Normal Mormon Family

Disney's Hollywood Studios

2012-02-28T15:43:00.000-05:00

When we go on a theme park vacation, I REALLY want to get the most bang for my buck. Because you have to fork over A LOT of bucks. So, I do all the research that I can and basically run my family ragged. And I *think* they appreciate it in the end. :) At both Magic Kingdom and Legoland, I tried to get us there half an hour before the park opened, so we could be the first in line. But Andrew's back was hurting him again (arg! Had flashbacks to our last Disney trip when he needed a wheelchair!) and he REALLY wanted to sleep in just a little when it was our day to go to Hollywood Studios (HS). I tried to put myself in his shoes and decided that, yes, that extra hour of sleep would sure feel good. So, we did it. Of course it messed up my well-mapped-out-plan for the day there. But, HS is small enough that it worked out just fine. And everyone was a little less grumpy because we'd slept in a bit.

Outside of meet-the characters:

We noticed they broke all sorts of Scrabble rules.

My schedule.

It included the ride order and who would want to do each one.

Andrew thought it was funny that Tower of Terror said "MOM!"

next to it. I was just a *little* excited about that one.

The line for Toy Story Mania had this HUGE Candyland replica.
This ride was EASILY the family favorite of the whole trip.
Unfortunately, everyone else in the park loves it, too.
It was the only ride that the whole family stood in line for close to an hour.
And we got fastpasses to go back a second time,
but then they ran out
and we didn't want to wait 70-80 minutes to ride it again.

Whit and Mr. Incredible

The carousel horse ridden by Mary Poppins

My girls riding on a giant ant.

My kids are really into cars.

They are always on the lookout for mustangs,

camaros, jeeps, convertibles, punch buggies, taxis, etc.

So, the Lights, Motors, Action show was perfect for us!

We got to see Lightning McQueen driving around (eeeek!),

cars driving on two wheels (watch out!),

motorcycle chases with jumps (hold on!),

guys engulfed in flames (oooooooh!),

lots of sweet stunts (aaaaaaah!),

and I think we all got our eyebrows singed during

the final explosion. So worth it.

Amy and Dave will appreciate this highlight:

The girls got to meet Phineas and Ferb!

And see Ducky Momo!
If you were thinking about going before,
this must seal the deal, right?
Let's plan on meeting here in early spring 2014?

The big kids had fun with Andrew at the Indiana Jones stunt show

while I took Caroline to the Disney Junior show.

She got to see Mickey and his friends as well as the Little Einsteins.

We had fun. And she got to dance in the aisles.

Then we headed over to the Beauty and the Beast show.

So cool to see the characters come to life.

Fun music and costumes.

Brandon and I had a BLAST on the Rock n' Rollercoaster. Super fast and fun. I couldn't stop laughing. Too bad they ran out of fastpasses and the line was too long for B to go back with Drew. We did manage to score a bunch of fastpasses for the Tower of Terror. B and I rode it twice. The second time, we talked Whitney into riding with us. Poor. girl. This ride is 13 stories high and it lifts you up and drops you down several times. You have a total freefall sensation, with just a seat belt holding you in around your waist, no harness over your shoulders. She told us she didn't want to ride any roller coasters, but since this wasn't *technically* a roller coaster, she decided to give it a try. I think I traumatized her. She had a look of pure horror on her face when the lights came on. "Is it over?" And she was shaky for the next 15 minutes after we got off. I felt terrible. She will probably never ride another attraction with me.

After meeting their lego versions,

Care Bear got to see a Buzz and Woody

that she could actually hug!

The nighttime show at HS is called Fantasmic.

I had read great things about it and couldn't wait for it to start.

It was spectacular, but also intense and scary.

At least for Caroline.

She spent half the show with her eyes covered.

But no tears were shed.

And I don't think she was traumatized.

We sat a few rows too close because the fountains were

spraying a light mist and I didn't want to get my camera wet,

so I didn't get many pictures.

A boatload of characters at the end.

At the end of the day, we tried to sneak in one more ride on Toy Story Mania,
but it still had a 70 minute line.
So we gave up and headed home.
But first, I asked a woman to take our picture
in front of Mickey's big sorcerer hat.

Notice anyone missing?
I guess if you leave your child sitting in the stroller,
it might appear that you don't want them in the photo.

I had to find ANOTHER stranger and ask her to
take one with all FIVE of us.

That's better.
Except for Whit's silly face.

The Magic of the Magic Kingdom

2012-02-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

I am still a kid at heart and get caught up in the magic of Disney myself. We had such a great time at Magic Kingdom.

Almost there!

Just have the pay the $14 to park! (Boo!)

First order of business:

Write my cell phone number on all of the kids.

Easiest way to locate a lost parent, right?

In accordance with my plan,

we made it there half an hour before the park opened.

So did a couple of hundred other guests.

I had read that they open Main Street early

and thought the girls could shop for souvenirs.

Not this day.

We had to wait until 15 minutes before park open time.

And then they had a little Welcome Show.

They sang the song that says, "Good morning. Good mor----ning,"

which is an inside joke for Andrew and I.

Cracked. us. up.

As soon as they opened the gates, B and I darted for Space Mountain.

Walked right on. LOVE that ride.

And we grabbed fastpasses to come back later.

Andrew and the girls headed to meet Rapunzel.

And it's a good thing they did because that place

stays packed ALL. DAY. LONG.

The purple girls!

While we were waiting out a little rain shower

and enjoying a snack, Brandon's curious nature paid off.

He was reaching into

this beanstalk growing out of the building,

and found a set of old-fashioned looking skeleton keys.

It said to return to City Hall if found.

Andrew took him there,

and they rewarded him with two five-person

fastpasses for any ride at any time.

Super sweet!

Thanks for being so curious, buddy!

The girls had fun meeting Tinkerbell.

She has an awesome setting.

And she taught Care Bear a little dance.

A fun family ride was Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger. It's another laser shooting game. Caroline (probably still terrified from the Lego ride) started crying the first time we rode. But then Andrew showed her how she could spin the car around herself. She liked that. I had read online about a couple of targets that are worth big points. And during our second time riding, our cars paused right at one of those targets.

Both Brandon...

and Whitney maxed out their scores: 999999.

Galactic Heroes!

Zurg was NOT happy about that.

There's a brand new activity that I hadn't heard anything about called Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom. It reminds me a lot of Magiquest, which my kids LOVE. Brandon and Drew heard about it when they were at City Hall. It is free to play (with park admission, of course). You sign up and are given a set of spell cards and a map. You go through a little orientation and then are sent on your way. It is not timed, so you can go along at your own pace. The girls didn't really care to participate, but Brandon was totally into it.

There are several different quests.

You look for these keyholds,

hold up your card to it,

and little video screens light up in the windows.

The bad guys are up to no good and you cast different

spells to defeat them. B-train was enjoying it so much,

he decided to skip the nighttime activities and continue on his quests.

Caroline missed the nighttime excitement...

but for other reasons.

Whitney and I, on the other hand,

LOVED watching the Electrical Parade.

Spectacular.

And the fireworks show.

Amazing.

The park stayed open until 1 am. If it were only up to me, I would have stayed until they kicked us out. But Caroline was SO done and Andrew's back was bothering him. So, our long, magical day lasted until 11:30. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

The Power of Legos

2012-02-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

My kids are 10, 7, and 3. One boy and two girls. There are not a whole lot of things that all three of them enjoy. In fact, I can think of a grand total of three: Phineas & Ferb, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and....LEGOS. Hooray! I've always thought legos were cool, but I gained a whole new appreciation after going to Legoland.

I am your father.

Caroline fulfilled her dream of driving a yellow convertible.

Giant floating Einstein head.

All of us rode the little safari ride (though B wished he

could have opted out). My favorite part was the meerkats!

Loved the bright colors on this dino.

One of my favorite rides: Lost Kingdom Adventure

You use these blasters to shoot targets throughout the ride.

Caroline was smiling at the beginning,

but SCREAMING at the end. It was a bit too intense for her.

Skeleton band

Brandon's dream job: to build miniland buildings like these ones.

One of Care Bear's favorite things was going in to the stores

and building minifigures. She didn't want to leave.

Happy to see Andrea and Andrew still hanging out side-by-side.

Since Legoland Florida is new, I didn't do a whole lot of reading up on it.

Because there just isn't much out there yet.

But one of the things I read online was that the employees wear

minifigures on their nametags and they will trade with you.

We brought a bunch of figures from home.

The kids had a great time looking for cool ones.

We ended up with some pretty sweet minifigs to take home.

Care Bear has not played with legos much at home,

but was adamant that she wanted to buy this little box

as a souvenir from Legoland.

She was so good at building it!

B might need to share the Lego love here at home more.

Since Legoland was only open from 10 am to 5 pm,

(which Andrew believes are the perfect theme park hours)

we went to Downtown Disney afterward and

continued the Lego mania at the giant Lego store there.

Maleficent and Prince Phillip

To infinity and beyond!

There's a snake in my boot.

They have a couple of different areas where you can just build.

B's Lego sign

The kids were in heaven.

And I loved seeing them enjoying something

TOGETHER.

Florida getaway

2012-02-20T14:04:00.002-05:00

We may have just taken the perfect family vacation. I don't know that another trip can match it. (Not that I'm going to stop trying.)

After watching Disney on Ice and catching Disney fever, I started planning a quick getaway to Florida. I feel like the girls are at such fun ages for it and I didn't want to miss the window of opportunity for them to get caught up in the magic of Disney World.

I'm SO grateful that Andrew was up for my crazy adventure. It was a whirlwind and we hardly stopped for the three days that we were down there. It was absolutely exhausting and SO MUCH FUN.

We spent a day at the newly-opened Legoland Florida,

a day at the Magic Kingdom,

and a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The weather was gorgeous. Two of the days were perfect--in the 80's and beautifully sunny. We were sprinkled with rain showers off and on throughout our day at Magic Kingdom, but nothing too bad. And we rarely had to wait in line for more than half an hour. (Four times during all three days!) It. was. awesome.

Here are some of our favorite memories...

Caroline:

*Riding Cinderella's Golden Carousel

*Meeting the people--especially Winnie the Pooh

*Sticking her head in the Lego lion's mouth

*Watching Philharmagic

Whitney:

*Getting to meet all the characters--especially Mickey Mouse

*Riding Toy Story Mania

*Watching Fantasmic

*Riding The Dragon at Legoland

Brandon:

*Walking through Miniland at Legoland

*Space Mountain

*Rock 'n Rollercoaster

*Tower of Terror

Me:

*Taking in the whole environment of Legoland--SO cool.

