I love my husband

Let me just start off by saying just how much I love Chad. He is always making me laugh. I love his little quirks just as much (maybe even more) then when I married him. One of his quirkiest quirks is that he is very very good at demolition, but not so much at construction. If the road to life is paved with good intentions, then Chad has a very well paved road. Our house is full of half finished projects. He tore out cupboards in the kitchen without anyway of fixing it when he was done, he started to demo the conversation pit..and it is still in limbo. And my demolition man was at it again the other day.

We have this apple tree in our backyard that was severly over grown. Chad got this amazing idea (which is a good idea) to trim the tree. Which he did beautifully. He just forgot that we have no where to put the branches and no way to transport said branches to a more appropriate location.





The good news is...Lauren and Evan can now climb on tress without me worring that they will fall out and break their arms. The bad news...well, that might be all that they can do in the backyard for awhile. I love you Chad.

The case of the missing camera

Since I had work off last night, we decided to go hang out at the mall. It was a lot of fun. I feel like I never get to just play with my family anymore. I havn't seen my friends in so long, and lets just forget about doing fun things with Lauren and Evan. So even a trip to the mall becomes an adventure for me.

I really think that they are growing up right before my eyes. They get bigger and more mature every day. When we were ate the mall, be grabbed some Chick-fil-a to eat and let the kids play on the merry-go-round.



I love how at this age, a dollar can bring so much joy. While we were at Bath and Body Works rubbing on about a million different kinds of lotion, Lauren reached under the seat cover of our double stroller and pulled out none other then my missing point and shoot cannon camera that I thought I lost in Disneyland 6 months ago!! Can you believe it! It was like Christmas. I wasn't so sad at the time about loosing the camera since it was really starting to not work very well anyway..it was all of those cute Disneyland moments lost forever that I was so sad about. But now, I have all of those moments back!! Yeah for me. So..6 months later..I am doing an other post on our Disneyland Adventure! I am so excited!!! I hope you are ready for a Triplett family picture overload, because here it comes.

Lauren was so excited to go to Disneyland. We told the ride operator at the Peter Pan ride that this was Lauren's first ever ride on her first trip to Disneyland, so she gave her a pin that says "1st Visit". Lauren slept with it on that night. She didn't want to take it off.




There are to many cute pictures to choose from, so I will just have to pick some and explain the story behind them. I want to put up a little video of Lauren's first time on The Star Tours ride. I wanted to record her reactions because I remember thinking that Star Tours and The Pirates of the Caribbean were real. All you can see is black, but her voice and her words are just to cute not to share.
I also have an other video of her on Star Tours where she yelled "I am going to be the Princess of Mars!!" I am not sure where she gets these things, but I do know that she is so stinkin' cute. She had so much fun in Disneyland. She was on a high energy adrenaline rush the whole time we were there. After spending all day going on various rides, we ate dinner at the Tomorrow Land Terrace. While we were eating, they had a band singing and dancing. Lauren loved them. She danced right along with them. We watched the sun go down to Lauren dancing to the music of the band.




But all good things must come to an end. It was time to go back to the hotel that night. Lauren was heart broken and Evan was zonked out.


But we came back and had some more fun the next day.





We went over to California Adventure and spent the day over there. This is turning into quit the blog post, so I will end with just one more funny thing that happened while we were over there. We ate at some hamburger place there and Evan was thirsty..and well..it was gross.

In case you didn't get to see the delicious, custom made drink Evan was gulping down...here is a still shot of it. Yummy. Don't you wish you could have some?

It was a lot of fun. I am so glad that I got to take my kids to a place that held so much magic for me as a kid. And I am doubly happy that Lauren found the camera!! I want to go back there soon. I would love to go before Evan turns 3 since children under 3 are free. We'll see...cross your fingers. But until then, I could always relive the trip by looking at my long lost pictures.

Hide and Seek...Kitty Style, an Easter Package, and Evan loves electronics

We love our sweet kitty cats. I love how animals become such a part of the family. I think that our little cats are special. They love to cuddle and they come to you when you call them. Anyway, early Sunday morning, we heard our sweet little Gracie Meowing. I couldn't figure out where she was. We looked in the garage and in all the closets. We kept calling her and she would answer with a long sad meow. Chad was in Lauren's room and could finally pin point her. She was in the wall!! When we walked outside, we could hear her too. So what do you do in a situation like this? Of course you have to cut a whole in the wall to get her out.



