I love Juicy Juice!

A couple weeks ago I signed up to be part of a Juicy Juice Moms Panel to provide my input on all things Juicy Juice. Unfortunately I was not selected to be part of the panel, but they said I could apply to host a JJ party. So we DID get accepted for that and received all this free stuff that made our usual "family dinner" extra fun. I've always been a fan of JJ since it's 100% juice and all, but now they make products with Immunity boosters and DHA for brain development... sounds pretty good to me! The kids (and adults) loved the new juices, btw...

So we hosted our party on Saturday and the weather was BEAUTIFUL!! It was warm, but not hot, and sunny with just enough breeze. All winter long, we've been cramming our group of 8+ adults and a bunch of kids into our modest homes saying "Can't wait until the weather warms up so these kids can go crazy outside..." Well, we learned this weekend that the whole "outside" thing is kind of over-rated. For one, instead of having a well contained mess, it is now spread all over the house AND the front yard. Additionally, our house becomes MUCH dirtier when the party begins outside because everyone tracks dirt into the house by either going to the bathroom or kitchen. And, speaking of dirt, everyone (especially the kids) got very, very dirty.


One kid in particular found himself VERY dirty. Of course, it's my kid. Brody LOVES being outside. Unfortunately for me, he is a magnet for dirt. He loves to play in it, eat it, roll in it, whatever. So on Saturday, Brody was crawling around the yard doing his part to be the dirtiest kid when Jacob decided to help him. I was inside at the time working on dinner and Kyra and Janet informed me that they suddenly heard Brody laughing and giggling like crazy. They turned around to see what was so funny and found Jacob pouring shovelfuls of dirt and sand on top of Brody. And Brody loved it. He couldn't get enough. Thought it was hilarious (as did Jacob). It was at that moment that Brody earned the nickname "Pig-Pen", you know from Peanuts? There was no hope for him either, only a bath was going to get him clean again so I made him stay dirty like that until we went inside. And then he made our bathtub appear as though we were giving the dog a bath :\



All in all though it was a great night. We had tons of fun and we also found a new appreciation for days and nights when the weather is not suitable for outdoor parties!

Other things going on...



Jacob is doing pretty well with his recovery. The first couple nights were rough. He would try to turn or move in the night and it would cause him a lot of pain. I would go get him and then he would request that I rock him. Unfortunately, the only rocking chair is in Brody's room so I spent a few nights being very jealous of Lisa having rocking chairs in each room (genius!) and contemplating a midnight remodeling project. Most of the day he is perfectly fine, occasionally he will forget and do something that causes him pain but luckily it's only momentary. We have a follow up appointment for tomorrow and we'll see if the doctor wants us to continue using the sling or not. Believe it or not, they say a fractured collar bone heals in 1-2 weeks, crazy!

The funny thing about last week was that Brody was being EXTRA cranky (teeth?) right up until Jacob got injured. Then he was suddenly chill. On Wednesday (the day after the break) I realized it was about 2 hours past Brody's usual nap time and I went to put him down. He started playing in his room while I was getting his bed ready and since he was playing so good, I just jumped on the laptop and waited for him to get whiny before I put him down. Next thing I know he crawls into my room, so I follow him into my room and continue on the laptop while he plays. I then realize I hadn't heard any noises from him for a few seconds and I look down and the poor kid was crashed out on the floor! He had his head flat down, right between his legs. It was adorable. I put him in bed beside me and watched him sleep peacefully for awhile... just melted my heart :).

Brody wearing Daddy's fire hat:

In other Brody news, I think he is getting very close to walking. He can now stand unassisted for huge lengths of time. I think he could take a few steps if he really wanted, but he is nervous. I think it is a lot like crawling... he knew how to do it for several weeks before he actually started doing it... so we'll see. Hopefully it will be any day now.

Jacob learned a new number last week: 14. We were eating some Easter candy and Jacob came up to me and asked me for a piece. I gave him one. After that was finished he came back up and asked for two. I gave him two. After those two were finished he comes up and asked for fourteen. I thought it was hilarious, but in a straight face I said "oh, okay" and counted out fourteen to see what he would do. His eyes got really big and the look on his face was like "JACKPOT" and he held his hands out to collect all the treasure! I then said "why don't we just do one at a time"... he agreed and I'm sure he was thinking "I knew it was too good to be true!". It cracked me up. He knows numbers 2-13, so I just found it so funny that he jumped to fourteen.

Aaron has been busy lately. If he is not out catching perch, he's been on-call for wildfire safety. Thankfully he hasn't been called out to any fires yet and the rain today (and yesterday) makes me think it won't be happening soon (hopefully).

Not sure if I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but the boys and I are headed to Florida with my mom for a week in 13 days (but who's counting?)! Aaron will be gone all week as well, planting fish for work. It will be a busy week, but should be fun. Debby and 7 month old Robert will be joining us for 4 nights and we will be visiting Magic Kingdom and Sea World. We also hope to fit in a visit with some old friends (and Florida locals). Can't wait!