Arizona Poem

Arizona

The devil wanted a place on Earth,
Sort of a summer home.
A place to spend his vacation
Whenever he wanted to roam.

So, he picked out Arizona.
A place both wretched and rough.
Where the climate was to his liking,
and the cowboys hardened and tough.

He dried up the streams in the canyons
and ordered no rain to fall.
He dried up the lakes in the valleys,
Then baked and scroched it all.

Then over his barren desert
He transplanted shrubs from hell.
The cactus, thistle and prickly pear,
The climate suited them well.

Now the home was much to his liking,
But animal life, he had none.
So, he created crawling creatures
That all mankind would shun.

First he made the rattlesnake
With his forked poisonous tongue.
Taught it to strike and rattle
and how to swallow its young.

Then he made scorpions and lizards
and the ugly old horned toad.
He placed spiders of every discription
Under rocks by the side of the road.

Then he ordered the sun to shine hotter,
Hotter and hotter still.
Until even the cactus wilted,
and the old horned toad looked ill.

Then he gazed on his earthly kingdom,
As any creator would.
He chuckled a little up his sleeve
and admitted that it was good.

Twas summer now and Satan lay by
A prickly pear to rest.
The sweat rolled off his swarthy brow,
So he took off his coat and vest.
"By Golly," he finally panted,
"I did my job too well. I am going back
where I came from.
Arizona is hotter than hell."

I found this in some stories and poems Ben took home from his mission... Not sure why they had this one in particular in Peru, but it sure fits our life in the near future! We're getting a little nervous for the heat, especially if Satan can't stand it!

ViSiToRs!!

A little art project we sent out to some friends nearby on St Patrick's Day
Ike and the art project... I'm so glad he humors me with all the projects I have up my sleeve!

Green Breakfast

We had a great week of "Spring Break," though none of us are really associated with school right now, there was still a special feeling in the air this week... Maybe it was all of our friends and the students being gone, but more likely it was the BEAUTIFUL weather we had this week! Isaac and I were able to get out everyday this week and jog-- something I didn't think I would get to see for awhile! I can tell Ike missed it as much as me because the whole time we would jog, he would just hum along every song he could think of- what joy! We also spent lots of time outside this week at the parks and walking... Coincidentally, we put off major house cleaning and projects until the very last second all week long. Sometimes you just have to, right!?!

We also had an awesome St. Patty's Day celebration at our house this week... Yep, just call me a early childhood buff... we had green eggs and green grapes with bacon for breakfast (w/ green milk) and then peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch (the pb was green)! Then for dinner, we made green chili enchiladas! Ha! I think Ben thought I was nuts, but Ike sure enjoyed it! Oh, we also made green banana bread- Ike can give you all the details about the exact ingredients and what happened when we put it in the oven.. He was really excited to turn everything green:)

Lucky for us (no pun intended!) we were able to welcome a few visitors this weekend too... On Friday one of my old camp buddies, Alonit, came up to visit us. It was so great to catch up and meet her "boy!" Isaac took to them right away and made two best friends. We spent lots of time at the greenbelt that day. We ate lunch at Applebees that day and towards the end, Ike was starting to lose interest... He started chanting in a low, soft voice "I'm bored at Applebees, I'm bored at Applebees..." It was pretty funny. I really love this new phase where he can tell us exactly what he wants and means, though being that descriptive and expressive can sometimes get us in trouble:)

Friday night, we were able to catch up with Jen, Tom and family and "Aunt Ribie" came to visit from Idaho with her new man too! What fun! We had a great evening together catching up and chatting. I love having family around. What a treat! Needless to say, Michael passed our tests and won Isaac's love and admiration too. We're keeping our fingers crossed for this one, (wink, wink)!

Our third set of weekend visitors was my brother and his girlfriend. We spent most of the day Saturday hanging out with them and, once again, going on a nice, long walk along the greenbelt... I told you the weather was great! We hit the mid 60's all weekend! We had a great time with them and really enjoyed having Andy around again, it has been awhile!

