Random Summer Days

Summer is flying by and we are trying to squeeze out every bit of enjoyment we can!  Mind you pregnancy may be slowing us down slightly, but I would certainly say that our summer has been far from boring so far.  Here are a few RANDOM pictures from my phone of what we have been up to lately.  

Here are the plethora of grandkids swimming at the Rec Center.

And here is the whole slew of LeBaron Grandkids (for a few more months) Yes Jack looks so happy to be part of it doesn't he?  I wouldn't be either if someone rudely snatched me up from a peaceful and quiet rest on Nanny's soft bed after an exhausting day of church and threw me in a picture either.  But in this family I have learned that pictures take precedence so snatch him up I did knowing full well this was the best we could hope for.

I've noticed I have an abundance of sleeping pictures of Jack.  It seems he is set on making up for all his lost sleep for the first two years of life and now sleeps and naps better than any child I have ever seen (well as long as bedtime is done in his own bed)!  I guess I should have known that he inherited his mother's strong will and had to come to things on his own terms at his own time.  I think that is just how things will be with Jack.  This is how I found him the other afternoon all snuggled up in the basement tuckered out after playing the math game.

 And call me a bad mother, but here is our first trip to the dentist. (never mind my child is 4 years old) Porter LOVED it and can't wait to go back.  Jack wasn't as fond of it but we still managed a teeth cleaning and a flouride treatment.  They both were awarded Super Hero Capes and Masks for no cavities!  On our next visit we will receive another piece of Super Hero gear so as you can imagine Porter is counting down the next six months until we can go again.  (man this dentist has really got it figured out!)

Prophet Sheets

Have you met Porter?  He is somewhat, well, unique may be the best word to describe him.  If you know him then this story won't entirely shock you, but in case you don't know him then let me say he LOVES the Gospel.  He looks forward to General Conference and makes better preparations for it and listens intently to the messages better than most adults, he wishes he could say every prayer at every meal and every occasion and sometimes cries if he can't, he has given a talk more times in one year in Primary than most kids give ever, he begs to have a Family Home Evening lesson every night and he has an incredible love and affinity for the Prophet and Apostles of the church and wishes that every bedtime story be about one of them in their youth.  

Back around the time of General Conference Porter and I had been discussing ideas for his new shared room with Jack.  We had decided on colors with a touch of Super Hero theme, but then, General Conference happened and Porter declared that he wanted Prophet Bedsheets.  Taken off guard, I explained that I would see what I could (knowing that this request was an impossibility because last time I check Desert Book did not market anything of the sort because even if they did, who would buy them?).  What sort of 4 year old requests prophet and apostle bedsheets over superheros?  His LOVE of the gospel continues to amaze me and I wish that I had even a tenth of the enthusiasm Porter has for this church.  Fast forward a few months and Tom's talented Aunt Andrea had heard his unique request and set to work to make Porter his very own Prophet Bed Sheets.   Now like I said, for those of you that don't know Porter maybe this seems a bit blasphemous, but in Porter's case this desire was with respect and admiration.

And now, may I present. . . 

Prophet and Apostle Bedsheets

Tom's dad informed Andrea that after the grandchildren saw what Porter received that she would have many more requests.  Truth be told I think Porter may be the only child in history that has a desire for these sheets.  He's pretty lucky that Andrea loved him enough and was talented enough to make his dream a reality!

(pardon the odd looking dressups, yes Tillie is wearing a wedding dress)

Pardon the ghetto looking room, we are in the process of rearranging and adding bunkbeds for the boys)

I Am that Mother!

Have you ever, and I'm sure you have so don't feel guilty admitting because I know I have, found yourself judging a parent for not being able to control her child?  Have you ever seen a 2 year old child wandering the neighborhood with their dog shirtless and wondered what kind of parent lets her child do that and doesn't know where the child is?  Have you ever looked at a mother with two out of control children (ok well maybe just one of the two) who is almost 7 months pregnant and wondered what she was thinking having another child when she can't even control the small brood she already has?  Well if you haven't, go ahead and look at me and wonder and judge.  Because I am that Mother!

