see family and friends that we haven't seen for a while! And to do some camping, 4-wheeling, dancing, bow making, our own 'Tingey Olympics', visiting, and repelling! Hooray!! The last time I went repelling was when Brady and I were engaged! After that, every time we were in Blanding I was either with child, or just had a child.

Ready for Church

Aubrey is always very willing to get all dolled up to go to church. She loves the dresses and loves to "make her hair pretty". Wesley is another story; We literally have to fight him every week to get dressed. He can't figure out why I won't just let him wear play clothes to church. He really doesn't like long pants, he would much rather wear "little pants" (i.e. shorts). So, last week I bribed him to wear a white shirt and tie. It actually worked this time! (yes, I have attempted bribery before, but he wouldn't go for it!) He usually wears a white polo shirt and slacks, which is just fine. He sometimes wears nice button up shirts and nice jeans; But I think it is so darn cute when little boys are all dressed up in white shirts and ties. So, I told him I'd give him a pack of M&M's AND Oreo cookies if he'd keep his tie on all through church, which he did. Hooray! It was much easier when he was a smaller guy.

So darn cute!!! He is about 15 or 16 months old in this pic; just a little younger than what Aubrey is right now. I have a pic. of him when he was about 5 or 6 months old propped up on the couch, wearing a white shirt and tie! So sweet! I couldn't find that pic. Whew! How quickly time flies!!

I loved this sweater! I found it at a second hand store, brand new, for 3 dollars!! I love a good deal.

Isn't he so handsome?? I love those big, blue eyes! He was about 13 or 14 months old in this pic. All ready for Stake Conference. I remember this day so well. I remember the cool Autumn weather, and walking the 7 or so blocks to the old Tabernacle in Provo. It was such a beautiful fall day! I spent the whole conference outside watching Wesley while he wondered around looking for sticks. Funny, he is still obsessed with finding sticks and using them for guns and swords, or to he tries to chop trees down with them (ever since we read him this book about George Washington chopping down a cherry tree, he has been obsessed with chopping down trees). Anyway, back then, he just liked to find sticks and carry them around and maybe whack at a fence here and there.

It's Off!!!!!!!!!

We woke up this morning excited to get to the doctors office and get the cast off. Wesley smiled the whole way to the office. And then............


The nurse pulled out "the saw". Wesley was a little nervous, as you can tell in the pic, but did really well. I explained what was going to happen and he relaxed and cooperated very well.


He was smiling once the nurse got going, so I kept thinking, "man he is really being brave!" When we got out to the car, I asked him if he thought the saw was cool, and he said no. He said it was scary. You never would have known he was scared in the office.

I think the little saw scared Aubrey more than it did Wesley. She just sat there and watched, wide eyed, not knowing what to think of it all.

Once the nurse finished sawing, she used this nifty tool to open up the cast.

Then she had to use scissors to cut through part of the wrap.

And finally, she began peeling it apart!

Almost there....................

Ahhhh.........And it is finally off. But Wesley wasn't to sure about it. He says it still hurts and is very careful in the way he moves it. The doctor said that it is normal and that he would probably be more sensitive for a couple of days. Wesley told me on our way home that he wanted the cast back on. Ha! Yea right! We shall see how he feels about it in a couple of days.

He had to have one more set of x-rays. Everything looks great and normal, according to the doctor. And Wesley got treats for being a good sport. So, now he just has to be really careful not to fall on that arm again for the next three weeks or so.

Aubrey got a treat also, and boy was she happy about it!

Slap Stix

So, has anybody else out there ever experienced the yumminess of Slap Stix?? I love them! I found some big ones for .86 cents at Michaels today (the ones I would buy as a kid were smaller and only cost .10 cents). I don't know what it is about them.........they are just tasty!

