OUR WEEKEND

This weekend we spent our time (in no particular order)...

#1 Reconnecting with old friends. It was so much fun to see Karin & Katherine (I can't believe I didn't take any pictures!) at Borders storytime, which, by the way, I highly recommend. There are TREATS!!!!! Oops...maybe I shouldn't have said anything. There weren't too many people there when we went, so all the moms got to share. I wouldn't want to have to give up my strawberry smoothie...but I would love to see you all, so maybe we can take turns? :)
I was also thrilled to discover one of my best friends from back in the day (through the wonderful world of blogging). Erin, SO happy to be in touch with you again!!!

#2 Falling in love with Nie Nie (that was just me, I guess). I spent almost every free second I had this weekend reading her blog. That weren't too many free seconds, but it was enough for me to totally fall in love with her and her family. Why didn't all you smart ladies who've been reading her for ages tell me about this darling woman sooner? It makes me even more heartbroken than I already was for what she and family, all of her family, are going through right now. And her recipe blog, it's sooo yummy! Christina, is that how you found her?

#3 Contemplating life, death, love, and other heavy stuff (again, just me--see #2). I don't know why certain events just hit you to the core. I mean, I am not unaware that there is tragedy occurring every day for SO MANY people. I realize that. There have even been several other plane crashes in the last week. I guess it is just that I have created a bit of a wall to protect my tender heart from all the hurt in the world, and when something catches me by surprise and breaks through, it overcomes me with grief. We don't have a tv, and so I stopped watching the news long ago. I know there are plenty of ways I could read about things online...but usually I don't. Sometimes Andrew mentions a MAJOR world event to me, and when I look at him in confusion, he sighs and says, "Becca, you really should at least glance at Drudge report or SOMETHING, you don't know anything that's going on!" Okay, so I didn't really realize the Olympics were coming up, I mean I found out soon enough to catch a few gymnastics & swimming events at Rob & Esther's. So I had no idea that there was a severe hurricane in Florida. I'm sorry. Andrew did send me a link to the news report on that one, which I did read. So I figure if it's important enough, I'll hear about it. (That's why I have you babe! To keep me mostly current!)

Well, I did hear about the plane crash, and ever since then I have been in tears an awful lot of the time (my poor kids keep looking up at me in confusion), and thinking over the blessings in my life, the heartbreak that so many people face in so many different ways, our Savior's love, fears about the future, and a lot of other things. I don't really think I can handle reading the news everyday. (Do you honey?)

#4 Having a sleepover with cousins, with not a lot of sleep (for me anyway...the kids took turns waking up and crying, so they all got plenty of sleep in order to be ready to go early Saturday morning).

#5 Attending a ward breakfast, which turned out to be a stake breakfast (so THAT'S why there are SO many people here, and we don't recognize ANYONE! I mean, I know we are new in the ward, but really...) It was quite the affair, with a moonbounce for the kids, volleyball nets set up, all kinds of food-we're not just talking pancakes and eggs here, there were breakfast burritos, bagels, every fruit imaginable (including pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, berries...), cold cereal, sausage, ham...okay, I'm getting sick now thinking about it all! Saved me making another meal for 5 kids though, so that was nice!

Tyler, Anna, Gwen, Robby

#6 Having interesting lunchtime conversations (well, the kids mostly conversed and I just listened in)

Tyler: If I had a goldfish, I'd name it Goldilocks

cousin Gwen: Oh, that's a beautiful name!

Robby: Why wouldn't you name it Gold or Goldie?

Tyler: That's too plain. I don't like names that just describe something.

this conversation quickly morphed into a discussion about meat...don't ask me how.

Tyler: Have you ever heard of meat-flavored gum?

cousin Anna: Eww...gross!

cousin Gwen: Meat...you mean like beef? I love beef.

Tyler: Yeah, and especially Beef Jerky. Mmmm...juicy beef jerky.

Gwen (not really sure how this fit into the meat conversation): Baby James (her newborn brother) threw up all over Dad! All over his whole shirt! It was disgusting!

Tyler, Robby, cousin Anna: laughing hysterically

Meanwhile, Annie is singing a song to herself throughout the entire lunch. I guess she doesn't much care about goldfish named Goldilocks or meat flavored gum.

#7 Planning & pulling off a Yard Sale...a kids yard sale that is...selling a few books and toys and seashells that the boys & their cousins decided to get rid of (for big bucks that is! "Umm...guys, that book wasn't worth $10 new...I don't think you'll get that much for it!). Some things were a little more in the reasonable 25 cent - $1 range, and since this is about the 4th time the kids have done this, and our neighborhood is full of other kids who seem quite excited by the prospect of a new toy (even if the 'new' toy does have Robby's name scribbled out with a permanent marker), the kids have actually each made a chunk of change--a chunk of change which I hear & see daily, since Robby refuses to keep his quarters anywhere except clanging around in his pocket, scattering across the road every time he falls off his bike.

Tyler pricing items.

See all those treasures?!

Check out all that cash!!!

#8 Having a few fights...Andrew and I arguing over who gets the last of the tomato basil tortellini and the apple bread we both love (he sweetly gave most of it to me!), the kids fighting over who hit who first, what game they're going to play now, and who likes who more ( I think the winners of those fights pretty much averaged out).

#9 Painting again...thankfully this was not done by me; I guess Andrew just didn't get enough of helping me finish up all of our painting projects, because he spent most of the day Saturday helping our brother-in-law paint their new house which they'll be moving into next week (which is also part of the reason we were honored with the presence of my nieces this weekend...I remember a little too well what it's like to attempt to pack with kids running around you!).

#10 Cleaning the house...again...and again...and again. Don't worry, it's a disaster again right now. :)

#11 Swimming with Aunt Esther. How did we ever think we would survive living more than 10 minutes away from you guys? Thanks for letting us completely monopolize your pool this summer. Is it really almost time for it to close? :(

I love how they always hold hands. So sweet!

#12 With DRESS UPS...LOTS & LOTS OF DRESSUPS!

#13 Enjoying A New Dog in Town...cousin Gwen gladly took over Annie's role as the family dog. I actually had quite a hard time getting her to relinquish that role and get ready for bed. I mean, I guess I can kind of understand...who wouldn't love to eat their dinner off the floor?

#14 Being grateful to Esther for saving me multiple times with a listening ear and Jamba Juice and snacks and kids songs in the car over and over and over again ("I have a name, I have a name, I have a name and my name is QUATRO!!!")

#15 Attending Stephanie & Christians' Balloon Release and fundraiser in Provo (see #2 and C Jane). It was very touching, and I'm grateful we could be there. (even if we did have to turn into insane crazy women for a couple of hours in order to make it on time--thanks for your help Es & Linds!)

There were so many people there. It was really amazing!

Poor Annie was just exhausted! So was I!

Darling Esther & Robby

#16 Eating Dinner at Pei Wei. I'd like to share my newfound knowledge, courtesy of Esther, for all of you out there. If you like PF Chang's, and you like saving money, then GO TO PEI WEI! The same delicious food for much less dinero because you stand at the counter to order it and wait at a booth for it to be brought to you. Highly recommended!!!

#17 Visiting the Thanksgiving Point Children's Gardens for our slow return to normal life after moving which includes FIELD TRIP FRIDAYS!!! It was a beautiful day, a gorgeous place and we had a lot of fun. Although I forgot the tip I was given to bring the kids swim suits to play in the sprinkler area, and so they played in their clothes. Which ultimately led to a complete strip down for the drive home (their idea, not mine).

#18 Making a GREAT (because it was FREE and EXACTLY what I needed) yard sale find when I wasn't even going to a yard sale. I saw it on the side of the road while driving with all the kids, flipped a U-turn, pulled up to the house, realized that these were the leftovers from the yard sale that had already ended, and that everything was FREE, heaved and shoved the enormous handmade room divider into my car myself ("EVERYBODY DUCK YOUR HEADS!!!"), which filled up the entire car (lucky thing these 5 kids don't take up too much ceiling space!), turned around and raced back home, unloaded it, ("YOU GUYS STILL DUCKING IN THERE?!"), and went back on our merry way!

#19 Watching the beautiful Closing Ceremony of the Olympics with Rob & Es...still sad I missed the opening ceremony, the but the closing was amazing to see.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND???

Our Polite Little Annie

Annie has developed such a polite attitude. She receives compliments constantly, and she will always reply with a sweet, "Thank you Mom." or "Thanks Dad." Well, the other day after dinner, she had created quite a mess. She was covered with food! Tyler took one look at her and said, "Annie, you are such a mess!" She smiled up at him and in her sweetest voice replied, "Thanks Tyler!" The boys thought it was hilarious, and so they have now resorted to telling her several times a day what a mess she is. I don't know if she still considers it a compliment, or if she is joining in the game, but she thanks them every time.

Along with the politeness and adorable-ness, Annie still does have a bit of a feisty personality. A little while ago she was pretty mad at me over something, and our conversation went something like this:

"I not going to tell you!"
"Why?"
"Because! You NOT my mommy!"
"I'm not your mommy? Then who's your mommy?"

A brief look of confusion and fear while she tries to come up with an answer, and then, a split second later, a look of pure satisfaction as she triumphantly shouts:

"DADDY!"

She is definitely Daddy's girl, through and through, although I did get one brief shining moment while getting her dressed one day when I pointed out the 'pretty princess named Cinderella' on her underwear, and she told me, "That's not a princess, that's my mommy!" How funny that being told you are in fact the princess on your daughter's underwear is such a touching compliment.

Prayers Needed

My sweet friend Christina told me about this beautiful family and the tragedy they are facing right now. Since she mentioned them, I have noticed that Nie Nie is listed on a lot of others blogs, so maybe I'm the last to hear of her. My heart goes out to this sweet couple, their children, and their loved ones, as well as to the family of the pilot who has passed away. I am sure that there can not be too many prayers offered in their behalf. To read more about updates, you can visit her sister's blog.

The Twilight Hour

No, I'm not referring to the book. But I am referring to that magical (in a scary sort of way) time of day when everyone & everything rapidly falls apart. You know the drill...everything seems to be going along in such a wonderful sort of way. Kids are usually playing happily, mom might even be getting something done, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it hits.



Dinnertime. Bedtime. Crazytime!



So I just wanted to share this exciting miracle worker that I found a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what made me think of it, maybe the new proximity of the Ipod in the kitchen, but whatever it was, I consider it genius because it has now saved me more than a few times when kids were screaming and in tears, and I pretty much was too.



Books on CD!!!



I mean, it's not like we haven't listened to these before, but usually just in the car or at bedtime. That was just purely for entertainment purposes. Listening to these at dinnertime is miraculous. I turn on the story (Farmer Boy, from The Little House on the Prairie series is our current choice, although we have found great joy from Frog & Toad stories, Nate the Great, Charlotte's Web, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Curious George...to name a few.) and all of a sudden...it's quiet. I can think. I can finish (or start, depending on the day!) making dinner. I can smile.



So, if you have ever encountered the Twilight Hour (which, although I don't really wish it on anyone, I also fervently hope that I am not alone in this situation!), may I suggest you try turning on a lovely story on CD...the library has several options...or download a few to your Ipod...you can find free ones sometimes. I hope you have as much success with it as I have.



Any other ideas for getting through the Crazytime before bed?? I'd love to hear them...who knows how long this latest discovery will last!

I love you girls!!!

The older I get, the more sad I am to realize how difficult it really is to have 'friends for life'. As you grow older and begin to create your own family, staying in touch and spending time together with old friends becomes increasingly difficult. Especially with all of the frequent moving that seems to go on these days (at least with me and a lot of my closest friends)! I've been blessed with some really amazing girlfriends in my life, but I don't have many that have been around for as long as these two girls. (I really hope that doesn't say something about me!) That means that they know the most--and probably the worst--about me. Somehow they've stuck around. It's not often we all three get together anymore, something seems to keep us from living in the same state for very long, but we had one night out on the town together last month, and it was, as always, a blast. You are both so beautiful and talented and exceptionally kind and forgiving towards me. Thank you Sarah & Laura, I can't wait until I can have some more girltime with two of my favorite gals! :)


And a big thank you to all of you girls out there who have been such amazing friends to me. You know who you are! (at least, you better!!) I can't imagine life without you. If I had my way, we'd all be living in one big neighborhood all together so I could see you every day. Thank goodness for girlfriends!

Girls Night Out~And A Big Thank You To The Famous LBGs

So one of the hardest things for me about moving is leaving behind good friends. It's happened more than once (we won't get into how many times), and it just doesn't ever get easier. Well, luckily for me, this move has brought us to a place where some of our friends and family already are. Esther isn't only my sister-in-law, she's also a great friend. And I'm not the only one who can see what a great friend she is. These girls pictured here have been friends...not quite since birth, but close enough. And they have been so nice to take me under their wing, so to speak. They invited me along to a midnight release party for Stephenie Meyer's book Breaking Dawn, and MAN, do these girls know how to party! Look at the adorable shirts they made! We had a yummy dinner (girls only of course--how great is it to have a night out with just the girls?!), and then headed over to Borders for some fun there until midnight when we could get in line to buy the book. It was so much fun to just be silly and have fun with them. Thanks girls for letting me tag along--you girls are the best! (And a big thanks to Andrew for taking all the kids and letting me run off for the night!)

Oh, and check out this cute picture below. I took this right before Esther & Lindsay bought all our books, and now it's up on Stephenie Meyer's website! :) Guess I'm not the only one who can tell how cute these girls are!

Some 'Before' Pictures

Here's one of the desks I refinished (the heavy one!).

This is the bunkbed I painted white. It used to be my sister-in-law's bunkbed when she was growing up, so it has been in the family for a while.

Rob & Esther were over to help us with moving in and Esther was nice enough to help me tape up the family room. I didn't love the orange-brown color that the wall was painted before, so we painted it a cranberry red. (which does not look at all like the hot pink color below now that it's dry!)


Sorry that the 'before' pictures and 'after' pictures are mostly of different things! :)

A few 'After' Pictures

Robby & Annie's room...of course the color doesn't look exactly right in the picture, the shade is a little brighter than it seems, but you get the idea.

Tyler's room and the bunkbed I painted (which is still waiting for a bottom mattress! It's mostly used for forts right now.) If anyone else thinks it's odd that Tyler is the one who ended up with the bunkbed when he has his own room, I agree, but Robby insisted. He did NOT want the bunkbed in his room, he wanted a mattress on the floor, and he chose the smaller room even though he was sharing a room with Annie. ?? Whatever!

Painting Lessons

I thought I should let you all know what I've been up to for the last few weeks, since I haven't been around much. Before we moved, I got this crazy idea that I was going to do a few painting projects. We have been lucky enough to be the recipients of several pieces of free furniture from friends and family, as well as found a few deals at flea markets and yard sales. That's the good part. The not so good part is that our collection of furniture is sadly lacking in any type of cohesive theme. In other words, nothing matches! I decided I was fed up with this, and since buying an entire houseful of furniture was not an option for us, I would have to repaint everything the same color. While I was at it, I might as well paint a few bedrooms in the house too. (We're just renting here, but luckily the homeowners said it was fine for us to paint.)

Andrew tried to warn me that maybe I was taking on a little too much at once since I have never painted anything, ever, in my life. But I figured, might as well get it all done at once! So, since we moved in, I put aside the normal project of unpacking, and started painting. I have now finished (almost) everything I started out to do, which includes painting the following items:

one large, heavy desk & drawers

one slightly smaller desk

one tiny desk

another desk/sewing table (how did we end up with so many desks?? i guess since we paid for none of them, it was easy to justify!)

a VERY large bunkbed

a tall bookshelf

a smaller bookshelf

an end table

After priming and painting all those items white, I moved on to painting the house. (Actually, all these things happened more simultaneously. I think I was constantly painting about 4 things at once.) We painted an accent wall in our family room red, Tyler's room blue, and Robby & Annie's room green.

Whew!

So I know that many of you are probably quite experienced in home renovation projects, such as painting. And so for you, this post will probably just make you laugh at my inexperience. But just in case there is someone who is a step behind me, I thought I would share a few things I've learned.

1. Painting is a lot of work!

2. Don't tell your husband that you'll do it all yourself, even though he thinks it's ridiculous to do any of this painting in the first place, because you will really need his help. Only tell him this if you know that he will only let you paint because you said you'd do it all yourself, but then he will feel so bad for you that he will lovingly step in and spend his nights painting with you anyway.

3. Preparing to paint is even harder than painting. Taping a room especially...it takes at least twice as long as painting does! (although spending more time being careful while taping will really pay off...it makes all those mistakes you make while painting easier to hide!)

4. Buy really wide painting tape, like the 2 inch kind. Especially if you are like me, and somehow get paint in several places that you never thought the roller could even reach, like the middle of the ceiling?!

5. For middle of the ceiling emergencies as mentioned above, keep a wet cloth handy. Paint will wipe up fairly easily if it is very wet and immediately wiped off. If it has dried, it really just doesn't wipe off so well.

6. If you decide to paint something red, and you spend forever at the paint store with a kind employee who takes half an hour just to help you choose the right shade of red, and then you come home and open the paint can and it looks hot pink, and you put a test coat on the wall and it still looks hot pink....take a deep breath. Let it dry. It will probably be fine. (just to be safe though, you might want to put that test coat in a small space that's not too easy for anyone else to see...just in case!)

7. If you know the exact shade of green you want for a room because you saw it in your cousin's house and totally fell in love, don't try to go to the paint store yourself and choose the sample from memory, because you'll get it wrong and have to go back again, at which point you will still get the shade wrong, and have to resort to what you should have done in the first place, which is just ask the person who already chose the perfect shade of green exactly which shade they chose. Then you can go buy the right one the first time and you won't have several leftover samples of the wrong shade of green while your kids are rooting for the shade that you REALLY don't want to use!

8. If you decide to try and be a fun mom (or if you just feel guilty because you haven't really paid any attention to your kids in days), and let your kids help you paint, stay nearby. Drips dry fast, and once they are dry, it is really hard to make them look nice and smooth. (although, if you are staying nearby, you WILL get covered in paint, probably even more than you can cover yourself. and of course, so will your kids!!!) Oh, and one of the most important lessons learned, before you decide to paint, go buy your kids bikes at Walmart (or some other comparable exciting activity that they will happily spend ALL DAY doing) so you can actually get a little painting done, and don't quite feel like such a bad mom since they really do seem to be having fun without you.

9. Even if you are sick of wearing the same old cutoffs because you've worn them almost every day for a couple of weeks, it's probably best to stick with the same old clothes. Because no matter how careful you think you are, you will still get paint on whatever you are wearing...as well as your hands, your arms, your legs, your face, your hair... you get the idea. So you might as well not ruin more than one outfit, since paint REALLY does NOT wash out.

10. Painting is hard work, but somehow, once it is done, it really does seem worth it!!!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can find that camera, oh, and get a few more things unpacked, since that normal project got put on hold for a while.

A Birthday, The Zoo, A Tornado, and other Adventures...

After our time in Nauvoo, we got the kids ready for bed and hopped in the car for a few more hours. (word to the wise, when driving with kids for many, many hours, drive as much as possible while they are asleep!) We spent the night in some state...can't really remember which one anymore. The next morning was my bday, and Andrew was really sweet to take all the kids when they woke up (with the sun) to let me sleep in. I woke up to three cute kids bringing me breakfast in bed (courtesy of the continental breakfast at the hotel we were staying at).



Then we all loaded up for a few more hours of driving. Around lunchtime, we were needing a break, and as if someone could read my mind, I glanced to the side of the freeway and saw a huge sign for the "Omaha, Nebraska Zoo". "Why not stop?" we thought. And so we did.
We had so much fun! I was really quite impressed with this zoo. We have been to several zoos, aquariums, and exhibits over the years, but this place really combined the best of them all!

We took a train ride around the zoo, went to the butterfly exhibit, saw the aquarium complete with puffins and sharks (which you saw while walking through a huge, underwater tunnel), and went inside a massive dome that was created to look like the desert (with wolves, bats, and even an underground cave). We even saw an adorable baby giraffe who was running around chasing birds. I have never seen a giraffe run before, it was really cute.









Seriously, this place was impressive. Who would have guessed? And to top it all off, when leaving the zoo we stopped by a run down looking place that boasted the best cheeseburgers in town. Well, we decided to test out their claim, and not only were their cheeseburgers amazing, so were their fries AND their ice cream .





We were all pretty exhausted by the time we hit the road again, quite a bit later than we had planned (it was hard to leave that zoo...we already had to skip a bunch of exhibits as it was!). We thought the kids would fall asleep quickly and that hopefully Andrew and I would stay wide awake for several hours while we tried to reach Wyoming. It was only an hour or two later that our next adventure began.



Andrew pulled off into a rest stop area so we could take a bathroom break before everyone fell asleep. It had been threatening rain all day, but we hadn't really seen much of anything yet. By the time we stopped at the rest stop, there was some wind and a few raindrops, but no more than that. Thanks to our wonderful Ipod, we hadn't listened to the radio for any of the drive, so we were taken by surprise when Andrew went inside the bathroom with the boys and was told by several kind people that there was a tornado warning in effect...right now...for the area we were currently in. In fact, the tornado was headed straight for us and had already touched down a few cities away. Hmmm....



That's when our adventurous day took a different turn. By the time everyone had gone to the bathroom, the weather had already changed severely. The wind was whipping around us and the rain was starting to pour. We sat in the car, debating. If we stayed where we were, we did have shelter, but we were also sitting directly in the tornado's expected path. The phrase 'sitting ducks' comes to mind. If we kept driving in the direction we needed to go, we would be meeting the tornado head on. (the word 'crazy' comes to mind!) Or we could go in a completely opposite direction and try to outrun, or run away from, the tornado. And of course, all this guessing was based on the assumptions that unknown weathermen were making about what the tornado would do next...tornadoes have the right to change their mind, and it's been known to happen before. Anyway, it was a bit of a tricky situation to be in.

After a while of debating, changing our minds, and of course a lot of praying, we decided to stay where we were. The kids were all in their pajamas, ready for bed, and Robby had actually already fallen asleep by this time. We gathered blankets, and went inside the rest stop, along with several other people. It was an interesting assortment of people-and pets!-but I was impressed with how kind everyone was. Nothing like a tornado headed your way to bring people together. Most of the people there were locals, and for them, this was something they had all done before. "Oh yeah, May is the worst time for tornadoes in this area!" Oh, really? We didn't know that!
Andrew found that in between the men's bathroom and the women's bathroom was a smaller handicapped bathroom without windows. So as the expected time for the tornado's arrival drew closer, and as the skies became visibly black, with the wind and rain pounding at the windows around us, we took our blankets and our kids into the handicapped bathroom, along with the other family who had young kids with them. It was nice and cozy in there, one poor lady had to sit on the toilet holding her baby, but we felt grateful that we had this option in case the tornado did decide to touch down.



After about ten minutes, someone peeked their head in and told us that they were pretty sure the tornado had passed. We went out of the bathroom, and sure enough, the skies were already a light blue, with the blackness moving away from us. We waited for a little longer, and then headed out to our car to load up the kids. Robby slept through the entire thing. I don't think we realized quite how close we had come until we had driven about 4 minutes down the interstate and saw a huge motor home turned over on the side of the road, another car in the ditch, and a tractor trailer that was also flipped over on its side. About a half a mile further down the road, police cars were blocking off the freeway because of how many other cars and trucks were down. The detour they sent us on showed us several trees on the ground and more cars that were stranded. We found out that the tornado had touched down just a few miles from where we were. We were definitely counting our blessings.

We didn't make it as far as we had planned that night, but we couldn't have been more grateful to be where we were. It was quite the day to remember!