More from UT

One afternoon my dad took my little family out to the local lake for some casual boating. Once on the lake we discovered that sometime last fall before my dad stored the boat for the winter a squirrel had made a home in the engine compartment and in several other hidden places.  There were thousands of pine cones stashed away! 

Pine cones or not, this is the summer my kids lost all inhibitions behind a boat, even #3.  They all took rip-roaring tubing rides, catching serious air and loving it!  A few weeks later #1 and #2 were determined to try to wake board.  They had varying levels of success but came away determined that next summer they are going to really learn the sport.


On another morning, my mom rounded up #1 and #2 for a four mile hike. She wanted to make sure they were ready for the backpacking trip planned for the end of the month.  More on that later.

 

Bear Lake Reunion

I think I've mentioned here before how my kids start looking forward to Bear Lake the day after Christmas.  #1 says it's her favorite place in the world.  Bear Lake is beautiful and is certainly a special place but I keep trying to figure out why, exactly, do my kids love it so much.  My ideas:

because the bathing and grooming standards are lowered?

because they eat more candy and junk here than they do at Halloween?

because they have more freedom to wander (and hide from mom!) than they normally do?

because they have a million cousins to play with all the time?

because it's the only time of year they have access to cable television?

because the pool has no lifeguard and there are virtually no rules?

Whatever their reasons, they love it and it makes me love our Bear Lake week because I know how happy they are there.

 

Buster on the beach

#3 and her sun kissed cheeks (and candy blue tongue!)

 

 # 3 trying to "teach" her little cousin how to hit a ball.  Funny thing, it should actually be the other way around with him teaching her how to hit.

 

 #1, my beach beauty

 

Spouse's parent's cabin is just 15-20 minutes away from Bear Lake.  We spent the last afternoon there and Spouse took the kids on thrill ride in this thing.

 

#2, #3 and #1 loving their Grandma

 

 and some of their cousins

 

 Spouse and his dad

 

miles of sloping sidewalk for #2 to work on his skateboarding

  

 #1 tying to throw a strike!

Midweek Spouse flew in from AZ to enjoy the rest of our time at Bear Lake and to be there for my family reunion the following week.  Life is always better when Spouse is around.  

Next up, my family reunion.  Prepare yourselves.

Home Again

It's good to be home from my summer sabbatical to Utah.  Wait. Truthfully, it's actually kind of painful.  I love being with my family and in the midst of the green and cooler temperatures.  And it doesn't help that I come home at the peak of the worst season in AZ.  And it doesn't help that I'm 9 months pregnant and an icy cold Diet Coke is still 3 weeks away.  But let's focus on the positive here! 

Being in Utah for a month was just what the doctor ordered for my swelling, slowing self. My kids were entertained by cousins, green parks, reunions, trampolines, sprinklers and Aggie Ice Cream. I didn't cook dinner for a month (thanks Mom!) and barely kept up with our laundry.  At least twice daily someone was telling me to go lay down.  Well, if you insist.  My energy levels were up  and my swelling went down.  It was heaven.

Our journeys began on July 2nd. My good parents met me and my brood in Kanab to help me drive the rest of the way.  In fact, after Kanab I didn't drive at all!  My dad had brought pillows and helped arrange me comfortably in the passenger side of his car and my mom took over the wheel of the Jeep.  I was spoiled! 

We spent the first few days in Provo, where two of my sisters live, so we could celebrate the 4th of July together. Brother Brig and his wife also joined us for some of the festivities.

After grabbing some ice cream at the Cougar Creamery we headed up Provo Canyon to enjoy the beauty and ice cold waters at Bridal Veil Falls. 

 

In the afternoon my sister invited us all over for a BBQ.  She had set up her Slip 'n Slide for the kids to enjoy, but somehow the hose became unattached and this giant mud/sand pit was born. It all rinsed off and they loved it.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to get good seats at the famous Provo 4th of July parade.  It's been years since I've been and it definitely did not disappoint.  There were marching bands and floats from every nearby community with their local beauty royalty perched a top.  Buster especially loved the tanks and WWII vehicles and the Civil and Revolutionary war reenactments.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and after some afternoon naps it was time to stake our claim on the hill at Rock Canyon Park for a good view of the fire works.  My sister brought supplies for ice blocking, which ended up being a fantastic idea since the fireworks didn't start until nearly 10:30 pm.


We didn't arrive in Logan until the evening of the 5th. Coming around the final bend of Sardine Canyon to behold the green and quaint valley is one of my favorite moments every year.  I'm always flooded with nostalgia and gratitude for its beauty. 

I will try not to overwhelm you, dear readers, with every detail and every picture of my lovely month.  In fact, let's see if I can recount my experiences in three posts, or less.  There are, after all, other things on the horizon (#3's first day of Kindergarten and the impending arrival of #4) that will need our attention soon.

Maternity Update (photo included!)

After one of the church meetings on Sunday a friend leaned over the pew to chat with me. 

"So!  Any day now, huh?  You getting excited for this to be over?"

Me: "I'm not getting excited yet, since I still have eight or nine weeks. I'm not due till the end of August."

Her eyes blinked and widened and the friendly smile sort of melted as her mind tried to visualize my current state PLUS an additional eight or nine weeks of growth. 

"Wow.  Last month I thought you were on the home stretch. That's why I was surprised to see you here again, still pregnant."

This is the #3 reason why I fantacize about home-churching it until the baby comes.  The pain I see in other people's eyes when they look at me is almost as uncomfortable as my heartburn.


