Airfield Boise Love

Boise's airport is right next to the interstate, with the military airfield beside the airport.

For my air-craft-loving boys this is a huge bonus for us living here!

I still remember when Eli was just over a year, probably 15 or 16 months old, and we're were driving down the interstate and a HUGE aircraft starts it's decent/landing literally right next to us. That child was in heaven. Eyes so wide, and bliss written all over his face.

And oh! how many times we've seen A-10 fighter jets zipping through the sky! Typically 4 together--which is awesome, by the way. Isaac loves those crafts. During our first month living in Boise we were driving around town, by the interstate, and 3.5 year old Isaac starts to yell: "A-10! A-10!" Matt and I were like, "Okay... okay...," then we look up in the sky, and lo and behold A-10s! Then and there we dubbed Isaac a genius.

And the little passenger planes, and the big freight planes, and jets, and the black hawk helicopters, and the medium commercial planes. Wow, makes driving down interstate 84 (or is it 86?) enjoyable!

(On today's ride Titus was all smiles when a Southwest aircraft came landing "next" to us. "Eh-pain! Eh-pain!" was his exclamation of choice.)  

January Vacay, Part 3: "Texas"

Yeah, so it's taken me a bit to get all the blogging done from mine and Matt's "crazy-week-without-kids" vacation.

But here is the last installment... Texas. Lubbock, Texas.

Sunday, the day after Tough Mudder and Mythbusters, we woke up in a world of hurt. Every inch of our bodies seemed to have some sort of ache or bruise. We could walk, and I actually could still run, but we needed time to rest. What better place to rest than at a home with a new-born?! (I'm serious. In homes with a new-born one can just sit, and sit, and sit, and it's alright.)

Around 7:45am on Sunday we went from Trevor and Michelle's home (after some serious hugs), dropped off our lovely rental car at the rental car area at the Phoenix airport, arrived at the Phoenix airport, got through security, boarded our plane, and arrived in Lubbock, Texas and meet our new nephew, Jaxson.

Mr. Jaxson belongs to Matt's sister and brother-in-law, and he is their first baby. And oh! what a baby. A chunky monkey of happiness.

For basically 3 days we sat, ate, played games, held baby, and SLEPT. We both agree that we planned the trip perfectly, with Texas being on the end. A time of rest, relaxation, and rehabilitation.

It was great to be with Marcie and Tyson. Those two are awesome people, who make awesome food, and play am awesome FRIENDS trivia game. It was great to lay in bed till 10am, take naps whenever we needed, and sit on the couch for hours. Truly.

Something that I'm grateful I learned during the Texas installment of the trip is Matt's hopes and dreams for the future. Like what he really, Really, REALLY wants to do and be when he grows up. He really does want to have his own sound recording studio in the home, and sell recording sessions, and mix the recordings, and go to places and do sound recordings. And have it set up awesome, and have awesome gear, and market his sound recording studio as an awesome place to record. I guess he better retire as a "Full Bird Colonel" to help make this dream come true ;)

Pictures the last part of the trip:
- My bruise from Tough Mudder's blasted "Berlin Walls"
- Flat Lubbock, TX
- Baby Jaxson and family
- Us four together

We really enjoyed our week trip together. It was a lot of fun, and WOW did we do a lot! I'm not sure our next trip together will be so action packed, but hopefully it'll be just as fun. We do wish we had two more day in Phoenix with our friends, and another day or two with Marcie and Tyson. But then that would have made our trip 10 to 11 days long, and we weren't up to that... nor were our kids, nor were the Grandparents that watched our kids.

The boys did mostly well with us gone. It was a bit difficult for me leaving them, and I actually had nightmares about them the first two nights away. I think it would have been a little bit easier if I knew that Titus (19 months) and Eli (2 and a half years) understood what me and Matt were doing. 

And our next "big" trip? Well we kind of have it in our minds to go to New York, New York sometime around 2015... We shall see! 

Isaac's Busted Chinny-Chin-Chinn

Oh yes, in a house hold of boys there really is never a dull moment. And when there is a dull moment my "mommy sense" starts to tingle and let me know that something big is about to happen. 

Like yesterday early evening. 

Me and the boys are talking to my parents on Skype in the living room. Isaac is bouncing off the walls because he is full of sugar from the homemade oreos that I made the boys eat while the visiting teachers came over (hoping the homemade oreos would keep them distracted, and give us some quiet. And it worked, mostly.).

During one bouncing run Isaac comes up screaming. I tell my parents, "Oh, hold on," then go over to a very upset Isaac on the ground. 

He screams, "My chin!"

I look, instantly terrified at what I'm seeing--a wide deep cut, blood, skin. I think, He's gonna need stitches! Then yell at my parents on the computer, "I gotta call Matt!"

I call Matt, tell him to "come home right now!" (He's studying at the apartment complex club house.)

I pinch Isaac's chin together, have him walk with me to the kitchen, grab a paper towel, then use the paper towel to again pinch his chin together. 

Blood is oozing out, and the skin around the gash looks purple. I still think, He's gonna need stitches! But I don't want to freak the crying Isaac out even more, so I tell him that we should say a prayer to Heavenly Father and ask Him to help us be strong. We say the prayer, and Isaac settles down. 

Matt comes home and evaluates the situation. He determines that we could probably super-glue the skin together, and starts to go around the house to gather the necessary equipment to "super-glue a busted open chin."

I still talk to my parents while pinching Isaac chin. Isaac has stopped crying, but is still a little scared. 

Matt comes back to us with rubbing alcohol, super glue, very clean hands, and a disinfected paper cup. 

Matt wipes Isaac's chin down with the rubbing alcohol, Isaac screams, starts to cry again, and is just a little terrified about the situation. But slowly, and with some very accurate military moves, Matt is able to safely glue Isaac's chin together. 

We are all a relived! And Isaac sits and talks to his Grammie and Gramps who had watched the whole situation from their home in Bama. 

Isaac says he hit his chin on the side of the couch. I have no idea how that happened, but it did. 

And that chin of his sure is glued shut! No blood from the deep gash all last night, nor any today. Hopefully his chinny-chin-chinn stays together, and lovely. 

Nothing But "Star Wars!"

"Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars/
Give me some Star Wars/
Don't let them end!"

Anybody else know the Bill Murray "Star Wars" song from SNL? Oh man, his little jingle has been totally in my head the last month. Holy smokes, could there be a larger Star Wars obsession than what my boys have right now?! I think not.

And guess who feeds the obsession? Their grandparents. Both sets. Grammie and Gramps sent them some awesome costumes, and Nana and Mume gave them some great light sabers.

Oh wait... and Matt and I bought them a Nerf Star Wars blaster gun from Goodwill, got some clearance Star Wars shirts from Old Navy, bought other little Star Wars figures from another thrift store, and of course rented some Star Wars movies from the local Library!

So we're all guilty here.


Let me present to you some--well, a lot--of pictures from the last two weeks. Most of which have a Star Wars theme. Most are taken from Matt who was entertaining the boys while I was sick, Sick, SICK!

You'll see:
- Boy wearing costumes
- Titus obsessed with wearing underwear
- Forts in the living room
- Eli's naked bum
- Boys watching Star Wars
- Titus smeared with red lip stick
- Isaac sitting in a closet
- Boys cleaning the mirrors upstairs

3 Ain't Easy

Having three kids is hard. Seriously hard. Like "pick up the habit of swearing, cause your gonna lose your mind, and it's better to swear than beat your kids" hard.

Maybe it's just this kind of hard for me because they are all close in age. I mean Isaac was 3 years and 9 months old when Titus was born, for crying out loud. Or maybe all the circumstances in which we became a family of 5 was just too much for me to handle in a dignified way. 2nd child is a heart baby, Matt's starts as over-full time MBA student, hard living situation, just to name the first 3 off the top of my head.

Then there are the times when I see my first two children sitting quietly, looking at books together, laughing together, and just being peaceful; and my third child comes running through the room, screaming happily, throwing puzzle pieces all over the ground, and spiting raisins out of his mouth.  It is in those moments in which I wonder, "Titus, if you came at a later time, like after grad school and in the middle of our 3rd year during Matt's commission in the ARMY... ... ...," and I don't finish my wonderment.

I can start that train of thought very easily. Especially when I see this 3rd child run out of my bathroom covered in lipstick, or when he pulls a dozen eggs onto the ground, or when I witness him color with green Sharpie on my white dinning room bench--to name a few happenstances within the last week.

But I think there is another reason why I wonder about him coming later. I'm realizing that he is growing up. In 4 months he'll be 2, fully into toddlerhood and no longer a "baby." And it's sad. Baby days are over, soon all these young little boys will be young men. And if we really never have a child again then this chapter of "cute little outfits, snuggles in my lap, fun finger foods" is over. (I can't think, or fathom, the idea of ever being pregnant again... so please don't ask, just don't ask, if I'm serious about not having anymore children.)

...............

I do take comfort during my "emotionally confusing mothering times" from an instance that has stayed with me, and which I consider a great blessing and tender mercy from The Man Up Stairs.

It was Christmas Season 2010, during the middle of the night. Our tiny tree was plugged in and was filling the whole living room with tiny green and blue and red and yellow lights.
I had just sat down on the couch with 6 month old baby number 3, Titus, to nurse him.  As he fed, I watched. He was beautiful and sweet, and such a good feeder!

I began to sense a peaceful feeling, and then a thought: "He belongs in the family, he came when he was supposed to come." I knew it was true. And I was so grateful to Heavenly Father for that small, but powerful, revelation.

I was so much in wonderment that after I laid Titus down, and climbed into bed, I woke Matt up to tell him all the I had felt and learned.

................

As stated above, I still take so much comfort from that experience.
Titus belongs. He's supposed to be here. And he's a son of God.

But goodness, I wish he'd stop finding Sharpie markers and leave the furniture alone!

Isaac's First Primary Talk

Isaac gave a talk in Primary today! And that, y'all, is a big deal. 
He's a been a pretty shy guy in his past, and because of his speech, hasn't liked to talk in public AT ALL. No prayers, no scriptures, nothing. But since being in preschool the last year and half he's been doing a lot better.

Today he did really well. Got kind of quiet when repeating what I was saying in his ear, but he put forth a good effort.

Him and I wrote the talk Saturday afternoon. At first he really didn't want to do, but towards the end got really into it. Even wondering if he could have signs! 
So, here is his talk:


Hi, I'm Isaac Dudley.
I am 5.
I have 2 little brothers.

It's important for me to choose the right.
CTR helps me remember to choose the right. (He holds up sign CTR sign with a smiley face.)

Right things I choose are:
clean up my room
help my brothers
I play with my brothers
eating good food

Choosing the right helps me to be happy.
Heavenly Father is happy when I choose the right.

I don't want to be bad and choose the wrong.
Choosing the wrong would make me not happy. CTW is not good. (He holds up a sign with CTW and a sad face.)

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

... exhausted, is our name...

I'm so tired.
Have been all week, and all last week.

Matt is so tired.
Has been all week, and all last week.

Ugh. I hate sickness season. Totally takes it out of you... for weeks, it seems.

Two weeks ago Matt came home with a bum knee. He's not sure how he got it, but it was a wreck. Couldn't walk too much, couldn't run at all. He iced it every night, took ibuprofen often, and by day 4 his knee was a bit better but his stomach started to ache.

Monday, February 6th, 2012 is actually when his started to ache. Like an all day pain.
Monday, February 6th, 2012 I went to bed with a cough.

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 Matt wakes up lots better.
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 I wake up and feel like death... with a cough.

So that's how our week started. Matt on the mend, and me with my health on a steep hill downward.

I functioned okay on Tuesday and Wednesday...

... But on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 I completely fell apart. I had spent the previous night on the couch, unable to sleep with my coughing. Honestly I don't remember much of that week. Let's just say, it was awful. And Matt totally stepped up. He took time off from school and stayed home with me and the boys all day on Thursday and Friday.

And what was I dealing with? I have no idea. Coughing, mucus, fever, body aches. It was horrid. And I slept on the cough most nights with a humidifier beside me, Vics vapor rub on the chest, and all sorts of coughing medicine.

