The Knights: September 2011

We were sitting at the kitchen table right after Logan came home from school today. Dylan walked up to him, and said I need to bless you. She put both of her hands on his head and said "Please bless that you won't go to school anymore and you will stay home with me." Then she walked away as if it was a totally normal thing to do.

The Princess and too much kissing.

Dylan: I want a magic wand that I can wave and turn into a princess.

Me: You are already a princess. You don't need a magic wand.

Dylan: I know that, I need to turn you into a princess.

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Me: What did you do in kindergarten today?

Logan: I kissed Lily and Hannah.

Me: You aren't supposed to kiss girls, that is gross.

Logan: I can kiss all the girls that I want mom.

Me: They don't want to be kissed, so leave them alone.

Logan: Yes they do. They want me to kiss them. I know everything. And I want to kiss Lily and Hannah so I am going to kiss Lily and Hannah.

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Me: How come you love Evan and Dexter? Which one is your boyfriend?

Dylan: Dexter is my boyfriend and Evan is my prince. So I can kiss both of them.

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Dylan is SO excited for Halloween. She is such a candy girl that she can hardly wait. You know you have made Dylan happy if she says "I am going to share my bubble gum with you after trick or treating day" or "you can pick 2 of my candies on trick or treating day." And you know you have made her really mad when she says "you are not my best friend anymore." or even worse "You don't get to have any of my candy when I go trick or treating."

This was after church on Sunday. He is always so tired when we get home because he misses his morning nap with 11 o'clock church. I did video it, but it was too large to load. He was eating in his sleep. He is such a sweet, fun baby.

Dylan post pigtail hair. Getting ready to go to sleep.

As I look each day for things that are funny. I am realizing that almost everything my kids do is funny. They say the sweetest, most innocent things. And their perception of life sometimes is hilarious. One thing I have realized over the last six months is how innocent and submissive they really are. Kids don't do things to be malicious or mean or naughty. They do things because they are curious or have not been taught the correct way to do things...(or they are really tired or hungry :) For example, you can yell at your kids all day to clean their room and you wonder why it never gets clean? Did you actually teach them how. Step by step? As I notice the things that frustrate me as a mother, I realize that I need to walk them through everything step by step. When I taught my kids how to clean their room it made a huge difference. Starting with toys, then books, then clothes, then making beds. A light bulb came on. They weren't being naughty. They just had no clue what I expected them to do.

I am not saying I never get mad, or am never going to again. But it sure helps to have something to laugh about, and to realize that they really aren't intentionally trying to be naughty. My sweet little neighbor boy Evan was over for a few hours today while his Dad went to the temple. He was eating lunch and spilled some yogurt on my counter. He took both hands and began rubbing it all over. As I started to tell him to stop making a mess he said, "Sashta look! I made a smiley face." He was thrilled.

Kids are awesome. I learn new things every day from my kids. Sometimes it is that I need to be more patient, but most of the time it is how to be genuine and love unconditionally. They really can be so close to the spirit, and I am grateful for the days when it is visibly present at our home. The good times always outweigh the bad.

Enough of my soapbox, here are a couple funnies.

Dylan: Mom, I wish my room was made out of pink bubble gum, candy, and sandwiches that had ham on them. Then I would have to eat my way out of my room. But I wouldn't eat the sandwiches. Only the other stuff.

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Logan was SUPER helpful at the store the other day. The following was our conversation on our way home. (after he had loaded my groceries and put my cart away.)

Logan: It makes shopping faster when I am a helper. I want to be that kid. The one who helps his mom. I want to be the kid who is nice. I want to be the kid who doesn't cry. I want to be the kid who doesn't have to choose to be happy, he just is. I want to be the kid who helps without being asked. I want to be the kid who has bandaids in his backpack so if any kid gets hurt I can be prepared. (yes he really said that, I have a scout in the making) I want to be that kid mom so that I can always feel the Holy Ghost in my heart.

Me: You know what I want to be? I want to be the mom of THAT kid.

Logan: Yeah, you want to be the mom of that kid so you can boss him around. (he said it really nice and matter of factly)

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We had "cookie monsters" for dessert last night. (Giant hot cookie smothered with caramel, ice cream, and whipped cream) Logan was devouring it. I made one giant one for each family. He and Keith almost finished it off before I even had a bite. He had already eaten lots of dinner and you could tell he was really full. Keith told him his body was telling him he was full by giving him a stomach ache, and that meant he should stop eating.

He said "No, my body is telling me to eat more because it is so good!"

Keith: Just remember to stop when you get too full.

A minute later he left the table and said something like "Your right dad, I'm full, I am done now." The cookie monster was gone!

Keith and I were talking about something and it was a heated conversation in the car. (In our defense we were both angry at the same thing.) Logan piped up in the back "Girls, girls, your both pretty, can I go home now?"

*he got the line from Megamind and thought he was pretty hilarious. At the time it really was.

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Me: What would you like?

Dylan: Those things we had for breakfast I want more of them.

Me: German pancakes...I think they are gone.

Dylan: Well thats what I want.

Me: I found 1 in the fridge and heated it up, put it on a plate and handed it to her.

Dylan: I said I didn't want this I want something else.

Me: You asked for German pancakes, would you like jam or syrup on it?

Dylan: Jam, but I want something else.

Me: I put the jam on the german pancake and handed it back to her.

Dylan: (yelling) I didn't say jam I said syrup. I don't want this and I am never going to eat it.

She then proceeded to walk to the table and ate the whole thing. For some reason MOST of our conversations are like this. Any advice on the matter would be helpful.

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Our dinner table conversation today.

