Weekend Update

It finally felt like we had a spring weekend! Saturday was soccer day. Blake officially hates soccer so it is just Mylie now. She had fun and did a great job. She got to play goalie for part of the game and thought that was pretty cool.

Love how my boys hold hands.

Saturday afternoon I lucked out and Mylie, Blake, and I all got in a nap. Everyone at our house continues to fight this icky cold, horrible cough thing. We cannot seem to zap it. And it is wearing us all out. While we were all napping Jeff went for a bike ride (hello 43 miles, ouch!). Later that afternoon he took the kids out to ride their bikes.

This was the first time I would say that Blake was really successful and engaged in riding his bike. Perhaps it is the spiderman helmet?

At 6:55 this morning the kids woke us up to tell us that the Easter bunny had come. I swear I was still in a nyquil coma at that time. Blake started eating chocolate bunnies at 7:05 - he was *slightly* hyper today.

They both looked super adorable in their Easter outfits. We had stake conference today, which seemed kind of odd for Easter, but it was a good meeting with a good message. Lucky for me Blake had a sugar crash and literally slept on my shoulder for the entire two hours.

And seriously, apparently Blake can't even pose for an Easter picture without some superhero move thrown in.

After church we went to Grandma and Grandpa Breach's house for Easter lunch. We had a great visit and the kids were happy to see them. We came home and the kids watched "Tangled" (Mylie got it in her Easter basket) and I think I fell asleep. Sigh, I so wish I could get feeling better. This is really sucking all my energy. I honestly feel like I got sick in November and I have never really gotten better. I will get feeling better for a short period of time and then it is back.

I am glad we had the chance to celebrate Easter today and to be able to share with our children why it is an important holiday and what it means to us. I usually get the kids a church book for Easter, but didn't find any this year. Instead I made them both little books with pictures of Jesus and of the Easter story. Jeff and I also wrote to each of them our thoughts about Easter. I want them to know how important Jesus Christ and his Atonement are to us.

Time to get back to grading papers and loading assignments for next week. It is hard for me to believe that there are only three weeks left in my semester. I plan to take a very long nap at the conclusion of the semester. Preferably all day.

Longing ...

For a few moments today, I longed to be 10 years old again and to be in the backyard at Westmoreland ready for the annual Easter egg hunt. Grandma would have been saving her L'eggs nylon holders (remember how they were eggs?) all year in preparation. There would be eggs hidden everywhere ... by the paper trees, in the gazebo, under the slide, on the trampoline, in the garden, by the pine trees ... when your Grandma and Grandpa's yard is the size of a park, the possibilities are endless. The eggs would be taped shut with scotch tape, and sometimes they would have our names on them in Grandma's handwriting. Thinking back, I am certain that Grandma and Grandpa had even more fun watching us than we had hunting.

The hunt would begin, a backyard full of cousins of all ages; with big kids helping little kids find their eggs. Afterwards, Grandma would invaribly have a wonderful meal prepared, and there was a good chance there would be lots of desserts. We would stay and play and visit. There were not ever sad goodbyes, because we knew we would see Grandma and Grandpa again in only a few days.

Sometimes out of the blue, I am struck by the amazing childhood that I had.

Little brothers.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words ....

I should be packing ....

I'm headed out of town tomorrow for four days to attend a social science conference in Salt Lake with some colleagues and students. I am always excited about these types of events two months prior when I sign up for them ... but then the night before I leave ... I start to miss my kiddos madly. I know that they will have a FABULOUS time with Daddy. In fact, I fondly remember the times my mom was out of town and Dad was in charge. This afternoon I had to run a few errands to get ready to go and so as we were driving I was telling the kids that I would miss them to the moon and back. It prompted a long conversation. Ultimately Mylie decided she would miss me to Pulto (she can't quite say Pluto) and back. Blake said he would miss me to the duck poop in the pond and back (seriously?) Other miss you locations included New York City, Walmart, and Disneyland. I do have to say how grateful I am for Jeff. He supports me completely in everything I do and is an awesome and amazing father. I am a pretty blessed girl.

