Beware of One Click Purchasing...

The other day, two packages arrived at our house from Amazon.com. I thought Drew must have ordered something, and when he saw them, he thought they were mine. So they sat on the counter for a couple of days until we realized neither of us had ordered anything. Then we opened the boxes and here is what we found:

Yes, Scott got on Amazon.com, searched for Baby Einstein and ordered a couple that he thought looked interesting. One-click purchasing was turned on, so it just took selecting one little button! But I am grateful this was all he ordered... He also used the Google toolbar (all by himself) to search for "Playground in my backyard" and found a pretty sweet play structure at CostCo.com. That would have been quite a surprise to see that delivered...

What am I going to do with this kid?

P.S. I know I am REALLY behind of my blog, but hope to add several new posts this week with all the fun things that have happened in the past month!

Kid Toys/DVDs Worth Their Weight in Gold

All parents spend a fortune on things to teach and entertain our children, and we never quite know if the money spent is going to be worth it or not... Here are some items that I would have paid 10 times as much for, now that I know how wonderful they are:

1) The Leapfrog DVD series: The Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory (1 and 2), Math Circus and Storybook Factory. These videos are so cute and do an amazing job of teaching young children the ABCs and simple words and math. Both Scott and Charlotte LOVE these movies, and I feel they deserve a lot of the credit for both kids knowing their letters before they were 2!

2) Wood Blocks: So simple, yet has been an entertaining toy since Scott was old enough to knock over towers.

3) Tub Letters: We actually had to get 2 sets of letters since Scott would get really upset when he couldn't spell words that had two of the same letter. These letters have provided HOURS of entertainment!

4) Marbleworks: This was actually my brother's toy growing up, and we all had lots of fun playing with it. And it hasn't lost its charm at all... This is usually a popular toy when friends come over.

5) Trampoline (big and mini): Scott calls this "Jumping with my nudie buns"

6) Ikea whiteboard, just $20! I have learned NOT to use white board markers since they don't come out of clothes. Instead we use washable markers. You have to clean the board with Windex, but at least I know they will wash out of cute Gymboree clothes!

Any other ideas of toys you can't live without???

I'm Tagged!

Here you go, Liz! Here are my answers:

1-What were you doing 10 years ago? I had just finished my first and only year of teaching high school math (enough for me!) and was one month into my master’s program. I had been home from my mission for a year and was feeling like I was the OLDEST single female in Provo…

2-What are 5 things on your "to-do" list today? Today was a “ME” day! 1) Go to the gym. 2) Take the kids to the library. 3) Go get my hair cut and colored. 4) Go shopping with Laurie! 5) Straighten up the house (didn’t happen, but my hair looks great and I bought some fabulous clothes!).

3-Snacks I enjoy? Dried mangoes from CostCo are awesome!

4-Places I've lived? Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Stockton, Lake of the Pines, Provo, London, Argentina, New Jersey, back to Palo Alto, Mountain View, Roseville - in that order.

5-What are five things you would do if you had a billion dollars? I could answer “Buy world peace”, but that would be boring. Here are the fun things I would do: 1) Buy the Sacramento Kings and make them good again 2) Buy a place on Maui 3) Buy a house with a spectacular back yard, including a pool with a massive water slide. 4) Build an In-and-Out in Provo (and make another billion dollars) 5) Do laser hair removal.

Socks and Sandals

For the first time today, Charlotte REALLY wanted to pick her clothes. As usual, the laundry room is filled with clothes that are clean, but have not yet been folded. So she sifted through the piles and found her leggings with cute little ice cream cones on them and her socks with butterflies (or fly-flies). She presented them to me, and when I went to take them to help her put them on, she pulled them away and yelled, "Self!" Shades of Scott...

She gave up on the leggings, but did insist on wearing the socks - WITH her sandals. I know Grandpa would be proud. So here is the final outfit, with the always-important Dora sunglasses on her head:

Goodbye until August, Miss Cathy!