Friday, February 10th, 2012 I started to feel just a bit better.
Saturday, February 11th, 2012 Matt had ARMY National Guard drill an hour away. He got up at 5:30am and left just before 6am. I had the kids, and I was a little scared, but guess what?! Matt's grandparents came over and took the boys for 4 hours. I got rest, and felt so much better when the boys were dropped off.

Matt's grandparents rock. For sure! It must be that Canadian blood they have going on. The coolest and nicest people EVER.

On Sunday I felt good enough to go to church and teach the 4 year old class. The boys did well, and we had (I think) a good afternoon. Matt came home around 6pm from drill.




Yeah, so this week we just can't seem to get our feet underneath us. It's always that way after a drill weekend, but on top of the crazy sickness it just seems even more.

I haven't ran or exercised in almost 2 weeks. Ugh.
Matt has a weekend class this weekend. Awesome.

But I think me and Matt are going to be able to go on a date! Thanks, Matt's parents! (It's that Canadian blood, I tell you.)

Oh, and the boys are great. Playing, laughing, eating chocolates together. There are definitely been some Valentine's Day love going on between them. If Titus didn't do things like pull a dozen eggs from the counter top onto the floor (which all smash open), then I think things would seem a lot smoother... but that  little dude is crazy. Hopefully just a few more months of baby-crazy then he'll mellow out a bit. I hope.

And how about that Jeremy Lin guy from the New York Knicks?! He's pretty great.  I'm totally a fan.

Last Weekend's Fun!

First off I'm just gonna say that I don't remember much from this week... I've been sick. Like very. I'll talk about in another post, but I really want to this post about last weekend. It was fun, and pretty cool.

Let's begin!

Friday afternoon Matt and I were like, "What do we want to do as a family, since you (Matt) are going to be gone all weekend for a MBA class?"
Then we said, "Let's look into the new Idaho Aquarium!"
And we were like, "That's an awesome idea. Because 1) all of our boys love the ocean, and 2) they are kinda under with a cold so being inside is probably better than being outside."

It was a cool little place! And for our ocean loving family it was perfect. They are going to be adding lots onto it in the future, but the stuff they have now is good. Lots of hand's on stuff--like SHARKS and STING RAYS!

Friday night Matt and I had a movie-night-in. Double feature. Pretty awesome. "Warrior" and "50/50."

............................

On Saturday, around 11:30, we got everyone in the van (Matt in his 4runner) to go to Matt's parents home. They offered to take the boys so that Matt and I could go on a date (Matt's class was cut early. Hooray!). On our way we got stuck in traffic. "Traffic in Boise?" Um, yeah. A girl in the turn lane, that I was right behind, had her little sub totally break down. 

I didn't know this at first, so I honked. She waved her hands. I finally got out of the van and went to ask her what was wrong. "SUV won't start, probably out of gas. Have no money, have no contacts." I told her to 1) put her hazard lights on, then 2) put the car in neutral and I'll push her down the hill out off of the high traffic road.

So I did. Then once down the hill Matt and I both pushed her into a neighborhood, where she got help from some people in the area.

We then dropped off our boys to their grandparents, and went on our date. 

The boys had a lot of fun. And were tired out! Look at 'em, all exhausted. Feel asleep in the van on the way home, and stayed asleep once on the couch. 

...............................

Sunday came. 

I got the boys and myself ready for church, and we made it there an hour late. Oops. 

Actually, Matt isn't going to be able to make it to church ANY Sunday this month. Between ARMY National Guard and this MBA class, all his February weekends are full. Oh well... so missing the first hour is mostly likely going to be happening every Sunday. Sorry.

I'm the CTR 4's teacher, meaning I teach the 4 year olds, and it was kind of crazy. I have 6 little ones, that always come, and all love to try to sit in my lap. Get's a little emotional at times. 

Also, Eil and Titus are in Nursery and I'm the only parent there. I must answer to their needs--which Eli needed me twice during lesson hour. Not too bad, since the Primary President helped me out, but still a little crazy. 

We got home, put Titus down for a nap, and started cooking. Veggie soup and carrot cake. 

Matt came home, got all the stuff ready, got the boys ready, then off to Tim and Kara's for the Super Bowl.  Family, food, fun!  Who could ask for more?