All We Do is Party

We didn't go to any grandma's house yesterday or have anyone over. I pictured a nice quiet Sunday where everyone could go to bed on time. However, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. "We're not going anywhere??!" each of the verbal ones asked a couple of times. I tried to tell the kids that this was a rare opportunity to enjoy each other and reflect in quiet solitude the important things of life. Instead, there was lots of VeggieTales watching and fighting. Oh, well. At least they went to bed on time.

I should have shown them my blog. Then the little bored children would remember that they actually leave the house quite a bit. Maybe that's the problem. They forget how to stay at home all day.

We started off the weekend with the Kite Festival. This is a new thing at the Spanish Fork Reservoir. Due to my awesome photography skills you can't even tell that the main attraction in the photo is the jet ski pulling a large kite behind it.
There were lots of huge cool kites flying but we spent most of our time on the playground of course.

We then went on our belated Labor Day hike that we missed due to the rain. As you can tell from the picture, the hike is actually on a dirt road. This enabled Grandpa to 'drive' his hike and set up a sweet spot to await us. We explained to some of the more jealous kids that Grandpa has hiked enough in his lifetime (how many boy scouts did he raise? And who likes to hike more than mom?) to earn this pass.

I think Dad enjoyed this hike more than most. He had his laptop to work on while listening to the BYU game on his radio. I think he was disappointed we weren't a little longer finding him.

We also finally finished putting our basketball hoop up this weekend. So far we've only bounced the ball in the neighbors backyard about ten times. Good thing they were already used to fetching our footballs and baseballs so a basketball is just a pleasant surprise.

Soccer--Everyone is doing it.

Halfway through soccer season. Ike and Mitch are playing again this year but we are making Ethan wait another year before his debut. It's very fun to watch them play even though it eats up three nights a week. Hub is coaching Mitch's team and helping out w/ Ike's when needed. This means my sideline job is to mostly keep Noelle and Ethan off the field and out of my purse (why are they always convinced I hide a stash of candy in there? I don't for the very reason it means they'll be digging through my purse)

Here's Ike on the run (blonde boy in the blue). He gets into the games and always is moving the ball. He gets mad when he's subbed out even though his face is flaming red from all the running and he looks as if he has heat stroke.

This is Mitch (in the yellow shirt, dead center, cheesing at the camera). There weren't as many running shots of him since he generally prefers the ball to come right to him if he's going to kick it. The game had started when Mitch noticed I had my camera ready so of his own accord he stopped moving and smiled (as did the girl next to him) so I could get a good shot.

Something I have noticed since putting my kids into sports-- I am not one of the parents who quietly sits on the sidelines. I am constantly coaching and yelling. Not mean and abusive yells, mind you ( I save those for the privacy of my home), but helpful shouts of encouragement and advice. Sometimes I am by other parents who do this as well--mostly moms---but then there are the times when I am sitting by the mute ones--mostly dads-- and I feel a little self-conscious when I start jumping up and down and shrieking. Do the mute ones just not see the point of yelling when the kids can't hear? Am I really annoying them? Or have they just had a long day at work? What kind of fan are you?

Party Weekend in Bullet Format

• Firework party at our house. The one time a year we actually are un-lazy enough to host anything. Just can't beat that kind of city sponsored entertainment. Fortunately I was the only one to see the ashes on the cookie plates once I took them inside. Good thing everyone has really tough intestines.


• Fire station tour and children's fair. Skipped out on the children's parade but still scored the treats and free carnival tix.

• BYU football game with my daddio. Further proof that I am his favorite. Too bad he didn't love me enough to upgrade his tix to the shady side of the stadium. Sweating next to 64,000 of my fellow fans is just part of the experience though and I ain't complaining (anymore).
• Sunday stuff. We have had the kids sit in a specific order on the pew for the last few weeks with Noelle being the 'floater' (meaning she pretty much sits on everybody and everywhere at some point during SM). This has worked wonders and we've been getting a lot more out of this meeting than we have in several years.
• Rainy parade and games with cousins. I obviously was very neglectful w/ the camera this weekend, but several other bloggy friends have posted pix of the downpour. Ike didn't want to give up any candy just because he was soaking wet, but it was way too cold to stay.
• Ethan's first day of preschool. He is so not like his older brothers who required much hand-holding/shoving to get into their preschool room. In fact, he didn't even want me to take him because he was so excited to carpool and go in his friend Wyatt's car.
• That was that. It's always fun to have extra family in town and we look forward to the next holiday weekend so it can happen again!

Call Me a Romantic

can't you just see the love in Bill's eyes? We have replaced the exciting Olympics with the even more exciting Democrat National Convention. Same star power, same awesome rock music, same crazy fans, just less muscles and Chinese people.

Unfortunately, we have been busy with soccer games, soccer practice, homework tantrums, scouts and a never-ending backyard mess so we haven't been able to stay as riveted to the TV as we like. However, I have seen enough to realize that I have a dream (I'm pretty sure 'that' dream has been quoted a few times at the convention already so I'm doing a different one). My dream involves Hillary and Bill kissing passionately for the cameras and then retiring from the public light and becoming fisherpeople on the coast of Maine. And living happily ever after together. Forever. Wouldn't that be nice? Seriously, if they have stuck it out together this long for their political careers then they can stick out a couple decades more. Their story of love would be unrivaled. They've been through it all together and I just don't believe that real love isn't hiding under there somewhere beneath all the Aquanet and power suits. Come on, who's for a Bill and Hillary romantic ending? It would read like one of those incredibly sappy and predictable Nicholas Sparks books my sister always makes me read.

The Family Sleepover

Did you know there was a night last week where I was in bed by 9:00? And I wasn't even sick? The sad thing was it was not something I desired. And it is not meant to be confused with actually sleeping at 9:00, since I was in a hotel room surrounded by my own loud sleeping kids and other loud people who can't seem to close doors gently or talk quietly in halls. So I basically was lying in the dark trying not to think about the people who had slept in the same bed as me and all the germs that were on the bedspread that I was careful not to touch.

With our kiddies, it is impossible to tuck them into a strange bed and expect them to quietly fall into slumber. Especially if two of them are sharing a bed and the toddler girl is trapped in a playpen in full view of the freedom of everyone else and Ethan...well, Ethan only can stay still if he's tied down. So we had to resort to drastic measures of creating the sleep environment for everyone all at the same time. Mom and Dad included. No lights, no TV. Just darkness so everybody knew the party was over. The kids were so tired that they fell asleep quickly. As was Hub since he can sleep whenever he feels like it. But me? I was ticked. I was wide awake in a smelly hotel room with little to do but ponder the meaning of life. Ike and Mitch has snagged the bed closest to the TV and I didn't dare mess with anyone's sleep and turn on the lights. But my Mommy Brain is trained to know that if I go to sleep at the same time my kids do and then wake up at the same time they do....then where the heck is my rejuvenation? My awake brain needs a kid break so it can function at full speed the next day.

Well, fortunately for us all, my awake brain had plenty of break as I probably slept only a couple of hours. Too many kid noises and hotel noises and worries of germs crawling on me for me to get too relaxed. But I know there are several more frequent vacationers than us. How do your awake brains get a kid break if you are all going to bed at the same time? Or do I need to better train my hyper kids to be able to sleep with the lights on? Or do I just get that nanny that would solve a lot of other problems as well?

One for the family history book

We are cramming three days of notable activities in one exciting post, so get comfy.

Our fam enjoyed the annual Lagoon trip courtesy of Hub's work. Ike is big enough to actually go on some fun rides like the infamous white roller coaster and he loved bragging about it. Noelle is big enough to go on all the little kid rides, but she despised being strapped in and would cry when she couldn't get out of her own free will. The first pic is of waiting in line for the Merry-Go-Round in the hopes that Noelle would be happy and stay in place. And she did for about three minutes.

My favorite was to watch the three boys in the Bumper Cars trying to crash into each other. Good aggressive fun and nobody cried. Can't beat it.

The next day we went to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. This was a very fun place and it makes me wonder why there were no kid-friendly museums when I was young. Ethan especially loved it and could have stayed twice as long as his older brothers. This is Hub and Noelle having a jam session in the music room:

We then went to HAFB (this was very similar to a certain C Reunion we had several years ago LC!) But it's better than the last time we went since they added a children's learning center with dressup clothes and a cockpit to play in. The boys loved this place and you can't beat free admission.

Mitch and Ike testing out their pilot skills with Ethan below in official attire.

We returned home in time for the first day of school. In spite of my previous post and being 'giddy' to send them back, I actually had a sad dropoff. It's hard letting your kids be indoctrinated half of their waking hours by other people. Ethan did his best to cheer me up by telling me that I could go home and fly paper airplanes with him and 'maybe we could go to the park?' Needless to say, he actually wasn't sad to be the king of the castle for a few hours of the day.

Above is Ike and Mitch before the send off. And yes, Ike did get some new school clothes, but for those of you who see him regularly you will know he prefers to wear this athletic outfit about 6 out of 7 days of the week. Since the school dress code prohibits sleeveless tops, he was lucky that his baseball shirt was a perfect match for underneath (who knew that bright orange Orioles shirt that he's had for two teams now would come in handy?)

And These Are the Days of My Life...

My blessed boys sensed I was feeling a little sad about sending them back to school shortly. Their male intuition forced them to participate in behaviors that would make me happy to send them back and it worked! I am now just about giddy that in three days time they will not be able to wrestle/argue/bite/kick/breathe on one another!
I was so desperate on Friday to keep them entertained that I actually took them to the County Fair. By myself. With no plans to actually spend money there. We lasted about 40 minutes before home looked like a sanctuary again.

The kids weren't impressed with all the nice quilts and artwork displayed. But they couldn't get enough of the LEGO display. And look at my sweet girl, Noelle. She must be trying out for KISS.

I think the Olympics ruined this for us. It was a group of young vaulters who do gymnastics on a horse. After watching a few kids be bounced around in strange positions Isaac looked at me and said, "This is it??" He would have been more impressed if he hadn't seen what gold medalist gymnasts can do.

A good part of summer is being able to wash your cars, water the lawn and bathe your kids all at the same time.
We are now headed off for our last hurrah before school starts Wednesday. Lagoon, HAFB, Treehouse Museum and a cozy night together in a hotel room. I am pretty sure somebody will be breathing on somebody else at some point during this family getaway. I just need to remind myself that they are doing it so I won't have that emotional breakdown at the school doors.....

The Apologist

I've been too busy to blog lately because we are busy still messing up our backyard. OK, maybe 'we' is a little too broad. Hub is working in the backyard while I keep him updated on the Olympics via the sliding door. Our neighbor brought over his bobcat and the kids were enthralled at the action from the sliding door

Also, I have been very busy doing Noelle's hair:

Her first pigtails! I know, I know, I should start my own hair blog on how to do uneven parts. But an hour and a jogger ride later her hair looked like this:

Should have used more product and maybe tied her hands together. Lesson learned.

There also was a fun family party at Stinky Feet and a fun Birthday party where I got to pull out all my acting skills and be a fortune teller and there was lots of Olympic watching. Did I also mention all the energy and time it takes to try a new parenting method on Ethan? His room is constantly getting torn apart since he changes outfits about 40 times a day. I don't get why the kid is in and out of different pajamas and underwear and winter clothes all day long, but I am sick of clothes all over his floor. Anyway, I am working hard on him cleaning up after himself.

But do you see how I have to give excuses and reasons for not blogging as often as I like? I do this with sales people and solicitors too. I just can't say, "No thank you" and leave it at that. I think I have to justify my nos with socially acceptable reasons like, "We just donated to another great charity." or "I have that exact pair of shoes at home already." (Yes, sometimes my excuses are lies!)

Hub was on the phone last night and I was so impressed and in awe. Someone had called to see if he could join a game of late basketball. He simply said, "I can't make it." And even though he had lots of good reasons for not going, he didn't offer any as excuses. The other crazy thing was he didn't think he needed to! Why can't I be that way? I know that we don't owe telemarketers any explanations, but do I owe friends? Or can they just be content with simple answers as well? I am getting so stinking deep on my posts lately that I think I just earned an honorary philosophy degree.

My Olympic Thoughts

We have watched a lot of TV in the last couple of days. Normally I would not admit this since I strongly believe that TV is God's gift to moms and only to be used when Mom needs to shower or make dinner or finish a really good book she is reading. But I am not super clean and haven't made lots of dinners in advance so why is the telly on? Because it's the Olympics and we are addicted.

Besides the healthy dose of competition, you cannot beat the teaching opportunities for your kids. Forget the kids. Teaching opportunities for me! It was pretty pathetic how many countries I don't think I'd ever heard of came parading in during the opening ceremonies (can you say Burkina Faso?) Not to mention the Chinese history and geography lessons we are getting thanks to the NBC commentaries.

Then there are the sports. My kids love watching gymnastics and swimming and cycling and beach volleyball--it's good for them to see that sports don't just include baseball, football and basketball. (but on a side note, why do the women's beach volleyball team have to play in sport bikinis? They are constantly picking wedgies while their male counterparts wear loose shorts and tanks. Not fair.)

And you can't beat the cheering for the USA. We are raising some true patriots in our house.

So for now, our grass will grow long, our children will lose muscle tone (actually no, they have been practicing some gymnastic moves off the couch) and our books will grow dusty. But we are happy. And craving Chinese food.