Kid Olympics

My friend Tami emailed me pictures of the kids from Kid Olympics during spring break which were much better than the couple that I captured so I thought I'd send those out as well as an after thought to the posts last week.

Lillian in the bike race

Jocelyn's rotation group

Jocelyn horseback riding

Jocelyn awards ceremony

Jonas awards ceremony

Lillian awards ceremony

Jonas running event

Lillian horseback event

The fun continues

Jocelyn and Nana

After all the company left we continued to stay at my parent’s house for General Conference weekend.  Since we brought my mom back home, Jared stayed home to work and then paint the entry way before he met us Saturday evening with my mom’s new car.  He also put up a chandelier in the front entry that I MUCH prefer over the old glass & brass number (complete with etched-in roses on each glass panel).  I am so pleased with the update and excited for the potential of the entry way once we finish the painting.

Luke being patient with Jonas & Jocelyn's attention

Grandpa Kevin holding Emma

I realized after visiting my parent’s house that they must have a Carbon Monoxide leak in the house.  That has to be the only logical explanation for the fact that I nap non-stop and sleep in when I visit them!  They are so good to help watch over the kids (my dad and luke help them when they wander downstairs in the morning by putting a video on and getting them a bowl of cereal) and my mom does my sewing projects for me so I feel like I am being productive WHILE napping.  Win-win situation, right?  I appreciate them so much.

Most of the preschool kids with their bear masks on

Right when we returned from Spring Break I had to dive head first into teaching Lillian’s preschool for the week.  It ended up being fine, because I always enjoy teaching and it is overall a good group of kids, but just made for a balancing act because I had to feed Emma and contain Jonas while trying to teach 3 days that week!  I.e. Set the kids up with their art activity (quickly feed Emma on one side), set the kids up with their lunches (feed Emma on the other side), Start the kids on free play time, run Emma upstairs to put her down for her nap.  However, I am done teaching for the year now and it has been so worth it having a great group of moms running the preschool for the past couple years.

Jared and girls during General Conference

Right before Easter we did a science experiment that my mom had recommended where you make a "naked egg" by leaving a raw egg in vinegar for several days so that the shell dissolves.  It was pretty fun to see the yolk, etc. intact with just a thin membrane around it.  The kids thought the naked egg was pretty cool but, of course, it broke really quickly when they decided to handle it for any amount of time.  Well, I play "Last one up the stairs is a rotten egg!" with them when I keep asking them to go upstairs to get PJs on, etc. and they aren't going.  It seems to get them moving up and quickly.  Lately Lilly has been calling out "last one up is a naked egg!" which cracks me up every time and at dinner the other night they all had a helping of grapes.  They decided they liked the taste of "naked grapes" better so they were all peeling the grapes and thought it was so fun eating "naked grapes" at the table.  

Jonas also discovered the beauty of Legos when we were at my parent’s house for general conference.  All the kids played with them non-stop and nana kindly let us borrow them when we came home.  It’s been a fun distraction that they can all play with together.

I realized a couple weeks ago as I was walking through the house that in every high place (tops of bookshelves, dressers, fridge) was a weapon.  Jonas is very much into weapons and having to learn the hard way that we don’t actually hit sisters with said weapons.  His favorites lately are a knight sword, pirate sword, and his avengers action figures are still taken everywhere (but a bag full of them used to whack a sister doesn’t go over very well).  Obviously, we need to try some other intervention since the weapons seem to be stored up high in every room until he asks for them and declares he’s ready to make good choices with the again…

Jonas is also very good at make-believe lately and we have to act out power rangers together (Samurai Power), or pretend to eat a meal he has made with the play food, etc.  The other night he pretended to lose a tooth to which I told him he better put it under the pillow for the tooth fairy to bring him money. He acted it all out enthusiastically.  The Tooth Fairy surprised him and he had a penny under his pillow in the morning.  The girls were a little upset until I reminded them that a penny is 1/100^th of a dollar so they tried to be good sports after that.

Big news for Emma this month: She is rolling over both directions now, she started on her rice cereal (with much anticipation and excitement form her older siblings who all want turns to feed her), she is sitting up (kind of, not very long and with some assistance) and is very much interested in her toys and surroundings.  She continues to be a joy and very loved by all.

Jocelyn went on a field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday and it was just a minor miracle she didn’t make herself sick with excitement (which she can and does at times).  We bought a lunchable for the event since they were on sale and she was salivating over it for days.  We heard about every detail of the impending trip over and over.  I really wish I could have gone with her, but due to my laziness in bottle-training Emma, I couldn’t leave her with any friends without her starving and crying, even with rice cereal.  Jocelyn at least got to partner with her friend Abby (and Abby’s mom) and she came home exhausted and thankfully napped it off.  I failed to take a good picture of her by the bus or in the tshirts they decorated to all match on the field trip.  Grr!

Brian and Katie in D.C.

 As I mentioned in a previous post, my brother Brian is engaged.  He is going to marry a girl named Katie Fisher in the Logan temple in September and we are very excited for them.  We are hoping to meet her before the wedding but, due to her commitment to work in Alaska for the summer, this may not pan out.  My older sisters met her since they flew them to D.C. for the weekend, and Nate & Tausha are close enough that they drove down to meet her before Brian proposed, but the rest of us have yet to get to know her.  I have every confidence that she will be great, but would just like the chance to meet someone who will be part of our eternal family :)

Playing with toys on tummy time

Emma "sitting" up

Emma eating rice cereal

Jonas at the beach

Jonas playing legos

Jonas in his Spiderman cape and Pjs made by Nana

Spring Break

Most of the kids before the "olympics"

We had a great staycation with a short trip to my parent’s house for Spring break. 

To kick it off, Lillian’s preschool class had Kid Olympics to finish off their food and fitness unit at one of the teacher’s homes.  She coordinated all of us swimming at the Rec center Thursday night and then each of the parents hosting a station or event the next morning complete with food and an awards ceremony for the kids.  I still need to get all the pictures from my friend since I was busy hosting my event and keeping Emma happy and avoiding sunburn during the awards ceremony but the kids had a blast. We had everything from Horse Riding to Bean bag toss to bike races and everything in between and the kids were really good sports and worked hard.  I was in charge of the “throwing” event so Thurs. night at dinner Jared asks what I’m going to do for it.  I told him I was going to bring a couple different sized buckets and balls to accommodate the varying ages and skill levels of the kids (ranging from 2-10 yrs) and then call it good. He suggested that we make a bean bag toss to make it more exciting to which I replied “go ahead!”  Well, long story short, Jared and I were up until a little after midnight working on this beauty.  We traded off the whole evening: I put the girls to bed while he cut out the wood and constructed the stand, He put Jonas to bed while I began painting, I nursed the baby while he outlined Batman, etc. etc. We actually had fun and it was worth the lost sleep because the kids had a lot of fun with it and we can use it for future birthday parties, primary activities, you name it.

We celebrated Easter morning at home with a yummy breakfast, went to church, then ate Easter dinner at the Bedell’s house for our 3^rd annual Easter Extravaganza.  I, unfortunately, burned my hand that morning. Yeah, I pretty much unintentionally placed my entire right hand palm flat down on a hot burner which was great fun, but Jared took good care of the burn with aloe vera from our yard and ice packs, but that put a little damper on the day for me.  The Easter Bunny brought the kids some needed summer shoes and clothes and seeing Jonas’s excitement and dawning comprehension of the Easter Bunny and his potential was really cute.  He kept looking out the front window for the “Easter Bunny to come!” but we had to inform him he already came and hid their baskets, just leaving tracks for clues as to where they might find the treasures he left behind.  He was not disappointed!

Kids with dyed Easter eggs

The next day my cousin Janelle and her family came into town along with my mom and they all stayed for a few days.  It was so fun to have the kids hang out together, take them on a day trip to the Forest and the Beach, have dinner with them while catching up with my cousin, and then go to the Jelly Belly Factory up near my parent’s house.  We even got to see my Aunt Lori & Uncle and a couple of their kids as they were on their way through and stopped at my parent’s house for the night. While at the forest the kids were on a quest to beat our current record of finding 14 banana slugs in one "hike".  They definitely beat it with a new record of 18!  Mason had the most serendipitous find under the picnic table right where he was sitting and eating lunch.  No, it wasn't gum under the edge of the table, just a HUGE banana slug! Aunt Lori and her kids were so good to take care of Emma and the other kids so I wasn't so outnumbered and it was so fun for them to get to know my extended family and the help was much appreciated!

Trip to the Jelly Belly Factory

Girls at the beach.  That's the closest they got to the water, the little stinkers!

Cait and Jonas at Beach

Mason holding the banana slug

Janelle, Cait, Emma and Jonas at Forest

Roasting Marshmallows with Aunt Lori, Hailey and Ben

Orrs and Otters in the forest (minus Lillian who was having some GI distress)

Why I can't go anywhere quickly & why my purse is a backpack

So I know I should have come to this realization months ago, but I recently had an epiphany.  My life came to me in a clear view on an attempted Costco trip one afternoon...

We were visiting my parent's house at the end of our spring break and, on our way back home from an outing, my mom mentioned she needed to pick up a couple items at Costco.  So I thought: Great idea! We'll run in really quick and then head home to put the younger two down for naps.  Not that we had any big plans for the day and we had been on a staycation of sorts for the past several days but the "quick stop" that I had imagined was anything but that. I was not upset by it because it was what it was, but it just made me realize the kind of life I am running these days.

We went into Costco and, disappointingly, they did not have their usual plentiful samples.  On top of which it was lunchtime which meant my kids cleared my entire "snack bag" out in a matter of minutes and were still begging for more.  Then, I got a call from my sister (who was stuck in traffic) and wasn't about to miss out on the conversation because she had just met our future sister in law and was calling with details to fill me and my mom in on how the weekend was going (since neither of us have met her and were anxious to hear about her!)

I was more than slightly distracted on the phone (#1 rule when shopping with 4 kids: Don't attempt a phone conversation, or any conversation other than containing and pacifying them) and my mom and I were both pushing carts around aimlessly.  The two carts were not because we had a lot of items to purchase, but that we had some restless kids who we had to place strategically far from each other and contained in said carts.  Even with our efforts the kids seemed to be playing musical chairs and needing to switch locations in the carts every couple minutes.

We finally made it through the check out line at which point I handed off the phone to my mother but, due to my distraction, forgot to purchase our food court items at the check out which meant a SUPER long, slow line in the "non-pre-paid area" with four hungry kiddos and no room for carts.  We made our purchases, got everyone settled down with the junk food and I had a brilliant (which ended up to be not-so-brilliant) thought: Opportune time to feed the baby! Then she will sleep on the way home.  So I fed the baby not so discreetly in the costco food court during which she empties her bowels.  All over not only her entire outfit and up the back, but all over the front of me as well.  Yay!! While I am ending feeding her on one side Lilly begins her "Potty emergency!" chant and we speed off to the bathroom. 

All I could be thankful for at this point was the fact that my Mom was with us, a rare opportunity that afforded me the chance to take only these two kids with potty emergencies to the bathroom. Well, I suppose I was also very grateful we were in America, especially a Costco, that had a changing table, toilet paper, soap, and running water because goodness knows I've been to plenty of toilets without these luxuries!  I got us all cleaned up and returned in time for Jonas to have pooped his diaper and for Jocelyn to be needing a bathroom desperately.  My mom and I swapped kids and repeated the procedure.

I have to point out I wasn't upset. I was getting a little worn out, true, but mostly just ready to be headed home.  My children were all losing it a little at this point as well so I figured we'd just get everyone in the car and they could fall asleep or at least be contained while we headed home!  But, of course, not before I decided that we should probably get gas at Costco too which, if you didn't know, can be quite a lengthy attempt on a Friday afternoon. 

So, our "quick stop" ended up being over an hour which I should have just embraced to begin with.  This also explains why I have to carry a backpack with me everywhere instead of a stylish purse. I have to have equipment ready for any of these emergencies/everyday occurrences and even though I get weird looks when I am sporting a backpack into a clothing store (you may need to check that up front, what is it for?) or the dentist (Oh! I thought you were  student, but that makes sense now, you're a mother of 4 kids under 6 yrs!) Anyhow...Now that I've made the mental transition to the fact that I can't stop anywhere quickly, I am fine with it.  I just somehow missed that fact until now.

4 kids Easter Morning

3 older kids at breakfast one morning