Carter

Carter still has never had a professional take his pictures. Poor, neglected fourth child. One day, he and I were sitting on the trampoline while the kids were terrorizing the next door neighbors, and I decided to grab Jeff's camera and take some pictures of my own. I am no professional, but I did get a couple shots that I think are pretty cute. And maybe Carter won't feel quite so neglected when he gets older and his scrapbook is a fourth the size of Damon's (that is, if he even gets a scrapbook. Something else I need to get working on!).

I love the profile shot. Those chubby cheeks and tiny lips! Cute only on a baby!

The only one I could get of him smiling. In the future, I definitely need an assistant (meaning: one of the children) to get him to smile for me. He has a great smile and a cute little dimple, but you can't really see it here.

I think this is my favorite one of all. So serious. Yet I just want to eat him for dinner.

Labor Day + Domesticity

I know I'm behind. I just haven't felt very "bloggy" lately. That needs to change.

On Labor Day we took the kids on a short hike to Escalante's Cross up Spanish Fork Canyon. This cross marks the spot (the supposed spot) that Father Escalante stood at and surveyed the valley in 1776. Look closely, you can see Carter "waving."

Carter spent most of the hike riding in comfort. Here he is nearly asleep.

Also, people have been telling me lately that my hair is getting really long. I thought we'd use a comparison here. This was last June:

And this was recently. It's a little hard to see, but you can tell it's pretty far down my back. I may have 8 inches to cut off. We'll see how I feel about that...

With Allie in school in the afternoons, and Carter sleeping, Kyla is trying to figure out what to do with herself every day. We alternate between playing Starfall, watching kid shows, playing together and reading books. Today, after we watched Pinky Dinky Doo, I asked her to tell me a story. She told me three. They were all about someone going to the store to buy candy. Or gum. And sharing with everyone. Except for "the chubby bubby, because he would choke," as she put it. It made me laugh. Two Wednesdays a month I am going to help in Allie's class and she gets to come with me. Tomorrow is our first time. I know she thinks she should be in kindergarten, so we'll see how she does as a "helper."

Also, a word about Bountiful Baskets. I have been doing it for a while now, and I must say, it has changed the way we eat (in a good way). Because we get so much produce, we have to eat some every day so it doesn't go bad, and I am forced to figure out how to cook things we haven't ever eaten before. Today I made some Sweet Potato Muffins because we got sweet potatoes two weeks in a row. Tonight we're going to have Butternut squash with our meal, and I have to work in several other fruits and veggies the rest of the week. Jeff brought home some blackberries from work (someone brought them in) and so I need to make him a Blackberry Cobbler tonight.

AND, someone left a bushel of peaches on our driveway and so I spent yesterday making freezer jam. I have 12 small jars and 2 big jars of peach jam. Hopefully enough to last us until next year, and tasty enough to give the neighbors for Christmas. The goal is to can the rest of the peaches, but I need help with that, so we'll see if that gets done. Aren't I all domestic? Maybe I will make a good Mormon woman after all. Time will tell.

First day and Seven Months

Damon started school last week, his first day of third grade. He has a thing for the color yellow, so of course he chose this shirt to wear. Truth be told, he wore it again on Monday and tried to wear it again today, but I convinced him it needed to be washed.

He is loving third grade and has already started learning times tables. I remember third grade very well, so it's crazy to me that I have a third grader. Weird. Damon has several girls who like him, and he pretends that he doesn't care, but I know the truth. He loves the attention.

Allie didn't start Kindergarten until Wednesday, a full week after Damon started. She was so excited. And she has loved it. I knew she would. Allie has really amazed me this year, and is going to be great in school. She reads better than Damon did when he started Kindergarten, which really surprised me. She has picked it up so easily.

Kyla is the one who is left out this year. Poor girl, as soon as Allie leaves in the afternoon, she has to entertain herself. I made some play dough for her on Wednesday and the mess that followed the next two days have convinced me that we won't be doing that again for a while. Kyla needs a lot of work on her own academic skills, so I am planning on using a day or two a week to focus on "preschool" needs of her own. I just couldn't justify sending her to preschool this year. We'll worry about that next year.

Carter celebrated his seven month birthday by getting his six month shots. Boo. I hate shots, and Carter did too. He didn't smile for over 24 hours and slept a lot. Slowly, he's coming back to himself. I missed him. At his appointment, he weighed 21 lbs 4 oz, so slightly less than Damon at the same age. Still, 90th percentile. 27 1/2 in long (65th) and 44.2 cm for head (50th).

Carter has really enjoyed eating solid food. In fact, that is all he wants. The doctor told me he should be drinking 28-30 oz of formula a day, and it has been hard to get him to take 24. So, he is taking a break from solid foods, and only gets them as a reward for drinking all his bottle. Sheesh! Who would have thought that green beans or oatmeal would be a reward for drinking your milk?

Some of his favorites are things I put in his "net," like mangos, plums and bananas. But I think the very best thing I have ever offered him was a graham cracker. That kept him quiet for 5 minutes, and he devoured it. Yum!


I trimmed his hair after this picture, as it was getting a little long on top. He cried when he heard the clippers coming near his head. Yep, he's still a sissy.



He sits up great now, never falls over, and is getting closer to crawling. I set him up by Jeff's lizards this morning, and he really enjoyed his "Baby TV" time. He sleeps through the night pretty consistently, from around 8:00-7:30 or so. It didn't take long of him crying it out to figure it out. Occasionally he will wake up, but he'll cry for a bit and then fall back asleep. He takes 3 naps a day, one around 1 1/2 hours, one a long one, at least 2-3 hours, and then another short one in the evening. Boy likes to sleep. Just not at church (he'll fall asleep, but never sleep longer than 20-30 minutes. After he wakes up, he'll be happy for 20-30 minutes and then be ready for another nap. It's tiring for us all).

For comparison, I took a picture of Carter in the same position as Damon at seven months. One of these babies was breast fed, the other bottle fed. See any differences?

#2 saved

Dear Tiny Baby,

I made it to 11 weeks. I had my true "first" appointment on Monday, where we got another peek at you on the ultrasound. Your heart was beating at 171 beats a minute, and I have to admit, I was a little surprised that this past month wasn't actually an incredibly nauseating dream. You're measuring with a due date of March 23rd, so that's what we're going with.

We still haven't told anyone you're coming (other than Eric and the Sumners), and I don't feel any rush to announce it yet. I don't know why. Things look completely fine with you. I just want to keep it to myself for a little longer.

The nausea has been worse, but still mostly manageable. It's like having a headache--most of the time you notice it's there, and it's mildly uncomfortable, but it doesn't really interfere with your daily life. Occasionally, though (typically after 4:00 pm), it gets more and more noticeable and does interfere with life. I have probably only thrown up 10 times, but that is 10 times too many in my opinion! Again, the sickness is by far worst at night, although it can happen anytime. The best thing I can do for the nausea is suck on hard candy, most specifically, lemon heads. The sour usually takes the edge off, and I don't feel like I need to throw up anymore. Smells are still hard, though, and anything the least bit strong is offensive.

I am extremely tired during the day. I don't know if it's the unisom I take at night, or just the pregnancy, but I usually fall asleep during the afternoon. And sometimes I go back to bed in the morning if I am really dragging. The kids are good to put up with me. And good to play by themselves for a little while.

Although no one has said anything, my body is already changing. My tummy pokes out a little, and I am always trying to suck it in. One night Allie patted me on the tummy and said, "you look like you're pregnant again!" Ha! Observant little thing. I weigh 6 pounds more than the first appointment I had with Carter last year. Dang it for not getting rid of those last few pounds! They are going to come back to haunt me, I can feel it!

Critters

A video clip of the animals that have made their way into our house. The snake was found next door, by the neighbor, but Damon instantly took possession.

I also tried about 5 times to upload the video of the bird that made its way into our garage. But an error keeps occurring, and for some reason, just trying to upload it again hasn't worked. Boo. Here is a picture of it.

In Threes

After Kyla burned her leg, I kept wondering to myself what was going to be next. The Rule of Three (bad things come in threes) kept creeping up, and although I hoped we'd avoid it, in the back of my mind I knew something else was going to happen to her.

In her defense, this accident was entirely someone else's fault. Next door to us there is a house being built, and on Sunday night, the kids were playing over by the dumpster. Damon was picking out pieces of 2x4's to build with and tossing them onto our grass. Kyla was standing there innocently. And, of course, because her magnetic north is attracted to accidents, one of the blocks hit her right on top of the head.

I looked over when I heard her crying and there was a lot of blood. It took quite a while, but we got the blood to stop, and we got a look at the gash on her head. Really, it wasn't that big. About an inch long (it went farther into her hair line than you can see here) and only medium deep. We put pressure on it for a long time, telling ourselves that she didn't really need to go to the hospital, but would be fine.

Eventually, we did consult with an expert (our brother in law is an ER nurse and in training to become a nurse practitioner), and he thought it needed a couple of staples. And he could do them at his house. So, I took Kyla over there, where she got three shots of litocaine (which made her giggle nervously) and two staples.

Thankfully (AGAIN), she is tough, and she didn't cry during the procedure. Just another battle wound to talk about when she's older. And hopefully, now that the Law of Three has been fulfilled, she will remain accident free for at least another couple months.

That, though, was probably not the most traumatic event from Kyla's life last week.

We had my parents in town last week for Education Week, and although they were gone a lot during the day, the kids got spoiled by having them here at nights. On Friday, they had to leave to go back home, and we stood out on the grass to say good-bye. But as soon as they rounded the corner, Kyla felt abandoned. And she let us know.

It's hard to be three...

Ten Years

Ten years ago today I made the best choice I have ever made.

Those of us who are lucky enough to have found "the one" probably get the question, "How did you know he was 'the one?' " I didn't know until I chose him.

When Jeff and I were dating, I knew I loved him. If you've read my blog, you already know that part of the story. For those newcomers, here is a quick summary: I thought I KNEW I was going on a mission, so Jeff and I broke up. And the three weeks that followed that break-up were painful and hard and miserable, to say the least. I was so confused about why I wasn't feeling any peace. And then I went to visit my bishop.

He told me that trying to choose between two things presented just that--an opportunity to choose. And he gave me some great counsel. He told me not to feel bad if I chose Jeff, that making a decision to marry a wonderful man in the temple wasn't the wrong decision. But it was a decision I needed to be willing to make. And that changed everything for me. I realized that I could choose Jeff, and maybe that was what I should have realized all along. I knew by choosing Jeff I was giving up everything--and everyone--else. But it suddenly felt right. And luckily for me, he was willing to take me back.

And on August 19, 2000 we chose to make it official. And I know now, better than I did then, that it was the best choice I could have ever made.

Here is one reason I am so sure. A couple of years ago, we were at a Valentine's Day party where we were playing the Newlywed Game (the fact that Jeff agreed to do that proves that he really loves me:). The question the boys answered, the one that we were trying to match, was "Which person, living or dead, would you like to have lunch with?" Typical question. But I couldn't think of anyone Jeff would want to have lunch with. I don't even remember who I came up with, but I was wrong. He looked at me, as though he couldn't believe I didn't guess it, and showed me his card. It said, "Krystal." Nothing he could have ever said meant more to me than that. Out of anyone in the world, living or dead, he wanted to spend time with me. The person he saw more than anyone else.

How could I possibly have made a better choice than Jeff? The answer: I couldn't. And that's why I am so lucky.

Here we are at Snowbird, where we celebrated our anniversary this year. It was also the place we celebrated our first anniversary. And this time around we have exactly 2 more pictures than the first time.

Happy anniversary Jeff! I love you!

#1 saved

Dear Baby,

Where to start? At the beginning. I knew I wanted another baby. Dad agreed, but he didn't want to wait for a year. He wanted to get you here so we could start enjoying you. I only agreed because I was convinced it would take me several months to get back to normal, and I knew I wouldn't be able to get pregnant as quickly as dad wanted.

Nearly two weeks after I expected to start my period, I finally broke down and bought a pregnancy test on my way home from Amanda's shower. I had the test out, and I went into the bathroom, about to take the test, when I saw the first tell tale signs of my period starting. Relieved, I shared the news with your dad. By morning, though, I wasn't experiencing a typical period, and I decided I would take the pregnancy test just to rule out the slim possibility that I could be pregnant. Instantly, the two lines appeared. I sat, stunned, unsure what to do next. It was the first time I had hoped for a negative pregnancy test, as I just didn't think I was ready to do this all again. Dad came home for lunch, and I shared the news with him, crying and telling him I didn't think I could do this. He assured me that everything would be okay and we should be excited.

For a few days, I lived in denial. It was easier that way. If I didn't think about it, I didn't have to deal with it. By Saturday, the 24th of July, I started bleeding again, and this time I was sure it was the beginning of a miscarriage. I was mostly relieved, but a tiny bit sad, and I was surprised to find that I had actually become a little attached to the idea, but realizing that this was probably God's way of letting me know that we just weren't ready. And I agreed.

We left to go on our family trip, and I still had some bleeding for 4 days, but nothing that would suggest that I was miscarrying. And by the time we returned home, the bleeding had stopped, and the nausea had begun. I started to wonder if it were possible that I was still pregnant. So I took another test. And this one was positive, too. Monday morning, I called my doctor's office and they scheduled me for an ultrasound that afternoon. That was a nerve racking day. I wasn't sure what I wanted to find out, but prayed that whatever the answer was, it would be what was right.

A quick ultrasound revealed that you were, in fact, in there. Small as a blueberry, but a beating heart. And I learned that we really were going to do this all again.

I have felt so many emotions connected with this experience; I wasn't ready to be pregnant. I still have a few extra pounds from Carter that I wanted to lose before doing this again. I wanted to enjoy my baby boy a little more without having to be sick and miserable. And I REALLY didn't want to get fat again so soon.

But I also realize that those are selfish reasons not to have a baby. We have so much love in this home (more than I ever realized) and we are excited. We are lucky to have you coming in seven short months.

And things have not been as bad as before. I have been taking Unisom and B6 every night, and I have only thrown up once so far. I still feel yucky most of the time, but I think I am going to make it through without as many throw ups as previous pregnancies. I am tired a lot, but nothing I can't handle. And my tummy is already sticking out. That's what I get for not getting completely back into shape before doing this again. But your dad has assured me that after you are born I can spend that time getting to where I want to be.

It will still be a few weeks before we share this news with family and friends, but I want you to know how much I love you already. It may not seem real all of the time, but I have done this enough to know what to expect. And you can expect all the love a mother has to offer.

Sixth Month Burn

One of my children burned his/her leg on the lawn mower. Any guesses as to which one?

Correct. It was Kyla.

It was (still is) pretty bad, second degree, and slow to heal. But amazingly she didn't cry hardly at all, and has been so tough. The only complaint I heard from her was one day when she was mad about her popsicle breaking, and she threw it across the yard. When I wouldn't give her mine, she started wailing, stopping only to inform me, "By the way, my owie hurts," and then continued her crying fest. It happened a week ago and it is finally scabbing over (I probably shouldn't have let her swim twice this week, but how could I exclude her?) and looking like it will be okay.

In other news, Carter is now six months old. And I am still loving on him

He started getting very interested in food this month, and makes it nearly impossible to eat while holding him if you don't want to share. He has done well with everything I have given him (rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, applesauce, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans), and can't wait to try more. He especially likes people to give him ice cream and popsicles and although I say no, his sisters are likely to sneak him some when I'm not looking.

He's still chubby, which I love. One morning we were all lying in my bed, and Kyla started whining. I asked her what's wrong, and she said, "Damon's not sharing the chubby bubby!"

Here you can see his prepubescent man boobs (moobs, if you will), although he doesn't seem too self-conscious about them.

He is rolling from his back to his tummy (he far prefers this over the other way around), and is constantly getting himself stuck in bed. I have to go in, roll him back to his back, and give him is binky. Last night he was up from 3:30-5:00, and even though I let him cry for 30 minutes, he still refused to give up and roll over. Now that he isn't getting up to eat anymore, it's time to institute the cry it out method. He'll learn eventually. Or his little arms will give out and he'll fall asleep from exhaustion, one of the two.

He is trying to sit and can do it for seconds at a time. But he doesn't like to do it because I may have once let him tip over and hit his head (on the rug) and now he gets uncomfortable anytime I set him on his behind.


Mostly, he is a happy baby. As long as he gets enough sleep, enough to eat, and plenty to suck on, he is a sweetheart. Just make sure he gets what he wants. Because if something is missing, he will let you know. And keep letting you know until you make it right. I can't believe it is half a year old!

