Photo Shoot

On our way home from St. George we stopped in Provo for a photo shoot with my brother Jordan.

Jordan is currently living in Santa Clara. Call him up for that perfect Christmas card photo (or any type of photo). He is currently running the Want-to-move-out-and-go-off-to-college special.

$250 for a session--unlimited time.

Includes a cd of ALL IMAGES.

(Other packages available also.)

June

The girls took a ballet/gymnastics class. Fred likes to copy his sisters. So he wears dress-ups, plays with dolls, wears headbands, etc. I don't mind. He also really likes trucks and balls and 'boy' stuff. I know he'll eventually conform to the gender role that society prefers. Chloe wanted a tea party. She asked and asked and I gave vague answers. She finally made invitations and made me commit to a date. Then Chanell and I decided to have "Tea Party Tuesdays". Turns out there were only about three Tuesdays in the whole summer. Weird.

The middle pictures documents what polite, dainty princesses they all are.

Fred only broke two dishes.

Danika introduced me to raw oatmeal. I love it because it tastes good and I am lazy.

Chloe loves it. Fred likes his with raisins. Stella doesn't like it. This is kind of sad because she really likes cooked oatmeal but when 2 out of 3 are willing to go along with the lazy method then the third ends up with cold cereal without milk.

Every night at dinner--ok, let's be honest--Every night that we actually sit down as a family to eat, Fred eventually ends up on Dan's lap. He pushes his plate over by Dan, climbs out of his chair and walks across the table. Every time. I'm glad he prefers Dan on this one.


This is Chloe saying "goodbye" to the cat. We didn't get rid of her. We only banished her to the lone and dreary world. That's what happens when you pee on the carpet. Unless it is our child. In that case we just try an assortment of tactics, none of which work, then give up.

Fred climbed into this by himself. I'm impressed that it didn't tip.

First Two Weeks of June

I headed south with the kids. We went to a family reunion in Las Vegas, hung out in Santa Clara and went fishing on Cedar Mountain.

On the drive to Cedar Mountain Stella and Fred were fighting. Stella's weapon of choice was a red marker. Jordan and Kyle (a friend) jamming. Fred and Chloe on one of their many hikes.

Fun with Grandpa.

Sam and Zach playing catch.

Jordan told them to look scary. Griff nailed it but Stella

went with her Susan Boyle impersonation.
We didn't catch many fish but they were pretty big.

Me and Stella (I totally cheated on this photo. A little wrinkle smoothing, blemish healing, evening out skin tone and check out those white teeth. It was not a cute camping picture.) Most of the group. Rachel and Fred.

Jordan and Fred.

Dollar store bows and arrows kept the kids entertained.

Swimming at Rachel's with Sara and Ella Goodrich.

How I Spent My Summer

I'm about to start blogging again. Soon.
Just wait, you'll see.

(scroll down the blog to see some catch-up posts)

Spring Soccer

Another season has come and gone.  We didn’t sign up Stella this time because her desire/willingness to play last season was unpredictable.

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to Glacier National Park. It was fun. I'll write more later.

Glacier National Park

We took an enjoyable road trip to Glacier National Park over memorial day weekend. We got a late start Friday and drove most of the night. I couldn't sleep much because most of the

drive was along a raging river. My fear of crashing into a river was increased by the

billions of deer in/on/by the road. I think we drove about 8 hours that night and

didn't quite make our destination.

We drove about an hour the next day to get to Glacier. I was so excited. I went once before my mission and loved it and always wanted to return. I've bugged Dan to go before and was

happy he finally relented. But guess what? The park is not fully open for Memorial Day.

I know, so stupid. They don't plow the roads until June. We went a week early.

The amazing views from the Going-to-the-Sun Road were inaccessible.

Very disappointing. I will have to go back someday.

Anyway, after lunch we went on a small hike. A good warm-up for the kids.

Stella dragging a stick along the fence. Fred trying to copy Stella.

Helicopter Tour

We are such extravagant travelers.

Dan suggested that we take a helicopter tour since most of the park was closed. It probably wasn't the best decision financially but it was a very memorable experience and I'm glad we did it. None of us had ever ridden in a helicopter and we all loved it.

Chloe was a little nervous at first but I told her that if we crashed then we would all die together and go to heaven where everyone is happy. So don't worry. It was a very smooth ride with awesome views of the Continental Divide, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, etc.

Crazy 4th Birthday

Ingredients for a CRAZY birthday party:

1. ribbon sticks

2. crazy straws

3. punch balloons

4. crazy pinata

5. bubble wands
6. crazy toothbrushes (to counteract #7)

7. crazy bubble tape

Freeze dancing with ribbon sticks.

I always make the kids sit in a wide circle around the recipient but it always ends up like this:

Crazy painting and bubbles.

Crazy pinata.

Punch balloons. (My camera battery died so we switched the video camera.)

Stella received a wagon.

And requested pizza for dinner.

P.s. Fred helped make the cake.

Busy Birthday

Today Stella turned four years old. I'm too tired to write something thoughtful. Too tired to post about the birthday. But I'll give you a sneak peak.

It was a CRAZY birthday party!

more later.

11 PM

Fred won't stay in his crib. He has been such a good sleeper so this makes me very sad. He let's me put him down. He doesn't cry. Then a few minutes later I hear his door shut (he always shuts doors behind him) on his way out of his room. So I pick him up and we start over. One time he went into the girls room. They are sleeping on the floor because Stella had an accident last night and I didn't get the plastic sheet washed. I would rather she have an accident on the floor than on the mattress. Fred went in and layed down between them. So I left him. Then I heard a bump and crying. He had a little goose egg between his eyebrows and a bloody nose. Not sure what happened. I took him into the bathroom to clean his nose. He wanted to brush his teeth. Then he wanted to read a book. Then I put him back down. Then I heard him cry again and he came out rubbing his leg. Now he is downstairs playing the piano. I'm tired.

Advancements

Fred can open the fridge.  And the oven.  And doors.  This talent provides endless opportunities to create trouble.  He has emptied out our medicine cabinet (including the shelves).  He likes to hang out in the garage.  Gets into the toothpaste and lotion and anything else that isn’t child-locked up.  Our house is a disaster.  I can’t keep up with these kids. 

Style

Back in February I took excederin pm for the first time. I’ve never taken anything to help me sleep before. In the morning I was really tired so I told Stella to get herself dressed for preschool. This is what she came up with:

A button up cardigan under a striped dress. Over fleece pants. With polka dot shoes.

Here’s another good one:

The Summit

We took the ladder off the bunk beds to keep Fred from getting up there.
Of course it didn’t work. (Sorry for the blur, I was trying to spot him.)

Ta-dah!

Feb. 18 months old.

Candy Addict

We had a lot of candy this year.  A LOT.  I bought some candy for Easter baskets and some candy to send to Dan’s brother Ben on his mission.  Then I misplaced the candy and bought more.  Well, I’ve been trying since last October to get a package to Ben and can’t get Dan to get his address for me so the candy didn’t get sent.  And Fred ate most of it.  Here are some pictures of just a few of the incidents.

It started out easy, we just placed it on the counter.  (We have to remove the knobs from the stove so he doesn’t turn on the gas.)

Here he is in the window sill.

 

And getting into the cupboard.  He’s pleading for me to remove the wrapper.

Fred, you have no one but yourself to blame for that belly.