Ladubug: "mom! You have another broken baby and its me!"
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Ragnar
So once upon a time I decided to go for a run. An EPIC run. no really. I hate the overuse of "epic" but I'm pretty sure this qualifies.
My super awesome cousin and I bond over our slightly crazy obsession with fitness. He's all runner and I'm more cross training and weights but it's close enough. Anyway, I joined his team for Ragnar.
And what is Ragnar you ask? First go watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL1hLU_LBvs
No seriously, it's 3:40 and totally entertaining.
okay fine. just in case you didn't. Ragnar is a 200ish mile overnight relay race. A team of 12 people splits into 2 vans, takes turns running 4-10 miles at a time and causing all sorts of mayhem and mischief. The motto: "Run, Drive, Sleep, Repeat" And seriously, so fun.
I was in van 2, running position 8, which would be three legs totaling 14ish miles. (Which is more than I've ever run in my life.) I arrived at my van captain's house on Friday morning. Van 1 had started at 8:30 but we had to pick up one of our runners from the airport so we never went to the start line. Instead we spent the morning decorating our van (which was actually a red truck) and getting a pregame snack (hot dog and Mountain Dew Slurpee. seriously, best team ever.) Our windows were decorated with our running names (I am Running Rapunzel. clever huh?) and the truck was strung with giant Christmas lights and crowned with a brightly colored, rotating disco ball.
We made our way to the first major exchange, picked up our stuff, listened to the safety briefing and then wandered the booths. I ran into a friend from the gym, got some free stuff from the booths, watched the exchanges at the chute (the trade off from one runner to their teammate) and anxiously waited our turn to get started.
My first run was my "warm up", about 3 miles, and perfect for me to figure out how the system worked and get started. My teammate hand off to me and I went for a little run through a rural town. My team's truck stopped halfway on my run for a "support"--to offer me water or encouragement (in the form of cheering and cowbells) and it was such fun.
My "van" was no ordinary van. As indicated by our christmas lights and disco ball. Everyone on the team runs in a tutu. Because it's fun. And because no matter how tired, seeing someone running in a tutu makes you smile. Especially when you see my (male) superstar cousin who rocks out in a rainbow tutu with matching rainbow wings as he flies down the course. My van is also exceptional because instead of six runners, we only had five. One of the runners had to drop, meaning their three legs got assigned to the veteran runners in the van. More on that later.
So my van finished our first round of runs. We ended at a ski lodge where another major exchange had been set up. Each exchange has "the chute", where runners hand off the straight-from-the-80s orange slap bracelet. But the major exchanges (where the vans trade off) also have booths with food, first aid tents and gear. So I browsed the gear tent, roasted s'mores (no, really) and cheered on other runners. Then we drove onto the next major exchange to wait for our next turn. We set up our gas fire pit (earning plenty of compliments on our brilliance from other runners), roasted hot dogs for dinner and then briefly slept in the truck.
I was nervous about my night run. I thought I would be tired and sluggish and cranky. But my teammates reassured me the night run was their favorite. So around 2 am, we braved the dark and cold to don our night gear (according to the super strict and thankfully cautious rules) and lined up at the chute. When my turn came, my hands and toes were frozen. But after the first mile, I was thawing out, relaxing and really enjoyed how beautiful and tranquil it was at night. What a great run. We slept on and off during each other's legs, or just spent hours talking, and finished when it was light and cheerful again, nearly 10 am.
From there, we drove ahead to the next major exchange again, which happened to be very close to my house. So after a quick stop at The Store, we went to my house where Husband and the girls were waiting. Husband and I made a mountain of pancakes and we loaded them with tasty toppings. We ate, showered, repacked our gear and then lounged in my driveway, resting until our final runs. The course ran right past my house so we could see and cheer the runners as we lounged.
My team was far behind our anticipated scheduled, due to some injuries. So Ragnar called us and gave us the go ahead to start early so we could finish before it would be dark again. Fortunately, I was feeling really good. My legs were fatigued but I was excited and ready to run again. One of our veteran runners however was injured so I offered to take her "extra" leg. It meant that I would double my last leg, combining a "moderate" 5.6 and a "very hard" 4.1. It was classified as "very hard" because while the first 1.5 miles were relatively flat, the next 3 miles covered 1580 feet of elevation--the first half of the infamous "Ragnar Hill".
And so we started. My teammate handed off to me and I ran around on some rural back roads that soon led right in front of my own house! My ADORABLE children raced out to meet me to cheer and hug and beg to run with me. After a quick pit stop I ran on. This is the leg where I met my fan club, which was another team who was leapfrogging their runner for support. She was a short distance ahead of me and they stopped at every mile to blast music, dance and cheer as she ran past. The first time I ran by them, I was singing aloud with my headphones on. Between the singing and the black and pink poka dot tutu, I managed to gain their attention and from then on, every mile they were waiting for me as well for a mini dance party as I passed. Then I told them I was running a double and they even gave me my own Olympic medal (their "theme") to show my standing as an honorary team member.
Onto the hill. I tried running. But about a mile into the incline, I realized I could walk as fast as I could run, lengthening my stride but breathing easier. So I mostly walked, jogging on the flatter sections but mostly walking. By then I had lost reception for Pandora, my music stations, so I took out my headphones and tried heckling the other runners, challenging them to race me to the next bend or so. my team's truck was sticking close to me by then, squirting me with an oversized water gun and pacing me. Eventually I made it to the chute and celebrated with an intense, euphoric feeling of accomplishment, having ran a total of 18.4 miles. I climbed into the back of the truck, devoured a bag of grapes, cheered and shouted nonsense for awhile and generally had a most fantastic, somewhat surreal time. We made it to the top of the hill and then my superstar cousin took the descent, running in a shiny red tutu with a majestic Superman cape flying behind him.
We met him at the end of his run, sent our final runner on her way and headed for the finish line. We wandered and waited and soon we joined her for a final jog crossing the finish line as a team. We received our awesome medals, took a team picture and devoured pizza. The celebration was pretty short though and soon we were unloading our gear and saying good bye.
at least until the next one.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Quote of the day
If you ever encounter the magical gate keeper (aka the three year old blocking the top of the stairs), the magic words are "magic magic pumpkin head open please".
I thought it was just a cute, spontaneous thing. But no, we're going on two months now. So you might find it helpful.
You're welcome.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
weekend adventure #4,596...
I love our weekend adventures.
On Friday night, I went on a temple date with Daddy while they girls played with Grandma. She took them to the Native American PowWow and they had a fantastic time wandering the crafts and treasures. She bought them each a little doll and they ate dinner before settling in to watch the dancing. She said Butterfly jumped right in, wanting to join the welcome circle. Lovely wanted to dance too, but insisted that she remain in Grandma's arms. Ladybug stubbornly did not want to dance. She loved watching and stared at the costumes but refused to venture into the circle, instead wanting to stay at the bleachers. But eventually my kids had their exhaustion melt downs and they had to come home.
On Saturday morning, Husband had some projects to take care of and an activity scheduled doing prep work for an upcoming scout camp. So while he was busy, the girls and I hitched a ride north with Grandpa and Grandma. They dropped us off to Grammy and Papa to spend the day playing and settling into our campsite, where Daddy would join us that evening with our travel trailer. We did a little shopping, played with cousins and arrived at camp for lunch, playtime and naps. Grammy and Papa have a new trailer and the girls were eager to investigate. Soon we were joined by more cousins for more fun playtime. We left camp for a little while to run errands, including my mom and I getting pedicures in honor of her birthday. Back at camp, and now joined by Daddy, we grilled, feasted and played. We stayed up late, chatting and roasting marshmallows. My brother and his family didn't bring their trailer because they didn't plan to camp but we are so fun they didn't want to leave. Eventually my brother locked his keys in their car so they ended up staying much later than planned as we waited for AAA. Two hours into their wait, the guys got creative and used one of our (brand new) marshmallow skewers as a slim jim. Just as the AAA guy pulled up, (close to midnight) the lock clicked and they had it opened. oh well.
By then, I had our kids in our trailer, trying to settle them down for the night. The big girls were watching a movie quietly as I cuddled Lovely in bed at the other end of the trailer. We laid down, sharing my pillow and she was extra adorable as she apparently decided to reverse the roles and that she would be tucking me into bed. She stroked my cheek, shushing me. It was probably meant to be gentle and tender, with soothing sounds but came out more haphazard and staccato with plenty of giggling. And then abruptly, we were both asleep.
Sunday morning, we kicked off our Father's Day celebration with pancakes piled high with nutella, bananas, strawberry jam, whip cream and bacon. Then the girls proudly presented Daddy and Papa with their gifts. They each got a six pack of IBC rootbeer and six candy bars, all decorated with clever but cheesy sayings. The girls had done all the cutting and gluing to decorate, plus the gift wrapping. The girls also picked out a tie for their Dad (and actually have pretty good taste!) When I first asked Butterfly what she wanted to give him, she suggested a cape, "like a superhero you know?" But I told her I didn't think he could wear it to work. So she suggested a tie instead.
