A Progression

E has been losing teeth. Some due to licorice, others jarred loose by apples, they come out with a pop. She doesn't seem to mind, or even notice when they are gone. Check out this progression of photos:
One Gone.We call this the Nanny McFee look.
She seems to enjoy the attention.
Growing up fast! The last one is conference weekend. Thanks Grandma D for getting the photo.

Momentous Occasions

Our first momentous occasion took place earlier this month when James was baptized. He was so excited, and so nervous. I was so proud of him. He sat still and paid such close attention through all the speakers. I could tell it was really important to him. It was a beautiful day. He is a wonderful boy. I love him so dang much!!!

Secondly, all the kids started school today. All four of them. (Yes, my baby's in kindergarten. sniff, sniff.) Aren't they a good looking bunch?

Vacation: Part Three

The next morning we decided to drive to Newport and the Yaquina (Yuh-quin-uh) Bay lighthouse and tide pools where we watched seals and climbed 114 stairs to see the view from the top of the lighthouse.

This was followed by lunch with a view at Georgie’s Grill (fabulous clam chowder). We were going to go to the aquarium, but the weather was so nice we decided to hit the beach instead. If there is one thing I have learned about vacationing on the coast it is this: always be prepared for the beach (even though on this particular day I left Ellie’s suit home, but she was a good sport and happily played in her clothes).

After making the trek down to the beach below my children (can I include Mike in that category) engaged in fun activities consisting of building sandcastles (of course), wave jumping, burying random body parts, sand fights. Mike even tried to recreate his sea-weed lasso. I just enjoyed the sea air by reading a book. It was great!

On the way back to the car we encountered a random drum-circle. Everyone was pounding out their own personal rhythm. It was open to anyone who wanted to join, so of course James had to investigate. (For those of you who have not seen James walk you won’t understand this. James spins and jumps, cartwheels and rolls rather than walking.)

Favorite Quote of the Day: “Everything is about SALAD!” James said angrily with a conductor’s flourish.

The next day we headed to another hike on the Cascade Head Nature Trail. The most noteworthy part of this excursion was the fact that Ellen refused to be in any pictures. At one point we even gave her a camera, and asked her take a picture of Ali and Paris while we huddled around her and Janae tried to snap a photo. She was way too smart to be fooled. Little Punk. However, despite Ellie’s reticence to be in any pictures, the view was beautiful.

After the hike we headed to Neskowin, home of Proposal Rock and the Hawk Creek Café (highly recommended). Because of the nature of this beach, it is a great place to hunt for sand dollars. But the real fun came Ellie and Sophia buried themselves (in an effort to get warm) and then posed for the camera with their sand-filled bodies.

Favorite Quote of the Day: “Mom, I am the Queen of India,” said Ellen.

We spend our last day in Oregon at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, (home of the Spruce Goose). We took a tour of the airplanes for which James, who is ALL wriggle, stood at rapt attention for more than an hour. I love how much that kid loves planes.

Mostly, I think this museum will be remembered for (1) the kids’ first 3D movie, and (2) Ellie’s first ride on a merry-go-round, and (3) the fabulous playground they had outside the museum. All the toys were shaped like rockets, planes, and helicopters. What a hoot!

On the way home we stopped at a farm and picked up some fresh raspberries, fresh blueberries, and some honey. You haven’t tasted blueberries until you’ve had them farm fresh in Oregon.

We ended our vacation with a final tribute to the beach experience . . . we made smores . . . in the microwave. It was a great way to say farewell to the coast.

What a great vacation!

Look What E Can Do

I interrupt the story of our vacation to bring you breaking news.

It took her about five minutes to learn to ride and five years to work up the courage to try. This really is an exciting moment!

Vacation: Part Two

Our journey continued as we left Idaho and headed to Oregon, and our final destination Lincoln City; a trip that would take a mere nine-and-a-half hours (thank Heaven for portable DVD players). After a quick four hour jaunt across Oregon, we took a side trip to the Maryhill Museum located in Goldendale, Washington.

This art museum is housed in a fabulous Georgian-style home built by a man named Samuel Hill. It was a fun stopping place. My favorite part was the exhibit of chess sets from around the world. The workmanship was exquisite. I missed the Rodin because Ellie was too impatient to keep looking, but Mike said it was good. The kids enjoyed the Persian dress exhibition and the sculpture garden. Who knew such artistic taste existed in the middle of nowhere.

