A Tale of Ty-Ty

Yesterday I was on "nanny patrol," as Matt and Shari were on their way home from a business trip to Boston. (And nanny patrol is not an easy task when there is one adult to five VERY active children!)

Anyhow, I survived, and last night I loaded up all five children and we headed to the airport. Sam and Susie were in the very back and asked if we could go to Starbucks once we got to the airport. (Wait a minute, they thought I was going to take everyone in the airport by myself--I might be crazy, but I'm not insane! Not to mention no stroller in the back for Tommy.)

So, instead they talked me into stopping off on Greenfield Road on our way. (I know what you're thinking . . . but I didn't think you guys drank coffee?! We don't, but they have frappacinos to die for.)

Kalia decided to be different and try hot chocolate instead of her usual Vanilla Bean frappacino. (Mind you it's 100 degrees outside, but whatever!)

Anyhow, we continued on our way to the airport and Kalia passed her hot chocolate to the back for Susie and Sam to try. Somewhere along the way Ty must have had a taste too. A few minutes later, in a cute little voice, I hear, "More coffee please!" I thought he meant the frappacino, so I passed it back. However, he wanted more of Kalia's hot chocolate. I tried to clarify that it was hot chocolate, not coffee. "Oh," he said.

A few more minutes went by, and in the same cute little voice I hear, "More hot coffee please!" Wouldn't his parents be proud--Starbucks "coffee" at only three years old!

Return of the Ranger

Uncle Denny is back in town--which also means the Ranger is back in town.

I must admit though, that I enjoy the Ranger much more in March, or better yet, December. It has been hot, Hot, HOT lately.

Once the sun goes down, it's not so bad to ride, but you still get nothing but HOT wind blowing in your face! The kids don't seem to mind though.

At It Again!

If the door is left open, he makes his way into Sam's room. This time he came out sporting some stylish girl glasses and a multi-color butterfly. Shari, now all he needs is Ty's "man purse" and the ensemble will be complete!

Poor kid--when Dad's out of town, he's outnumbered by the girls. (Apparently he's not too concerned though!)

Progress

I've mentioned before that Tommy seems to be developing a little slower when it comes to speech, etc. While he's still the most babyish in his nursery class (I know because I'm the teacher!), we're making some slow, but steady progress.

Just over the past month he has started to repeat everything ("oh crap" has become a new favorite of his), and is finally saying more words on his own. He'll also point out his eyes, nose, ears, and bellybutton. (I know, I know, he's 2 1/2 and should be able to do that! Better late than never though, right?!) I'll even hear him singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Old McDonald."

Ty-Ty has even managed to teach him some personal favorites like "shut up!" and "get out!" They're little gems, aren't they?

So maybe he'll talk before kindergarten, but as for the potty training thing . . . well, I'll let you know before junior high!

Sam's Salon

Last summer, Sammie kept asking me when she could do her own hair--I kept telling her that when she was in 6th grade, she could have at it.

However, over the past year, I discovered that she usually did a better job than I did, so slowly I started giving in, and now I'm only "allowed" to do her hair if she's feeling lazy that day.

On Thursday, the theme for Boredom Busters was "Career Day." (Sorry Tom, she didn't want to wear any of your old epaulets and wings!) I was right in thinking that we'd need to run to Sally's for a hairdresser's apron.

Funny thing was that she and Susie showed up as twins (and it wasn't even planned that way)! Both had white shirts, denim capris, and the same purple apron. Knowing these drama queens, that must have been "like, so embarrassing!"

2 Reasons Why . . .

There are two reasons why Tommy shouldn't play with Sister's toys:

#1-I don't think our little guy should play with dolls and pink cars, and

#2-The end result could be this. Tommy brought me her head repeating over and over, "Uh-oh girl, uh-oh girl . . "

As of this post, Sister doesn't know. I think I'll hide her until the return of "The Epoxy King," aka "Daddy."

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in my life (and all dads out there)!

First, to my own dad, who passed away 20 years ago.

Also to my step-dad, who takes good care of my mom (who can be a little fiery with that Aussie blood--can't imagine where I get it!).

Also to my father-in-law, who helped to raise the man that I married. (You haven't been to Phoenix in a long time, hint, hint . . .)

And lastly, Happy Father's Day to my husband (who is somewhere between Taiwan and South Korea as I type). Tom is a fantastic daddy; better than I could have ever hoped for. From the time both of my babies were born, he would take his turn at getting up with them at night and still does baths and diaper changes. He loves to spend time with Sam and Tommy and takes them all over town when he is home. We all love you!

(P.S. I guess I owe you a steak dinner when you're back home!)

Happy 11th Anniversary!

Yesterday (Friday the 13th!) was our 11th anniversary. While some people may be superstitious, we are not--maybe a little crazy, but not superstitious. Back in early 1997 when we were trying to plan our wedding date, we looked at the calendar in June and decided Friday the 13th sounded fun. And it's been wedded bliss ever since--well, for the most part anyway.

Throughout the rest of the post are various pictures and facts that you may or may not know about us.

Engagement picture

*Our first "date" (we actually just kind of paired off from the group) was on New Year's Eve 1996

*We were engaged only two weeks later! (Crazy, I know, but that's us!)

*He surprised me with the ring while we were flying over the Salt Lake Temple in a Cessna 172 (N4395R!)

*On our wedding day I didn't want wind or rain, but of course, we got both--wind in the day, and pouring rain that night

*Tom and his friends "hid" our car in Salina (our reception was in Aurora) so it wouldn't get decorated. However, he didn't tell me this, so I had no clothes to wear after the reception. I had to wear my mom's sweats to our hotel!

Emerging from the Manti Temple as husband and wife

*We went on our honeymoon to Jackson Hole, WY, and stayed nearby at my Aunt's cabin. We had a blast and would love to go back.

*Our first apartment in Salt Lake City was only 500 square feet

*Tom worked at the Salt Lake Hilton and I was a paralegal when we got married

*We moved 11 times in our first seven years of marriage (yikes!)--at least we're pretty permanent now

*We vowed we wouldn't have kids for five years; however, I only lasted a year before I rethought my plan!

*We wanted a boy and girl and chose their names a whole year before we ever started "trying"

*Samantha Lyn was born in September of 1999 after only 18 hours of labor!

Nice hair, Sarah--I know, what was I thinking?

*Tom's first official flying job was flying Cessna 207's and 210's over the Grand Canyon

Tom's first multi-engine gig at Sunrise Airlines (the Jetstream is slightly smaller than a 747, eh?)

2002

Trip to San Diego (to visit Aunt Shari) in the summer of 2002

Our first home (finally after seven years of marriage!) Despite what many may think, pilots make NOTHING the first few years of flying!

Trip to San Diego and Carlsbad in May of 2005

Proud big sister--finally!

Tommy's blessing in Utah in March of 2006. Where was Sammie, you might ask? Go ahead and ask, I don't know either!

Daddy's boy

Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple in December 2007

And Sammie's personal favorite (gross, Mom!)--two old people still in love after eleven years!

We've come a long way, baby. We've had disappointments and setbacks, but they've been outnumbered by immeasurable blessings!

Happy Anniversary--I love "us"!

Synchro

Sam and Kalia just finished session 1 of their synchronized swimming classes. So far so good . . . I can't speak for Kalia, but Sam loves it and wants to join the synchro team. (Which means more classes and shuttling back and forth to the pool, so we'll see . . . maybe next summer.)

It's also an added bonus that our babysitter is one of the volunteer instructors.

Big T and Little T

Too much play can wear a boy out! (Actually the little runt decided to wake us up at 4:00 a.m., and dad had to recup sometime!)

Kung Fu Panda

Sam, Susie and Kalia had been waiting all week for June 6th to arrive, and somehow I was roped into taking them to see "Kung Fu Panda" this afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love going to the movies. (Unless it's a cartoon, and then not so much.)

However, the girls were excited so I went with it. And, to my surprise, I laughed through the whole movie! I would give it two thumbs up. If you're in the mood for a "family friendly" movie with a lot of laughs, check it out.

Poor Tinker (Little Rascal)

You wouldn't know by the smile on his face that he just had two vials of blood drawn. No need to worry though--just a basic blood test to rule out allergies.

Since he was such a rascal for me at the ENT's office on Tuesday, I figured I'd let Tom take care of this one. And wouldn't you know, he was wonderful for Daddy! Tommy sat on his lap in the waiting room, and only whimpered a little while they took the blood. I couldn't even get him to sit on my lap and cooperate while the ENT checked his ears!

Must be something in the toddler handbook that reads, "Must be naughty at all times whenever Mom is around."

Crazy Girls on Crazy Hair Day

Sam, Kalia & Susie

Yesterday was a theme day at Boredom Busters (an afternoon summer activity the girls are enrolled in). And you guessed it--crazy hair day! But they're not fooling anyone--we already know they're crazy. Now they just have hair that matches.

Cousins, cousins, cousins

Since Matt & Shari are vacationing along the sunny shores of Mexico this week, Tom and I have been trying to help a little with the kids. And if I thought their schedules would mellow once school was out, I was sadly mistaken! Gymnastics, piano, synchronized swimming, kids club--crazy, crazy! These cousins have been together 24/7.

Last night we took a little trip to Chuck-E-Cheese's. The kids had fun, while the adults chased after a two-year-old and a three-year old. And leave it to my kid to climb inside the basketball machine! I was able to catch a few pictures, but I guess my own daughter was nowhere to be found at the time.

Susie, a.k.a. Susana Banana, Susie Q, etc.

Tommy and his new buddy

Apparently Ty's not afraid of giant rodents--we had to pull him off!

Kalia Maria

Tommy the Tornado

Poets and Pirates Tour 2008

As you can tell, we only took pictures of Sammy Hagar. I know, what were we thinking? Anyway, we had a blast. Country crooners Gary Allan, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Sammy Hagar. Kind of a weird combination right? Country and rock'n'roll?! I think people don't realize Sammy is buds with a lot of the country singers and they hang out together in Cabo.

Anyhow, Gary Allan was up first and he was awesome. I've heard a lot of his music, but didn't realize who sang it. (On a side note, he looked a lot like Johnny Knoxville--I was just waiting for him to dive off the stage!)

Gary Allan

Up next . . . the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar! I think this was the fourth time we've seen him in the past few years. He was just as loud and energetic as he's ever been. Hard to believe he'll turn 61 this year! It was funny to see all the people who had come to hear country music...boy did they get an earful!

The Sam-I-Am backdrop

See our sad little seats (I think Matt & Shari and Casey & Tiff had better seats!) It was still great though.

Sammy and the Wabos

Sam-I Am

I know what you're thinking, "You named your daughter after him?!"

Up next was Keith Urban . . . sorry Mimi, I didn't take any pictures! But who could resist an Aussie hunk like him?! That Nicole is one lucky lady. Oh, sorry, his music is awesome too!

Keith Urban

And for the grand finale was Kenny Chesney. What a performer! I saw him with Tim McGraw about eight years ago, and he was just as great last night. We finally left about 10:30pm to beat the crowd (considering we'd been there about seven hours!).

Kenny "the man" Chesney

P.S. If you want to see plenty of "Hooters" girls and see people drink like a fish, just attend a country concert. They can drink with the best of them! Just ask "Willie Nelson" who sat next to us--he walked out sideways. I was just hoping all night that he wouldn't throw up.