We spent the rest of the morning lounging around camp, playing with cousins (who had come back to play) and playing with the splash pad we brought with us. The little pool creates 2-3 inches of water to sit in, plus the sprinklers that fly in every direction. We lounged in the shade talking and watching our kids play until we were joined by more cousins and grilled up another Father's Day feast for an early dinner before we had to go home.
Cousins, camping and good food = great weekend.
On Friday night, I went on a temple date with Daddy while they girls played with Grandma. She took them to the Native American PowWow and they had a fantastic time wandering the crafts and treasures. She bought them each a little doll and they ate dinner before settling in to watch the dancing. She said Butterfly jumped right in, wanting to join the welcome circle. Lovely wanted to dance too, but insisted that she remain in Grandma's arms. Ladybug stubbornly did not want to dance. She loved watching and stared at the costumes but refused to venture into the circle, instead wanting to stay at the bleachers. But eventually my kids had their exhaustion melt downs and they had to come home.
On Saturday morning, Husband had some projects to take care of and an activity scheduled doing prep work for an upcoming scout camp. So while he was busy, the girls and I hitched a ride north with Grandpa and Grandma. They dropped us off to Grammy and Papa to spend the day playing and settling into our campsite, where Daddy would join us that evening with our travel trailer. We did a little shopping, played with cousins and arrived at camp for lunch, playtime and naps. Grammy and Papa have a new trailer and the girls were eager to investigate. Soon we were joined by more cousins for more fun playtime. We left camp for a little while to run errands, including my mom and I getting pedicures in honor of her birthday. Back at camp, and now joined by Daddy, we grilled, feasted and played. We stayed up late, chatting and roasting marshmallows. My brother and his family didn't bring their trailer because they didn't plan to camp but we are so fun they didn't want to leave. Eventually my brother locked his keys in their car so they ended up staying much later than planned as we waited for AAA. Two hours into their wait, the guys got creative and used one of our (brand new) marshmallow skewers as a slim jim. Just as the AAA guy pulled up, (close to midnight) the lock clicked and they had it opened. oh well.
By then, I had our kids in our trailer, trying to settle them down for the night. The big girls were watching a movie quietly as I cuddled Lovely in bed at the other end of the trailer. We laid down, sharing my pillow and she was extra adorable as she apparently decided to reverse the roles and that she would be tucking me into bed. She stroked my cheek, shushing me. It was probably meant to be gentle and tender, with soothing sounds but came out more haphazard and staccato with plenty of giggling. And then abruptly, we were both asleep.
Sunday morning, we kicked off our Father's Day celebration with pancakes piled high with nutella, bananas, strawberry jam, whip cream and bacon. Then the girls proudly presented Daddy and Papa with their gifts. They each got a six pack of IBC rootbeer and six candy bars, all decorated with clever but cheesy sayings. The girls had done all the cutting and gluing to decorate, plus the gift wrapping. The girls also picked out a tie for their Dad (and actually have pretty good taste!) When I first asked Butterfly what she wanted to give him, she suggested a cape, "like a superhero you know?" But I told her I didn't think he could wear it to work. So she suggested a tie instead.
We spent the rest of the morning lounging around camp, playing with cousins (who had come back to play) and playing with the splash pad we brought with us. The little pool creates 2-3 inches of water to sit in, plus the sprinklers that fly in every direction. We lounged in the shade talking and watching our kids play until we were joined by more cousins and grilled up another Father's Day feast for an early dinner before we had to go home.
Cousins, camping and good food = great weekend.
Camp Fairy
The girls signed up for Fairy Camp (which Ladybug insisted on pronouncing "Camp Fairy") last week and had a blast. They went for three hours for four days. The first day they came out beaming, proudly modelling their new fairy tiaras. On day two, they were waving their ADORABLE fairy wands (a dowel with curly ribbons strung with and beads and bells). On day three, they said they were working on a special surprise but it wasn't finished yet. I got to see the final product on day four during the fairy presentation at the end of their day. Each fairy was presented at the stage for a curtsy (little Butterfly expertly leading the way). They performed a fairy dance and then sang two songs that they have learned. And as we finished they got to take their project home, a beautifully decorated, cleverly constructed fairy house.
