St. George Trip

Every year we get together with Clint’s dad, step mom and step brother’s family for a fishing trip. The boys headed to the Boulder Mountains for a winter wonderland fishing trip, while Abbey the kids and I stayed back to hang out with Maia and Grandma at the house. The weather was so bad!! We didn’t even get to swim, but we managed to have some fun anyway. I was really hoping to escape the crappy weather we’ve been having back home, but no luck there. We took the kids to a bounce house, the park, a movie, out to eat, and they played a ton bouncing around furniture at Ron and Bonnie’s house. It was really fun to see Ayla and Griffin and the kids had a blast. All these pictures are in order from the last day to the first, but I’m too lazy to change it around now. We hiked in Zions and it was so cold! I couldn’t believe how chilly it was. We didn’t even pack warm clothes at all, but we managed to tough it out. Thank heavens I packed at least one pair of pants and a jacket for Bode. Clint was kind enough to let me borrow his hoodie. It’s so beautiful there and Bode loved throwing rocks into the river and looking for squirrels.

 

Bode borrowed Ayla’s binoculars and was in heaven! I have got to get him some, it was hilarious to watch him with those things.

All the kids were laughing it up in the shuttle bus. It was the cutest thing. Ayla was making crazy eyes at Bode and he was giggling so hard!! Part of me wanted to shut him up because the bus was super full, but the other part loved it because he was so cute.

Me and my cute little buster. It was like torture for him to stop and get his picture taken. Clint got him to laugh somehow.

Bode was loving all the rocks to throw. He kept wanting to hop out of the stroller to throw rocks, which was making for a long hike up! It didn’t help there were squirrels everywhere either.

The crazy squirrels are so used to people and I’m sure getting lots of food. They basically let you pet them and get right up in their faces.

Ron was holding Bode up to look at the squirrel and the lady in purple was yelling at them to stop or it would bite him.

Bode sitting in time up on that rock. Who knows what he did. I can’t even remember now.

Bode and Griff. He’s still asking about Ayla and Griffin! He misses his cousins.

Clint was showing the boys a stone fly.

All the below pictures are from the Sweet Tooth Fairy in St. George. It was the first time I had been there and my oh my! I think my favorite cupcake is the Va(NIE)la squared. Yum! We ended up going there twice the trip. I might have to drive over to Draper one of these days to get some more. The kids enjoyed the free cake bites. Especially Bode. Let me just mention Griffin and Ayla are the cleanest eaters I have ever seen. They don’t like to get dirty one bit and never get food everywhere. Ayla won’t even eat Doritos, even though she loves them, because they are too messy. Umm… Bode is the exact opposite.

These were the best pictures I got, but we took the kids to go see Rio. It’s a pretty cute movie. Bode did pretty good, although I had to take him out once for running around too much. He was much better after that.

All these next pictures are the kids at the bounce house. There was a little dinky carousel there and the kids loved it! It was so funny watching them have a good time. We basically let them ride on it until everyone ran out of quarters.

Bode had a pretty good time. It was way past his nap time and so about an hour into it he was getting mad. He sat down on this tiny chair and put his arm up to his head and it was the funniest thing ever! I got him a drink and some snacks and after a little break he was ready for more fun.

This is cousin Maia jumping at the top of a slide. I thought it was pretty cool!

The kids were able to get in the hot tub a few times throughout the trip. It was pretty cold outside, but that didn’t stop them! They each had a little cup of pop corn and Bode made sure to dip every little piece into the water before he ate it. I seriously wonder about him sometimes.

The kids loved playing with these little frogs. It was a nice break from the rocks Bode had his eyes on the entire time. Ron’s yard is covered with tiny little rocks. Bode grabbed them by the handfuls and chucked them into the pool. He also grabbed the large rocks they had for decoration and tossed one it. He threw a cup, his plate, Ayla’s toys… ANYTHING he could think of went in. He was in time out basically the whole trip for throwing stuff into the pool. He even took a rock inside the house and chucked it at a window! I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. Ron said it took him an hour to clean out all the crap Bode had tossed in the pool. Sorry Ron!

