Cups and Robbers

Usually when I ask Chase what he liked best about his day at school he replies 'recess'. Then comes the question: "what did you play?" This week's best response was 'Cups'! I laughed and asked if everyone brought a plastic cup outside and tried to find things to put in it or something like that. Chase looked at me funny and said "No Mom, Cups and Robbers! You know? Like the good guys and the bad guys?" Then I laughed louder and said "you mean Cops and Robbers?" Then he got frustraited "No, CUPS! Say it with me Mom, C-U-P-S." Of course. How could I be so cluelss?

Valentines in Vegas

I did it! I've been planning to surprise Brian for valentines day for a while now and actually pulled it off without him finding out before the 'big reveal'. Kim & Brad joined us (as you can see from the photos below). We left Saturday morning wearing Las Vegas t-shirts from Old Navy that Kim and I picked up to add some humor to the drive down.

We got caught in traffic on our way into the city, and thought for sure we'd miss our dinner reservations at the Venetian. Then we found out there was a time change when we crossed the border - so we made it! Whew!

After a fabulous dinner we went to see the Blue Man Group -a show Bri's always wanted to see! I thought it was pretty random (like the huge amounts of toilet paper being passed over our heads) but very entertaining.

Poor Kim had a nasty cold, but she hung in there and managed to have fun (the mountains of toilet paper in the show came in handy). After the show we went to the Belagio to watch the fountain show - my personal favorite part of 'The Strip.'

Although the trip was quick it was really fun, and we know the kids had a blast while they hung out with Heather and Dan at home. Thanks SO much you guys for tending the kids (and cats and dog) for us while we were away. We will totally reciprocate whenever you're up for it! :)

Engaged!

As of Valentines Day, my little bro Zack... got engaged! We're SO excited for him and Kylee and wish them the best of luck as the 'wedding-planning-mayhem' begins.

Chase's first broken heart

Well, it's official - Clara is allergic to dogs. There's a chance that we could find a different breed with hair instead of fur (did you know there was such a difference? I sure didn't). But that won't be happening for a long time - I'm thinking years. We'll just have to observe Clara and see how she reacts around dogs for a while. Anyway, poor Chase is really sad. He woke up at 5:00 this morning (as usual) and was extra lonely without his dog to keep him company (we opt to sleep in 'till Clara wakes up arund 7:00). He went downstairs alone and wrote Leia a long sad "I miss you" letter and drew a picture of her. When Brian and I saw it we felt so bad! I told him his pain was understandable, but each day should get a little easier. I felt like I was consoling a break-up or something! And when trying to get over someone there's nothing better than finding someone else right? So it looks like we'll be getting Chase a lizard or turtle or something like that. We were fortunate to find Leia a really good home, but we'll sure miss her. So long, Leia.

Black Beard

Just a little update on Chase's Triops, Black Beard. After almost doubling his 20 day life expectancy, he's officially moved on to a better place... funeral services will be held in the backyard this afternoon if anyone wants to pay their respects. :)

Meet Princess Leia

Big news - We got a dog! Chase has been wanting one forever, and after much searching we found an almost perfect little pug that almost fits seamlessly int our family. What's the 'almost' all about? Unfortunately we're almost positive Clara is allergic to her. We will know for sure on Thursday when Clara gets skin tested by an allergist, but all signs are pointing that direction. Poor Chase (and Brian) are in a bit of denial, and poor Clara is only comfortable when she's on Claritin or Benadryl, and I'm just trying to figure out a magic solution to it all!

The stats on our new addition:

Name: Princess Leia

Age: 1 year

Gender: Female of course!

Size: she's full grown, but very small (10 lbs?)

Here's a picture of her first bath. She actually did very well! She's fixed, potty trained, loves to play tug-o-war and fetch and run around with the kids in the back yard. She sleeps on Chase's bed at night and follows him around all day (which he loves of course). Leia is not hyper, she's actually quite mellow when you're not plying a game with her. She really LOVES to snuggle. She's timid around strangers, but warms up pretty quickly. We absolutely love her. I'll post the results of the allergy test when we get them.