They're already begging to go back. Yea for fairy camp!
They're already begging to go back. Yea for fairy camp!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Quote of the day
I was fasting so I made the kids lunch and then set about folding laundry as they ate. Butterfly asked what I was going to eat and I gave her a brief answer about fasting. She thought and the answered, "but maybe if you eat lunch you want be so cranky."
Friday, June 14, 2013
Quote of the day
Me: I think you must have a sweet tooth.
Butterfly: I think I have THREE sweet tooths.
Butterfly: I think I have THREE sweet tooths.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
and more random tidbits
I've become increasingly lazy about blogging. which is sad because I love to reread entries from months and months ago, remembering all the little things my girls did. But it seems to fall further and further on my to-do list. Maybe its finally hit me too, the novelty wears off and we move onto other projects. But since I don't keep a journal other than this, I hope that's not the case. Really though, I think it's more about our lifestyle. Especially since our move, I think I spend more time juggling schedules, maybe more time cleaning and taking care of our home, more time playing with babies, more time working on learning material for GroupKick classes. And since the big girls don't nap anymore, I think my "lounge around catching up on personal stuff" time has been cut down even more. Not complaining. Because after all, they're pretty cute and fun to play with. But enough excuses, onto the stories...
Butterfly found a quarter with a buffalo on the back. She brought it to her Daddy and gave it to him, excitedly asking if he would go and get a buffalo for us, that this was special money to help him get a buffalo.
I hate folding socks. It's rather impressive how long I can procrastinate folding a basket full of socks.
However, all my girls have an obsession with skirts. They want to wear skirts every day and are increasingly insistent about picking out their own clothes. Ladybug is the worst and I've had to be strict about not changing clothes all day long (otherwise, she would go through 4 outfits each day). They especially love their skirts and I love the warm weather that brings out all the cute summer clothes.
Meanwhile Lovely is especially adorable in little summer sundresses. She went a week or so without a onesie undershirt, wearing sundresses or shorts and tops. And then I put a onesie on under a sundress and soon after, she had a fit! She kept tugging at the shirt crying "tummy!" Once I unsnapped the onesie, she eagerly jabbed at her belly button and with great relief cried, "mommy, my tummy!"
On the other hand, she also loves her "panties", the little bum-covers that go with a short dress to cover her diaper. She's eager to be like her sisters but I refuse to potty train another halfway-ready child.
And I reluctantly put away another batch of clothes for which she has grown too big. :(
Lovely jabbers all day long with ever increasing vocabulary and adorableness. Some phrases are perfectly clear, "Where's sisters?", "Thanks you Daddy", "I like the fish." :) and she has the most adorable cheesy grin and an impishly charming pucker, which coupled with her full cheeks and curly hair reminds me of Shirley Temple. but cuter.
Both Butterfly and Lovely were sporting a black eye for a few days. Butterfly's was from a headfirst dive into the footboard and off the bed. Lovely's was from Butterfly throwing a tantrum and hitting her sister in the face with a toy. Luckily, they both recovered quickly.
Butterfly got a chunk of hair caught in a toy blender and I had to cut it out. It was sad and yet, hard not to laugh.
We made a summer calendar. It's a giant (pink) poster board with calendars for June, July and August, filled with trips and camps we have planned. Then we listed more activities for us to do throughout the summer. As we've begun checking them off the list, the girls mark them with a star sticker, things like the ice cream palor, various city parks, Lagoon, etc. But only my kids would add things like "chili's" or "costco" as favorite special activities. They came up with some great ideas, wanting to find a splashpad, go to a museum, go to the lake, etc.
I love watching the girls play together. Butterfly and Ladybug, classic sisters, fight like worse enemies and play like best friends. They put on talent shows together, singing ballads about "my heart" and "my dreams" and "true love's kiss", and then rock out shaking their hips and bouncing around making up lyrics about "can't stop us now" "no you'll never know" "girls of rock and roll" "you just don't understand, I gotta be me" and other phrases I would have hoped was too old for them. We spend a lot of time coloring, even Ladybug's pictures have become more beautiful, brightly and carefully colored. All of my kids are increasingly obsessed with books. Butterfly is eager to read, she gets so excited when she recognizes words and frequently pretends to be Matilda, curling up with a picture-less book and slowly turning the pages. Ladybug collects mountains of books and carts them around everywhere. She will make up long rambling stories to match the pictures. And even Lovely has grown attached to her books, especially the "look and find" books, leafing through the pages and staring at the pictures.
