Make the clouds go away!!!!

So this summer has not been so awesome. We have had one week of beach weather, and here it is almost August. It feel like we live in Seattle of something. Each morning there is fog, and then some mist, and then over-cast skies. Anybody want to go int eh freezing cold 63 degree water? Seriously, it is NUTS! Jared read a statistic that it hasn't been this cold during the winter on the coast since 1915...that was almost 100 years ago! Well, such is life, and we probably will get summer weather in the fall.
I had a really awesome experience with Jared this last weekend. I was away in Lake Arrowhead while he was at home. We were making some important/major life decisions, and we spent a couple of hours on the phone working through what choice to make. This decision has been in the workings for about 2 years now, so it has been a long road. After coming to a conclusion together, I now have a stronger testimony of the priesthood. I appreciate the fact that Jared always counsels with me, as his partner when it comes to matters of our family. I feel like a team player, and equal and that my voice is valid and that it is being heard. I appreciate the fact that Jared wants to make righteous decisions for our family, and that he uses the gospel morals to make decisions concerning worldly matters. The gospel is what life is about. It's not about success or money or what you have. It is about trying to be Christ-like, and raising a righteous family, and putting Heavenly Father first. When I have these experiences I value my testimony of the truth beyond words. I truly love my husband for all that he is and all that he does. He really is an amazing leader.
I didn't know if I wanted to write this on my blog. But, I figured it would be great to come back and read what I have wrote when Jared ticks me off...(j/k but not really).

Triathlon, boys, and Legoland

Last Saturday, I did my triathlon, and finished in 3 hours 15 minutes. I was pleased with my time, it went very smoothly, and I had alot of fun accomplishing my goal. I was glad that I did the training that I did, because I was able to enjoy the experience, and felt like I could do another one after I finished! Jared and the boys were very supportive, and it was nice to have their support in all the different transition areas, and water breaks. At one point when I was riding the bike, they were at a park, hanging in the trees, cheering me on, it made me laugh!

The boys keep me busy each day. Brent however, still is a little rough with Cameron, and it sucks that Brent dominates Cameron all the time. There are those moments where I see them interacting like good friends, and it makes me so happy. Cameron is ALWAYS willing to be Brent's friend, but Brent only has glimpses of those moments. I captured a picture where they were laying down in the family room, next to eachother, enjoying being close...it was definitely a moment!

We got Legoland passes about a month ago, and we go all the time. Anytime I have an hour or 2 to kill, I take the kids there. It is only 5 minutes from our house, and the whole process of parking and getting into the park is very fast. They LOVE it! There is an aquarium, and a water park that we can go to on top of the Legoland amusement park, so there are endless possibilities!!! Brent pushed Cameron in the little stroller at Legoland, and felt very grown up. Although, he would push the stroller, looking down at the wheels, and a couple of times ran Cameron into a wall or a trash can...poor, sweet Cameron.

I know it's been a while...

I have been very neglectful! Life has been busy, draining, and fun this last month. Some of you know that I have been training for an Olympic Distance Triathlon. It is SOOOOOOOO hard to train for something and maintain balance as a mother, wife, me. I have been waking up at 5:30am every morning either to run or ride my bike and then coming back before Jared goes to work, and then because I need to swim or go on a bike ride that takes me too long to do in the morning I leave after the kids go to bed to do that. So needless to say, I'm tired, and stretched in more ways than one. My race is this Saturday where I will swim a mile, run 6.2 miles, and bike 25 miles. I'm not doing an "official" triathlon, I'm just doing one on my own, seeing as there are barely any races on Saturday, and Jared will be meeting me in specific spots during the race for water, transitions, etc. My route is awesome, I will be running along the coast, where I have been training for the last 9 weeks. I'm excited to do it, and I'm excited that it is going to be over.

So, last week we went to the Del Mar Fair as a family, and had a good time. The boys loved riding in the double decker bus to get to the fair grounds, and enjoyed petting all the sheep and chickens. (The boys riding on the double decker bus...I love their profiles)

We got a funnel cake and cotton candy....no turkey legs and fried pop tarts for us thank you very much! I wanted to sing the song from Charlotte's Web "...A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord". And I kept asking Brent if we were going to see Templeton the rat all fat and rolling everywhere, he really thought we were going to see him, and kept looking around for him.
We are looking forward to family coming into town, for cousins to play, and major beach time!

Going to lunch in Seattle...

So, it has been a VERY exciting week for us. On Monday, Jared called me from work and asked me if I wanted to go to Seattle on Tuesday for 20 dollars. I was like "are you joking?...what is this all about". Jetblue is celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year, and Jared had received an email advertising tickets to different locations for 20 bucks round trip! Seriously? We quickly arranged for our kids to spend the day and night with my mom and dad, and we took off on a plane on Tuesday morning to go explore Seattle for a day. We flew back the next day in the afternoon, so we had a total of 24 hours in Seattle. Luckily, Jared's sister and brother-in-law live about 15 minutes outside of Seattle, so we were hooked up with a place to stay. We took every form of public transportation, except for a taxi while we were there, including a train, bus, water taxi, car, and a monorail. Here are some of the highlights!

This was the Pike's Market Place

This is the first Starbucks....EVER!

Down at the Harbor

Pike's Fish Market...the ugliest fish I have EVER seen.

Tribal Totem Poles in Downtown

Seattle Skyline, on our way to the island of Banbridge

Hiking in Banbridge, super green and peaceful

Checking out the Space Needle

Just having fun...

