Like Daddy, Like Daughter

Chase and I are starting to a horrible precedent by letting Isabelle sleep with us. We know this and completely understand the ramifications. But we are addicts and we can't stop. Look how cute she is sleeping next to her Daddy. Both with their cute little elbows sticking out. We have limited her to two nights a week with us and amazingly she seems to accept this and goes straight to her bed most nights. Last night, Chase asked her where she wanted to sleep and she said, "In there," while pointing to our room. And it was a good thing actually because she was sick all night. I kept having to change her diaper and I could hear her little body just turning on the inside. Poor baby!

Merrick Family Slides

I finally wrapped up my four year project this month. I scanned all my great grandparents old slides and put them on a DVD. My grandma asked me to do this and it has been much more time consuming that I ever intended. But I thought if there was ever a time, this would be it. Especially because I will have two kids shortly and from what I can tell, this is going to make things go from hard to darn near impossible.

Here is a stellar picture of Chuck. He's the one on the far left in case you couldn't tell. I think that my Aunt Cyndy is the one on the far right.
Judging by my Grandpa's age in this picture, this must be me that he is holding. I love this picture and I wish I could hug him one more time.

Are these kids the accidents?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As much fun as we had, I’m very relieved that Christmas is over. The mass commercialism of the holiday reared its ugly head at our house yesterday and it left me feeling kind of gross. Izzy had so many presents that she kept trying to lie down and go to sleep instead of opening them. She would have been happy with one present instead of being completely overwhelmed. Toys and clothes were everywhere and at the end of the day, I really couldn’t believe everything. But she was most excited about her baby stroller, play pen and swing that she got for her baby. Chase, on the other hand, was not excited. It took him forever to put it all together. He tried to follow the instructions but they weren’t great and kept making things worse.We had a very nice day and I think that everyone like what we got them. I’m also relieved that I won’t be getting yelled at so much anymore at work. Hopefully…

Ornament Faces

Izzy was being so funny last night that I couldn’t help but laugh at her. She would get really close to the Christmas tree and make funny faces in the ornaments and then laugh her at herself. She would cross her eyes and blow out her cheeks and then laugh for five minutes. I took some pictures and while they don’t really capture the true hilarity, I thought they were better than nothing. Merry Christmas!

A Burke Family Christmas

After a quick adventure to Salt Lake City, I’m glad to say that we all made in back in one piece. The Burke Family Christmas Party was this weekend, so Ryan, Cody, Jade, Isabelle, Mia & I piled in the Yukon Saturday night after I got off work. I was just grateful that I didn’t have to drive. Jade was definitely the best behaved kid throughout the trip. Mia got to come with us which was very exciting. I bet Chase $100 she wouldn’t come because I didn’t think Nicole would want to be away from her quite yet. I wasn’t the only one who thought that way because I heard a few people at the Christmas party tell other people that Nicole & Mia didn’t come. Jana was obviously very excited Mia came and held her all day long, which is probably why other family members hadn’t seen her at that point. I know that it was extremely difficult to let her baby go but I think that Mia punished Ryan enough during the night. From what I hear, she was up all night long! I got punished on Sunday though becuase Isabelle refused to nap which is not best case scenario. In fact, is probably very close to worse case. I was extremely tired by end of the party because it was just a very long weekend. On the car ride on the way home, Isabelle started freaking out and cried for 20 minutes. When we finally got to a place where we could stop, she was sweating to death but she calmed down. After that things went smoothly. The girls watched a movie, I tested Ryan to establish that he wasn’t a serial killer (though he did have a cat story that was extremely creepy) and we made it home by 10. Not a bad trip and best of all, I didn't have to drive!

