Spring Break Continued

Tuesday - Wednesday Camping at The Valley of Fire

The journey begins with much anticipation.

Upon arrival it was suggested we pick out our camping spot immediately. (That was great advice because the grounds were full soon after.) Our children quickly discovered the great natural playground while Andy set up the tent. He was getting frustrated until he heard the voice of his youngest, "Simon says touch your mouf."

The highlight for Anneke was the trail mix.

For Marcus the highlight was Elephant Rock and hiking up with his dad.

It's hard to say what Luke liked, but it was definitely not the wind.

When we returned to camp we found our tent in ruins, The 30-40 mph winds had torn the loops off in several parts, rendering the tent uninhabitable and until it is fixed no way to reset it up. Andy was very frustrated. We wanted to just have dinner and leave, but our children would have none of it, so we tried to come up with an alternate plan.

Hot dogs over the fire.

Two of my children took the camping messiness to extremes.

Wow.

Close to sunset we climbed up near our site to watch it and see some stars. After several near heart attacks we came down realizing that our two youngest are fearless and we are no match for them.

Andy put the seats down in our little car and our children camped on an air mattress in there. We put down a tarp and blew up our air mattress and tried to sleep by the car under the stars. We saw Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper. Remember that 30-40 mph wind? Well, it was worse at night. After almost being rendered air borne and getting dust and pebbles encased in our beings we tried to come up with a new plan. We looked hopefully at the time and it was only 10:10pm. Our children DID NOT want to leave. Andy and I ended up sitting up in the front seats for the rest of the night trying be comfortable. It was the longest night of my life and that includes having 3 children!

Luke woke up sometime between 4 and 5am and wouldn't go back to sleep. The rest of us were not allowed to rest either.

The reason Marcus and Anneke wanted to stay was to see Mouse's Tank. We went at the crack of dawn and got home at about 9am. I am very tired. Remind me again, why do I like camping?

Spring Break Update

Each day we have tried to do something different and fun. Here is what we have done so far. (Sorry, I am not as good as Carianne posting everyday of Spring Break.)

Saturday - We went to The Bass Pro Shop.

Looking at the HUGE carp and cute ducks.

Sums up Anneke pretty well.

We always end with a moon pie. They are cheaper than a candy bar and since we don't go often, a real treat.

Sunday - Helped Daddy make dinner.

Andy enjoys cooking, but with his schedule has very little time to do so. The other two just LOVE helping in the kitchen. Anneke took full credit for the meat at dinner. ;)

Monday - Bowling at Wildfire Casino

Luke refused to turn and look at the camera.

I love that I got action shots. Anneke would pose after she threw the ball. (Her style kept the people around us laughing.)

Marcus did the best he has ever done.

Don't look too closely at this one, but it was better than a rear shot...

Like this one. (just kidding.) I thought this was cute and it took me about 5 tries to finally get it on the last frame.

Andy won. Luke and I came in 2nd because of an accidental strike and a few spares. (Thank you bumpers.) But, Marcus and Anneke did a great job all on their own.

Tuesday - We are headed to The Valley of Fire to go camping. I will try to post pics tomorrow.

Heather Lou

Heather is about 20 months older than me. She is the only one of my sisters that was born in the same place as me, San Antonio, Texas. That and the fact we both have H names convinced us for a long time we were sorta twins. Today she is celebrating another year of life. (Well, technically yesterday since she lives in Japan, but it is today for me.) Happy birthday Big Sis.

Spring Break Kick Off

We just finished reading Matilda by Roald Dahl this week. We like to watch the movies based on books if at all possible. This movie was a dual pack with Pippi Longstocking that we watched a few months ago. Anyway, we ordered Dominoes and watched the movie. I was impressed with how well it stuck to the story. Andy went to IMDB and got movie trivia. The little girl that played Matilda was pretty good considering her mother died during the filming of the show. Plus a few more things. After the movie we let Marcus and Anneke have a slumber party in her room. Before I went to bed I checked on them. Marcus had rolled onto the floor, so I covered him with another blanket. He stayed there until this morning.

In other news Luke is a stinker. He turned the temperature dial all the way to 0 last night some time. Milk was warm the morning and all the things in the freezer were thawing, the ice was a puddle. I am ready to retire. Today should be mellow it is windy and chilly and we are keeping an eye on the property because of the funeral today. So far, so good.

Train Tracks

I promised photos. Here is my boy that is not so little anymore.

Before -

After -

The color he chose for his bands is called azure. It almost turquoise.

Zombie

My youngest has been awful at sleeping for a while. But, it has become a HUGE problem since he moved from his crib to "big boy bed". When a child is having trouble sleeping where do you go? Aunt Carianne of course. She gave me some fabulous ideas. It didn't really work. So, I decided to cut out naps. But, he would still wake up between 4:00 and 5:00am. So, he was getting far less sleep than he needed and so was I.

The past few days have been awful and yesterday was especially bad. Then, a lightbulb went on in my head. Lukers is sleep walking. He wakes up and then can't go back to sleep because he was in such a deep sleep. He does the weirdest things and I didn't think much about it until I was beyond desperate. Why would a child that was awake fully hang half of the bed to sleep or dig through stuffed animals like they were a dog? Now, I have no idea what to do with the information. Any suggestions? He is back to taking naps because he is obviously in need of more sleep than he can get otherwise. Plus, I need some sort of a break from him. Going back to the crib is out since we moved him because he was causing himself bodily harm. At least I know what it is. It makes it easier to know my baby is not doing it deliberately.

Wetlands

My children were overly noisy on Saturday, making it very difficult for Andy to sleep. So, we took a little drive to the Wetlands. It is due east on Tropicana. While not spectacular it was fun to be "out" of the city for a while.

Marcus liked the excuse to use his walking stick more.

Anneke liked being able to run and move around.

Daddy and Luke liked getting out of taking naps.

Luke attempted to use a walking stick, too.

After about .1 miles Luke got tired.

(I usually try not to be photographed in my glasses.)

The stinky wetlands. A nice outing.

Who are you really?

I haven't done a "tag" of sorts in a while. I think they have fallen out of fashion. Anyway, my sister asked us to do this. I enjoyed it. Please do join us.

Favorite color - Red, always red.

Earliest Memory - I remember being in Grandma and Popi's yard in San Antonio, playing in the grass looking for flowers.

Favorite Christmas - Marcus's first Christmas. It was so fun playing Santa and seeing his amazement at all the lights and sparkles. Then, Andy and I went 4 wheeling in the snow.

Favorite Book - I have a lot that I enjoy and read over and over. The first two I remember loving (and still do) are Sarah, Plain and Tall and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Favorite Movie of All Time - The Reluctant Debutant, no contest. I wish it was on DVD.

What do you collect? Why? - I used to collect earrings. I still love them, but don't go as silly as I used to. I still collect snow globes because I love water and snow. I have one to represent major events in my life since I got married births, blizzards, moves, etc. (I don't think I have any before that.) You could also say I collect books and games. ;)

Guilty Pleasure - hidden chocolate. I have found it is harder to savor though because you could get caught and have to share.

The Way That You Would Spend The Day if You Could - It would be raining outside and I would be snuggled on a comfy couch with Andy, a fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate and a good book in my hands.

When (time period) You Would Have Lived if You Could - Too cliche to say Victorian Era? I would love the clothes and chivalry, but only if I was upper class or at least middle class.

Something People Would Be Surprised to Know About You - I can't think of anything. I am not a surprising person. I am writing a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but it is going veeerrryyy slowly. I don't know how to drive a stick shift and I once blew up a VW bug by accident.

If You Could Travel Anywhere in the World Where Would You Go? - Holland or Hawaii

Corn on the cob, popcorn and caramel

Tomorrow morning Marcus gets his braces on. He is very excited. I am not sure I really was when I got mine. I was excited to get it over with and have a pretty smile. Of course, I had a lot more leading up to it than he does. I even got a mold of my teeth. Modern technology is amazing.

Today we are eating a lot of popcorn and maybe caramel corn. For the next year he will not get those things. Anything I am forgetting?

I will post pictures and such tomorrow. I am still not sure how this will help his overbite. Andy's cousin needed surgery for hers. Whatever.

Slump

I read some pretty intense books all in a row. I have been having a hard time getting back into the reading groove. I have not found a book that really speaks to me. I started reading 3 different books and finally finished one. (But, it was not a hard read, luckily.) I am looking for something light to get me back into reading mode. Apparently a retelling of The Magic Flute is not it. I am open to suggestions if I can find them i will try them.

Did you wear green?

As a preschool teacher I think I drove my fellow teachers crazy. I would take any excuse to celebrate and make it a party, from Chinese New Year to Talk Like a Pirate day. Anyway, this year March 17th was a busy day for me. I did not get to do as many fun things as I would have liked. But, I did make a rainbow cake. I got the idea from the March 2010 Family Fun magazine. However, I should have listened to the cupcake thing, because a cake was a lot more difficult. Each layer was an effort not to blend colors. Anneke took the credit for making it. After all she licked the bowls and beaters. Anyway, it was fun and I am glad I could do something.

