Don't Go Daddy!

This morning when Kevin left for week both of the kids didn't want to let him go. Daddy gave his usual round of kisses and then went to leave and both of the kids burst into tears. Myla lunged for him from my arms and Cade went to the couch and cried. So Kevin gave the kids another round of hugs and kisses. It was a sweet moment and I had to grab my camera. Daddy left for work and both kids continued to cry for several minutes. I know it breaks Kevin's heart to leave when they are crying. It's hard to be so loved.

The Shootings in VA

I've been somewhat addicted to the news reports of the shootings at Virginia Tech--not because I have a morbid curiosity of what happened, who died, who did it and why--but because I am gripped with this fear for the future of our kids. I guess I want some answers. How do I prepare my children to live in this world? Our world is becoming increasingly violent. Places we thought were safe are becoming battlegrounds. I realize that as far as countries go, we are relatively safe. We don't have to worry about bombs or insurgents or radical soldiers. We really don't have to worry about if we are going to eat. We don't see blood on the streets. However, that makes it worse when things like the shootings in Virginia happen. This isn't supposed to happen here. So what do I do? Do I keep my children close to me and never let them go anywhere? Do I homeschool? Do I carefully select every one of their friends for them? Do I not let them out of my sight ever? And if I do, can I even protect them? I have struggled with these questions often since I became a parent. But even as I type them I know that the answer to every one of those questions is NO. Someday our kids will have to live in the real world. They will have to interact with people and develop "survival" skills on their own. Do I protect them as long as I can or do I allow them to develop those skills that are need to live in this world while they are young? The thought that keeps coming back to me as I struggle with these thoughts is to have faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Let the Savior be your 'lead' in life. He has said, 'I am … the Rock of Heaven … ; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall.' The Redeemer will safely lead you over the most difficult obstacles of life. His laws are absolutely secure anchors of protection that dispel fear and assure success in an otherwise dangerous world. Such a life will certainly provide you peace and happiness."

We know that the world is only going to get worse. We know that there are terrible things to come. But if we teach our children in the ways of the Lord, if we teach them about Jesus Christ and the atonement, if we teach them how to communicate with Heavenly Father through the Spirit, if we teach them to be good people, and if we teach them to have faith in themselves and in the Lord then they can effectively deal with anything they experience. They will know where to find peace in a chaotic, violent world. And as parents, if we do the same thing, in the end, everything will be okay. We can't control what happens in the world, but we can control how we deal with it. I don't think life was meant to live in fear and anxiety.

Now that I've typed this out I feel so much better. The unsettledness in my heart has lessened. I know that, with help, I can do this immensely intimidating job of parenting in today's world. I guess I just needed to get it out. Thank you. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the terrible occurance yesterday in Virginia.

UPDATE:
While I was glued to the news earlier this week, now I am officially boycotting it. The media has officially taken this tragedy and turned it into a three-ring, let's capitalize on other people's pain, overdone circus. It's sickening. Really.

Loving Cade & Myla --So Easy to Do!

I was tagged to write six things I love about my significant other. Since I just told you 11 things I love about Kevin last month, I thought I'd do Cade and Myla instead. I hope thats okay Jill! :)Cade:
1. Cade has the most amazing smile. It brightens up the whole room. Kevin and I will do almost anything to see Cade smile. Lucky for us, he doesn't keep his smiles to himself.

2. Cade is such a polite boy. He always says "thank you" when he receives something or gets to do something (even if I let him flush the toilet!) He always says "thank you" like he's just been given the most wonderful thing in the world. It makes me want to give him the world.

3. Cade is such a good big brother. He gives Myla hugs and kissies and will even fall down to make her laugh. When she cries he brings her a blanket or a toy. He just recently started calling her Lala. That is an improvement because before he'd only call her Baby.

4. Cade is a look-before-you-leaper. Whenever we go somewhere new or get something new Cade will stand on the sidelines and watch for a while before he participates. He is very cautious and needs to be comfortable with the activity first. I'm sure this is something I will continue to appreciate as he becomes a teenager!

5. Cade LOVES trains. He loves, loves, loves them. Sometimes its all he'll talk about. When we go to the library he can always find the train books. He can hear the train that runs near Main from our house. It's amazing to me. When he hears the "choo choo" he'll stop what he's doing and shout, "Choo choo train, Mommy!" It's quite adorable.

6. Cade loves to love. Sometimes he will bring me to tears when he'll run up to me out of the blue, give me a kiss, and then run back to whatever he is doing. He is very affectionate and loving.




