Fun Weekend Getaway

We had a great little weekend getaway over the Memorial Day Holiday. It was cold, rainy and at times snowed on us, but it was still fun to explore an area of Utah where I have never been. Chuck has been wanting to take a camping trip to Topaz Mountain for quite awhile and he talked his brother and their family into joining us for this adventure. Luckily I overheard a conversation Chuck was having with his brother when he was explaining that at the place where we were going to camp there was no water or bathrooms. Now I like camping, but I had to be the party crasher on that idea because I’m not sure what part of primitive camping with our young kids sounded fun!

And thank goodness we didn’t camp because it would have been MISERABLE with the chilly weather. Instead we ended up at this hotel with a very small room, but it was clean and in my book that’s really all that matters. The kids did really well at night despite the fact that we were all tightly packed in the room. Jenna got us all up and moving with her typical 5:30 a.m. rise and shine shout. I’m not really sure why no matter what time the kids happen to fall asleep at night they still get up before the crack of dawn. The second night I woke up and just had to smile with sheer joy as I saw Samuel, Bella and Isaac all sleeping shoulder to shoulder.

At our first stop we saw petroglyphs. Samuel just finished reading a Magic Tree House book about mummies and wanted to know the difference between petroglyphs and hieroglyphs. It’s nice to have daddy along to provide us with answers to some of these questions.

 

This was our first rock exploring site and when we pulled up Isaac exclaimed, “It’s a face!” and sure enough it looks like a face.

We hiked around, Chuck chipped away at the rock, Jenna loved trying to climb the rock and you know the best crystals we found were right where we parked the car. I was joking with Chuck that other rock hunters must have thrown the ones we picked up away, but they were good enough for amateur rock hounds like ourselves.

 

We stopped at an old fort. Samuel was still feeling a little under the weather.

We waved to trains. Isaac loves trains so he was especially excited to be so close and the engineer was honking and waving at the kids as he passed.

We stopped at another spot to try and chisel more crystals. Chuck finally convinced the kids and I to get out of the van. There were GIANT mosquitoes swarming right outside the van. We don’t have mosquitoes here so it’s been years since I’ve been bitten and I think I scared the kids with my stories of swelling and itching spots. The wind was really howling so as soon as we cleared the van the mosquitoes were gone.

 

The next morning we headed out to Topaz Mountain. As we got close it started to snow, but that wasn’t going to stop Chuck. There were small crystals lying all around, but they were a little difficult to see since the sun wasn’t shining. The kids finally had their fill since it was cold and wet. Good thing for the DVD player so the kids could watch a video while daddy still looked around.

After a rest at McDonalds to warm and fuel up Chuck convinced us to go dig for Trilobites. The road into the dig site was muddy, slick and steep. Somehow the minivan made it. The boys were having a great time splitting rocks and excitedly examining them for fossils. The kids got muddy, wet and cold and were in the vehicles before the dads were ready to leave. Poor Samuel was trying to hang in there despite the fact he was shivering. It was fun to see the little fossils they were uncovering despite the unfavorable weather. This is not going to be a vacation we forget!

The next day we went to Great Basin National Park. It was a beautiful drive and so fun to see a new area.

We toured Lehman Cave. Chuck was having a difficult time trying to keep Jenna from touching the formations. If you’ve ever toured a cave you know they stress that if you touch the formations you will ruin them. You hate to be the people with the baby that is going to ruin the cave! And she was squawking up a storm about not getting her way. The kids loved the cave. We have a book about caves and so Samuel was especially excited for the tour. I was proud of myself for taking this shot without the flash. I kept my old Rebel camera for just such outings as this. It’s pretty hard to get a steady picture without the flash in a dark cave, but it worked. I took a few pictures with the flash and the pictures just looked like a boring plain cave. But without the flash you can see the amazing formations.

We had a picnic and a snowball fight.

We took the minivan on another 4-wheeling adventure to see a little ghost town we spotted off the side of the road. Who needs the jeep with the lift!

We hiked to these crazy structures and Chuck made a guess as to what they were once used for and you know what when we got home we looked it up and he was right! I married me a Smart one!

We had fun exploring the rest of the ghost town.

All in all it was quite the adventure!

Not Again!

I can't believe it, but this week we have had our 5th case of a stomach bug make it's way through the kids. Yes, that's right, in the last 6th months we have had 5 different weeks where all of the kids have been sick throwing up! I'm starting to think our house is contaminated with some horrible virus that is resistant to clorox and lysol.

This little machine has been one of the best purchases I have ever made. When you have an obsession with keeping the carpet clean and kids who can't seem to make it to the bathroom when their sick, this little tool is invaluable. I seriously LOVE it.

I was so worried about Jenna this go round because I could not get her to eat anything and she would barely drink. I was sure she was going to get dehydrated and then on the third day I decided I needed to visit the doctor because she was no longer whining or crying she was just laying on the ground not moving. The doctor had me lay her on the table and suddenly she revived and started kicking, screaming, rolling and trying to escape. The doctor said, "She's a feisty one isn't she!" That is exactly how I describe Jenna, she is feisty. Since I couldn't get her to eat or drink, the doctor suggested I dip a sucker in Gatorade and give her little licks. I now know how long it takes to finish a sucker one little lick at a time - that would be 1/2 hour. As soon as she finished the sucker, she was practically back to her old self.

Now I have to document this funny story about Bella. I had been reminding the kids all during the day to pray that Jenna could get better. That night as I knelt by Bella's bed, I again reminded her to pray for Jenna. She let out a giant sigh and said, "We've been praying for Jenna all day. Why can't Jesus just remember?" Oh, I laughed.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. I bought new sheets and they are wonderful. I haven't slept so well in years, which is why I obviously didn't hear all the nightly happenings. I was, however, woke once from my state of slumber when I thought I heard someone throwing up. I listened and sure enough someone was throwing up, but Hallelujah it sounded like whoever it was had actually made it to the bathroom. Chuck went to investigate and sure enough Samuel was sick, but he had made it to the bathroom. I was elated and felt like we were turning a corner, with at least one of the kids. I went to sleep and didn't wake till morning thinking how wonderful this was.

Chuck went running early the next morning just before Samuel came downstairs. When I saw Samuel, I told him how excited I was that even though he was sick he had made it to the bathroom. Samuel looked at me and said, "Well that was just the first time. The second time I tried to throw up in the bowl but got some on the bed. The third time I leaned over the bunk bed and threw up." My elation quickly faded as I trudged upstairs to survey the damage. As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I was greeted by a mess all over the floor. I sighed and said, "Who threw up all over the hallway." Bella piped up and said, "I was trying to get to the bathroom, but I didn't make it. I also got sick in my bed." All I could do was sigh and get to work. It literally took me 45 minutes to get everything cleaned up.

Poor Samuel was so sick yesterday. He loves science and talks a lot about the scientific process. I kept telling him he needed to drink Gatorade. Finally he told me he just wanted water and that he wasn't going to drink anymore Gatorade. He said, "I've come to a conclusion. The Gatorade is the problem. Last night I drank Gatorade and it made me sick. Every time I've drank the Gatorade today it's made me throw up. That's my conclusion, the Gatorade is the problem." I love to see this guy's mind work!

Here's to hoping this is our last round of stomach bug, at least for this year!

Happy 30th Birthday!

I just had to wish my beautiful, sweet, baby sister a Happy 30th Birthday!

I feel blessed to have a sister that is also my best friend. My relationship with my sister is the reason we decided to have a 4th baby - I wanted so badly for Bella to have a sister. I hope Bella and Jenna will someday have a close friendship like Trina and I do.

Love ya Sis!

Fun Happenings

There have been lots of fun things going on the past week or so.

Chuck and the boys went on the father and sons campout. They all had a wonderful time even though Samuel returned home with a pretty good burn on his leg from touching a hot dutch oven and had a scrapped up nose from a little incident with another boy and a stick.

While the boys were gone, Bella, Jenna and I had a marvelous time together. I could not believe how calm and quiet the house was with the boys gone. There were no crazy boys running around the house screaming battle cries, endless light saber fights or wrestling matches. I didn't realize how extremely LOUD the boys are until they were gone for a night. We just did whatever Bella wanted and that night when she said her prayers she thanked Heavenly Father that the boys could go to fathers and sons and repeatedly said how much she loved her mommy and asked that I never die - it was really sweet.

Samuel started t-ball. We have karate just before t-ball so it's a mad rush to get changed, everyone loaded and unloaded etc. which may explain this funny story, at least that's my excuse.

For the first game, Chuck got home just in time to jump in the van as we were already loaded and ready to go. As we all piled out of the van, Chuck took one look at Samuel and asked, "Why are you wearing your soccer shin guards?" I was totally puzzled since I had told Samuel to run upstairs and get the black "t-ball things" out of his closet and then I helped him get them on. Have I mentioned I'm not an athlete - just checking :)! Yeah I'd totally got the kid dressed for the wrong sport!

While Samuel played ball, Jenna ate rocks.

Samuel and Bella had their Let's Play Music recital. They both did a great job singing and Samuel played the bells. Notice how the two of them are not standing together. Those two when their together tend to cause trouble. Bella has started to learn that she can't do anything even remotely wrong when Samuel's around because he is quick to inform mom with all the details.

Samuel had his Kindergarten Graduation. I can't believe how fast this school year has flown. I have a sinking feeling that is going to be the norm from here on out - the years just quickly passing by. I have loved Samuel's teacher and while it was fun to watch their little program I was a bit sad thinking how he was going to be gone all day next year. I have loved being able to volunteer in Samuel's classroom this year by reading with the kids (Thanks Kristen for taking the other 3 so that was possible!). It was also fun that my mom just happened to be in town for my nieces birthday and so she was able to stay at our house for a few days and see the graduation and the music recital.

We also had a swimming party for Bella's 2nd year Joy School Graduation. I have loved teaching her little Joy School group again this year. What a group of sweet girls!

So many fun things to experience as a mother!

Who's that Guy

Today after lunch I was quickly going through some old photos I had scanned a few years ago. I had such a good laugh with my 80's hair picture I wanted to see what other crazy pictures I had on my computer. Isaac was sitting next to me and when I opened up the file he took one look at this picture of me with my dad and said, "Oh, that's Jesus." I thought you'd get a good laugh out of that dad! I guess the long hair and mustache threw him off!

And speaking of Isaac he actually picked out his own clothes and got himself dressed this morning without me even asking! I came out of my room and he was pleased as could be to show me what he had done now that he's 3 and big. Amazing!

Problem Solved

So late last night Chuck found the cause of our overflowing toilet. He went to Home Depot to get some Drain O because we assumed it was just a lot of toilet paper which had been flushed down. Sometimes kids go a little wild with toilet paper around here. The guy said a wad of toilet paper would harden up like cement and Drain O wouldn't touch it. He suggested we call a plumber.

Well Chuck is a pretty handy fix it yourself type so he decided he would just remove the whole toilet and investigate the problem himself. I decided it was best to just stay clear of the area, I'm sure you can imagine why! At one point during this process he called me in and said to bring the camera he was getting ready to discover the cause of the clog. So I made my way into the bathroom and it was not a pleasant sight or a pleasant smell. With pliers in hand he removed the cause of this lovely problem .... a giant plastic packaging wrapper from some athletic tape I had opened a few days ago. I was sorely disappointed! I mean if you're going to have to remove your whole toilet why not find something more exciting like a stuffed animal or missing favorite toy. Not garbage!

Well, I took a nice picture of the whole episode, but I won't be airing our dirty sewer picture - sorry!

I figure Jenna must have been the culprit in digging the packaging out of the garbage and depositing it in the toilet. She is fascinated with both the garbage and the toilet. When I told Samuel about it this morning he said, "Oh yeah, I saw that in the bottom of the toilet." My question to him, "Were you the one to flush it down." His response, "I'm just to excited about my t-ball game tonight to remember." We had a nice discussion about what we should do in the future if we see a strange object in the toilet.

A Good Laugh

So imagine my shock when I see this photo posted on my friends blog. I literally could not stop laughing! We were quite the stylish pair in 8th grade. Really, teenage years in the late 80's and early 90's was not a glamorous time, but it provides for some hilarious memories. My hair was actually looking pretty tame in this picture, relatively speaking of course. I actually got "better" at styling and it got a lot bigger! And the clothes - were my jeans really up past my belly button - I think so!

Maybe There's Hope!

We were all gathered around the table eating dinner last night when I had the overwhelming feeling I was failing as a mother. It was a noisy chaotic scene playing out before my eyes. Bella was literally standing on her head on the chair trying to eat her food upside down. Isaac was actually eating, but was making a huge mess. It looked like more food was scattered around the table then could have possible made it into his mouth. Samuel was talking loudly, demanding someone get him a drink and dropping pieces of food on the ground because he didn’t want to eat them. Jenna was having her usual fit in the high chair and had thrown all her food to the ground and was screaming with anger. I couldn’t help but wonder where I had gone wrong.

Then I remembered one of our family rules posted big for all to see right there in the kitchen was to be Polite.

I instantly declared that for family night we were having a discussion on one of our family rules. We talked about how to be polite we need to have manners and it’s not okay to act uncivilized at the table. The kids came up with lots of great rules about what we should and should not do at the table. Most of them were fairly obvious and I’m not sure why we need to have a rule to sit on our pockets instead of standing on our head, but I guess part of being a parent is teaching again and again what seems so obvious! As we ate our dessert we practiced proper behavior and the kids actually thought this was a great activity.

Then today was another typical day where you shake your head a wonder where it all went wrong. Our guest bathroom toilet was having a bit of an issue and Chuck wasn’t home to address the problem. For some reason, Samuel didn’t think twice about using the toilet even though the water was already nearly overflowing and then flushing it. Yes, it overflowed and created a huge mess I had to clean up. Not fun!


Then we discovered that one of the kids had ripped the towel hook in their bathroom off the wall leaving a big hole. At least Samuel was honest when questioned about it. The kid has been begging us to build a vine in the house so he can be Indiana Jones and swing across the stairs. I guess he thought if we weren’t going to get him a vine he’d just substitute and swing from the towel hook.



Then something really amazing happened and made me realize that yes life is often crazy and chaotic, but there are many sweet moments that make me stop and know I’m not really failing at being mom. I was cooking dinner and Bella without being asked got the table all prepared for us to eat. She loves being helpful and is so good at seeing needs. She often tells me she can’t wait to be a mom and lists all of the things she will be able to do when she is a mom and how fun it will be. We all sat down at the dinner table and with only a few reminders everyone was much better behaved. Granted Jenna was still screaming mad and at one point Samuel shut his toe in the door and was crying, but overall it was much improved. Maybe there’s hope for all of us yet!

A Wonderful Day

So many things I could write about today, but for now I'll just say I'm blessed to have these sweet little ones call me Mom.

What's Going on at Costco!

"What's Going on at Costco?"

Samuel must have excitedly asked this question a half dozen times while we were shopping today.

He is a HUGE Star Wars fan so you can imagine the excitement when we were walking through the parking lot and saw Captain Rex and a Tusken Raider standing right outside the entrance.

Today was our big once a month grocery shopping trip. After Jenna was a few months old, I just decided trying to take 4 little kids shopping was not very efficient and I'd usually come home with great stories to tell, but also frustrated. So I devised a new plan - we divide and conquer. Sometimes Chuck drops me off at Wal-Mart with 2 kids and then he takes the other 2 to Costco and we meet back up when we're done. Or, like today, we all go to Wal-Mart, but I split the grocery list, we divide the kids and go at it. Very Efficient and nobody is in a bad mood when we're done!

As we were leaving the house this morning, I kept having a thought run through my mind that I should grab our little point and shoot camera. I couldn't figure out why I needed to take the camera since we were just going grocery shopping, but decided it was easy enough to throw in my purse. And then wouldn't you know it, there were all these fun picture opportunities! Crazy how things happen sometimes.

You wouldn't know it by the picture, but Isaac was really excited to spot Elmo inside the store. And the kids all decided this must be the "real" Elmo since he was actually talking to them. And he did sound just like Elmo.

The little mermaid was also there and as you can see, both girls were thrilled to get a picture with her.

We never did find out "What was going on at Costco", but whatever it was the kids sure loved shopping today!

IronMan Fun Run

The words IronMan and Fun Run seem to be a bit paradoxical in my mind. But that's coming from a gal who's daily form of morning exercise includes pushing one or more kids in the stroller for a grand total of approximately 1 mile. Granted the trail by our house does have a bit of an incline and my legs have actually been sore a time or two, but really I'm not much of an athlete. So to me fun and run don't really go together!

But it is Fun for me to see my kids and their daddy running. And since Chuck likes to run, I hope our kids will like to run too and I can happily cheer them on from the sidelines.


Samuel, Bella and Chuck after the IronMan 1 mile fun run tonight.

In conjunction with the St George IronMan the city hosted a fun run where the kids got to run through the IronMan finish line. There were lots of kids and people everywhere so it was very entertaining.

Samuel did a great job and ran the entire way. He did tell me after the race that his legs got tired and felt like they needed new batteries. Bella on the other hand made it around the first block and then decided she was tired. There was such a rush of kids everywhere that Chuck just picked her up and ran with her on his shoulders.

Here they are coming around the corner to the finish line. It was HOT tonight and Chuck was a little worn out running with Bella on his shoulders. I actually almost missed them because I thought they would be near the back of the pack, but since Samuel was running pretty fast they finished a lot quicker than I thought.

The kids had a great time and we all especially enjoyed a shake at Marv's after the big race.

A Knight, A Dragon & A Table

I've thought an awful lot about "mothering moments" since I got back from the Power of Moms retreat. There are so many little precious moments in each day that sometimes I don't fully appreciate. I have been trying to notice these moments more, to capture them in my mind and heart so as these little ones grow I will be able to remember how special this time was.

This is one of those moments that I stopped and watched for awhile today.

The kids playing their version of the board game Risk with Bella dressed as a knight and Isaac dressed as a dragon. It just made me laugh.

It also made me laugh that I have 2 tables and 14 chairs in my kitchen. I honestly didn't realize we had that much space in the kitchen. We got a new table set yesterday and I'm really excited! We really needed new chairs - the tape on the old ones was just a little too tacky.

I also discovered something about myself in the process of picking out a new kitchen set. Maybe I've always know it, but it really struck me - I get easily bored with things. I like change. When we first started looking for tables I was thinking we should get something really nice that we could have for years and years. Then I realized - wait, I don't want something that I can have for years and years, that's not me! I finally found something that I liked, wasn't very expensive and probably won't last forever - everything I was looking for.

Something else that made me laugh.

I already have my every holiday present for this year (my camera), but I saw this add and really wanted this drink dispenser and thought it would be something easy for Chuck and the kids to get me for Mother's Day. So I cut out the add, put a nice little note on it that said, "Good Mother's Day Gift for Me!". I'm all about taking the guess work out of gifts. Then I put it on the very top in his money clip. I thought for sure he'd say something about my cleverness, but then I found the piece of paper just laying around. I asked him today if he'd seen my note on what I wanted for Mother's Day. He told me he hadn't.

Really - how did you miss this note!

He saw it, but just thought one of the kids was sticking junk in his money clip. So much for my trying to be clever!

And trying to haul this birthday cake I made today on my lap in the van so I could FINALLY take cake pictures with Jenna really was comical. We had a few mishaps on the way and it didn't look quite as good as it did at home, but somehow we miraculously made it without a complete disaster. I really wished I would have remembered to take a picture of the back of the cake because that is what looked really funny. The frosting on the back of the cake had plenty of handprints - that minivan of ours can sure accelerate!