Ugh. I need HELP!

Okay for all you fellow bloggers out there, I NEED HELP. I want to have a cool blog, but I can't figure out how to work half of things on here. Like my header, the picture of my family at the top... I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make it bigger. Some of you have uploaded some really cute backgrounds and custom stuff on here - I feel so computer stupid for the first time in a long time. If you have any great tips or suggestions, please feel free to email me. I would love all the help I can get.

On a less frustrated note, I am leaving Thursday morning to drive home to Bellevue. I can't wait. I need a break and there's nothing like driving for 13 hours to have time to think. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures for you all!

Mark Turned 37!

Yesterday was Mark's birthday. We celebrated by having about 30 friends and family members over for a backyard barbeque. We had lots of fun eating hamburgers, chips, and treats and just hanging out and playing games. The boys had fun throwing around a baseball and playing a fun golf game they made up. They always find ways to entertain themselves. The kids ran around and had lots of fun watching the dad's and playing on the swing set; and us girls had fun just talking about everything under the sun. We always have fun getting together with friends and it has been a while.
I am having a hard time lining this up right.

Maddison is at the top, totally dirty and disheveled from the days activities, but having the time of her life!

Next is Andy (Mark's good friend) his mom Pat, and his sister Hollie and her baby.

I had the cake made for Mark because I gave him season tickets to the U of U football games this fall and they havn't come yet. So it was my way of telling him what I got him. He was pretty stoked.

Next photo is of the boys playing their golf game. The object of the game is to aim the (wiffle) ball at the other person trying to hit them. (it doesn't hurt, it's a wiffle ball!) It entertained them for the night.

The last picture is of Ginger (andy's wife) Ashlie, (mark's sister) and Lisa.

We had a lot of fun and I am looking forward to all the football games this fall!

Chuck E Cheese

This morning I had scheduled two hair appointments and by the time I was done,the kids were bored out of their minds. Then their cousins Rylie and Landrie came over so I decided to go do something fun with them all. I had had a coupon to Chuck E Cheese in my purse for a month, so I took Rylie, Maddi and Wyatt.

Mike & Mark had been planning on running an errand so they decided to take Landrie with them and meet us later. As I was driving down the street, I stopped to chat with my friend Erin. She was bored so I invited her and her little girl Taylor to come along. We had tons of fun, more fun than I had expected. We ended up playing for 3 hours!!! Some of the major highlights were riding the mini merry go round, playing air hockey (Maddi and Rylie played each other and I was surprised at how quickly they caught on. It was so cute and makes me want to buy a mini air hockey table!) We also had fun testing all of the games that spit out tickets to figure out which ones gave out the most. We ended up with 175 tickets, and traded those in for a magic trick and a lip gloss ring. I was actually quit surprised to discover that Chuck E Cheese makes a decent pizza- I actually liked it better than a lot of other pizza I've tasted; who would have known!

It was HILARIOUS watching Maddison and Rylie play Skee-Ball. They would throw the balls instead of rolling them at the targets, and right next to the skee ball machine is a squirt gun water game. Well one throw was so bad it cleared the skee ball game and ended up in the water game next to it. I am just glad they didn't hurt anyone.

I am also a bit nervous that Wyatt is going to come down with a strange disease because more than once I had to grab random drinks from his hands (as he was sipping) because he would pick them up whenever he happened upon one. DISGUSTING. I swear that kid is 100% boy. Another time he had taken his flip flops off because they were hurting his toe and he managed to pick a peperoni up off the floor with his toes, bring his foot up to his hand, take the peperoni out of his foot and proceeded to try and eat it. THANK GOODNESS I was right there and could stop that one before it ever happened.

All and all it was a great afternoon. I can't wait for it to cool off just a bit more and we can go back to just playing in the park. People in Utah County are staying clear of the pool right now; apparently there are a large amount of people who have reported, let's say, "a case of the runs" after swimming in some of the local pools. I don't know if it's this stomach flu virus still going around or if there is some sort of bacteria infestation, but I'll tell you what, I'm not going to be the one to test it out.

Toodles friends, I'll check in again soon.
~Erin

There is beauty all around, when there's hair at home...

So some of you know, that I am a hairstylist and about a year and a half ago I put a cute little salon in my basement. So my poor kids have to deal with me doing hair appointments on and off again during the day and at night.

I try to schedule a lot of my daytime appointments for when Wyatt is having a nap, but sometimes he won't go to sleep before hand. That's okay though... I discovered that he is very fond of our dog Kalli's bed and all I have to do is encourage him to lay down in her bed and he is out in flash. I feel a little guilty sometimes that my kid has naps in the dog bed, but I do bath her (the dog) regularly so it's not dirty or anything. Plus I think those of you have toddlers will agree when I say "hey whatever works!"

I have to add in today's post one of the events of yesterday: Maddison got her first Bee Sting. It was actually a wasp. She was outside on the swing set and a wasp got stuck in her hair. That obviously agitated the wasp and it stung her on her arm. Needless to say we had yet another traumatic moment at the Mehler household. For those of you who don't know Maddison very well, she is a girly girl all the way, and when she freaks out about something there is nothing subdued or calm about it. She is an opinionated stubborn little thing (hmmm, doesn't sound like her mother at all, does she!) and when she has decided on something there is no changing her mind. So she has decided that she is never playing on the swing set again, and is worried about stepping foot outside for fear of the bees. We'll have to work on her; I did tell her that her dad would spray for wasps all around the swing set and kill them so she could continue to play outside. I think it helped, but we'll see.

We are talking about going to the new IKEA in Draper today, just for something to do but havn't made up our minds for sure yet. I havn't been since the week it opened (yes I was crazy enough to go, but not crazy enough to take my kids!) so it would be nice to go back through right now. When it's 100 degrees outside, it's hard to take your kids outside in the middle of the day, it's just too hot. So we do end up spending the afternoons indoors or at the pool and the evenings outside. I did promise Maddi we would make either cookies or strawberry freezer jam today. I think Jam will win because we have been out of it for a couple of weeks now.

This picture is from opening day, it's just a little portion of the line outside before it opened.


Well I gotta go. Maddi is jump roping / trying to strangle Wyatt with my fire wire cord (the one that connects the video camera to the computer!) Talk to you all tomorrow.
E

OUCH! (Do not read if you have a weak stomach.)

Last night we experienced a little Trauma... to say the least. I know this picture is kind of gross, sorry! Wyatt was in Maddison's bed with her and they weren't going to sleep, so I walked her her room and said "It is time to go to bed NOW, or I'm putting Wyatt in his own bed!" Well Wyatt listened. He turned around facing Maddi's headboard and slammed his head down aiming for the pillow, but nailed the headboard instead. It was and instant blood bath. The poor thing smashed up his gums and severed the piece of skin that attatches his lip to his gums. We are very lucky that he didn't knock his teeth out, and didn't cut through his top lip.

I have to tell you I am kind of expecting that this won't be his last or his worst injury. The kid is ACTIVE and and just goes non stop all the time. (Hmmm, doesn't sound like his dad at all does he?) He is a great kid though, you couldn't ask for a sweeter child. We love him so much and are glad that he is okay today.

Some more cute photos

Here are some more pictures I am posting for you all to enjoy. I'm working two day's a week now so my life is a little more boring. But I like my job a lot so it's all good. Just no exciting news to share!
Maddison's Family birthday party on June 5th, Her actual Birthday.

Maddi and Rylie at their dance recital. I told them to pose and this was what they came up with.

Maddi, Gracie, Wyatt, and Taylor. (Gracie and Taylor are our two neighbors kids.)

At the Thanksgiving Point Gardens.

At Maddison's Luau birthday party.

Okay, so I'm a little slow but I just sat down and figured out how to post pictures within the contents of what I post. So now this is just for fun to share some photos that I love, now that I know how to do this!! Love you all!

This first photo was taken in Seattle right next to where the Argosy cruises take off. We at lunch at the restaurant right there with my dad (Elliot's?) and the fire ships were on the water spraying water everywhere. Needless to say my kids loved it and had a blast checking it out.

The 2nd photo was taken at the Zoo in Seattle on the same trip. We try to go to the zoo everytime we visit, and especially love the Bear exhibit! Just a tip for those of you who like season passes to the zoo, if you visit Utah, you can buy a pass here that works at several other zoo's including the one in Seattle and it is a lot less expensive. My mom and I went in and bought one that was $110 for the year which is good for 2 adult pass holders, 2 guests and 4 kids. It's quite the deal. I think it was $140 last year when we bought it in Seattle and it was only good for 2 adult pass holders, no guests, and 2 kids. This is a much better deal.

Movie Review

Since some of you reading this have children, I am going to do you the courtesy of letting you know to wait until "Underdog" comes out on DVD. I took my kids to see it this afternoon and let me tell you it was a waste of money, and hard for even my kids to sit through it. I've seen worse movies, but this is just one of those ones you want to wait and let your kids watch in the family room while you do something else! Ahhh the joys of taking kids to movies!!!

Another summer weekend gone.

Well summer seems to be fading way too fast. It's getting darker earlier and there are a few leaves turning red already. I can't believe how fast time flies and I am in no way ready for summer to end. My brother Jared and his wife Jen were in town this week visiting her sister and they came over to say hi a couple different times. It was fun letting the kids play together and I can't wait til they really get to know each other the older they get.

Maddison and Rylie (her cousin & BFF) had fun in their grandma's backyard the other day. They turned this mixing bowl into a bathtub and had fun giving each other baths. We thought it was hilarious!

We also went to Mark's cousin Curt's wedding on Friday. It was really nice. He married a darling girl name Susan and they are such a cute couple. I was reminiscing when Mark and I got married and what an exciting time it was, and I am just really excited for them to begin their adventure.

We'll I'll check in again soon. Hope you all had a relaxing weekend!!

Down with Diet Coke

Okay so this is turning into my own personal blog more than a "family" blog, but since I am doing all the work, I think it's okay.

I just had to announce and let everyone know I am 7 days sober from my Diet Coke addiction. Yes, for those of you didn't know I am a cokaholic. I have been completely addicted for about 5 years now with the exception of Maddison's pregnancy. I didn't drink it while I was pregnant with her. (Sorry Wyatt, your mom sucks, (I still drank it during his pregnancy.)) No matter how much I have wanted to deny it, I have had the same trouble stopping I imagine a smoker might struggle with. I didn't want to stop. I craved it and basically could not get through a day without the darn stuff. Now I feel great! I am tired at night when I am supposed to be, and I wake up with energy ready to take on the day, In only a week! I can't wait for my new life free from addiction. Later ya'll.