Changes

I am in a new phase of life. It's strange. It seems like yesterday that Jake was in my arms needing everything from me. It seems like yesterday that Allie was born and added to the things that need attention from me. This summer has been so strange. I put away the sippy cups (I know I hung on to them way too long, but my friend Allie has been challenged in the "try not to spill" department and they were just easier in the mornings than spilled milk). I put away some of the baby books that weren't getting read anymore. I put away the baby swing that has hung on our swing set for years. We just didn't need that stuff anymore. A huge part of me was sad about that. I am constantly saying that I am glad that my kids are learning and progressing, but there is that little part that gets sad twinges to think that the things that I love so much about them are changing too. Allie lost her baby face and has turned into a stretched out grown girl. Jake is leaving the toddler sizes of clothes in the dust.
I used to sit outside and hover over the kids digging rocks and sand out of Allie's mouth or rescuing Jake from climbing so high on the hill that he couldn't get down. I had to keep them out of the road and chase down the balls that got away. I had to solve fights (that usually resulted in a bite from Allie) or chase down a child going past boundaries. Outside time wasn't relaxing or easy. But it was my life. I changed diaper after diaper and cleaned up the same box of toys day after day. We read board books and looked forward to nap time. But it was my life.
Now things are so different. I wandered around feeling quite lost at the beginning of the summer. The kids went out to play and they stayed where they said they would. They played nicely with their friends and only came to me when they wanted an Otter Pop. I have even snuck naps while the kids were out playing.
They can dress themselves, wash their own sticky hands, "clean" up their own messes. They can get a drink of water on their own and track down the toy they lost after lunch. What do they need me for? It's so strange.
Now this week comes the biggest change of all. Jake is starting kindergarten. Yes, he has gone to two years of pre-school, but that didn't seem like such a big change. Now he is going to be riding the bus with kids in 5th grade! He's going, every day of the week, to be with a teacher who will know an entirely different Jake than I know. She will know the boy who is there to learn. She will teach him things that I can't teach him. She will be something to him that I will never be. He will have a life that has little or nothing to do with me. It's so strange.
I look forward to it for him. I want him to have these experiences and learn new things. I just can't believe that this is my new life. My life has gone beyond doing everything for my little boy. He is his own person and he will be doing his own thing, making his own memories and creating a life for himself. I am happy about that. It doesn't mean that I won't mourn the changes that are coming to my life.
I guess I didn't stay little forever and I know my mom doesn't cry about it daily, so I better just buck up and join the world of school age kid moms...and love it.

Green Stuff...

Maybe some of you mom's can just understand when I say that we have many conversations that revolve around bodily functions in our house. The kids are trying to figure things out and aren't at the age where things like "privacy" or "appropriate conversations" mean anything to them. So, here's a conversation that we had at our house the other day...

Allie: Mom! I have green poo!

Jake: Coming in to investigate Did you eat grass?

Allie: No. I didn't eat grass. Poo is supposed to be brown mom. Why is this poo green? It smells like stinky green poo, not stinky brown poo.

Jake: You must have eaten grass. You know how you can chew up grass and it makes your spit green?

Allie: I didn’t eat grass, but I did eat lots of lunch. Maybe I ate too much lunch.

Me: It's not from the lunch. Remember when you snuck all those fruit snacks? It's from that. (only a mom of a kid who eats lots of fruit snacks would know that it does indeed turn their poo green:)

Allie: Fruit snacks did that? (still hovering over the toilet with Jake)

Gross! Those kids...

A key to the jail

I went out to the backyard to find Allie and Lily playing in a pile of papers. Lily put her papers behind her back and Allie ran away from the pile when she saw me. So I knew that something was wrong with the picture. I got closer to find that the papers they we playing with weren't just papers. It was the neighbor's mail. Mortified, I gathered things up (trying not to look in case it was sensitive information) and lectured them about opening mail. They both knew whose mail it was, so it's not like they thought it was mine and got the wrong box. They intentionally opened the neighbor's mail. Little punks!

I took Allie by the hand, with the stack of mail that looked like it had been mauled by two 4 year old girls, and marched over to our neighbor's house. We shook the sand off and talked the whole way there about not opening other people's mail. Allie still didn't have the look of fear on her face, and I didn't know how to impress the importance of never doing this again. I hoped when she had to confess her crime to the Baltzer's, she could show remorse.

