Great weekend

Great weekend. Minimal squabbles and maximum fun. Cub scouts swim day, Girl Scout kite day, soccer games, bday party at build a bear, water play with Ashlyn while we waited for Madison at the party, snuggles, laughing, Halloween coloring pages, gave a good lesson on gratitude to my girls today, Ben toured a US Navy air craft carrier docked in Singapore with dad and took all the pictures he could handle, baby giggles, 4 year old giggles, 7 year old giggles and 9 year old laughing. Busy and fun family weekend.

Ashlyn Tries Warm Clothes

17 Aug 2013

This morning we are taking the kids to Snow City to go sledding and be cold for a change. Five of us are really excited. Ashlyn however is just confused. She went from this:

(a diaper, hat and gloves). To so bundled up she couldn't walk properly.

 I'm sure she was thinking "What the heck? What's wrong with my clothes? I can't walk!" And like all my babies and toddlers, she kinda hated the whole thing. Either Brian or I had to hold her the whole time. And the boots were so big on her that we put her sandals on them put them inside her boots. And the didn't stay on anyway so she couldn't walk on the slippery ice. Her coat was huge and her hands only went half way down the sleeves. She did look adorable in her snow cap though. Of course no cameras are allowed so we have no pictures to show. They have a ton of photographers that snap photos that you can then purchase. At $20 each we passed. We had a great time sledding though and want to try it again. Preferably in the actual great outdoors. 

Disney on Ice

Kids had the day off school for parent teacher conferences. To celebrate we went to Disney on Ice with our friends.

Jake was my buddy. Ben and Allen had a camera war with me taking each others pictures. Maddie and Eun Seo got fancy and were super excited to see the beautiful princesses. Maddie even did her makeup all by her self.

Quotes of the Day

Kids are learning the alphabet game in the car. Maddie says, "You have to find G in English not Chinese okay guys?"

Also of note:
"I'm just going to look at the clouds to find a letter shape there."
And
"Does it count if the tree is in the shape of an L?"

Watch Out Grandpa!

Tomorrow we are going fishing. We don't fish. Don't worry. It is at a fish farm where I believe the kids stand in a concrete stream and use a net to scoop them up. Brian told Ben that he'd have to tell grandpa Zufelt about our adventures since he's a big fishermen. Ben suggested that since we will be prawn fishing next weekend with the boy scouts we will have plenty and maybe we should mail one to grandpa. Watch your mail grandpa. By the time you get our present after a few weeks in transit it's gonna be something to remember!!

Family Pictures

Do you have trouble getting everyone in your family to look at the camera at the same time? Sometimes they just won't cooperate and you have to improvise. This is what happens when you have a kid that just wants a nap and won't look at the camera.

