Fun at the Fair

It had been a very long time since I had been to the county fair. So, when it came to town this summer I jumped on the opportunity to take the kids. Oh boy did we have fun. We spent lots of money and only a couple of hours. We rode the medium sized ferris wheel, went through the lousy fun house (a couple of warped mirrors, a noisy step, and some ropes to walk through-boring!). The best part was the bumper cars, we rode on them twice. The worst part was the tilt-a-whirl. I'd sworn off of them years ago, but I was foolish enough to get back on. All three kids and I piled into one car and the controller proceeded to spin us so fast that poor little Ellie couldn't even move her head. We won't go back next year, but at least the kids have had a chance to experience a fair, every kid should.

Board Exams

I PASSED!!!!

Trucks! Trucks! Trucks!

Our town has a wonderful park district. They make sure that we not only have many and varied parks to play in, but inexpensive or free activities to participate in all year round. Every spring they put on Touch a Truck day. This event brings together firetrucks, semis, ice cream trucks, race cars, S.W.A.T. vehicles, etc., etc. Every kid has a chance to climb in, out, and all over these vehicles. There's free soda and ice cream and plenty of LOUD horns to honk. I took Logan and Avery to one about 5 years ago. Ellie wasn't even a bun in the oven at that time, so it was her turn. Brent had the day off and it was nice to spend some time with him and only have to keep track of one child. Of all the trucks there were to see, Ellie had the most fun in the bounce house, of course.

Baptism

Our church believes that children are not accountable for their actions until they reach the age of eight and so they are not baptized until that time. Logan turned 8 this year and we postponed his baptism to coincide with my graduation from nursing school so Brent's parents would only have to make one trip.

I had such grand ideas for preparing Logan for this special day, but school and my own laziness got in the way. Regardless, Brent and I did speak with him about it, as did his primary teachers and grandparents. I don't think he fully understands what it all means, but neither did I at that age. Logan asks very deep questions sometimes and is quite perceptive, so I know he'll make sense of it all some day.


Brent's mom, Pam, makes great cookies and as her husband and oldest son are well known for their love of cookies, she always makes a batch when she visits.

Little Maroons Preschool

We have had the wonderful opportunity to have had all three of our children participate in the Little Maroons Preschool. The kids go three days a week for only $20 a month. It's run by the Child Development teacher at Central High School and her students. The little kids all have at least one "big friend" that caters to their every need.

This young man was Ellie's favorite "big friend" and I often found her sitting in his lap listening to a story when I came to pick her up.


Ms. Yago is the Child Development teacher and does a wonderful job of managing the little kids and the big kids too.


The kids performed several songs for us as part of their "graduation".


Caroline is Ellie's best friend. We met her family at church and because the preschool is so fun and inexpensive, it is highly populated with Latter-day Saint families.

Dress Up

The sister's-in-law on the Hart side participate in a wonderful clothing exchange with each other. Since our kids are all around the same age it's easy just to pass on our outgrown clothes to the next cousin in line. Avery gets so excited when her "new" clothes arrive. Such a box of treasures came this spring, only better. In addition to summer clothes came many, many tap costumes. FABULOUS! The girls had sooooo much fun playing dress up and immediately demanded that they have a picture taken for every outfit. Thanks Lily and Aunt Beth!

Easter

What is it about Easter that makes us think, "Oh, colored eggs hidden around the yard. Yeah, that's a great way to remember the sacrifice of Jesus!"? Well, whatever the inspiration, we celebrated the same as most others, a basket full of sugar to begin the day, afternoon church, and more sugar found in plastic eggs to end the evening. I don't need to go on, you've all met my kids, you know what kind of a day I had. It is awfully fun to make them so happy though.

Bowling

What's up with bowling shoes? I mean I get that they have to have a super soft sole so they don't scratch up the floor, but why do they have to be so ugly? I almost want a pair to wear as regular shoes just for the conversation starter I'd have.

