On a much lighter note...

I first should apologize to any environmentalists out there because this post contains wasteful use of water. Enter the spray bottle.

Brendan loves my spray bottle and asks for it (by pointing and grunting) whenever it happens to be out in sight. Today it wasn't worth the screaming and tears if he doesn't get it, so we headed outside so he could spray to his heart's content.

I love the look of effort on his face in this picture.

A car happened to drive by and he held up his prize possession to show it off.

He had a grand ol' time and I had a good time sitting on the porch steps watching him and cheering him on.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I sure am glad that today is a new day.

Yesterday we found out that someone had stolen our debit card number and used it to purchase $313 worth of clothing from Chico's. Awesome. Chris called the bank and found out that the scoundrel actually tried to make several different online purchases but they were suspicious about them so luckily they denied them. But we still had to freeze our account, which means we have no debit cards or credit cards until they send us new ones. Normally that wouldn't be too horrible except we're scheduled to drive to Denver tomorrow afternoon. So now, we have to withdraw a bunch of cash (which I hate) and make our trip that way. Good grief.

So while Chris was at the bank getting things squared away there, I was calling Chico's to find out exactly what was purchased, who and where it was shipped to, and if they could stop the shipment. They weren't much help. They told me they can't stop the shipment because it's already in route (which is a lie, I know FedEx and UPS will both stop a shipment and return it, or even deliver it to a different address, but they weren't willing to do those things). It gets better. They told me they can't tell me who it was shipped to or where. Even though I paid for all those lovely items, I can't know where it's going or stop it from getting there. Thanks a lot, Chico's. I have to file a police report, get a case number and have the police call them about it. That's the best they could do. Jerks.

Chris at this point had called the police to figure out what we need to do about filing a report and what action will be taken (which is really minimal), and for some bizarre reason they sent a patrol officer to my house. And he just happened to knock on my door two minutes after I had gotten out of the shower. So I had to answer the door in my towel and ask the poor police man to wait a few minutes while I go get dressed. It was a little embarrassing. And he basically told me what I already know- he couldn't do anything for us since we have to go down to the station to fill out a report (which we knew) and they turn the information over to the FBI. And they are so overwhelmed by these types of cases, that our measly $313 will be a very low priority. Which basically means that this person will get away with stealing our money.

And the day just kept getting more annoying. Brendan refused to take a nap until very late in the afternoon. A person interested in renting at our complex wanted to look around my house, which I hadn't touched all day so it was a complete disaster. I was so embarrassed when she peeked in one of our bathrooms and my bathtub was still full of hair from after we cut Brendan's hair. I hadn't had a chance to clean it yet. There were toys everywhere, my sink was full of dishes, and there was a pile of laundry waiting to be folded. Oh well. We also found out our landlord won't let us sign a 6 month contract instead of a 12 month. We really do want to be in a house by early next year, so having to sign a 12 month contract was frustrating. Especially since he told us that after our initial 12 month contract, we would be month to month. That's true except he didn't tell us that they would kick us out if someone else was willing to sign a contract for it. So we signed. Grrrr.

I also got to spend two and a half hours at the DMV getting my lovely license. Mine expired in November of last year and since I waited so long to renew it, I had to take the stupid written test. And the questions were random and hard but luckily it was open book. And I got 100% on it- there's something good to report. :)

Today is going much better and I keep telling myself that our problems are much smaller compared to some. We're all healthy, we have a roof over our head, and we have lovely kind family and friends. Our terrible day helped to put things in perspective for me. I have much to be grateful for.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Brendan is such a fun little guy and I love being home with him... but sometimes he really tests my patience. During the past week, he's managed to do all of the following:

1. Colored all over our beige couch with a purple crayon.
2. Colored all over our beige couch with a black PERMANENT marker. Luckily I got to it before it could set in so the vast majority of it came out thanks to this cleaner, my absolute favorite. We are never without it.
   
3. Dumped his cup of peaches in juice all over his pants at Chris' company party. Of course I didn't have a spare set of shorts for him so he spent several hours in the hot Utah sun with sticky shorts and legs. And of course he sat on my lap for dinner, so I ended up sticky too.
   
4. Threw a case of pudding snack cups out of the grocery cart causing them to explode in the middle of the store.
   
5. Hit me in the head with his plastic golf club.
6. Threw the same golf club at the TV.
7. Refused to play on anything at the park except for the super high slide that requires a climb up a ladder and a long set of stairs. And we he got to the top, he wouldn't go down by himself so I had to climb up after him and help him, and then climb down to catch him at the bottom. We did this for a good half hour.

Ah, the joys of having a toddler. But despite it all, I just love this kid and I wouldn't change one bit of him.

What Heaven would be like for Brendan

We had some left over hot dog buns so we decided to use them up by going to the duck pond at BYU. As soon as we pulled up to the curb next to the pond, Brendan could see the ducks and started squealing with excitement. He couldn't get out of the car fast enough.

He loved the ducks and kept trying to get in the water with them. Good thing Chris was there to prevent that.

Brendan chased the ducks for a long time. It was hilarious to watch him and also tiring but mostly for Chris since I just stood there taking photos.

He was a good duck herder.

It was insane how close the ducks let you get to them. They aren't scared at all since they have been well fed for many years by human hands. It was a cool experience to have them so close. I wanted to pet one but I was too scared of having my hand pecked off.
We'll definitely have to do this again!

Life's a trip, enjoy the ride

We've all been feeling a little under the weather the past several days so things have been a bit slow for us. Brendan's face in the photo above about says it all. Just down right unhappy. And when he's unhappy, we're all unhappy. Luckily today he seemed to back to more of his normal self, despite the large about of boogers still coming out of his nose.

We headed to the park this evening to take advantage of Brendan's better mood and we had a blast. I forgot how FUN swings are. After Brendan jumped off my lap, I spent a good 10 minutes on the swing myself and I couldn't help but smile the whole time.

Brendan loved going down the slides over and over. I'm glad that he had fun. It was good to see him enjoying himself.



I can't believe how grown up he seems, but I think I say that in just about every post. But it's true... everyday he seems to be going through growth spurts. Sometimes he wakes up from a nap and it just hits me how he's a little boy. And everyday he's talking more and showing off his newfound skills. It's amazing to experience that, but it kills me at the same time. If only time could slow down just a bit.

Not much to report around here

Things have been pretty quiet for us lately so there isn't a whole lot to blog about but I thought I'd make sure that everyone knows that we're still alive and kicking here in Provo.

Brendan's been up to his normal shenanigans- getting into things that he shouldn't, hiding toys, and in general being an awesome little boy. He cracks me up every day.

He loves the vacuum for some reason. It's kind of a love-hate relationship when I first bring it out and turn it on, but his love overpowers his hate. The vacuum is a source of endless fun for him. What was even better was that I was vacuuming the couch so all the cushions were on the floor. He had a BLAST, but what kid wouldn't? Jumping around occupied most of the morning for us.

We're outside for a good part of the day so my tan is still going strong. This is the first year in a long time that I've had a tan and feels great.

Hopefully we'll have something more exciting to post next time but I'll try to be a more diligent blogger even if we don't.

Things that make me happy

1. Get-togethers with old friends

Some of us Freshman girls got to hang out this week while MaryAnn and Tara were in town. All we needed were Jenn, Bekah, Christine and Teagan. It'll be a miracle if all of us can ever arrange that, but it sure would be fun. We had a blast watching the kids splashing, catching up and eating delicious food at Thanksgiving Point. I would highly recommend the lemon shake. So delicious and very lemony.

2. Cute kids playing in water.


Isaac and Brendan had so much fun in the water. Brendan was sad to leave the water and his new friends but he actually did really well considering he missed nap time and even refused to sleep when we got home. That wasn't so fun but the rest was!
3. Little boys who love to get dirty

Brendan loves to jump in puddles, even dirty muddy puddles that are really just stagnant gutter water. He jumped right in and slipped, getting mud all over him. But he didn't mind. He cried when we dragged him back to the yard to try to clean him off.

4. Little boys acting grown up

We turned on the hose to try to get the mud off him and he surprised me by taking a drink from the hose like a big boy. I'm glad I was quick enough to get it with the camera.

5. Fun thins on to watch

My latest obsession, thanks to the Parry's, is Burn Notice which airs on the USA Network. Mom, I think this is one you'd like too. Just good ol' fashioned fun and addictive.

One of latest Netflix deliveries was Penelope, which I LOVED. So cute and well done. And even though I'm not usually a fan of James McAvoy, I loved him in this movie. Same with Christina Ricci. I'd highly recommend it anyone. It's totally a chick flick though so husbands beware. I was kind enough to watch this while Brendan was sleeping and Chris was out home teaching, although I know he would have put up with it for me.

6. House hunting

It's official. Chris and I are beginning the process of looking for a home- a real house, something we OWN and not rent. Chris has been taking care of the financial side and I've been veto-ing homes I don't like. So far we've only looked online but I think that will be changing somewhat soon. I'm extremely nervous about the whole thing but it's good to be moving forward, right? I'm expecting that this will be a long process, since I'm resistant to change and quite picky, but I'll keep everyone updated. Wish us luck!