Rylee Jewell Turns 8!

I have to enter two posts today because I missed all weekend. On Saturday morning (before I left for Eureka) I went to Rylee Jewell’s 8th birthday party. Our friend Ben put together a fun day for his kids and I was lucky enough to be invited. We met at the Aquatic Center but shortly after arriving someone defecated in the pool and it was shut down. Try explaining that to 4 disappointed girls, especially mine who really had no idea what was going on. All she wanted to do was get in the water and she made that fact known very loudly. But it worked out because we took the girls to the Museum of Idaho which has this great Egyptian display right now, complete with a real mummy! Unfortunately, when we discovered this mummy was actually a small kitten, it kind of killed it for the girls. They wouldn’t let me take pictures inside the display but I was able to sneak some inside of the Children’s Interactive Zone. They got to dress up like pioneers and they played together very nicely. I have to take this opportunity to say that I really admire what Ben’s doing. At this point, he is a single dad trying to be everything for two very adorable little girls and he plays a very important role in his step-daughter’s life as well. While this is not easy, he is doing an incredible job and I’m very thankful that he lets Chase and I play a small role in his life. I’m so excited to meet his wife when she returns and see how all of their lives play out.

Eureka!

This weekend started very badly for me. I was extremely tired and Izzy was not on her best behavior. On Saturday, when I started doing laundry for the weekend, I realized that I still had a load in the dryer left over from last weekend. I felt like such a failure. It actually brought me to tears and I felt very overwhelmed. I know that some failures can be turned into success if you learn from them, but what happens if you are a failure at your entire life? So I decided that I needed to see Chase. I packed Izzy up and we drove down to Utah so that Chase could make me feel better. I just felt like we should all be together so that I wouldn’t have time to feel sad. It was Randy’s (Chase’s stepdad) birthday so we got to meet his family and it was fun. We also took Izzy on her first four wheeler ride through Eureka. She was extremely hesitant at first but when we took off, she loved it. We went and look down on old mine shaft that hasn’t been sealed up. It’s crazy because you just feel cool air coming out of the hole. We dropped a rock down it and we didn’t even hear it land, it is that deep! Then we went to the Eureka Cemetery and that was kind of sad because it is not in very good condition. We were walking through and I looked down and we were standing on an old headstone that has been taken over by weeds. This person had died in the early 1900’s and no one was left to take care of their final resting place. I just thought to myself that while this person is in a better place, they were once someone else’s baby while they were here on earth and I wouldn’t want anyone in my family to be treated that way. After our ride, I really didn’t want to leave and come back and face my empty house, so I stayed in Eureka until almost 9pm. I was so tired driving home. Those who know me know that I’m not a night person. I started reciting the presidents in order of their presidential terms. That kept me busy but not for long enough. So then I switched to the states and their capital cities. But I just kept picturing my nice warm (though empty and lonely) bed and I finally made it, safe and sound.

Elmo Again, You Don't Say?

I'm just going to throw this out there. I hate Elmo. But unfortunately, my kid loves him. In fact, she really can't get enough of him. I have watched the same Elmo's World DVD's at least 50 times each. Currently I'm facing the eternal struggle of whether I should I buy a new DVD therefore giving even more money to this disgusting empire or if I should just shoot myself. I'll let you know what I decide. I remember the first time I heard Izzy sing the Elmo's World theme song. I thought it was sooo cute. How naive I was! But I guess I should be glad that Izzy has the passion that she does. Maybe we can translate this over to something more productive.

Ready For Your Towel Mommy?

I decided to post some of our favorite baby picutes of Izzy because she's growing up so fast! Her new favorite thing is to wait for me outside of the shower every morning holding a towel. Today I tested her two year old patience and they didn't last for too long! After about two minutes, I saw the shower door slowly sliding open, then her little hand slide in. I put my foot on the other side of the door so it wouldn't open any further and when she realized it was sliding anymore she tried to shove her entire head through the three inch opening. The whole time she was saying, "Ready for your towel Mommy? Ready?" It was pretty sweet.

Izzy's 2nd Birthday Party

I just barely got around to putting this together. I can't believe she's already two!

My Old Friend Sue

So a few crazy things happened to me today. First and foremost, Suzi contacted me via Facebook. I almost fell out of my chair because it was one of those moments that you never expect and for a fleeting second I almost felt alive again. So many memories can back and all of a sudden I was having a very hard time breathing. I knew that I missed her but to see her name right in front of me was crazy. She sounded exactly the same and I just had to laugh, even though it doesn’t sound like she wants to be my friend again. This morning was also sucky because Izzy was a huge brat. I was running very late (as per) and she would not cooperate. She actually tried to crawl under my bed to avoid getting dressed. The whole time she was screaming, “No kids! Elmo, Elmo ELMO.” I was seriously getting upset with her because I HATE it when she acts this way. That gave the day a bad start. Then at lunch, my Cup of Noodle boiled over and as I was cleaning up the yellow film that formed everywhere, I began to wonder what it does to your stomach if it is that gross in the microwave. I can only pray that my day starts to get better or I just might stay in bed tomorrow!

Welcome To theburkeswillblog.blogspot.com!

Izzy and I will be blogging from now on! I have decided that I can't possibly squeeze my whole day into a 10 minutes daily phone conversation with my husband, so I will write about my day so that he can review at his leisure. That way he will have an idea of how insane my life can be! This will probably be extremely boring to people in the real world because this will be nothing mind evoking, controversial or stimulating in anyway. Welcome to our ordinary life!