Watch Out!

So, my watch has been trying to escape from me all year.  I wear it everyday.  I have worn it everyday since my 20th birthday really (gift from my mom).  In the past year, the watch has fallen off frequently.  At Youth Conference this summer, it came off while I was horse back riding, and I thought-well, that is the end, a horse will step on it and I will be so sad.  But, one of the Young Women saw it fall, and though neither one of us could do anything at that moment, she helped me retrace steps and find it after the ride was over.(thanks Paisley!)  It was fine, laying there on the ground.  Other times I find it on the floor after I have been playing with the kids.  Or at the bottom of my purse, must have come off while I was rummaging.  I have had this watch for more than twelve years, I like it, I don't want to lose it.

Nate has had more watches than I can remember.  When we first married I bought him a really nice watch, in a few months-gone.  He told me he was always having to get new ones on his mission because they were constantly dying.  I thought-yeah, cheap watches, so over the years I have bought him, and he has recieved as gifts, many watches.  They all stop or disappear.  The batteries die within a few weeks, the movements go bad, all sorts of weird things.  He even seems to have an ill-effect on stopwatches.  Needless to say, I do not buy him expensive watches any more.

When we were first married, I always interrupted Nate, not out of intentional rudeness.  You see, he used to pause in the midst of his sentences because he wants to be clear and understood.  I am always ready to get my word in, so as soon as he would pause, I would start talking.  Now, I pause and he interrupts me.  And my watch had tried to run away all year long.  I am sure there are a list of traits we have adopted from one another.  Moral of the story-I am blessed to have married someone whose qualities I love and wouldn't mind having myself.  But I still love my watch and want to keep it. 

Tis the Season...

...to be busy.  I decided to download pictures from the camera today to find I have taken only 7 since mid-November.  Sad.  And, my best picture from Thanksgiving, is this one:

So sorry Roger and Jack, you both look great in this shot.








Despite their apparent giddyness, Thanksgiving was really good.  Everyone brought something and we hung out and played games and talked all day long.  It was more relaxing for me than it has been in the past, and that was nice.

We went briefly shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but not first thing in the morning, and the crowds were not big.  Nate and I were sorely tempted to buy a giant TV at Wal-Mart.  They had TV's sitting up at the front of the store with really low prices.  It has been a long time since we looked, so we have no idea if they were good prices, and really we aren't impulse buyers, so maybe next year.  Then over the next few days I buckled down and finished all the Christmas shopping.  Finished.  What I couldn't find in stores, I ordered online.  Everything has arrived, yay!

However, I have a few birthdays in December I have yet to really take care of.  So technically only the Christmas shopping is done.

We have had some snow here this past week.  We have all had our turns shoveling and I can tell you, I am a bit sore.  Sunday morning I took a turn and the snow was really really wet, and I regretted even starting about halfway through.  It was wet and heavy, and it got warm enough to melt the snow into great lakes all down our street and at the the end of our driveway.  Then it gets cold, and we have big icy ponds.  The kids did play outside Saturday.  I was at the church putting together the gifts from the Relief Society, and when I came home they were making forts in the back yard.  Nate gave them my bread pans to make bricks for the forts, I was alarmed at first, but Bella brought them back in reasonably good condition.

Now we are just in the swing of holiday activities.  The kids are getting really excited for Christmas.  Sophie is a little confused about it all still, she seems to like Santa, but keeps telling people "Trick or Treat!"  I am sure in a few weeks it will all be clear to her.

V

It is so weird to be old enough to see the reincarnation of past trends. I suppose a lot of pop culture is on a giant cycle and so if you live long enough, you may see the same things pass by you several times.

When I was little, I spent a lot of evenings at my grandparents house. My grandpa watched a lot of sports and a lot of political stuff. I remember this because he always yelled at the TV, good times. And my grandma watched Falcon Crest, Dallas, and Cheers. For some reason, I remember watching V at their house quite vividly. Why, I have no idea, I was only 7 at the time. This pretty much guarantees I will have to check out the new show based on the old one. I think the remakes of a lot of shows like this are mainly attributed to massive leaps in technology. Also, the new V has Juliet from LOST. What does that mean for her character there? I mean, I remember how last season ended, but it's LOST, she's bound to show up in some fashion.

After writing this post, I think the main point was to practice my reference tags.

Halloween 2009

The kids and I before the trick or treating began. That's my niece, don't you love the ears-hilarious! Bella is wearing the Tinkerbell costume Bella wore when she was that size. Jack is a Jawa, I thought about painting his face, but he wasn't really wanting me to.
After all the trick or treating. Jack and Bella still had a lot of energy. Sophie was pooped. She began the night running up to every door and yelling trick or treat before anyone answered. Then she whispered it once some one answered. She did always say thank you, so that was good. Bella wanted to be a peacock this year. I made a colorful dress and attached a bunch of tulle to the back. She was very excited about it. But what made the girls really excited, was the makeup. Bella had a painted peacock mask, and they both were covered in glitter powder.
The kids carved their own pumpkins. Bella's has the big nose, Jack's is on the top step. I had fully intended to make a witch's has for the greenish one. But I ran out of steam. Maybe next year. Jack's candy is over half gone. He has a bit of an upset stomach, but claims it was worth it. Bella will have candy for months to come. And Sophie's got all sorted, we didn't take stuff we knew she's like out, just stuff that she would probably choke on like taffy and Werthers and the like. She got some temporary tattoos and really loves those. Also a hit was the mini cans of play dough.

Football

Jack took this!

From May to November, our lives basically revolve around football schedules. We have high school football practices, passing camps, and scrimmages in the summer. Then we go into flag football games, for both Jack and Nate. We have sophomore and JV games on Thursdays, and varsity games on Fridays. Then regular season college and NFL games begin, and we have regular entertainment on TV. This year, Jack and Nate are even doing some fantasy with Roger. If my daughters don't understand football by the time they are grown, it will be because they aren't paying attention.


All this football creates a very emotional atmosphere. People go from the high of highs, to the low of lows. If Jack has a good game, makes a few catches and pulls a few flags. We have a good week. If the high school teams struggle, I ready myself to administer no small amount of therapy. If BYU does badly, the whole household is sulky. And if the Colts lose, well, they have had a good season thus far. Thank you Colts, keep it up! But all my sympathy and interest ends when it comes to the fantasy league. I mean really, I am just too spent to be worried about the Jet's entire defense on a weekly basis.


The team Nate plays on with our ward did win it's game on Saturday, making them Stake Champions! A few of the players commented they heard me laugh quite a lot in the game. You see, these games don't draw a very big crowd, and I hadn't really watched one before. It was amusing to see these guys play like they weren't going to be terribly sore and really pay for it the next day. But now they are going to regionals! Who even knew they had regionals? Here in the Miskin household, we are very excited about it, this week is one of the high of highs.

Sophie's Birthday

Sophie had a birthday a while ago. Poor thing, doesn't get a post on her birthday. My excuse is that is was a very busy day. A very busy week in fact. Her grandma and great-grandma were visiting, so there was a lot of shopping and going out to eat. I got released from Young Womens. Bella had primary program practice. Jack had a football game. Nate and Jack needed a ride to the airport. Her grandma and great-grandma were visiting. Really, it was quite a busy time.

For weeks and weeks she asked for an Elmo Cake. She, like her sister before her, is a huge fan of Elmo and all things Sesame Street. Luckily for her, I already had an Elmo cake pan. She loved it, despite the hacking into Elmo moments after this picture was taken. She didn't get the whole blowing out the candles thing. I had to do it for her. Maybe next year.

She got everything a two year old could really want. However, in the picture above she is clutching her two favorite gifts, a pack of tic-tacs and a bag of marshmallows. I am going to just get her assorted mints for Christmas, really, she would be pleased as punch. After the tic-tacs and marshmallows were gone, she gained more interest in her other gifts. She carries the backpack around a lot and really tries to get money out of the Cinderella bank.

She tolerated her brothers football game pretty well. She told a lot of people it was Sophie's Happy Day. In fact, over a week later, she keeps telling people that. She's a busy kid lately, into everything and leaving a path of destruction like a whirlwind. She is really trying to assert herself and find out where her boundaries are. She talks a lot, most everything is understandable, but still some gibberish. She is finally starting to get a little taller and stretching out. She does not want me to do her hair under any circumstances. And I am not willing to risk cutting it yet. I can't believe how fast the past two years have gone!

Jack's Life Rocks

He and Nate went on their dream vacation this weekend. They had a great time and made it through a Cardinals game wearing Colts gear. The Colts won, they had great seats, and they got to fly to the game. Really, what more could two football enthusiasts ask for.

Bridal Veil Falls

A few weeks ago, we went up the canyon to Bridal Veil Falls to have a picnic. We try and go every year but must have missed the past few because both the kids seem to have forgotten about what it looked like. I was surprised to see how green and lovely everything was. The river was really really high and seemed to be running pretty fast. Nate proposed right near here, so it has significance to us because of that, I can't believe 12 years went by so fast (our anniversary was in August).

The kids now want picnics every week, and I need to find a few more spots before fall comes and gets to cold. I want to do better and taking advantage of the things around here that we never do or see.

Grandpa Goo?!?

