Scorpion Hunting

Ever since I was little, my parents house has had a infestation with scorpions. I have been stung a few times as well has other people in my family. To combat the nasty little critters and to have some family fun, we would take our black light and go scorpion hunting in the backyard. My mom is quite a professional. I believe one summer she killed more than 100 of these little critters. For those that never been, it quite enthrilliating. The black light turns the scorpions a fluorescent green making them easy to spot. We would use long surgical tweezers to grab them by the tail and quickly put them in the jar to dispose of them later by various methods, some of which include, lighting them on fire, putting them down the disposal, or just smashing them. One time I fried some up with cooking oil and on a dare ate one.

The other night we were at my parents house and I thought it would be fun for us to go scorpion hunting. Addison participated at a very safe distance. We caught 3 all together, plus a cockroach and a moth. We took them back to the house and put a couple down the disposal and the other we sprayed it with a aerosol spay and lit it on fire (some may say that is inhumane, but so are these vile arachnidas).

Work, Boredom, and Mischief

kyle's last post was about us taking my sisters to efy. we have been staying at my parents house this whole week, since the day before we took the road trip to flagstaff. why? well because i am trying to get a photography business up and started. i use this nifty program called photoshop to make cool edits to the pics i take before i give them to my clients. one problem. since this program is so complex and heavy duty, it has crashed my laptop three times. rewind with me to that time in february when kyle bought me my laptop. he gave it to me so i could run this business from home, or anywhere i wished to take it. fast forward to present time, three crashes, and a whole lot of frustration later; i choose to loose the tears and keep my hair. since the "at home" business plan hasn't been working out, i have brought work to my parents house. they have been great to let me take over they're computer and help out with addison.

hence kyle and i gone to my parents house for the past week. it was a long week. we have been so excited to be back home and actually stay the night. but i can't complain too much. because two of my sisters were at efy and the other two were farmed out to family, it wasn't too bad. i finished up my last two photo shoots at my parents house, but i have another one tonight. that means more editing at my parents. maybe i'll wait to start until tomorrow. give myself and my parents a day, you know?

can you spot who doesn't belong in this pic?

we did come home for a few hours on wednesday so i could go to mutual. we were so tired when we got home that we took showers and kyle conked out for a few hours with addison. i am so envious that he can fall asleep so fast no matter what is going on around him, even with the sun shining. i wanted to take a nap next to him so badly, but knew that if i did, i would never wake up. i was bored. no editing. nothing to eat. no one to talk to. so what do i do with time to kill? i look at kyle. he's spread out over the bed with his arms crossed over his chest and legs straight down over the covers. i look at his feet, touching the end of the bed and am jealous of them. mine are thick and plushy with stubby toes. his are more flat with long, narrow toes. i wish i had a girl version of those feet.
next thing i know, i am rummaging through the closet. i find what i am looking for and tiptoe to kyle. wives are scary when bored. making sure he is good and asleep, i start to paint his toenails pink. he never even moved! once i got done with one toe i went to the next and before long, he had ten perfectly pink toenails! with white flowers as the finishing touch, he had feet any girl would envy.

i decided not to tell him and see how long it would take for him to see it. i knew it wouldn't be long. every time he puts on his sandals he looks at his feet. he walks around barefoot in the house. how could he not notice? well i took some pics and waited. went to mutual, came home. went back to my parents house. (where he watched tv with his feet propped up on the ottoman in front of himself) edited more photos. waited. then he went to bed. thursday same story. he didn't ever see his toes. i was shocked. friday morning i was woken up by tickling fingers. kyle came from the bathroom laughing and tickling me asking when i painted his toenails. i told him and we had a good laugh. it is so funny how clueless he can be sometimes, not noticing white flowers on pink toenails! people, he walked around like that for TWO DAYS! hilarious!

when i told my parents, kenna heard and wanted to repaint his toenails a more noticeable red. kyle agreed as long as he got a foot rub from anyone who helped paint and he could remove it right away. unfortunately for him, it didn't work out the way he planned. his foot rub stopped short and he couldn't take the polish off when we had to suddenly hurry home with a fussy baby. so now he has red polish with with flowers. cute.

even better, home teachers come this morning. kyle put on baseball socks to hide his vibrant toes. because we're "out" of nail polish remover he will have to keep his toes painted for a while. (wonder how long it will take for him to notice that i lied...)

i took a close up pice while kyle was still sleeping. in the above pic, kyle's feet are the pair on the far right after we repainted them.

make sure to give him a hard time when you see him next. :)

Hi ho Hi ho To EFY We Go!

Alright! Alright! Alright! Alright! Alright! Alright! Hey!
Monday morning we took a little road trip up to Flagstaff to drop off Brittney's sisters at NAU to attend EFY. It was a really fun road trip and baby Addison's first! She did and excellent job. The whole way up she was entertained and spoiled by her two aunts Jalee and Hiedi. It brought back a lot of fun memories of EFY to Brittney as a 5 year participant and to me as a counselor.
I never attended as a youth because I thought it was for nerdy Mormon kids, but I repented of that thought and decided to become a counselor the second summer after my mission. It turned out to be an one of the best decisions of my life. I was going thru a recent breakup and had found out my mom had ovarian cancer, to say the least life was pretty difficult. I was pretty down and praying one day asking Heavenly Father what I should do with my life then it came to me, EFY. EFY was like serving my mission all over again. I loved teaching the youth about the gospel and hearing their testimonies. With youth like this being the future leaders of the church we are in good hands.
Each session I became closer to my fellow counselors. At nights we would all stay up late and sit in the halls telling stories about our missions, girlfriends, high school, and other stuff. I loved the talks from the session director, the dances, game night, pizza night, hangin with my boys, teaching lessons, cereal every morning, the cheezy cheers, and every minute of it. It was during EFY that I found the comfort and guidance that I was looking for. It was reemphasized that trials can be overcomed and bring spiritual strength.
The greatest blessing was that I was able to make a connection to that would lead me to my wife. In the picture below on the right is Michelle ( my future sister-in-law) and Tia on the far left (my cousin by marriage). Michelle was in my group (one of the best groups I had). After EFY Brittney I met once at a country dance. Later she was on Facebook and Michelle who happened to be next to her at the time saw my pic. Michelle told Brittney to say hi for me, so she did. Well, when I checked my facebook I saw this really cute girl that had said hi to me from Michelle. Here's our conversation.
Brittney: hey i am brittney mccleve. remember me? we met at the ysa dance a couple weeks ago. michelle mccleve (my sister) and tia brown (my cousin) were in your group at efy - flagstaff 1. michelle saw your picture on steve b.'s account and asked me to say hi for her. she says you're a really great dancer and she had so much fun!!!
Kyle: Hey birttany! Of course I remember you! Can I just say that Michelle and Tia were my favorites. That company I had in Flagstaff were probably my best so far. Right now I'm doing my last session here in cedar and then I'm back home. YEAH! but then again its kinda sad. EFY had been amazing! Well, when I get home we'll definitely have to go dancing, but i don't know why michelle says I'm a great dancer, because I'm really not. Tell her I said HI!
Brittney: michelle says to say "whatever" and that you are amazing! ( i don't know why she won't tell you all this herself, but she doesn't want a facebook) anyways, i hope you had a great time with your last efy session. which was your favorite campus? i just came back over the weekend from volunteering in my home ward to be staff for a trek. i had a blast. now i just have to recover from being sunburnt....
Kyle: Hi Brittany, well, right now I'm in southern Utah going camping and rock climbing! Woot Woot! EFY in Cedar City was a blast! I loved SUU's campus and I had great companies. All in all it was a wonderful experience. That it really cool that you went on a pioneer trek. That sounded really fun not to mention your pretty hard core for pulling a handcart in a dress. I bet that was a awesome experience. So...anyway.... I was..uhh..wondering if I could get your phone number to ask you on a date or something. I know you probably think its pretty lame to ask for a phone number over facebook, but don't think I'm a lame guy(Michelle could probably back me and tell you what a stud and classy guy I am, or she'll tell you I'm just crazy)
Brittney:i love camping!! i am so jealous! as for rock climbing, i do that too, but i am terrified of heights, so not so much. sounds like you had a blast being a counselor! i'm going to apply for this next coming summer - i can't wait! the pioneer trek was such an awesome experience! i was the phototgrapher and now i am putting together a slideshow for a fireside. so i asked michelle if you're a real stud, or if there's anything crazy about you like excessive drooling or anything and she thinks that if i just take a bib i'll be fine. :-p my cell is 480-290-####.


So I know asking for her phone number over facebook was pretty lame, but I was so super excited. Our first date was a blast! The second, even better! Next thing we know its this




I LOVE EFY!!!!!!!!!!!

Flash Back - Addison's First Laugh

today addison is four months old. how time flys! we have so much fun with her and her sweet personality. she is all smiles and is such a joy to have. if this video doesn't make you laugh or at least crack a smile, something is wrong with you!

Daddy's Little Girl

Judge: "Order in the court! Let the session proceed".

Bailiff: " Your Honor, I submit case number 285 McKay vrs. McKay. Both parents vouch that their little girl named Addison Grace McKay loves him or her more than the other. Mrs. McKay has accused Mr. McKay of lying because he says that Addison loves him more. They have come here to settle the matter once and for all."

