The Adventure Continues

Our treat this week was Strawberry Limeade.

Pros:
Easy to make
You can belnd it up in minutes
Great texture

Here are all the ingredients:

Cons: (only one really)
It didn't taste that great

It was entirely TOO sour. Here is my thinking: When I pinned this, the ingredients were all listed in the pin description. But I like to go back to the original source for helpful tips and to make sure I have all my bases covered. Well, in finding the original post, it seems that the soda was an ingredient swapped in exchange for rum. So, the recipe is really made for a tart cocktail. In which case, I don't think people care as much about the flavor.

So, I will spare you the time and money: Do NOT make this.

These were the cups I made for the kids and only half of them finished it.

Daisy actually drank almost the whole thing, then handed me her cup and said, "Yuck." Well kiddo, I felt the same way, but I threw mine away half-way in.

On Wednesday, we headed over to Discovery Park. The kids always enjoy it, but I will be the first to admit that it is not my favorite park. Mainly because there are so many nooks and crannies that most of the time, you can't see your kids. Call me crazy, but that kind of bothers me.
They were using the buddy system, so when I spotted one, there was always another close behind. I spent a lot of my time with Pearl, but she ventured out with big sisters too. Here she is swinging away.

But most of the time she was thieving the grapes.

Daisy is just the right age to be the perfect companion. She is happy to go wherever someone leads and play whatever game they suggest. I love this picture. It is totally messed up, but sometimes that makes it special. (They are in a beehive.)

Ivory was hard to track down. I caught her here, but she didn't even stop long enough to look at the camera. My little poser noticed though. (Robyn is bound to be a photo bomber.)

I did manage to catch a picture of Ivory on the monkey bars. But trust me, she wasn't there for long.

Robyn did some stunts for me.

June was tricky to find. I literally took this picture as I was headed for the car.

And then this last one makes me smile.

It was really hot, but it was a fun day.

Overall, I would say this week has been lacking a little. The treat was a bust, the park was pretty hot, and the movie...well, Pearl and Daisy came with us this time and the movie didn't hold their interest. I spent the last fifteen minutes in the car with two crying children. (Okay, they only cried on the way out of the theater. Once we got to the car they seemed to be content. I guess Arthur Christmas is just not their style.)


But wait for it...the craft was awesome. I love how it turned out. So, sometimes there is a silver lining. (That will be posted soon.)

Oh, AND the beds came. When I get everything settled, I will take pictures and you can see the new set-up. I am pleased.

My Nemesis (Okay, there are many)

Back in this other post, I mentioned two of my main enemies. I CANNOT believe I forgot to add the dryer. See, Dr. Garage is so insidious that I hate to go out there and add more clutter, so I tend to put objects bound for the garage...on top of the dryer. And therefore the dryer has become its own hotspot. I've been looking at it for a few weeks knowing it was time to take a stand, but lucky for me, it was this week's deep clean chore. (I jest, that isn't lucky for me, it is lucky for the kids. You know how they love to clean.)

I didn't really want to take 'before' pictures. But I did.

Yep, pretty typical.

Ahh, so much better.

I would like you to notice that the big box has been on the dryer since Robyn's baptism. Ouch. For shame.

Ahhh, so much better. Seriously, I LOVE a clean dryer.

In fact one of my neighbors mentioned how clean my laundry room was. Which means, she has probably noticed how messy it usually is. Well, it usually is. There aren't many ways around it.

But I have recommitted to bypassing the dryer and going straight to the garage. Or should I say, 'Dr. Garage.' (We are still not getting along.)

Serenity Spa

As if our schedule wasn't enough, the girls started their own business this summer. It is called Serenity Spa. The prices are extremely affordable, which hopefully makes up for the odd hours of only being open from 1:30-4:00pm on weekdays.

Robyn came up with the idea. And then she experimented on some willing participants.

Emma's mom was one of our first customers. Emma (Robyn's best friend) also comes over to help with the Spa sometimes. Her main task is back massage. When she comes, they all split the profits evenly.

A neighbor brought over her daughters the other day and they had a great time getting all the treatments. Here is Anabelle getting a hand massage.

And having her nails painted as well.

Josie was chilling at the facial efforts station. Ivory loves putting the hot washcloth on and then exchanging it for cool cucumbers.

You are welcome to come any day. The manager (me) appreciates if you call in advance and make an appointment, but we certainly welcome walk-ins.

I think the girls have made $6 so far altogether. It is not necessarily the most lucrative business, but they enjoy it and it is always fun to have friends over to talk with. (Jenaca, we should have taken a picture of your cute toes yesterday.)

If you aren't doing anything in the afternoon one day, think of us. June sure gives a killer foot massage.

SERENITY SPA

Hours: M-F 1:30-4:00pm

Hand Massage: 10 cents

Foot Massage: 20 cents

Back massage: 20 cents

Facial Efforts: 20 cents

Nail Painting: 30 cents

Arm Massage: 20 cents

Neck Massage: 10 cents

There you have it. There are sometimes refreshments. (It really depends on what we have in the house.) But it is always a good time. The kids will tell you it is only for girls, but I know of one guy in particular who loves himself a good spa.

Ward Campout 2012

We do the ward campout thing every year. It is not my favorite, but I still have a good time, and it is easier without babies. And I was a total slacker this year who went home to sleep in my own soft average bed. (Since I may have tweaked my back a bit when trying to extract a bead from some child's nose.) Have I mentioned that I would love a new bed? I am just not sure which one would be the best for my temperamental back.

Tyler prepped us some amazing tinfoil dinners. I would have brought pizza, but he is trying to give the kids a more authentic experience. I'm glad he does. I'll keep things organized at home and he can be in charge of stuff in the wild.

Ivory was not wanting a tinfoil dinner so she chose hotdogs. We found a nice family with a small grill, but Tyler was not having that. He made her find a stick and roast the dog instead. She was happy with her efforts, so there you have it.

Setting up the tent was fun. Our foam bed rolls doubled nicely as horses.

 Pearl just happened to be wearing this dress.

Which brought back flashbacks of this.

By the way, we get to go on trek again next year. I'm kinda excited to not bring a baby and make my children walk more. You know, to build character. If Tyler can build character, so can I.

I found some monkeys in the trees and kindly reminded them that the campout would be more fun without broken bones.

I'm not sure if they listened seeing how they don't exactly speak my language, but luckily no one was injured.

The campsite we visited was one that our ward used a few years ago. I remembered how I was feeling that year. ....very pregnant.

You can tell that I was close to delivery because I was wearing Tyler's clothes. I know I have reached the end when even my maternity clothes don't really fit.

That was four years ago. (Almost.) Miss Daisy's birthday is rapidly approaching. Instead of feeling too large, I was sitting pretty and breathing easily. Have I mentioned how much I love breathing??

Tyler was in charge of singing in the evening. I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want to bother the audience with excessive flash use. But it was a fun evening.

That is where it ended for me. Tyler packed me and Pearl up in the car and sent us on our way. He came back to a tent full of sleeping beauties. Apparently we wore them out thoroughly.

They breakfasted in the morning, found an ice cream drop (compliments of Pilot Macbean) and all arrived back home in pristine smoky condition.

Interesting things to note:

-Was the budget cut? Because normally the ward supplies smores and a hearty breakfast with ham, eggs, and pancakes. This year—no smores and only pancakes. Weird?

-There was a noticeable lack of mosquitoes. I didn't see a single one, and no one in our family used bugspray. That said, Robyn did manage to get one bite on her temple. (I think the lone mosquito was happy with just her blood.)

-Ivory's clothes came home reeking of pee. She promised to no accidents and she wears a diaper at night anyway. Is it possible the dog peed on her stuff? I shudder to think about it. And we checked sleeping bags and they are all okay. Random alien expulsion??

-I'm lobbying for an nice air mattress or a cot. Then I will happily stay next year.

