Montana

So, while I was dancing my heart out with the youth (not really -- I didn't dance...) Roy took the two 'big' kids and headed to Montana for a family event. Roy's brother was getting sealed to his wife in the Billings Montana Temple. Grandma and Grandpa P were there as were a smattering of cousins. (Roy has 10 kids in his family. There is a plethora of cousins on his side of the family. Too bad we hardly ever see them as the family is spread across 6 states.) Naturally the kids had a BLAST!
They left Wednesday afternoon. Roy came home early from work while I took D to the doctor (cellulitis on his ankle). As soon as we got back from the Dr. they headed out. I should point out that this is the first time I've been away from the kids overnight since... uh.... well, D was an only child. I still had the baby but it was a bit weird. It's good practice for when I head to girl's camp for a week...
They got to Billings Thursday around noon. Then it was off to play at parks and Burger Kings and such before heading to the temple. The kids all stayed in the waiting area while the adults attended the sealing. Yes, there were older cousins there.
That night, Grandpa and Grandma decided to have a sleepover for the girls in their hotel room. Remarkably, K stayed. She has NEVER spent a night away from either of her parents before. I suppose this seems like a strange landmark to some but it was a big deal for me. Not so much for her. Just me. *sigh*
Friday found the kids playing some more before jumping in the van to head back home. Why yes, I do have AMAZING kids who actually don't mind spending hours in the car. Funny you should ask. Since they just spent 28 hours on the road over four days. They got back around 5 am on Saturday.
Here's a funny story. We lived in Spokane for three years until D was almost 4 (we moved a month before his birthday). When they were driving through Spokane, Roy thought it would be a good idea to stop for a break. He asked D where he wanted to stop. D said, "The dinosaur park!" Roy didn't know what he was talking about first. Then he realized there is a park with a big green dinosaur as part of the play structure. D used to love to go there and play. It has been almost 2 years and he still remembers the park. On the flip side, Roy drove past our old apartment complex on the way to the park, D didn't remember it. We lived there. But he remembers the playground we infrequently visited....

ps Roy saw our old Bishop but didn't stop to say hi. So, Leatha, if you see this: Hi Bishop Adams!

Dance Festival Weekend

This weekend, the youth around here have been participating in a massive dance festival. There are 2,000 young men and women between the ages of 12-18. They've been dancing, singing, eating, having firesides and just enjoying themselves. As part of this festival, Sister Mary N. Cook, First Counselor in the General Young Women Presidency came up from Salt Lake City to watch and speak to the youth. This afternoon she met with the young women leaders from 7 stakes. It was a great meeting. She spoke for a few minutes about young women and personal progress. Then she opened the meeting up for questions. It was so great to be taught in such an informal setting by a member of the General YW Presidency. Naturally I needed a piture!

Last night I saw the youth perform for their parents. They are having three performances so everyone gets a chance to come. It was packed last night, but it was amazing! They did so well. I've been involved in some of the practices and was a bit trepidatious, but it really came together well. It really is an amazing sight to have 2,000 youth dancing on a football field. Plus each age group had dances they did. I would love to take all of you and watch it together. Since I can't do that, just know I thought about it. After all, people always say, "It's the thought that counts!"

Shhh...

Things were quiet. Too quiet. So I went to track down my errant toddler. This is what I found:
She is in her carseat in the van. The canister there actually has pistachios in it. She loves pistachios.

Yummy!

I absolutely love living here sometimes! (and sometimes I don't...) Today we headed out to a U-pick farm. They are everywhere up here. We went for strawberries. I forgot my camera! Or I would have fun pictures of D and K bent over rows of strawberry bushes with buckets in tow. I would have pictures of them standing in rows of blueberry and raspberry bushes over their heads. I would have pictures of the 23 lbs of strawberries we managed to pick.
Yes, 23 lbs. I know. I was surprised to when she weighed our buckets. and bowls. Perhaps we got carried away..... but when you taste them.... ooooooohhh.....
The blueberries and raspberries are just coming into season so we didn't get as many of those. Only about 3 1/2 lbs of blueberries and 2 1/2 lbs of raspberries.
So what does one do with 23 lbs of ripe, juicy strawberries besides eat them until one feels sick? So far I have frozen 2 1/2 trays for use in smoothies and such. I have also begun crushing some for freezer jam. Yum!
The other berries? So far we have just gotten to the eat them until you feel sick part.

D's First Tooth

Yesterday, we were on our way home from Home Depot when D piped up from the backseat. He let us know he thought he had a loose tooth. Roy and I were excited for him. I figured it would just wiggle a little and we'd have a while to loosen it up. In reality it was very loose. Like, nearly ready to fall out loose. We chatted him up about the Tooth Fairy. D was/is very excited about the prospect of money just for losing a tooth. But he didn't feel to keen on the idea of pulling it last night. He decided to wait for Roy to get home from work today.
I was checking it out today and realized his new tooth is peeking up behind the old one. So, when daddy got home we got the pliers out and played around a bit.
Wouldn't you know, it popped right out! This was a HUGE relief to me because my experience when I was a kid was less than wonderful. It was very dramatic and tramatic. I'm so proud of him. and more than a little squeed out that he is old enough to lose a tooth.
Watch for more pics. His top two teeth are a little "weak" (that's what D calls it) and the bottom one on the right of the hole is loose. This could get very fun!

A potty post

I don't think I ever told you, but K potty trained. As in 100% going in the potty on her own accord with nary a reminder or accident. I don't even know when the day was. I just realized one day that she hadn't "leaked" or "smeared" for quite a while. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief because I was so grateful to be done washing underwear out in the toilet.

Then we went on vacation.

Don't be fooled by this innocent look. Sure she looks sweet now....but just wait...

K has an issue with noise. She covers her ears constantly. Even last night when I was putting her in her own bed and I stepped on the bag of wipes, she covered her ears in her sleep. So using public toilets is an area of consternation for K. To make matters worse, on the way down we stopped at a WinCo that had automatic flushing toilets- as far as K was concerned this was like something out of a Stephen King film. Well, it would be if she knew who Stephen King was. And true to the automatic flushing toilet modus operandi it flushed while she was on the toilet. Twice.

This occured at the beginning of vacation -- as in the first day. We were on vacation for nearly two weeks. We've been home for a week. AND SHE IS STILL NOT RECOVERED. I am at my wit's end.

I thought I was done. DONE I TELL YOU. With washing underwear out in the toilet. I thought I was DONE with the begging/cajoling/bribing/threatening/explaining/reverse-psychologizing etc. I knew there would be accidents. Accidents I can handle. It is the EVERYDAY RINSING OF UNDERWEAR that grates on me until I feel I will never have a poop-free day again. ever. until I die. or she moves out. either one.

The reverse-psychology isn't working anymore. The bribes that worked everytime don't work anymore. I haven't gone to the treatening/spanking/screaming part yet. Last time that backfired into her not pooping at all. for days. I came close today though. Something about waking from a dozing state to find K covered from the waist down and A spotted with fecal matter. . . . That has an effect on one's reasoning skills.

So. In summary, if anyone wants to wash out some underwear or put cherry-bombs in all the automatically flushing toilets of the world, let me know. I can arrange it.

*I know how to use the toilet. I just choose not to.*

As promised...

Memorial Day was a special time and experience with the kids. I'm glad we were able to be in Delta for the program. The kids were able to witness a 21-gun salute and hear "Taps" play. D asked grandma why they were playing that song. She talked about how it is the song signaling time to retire for the night. She then went on to explain it is played to remind us about the soldiers who have died for out freedoms and 'retired for the night' of their lives. Er...she was a little more eloquent than that. We spent some time walking around and finding graves. D pointed out the flags flying near the graves of veterans.
Besides the family headstones we had to check out the old favorites: Mexican 1, 2, 3, 4; the headstone that looks like a pulpit; old headstones from the 1800's; etc. I witnessed the touching scene of an old man leaving flowers on the headstone of a baby that died in 1948. We met people who used to know my grandma and grandpa Bishop. We had a BBQ with Kent and Bonnie. Pretty much all that I had hoped it would be.
The next day was my birthday (and Uncle Trusty's! Happy Bday little brother). Mom took the kids and I 'up to Provo' to go shopping for clothes. Mom has recognized that I never get around to buying clothes for myself. There always seems to be something else to buy with the money. I really appreciate that my parents are still dressing me.
Wednesday morning we got up bright and early to head south. Time to visit the other grandparents in sunny Caliente! There are 10 acres of dirt, grass, kittens, dump trucks, real backhoes and fun. Making it even extra fun was the fact that some cousins were there visiting! Kittens and cousins. Really, what could be better.
We went swimming at Kershaw-Ryan on Wednesday. Thursday, we went on a 4-wheeler ride. Grandpa also took both D and K out in his backhoe. He let them dig holes in the dirt. D was in little boy heaven! Grandma read stories with D and did some puzzles (two of D's favorite activities). When it was time to leave D told me, "Why do we have to leave? I want to stay at Grandma's house for fourteen days!" A greater compliment could not have been given.
Thursday evening, we met Great-Grandma/pa J in Cedar for a picnic dinner. We also visited Kyle and Rachel (my cousins). I really wanted to check out their house. Everything is top-of-the-line-state-of-the-art circa 1960. It is awesome! From the built in blender on the kitchen countertop to the purple bathtub to the recessed, blue tile bathtub/font. It's seriously one-of-a-kind. But the amount of built-ins and storage.....I can only dream....
Anyway, back to Delta for a few more days of swimming, playing, sour cream fries and shakes, Dutchess dog, grandparents and Uncle Trusty.
We headed out for home early Tuesday morning. My plan was to drive as far as I could before stopping for the night. Turns out we made it all the way home, arriving shortly after 11 pm. It made for a 16 hour driving day, but at least we were done. The kids were better than anyone could imagine.
All told, we were gone for 13 days and put 2300 miles on the new van. It was so much fun. Thanks Grandmas and Grandpas!

Vacation Pics

D loved the whole trip. He didn't want to come home.


There is no statement greater than a 2 year old statement.


A surprised me with her LOVE for the pool!


D & K with Cousins

K is actually driving the backhoe. Probably not the best plan...

A and Grandpa J

Bear with me

I am GROSSLY behind and I totally know it. I want to blog about Memorial Day and visiting gma/pa Pyatt, post pictures, share funny stories. I will. I will. For now I am scrambling around trying to catch up on bills, housework and YOUNG WOMEN STUFF. Oh the YW carnage.... but I am told we should have a camp director on Sunday so then I only have to worry about regular YW stuff and not add Girl's Camp on top of that. SO GLAD I'M NOT THE PRESIDENT!!

(is it bear with me or bare with me? i'm going with bear because getting stuff done is like wrestling a bear...)