We continued our drive along the scenic Columbia River.It was cool to watch people kite surfing. It was great scenery for the long drive. We arrived in Lincoln City around 8 p.m. tired but happy.

The next day was Sunday. We went to church then came back to the house to relax. What did we do to relax you ask? Why, we watched the final Women’s World Cup soccer game. It was a really exciting game (and even though I could feel my blood pressure rising it was still relaxing). I love it when it ends with a shootout! Too bad we lost.

Afterward we went to Regatta Park and played. Then we took a walk on a “nature trail.” The thing I love about Oregon is how green it is. The plants are so prolific. It is so different from Utah.

Of course no trip to the coast would be complete without 85 trips to the beach so that evening, despite the cold and the wind, we went to walk and wade . . . and of course ended up soaked.

On the way to the tide pools, Mike picked up a long piece of washed-up seaweed with a bulb on the end of it, and swung it around like lasso. He thought it would be funny to lasso my feet, so with erring accuracy he let it go and caught Ellie instead. My, oh my, did she cry. Mike, on the other hand, was laughing so hard he couldn’t even explain to me what happened; it wasn’t until later on that evening that he finally explained why Ellie was crying. What a punk.

It was too cold to stay and play at the beach so we went to check out a glass blowing studio (they are everywhere). Very awesome and very warm, a glass blowing furnace is over 2000 degrees.

After a hearty deep-fried lunch of fish and chips from Dorey’s Cove we decided to hike to Deer Creek Falls. It was an easy hike, only about 3 miles round trip. However, the highlight wasn’t the falls, but the suspension bridge you have to cross to get to the falls.

Surprisingly enough, Ellie was the best hiker of them all. I don’t know if it is here innate drive to always win or what, but she is a fast hiker. She and I made it a race on the way back, and we beat everyone else by at least 5 minutes. Never underestimate short legs.

That evening we decided to launch balloon rockets for family night. Who knew you could have so much fun for $2.50. After we put the children to bed, Mike and I decided to end the day with a sunset walk on the beach.

Vacation: Part One

For Christmas my sister Janae treated the whole family to one week in a house on the Oregon Coast. It was to be our first vacation in two years (the same amount of time Mike was in grad school . . . coincidence?). So, on the 15^th we packed up the car and set off for the coast, just the six of us (the rest of the family flew bpbpbpbpbp).

The destination of the first leg of our journey was Meridian, Idaho, the home of my Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Galen. We went by way of two exiting, touristy stops.

Stop one: Shoshone ice cave. (This place oozes tourist trap, but is actually run by the fine state of Idaho.) The cave is between 26 and 29 degrees year round, and the ground is made of a eight-foot thick sheet of ice. Of course, James being the macho man he is immediately declared, “It’s not even cold in here,” and refused to don his jacket.

Legend has it the cave was used as a prison for the daughter of a great Chief when she refused to marry the man her father chose. Some say her ghost still haunts the cave. A watermark bearing the likeness of a man on the rock outside the cave is said to be the chief still watching to make sure she never leaves. Spooky. The kids loved it. According to Anna, it was totally worth the $36 we paid to get in.

From there, we drove north about a thirty minutes to Craters of the Moon National Park. When the kids first saw it they complained that it was “nothing but lava rocks.” Of course Mike had to make the obligatory dinosaur-poo joke which was hilariously funny. Waka waka.

While driving through the park we came across a huge, black mound of lava dust. We took one look at the steep hill and just had to see what was at the top. So up we went.

After that we headed to a group of lava-tube caves. Ellie, sporting a fabulous headlamp, led the way. As soon as we entered the first cave it started to rain, so we had a great excuse to stay and explore. The kids were in heaven, there were so many places to climb. They shimmied through small places, and found new ways to get from here to there.

On the way back to the car, we had to take a new route through the lava field. There were so many places to hide. While the kids were busy playing, Mike hid in a small lava cave and patiently waited for one of them to walk by. Anna was the lucky one. Just as Anna walked by, Mike let out a deep growl. The resulting scream was very satisfactory, and we all had a good laugh and headed back to the car to continue our journey.

We finally made it to Meridian around 9 p.m. Naturally, we decided to go swimming. The kids swam and played with the cousins until 10, then we had a late supper, played some more, and finally made it to bed around midnight. It was a long but really great day.

