writing from pacific time

Things were pretty slow and quiet around here after our friends left. We have another week of break so I'll have to come up with something to keep the kids busy. We didn't do anything terribly exciting for St. Patrick's Day besides wearing green, drinking leprechaun (green) milk, and eating other green things all day. My allergies have been bad for the last few weeks. I woke up feeling pretty rotten on Friday and decided to take a nap while Liv napped (and the boys were playing downstairs) that afternoon. When I woke up, I could hear Liv awake in her room and when I went in to get her she had taken off her pants, unsnapped her onesie, her diaper was on the floor and her bedding was a little wet (of course I had just laundered her bedding the day before). I have never had a child take off a diaper before. I guess things could have been much worse so I'm not complaining. I gathered all of the wet things and headed through my kitchen to the laundry room. Since I was still groggy and feeling like junk, I almost stepped on a huge mess in our kitchen. Hewitt had tried to get something out of the pantry and knocked a glass jar of salsa onto the floor. The broken glass and salsa was all over the floor and I was a little bothered that not one of the boys came upstairs to get me. It made me wonder if they will ever reach the age when I will dare leave them home alone without a sitter, and it also reminded me of why I don't nap!


Something I have not posted about yet is our basketball court. The cement is looking good (there is only one area that hasn't completely dried yet and then I'll take a photo). When our friends were here, Rob and Tom put up the pole/post that holds the hoop and the four of us managed to get the backboard mounted on to the post. The backboard is very heavy (over 250 pounds) and we were happy to be able to do it without having to rent a lift. After getting the heavy board up, the only thing left was to screw the orange rim to the backboard. I had gone inside to get lunch ready or something and suddenly heard an unusual yell from Rob. Apparently the backboard should have had something (a rubber square I guess) between the rim and the backboard, which it didn't, and so when Rob went to screw the metal rim onto the glass the entire board shattered!

It was pretty sad. It sort of knocked the wind out of our sails since we had been so excited about it just seconds before. We had to go through the process of getting the heavy board down again, and obviously it set the hoop playing back a week or two more. The GOOD news is that the company is sending a replacement out without us having to buy a new one (which we certainly shouldn't have to). This was an expensive "investment" for our family, so we are relieved that we aren't out any more money.

Rob did a lot of yard prep yesterday. He ripped out the lawn curb in the back while I went to the nursery to price things out and get a final plan for what we will be planting back there. We are a little behind schedule, but we hope to have the backyard finished before April. p.s., We are planning to plant a peach tree and I'm so excited about that.

When I got home from the nursery, I found Tosh running around looking like this:

This kid makes me laugh. He was having fun playing with the hose and dirt.

Another thing I haven't mentioned is that Liv is (over) 22 months now. That means 'two' is just around the corner. Crazy! She got her first ear infection, post tubes, this week. She woke up with a crusty ear and needed some drops. I was hoping the tubes would be the end of the infections. I guess they are doing their job though.

Anyway, Liv keeps growing up whether I like it or not. :) She has an interest in the potty and likes to sit on there (sometimes) even though she hasn't done anything on it yet... She loves to be on the trampoline as long as no one else is on it (I don't allow anyone to jump at the same time anyway), and she only likes to jump if she can hold onto someone's hand. She is on there more than our boys lately. I love the cute "oooo" face she is making here:
I think she looks older in this next shot. I love this orange and pink dress that Santa brought her. I think it looks sweet with these leggings (from Aunt JA, I think?):
That girl still loves her Bunny:
(and look, I'm branching out into some new hair-dos)

Even though I wasn't feeling awesome (I have a sinus infection now and went to get antibiotics after church today), Rob and I went out on a little date last night (it was a free babysitting trade with my friend). We grabbed some dinner and went shopping at The Rack and the Chandler Mall. Rob really made me feel loved because:

1. We left during the first half of the BYU basketball game! I offered to cancel and he insisted that we could watch the game after we got home as long as we didn't answer any phone calls or do anything that might reveal the score.

2. He really spoiled me and I got some clothes and three pairs of shoes! I wasn't really planning of buying anything, but even Rob can't resist a good deal. (only $27 for all three pairs of shoes at Nordstrom Rack!). Thanks sweetie!