The construction of our new house is moving fast. The framing is done, windows installed, roof finished and the electrical, plumbing and gas lines are run. We met our construction supervisor for a walk through and he took us on a tour, explaining various things and letting us ask a billion questions. We are really pleased with the quality of the work being done and appreciated some of the little things that he pointed out to us. We identified a few things to be fixed before they continued, mostly missing outlets that we had chosen to add or adjusting the placement of switches and lights. The house is going to be beautiful!
We took Lovely to the walk-through meeting and she was in heaven. Well behaved, she wandered from room to room, giggling as she ducked through the framing and poked at the wires. She tried eating a mouth full of sawdust and came to me running, balking at the taste and texture. She stood with her hands flapping anxiously as I scraped it out of her mouth, amused by her concern and confusion. And then she was off again, collecting the small wood circles left from punching out room for wires in the framing. She collected a pile, building and playing with them as we talked.
The girls love being outside! Especially Lovely and her darling pleas of "outside? peas? outside?" The girls have helping Grandma with the weeding and flowerbeds and helped Grandpa with the vegetable garden. The love to play in Grandpa's hammock and ride their bikes and scooters all over "kid land". They love to take carrots and apples to the horses and even got their first ride on Stormy when their cousins were here to visit. Butterfly was eager, begging for her turn, sitting proudly and happily while she held on carefully. Ladybug (already in a short nightgown) was eager to get on, shining with a huge grin but as soon as we began to move she panicked and wanted to clutch the horse, nearly laying on her belly. And little miss Lovely hopped right on, sat happily for a few steps and abruptly decided that was enough for today.
Butterfly found a quarter with a buffalo on the back. She brought it to her Daddy and gave it to him, excitedly asking if he would go and get a buffalo for us, that this was special money to help him get a buffalo.
I hate folding socks. It's rather impressive how long I can procrastinate folding a basket full of socks.
However, all my girls have an obsession with skirts. They want to wear skirts every day and are increasingly insistent about picking out their own clothes. Ladybug is the worst and I've had to be strict about not changing clothes all day long (otherwise, she would go through 4 outfits each day). They especially love their skirts and I love the warm weather that brings out all the cute summer clothes.
Meanwhile Lovely is especially adorable in little summer sundresses. She went a week or so without a onesie undershirt, wearing sundresses or shorts and tops. And then I put a onesie on under a sundress and soon after, she had a fit! She kept tugging at the shirt crying "tummy!" Once I unsnapped the onesie, she eagerly jabbed at her belly button and with great relief cried, "mommy, my tummy!"
On the other hand, she also loves her "panties", the little bum-covers that go with a short dress to cover her diaper. She's eager to be like her sisters but I refuse to potty train another halfway-ready child.
And I reluctantly put away another batch of clothes for which she has grown too big. :(
Lovely jabbers all day long with ever increasing vocabulary and adorableness. Some phrases are perfectly clear, "Where's sisters?", "Thanks you Daddy", "I like the fish." :) and she has the most adorable cheesy grin and an impishly charming pucker, which coupled with her full cheeks and curly hair reminds me of Shirley Temple. but cuter.
Both Butterfly and Lovely were sporting a black eye for a few days. Butterfly's was from a headfirst dive into the footboard and off the bed. Lovely's was from Butterfly throwing a tantrum and hitting her sister in the face with a toy. Luckily, they both recovered quickly.
Butterfly got a chunk of hair caught in a toy blender and I had to cut it out. It was sad and yet, hard not to laugh.
We made a summer calendar. It's a giant (pink) poster board with calendars for June, July and August, filled with trips and camps we have planned. Then we listed more activities for us to do throughout the summer. As we've begun checking them off the list, the girls mark them with a star sticker, things like the ice cream palor, various city parks, Lagoon, etc. But only my kids would add things like "chili's" or "costco" as favorite special activities. They came up with some great ideas, wanting to find a splashpad, go to a museum, go to the lake, etc.
I love watching the girls play together. Butterfly and Ladybug, classic sisters, fight like worse enemies and play like best friends. They put on talent shows together, singing ballads about "my heart" and "my dreams" and "true love's kiss", and then rock out shaking their hips and bouncing around making up lyrics about "can't stop us now" "no you'll never know" "girls of rock and roll" "you just don't understand, I gotta be me" and other phrases I would have hoped was too old for them. We spend a lot of time coloring, even Ladybug's pictures have become more beautiful, brightly and carefully colored. All of my kids are increasingly obsessed with books. Butterfly is eager to read, she gets so excited when she recognizes words and frequently pretends to be Matilda, curling up with a picture-less book and slowly turning the pages. Ladybug collects mountains of books and carts them around everywhere. She will make up long rambling stories to match the pictures. And even Lovely has grown attached to her books, especially the "look and find" books, leafing through the pages and staring at the pictures.