There is a little pond at the golf course in Coral Canyon and because Ron works there, we were able to fish it. We got tons of fish and Bode caught his first fish on a fly rod! Clint threw out the line and let Bode hold the rod. He felt a fish was on and so he jerked that thing up so fast! It was so crazy to me that was just his natural instinct. Sure enough the hook was set and before I knew it Clint was helping him reel it in. I was so proud of him!

What a beauty. Haha not really. I think blue gill are ugly.. not as ugly as bass though.

Ron, Clint and I were all catching fish. Bode was so excited and it was the cutest thing ever. At first he was a little scared to touch the fish, but by the end of the night he was holding each one by the mouth and throwing them back in for everyone. He gets so excited to fish!

Thanks so much to Ron and Bonnie for such a fun trip. It’s always fun to spend time with family and catch up. Abbey, Maia, Bonnie and I had some rousing games of phase 10 and rummy and I enjoyed staying up late talking. The boys had a good time fishing, although the weather didn’t cooperate and the waters were so high. I’ll post later on Clint’s pictures from the fishing part of the trip. Here’s to next years trip… we’ll have 2 boys to worry about by then!

Bode and the Flowers

Every year I look forward to Spring and the blooming of all the flowers out back. This year we got the daffodils and the tulips at the same time! They were so pretty. We enjoyed them for a few weeks and sadly, they are wilted and dying now. I am excited for the lilies to bloom soon though!

Bode picked off quite a few of the petals and the whole heads of some of the flowers. I’m not sure what it is, but he wants to be destructive all the time!

It was chilly and kinda rainy. He kept saying, “My feet are freezing cold!”

I told him to smile and realized he had a ring of mine in his mouth. What doesn’t get put in this child’s mouth?

Excited to see a rolley polley, his new obsession.

Check out the links for a stroll down memory lane.

Flowers Bode & Flowers Flowers

Mother’s Day Fishin’

Warning: This is a long post!!

Friday afternoon before Mother’s Day we headed back to Wyoming. Same place we stayed for Easter weekend. I wasn’t sure I could go bc I was getting over a nasty case of the stomach flu (thanks Bode for giving it to me!) I had been sick all night and although I was feeling so much better, I was so weak the day I was supposed to get ready and leave. I tried to get myself ready and I kept having to sit down. I tried packing and I’d have to lay down. It was very annoying! I was all dizzy and weak and clumsy. I debated back and forth if I should just stick it out or stay home.. I knew Clint wouldn’t be able to do much with Bode to look after (although he did offer to take him) and I was NOT going to stay home with Bode to watch all weekend. So I decided I’d be ok and stuck it out. I’m so glad I did! By that night I was feeling just fine, and the next morning I was back to normal.

Bode and I went swimming for a few hours while Clint fished that first night. Bode had a blast! He had 3 rapalas and a tennis ball he was throwing around loved making me go get them all. We ordered pizza in the hotel room (which was gross… I don’t recommend Scroungy Moose pizza from Kemmerer. Too bad it’s the ONLY place in town that delivers and I had no car.) I didn’t have much of an appetite anyway and Clint brought me back some of his dinner when he got back later that night. Clint and his friend Larry got into fish right at sunset and he was pretty stoked. Here are a few pictures he took.

We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to the Reservoir. It’s the most desolate place I’d ever seen! I keep wondering why it’s Clint’s favorite place??? Bode loved it and threw so many rocks into the water. We were there a few hours and he was happy as could be the entire time! Clint tied a rapala with out hooks onto the end of Bode’s line and he was in heaven, just fishing away. We didn’t have to worry about him hooking himself anywhere and it was pretty cute watching him try so hard to catch a fish.  I swear Bode is already turning into a fish head just like his daddy because he was such a good kid all day long…. obsessing over all the big big fish in the water. Clint got one fish and it was a pretty nice cutbow. Bode was so excited and kept saying, “I wanna hold that fish!” He was pretty sad when we had to let it go back home. haha.

