March 2018

Todd gave the kids a fitness challenge: When they had trained enough to be able to do 40 push ups and 40 sit ups in two minutes each, they could have a betta fish. They paid for the fish, and Todd and I purchased the equipment. Everyone worked hard and practiced most days, and earned the reward much too quickly, in my opinion.

Jack lost his second front tooth and has an adorable pumpkin smile.

We stumbled by chance upon Home Depot's First Saturday craft. Each of the kids made a periscope, perfect for spying on the neighbors over the fence.

We've been using our Oakland Zoo membership and heading over about once a month. It's been so enjoyable to go and not worry about getting "our money's worth" by staying all day and making sure we see every single animal each time. It's so nice to be able to take our time where the kids have interest that day, and feel like there's no pressure to rush and do it all.

Todd's been working on a custom play set in the backyard. The kids have been helping out and offering suggestions. We'll be excited when it's finished.

All the kids are signed up for a basketball league. It's been our most successful attempt at sports yet! Everyone is enjoying it. Hazel is on a team with a couple of boys from church, and Gemma and Jack are on a team together. They have practice on Wednesdays and games on Saturdays. We've asked the kids to practice 30 minutes a day in the culdesac when they don't have practice at the gym, and everyone's getting really good, which makes it more fun as well.

All the kids made leprechaun traps for Saint Patrick's Day. We had green milk and played Celtic music and danced jigs. It's a good holiday - simple and fun. The leprechauns made a trap of their own in the night and tried to lock the kids in their bedrooms. Everyone thought that was funny.

Hazel was invited to a birthday party at a horse stable. Gemma was a little bit envious. It's Gemma's dream to have a horse ranch when she grows up.

Everything dramatic happens when Todd's away. He had his two week army training in March, and Jack got his first stitches. He slipped and hit his head on the bathroom counter and his forehead opened up into this sad, nasty gash. He stayed cool and collected - no tears! - and actually thought the trip to urgent care was quite interesting. He was asking questions about everything from the equipment to the procedure, and later said he wished he could go through it all again. Not me! I'm just relieved it all looks good weeks later and seems like it's going to heal really nicely.

We went on a two-night camping trip at the end of the month. The only picture I took was this one, after the fact, when we came back on Saturday for the kids' basketball games and these two fell asleep during Hazel's. Everyone was worn out.

The camping was lots of fun, except for the part where we slept on the hard, lumpy ground, all spooned together in a four-man tent. We brought bikes and did some hiking and exploring, played games and waded in the river, and made some delicious food. It was just crazy hard to sleep because we've been raiding the scout closet for supplies the last few years, and didn't think about it until the day we left and we realized that without that sweet hookup, we no longer had a glamorous, two-room tent, big enough for our queen-size blow-up mattress. We don't even have mats of our own. So, yeah, we were basically straight on the ground, and even the kids slept badly the second night. Lesson learned. But besides that, it was a great trip. Lots of fun memories, and I"m sad I din't take any pictures.

February 2018

Isn't he cute? Jack has always loved snuggling soft things. It's funny to check on him at night and see what he's tucked in around himself this time. 

My friends Chrissy and Suzanne and I got matching hip packs. We've been texting each other pictures when we dare to wear them in public. They're awesome - I love being hands-free! But there is a stigma attached, so you have to be in the right mood to work it. 

Todd's treehouse dreams came crashing down when our neighbor behind us asked if Todd had a permit from the city and mentioned that he didn't want our kids "snooping" on him from up high. Todd was so mad he abandoned the project for weeks. Now it's evolving into something that will pass inspection. It will have monkey bars and swings and probably a zipline, and the more hammocks, the better. But it's not the same and it makes us all a little bit sad.

Gemma's been taking a dance/movement class. She has a blast when the whole group is up and moving, but hates the attention on her when they're asked to do leaps and things one at a time. It's so funny to me that this boisterous, feisty girl can also be shy.

Jack has rollerbladed to school a handful of times. Its slow going, but gives him good practice. We just have to make sure to leave the house early enough. It'll be fun when he's fast.

Hazel got another reading award at school. She reached 150 AR points (easy). There's no other milestone to aim for except for kid with most points in the grade at the end of the school year. She was ready to settle down and stop caring, but Todd and I encouraged her to go for the gold. She could totally smoke everyone else in 3rd grade if she wanted to, she reads so much. So Todd offered her the prize of eating out anywhere she wants if she wins, and the sweet girl chose In 'n' Out (as if we don't eat there often already). So far, so good. She's trying to keep track of all the books she reads so she can take comprehension tests on them all. There are a couple kids right on her heels, so that's good, too, that it's not a shoo-in. She's going to have to work for it.

We spent the night at a hotel in Sacramento a few weeks ago. Todd was promoted to Major and put in as Commander of the Blackhawk unit. The kids were amazed to see how many soldiers were standing at attention for their dad. We're all proud of him.

Jack lost his second front tooth at the hotel, so he's sporting a pumpkin smile for now. And the kids had a good time playing in the hotel pool.

Hazel is an aspiring baker. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she'll tell you a bakery owner. She loves to help in the kitchen, and is slowly building up her repertoire of items she can make independently. She was so proud of this cornbread.

Suzanne, Chrissy, and I had a Napoleon Dynamite night. We ate dang quesadillas and tater tots and laughed throughout the movie. We wore our hip packs and sported side ponytails. Fun night!

The kids and I went a month without treats - no candy, no desserts, no junk food from the day after Gemma's birthday till Valentine's Day. It was a good reminder to eat treats sparingly and learn to say no when you're offered unhealthy food. It was shocking to discover how much bad food was available to the kids at school from friends and parties. Kind of crazy. It's always good to have a reset on those sorts of things from time to time, to help us be mindful.

I rewarded myself for my diligent dieting with a massage. It was so divine. I took a picture of my face when I got in the car afterwards; look at the marks on my face! I was in my zen den.

We took the kids to San Francisco for the Chinese New Year parade. We wandered the city a bit beforehand, checking out Chinatown and popping into an art gallery. The parade was really cool. Lots of dragons and firecrackers and martial arts and marching bands. The only thing that makes me and Todd not want to add it to our annual tradition list is that it was three. hours. long. I'm not joking. And we stayed for the whole thing because there was a huge 180-person dragon at the finale that we wanted to see.

We dog-sat for Hazel's activity days leader for five days and nights. Copper was a really sweet, easy dog. It was Hazel's dream come true to have a dog in the house. Gemma and Jack totally fell in love, too. He was so quiet and easy to care for that at first, I found myself thinking maybe we could get a dog someday. But by the end, I was ready to see him go. Hair on my pants, wet paw prints on my floor, and the biggest thing was having to adjust our plans to go to San Francisco to make sure he wasn't alone at the house for too long. If we'd been dog-free, we would have spent the night in a hotel and made a big party out of it. I made sure Hazel understood this so she'd get a bit of a reality check about the real reasons we're not interested in having a dog, and I think it sunk in. She was also ready to have her free time back to herself by the end of the five days.

We haven't had as much rain this winter as we did last year, but we've had a lot of cold nights, several of which dipped below 32 degrees. We've been covering our mandarin orange trees on those nights and crossing our fingers that we'll still get fruit from them next December.

It hailed last week and the kids thought it was so awesome. They all went running outside to check it out, and Hazel collected a bunch to put in the freezer to make a snowball.

Todd has been working with the principal of our kids'  school for last few months, preparing an awesome day. He flew a Blackhawk to Croce and landed it in the field at the start of the school day, with all the kids and parents and several extra members of our community watching and cheering.

While his co-pilot, medic, and crew chief led small groups through a tour of the helicopter (sitting in the backseat, checking out the cockpit, and investigating some of the equipment they use for rescue missions like buckets and stretchers)

Todd gave a presentation at a school assembly, teaching the students about how the Army National Guard Blackhawks are used to care for others, helping out in rescue missions like putting out forest fires, finding lost hikers, and saving people caught in floods, as well as all the good they do overseas, getting hurt people to hospitals as quickly as possible. He had pictures and a microphone, and a handful of really good jokes, and he spoke so well, and was so cool and friendly. He shared interesting things like how if they're putting out fires and there's no lake or river nearby, they'll come scoop water out of people's swimming pools. He had the kids stand up if they've ever been in a helicopter, and a few people did. Then he asked them to stay up if they've been in his helicopter, and then it was just our kids and a friend of theirs. And he was like, By the end of the day, everyone in this room will be able to stand up to that question! And everyone cheered and was so excited. He had the group in the palm of his hand and it was so fun to see.

He loved being around the kids, and said it was so easy to talk with them. They asked lots of questions and at recess were waving at him and treating him like a celebrity. He acted really interested in them individually, was high-fiving all the kids and shooting hoops with them at recess and doing pushup contests with the fifth grade boys. He was so cool. He spent his day talking with 600 kids about how great it is to help other people. He presented such a positive message, and portrayed the military in such a good light, and made me so proud of him. It was just a great day for our family.

He took off at the end of the school day, so he had a big audience again. The local news even came and watched. It was awesome. Todd had asked me a few days earlier if he ought to get some little trinkets to pass out to the kids, and I was like, "I think you're a little desensitized to how cool a helicopter is. Those kids are not going to need you to pass out anything. They're going to totally flip seeing your helicopter land and climbing through it. That's all they need." And it was.

Jack came home and said when he grows up, he wants to do exactly what Daddy does. Exactly the same thing. It was adorable. Pretty sure half the kids at Croce were aspiring to be helicopter pilots when they grow up.

January 2018

 We had the whole first week of January off of school, so we planned a couple day trips. We went to the Oakland Zoo on New Year's Day. Jack loves that there are several tigers there. Gemma and I love to watch the otters swim around so endlessly. Everyone gets a kick out of the red-bottomed baboons. Tuesday Todd went back to work, while I took the kids to the movies. We saw "Ferdinand." It was cute.