Today, while I was doing laundry Jack followed me to the basement.  I figured allowing him to play unattended while I changed the sheets on my bed upstairs would be fairly harmless but man was I wrong.  I went downstairs to find him and he was no where to be found!  Tom came to help me look because sometimes you may find him hidden in obscure places one wouldn't normally find a 2 year old like on top of the cabinets for instance.  We then heard a voice outside yelling in some unidentified language that doesn't even closely resemble English coming from outside and we knew we were in trouble.  Now if you don't know, I live in a townhome and don't have much of a backyard to speak of so this was a time to panic!  Mind you, he had refused to put his shirt on so he was shirtless and shoeless.  Apparently the dog had some sense to not let Jack out of her sight and followed him down the small grassy walkway of backyards in the neighborhood towards the street.  Tom was able to snag him before he actually succeeded in running away but only just barely.  We brought him back in and he proceeded to take his pants and diaper off.  So now Tom is running to the hardware store to find some sort of extra locking mechanism to put on the back door so that I might have a little peace of mind.   Mother of the year award right here and this was only about 20 minutes of our day so that can leave you to wonder what other failures I face each and every day.  

Being a mother has taught me to never ask those questions.  Mothers really do have their children's best interests at heart but sometimes they have children (Jack) that challenge every fiber of their being and they are just doing the best they can.  But in case you are wondering, yes I do ask myself every day what on earth I was thinking when I thought I could handle this.

And if you do happen to see Jack wandering the neighborhood, please kindly retrieve him and return him home!

Our Final Days in California

Our final day in Santa Cruz included a short little jaunt over to the Boardwalk and the Pier.

Checking out the Sea Lions lounging below

But probably hands down Porter's favorite part about this trip was Cousin Time.  Jack is not embraced by the cousins quite as well as Porter and is more looked upon as a crazy annoyance (part of the problem is he has a hard time sitting down and would rather scale the bunkbed, but nonetheless, sad for my baby boy) so he did not revel in cousin time as much as Porter and I was left to attend to an out of the ordinary 2 hour bedtime routine just to get him to sleep at the beach house.  But how fun will these memories be for all these kids?

Every night the cousins were treated to songs from Uncle Johnny and an ongoing saga of Bentley the Brave and his many friends including Porter the Practical.  The kids ate it up!  I tried to catch some video of bedtime songs with the cousins, but I kept missing the cutest parts.  I do, however, love Kai's dancing in this one and you can't mistake Porter's boisterous voice!  

Oh, and this was our beautiful beach house.

We left Santa Cruz completely exhausted but so grateful to have had such an incredible trip with family we love!

The Tide Pools

We spent another morning exploring the Tide Pools at Natural Brides State Beach.

A little on the dangerous side for a large pregnant woman in flip flops holding on to an uncoordinated 4 year old, but I survived without any major issues and even managed to do a little rock climbing.  Porter loved this excursion and was so excited to do a little hiking and see all the cool creatures that lived in the Tide Pools.  We may have hit this one a little late but still managed to see crabs, star fish, anemones, and some other more scientific animals I did nerdily research but won't bore the blog here with now.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

With my children, usually a one hour visit to anywhere is about all we can handle before Porter gets whiny and Jack gets crazy, but we lasted a good 4 hours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and both my kids were loving ALMOST every minute of it!  There were so many exhibits and hands on activities.  I took Porter into a question and answer session and his mother's inherited nerdiness shined through.  He couldn't keep his hand down although every time I asked him what his question was he hadn't quite thought it through but he insisted  that he had to ask a question.

Kai, Sisi and Porter excited to begin our exploration

Just taking a lunch break with daddy

In case you didn't know, Jack could out eat any of you!

Santa Cruz-The Beach

Despite the rather chilly conditions, Porter and Jack requested time at the Beach every day we were in Santa Cruz.  We had a different activity everyday, but each and every day ended with time at the beach.  So without further ado, Santa Cruz Beach in pictures.

BE PROUD. . . ONE OF THE FEW PREGNANCY PICS THAT WILL MAKE IT ON THIS BLOG

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON THE GREAT HOLE. . .

 LET THE CRAWLING THROUGH BEGIN. . .

CAROLINE AND SISI TESTING THE STRUCTURE

 UNFORTUNATELY, JACK TRIED IT POOH BEAR STYLE WHICH DIDN'T BODE WELL FOR HIM. . .

 BUT ONCE WE TURNED HIM AROUND HE WAS QUITE PROUD OF HIMSELF!