Camping 09

It is important to me that we go camping as a family. If Anna moves out at 18, that means we only have 14 more summers with her. If we only go campling once a summer, that means we only have 14 more camping trips with her! I have fun memories of camping with my family as a kid, and I hope for the same for my children.

So, camping 09 begins. I reserved a campsite at Whiting through the internet (which was a huge waste of money because the campground was not full so we could have avoided the reservation fee and just paid to use the spot.... but I digress). T got off work early (miracle!) and we headed to the mountain. After driving through Hobble Creek canyon for a while, we could not find the campground. Puzzled, I decided to look at the reservation paper. Turned out we were in the wrong canyon!!!! Luckily Mapleton Canyon is next to Hobble Creek Canyon and we were able to find our spot easily.

Then T set up the new tent while the kids and I hunted for fire wood. I found a little caterpillar on a leaf and brought them over to see. They were so excited. Kate yelled excitedly for Dad to come check it out and we were all in awe of the little guy. We were also in awe of his 1 million or so friends. There were tiny caterpillars everywhere, they especially liked to land on Eve's head.

We roasted hot dogs for dinner and the girls had their first smores. They had a few bites then took out the chocolate for themselves and gave Travis the graham cracker and mallow. :) we also tried roasted Starbursts, something T learned at the scout campout a few weeks ago. Tasty!

After dinner we went for a "hike" through the campground. There were black beetles everywhere and it must be black beetle mating season. Anna saw them scurrying after one another in a procreating way and said "They're playing Follow the Leader."

We got back into our tent and settled down for the night. Eve had a great night because she was cuddled by mom the whole time and could nurse whenever she felt like it. She loves camping! Let me take this opportunity to tell you that our new tent is VASTLY superior to the old tent, which we got for our wedding and only fit 2 people. The new tent seems like a mansion! We fit 2 air mattresses in it, plus it has a built in closet for backpacks and stuff. Awesome!

In the morning we had hot cocoa with breakfast to warm us up, then started cleaning up the campsite. The girls just played in the van while T and I took care of things. Then we went for a real hike on a trail outside the campground. It was a lot of fun for the kids. Eve was a trooper in the Snugli for the whole thing.

When we got back to the campsite to leave, our van wouldn't start. Battery dead, likely from the kids playing inside it, turning lights on and off, opening and shutting the automatic doors, etc. We asked our nearest campsite neighbors for help, but they couldn't so Travis took off down the road to find a helper. Luckily there was a LARP going on so there were 30 thespians at our service! I am not kidding, the guy who came to help us was supposed to be a cat. He was wearing women's leopard print pajamas with kitty ear headband and a tail! What a superhero! I totally wanted to take a picture, but it seemed rude. Anyway, they got the battery going and we headed home. Camping 09 comes to a close.

See why it's important to go camping? Memories, my dears, memories!!

How does your garden grow?

We've been working on our garden this spring. It's taken a lot of work, but at last we've finally got things set up the way we want them. (except for an automatic watering system, we're still figuring that out.)

Anyway, we are doing square foot gardening because you can grow a lot of crops in a small space. So, Trav built the garden boxes, we filled them with Mel's mix, and planted seeds. Then the neighbor's cats came and rolled in our garden and uprooted all the seeds. Drat! So we planted again and sprinkled pepper around the garden to keep the cats away. Things are starting to grow out there, hooray! We also got some raspberry canes from a friend. Our hopeful harvest includes peas, beans, lettuce, spinach, onions, peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, canteloupe, and squash. If we do well and those things actually grow, we'll be sure to share them with you all. :)

We also put in some more trees in our yard. Originally we didn't want to plant fruit trees because we didn't think we'd live here long enough to reap the benefits, but with the economy like it is.... we'll probably be here a while. So, over Memorial Weekend we planted a plum, a nectarine, and an ash tree (for shade).