Judge: "Thank you Bailiff. Let the plaintiff speak."

Plaintiff: (Brittney, birth mother of Addison): "Your Honor, it has come to my attention that the defendant (Kyle) thinks that Addison (Plaintiff points to baby girl) loves him more than me! Her own mother! I gave birth to the child for crying out loud!"

Judge: "Thank you Mrs. McKay. Giving birth is a great sacrifice on your behalf. Does the Defendant have anything to say?"

Defendant: (Kyle loving father, protector, and provider of Addison): "Yes your honor. May I say you look dashing in that robe... In my defense I submit the following proof before the court and jury(Defendant shows photographs). As you can see Addison loves me more than Brittney. Just look at her face. Obviously she is a "Daddy's girl" and will be one forever."(plus Brittney had an epidural while giving birth so she didn't feel a thing not to mention its an unfair advantage she has over me!)

Judge: "Thank you Mr. McKay. We will now let the jury decide the matter and reconvene here when they have their verdict. Court dismissed!"

(1 minute and 12.5 seconds later)

Judge: "Order! Order in the court! Jury, have you come to a decision yet?"

Jury spokesperson: "Yes your Honor. In the case McKay vrs. McKay we find the defendant........ not guilty!"

(Cheers and applauds erupting in the court room!)

Judge: " Order! Order! The matter is settled then. You are dismissed. Next case!"

You Live and You Learn

a mom was at her wit's end trying to stop her 4 year-old son from sucking his thumb. finally, she told him if he didn't stop, his stomach would grow very big and puffy.

the following sunday in church, there happened to be a very pregnant lady sitting in the same pew. the boy kept staring at her. when the meeting was over, he pulled at her arm and whispered, "Your stomach is big and puffy... I know what you`ve been doing!"

okay i admit it, i read this on another blog and used it. but i thought it was just so perfect. before i got married, i thought of binkys as a crutch. if they got lost then forget trying to put your kid to sleep or calm him down.

but then i started dating kyle. introduce his niece, maeli. she is an adorable little girl who loves to suck on her first two fingers. because they are wet when she pulls them out of her mouth, anything she touches sticks to her fingers, eventually ending up back in her mouth where she sucks them clean again. i have seen maeli do this over and over with the three cats that live at kyle's parent's house, which means she is eating the cat hair. poor girl. she might as well lick the cats. (for those that know me well, i do knot like to touch animals, and when i do, i immediately wash my hands when i am done. i hate smelling like an animal or wearing their fur. plus i HATE cats. cats + hair + mouth = so disgusting).

as a part of growing up, addison is finding her fingers.

can't let her get used to that. ps. isn't this a gorgeous pic? i could eat her. yum.

while addison's cousin is adorable, i don't want this to be a habit for addison as well. i think that maeli's parents have tried to stop her fingers from going in her mouth, but what can they really do? douse her fingers in hot sauce? no, then they have to bring the sauce everywhere they go. plus some kids like that stuff. bribe her? that never works more than a few times. we're talking about habits people, they take time to break. cut her fingers off? i think that CPS might have a problem with that. (there is also the possibility of kids sucking on their thumb. my dad did this until he was in fourth grade. i know, pretty sad. you run into the same problem of how to stop that too.)

so i had all these thoughts running through my mind when i had addison. i hate binkys like i said earlier, but i would rather have my children suck on something that is not connected to the rest of their body. plus binkys are something that i can eventually take away. i let you know how that goes, but i don't anticipate it being that hard.

note*(some kids are trained to never use anything, and you would think that this is clever, but i had to babysit for those kids growing up. when babies don't know how to soothe themselves and can't take a bink, they are a NIGHTMARE! maybe the parents delt just fine, but you gotta remember to think of the babysitter. you want them to come back right? just a thought...)*

again, like i said, i hate binkys. they are ugly and never match clothes. but i received some adorable binki clips *thank you casslyn* and found binkys at target that are completely clear - made by avent. PERFECT! i bought two. they are great with the clips and match everything. plus this brand is small, and with it also being clear, you can actually see addison's face. imagine that. i was told that i needed to buy several different kinds to see which addison would take. then i heard that my next baby might like a different kind. how ridiculous is that?! i would be swimming in binkys. nope. some other mom can hassle with all that stuff. only one kind for me thank you.

TO ALL NEW MOMS: introduce them early. your baby might have a hard time at first with the binki you choose, but stick with it. everything is new in the beginning. do you stop feeding solids to a baby that doesn't like it, or that doesn't know how to use his tounge yet? no. you keep trying and encouraging them and they learn.

all well. you live and you learn right?