I Hate Alltel

I have been stuck in Alltel hell for approximately two months now. It's actually gotten to the point where I have lost sleep. It's a very complicated story but I feel like it might alleviate some of my bah humbugs to get it off my chest. WAY BACK in October, I lost my cell phone. It was my own fault and I took responsibility for the situation. My husband lovingly went to Alltel for me and got me a new phone. Please keep in mind that prior to this incident, I had had the same Blackberry for two years. In fact, the person that helped Chase get me a new phone called my old phone a ghetto fabulous dinosaur. But I liked the phone and it still worked, so why get a new one? Chase brought me home a new phone. Two days later, it stopped charging and the Alltel employee that helped me told me the portal was shot. They gave me another phone and this phone worked for maybe one month before the portal became broken again. So to keep up, I picked up my third new phone in one month. Two weeks later, it stopped receiving incoming calls. Every call went straight to my voicemail. Once again, I went to the Alltel corporate store (on 17th just in case anyone out there cares). Let me be clear in saying that every time you go in there, you have to put your name on the list and wait for over an hour. So I went to pick up my 4th Alltel phone, waited for over an hour and was then told that I had to call the Tech desk first. Meanwhile, my two year old is running around like a demon. She can be very good but she was losing her patience very quickly. Especially because I was on the phone and unable to distract her. Finally, they determine that (imagine this) the phone is defunct. So they give me a new one after 2 1/2 hours. I go home, like instructed, turn the stupid thing off and start to charge it. I wake up in the morning and, you guessed it, the portal was busted and not working. I once again go back to Alltel on a Saturday. They tell me that all their Blackberry phones are gone and all the loner phones are checked out. So I leave without a cellphone. They tell me that they will have a phone overnighted on Monday and it will be in on Tuesday. And I'm expected to go without a phone this entire time. WHATEVER. I go back on Wednesday to pick up my phone because I didn't have the heart to go in on Tuesday. I arrive at 6:30. At 8:15 they tell me that my phone hasn't arrived yet and there is nothing I can do or that they are willing to do for me. At this point, I have had enough. I got up this morning and called customer service. Guess what they did for me? They have me a $10 dollar credit. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? And I still don't have a phone. So I looked up the head of marketing for Alltel and I sent him an email. I will keep you posted but not via phone OBVIOUSLY! This entire time, I feel like they think I'm doing this on purpose. I had the same phone for TWO YEARS without any problems. I am not hard on cell phones. I love my cell phone. I take good care of it. Every time I go in to the corporate Alltel store, I am nice and kind and do my best to realize that these people are not behind my problems. Maybe if I start being beyotchy, they will do something. This is a society that rewards bad behavior, right?

Crazy Izzy

Isabelle got away with sleeping with me last night and I'm regretting it now. My back hurts because I couldn't move at all last night. She wouldn't sleep unless she was on me. Every time I tried to move her, she woke up and scooted right back next to me. I probably slept on less than 12 inches last night of a king size bed. IT WAS NOT FUN! And to make matters worse, I have to work today. Sad huh?

Have You Seen These Jeans? Reward Offered!

Have you seen these jeans? They cost me $30 at Fred Meyer and Izzy wore them a total of two times. The last time they were spotted was at Chuck & Connie's house approximately five days ago. They were inventoried in the bathroom while Chuck gave Izzy a bath and have never been seen again. Their immediate return (in the same condition they were lost in) is sought after...

Izzy & Jrandma

My mom forbid me from putting these on the blog, but I don't know why she thought that I would start listening to her now. I actually do listen to my mother but I thought these were to cute to pass on. Izzy loves Jrandma and Jrandpa so much. As soon as we get in the car, "I want to see Jrandma!" even if we are just leaving their house. Izzy is lucky because she has a ton of grandparents that love her so much. And they all get to be called "Jrandma and Jrandpa." How lucky are they?

The Chuck Picture

I believe that Chuck has mastered the art of self photography. My mom was teasing him about this last week, so I thought that I should offer some positive feedback because it would be a loss not to get these anymore. As you can see, Chuck is famous for positioning himself in the bottom right corner of the frame and snapping a great photo. These are only two examples of a plethora of photos that I think are great. My Dad has a lot of great qualities and being an extrovert is definitely one of them. One of my favorite memories of my dad is on my first day of kindergarten when I was sitting by myself at my little table watching all of the other kids explore the room. One of my first flashbulb memories is me looking up and seeing my dad come through the door to check on me. I remember feeling so excited to see him and instantly feeling more comfortable. I know that Izzy will have memories like this of her dad but also of her grandpa. Chuck really does turn into an unrecognizable softy when it comes to Izzy!

