Love and Beauty

The kids and I were able to attend the Draper Temple open house on Wednesday.  I knew it was going on, but it didn't occur to me to take them until last Sunday.  I sometimes don't even consider activities because they seem out of my capabilities.  When I looked at the reservation schedule, I realized Nate would not be able to go with us.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I had to give my kids this opportunity.  I'm glad I did.  It was really nice to be able to show them the beautiful rooms and tell them what they are for.  I think they liked the Bride's Room the best.  As we walked through the men's locker room, Rhon said, "This isn't as pretty as the Bride's Room."  They were thrilled with the mirrors in the Sealing Room.  I kept lifting them up one at a time so they could see themselves forever.  I remember going through the San Diego Temple as a kid and being glad for the experience.  I hope they can remember it.  They were so good.  Even Dare.  EVEN MADS.  G, not so much.  But I did go at his nap time.  Luckily we just kept moving, and didn't give him time to get too bored.  But you know how they say it is a silent tour?  Not with my clan!  G was kind of loud.  I'm just glad he didn't puke on one of the super nice white chairs.  (Or carpet, or couch, or curtains, etc.)

Here we are at the church having cookies.  We dubbed this the "Cookie Room".

This was as close as I could get to getting all 5 of them in the picture.  As you can imagine, G did not want to sit still.  Especially after not being able to run around for the last hour or so.

These crack me up.  The four all giving me fake smiles, and G playing in the dirt.

P.S.  I called Aspen before we left to ask about the possibility of strollers.  Aspen didn't think I could bring one.  Then Aspen texted back and said that she would take G for me.  That was so nice of Aspen.  I seriously contemplated it before telling Aspen no thanks.  You rock Aspen!

That is 6 times!!!

White Stuff

                                                  

This is the view of the eastern mountains as I was driving out of my neighborhood on Thursday.  Stunning.

The weather was so nice on Friday, we just had to take a walk.  Not that I didn't know it before, but the mountains in Utah are amazing.  I had to take a picture of the view from my house looking to the west...

... and to the east.  Too bad it was garbage day.  

*****

This is what we had for dessert tonight.  For your viewing pleasure.  Yes, my husband is amazing.

FHE: Fun, Happy, Exasperating

Family Night Basketball

Let me set the stage for you...

The time:  

Monday night, 7:30 on a school night.  February 2009.

The place:  

My unfinished basement.  The concrete feels like ice on your bare feet.  The ceilings are low. The lights are dim, because of a couple missing, or burned out light bulbs.  There could be anything creeping around in the shadows.  Spiders, crickets, MONSTERS!

The cast:  

Dad - Responsible for this activity.  Trying to explain a game to the rest of the cast.  Desperate to make it fun for everyone, despite the craziness.  

Mom - Keeping the baby from trouble, fetching balls, taking pictures.

7 year old - Unequivocally independent.  Refuses to listen to a better way to shoot the ball. Will continue to do it her own way despite efforts by the parents to teach her.  Makes a few baskets.  Finally tries it the right way and does much better.

6 year old - Thoroughly enjoying herself, listens to instructions, shares balls, and makes lots of baskets.

5 year old - Doesn't listen to the rules of the game, and doesn't even try to play.  Insists on making the basket higher.  Sits out until we raise the hoop.  Runs around like she has a screw lose, steals balls, and makes even more baskets.  Almost all of them.

2 year old - Steals everyone's balls, gets in the way, doesn't follow the rules, and makes a quite a few baskets, some of which seemed almost accidental.

1 year old - Just feeling happy that he is finally allowed to go downstairs.  Throwing balls, and playing with toys he has never seen before.

The game didn't last long.  Nate and I gave up on trying, and ended up passing a soccer ball to each other and heading it into a goal.  Even though these things never go as planned, those kids like it more than LDS women like sparkly vampires. 