Myla:
1. Myla has the brightest, bluest, most inquisitive eyes. She has a way of studying you as if she's trying to figure you out just by looking at you. Then, a moment later, those same eyes can become friendly and flirty. Yes, I am a little worried about this feature when she hits the teenage years. :)

2. Myla's laugh is adorable. I remember the first time she laughed. I was sitting on the floor with her, with my legs extended. Cade was running by and tripped on my leg and fell down. Myla busted out with this giggle that wouldn't stop. So Cade kept tripping and falling just to hear her laugh.

3. Myla loves to cuddle. She loves physical contact. Even if I'm just holding her while walking around she'll put her cheek to my cheek and rest there -- or she'll rest her head on my chest when we are sitting. It is the best feeling in the world to cuddle my baby.

4. Myla can get around!! She isn't crawling yet, but this girl can move. She rolls, she scoots, she moves her bum, then swings her legs around. She's got it figured out. When she see something she wants, she gets it!

5. Myla loves her Daddy. She is such a Daddy's girl. If Daddy dares to come in the door and kiss Mommy first, she throws a little fit. She's happy if she's in Daddy's arms. It's very sweet.

6. Her chubs. I LOVE Myla's chubby arms, legs, and cheeks. I love to pinch them, squeeze them, nuzzle them. She's just so squishy and I love it!

Tag, you're it!! What are six things you love about your significant other or another loved one?

McMillan Madness

Life is never dull when we go see the McMillans. We have such a good time that we have a hard time leaving. We really appreciate all the effort the Utah McMillans put into showing us a good time and making us feel comfortable. We know we are a lot of work! :)

Uncle Paul is one of Cade's favorite people. He really gets down and plays with the kids. It's really fun to watch. Cade calls him Poll. It's cute.

Is Ryan lifting a camper all by himself?? Wow!

Cade and Aiden are partners in crime. They get along so well. Cade can't quite say Aiden, so he calls him Annie. It's really cute to watch them play together. They love playing with cars! They had fun finding eggs together.

Grandma, Wendy, and Ryan
Grandma set up Grandma's Easter Fun House. We got to color eggs, decorate cookies, find eggs, eat dinner, feed the "goggies," watch movies...anything we wanted. It was tons of fun.
Doesn't Wendy look hot in the cowgirl hat?

One of the most exciting parts of the trip was meeting Baby Oliver. He is so sweet and little! He is such a cutie-face. This is Aubrey's "I'm a serene mom" face.

Grandpa and Myla got to hang out a lot. We got to stay with Kevin's Dad and Lynn. We had a lot of fun. One benefit to having so many parents and grandparents is that there are more people to love, and more people to love us. We are sure blessed!

Hey, you've got to have one "I'm taking a picture of you taking a picture of me" picture. Lynn and Hailey stepped up for this one!

Road Trip to Utah

Driving to visit Kevin's family in Utah is something we both look forward to and dread. We can't wait to see our family and are so excited to get there, but the trek can be, well, dreadful. This time we decided to split the trip up into two days, and it proved to be so much easier on us and the kids. It was really fun!

Right now, Cade is really into trains and he loves to look at books. We went to the library and checked out choo choo train books and he spent hours looking at them on the road. That is one way in which he takes after me!

Myla was sweet as could be. She didn't fuss too much and always responded with smiles and laughter when Kevin or I went in the back and played with her. I have to say, we LOVE the mini van. We've done the trip in an SUV and a car, and it is so much better in a mini van. So say what you want about how lame our mini van is, we love her! (We named her Miss Frizzle.)

I drove most of the first day, thanks to some allergy medication Kevin took. But the second day and on the way back Kevin drove most of the way. I think he was feeling a bit guilty.







Nice self portrait of me in the passenger seat.








Only a couple of hours away from Salt Lake!

A Little McMillan Montage

I probably spent way too much of my day uploading pictures and organizing them into the little montage above. I probably should have been vacuuming or fixing dinner. Instead I browsed through pictures and marvelled at my little family. Definitely more fun. If you want to do one of your own it's easy. The website is www.onetruemedia.com.

My Joy is Full

Have you ever had one of those moments where the world is perfect and you have so much joy and love in your heart you feel you could burst? For me they happen out of the blue...very unexpectantly, almost as if God is giving me a little nudge. I was blessed enough to have two of those moments today.

