Binky Anyone?

I was doing some spring cleaning this week, and found this stash of binkys that I didn't even know we had.

What in the world would posses me to save all of these binkys. We don't even use this kind anymore. Some of these are still around from when Bryce was born. Many are crusted with white slobber goober leftover yuckiness and the rubber sucking bit is cracked and aged and gross.

This is just further proof that I am eccentric (to say the least). If only I could find a stash of $20 bills that I squirreled away. Now that would be something.

I wonder if these would have any power over whiny children of older ages? Maybe I could make them into a necklace...

Also,

for your viewing pleasure...

Logan, snoozing during a movie.

Kids even make sleep more exciting.

What fun!

Is it bedtime yet?

Last night Josh went home teaching. I don't know how he knows when nights are going to be a challenge and manages to miss out on all the excitement, but somehow he seems to have a knack for it.

As soon as Josh walked out the door...

1. Logan punched Gavin in the face.

Therefore, Gavin started screaming bloody murder.

Hence, Ellie got scared and screamed too.

Thus, Bryce yelled at Gavin for scaring the baby

which made Gavin cry louder because he thought Bryce was mad at him.

Aubrey colored unflinchingly the entire time.

2. Gavin fell in the toilet. Feet first. Into poop.

The kids were all brushing their teeth for bed. Gavin climbed up onto the bathroom counter by stepping on the toilet lid. In the mean time, Logan needed to "poopy poopy" (his dad must have taught him that one) so I took in to the bathroom. When Gavin decided to get down from the counter, he didn't bother to look at the toilet first and plopped both feet directly into the murky depths while I was pulling up Logan's pants. Does Lysol spray work on skin?

3. Gavin had a shower.

4. It was Parker's day to say prayers after scriptures and songs. This past Sunday, Josh and I had been reminded in Sunday School about the need to pray individually for your children and let them hear you pray for them. So we have done that this week. It has not gone unnoticed because Parker prayed very specifically for every single member of our family and something they are dealing with. It was a miraculously beautiful moment and I was so sorry Josh missed it.

5. Bryce decided this was the night that he wanted to know all about what testicles are for.

What the heck!

How does Josh get out of those moments.

He is a boy, and he has no problem talking about ANYTHING!!!

grrrrrrrrrrr...

6. Aubrey posted this on her door.

I guess I am not a wicked witch all of the time after all.

Oh, kids.

An Unexpected Adventure

Last week, Josh's sweet 97 year old grandmother passed away. We were sad that she was gone, but she lived a fabulous life and we have faith that she is happy where she is now.

This event brought about a trip to Boise to be at the funeral. We did our best to try to make it a kid friendly trip as much as possible and found some fun, free things to do in Boise so the kids and I would not just have to sit in the hotel while Josh was helping prepare the funeral. Besides, a trip to Boise for eight is not cheap so any money we had set aside for a mini vacation this summer was now being used for this trip, so we needed to make it the best we could.

.

Anyway, once we arrived in Boise, the casing to our drive train exploded.

.

Literally.

.

We found the pieces of twisted and burned metal all over under the suburban in the parking lot of Walmart.

This was turning into an adventure.

So, we called the local Big-O Tires and they came to our rescue. I cannot say enough good about those guys. They went above and beyond what they had to do to track down the part (which wasn't so easy) and get it repaired and installed and still have us on the road without having to pay for any bonus hotel nights. They were amazing.

Also, miraculously, the local car rental place happened to be having a "sale" (I don't know what to call it) and the rental car for those days ended up only costing us $21. It cost $12 to replace the gas we used so the car was almost as inexpensive as the fuel.

Even if this was a not-so-welcome and not-so-inexpensive calamity, we still feel very blessed. We feel blessed that the piece didn't explode while we were on the road in the middle of nowhere (which is a lot of the road between Salt Lake and Boise). We feel blessed that we had family nearby to help us get where we needed to go. We feel blessed that we happened upon incredible people to help us get our car running again and get around in the mean time. This could have been so much worse in so many ways.

We didn't end up being able to do much more than swim in the hotel pool a couple of times a day, but we were able to honor Josh's wonderful grandmother and that is what we were really there for.

It was definitely an interesting weekend.