Sophie has always been a fan of the magnadoodles. We have four or five of varying sizes around here and one of her favorite games is when we draw something and she guesses what it is. She's really good at it too. Until this one that is, I was drawing a muppet, she looked a without hesitation said "Grandpa Goo!" Sorry Brad.
Here is a picture of Grandpa Goo, just to dispel any ideas that he may actually resemble the about photo. It's about a year old, but let me assure you, he hasn't changed that much in the past year. And yes, the moustache is kind of spectacular. But he certainly doesn't have googly eyes or a big round nose so far as I can see.

First Day Of School

It was a couple of weeks ago, but it still feels like summer and we shouldn't be back yet, so I kept delaying this post. But here is what the kids looked like. Sophie is convinced that Bella's lunch box is her backpack and gets very angry when Bella needs to take it for lunch.

School has been going well so far. Jack is determined to have no homework this year, so far he is succeeding, he just does it after he finishes his work during school. Bella is doing good going all day. She isn't great about getting ready efficiently in the morning, but we are working on that. I guess that is a result of afternoon kindergarten last year and a love for sleeping in.

New Celing Fan!

Our old one was dreadful. It was that brassy shiny color with funny bumpy lights that were amber in color. Now, I know, after watching Trading Spaces in my younger years, my years of cable TV, that designers hate hate hate ceiling fans. And while they are not the most attractive thing, they do serve their purpose and serve it well. They move air all around in a pleasing and heating or cooling type of way. So rather than get rid of it, I replaced it with one with an understated nickle finish.

Nate got home in the middle of the installation and promptly asked it I had shut off the power. I have no words to express my response. I was actually holding wires as he said this. This is my second ceiling fan, and they aren't too bad after the first one. My arms were a little sore for a few days, but the still functioned. Last time, I couldn't muster the strength to blow my own nose, either I am in better shape than I was then, or I was just faster this time. I think I only need to replace four more light fixtures in this house, then on to the next project.

A Camping We Will Go-Sort Of

Each summer we have good intentions of taking the kids camping. We brainstorm a little, then go over the schedule, and abandon the idea.

So last summer, we decided to set up the tent in the back yard. It's pretty big, and there are a lot of tall weeds (thanks Lehi soil), and a lot of pesky trees (quaking aspens), and sometimes we don't mow the grass for quite a long time. So the experience can be very wilderness like.

The tent is foolishly large. I snatched it from my parents a few years ago. It has three rooms and a covered porch. The instructions on how to put it up seem to be missing a few key steps, so Nate and I have to pretend that we have degrees in engineering for a few hours. And then once it is up, it's sort of stable, unless there is a big gust of wind.


But the kids think it is fabulous and don't seem to care about sound construction. They pull out the air mattresses, sleeping bags, camp chairs, and flashlights, and have a bunch of fun. Bella packed a suitcase full of dolls, bouncy balls, and games to take with her. Jack filled all the pockets in the tent with treasures he needed. And Sophie played during daylight hours, not realizing there is a sleeping in the tent option. She and I camp inside the house. We are holdouts till next year. The kids watch movies outside on the laptop, and giggle into the wee hours with their flashlights. It's all great fun! One day, we will hopefully make it out camping into the great wide world, but until then, the back yard is a great substitute. You can't beat the very close indoor plumbing and stocked fridge.

Hard Work=Monkey

For the past two summers, we have been doing a chore system that involves the kids earning buttons for the chores they do. The buttons can be turned in for various rewards. They have daily chores they must do that are worth two buttons per day, then there are extra jobs worth various amounts of buttons they can choose to do. The rewards vary from three to fifty buttons. Over the past year when I was shopping, I picked up all sorts of rewards for the prize drawer, getting good deals on all sorts of things. At the beginning of the summer Bella saw this monkey and went nuts. She loves Littlest Pet Shop, and she loves monkeys-see the other one in the back ground.

She was overwhelmed at first with the idea of earning fifty buttons. She would turn in buttons for smaller rewards and such at the beginning of the summer, but she kept really wanting the monkey. A few weeks ago, she determined that she would go for it. She did a lot of extra jobs, worked really hard, and persevered.


The monkey has been her constant companion ever since. She can't seem to come up with a name though, I suggested Blossom, to which she grinned, but said "Oh Mom!" in a slightly patronizing way. So suggestions welcome, especially ones from other people who are less lame.

Recap!

It seems as though a lot has happened this past month, and it has flown by. So I will just give the high lights.

