oldest Mousser boy cousins come to visit!

You know how when you have so many pictures from one thing to download that you just take like 2 weeks to post...yep, that's me. We got so many fun pictures, and I didn't even want to think about uploading them all...but here I am!

Grandma drove the three oldest boy cousins over to Cali all by herself. Tyler {14} from Ut, and Brett {12} and Cameron/Bubba {10} from Az came over to live the beach life for a few days. We had such a fun time, and they had so much fun, and were so amazing that they even got to stay an extra day, which we LOVED! So, here are some of my fav. shots of what we did while the big boys were in town...

first of all, we recycled ALL that stuff that the Tempe 10th YW squashed and sorted...there's a story about that, but the total was $75.somethin...holy cans, batman! woo hoo!

And then pretty much all we did was go to the beach...which is perfect! They older boys boogie boarded...Max jumped over the waves, and played in the water...

...bad news is that Ivy likes the water, too, so there'll be no chilling at the beach for me this summer. Luckily, I still got to do it this trip while Grandma was here!

and she turned into the Thing...you know that sand mean guy from Spiderman, or something?

The 4 boys at the beach...We just needed Jacob and Easton to have all the boys here!

Tyler

Grandma was so fun to have in the water!

Brett

Bubba

We turned Brett into a mermaid...hee hee...sea shells and all!

We went to Balboa Island...

on the ferry...I was told that this was Cameron's first boat ride..woooo doggy!

they older boys rode the ferris wheel, max rode the carousel, and Ivy zonked...and then everyone played in the arcade. So fun!

and what do you think we saw next? a WOODY! They are always sooo fun to see!

It was so cute to see the boys reading to Ivy and playing with Max. They could have been too cool, but they loved on my kids, and I loved it!

and the kids loved it! Thanks for coming, guys and Grandma, we hope you come back soon!

Happy Father's Day to our Grandpas!

Happy Father's Day, Paw Paw (my dad)

Happy Fathers Day, Grandpa! (Jeff's Dad)

I gave a talk today in Church (phew, so glad it's over) and wanted you to know that I feel blessed to have two awesome dads! Thanks for being such great examples, and priesthood holders! We love you so much!

Happy Daddies Day, Deeds!

Our token father's day picture:

we look so much worse after church than we do before church! ha ha, but they love their daddy all the time! We love you, Jeffer!

(ps...Max is sporting the ASU tie today (even though it is waaay to small) to show his support for our guys in the college world series...get 'em devils!

GARBAGE truck open house

Oh my goodness!

So we went to the Harbor District's Recycling open house this morning up in LA. When I saw the flyer for this event, I marked it on my calendar (this was like a month ago) because Max LOVES garbage trucks. {his 2nd bday was a "stinkin' garbage truck party"} Anyways, I couldn't wait to go! Here's what we did!

As I am ALWAYS early (it's a disease), we were the very first people there, this is the kids so excited to see the garbage trucks...ok, they're recycling trucks but the look and do exactly the same thing! They were both sooo anxious!

We got to climb in EVERY truck (even the poo sucker that Max didn't want anything to do with because he was afraid he'd get sucked up the hole...by the way, I asked the guy what that truck was called (not pictured) and he said a poo sucker was a pretty good name...ha ha love it!

We were able to flip any switch we wanted...we made some crazy noises with the trucks, and Max got to interrogate the super-intendant of LA sanitation about what everything does. He LOVED it!

We were the ONLY people there, so we got all the trucks to ourselves, and all the garbage guys to do cool tricks and show only US how things worked. So cool! Early bird gets the worm, right?

Roll-off truck...I actually always wondered how those big dumpsters got up and down off the truck...pretty cool.

Max is very wary of loud noises...but can't get enough.

oh, Ivy got to get in, too...she WAS there!

We COULD have worked the arm...but instead, Maxer just wanted a demo. I think he was nervous the arm would grab him, so I had to hold both kiddos while the guys did the demo. It was awesome.

still plugging his ears.

this was the mini truck...Max's fav

another mini...and another demonstration. still ear-plugging

yep, still pluggin' 'em

OK, enough with the trucks...as if that wasn't cool enough. Then we got a bunch of recycled stuff...a ruler made out of sawdust. crayons made out of soy, we got to choose a plant (we chose a cucumber, wonder why?) and got to plant it in a recycled container to take home. I enjoyed that we watered it with evian water. hee hee and then they gave us a large gallon bag full of COMPOST. Maybe that's gross, but I was thrilled, and can't wait to go mix it in with our strawberry garden!

played cool games where we won two mini recycling bins...awesome! and then we had a picnic lunch...and it was all freeeeee!

seriously...

Tempe 10th Recycling Project

Everyone knows that I'm a little agro about this whole recycling craze that my friend Megan got me started on. I know, we're over the top about it, but it's fun, and we LOVE to get free money! So, when we go on walks, we call them treasure hunts, and we pick up bottles and cans that other people threw out. When I'm on a run, my friends just know to point the bottles out when they see them, cuz I sure do pick them up and run with them all the way home. AND, on bike rides, we play pass the bottle and huck them into my bike basket. We take them to the recycling center every few bags that we gather (oh, and I am an avid DC drinker, so that helps our stash) and get money for them, split the money in two and put them in Max and Ivy's savings accounts for either BYU (oops, I meant school) or the mish.

Anyway, we go one step further, and when Jeff's parents come over from AZ, they fill the back of their truck up with their cans (Chery's a DC girl, too) and they fill up our stash. So fun!

Well, Cheryl got a bunch of her Cronies in on the game, and every so often, she'll find a bag of cans on her porch from one of several different friends...Painters, Johnstons, Whipples, Childs, Baribeaus (shoot, sorry Inez, I don't know how to spell your last name!) and of course, Dean's work. If I am forgetting someone, sorry! I love you just the same.

Anyway, it's been since April since Tempe 10th has been saving their cans for Max and Ivy's college fund. I was warned that it was out of control, and I was sooo excited:

here is the stash that awaited us!

And, it just so happens that the YW needed to do a recycling project for girls camp that involved squishing, separating, and taking cans and bottles to a recycling center. They thought this massive mountain would suffice. I am eternally grateful for their feet that squished and their hands that took off lids and put them in the respective bags.

We started when it was still light outside...

and worked into the night.

They had pop for refreshments...which they then, also recycled..hee hee

ooooh, I can't wait for Monday to come, so we can take the cans to the recycling center and see what we got for them!

the YW's voted on how much we'll get for them. The closest guess gets a sonic date with me at the end of July for a huge route 44 drink...I'll post who wins later! get excited!

ps, it's ok to laugh...I know I'm a freak

another adventure in az

We participated in 'take our daddy to work day' last week and tagged along with Jeff to AZ...He stayed in hotel and did baseball stuff, and we stayed at Grandma's and did lots of fun stuff! woo hoo!

We went swimming in Grandma's pool...

Max and I played in the pool for a good hour and a half, and then when Ivy woke up, Grandma and Ives came in to play, too. Oh, they loved it. Max is doing so awesome in the water!

hello, big arms to the side...good job bub!

My skin loved the sun! sigh.

We got to go to the splash park with Lisa, Rylee, Tyse and baby Kate, and then play with them later on and craft while G&G worked at the Temple.

(just don't say baby Kate in front of Ivy, she wants one of those to take home and love on...ahhh, we had to keep them AWAY from each other! sorry, Kate!) I'll post pics of the splash pad later, but here's Lisa and Ives anyway! LOVE HER and her little gaggle (wink, wink).

We had family dinner to celebrate Brett's and Steve's bday out at S&B's house...As soon as Max saw Bubba (Cameron) he said: 'Hey, wanna chase?' I love that he remembers his cousins, and LOVES to play with them. AND I love that his cousins will humor him and play with him non-stop. AND that they love to play with Ivy. I don't even need to worry about what my kids are doing for half the time when they're around. Thanks, guys. They love you and I love you!

We hit up about 7 different Goodwill stores...Max was on the hunt for some oldie but goodie monster trucks, and we were on a hunt for a new dresser. LOVE goodwill. (did you know they give a senior discount?! woo hoo!)