Next Tuesday is going to be a traumatic day in our house when Scott realizes he doesn't have preschool. He has LOVED his first year of preschool with Miss Cathy and is not willing to "take a break" until August. She was the perfect teacher for him... He needed someone who was fun, creative, and would help him break out of his shell a bit and realize playing with friends is sometimes more fun than counting. The social growth he experienced was exactly what I had hoped for.

Why I love being a mom...

My friend, Stephanie, wrote the BEST post on her blog about how her life has changed since becoming a Mom. So I am stealing her list and making a few modifications to accurately describe my life:

10) My idea of an exciting Saturday night is grocery shopping at 9pm, by myself, after the kids are asleep.

9) Eating at In-and-Out is an extremely healthy meal: milkshake (dairy), burger (for Charlotte, at least, protein), fries and ketchup (veggies) .

8) I can’t tell you the last time I listened to the radio or a CD of my own in the car… But I have listened to a lot of classical music, even if it is from Baby Einstein movies.

7) I have talked about poop with total strangers.

6) The perfect Mother’s Day gift is an afternoon without the kids.

5) While attempting to eat dinner, I get out of my chair an average of 24 times.

4) My attitude about putting a child in a kid-harness has done a 180. I haven't done it yet, but I might...

3) Just ask me to sing the theme songs for Blues Clues, Dora, Diego and Little Einsteins - I can do them all.

2) Fruit snacks (with 5% real fruit juice) counts towards the daily fruit/veggie count...

1) “Getting lucky” for us means the diapers are on sale PLUS a coupon at Babies R Us!

Honestly, I do love being a mother. These things are all fun to joke about, but the smiles and hugs and kisses and adorable things my little guys do make it all worth it.

Miracles do happen!

Today was amazing...

If you haven't read last year's post on swimming lessons, I'll catch you up by just saying that Scott and Charlotte were NOT 'A' students in their swimming lessons last year. Most days, the lessons involved tears and drama from Scott and Charlotte and bribes from us. We all survived, but no swimming skills were actually learned.

Bravely, we decided to try again. The "motivation" (aka bribes) involved a chart with stickers, trips to Target for special prizes AND Jelly Bellies. I think the Jelly Bellies were the trigger for Scott to realize it was worth it for him to be a good boy. So here is the report of how things went so far:

Day 1: He got in the water without complaint, did NOT want to go under the water and only sort of listened to his teachers.

Day 2: We bought goggles, but didn't fit them on his head right for this lesson. But he was happy to get in the water, listened to his teachers and did some kicking. Still not interested in going under.

Day 3: We figured out the goggles, so they stayed on! What a difference... He was laughing, smiling, paying attention to the teacher, and VOLUNTARILY putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! I just sat there with my mouth wide open watching this amazing event.

Day 4: Much like day 3, except the teachers couldn't keep him from trying to go under water. I asked him is favorite part about swimming lessons: "Going underwater!"

Jelly Beans are miracle pills.

And as if all this wasn't exciting enough, we had dinner at In-and-Out after day 3, and Scott tried a new food! This NEVER happens... He ate half of a grilled cheese sandwich (just the hamburger bun and cheese)!

So how did Charlotte do through all of this? She has been a huge wimp and just whines and cries the entire time in the water. Check out the nasty glare...

Boys will be boys

Last Friday was the annual Father/Son campout for our ward. Scott was actually really excited to go and "practiced" sleeping in his sleeping bag the night before. Apparently the highlight for him was throwing rocks in the lake:

So what did the girls do while the boys were away? We met some friends and had dinner. Can you tell Charlotte really enjoyed her smoothie?

Who needs cake when you can eat MEAT!

Little Charlotte turned 2 last month. Don't you love the balloons, necklace and drool? With Charlotte's allergy to milk, eggs and wheat, birthday cake was not a possibility. But don't feel too sorry for her... This girl can put away as much beef as an adult. Her favorite is brisket. So her exciting birthday dinner was brisket, with lime daquari ice from Baskin Robbins. She was in heaven!

And big brother Scott picked this special pink ball to give to her... Like the 1,000 balls in our house are not enough:

Gammy must be so pleased...

It has been about 1 1/2 years since Gammy (my mom's mom) passed away, and we are so fortunate to be able to enjoy her beloved grand piano. Scott and Charlotte LOVE the piano, so this is a common site (I'm referring to the kids sitting at the piano, although Scott in only underwear is also pretty common). It must make her so happy to be involved in yet another generation being introduced to music:

Easter Sunday

After a wonderful morning at church, we came home and Scott could HARDLY wait for Grandma and Grandpa to show up. He just sat out on the driveway with the bunny ears on he made earlier, trying to patiently wait...

I did manage to convince him that the Easter Bunny was like Santa in that he only comes when little boys and girls are asleep. So he miraculously took a nap without much complaint! Then once everyone was awake, the Hunt began:

And I did try desperately to get an 'official' Easter picture of both in their cute clothes, but Charlotte was not a very willing model. So pictures posing with the candy will just have to do:

The Neighborhood Easter Extravaganza

In our neighborhood we have a wonderful Easter egg hunt at a local park on Saturday. It is sponsored by a local realtor and some local businesses. Scott and Charlotte loved it, of course, because there was lots of candy involved. The best part was one of the sponsors was a restaurant called Costa Vida (which is the same as the hallowed Cafe Rio for all you Provo-ites), and I won a free dinner in the raffle! I'll take that over Reese's peanut butter eggs, although that is my favorite Easter candy ever...

Here is Scott trying to wait patiently for his turn to get eggs:

Charlotte thought she had to open each egg and eat the candy immediately before picking up the next egg:

4-year-old rite of passage

Scott experienced a special moment yesterday, an experience many grown men remember with fondness and sweet nostalgia... That experience is, a first exposure to Silly String. Aunt D (aka Cindy) send an adorable Easter package to Scott and Charlotte. It came Saturday and we dove into the presents on Sunday. For Scott, the highlight was clearly the Wacky String (as is labelled on the can). The button on the can was a little hard to push for him, so rather than firing the wacky string, Scott preferred to be the target. So he stood on the lawn and I sprayed all 250 feet of silly string on him.

A close second to the Wacky String was a bunny PEZ dispenser. Life doesn't get much better when you are 4.

As for the almost 2-year-old in our house, her most exciting gift was a pink satin purse (same material as the trim on her beloved blankie) and the card with the bunny on it. Charlotte spent much of today and yesterday walking around with her lovely purse and the card, saying, "Bunny! Bunny!" Here is one of those moments in action:

Thanks, Aunt D!

Scott Turns 4!

Wow! What a fun day! This is the first birthday that Scott has REALLY been excited for and completely understood what a special day it would be... We have been counting down for weeks until TODAY - February 26th!

The big event was his first real friends birthday party at one of our favorite places called BounceU. BounceU is just a fun place with lots of giant inflatable bounce houses and slides. This is pretty much what all 12 cute kids, plus a brave baby (Go Heidi!) did for an hour:

Here are a few of the photos from the bounce time:

Getting ready to BOUNCE!

Scott and 14 month old daredevil, Heidi

After bouncing, we went into the party room where all the normal kids ate pizza, and the pickiest child on the planet (Scott) ate goldfish crackers and root beer.

Then next came the cupcakes with blue frosting and candles and Happy Birthday song... I'm pretty sure not a single kid ate the cupcake part, but this was a common site:

Next came the presents... The kids started observing politely from a distance, but we started like this:

And ended like this:

Then after Bounce U, we drove home to find a few more presents from 13168 Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy and Daddy. And here was the grand finale:

And as soon as he got on the bike (before knew about the helmet) he said, "I need a helmet so I can be safe!" Thanks, Dora...

Thank you 2919 Grandma and Grandpa!

So many fun birthday surprises! Here is Scott opening his gifts from his 2919 Grandma and Grandpa. Yes, his pajamas are on backwards. I am just grateful they are on:

What you may not know about me...