What To Do In Fairfax

I found more stuff to do! I sent this as an email to friends, then they replied back with even more cool things. They are all included below: Hey Friends! Because I'm a Christmas junkie, I put together a list of fun things to do in the Fairfax area and thought you might want to know about them too. At the bottom are several other things through the year that my family enjoys. My calendar is full of post-it notes telling me to check on this or that as they come around. Hope you find something great for your family here! Merry Christmas! Angie Bethlehem Walk http://www.parkwood.org/ 8726 Braddock Road, Annandale, VA Highlight of our Christmas season each year. Free. Usually second Sat & Sun in Dec. 2009 Dec 13 and 14, 4-8pm this year. Sunday is always more crowded than Saturday. Take your children on a walk through Bethlehem where the character towns people are in full costume and sitting at kid level to engage them in talking about the new baby and the star in the sky, walls are decorated floor to ceiling, children collect trinkets as they journey to find the baby Jesus outside in a stable with real sheep, goat and donkey. Fairfax Station Railroad Museum www.fairfax-station.org 11200 Fairfax Station Road Fairfax Station, VA 22039 Dec 5 & 6, 2009, Sat 10-5 and Sun 12-4 Outside free, inside about $3/person Usually first weekend in December hosts a big train event on their property. Four or five small train towns are setup inside for viewing with all the intricate details (people, houses, trees, etc). Free outside are the larger trains (shoebox sized?). The railroaders set up track surrounding the entire building and drive their remote control trains all over the track they build. Kids can run around and follow the trains, talk to the owners, watch them hook and unhook their engines from loads. It's great fun. Also available - a caboose to climb in, santa makes an appearance each year at random times and sits in a sleigh handing out candy. Tiny Tots Holiday Concerts At most high schools in Dec, get ticket info in Nov. About $5/ticket High school bands put on concerts geared toward young children. Santa Train www.vre.org Burke VRE station and several others 2009 buy Nov 30, ride Dec 12 - sold out this year. $5/ticket, buy in person two weeks before train date. Take a 50 minute train ride and meet Santa from several VRE stations. Festival of Lights - Washington DC Temple Visitors Center www.dctemplelights.lds.org 9900 Stoneybrook Drive, Kensington, MD 20895 Dec 4 - Jan 1 Free Nightly holiday musical programs, typically at 7 and 8pm. Trees decorated with 500,000 lights, live nativity, international nativities collection from all over world on display inside, live nativity outside with Bible story over speaker system. Wreath Laying in Arlington Cemetery www.wreaths-across-america.org Arlington Cemetery - Metro access suggested. Usually second Saturday in December. Dec 12, 2009 Free Help honor our fallen soldiers by helping lay donated wreaths at Arlington or other cemeteries nationwide. See website for where and when to go to help. Lighting of the National Christmas Tree - Pageant of Peace Between White House and Washington Monument. You can't miss it. Free tickets distributed via online lottery at beginning of November. www.recreation.gov If you don't get tickets, just go after the ceremony or on any other night to see other groups perform for free, see trains driving around National Tree and a tree from each state and territory decorated. http://www.nps.gov/whho/national_christmas_tree_program.htm Chantilly Bible Model Train Display - Dec 12, 2009 10am-3pm, Free. 4390 Pleasant Valley Road • Chantilly, Virginia 20151 http://www.chantillybible.org/LifeatCBC/Events/ModelTrainDisplay.lsphttp://www.chantillybible.org Multiple indoor electric train displays to watch and enjoy. Have even had a kid table of wooden train tracks for the kids to play with and build. Water-Skiing Santahttp://www.waterskiingsanta.com/National Harbor in Maryland, Free. Dec 24 1pm sharp Lighted Boat Parades (several)http://www.fairfaxchristmaslights.com/boats.php LDS Church First Presidency DevotionalFirst Sunday night of December. Broadcast via satellite feed to 3900 Howard St, Annandale, VA. OR view online at www.lds.org Mix of stories of birth of Jesus Christ, orchestra, choir and soloists performances. http://www.fairfaxchristmaslights.com/ --- top Xmas light displays. We have gone to the one on Shadow Lane in Fairfax Station before --- it is really neat. http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/brfestoflights/ -- Bull Run Festival of Lights --- drive through light display. Kids loved this. We drove it at about 1 mph so we undid seatbelts and they were in heaven with freedom to move and explore and be excited in the car about all they saw. About $12/car? OTHER STUFF (for the rest of the year) White House Easter Egg Roll My understanding is that tickets for this will be online lottery system from now on. www.recreation.gov Check about four weeks before Easter for the lottery date to make sure you don't miss your chance. Circus Elephant Parade Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to the Patriot Center once a year, usually in April for two weeks. On the night of the last show, always a Sunday evening, they march the elephants right down Ox Road to the train station to load up and leave town. Park yourself on Ox Road between Braddock and Fairfax Station Road an hour and a half after the last show begins and you are in for a big treat (about 8pm they pass by)! Elephants, mini horses and other fun animals walk right past you! Western Roundup www.chantillybible.org/westernroundup Mid to end of October. Lots of local churches have fun free fall time festivals. This is one of our favorite. Cox Farms www.coxfarms.com End of September through first few days in November. Mega slides, fun games and hay ride for the kids. Cost is about $8/person weekdays and $15/person weekends.

Blokus

Maddie and I enjoyed a competitive game of Blokus while Ben was at school yesterday. Anyone know how to play Blokus? It's actually a really great Tetris style game to play with adults. We can also play it with little kids because they can have their own pieces and as long as they know how to take turns their screwy moves just add to the challenge. Anyway, if you start to stategize you can arrange your pieces to surround and block off another person or "Blokus" them. We were only four pieces into the game when Maddie started declaring quite proudly, "I blocked you, Mom!!" She was so excited and would laugh at her every triumphant move. Notice in the picture though that our pieces are no where near each other. Didn't stifle her zeal and childlike anticipation of the coming shut-out style victory she would soon declare. Even notice her sticking her tongue out at me in a show of good sportsmanship.

Living Room Bowling

I made spaghetti last night. There was also a sale a while back at Aldi's on spaghetti sauce, but only on the tiny cans. I bought two flats of tomato sauce in tiny cans and last night used 12 cans for dinner. Today, we're bowling with them. Gotta love the pampered chef can opener that makes such a pretty, smooth cut so the cans are safe. Ben started by laying all the cans out in the triangular shape on the ground but didn't have much success. I showed him how to make a tower with them and now he and Maddie are in heaven. I watched them squeal and laugh as the tower crashed over and over. They worked well as a team and were having fun until Ben got excited. Of course, Jacob was crawling around on the ground enjoying the show. Then Ben in all his wisdom got a running start and kicked the ball with all his might straight into Jacob's face. Time out. Fun over. No more ball inside. No more kicking...wait...wasn't that a rule already?? Mom is a big fat meanie. Why do kids do stupid things? It makes my life miserable to punish him too. This afternoon we'll try it again when he gets the ball back. He wants to try animal bowling. I think it was Laura's blog where I got the idea. He's so excited.

102.3

That's what the thermometer read this morning when I woke up to feed Jacob. I feel horrible. Brian took the kids to the swim meet this morning to watch, then put Jacob down for his nap and took off to the Fairfax Parade. I guess I won't be having any fun this year for Independance Day. I love to watch the fireworks over the Washington Monument, but not this year. Oh well. Maybe next year.

No Pictures of Number Three

So I’m realizing now, we barely took any pictures on our Kirtland trip. I also figured out why I don’t have pictures of my kids anymore like I used too. I’m simply out of hands. Even with Brian around, we’re running short on hands to be taking pictures. Until Jacob can walk at a minimum, I think we’ll continue to be short on pictures. I can’t carry a camera as well as juggle three kids. I wish I had more to offer of our trip. It really was lovely. Maybe others will publish their pics on their blogs or facebook for me to steal.

Patrick Hotel

A few months before June, I was thinking through what we might do with the kids when I was doing stake stuff and they were bored to tears. I had the thought that our old buddy Patrick might live nearby, but couldn’t quite remember the city. Turns out it wasn’t Cleveland, it was two hours away in Columbus. So we couldn’t arrange a playdate for Brian and the kids with his old high school friend and college roommate, but if you know Patrick, it is just an honor and a privilege to be graced by his presence. We couldn’t possibly pass up the chance to stop in and say hello. (Since he has gone to some effort to remain aloof online, I will not post pics, or names of his family). Lucky for us, Patrick had already become my Facebook friend and I made a reservation to take up some prime real estate in the basement for Youth Conference weekend. Brian says it was the perfect way to visit Patrick. After all, our romance began as a result of a trip we took back in 1998 where we (along with about 30 other college kids) slept on the floor of Patrick’s basement. It was almost like walking back in time. Except that we didn’t have three kids then, Patrick didn’t have three kids, the basement was in Ohio instead of Cedar City, Utah and a couple other minor details. Still, Brian is right. There may be no better place in the world to sleep than Patrick’s basement. Unfortunately our kids were just 100% wiped out. Maddie had developed a nightmare diaper rash (yeah, I know, if she were potty trained that wouldn’t be an issue). She could barely walk and was in lots of pain so she didn’t really want to play much. Ben really enjoyed playing with the Carroll kids and was really disappointed that our trip was so short. They have really cool train tracks, a tire swing in the backyard and the kids were both really fun. We got them bathed and in bed later than we should have, but they slept well. When they woke, we were treated to a wonderful breakfast and then the kids played until it was time to go to church. Once settled in the pew, Maddie and Ben laid down on the bench. Maddie fell asleep. Ben said he had a terrible headache and remained pretty still. I spent most the time in the hall or mother’s room with Jacob and before we knew it, it was time to head home. Too short a visit to be sure, but I have lots of searching to do on Facebook now. I hear tell that lots of old friends are there just waiting to be found. After the service was over, we loaded up our sleepy, tired kids into the truck and said our goodbyes. Ben was sobbing about his headache. I encouraged him to take a drink of water thinking he could be dehydrated still from all our time outside in the heat this weekend. Thinking that as sleepy and whiny as the kids were, they must not feel spectacular, we made the decision to stop and pick up some Motrin. I stayed in the car while Brian went in. Soon Ben started crying and in a voice that quickly became more and more urgent said, “Mom, I think I’m having tummy yuckies coming out!” I was on the phone with Brian calling from inside the store right then. As I tossed down the phone, I yelled, “Hold on!” I whipped open the glove compartment where I keep an oversized plastic cup reserved for occasions such as this and got it under his mouth just in time. He filled the cup, tears coming out his eyes and vomit from his nose and mouth. Poor guy. I hollered at the phone “Buy whatever you have, Ben’s throwing up” and turned it off. I soothed Ben and helped him clean his chin. After a few minutes he appeared a bit better and said in a very relieved voice, “At least my forehead doesn’t hurt at all anymore.” Bad call by my about the water. He is naturally prone to be car sick. Add that on top of a splitting headache and something had to give. On the up side, hopefully all three kids will be so wiped out that they will sleep the whole 6 ½ hour drive. I know I’m crossing my fingers. Right now they are all three sleeping peacefully.

Ward Campout

We went camping: Ben brought his work gloves along to make sure he was ready to help with any work we may need done. He loves to help lay out the tarps, set up the tent find firewood and put new logs on the fire to keep it going. He also made sure that we he packed his backpack…sort of. He didn’t care much what else went in it—he just needed to be sure that he had two whistles. He explained it to us by saying “Safety First, Mom.” In case we get lost in the woods he can blow the whistle and we can find him. Good plan. I don’t think it ever left the backpack, but he also wasn’t ever allowed to go off in the woods alone in the first place. Maddie spent most of her time playing with the other little girls going in and out of each others tents. They all knew the rules were no shoes in the tents, so I guess she actually spent the majority of her time taking her shoes on and off with a giant smile on her face. Jacob had recently acquired the skill of scooting. Unfortunately, he is stuck in reverse. We kept putting him down on a blanket or tarp and he would scoot himself backward until he was under the car and I’d pull him out again. He was always pleased with himself though. In order to pack up when it was time to go, we needed a safe place to keep him, so I made a makeshift highchair/exersaucer in the trunk of the car with pillows. He absolutely loved it. Soft stuff all around to grab and play with and he was high enough up that he could see us moving about. The campground is only 10 minutes from our house, so it’s easy to go anytime. Not many families were willing to sleep the night in a tent. Of the big crowd that came to socialize, only four families actually spent the night. Several people came back in the morning though to enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast. Ben was most interested in going on a hike. Brian obliged and created a “hike” of about a tenth of a mile to the playground. They thought it was perfect. All the kids had fun roaming free, enjoying the outdoors, the rocks, the sticks and roasting marshmallows on the fire even if they didn’t choose to eat any of them. Fire is just a magical thing. We can’t put our finger on exactly why, but the Soderborg tent was a favorite. We did catch our kids throwing dirt clods on top of it and I had to go clean it off and tell them to quit. Other than that, I think they had loads of fun. Brian put Ben and Maddie down for bed around 10:00pm and Ben fell right to sleep. Maddie soon emerged back to the campfire where she hung out with the adults until about midnight. Turns out the other congregation we share our church building with was also on a men’s campout that night. At 6 am we were awakened to the noises that you can expect from a dozen 12 year old boys and their leaders would make. Their fire was only about fifteen feet from our heads and for about an hour until our kids began to stir, Brian and I laid in bed listening to what was going on outside. In its own special way, it really was comical. The two adult leaders were having a normal conversation about what I can’t recall. What I do remember was that you would hear two sentences of their conversation then “Put the stick down” and their conversation would pick up as if nothing had happened. Two more sentences and “Don’t put that in the fire,” and the conversation went on. For an hour, I heard them talk with every third sentence being direction to keep the 12 year old scouts from killing themselves or injuring each other. It was a tiny little glimpse into what scout camp might be. Wow. I pity the leaders that camp with them for a week. They must be exhausted when they return home. What good leaders.

Heaven Neatly Packaged and Delivered Today

I don't know how today could have been any better. It was a gift from God, I think. We woke happily and despite my reluctance to arise, the little people were persuasive and very pleasant. Maddie needed "bweakfast" and Brian obliged while I fed Little Man. Then, without any complaints, tears or whining, everyone dressed and brushed teeth. I'm sure I had a huge smile on my face. We were ready and out the door to make it to MOPS early! Ben has had freak-out tantrums the entire year that has made the drop off procedure a disaster. I bargained with him (as I usually do) that if he could go into his class without clinging to my body so he has to be physically pried off my leg for this meeting AND the next we could find a special treat for being so brave. To my total amazement, HE DID IT!!! He was still having a hard time, but he kept it together. His coping mechanism changed to zipping his jacket up so it looked like he had no head. His teachers were great and played right along. They were likely just as surprised as I was that he wasn't tantruming. The meeting was fun, all about how to vacation with kiddos from camping to Disney to roadtrips. Then we made super cute flip-flops and they cleaned out their closet and I scored a new plastic bin to store the toys in and organize the basement! When I picked Ben up from class, I was able to announce that we didn't have any other meetings at the "MOPS church" building since the last meeting would be a picnic at the park. He was super excited! I loaded up the troops after MOPS and called dad. He agreed to meet us for a lunch at Baja Fresh. We waited for his arrival on the lush green lawn in the warm sunshine. I taught Ben a fun game. He picked a number and then we counted cars to see what he would drive when he grew up. He never got anything super cool, but Maddie will be driving one of those trash trucks that empty dumpsters. The mexican food at Baja Fresh was plentiful and tasty, the company was delightful. All the kids ate really well. They were happy the entire time and Jacob was cute as a button playing with daddy. Brian and I were stuffed. Then Daddy headed back to work and I took the kids home for a nice afternoon. Naps for Maddie were a bit of a fight, but nothing wild or too frustrating. Jacob wasn't interested in his afternoon nap either, so I finally laid down with him after calming him the twentieth time. I got to rest on my bed cuddling my Little Man. Ben watched his favorite show, Zula Patrol, on the bed next to us while we lounged. Jacob finally dropped into a deeper sleep as Brian arrived home from work so I could go down to Ben's restaurant in the living room. The weather was perfect! After Maddie woke up, Ben headed out to the front yard to play with Jacob the neighbor and to "learn how to climb trees". They had fun together and found some water balloons in the pantry closet. Brian and I helped launch them across the field with the slingshot. The kids were almost as anxious to clean up the balloon pieces as to launch them. Then we heard a siren approaching nearby and could hear the engines running. I took Ben and Maddie on a walk to follow the sounds and investigate. Someone fell down in the ravine one street over. We checked out the ambulance and fire engines and watched them bring someone up on a backboard. Still can't figure out how they fell. There is a guard rail and honestly, nothing down in the ravine to attract attention. In any case, while the rescue workers did their job, we went on a caterpillar hunt. We found six caterpillars, lots of ants, one weird black bug with red marks on the back and one orange-red frog. We "played" with the frog. Sure we enjoyed it more than he did. Took all six caterpillars back home to show dad. At almost 7 pm we finally went inside to get dinner before the kids turned into monsters and ruined the day. We nuked some leftovers. Still mostly full from our great lunch feast. Maddie asked to say the blessing on the food. She wanted to pray for the guy who fell in the ravine. Her prayers are always the same. She says, "Father Thank you for the food. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." It was a huge thing that she wanted to pray for someone else without any prompting. Of course, she said "thank you" for the guy rather than asking a blessing for him, but it was cute and I know God got the intended pure message from a sincere little two year old. When we were almost done with dinner, Brian abruptly told us to look out the window. Two beautiful deer were wandering through the field outside our window. It was just too cool! I saw one of them the other day driving a few blocks away, but here they were at MY HOUSE!! We have the best location. Right near the woods. No parking lot or roadway views for us. Brian grabbed the zoom lens and I took some pictures. Then we watched. And watched. When we couldn't see them anymore, I quietly went outside to get a view again. They even went up on their hind legs and fought for a minute over who got to eat the leaves on a particular tree. They were gorgeous and so close to us! Finally, the left the grassy field and went back into the woods. The whole family walked out to try to find them in the woods, only to see our fox running out of his home. Ben and I found deer tracks and fox tracks in the dirt since we knew exactly where to look. Then we finished dinner, everyone got pajamas on, happily. Ben asked to see the fox tracks online, but couldn't mentally picture how they made that shape with their feet, so we walked over to Katie's house and borrowed her dogs and let the kids feel the soft pads on the bottom of their paws. I think it all made sense to him after the visual. Then, everyone climbed in bed, exhausted. As usual, Ben was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Maddie read books for 30 minutes and was out without a single complaint. Today was just a little piece of heaven. I'm glad it was neatly packaged and delivered to my doorstep today. I am a happy woman as I lay down tonight. What blessings I've been given. Three great kids, one amazing husband and father, a steady job to provide for our family, a home perfectly situated to allow such outdoor happiness and fun just steps out the front door. We love Virginia and all the happiness we've found in our lives here. Spring is wonderful and I'm enjoying the fresh air and the happy kids.

