Messy Little Monsters

Lately I feel like I am fighting a losing battle when it comes to keeping my house clean. It feels like there is junk everywhere and all I do is move it around. The laundry remains my worst enemy, and is never done. I remember the days when I only had one kid and I mopped my floors everyday and I was always caught up on the laundry. I cling to those memories so I don't feel like a total loser when I can't remember the last time I actually cleaned my bathrooms. Addison and Jace do their best to try and keep things neat and tidy-thank goodness for that. Otherwise, we might have a real disaster on our hands. I put Addison down for a nap in the portacrib in Bradan's room the other day, because I did not want to risk her waking up Jace, who was sleeping in their room. She laid right down and I never heard a peep, but this is what I found when I went to get her up. Apparently she could reach the desk and a marker from her little baby cage, and decided to have some craft time before her nap. I love how she is trying to pretend she is upset about her artwork. She was not upset, but did let me know several times that she was "only supposed to draw on paper." She even drew on the bottoms of her feet, but not her clothes.

Then, about an hour later I was taking a poopy diaper to the outside garbage can when Jace decided he was hungry and pulled Addison's spaghetti Os off the table. I guess until I strike it rich and hire a maid, I just have to learn to embrace the fact that boring people have clean houses.

Week in Review...

Summer vacation is over, and "normal" life is back in full swing. I wish the heat left with my sanity and semi-clean house. These are some of the main happenings from our week...

• Tate and Bradan came home from KY on July 30. They started school on the 31st, and just finished up their first full week.



• Jace finally slept in his own bed in the room he shares with Addison. We are still adjusting to keeping them in the same room and asleep at the same time.



• Bradan had his first cub scout den meeting. He was super excited and will be earning his Bobcat at this month's pack meeting.



• Nathan and Tate went to the Phoenix Zoo with their scout den.



• Bradan went shopping with Grandma and Grandpa for his scriptures and CTR ring. Turning 8 has some serious bonuses.



• Grandma and Grandpa brought pizza over for dinner and spent some time visiting with us.



• Jon and I got to attend Ward Temple night together, for the first time in months.



• I got to go to the cannery and help can spaghetti sauce.

HALF-WAY!!!

Yesterday, Jon finished up his last final for his second block of the RN program. So that means he is HALF-WAY done! He has worked really hard and put in a lot of long hours studying. We appreciate the sacrafices he makes for our family and are very proud of him. 2 down 2 to go!

Bradan is 8!

I can't believe that Bradan is 8! It seems like yesterday that I was waddling my big, pregnant rear end around the block, praying that "tonight" would be the night. At about 34 weeks my dr. examined me and told me I was dilated to a 3. Holy cow! With Tate I hadn't dilated at all until the day he was born. This kid must be coming any day. I was in the YW presidency at the time and was scheduled to go to girl's camp, at the end of June. It wasn't far from home and I was tough so I decided to go ahead and go. Maybe it would put me into labor. No such luck! I made it the whole week-sleeping on a cot and using an outhouse. I came home and began my nightly walks hoping to encourage the process-with no luck. My due date was July 14th and no baby, July 16th was a full moon-that would be the night-still no baby. Finally on July 17th I went into labor about 11:30pm. We drove to the hospital and by the time we got there I could barely walk. I had not had an epidural with Tate and I had no intention of doing that again, but just my luck I was too close to delivering. No epidural-AGAIN! Needless to say, I was not happy. Bradan was born at 2:50am on Tuesday July 18, 2000. He weighed 8lbs. and 14oz. What a cow! He wanted me to know who was in control and that he would come when he was good and ready. He still likes to torture me on a regular basis, but I love him anyway.

8 GREAT things about Bradan

1. He is very artistic. He loves to draw and write stories he has made up.

2. He is pretty carefree, which I am so jealous of. He didn't inherit my anxiety. His main concern is when he is going to get to eat.

3. He LOVES lasagna! He always tells me that I am a good cook.

4. He does a great job with homework.(most of the time)

5. He loves to build things with Legos.

6. He loves his friends.

7. He is a big sports fan. (Most of the time rooting for the opposite team as Jon)

8. He is a super cool kid and we all love him very much!
My sweet little baby, just a few days old.


Always into some kind of trouble

Bradan decided he was a cowboy at the age of 2.

He loved horses and anything to do with the wild west.

He would watch the old black and white, John Wayne cowboy

movies. And knew all about the old west outlaws.

Summer Fun

With Tate and Bradan in KY visiting their dad, our summer's around the Jarvis home are always relatively quiet. It is a nice time for Jon and Nathan to hang out and spend some quality time together. This year they went camping up on the Rim. They reported some nice bonding time and pretty weather. It looked like so much fun that I want to take the whole family when everyone is home.

Binky Babies

A couple of weeks ago we got Jace a "big boy" carseat. He was so ready to be able to sit up and see what was going on. I love this age when they start doing all kinds of new stuff and everything is a big deal. So here are my big kids-Addison with all of her paraphernalia-binky, bear, cup, and always shoes(which you can't see in the picture). She wears her flip flops 24-7, unless she is in bed. And the binky, she is too big and I know it. But I am too chicken to try to take it away. So for now I will just enjoy having 2 binky babies.

4th of July Fun

Jon's brother Jim and his wife Sandra hosted their annual 4th of July bash. It is always loads of fun and this year was no exception. We celebrated with the short end of our crew. All the big boys were off partying with their other families. Jon, Addison, and Jace had fun swimming. I was a party-pooper and opted out. Jace has no fear of the water. He wants to dive right in and must be restrained constantly. Addison on the other hand is pretty nervous of just about anything-she takes after me. But she did pretty well and even shocked everyone and decided to be a little bit social, playing basketball with Uncle Jim, Colin, and Jereme. We ate some good food and had homemade ice cream. Yummy! Jon dreams about Sandra's homemade Oreo ice cream all year. It is his favorite! We stuffed ourselves until we could barely move. We all headed over to Banner Desert to watch some fireworks. Addison was a little afraid at first because the fireworks were "noisy", but she relaxed and enjoyed the show.

I am grateful for people like my older brother Preston, my good friend Christopher, and so many others who defend our freedoms and keep us safe. I feel blessed to live in a country where we are free. Happy Birthday America!