The Many Adventures of the Michael & Jill Rogers Family

Puerto RICO!!

2012-02-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

**WARNING- HUGE POST! 91 Photos! It's my blog...so I can...***

Michael's sister and her family lived in Puerto Rico, and were getting ready to relocate back to the states. So the kids and I were offered the opportunity to fly over to Puerto Rico to watch her 5 kids while they came to the states to hunt for their home. We were there for 3 weeks, and had a FANTASTIC time!

Getting ready for our red-eye flight from Vegas to JFK

Our flight from JFK to Puerto Rico.

We made it!

Ms. Bug instantly felt excited to be around so many girls! Of their 5 kids, they have 4 girls, so she was covered in the estrogen department, LOL. There were always plenty of crowns, babies, barbies, and pink to go around.

LOOK! REAL LIFE COCONUT TREE! This was just a random tree on their street-

We also had the opportunity to see a lot of the island. One of my favorite parts by far was Old San Juan. It's just so cultural feeling! I loved the cobblestone streets, and the tiny roads and the fun little shops everywhere.

I just happened to catch this photo of a beggar in a "drive-by" shot. About broke my heart...

That big blue mansion at the end of the road is the Governor's Mansion-
Look at all that COLOR! I LOOOVE IT!

Getting ready to see one of the old military fots the Castillo San Cristobal.

At the top(ish) of the Castillo-

He was channeling his inner karate kid...

So do you have a Puerto Rico quarter yet? This would be the coastal window that you see on the quarter, and on all the license plates, etc. The story is that it's haunted. They used to have guard duty every night in there and guards would just disappear and never be seen again. The windows in the thing are far too tiny for even a child to squeeze through-

So just as we were getting ready to go into the Castillo itself, and getting ready to go into the dungeon (after hearing the story about it being haunted) Mr. G was a bit freaked out. And as we were walking in Mr. G says, "I don't like the feelings in here. I want to get out..."

This is his "I'm freaked out and really scared I'm gonna see a ghost" face-

Inside the dungeon there are drawings of ships on the walls, drawn by a Spanish captain who was being retained there.

I know...I'm a terrible parent. I made him take a picture inside of the dungeon with the door closed. He was whispering to me, "I want to get out now...I don't like this..."

Our in the courtyard of the Castillo- He's much happier to be OUT of the dungeon, LOL.

ALL the kiddos. I love this pic- They all look good, but it's a great candid.

My baby chickies posing on the canon balls.

Mr. G showing the pathways to the lookout towers.

So that little living area you see sandwiched between the two different forts is the ghetto. Not even the POLICE will go in there alone. Lots of people go in and don't come out. Lots of bad drugs, gangs, etc. Just this tiny little area, with some PRIME real estate!

We also got to go to the beach a few times-

Isn't it beautiful?!

G's first steps into the Caribbean ocean-

While we were there we had the chance to celebrate Halloween- It was very cool to experience the holiday in a different place.

A few of the kids- We had an astronaut (Mr. G), the Little Mermaid bride, Rapunzel, my little watermelon, and Batman in the back.

Best. Costume. EVER. He was a honey-bear. His make-up was AMAZING!
His wife was a bee, and his little girl was a flower. It was SO cute.

My watermelon checking out her loot.

So...about this picture- I couldn't resist. No, he isn't fully naked. He couldn't locate the restroom in the unfamiliar church (where they were trunk-or-treating) and ended up wetting his pants. So he ended up just having to walk around in his underpants since I had to take it all off him and rinse it all out in the bathroom. He never even MENTIONED the need to "go"- So...Let's just say he learned a very valuable lesson on communicating one's needs that night.

Apparently she was left unattended with the candy buckets...

For a fun Saturday activity we went and had a fun "Pirates of the Caribbean" photo-shoot with their kids. I mean, c'mon! You HAVE to do it- You really ARE in the Caribbean!

This was my all time favorite shot-

Making some cinnamon rolls waiting for the big kids to come home from school.

My kids finally got to experience a real down pour in warm rain. They had a BLAST!!

I'm pretty sure she was pretending to be a chicken- She was saying 'bok-bok'. Silly monkey. I mean, er...chicken.

She may have been teasing her Dad (who served his mission in Samoa) that she was experiencing a tropical rainstorm without him.

THEN! Miraculously Michael ended up having the last 5 days of our time there off from his rotation! So let's just say some calls were made, some VERY generous donations made, and he was on his way to Puerto Rico to join us and bring us home- SOOO nice to have him there! Especially after being away for over 2 weeks and Mr. G ended up getting SUPER sick on the flight home- So I was BEYOND grateful he was there to assist me with that.

His flight landed really early in the morning, so I went to get him before the kids woke up and he came and went back to sleep for a little while. The kids didn't know he'd already come and were SOO surprised he was there! He came downstairs and they RAN to him and Bug was so excited that she cried- LOL. I think she missed her daddy-

We took Michael back to Old San Juan so he could see it while the big kids were in school and this is the little plaza in front of a catholic church-

EL YUNQUE!

(the rainforest) -

This was also another big favorite. I wish we would have had more time to really explore it more, but for the amount of time and with the number of people we had, it was FANTASTIC!

Yes....that's my kid with the retarded pose...Trust me, you don't want to know what the OTHER poses looked like :-S

Best bridge EVER.

Posing on the bridge-

Playing in the water behind the bridge- Good times!

The bridge was a really cool dam/reservoir area.

I know- I'm a nerd...But you have to at least pretend to drink coconut milk while on a tropical island, right?

All the boys plus E decided to hike up to the bottom of the waterfall.

The next day we went here- To the Camuy Caves. This is one of those underground caves. Think stalactites, stalagmites, etc.

Just outside the entrance to the park was this monster sized Coqui frog statue. I was showing Bug how to kiss the frog to see if it would turn into a handsome prince. I totally unintentionally toppled forward and really did kiss it. That sucker was HOT!! It totally burned my lips! That's what I get for being such a retard....

So, to get down into the cave you ride this little tram- We were all sporting our audio tour headsets, I'm pretty sure Mr. G was NEVER on the right track for the right part of the tour. Oh well- He had fun playing with the buttons still...

Getting ready to hike down into the cave-

A tree growing upside down!

Looking up and out from inside the cave- GORGEOUS!

The other end of the cave.

At the end of the cave, before getting ready to make the loop back to the entrance. That walkway was SLICK!!

Ok- Best shadow, EVER! Do you see Washington on his laptop?!

I'm pretty proud of this shot that I got once we got back to the entrance and finished our tour.

We then went up to Lares in the mountain area- They took us to this cool ice cream shop that had THE craziest flavors of ice cream. Garlic, carrot, soup, rice and beans, sweet potato, etc. They did also have the usual chocolate, pistachio, vanilla, etc.

We slowly made our way back towards San Juan through the "scenic route" in the mountains. The country side was beautiful-

Aren't those some cool colors for bushes!

I think it's safe to say we wore him out!

(Yes, he had his seat belt on...He just contorted himself such that you wouldn't know it.)

On our way back we stopped at another "hidden" cave that not a lot of people know about that our Brother-in-law had heard about.

In case you were wondering, it's not generally a good idea to carry your kids this way in a highly forest dense area...Because then you might get...

This...

She was ok, just a little wack on the top of her head. Poor girl-Michael felt SO bad.

A side view of the cave- You can get in through there, but we knew it wasn't the smartest way to go-

The main entrance- It was definitely an adventure doing this with so many young kids!

We finally made it to the end of the cave! We were lucky enough to run into another couple who had visited the cave a few times before, so he had an extra light. Which we were SO grateful for because it was PITCH DARK in there! It was a little nerve wracking going through there with so little light- and it wasn't in any way paved or anything.

It was a strange hike to get to the end, but the view made it all worth it!!

And then there were the sounds of the cave...then we get a light onto the ceiling and find these...Which wasn't that hard to imagine since we were walking in...well, let's just say it was "mud" (with a heavy emphasis on the quotations around the word :-S). We knew they wouldn't hurt or bite, but just knowing they were just hanging out over your head was nerve wracking!

Heading out of the cave before it got too dark-

Mmmm..."mud"....

Mr. G and Michael had a boys day out and went to see the Arecibo Observatory. Michael has always wanted to see it since he saw it on an episode of reading rainbow as a kid.

Rough first rotation, hu?

She spent most of the beach time on my shoulder like this- She wasn't feeling good.

Getting in some good sand and sun before heading back to Nevada the next day.

These are a bit out of order- But they're from Michael's iPhone:

Mr. G taking his dad into the infamous haunted dungeons. Can you tell he's so excited to have his dad there?

Close-ups of the ship sketches on the dungeon walls
(woah!! totally apologize for the crazy typo! Good catch, Heather! Glad it gave you a chuckle!)

A look-out point in the castillo-

We all started to venture out from the Castillo into Old San Juan when it started to POOR! It stopped for a second and Michael snapped this shot with his girl-

ALL SOAKED!!

SUCCESS!!! One of Michael's MUST DO's in Puerto Rico was to find a breadfruit- He FINALLY found some at a roadside stand and cooked it up the next morning before taking off to the airport. He was SOO excited.

Michael's sister was gracious enough to take care of our kids while he and I went out on a "hot date" to the Bioluminescent Bay- SO AMAZING! You go at night, and as you move your ores in the water, the little bioluminescent micro-organisms glow when agitated. It was soooo trippy! It was almost like when you break a glow stick all over, but they would wiggle all over in the water. So hard to describe- But definitely an adventure to ad to any good bucket list-

Puerto Rico was an AMAZING adventure. But it was great to come home, too. We were gone for a long time- So it was like walking into our home all over again. It took some time to re-adjust, but it was well worth the time for the memories and once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Thank you to all who made it happen!

Carvin' it UP!

2012-01-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

Well of COURSE we carved our pumpkins before we left to Puerto Rico. It was a must do since we went all that way to pick them out in Utah! :-)

Add "It's yucky?"

FINISHED PRODUCTS!!

KIDNAPPED!

2012-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

You see this guy?

He's pretty much the most handsome kidnapper, EVER! :-)

He knew I'd been itching for seasons. To see fall. To smell and feel the cool crisp air. To go to "our" pumpkin patch in Utah. When Mr. G was a baby and we were still students at the Y we went to this pumpkin patch in Santaquin twice. It was our first real family tradition. So one day I get home at 7am from a workout and he hands me two ziplock bags and says, "Here- Go put your toiletries in here for a few days." To say that I was 100% stunned would be an understatement. He just sat and watched me clamor around for stuff in bewilderment and giggled at me. He had already packed not only my clothes, but the kids and had spoken to all the people I had responsibilities with/for for the week ahead of time, etc. What a champ!

Next thing I know we're on the road to who knows where- and he says, "You'll figure it out eventually" and leaves it at that. Next thing I know we're in Cedar City giving the kids a "car break" and playing at a park after stopping for lunch at The Pub (super good! Totally isn't what it sounds like, LOL)-

And then on to our "BIG" destination! Our pumpkin patch!!

Yeah...that's right. She knows what's up...

He probably went through this maze like a BILLION times.

Hey...it was a hard job looking for the "perfect" pumpkin!

But he did eventually find one-

She was even very happy to find her own.

So funny story about this video- Apparently Bug was SUPER sad that the tractor/hay ride that took us from the Big Red Barn to the actual pumpkin patch left. If you watch, she'll do this super epic "hard blink" like she's trying to force her tears to come in order to relay her sheer anguish over the tractor leaving. Funny girl.

And our trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without a visit to our old stomping grounds at BYU!

He was IMMEDIATELY amazed by the size of the leaves- Yeah...he's been raised in the desert, LOL.

I was SO happy to be there and sharing all of this with my boy.

I think it's safe to say he caught the BYU-Bug...

I think it's safe to say he enjoyed the Eyring Science Center (he was getting blown in the face by the air canon).

And of course we had to re-visit this "blast from the past" for sentimentality sake....

Mr. G really did love the BYU campus. He kept asking if we were there yet, even when we were standing in the middle of it. I wish we would have had more time to explore the library and show him the children's section, or take him into the Joseph Smith building, etc. But I'm sure we'll be back.

Another adventure Michael had up his sleeve was visiting Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. Good times, good times. Unfortunately by that point the kids were pretty tired and it was late enough in the evening that they were getting close to bedtime so we weren't able to really explore "everything." That and the MONSTER crowds of people didn't help. But we still had a great time, nonetheless.

Mr. G really enjoyed the big "bounce pillows"-

And so did his dad- HA HA.

But apparently not as much as he enjoyed the "cow-train" tractor ride thing...

We also really enjoyed being able to see the Provo Tabernacle after the big fire. It was amazing what they've been able to keep and what was lost.

It was a GREAT family getaway that was even more great because I personally didn't have to stress about it because it was a big surprise. Thanks, LOVE!!

Hang your head-

2012-01-28T15:43:00.001-08:00

I am hanging my head in shame...

I am so behind it's overwhelming. But there are so many 'big' things we did that I can't just do a flash bang one post and call it good. So I apologize profusely. And now I attempt to catch up- Maybe it'll be like all new all over again since it's taking me so long, right?! No?

Dang.

Well here goes nothing.

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

Sucker Punch to Didactic Year!

2011-12-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

Yay!! Half-way done!! He dominated his first year and is SOO ready to be doing real life stuff in a real life setting/clinic. He was getting pretty antsy towards the end to get out of the classroom and get working. I'd be lying if I didn't say there weren't some serious dramas in the program just as he was finishing, luckily so far none of the drama has effected him too badly. We're crossing our fingers that he can just bob and weave through the drama and get great preceptors and practice sites.

Michael gave his first year (didactic or coursework) of PA school a big ONE, TWO! And finished off strong!

He claimed sweet victory at the end of the session and our last 'big' break together as a family- Now on to CLINICALS!

Of course we had to go have a celebratory lunch and headed to Chili's.

Yes, I was there too-

Silly Sightings

2011-12-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

You know those silly pictures you have that just don't quite equate to their own post, but you want to put SOMEWHERE to keep but don't know WHERE to put them? Yeah, that's this post. Random pictures of my kids being silly that I had to have in here but didn't want a million, "See look- Cute" singular posts.

Bug's halloween costume-

Watermelon Canabalism!

"Oooh- I'm SOOO funny! Hardy hardy har!"

I walked into check on the kids and this is what I found- Stinker pants. She's quite the climber~

Our handsome big boy-

Nice shoes, monkey-

It's Raining Basil!

2011-12-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so maybe basil wasn't literally raining out of the sky- But I did want to make note of two things and that was the most clever thing I could come up with for a title. So sue me.

This would be our basil-er...BUSH. It is supposed to just be a small plant but we just left it alone and ignored it and has turned into this. I haven't watered that thing in a MONTHS!!

And I had to make a record that yes, at one point, it DID in fact have a good rain here in Henderson. This was at the end of our cul-de-sac. It only lasted an hour or so, but it was AWESOME!

Man Time-

2011-12-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

After our camp fire the boys decided they needed some 'man time' and had a little camp out in the backyard. Mr. G LOOOVES these campouts.

Watching a show on dad's laptop before going ot bed.

Yeah! They were tough guys and lasted the whole night in the tent! Last time they came in around 2am or something-

Helping dad clean-up after.

We're ON FIRE!!

2011-12-05T09:46:00.001-08:00

Michael and I have joked about getting a fire pit for a while now, and finally broke down and found one for super cheap on CraigsList. It's been really fun to have around for those cool nights where we want to just take it easy and watch the fire flicker. We even cooked hot dogs on our maiden burn ;-)

Coming Up-

2011-12-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok- It is time to update this thing. I'm aware. I haven't had any REQUESTS for updating (anybody out there?) but for the sake of our family journaling coming up we have:

-We're ON FIRE!
-Boys Campout
-It's Raining Basil
-Michael finished didactic! Half way done!
-Kidnapped! A surprise Trip to Provo
-Carving Pumpkins
-A WHOLE lot of posts coming about Puerto Rico/Halloween
-Thanksgiving with Griffin Fam.
-Finally an answer to Jill's injury
-Christmas Prep

Wow...I totally didn't realize I was THAT far behind.