The Dangers of Second Hand Smoke

Yesterday, Bryce came home from school concerned. He wanted to know what second hand smoke is. I did my best to explain that it is the smoke that a person inhales when he or she is not the person actually smoking, and that even if you aren't the person with the cigarette in your mouth you can still be affected by second hand smoke.

Then Bryce burst into tears.

I was confused. I had no idea what was going on. Calmly and diplomatically, Aubrey explained to me that on the way home the kids had walked past a man that was smoking and they decided to hold their breath as they went by so that they wouldn't have to breathe the smoke (I can just see the guy roll his eyes as my little ones suck in a gigantic breath and prepare to walk past him on the sidewalk...hope he wasn't offended by my sweethearts...and if he was, oh well, guess he shouldn't smoke in the first place). Unfortunately, Bryce didn't quite make it past before he needed a breath so he ended up breathing in some of the smoke. He could taste it immediately, and now he was sure he was going to die an agonizing death of lung cancer and have emphysema and a stroke and who knows what else (thanks so much anti-smoking ads...no, I know they are good...except those stupid vulture ones...what is up with those?).

Anyway, so Bryce and I had a nice little chat, once he calmed down, about how one breath of smoke would probably not condemn him to a slow and painful death, and that I was pretty sure he would live to see tomorrow (that's today...he did make it). He has such a pure heart and such innocence, I hope, in some ways, that he never loses that.

I am grateful for the little smiles that I get to have in moments like this. There is no better life than this.

SpRinG!!!

Dear Mother Nature,

I love that I live in a state that has four distinct season. Just as I start to get tired of one, it is time to move on to another. I am particularly fond of spring (although fall is my true love).

This is the time of year to watch the pale grey and white of winter vanish as puffs of color open all around. I love spring flowers, and am particularly fond of tulips. They seem so fresh and clean, but simple. They are elegant and beautiful without really trying too hard. They are fabulous.

Thanks to the warmer week you have sent our way, Josh has started prepping the garden for our spring planting...and Aubrey wanted in on the action. There are so many lessons to learn from planting and nurturing a garden (as I'm sure you know). It is wonderful to watch things grow.

Like children...it is wonderful to watch them grow too.


Finally, after being cooped up for the long winter, we can all breath deeply as we break out into the world of spring. Outdoor excitement and fun are seeping from every nook and cranny.
Life is everywhere around us.
There are so many pieces of life that you just can't see when the world is clothed in the chill of winter.


After all, it is nearly impossible to roller blade in the snow.

And bubbles are lots better when they aren't frozen.

Welcome Spring!

We're so glad you are here!!

(Even if it means bidding farewell to my favorite fluffy socks)

Love,

The DeMouxs

A Refreshing Weekend

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend.

We had a lot of fun. The kids got to hunt for eggs and treats, and then we all got to enjoy general conference.

Aubrey and Bryce are both eight now, so they each watched a full session, and there was a lot less whining about it than I anticipated so that was great.

One of my favorite talks during conference was by Elder Eyring. I don't remember his exact quote, but he talked about the fact that as parents we get a really important head start over Satan when it comes to teaching our children because he (Satan) has no real power over them before they are eight years old.

I had never thought of it like that before. We get a really awesome head start in this. We have eight years to prep them and train them and help them develop their testimonies before Satan can have any hold on them. What an amazing advantage IF we choose to take advantage of it. And later, in another talk, we were reminded that we don't have to build the fire of the spirit of God in our children, it is already there. All we need to do is fan the flame.

I am very grateful for living prophets that help us know what to focus on and how to handle the messes that life sometimes throws at us. I know President Monson is a prophet of God and that as we follow his counsel and the counsel of others that are called to teach us and lead us, we will be blessed.

What an awesome weekend!

(enjoy the kids decorating eggs below...)

My Kids Are Perfect

My children behave so well that I NEVER have to discipline them.

They almost never whine or cry and they do exactly what they are told to do.

They keep their bedrooms perfectly clean and they smile all day long.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!

My kids are normal...super normal. And at the moment we have a little drama queen at our house.

Only, he isn't a girl. Our drama queen is male. We collected a little bit of the drama that we have faced in the last 24 hours and decided to share it with you.

Surprisingly, we have found that making videos of Gavin when he is whining and crying is a FABULOUS deterrent to his crying. He is much less likely to continue pitching his fit when we are trying to film him. We may have to keep up the filming, it is an easy way to get him to change his attitude.

Happy April Fools Day!!