The first happened when I was holding Myla in my arms and patting my hand lightly against her mouth so she could make the little "buh-buh-buh" noises she loves so much. She gave me a big smile and looked at me with those big, blue, trusting, innocent eyes and my heart literally stopped a moment and felt ready to burst with love and happiness. I love moments like that.

The second happened later in the evening after Kevin had come home from work and we had eaten dinner. Kevin had one kid on each leg and was giving them a horsie ride while singing the theme song to Bonanza. Once again that overwhelming, bursting feeling overcame me and I had to hold back my tears.

I am so blessed I could just burst.

Do the Zoo!

We went to the Phoenix Zoo on Friday with Nicki, Jared and Connor. We had so much fun! It was perfect weather. The day before it had rained all day and everything was so fresh and cool. The animals were out and about and we loved watching them!
This is Cade chowing on some string cheese and checking out the elephants.
A family pic in the jungle.
Cade and Jared driving a tractor on the animal farm.
Myla and Connor hanging out in a wagon.

A Day in the Life of Us

Cade has become such a big helper. He is always so willing to throw away dirty diapers, put away his toys, and feed Myla. Now if we could only get him to do dishes and fold laundry. :)
Our mission in life right now is to get Myla to crawl.

She wants to...we can see it in her eyes. So we practice every day.
She's so squishy and cuddly. Which one you ask? Well, I guess both of us!
This is a daily...no, hourly...activity for Cade. I will have just put all the pillows back on the couch and Cade will throw them all off, climb up on the arm of the couch and jump off. He loves doing it. It used to give me a heart attack, but this kid is surprisingly athletic and has become quite a thrill seeker. Watch out world!!

Just For Fun

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Oliver Has Arrived!

At 8:00 this morning I got a wonderful phone call from my lovely sis-in-law Aubrey to announce that she had her baby boy! Oliver Slade McMillan was born last night, March 12th, 2007 at around 9:00pm. He weighed in at around 7 lbs 7 oz and is healthy and beautiful!
From what Aubs and Ryan have said, and from the pics we see, Oliver looks a lot like Aiden, his older brother. We are so happy for Ryan and Aubrey and can't wait to meet Oliver in person!! Only 3 1/2 more weeks until Easter--then we will be heading to Utah to meet the newest addition to the McMillan family!

Is Star Wars Obsession Genetic?

Like father, like son...isn't that what "they" say? In our case, there couldn't me a more true statement. Cade's name should be Kevin Junior. Recently he has discovered Star Wars and has become rather obsessed with it (sigh). It makes his father proud and his mom watch with reluctant amusement. Often times the first thing Cade will say when he wakes up in the morning is "Dar Wars?" He loves the music (which he sings along to), he loves his toy light sabers, he loves watching Daddy play his Star Wars games on the computer. His most recent discovery is Daddy's Star Wars Lego collection (which is fairly extensive). Last night Kevin and Cade spent hours assembling various Lego creations.
Even Myla got in on the action. Mostly she just tried to swipe the Lego pieces, so Kevin gave her the box to tide her over. It worked for a while.
This is the final masterpiece. Kevin informed me it is a Tie Interceptor. As I type this Kevin and Cade are playing with already put together Lego Star Wars planes. Cade is flying them around with his little two-year-old sound effects, which mostly just sound like spitting, but are cute nonetheless.

Spring is in the Air

February and March in Arizona is heavenly. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the smells of flowers and trees blooming are in the air. I love it! And I love spending time outdoors. Today Cade, Myla and I went to the McCormick Train Park in Scottsdale with a play group from our ward. We had such a good time! Cade loves climbing all over everything and watching the train go by. But when it came time for us to take a ride on the train, Cade didn't want to go. So we went on the carousel instead. Myla loved that as well. We came home exhausted and just a little sunburnt. We had great fun. Say what you want about Arizona (Kevin likes to say it's a million acre catbox) but the sweet smells of the desert in spring ALMOST make the 8 months of summer seem less hellish. Spring is why we live in Arizona.

10 Things I Love About Kevin

1. He sleeps like a mummy--with his hands crossed over his chest. He claims he has to do this because I take up the rest of the bed.

2. He is so helpful with the kids and around the house--and I don't even have to ask him! He seems to have a 6th sense about when I need help or what needs to be done.

3. He loves projects! However, most of them are in his head trying to come out. He'll spend hours drawing out his project in AutoCAD, only to realize that, between working full-time, going to school, and being a dad and hubby, he just doesn't have time to do much else.

4. Kevin has a very soft heart. He rejoices in other people's happiness and cries with them in their pain. I learned this very early on in our friendship.