Logan: Mom, did you know that when you were at the store Dad fell asleep on the floor while we were playing trucks?

Me: I believe it. Did you know Dad can fall asleep anywhere if you give him a minute?

Logan: Yeah, I think he should be a sleepster.

Keith: I do think sleeping should become my hobby.

Logan: Actually it would be cool if Dad could get all the money in the world for sleeping. Like if I paid you all my money right now and you could sleep for 100 days. Would you do it?

I had to laugh. Apparently a "Sleepster" is a career. How do I sign up?

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Dylan was crying because she wants "something". This is a regular thing, then you have to figure out what it is... SHE usually doesn't even know. She finally narrowed it down to "something to sleep with". When Keith asked her what she wanted she replied, "Something tiny and big."

Prayer time

We were just saying family prayer. It is quite a ritual around here. Since Logan and Dylan share a room we do their personal prayers together. So basically everyone gets a turn to pray. I got Logan and Dylan on their knees and asked Logan so say his "Logan prayer" and before he could do it Fin crawled off my lap and got on his knees. I thought it was a fluke, but he stayed like that through all 3 prayers. Then when we were finished he crawled away. Logan and Dylan were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. It took them an hour to fall asleep because they were giggling about it.

Nelson Family Reunion in St. George

Fin hanging out in the shade with Grandma trying to keep cool.

We went to "The Little Mermaid" at Tuacahn. Totally worth the money.

It was awesome. Dylan was so entertained.

She kept us all laughing because she was so into it.

This is Kylee, my cousin Stephanie's daughter.

Her and Dylan were meant to be friends. They are so much alike it is scary.

Too bad they live in Vegas!

Logan learning to swim.

Keith and Logan caught a frog and some fish.

Too bad he didn't get to keep it, it could have been fun.

I don't think they would have survived the hot car while we

shopped on the way home from St. George.

Dylan pretending to be a mommy.

She hung out like this for at least 20 minutes.

This is my mom doing back flips on the trampoline at the Jump on it in St. George (I can't remember what it was called) You would never believe she just turned 50. I didn't get any pictures of it, but my dad was doing back flips of the diving board. He is 55. They are awesome!

A lot of the Nelson clan.

This is one of the only pictures I have of my mom actually looking at the camera. She usually holds her hands up or pulls a dorky face so you won't use the picture.

Can you tell we are related?

My dad. You probably can't see it, but I hope at least one of

my future children has his blue eyes.

Costa Vida Pork Burrito

Grandma Jayne took us to Costa Vida for dinner last night. (The AF store menu is all gluten free) Logan LOVES their pork burrito. Logan and I shared the burrito-which we normally do. After it was gone, he kept saying he wanted more. I thought I must have eaten more than my half so I was tempted to buy him something else to eat. Then he said he was too full, he just WANTED more. Then he pointed to his forehead and said "I wish my heart was here so there was more room to fill my stomach, then I could eat another burrito."

Funny and Sweet

These were taken after Logan got home from school on his birthday. They always come up with the funniest stuff to wear. I don't even get Dylan ready anymore because she will change her clothes into something else 5 minutes later. Today she is a ballerina, that is the favorite lately. Or it is the red dress below that Bailyn gave her. We love hand me downs, and this one is her VERY favorite.

Logan got a nerf gun from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson for his birthday. It was a huge hit. He spent most of Friday afternoon and saturday outside playing with the neighbor boys. Apparently they all have nerf guns. They had a great time. The gun only came with 6 bullets, so I picked up an extra pack of bullets for his birthday but I forgot to attach them with the gun. So on Saturday morning he was playing with his friends, I put the bullets in my pocket and told him I had a surprise for him, but it was going to cost him a kiss to get it. I thought he would be embarrassed because all his friends were out. He put his gun down and was excited because he knew it was another present. He gave me the cutest kiss ever with both hands on my face right in front of his friends. I opened my pocket to show him all of his new bullets. He pulled them out ripped the package opened and showed his friends his new bullets. Then he walked back up to me and said "I think I should give you another kiss." And planted another one right on my lips in front of everyone.

We didn't have a party for his birthday, but somehow ended up with 4 little neighborhood kids over for presents and cake. It was a riot to watch because we had Dylan the ballerina, Dallin the soccer player, Evan with no pants on. And our cute little Mexican neighbor singing his version of Happy Birthday with "Cha Cha Cha's" after every phrase. Kids are awesome.

The Big #6

I asked Logan "if you could have anything in the whole world for your birthday breakfast...what would it be?"

Without any hesitation he replied, "A pancake cake. I saw it on the pancake box. A pile of pancakes with white stuff (whipped cream) and a cherry on top."

So that is exactly what he got. I was so excited about it that I couldn't sleep because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up in time to have them ready by 7:00. I think it was more fun for me. He didn't even like the cherry. He just wanted it for looks. I made buttermilk pancakes, with homemade buttermilk syrup. If you haven't discovered the beauty of using buttermilk instead of milk or water then you are missing out. They are soooo good. They make moist pancakes, and Logan could just slide his fork from the top through all 24 pancakes. He actually ate about 1/3 of the plate!

Me: "I can't believe you are so old."

Logan: "I know, I can't believe I am 8!"

I had to remind him all day that he was 6. He even told Grandma Julie he was 8. I think he was trying to trick us, because we told him he can have a pocket knife and a bb gun when he turns 8. He had high hopes that this would be the year.

We went to St. George for the holiday weekend. It was a much needed vacation. When we got home Logan was so tired he couldn't make it to his bed. I found him in the bathroom like this 30 seconds after Keith brought him up.
Keith: Way to remember where we parked the car Logan, good job.