Yikes.

Bear with me.

Knock Knock

2011-10-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

First thing this morning Bug comes up to me (Michael) all on her own and tells me this knock knock joke without any help or prompting from anyone. I got her to do it again for the video.

Ms. Bug Shows Off

2011-09-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well since odds are she won't peform for anybody but us due to how shy she is around others, here's the best we can do. ;-)

Boot Camp.

2011-09-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

We're boot camp tough!

Top of flag mountain- ROUGH hike! But it's one of those milestones that you can say, "I DID IT!"

I've been going to Boot Camp for just about 2.5 months consistently. I'd gone for a month before that but had a month off in between while we were vacationing. I go Monday thru Friday, with the exception of the days that Michael has a test, so he beats me out the door and I get to be the stay-in-bed parent. :-) But my alarm clock goes off at 5:20am, and I'm at class by 6am (otherwise we have to do 10 'burpee's' if we're late), and the class is a full hour. And she makes sure she squeezes every single minute out of that hour! But it has taught me a lot of valuable lessons about sticking with things, how to prove myself capable, etc. It's been a GREAT blessing to me, as well as a great teaching lesson for my kids to show them that exercise is an important thing to Mom. It's really rewarding to come home at 7am, and see everybody either still in bed, or just getting up knowing that I've already been up, exercised, and had an adventure.

I can do hard things!
Really, this is just the pose Mr. G insisted that I did for the picture and said, "Mom! Say, 'I'm super tough!' "

It CAN rain in Vegas! Gasp!

2011-09-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we had our first REAL "monsoon" type of storm. It was AWESOME. It didn't last too long, but it was hard, and the kids sure had a great time playing in the puddles when it was over.

I love Bug's face in this- Especially since he's FOREVER away from her...LOL

"woah! What's this squishy wet stuff at my feet?!"

Splashing aftermath...

He's Workin' Hard For the Money...

2011-09-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

For Mr. G's birthday, he got some money from both of his grandparents. So we spent half of it on presents for him to open on the big day, and the other half he got to save and he decided he wanted to buy a new LeapPad Explorer. However, he only had $50 left over from birthday money, and so he needed to earn the rest of his money. And boy did we make him EARN it!

Picking up the bean pods that fell into our yard from the neighbors tree...

There was even some help recruited a time or two...

He cleaned under the couch, and came up with this invention on his hat all on his own! That way he could see under there and still have both hands!

And then he vacuumed under the couch-

He also cleaned out our nasty dumpsters!! Ewe...

He folded rags...

He also vacuumed out the couch under the cushions.

The above tasks he did in addition to his "daily chores" of picking up his room, making his bed, cleaning up the playroom, helping dad empty the dishwasher, getting dressed, and helping keep the front room picked up. He did a great job working hard!

FINALLY the day came, when he'd earned enough money!! And JUST in time! He was lucky enough to have a dad who pre-ordered it before it came out and so it was there waiting for him when he earned his money.

BIG MONEY!

Paying Dad for his LeapPad

The big reveal!!! All that anticipation!!

HURRAY! HE GOT IT!!

The rest of the day he went around the house like this taking pictures and videos of anything/anyBODY he could-

We were so proud of how hard he worked, and feel like he hopefully got a great lesson from the power of work and how to stick with it and not quit. There were a few times he was tempted to spend his money, but then we'd give him a choice, and he always chose to save his money and add it to his piggy bank for his LeapPad. Way to achieve your goal, son!

Mr. G's 1st day of Pre-School, 2011

2011-09-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of the year! Mr. G started his second (and LAST) year of preschool! I can't believe next year my baby will be in Kindergarten...YIKES! But he's so ready to start it. From what I understand, he would pass Kindergarten now, but too bad he's too young. He's starting to read, can count high, add and subtract small numbers, and is learning something new or asking some complex concept every day. So preschool is more of "play" for him than anything, but he'll get the important social interactions he needs.

All dressed and ready!!

He got in the exact same room as he was in last year, room 2!

4 year old preschool! So now he gets to go M,W,F instead of just T,Th like last year when he was 3.

Found his buddy, B

Awe...Just like last year they took their first day of school pics-

He was a bit excited!!

SHE on the other hand, wasn't nearly as excited that brother was 'gone'. She said, "brother go?" and then laid her head on my shoulder sad- Poor girl is gonna have a hard time when he starts Kindergarten.

To the BAT CAVE! & FHE

2011-09-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

OH NO!

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This past Sunday we had FHE and it was on the Stripling Warriors. We were talking about being in the Lord's army, and using our own protection and weapons to fight Satan and his "tools" of lying, cheating, disobeying, etc. I think they liked it...

Listening to Dad reading the scenarios before going into battle-

If You Build It, They Will Come...

2011-09-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Let's just say Michael is a fort building MASTER-

Ring-Around-The-Rosie is apparently much more fun in a fort-

And so is wrestling...

Oh, you MUST take a nap in the fort too...

Dinner time! Oh, nom-nom-nom, that's some good pretend food.

HAVING FUN!!

Oh THANKS for the drink, Bug. I was PARCHED.

Jill Turns 26!!

2011-09-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month I turned 26- Ooh...Will somebody please remember that? I usually can't. Although when my Young Women sang to me that Sunday they said, "You're only 26?!" Gee...thanks girls! SHEESH.

Michael was a champ and amidst all of his studies managed to pull together a little fun festivity the day of. He says, "Honey! Come stand under the balcony and close your eyes!" Not gonna lie, that made me a bit nervous. I was bracing myself for something to smack me on the head. But alas, it was a shower of balloons and streamers-

For my birthday he got me an outfit to wear on our "birthday celebration date"- He's a champ like that ;-)

YAY! So the following Saturday we had a babysitter come over and watch the kids and we went on our "hot date" out alone. It was AWESOME!

I promise we're KIND of normal...I did say "kind of",,,

First we went to see The Lion King!!

(FYI- If you have a student ID you get tickets the day of for $25! Score. Michael was a champ and left at 8am that morning to stand in line and be there in plenty of time for the place to open at 9am and was first at the window because the seats are first come first serve at the student price. We ended up with the $200+ ticket seats for only the $25. Boo yeah.)

My birthday outfit ;-)

After the show we went to a place called Ferraro's (also has a locals discount for 50% off)- It was BY FAR the fanciest place either of us had eaten at. It was an Italian place and the guy that served us was actually FROM Italy named Paulo. They even had a dude in the bathroom handing you your towel to dry your hands. There was more than one fork, and when they seat you they ask you if you'll be having any wine, we said no, then the host did some flip of a utensil and POOF! Three other guys SWOOP in, and SNATCH away all the unnecessary items from the table. It was CRAZY. While Michael was using the restroom they even came and re-rolled his napkin. It was quite the experience. Don't know that I could ever justify that much on a meal for two again, but it's fun to say that we've been somewhere like that before. It was fantastic to try new things (I tried Halibut! *Gasp!*) and go new places.

It was a GREAT birthday! Thanks to BOTH of our parents for the birthday gifts- I enjoyed it!!

Rogers Family Visit

2011-09-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

At the begging of August Michael's brother and his family along with Michael's parents came to visit. James ran a midnight half-marathon near area 51 and so we made an event of it...even though nobody was crazy enough to go out there and watch him cross the finish line. We were there in spirit :-)

A tradition of G'ma & G'pa Rogers visiting is cascarones.

For an evening out we all went down to Lake Las Vegas and watched the free Jazz on the Lake festivities. Unfortunately it was SUPER loud so we had to move back and then the kids lost interest. But it was fun while it lasted.

Thanks for a great visit everybody! Unfortunately these were really the only pics I got of the weekend. Just know it was great fun!

Michael Turns 28!