Three Down, Eight to Go

Eight weeks actually doesn't sound like very long to me. School is right around the corner in my book. Which is probably why we are playing as hard as we can around here. Some weeks end and I feel exhausted, but in a happy, fulfilled kind of way.

Let's see if I can do a recap of last week since I didn't do so well on the daily posts.

Monday: Deep cleaned: 'The Yellow Room'.
I have decided to stop calling the bedrooms by children's names, because when they move around it gets very confusing. We are currently in the midst of a huge room swap and almost everyone is relocating to a new space. But that causes problems when I tell the kids to put something in Pearl's room. Um...Pearl's old room, or her new room? So, we named the rooms and I am trying to stick to using those names instead of kids' names. We have 'The Loft', 'The Yellow Room', and 'The Secret Room'. (Don't ask why it is called that...it's a secret.)

We cleaned The Yellow Room, but really we have been moving stuff between all three rooms, and I don't have any pictures yet because I'm waiting for some furniture. Mainly beds. Remember how June and Robyn have been sharing one? We are finally going to allow them a little more elbow room. But the beds are being shipped and I wouldn't count on them until next week at the earliest.

Tuesday: Citrus Pound Cake.
Yummy, and almost spongy since there were so many eggs in it. Really I just loved the glaze which was powdered sugar and lemon juice. I probably could have just ate the glaze straight. Behold.

Wednesday: Wheeler's Farm
Wheeler's Farm is a restoration of a turn-of-the-century dairy farm. There are demonstrations, a wagon ride, and a country store. But if you don't feel like paying for any of that, it is all free. There are animals and plenty of trails to wander on. There is a playground too, but we didn't notice that until we were leaving. There is a pond with ducks, and places to explore. It was really a fun morning for the kids. I have plenty of pictures, but here are some of my favorites.

Turns out that Pearl, who loves horses and cows from a distance, does NOT like them close up.

I try to take group photos as much as possible. I think they will enjoy these when they are older.

Love the sun behind this one.

Robyn found herself a walking stick. I really should have gotten a picture of her trying to 'walk' with it.

I find it very amusing how the girls plan the blog for me while they are out. June climbed a tree and then Robyn said, "I'm going to climb to the same place, you take a picture, and then on the blog, you can write, 'me too!' Sometimes I give in to their crazy requests.

Ivory thought this knot in the tree looked like a brain. I recorded her doing this death scene. Sorry, you only get a picture.

Robyn thought this picture looked like they were lost in a forest. She said, "Yeah, you can font the stroller so it looks like wood."  Wow!! She really thinks I am some kind of miracle designer. Sorry Robyn, that would be your Dad. She even brought me these lego bats later and told me they could go in this picture too. Sometimes I do NOT give in to their crazy requests.

Cutie bugs running.

They are honking at a goose in this one. Daisy did not like the geese. I may have mentioned that one chased me when I was little. There were geese wandering around in certain areas and every once in while when I said we were going to a new area, Daisy would ask, "Are there geese there?" I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have mentioned my childhood experience.

We found one spot that I thought I could balance the camera and take a timed picture. Yeah, you can see how well that worked.

She may look sad here, but she sat on the stump, made the face, and told me I could call it, "Lonely." My kids are funny, and apparently I blog too much.

One more group photo.

Wait, I guess this would be the last.

Needless to say, we had a pretty good time.

Thursday: Rio
Cute show. I never even saw previews for it, but all the kids loved it.

Friday: Painted Rocks
(Whew, are you still with me here?)
Craft day went well. I saw some painted rocks on Pinterest (surprise) and decided I wanted a set. So, here is my alphabet. Pardon the minor imperfections (which I'm sure you can't see anyway) but I took them to the ward campout before they were fully dry and some of them stuck together and pulled paint off.

The girls had fun painting too. The 'J' in my alphabet is actually June's rock. She switched it out before the pictures. You can see my 'J' in this group.

I like Ivory's 'cell phone.' (The pinkish one with the red dots.)


And that makes a week. Busy as always, but it feels good.

Slew

I am not in the mood to edit pictures, so I am just going to talk about everything I don't have pictures for. Sadly, there is quite a bit.

Let's start here:

Daisy Learns Her Lesson About Beads

I saved the bead, and I meant to take a picture of it, but alas, it hasn't happened yet. I'm just glad it isn't still in Daisy's nose. Yep, Daisy is my first child to stick something up her nose. Well, the first to get something stuck up there. Daisy came crying to me, and she hadn't even told me what had happened, and somehow I knew that she had something up her nose. Call it mom's intuition. I surveyed the damage. You could see the bead, but it wasn't coming out, even with a fair amount of Daisy blowing her nose. I tried tweezers, but I just couldn't get a grip on it, and I was afraid that I would push the bead farther back and choke her or lose it beyond reach. So I called the doctor and made an appointment. Then I texted Tyler, because naturally he was out to dinner with friends, and I thought he would enjoy a text about my predicament. He probably was sad that he couldn't be there. Parent's get bragging rights when they are there for events, such as stitches, broken arms, etc.

Daisy and I took a relaxing trip to the after hours doctor. (Nope, you know this could never happen during normal business hours.) I actually felt quite lucky because most of the kids in there looked pretty miserable. Daisy on the other hand was laughing and playing. We read some books and I had her blow her nose every once in a while in hopes of a small miracle.

The nurse took vitals and led us into a room. She asked all the preliminary questions, and as she was about to leave, she asked if she could see the bead. I said, "Sure," and tilted Daisy's head back. Was it just my imagination, or was that bead a LOT closer? The nurse left, but I wanted to test the new placement of the bead. It seemed like it was right there. I grabbed a tissue and asked Daisy to blow her nose, yet again. And voila. Out popped one diamond shaped green bead. Ha HA. I didn't even need a doctor, although Tyler thinks they will still charge us for coming and using up their precious time. I'm interested to see what it says under service rendered. Availabilty: $75

Daisy has learned her lesson well. When asked what do we do with beads, she responds, "We don't stick them up our nose." Good job kiddo.


Pearl Doesn't Nap Anymore (a.k.a three days in a row is not a good trend)

Yep...not sure why my children hate me so, but they tend to give up naps early on. The worst was June who stopped napping right before she turned two. I may have mumbled 'devil child' a few times during those days, but I'm sure there was no permanent damage to her psyche.

Pearl has been trending toward the absence of napping. I am REALLY not ready for that yet. At the same time, I just moved her into a room with Daisy. This is the first time in two years that her sleeping accommodations have changed. It must be weird for her. At night she is staying up late, admiring the new scenery I guess. She was up early this morning marveling at the change in color of the walls. She napped to and from our field trip, so that makes four days in a row with no real nap. I am hoping to exhaust her at the pool tomorrow and break this insidious trend.

At the same time, maybe it doesn't matter. She is still getting some quiet time either way. (Crib time is imagination time. Trust me, she invents all sorts of ways to destroy things even though it shouldn't be possible.) And when she doesn't nap, she goes to bed earlier. I can't say that is a bad thing.

Ivory's Diminutive Size Finally Caught Up to All Our Extra Pants.

Ivory is the tiny one around here. All the girls are small, but Ivory is just more so. This was clear as I cleaned out the closet the other day. Normally on a child's birthday, I get down the labeled box and fill said child's drawers with the new size. They always feel very special and think they are getting lots of new clothes. Well, it never quite works for Ivory, because she never fits the size for her age. I had forgotten that I left a bucket load of pants in the 5T box because they were just too long for her. But low and behold, now that she is 6 and almost a half, all the pants fit her*. And by fit, they are still a titch too long, but it looks stylish, not like she is wearing the wrong size.

I don't mind that she is so far behind in sizes, but the problem lies in the fact that Daisy is usually right on with her size, or slightly ahead. I think I only have a year or two until they are wearing the same size. Good thing they like to share clothes.

*Actually, it is very common for all my girls to be behind at least one size from their age. Robyn wears 7's even though she is eight. And I think June finally fits in the 8's although she will soon be 10. Okay, I have shrimpy kids. What can I say?


Father's Day—Thou Hast Come and Gone Yet Again 



Yes, I know it is pathetic that I have no pictures of Father's Day. I kept meaning to take a picture but we were pretty busy that day. The girls and I made Tyler breakfast in bed. I tried these new Cream Cheese Danishes that were easy and yummy, and then I proceeded to eat a dozen. Does it help that they were smaller than normal Danish size?? I may have a weakness for pastries.

The girls made cards for Dad and bought him Jelly Beans. This is mainly so we could write down this poem and stick it to the side of the jar:

 Beans, beans the magical fruit,
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So let's have beans for every meal.

The girls heard that a few weeks ago and really think it's funny. (The potty humor may have been passed down and NOT by me.)

The big gift was a GoPro for Tyler. He proceeded to make several videos. I'll have to have him put one on here. He looks just like Mr. Bean when that camera is on his head. I think he had a good Father's Day.

And I wanted to say that my Dad is pretty awesome too. I tend to get wrapped up planning things for the girls to do for their Dad, so much so, that mine gets put in a shadow. But he is an amazing man. I am lucky to have him for a Father and I really enjoyed seeing him recently. It is hard living away from family. I miss all you guys in Washington.



And tomorrow I will get some pictures on here. Okay, that is not a promise, but I will try my darndest.
 

Stalled

Everything is continuing as usual.

I have been a little behind in blogging and then tonight, husband is putting together his new computer, and my computer pouts when it isn't connected to his. (Really, I just can't access any pictures.)

So, you get a list of things that I need to blog about when I get back in business:

1. Daisy learns her lesson about beads
2. Mom decides to overhaul all sleeping arrangements
3. Pearl doesn't nap anymore (a.k.a. three days in a row is not a good trend)
4. Citrus Pound Cake
5. The Spa
6. Ivory's diminutive size finally caught up to all our extra pants.
7. Father's day—Thou hast come and gone yet again

I also need to start recording again funny things my kids say, because there have been quite a few and I am remembering now that I do NOT remember them no matter how much I laugh in the moment.

The only one I wrote down last week was when we were doing Furby*, and the topic was 'What two super powers would you have?' Daisy tends to repeat whatever her sisters say. Her first power was something akin to Ivory's choice, but her second super power was 'Looking at Chihuahuas'. I have to admit that I love the way a three year-old's mind works.

Anyway, I will try to do some catch up. No guarantees right away. This weekend is our ward campout. I dread this weekend every year, but I dutifully attend. This year should be better because of the lack of allergies, but that doesn't fix the other aspects of camping that I generally dislike.

TTFN. (I don't text, so it is amazing that I even know what that stands for.)



* I know last time I mentioned Furby, I sorta skipped that part. I feel I should not gloss over him again. He is a very solid part of our life now. Furby is a fluffy pink ball thing. Think stuffed animal crossed with a soccer ball with eyes. (Well, sunglasses really.) Anyway, each night someone chooses a topic. A question really. It can be anything. What is your favorite color? Do you like glue or tape more? Which Phineas and Ferb character would be your best friend? Etc. The person who decides the question, gives their answer and then throws Furby to another family member. Everyone has a chance to answer and then Furby is thrown back to the original person and that person says our family prayer for the evening. The original idea came to me as I was walking through Hobby Lobby and spotted the fluffy pink ball, and I have been impressed with how long he has lasted. We do Furby over the phone when parents are out of town. We do 'invisible Furby' when we can't find him. If you happen to be at the house at Furby time, you will be invited to join in. We love Furby and I think it will be a great memory for the kids.

Doorway Puppetstage

Have you ever been super proud of yourself. I hope (for your sake) that you have. This week I had one of those moments where I stepped back and said, 'Hey, I made that. I MADE that. I rock.' Especially since it involved sewing which is not my forte.

I saw this cute puppet stage on Pinterest and had one of those silly moments where I figured it would be a good craft for the summer. Well, it is certainly a project that involves a lot of MY crafting and not so much of the girls. I'm not quite ready to sit down and help everyone sew, and anyway, there is another sewing craft later this summer. (See, I picked sewing crafts, I am clearly not in my right mind.)