• Good 4th of July BBQ with Tim and Vanella. The best firework of the evening as determined by Jack-the parachute men.
• We went to Oregon for five days to hang out with the Grandparents. Sophie is still talking about their Border Collie's Luke and Leia. There was much fun at Pendleton Water Park.
• Jack had Scout Day Camp. He bought a pocket knife while there, 'nuff said.
• We all had dentist's appointments. Nate has some very strong enamel, the kids had no cavities, so hopefully he passed that strong enamel down. I on the other hand have two cavities and need to start getting ready for a few crowns. I blame my so-so teeth on the kids.
  
• Nate and I went to see Jack's Mannequin and The Fray at USANA amphitheater. We started the evening at the Cheesecake Factory where there was so much food we could not finish. The concert was great, we need to go more often.
  
• We saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I need to see it again to really solidify my opinion. I always spend the first viewing putting in all the parts of the book the movie has left out.
  
• Jack had his opthamologist appointment up at Primary Children's. His eyes are continuing to improve and he will get new glasses in January.
  
• My birthday was great, we looked for a serger for me, still working on that. My neighborhood had a BBQ because it's Pioneer Day, here in Utah, and it was a lot of fun. We had some very yummy tenderloin and lots and lots of good food.
  
• We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. So beautiful.
  
• In the mix of all that, we had t-ball, gymnastics, scouts, football, and young women activities. July has flown by.
• The above picture of Jack cracks me up every time I look at it.
  

T-Ball has begun

This is right after she hits the ball, check out the bat flying through the air. We need to work on the not throwing the bat thing. After coming to Jacks baseball games for the past four years, Bella is finally old enough to play. She is terribly excited about the whole thing. And I think all the baseball watching she has done is paying off, she seems to have some idea of what is going on. I must say, t-ball is incredibly fun to watch. There is a lot of infielders. They all pounce on the ball. No one is really strong enough to throw the ball from one base to another. There is a lot of confusion about which way to run. And whoever hits last always gets a home run.

Bella much prefers these games to any of the minor league games we have been to. She is terrified of the mascot, and as long as one isn't there, baseball is fun. The mascot shows up, and she is ready to go.

Dark, rainy, rainbow

Nate and I were out on a date a few weeks ago when we noticed a giant rainbow arching across the night sky. It was so strange, because it was really getting quite dark and it seemed so ominous and murky outside. So, Nate snapped a few pictures while I drove. I have a bad habit of occasionally taking pictures while I am driving, so I am glad he was there. This is just on Main Street in Lehi around 8:45 p.m.. You can tell how cloudy it is because there are massive mountains in front of us that are clearly not visible. It was just nice to see a rainbow after all the rain we had been having. I don't remember it ever raining so much in June before.

Picnic in the Park

Nate had a wild hair and wanted to try and make some borscht. He pulled out his Russian cookbook and started trying to figure out and translate the recipe. I suggested we head to a farmers market to get some fresh ingredients. It always seems we are heading out to go somewhere just before lunch. Instead of going out, I threw some sandwiches together, put some stuff in a cooler and stashed it in the car.

Nate translated ingredients all the way there with hopes of finding them all at the market. However, when we got there, there wasn't as much produce as we had hoped and all we would have really been able to get is beets. So borscht is on the back burner right now. I think he is hoping to find a less complicated recipe, and I am hoping to find a farmers market overflowing with produce. I suspect there is more earlier in the morning.

But the day was not a bust. The kids love having picnics and were thrilled when they found out we would be having one. The blanket is one my mom made me when I graduated high school, and it has been used and loved so much, that it is starting to come apart. But it's really large and makes a perfect blanket to have in the car.

Nate tried to take a little nap after we ate, but he didn't have any luck with that (shocking, I know). So we headed out for a little dessert and then home for the day.

Suessical The Musical

Midvale City put on a production of Suessical the Musical the last few weeks in June. Since we were Midvale residents for four years, we happened to know a couple of people in the cast. We surprised the kids by going up and watching their friends perform. It was a cute little production and we had a lot of fun! The kids keeps singing about all the Thinks You Can Think!

The musical was performed outdoors. It was perfect, Sophie had a little room to wander and dance, and there were a lot of kids, so we didn't seem to be too disruptive. The evening wasn't too hot or too cold. It makes me want to hit more outdoor productions. I have really fond memories of going to Woodminster when I was little with my family. Something about being outside with all the lights and music is so fabulous.

Tree Of Life

The kids love it when we go down to BYU and take them around our old stomping grounds. A few weeks ago we met up with the Utah Valley Miskins for lunch in the Cougareat. Arriving early, the kids and I took a little tour around campus. They wanted me to take their picture with each statue, sculpture and display we came across. Particularly they loved playing hide-n-seek around the tree of life sculpture. Sophie thought it was great fun.

After lunch we went to the Erying Science Building with Roger and Cassie and the kids looked at all the fun displays. I don't even think I did that when I was there. Then we took a tour through the new Smith Family Living Center building, I think it has a new name, but I didn't catch it. In the building is a museum of education and the church. They had all sorts of replicas, old photos, and video displays.

I always get nostalgic when I go down to campus. I had so much fun going to school there and like to tell the kids about it. But it is always disheartening when the students look so young. I mean, I was just there!

Family Pictures

Check them out here. It was silly all the things we ran into. But I felt determined to get some done, we hadn't since Isabella was 6 months old. I really love Sanae's style and can't wait to see all of the rest. She was so patient with Sophie, who is not a big fan of looking at the camera. And it's nice to have some pictures of Nate and I, we haven't had any in almost a dozen years.

Another one bites the dust, or the roll

This afternoon Bella bit into a dinner roll and her tooth came halfway out. She actually had me take it out-minor miracle-the tooth has been loose for months. I honestly don't know how she managed to keep it in so long.

This is her third tooth lost. The bottom two have come out and have since grown partway in. They still look pretty small though, it is hard to imagine her with big, grown-up teeth. Needless to say, the tooth fairy will be making a visit in a few hours.

Happy Birthday Bella or I Will Not Be Choosing Applebees For My Birthday Ever Again

Bella turned 6 years old on Friday the 29th! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. She had a fabulous birthday week. Her Grandma Goo and G.G. surprised her by driving down for the week. They got here on Sunday just in time for dinner.

She had a pretty exciting week overall. We had a Memorial Day BBQ Monday with all the Miskin side of the family. Then she had her Kindergarten Graduation Program on Thursday. She was so excited she sang the songs and recited the program to us again and again. Then on Thursday night we decided to go out to Applebee's for a birthday dinner because her grandma and G.G. needed to leave Friday morning. Well, it all started out okay. She was having a great time until my mom told the waiter it was her birthday. Well, all the waitstaff came over to sing to her and things went downhill from there. The manager that sang also works at Roger's Applebee's and he is foolishly loud. And Bella, she doesn't really like to be singled out or the center of attention amongt groups of unfamiliar people. She sank further and further into the seat as they sang louder and louder. The manager afterward said he had toned it down upon seeing her stricken face. They left and immediately said "I will not be choosing Applebee's for my birthday ever again". It was funny and sad at the same time. But the guy did sing really loud.

Then on Friday she got to open all her presents first thing in the morning. It is becoming a bit of a tradition to do that because we seem to always be busy birthday nights with unrelated activities. Anyway, she got so many gifts, Nate and I were trying to compensate because Jack got a bike I think.

Nate and Jack left for Father and Son's campout, so the girls and I went to McDonalds for dinner and then met up with the Miskin's at Cold Stone for dinner. Twas yummy.

Little Gymnast

Bella had a gymnastics meet this past week. Gymnastics is one of those things she looks forward to going to every week. She has a ton of fun and has gotten really strong over the last little while.

They had a theme of being superheroes. The came out wearing capes at the beginning, then did a routine on the floor to "Go the Distance" from Hercules.

They just run and jump for the vault, there is no actual vault yet, but they call it that anyway.

And I think she likes the bars the best. It was so fun to go and watch her.

Play Ball!

So, Jack has had a few baseball games these past few weeks. Every week I pull out my camera to take some pictures of him. Sophie will get up in my face and yell "me! me! me!" until I take her picture. By this point I have missed Jack batting, or pitching, so I put the camera away. This year will be a tough year of games. Sophie wants to play on the bleachers, but isn't allowed to. She thinks everyone around her wants to give her snacks, which they aren't allowed to. But mostly, she wants her dad to hold her. And as he is the coach, he can't. So we do spend a lot of time talking about him being busy. Next game, I will manage to get a picture of Jack.

Books Read In 2009

So, I have been keeping a list of books I have read since the beginning of the year over there <--------------------------------------------------. In the beginning I made a few ground rules. I wouldn't include any re-reads. And I would try and to pick out something random from the library every few weeks. The flaw in my plan is there is no way to tell how I feel about any of the books. So, I will make two lists. One that is books I liked, one that I didn't. Occasionally I do review the stuff I read on GoodReads. So if you would like, you can find me over there.

Swimsuit Style

So for the past few months I have been doing water aerobics in the wee hours of the morning three days a week. Last Friday as I hung up my swimsuit to dry, I noticed the fabric was getting a little thin. Upon further investigation I saw it was dangerously thin. Alarming to say the least.

