"Return Missionary"

I used that as the title of my post because WAY too many people use those words to describe guys. "She's dating a return missionary." "Oh he's not a return missionary." "They're getting married? Is he a return missionary?" Besides, is that even the correct phrase? Shouldn't it be "returnED" missionary? It's silly really. Because those words don't necessarily mean they are FANTASTIC people. There are some really nice guys out there who never had the chance to go. AND there are some who return and fall away from the church, bringing their whole family down with them.

That being said........... one of the good guys ..........

JASON DOUGLAS DEWITT......... IS HOME!!!!!

He got back from (Canada) on July 18th. We picked him up from the airport around 7pm that night. My mom had made these hilarious t-shirts for all of us to wear at the terminal.

The next morning we left early and went up to Snowflake for the annual Pioneer Day Celebration. We go to the parade in the morning, the ladies usually hit the craft fair (we didn't get there this year) and then the rest of the time is spent eating and playing volleyball. It's just fun to be around family and it was really good to see Jason and have him and his sarcasm home again. I LOVE IT !!

Oh yeah....that's what my name is.

I'm sure this has happened to some of you other moms out there, but it's still funny.

I was sitting next to the tub the other night waiting for my boys to get done with their bath. Acutally, if I left it up to them, they'd be in there all night. What I was really waiting for was them to get enough play time in before I washed them and made them complain about getting out. So my mind was not on full attention mode. As much as I LOVE that they'll play Spiderman and Turtles all day long....... I don't really care to know the details EVERY TIME. Like: "MOM -- Raphael can't get Spiderman 'cause he gots bubbles all over him." -- or -- "MOM -- Ninja Turles has to swim fast in the water before Shredder gets their pizza." When Griffin narrates for me, I kind of just nod my head most of the time. But this particular night, that wasn't good enough. As I was staring off into space, my response to him saying, "Carolyn" was immediate. I looked over but don't recall what he said to me after that because I was in shock. Not that he knew my name.... but at how happy I was to have my identity back...... if only for a moment.

Lunch with the Ladies

While we were down in the valley this past weekend, my Grandma took us girls out to lunch. It's something that we all LOVE to do. Jeff gets jealous because she never takes the guys out to lunch. I asked him once, "When you are a grandpa, do you plan to take out all the GIRLS in the family, or would you lean more towards a GUY thing?" He insisted that he'd take the girls out too, but for some reason, I don't believe him.

Blogging has made me about 5 times better at taking pictures. Agree? So, of course, I had our waiter take a picture of us.

At first glance it looks like a usual "picture at the table".

Until you look closer........

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zoom in a little more.......

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and discover..........

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a WISE GUY WAITER who had to go and jump in the picture just to be cool.

You know it's this joke that they all share.

"Hey next time you have a table that wants a picture, let me know and I'll jump in the back. It'll be SWEET!"

I actually think it's pretty funny. It's something I would do for sure.

Can you believe the size of his mouth !!!!

ALL HAIL AVEENO!!

A few weeks ago, I noticed Trey getting some baby acne. I am convinced that I cursed him with it. The night before it showed up, I had just thought about how lucky I was for him to not have it. (It takes all my will power not to pick at those things.) Then, after a few days, it started to get worse. REALLY red cheeks and then a few days later, the redness had a rough scaly feel along with it. I knew it had to be eczema. The doctor was going to be my first call when we got home from the valley. For sure we would have to put some kind of steroid cream on his cheeks to remedy this awful symptom. I ran into my friend Rachel Gannon (previously Bingham) at church and she said that her little one had it bad. An allergist (?) told her not to use the cream the docs gave her and recommended she use Aveeno 2-3 times a day until it gets better. I tell you what -- THAT STUFF WORKS!!!!

My precious Treyson cheeks were 3 times better after just 2 applications. I was amazed. This picture shows the beginning of the redness and irritation:

Then it got even worse. This next picture is after the 2 applications I told you about. So try to picture it three times worse than this:

This next photo is one I took today. A day and a half after we started the treatment. Can you believe it?!

SO MUCH BETTER!

Dictionary entry:

"LASTERDAY"

Definiton:

The word used by certain Gardner sons (named Griffin) to describe the timing of tasks or events that have taken place any time prior to the present day.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

Livin' Large

Baby Treyson is 4 weeks old today. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. He is such a good baby. Fussy at times, yes. But, now having gone through two other babies, I can usually figure out what's wrong with him pretty quick. And apart from a few times the first week he was born, he has gone right back to sleep after his feedings at night. In other words, no day/night confusion. I couldn't ask for more. Except for maybe a lighter baby. He was weighed yesterday and is already at 10 lbs. 6 oz. Good eater.

We blessed him this past Sunday and I wanted to thank all the family that was able to come up. It meant a lot. I'll have to dress him in the blessing outfit again to get a picture of it. We have used the same blessing outfit for all three boys now. It's the same outfit that Jeff and all his brothers wore too. Not complaining, but it was polyester and it was fairly warm that day. So as soon as we got home from church, I changed him without taking any pictures. What a horrible mom I am. Now we'll never have a picture of Treyson with all the family that came up that day. ARRRGGGG !!!

Bosom Buddies

Today a pistachio fell down my shirt, and I smiled. I've never been known for my "bustiness", and as most girls would tell you, it doesn't feel womanly to be small. But when I nurse, they do tend to fill out....... a little. ~~ (Shouldn't we be PERMANENTLY "blessed" for giving our children the best?)~~ And it's not like I was wearing this super low-cut shirt either. I was dressed in this cute little number Jeff's dad bought for me at the Basement Marketplace here in Flagstaff. LOVE IT !! Love the shirt, love the store, love it !!

And speaking of "cute little numbers" -- check out the makeover I gave my "digits" last time we went down to the valley:

No, I didn't necessarily want a picture of my long toes on the Internet, but the argyle was too cute not to share. My sisters and I went to a salon called "Quality Nails" in Chandler. They have HUNDREDS of design choices. So go about 15 minutes early if you want time to decide.