The construction of our new house is moving fast. The framing is done, windows installed, roof finished and the electrical, plumbing and gas lines are run. We met our construction supervisor for a walk through and he took us on a tour, explaining various things and letting us ask a billion questions. We are really pleased with the quality of the work being done and appreciated some of the little things that he pointed out to us. We identified a few things to be fixed before they continued, mostly missing outlets that we had chosen to add or adjusting the placement of switches and lights. The house is going to be beautiful!
We took Lovely to the walk-through meeting and she was in heaven. Well behaved, she wandered from room to room, giggling as she ducked through the framing and poked at the wires. She tried eating a mouth full of sawdust and came to me running, balking at the taste and texture. She stood with her hands flapping anxiously as I scraped it out of her mouth, amused by her concern and confusion. And then she was off again, collecting the small wood circles left from punching out room for wires in the framing. She collected a pile, building and playing with them as we talked.
The girls love being outside! Especially Lovely and her darling pleas of "outside? peas? outside?" The girls have helping Grandma with the weeding and flowerbeds and helped Grandpa with the vegetable garden. The love to play in Grandpa's hammock and ride their bikes and scooters all over "kid land". They love to take carrots and apples to the horses and even got their first ride on Stormy when their cousins were here to visit. Butterfly was eager, begging for her turn, sitting proudly and happily while she held on carefully. Ladybug (already in a short nightgown) was eager to get on, shining with a huge grin but as soon as we began to move she panicked and wanted to clutch the horse, nearly laying on her belly. And little miss Lovely hopped right on, sat happily for a few steps and abruptly decided that was enough for today.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
play dates
Daddy was out of town for most the week. So we filled it up with playdates and fun activities. On Tuesday we spent the whole day out visiting Butterfly's best friend since birth (decided so because her mom is one of my best friends and they were born a month apart). The girls had a blast playing with toys, playing soccer, dancing, watching a movie and getting to go to dinner together. I got to lounge around catching up with my best friend and cuddling her little baby while Lovely was in heaven playing with her dog.
On Wednesday we scheduled another playdate with friend at our house. The girls played in lego heaven, ran around outside, watched a movie, had lunch, etc. Our visiting friend had brought a lunchbox that they repeatedly packed with endless and various treasures such as shoes, books, toys, bracelets, etc.
That evening I got a surprise text from my brother saying that his family was on their way to a campsite near me and inviting us to play with them. Butterfly was especially ecstatic and goes nuts at every chance she gets to play with cousins. So we drove out to their campsite and grilled hot dogs, went for a walk, roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories. Ladybug bounced around exploring and Lovely wandered around sneaking drinks from everyone's soda cans. She had much more than I would normally have given her and I feared she would be up all night on the sugar high. But in fact, she slept like a rock and I had to wake her up to make it to class the next morning.
Thursday morning, I taught my regular class and then we met cousins at the lake for some more playtime. The water was freezing but most the kids waded in anyway. Ladybug was more interested in helping to build a rock wall and Lovely wanted to throw rocks into the water. We had a picnic lunch, played some more, lounging in the sunshine and eventually went home for naps.
That evening, cousins came to our house for dinner. We grilled chicken and corn on the cob, ran around outside, made a quick trip to a favorite spot in town for ice cream cones and finished off the evening with a movie night. Daddy came home just in time to join the party and play with our wonderful nieces and nephews before we wound down for the night.
Friday morning, we got together for one more playdate with cousins, meeting at the park. The kids ran and played and Husband was on swing duty, pushing the giggling children higher and higher. Eventually we stopped for a quick lunch and then sent them on their way.
That evening, we had a special family date night planned. After dinner, we left Lovely with Grandma and Grandpa and took our big girls to the drive in theater. We visited the concessions stand and readied our pile of blankets and pillows in the back of Daddy's truck before settling in to watch "Epic". The movie itself was okay but the overall experience was a ton of fun. The girls loved it, enthralled by the novelty and milking the experience for extra treats and cuddles. Then they fell asleep as the second feature started and slept soundly while Daddy and I stayed up to watch that as well.
