Stuff that will (one day) be funny.

I have thought about posting countless times in the last six months, but every time I get around to it, and think about all that has happened this last summer, I really don't want to take the time to re-cap.  So we will just say that we had a very busy, very lovely summer.  Josh went to Germany.  We went to Utah.  My younger brother got married to a wonderful lady.  Genevra turned one (where did a year go?!). We made almost every weekend we were home a tourist destination, visiting the family must-sees of KC area.

That being said, I am zoning in on this week, more for my therapy than anything else.  

Monday, I saw my first official brown recluse.  Aside from pet spiders, I have never seen a spider that large in real life.  When I turned on the light in our bathroom, it didn't move.  And I was too mortified (yes, I have a deep and abiding, irrational fear of spiders) to step on it.  So we had a stand off.  He --only a man would have the nerve to invade personal space so unabashedly-- didn't move until I slowly reached to grab our spider spray.  And when he did move, he scuttled.  This means he was so large, I heard a noise when he moved.  Kid you not.  I used the rest of our can of spider spray in hopes of killing the beast.  However, since there was no direct contact before it got away, we are all ultra nervous about sitting on the pot.

Tuesday, I tried another experimental online quinoa recipe for the missionaries to eat.  It was awful.  Like I think it might have been intended for a health nut whose taste buds are accustomed to drinking straight fish oil.  And the deceptive recipe claimed to serve 4.  So I doubled it, thinking leftovers would be great in Josh's lunchbox.  Now we have about two gallons worth of disgusting quinoa casserole, and I think the only way it is going to be eaten is if there is a sudden ice storm and we run out of eggs and ramen.  I did redeem my cooking skills somewhat with pumpkin bread.  After a month of not eating sugar, I wolfed down 3/4 of a loaf in one sitting.  

Wednesday, I paid the price for my gluttony, laying in bed, wondering if my stomach was trying to secede from my body.  Josh took the day off and was at his best.  He babied me, cleaned the house, and even went shopping.  By the end of the afternoon, I found him laying on the floor, asleep.  He opened one eye and said he wanted to go back to school.  Apparently, keeping house and nannying is kind of hard.  Josh had scored a super good deal on opera tickets through one of his professors.  Not wanting to waste money, we got spruced up and some lovely ladies from the ward came over and watched Joshua and Genevra.  The Kauffman Center was gorgeous.  Josh could have spent the whole 3 hours hanging out in the hundred-million dollar, architectural masterpiece of a lobby, while I thoroughly enjoyed  "La Traviata" by Verdi.  

It's only 12 p.m. and I am ready to throw in the towel.  I am feeling eons better than yesterday, but still icky.  Feel free to judge me when I say that I fed my children breakfast, turned on the TV, and shut the baby gate so I could go back to bed.  When I came upstairs an hour later, Genevra was covered.  COVERED in poo.  A good portion of the carpet was covered in poo.  paint chips littered the floor, and there is now a huge patch of the wall that is paintless.  It wasn't hard to deduce that Joshua was trying to make it to the toilet, which is downstairs, and stripped.  He then preceded to work hard at opening the baby gate, chipping away at the paint.  Since I was dead to the world, he couldn't make it.  Genevra still gets around on all fours, and must have been quite gleeful at finding brown play dough to smear over every surface.

If any of my single, or baby-less friends read this, please know that more often than not, children are quite enjoyable...even charming.  But then there are days where you feel like they are in league with the devil, working hard to be the straw that breaks your back and leaves you rocking and huddled in a corner.  

On that note, my babies are going to take an early nap.  My destination: treadmill.

Potty Everywhere

Joshua is posing for this.  And Genevra is ready for this hug to end.

My babies will despise me one day for this, but it had to be posted.  Too cute not to.

Spring break for us was found in the great city of Omaha.  The geese park was Joshua's favorite, while I preferred the visitor's center for the LDS temple.

Checking out the Easter egg hunt booty.  He was so preoccupied with the goodies in the one egg, we had a hard time finding others;)

There are several books and articles that cite all of the many signs to indicate that your child is ready to potty train.  About a month ago, Joshua was hitting about 7 of 10 of the signs of readiness.  He knows when he needs to go, wakes up with a dry diaper, is interested, etc., etc.  So we bought a fun little hippo potty that sings and reads a story.  For about the first two weeks, I was excited.  We did a "pee-pee dance", cheered, and doled out stickers like they were going out of style.  Joshua was enamored with the idea of a little seat just for his stuff, and I was looking forward to a bright future of just one diapered bum in the Kirkman household.  #1 was smooth sailing- as long as his lower half was naked.  #2-- not so much (I would find brown surprises left in odd places for me).  There is a very deep rooted fear of bowel movements going on in my little boy's head.  I won't go into the gory details, but today, Joshua had diarrhea.  Need I say more?  Let it be written that today was one of the longest days of my career as a mother.  For anyone who has gone through potty training and all of the misery it entails, I ask that you send me great, warm, virtual hugs of sympathy.  I need them.  Thanks.
On a happier note, the weather is warming up to a balmy 90 degrees.  Last week, we were in the mid-40s.  It was a fast, but very welcome transition.
I hosted book club last month and made the Jewish traditional challah bread in honor of reading "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok.  (Amazing book.)  It was a hit...and made me wish we were Jewish, so I could feel obligated to go to that kind of work for that kind of goodness every Sabbat.  More recently, with the help of some women in the ward, I threw a baby shower for a friend of mine.  The idea of a baby shower was daunting, but with the help of friends, it was a success.  And now I am not so fearful of trying to host something so grown up.
Josh is busy.  He is always busy.  For anyone who has done grad school, you know that 18 credit hours (this includes a studio!), is suicidal.  His professors have said as much.  All I can say is that this semester has been rough.  There are times when I wonder why we are doing this to ourselves and how on earth we are going to make it through this week, let alone 2 more years.  The thought that fuels both Josh and I is that we felt SO right about our decision to do this in the first place.  Josh frequently reminds me that President Uchtdorf has said, "Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith."  I have faith that the Lord would not ask such hard things of us only to let us fall on our faces.
Genevra is fat.  And beautiful.  She is my bright, happy little ray of sunshine.  When I lay her on the floor, she rolls from one end of the room to another and then back again, and big smile on her face.  I couldn't have asked for a sweeter bit of heaven than what we have been blessed with in her.    

