Tyson

My precious Tyson

Wow! He has grown up so much. Tyson is 2 &1/2 and potty training! he will have really good days, but then has those bad days, where he will constantly have accidents. So he wears pull ups when I don't want to deal with underwear for the day, but I'll still have him go potty often. he will also go poops in the potty, if I catch him in time! yay! :) I have to be on the constant look out for any signs of him needing to go. It is kinda stressful and time consuming, but I'm hopeing all the hard work will pay off soon.

I'm a big boy!!!

He thinks he's so cool in his big boy underwear!

Our dog ripped up a ball outside, and the parts have become Tysons' favorite toy. He puts them on his head like hats. He makes me laugh :)

Court

I am so upset right now! As some of you know we took our previous landlord to court for not returning our deposit of $500. Our court date was yesterday morning. We didn't recieve our deposit back. I have never known anyone who is as dishonest as Tony Loosle, ever in my life! He said we had $1400 in damages and over $900 in late fees. He also forged Brents' signature on a lease agreement! the Judge could see that, and compared signatures, but still went off of what Tony and his lawyer said.

At the beginning we even had to raise our hand and promise to tell the truth. This was real court! I just can't believe how people can lie and cheat and be okay with it. Seriously? We were never notified of these damages or fees, ever, while we lived there, or even after, until we started trying to get our money back. Which none of what he said was true at all! I cleaned that place from top to bottom and even fixed damages that were done previously. I replaced blinds and had the carpets professionally cleaned, which we paid for! We never once missed a month of rent.

I feel like all my work was pointless, and all the time and energy I've put into getting our deposit back was worth nothing! We do not have to pay the money he says we owe, unless he tries to take us back to court. Then we will be able to get a lawyer for free, since we would be the ones being prosecuted. We didn't have a lawyer of our own this time, cuz we would have had to pay for one. I didn't think we needed one. Why would we take someone to court if we didn't think he owed us money? That would be stupid if we knew we had fees, or had damages to the apartment and still tried to take him to court. We would't do that! That's our money and he's stealing it from us! Grrrrr

Can anyone even tell what's the truth any more? Really would you believe this guy and his lawyer, that look like criminals , over a nice couple, like us, without a lawyer? Come on really? I just don't know what to do any more, except vent and warn people to never, ever rent from Evergreen Cove apartments in Logan! This has happened to mulitiple people who rent from Evergreen. Hardly anyone gets their deposit back from these crooks, plus they charge you for things you never did!

If they don't get punished in this life, they will the next! Now we know that dishonest people will continue to get away with things, while good people get stomped all over! It is very sad and depressing. Can't this world be full of more good people than bad? I'd like to think there are more good people in the world than bad, but after this I don't know anymore. I've already spent hours crying my eyes out and now I am going to go running forever! Maybe punch some things. I'm so mad! Sad! Frustrated! Angry! Emotional! I feel betrayed! It's not fair that these crooks get away with it! How? I don't understand!

All I can say, is that this has been a learning experience for me. I don't know exactly what I learned. I guess I learned that bad people will get away with things, and I just have to suck it up and turn the other cheek! I really am trying to do that. It will just take time, but is so hard when I dislike someone so much! I don't regret anything I did, and I'm still glad we tried to get our money back. Atleast we tried right? If you try and fail, atleast you tried! That's my comfort right now. I can't be mad at myself for trying, but at the same time I feel stupid that I did. Thanks for listening to my spill. :(

Brayden

My funny, sweet little Brayden!

The other day he told me he wanted to sit on the clouds. Brayden: "I can't reach them! I'm gonna grow big and then I can reach them" he says the same thing with the stars. He is very observant and really takes things in. "Look mom the clouds are vooving" (moving) My favorite was when he was using the bathroom one day and his little mind was going, he said: " We have 2 toilets, Grandma has 1 toilet..... and the church has 100 toilets!" So cute. :)
His favorite thing right now is video games! I have to limit him on it, cuz he'll play those games all day! Mostly he plays it when Tyson is napping. It's a good quiet time for all of us. every once in a while I'll find him like the picture. Zonked out.

Brayden told me that french toast will make his bum feel better. ha ha! He knows when he eats it helps him go poop. smart boy! He had a couple accidents at night, last week and now he wont drink anything before bed. Even if I ask him if he needs a drink he will say, "No, I can't pee in my bed"

Special Moment: a couple months ago my Mother-in-law had a dream that she was asking someone how she can help the children in this day to grow up and be strong in the gospel. (she also teaches primary) The thought came to her: sing a primary song with your kids every night before bed. She thought about that throughout the morning and was impressed to call all of her children and share this with them. When the phone rang Brayden, being silly said, "Heavenly Father?" like he was asking if it was Heavenly Father on the phone. I said "No, silly it's Grandma" cuz I saw it on the Caller ID before anwsering. My mother in law told me the message. I told her thanks for sharing that with us, and that we would try and be more consistent with that. After I got off the phone a flood or realization came to me. I felt the spirit so strong that I started to cry. Brayden was right! Heavenly Father gave my Mother-in-law this message through a dream. What can we do while our children are young, to help them be strong in the gospel when they are older? Sing a primary song to them every night. The primary songs are so special. they have so many wonderful messages in them, and if we sing to our children they will remember those songs forever and will think about them often, even when they are older. I'm so grateful for Brayden and the sweet spirit he brings into our home. Even a 4 year old knows how to listen to the spirit without even knowing it :) He just said what he thought and that, my friends, is the power of the spirit. Please make an effort to sing to your children daily. I believe it will help them in the future. I believe that now more than I did before this message was given to us.

Triathalon!

I conquered my first Triathalon Saturday May, 22nd! It was alot harder than I thought it would be and the weather did not help! It was rainy and cold the whole time, and even hailed for the first 5 min. of my run.
Getting ready to Swim! The swimming was actually the easiest! (Probably because it was the first thing)

Waiting in line for my turn to swim. I was closer to the back of the line and didn't start until the clock said 22:00 They then subtracted that time from my final time to get my total time. make sense?

Waiting till the guy tells me to go, right on the minute 22. It was nice that I could start in the water, instead of jumping in.

Sorry, blurry pic. I'm in the second lane doing the front stroke or Freestyle is what the swimmers call it :)

Taking an easy frog swim, to catch my breath. I alternated between front stoke, back stroke and frog swim.

Why, hello Mother. My Mom was there taking pictures, Brent came later after he got off work at 8am.

You can see here how crappy the weather was. I am coming in on my bike. I'm the one in the green helmet. The other crappy thing was that while we were inside swimming it poured, so my shoes that were waiting for me by my bike got soaked! By the time I came back from the bike ride my feet were froze! That was an interesting feeling, not being able to feel my feet for the first 10 min. of my run.

Sorry about the pic, that's my Mom taking pics for ya :) the sun actually came out toward the end. wahoo! If I ever do a triathalon again I will remember to train better. I had the swimming and the running down, but the biking for me was suprizingly the hardest. I only trained up to 7 miles and it was 12.5 miles. Plus I was on a Mountain bike. Next time I will for sure rent a road bike!!! I totally thought the biking would be the easiest so that's why I didn't train very well on biking. I was so wrong, it was the hardest! Even thought I ran very slowly, cuz I was tired and sore it was nothing like the biking. 300 yd. swim, 12.5 bike and 3 mile run. Boom baby! I was one of the last ones to finish, but hey, I finished! my time: 1hr, 55 min, 21 sec. Can you believe some finished in half that time?!

Races

I have been having so much fun doing races this year! I want to get in as many as I can before I get prego again. I really do enjoy running. I didn't think I did in the beginning, but once I started training and running 3 times a week, I feel so good!

This race was a 5k (3miles) Panda Family Fun Run, in Providence. I ran it last month, April 24. I got 2nd place, Female, in my age group! I was so excited! I ran it in: 27 min. 6 sec. an 8.44 min. mile. I was suprized I got 2nd, cuz the first girl in my age group got 21 min. no one else came in between her and me in our age group. It all depends on who enters these races really, because I know plenty of people that can run faster than me by far! I guess I got lucky :) I also won a drawing for $50 to spend at Maceys (the grocery store) so that was sweet!

This race I ran May 8th, for the Smithfield Health Days. 10k (6 miles) Wow, that was a hard race! We had to run up the canyon, then back down, so there was alot of hills. I ran it in: 1 hr. 8 sec. (9.4 min. mile) There were 600 people that registered for that race! (either for the 10k or the 5k). so I'm guessing about 300 ran the 10k. For the 10k I got, 69th place overall and 21st place, Female, in my age group 19-29. Cool huh? (considering how many people registered).

After the race. My parents, Trish, Hubby and kids came to see me finish. The kids weren't to happy to get up early, but were extremly happy when we went to the parade and the fair! They had lots of fun getting candy and riding kid rides at the fair. :)

I'm doing my first Triathalon this Saturday, at the Sports Academy! 300 yds.- swim, 12.5 mile- bike, and 3 mile - run. Yikes! I'm way excited, but way nervous. Also coming up in June, I'm running the Wasatch Back (Ragnar Relay) My team will run from Logan to Park City! I have a 4 mile run- uphill around 11am, 7 mile run-flat range at 2:00 am in the middle of the night! then a 7 mile-downhill, later that day. We ride in the same van the whole way, taking turns running, eating and sleeping. Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat! Wish me luck! :)

The Ten Virgins Program

I got the opportunity to be on the Stake decorations committee! Our stake performed The Parable of the Ten Virgins, May 1st. We spent hours planning and decorating. It turned out beautiful! I was the leader over the stage decorations and was suppose to come up with the flask and oil lamp to hang on the stage curtains. I am not an artist, so I asked the art teacher, from the school I work at, to help me. She drew the drawing on butcher paper, so that was half the battle. I painted and decorated the drawing. The oil drops you see were passed around in the Wards so the sisters wrote on them things they can do to fill their lamps.

I then, decorated using those drops of oil on the drawing and the trees. Cool huh? I was so excited that I did someting crafty :) I then helped a little with the other decorations going on around the cultural hall. People brought so many cool decorations. We hung stuff from the ceiling, the walls and had a fountain, trees and more decorations in the center.

The program was done in the Chapel, then everyone entered through the Archway. It was cool

Pretty decorations!

I feel so proud :)

Happy Mothers Day!

The One Flaw In Women

By the time the Lord made woman,
He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said,
'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'
And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,
have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable
and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,
have a lap that can hold four children at one time,
have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart
-and she will do everything
with only two hands.'

The angel was astounded at the requirements.
'Only two hands!? No way!
And that's just on the standard model?
That's too much work for one day.
Wait until tomorrow to finish.'

'But I won't, ' the Lord protested.
'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
She already heals herself when she is sick
AND can work 18 hour days.'

The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
'But you have made her so soft, Lord.'

'She is soft,' the Lord agreed,
'but I have also made her tough.
You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.'

'Will she be able to think?', asked the angel.

The Lord replied,
'Not only will she be able to think,
she will be able to reason and negotiate.'

The angel then noticed something,
and reaching out , touched the woman's cheek.
'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.'

'That's not a leak,'
the Lord corrected,
'that's a tear!'
'What's the tear for?' the angel asked.

The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy,
her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,
her loneliness, her grief and her pride.'
The angel was impressed.
'You are a genius, Lord.
You thought of everything!
Woman is truly amazing.'

And she is!
Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness,
love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take 'no' for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
y et they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideals.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.
PLEASE pass this along to your women friends and relatives
to remind them just how amazing they are.

Dinosaur Museum

We went to the Dinosaur Museum in Ogden last week. The kids had a blast!

My New Niece!

My sister Jessica had baby #5 a few weeks ago!
Sweet baby Azure, with me and her 2 yr. old brother, Kanyon

Sweet baby girl

her oldest sister, Jayden

3 yr. old brother, Ike

If you ask me, I think my sis. is a little crazy! Her kids are 9, 6, 3, and 2 yrs. old, then new baby! you go girlfriend! She is a very busy mommy :)

OuR NeW PuPpY!

I could not resist taking this free, Black Lab, puppy home with me! A man was giving him away at Walmart. I tried to call Brent to get his approval, but he didn't answer, so he got a big suprize when I got home! I figured we could find him a home if he didn't want him. Brent was kind of frustrated just because I made the decision without talking with him, but he couldn't help but like him too :) Brent grew up with a yellow lab and he was small like this, when he got him. Kunta was 6 weeks old when we got him. he is now 7 1/2 weeks old.
Look at those paws! He's gonna be a big dog! It took us a while to think of a name. he went without one for a few days, until we decided on Kunta. Like Kunta Kintay from the movie, "Roots" (about slavery, he was an African man on that show)

Cute baby Kunta taking a nap

My sweet puppy dog! Brent is going to hold this decision to me forever. Whenever he poops he tells me,"Your dog just pooped" that means" Go clean it up!! It does take alot of work having another animal around here, but I love it!

Kunta chasing Brayden around. My boys absolutely love him, except when he jumps on them and bites them :)

Tyson giving him some love. He really is an outside dog, but we bring him in once a day to play. we have been keeping him in the garrage at night since it has been snowing and we don't have a dog house for him yet.

Resting as we watch Conference. (Brayden did a good job at taking this pic) Our cat has been warming up to the dog since we got him. It is so funny to see them playing or fighting. the dog has bled a couple times from the cat scratching him :( He just want to play! I love our animals!