Once in awhile, I wish my kids weren't that smart

Brock's room has recently become the toy central in our house. To the point that it has driven me to craziness and he refuses to clean his room. Not acceptable for either of us. So on Wednesday, I lost it. I told Brock that he had to clean up his room or I was going to pack up the toys left on the floor and give them away. He said...OK. What? Crud, now I have to follow through. I tried one more time. "Brock, if you want me to give them away, then you will have to get me some boxes and trash bags." "Ok Mommy, I'll get them." (in my head--NOOOO...this was a trick for you to clean up your room, not for you to turn it around on me....didn't you get the memo? I'm the Mommy.) So, Brock proceeded to grab the empty Avon boxes and the trash bags and we packed up his room. To the tune of 4 boxes, 6 trash bags. We are now having a yard sale in the next couple of weeks. I think we were both overwhelmed with his room. The books were falling off the shelves, the stuffed animals were crammed everywhere, and the drawers were filled with toy pieces and junk. We now have cleared out the books, the animals left are sentimental in value, and there are a few choice toys left in the room. We are all happier. Just in time for Brock's b-day.

We have our nights back...

Brock and Steve are really close. Brock loves to snuggle with Steve and will wait up for Steve until he comes in to say goodnight and talk. The problem is that Steve sometimes can't get to bed until 10 pm and Brock was forcing himself to stay up. We had noticed this becoming a problem but didn't realize how bad it had gotten until my mom came to visit and she read Brock books at 8 pm. Brock then asked her to leave his room because he was waiting for Daddy to come in and snuggle. That night, he was up until 9:30 pm. Because he has been staying up later and later, his personality during the day is not nice. I was seriously paying the consequences for his lack of sleep. So we have made the change. It wasn't easy but it was positive for everyone. Brock started earning "stars" when he would stay in his bed after we read him books and he was to fall asleep on his own without Daddy. The first night was loud, but he stayed in his bed. The second night, he stayed in his bed but read books until 9:30 pm. The third night, books again until 9:00 pm. So, I learned not to expect him to be asleep as soon as we leave the room but as long as he is in his room and quiet, we have succeeded. It has been almost 3 weeks and the star chart is not a necessity and he even turns out his night light when he is done reading his books and goes to sleep. The fact that Steve and I actually get to watch a tv show together at 8:30 pm is a nice benefit. This whole change has worked really well, especially since Brock has decided that he doesn't need a nap in the afternoons anymore. Unfortunately, his attitude is not so great without the nap. These transitions stink.

AZ Swimming

During our weekend in AZ, we went to my cousin's Mark house. The kids haven't been swimming much this year, since we "closed" down our pool at the house. They put on their floaties and swam like fish. Brock was really adventurous this time and swam by himself a lot. Lynzy preferred the step and to hold on me but she was still more comfortable in the water than she has been in the past. Maybe next year we will start swimming lessons for Brock.






Brock the fish

What were we thinking?

Last weekend, Brock, Lynzy and I went to AZ. My mom drove with us and this time it was a piece of cake. Thanks to Bonine (the non-drowsy form of dramamine sp?) It still took us longer than if it was a car full of adults but we made in the same clothes we started out in. That's a good thing. So, Friday we decided to brave the Phoenix Zoo. Around 10 am. In AZ. In 110 degrees. I'm surprised that my kids didn't melt. It was hot. We didn't last very long. I miss my family and I wish we had them around for the kids to see more but honestly...I am SO happy I don't live in AZ anymore. I cannot take the heat. I don't like sticking to the car seats, waiting for the air conditioner to kick in and I dread opening the car door and getting the kids out. It's brutual. I don't know how I lived in it as long as I did. Guess you just live with it. Anyway, nice to visit but I think we will skip the zoo in the summer next time.

Here we are on the train.



At the giraffe exhibit. Brock is wearing Grandpa's hat. He looked so cute.

They are actually excited to ride the train...you just can't tell in this picture.

Do we look related?

We met up with our family in La Jolla and spent some time at the Shell Beach hotel. This is a pretty good picture of my mom and me, but notice the kids aren't even paying attention. Such is life with kids.

Grandmas are great!

We have been busy the last couple of weeks. My mom and grandmother came to visit for a couple of days in August and we captured some cute pictures of the kids with Grandma Eula. They really like her. Both ask about her and Grandma constantly and when we went to AZ for a short visit last weekend, they both ran to Grandma Eula immediately. We love Grandmas!