Playing at the Zoo

Ryan's First Train Ride

A couple of weeks ago I took all three kiddos to the zoo for dinner and playing. We packed our dinner, loaded in the car, and scurried to the zoo to arrive just before closing time. Since the park is open later than admitting we were able to enjoy a fairly uncrowded park and didn't have to wait in line long for the train. Ryan did not want to get on the train or sit there after we got on until the train started to move. Then he loved it! He wanted to get on it again and go for another ride as soon as we were done. I love seeing his reaction to new experiences!

Water Baby

All of my children love to go swimming. Ryan is no exception. He loves being in the water and moving around. He loves riding in the lazy river, floating on his backing, and splashing. He is getting big so fast! My other babies were tiny when we took them swimming their first summer. Amazing what six months difference in age does for a baby's activity level and silliness in the water!

Holding Brother

Busy, Lovable Kiddos

Have I mentioned lately how much I love these cute kiddos? I love them a TON! They drive me crazy every day, but I love them SO much!

Reading Stories with Grandma

When Michael's parents came to visit last month they brought a huge box of books for the kiddos. Benjamin and Bekah had to dive in immediately and ask to be read to. Grandma happily obliged and I took pictures of how my children act when we can get them to sit down for story time. They love to be read to, and Benjamin is doing a fantastic job at reading books on his level, but the hard part is getting them to hold still long enough to get books out and start reading.

Broken Elbow (Not Mine)

We had our first broken bone with Benjamin this summer. The last week of June he was playing at a friend's house and fell while running only to break a bone. Of all the bones in the body, he broke his elbow, just like I did three years ago. The differences were opposite though because he broke his right elbow instead of his left and he broke the upper part of his elbow instead of the lower part.

The best part was he did NOT have to have surgery like I did. Five weeks and two casts later you can't even tell that he broke his bone. (Thank goodness for waterproof casts! We still went swimming, played in the water at friends' houses, and were able to go to foam days and play in the fireman's foam.) Now we are working on straightening his arm back out again, but the doctor says he won't need physical therapy for that.

Having a broken bone did not slow Benjamin down much. He still played T-ball, continued piano lessons, swam like a pro, rode his scooter, and played the Wii. To him, it was a challenge to see what he could do instead of letting it limit him. Though he did use his cast as an excuse not to do things on occasion.

I do have to admit part of me was grateful for my broken elbow experience because I knew to take him to the insta-care right away instead of waiting for hours like I did for myself. The other part of me was terrified my little boy would have to go through the painful surgery and long recovery process I did. I am so extremely thankful that his bone stayed in place and healed correctly on its own. His little body can do amazing things! Hopefully, we won't repeat the broken bone experience for a very long time.

Gardener & Landscaper, Part of My Job

I love to mow the lawn and work in the garden! Michael is not a huge fan and so he lets me do it most of the time. Though he is a ton of help when I give him something specific to do. Thus, at our house I do the mowing and most of the edging, planting, weeding, harvesting, organizing, and designing of our yard. Right now I am (and have been all spring and summer) of rearranging our flower beds and putting some more in around our trees. I have the mulch and the stones to do, I just need less heat and more time outside. I like having Gardener and Landscaper as part of my job.

Floating Primary Teacher

After our ward split in January, we were asked to sub in primary until a permanent teacher was called. That lasted for two weeks. After that I put my name on the call list for primary teachers when they need someone to sub. Since then, I have been out of town three Sundays and attended Relief Society about four times. Every other Sunday I have been in Primary in one class or another, and on the weeks I didn't receive a specific call I find myself volunteering to sub when teachers haven't made other arrangements. Some weeks I even receive multiple phone calls I have to turn down.

I love it! I think the big thing for me is knowing I am needed and appreciated by others. Not something I receive very often as a mother. I love my kids, and I greatly appreciate my husband's job is able to provide so well for us I am able to stay home, but a lot of the time it is hard because I feel like I do the same things every day with little or no appreciation. Another part of it is I get to deal with a different set of children almost every week so each week is a new challenge or opportunity instead of having to deal with the same things every week without seeing much change.

Michael helped with me for a while, but then he said he would rather go to his meetings and take the baby then sub in Primary with me. His offer is such a blessing because I have a harder time being a primary teacher when I am trying to take care of a baby. We received the calling to Primary twice when Bekah was a baby for two different age groups and it was very challenging. I am grateful for his support of my desire to help others and the growth this opportunity has provided me. Now if I can apply everything I am learning in teaching Primary to communicating with my kids maybe we all will feel better.

No Rest for the Wicked

If there is no rest for the wicked, and mothers never get to rest, that must mean that motherhood is wicked hard. Just saying.

*Photo found here.

My Toy Car

Back in March we invested in a new car. After a long day of looking and test driving we had given up finding something that would fit our needs. We stopped at one last dealership to drive a Mini Cooper just for kicks and I told the salesman what we were looking for and he suggested we try this one out. I decided to humor him and we ended up bringing it home.

This car looks tiny but has plenty of room inside for three kids and their carseats and my HUGE double jogging stroller or all of our luggage and blankets for a weekend trip. I do not want to ever own a mini van and I keep looking for alternative vehicles that fit our little family. I love our new investment and getting super gas mileage after driving around our Durango for nearly four years.

Warm Fuzzies

Tonight for Family Home Evening we read a story about the gifts the prophet received for his birthday. Instead of sending presents, President Thomas S. Monson asked people do acts of service for others on behalf of him. He received hundreds of letters describing experiences of giving service and a jar of "warm fuzzies," or prickly yarn balls or pom-pom balls. Each fuzzy in the jar represented one act of service. After reading the story, we made our own "warm fuzzies" to remind us to be kind to and do acts of service for others.

Benjamin making his own warm fuzzy.

Dad helping Bekah finish her warm fuzzy.

"Can I get down and play with the yarn, too?"

"I'm holding still! Take my picture!"

Distraction = Subtraction

I had this really cool thing I was going to blog about today. It had something to do with the baby and the things he is learning. I even had a fun sounding title picked out. Then, one of my big kids did or said something and I was distracted. So the idea for the cute post was "subtracted" from my brain and is no more.

In a not so cute way to say it, my baby boy is rolling and arm-y crawling all over our family room! He likes being mobile and getting into things. His balance is improving every day and he is slowly getting over his separation anxiety. Tremendous, positive changes for our little guy!

Hopefully, the next time I want to say something in a "cute" way I will not have big kids subtracting the thoughts from my brain with their distractions.

4th of July

After we arrived home from camping, we cleaned up and went to a barbeque with another group of friends and went to the fireworks afterwards. Each of the children wanted a "light up stick," even Ryan, and it was fun to watch them play with their different toys in the dark. We had a blast!