When You Have Fun Aunts...

i remember sleep-overs with my aunts courtney and celeste. michelle and i would get to stay behind and eat fun snacks, and watch movies. we'd stay up late and sleep in the next day. breakfast was always something special with grandma or grandpa cooking. but my most favorite part of these sleep-overs was when we would get a makeover - hair, cute clothes, nails, and makeup. then courtney or celeste would parade us around the house and then out the front lawn to play and take pictures. i lived for those weekends. many times i also got to hang out with my aunts friends. i had no idea what they were talking about, but i sure felt cool, especially when they would share their slurpee's.

now my younger sisters are those fun aunts, although my girls are still too young to appreciate it. jalee had fun here the other day with charly's hair and makeup. i think she looks absolutely ridiculous, but that's part of being an aunt - you have the right to do ridiculous things to your nieces!

charly loved all the attention and was an excellent model as jalee and i laughed and had way too much fun.

Oh the Joys - Mommyhood

poor charlene has thrush (and guess who she shared it with). so until it clears, i am pumping. nursing has been a roller coaster with this one. she started to wean herself at two months - who does that? she only nurses during the let down and then doesn't want to work after it stops. is anyone elses' baby like this? so for the past month and a half i have been nursing as often as possible, then pumping immediately afterward for 15 minutes. which by the way is so hard to do with a toddler and baby needing your attention. plus, now i am washing bottles and pump equipment. before the thrush, we were trying something called a sns. what a hassle, but it has stretched nursing out this long. i wish my babies were good nursers. so frustrating!

purple mouth girl:

then there is this stinker. isn't she beautiful?! at dinner with kyle's family she got a balloon nemo (her FAVORITE movie). she loved it.addison got into my makeup before church. "how i look mommy?" ahhhh perfect addy. i love her face!

A Quiet Moment

i was on the computer the other night when i realized addison and her daddy had been awfully quiet for quite some time. i got up to check on them and found this...notice addison telling me to be quiet while her daddy sleeps in her house. kyle had gone in there to play with her, but obviously fell asleep, even with toys making commotion around him. so tired. it was so cute. love his legs hanging out like that.

a close up of the tuckered out daddy inside the hippo house...addison was using kyle's legs as a seat while she tried to take off her jammies. this is as far as she got before she gave up. adorable.

Our Little Michaelangelo

addison is becoming an aspiring artist and coloring is her medium. unfortunately her creativity sometime shows in places where mommy and daddy don't appreciate it like she thinks they should. above and below: addy colors on the dry erase board in the office. today while mommy and daddy were busy, she found a dry erase marker and colored all over the walls and tv. after a time out and many tears, she tried her best to help clean it up.

What to Give A Guy?

growing up with all girls in my family was so much fun. we had many of the same interests and loved doing things with each other. life was peachy. okay, maybe that's too brady bunch. there was chaos everyday with so much going on, but it was fun. i have to brag that my dad was great with us, better than most dads would be. especially considering he had six daughters, a female dog, and a wife who was a brown - and anyone who knows the browns, or breinholts for that matter know that you need to have a little bit of saint in you to deal with them sometimes. or just go insane slowly. but that's another topic. back to my dad. christmas and birthdays were hard every year for me. like i said earlier, i knew my sisters well and knew that kind of gifts they would love. but every year, i struggled when it came to getting a gift for my dad. he was a boy. what do boys like? what should i get him? what does he need or want? i remembering this bothering me even as young as second grade. in elementary, the teachers try to fix this problem by giving their students crafts to make like a paper tie, picture frame made out of Popsicles sticks, or a miniature christmas wreath with colored macaroni noodles and a pic of yours truly in the center. while these were fun to make, i knew these weren't true "gifts" that could help my dad. the gifts i wanted to give didn't need to cost very much or anything at all, i just wanted to feel like i did my best. i needed ideas. does this ring a bell with anyone? this was and still is a very real struggle for me, so when kyle and i started dating, i freaked. i have boyfriend - awesome. his birthday is coming up. crap. crap, crap, crap.

i told kyle my dilemma and he shrugged it off saying he didn't want anything. ha, yeah right.

all you women out there would know if you heard this it wasn't true. well i knew i had to get him something. now as i type, i just can't remember what i got him. for christmas that year, i got him a digital camera - i do remember that. mostly it was given so that we could start taking pics to go in our wedding video. so i guess in a way i bought the camera for me too. but i don't feel too bad about that now. remember valentines day last year with the laptop kyle gave to me?

point of this whole post is that father's day is in two days. that means i have been saying "crap" a whole bunch of times these past two weeks every time i think about what to get for my husband and father of my baby.

then, earilier this week i had an "ah ha" moment. i know what i want to get for kyle, turns out it might not be available. argh! finally i pick something i know he'll love (and needs) and someone else might get it.

i'm crossing my fingers that it will be mine and hopefully i'll know soon.

My new set of Wheels

There was no sound, no lights turning on, no life coming from it at all. It was 4 pm during a hot and miserable august afternoon. After coming out of church all I wanted to do was go home, but my car had died on me. Luckily my EQ president had some jumper cables and I was able to get my car started. I drove my family home and waited in the car while Brittney ran inside the house to drop off our manual and scriptures, then we were off to my parents for a Sunday roast dinner. At the light of Country Club and Ray, my battery light turned on I and could feel my car shake a bit then die.

"Great!" I thought, trying to turn on the car again, but there was no sign of life.

My wife was freaking out because there were people behind us.

"Please Lord, just let my car start" I prayed silently, but I guess I needed to be humbled as I found myself pushing my car's dead and lifeless body to the corner gas station. I popped the hood like any guy would, trying my best to act like I knew what I was doing. I figured it was probably the battery or the alternator. I scraped away some of the build up on the battery connectors and tightened them. The car started back up again and as long as I kept the gas going I found that we would be fine. Needless to say, the next intersection we were approaching was a red light. I slowed the car down the the crawl of a snail, but the light still remained red. I had to make a complete stop and when I did, my car sunk into a lifeless state. I waited for it to turn green then restarted my car. I was lucky. Unfortunately the next light was red and the same thing happened all over again. (Gilbert has the worst timed lights in the world!) We hit almost every red light and every time, my car would die, and all we could do was wait until it turned green, hoping that it would start up again. Thank goodness it did. We finally made it to my parents house.

While at my parents house my mom and dad told me stories of them in their early married years and the car troubles they had. There was one time when the transmission on my dad's car went out and the only gear that worked was reverse. Yes.... he drove the car home backwards. Or when my mom had to stop every few miles to fill her radiator with water in order to prevent the car from overheating and she couldn't get it fixed because she was helping dad get through medical school. Now my parents just look back on that and laugh, but I ain't laughing.

So I'm done with spending more money on our cars, and decided to go green. I bought a nice Mnt. Bike on craigslist and since my work and school are close, I'll be riding my bike.

So now I ride my bike to work and absolutely love it. It takes me just as much time to get there on bike as it did driving, plus I get the exercise.

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. :)

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!"

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!

Gone Fishin'

Last Friday the McCleve fam went on a fishing trip to the Black River. It was filled with adventure and just some good old fashion family fun. We left Friday around 4am in the morning. Brittney and I didn't go to bed till 1am (luckily we got some shuteye on the drive up) We stopped by the Circle K in Globe to buy our licenses and Brittney loaded up on some Firery Cheetos (her favorite) and we were off again. We took Highway 8 and then got off in a little dirt road. Dad McCleve, Brittney, Cameron, Devin, and I were all in the Excursion. Uncles, Dean and Loren were with their family in their suburban. It had been raining all Thursday so we were kind of worried about the weather and the road conditon. Needless to say the road was pretty muddy. We were behind Loren's suburban and we could see it sliding around in the mud. Since they didn't have four will drive and a six inch lift, like the Excursion, they decieded to pull over and we all crammed into our vehicle. So Dad, Dean, Loren, Brittney, Chantell, Cameron, Devin, Chealyn, Tyler, Connor, Caden, and I along with everyones packs and gear set off on the seven mile muddy road. There were times when I thought for sure that we were going to tip over or get stuck in the mud, but the Excursion held its ground and stuck true to it's course. We got to the top of the rim and prepared our poles and hiked a mile or two down to the river. By that time there was no rain and a nice overcast. We started hiking up the river and throwing in our lines. Devin caught to first fish, then Brittney, and Chealyn. They day and water turned out to be perfect. The overcast started to clear and the sun came out. The water was a little cold when you first stepped in, but then it was perfect. We continued our journey down river. The fish didn't seem too hungry since i had only caught about 2 by noon. Our little cousin Tyler had worn flanal pajama pants and they had become completely soaked with water. He took those off and Connor gave him some shorts of his, but the shorts were too big so he spent the rest of the time fishing in just his whitey tightys. It was really funny to see! It looked as if he was wearing nothing sometimes. I got to tease him the whole day about running around in his "skivies"! We got pretty far and it was about 3 pm. I had just caught a beautiful 12-13 inch small mouth bass making my total catches thus far 3. Brittney was a little disapointed because she had only caught one fish that was too small to keep, and several that had gotten away. (She hooked some good rocks and trees though) We started hiking back and looked for a good, shallow spot to cross over the river. Dad thought the spot the rest of us picked was too deep and that he could hike a little farther and find a better spot. About two hundred yards and several cuts and bruises later, he realized that the mountain was getting to steep to keep on going, and the water was only getting deeper. (picture at right) Before he called defeat though, he fished for a while and helped Brittney to snag her first real keeper, a fish about the same size as mine. Then, as everyone laughed, dad hiked back to the same place where all the rest of us smart ones crossed.

On the hike back the fish started to really bite. Dad pulled out several whoppers within minutes. Brittney caught the 2nd largest fish of the day. Even little Caden (the youngest on the trip at 8) who only had a few bites, was able to catch a few fish on the way back. He gave everyone who was within listening range an earful of how great his fish were.
We found a nice spot and began to gut the fish. It took me a moment before I was ok with it (it had been a while since I gutted a fish). I loved showing Brittney the insides of the fish. She, at first, was excited about gutting the fish, but when it came time and she saw how it was done, she chickened out.

By the time we had hiked it was starting to get dark. I thought the ride in was scary, but going out in the dark was a nightmare. Dad had the time of his life driving out and scaring the rest of us. We were pretty tired on the way back, but made it home around 11:30. I was driving and Brittney wouldn't go to sleep because she was scared of the curvey, windy roads. She always would let me know if I was going to fast or getting too close to the the edge. Next time I'll know to knock her out with a couple of sleeping pills.

We had a ton of fun telling stories of years past and talking about next year. All-in-all it was a lot of fun!

McKAY TRADITION LIVES ON!

Since my cousins and I were little, we've always loved it when someone in the family would get married. The gathering together, the food, the dancing were some of the things that we enjoyed, but the real reason why we loved weddings was trashing the Bride and Groom's car! It's what we lived for and were bred for. It all started when with our cousin Marie marrying Matt. We were young and new the the whole car trashing gig. We were too little to go to the store and buy supplies so we improvised. We raided the church's custodial closet and found a large stash of TP and paper towels. We then scoured all the garbage's around and came up with a some soda cans and string. With a little bit of wedding cake ( ok maybe it was more than a little) we were set! Matt's little ford truck was soon covered in TP, with cake smashed all over, and some cans tied to the back. Since then we've improved with each wedding. When it came my turn my cousins got me pretty bad. They had opened my sunroof and fill my car to the very top with balloons, crumpled newspaper, and shredded paper. When I opened the door for Brittney there was a landslide! We could hardly find room to get in. Today my cousin Bobby got married to Stephanie and I can say we've perfected the art of car trashing. We were armed with balloons, streamers, oreos, saran wrap, news paper, shredded paper, wedding cake...... ect. This time we tried something a little new. We lined his truck bed with a painters tarp and then filled the bed with water. We added some rubber ducks, toy boats, and some foam noodles just for fun. It was our best job yet! Everyone was in awe by our artistic genius. I think Bobby and Stephanie were even more awestruck. Topping that will be difficult, but we are up to the challenge.

Life of Luxury.

okay, so at this very second i am sitting at the computer posting on my blog. only, i am not at my own house, or even using my own computer! i am not at my parents house, at kyle's parents',  or even at a family member's home. you see, for the next two weeks, i am doing this thing - you might have heard of it. the thing where you

• get to eat other people's food (yum!)
  
• sleep in a king size bed that is as tall as your waist, and comfy
  
• drive a different car
  
• go crazy because dumb cats won't leave you alone and want to sleep with you and/or baby
  
• pretend you are someone else
  
• answer phone calls and talk to strangers
  
• tell teenagers what they can and can't do
  
• chauffeur
  
• blog in a new office
  
• try to find out which light switch belongs to which light
  
• find something for dinner?! make sure it's ready at what time? uh...
  
• pretend you know your way around this side of town, like a pro i might add...
  
• get paid? for reals?
  

that's right, kyle and i are teen sitting/house sitting.  the first thing kyle said when we all sat down to dinner last night ( at 6:45 not 6:00, sorry kris) was that he was laying down some family house rules. if everyone followed these house rules, he continued, we would all get along just fine. first he looked at 15 year old (?) nick and said, " nick, you will rub my feet every night as i drift off to sleep, " then, " lauren (12?) i have a bell. when you hear this bell, it means i want a snack, which you will bring to me. remember guys, we get along just fine if you obey my house rules." what a way to start off. slaves? YES! we are going to be living the life of luxury for the next two weeks...

Come Get Your Funnies

i don't know who all reads the sunday papers with all the politics and schmolitics, but i only care for one page and that's the comic page. i have my favorites like zits and family circus and non-sequador (spelling?) that i always turn to first and am an avid fan of. recently though, kyle has introduced me to the world of life seen through a six year old and his tiger. i have to admit, i have fallen for calvin and hobbes. in running for world's best comic, this cartoon has steadily risen to the top of the line and i love it! for those of you who aren't familiar with this comic or have forgotten, i'll give you a refresher. calvin is the most mischievous boy you have ever heard of. (i thought the neighbor boys i grew up with were bad, but calvin beats the mclaws boys easily). calvin has a very impressive vocabulary and sees the world in a way that is unmatchable. he has his stuffed tiger named hobbes that only comes to life for him. when i was looking online for information about the comic, hobbes was referred to as "calvin's jimney cricket "which is just what hobbes is. you can't find this comic in the paper anymore because sadly the writer, bill watterson, retired in 1995. kyle says he remembers reading the very last comic written by watterson when he was in elementary. how sad. i think i also read that the comic was run for ten short years. i don't think anyone could ever get enough calvin and hobbes.


things i love about calvin and hobbes:

• calvin has a time machine that really works
• g.r.o.s.s. (get rid of slimy girls) calvin and hobbes' club of which they are the only members.
• life lessons ignored on sleigh and wagon rides
• hobbes pouncing on calvin when he come home from school
• calvin's secret crush on susie derkins and the way he hides it by being really mean to her
• snowman
• snowball fights
• bath time
• monsters under the bed
• fights with hobbes
• advice from reading the paper
• chewing
• camp outs in the backyard
• timeout happens
  
• he's an inventor
• hobbes is most always right
• twenty seven bases plus ghost bases, secret bases, ghost points, ghost players, and "get out of jail free" plays in baseball
• babysitters
• he has a great imagination and tells great stories
  
  
  
  
• he's a great fibber, but can be brutally honest
• there's an explanation for everything
• he's kind enough to donate his mucus that he sneezes for mucus transfusions
• he always hates his dinner
• calvin loves destruction
• it's only $1.50 for a good idea!
• real life morphing into adventures of spaceman spiff
• figuring out ways to not do homework
• walks in the forest
• water balloons
• stomping out messages in the snow
• calling librarians to find out the spellings of four-letter words
• calvin and hobbes are freakin' scared-y cats
• teachers that wear pink dresses with polka dots

the great thing about calvin and hobbes is the way every kid can relate with them. even if you're not a kid anymore, reading these comics will certainly take you back to your childhood and make you laugh out loud. they're timeless. and with all the adventures they go on together, what's not to love about them?