So, I put together the stage on Thursday, and then we made puppets on Friday. Yes, you heard me correctly, I made it all in one day. And I didn't have to pick out any stitches...yet. Oh, you wanted to see it. Ooookay.

Cute huh? It is not as matchy as this one. But I got all my fabric from the clearance section so it wouldn't cost a boodle. And then I turned around and bought that sparkly ribbon in the middle for a ridiculous price. (So, it all evened out.)

Our doorways are really skinny, so I had to exchange the first curtain rod I bought, and it still bunches up in the corners since the original pattern calls for a 34 inch doorway and none of my doorways are that wide. In fact all my doorways are different sizes. This bugs me. I have no guarantee that a chair that fits through one entrance will fit through another. Bothersome.

Anyway, here are the kids dutifully making their non-sewed puppets. I am all about cardstock and lamination.

And they had a good time playing.

Perry being saved by a butterfly

Pirate and slave boy (a.k.a. his son)

I will probably loan this out to neighbors this summer. I don't think my kids will play with it everyday and it seems this puppet stage should be used. Here is the post with directions (if you missed it the first time) for anyone else feeling very ambitious. If not...you can borrow mine.

Fruit Pizza and a Museum Experience

This week is plucking right along. Yesterday, our treat of the week was Fruit Pizza.

It is one of the easier concoctions to throw together. You simply make sugar cookies (which is made even simpler by Nestle or Pilsbury) and then whip together some topping (1 block cream cheese and 1 jar marshmallow cream) and then add whatever fruit your heart desires. Try not to overcook your sugar cookies like me and then they will be perfect. The girls seemed to really enjoy decorating and eating.

Today was the infamous field trip day. I guess you just never know how things will turn out with five girls in tow. I would say we had some highs and lows.

High: We visited the BYU Museum of Art. They have beautiful Islamic art on display. I got to revisit some of my favorite things since I visited back in May with the sisters from my ward. (I really feel like I already wrote about this, but since I can't find it on my blog, forgive me if I am repeating.) There was a section where they have all the names for God. Some examples are The Truth or The First. My favorite is The Forgiver and Hider of Faults.
Also, they have a decorative door ornament that translates to say, "Oh Opener of all doors, open for us the best door."

Low: It was a super fast trip through the museum. After all, the kids are not old enough to want to read plaques and information about each piece, let alone LOOK at each piece. They all enjoyed something though.

High: We stopped by the BYU Bookstore afterward. We saw a display of rubber ducks that has every kind of duck you can imagine. My favorite was the cyclops duck, but the girls seems to like the fairy and heart ducks.

High: We stopped at the Candy Counter and everyone chose their own special treat.

Low: Later, walking through the store, Pearl brushed her hand along a shelf and knocked the whole thing off. It was holding a crystal looking glass which immediately shattered. Awesome. I caught the other two glasses before they fell and a lady was on the scene at once helping me with the shelf. I honestly think if anyone had even bumped into the shelf the same thing would have happened. It was balanced very precariously, but I wasn't too happy that it was my two-year old who was the one to start the avalanche. They didn't make us pay for anything, but I felt really sick about the whole thing.

Low: We also managed to lose Ivory. After the breaking incident, I headed for the door with a purpose. It can be a little mazey in there, and when I stopped in the book section, I suddenly realized that Ivory was not behind me. And then the loud speaker went off paging me to the front of the store. Yep, one of those great mother moments yet again.

High: After escaping the bookstore we were able to sit down and enjoy our treats.

Ivory's Peachio's stuck together.

Pearl shared. Yay, Pearl.

High: We hesitantly reentered a building to find a drinking fountain. We managed to leave without destroying anything, losing any children, and with a Jamba Juice in tow that we all shared together.

And then we went home. Phew. I'm always glad we go on these excursions, but I am always glad to come home. After all, I am used to them breaking things here, and I've already paid for most of them.