Clint’s Favorite Place

Well, one of them. Clint loves to drive to Wyoming to this little stretch of the river and fish. I think his dad took him there for the first time after his mission, and he’s been going back ever since. Last summer we camped out at the same river. It’s about 3 hours away from our house, so he usually stays the night when he goes. Sometimes he will wake up early, drive there, fish, and drive home at dark. I really wish he had a favorite fishing spot closer to our house! Oh well.

Last weekend we planned for us to spend part of our weekend there. I’ve been pushing more family oriented trips as opposed to Clint going off to fish with his buddies, or by himself. I get so bored at home on the weekends! It’s never as great of a time fishing for Clint, but I feel like it’s worth it to be together. We were going to check into the hotel, go to the Reservoir to fish for a bit, sleep, wake up and have breakfast, then spend the morning on the river in the boat. Nothing went according to plans!! The weather was just awful and Bode and I were not about to freeze our buns off the first night at the reservoir. Clint said it was very cold and he even got ice on the end of his rod. No thanks. We stayed at the hotel and swam in the pool while Clint and his friend fished. Bode and I had a good time swimming around and enjoying the place to ourselves. After about an hour, a group of 24 people came in!!! I’m pretty sure the sign on the wall said max occupancy: 8. It was pure chaos. There were babies and kids of all ages all the way up to the grandma who must have been in her 90s. They had noodles, balls, sinker toys, floaties, goggles, life jackets, inner tubes, you name it. It was so loud! Bode sat on my lap on the step in the pool for a good 20 minutes just staring at everything. After a while he warmed up and started finding all the balls to throw in the water. I couldn’t stand much of all that and so we headed back to the hotel room, ate our subway for dinner, took a shower, and hopped into bed for a movie. Clint ended up eating out with his friend and didn’t come back until 11, but right before he walked into the room the fire alarm went off! It woke me up, scared me half to death, lasted 5 minutes, and Bode didn’t hardly move at all. It was the craziest thing ever. I texted Clint, “Hey the hotel fire alarm is going off.. Are we supposed to evacuate?” Luckily he walked in right after that and said it didn’t look like anyone was outside. What a mess.

Bode loved this phone. He kept picking it up and saying, “Hello? Dad?”

The next morning after breakfast we headed to the river. It was a lot warmer than we thought it would be. We didn’t even launch the boat because we weren’t sure what the conditions would be, so we just walked around. Bode had the time of his life! All he kept talking about was catching big fish. He threw tons of rocks into the water and walked alongside Clint the entire time.

I was too lazy to keep up with the boys so I would find a spot and just sit there. I closed my eyes and listened to the water flowing along the river, the birds chirping, the wind, and my favorite…. Bode rambling on and on and on in the distance. He did not stop talking the entire time. It was the cutest sound ever. Whenever they would walk too far away from me to hear, I would get up and walk a bit until I could hear him again and plop right back down.

Bode was having such a great time, he peed his pants. He ended up having 2 accidents this trip! I’m not sure what was going on because before this he hadn’t had any!!! (Well, one in nursery .. but that was my fault.) He’s been great since we got home though. He’s not wearing a diaper at naps anymore and is comfortable to go #2 on the potty. Woo hoo!! Tmi.. I know.

Clint didn’t catch any fish. It was a horrible time with the cold front and all because the fish went to deeper water. We had to leave the river earlier than we would have liked because we wanted to make it back to Salt Lake for an Easter egg hunt at my grandmas. Bode cried and cried when we left. It was really sad. We even missed the hunt. Oh well, we were able to eat dinner with everyone. I hope next trip we plan can go a little better for us! I can’t wait for the day when Bode and baby #2 are old enough to go with their dad and I can plan Spa days or something. Now that sounds nice!!

Idaho

A few weeks ago we headed to Idaho. Clint likes to plan a trip every year to fly fish the squala hatch. Unfortunately, every time we go the timing isn’t right and the fishing is pretty bad. The water was so high and pretty murky. Clint and his step brother said they still had a nice time. Abbey and Bryan are always great to have us stay with them, and the kids have a fun time. Griffin, Ayla and Bode got along great!!! It’s fun to see them growing up and I really hope Griff and Bode are fishin’ buds when they get older.

Abbey and I always shop too much and this trip was no different. I got a bunch of clothes for baby #2 and they are so adorable!!!! Bode wasn’t able to come home from the hospital until he was about out of newborn size, so I got a bunch of newborn clothes for this one. They are so little and so cute! I really hope he doesn’t end up being 10 lbs or something crazy like that because I want to be able to use them.