We did get her out of there. She hid in a corner for awhile and scared the dog when she hissed at her, but otherwise, she was fine. We also got a package in the mail from Mimi and Pop Pop. Lauren gets so excited when she gets a package from them. It doesn't matter what it is. She loves it. Mimi sent her a very pretty pink fluffy easter wreath which is hanging up in her room above her bed right now. Mimi sure knows Lauren. Anything pink makes our little Lauren super happy.


Thanks Mimi and Pop Pop! We love you and miss you!

Every time Chad has to fix anything, he has a shadow. Evan is right there with him. Evan loves machanics and electronics. He loves tools. He is always telling me "Mommy, I fix it." He is so dang cute! Chad was trying to fix the computer the other night, so naturally Evan thought he had to help fix it too.




How cute are they!?! I have so much to be thankful for. I am so grateful that I married a man who is such an amazing father. I am grateful to have two beautifully healthy children with wild imaginations and soft tender hearts. And I am so grateful that our house is filled with animals who love us and enrich our lives. We may have a chaotic house at times, but it is also a warm environment. Every time I walk through our front door, I know I am home because of the people who fill up the rooms.

Future Roy High Cheerleader

Serena (my step-sista) is a Cheerleader for Roy high School. About a week ago, we got a call to see if Lauren wanted to do a little dance number at half time for the basketball team. Of course, Lauren said yes!! She was ecstatic. She loves to preform. She had a lot of fun. She did let Chad and I know that she really likes ballet the best, but she still had fun.

Torn

Motherhood and wifehood (is that a word?) is a dream come true for me. And I couldn't have asked for a better family then the one that I have been blessed with. Lauren is always saying the funniest things and Evan couldn't be sweeter if he tried. I love the feeling I get when I walk through the door of my house. The sounds that greet me as I walk up the stairs. I feel pride in my life when I see Lauren and Evan accomplish their little victories as they grow and learn. I couldn't have asked for a better life if I ordered it myself.

But even with all of these abundance of blessings around me all day everyday, I still feel torn. I am caught in between my wants and my needs. I want new furniture, I need to pay the morgage. I want to spend my time with my family, I need to earn money for my family. I want to go to school, I need to suport Chad as he navigates through school. I want to sleep, I need to take care of the house, the kids, the dog, the husband, ect. I am forever weighing what I want with what I need. Something I want, like a smaller jean size or a vacation home in Porto Rico, are just dreams. Some of my wants, like a college education and new furniture, are things that I can have...I just have to wait.

I think that I feel most torn when I am at work. I love my job and the associations that I have developed there. But the whole time I am there I am thinking of my family. Has Chad remembered to take his cumidun? Does he remember that Evan needs to sleep with quak (his stuffed little duck)? Are the kids behaving...Does Chad know where I keep the Mac and Cheese...Are the kids going to bed on time? Well you get the idea. I know that Chad can handle it all because he is a good dad, but I can't help but think that my real role and place is in my home. I know, I know..feminisim takes a huge step backwards. But the beauty of this realization is, society is not telling me that, my heart is.

So about four, sometimes five, days a week, I am caught in this storm or emotions where I know that I am not where I belong. I want to be the one to break up arguments and patch up scraped knees. Joni Mitchell had it right when she sang Big Yellow Taxi. You really don't know what you've got until it's gone. But they arn't going to pave my paradise anytime soon. I am there for my family, just in a different way. When I don't need to work anymore then I will be there to break up arguments and patch up scraped knees.

The sound of my children playing laughing and even fighting is music to my ears. I appreciate every cuddle more then I did before. I don't need new clothes or a fancy car if it means taking away moments, precious moments, in the company of my kids. I am rich beyond measure because of these two little monkeys. If I had nothing else in this world, I am rich. I have Chad, and together we have Lauren and Evan. So that is what is on my mind today. My family, my gift that gives eternally.

In the middle of wishing we had more time to take care of ourselves, we should pause life for just a moment and watch it happen around us. We mothers and wives are givers. We give our time and our talents, and yes-sometimes our hygine, in the effort to raise people who will in turn become productive citizens. We need to take every now and then. We need to take time to smile at their little antics and laugh at the silly things they do any say. We need to take just 10 minutes to ourselves, even if we have to lock ourselves in the bathroom to get it. We need to take a hot bubble bath at midnight with no one but the charactors on the pages of a good book as company. We need to be selfish every now and then so that we can be selfless the rest of the time. Maybe then, we all would stop feeling so torn.

It has been such a long time since I updated my blog last. Nothing is really going on around here. We are just trying to get ourselves all caught up. And we are close. Thanks to the church and friends. I am also so busy with work. I miss my family when I am gone. I want to be home with them. It has been so long since I have written anything on my blog that I every time I sat down to write, I got writers block. So, to get the creative juices flowing again, I am going to write a nonsensical blog with no substance to it. No update on our comings and goings, no earth shattering lessons of life that I have picked up on, no real content. I just wanted to sit down at the computer and let my fingers fly for a couple of minutes. I have almost forgotten the sensations of the keypad beneath my fingers and the sheer pleasure I find in seeing my thoughts translated into words for all to see. So many times in a day, words pound against my head, struggling to find a way out. I need to write, just as much as I need sleep. One day, my dream would be to write a book. I would love to type my name into Amazon and see something I created for all to buy instead of a list of creations I have bought from others. One day...even if it never gets published, even if it sits in a three ring binder for just my loved ones to read...one day..it would be nice to write a book. Mostly for my kids. I would love to show them that you can accomplish your dreams. Be it a trip to the summit of Everest, or to hold a college degree in your hands. I want them to feel like they can cure cancer, or swim the English Canal, or paint a masterpiece, or even write skits for Saturday Night Live. I want them to have the courage to reach for their dreams. My dad told me once that you should always aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you will still end up among the stars. So now I have come to the end of my free writing experiment. When I sat down at the computer, I had no idea where my fingers would take me, and it has ended up here.

Last night I was messing around with some pictures on our computer, and this is what I came up with. Again, something a little nonsensical, but it was fun. And, yes, it has nothing to do with my blog post today.









Now, I am hoping that since I have returned to the world of blogging, it won't be so hard for me to sit down at the computer and write.

My little Girl is 5!

Dear Laruen,

I can't believe you are a whole 5 years old!! It has been such an honor to be your mom. I love watching you grow into a little girl. I remember holding you in my arms for the first time. Your tiny little body, your big blue eyes, my baby girl. It is one of the moments in my life that I wish I could have bottled that feeling. It was pure euphoria. But the real bliss has been seeing you confront challenges, from walking to a bully in the playground, and tackle them with ease and grace. The years use to crawl, but now they fly. I question all the time the way I raise you. I hope I do you justice. I hope, above all ealse, that you feel the love I have for you. My princess you truely are.

Love Mommy

Usually for Lauren's birthday, we are out in California. For her third birthday, it was Chucky-Cheese. For her fourth, we went to some kind of Kid fun zone. Always, we are surrounded by our sweet California family. This year, I was totally planing on throwing her her first ever friends birthday party. But with my working and having absolutly no time to even clean my messy messy house, I just didn't get around to it. I am hoping that come spring time, I can still pull off a fun un-birthday party for her and her cute friends. I am grateful for her fun loving spirt, because she just didn't seem to care. Just as long as I let her have her way all day because, as she pointed out all day long, she was the birthday girl. She wanted brownies for breakfast, because she was "the birthday girl." She wanted to wear make-up, because she was, after all "the birthday girl." She wanted to watch Bueaty and the Beast all day long on a continuous loop because she was-yep, you guessed it, "the birthday girl." And really, it was the least I could do. Fortunatly for Lauren, we got a box of toys from our ward and my dad and Rita came by to bring her gifts as well. And without all of the usually fan fare, we sang "happy birthday" and let her blow out candles on her home made cake. She is the sweetest thing. So smart and sassy. I love her so much. I endevor every day to be worthy of her as a daughter. She certinly is a speacial little girl.

Lauren loves her Candy land game. We play it at least 10 times a day!! (please ignore her wonderful make-up job. Like I said, I let her put on make-up for her birthday)


Singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out her candles. When I asked her what she wished for, she said that everyone would have "peace and love for their whole life." Yea-I think she is practicing for Miss America. I am always cold, that is why I am wearing my coat. And thanks Kelly, for the coat. She read on my facebook that someone stole my coat at work, so she gave me one. I have the best friends ever!

Lauren and Evan digging in to the cake. No need for plates or utinsles. Why waste time with all of that? Needless to say, they were the only ones to eat cake that night.


And, again, please ignore the fact that Evan is always pantless, shirtless, or both. I can't keep clothes on the kid. It stays on for maybe 10 min, if I am lucky, and then they are off. He preferes to walk around as nature intended..in his diper.

Here she is showing Grandpa and Grandma some of her loot. Then it was time to say good-bye.


Lauren had a quiet birthday this year. I don't think she really minded. As long as all eyes were on her, she was fine. I love her so much. She is this little lady who graces our lives everyday with 5 year old wisdom and lots of laughter. Happy Birthday Lauren!!