Family Pictures on a Busy Saturday

Last Saturday was jam packed with things all day long from early to late. Brian was up by 6am to get himself and Ben up and off to a stake service project. They cleaned a ton of cabins for the National Park Service and helped get the campground ready for the season. It was a great success and the park service couldn't believe anyone would volunteer to do something like that and bring 50 people or so to help. I laughed when they got home with t-shirts the park service had printed especially for them. They even had our name printed on them! Seriously, they must have be ecstatic to save weeks of grunt work.

My job while they were gone was to wear Maddie out and get her to take a super early nap so she would be happy for the family pictures late that afternoon. I was successful and when the boys got home at 1pm Maddie and Jacob were both sleeping. We cooked the rolls Brian and I had been making and then scooted out the door for a company party/picnic. Much care was taken to make sure we had party clothes and picture clothes for everyone, plus change of shoes, socks, hair fixing stuff for Maddie and extra diapers for Maddie and Ben. You know, the works.

The party was fun. Brian entertained with magic tricks and had his co-workers mesmerized. Most of them appeared not to know he was a magician. It was fun to watch the entire party stop and watch him. Jacob demanded a snack as it was time to leave, so between him and the magic, we were late to our photography appointment. Ben and I were able to change top shirts on the drive and we got Maddie as soon as our buckles were off and Jacob's shirt was in hand. Brian grabbed his shirt from on top of our bag of stuff and we rushed in with the stroller to meet Stephanie. When we found her and a great spot to start shooting (a very long walk from the car) we realized neither one of us had brought the bag with hair stuff or clean diapers or Maddie's nice shoes.

All mothers of girls know there is no point in doing a little girls hair before pictures if she is just going to mess it up while sitting in her car seat. So, we hadn't done a thing to Maddie's hair and it was pretty messy. We ended up trying to calm it a bit with our fingers and had no real choice but to call it good and leave her in the stinky diaper she had produced on the car ride. Ugh. I have been nervous all week that the pictures would turn out terrible. I was wrong. While Maddie could have looked a bit more tidy, the pictures are great. I can't wait to print the big family one and put it in the living room. The picture hanging there now was taken when Maddie was four weeks old. Way past time for an update. Thanks Stephanie for your great camera work! I know my kids weren't exactly over joyed to be having a photo session. You did great with them and keeping them moving!

Then we rushed back to Fairfax for my youth committee meetings and a rockin' dance with the kiddos while Brian got the kids dinner and to bed. I got to bed just before 2am after finishing putting final details together for a stake fireside the next night and pumping (joys of motherhood). I didn't even realize until the next day at church why I was so hungry. I had skipped dinner and breakfast because I was so busy. At least I had a lot of M&Ms at the dance! I think I had three sandwiches for lunch an apple, an orange, chips, two cookies and probably a few other things. Then I finally felt better.

Craft Time with Mom

I've been trying really hard to do fun things to interest my kids lately and spend time with them. Making pin wheels was a HUGE success. They loved putting glue all over the place and cutting and choosing colorful paper they liked. When they were dry and finished, I realized how bad they really were. They just wouldn't stay together no matter what I did. The push pin would come out of the pencil eraser the second they picked them up. After much frusteration on my part for endlessly having to fix them and frusteration on their parts that they kept breaking, I was ready to throw them out.

Mommy logic: Those things suck. They always break when they get picked up and they don't even turn in the wind. They are worthless pieces of junk on my kitchen counter.

Kid logic: That is the coolest, prettiest, funest thing I've ever made. I cut it out with my own scissors and glued it all by myself. I am amazing and this pinwheel proves it to the world. I'm keeping this forever. I wonder if my husband/wife will want it in the living room for everyone to see, 'cause I'm definately keeping it that long!

In the end, I struck a compromise with them... I bought $0.99 pin wheels at Wal-Mart that are shiny and nice. We stuck them in their flower pots on the patio. They spin like mad all day long and reflect cool light patterns on our ceiling inside. Everyone is happy.

One of my other recent craft flops was making easter eggs from yarn dipped in glue and wrapped around a balloon. I said "craft" and "balloon" and they couldn't have been more on board with the idea. I set up everything, plastic covering the floor, diluted glue in plastic bowls, lots of precut Easter colored yarn, hand selected balloons in their favorite colors for covering. We were set. I showed them what to do with the first piece of yarn and we were off. Or not. They both dipped one yarn piece in the glue and didn't like how it felt. Too cold and sticky and gross. Ben got one yarn on the balloon and Maddie none. She just kept going to wash her hands the second they got a little anything on them. She soon gave up and Ben, after observing me for a while, asked if he could just not do it. He said, and I quote, "This craft is NASTY, Mom!" Maddie caught on and I as I sat on the kitchen floor, ALONE, for the next 30 minutes putting stupid Easter yarn on a pink balloon, they kept repeating to each other in another room how nasty my craft was today. Oh well. I finally finished, popped the balloon and was pleased with my work. It looks cool. Now I guess I get to put all my hard work in the trash.

Travelin' Fools

On our kitchen wall I have a framed map of the United States of America. Okay, a huge map of the United States of America. We track our travels there and pinpoint where all our close family members live. The kids know their cousins names from the wall map and I love to look at all the highlighted roads. We've driven all of them, Brian and I at least. We started the map on our honeymoon, then driving to and from internships during college and from there, have visited 46 of the 50 states together. We love to see new things and places but we're in a slump. We haven't been anywhere new in a year and a half. Actually, we haven't been much of anywhere but home to Utah for a wedding and a funeral in the last year and a half. Plus several trips to Buffalo. This summer we've got another wedding (the last one I might add) in San Diego/LA area we're excited about. We've got a "beachhouse" that is a mile from the beach. Huh? How is that a beach house again. Whatever. Then there is Disneyland. These kids are really slowing us down though. We still need to visit Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Oregon (we have an invite to Oregon!). If we just didn't have a nursing baby, maybe we'd try a getaway for our tenth anniversary this summer. I'm just getting antsy to go do something fun (without kids, naps or chicken nuggets on the menu).

P.S. To Family on the Map - Send me updated family pictures if you have any!

Easter Bunny

We heard some strange noises downstairs overnight and were worried about a stranger in our house. When the kids woke up and came into our room, we told them about the weird noises and sent daddy down to investigate to make sure it was safe for us to come down. He searched all over the house to find someone while I fed Jacob in our room and the kids waited with me. When Jacob was ready and daddy had officially declared it to be safe downstairs, we all went down to search for Easter eggs.

This year, the Zufelt heritage Easter bunny came, since the Robinson heritage Easter bunny had visited us last year. Ben was a little surprised that there wasn't candy all over the floor and he noticed that his name wasn't spelled out in M&Ms on the couch like it was last year. He was very excited though, to find out that there were plastic Easter eggs hidden all over the main floor of the house. Then he found some Cadbury eggs and the real eggs we had colored the other day with egg dye were hidden too. The kids had a blast finding them. When we were finished, we put them all in a pile and took turns choosing eggs to fill our baskets. Maddie chose pink every time until there were only two pink left, then she got a few other colors. Ben was sweet and offered me an egg for my basket now and then. Claudia and Aimee gave all the kids new baskets this year. Maddie was most excited about hers because it was pink and purple. Jacob just wanted to eat his basket. Ben remembered having his name spelled out in M&Ms last year at Aunt Kristie's house and missed it. He decided to spell his name himself to reconcile the situation.

After all the candy was divided out, we broke some hard boiled eggs and had them for breakfast. It was nice to have some fun with the kids and enjoy a little time together. It was also nice to have the Easter bunny come on Saturday instead of Easter Sunday. That way, Easter is left for the kids to associate the real holiday with Christ.

Easter Eggs

Over dinner last night we taught Ben about the symbolism of the Easter egg. Rebirth. Creation. New life. Resurrection. Purity. Christ. It was a fun conversation. I think he got it. Lots more than Maddie Mae at least. Then we cleaned up dinner and dyed eggs while we watched the Charlie Brown Easter Special on TV.

They have a bit of work to do on their skills at being gentle. We have numerous eggs that are totally cracked now. Maddie would hold the egg up high above the bowl of dye and basically throw them in, splashing all over the table and cracking the shells. Ben did better, but still broke a few. Glad they were hard boiled. Breakfast this morning was colorful to say the least because the dye had gotten to the edible part of the egg. They had so much fun though and Ben got creative about his attempts to make cool eggs.

Work Day

We spent the day at home listening to General Conference on the internet. Between sessions we headed to the local baptist church for an Easter egg hunt. Apparently it had been rescheduled and we didn't know. Since the kids were counting on the egg hunt, we improvised one at home. We rounded up all the eggs from the play kitchen in the basement and put chocolate inside. Each kid got five eggs and were instructed to hide them for each other. I figured they would find each other's eggs. Ben's idea was that he would hide all his eggs and if he waited long enough, he would forget where he hid them, then he could search for them. He hid his all over the basement family room. Maddie also hid hers by herself. Can you tell? They were all in the shopping cart right in the middle of the room.

Brian's task for the day was putting primer on the walls in the basement. He had two anxious helpers. Ben was first, then Maddie. They LOVE helping Brian or I with our work projects.