"At the car wash baby"

Since it was 105 on Saturday, Jeff and Mylie decided to cool off by washing the cars.Mylie loved the hose and got a little out of hand with it. She was spraying it all over the place and at everyone!

Awwww, paybacks!
But look at the shiny red! Thanks guys.

Prayers

When Mylie was going to bed tonight I told her that she had to clean her room first thing in the morning, before breakfast because she had made a mess of her toys. So, as she is saying her prayers she says, "Please bless that my room will clean itself tonight." Oh my.

100!

Wow! This is my 100th post on my blog. I didn't realize in January when I started this how much I would love it. I used to be a faithful journal keeper and I loved to write, but that fell to the wayside years ago. Blogging has given me the opportunity to start up again, to keep track of the funny (and not so funny) day to day events in our lives. It has reminded me how much I love taking pictures. It has been a great way to keep in touch with people in my life as well.

So in honor of my 100th post, here are a couple cute pictures of Bubba. Look how he has grown. "No Momma, I don't need your help at all. I got this."

And a flower picture that I took yesterday and then played around with in photoshop.

She could be a farm girl.

Jeff grew up on a farm, they had goats and drank goat milk ... serious farm boy. His parents don't farm anymore but still live in the country and have a lot of animals. Jeff's favorite joke about me is that I am a country girl, a country club girl that is. Whatever Jeff Breach. But Mylie, she could be a farm girl. She has been helping Daddy do chores this week while Grandma and Grandpa are on vacation. This is Mylie doing some of the outside chores. They had to get some water for the goat, water the plants and the bird feeder.

"Whew Momma, that is a lot of work!"
The last thing on their list is taking dog treats to two of the doggies. Mylie used to be afraid of dogs. She loves them now and took the treats to Abi and "Boo Bear" (the dog's name is actually Burbear but Mylie calls him Boo Bear).
Oh, and by the way, this is the view from their back patio. Seriously, I love living in Idaho!

Only God can create colors like this.

The view from my backyard last night.

Miss Sassy Pants

Why oh why was I such a "smart mouth" when I was young? When I called my mom last night to tell her about Mylie I know she was probably laughing on the inside and thinking "Paybacks are a @#$%&!!" (Actually, I'm not sure my mom would think that ....)

Recent conversations:
Mylie asks me to do something and I say no. She responds with "No, no, no!" Is that all you know how to say is no?" (A direct quote from Enchanted.) Or she says "You never let me do anything!" (Ya, that is accurate.) Or she says something and I tell her that its rude and she says "You're rude."

Mostly she is very pleasant little girl. But when she isn't Jeff reminds me that she is just like me ....

Why I could never homeschool ....

I am truly a big believer in public education, and today I found another reason why I could never homeschool. Picture a lovely summer morning and Mylie and I sitting down with her "homework" (a workbook) to work on writing her letters. She is so excited she can hardly stand it. Let's just say that by the time I got to "B" I was out of patience. I flipped to the end of the workbook and found a fun worksheet and in my mind I am thinking "Just do the damn matching game." Wow. I do not see a teacher of the year award ever coming my way.

How time flies ...

Just backing up some photos tonight. Wow, she's not a baby anymore!
June 2006
June 2008

Sleeping beauties!

Tonight after work I picked up the kids from Alicia's and we came home. Jeff was in Melba taking care of the animals so we were just hanging out waiting for him. I turned on cartoons for Mylie, but within a few minutes this was the scene from my living room.
And a bit later tonight, just playing around taking pictures in the dark. I like the purple glow.

I went to a two night photography class last week and have just been itching to get out and take some pictures and play around. Its funny, Jeff knew that I wanted to do that and so we decided to go on a drive on Saturday afternoon. It was a gorgeous drive, up Highway 55 to Banks, then the Banks to Lowman Highway, then Highway 21 through Idaho City and back to Boise. The mountains were gorgeous, the sky was a vivid blue, wildflowers were blooming and we didn't stop once (well, except to get ice cream)! But I tell you, I love afternoon drives. My parents do too and I am sure that is where I get it from. I really love how it gives Jeff ad I uninterrupted time to talk. Usually wherever we drive to does not get cell phone reception so we can really just enjoy each other's company. And a bonus ... our kids sleep in the car!

Conversations so far today.

• Mylie! No playing drums on Blake's tummy.
• No Mylie, I don't think that Blakey needs knee pads.
• If you wouldn't lay on him, he wouldn't pull your hair.
• He can roll over by himself, he doesn't need your help!
• Stop pretending you are a dog and he is your puppy.
• Putting you hands around his neck is not tickling.
• STOP PICKING HIM UP!

Still 3.5 hours until bedtime ....

Edited to add: Blake fell asleep laying on the floor drinking his bottle late this afternoon. Mylie can't stand the fact she can't play with him. She said the prayer at dinner and asked that Blake wake up and he not take long naps anymore. At the first sign of movement she ran over to him exclaiming, "Hi Buddy! Did you have a good nap?" LOL.

"Mom, this is the best day ever!"

This evening I took Mylie on a bike ride, well she rode her bike and I walked. She has absolutely got the hang of it and I could barely keep up with her. I figured out how I am going to get my exercise this summer. As she is riding along she exclaims, "Mom, this is the best day ever!" It made me smile a big smile. Remember those summer days when all you needed to make you happy was the sunshine and your bike?

Other notes from today ... Blake is misreable. Not sure but my best guess is teething. Mylie didn't get any teeth until she was 8 months old ... apparently he is an over achiever. He really doesn't cry much and when he does it is just a mad cry because he is hungry. But he has developed a sad cry the last few days and it breaks my heart! The Tylenol must be working because he is finally sleeping. If anyone has any teething suggestions, please share them with me! He chewed on a teeting ring for a bit tonight. Mylie showed no symptoms when she was teething, I didn't even realize she was teething until her teeth showed up.

Jeff's parents are on a trip this week and so we are taking care of their animals. Tonight was the first night we went over there and Mylie was so excited to get to feed the dogs, the cats, the goat, the turtle, the bird and the fish. Even though we explained to her many times that they are on an airplane, she must have asked at least 20 times why they weren't there. She just kept walking around the house looking for them. She sure loves them and misses them!

15 stars later and some thoughts

15 stars later a very excited 3 year old earned a bike. Having this as an incentive has been amazing for Mylie, she has been so good! Yesterday she earned her 15th star and so we went shopping last night. Mylie hopped right on this bike and was riding it around the aisles. She could hardly wait until we got home to practice outside. I was amazed with how well she was able to peddle and turn already. She did a great job and was so excited. I see lots of bike riding in our future this summer.


Her helmet came with knee pads and elbow pads, which she decided she needed to wear this morning when riding her bike. So dang cute! Now, if I could figure out some sort of face pad for her ....
It is strange to think that 3 years ago, she was just a baby, not even crawling yet, dependent upon Jeff and I for everything. Now she can ride a bike, get her own breakfast, brush her teeth, spell her name and tell me her phone number. Today we went on an afternoon drive and stopped in this little mountain town to get ice cream. We were sitting at a table and Jeff was holding Blake. A man came up to us and said, "Tomorrow your alarm clock will go off and he'll be graduating from high school." There is so much truth to that. Some days it seems like I am so busy trying to get Blake to nap or finding something to keep Mylie occupied so that I can get things done. I remind myself that soon enough I won't have a chubby smiley baby or a inquisitive pre-schooler, the time will go faster than I want and I will miss these days.

I just feeling emotional the last few days ... stop reading here if you don't like sad stories. Yesterday, someone linked me to a blog. A father is telling his story about how he and his wife are having their first baby. The mom ends up on bedrest for the last few weeks of the pregnancy and the baby is born early by C-section. Everything seems OK with the baby and they take her to the NICU. The mom isn't able to move to go to the NICU to see the baby girl until the next day. The next day she is excited to go to see the baby, the nurses are helping her into the wheelchair and she collapses and dies. As I am reading these blog entries of these people that I don't even know, tears are rolling down my face. He is telling about his life over the last 12 weeks (since the baby was born and his wife died). I haven't been able to stop thinking about their story, his story, the baby and what their life will be like. Although sad and depressing, we just never know what will happen in our lives ... we don't know what tomorrow will hold. I guess it is just a small reminder to make every day special, and to always say "I love you." Life is fragile and that is a scary, scary thought.

Mylie told me tonight that she loved me a thousand, million, dillion, 80, 20 hundred. Right back atcha kiddo.

Finally summer!

After a crazy few months of weather, I think summer has arrived. Yesterday it was in the mid-90s. We decided a trip to the park was in order. We met Melissa and the kids there and the enjoyed the water! Mylie loves her new swimsuit ... she thinks hula skirts are cool.



At the park they have this very cool flag display set up this month. It makes me even more excited for the 4th of July!!

Ouch!

This just hurts my heart! We were at Jeff's parents for dinner tonight. After dinner Mylie, Jeff, Grandma and Grandpa went to take the dogs on a walk. Apparently Mylie was running and tripped on Jeff's leg and landed face first, she didn't even have time to brace herself with her hands and they were on a gravely path. I was sitting in the rocking chair rocking the baby when they came in and Mylie was just sobbing. Of course, it was even worse when she looked in the mirror. Thankfully nothing got in her eye. I washed it as well as I could and then stopped on our way home to get some neosporin (how do I not have this?) and some non-hurt antiseptic foam cleaner. I also let her pick out bandaids. I got it all cleaned, neosporined and now she has 3 Sponge Bob bandaids on her face. Poor baby, it is hard watching your kids hurt! However, she did ask me to take a picture and send it to Courtney and everybody. LOL!

More laughs.

This evening Jeff and Mylie are working out in the garage. Jeff has on a tank top and he has a tatoo on his shoulder blade. Mylie has seen his tatoo a hundred times, but apparently today it made her think. She comes in and says to me, "Mom, how many stars do I have to get before I can get a tatoo?" Oh my!

The perfect weekend

This weekend couldn't have got much better. The weather was beautiful, in the 80s, and we spent the whole time together. Friday night we went to movies under the stars. This is like the drive-in, but with no cars. The do this in our little town once a month for free. This month's movie was "Enchanted," which is Mylie and I's favorite movie. She sang all the songs and it was so cute. We took popcorn and had so much fun. Blakey just snoozed in my lap.

Saturday was so beautiful we decided it could only be spent outside. Off to the park. Boise has beautiful parks and we love to take advantage of them. We had a picnic and then Jeff and Mylie decided to go on the paddleboats (or peddleboats as Mylie calls them). She had the time of her life. She told Jeff she was the captain.

Blake and I just watched. I *love* his cheeks! They get lots of kisses.
Now a word about these sunglasses, they came with a new outfit Mylie got and Saturday was the first time she wore it. No kidding, she put on these glasses at 10 in the morning and didn't take them off until 4. So cute!

After the paddleboats it was off to the zoo. We buy a zoo pass every year and it is the best $50 we spend. Not only does it get us into the Bosie Zoo, but also Hogle Zoo and the Idaho Falls Zoo. It is apparent that we go a lot because Mylie leads the way. This time she really, really wanted to see the snake ... ick! She and Daddy rode the merry-go-round also. After the zoo we just stayed in the park for a bit. I was trying to get a picture of Jeff with the kids. Can you tell that Blake was ready to be done with this fun day?
Mylie and I went over to the rose gardens to take a few pictures.
And look at these best pals, awww!
Saturday night we BBQed and then after the kids went to bed, Jeff and I watched, "Dan in Real Life." I really liked it.

Mylie was so excited to give Daddy his father's day presents today. We had a nice lazy morning and then went to church. The Primary kids sang in Sacrament Meeting and Miss Mylie ran right up there and stood in the front and sang "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home." Her Primary teacher is so cute and always has such fun things planned. Today they decorated heart shaped cupcakes for their daddies. Jeff told Mylie he would cut it in half and they could share it. She said, "Daddy, how about I have the big half and you have the little half?" Jeff picked roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls and pie for his father's day dinner and it was yummy. Later tonight we just sat in the backyard and visited while Mylie played. It is so nice to have sunshine and feel like summer.

Mylie made me laugh all weekend. She has a swingset in the backyard that has two slides, it is a plastic swingset (little tykes type) and the slides can be removed. Jeff takes them off when he mows the lawn. They are snapped in there pretty tight, but Mylie has figured out how to remove the slides from the swingset. So tonight, when we are outside I notice that the slides are off and I ask her about it. This is what she tells me, "I did it Mom, I'm strong like that green man." (Think Incredible Hulk.)

It really was an amazing weekend. I love it when we just get to spend the entire time together. I know that I am blessed with a great husband and wonderful kiddos. Like Mylie says, "Mom, we are all best friends, me and you and Daddy and Blakey." Yep kiddo, we are.

Dads.

Since it is father's day, I have to tell you about my Dad. If you know him, you know he is a hilarious funny kind of guy. It is true, he is a funny happy man, but there is so much more to him than that. Growing up I was my Dad's little pal. Wherever he went, I wanted to go too. I have memories of trips to the Army/Navy store and the hardware store. In fact, last month when we were in Idaho Falls, Dad had to go to the hardware store on Saturday morning and took Mylie with him, it made me smile and think of when I was her age. Other things that remind me of my Dad, the sound that hightops make on a basketball floor (I watched countless city league basketball games at the Rec Center), fishing at Ririe Resevoir, eating fried chicken , pringles and drinking A&W root beer or New York seltzers on our fishing trips. As I got older, I went to work for my Dad. Our relationship changed, now in addition to being a "Daddy's girl" I was also his employee. I worked for him starting in 8th grade through both years at Ricks and then also the summer between my years at U of I. In all the hundreds of hours of driving back and forth together from work and spending many lunch breaks together my Dad became one of my closest friends and confidants.