Our Ordinary Life

I'm feeling bad about an earlier post because after rereading, it came across a little harsh. I was having a bad week, not that this is an excuse, but I was just feeling a little down. But yesterday I started feeling better. I was watching Izzy eat last night and I just had to laugh because it was so insane. I couldn't believe what a mess that kid can make in just a few seconds. But she loves spaghetti so much. Another side note in this posting is a quick glimpse into my craziness earlier in the week. If you can kind of see the pants that Izzy is wearing in the picture, you might be wondering why I let her wear them while eating considering they cost me $30. WHAT??!? you are thinking. ME TOO. I was at Fred Meyer on Tuesday and I was in a hurry. Izzy literally has no pants that fit her right and so I grabbed this pair on my way out. The next morning (after I had ripped off the tags and tossed them) I was going over my receipt and I noticed that I paid $30 for these jeans. The pants that I'm wearing at this exact moment cost me $8. I couldn't believe that I paid $30 for jeans that Izzy will only wear for a couple of months. First, I'm going to make Izzy wear them everyday (no, I'm not serious), then I'm going to ship them to Marley and then I'm going to have them bronzed...

Making Izzy Feel Shamed

I originally took this photo to document how Isabelle behaves in a restaurant. My goal was to embarrass her so that she would stop. Unfortunately, it really didn't work. It only seemed to egg her on to the point of absolute no cooperation. I just wanted to have proof one day so that she can apologize to me for acting like a demon. This wasn't even a one time occurrence. It was every single restaurant appearance that she made for a few months. I'll let you know when it ends though last night she was very good when we went out to eat with my parents. Her only indiscretion was that she refused to eat her food and picked off my moms plate with no shame. But she ate carrots, so I didn't want to complain. You take what you can get with a two year old!

I don't think I can do this...

I feel bad that I haven't really blogged this last week. I'm hoping that writing will be good for the soul here because I need something. This has been a truly bad week and I am feeling very hopeless right now. I have been very sick for going on two weeks and it is starting to drain me. Not to mention dealing with a terrible two by myself while Chase is at work. We love it when Chase comes home but it really takes a toll on Izzy's schedule which is a huge punishment for me the next two weeks. Also I had my heart set on Christmas lights on my house and I can see now that this is not going to get done. I am tempted to do it myself but in my current condition I'm feeling very unsteady and hesitate to crawl up on a ladder. We'll see. This is weighing very heavy on me because I feel like things that are important to me aren't important to anyone else but if someone else had asked for help, it would have been done same day. I'm really trying not to let the bitterness in my heart grow because it's already been here for two days and it's not getting any better. Anyway, I need some kind of new direction right now or I just may not make it.

Thanksgiving with Marley

I'm way jealous of my parents and my grandma. They got to spend Thanksgiving with little Marley. Not that Chase and I didn't have fun, because we did. Chasey booked me a hotel room in the Radisson in downtown Salt Lake City and we had the best view because we were almost on the top floor. We ate room service and watched movies all night. It was very relaxing and just the break that we both needed. But my sister sent me this picture on Thanksgiving in case I was missing the extended family, which I was. They didn't even call me but this is a separate matter. I'm assuming that this picture wasn't taken on Thanksgiving Day in Sioux Falls, SD but who knows what global warming is doing these days. I thought that I could use this opportunity to post my top five things that I'm most thankful for.

1. Izzy's sleeping patterns. My kid is awesome. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. When she still awake past 9pm, she brings us her pj's and says "Time for bed." Thank you Izzy.
2. My husband's sense of humor. Chase has such a big heart. I absolutely love that about him. And it doesn't take much to make him laugh which makes him fun for everyone to be around. Yes, it can be embarrassing when we are a ridiculous movie and he's laughing while everyone else in the theater is looking at him in shock, but its all part of his character.
3. Our jobs. We have been so blessed that Chase's job hasn't been directly affected by this nasty economy. In fact, he has made more this year than last year which a lot of people can't say. Also, the fact that I'm based out of Idaho Falls now instead of Pocatello has made a huge impact on our lives.
4. My parents. That's really all I need to say but I will choose to elaborate. They have always been there for me and they continue to put up with me. They are always willing to step in and help no matter what. I love them both very much.
5. Our extended family. I have never loved my sister more than I have the last couple of years and I am so grateful for her family as well. Also, I don't think that I could have married into a better family. They are so sweet and nice to me that its my first instinct to be uncomfortable. But I couldn't appreciate these people more.

Wawweee

My kid is completely insane. I don't even know where she gets some of this stuff. Last week Chase and I took her to Best Buy and as we were walking through the store, she caught a glimpse of the Pixar movie "Wall E." She was in the cart and it was on the very bottom shelf. She screamed "Wawweee" and literally threw herself out of the cart. I thought she had broken a bone. Because the cart had been in motion, when she landed, she was about three feet away from the DVD. She started crawling on her hands and knees saying, "I want to see Wawee. I want to see. I want to see." I couldn't believe it. Neither Chase or I knew that she had even heard of this movie, let alone had such an in depth relationship with it that she would recognize it from so far away. She's lucky that her Dad was with her (he is much softer than I am) because we left with our own personal copy of Wall E.

Twilight

After a long wait, it's finally here. Actually the wait hasn't been so long for me as I just read all four books for the first time within the last couple of months. But I'm very excited. My mom is keeping Izzy tonight and I'm going out with Paula and Melissa sans kids! I don't know what I'm more excited for; a night off or the movie. Either way it will be nice. Izzy is the light of my life but being a "single" parent for weeks on end starts to get old (really quickly). In fact, last night I spent the night at my moms just to get some help. It was a horrible nights sleep (I have a cold & therefore am unable to sleep) but it was worth it. We don't have tickets until the 9 o'clock show tonight, so Izzy will have to spend the night at my moms house again. I could get used to this! My mom might have to drag me over to pick my kid on Saturday. This morning, Izzy told my mom that she wants to go to the mall tomorrow. It was cute but in the back of my head I was thinking that Izzy could keep my mom busy all day and she wouldn't notice if I didn't show up until Monday morning. Just kidding.

Bad Day

I won't be blogging today (other than this) because I'm having an extremely bad day (actually week). I might regret anything that I type.

Where's Izzy?

If Izzy is ever asked to do something she doesn't want to do, I know where to find her. Whenever I hear little feet quickly scampering away, there is a good chance that I can find Izzy wrapped up in the drapes. This is her secret hiding place that is no longer a secret but she hasn't figured that out yet. When Izzy spends the night at my mom's house, my mom thinks it is hysterical that Izzy winds herself up in the drapes to avoid being dressed in the morning. I don't find it so comical. In fact, it pretty much drives me nuts. She does it so often that it has become one quick motion on her part. A combination of running and twirling at the same time so that she thinks she's well hidden. Never mind her feet sticking out of the bottom. This morning, I couldn't believe how fast she ran to the curtains. It was crazy. And then before I knew it, she was "gone." Once I left her there for a few minutes to see who had a longer breaking point. After five minutes, I heard little giggles coming from her hiding place. She really thought she had pulled one over on me. I had to laugh with her. At least she has a safe place to go. Mostly I'm grateful that they were cheap drapes to begin with because after the abuse they have been through, they are starting to show wear and tear. When Braxton was here, I would find both kids behind the drapes playing. There must be some fascination that I haven't discovered yet.

