Cousins

Our kids are also having withdrawals from cousins.  Last month we had swimming lessons every morning for 2 weeks with cousins,  several family lunch or dinner functions with cousins, one trip to the zoo, and a cousin sleepover, followed by 8 days camping with our CA/AZ cousins.  We had lots of fun and Miss Peanut talks constantly about all the fun memories she's made this summer with them.  We're hoping to see them all again soon.  

Grandma Izzy

I have hundreds of memories of my grandma; I've been thinking about a few of them.

• she makes handmade chocolates, I still want to learn how to do that from her.
• I remember sneaking eclairs from the fridge in the spider room when we were visiting for my aunt Jana's wedding - they were so good.
• I have a picture of me as a little girl wearing her shoes 
• Playing dress up in her costume jewelry.
• The old barbie collection she let us play with as kids.
• she took us swimming in the summer, a lot.
• she took us to see plays,  I've tried to start doing that with Miss Peanut.
• she taught us card games; golf, hand and foot, canasta.
• I make gooshy cinnamon toast because of her.
• she took us shopping when we stayed with her in the summers, sometimes to Park City.
• I think I got some of my thriftiness from her, she is always watching ads for sales whether its groceries or clothes.
• She came to my college graduation
• I lived with her during two summer internships I had, one right before I got married.  I really appreciated that time I was able to spend with her.  She even let me trim and paint her toenails once during that time.
• We visited my Grandpa's gravesite together.  I can't imagine how hard some times have been for her since he passed away.
• She makes yummy chocolate fudge for ice cream.
• She let Officer and I do laundry at her house  for months when we first got married and didn't have a washer/dryer.
• We were able to meet up with her for lunch once when we had a layover in Salt Lake.
• We've been able to stay with her numerous times over the years when we've been in town to visit.  I'm glad all my kids have met her.  
• I was so grateful that she came to Cupcake's blessing and Officer's award ceremonies in April.

That is just a handful I can think of right off.  I've been thinking that I need to make a trip to visit her for a while. I don't really think that it is coincidence that people are on our mind, I just need to remember to act on those impressions sooner when I have them.  I'm at such a busy point in my life right now with little kids;  time just speeds up and before you know it,  I've been intending to call or plan a trip to visit for weeks or months.  I found out yesterday that my grandma has a tumor near her pancreas.  We won't know how serious for another week or so, but never really a good thing.  I called her after that.  She told me she had just had a dream that past night about me and my family. She probably couldn't tell, but I cried.  We had a nice chat,  I could tell that she hasn't been feeling well - a little more tired.   She's 81 now.  As I knelt to pray last night many of my thoughts were of her and what a strong woman she is and the example she has been for me.      This news just made me stop and realize that we take so many people for granted, they are just always there, and someday they may not be.  So if you haven't recently tell them you love them.

3 of a kind?

I've been asked more lately it seems like who my babies look like.  So, here are my three babies at about 3 months.  To me they all look different from each other and from us.  
Here is what mom and dad looked like at about the same age.

Curious George.

This is my curious george; or my family circus cartoon where the little boy is followed all over by a dotted line.  I love this little face, he is one of the three most precious things I have in my care.  You just truly don't understand until some things until you become a parent;  a mother.  I have a lot left to learn for sure, but last night  I lost this little boy.  It was the most panicked 4 minutes I have ever experienced  in my life.      Next to the other panicked 2 minutes I had with him a couple weeks ago when I saw him face down in a swimming pool.  This boy is afraid of nothing and that scares me.  I hope he has more than 9 lives, because he has used 3 in just the last few weeks.

