Food and Fun

What a healthy dinner! Of course after, we filled up on BYU Mint Brownies that Brynn and I had made. We just googled "mint brownies" and that was the name of the recipe that came up. Our brownies however, were True Blue because we didn't have any green food coloring.

Anyway, thanks to http://bountifulbaskets.org it has been like summer every day with all this fresh garden produce. Bountiful baskets, in case you don't already know is a food co-op where you get a good haul of fresh produce in exchange for a minimal fee and some volunteer effort. This is our second time ordering. We got avocados, oranges, strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine, squash, and a coconut. Total cost $15.00. Something about having a basket full of garden surprises makes it way more fun to eat veggies. ( You never know what you're going to get when you show up) We've had salads every day. The bread is ciabatta bread. I didn't know what that was when I ordered it but I thought it sounded fun. It made for some tasty garlic bread. I first heard about this organization from Michelle. Has anyone else joined? So far so good...

We could have lost all our dinner at the carnival which we headed to shortly after. The people on the ride before us did.
The girls absolutely would not let the weekend go by without making sure we took them to the carnival. Kate and Brynn were up for all the wild rides. The carnival workers don't really enforce the height rules so I was able to take them on the whirliest twirliest ride there. Luckily, we all kept our dinners down but there was plenty of screaming! Cannon and Adrie went on the Merry -go -round. At least we didn't lose Bud this time but we did lose Dad. He kept getting sidetracked by people that I didn't know...which could only mean that they were clients.
Fun times for everyone!

Wild Things

This week I am feeling exceptionally grateful for child leashes. You know those cute little restraints made friendly by attaching a stuffed bear or monkey on the back? Here is why.

Earlier in the week we met up with our cousins for a k12 field trip in the big city. Before the event we met for a picnic at the lovely Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake. Picture a river with a pond on one side, rolling hills and a playground in between and a road on the other. The first big upset to this scene of tranquility was that cousin Z fell off the monkey bars and was screaming in pain. Did he break his arm we wondered? Fortunately Z's mom got ahold of their doc and they made the plan to give him some motrin, put his arm in a sling, and when they got home in a few hours they would xray it. (No bones were sticking out and the screaming had died to a whimper at this point.)

So, it was off to our fieldtrip at the Planetarium. However,when I looked around to gather up the kids Cannon was missing. He was nowhere in eyeshot. Do you know what a sickening feeling that is to lose a kid even for a second? How long had it been? Did he go down to the river or over to the road? Kate , Z's mom, and I divided and ran, asking anybody if they'd seen him. After a minute or so a guy shouted and pointed. About a quarter mile away a jogger was standing with Cannon..or following him rather as he continued to wander.

"I found this kid in the road and called the police." he said, not so compassionately. That made me feel even sicker. Of course I was profoundly grateful to the man for "rescuing Cannon" and especially grateful that he was found and unharmed. The police were called back and told everything was fine. I thanked the guy again and again and off we went to our next adventure...the planetarium...this time with the CHILD RESTRAINT I had packed in the car.

It also came in extremely handy the following day when we went to the zoo. In fact, there were lots of toddlers wearing them. It sure made a world of difference in our experiences. One guy stopped me and laughed as he told me how he used to think those things (leashes) should only be used for animals and then he had 4 kids and realized they were lifesavers. Of course, I quickly agreed.

If you think that leashes are inhumane than either a) you haven't had kids or b) you haven't had kids.

Anyway, we had a wonderful day at the zoo; perfect weather, not too crowded, Cannon on a leash. Sure--he tugged at that thing and sure--we clotheslined a few innocent people but the security of knowing where my little guy was made all the difference.

Now for some happy photos.

The baby elephant was adorable!

Giddy-up!

What a beautiful day for a horseback riding adventure. The girls and some of their "school" friends went on a "field-trip" today. Their wildest cowgirl dreams came true.

What did they have to say about their experience?

"The horse ate out of Brynn's hand and got slobber all over it!" --Kate

"The horse peed and poo-ed."--Adrie

"Can we go horseback riding when we get home?"--Brynn

"I want to have 4 horses when I grow up."--Brynn

Bud is the biggest horse fan of them all. The other day when we were reading family scriptures out loud I read the word "Nay." Buddy ran over to see the page, "I wanna see the horsies."