My Daddy's At Work

My Daddy's at work is that statement that comes out of Izzy's mouth at least thirty times a day. No matter what you ask her, she responds with "My Daddy's at work." So you can imagine when she sees her Dad after three weeks of him being out on the road. It is almost hysteria. She starts bouncing and talking a mile a minute. And she forgets all about me. The person who has sustained her life for the last month without any help. The person who loves her no matter what. Oh well. Chase came home for the weekend and we had a great time. The best part was when we driving in the car and Izzy said, "My Daddy's at work." So I said, "Well then, who is that?" pointing to Chase. She said, "That's Chase!" And I said, "Isn't Chase your Daddy?" And then she said, "No, my Daddy's at work!" So I guess Isabelle knows something that I don't. But to be completely serious, I know that Izzy misses her dad like crazy and so do I! It seems like the days when he is gone drag by and our lives are seperate ordeals until he comes home. Oh well.

My Turn, Open Your Eyes & Smile!

These crazy kids! Nicole and I were trying to get some cute shots of Mia & Jade for Mia's birth announcement and there were moments of complete craziness. First and foremost, Isabelle did not like being left out of this. She kept trying to slowly slide in her foot then desperately leap into the picture. I think this kid needs a sibling. Grandma had to distract Izzy by taking pictures of her on her camera. But that only worked for a little while. It wasn't too long before she was back to her old tricks and saying, "My turn, my turn!" After we got that worked out, we asked Jade to close her eyes for one picture and from that point on, we had trouble getting her to keep her eyes open. There is a series of ten frames where her eyes are closed! Mia was definitely the best behaved. She was sweet and alert and let Jade and Izzy smother her with attention. After we were done, we threw Izzy a bone and let her get in some of the pictures and, of course, at that point, she started being unwilling to cooperate. Ryan just had surgery and was laid up back in his bedroom and my child was running around like a crazed woman. She kept slamming doors and saying, “I need to see Ryan.” I’m worried that we won’t be allowed back into their house after the commotion last night. Hopefully, Ryan & Nicole wil forgive us!

One Of Her Favoritest Things!

This is what I call Izzy's grouchy face. Doesn't she look mean? But this is her hat that Aunt Heidi bought her last Christmas and it has become her new favorite possession. She doesn't even take it off to go to nap. When we first got it, I couldn't keep it on her and now the world has ended it we leave the room without it. But I think she's pretty cute!

Bandaiditis

My kid loves bandaids. We have gone through many a boxes without so much as a paper cut. When people ask me what happened, I tell them that she suffers from a severe case of bandaiditis. Every time she hurts, we put a bandaid on it and it seems to make her feel much better. But this time, it made me feel much worse. I put one on her cheek and when we went to pull it off, it left huge red welts. I couldn't believe it. I felt absolutely horrible. The skin on her face must be very sensitive and it looks like I beat the poor kid. I felt bad all night long and every time I saw her face, I felt like crying. She seemed to be alright though and let me rub lotion all over it. It looked a lot better this morning, which was a huge relief. Izzy had fun in the bath though. The kid loves the water and would spend every day all day in it if we let her. It is not uncommon for me to give her a bath at night and then find her outside the shower door trying to get in with me the very next morning. Often whenI pick her up in the evening, she's not wearing what I sent her in because she goes to the water fountain and tries to bathe in it. It's crazy! But I know some parents who have to fight their kids in and out of the bathtub and I feel lucky that is one thing I will probably never have to worry about. She's a regular fish!

She's Sneaky!

You have to give Izzy props for never giving up. This kid kills me sometimes. Last night, I put her to bed and continued with what I was doing, which was watching The Girls Next Door (this is a real priority). I went to check on her and this is what I found. She moved her and her baby to my bed and had turned on the TV. Of course she was watching an infomercial for a new kind of steam mop but she wasn't sleeping nonetheless. She was so cute that I was tempted to leave her in my bed but then I had flashbacks of the last time that I did that and she spent the entire night trying to get comfortable on top of me. So back to her bed she went. When I took this picture, she kept saying, "Do it again Mommy, do it again." Anything to put off bed! But there is no doubt that this kid can be very enduring when she want to be.

