Hello! This post is for 5/23-6/22. 😁
If you’re wondering about the title, it was something that the pastor said at church on Father's Day. He had an object lesson where he had a jar half filled with marbles on the stage. He said something to the effect of, "You have 939 weeks with your kid until they turn 18. (Not to say that your relationship ends at 18, but it's significantly different.) So when you feel overwhelmed at the stress of parenthood, imagine how many marbles are left in your kid’s childhood and how little time you have left because you can never get this time back. This isn’t about feeling guilty just helping you to be present, in the moment, and intentional with your time with your kids so u don’t have regrets later about being the parent you wanted to be.” I am obviously not doing it justice and he said it much better than that, but I thought that was a really profound way of looking at it and a good way to keep your perspective healthy during the stressful chaotic times.
Hoof & Vine in Sandy Datenight
We went to the restaurant called hoof and Vine in Sandy yesterday for a date night and my mom babysat. They had a picnic on the floor in the living room and the kids were really excited about it. And then they took a picture with the Polaroid camera.
We tried to take a picture outside the restaurant, but the sun was assaulting us so we didn’t really get a good one lol
Grama and Grama Visit from ND
My dad and Shelly visited for a week and stayed with us. We went to Park city for the first three days and they took care of the kids for us and then came back and spent the rest of the week with them. It was a success and we had a lot of fun!
Lots of walks to the park
Lots of trips to the thanksgiving point venues
And we went to the zoo! We had never gone to the zoo before and I was kind of taking advantage of them being here to do that because I don’t think I could’ve done it by myself with both kids and going on a weekend would probably be really really crowded so I was grateful that I had them with me to do that on a weekday morning. It was really fun! We went on the carousel and we saw a dog show, and played on a playground and saw all sorts of animals. The kids were so exhausted they slept the whole way home and then more after we got home in bed. It was really hot 🥵
My favorites were the monkeys and the polar bear. The polar bear was enormous, and it was amazing to watch him push off the glass and do backflips in the water over and over again. And I also just like the monkeys because they’re really active and just walking around up on these really high Ropes and swinging. It’s less fun to see animals that just kind of stand there or sleep. But anyway, you have to watch the video compilation at the end for the videos of the dog show because that was also very amazing!
passed out on the way home
Topher kara and AJ came over for a bbq and that was really fun to see them again
we shopped at the outlets
we wanted to bike but it was cold and rainy while we were there
one day we stayed in the spa for like 4 hours or something like that
our hotel lobby was very cool and mountain-ey
the knight was so tall and nice coop was in awe
the sword is almost as tall as me!
went on the train and played at the playground. it was so crowded now that its summer break though so it was annoying that we got there right when they open and stayed a full hour and we were still 10 away from it being our turn for a horseback ride so we just gave up and went home cuz coop had lost interest and said his tummy hurt
we were all in different rooms and I was in the one that did fitness wear evening and on stage question. it was so fun to see all the people I knew from back in the day! I couldn't believe mark remembers me!
coop wanted to go because they talked about insects at gymnastics and that inspired him lol
We went to see the house and they started digging the hole!
Nonna and Pa visit from HI
they came to our church one time
and after we went to Starbucks it was really good cuz we never go there anymore and I love their cold brew and the egg sandwiches
They've come over to the house to play a few times as well. David is here to get back surgery
Happy Father's Day!
Dallin is the worlds best dad these kids are so lucky to have him.
Park City Getaway
These are the pics from when we went to PC. it was nice to be kid free for a couple days. We didn't do much it was mostly just relaxing time reading and going to eat and walking around and stuff.
it was very pretty up there
We had really good food of course
had tea every night because the hotel had good tea variety and this was a pic from breakfast one morning
we swam every day because it was heated and one day we saw a rainbow
This was our fav restaurant there it was amazing 🤩
FairyTale Festival at TP
coop was amazed to see a real princess but too nervous to actually talk to her so he just watched hahah
We met moana in the flesh and kinder was so starstruck
kinder and i rode the carousel because the boys didn't want to and we saw real knights fight with swords and axes and stuff! watch the video at the end to see that cuz it was cool
At the Farm
went to see the farm at TP and pet the goats
one day we went to ride the carousel but it was closed for repairs so we just walked around outside it and looked at stuff and the kids were both completely happy and I was grateful they see the positive in situations and can be flexible and easy going
Gymnastics
So we decided to quit gym to save money for the house so now we only have one session left. coop is kinda sad about that. but it hasn't helped his ability to follow directions at all, I feel like if anything he's worse there than anywhere else. He follows directions at school and home but there he's in "fun" mode just running around doing whatever he wants so I figured if he wants to do that he can do it for free at a park lol
McKinley has a hard time waiting for him too so I'll be glad to stop having that issue. she liked this day when she got to look at a baby lol
One day for some reason coop kept saying he was sad but I was proud of him that he got up and kept trying. he was such a trooper. Never found out why - but the teacher was cute about it and super sweet to him
miss orem dress dress rehearsal
they call all the former MO's to judge and you write notes for all the contestants so that they can improve before the dress rehearsal so they call it dress Dress rehearsal. it was really fun! I was so glad to have the opportunity and they asked me to be the choreographer for next year and I said yes!
Butterfly Museum
went here with dad one Saturday and had so much fun
Play day with Whitney and Berkley
aren't they so adorable together eating berries?! lol so cute
they did so good! and it was fun
I cook now so that's cool. I only get frustrated and say "I'm never doing this again" about 50% of the time so it's a huge improvement lol
we walked to the park and the kids loved the freedom of being stroller free
they did so good! and it was fun
only downside was My allergies went insane because I made the mistake of itching my eyes lol
Life in the Graff Household...
So here's that big catchall section for all the other pics we take around the house.
kinder loves broccoli, protein shakes (calls it milk), Mac and cheese, and tomatoes lol she will eat a tomato like an apple lol
she wanted to help me vacuum the stairs
they both wanted to be on the trike and they figured out a way to both ride on it at the same time that was their own idea too! pic on the right was kinder fell into my head and her teeth sliced open my forehead 🙄
he was telling her all about the Dinos in the book
she was loving the splash pad until the huge bucket dumped on her so hard she dropped to the ground completely. Ever since she has not gone near it. Same thing happened to coop and now neither of them trust splash pads anywhere
Tiny lego men in the doll bed lol and the necklace dallin gave me like 12 years ago with our dating anniversary on it. hard to believe its been that long
coop is a home body and just loves playing in the basement sometimes even going out somewhere fun he asks to just stay home and play in the basement it's his happy place for imagination
I can't get over how grown up she looks with pig tails. she's so girly she will ask for me to do it lol until a few hours later when she is pulling them out
both kids do so we've been in a sensory stage right now and all I do is sweep lol
I got this thing that is supposed to take off hair and it was only 4$ so I didn't have high hopes but it actually kinda works!
This is what our house looks like now
Jake and Sadie fight all the time and I hate it because he go at it so hard they draw blood and this time Jake lost a tooth! nasty rotten looking thing
they don't want to stay in the stroller but then they struggle to stay safely by me when they walk so I made them hold a dog leash and if they let go they go back in the stroller. Cooper was completely obedient and did it the whole time and kinder gets this devilish look in her eye and sprints in the opposite direction towards a street and a car. lol so I had a heart attack and strapped her back in the stroller and she kicked and screamed the whole way home
our neighborhood parks
dad's glasses
watching shows after bath
sensory rice. Cooper had the idea to sweep by himself! he says "big mess right here gotta clean it!" and went and got his little toy broom I thought it was so cute.
on the way home kinder was off and on crying but ended up reigning it in and talking to us about it. I thought it was so cute that they were talking to each other and both agreeing they both feel tired. I felt like she was showing ability beyond her years in that moment to be able to articulate her thoughts and feelings to express them instead of just melting down. She still does that sometimes but she is starting to lose that "baby" part of her and move into the kid phase more and more every day.
this was a pic from when I went to dinner with Shana and Michelle and dallin forgot to get a pic so they edited him in lol
he fell like a hundred times but kept saying " I can do it I will get up and keep trying I'm strong and brave" and stuff like that and it was very inspiring to me because you can always look at stuff like that like it's nothing from an adult perspective but for a little kid that's their entire world and so that is a huge deal! What an amazing skill to have and perception and I'm so impressed they both are so young and already showing resilience
we thought we were doing better by not wearing clothes while playing with slime but then we learned it gets stuck in hair... the kids like listening to the tonies box in coopers room and we got the moana one
she likes wearing her hair clips more than bow headbands now and she likes sorting and sensory bins
Sadie is very clingy to me and always where I go. When I sit or lay down she is literally on top of me
scooping rice
scooping popcorn
more pigtail pics
coop is so obsessed with moana that is all he plays and imagines and talks about. I got him these necklaces thinking he would love it because he had a tiny little maui toy and fish hook and lost the hook and was so sad but when he saw this he demanded I cut the necklace part lol he is already quite aware of gender norms I think
more recent pic. They're working fast!