Brady had never had one before we were married and I introduced him to them. I couldn't believe it! Chico Sticks and Slap Stix, Alexander the Grape, Lemon Heads, Red Hots, Fruit Cocktails, Boston Baked Beans...............Ahhhh.......treats from the past. And all for only .10 cents a box. I remember my parents talking about penny candy and how .10cents seemed like so much. Hah! What are my kids gonna remember? I can just hear Wesley in 20 or so years, "I remember when you could buy 3 candy bars for a dollar at Kroger!" when, 20 years from now, they will be selling 3 candy bars for four dollars or something.

Anyway, nothing like a yummy treat of Slap Stix to bring a family together!!

Scruffy

We have a new friend at our house; his name is Scruffy and he is an elephant. Wesley built him a cage out of all our couch cushions tonight.

Aubrey kept "opening the gate and letting Scruffy out!" Wesley was not happy about that. Wesley was pretending to throw food in his cage, and wanted to bring a cup of water upstairs for him to drink when it was time for bed. What a great imagination!!

Now, I know where the elephant part came from. Brady has a computer game (Age of Empires) that he plays that has elephants on it. Wesley really likes it when the elephants show up on the screen. But I can't for the life of me figure out how Wesley came up with the name 'Scruffy' for the elephant. It cracks me up.

When it was bed time, Scruffy had to go upstairs with Wesley. When we had family prayer, Scruffy knelt down with us and Wesley showed him how to fold his arms, close his eyes, and bow his head. Wesley gave me a kiss good night, and then Scruffy had to give me a kiss good night. Then, Wesley let Scruffy get up on his bed to sleep tonight. It is a good thing he has a queen size bed, elephants are not small!

Rootbeer

A week ago today, we spent our family home evening excitedly making root beer for the upcoming fourth of July weekend. Making and bottling our own rootbeer has been a tradition in my family, ever since I can remember. My dad and a buddy of his in high school came up with this special secret recipe, and my dad has been so kind as to pass the secret down to his daughters and their spouses. So, for the past five years, Brady and I have been making rootbeer for many different occasions. It is the best!
Unfortunately, we had a little bit of a problem with the rootbeer this time around. It all started when, on Monday night, we couldn't exactly remember just how much yeast to use. We were to darn lazy to call someone or find our recipe, so we just guessed and we were pretty sure we guessed right...........Until................
3 days later, the day we were going to ice the rootbeer down, the kids and I heard an explosion in the laundry room. I ran in to see if something had fallen or if the dryer had blown up. Everything was in its place and secure. I stood there dumbfounded, trying to figure out what the noise was we had heard, when 'BOOM!'!!! My ears were ringing and I looked down at the cooler and thought, "You have got to be kidding, was that the rootbeer?". And then 'BOOM!!', another bottle burst and then I knew for sure what we were hearing was our precious rootbeer, that we worried if it would be carbonated enough or not, was exploding!! I ran to the phone laughing as I called Brady to inform him that the rootbeer was indeed carbonated. I was asking him what I should do and as he was telling me, I wandered back into the laundry room to find Wesley kneeling right in front of the cooler, eagerly waiting for the next 'BOOM'.
"Wesley, move away from the cooler, now!" I said in a very concerned tone. And then about 30 seconds later, after Wesley had left the room.......'BOOM, BOOM'!!!! and glass went shooting out of the cooler at least 7 or 8 feet!! Had Wesley still been kneeling in front of the cooler..........uhg! I don't even want to think about what could have happened. I got off the phone immediately with Brady, still not knowing how to cool the bottles down, like Brady had told me to do, so they'd stop exploding. Seconds flew by as my thoughts raced in a million different directions trying to come up with a solution to my problem. Finally, I did what every girl should do in times of great need of help, I called my dad. The one who started it all. He was able to tell me what I needed to do, and then I got to work. I carefully moved the cooler to the back porch, grabbed the garden hose, and let the cool water run into the cooler for about 20 minutes. After about 30 minutes of no more bottles bursting, I carefully lifted the lid to the cooler and dumped ice in to cool the bottles down even more.
Fortunately, no more bottles burst on us that day.
Unfortunately, the root beer was nasty and we dumped it all down the drain.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