Baby's House Outside!

My little daughter is so sweet. I ran across this picture today and was taken back by how little and innocent Isabelle was at one point. Unfortunately, right now, she's not feeling very well. She ended up getting sick last night and I feel very bad for her. But hopefully she recovers soon. I was teasing her yesterday about the baby moving into her room. I told her that she would have to sleep in the hallway because the new baby in Mommy's belly needed her room. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Baby's house outside!" She doesn't really understand the whole sharing thing yet and I'm a little worried about it. But I don't think that we will make the baby sleep outside.

Desperate For A Girl

I am desperate for this to be a girl, so naturally I'm putting my faith in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is historically right 77% of the time and was correct in predicting both Izzy and Marley. If I had been smart, I would have consulted this the moment I decided to get pregnant but I must have been sitting under a lucky star because this says I'm having a girl. Yay!

Marley Jane

My grandma gave me these picutes yesterday and I thought they were priceless. We were all standing around when my dad put Marley on Spot and we were all waiting for her to freak out. But she just turned and smiled at Izzy. All of us with digital camera were scrambling trying to get them turned on and focused and then missed the moment anyway because of the delay that digital cameras tend to have. But my grandma with her trustly old fashioned film camera didn't miss it! And she also passed on the photo of Marley in Grandpa's hat. What a doll!

A Symbol of Freedom

Well, no matter the outcome, the 2008 election season is over. Thank goodness! I don't think that I could have taken another day, especially because this one has been going on for over a year. Earlier this year, when I went and saw the movie Swing Vote (by myself because Chase hates spending time with me) something really stuck out for me. There was a line in the movie about how those of us that don't work for the government or serve in the military are really asked to do very little for all the freedoms that we enjoy. All our country asks from us is to spend a few hours every four years voting. If you can't sacrifice that, then what can you sacrifice? So yesterday I decided to teach my six year old nephew about the democratic process and I took him to vote with me. On the way over we discussed how important it was to vote because there are people are there that are giving their lives for our right to such liberties and people in different countries aren't even allowed to pick their leaders. He was so cute and innocent througout the whole process. He asked the lady checking people in if she had voted yet. When she told him she had, she asked him who he was voting for and he told her aunt Katie. On the way out, he asked when he could vote and I told him when he was a grown up. And he replied, "So you mean when I turn 7?" After I got home last night, I played with the kids and went to bed. Just getting out there and voting took a huge weight off my shoulders and I didn't feel the need to keep myself up all night watching the TV because as that point I had done all I could do. The only thing left is to make my husband feel guilty for not voting. But I'm not going to work too hard at this because I have a feeling that we would have cancelled each other out and this way I still get to feel like I won.

Izzy Quirks

Isabelle definitely has some quirks. Quirks that are cute, quirks that are not so cute. But nonetheless, I will have to learn to live with them. One of her cutest little habits is to say "Too" after you say, "I love you Izzy." She can't be bothered to actually use the lung power to push out "Love you too" so she keeps it short and to the point. Too Mommy Too. Last night, I was tickling her until she said "I love you too Mommy." Needless to say, she had almost passed out from lack of oxygen from lauging so hard before she gave in. But I now know that she is capable. Another thing that she does that drives me nuts is to pull down on her car seat until she can wiggle her arms out of the straps. No matter how tight I get it, she gets out. I think that she consciously sucks in oxygen to falsely inflate her stomach so that it becomes loose once I stop looking. I'm constantly stopping the car to fix this. We have more than one car seat, so I know its her not faulty craftsmanship. Oh well. I have discovered a new trick to fix another issue we have though. No matter how excited she is to see me when I pick her up from daycare, she is upset by the time we get home. I have solved this problem by keeping dried cearal in the car. That's right. I'm teaching my child to solve her problems by turning to food. That is what these pictures are of. I give her a huge cup of dry cereal on way to the daycare in the morning and then keep the rest in the car. We are at the point now where she asks for her cup before we even get to the car to come home. But if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess I'm stuck with a messy kid in loose car seat straps.

