A few of our favorite things

{Cue Julie Andrews}

Ice cream and pizza and mac and cheese pasta
Hamburgers (with only ketchup, but lotsa)
His ASU jersey with faded blue jeans
These are a few of Zach's favorite things.

The Magic School Bus and Nate the Great series
Dr. Suess tales when the others get weary
Wii games and listening to Raffi CD's
Bring joy like his other favorite things.

School friends like Westin and church friends like Spencer
Playing with Legos and Star Wars defenders
Going with Grandma to see Chuck E Cheese
These are a few of Zach's favorite things.

When the night's dark,
When the dogs bark,
When his dreams are bad,
Zach simply remembers his favorite things
And then he won't feel so sad!

Playgroup and story time at the library
Word World and Science Kid on PBS TV
Cat's Quizzer and Sneetches are the best reads
These are a few of Ty's favorite things

Beans that are refried with cheese and Ranch plenty
Kix and granola and snack time that's early
Playing outside on his beloved swings
Are just some of Tyler's most favorite things

Legos at playtime and on the best .com
Soccer games with Dad and Batman PJ's on
Crossing the monkey bars like he has wings
These are a few of Ty's favorite things

When the leg's scratched,
When pants are patched,
When the dinner's bad,
Ty simply remembers his favorite things
And then he won't feel so sad!

Goldfish and Daddy and his pacifier
Bananas and yogurt just couldn't be finer
Wearing one sock/shoe and random nap needs
These are some of Gavin's favorite things.

The hum of the treadmill and left-open cupboards
Toys that make music and cuddling with Mother
The Going to Bed Book and swinging in swings
These are some of Gavin's favorite things.

Telephones, cell phones and iPods and remotes
Garbage cans, toilets, and stair gates and hair combs
Homemade spaghetti and sippy cup drinks
These are some of Gavin's favorite things.

When his Mom leaves,
When the boys tease,
When he's tired and mad,
Gav simply remembers his favorite things
And then he won't feel so sad!

Calling all activity ideas!

The news of the day is this: I have a new calling.

It's my third job in our new ward so far (at least I can give up the other two). I accepted the responsibilities of ward activities chairperson. So help me.

Basically this means that I'm in charge of planning every-other-month, large-scale activities for our entire church congregation. I have two functional committee members but I can draw on auxiliary organizations in the church as well. I have a decent budget. I'm not afraid to work. What I need are some fabulous ideas.

So, fair readers, I'm asking for your help. If you have ever been to a great social event (whether it was a Mormon function or not), I would LOVE to hear about it. If you have amazing advice for a Christmas-themed program, that would be especially helpful.

I've been told to expect about 150 people (moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, teenagers, children, single adults) at each activity. In six weeks I have to entertain them at a fall carnival/Halloween shebang that has yet to be planned (which reminds me, I still need to reserve the building).

Any thoughts? Email me!

Holler, Holl Doll!

My sister, Holly, was born when I was 14. In the fall of 1994, when I was a sophomore in high school, she came to all of my cross country meets in a stroller. I always said that when she was 14 and I was (gasp!) 29, I'd bring my babies to her meets if she ended up a runner.

Well, this year she turned 14 and became a runner, and unfortunately I can't make good on my promise. While she's tearin' it up as a fast and furious freshman in Arizona, I have to be satisfied with phone updates. But I'm still proud of my little sis!

To read more about Holly's awesome cross-country debut, click here. Go Holly!

Remembering September 11

Seven years ago today, I was getting ready for work in a little Wymount apartment in Provo, Utah when the phone rang. It was Garry's mom, who had called to tell us about the events in progress in New York City and Washington, D.C. Garry and I switched on the TV as we continued our preparations for work and school.

Dumbfounded, we saw the gaping hole in one World Trade Center tower and heard reports of the Pentagon "bombing" in Washington. We were riveted, but we also had classes and employers, so we left home and turned on car radios instead. I drove to Wavetronix, where I was an administrative assistant. Garry went to class at BYU, excitedly anticipating the huge annual career fair that afternoon that would hopefully provide his post-graduation job in December. Little did we know how much the world would change.

As I look back on that day, I remember watching live news coverage in my boss's office and seeing the towers crumble in real time as horrified reporters (and my fellow employees) looked on. I remember being eight months pregnant and wondering what kind of world I'd be raising my baby boy in. I remember feeling scared and violated.