A while back Illinois passed a law that you can't smoke in a public building. The fumes were what kept us out of the bowling alley in the first place, so since the air had cleared we finally decided we would take the kids for a fun afternoon. Fifty bucks later we had rented 5 pairs of shoes, 2 lanes and only played 2 games. Good Gravy! You know, considering it's just rolling a heavy ball and knocking things over, bowling is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. We won't be bowling again anytime soon, but we did get some cute pictures.


Look at that form. He'll either be a great bowler or a champion figure skater.


Avery got pretty good at the Granny bowling.


This is how Ellie had to bowl because the ball was just too big and heavy for her to handle on her own. She obviously gets her cute butt from her dad ;0)


And speaking of Brent...he's very athletic and quite good at the sports he plays. Sadly, bowling is not his forte. Our first year of marriage I learned I was way better at Monopoly than he was and now I can add bowling to the list as well. Which is saying something, because I'm really bad at bowling. Hee, hee, hee! He was a gracious loser and it was nice of him to let me gloat.

Logan's Birthday

Okay, I know Logan's Birthday was April 1st, but I've been busy. Here begins my blogging bonanza as I try to catch everyone up on the last two months of our lives.

Logan, like the girls, got to go on a shopping spree at the store. Because he'd been to both Toys 'R' Us and Walmart with his sisters, he knew exactly where he wanted to go and exactly what he wanted to get, Bakugan. I'm sure you're all thinking, "What on earth is a Bakugan?". Good question. A Bakugan is a small plastic toy in the form of a ball. Much like a transformer, these balls can be manipulated to resemble some mechanical space creature. Blessedly they do not require a doctorate degree in engineering to be able to take them from one form to the other, like you need with Transformers. All you have to do is affix them to some metal surface and the magnet inside releases the movable parts. Logan pretty much cleaned out the aisle of Bakugan there at Walmart. He also got a new bicycle because he outgrew his old one. Woo Hoo!

The kids also got to choose the restaurant that we went to for their birthday dinner and Logan chose Red Lobster of all places. My kids aren't much for fish. I did manage to get them to eat catfish once, but I think it was a fluke. Thankfully every restaurant known to man serves chicken strips, so the girls were happy. Logan, however, ordered crab legs. ??????? Huh. He did eat them, but I think he had the most fun just trying to get the meat out. He said he wanted to take one of the claws home as a souvenir, but I explained that I did not want that smell to permeate my house and he relented.

Oh, and Logan's hair was his idea. He begged me for a mohawk, but I told him a fauxhawk was just as cool and more church friendly. He's worn me down though, and I told him that we would give him a real mohawk this summer, after Nana's family pictures.

Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy!

I got a job! I will be starting as an RN July 22, on the night shift. It is on the StepDown unit where I already work as a health care technician. I am so excited! Many students are still without jobs so this is a very wonderful thing for me.

In unrelated news, Sophie killed a garder(sp) snake today. I looked out the window to see her rolling on it and flipping it into the air. She looked confused when it no longer tried to escape. A quick call to the vet reassured me that she would not be harmed if she consumed it. I took it away, though. She was very disappointed.

Poser

This is just a random bunch of pictures of Ellie. She was wearing this cute hooded cape that Aunt Beth made and only her underwear underneath. She decided that she had to do several poses if I was going to take pictures of her.

The Party

We used to have one big party to celebrate the kids' birthdays since they're so close together (March 9, March 19, and April 1). A couple of years ago, though, the boy and girls decided they wanted separate parties. Due to my obnoxious schedule I didn't have time for numerous parties. I begged the kids to let me do just one and they gave in.

We have a children's museum in town that's located inside the old Orpheum Theater. The architecture inside is beautiful. There are exhibits set up all around that capture the kids interest and are designed for learning too. I was thrilled when I found out that you can have a party there, so that's what we did. The kids all played with their friends and later we went to a separate room for cake and ice cream. That was the easiest birthday party I've ever done!

At the gym?

As a Christmas present I bought memberships for Brent and I to a local gym. During my winter vacation I found numerous opportunities to go to classes or just workout on my own. Now that school is back in full swing and I'm working more at the hospital, I can't seem to find the time/motivation to go. However, Brent has been there several times a week. He is beginning to look quite svelte, not that he was hard to look at before ;)

The gym has a small daycare center where you can drop off your kids during your workout for just a couple of dollars. This has been great! Brent frequently takes the kids with him so I can have an hour's worth of quiet to study or chill. The ladies that work there have mastered the art of entertaining my children. On one of the most recent visits they did face painting. Ellie was a "scary bear" and she had the growl to go with the face. It took a few days for Logan's ninja paint to wash off, he looked like he was really tired with dark paint circles under his eyes. Avery, of course, flower child that she is, only wanted hearts on her cheeks and a rainbow on her chin, lovely.

Avery's Birthday

Avery's birthday shopping spree was a little more coordinated than Ellie's. She decided to go to Wal-Mart instead of Toys 'R' Us. It was difficult to keep the siblings from sharing what they wanted Avery to get. Nevertheless, she got some things that she's quite happy with.

For Ellie's b-day we went out to Perkin's for dinner because she wanted pancakes and I didn't want to cook. Avery requested McDonald's despite Mom and Dad's repeated requests for something a little tastier.

He's a Thesbian!

My boy Logan was in a school play. A musical, no less. The production was the story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" set to music. It was absolutely adorable. The little girl who played the Hare absolutely has a future in stage acting, she was fabulous.

All of the children in the 2nd grade class were to wear black pants and white T-shirts. Those in the background made hats depicting various woodland creatures. The birds were my favorite. They all had feather boas or wings and crowns. They danced around and did most of the narrating. Logan was a fox. He made the hat himself. Most of the time he sang background, but because he's such a great singer, he had a solo too.

Ellie's Birthday

Due to Brent and I's ridiculously busy schedules I decided we would take the kids to pick out their own presents rather than spend the time choosing what to get them and wrapping everything. Yes, this was a lazy decision, but I'm stressed out. So, did this lessen the stress you ask? Hah!!! Imagine a 4-year-old let loose in Toys 'R' Us...I lived it!

Ellie had so much fun. She grabbed the first things she saw and chucked them in the cart. She did have a spending limit, but that only made sense to Mom and Dad. By the time we'd made it through the store, the cart was overflowing and we were WAY over budget. We took everything out of the cart, laid it on the ground, and made her choose her favorites.


She was thrilled with her presents, as evidenced by the photos. Avery's maniacal smile has to do with the fact that her shopping spree was on it's way in 10 days.

Spring Break!

I've never been one to care very much about spring break. Sure I like having a week off from whatever schooling I'm doing at the time, but I've never looked forward to it quite so much as I have this year. It's hard to believe I only have about 6 weeks left of school. This has been the longest two years of my life! Anyway, with my "free" time this week I'm going to catch up on some postings, as well as housework, but the postings are way more fun.

Potty Talk

Ellie has decided that she is incapable of wiping her bottom when she goes poo. She will announce her needs by yelling from the bathroom for Mom/Dad to come wipe her bum. When we go into the bathroom she is standing with her backside to the door grabbing her ankles.

This morning I was on the phone with my mother when Ellie announced her need for assistance. As I'm helping I relate to my mother Brent's feelings on the matter. He says "It's like a big brown eye staring me in the face". After I say this Ellie looks between her legs at me and says, "Mom, I have blue eyes, not brown ones".

Music Appreciation

Ellie: (singing)Lead me, lead me, guide me, help me, help me...Help your friends. You have to help your friends when they need help. Help me, lead me, guide me, lead me, lead me.
Ellie: (exasperated) Mom! I finished my song!
Mom: Okay, sweetie.
Ellie: (still exasperated) Mom! You have to clap when I'm finished.
Mom: (applause, applause)
Ellie: (self-satisfied smirk now fixed in place)

More Funny Stories

This past summer we had Gramma and Grampa visit from Idaho. We were sitting at the dinner table making plans for the evening. Logan asked if we could go do...something, I can't remember what...and Brent said,
Brent: "Yes, Logan, soon".
Logan: "How soon? Long soon or soon soon."
Obviously when Brent and I say soon it doesn't always mean that.

Apparently Ellie had a cobweb stuck to her hand...
Ellie: Dad, it won't come off. It's in a raccoon.
Dad: What??
Ellie: It's in a raccoon, like a butterfly lives in a raccoon.
Dad: Oh, a raccoon.
Brent of course understood this to mean cocoon, but he told me that rather than correct her he just enjoyed the way she said it.

Brent has earned the title of Magic Daddy. I don't have a title outside of Mom or "Aww, Mom" when the kids don't like what I've asked them to do. Brent one day did something for Ellie that she thought was amazing and asked...
Ellie: Dad, how'd you do that?
Dad: (In Brent's most self-confident tone with a smirk to match) Magic.
Ellie: (adoringly) You're my magic daddy.

Ellie was preparing to take a bath so this dialogue transpired with her completely naked the entire time.
Ellie: (Using her whole body to tell me) Mom! Yesterday there was a BIG spider on the toilet and Logan came and swiped it away!
Mom: Wow, you're lucky to have such a great brother.
Ellie: Yeah, he's magic, just like Daddy.

Brent was home alone with all three kids while I was at work. He was sitting on our bed with all of them lined up next to him. Logan and Avery had fallen asleep and Ellie, the die hard, was in between them. She was bored, so she started poking Avery in the face.
Dad: Stop it Ellie. Leave your sister alone so she can sleep.
Ellie sighs and rolls over to face Logan.
Ellie: (whispering in Logan's ear) Loser. Loser. Loser. Loser. Loser.
She's got the little sister thing down pat.

Funny Names and Misinterpretations

Narbles: Ellie's word for marbles
Nerbles: Logan's word (when he was younger) for those little bean toys
Moogies: Logan's word for movies when he was 2
Pillie, Milkie, Juicie, Mrs. Stewartie, etc.: Avery's endearing names for EVERYTHING including her teacher
Tatie: Ellie's name for my sister Katie
Tormadoes: Logan's word for tornadoes when he was little (he loved watching "Twister")
Eeeeee Yah: Logan's name for "Toy Story" when he was little, interpretation: "To infinity and beyond" (it took us a LONG time to figure this one out)
Cheese Toasties: A.K.A. grilled cheese sandwiches
Daddy's Cereal: Honey Bunches of Oats, the kids ask for Daddy's cereal rather than by name brand
Iego: Ellie uses this to refer to a specific Diego episode and not the show in general, it also took a while to figure out exactly what she wanted
Penglins: Ellie's word for penguins
Door Knocks: Ellie's name for door knobs
Affcan: Logan's name for his afghan that Nana gave him

Logan had made me angry (not hard to do) and I was explaining to him (lecturing him) about how he should act and what he was never to do. I made a statement ending with "never again in my presence" and the lecture continued. When my tirade was over Logan thoughtfully asked, "Presents? What presents?"

Obviously I use very final terms in my lectures because Ellie has begun using the same terms in her everyday conversations. Ex.: "Mom, I love you forever." "Dad, I'll never pour water on my food ever again." "Mom, I'm never going to get in Sammy's face anymore." These would all be fine and good if she didn't go back on her word within seconds of her proclamations.

Several years ago I got ambitious and thought I'd start up Family Home Evening. I planned a great lesson for little Logan and Avery. I decided we'd talk about Noah and the Ark. We pretended to be different animals and had each other guess which animal we were. I also put on a production of the story of Noah's Ark with finger puppets. The story went through how Noah was told to build the ark and all the townspeople told him he was stupid, but they were sorry when they found out he was right. At the end of the lesson I asked Logan what he had learned. He picked up the finger puppets of Noah and the townspeople and shouted, "Noah, you're stupid!" Family Home Evening has failed many times since.

I'm not boring!

I'd posted previously about my Sunday school class full of teenage boys (since the New Year I now have 1 girl as well). As I'm walking out of sacrament meeting this morning the mother of a young man in my class stopped me. She told me that her teenage son had confessed to her that he really liked his new Sunday school teacher. My jaw dropped. She said that he'd told her he liked the way I taught and that "She's not boring at all". Good, I've overcome that obstacle. Now that I'm entertaining enough to keep their attention, what on earth do I do with it?