My Stars Are Aligned!!

My stars are aligned. Seriously. I had the most UNBELIEVABLE string of luck this evening. If you were to open up one of those wonky zodiac books, and look under May 31st for the Sagittarius, it would say, "Golly, something FABULOUS is going to happen to you today!" And even though everything that the Zodiac tells you is generic enough to always be right, today it really would be.

I'm not quite ready to tell you what it is-stay tuned for that later on in the week after I complete the triumph-but I just couldn't go to bed tonight without saying that I'm beyond delighted with my luck this evening.

You know that dumb song from Sound of Music? The one that no one knows because everyone-and I mean EVERYONE-fast forwards through it? The drippy love song near the end. (And if anyone comments and tells me that they love that song, I am going to seriously reevaluate our friendship.) Anyway, in it, they say, "Somewhere in my youth or childhood... I must have done something good..." Yeah, that's pretty much me tonight. I'm not sure what it was, but I really must have done something good.

Goooooooooooolllll!

Click to hear an audio of the play by play.



And for those of you who don't speak Spanish, allow me to translate. He says, "Nathan cuts up the field, dodges the last defender and puts it in the back of the net for a gooooollllll! Goooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllll!"

That's right, Nater scored his first soccer goal! He was so into the game today. Uncharacteristically so. When the game started, he was on the sidelines, actually watching his teammates and cheering for them and practicing running fast. :) I'm embarrassed to admit what I'm about to tell you because in admitting it, I am telling you what I have allowed Ryan to turn my boys into-but at one point, as he was cheering for his team, he was chanting, "Dir-ty Utes! Dir-ty Utes!" Oh. I hang my head. The kid thinks that if you're ever cheering about sports, you should be wishing for the demise of the "dirty Utes." Completely brainwashed. For shame.

Anyway, back to the soccer game at hand-he scored his team's only goal today, and after he did, he jumped up and down ecstatically with his hands in the air for about a minute. His smile and the resultant dimple were approximately the size of Texas. So cute. :)

Way to go, fella!

I watched her sleep

I had many many thoughts. But it's hard to express them adequately. I'm considering just letting the picture speak for itself. If you just stare at it for awhile, I think it'll speak to you too. But in case it doesn't speak everything to you that it spoke to me, let's let it suffice to say that I think she is perfect. Perfectly beautiful, perfectly angelic, perfectly round, perfectly peaceful.

Gospel Knowledge

(Warning: This post contains Mormon lingo that may not be familiar to you. If it's not, ask your Mormon friend-who, if you are reading this, might just be me-to explain it to you. :)

Ok, so Nathan and I were having a conversation about life. It seems that we've been having a lot of those lately, as he is starting to become more aware of others around him, and their relationship to each other and to him.
Example: before bed a few nights ago, he was asking me about getting married.
"When did you and daddy get married?"
"About 7 years ago."
"Oh. Um, I mean, when did you see each other... like... like... you saw each other and said 'Oh, there's a nice husband' and daddy said, 'there's a nice wife'... like when did that happen?"
"Do you mean when did daddy and I meet for the first time?"
"Yeah, yeah. That."
I proceeded to tell him the story of what happened one fateful August day on the blazing hot fields of DT during a certain Y Group game.
He gets a little smile on his face.
"And did you think he would be a good husband for you?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, not right away, but yes, I thought he was a very nice boy."
That little smile broke into a HUGE grin. "Oh great!" I thought. "He's getting it."
So then we talked about what happens when you get married and have a family-all the way on to death. We talked about how we could always be a family, together forever, because we are all sealed together. Yeah, kid was full of important life questions that night. I knew we were done with our real discussion when he started asking about how juice is made. Ok, that's a conversation I'm willing to postpone for another night.
Anyway, so today, he asked me when I would become his grandma. I explained that I would never be his grandma because I would always be his mom. I explained how Grandma Weed is still daddy's mom, but when he was born, that she became his grandma too.
"What about my old old grandma?"
After a bit of doing, I realized that he meant his great grandmas. It's a good thing that they don't regularly check the blog... At least I think they don't...
We moved on.
"Ok, ok, ok. So when I get married..."
(I interrupted: "After your mission, you mean")
"Yeah, yeah, when I get married after my mission and then I earn a baby..."
(Earn a baby? Ok, that's a reasonably good explanation for babies at this point. I'm not going to correct that one...)
"Yes, I will be that baby's grandma."
"Ok, so, like, Grandpa Don is your dad."
"Well, no actually. My dad died, and after he died, my mom-who is Grandma Meyers-got married again, and she married Grandpa Don."
"Oh. So, when your dad died, he left the earth?"
"Yes."
"Where did he go?"
I thought we were embarking on another one of our lengthy life discussions.
"Well, when we die, we get to go live in Heaven with our Heavenly Father and Jesus."
"Oh. I thought we went to the Spirit World."
"Yes-yes, that's right. That's what it's called. The Spirit World."
"So your dad is in the Spirit World?"
"Yes."
(Raises his eyebrows) "Well, I hope he chose the top half!"

For anyone who has seen the illustration of the Plan of Salvation, you know exactly what he's talking about! (And again, if you haven't-ask someone.) Smart kid!

So I'm polishing the medal I earned for my kid having such great gospel knowledge ... until he said that he thinks we learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus from watching Scooby Doo. Dang. I had to put that shiny medal away.

Just Some Randoms

Just some pictures that didn't merit their very own post, but I still like 'em.

Too sleepy.

"Yup, this is the life for me."

"Please let me roll a 5, please let me roll a 5..."

The Meeting of the Leahs

These two Leahs are destined to be good buddies.

Within minutes, Baby Leah was smiling for all she was worth at Aunt Leah.

"Love you, Aunt Leah!"

One Blessed Baby

We blessed our sweet Baby Leah today. She looked SO sweet and precious. Usually I try to edit down the pictures I post, but I just have to post a lot today. So I've added quite a few of my favorite pictures of this girl. Bear with me while I gush and gush about how darn cute I think she is.

The dress in all its glory. Made by the ever talented Grandma Meyers.

Get out of town-look at this girl! What a doll!

Of course, it wasn't easy getting this lovely...

Get used to it, Little Sister. Beauty is pain. But it was worth it because you're just sooo cute! :)

Such sweet brothers. Honestly, Leah. You are sooooooooo lucky.

And a couple of good lookin' grandmas. Good genes-another reason you're a lucky gal.

The fellas who came to bless this lucky baby.


The whole clan. Aunt Leah, Grandpa and Grandma Weed, Daddy and Baby, Nater, Cody and Yours Truly, Grandma Meyers and Grandpa Don, Matt and Katie.


And, for you detail hounds-these uh-dorable little booties were underneath that gorgeous dress. TDF! (To Die For!!)

And, those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed this little item in the preceding pics. My first little foray into baby bracelets. So precious! I didn't see the purpose in them at first. But now I might be hooked. They are SO cute! Sweet little teeny tiny freshwater pearls with a few sparkly little crystals. Oh my.

The money shot. What a babe!

Sun's Out, Guns Out

Welcome, summer.

Our 1 Year Blogiversary!

On this, our one year blogiversary, I thought I'd make a list of my favorite posts from this year. Not all of my favorites, but this definitely gives you a flavor for who we are and what we've been up to this year. So, here you go. Re-enjoy these classics with me.

Once upon a time we went to Belize. It was nice. Really, really nice.

Cody started nursery with this triumphantly cute video.

Nathan got sucked into the world of advertising.

Sometimes I get angry. I might have been a little hormonal at the time...? Or just angry. (On a slight side note about being angry, Ryan thinks I'm at my funniest when I'm mad!)

I got a little bit pregnant. Man that seems like a long long time ago!

Cody wept.

We moved.

My relationship with Child Protective Services began with a bang. :) A very classic post.

Baby Leah in utero. She was really kind of cute then, too.

Nathan gets some great friends in his new school.

Halloween adventures of one ferocious dragon and one portly knight.

Nathan kept it real in Primary.

Being pregnant stinks.

Sometimes it made me cry.

Finally I had that baby.

She's kind of cute.

Ok, he's kind of cute, too.

Ok, and so is he!

Nathan (and Ryan) learned to ride a bike.

We headed to San Antonio.

And I just about killed this particular child.



And that about does it for our year in review!



Hey, thanks for joining us for the ride.




PS-I need to turn this whole year into one of those blog books... is there more than one place that provides that service? Does anyone have any experience with it? Also, do we know anyone who has turned their blog into a book-in the DFW area? Because I'm teaching a little class on keeping your own family's history, and one of those blog books would be a super example. Anyone?
Hey, and since I'm soliciting your opinion here, does anyone have any other great and creative ideas for keeping your own personal family history? What do you do?

MacGyver Goes Rambo In The End

Ok. Here we go.

Nathan got home from school. He and Cody played for awhile, and then they played alone for awhile. Fine. I hear Cody knocking on Nathan's door. Whatever. So far all no big deal. Until Nathan tried to get in his room and found it locked. So I went to deal with the issue. As I tell you this next piece, you're going to think I'm an idiot. It's okay because I think that about myself too. But. Cody has done this once before. He locked that deadbolt, and unlocked it about 2 minutes later. So, I kind of thought, well, if he ever does that again, he obviously knows how to undo it. (Don't even get me STARTED on the MORON who put a DEADBOLT on a CHILD'S bedroom door!)

So, I'm standing at the door, asking him to unlock it, and he's gleefully asking me if he's doing it right (I obviously can't see him.) Please note the adverb I used there: gleefully. He was quite gleeful. He was pleased with himself. He thought it was a big game. So, after about 1/2 an hour of trying to get him to open it, which I believe he could have done but didn't because he was having fun with his little game, I decided to leave him. Fine, I thought. He obviously can unlock the door if he wants to, and when he gets sick of the game, he will. He played happily in there for another hour and a half. After that, he started knocking on the door.

"Mama? Could you open d'door?"
"No, but you could."

So we go through another round of trying to explain to him what I wanted him to do. He thinks it's fun to have me on the outside of the window looking in, and smilingly plays another game. It went a little something like this:

"Cody, put your hand on the lock."
"This?" Pointing to the light switch with a BIG GOLDEN smile on his face.
"No, the lock."
"This?" Again with the light switch.
"No. The LOCK."
"Oh, this?" Pointing to the lock, which he knew the whole time. Especially since we ran through that little act about 20 times. Oh. He knew which the lock was. Little snot. Beyond annoying after... well, after the first time, frankly, but it went on for half an hour or so. Finally, in complete frustration, I gave up.

That's when my 5 year old came to give me some advice.

"Mom, I don't think you're remembering what we learned from Meet the Robinsons."
"What?" (Through slightly gritted teeth.)
"Just keep moving forward!"

So I let little Mr. Let's-Think-Positive try his hand at negotiating.

"Cody, are you starving? Then you HAVE to get OUT of there!"

When his negotiation failed miserably, he turned to me and said,

"But I want Cody to be healthy and have dinner!"

Funny that everyone was worried about Cody's lack of food intake. He survived like a champ on his plentiful reserves of chub. Oh, and one dead bug. But he ate that out of curiosity, not out of hunger. (Yes, this was one thing I helplessly watched him do as I was standing outside the window, trying to coach the child into opening the lock. He found a dead bug in the window sill and ate it. But didn't like it, so spent a few minutes trying to pry the pieces out of his mouth. I will understand if you don't want to be friends with us anymore.)

Eventually, he started crying, probably mostly because I wasn't playing the game anymore. I kept telling him what to do, and I knew he could do it, but he just kept crying and calling for Daddy. Soon, the baby started crying. So now I've got one baby wailing in each ear. And right after that, Nathan came up and tapped me on the leg.

"Mama? I want to play with my trains."
Frustrated, and not really wanting the problems of a 5 year old in my face at the same time, "Sure Nate, go ahead." (Really meaning, "Do whatever you want, I don't care, just don't bother me!")
"But... they're in my room!" Crocodile tears begin to form.



Ok, so by this point, I've had about 2 hours of frustration with Cody. It was nap time and he was still in there crying. I figured he'd cry himself to sleep and we'd try it again when he woke up. Sure enough, he did cry himself to sleep in there. Fine.

Oh, and of course I had called Ryan, very frustrated and fatalistic about our chances of getting Cody out without breaking something. Ryan was confident-optimistic, even, that he could get Cody out, no problem. So, I had him come home early so that he could do just that. Enter:




After Cody woke up from his nap, Mr. MacGyver was home. At first, Mr. MacGyver tried on the role that I'd been playing all morning-that of hostage negotiator. After about 1/2 hour of that, Mr. MacGyver was ready to kick something (or someone) so he ditched negotiations and started concocting various ideas to jimmy rig the door or window, and thus to remove the hostage by force.

Don't make me go through all of the failed attempts. Suffice it to say, that at one point, we were using a safety pin, yarn, and the wires from a wire whisk that we had mutilated with wire cutters. Mr. and Mrs. MacGyver indeed.

After HOURS of working on these various plots, which was made all the more frustrating by my belief that Cody really could have unlocked the door if he had really put his mind to it, we gave up. And the question that we had each been silently debating was verbalized-"Door or window? Door or window?" Which would be cheaper to replace? We concluded that the door would be the better one to break. Enter:



At this point, it's nearing 7 o'clock. Cody had not been freaking out or crying at all (except for the few minutes previous to his nap.) Most of the day, he just thought it was a really pretty great game. By about 5:30 or 6, though, he was starting to feel defeated. We kept needing him to help us with our various MacGyver projects, and he was starting to feel defeated that they weren't working and that he couldn't do it. At that point, I'm not sure if he really couldn't open it or what, but he just wasn't trying anymore. I had to go conduct visiting teaching interviews. So Rambo got the green light to kick in the door.

He did.

It only broke a little bit, thankfully. Actually, the door didn't break, the molding around the door cracked. And the rolly polly little hostage bounced out with a big smile on his face.

He's Out

You thought I forgot to post when he finally got out? No. I didn't. He spent almost 7 hours in there. I have to go do visiting teaching interviews now, so I'll post the rest of the story later. But here he is. Alive and well. Just barely. And only because I had 7 hours to cool down.

What's wrong with this picture?

"Huh. Not a very good picture. Why am I seeing a fence and a child... why it's almost like the reflection of the window... yes, and I think I can see the outline of the picture taker, now that I look at it. Yeah, that picture taker looks like... you, Bethany. A sweaty, unshowered, frustrated, angry version of you, but it's definitely you. Let's see the next shot."



"Strange angle. It's almost like... looking at it through the slats of blinds. Yes, yes, I do think that is what it is. I am going to have to conclude that this picture is taken from the outside."

Quite right. What else do you notice?

"Well, upon further inspection, I can see that the child doesn't look overly happy. And I believe that I see a very strange thing about 3/4 of the way up on the door. If my eyes don't deceive me, it's a deadbolt."

Correct. Go on.

"Well, again, it's kind of hard to tell, a bit hard to see from this angle, but is that deadbolt locked?"

Why yes it is.

"Now I think I see the hinges of the door on the inside of the door."

That's true.

"Does that mean that you can't take the hinges off the door to get that child out?"

That is indeed what it means.

"Now let's see, the fact that I can't see the latch on the window probably means that it's impossible to open it to get into the room."

Quite right.

"I can't see any screws on the door knob."

That's because there aren't any.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

Certainly not get to the YMCA, as I had previously planned.

"Well, obviously, but what are you going to do about that child?"

Well, let's put it this way-he better be glad that he's locked away from me at this moment.

"I can see that you're upset."

Very observant.

"What are you going to do about getting him out?"

