In Idaho

Well, now we are in Idaho. We got here about a week ago. It's certainly cold, but I have been very proud of us that we have not gone crazy in cold weather. I actually do not like cold weather one bit and love skipping out on winter living in Hawaii, but I think I actually take the cold weather not too bad. I remember when we were first married I thought Lance was wierd because he didnt' like to wear coats much because they were such a bother and you only really needed them to and from the car. So, anyways, now I am like that and prefer not to be bothered with a coat if I can help it. And my kids can be like that sometimes. I had to force the kids to put a coat on while they were playing outside. But I think they were appreciative of it in the end. And I thought I read it's a myth that being outside in the cold can make you sick. I don't know, is it? All I know is that I am sick. My throat hurts, my eyes water, and I am a baby. I hate being sick. It's been a long time it seems since I have been sick. Whenever I am sick I think life is just too hard to handle. And then I always am so excited to get healthy again. Anyways, I am excited to get better. I slept as much as I could last night and took one of those emergency C drinks or something with a lot of vitamin C. And then I took a 3 hour nap today. Which explains why I am up at 1 in the morning.
Hopefully I don't sound too lazy.

Porter does not do well handling anger and frustration. We watched him as he chased after Will crying and yelling since Will took the little bowling ball he was playing with. Then we watched him try to set up the bowling pins by himself and angrily throw them all around when they weren't working just so. Ahhh, good thing he is still only 2 and some of this stuff is kind of cute.

We have been using the stools here at my mother in law's house for time outs for the kids. I think it's working??? I don't know. My mom advised me not to threaten so much and just take action. So instead of counting all the time, I take them straight to the stool when they are not listening. I feel bad for my kids; they are the subjects of all my experiments.

Will talks and talks. It's so funny; he is much more talkative than Porter. Porter actually talks lots when he is comfortable, but around people he doesn't know he doesn't say a thing and people don't realize he talks. But Will; everyone becomes his friend fast. And Will and Porter think they are hilarious. They make up words and tell ridiculous jokes and fall over laughing. I am glad they think each other is funny.

Porter is an echo to whoever is saying the prayer. I have given up trying to make him be quiet during prayers. He talks quietly, but he still talks. He always just sort of repeats the words people say, kind of like he is Baptist or something. I remember going to a revival with some friends when I was in the fourth grade. The preacher at the front would sort of comment during the prayer, and of course, my friends and I, being the mature 10 year olds we were, just thought this was hilarious.

I took the boys to the Hop To It place here. It's one of those little places that has all the fun blow up slides and things like that. I am an extremely nostalgic person and I just kept thinking about the last time I was there. Will was probably 15 or 18 months. I took him with my friend Kim and her husband and little girl. Will hated it. He was scared of everything. This time was very different. He loved it and went on everything. Porter was very fearful of most of it at first. Then Lance pretty much forced him up the latter that takes you to a slide to go down. Porter was screaming on the way up, and it was funny. Lance was going to go down with him, but Porter just slid right down by himself. I don't know if he was too angry to wait for Lance or if he decided it wasn't too bad. Whatever it was, it was funny. He proceeded to go back up the ladder and probably went down another 10 times, so he ended up loving it.

I have driven by our old house a couple of times. It wasn't that long ago, but it just seems like it was forever ago. Porter only lived in that house the summer after he was born and Will lived in it from age 6 months to 2 and a half years. Our life was so crazy after Porter was born that it seems like Porter was never a baby. Lance lost his job just 2 months after Porter was born and he was so busy that summer travelling around looking for jobs, applying, interviewing, doing any work just to keep some money coming in. Then he moved out to Hawaii when Porter was just 4 months and lived there for 6 weeks before we finally moved out there after selling our house and moving our stuff out. Then life just took off so fast and I just can't remember much about Porter being really little!

I also ordered a new camera today. I am excited. It was on one of the daily deal sites. It is a Kodak easy share camera that has 14 megapixels. I dont' know much about those, but my camera that I use now is an Easy Share with only 7 megapixels. I got it when Will was born and it keeps turning off and on. It has been on its last leg for a year now and I need to take more pictures. It isn't the best camera with the fanciest and best quality of stuff, but oh well. The new one will be more updated than the one I have now. And it was only 44 dollars including shipping, which is cheaper than the one I bought almost 5 years ago! It will be good to have a new camera. I will hopefully post lots more pictures once I get it.
Well, I will try to go get some sleep now.

