Marine World

My parents and Scott got a season pass to Marine World which comes with a bunch of free passes. Heather, my dad and I went with the kiddos and had a great time. We did a lot including Shuka the Whale and Dolphin show, the Tiger Show, dunbo ride, dizzy ship, playground and water playgroud. The best part was spending the day with my family. Tyler loves to be a monkey and everyone loved the water playground even though the boys get cold right away. Lots of fun...thanks Dad!!

Great planes wildcat at Heather Farms

The Wildcat ran the batteries all the way dead and it was still working. Last time, when the boat failed and there was that electrical smell, I thought it was due to the fried low-current tamiya connectors. I replaced them with high-current traxxas connectors, but the boat was still inoperable. Then I discovered my solder joint on the port motor had disconnected and there was evidence of wire melting. I replaced the weak 20 gauge cable with 14 gauge and replaced the metal props with some nylon ones from an Aquacraft Rio. It seemed to go the same speed, but there is still some wiggling at high speed. I'll remove the trim tabs and see if that corrects it.

As for the e-flite blade mSR, it is da bomb! I took it to the chapel with the boyz and flew it around. It is super fast and fun to fly it sideways and backwards. Scott has been flying my old red helicopter from last year's surgery and the tail rotor motor failed today. I desoldered the one from my original 2008 styrofoam havoc heli and soldered it into the medical chopper and it worked! Scott's pretty good at the choppers, but not good enough for the blade mSR. Tyler flies the coaxial helicopter and its blades are pretty tattered. I could get new blades for 6.00, but he still doesn't understand the concept of avoiding crashes.

Hopefully, my hub will be done tomorrow.

Fathers Day and Helicopters

Scott and Tyler made a mural with pictures for Father's Day. Actually day after fathers day. Sad story that is so me. I always have intentions to do big productions for Danny on holidays like fathers day because they mean so much to him, but I am usually a day or two late. Or realize I should have gotten him something that I didn't. I am learning and someday will be a better wife and get things done on the actual day, but for now this will have to do. I think that is makes it even more special because it is a day that nothing is expected and is like the party after the party that nobody is expecting. It was fun to see them do this for their dad. Scott was soo excited when we got Danny a new helicopter mainly so that he could acquire his old one. I feel like I don't need to write all the reasons why Danny is an amazing dad because the pictures tell the tale. After Danny opened his presents, the three boys played downstairs until their batteries went dead. They all had soo much fun and it was a little piece of heaven for me! Nothing compares to seeing the people you love so happy together. Danny and Scott have pretty good control while Tyler blasts his helicopter full speed to the roof only to have it crash down. It is always followed by, "WHOA!! Did you see that?" as if he wanted you to see how amazing he flew the helicopter right into the ceiling. They all love playing together. I love that Danny is a little kid at heart, yet at the same time teaches them on a daily basis faith, loyalty and kindness by the person he is to me, them and others. Perfect example is that right now he is locking up the church because they needed someone to do it for the week. He quietly leads by love and example which is such a blessing for my kids. I feel so lucky to have Danny as the father to my children. We love you Danny!!!

Kira at 3 Months

First of all, I can't believe Kira has been with us for three months. She has been such an easy addition (with the exception with the boys having to adjust and finding time for everyone). Kira is my sweet little angel. She is happy and content and loves to smile. She is really quiet and will cry a small little cry when she needs a diaper changed, is tired or hungry. She gives the cutest, tiniest coos when she laughs. It is so cute. Everyone comments on how petite and girly she looks. She really is so tiny. She has tiny little features and a skinny little body. She would still fit into newborn outfits if they were longer. When she was born it was obvious she was Danny's daughter, however, lately everyone thinks she looks like Tyler. She loves being close to you. If she is cuddled up in her bjorn or on your chest she will happily fall asleep which makes her a trooper wherever you are. She goes to work with me and I forget she is there. We love her so much. Having a little girl really makes me want to be a better woman. There is something so pure and heavenly about little girls. We are so lucky to have her in our family!!

Water Park

My friends organized "Friday Outings" for the summer. Our first one was to the Antioch Water Slides. So fun and great for little ones. They have a couple of slides and pools ranging from baby to big kid. Scott went down his first real water slide with me and had a good time. You can't beat a day of fun for $7. Danny has a couple more Fridays off before he starts working 5-6 days a week again so we are taking advantage of the time we have together. Afterwards we went to LMC to drive RC cars and got home around 8pm exhausted.

