Thankful For Soup

Katie is good at saying prayers all by herself. Lately, they mostly consist of long lists of things she is thankful for. They are very sweet and uplifting. With the cold weather in full force, I have been preparing a variety of different soups for dinner. I guess Katie hasn't been a big fan of any of them. In a recent prayer given in front of the whole primary, she said, "We thank Thee that we can all like soup when we grow up." At least she is optimistic about her future feelings toward soup. Today, Brian is tearing out walls in a basement room that we are re-finishing as a bedroom for our boys. It is very exciting! I am thankful that he is such a handyman. I love it when he works on our house.

Vacation Plans 2014

It looks like 2014 will be a year of theme park visits for us!

We were surprised on Christmas morning with season passes to Lagoon from my parents.  Usually, we visit once per year.  Sometimes, I use the bounce back option to take the kids twice.  And, there was that one year when the power went out at our bounce back visit, so we got to return a third time for free.

The kids wish we could go a lot more.  Especially the boys -- Sophie is not into roller coasters and big rides yet like they are.  But, she likes the water park and the smaller rides.  Now we can go as many times as we want.  I hope I will be able to meet my kids' expectations of visiting as many times as they think we will now that we have passes.

Today, I booked our Disneyland trip -- Hooray!  I am so relieved to have completed the process of wading through the labyrinth of hotels, their rates and hidden fees and trying to validate or invalidate the negative reviews.  I am so excited that we will be within walking distance from the gate!  Major bonus.

Now, I am dreaming of our wonderful, fun-filled relaxing family vacation.  Ahhhh . . . vacations are the  best!

Happy New Year 2014

2013 is gone.  And, I barely recorded it.

We had a blessed year.

I never wrote about the trip we took with our kids at the end of November 2012.  We stayed overnight in a Swiss Chalet in Heber.  There was a gorgeous pool -- a big draw to our family.  It was one of those indoor/outdoor pools, and even though it was nearly December and snowing, the outdoor portion was open.  Right next to the indoor pool was a beautiful hot tub with a giant rock wall waterfall on one side.  You better believe that is where I spent most of my time.

The older kids ventured into the deserted outdoor pool and begged me to join them.  I finally gave in and swam out to see their cold but magical find.  I also discovered a small, empty hot tub next to the outdoor pool.  It was plain, but it was under the canopy of a black, starry sky.  The indoor hot tub was exotic, but also packed with families, including my own little ones.

When Sophie and Ian tired of the outdoor pool and swam through the little tunnel back inside, I jumped out of the water, ran across the freezing cement, and slipped into the steaming water.  After all of the chaos of organizing, cleaning, packing and generally getting a family of six out the door for a small getaway, it felt divine to sit there all alone for a few minutes.  I was wrapped in a warm blanket of water while the snowflakes gently landed on my face.  The universe felt so quiet with a peace that I rarely experience as a mother, daycare provider and writer. 

For just a moment, I wondered what it would be like if I were at that resort alone, single, childless?  Would my life be full of these uninterrupted moments to relax and think deeply?  It was just a fleeting thought and I soon came to the conclusion that -- although moments like that are a gift in my wonderfully abundant and noisy life -- I would personally be terribly sad and lonely.

Then, I walked back into my messy, chaos-filled life to play with my kids in the pool.

I never wrote about the trip Brian and I took to Idaho in October 2013.

After Brian was laid off from the newspaper at the beginning of 2013, he was blessed with a steady stream of freelance work.  One of the biggest clients of the year was CenterCal, a company based in California that has been building spectacular shopping centers around the mid-west.  Brian met up with them at their development in Farmington called Station Park.

They liked his work and decided that, instead of hiring local photographers at each site, they could fly him to document grand openings in Portland and cities in California.

In October, they unveiled a property in Meridian, Idaho and asked him to spend five-days covering the events.  Since it is only a four-hour drive, and would practically take as long to fly there, he decided to drive and take me along.  A five-day expense paid getaway!!!

My sweet mom took our kids.  It happened to be over the 4-day UEA weekend, so, of course, she spoiled them while we were gone.  I was able to write my stories for the newspaper on the road.  And, without having the kids or daycare kids, I had tons of downtime.

Brian spent most of his time taking pictures.  I saw two movies (Gravity and Captain Phillips) at the new cinema on the property.  The high-backed, reclining chairs were leather.  The lobby was grand.  And, the snack-bar menu went on and on with goodies including gelato - yum!

One night, we were treated to a VIP guest reception prior to the property being opened to the public.  When I arrived, I discovered that all of the restaurants were serving free food and drinks!  Just walk in, sit at a table, and they would start loading you up with foods that looked as good as they tasted.
Outside, there were wonderful street performers. 

Another night, we enjoyed an outdoor concert by a Beatles Tribute band.

I also have family in the area.  So, while Brian worked, I went to a Thai restaurant with my brother and his wife and I got to see my cousins perform with an improv comedy troupe.  It was such a wonderful, relaxing time.  I came home refreshed and ready to do the day-to-day again.  I love my life.  And, I love driving my kids to all their soccer games, basketball games, piano practices and the like.  But, without a small change in scenery from time to time, I start to feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day.  Waking up and doing the same thing over and over.

I kept thinking how nice it would be for Brian and I to get away once a month.  But, I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon -- haha.

Those are two of the many highlights of my life that have been rolling around in my head waiting to be documented here on my blog.

Last night was another perfect New Year's Eve.

Our whole family was together.  I felt so blessed to be surrounded by these people I love so much.  Sophie and Ian each invited one friend to spend the evening with us.  It was a simple celebration -- lots of yummy food, games and movies.  I tried to make it a little extra special -- for example, in between shows I pulled out a sundae bar even though the kids were already packed to the gills with treats.  A part of me worried that it was too simple of an evening, but, then I asked myself, "When do we ever stay up until midnight reveling like this?"  And, I guess it was the novelty that made it special.

The best part of the evening, in my opinion, came at midnight.  Brian had driven to Evanston, Wyoming and purchased a load of fancy fireworks.  We went outside just before midnight to light sparklers.  Right after the countdown, I poured the kids their goblets of sparkling apple juice from a glass bottle and the show began.  It seemed like lots of people had the same idea, and, in addition to our own private show, there were fireworks in the sky in every direction. 

It was the perfect way to welcome the New Year.  I can't believe Katie stayed up until well past midnight.  Our other kids thought the New Year happened at 10 p.m. when they were her age.  I guess that is part of being the youngest.  It's almost 11 a.m., and she is still sleeping -- poor dear.

I didn't think I was making any "New Year's Resolutions."  I usually don't.  But, sitting here now on a new day, a new year, a fresh start of sorts, I find myself reflecting on some changes that have been in the works for awhile.  And, I guess in a sense, they are resolutions for 2014.

I will embrace my messy, busy life.  Since transitioning back to work three-years ago, I have struggled with many emotions.  I believed with all of my heart in staying home -- no matter what the cost.  But, I have learned that sometimes the cost is too high and having a stay at home mom is, in fact, not what is best for every family.  It has been one of the most difficult challenges for me to re-program my thinking so I will stop feeling like I have failed at life.  

It is a process and, like everyone else I know, I keep striving each day to find a balance that works.  One where the stories get written on time and there is still time for the picture books to be read out loud to my sweet children who are growing up so fast.  Most of the time, things seem to work out.  And, when they don't -- I have to keep reminding myself to ask for help.

I will focus on the abundance.  Life it expensive - yes!  And, the other day, after I completed a round of grocery shopping, I began my usual routine of texting Brian to tell him HOW MUCH THE GROCERIES COST!!!  Because, I just never can believe it when they ring up the total at the check-out.  I know I should eventually get use to the rising cost of things.  But, for now, it still amazes me.  After telling him the amount, a new thought struck me, which was -- "We just had that much money to spend on food."  And, as I thought about that I got a little embarrassed because tears came into my eyes thinking about how lucky we are to eat so well.

What would a list of resolutions be without something regarding diet?  Someone close to me was diagnosed with diabetes one-year-ago.  She has been able to manage it 100% through changing her diet.  She is an inspiration to me.  After one month of drastically reducing her carbs, she was able to reverse the insulin resistance that has most likely plagued her for years -- causing her to crave carbs and making it nearly impossible to lose weight.  She has lost 25-pounds and says she always feels satisfied (as opposed to her previous diets in which she would have to literally cut back to 500-calories per day and starve the weight off).

Three-years ago, I had to stop eating wheat products.  In the past year, I have noticed that eating too many carbs has the same effect on me as eating wheat.  It has gotten worse and worse and I have slowly come to terms with that fact.  I miss wheat!  I love sugar!  Popcorn is my favorite food!  But, I am getting older and I need to honor what my body is telling me.  Here is to hoping this is the year I will finally make changes for better health by following her example.  The process just happens to be coming to a crossroads right at this time of year, so I will add it to the list.

I am looking forward to another blessed year and feeling grateful for a full life.

First Day of School 2013

(Sophie is 5' 5", and you can see that Ian is right behind her in height . . . They are growing up so fast)

The year my parents dropped me off at college, my mom cried while my dad drove them home.  When she arrived home, she took a walk that lasted several miles until her tears were all cried out.  I never knew this story until years later.  And, when I heard it, I was bewildered as to why she was so emotional about my departure to a college a mere hour away from home.

But, as the years go by, I understand more and more how she must have felt.  

This year, I have a serious case of the end of summer blues.  It feels like another marker of the passage of time.  Another summer with my kids is gone and it isn't coming back.  Did we have enough fun?  Did we make enough memories?  Did I pay enough attention?

Now, here they are -- my big 7th grader Sophie who started junior high, Ian in the 5th grade, and Isaac (who at least still seems like a little kid) is off to 2nd grade.

I took them to their back to school nights last week.  I was so overwhelmed at Sophie's that it made me wonder how I ever survived junior high myself?  The halls were so crowded and hot as we wandered through the building looking for all her different classrooms, meeting all eight of her teachers, getting lists of all the supplies she needed.  And, I noticed a smell that I recognized from my days in junior high and high school.

What is that smell?  Not a bad smell, but something that is the same as it was 20 years ago.  Industrial carpet?  Glue?  I have no idea.

Sophie was completely calm about the whole thing and seemed so nonchalant.  But, this morning when I pulled up to drop her off, it was a different story.  Suddenly, she looked at me and said, "I'm scared."  It was like I could feel the butterflies that were bouncing around her stomach inside myself.  I felt like a mother bird booting her baby right out of the nest as I hurriedly assured her she would be fine and practically pushed her out the van door. 

I paused for a moment to watch her walk down the street toward the school.  She didn't look back.  In my mind's eye I could see my little Sophie skipping off to first grade, waving all the way, as I watched from the car.  It was a similar moment.  Except that now she is practically a lady.

Yes -- I have the summer blues.  It is partly about the new schedule, but it is also about realizing that my influence on my children in shrinking.  Remembering the things I learned outside the classrooms in junior high and knowing that their innocence is dissolving.  

After we watched Sophie walk away, I rounded back to the elementary school and dropped off the boys.  Last year, all of my kids had great friends and teachers.  It was a blessed year.  I am praying this will be another, or that we will at least know how to handle it if it's not.

On Friday, the last day of summer vacation, Isaac and his friend (who I babysit) decided to surprise me by dumping all of the toys into a pile.  Remember how I said I had spent some time sorting our toys into nifty labeled boxes that fit neatly onto a shelf Brian built?  Well, they decided to dump all 15 bins.  There were literally over 500 blocks, hundreds more toys, and the pieces to five different puzzles mixed into a toy soup on the floor.

What makes people behave that way?

They were not super excited to spend the next two hours cleaning up the mess that took them five minutes to make.  And, let's just say, I was in extra need of a night out by the time the day was through. 

The upside of this story is that it did make it just the tiniest bit easier to send the kids back to school.

And, the happy ending is that we had a night out, with great friends, at Tona -- one of our favorite sushi spots.

Sweet Spot 2013

We are in a sweet spot of summer right now.  Almost every day - we sleep in.

When we get up -- the kids do chores.  How sweet is it when your kids do chores?

I get some writing done and then our babysitting friends come over.  There is kind of a scramble at lunchtime to feed everyone and then my helper arrives - a lovely sixteen-year-old friend who plays and plays and plays with the kids all afternoon.

She is the best.  I love her too much to articulate.

So, all of the kids play and are cared for and loved while I write the afternoon away.

That is how our days go mostly.  But, we try to mix it up a bit too.  Like last week, I took all of the kids to the mountains with friends.  They played in a stream and roasted things over a fire.  The week before that, we all went swimming with friends.  I love backyard pools and it felt like a little piece of paradise.  Yesterday, we went to the Children's Treehouse Museum with friends.

Sometimes we go out and sometimes we stay in.  But, mostly, we are never in too much of a rush these days.  And, I like it.

I am looking ahead - as I always do - to the new schedule that is about to come upon us.  We have only 2 1/2 weeks left before the kids go back to school!  I am looking ahead, and I see that I am going to spend a lot of time in the van.

I know that everyone talks about driving and how you have to do more of it as your kids get older.  I thought we were already in that spot -- shuttling the kids around to all of their activities.  But, the upcoming school year is taking it to a whole new level.

It is mostly just quick trips here and there, but with such short breaks in between that it leaves you wondering what to do?  A friend suggested that I keep everyone buckled up and park for a few of the 30 minute pauses and I think she is right.  It just doesn't make sense to go home for such a short time when you are going to spend all of it loading and unloading people in and out of carseats.

Three days a week, this driving will start at 11:30 a.m. and pretty much continue through the rest of the day.  Including picking up kids from four different schools between 2-3 p.m.  I haven't even added piano lessons, dance classes and sports to the schedule, and already I am tired.

The good news is -- the van.  I have been wanting to devote an entire post to how much I love the van I am driving right now.

I am totally geeking on the van.

Ever since I started babysitting, having enough seatbelts has posed a real problem.  At first I had six seatbelts and six kids (plus me, so we were always one short).  We upgraded to seven seatbelts and all was well for a very short time until I had another baby and we were one seat short again.

Not having enough seatbelts is a real drag and I have spent a lot of mental energy stressing about how to drive kids to places they needed to go without having the ability to buckle everyone up.

I have joked that I needed a bus and now I (almost) have one -- a twelve passenger van that is.  And, it is even more beloved because it runs on natural gas.  I can actually afford to drive it.  Being able to buckle up all seven kids (and sometimes a friend or two more) has been such a blessing in my life.

I will miss these sweet days of summer when they are over and I am trying to put on my brave face as I gear up for the year of driving.  If I have to spend so much time in my van, at least it is a sweet one.

Waterfall Canyon 2013

It has been my dream for awhile to hike with the whole family up to a huge waterfall in the mountains behind our house.  This is a hike I have been doing since I was a teenager.  I took Sophie and Ian up twice when they were three and one-and-a-half.  I figured it would be an annual tradition from then on, but, by the next year when Isaac was born and my other kids were four and two-and-a-half, it became too much for me to accomplish on my own.  So, I have been waiting for the perfect time, when we could all go as a family.  Sunday evening, all planets aligned and we did it!

Sometimes, these things are a labor of love, if you know what I mean?  Not everyone was as excited as I was for this hike.  It is funny how it is easier to convince a very excited four-year-old to plug along on her tiny legs than it is to inspire an older, seemingly more capable child.  Everyone tells you that is how parenting is going to be.  "It's going to get harder," they tell you.  But, you don't believe it until it happens.  

I was ready to make this happen -- one way or the other.  But, in the end, it turned out to be a pure pleasure start to finish.  The weather even cooperated.  The extreme heat wave broke and we had delightfully cool temperatures on Saturday and Sunday.  We got a little nervous when we left that a storm was rolling in.  But, it missed us and just gave us a pleasant cloud cover instead of lightning and rain.

 

Here is a photo I took of Brian and the kids just before we reached the waterfall.  The final steps!

This is the view from the waterfall looking back over the city in the direction we just hiked in from.

Brian and the kids posed by the "waterfall."  It was just a trickle.  Some girlfriends and I did this same hike at the end of June and the waterfall was huge and flowing in full force.  I guess this is what a string of 100-degree days in July will do.  It is still a majestic cliff, and Katie and Isaac were impressed by the drizzle.  Next year, we will have to go in June for the full effect.  This photo only shows the bottom of the waterfall.  You can kind of see how high it is, off to the left in the first photo.  But, it was too tall for me to capture all of it without turning the people into specks.

We started down just as the sun was doing this.  Brian had a great idea to take a different path down so that we could walk along the ridge of the mountain and have a view of the sunset all along the way.

 This is the view I am talking about.  Breathtaking.

 And, we ended up at this perfect look-out point just as the sun made its final descent.

I love this picture of the kids.

After the sun set, we continued to head down the mountain.  The crickets began chirping and the city lights were twinkling.  It was a beautiful, perfect night for one of my favorite hikes -- waterfall canyon.

Did I mention that we walked to the trail for this hike from our house?

Thanks to my family for indulging one of my dreams.

Summer Sweets

There were the treats for the lake trip and the goodies at Lagoon.  We've taken many a side dish to cook-outs and convenience meals to eat by the pool.  Bags of chips, popcorn, candy and Cheetos.  Packages of cookies and sugared drinks.  Jars of dips and salsas.  Homemade goodies, yes -- but, truly this summer they have been mostly store bought.

Oreos, Red Vines, Junior Mints.

I feel like I have spent hundreds of dollars on empty calories this summer.  Each time I swing by the store for a few more treats -- it adds up!

The last week of school, we hosted three parties in two days.  Sophie had an end of year party that started right after school got out and Ian had an end of year party that started right after Sophie's ended.  The next day, we celebrated Katie Jane turning four.

It was actually a great idea to have Sophie and Ian's parties back-to-back.  Everything was all set up and ready to go.  I did a little clean-up and refreshed the party treats in between.  It was definitely less work than hosting them on different days.

We kept the food simple.  It looked like this:

These were taken before Sophie's party.  I added rice crispy treats for Ian's party - his special request.

The next day, we celebrated Katie's birthday.  A few weeks before, I was stressing about what the theme should be.  Then, it occurred to me to ask Katie what she wanted to do.  This is a brilliant idea, even when your child is three or four.  She gave me an idea I hadn't even thought of.

"I want to fly kites at the park," she said.

What a wonderful, simple idea.

I rolled out more party food.  I can't remember all of it, but I do know we had zebra themed plates, cups, napkins and a table cloth (she picked those out too).  I remember there were crackers and easy cheese and pink frosted cupcakes.

We celebrated at a park.  I brought several kites, giant bubble wands and pinwheels.  All those four-year-olds were darling running through the park with bubbles, colorful spinning pinwheels and soaring kites on strings.  It was a wonderful day!  What a great idea, Katie Jane.

I also grabbed the solar balloon that I bought from Stevespanglerscience.com years ago and never took out of the package.  You have to have the perfect weather conditions, 70 degrees and not too windy, to make it fly.  This day was perfect.  And, the kids LOVED it!

It is kind of like a giant (GIANT) black plastic garbage bag that is long like a huge hot dog.  When you spread it out, it inflates itself and then you can run around guiding it by a string.  It was a hit.  I am so glad I bought it three years ago and held onto it for the perfect occasion.  Sometimes things work out that way.

Tonight, the kids are having another party.  Sophie and Ian are always asking for a late over.  I decided to let them have one.  This time, on the same night, and at the same time.  The treats are popcorn, Doritos, pretzels with nutella, an assortment of Shasta, cookies, Skittles and M&Ms.  It took a little creative planning on their parts, but in the end they came to an agreement that they can watch a movie (Rise of the Guardians) -gasp- in the same room at the same time together.  This wouldn't have worked out initially, but in the end, they each only had four friends who could make it.  Then, they have agreed for one group to take the front yard and the other group the back for night games.  I wonder if they will end up doing that together too with the smaller group sizes than they were expecting?

In two weeks, we will have another party.  A big one.  Isaac is turning eight.  EIGHT!  I can't believe he is going to be eight.  What a big year for him.

I agreed to take twelve of his friends to Classic Fun Center.

I am sure it will be a great time.  Right?

I hope that someday my kids look back and appreciate the treats and the goodies and the willingness to open our home to all of their friends.  The way that I will pick up a movie or a special treat for their gatherings at the drop of a hat.  I guess that is the way I was raised.  My friends were always welcome, and my parents did little things to make it special.

My parents were always the ones to drive me and my friends wherever we needed to go.

Always.

That is the kind of parent I want to be.  A fly on the wall while we drive here and there, listening to what they talk about.  Discovering what is important to them and who they are when their friends are around.  And, I would just as soon that they be here with all of their friends where I know what they are doing.

I am grateful for the amazing friends my kids have and that we have the space in this new house to accommodate these gatherings.

This is the life I always dreamed of.

Even if the summer involves a lot of junk food.