Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I am back. I took a year off to contemplate my craziness in private. With so many changes coming up... Not PTO President anymore, BFF moving (Emery)(and Nancy), new house, new ward... I am going to need public ranting and oversharing to make it through. So welcome me back and on to the fun!

Jaxson, Jaxson, Jaxson

Last night at dinner:
Mom: I can't believe school is about to start!
Jaxson: Yep, then you won't have to play with me all day.

Today I was standing outside my car talking to a friend when Jax banged on the window and yelled, "Mom, did you remember us?"

Just a minute ago I heard, "Who wants to spank my butt and win a prize?"

Our Summer ... So Far

On Sunday after church, we went to see the Mormon Battalion Museum.

The girls sat in a covered wagon. Charlee said it was like the one from Little house on the Prairie.

 They started the presentation with a group of talking pictures... very cool.

 In the general store, Jaxson was dressed up as a soldier along with a very embarrassed teenager we did not know. His siblings were taking pictures of him and posting them on facebook.

 After the presentation was over, we all panned for gold.

 We went to Vista for a great firework show on the 4th.

 Emery is a hoot. She loves me:)

 Jax loved his glow sticks.

 On 7/11 we went with the cousins to get a free slurpee at 7 eleven.

Check out the girls and Brian boogie boarding. Oaklee totally biffs it:)

Oaklee's Backstroke

Charlee's Backstroke

First Swim Meet

Charlee and Oaklee had their first swim meet tonight. They both swam great! Oaklee won 1 first, 2 second, and a fourth. Charlee won 2 seconds, 1 third, and 1 fourth. It was so fun. On the way home, the girls and I stopped by Wal-Mart to buy buns because I really wanted a Crabby Patty for dinner. We went into their version of a "man cave" to see what we could get Brian for Father's Day. We ended up buying him a new recliner. Since I sprained my ankle a few days ago, we needed help to get it to the car. This nice Wal-Mart worker with dread locks, a 5 o'clock shadow, and many great tattoos helped us to the car. While I put the seats in the van down so it would fit, a pole fell out of our car. The worker picked it up and gave it to Oaklee. She said, "Thank you, interesting man." The guy did not say anything, but I cried laughing the entire way home.

Summer

I thought life was supposed to slow down when summer came. Yeah, not so much!
Charlee and Oaklee joined swim team. It is so funny:) I will put video on after their first meet.
Jaxson has decided that he needs to be the messiest kid in town. He keeps doing bad stuff. We started this thing called myrewardboard.com as a reward system. We are still in our 2 week free trial, but it is working great. It keeps track of their chores and attitude on the computer. Whenever they do one of their chores, they put a smiley face on the square and the smiley faces all cheer. Even Jaxson's attitude has improved some. He is still messy, but he is fighting less with the girls. The girls love it because they all have their own password... Pretty cool. I made one of their things sit still during scriptures and it has made a huge difference there. I also made it for brush morning and night and floss. Since Oaklee had 3 cavities this week at the dentist, I hope the game can improve their oral hygiene. Check it out (Thanks Audra for the tip)

Our Date With Jaxson

Brian and I went on a date to the Mellow Mushroom tonight with Jaxson. The girls are at a birthday party. Jaxson ate yummy pizza and made us laugh. He said it was not a date... we just went out to dinner. On our way home, we stopped by the girl's party because Charlee called us with "bad gas" and wanted a Gas X Strip. We don't know why she calls it "bad gas" instead of just gas, but oh well. The Barry's will get a kick out of Charlee's chosen pajamas for the party... She cam out wearing a black t- shirt that says "Fresh Burrito" on the back. Real classy :)

Another day with my kiddos...

On the way to school today, we drove by Brian on his way to work. Oaklee said, "He is on the way to the city to go to work." Then Charlee said, "Yeah, he goes to the bank to count money all day. That must get pretty boring."

Jaxson and I were coming out of Walmart today and Jaxson said he wanted a happy napper. I asked him what it was and he quoted the infomercial for me. "It is a pillow that folds up into a lovable friend." I guess it is like a pillow pet. He also said, "Mom, you have to order it because you have to be 18 or older to call. You are older than 18."

Happy Birthday, Froggy!

This is Froggy.

(she took this pic herself)

He comes everywhere with our family.

This morning, Oaklee woke Brian early to invite him to Froggy's birthday party at 1:00.
Later she came in and said that Dad, Charlee, Jaxson, and Oaklee were going to his party. I asked why I was not invited. She told me, "You were invited while you were sleeping. You have not RSVP'd yet".

So at 1:00, we all went to Froggy's party. We opened presents from Jaxson and Charlee. Oaklee made Froggy a ring, necklace, and bracelet. I told her that I thought Froggy was a boy and she replied, "Froggy is a boy who likes jewelry." Okay... The bag containing Froggy's jewelry said "To: Froggy  Love: Momy"

Next we played "tadpole, tadpole, froggy" Oaklee's version of "duck duck goose". Then Froggy blew out a yellow candle in a cookie because one of his favorite colors is yellow.

Then Charlee dressed up like a clown to make balloon animals and hats for the party guests. All of this was planned by our sweet 1st grader, mind you.

Then the door bell rang because Oaklee had invited my mom to Froggy's party. Grandma brought a gift for Froggy, too.

I looked at Brian and asked when we turned into the kind of parents who had a full blown party for a stuffed frog. Awesome!

What can you do? Oaklee was happy... and so were we:)

In the car with Jax again!

Jax: Mom, I love Happy Meals.
Mom: Me, too.
Jax: I am so glad the old McDonald's traded in hims farm to own a restaurant.
Mom: Me, too. (giggle)
Jax: Yeah, because then no one would know what a Happy Meal was.

(5 minutes of silence)

Jax: Mom is there an old McDonald's dot com?
Mom: I don't know. What would be on that dot com?
Jax: You know Happy Meals and adult meals. You could order and they would deliver your Happy Meal.
Mom: We will look when we get home.

FYI, oldmcdonalds.com is a place for networking for people who love animals... I wonder if they frown on eating chicken nuggets???

More fart talk from the Barrys

I was picking up my niece, Emery, today and had this conversation with my gross boy.

Mom: "Gross, Emery, did you toot?"
Jaxson: "What is toot? Is it like fart?"
Mom: "Yes."
Jaxson: "Is it like a little fart?"
Mom: "Yes."
Jaxson: "Then I don't toot because I never fart small. I only fart big."