Parenting Training

While our good friends Brandon and Liz went on a cruise without us (jerks!), they asked us to watch their two adorable boys (Danny, 15 months and Taevin, 3 1/2) for a few days while they're gone. It's been a little crazy, but all in all it's been pretty fun. They're really good boys, and so so cute.

We got them on Friday after Bryce took Brandon and Liz to the airport. I had school all day Friday (literally all day, I got done at 9:30 pm) so Bryce took care of them by himself all day. I was so proud, especially since he doesn't have much experience babysitting and Danny was sick with an ear infection.

Saturday morning, Bryce played football and then worked at a wedding in the early evening, for I was by myself for most of the day. They were almost perfect angels and took 3 1/2 hour naps! The only major mishap I had was when Danny decided to poop in the bathtub. That was fun...

We did surprisingly well at church today. I was worried about going to sacrament meeting with them, but Bryce took care of Danny and was so cute with him. It's so fun to watch Bryce interact with them, he's going to be a great dad some day. We ended up having to leave church a half hour early because Taevin was complaining that his ear hurt and was pretty fussy. He's usually a really happy boy so it was so sad to see him in pain. We brought him home, gave him some tylenol and put him down for a nap to see if he would start to feel better. When he woke up he was still pretty crabby so we called the pediatrician who said that the after hour center was closed so we made an appointment for tomorrow morning. Luckily he seems to be doing a lot better and was acting mostly normal after his nap. We'll see in the morning though.

Tomorrow we turn them over to another family for a few days and then get them again on Friday night until their parents get home on Saturday. It's been a really good experience to throw us into the parenting world for a few days. It makes me kind of excited to be a mom someday. Not for a while, but someday.

Brandon, Liz, Danny, and Taevin. Yes, I am aware that Brandon and Liz look like models. Sometimes it's hard to be friends with them. (jk, but seriously) My young women call them Barbie and Ken. They're awesome.

Where were you?

On September 11, 2001 I went to school just like any other day. While waiting for the first bell to ring, my best friend Hilary came up to me and said, "Did you hear what happened? A plane flew into the world trade center, they think it was terrorists." So began a day that I will never forget. I sat in my first period class (Mr. Elzey's freshman biology class) and instead of doing our usual "bird, the word, and the barometer", we sat glued to the television. I remember watching the second plane hit the other tower, watching one by one as each tower fell, and being horrified at how someone could deliberately take away that many lives. Each class I went to we watched the news. The administration even put tv's in the hallways so that no one would miss a second of what was going on. After school I had a tennis match and I remember that there was such a different feeling towards my opponents. I don't remember who I played, or even if I won, that wasn't so important that day. In the days following, I remember there being such a sense of community and pride for our country. Everyone put aside their differences and were simply Americans. Nine years have passed since that fateful day, and somehow we've forgotten that feeling of togetherness that we felt immediately after the attacks. I sincerely hope that it won't take another tragedy to come together again. May we never forget the sacrifices made for our fellow Americans on that day and the sacrifices that our service men and women continue to make so that we can maintain the freedoms that we enjoy. God bless America.