Utah and the Ex-Utahans

Daddy helping Joshua open birthday presents.  Joshua is sporting his Hungarian hat that Auntie Joy brought back from her mission.

Joshua and Kyle Gardner (cousin) at the bonfire.  Would you believe Joshua is 7 months older than Kyle?!  He is a shrimp, but a cute one.

Bonfire!!!

Great-Grandpa Ed's work horses.  Don't quote me on this, but I think they are Perchin.

Genevra with her first Teddy.  Can't get enough of her fat face;)

Grandpa John with Genevra at Joshua's birthday party.

Grandpa DeGraffenried taking Joshua for a horse ride.

Not the greatest of pictures, but I love it.  Daddy and Joshua at the pool, playing basketball.

These are my treasures.  And they seem to love each other, even though Genevra looks a bit skeptical about the situation.

University of Kansas was kind to us (and everyone else) this year, and gave us a 5 week break in between fall and spring semesters, which was more than a little deserved.  Our travel log follows this brief side note:  I won't throw the pity party I want to, whining about how this semester, I felt like divorced marriage with visitation rights.  Josh would pop in on the weekends to play dad and husband for Saturday morning and all Sunday, and then it was back to the grindstone.  It goes without saying that we are thrilled to have a summer and fall semester down!
Around 4 p.m., right after Josh's last final, we made our exodus back to Zion (Utah).  Although the longer I live away from Utah, the more both Josh and I agree that Zion is not a place, but more a state of being.  Anyway, we were making great time until about soon after Denver.  From there, it was downhill.  We ended up having to pull over around 4 a.m. for Josh to catch a few Zs, hoping all the while that the snowplows would make an appearance.  We didn't make it to one of my best friend and cousin, Pam DeGraffenried's, wedding in the Salt Lake City Temple.  BUT I will never forget the surge of gratitude for our safety and such an amazing friend when she walked through the temple doors and I was there to give her a hug;).
Our visit home was very eventful and grand.  We paraded around with our two screaming (for lack of sleep) babies, gracing everyone with our presence.  The Tippetts Christmas party was nice with good food and great people.  Josh's aunt Sharron and her hubby were able to visit Josh's parents from California while we were there, and as well as his sister, Julie and her friend.  After 2 long years of working on the Fort Lauterdale, FL temple on a mission, my DeGraffenried Grandparents came home.  Grandpa gave all of his grandkids a hay ride out to Blackrock in Kanosh, where we warmed up to a bonfire.  We spent New Year's Eve with Pammy and her new husband, Daniel.  Josh and I caught up on a semester's worth of missed dates, soaking in the plethora of free sitters.  My family went horseback riding in the mountains with Josh and Joshua, and then headed to Gunnison for swimming.  (You'd think it was summer with all the sporting events, but it was actually pretty dang cold).  We watched my brother Eddy wrestle in Juab, not to mention spending many a great day with Grandma and Grandpa Kirkman on the 4-wheeler and eating junk food.
Joshua turned TWO on January 5th!  We had a party for him at my parent's, and I really think the highlight of it for him was ripping off the wrapping paper.  I can't believe my baby boy is a full-blown toddler, complete with catch phrases like, "NO!" and "Why?"  One of Josh's favorite things to say is, "If that boy weren't so cute, I would paddle his butt."  I doubt he really would do any butt paddling, but I concur.  Joshua is my little man and my favorite mess maker (Genevra isn't making messes yet and Josh is a neat freak).  He lights up my world in a way that only he can.  I read somewhere once that the Lord sends certain spirits to certain parents for a reason.  They are the parents who can raise and handle those children in a special way that no one else could.  I am a firm believer in this principle.
While we were home, Genevra was nick-named "Tender".  My sister insists that it is her fluffy, fat rolls that somehow link her to this name; although my mom thinks of pink meat and I think of a weepy old lady when we hear this.  Either way, she has the sure foundation of a Wal-Mart Super Center supporting a chicken coop.  AKA- She is rolly polly fat on her bottom and thighs without nearly as much chub up top.
We had a blast at home, surrounded by tons of family and friends.  But it's SO good to be back, living our own lives and sleeping in our own beds.
P.S.  Josh got a portable DVD system for Christmas, making the drive home a breeze.  Not including from Grand Junction to Denver--that seems to be our Achilles Heel on our drives to and from Utah.