Soccer

 Guess who started soccer!?  This handsome devil.  Guess who is extremely cuted out?  Me!

I'm not sure why Provo City Soccer insists on slapping a BYU logo on the jersey, but it makes me a little sick every time he puts it on.  Even Ben was puzzled and slightly disgusted.  He may deny it now, but it's true.

 I have a love/hate relationship with 4-year-old soccer I've decided.  I love that it is all about having fun, learning, and absolutely none of the parents are jerks or competitive in the least.  I hate (dislike) that it can be so frustrating to watch a bunch of 4-year-olds wander around a field aimlessly as the ball runs into their feet and they still don't kick it.  Let's face it though, overall it is just adorable and a hoot.  He was very excited to see that his jersey is #1 because that is the same number that Thomas the Tank Engine has painted on his engine body.

We've had 4 games and it is finally starting to click with Emerson that he has to follow the ball the whole time and not just bite his nails and pretend to be Wall-E.  I was so proud of him during the first game though because he scored the first goal in the very first game!  Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.  The stars aligned and he MADE A GOAL.  He was very pleased with himself.  He has scored a goal every time Ben isn't able to come to a game.

Here are some action shots:

Here is Emerson practicing with his team before the game.

Running so fast!

Just being silly.

Goal kick!  So cute!

He's #1 way down the field, dangerously close to the goal.

Bunch ball.  (E is #1)

He is the one who appears to be scoring a goal.  But don't be fooled, it barely BARELY missed!

She is Emerson's biggest cheerleader.  She even cheers for him when he's not in.  She yells, "Go Em-a-son!"

It makes me want to play soccer again so much!  I have such fond memories of youth soccer.

Our New Home

 Wanna know where we've been living?  We found a beautiful home to rent in Provo that is not too far away from the hospital.  It has been really great so far.  I am decorating impaired, however, and also poor from being a student wife and paying for two homes, so don't start judging me.  I vow to myself it will be really cute one day.

 View of front door.  That coat closet on the left is as big as our first apartment.

 View as you walk in...we are ghetto and don't have any couches in the sitting room yet, but one thing at a time.

Family room

Kitchen.  I know what you are thinking, and yes, it is always this clean.  I did not move the pile of crap off my desk before taking this picture.  And no, I did not strategically plan this picture for cleaning day.

 Downstairs bathroom (that little pink potty fills me with shame every time I glance at it because of our failed potty-training attempt.)

 Laundry room, through the downstairs bathroom

 Crawlspace playroom (it is only 5 feet tall--perfect for kiddos, not so perfect for adults)

Master bedroom

 Master bathroom

 Kids' bathroom

 Sammi's room

 Emerson's room

Our favorite thing about the house is probably the fenced-in yard with a playground.

 Our garden is growing like crazy.  In case you are doorbell-ditched and find zucchini on your porch, it wasn't us...

The main thing that we have had to adjust to is mowing our own lawn.  It stinks!  I think I would maybe rather pay the condo fee like we did in Ohio to have the grass mowed, edged, and have all that stinky grass hauled away.  Oh well.  I guess we have to grow up sometime.

Eccles Dinosaur Park

 On the 24th of July Ben was working, so I headed up to Eccles Dinosaur Park with my family.  'Cause nothing says Pioneers like the dinosaur park! (Uhhh....)  But really, it was fun.

 Sorry Nat, your eyes were closed in both pictures. I'm not sure what Sammi is doing here...

 This is kind of like the obligatory Hogle Zoo gorilla hand picture.

Being a dinosaur?

 Emerson couldn't understand why we were making him stick his head through that hole until he saw the pictures afterward, and then he really got a kick out of himself.

 They were both really nervous about the dinosaurs, especially the animatronic ones.

 Sammi's favorite dinosaur of the whole day...but she was still really nervous about it, so Grandpa had to hold her.

Digging for fossils.  E loved this part and kept imploring, "Come on Mom!  Come join the fun!"

The dinosaur park made a huge impression on Sammi because she says at least once a day, "I see beebee dinosaur!"  Her favorite is to tell strangers this valuable nugget of information and then they look at me quizzically and I find myself sheepishly trying to explain while at the same time telling myself that I don't need to explain because they don't really care.  I should just pass it off as gibberish, but she just speaks so dang clearly.  Just one of those "fun" mom moments.  (And I used quotations appropriately here because I mean it's not really fun.)  Another "fun" moment is when your son introduces himself to everyone in every new situation we've been in as Wall-E, in a very loud, nasally robot voice.  That's another one I find myself trying to explain.  It goes something like this.

Emerson: (In piercing nasally voice) "I'm WAAAAAALLLLLLL-EEEEEE"

Me: "He thinks he's Wall-E, you know the robot."

Chuckle from potential new friends/enemies depending on how harshly they are judging me.

Me: (feeling the need to further explain) "His name is Emerson, not really Wall-E, because it's not like I would name my kid Wally or anything..."

Emerson: "Do you wanna see me make a cube of garbage?"

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

I also hope no one overhears me when I ask Wall-E if he would like more garbage to eat, because he will not allow me to break his character scenario by calling him "Emerson" or calling food "food".  Sometimes it's tough to keep up with his characters.  Some other favorites are Lifter Truck, Lucky the Puppy, The Cowboy, and Diesel Train or Steam Engine Train.

"I'm Being a Clo"

This is Emerson being a piece of laundry, or a "clo".  ("Clo" is the singular form of clothes, you know.)

When he was supposed to be napping today, I heard some rustling around and went to see what was up.  I found him amidst the spilled laundry and his excuse was: "My arms just spilled all the clothes."  Those darn arms!  Always doing things he can't control.

Swimming Lessons

 E had swimming lessons this summer.  I think he really enjoyed them, but got a little bugged they were every day for two weeks.  He kept telling me that they were supposed to be like Preschool, only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. :)

He learned a couple of things, but mostly I just wanted him to get accustomed to being in the water.  I was overall very pleased, but I think he'll be ready for quite a bit more next summer.

 In these two pictures he is doing his traction rods (like a train).  The pool was shallow enough that he could just walk around, so he did that whenever it wasn't his turn with the teacher. 

 He had a crush on this little blonde girl.  He would always pick her when it was his turn to be the "splash monster".

 He HATES getting his face wet, so he borrowed his teacher's sunglasses whenever they were practicing big kicks.

Swimming lessons seem like such a grown-up kid thing to do.  When did my kids start growing up?

Ben was on TV!

Here is a video of Ben doing a mock code with a freaky mannequin that gives birth.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/mannequin-gives-birth-for-emergency-medical-simulations/vmix_a614a0ec-db5d-11e1-bf1b-001a4bcf887a.html

Morning Hair

 Business in the front...

 Party in the back.

 Every morning, without fail.

Guess Who Turned Two?

 This Little Lady.

It's not fair!  She's getting big.  She chatters up a storm and makes her wishes known.  Sometimes I really wish I could freeze her at this age.  Sometimes I don't.  She's awfully cute though.

Some things I want to remember about Sammi at this age:

-First thing in the morning she knocks on her door and says, "MOM! MOM! Want break-ist!"
-She loves having her nails painted
-She's obsessed with footwear (I'm so proud!)
-She has two favorite outfits; her "love heart" (pictured) and her "fishy".
-She has really gotten into princesses lately, her favorite being Ariel, or "Ah-ah-ah" as she calls her. (Since that's how she sings on the movie.)
-She adores Emerson still, and has started calling him "Em-a-son" instead of just "E!"
-She tanks up at breakfast, and then doesn't really eat lunch or dinner well.
-Her favorite colors are pink and purple, which is why she requested her cake to be that way.
-She loves Daddy and misses him when he's at work, which has been a lot lately.
-She loves to read books to herself, but has started letting other people read them to her too.
-She loves nursery.
-She loves to comb her hair with her fork at dinner and sing just like Ariel.
-She can't go to sleep without her bear and Mimi (purple blanket).
-Her favorite shows rotate between My Little Pony, Babar, and Strawberry Shortcake.
-She's a sweetie pie who loves to give kisses and hugs but can turn on you quickly and then shout, "No! Go-way."
-She loves to copy E.  Whatever he is doing, she is usually doing.  She had a really hard time when he had swimming lessons and she couldn't get in the water too.

We got to have Grandma and Grandpa J and Aunt Nat and Aunt Steph come celebrate with us a couple days early since Daddy is on night float on her actual special day.

Girly with Grandma

Trying to show us "two"

E demanding a hug after she opened his present

 Opening presents

 Opening her princesses while wearing her cute Ariel dress from Aunt Steph and Aunt Nat

 So proud of her beautiful dress and shoes

 She wanted to sit on Grandpa's lap while she opened presents

 Admiring her pretty shoes

 The haul

  Trying to carry all of her princesses at once

 The "pink-purple" cake she requested

 So excited!

 Making a wish...

We love you so much, Samantha May!  We are so glad you are in our family.