And so break goes...part 1

My house is quiet for the first time in days...Hayden and Bryn are off to a play date and Lindsay and Caroline are quietly playing dollies. We have 3 extra kiddos this week while Molly and Andy are off to Houston to visit friends and see U2. We weren't planning on it but I think we may try to go ourselves next week when they are here in Phoenix. It has been 13 years since I saw U2 in concert. It may be time again! I haven't blogged in a while. I have jumped on Facebook a few times here and there but this week has not allowed for serious blog time so I am taking advantage of these 2 hours. Not like I can use this time to get a shower - Zac is napping in my room! (But he has been a great sleeper this week so I can't complain too much! He is just too cute!)

Oh well....on with it.

I always look forward to our awesome October break -2 weeks, 2 days, no school, just play, sometimes bonus vacations (not this year - too many already) and hanging out with friends and cousins. Nothing earth shattering has occurred, just a whole lotta nothin'! And it is fun! Shelly and Joe were here for a few days of our break time so that meant sleeping over with Aunt Shelly. watching Uncle Joe start his model train set up in the garage (pretty cool!) and lots of swimming - they got the pool heater cranking and we had a couple afternoons spent lazily in the pool.

I will consider ourselves to be very blessed to not be spending our Fall Break sick - luckily we got our Ellie fix early in the break last week because now she is the sole member of her family without Swine Flu. The girls made their own doll house with a piece of 20"x20" foam core cut in half, notches cut to slide together and doorways cut out too. They used scrapbook paper to wall-paper and magazines to decorate. This was a super fun project that kept them occupied for hours. The real instructions can be found HERE at Cookie Magazine.
They had so much fun tearing apart American Girl, Land of Nod, PB Kids, Ranger Rick, whatever, to decorate their rooms with mini posters, chandeliers, and even a refrigerator for the kitchen.

Caroline played some more soccer....
...and I think we have discovered her favorite position - bench! She did get up and hustle a bit more because Aunt Shelly was there to watch - it was good to see her move!

Before Molly left we took all the kids to Mother Nature's Farm "pumpkin patch". This is not your typical Oregon or Colorado or Utah pumpkin patch but they don't know that. It is just not the same as back home but still a lot of fun - hay ride, meeting the farm animals, picking a pumpkin (from a scattered pile, not a field) and decorating said pumpkin with foam craft stickers. My battery died while we were there so I don't have a lot of pictures.

We had an alien invasion on tuesday and sadly this is the only picture I got of it. 4 aliens landed on the swingset and came into the house with their best alien voices saying they required alien antenna so I obliged and busted out a craft supply tote. Pipe cleaners, feathers and sparkly fuzz balls made instant aliens and they ran outside to ride their "ships" up and down the street.

Remnants of an alien invasion

Loaded up the wagon with the babes and the big kids rode their bike to the park down the street. The babies are now big kids because they went down the big slide by themselves.
Caroline does not often let me do her hair but currently she is favoring a high side ponytail. What? She looks like Deb from Napoleon Dynomite!


It is going to be around 100 degrees today and tomorrow. I had wanted to go to one of the fun pools this week but not with all the kids. Maybe Monday or Tuesday. We did get our Halloween costumes all planned - the kids are so excited! Maybe Monday or Tues we can work on them some more. Stay tuned - the girls really picked things that are right up their alley personality wise.

A Birthday Poem

La Jolla August 2009

Closer to 50 than 30

Today Steve (and Andy) turns 36 years
Luckily this milestone didn't bring many tears!
A day like any other with LOTS of work and meetings
But, he got a visit at work from his 4 girlie sweeties!

Cupcakes and balloons, out to lunch too
One year we skipped this and he said boo hoo!
Luckily this year the big girls have early release
So they got to come, the didn't have to beg and plead!

So what does it mean to be getting so old?
Grey hair and and sleepiness, so I am told!
But I think he feels the years coming on
He's been at the gym nightly - Run, Sammy, Run!

Steve, we love you. We think you're pretty swell.
You grill better than I do, you do a perfect medium, or medium well.
Thanks for being a fun Daddy-O,
To the beach, to the pool, to the park, you like to go!

On this your birthday we hope your wishes come true
You just got the promotion at work - could a raise comes thru too? (If you wish really hard...)
What more could you want? A happy, healthy, gospel centered family!
Thank you for honoring your Priesthood and leading with Integrity.

Happy Birthday - we love you!!

Love,

Meredith, Lindsay, Caroline, and Kate

On a lighter note....

