When in doubt, head to the beach...

Couldn't think of anything exciting to do this weekend, so I took the monkeys to the beach right after school. It was perfect weather, perfect tide, not too crowded, and we totally enjoyed it!

Sometimes princesses get tired

All that princessiness and acting dignified can really wear a girl out. There just comes a time when all princesses get tired.



Come to think of it, so do cowgirls.

No time to blog when you're having fun!

Wow, we've been busy.
Memorial Day started out bright and early with a 6:30am surprise trip to IHOP. The surprise was they don't open until 7. Once we finally got in and Lucy got some bacon, it wasn't so bad. The kids had a great time and were actually well behaved.
We then kept busy for a few hours (while Jake worked, of course) until the ward party. We went to the beach for the annual bbq and other than a few exploding cans of soda (one of the deacons taught Tate what happens when you shake a can), it was rather nice.


We spent quite a while at Miley's new favorite spot, Rock Huckin' Pond.

Yes, that's a grape soda mustache and a dirty look on Lucy's face.


**Went to the doctor again at 12 weeks and it's still in there! Went again this week and the hamster now has arms, legs, and digits! I guess we can't call it a hamster anymore and we have to start planning for this one to actually make it here! **

How can you tell your brother got a hold of your camera?

Potty training, shmotty training!

A few days ago, I'm ashamed to say, it was 9:00 in the morning and I still hadn't changed Miley's diaper for the day. Ok, it was 10. I kept commenting on how I really needed to change it, but then I'd run off in a different direction with the laundry, dishes, whatever. Well, I think Lucy had her fill of empty promises because she took matters into her own hands. She changed him all by herself, and I must say, this is even better than potty training! I don't have to do a thing!

Doesn't every parent think their kid is the cutest?

Tate's Field Trip

I know it's like Where's Waldo, but he's in there. We spent all morning wandering from one pen of smelly animals to another. It was great, but the real highlight of the trip was the legos.
Oh, that and the horse that snotted all over some girl's hand.

Can you say Preppy Greenwich Boy?

(He dressed himself on this day. This is not my doing!)

Something is wrong with our children...

They keep flopping out of bed at night like fish from a net. We find them like this all the time! Last week, Jake found Lucy downstairs curled up on the hardwood floor, shivering at 3 in the morning!

An excellent article to read

If you have 5 minutes, read this. Be sure to read all the way to the end.

"It's like cramming three birthdays into one!"

I can't believe how many things we did on Jake's birthday, but here's the run down:
We started the day with trips to the dump (woohoo!), the blood draw place (I took Tate and Lucy to that and got all kinds of sympathy), Costco for Jake's giant apple pie, and the farmer's market. We all met up at T-ball, where Tate and Lucy showed off the Parker athletic skills and Miles tried to go swimming in the stream.



Our great friends, the Boyles, met us here (surpise!) and we all headed to the Stamford Nature Center and Museum for the Lego exhibit. Tate had been keeping it a secret since his field trip, and he about burst with excitement when we walked in.



We checked out all the animals, scared the chickens, touched a giant turtle, annoyed the turkeys, and ran away screaming from the big horse. Great fun for all. Except the turkeys.



We came home and assembled a birthday feast while the kids played outside. Iris cleaned my kitchen while I sat there like a nauseated lump. Thanks Iris! Then all the other friends (Winslow's and Turley's) showed up and we ate and ate and ate.



We weren't quite tired enough by 7:30, so all of us (except the Turleys) walked over to the school carnival to waste some money.



The big hit of the evening was the giant gunny sack slide (Miley rode twice on my lap), followed closely by the ferris wheel. We walked (pulling all those lazy kids in the wagon) home, bid goodbye to our friends, and watched Jake unwrap his presents, which were expertly wrapped in plastic Walmart bags. He got new scriptures, Indiana Jones DVD's, and of course, a new box of Legos. He assures me it was a great birthday, but I was too tired to notice.
Happy 31, Honey, we love you!

Making cupcakes with my Cupcake

Every time we're in the grocery store, Miles BEGS for those plastic containers of pre-made cupcakes from the bakery. I always say, "No, we'll make some at home." Well, he's gotten wise to my game, because last week he complained, "No we won't!"
I took everybody home, put away the stuff, and Miles and I made cupcakes together. He was a very happy boy.



In other news, Jake's birthday was yesterday! We and the Boyles (surprise!) had a great day. I'll add pictures later. Tate's feeling much better from last weekend (I love antibiotics), and everyone else is doing fine. I'm going back to the doctor this week (still not getting excited) to see if anything has changed. It's always exciting around here!

There must be something strange in our drinking water...

I have no idea. . .

Lucy Quote of the Day

While eating baby carrots:
"Ooh, I just bit my finger! Oh, and it was my favorite finger!"

Outings are way more fun when Mom doesn't come. . .

I had a migraine on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, so my lovely husband evacuated the kids from the house and took them on a walk. They ended up at a park up the street and stayed for over an hour (thank you!) collecting garbage, er, I mean nature in a bag and throwing rocks into the pond. They seem to have enjoyed it immensely.