Abbey’s mom babysat the kids for one night and we were able to get out to go to dinner. It was so nice! We couldn’t get Bode to go to sleep before we left, so he just hung out with Mary and Ayla until we got back…. after 10pm! He was having so much fun and Abbey’s mom said he kept calling her grandma. I was happy that although he was up super late, he was a good boy for her. You could tell he just knew that he should have been in bed, because it was like he was on his best behavior. We finally got him to bed and then played catch phrase. We tried to watch a movie after that, but I don’t think anyone stayed up for it. It was so late Bryan was asleep by the time I went up to bed. Abbey was dozing off too and Clint was the only one watching. He said eventually he fell asleep too. It was a good try by all of us.  

My aunt Karolyn and Uncle Wade live about 5 minutes away from Bryan and Abbey so we just had to get together with them! My aunt came over to their house one afternoon to spend some time with us, and then they also took us out to dinner one night. They look amazing, and it was so great to see them and their 2 kids. We always love hanging out with that family. Bode was a riot at their house later that night. He loved playing with the toys and he kept putting on Mr. Potato head glasses. It was so funny!

For the first picture I told Bode to smile. He gave me the most serious face ever! It was pretty funny.

 

I really think I got a belly during this trip. I packed regular jeans and the second day there I could barely wear them the waist was so tight! It’s like I woke up tons bigger! It was kind of depressing to leave for vacation with a small bump and come home with a huge one. That might be an exaggeration, but it’s how I felt!

We all went to a bird wild life refugee place (I can’t remember what it’s called now…) and it was a pretty fun time. Bryan loves birds and knows a lot about them, and it’s something Clint enjoys as well. The little boys had fun looking at all the different kinds of birds and took a toy home. I think Griffin and Ayla got an owl and Bode got a red tailed hawk. I took a bunch of pictures of different birds, but I accidentally deleted all of them. Bummer! I always tag my photos into certain folders when I download them onto my computer and this time it put them into the tagged folder.. then also another folder with no file name.. just a date. I thought it was a duplicate so I deleted the second folder and emptied the recycle bin and all the sudden the photos in the first folder were gone too. Oops. Here are some that I had already edited and saved into a separate place before all that.

 

After that we all drove to a cliff overlooking the river. It was breath taking! We were so nervous to lose a kid over the edge, but it really was beautiful. It was about a 40-45 minute drive and Abbey kept apologizing how long it took and Clint and I were thinking it was nothing!!! Clint commutes like 2 hours a day total (which he HATES) and just for me to shop my fave stores I have to drive like 40+ minutes - so it was nothing.  

Such a gorgeous view.

Clint trying not to let Bode plunge to his death.

Bryan and Ayla waving HI!

Just for fun, Bode’s bum crack. Boy, is he a Romney or what?!

 

We had a ton of fun and I’m so glad we could visit with family. Thanks Taylor family for showing us such a good time, as always!!

Crazy Utah Weather

A few weeks ago we went to a Fly Tying convention in Salt Lake. The weather was beautiful! It’s always a challenge bringing Bode along to things, but it ended up being fun. It’s a lot more fun to tag along with Clint.. even with Bode.. then to be stuck at home. Bode loved it! He ran around the place looking for flies and big big fish. He’s getting to be pretty obsessed with fish lately. He makes believe he’s made things out of play dough, or when he’s coloring, or just random stuff he picks up lately. He shows it to me and says, “Mom yook! A big big fish mom!”

He got a fish stamp on his hand and he thought that was the coolest thing ever. The picture above is the best shot I got of it before it rubbed off half way through the event.

Bode loves to ride on Clint’s neck! He’s obsessed with the book Where the Wild Things Are. Every night before bed I have to read it to him. He knows the book by heart, but it’s my favorite when I turn the page and he says, “And gew!” (for and grew.. ) And also the part at the very end when he says, “And it was too hot!” (and it was still hot.. talking about Max’s dinner.) Max rides on the monster’s neck at some point and Bode just loves that part. He will say, “Mac is ridin’ on that monster’s neck!!! I ride on Daddy’s neck, mom.” He’s so cute.

The VERY next day it snowed a ton. I am so ready for summer to be here! Snow snow go away and never come back. Bode had fun though….

…and so did Clint.

Wedding Pics

Bode was looking through our wedding album one day for the longest time! It’s the first time he’s ever opened it up and he must have flipped through it 5 times. He kept pointing out people he knew, telling me what mommy and daddy were doing on each page, oooing and aahhhhing at how “pwetty” mommy is, etc. It was seriously the cutest thing EVER. I’m all pregnant and emotional but I shed a few tears over this one! He’s such a sweet thing and he really has the kindest heart. He’s always asking me if I’m ok and how I’m doing and telling me I look cute. It’s moments like this that keep reminding me how awesome it is to be a mother. He can be the biggest brat some days, but it’s all worth it!

I have a lot of catching up to do on the bloggity blog, so hopefully I can find the time this week!

Bode’s getting a Little Brother!!!

