Summer Busy-ness

Warning: epic post.  If I didn’t get it all in, it would never get done. I’ve been so extremely busy lately, and I’ve finally got a night where I don’t really have anything I HAVE to get done for the next day.  Sure, my bathrooms have been sorely neglected.  My floors should be vacuumed.  I’ve got a dozen unfinished projects going on right now now.  But I don’t have to do any of it, so I’m not going to. Here are some of the things we’ve been up to this summer: Trip to Utah Speaking on gardening for the meeting formerly known as enrichment Zoo day camp for Katie Pond day camp for Paul Finishing the patio Party to celebrate finished patio Trip to Flagstaff Swimming lessons for all kids T-ball for Paul Pioneer day camp Prepping for a garage sale Plus you have all the everyday fun, like doctor’s appointments (not so fun), birthday celebrations (Aaron’s was in July and Katie’s is coming up in a few weeks), holiday celebrations, etc.  I love summer, but it is a busy time of year.  I’m sure it feels even more busy because we’re trying to cram everything in before this baby comes in less than a month. I haven’t been very good about taking pictures lately.  I think it’s because my hands have been so full that carrying around a camera was just one more headache.  Here are some highlights from our trip to Utah: Sunday, May 29: Baby Emily’s blessing.  Already shared those pictures.  And since then, she’s started rolling over!  They grow so fast! Monday, May 30: Memorial day.  We had planned a swimming party, but the weather was so terrible almost the entire time we were there, so swimming never happened.  We just ate yummy food and hung out instead. Tuesday, May 31: Went to Fetal Fotos and found out we were having a baby girl.  Third time’s the charm, apparently!  Went up to Park City to see where my parents are building their new condo and help them pick out their carpet and everything. Wednesday, June 1: Trip to the aquarium.  I was surprised at how good the aquarium was.  It looked completely ghetto from the outside.  It’s in an old craft store, and there’s no landscaping at all.  But the inside was a pleasant surprise.  The favorite was definitely the penguins (no pictures of that exhibit; too dark).  We also had the chance to participate in sealings at the temple with my parents while Aaron’s parents took the kids to a movie. Thursday, June 2: Ikea outing.  Love that place.  I think if I could pick just one store to come to ABQ, it would be Ikea.  Capped off the day with a trip to Leatherby’s for an enormous ice cream sundae.  I miss Utah ice cream, and most especially their shakes.  There are no good shakes in Albuquerque.  It’s sad when the best you can do is Chick-Fil-A.  We make sure to get more than our fill of shakes every time we visit. Friday, June 3: Grandpa Barnes took Katie to the zoo.  He asked each child to pick out something special they wanted to do with Grandpa, and then they each had a date with him.  I really think that this was the highlight of their trip.  They got one-on-one time, which can be scarce around these parts, and they got to do things that Mom and Dad (the meanies that we are) never let them do, like ride the train or buy something at the souvenir shop.  In the evening they kids all spent the night with the Jorgensens while Aaron and I went on a date, another thing that has been scarce around here. Saturday, June 4: We had time to kill in the morning, so we decided to go on a little “hike” up Butterfield Canyon.  Unfortunately, they had blocked off almost all the trails, so it wound up being a really little hike along a paved road.  The kids loved it though.  We ended the day with dinner at Pat’s BBQ. My goofy family.  I love them! Paul went with Grandpa Barnes to a Real Salt Lake soccer game and to Cold Stone.  The soccer game was cool, but it paled in comparison to Cold Stone.  When Paul was asked what he wanted to do for his special day, his answer was, “Go to that place where they smash up brownies and put them in ice cream.”  So Cold Stone it was.  The game was an extra bonus, since simply going to Cold Stone seemed a little small to Grandpa B when matched against Katie’s zoo trip.  I tried to convince Dad that really, all he wanted was the ice cream and he was going to be thrilled with just that.  However, my dad didn’t have any boys, so he missed out on all the fun manly outings, so he was going to take advantage of having his oldest grandson in town and go see something sporty.  They had a blast. Monday, June 6:  We visited the children’s museum at Gateway with my mom, Kiera, Heather and her kids, and Julie and her niece.  They loved it all.  It’s a great place to let them run around and just play to their heart’s content. Paul’s about to start sobbing here on the rock climbing wall.  He was just fine going up, but coming down petrified him. This bowling ball simulator was Brayden’s favorite.  He would not get off no matter what other fun things were offered.  I loved watching the faces he made every time the ball crashed into the pins. Being part of the Life Flight team. Averi also got to have her date with Grandpa that evening.  When you’re two, life’s pleasures are very simple.  All she wanted to do was make chocolate cupcakes with Grandpa.  She still brings up her special “date” at least once a week.     As if the day hadn’t been fun enough, we went to the Classic Fun Center to play on the bouncy castles.  One adult could go in with the kids, and Aaron was the chosen one.  He’s the best at that sort of thing.  He was more into doing the bouncy obstacle course than the kids were, and he was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.  There was one type of bouncy structure that I had never seen before.  The kids would sit on something that looked like a mushroom, and Aaron would jump on it and send them flying.  It was awesome.  He soon had other kids asking him to bounce them, but breaking our own kids’ necks is one thing; doing it to someone else’s kids is quite another. This is the crazy mushroom thing.  Unfortunately, I got no good pictures of the flying. Crazed and red-eyed Aaron running through the obstacle course.  He’ll probably be annoyed that I put this up, but I think it’s great.  Love you, hon! Tuesday, June 7: This was a chill-out day.  I did some shopping with my mom, and then we went swimming at the city pool in the afternoon.  Vacations need days like those. Wednesday, June 8: Lagoon with the Jorgensens.  I thought I would be sad that I couldn’t really go on any of the rides, but I had a surprisingly good time hanging out with Averi in the kiddie section.  There were tons of little rides she could go on, and it was pretty deserted, so we had hardly any waits.  She was hilarious to watch.  Let’s just say that she’s not extremely brave.  Bulgy the Whale, which is about the most innocuous ride in the world, terrified her.  She refused to look up even once and just buried her head.  Then she insisted that we go on it four more times (none of which involved her looking).   Ah, Bulgy.  I have at least 15 pictures of her cowering in fear on this ride.  I laugh every time I see them. The cowering didn’t work as well on this ride, since she could see the bottom. But she claimed to like every ride once it was over.  We took her on the log flume, and the drop at the end petrified her.  After that, we went on the river rapids (the one with the round tubes where everyone gets soaked).  We made it through the ride just fine and then we got on the ramp that pulls the tube up to the loading platform.  Paul said, “Oh no!  It’s another drop!” and Averi began screaming.  She seriously tried to climb overboard and abandon ship.  There was no convincing her that there wasn’t a drop and Paul didn’t know what he was talking about.  She only calmed down once we were safely on dry land. These boats were more her speed, although she wouldn’t loosen her grip on the steering wheel to even try to ring the bell. Katie with her Aunt Julie. Thursday, June 9: Aaron and I took the kids down to Temple Square.  We did one of the visitor’s centers, took a tour of the Church Office Building, and had lunch at the Beehive House.   View of the state capitol from the top of the Church Office Building. We had specifically gone down to Temple Square that day because we knew it was the 100th anniversary of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building/Hotel Utah and we had heard that there were going to be some events taking place.  When we arrived at the JSMB, we learned that the Tabernacle Choir was going to be singing and President Monson was going to be there to perform a ribbon cutting.  So we stayed and watched the Joseph Smith movie they had playing and then went upstairs to wait.  It turned out that the person who told us the times of the events was wrong, and beyond that, they were running behind schedule.  So we had three starving, bored, out of control kids to manage in a hot, crowded room that was standing-room-only.  We should have bailed and left, but we insanely stuck it out.  I’m not quite sure why, although we did have cupcakes at the end.   We loved all the ladies and men in period dress.  The kids got a kick out of the hats. Friday, June 10:  Katie and Paul went on a sleepover with Grandma J to Thanksgiving Point in the dinosaur museum and had a great time.  Averi had a sleepover with Grandpa J, which meant that we had the evening off.  We had a little dinner party with my sister and her family, Ashley, and some old friends.  We played minute to win it games, and it was quite interesting to see who was the most adept at working an oreo off their forehead and into their mouth without using their hands.  Let’s just say that it wasn’t me.   Saturday, June 11: We had Aaron’s 10-year mission reunion.  He served in Lithuania in the Baltic States mission.  He was able to meet up with some good friends, and fortunately there were some people that I knew as well.  The kids love the air gun that shot candy out and the miniature airplane that dumped candy in random places all over the park.  I was quite impressed at how well it was organized.  We got lost getting to the park, and we ran across some of the most beautiful houses with stunning views.  Let’s just say I know where I would look for houses when our ship comes in.   The ones that served in Lithuania Our cute family Sunday, June 12: We drove home.  Everyone was so worn out by Saturday night.  This is what we found when we woke up Sunday morning: It’s a good thing we were going home to get some real rest.

Baby Emily’s Blessing

We left for Utah on May 28 in order to arrive in time for Emily Ann Wahlquist’s blessing on the 29th.  Emily is Heather and Danny’s newest baby, which makes her our first niece.  We are so glad that our kids will finally have cousins to play with!  Emily and our baby girl will only be a few months apart, so hopefully they’ll be great friends.  If we weren’t having a baby already, I would want one after being around Emily.  She is so incredibly sweet and beautiful.  She’s still in that newborn stupor, so she slept most of the time, a phase which makes babies particularly endearing.  I had the chance to take some pictures of her, but I soon realized that I need more practice.  Babies are hard to photograph!  Fortunately Emily’s naturally gorgeous, so most of the photos turned out just fine, despite my lack of skill.       Heather, she’s a doll!  You did good work!

Random fun thing…

Here’s a fun, lazy meme.  You simply bold the things you’ve done and leave the rest plain.  And you can add random comments like I felt compelled to do. 1. Started your own blog (um, yeah…) 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland/world 8. Climbed a mountain. 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo (5th grade in “Amahl and the Night Visitors”) 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (been there, but the statue was closed) 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill  24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse (but was it as awesome as this music video?) 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33 Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (been to England but not to where they actually lived) 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language (learned Spanish, but definitely didn’t teach myself) 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (hard question, but I think I’m pretty happy with my life right now) 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41 Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant 44. Visited Africa (Egypt!) 45 Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted (does one of those caricature sketches count?) 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China (soon! I hope…) 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Gotten flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (like in Toy Story?) 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House (couldn’t go inside that day, but close enough) 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a lawsuit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee

Paul’s last soccer game

I love doing stuff with my kids, but I am always relieved when something winds up and frees up some of our schedule.  Ballet ended, preschool ended, and I was quite happy.  Soccer was no exception.  It was a riot watching his games, and Paul loved to play, but I really am glad it’s time for a break…at least until t-ball begins in July.       Enjoying the traditional post-game sugar fest.  No wonder obesity is rising in America although organized sport participation is increasing!  Cupcakes, fruit snacks, Capri Suns, theater-sized boxes of candy, Kool-aid, fruit roll-ups, Gatorade…it was ridiculous.  We were the first ones to bring snacks, and we brought sliced oranges and pretzels.  I guess we’re completely lame, since NO ONE ever brought anything healthy after that point.  I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw half his team refuse our snacks completely (which was okay with my kids, since they devoured at least an entire orange apiece); obviously fruit is not as palatable when you’re used to being stuffed with sugar.  Poor kids.  Seriously, parents, stop trying to be cool and be a parent!  (Rant over.) Paul really improved quite a bit during this soccer season.  He got to the point where he wasn’t looking at his feet to see how fast he was running, which really improved his speed.  And once during the last game his foot made contact with the ball!  Of course, he just stared at it as it rolled down the field, but even kicking it was a big improvement.  He loved being the goalie.  He actually understood what it was that he was supposed to do as goalie, and he was one of the better ones at it.  I’m sure he would have improved a lot more if we would have been able to practice with him in the backyard, but that is fairly impossible with things torn up like they are.  Next season…

Katie’s Ballet “Recital”

One of the reasons that I really like Katie’s ballet school is the fact that they only have recitals every other year, which translates into a fortune saved in costumes and tickets every other year.  Instead, they have the families come and watch a presentation a few times a year so that the kids get the practice of learning a dance without the stress, and so that the parents can see what is actually being learned and taught.  Katie LOVES to dance.  She’s constantly dancing and has infected her brother and sister too.  Paul has informed us that he wants to take ballet “so I can lift the girls up.”  When we asked Katie if she wanted to take soccer with Paul, she said, “No.  I just want to dance.”  She still had no interest even when we told her she could do both if she wanted to.  Oh well.  At least it’s not money wasted on something she doesn’t really care about.  Here are the pictures from her latest program, The Dress-Up Dance:   Sneaking up to the attic… Finding the dress-up box…   Yay!  Scarves! Oh no!  Someone’s coming! Shhh…don’t tell! And here they are showing some of the skills they’ve learned: Check out that face.  Love it! I really wish I didn’t get some weird glare from something.  Oh well.   We had such a good experience with ballet this year.  I hope Katie continues to enjoy dance as much as she does now, since I think she has a natural ability for it.  Next year should be fun: they begin to work at the barre (is that right? Internet is down, so I can’t proof myself) and it’s recital year.  I love watching my kids grow older and develop new talents.