I'll Deny Everything

When Micah was about 3 months old, I dropped him. It was horrible. I was on my way home from church carrying him and tripped and dropped him on the sidewalk. One of those mother of the year moments. I cried. He cried. I felt awful for days. I still shudder thinking about it. How could I be trusted with this child? I think I'll always wonder if, you know, he's ok up there!? Did I as his mother mess him up for life? However, if it ever comes up and he asks me or starts to blame me for damaging brain cells, I'll deny everything and say, "No, son. No, that's from the time you bowled with your head." Pushing a bowling ball down the ramp with your head. That's got to do more brain damage than an innocent mother dropping you at three months, right? Or is it a direct result of.....

Canning Jars

I think every kid naturally feels picked on. My kids think I'm a strict mom that makes them do lots of work. I know for a fact that I don't make them work more than their fair share around here. They do a few (easy) jobs each morning and then spend the remainder of their days conjuring up ways to make the largest mess and undo the work we just did as quickly as possible (ok, they have great imaginations, I shouldn't complain but Phil must wonder how the house gets the way it does each day!)

I grew up on what we called"Fruit Loop Lane". We had a fabulous peach orchard and a huge garden. As a child I can remember working, hard. I admit we felt picked on. NO other kids had to go weed the orchard and snip beans ALL day. No one else had to practice the piano and iron shirts for 25 cents a piece (maybe if Phil paid me this rate he'd see more ironing!) We spent family home evenings cleaning up old people's yards and summer evenings husking and shucking corn. My parents are hard workers (the hardest I know) and they either wanted to instill in us a love of hard work or make us allergic to it. The only kids who had it worse were our neighbors, the Frandsens. Man, they worked HARD!

I'm not sure how they did it, but so many of those memories of working are also some of my fondest childhood memories. I can remember the family gathering around husking corn and trying to trick each other into sitting on the chair with the hose on it. I can remember staying up till midnight putting that same corn into freezer bags, but happy to be spending the time together. I can remember being out weeding the orchard and just laughing hysterically with my little brother. I remember snipping beans while watching "I love Lucy" in the FAMILY ROOM, but only if we were on blankets and picked up every snip. I can remember how good it felt to do some work for my grandma who couldn't get around so well anymore. I can remember painting or cleaning out the garage while we listened to general conference on a beautiful fall day. Whether I wanted to or not, I learned to love work.

And I still LOVE to work along side my parents. This week the boys and I headed back to "Fruit Loop Lane" for some cousin time. We had a great time playing and hanging out, but when I saw those four bags of fresh beans in the refrigerator I couldn't have been happier. "Gather around children, it's time to snip beans." And they were excited! We worked together til the novelty wore off and eventually finished the snipping. The next day I GOT to help my mom can the beans. Micah helped fill the jars and mom and I made fresh raspberry jam while they processed. It was so fun! The kids all played so nicely and I felt like we had actually accomplished something worthwhile - 14 quarts of beans and 7 pints of jam. Nothing looks better than full canning jars on the cupboard.

So thank you mom and dad. Thanks for teaching me to work. Thanks for teaching me to love work. Thanks for teaching me that worthwhile things aren't always easy or sweat free. Looks like you did more than fill canning jars in the process...

Grandma and Grandpa Rock!

New Kid on the Block

It hasn't slowed down his talking, but Ben's missing his two front teeth these days!!

N-I-N-E?

unbelievable!

Jacob has been into experiments this summer, so for his birthday we got him an electric set and had a scientist birthday complete with alka-seltzer rockets, static electricity races, bubble bombs and the tallest creation out of tootsie rolls, gummy bears, cheese puffs and toothpicks. My erupting volcano cake didn't really erupt and the rest of the party was pretty much a "bomb!" (just one of those days!) The kids did enjoy playing outside with light saber balloons for quite a while when the party was over, so I guess we can call it a success! (why do I try so hard?) We love you Jacob. Hope you had a wonderful day!!

Empty Nesters

I have recently had a brief glimpse into the "empty nesters" phase of life. Every time I walk by my bedroom window, a bit of sadness washes over me. We got so used to having our bird's nest full. First with the faithful mama bird sitting on her beautiful blue eggs. She'd screech at us anytime we got too close. As a mama myself, I can understand her desire to protect those eggs from any and ALL danger. Then as they hatched, seeing the little heads pop up out of the nest anytime mom or dad came near with food, beaks wide open. I was fascinated by the instincts of the mom and the babies. So cute. And the dedication of those parents keeping 4 babies fed - it must have been exhausting (no wonder they teach them to fend for themselves so early!)

We left on vacation a few weeks ago and came home to an empty nest. I SO wanted to see the little ones learn how to fly. And now they're gone. And the nest is so lonely. I can only imagine what life will be like when my little ones learn how to fly off on their own and leave me with an empty nest. If Toy Story 3 is indication, I will be in bad shape!! I suppose as I walk by my empty nest, I should bask in the constant chirping going on downstairs and enjoy these boys as long as I can. A good reminder for these long summer days. My current status is happy with an active, full nest!

Mesa Verde

I know what you're thinking, "Mesa what??" That's what I thought when Phil first started talking about going to Mesa Verde National Park for our family trip this summer. I wasn't that thrilled with the whole idea of driving six hours to see some ancient Cliff Dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans. But, I tell you it was pretty darn cool. Add having grandpa and grandma around, a fun hotel and perfect weather and you have a great, quick trip down south.

The boys participated in the Jr. Ranger program and that made the trip for us. They learned a lot by completing their requirements. It kept them watching for landmarks on our walks and interested in what we were looking at. These ancient dwellings from 700-900 years ago were amazing.

This is Cliff Palace, the largest of the bunch.
Ben and Jake looking down at a kiva.

The last dwelling we toured was called Long House. We could see a storm coming, and as we approached the dwelling, it started pouring. We were able to get up inside and listened to the tour guide while the rain came down outside. It was an amazing feeling to be up in there and hear and smell the rain while we were safely inside. It made it seem more real to think about the people that once lived here long ago. VERY cool!

A seep stream, their source of water, and our source for the last item on our Bingo card!
The boys loved all the ladders! Such a fun trip.

Here are our official Jr. Rangers, including the one and only "Harry Potter" (without his straw wand):

They had to draw what they liked best about Mesa Verde. Here's Micah's drawing (him on a ladder):

And Jacob's: