Friday Night . . .

Brad was going to be home late, so the kids and I got fast food and then made yummy chocolate milkshakes at home. We sort of have a tradition of watching "Man vs. Wild" on Friday nights, so the kids got a quick bath in before it started.

A Letter from Sawyer

Sleeping Angels

Sawyer has his own bedroom (with a queen size bed), but for months he's been sleeping with Spencer. I think it's cute. Often, all the kids end up sleeping in the same room. That is, when Lucy isn't sleeping in our recliner. After weeks of having her wander in at night, I decided to be prepared and get a picture. The room was totally dark, but when the flash went off, she opened her eyes. So, now I've got it on film and will always remember our bedtime woes with little Lucy. The past few nights, she's come in and wanted to sleep in our bed. I tell her she can sleep in the recliner or in her own bed, and she's chosen her own bed. So, we're making progress.

Mr. Snowman

It started snowing this evening, so Brad and the kids went out to play. We are supposed to be getting 4-6 inches tonight. I hope we don't have another "snowday." It seems Charlie is never in kindergarten with the M/W every other Friday schedule. I have a snowman plaque hanging by my front door that says "Welcome Winter." It definitely needs to be taken down.

I'm still cool...

Yesterday, the weather finally hit the 40's, so Lucy and I decided to ride my bike to the boys' school and surprise them for lunch and recess. It was really fun to watch their reactions. When Sawyer saw us out on the playground, he stopped briefly, said little, and quickly ran off. Spencer gave a more enthusiastic response. He scooped Lucy up into his arms and immediately started calling all his friends over saying, “So and so, this is my little sister Lucy and my mom…” Sawyer eyed us from a distance for a few moments and then came back over. From then on, he said several times, "Mom, you've got to come everyday okay. You could just pack a lunch in the morning and when you drop us off in the morning, you could just stay at the school until lunchtime." That told me a couple things about Sawyer:

1. He still thinks I'm cool to have around and appreciated our surprise.
2. He has no idea what I do all day...

Lucy had packed some grapes and bread for the ride, so she carried those into the lunchroom and felt delighted to eat with her brothers. Spencer motioned for us to come to his table and saved us a chair. Then he introduced us to all his friends. Sawyer joined us as well, which was fun because I know the boys don't usually eat at the same table. I did learn that Spencer doesn’t eat the crust on his bread. Naughty naughty…
The ride home wasn't as enjoyable. After sitting in the lunchroom for 20 minutes, I was feeling sleepy. The outside temperature had dropped and we had to ride against the wind. Lucy fell asleep and it felt like I was just puttsing along. But, knowing that I was “still cool” kept me pedaling and brightened my day.

Easter

You might ask, "Where are the cute pictures of the boys?" And my answer would be, "I didn't get any. They loathe having their picture taken. Plus, they don't get cute new Easter outfits anymore. I used to dress them really cute and coordinated when they were little, but now they only have one boring old Sunday outfit that they wear each week. And when they grow out of it, they hand it down to the next boy. So, basically, Charlie has worn the same looking Sunday outfit for three years in a row!"

Brad was in Utah for Easter and I broke all tradition. The neighbors invited the boys over for an Easter egg hunt earlier in the week, so I figured we'd count that rather than do our own. Saturday, we did do our annual Bunny Buggy project with Twinkies and candy, so I figured I didn't need to fill their baskets with more candy. In fact, I didn't even do baskets this year. The boys said they really wanted more Pokemon cards and so I told them we'd do that in lieu of candy. It wasn't a big deal until we were at the dermatologist's office getting the last of Charlie's plantars warts removed and the PA asked, "So, where did you find your Easter basket Charlie?" He just shrugged and said, "I can't remember..." I felt a split seconds worth of guilt.

And as far as egg decorating? We slipped that in on Sunday afternoon. But, the only ones really interested were Charlie and Lucy. In fact, Spencer and Sawyer used the boiled eggs to create mustard filled egg bombs instead- hoping to throw them off the deck into the woods. Next year I want to actually paint the eggs and let their creativity flow, rather than just dye them. (My sister Emily has inspired me. She and Sean make some pretty impressive painted eggs).

What a night!

With Brad being in Utah, I figured we’d have a very relaxed evening around here, reading, eating cookies, and going to bed early. Lucy hadn’t had a nap, so I figured I may be able to get her down earlier than her usual 11:00pm.

I had just started making cookies with Charlie and Lucy when I noticed Lucy really needed to go to the bathroom. So, I decided to seize the opportunity and encourage her to sit on the toilet. She wasn’t going for it until I told her she could eat a bowl of ice cream while she sat there. That worked, but only if I was in there with her. So, I spent the next hour sitting in the bathroom with Lucy, both of us eating ice cream, but never accomplishing the “going potty” part. Then, Lucy decided she wanted to take a bath, so I sent Spencer to supervise while I finished the cookies. Once that was done, it was after 8:00pm and I was anxious to get Lucy to bed. I told the boys they could get themselves something healthy for dinner and then have some cookies.

Lucy threw a massive tantrum before bed because she wanted to eat cookies too, but I had already brushed her teeth and I figured the bowl of ice cream was enough, so I said “no” and insisted she get into bed. She was really upset about it saying no less than a million times, “I want to eat my cookies! I want to eat my cookies. . .,” until finally she fell asleep around 8:40pm. I was thrilled, thinking the next few hours would be great, just sitting in bed reading, until I drifted off to sleep.

Whenever Brad is out of town, I usually let the boys take turns sleeping in my room. I feel a little more secure having someone by me. Not that they could really “save me from a bad guy” or anything, but it puts my mind at rest. So, as soon as I crawled into bed, all the boys started fighting over who got to sleep in my room first. As that was being decided, Charlie was sobbing about nobody being willing to have a Pokemon battle with him. My patience was wearing thin as the clock was ticking and my idea of a “relaxing evening” was dissipating.

Thankfully, Charlie and Sawyer left to a have “a battle” and Spencer fell asleep in the recliner. Yeah! Quiet at last. I read for a few minutes and went to bed around 10:15pm. At 10:40pm, I awoke to terrible screams. Lucy was crying for cookies again! I got her settled and back to sleep and slipped back into bed. Spencer was in our bed by this point and Charlie and Sawyer had just dragged their sleeping bags in to crash on the floor. A few minutes passed and Lucy started screaming again. This time, I just brought her into my room and said she could sleep in my chair. Moments later, she was in bed with me as well, coughing up a storm. After listening to that for ten minutes, I brought her some cough syrup and water. Then, Charlie came whimpering over, saying he was having nightmares and wanted to get into bed too. At this point, I contemplated sleeping elsewhere. The entire family was in my room, four in the bed, and I was relegated to a twelve- inch space on the very edge. What’s wrong with this picture? Needless to say, I didn’t get out of bed until 10:00am when I called Brad to see how his night went?! He told me he was still sleeping and asked if he could call me back. Sure, no problem. Get your beauty rest!

When I came down this morning, the boys were “sneaking” Game Cube time and Lucy smiled while telling me, “she ate her cookies.” Good for her. I decided to break all norms and have three cookies myself for breakfast. Man, I really let my hair down when Brad’s gone.

Happy Birthday to Charlie- Six Years Old!

Happy birthday to Charlie! We celebrated last night because of another commitment tonight. Charlie wanted donuts for his birthday dessert, so, while the boys were at school, Lucy and I ran last minute errands for the party. I have to share what happened.

As we were leaving Meijer, I put the box of donuts on the bottom rack of the cart so they wouldn’t get smashed. A minute later, while in the middle of a cold, dirty parking lot, the donuts fell off the cart unbeknownst to me and the cart ran over them. I gasped, and quickly bent down to pick up the box. It was upside down, so when I turned it over, all the donuts fell out onto the grime filled pavement. Just then, an elderly couple walked past and said, “Well, I guess you’ll have to feed the birds.” Being under a time crunch, I smiled at them, and the words “ten second rule” immediately came to mind. I thought, “I’m sure they’re not that dirty…after all, there’s only several hundred people a day that drive and walk through this parking lot. I know it’s flu season and all, but what’s a girl supposed to do? I have to be somewhere in ten minutes!” (Okay, now for all you germaphobics, you may want to stop reading here.) So, I scooped up the donuts, dumped them into the box, and just shook my head, smiling. On the way to my next appointment, I kept eyeing the donuts next to me and decided I better try one to make sure they were still edible for the birthday party. After scarfing down a chocolate covered, custard filled long john, I decided they’d be just fine.

The birthday party was great. Charlie was thrilled with all his presents, (only a few of which were on his list) and everyone liked the donuts, despite a little grit. (Although, I did wake up this morning with a sore throat…) When asked, Charlie reported that he had “an awesome birthday. I LOVE everything I got.” Today, he keeps asking when the mailman comes hoping for more surprises. Both Nana and Great Grandma Israelsen sent wonderful cards and Grandma Halverson left a fabulous book on her recent visit.

