Utah Summer 2009 in Pictures

Doesn't my dad look thrilled? It's the only shot I got of him the whole trip (I think you need to send me some tree house/tractor pics, D!)

Playing with Grandma.

Addie and Krystal at the family reunion.

Shannon enjoying the talent show.

Not sure what she was asking me for here, but I'm pretty sure she got what she wanted. Impossible to say "no" to that face.

Entertaining the Grandparents at the family reunion.

Ellie recited a poem for her talent.

Ryan's talent was putting together a rock/paper/scissors tourney. Natalee won by a landslide.

This guy can play anything on the recorder.

Don't they look entertained?

Just like Papa.

Anything to keep her happy during our 4 days in the car. We are currently in detox mode from candy, juice, and movies. They keep asking for it because I gave them whatever they wanted in the car. They were troopers and we only suffered a few meltdowns (most of which came from me).

He does not like the sun in his eyes. We do what we can.

The trip took a toll on Isaac after awhile. He NEVER falls asleep like this.

Hanging out in downtown SLC.

Isaac enjoyed the fountains a little more than Maddie did.

But she warmed up to it after awhile.

Our family with my mom's parents.

My friend Jill and her daughter, Katie. She is my oldest friend. I'm pretty sure we were bffs before we could talk. Katie is a spitting image of what Jill looked like as a little girl. I was always jealous of her beautiful hair.

That giant platform behind Ryan and Maddie will soon be a full-blown tree house.

Pretty sure Livy's ready for the big girl swing.

Harper's blessing day. I couldn't wait to meet this little angel.

I held her as much as I possibly could.

Maddie and Grandpa P.

On the train at "This is the Place" State Park

He took countless rides in Grandpa's tractor.

Aunt Corey

Carson and Natalee on a sugar high.

He got a little bored with the baseball game.

Eating cotton candy for the first time.

Only One Set of Pigtails...

After a little bit of persuasion from my sisters I took the plunge and chopped my hair off. I haven't had my hair this short in years, but I think I'm going to like it. I am usually seen sporting pig tails or Princess Leah buns in my hair, so this cut is forcing me to actually fix it. I will definitely need to get some style tips from my sisters while I'm in Utah.

Maddie is the only one in this family with hair long enough wear pigtails now. Probably a good thing since I'll be 31 this fall...time to let that hair style go, don't you think?

Sorry for the extreme closeup---I'm the only one awake in the house and this is the best self-portrait I could get!

Water Babies

The humidity and heat here in Iowa have been increasing at a rapid rate, so we've hit one of the local splash pads (a.k.a. wading pools) a few times with some friends. There are several around the city and they are a great free way to keep cool! Some of them even provide lunch for the kids each day. That means all I have to worry about are swim diapers and sunscreen (which I failed to use myself this morning in a momentary lapse of judgment).

Isaac and Maddie have really taken to the water. I mean, REALLY TAKEN TO THE WATER. The both love it and are pretty fearless. Two crazy toddlers at the wading pool makes for one anxious mama. Isaac is old enough to fend for himself in the 14 inches of water---I just have to keep track of him running around like crazy. Maddie, on the other hand, thinks she can swim and will repeatedly try to dive into water that is too deep for her. As in, she kept submerging herself completely beneath the water. I am being serious when I say that I think I saved her from drowning a dozen times this morning. Not to mention the couple of times that my friends pulled her out of the water as well. Even though I was always right beside her, it almost gave me a heart attack every time she did it. Somebody sign this girl up for swimming lessons.

Here's the water baby herself. I wish my chubby thighs looked that cute in a swimsuit.

Chrissy and Lyssa staying cool

Getting around any way she can.

My bald little Alligator boy.

He kept singing the Jaws theme song: Da-nun... Da-nun... Da-nun Da-nun Da-nun Da-nun Da-nun...

The park we went to this morning has a carousel, so after swimming we took the kids for a ride.

I must say I was quite proud of myself for taking both kids on the carousel by myself--and no one tried to take a nose dive off of their horse while it was moving---hooray!

Oops...

Isaac hates getting his hair cut. I mean he HATES it. I'm pretty sure he would rather get vaccinated than have me cut his hair. We're talking screaming and thrashing and alligator tears.

This morning we decided it needed to be done. Ryan was holding him down while I used the clippers. There was a little bit of dialogue between Ryan and I as to whether or not we should just buzz him for the summer. I remember it going something like this:

Ryan: "Should we just buzz him?"

Me: "Sure. I'm fine with that if you are."

Ryan: "Yeah, let's just buzz him."

We both consented to buzz him, right? So that's what I started to do. And of course, I went right down the middle of his little head with the clippers. That's when I realized my mistake. It was SOOO short! I may as well have used a bic razor on him. But there was no turning back. The damage had been done.

Ryan remembers our conversation going a little more like this:

Ryan: "I don't think we should buzz him, do you?"

Me: "Of course we should, move out of my way!" (as I begin shaving Isaac's head).

As his mother, I still think he looks handsome. But I can't wait for his hair to grow a bit. He doesn't seem to mind. He keeps rubbing his hand over his head because he likes the way it feels. WARNING: Feel free to tease me to your heart's content about this mishap, but be aware that I might burst into tears if you do. It's a semi-sensitive subject right now...

The silver lining is that his hair is so short we won't have to have this traumatic experience again for at least another six months.

Confessions of a School Teacher

Confession: I haven't been very good at reading to my children. As a teacher, I have preached the value of reading to children to countless parents, and yet somewhere along the way I became a hypocrite.

It's not that I never read to them, I just haven't done it as often as I should. A book here or a story there. I used to be stellar at reading to Isaac, but something happened the day we brought Maddie home from the hospital and my workload suddenly doubled (excuses, excuses).

Isaac has always loved books but Maddie---not so much. A few weeks ago I decided that something had to change. After brainstorming with a friend, I have decided to block out a specific time each day just to read and sing songs with them. It has done wonders for both of their desires to read. We usually do it right after breakfast. Yesterday morning I hadn't said anything to Isaac about reading, but I asked Maddie while taking her out of her high chair if she wanted to read some stories. By the time I carried her over to the living room where we usually read, Isaac (who must have overheard me talking to Maddie) was all ready to go. He was sitting down quietly on his pillow and had pulled one off the couch for Maddie. It was really cute.

I realize that schedules/routines don't work for everyone, but this one has really been working for us. Wish me luck that I'll be able to keep it up!

Baby Food is Maddie's current favorite. She carries it around and throws it at me (translation: Read this book to me, Mama) several times a day. If you haven't read this book and you have a toddler in the house, I highly recommend it. It's adorable.

Tren de Carga: Isaac's current favorite. "Cars drive on the road, trains drive on the track," is something he repeats several times a day. He loves to read now more than ever.

While cooking dinner tonight I poked my head around the corned to see what the kids where up to. This is what I found---Two "readers!"---it just melts my little teacher heart.