We are so excited for another buster in the family! I had my heart set on a girl, but only because I want ONE girl at some point. If this one would have been a girl then we could have stopped at 2 or had no pressure with a third pregnancy. Oh well because I’m so happy that Bode will get a little brother!!  I think 2 boys and a girl sound like a perfect little family. If only I could choose for it to end up that way!

Clint has dreams of camping and fishing trips and I’m so happy he’s going to get two boys to have fun with.  I had my 18 week ultrasound appointment yesterday and within 2 seconds of starting up we saw boy parts! Clint was so happy. He was smiling from ear to ear and started texting people. I had to tell him to stop texting and watch the baby! He said, “We’ll have the DVD I can watch it later.” Ahh! I loved watching that little thing moving all around. It’s crazy to think something so small is already so perfect, with all the parts it needs. It’s such a miracle! The baby is perfectly healthy and everything looks normal.

Let the shopping begin! I have to go through bins of Bode’s old stuff and decide what I want to use and what I want to buy new. I’m so glad I finally know!

We are still trying to explain to Bode what’s going on, but he doesn’t want to believe anything is inside of my belly. After watching the u/s yesterday he *kind of* understands. Today he pointed to me and said, “Hi baby!” I freaked out and said, “Yeah! Bode I have a baby in my belly!!” Then he said, “No that’s mommy.. A baby mommy.” We’ll work with him some more. haha.

The baby is about 9 inches long and 8 ounces. I have gained 3 lbs so far and all 3 have been in the last 4 weeks. EEEK! They finally figured out my due date for sure. It’s Sept 5th which made me exactly 18 weeks on Monday. It’s kind of sad because I thought I was 19 weeks on Monday, but oh well.  I am feeling great other than a few sciatic pains here and there. Clint’s been awesome to rub my feet and scratch my back when I’m worn out after hair appointments.

Here is a few minutes of the ultrasound. I really just wanted to post it because of the first 2 seconds when it’s like wam bam hello boy! It was so funny because we were both so anxious and right away the tech said, “Now that’s a boy!!!” 

Bode is Potty Trained!!

Woo hoo!!! Shortly after his second bday he started using his potty chair pretty regularly. Some days he refused to wear a diaper and would just pee in the potty. He never peed on the floor either! His whole little life he’s peed on the floor once. He was basically potty trained at home for months and months but when I tried to take him places in underwear he would almost always have an accident. (I only tried twice.. then gave up.) He could hold it for 3 to 4 hours at home, but always have an accident within an hour and a half of going places. He refused to go on the public potty and would cry and cry screaming at me, “NO! I’n just too scared!!”  When he was at home he was always naked or just in underwear. We really had to work on him being in underwear AND pants at home so he could get used to knowing not to go potty in them. I really think I confused him with the whole potty trained at home but not when we went out deal. I didn’t have the energy or patience to fully go for it and diapers for him while I was out and about running errands seemed much easier than dealing with him peeing his pants. 

I’ve been feeling much better lately with a ton more energy, so I figured now was as good of a time as any. We still need to potty train him, move him to a big boy bed, and get him ready for baby brother/sister (WE FIND OUT MONDAY!) all before this baby comes. I don’t want all these huge changes to happen at once. Well, potty trained… CHECK! He’s done amazing!!! He had one little leak on day 1, 1 leak on day 2 and one on day 3. He would always stop and finish in the potty once he realized what he’d done. I am so proud of him! He’s still terrified of public restrooms, but he’s doing much better. If I can turn over a little trash can he’ll stand on it and go that way. Or I can hold him up. He has no problems standing or sitting at home, but prefers standing in public. I don’t blame him because those toilets are huge and oh so scary. I hate touching them myself! He will go in public if it’s been 3 or 4 hours since he last went, but he’s really great at holding it. I get worried he’s holding it for way too long, but he hasn’t had one accident in 2 1/2 weeks. It’s been kind of strange because usually when you potty train a kid you are stuck at home for a good 3 days to a week teaching them… my experience was making myself go out and run errands every day for 3 days to a week!

I will admit he’s not fully trained quite yet…. he still gets a nap and night time diaper. His nap diapers are having barely any pee in them, so I’m hoping to be able to get rid of those with time. AND he always goes #2 in either of those diapers. He wakes up with a poopy every morning or he’ll wait for that nap diaper. That’s honestly just fine by me because I’d rather that than have him going in his pants. I’m sure as he gets older he’ll be able to be comfortable going on the potty.

Anyways – for people who don’t have kids I’m sure this is gross and way too much information.. I just had to document this huge success! Bode is only 2 years and about 6 months old so I’m pretty darn proud, if you couldn’t tell already. I just love him so much! I’m kind of anxious for baby #2 because I feel like Bode is everything to me. I live for him. I guess I’ll have to make room in my little heart for another tiny bundle of everything.