Oh, and, of course, Ben was able to get in lots and lots of basketball watching with my family on Saturday... good thing! We even had Isaac fill out a basketball bracket... So far, he's staying very competitive and just might pull off a win over all of us! His favorite teams were Utah (because he knew that's where Jenny Wren was last week), Washington (because he loves Washington Park in Laramie) and Butler (we're pretty sure he loved them because the name sounds a lot like "butter"). Of course, his real allegiance lies with Kansas, but he does have Duke winning it all in the end... we'll see!

Tonight we had our last set of visitors when we had some friends from Ben's work come over for dinner. They have 3 month old twins, who Ike fell in love with! He was very concerned when they cried and kept checking on them while we ate to make sure they were still ok. I'm hoping this is a good sign that he will enjoy being a big brother, but I'm afraid that novelty of tonight will soon wear out when our little baby comes to stay!

All in all, it was a great week! We are now looking forward to a week of "blizzard conditions" and are hoping to at least get a good playtime in the snow before it melts or blows away-- we know we don't have too many more opportunities left for snow time! Here's to week 31!!

Ben and Ike with the first Triceratops found ever-- it was found in Lusk, WY- they were pretty excited about it- an't you tell?!?

My mom kind of cut off the dinosaur bones behind us, but it was a cool scene:) You'll have to use your imaginations b/c I can't remember what type of dinosaurs they were.

Isaac begged to have his picture taken in front of this "ancient fish." I guess we're training him well for a life in front of the camera!

A Weekend in "Mo-Mopolis"

Just thought I would keep on my "blogging high" and report our weekend happenings... While, seemingly, everyone else in the world is off in some exotic location like Lovell or Casper, we are staying right here in Laramie for "Spring Break," though it doesn't really count if you aren't in or associated with school, does it? So, for the weekend, we decided to take off with my parents for Thermopolis, one of their favorite destinations and a place Ben and I haven't been since high school. We've been talking it up to Ike for several weeks: slides, pools, splashing Grandpa and a dinosaur museum (mu-zeh-zum in Ike-ease)... So, he has been talking about this "Mo-Mopolis" nonstop for a week! Well, thank you Thermopolis for delivering on all accounts! We had a great trip and swam at the mineral pools all day on Saturday (by swimming, I really mean taking Isaac up and down the slides over and over)! The weather was great, so we were able to be inside and outside too. We also went to the Wyoming Dinosaur Museum (another destination I'm sure we'll be hearing about for YEARS to come) and we went to the oldest A & W restaurant I have ever seen (with a bowling alley attached)! It was quite the experience and help us cure our "non- spring breaking blues!"
Beyond that, I want to thank our friends and family who have painstakingly typed up some names for us:) We are, of course, still deliberating, but so grateful for the help!! I do love the true surprise factor in not knowing if our child is a boy or a girl, but am still having a bit of a panic attack that it is coming so soon! I think with Isaac I was SO READY for him to come 2 months early and this time, I would actually bargain for two months later (not really, but in theory...) just to "catch up!" It'll be great though and we are so blessed to have this special little one on the way:) Good luck to all of our friends and family due before us- you keep the hope alive for us that we'll make it that far!!

What are we going to do??

Seven Falls- outside of CO Springs, CO Feb 28th. What a funny looking baby bump:)

My Mom, Ikie, My dad, and Ben at Seven Falls

We climbed 255 steps (I think) to the top of the falls-- and then had to go back down... Not for the faint of heart, though Ike seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself!!

Ike and Macy (deja vu!) on the train playing like best friends Feb 2009

Last night as Ben and I were chatting, he informed me that I am in my THIRD TRIMESTER!! I don't know why that hadn't occurred to me yet, my math skills must be on the fritz! I must admit that my excitement of a new baby has quickly been overrun by the actual thought of bringing home a new little *fuss bucket* I mean bundle of joy!! I guess there are just so so many things for me to accomplish in the 82 days I have left with just Ike that I am getting a little panic-y. I was thinking I would complete Isaac's scrapbooking catastrophe, pack all of our non essentials, deep clean everything around me and organize until my brain fell out... hopefully 82 days will be long enough!

On that same note, we only have 82 days to think of a name for this poor bugger! Remember, we do not know if it is a boy or girl and really don't have much intuition either way... Any suggestions would be much appreciated, as thus far, we have absolutely nothing we can agree on with any amount of excitement. Isaac insists that our baby will be named Baby Lucy after his littlest baby cousin. I'm thinking this is a great name, but already taken:) If any of you saw my posting on facebook a few weeks ago regarding baby names, you will see why it is such an interesting chore for picking a name... I am highly opinionated on the subject for my own children. Anyway, we are open to suggestion at this point:) Please help!!

Well, this month has flown by and much has taken place. I am no longer a long-term employee of the Open School (I help out here and there, but mostly don't)! You would think this has led to an explosion of free time, but instead, I'm making up for lost time with working part time from home, cooking, last minute projects, and playing/running around with Isaac... Not to mention enjoying every free minute I can with Jen and the kids during the day now that they are here in town. I think Jenny Wren put it best when she told her mommy that "Ikie is her new best friend in Laramie." He feels the same way, of that I'm sure!

Isaac has learned the art of comic relief and joking with everything. He turned to me last night as if he were crying and said "Mama, I love you" (pained look on his face and tear rolling down his cheek) I'll have to get it on video because it is the funniest thing I have ever seen! He immediately started laughing and so did we! We get to laugh constantly and are trying our best to enjoy every minute with this precious little boy! Isaac has also learned to sing every song I can currently think of... among his favorites this week are "Book of Mornin Stories" and "Down by the Station." He learned while we were in Kansas that he can win over any heart and "one up" his cousin Macy, by whipping out a song to sing. What a character!

We had the privilege this month of taking several more trips, thanks to Andy's senior year of college basketball. This month, we traveled to the far reaches of Nebraska and Colorado. Below are some pics from our adventures.

Ben also had some exciting news this month... He passed his pharmacy tech boards and is now a certified technician!! Woo Hoo!! We are very proud and glad to have daddy back at nights and not studying too hard (we'll get enough of that over the next 4 years)!

Anyway, I am sure this is sufficient for our post... I guess over this month it has been reiterated to me over and over that life is so precious, so easily taken advantage of, and so fragile. As we struggled with challenges and losses from our life and those around us this past month, we committed again to make the most of this special time in our lives.

Not So Little Pieper #2

Just as a follow-up, the ultrasound last Tuesday went very well. The Tech actually took a very significant amount of time and painstakingly (to me...) tried her best to get some good shots of the little tyke. Unfortunately, the little bugger did not want a 3D headshot taken, put his/her hand over the face... Oh well. The baby is developing perfectly, if a little on the larger side for my projected due date, but that is fine, so long as head and shoulders are not above average, I'm good! Isaac and this little one both have smaller than normal head sizes, so we'll keep our fingers crossed about that! We are not finding out the baby's sex this time either (I know, I know...) I just love that feeling of surprise and uncertainty. I guess we'll see around June 1st what we have! I really hope it's a girl, though Ikie having a little boy playmate would be great, and Ben really doesn't care either way. So, here's to a little suspense!
Our week was full of fun, warmer than usual days here in Laramie. We actually jogged to the park almost every day last week, which is a real treat for Laramie! On Friday it cooled off, so I finally got some things done... I made a hair pretty holder for Macy's 2nd birthday-- hopefully I can get Joni to take a picture of it b/c I think it's a fantastic idea for little girls. I am also, constantly, in the process of going through things and purging unnecessary items... Then, I tend to try to give them all to Joni so she can pass them on... Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but the sense of accomplishment makes me so happy!
So, this weekend we made the great trek to Pinedale for Macy's 2nd Birthday! What a fun time! Ike and Macy love each other so much and play together so well, it's quite the sin we don't live closer. I guess it makes for even sweeter reunions though! Macy had a very special fish birthday party. I think Isaac's favorite part was playing with a huge assortment of seashells and the new blocks Macy got for her birthday. He also became a little Elton John this weekend wearing a princess tiarra while he played Macy's pink piano and sang "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Book of Mornin Stories." It was really cute... He would come into the living room and say "Hey guys, don't you wanna come to sing on the piano?" It was too cute to pass up... Now I'm just regretting not taking video!

His other famous quotes from this week:
We told him to say "are you out of your mind?" to which he replied, "Are you out of MY MIND??"
He also overheard me say that grandma would freak out, so now he says"Gwahma is gonna fweek out!"
I told Isaac he was special. He said, "No mama, I not pecial, I'm Isaac!" -- SO cute!!

You should check out Joni's blog for some really cute birthday party moments www.clonikennington.blogspot.com

Diaper Liberation Part 2

For the first time in over a month, our little family has nothing of life-altering significance to post on our blog! We truly are savoring the blessings of our family and the opportunity we have to be here in Laramie at this very minute. We have seen so many instances where we have learned the things we have learned because of the special and extraordinary moments of our lives. I am so glad that the Lord has these special plans for us.
On a lighter note, in an effort to encourage Ikie's diaper liberation, I have recently resorted to "new lows..." I know, my educational "expertise is in Child Psychology, but really... I'm feeling the desperation setting in! So, Isaac has been going on the potty for several months now, for me only, but over Christmas break he decided that was overrated (sometimes in the middle of the night, I wish I could wear a diaper too, don't get me wrong)! Anyway, so this week I decided to resort to Nerds candy (just a few...) So, it really has worked, actually, but along with is has come a game for the car, or any other seemingly boring moment in our day... Isaac will ask "Momma, what I get when I sit on da potty?" To which he will reply "A new toy? Nooo; A new truck? Nooo; New shoes? Nooo; Shrimpies (his very favorite food) Noooo." This can go on for an hour, as it did today in the car! Pretty funny, but in reality, he gets about 6 nerds or what he calls "special candy." Does this make me a bad mom? I would argue desperate and successful, but not "bad..." right??
Beyond the potty, Ikie has made some major breakthroughs in child psychology and dealing with his feelings in a productive, though not necessarily successful way. One of the boys he plays with in the mornings has come upon a "mean streak" of taking toys, grabbing faces and generally hurting kids feelings. One day this week when I went to pick up Ike, this little boy took the "froggy" Ike was playing with, to which my ever so vocally active child replied, "No (boy's name) I'm not done playing with that but, you can play with it in a minute" Then Isaac, who is a year older, took the toy back and the little boy looked at him, confused (he doesn't speak yet), and walked away. I'm sure he was thinking, whatever buddy! Then, that night as we were reading scriptures, Ikie kept replaying the whole scenario and repeating over and over what the little boy did and what Ikie said to him (for about 45 minutes)! He actually put himself to sleep in his bed talking over the scenario over and over. I was so proud! He's using his words for power, rather than screaming, physical violence, etc... Now Ben's new worry... will he get beat up?? Just kidding! This new little sibling (and his cousins) will help him out in the toughness department, we're sure! I tried to get it on video, but will try again. It really was precious!
We were also blessed this weekend with weather in the 50s and low 60s-- it was awesome! Ikie and I went jogging outside on Friday to two different parks, that's how excited we were to get the nice weather! I think I would've jogged all day, had the sun not started to go down--brr! Then on Saturday we "dug down" to our Cowboy roots and went to the National Western Stockshow in Denver. It was fun, and as my friend Jamie put it, "we've never seen such pretty cows in all our lives!" We also watched my brother play basketball and found a new, expensive addiction for Isaac-- shrimp, and lots of it! This kid really is a bottomless pit, which would be much better if so satisfied with bread or water:)
This week marks another week in pregnancy history. Though I haven't started wearing maternity clothes yet (except to a Board meeting for my school in which I wanted to gain sympathy-- it worked)! I am 21 weeks and will have my ultrasound this week. We're pretty excited or "estited" as Ikie says (at least he's not "fwustwated" anymore:) So, we'll keep you all posted... For some reason, I've been having this "panics" like what if there are twins or something and I just don't know yet-- b/c I'm starting to feel huge-- even though I know I've got a long way to go and that that's not the case:) Wish us luck!!