A couple of weeks ago I received one of those "Tag, you're it" emails from one of my most wonderful friends (I did it, Keri!) asking me to answer a few questions about myself. So here are my responses!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Human Anatomy TA (ask me about the time I had to use a turkey baster to keep the cadavers moist...)
2. Statistical consultant for the Men's USA and BYU men's volleyball teams (BYU won the national championship after my research. I like to think I deserve at least SOME credit.)
3. High school math teacher (I was paid less than $5/hour to teach pre-calculus. Sad. My students made more working at Jamba Juice.)
4. Statistician for Intel (I just danced around in the bunny suit in the clean room, like the old commercial.)

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Tommy Boy ("Fat man in a little coat" just never gets old)
2. Rudy (I cry each time!)
3. Napoleon Dynamite (I love that my sister-in-law is from Preston, ID and her sisters and mom are in the movie! Sweet!)
4. Christmas Vacation (Some families reenact the Nativity on Christmas Eve. We watch Christmas Vacation.)

Four places I have lived:
1. Lake of the Pines, CA (Go LOP!)
2. London (with my wonderful roommate, Liz)
3. Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (Off the southern tip of South America, further south than the penguins.)
4. Westfield, NJ (America's best kept secret: NJ is beautiful, other than the Turnpike.)

T.V. Shows that I watch:
1. The Office (Favorite episode: the basketball game)
2. Oprah (Yes, I am a girl)
3. Dora the Explorer (not by choice)
4. Charlie and Lola (I'd watch it even if my kids didn't)

Four Places I have been in 2007:
1. Maui (without kids!)
2. Cary, NC (To the SAS mothership)
3. Pasadena, CA (For the Syphi Family Christmas Extravaganza)
4. Boston, MA (To see Cindy and watch the crazy Sox fans)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pumpkin pie (Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer)
2. Chicken Madeira from Cheesecake Factory (I'm counting down the days until the CF opens in Roseville)
3. Fillet Mignon (Although I really hate the name of the restaurant, Ruth's Chris Steak House serves the most amazing fillet...)
4. Pumpkin pie, again (Food of the gods)

Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Shopping (anywhere)
2. Italy (with Drew as my tour guide and translator)
3. Tahiti, in one of those bungalows over the perfect, turquoise water (with Polynesian guys in a canoe bringing us fresh tropical fruit each morning for breakfast)
4. In bed, since it is 11:30pm (But when else can I work on my blog?)

Things I am looking forward to in 2008:
1. Christmas with the whole Evers family together, hopefully in Mom & Dad's sweet new house
2. Going back to West Point in fall for Drew's 15th reunion
3. Trip to Maui (already happened!)
4. The day when BOTH kids sleep through the night!

Anyone learn anything new about me?

Aloha!

I can't believe my son is not yet 4 years old and he has been to Hawaii 3 times already... I think when I was the same age, I could only claim than I had been to Elko, Nevada 3 times. How things change... Mom and Dad took all the Evers kids and grandkids for another fabulous week in Maui. The plane ride was actually less of a disaster than I expected, so that was a great start for the vacation. Thank goodness we had lots of fruit snacks and 3 DVD players, one for each kid.

This trip was quite different, though, compared to the first Evers family Maui trip. The first time we all came, Scott was only 3 months old. We could pretty much go anywhere and do anything and he just slept. But this time, with 3 mobile grandkids, our days were spent hanging out at the pool and working around nap time.

By far, the highlight for Scott was the waterslide at the pool. He would have slid on that thing 24/7 if we let him. I was actually quite proud of how independent he was with his little life vest on. He could do it all by himself, which was nice since I had to spend most of my time with whimpering little Charlotte who wasn't crazy about the water.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Scott, Charlotte and Elle

Drew and Ryan in their Scuba lessons

Charlotte teaching Elle about her favorite place

You can't teach this sort of thing...

Charlotte is such a girl. Yesterday when we went to the gym, she wore her sunglasses and beads and took her purse filled will all sorts of interesting treasures. She looked quite lovely: