Hello...My name is Cinderella

As you know, Cinderella had mice friends that helped her do many things when she was busy with other chores. I seem to have mice of my own. June and Robyn have been up to sneaky plans when I am not there.

The other night, I was watching a show and the kids were in bed (so to speak). I could hear them moving around upstairs but I was too exhausted to care. They weren't fighting so I figured I would ignore the pitter-patter back and forth.
Eventually my show ended and I decided that I should probably put them back in bed. I went upstairs and they were both in my room....CLEANING! They had already cleaned their room and the loft and they were working their way across the entire upstairs. They were so proud of themselves. "Look what we did!" they exclaimed.
How could I be mad at them? I told them I felt like Cinderella when she comes up and finds her dress all finished. "It's beautiful!" I told them. I asked them if they were being my helper mice friends and they just smiled.
They finally fell asleep and when I checked on them, I found their beds made and they were sleeping on top of the covers. What little sweeties.

Tyler came home later and I was talking to him when I discovered this funny thing: the girls had found a dollar crumpled under the desk in the our room and one of them (probably Robyn) had just thrown it away (after all, they were cleaning). I looked in the garbage and thought, "Why is there money in the trash? Oh, it is my little mice hard at work." I should probably explain at some point that we don't throw money away, even if it is a bit wrinkled.

A Pivotal Day

I look forward to this day during my whole pregnancy. Today I bought milk and by the time it expires I should have a baby. 'Should' being the operative word.

God Bless America

I firstly want to say that I love this holiday. There is something very special about celebrating freedom and independence. Tyler and I were discussing that the true meaning of the Fourth of July is often lost amid barbeques and fireworks. (Could it really be true that we have lost the meaning of 4th of July more than the meaning of Christmas?) We are very blessed to live in this country and I challenge each of you to get your family together and read the Declaration of Independence and/or the Constitution. Our children should know something about our country.

Our family had a great fourth. We went bright and early to see the hot air balloons.

I have always thought about going but we never attended until this year. Wow, there was quite a crowd. We didn't get there until 6:30a and by then all the balloons were full and ready to lift off.

We watched them all take off and then we went home. Next year I want to come a little earlier and have breakfast on a blanket while the balloons fill. The girls really seemed to enjoy looking at the balloons; it was just hard to wake people up in the morning.

From there we went home for a leisurely morning of getting ready for family pictures (see previous post). I am very pleased that while we were at the mall, I stopped by the HerStyler booth and had them show me how to use the flat-iron I bought a couple of months ago. We curled all the girls' hair (after the pictures—too bad) but now I finally know how to use that thing. It has been lying there confounding me for too long. Now that I know how to use it, I hope I will bring it out more often.

Next, we stopped by the Freedom Festival in Provo, but it was soooo crowded. Tyler and I quickly decided that it wasn't worth the time nor effort to be there; so we bought a funnel cake, split it with the family and headed home where we napped all afternoon off and on. Everyone was a little tuckered out after the early morning. Ivory and Robyn both fell asleep in the car on the way home and Tyler and I didn't make it through the whole afternoon. Only June (who seems to need less sleep) stayed awake the whole time.

In the evening we went over to the Scera Park for our annual barbecue and water games (okay, so this is only the second year).

The Johnson's and the Kinsey's joined us, and we had a lot of fun. Tyler grilled burgers and we chowed down on some good food. And then (even though it was quite overcast) we played in the water. I think the best game by far is Duck, Duck, Goose using a sponge to tap people on the head. Everyone was fairly wet by the end of that game. Here is most of us.

Then we played some other water games but mostly it devolved into find something holding water and splash the person nearest you.

This was fun until some of the kids were absolutely soaked (at one point, I think June didn't have a dry spot on her shirt). So to ease the chill, we ate cake and then headed home once again to clean up and dry off (somehow, it is not as bad to be soaking if you can eat cake at the same time).

Then we did the firework thing (of course). The Johnson's were nice enough to join us again and they brought some great ones with them (thanks for the tanks and the finale fireworks). The girls were thrilled to sit and watch all the action around them. This picture cracks me up because Robyn's face is so animated.

She really liked the fireworks. June (who has been watching too much So You Think You Can Dance) was judging all the fireworks. She would say, "I'm the first judge and I thought that was fantastic." Then she started giving a score for each firework. They started small...25, 42, 80 (Sunny, I think we figured it out: it was cumulative scoring). Eventually the score reached the hundreds, then thousands, millions, zillions, and finally infinity. We must have had the best fireworks ever, or maybe she is a very generous judge. We had fun with the glow-sticks and sparklers too.

The pictures weren't always the best because of the lack of light, but here is one of all the kids. This was taken during a loud firework (can you tell by Robyn plugging her ears).

Ivory didn't like that one either.

Finally the fun came to a close, and everyone crashed in bed. It was a great day though (thanks again to those who came and shared the festivities with us). We hope that you all had a wonderful day enjoying your family and the country we love.

Happy Fourth!

Yes, you may all stare in awe. We FINALLY took a family picture. It is truly sad that it has taken me this long, and that we are going to add another family member in just a couple of weeks who isn't pictured here (great timing right?), but I feel like I have accomplished something amazing. I told myself that I would no longer try to get a picture around Christmas because it is too busy, so July it is. I love my little family. They are beautiful.

p.s. We didn't choose the flag background merely because it was the fourth of July...it just happened to be the best picture out of the bunch.

Chukars? Seriously?

Tyler's work has a company barbeque every year and a lot of festivities that go with it. They have a fun-run and a golf tournament. Our family has never done the run, but Tyler participates in the golf part each year with his internet team. In the evening there is a huge barbeque (featuring steak) and they give away prizes and money. Tyler, unfortunately, has never been a recipient of money but it is still enjoyable to go to the barbeque and see people from his work.
The company also provides a t-shirt for anyone wanting one and we usually get one for each member of our family. This year they were tan (weird choice, but whatever). The only problem is that once my children joined the playground, they were surrounded by children that looked exactly like them. Ivory wore her squeaky shoes so she was pretty easy to find, but the other two blended in like camouflage and it kept my eyes busy the entire time.

To finish off the evening, the company buys tickets for a baseball game for any families or employees who want to attend. We have never gone to the game before because of having younger children but we thought we might venture out this year and try something new.
So we packed up the family and headed to see the Orem Owlz play. Our family is not heavily into sports so this is the first real baseball game our kids have been to and it was fun trying to explain the rules to the girls. June seemed to understand fairly well and she got excited when the 'red' team would hit the ball and run the bases. Robyn and Ivory usually just clapped when everyone else did. The stadium they built at UVU is well designed because there is an area with just grass, which lets children run around a bit more, and a playground (which we took full advantage of). Tyler took the girls over to play and I stayed in our seats for about 3 innings. It was just as well because not much happened in the middle of the game. The family came back to watch the last two innings and the Orem Owlz pulled out the win. They were playing the Idaho Falls Chukars so Tyler was rooting for the other team (since he is from IF) and the girls went back and forth between the red and blue teams. I was teasing Tyler a bit since he was cheering for the wrong team, and I asked him what a Chukar was anyway. He thought it was probably some kind of wood chuck. Okay...there are plenty of weird mascots out there and the wood chuck seemed appropriate for Idaho (no offense). Upon returning home, Tyler looked it up and apparently a Chukar is more of a pheasant bird. Here is a picture.

Seriously? Who chose THAT as their mascot. I would rather be a woodchuck. They try to make it look more fierce, (shown here on the right), but let's face it...it's a game bird.
To be fair, the whole game was fowl and I don't think of owls as particularly fearsome creatures but they do have large talons and are considered a predator. And in movies they can be quite terrifying (I am thinking more of Secret of Nimh not Bambi). I personally like the little eyes they have chosen to represent the owlz, but it is more of the same --trying to make a bird look mean. They handed out hats to the first 1,500 people. Um... we didn't get any, but the people behind us were very nice and gave their hats to the girls at the end of the game. They are a bit large for the kids, but the thought was really nice. You may have noticed by now that I did NOT take my camera that night but here is a picture of the girls wearing the hats the next day.

Look at those fierce owl eyes :)

Roughing it??

We had our ward campout recently. Tyler complains that it isn't really camping when there is grass, bathrooms, running water, and you don't have to hike to get there. I, on the other hand, am perfectly happy with this pseudo camping our ward practices, and with all the young children, it is more necessary.

I am not as outdoorsy as I would like to be. My family NEVER went camping, EVER! I don't think we owned a tent and every year for girls' camp my parents would have to borrow camping supplies from the neighbors (I may have gotten my own sleeping bag about three years into it). Then compound my lack of camping experience with the fact that I am allergic to the outdoors and you get a non-camping Mom. I think Tyler does not approve of these things, but he is patient with me. I do want my girls to grow up knowing something about camping, so I try to participate when the opportunity arises (namely, the ward campout). I shamefully admit that I was NOT going to spend the night but it was too hard trying to find someone to drive me back the next morning. Laziness won out and I decided to stay. Plus, I knew it would make Tyler happy...and it did.
The girls loved our huge tent.

I think at one point there were five or so children in there having a huge pillow fight. I really didn't mind as long as it was giggling and not crying coming from the tent. I should definitely thank my in-laws for the awesome tent that we have. It is for 8 people and we can even fit the bassinet in there when our children are small. We don't use it often (yes, still my fault) but when we do, it is wonderful.
Friday evening was mostly just playing and exploring. I learned that quesadillas cook very quickly in one layer of tin-foil and that my kids don't like charcoaled tortillas. Fortunately, I also brought hot dogs so no one starved.
Tyler spent most of his time on the hill of death. That is not the official name, but I am certain I can convince the mothers to name it that soon. The hill is ridiculously steep and the only way kids come down is sliding on their rear ends (which doesn't do wonders for the clothing, but hey...we're camping right?). Here is a picture that does not portray adequately enough how terribly steep it is. If you look to the far left you can see Tyler on his way up with Robyn on his back.

Next, there is a rope swing at the top that adult men have trouble controlling. And if you happen to lose your grip on the swing, the only place to fall is on the hill of death which is not forgiving (see above). I try to stay as far away from this hill and Tyler insists on taking all the girls up it. I don't watch. He dutifully took each child up and let them hold on to him while he braved the rope swing. This worked well until he realized he had taken the kids in the wrong order and he saved the heaviest for last. I am very glad I was NOT around to see this next part, because I may have gone into labor early.

Apparently during June's ride, when Tyler came back from swinging, he didn't catch the tree (‘as well as anticipated’—his words) and they plummeted onto the steep slope. Tyler was amazing. He hit the ground in a surfer pose and skimmed down, chased by a landslide of gravel, coming to a perfect landing at the bottom. However, none of the other Dads were fooled. After watching this event, they quickly evacuated the hill so no other children could be foolish enough to try that stunt. I am glad that Tyler gets his girls involved, but I would still love it if he stayed clear of the hill of death.
Ivory was content to spend most of her time on the swings.

She is getting really good at holding on without an infant swing. It still scares me, but after the hill, it was nothing.
June spent the majority of her time finding treasures and reveling in the fact that all the flowers she found were NOT part of someone's garden and mom would actually let her pick them to her heart's content. I still think it is sweet that she brings them all to me. I even allowed her take a picture of me (this is to make you all think what a trooper I am for camping with my big belly. :)

I took a picture of June with her treasures.

This is my favorite part and I am glad that we happened to get a picture of it. She found a shell somewhere under the swings and she was happy with her find. She put it in the car to save it and in the morning when we were packing up, Robyn came tearing back to the tent to show us a surprise. Turns out the shell was inhabited: a snail was slurping around the back on the van. He was quite the stowaway. We couldn't find him later and he traveled all the way home with us and kept himself cozy until I found him after shopping on Monday. Does slug slime come off easily? I haven't even tried to clean it yet.
The kids slept pretty well, although Ivory seemed to be suffering from her eczema and she squirmed some of the night. Other than that, we feasted on a delicious breakfast provided by a very generous Bro. Johnson in our ward and then we headed home. Not really roughing it, I would say, but we had a good time and hopefully the girls will develop some "camping" memories along the way.

Water works

So life doesn't ever slow down around here...just my motivation to blog. But I'll catch you up on some water events in the home. First, we found a delightful surprise in our downstairs closet. I saw some water spots and I figured Ivory must have spilled a drink, so I got out a towel to soak up the water. Our carpet is rather forgiving and usually just a dab here and there will let the liquid leave the carpet and soak into the towel. So, I was a little surprised when my repeated attempts to dry the carpet weren't doing much. The spots remained while the towel got wetter and wetter. Hmmm....something didn't compute. Well, it didn't take me long to get worried and tell Tyler my theory that something was wet UNDER the carpet, and like the good husband he is, he came home that afternoon and tore up the carpet.

Sure enough, the pad was soaked through. This led to scouting around to find the leak. It was in the utility closet where part of the AC unit had come unattached and the condensation was leaking out and draining into the carpet (not the drain where it was supposed to go). Bad construction all around but certainly nothing hard to fix.

Too bad the AC has been on for over a month now (that can't be good for the carpet). But we dried things out as best we could and I think the carpet is back to normal, besides needing a good cleaning.

On a much happier water note, I gave Ivory her first bubble bath ever. I am such a lame mom! I never have bubble bath around and I found some under the sink, so I thought she might enjoy it. All the kids had a lot of fun playing in the bubbles, although I think June prefers the bath without them (but then again, that is what she is used to). I guess on the other hand, it is good that I don't have everything for my kids. That way, it makes things (like bubbles) much more novel when we get to do them.