I'm All Alone

Anna went back to school today.

I kind of missed her.  I kept turning around in the car wondering why it was so quiet.  One time, I even opened the door to get her out.

But I do look forward to going to the grocery store tomorrow...by myself!

A few hours of peace everyday.  Weird.

And our afternoons of shoe shopping and lunch dates...awesome!

I will never forget.

As the days inch closer to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, my mind has been going back to that day...

I drove Rob to work that morning around 8 am.  I gathered up Tyler, 19 months at the time, and put him in the car for the drive across town.  As we walked out of the apartment (just a few blocks from where we lived now), I remarked about how beautiful it was outside while noticing the blue cloudless sky as an airplane flew over head, heading to Dulles airport.

Once we were home, I turned on the tv (which at that time in my life was out of the ordinary--not so much now, though) to Good Morning America just as the first airplane hit the World Trade Center tower.  I watched in shock.  Did that really just happen?  I immediately called Rob.  "An airplane hit the World Trade Center."  He didn't seem too shocked.  Having lived in Manhattan for 2 years as an LDS missionary, he thought I meant a small airplane came close to a skyscraper.  But watching it live, you just knew that something awful had happened.  When the airplane hit the Pentagon, I felt like I couldn't breath.  This was all happening a little too close to home.  It wasn't too long after that that I was not able to even call my husband because all of the phone lines went down.  And I sat there on the couch, glued to the tv, holding my son as tight as I could for what seemed like days.  Crying.

I wondered what the effect of this would have on me and my family.  I wondered what this would feel like 10 years later.  I wondered if my children would ever really understand this incredible event.

I was watching a news report this morning with interviews of random people and how their lives are different since 9/11.
I don't know if the events of 9/11 have necessarily changed the outcome of where my life is now, ten years later.  I still would have had 3 more children.  We still would have moved to the homes that we did.  We still would have stayed active in our church.  I still would be a stay at home mom.  Rob would still work for the same company. 9/11 or not.

But obviously it has changed me in many ways.

I'm more grateful to the loved ones that I have in my life.  I appreciate more that they are with me.

I'm more sensitive to saying things like "I'm so blessed that we are all ok" or "it's a miracle that he lived"  because so many people were not "so blessed" or did not receive that miracle.  I think it jaded me a little bit and tested my faith.

I came out with a better understanding that God does not control us or the choices of others.  That man is responsible for his own actions.  And sometimes (often times), we suffer the consequences of others choices.  Innocent people, even children suffer at no fault of their own.  God can help us with that, though.  He can help us to not be bitter or hateful or to feel hopeless or alone.

I'm more patient to those around me that I don't know.  Every person has a story.  Every person is loved by someone.  Who am I to judge them by a quick glimpse into their life at the check out counter or behind the steering wheel.

I'm more concentious to what my children need to know and what they should know.  I want them to feel safe, but I don't want them to be naive.  I'm cautious as to what they see on tv or hear in the news.  I remember how watching those events on tv made me feel.  I don't think children need to or should feel that way.  So we rarely watch the news in our home.

This past weekend, we took visited the Pentagon Memorial with our children.  Obviously, they will not remember the events from 10 years ago, they were not born yet (or too young know what was happening). But we want them to understand.  I think they do.

No tears.

I didn't even shed one tear this year.

Not even when Tyler left for his first day of middle school. 

I think all of the bickering from the past week made it a little easier on me.

But I will anxiously await for their return home so I can hear all about their first day, hoping all day that they are doing well.

I'm going to have to keep myself busy today or it's going to be a long day.

Is it 3 o'clock yet?

Summertime

We had such a great summer!

We played our days away at the pools, ran around Kings Dominion, pushed ourselves on bike rides, hiked around national and state parks, visited lots of family, explored all over Utah, experienced out first earthquake, ate one too many cupcakes, kayaked together,...

We barely took time out to practice our handwriting or piano.  I think we might have pulled up the multiplication table app--once! We did manage to read a few books, but never made it to the library.  Yard work and gardens fell by the wayside.  The carpets are stained with dirt from running in and out of the house and the house needs a good scrub down from lack of cleaning. 

We just played, played and played some more.
It was an exhausting summer, but so so much fun.

That was all up to two weeks ago.

Today, I'm ready.  Ready for a nap.

Tomorrow, Tyler starts middle school.  And he is so excited about it.  A little nervous, but mostly excited.
Jared will begin 4th grade with a much smaller class size and lots of opportunities for the attention that he needs and deserves.
Evan wants nothing to do with 1st grade or school in general.  I'm hoping that he'll be able to hold it together and at least be nice to his teacher.
Anna starts preschool next week and she is so excited about seeing all of her friends at her school.

My plans for the day Anna starts school (September 12th)?--NOTHING!  I'm giving myself one day to just be lazy, to stay in my pjs and take a break.  And maybe even take an afternoon nap!  Just one day. 

After one day, I'm sure I'll be bored and wishing I had my children around to go on some more adventures!

Back to school is so bitter sweet.

54"

Jared came downstairs on Wednesday morning wearing about 7 pair of socks.
I was in no mood for games.  He was supposed to be upstairs brushing his teeth and hair.
And he still hadn't even touched the piano keys for his practice or picked up the broom to finish up his kitchen work.
Instead he was trying on socks.
This is a normal scenario in our home.
Something is always distracting him.
Today it was socks.
Or trying to make himself taller.

I'm disappointed in myself, though that I didn't stop to see the humor in the moment.
I would love to have a photo of  his feet about right now.  They were so huge and fat, covered in all those socks...different sizes and various colors.
Instead, I sent him upstairs to put on only ONE pair of socks and to hurry up because we were going to Kings Dominion and needed to leave.

I'm happy to report that Jared did not need all of those socks.
He just needed to forget to brush his hair (again, he was distracted!).
For the first (and probably only) time this season, he received the coveted orange 54" bracelet.
Which is pretty much the golden ticket to ride EVERYTHING at Kings Dominion.
Including...

The Volcano

 The Dominator

The Crypt

And the ever so frightening Intimidator 305!

Jared thinks that his life is now complete...
except that he still has not been to Cedar Point!

We've been gone

We just got back from a 2 1/2 week repos in UT.  Some time was spent in the Salt Lake area.  We had a few adventures in Southern UT and we relaxed in Utah County.

I can't believe all of the adventures and fun that we squeezed into this short amount of time.  We visited one National Park (Arches), 2 State Parks (Goblin Valley and Valley of Fire), hiked one mountain, visited 2 temple visitor centers, hit a waterpark, swam 5 times, tasted cupcakes from 4 shops, made our own cupcakes, ate delicious food, picnicked in the mountains, splurged at 2 farmer's markets, shopped and shopped, toured BYU and went bowling, went tubing, dug for trilobites...and spent loads of time with cousins, family and friends!!

I think it's going to take just as long to recover!

His latest obsession...

After a long 2 days spent at a nearby amusement park (King's Dominion), my almost 9 year old son came stumbling into my room last night, all sleepy eyed.

"Mom, I'm so tired! I can't sleep!"

"What's up, Jared?" (My kind way of saying "This better be good because you just woke me up!")

"I keep thinking about Cedar Point.  I want to go so bad!"
(Cedar Point is an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio.  They're known for their extreme roller coasters and thrill rides.)

I couldn't be mad because I could understand.  It's that excited feeling you get before leaving on a vacation or you just had the best day ever and  you can't stop replaying the events in your mind.

The problem...he's never been to Cedar Point and we have no plans to go, at least until next year, and that's even a maybe...
He's been scouring their website.  He knows all of their height requirements.  He's watched extreme videos.  His ride route has been planned out.

We have an adrenaline junkie on our hands!
Good think my husband is his father.
I like myself a good roller coaster, but I have no desire to ride the swings 301 ft. in the air or drop from 272 feet in the air at 72 mph or almost blackout while going down a 85 degree angled slope! 
I don't even like to watch my kids do these things.

Jared used to be my little blue eyed baby.

All cute and cuddled up on me while I rocked him to sleep.

How did he turn into a 9 year old boy who prefers to go about life hanging upside down?

I sure hope an adventurous birthday at Arches National Park is going to be enough to thrill this child!

An early Happy Birthday to my wild child!!

Giving myself some time

Funny how sinus surgery recovery makes you feel like you have the worst sinus infection in the world!

I'm grateful, though.  Really.

I didn't have to have my nose packed.
My nose didn't even bleed.
So no gauze mustache for me!
I just have the worlds worst headache.
But that should be expected, right?
Someone was just all up messing around near my brain.

I've managed one excursion a day since surgery on Monday. 
Tuesday I went to a breakfast with friends from church.  This was kind of pointless as I barely remember a thing and I believe I fell asleep a few times.
Wednesday was the grand opening of Cafe Rio in Manassas.  I've been so excited about this day that I didn't want to miss it.  My head throbbed and the place was noisy, but it was worth it!
And today I ran to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make Butterbeer Cupcakes in honor of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Making cupcakes will be Fridays adventure and seeing the movie will be Saturdays.

And hopefully by the weekend I'll be feeling much better!
We've got vacation to get ready for!!!!

Family, Food, Friends and Fireworks

We hope that you are all enjoying your 4th.
We finished up a 9 mile bike ride with our family and some friends this afternoon.  Made a little stop for some ice cream while riding.
Now off for a hot dog feast and and some fireworks with friends.
We're bringing these...

Thanks Annie's Eats for the awesome recipe!  S'mores Cupcakes.  Yum.

I don't think the day could be any better.

Don't Be A Chicken

 This year, Evan played his second year of t-ball.  He's so cute to watch as he taps the base and his shoes before he bats and then runs as fast as he can to first base.  And he can never forget his awesome slide onto the home plate! The child came home so dirty after every game.  I ended up throwing his pants and socks away after the last game.  Just not worth the hassle of de-staining.

Evan was by far the smallest child on his team, but because of the size of his head he had to wear the largest helmets.  Whenever he'd squeeze that thing on, he'd remind me of Chicken Little from the Disney movie. Chicken Little loved to play baseball and his helmet would almost swallow him whole!

This week while waiting at the orthodontist, I picked up an easy reader book for Evan to read while we waited.

  Life can never be simple for Chicken Little—trouble always seems to fall on him. But he’ll never give up, even when challenged by bullies and aliens. This simple Step 1 reader shows that if you believe in yourself, you can overcome anything—even if you’re the smallest chicken in town!

 
Cutest book ever.  I really don't worry about Evan "giving up" right now.  The child has so much spunk and excitement for life that it doesn't even phase him that he's a little smaller and slower then the rest of the kids.  I do silently worry, though, about bullies (and aliens).  His size difference will start to show more and more the older he gets.  I sure hope his classmates and the kids he associates with will be kind.  And I hope Evan continues to have that never give up attitude even if he is the smallest chicken in town.

Music and Movement

Anna LOVED her Music and Movement class this year with the fabulous Ms. Emily.  She eagerly waited for each and every Thursday to come so she could go to her dance class.  Sadly, Anna will have to find something different to do next year on her Thursdays as Ms. Emily is moving out of state.  I don't know if we'll be able to find another class to top it...

The end of the year performance did not disappoint and was filled with all kinds of cuteness.

Like this...

(and check out that goose egg!  purty.)

 

After the song and dance numbers, we went to the backyard to preview the gallery of art created by the girls.  They learned about Van Gogh, Pollock, and Seurat (to name a few) and created art projects for each artist!  If I could only be as organized as Emily, I'd love to do something like this (minus the music and movement part--not really my strong point!).

Next year it will be all preschool and Mommy time for Anna.  I need to cherish this last year of my last child being home with me.  Sniff.  Sniff.

3rd Graders are odd...

but that's ok.  They're also a lot of fun!
I had a great time with Jared and his classmates on their field trip to Luray Caverns (way back at the end of April).

Spending time with Jared in his school environment really got me thinking, though, about how much I need to be fighting for his best interests.  I should expect that his teacher notice he is there and be able to pronounce his last name by the end of the school year (right?).  He's had two years now of sub-par teachers and it has been disappointing for me as a parent, but also for Jared. 
4th grade will be different.  I'm not going to just hope that he has a good teacher.  I'm going to expect that his teacher will give him the attention he needs and deserves.

My screen door is ugly

Just the other day, I was telling Rob that I thought our screen door was practical, but rather ugly.  I'd prefer not to have it, but with all of the kids running in and out of the house so often, it just makes sense to have one.  I guess I'd rather spend our money on other things, so I dropped the non-essential issue.

Until today that is!

After some friends left this evening (Hi, Brian and Jen--thanks for visiting!!),  Rob set out to finish some lawn work, edging the driveway.  Tyler, Anna and I were hanging out on the porch enjoying the nice weather when all of a sudden we heard a shot (or what sounded like one) and turned to see a hole in the screen door window, but the screen itself looked untouched...

I guess Jared heard the noise too and came running upstairs from his video game coma.
Unfortunately, he didn't even notice there was a hole in the glass and ran out the door to see what had happened.
The poor kid.
Once he opened the door, the entire glass panel shattered into thousands of little pieces all over him.
He's ok.

In fact, all he has to show for it is one teeny tiny cut on his arm.  Barely even phased him.
Here's the itty-bitty hole that was made--we're guessing it was made from a pebble that flew while Rob was edging...

Here's the damage...

We're kind of feeling lucky right now that one of us wasn't standing in the pebble's path!
And...I'll be getting myself a new screen door!

NKA

After the crazy allergy incident at our home this week and reading my friend Libby's blog, I was reminded of a funny/sad story from Tyler's kindergarten days...

 

Tyler on his first day of school (September 2005)

I guess we did a poor job of educating our new kindergartner on what allergies were.  For whatever reason, the topic never really came up in our daily conversations with our 5 year old.  We filled out all of the school forms reporting that Tyler had NKA (No Known Allergies) and left it at that...

On one of his first days of school, the new computer lab teacher brought in cookies for the new students.  She asked if there was anyone in the class who was allergic to cookies.

Tyler thought that was a funny question to ask and not knowing what allergies meant, he assumed that she wanted to know who liked cookies, so he raised his hand up high.  "Me, Me!"

He was the only child in the class who did not get a cookie that day.  Instead, he got some stickers and shed lots of tears.

This was one of Tyler's first lessons on speaking up!  And one of the new teacher's first lesson on why the parents fill out the school forms, not the kindergarten children!

Birthday Girl

"I'm going to be 4...and then I'll be 5"

Why do they have to be so eager to grow up?

My best buddy turns 4 today!

She's my lunch date ("Where are we eating lunch today?"),
my personal shopper ("Is this on sale?  Can we get it?"--repeat 100x),
my cleaning helper ("Why don't the boys ever put this stuff away right?")
my officer worker ("I want a purple stapler and pink tape dispenser for my birthday!"),
my little fashionista ("I can't decide if I want short hair like Betty or Rapunzel hair like Amy's mom..."),
my own Pandora station ("When do you think All the Single Ladies will play again?")...

I don't know what I'm going to do when she does turn 5.  That's only months away from going to kindergarten.  Gulp.

Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Super Man

Are you ready for some cheese?
It's Rob's 35th birthday today.

And I couldn't go today without letting him and the whole world know that he is my Super Hero!

 (Because how many husbands would dress up like this and walk around Disney all day with red hair dye dripping down his face because of the sweltering heat.  All just to make his family happy.  He hated every moment of it.  Yet he played along.  I love him.)

BEHOLD your little ones

I've been in bed sick and resting for the past two days. Which means no church for me today :( but time to catch up on General Conference that I missed while in Michigan.

I've had many reasons to be thinking about the family over the past few weeks.  More so on the impact that we as parents have on our children and the blessings that children provide in our life. Some of my favorite quotes and thoughts from the conference...

Richard J. Maynes shared my favorite poem, The Echo by C.C. Miller, during his conference address along with this thought...

"Parents are responsible to teach their children in love and righteousness. Parents will be held accountable before the Lord in how they perform their sacred responsibilities. Parents teach their children with words and through example."

’Twas a sheep not a lamb

That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong,

It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when the sheep are lost

What a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay.

Our role as parents is SO important.   We need to be mindful of the choices that we make.  Our little ones are watching and following.

And then Sister Jean A. Stevens shared some words to a song that the children in our ward learned a few years ago and has become a favorite bedtime song of Anna's...

God gave us families

To help us become what He wants us to be—

This is how He shares His love,

For the fam’ly is of God.

(You can listen to the song here.) 

"Have some of life’s experiences taken from you the believing heart and childlike faith you once had? If so, look around at the children in your life. And then look again. They may be children in your family, across the street, or in the Primary in your ward. If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth."

"It was Jesus Christ Himself who taught us to look to children as an example. The New Testament records His answer when His Apostles disputed who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus answered their question with a small yet powerful object lesson. He called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them and said:

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4)."

We have SO much that we can learn from the young ones in our life. To quote from Elder Ballard's thoughts on Christ's love for the children...

“And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

“And when he had done this he wept. …

“And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:21–23).

“Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” (“Behold Your Little Ones,” Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; emphasis added; “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 59).

I love General Conference and the gentle reminder that I've been given to love, cherish and learn from the children that I have been entrusted with. 

Birthday Boy

I just returned from my whirlwind trip across Michigan.
And just in time!
It was no accident that we made it back by today...
I hate missing birthdays!

And today is Evan's 6th!
I can't get enough of this kid.
He never fails to put a smile on my face (even when he shouldn't be).

Happy Birthday, Evan.

Some of my favorite photos of Evan from the past year...

Anna, Anna silly banana,

how does your garden grow?

We've got lots of work to go, but I have the best helper one could ask for!



Seedlings are growing (not as well as I'd like however).  Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, oregano, jalepenos and sweet peppers.  I can't wait!
Raspberries are planted (thanks Delilas).
Soil will be prepped this weekend.
Green onions, carrots, watermelon, peas, cilantro!!
Looking forward to the harvest!!

Hello Cello

Learning the cello has been so much fun for Tyler.  He's signed up to continue with it next year which means forking out the big bucks for a rental (rather then the beat up elementary school cello which has a one time small fee).   He hates that he has the ugly cello, but we wanted to make sure that he was really invested.  And he is.  His few years of piano lessons have helped him pick up the beginning cello lessons quite easily.

A few weeks ago they had a mini concert tagged on to a PTO meeting (in hopes that we would all stay...we didn't.)  Because they really have not learned that much, the concert lasted all of 5 minutes.  A few children were chosen to play a song with their bows and Tyler was one of them.  We're so glad he's had this experience.

Are you getting sick of all these catch up posts yet?  

I am.

But I'm happy to have them documented.