???

Potty training has it's share of funny moments.
Today I smelled a THE smell and asked Jonny if he was poopy. Here's what he said:
No. I'm not. I am the talking popsickle I have no bottom.

It was definately him. He couldn't fool me. I think he's the talking popsickle WITH a bottom.

Merry Christmas!

I have a small nativity set that I keep down low so that the children can arrange it as they please. This year, all of the pieces have been tightly arranged around the manger with baby Jesus. Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of a new arrangement: someone has replaced the baby Jesus with a matchbox car!

Simon's Word List

boy
cereal
cup
drink
mom-mom
Daddy
diaper
book
story
ball
tree
toy
car
go
whoa!
cool!
hair
spoon
potty
no
cheerios
cracker
cookie
pretzel
candy
bath
hug

Repetition is the Key

I had a few funny moments this month where I found myself repeating a key phrase that I never would have expected. If you keep reading, you'll see why.
I took all the kids with me to vote. I feel it's an important lesson and I gave the kids each an American Flag to wave and off we went to the polling place. While I was in the middle of filling out my ballot, I started to smell a particular smell. So I called out to the kids "Is everyone clean and dry?" Jonny called back "I am. SEE!" When I turned around, there he was standing with his pants and pullup around his ankles showing me just how dry he was. "Put your pants on!" I shouted with a surprise. Maybe if I'd kept my head and said it quiet, everyone wouldn't have turned around to stare.
The next week, I was getting the Jonny and Simon ready for the bath when JIMMY came running out of the bathroom, dripping wet from his own bath. "Look Mom!" he cried. "Knee knockers- Grandma would be so proud!" Grandma would have been very proud of his authentic knee knocking- if she had been there and IF he had been wearing a stitch of clothes. I found myself again shouting in surprise "PUT YOUR PANTS ON!!!" ( I wrote Jimmy super big because I had to repeat the name for Gary 3 times before he believed me.)

Helpful Hands

Jonny and Amelia have been my great helpers in these last few days in unique ways.

Amelia "hooved" a placemat at school (read weave, but she can't remember that word.) So I decided to include her in my latest weaving project. My last weaving project took place for Mother's Day in 2001. Jimmy was a few months old and I wove a small basket for my mother and mother in law. So it's been a while. We have no Thanksgiving decorations and since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I decided to try to weave a cornucopia to be more festive. I think perhaps I should have looked at a picture of a cornucopia before I started or maybe found a pattern or something. But here it is: a kind of wonky looking cornucopia filled with pictures of things Jonny is thankful for (his family night lesson)

Jonny was kind of glum and didn't want to do any of his usual activities, so I offered to let him help me sew. He loves to help me sew. He helped me sew a couple of quilt tops for a veteran's hospital (a pet project of a woman in my ward.) Today he helped me hem up some pants. I put him in charge of the pedal to make the machine go. I don't think I realized just how fast a sewing machine could go until I had a 3 year old at the controls!

Friends beware...

Amelia and Jonny tend to get a little carried away when friends come over. They plot ways to set traps for their friends while they anticipate their arrival. Usually, its something along the lines of "let's put a candy bar on a string and pull it when he tries to grab it" or "let's tickle him" or "let's trap him so he can't go home." I try to discourage this activity. I find it a little disturbing.
Last night at dinner time, their past time took a deranged twist.
"I'm gonna set a trap for Santa Claus," Amelia grinned.
The kids got carried away, shouting out all of the various tricks and traps they could pull on poor old Santa. Suggestions ranged from
"Let's fill our stockings with rats" to "let's poison his hot chocolate." (not poison, sleeping powder- I draw the line at poisoning Santa Claus, or anyone else for that matter.)
I couldn't believe their dastardly plans. I think I'll put up a sign warning Santa to stay away this year.

Thankful

I am thankful for ticklish kids! What are you thankful for?

It's Just a Phase

My babies have all gone through a certain phase where they love to sneak in to cupboards and drawers and steal things. I call it the "raiding phase." Jimmy used to sneak the condiments out of the fridge and line them up in his play tent. Simon loves to line up the hot sauce and tabasco. Every last one of them has loved to play in my dresser drawer, sauntering around the house in the "spoils."

I debated for a few days whether or not to post this photo. I finally decided that it perfectly documents the raiding phase and the joy which with the raiding is carried out:

Here's Simon after one of his latest raids. He's a little fuzzy because he's in the middle of a happy dance.

Copy Cat Post

A few weeks ago, my sister made a cute blog page on a Saturday afternoon. She went around the house, taking pictures of her husband and children doing whatever they happened to be doing. One was in the sand box. Another was reading a book. Hubby was mowing the lawn. Domestic bliss.
Yesterday, I found myself alone on the main floor of "the kiddodiddo ranch." This NEVER happens. (My kids feel the need to be within arm's reach at all times. I don't know why.) The house was quiet for several minutes. "AH!" I thought to myself. "Here's my chance to document my children in their natural habitat." So I grabbed the camera and ran through the house snapping photos. Here's what I found:


Simon. He was on the main floor after all, but he was quiet because he was eatting stickers. Notice cheeks full of stickers.
Put the camera down, unload cheeks and then continue on... Here's Jonny.
Just as I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he starts walking down the stairs, hollering "MOM! MOM! MOM!" and eatting a box of Nerds. So much for finding him in his natural habitat.

I continued up the stairs and found Amelia, in her room. As soon as I walked through the door, she pulled the blanket down tight, to hid the fact that she had taken her Halloween candy to bed with her "for a little nap." ( no, you can't actually see her in the picture. The Ariel blanket/cave is in the way)
By the time I got back to the bottom of the stairs again, I found Jimmy, waving a sword and kicking a soccer ball at the front door. What you can't see is that his mouth is bright blue on the inside because it's stuffed with Jolly ranchers. (yes that's a campaign sticker on his shirt)

My last attempt to catch my children in their natural habitat ended here, at the kitchen table, where you can see the boys sharing a box of Nerds. (yes that's more campaign literature on the table. sigh.)

Now I know what it takes to get 5 minutes of peace and quiet- Halloween candy.

Fall Photos

Here's a few photos from the last month.

I guess this photo requires some explaination. I don't hang around in my wedding dress, but the kids were looking through a photo album of our wedding and asked if I still had the dress. So I put it on. Jimmy surprised me by being the most impressed with the dress . He took this picture when I wasn't looking. He loves taking pictures.

I've enjoyed watching this tree from my living room window. I love fall!

Here's a hat I made for Amelia. A friend of mine asked for help to make a beanie cap, and here's what I came up with. I wonder what she's thinking about.

Amelia went to a pumpkin patch with her school and got to bring home a pie pumpkin (yum!) She drew a face on it and I carved it for her. We carved the big one as a group.

Here's a better view- I love the freckles and rosy cheeks!

Try as I might, I could not get a decent picture of the kids in their Halloween costumes. This is as close as I got this year. Jimmy was Iron Man (You know the guy on the underpants- that's what he told me when he chose it out. Everyone ELSE seemed to know who or what Iron Man is) Jonny was a candy corn. Simon wore the sheep suit (here he is, minus the hat) and Amelia is Mulan. Too bad she's wearing her coat. The dress was very pretty.

Here's the real reason Halloween photos never ended up on the blog last Halloween: I accidently cut off Gary's head. (Jimmy was a bat, Simon was a jack o lantern, Amelia was a princess and Jonny was a dinosaur)

I'm so glad that I did get one shot with Gary's head in it. Aren't he and Simon so cute?!

Here's my last Halloween photo, a reminder of what happens when you rub a wet sucker through your hair:

Swimmer

Yesterday, Amelia and Gary had a Traumatic Experience.

Amelia was trying to play with her baby dolls and Jimmy and Jonny were playing "kidnapping pirates." Unfortunatly, the two games did not go so well together. At one point, I heard Jonny yell "Ha Ha I flushed Purple Amelia down the toilet!" (Amelia named her baby after herself)

Thanks, Gary for playing the part of Purple Amelia's dashing hero. I wish Crismon Shedds had come along!

I never saw the actual event. I was putting the very unrepentant Jonny to bed early while he playfully yelled things like "I can flush a ball down the toilet I can flush the world down the toilet!"

Perfect Fall Day

Today was a day off from school. I have no idea why. I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy the weather before the winter chill. I am sorry I forgot my camera. I took the kids on a picnic lunch to the Dinosaur Park. It's our local favorite. It was stunning! It is situated in a wooded area and the trees were colored in autumn glory. Orange, yellow and red. Crunchy leaves everywhere we stepped. As we ate lunch, I thought to myself that it looked SO MUCH like autumn that it almost didn't seem real. The kids ran and we frolicked in the leaves and explored the trails around the park. We found a little stream and threw sticks in it. Then we used bigger sticks to fish them out. At one point Jimmy fell in. (Thankfully it was not too cold to go around with wet shoes.) I think this is my favorite way to spend an afternoon.

Politics

Last week, I had the little boys with me at the auto repair shop. While we were in the waiting room, the Martha Stewart Show was playing and Martha was calling on all parents everywhere to get their children to vote, because this election would be decided "by the youth". So for a joke, I told Jonny to make sure he votes and asked him who he would vote for. Here's the response I got:
John McCain! John McCain! (jumps up and down)
John McCain! John McCain! (growly voice)
(About this time I was thinking this would make a cute little advertisement.)
John McCain! (spins in circles)
Barak Obama is a MURDERER!

I think my jaw hit the floor when I heard that last part. And I hoped against hope that his intelligability is not as good as I think it is.

With a red face I explained that Barak Obama never murdered anybody.

Lost Tooth!

Last week, Amelia lost her first tooth. A few days later she lost another! Here's a picture of her at a tea party we had (just us girls) and you can barely see the space where her tooth would be.

The night she lost the second tooth, she ran downstairs after bedtime to tell us "Jimmy said after you lose your second tooth, the tooth fairy doesn't leave money- she takes you on a trip!!!"

Little Einsteins Funny

A few months ago, I bought Jonny some new underwear. It was "Little Einsteins" themed and I was very surprised to see this:



I immediately thought of Gary's brother David who is preparing to be a missionary for The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Not because I thought he should WEAR them, but because the little boy is getting ready for a mission too. (I know, it's not the same.)

Last night, Uncle Dave got his mission call to Fort Lauderdale, FL (speaking Creole.) We are so excited and proud of Dave for making this choice. I'll not spoil the moment with some childish prank involving the underpants. (Even though I am sorely tempted.)

Called to Serve

Today my youngest brother, Uncle Dave, received his mission call to serve in the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission. He'll be learning Haitian Creole, which is a French creole. The mission is the only one headquartered in South Florida.

Some of our relatives and a few of Dave's friends made predictions as to where he would go on his mission. You can view a map of the predictions and the beautiful part of the world where Dave will teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are willing to learn.

I am happy for Dave and I believe this will be a life-changing experience for him, as my mission in northern Brazil was for me.

Omega 3

Some of you may know that Amelia has exzema. Some of you may even know how to spell exzema (I'm not one of them.) A friend of mine recommended omega 3 supplements to help her skin. Well, after a month of omega 3 "gummy fish" her skin looks better than it ever did on the lotions and creams prescribed to her by a dermatologist. No more red patches! Not more scabs! And no more fights about putting on lotion. Ahh. Doesn't that feel better?

Leader of the Pack

Jimmy is playing NFL flag football this fall for the Green Bay Packers. He didn't get to choose his team. If he did, he would have chosen the New England Patriots (in case the Child Services people are reading this, I promise I have taught him better).

Here is a great action shot:



Look at him go! :-) By the way, that lump in his mouth is a mouth guard. They're very serious in this league.

FYI the shirt was provided by the league, and a very clever parent suggested that we all chip in a few dollars to get matching shorts and socks. That means the Packers are not only one of the most successful teams in the league at 4-1, but also the best dressed team we have seen yet!

You can get more details about the league at http://www.novaflag.com . In case you check the scores and highlights, Jimmy's Packers are in the Mites division.

Vacation Planning

Yesterday, I got a Sunday nap!!!!!! (You can tell by the number of exclamation points it's been a few years:)

While I was napping, Gary and the kids were discussing summer vacation plans. Here's Amelia's input on vacations ( and you'll have to imagine her emphatic speech):

I don't want to go to any of those "burg" places. You know WilliamsBURG. GettysBURG. They are BORING!

Good bye Jennifer Conference

Jonny looked forward to "Jennifer Conference" (read General Conference)
for a few weeks, mostly because he knew it had to come before his birthday. Maybe he liked the talks and music. Or maybe he liked the Skittles he got everytime they said "faith."
Today, he asked Gary "Can we watch Jennifer Conference." Maybe he wanted the spiritual boost. Or maybe he wanted the sugar rush.

I think next time General Conference rolls around, he won't be saying "Jennifer Conference" anymore.

The Complete Tattletale

We're having a rip-roaring General Conference Sunday, with kids going stir-crazy. They are fairly wild, and Jimmy just approached me and Tracy with the following whiny plea:

"Amelia just stepped on my back when I was on top of Jonathan on purpose."

I attempted to deadpan the only reply I thought logical, which was, "Why were you on top of Jonathan on purpose?" Tracy cracked up and Jimmy tried to take back what he had said, and when Tracy composed herself, she asked Jimmy, "Are you trying to tell on Amelia, or are you trying to tell on yourself?" It was a pretty funny moment, and it turned out that Jimmy's back was fine (surprise!).

A Few Funny Moments

I'd had a few funny moments lately that I keep forgetting to share so here they are all wrapped into one post:

Simon's first words: Go, dog, cat, shoe, Da-da, Whoa!

Jimmy's attempt to woo his classmate Jordan: A hand written copy of the Gettysburg Address?! (here's the story: Gary went in late one night to check on the kids. Jimmy was busy hand copying the Gettysburg Address. In the morning, he told me he wanted to give it to Jordan- one of the girls from the Love Bug post. If he was older- like 30 I would give him some tips for wooing girls for real!)

During our Chasti-Tea Party, I was talking with the kids about how we shouldn't have boy friends and girlfriends until age 16 (AT LEAST), Amelia mentioned something like "but Vivian and I have fun kissing the boys on the bus." (I talked to Vivian's mom the next day- she was horrified!) Needless to say no one is having fun kissing on the kindergarten bus anymore.

During and after the Olympics, the kids were fascinated with "the famous Olympic Swimmer, Michael Phelps." (Jonny never abbreviated the title.) Jonny wanted a Michael Phelps party for his birthday (thankfully he abandoned that idea.) "Michael Phelps" was the punchline for every joke (knock knock. who's there? Michael Phelps!!!).

A few weeks ago, Jimmy was listening to an old Bon Jovi cassette he found and heard the song "Some Day I'll Be Saturday Night" He asked what it meant and I explained. ("Feelin' like a Monday, but someday I'll be Saturday night"- if you're Saturday night, it's really cool, everybody loves Saturday right?) So a few days after that conversation, he says to me "Mom, Michael Phelps IS Saturday night." Can't argue with that!

Burning Down the House

We don't usually do politics here at kiddodiddo, but the current economic situation will have such an effect on us--and our kiddodiddos--that we suggest that you watch this excellent video before you vote this November to see who in D.C. has been very very naughty. The video is entitled "Burning Down the House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?"



This video will likely be taken down by YouTube--which is owned by Google, which has its own political bias--so here are some other links that will also probably be taken down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiXwZI_YqHY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01BS-pG3Il0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIVvvoDbCV0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxgSubmiGt8

Also, an excellent blog post and good comments on the video and the efforts to make it go away.

The Love Bug

Tonight the PTO at Jimmy and Amelia's school held a family picnic and movie night to celebrate the installation of the new outdoor track at the school. We brought pizza and grapes and had a great time seeing friends and running around the track (the kids, not me) too many times to count.
Simon amused himself by stealing everyone's pepperoni when they weren't looking.
After the picnicking was done, we went inside to see "The Love Bug." The old one. Some of the kids attempted to sit down and watch the show. In fact they sat there and watched nicely until the popsickles and popcorn ran out. Then Jimmy wanted to go watch with his friend Caroline. So he left. After awhile, Jonny missed him and we went looking for him. There he was, near the front, sharing a blanket with Caroline. They were lying on their tummies propped up on elbows and enjoying the show. Jonny knew just what to do. He ran up and jumped between them making himself right at home. Soon Amelia came along and joined the party as well as Jordan, another friend in his class. They giggled and jostled for positions next to Jimmy. Soon they settled down again and watched for a few more minutes. Then it was time for Caroline to go. Then the fun began. Jordan told Amelia she had a crush on Jimmy. Amelia dared her to kiss Jimmy. Jonny didn't want to miss out on the fun so he shouted "I'm gonna do it. I'M gonna kiss Jimmy!" They giggled and plotted and giggled some more. They attempted to watch the movie some more. Then Jordan put her arm around Jimmy. A while later, Jimmy put his arm around Jordan. For just a second, but it counted. Jordan's mom and I had a view of the whole thing about 10 feet back. They were not as private as they thought! I watched the movie for a few minutes more. It was taking forever. Most everyone got bored and left. Not my little guys. Not Jordan. They were having too much fun. One of the other adults pulled out the movie to see how long was left: 20 more minutes. I know I heard someone say "Just shoot me now!" when they found out how long was left.
So we made it through the show. On the way out to the van, Jordan's mom said "You know the only reason it's funny is because of their age."

Yeah, I thought, a few years down the road I wouldn't be laughing. My response would be something like this:

Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered!

Summer Catch Up

I guess I'm in the mood for catching up. I spent a bit of time cleaning up photos of our trip to Utah and hope you will enjoy the results. (located in the August archive) There will be more (keep your fingers crossed) later in the week.

A Very Merry Unbirthday to you!

In 2007, I made a 2 New Year's Resolutions
1. to send each of my relatives a birthday card for his or her birthday
2. to park the van with the wheels straight EVERY TIME (I sure everyone else does this, but I had a bad habit I needed to break)

I did pretty good on my resolutions for that year. And even this year, I still park the van with the wheels straight. However, I think I have missed sending a card to everyone of my relatives. This summer (in July) I decided to make it up with what I called "birthday in July" where I would send a make up card and celebrate everyone's birthday at once. Well, it took 2 extra months to pull that one together. In the mail, each one of you precious relatives (especially those who send birthday cards ON TIME) should be receiving a card, (handmade by the kiddodiddos themselves) to celebrate you on this, your very special UNbirthday. If your birthday has already passed, sorry! And if your birthday is yet to come, happy birthday well in advance.

Cardboard Fort

Back in June the kids told me they wanted help building a cardboard fort. I have dutifully saved ALL of my cardboard boxes in the hopes of taping them together to make a decent cardboard fort with them someday. Yesterday on the way home from school, we passed by some huge sheets of cardboard on the curb waiting recycling. I went back with the van to pick them up and bring them home. Amelia and I spent some time this morning taping them together to make a fort. It's much bigger than I planned. Once the walls and roof were taped in place I declared my work was done. Jimmy and Amelia had other plans. She brought in table and chairs and they played cards. Jimmy hooked up his reading light so they could see better. Tonight, Gary and I went to check on the kids after they were asleep. I was amazed to see that Jimmy and Amelia were sleeping together with pillows and blankets and an electric fan inside the fort. Maybe I should have turned on the light and taken a picture... but really, I'd rather let them sleep.

Knock Knock Joke

Jimmy told a really funny knock knock joke. To get the full effect, you must first understand what the "Flying Falcon" ride at Hershey Park is.
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE05QDm2W1g

If you didn't watch the video, it's a ride where you sit in a little bird head and spin on a spoke really fast, so the seat is sideways. The spoke is also on a larger spoke and it spins around quickly, rising in the air.

Gary rode this ride with Jonathan (aka Fire Car) and Jimmy, consecutively. Poor Gary. While Jonny was waiting for Gary and Jimmy to get off, he told me "That ride was making me getting sick." Gary made a comment like once was fun but twice in a row is too much. Jimmy didn't really say much, until later.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
The interrupting Flying Falcon
The interrupting Fly-
I"M SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enough with the name changing!

Last week Amy decided to be Amelia again. I kept forgetting to call her that anyway.

Jonny is becoming pretty adament about being called "Fire." I keep telling him "NO- Fire doesn't sound anything like "Jonathan" Your name has to sound like the name we gave you." But I guess that's a little too complicated. A few months ago, he decided that his middle name was Car. His new name choice would make him Fire Car. Not exactly what I had in mind when the doctor handed me an 8 pound baby boy!

Wet Cell Phone

Last week, I put a leaky water bottle and my cell phone together in the bottom of my stroller. Guess what?! Water and cell phones do not mix. If you could please use my home phone number to keep in touch for the next week or so, I'd appreciate it!

Question of the day

Why is there a Santa hat on the plunger?

This reminds me of a poem I wrote a few years ago. It was supposed to be a haiku but I don't really know all the rules for haiku. This was my first and last attempt at poetry. It was inspired by an incident with Jimmy and is entitled Good Advice.

Never thought I'd say

Don't take bath with toilet seat

Motherhood, the joy!

Pictures from Wheeler Farm

Jacob, Amelia, Aberdeen, Cameron, Jimmy and Jonathan
front row: Cameron, Jacob, Aberdeen, Jimmy
back row: Jonathan, Nana, Simon, Pop, and Amelia
While we were in Utah visiting relatives, we did a photo shoot with all the extended family at Wheeler Farm. Here are 2 good shots that we got with our own camera. The top one is of the kids with their cousins playing red rover while we waited for the photographer to arrive. The bottom one is of the kiddodiddos with their cousins and Nana and Pop.

Hiking in Southern Utah

To kick off our Utah trip, we decided to spend a little time hiking around in Southern Utah. Here are a few photos of our time in Goblin Valley and Arches.

I think this photo was taken at the bottom of the trail to get down to the valley floor. Isn't Gary so cute, carrying Simon in the snugli? Amelia thought so... she shoved a baby doll down her shirt, so as not to be left out of the baby wearing fun. (too cute!) Here's me and Jonny wandering around among the goblins, looking for the rest of the family. I had the brilliant idea to play hide and seek. It was really fun, until everyone was hid and I realized just how many places there were to hide. So I will call that part of the adventure "scary fun."

There were lots of peek holes among the goblins. Look below to see the view from this particular portal. I called it "kissing goblins." Jonny loves to have his picture taken, so he ran down to be photographed again.

Jimmy and Amelia and Jonny attempted to cool off in the shade of this overhanging rock.It was hot and we didn't bring much water (OOPS!) so we didn't stay too long. :(

We drove from Goblin Valley to Moab, spent the night and rose early to start the hike to the Delicate Arch.

We set off with plenty of water and smiles on our faces. That was due in part to the kid's excitement over the gumball machine they believed waited at the end of the trail. Delicate Arches are nice and all, but do they really compare to gumball machines in the mind of a 2 year old? We gave the kids pennies along the way to reward for good hiking. "You can put them in the gumball machine at the Delicate Arch." They were so in to the idea, they spent the last quarter mile deciding who should go first at the gumball machine and how they should line up. When we reached out destination, I attempted to pull the gumball machine from our backpack and place it behind a rock. I was not sneaky enough... Amelia caught me in the act. Jimmy, Amelia, and Jonathan enjoyed their break at the end of the trail and didn't seem too disappointed with my little trick. Below are a few photos from along the way.

Here we are at one of our first water breaks. There was another photo where everyone was looking, but Jimmy's smile in this one is so heartwarming, I had to use it.

Here we are at the Delicate Arch! This is where the trail ends. You can go on some sloped slick rock to go under the Arch, but Jimmy and I opted to stay at this point to photograph the others. Notice Amelia, Gary and I are twins... how fun to have a girl who wants us to match! I am always amazed at her attention to detail. She has a real appreciation for beauty and noticed many wonderful things along the trail.

Jimmy, Amelia, and Jonny really liked the gumball machine. Simon doesn't know why everyone else is so happy, he just likes to be happy too.

If you look carefully, you can see Gary (yellow shirt) under the Delicate Arch! Amelia and Jonny are there too, but you'll just have to imagine you can see them.

Due to some gastric distress, we ended up hiking back in two parties and I want to give Amelia a big thumbs up for carrying the water. She was my hero and I was proud of the maturity she showed. The hike was an amazing experience and time of bonding for everyone.

Snowbird

Gary snapped this shot of me and the kids a top Snowbird Ski Resort when we were in Utah this July. We rode the tram. The view was fantastic! The mountains were rugged and steep, with patches of snow here and there. I could have looked at it all day.

I took this picture of the family playing in the snow (well standing on it, but they did make a few snowballs)
Jimmy just came down and noticed this picture. He told me "I hate to say it but I was scared of heights. That's because I understand the complex death. (?!) People, even big people could look over the edge and THINK they have a foothold but they don't. And then they fall. Down (bump and crash sounds) into the water under the ice and they come to the top and they can't breath and they (makes puffy cheek choking sounds)" Yes that would be "complex death." (I guess) Jimmy didn't say all that at Snowbird, but he wanted to hold hands almost the whole time we were at the top. Now I know why.
Here's Jimmy in a lighter moment. He's riding the Alpine Slide. He's the only kiddodiddo big enough to ride it solo. He LOVED it and went as fast as he could. I rode with Amelia. She wanted to control the speed. She liked it SLOW. She was so scared at first, but I think she warmed up to it in the end.

I tried to take a picture of Gary and Jonathan on their way down. You can see Gary's hair at the bottom of the picture.

Although the kids had their moments of fright, we all enjoyed our time at Snowbird.

Photos from June

My niece Elizabeth, just prior to getting dressed up for her blessing in church. (Didn't I tell you she's cute!)
back to front:Ben, Grandpa,Cami,Elizabeth, Tracy,Simon, Jimmy, Jonathan, Gary, and Amelia after the baby blessing, just prior to loading into the vans to return home
Hanging out at Ben and Cami's house in central PA.

Amelia picking blueberries at a nearby farm. She was my most dedicated harvester!

Jonny enjoyed eatting the blueberries far more than simply putting them in his bucket.
Simon enjoyed sitting in the grass and crawling around at the blueberry farm.
It didn't take long for Simon to figure out he was surrounded by yummy blueberries. This outfit hasn't been the same since!
This would be a really cute picture of Jimmy next to a fully loaded blueberry bush, but he's only half there!

Not only did the kids help pick over 7 pounds of blueberries, they also helped to make homemade jam.

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

We just had a talk about where we would all like to go if we serve as missionaries one day. Here is where everyone would like to go.

Gary (30-something): Brazil
Tracy (20-something): Italy or Pacific islands
Jimmy (7): Alaska, Canada, or Norway
Amelia (5): Texas, Tennessee, or Taiwan
Jonny (2): Chuck E. Cheese

Where would you like to go as a missionary? Let us know in the comments.

Jonny's Toe Update

We have just returned from a fabulous trip to Utah, thanks to all who made it possible. I am still unpacking and will be sharing photos and kid memories in the next week. I just wanted to give a quick update on Jonny's toe for those who would like to know the resolution. Here's a a brief synopsis for those who were not present.
Last Friday we were at Lagoon (amusement park.) Jonny said that his little toe hurt, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. Sunday morning, Jonny said something to Gary about his "hurting toe." Gary checked it out and immediately saw that the bottom of his little toe was swollen purple/gray and the rest of the toe was bright red. I drove him to the urgent care/drop in clinic, and they drained the toe, took a culture, and gave a prescription. They also pointed out the infection was spreading up his foot and ankle (a visible red line.) The urgent care place called last night and said that it was a staph infection. The medicine is working fine. Jonny's toe and foot are looking much better and he should be fully recovered before long.

Entrepreneur

I thought Jimmy was playing video games on our computer when he called upstairs:
"Mom? What's our zipcode?"
I answered, not thinking too much about it. Then he called up:
"Mom? How do you spell our street?"
I froze. What was he up to?
"Jimmy what are you doing?" I called down
"I'm just signing up for Ebay."
"Why?"
"I'm trying to sell my yellow coat."

Yes, his heavy, nicest winter coat that he HATES and fought about wearing everyday last winter. That yellow coat.

Memory Game

I saw this on my friend Holly's site and thought this might be a fun opportunity to see who actually looks at this blog!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Thirsty Girl

Last week or the week before we journeyed up to Pennsylvania to see my brother, his wife and their new baby Elizabeth. We stayed overnight on this visit in a local hotel. My dad (grandpa-diddo I suppose you could call him) came along for this trip and stayed with us. He generously stayed with the kids in the room so Gary and I could have a late night swim (THANKS!). As I finished tucking the kids in bed, Amelia started sobbing uncontrollably. As I was looking forward to the late night swim, I was perhaps not as patient as I should have been.
"what's wrong?"
"I'm thirsty"
"What could you do about that?" I wanted her to realize she was not powerless in this situation. She could get a drink or ask for one. She just kept screaming. So I continued "you could maybe ask for a drink?"
"NO! THIS IS A HOTEL AND THERE'S ONLY COFFEE IN HOTELS!"

I gave her a cup of water. And then joined Gary for a late night swim. I tried the butterfly stroke which I have only ever seen on TV. I got water up my nose but it was loads of fun anyway.

And the new baby, Elizabeth? She's just the cutest little baby that I've seen in a while. Maybe one day I'll get the pictures off of the camera phone and prove it.

One weird apocalypse movie

The other day at dinner, Jimmy told us all about the new movie Wall-E. He has not seen it, but he knows all about it because of its kid-centric Web site.

According to Jimmy, this movie takes place in "the future." To clarify, he specified that Wall-E takes place:

1. Before the Second Coming

BUT

2. After everyone on Earth has died.

I got a good chuckle out of this. Although that sequence is incompatible, I am impressed that Jimmy saw fit to include the Second Coming when thinking about the temporal setting of an animated movie. He's a smart kid and knows the gospel very well, for a seven-year-old.

Ruth's Art Challenge

My niece Ruth got bored this summer and decided to come up with a weekly art challenge for herself to complete. She (or her mom) invited the rest of the family to j0in in. This week's challenge was to draw yourself in a mood. Here's what we came up with, working with paint.

Silly Amelia

This is Amelia, sticking out her tongue and waving her fists. Her eyes shift from blue to green so she calls them "mystery eyes."

Silly Jimmy
Although I caught the kids at different times to do their art work, they both chose "silly" as their mood. Here is Jimmy saying silly words.

Can you guess my mood?! This is a reproduction of a drawing I did last year. Amelia was in a foul mood and had just bitten me really hard. So I suggested we both draw pictures of how we were feeling at that moment, just to air things out. I drew something similar to this, although I think I had bulging eyes in the original. Notice the really big teeth because I hate getting bit. Amelia's was a wobbly circle with lines coming out in every direction. "this is me with a thousand tongues and every tongue is spitting at you" she explained. We then talked about how we can have self control. Even though I felt like a wild woman on the inside, I did not act that way. Even though she FELT like spitting at me, she did not.