Pseudo-reality TV

Danny is posting. I had been sober of reality TV for a while, and recently, I got infected by the bachelorette. But now that I've let that off my chest, this season is getting exciting because they've kicked off the weirdos but kept on those whose only purpose is to stir up drama.

Then, this morning, I read that last season's bachelor Jake Pavelka and his pickle woman Vienna have split up. That's no surprise. She was bad. But even John DeLorean was duped by a vile woman who masked her evil insides, admitting that acting nice was almost impossible sometimes. Ah, reality TV. So who's gonna win? Who cares? I probably do.

Joy School Graduation

Scott Graduated from Joy School. We had a great time doing Joy School. The group included us, Harrison and Laura, Zoe and Amy, Jack and Tara and Kate and Jenny. It was so much fun. Way better than I expected. The curriculum is so cute. The kids enjoyed doing it and I loved getting to know the other moms so well. It is amazing how if you have something planned each week with the same group you really get to know the moms and kids so much better. Scott is excited for Pre-K next year and it will be good for him. He really likes going places and doing things with other people. He is also just started to really enjoy learning. I am going to miss having him around as much as I did this year but know it will be good for him and for me to have some alone time with Tyler and Kira. I am planning on doing Joy school next year with Tyler and really excited about it. I would love to do it with each of my kids. It is a perfect pre-school. Here are some pictures of their little graduation. We had a great time doing a little ceremony, playing and eating. So cute and fun!

Elli Turns 2

We had a great time celebrating Elli's 2nd Birthday by the pool! Great friends, great food and great fun! Can you get any cuter than this....

Daily Sports Link

My brother-in-law, Jason, has started the coolest sports page. Check it out and pass it along. He worked really hard on getting a site together that includes all the sports news someone would want.....AMAZING JASON!!!

Please visit: DailySportsLink.com

Great Day

I would just like to announce for the record that the entire family went the entire day happy. Can it get any better than that? I went to Kris's for lunch and a playdate and got to sit with two amazing woman who I admire and give me so much great mommy wisdom since they have 4-5 kids each that range from newborn to middle schoolers. While the boys played, we just sat and talked and I left a better person. Thanks Monica and Kris!! Did I mention that Scott and Tyler played so nicely.

Afterwards, we met my sister and Paris to go swimming at Woodlands and the boys had a great time and told me they were ready to leave just in time for me to go to work. By the time I left the pool I was filled to the brim with more mommy wisdom. If anyone knows Heather and Paris, you know they are the kindest and most loving people in the world who would do anything for their fiends. I am sooo lucky to have such great friends!!! Perfect day, great friends and happy children....bliss!!

Kira at Work

I take Kira to work with me and she is an absolute angel. At practice she stays in my baby bjorn and you wouldn't even know she was there. She lays in my fold out chair and enjoys her days at swim meets. It is fun to just have one on one time with her to hold and smile at in between races. Here are a couple of kids at our last meet at UOP. This is the pool where I went into labor with Scott. One of the moms commented the other day about what an awesome job to be able to bring an infant to. So true. Scott lived on the deck until he just wanted to dive into the pool. I really am blessed with such a great job that allows me to be mom during the day and coach at night. I love what I do and feel blessed to be part of such a great team!

Monday Artwork

Scott really likes doing art projects and creating things. He likes painting, coloring, playing with play-doh, cooking and anything he can work on. Here were his two projects for the day.

The bishop project. Yesterday we got a new Bishop. Bishop Bohne is such a great man and has an amazing wife. He is going to do a great job leading our ward family and I couldn't think of a more perfect bishop for our ward. Anyway, this morning Scott was wondering whose house I was returning books to and I told him, "the new Bishop". When we left he said out of no where, "mommy, we need to write the bishop a letter and tell him how much we love him." I am sure the idea came from church yesterday when Scott wrote a letter to the old Bishop telling him thank you for being his Bishop. So we got home, I printed out a paper that said, "I am grateful for....and Scott wrote "My Bishop" with the p the wrong way. I love when kids are learning to write their letters. It is so cute how they write and try so hard. He drew a picture of the street and the temple for him which were such cute ideas. He loves drawing temples probably because he likes building them with blocks. On the back I asked him what he wanted to tell the Bishop and he said, "Bishop, Thank you for being my bishop. I love you Bishop. Perro, that means dog. That's it. Love, Scott." How cute and funny is that!! Perro??...Where did that come from? When I repeated Perro my son corrected my accent. How funny is that. He than told me he could teach the Bishop Spanish if he needed to learn. Luckily, Bishop served his mission in Peru.

He learned the letter "R" in joy school.

Boys 1st Teeth Cleaning

Scott and Tyler did a great job getting their teeth cleaned. They were actually jealous when it was the others turn and wanted it to be their turn. The perks of having your daddy be a dentist is getting your teeth scaled in bed. I don't think the bed provides great ergonomics for Dan. Here are some before and after shots.

Harrison Birthday Party and More on Scott's Emotions

Harrison turned 4 and we celebrated at the park. Harrison is such a great friend to Scott and Laura is such a great friend to me. We really are so lucky to have such great friends!

The past month, I have come to terms that Scott is going to have one emotionally traumatizing experience a day. Understanding him has been on my mind lately. He found a rolly-polly, let a friend take care of it and it accidently went home with her. Mommy lesson #1...when Scott asks me to take care of his animal, I will not suggest he find a friend to pet-sit. My brilliant idea backfired. He is my very emotionally sensitive child. We continue to work on learning to deal with gigantic emotions. Danny said the stage might end in his 20's when it ended for him. Sad, but true. Danny has the McMillan trait of being a sensitive person which Scott acquired. Two worlds and families collide when you get married. I tend to be the child of New Yorkers. I think, "that is no big deal" when everything is a big deal to him. I am learning to think differently and try to be sensitive to his needs. When Danny and I pray about helping these emotional moments we feel just to love him. Love is truly to cure to all!

Being emotional isn't a bad thing. After the party Scott, Tyler, Kira and I sat on a blanket under a tree for over an hour which rarely happens. We had no distractions and "relaxed" as Scott quoted. It was so nice to talk and enjoy each other. Scott was so cuddly and loving. Each night Scott loves me to lay in his bed. He tells me how much he loves me, "I love you as much as the water in the sea or more than the stars in the sky or as much as the tallest building." It is very cute and he is very creative. Tonight he asked when I was going to have another baby and I told him not until he wanted and probably not for a while. He said he wanted another baby now because he loves Baby Kira so much and she is so cute.

I blame his over-sensitive self lately on her. Change isn't good for any four year old. He is a great brother but holds things in. He worries about Tyler so I try not to talk about health issues around Scott. I can't imagine how he internalizes everything with Danny, Carl and Tyler. The little man has been through more than most people go through in their lifetime watching Danny in bed for 3 months and in pain everyday, Tyler's surgeries, me dissapearing during them, and Carl dying. Scott gives me the best hugs and kisses and always wants me to be happy. Today I was telling him how lucky he was to have such a great teacher at Joy School and what a good mommy Tara is to Jack and he said, "yea, but you are the best mommy." How quick your children are to tell you that they love you and love you being their mom. And that makes life as a mother all worth it.

Finally Swimming Weather

My sister joined Woodlands Pool this year so we all went over to enjoy the semi-nice Memorial Day Weather. We are looking forward to many days at the pool this year. Hopefully it will get warm soon. The weather in May would be 70's one week and cold and rainy for two weeks which was starting to get depressing. Tyler swam with Danny and talked about going swimming with Daddy for about three days afterwards. He usually gets too cold, but the water was nice and warm. It took Scott about 20 minutes to get used to the water again and before I knew it he was showing me his big arms, jumps and breathes. Roman loves the water and I had fun dunking the little man under the water and seeing him come up with a smile on his face.

Kira's Smiles

This little bundle is melting our hearts. As soon as she sees us in the morning or wakes up from her naps she gives us the biggest, warmest smiles that fill us with joy. It is as if her whole self lights up with happiness. She opens her mouth wide, squeals this happy, tiny, high pitched little squeal as if saying "I love you and am so happy that you are my parents." The bottom picture shows how her smile takes over her entire body. It is so fun to see her and Danny together. They look so much like each other. I love it!! We love her!! She continues to be such a sweet, easy baby. She really only cries if she is hungry, tired or needs to be changed. She is so quiet, such a little girl and so petite. She has such a sweetness about her which I love.