Conference Breakdown

At some point during General Conference Jack
hits a wall. He doesn't want to sit quietly. And he
doesn't want to listen. He just wants to be
loud, restless, crazy Jack.

Needless to say, Kent and I will
be downloading Conference
to our trusty ipods.

Hope your weekend was filled with
serenity & enlightenment.

momo shoes

These are Jack's church shoes.

He wouldn't wear them until Kent
told him they looked like motorcycle shoes.

Now he won't take them off.
They're his momo shoes.

"Momo shoes run fas' Mama."



"Yes Jack; yes they do.
Just not in the halls at church."

"Um, yep..."

Ransom

Pots,

Look who stowed away in Jack's bag.
We are demanding that you visit if you ever
want to see Luigi again.

Sincerely,
the Kidnappers

(PS- Please visit; we miss you.)

FYI- Pots is what Jack calls Kent's Dad.
He's supposed to say Pops, but likes
saying Pots better.

Shark Bite!

{I love this story}

Last week Jack and I found a

shark pod at the beach.

I found it nestled in some seaweed, just waiting for me

to teach an impromptu science lesson.

Jack listened with wide eyes as I told him how

a baby shark had grown in this little bulge.

"Where'd go Mama?" Jack asked.

"The shark lives in the ocean now." I told him.

And with that he was back to playing at the water's edge.

Not 10 minutes later, I heard Jack cry out in pain.

When I asked him what the matter was he told me

a shark had bitten him!

"Are you sure?"

"Yep..."

He didn't act hurt so I dismissed the whole thing

as fallout from our shark lesson and Jack

went back to digging in the sand.

20 minutes later he told me again he'd

been bitten by a shark. I rolled my eyes, but

noticed he was limping. So I picked him up

and grabbed his left leg to find a bee's stinger

sticking out of the side.

Jack's little leg puffed up quite a bit,

I bet you didn't know "shark bites" swell!

Darn those sharks.

Blogging is the New Journal

Tonight for Young Women's our Personal Progress

leader dedicated the whole night to scripture

study and journal writing. I must admit that

I'm the worst example of a journaler.

I have nothing written down. I buy journals and

start journals intermittently, but

never get any farther than the first page.

For some reason I just can't commit.

Blogging comes easier, but find that I obsess

over writing the "perfect post."

And this obsession makes it hard to blog

even the shortest posts.Why am I such a perfectionist?

Probably because 10's of people are

reading this and I don't want to come off as a deusche...

My ah-hah moment tonight came when I realized

that in writing down the good parts of my life I:

1. am creating a written legacy for my children.

2. To better remember all the happy/sad/frustrating/spiritual times.

3. In writing down the happy moments I can more

easily have an attitude of gratitude for all life's little blessings.

(For the next 21 days I'm going to try my hardest

to post {almost} daily to record all the great things that

happen in my life photographed or not.

And maybe, just maybe,

I'll become a journaler yet.)

"Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to

keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives."

-Spencer W. Kimball

PS-I'm back...

PSA

I interrupt my normally

scheduled blog to bring you
the following

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

This is Impetigo (eegh).
Click on Jack's mug for a better look.



It's a gross skin infection that produces
blisters and sores most commonly on the face.

Impetigo often develops when there
is a sore or a rash that has been scratched repetitively.
(We think Jack contracted this from a runny nose.)
The sores ooze (sick) and can be transferred
to friends and family (oh joy).

Apparently it's pretty common during summer.
But since I'm pretty new to the whole kid thing,
I knew virtually nothing about this
annoying little problem.

Luckily we caught it early, got to a doctor,
Jack is now on medication, and
feeling much better (that's right
oozing sores hurt and itch).

Just wanted to pass this little
bit of knowledge along.

Oh and I wanted to apologize
to anyone who came into contact
with Jack on Sunday before
we knew it was an infection and
not pimples from smearing Vaseline
all over his head last week (yeah
he really did that).



We're so sorry Nursery Class,
we had no idea.

bath time times two

With Jill on the eve of 3 months,
bath time has become a
whole lot more fun!

Jill's first bath with Jack 8/23/08.

Notice Jill's perma-part, compliments of Jack,
a little yellow cup, and lots of water.

Here's Jack comforting Jill.
"Jus' wa-ter Jilley."
were his exact words.

What a sweetheart.

And to commemorate this milestone
event here at the Howe home
I've adapted an old nursery rhyme:

Jack and Jill went up the stairs
to take a bath in water.

Jack did splash
and Jill near' drown,
"but Jill it's only water!"

Ice Cream Dream

I scream...

You scream...



but mostly Jack screams...



for iCe CrEaM!

I'd never given Jack ice cream
on a cone before. And I'm not sure
I'm brave enough to do it again.
But look at the joy on his face.

PuRe EcStAsY.

Ummpostor

Jack carries a blanket everywhere
he goes. He calls it "Umm." It's really less of
a name and more of a grunting sound
that rises up out of his throat.

Kent and I first noticed this
name, err noise months before Jack's
1st birthday. When Jack couldn't find his
blanket he would whine "umm, umm, umm"
until his blanket was found. And I guess it
didn't take that long until we put the sound
and the want together. He had trained us, and
in the process named his beloved blanket.

One day at the Doctor's office, Jack's pediatrician
admonished us to buy an identical blanket just in case
Umm ever got lost (gasp). We did, but the
replacement was pretty,clean, and fluffy.
I.E.- nothing like Umm. Jack wasn't fooled
by the look-a-like, so I started calling
it "Ummpostor."

Then about a week ago Jack started
saying Ummpostor on his own and I knew I had
to get it on video. Enjoy!


Lt.- Umm & Rt. Ummpostor
Can you tell the difference?

PS-What cute quirks do your kids have?
Please share, I'd love to know.

Summer Daze

It's been a summer of sleepless nights,
adjustments, and taking it slow,
yet some how my days are blowing past me.

Blogging has definitely taken a back seat as
I've had to make some hard choices like-
I've got 1 hour of peace, do I eat, shower, sleep,
or blog? 9 times out of 10 I pick sleep.

Here's what I've neglected to blog:

1. Mormon Night @ Angel Stadium

Jack & Kent had a blast without the girls.

2. Lots of walks

Here I am modeling Jack & Jill's
smooth new ride.

3. Ladybug metamorphosis

Jack has faithfully checked the bush in front of
our townhouse each day to see if the "baby"
ladybugs have broken out of their pupas.
The black spot in this photo is a newly
"hatched" ladybug. I've enjoyed this
little adventure in learning
we've shared together.

4. Cousins

Kissin' Kousins Lydia and Jack

Lydia & Liza came to visit.
We love those girls.


Pops holding this years batch of grand daughters-
Liza 1/29/08 and Jillian 5/28/08

5. Kent got a Wii for Father's Day/His Birthday

Jack loves Wii baseball. He hardly ever gets on base,
yet he almost never loses a game. I always hit the ball, but
never score any points. How does that work?

6. Kite flying. Pops taught Jack the basics.

Jack caught on pretty fast, but
thought it was way more fun to watch Pops
scramble to catch a fly away kite as
he repeatedly let go of the line.

7. Playing with big kids.

Uncle Tucker (blue and white rash guard) 17 years old

I'm convinced that young Aunts & Uncles are best.
Mack & Tuck are always ready to play and never miss
an opportunity to make Jack feel special.


Aunt Mack 13 years old

8. Fourth of July Parade

"Fammy" as Jack calls us.


How Jack rolled.


How Jill rolled.


Here we are- tired, but happy.

9. WICKED!

Loved it. Great music with
a clever twist on an old classic.
Plus it was girls' night out (literally).
I went with a handful of the Young Women
that I teach at Church.


A quick dinner at Dos Burritos.
Then we were off for 8pm curtain call.


If you haven't seen this pop opera,
what are you waiting for?

10. Beach days...

and one blond boy.