Spring Soccer Time!

Spring soccer started back up today and let me just say, it was COLD!! This Blake's first year in soccer. We thought he was pretty excited. It has been one of his main motivators for getting potty trained. He has a new yellow soccer ball. I'll let you guess if he was excited: He spent more time on Jeff or I's lap than playing. Sigh. Of course, after his team was done and we were waiting for Mylie's team to start, he was all over going out and kicking the ball around. Figures!

Mylie, seriously, that girl is a soccer rock star. Didn't complain about the cold once and played her heart out. I can see improvement in her from fall. Plus, isn't she just so stinkin' cute! I think so.

Hopefully it warms up soon!

Six Weeks?

Seriously? I just realized that I haven't blogged in six weeks. Six weeks in blogshere is paramount to a lifetime. Now that I sit down to write something that isn't related to the criminal justice system, I realize how much I have missed blogging, and in fact how much I need it. But first a recap ...

This one, amazes me every day.

• She loves school and continues to do very well.


• She impresses me with her reading and I can tell she will have a lifetime love of reading like her parents.


• She started spring soccer (it is cold) and is adjusting. She is on a different team this year and doesn't know any of the kids (most of them are older than her, she has mad skills).


• I am learning that it is getting a bit tougher for her to adapt to change. (She had a substitute bus driver the other day and for some reason she had a tough time with that.)


• She packs her and Blake's lunches every day.


• She would craft all day long if she could.


• Recently went to her first hockey game.


• Loves IKEA and going out to eat (also known as a perfect girls weekend!)

This one, makes me laugh every day.

• He is potty training like a rock star.


• He starts soccer on Saturday (with his "lellow" soccer ball).


• His fashion idol is Napoleon Dynamite.


• Would watch cartoons (mainly "Olivia" and "Max and Ruby") all day long if I would let him.


• Thinks every baby he sees is "Baby Terling" (his new cousin).


• Is obsessed with superheros (and underpants with superheros on them).


• Likes shooting "bad guys, witches, and chickens" with his gun.


• Still loves to snuggle his mommy.

This one, still makes my heart pitter-patter.

• He is figuring out what he wants to be when he grows up.


• He is gracefully and professionally dealing with politics and politicians.


• He is riding his bike and grateful for the days of sunshine.


• He is doing PX90.


• Which means he is losing weight (20 pounds so far).


• He is reading a lot.


• He likes to shoot baskets in the driveway.


• He is taking Mylie to a math night at her school tomorrow.

And me, well, what to say about me ...

• I am tired ... but I have used 10 pm - 2 am as workable hours for so long, it is hard to give them up.


• I am excited that spring is getting close. I can hear birds chirping in the morning.


• I am behind on grading ... but may have accepted the only time I will ever be caught up on grading is at the end of the semester.


• I am feeling creative - I just can't find the time to do much about it.


• I think about taking pictures a lot, I just don't do it a lot.


• I love picking up my kids from school every day.


• I love visiting prisons and am looking forward to taking students on field trips this month.


• I am not sure if I am looking forward to taking 8 students to a conference out of state next week.


• I am wondering how my home office got so cluttered again, when it was spotless two weeks ago.


• I am *slightly* addicted to Angry Birds, but have been stuck on level 12 on my phone for days now. Sigh.


• I have been streaming Law and Order SVU at night while I grade papers.


• I am slowly losing weight (17 pounds, but many more to go).


• I have cut down on diet coke and LOVE mango peach crystal light in my water bottle.


• I am realizing that my personality traits may always cause me to struggle with finding balance in my life.


• My favorite show on TV is Parenthood.


• Jeff mocks that fact every Tuesday night.


• I hung up crime scene tape in my cubicle this week.


• I like my new haircut.


• I just ate 3 jello cups.


• I shouldn't do self portraits at midnight.


• I have probably bored my blog readers (all 2 of them).

Til next time ...