Thursday, January 29, 2009
Surprise!
We made a surprise visit to see some friends down South a couple of weekends ago. My friend, Katie, took these amazing pictures of Kaia. She is so talented! We loved the much warmer weather they were having.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A Grandpa Day!
We got to spend a day with Peter's dad, Grandpa Vern! He was in town for business, so he was able to come for dinner last night and go sledding with me and the kids today. The kids loved having Grandpa's attention. The day began with cries of "Grandpa, Grandpa..." and they continued until he left this afternoon to catch his flight home.
It literally took one hour - a complete 60 minutes - to get everyone outfitted and out the door to go sledding. It wasn't until we reached our courtyard that we realized it was raining! But Grandpa Vern declared, "We told the kids we would take them sledding," so off we went. We fully tested the waterproof promises of our boots and snow pants - and they did really well. The kids had a blast. Asher even sled down the hill about 10 or so times (as opposed to his usual 1 or 2 trips) until he just ran out of gas and sat on the hill until Kaia was done. We're so glad we had this brief opportunity to spend time with Vern.
The geese preceded us on the hill:
It literally took one hour - a complete 60 minutes - to get everyone outfitted and out the door to go sledding. It wasn't until we reached our courtyard that we realized it was raining! But Grandpa Vern declared, "We told the kids we would take them sledding," so off we went. We fully tested the waterproof promises of our boots and snow pants - and they did really well. The kids had a blast. Asher even sled down the hill about 10 or so times (as opposed to his usual 1 or 2 trips) until he just ran out of gas and sat on the hill until Kaia was done. We're so glad we had this brief opportunity to spend time with Vern.
The geese preceded us on the hill:
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Asher's Art
Asher drew this picture tonight. His description: "Airplane crash Hudson River. Crane pull airplane out."
This incident has made a big impact on Asher and all of us. I caught a catnap over the weekend; for the half hour I was asleep, Peter and the kids watched video footage on Youtube of the airplane being pulled out of the Hudson River. Now the first thing he says every time he wakes up is, "My see crane pull airplane out Hudson River?" I imagine part of the reason we've been talking about this so much is that we live only a mile from the Hudson River and this event is so out of the ordinary. Kaia told me this afternoon that she'd told Sara about the airplane crashing in the river. When I asked her who Sara is she said, "Sara the Triceratops." I asked her what Sara thought about it and Kaia said, "She thought everybody would have died." And really everyone on that plane had been so very close to dying. I am so impressed by the pilot, who had trained his whole career in safety procedures; then all that knowledge was put to the test in one crucial moment and the pilot succeeded beautifully. I am astounded to think about how close disaster was and yet his skill saved the lives of everyone on the plane. I think he is a great example of someone who had really internalized what he had spent his life learning so that when it really mattered he was able to use that knowledge to save lives.
This incident has made a big impact on Asher and all of us. I caught a catnap over the weekend; for the half hour I was asleep, Peter and the kids watched video footage on Youtube of the airplane being pulled out of the Hudson River. Now the first thing he says every time he wakes up is, "My see crane pull airplane out Hudson River?" I imagine part of the reason we've been talking about this so much is that we live only a mile from the Hudson River and this event is so out of the ordinary. Kaia told me this afternoon that she'd told Sara about the airplane crashing in the river. When I asked her who Sara is she said, "Sara the Triceratops." I asked her what Sara thought about it and Kaia said, "She thought everybody would have died." And really everyone on that plane had been so very close to dying. I am so impressed by the pilot, who had trained his whole career in safety procedures; then all that knowledge was put to the test in one crucial moment and the pilot succeeded beautifully. I am astounded to think about how close disaster was and yet his skill saved the lives of everyone on the plane. I think he is a great example of someone who had really internalized what he had spent his life learning so that when it really mattered he was able to use that knowledge to save lives.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Happy birthday, my hubby!
Peter is 30 today, and he's feeling old. :) Actually, I think he's okay now that the big day has come, but he's felt a great amount of trepidation about turning 30 for years now. I, for one, have realized that 30 just is not that old. I LOVE this card my in-laws sent Peter:
Peter's birthday present was a bunch of camping stuff we bought at the January clearance sale at REI a couple of weeks ago. Peter and the kids have decided this is the year for us to begin camping. I'm not so sure, but I'm now outnumbered. With all the great gear we got at awesome prices, I'll probably enjoy camping as long as I can stay comfortable when I'm sleeping. It's the rocks in the middle of my back that have turned me off of camping in the past. That and I have a Dad who believes camping means staying in the Marriott. :)
Peter requested chocolate pudding for dessert. Everything was going great and it tasted wonderful until I added 1/2 t. of mint extract, as suggested by a reviewer of the recipe. All of a sudden, the pudding tasted like toothpaste. I'm not even kidding. It was disgusting. (I highly recommend the recipe; just use the suggested vanilla instead of mint.)
Thank goodness I also had an apple pie in the oven - Yummy Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie, which I can't recommend highly enough. It was amazing. And, best of all, I had a frozen pie crust in the freezer so I didn't have to try making one.
The kids didn't let Peter off the hook just because it was his birthday; in fact, they seemed especially inclined to wrestle today.
Peter's birthday present was a bunch of camping stuff we bought at the January clearance sale at REI a couple of weeks ago. Peter and the kids have decided this is the year for us to begin camping. I'm not so sure, but I'm now outnumbered. With all the great gear we got at awesome prices, I'll probably enjoy camping as long as I can stay comfortable when I'm sleeping. It's the rocks in the middle of my back that have turned me off of camping in the past. That and I have a Dad who believes camping means staying in the Marriott. :)
Peter requested chocolate pudding for dessert. Everything was going great and it tasted wonderful until I added 1/2 t. of mint extract, as suggested by a reviewer of the recipe. All of a sudden, the pudding tasted like toothpaste. I'm not even kidding. It was disgusting. (I highly recommend the recipe; just use the suggested vanilla instead of mint.)
Thank goodness I also had an apple pie in the oven - Yummy Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie, which I can't recommend highly enough. It was amazing. And, best of all, I had a frozen pie crust in the freezer so I didn't have to try making one.
The kids didn't let Peter off the hook just because it was his birthday; in fact, they seemed especially inclined to wrestle today.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Fancy Lessons, Anyone?? Coming soon to a Primary room near you
Some of the most interesting things in our lives always happen on Sundays. Today after church, Peter was helping me to redo the bulletin board in the Primary room for the new year. In the meantime, Kaia took it upon herself to teach fancy lessons to everyone (think Fancy Nancy, for anyone who has read those books). She stood on a chair and said (in a fancy voice - where did she pick that up?), "Is this plain or fancy? This needs plumes and feathers and flowers to be fancy." The pictures on the music stand are her examples that she would point to when she asked whether something was plain or fancy. Here are a couple of pictures from Peter's phone:
Striking a fancy pose:
Kaia found all sorts of wonderful fancy items in the closet:
On a different note, we have a couple of things to work on with Asher. We've seen a few baptisms in the last few weeks. He's not big into the idea of going underwater, so after seeing these baptisms he's repeatedly said, "Asher no want to get baptized." I've told him Daddy will help him, which helps him feel better. Then when we were talking about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost he said, "My no want Holy Ghost talk to me. My no want Holy Ghost hold me." I think that last part is a remnant of not wanting Santa Claus or anyone he doesn't know holding him. Hopefully he'll overcome his hesitation regarding both baptism and the Holy Ghost by the time he's old enough to be baptized in 5 1/2 years. :)
Striking a fancy pose:
Kaia found all sorts of wonderful fancy items in the closet:
On a different note, we have a couple of things to work on with Asher. We've seen a few baptisms in the last few weeks. He's not big into the idea of going underwater, so after seeing these baptisms he's repeatedly said, "Asher no want to get baptized." I've told him Daddy will help him, which helps him feel better. Then when we were talking about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost he said, "My no want Holy Ghost talk to me. My no want Holy Ghost hold me." I think that last part is a remnant of not wanting Santa Claus or anyone he doesn't know holding him. Hopefully he'll overcome his hesitation regarding both baptism and the Holy Ghost by the time he's old enough to be baptized in 5 1/2 years. :)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Weekend Trip
Peter's cousin, Nathan, and his wife graciously allowed us to come stay with them last weekend, on the very day after they got home from traveling for Christmas. Thank you so much Nathan and Alisa!! Since my kids don't have cousins their age (although we love you, baby Eamon!), the kids of our cousins are the next best thing.
We had a blast all weekend. My guess that Kaia and Ella (who are only one month apart in age) would get along well proved right; they played one imaginative game after another - looking for dinosaur bones in the driveway, dressing up in princess clothes, etc. Asher was a little sleep deprived which meant he was a little clingy the whole time, so he and Christopher didn't play very much. Asher made me laugh every time he called their son Michael instead of Christopher because we have friends at home who are brothers, Christopher and Michael. He was a little confused.
We also got together with Peter's cousin James and his family. You can see in the first couple of pictures in the slideshow how much fun they all had together. The entire group of kids really played remarkably well together. Our favorite line of that evening was when their middle son Kasen came to report some way his older brother Kai had injured him; Kai replied, "We were just roughhousing!"
One of my favorite things of the trip was raking leaves in the backyard. Oh, to have a backyard...although all that raking really was hard work. A note on the last 3 pictures in the slideshow: we were trying to get a cute picture of the girls together just before we left their house. They obviously weren't cooperating...until I promised a pack of fruit snacks if they'd get a cute picture. They were suddenly all smiles, although Kaia's smile included her red juice moustache.
We had a blast all weekend. My guess that Kaia and Ella (who are only one month apart in age) would get along well proved right; they played one imaginative game after another - looking for dinosaur bones in the driveway, dressing up in princess clothes, etc. Asher was a little sleep deprived which meant he was a little clingy the whole time, so he and Christopher didn't play very much. Asher made me laugh every time he called their son Michael instead of Christopher because we have friends at home who are brothers, Christopher and Michael. He was a little confused.
We also got together with Peter's cousin James and his family. You can see in the first couple of pictures in the slideshow how much fun they all had together. The entire group of kids really played remarkably well together. Our favorite line of that evening was when their middle son Kasen came to report some way his older brother Kai had injured him; Kai replied, "We were just roughhousing!"
One of my favorite things of the trip was raking leaves in the backyard. Oh, to have a backyard...although all that raking really was hard work. A note on the last 3 pictures in the slideshow: we were trying to get a cute picture of the girls together just before we left their house. They obviously weren't cooperating...until I promised a pack of fruit snacks if they'd get a cute picture. They were suddenly all smiles, although Kaia's smile included her red juice moustache.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
We've got style!!
Oh, yeah! This is how my kids looked when we went to the mall last week:
We went with a friend, Mery, and her girls to the pet store in the mall while we waited for the oil in our car to be changed. Before we left, Kaia dressed herself. I was so proud of her for doing it completely on her own that I let her go as is. Asher was actually fully dressed when we left the house, but half way through the trip I remembered I had never put a diaper on him - he just had "Munderpants!" on under his pants and, sure enough, he had peed his pants. I didn't have a change of clothes since I wasn't planning on taking him out without a diaper on. Whoops! Don't you love the permanent marker scribbled all over his legs?
We went with a friend, Mery, and her girls to the pet store in the mall while we waited for the oil in our car to be changed. Before we left, Kaia dressed herself. I was so proud of her for doing it completely on her own that I let her go as is. Asher was actually fully dressed when we left the house, but half way through the trip I remembered I had never put a diaper on him - he just had "Munderpants!" on under his pants and, sure enough, he had peed his pants. I didn't have a change of clothes since I wasn't planning on taking him out without a diaper on. Whoops! Don't you love the permanent marker scribbled all over his legs?
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