2011-09-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately being amidst some gnarly last didactic session studying/tests doesn't lend very well to an exciting birthday party, but we did our best! We had already agreed that we didn't want to buy too much for one another and just set aside our birthday money to live on in that period between graduation and employment and to buy clothes for his clinicals. But, let the record show, while the gifts he got were small and simple, he DID get them for his birthday! Thanks Mom & Dad Rogers for the birthday money!

For rolling out his muscles after long runs. Times used: 1, Weeks it sat in the closet: 3. Items returned: 1 :-(

We had some family friends over for cake & ice cream- So we're not TOTAL squares ;-)

Yes, there were 28 candles!

Cutting the cake & serving ice cream for guests-

For the record, look at this guy one year ago! This pic was taken on his birthday-

I'm SOO proud of him and all he's accomplished in year 27, can't wait to see what 28 brings his way!

24th of July, 2011

2011-09-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

Every year the Green Valley Stake does their Pioneer Day parade/festivities. We had a great time this year and look forward to it-

~Parade~

So Mr. G was focused on collecting candy in the parade and didn't realize that the InTouch! mascot was right behind him, so when he turned around he was a bit freaked out!

The "Drill Team" - BOOOO
It was a bunch of old men doing a choreographed dance with their power drills. Hardy har-har.

My friend Christine and I competed in the stick pulling contest.
This was me just before I about got thrown over her head!

Mr. G hammering in nails, just like the pioneers did when they built houses.

Candle making-

Bug enjoyed the coloring table for the younger kids.

"It's Electric!" & "Call for back-up!"

2011-09-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

One of the things that makes having a trampoline worth it to me, is seeing my daughter's hair do this. I know I've posted pictures like this before, but it just NEVER gets old. And hers is by FAR the best I've EVER seen, and I grew up 18 years with a trampoline, so that's saying a lot. The longer her hair gets the more I love it!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Last Christmas Mr. G got quite the stock of dress-up clothes. And they have been SO fun for these kids.

Lately, however, Ms. Bug has gotten quite into it. And a few Sundays ago she spend quite a while being just like her "Grumpa" Griffin, a cop.

CHEESE!

Hands behind your back!

"Uh oh! Problem!! I'm the copper, not the bad guy!"

"Copy! Call for back up!"

BIG WINNER!

2011-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

So every few months Michael's school will have a family game night with drawings and such. The most recent one was a Bingo/Pizza night and they hold it in a big classroom that seats probably 75 or so. The room was mostly full of other students and their families. Although we were one of a small handful with our young kids. Anyways, as the game progressed Michael won a really nice Touro hoodie (he's a HUGE hoodie wearer) and Mr. G won the GRAND prize of the $50 AmEx gift card!! So we let him go to Toys R Us and find something and spend HALF of it, then he had to pay his tithing and save the other half. He got the walkie-talkie's, but they unfortunately were a flop and got returned. But it was a great night! He was standing up on his chair and saying, "BINGO!" and everybody behind us started busting up because he was going up against a medical student for the blackout bingo and took it!

These Two...

2011-09-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

These two, are thicker than glue...

I have been so proud of Mr. G lately, and the display of how much he loves his little sister and really takes her under his wing. He honestly feels a great sense of responsibility to guide and protect and love her. And in return, she returns that love and affection and adoration back. She really does look up to him. They are opposites in every way shape and form, even down to the direction their 'cow-licks' swirl. But yet they are such pals! Mr. G always introduces Bug to strangers and kids at the parks, "This is my little sister. She's sweet. Her name is..." or to other kids "Be careful around her! She's my baby sister. Her name is ..." And he'll even tell other kids who accidentally bump her or who aren't mindful, "Hey! Watch out! That's my baby sister! Be careful!" She loves to give him big hugs and the first thing in the morning she always wants to know where he is or what he's doing. She spends a good portion of her day following him around and doing exactly whatever he's doing. He puts his arms up, so she does! He says "woo hoo!" so she says "foo foo!" Etc. Any time he goes to any sort of appointment and gets a sticker or sucker, he always asks for another one for is little sister. He always takes care to make sure she has whatever he gets, too. It's cute. I hope and pray they keep this special connection of theirs forever.

My Wise Monkey

2011-09-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

"See no evil..."

"Hear no evil..."

"Speak no evil..."

"SMELL no evil..."

"WAIT A SECOND!! That's not one!!"

"AHH HA HA!! I'm SOO hilarious!!"

Red~White~Blue, 4th of July 2011

2011-09-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July this year was a lot of fun! We had a pretty lame-sauce holiday last year which included a trip to the ER and zero real fireworks- Unless you count the ones Michael & Mr. G saw on the way to the hospital. So this year we were determined to get out there and really see what Henderson/Vegas had to offer for the 4th. We're definitely still learning the in's & out's to the area, but we DID learn, however, that Boulder is the place to BE during the 4th. Although what we also learned, and wish we already knew, was that at the end of the city's parade is a water fight of epic proportions. We're talking the WHOLE CITY is involved! Parade watchers bring water canon type deals, have igloos full of water and water balloons along the WHOLE parade route. That would have definitely been something worth knowing as we would have prepared MUCH differently. But, it was still a good time!

Heading into Boulder- Mr. G likes to pretend that any little bump in the road is worthy of a "wooo!" like unto a roller coaster. It makes for some pretty loud trips, unfortunately.

First on the agenda that morning was the pancake breakfast that the local rotary club puts on. It was a good time. Reminded me of the "small town" things that I miss sometimes. Lucky for us, the pancake breakfast was in a park and we had some time to kill before the parade started and had already saved our spots along the route, so the kids got to play a while before we headed over to watch the parade.

Riding that horse was SOO exhausting-

Oh you know- Just a little alien encounter. No big... ;-)

Saving our spots and waiting for our friends to arrive.

Really sweet antique airplane fly overs.

Governor Brian Sandoval- I thought it was cool of him to walk in the parade with his daughter in little 'ole Boulder.

Yay! The Millers!!

Unfortunately this was about the time that my battery died on my camera. So I TOTALLY missed the crazy water fights, and then the pictures from watching the fireworks totally didn't work out either. We went swimming that afternoon at the Miller's complex and then had a spaghetti dinner and went to a look out spot to watch the fireworks from all around the valley and light sparklers. And now that we've had a huge panoramic perspective, we can DEFINITELY tell you where to go next year- The District. Boy howdy were they rockin' the fireworks over there!

Mr. G turns 4!!

2011-09-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

Look who turned 4, on June 27th - Yes, I know...over 2 months ago.

So sue me.

But we DID celebrate!

We had JUST gotten back from vacation and were still "recovering", so THE day of his birthday we just did fun family stuff. We took him to his favorite splash pad and had a little family party.

Later we had some cupcakes/cake and ice cream- I think it's safe to say the kids are big fans of cake...

He did get to open two gifts on THE day of. He opened up this marble maze thing and sidewalk chalk.

A few days later we had his "birthday party" and Michael assembled his own version of a water park and we had a BBQ and water fun. Thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate!

Mr. G and his buddy, B.

Opening gifts-

Mr. G hugging his "Gramma Caffy"-
The kids have kind of adopted her as their local grandma since their 'real' ones are so far away.

We sure do love our handsome boy, Mr. G. He brings SOOO much personality and energy to our family. He is starting to read and can't wait to start kindergarden next year. He is extremely loving and loves to express that love. He tends to be the leader of the group and has an imagination that goes a million miles an hour. He also loves learning about the gospel and asking questions about it. He's been reading his "scriptures" (kid readers) every night and says really good prayers that always include, but are not limited to, "please bless that we'll have a fun time..." no matter when and where the prayers are said. He's very independent and exceptionally bright. He'll occasionally ask me funny things like, "Mom, what does Jerusalem look like?" and "Why did Jesus give Moses some fire?" He LOOOVES his sister, Bug, and is super protective of her, but I'll make a separate post for them later. We sure do love you son! Happy 4 years!

Summer Family Vacay- Part 4

2011-09-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

WHEW!! Last part!! We went back to Coronado Island at the tail end of our trip and it was a good time- Well, up until Michael got stung by something out in the ocean. But it was fun while it lasted! I ended up having to gather and pack up all the stuff because whatever got Michael cut his foot and we all know that sand in an open wound doesn't feel so hot. So I had to make several trips, but I got it done. These kids had a BLAST burying their dad and being buried in the sand.

