The Leprechaun

My family had a motorhome when I was a kid.  We went on all sorts of adventures in that rig.  We went to Nauvoo, Mount Rushmore, Disneyland, and about a hundred other places.
I guess my dad was always a motorhome guy.

 Here he is in 1970 with his twin brother Richard.  Dad is in the darker pants.  They built this motorhome from the frame up (who does that?).

Here we are in 1986 with the Tioga.  I don't know why I'm not in the picture, but I'm sure I'm somewhere.

Here's my dad...king of the road.  I love this picture.  I remember that watch and even that shirt.  Who could forget the Country Superstars songs blaring.

Here's Warren rocking the flat top of the late 80's.

Oh...everyone loved Steve.  What a cute boy!

Then, here's Jenny, me, and Lori on the top bunk as we cruised down the road.  No seat belts for anyone.  :)

I have some great memories of sitting on the cooler in the middle of the seats at the front and sharing sips of Dad's pop and eating up the jerky.  I remember roasting on the top bunk as I watched the stripes of the road go by.  I remember loving all the adventures.  We were so lucky.

Well, a few years ago, I started to really bug Mike about getting a motorhome.  We went on a trip and talked to a couple who had just bought their motorhome off KSL for 10 thousand and it looked like a really nice rig.  Mike didn't shoot the idea right down, so I started working on that crack that he left in the door.  I looked at motorhomes on KSL and started sending him out looking at them as he traveled for work.  We went to Yellowstone last year in that one that we rented and I thought we had a good time, so I kept pushing.  Pretty soon, the door started to open wider and Mike started act like he might give in and let us get one.  (He was still very hesitant).  I pushed harder, cried a lot, and then found the one that we couldn't pass up.  Next thing I know, we are the proud owners of the Leprechaun.

The kids have had several sleepovers.

And even a rainy day spent making loom bracelets.

They love it.

It is in pretty good shape, so we washed it inside and out, and took off the dozens of dog stickers ("If you aren't the lead dog, the view is always the same" "to err is human, to forgive is canine" and more).

We got it looking good and are all excited about our upcoming adventures.  I had fun thinking of what I'll put in there and using up all my extra things.  It's just going to be fun.  The brand of motorhome is the Coachmen Leprechaun, and Mike likes to say that he caught a leprechaun and instead of getting a pot of gold he gave us this piece of crap, but I think we are so lucky!  It's going to be an adventure for sure.  I think my dad would love our Leprechaun.  My mom thinks it's pretty cool.  Like I said, we are lucky little Schwabby's.

Coloring Easter Eggs

The kids were really excited about coloring eggs this year and as soon as Jason went down for a nap, we got to work.  Jake and Allie got out their aprons and Nate was feeling really left out.  We tied a bib around his waist and he was in business.  (Don't mind the lack of pants...he was playing in mud earlier and they went the way of the washing machine.)

They each loved putting in the dye pellets.

With Jason in bed, it wasn't too bad of an adventure.  Nate loved putting the eggs in all the different colors and he was pretty good at using the tongs, so I didn't even need to help.

Allie and Jake liked experimenting with rubber bands and tape on the eggs to make them resist color.

They also left a few in the dye over night to try and make those dinosaur eggs that I've seen on Pinterest.   Those ones turned out to be their favorites.

Allie and Nate were always sad when they'd see me peeling up one of their precious eggs for my meal.  We eat a lot of hard boiled eggs around here, maybe I should let them dye eggs year round.

Easter Sunday Pictures

9 o'clock church is killing us.  It's the best for getting home on time to have a nice relaxing day, but it's hard to get out the door on time.  I need to be there early for Primary and it's almost impossible some days.  I tried extra hard on Easter to get the kids ready so we could take a nice picture before church.  It didn't happen.  

 Allie was happy and cooperated...

 Jason was happy and cooperated...

Jake was happy and cooperated...

Nate was sad and didn't want to smile for a picture.  So there aren't any pictures of us as a happy family because we most certainly were not.

Other than that fiasco in the morning, the rest of the day was quite nice.  We sat out in the sunshine and watched videos about the Savior on Youtube.  I love that there was a big push for the #becauseofHim video to be shown.  Because of Him, I will get to hold my Sam's resurrected body in my arms again.  We will all be resurrected and made whole.  Because of Him, I can enjoy the blessings of the restored Gospel.  I can go to the temple and help all those who have gone before me to be able to enjoy the blessings of eternal life.  I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that He lives.

Conversation at the breakfast table...

The scene:  I chased some deer out of the back yard because they were eating my apple trees.  Jason and Nate were out there with me shouting at the deer too.  Then we came in to eat breakfast.

Me:  Jason, do you want some banana bread? (sung in an operatic voice)

Nate: No!  Don't sing "banana bread"!

Me:  Banana bread? (sung again)

Nate:  Yeah.  No!  Don't sing "banana bread"!

Me: (repeated singing)

Nate:  No Mom!  You make the deer cry when you sing banana bread.

18 Months!

Jason turned 18 months.  He's a cute kid.
I just got back from his well child check up and he seems to be doing just fine.
I complained about his sleep habits, but what are you going to do about that?
People always look at Jason and say "oh, what a cute baby!  Is he always that happy?"  I feel guilty wrecking that impression, but no...he's not always that happy.
He is a cutie though and he makes the days brighter (more stressful for sure, but brighter.)

Jason likes to look at books.  He just started pointing out the things that he knows like fish (he makes kissy sounds and signs "fish").  He naps really well, and when he wakes up, he spends a while looking at his books.

He's growing right on track.  He is 25 pounds (50%) and 33 inches (60%).  The doctor made us go back out to re-check height measurements because he had grown 3 inches since the last appointment.  Can you believe it!  3 inches is a lot in a kid.  He went from the 25th to the 60th percentile in height.  He gained 3 pounds too.  I guess all that food he eats is going somewhere.

 We played with the orange marker a bit while waiting for his shots.

He didn't even cry with the shot.  He did get pretty mad at me though.  I still think it's pretty awful that they make the moms hold their babies down while they get shots.  I look into each kids eyes and just feel bad because they think I'm snuggling them and then wham...pain.  Ah well, it's all for good.  Today's shot for tetanus is probably a good thing for Jason.  He's always cutting himself on things outside.

Jason loves being outside.  He loves riding anything with a motor and he loves to sit on things and pretend that he is roaring.  He has good engine noises with shifting sounds too.  Both Nate and Jason could make better engine noises than words at this age.

Nate loves Jason and is always anxious for him to wake up from his nap and come to play. He says "where's Jason?  He's my best friend."  I don't get it though because he is the first to make Jason cry (by stealing his toys).

Jason gives wonderful kisses and loves to blow raspberries on my cheeks.  If he comes at you with his mouth open, make sure you turn your head or you'll get a sloppy wet kiss on the lips.  He presses his mouth up against you so hard you can feel his teeth on your cheek.

Jason's favorite foods are apples (chewed up and spit out), spaghetti, sloppy Joe's (or sloppy Nathan's as we like to call them), and cheerios.  He is still drinking almond milk instead of having anything with dairy.  Even yogurt messes him up.  He sure wants it all the time though.
When he goes to eat something, he attacks it with his mouth open wide and a growl.  He sounds like a dog or something.  He watches for a reaction too, so you better think it's funny.
He likes to share his food and it's usually quite slimy, but he won't take "no" for an answer.  Gross!

I love Jason.  I love his determination and his happy smile.  I love his brown eyes, his little tan chubby fingers, and the way he gets excited about every little thing.  I love my little Jason Kay and I am so glad to be his mom.

Things I don't want to forget...

Every day when the boys get out of the tub, they like to do what we call the "Naked Boy!" run.  They run from the tub and into the living room (taking extra special care to not slip on the wood floor).

Then they run back and forth and squeal when we try to catch them.

Although it is cute now, it won't be very cute when they get older.  Nate's naked boy runs are numbered, so I thought I'd take a few pictures while it's still cute...

Snuggles

Jake likes to hold Jason.  It's pretty rare that Jason wants to be held.  Sometimes he'll snuggle in and watch a show.  Jake likes to squish his legs and rub his soft cheeks.  On this day, the combination of all that put Jason to sleep.

He fell and smacked his face earlier and had a bloody nose and a scrape for a little while.  Poor kid.

Dirt and Worms

I got a few loads of dirt from a neighbor's old garden last week.  When I loaded up the boys to go for a ride, a flood of memories came back to me of all the rides I took in the wheel barrow while my dad pushed me around.  I remember the fear of tipping over or falling out backward.  I also remember the thrill of getting a running start to go over a curb.  If I can remember all these things, I must have been pretty old as I got the wheelbarrow rides. 

My dad was pretty strong.  By the time I got a load of dirt and then added the boys, it was a pretty heavy load.  I hope the kids enjoyed the ride because it messed up my knee for a week.  Lame knee.

I know Nate was pretty happy with the worms that he found in the dirt.  He kept telling me that we needed to take them in to the house and sit them on the couch to watch a show.  I told him they would be happier in the dirt outside.  He argued about their happiness for a long time and finally agreed to leave them outside.  Worms that live outside make great pets.  Worms that live inside (on the couch) are not welcome.  It's a hard lesson to learn.

The Egg Drop

The 3rd grade did an egg drop a few weeks ago.  They get a few materials and are supposed to make a container to hold an egg and hope that it survives a drop off the school roof.  Mike and Jake worked on the egg carton the night before and were fairly confident that it would survive the plunge.

Jake's the one in blue.

 There it goes!

Jake's egg survived! 

 He was so excited that he rushed over and hugged me and then ran to hug Mike.

He's a pretty cute boy.  Egg-celent job keeping that egg safe Jake!