Thanks Mom

To the woman who put college on hold for 30 years because of me, who ate the infamous cheesecake with a smile, who cut bubble gum out of my hair after I made a crown, who didn't get too mad about the pink slip I got for fighting the little girl who called me a boy after getting that haircut, who made me perfect toast when I was sick, who protected me when my dad tried to make me taste his sardine and mustard sandwich, who let me stay up very very late to read in bed, who didn't get mad when I cut my bangs 1/2 inch long when was 11, who took me out to a movie on the night of my Senior Prom so I wouldn't feel bad about not getting asked, who took me out to breakfast while my dad and brothers fried chicken livers in the morning, who forced me to waltz with her in the living room to get me out of a bad mood, who played barbies with me even though I now realize it was torturous, who told my dad it was ok to make a mud pit in the backyard for us to play in, who gave me 3 little brothers and a sister so I wouldn't be lonely, who made us stop at every "hysterical marker" on road trips so we wouldn't be uncultured hicks, who let us slide down the stairs in slippery sleeping bags for fun, who bottled cinnamon apples so we'd have something yummy when we had to eat our year's supply for a year, who taught me how to bait a hook, who let me ride my bike in my nightgown, who let us eat our dinner on the floor in the living room so we could watch Fraggle Rock, who would bribe us with a dollar if we answered a question right in scripture study in the morning just so we would pay attention, who picked out my husband for me, who came and helped me after each baby of my own, who treats my kids like her own, and who taught my oldest to bait a hook, Happy Mother's Day. I love you.

Happy Mother's Day, Love Elmer

I have a very sweet husband. He's kind and thoughtful and generous and unselfish and a horrific cook. He made me breakfast this morning for Mother's Day. I tried to talk him out of it. He wouldn't let me help, so I just stayed upstairs with visions of fires and messes dancing in my head. When we finally sat down to breakfast, Tate tasted the pancakes, leans over to me and whispers, "They're disgusting!" Lucy took a bite and said, "Ooh, Daddy, can I have cereal?" I gathered my courage, determined not to hurt his feelings, and stuck one bite in my mouth. It was as if a third grader mixed rubber cement and Elmer's glue, then fried it. Kind of crunchy on the outside and adhesivey in the middle. I smiled and said, "They're great. Thanks for being so nice." Miles, the human garbage disposal, took two or three bites in rapid succession. After his taste buds caught up with his fork, he quickly spit it out on his plate and said, "Ew."
Jake watched all of this, then he stuck a bite in his own mouth. After considerable effort, he swallowed and said, "Should we have cereal for breakfast?"
The kids cheered, I dumped it all in the trash, and everyone enjoyed Frosted Mini Wheats for Mother's Day.

Another reason to love summer

I got a new toy - a new grill bowl. I can put any little veggies on the grill and they don't fall through the bars. Summer food makes me happy. I think it's the fact that I can cook outside, it's not dark while I'm doing it, and the kids are running around the backyard like maniacs with all the neighbors getting nice and tired and hungry. Summer's grand.
Oh, and cold pasta salads!

So far, so good. . .

The time has come. It can be hidden no longer. As my lovely friend, Laura, stated today at church, "If I didn't know, I'd just think you were getting a little tubby around the middle." I've done this 8 times now, and my body is getting a head-start on the spare tire. I can only wear my wool coat all the way through church so many times before I start getting "the look". That, and I got caught snarfing peanut butter crackers in the mother's room at church. (On fast Sunday!)

So, if I can make it past that magical week #12 that has tripped us up so many times, Thanksgiving might be hotdogs and rootbeer this year.
(I think the above picture resembles a smushed strawberry. Jake votes a hamster.)

My little weirdo

Jake and I have decided that, as a two year old, Miley's got the most unique personality of all our kids.

Maybe they have been listening.

I'm thinking today of my friend Bekki. She is the best friend of my s-i-l, Leslie, and I've known her and her husband for a very long time. Bekki's middle son, Garrett, passed away today at the age of 4 1/2 from a very very sudden case of encephalitis. We just saw him while we were in AZ and in fact, he and Tate had a wonderful time terrorizing each other at the splash park. I've been teary all day thinking about, "How would I feel if it was my 4 1/2 year old, Lucy?" "How is Bekki not insane from grief?" "How do you recover as a family from something like this?"
I went to tell my kids, and their response was amazing.
"Hey guys? Remember Garrett in AZ? Well, he got really sick all of a sudden, and he died today." Tate looked down and stared at the floor, "Oh." Lucy's eyes got really big and she didn't answer for a second or two. Then, "When does he get to see Heavenly Father?!"
"Uh, right now. He's with him right now."
Tate's responded right away with, "Wow, I wish I could see Him." And Lucy said, "Yeah, I wonder what he looks like?"
And then Tate added, "I wonder how long he'll have to wait for his family to come too."
It was so interesting to watch them use all those things they've heard and learned. I just thought it was all going in one ear and out the other, but they believe. They've been listening! They know that Garrett will be with his family one day.
My kids, with their simple questions, lifted me and reminded me of why this is not the end. I've never been more grateful to have an Eternal Family, sealed in the temple.