The Hip List, Fall 2010

Following is a list of the things, people, and activities that have the Ballard Homestead buzzing as of late.

Our Favorite Things, if you will.
Just in time for the holiday season.
Though no fancy gadgets are included.
And there are no free gifts.
Just...the list.

1. Silly Bandz in the form of Spiderman, Princesses, and Toy Story.
Yes, we have partaken of the trend. I blame soon-to-be-Uncle Austin. (but what I really mean is thank you for the gifts, it really was rather thoughtful)

2. This:
It means "I'm angry at you," or perhaps "I am grumpy for unrelated reasons and taking it out on you," or perhaps "You stepped on me" or perhaps "You took my toy" or perhaps "You smell like poo." (though that last one doesn't really apply...it is quite normal for someone to smell like poo at any given moment around here. We all stopped judging a long time ago.
I tried outlawing this hand gesture but eventually gave up. Now I throw it out there every once in a while. So, it can also mean, "I worked hard on this dinner and you won't even try it" or perhaps "Daddy is working late tonight and I don't appreciate your attitude" or perhaps "You smell like poo AGAIN?"
(Okay, so maybe I still judge when it comes to that.)

3. "Nephi's Courage"
The current song they are learning in primary and nursery. An old favorite of mine. We sing it constantly. James especially likes to sing it while using the bathroom. I especially like to sing it when the kids won't obey. (I usually then receive the previously mentioned hand gesture.)

4. "My Turn on Earth"
JC let me buy this at Deseret Book on sale a while back even though I am pretty sure he thought it was the end of enjoyable tv viewing as he knows it. We have been watching it on our van's DVD player for the last couple of weeks. Much to my joy, the kids love it. They walk around singing the songs all day, in between verses of Nephi's Courage. It also makes for good conversation while driving in the car. Like stuff about the plan of salvation, repentance, and why the guy in the red hat who is Satan is a good guy minutes later.
I love it.

5. Spelling
Bethany has been big on reading and writing for a while now and she is GREAT at it! James has recently caught the fever as, suddenly, one day, he learned to spell his name and now wants to spell everything. He usually has some sort of writing utensil in his hand and will use it constantly. (Just come to our house and the scattered papers, walls, and table surfaces will tell the story) Ben has not started writing yet but he will spell out loud, walking around saying things like "B-E-N." The most exciting and productive use of this new favorite past-time is a new way to insult each other. When they get angry at one another, you can often hear things like, "I don't like J-A-M-E-S." and "I'm not going to play with "B-E-N." (Bethany does not receive a lot of insults this way. It pays to have a long name.)

6. Playing outside
Oh the joys of the return of nice weather!!!
We wait ALL summer for this time of year to roll around!!! The hard part is remembering to balance it with other things. Now that we have places to be...school, preschool, etc. we can't spend all day every day playing outside in the beautiful weather! But...we do try. Soon, our winter grass will be grown in and we will have access to the whole backyard!

7. Netflix
We finally ditched cable completely and opted to sign up for Netflix. We have, thus, stopped watching as much tv, stopped spending so much on tv, AND branched out in our viewing. What used to be Nick Jr. for the kids has turned into Eloise, Super Why, and Kipper. What used to be all kinds of good stuff for us (still getting used to it) has turned into disk after disk of Smallville and 30 Rock. Really, it has taken some getting used to, not having that trusty DVR around, but
it's a good thing.

8. Church Meetings
Yes, an odd thing to have on this list. But, after years of half-activity in half of our meetings, we have finally managed to achieve some level of consistency when it comes to those good ol' three hours. The kids getting older, better functioning immune systems, stronger resolve,
more responsibility, whatever the reason may be...we are showing up. And it feels nice.

9. School
Bethany loves kindergarten. She loves her teacher, her friends, her work. She loves it all. Every day I ask her what her favorite part was. Every day she says "All of it." Every day I ask her what she didn't like about her day. Every day she says "Why would you even ask me that? I love it all!" James is loving preschool. It took him a while to get used to letting me go at the start
of the day but now he's a champ. No more tears, only excitement! They are both doing so very well. And we are proud of them! Ben loves school because, during school hours, he gets mommy to himself. That's quite the prize, if I do say so myself.

10. Rockwell
(Bethany and Rockwell walking to school)
Rockwell is a darling little boy who is in our ward and also happens to be in Bethany's class at school. He is so cute. He is so sweet. And he is super cool. Just ask my boys. Every day, they wait for the end of the school day so they can say hi to Rockwell. Some days we even get to take him home from school. If Rockwell doesn't hear something they ask him, or doesn't notice when they say hi, hour-long screaming fits break out and melt-down mania takes over.
Rockwell is our Rock Star.
And a gracious one at that. He always takes time to talk to his admirers.

Such is our list.
Such is our life.

Just a Few...

The other day, while I was making dinner, James found the camera sitting on the counter.
He (hesitantly) asked if he could take some pictures.
He and this camera have a rough history and he knows it.

I (hesitantly) told him that, yes, he could take exactly FOUR pictures. Since he is four.
He (excitedly) agreed.

Since his work has been popular in the past, I thought I should share.

One

Two

Three

Four

Then, upon noticing her privileged brother, Bethany expressed interest in (aka demanded) a turn as well.
I (defeatedly) told her that, yes, she could take exactly FIVE pictures. Since she is five.
She (excitedly) agreed.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

The End.
(Ben is still easy going enough...some of the time...that he did not demand a turn. No worries though, I am sure his time shall come.)

Park Day

Another activity we took to on our Fall Break was a park day with our friends "Ali and her kids." Better known to most as The Lunts, the kids lovingly refer to them as the former. Probably because I do.
Ali and I decided to get the kids out and about, packed some food, and went to picnic at a super cool park down in Chandler.
We learned that super cool park equals super busy park during Fall Break equals six small children who are hard to keep track of equals uneasy moms equals us packing up and finding a new park.
And that's my story.
And here are the pictures.
(None from the super cool park. I was too busy trying to keep track of my kids/rescuing James when he smashed his head into a large boulder)

Here is sweet Staten, toddling around!

And sassy Livia, Bethany, and Maylee posing for Ali's camera.
I had to steal a picture too.

Bethany and Staten facing off. She likes to smother little ones with her presence. She gets it from me.

Teagan, at eight, is the oldest of our bunch and is so very good at playing with the younger kids. He loves to get them involved in something productive.
This time, he had them gathering sticks, bark, and leaves to build a clubhouse.
Pretty ambitious for park day.

Here's Ben, delivering supplies to the construction site.

We got some of the kids going on the swings when they needed a break from manual labor.
Maylee appears overjoyed!

James...does not...?

Here are Ben and Livia, sharing a moment as they glide through the air.

The next item on the agenda...'What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?'
Some game they all apparently play in P.E.
Watching them get this game organized and started up was so funny to me.
They have all turned into...people.
Who would have thought?
All lined up! Teagan, Ben, Bethany, Livia, and James. Maylee must have been Mr. Fox.

And she must have done something that made them run!

When it was Ben's turn to be it, everyone coached him through. It was so cute. Teagan, especially, helped him by making sure he would get caught once Ben started chasing them.

We had a lot of fun with our friends. We are quite lucky to have them!

Pumpkins

The very first day of Fall Break, we ventured back to our autumn-time stomping grounds...Mother Nature's Farm. Every year I swear we won't go back because it's so crowded and so dusty and everyone always gets sick afterwards from all the gunk in the air.
Gunk is a word.
But this year, JC convinced me to give it another try, perhaps this time on a weekday morning when he didn't have work.
Turns out it was one of his good ideas.
He does get quite a few of those.

It was fun to have plenty of room to run around and take all the time we needed to choose just the right pumpkin.
And take lots of pictures.
Of course.

If we were to live on a farm I don't think I'd get any actual work done.
My kids look so darn cute on a tractor, I'd spend all my time snapping pictures...

I managed to get Bethany and Ben to pose for me amongst the pumpkins...

...James was a no-go. Too much to explore!

We got to see how we all measured up this year at this "How Tall This Fall?" pumpkin. Cute.
Ben was right at three feet! He and James decided that it must be a measurement in relation to age. Since he's three, he measured in at three.
It's only logical.

So, when James didn't measure up at four, he took matters into his own hands.

Bethany and her cowgirl boots, getting taller every year!

Yay, I still manage to measure in above five feet! I fear I may shrink down someday...

And JC comes in at just over six feet, like always. Tall, dark, and handsome!

The rule with the pumpkins is that if you can carry it, you can choose it.
James likes to push his limits.

So does his sister.

As usual, Ben was not far behind.

As JC pulled the little flat-bed wagon up the hill so we could make our purchase, the pumpkins started to topple off. Before I could make a move, the kids ran to the rescue, holding the pumpkins steady and helping to push the cart up the hill.
We would have rocked as a handcart pioneer family.
...if all we were traveling with was pumpkins...?

James helped to pull the handcart, I mean, wagon.

The kids got in a little more playtime, climbing around on the pumpkin hills...

...and posing for pictures.
So cute.

Such personality.

And such excitement at the baby chickens!
I want to point out Ben's hand in this picture. I am not sure what he was doing but does he not have the longest, lankiest hands ever??
His feet are the same way.
And I love them.

And Bethany loves baby chickens.

If it weren't for city ordinances, we might have some of our own.
In addition to that pig I want.
And a goat.
And...a couple turtles.
This would all also be contingent upon our ability to sudfficiently take care of the pet we already have. Poor Scout, we do try.

Anyway, we had a good time. Maybe next year we will go on a weekday again and perhaps wait until it is no longer 100 degrees outside...
(Good news though...as I type this, the temperature has finally begun to drop to levels supportive of our autumn state of mind!)

Stowaways

One evening as I spent some time blogging (something I have been doing a lot of lately, yes?), JC was in the shower and the kids were having a hard time settling down in their beds.
Some nights go great; Other nights feel like a never-ending barrage of playing and/or fighting noises coming up the stairs.
On this particular night, the boys were being restless and noisy. I ran to the bathroom and figured that when I came out, I would go attempt to establish peace. When I returned to the office, however, the monitor showed no sign of noisy boys and I decided they must have worn themselves out.
I got back to my business of blogging.

Then I started hearing noises behind me. I figured Scout must be rummaging around in the office.

Nope.

Guess again.

I guess that, at bedtime, noisy boys have the ability to become quiet, sneaky boys when hiding in the office cabinet will get you a few more minutes of awake playtime.

What the...Hail?

Every once in a while, you have one of those experiences that yanks you out of the day-to-day norm and makes you realize that fresh, new, exciting things can happen unexpectedly.
You know, those life-changing moments.
For us, one of those moments came a few weeks ago.
I was sitting at the kitchen table, planning my lesson for Sunday, JC was at work, Bethany was at school going about her day, and the boys were resting perfectly well downstairs (This is where the sarcasm stops...they actually were resting quietly, both probably minutes away from falling asleep. This never happens.)
The weather was gorgeous...overcast and lovely. Getting windy and temperamental.
Then the noise started.
Scared the crap out of me.
It only took me a few seconds to figure out what was happening but I was about ready to call someone and report myself in need of mental examination because...hail? In Gilbert? I don't know if this has happened before but I'm pretty sure not while I have lived here and certainly not that I remember.
I got the front door open, watched it come down for a bit, then realized it may not last very long and ran downstairs to yank the boys out of their peaceful rest time. I decided that, considering I didn't remember this happening ever before, I should probably get them in on the experience!
(Yes, I realize I am making this into a huge deal. And I will continue to.)

Check it out. Caught some.

The boys and I stood on our porch and watched this happen.
(Those are not water spots on my camera. That is the actual hail.)

We couldn't even see across the street! It was wicked.
That tree you see on the right side of the picture is our year-old Sissoo Tree bending horizontally.
Oh how I prayed for my Sissoo for those few moments!

Then...it ended.
We ventured out.


The yard looked like this:

And the sky looked like this:

Pure schizophrenia is what it is.

We gathered up some pieces to put in the freezer to show Bethany when she got home from school since she probably didn't get to see any of it.
I know those aren't huge pieces of hail, considering.
But, for Gilbert, AZ, I think it's pretty impressive!

Good thing our neighbor drives a smart car.
If that thing was of a respectable size it would have born the weight of a good chunk of my other neighbors' tree.
I don't know why, but I found this hilarious.

I discovered that the boys were wandering the yard, eating the hail.
Awesome.

Things stayed calm for a bit and then, right as the bell rang for Bethany to get out of school, it rallied back up. No more hail but a really awesome downpour. It was insane. I loved it...except for the part where I wasn't exactly sure where Bethany was since they weren't letting the kids come out to where I normally pick her up due to flooding. That part was a little crazy. I looked like a maniac. A really wet one.
But, I did love it.

After we were home and it let up again, we ventured over to look at the fallen branch. Smart car guy moved it out of the way so he could smartly venture off somewhere.

James had witnessed him move it and decided that he was qualified to do the same.
I like this picture.
STRAINING!!!

Cute Bethany loved the rain as much as I did.
Even though, less than an hour before, she and I were separated during a mega-flurry.
All is well and good once we get to spend some time playing in puddles.

See?

As you can see, we moved to the backyard while it occasionally sprinkled on us while we did some splashing and swinging.

Our yard was soaked. My feet were happy.

Our trees were happy.
(All of them. The Sissoo made it!)

The only unhappy little thing around was this guy.
A caterpillar stranded on a blade of grass.

I left him there while I summoned everyone to have a look.

Then we rescued him, of course.
I think he would have done the same for us.

We got his friend too.
Actually, I don't know if they were friends are not.

But if they weren't before, they quickly got to be that way.

"Hello, friend."

The kids had a blast playing while I made dinner.
With puddles like those, we could play for hours!

Even though such a storm felt kind of surreal, since we're regular rain worshipers around here,
we soaked it all up! Who knows when we'll see a big rain like that, let alone hail, but we enjoy
whatever we can get!