Roots

My husband and I both grew up in West Valley, a suburb of Salt Lake. Salt Lake is not a big city compared to Rio or New York, but it's a pretty good size, and West Valley is just sort of an extension of it. While there were some big-city type problems (gangs, drugs, etc.), we both enjoyed our growing up years and planned on settling down there when Trav was done with school. It has both of our families, a good public transportation system, and fun museums.
But recently Trav and I have been talking about life decisions, including where we want to live. Not that we're ready to move right now, but just talking about the kind of place we want to raise our family. You ready for the answer? Right here in Spanish Fork. (or maybe Salem if he really does want a farm someday). It's a little ironic because in the past I have viewed SF with a bit of disdain-- a deer huntin', rodeo ridin' little hick town. My dad grew up here and every time we'd come to visit I felt like I was on Old McDonald's Farm
That was before I lived here. Now Spanish Fork means something to me. It means volunteers out in the spring planting flowers along Main Street. It means an Arts program for children that doesn't cost much but provides a great introduction to some of life's beauties. It means Harvest Moon Hurrah and Farmer's Markets. It means trips to the library where my kids eagerly line up to get their hands stamped by super sweet librarians. It means a great ward with friends who are going through the same things we are, and friends who are not. It means a neighborhood yard sale that raised enough money to help one of our own make their house payment. It means parks close enough to ride our bikes to, along a beautiful river trail. It means always having the same waitress at Pizza Factory. It means great neighbors who have a "The Answer is Always Yes" policy when I need a babysitter. It means sweet ladies in the ward who have taught me to sew, and to garden, and to budget, and to prepare my family. In short, it just means life as I know it. And it's a good one. I don't want to leave.

Labor Day

The thing you've got to understand about kids is that it doesn't take much to please them. T and I had discussed going out of town for the holiday weekend, but never really got around to making actual plans, so we just stayed here. We still had a great time though!
Here's a little of what we did, sorry I wasn't smart enough to take pictures.

1. Went to Spanish Fork Wind Fest. Okay, I thought we could go to Wind Fest, but as we drove around looking for it I saw a billboard and realized it was last week! Ooops! We went to the park instead, and made a train of our entire family going down the super twisty slide. Much giggling.

2. Camped out in the backyard. The girls love the tent. I love camping/acting like a goofball singing campsongs, but I wasn't about to do that in view of my neighbors. So, we sang songs and acted goofy inside ("Can You Iggle, Can You Wiggle?) and then went outside when it was time to sleep. The girls were hilarious trying to tell bedtime stories to their parents. Every story went the exact same: "Once there was a girl who was walking through the forest and came upon a monster who went RRRRRRR. She ran back to her house and he couldn't fit, so she was safe." My new strategy of protection is a tiny house!

3. Ward breakfast/giant sandbox for kids. Our ward is putting a volleyball pit in, and at the breakfast all the kids got to play in the sand with dump trucks and shovels. I saw Anna get buried up to her shoulders!

4. Hike to Stewart Falls. We had a cute little picnic then attempted hiking to Stewart Falls. Kate's legs wore out pretty quickly, so we had to cut it short. But Anna loved it and just before bed she said, "I hope I can go for a hike for my birthday." T and I are thinking we might get a babysitter for the little ones and do a two-on-one hike with her on her big day.

5. Movie night! We stopped at the store and got donuts and tried to agree on a Red Box, which didn't happen. We ended up just watching one we own, but the donuts were good and the kids were happy.

6. Bike ride with Daddy. T has started taking the girls on bike rides. They love going down the big hill (not really very big, but enough for them). Much squealing!

Preschool

Anna started preschool 2 weeks ago. She's going to one here in the neighborhood, which is SO convenient. So far she really likes it, although she did tell me that they don't have recess at this preschool. I told her to talk to Miss Heather about it, and she said she would. Gotta love the if-it's-what-I-want-then-I'll-get-it attitude of kids.

The freaky thing is how big Anna is getting. We got her some new back to school clothes and I had to shop in the girls section, not the toddlers! She seems more and more like a kid to me now, and less like my little girl. She comes home from preschool while the others are napping and we have a little mom-daughter chat over a snack and then she wants to go outside to play with her friends. Already too cool for me!

Kate started preschool this last week. A few other moms in the ward and I are doing a co-op preschool for kids her age. There are 5 kids, 4 moms, and we decided we will each take a month and teach the entire month. My turn isn't till January, so right now it's great!

But I digress. Miss Kate loves preschool. She loves being big enough to go, she loves having her own little friends, and she loves the activities and games they play. She was in no way hesitant on the first day. In fact, after I picked her up on the first day, she asked "You missed me, Mom?"

"Yes, honey, I missed you so much. Did you miss me?"

"No."

Feelin' the love.

Is she not so cute?

Good Idea

I feel a HUGE sense of relief this week. For the past six months, I have been part of an FHE group. Each month we'd create a complete FHE (lesson, activities, treat recipes, etc.) and make 10 copies of it. Then we'd get together and share them. I now possess 50 ready-to-go FHE kits, and they have been really helpful in making quality family home evening happen for our little brood. But man, it's been a lot of cutting and laminating, and I am ready for a little break.
However, I wanted to pass this idea along because it is a good one. I truly believe in the importance of family home evening, and see it as a great opportunity to teach our children the Gospel in our home. I have been amazed at their ability to retain the information. And, the great thing about these kits is that nearly every single one has a flannel board story. My kids have loved retelling the story with the flannel board after FHE is over. I probably never would have done it on my own just for us, but it's so nice to have these.
The beauty of the internet is that there are so many helps out there. Other people have already created a lot of lessons and you can just copy them! So, even if you don't form a group of your own, here are some of my favorite sites. Maybe you can just make a couple for your own family.

http://family-home-evening.blogspot.com
http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/(has a huge collection of Flannel Board Stories)
http://ivinsfirstwardenrichment.blogspot.com/
http://www.sugardoodle.net
http://fheinasnap.blogspot.com/

Here is my attempt at documenting Eve's first teeth:

Eve: Wait, you've got that shiny camera thing out again. Uh oh.

Eve: How about you just give it to me? As you can see from the massive amount of drool on my face, I am a person to trust with expensive equipment.

Good idea. Stand above me so I can't reach it. For that, no teeth for you!I can see you're not giving up. Okay, here they are. The better to bite you with, my dearie.
This is exhausting.

Vote for Kate!

Please go here to vote for Kate in my friend's photo contest. If you're not going to vote for Kate, then don't vote! jk

Zoo Day

Last week T had to do some depositions up in Salt Lake in the morning. We met him at the zoo after he was finished and had a blast spending time with our dad in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. It was like a vacation!

This was Eve's first trip to the zoo. She was not terribly interested in the animals, but had fun being carried by her daddy for 3 hours straight. Kate and Anna loved everything, but especially the baby animals. There were tons: a baby giraffe, baby elephant, baby snow leopard, and baby tiger cubs. So cute!

Big thanks to Grandma Alice and her Grandparent pass to the zoo!