In the small corner of the world that Garry and I occupied, the immediate result of the terrorist attacks was the complete cancellation of the Marriott School of Management career fair. Air traffic was restricted and precious few of the recruiters could fly in for the event. When the fair was rescheduled a month later, only a handful of recruiters came. By that time, belts were tightened, hiring efforts were frozen, and the Marriott School's 98% placement record fell to 33% that year. Garry wasn't one of the lucky third.

But life went on. Our 9/11 "misfortunes" are tiny and insignificant compared to the devastating tragedies many experienced. But that's our story. I think about it every year on this day.

Where were you when the attacks happened? How did they affect your life?

A good day

Yesterday was a good day. It wasn't a perfect day, but I appreciated the good parts about it. Here are the highlights:

• Seeing how excited Zach was about wearing a new outfit to school
• Noticing how I didn't come unhinged when I realized I forgot to make a lunch for Zach; I just gave him money and pretty much made his day
• Running on the treadmill while watching an old BYU devotional by President Monson. I loved his address for many reasons, but he quoted my favorite hymn and used running as a metaphor for life! Good stuff! Read President Monson's "Guideposts for Life's Journey" here or listen to it here.
• Getting good news from an Oregon friend
  
• Attending play group with fun mommies and kids
• Watching Gavin fall asleep in the swing, but not before sharing it with Luke
• Enjoying an impromptu Panera lunch with some of the playgroup mommies
• Developing a plan for cutting out Gavin's lunchtime feeding
• Making Christmas and birthday wish lists with the boys (their idea!)
• Taking Zachary and Tyler rollerskating at Skate City for a school fund raiser (I have not laughed so hard in a long time)
• Hearing about my baby sister's amazing first cross-country meet
• Talking to my real-estate-guru brother for a long time on the phone
• Falling asleep before ten o'clock and being able to sleep through the night

Hope y'all had a happy day, too!

Preschool, Take Two

Tyler started preschool today. Again.
Tyler was super excited.
He was the first person in the classroom.
I was the first parent to leave.
No tears were shed -- just big grins all around.

Let's hope we don't have any crazy surprises like last time!
I don't have a Plan C.

Two bikes and a baby

Here are some fun videos...one for each boy.

First and foremost: Tyler ditched the training wheels a couple weeks ago! Woo-hoo! In the video he's counting laps around our cul-de-sac. I think he did 36 before taking a rest. Tyler is still working on starting and {gracefully} stopping, but the middle part is perfect!




In July, we visited a park that has a BMX racing track. A boy from our ward brought his bike and let Zachary have a go at the course. He was in heaven! Zach has been begging to go back ever since but somehow we haven't made it. My favorite part of this video is hearing Zach's buddy cheer him on.



And last but not least, this video is just of Gavin being cute. The video is about a month old, but it gives a good glimpse of the silly sounds he makes and how active he is. I love his cute little wave at the end.

Let the games begin

Our family will be living and breathing soccer every evening for the next six weeks. Tyler's first game was last night and Zach's was tonight. They both had a fabulous time playing. It was fun to watch them get in the middle of the action. Zach and Ty each scored a goal, so all is well in their little worlds!

Here's a sampling of photos from the first games. We took a lot of pictures this time but don't plan to bore you with a play-by-play of every game!

It's especially fun to have Garry coaching Tyler's team.

Tyler did a great job making contact with the ball. (This is the primary objective for four-year-old players. The second objective is kicking in the right direction...)


Goooooo Kraze!!!


Gavin isn't a fan of soccer. It was chilly and windy at Tyler's game and Gavin just wasn't happy the whole time. I finally walked him around the field and he fell asleep. Gotta love 6:00 naps.


Gavin and I skipped Zach's first game for the sake of my sanity. Tyler went along, though, and had lots of fun cheering on his big brother.



Six-to-eight-year-old teams definitely play the sport better than four- and five-year-olds. It looks like Zach's in for a great season. Watching him play should be fun for all of us (as long as Gavin's in a good mood!).

Another milestone for Mini G

Let it be known that on this,
the fourth day of September, two thousand and eight,

at approximately one o'clock in the afternoon,
Gavin Drew Bartle,
he being nine months and five days of age,
took his first steps.



Go, Gavin, go!

Answer me this

Question:

How does a boy
who is beginning to read quite fluidly
and can spell "crazy man"
and write/paint it by himself
produce this?


Isn't this just a little bit bizarre?