Needless to say, we were tired and groggy on Saturday morning. But some favorite friends from back east were visiting so we met them at the park for a playdate. I was so excited to see them and get to spend a few minutes catching up. The girls didn't remember their boys (having not seen them in a year) but played happily anyway. Soon they had to be on their way so we had a quick lunch and cuddled through a movie for some much needed resting time. Then we spent the afternoon helping Daddy install ceiling fans in all of our bedrooms. The two big girls were most good helpers, holding screws, retrieving tools, etc. but got distracted easily despite their excitement.
That evening we had been invited to go swimming at a friend's house. Lovely wasn't feeling well so I stayed home to cuddle her while Daddy took the big girls swimming and they had a great time.
But by Sunday, we were worn out. It had been a long wonderful weekend. But all the late nights and fun playdates had worn our kids out. So we slept through sacrament meeting, arrived in time for Primary, had a nice lunch and then everyone slept soundly through the afternoon. In the evening we went for a nice drive up the canyon to one of the old mines. The view was beautiful and the girls loved helping grandpa collect rocks from the piles around us. The rocks were full of ore so Butterfly looked for it, proclaiming it to be a "rainbow rock".
Sunday night bedtime was rough, the girls were tired but their long naps had left them still bouncing around fighting bedtime. oh well, onto another week.
On Wednesday we scheduled another playdate with friend at our house. The girls played in lego heaven, ran around outside, watched a movie, had lunch, etc. Our visiting friend had brought a lunchbox that they repeatedly packed with endless and various treasures such as shoes, books, toys, bracelets, etc.
That evening I got a surprise text from my brother saying that his family was on their way to a campsite near me and inviting us to play with them. Butterfly was especially ecstatic and goes nuts at every chance she gets to play with cousins. So we drove out to their campsite and grilled hot dogs, went for a walk, roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories. Ladybug bounced around exploring and Lovely wandered around sneaking drinks from everyone's soda cans. She had much more than I would normally have given her and I feared she would be up all night on the sugar high. But in fact, she slept like a rock and I had to wake her up to make it to class the next morning.
Thursday morning, I taught my regular class and then we met cousins at the lake for some more playtime. The water was freezing but most the kids waded in anyway. Ladybug was more interested in helping to build a rock wall and Lovely wanted to throw rocks into the water. We had a picnic lunch, played some more, lounging in the sunshine and eventually went home for naps.
That evening, cousins came to our house for dinner. We grilled chicken and corn on the cob, ran around outside, made a quick trip to a favorite spot in town for ice cream cones and finished off the evening with a movie night. Daddy came home just in time to join the party and play with our wonderful nieces and nephews before we wound down for the night.
Friday morning, we got together for one more playdate with cousins, meeting at the park. The kids ran and played and Husband was on swing duty, pushing the giggling children higher and higher. Eventually we stopped for a quick lunch and then sent them on their way.
That evening, we had a special family date night planned. After dinner, we left Lovely with Grandma and Grandpa and took our big girls to the drive in theater. We visited the concessions stand and readied our pile of blankets and pillows in the back of Daddy's truck before settling in to watch "Epic". The movie itself was okay but the overall experience was a ton of fun. The girls loved it, enthralled by the novelty and milking the experience for extra treats and cuddles. Then they fell asleep as the second feature started and slept soundly while Daddy and I stayed up to watch that as well.
Needless to say, we were tired and groggy on Saturday morning. But some favorite friends from back east were visiting so we met them at the park for a playdate. I was so excited to see them and get to spend a few minutes catching up. The girls didn't remember their boys (having not seen them in a year) but played happily anyway. Soon they had to be on their way so we had a quick lunch and cuddled through a movie for some much needed resting time. Then we spent the afternoon helping Daddy install ceiling fans in all of our bedrooms. The two big girls were most good helpers, holding screws, retrieving tools, etc. but got distracted easily despite their excitement.
That evening we had been invited to go swimming at a friend's house. Lovely wasn't feeling well so I stayed home to cuddle her while Daddy took the big girls swimming and they had a great time.
But by Sunday, we were worn out. It had been a long wonderful weekend. But all the late nights and fun playdates had worn our kids out. So we slept through sacrament meeting, arrived in time for Primary, had a nice lunch and then everyone slept soundly through the afternoon. In the evening we went for a nice drive up the canyon to one of the old mines. The view was beautiful and the girls loved helping grandpa collect rocks from the piles around us. The rocks were full of ore so Butterfly looked for it, proclaiming it to be a "rainbow rock".