When I was nine years old we went on a big family vacation through Canada. In Edmonton we went to a huge mall with a water park inside. While waiting in line with my mom and little brother, a man in a speedo passed by. One side of the back of his swimsuit was torn leaving his bottom exposed. And to make matters worse for the poor guy, all the water park employees were using their walkie-talkies to radio to one another to watch out for the guy. Just for the sake of seeing him, not to throw him a towel. I think this incident contributed to me letting people know if their fly is down, food in teeth, or skirt tucked into pantyhose. And I also never ever want my swimsuit to rip open ever, for any reason.

So, a swimsuit shopping I went. Now, this is never a particularly fun chore. The lighting in dressing rooms is not flattering, you wear underwear underneath, also not flattering. And, most suits are clearly not made for any sort of exercise. I would say they are mostly ornamental. So, I set out in search of something more sturdy. I went to Kohl's, Dillards, TJ Maxx, Macy's, JC Pennys, Target. Nothing. In fact almost everything they had were tankini's, which are okay, or one-pieces with a neckline that plunged down to the bellybutton-not okay, really, I've had three kids.

Finally I gave in and went to a Sporting Goods store. I tried on all manner of suits. I ended up with one identical in style to my old one-I guess some things are tried and true. Apparently I require a racer back style suit with very little excitement about it. And one that is fully lined-you know-just to have an extra layer between me and the rest of the world.

Spring Break

The kids got a full week off for Spring Break this year. We tried to make all sorts of plans to go somewhere and everything kept not quite working out, so we had some adventures here.

We only had one day that was really nice outside, so we went to the Hogle Zoo. Sophie had never been to the zoo before and had a great time. I decided to pull her in the wagon so we could bring along a picnic lunch. I thought the wagon was going to roll over us all coming down a few hills, but we managed to survive with only a few bumps and no major wrecks.

Jack is almost the size of a gorilla. The kid is really starting to stretch out. He had one sad moment when he picked an animal to ride on on the carousel that didn't move up and down. But he survived and will probably always notice such things on all carousels he rides in future. It was funny how he couldn't believe it and kept asking why they would even bother putting on a non-moving animal. This is from the kid that once picked to sit on a bench on a carousel with his grandma (who is not a fan of going around and around anyway). He has apparently changed his stance on this. Bella saw the peacocks for the first time and has decided she would like to be one for Halloween. I have seen the baby peacock costumes by Tom Arma, so I will probably try and figure something out based one those. If she doesn't change her mind, it will be pretty funny.

Sophie thought all the animals were great. She would repeat their names as we told her and point and laugh. She had a ton of fun. She liked the carousel, she liked part of her lunch-which is a success in my book.

She had a great time until the train, which concerned her greatly...She didn't cry, but she looked like this most of the time. Twas hilarious.

On Wednesday, we all went to the Children's Discovery Museum. The museum has a kid sized town full of activities. There is also a big water table with plastic bubbles to play with and all sorts of arts/ crafts, and tactile exploration things. Jack went a few years ago on a school trip and seemed to really like it. The biggest hit was the rock wall. The wall wasn't too high, so most of the time the kids spent going across vertically. They did it so many times they could barely move their arms. I love to see that level of exhaustion. We were at the wall for at least an hour, then went back again as the last thing we did. There was a play vegetable garden right next to it for Sophie to play in while Jack and Bella crawled all over the wall.

On Thursday, we met Nate for lunch and went to the Disney Store. Then on Friday, I surprised the kids by taking them swimming. I was a bit apprehensive because last year Sophie was not so fond of the water. So I warned the other two that we may not get to stay as long as they would like if she hated it. But she didn't, she loved it. She didn't mind the splashing or going under water or being carried around. She liked the deep better than the shallow and loved going around the lazy river. We swam until all pruny and water logged. There are no pictures because my camera isn't water friendly. I was pretty tired by the end of the week. And so it wasn't so bad when they went back to school and I got in a few naps.

Nine is Fine!

Jack is nine years old today! Nate and I started the festivities last night. After Jack fell asleep we moved him out of his bed and changed the bedding to new Star Wars sheets and a quilt I had made him. He usually sleeps in a nest of blankets, he said he woke up while it was dark and searched for all his blankets until he just decided to crawl under the unfamiliar quilt on his bed to warm up-crazy kid.He got out of bed early as well, I returned from water aerobics around 7:15 and everyone was awake and ready to tear into some presents. I have tried year after year to convince him to not go for all of them in the morning, but wait until evening and spread them out during the day, but I have not been successful.
He was delighted to receive remote control helicopter from Nate and I, along with a new bike. His sisters got him a lacrosse set and Bella is dying to play.