We went to Ribbons and Lace ( oh, how I miss you!)

After the draft, Jeff took Max to ASU to go visit his old stomping ground. Max kidnapped a helmet from the dugout, rode on a tractor to drag the field, and completely wore himself out...so much so that on his drive home (it's like 7 miles away, or something silly) this is what occured...

stone cold, glasses upside down, helmet on...(ps, note to Lexi, when we picked him up out of the car to carry him into the house, he woke up and said: "where's Lexi?" and then immediately zonked out again, he loves you, Lex).

We played in Grandma and Grandpa's yard...

Grandpa played outside with max while the YW were over working on a service project...more on that later

We had sooo much fun, as always...and can hardly wait for the 3 oldest Mousser Boy Cousins to come play for a couple of days at the BEACH!

can't wait to see you, Ty, Brett and Bubba!

i feel pretty!

My friend Lisa learned how to do eyelash extensions, and she just happened to learn how to do them the very week that I was in Arizona. Of all the cool people she knows, I don't know why she asked ME to be her guinea pig, but are you kidding? Of course I didn't say no! So, for a minute, I feel pretty darn good without any makeup on. Just thought it'd be fun to show a before and after picture. If looking at my eye up close and personal is going to gross you out...do not scroll down!

Sorry...I'm not wearing makeup, it's a little scary in the first picture, but totally awesome in the second one!

Before:

After:

freaking rad, huh?

Thanks, Lisa! Aaah, I love them!!!!

Ode to Jeff

Here's my babe:

I call him deedee, or Jeffer, or Efe Edwardo (from Handy Manny)

He's got the longest eyelashes ever, the prettiest blue eyes, the most contagious laugh, wit that could cross your eyes and a killer curveball.

He's my favorite.

It's not his birthday, obviously it's not Father's Day, it's not our anniversary, but I just thought this guy sure doesn't get enough credit. Especially on here, because I am always saying: "Jeff was actually home today." or "It's raining, so I had a husband." etc, etc. Not only am I rarely in pictures on our blog, but neither is he because he works a ton.

One of my girlfriends just asked in a comment: "Are you single?" I know she was joking, but still, I am NOT single. I totally couldn't hang! So, here's a post, to give credit where credit is due.

I'm the luckiest wife ever!

First of all, Jeff has a job that he LOVES. Really, how many guys can say they actually love their job? When Jeff is around sometimes I tell him to get a hobby because he's throwing off "the drill", he says: "I have a hobby...baseball." So, not only does he do his job for fun, he also does it for work, which makes it the best job in the world. And don't tell your husbands what he does {sits around and watches baseball all day every day, sometimes at MLB games. He gets free tickets to see the Diamondbacks, and can trade with his friends that scout other teams to get free tickets to see the Dodgers, Angels, etc for free. Free parking, can go down to the field without being asked questions.} RAD!

So, because Jeff loves his job, we rarely hear grumbling or complaining about having to go to work...he's rip-roarin' ready to go every morning. So, he's the luckiest guy ever.

Second of all, because teams usually do not play in the early morning, Max and Ivy get "Daddy Time" every morning. He wakes up with the 2 early birds, feeds them breakfast, cleans up, puts the dishes away and watches a movie with them. Then he plays. AND I get to sleep in. Are you jealous? I feel like a total brat telling you that. Maybe it's not fair, but I really feel strongly that the kids need to have time with Daddy on a regular basis, where I'm not around to mess it up. So, yep...I sleep in every morning, I get to go running three times a week, most of the time without a stroller to push, and when asked if he thinks we need to change our little "arrangement" he honestly says no...

I know, I'm the luckiest!

So, even though I fly solo most nights, even though on Saturdays when everyone else has their hubs around and I'm dying looking for something to do, don't feel bad, because I've really got it good.

AND, on the days where there's not a ball game being played, or when it's raining (yep, doesn't work when it rains) it's a bonus!

Sorry that I write that he's not around a lot...I really don't mean to complain. If I do complain about it, kick me, because I really am so lucky!

I love you all the time, deeds...thanks for making me the luckiest girl ever!

love me