Thursday the 4th was Jack's seventh birthday. We started the day by having bagels and hot chocolate at Panera. Jack and Hazel wore their Hogwarts cloaks, so fun. That afternoon, we went to the local skate park for the first time. The kids looooooved it! Gemma realized quickly that she was too little to handle her scooter on the hills, especially with older kids zooming past her, but she had a great time on foot, running up and sliding down the skateboard jumps. Hazel and Jack did not want to leave. I'm going to have to bring them back again soon.

And Jack got a skateboard for his birthday, so maybe we'll be back with that in a few months! 

Jack still loves tigers and the color orange best. His favorite for is pizza. His favorite books right now are the Geronimo Stilton Kingdom of Fantasy chapter books. He loves playing outside on monkey bars, swings, and the trampoline, and has enjoyed learning how to use his new rollerblades and skateboard. He thinks he'll probably be a scientist when he grows up. He's turning into a perfectionist, and is very good at math, spelling, and the piano. If he had one wish, it would be that he could turn into whatever animal he wanted every day. He would start with a tiger, then be a bat, then a baby squirrel monkey (he loved those at the zoo).

Jack wanted a Harry Potter birthday party, but he wanted to spend his actual birthday with his family. So we made a simple Hagrid-esque cake for the actual day, then some fancy golden snitch cupcakes for the party.

The party was lots of fun to plan, but probably more work than it was worth, given that Jack was the only one of his guests who knew much of anything about Harry Potter yet. First grade is a bit young for it. We made cloaks and spell books for everyone. The biggest hit of the party was using the "Wingardium Leviosa" spell to keep balloons in the air during charms class.

We made a stop at the local pet store that week, just to look at the animals, and the kids turned it into a pet researching trip. They decided the betta fish were simple enough that they should be able to take care of one. Hazel got out a notebook and interviewed an employee, then started adding up prices to see how much it would cost to outfit a betta. Then she and Jack started a campaign to protest that they should be able to use their allowance to buy a fish if they wanted to. Every couple of days for a week, the kids got together for a "powwow" and ambushed us with protests like the following:

We made a deal with them that we would buy the supplies if they would buy the fish, but that first they had to prove to us that they were responsible and capable of remembering tasks every day without being reminded. The way they are supposed to be proving this to us is by practicing pushups and sit-ups every day until they are able to do 40 in a row. They were all sorts of excited about this contract for the first handful of days, but enthusiasm has since dwindled. I think it may be a while yet before we have to acquire a fish for our household.

My game night group is still going strong. Loving it!

Jack lost two teeth this month. He's now talking with an adorable lisp.

Gemma turned five on January 14th. At first, she was bummed that her birthday was on a Sunday, but she quickly cheered up when she realized that meant Daddy would be home with her all day! She requested a cake with four layers (two layers each cut in half) and sprinkles on top. Easy-peasy. She wanted pizza for dinner, and we invited Aunt Erika to come eat with us. We hoped Vlad and Hope could bring baby Luna up as well, but that didn't work out.

Gemma's favorite colors change every few days, but as of right now, her favorites are aqua, purple, and silver. She loves her mermaid Barbie and her big doll, Charlotte. Her favorite animals are giraffes, horses, tigers, dolphins, zebras, and orcas. She loves to jump on the tramp and do flips, and she's still crazy for monkey bars. When she grows up, she wants to be an animal doctor. She is sometimes shy, sometimes wild, so funny, and great at complimenting and cheering on others. If she had one wish it would be to be a unicorn. She loves learning how to read.

She had a party the next day. None of the kids had school for Martin Luther King Day, so it made a fun way to spend our time. It was super easy, a slumber party theme. Everyone came in pajamas. We made cookies and popped popcorn and played board and card games and played freeze dance and partied on the trampoline. It was so simple and fun - I'm hoping we can use that party theme again and again!

Todd was released from Young Men's president. Although he loved working with the young men, it's been a relief and a big blessing for our family for his time to be freed up. He's teaching in the Primary now. 

One of Hazel's Activity Days leaders invited her mom to come teach the girls a watercolor class. The lady brought some of her work, and it's quite good. It was exciting to hear her rave afterward about how talented Hazel is. We have always known she's got a gift for art, but it's cool to hear from a real artist that she has talent. It was good for Hazel to hear that, and good for me, too. I've got to make sure I keep providing her with supplies and opportunities to study art. 

A good friend of mine from the ward was sealed to her husband and kids in the Oakland Temple this month, and Todd and I were blessed to be able to attend. That was one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had in the temple. I was overwhelmed with love. It made me so happy to see their family come together and receive the great blessing of being sealed together forever. 

Todd and I went to the BYU-Santa Clara basketball game for one of our date nights. It was lots of fun. 

The kids got fevers at the end of the month, so we had several slow and quiet days at home, resting and eating soup.