{The first two reasons:

#1: It's uncomfortable to sit for three hours. My ankles end up like sausages and my feet look like bear paws. After the meetings I have to limp out to my car.

#2:  I'm running out of properly fitting dresses.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to paint a dress on my ever expanding body. And my shoes have become torture devices.}


I've been trying, with limited success, to not complain when people ask me how I'm doing.  For the record, I feel extremely lucky to have a tiny human growing in me.  I recognize that this isn't an experience that everyone gets to have.  But at the same time I really want to hurt my husband or any other well-intentioned soul that cheerfully suggests, "Just try to enjoy it!"

I'll admit it: I'm a bear. I'm a big, sweaty, cranky mama bear.  Living in the hot, hot desert. 

the speed of life

Life is happening fast! #3 is is doing her best to grow up as fast as she can before #4 comes along at the end of the summer.  Here is she at 8:45 am:

"Mom, my toof really popped out!"

And here she is at 5:45 pm.

This afternoon we were swimming at a friend's house. #3 had just been showing off the hole in her gum left by the first tooth and telling the group about the upcoming visit of the tooth fairy.  Moments later she swam over to me with an even bigger gap in her mouth. "My odder toof just got lost!" She was so excited that she wasn't even bothered that her tooth was now at the bottom of my friends speckled bottom pool.

I was a little mortified. Isn't that kind of gross to leave body parts in a friend's pool?

A mom can brag (sometimes), can't she?

Before we get any further into the summer (today is our 2 week school-free anniversary) I must take a moment to write a word about my children's academic successes for the 2011-2012 school year.

#1's successes include:

• mastering all her multiplication and division facts
•  
• being the only 3rd grader in her school to score 100% on her benchmark exams in reading
•  
• making it to the final 3 of her class spelling bee and intentionally spelling her word wrong so she wouldn't be subjected to the attention of having to compete in her school wide spelling bee

Favorite book in 3rd grade: "Where the Red Fern Grows"

Hardest thing about 3rd grade: "coming up with original ideas for writing assignments"



 #2's successes include:

• upgrading to chapter books
• 
  
• writing engaging and imaginative journal entries
•  
• mastering his addition and subtraction facts

Favorite unit of study: Ancient Egypt

Hardest part about 1st grade: "homework!"

#3's successes include:

• greater emotional maturity
• 
  
• tons of new vocabulary words including: assume, awkward, prefer, and gracious.  (These words may or may not be used in correct context but they are nonetheless adorable in her munchkin, lisp-ridden voice.)
• 
  
•  learning that it's OK to make mistakes

Favorite thing to draw: "a cat on a roller coaster"

Hardest thing at Joy School: "when my friend took away my toy"


Let's hear it for wonderful teachers!  Hip hip Hooray!  Seriously, we were so lucky to have such excellent teachers this year.  They made such a difference.


PS. I am loving being on a schedule of our own making.  The kids are happy, I'm happy.  I love summer break!

Ava's Cafe

Saturday our abode was transformed into a little eatery, Ava's Cafe, to help celebrate a certain 5 year old's birthday.
 

On the menu: drinks, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, fruit and donuts.  All favorites of the five year old crowd. 


There were activities to keep the customers happy while they waited for the servers to take the orders.

Hmmmm.  What to order, what to order?  Should I have the chocolate or glazed donut?

The well trained wait-staff took the food orders and served most professionally. 

The birthday girl's dessert was on the house though the chef did not make her ride a bull or wear a sombrero or even sing an obnoxious song.

Later there were food-themed games: a marshmallow stew relay race and a recipe memory game.

Ava's Cafe would not have been possible without the skills of one detail oriented Spouse, aka Matthew Stewart.

My baby turned 5 this week

 If you can believe it, my baby turned 5 this week.  She asked for her favorite food for breakfast: Ramen Noodles.  For breakfast.  It was painful, but I allowed it.  I made some blueberry muffins for the rest of us and thought that perhaps #3 would be tempted to give up her dream of brothy noodles and give in to a normal breakfast food.  But she knew what she wanted!  She slurped that whole big bowl down.

#3 is at the developmental age where she is experiencing irrational fears.  She has always been my most sensitive and emotional child, so this phase is more intense than it was for the other two.  Upon lighting her birthday candles we discovered yet another deathly fear: lighted birthday candles!  It took all her courage to blow them out. 

#3 loves to wear dresses.  If she had seven, I'm sure she'd wear one every day of the week.  Her grandmother sent her this one for her birthday and she wore it two days in a row.  She tried putting it on for the third day but I insisted she give it a break for washing.

#3 is a deep feeling soul, often crying in movies and at sad stories.  She is compassionate and very affectionate. She loves closeness and will often move her toys or coloring into the bathroom where I'm getting ready because "she gets lonely."  #3 has matured and progressed by leaps and bounds this year and I know with the start of Kindergarten in August I only have a few more months to enjoy my little girl.   Some of the little girl things I'm going to miss:

• Rice Kippies and muse-gik (rice krispies and music)
• 
  
• Lazy hair and her forebrain (wavy hair and her forehead)
• 
  
• The way she sings her way through life.  #3's life is a song and she is always singing about her feelings or things she's read about or what she learned about in church or the things we pass while driving. 

As if to prove her point that she's growing up and I can't stop it, today she excitedly showed me her first loose tooth!

This just cracked me up!  She couldn't hold the bubble wand without out making this funny face! I've got about 15 different pictures with the same face.