The teeter totter

My grandpa was a handy guy. He had some heart problems and retired early. In order to prevent some serious insanity, he built things in his wood shop. After that, we got really cool wooden gifts for Christmas. I remember having tea parties at the little table and chair set he made for me and my sisters. I put my babies to sleep in the cradle he made, and now Allie does it too. We got jigsaw puzzles and my favorite, a huge doll house. We had a toy box that pinched fingers and came crashing down on your head if you didn't hold onto the lid when venturing in for a toy. And one year we got a teeter totter. This was no ordinary teeter totter. It went up and down, but it also went round and round. It was the favorite neighborhood toy for years. We would get Ryan from across the street to spin us around so fast that we had to hang on for dear life. It was ideal of you could get two kids of similar weight on there so the two sides would be even as we went round and round.

Like any cool toy back then, this one was dangerous. If you fell off while spinning at high speeds, the one left on would slam to the ground and roll. Sometimes fingers were pinched. Sometimes bums would hurt for days. Sometimes chins would get cut open when the board smacked your face after you fell off. There were always risks, but we loved it anyway.

What is the point of this post? The last time I was in Orem, we pulled the old totter out of retirement. The handles have broken off and it needed some sanding and a fresh coat of paint, but otherwise it's the same old contraption we all knew and loved.

The kids sanded the old paint off and they all took turns with the spray can when it came time for the new paint.

We reminisced about our old injuries and fond memories. We waited for the paint to dry, and commented on how long it takes for paint to dry...then it was dry.

Jake and Allie were there to try it out. It was great!

There were smiles.

There were giggles.

Then there were tears. Allie decided she was done when Jake was still in the air. She hopped off and before I could catch the board, he came crashing down, fell off, and got smacked in the chin by the board as it bounced up(the classic injury).

They both walked away from the incident a little scared. We tried to make them get back on so they could end on a good note. It wasn't the best note.

Maybe things will be different when we get some handles, but so far they don't love the teeter totter like we all did when we were kids. It was really fun to work on it though, and even more fun to remember the glory days.

My dad

I used to get into those arguments with the neighbor kids... you know the kind... "my dad is stronger than your dad" and "my dad has more guns than your dad". I even have a vivid memory of telling Lexia Christensen to "get off my property or my dad will beat up your dad".
Well, my dad was pretty cool, and in case you don't believe that my dad is cooler than your dad, check this out...

This is my dad and his twin brother in front of the motor home that they built from the ground up. They used a frame from a wrecked van and made the rest up. They traveled everywhere in this thing. So I think that pretty much sums up the argument of whose dad is cooler than who.

(I don't know who the guy on the left is, but my dad is on the right)



Isn't that funny!? Who builds a motorhome?

Oh, dad...I miss you!

Better late than never, I wanted to share some pictures of our favorite dad.

Mike is a great dad. I couldn't ask for more.

I was just looking through some old pictures to find one of Mike holding each of our babies for the first time. It was fun to look through the pictures. I loved seeing Mike hold our babies. With each one, he looked at them knowing that they were miracles. He loves his kids, and oh how they love him!

Here he is with Jake. We had recently watched The Grinch, so I guess it was on his mind the night Jake was born. Mike told me that his heart grew three sizes when he saw Jake for the first time.

This is Allie. We didn't find out in an ultrasound that we were having a girl. When she was born and they said "it's a girl!", I thought of how great Mike would be as a daddy to a beautiful girl. I was thrilled.

Here he is with Sam. I watched from the table as Mike held Sam. For the first little while, every time they tried to hand him off to me, Sam would fuss until Mike took him back. He loved his dad.

There are dozens of pictures of the kids hanging out with Mike on the couch at night. I loved to come downstairs to find them dozing and looking comfortable.
Mike hates to hear our kids cry (unless he is teasing them and then the whining/crying is music to his ears). When I am out of patience at the end of the night, he is willing to sit with Allie and read her "just one more book". He plays with Jake and teaches him all the things I can't. We are just plain lucky to have him. Happy Father's day Mike!

...and just in case you think I didn't think of my own super cool dad on Father's Day, I did. I praise Mike for being the best dad ever, and he is...to our kids. My dad is the best dad ever to me :)

Mommy Soccer

My kids know that I hate having things under foot while I am working in the kitchen. They know that any toy is subject to abuse if it is found in the kitchen area. Jake generally keeps his stuff out of there. Allie does not. Today, as I was getting dinner going, I tripped over her princess stool. (The one she uses to boost herself up onto cupboards so she can gain access to things she knows she shouldn't).
Anyway, I kicked it across the room and Allie said in an awe struck tone, "Mom! You can kick so far! Maybe you should be in mommy soccer!"

Sometimes I have so many things that I want to write about that I have to set the posts to come every few days. Then I go on spurts that I can't think of anything to say and I feel bad that the days go by without anything new. I hate it when other people (yes, most of the people that read this blog are the "other people") don't update their blogs, so this will just be a random catch up post. (Take the hint and start updating your blogs:)

I just got back from girl's camp at Heber Valley Camp. It was a great week. I love those girls and Heber Valley is a beautiful place to go. It was so amazing, we were able to see a momma deer give birth to twins this far away...

We also walked along a trail with a moose. He followed us around and posed for our cameras for 10 minutes or so. I was totally bummed that I didn't have my nice camera. He was so close that the dorky one still took good pictures, but they could have been amazing.


I went on the overnight hike with the older girls on Tuesday. We hiked up to a meadow and started our dinner when it started to lightly rain. We hadn't brought in tents, so I expected to have a long, wet, sleepless night. My biggest worry was that my ipod (snuck in contraband) would get wet. It was worry for nothing though because they wouldn't let us stay the night. The lightening made them fear for our safety. The hike was funny though. We wandered up and down hills, on a narrow trail through the Forest for what felt like miles. Then when they evacuated us, we walked a few steps up the trail and onto a groomed road that led right to the camp. We felt like we were in a secluded meadow when really we were 10 minutes away from the next camp.

Anyway, camp was a great experience. I feel blessed that I was able to go. Mike was able to work from home those days and be mom and dad. The kids didn't really miss me much. They always have fun with Mike. Of course, they ate out for every meal (even when I left plenty of food in the fridge). When I asked if it was more fun with mommy or daddy, Jake said that it is more fun with mommy and daddy. That's a pretty good answer.

The Lie

I saw Allie sneaking into the bathroom with the squirt bottle. The last time she was given free reign of the squirt bottle, she emptied it on her princess doll's head (you've seen it before...the one with a tangled rat's nest of hair and crayon "makeup" on her face). Anyway, I didn't want to repeat the mess, so I told her that she couldn't fill the bottle up. Like always, I got distracted and forgot to follow up on the request (by taking the squirt bottle out of her hands and putting it on a shelf higher than the one it was previously on).

A few very quiet minutes later, she came in with a half empty bottle and the following conversation took place...

Allie: "Mom, I filled this up so you can use it on my hair!"
Me: "It's already half way gone. Did you use it on your princess's hair?"
Allie: "no" (looking a little guilty)
Me: "Are you sure you didn't spray it on her hair? It looks like you might have used up half of it on something"
Allie: "I didn't use it on my princess. I filled it up for my hair."
Me: "So, if I go into your room and look at your princess head, is the hair going to be wet?"
Allie: (looking somewhat fearful) "Well, I accidentally put some of it on her hair."

What followed that is another conversation about telling lies and so on...

Catching sins

We were reading the Friend the other day and the story mentioned Dieter F. Uchdorf's conversion story. It said that he was baptised in a public swimming pool. I continued to read the story and Jake stopped me with some questions. He was surprised that you could get baptised in a swimming pool and wanted to make sure that's what I had said. I could almost hear his mind working as he tried to picture someone being baptised in a pool. He finally said, in a half question, half statement... "but you can't catch sins. They all get washed away." I think he was worried that he'd be the guy who went swimming after someone prone to sinning was baptised. Pretty funny.

