Yesterday vs. Today

Yesterday...

Then the day that most mothers with a little girl face came to pass...

Eden took the scissors to her hair.

And I'm pretty sure she took a little chunk of Leila's hair too.

I should have been suspicious when Eden was sitting behind our recliner with scissors.

Even MORE suspicious when Leila went back there, then came to me with a distressed look on her face, tugging on her hair like someone had done something to it....

....like CUT IT.

It started out where I saw a little chunk of hair on the ground. I put Eden in time out.

As I went towards the scene of the crime, I kept finding more and more little chunks of hair. Quite a few "little chunks" of hair ended up a pretty decent sized chunk of hair.

Honestly, I probably could have spared cutting it SHORT. The chunks were in the front, probably hide-able. Even the hair stylist said that she could probably just tapper the front and spare the rest.

But being the mean mother I am....the lesson needed to be taught.

When I told her we had to cut her hair short, she panicked,

"NOOOO! I WANT LONG HAIR!"

Then she tried reasoning with me,

"I won't do it again. Its OK long. I only cut a little."

Then she tried to get rid of the problem....mom,

"Mom, you can't cut my hair because I'm going to sell you to the GYPSIES!"

Even as we traveled to the salon she tried to delay the inevitable,

"I think the salon is closed today."

And then.... *snip snip*

Today...

Although, in the end, I'm probably crying more on the inside than she is.

Things the pictures don't say....

1. Her hair yesterday was in my "experimental side french braid" and had been that way all day long, though a nap, and by the time those pictures were taken...her hair was a bit scraggly.

2. Her hair in TODAY's looks all cute and sweet. But really it only looks that way if her hair is behind her ears....which she can't do by herself and thus is hardly EVER behind her ears.

Overall, its OK.

We survived.

It could have been MUCH worse.

But I hope Eden NEVER does it again.

And maybe I'll luck out....and Leila won't ever try to cut her own hair.

.....maybe....

Then again, Leila could really use a haircut right about now...

Perhaps Eden was on to something.

Women's Conference

What a wonderful breath of fresh air.

Just take it all in.

*Inhale in....Exhale out*

Ahhhh. Wonderful.

I forget how fabulous conference time is. I was so glad that I could go listen to women's conference tonight. It just re-opened my eyes to life and made me feel happy inside.

A peek at what you missed if you didn't attend:

Julie B. Beck talked on the importance of women in the church and the Relief Society as a whole, as well as the importance of visiting teaching and to truly love and care for those you teach.

Silvia Alred talked on charity. The thing that made me think was when she talked about charity not being an ACT but a STATE of BEING to have with you always.

Barbara Thompson talked about cleaving to your covenants. There is so much joy, strength, and comfort that can be given to you if you cleave to your covenants.

Deiter F. Uchtdorf talked about the 5 petals of the "forget me not" flower. 1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. 2. Forget not to sacrifice things that are good for things that are better. 3. Forget not to be happy now. 4. Forget not the "why" of the gospel (remembering the gospel not as an obligation but as a joy, guidance, and pathway). 5. Forget not that God loves you.

Women's conference really made me think about what I should be doing to better myself. It gave me that push in the right direction. Knowing the things I should be focusing on in my life and letting go of the things that, in the end, aren't that important.

If you couldn't attend, go online and read it or listen to it when it is available. Get that breath of fresh air.

This post is short and sweet...very sweet.

Another Vacation

This time we left Tyson in Colorado for two weeks to romp and play in St. George, Las Vegas, and California.

He was lonely. Sorry Tyson...work, work.

We did a lot of things and seemed busy the entire time. Below are a few posts of a few events we did while in California.

First, Second, and Third Time at the Beach

My Children's FIRST Visit to the Beach

This is the furthest they got into the water.

Then they both got scared, fell in the water, and cried....a lot.

My Children's SECOND Visit to the Beach

Eden really wanted to play in the sand, but FAR away from the water.
It was much more fun with cousins to play with.
And she loved catching sand crabs and watching them dig back into the sand.
Leila didn't want anything to do with the water. She was content digging.
And chasing birds.

My Children's THIRD Time at the Beach

We only went to fulfill McKell's dream of riding around in one of these family bikes.

It was high tide and there was a part of the beach where the water hit clear to the end where the rocks were. Eden was afraid that the horrible water was taking over all the fun sand parts of the beach. But then we found a small park and it didn't seem to matter that much what level the tide was at.

We did also go on the pier and just walked around one time. We enjoyed that as well, but I didn't get any pictures.

Deep Sea Fishing

Most of the kids spent time down below watching movies. Eden fell asleep on Kenji's lap. (Hi Leila!) Leila didn't sleep a wink....
My brother rented an entire boat to go deep sea fishing as a family. I love deep sea fishing. (Although several members of my family didn't share that same "love" as they spent half of the time throwing up overboard and the other half trying to sleep away the entire experience.)

It was much harder fishing with children. We went from 6 pm to 10 pm and lots of fish were caught. Not by ME particularly. I caught two that were deemed too small and had to be thrown back into the ocean. Eden tried to reel in one fish, but it got loose.

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

This was a fun activity for all the kids. Creating your own water way for boats to float down. I wish I had more pictures of the other activities they had going on. They had a teeter totter and stationary bikes and cranks that you could move and it would start a fountain of water. You could also go inside a diver's cage and take pictures inside the mouth of a (pretend) shark. There were also stations you could dress up and try to camouflage yourself to blend with the ocean. It was lots of fun and I would have taken more pictures...except my camera was running low on battery.

When Inside Your House is a Disastrous Mess....Go Outside

.....and play robots.

(Included: 1 Cereal Box made bodysuit, "Syndrome's Remote" wristband, and 2 Anklets)

(I even made buttons and button holes...proud moment)

Eden named it "the Di Vinci Robot"

(apparently she's been listening to her dad's excited raving of the new technology available to doctors)

Then build a city.

(Eden's house equipped with swing set and flying car, Mom's house equipped with a splash pad, a happy sun, several clouds, and a rain cloud with umbrellas. No, she didn't draw all of it, it was a dual effort.)

Have a picnic.

Go on a dragon hunt.

And no day seems complete to my kids unless there's time for rock collecting.

Then after procrastinating all I could, I went back inside to reality...and cleaned the house. *bleh*