Well, I've exhausted all of the options that I can see, so I've decided to blog about it and wait until my husband gets home.

Is this universal?

Do all men like these commercials and do all of their wives think that they are stoooooopid? (They=the commercials, not they=the husbands. Got to clarify my antecedents there.)




This is Ryan's favorite. Giggles every time he sees it. But it's DUMB! I don't even get why he likes it! But I've heard other men laughing and enjoying these things, and their wives thinking that the commercials are just dumb. So I just wanted to know if this is also your experience so that I can set my stereotype in stone. Thank you.

Ooooorrrrrr Not.

Well, I did my first post baby work-out and let me tell you I am the Weakest Sauce ever drizzled over the machines at the YMCA. Beh. Yeah. I stink. I mean, not literally. Well, yeah, a little literally. But I was such a WEAKLING! Man! I mean, I can still remember the reps and the weights that I was working at pre-baby, so I just kind of tried to fall into that routine. Yeah. No. I'd get started on something and about 1/3 of the way through it, I'd be like.... "Oooooorrrrrr not." Sigh. Lower the weights. Try again. "Ooooooorrrrr not." Lower the reps and the weights. Yeah. It was pretty sad.
Anyone have any super tricks/tips?

An Impromptu Trip

We realized that our time here in Texas is slowly winding down and we hadn't made it out to San Antonio yet. So, we packed it up and headed out there for a few days. (*Warning: Picture heavy post ahead. But not very text heavy, so you might be able to browse through it quickly.)

Beginning of the trip-we yanked the kids out of bed at 6 in the morning, so that we could arrive at Sea World pretty much as soon as it opened. And yet, they're still pretty bright eyed and busy.

We finally get to actual Sea World and what's the first exhibit we see? Horses. Huge Clydesdales. Now, you may ask what that has to do with Sea World. We have no idea.

This was a cool exhibit. You could feed and touch the dolphins. We were too cheap to buy the little tray of fish, so we just stood next to the gate where you went if you wanted to feed them, hoping the dolphins wouldn't notice that we were on the non-feeding side of the fence.

Seemed to work, as plenty of them came over to the boys, with their mouths open, waiting for a handout.

Nathan and Daddy conquered the Steel Eel. I cannot believe that Ryan thought to take a 5 year old on this ride. Furthermore, I cannot believe that that same 5 year old had a relatively good time and that he exited the roller coaster with his dry pants intact. Dude. It was a huge, twisty roller coaster. I would have been scared.

Baby and I spent a large portion of our time here. It amused me that the "Nursing" station featured a picture of a bottle. Though, I guess I can't think of a suitable alternative image...

And this? This is why you go. We were at the Beluga and Dolphin show, and Cody would get so excited when the performers would vault into the air and dive into the water. He was clapping and cheering "Yessss! Yessss!" and jumping and pumping his little fist. And when he turned back to me with his little eyes shining, the exorbitant admission fee suddenly didn't seem so bad.
I remember going to shows like that when I was a child. It was different then. I think it was different because my life was such a wide open possibility at the time. I really could become a dolphin trainer when I grew up! It was magic for my imagination. And then when we would return back to the hotel pool that evening, I'd be practicing my twirls and spins for that far off day when I'd be performing at Sea World with the dolphins. :) Kind of sweet to see my boys enjoying the same sort of thing. (Minus the pool practice in the evening, since we stayed at a place too ghetto-errrrr, inexpensive to have a pool. :)

Later on that day, Cody raced, fully clothed, into the wet zone. It was so hot. And he was already all wet anyway. So I just let him play and play.

He loved it. And after we left, he kept saying, "I go back into the water, okay? Deal?" And he looks expectantly with his chubby little thumb giving me the thumbs up. Yeah. Like I can say no to that.

And when we got home that night, we indulged in some really fine dining. With really nice table settings. :) Well, listen. After a long day that started at 6 in the morning, and included 5 hours of driving, 6 hours of Sea World and didn't include a nap, we just didn't have the stamina to do more than order Papa John's. We were all in bed by 8.
PS-Does it seem to you that every single hotel in the relatively cheap category has the exact same bedspread? Why? Would it be more costly to use just like... a more attractive plain bedspread? Or do you get a discount if you order hideous graphic prints in bulk?

The next morning, we rolled out bright and early to check out San Antonio's famous River Walk. It. Is. Gorgeous. It's like... a little Texan Venice. It feels tropical and lush. Boats taking people sightseeing. Exotic birds singing in the trees. Gorgeous vibrant flowers blooming everywhere. Fountains and waterfalls ensure that you hear the tinkling sound of water everywhere you wander. And you do wander. It's nice to wander. I'm not going to lie, it's a little magical.

Look at these handsome boys.

Just look at 'em!

My three boys. Super handsome.

Baby totally enjoyed the River Walk, too. Poor little kid, though. Really, she was a trooper. She got dragged around a bunch of non-baby-friendly places in the humid humid 100 degree temperature and she was a champ.

After a brief River Walk in the morning, we hit the IMAX where we watched the story of the Alamo unfold on the big screen. I'm embarrassed to admit how little I really knew about the Alamo previously. But it was wonderful. You know me, I'm a bit of a history geek anyway, but I really really enjoyed visiting and learning all about it.

Why didn't any of you who have been there previously mention that there's a whole complex of buildings that constitutes "the Alamo." I've only ever seen the picture of the front of the church.

I actually felt kind of a hallowed feeling on the grounds. A quiet reverence pervades the place. You're not allowed to take pictures in the church itself, but I wish you could. The old stone architecture is a solemn and silent witness to people who died there for the ideal of freedom.

The requisite Alamo shot.


Little Miss I-Only-Like-To-Poop-In-A-Clean-Diaper kept our lives interesting everywhere we went. See, she isn't happy if her diaper is even slightly moist or soiled. So, we'd say, oh, hey, here's a changing station at Sea World-better change her before we find ourselves too far away from another one. Yeah, 2 minutes later, as soon as we were in an inconvenient place, she had done her business. Right before we went into the IMAX, we changed her so that she would be able to sit comfortably for the show. And right as the show started, she pooped. Everywhere we went, we tried to preempt her by changing her when it was convenient so that we wouldn't have to change her when it was inconvenient. And every time, she foiled us.
Very funny, little lady. Very funny.

After a short nap in the afternoon, we went back out on the town for dinner in the evening. We went back to the River Walk to dine al-fresco.

We turned the River Walk into the River Roll. (When did we become a two stroller family???!?)

Daddy and Natey. What good pals these two are.

And Ryan discovered a little piece of heaven right in Old San Anton. You can eat a little Mexican food while listening to the street bagpipers. Bliss. :)

Cody was my little date for the evening. What a lover, man. About every 10 minutes, he would turn to me and say, "I love you sooooooooooo much, Mama."

I love you too, little friend.

And, if I just have about 3 more boys, they can start their own little mariachi band. These two have a good start on the business... Cody will do the singing and dancing and Nathan will rotate between the guitar and the trumpet. And if you choose to watch this clip, you'll get to soak up some of the night-time ambiance of the River Walk. Lovely! (Also if you choose to watch this clip, you'll see Cody waving to a boat load of people passing by on the river. He just can't help himself.)

For our final day, we went back to Sea World and played all day. Too bad I had to speak on Sunday, so we had to leave early or we could have stayed the evening and caught the Jessica Simpson concert. Dang... ;)

Tell me-is this or is this not the face of a kid who has been stuffed with sun and fun for 3 days in a row?

And all throughout our trip, we beat the little kids into an exhausted submission again...
(please note-pants-free due to a small accident.)

and again...
(please note-nekked due to a small accident. It's pretty awesome having two in diapers.)

and again...

and again...

and again...

and again...

and again.


I meant to take a picture of the kiddos on the ride home, to kind of finish up the saga. Forgot. But as you can imagine, they were dead to the world and drooling. Too much fun.