This is what we call sibling payback...

"Hey brother, this if for that time you took away my baby..." WHACK!

This was Mr. G's payback to his dad for making him ride the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster a second terrifying time.

Ms. Bug practicing her Baywatch poses...

Proof that we're officially THE coolest parents EVER. After we got all gathered up and packed up at the beach we went to this place called the MooTime Creamery. It lived up to all the hype we heard about it online- Such a cute little place.

To say that both kids had sand CAKED in their hair would be an understatement. I just take it as proof that it was a hard play day- Which is what I call vacation success.

We're REALLY glad we took this vacation with just the four of us. I think we created some super fun memories that we'll all cherish forever. It was great to just hang back and let the kids dig their toes in the sand, listen to the waves, and explore new places. Definitely gotta do it again soon-

Summer Family Vacay- Part 3

2011-09-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Next stop on our vacation was the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier turned museum. Very interesting, although kinda hard on the kiddos to keep their attention. Maybe when they're like 10 it would be more interesting. But it was cool for Michael and I.

This would be where the lowest ranks slept- They were stacked three high. Their lights in their bunks were like RIGHT in front of their faces! I would have thrown blows to have the top bunk...Claustrophobia anybody?

The kids posing with the anchor chains.

BUG!! Haven't we told you it's rude to look up a man's towel! Naughty...

Girl knew which chair she wanted!!

This airplane is crazy- It flew a Korean family consisting of the father (pilot), his wife, and their FIVE kids from Korea to the aircraft carrier during the war-

Mr. G was being naughty and was sent to the brig ;-)

Engine room command center-

Hanger-

Testing out some jet seats-

Kids greatest dream come true- Look at all those nobs and switches!

"Mr. G" (aka Mom & Dad) earned his junior pilot rank and he got a sweet set of wings (pin).

Definitely wore the kids out with this one!!

Tag, I'm It.

2011-08-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Let it be known, that I don't respond to these "tags" for just anybody. But for Mrs. Erika H. Smith, I'd do it ANYDAY. Because I want her to "have a nice daaaaay!" (inside joke, don't feel like a nerd for not knowing why that's in quotes).

I am supposed to post a random picture, and give a random morsel of info about me. So above is my random picture of me and Bug playing inside the fort Michael built last night for the kids.

My random tidbit about myself is that I can't stand a messy stack of folded dish rags. When I fold them I always have the folds on the same sides of the stack and always have them folded so they're the same size. A little OCD? I think, YES. I'm totally at peace with my OCD-ness. It makes me feel all happy and domestic to see them all neatly folded and uniform.

I tag: Rebecca J. (cause she's a fellow Provo/Bostonian Sista'-From-Another-Mista'), Sharley L., Jen B., and Amanda H.

Side Note: So my friend Erika's random factoid was that she can't stand to clean the bathrooms and

has made her hubs do it since they were married. I'm here to say that I have the BEST child ever- Mr. G told me today after I told him we needed to clean the bathrooms, "YAY! I LIKE to clean the bathrooms! That's my favorite!" Yessssss. I think that just might take your munchkin's and her dishes, Erika. ;-)

Secondary Side Note: Yes, I know, I'm still TRAGICALLY behind on the blog. I'm working on it, promise!

Rogers Family 1st EVER Summer Vacay! - Part 2

2011-08-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

The next big piece of fun for our vacation was a FULL day at Sea World- First thing that morning we went straight to the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster. Mr. G was pretty bummed that he couldn't go the afternoon we did a quick stop there, but we promised we'd do it first thing the next day we were there. He was intent on sitting in the front and we didn't even really have to wait to go on the ride. I was excited I got to be the first to go with him on his first ever roller coaster and see his response. The poor guy! By the end he was huddled against the side of the car white knuckling the bar and when he got off he said, "Mom, that was SO scary, I don't like that. I'm not doing it again."

And then we convinced him to do it again as long as dad held his arm across G. I know it's horrible to say, but the picture that the cameras on the ride caught of Mr. G's face of pure TERROR were far too hilarious. Especially considering his dad's face of pure joy/excitement. I think because he couldn't stick his arms up, his tongue was apparently the next best thing.

Afterwards he tried to play tough and say, "That was fun. I liked it. But I don't want to do it again..."

For the next while we just let the kids play at the Sesame Street Bay of Play

and calm poor Mr. G's nerves-

Bug watching the bay of play musical performance with her buddy Zoe in it-

Rogers Family 1st EVER Summer Vacay! - Part 1

2011-08-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm FAR behind in all of my blogging, but here's hoping I can get caught up! This summer (in June), we took our first ever "just us" family vacation. We went to San Diego and took the kids to Sea World and lots of other fun places. It'll be a journalling-by-picture kind of thing. It was a LOT of fun, and we can't wait to do it again!

Finally hitting the road!

As soon as we pulled into San Diego we went straight to Sea World to get out the wiggles and enjoy the afternoon.

The kids got to do a character meet'n greet with the Sesame Street characters at the Bay of Play. Bug and Zoe had a "thing". Zoe kept breaking out from other groups of families taking pictures to see Bug. It was very cute. So when we finally got over to take our pictures the kids were much more excited-

Finally tall enough to ride all the "big kid" rides!

Waiting in line as patiently as they could for their first ride-

Bug's very first "roller coaster" ride- well, ANY ride for that matter!

Dad teaching her the finer art of riding a "coaster"-

Mr. G getting ready to see the Blue Horizon's show- Very excited! We sat in the second row, center!

Being amazed at the show!

AFTER the show! We were ALL soaked, including Bug! I did my best to cover her, but when you're that close, there's only so much you can do!

The boys getting ready to ride a "high" ride!

Michael has this talent of making EVERY ride look exciting- You'll see more of this later...

Me and Mr. G getting to ride together-

Big Grandma & The Big Grand-

2011-07-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June, I took the kids (either by bravery or stupidity- I don't know which) by myself to Arizona while Michael finished up his 3rd session of school. The intended purpose of the trip was for my Grandma's (aka "Big Grandma") 80th birthday. However, I decided to go a few days early to spend some girl time with my sister-in-law Alyson and let the kids play. WOO! We wore those kids OUT! LOL.

Just after getting to James & Alyson's home, they quickly found their way to the sand box and were caked in sand down to the scalp in no time flat- It was a good quick way to bond and get their travel wiggles out. ;-)

The next day we decided to take the kids to the Tempe Town Lake splash pad- Which was fun because it's not one I'd been to in the valley, and the kids had a BALL!

Even Ms. Chicken-Of-The-Water got into it! I was SOOO surprised!

Alyson and her boys having a quick pow-wow. I love M's feet in this pic- He's so casual! LOL.

Really, could these two boys be any cuter?! It was so fun to get to know my sweet nephews better-

Bug, doing what she does best- Anything that will give a good rush of adrenaline. Yes, she kept trying to make her way to the slide. She's my dare-devil!

So finally I gave in, and let her go down the slide, but big-brother had to help her at the top so I could catch her at the bottom.

We spent a few more days playing with Alyson & the boys and then met up with my family the day of the party. The festivities were all held at my Uncle Russell's house, and he happens to have a pool, so that afternoon Mr. G and my little sister, Katie spend THREE HOURS in there!

I think I'm going to call her FLIPPER from now on!

Bug was napping while they were playing in the pool so when she woke up I let her do a little skinny dipping-

Let's just say this boy was playing HARD! He was doing all sorts of tricks off the diving board!

"Greypa" apparently found the way to this girls heart- FRUIT!

The next day we hit the big water park at the Arizona Grand Resort for a "Grandkids" weekend to play together and do something fun as a family. This was the day we REALLY missed Michael- He would have had a BLAST! Unfortunately I didn't have my own camera this day- So these are the slim pickin's from my little sisters camera.

This girl kept on those sunglasses ALL DAY LONG! A little too much pink? Nah...

Nice sunglasses, Jason!

So me being the smart person I am, decided to go down this thing...

I don't want to talk about how it ended...Let's just leave it at that! Youch.

A funny from that day, was that amidst one of my SEVERAL attempts to make it over to the previously mentioned slide-of-doom was that while I was gone, my mom was keeping an eye on both kids. Mr. G had jacket on and was playing contently in the wave pool, so I wasn't too concerned. Well, I make it back and not 3 seconds later I hear, "Jill R. please come to the front desk. Your song G____ is here waiting for you." I look at my mom with a, "What the HECK?! Why is he THERE?!" Apparently in the split second my mom was attending to Bug, he saw me run off and chased after me, obviously I was unaware of it. I ran faster than he could keep up with and got "lost" in the crowd. So he tracked down a "lady with a blue shirt" (all the employees were wearing blue polos and gold name-tags) and told her he couldn't find his mommy. So she took him over to the shack and he told them what his mom's name was, what his name was (and SPELLED IT!) and sat there and told them ALL about his little sister, and how he was there on "macation." I was just so proud of him for knowing exactly what to do! That could have turned out a lot less favorably!

All the Griffin Grandkids together before we all took off for home-

My favorite part of this is how olive my kids look after spending some time in the son- We have their Grandma Rogers to thank for that!

The ride home was definitely a little quieter. I was ready to be back home, but everything went MUCH more smoothly than I was prepared for! Mr. G did a fantastic job of being "The Man in Charge" in the back and took really good care of Bug giving her snacks, toys, changing movies, etc. He's a SUPER good big brother!

A HUGE thank you to my parents for the great weekend! It was really fun to be together for nothing other than to PLAY and enjoy each other! Good times-

Soccer, Spring 2011.

2011-07-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

And thus begins my feeble attempt at catching up- Hang tight!

Mr. G's soccer league ended, and he was sad that it was over, but I think we were all done driving back and forth so far twice a week for practice/games. But he really enjoyed it. So the parents got together and organized a little pizza party and gave the boys their trophies. We were happy we got him the cheap one, because it ended up being the coolest one too! It wasn't the cheap plastic ones- And I think it made him feel special.

From left to right: Coach pat, Nate, Mr. G, "Bubbah"
Hadley, Mariah, Jake, Harrison

GOOOO, SHARKS!

I do want to note that he ended the season on a really great note- He made TWO GOALS the last game! YAY!! We were so glad, because the only goal he'd made all year was for the OTHER team!

Big Deal!: Bug Starts Nursery!

2011-07-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

When did my cute kiddos get so big?! *Sniffle* Slow down already!

I know I have a TOOOOON of back-blocking to do: Fathers Day, Vacation, Mr. G's birthday, etc. But this is a short simple and HUGE event that I wanted to quickly recognize.

Today our sweet Bug started nursery! And to say that she loved it seems like a bit of an understatement! Michael and I were also asked to substitute in there today, so it was fun to go in there with her on her first day and see how she did. She is most DEFINITELY a "little sister"- She sticks to her guns in there if another kid tries to steal her toy. It's very interesting to see how the other kids (all mostly first children) respond to that. SOO funny. Another boy try to take her toy and she grunt/screamed and pulled it back and it kind of shocked him! Like, "WOAH! I'm not used to THAT!" But when she's got an older brother like she does, she's gotta learn to stand up for herself- LOL. Such a big girl!

Then later, after church was over, Michael went to go pick her up and was talking in the hall to somebody, she wiggled loose, and walked down the hall (she was a good ways down!) and back into the nursery and started playing with the toys again. Then later when I was walking out with her (Michael brought the kids to the YW room after my lesson, and then we left the building) I was letting her walk and as soon as we got near that part of the building she let go of my hand, and RAN (not tottled or slowly meandered) to the nursery room and then threw her weight to the floor when I tried to stop her. She REALLY wanted to be back in nursery! SOO glad it went well. I honestly was a little nervous because she's such a momma's girl, but she did great. I know that it can change once the novelty of going has worn off, but for now we're happy with her positive entrance.

Can you tell she's a little excited?

Just Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

2011-05-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Michael was off of school for Memorial Day, so he studied for a good part of the day, but came back after naps so that we could "play". He told me when he left that if I came up with something fun, he'd come home at 3pm to play. Unfortunately I didn't come up with anything until he walked in the door and I said, "Let's slip'n slide!" Unfortunately funds are a bit low currently, being at the end of the session, and we're going on vacation in a few weeks, so we gotta SAVE! Anyways, so my slip'n slide idea, was basically to go to Lowe's and get a tarp. I would say it worked out pretty well!

Michael and I even got in on the action!

Ok, really....cutest picture EVER!

This would be how she feels about being splashed. NOT a fan.
AT ALL.

We even did water-hose silhouettes-

Did I really just post a pic of myself in a swimming suit?
Yikes.

Does this give anybody parental anxiety to have our toddler standing in a bucket of water?
No worries, we were there at ALL times-

Hmmm...This bucket isn't as big as he remembers!

So we're standing there, and she's twirling in the water and started "blowing bubbles" in the water (aka toots).
So she heard me telling Michael that and started trying to REALLY blow bubbles in the water. Unfortunately her version of blowing bubbles is merely licking it.

Happy Summer Everybody!

5 Year Wedding Anniversary!

2011-05-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend Michael and I celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary. We started the day off with Michael going with me to Boot Camp at 6am (THANK YOU CHRISTINE! You rock my WORLD for coming over at 5:45am to watch my kids so we could do this, it was AWESOME!)- And to be honest, I think he made the rest of the class feel bad because he was doing so good! Way to go honey! My favorite moment from that morning was when Michael was keeping on the instructors heels (and even did extra reps of things) and she yells, "I LOVE THE HUSBAND!" so I yelled back, "ME TOO!!"

Then for our date that evening, our dear friend Cathy, whom the kids call "Gramma Caffy" watched our little chicks and we went on our "hot date" to Lake Las Vegas. I had big plans to do the paddle boats, but unfortunately the weather didn't get that memo and it was far too windy to do them. So instead we just walked the little village and looked in the shops. It was still a fun, quiet, kid-free time.

Michael found his future "thinking chair"-

You notice the trash bag by his feet? Gah- So Michael bought me a new purse there in one of the little shops, and the guy put the nice new purse in not one, but TWO dumpy white trash bags! I mean, c'mon! SHOPPING BAGS! You're a shop at LAKE LAS VEGAS! This is a RESORT place- TRASH BAGS?!

Then we had reservations for dinner at a place called Bernard's Bistro. We had an outside table overlooking the lake and it was really good! It was a French-Californian cuisine, so we were both a little unsure of how it was going to be, but we loved it! We shared everything, so it was perfect-

5 years!

I know it looks strange, but this was an AMAZING caesar salad-
the dressing was killer, and the avocado was a great addition.

We shared the tandori chicken as well- It was nice and light (although not our intention), and had lots of great flavor. But mostly, look how fancy it looks!

Overall, it was a GREAT evening, and we couldn't have done it without the great friends we've made here who lovingly took care of the kids. Happy Anniversary Love, I couldn't do eternity without you! ;-)

Fun, Sun, & Friends

2011-05-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last week we FINALLY (gosh, Kristen! ;-) ) got to go play with our friends the Millers. We went down to Town Square and let the kiddos play on the little village, had a picnic, and then let them run around in the splash pad, sans swimwear! We're cool mom's like that.

Since when did she get so big so fast! Slow down, baby girl!

So I love that Kristen pulls out a camera and Bug is ALL smiles- I pull out a camera and I get the deer in the headlights look. Gee, thanks!

To say that she LOVED this table, would be a HUGE understatement.

Bug checkin' out the maze for the first time-

She preferred this over the water. She wanted to go, and go, and go, and go, and GO around on this.

HE on the other hand, couldn't be anywhere BUT in the water.

One minor collision...Neither were injured, but it sure made for a sweet action shot!

Look how much she's grown since our last visit!

Thanks for the great play date Millers!!! We love our fun time together- Really...we should do this more often. ;-)

Cheesy Grins

2011-05-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

Bug has this funny face she's been doing a lot lately.