Someone is learning to use a cup!
(Nice post nap hair, I must say.)

What else is the little Critter Fritter up to? Walking (at 16 months), cracked 20 lbs at her 16 mo. check up, "talks" on the phone (usually the remote control), emptying shoe baskets, unloading the bookshelf, unloading the refrigerator, you know, in general undoing everything around the house! She also does pretty fabulous impression of a lizard and has us praying several times a day, often several times during a meal, when she offers the queue of her folded arms.

On Monday night we were having FHE and it was kind of past bedtime. I said, just generally outloud, "Kate, you need to go to bed!" (Not like I was expecting her to follow my directions.) Well, she surprised all of us with a pause, looked my direction, and did an about face and toddled herself on down to her bedroom! We all just sat there stunned and Steve decided to follow her. When he got to her room he called and said I had to come and see. There was the little Critter Kate standing in her dark room, one hand on her crib, not sure what to do next!

She sure does keep us entertained and on our toes. Tonight she started kicking the soccer ball a little bit at Caroline's practice - just too cute for words! We have a little Leapfrog ABC's magnet toy that plays the ABC song when a button is pushed. The other day she was carrying it around on her shoulder next to her ear, boom box style.

Steve has been working late (alot) lately and he misses his time with Kate so much. The other night when he got home at 10:30 he went into her room and just watched her sleep. I would miss her too. I found out something else from Steve - he said that often if they have quiet cuddle time together, he calls her Katherine. Hmmmm....I have never called her Katherine, ever! Heck, I rarely call her Kate - why when I can call her Critter Fritter? We talked about that nickname at Mutual Wednesday night. We decided that basically I am calling her a squirrel donut.

Today I decided I needed to get her out to playgroup and go the park. I brought my camera to take pictures and everything. Forgot pictures. And, just as we were about to leave, I saw she was covered in ants! Yikes! Apparently she picked up a cheerio off the ground (from the spilled snacks) that was covered in ants! They were all over her hands, on her legs, in her shoes, and in her mouth and on her face! A couple other moms helped me douse her with water bottles, strip her naked and almost choke her to wash the ants out of her mouth. it was so sad!

On to the weekend...Friday playdates, Saturday brings soccer and Women's Conference and I think out for dessert with girlfriends after.

A Weeklong Experiment

I'm dying here!

For a week I have been collecting all the kiddo treasures I find around the house and it has now filled a laundry basket. These are things found stuffed into purses and then dumped out, random items left on the floor/sofa/table/etc. I am sure you get the idea. We have socks, dolls, purses, pencils/markers/all manner of art supplies, hair accessories, sunglasses, play phones, books, paddle balls, dress up gloves, notepads, barbie clothes, papers, mirrors, bath toys, jewelry and the list goes on and on.

What do I do? My big girls each have a shelving unit of their own. Their own jewelry boxes. Their own treasure boxes. Their own book shelves. Caroline is my mini-hoarder and stuffs purses with things to play. Then they get dumped out and I get piles of this above listed junk. Lindsay is a little better about keeping her shelves neat but I still find her things around the house. This basket alone demonstrates why I LOATHE birthday party loot bags! I end up with more of this kind of crud! If you kid ever comes to a birthday party at my house, they will get a feather boa or sunglasses or a coloring book and crayons - 1 "big" thing instead of a loot bag full of plastic junk. Not a fan.

I wish I could channel Maddy and be so awesome at purging my house of unnecessary items but it seems like this stuff multiplies and replenishes my house with what I lovingly refer to as "Chinese Junk" while we are sleeping.

I have already decided to throw out all Polly Pocket (and the like) accessories - the girls only dress them anyway. When I see Fast food toys I chuck them when they aren't looking. I recycle almost every school paper after a big high five on a job well done. Yet I still find this stuff everywhere.

Any ideas??????? Or at least, offer me some sympathy and empathy!

It's all about Caroline

Colorado July 2009

Or, as it seems, sometimes it isn't all about Caroline. I don't know if the curse of the second child is real or a made up urban legend to help us parents feel less guilty for not having enough baby pictures, for forgetting their first word or remembering their first step or even sometimes noticing that they have their own opinions and personality and are not carbon copies of their older siblings. Aunt Shelly is even the founding member of the Second Child Club, to which Molly and Neil are members, as is Caroline. To my credit, there were technical difficulties surrounding Caroline's newborn pictures so yes, there are very few. It was an accident. Also, from the time Caroline was 7 months until she was 17 months is a total blur. That is when my mom was diagnosed with her brain tumor and passed away. I feel lucky that we made it thru each day and usually had clean laundry, let alone documented what her first word or first steps. I do know her first tooth was about 8 months, I know she ate sand at the beach at 8 months, (when we had to get out of the neuro hospital for a little while and ran off to San Diego). I know she was a turtle for Halloween,I know she wasn't quite walking when my sister got married in January, when Caroline was 13 months old - her flower girl dress was floor length - a lot of fun with a non-walker! But honestly, I don't remember Caroline then and it makes me sad. But, a lot of circumstances that were beyond my control made it this way and I hope as she grows up she will forgive me.

