Mothers' Day, 2008

Mothers' Day was a couple of weeks ago and since Bethany was born, I have taken pictures with the kids on our special day. :) I tried to find the old ones to post them too but that was before I had a digital camera and I would have to actually go LOOKING for them rather than clicking through files on the computer so...maybe next year I will be more organized and have access to the Mothers' Day Through The Years. :)
So, JC took some pictures of us that day...the more kids we have, the more pictures it takes to get one where everyone is looking at the camera with semi-intelligent looks on their faces...let alone a smile! Haha...so, here is the short version of our progression into a decent picture! I love it...

coaxing James into the picture...

Bethany, apparently adoring me, James being cute and Ben...uh...not sure...
Hey...I'll take it! :)

I like to get laughs out of things like this and make fun of us but truth be told...I love laughing at and cherishing (as much as I possibly can!) the quirks of having little ones! At times it may seem (probably depending on the kind of day I'm having) things are just so much more complicated and frustrating but there is just so much more JOY in everything when little ones are involved. Especially mine. :) (Hey, I think we're each allowed to be biased about our own kids...)

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA DEAR!

It was my sister, Laura's birthday last week!!! She has turned the big 1-5...woohoo!!! She is the baby in our family and it is so strange to think how close she is getting to yound adulthood. Goodness.

Anyway, in celebration, I thought I would ask the kids to recall their favorite things about Laura:



Me: Bethany, what do you love about Laura?

Bethany: I like the Old MacDonald song.

Me: Oh, me too. What do you love about Laura?

Bethany: Mmmm...the swimming movie wasn't working; we couldn't hear the music.

Me: (no idea what she's talking about) Really? Well, that's no fun. Hey, do you know Aunt Laura? What do you love about her?

Bethany: Laura?

Me: Yes.

Bethany: Her dad is Grandpa.

Me: Yes!

Bethany: Grandpa is your dad too.

Me: Yes.

Bethany: Yesterday, I went to Grandpa's house and Grandma...and we went swimming.

Me: That was on Saturday. Was that fun?

Bethany: Yes. James put his face in the water.

Me: I know. That was funny, huh? Did you see Laura?

Bethany: Laura?

Me: Yes.

Bethany: I LOVE LAURA!!!



I guess, coming from a three-year-old, that's all we need to know!



Me: James, do you love Laura?

James: Laura??? (excitedly looking around)

Me: Well, Laura's not here right now, I'm just talking about her. Do you love Laura?

James: LAURA??? (excitedly looking around)

Me: Do you want to see her soon?

James: SURE!!!

Me: Okay, we will see her soon. Do you love to see her?

James: SURE!!!

Me: Do you love her?

James: SURE!!!

Me: Okay, that's nice.

James: Okay, nice.

Me: Does she love you?

James: SURE!!!

Me: Yes, she does.

James: OKAY!!!



So, I think his enthusiasm speaks for itself! :)



Me: Ben, do you love Laura?

Ben:

And that about sums it up.

Though, I am going to take a turn too. I love Laura because she is my baby sister. I could leave it at that, but there is so much more to who she is, I feel I should expound. She impresses me all the time with her personality, her confidence and her talents. I can never quite decide to myself what I predict for her future because of all the different levels there are to her, as a person. She is a fantastic friend; very smart and creative, kind-hearted and fun. She has talents in music, academics, art and in dealing with people and children. (I just made it sound like I don't think children are people.) Anyway, personally, I think that she should be the next judge/photographer on America's Next Top Model (see ya, Nigel!) because she has always had an eye for fashion AND her photography could definitely take her somewhere. So, there it is, Laura, you get a birthday tribute, all the reasons we love you AND a career assigned to you. Haha, anyway, we hope you had a great birthday and if James has anything to do with it, we will be seeing you in the very near future!

A Grown-up Getaway!

OH, GLORIOUS UTAH!





*ahem*





Sorry, I couldn't help myself.





SO, Thursday afternoon JC and I find ourselves descending into Salt Lake City, ready to jump in our rental car and head up to Logan, Utah, for his cousin's wedding. The kids are at home with my mom having a blast, I'm sure (though she is, no doubt, breaking a sweat - - thanks mom!!!!) and I'm fully intent on having a nice, relaxing trip, enjoying some time together and time celebrating with family, etc. I walk off the plane and through the tunnel thingie that takes you to stable ground and when my feet hit said stable ground, I am absolutely entranced. On either side of me, there are huge windows and for one of the first times in my life, my breath is actually taken away. WHAT IS THIS GLORY? I ask, WHAT IS THIS GRANDEUR? (and then, in the back of my mind, I also hear Bambi's little voice saying "What's all that white stuff?") Mountains! Green, gorgeous mountains covered in snow!!! I tell you what, I lived in Provo for a good, solid four months and adored every bit of it (except for the hellish stairs that one must take to get to and from any kind of P.E. or dance class on the BYU campus...seriously, must they put those by THAT building? Like we're not already dying once we leave class, we then have to climb the Stairs of Horror?) Anyway, I am getting off the point here...my point is, it is GORGEOUS up there right now! So gorgeous, in fact, I find myself talking about something other than my kids for the first time ever on this blog. Hmm, ground breaking. So, I am completely mystified by the gorgeous lush landscape that I stare out the window with my tongue hanging out like an unintelligent dog the whole way from Salt Lake to Logan. (Half the time my tongue was hanging out from watching the scenery and the other half because JC's mom was with us and we talked a lot on the way up, probably to JC's relief - - enough noise to keep him awake while he's driving, but nothing he's obligated to listen to and comment on.) We dropped Teri off at her sister's house (mother of the groom) and spent a little while visiting (and drooling at the view from their house) before heading to our quaint little getaway bed and breakfast. Oh my goodness...if you ever are in Logan, Utah, (I also hear they have one in Salt Lake) and want a fantastic hotel experience...The Anniversary Inn. To DIE for. I could describe forever and post a ton of pictures but I will, instead, leave the link in an effort to talk less (this is the point at which JC would shake his head, laugh and give me the look of "you're already a bit past that point"). So, here it is:





http://www.anniversaryinn.com/locations.php?loc=3





That is the home page of the location we were at. Apparently, from looking at it just now, there are several locations. Anyway, fantastic. We were in the Lake Powell Room and it was every bit as enchanting (albeit, smaller) as the pictures make it out to be! One of a kind place; so fun. It didn't hurt that, when standing on the front porch of our room, you could see the Logan Temple GLOWING practically right over your head. I'm sorry, I think I am madly in love with Logan, Utah. I really never thought I would hear myself say that. And I would have laughed at anyone else who said anything like that. Go ahead, laugh away. I am delirious with love and I can't wait to go back someday...someone else will have to live there and get married or something though because, there really isn't much to do there unless you have a specific event!
We did take some pictures and I will post some now. Then I will go sit and wallow about the fact that I, for one reason or another, love Gilbert Arizona as well and could probably never bring myself to leave it. I couldn't even begin to tell you why, after seeing Glorious Utah (as it will now be known in my home), but I love it here and not even lush mountains with snow on them could pull me away! Well, at least not for more than another visit! Here are some evidences of our time away...

The mountains behind JC's aunt and uncle's house. I mean, RIGHT behind. Did you know that people live right near, or even on, mountains? My mind is still reeling... :)

The valley in front of their home...
A view from the front door of our room, looking up at the bedroom loft area. You can't really tell, but the ceiling is covered in tiny little lights that twinkle like stars. It was really neat.
Looking down into the dining/tub/shower area...sounds strange, I know. But the concept worked.
The fish tank which is actually in the shower/tub. I could get used to a fish tank in my shower.
Interesting little details everywhere!
This is what trips me out...this is what our room looks like from the outside. The whole Bed and Breakfast is like, several old houses renovated on the inside and turned into a few themed rooms. From the outside, totally normal looking! On the inside...cavern walls and fish in your shower!

The main house/front desk. So cute. There were milk and cookies out on a cozy little coffee table when we checked in.

The view from our porch. The Logan Temple. Illuminating! I think I am being kind of silly here, partly because it was a much-needed vacation and left me a bit giddy (thanks again, mom! Oh, and Danny and Melanie for getting married...) and also because I am still feeling a bit jet-lagged. (only an hour, and only for two days but it somehow threw me). But, all silliness aside, this view absolutely almost made me cry. It was just so commanding and elegant I could have stood and looked at it forever. But...well, it's cold in Utah so I went back inside after taking some pictures.

Danny and Melanie. So sweet!
The boys, laughing it up. Aren't they cute?

And here's us, at the luncheon.


We had a great time - - time away for parents is SO necessary. We are so lucky to have family who allow us to take that kind of time. I missed the kids, for sure, and thought about them a lot. JC had to steer me away from several babies and young children during our stay there because I just can't help but hold and cuddle them...not always a good idea when they belong to strangers. JC learned to appreciate my love for little ones, though, on the plane ride home because there happened to be a 9 month old across the aisle from our seats which allowed him to have the window seat for the second time in our flying that week. (in order for me to have proper peek-a-boo access) Anyway, we are now home to our own little ones who did have a blast with Grandma. Ben, who did not cry about us being gone the whole two days, took one look at me when we got home and proceeded to go into a hysterical cry unlike any I had seen from him before which he refused to be consoled from for a good five minutes. I guess all the emotion just kind of caught up with him! Haha, but we are all fine and dandy now...and I think I will go sit next to my husband on the couch so we can catch up on the episode of "The Office" that we missed and I can read a bit of my new book I bought at the airport...a really really silly, semi-pointless and fun book...the first book not about parenting, organizing, marriage or doctrine I have read in about four years. I think that could account for my giddiness too...oh, and the fact that I finally saw "The Devil Wears Prada" (which can be described in the exact same way I described the book - - hence, watching it on vacation makes me feel less guilty about spending two hours in front of it) The only damper on the whole weekend would be that, in a trade for "The Devil Wears Prada" I also watched "War of the Worlds." Yes, fantastic performance by the little Dakota girl, Steven Spielberg at his finest, etc. Blah, blah, blah. Stressfull as ALL heck to watch. Still recovering. I need to end this now because, besides this being seemingly endless and becoming more and more worthy of the description used for the book and movie, this blog entry has ended up with me using the word "heck" and, having just visited Utah, am afraid I will get carried away and use it in all kinds of strange and inappropriate ways.

Family Home Evening - Temple Night!

Best feeling ever: finally having a regular Family Home Evening Night! A couple years ago I bought a book that gives really really simple, quick, easy ideas for doing Family Home Evening with small children. I have managed to begin utilizing it in the last month and have LOVED the feeling that comes from knowing we are beginning a wonderful habit. Mind you, it is usually about a total of five minutes that we actually sit down together and talk about whatever the topic is that night and sing a song before attention spans wear out and we run out of answers for all the "why?" questions Bethany throws at us! Haha, but it is GREAT. So, two weeks ago we were going to be talking about temples and I had been hearing really great things about an art display at the visitors center and I knew the kids would enjoy the grounds so we packed up for a road trip and a lesson on the temple! Mostly, it was a visual thing but we did get to talk a bit about what a special place it is and what kinds of wonderful things come from the temple. If we asked them about it today their memories would probably consist mostly of flowers, bees, the Christus (at which Bethany got really excited and James got really scared) and the strongest memory from last year - - Uncle Andrew and Aunt Bonnie getting married there. That is always Bethany's first thought when the temple comes up...I think she thinks they live there...Oh, and the bees would be stemming from the fact that when we were there, James did the groundskeepers a favor and discovered a beehive. Ahhh! Nobody hurt, luckily, just a scared mom, a confused James (didn't understand why I suddenly yanked him away from the new, graceful, pretty bugs he had found) and a very jumpy, chaotic video camera segment. Forgot I was filming as I ran toward him once I saw what he was doing! At least we captured the moment...anyway, here are some pictures...

Checking out the temple and the very pretty water

We sat down to eat a little picnic and these two wandered away to do what kids do best: stop and smell the flowers (sorry, not quite the right wording but there weren't any roses...) I love this picture!
I couldn't let Ben miss out.

So sweet!

He had to leave the glasses on to look more studly since there were flowers involved.

A happy Ben cruising the grounds on his hands and knees!

It doesn't get better than this...

If you haven't been in a while, or been at all for that matter, you should definitely go just walk the grounds and take in the gorgeous flowers and calm! We had a great time. I love the temple! Oh, and how randomly great was the timing of teaching them more about the temple? We've got one coming to Gilbert!!!! Woohoo!!!!