She alternates quickly between this face:

And this face:

We sure do love our Bug and her cheesy grins-

Ice Cream Festival- 2011

2011-05-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got a flier in the mail about an Ice Cream Festival at the Springs Preserve- We've never been to the Preserve, and the festival involved all you can eat ice cream sundaes, floats, cold treats, etc. I mean, it was a win-win! So we went to one of Mr. G's two soccer games that morning, then ditched the second for the festival. I had saved that flier on the fridge for weeks so I wouldn't miss it!

On the way, apparently Bug decided she needed a pre-ice cream snack.

Her toes.

Our first stop, was air brush tattoos. Or as Mr. G likes to call them, "Tic-tac-toes".

G: Hey! Hey! Guess what! I got a big dinosaur tic-tac-toe,

and mommy got a bird, and daddy got a surfer dude tic-tac-toe.

OOoh- Tough guys with their tough 'tats.

Awe- Matching admission bands.

At the festival they also had carnival type games which were a lot of fun. Even if he didn't really "get" any of them, he still got a bunch of great cheap toys. All of which have MYSTERIOUSLY disappeared.

This picture just makes me laugh- She was SOOO tired, but still wanted more ice cream. So we let her have it! HA HA HA. We were at an Ice Cream festival!

I mean, c'mon! That's the fun of it, is unlimited ice cream!

Needless to say, she was SOAKED and SANDY after this!

This was taken just after getting in the car, while still in the parking lot! She was EXHAUSTED! And there may have been something about a sugar crash involved ;-)

Kick, Kick, Kick!

2011-05-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Mr. G was able to finally start his first swimming lessons! I've tried to teach him before, but he just doesn't give me the time of day. He knows how to make me frustrated and flake out- So I knew he'd need somebody ELSE teaching him, so we utilized the rec. center.

He loved it! It was especially nice that he had some friends from the ward in there with him. In the end he was able to advance to the next level, which we'll start in July.

"monkey" crawling on the wall

Waiting to start kicks-

Learning how to back float-

Finishing up his floats. P.S. See that guy walking up the stairs? He was there every week, bless his heart. I always thought it was really funny that he was there "exercising" with a cold soda in his hand at all times.

Mr. G's cheerleader especially liked when lessons were OVER so she could do this in the locker rooms while he dried off.

Happy Mother's Day! 2011

2011-05-08T16:25:00.001-07:00

Can I just tell you?

This man:

Rocked my Mother's Day world!! Let's be honest, he usually does. But boy howdy did he do great this year! I woke up to breakfast in bed, and a vase of roses with a big bag of peanut butter m&m's (ooooh! trouble!). The whole clan was piled onto our bed to watch me eat- Well, I think the kids were there for "bites"! It was a great way to start the day- Michael had even prepared the wet & dry ingredients the night before. I had NO CLUE!

After breakfast I had the morning to myself to get ready for church- Which was awesome!

SOME of my "loot" from Mother's Day. Apparently Mr. G picked out the card all by himself-
It's perfect. It says, "Mom, I know I can be a stinker..."

Inside to the card- The red is Bug's "name", and the blue is Mr. G's attempts at signing his name.

I ALSO got, which I'm SOOO excited for this gift card to Gianna Christine salon at The District!!!:

I told you he rocked my world!!

Then after church we had our Sunday Mother's Day meal that I requested- No we didn't calorie count this one. I didn't want to know!! HA! (Besides, I start bootcamp tomorrow morning, I'll work it off ;-) )

I requested MY Mom's roasted chicken, funeral potatoes, and corn. My man DELIVERED!

I can't begin to express how grateful I am for this sweet little family and my two little "stinkers" (as G's card says). They are my greatest trial and treasure. And THEY wouldn't be possible without my sweetheart. Love you all!

And for OUR (Michael and I's) mothers:

ENJOY!

Toothless.

2011-05-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I'm not talking about this guy-

Toothless the dragon from How to Train Your Dragon-

I'm talking about this guy...

Mr. G was playing with a friend today when they had a small altercation over a nerf gun, had a tug of war, and Mr. G won. But it was his "victory" over the gun that resulted in a follow through of gun to the mouth. His tooth was bleeding pretty good straight from the gum-line. We just put a wet paper towel on it for a while to see how it would do, but it kept bleeding. So then later (like an hour later) I checked it again and realized how loose the tooth was. So we took him into a pediatric dentist and they said it'd have to come out. They also noticed he really didn't have any roots to his front teeth either- They were resorbed. So that means he either is developing early (dentally) or had some sort of crazy trauma a while ago- But we don't remember anything that intense.

So he got to have the dentist remove his tooth, but it took all of like 10 minutes to do the whole thing. Numbing, laughing gas, and all.

Excited for the tooth fairy- Even if he doesn't look it!

The funny thing, is later this evening we took him to Wal-Mart to pick out a "sorry you had a rough day and lost your tooth" toy, and what's the one thing he kept asking for?

A nerf gun.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

I'm going to be 100% honest.

Easter just isn't our holiday.

Every year it seems like we really try to make it a fun/special day, but we all are either sick, or cranky, or something weird goes down. But we're trying to make it a good holiday!

Promise.

This year was no exception. Both Bug and I have been fighting a cold all week, and I'm like 85% sure I have a sinus infection too. Not to mention my puking on my way to and at the temple yesterday because I was having a bad reaction to some antibiotics. At least Michael got a session in! (And I got to know the first aid peeps at the temple pretty well- :-S ).

But we did still dye some eggs...

Michael even got fancy and shrink wrapped some.

We even had our own little Easter Egg hunt.

There were no egg-survivors.

Easter Morning-

Daddy reading Bug her new book.

She likes chocolate.
REALLY, REALLY likes it.

Add caption

The girls- All matchy. It's a right of motherhood to do this, right?

You like it?! I made our matchy-matchy Easter dresses.

Michael and Mr. G matched the girls with their ties too, unfortunately you can't tell with us all together ever-
This picture is pretty descriptive of our morning. If one wasn't crying, the other one was (or was on the verge).

Hairy Business: Part 2

2011-04-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

See, I told you she was patient!

Hairy Business

2011-04-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know any mother who wouldn't tell you that half the fun of having a girl, is getting to play with their hair, and enjoying it long. The longer it gets, the more fun I/we have with it! She's getting more curls on the ends, but it seems to be staying pretty fine and blonde. She's very good about just sitting still and letting me play with her hair. She'll just happily play while I pull and tug on her and she doesn't even seem to know that I'm there. It's fantastic!

The other "bonus" to her hair, is the "crazy" hair times that make us giggle-

Gotta love the post-pony hair do.

Her first "real" piggies. Awe...cute...They made her look so grown up!

Further Reflection

2011-04-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

After my last post, which I admit I did in haste, but I'm fairly glad I did.

Are things getting done more quickly? No, not really.

BUT, having the opportunity to step back and look at "the beast", I appreciate further my course of action. Do I still find myself wishing I could just click on our "Facebook" tab and see what's going on for the day? YES. Is it still a struggle? Ehe...kinda, but not really. It's more of trying to break a habit of something I did with my time than something I severely miss. Because quite honestly, not much happens on there within 24 hours. Nothing that I couldn't easily catch up on in about 5 minutes.

Upon further reflection I honestly can see how it (and any "addictive website"- Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs etc.) can be a tool used by "Scratch" to draw us away from our families.

Don't worry, we're having quiet time right now, so I'm having self-control ;-)

In theory, are these respective sites EVIL or BAD? Not necessarily, they can be very useful tools when utilized correctly! Sure they can be of poor report depending on what kind of people you allow to view and you view profiles of. I mean, sure if you've friended sickos, of course! But you were asking for it! HOWEVER, in the general population, you won't find inappropriate material on friends' pages. And if you DO, I pray you DELETE them. I did that just the other day, and it was a family member! Still trash I didn't need to see frequently. But it is just one more sneaky sneaky tool that Scratch uses to draw the family apart. I mean, aren't there enough?! Music, TV, peers, internet, magazines, books, TEACHERS/professors sometimes, school halls, word of wisdom stuff etc. Don't we have ENOUGH to worry about without having to INTENTIONALLY bring upon our family one other wedge in our focus of eternity?

