Not too close, but not too far

I will start from the beginning. About 5 1/2 years ago we moved to Provo, Utah. I got the most amazing V.T. ever. Melissa was always on top of things and cared so much about what was going on in my life. That is what the V.T. program is all about, right? Anyways, we became good friends and did a lot together. I have adopted her as my sister! Our oldest children are 18 months apart and have always gotten along. After a couple of years went by and they graduated and then moved onto Portland. A few months later we graduated and moved to the Seattle area. We were only about 4 hours apart.
Tyler and I went on a road trip to visit them while we lived in WA. It was so much fun to see our friends again and enjoy being with each other. We didn't stay in Seattle very long and moved to Fresno. A month later Melissa called to say they were moving to the LA area. So, again we were only about 3 hours apart. The Lord knows that we can't be too far away from each other. We are too special of friends. I love you Melissa.
Melissa and her kids just came to visit this last week. We had a blast. The kids got along so well and were so good. I enjoyed them enterntaining my boys. Carter followed me around when I had the baby in my arms. I think he was a little jealous!
We went to the Zoo, it was fun for the hour we were there. It started to pour down rain so the kids were done. Carter loved the Elephants and kept wanting to go back to them. Tyler, of course loved the Tiger. That is because T is for Tiger and Tyler. It was also Melissa's birthday so I took her out to dinner. Matt stayed home and watched the kids. It was so nice to just get one on one time. Thank you Matt you are such a great husband.
I enjoyed our visit and hope to see them again real soon. Tyler is still talking about his friends Grace and Clark.
Thank you Melissa for making the trip up. I had a blast and had fun spoiling you for your birthday! Hope to see you in April?! Friends Forever!

Debbie and Melissa and baby Audrey ( Not the best picture of us but hey what can you do when a 5 year old is taking it?)

Grace, Audrey, Tyler, Clark, Carter

Grace, Audrey, Tyler

Tyler and Clark

Attached

Both of my boys didn't do the binky thing or sucking the thumb. So I was glad they weren't attached to something that I had to get rid of. I have found out that Carter does have some things he loves.
Carter walks around the house with his Pooh Bear blanket in one hand and a hand full of cars in the other. If you even try to help him carry them he will let you know ( I don't think so!) He drags that blanket everywhere. In the car, store, house, outside, etc. It gets pretty dirty and he screams when I take it to wash it. One time I even caught him pulling it out of the hamper. Then I got it back while he wasn't looking, yea right. He came running to the washer and started banging on it. This warm and comfortable blanket is something he has to have a nap time and bed time or he will not go to sleep. We forgot to tell the babysitter one time and she found out the hard way! This blanket was made by Gma Mergenthaler. So Gma he does LOVE it!
The other thing he is attached to is cars. He loves them and plays with them all day. He carries them all over and is always seen with mounds in his arms. They even join us at the dinner table sometimes. He is so cute and growing up so fast.

Carter with his piles of cars on the table.

Tyler and Carter with his blanket.

Loving the blanket.

Me and my blanket!

What do you get with a Turtle an a Duck?

Two really cute boys dressed up for Halloween! This year Tyler was a Ninja Turtle and Carter was a little duck. They had a lot of fun and we got lots of trick-or-tricking in.
On Monday we went to the library and they did a Halloween parade around City Hall. Plus they got treats along the way. Yummy! We had a fun week at preschool with learning about pumpkins. How they grow, pumpkin foods and Jack-o-laterns. The kids came in their costumes and we had a little party. The kids had a blast.
We had our ward Halloween party on Friday and they went around the church building trick-or-treating. Carter didn't really understand what was going on and has been a bum lately with everything. I have had the hardest time with him and shoes. He WILL NOT wear them. Since it gets hot here in the summer I didn't worry about it but now that the weather is getting colder I have to put shoes on him and he hates it. So to get him in a costume was a nightmare. He just looks so cute!
Then Saturday we went to Toys R' Us for their little party. That evening a group of about 20 of us decided to hand out treats for the kids since Halloween is on Sunday we weren't sending our kids out to go Trick-or-treating. My boys had a blast! Half through it Carter started to really get into it. He wouldn't let go of his pumpkin and he would run up to the door. He understood that he would get candy if was standing at the door. Tyler would also get so excited and know what to say until they opened the door then he would freeze. Sometimes he would even say it backwards, "Thank you, and Trick-or-Treat".
They got plenty of candy and I am glad that they got to wear their costumes at least 5 times. I just hate buying costumes when they only wear them for a couple of hours. We hope you all had a great halloween too.
Happy Halloween!

Tyler(Ninja Turtle), Carter (Duck)

Tyler and our carved pumpkins

Tyler, Emma, Alex, and Nolan (Our preschool class)

Daddy the BYU fan and his little duck.

Look how tough this little Ninja Turtle is?

You better watch out!

Field Trip

Today we went on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. It was so much fun! I have been planning it for weeks and all the places have a min. of 15-20 kids in a group. I have been so frustrated because I really wanted to take the kids to one. Then I found one that doesn't care how many are in your group. Since I don't have a van I couldn't take everyone so I asked one of the mom's to help me out and drive. Which was a good thing since her son is one that likes to run off and do his own thing! :)
We got to go through the corn maze, pumpkin patch and learn how pumpkins grow (They taught my lesson for Thurs. GREAT!), Hay ride and then we got to pick our own pumpkins. The kids had so much fun. They were very good about staying with their buddies and keeping their name tags on. We also have a picnic and let the kids play for while in the big open field.
I am so glad we went and had fun. Tyler came home and told his Dad everything. Even all the stuff I will be teaching on Thurs. Oh well, that is how we learn by repeating the same lessons over and over?!

Nolan, Emma, Tyler and Alex waiting for the hay ride.

Carter on the hay ride. He is being a pill lately with pictures. I took him for his 18 month pictures and he WOULD NOT cooperate whatsoever. So we had to go back a couple of days later. He didn't do very much better but at least we got something. So this is as good as it gets for Carter and pictures. Once the camera comes out he hides, runs away, or looks down. What are you going to do? Love you Carter!

Tyler on the hay ride.


The Crayola Kids Preschool:
Nolan, Tyler, Emma, Alex and Mrs. M.

Mommy, Tyler and Carter at the Pumpkin Patch.
We got a Halloween package from Gma Mergenthaler this week. Thank you Gma! The boys loved everything and even wore their new shirts to the field trip.

Life is CRAZY!

Boy, have we had a long tough week. Someone in our family has been sick or not feeling well at least one day this week. Matt has been under the weather a lot lately and can't seem to get his immune system up again. He went in to the doctor on Monday and found out that he has Shingles again. He got it a couple of months ago and it has returned. Usually it only effects people over the age of 50. Matt has been stressed a lot with work and all the projects that are going on. So we figured that was why he got it. But, he hasn't been stressed lately so we don't know why it came back.
The next day Carter woke up from his nap on fire. He had a fever of 102-103 for 24 hours. I had to cancel preschool. I didn't want the kids to get it. All he wanted to do was cuddle with me and sleep all day. I felt so bad for him. It is so hard when they are so little. I was glad that it was only a 24 hour thing.
Then it was my turn. I woke up with a stiff neck and couldn't move it. It was throbbing in pain so I was not in a good mood. I was glad Carter was feeling better. Tyler has been having issues with preschool lately. He doesn't want to listen and since we are at home he thinks he can just go and do what he wants. He threw a big tantrum that day. It just made my day even better with my painful neck.
Yesterday we got a phone call from the doctor telling us that Matt also has Mono. I had to ask "Hey, who have you been kissing?" No it isn't really the kissing disease. Anyways, he went in for some more tests today to make sure it wasn't anything else. He took the rest of the day off and with take some next week too. Not that he gets a lot of rest in our noisey house. My boys are wild and loud. Matt and Carter did get priesthood blessings from our home teachers. That was a nice feeling to know that they are here for us.
So that is our life this week. Nothing fun or exciting. I am so ready to sit and listen to the Prophet and Apostles tomorrow. I love listening to Conference. Hopefully we will all start to feel better soon. It is hard to sleep when your neck is bothering you. Oh well, such is life. We must move on!

ABC and 123

It is Preschool Time. Tyler started preschool a couple of weeks ago. He is enjoying going with his friends and asks me everyday "Is it preschool today?". Tyler goes two days a week for 3 hours. There are 4 kids total counting Ty. 3 boys and 1 girl!
It is really close to home and his teacher is great. I really like her, that is because it is ME! I am loving it. It has been so much fun getting all of my stuff out and teaching again. I forgot how much fun it was to teach preschool. They are like sponges at this age and just soak everything up. We have nothing in our living room so I took it over with all of my preschool stuff. I think that it turned out great! I have a big table that I use and then it folds up when I don't need it. So that is nice to have it out of the way. I am having an awesome time and hope the kids are having as much fun as I am.
I was a little bit worried about Carter. That he would be hanging on my leg while I was trying to teach. He actually just does his own thing and doesn't bother me. Which is so nice. The kids are doing well with transition and coming back to circle time or whatever after they have been playing. The only thing I am struggling with is feeding them. I have never met so many picky eaters. It is driving me crazy. Seriously what child doesn't eat Mac and Chesse or pizza? Crazy!
I am enjoying the preschool thing and love watching Tyler learn and grow. He getting to be such a smart little boy. I love you Tyler! Good Luck with school :)

The Preschool Room

Tyler at the front door. He wanted to come in like the other kids.

Tyler on the first day of Preschool.

Time Out for....

Daddy and Mommy! Labor Day weekend Matt took a trip to Utah. He met his Dad and brother Rick there for their annual BYU football game. Matt was gone for 4 days and had a lot of fun with his family. They are both far away and Matt misses them a lot. So, it was good for them to get together and have a boys weekend. Especially since there was a BYU game involved. BYU won their game so that made it even better. Go Cougars!
Since Matt had a boys weekend. I decided to go out for a girls weekend. No, I have been planning my activity for months. It just happen to fall the weekend right after Matt's. My friend Natalia and I went to "Time Out for Women". I took my boys over to friends house. They stayed there until Matt got off of work on Friday. We picked up my sister on the way up to Sacramento. Natalia's sister met us there too. So the 4 of us sisters had a lot of fun. I had never been before but the others had so they knew what to expect. I had a blast! I laughed, I cried, laughed , cried and on and on. The speakers were great and the music was awesome. I saw a lot of people that I hadn't seen in years and lots of old friends.
We stayed in a hotel that was across the street. It was so nice that we didn't have to worry about getting to the convention center on time or finding parking. We were right there and could just walk over. There were tons of resturants near by with in walking distance so that was nice too. It was nice to not have a cook! It was so relaxing and I enjoyed my Time Out. I feel like a renewed person and can go on with life. Being a mom is one of the toughest jobs and it can get overwhelming at times. So it was a good thing that I could go this weekend with some friends and get refreshed! Next year it is coming to Fresno. I am so excited and can't wait. We are going to get a big group and go. It should be fun!
Matt and I both enjoyed our "Time Outs" Life gets busy and crazy sometimes so we need those breaks.

Matt, Rick and Dad ready for the BYU game.

Natalia and I at Time Out.

Katie and I at Time Out.

1 2 3..........

4.
Tyler turned 4 years old this weekend. I can not believe he is that old. Where has the time gone? We had a big family birthday party for him. My sister Katie and her daughter Maelyn came down a few days early to spend some time with us. We enjoyed their visit and had lots of fun. Saturday morning I got up bright and early and got things ready for the party. Gma and Gpa Carr came down too. We all headed to the Water park here in town and had a Bar-BQ. We have season passes and then I got some free tickets so I didn't have to pay for anyone to get in. Awesome! We played in the water and ate yummy food. It was so much fun. Tyler has been talking about it all month and couldn't wait until we were having his party at the water park with family. My friend Natalia and her son Preston came and joined us too.
It was only in the 80's so it was a little cooler for us to be in the water. It was nicer then earlier in the week when it was 110. Crazy! We stayed at the park for a couple of hours and then headed home. Tyler was getting a lot of Toy Story toys for his birthday so I made a cowboy boot cake. it didn't turn out very good but it sure did get eaten. So it must of been okay. We had cake and homemade butterfinger ice cream (yummy). Then we opened presents. Tyler was so patient to wait all day for them.
Tyler got a set of Toy Story people, a Toy Story scooter, Toy Story play set, Buzz Lightyear shirt and sprinkler (Space Ship), Aquadoodle, and TMNT movie. Tyler LOVED all of his gifts! Toy Story was a big hit and he had a wonderful birthday. Thank you for all the great gifts and for joining us on our fun day.
Matt and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary this weekend too. Since Katie was in town she watched the boys for us. We went out to dinner at the Cheesecake factory, it was soooooooooo good and we ate for FREE because of a gift card. Then we went out miniature golfing. It was so nice to be out on a date and not have to worry about the boys. Plus it was FREE babysitting. Thanks Katie I owe you! It was a nice evening. I love you Matt and I am glad that you are my eternal companion!
August is over so now I can relax. No more STRESS!

Yeah Right!


Gpa Carr and Carter making Butterfinger ice cream.

Tyler at the water park.

Carter at the water park.

The cowboy boot cake. Woody, Jessie and Bullseye are some of the people Ty got for his birthday so we added them to the cake.

Tyler playing with his Toy Story play set. It has Andy's room, Pizza Planet, and Sid's room (the 1st movie). It is like a Barbie house, but for boys! Thanks Gpa and Gma Mergenthaler.

