Love This Guy

It's been a busy fall and Christmas for this guy, but I sure love that he does what he does.  It is very gratifying to see the concerts/various performances and see the efforts pay off.  Also fun to go places in town and meet and talk with people who have had kids in his choirs and hear their appreciation and sometimes funny stories...

Summer Vacation 2013

We're officially back from our 2300 mile California family vacation that included Disneyland, Universal Studios, the beach, SeaWorld, and time with our McCann cousins in Sacramento.  Every trip has it's ups and downs, but I am really pleased with this vacation.  It was a lot of fun, and a lot of good time together that I hope will create some good memories for the kids.

We drove to California all in one day, so we left at 4:30 am and drove and drove.  The kids were awesome, so we went to Knott's Berry farm for dinner.   The next day we did Disneyland and tried out the new Cars-land rides.  I think the Cars racers was my favorite ride this time around.  We met up with Steve's parents for the day and had a good time with them.
Universal Studios was fun, but not a favorite.  Maybe another time, when it's not so hot and the kids are old enough to enjoy it.
The kids absolutely loved the beach.  Isaac dug holes and hunted for seashells.  Kate played in the sand and waves, and had some little imaginary something she was playing from the little dance and talking to herself that I could see.  Andrew grabbed handfuls of sand and then threw them at the waves, then ran from the waves.  He was so funny to watch!  He did this the entire time we were there.

Seaworld was fun!  I love the different shows and the opportunity to see things we don't see here in Utah.  The kids liked the shows and the penguin and shark exhibits.  It was so so hot, though.  Poor Andrew chugged so much water when we got back in the car that he threw it all up on the way home.

The highlight of Disneyland for Kate was being able to go to Pixie hollow and meet Tinkerbell.  She even gave her a penny which Tinkerbell said she could wish on.  She wished for a flower, so Tinkerbell gave her a flower.  She was so cute about it!  She also loved the parades with the princesses and meeting them.
Isaac really loved the Small World and Toy Story mania rides.  He was brave and tried Indiana Jones, even though he didn't love it.
Andrew's favorite ride was actually the big blue bus that we rode from the parking lot every day at Disneyland.  A second favorite for him was probably Dumbo.
We had a great time in Sacramento with my McCann cousins.  I am amazed and gratified by the strong family bonds that I have with my extended family.
The only thing that was a bummer was a 4 hour detour through and around the Sierra's in California because of a mudslide that closed I-80.  Thank heavens for lots of snacks and DVD players.  Steve has decided that I-395 is not his favorite place to be :)

Random Tidbits from Our Spring

Andrew's breakfast one morning.  He poured the sugar after I couldn't figure out whether he wanted milk, sugar, or nothing at all.

 Andrew is enjoying his abilities to open doors and get into whatever he wants.  Today he's styling! Look at those heels!

 Our newest favorite treat!  Yuuummmyyy sticky caramel marshmallow popcorn.  The kids will do almost anything for this treat.  We may make this a little too often :)

 Last day of first grade.

Memorial Day Run 2013

I ran the American Fork Memorial Day 5k/Run of Remembrance again this year.  Having two races under my belt last year, I felt a bit better prepared and took 2.5 minutes off my time from last year.  I am still not fast, but very proud of some improvement.  Yay!

Kate's Joyschool "Graduation"

Kate participated in a neighborhood Joyschool or preschool group.  We traded months teaching, helped share supplies, etc.  May was our turn to host, so at the last class we threw a "Graduation Party."  The kids made invitations the week before, and learned a few little songs to share with their moms.

They sang their songs, each mom shared something special about their kids, and we got some cute pictures.  Pretty simple, but a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed this group of kids and moms.  

Oboe Recital 2013

 When Isaac was around 2, I started teaching oboe again.  During college I taught several students, but hadn't done any private lessons until then.  At that point, it was just something to keep my oboe skills to a degree and to give me a change to my regular schedule.  Now, five years later, it has proven to be much more than that.  Although it has accomplished what I wanted, teaching oboe has done much more than that for me.  I feel like it has brought many good hours of music into my life, as well as some great relationships.
Emma, the middle in this picture, is graduating this year and has some great accomplishments to add to her resume.  She plays beautifully and will be pursuing oboe and composition at BYU.  Christy, is a hard worker and has developed a beautiful tone.  Our recital this year was simple, with my playing a piece as well.  I am so proud of the growth and beauty that I've seen through teaching oboe.

Lucky 7! A Happy Birthday to my First Baby

Isaac celebrated his 7th birthday in style this year with a party for friends and for grandparents.  He also got to make a poster and bring a treat to share with his first-grade class.  I got a kick out of watching him share his poster and answering questions about himself from his class.  He is such a little thinker.  You could almost see him thinking as he paused before answering these deep questions.  I really love getting to see my kids in different settings!

His party after-school was a sports themed party with about 10 boys. What an energetic group of boys!!  Note to self:  outdoor party next time if the wind will cooperate.  Thankfully Steve was able to be there to help out on the games.

After the party Steve had to go supervise something at the auditorium, so the kids and I went to McDonald's for a birthday dinner, then home to get ready for G'mas and G'pas to come celebrate a little more.  Steve made it home in time for presents and cake and ice cream.

Kate's Dance Recital

We have a great high-school aged girl here in the neighborhood who did little dance classes for a couple age groups of girls.  Miss Lizzy didn't disappoint!  Kate loved every minute, and would often come home talking about class and how beautiful Miss Lizzy is. (I think she is the motivation for Kate wanting to grow her hair longer.)
Missy Lizzy held a small recital at the end of the year to show what the girls had been doing.  I took pictures beforehand, not knowing what kind I'd get there, and Andrew wanted his pictures taken too.  So telling!  She felt beautiful and he was grumpy to not be in the spotlight.  I actually have pictures of him pushing her out of the way but this is sufficient. :)

Recital Time! LPM Style

May 4, 2013 - The kids got to show their stuff at the LPM and Sound Beginnings recital.  They (actually we) have worked hard and are proud of all that singing, playing, and learning that they've done.  I am amazed when I look at the concepts and skills they've acquired during classes.  Such an amazing program, which is why I wanted to make it possible for my kids to have this experience.

To say I was nervous about how it would all come off is an understatement.  I actually got up at 5-ish and went running to burn off some nervous energy.  Steve was my right hand man - he made all the logistics turn out well, including the slide show at the end.  Because we were both busy during the recital, I didn't get any pictures.  (May somehow get some from others, and will post those someday...)  However, the kids looked so cute in their new shirts.

Wowza!! All caught up...

I am finally all caught up after a 6 month blogging hiatus.  I decided that, even though I was so behind, that I shouldn't abandon this because of all the bits and pieces of journaling and family history this holds for our little crew.  So, a dozen or so posts later, I am caught up to date.
There are a few things I didn't post specifically about though because the pictures must have fallen as victims of our recent computer crash.  Fortunately for us, they aren't pictures of the kids, just pictures from all the work we've done on our basement.  Honestly, so grateful for my husband (and willing and generous family and friends) who pushed to get this phase of our basement completed.  I. AM. SO. PLEASED.
This addition has made such a difference in the peace of our home and sanity of this mother.  For one, it is so much nicer to have the TV out of the main family area.  Less emphasis on TV is a good thing, and I love not having the noise right in the same room as I am cooking dinner or other things.  Second, the kids have a better place to play, so they can get out some of the toys that drove me crazy upstairs.  Third, I love being able to have a place for music, and a place for the kids when I am doing oboe upstairs.  The kids even snack less because they aren't in the same general area as the pantry when watching a show.
I also didn't post much on our family, in general, because it didn't tie in to specific pictures.  Let me sum up what I would have said, though.  First, I feel so grateful for my kids.  They love each other (most of the time) and play well.  It is gratifying to see them trade something or give something up to make each other happy.  It doesn't happen all of the time, but enough to know that their is love in their hearts and that something we do/say as a family is getting internalized.
Second, I am so amazed and grateful for my husband.  His calling in the bishopric and all his other responsibilities at school don't keep him from being the thoughtful person and great dad that I love.  He is one busy guy, but has made family things a priority.
Third, I just can't believe how time flies.  I look at these pictures (and going through all the ones we recovered from the old computer) and the kids practically grow up right before me.  So mixed up about that.  I love seeing them grow and learn, but I need to put some serious thought into inventing a pause button so they'll let me hold them for a little while longer, while they are still small enough.  Andrew told me the other night, while I was rocking him.  "No baby.  Big Baby Boy."  Pretty much sums it up, right?
The following posts are what has transpired in our family this past six months or so.  Some of the order of things are messed up, but it's all there.

Day-Trip to Logan

Over spring break we decided to take a day and go to Logan for a little "vacation" of sorts.  We stayed overnight at grandma's so we wouldn't have to leave really early to be there when Baby Animal Days at the Heritage Center in Wellsville opened.  Good thing we did.  There was a huge line, but we still got in and saw a number of things without a huge line.

Isaac got to ride a pony.  He was very excited and ready to go!  He was happy when he ended up riding the brown pony he'd been eyeing in line.

We also got to see and touch turtles while waiting in line for the baby bears.  The bears were really cute and playful.  The kids were mildly impressed.  Then we went on a wagon ride around the farm with a great view of the mountains.  The kids had fun, except Andrew was a bit apprehensive about how much we were getting bumped around in the wagon.

The highlight of the baby animals was getting to pet the calves and hold the chicks (my favorite!) because they were so soft.  This point wasn't lost on our little fuzz lover, Kate.  She told me that made this the best day of her life.

After lunch at the park,and a walk around second dam in Logan canyon, we parked and walked around the USU campus.  We spotted Big Blue and got a picture with him, although Kate and Andrew were scared of him (taking mental notes about characters in costumes for our trip to Disneyland this summer...).  We finished the day with Aggie Ice cream and dinner on the way home.  The kids have talked and talked about this day since coming back.  I think they really enjoyed it, which is nice because it wasn't big and elaborate.
It was fun to see how things have changed since we graduated.  This is another of those places that I have a fond spot for.  We tried to show the kids all the fun places, but we may not have been successful at convincing the kids that we had fun times in our younger days, ha ha.

Easter 2013

Kate and Isaac both had egg hunts and treats in their school/neighborhood preschool classes.  We also dyed eggs on Good Friday.  We are lucky to live within a reasonable distance between family, so that we can visit both sides for holidays.  We had egg hunts and festivities with both families and the weather was even nice-ish.  The kids' loved that the Easter Bunny hid their baskets in funny places this year (I can't remember whose it was but, one was even in the oven.  Daddy's basket was in the bathtub.  he he he)

 

Sarah's Visit and Kate's trip to the ER

One night, while getting Kate some ice cream before bed, Kate lost her balance and fell sideways off the barstool she was sitting on.  She fell of the left side and did almost a complete flip so that she landed on her right shoulder.  (Any fantasies our thoughts of being a super-mom and jumping in to save my children from injury are gone.)  She cried and cried for a while saying that her neck hurt, but she slept relatively okay.  The next morning when she wasn't using it and was complaining that it hurt, I figured I'd take her in (and pull Isaac out of school) on our way to play with Sarah.  

Well, hours and multiple x-rays later, we were at the emergency room having her checked for a possible dislocated shoulder (turned out to be false) and a cracked collarbone.  Kate's pediatrician (and X-ray tech) couldn't believe that she was so brave and tolerant of the pain.  

Note to self: if she says something hurts, it DOES.

Sarah flew in for some play time with family at the very end of February and stayed through mid-March, while Jon slaved away on work for his MFA.  One of the highlights for the kids was their sleepover with her.  We came straight from the ER and they all joined in the fun.  As a testament to how brave and determined Kate is, she slept on the floor with the other kids.

Andrew's Birthday!!

Andrew turned two in February.  We can't believe he's that big!  He is talking and running and keeping so busy.  He really does very well at communicating what he wants, something that we are actually very grateful for so that we don't have to play guessing games.

His birthday was a lot of fun.  It was our family's turn to host family dinner (and FHE) for both sides of the family so we had both sides come up and really enjoyed ourselves.  Andrew's "cake" was actually a bunch of Mickey Mouse cupcakes made using mini and regular Oreo cookies to make the trademark ear and head profile.  He enjoyed it.

He received some very thoughtful and kind gifts, of which the cars and his tractor were his favorites.  As much as he loved his little hat (fedora) in the store on our St. George trip, he hardly wears it now.  Forgive the grainy and yellow picture of him in his hat from my iPod.

St. George Trip

Our quick little weekend getaway to Southern Utah was a much deserved and wonderful break.  The sunny and warm weather was a shot in the arm for me.  I am totally ready for full-on spring to be here.  I would do well in Southern Utah for most of the year.

Steve had classes and workshops to attend for UMEA, so the kids and I lived it up.  We shopped, ate out, ate ice cream, played at the park multiple times, and went to the Fun Center (the kids' favorite).

At the park.

Brain freeze at Baskin Robbins.  MMMM, pink bubblegum ice cream.

Shopping for birthday presents for this little guy.  He threw a fit about taking these off, so he ended up getting the hat for his birthday.

Isaac, our somewhat toothless ice cream eater.

Dentist, Dentist, Dentist

Kate needs a frequent flier card for the dentist.  We have definitely racked up some miles back and forth trying to keep this girl's chompers in her mouth and in working order.  The little retainer with 4 top front teeth that are the leftovers from her nasty dental experience in 2011 keep us on our toes.  Between October and April she has been to the dentist office 6-7 times for one reason or another.  Not my favorite thing to do.  But, she obviously doesn't mind it.  She is the toughest and easiest going little girl as far as these things go.  She amazes me.

Christmas 2012

With the last quarter of the year being so busy, Christmas break and the Holidays were so enjoyable.  The memories of this year that stand out most are the interactions between our kids and the enjoyment of time with family.

A few picture highlights: