It just keeps going and going

You know how life gets busy and you put things off till it calms down and gets back to normal? And then you realize that busy and crazy is normal now and they probably won't ever calm down? I'm there. Truthfully we aren't over-scheduled or running half as much as most people I know, but for us it feels like I need to stop for a breather.
Soccer started for Sammy the same week as school. We have realized that Sam is not competitive and has very little aggressive drive. Thad and I take turns going to games because there is no use in bringing Peter. So the first game my text report was "They are winning 3-1. Sammy is a sloth." Granted it's still upper 90's around here so it's hot, but Sammy would rather sit in the shade and relax then get after the ball. Game 2 we decided to bribe him, if he made a goal he would get ice cream. Not that we are super concerned with having to win, but just to encourage him to put forth some sort of effort and work hard. It worked, sort of. He scored a goal in the first few minutes of play and was really running and getting in there. But, once the goal was met, Sammy's efforts ended and we were back to sloth mode the rest of the game. One day we might find something that sparks his drive.

Action shot, tongue and all.

 

Andi on the other hand spent the game running the sidelines, yelling at the boys and generally acting like a lunatic. She got all the competitive drive, which may or may not be a good thing. She started volley ball this week, so we'll see what her team mates think of her need to win.
Thad turned another year older and told me no party. Usually we at least do family dinner, cake & ice cream, but he didn't want to spend his birthday getting the house and yard ready for everyone to come over. Solid reasoning. So instead we went out to dinner with some friends. After our summer of no date nights it was much needed and appreciated. 
The following weekend we went with some friends to the Pentatonix concert at the LA fair. The fair grounds down there are crazy and huge. The concert was so much fun, and the company even more so. And we had front row seats! I have only been to a couple concerts in my life and never ever even close to the front row,  it was fun being so close to the action. Thanks Divelbiss' for a great night!

 The next weekend we had a ward family camp-out at camp wilderness. It's a nice little facility that the church owns and some stakes use for girls camp. We left Peter behind with my parents because we wanted to be able to relax and enjoy the quick trip. Peter would have loved it, but several times during the trip Thad or I would say, "Aren't you so glad Peter is not here," or "Can you imagine if we brought him?"  He's just that crazy people.  We were the first family there, so after unpacking Thad helped the kids make a lean-to fort that was filled the entire time by some group of kids or another.

We had a campfire with smores, archery range, horseshoes, and just time to hang out with other ward families. The kids loved it, aside from Sammy falling out of bed three times in the night. And I loved the cool temps and clean air.  On the way home we stopped at the trail of 100 giants and went on a little hike. Sam was a bit disappointed when he realized that there were no actual giants, and that the name refers to the giant sequoias.

Thad helped the kids at the archery range while we were there and decided that "the kids" needed a bow of their own. Amazon to the rescue, and a few days later we now have a compound bow that adjusts for both kids and adults and a target to play with in the back yard. Totally normal right? I love the faces they are both making in this picture. Sammy could not be concentrating any harder, and I'm fairly certain he's holding his breath. Andi is anxious for him or something. I'm not sure.

Peter is up to his usual business. Stripping down at nap time if I forget to change him into his jail jammies.

And getting in to everything he's not supposed to.

I think I've mentioned before how much he loves playing in the car. Any car.

And this week he has decided everything belongs in the sink. It's nice that when he's done with a cup or silverware he puts them there, but last night this is what I found in the sink.

Sammy conversation of the week, happened on the way to the bus stop after I got on his case about putting his dirty clothes in the hamper so that he can have clean clothes. He was out of socks that morning and I found several pairs shoved in toy baskets and the closet.
S: "Mom, how about I get my own hamper in my room, so I don't have to walk down the hall to your room every night."
M: "Sam, you have toy baskets, and shoe baskets, and clothes drawers in your room right?"
S: "Yes."
M: "Do you ever put your clothes and toys and shoes in those baskets where they belong?"
S: "No, not really."
M: "So if I put a laundry basket in your room do you think you'll get your laundry in it any better than you do now?"
S: "Probably not. So how about we put in a tube or something that sucks up my socks and takes them straight down to the laundry room?!"
M: "You want a laundry chute?"
S: "Yes! Then I won't have to take my clothes anywhere. I just put them in the hole and they go to the laundry on their own."
M: "That's not going to happen. Just put your clothes in the hamper."
S: exasperated sigh and eye roll.
I can't make this stuff up. He is always saying the funniest things.

It has Begun

Summer went out with our family vacation to the beach last week. We go with my whole family, and it seems like the older the kids are getting, the easier these trips are becoming. Don't get me wrong, none of the parents sleep very well because we are sharing rooms with toddlers and children who talk in their sleep. But the older kids allow for more adventurous activities. And the weather this year was the best it's ever been. Beach weather is always great, but it's usually pretty grey and overcast when we go. This year, sunshine and cool breezes. I only have one picture from the actual beach because I never remembered to bring the camera down, but the kids loved it. Andi is getting really good at boogie boarding, and the boys just like all the playing in the sand. Peter thought it was great fun to chase and run away from the waves. This is from the first night there and he was still happy after face planting in a wave.

We went to the Avila valley barn this year and it was fun. There were all kinds of animals for the kids to feed, and a wonderful fruit/vegi market, and a hay ride through the farm.

After the barn we went in to Pismo for lunch and Old West cinnamon rolls. This was the cool table.

Right across the street from the house we were in was this open area with lot's of trees that the kids loved playing in. They even got Thad to help them build a fort in one.

There were also smores. Since we didn't have a fire pit, and no one wants marshmallows that taste like propane, we improvised.

All in all it was a great week and we are missing the cool weather already. School started for us while we were still at the beach, but monday the kids went to their first day.
Andi was very excited to get back and see her friends. It's been a long summer with just me and Sammy for company. 4th grade already this year!

Sammy is in afternoon kinder and it was a long morning of waiting for him. But as we got to the school he found his best buddy and the wait was worth it. He is the biggest kindergartener in the world.

Monday was a bit rocky, but here's to hoping for a better second day and a great year.

Summer Survival

We have been busy the last few weeks doing nothing. And we are getting good at it. Not nothing, but just playing and being schedule free and enjoying the last few weeks of summer. Mostly we have been playing and swimming with Tarin and her kids. It's so fun to see the next generation of kids together like we were.

 

 
 

Peter has a birthday a few weeks ago. Mom of the year here didn't remember to organize anything till like the day before, so we just had family over for cake and ice cream. But really, when you are two, what more do you need? I'm not sure he fully understood the birthday significance, but he totally understood the cake and candles.

 

I'd like to post pictures of him posing with his grandparents, or showing off the toys he opened, but let's be real. Peter doesn't hold still for more than 1.3 seconds unless restrained, and then you know how those pictures turn out. But I did get him holding still on the new rocking horse he got from the grandparents Bulkeley. He likes it.

 

 

 

Peter has also been up to his usual antics, but I feel like it's getting worse, or at least more frequent.  Last week while I mopped he snuck upstairs and got into my makeup, which he's done before. But this time he opened all of my foundation containers and used them as finger paint, on himself.

If you were wondering, foundation is actually really hard to get out of hair. It took four scrubbings to get it all out.  Then we've had more "art sessions" on the walls and doors. It always happens while I'm cleaning. Maybe I should stop doing that. Or I could just put all the markers out of reach. Which I've done. But he still finds things I've missed, or most likely things he's squirreled away in one of his rat holes for use later.
Sunday was an especially fun day. I went to get him out of bed and found him jumping around squealing with delight pointing to his diaper and pants which he had removed and thrown on the floor. Luckily it was just a wet diaper and he hadn't peed in the bed, but I should have taken it as an omen for the rest of the day. Before we could leave for church he had busted his lip open on the patio outside, and it bled a lot. But one fall was not enough, so he face planted in the kitchen a little while later starting the bleeding all over again. So we missed the first hour of church. I thought that once he had a nap we could start over and have a good afternoon. But he removed his diaper again at some point during the nap, and this time peed all over the crib. I'm thinking a duct tape belt might be in order.
Sammy has been his own load of fun this week. I've mentioned before that bedtime is an ordeal with Sam. He comes downstairs at least 6 times a night, and since Thad has been gone and I've really been ready for bedtime it has not been going well. So Monday night he came running downstairs:
"Mom! There was fire coming out of my lamp!"
M: "What are you talking about?"
S: "My lamp. I took the light bulb out because I can't turn it on. And I stuck a metal thing in it and I didn't know it was still plugged in, and when I stuck the metal thing in it there were two big sparks and a pop and then fire came out on to my carpet."
At which point Andi came out to tell me her noise maker turned off and she couldn't get it back on. So I ran to Sams room to make sure the carpet wasn't smoldering and investigate his story. He had in fact, shoved a small play metal whisk into the lamp and blew the circuit to all the outlets in the house.  I took his lamp and nightlight and anything else I could find that might entice him to electrocute himself out. And then I flipped the circuit back on and all was well.
So the next night, having lost his light privileges, he was dinking around with the overhead light still on. I went to turn it off and get him back in bed and found that he was setting up a party for me. He took all the candles out of my room and brought them to his, and for some reason grabbed a box of tampons from my bathroom and scattered them around as decorations. I have no idea. I grabbed all the tampons, turned off his light, and locked him in for the night. It wasn't till the next day that I noticed he had drawn "decorations" on his bed.  So today I painted his bed with leftover chalk paint I had sitting around, and I'm thinking I should have done that a long time ago. It looks good grey.  And we've since had a long conversation about decorating rules.
S: "But Mom, I just wanted to do something nice for you."
M: "Sam, the best, nicest thing you can do for me is to LISTEN and OBEY!"
S: "Ugh! Mom, that's not fun!"
Andi hasn't been as much trouble as the boys, but she's changed this summer. All of a sudden she wants to be involved in the grown up conversations and has to know exactly what's going on. Now instead of just eavesdropping, she comes later to clarify and make sure she understood what she heard. And she would like to go see Wicked. She keeps listening to the music and asking questions trying to understand the story line and asking when she will be able to see it. I'm pretty sure 8 is too young, but maybe when she's 10 I'll consider it.

Friends and Grand Views

One perk of being in Cortez for the summer is that we were only an hour away from one of my old college roomies who I haven't seen in ten years. It's funny, aside from Facebook and instagram we haven't talked much since then, but there is something about being college roommates that bond you for life.  It was kind of a crazy year that we lived together, but it helped make us the people we are today. And let me tell you, this woman is amazing. After catching up on the last ten years I don't think I know a stronger more courageous person and I am blessed to be able to call her my friend.
This is an awful picture of a picture of Sarah and I, circa 2002.

And last week, 12 years and 6 children later.

And I'm so glad we got to visit when we did, because our summer plans changed last week and we decided that the kids and I were going home. Thad had meetings in Bakersfield, and I just felt like we needed to get back for lot's of reasons. So we are home now. But on the way home we had one last adventure and took a small detour on the drive to the grand canyon. It was beautiful, and I'm glad we took the kids, but I'm also glad that I've seen it before so I could chase peter and keep him from falling into it while Thad took pictures and enjoyed the view. Peter is insane and I was mildly panicked the entire time we were there because he just kept darting off and trying to get away from me.
This picture is as good as it gets with Peter. I don't know if he hates the camera, or just being restrained, but most of our pictures of him from this trip look like this.

We also had Flat Stanley along for the ride thanks to cousin Walter, and Thad and the kids had fun getting some adventure shots of Stanley. It's going to be a good story.

It's been a crazy week of packing, cleaning, driving, unpacking, more cleaning, and restocking. But I'm glad we came back, I can't imagine doing this two days before school starts and being remotely ready.  Plus I've already been able to hang out with friends I've missed and the kids are happy to have their own rooms back.
Oh, but Peter decided to begin a new rite of passage as I unpacked.

Ya, that happened. He was so proud of himself and was bouncing around with the marker, until momma went crazy, then he wasn't so proud as you can see. And this piece of art happened after he had found Andi's markers and colored all over his legs earlier in the morning.
We plan to spend the next few weeks hanging out by the pool with friends and maybe decorating the office. I've been staring at blank walls since Thad built the desk 5 months ago. I need to fix that.

Happy 4th of July!

Another fun filled weekend had passed so it is time for an update. Thad brought home sparklers early in the week, the good kind that you can't get in CA, and the kids asked every five minutes if it was time to do fireworks yet. We then got to thinking about our usual 4th of July's, and how we bounce from one ward activity to family party to the next, and how the kids would drive us crazy all day waiting for fireworks if we didn't find something to do to keep them busy. So we headed in to Durango to the children's discovery museum and cool downtown shops. It was beautiful.

 This is the bike path along the river that ran right behind the museum, which is an old converted power building.

This bridge was a little ways up the path and on the other side of the river were some pretty sweet homes.

I've always wanted to rent one of these. We didn't. I still want to.

 Fun stuff inside the Museum. 

 There are a lot more museum pictures, but the kids were running around so crazy that most of them ended up blurry. Proof that it was a good time. After the museum we grabbed some lunch and went to a park to play. Colorado is big on parks, and they are all really nice.We even ventured over to the mall so I could find some board shorts. Mine just died. And even though it was a real mall, it was still pretty sad in comparison to Ca shopping.
After naps at home they were ready for fireworks. We broke out the sparklers, and though they were definitely better than the crappy ones you buy in CA, they were not as great as we remembered. Maybe our batch was a bit of a dud, or maybe our childhood memories over exaggerated the coolness of them. Either way the kids enjoyed them.

The city does a free show at the park right across from our townhouse. So we climbed out on to the roof for a great view. It was a great show, and I'm pretty sure the entire town was there to see it.

Saturday we went to Mesa Verde National Park to see the cliff dwellings. Thad would like to go back without the kids, because we were limited on what we could see with them in tow. But what we did see was really cool.

Inside the spruce tree house. Peter hates being restrained for pictures.

There it is from the top of the trail. Peter is in the "do everything myself" phase,  which means he wanted to walk down the steep hazardous trail all by himself. It was a very stressful walk for Thad and I who were taking turns guarding the cliff side of the trail.

It was a great adventure filled weekend. These pictures are from earlier in the week when Thad took the kids to the climbing wall at the rec center. They did pretty well!