*Watching the nighttime show at Magic Kingdom
where they lit up the castle in crazy colors

*Being able to ride fun and scary rides WITH Brandon. Yes!!

*Seeing how well Care Bear did on Toy Story Mania
and how much she loved it.

*Watching Whitney have a blast during the line for Winnie the Pooh's ride

and on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playset.

She enjoyed the rides,

but seemed to have just as much fun off the rides.

Drew:

*Watching the girls meet the princesses

*Watching Andrea and Brandon ride the Technic roller coaster at Legoland

*Watching The Little Mermaid show with the girls

*Watching Philharmagic

Bidding farwell to some old friends

2012-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Check this out.

I bought these shoes when I was in dental hygiene school.

I think it was 1999.

That makes them older than Brandon!

I bought them at either Ross or Burlington Coat Factory.

I think I paid ten bucks.

They have been the best shoes! They are comfy, easy to slide on, and go with a lot of different outfits. (Or at least I told myself that they did.) But it was time to send them off to that great shoe store in the sky. The bottoms had worn out so that they could get little pebbles stuck inside of them and then my shoes would rattle. That might be fun for a two-year-old, but not so much for me. I kept holding on to them because I couldn't find a decent pair of clogs to replace them for less than $40. So I waited. And waited. And, finally, this week I found a pair on clearance at a Sears that is closing down. $15. That's more like it. But it's going to take a while for them to grow on me. They feel kinda slippery and not nearly as comfortable. If I sprain my ankle in the near future, you'll know what to blame.

Sweetheart Dance 2012

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

With all of the upcoming trips we have planned, Andrew and I decided we wanted to keep Valentine's Day low key (read: cheap) this year. We were in luck, because the High Point Stake held their first-ever adult sweetheart dance. Yes! Free and FUN! It was a country-western theme and they had a live band. Awesome.

Andrew took a few minutes to warm up to the idea.

(Since when he is he hesitant about DANCING?)

But we had a blast showing off all three

of our country swing moves.

We also had lots of line dances.

SO fun to hang out with so many of our church friends at the same time.

(And somehow I missed Bouathong and Clark in this pic.)

I'm hoping this becomes an annual tradition.

Shelley and Michael (who organized it) might have other ideas.

Kids' activities

2012-02-12T17:03:00.001-05:00

*Whit wanted to try cheerleading at school again this year. She has a new coach and new squad members. Sometimes she gets a little shy, but for the most part is having a great time.

Coach Jackie would be proud: she's smiling!

They go out on the floor to cheer after each quarter of the basketball game.

Looking good...

and having fun.

*Brandon finished up his basketball season. They're team went 4-4, which was pretty good considering they started off 1-3. But they lost their first game of the tournament.

Going for the block

His specialties this season were blocks, rebounds, and steals,

but he did make a couple of baskets. Like this one.

Love the nonchalant block here.

Also love this mid-air block attempt

Solid defense

It was an eye-opening season and we see that he's going to have to work his tail off if he wants to make the middle school team. He has one more year before he can try it, so we'll see how that works out.

*Caroline had Circus Day at school. Poor Brandon was home sick the day before, so I had to throw together a costume last minute. She told me she wanted to dress up as a tiger. Here's what we came up with:

*Caroline also started gymnastics! She is so excited about it and LOVED her first day. She keeps asking if it's time to go back yet.

A balloon coordination game

Straddle roll

Balance beam

Handstand

Hanging on the rings

So, I'm not sure if this is part of their marketing strategy or not, but the instructor raved to me about how well Caroline did at the end. "She hasn't taken any sort of gymnastics before? She did REALLY well for her first time. Do you see gymnastics in her future?" I was taken aback. She's three. And, besides, there are lots of 6-ft gymnasts, right?

Out of the Mouths of Babes--January

2012-02-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

1/13--Caroline had a head cold this month that affected her hearing. We felt like we had a little old lady living with us. She was constantly asking us to speak up. I felt bad for her. Today she was feeling better and told Andrew, "Dad, I can hear!" He told her, "That's great!" And she immediately asked, "What???" I guess the problem isn't completely resolved.

1/14--I was telling Caroline about her Hispanic heritage. I said, "You're one-fourth Mexican." She looked confused and said, "I'm not Maximus!"

1/26--Caroline was working on some school sheets. Brandon was looking at the illustrations and wanted to know:

"Why do they have beer in a preschool book?"

The straw makes me think it's supposed to be something else,

but he's got a point.

1/26--Our favorite way to pass the time while we're waiting in the dentist office is to play MASH--an old fortune-telling game I used to play when I was a kid. Here was one of Caroline's fortunes:

When she grows up, she's going to be a leashmaker who marries Gavin and lives in a mansion with their 87 children and their pet chinchilla.

Last month, when we were waiting for Disney on Ice to start, we came up with Princess Mash. We call it MACH (Mansion, Apartment, Castle, House)

Care Bear's princess fortune: When she grows up, she's going to be Sleeping Beauty. She'll marry Prince Charming and they'll live in a mansion with their 75 children and their pet Pascal. Their villain will be the Voo Doo Man from Princess and the Frog.

1/28--When I explained to Care Bear that I'm a dental hygienist, she said, "You don't clean teeth anymore. You're just a normal mom. Who gets dressed every day. And works out."

1/28--We were up at the tennis courts and Whitney was practicing hitting the ball over the net. After missing her first several, she was very excited to get one over. Andrew told her, "Great job, Whit. You're getting better." She corrected him, "No. I'm getting AWESOME!"

She's also learning parkour from her big brother.

*Random photos of the month*

A sign we saw at a gift shop in Charlotte:

Cracked me up.

Cute girls on bikes

Silly mom trying to ride Whit's bike.

(Note that these were taken in JANUARY

with short sleeves and capris. I've LOVED this "winter.")

The tree rope swing is still hanging in there.

B practicing jumping over things.

The random moments Care Bear asks me to photograph:

her holding a piece of folded red paper.

The kids broke into spontaneous dance while we were

eating post-report-card frozen yogurt.

Profile 2012: Andrea

2012-01-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

Andrea

Notable changes/events in 2011: Finished my Child Development class. Visited Colonial Williamsburg. Finally visited an amusement park when I wasn't pregnant so I could ride roller coasters. Took our fourth annual cross country road trip. Got released from my responsibilities in the nursery at church and asked to serve as the secretary for Relief Society. Attended Time Out for Women in Richmond. Joined the neighborhood tennis team.

Follow-up on last year's hopes for 2011:

*Finish the Child Development class I started this month as well as one more class toward my degree. (I did finish Child Development, but am only halfway through my next class, Motivation.)

*Also finish my continuing ed credits to renew my dental hygiene license this summer. (I BARELY made it and had to pay big bucks for my last class, but I DID IT!)

*Purchase a dSLR camera and figure out how to use it. (The purchase was made. The figuring out is a constant pastime.)

*Continue to have daily personal scripture study in the mornings before the kiddios wake up. (Yep!)

*Get some exercise on my bike once the weather finally warms up. (Nope. I've given up on the bike. Caroline is getting to big for me to ride her around. I did The Biggest Loser for several months and am now using Just Dance as my workout most mornings.)

Hopes for 2012:

*Finish my Motivation class as well as two others! Yikes. Is this possible? I'm not sure, but it's the timeline I need to be on if I want to finish my degree before BYU kicks me out of their program.

*Take a trip to Disneyworld with my family.

*Visit Jayne in Denmark.

*Go to TOFW in Denver with my in-laws.

*Plan a getaway with Drew for our 15th anniversary.

*Take our 5th annual summer road trip.

(Holy cow! I basically just want to travel all. the. time.)

Favorite sport: Tennis to play. Football to watch.

Is really good at: Serving the ball hard in tennis.

Wishes she were better at: Keeping my house clean.

Best part about my job: Hugs from my kids when they first get home from school.

Favorite pastimes: Tennis, photography, playing the piano, blogging, shopping the clearance section (especially at Target), going out to eat, reading.

Favorite recent reads: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Favorite restaurant: Bonsai Japanese

Profile 2012: Andrew

2012-01-25T22:58:00.000-05:00

Andrew

Thirty-something

Notable changes/events in 2011: Started writing as a Yahoo featured contributor. Tore my medial meniscus trying to dunk. My Grandma Rose passed away.

Follow-up from last year's hopes:
No emergency room trips. (Didn't have any.)
Organizing consistent flag football games with my buddies. (didn't happen)
For the right thing to happen around staying in Greensboro or moving to Dallas (It did.)
Lots of fun dates with Andrea (definitely),
Seeing the kids be happy as they do their best (yep),
BYU basketball makes a deep tournament run (yep),
The Lakers win another championship (nope),
The Carolina Panthers win more than two games (They definitely did.).

Hopes for 2012: That I can dunk again. Finish writing a book. Awesome 15th anniversary getaway.

Favorite sport: Football

Is really good at: Cooking eggs

Wishes he was better at: Exercising

Best part about his job: The variety

Favorite pastimes: Fantasy sports, watching sports, writing about sports, and playing tennis with Andrea

Favorite recent reads: The Punch (about Kermit Washington and Rudy Tomjonavich), The Long Snapper, Surround Yourself with Greatness by Chad Lewis, The Kingdom and the Crown series by Gerald Lund

Favorite restaurant: Deck House in Carolina Beach

Just started his seventh year as bishop.

Still going strong.

Profile 2012: Brandon

2012-01-23T08:34:00.000-05:00

Brandon Trey

Age 10 1/2

Favorite smell: Papa John’s pizza in the car

Best subject in school: Math

Favorite season: Summer, because I can play with Miki

Favorite room in the house: My room because I have all my Legos in it

What makes our family special? We all have musical talent.

One thing you’re really good at: BMX

One thing you wish you were better at: Soccer

Closest friends: Trey,Bryce and Brycen

What job do you want when you grow up? I want to work in Legoland

What rule in your house would you change if you could? Chores on Saturday

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy? A half pipe and the three biggest Lego setsthat I can get my hands on.

When will you be a grown up? When I have a job that isn’t in a restaurant or store.

Something that makes me smile when I see it: A mustang. I smile every single time.

Something I collect: Legos

Favorites

Meal: PapaJohn’s cheese pizza

Treat: Icecream sundaes

Game to play: Risk
Color: Black

TV Show: Avatar--TheLast Airbender

Movie: Tron

Book: Harry Potter

Animal: Black Jaguar

Place to go: Utah

Sport to play: Soccer

Sports team: Manchester United

Other notes on Brandon: Over his lifetime, Brandon has been our most challenging child. BUT, over the past six months or so, he has turned into the easiest! He is so helpful around the house and is almost always cooperative. It rocks. He has started caring about cleanliness and will randomly clean off the dining room table or start sorting his Legos by color. Sweet. He continues to do well in school. He rides his bike there, even through the freezing cold mornings. His passion for reading seems to be waning. He's been more into origami, graphic novels, and list-type books than novels. It's still kind of weird for me to picture him in middle school next year, but I'm slowly starting to embrace it and it doesn't freak me out like it did a few months ago.

Profile 2012: Whitney

2012-01-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

Whitney Amelia

age 7 1/2

Favorite smell: Lavender

Best subject in school: Art, definitely.

Favorite season: Probably spring because it’s when mybirthday is.

One thing you’re really good at: Drumming

One thing you wish you were better at: Jump roping

Closest friends: Ria and Leanne

What scares you the most? Nothing.

What job do you want when you grow up? To be the drummer of a famous band

If you could choose a different name, what would it be? Lillian

What rule in your house would you change if you could? Wewould have as much video time as we want and we wouldn’t have to do ourhomework. We’d have robots to do that.

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy? Candy,paint, and paintbrushes

When will you be a grown up? At 19.

Something that makes me smile when I see it: A test that I got 100 or more on.

Favorites

Meal: Christmas dinner—shrimp, turkey, bacon, and yams

Treat: Redvelvet cheesecake

Game to play: Ramses Pyramid [a Lego game of Brandon's]
Color: Red

TV Show: Avatar--TheLast Airbender

Movie: Avatar--The Last Airbender

Book: I don’t really have a favorite book.

Animal: Tiger

Place to go: Chuck E Cheese’s

Other random notes on Whit: At school, Whitney's class got changed to a combined 1st/2nd grade room earlier this year. Andrew and I had our hesitations about the effectiveness of the decision, but it has turned out to be great. Whit loves it. She continues to be our artist and spends much of her free time painting, folding paper into animals and hats, coloring, and drawing. She loves to help me in the kitchen. She just started her second season of cheerleading and has some friends on her squad. Just in the past few weeks, she and Brandon have found several things that they enjoy doing together. It has been so fun to see them PLAYING together instead of just fighting. (Not that the fighting has stopped altogether. Darn.) She used to be very affectionate and lately has been more standoffish with Andrew and I. Boo. We miss her hugs. She loves to laugh and make up jokes, especially around the dinner table.

Profile 2012: Caroline

2012-01-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

Caroline Rose

Age 3

Favorite part of school: Playing baby

Job you want to have when you grow up: Parachuter builder

One thing you're really good at: Drawing

One thing you wish you were better at: Painting

Favorite game to play: Candyland

What scares you most: Crocodiles

If you could choose a different name, what would it be: Caroline Walker

Favorite thing to do in our house: Read books

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first? A million dollars and chocolate money

Favorites:

Food: Marshmallows

Treat: Ice cream

Color: Yellow

TV show: Phineas and Ferb

Book: Snow White

Animal: Horse

Place to go: Chuck E. Cheese's

Other random tidbits: Caroline is just growing up and doing great. She started Sunbeams at church this month and didn't seem to miss the toys and snacks from nursery at all. She loves school, her Tangled sticker album, reading books (especially Dora and Diego ones), playing games, doing puzzles, coloring, watching Avatar: the Last Airbender with her big bro and sis, eating pretzels and goldfish, and asking Daddy to pretend he's Appa (from Avatar) so she can ride on his back up the stairs. She has almost completely given up her nap--will take about one a week or so. She doesn't like to eat meals, but is a great snacker. Her hair is still blond and curly, but seems the curls seem to be relaxing a bit. She has recently grown fond of the word NO, but for the most part is our cutie pattootie and makes all of us smile.

Winter Sports: Fantasy Football

2012-01-12T14:20:00.000-05:00

Andrew, Brandon, and I all play fantasy football in a league with nine other friends and family members. This is our fourth season playing together and we love it. This was easily my favorite season so far because.... I WON!!! The super bowl. The whole she-bang. The entire season. Aaaaagggghhhh! I hope you get a feeling for how exciting this was for me.

I played IX Fe (Jeff) in the super bowl. It came down to the Monday Night Football game. I had Drew Brees and Darren Sproles. He had Jimmy Graham and Matt Ryan. I am SO grateful that Drew Brees had a passing record on the line because his last touchdown to Sproles sealed the deal. I haven't screamed like that over an NFL game since...ever. So, so fun!

Final score: Gridiron Girl 160, IX Fe 145

My new fantasy football crush: Drew Brees

To celebrate my win, Andrew put together a trophy ceremony. We ate yummy pizza

and toasted with Martinelli's.

The other exciting part of this season:

Brandon took third place!!

Andrew (the commissioner of our league) got him a medal

to commemorate his accomplishment.

Way to go, B!

And I received the league champ trophy!

Woo hoo!

Reveling in our victories.

I joined the Circle of Champions, which already included

Michael ('09 and '10) and Andrew ('08).

Instead of a celebratory Yoohoo shower,

which sounded sticky and messy,

we just drank the Yoohoo instead.

Yum.

I'm already looking forward to next season when I get to change my team name from Gridiron Girl to Trophy Wife.

Winter sports: Flag football

2012-01-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

Christmas mudbowl! Drew got a bunch of his friends together for another round of flag football. Again, we were fortunate to have great weather, but we had a lot of rain earlier in the week. So, they had a lot of mud on the field. Andrew got to do that load of laundry. Here are sixteen of my favorite shots from the game. (I took almost 400.) :)

Winter Sports: Panthers Game

2012-01-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

Once again I lucked out and the Panthers had a non-Sunday game this season. So, I had an easy gift idea for Andrew's birthday. He took Brandon down with him on Christmas Eve and they got to watch the Panthers play the Buccaneers. You can read his version of the story here. They had a fabulous time and made it home in time for our yummy Christmas Eve dinner. Here are some pics.

Winter sports: Basketball

2012-01-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

Brandon started his basketball season last month. He is playing with the Jamestown Youth League again this year, after playing at his elementary school last year. Wow, the level of competition is noticeably higher. He's holding his own in rebounding and blocking. Andrew is helping coach, which is fun for both of them. And, his games are played at the middle school he'll attend next year, which is a cool bonus.

Get that rebound!

Another board.

The shot is up!

Going for the block.

Free throw

Talking strategy

Pulling down an offensive board...

and he put it back up for two points.

Get that ball!

Laying it up.

His team is 1-3 so far, but they have had some super close games. Looking forward to the second half of the season!

Ringing in 2012

2012-01-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

The past couple of years, we've gone to visit our cousins, Ryan and Destinee, for New Year's. This year, we talked them into coming to see us. Woo hoo! It was so fun to spend the weekend with them.

On our way to meet them, we stopped at Pilot Mountain. When we tried to go a couple of months ago to see the fall leaves, we got rained out. Boo.

The weather was fabulous--sixty degrees!

But Caroline wanted to make sure she didn't catch a chill.

Brandon informed us that he has overcome his fear of heights.

So it was a much more pleasant trip for him.

Andrew has not.

He stayed away from the edges as much as possible.

The pinnacle.

Eight-tenths of a mile is a perfect hike for our family.

And there are lots of great spots to make my kids pose for pics.

And to talk B-train into taking pics of me and Drew.

After catching a spectacular pre-sunset sky,

we set out for Tanglewood to meet our cousins.

Enjoyed all the fun light displays again this year.

And this time we had Avery in the car with us,

entertaining us with her jokes during the drive.

After that, we mostly just hung out here at home.

We ate lots of good food, played board games, Just Dance, and Singstar.

The kids mostly entertained themselves, playing together with their new toys.

So so fun!

We did go out to the park for a while.

We broke out the Bocce set.

The kids were GOOD.

I had no idea.

Destinee, Chapel, Avery, Mason, Brittain, and Ryan

On New Year's Eve,

we played Guesstures with the kids,

had a cookie party,

and sent them to bed.

Then the grown ups stayed up playing

Ticket to Ride, Settlers, and

watching Brian Regan on Netflix.

We turned on the TV in time to see the ball drop.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Out of the Mouths of Babes--December

2012-01-01T22:48:00.002-05:00

12/1--The girls had some funny thoughts to share during Disney on Ice tonight.
When the stepsisters make Cinderella cry by tearing her dress, Caroline leaned over and said, "Just like I cry a lot of times."

When Cinderella's prince came skating out, Whit said, "He looks like daddy!"

Andrew on ice?

We LOVED seeing Maximus come out onto the rink. Caroline giggled and said, "Horses don't wear ice skates!"

12/2--Caroline came into our room this morning when I was still in bed. She climbed into bed with us and made the announcement, "Mommy, I want to grow up today." I thought that was so cute and was curious what she was going to do with her new grown-up status. "I'm going to be a hygienist."

Lesson one: sugar consumption can lead to cavities.

12/4--Care Bear is learning a song at school that teaches her the days of the week. She was singing it today, "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, March and April...." Still working on that one, I guess.

12/5--Whit is in the midst of an economics unit at school right now. Part of what they study is the difference between wants and needs. We were discussing this and C pitched in, "We need energy. We need real bodies. We need eyes."

12/6--Speaking of wants, C told me today, "I want a yellow cell phone with Angry Birds. So I can play every morning."

She'll be waiting for that phone for many years.

12/11--After Caroline used the bathroom today, she threw the toilet paper in and said, "It's going scuba diving!"

12/13--Caroline's commentary from the backseat today, "When this car dies, we should buy a yellow convertible."

12/14--Care Bear was in the bathroom, waiting for me to brush her teeth this evening. I walked in singing the first line to "Grown Up Christmas List," which was stuck in my head: "Do you remember me?" She sung back to me in her fabulous voice, "Of course I do!"

Phew. Glad she hasn't forgotten me.

12/15--I was playing pretend kitchen with Caroline and she said, "Do you want some bacon on the cob? It's yummy. It tastes like candy."

12/19--I bought some new "holiday" nail polish that I was all excited about. It was dark red and sparkly. I broke it out and painted my nails last night. When Whit came home from school today, she told me, "You have old lady fingernails." What??? "In the movies, old ladies always have fingernails like that...and you ARE kind of old." Ouch.

Old lady nails?