Have you ever seen the play/movie "It's a Miracle"?  There is a part in there where this LDS missionary  going about his day while his guardian angel is constantly ahead of him protecting him from various things - its kind of comical.  Anyway, I just think this little boy has more than the usual number of guardian angels watching out for him for my sake, and he keeps them busy.  Two weeks ago while swimming I was sitting with Cupcake and Miss Peanut and Handsome in the kiddie pool.  I had just seen handsome, but I shot out of my seat looking for him and found him face down in the deep end.  Officer was just feet from him with his back to him, I saw Handsome throw his body back enough to get him out of the water for a breath before he went back under.  I made it a habit that he just has a life jacket on at all times, but he was still face down.  In my panic I didn't hand cupcake off to anyone so I couldn't jump in and I felt like I couldn't yell loud enough, I felt totally helpless.  I'm so glad Officer was close enough to get to him quickly, but it was still the longest two minutes ever...until last night.

I sometimes feel like my kids miss out on ward parties, etc because it's hard to go with little little kids by yourself and often Officer is working because of his shift.  Now it wouldn't be as big a deal if I had two of me,  but most of the time it's just me.  Last night I decided to take the kids to our ward party at a local park.  Officer took his lunch to come eat with us, but after he had to leave for a call, my hands were full.  I was watching the kids on the playground and chatting with a gal in my ward and somehow I looked away just long enough to for him to slip from my view.  Literally I looked down to give Cupcake a binky and when I looked back up to take inventory of the other two again he was gone.  I watched for just a minute waiting for him to come down a slide or pop up somewhere but he didn't.  I started circling the park and as I passed a few people I recruited their help, but the longer he was out of site the more panicked I got. Gratefully the party planners had a microphone/sound system set up and the announced it so that more people started looking.  He found very quickly by some of our good friends but he was quite a distance from the playground in just a matter of maybe 5 minutes.  I don't want to live like a hermit with my kids locked and leashed and I'm learning to give them some freedom because my other two hand are usually taking care of Cupcake.  It really is difficult to let go though and I don't even have any little ones in school yet.

Being married to Officer I feel like I've had to have great faith that when he goes to work, he will come home.  I have faith that he will not be taken from this earth before it is his time to go; that he will be protected. If I didn't, I would be paranoid and anxious all the time because of the things he sees and deals with daily.  I'm trying to have that faith with my children.  I learning that they won't always be in my care,  and I can't control what happens when I'm not there, but I have faith that they will come home safely to me. And this little man is surely keeping his guarding angels busy.

Kid Comedy

Driving home from CA, 
Miss Peanut: can't we go home? 
Me: we are going home its just taking forever. 
Miss Peanut: it's taking five-evers. 


During our family home evening lesson tonight (we have ours on odd days because of Officers Schedule.)
Me:  How can we help make our family strong?
Miss Peanut: um...with some oatmeal and food...and some vegetables.

Recovering

Getting back from vacation takes me about a week or so to recover.  I did probably 15 loads of laundry today,  it is currently piled on my bed so I have to fold them before I crawl into bed, but for now I'm avoiding it and looking at the cute pictures of my kids from our trip to the Cali coast.  It has been a tradition in officer's family for 40+ years now  to go diving the first week in August, when Abalone season opens.  Whenever we can we try to be there.  We stay in Officers hometown for a couple days to break up the trip and then head to the coast.  It's beautiful, and I love that we miss the super hot weather that we have in July/August here.  It's usually overcast and chilly - we wake up seeing our breath, drink lots of hot cocoa, wear lots of layers, chat around the campfire until late, and of course the ocean.  It is so much work, but such a fun tradition for our family.  I love that Miss Peanut is at the age where she really is making lots of memories.  Not going to lie,  it was a challenge for me this year with 3 little ones - I just don't have enough hands.  I was grateful to have a tent trailer this year and my sister-in-laws' hands to help with my babies.  So with that here is an overload of pictures.

Missing Binky...looks like this.

 Unexpectedly - we lost our last binky on this trip so it was as good a time as any to detox from "bink-bink" as Handsome calls it.  He was ready to a few months ago, but I waited because it was about the time we had Cupcake.   It has gone well and we are now about 1 1/2 weeks binky free.

 Thanks Carl for making us feel at home while we stayed in V-Town.

 I made hats to keep us all warm - kind of a fun tradition I think I'll continue.