Introducing Elliott Burke!

This is a horrible picture, but I'm in a hurry. Chase and I are having another baby and the newest Burke addition is due July 4th. But I know that if I'm still pregnant on July 4th, I will be suicidal so this will probably be a June baby. Happy Birthday Chase because this is the only thing you are getting! Just kidding. Last week I was tired and grouchy and I had a feeling that I was suffering from the nine month flu. But I kept taking pregnancy test (I'm embarrassed to say how many but 5) and they kept coming up negative. All of the instructions said to wait three days until taking the next one if you still suspect you are pregnant so I made myself do that even though it was very hard. And finally one came up positive and then I took two more just be sure and they were all positive. Chase and I have been thinking about another baby but we really only decided last month. But here goes!Anyway, Chase and I decided that we would name this baby Elliot no matter what the sex is because it was my grandpa's middle name and it would mean a lot to us to have a reminder. Especially because I'm pregnant right now. I know what you are thinking. Even if it's a girl? Yes! This question was the first thing out of my moms mouth and yes I did see that look Mother! It was kind of a cringe but I looked it up online and Elliott with two t's is the feminine form and Elliot with one t is the masculine form. Plus, I think that having an Izzy and an Ellie would be cute so this is no longer up for debate. But I am praying and bargaining with God for another girl. I wouldn't know what to do with a boy and I really want another girl.

This is a test

I'm writing this from my cellphone and want to see if it posts!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Boo at the Zoo

I had high hopes for yesterday. I thought it would be really fun to take the kids (Braxton & Izzy) to Boo at the Zoo. All the kids come to the zoo in their Halloween costumes and local businesses hand out candy in between animal exhibits. My mom lovingly rearranged her schedule so that she could help me out. Braxton and I went to pick up Izzy from the daycare and she was super excited when she saw him dressed up like Batman and kept saying, “Let’s go see the animals.” So naturally I assumed this was going to be a fun experience. It wasn’t. To say the least. By the time we got home, Izzy’s mood had done a 180. She refused to put on her costume. When I finally wrestled it on her, she laid on the ground screaming for 10 minutes. I was set on her wearing it and I thought she would calm down but when she didn’t, I conceded defeat and pulled it off. This did nothing. She was still hysterical. Finally, my mom and I loaded her into the car in her ordinary clothes. If we hadn’t already told Braxton what we were doing, we would have scrapped the idea entirely. By the time we got to the zoo, Izzy had (miraculously) calmed down. So we took her in. She was the only child, in any age group, that wasn’t dressed up. My mom had tried to tell me that it was natural for 2 year olds to not want to dress up but after arriving at the zoo, I realized this was a lie. I saw plenty of young kids dressed up and looking adorable. When I pointed this out to my mom, I told her that I should have come with a sign around my neck saying that my kid refused to dress up, it wasn’t that I was too cheap to buy a costume. My mom told me that I should start the sign out with “Don’t judge me!” We had a good laugh but I still felt like a bad mom because Isabelle was in jeans and a sweater. But the story doesn’t end here. For those of you that know that Idaho Falls zoo, you know that the petting zoo is almost as far away from the entrance that you can get. This is the exact place my two year old picked to freak out. She started screaming and crying and running into people in her hysterics. I picked her right up and we left. She and I sat in the car for a half hour while we waited for my mom and Braxton to get done. She cried the entire time. It was horrible. On my way home from work, I realized that I left my camera in my office and I was kicking myself. Now I am almost glad that I don’t have a photo reminder of the affair. So much for planning something fun for a 2 year old. I tried my best!

Family Fun

The Lanier Family Photo

The Sunset the night my Grandpa passed.

Izzy watching Monster House for the first time.

The small redeeming factor in my horrible experience last week was that I got to spend the entire time with my family, which I utterly enjoyed, minus the circumstances. Our nephew, Braxton, is in town and my sister and her family were here for a few days. Overall, we managed to have a nice time together and I wanted to share a few pictures of the week.