October 2015

Grammie and Poppa came to visit us in early October. We had a lot of fun with them! They brought yummy, flavorful apples from their trees and we made applesauce and caramel apples.

Grammie brought a bunch of wooden bric-a-brac with her, and then kids picked some out to paint. 

We loved having them come out and spend time with us.

We had a few days off from school, and used the opportunity to take a family trip. Right now, leaving and spending the night somewhere else is the best way I've found to get some concentrated, focused time n with Todd. Balancing work and home when you work at home is hard!

Anyway, we rented a cabin in Sonora, California. We spent a day at Calveras Big Trees State Park, hiking among the redwoods. Gemma loved the giant pinecones!

We danced on top of this beast.

We saw some deer ahead on the trail. The kids snuck up on them, but they didn't ever run away. It was so cool to stand so close to them and just watch them for a while, without them running away!

Another day on our trip was spent at Columbia - Gold Country! Todd was so excited for the kids to experience gold panning. It was pretty fake where we were at, though. Good results! Not so authentic. He wants to give it another go at a river or something, but I haven't got that kind of time!

Halloween seemed to last forever this year! We had our ward party two weeks before the big day, and I think that was a big part of it. So the costumes and candy just dragged on for weeks!

I couldn't believe Gemma held still long enough for us to wrap her up as a toilet paper mummy! 

Luckily, this year's costumes were pretty simple. The kids wanted to be Lego Elves - from this set of toys they love to play with. A monochromatic outfit, some scotch tape on their ears, and botta bing, botta boom, they were elves!

We went to a local pumpkin patch for FHE and had the place pretty much to ourselves because - as we found out - they were about to close! We stuck around after the announcement until an employee came and shooed us out. The kids loved the haystack maze, and we all really enjoyed playing in the corn box!

Hazel's been reading, reading, all the time, everywhere you look. Almost every night after we put the kids to bed, we hear her turning pages. She brings books to school to read after she finishes her work. Sometimes she's so riveted to the page that she brings a book out with her to read while she eats breakfast. She is blowing through our Junie B. Jones collection. She's started a series called The Critter Club. I'd love more suggestions for simple chapter books!

Gemma and I went with Jack's preschool class on a field trip to a pumpkin patch and my heart was breaking all morning. He just seems so old suddenly. I don't want to send him to kindergarten next year!

My little wild thing is getting huge, too. Not fair!

I went with my friends Maggie and Karrie to a corn maze. It was fun! I hadn't been to one in years.

Jack loved hammering pegs into a pumpkin at his preschool Halloween party. He may not be a rough and tumble, fight and destroy, kind of boy, but he definitely loves tools in any shape or form.

We saved carving jack-o'-lanterns until Halloween day a) so they wouldn't mold on the porch, and b) because we didn't have a good time for the whole family to be together to work on it until that day. Turns out, we still didn't have the whole family together for it - we did them during Gemma's nap! Oh well.

The kids loved trick-or-treating. We stated in our own neighborhood this year, and just went around to the homes within walking distance of our house. Literally, only about one out of every 8 houses were even giving out candy, but every single one who was told the kids to take several pieces, if not a handful or two. We probably hit 15, maybe 20 houses, and their pumpkin baskets were filled to the brim. Gemma was running all over tarnation, she loved being out in costume, in the dark, so much! 

Guys, that is just way too much candy! How can you stand to let your kids eat it all? We let them each pick out six pieces, then packed the rest up. Hazel and Gemma traded theirs in for a toy, and Jack turned his in for a movie theater ticket. Am I a Halloween scrooge, or a genius?

September 2015

Jack started Pre-K the first week of September.  He is back at the same school he attended last year, Hoot Hoot Preschool with Miss Diana, but going three days a week instead of two. Three of the kids in his class moved up with him, and two are new, so it was a good mix of familiar with a chance to reach out and make new friends as well. When I picked him up his first day, his teacher pulled me aside and asked in an astounded voice, "When did Jack learn to read?" She tested him on fluency a week or two later and said he is reading at a 3rd grade level. I believe it. This boy picks up books whenever he has down time, and reads over my shoulder as well. He is just very, very interested in learning. He is trying to keep up with Hazel's first grade math homework as well. 

Jack gave his first talk in primary this month. He was asked to share his testimony on prayer. At home, I asked him what he knew about prayer and wrote it down. Jack read it independently at the microphone while I sat in the audience and videotaped it. He was clear and confident. When he sat down next to me, I asked him if he had been nervous, and he rolled his eyes at me and said no. 

Hazel lost one of her front teeth - the week before school pictures! How classic is that for a first grader? Her lisp is priceless. Luckily, she is good natured about laughing along with me about it. 

Hazel and Gemma traded bedrooms, so Hazel has her own room now. It vacillates between chaos and perfect organization. She loves to straighten things up in a major overhaul, but for the most part, this little lady is a pack rat and a junk collector. It's been good for her to have no one else to blame for the mess, so she can learn to take more responsibility for it. She has a secret stash of books and flashlights in her room and reads to herself after we put her to bed every night. She thinks we don't know, as she quickly hides the light under her blanket and closes her eyes every time we walk past her room. I can't bear to stop her, as I think reading is just about the best pastime possible. 

I do a babysitting swap with my friend Maggie each week so she and I can take the opportunity to volunteer in our school kid's classes. We do it while Jack is at preschool, so it's just a fun time for our two-year-olds to play together. Last week at my house, Grace was playing with the baby stroller pretty much the whole time, which made Gemma want it, of course. Our general line in our family in those situations is, "Can I play with it when you're done?" and then the other person passes the item on as soon as they're ready to play with something else. It almost always works fine. But Grace isn't in on the deal, and was not giving up the stroller for the life of her. I was so impressed when, an hour into this, Gemma calmly asked on her own, "Can we push it together?" and Grace happily agreed. The two of them took the stroller for a walk around the kitchen island for the next ten minutes, singing a chanty I made up right then about how "working together is awesome!" 

I don't have a carpool this year, so every morning, I get up at 6:30, exercise, then wake up all three kids and get them dressed and fed and out the door. It was pretty rough for the first couple of weeks of school, but we're in the rhythm now, and I don't mind it much. Jack and Gemma and I usually meet up with some friends on the playground for 15 minutes or so after school starts. We all really look forward to that. 

Todd's been working like a maniac most of the month, waking up at 5am almost every day and almost always working some more after the kids are in bed. The evenings he doesn't get back to work, he often falls asleep on the couch. One night, he fell asleep at 7:30 - while I was still reading stories to the kids. Hazel tucked him in. He got up a couple of hours later and went straight to bed. Poor guy. Between his very busy job, flying helicopters, and being Scoutmaster at church, he's pretty maxed out. 

It was my birthday on the 21st. I had a nice, relaxing day, complete with lunch with friends, the afternoon at a pool, and take-out for dinner. The family "surprised" me with the rain jacket I had picked out at REI a couple of days before. The following weekend, I had a massage and pedicure.

Speaking of massages, I think we've found a way to motivate me to stop eating treats so all my exercise can pay off and I can lose 15 pounds. Todd promised me that once I reach my goal weight, I can go to the spa for a professional massage every single month that I maintain that weight. What the what?! That glorious vision has made it easy for me to rank the worth of a pastry this week. Wish me luck in my endeavor!

Can I just say that I live in a beautiful place? I was biking with Jack and Gemma in the trailer and had to stop to take a picture of the sky, it was so beautiful. I'm grateful for a body that can see and appreciate the glories of God's creations.

August 2015

We met up with our friends the Naseath's at our favorite old beach, Manresa (south of Santa Cruz) the first Saturday in August. We picked up wetsuits for Hazel and Jack on the way. We've been debating whether or not to spend the money on wetsuits for them for about two years now; we finally decided to do it (because the water is cold! and they'll have more fun in the water with them!) and lucked out by driving right by an O'Neil outlet while we were looking for a spot to buy them. We got both their suits for less than the price of one new one - totally justifying it in our eyes. And it was lots of fun. We stayed for hours.

Hazel has such a wonderful vision for creating things. She built a ton of houses and sets this summer - a school in the backyard, a house for their stuffed puppies, and, pictured below, a throne room for Princess Gemma. I have a hard time living with the boxes all over, but I love her creative spirit.

The kids love to go geo-caching with Todd. We take a nice family walk in some gorgeous location, then go off the path on a treasure hunt to trade our junk for someone else's.

I'm still into green smoothies. They're mostly spinach and fruit, and it's still a hit or miss battle to get the kids to drink them as well, but I love how easy they make it for me to get in my proper daily fruit and vegetable servings.

We went camping in Big Basin for a couple of nights. We camped here three summers ago, and loved how the tent cabins provide a warmer, softer place to sleep. The kids had a fabulous time playing in the huge redwoods. The scale made it quite natural for them to pretend to be elves almost the whole time. Their names: Farrin, Sapphire, and Naida. It was so fun to be in make-believe world all day long.

Our primary group took a trip over to the Oakland Temple the last week of summer. We toured the Visitor's Center, watched a video, listened to a storyteller on the grounds while we ate lunch, and walked up to the temple to touch the walls and feel the spirit of that sacred building.

I took the kids to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. They saw a whole room of owls and hawks. There was a great horned owl perched right next to the window at their eye level. It was pretty cool.

Hazel and Jack have been saving every penny of their allowance all summer, trying to earn enough money to purchase a Lego Elf set with their combined earnings. They helped me clean out the playroom and sat on the curb for several hours, hawking old toys for a nickel apiece, trying to speed up the process. They made a couple of bucks.

Hazel started first grade last week. Her best friend Mary is in her class, which is such a blessing. It has helped the whole transition be almost painless. Hazel still wishes she had her kindergarten teacher, but she's in good hands. I can't wait to start working in the classroom so I can get a better picture of what her day is like.

We have a traditional first day of school giant cookie, which she eats while she tells me every single detail of her day.

Our garden is sadly limping along. Everything died except for the tomatoes. Thank goodness for our lovely garden tomatoes! Those plants still look dried out and limp, but they are producing some delicious garden candy nonetheless. We're hoping for better results across the board on our next attempt.

July 2015

 It must be summer.  I forgot I hadn't blogged at the end of July.  Yay for no schedules!  Life has been loose and laid back. We've done a lot of sleeping in.

Jack and Hazel took swimming lessons from a woman in our ward. Awesome set-up, in a backyard, where all I had to do was chill with Gemma in the shade while the kids practiced. I will never do group lessons again. This is my third experience with private or semi-private lessons, all good.  The kids learn so much more this way. And I'm so much more relaxed.

Speaking of relaxing, one of my favorite memories of July was the time I hung out with Gemma in the hammock for a long stretch, just the two of us, singing and giggling and connecting. I don't remember where the other kids were. But I remember how much love I felt for Gem.

Jack's half-birthday falls on the Fourth of July.  We may be making a tradition out of flag fruit pizza to celebrate. This is the second year we've done that, and it was definitely because the kids remembered and requested it.

My sister Kathryn and her friend Hailey were in town with us over the Fourth of July. They used our house as a Bay Area hotel and went all over the area over the next week, but that weekend, they hung out with us. We went to Half Moon Bay for a serious, old-fashioned, hour-long parade.  Then we ate lunch at the fish restaurant and played in the sand a bit.

That night we went downtown in Livermore for the fireworks, and were so happy our gamble paid off.  Our drive was short and sweet, the fireworks show was exciting and we were able to get close, everyone had a great experience, and we were home and in bed not long after they were over.

Kathryn, I'm sorry this is the only picture I have of you from your visit. 

We went swimming at the Community Pool once - yes, just once. I thought I'd be going a lot more than that over the summer.  Huh.  The kids were pretty excited to be wrapped up "like a worm." Gemma often requests the worm treatment after her bath now.

One morning after Zumba, the kids found snails in the grass and wanted to check them out.  We ended up staying for about forty-five minutes, while Hazel and Jack let them crawl all over them. One even pooped on Hazel's leg.

Our neighbor Liam traded his very loud Minion toys for something dinky of ours for a few days. The kids loved them.  Todd and I thought they were pretty funny for about an hour.  Somehow, the first three times we tried to trade them back, the kids kept coming back saying Liam's mom and told them they could have them for a few more days!!!!!

The kids have been great together all summer long.  The intense love fest from the first week of summer calmed down, but they have not been fighting or getting on each other's nerves. Hazel said yesterday that one thing that makes her sad about going back to school is that she won't be able to see Gemma very much (since Gemma has been taking naps after we bring Hazel home from school). I love, love, love that my three are so great with each other. I hope we can keep it up through the years.

We took the Utah Grand Tour in July, stopping in Bicknel, Midway, Smithfield, and Lehi, making sure to see absolutely everyone in our families we could. One of the downsides of having pretty much all our family in Utah is that we don't have time to see them all and see good, old friends. I wish we had time to do both, but our week-long visits to Utah are usually jam-packed with insanity and lots of driving, and not enough time to get a good visit in with anyone, family included.

We did have a grand ol' time, though. We partied with Todd's sister Laura at their new cabin (aka mountain mansion) and went four-wheeling and fishing.

Jack caught this fish all by himself (reeling it in and everything) and was so proud!

We had all Todd's family except for KB in Midway for an afternoon. We loved all being together.  

 We had all my family together except for Emily and Doug. We had a nice family dinner on Sunday and went up to Logan Canyon to chill in the mountains on Monday.  Gemma got her first bee sting. :( And her first s'more!

Jack caught about a thousand Box Elder bugs. He's been way into bugs this summer, especially rolly pollies.

 

We went to Trafalga with Missy. Todd and I were both surprised to see Jack climb the rock wall all the way to the top! He is learning to try challenging, physical things and we're so proud of him.

Hazel loved the go-Karts. It was hilarious watching her drive that thing around by herself, our total dare devil wild thing, clogging up the rink as the slowest driver there.

We also went to Seven Peaks with the whole Bonner crew our last day in Utah.