EdVenture Museum

My mom, sister, Will, Porter, and I went to a fun museum on Wednesday in Columbia, South Carolina. It was called the EdVenture Museum and it was just one of those cute children's museums that are kind of a kid's dream. A fire truck you could go on while wearing a fireman's coat, boots, and hat; a car to sit in, a little construction site, a little kitchen, little grocery store, little farm, etc. Porter absolutely loved the kitchen. He looked just like a little cook. He would shake the play cans and boxes as if he were trying to get them out into the little pot he was working over. He stayed in there as long as he could. We just talked him out of staying forever so he could see the other displays. He also loved the little grocery store. For a few minutes it was just Will and Porter in there. As we were finishing, tons of kids all of a sudden came in, so I am glad we could be in there just us for a little while. Porter also really loved picking the "peaches" from the "tree". They were little orange balls that would come out of these little holes that were supposed to be branches. Then when you were done you would dump the peaches back up into the pile so they could continue to come down. Oh, it was so cute. The kids also sort of enjoyed climbing through the giant "Ed" boy, but were a bit scared. Porter did not want to go down the slide, but I made him because I knew he would like it. Sometimes I wonder if I should just let him be. But if I know something is not scary and I know he will enjoy it, I really try to make him do it. Will and Porter also enjoyed milking the cow. Their favorite thing was the fire truck, though, so on the way out we did that again.

Anyways, the boys loved the museum. I thought they would be so tired and sleep all the way home, but that sure was silly of me to think. My boys just don't sleep lately. I know the time change is hard. But I read this article earlier this week out of California about toddlers and sleep. It talked about how kids aren't getting enough sleep and they need a good nap every day. If they don't get this nap and don't get enough sleep, it said, they were more likely to suffer from emotional problems later on. I can't remember exactly why, but something about not dealing with emotions well when they are tired and not learning that skill, or something. Don't quote me on any of that. Anyways, after I read that, I got right up and went to make the kids take a nap. I sang every Article of Faith to Porter plus all kinds of other songs and he just sat there not going to sleep. Eventually I gave up and he did not nap. So, my kids will just have to have emotional problems I guess. Anyways, I will definitely keep working on this. I know it's hard when you are out of town and out of your element and time zone.

Talking about things to work on. Porter will be 3 in 2 months. This means I need to start potty trainig him. Please no. Potty training was rough rough rough. I have been avoiding it but he is getting old. He just grew up so fast and man, I can't believe it.

In Georgia, in the Aquarium

Porter's neck hurt from looking up. The display went up and over our heads.

Right now the kids and I are in Georgia. Lance is a busy man with work, school, and basketball. He is also a sick man. He's been sick for weeks now. I always tell him he needs to sleep and he wouldn't get so sick. But he doesn't listen! And he still is not sleeping. When I say he doesn't sleep, I am not kidding. He studies and works late and then wakes up to leave for work, typically before 6. He is a hard worker. I am hoping when he graduates things will slow down a bit, but we will see!

So anyways, we are in Georgia so Lance can get all the stuff done he needs to do!

We have been here for almost 3 weeks. And we will go to Idaho on Monday night, staying there for 2 weeks. Lance will be meeting us there next week. That was not the in the original plan, but it will be good for Lance. I am hoping he will catch up on lots of sleep. And, watch the kids while I do whatever. Just kidding.

So, for this post I will share some pictures of the aquarium. We went to the big aquarium in Georgia. It opened a few years ago and I had never been. It's about a 2 and a half drive to Atlanta. My mom rented a van and the boys, me, 2 of my sisters, and my dad all went. The first bummer was the portable dvd player was out of battery and for some reason the cigarette lighter thing doesn't work. Fortunately, the van had one of those regular outlets, so we were able to get the kids to watch some tv. I was squished in between them. Bad. We ate at Steak and Shake on the way up. The aqaurium was super cool. But as time went by, the novelty wore off and my feet, and I am sure my kids feet, started hurt. I would like to say my kids were really good, but man, the whole time change thing has been rough on them. I will just blame it on that. But they have sort of been little devils here. But they have definitely had their very cute and angelic moments.

Today

Well, today was actually one of those 9 kids days. The kind where the kids are so good and so cute and you just feel full of love and gratitude for all you have. The kind where you think...Yeah, I could have 9 kids and I would be such a great mom!!

I remember the first time I thought that. Will was a one year old and I only had him! And now here I am thinking that with just 2! (Except I am not really thinking that seriously) Don't you just love that? I remember when Will was a newborn and I was at church and he was just sleeping being an angel. Then some 3 year was screaming and being bad and I just thought, oh man my kid is so good-much better behaved than that one! I can't remember all of my thoughts at that moment, but I hope I was just kidding in my mind. No comparison between a newborn and 3 year old, so I hope I wasn't truly comparing them! And besides, I am sure Will has outscreamed that kid by now.

Will was so cute today. At dinner he was eating some corn. He said, you know what happens if you eat blue corn? It will be cold! you know what happens if you eat red corn? You will be hot!! You know what happens if you eat green corn? It will be gross!! you know what happens if you eat yellow corn? It will be good!!

The kids and I went to the park for a bit today with Lance and then he had to go study. Then the boys made friends with these adorable sisters. One was 6 and one was 10. They took care of Porter and Will and were so sweet to them and to me. They said they were there every Friday, except today they were here on thursday. I told them we would come the next next Friday since we are going out of town next Friday. They were so cute!

Kids. Who Needs Them.

That's what my mom would jokingly say when we were growing up. And yes, kids. For a few months we were having a great time and the kids were so sweet and some ladies asked me how many more kids I wanted. I said maybe 4 and they opened their mouths in disbelief.
Well, if they asked me today, I may say a different number!!!
The past couple of weeks I think Porter finally hit terrible twos. Not that he already hasn't. I suppose he hit the terribler twos!!!! I hear lots of screams and he doesn't seem to listen to a darn word I say!! So, I need to reread 1-2-3 magic. And read lots of John Rosemond--that's what my mom tells me. He is a child expert and really has some good advice. A lot of it is good old fashioned advice that our parents probably followed more.

Being a parent today can be a hard balance. I never know if I am being too strict or too indulgent.

But as hard as they can be to keep up with sometimes, they really are very very sweet. And funny. Porter still mimics everything Will says. Will will be saying sometimes, usually slowly, and after every word Porter just repeats Will. And if I ever get mad at Will for something I usually wait just 2 seconds for Porter to do it too so I can just tell them both not to do it.

Will has the most incredible memory ever. He seriously remembers things from months and even year (I can't really say years, so I just mean the past year and a half or so). But maybe lots of kids are like that. We all probably tend to think our kids are the smartest ever.
Well, I do have pictures but my camera is out of battery so I need to charge it up and then I will put some up. I just wanted to do a quick update.

The Weekend

Well, we still have one more day in the weekend, thank goodness. I need a good long nap tomorrow after church I think. I am beat. But it's weird, because lately i can't ever sleep when it's time to take a nap. Believe me, I am the queen of naps. But the past couple of days I just haven't been able to fall asleep when my kids are sleeping. Today I was so beat that I just turned on the tv to some cartoons and told the kids to watch and I went and lay down but still couldn't sleep. I am definitely going to try to go to sleep when I am done with this post.
Anyways, last night Lance got home and took a little rest, which he never does. He seriously doesn't ever sleep and denies that he needs any. We always have good arguments over sleep. I am a huge believer in sleep. Lance says that the most successful people didn't sleep very much. I tell you, though, if I have the choice between being successful and well rested, I just might choose well rested. Then he got up, we had some lumpy broccoli soup that I made (actually just the kids and I had some--Lance is always leery of vegetable stuff). I am not a natural born cook. The recipe got 5 starts on allrecipes, but if they had my version, it probably wouldn't get that many starts.

We wanted to do something fun since we knew Lance wouldn't really be here today. We couldn't think of anything. It has been raining here a lot lately. So, we decided to go to Lihue and go to Costco. We always think Costco is a good time. We walked through the store, the kids wanted to walk through the toy section and beg for everything they saw and we would just tell them to put it on their Christmas list. Then we went out and got some ice cream. Then went home. That was our exciting night. Today Lance woke up and went to the garden that our ward is working on. They are working on clearing out land so they can actually plant something on it. I think he told me he left before 8, but I when I

Yikes. Just had to take a break. Will has been asleep for an hour when all of a sudden he walked out and looked like he needed to go the bathroom. He does this typically. Just sort of stands there and I keep telling him to go to the bathroom and then he finally walks over to the toilet. Well, tonight I don't know if he was half asleep, but he just wasn't going to the toilet so I walk over to get him to go to the toilet and he just starts going. And I am helpless. I don't want to move him in the middle of it because then it will get even more everywhere than the everywhere it is already going. Then he starts to cry and then I pretty much start to cry because I know that's a big mess in the making for me to clean up. So then I put him in the shower and clean up. So now he is back in bed and all is well.

So back to my story. Actually, I will finish this tomorrow

Okay, actually it is now 2 weeks later. I need to get better with this blogger thing!

Anyways, so hopefully I can even remember what story I was telling! But anyways, I found out he left before 8. i knew Will had woken up so Lance turned on some cartoons. But then I accidentally slept until 9 and walked down the stairs and there was Porter and Will. Hopefully they didn't do anything too crazy. But then last week I fell asleep while they were watching a show during their "naptime" and suffice it to say I am never doing that again. Never.

Hmmm, so I will finish up this post and do another.

Beach Day

Day one-Polihale cook out. We did some swimming and roasted hot dogs. My brother in law and Lance were brave enough to try some boogie boarding. I am still terrified of boogie boarding even after living here for 2 years.

Today was a full day for us. I brought my camera with plans of taking pictures but then I never took out my camera. I wish I would have because it was a really good day. We left early for our playgroup that was on the other side of the island today. We first walked on a boardwalk that went along the ocean. We figured we walked a total of around 2 miles or so. I had never walked in that area before and it was beautiful! The kids had a really good time until they got tired and then they refused to move. I had to carry Porter the last half of the trip. I was a sweaty mess by the end. Then Will got into a race with some lady in a motorized wheelchair. He kept saying "I'm faster than you" and then running ahead of her. She was a great sport and raced him a bit. It was really cute. But then the cuteness only lasts so long so I rescued the lady and made Will stay with me so she could catch up to her husband.

Then we went to the beach area. First we played on the playground they have there. Its a huge wooden playground with all sorts of cool tunnels and slides and swings, but my kids were ready for the beach immediately and had no interest in the park so I bribed them a bit to play. Then we headed over to the beach where my kids had a blast. Will is terrified of putting his face in the water, but today he did so good. I put my snorkel and mask on him and he was a little fish! He would dip his whole head in the water and look around. He was in a swimming lesson session a few months ago for a few weeks and nothing could convince him to put his face in the water, not even a nice little pair of kid goggles. So I guess I will need to start big with huge snorkel goggles and a snorkel.

Then we ate at a little taco shop with some friends. I put my leftovers in a doggie bag and then the leftovers of my friends. I know that probably sounds so bummy and it probably is, but their stuff looked so good and they weren't taking it with them. Then we got some huge shave ice (That's what they call it here-not shaved ice). I got the combo of peanut butter, dulce de leche, cake batter, and ice cream flavoring. If that sounds disgusting, it actually kind of was. But I just can't resist trying all that. After that we were a sticky mess and Porter accidently dumped a lot of the ice and juices all over him. Then we went to the library in Kapaa, the last library on the island that i have not been too. You could tell, too, because I walked out of their with an obscene amount of books. I have been to the other libraries and already looked at all the books I wanted to, but this one had new books that the other ones didn't have, so I was excited. It was a packed day. Then we got home and I had to run to cub scouts.

So there is the play by play of my day. Since I didn't take any pictures today, I will start my installment of pictures taken when my family was here.