Then at just after 8, I let him call his grandma and grandpa so he could open their gifts while they listened on. They were good sports, it was 7 am there. Anyway, he was thrilled with everything but really freaked out about the Giant Lego Star Wars Republic ship. My mom has a good story about the legos. They went on clearance at her Wal-Mart after Christmas. Things go on clearance there that don't seem to go on clearance here. Well, the price was better than the original, but still pretty high, so she watched and watched for them to drop lower. They never did. She came down here to visit, and when she went back, all the lego sets were gone. Then she went back a few days later, and they were back, but still not marked any lower, she decided to scan one anyway just to see if they hadn't marked the tag yet. And they hadn't! She called very excited to tell me she had gotten this huge lego set for like 75% off! And if you have a kid who loves legos, you know they are expensive and almost never go on sale. So there has been much excitement all around about this particular set. It paid off, Jack is very very very excited.

Thus far the kid has had a great day and currently I am making a football field cake. I remember being nine fondly, and I hope he does as well. This is the last year of single digits, it is really flying by. Love you Jack!

We survived the flood

It was a long and no fun process to empty the crawl space, dry it out, and fill it back up, but we survived and most everything is back in it's place.

About a month ago we bought a new couch. Our old couch sat near it in our over crowded living room until Saturday when Nate attempted to take it to the D.I.. They wouldn't take it because of a rip in the fabric. Who knew? So now I need to find out about other disposal methods, this is on my todo list.

Jack got his Wolf! I am so very excited about this. We worked on it regularly all year. It's really one of the few things I have procrastinated on. I am really grateful for my years in Primary as a scout rep that taught me what I needed to do with Jack in Cub Scouts. He loves doing all the achievements and is so excited to go into Bears. I am so proud of him.
We also dyed Easter Eggs. I am really bad a holiday celebrations. This is one we never miss though. Which is ironic, because although the kids love dying eggs, they loathe eating them. Nate and I are then left with a lot of hard boiled eggs to consume. Nate does pretty good making them into sandwiches and such, I on the other hand only really like them plain. Sophie would only try them with the shell on.


This year we did tye-dye eggs. Basically the egg is wrapped in a little swath of fabric and then you drip dye all over the fabric with an eye dropper. It goes a little slow, but the kids liked the result. The really dark egg is the dinosaur egg Jack made by mixing all the colors of dye. He is torn because he really wants to eat it, but then remembers he doesn't like eggs. I keep encouraging him to just eat it anyway.


I sang in Stake Choir for Stake Conference this past weekend. I really liked it, I had forgotten how much I loved choir when I was in high school. It was interesting to sit on the stand and watch everyone, including poor Nate being accosted by Sophie in the very back. When she is tired she gets a bit violent.

Nate and I are still spending Wednesday nights obsessed with LOST. Lat night's episode was good, looks like Faraday will be back soon. I loved the Hurley/Miles Empire Strikes Back scene. Except for all the hating on the Ewoks! I was seven when Return of the Jedi came out and I loved them! Makes sense being seven and all. And now I can't tell if they were foolish or not, too much nostalgia involved.

Jack and I have started watching the new season of The Deadliest Catch. Honestly, I don't know why I love this show-I just do. Really if we ever lost the Discovery Channel I would be really tempted to spring for cable. Anyway, the new season just started and I tape (yeah, no DVR either, we live in the stone ages) it so Jack and I can watch it the next day-it's on too late for either of us to catch in real time. Something about the drama of who will find the crab, who will have catastrophe after catastrophe, and Mike Rowe's very dramatic narration totally suck me in every season. And I don't even like to eat crab.

Get Out Your Waders

I began the day early. Opening the door and getting ready to leave for water aerobics at six greeted me with three inches of snow on the car. It was so difficult to go clean off the car while I was warm and in flip flops. I was awake though and I must like water aerobics a lot, because I cleared off the car and went. Obstacle one-conquered.

Nate has a big project he's been working on at work, so he was all ready to go when I got home just after seven. Of course, all the kids got up within moments after I got home, so we ate breakfast then headed downstairs to snuggle, watch PBS Kids and read board books. Sitting on the couch I heard a strange drip drip drip. My first thought was to investigate. Then I thought no, truthfully, I don't want to know what that noise is. I want it to be melting snow, so that is what it should be. I sat for a few more minutes and sense kicked in and I realized I must investigate.

So, in this house we have three bathrooms. Two on the top floor, one on the bottom, none in the middle. The kids are reluctant to use the bathroom on the bottom floor. It is in the laundry room and they must pass the opening to the crawl space. Now the crawl space has a door, it just hasn't been installed yet. It's been waiting a good long time, at least two years I speculate. I am thankful they are afraid of the crawl space, because that means I can stash stuff there and they don't investigate it. Anyway, back to bathroom usage. I don't use the bathroom on the bottom floor often either. I have decided I can count going up and down the stairs as exercise, so I do that. That leaves Nate, who does use the downstairs bathroom. Now, Nate is definitely the most meticulous and observant person in the house. That is important to know.

