The Power of Positive Thinking

Whenever our kids get frustrated with something, we encourage them to keep trying and to not quit. And we always say to them, "DeMordaunts don't say 'can't!'" This morning at the breakfast table, Aubrey kept asking Dallin if he was going to work. And then she asked him (in her most pouty, melt-your-heart voice), "Daddy, can you stay home with me today?" He, of course, said, "I'm sorry. I can't stay home today." And then without a moment's hesitation she spouted off, "Daddy, DeMordaunts don't say can't!" It was so cute and Dallin and I just busted up laughing. I guess they really do pay attention... some of the time.

On another note, the past 2 weeks have... well, stunk, to say the least. We've all seemed to have either bronchitis, the runs, a high-grade fever, or pink eye. But we do seem to be on the mend, thanks to some good antibiotics and lots of rest this weekend. As I was cleaning house today, I kept running into old miscellaneous pictures from this summer. This past summer has been one of our more memorable ones filled with lots of road trips and local day trips, family reunions, and lazy days by the pool. So I threw them all into a slideshow. Enjoy!

P to the O to the T to the T to the Y... trained!

I honestly feel like I should be given some medal of honor for successfully potty training my second child. This was a llloooonnnnngggg haul, but we have finally made it. I have to give many thanks to Walmart for selling a wide variety of Dora and princess underwear, princess stickers, and the Fisher-Price Fun-to Learn Potty. (see picture below). Hey, I think we all would use the potty more often if it played music every time we sat up or flushed it.



So, congrats to my big girl Aubrey and her big accomplishment!!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

So, for those of you who know me, I love The Sound of Music. And I love that musicals are making a comeback. I'd love to break out in song and dance throughout the day (if I knew how to do either)about the most random, trivial things going on in my life. This whole week, I've had this song in my head from the Sound of Music, so I thought I'd entitle this week's blog entry as such.

First, one of my most favorite things here in Reno is the annual Hot Air Balloon Races. I absolutely love going to this every year. I really do. Sure we have to wake up at the crack of dawn with our 3 tired and cranky kids. But once we're there, it's fantastic. There are what seems like 50 balloons going up at once and they land all over Reno. Last year, one almost landed in our backyard. My kids were going crazy about it. Anyway, I love that we all have to bundle up in our warm clothes and we just sit back and watch the sunrise with all of the balloons. I love the colors and I especially love watching my kids react to the balloons. And one of my favorite parts is that we always go out to breakfast together afterwards. This year's restaurant pick: Peg's (which is right down the street from us and serves up the best eggs EVER!)

Taking in all of the sights at the Balloon Race

Two of my handsome guys

Aubrey and Mommy (although Mommy doesn't quite look awake yet!)

Bird's eye view of the balloons

Second item on my favorites list is visiting family in Boise last month. We stayed with Reed, Gayann and family and had an absolute blast. Is it possible to be with Reed and Gayann's family and NOT have fun? I don't think so. We went bike riding with all of the kids along the river, went out to eat at PF Changs, went to the Shakespeare festival at night, and were served up some pretty delicious gourmet meals. (Olivia, your german pancakes were THE BEST I've ever had!) Anyway, we had so much fun the kids were begging us to let them stay. Jacob was even refusing to get in the car as we were leaving.

Olivia playing dress up with Aubrey


Cuddling up with Aunt Gayann for bedtime stories

Jacob DeMordaunt, Come on Down!

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Jacob's kindergarten teacher advising me that I should try to attend Thursday's chapel services. (He goes to a bible church school and they have a chapel session every thursday where they sing songs, learn about Christ, and give out the Student of the Week awards). She told me that he earned the award this week! So, I brought along my camera to capture the moment. And a moment it was. It honestly was so cute. When they called out his name, he jumped up excitedly and squealed with delight, then he ran by the rest of the kids in his class and zipped up to the front to collect his student of the week certificate, and then he gave the pastor an enthusiastic, BIG hug. He honestly reminded me of a Price is Right contestant (for all you Bob Barker fans). It was awesome. I was beaming with pride, of course, like he had just made the Dean's list at Harvard. But even Harvard students have to start somewhere, right? So, congrats to my Jacob!!

Room with a View

For as long as I can remember, Dallin has been wanting to take me to Yosemite. He is particularly fond of "El Capitan" and "Half Dome" (You Yosemite visitors will know exactly what I"m talking about). Our trip unfortunately started off on the wrong foot due to some unforeseen reservations glitches, so I have to say I was not in the most chipper mood when we left.