This year we got a little brave and decided to go check out a small firework display that was done by the water park (Splash Town). We parked in the parking lot in front of a Khols and Wal Mart. It was a simple little display, just enough for the kids. Next year we will venture out to a bigger and better place, now that we've got our feet wet with Splash Town. LOL (no pun intended). We just about got hit with roman candles a few times by inexperienced pyro-maniacs, which is always exciting. I was sitting there thinking how funny it was that we were sitting in a parking lot, watching fire works explode over the Dollar Tree store. hmmmm......so.........interesting?? Just not what I am use to. I love, love, love fireworks though, so what ever works, right? *sigh*

Aubrey was so tired, but hung in until the last fountain was lit back at our house. So, it was a long night for her.

Some friends of ours invited us over to their home for a pie eating contest. It was a lot of fun......for most of us. Wesley wasn't to sure about the whole thing. He looked at Stacey goin' to town on her slice of pie and said, "eeww! Grossie!" I was crackin' up. This shouldn't have surprised me since he is my kid who won't even eat a slice of bread if it has any deformities whatsoever. Everything he eats must look perfect, and if he gets messy, he starts calling the food "stupid". He does have his many moments of creativity when he makes complete messes. Boy, we will definitely be working on his pie eating skills.

Stacey proudly holding her empty plate, pie face and all. And then Wesley asked for a fork and still wouldn't eat his pie.

I didn't do much better than Wesley, although I at least put my face in the pie and tried to beat out Rebecca, she creamed me!!! Go Rebecca! ( I am glad the berries didn't stain our faces!)

Finally, Brady redeemed the Tingey name by inhaling his pie so fast! Neal and Alicia did their best to keep up. I was amazed how fast he ate that quarter of apple pie. He got it up his nose. LOL I guess all of us did.

This is before we set out to the ward breakfast. It felt like trying to get Easter pictures all over again........NO COOPERATION! Wesley insisted on showing me his teeth. Aubrey was so tired. We went to bed late the night before. So, she looked adorable. But she sure didn't act adorable.

Aubrey has to have a baby everywhere we go lately. She put chapstick on that baby on our way to the church. She was so proud of herself.

It is tradition here, at church, to have a pancake breakfast and flag ceremony the morning of the 4th. So, we threw together a breakfast casserole and went to the church for that. The primary kids always do a little parade in the cultural hall. They march around all the tables while we all sing The Star Spangled Banner. It was so cute, and so sweet. My heart has been so full of gratitude for the privilege to live in a free nation. More so lately, since I have been reading some historical fiction on the Revolutionary War. I am so grateful for the many men and women who have fought for our country to be free...........and for the many men and women who work behind the scenes, preserving our nation. We are all richly blessed, and I take it for granted sometimes. I am so grateful for the hand of the Lord in all the many blessing I have in my life.

THANK YOU! To all who have served, are serving, and will serve in many different capacities to protect our freedom and our nation. May God bless you!

More on the Cuties......

Whenever I am doing laundry, Aubrey comes running in and says, "I see, I see". So I sit her up on the washer and she sits and watches the water fill up, and then she closes the lid for me and I help her down. I love that kids are so willing to help. Oh! And we figured out another word; "Saw"=Wesley. Isn't that funny? I have no idea how she gets "Saw" out of Wesley, but whatever. It is cute.

Another funny Wesley story: Brady and I went to do a session at the temple last night and had Wesley's favorite babysitter come over, Catherine. He just loves her. Anyway, she told me they were talking and he was telling her how his daddy fixed the power button on the TV and how his daddy knows everything and can fix anything (cute). He said he likes to hammer things with his dad, and then, he invited her over to watch him hammer sometime. LOL. I thought that was cute. I can just see him saying it........"do you want to come watch me hammer?".