La Jolla August 2009

However, I will take the (unfortunate) credit for struggling to recognize and embrace Caroline's own personality traits, her likes and dislikes, her strengths, and her weaknesses - weaknesses that are truly hers and not just things she is not as good at as her sister. Does that make sense? I often say "Lindsay has it all together, Caroline puts everything together or can't get it together." Layers of mismatched clothes, inappropriate accessories for the activity, and she really prefers her hair down and unbrushed. We struggle to do hair daily. (It was awesome when teaching Art Masterpiece to her class yesterday my teching partner/friend asked if I ever brush her hair...believe me, I tried.) Steve and I have talked a lot about encouraging Caroline and finding special things for her - time to spend with her, to notice when she speaks up and does a good thing, when she is a good helper, and to really take the time to realize that just because she does something different than her sister doesn't make it wrong.

Roller Skating school fundraiser with friends from school September 2009

In trying to make the best choices for each of my children and our family as a whole, I picked up the book, The Time Starved Family. I have been wanting to read and find the magic answer to helping over scheduled families find their way and decide what is and what isn't important to maintain quality family time and progress and grow together, not just ping-pong from activity to activity. Here is where Caroline fits in. It is the start of Fall soccer season. Practice actually started last week and the first games are today. I have struggled with deciding if we needed to add soccer back into our schedule. I mean, I adore the sport. Played all growing up. Steve enjoys it with the girls - I think he was worried it was going to be always dance with the girls and soccer is his sport thing with them. But I didn't want to add one more thing. As it is, M-W we have dance, gymnastics (twice), activity days, and I have mutual. I have already had to say no playdates M-W; we are too busy. And the girls wanted soccer too. Oh boy. The thought of having to be in one more place just about put me over the edge so I delayed registration. A lot. But in thinking about it, I realized that Caroline needs her special thing, her activity that makes her feel important, her opportunity to shine! And soccer is it. She never stops talking about how soccer is her favorite sport. We call her Sporty Spice for a reason. She is adorable in her own little unkempt pigpen way and I love that and wouldn't trade her for the world. Lindsay will not be playing soccer. I know she is disappointed but with all else she has going on I think she gets that it is for the best. The coach as invited her to "assist" at practices and I think that helps fill that void for her.

First game of the Fall Soccer Season September 2009

Now go, my little soccer player - run and kick and score a goal or two - this is your season to shine!!

Huh? Midway, Utah?

We needed a little getaway - it has been 2 years since we have gone on a trip without the kiddos and was time again for sure! We were iffy if we would even go at all and if you know us well, you know that advance planning is not our strongest suit. I know a lot of you would cringe at not having a vacation etched in stone on a calendar a year in advance but I guess we like to live on the edge and see where the wind will take us! (Two years ago we had a flight into Oakland, CA and a flight home 9 days later out of John Wayne in OC and a first night's hotel and a rental car...and a laptop with tripadvisor.com as our trusty companion.) What also helped make this a "winging it" vacay was the guest passes for US Airways that Danika offered to us - thanks for the hook up!

This time we took a friend's suggestion (Maddy - thanks!) to try Midway, Utah. We were already considering Park City - the ski capital of the world but a gem of a summer destination as well. Midway is a charming little mountain village about 20 minutes from Park City in the Heber Valley. It is designed in a Swiss/European style - almost every building has the cute charming look of a European Mountain Village. Using our trusty friend tripadvisor.com we found the #1 rated Bed & Breakfast in the area, Invited Inn, and booked a 4 night stay. Their motto is to spoil you rotten and they weren't kidding! We arrived and were greeted by Bill who took our luggage and gave us slippers to use for our stay. We were shown around the lovely home. 3 out of 4 nights we were the only guests there so we were truly pampered. Multi-course breakfasts each day were Belgian Waffles, French Toast, German Pancakes, and Eggs Benedict. We lost count at how many kinds of fruit we were served each morning. Additionally we had the best hot chocolate and flavored milk steamers - so delish! It was truly a no lunch breakfast and literally we did not eat lunch a single day we were there. We only snacked on (the cutest little) apples picked from the tree out front. Additionally, they had one of those never ending cookie platters, fresh popped popcorn every night and afternoon hors devours with smoothies and Italian sodas. Yup - we were spoiled indeed. I am going to have to say - a nice fully appointed hotel is great but there is something extra special about a B&B. Try it sometime.