5. Kevin secretly wants to be a superhero. What he doesn't realize is that he already is.



6. Kevin has an infinite amount of patience. He has never raised his voice at me or the kids. He'll teach me to do the same thing over and over again without any sign of irritation.

7. Kevin likes things tidy and organized. Everything has a place, and it should be in that place.

8. He considers himself a nerd, but I know a little boy and a baby girl who think he's the coolest person that ever walked the earth.

9. Kevin can lose 15 lbs in two days when he is sick. That, in turn, makes me sick. :)

10. Kevin often sacrifices what he wants for those he loves. And he does it with a smile on his face.

Wait!! There's another thing I love about Kevin:

11. He has the cutest freckles on his nose that you really don't notice until you get up close. Lucky me, I get to be up close pretty often. :)

Alright Already Mom!!

All I was trying to do was get a picture of Daddy feeding Myla a chunk of banana. This little eight month old would stop and pose for me with this squinty-eyed smile she does. Everytime I took the picture she was squintily smiling. It was so funny. I took at least eight pictures.

Finally she just gave me this look like, "Come on Mommy, I'm tired of the flashing. Please let me eat in peace." So I did. This little girl has so much personality. She makes all of us laugh. It's safe to say she has Kevin, Cade and me wrapped around her chubby little finger.

Myla's New Ride

Aunt Nicki loaned Myla a walker. At first Myla didn't like to hang out in it, because that meant that Mommy or Daddy wasn't holding her. But now she digs it. Yesterday she hung out in it and watched Caders go up and down the slide. She giggled and laughed. She thinks her brother is the coolest person in the world.

Sweet Siena is Here!

The happy Olson family!
Grandma Janine, Mommy Michelle, Baby Siena
Uncle Kevin singing to Baby Sienna

Siena Michelle Olson was born on February 14th, 2007--a Valentine baby! Last night we met Baby Siena for the first time. The Olsons are very good friends of ours. Well, actually, Michelle and Kevin are cousins, and we got to be good friends with them when they moved down to AZ so Jared could go to Midwestern University in Glendale. They are awesome! We were so excited to meet little Siena. She is adorable! Michelle and Jared are very happy. Kevin's Aunt Janine (Michelle's mom) was down, so it was great to visit with her too. Congrats Michelle and Jared on the sweet addition to your family!

Valentine's Day Fun

Today Cade and Mommy made heart cookies together. Cade LOVED using the cookie cutters. But he also liked taking turns. He would use the cookie cutter a couple of times, then hand it to Mommy and say, "Your turn Mommy." He was very sweet. He was so excited to see the cookies go on the pan, then come out of the oven.
He also LOVED spreading flour everywhere and using the roller. In fact, I had a hard time getting him to stop spreading flour everywhere, even after we were finished making the cookies. :)
Cade's ultimate favorite, though, was eating his creations. There is a method to it. First, he licks all the icing off.
Second, he shoves as much of the cookie in his mouth as his can.
And lastly, he gives Mommy a big satisfied smile and says, "Shank Shoo Mommy." Translation: "Thank you Mommy." What a perfect Valentine's day treat!

Where's Cade?

So today Kevin and I were putting groceries away and we turn around and there is Cade climbing into the cupboard. We were surprised at how far he had gotten in.

We didn't know what he was doing until...
Kevin opened the other cupboard and saw Cade playing with his car.

Cade loves to "zoom zoom" his car anywhere he can.
What an adorable kid!

Birthday at the Park

Four generation shot, Marianne, Myla, Eunice, Christie
Uncle Richard and Uncle David playing with Cade. Breck, Uncle Jared and Jared looking on.
Emma, the Birthday Girl! Isn't she the cutest?!

Saturday we went to the park to celebrate Emma's fourth birthday. She is such a sweet girl and is growing up so fast. She got lots of princess and Barbie stuff for her birthday. Everyone had a good time playing on the toys. Uncle Richard and Uncle David did a great job entertaining all the little ones. It was a nice, sunny day--perfect for a party!

Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired!

The past week the flu bug has circulated among our family. We're not quite sure where it began, but we are hoping it ends with us. Many of our extended family are sick as well. Kevin missed two days of work this week and the kids have been feeling icky. This picture of Daddy and Myla camping out on the couch was too sweet to pass up, both of them comforting each other. Kevin went back to work today and the kids' flu has turned into a cold, so they are dripping like little faucets. I feel so bad for them. It seems like they have been sick the entire winter. But according to the doctor, it's normal for this time of year. I know that they are sure sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!