Getting on all fours, whinnying, and pretending to graze or running down the street to look for horsies pretty much takes up most of his day. Chasing after him pretty much takes all of mine too. Good thing he didn't know what he was missing when we left him with a babysitter for this trip!

A New House Again

After months of construction we finally put the finishing touches on our basement. Voila! Our living space doubled. Once the carpet guys finished installing there was no stopping the girls. They got right to work hauling down their mattresses, clothes, dolls, and STUFF. I don't think the squeals of delight could be matched by any ride at Disneyland. Their 3 years of sharing a bedroom finally came to end. Now they each have a bedroom to call their own and they are thrilled about it. I actually heard Brynn say to herself as she was organizing her room, "I'm going to make my bed EVERY DAY!"

Plenty of room down here to shout for joy and do cartwheels.

Brandon's excitement was equal to the girls when he was able to finally enjoy his Christmas present. This cougar fan got a giant BYU fathead logo for the wall. I have never seen such ambition as I did when he was measuring , centering, marking out where his beloved "Y" would go. He did all the work and after it was up.....Ahhhh you should have seen the look on his face. It was pure joy! Wish I had a picture of that one. He finds excuses now to come downstairs just so he can turn the corner and "Ahhhhh" admire the fathead.

I have loved de-cluttering the upstairs and moving all the toys, clothes, books and extra blankets downstairs.

But best of all, Buddy no longer has to sleep in our closet. He has moved into the girls old bedroom and hallelujah! I can put my clothes in there again! Winners all around.

Having a basement has been wonderful. Without the kids and toys we have a much quieter and cleaner main level. Sometimes it's too quiet...so I go down to check on them and they are happily playing games or organizing their shelves and true to her word Brynn has been making her bed every day!

The Greatest Reason to Celebrate

He is Risen! I can't get this hymn tune out of my head. It is a good one to have though, especially when you are hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version. I love Easter and it's message of Christ's Resurrection. Each year I come to appreciate it more as I learn more about it. This year we read the events from the Bible on each day that it occured starting with Palm Sunday last week and concluding today, Easter Sunday. We Believe!
This is 5 year old Adria's picture of the Crucifixion from our reading on Good Friday.

I also really loved that it was LDS General Conference on Easter Weekend. We moved the couch into the office and watched it online at BYUtv (no TV service yet.) --All this while feasting on our Easter candy (like mainly ones that involved peanut butter) to keep us alert and attentive. BTW--I could not find Cadbury mini eggs this year????? Did anyone buy them out early???

While it's fresh in my mind, here are a few things that I got out of all that counsel to help me personally:

Tell children the stories of Jesus (over and over), ask them questions, let them talk, and LISTEN, Bear spontaneous testimony, welcome thoughts by invitation only, The home is the most important place to teach and prepare our children, personal revelation is the most important life skill we can develop, a mother's influence is extremely important, faith is WORK, How we respond to trials determines our life's course, Judge not, the sacrament is the most sacred and holy meeting in the church, Hold your tongue about things (teaching children to avoid the temptation to gossip,) Let children see your love for them on your face, Where there is a design there is a Designer, All things work together for good for those who love God.

Plastic Eggs, Plastic Bags

Plastic grocery bags are good for many things. They are good for when you forget to bring baskets to the Easter egg hunt. They are also good for throwing up into when you are driving home in the car. Of all the places I could have lost my lunch, the car had to be the worst. It was a long drive home.

Throw up aside, it was a pretty great day. With 10 kids their spouses, and their kids, the annual C. family Easter egg hunt is a big event. Mom and Dad C. really know how to pull it off. We started with lunch and then we were divided into 5 groups. The coolest part is that even the grown-ups are in on the fun. We had a blast racing for candy, chips, drinks, eggs and plastic eggs with $ inside.
Maybe next year we should add a 6th group: Mom and Dad C. --they could race to find plastic eggs filled with little notes and pictures from the grandkids:) Except that we'll have to mail them because they just announced they will be putting in their papers to serve a mission later this year. Yeah! and Ohhh....
Thanks for all the fun...especially the plastic!

Who is this Kid?!

"Samson," as he is affectionately called by the ward, lost his curly locks. Bud got his first haircut yesterday. Problem is, we don't recognize him anymore. He went from looking like a gentle cherub to looking like....this...a regular boy! Wierd.