Once in a lifetime

So, I know that the first day of Kindergarten and/or school is sort of the blog post du jour right now. And while the topic may not be that interesting to most of you (because your kid going to Kindergarten wasn't really that interesting for me), I just have to say that this time it's just not about you! :P This is about documenting the little moments that are a really big deal to a precious little 5 year old. This is his first day of "real school", and that only happens once!

Absolutely no tears and no fears for the Kindergartener or his mother! He has been anxiously awaiting (to the point of driving me crazy) starting school, especially this past week because he had to stay home for the first week while most of his friends already started. (Sadistic school district messing with kindergarteners, anyway.)

Mrs. Barlow, is an intern this year, so she was probably more nervous than Gavin. I told him that she's bound to be cool because she is a red-head like me. (To which he replied, "your hair is yellow right now Mom." No, it's highlighted yellow, but still red. I mean, come on, what Kindergartener can't understand the nuances of hair color and highlights. Guess he'll be in Resource Styling this year. ;)

Okay, it wasn't the TOTAL truth when I said I had no fears. The only anxiety I felt was when school let out, because the neighbor boys were supposed to pick him up and walk home with him. I just kept picturing my son being the only Kindergartener left behind on the first day of school. BUT, he wasn't. They found him and delivered him, not only in one piece, but with a great big smile and an orange Costco donated backpack that now matches the entire student body!

Fire & Ice Cream

Nick turned 3 on Sunday, and we had a firefigher themed birthday. Yes, Nick is supposed to be the star of this show, but his cake was pretty awesome, and I think Nick's Daddy is a superstar for the creation he pulled off! I think Mike even surprised himself with this creation. I was amazed by his vision and his execution of this thing--fire truck cake complete with house on fire, and firefighters. My brain doesn't even work like that!

We took about 10 pictures of this cake, but I totally forgot to take pictures of Nick actually blowing out the candles. Oops. (I think we got it on video, maybe.)

Nick also got a little tent shaped like a fire truck.

Also, for the birthday we took a trip to the fire station last week. Nick and several of his friends got a tour of the Orem fire station. Here are the highlights:

It was great, free entertainment for a bunch of little boys. The highlight of the trip of course was when they turned on the lights and sirens of the fire truck. It might have been a budget birthday--but, Nick was thrilled!

I've got nothin'

I don't really have anything terribly interesting to write. In fact, I debated about even posting anything, because I don't really have much to say. My summer has not been constant excitement, adventures, or travels like some people I know (big sis). It has been good. I've got no complaints. But, I do have a few dilemmas. Right now my children's nap schedules are not coordinating very well. I've got a baby who wants to sleep from 11:30-1:30, then a 3-year old who wants to (not really wants to, but you know what I mean) sleep from 1:30-4:00pm, and then the baby needs to go down again by 4:30 or 5. So that makes me stuck home for a good part of the day! I've been working on trying to hold the baby off until 12:30, so that the naps overlap better--but, let's be honest, I am a slave to baby's schedule.

My other dilemma is that I will not take all 3 of my kids to the swimming pool by myself. My boys are NOT what you might call "fish." They are still afraid of the water, they don't even like to get their faces wet. Gavin (my 5 year old is getting better), but Nick still pretty much wants to cling to me for dear life the entire time, which makes it hard for me to simultaneously hold Ruby who wants to leap out of my arms. Needless to say, I have only been to the pool twice this summer, and only able to do that with the help of my very patient, helpful Mom.

I had a couple days this past week when I had really hurt my neck and back and I was a pitiful, lump of a mother. So, I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. There was just no way I could lug around my little 20lb Fatso in her 8lb car seat. So, we were stuck home. My children resorted to this:

As per my last post, we have enjoyed the mountains quite a bit this summer. We go jeeping up AF canyon as often as we possibly can. (Sunday afternoons are usually free.) It is so therapeutic! It is beautiful, our kids enjoy it, the sound of the river is one of my favorite sounds, it is much less work than hiking, and it's relatively cheap entertainment (besides the gas for his 1980 fuel-inefficient engine). Last year I couldn't enjoy it completely because I was way to pregnant and it sent me into miserable contractions. So, this year has been fabulous! Maybe next year we can do Moab or Zion's and that'll be a worthy blog post.
Here are random pictures of our little, relatively uneventful, beautiful life.

The usual-hanging out watching TV.

She's trying to be on her feet as often as possible.

The boys working on the jeep, getting ready for a mountain excursion.

All of us hanging out by our new favorite picnic spot up past Silver Lake.

I called this post "I've got nothin'" because I've got nothin' terribly interesting or insightful to post about--but, truly, I've got everything I need.

America, the beautiful

This post isn't going to be nearly as patriotic as it sounds. But, it is about what we did on the 4th of July, so that's how it ties in. Mike and I celebrated our anniversary by leaving the kids with my parents all day on the 4th and spending the whole day jeeping through the mountains. We went up East of Park City on the back side of the Wasatch mountains and visited the Upper Provo River Falls and Mirror Lake. It was beautiful and peaceful and serene and romantic! Mike really enjoyed celebrating our anniversary in the jeep, because with the top off it is too loud to talk to each other. That is totally his kind of bonding! :) So here are a bunch of pictures of the beautiful mountains we got to enjoy without kids!

The last picture is of this beautiful, quiet little pond that we found while offroading in the jeep. It was beautiful, but there was something really eerie about the calm there, so far away from anyone or anything. Maybe it's just because I'm not an avid camper or hiker who is used to being so high in the pristine mountains, or maybe it was my sixth sense, but I felt like we were a little too close to nature for comfort, I felt something ominous close by--a bear, a mountain lion, or. . . . . .vampires! Okay, not vampires, but I told Mike we had to get outta there because I was feeling pretty vulnerable. Mike thought I was being silly, but he was hoping that it would convince me to let him get a rifle. Nice try!

I am really grateful for the beautiful mountains nearby. There is so much beauty all over in these mountains. I like the occasional hike, but I gotta admit, I enjoy the mountains just as much from the jeep. We're more "at one" with nature when the top's off!

"Us"

JUNE 30, 2009: Our 8-year wedding anniversary! Every year it reminds me that time goes by so quickly. It's amazing how fast life starts to go once you get married. Life doesn't even really begin, if you ask me, until marriage. It's all just kind of a warm-up or a preparation before that. When I was single, I spent so much energy worrying that I wouldn't ever find the right person, and now I sort of wish I would've enjoyed my few fleeting single years a lot more. And had I fully realized what kind of man I really deserved (Michael), I wouldn't have wasted my time and tears on losers. They were all such losers compared to Michael. Aaaaaaah, well hindsight is 20/20. It's kind of like the scriptures say, "you have to pass through a bunch of losers, in order to appreciate the good man"--or something like that. ;) I DID appreciate the good man, pretty much from the very beginning. It was so effortless with him. He disarmed my defenses right away, without me even realizing it. I fell in love with him in just a few days--and I had never been in love before, not even close. He was, and still is, the perfect complement to my personality and he has softened and refined me over the years. He is everything I needed, but not what I myself would have put on my own Man checklist. I'm sure so many of you could say the same things about your husbands. But, alas, it is not perfect and we are still in process and in progress. I've heard it said, the key to a great marriage is this: "Choose wisely, treat kindly." I've never questioned my original choice of an eternal companion. It was more than just a wise choice--undoubtedly it was divinely guided. So, now it's up to me to treat him kindly. I've been practicing for 8 years, have been better at it at some times than others, but I'm more than happy to spend the next 8 years and the 8 after that, and the 8 after that (you get the idea) trying to perfect it.

When I look at that sketch of us (it was by some street artist on our honeymoon in San Francisco), I think "we were just kids--and we thought we were big enough to get married." Even funnier, is that I thought I knew so much about marriage--being a Family Science major and all. Ha! So, in honor of our 8 years of Marriage Education, I am going to write 8 things about what I thought BEFORE I got married, and how it has all actually worked out.

8. Never go to bed angry. (Reality check: No one is reasonable when they are too tired, it's so much better to stop talking, sleep on it, and then deal with it if it's still a problem after a good night's sleep. )

7. Talk things out until you both feel resolved. (Reality check: There are some issues that keep coming up for years, and after you spend the first few years trying to overanalyze, talk, talk, talk, seeking for some perfect resolution, but doing nothing but creating more pain and frustration, you kind of start to know that it's often most helpful to keep your mouth shut.)

6. Division of labor should be 50/50. (Reality check: Anytime you are paying too close of attention to the balance of labor, making sure everything is fair, you'll probably end up feeling resentful. In theory, I get the good intentions of this principle, but the variables of marriage are so much more complicated than that.)

5. Men don't change. (Reality check: They actually do! Men grow and learn and mature. But, the KEY is not expecting them to change in the ways YOU want them to. My man has changed a lot in very favorable ways over time, but when I married him I was willing to take him for what he was.

4. Marriage gets easier the longer you are married. (Reality check: It's a roller coaster ride. There are times that are totally smooth when you really pride yourself on how great your marriage is, and then there are times, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere, that are hard as hell! Or maybe I just need a lot more years under my belt to verify this one.)

3. Children are the crowning joy of a marriage. (Reality check: This is both true and false. :)

2. Marriage is hard work. (Reality check: Okay, this is true, but you don't fully understand what kind of work until you are actually married. It's like the peace corps--"The hardest job you'll ever LOVE." I actually really enjoy the work of marriage, I'm fascinated by the process. It is truly an ingenious part of God's plan. )

1. We will have sex every day! (Reality check: ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Still laughing. Wouldn't it be great if we did, though?)

Here's to the best 8 years of my life! There are many times when I feel like June 30, 2001 was the day I won BIG in the lottery. So congratulations, to me, on hitting the jackpot and enjoying the rewards for 8 years. I hope he feels the same!

I had to do it

Say what you will, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some Michael Jackson. ALWAYS HAVE. I endured lots of ridicule through junior high and high school because of my loyalty to MJ. But, people, he was amazing! He revolutionized music and especially DANCE. I have worshipped the dance moves of Michael since I was 6 years old and my mother taught me and my sisters a dance to "Beat It." I had to pay tribute. He was amazing, an icon, the center of my love for music and dance for my whole life. I have been mourning him for a very long time already.

In Memorium:
My top five MJ music videos:

5. Remember the Time (super cheesy, but amazing dancing.)
4. Beat It
3. Thriller
2. Scream (With Janet)
1. Smooth Criminal--(If you think Thriller is his best dance video, then you are not a true fan. The dance sequence in this gives me goose bumps!)

My top five MJ songs:
5. Say, Say, Say (with Paul McCartney)
4. Billie Jean
3. Human Nature
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
1. Who's Loving You? (From the Jackson 5)

I could go on and on. But, this video speaks for itself. God bless you, Michael Jackson.

One Man's Trash. . .

These are Gavin's "treasures." Gavin is always collecting treasures. He always needs some kind of little box for his treasures. Cool rocks are really his most valued treasures, but he likes most things that are small enough to fit in his little box. Can you tell what some of his little "treasures" are?

When I saw this, it made me think of that old saying about what little boys are made of--something about snails and puppy dog tails. Well, my boys are made up of rocks, LOTS of sand, rolie polie bugs, screws, boogers, and more sand. Gotta love it!