We spent our days relaxing, hiking, eating amazing dinners, getting massages at The Homestead Spa (which is housed in an original 1886 building), shopping, relaxing some more, zip-line riding/alpine sliding/apine coastering in Park City, snorkeled in The Crater, and more eating - in and around Midway, Park City and Sundance. The only disappointing thing was the disappearing blue sky while we were there - Utah was quickly being overcome with smoke from fires in Southern Utah and probably LA too. But we did notice a few leaves starting to turn - so pretty since we don't get to see leaves turn color until, say February, if at all around here!

If you are our friend in Utah and are disappointed we didn't come see you, don't worry - we didn't see anyone. ;)

I would totally go again. It was truly memorable. A great big thank you to Molly who watched my kids while she was dealing with THIS and thanks also to Maddy who helped Molly help me by also taking a turn with the big girls. I love you ladies like crazy!

It's great to be Eight!

For as long as I can remember, Lindsay's favorite color has been purple (like Nama Sue) and her favorite number has been Eight...because that is when she would be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Well, her favorite colors have evolved to include pink and orange that together with purple make the color of the sunset. But I hope her favorite number will always be 8 - it has been a special time preparing for her baptism and renewing and creating lots of traditions to make this a memorable occasion.

We had many special guests - Grandma and Grandpa from South Carolina, Aunt Shelly, Uncle Joe and Grandma Nadene from Oregon, Grandpa Mike, several ward friends and Lindsay even invited several family friends who were not members of our church. Her kindergarten teacher even came - it was truly a room full of people we love but we know several more would have been there had it been possible.

Before Lindsay was baptized we were out in the hallway and she said she was nervous and scared. I reminded her all that we had done to prepare and I knelt down with her and said a prayer. We had a special program put together by Lindsay - she chose her songs and who the speakers would be. Aunt Molly gave a wonderful talk on Baptism - that the B is for Born Again, the A is for Actions, P is for Priesthood, (T I & S - I forgot - I will fill in later) M is for Missionary.

Then Lindsay was baptized by her daddy. What a wonderful experience for them both - Steve said he was rather caught up in the emotion of it all. Lindsay did have a toe pop so she needed to do the baptism a second time! When the ordinance was over, I wrapped Lindsay's new white towel around her and took her to change, I held her close and cried - I told her she was as fresh and clean as the day she was born, it was like I was holding her again for the very first time when she was born.

While Steve and Lindsay changed, Grandpa Bill spoke - a "teaching moment" we called it. We knew we would have several people there not of our faith and he took a few minutes to teach about ordinances and the 4th Article of Faith. I love a chance to hear Bill talk and I missed most of it, helping Lindsay, but I understand our guests were very well taught and touched.

Aunt Shelly spoke on the Holy Ghost and had wrapped gifts to teach that the Holy Ghost is 1. A compass, 2. comforter, and 3 a light. Then Lindsay was confirmed a member of the church by Steve with several family members standing in the circle. Oh, how grateful we are for the restoration of the priesthood! Some memorable thoughts from Lindsay's blessing: (thank you Sister Heninger!!!)

* Bless you that now that the Holy Ghost will be a constant companion to you

* will teach you right from wrong

* In times when you are afraid you'll have courage and be the best little girl you can be

* Heavenly Father considers you a choice daughter

* Heavenly Father loves you so much and is proud of the step you took today

* Bless you that the Holy Ghost will help you in school and church and everything you are doing

It was a very special service, indeed. I made a small scrapbook for Lindsay of her growing up with scripture quotes with room for notes from friends and family. It is adorable and a great book to remember her special time. I am on my way out of time and having trouble getting it up so check back later - it is so cute!

We had friends and family over for Lindsay's favorite - ice cream!

Lindsay's friends and cousins who came to the baptism - what a great group of kids!

Me and my baby

With Steve's parents. I do have one regret - I did not get enough pictures! Someone else should have been in charge of that - I was coordinating here and there and everywhere and missed a couple chances. But know that we are so glad that everyone who came was able to share our special day with our special little girl!