Addison Just Chillin'

i took some pictures of addison in my parents backyard. she is a great model for the camera. these are some of our favs. enjoy!

Fossil Springs

(above: Me, Brittney, Jesse, and Michelle {who we nicknamed catsup and mustard})
it all started Monday night while were were eating dinner at Michelle and Jesse's house. i said to Jesse, "We should plan a trip to Fossil Springs." He replied, "We were thinking about going tomorow." so the next day we were off.

the hike down to fossil was beautiful. we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. it was overcast most of the day, with the sun coming out just a few times. it even sprinkled a little bit. it's about a four mile hike down to fossil and the four of us used the time to tell funny stories, tease eachother, and catch up on what we've all been doing.

when we finally reached the bottom, we were a little disappointed about the height of the water. earlier this year because of some accidents and fear of lawsuits, the dam was removed. this lowered the water level significantly above, but also created a beautiful waterfall and new pools to swim in below.

we found some good jumping cliffs and a beautiful pool enclosed in a cave. the water was a little cold, but after being in it for a few seconds the water became nice. we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming.

the hike out was a little harder since we were already tired and it was mostly uphill, but we made it.

we went over to pick up addison and brittney was one happy mom to see her. looks like next time we'll just have to take baby.

p.s. on the drive home when the b-line turned to power rd i didn't see where the speed limit changed. there was a motorcycle cop right there waiting and pulled me over. he asked me to step out of the car and did some type of test with his pen light. i had to follow the light with just my eyes while keeping my head still. he asked me several times if i had been drinking. i couldn't help but smile each time he asked. of course i told him that none of us had been drinking or ever taken a drink in our lives to which he politely replied, "bull s%@#." for some reason or another i didn't pass the light test so he made me take a breathalyzer test. of course i passed with flying colors. needless to say i didn't get a ticket. probably because he was such an idiot. just another funny experience to add to the list.

Me drinking out of the spring. The water tasted great!

Jesse and I doing some extreem cliff jumping.

Brittney's New Fathers Day Date

So what's with the title your probably thinking? Well in the McKay house Father's Day came early this year and it wasn't on purpose either. Brittney thought that this last Sunday was Father's Day (I guess she never checked a calender). So on Saturday she had a big special surprise for me( she planned it on Saturday because it couldn't be done on Sunday). For some reason or another I always figure out what Brittney's surprises are and it's always by accident. So Friday morning her cell phone rang and she told me to answer it. We were both in bed sleeping, so I got up to answer it, but it was too late and whoever called just left a message. I gave Brittney the phone and rolled over to go back to sleep. She check the message and all I heard was,

" Hi, this is Tiffany from Massage Envy calling to confirm Kyle's appointment for Saturday morning"

Later that morning I confessed to Brittney that I had overheard the message (though not on purpose). She was disappointed, but I was super excited!

Saturday came and I left for my massage. One word can only describe the sheer ecstasy of soft cool hand's rubbing my labor harden muscles..."DIVINE!" When I was done Brittney called and asked me to go to the store to pick some things up. I could tell she was stalling, so I played along. When I got home she surprised me with a clean house and hearts all over with *messages of her love* (see end note). I was thrilled!

Later that night we went over to her parents. Her sister Michelle informed Brittney that Father's Day wasn't until next week. Unfortunately I received no special treatment on Sunday.

Oh well. I'll call this a practice run. I can't wait till the real Father's Day!

* The hearts that Brittney put all over our house were actually hearts I made for her two years ago. I plastered them all over her car while we were dating for Valentine's Day. Some of the sweet nothings included "I love you like a fat kid loves cake" and " Roses are red, Violets are purple, when I think of you, I go all gurple" ect. I thought it was a clever way to recycle them.

First Oreo Experiences

we had oreos tonight at great grandma mccleve's house for fhe. i thought addison might like to join us and gave her some creme. well, she sucked my finger clean so kyle let her eat half of his. a mustache and a soggy cookie told us she approved. watching her eat the oreo was a sweeter treat for everyone there than actually eating them. they say a picture is worth a thousand words? well, here's two...

i could eat her up!

New Move - Ins

recently, we have noticed that a few friends have invited themselves over.

the other night, one of them introduced himself to me.

he thought it would feel great if i popped his back.

of course, i helped and stepped on it for him.

...no more pops.
i thought kyle might like to meet my new friend.

but, kyle wasn't as excited as i was.

he didn't even want to help our friend find

a place to stay for the night.

so i showed the the little guy a magical place,

white and shiny.

he liked it. i could tell.
my foot felt a little funny for a while,

until i gave it a good massage with a baby wipe.

any other last minute rentors will be

shown to the same great place.. rent free!