Charlie is a delight to have in our family. Here are a few things that come to mind unique about him:

1. Every night, he can’t go to sleep until I give him a kiss and a hug and rub his back for a few seconds. The funny thing is that other than that, he doesn’t like to be touched. If I start rubbing his back or shoulders during the day, he always pushes me away like he’s annoyed.

2. Charlie is the best sleeper of the kids. He falls asleep within minutes of touching the pillow and many times will sleep in, in the morning. We appreciate this about him now, but hope he’ll be an early riser when seminary starts in a few years.

3. Charlie is always up for personal interaction and having fun. So, whether we want to play a board game, throw the ball, go for a bike ride, or just play outside, etc, we can count on him to participate.

Well, it looks like I need to end here as Lucy is standing next to me wetting all over the carpet. We’ve finally convinced her to try “big girl panties on”, but haven’t been so persuasive about sitting on the toilet when she needs to go. What’s one more carpet stain? Milk was spilled all over my carpet this morning as Lucy decided to bring the gallon upstairs to me, rather than wait for me to come down. And, a second ago, I stepped in Nesquick powder spread across the kitchen floor. Life is beautiful!

Florida 2008

The Beach

We spent the first two days of our trip on the gulf coast near St. Petersburg, FL. I found a place online called the Sunrise Motel that suited our needs fine. I was a little nervous never having seen it, but luckily it worked out. We spent several hours Friday and Saturday at Fort DeSoto Park. The north beach there was rated #1 in the U.S. in 2005 and we weren't disappointed. Friday, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves with plenty of space to spread out and relax in our beach chairs while the kids played in the sand.

This year, we were prepared with the right gear for the beach. It's so much more comfortable if you have a chair to sit in and good food to eat. We stopped at the local Publix to pack our coolers and buy bright colored chairs before heading to the beach. The kids each got to choose one thing at the grocery store for the family to share, which they loved.

One of the highlights of the day for me was taking a nice long walk along the beach alone, soaking in the rays, and enjoying the therapeutic sound of the ocean. The boys could spend hours digging mud holes in the sand. The weather was perfect and we tried to get as much vitamin D as possible to get us through the next three months in Michigan.

Friday, we noticed a rash on Lucy's face but didn't think much of it. Saturday morning, she woke up with a puffy face and a rash from head to toe. I called Shelly and she called in a prescription for us. Dad or Shelly usually gets a phone call from us whenever we're on vacation. Thanks for always bailing us out guys!

And if the rash weren't enough, Saturday night, Lucy fell out of bed and landed on a tile floor. The next morning, she had a fat, bloody lip, which she seemed to be intrigued with. Sorry sweetie!

Tampa, FL- We visited the MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry)-

The Villas of Grand Cypress- Orlando

One of the perks of Brad's job has been joining him for conferences that cater to families. For the past two years, we've stayed on a private golf course in our own villa. The accomodations are ridiculously nice. They have all sorts of things for kids to do: biking, kayaking, climbing wall, beach, golfing, swimming, waterslide, horseback riding, to name a few. We tried to do something different everyday.

I think the thing I liked the best about our trip was our slow pace. We tried to just enjoy wherever we were and not race to the next activity.

Monday, Brad went to the conference and the rest of us slept in and had a very lazy morning. Around noon we went to the pool. I just loved the beautiful foliage all around us- especially the flowering shrubs.

Monday evening, we biked over to the main resort and enjoyed kayaking on the lake.

Universal Studios

Tuesday morning, I took the kids to Universal Studios and did the Kid Zone while Brad worked. We learned that Lucy really enjoys roller coasters. Around lunchtime, we went home to eat, picked Brad up, and headed back to the park until closing.

Animal Kingdom

Wednesday, late morning, Brad was finished with the conference and we made our way to Disney's Animal Kingdom. The park closed at 6pm so we tried to jam as much in as possible. We all loved the Kilimanjaro Safari where we saw all sorts of cool animals in their "natural" habitat. Brad, Spencer, and I enjoyed the Everest roller coaster and we all enjoyed the Nemo musical- especially Lucy. She's normally terrified of theatres, but was willing to take a gamble when she saw Nemo. It's actually pathetic how well she knows the movie.

Golfing

Thursday morning, we thought about going to Sea World, but Brad and I can only do so many hours at theme parks without getting burned out. So, instead, everyone went swimming while I packed things up and then we headed to the nine hole golf course. We had a few hours to burn before our flight left, so we golfed and then the boys did the climbing wall. This year, Brad and I were smarter and each took two kids golfing. Lucy pretty much just ran back and forth between groups. Nobody else was there and we felt like we were in our own little paradise.

And then... back to reality!