Trip Advisor

I have been putting off writing this post about our trip for two reasons; one, it's going to be super long and probably somewhat boring, and two, I don't have the pictures Jeff took and I haven't been able to find them on his computer. But I had to start writing before I forgot everything, so here goes.

DAY 1-We drove from Orem to Ouray, Colorado, about an hour and a half outside Grand Junction. Ouray is a gorgeous town nestled in a valley in the San Juan mountains. It really is stunning. Someone nicknamed it "Switzerland of America" and since I've never been to Switzerland, I'll have to take their word.

We got there around 4:00 with plans to stop at the hot springs pool to swim. It was cloudy, and threatening rain, so we were unsure whether we should actually brave it or not. We decided it give it a try, and forked over the $10 each (less for the kids) to swim in a pool that uses water from the hot springs. The shallow end was 96 degrees, nice and toasty, and we were actually glad it was overcast and a little cool outside so we didn't feel like we were roasting. We had a good time swimming for a couple hours, then loaded back in the van and drove to Durango, CO. It was a gorgeous drive through the mountains, and Jeff stopped along the way to get this shot.

We checked into our hotel in Durango and had the world's worst dinner at KFC at around 8:30 that night. Our kids forget their "restaurant manners" completely, and the 10 extra minutes we had to wait for grilled chicken turned into a nightmare. Carter wouldn't stop crying no matter what I did, and by the time we left, Jeff and I swore we were through taking our kids out in public. But the week was just beginning...

DAY 2- We had reservations on the Durango/Silverton train at 9:45. It is one of the oldest trains in the west, daily making the 45 mile trip from Durango to Silverton. We thought it would be an awesome experience and booked it. The 3.5 hour trip to Silverton was great. The scenery was beautiful, time went by quickly, and no one seemed bored at all. Once we got to Silverton, we hoped we would be able to explore the old mining town before getting back on the train. We were disappointed. Silverton is nothing more than a giant tourist trap. There are lots of cute buildings and shops, but everything is overpriced, the food isn't that great, and there was nothing authentic about it at all. We loaded back on the train at 2:30, expecting to get back to Durango by 7:00. But we had a lot of delays on the way back, including a 30-45 minute stop while a rock the size of a small truck was removed from the tracks. By the time we made it back, it was 8:00, and we were all more than a little anxious to get off the train. Eight hours in one day is asking a little much, even with the beautiful scenery, candy to eat, and games to play on mom and dad's phones. Here we are posing in front of the engine in Silverton.

This was the car we rode on, an open gondola car with the seats facing out. This was before we started, when the kids were still in good spirits.

Overall, I wouldn't do it again. If you were interested in riding the train, I would seriously advise paying the extra $17 to ride the bus back (although at $81 for an adult, and $50 for a child, that extra $17/person really makes it an expensive day). You would save 2 hours off the return trip, but still get all the enjoyment of riding on a train through the mountains.

After we got off the train, we drove to Mesa Verde National Park, where we were camped for the night. Because of our late arrival, we ended up setting up camp in the dark and going to bed shortly after. The air mattress Jeff and I were sleeping on sprang a hole, and we were sleeping on nothing but the ground by morning. I literally had a bruise on my lower back the next day. Quickly, we decided that we needed to find another air mattress before our next night of camping.

DAY 3-We spent the day at Mesa Verde, taking tours of some pretty amazing Pueblo Indian ruins. We toured Balcony House in the morning and Cliff Palace in the afternoon. It really was quite amazing. The only downside was having to go in a group tour, and listening to the guide talk about the Indian people for an hour each tour. The kids were ever so bored, not particularly caring that most of the women got married between 12-14 and only lived to their mid-twenties, or that 50% of babies died in childbirth. They just wanted to climb the ladders and get a closer look at the ruins. This was our first tour of the day, and the only way to the ruin was up this 32 foot ladder. The kids did amazingly well. They are good climbers. Carter took the easy way on Jeff's back in the backpack.

We decided to skip our last planned hike to Spruce Tree House, as the kids had had their fill of Indian ruins for the day. We drove instead back to Utah, stopping in Cortez, CO when I saw a WalMart. There we got more ice for the ice chest and a new air mattress for Jeff and me. I've only been more excited to see a WalMart once in my life. We had planned to camp near Bluff, UT, but we must have blinked as we drove through it, because we missed anything that resembled a campground. Instead, we drove to Mexican Hat, where we hoped to find a place to eat. As it was starting to get dark once again, we opted for frozen burritos from the gas station. And I must admit, they tasted fantastic. We drove a little further, to a place called Goosenecks of San Juan, where we looked and looked for a campground that we had seen on the map. Finally, as the sun was setting, we located it, and set up camp once again.