After the reservoir we drove out to the River. We got the boat all ready to float and Clint’s friend followed him to drop off the truck down River and bring him back. It was just going to be a leisurely hour or so float and we ended up being on the river all day! It was about noon when we started and maybe 6:30 when we got back to the truck. Bode was an angel!!! He stayed right by me, mostly between my legs. I fished and Clint rowed and Bode tried to fish. He wouldn’t let that rapala out of his site and made sure it was in the water at all times! It was one of the best afternoons I’ve had in such a long time. I wasn’t expecting it to be so much fun! It was so nice just floating along and the River was so peaceful and beautiful. We stopped at one of Clint’s favorite little spots along the river. We stayed there maybe an hour and Clint caught 4 fish but only landed 2 (I think? My memory… ugh. It’s not good.) . He was pretty bummed when the 2 got away before he could net them. I have it on video and holy cow it’s so funny. He screamed into his arm one of the times. haha. Poor guy. It was SO windy and Bode almost got blown over a few times. He was so great though! He just kept throwing rocks and fishing and trucking along. He begged Clint to go into the water with him. Clint kept saying no and that it was too dangerous, but finally let him walk in. It scared Bode pretty good and he didn’t ask to go back in again!

Clint was pretty excited to have gotten into some nice fish and I’m sure he would have loved to stay at that hole all day. I was ready to get back in the boat and so was Bode. Clint was great and rowed the entire time. He was helping me to get into fish and telling me different things to do. He started freaking out about a fish he saw and asked if I could I see it. I couldn’t see it but he told me it was hanging around the surface and acting funny. He told me exactly where to cast and that I should reel it in fast and I got the fish! I don’t know who was more excited… Clint, me, or Bode. It was such a cool moment! We were freaking out and Clint was trying to be calm and tell me to give it some line, but not too much and to keep it tense and just all the stuff. I was so stressed out, especially since he had lost 2 fish before he could net them. I just wanted him to get the sucker in the net! He had to row the boat close to the shore so we wouldn’t float away from the wind and we had to make sure Bode was safe and not about to go overboard. Clint got out into the river and netted it for me. We high fived and carried on, it was seriously so much fun.

Bode was super happy and wanted to try for more fish. He was saying the funniest stuff! It was getting pretty late and he hadn’t had much to eat for lunch or had a nap. It was past dinner by this time and he was still happy as could be. Clint told him we were going to go find the truck and he was soo sad! He kept saying, “No! I wanna fish in the boat.” It was sooooo windy it was taking longer for us to get back than we thought. Bode asked for his sippy, which was in the cooler. After he started drinking that it was game over. He asked for his blanket and fell asleep right in my lap… in his waders and life jacket. I had to pry his little hand off his fishing pole, which was still in the water! Sleep fishing? Hmm. He slept maybe 20 minutes and we were back to the truck by that time. Clint got the boat unloaded and when it was time to get out Bode woke up all startled and started crying. He did NOT want to get off that boat. I lured him out by telling him he could watch a movie in the truck and he was ok after that.

Actually, he was more than ok. He was SO happy talking about all those “big big fish” and how he “frowed so many big rocks and baby rocks.”

 

It was one of the best days we’ve had in a really lone time! Once we got out of there and back to town it was about 7:30 or 8. We got dinner and then headed home. It was a long 3 and a half hour ride back and Bode was pretty cranky when he woke up really uncomfortable a few hours into it. All in all I ‘d have to say it was totally worth it!! Here’s to a life with a bunch of boys and a bunch of fishing trips!

Cleaning the Boat

We’ve taken the boat out on a few trips lately, so Clint has been parking it here. Bode loves it. He wants to go outside and play in it everyday. Clint cleaned it up the other night and Bode just had to help. It was pretty cute.

22 Weeks

I had a Dr. Appt today and all is well. Baby boy is growing and healthy. My belly is also growing. I seriously feel huge….. AH! I was so small for so long and now it’s just out of control. I dread the months to come. I’m not a fan of being pregnant. Seeing the number on the scale go up freaks me out no matter what the situation! It makes me think of all the hard work I’ll have to put in and hours running around my neighborhood to lose it all. I guess I did it once and I can do it again! I’m seriously glad everything is good with the baby though.

(I just love Bode’s tackle box on the bed. Clint had to convince him it was not a purse for hours. He finally calls it a “tacka box.”)

(Notice my beautiful orchid in the background!!!! Clint got me that a while back and it’s not dead yet! )

I think I’d be more excited, but today has NOT been my day! Bode threw up this morning all over my bathroom while I was trying to get ready. I chalked it up to “Bode throws up all the time he’ll be fine.” I didn’t have time to drop him off to my grandma’s before my appointment since I was running so late.. so I had to bring him with me. I was almost to the hospital when Bode throws up all over the truck. It was everywhere. I would have been on time, but I spent forever trying to clean up throw up with diaper wipes. Lucky for me I had packed an extra pair of shorts and underwear incase he had an accident at my grams. I had a jacket that steered clear from the mess as well. So he wore a jacket with no shirt underneath and the spare shorts. He wasn’t really acting sick, but it wasn’t very fun being at the Dr. with him.

She was late (as usual.) It made me wish I would have just dropped off Bode and been late. We headed to my grams after the appointment and he played and played. It was a beautiful day and they had people working on their new fence, so we stayed outside most of the day. Bode didn’t eat anything all day long and only drank a few sips of water. My gramps fed him a few pieces of chocolate.. but he wasn’t interested in any food. He ended up falling asleep on the couch with me for a few hours. I woke up with a dead arm and sore neck, so I got up and he stayed sleeping for another hour. He was pretty darn happy once he woke up and it was 4:30 by this time. My grandparents weren’t even home because they had to leave for temple, so Bode and I hung out until Clint got off work and met us there with the spare car seat. The other one was hosed off and drying in the front yard piece by piece.

Clint let me go shopping and do whatever I wanted and was going to take Bode to a fly fishing shop. It was nice to run a few errands, sans Bode, but not long into it I get a phone call. Bode had thrown up the chocolate and water all over the spare car seat on the way home. AHHHH!!!!! I am not even kidding when I say that Bode has thrown up literally HUNDREDS of times his lifetime. Every time he throws up it’s not just a little bit. It’s like 6-10 times until his belly is completely empty and he’s dry heaving. We have dealt with so much throw up during his lifetime it’s just ridiculous! I feel so sad for him, but so sad for us at the same time. I was able to talk to the surgeon who worked on him during the whole dime mess and he did tell me that he is going to be a lot more sensitive than the normal kid. Throwing up a lot is Bode’s normal I guess. The poor thing is just miserable right now. He’s begging for dinner, more milk, cheerios, banana bread… any food he thinks of! He must be starved, but we can only let him have water or Gatorade for now. Nursing a sick stomach back to health is just awful, but if we don’t take it seriously then he’ll just keep throwing up for days. It’s a vicious cycle. Clint just got him to sleep so hopefully tomorrow is better! This time I’m pretty sure it’s a stomach bug. Poor thing.

I really wish this healthy, beautiful baby boy #2 that I am growing in my belly doesn’t throw up EVER! Here’s to hoping, right?

Easter

We had just pulled into town for my grandma’s Easter dinner from being in Wyoming. I didn’t even take one picture! Like I said in the previous post… we missed her Easter egg hunt, but we did have a hunt the next day in our front yard. Bode was all about it for a few minutes… then he wanted to get in the boat, which was parked on the curb. It was pretty funny because he left 1/2 the eggs sitting around and Clint had to go and gather them all up.

 

He realized really quick that he could pick up more eggs if Clint was holding his basket for him.

After the 2 second hunt, Bode was helping Clint clean off his fishing gear. He’s always right by your side to help out!

I have no pictures, but this little guy was pretty spoiled for Easter. My parents got him a basket, my grandma B got him one, and we got him one.  We had so much candy it was insane. I ended up throwing out most all of it, but we did eat more than our share. I made the mistake of buying a bag of dove chocolates …. for Bode’s basket, right? Um wrong. They were for me and that was a very bad mistake! There were about 10 pieces left and once I realized I basically ate the whole bag by myself I threw out those last 10. He also got a bunch of other stuff besides candy. His favorite was a dinosaur toy from my parents. He slept with that thing the first week! He also had fun with legos and some toy story toys. He’s so funny about most toys, he’s never been much of a toy child. Dinosaurs and fish toys are his favorites and the only thing so far he won’t forget about in 5 seconds.

(Bode is obsessed with wearing Clint’s hats… most of the time multiple hats at once.)

We got him this T-rex, but honestly he hasn’t played with it as much as the little plastic one from my parents. Clint also got him a rapala and cut off the hooks. That has been attached to his little fingers since the second he got it. He always knows where this thing is!

 

I’m excited for next year’s Easter. We’ll have two little boys!! Ahh!