We bought our peace with a roll of tape...

Most travelling days the kids are great in the car. Sometimes Allie gets bored to tears and Jake asks one too many times what city we are in and how much longer until we get there.

We had one of those trips on our last drive from Orem. We were desperate and Mike happened to have a roll of tape in the car. That one roll of tape bought an hour of silence from Allie.

The pen "body art" is from the earlier attempt at a diversion when I suggested she draw a picture. I gave her paper, but I was naive to think Allie would use paper when her favorite canvas is her body...

Jake was easier to entertain. Mike handed him his phone and the games made him happy until we pulled into our driveway.

The boy asks questions that are hard to answer...

I've told you before that sometimes I get exhausted by the questions my kids ask. I just thought I'd share a few of the the things Jake has asked about lately.

"Mom, what does "almost" mean?"


You'd think it would be easy, but it's not.


"Mom, what does 'the grand scheme of things' mean?"
Try explaining that without confusing the boy even more. I used words like "the big picture", and "what matters in the end"... what really matters in the grand scheme of things is that I said I didn't know.
In case you were wondering how he even has those words in his vocabulary, we have a book by Mo Willems (my favorite children's book author) that has the phrase in it.

He has these science books that he loves to look at. I read a few pages to him each day, but really he just likes to look at the pictures. I actually try to avoid the books. They are supposed to be for kids, but they talk about all things science and it only leads to impossible questions...

"what are molecules?"

"why doesn't plastic conduct electricity?"

"how do the waves that move from satellites turn into the things we watch on tv?"

"why does the atmosphere get thinner on Mt. Everest?"

The funny thing is, he is never satisfied with the answers I give. He always has his own reason and his explanation is usually better than what I say.

Tonight it was "Mom, how do they make hot dogs?" (like that is a question anyone wants to answer). Instead of ruining him for life by giving him the details you would find in Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle, I just said "pigs".

I'm afraid that this time, his explanation was way off. He sat for a minute and said "no, they are made from elephants"...whatever boy.

I know you can't really pin a career on a kid when he's five, but I do think Jake will really enjoy Biology and Science classes. That kind of stuff just speaks to him. It will be interesting to see if he continues to enjoy it.

I love the ages that my kids are in right now. They are just so eager to learn things and discover the world we live in. It's pretty cool when you think about it. Everything is new. I am so lucky to be a mom. It's so fun to know that I am helping this little boy learn about the world around him. Even if I don't always have all the answers, I think it's good enough for him. I remember thinking my parents were the smartest people in the world (until high school). It's fun to be the smartest person in the world to two little people.

The Tulips

Last fall Allie and I found ourselves alone on a Saturday afternoon. Mike and Jake had gone somewhere and it was just us. I was feeling a little sorry for myself because it was a few weeks after Sam's death and I was missing my boy. I decided to go outside and plant some tulips. I knew that I would want something to look forward to in the Spring. Allie was a great helper. We planted 3 bulbs in each hole and made little groups all over. It did make us look forward to Spring.

I was so excited to see the little green sprouting leaves after the snow melted. Allie and Jake were totally invested in them too. They would give me progress reports each day.

Now they are finally blooming and they are beautiful! They make me so happy!

We have even picked a few bouquets to look at inside our home. I was looking at them today as I ate my lunch. What an amazing things flowers are. Even flowers speak of Heavenly Father's love for us. Why else would he create such beautiful things for us to look at?

*** I started this post when the flowers were just blooming. It's late in coming because I forgot that I wanted to add some other pictures before posting it. I just wanted to add that note in case you were wondering why we were just now getting tulips. As another side note, the deer (or a neighbor kid) came and took off the tops of my tulips and now there are only a few left out there and they are looking pretty haggard. My lesson has been learned and now I will gladly pick many bouquets full and bring them in the house to enjoy, not just two.***

She's dancing!

It is another late post, but I guess better late than never! At the end of May it was dance revue time!

At the dress rehearsal with Lily

Allie was so excited to show off her dance moves. She worked all year to learn things and was really happy that people would get to see what she can do.

I worried that she would end up acting shy and just stand there.

I have to admit that I worried she would be that girl...(on the right)

(this was the dress rehearsal. She also threw a fit in the actual performance. Poor thing)

Allie didn't do any of those things. She got out there and moved! (well, I guess she did get in a pick or two during dress rehearsal)

She danced three different dances and the finale. She says her favorite is the jazz dance "J". It was obvious because she knew the moves on that one the best. She was so cute!

Of course, I had those moments when I wanted to cry a little (it's just what I do). I saw my baby girl up there looking so grown up and I got a little choked up. Man, these years are starting to go by fast.

Allie got to dance by her little friend Lily, and we got a picture of the three little neighborhood friends at the end. Aubrey is a year older in dance. They all did such a great job.

Thanks to those who came to support my little dancer!

School's out!

Jake's preschool days are behind him now!

He got great marks on his last report card and is ready to move on to kindergarten. He looks forward to it. I am hoping the summer is long. I'm not ready to send my boy off to that whole school scene yet.

This is Mrs. Lamb. Jake loves her so much. She was a perfect teacher for Jake. She has taught him a lot and knew just how to handle any obstacles that might have come up. He'll miss her. Mrs. Lamb had a baby a few months before Sam was born. She has been so good to let Jake play with her baby. Jake came home many days telling me what the baby did that day. He said he can always make her smile. He was so thrilled with each of her new activities. He watched her go from a little baby who slept all the time to a baby who could pull up on the table by them and walk with assistance. It was fun to see him come home so excited about the interactions he had with her.

I am still having a hard time getting him to be in pictures for me but since he could be in most of the pictures with his friend Aubrey, it was okay.

What a good boy!

Soccer!

I'm a little late on this post. The season is over and now we are on to t-ball, but I had to post these pictures because I have been telling Jake I would. It's actually just so that he will believe that I do something with all the pictures he is forced to pose for...

Anyway, it was fun to see him go out there and run around with the other kids his age. He doesn't really get the fine points of soccer, but he can generally run around and chase the kids who have the ball. What matters is that he loves it.


(Jake and Carson)

He played goalie a few times. He'd hang his head in shame when one would get past him, then boast in his greatness when he'd stop a ball.

Most of the games were played in the rain, or extreme cold. They were tough little kids to go out and run around in crazy Spring weather. There were 4 other neighbor kids on the team, so there were always plenty of friends for me to talk to as we watched our kids play.

(Jake and Aubrey)

Allie was a trooper to go to every game and watch her brother play. She would love to play soccer too but isn't old enough yet. Sometimes I forget that she isn't just as old as Jake because she is so independent and does all the same things as him.

Anyway, it was a fun introduction to the sporting life for our family.

Memorial Day

Sam's headstone was placed just in time for Memorial Day!

We went to the cemetery on Monday. I was so surprised at how many people were at the cemetery. Some of our family had to park outside the gates and walk in! It's just neat to think that so many people were honoring their dead. It's impossible to get the idea of what we saw from just a picture, but I included one anyway.

We cleaned my dad's headstone and my mom showed all the kids pictures of the people we were there for. The kids put pinwheels on Sam's grave. For a little funny side story, Allie was worried that she was going to hit Sam with the pinwheel stick. Last time we were there she stuck her finger in the grass and with an intake of breath said "I touched Sam's head!" She was a little horrified and I can't convince her that it wasn't Sam's head that she touched. She and Jake were really protective of the headstone. Whenever the other kids would step on it, they would make them get off (most of the time it was a not so gentle shove).

Anyway, it was a nice day.

I'm glad the boy finally has a marker. I think it looks really nice.