Sunday night bedtime was rough, the girls were tired but their long naps had left them still bouncing around fighting bedtime. oh well, onto another week.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
magoon
(also known as Lagoon. but that's not how my children pronounce it.)
We were supposed to be at a company retreat this weekend. But a funeral ended up affected some of our employees and the retreat was postponed. So when Husband got home from work on Friday, we suddenly realized...we had no plans.
So we played with our babies. We had a movie night, complete with popcorn and making cookies. The best part was Lovely's traverse from his lap to mine. Daddy was on the couch, with a little girl on each side while I lounge on the love seat. Lovely climbed from his lap, across her sister, across the arm rest, onto the next arm rest, onto me, where she turned around to sit on my chest on solidly plant kisses on my face until I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Then she left, crawling back to Daddy to steal his popcorn. She made this little voyage at least twenty times, each one funnier than the last.
On Saturday, we semi-impulsively decided to go to Lagoon. We had been invited for a friend's birthday party but hadn't planned on going because of the company retreat. But now that we were available, we scrambled to readied ourselves, feed kids, pack snacks, load the car and go. We invited Grandma to go with us and had a fabulous day!
We arrived shortly after the park opened and jumped right in, starting with the new KiddieLand in the front and center of the park. The girls, all three of them, went nuts and had a blast. Even Ladybug, who previously seemed prone to motion sickness had a good day. She had cranky moments when she didn't want to ride anything but more due to disposition than being sick. Her favorite was the spinning tea cups. Butterfly's favorite was Bombora, one of the milder roller coasters. And Lovely rode everything, usually wide eyed and solemn until is was over and then grinning happily. We did rides for a few hours, then had a picnic lunch in the water park area. The sun was shinning and the temperature was perfect. But the water was cold so we didn't last long. Ladybug and I did a few rounds in the lazy river (my favorite), before being joined by Daddy and Butterfly. (sneaky little Ladybug managed to tip me into the water!) Then we joined Grandma and Lovely in the water playground for a short time before continuing on.
Soon we met up with our friends, who were there to play and celebrate their son's 2nd birthday. Butterfly was ecstatic to see her long time best friend (who's parents happen to be some of our long time best friends) and we wandered together, going on rides, eating dinner and cupcakes and playing with our kids.
We were supposed to be at a company retreat this weekend. But a funeral ended up affected some of our employees and the retreat was postponed. So when Husband got home from work on Friday, we suddenly realized...we had no plans.
So we played with our babies. We had a movie night, complete with popcorn and making cookies. The best part was Lovely's traverse from his lap to mine. Daddy was on the couch, with a little girl on each side while I lounge on the love seat. Lovely climbed from his lap, across her sister, across the arm rest, onto the next arm rest, onto me, where she turned around to sit on my chest on solidly plant kisses on my face until I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Then she left, crawling back to Daddy to steal his popcorn. She made this little voyage at least twenty times, each one funnier than the last.
On Saturday, we semi-impulsively decided to go to Lagoon. We had been invited for a friend's birthday party but hadn't planned on going because of the company retreat. But now that we were available, we scrambled to readied ourselves, feed kids, pack snacks, load the car and go. We invited Grandma to go with us and had a fabulous day!
We arrived shortly after the park opened and jumped right in, starting with the new KiddieLand in the front and center of the park. The girls, all three of them, went nuts and had a blast. Even Ladybug, who previously seemed prone to motion sickness had a good day. She had cranky moments when she didn't want to ride anything but more due to disposition than being sick. Her favorite was the spinning tea cups. Butterfly's favorite was Bombora, one of the milder roller coasters. And Lovely rode everything, usually wide eyed and solemn until is was over and then grinning happily. We did rides for a few hours, then had a picnic lunch in the water park area. The sun was shinning and the temperature was perfect. But the water was cold so we didn't last long. Ladybug and I did a few rounds in the lazy river (my favorite), before being joined by Daddy and Butterfly. (sneaky little Ladybug managed to tip me into the water!) Then we joined Grandma and Lovely in the water playground for a short time before continuing on.
Soon we met up with our friends, who were there to play and celebrate their son's 2nd birthday. Butterfly was ecstatic to see her long time best friend (who's parents happen to be some of our long time best friends) and we wandered together, going on rides, eating dinner and cupcakes and playing with our kids.
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