Utah family fun

The last two weeks in May Ryan had off so we packed up the car and made the drive out to Utah. We packed in a lot of fun (and Ryan packed in a lot of golf!) into those two weeks. Here's some pictures from our trip...which, btw, are completely out of order but I don't have the patience to fix the order so it'll have to do.

The last few days we spent down in Southern Utah at a cabin that was big enough to sleep Ryan's whole family (all 23 of us!) It was so fun to all be under the same roof!  One of the days we went to Zion National Park.  

I think Ella's favorite part was being with ALL of her cousins.  She had plenty of options and wanted little or nothing to do with her parents when her cousins were around.  She hung out with the big kids...

...and the little ones.

One of the days we drove into St. George and went swimming at a very fun pool.  This is Ella, Jason (Bubba), and Claire right before they got in trouble for climbing on this hill.

This little girl is part fish. She loves the water!!!

Ella and Claire

Debbie, Allie, cute little prego Megan and a nice pose from Scott

Ella was so funny with this life vest on. She figured out she could just float on her back so that's all she did...float!

Here's Ella floating by in the lazy river

On the drive back to the cabin, everyone was a little tuckered out.

OK, now we're back at the start of our trip in SLC.  Ryan's parents have a pool in their backyard which is lots of fun even on cloudy days.

My mom actually was in town for one of the weekends and since she brought my niece, Kaitlyn, we decided it would be fun to take the kids to the children's museum downtown at the Gateway. It was so cute and the kids all LOVED it!


They had a little stage area where the kids could dress up in costumes from the book "Where the Wild Things Are"

Ella and Claire putting a show on for us

Kaitlyn's favorite part was the little market. She could have spent hours in there!

Kaitlyn would do all the shopping, give me the basket, and then check me out.

They even had a helicopter to play in!


One of the days we went to Wheeler Farm.  It's a great little park where you can look at animals, feed the ducks, have a picnic...and we did it all!

This picture was taken about 30 seconds before that rooster "cock-a-doodle-doo'd" right in Ella's face! She was so scared! It was so funny! Why do I think it's funny when my daughter gets scared? I just can't help it.

Ella (and Ryan) feeding some baby geese. Actually I think Ryan was a little nervous about some of the bigger geese getting a little too close to his daughter.

As we were eating our lunch, Ella kept trying to "herd" the ducks. When some of them went into that little creek to get away from her, she reached out to try to get them back out and one of the ducks had apparently had enough of her and snapped at her (it didn't leave a mark) and scared the heck out of Ella. Then as she was crying and walking over to me, she tripped on some roots of a tree and scratched her shin a little. It was a tough time to be Ella. Later that afternoon, she kept telling anyone who would listen to her "Duck bite Ella! No, no duck! Mean duck!"  It's a tough lesson to learn but she's gotta know, when you play with fire, you might get burned. Or in her case...when you try to herd ducks, you might get bitten!

While we were there, Ella little cousion, Hannah, turned one. We had a fun party in Ryan's brother's backyard to celebrate the big event. 

As I said before, Ella loves the water. She was quite the little swimmer this trip.

But her favorite part is the hot tub!

Thanks Harbertsons for a fun two weeks!!!

Moms

As you all know we all got to take a day this weekend to celebrate moms.  Being a mom, I was able to reap some benefits on this blessed day but it also gave me the opportunity to think about the importance of this role.  In addition to the amazing mother that I have been blessed with, I also have an incredible mother-in-law and a couple great grandmas. I just wanted to take a couple minutes to reflect on the amazing women that I have been blessed with.

My Mother:  Geeze...where do I start? Words cannot describe my mom.  She is so many things. Unselfish, loving, kind, caring, smart, beautiful, genuine, exemplary...I could go on and on. Above it all, I would say that she is one of the strongest women I know of.  She's been through some tough trials in her life and each and every time has come out of them better.  My mom is the greatest examples to me of what a mother should be.  She is the type of person that would give you the shirt off of her back.  I strive every day to be a little bit more like her in that way. I think my sister got that from her but I'm not sure that gene got in me. I love her so much and I'm so grateful for the ways she has taught me to be a better mother.

My Mother-in-law:  First off, I will always be indebted to my MIL for the amazing job she and my FIL did in raising Ryan.  He is one of the most loyal, hard working, trustworthy men I know of and I know that those are all attributes he learned from his parents.  My mother in law has quickly become one of my most favorite people on the planet.  She is genuinely loving and cares for each and every one of her children--including those who have married into the family.  She is the best care taker I know...the type of person who really makes you feel like they LIKE to take care of you, even if they don't.  Even though our families live in separate states, every time we visit Utah, I feel like I'm going home and I thank my mother in law for that and the way she makes me feel so welcome.

My Grandma Snead: I don't actually know my Grandma Snead because she died two months after I was born but somehow I have always felt a special bond with her.  Maybe it's because my mom would always tell me that during her last few months when she was in the hospital and all the adults were rushing around her trying to come up with some way to make her more comfortable, they would just place me in her bed and she would seem to be comforted.  I don't know how true that is but I do know the special spirit and peace a baby can bring to anyone.  I look forward to the day when I can run up to my Grandma in heaven, give her a big hug and really get to know her.

My Grandma Dewey: Once again, I'm almost speechless when it comes to describing my lovely Grandma Dewey.  I was blessed to be able to grow up living 10 minutes away from my grandma and because of that she is present in a lot of my happiest childhood memories. She was at birthday parties, graduations, softball games, or even just a Sunday dinner. In fact, when I think of my Grandma Dewey, I often think about Sunday dinners at her house. Roast beef, mashed potatoes (loaded with butter!), corn, cooked carrots (which we would always tease my grandpa for not eating), rolls and Texas sheet cake for dessert.  My grandma was a great cook but she didn't waver on the menu too often---which I love! Why fix what isn't broken?  When my grandma passed away, it was one of the hardest things in my life.  But again, I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and for the day when I can be with her again...and if she wants to make me some caramels, or melt-aways, or fudge or whatever...then all the better!

Lastly, I can't do a post without a picture of this little one. Now you know why we call her our little monkey. Plus, she's the reason I'm so proud to call myself a mother so I think it applies. :)

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Alright, I'll admit that I'm not that festive when it comes to celebrating Cinco de Mayo (although I will say that we will be dining on Mexican food tonight) but I just had to do another post so that every time I got on my blog I didn't have to read about Ella's potty training...or what I should say is lack thereof!  I'm so frustrated with the whole thing that I think I'm throwing in the towel.  I just had to buy another box of diapers today and I was not happy about it.  I don't know why she won't just pee on the potty. I know she can do it. She's just so stubborn! I don't know where she could possibly get it from. Must be from her dad...

On a lighter note...this is what I caught my little monkey doing the other day.

This is my old tap dancing costume (from when I was in 3rd grade...so it was little big) but Ella decided that she would slip this little number on. And what goes great with a lime green and black leotard?  Yep...hot pink cowboy boots.  In this next picture she might just be singing a song into her "microphone".  This, I admit, is a trait that she might have picked up from her "teeny-bopper" mom. It's embarrassing but true.

Potty Training

Ugh...potty training. I always knew this day would come and I've been dreading it for a while now.  I've heard all the stuff about how you can't push a child into it and that they have to be ready on their own time.  But that's the problem...how does a two year old know? Are they just going to say "Mom, you know I'm really tired of sitting in my own urine/feces. Would you mind teaching me to use the toilet?"  So I've been looking for signs.  It all started a couple months ago when Ella saw her little friend Hope using the potty and suddenly she wanted a turn to sit on the potty. I got all excited because every time I had tried to even sit her on the toilet, she wigged out and would refuse to. I guess I can see how it would seem a little scary.  Anyway, she got right on the potty after she saw Hope do it and has asked me several times since then to sit on the potty. Trouble is she doesn't know what to do when she's there.  I tell her "Okay, go pee pee now" and she looks at me like "How?"  I was talking to my mom about it and she said that she can remember her mom bringing the little potty out in front of the TV and sitting there for a long time until something happened.  I figured I can't move our toilet but I can bring a TV to the toilet.  So this is what we did last week:

Ella sat like this for about an hour and NOTHING! In fact now she thinks this is a new fun way to watch a show.  She now asks to watch Tinkerbell on the potty. I took her off after an hour cuz she had little red marks on her buns.

I've tried letting her pick out her favorites panties at the store (Ariel by the way) but when we put those on her, even though I sound like a broken record asking her "Do you have to go potty?", she just pees in them.

I've also tried motivating her with treats. The problem is that she takes after her dad and doesn't really get too excited about food. I don't get that.

I've tried letting her just be naked from the waist down but she either holds it until nap time when I put a diaper on her or she sneaks off to a quiet corner pees like a doggie.  Ryan said that I should rub her nose in it and see if that works. (In case the sarcasm doesn't translate in writing, he was just kidding.)

What do I do???  I really feel like if she could just somehow understand the concept of how to "release" her pee pee on the toilet (is that too graphic?) then we would be in business. I need help.  With another little one coming in a couple months, I just really don't want to buy two sizes of diapers.  I know that's a little selfish on my part but that's just me being honest.

Stick a fork in him...

This past week I had the "opportunity" of having jury duty. I have to admit that when I got the letter about 3 weeks ago that I was to report last Monday morning, I immediately thought of a way that I could get out of it. At the bottom of the paper that told me when and where to report, there was a section about how if you thought you had a legitimate reason to be excused from jury duty, you could come talk to a judge on the Friday before. So what do I do? I completely forget about it until about an hour after the time I was supposed to be there. Now I'm stuck. I can't just not show up. I still wasn't that worried cuz everyone I talked to said that they've never actually had to go in more than a day for one reason or another. Plus, being that I'm "great with child", I figured they'd have sympathy for me/no use for me and release me back to my little world of Sesame Street, laundry, and Mac n Cheese. Nope.
After being selected to sit on a jury, I learned that I was now going to spend the next few days listening to a trial about a man accused of sexually abusing his daughter. I know, SICKENING! I'll spare you all the details (and let me just say, it was VERY detailed!) and just cut to the chase...I (along with 11 other people) found him as guilty as the day is long and was able to send him to prison for the the rest of his life. Well, technically he'll be able for parole when he's 85 but I'm guessing even if he gets out then, he'll do something to get himself right back in prison. See, this was his second rape conviction and his third felony charge. Oklahoma doesn't technically have the "three strikes and you're out" law but we all figured this guy had been given plenty of chances to live amongst society and we'd all be better off with him behind bars.
Anyway, I write about this whole experience because it was one of the most eye-opening, interesting, and humbling weeks of my life. I learned to be grateful for things I rarely ever thought of before...
*MY CHILDHOOD. This girl that was the victim in the case was 12 years old when she reported what was going on in her home. 12! You know what I was doing when I was twelve? Probably the worst part about this situation was that the girl's mother either refused to believe her or was too scared of her husband to let herself believe her daughter. Either way, this little 12 year old had the support of no one! At least, neither one of her parents (and most of her extended family.) I think about the home that I grew up in and even though I joke about my crazy family, I always knew that I was loved and protected in my home. This seemed like such a basic thing in my life but now that I have seen that not everyone is given that blessing, I'm extremely grateful to my parents for the environmet they created for me to be raised in.
*OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. I know it's not perfect. I know there are bad people that get away with things and that there are also good people that have to pay for crimes they did not commit but I do believe that it's the closest thing to perfect that's out there. It was so interesting to watch first hand how things work. It also made me grateful for the people who choose this profession and that it's not me cuz I really don't think I could do it.
*MY BORING EVERYDAY LIFE. You know how they say "You don't know what you have until you don't have it anymore?" So true! It seems like just as I'm thinking about how "not exciting" my life as a mom to a 2 year old is, I get a little taste of life as a working mom. Once again, I am so grateful for the fact that I GET to be home with my little Ella everyday. I missed her so much last week! On top of that, I was exhausted in the evenings and had no desire to cook or clean the house or do any laundry. I don't know how some women can work full time and take care of their home at the same time. I have a new found respect for those who have to.
*MY FRIENDS. This is one thing that I was already aware of but has been especially meaningful to me this past week. I had some amazing friends in Omaha and to be honest, when we learned that we were moving to Oklahoma, I had doubts that I would be able to make friends like those I had in Omaha. I'm so happy to say that I was so wrong! I am so blessed to be surrounded by some great friends here in OKC. I had to ask four different girls to watch Ella for a WHOLE day. Each friend was so generous and so kind and never made me feel bad for the huge favor I was asking of them. A couple of them even prepared a dinner for me to take home when I came to pick Ella up in the evening! It was so nice to know that I didn't have to worry about her for one second while I was away all day and that she was being loved and cared for. I feel so indebted to these friends and can't thank them enough for the comfort they gave me each day.

All in all, even though it was an extremely difficult week that I tried to avoid, I am glad that I was able to take part in it and even more happy that it's over. Like I said, it brought things to my attention that I know I needed to be aware of to make me appreciate the abundance of blessings in my life. I know I'll think twice next time I complain about...well anything.

The Easter Bunny (and parents) comes to town!

Last week, we were lucky enough to get a visit not only from the Easter Bunny, but Ryan's parent's came out as well.  They flew in Wednesday night and were here until Sunday.  As usual, Oklahoma served up some crazy weather but we all had a good time anyway.

Thursday was a pretty sunny day so we headed out to Lake Hefner where they have a pretty fun park that Ella loves. This was one of the WINDYEST (is that a word?) days I've experienced in this very windy city! There's a reason behind the line in the play Oklahoma "where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain!"

The next day, Ryan ditched (or as they say in Utah "sluffed") his residency to hang out with us. Ryan's parents really wanted to see the Oklahoma City Memorial for the bombing that happened back in 1995.  It really is a neat memorial with such a sacred feeling.

Ella thought the memorial was ok but was really interested in this ladybug.

On Saturday, Ryan took us down to his school for a little tour of his office and where he works. It's kinda cool cuz in dental school he was always rotating around to different chairs but here he has the same chair (most of the time at least.)

Did someone call for a doctor?

OU's medical campus is huge! Totally different from Creighton. This is a Sooner or a Sower or something.

That night Ryan's parents told us to pick a place for them to take us out to a nice dinner.  Since it was Ryan's parents in town, I let him do the choosing.  He chose Lakeside Fish Grill. Being that I'm not a huge fan of stinky smelly fish, I was little bummed, but any dinner without a loud two year old at the table is fine by me! (A big Thank You to Candice for taking Ella for us!) Actually, I can't complain. They did have a very yummy chicken pasta dish that I loved. Plus it was right on the lake so it had very cool atmosphere. 

Easter Morning! Now I'm not usually one for big huge flowers on my daughter's head but in the spirit of the holiday where some wear big goofy hats, I thought Ella could get away with wearing a big goofy flower.

My mom got Ella this dress for her birthday and Ella was so excited that I finally let her wear it. This is her doing her best twirl.