Power Struggle #564

Kindergarten registration requires a urinalysis. That means asking your five-year-old to pee in a cup. My youngest child, Ellie, turned five in December. She went for her kindergarten physical in January. She took one look at that cup and her iron-clad bladder refused to produce. Despite the fact the doctor kept saying, “We only need a few drops.” I knew that this rather inflexible child was not going to turn out even one drop, even if it meant she couldn’t pee for a week. So I decided to wait, and collect the urine at home. (Are you grossed out yet? It gets better.)

For months I have tried to incentivize the urine collection. I have offered ice cream, candy, movies, and sleepovers with grandma but to no avail. Instead of peeing in the cup, Ellie would craftily say, “Mom, I have to do something. I’ll be right back.” Then, she would sneak into the bathroom, do her business, and come back with an innocent face thinking she had gotten away with the deception. I let it go.

But Friday I decided was the day. No more excuses. It was time to fight the you-will-pee-in-the-cup-today-no-matter-how-much-you-cry battle. I started off the morning by providing as many drinks as possible, but the girl must have some kind of sixth sense because she hardly drank a thing. We went to the park, played out in the heat, and worked up a thirst. Still she insisted she was not thirsty. When we came home for lunch I informed her that we were going to try the cup but she insisted she didn’t need to go. HA!

Ellie then informed me that what she really wanted was privacy. I told her I was pretty sure she needed my help. So, in order to save Ellie’s modesty I ended up with headphones in my ears, music blaring, and my eyes squeezed shut. In essence, I was to pretend I was not there. After standing awkwardly for several minutes, pretending to be invisible, Ellie loudly declared she did not need to go. We’ll see about that I thought, and upstairs we went.

I walked straight to my emergency-supplies drawer and pulled out a can of Sprite. I poured the Sprite into a glass with ice, and added a straw. Ellie looked at it and said, “I’m not thirsty.” Did my sugar addict just refuse Sprite . . . with a straw? I could see she saw right through my plan to make her drink until she couldn’t hold it. So, naturally I did what any other overly-tired-of-this-power-struggle parent would do; I picked a battle and insisted that she drink the Sprite right now!

“My tummy hurts,” Ellie declared.

“Sprite is just the thing for a hurt tummy.” I replied.

“I don’t feel good. I think I better take a nap.”

Take a nap? Are you kidding me? This child really is desperate. “I want you to take five swallows.”

“No, mommy! (Insert blubbering here.) I don’t like it.”

“One.”

“Okay, just don’t count.”

This discussion went back and forth like a tennis match, and for once I was more stubborn than Ellie. After being coerced into taking five sips, she finally declared she needed to go to the bathroom. So, I grabbed my ipod and a piece of Rubbermaid and walked into the bathroom with my eyes closed and attempted to catch the pee. And guess what???? It finally happened. I was so happy and so was Ellie who afterward declared, “That was so easy!”

I put a lid on the container and set it on the counter so I would remember it when we went to the doctor’s office that afternoon (to get a shot, but that’s another story). Unfortunately, (here comes the irony) my valiant struggle was in vain because by the time we made it to the doctor the sample was too old, so I just decided to forget it. There’s a time limit on these things? Hello! I guess we’ll just have to try again next year.

Ta Dum!

Finals are over. I keep waiting for that "everything is finally over" high, but it hasn't come yet. Does that mean I am getting old?

On a brighter note, I got my car back today. It looks fabulous without the dent. The only problem is, I may have difficulty identifying my Honda Pilot in parking lots ;).

Sometimes when we spend time listening and learning about other peoples challenges, we walk away sharing some of the pain, leaving others with less.

Big #5

Ellie turned five recently and had her first friend birthday party. There were five little girls, one for each year of Ellie's life. It was a princess party of course. The girls dressed up, made crowns, played stick the kiss on the frog, had a treasure hunt and of course ate castle cake.


Unfortunately, Ellie did not really appreciate my version of the cake. Ellie was not home when I put the cake together and I was not home when she saw the cake for the first time so I suppose there was a small communication gap. However, I was told the moment Ellie saw the cake she burst into tears saying, "That's not how I wanted it." Luckily, when it came time to blow out the candles she didn't look too disappointed.

Happy Birthday Sis!