Adventure

I'm set up in the playroom/family room tonight with my handy dandy laptop. I felt like blogging in here where I could enjoy some company from JC and background noise from his TV show. Tonight he is watching The Grizzly Man Diaries on Planet Green. Have you seen this guy? I am refusing to let myself talk about this too much because right at this moment I am having to try very hard to be not obsessed with this.
And cry a whole lot about how he died.
But anyway, it is causing me to think about some of the crazy amazing things people sometimes do with their lives, the adventures they have. Adventures make me think of all kinds of things ranging from living among grizzlies to trying new foods. I don't do a whole lot...or any...of either of these things as of late.
But...I suppose we have our own version of adventure around these parts, yes?

You won't find us careening down white water rapids.
But, instead, using the most intense water pressure our hoses will allow to give dusty old backyard toys a foamy bath.

You won't find us heading out for big important purposes every day.
But, instead, sometimes in our pajamas halfway through the day, playing on (or under) some unmade bed.

You won't find us relaxing at a lovely spa.
But you will find (an attempt at) rest time every day!

You won't find us surrounded by intricate decor.
But you will find us sitting on, in, and tripping over the small amounts of holiday decor we do bother with!

You won't find us frequenting glamorous salons for luxurious hair treatments (ahhh.)
But, instead, on kiddie chairs, making a big mess (and a big fuss) for the excitement of mommy haircuts!

You won't find us shelling out painful amounts of money for good quality snacks when we don't have to. (Though when we do have to...we do. Worth it.)
But, instead, making our yummy homemade granola bars (most) every week!

(and cleaning up after ourselves)

You won't find us attending every exciting movie or play that comes rolling through town.
But, you will find us dancing on backyard storage bins, serenading the neighbors.

You won't find us frequenting internet cafes the world over.
But, you will find us (me) dancing a little jig every time I remember that JC fixed my handy dandy laptop and it now rests on my kitchen counter where it belongs, right with my cell phone.
The things that make me feel somewhat connected to a world outside my own.

You will not find us on breathtaking helicopter tours of far away islands.
But, you will find us playing with toy helicopters in the morning sun.

You won't find us partaking of high class food in high class restaurants.
But, instead, you will, every once in a while, find us indulging in coconut milk-based ice cream.
Oh, the indulgence.

You won't find us flying high above the earth in exciting hot air balloon rides.
But you will find daddy teaching little ones about balloon rockets on a weekend morning.

(you will find Ben being scared of said balloon rockets)

You won't find us traveling to far-off continents to enjoy conversation with interesting strangers and consume exotic foods.
But you will find us at my sister's super cute new apartment enjoying homemade tacos, silly faces, some music and (Ben) dancing with family.

You won't find us cheering in the bleachers at big sporting events.
But you will find us making up our own games. And uniforms.

You won't find us doing exciting renovating projects to our abode. Not these days.
But, instead, just trying to get the side yard cleaned up.

You won't find us at high-profile parties.
But, instead, you will find us hosting our own costume parties on an on-going basis.

You won't find us camping with grizzly bears.
But, you will find us trying to feed the little birds around our home.

And that's just for starters. :)
Can you keep up with the crazy?

A Super Day!

This post shall be two-fold.
Both...folds...shall be super.

First, of all, at Bethany's preschool, each child gets a turn being "Superstar" for a week. SO FUN. They get to do all kinds of special things, have their family there for a tour and a little meet-and-greet with the whole class, and get to show off a collage of pictures showing them and their family doing fun things, etc.
For her week, Bethany made a treat to share with her class (got to stay up late one night with Mommy and make it!). She knew just what she wanted to make - jellybean cookies. Hmm. New creation. But we made it happen! She also made a poster of pictures she has taken herself on her little camera for show and tell, which was much more exciting for her than the usual "It's Wednesday! Find something for show and tell! We are leaving in five minutes!"
And, on Friday of that week, we all came in for a visit to her school...

On the way over, the boys were being really funny and trying really hard to not smile no matter how we teased them. James has a natural talent for this. He can refuse smiling longer than anyone else in this universe if he really wants to. He always gets me to thinking he's actually mad after a while...then will crack a smile finally and make me feel like I've been conned by a preschooler!
Ben's serious face is a bit less convincing.
But so cute.

Then, there were silly faces.

When we got to Bethany's school, they were having snack time/play time outside!

Bethany shared.

Then played.

Ben felt right at home and put all the play equipment to good use! All of Bethany's little friends thought he was so cute.

At first, James stayed put inside, happily overwhelmed by the bounty of toys attractively arranged in various rooms! But, he eventually came out and did some playing too!

It was really fun to watch Bethany playing with her friends.
I think this is Olivia and Ryan. She has really come out of her social shell during the last couple of years!

She loves to dig in the sand at preschool. She always talks about this being what she does during most of outside time!

And these are the nuts that fall from the tree there. She has at least one in her little fist every time I pick her up! There were a TON of them there!

Once we were back inside, everyone gathered around and Bethany got to tell about her picture poster (the one I had made while she was in bed one night...which led to her wanting to make one, hence, the one she made for show and tell!). She was really excited and actually did all the talking, telling about all the different pictures. Last year when she did this, she was super shy and I ended up giving the little presentation. Which was completely fine...but it was cute to see how she had grown!

Here are all her friends!

Then it was music time to end the day. Miss Jody gave everyone instruments and turned on some great music! Ben was thrilled at being able to participate! James...kept playing with the toys. Sweet James, gotta love him.

Music!

Ben has a moment with Miss Jody.
Just one more year after this one, Ben! Then you will rule that place! :)
He wants to go so badly!

Bethany had a great superstar week. We are so grateful to have found such a wonderful preschool for her...preschool doesn't have to be a big deal probably, but with Bethany we felt strongly about finding a place to let her tap into her awesome potential and help her to feel confident in a learning environment as well as give her that social experience that she needed. Evergreen has been all of these things. Sometimes I wish I had more opportunity to be there with her, helping out and watching their activities, be one of those involved school moms. :) But, I know that someday I'll be able to do that for all of them, even if it's not in preschool! And, most importantly, I'm here at home with them. It is so nice, though, to know that for the few hours she spends away from home during the week, she is having a fantastic time with wonderful teachers who love her.


Another super part of our day - temple trip! We are so lucky to live so close to a temple yet haven't taken advantage of it as much as we could have. I had been thinking about this for a while, even setting goals here or there. But life would get in the way and the thoughts would slip away.
Then, this year, the stake set a theme of "Coming Unto Christ Through Temple Worship." We had some really great instruction at ward conference, my cousin Emily invited me to go with her one week, and it set heavily into my mind again. So, instead of letting life get in the way of enjoying the beautiful temple and the wonderful blessings of it, we are making it part of our way of life.
As we move through this year, we plan to make a visit to the temple weekly. We'll take turns going, sometimes go together, sometimes take the kids to the grounds and visitors center, etc. I feel strongly that our lives will be blessed as we make worshiping, serving, and learning through the temple a big part of our family life.

So, after we left Bethany's preschool, we set out for the temple grounds. We had brought lunches to munch under the shade of some citrus trees.

So, we ventured onto the lovely grass...

climbed on some lovely trees...

and carted our lunch around with us instead of sitting on the nice blanket dad laid out for us.

We attempted a family picture, which turned out pretty good for a timer-taken-picture!
Except for the shadows, of course. But, what exactly is to be done about that?

Bethany conquered the tree!

After some running through the grass, they all conquered the bench! (Not so hard, but still worth a picture)

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday..."

Ben thought the ramp was a slide.

Best thing ever - I caught sight of a bride and groom walking toward us and pulled Bethany over to me so she could see them in all their loveliness (she is in love with all things wedding and happily ever after!). When the bride walked by us, she smiled down at little Bethany who was practically bowing to her and Bethany got the hugest smile on her face! It was so cute, I think she felt like a real princess had just acknowledged her presence. So cute.
Here she is, peering at the wedding party through the bushes.
Stalking is cute when you're four, right?

Peering into the water...

and daring to enter the visitors center. Haha, I'm always afraid we will make a scene! Though, I'm sure they are probably used to it!

We went to see the Christus and listen to the presentation.
The kids were pretty excited about "hearing Jesus talk."
They really seemed to listen and, even though they didn't understand all the words, feel a special spirit there.

The family!

I don't really know that this is encouraged, but the kids got ahead of us at one point and when I came around the corner, they were taking turns hugging this large metal statue of Christ! So, I took pictures.
I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.
I love how children always seem to automatically know who Jesus is, even when He is depicted differently in different pieces of art. And how they have a special connection with Him, even though they have to rely on us for information about who He is, the life He lived, what He did for us. But even without all of that, they really seem to have a sense for who He is to them. They are born with that connection it seems. I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity in my life to be in a position to reinforce that sense, due to the huge blessing of having the same done for me.

They have some awesome stuff at the visitor's center now! Bethany figured out this display pretty quickly. There is a lot of information about questions concerning the gospel and our lives here, broken up into categories and you can select "Child's View" or "Adult's View". When you select the child's view option and select one of the questions on the touch screen, a clip is played on the monitor of children being asked questions about that topic. Their answers are so sweet!
The kids loved this (listening, watching...and trying to climb on the display...) and Bethany love being in control of it!

We did a little more walking around outside. It was a really pretty day! I figure when we come in the summer, we will end up spending more time inside the visitors center than out!

Ben found some sort of fluff ball and chased it around for a while, letting the wind carry it away and running after it. It was adorable.

Bethany appeased me and took a picture in front of the pretty flowers.
Though I think she is sort of eating one accidentally...
(she found that one on the ground and was ecstatic to have one for herself since we wouldn't let her pick any!)

The boys following their daddy.

The kids using everything as monkey bars.

James in one of his quiet moments. :)

I have been reminded more and more lately of the sweet blessings of the temple. I know we can grow closer to our Heavenly Father by spending time in and around His holy house. I know that our children will be blessed if we make every effort to let them experience, firsthand, the joy that comes from visiting the temple. I have so much to learn, so much I want to teach our kids about why we are here, where we come from, and where we're going. I am so very blessed to be in a position to attend the temple and learn more and more about those things every time.
I think it will be a great year.