Is FB evil? No.

Will it stop us from eternally progressing? No.

But can it be a point of addiction that CAN draw us away from our agency and self-control? Yes.

Just like any other substance, addiction (to video games maybe?), it is an agency limiting practice.

This is me kicking Scratch in the gonads.

Take that addictive site! HIIII-YAH!

Too much?

Sorry.

Robbery.

2011-04-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

I admit it.

I'm an addict.

And I'm done.

I'm addicted to Facebook. And I know it. The first step is admitting it. And this is me doing it. I love being connected, and it's become the "I'm bored, what's going on with FB? Maybe something exciting has happened to somebody else today" thing. Like when people say "Um..." mid-sentence (or lecture in Michael's case ;-)), Facebook is my LIFE "um". When I'm not actively doing something I get sucked in, or use it as an excuse to procrastinate.

Every time, I get sucked in.

And this time, was the last time. It's robbing me of my own ability to parent as well as I should, and robbing everybody else in my home of the progress in all aspects of our life necessary (think about it...imagine how clean our bathrooms would be, or how many times through we could have read our scriptures by now if we would just lay off one simple website?!).

I've asked Michael to change my password, so that I can only access it when he does it FOR me. Because while I love being connected to everybody else's world, it's pulling me from being connected to my OWN world. I had just gotten off iChat with my mom because Bug was climbing up the stairs and I had JUST told her, "I gotta go, Bug is climbing up the stairs" and ended the conversation, then got distracted by a Facebook status and the next thing I hear is a thud and a scream.

That's right, Bug had fallen down the stairs (only 2 up) and hit her head on the tile.

Because of Facebook.

And my lack of self-control.

And I'm LIVID about it. I'm angry with MYSELF, and I'm angry with stupid friggin' Facebook! Piece of crap. I mean, it's a GENIUS concept- It really is! But it's a cunning little devil! It really IS an addiction!

So I'm done- It's not worth it, anymore. Well, it was never WORTH it to START with. I'm not entirely deleting the account, because let's face it, everybody ELSE is addicted too! (Admit it...you know you are too...) and it's a GREAT and EASY way to communicate with people quickly.

But in the meantime, I'm only logging in ONCE a day, MAYBE. So if you need to communicate with me, text or email me.

I need to disconnect from everybody else and get re-connected with my kids, my hubby, my home, and the rest of my life. I love you all and knowing what's going on, but I need to get myself set straight.

I just don't want to look back and my life, and realize how much of it I wasted sitting on my butt looking at Facebook. I mean, really?! I ALREADY regret how much of not only my OWN life I've wasted, but my children's. How much the quality of our life would be far better in our home if I wasn't addicted.

Maybe I can start a new movement. You in?

GOAL!!

2011-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Mr. G started his first soccer league. He's SOOO loving it! He's not bad, either! He unfortunately isn't the quickest kid on the field, but what he lacks in speed he makes up for in size and determination. It's a great "outlet" for him to get out and get a little energy out-

Mr. G's cheering section.

"Springtime, Sunrise, Everything That's Fresh and New..."

2011-03-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

10 pts. for the first person who can correctly identify where the title line is from. ;-)

Spring is in the air in the Rogers household! And I'd be lying if I didn't say we LOVE it. It's so fun to see everything bloom and turn green.

Cilantro anybody?!

Little baby bell peppers getting ready to grow!

Nectarine tree-

Jill Runs First Race: Green Valley 5K!

2011-03-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I wouldn't quite call it an "official" race, but it was an organized 5K! I admit it was a bit harder than I thought it would be, but I wasn't really prepped for it (I hadn't exercised all week- UGH), stayed up way to late the night before, it was FREEZING that morning, and I have abnormally low blood pressure (dadgum genetics!) anyways, so the conditions weren't IDEAL for a 5K, but we finished! I admit I walked for a few minutes here and there, but never TOO long. But who cares?! I DID IT, AND I FINISHED! I could have been easily home in my warm bed NOT running! HA!

After the race with my kid-cicles.

We ALLL went! It was Michael's first 5K too! Awe, how cute...He was a great "keep going" kinda guy-

Oh, she's SOOOO pretty.

Mr. G enjoying the post-race pancake breakfast. It was actually super good!

I am really glad that I did it, but my have to honestly consider if I'm in the right place (medically speaking) to run another race. Keeping active and fit is an absolute must, but I didn't expect some of the things that happened during the run (black spots in vision, etc.)- If I DO run again, I'll absolutely have to prep ahead WAAAY better than I did.

Michael's First Half-Marathon! Six Tunnels Over Hoover Dam

2011-03-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

On March 12, 2011 Michael ran his first half-marathon. What a MAN, right?! He finished 257 out of 605 runners, 16/32 in his age division, and did the race in 2:10:30. His brother James came and ran it with him, and they both did a great job. The kids and I made shirts for him, we were pretty good cheerleaders if I do say so myself! ;-)

After running it, he said it was a lot of fun. There were some gnarly hills that he hated, but other than that it was really fun. He also said there were some amazing views over Lake Mead. He said he would do it again, and is actually thinking about doing the ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon (half) in August if James will do it with him, it's near Area 51- They're nerds like that.

Getting ready for the race to start.

Mr. G giving his Daddy a "good luck dad!" pre-race squeeze.

There were also a lot of other Touro students (and significant others) than ran the race together in the relay portion

Mr. G and his pal from the ward, whose Dad also ran the full half-marathon like Michael did. It was nice for them to be able to play together while their dads ran. They were pretending to race like their dads-

Let's just say Mr. G didn't get the best genetics when it comes to athleticism and running...

Bug and L having a little baby chat during the race. She insisted on wearing her new pink hat!

Their showing their muscles (and shirts- We designed them after "Go, Dog. Go!")

Patty the Leprechaun- You had to try to beat him! He was 66 I believe.

Doing good! 6 miles down! Almost half way!

By guys!! Keep goin'!

The boys were running back and forth between me and the other mom telling us who they saw on that leg of the race- I was down by the finish line and she was up by the last turn.

Michael coming down the last turn towards the finish!

YAY MICHAEL! You DID IT!!! When he was finished he was covered in salt, but he rocked it! Speaking of rocks, he had one stuck in his sock somewhere between mile 7 & 9 that totally cut into his ankle - No he didn't stop to take it out. He's tough like that.

So we brought silly string to spray on him when he was done, and Mr. G was having a hard time spraying it.
You notice how they're totally getting the guy behind Michael on accident? Classic.

Tyson (in Michael's class and also our ward) and Michael re-capping their races. Tyson finished in 1:46, 52/605. Good job Tyson!

Family shot of us all in our shirts. My shirt said, "Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon. (but my hubby did!)"

James coming in- I don't remember his time.

Post-race stretching.

Lots of the runners from Michael's class-

He was a nice dad- He shared his post-race Oreo with Bug.

Will You Be My ValenTIME?

2011-03-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Michael said he would be my valentine, so he and I got to go on a "hot date" for Valentines day- It was FANTASTIC! We went to dinner and a movie, and it was great to just sit and hold hands and not have to keep tabs on the kids. I have to say, it definitely pays to work with the Young Women in our ward- I have a WHOLE CREW of babysitters to pick from!

On our way to "Unstoppable" with Liam Neisen. Decent movie.

We're special...

Dinner at Red Robin- We were "living a little" on our date night.

Love you Valentine! ;-)

Goof Ball Babies-

2011-03-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie- My babies are GOOF BALLS! Here's just a few fun pics I've been wanting to post, but don't really group well-

Apparently her hair had a party and forgot to invite her-

Mmmm...Yogurtland...

LOVE our late night snuggles...She's a BIIIIIIIIIT (which would be a severe understatement) of a Momma's girl. This night she was teething a molar or two and was having a hard time.

So one day Bug learned about blackberry splatter...

And for the record, this is how her hair STARTED in the pictures above, but she has a very helpful big brother who thinks it's funny to rub her hair: