LaKe vAcaTioN

  morrison reunion
  our family loves home back in montana, echo and flathead, our two favorite lakes.

   ko loves the water, e hates it. ko and g-ma rode the tube behind the boat, and fell off.

  canoe rides, playing with baby crabs,relaxing.

  pig roast, and game night.

we did a hid and seek/trading post for the sprouts.

traditional midnight swim... burrrr!

echo lake

the cabin
judy, twins, madison, drew

canoe ride with g-ma
pregant shawnie on the floaty

she says it's comfy

e's jacket is so huge 

he kept falling over forward

ko, twins
parker (big cole's little girl)
hula hoop war
mckenna and kelsey
ko and madison take a turn

"allicator" floaty time
my beautiful mom and a very tired e
he finally jumped and swam!!!! yeah!!!
"all by myself"

pig roast
'this is my piece'

my g-ma
auntie lori, kindest person i know

big cole (my cousin, and person i stole my ko's name from), wife amanda, and parker

midnight swim,

flathead, our lake

the old lake house, new owner howie long

 cherry and apple orchard

yard behind the house, oh we miss this place
good bye montana!

ReD, wHiTe, and bLuE

happy fourth of july!

"i am thinking about the cupcakes"

fireworks are loud

snakes are less noisy

sparklers

noise

ry-guy

(applause for the firework show)

sAy WhAt?

said of as late by ko

"mom, you are a good brother"
"shirt get on my head"(told to his shirt as he's getting dressed)
"don't sass me!"
"it's not macaroni and cheese, it's gackaronie and sheeze"
"i miss you" (even though i am standing right there)
"e, your a good little chipmunk"
"the grinch is in my closet, i need to sleep in your bed"

e: ma ma
ko: ethan has a question

"mom, that kid was fighting on me" talking about when a kid hit him
"horses don't poop, only pee #1"
"i want a blue chocolate milk" meaning 2% with the blue lid

"when you are done, turn your plate over"

peek a boo

"i bet i can fit more food in my mouth than you "

wHeeLeR fArM wItH fRiEndS

 wheeler farm had fun afternoon activities going on today: train rides, booth events, blow up jumpers, and much more. ko had fun playing the his friends and e was stuck in the stroller.

"i can throw this far"

goofy guys
nice noodles
i want to make noodles too
how does it do that?
look!
the train

the girls!

mom....she is touching me.....make it stop!

french fries make the stroller a happier place

the stroller club

FisHinG

don't you love it when you called to the bathroom unexpectedly?........

and when you get there, a half naked boy is there pointing inside the toilet.....

and when you look inside there is not only number 1, and number 2, but also your son's favorite toy car.............

is this really a part of my job requirement?

thank goodness for whoever invented dishwashers.........and anti-bacterial soap.........

PotTy TiMe

apologies in advance

there is a routine before bedtime.

 bath, jammies, chocolate milk, read a story, and brush teeth. 

the very last thing is go potty to avoid accidents. 

 ko lately has 'pretended' to go potty.

he shuts the door and plays around with the sink and flushes the toilet 16 times.

so i usually check on him. i was in the kitchen making cupcakes before i decided it was time to check on him.......of coarse he was messing around.

  i decided to stay in the door way and watch him go potty like they do in prison. he's sits on the potty for a long time before i tell him he's done, to flush the toilet, and wash his hands.


him: no i'm not, done.
me: yes you are, hurry up.
him: no mom, there is a poop in my bum.
me: oh....okay.
him: it's a big poop.me: oh really (tmi)
him: ya, it's a giant.........it's going to "break" the house...haha ha ha ha
me: (laughing hysterically.............."where does he get this stuff")


as he flushes the toilet he sends his "giant poop" off with sound effect.

BOYS!

TrUsT, pRaY, LiVe

Things Work Out By:

President Gordon B. Hinkley

“It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. … If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers” (Jordan Utah South regional conference, priesthood session, 1 Mar. 1997).

SiBlinGs

my mom is in china and my siblings are in town.  they all have birt-days in june. with no one home to make a cake we took cupcakes over after practicing many attempts to make a batch that didn't burn, deflate, or look like over-sized mushrooms.

ry-guy and mae

v

tHiS iS a BaSkEtbAlL

'basket ball'

 by ko.

 fantastic!

i Am ThE bEsT

i have been running ragged for a couple weeks.....okay, a couple months, and it's been catching up with me this week. i feel like a walking zombie, with a bad attitude about myself, so today i decided i didn't want to be that way anymore. so when i went to go pick up ko from school and was feeling tired, i started singing a made up tune with the words, "mommy is the best", over and over again in my best impression of a four year old. i kept singing it varying the tune, it was catchy actually. i didn't expect ko to react but he started singing a response to me saying, "i'm not, i'm not, not me, i'm not the best.....only mommy is, not me". the tune was very light and upbeat, he obviously does not know what "being the best" is. i didn't care, i was just glad to finally be the best.....and have my 4 year old agree with me. (grin) it left me with a big smile for the rest of the day whenever i thought about it. p.s. what is going on with the goggle trend in my house? obviously it's great for coloring.

ReAd mE a BeDtiMe StOrY

our favorite book as late,

'if i obey, i'll be happy all day.'

ko loves to read stories in momma's

bed before night time.

these sweet moments 

are ones i won't

soon forget.

WaLkiNg

we love to watch e walk

bAtTle lOsT

 one year has passed since wE started oUr cancer battle.  wE continue to struggle with the effects after.  i never would have understood terminal illnesses without going through it personally.  oUr friend and neighbor just lost hIs battle with cancer.

four houses down, same age, with one little boy the same age as oUr oldest. 

  hE had cancer the year previous and was starting remission when dan was diagnosed. 

cancer connected Us as friends and allies.

wE got the 'all clear' in november, 

and tHeY got word on reoccurance.

six months since, 

yesterday hE passed away.

oUr connection through cancer makes mY heart ache

for the pain, sorry, and suffering 

tHeY both endured.

 each day wE have is important.

example is everything.
eternal perspective is everything.

hApPy BirThDaY

ko, u are 4!

wE had a party with all yOuR friends

and family who loves u.

ChEeRs......BiNk!

 ~bAbieS dOn'T dRiNk CoOk~

i shared a coca-cola with ko-ee. 

hE said, '"mmmm, this is good cook!....i looooove cook!".

it made mE laugh.

 e-fan wanted some and reached for the drink. ko turned to e and said, "no e-fan no! babies don't drink cook!".

ko has always been funny about drinks. for as long as hE could drink out of hIs own cup and talk hE has been saying "cheers .....bink!" with the 'bink' being high pitch.

at holidays wE perform 'cheers' by clinking oUr glasses together before wE drink sparkling cider, hence the 'bink' noise.

so now wE must 'cheers' to everything; drinks, sometimes food on a fork, and always to follow he will say....BINK!

wHaT cOloR iS yOuR CiRcLE?

ko talks about "hIs circle".

it is the secret language of a 3 year old.

today was busy. wE were rushing around until dinner.

ko was playing with hIs toys but suddenly stopped and began to stare at mE.

hE ran up to mE jumped on mY leg and held on tight and said, 

"i love you very much".

 i stopped what i was doing, and picked hIm up.

what a sweet boy.

i got him ready for bed and laid next to hIm.  i pointed to mY chest and told hIm it made mY heart happy that hE was such a good boy.

 hE laughed.

"mom, that is not a heart", hE corrected me, "that is a circle".  

hE made a circle motion around hIs heart. 

"yOuR circle is purple and mInE is blue", hE explained.

"so yOu are telling mE there is no heart in there?"
"no, just a circle!"
hE said hIs "circle" was really happy.

this made mY circle really happy.

HeAd wOunD

 True story of a sprout sent to the emergency room by
Thomas the Tank Engine and his very useful friends.

We came home from the gym a sweaty mess late and cooked dinner. 
I had a client coming over for a haircut. 
 Our floor was covered in "deadly" toys.

The older children went outside to mess up the garage. I discovered this as I tried to get to the car with a bleeding child...

While E was watching baby Einstein he was also walking around. 
He tripped on something and fell into Thomas, his friends and the eight million additional pieces you need to have for a successful train experience....

He stood up (screaming). I saw it, a hole, right in his head. Not very wide, but it was deep. 

I decided a trip to primary's hospital was worth the long drive to minimize a potential scare.  
Sound like paranoia? Yes!
but
 One look at my own forehead and anyone would understand. Three bad stitches and a lifetime of people asking, "where did you get that knife wound on your head"?

We sat in the waiting room close to 3 hours. 

Another 2 hours waiting in the room we were assigned and some super glue applied to his head we were released to go home.
  It was a 'one minute fix'.
WHEW!

Moral of this story: Thomas and his friends are not very useful engines!