Stressed OUT!

Stressed is what my life has been this month. It has been jam packed with something every weekend. During the week I have been busy getting prepared for whatever I had to do that weekend. I am a person that gets frustrated very easily. So with all the things going on I wanted to make sure it was going to turn out okay and make sure I have everything ready. So basically I was Stressed all the time. What else is new?!
At the beginning of the month we were in WA visiting Matt's family. We rushed home to CA for one of my family reunions. The Carr reunion was at my brother Steve's house and my mom was in charge. So I came home to help her out and make sure things were under control. Not that I did that much help(Sorry Mom). It was so much to fun to see my Aunts and Uncles, and cousins. I hadn't seen some of them in years. Tyler lived in the pool that weekend. Everyone called him the little fish. If we weren't eating then he was in the pool. He loves the water and it was hard to get him to leave. The reunion turned out great and we had a fun time with family.
I had to leave early to come home and teach Sharing Time that Sunday. Stress! That week I got ready for the baby shower I was helping with. My friend Stacey is having her first in Sept. So Natalia and I threw Stacey a shower. It turned out great and lots of people came. It was crazy trying to get all the food ready, games, prizes, decorations, etc. We did something each day so that we weren't rushing to do things at the last min.
Then I had to teach Sharing Time again, Stress! That week I got things ready for my Primary Activity. Getting things put together, plus calling teachers and making sure they would be able to help out. Stress! I think Primary is going to give me ulcer before too long! People showed up and we had a good turn out for the kids. It went so smooth and the kids loved our spiritual olympics. I am so glad that it is over with.
I know that I worry and stress way to much and should just relax more and enjoy life. But then I think about it and nothing would get done. So I might as well do it and be stressed! My next big thing is this weekend. More Stress. I have to end the month in a big bang, right?!
To be continued...........

Tyler and his cousin Colton in the swimming pool at the Carr Reunion.

The diaper cake and picture of Stacey. (It is made out of real diapers, so cute!)


On a side note. My boys have been silly around the house trying to make mommy relax a little bit more. Here are some things I have caught them doing lately.

Tyler wearing his Toy Story shirt that he wants to wear everyday. He went around the house in this outfit and kept saying "I am a Superhero you better watch out bad guys." I had to get a picture!

Carter eating the whole piece of watermelon and wanted to eat the core too!


Two cool dudes out for their daily walk. (Not really cool, it was 106 today!)

Road Trip

We took a trip up to Washington State to visit Matt's family. 16 hours was a long time to be in the car with Carter. He is not a fan of the car at all. But, it was worth it to see how much fun Tyler had. I remember growing up and traveling to Idaho, the best part was spending time with Gma and my cousins. That is just what Tyler did. He loved it!
We stayed in a hotel the first night and Tyler loved the swimming pool and is getting better at swimming. We went to Kelsee's baby blessing that Sunday and got to see lots of family. Kelsee is the newest member of the Mergenthaler cousins. She is so beautiful!
We headed up to Anacortes that day to spend a couple of days with Gma and Gpa Mergenthaler. Aunt Chelsey was there with her 5 kids too. Tyler had a blast with his cousins and loved sleeping in the basement with them. He couldn't wait until he could get in his "Zipper Bag" as he called it. They played all day and we enjoyed each others company. He is still talking about Jordan and Ben. I enjoyed visiting with Chelsey. I had a good time! We would go walking at Washington Park or go to the beach. One day I met my friend Rebecca at the park. It was so good to see her and visit. Tyler and Marissa played and had fun. I miss her.
There were two tall ships that came into to town so we took all the kids to go and see them. They were like pirate ships so Tyler was excited. They wanted a donation so we didn't get to go on the ship which was a bummer but it was still fun to see them.
Matt's Gma was also there so it was good to see her and visit with her. We stayed 4 days and then went and visited Aunt Anjee. Tyler got to play with his cousin Josh and hold baby Kelsee. Tyler told me "Mom we need to have one of these like Kelsee." I just laughed, yes I want a baby girl too! I am glad that we had so much fun and got to see everyone in the short time we were there.
It was FREEZING! I lived in WA for year I should have remembered to bring warmer clothes. Next time I will be prepared.

Josh and Tyler

Riley, Tyler, Jake, Carter
(Tyler trying to make himself known.)


Jordan and Tyler at the beach.

Mommy, Carter and Tyler in front of the pirate ship.

