Texting in Church

Uggggghhhhh! You know how it's a sort of social taboo to be texting in church? If you don't, it is. Sometimes I sit back in the audience at church and peek over my Android to quietly observe all these "rude" people with their phones lighting up their cherubic faces. (For clarity, I only use my phone for scriptures and hymns.)

Well today, the smug of smug holier than thou got a text...in church. And I couldn't ignore it. I kept getting "alerted" over and over. I decided it would probably be better to just check the text to see what was going on—and to see who it's from—and to see if it was urgent—and to see if I had to respond...you know.

So I checked it. Turns out it WAS from an important person, and it WAS urgent, and I HAD to respond. Here's the text...from Robyn:

It was scrawled on the back of the program. 

How could I not respond? I reached over and hugged my little Robyn, secretly terrified that my 8-year-old child not only knows how to text, but has memorized the face of a generic cell phone sufficiently to produce it from memory in *gasp* sacrament meeting!

Allegedly they're just going to get older, text more, and hang out with me less. The future is a scary place. For now, I'll take my texts like this; they're way better than the electronic kind.

Big Fat Piece of Bologna

Robyn came in to help Mom and Dad wake up this morning. We were happy snuggled up, and Robyn pounced on me (Dad), and made quite the fuss of forcing us apart and lying between us. Her mission complete, she blurted, "You guys are like a big, fat piece of bologna—and I'm like a knife!"
A moment passed and Robyn furrowed her brow and demanded, "What's a piece of bologna, anyway?"
Without rolling over Maleen simply retorted, "You're full of it."
Ah. Good morning, world.

PS, who came up with the pronunciation for "Bologna" anyway?

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

This holiday season is a great one. But I haven't had a lot of chances to sit down at the computer. However, tonight warrants a post.

A friend of mine told me about FotoFlySanta. A simple, yet fantastic idea. Twenty-five dollars, five minute session, dad can dress as Santa. Wonderful photos. It seemed too good to be true. I envisioned how they would look, and they were even better than expected. We will definitely be doing this again. They even give you a flash drive with your photos and will do prints for cheap on site. Seriously, we had a great experience.

I mean, look at the cuteness.

Who is that masked Santa?

Oh, what a hottie. No wonder Mom was kissing on him.

We took the Front Runner train up to Thanksgiving Point, where FotoFly was. The kids hadn't been on the new train yet, and that was fun. Except for the part where the train stop was not really that close to Thanksgiving Point. Sure, you can see the tower, but it would not be a friendly walk.

It was raining (freezing rain) and I was really worried about how we were going to get five kids where we needed to be. And then the nicest bus driver came along. He told us where we could go to wait for the right bus, and then the spirit of Christmas overtook him and he told us to get on and he drove us all the way to our destination. What a charitable man. I'm sure the cuteness of the five girls factored in. I would have a hard time turning down such sweet little cherubs. I mean, go back and look at those photos. And take a moment to bless that saint of a bus driver.

Tyler actually made the return trip by himself and then drove back and got us...all while I entertained the kids and waited for our photos to be edited.

We saw an ice sculpture being done by chainsaw. The reindeer were looking fine. I told the kids I felt bad that they were in the rain, but the kids pointed out that's where "Rain"deer were supposed to be. Ha ha. Funny kids.

The only really sad thing was that June was NOT feeling well. Yep, I am that mother who knew that we wouldn't have another good opportunity so I dragged my child out while she had a fever. No one can say that I don't have the Christmas spirit. And she was such a trooper. I still feel bad about it. Until I look at those pictures again. (Don't worry, we kept her nice and warm and didn't make her move around much.)

We hope you are all enjoying your holiday experiences. We still have a few fun things planned. You know, besides the whole Christmas extravaganza. See you soon...

Piano Recital 2012

Well, technically, the last recital was in 2012 too. It was last February, but it seems like a really long time ago. And quite a bit has changed since then.

Ivory started playing that same month, and she is doing fabulously. I never have to bother her to practice. This might be because I started using the candles. The girls light their candle when they play and blow them out when they are finished. When their candle burns down to an inch, they get a treat. Oddly, I think the incentive of lighting the candle by themselves is almost as much as the candy promised. (Ivory is not allowed to light her own candle yet.)

Ivory was very excited to perform. She smiled almost the whole way through her performance. I caught a rare moment when she was concentrating.

Robyn has excelled a lot this year. And we don't seem to have any more battles with her. (This is possibly because I don't keep track of what they are practicing. Maybe if I checked, I would see they are woefully behind. But ignorance is bliss, and I haven't heard anything from their teacher yet.)

It is fun to see the kids try to reach the pedal.

Robyn was the only student to play a duet. She played 'Beauty and the Beast' and it sounded fantastic.

And she didn't have to reach the pedal for that one.

June has probably surpassed me in piano abilities. But I still beat her in keeping rhythm. Although June plays well, she tends to rush through her pieces. I try to tell her she should be American, not Russian. (ba-dum, crash. Okay, kind of cheesy, but all band teachers have used some variation of that joke.)

I really love their teacher, and it is super convenient that she lives within walking distance. A lot has changed for her too, since she was pregnant at the last recital. I don't know how she manages all her kids and students, but she does a great job. Thanks Becca.

On a side note, there were a whole bunch of instruments laid out in the same room as the recital took place. The kids were interested in checking them out. Makes me wonder what other talents are yet to be discovered...

p.s. Had to post on 12/12/12. I like matchy days.

What's Up With Ivory?

Our third child has had some excitement in her life recently.

First, she FINALLY lost a tooth. It was her first and she was thrilled. It has been a little wiggly for a while. She even mentioned that she might lose it in WA over Thanksgiving. She didn't.

Ivory is definitely more of the wait and see variety. June on the other hand, will work away at a tooth until it is extracted. Evidence here and here. But not Ivory. I would give it a tug every now and then, but she was content to let the tooth run it's own schedule.

I was a little concerned she might swalllow it. (Been there, done that.) So as it got increasingly loose, I worried. One day, Dad offered to pull it out with the pliers. She declined (since I was behind him shaking my head 'NO' at her.) But then I rethought and asked if I could have a go at it. Not even 2.5 seconds later, I had a tooth in my hand. Ivory was ecstatic.

And she was super excited that it was her turn for a visit from the tooth fairy.

Ivory and I had a bet going. We were waiting for her glasses to show up. We were speculating whether the glasses would arrive first, or she would lose her tooth. Well, the tooth won, but only by a day. (And some might say the tooth cheated, since pliers were used, but who keeps track of teeth vs. glasses races anyway?)

Ivory has a whole new look now.

June calls them secretary glasses. I think she is adorable.

Her other pair comes in soon. We'll have to see how they look on her. Turns out she really needed them. The eye doctor said that if you took all the 6 year old children in the world, Ivory would be more nearsighted than 95% of them. Poor kid. But she can see pretty well now.

What's more important is that if you took all the 6 year old children in the world, and let me choose one, I would pick this one 100% of the time.

Turkey—Let's Cook This Bird and the Wrap Up (part 5)

November 22ed 2012

IT IS THANKS-GIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really like that Ivory wrote 22ed. Cute.

Okay, so we need to be wrapping up this Washington trip. I have other things to blog about since time keeps trudging on.

We left off, last post, right before Thanksgiving. Since we are givers, we decided to share our stomach bug with my extended family. And lucky for us, my mom caught it on Wed. afternoon. That meant, she would be down for Thanksgiving. I'll admit that I stalled as long as possible Thursday morning, hoping it was a fluke. I kept looking at the turkey and thinking, "Any second, mom will come downstairs and say she is feeling fine and make dinner." Not that I didn't want to help...I just don't have a lot of experience with large birds, and I didn't want to ruin everyone's Thanksgiving. I prepped other things, like rolls, and pie, but as the morning progressed, it became clear that the turkey wasn't going to cook itself.

Thankfully Tyler stepped in and took care of it. (Whew.) And Mom got enough energy stored to come down later and make stuffing and other yummies. With the three of us, we managed to get it all put together. Granted, Mom still wasn't feeling fantastic by feast time, but she was a trooper and joined us at the table anyway. There sure were a lot of us. (Relatively....a lot for US. I know most of you have larger families.)

I made a coconut cream pie this year, and I think it turned out really well. It seems to be a good light filler pie after turkey and the works.

There were some post dinner activities. Ivory won at Apples to Apples. (She looks quite exultant there on the left.)

And Daisy stepped on a nasty rusty looking tack.

Not wanting to take a child in for emergency shots, we googled it, and found that if your child is up to date on their DTAP vaccination, they are up to date on their tetanus shots. (Another Whew.)

Pearl lounged around for the end of her Thanksgiving day. We caved by then and let her watch some Diego. She was probably in seventh heaven.

And Moxy got lots of turkey scraps. We made sure everyone was well taken care of.

November 23^rd 2012

I won Apples to Apples both times I played. Hi.

Ivory's entries are certainly shorter, but she got the essential information in there. Friday was our last day at my parents'. It was too bad, because clearly we all felt at home now. Only truly comfortable people eat with their feet on the table.

I forgot to add one key item to my list of what WA is good for. And at the top of that list is FAMILY!! It was so great to bring my family and see my family.

My mom was injured a little while before we came. She had fallen and hurt her leg. The doctor requested that she keep her leg up as much as possible. So she spent the majority of her time in her room, resting. But that didn't keep us away. You could almost always find someone up on Grandma's bed. She entertained all the children, even Pearl for quite a while. She is such a fabulous lady.

And really, her leg was sad looking. Here is a picture. I had to label, because that is not her knee in the picture.

My sister was also great to see. She also got sick after Thanksgiving, but still came over to say goodbye. I think she enjoyed see all her nieces. It has been two years since our last real visit. I also got to take Miranda out to lunch one afternoon. I love hanging out with her.

And of course, it was great to see my dad and Tim.

They are both characters in their own right. Tim was fabulous as usual with the kids. Grandpa was slightly stressed at the amount of small hands entering his home, but the kids managed to keep the destruction to a minimum.

November 24^th 2012

We saw evel-ca-nevel who jumep the hyge canyin.

Saturday morning we left at 4am, trying to get a jump start on the day. It was pretty uneventful, except that Tyler was sick this time, so I did all the driving. (See...more reasons that it takes two. What would I do without him, and he without me??)

Despite feeling less well, Tyler insisted that we still stop and see a roadside attraction. I put it off until later in the day, and we were chasing daylight. Because of bad directions, the sun won, and we had to view our attraction in the dark, but it was still pretty awesome.

We went to see the monument to honor Evel Kinevel who attempted to jump the canyon in Twin Falls. He has a rocket-boosted motorcycle, but his chute malfunctioned and opened early upon take off. So, he drifted down to the bottom and landed near the river. Technically a failure, but his fans loved him just the same.

That canyon was huge. I think it is a mile across. Here is a picture of the bridge we crossed over.

And the monument. Although there is a plaque missing out of the middle.

I have to agree with Tyler that it is good to get out and stretch, and always fun to talk to the kids about something new or interesting. Obviously Sacagawea and Evel Kinevel are very different, but both very awesome.

And then we returned to our lovely home. There is no place like home.

p.s. Look up again at that last picture. It cracks me up that at any given time all my kids are wearing something pink. I sure love my girls.

Pearl Rocks Washington (part 4)

November 21^st 2012

I became a spy! I got to gard the door three times in a row. That was not exsiting.

When Robyn packed, she brought along a new packet of under clothing because they had previously been too large. (Grandma seems to have trouble getting the right size, because of my kids' small behinds.)

Pearl stumbled across them and decided a fashion show was in order. And if you are going to put on one pair, you might as well wear them all at once.

Tyler followed her around for a while and took some fun pictures.

Pearl found the Tinkerbell movies.

No, Wait!! TWO movies.

She is pretty funny.

The middle of the week still had children recuperating from the stomach bug. Robyn wasn't quite herself yet.

Ivory hadn't gotten sick (and never did—only one to escape) but we had her sleep with us one night because  we found the sleeping bag was good at catching unexpected vomit. (June conveniently hit only the bag the night before.)

There was one double bed for the kids and the other three used sleeping bags. Pearl finally got her turn on the bed and she was super excited. She bunked with June, who is always very patient with her. I love this picture. My oldest and my youngest.

 Tyler was taking texture pictures the whole trip. I usually don't post them on here, but I really liked this one of my parents' record collection.

Records sure bring back some great memories. And they probably date me just a little.

To be continued in....Turkey—Let's Cook This Bird and the Wrap Up (part 5)

Look, I Used the Camera One Day (part 3)

Ivory was losing steam by this time. Her entry is still entertaining though.

November 20^th 2021

In the morning we watched The dark crystal. Nothing els happened relly exsiting. 

I'm not exactly sure when she wrote that, but I hope it was in the morning, because we actually did a few exciting things that day. Tuesday would have to be the day of exceptions....because I got the camera out AND it stopped raining long enough to go outside. (I know...here I complained that it rained the whole time. One can exaggerate, right?)

Sadly, Robyn still wasn't feeling that great, so she stayed at home, and I think Pearl was asleep. So, it wasn't a full family excursion. But Karen went with us, and that made up for the lack.

We simply took the kids down to Titlow. It's about as close as Washington gets to a beach. It was high tide, so we didn't find as many little creatures under the rocks as we did last time. But I still think the view is spectacular.

Tyler bought some new lenses (as I mentioned) so we were experimenting. It took me a few tries to get the bridge less blurry. In my first attempt, you couldn't even tell it was a bridge. This one was a bit better.

Granted, it was the closeup lens. Ready for a great closeup? Wow. Here we are.

I love the different angles you can get at the Sound.

Recognize this from Pinterest? It is my own version.

The trains are still there, although they have added a fence. Have I ever told you how I was almost killed on these tracks?? Tyler seemed bored when I mentioned it again. I guess near death experiences aren't his thing.

This is the tag-alongs we got. They all seemed to enjoy the time outdoors, even if it was a little cool.

And more of the Sound. Karen told me the Cormorants are the only bird whose feathers do not repel water, so they have to stretch out their wings to dry. Pretty annoying if you ask me.

Here is a closer shot of the bridge. I really love that bridge.

The sun was trying to slip away as we walked around. I tried to tell him that we hadn't spent that much time together so far in WA, but he wouldn't listen.

Karen got a family photo for us.

And then we all pretended to run away from zombies. (Doesn't Daisy look terrified? Maybe she thought we said puppies, not zombies.)

We walked through the forest a bit and then went home.

All in all, it was a very successful trip. It accomplished the goal of removing ourselves from the domicile. Granted, my parents have a large house, so you don't feel claustrophobic, but there is something great about going out.

After arriving home, it started to rain again. Go figure.



To be continued in...Pearl Rocks Washington (part 4)