12/24--I was encouraging Whit and Caroline to have a very clean bedroom before they went to sleep tonight. Whit said, "Why? Do we have to? That's not part of Santa's legend. I never heard that we had to clean our rooms."

12/30--Some days Care Bear likes to disagree with every little thing we say. Today was one of those days. We visited Pilot Mountain and afterward were talking about whether or not it was fun. She said, "I HATE fun!"

The face of a girl who hates fun

12/30--My kids are really into the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. It cracks me up to hear Caroline quoting lines from it. Tonight when we were leaving Wendy's, she pushed open the door and said, "I'm a door bender!"

12/31--Now I know I'm failing my kids nutritionally. Care Bear just told me, "Marshmallows are my favorite fruit." D'oh.

Her idea of a nutritious snack

*Random photos of the month*

Reindeer?

That's Santa in the stable....interesting.

Whit's latest building project:

Hammocks!

She made one for herself and one for Caroline,

hanging from the top bunk.

And they actually sleep in them!

Sometimes for the whole night.

We got a lettuce knife.

It's plastic and cuts through lettuce really well,

but won't cut W's fingers. (At least not very easily.)

She's become the official lettuce chopper.

This towel display in Target makes me happy.

So pretty and colorful.

This is the parking in front of the big kids' school.

Apparently you must drive a minivan to volunteer there.

ATM's are pretty useless without cash.

B-train found these puddles in the backyard

after a storm. They form a perfect smiley face!

Picture a Christmas

2011-12-27T23:18:00.001-05:00

*Christmas Eve

This is the first year that I remember the kids wrapping gifts themselves.

Whit gave one of her stuffed animals to Caroline.

And B-train gave me some awesome origami creations.

Without any encouragement from parents.

LOVE it.

Goodies we shared.

Christmas cards

Christmas Eve dinner

On the menu: shrimp, artichokes, mashed potatoes,

yams, Grandma Cuca's red jello salad, and

chocolate toffee pie.

The Nativity

Joseph, Mary, and the donkey

The angel

The shepherd was sore afraid.

*Christmas Day

Pure excitement

Jumping for joy

A few of the fun gifts

Lite Sprite--all five of us have had fun with this one

B's Phiten necklace

The girls' dollhouse

Gorgeous sunrise

Automatic candy dispenser.

We already finished that entire gigantic bag of Skittles.

Yikes.

B's new bike.

It was a fun-filled, happy, relaxing Christmas. The big bummer was that Care Bear got sick--running a fever and complaining that her ear hurt. She and Drew had to stay home from church. They missed out on some beautiful music. But she's doing better now. And we're enjoying this week together here at home.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-24T10:26:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of December, we sat down as a family and decided which traditions we most wanted to carry on this year. I didn't want to try to squeeze too much in, but wondered which events were most important to my kids. Here's what we decided together.

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

Caroline and I made the house-from-a-kit together.

Whitney went with a square house.

B-train chose a traditional house.

Andrew got creative and designed Rapunzel's tower.

MUSICAL CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

LIVE NATIVITY

This was a new tradition for us this year. (Thanks, Shelley, for telling us about it!) One of the local churches does a drive-through live nativity. Very cool.

ORNAMENTS

CLASS PARTIES

I had fun helping out in Whit's class party. And was IN CHARGE of Brandon's party for the first time in my mothering career. It went really well...but was exhausting. Note to self: don't wear semi-uncomfortable boots to help with a class party. Comfort is more important than style in this instance!

ANNUAL GIRLS' NIGHT PARTY

I was so happy that we continued our tradition of getting together at Shani's house.

No cookie or book exchange this year.

Just white elephants, delicious food,

and amazing friends.

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

We have a preschooler again! So that means we get to watch an adorable preschool Christmas program!

I am a terrible camera woman when it comes to videos.

I was zoomed in too far and couldn't figure out how to fix

my mistake without missing the song.

But you still can feel the Southern flair, right?

We've had so much fun and are giddy with anticipation for tomorrow!

Family Portraits 2011

2011-12-18T17:49:00.001-05:00

Thanks to our friend, Toni, for taking our portraits this year. She captured our family at this moment in time. Yay!

Funniest Double Date

2011-12-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

We don't go on double dates very often. We seem to make plans last minute. And often just want to play tennis with the two of us. But when I heard that Brian Regan was coming to town, I begged Shelley and Michael to join us. We are all big fans and I wanted to share the experience with them. And they were up for the adventure. Woo hoo!

First we went to dinner at Leblon, a Brazilian steakhouse.

Michael and Andrew were in heaven.

Shelley enjoyed it.

I felt like I was on a dare.

See? There's meat on my fork.

And I ate it.

The show was exactly what I hoped it would be. It was so funny that my face and abs hurt from laughing when we left. It was good, clean humor, too. So hard to find.

In case you haven't heard of him, here are a couple little clips to whet your appetite. He has some DVD's out that are great.

I walked on the moon!

And one of Shelley's and my favorites:

Dumb ol' donkeys.

If you go to youtube, you can also look up his emergency room and flying routines. They are longer, but crack me up.

Joe Bolster was his opening act. And he was ALSO hilarious and clean.

Random moments from the night that I want to remember:

*Two huge guys standing outside the restaurant that looked like bouncers.

*The decision that Michael and I would make a great Amazing Race team, while Andrew and Shelley would be defeated by a 12-foot-ladder challenge.

*I am the robot wife with an inner GPS.

*The little stalls in the bathrooms that you can see over. Awkward!

*The wild jaguar in someone's car. "You can't plan for that."

*Putting lights on the Christmas tree. "That's a geometry problem that I just can't solve." "This dark area represents our difficult times."

*Marching band. "The flute player came up with this!" "You don't see marching accountants."

*Chess compared to football. "Look at how your safety's lined up. Six points!"

*Ailing health "Well, I guess my hips gonna hurt....forever."

*Unicorn hair!

*The failed joke about artists and Brian rolling all over the stage.

*Center your beverage!

Feeling Christmasy

2011-12-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

I LOVE this time of year. I love shopping--especially the anticipation of my kids' reactions on Christmas Day. I love listening to Christmas music all day long and singing my heart out. I indulge in peppermint ice cream and peppermint oreos and, well, just about anything with peppermint added to it! I get excited about seeing Christmas lights around town. And, most importantly, I am grateful for a time to focus on the birth of our Savior and try to follow His example in serving others.

Here is a glimpse into our festivities so far.

DECORATING THE TREE

Care Bear made sure the bottom third of the tree was covered.

B-train mostly wanted to watch.

I think he's getting too cool for tree decorating.

But he pitched in a little.

Almost done.

Caroline's turn to put the star on top.

Voila!

COMMUNITY TREE LIGHTING

CHRISTMAS PARADE

Giant balloons

Back-flipping karate chops

A&T marching band.
Awesome!

NEIGHBORHOOD LIGHTS

We visited my favorite Christmas neighborhood
with the big balls of lights strewn about.

The temperatures have been so mild that we actually
got out of the van and walked around so I could get
better pictures.

It's still hard to capture just how cool this scene is.
LOVE it.

Disney on Ice

2011-12-08T19:59:00.003-05:00

The girls and I had a magical evening at Disney on Ice. We LOVED it. They didn't allow me to take my SLR in. (Something I wish I would have known before I walked all the way from the car to the Coliseum!) So, these are the best pics I could get with my point and shoot.

All dressed up and ready to go!

They told the stories of three princesses.

First up, Tiana.

I don't really care for this story.

They had a couple of fun, jazzy songs, though.

Second: Cinderella

The stepsisters were funny.

And spent lots of time bumping into each other.

And falling down.

With her mouse friends and fairy godmother.

Dancing with her prince.

Third (and easily my favorite): Rapunzel!

Mother knows best.

Maximus and Flynn

Pang!

How many people can say they ice skate while holding a frying pan?

The floating lanterns.

Flynn and the post-haircut Rapunzel.

At the end, ALL the Disney princesses come out

dressed in these gorgeous white and gold dresses,

skating with their princes.

What a finale!

And for some reason, seeing Mickey and Minnie there

TOTALLY made me want to go to Disney World!

As an added bonus, Caroline and I got to attend a

Royal Reading storytime at the library,

where she got to meet...

Rapunzel!

Eek!

She (of course) wore her pink cowgirl boots for the occasion.

And now I REALLY want to go to Disney World

and get caught up in the magic of that place.

When I came home and told Andrew, he said,

"Well...we should be getting a tax refund soon..."

Tennis date

2011-12-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

On one of our other days of Thanksgiving break, we took the kids up to the park. Andrew and I played tennis. The kids ran around, played on the playground, colored, rode bikes...and followed in their mom's footsteps by acting as our sports photographers. And they did great! They're naturals.

A couple of Whitney's artistic shots:

How our matches always end:

with a smooch over the net. :)

Turkey Bowl 2011

2011-12-04T14:57:00.000-05:00

The weather over Thanksgiving weekend was divine. A perfect day for football! It is fun that Brandon's getting old enough to participate and we don't have to worry about him getting smashed...or at least not as much as we used to. The guys had a blast. I loved being the sports photographer. The girls played on the playground. And there were no major injuries.

It was hard to choose out of the FIVE HUNDRED that I took,

but here are a few of my favorite shots.

Andrew going for the interception

Drew trying to figure out how he'll get past Greg

Touchdown! (Just barely.)

B-train trying to juke Jeremy

Four men in pursuit of B

Drew with the tackle

Greg and Andrew battling for the ball

Ben and Greg celebrating in the end zone

Chris with the leaping catch

Jeremy juked B-train

Andrew and B chasing down Trey

B and Drew celebrating a touchdown.

Out of the Mouths of Babes--November

2011-12-02T08:55:00.002-05:00

11/2--Brandon's humor has grown up. He still cracks us up, but most of the funny things he says are not one-liners that are easily captured in a blog post. Here's an example of how his mind works, "I hate diabolical laughs! Why does the bad guy always diabolically laugh? Then the good guy takes his weapon or escapes. When is he going to learn NOT to laugh like that?"

11/4--Andrew and Caroline were getting ready to race up the stairs to get ready for bed. Drew tried to talk smack, telling her, "You are going down!" It went right over her head and she said, "No, I'm going UP."

11/10--I was reading Care Bear a book about ponies. It said, "Caring for a pony is hard work." She said, "Yea, ponies are heavy! Carrying a pony WOULD be hard work." Apparently I need to work on my annunciation.

There go her dreams of pony ownership.

11/13--We were sitting in sacrament meeting at church. The kids usually draw or take notes while we listen to the speakers. Caroline had drawn a picture for Andrew, but couldn't find it. As we were looking around our pew, she told me, "Maybe you ate it!"

Or did SHE eat it?

11/20--We were getting ready for church this morning and all three of us girls were in the bathroom at the same time. Whit was looking in the mirror and asked, "Why are my eyes so sparkly?" Caroline told her, "Maybe because you're a rock star!"

Awfully camera shy for a rock star.

(Unlike her mom who's hamming it up in the background.)

11/20--I wore my favorite dress to church today--a pretty red one. I don't wear it very often. When I came out of my room, Whitney said, "You...look...fabulous."

She knows how to make a mom feel good!

11/21--Caroline has started noticing stop lights. We have talked about the different colors and what they mean. Shortly after that, she got very concerned when I would go through a red light because red means STOP. We got to have a driving lesson about turning right on red. Well, she is obsessed with that now. At just about every intersection, she'll give us a driving play-by-play. "Straight on green." "Right on green." "Oooh, left on yellow." But her favorite is, "Right on red!"

Backseat traffic cop

11/22--I don't know if this is a nationwide phenomenon or just a North Carolina thing, but many of the pawn shops that buy gold hire someone to stand outside on the street corner and draw your attention to their store. One of our local stores has the man dress up in a huge banana costume. Hilarious. When we saw him today, Care Bear told me, "I want one of those giant banana costumes for my birthday!"

Birthday wish

11/23--Christmas music has started playing on radio stations. When we were listening to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and there's the line that says, "He sees you when you're sleeping..." Brandon piped up from the backseat, "Stalker!"

You can't fool this guy, Santa!

A couple of random photos:

Yee haw.

B-train is into origami right now.

This is one of my favorite creations he's made.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T23:08:00.000-05:00

We had a fabulous holiday weekend and are in denial that we have to resume our normal routines tomorrow. Andrew, especially, needed a break after a terrible and emotionally draining week at work.

The kids had school off on Wednesday. B-train spent some time at a friend's house.

The girls and I started baking.

Mmmmm...pumpkin pie.

This year, we got together with our friends, Chris & Tiffany and April & Ben.

We've been friends since we all moved to NC,

when we were young(er) couples with one kid each.

Look at what happened in the last eight years!

Tiffany agreed to host at her house (Yipee!) and all of us pitched in with the meal. Andrew was in charge of the turkey. He brined it again and it was his best turkey yet--moist and tasty. We also brought a chocolate toffee pie, Grandma Cuca's red jello salad, rolls, a veggie tray, and asparagus--my kids' only request.

Our feast was scrumptious.

And we had pies galore.

The kids had a BLAST together.

jumping on the trampoline,

watching the big kids jump,

playing the wii together,

board games,

and just hanging out.

And we didn't break up a single fight among these kiddos.

How is that possible?

We didn't ask, just counted our blessings.

The grown-ups had fun watching football,

playing a little game of football with the kids,

burned off some of our calories playing Just Dance,

played Apples to Apples and Scum.

And watched more football.

When we can't be with family for the holidays,

I'm grateful to share them with such good friends.

Last soccer game

2011-11-23T20:28:00.001-05:00

Brandon's soccer season has ended. He misses it already. His team ended up doing well. Their final record was 4-4-1. When the regular season was over, they had a tournament. It was intense! B's team ended their game in a tie, so it went to penalty kicks. It was oh so close, but they ended up losing by one. It may have been for the best as far as Brandon was concerned because the next game (for the championship) took place on Sunday, and he would have had to miss it.

We got a few more good action shots.

I love the look of determination in his face.

It is so fun to see his confidence on the field, despite

being one of the youngest.

SO close to heading that one!

While he was happy with the season and wishes he could play in the spring, I was disappointed. I think we had two practices all season long. It's hard to learn and improve fundamentals in games. I'm hesitant to sign him up with this league again, but he's determined that he wants to keep playing. We'll see what happens.

Another year older

2011-11-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Andrew's birthday earlier this month with a small little family party here at home. It was perfect. He requested Papa John's pizza for dinner. Yeah for easy! He loves homemade chocolate cake, so that's what we made for dessert. I love that the girls help me (and are actually helpful!) in the kitchen.

I got him Panthers tickets again this year, and they were not a surprise.

He and Brandon get to go to a game on Christmas Eve. Woo hoo!

The kids each chose a small gift for him and

we made him go on a treasure hunt to find him.

He was a good hunter.

Whit picked out a Panthers football.

B chose some of his favorite candies.

But the most surprisingly thoughtful gift came from Caroline.

All on her own, she decided to get her

daddy some fish oil tablets,

which she knows Andrew takes every night.

She apparently cares about her daddy's health!

We love you so much, Drew!

We're happy to celebrate another year with you--

and it was a surgery- and ER-free one, too! Yippee!

More BMXing

2011-11-18T11:54:00.001-05:00

We have had some GORGEOUS fall weather last week. Too nice to stay inside. I took B-train up to The Zone (his favorite BMX spot) so he could practice his moves. He was in heaven.

It was my first time to see The Zone. It is a cool course, but a lot of work. It's a downhill course. So every time you go through it (which takes about 32 seconds) you have to then ride your bike back up to the top of the hill. It was exhausting to watch! But so worth it to B.

I took a couple little video clips, too. It was my first try using my SLR for video. Hope the clips aren't too jumpy.

And that is why I have to buy a new tube for his tires every month or two. :)

The teeter-totter part is my favorite.

Times change

2011-11-15T21:44:00.000-05:00

For one of my church Young Women projects when I was in high school, I decided to make a resource file that I could use to prepare talks and lessons. I spent hours and hours copying talks and books and putting them in nice little hanging file folders, alphabetized by subject. Like this:

This baby has moved to four states and ten different homes with me. It is well traveled.

But it has never been used. Because right after I came up with my fabulous idea for a resource file, the internet became widely available. And it's much easier to google any of these topics than to flip through my file folders. So, today I decided it was time to say good-bye. I emptied it out. Sorted the talks into a "scratch paper" pile and a "recycle" pile. Saved about five talks out of sentimentality. And tried to figure out something useful to do with a now empty portable file folder.

Tennis

2011-11-10T14:37:00.000-05:00

My first season on the neighborhood tennis team went SOOO well. I loved it. It was fun for me to play competitively again. I got to spend time with my friends. And I improved in my tennis skills.

And, the bonus piece of good news is that our team finished in SECOND place out of twelve teams. It's the highest they've ever finished. Yes! I like to think I was the lucky charm. :)

Most of our teammates:

Michelle, Me, Amy, Mary

Stacey, Troyce, Diane, Deb

Chrissy and Trisha

Looking forward to Spring season!

Corn Maze

2011-11-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

Made our second annual trip to the corn maze. The day before we went, it rained and rained. But, we were happy that it was a beautiful sunny day for our trip. With lots of mud for Brandon to fall in.

Family photo with the oversized pumpkins.

Notice Caroline is wearing her pink cowgirl boots.

With sweatpants.

The jumping pillow was a big hit again.

I love these freeze frame pics of the kids jumping.

When I showed Caroline this pic, she thought

her hair was hilarious. "It's sticking straight up!"

Toe touch

Love W's hair, too.

Superman!

This time, we solved not one but TWO corn mazes.

First we tackled the kiddie maze.

We searched for animal footprints to figure

out who stole the farmer's pies.

Before we took on the big challenge,

we measured ourselves.

Andrew still has not started shrinking.

Phew.

The big kids did GREAT in the maze.

And Caroline only asked to be carried

part of the way. I would have asked

to be carried, too, after walking around

in those boots for so long.

Since we were seasoned veterans, we solved the

mystery fairly quickly this year.

(Notice B's muddy hoodie. He took quite a spill.)

LOVE spending time as a family, enjoying the sunshine,

exploring the maze, and savoring the caramel kettle corn at the end.

Out of the Mouths of Babes--October

2011-11-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

10/14--I came downstairs wearing a purple shirt and hat. Caroline looked at me and said, "Mom, you're purplicious!"

10/14--Part of Brandon's prayer tonight was, "Thank thee that we have such an awesome mom and dad." Awwww...I think that was one of the biggest compliments I've ever received.

I love this wheelie-riding boy.

10/15--This morning Caroline told me that in her dream last night she was a lollipop princess in Candyland. Doesn't get much better than that.

Princess Lolly

10/16--Whit, Andrew and I were playing "Apples to Apples." For those of you unfamiliar with the game, there are cards with adjectives on them and you try to match a noun in your hand to that descriptive word. Whit was the judge and the word was "Gigantic" and as a quick description underneath it said "huge, large." Whit immediately said, 'Like Dad's head!"

10/17--Caroline's random observation of the day, "Sometime boys wear tannish-white."

I think it's called "khaki."

10/17--When we asked Whit about recess at school today, she told us she played "Justin Bieber's Dog." What's that? Exactly what it sounds like--she and her friends would take turns pretending to be Justin Bieber's dog. Interesting.

But she SWEARS she is NOT a JB fan. Anymore.

10/20--When I was telling the kids that I was going to Time Out for Women this weekend, C asked, "How long do you have to be in the corner?" Brandon, Whit, and I started laughing. C waited a minute and then asked again, "No, really. How long do you have to be in the corner?"

Not THAT kind of time out.

10/21--I was patting Caroline's head and jokingly said, "Good doggy!" She snapped back, "I'm not your doggy, I'm your husband. Husbands are children. And children are darlings. And darlings are women. And then they turn into animals. And then baby dinosaurs." Whoa.

She lost me.

10/29--After the trunk-or-treat, Whit was eating a piece of candy and couldn't decide what flavor it was. Caroline had a suggestion, "I think it's lemon fresh peanut doom."

10/30--Whit has a deck of cards with questions about America. On the drive to church, she was asking us some. One asked, "Who said, 'Give me liberty or give me death?'" C guessed, "Frankenstein!"

Think she had Halloween on the brain?

Random photos

One elaborate balloon hat

How the girls would spend their time during B's soccer games.

Whit does NOT look comfortable.

Whit made herself a tree swing!

The cardboard only survived for a few minutes.

But the rope is still hanging in there.

And she uses it almost every day.

Candypalooza

2011-10-31T22:40:00.002-04:00

Some years Halloween is about the costumes. This year, it was much more about the candy. We didn't do a family theme. The kids all chose their own costumes. And they were relatively easy to pull off. So, they focused on the highly-anticipated sugar high. Woo hoo!

Over the weekend, we had our Fall Festival at church.

This was a first:

Kyler dressed up as the Bishop.

Ha! You know you're special when

someone dresses up like YOU for Halloween. :)

I couldn't come up with a fun couples costume

for Andrew and I. So I just threw on a witch hat.

And some black clothes.

And wore my make up a little heavier than usual.

I was SURE someone would say,

"Where's you're costume?"

implying that I really am a witch.

But not a single person did.

Our church friends are so kind.

B-train decided to dress up as a drummer this year.

Andrew thinks it was just a trick to get us to

buy him a set of drumsticks.

But, hey, if it's a $5 costume AND he can use

it for more than one day, I'm cool with that.

Whit was a black cat.

Meow.

Care Bear was a little pumpkin.

(Same costume Whit wore as a 3-yr-old,

but I had to give it a facelift. The last

four years had not been kind to it.)

We chowed down on several delicious types of chili from the Chili Cook-Off and then the kids got a haul of candy before we left.

Today, for the REAL Halloween, we just hung out here at home. Our neighborhood gets CRAZY with trick-or-treaters. I wish you could see it. I tried to get some photos. The quality is poor, but you can get an idea. I'm so thankful that some of our neighbors get a permit to block off the street into our little cul de sac. I love not having to worry about the kids getting run over. Except this year there was one rogue vehicle that snuck in and followed their kids around trick-or-treating. Boo.

A glimpse of the throngs of people in the streets.

There were lines to get to the candy.

Luckily, these three thought the wait was worth it.

Care Bear's teacher lives in our neighborhood.

They were excited to see each other.

The spoils!

I'm sure our dentist would NOT approve.

I guess I could ask him tomorrow.

When we go back for B's THIRD crown prep.

Maybe *I* should be the one that doesn't approve!!

I took a Time Out

2011-10-25T20:52:00.000-04:00

It included belly laughs, violin performances, a few tears, lots of warm fuzzies, a boy band, way too much chocolate, one of my BFF's, and some Mormon celebrities.

Sound fun?

Oh, yes. It was fabulous!

Time Out for Women is an event that is held in several cities across the country. This year, they had one in Richmond, Virginia. When it was originally announced, my BIL Tony was supposed to speak. I was SO excited and invited all of my in-laws to meet me in Richmond for it. But then his schedule got rearranged. Boo. But I still wanted to go. So I talked Shelley into leaving our kiddos with our AWESOME husbands and going with me.

We had the best time.

It was such a spiritual boost.

I felt like I was walking on air for the next couple of days.

Highlights

*Jason Wright's story about his sister giving a newborn puppy mouth-to-mouth.

*Jenny Oaks Baker's violin performances throughout the evening. She. rocks. I was blown away.

And I didn't even know I enjoyed violin music.

My favorite piece was "Baby Mine" from Dumbo,

which she played with her 8-year-old daughter accompanying

her on the piano. That little girl also rocked.

Put my piano playing skills to shame.

*Meeting Virginia Hinckley Pearce.

She radiates the Spirit.

Just like her parents did.

*Staying up WAY too late just jabbing away with Shelley and laughing at the stupid sayings in our chocolate wrappers.

*Mariama Kallon's story of praying to be able to teach someone from Africa while on her mission at the Salt Lake Temple and then getting up off her knees and running to meet him.

What faith!

*Brad Wilcox's story of a sister missionary asking him, "Soy fea?" [Am I ugly?] When he thought she said, "Soy fiel?" [Am I faithful?] And he told her, "Yes. Very much." Oops.

*Catching up with my friend, Amy.

She was down from DC and we had a quick but fun visit.

*Cheering and dancing to Jericho Road.

Shelley even lost her voice from all our rowdiness.

It's not easy to teach Sunday School without a voice.

But she managed.

Next year, they are holding Time Out in Atlanta. Shelley and I have already mentally saved the date. (Tony, can you request to speak at that one?) We'd love to have a big group of friends join us. I'll bring the chocolates!

Curls be gone---momentarily

2011-10-19T14:57:00.000-04:00

We love Care Bear's curls. But we had a little extra time on our hands Sunday morning. And my flat iron was already heated up. So.... we decided to experiment.

Let's refresh our memories on just how curly her hair is.

All natural, too.

Here's the straight version:

Voila!

Fancy lady.

It's fun to see how LONG it is.

But I forgot she likes to suck on her hair.

Boo.

It was curly again by the end of church.

We'll try again in a year or so.

Fun-filled Day

2011-10-14T22:27:00.001-04:00

I'm a fan of fun. Who isn't? And last Saturday we tried to pack as much fun into a single day as we could.

First, Caroline had her best little girlfriend, Mia's, birthday party.

It was packed with music, dancing, dress-ups,

and pink cupcakes. Little girl heaven.

Between these three girlies, that's a whole lotta curls bouncing around!

As soon as we got home, we headed out for Brandon's previously mentioned soccer win. Woo hoo!

When he finished up battling the giant on the soccer field, we headed out to our friend, Maggie's, parent's house. They live out in the country on a gorgeous piece of land and have a big fall party every year. We jumped at the chance to join in.

Enjoyed the first signs of fall along the drive.

At the party, we took a little ride on a paddle boat,

the girls had fun throwing hay at each other,

we went on a hayride,

B and Drew tried fishing,
and we roasted hot dogs for dinner.
(By WE, I mean the rest of my family.
I ate chips and cake for dinner.
But I don't think I'm supposed to publicly admit that.)

We zoomed home and were *almost* late for our babysitter. D'oh!
Thankfully, she was running a little late herself.

Andrew and I rubbed shoulders with the cultured population
by attending a Relevents Wind Quintet concert.

It was beautiful.
And entertaining.
And relaxing.
And....FREE.

Afterward we went out to Q-Doba. Turns out chips and cake are NOT a very satisfying meal. I gorged myself on Mexican Gumbo, one of my favorite fast food-ish meals. If we can't have Cafe Rio here, at least we have that soupy deliciousness.

I was completely exhausted by the time I got home from dropping the babysitter off. And I loved every minute of it.

Soccer

2011-10-11T22:02:00.001-04:00

Brandon's playing soccer. He made a big leap this year--playing on the big fields and in a league with guys three years older than him. You know what that means? Post-growth spurt boys. They are huge! The season got off to a rough start. He lost his first three games. Bad. We braced ourselves for a long season.

But this weekend, they WON! It was a close game, but they pulled off an exciting 5-4 win. Woo hoo!

It has been fun to see B improve over the course of the season, too. He started off timid and unsure of himself. But in the last game, he was aggressive and had some great plays.

Here are some action photos. He's in the green uniform with the red shorts.

This is the guy Brandon had to defend last game.

He was easily more than a foot taller than B.

But B was unintimidated.

He took it right to the big guy.

And somehow ended up consoling the big guy when it was all done.

We're hoping the momentum has swung in our direction and we'll see some more wins in our future. But, if nothing else, at least Brandon's getting some good experience as the young guy in this league.

Conference tradition

2011-10-09T22:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was General Conference for church. It was a fabulous weekend. So uplifting. We love just spending the weekend together as a family and listening to the words of a prophet and apostles as they share what the Lord wants us to hear.

On Saturday night, there is a meeting for the guys ages twelve and up. One of my traditions for conference is to invite a bunch of my girlfriends and their kids over to keep us company while Drew's gone. So. much. fun. Usually we just let the kids run around while we visit and eat. But this year, we decided to bust out our dance moves. It may have been my favorite one to date.

The kids had fun gettin down...

and jumpin around.

And then the moms took over. Yippee.

(Baby Brynn was NOT injured during this dance.)

Shelley and I were scouting talent show

participants for next year.

We had a blast and got a workout, too.

That's what a call a successful party. :)

More laughs

2011-10-04T21:00:00.001-04:00

The kids were home sick from church one Sunday last month and this is what they did to entertain themselves.

First Brandon.

Then Whitney.

And, finally, Caroline.

Out of the Mouths of Babes--September

2011-10-02T11:25:00.000-04:00

9/2--Caroline told me, "When I grow up, I want to have two babies. I want to name them cucumber and tomato."

Future mother.

Of vegetables.

9/5--We went out to McDonalds tonight and B got a McFlurry. He devised a way to burn calories as he consumed them:

He'd have to do a whole lot of those to equal his calorie intake.

But he's an active ten year old boy.

So, who's counting?

9/9--Something I didn't expect to hear out of my three-year-old daughter's mouth: "I REALLY wish I could be a bad guy!"

Someone needs to tell her that bad guys don't twirl.

9/12--Caroline's latest aspiration, "When I grow up, I want to be a fireman."

9/12--I was apparently concentrating too hard on something while we were shopping, because Caroline asked me, "Where's your happy face?"

Me: What does my face look like?

C: Your disaster face!

9/12--Also while shopping, we saw some embellished jeans that I loved. I held them up and asked her, "Aren't these cute?" She said, "They look ugly and selfish."

9/16--Caroline did NOT enjoy the hibachi process when we were out to eat at Myrtle. She clung to me and said, "I hate this restaurant. I don't want to come back here. My straw melted."

Note the melted straw above.

9/20--Care Bear packed some toys and books to entertain herself while we were out. When she picked it up she said, "My backpack feels like heaviness."

9/25--Around the dinner table, we were talking about possible Halloween costumes for Andrew and me, things like a fork and a spoon, a prince and a princess. Caroline chimed in with, "Mom could be a french fry and Dad could be a dragon!"

9/25--We went for a family walk at the Bog Garden. Whitney said, "It stinks here." I asked, "What does it smell like?" She said, "Racoons."

Beware of raccoon smell.

Random photos for the month

At one of our fun library visits this summer, we watched a Tae Kwan Do demonstration. Brandon has been channeling his inner martial artist since then. This month, he wanted to try breaking boards. He is lucky to have a dad who is willing to put himself in harm's way to assist in his whims.

Watch out!

And, of course, the girls wanted to join in on the action.

Who says you can't wear a tutu and do karate kicks?

Hi---yah!

I love this picture.

Three great faces.

B practicing the faces he can pull.

Me practicing my photography skills

on B-train while jumping

He's so wiry!

Love this one, too.

A new favorite pastime:
trying on Halloween costumes that I would
never actually let them buy.

We call this little toy the Ice Cream Pone.

B got Poned!

A chilly beach getaway

2011-09-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

It was hot last week. Not as hot as Dallas, but we still had a day in the 90's. But it was just our luck that when we had a quick trip to the beach scheduled, the weather decided to drop 30 degrees. Brrrrr... It wasn't quite the bask-in-the-sun escape that we had envisioned, but we had a blast.

The view from our balcony.

Love it.

A quick family photo before we head down to the beach.

Look at my crazy hair!

As usual, B-train headed straight for the waves.

The water felt fabulous.

Like a warm bath.

It was this sea breeze when you got OUT

that was a killler.

Care Bear spent most of her time in the sand.

Whit had a good time boogie boarding.

So did Drew.

Not long after we got down to the water, a fellow beachgoer informed me that she'd seen sharks swimming in and out of the waves close to shore. It creeped me out. I didn't want to get in any water deeper than my waist. You can see the rest of the family were willing to take that risk. And none of us were attacked.

When we were sufficiently chilled, we packed up all of our beachy paraphernalia

and spent some quality time in the hot tub.

Oh yea.

Thankfully our hotel had indoor water parks.

Perfect.

B played a little basketball.

The girls loved playing with their daddy.

Caroline was all over the place in her water wings.

It was cute to see her feeling so confident and independent in the pool.

There was lots to keep us busy other than freezing our tushies outside.

The girls got balloon animals: a snail and a sword.

They had a great magic show, where the girls got to help with a trick.

C got her face painted. A shark. It made me nervous.

We ate LOTS of good food.

We took the kids out for hibachi.

Their first time.

The big kids (including me and Andrew) loved it.

Caroline liked the food, but that fire was a little

too close for comfort. She wanted out of there.

Then next day, Andrew took the big kids out for crab.

One of their FAVORITE foods on the planet.

Drew said he doesn't think he's ever had two meals

THAT good back-to-back.

After checking out of our hotel,

we headed to Broadway at the Beach.

That place is so much fun.

If you're willing to spend a few bucks.

Which we normally aren't.

But we splurged.

A pretty girl on a pretty horse.

Ahoy, matey!

I almost got sick just watching her.

Magiquest!

Double bubble toil and trouble

B defeated the goblin king. Woo hoo!

Hold on tight...

And enjoy the ride!

Care Bear saw lots of other tourists taking their

pictures in cutouts, so she wanted to join in on the fun.

Pretzel face!

We didn't go in here, but isn't that a cool building?

While it wasn't the tropical getaway we'd anticipated,

we had a fabulous time.

Next time, we'll hope for a little more sun.

A few random thoughts

2011-09-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

*Brandon left for school on his bike and just a minute later was banging on the front door. When I went to see what was going on, he said, "Grab your camera. I want to show you something!" The tone of his voice led me to believe it was going to be a good thing. And it was. A beautiful full moon still hanging in the sky. I was so grateful that my thoughtful boy would put off his trek to school to come home and share that with me.

My picture doesn't do it justice.

*Our artist extraordinaire, Whitney, came home from school with a spring in her step. I said, "It looks like you had a good day." She said, "I'm SO proud of myself!" She went on to share the news that she has two pieces of artwork on display at the county school offices--one in the superintendent's office and another in the Personnel building.

Way to go, Whitney!

"Miss Fuddle-de-Duddle"

*Caroline is officially giving up her afternoon nap. I am SO in denial. She takes "quiet time" in her room for an hour most days, but has only fallen asleep maybe twice in the last three weeks. She's at that awkward phase, though, where I feel like she still needs a nap. If we're driving around in the late afternoon/early evening, she almost always falls asleep in the van. Oh, well. You can't make someone sleep. The downside is that I lose some of my precious free time. But on the upside, we can stay out later shopping or playing.

Just hoping her lack of sleep doesn't turn her

into a little monster.

*I won the first week of fantasy football. I was matched up with Andrew. It was predicted to be a close game, but by the end of Sunday night, he was up by 52 points. I had two players in the Monday night game, but figured it was hopeless.... Until Wes Welker pulled off a 99 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Yea, baby! I was giddy all day Tuesday.

*Andrew took a business trip to Dallas this week. It was A HUNDRED AND FIVE DEGREES. I was once again reminded how grateful I am we got to stay in NC with his job and not relocate.

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-13T22:15:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wish every weekend lasted three days.

*On Friday, we met Andrew downtown for another Friday Night Live. Unfortunately, it started raining. Boo. We drove to the Apple store. This is a new favorite family activity. We each grab an iphone or ipad and play around with all the fun apps and games. Brandon says it's funner than Chuck E. Cheese's--and it's free!

*Hurried home for our fantasy football draft. Yippee! Andrew looks forward to this almost as much as Christmas. We let Brandon stay up late to participate live for the first time. He was hilarious. We need to work on our draft etiquette. He kept texting things to our draft-mates that were meant for family ears only. D'oh. But the draft was fun! And we're excited about our teams.

*On Saturday we went to the water park. The kids LOVE having Andrew there with us.

Check out the acrobatics they were pulling off.

Yee haw!

And Whitney tried Daddy-surfing.

And I love having him there because I can ride the scary rides

that no one else will ride with me.

Wa hoo!

(I'm so bad at self-portraits.)

It was so much fun.

But Caroline wasn't quite acting like herself.

When I took her on the lazy river, I realized

she was burning up with a fever!

Poor baby.

We took her home and gave her tylenol.

Which she thinks is candy.

And keeps asking for.

*Andrew graciously volunteered to stay home with her. I'm sure it was just a coincidence that BYU was playing their first football game of the season. Brandon, Whitney, and I headed out to Kip, Bridget, and Elliot's house for a party. And let me tell you, they know how to throw a party.

Check out the fruit bowls.

The food was scrumptious.

Andrew and Care Bear missed out.

Whit and her friends made a band and had a parade.

Brisa read stories.

It was wonderful just to hang out with good friends and visit.

Thanks, you guys!

*Sunday the kids needed to stay home from church. Caroline was acting fine, but Brandon woke up with a terrible sore throat, so I figured we better play it safe. It was supposed to be my first week serving as secretary for the Relief Society. So Andrew went to his early morning meetings and then we swapped sick kids after sacrament meeting so I could go to RS. Yay! I worked in the nursery for over two years. I LOVED it and will miss those little munchkins, but I'm excited to try something new, too.

*On Monday, we had a lazy morning. Then went out for breakfast. Then met Mac and Diane at the park to play tennis while our kids entertained themselves at the playground. We were having a great time (and Andrew and I were actually winning!) when it started raining. We tried playing through it while the kids hunkered down in the van, but eventually we gave up. And went out for dinner. Apparently I have something against cooking on holidays.

Earthquake

2011-09-09T21:44:00.007-04:00

For the sake of documentation, it should be noted that last month our family experienced our first earthquake. Actually, Andrew felt several while he was on his mission in Chile. But the kids and I were earthquake rookies. And maybe we still are. Because we didn't feel a thing. We were at the water park and played around, unaware of any shaking or trembling. If the wave pool was a little more wavy than usual, we couldn't tell.

But Andrew was in his office and definitely felt it. When he went to his co-workers office next door, she said she didn't feel anything. But sure enough, a minute later they heard the news: there was a 5.8 earthquake in Virginia.

And we came home to find our shed looking like this:

Yikes.

OK, so this door had some major issues BEFORE the earthquake. Andrew and I tried to replace it about a year ago discovered that our home improvement talents do not extend to door replacement. However, it was standing straight up and covering the opening when the quake hit. Does that mean we can get our insurance to fix it?

The Big Preschooler

2011-09-07T21:26:00.000-04:00

I sent my baby off to preschool today.

And she LOVED it.

And I got a pedicure.

And I LOVED it.

In general, Caroline is the most fearful of my kids, so I wondered if she would be my first to have anxiety about going to school.

Well, she proved me wrong.

Check out her poses on our way in.

She was all smiles.

And no turning back.

She has two super cute teachers.

And they said she did really well.

When I asked her about her day, she told me that she, "played with ponies and Barbies and cars and trucks." She's a well-rounded girl.

She also said she made friends, but couldn't remember any of their names. And her favorite parts were playing and eating. She was very detailed in telling me about snack, "We had those yogurts that are in a paper and cookies and apple juice." Yum.

I knew they reviewed the calendar as part of their day, so I asked her what day it was. She very confidently replied, "Nocember!"

I'm so glad she had fun and am looking forward to playing tennis and volunteering in the big kids' classrooms while Caroline's at school.

Out of the Mouths of Babes--August

2011-08-31T22:21:00.045-04:00

8/1--The kids have instituted a new rule for Andrew and me when we are driving in the car with them: NO dancing in intersections. I can't believe how hard it is for me to keep that rule! But I don't blame them for being embarrassed of our dancing.

8/11--Caroline's random comment at the dinner table tonight, "The castle was allergic to toilets."

8/13--Maybe Brandon has a future in television production. This month he came up with ideas for two TV shows. First, we have The Biggest Loser game for the Wii and he was watching me workout one morning and said, "They should make a show called The Biggest Gainer for people who are skinny and want to gain wait. They could sit around and watch TV and eat potato chips all day." I told him that would be a great idea for anorexic girls who need to gain wait.

Andrew and I watched Masterchef this summer and would talk about parts of it to the kids. Brandon came up with the idea for "Cooking with the Stars." He said they could throw a bunch of celebrities in a room with random ingredients and see what they could come up with. Fun!

8/16--Brandon was misbehaving and had to spend some time in his room. He composed "Essay on this stupid day:" I sit in a dentist chair and get my tooth drilled out and chew on 5 playdough gobs. Then I make a joke and have to write another essay on it. Today has really stunk.

8/26--We introduced our children to the music of Weird Al on this summer's road trip CD. Today, Andrew let them watch the video of "I'm Fat." The kids LOVED it. And reenacted it. Over and over again.

"Who's fat?"

8/30--While I was working out this morning, I was explaining to Caroline the benefits of exercise:
Me: Did you know that when you work out, you help your body get healthy?
Caroline: AND stinky!
She's a smart girl.

Random photos for the month:

Caroline licking things

B jumping off things

W jumping off things

C painting things

Look who Whitney ran into at the mall!

First day of school

2011-08-28T22:06:00.000-04:00

It was bound to happen eventually. Summer break has officially ended. Brandon and Whitney donned their new backpacks and headed off to start another school year.

They were up at the crack of dawn,

got themselves all ready to go,

and were twiddling their thumbs waiting for us.

It was awesome.

We took a big step this year.

Or at least it felt big for me.

We are letting B ride his bike to school.

Thus the helmet in the above photo.

The first day went great!

Brandon started fifth grade.

His last year of elementary school.

He's handsome, even with helmet hair.

Here's what he had to say about his first day:

Best part: Biking. Because I love biking.

Worst part: How suckish the rest of the class is at kick ball.

What he thinks of Ms. Morris: She's really awesome because she's nicer than my last teacher.

Who he sat with at lunch: Peyton, Trey, Bryce, Alexander

One thing he hopes will happen in 5th grade: Do some fun science experiments.

Miss Whitney started second grade.

Her thoughts:

Best part: Reading for about an hour. I read five or six books. But I can't remember their names.

Worst part: How hot it was outside during recess.

What she thinks of Ms. Boyd: She's really, really nice. She let's us talk when we're waiting for the buses.

Who she sat by at lunch: McKenzie and Amaya

Hope for second grade: I hope that we do a really, really cool science experiment.

Other random thought: There are a lot of people that I know at school and a lot of people that I don't know.

Caroline was a little confused about why she didn't get to start school yet. She has another week before it's her turn. It didn't take her long to decide she liked having me to herself, though.

We read books together, played the piano,

built cool block towers,

met Andrew for lunch,

and practiced taking pictures of each other.

She insisted that her toes be included in my photo shoot.

After the smooth start, I'm hopeful that this will be a good year for the kids. And I'm trying not to be too wistful about the end of a fabulous summer.

Oh, What Do We Do in the Summertime?

2011-08-19T23:38:00.005-04:00

It feels like we had two different summers this year. The first one was spent gallivanting across the country. And the second half was spent right here at home. We didn't leave town once. And we all loved it. I think the van was happy to get a rest in the garage for a while, too.

But that doesn't mean we didn't have fun. Oh, no. We had plenty of that. Here's how we kept busy.

TENNIS

Nicolle and I played in a doubles league again this summer.

Loved it.

We went 1-5.

But had fun!

And ate lots of consolation gelato after our losses.

PLAYING IN THE BACKYARD

One of the kid's favorite activities:

having Andrew give them crazy rides in the little tikes car.

It's a risky sport.

Care Bear is a good little bike rider!

FRIENDS

GRASSHOPPERS GAME

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
We had missed the first couple of chances to attend
these free downtown concerts.
Made the August one a priority and it lived up to our expectations.

So fun and relaxing.

BMX'ing

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

FREE STUFF FOR KIDS

Mr. Nigel concert

A free concert ..in a toy store..with hands on participation?
Sweet!

Shadow Puppet show.
Involved a meatball luchador.
Cracked us up.

Melville Dewey, International Library Hip Hop Superstar
Also hilarious.

Crafts at the African and Middle Eastern Bazaar

CHUCK E CHEESE'S

SWIMMING
I loving hanging out at the pool more than my kids.
What is wrong with them?
They were stuck going with me several times, though.
Thanks, kids!

B loved the diving boards at Bur-Mil pool.

Weee!

When the Wet n Wild passes went on sale at the end of the season,
I jumped on it. So I could drag the kids to more the pool more often!
[cue evil laugh]

Brandon and Whit jumping.

I figured out a trick:
go with friends.
When we run into the kids' friends
(or bring them with us)
they have a blast.

Cora and Whit on a steep slide.

They didn't even scream!

Brave girls.

On days that I don't force them to go to the pool,

they ask to swim in the hot tub.

Crazies.

GARDENING

The one and only zucchini we got.

It made delicious stir fry.

And left us wishing for more.

We got lots of grape tomatoes and just a couple of

these big beauties. Mmmmm....garden fresh deliciousness.

And now we just have a few days left before school starts! I will miss the freedom and carefree schedule. But I suppose I should finish up that Child Development class one of these days. And it isn't going to happen at the pool.

Caroline's Fashion Tip

2011-08-17T22:26:00.001-04:00

If Caroline could share one piece of fashion advice with you, it would be this: Pink cowgirl boots go with ANYTHING.

Sundresses,

gauchos,

turquoise outfits...

But they are ESPECIALLY appropriate when worn with
red leggings and riding a horse.

Ten year old boy

2011-08-04T22:18:00.000-04:00

Brandon is ten. TEN. Double digits. Wow. I am not much of a sentimental girl. I don't cry when my kids start school or lose teeth or start walking. My heart swells as I see them grow and progress. But with Brandon actually growing up, I find myself struggling. All of the previous milestones were safe. I got to be right there watching. Holding his hand. Cheering for him. I don't know what it is about this tenth birthday, but I feel like I'm officially beginning the process of letting him go. Increasing his independence. Trusting him more.

And it's strange.

And I'm not cheering.

I'm worrying.

Have we taught him everything he needs to know? Will he make the right choices? Even when we're not looking over his shoulder? Brandon is an amazing kid and I need to have more faith in him. But it's going to take some time. Thankfully, we still have some time. Because the process of letting go will still take approximately eight years. Phew. Maybe I just need to chill.

Right now, Brandon's life revolves around BMX, skateboarding, Harry Potter, Magic the Gathering (a card game), peanut butter sandwiches, soccer, basketball, and video games. He is still doing great in his piano lessons. We love listening to him play. He is smart, witty, helpful, strong-minded, athletic, faithful, and curious. He finished his Bear requirements in cub scouts and has moved up to Webelos.

He still loves reading and devours books faster than I can. He got to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this summer. Also enjoys the 39 Clues series and Peter and the Starcatchers. He has yet to embrace the concept of sleeping in. He's usually done with his breakfast before I even make it downstairs in the mornings.

Things are never quiet with Brandon around.

I can't imagine our family without him.

Love you, B-train!

Out of the Mouths of Babes--July

2011-07-31T23:55:00.084-04:00

7/8--We crossed the border into South Dakota today and were driving through the Black Hills. Caroline took a good look around and said, "Maybe this is where I growed up. I think this is where I went to high school."

Silly me. I thought she was going into preschool.

7/8--At our hotel, they had a full length mirror. Caroline had fun checking herself out, especially the big goose egg she got at the fun run last week. She said, "Mom, I was looking at my blood mustard." I think she meant her bruise.

When she was done checking out her blood mustard,

she asked me to take pictures of her running as fast as she could.

7/9--In one episode of Phineas and Ferb, the boys carve Candace's head into Mt. Rushmore. Without anyone else mentioning it, when we got to the Mt Rushmore, Caroline asked, "Where's Candace?"

What? No Candace?

7/9--As we were leaving Mount Rushmore, Care Bear waved and said, "Bye-bye, George Washington."

See ya later, Abraham Lincoln!

7/10--During church today, Care Bear announced her latest aspiration, "When I grow up, I want to work at a hotel." When I asked her what she was going to do there, she said, "You would talk to me. And ask me questions. And I could tell you where the restroom is. And your bed. And the stairs."

7/10--Caroline is getting her metamorphosing animals mixed up. Uncle Forrest caught some teeny tiny frogs today and she was playing with them. She told me, "I think they used to be butterflies."

Looks like Whitney used to be a...pterodactyl?

7/17--After being away from our home ward for SIX weeks, we were all looking forward to getting back to our own church. On the drive there this morning, I asked Caroline, "Are you excited to see your nursery friends?" She said, "Yea! And to smell them!"

Apparently nursery kids in other states have a different odor.

7/29--We went to a Grasshoppers game tonight. Caroline was being silly and Andrew told her, "You're a cute kid." She told him, "I'm not a kid. I'm a husband!"

Me and my ~~husband~~ kid.

7/31--Care Bear told me, "Maybe when I grow up, I can go to BYU." I told her, "That would be so fun! I loved going to BYU." She said, "Maybe you can come with me."

A few more photos:

Still no Candace.

Yee haw! Dinosaur Rodeo!

I see you!

When I saw these giraffes kiss at the zoo,

I wondered if this is how Andrew and I look when we kiss.

"...and world peace."

B got *this* close to wakeboarding.

B's self-portrait

Gotta love a good ball pit

From the 4th of July parade.

Children. Children. Future. Future.

If you look carefully, you'll see that the shadow of our van

looks like Shrek's head if you're at just the right angle

in the late evening.

Other random road trip thoughts

2011-07-28T23:45:00.001-04:00

*Highs*

Grandma Cuca's total and absolute shock at her surprise party.

Staying up late playing Zurts, Apples to Apples, Rummy, and Cranium with my siblings.

Being reunited with Andrew after the first ten days of the trip. His absence really did make my heart grow fonder. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for at least the first 24 hours.

Playing Just Dance with Destiny. I had yet to play with someone who was actually a good, competitive match for me. It was so fun! If only we lived closer to each other and could play more than once a year.

Seeing tons of antelope on the drive from Utah to South Dakota. And none of them running in front of us.

*Lows*

The portable DVD player broke on our second day of driving. NOOOOO!

The kids were fighting over the iPod and broke the car charger in the melee. Seriously?

Discovering that Brandon only packed two pairs of underwear. D'oh!

Whitney left a dead crawdad in a plastic cup in the van for two days in the Texas heat. Let's just say the air in there was polluted for several days.

Our visit to the Kirby Science Center in Sioux Falls, SD. We only had about 45 minutes to play before they closed. Caroline peed her pants after about 7 minutes, so she and I had to leave. Then they closed the whole place 15 minutes early. Ridiculous. SO not worth the stop.

Whitney made some cute little rag dolls in Nauvoo and then lost them the next morning at breakfast. She was devastated, which broke my heart.

If found, please contact Whitney ASAP.

*Most interesting names*

Pudding Ridge Golf Course
Mousetail Landing
Stink Creek Road
Old Woman Creek
Skunk River
Kickapoo Creek

*Lessons learned*

Did you know that feral pigs are running rampant through parts of the country? I had never heard of such a thing before this trip.

Caroline is terrified of showers. We definitely need to stick with baths for another year or two.

When traveling with a three-year-old, always have a pull-up handy.

*Random memories*

There was a crazy cardinal at the cabins in Texas that kept flying into windows and mirrors over and over.

It was creepy.

I had a dream that a giant talking catfish told me, "Start. Better start, Jedi."

Visited the Browning Gun Shop in Nauvoo and learned that the original Mr. Browning engraved "Holiness to the Lord" on each gun that he sold. Interesting.

*My favorite Grandma Cuca quotes*

A couple of years ago, she had a man investigate a problem with her roof. He found a mama squirrel with several babies and she told him to get rid of them. He asked her, in all seriousness, "Are you sure? Because they'd make some good dumplings."

She has been accused by some people as being fiesty, but she told me, "I'm not fighting with people, I'm just defending myself."

*Some random pics*