Tennis Match #4

Last night was our fourth match of the season.  It was a beautiful night to play tennis and I was feeling good and ready to play.  My partner and I won 6-1, 6-1.  We played really well and it was probably my best night of serving since the season started.  I had a few aces and a handful more that they couldn't return.  I wish I could be more consistent and serve like that every night.  That's what I'll be working on. Even though I get to play three times a week I wish I could play more.  I look forward to each time I play.  I guess that's a good sign.  I still love the sport and I'm so thankful that I have a wonderful husband that supports me.

Sick

The boys around here have not been feeling so hot.  Last week Lincoln had an eye infection, Ricky has been battling something for weeks and Logan hasn't been able to shake his fever for the last two days.  I haven't felt well but I keep telling myself I can't get sick - so far it's working.  Today is the third day of terrible sickness around here and I think we are finally taking a turn for the better.  Ricky went to the doctor today and was prescribed an antibiotic for a bacterial infection. Type - unknown.  Logan has finally is within normal temperatures (they were between 101-104 degrees) and is not moaning 24/7.  The poor guy has all four of his eye teeth coming in so we can't tell if he really is sick or if he's just teething.  I think he's lost a couple pounds just by drooling.  Whatever it is, I hope it goes away and goes away quickly.  We are getting cabin fever and want to be active happy, healthy people.

 Got some good TV time in - watching Wow Wow Wubbzy.

 Logan doesn't often watch TV for more than a minute or two.  I could tell he wasn't feeling well because he would just lounge on the couch and watch TV or want to cuddle. Not typical for him. 

He would get little energy spurts and want to get down and run around.  I think he wanted to get out more than any of us. 

First Parent Teacher Conference

March 22nd I attended my first parent teacher conference with Lincoln's teacher.  It went very well and I learned a lot.  Here is what I learned.

• Lincoln is incredibly smart.  I'm not trying to brag.  It's just a fact.  His teacher says they are all blown away at his ability to understand concepts and respond appropriately to them.  He is well beyond his years in his vocabulary, opposites, rhyming, and his memory is incredible.  Ricky and I always suspected it but we didn't have other kids to compare him to.  
• If there is an area that he is struggling with it's his pronunciation of words. We can understand him but it's hard for others to so we need to take care of that now rather than allowing bad habits to continue.  We will also be working to help him use words to express emotions. We will be taking that to the next level. Instead of saying I'm mad and pouting, we will help him to explain why he's mad. He does this already but it's something we have to work hard to do and he needs it to be more consistent. 
• We will be getting him tested to attend kindergarten early.  He will miss the cut off by one month but I don't want him to be held back over that.  He is excited about school and I think he needs the challenge. It's a fairly involved process and it will also cover speech therapy so we will be going through that soon hopefully. 

Overall we are happy with his progress and school so far has been a very positive experience for him.

 They finally sent his snowman home.

His teacher says that he writes really fast.  Is that the sign of him potentially becoming a doctor or just being a boy?  It probably doesn't mean anything other than the fact that he's 3.

 "Y" is for yarn project. 

Conversations with Lincoln

Last week were out running errands and we went through the Jack in the Box drive through to grab dinner. Logan was starving so I immediately gave him his grilled cheese sandwich.  Lincoln got to have a few french fries and then told him he needed to wait for more until we got home in just a few minutes.  
Lincoln: Daddy, I love you.
Daddy: Thanks, bud.  I love you too.
Me: Oh, that's so sweet Lincoln.
Lincoln:  Mom, I love you too.
Me: Oh, I love you too sweetheart.  That's sooo sweet.
Lincoln: That means I get another frreeeeeennnch frrrrrryyyy!  (said in the cutest, sweetest, most innocent little voice.)

**********************

Ricky had just changed Logan's diaper and left it on the changing table because his trash can wasn't in his room.
Me (to Ricky):  Is this a poop or a pee diaper?
Lincoln: Let me take that poopy diaper.  I'm gonna put it in the poop shoot.
Me: No, it's not a poopy diaper.  He only put poopy diapers in the poop shoot.
Lincoln:  Okay.  Then where's the pee shoot?


**********************

On the way home from the air show there were streets blocked off and cones everywhere.  We were in the car when this conversation took place.
Lincoln: Look mom, a cone. (He pointed to a cone that was off in the distance in the yard of a private residence.)
Me: Yes. Good eyes, bud.
Lincoln:  I have an idea. (as he speaks in a whisper voice) Let's go at night, in the dark, and take off our socks and shoes so they don't hear us and get the cone. Then, run back and put it in our truck and take if back to our house.
Needless to say, this conversation prompted our first ever discussion about stealing.  No idea where he came up with all of that from but it made me feel sad, shocked and made me laugh all at the same time.

Luke Air Show

Luke Air Force Base is about 10 minutes from our house. Every two years they hold an air show on base.  We decided it would be a fun activity for us to go and see the jets up close since we see them flying near our house all the time. It was beautiful warm weather and a great afternoon to spend outside.  I had no idea the show was such a major event.  There were so many planes, kids activities, food vendors, performances,  that we could have spent all day there.  Knowing the boys wouldn't last more than a few hours we waited to the last part of the afternoon in hopes of seeing the main event - The Thunderbirds.
When we arrived on base (I don't have any pictures of it) we went through metal detectors and then searched by uniformed Air Force personnel. It was a neat experience for Lincoln to see active military people up close.  I think it's important for him to grow up with a respect for his country and those who serve to protect us.   We just called them army guys and Lincoln was quick to point out their big guns. They weren't hard to miss.  Here are a few pictures of our day.  We did see a demonstration of a F-22 which was fascinating and left us amazed at what technology has allowed us to do.

 An early fighter jet. 

 F-16 - These are what are currently stationed at Luke. 

 Lincoln wanted to wear his sunglasses, except in the picture. 

 A-10 - Ricky's favorite plane.

 I saw this massive aircraft land at Luke.  It was crazy.  It's the kind that carry tanks and equipment but I don't know the name of it. 

 Three different skydivers.  They had about 10 jump that day. 

 The Thunderbirds.  

 Considering this picture was taken with my iphone - I'm pretty impressed with myself. =) 

They had all kinds of really cool tricks that were timed to great music.  It was a wonderful show and I look forward to going back in a couple years. 

Visit From Cousins

We were lucky enough to have Nancee, Troy, Erica and Sadie come visit us last weekend.  We played outside, took a walk and just hung out. The kids were so excited to see one another and they played well together. It was a nice visit and we were glad they came.

Nancee, Erica and Sadie

Sadie is the sweetest and most calm baby ever!

She will eat anything - leaves, rocks, feathers, etc.  We had to keep an eye on her!

They loved the backyard.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and played outside a lot! 

 Erica taught Lincoln some ballet moves. She is quite the ballerina.

 Logan spotted new belly buttons. 

 Logan loves sweets, especially cookies.  He's like his dad that way.

 Look mom - no hands!

 Logan was very interested in Sadie and watched her closely. 

 Sweet little angel. 

Logan enjoyed a homemade muffin that Aunt Nancee made.

 Must be delicious!

 Sadie made quick work of her Easter cookie. 

These two kept each other entertained most of the time.  It was a nice break for us!

Winding down to Toy Story.  I was impressed that I could get them all to be still for a little while.

Stake Conference

Our church stake conference was last weekend.  It was a special one because we had an apostle, Neil L. Anderson, who came to speak.  Ricky attended the Saturday evening session and I went Sunday morning.  We decided to split up so that we could go and actually hear it and enjoy it without the kids.  It worked perfectly for us to switch off.  Saturday evening was very informal and Elder Anderson talked for the majority of the meeting.
Sunday morning was much more formal and we only heard from Elder Anderson for a short time.  His message was that we should not let pride get in our way of asking for help if we truly need it.  His message was more geared toward the financial aspects and the church being able to help in desperate situations and that we would never go without the necessities. It can really be applied to all other areas of our lives too.  There are time when we need help and we need to ask for it and we can't expect people to just know.  He also touched on how the church helps out worldwide, especially in times of disaster. It was great to hear.
He also had a member of the seventy accompanying him.  He also spoke (I don't recall his name) and he shared a great quote that I wrote down.  He said, "In order to take the pain out of death, we would have to take the love out of life."  I had never thought of it that way before.  It made sense.  It went on to explain that while death isn't easy to experience for those left behind, it is necessary to feel the pain as a part of healing and understanding love.
One other interesting thing is that they had the city mayor there along with the city council.  I hadn't seen that before but it was nice. The mayor spoke for a few minutes about the faith based community in our city.  I had never seen the mayor before so it was a nice twist to conference. I'm glad I made the effort to go.

Elder Neil L. Anderson

Texas Rangers vs. Colorado Rockies

One of my tennis teammates has season tickets to the local spring training games.  She gave me four tickets to the March 16th evening game.  I know Ricky isn't really interested in going and Logan wouldn't stay still long enough to make it enjoyable so I decided we would invite our friend Sarah and Joey.  Lincoln loves to play with Joey and I love to visit with Sarah.  It was a bit of a drive for them but we're so happy they made it.  We got all the usual baseball game treats (cotton candy and a soft pretzel with cheese) and enjoyed front row seats right on the left field foul pole.  We lasted about seven innings before we called it a night. Lincoln told me he wants to play baseball when he gets taller so I'm sure we'll make that happen.  It was a fun night out.

Disaster in Japan

On March 11th our eyes were glued to the news channels trying to comprehend the disaster that Japan had just faced when they experienced a magnitude 9.0 earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami that destroyed the city of Sendai.  It's terrible to see a disaster like this happen anywhere in the world but with it being in a place that you've been to it hits a little closer to home. I've always been very interested in Japan and the Japanese culture from a very young age.  I had the opportunity to visit there several years ago and loved everything about it.  I feel so bad for those affected by this.  I'm glad to hear that our church is helping, that the missionaries are all safe and that the members are watching out for each other. It's easy for us to move on since it's not our everyday reality. My thoughts and prayers are with them as they try to pick up the pieces and live through what I believe would feel like an unimaginable nightmare.  

It's now been almost two weeks since that day but I still wanted to make sure that I capture my thoughts and feelings and the pictures of the devastation that has occurred. Today is one of those days I just really count my blessings.
I had to borrow these pictures from the Internet.

Conversations with Lincoln

Lincoln and I were in the car on the way home from a baseball game last night when this conversation took place.

Me: Lincoln, will you sing the bakery song for mommy?
Lincoln: No, mom you like Justin Bieber.  (he's right, I totally think a few of his songs are fun to listen to.)
Me: Okay, then sing Justin Bieber.  (he knows a few songs from his iphone that used to be mine.)
Lincoln: I don't know it.
Me: It goes, baby, baby, baby, oh.
Lincoln: No mom!  It goes, hhhhmmmm,  hhhhmmmmm.  (of course he's referring to the intro of the song and sings it as Justin does.)
Me:  Oh ya. hhhhmmmm,  hhhhmmmmm.  Baby, baby, baby oh.  Like baby....
Lincoln: Mom, Justin Bieber is too hard to sing. Only Justin Bieber can sing Justin Bieber.

****************************

Our next door neighbor Jon has a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  Lincoln and Ricky were talking about it and this conversation followed.

Daddy: Lincoln, who's motorcycle is faster, Jon's or daddy's?
Lincoln:  Hmm.  Daddy's is faster.
(Then he paused and thought for a minute and went back to Ricky.)
Lincoln: Daddy, your bike is faster but Ben Spies motorcycle is the fastest!

It's no secret who the favorite Moto GP racer is in our house!  The race season is starting and I think Lincoln might be as happy about it as daddy.  We like to watch the races together.

Tennis Match #3

I had a feeling yesterday that I wasn't going to play well.  I was a little tired and my ability to focus lacked. My partner had jet lag because she had flown in from Chicago earlier that day.  Warm up was a little rocky so we were just ready to start the game.  We lost the first set 4-6.  We came back and won the second set 6-3.  We played a ten point tie breaker for the third set and we took that 10-5.  It made for a long match but luckily we were able to pull through with the win.  We were the only doubles to win from our team.  Thankfully the two singles players won their matches so now our team is 3-0.  We have to win 5 out of 9 matches to go to sectionals so it looks like we're well on our way!

Feeling Blue

It's done! Our weekend project is finished and Lincoln now has a blue wall in his bedroom!  I've been wanting to do this for a while and we finally got around to it.  I love it.  We talked to him about what color he wanted and he liked the idea of a blue wall.  It matches his Star Wars decor perfectly.  Shades of blue can really be hit and miss for me but I think we got it just right.  It only took two coats and we were able to do it all on Friday night - even though we didn't make it to bed until 1:00 am. Lincoln was really excited to see the finished project.  Even Ricky said he likes it.  I think the idea of warm rich colors on walls is growing on him. Our master bedroom is next, although I promised Rick that I wouldn't do it until the fall. He needs a mental break from all the color.  I have to give him a few months to get used to the blue. I give him a hard time about it but he really is a supportive husband. He actually does most of the paining and I know he does it because he know how much I like it.

Before

During

After but before we put the furniture back. 

After

We re-arranged his Star Wars posters.

The other side of his room. 

He wasn't thrilled at first that we moved Yoda from over his bed to the wall by the door but he got over it when he realized he could now see Yoda from the hall.

Spring is Here!

It was a beautiful 80 degrees or so over the weekend so we thought it would be a perfect time for the water table.  The boys love to be outside and the water table definitely keeps their attention.  It takes about 10 minutes before they realize they have more fun splashing each other than actually playing with their toys in the water.  Logan is a good sport and lets Lincoln douse him - and then they both laugh for a few minutes before doing it again. They are definitely interacting better with each other each day.  I think it will get even better when Logan starts to talk more and once they learn they can still play together without being in each other's personal space.  We're working on that. I expect that we will get a few more months of great backyard fun before it gets too hot out.

This is the process...

Watch brother soak himself and wait your turn.

Stand there while brother soaks you.

Giggle and laugh.

Wait your turn to do it again. 

He told me to put my camera away so that he could get me wet.  It was a good idea but didn't work this time. 

The face of an angel.  Even if he wasn't feeling well. 

By the end of it Logan had had enough. I wouldn't normally take pictures of my crying kids but I think he is still so adorable when he cries and I wanted to get a good picture of all those teeth!  He has two more coming in now. 

Come inside and try to get warm.  Even though it was 80 degrees Logan still ended up with purple lips after being wet.