Stice Family

So last week the car dealership we bought our Sequoia from called asking if we wanted to extend our recently expired warranty, and we declined. A few days later on Monday, the car wouldn't start. I have the most cynical imagination when it comes to auto dealerships. When we were looking to replace the car we had before this one, it worked fine, but was getting older- just still in good enough condition to try to sell for a good price. We took it to one car lot, got pretty close to buying one of their cars, but backed out at the last minute. When we went to drive off their lot, our car broke down in the car lot entrance. Conveniently, they got the job of fixing it for us for an astronomical price.

Anyway, so I was a little bitter about this warranty timing. We tried to jump the Sequoia and it wouldn't start. We were worried it was something big. Wonderful Geico had the car towed, fixed, and paid for in hours. It was just the battery being shot and needing replaced. So I can stop envisioning the dealership sneaking onto my property in the middle of the night before to sabotage our engine. :) I guess our kids do very often leave dome lights on or doors not shut all the way making interior lights stay on to run down the battery.

Yesterday was the kids' dentist apt. Brielle has a loose tooth! Two actually, one's just actually leaning forward and almost ready to come out. I thought 4 years old was way too young for this. But the dentist assured me it was completely normal... some kids lose them at 4 and some at 8. So, much earlier than I had anticipated, Brielle and I had the Tooth Fairy talk. She's pretty excited for the day the first one comes all the way out! And she's easy on the tooth fairy too! When I asked her what the tooth fairy leaves in exchange for the tooth, she said a penny! Maybe we'll be a LITTLE more generous than that.

Ashton loves to brush his teeth. At the rate he brushes, he could wear out a new tooth brush in a day. Actually, yesterday he did! The free one the dentist gave him was in his mouth pretty much all day. He seemed to remember how the routine at the dentist office goes from the last time Brielle had her apt. He hopped right on the patient chair and put on his earphones to hear the movie he was watching on the flat screen TV on the ceiling. He layed there going AHHHHH the whole time, and even held still for X-rays.

They gave Ashton a set of Dr. gloves to take home, one filled with air like a balloon that popped on the car ride home, and the other to wear like a Dr. Ashton has been quite attached to wearing it everywhere on his hand. He woke up in the middle of the night last night and when we checked on him, he was cuddled up to his hand, glove still on- with the long plastic fingers dangling over the edges of his fingertips. Something about this pet glove reminds me of Micheal Jackson...

My father in law told me yesterday about a sprint triathlon he and his wife are entering in this August in Emmett. For anyone who didn't know, a SPRINT triathlon is a mini version of the real thing. You only swim 1/3 of a mile, bike 12 miles, and run 3 miles. It's great for beginners. That would be 4 and a half months from when I have the baby and I thought that might be a great goal to have to get myself back in shape.

Anyone who's seen me would laugh inside to hear I want to do a triathlon 5 months from now. Aside from being the obvious PREGNANT, my body looks NOTHING athletic. I can't even recognize myself in the mirror! But it has ALWAYS been a goal of mine to do a triathlon, of any size, and I need something to work toward. I'll be doing physical therapy after having the baby to heal post partum-wise. I did that with Ashton and it made a world of difference. My crooked pelvis wants to heal worse and worse every pregnancy. Anyway, so that's my goal. To heal, then work hard, and make it to the finish line no matter how slow I go!!! Todd wants to join me in the goal and do it with me. It'll be fun to work toward together.

Todd is SUPER excited about a package that came in the mail yesterday. For his birthday coming up in two weeks, we bought him a large collection of new-in-plastic classic books off of e-bay for 15% the normal price we've seen the same collection for anywhere else. He looked like a kid in a candy store opening it all and putting the books on our shelf. I LOVE that Todd loves to read. When he was on his mission he fell in love with reading church books. He read the whole mission library in a few months and from there his mission president would allow him certain other reads outside the missionary library. He was a reading machine! When they started their company, Todd started reading a lot of books on business and self improvement books. The beginning of the election runnings sparked his interest in books on politicians and then the constitution and history and so on. Other topics would peak his curiosity and he branched out to what is now a full spectrum of reads. I love that he loves learning from all the best books out there. I wish I could say I was reading right along with him. But for now, I've taken on a couple of his favorites, I'm just much slower at getting through books.

I'm excited for tonight, my friends are throwing me a baby shower! It's amazing how I really do feel like I need a lot of things. We were poor college students when we had Brielle and she didn't have much. And of the things she had, I only kept the sentimental or well-kept items.

The girls' room is only lacking the last bedding projects to be done. We got it all organized and hung things on the walls. I'll post pictures as soon as I finish that bedding!