The life of a Triops

A few weeks ago Brian took the kids to the Aquarium, and let Chase get a little bag of Triops Eggs from the gift shop. Chase called home ecstatic of course: "Mom! I GOT REAL FISH!" Of course the first thing I said was "Let me talk to your Dad." But then I found out they were little sea monkey type creatures that only live for 20 days, so I relaxed. Sure enough the little microscopic eggs produced microscopic creatures after two days. We could barely see them with the naked eye, but were grateful that they even hatched at all.

Chase was very proud - telling everyone about how tiny and cute his little pets were. He wanted to bring them to show and tell (we settled on a picture of them) and they became his main topic of conversation. And rightly so: they were growing and changing at an alarming rate! Every day they doubled in size 'till they were about an inch long. Chase took great care to feed them and provide fresh water in their bowl. Then it was time for 'the talk'. Twenty days was about up, and we knew we would start losing them soon. We asked Chase what he would like to do when they died, and he said he wanted to bury them in the back yard. Then he drew a nice picture of them to lay on top of their 'grave'. We were ready - we even had a special FHE on death. Sure enough, the little creatures somehow knew that their 20 day existence was over - and five of the six of them died within 24 hours of each other. The last one is miraculously still living, and Chase has named him 'Black Beard' because he's so tough!

Manic Monday!

Yesterday was officially a Manic Monday! I was sick all weekend (flat on my back, not a little snuffly), so come Monday morning I wasn't even feeling like getting out of bed much less tackling everything I had to do. Here's how it went down:

Morning- I got Chase ready for school, and was waiting for his ride to pick him up so I could take a shower and get ready for work. For some reason his ride didn't come... and didn't come, and when I realized he was going to be late we all hopped in the car. I was in my jammies and slippers, and Clara had no pants. Anyway, I drop him off and told him he was late, kissed him, watched him walk inside and drove away. I get home and realize I'm really running short on time - so I start getting Clara ready and turn on the shower water at the same time. Then I get a call from Brian saying "Mrs Scoville just called me - there's no school today." I'm thinking "why would groundhog day be that big of a deal that they'd cancel school?" But then I found out it was "Professional Development Day" and a ganitor found Chase wandering the halls by himself. OK - no shower for me today I guess. I throw on some clothes, toss my hair in a ponytail and put my make-up in my purse to apply on my way to work. Then I frantically rush Clara into the car for the second time that morning - she's crying. I drive over to the school to pick up Chase, feeling like the worst mom ever! Luckily he wasn't too upset - he even got a donut from the room where all the teachers were meeting (and probably also discussing moronic parents like myself). Then I drop the kids off at the babysitters house and head to work hungry, frustraited, and feeling miserable. A co-worker had the nerve to tell me I 'looked cute today' and I couldn't even respond! :)

Afternoon- I left work early even though I wasn't done, because I felt so aweful. I called Brian on my way to get the kids and he said "did anything come for you this morning?" I responded in the negative, and then he tells me he had sent flowers to my office to offset some of the craziness of the morning. How sweet! Unfortunately, they ended up on the other Erin's desk! The thought still cheered me up, and I knew I'd have to go back to work later that night to finish up what I'd left - so I'd get them then. Then I enjoyed a nice nap with Clara.

Evening- I make chicken nuggets for the kids because I have no appetite for anything myself. I skip my spin class and help the kids make some valentines for uncle Kyle. Brian comes home and has to make dinner for himself (oops, I thought as far as the kids' dinner but had completely forgotten about Bri!). I'm pretty sure he was thinking twice about the flowers at this point. We have a quick FHE, and I head back to work while Brian cleans up the mess in the kitchen that his wife has looked at but hasn't touched all day. I come back home to a clean house at 9:30 with flowers in hand. All I want to do is go to bed. I get throuh two of the ten chapters of the Book of Mormon I was supposed to read that day (I'm doing a 40 day program, and didn't want to get behind) - when Clara wakes up crying. I go lay with her until she's back asleep, then crawl into my own bed forfeiting the other eight chapters and call in an overdue ending to a not so stellar day.

It's now Tuesday, and so far everything is going TERRIFIC!