Danny

Danny: Is it a big dog or a little dog?

Me: I don't know. I've never seen it. 

Danny: I just saw him! He's a little dog! He's a fat dog too. 

Me: Is he so cute?

Danny: Yeah, he is so cute like a big fat baby.

Pickles!

I made pickles! It was very fun and I think I am slightly addicted to canning right now with the new auto canner thing my mom got for us to share. Here are some pictures from the pickling.

These are the cucumbers I used. They are baby cucumbers because all of the pickling cucumbers at the store were gross looking. 

These are the spices that go in to the jar with the cucumbers and the brine. 

They were really easy to make. I just made the brine by boiling the stuff in the recipe (water, vinegar, pickling spice, sugar, and pickling salt), then I dumped the bowl of spices in, shoved the sliced cucumbers in, poured brine over the top, then stuck it in the canner, and pressed the button. 

Here is the cool canning machine. It's nice because it doesn't sit on my stove and I can clean up all my mess while it is sealing the jars and doing it's stuff. 

Look at my cute jars of pickles! I can't wait until I can eat them (the recipe said wait at least 4 weeks so they have a good flavor). I am having lots of fun with this thing and I plan on canning lots of other stuff once my tomatoes and stuff are ripe. 

Life is kind of same old same old around here. Hanging out with wild little boys and keeping everyone alive. We did go on a fun trip to Idaho for a family reunion and that was great. Let me think if there are any new things my kids are doing. Kyle has started saying "hold me" rather than "uh uh uh" (up up up) when he wants to be held. He likes to be held a lot sometimes I think it is for safety. Danny isn't too rough with him but will occasionally plow him over in true big brother fashion. Danny's favorite thing is swinging in "baby swings." 

We borrowed one from grandma and grandpa Ware for our play set to accommodate his passion. 

Life is good. Like always there are good days and bad days, but the good days help you get through the bad ones. 

Survived a week without Jon and update

Last week Jon went to Kansas for the SkillsUSA nationals competition. He was the advisor for 3 students from East who made it to nationals. He had lots of fun hanging out with my brother Mike who is out in Kansas working for the summer. I managed to survive the week without him with some help from friends and family. 

On Monday my nieces were staying over because Julia's brother was getting married and they had gone to Oklahoma with Cody for the wedding. That was the hardest day because I had 2 extra kids and we couldn't go anywhere because I didn't have a car that could fit all of us. I think having that day first made the rest of the week easier. On Tuesday the boys had pediatrician appointments down in Provo (we are going to need to get a pediatrician closer to home and I'm bummed because I loved our doctor in Provo). Before the appointment we went and hung out with my friend Laurel and had lunch and played at a park with her and her daughter.

I had asked my mom to come over to the doctors office just in case I needed backup. The kids were pretty good, but it was nice to see her. On Wednesday we went over to Grandma Ware's house and played over there and picked peas. On Thursday we used Jennifer's tickets for Danny and I to see the Kroods in Draper with Melinda and her boys. After the movie Karen and I took the boys to Ikea to get a shelf for the boys toys. 

While we were there we also got a bed with a headboard.

We have been holding off on upgrading from a metal frame to something nicer until we moved somewhere a little longer term and I think that buying a house counts. Karen and I put the furniture together while Kyle napped and Danny watched the Lego movie ( it is definitely his favorite right now). I would not have been able to put it together by myself, so I was super glad that I had help. I didn't tell Jon about the new stuff, so he had a surprise when he came home. That night when I was trying to get the kids calmed down for bed I was reading Go Dog Go with Kyle on my lap when Danny threw the vacuum's crevice tool at my face from across the room. It hit me right in the eye and hurt like crazy. I still have a pretty colorful black eye from it. On Friday afternoon we got together with all the Ware cousins and played at the playground at the school and then went and got an icecream cone. Saturday we just hung out at home until Jon's flight got in about 5 and then went down to visit my parents. We got a whole bunch of cherries from them which my boys have been eating pits and all. Hopefully they make it out ok. 

It's hard to keep these boys out of things because they are good climbers and Danny will leave doors open. Sometimes I hear water running in the bathroom and I have to go pull Kyle off the counter. 

Everyone survived last week and I think my kids were being extra good because we have already had more three year old problems this week than all of last. 

I'm trying to think what else can I update about the last month. I had my birthday and it was a good birthday. My dad got me a composter and I'm exited to see all our banana peels and stuff turn in to dirt. 

The garden is doing great (unfortunately the weeds are thriving too so I need to do something about those). 

We also went on a family vacation to Legoland with Jon's family and had a good time hanging out with the family and going on rides and all the amusement park stuff. 

Kyle seems like he is learning new words like crazy. He is very good at mimicking things he hears and see, because of this he thinks a hanger is called a gun and makes sound effects when he hold one. He likes to climb up on to the play set and announce his success with a dun-dun-dah. Jon says that Kyle needs to get some different cries because every time he cries he sounds like he has been mortally wounded and it's hard to tell if he got hurt or just wants the water bottle Danny took from him. 

Danny is a three year old and I need to remind myself that this is just a phase and there are good times mixed in with the punching and tantrum. Danny's favorite thing to do is watch tv or play on mommy or daddy's phone. He would do this all the time if we let him. Last night I thought ,"wow Danny went to bed really great he didn't come downstairs his normal 5+ times." Jon had his phone upstairs charging and Danny had found it and was playing on it for I don't know how long until he had to go to the bathroom and I heard the music when he was in the hall. On the bright side, he is totally potty trained day and night and he hasn't had an accident in a long time. 

Jon, in addition to holding down the fort with me for the summer, has started working for iCracked fixing iPhones and iPads and stuff. He likes it and it is a nice chance to do something out of the regular routine. 

I'm still doing Mary Kay and I've been on a real knitting kick recently. Those things help me keep my sanity sometimes. Today I went on a jog and I'm hoping to make that a habit again. 

That's probably enough of an update for now. Until next time.