This was a much better night of camping, on a full air mattress with my ear plugs in, although I did wake up once sure there was an animal outside our tent. Jeff assured me it was just the wind, but I didn't sleep particularly deeply after that.

DAY 4-We spent this day in the middle of nowhere. Technically, it was Cedar Mesa, between Bluff and Blanding, UT, but I think it was more likely the middle of nowhere. We took the kids on a hike to some more Indian ruins, this one called "Fallen Roof," in a place called Road Canyon. It ended up being longer and more strenuous than we anticipated, but the kids didn't complain much. It took us about 2.5 hours round trip to make it back to the car. We were all tired (I carried Carter in the backpack for this one) and dirty, but it was actually a lot of fun.
Here is our family shot. Carter, who didn't get to take a good nap for many days, was ready to leave, and Damon was trying to comfort him.

He did like to snack on an apple, though, although he mostly just sucked and drooled and made a huge mess. I guess that's what roughing it is all about...


And here is the shot Jeff got. Pretty cool.

We also stopped by National Bridges National Monument, where we drove through the park, ate lunch, and looked at some natural bridges (different from arches, in that they are made from running water) from the viewpoints. No one wanted to hike anymore, so we continued on our way.

We drove to Blanding and checked into our motel there. I put Carter to bed in the room and took the other three kids to the pool, while Jeff stayed with Carter. I tried to keep them there as long as possible, so Carter could get one good nap in, and we probably made it at least an hour and half. Kyla, who thinks she is invincible, climbed on the railing that leads into the pool and fell straight down on her face. She bit her lip and scraped her face a little bit, but was back in the pool within 10 minutes. The water felt as warm as the hot springs pool, and was actually too warm for me.

We went back to the room, showered, and walked next door to Old Tymers Restaurant where we had dinner. I am glad to report that our "restaurant manners" were much better this night, and the kids were rewarded with an old time stick of candy (like a flavored candy cane, only in stick form) from the restaurant. We relaxed in our room, as the kids watched The Suite Life of Zach and Cody (I heard Jeff chuckle once or twice, too) and then we drifted off to sleep.

DAY 5-We checked out of our hotel and drove to another hike Jeff wanted to do. He promised this one would be shorter and not as hard as Fallen Roof. So we headed into another canyon to another ruin called "House on Fire." The kids were not quite so eager to hike this day. There was far less climbing and far more walking than our hike the previous day, and it gave them a lot of time to remember how tired and thirsty they were. But we made it, and were once again rewarded with a cool view.


Here is Kyla posing in the doorway of the house.

We then drove to Monticello, where we stopped at a park for lunch. The kids had a great time playing at the skate park, sliding around on their behinds and socks. Monticello seems like a cool little town, and we have talked about going back. Then, we drove the 45 miles or so to Moab, where we set up camp for the night. Jeff wanted to do one more hike, but no one would go with him. So, he hiked to a place called False Kiva in Canyonlands while we waited for him back on the road. He went fast, and made it back in just over an hour. I definitely want to hike there when we go back, it looks so pretty.


We drove back to Moab, had a quick dinner at Burger King, then took the family to Despicable Me at the theater. Jeff didn't get to enjoy much of the movie, because Carter wasn't cooperating, but the rest of us really enjoyed it. We drove back to our campground on the way to Canyonlands, and went to bed.

DAY 6-Our last morning started before sunrise. Jeff wanted us all to experience sunrise at Dead Horse Point, so we got up at 6:00 and got to the lookout just as the sun was coming up. Allie wasn't too thrilled to be there (she is NOT a morning person), but she warmed up once we busted out the chocolate chips muffins. I don't know why Kyla is looking sad, she was actually quite happy to be there.


As the morning wore on, the clouds dissipated, and Jeff got a really great shot of Dead Horse Point.

Really, it was quite spectacular, and a nice way to end our trip.

We went back to camp, loaded up, and headed home. And despite a 45 minute delay in Spanish Fork Canyon, we still made it home by 1:00.

Phew. Are you still with me? That was a lot, I know. But it needed to be documented. Looking back, I can't believe we did all that we did with four small kids. And they really were very well-behaved, except those few times we'd rather forget. Kyla kept us laughing with all the funny things that she said. Here are a few of my favorites:

She laughed a funny laugh I had never heard before and I asked her what that was, to which she responded, "That's my fancy laugh."

She told us multiple knock-knock jokes, but the best one was about a bear dancing around in a bikini.

While we were cleaning up camp, she yelled to Damon and Allie, "Come get your pillows, you women!"

And..."If Allie drinks lots of root beers, she'll have a fat baby."

I don't know where she came up with all of that, but we were highly entertained.


Some other facts:

We brought a dry ice chest full of food and one with ice for drinks. Because of that, and the two continental breakfasts at hotels, we only had to buy one meal a day. It worked out very nicely, but the kids were sick of meat/cheese/crackers, and Allie wouldn't touch lemonade by the end of the trip, but it really helped us with our budget and our flexibility, being able to stop and eat whenever we wanted to.

I read The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo to the family as we drove (she is the author of Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn Dixie, if her name sounds familiar). That was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. The book was a good length for us, and enjoyed by all.

Really, there was not a lot of fighting on the trip. Probably the biggest fights were over what movie they were going to watch in the car. And the fighting between Jeff/me and the kids all had to do with lying still and going to sleep at night. I was amazed at how much fun we had together. I think it bodes well for trips in the future.

I lost my pillow in Durango (it got left on the bed as we were packing) and my shoes in Blanding. The pillow was my fault. I think my shoes were stolen. I thoroughly searched the room before we left, concluding that I must have packed them, but we got home and no shoes. I did the second hike in my flip flops. It was an adventure. Somewhere, some maid at the Comfort Inn in Blanding is sporting some nice Adidas shoes. :(

Rock Jar

We've been gone for a week on our family trip. Miss me?

As you can imagine, I have much to document in way of our travels. But Jeff is currently editing the photos, as he was the camera man for the trip, so that will have to wait. I did want to post something that happened before we left.

My friend, Heather W., had an amazing idea about how to reward kids for their positive behavior, instead of focusing on the negative. We stole this idea from her. I had an empty jar and an ample supply of fishtank rocks. Any time we caught the kids being good (obeying the first time they were asked, helping each other out, etc), we rewarded them with a rock in the jar. They could also earn a rock in the jar every day all their jobs get done. Even still, with a plethora of opportunities to earn rocks, it took the kids nearly a year to fill the jar.

And so, when it came time to pay up, we knew it had to be something good. The kids decided on bowling and ice cream. Yes, they may be a tad deprived if they are willing to work for a year for one night of bowling and ice cream, but so be it.

We invited my brother, Eric, to come along, because let's face it, any time the number of adults come close to equaling the number of children, it's a good thing.

We went to BYU, because that is our favorite place to bowl. It brings back fond memories to Jeff, who took a bowling class there while we were dating. It wasn't crowded at all, and no one yelled at us when Damon's ball somehow jumped the gutter from our lane and started rolling down the lane next to us, prompting Damon to take off at a sprint to retrieve his ball. Yes, friends, BYU is a great place to bowl. At least in the summer when most of the sane students are selling pest control. Or getting married.

Kyla couldn't keep herself from picking the balls off the rack and dropping them on the ground. It was fun for her. And she always wanted to use the heaviest balls when it was her turn to bowl.


Jeff opted for his own bowling shoes. And his own bowling ball. Consider him economical.

And although Jeff racked up the best score of the night, Damon was the one with the most strikes. He had three. And the girls celebrated with him. If you look closely, you can see Kyla's mouth in the middle of the hoopla.

It was a fun night. Which we proved by making silly faces. And pretending to lick the ball.

Frozen yogurt was consumed after the bowling, and Damon made sure to get his money's worth. I'm sure his cost over $5.00 alone after he somehow filled his dish with every kind of yogurt before I gave him the "only take a little" speech. Oh well. I guess when you have to wait for a year, you take what you want.

Now the rock jar sits empty again. I'm not sure how motivating it will be to put rocks in it again. We shall see...