We had made reservations back in June of this year to stay at Yosemite Lodge because it is in the middle of Yosemite village and we figured we'd be central to everything there. And with 3 kids ages 5 and under, convenience is EVERYTHING to me. However, I called 2 days before we left on our trip to confirm the type of room we had reserved and the reservations lady (named Jessica) told me that they didn't have our reservation on file. How can that be possible, I asked, considering I was holding our reservation confirmation in hand. It turns out that they had accidentally booked us for April of 2008. I'm still scratching my head as to HOW that is possible, considering we booked the trip in June of 2008. For you math geniuses out there, that's 2 whole months AFTER our "supposed reservation." So then I sat there and battled with her for the next 3 hours about how we need to find a hotel room in Yosemite because my husband had already taken that Friday off of work, AND this was a trip to celebrate his birthday, AND how we already had plans to leave THAT day and spend the night at Mammoth and were then planning on heading over to Yosemite.

She didn't seem too concerned but was eventually able to find me a room somewhere in Yosemite. The location wasn't that great, but we managed and were able to enjoy our time there... more or less! :)

Even though we weren't able to do as much there as we would have liked, I have to admit, the views there are breathtaking. We'll have to go back someday and hike around a bit off the beaten path because I'm sure there are lots of beautiful places there.

Entering the Road to BYU

Yes, we have FINALLY reached this milestone: Jacob's first day of Kindergarten. I was happy (and sad, I have to admit) to see this day arrive. Jacob was excited and nervous about it at first but when I picked him up and asked how it went, he yelled, "Kindergarten's awesome!" So, I guess that means it went well!

Jacob ready to take Kindergarten by storm


Posing with dad in his new classroom

The Eternal 26

For some reason, I have chosen the age 26 as "my golden year." In my mind, I will forever be 26. Maybe it's because that's when Dallin and I got married or that was a very fun, independent time of my life. Who knows... but I will ALWAYS be 26. Being that I just had a birthday last week, I am bummed everytime I realize that I am in fact NOT 26 anymore. Regardless of that, I did have a great birthday this year. Dallin and I got a babysitter for our kids and drove to this place called Emeralds. You have to hike in a little bit to reach them but are rewarded with a great view of beautiful white boulders and pristine, clear pools of water, with several waterfalls to boot. We brought along our inner tube and it was a good thing we did because the water was FREEZING... seriously, my limbs were going numb at times. So we floated on the tube, did a little "boulder climbing" and just relaxed and had a picnic." Afterwards, we ran home, changed, caught a movie and then went out to a delicious dinner.

Last weekend, we took the kids up to a beach at Lake Tahoe. We went up with a bunch of people from our ward. Every time I have gone to Tahoe, the water has been very calm. But it was kind of windy that day, so there were some good waves for the kids to play in. I absolutely LOVE Tahoe in the summertime. Dallin loves it in the winter for the skiing, but I am more of a beach person, and to me, there is nothing better than Tahoe on a warm, sunny day.

I am having issues downloading pictures lately so you'll have to excuse that fact that I post practically NO pictures on my blog. Hopefully I will get it resolved soon.

Me and Dallin ringing in my "26th" birthday (Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?)

Soaking it Up

Okay, so I have to say that our swimming pool rocks! Well, it's not really OUR pool, but it's in our community and we pay a nice little HOA fee to access said pool, so I am hereby proclaiming it "ours." Anyhoo, it seriously is the most awesome pool ever. It's got a big blue water slide and these big tubes that shoot out water, which the kids love. The kid pool is always a little on the chilly side so we spend most of the time in the much smaller "hot tub." However, it is never really hot and it is obviously much larger than a tub so the name is a wee bit misleading. But I digress.

We went to the pool again today and it was great because hardly anyone was there. I love those days. Because I can pretty much let my kids scream and go crazy and not have to worry about them because of other people. My Jacob is becoming quite the swimmer these days. He has officially gotten over his fear of going underwater (thank goodness... it was about time!) So now he spends most of the time canon-balling into the water with his bright blue goggles on. Aubrey has learned to love her water wings, so she does laps back and forth to the sides of the pool the whole time (don't be too impressed... I am talking about the "hot tub pool", not the big kid pool). So, if any of my family ever come out during the summer, you can sit back for some good R&R at OUR pool. Including some fun pix below for your viewing pleasure...

False Alarm

So, we recently signed up for an alarm system on our home. We've set the thing off NUMEROUS times by accident because... well, we're still getting used to it. When it goes off, it does its job. It is LOUD and makes an obnoxious ambulance siren-type sound that I'm sure can be heard for miles.

The other night, we had put the kids to bed and were vegging in front of the TV when all of a sudden, we hear 3 loud beeps coming from our alarm system. Dallin and I immediately sat up, looked at each other confused (because it wasn't the actual alarm, but just 3 beeps) and agreed to go check on the kids. When we got to the stairs, Aubrey was at the top of the stairs whimpering. We asked her what was wrong and she said she was scared. So, I put her on the couch and went to go check on Evan while Dallin went to Jacob's room. I peeked into Evan's room and he was sleeping soundly.

All of a sudden I hear Dallin yell, "Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, where are you?" He yelled to me that he wasn't anywhere in his room. So, now he starts running through the house yelling Jacob's name at the top of his lungs. No response. He starts going into all of our rooms turning on the lights yelling his name and Jacob is still nowhere to be found.

At this point, I am beginning to panic. I'm like, "There's NO way this is happening. Could someone really have kidnapped him?"

Dallin then opens one of the doors, which sets off our loud, obnoxious sounding alarm for the "ump-teenth" time this month and starts yelling Jacob's name at the top of his lungs in the backyard. Suddenly, I hear Jacob's voice yelling, "Dad, I'm right here!"

Dallin ran back in the house, I turned off the alarm and ran into Aubrey's room where Jacob was hiding underneath her covers. We asked him why he didn't answer us and he said he was scared so he hid in her bed! Our poor neighbors. Not only are they listening to our house alarm AGAIN in the middle of the night, but they now hear Dallin yelling in our backyeard. I swear, they probably think we're lunatics!

Reunions and more reunions

It's been way too long since I've posted. Many a thing has happened over the last few months. We've had 2 family reunions, trips to visit friends, and some local Reno fun. First off, we had our DeMordaunt family reunion this year. Where do you go when you want an honestly relaxing vacation? I've got two words for you: Aspen Grove. Not only is it set in the most beautiful area (around Mt. Timpanogas -- I'm pretty sure that's not spelled right), but they provide just about everything you need to enjoy your time there. Big swimming pool with slides. Tennis courts, foozball table, ping pong, shuffleboard, you name it. Even every meal of the day including baby food and "kid" food for the more picky kids is provided. And the best part? Babysitters to watch your kids every day from 9-4:30 p.m. . I mean, c'mon, does it get any better than this?!!

Every morning, we'd drop the kids off and either go hiking, relax with a book by the pool, participate in the many championships going on (badminton, tennis, horse shoes, etc...), or just nap. In the evenings, the staff at Aspen Grove had plenty of planned activities to participate in, ie family talent shows, a family dance, outdoor movies, etc. All in all, I had a blast and really enjoyed my time there catching up with family. Normally when we go on vacation, I come home needing a vacation from the vacation. But this time, I honestly didn't! Aspen Grove truly does a great job.

After a trip to Aspen Grove, we drove to Salt Lake and spent a few days visiting some of Dallin's college buddies. Then we were home for like 4 days to unpack, do laundry, and pack up again.

This time, we headed to Maryland for the Lorenzana family reunion. My little sister Ligia just had her first baby (a girl!) and we went out for the the blessing and then headed over to Deep Creek Lake for a week of water skiing, wakeboarding and other fun. After a week of wakeboarding, I swear, I could hardly move my body when I got back. But it seriously was such a great time. We got to go to movies, sit in the hot tub, play games and catch up. And of course, we had to have some good foozball championship games! Dallin and I LOVE going out back east... because that's where I'm from but also partly because that's where we met. We love going downtown and eating at some of our favorite spots.

Finally, last weekend, Dallin and I got a babysitter for the kids and went tubing down the Truckee River. We try to do it at least once every summer. It honestly is so much fun. I feel like a little kid every time we do it because we just laugh so hard the whole day. We get in about 5 minutes from our house and float for about 2 hours. This summer has been so much fun. I will be sad when the cold air starts to creep in again!

I've tried posting pictures like 3 times and it's just not letting me do it. So you'll just have to use your imagination until I can figure this thing out!

Much More Than a Destination

Moving to Reno was such a leap of faith for us 3 years ago. But after this weekend, I was reminded of why Reno has been such a good place for me and my family. This weekend, we got a babysitter to watch my youngest and took the 2 older kids hiking. Reno is full of awesome hiking/biking trails that are literally less than 5 minutes from our house. We decided to take them on the Tom Cook trail and it could not have been a more perfect day. We chose this trail b/c it's beautiful but easy enough for kids to hike. We hiked up the mountain for about an hour and when we got to the top of this one section, there were some pretty amazing views (you know -- the kind that makes you want to run down the hill singing "the hills are alive, with the sound of ... well, you catch my drift!).

I LOVE that there are areas of Reno that are still completely undeveloped, that are national forest land. And they're right around the corner from us. My kids had a blast chasing butterflies, smelling all of the flowers and "picnic"ing at the top of the mountain. When we got to the top, I commented to Dallin how this is exactly the type of place I envisioned raising my family.

With the exception of the recent swarm of earthquakes and the high cost of living, Reno has been PERFECT for us.

Me and my honey at the start of our hike


Jake and Aubrey ready for our "big kid" hike


We made it to the top and had a great picnic lunch. Check out the scenery!!


Chasing them butterflies


Mommy & Aubrey resting after a long hike

Jada and Bobby

How else would a one-year-old Evan pronounce Jacob and Aubrey?