She was playing with tampons while I did my make up and hair and I couldn't believe she had them all sorted lol she's so good at sorting
doing art and painting stuff
this song reminds me of the kids because I feel like having kids has made me a better person and you get to experience the wonder of the world again through their eyes. I'm so lucky that I have them and get to be with them for 3 years straight. They're like little miracles of perfection and they teach me things and I love exploring with them.
Pics with mozzie -went to my moms' work to get her key and let him out for her double shift and another time she had a double shift he stayed at our house so coop took a pic with him
Tea party with Mom, Kim, and Miki
it was for my mom's church and it was a lot of fun!
Visiting Michelle, rudy, Desmond and Patrick in Stansbury
so cute to see the kids play with Patrick
Playdate with Shay and Addy in Saratoga
had so much fun playing with friends! their house and yard is beautiful and so fun!
Parents night out while Jaxson and Selena babysat
dallin went out with coworkers and I went to the tea party with my mom and aunt and cousin
"uncharted worlds" at TP
its so cool! the kids love it so we've been about 1,000 times lol Cooper likes to take pictures so a lot of these he took himself. I think the little photographer in him is so cute. I am the same of course. anyway one day we saw a squirrel up really close and they were amzed and it was so cool!
Cooper sleeping
still going strong on the nap and I love that they sleep at the same time so that I can recharge my own batteries. he doesn't always sleep though- this day he was looking out his window to watch it rain
Train Ride in Saratoga
always a good time with the maugns! the little train was so cute!
Hiking
They love hiking now! it was so cute to see their excitement!this was Lisa falls in sandy
Potato Hill hike was less successful because McKinley didn't nap that day and it was such a steep drop off on all sides that it made us nervous the whole time we were up there but the kids were so excited to be at the top of this summit that they wanted to explore so it was really difficult to keep them safe and ultimately it ended up in Kinley having the biggest meltdown of her life lol it was not fun in the the end. I will probably not do that again
me
The goals that I have been trying to stick with nowadays are running or walking for at least 10 minutes every day, gratitude, journal, and vision board visualizations every night, a FitOn workout that’s at least five minutes, and a “sharpen the saw” sesh for at least five minutes. I’ve been doing really good and it makes me happier and I’m so proud of myself.
During nap I try to do all this stuff for my me time and take a bath and maybe do a mask. One time I sat outside and watched the rain and it was so nice. This day I put the mask on and then saw it was placenta…. lol so that was weird.
I have learned about myself that for me to fully feel rejuvenated I need to be physically mentally and emotionally stimulated so it actually doesn’t help me to just zone out eat ice cream and watch tv. So I get in touch with my emotional side when I watch the Dr Becky videos (they have helped me a ton), and mentally when I do any professional development like classroom management reading or content reading for going back to work and/or visualizing my dream board, and physical when I work out. This night I took this pic while getting the mail and feeling grateful and relaxed
I have also really enjoyed getting back to running because it kind of makes me feel like I’m me again and not just a parent because it’s so easy to kind of lose yourself in parenting and running was some thing that I liked and did a lot before I became a parent. And then after the kids, I haven’t ran a lot so getting back to that makes me feel really good cuz it’s fun. These were songs I liked jamming to while I ran this week
Dallin and I have had this debate over whether or not this was a word so I was so excited when I saw it in my book multiple times! He thought I was saying when u water something down (diluted)
This was the roof top bar
It was a really pretty hotel
This is the photo challenge Shelly and I have been doing and once again I love doing it because it gives me a chance to be creative and look for beautiful things around me. And gives me ideas for activities for us to do 
“Monochromatic” 😂
That's all for now!
I haven’t been hating cooking as much! I think it’s because the kids will do their own thing and let me do it on my own instead of scream at my feet the whole time lol that makes a huge difference
SLC Getaway
We realized that we have a free night through Marriott with our credit card and we had to use it by a certain day otherwise it would expire. So we had my mom babysit the kids and just went to a hotel in Salt Lake for the night and it was so fun! Any kid free time is good time in my opinion lol and we went to dinner found this really cool rooftop bar, saw some fireworks, went to breakfast and went home. So it was like an extended date night, and it was awesome.
This was my mom putting kinder down while coop and mozzie wait in the chair lol
She said in the morning when they woke up they asked where we were and she said oh they’re still at dinner. Cuz we explained we were going to dinner. And they were just like oh ok lol like it’s completely normal
Fireworks we saw
Photo challenge
This is the photo challenge Shelly and I have been doing and once again I love doing it because it gives me a chance to be creative and look for beautiful things around me. And gives me ideas for activities for us to do 
Little miss kinder
She has moments of being so sweet and other moments where she screams and hits and throws tantrums and pulls hair lol but she is learning and getting better every day
Video Compilation!! :)
From 5/23-6/22