The thing about my Dad is this, he really "gets" me. I think this is in part because we are so much alike. We have similar attitudes and outlooks on things, similar moods and habits. So often, when I go home to visit we sit up for hours and hours just talking. He is one of the people I admire most in this whole world. He has had difficult times in his life, yet he has overcome them and he still has a smile on his face. He is a hard worker and such a kind person. He is always willing to help someone out and give them a chance. I saw this countless times while working for him. He helps others without asking for anything in return. He is an amazing man, Dad and friend. I am proud to be his daughter.

A Daughter needs a dad... to teach her what kind of man to choose to be the father of her children. To help her become the best mother she can be. To help her raise her children with strong family values. To teach her that her role in a family is greater than the work she does.

And speaking of the man who is the father of my children ... Jeff is an amazing Dad!! Mylie and Blake are so lucky to have him as their Daddy. I knew when Jeff and I were dating that he would be an amazing father, even though he hadn't spent much time around children. When Mylie was born and the nurse laid her in Jeff's arms, it was the first time he had held a little baby. You wouldn't know it. He was born to be a father, he has so much patience and is so much fun. Mylie loves him so much! Those two have so much fun together, they work out together, mow the lawn together, wrestle together. He gets up in the night if Blake wakes up so I can sleep, even though he has to get up too. I am so blessed to be married to him and Mylie and Blake are so blessed to have him as their Daddy.

Father's Day hugs to my brother Ben, who is an amazing Dad, to Mike (Jeff's Dad), who is a wonderful Grandpa to Mylie and Blake, to Grandpa Hammond who is such an example of so many things and Grandpa Jack who has been a supporter of my ambitions.

Oh she makes me laugh!

So yesterday Mylie and I are reading this cute Dora book she has ... it is a Dora scavenger hunt book and you have to find things on the pages. Well Miss Mylie thinks she knows Spanish because she watches Dora. So we get to the page that has colors and she says, "Mom, can you find something that is rojo?" So we look for something red. Then she says, "Mom, can you find bajio?" Sorry, babe, that's a restaurant!

Awwwww!

Siblings

Watching Mylie and Blake together just makes me so happy! Of course, half the time I am telling her to "get off of him" or "be soft!" But the thing I have realized that most of the time when she is in his face playing with him, it is only bothering me. He is laughing his head off. He loves loves loves his big sister. When he sees her he gets the biggest grin ever and she says "He loves me Mom!" Yep sis, he does. You will teach him so much, you will be his best play pal and his protector ... then he will get big and he will be yours. You two will conspire together and get in trouble together and make messes together. You will laugh together. You will fight and get mad at each other, but defend each other only the way a sibling could. You will confide in each other and tease each other. You will consider each other best friends and consider each other pests. You will give each other black eyes and give each other hugs. You will share toys, friends, bikes, and fight over all those things too. Someday you will grow up and move away (sniff, sniff) and you will miss each other terribly. But the thing about siblings is this, it doesn't matter how far away you live from each other, having siblings is having a built in best friend.

Your siblings are the only people in the world who know what it's like to have been brought up the way you were.

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers (and sisters). We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.

He did it!

Blake rolled over this evening. Yay Bubba! He got this look on his face of "How did I end up on my tummy? I hate being on my tummy." He's growing so fast!

Who loves a parade?

We do! The little town that we lives in has a town festival every June. It starts off with a parade on Saturday morning. Mylie has been counting down the days until parade day all week long. It was extra fun because Grandma and Grandpa came with us and we were watching Rylee and Brax today so they got to come as well! Here are some fun pictures from today. The boys are only kind of interested as they wait for the parade to begin (Brax in the red stroller and Blake in the blue.) Mel and I didn't even know we had awesome similar taste in strollers! They are three months apart, Brax is older, and they weigh the same. Yes, I have a chunky baby and no, I don't ever want twins!
Rylee and Mylie waiting for the parade to start. I *love* this kiddo and would keep her at my house if I could. Mylie just adores playing with her and Rylee is so kind and patient with Mylie and they have a lot of fun together.
"When is this parade going to start?" Notice how they have their bags ready to get candy. Oh my, those girls major scored on the candy today. I think Mylie probably got more candy today than at Halloween!
Awww! I love the look on her face. It is fun to see things through kid's eyes, to her this parade was amazing!
Not so sure that Blake thought it was amazing. He is like, "Whatever Mom."
Mylie got a "major injury" during the parade, at least according to her. She fell and scraped her leg. You would have thought she broke a bone. Jeff and I don't fall for the drama ... thats what Grandpas are for.