Pinkalicious

So, it really felt like Valentine's Day was on Friday.  It really confused me.  I even went to buy candy and balloons on Friday and expected them all to be half price.  I looked at the cashier like she was crazy before I told myself for the 96th time that it wasn't until Saturday.  I think my confusion was due to the fact that the school girls celebrated at school on Friday.  On Thursday, we put together 101 homemade valentines in 1.75 hours.  And the boxes had to be created of course.  Then they came on Friday with looks on their faces that you can only get from partying all day.  And lots of candy.  Of course it felt like Valentine's Day.  But we made pink cupcakes on Saturday anyway.  Even though I felt like the excitement was dwindling.  I think it might be one of the girls' favorite holidays.  Hopefully it is because of the candy, not because of the dumb boys. 

Why did I only take pictures of him, you ask?  Because he is the cutest, and he is my favorite.

Nothing Else

The gap.

Running around the coffee table.  I am always amused when my kids run for fun.

Notice the leotard?

Rhon reading to her younger siblings.  She is always willing to read to them.  Check out Dare's lipstick job.

I thought she was so cute sitting there, eating grapes, and reading a magazine.

From forever, Mads has sucked on his tongue.  I don't know how else to describe it.  He still does, so it ends up hanging out when he falls asleep.

Menace

An Evening In The Life

of Bub

I haven't known as much trouble as this child.  Did I forget?  Maybe, but I don't think so.  He is like a combination of all the naughtiness of Dare and Mads.  Dare's agility and fearlessness, and Mads' bad judgement.  The worst time of the day is when he wakes up from his nap.  I am distracted with cleaning up, and dinner.  I can't prevent his messes, or follow him around making sure he doesn't climb to the roof.

  

He walks around finding all the things he shouldn't do.  His first stop is always the book shelf.  Every book within reach is thrown to the floor.  If someone is watching TV or playing video games, he will without fail push the power buttons on all the electronics.  He notices a stray crayon on the floor.  After he bites the tip off and happily crunches that up, he proceeds to write on whatever is handy.  This usually includes the books on the floor, or his own belly.  He takes the trek to my bedroom where he goes straight to the bathroom.  He doesn't have to think about what he wants to do next.  The cabinets are opened and emptied before I even know he is gone.  His new joy is to empty the cotton ball bag and eat lotion.  When I find him, I walk him back out to the living room.  He'll stop at one of the stools and climb on it.  He'll reach on the counter to see if there is a drink he can spill or a stack of papers he can fling all over the floor.  If the stool doesn't tip over, he is doing pretty good and wants to take more chances.  He'll climb on the couch and head straight for the end table.  He loves to stand on it.  He likes the one close to the fireplace.  If he fell, he would fall onto tile, and he likes the extra hazard that provides.  And he doesn't just stand, he dances and bounces.  I remove him from his current danger and he squeals.  That is also a new trick.  A nasty shriek that he makes whenever I take something from him or redirect him.  He is feeling like he needs to take more risks.  So he finds something else to climb on.  The stove.  He climbs on my stove.  Why not?  It can start on fire, so it is the perfect thing to climb on.  When I calm myself from my mini heart attack, I pick him up and set him down carefully.  He runs away happily to the other bathroom.  Lucky for him, the door is open, so he lifts the lid to the toilet and gives his hands a cool refreshing bath.  Is there a better way to treat your hands after touching a hot stove?  I pick him up to wash his hands.  As I tell him no, he smiles at me.  Smiles.  He knows.  He knows exactly what he is doing. 

Darey Lou Retton

How do I keep my windows clean?  Like all the time?  I noticed this a half hour after I cleaned it.  No time to retrain my kids.

*****

Dare LOVES wearing leotards.  She will ask me every day if she can put one on.  And then she will wear it all day.  She practices her handstands and cartwheels.  She runs around, jumps and leaps.

She looks adorable in them.  She is so strong and muscular.  She looks like she has been doing gymnastics for years.

*****

Last night my family was having a conversation about adjectives.  Yes, we are all a bunch of dorks who talk about words in our free time.  Anyway, Rhon was having fun describing all the objects in the house.  This is what she said...

"G is... CUTE.  The couch is... GREEN.  Dare is... BOUNCY.  Mads is... SMART.  Rock Band is... FUN.  The television is... MAGICAL!"

At that point we were all laughing.  All the adjectives were said in her high pitched, dreamy, six year old voice.