Terry opened the door and Allie gave her the stack of papers with a smile on her face. She wasn't showing remorse, so I said "Allie, did you know that it is illegal to open other people's mail?" She still had the smile, so I pressed things further. "Allie, if Terry wanted to, she could have the police man come and you would get in trouble for opening her mail. We are lucky that she is nice."

The smile was gone and Allie hid behind me looking at Terry as if she had the phone in her hands dialling 911. Instead of leaving Terry with our apologies, Terry felt like she had to convince Allie that she wasn't going to call the police and that she was not mad about the mail. I guess there was a flaw in the plan.

Anyway, we came home and started lunch. I thought things were over, even though I was still annoyed that the whole thing had happened in the first place.

Half way through lunch, Allie said "mom, do you have a key to the jail?"

I said that I didn't. Then she said "Well, don't you want to keep me forever?" I was still unsure of where this conversation was going, but I assured her that she was mine forever.

"But if you don't have a key, how will you come into the jail to see me?"

I had to laugh. All through lunch, she was thinking out the long term consequences of being in jail. I wish I could see inside her mind. Was she thinking this was her last meal with her family before officer friendly would take her to jail? If you remember, she still has a fear of jail because you can't have any privacy when you poop. Anyway, I feel bad that she opened their mail, but I also feel bad that she thinks Terry is going to call the cops and put her in jail. I hope we have worked it all out now. It's kind of a double insult to the neighbors, opening their mail and causing fear to strike the heart of my child whenever she sees them...

Red, Blue, and Green shirts

Part of the reason for going to McCall in the first place was to have the Belnap family reunion. We had a great time. My grandma and grandpa started things out one year by giving all their kids red shirts with their birth order number on the front. So, my mom is red shirt 2. Their spouses got an A next to the number of the person they married. Then the children of the red shirts got blue shirts. I am the 8th grandchild, so my shirt is blue 8. Mike is 8A. The blue shirts go to 27. The children of the blue shirts get green shirts. The numbers are growing. Jake is 25. Allie is 30, and Sam is 44. It was fun to see all the numbers at the reunion. We were still wearing our shirts on the way home and when we stopped for gas, the lady asked us if we were on some sort of a team.

Anyway, I think my grandparents would be proud of the kids they raised. We have a great family and I love seeing them at the reunion.

I made the kids pose on the rock before we left the cabin. I wish I could find and scan in pictures of me and my cousins by this rock. Lots of fun and memories.

The Party Barge

One of the fun things about this trip to McCall was the pontoon boat that came with the cabin rental. At first I turned my nose up at it. It couldn't pull me waterskiing, so therefore it must not be cool. Boy was I wrong. We could fit the whole family on it. We loaded it up for night rides and enjoyed the lake together as a huge family. Allie had her 4th birthday in McCall and that was her birthday wish, to have a big party on the "party barge" as we came to call it. We did.

The top of the party barge was a deck that the kids jumped off. I took the plunge once and was surprised at how "un-cool" I have become. Since when would the fear of a 7 foot drop make me stand there for 15 minutes and not jump? I am ashamed of myself. Jake went off multiple times with no fear. I did go, but it was after counting to 3 numerous times and disappointing the watching croud as I chickened out time after time.

Anyway, I think most of the nieces and nephews took the plunge. My mom did it too. It really was a fun boat. The kids took turns driving when they could and loved to play with the microphone announcing that the party barge was about to set sail.

Thanks for the party mom!

Allie playing with one of her birthday gifts with her cousins.

My favorite part about the party barge was that we could all be on it together. In the past, our families would have to split up for the dusk boat rides. None of that on the party barge. It fit all of us and more. Can we go back?

McCall

Oh how I love McCall. I could spend every day of my life in McCall and it wouldn't get any less cool. I used to dream of having a cabin up there where I would go to write. I still dream of it. It's funny how being in that high mountain air, with all the beautiful trees and the glassy water in the morning can make you forget the miserable 9 hours you just spent in the car with two kids who asked "are we were there yet?" when we were a half hour away from our house.

My Grandparents had a cabin right on the lake that they sold in 1990. We have been to McCall several times since then, but have always been sad that we couldn't live the dream that we had lived for so many years with Grandpa's cabin. My mom was pretty homesick for the cabin and was really excited when she found out that she could rent it for the week. It really felt like coming home. Things were very different in my memory. The biggest difference was the scale of things. Where the cabins on either side used to seem so far away, they weren't so far now. The rock that we used to make mud pies on seemed smaller too. I guess that's what 20 years will do to perspective.

Anyway, my biggest hopes for the trip were for my kids to love McCall as much as I do. I wanted them to be water babies and love to wake up each day eager to play on the beach. Mission accomplished. We spent a week of doing nothing but water related activities and we never got bored. We slept well at night and woke up ready to do it again. I got my fill of great waterskiing water. Growing up skiing in McCall has spoiled me. The water in the mornings is always so smooth and beautiful. In Utah, we have to fight for a spot on the lake and rarely get the kind of water I saw every morning in McCall.

The kids did the same things I did when I was their age. They ran from the dock and jumped in. They made sand balls that they set out to dry on the rock. They picked and ate huckleberries. They had a great time.

Swim lessons

Me: Go get ready so we can go to Lowe's.

Allie: So is it a swim lessons day?

Me: No, it's not.

Allie: (with a big smile) So it's not a swim lessons day?!? (bigger smile) That's good because I don't like the diving board!

Swim lessons ended up being a great thing this year. The kids loved them. Allie was hesitant at first and I had to leave her in tears at the second lesson. It's hard, but I really feel like it's something they need to learn. The kids learned so much in their lessons this year. Their confidence in the water is an amazing change. I love it. The kids were in the same class again this year, so it was nice to drop them off together. I hope they become little fishes and love to swim as much as I do. They are on the way!

Conversation in the car

I took Jake on a date today while Allie was at a birthday party. We had lunch together and went to the library. It was pretty fun. This is the part of the date that I thought was funny...

Me: Jake, you are such a good big brother. I am always so proud of how you are with Allie. You are really good to her.
Jake: Yeah, whenever I hit her, I hug her and make her happy. Then the next time I hit her, I hurry and hug her. I make her really happy.
Me: Why don't you try not hitting her in the first place?
Jake: pause... No, that wouldn't work. I have to hit her first, then hug her.

BOB

We had a vacation where we went to McCall, Idaho. It was amazing. My mom rented the cabin that her grandfather built. I grew up going to that cabin and have memories of playing on the beach. I looked forward to allowing my kids the same right.
One of the first nights we were there, my niece Kaylee caught a gigantic toad. I decided to dedicate an entire post to Bob.



The kids loved to hold him and let him swim in the water. They caught bugs for him to eat and shoved them into his little bucket. I was wretched out every time they brought him out. He was huge and warty. Allie liked to hold him, but Jake wasn’t that big of a fan. Nicole was his biggest admirer. She carried that toad everywhere. She wasn’t too gentle with him either. It was hard to see the kids walking around holding Bob and not worry about his safety. I was also pretty worried about what they might catch by holding Bob. All of us moms wondered each night if we should enable Bob’s “escape”. He just brought so much joy to those kids. It was the first thing they thought of in the morning and the last thing they thought of in the night. Then on Thursday Bob died. He was alive and kicking one minute and dead the next. Nicole found him and said “I think Bob’s dead”. Then they put him through the tests to see. 1. Put him in the water and make him swim…no luck…he sunk. 2. Put him on the sand and see if he hops away…no luck. 3. See if he responds to physical stimulus (pull his arms and legs)…no response…he was growing stiff. They finally accepted the sad truth and moved on. They dug a nice grave by the tee pee. They marked it with flowers and three sticks that spelled out BOB. Then they moved on. It was cute to see them all working together on the grave. They went to sleep talking about Bob and let everyone we saw know that they had a frog named Bob but he died.

Poor Bob...

Rocks for Sale!

Jake has been coming in talking about his rock sale for a few days now. I had heard that he and Carson were selling rocks, but I didn't know that they had an actual rock selling stand. (now all the talk about an umbrella and a bag of money is making sense). Anyway, the other day, a neighbor called and told me she had just bought a rock from my "adorable little boy". I picked up my camera and went out to investigate.

This is what I found...

I wish I had seen the sign before it ripped...I think it says:

Rock Sale

-cleaned in Birch-twice (river)

-shined by hand

-sun-kissed dry process

-top grade rocks

It's quite a pitch!

And 5 cents is a bargain!

The girls had their own set up. I think the boys were concerned that they were hogging their street front property, so they moved it to Heidi's back yard where I'm not sure they had much "buying traffic". They don't really care though.

If you are interested in their inventory; it consists, not only of rocks, but of flowers and cool sticks too. (notice Allie's "matching" stripes)

Everything is painstakingly gathered and set out in hopes of buyers...come on over!

Jake is also really into collecting golf balls (I told you that before when I posted about his sleeping arrangements). Anyway, his uncle heard about his golf ball obsession and suggested that he gather them up and sell them to golfers. When Brian said "do you want to know how you can earn some money?" Jake said "you sell rocks".

I got a laugh out of that. There's no way he will part with any of his golf balls, but if he can make money selling rocks, it's a great deal! It seems to be working out for them though. I have had a few people come up to me in church and say "I bought a rock from your cute boy".

Who can blame them? I'd buy a few too!

Wish bone wishes

I know it's kind of random, but we had a turkey in our freezer that we needed to cook...so we did. We had a great dinner, and as I was cleaning up, I set the wish bone aside to let the kids break. They didn't really get the concept of it very well, and of course with these guys, things have to be equal. Can you imagine the sadness if only the person who got the biggest piece got to wish?!? First of all...they got the biggest piece, and they get the wish?!? So in our family, the person with the bigger side just gets to wish first...

Anyway, Jake ended up with the biggest side, so he got to wish first...

"I wish for every toy especially a monster truck"

Allie, "I wish to be a princess and to have lots of friends to play with."

Then, I think Jake was trying to impress me because he said "I wish our whole family can be together forever." That's a good wish...one that I am so grateful can come true.

4

Allie baby is 4. I didn't post anything about her last year because I was in a funk with all that was going on with Sam. I do love her, and she did have a great birthday...she just didn't get a post dedicated to her. So this year, I won't leave it out.

Happy Birthday Allie Baby!

I have loved having this little girl. Allie is a great kid. She is always making me laugh and she knows how to give great hugs.

5 Months old

9 months old

Don't those arms just invite some serious squeezing?


1 Year


18 Months

August 2008 2 years old

April 2009

3 Years old

January 2010

Allie has had a great summer. She loves to make "brews" with sand, water, leaves, flowers, rocks, berries, anything you can think of, she adds it to the pot. She hardly ever wears shoes and we have to hunt for one of the 5 pair she has left outside when we are going somewhere. I was outside with her ("because mom! I am always alone out there!"), and I had my camera. That is always a fun thing for me, torturous event for the kids. Anyway, I snapped these pictures.

I love these ones, because it is her favorite thing to do. She loves making trips to the mail box.

As hard as it is to see my kids grow up and get closer and closer to getting old enough to dodge my hugs and kisses, I really am grateful that they progress. Allie is a smart girl and I love to listen to her cute ideas.

There is a part in my heart dedicated to each of my kids and I am so glad that Allie owns one of those parts. She is, and always will be, my sweet little baby girl. We love you Allie!

Cherries

We rode our bikes down to a neighbor's house to pick cherries. The kids were thrilled for the adventure. They looked forward to "after naps" all day. (the friends that we went with still nap, so we had to wait till they woke up...yes, it makes me jealous that my kids have friends their age that still nap. What do you do?) So while Heidi's kids were napping, mine were saying "are they awake yet? Are you sure? Will you call Heidi and find out?"

Anyway, they finally woke up and it was time to go. Allie got to ride in Heidi's bike trailer with Lily. I followed Carson and Jake on his little bike.

We got to the tree and started picking. There were fights over who got the prime spots, but overall they were having a great time.

Then I broke open a cherry. Ugh...worms in every one. Poor kids were so disappointed. They had looked forward to the excursion and now we were depriving them of their prize.

The real hard part came later when we were going back up the hill toward home. Jake's bike was just too little to make much progress and he fell further and further behind. We finally gave up on it and fit him in the bike trailer with the girls. Then I had to ride the rest of the way up the hill balancing his bike on my handle bars. Too bad I don't have a picture of that!

It was an adventure.