After the parade we had a BBQ at our house. Of course it really wasn't warm enough to eat outside. Isn't it June? Jeff's mom and I were reminiscing that last year at the parade we were all so hot and got sunburned! All in all in was a great Saturday. I think Mylie will sleep like a log tonight.

Apparently we eat out too much ...

So this afternoon I am in the living room rocking Blake to sleep and Mylie is in her room for quiet time. The only thing "quiet" about this time is that she is in her room for about an hour and a half. She is playing with her kitchen and I can hear everything she is saying. Some little girls probably play kitchen and pretend they are baking cookies with their Mommy or something sweet like that... oh no, this is what I hear: "Number 4, order up. Number 5, your order is ready." I laughed so hard I woke Blake up!

Fast forward to tonight for another funny eating out story. We were getting ready to go to Costco and so we were just going to get pizza while we were there. Mylie and I were upstairs and I remembered that a new Wingers just opened right by there. I ask Mylie to go downstairs and ask Daddy if he wanted pizza or Wingers for dinner. Their conversation went something like this
Mylie: "Daddy, do you want pizza or WEINERS?"
Jeff: "WHAT?"
Mylie: "Pizza or weiners Dad, do you want pizza or weiners for dinner?"
At this point I am laughing so hard that there are truly tears running down my face. Aww yes, a glimpse into our crazy household. And by the way, we chose WINGERS, gotta love a sticky finger wrap!

Star Power!

Mylie wants a bike. She has a late fall birthday, so outside presents aren't as practical then. We have been talking about it for a while now and so last night we made a deal. The thing is that Mylie is a very well behaved little girl, she is happy and helpful and I couldn't ask for more. But, she is 3 1/2 and has acted out more since the baby was born. So last night we told her that she could get a bike but that she has to earn it. It would cost her 15 stars. Every day she can earn one star if she is a good girl. There is a star chart now at our house. I told her that it would start tomorrow (today). This morning she comes upstairs with a big smile on her face talking about how she will earn her star. I mentioned to her yesterday that it makes me happy when I ask her to do something and she says "Sure Mommy!" instead of arguing with me. So this afternoon she says to me, "Mommy, do you need me to do anything so I can say 'Sure Mommy' and go do it? Needless to say it was a wonderful, happy, low stress day at our house. I think the star chart is here to stay, even after the bike!

And seriously, could you say no to this face?

Bubba

Blake had his four month appointment today. Bubba weighed in at 17 pounds 4 ounces and nearly 26 inches long. He had four shots ... #1 he didn't even notice, #2 he gave the nurse a look, #3 he wimpered a little and #4 he got MAD! His face went as red as a tomato and he screamed, for about 30 seconds and then he was totally over it. Such a difference from his sister! Mylie was so cute at his appointment, this is the first of his appointments that I have brought her with me. When he was lying on the table and the doctor was examining him, he didn't like it and was crying and she came over and stood right by him and kept saying "It's OK baby, its OK." Awww, she is a good big sister.

Safety first!

Jeff and I were chatting this evening about blogging. As you know if you are reading this, I love it, might be addicted to it. But we are both quite aware that there are weird people out there (we know many of them due to the nature of our jobs) and our babies are too precious to take a chance. We have decided to go private ... however, please leave your email so you can put you on our list! I love using this as a tool to keep in touch, we just want to be safe.

Planting pumpkins and cute cousins

And just a few more pictures from last weekend. My Dad helped the kids plant their own pumpkins for fall. And would you just take a look at how cute these five cousins are!

Easily Entertained!

This past weekend when we were in Idaho Falls, Papa had 4 bottles of bubbles, one each for Mylie, Darcy, Max and Eliza. Remember how fun something so simple as blowing bubbles is? Mylie had such fun. It is funny to watch her with my Dad, I sometimes think she has him wrapped around her little finger just about as much as I did when I was little. Her sweet little voice says, "Papa, can you help me?" and he jumps at the chance.

Here she goes, ready to blow bubbles.

And I'll huff and I'll puff ...
Let's try this again.
Whoo-hoo! Super cool.
"Look at this one Mom!"