It is also important to know that the downstairs toilet is stupid. It leaks occasionally. Meaning months can go by, no leak, then all of the sudden, constant leak. Nate has made attempts, and we are lured into believing the leak is fixed, when all of the sudden, it is back. The leak seems to generate around the base of the toilet. This indicates to me the wax seal has an issue. My solution is to turn off the toilet and ignore it's existence. This works for me as it frees me from cleaning said toilet.

Back to my investigation of the drip drip drip. I open the door to the laundry/bathroom and discover the floor is covered in water. Sophie comes running in after me and proceeds to water slide across the floor unexpectedly. I pick her sopping self up and realize the toilet is overflowing everywhere in a very slow fashion. Instantly I panic a bit. I've got one kid drenched with freezing water and two others laughing. "Wow, did you see how far Sophie slid mom!" Once I realize where the water is coming from, I know I need to bathe Sophie, after all, toilet water is toilet water. So, I get dirty towels to sop up some of the water, turn off the water supply to the toilet and then get upstairs to put Sophie in the tub. In all of this, Jack manages to get ready and leave for school. I don't even remember him going, I know, great moments in parenting. At this point, I need to confer with another adult as to the next course of action. The toilet bowl is completely full, and I realize it can't stay like this. And water is everywhere, though curiously not next to the door or on the carpet. So, I get Nate on the phone and explain the situation. He is alarmed, but stays on while I flush the toilet and assess the damage. Now, across from the toilet is an unfinished shower stall. I store empty boxes and bins there. I have been meaning to clean it out for ages. I have a deep and abiding love for Rubbermaid bins. Ever since I moved from home to college I have acquired quite a collection of them. Nate, in the past gave me a hard time, like my stuff was too good to store in regular boxes. Bins are uniform, I like that. And now, I have a lot of dry stuff, thank you Rubbermaid.

So, also in the laundry room are a few bins waiting to go into the crawl space. So I decide to get them out of there and put them where they need to go. This is when things got worse. I turned the light on to the crawl space and saw standing water everywhere. Water had leaked out of the toilet, under the washer and dryer, through the wall and down into the crawl space, there was a mini waterfall going as I took it all in. The crawl space isn't really full, but there were a lot of things sitting in all that water. Then onto the next thought, how am I supposed to get that water out of there? I really don't want Lake Toilet Water under the house. I found the phone as fast as I could and called Nate back in a total panic. I quickly explained and he quickly said he was coming home. He works twenty minutes away.

I began moving stuff to the difficult side of the crawl space. Blessedly the space is divided in two with a concrete divided about 10 inches high in the middle. And only one side was flooded. But I call the unflooded sided difficult because there are all sorts of vertical supports for the load bearing wall they support. I moved stuff until Nate got home, then he took over the rearranging. I escaped the situation by going to buy a Shop Vac. I think there are a few things houses should just come with. Shop Vacs are high on the list. So are lawnmowers. And long metal pole things that turn on your irrigation water each spring. When I returned I was calmer. I decided despite the inconvenience and surprise, it will be good to get a few things cleaned out and rearranged. And Nate and I have decided to replace the offending toilet. Really, we hate it and it needs to go. And we may finish the lower bathroom, which would make me very happy. And there was no damage to the wall behind the washer and dryer where all the water came through. At first I wanted to figure out how to seal that off, but if we did seal it off and have another flood, would the water just go into the family room? Also not a good place. Of course the ideal thing would be no more water disasters. But with the washing machine, a sink, toilet, water heater, and possibly shower in one room, I will not be shocked at another flood. But I will be armed with my Shop Vac.

Belated

Seems as though I've been late in giving birthday and holiday wishes lately. I have no good excuse. But to try and make up a little, here goes:

Happy Birthday Uncle Rick!

Happy Birthday Terry!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Happy Birthday Jeff! I know, I only have one sibling and here I am so late. Hope the job hunt is going well.

Happy Birthday BeckyG! I will email you again about times to go out.

Happy Birthday Alice! Since it was yesterday, this isn't too bad. Hope your insurance rates go down!

And, I know I have missed several niece/nephew birthdays. But I am not sure how many-sorry, pathetic, I know. So happy birthday to all of you!

Happy Anniversary Vanella and Tim! That went by fast.

Also, Happy St. Patricks Day to all. The outfit Sophie is wearing belonged to Bella. Bella loves it when Sophie wears her old clothes. She got this from Uncle Rick and Aunt Becky, who adore all things Irish.