end of April

We're a third of the way through the year 2009. Can you believe it? Don't forgot... tomorrow is May 1st. If you remember to say "Rabbit Rabbit" (or "White Rabbit") right when you wake up (since it's the first day of a new month), you'll have good luck. Try it!

offer accepted

So our second offer on the house was accepted!! An inspection, appraisals and all that jazz await.

Plus, Gina, Ron and the kids are coming to visit us tomorrow and will stay a few days. Tonight when Allen said his bedtime prayer he blessed "the cousins and Aunt Gina, Keira, and Sidney." The kids are excited and they helped clean up toys in the basement this afternoon.

Right now dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls are baking... mmmmm!

rock update

This morning the first thing that Allen asked for when he woke up was our ROCK from the previous evening. He went to look for it, he brought it with him, and asked if we could paint it. (Looks like the object I chose to illustrate the Tucker family laws worked!!)

Throughout the day we talked about the family laws and the kids came up with "obey and cooperate" on their own. I heard Allen tell Abby, "Abby you need to obey and cooperate." And then she repeated him, "obey and cooperate." They are getting into it :)

AND...

Ross has a friend who does photography. This is going to hang in Ross's office very soon. It's the Washington Monument behind the reflecting pool, if you were wondering.

Our church leaders

Last week I got many requests from the kids to see "pres-- see" movie. Then I realized they were referring to the video showing the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency, a link I posted last week. We watched it plenty of times to satisfy the kids repeating, "let's do it again" right when it would end. Click here if you missed what video I'm talking about.
Today during lunch Allen went over to our chart and said the names of our church leaders over and over. I ran to look for the camera and was afraid he would be all done when I finally was ready. He surprised me by actually starting over and doing it again. And I love that while he recites the names he is marching and clapping. We love Active Allen!

p.s. We had great 89 degree weather today. I took the kids to the "sand toy park" in the morning while it was cool. We were there before 8am and stayed until after 10am. We had the park to ourselves the first hour we were there.

Fireside about Families

Last night I drove to a fireside held at the D.C. Temple Visitor Center. (Thanks Ross for putting the kids to bed!) Every Sunday evening they have a fireside and the speakers and topics vary. This particular Sunday was entitled, "Raising Responsible Children in an Irresponsible World." The speakers were Linda and Richard Eyre, people I was not familiar with, but Ross's mom encouraged me to go. Once I realized it was the infamous LDS couple who started Joy School, I was curious and wanted to hear what they had to say. The fireside was GREAT! I'm so glad I went and I left feeling like I could be a better mom. They didn't say anything I hadn't heard, but it was refreshing to be reminded. I'll list some of my notes... and they probably make no sense to you... (guess you had to be there!)

• "God must have thought a lot of you by sending you a tough kid!" (bragging story in New Orleans)
• Time is SO brief and SO important ("Jennifer" story in the grocery store)
• Have a family mission statement, family laws, family traditions, family meetings... this "glue" will give your family strong identity and hold it together. (Traditions stick -- kids sent leaves for birthday cards)
• Ownership is a prerequisite for responsibility (i.e. kids need to own choices/decisions)
• Golden age to teach your kids is from 7-11.
• great parenting website -- http://www.valuesparenting.com/
• If you have an "Eli" (rough kid), it's going to be okay
• Every parent has humbling times and needs help (from God, organization)
• "Your future will be as bright as your faith" - Pres. Monson
• You spend 1/4 of your life with kids in your home. Enjoy it!
• Examples from their home: parents downsizing and had a family auction -- each kid was given $40,000 in Monopoly money; family bank for allowance -- each kid gets a checkbook; parents do a monthly "5-facet" review on each child (and write it down); special 8th birthday and special talk, picture of Savior moved to a different bedroom each week (end of week asked, "What did you do this week to be more like Jesus?")

Tonight for Family Home Evening, I actually followed their advice about creating family laws. I came up with our "family laws" at the playground this morning. They are the acronym ROCK: Responsible, Obedient, Cheerful and Kind. I even made up a little song so the kids can remember them. We started FHE by singing, "The Wiseman and Foolishman song," then I recited Helaman 5:12. We went for a walk to find a large rock. I sang them the family laws song, we talked about each word, and I told them that our family has to be built on the Rock of Christ. Next week I hope to paint the rock and review.

Massanutten Weekend

We had a GREAT weekend get-away!! We went to Massanutten, a resort two hours from here (in the Appalachian Mountains). We enjoyed a complimentary three day/two nights stay.

However, the night before we left, the kids were miserable and NOT sleeping. So we took them to the doctor the morning before we left. The diagnosis: pink eye. Good thing we got some eye drops before we left. And over the weekend all of our colds worsened and yesterday Ross lost his voice. But being ill didn't stop the fun.

Things we did:

• We saw Luray Caverns, the largest caverns in the Eastern United States.

This was awesome! Buff Ross carried our massive double stroller down 70 steps and then back up. Once you got to the bottom the footing was all paved with a few steep spots, but perfect for our sick kids. It was an hour long audio tour and we took turns listening to the information.

Allen's favorite thing to listen to again and again on the headset was "Pluto's Ghost," one of the large white cave formations in the center of the cave.

Those are some pretty long "drapes" is what the audio called it. This is the biggest formation like that in the world.

These are the "bride and groom" columns. (They are HUGE. I'm sitting on the ground looking up.) In this large cavern they hold wedding ceremonies.

One of my favorite sites -- Dream Lake

This was the coolest optical illusion!! It looked SO CLEAR that I had to keep telling myself that it was water (only 20 inches deep at the most) instead of the symmetrical image my eyes kept seeing. And the lake stretched into a few caverns. It was amazing!

My other favorite site -- The Stalacpipe Organ

Ever heard a singing rock? The rocks were actually wired and hit with rubber mallets for the sound -- see video below. The organ only played 37 tones. Can you imagine climbing around the cave in the "cathedral cavern" and using tools to tap out sound and find different pitches?

After the cave tour...

We walked through the car and carriage museum which was near the cave entrance. (Our cave tickets gave us free tickets to this museum -- wahoo!) It was cool seeing old buggies and cars from the 20's.

• Timeshare Tour -- very long and we weren't interested, but it was worth doing so we got a free weekend stay.

There is a rippling waterfall behind them which is too small to see.

• Go Kart -- Ross and Allen had so much fun doing this together. (If you watch the end of the video above, they are riding in the first car).
• Massanutten Waterpark -- Frog Pond, Blue Ridge Rapids, water slides, hot springs... we stayed for a long time, got waterlogged, and enjoyed it! Our family's favorite was the rapids. We used double tubes (figure-8 shape --one "hole" was filled in and was more like a raft so the kid could sit in it and the other side was an actuall hole for the adult to lay/sit in.) It was fun going around and around. This place was fun, safe and we all had a blast.

• Harrisonburg 1st Ward -- this was a very friendly ward. About 5 different people introduced themselves and asked if we were a new family who moved in.
• Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park

This is a famous drive that people take in the fall to see the autumn leaves. We figured it was on the way so we should try it to see what it was like.

We had some pretty views. It was cool to see the different mountain ridges.

This reminded me of looking down on the Salt Lake Valley except its much greener :)

We even found a tame deer.

We had a great weekend with great weather! Who could ask for anything more?

Thoughful friend

A friend knocked on my door this morning and surprised me with a gift -- something I needed to go find/buy and something that will help my kids. It made my day. I love the visiting teaching program! (And I'm HER visiting teacher).

It's about TIME

Today Allen was sick so we had to cancel our preschool group. Allen and Abby were disappointed that "preschool friends" weren't going to be coming over ... and they love preschool. So we did our own preschool today.

We started with singing time, then dancing time, quickly followed by reading time, learning time (file folder games), play time (aka laundry time for Mommy), snack time, errand time, lunch time, quiet time, art time... that's as far as we've gotten.

They love this "time" thing. We may have to do it more often :)

Note: These are things we do often. I just don't call them a special name or give them any special order (like I would in a school setting). But I guess these kids are ready for more structure.

All about pigtails

Nothing is cuter than a little girl with pigtails. After seeing Monsters Inc. for the first time I wanted a little girl like "Boo" someday.

Today while Allen was at preschool, Abby helped me run errands, do a little shopping and was my "companion" for a visiting teaching appointment. Abby's hair was in pigtails and she wore her bright pink sandals (a request), a purple fleece shirt (another request) and blue pants.

She was in the shopping cart at CVS eating a little bag of snacks while I checked out the markers. An elderly man approached me and said, "how much is one of those?" (Immediately I thought to say, "sorry I don't work here"... and I'm sure many of you reading this have been asked that a time or two while shopping). But then I realized he was pointing at Abby. He told me that when he passed by and waved, Abby smiled and then shied away. "She's such a cute thing!" he said.

So I got my "Boo" and it's fun with others notice too.

Latter-day Saint Laughs

The following "laughs" are a few from today's Meridan Magazine.

• High on a City Wall: When our son, Todd, was a Sunbeam, the time came for him to give his first talk. We practiced all week. When it was time to give the talk, Todd said in the microphone: “Samuel the Lamanite climbed up on the wall and told everyone they needed to PAY RENT.” Cari Cardon Littleton, Colorado

• Family Fun: When our children were younger we always sang "I Am a Child of God " at family home evening. Our oldest daughter's version went: " I am a child of God with parents kind of weird….” She sang it without missing a beat. This is now the traditional song at home evening.

Lea (my cool sister-in-law) emailed me the link to this fun video about the General Authorities. Yes, we watched it this afternoon as well as during dinner so Ross could see it. The kids wanted to watch it again and again. Right now Allen's favorite apostle's name to say is D. Todd Christofferson.

4

Happy Birthday Allen!

4 years old

3 years old 2 years old

1 year old

Brand new!

(Ross, can you believe we've been parents for 4 years!)

Four years ago today I was in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. I had Allen via c-section after 13 hours of induced labor. His due date was 05-05-05 (so easy to remember for all my many doctor appointments), but he was born a little early at 37.5 weeks. He weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces (which was a pound more than they measured from the ultrasound the day before he came. Dr. Glenn was a little surprised.)

Last week I talked with Allen about what a birthday was. I told him that it was a very special day because he came to earth and was born in the hospital. We looked at his scrapbook to see his baby pictures... he was so excited. He literally sat still and listened as I explained every picture out of request in a FULL 3-inch ring binder. Then Allen reminded me for the next couple of days that he was a little baby in the hospital with me... I love this age where things start coming together!

Allen got to see the circus for his birthday. He requested a train cake (two months ago) and is thrilled about his new Spiderman bike. We had our special breakfast cake this morning. Plus, he had cupcakes and birthday games with his two preschool groups last week so it helped spread out the excitement. What a lucky kid -- how many kids get to celebrate their birthday for a week?

Ross is putting together his new bike a few nights ago

Train cake!

In front of the train is a sign that reads, "Circus: 1 mile"

Birthday loot.

Abby was actually the first one to find it this morning.

(Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa Schmidt)

(Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa Tucker)

4 year old birthday boy!

Tidbits about Allen:

• This is the first year he has understood and been excited about his birthday
• Virginia is his 5th state of residence
• Won't turn down a chance to help Mommy in the kitchen
• Frequently requests peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch
• Loves his train set and asked for a train birthday cake
• Prefers to play with Abby rather than alone
• Enjoys "fingerfoods"
• Long attention span for books
• Very friendly
• Attracted to sand
• Excellent verbal skills
• Has a VERY contagious laugh

We love you, Allen!

Fun at the circus!

We had a GREAT time at the circus. It was a fun event to celebrate Allen's birthday. The kids were VERY excited! We got there for the pre-show down on the floor and enjoyed the circus atmosphere more up-close. Then we got to enjoy the show from the top row. The circus was 2.5 hours we saw plenty of cool stuff and we all got clown noses to take home.

The kids tried on some circus costumes.Allen is busy checking out all the lights and set.

Abby's watching the tigers

Even the adults had fun.

"What was your favorite thing about the circus?"

Allen - "I liked the tigers."

Ross - "The elephants were pretty cool."

Andrea - "I thought the motorcycle act in the cage was awesome!

Abby - "fun!" was what she said when we asked her.

VIDEO: Here's an elephant painting a picture during the pre-show.

Bubble Machine

This was Abby's Easter surprise. They love it! I let them play with it as long as I could stand seeing bubble juice pool on my kitchen floor. Maybe tomorrow will be a sunny day and we can try it outside.

The Letter W

Today at preschool we learned about the letter "W". We did these things...

• Read Where the Wild Things Are
• Sang "Willowby Wallowby Woo"
• Made windmills talked about what they are used for
• Danced to "I Can Wiggle My Fingers" song
• Learned "W" in sign language
• Looked at "W" word cards
• Identified things on our bodies/clothes - white, wrist, watch
• Using clapping and rhythm, we sang "Waddely Achee" song

PLUS, we had a party to celebrate Allen's birthday. (His birthday is on Sunday and he chose to go to the circus on Saturday instead of have a party with friends.) Since I was hosting preschool this week it worked well to have a party while his friends were here. We played some games (egg toss, balloon game, freeze dance, and train game) and had cupcakes.

The kids had a wild, wonderful morning! All I can say is, "Whew!"

Painted Eggs

• This afternoon at the playground Allen was so excited when two 10-year-old boys came along.

Allen:"My friends are coming. Do you friends want to race me on the slide? My name is Allen. This is my baby sister, Abby. Her name is Miss Abby. That is my mother. Her name is Mommy. What are your names?..."

I think the older boys were a little surprised at how friendly Allen was. I just smiled as I watched Allen interact. He thinks older kids are so cool.

• Tonight for Family Home Evening Ross gave us a lesson about Jesus's life (using pictures) and talked about resurrection using a glove as the object lesson. The kids loved the opening song where they got to be thrown in the air for every "beam" in Jesus Wants Me For Sunbeam. Our activity was coloring eggs, no dye, but actual paint brushes. Then for dinner Allen asked to have our "Easter Feast" again (a.k.a leftovers from last night): spiral ham, rolls, peas and mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Happy Easter!

This morning the kids found Easter surprises in the hallway. Allen says that the Easter Beagle visited us. (He came up with that idea entirely on his own. Yes, he's a Peanuts fan). Everyone got goodies and a few toys. Allen got a T-ball set, Abby got a bubble machine, Ross got a 12-pack soda and I got a pair of shoes. I have a "special box" of 12-filled eggs that tell the story of the last week of Jesus's life. We did it last week for Family Home Evening and the kids loved it!

The primary scripture for the month is John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The kids are quickly memorizing it --even little almost-2-year-old Abby. Even though they are "just kids" they really seem to grasp the importance of this holiday and show reverence when we look at the pictures and talk about the events.

You really see a different perspective when you teach something and simplify it. I love being a mom and I love seeing how my teaching is impacting my children. For example, they will request primary songs during the day and at bedtime. If I stop singing, they KNOW the words to extra verses and it amazes me. Also they both WANT to say prayers at the meals -- which is a complete 180 degree turn from a few months ago. (We have two prayers at each meal because once Allen does it, Abby wants to do it too). They are finally at a stage where what I am doing is actually "showing" in their behavior. I love it!

Hope you have a happy Easter! We are glad we get to reflect on the Atonement and of His miraculous resurrection. I really stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers all of us.

Grandma & Grandpa Tucker

Ross's parents came to visit. The kids have had fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

Here is Grandma reading them a story, Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure, a new favorite! Abby got a new Easter bonnet in the mail from Grandma Schmidt so Allen wanted to wear a hat, too :)

... And we put an offer in on a house!

Hope you have a Happy Easter!

p.s. And I get to play piano in Primary tomorrow -- I'm excited about that!

Egg Hunt!

This morning we met at the Peterson Lane Park in Vienna for an egg hunt. Each mom brought 8-filled eggs per child participating. I put pennies in our eggs, but some people put toys or candies inside. While the kids played on the playground, some of the moms hid the eggs around. Once the hunt started I was busy helping Abby figure out what was going on... and looked to find Allen. Good thing he knew what he was supposed to do. I forgot to remind him, but he did great and really got into it. Once he found his 8 eggs, he helped Abby find a few more.

Then many of the kids made a line-up and opened their eggs to find surprises!

Abby gave me a great smile. The kids enjoyed their candy (and didn't have much lunch when we got home). The rubber frogs were one of their favorite surprises.

Busy Town

Allen created this "little town" (that is what he called it) while I was getting ready this morning. The kids are excited to go on an Easter egg hunt tomorrow at the park.

"My name is Mr. Racoon"

...is what Allen said a few times at today's visit to the nature center.

We had a full, fun day. Our morning began with the kids playing with our marble set. They love it!

Then we went swimming. Sorry no pictures. I had enough stuff to carry :) The kids loved watching a diving team at the pool.

We came home, had lunch, and then we all had quiet time. Abby took a nap and I rocked Allen and read him stories for almost an hour. That kid loves books! When Abby got up we headed to a nature center by request of Allen.

When we arrived Allen found the costumes from our last visit and wanted to be a racoon again and found the chicken costume for Abby.

They had fun climbing in the treehouse, looking at books, seeing the turtles and snakes... On the way home we had an hour to kill before dinnertime so we stopped at their favorite "sand-toy" park. They had a great day.

As a sidenote, Allen and Abby LOVE their blankets. Last year we lost them (in Chicago) and they were very sad and confused. But now they don't remember the other blankets. They are smitten with these replacements: "the animals" (Allen) and "blankie" (Abby). Abby's white afghan was mine as a baby and it's funny that she's more attached to my old teddy rather than all the other new, plush ones we have. This morning at breakfast Ross told Abby, "that Teddy used to be Mommy's," and Abby replied, "Abby's."

What can I say? My daughter likes me and my old stuff. (Mom/Grandma -- your handiwork is very appreciated by the next generation! Nice job!)