Gardening/yard work is hard work. Especially if you've never done it before, and especially if you don't know what you're doing. We've already made some mistakes based on our inexperience (for example: tomatoes need to be watered deeply. Not sporadically.) It has really increased my testimony of the Creation and of God's wisdom. He did everything step by step, in a well planned manner. Light and dark, water and land, plants and animals. It all came together so well because there was a Plan behind it. And look at the beauty that we have for it! My goal is to be less spontaneous about important things and put more effort into planning.

A funny example of this: Like I mentioned, the neighbor's cats dug up our carrot seeds. So, one Saturday morning Travis went out and planted more carrot seeds in that square. Well, unbeknownst to him, a few hours later I came out and planted marigold seeds in that same square to keep pests out of the garden. Now we're just laughing as we watch to see what is really going to grow there!

Our spinach beginning to poke through. I love the contrast of the bright green leaves against the dark soil.

Onions. Take a look in the background at how yucky this area used to look. Just tarps and bricks everywhere, but now....

The finished garden! We can't wait for these boxes to be full of food!

May

I've been so neglectful of the blog lately. If you want a little update of our life in photos, check out this. May was a great month and so BUSY.
Anna finished preschool with a cute little program where they all sang songs about the different seasons. Best line of all: "Gobble, gobble, gobble fat turkey, fat turkey. I'm not here for living, I'm here for Thanksgiving." :) She has a little BFF in her preschool class named Hannah and they held hands through the whole program. I can't believe that this preschool year is already over. I can't believe that my life is back to keeping track of years in terms of Sept-May.
Mother's Day was great. Anna was so excited for it, which really made it special for me. She said special prayers to bless me to have a good mother's day, and on Mother's Day morning she was so thrilled to give me my gifts (a magnet with her photo from her preschool, and a tent from Trav and the girls.) I'm thrilled with the tent because it means we have another opportunity to make family memories together. Lately I have been thinking about how the most important things to me are these sweet little girls and my dear husband. I want to make the best memories we can together because this time only happens once. Happiness in our family is more important than other things I want, like painting my bedroom or buying a new couch. I love these guys! And I love being their mother. What a blessing that Heavenly Father trusted me with them.
Eve is growing like a weed. She has always been a smiley little thing, but now she vocalizes too. Yesterday she even started saying "da, da, da ". Little Stinker, she should know that I am her favorite and say "ma, ma, ma." She rolls over and can sit on her own for a few seconds. She loves her exersaucer, which is great because she hasn't been happy in the bumbo, the swing, or the car seat. Finally I can set her down some place!
Kate keeps us laughing with her antics. We were at the park the other night having a picnic and she had to go potty. Okay, really we were at the playground at Rock Canyon Elementary in Provo, and so the school was all locked and there was no where for her to go potty. I told her she'd just have to go in the grass. I think my distinct words were "Only pee in the grass, okay? No poops." To which she replied "Only dogs poop in the grass." At least she's got that figured out. :)

Summer Resolutions

1. Have fun EVERY day.
2. If the kids see a park while we're driving and we don't have anywhere we HAVE to be, then stop. Even for just a few minutes.
3. Get out the kiddie pool at least once a week.
4. Go to Seven Peaks at least once. I know that we are the circus, but we want to be a fun circus!
5. Have campouts in the backyard.
6. Have campouts in the mountains.
7. Don't worry about schedules so much. Just enjoy being together.
8. Eat our lunch as a picnic in the backyard more often.
9. Don't worry about the mess. Kids are naturally attracted to dirt. Dirt is naturally attracted to my house. Deal with it.
10. Eat more popsicles and creamies.
11. Use my new grill for yummy dinners that don't make me all hot!
12. Lots of "underdogs" on the swings.
13. Recognize that it's okay to stay up late when it's light outside for a long time.
14. Remember how short summer always seemed as a kid. Put effort into making fun memories now. It doesn't take much more than a hose with cold water!

I (heart) Crescent Rolls

Every once in a while I get on a little kick. Right now it's crescent rolls. Surely you know of their goodness just served as a roll with dinner, and perhaps you've even tried them as the crust of a veggie pizza once or twice. They are the total go-to thing for me right now--- I have no energy to make dinner, what can I do with a crescent roll?
So, the good news is that if you put ham and cheese inside a crescent roll and bake it, you have a dinner that looks fancy but is really just like a grilled cheese sandwich. You are just fooling your kids and your husband into thinking you're the ultimate chef.
Also, if you come home from Paris in love with pains aux chocolats you can make them yourself with crescent rolls and chocolate chips.
Or tonight, I made Resurrection Rolls with the crescents. The marshmallow didn't actually disappear like it was supposed to, but it was still tasty.
I feel good about this little secret ingredient that costs less than two bucks.

We are the Circus

Pretty much any time I go anywhere by myself with my three girls (not gramatically correct, but you know what I mean), I wind up saying "We are the circus." It's like something crazy always happens and I have to rely on the kindness of others to get me through it.
Another appropriate title for my life right now would be "Adventures in Pee". The following stories are potty stories, and if you are easily grossed out, maybe you should stop reading now.

A couple weeks ago I went visiting teaching. Now, my companion has 5 kids and I have 3, so we usually try to go on Sunday when our kids can be home with their dads. But she was due to have her baby, so we went on a Monday. I brought my 3, she only brought one (who, I might add, was very well behaved). Anyway, my big girls were upstairs playing with the daughters of the lady I visit and all was well. Toward the end of our visit, Eve started to get fussy, so I was strapping her into the Snugli (yes, we walked there. It's only the next street over and it was a beautiful day). As I was busy with Eve, I heard Kate say "Mom, I have to go potty." So I rush upstairs. Too late. She has already peed on the poor woman's floor, and is now crying because her "unders" are all wet. Eve is also screaming her head off. After tossing a "please let me know if there is anything I can do for you" at my visiting teachee (like she's ever really going to do that as she can see there's nothing I can even do for myself), I steer the troops out of her house. But we still have the walk home, with two children screaming at the top of their lungs. Of course everyone in the neighborhood is outside enjoying the first sunny day of the spring. Nothing to do for my hungry baby and wet toddler till we get home, so they yelled the whole way. And I thought to myself "We are the circus."

Then last week my neighbor and I decide to take our girls to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Somehow in the hurry of getting all our stuff together and the kids in the car, I pulled a muscle or something. I developed a sideache, but I figured it would go away while I drove there. Not so. When we arrived, I was still having a hard time breathing, so my neighbor's mom (who came with us) took Eve in the Snugli so I could push my other girls. We went through the little building where you buy tickets and I asked 5 times, "Does anyone need to go potty?" no one did. We walked all the way down the hill and Eve was sad as could be. So, I took her from Grandma Janae and started to nurse her. Then Kate decides she has to go potty. Of course. When there is no potty in sight, and my side is still aching and there's no way I can walk her back up that hill because I cannot breathe. Then I remember something I've seen another mom do before.
"Kate, I'm going to put one of Eve's diapers on you. You just pee in the diaper and then we'll throw it away and you can wear your unders again." I promise you, I have seen this work for other moms.
But not for me. Kate's volume of pee far exceeded the capacity of a Size 2 diaper. Now she is all kinds of gross. Whooops. Luckily my neighbor let me borrow one of her daughter's Size 4 diapers (don't ask why I didn't use that in the first place.....) so Kate didn't have to live in her wet stuff. We continued throughout the garden without much chaos, unless you count the fact that I still couldn't breathe. Eventually we had to leave because I literally couldn't breathe and had to go to the Instacare. Grandma Janae was pretty sure I was having some sort of gall bladder attack.
After my visit to the Instacare (where T met me to take care of the kids, thank goodness), it was 7:30 pm and we hadn't eaten. So we took the kids to Arctic Circle for dinner. I forgot Kate was still wearing that diaper until she pooped in it and leaked all over the place. Big yuck. And, being Supermom, I had extra pants in the car for her but not extra underwear. She was so sad that she had to go home with no unders on her bum. I'm telling you, we are the circus.
And, in case you are wondering what the InstaCare doctor said about my little breathing episode... it was nothing. Likely caused by "stress" he said. Who me? What are you talking about stress?

Create

I love this. What an inspiring message President Uchtdorf gave. It lifts my soul.