a TEXAS-sized weekend

This post is long overdue. Sorry for the delay. A few Fridays back--May 16th to be exact--we traveled down to Texas for this cute couple's open house. Heather was my wonderful roommate back in the day and it was so good to see her again and meet her new hubby, Royce.We are so excited that they are living so close for the summer and hope to see them again soon!

Since we were going to be down there anyway, we stopped in on our good friends the Smiths. Katie and I have been friends since we were in Sunbeams. (For some fabulous and embarrassing pictures of us through the years click here.) Her oldest, Parker, and William are Sunbeams now. It's funny to think that our moms met when they were our age. The boys got along fabulously. It was so fun to visit with them and let our boys play! Plus they were so nice to let us stay the night... and even nicer to treat us to a breakfast of wonderful crepes! Thanks guys! And we couldn't leave without checking out their fantastic park:

Seriously, this park is every child's dream. You've really got to see it to believe it!

And then we headed home. We are super lucky that our boys are great travelers! The boys conked out and napped even after we got home. Later that night we dropped the kids off at Grandma's while we went out. It was our anniversary after all. Rich and I headed down to Bricktown to dine at the Spaghetti Warehouse. (Actually we were planning on eating at the Melting Pot... but we were too starving to wait an hour.)

All in all we had a great weekend!

(And a Happy belated Anniversary to you Rich... it's been the best 5 years!)

26.2 miles

We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable.

-Sir Roger Banniser, first man to break the four minute mile

Saturday Rich ran his fourth--yes, you read that right--fourth marathon. Crazy? Yes, I think so. He claims that this is his last one... but we'll see. He did awesome and had his fastest finishing time yet--4:14:56! He placed 19th for males, 2nd in his division and averaged a pace of 9:30 minutes per mile! I, for one, think that's pretty amazing!

Yea for Rich! You are awesome!

Happy Birthday, Amy!

A big Happy Birthday to my wonderfully incredible sister, Amy. She is now a quarter of a century. Wow. Hope you have a great day!

Potty Training: Days 2-7

Day 2
woke up dry
poop in pants=1
pee in pants=1
practice going to the bathroom=20
william cleaning up his mess=2
ventures out of the house=2


Day 3
woke up dry
poop in pants=1
practice=10


Day 4
woke up dry
0 accidents
1 venture out of the house (Target and Sam's with a potty break at Dad's work)
and we even had friends over


Day 5
woke up dry
0 accidents
2 ventures out of the house (Wal-mart for grocery shopping and later a "family date" to the bookstore)


Day 6
woke up wet: toally our fault. I forgot to have William go to the bathroom before bed. He is constantly drinking milk so I'm sure his bladder was nice and full to begin with. We heard him at 4:00 am come into our room. He was naked except for a pull-up. When asked why he wanted to change he said, "My spiderman pants are leaky." His pull-up was completely dry though. I later discovered a very full pull-up lying on the floor in his room. I have no idea how he managed to reach a new pull-up--they are up higher than my head!
0 accidents
2 ventures out of the house (watching Dad finish his marathon and a trip to Grandma's house)


Day 7
woke up dry
0 accidents
2 ventures out of the house (3 hours of church and a trip to Grandma's house)

Yea William!!! I think he's pretty much got it mastered now! He is even more independent and loves to get himself dressed in the morning so that he can put on his new cool underwear. He tells me, "I love underwear on me."

a picture says a thousand words

Since I know you are oh so interested in more potty updates I thought I'd give you a break and play along with this fun tag. You just google your answers and see what pictures you come up with! (Don't worry there will be another potty update).

Age at my next birthday:

Place I want to visit:

Favorite thing:

Favorite place:

Favorite food:

Favorite color:

Town I live in:

Name of a past pet:

Nickname I've had:
College major:

and then...

First job:

Goal for next year:

Potty Training: Day 1

Potty training has been a success... so far, so good. I don't know what either of us was so nervous about! Here is what our day included:
* Zero accidents
*Numerous jelly beans (for his "dry pants" checks)
*Stickers galore (for going potty in the toilet)
*Expressions like "My underwear is so cool!" and "I love my nighttime underwear" (aka pull ups) and "Why does my nighttime underwear look like a diaper?" and "Bye bye poop!" (as we flush the toilet)
*Lots of smiles and hugs
*Even a trip to Target... which included a trip to the bathroom with Dad. A trip to Target may not be a big deal to most of you but ours is a 20 minute car ride each way!
*The purchase of a toilet seat and more underwear

And this morning he woke up perfectly dry. In just a bit we're headed to story time so we'll see how we do. Hooray for William!!! You're a pro already. We're so proud of you!

hip hip hooray!

This morning, as William hopped out of the bath, I asked him a question I've asked a million times before: "Do you want to go peepee in the toilet?" But this time the answer was different... an excited YES! And he didn't really like the little potty so we jumped up to the big one. And he went #2! Then he told me that he needed underwear. Luckily we've had some sitting around for over a year. It's only been an hour (maybe less) but so far so good. Let's hope this sticks!!!

they would put me in the zoo, if they could see what I could do

This past Friday our friend Melissa invited us to join them at the zoo. Her boys are around the same age as mine so it's always fun to hang out with them. William and Josh had a blast! (And James and Jacob were surprisingly content in the strollers.) It was a perfect day to walk around the zoo--aside from the fact that every school in Oklahoma decided to take a fieldtrip there that day!

We saw baby lions being cute, a badger putting on a show, bears swimming, sealions showing off, meerkats looking for trouble overhead, and bats flying in the dark. William said his favorite animals were the elephants, lions and cougar (I told you I was brainwashing him!). James seemed to love the sealions. We also played on the playground and ride the carosel (thanks Melissa!). And, as if the zoo wasn't enough, William and I made some floating friends to play with. Although he enjoyed putting them together (except for one rather unfortunate hot glue incident) he love playing with them more! What kid wouldn't?! When I came to check on him he was soaked--as was the rest of the bathroom!

So between zoo visits and floating green frogs we've kept ourselves rather busy. I wonder what animal adventures we'll have next!

my mother

My mother says she doesn't care

About the color of my hair

Or if my eyes are blue or brown

Or if my nose turns up or down.

It really doesn't matter.

My mother says she doesn't care

If I am dark or I am fair

Or if I'm thin or if I'm fat,

She doesn't fret over things like that.

It really doesn't matter.

But if I cheat or tell a lie

Or do mean things to make folks cry

Or if I'm rude or impolite

And do not try to do what's right,

Then that really matters.

It isn't looks that makes one great,

It's character that seals your fate.

It's what's within your heart you see

That makes or mars your destiny.

And that does really matter.

My mom taught us that poem when I was 9 or 10. She taught us everyday by her example the message of that poem. My mother is wonderful because:

*She is a great teacher and is wonderful at recognizing teaching moments. For example, I remember taking baths when I was little and she would tell us scripture stories about water--Noah's ark, Gideon's army (where they drank the water), etc.

*She is very knowledgeable about gospel topics and the scriptures. I think my love for the Old Testament came from her telling me the wonderful stories in it when I was very young.

*She's great at making even mundane tasks fun.

*She has a fabulous laugh (it's even more fun to hear when she's laughing with her sisters.)

*When I was younger I was pretty sure that my mom liked everyone and only thought good of people because I never heard her speak an unkind word about others.

*She's super organized and likes to plan ahead. (Have you seen Meet the Parents? Do you remember that they had a schedule for the wedding? So did we... I still have a copy in my scrapbook.) I wish I was as organized as she is.

*When she finds good info she passes it on. I love that she's introduced me to the wonder of essential oils...

*She always has good advice... whether it's how to teach a particular lesson at church or help with my boys she always knows. She's a wealth of knowledge.

*She's really talented both musically and as a seamstress. I don't know how many formal dresses she's made but they are each beautiful. And she used to accompany us on piano all the time. I wish I could do those things.

*She's frugal... but not to a fault. When my dad went back to school (I was in 4th grade) I guess he thought he'd save some money by pulling the dandelions in the yard and having us eat the greens. My mom refused to cook them and when my dad finally did it himself she told us that we didn't have to eat them until he did. Let's just say that my dad was the only one to ever taste the dandelion greens.
*She's not only a great mom but a wonderful grandma. It's sad for me that my kids don't get to spend very much time with my mom... but the time that they do spend it great. William is always telling me things about Grandma Fisher!

I love you Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

I recommend...

Whenever Rich is out of town I like to buy a treat for myself to eat after the boys go to sleep--a kind of reward for making it to the end of the day on my own. Yesterday I was running errands and listening to the radio. I don't even remember what I was listening to but they started talking about Twinkies. I thought to myself, "That sounds so good!" Weird. I don't think I've had a Twinkie in 10 years and I know I've never bought them in my life. Until yesterday. I don't know what overcame me but I couldn't resist that golden sponge cake with a creamy filling! I recommend eating them with some fresh strawberries. So, while I don't usually recommend Twinkies I thought I'd take the chance to share with you some things that I rather enjoy. It's quite a random list of things but here it goes:

Shaklee Basic H--since everyone seems to be "eco-conscious" these days this should be popular. Not only is it organic but you can use it for ANYTHING! Seriously. From cleaning windows and carpets to washing your produce. And it comes super concentrated so it lasts forever.

pinch bowls--I totally made fun of Rich when he added these to our wedding registry. Actually he only registered for one.... luckily we received more than that. They ended up being really useful. I love to put toppings in them. If we are having tacos or something they are the perfect size to put tomatoes, sour cream, olives, etc. in and don't take up much room on the table. Everyone should have a few pinch bowls around the house. (And if you're in a crazy mood you could use them like you're on a cooking show with all your ingredients pre-measured... ha!)


apple peeler corer slicer--In high school, before I ran off to seminary, I would use this baby for one last snack to eat on the way to the church. William loves to turn the crank to cut his own apple too! And in college when I made apple pies (and I made way too many my freshman year) it took me forever to peel and slice all my apples. This handy dandy contraption saves me tons of time! (Thanks mom for getting it for me!)



Organic Mother's Milk tea--For those of you who nurse their babies (and I know a lot of pregnant women right now) you might want to try this. My sister, Amy, recommended it to me who heard about it from her mid-wife. It's awesome! You only drink it for the first week or so. (It doesn't taste bad... a little like black licorice.) With William I produced way too much milk and was engorged.... Then with James I heard about this tea and never had a single problem. I hope that wasn't too much info... but I had to recommend it!




magic eraser-- I know just about everyone uses these or at least has heard of them... but for the few of you who don't this product is amazing! It really is magic!











Scripture Scouts--We used to listen to these all the time as a kid. They're all about Skyler, Sue, Baby, and Boo (the dog) and the adventures they have in their tree house as they discover the stories in the Book of Mormon. (They also have Old and New Testament and recently I've seen one on the Proclamation but have never heard it.) They sing songs and tell the stories in a way that kids understand them--and remember them. When I was in Old Testament at BYU I used to sing the songs for my roommate (who was also in the class). Wes, I think I sang a Scripture Scouts song on a tape for you on your mission--how embarrassing! I didn't even know you yet! Anyway, I got them for this last Christmas and have listened to them a few times with William. His favorite one so far is about heroes... Ammon, in particular. Be warned they might be a little cheesy for your taste--I don't think Jeff or Rich care for them.


Charlie and Lola--This is the cutest little show ever! My sister-in-law bought it in the $5 movie bin at Wal-mart. I love it! It's all about this boy Charlie who has this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny. He uses his imagination to help her in all kinds of things. And the theme song is so great that you'll be whistling it all day long.





Tadoodles--These are the coolest little stampers. I found these on clearance at Target a few months back. William has a great time stamping away and I don't have to worry about ink getting all over his hands or my house!







freezing meals--Some days you just don't feel like cooking. That's when it's nice to have some frozen meals. We don't eat a whole ton at our house and recipes often make more than we want for dinner and/or leftovers. Sometimes I'll freeze them. It's so nice to have a quick, easy, homemade meal.



cookie dough balls--We can never eat a whole batch of cookies at our house before they start to get stale. So I usually bake a few and then freeze the rest of the dough into balls. That way we can pop in a few balls whenever the mood hits us and we have fresh from the oven cookies!


If you are a salt lover like myself then you have to try Real Salt. It is so much better than your regular table salt... and healthier too. Trust me.

What do you recommend?