You snooze, you lose

Christmas season is our favorite around here, but monsoon season is a close second.  The stunning lightning shows and falling asleep to the sound of rain pouring down is something we look forward to all year long. It usually rolls in during the evenings, but this morning we woke up to cloud cover and a good healthy pour.  Kylie and Jayden have decided they are teenagers and will sleep half the day away if I'd let them, but Maddox and Ryder are up like clock work at 6:35am and were so excited that they got to play in the rain.  I was forbidden from singing, "rain, rain go away" because Maddox was worried the rain would hear. He also got a balloon and funnel to collect the rain so that he could keep it with him always and forever.  Kylie and Jayden were so disappointed when they woke up 3 hours later to blue skies.  You snooze, you lose.  (Personally, I wouldn't have minded an extra 3hrs of sleep, but that's just me). 

the good news is, google told me I'm not going to die of lip cancer

Our first week of summer was the stuff that dreams and Disney movies are made of.  Then we had some pretty awesome vacations.  And then I assumed I could take the rest of the summer off, but kids don't seem to work that way.  So here we sit...hot, sweaty, bored and grumpy.  And then I come down with this lip condition.  For the past month or so my lips have been burning, red and raw.  It hurts to eat and the Harkins popcorn that is my reward for taking the kids to the summer movies is now out of the question.  What's a girl to do?  I am constantly lubing up with petroleum jelly but it just keeps getting worse.  I've had so much sun damage done to my lips that I was convinced I had lip cancer. I would lay in bed wondering what I'd look like with my lips amputated, and that I really should start on those video logs for my kids to watch after I'm gone.  I finally got the courage to google it, and much to my relief discovered that it was most likely an allergic reaction. Or diabetes. Or an STD.  I went with my gut on that one and decided it had to be an allergy.  One chat board mentioned an allergy to petroleum jelly and suggested trying Aquaphor instead.  I tried it and I feel like a new woman.  I am so happy to have my lips back.  And to not be dying of cancer.  So, this past week I had my lips on fire, a canker sore the size of a moon crater, and a constant pain in my neck and shoulder from what I am certain is a torn muscle from wakeboarding (hypocandriach, say whaaat?).  Soooooo....I decided chronic pain makes me irritable so that mixed with the already touchy mood in the Young household has made for a less than stellar mom performance this week.  I decided we needed to get out of the house (and not to wal-mart with all 4 kids again. shudder. no never again) and bowling it was.  It was just the remedy, the kids (and I) had a great time.  Jayden was so sweet to always help Maddox and didn't get {too} mad when he lost, which is saying alot for a kid with such a competitive nature. After such a fun day, I didn't feel quite so guilty that we went home and watched tv the entire rest of the day.

Kool

Jayden has been all about the GTL lately.  It started with his tanning obsession, then the other day we're heading out and he struts down the stairs with his hat on backwards, shark tooth necklace and looking for his sunglasses.  He was very disappointed that we didn't own any black leather jackets.  He took his skateboard out for a few rounds and came back dripping in sweat and told me, "don't worry mom, I've still got the moves".  He's also implemented a daily regimen of benching pressing barbie storage bins, trikes and little tyke basketball hoops, mixed in with a little jump roping, kung fu practice on the tramp and anything that will give him bigger muscles.  I finally asked him why he was so worried about this stuff and he looked at me like I was crazy, "Um, you know...school is starting next week and, um, that girl I like might be in my class."  Later we were driving down the road and he spotted a convertible and as an after thought said, "one day I'll have one of those so the girls will like me and the guys will want to be me...."  Oh Jayden, you don't need a leather jacket or bigger muscles to be cool, you're already one of the coolest kids I know.

Life lessons learned from a Sunday night home video viewing

*people age in 13 years.  Like alot
*those early years were just a glorified game of playing house
*cargo pants are not a flattering look.  Especially when it's a staple in both his and hers closets
*contrary to popular belief, kitchens can be decorated with something other than sunflowers
*"smokey eyes" does not mean a thick layer of dark shadow all the way up to your brow bone
*overalls should never come back in style, no matter how comfortable they are during pregnancy
*never allow video taping while opening gifts, it elicits the need to act overly excited about pillows and picture frames
*baby gap is generally not considered a high end clothing store
*Kiddie Kandids is generally not considered a high end photo studio
*is it offensive when your husband raves about how nice you used to be?
*ratting your hair is not a religion and should not be treated as such. In addition, there is a maximum height restriction that should be strictly observed
*Never buy used couches from a male apartment complex remodel.  As in never.  No matter how cheap they are
*child birth really does widen your hips
*it is not necessary to document on tape every ride at Disneyland, and especially not the shuttle bus driver and neighboring passengers. 
*the Disneyland over taping discussion may still be a sore spot in your marriage, even after 13 years
*avoid making innuendos and inappropriate comments while video taping during your honeymoon because some day your kids will be watching it and you will have a lot of explaining to do
*never say on tape that you really hope your first born is a boy when you do not know the sex of your unborn baby
*it is not required to flash your bare pregnant belly to the camera, even if it is your firstborn
*be careful what you say, because one day you will look back on these times and be equally emberassed.

A Safford 4th of July

Ai-yo!  I'm getting blisters on my fingers from all this blogging, but I'm finally caught up.  The majority of my blurb book is going to be this summer alone.  Without any further ado, here comes another monster post....We barely got the car unpacked and laundry done before it was time to load up again for another road trip, this time to celebrate the 4th in Safford, Az.  As we were making the 2 1/2 hr road trip over windy mountainous roads with a baby who had been crying for the past hour and a carsick boy who was sure he was going to barf at any moment and an ominous sky that promised rain for the next three days, I began to wonder if my great idea wasn't quite so great afterall.   

And then we pulled up to this adorable little cabin, which the kids thought was better than the Ritz, and decided it was going to be a great trip afterall.  We picked Safford because they have these cute little camping cabins at a state park there. Two rooms, 4 beds, air conditioning, electricity, cockroach infested outhouses (oh wait, we're focusing on the positive here...they did have clean bathrooms with showers that were only a hop, skip and a jump away) and at only 50 bucks a night it was the perfect set up for a borderline camping family. We grilled up hot dogs and hamburgers (boo for fire restrictions) and had a late night game night with licorice and LMFAO echoing from the single rafter. 

6:45 AM found me and the little guys out on a pajama clad nature walk.  Then we spent the majority of the day swimming in the lake, catching turtles and frogs, setting fish traps with Ritz crackers and playing in the mud.

I thought we were off the hook from the rain, but late that afternoon it started rolling in.  There wasn't much else to do but drive around on a self guided tour of this one horse town.  It didn't take long.  The temple was a highlight and Wal-mart was a distant second. We took advantage of the cooler weather and went back to the campground to hang out in the natural hot springs.

I googled different camping food recipes before we left and, for the love of bacon we ate good.  We loved the tinfoil dinners with the apple cinnamon tin foil packet dessert and the beautiful sunset was the perfect backdrop.

I was nervous all day that the wind and rain would spoil the fireworks, but the weather pulled through.  Even though there was a 90% chance that we could see the fireworks from the campground, I insisted on front row seats.  We haven't seen big fireworks in years and they just so happen to be one of my favorites.  So I woke Ryder up at 9:00, drug the kids away from their flashlight frog hunt with their new friends, was glad Jason was such a good sport, and  into town we went.  For a town that boasts more Dollar Generals and Family Dollars per capita than any place I know, they put on a pretty darn good fireworks show.  It was worth the hour it took for Ryder to get back to bed after being all hopped up on fireworks.  We enjoyed our last night in our cozy little quarters before heading back home the next morning.

The day after we got back we headed to the lake since Jason had the day off.  I feel like I should apologize for so many lake pictures, but I won't.  I love documenting the progress the kids are making on the wakeboard and I love all the memories we're making on those waters.  Kylie is perfecting her jumping and Jayden was determined to catch some air too and he did just that.  Jayden puts on quite a show when he's out on the water.  He throws out peace signs to passing boaters (the younger guys always get a kick out of it and cheer him on, which only encourages him more) and is so funny in his own little Jayden way.  I love how those two cheer and encourage each other.  Jayden's always shouting, "Yeah guuurrrrrllll!!" and "show that wake who's boss" while doing a little tribal dance.  At one point Kylie had a huge wreck and he told her he would sing I Am a Child of God or Party Rock Anthem (because they're pretty much the same) to get her "spirit back in". 

Safford didn't allow sparklers (but we did get good weather and a fireworks show, so 2 out of 3 isn't bad), so we saved the sparklers for that night after the lake and it was a great grand finale to one of my favorite holidays.