 4 three year olds.  These guys we all born within about 3 weeks of each other and they were great entertainment for us and they were great buddies.

 So grateful for Mar-Mar helping with the kids!

 Bathtime at camp looked like this...times 5 kids. I was so grateful for my sister in law - she is kind of my camping hero - I'm learned lots of thing from her to make camping with kids go a little more smoothly.

 Swinging in the hammock

 Beach day.

 sand angels

 nap time with uncle Aroni

 Cupcake stayed bundled up with me most of the time.

 checking out dinner.

 This kid has been a picky eater - he's still getting teeth so that's part of it, but he'll pick sand over other things unless it resembles so kind of sweets/ chocolate, etc.  However, he put away an entire plate of fish,  no exaggeration.  We love fresh fish, it's really so so yummy!

 checking out the tide pools

 So cute - they kept saying le-me-see when ever I took a picture.  I have a dozen like this with their silly sticky smore faces.  

 Miss Peanut learned to ride her bike while we were there - she still has training wheels, but until this trip she had a hard time with the pedalling - now she's riding like a champ!

 Love this face! Check out how dirty their hands are.

 Our attempts at a family picture.  It's always breezy at the beach there, but I was hoping for an overcast day when we got everyone bathed and dressed, no such luck, but still - a picture with all of us in it.  Cupcake was not digging the wind.

 Trying to be so big!
 All done camping,  the last night we went to a place called "Cowlicks"  and talked about our favorite part of camp.  I forgot my camera of course, but I think that just might be the start another tradition for us.

Foster Freeze milkshakes.  Handsome and I shared he would say  "My turn" at least three time for every one of my turns.  So cute- he is talking up a storm.
Okay, so now I have to play catch up with the pictures and video from swim lessons and while my brother's family came out to visit before this trip.  My kids are going to have cousin withdrawals this week after almost a month solid of cousins everyday.  We already miss all the cousins and family!

Just that cool!

Miss Peanut has been to the dentist before, but today is the first time that she let them actually clean her teeth - is that not the cutest thing. chillin in her shades and kickin up her feet.

 No cavities or any follow up work to report :) And she was thrilled with the new princess toothbrush she got when they were all done.

Cupcake: 2 months

10lbs 8 ozs

Here she is, two months already.  She is just a darling little baby.  She's sleeping 6-8 hours most nights, she's smiling and cooing and loves to snuggle with mama! Big brother and sister love to love on her - she's dealing with it quite well.  We love having her in our family.      

Happy 4th!

Where Officer grew up they did a pancake breakfast in their ward every year for the 4th of July.  I decided this year we should begin this tradition because he usually works on the night of the 4th so we haven't been able to do fireworks as a family.  So we had our first (hoping to be annual, but needing some improvements) pancake breakfast and it was a decent turnout of about 8 families.  Afterward we took our own little family picture with in our patriotic old navy shirts. The kids and I went to a family bbq later and Officer was able to drop by for a few minutes, but he had a busy night.  

None of my pictures from the fireworks turned out at all but this little picture of cupcake sleeping through it all was cute!

Family Circus

We got free tickets to the circus.  I had never been and thought I should allow myself and my kids that experience.  It was a circus, we probably should have had our own act.  I'm still learning to juggle 3 kids and   I knew I would need an extra pair of grown up hands to help so I was grateful that Grandma and Grandpa were willing to come along.  We saw the elephants, tigers, ponies,  magicians, bears, jugglers, and some high flying guys and gals. And after I ran out of smarties it was hard to keep the kids in their seats, so we left at intermission.  They'll never know the difference. And besides...

I think Miss Peanut had more fun playing in the fountain outside the arena than actually watching the circus.  Sometimes it is kind of fun to be able to let them play and get as wet as they dare and not have to say no; it was really fun to watch her  (I keep a bag in my car, it's call the "O'Crap bag" - it has an extra set of clothes for the kids and diapers and wipes - handy to have for things like this).  Handsome was not as brave, getting his toes wet was enough for him. We had a fun afternoon.