Riley, Carter, Kenzie, Gpa Mergenthaler

Girl Time

My friend Natalia and I are really good friends. There are just some people that you click with and she is one of them. We walk every morning M-F. ; with our boys, her little guy is two weeks younger then Carter. They all get along really well. She is so awesome and is such a great friend.
For my birthday she took me out and spoiled me. We got pedicures done and went out to lunch. It was the best birthday ever. This week is her birthday so I got us matching TEAM EDWARD shirts and we went and saw the new Eclispe movie. It was soooooooooo good. We loved it! We have both read the books and love them more then the movies but it was still fun to go together. We also went and got a pedicure too. It is going to be a twice a year tradition to go and pamper ourselves.
It is so nice to have a close girl friend and someone I can escape the house with and have some fun!

Stars & Stripes Parade

Last weekend our ward had a pancake breakfast for the 4th of July. We had the scouts raise the flag and then we all ate some yummy pancakes and eggs. Afterwards the primary kids had a little parade. We had them all decorate their bike, scooter, wagon, etc. Tyler had so much fun decorating his bike. We had just gotten home from our trip and borrowed somethings from Gma Carr. Tyler didn't quite get that in a parade you follow the leader. By the end of the parade Tyler was the leader and in front of everyone. It was so funny!
Emma (one of Tyler's friends) had decorated her wagon and wanted Carter to ride with her. Everytime she is at our house or at a ward function she always wants to hold Carter and be right where he is. They were so cute together and Carter enjoyed his ride around the church parking lot.
We also went to a local park and played for a little bit and then watch the fireworks from a near by High School. The boys were a little scared at first with the loud noise and the whistling petes. Carter almost didn't make it. He just about fell asleep and barely made it through the firework show. All in All it was a good 4th of July. We enjoyed it!

Carter eating an orange and just being cute!

Emma and Carter in wagon for the parade.

Tyler all ready for the parade. He has streamers in his tires, flags out the handle bars and one on the back of his seat, and a star banner on the front of his bike. He sure was proud of his bike and had so much fun!

Our family at the park watching the fireworks.

EXTRA NOTE: While we were gone on our trip Matt kept busy with yard work and keeping the house clean. He also painted my front door blue. It was a yucky green before and I kept telling him that we needed to paint it. My favorite color is blue and I noticed that some other houses in the neighborhood had blue doors. I think that it looks a lot better. I love it! Thank you Matt. :)

My front door. Doesn't it look beautiful?!

Matt said it took him hours so it better look good!

Summer Vacation

The past week my boys and I went on a little road trip. I have been telling Matt that I would like to go up to Utah/Idaho to see all of my family. I just didn't know when I would be able to go. Then one of cousins reminded me that there is the little mini reunion every year at a Water Park in Utah. So I packed up our stuff and we drove to Utah following Gma and Gpa Carr. We went the Southern route and stopped in St. George to see some family. Then we headed on up to Lehi. I have tons of family in the Salt Lake/Provo area. We stayed with my cousin Josh and his wife Amber. They have two kids; Jr. and Zina, both adoreable! Tyler and Jr. are only a year apart and played so well together. It was a nice break to have someone else entertain him.
We had the best time at their house. We went to the Dinosaur museum and the boys had a blast. They got to see all kinds of Dinosaurs but also got to play. There were several different areas for the kids to play. They got to play with dinosaurs, puzzles, water/sand area, and digging in the dirt for dinosaur bones. The best part was getting free ice cream afterwards!
When the kids went to bed we played games and just had a lot of fun. I loved it. Thank you Amber for such a wonderful time. :)
Saturday we are headed to the water park and had even more fun. All of my cousins and Aunts and Uncles were there. It was so good to see everyone. Especially Gma Tolman she was the main reason I went. She will be turning 90 years old this fall and I wanted to see her. I haven't been to Cherry Hills (the water park) in a long time. It has lots of memories for me since I was a little girl. So it was fun to go and take my kids.
We traveled on up to Pocatello, Idaho that night and spent the next few days with Gma Tolman and the Briscoes. It was my Uncle Nolan's birthday so we all went out on the lake in his boat and had fun. It was Tyler's first time on a boat. He was a little scared at first but then warmed up a little bit. We went on a nice long boat ride and I got burnt to a crisp on my legs. The only place I never put sunscreen because they never get touched. I was wrong!
I even went on the tube behind the boat and had a blast. It was so much fun! I loved every minute of our trip and will never forget it. Even though Carter is not a fan of the car and screamed most of the way. It was worth it.

Jr. and Tyler playing with the Dinosaurs at the museum.

Mommy, Carter and Tyler at the museum.

Maelyn, Tyler and Carter eating lunch at Cherry Hills.

Mommy and Tyler on the boat.

Tyler and Gma Tolman playing Candyland Bingo.