The trip was fast, and really fun and cost us a little under 150 dollars for EVERYTHING! Our plane ride was nice too! I love JetBlue! Jared and I felt like we were not living our realistic lives. It felt as though were were childless, jobless, and rich...which none of those things are true. It will be a great memory!

It's been one of those weeks...

So, it's been a sort of tough week with Brent. As a baby/child, he has always been an early riser, and unfortunately has the genes from Jared, that when he wakes up in the early mornings, there is no way he is going back to sleep. We have tried everything you can think of to keep him in his room until 6pm. Clocks, locks, treats, verbal praise, late bedtime, nap, no nap, repetition on what he needs to do...etc. It doesn't seem to help. So that is annoyance number one. I still don't know how to solve this one.
The next thing that Jared and I are having a problem with, is his discipline. He is a red type personality, and he keeps on getting into trouble. We pick our battles, trust me, but the biggest problem is the listening. I freak out in my head when I have a hard day with him, thinking that I will not be able to handle him when he is a teenager. Jared thinks he will grow out of it, but personalities don't change. Anyways, the whole reason why I'm writing this is to remember how I'm feeling right now. After breaking down to Jared, and us both feeling like we didn't know what to do, Jared said, "Pray to Heavenly Father for inspiration to know what to do. You are his mother, Heavenly Father sent us Brent because he knew we could raise him, and that you can be a good mother to him." I immediately knew what he was saying was true. The day after our conversation, I set my mind out to be calm when disciplining Brent, and to not get worked up all the time with him. I also made it a goal, that I was going to praise him constantly for all the good things he was doing. I also made sure to emphasize several times a day to "make good choices". The day went remarkably smooth, Brent felt good about himself for all the good he was doing, and I was able to keep my cool when he would be naughty. I know this problem of mine seems so minor in comparison to all the big problems out there, but I really felt that Heavenly Father heard the worries of my heart. I also know that I was able to remain calm...(which is pretty rare) because I had faith that Heavenly Father would inspire me to do and say the right things to Brent. We are on day number 2 with the new changes, and Brent's behavior and demeanour hasn't really changed, but I can tell he is thinking through things a little better when he is making a choice. I also feel better as a mother, because I'm not yelling, freaking out, or showing that I'm annoyed on the outside to Brent. It's a lot of work to discipline, and follow through with time outs, explaining what is right and wrong, but it seems to be working. I just want Brent to be the best he can be, and I guess the reason why I freak out when he is a wreck is because I feel responsible for how he is acting.
The bottom line is, I'm grateful for Jared and his wisdom and righteousness. I'm grateful that he has a testimony of prayer, and through that he is able to help me get through a trial in my life. I'm grateful for my faith in Heavenly Father, he is ALWAYS there for me...why do I forget this? Hopefully when I'm having another rough week, I can look back on this post and be reminded of the power of prayer, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

A Broken Tailbone and a Hike

Last Wednesday, I slipped on our stairs, and broke my tailbone. It hurt so bad the day after, I felt like I was going to die. But, I feel better now, and the good news is that it doesn't inconvenient my life too much, but the bad news is that it takes 4-6 weeks to heal. I'm popping the IB profen like M&M's!
That afternoon, Jared came home from work early and took the boys on a hike in some hills by our house. He got some really cute pictures of the boys in the flowers and fields. The boys LOVE hikes, and Jared is very patient with the kids as they explore the outdoors. He tells them facts about the plants and animals, and I can tell he is instilling a love for the environment in Brent.

I just love my boys...

I just have to write about how much I love my boy family. Yes, yes, yes, probably at least once a week I feel like I'm going to go insane from hyper Brent, but he truly is a sweet natured boy. This picture says it all...they are all staring at me, with their sweet boyish eyes...
This picture was taken on the train ride down to San Diego Harbor. The boys loved it, and the big boy loved being with his boys, so everyone was happy. Brent thinks Jared and him are equal. Brent still thinks Jared is growing up to be a big boy...(uhhhh, Jared is larger than the average grown male) He also thinks that Jared needs to go in time out when he's naughty...I kind of like this one. They love being twins, so they will wear the same colored shirt, and the same pants on Saturday. We watched our wedding video on Sunday with Brent for the first time. He LOVED it. He asked, "Where was I?" That launched into a full discussion on the premortal life...he really was trying to process everything, and lately he wonders what dying is...it is very interesting to answer his questions...it's only going to get harder, I'm sure.
Cameron's nickname at dinner time is Gaston. When I make eggs for dinner, he eats 3 of them, whereas Brent eats like one. He really has been such a good baby for me, and I feel myself wanting to hold on to the "baby" mentally with him. But, he really is a toddler now...
He adores Jared,and squeals like a pig when he hears Jared's car pull into the garage. When Jared, Brent and Cameron play together, they remind me of a big bear and 2 cubs. Jared often stretches out on the carpet after work, and the kids can't wait to get on top of him. Cameron takes a few loving nips at Jared, while Brent tries to use Jared as a jungle gym. Cameron loves being a part of the pack...he doesn't want to be left out EVER.
I guess what triggered the sudden feeling of gratitude for the boys in my life was watching our wedding video yesterday. It was such an amazing day for me. Watching the video, it was just Jared and I...very in love...happy, and excited to be with each other forever. There were never any doubts or hesitation for either of us when we chose each other to marry, and I love that. In that video little did I know that one day I would have 2 sons that I adore, and cherish so much, and that I would love Jared even more than the day we got married. It's amazing how many hurdles we have had to overcome, and as we are growing older together, it gives me comfort to know that we will be together for ever, no matter what happens in our lives.
I'm grateful for the gospel, which gives me hope and an eternal perspective in life. I feel very blessed...