Brandon Mull

Marcus has been steadily reading through the Fablehaven books. I think they are too long for him, because he seems to have stalled out at #4. Reading books over 300 pages long for 4 months is probably a bit discouraging for someone that young. But, he really does enjoy them. For reasons unknown to most people the author, Brandon Mull, had a signing near my sister, Pam. (His 5th Fablehaven book comes out in a couple of weeks. Why do a signing before that?) She loved my son enough to stand in a long line being touched by tweenagers to get a copy of The Candy Shop Wars (Another of Mull's books) personalized and autographed for her oldest nephew. Plus 2 autographed Fablehaven posters. He was soooooooooo excited. Aunt Tummy is definitely loved in our house.

Another tooth

About a month ago Marcus went to a birthday party and I paid for Anneke to roller skate, too. While there she was having a great time until she slipped and fell on the corner of a metal table. She took off her skates after that. The fall loosened her top left tooth.

There was at least one attempt to pull it since then, but the drama was not worth it. However, last night we realized the tooth was grey and was probably dead, so Andy got out the dental floss.

Andy tried to count, but Anneke kept whimpering, so he said he wasn't going to count and just pull it.

Anneke -"NO!"

Dad -"What do you want me to count to?"

A -"A big number. Like 8."

D -"Do you want me to count from 1 or from 8 down?"

A -"Whichever one will take the longest."

D -"8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7" Yank! "8"

A little trauma worth $1.16

Next 10 (Books 21-30)

It's that time again. 30% down!

21. A- (retelling) Little Red Riding Hood story. I read this quickly. It sucked me in and I really enjoyed it until the end. I wanted to throw the book. The author seemed intent on adding a twist at the expense of the rest of the story. That is why it didn't get an A+. Plus, there were some overly cheesy moments. Still an interesting premise for the age old fairy tale.

22. C (adventure) I am reading this so Marcus can read it. I did not like this author as much. I do like the historical aspect, but would like notes to know what is real and not real. Especially since this is geared toward late elementary and early middle school audiences. I think it is my age that has me grading it harshly by the way. Predictable. (I don't feel the need to read more in this series. They are safe from what I can tell and I don't really want to read more.)

23. B (fantasy) This was a very simple story. It revolves around a doll house that is 100 years old and the 8 year old doll, Annabelle, is getting bored. It didn't have a lot going on and was predictable, but there was something sweet about it. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more when I was younger. (Carlye would like it.) I am giving it a B for the possibility that I am too old for it.

24. A (realistic fiction) It was a quick read and takes place all in one day. The book is about an African American/Chinese American girl. She graduates from eighth grade and the day is chaotic, not to mention the family drama and trying to get attention from the boy she likes. It was interesting to me because it felt so real and like you were truly a part of the story. I would probably never read it again, but is was worth the read.

25. C (historical fiction) Even though this was a fairly short book (just over 100 pages) I struggled to get through it. Each chapter was a separate story about common life in England in the 1500's from the point of view of a young girl. I usually love history, especially England, it is what I studied. However, this did not speak to me like the author's Catherine, Called Birdy did. Not sure why it actually WON a Newbery Medal.

26. B- (realistic fiction) This a sequel to Stargirl. She is writing a loooong letter (the whole book is one letter) to the guy that broke her heart. I didn't remember the first book very well even though I just read it last year, so references were confusing. Plus, running into this person in real life would probably creep me out. However, the characters were believable and it was a sweet story.

27. B (realistic fiction) I thought this book was a modern day fairy tale retelling. Um, not at all. It was an interesting read, though. Three girls have stepmothers that are not the greatest and they form a club the same title as the book. I was frustrated waiting for the "club" to come together, it took more than half of the book. But, it has some good messages. I would say a high school read at least, too.

28. B (fantasy) I didn't want to read this one. It has too much hype. But, I really got into it quickly. It had a very strong female character and the Graces that a few people are blessed with are interesting. I was bugged by the different color eyes as the marker of it. There was no explanation and since there was none it didn't make sense to me. Especially when one character has gold and silver eyes. It might have been different if they were a normal eye color. Other than that it was going along fine and then had to focus on sex and justifications for it. I was not happy. It would have been good without it and it wasn't really necessary. Everything seemed concluded and it still went on and on. I did like the book. Though the book says 14 and up, I would not let my child read this, well, for a long time.

29. (science fiction, I guess) This book was for book group. I tried to read it before, but it was due back at the library. I have read portions and heard a lot about it. It was fascinating. I felt the characters could have been developed more and there was a lot of repetition and description I could have done without. Mostly, it was dark and I was not in the mood for dark. So, I am not going to rate it, for fear it is my mood that colored my opinion.

30. A or C (child realistic fiction) My sister told me to read this series with Anneke. This is the first one I have been able to get my hands on at the library. Anneke and I read the book for reading time today. I don't recommend starting with the last book. It was not what I expected, but I didn't know the characters, so I was a bit confused. Anneke loved it though and has been talking about it since. So, she gives it the A.

The Theatre

Theatre and the arts was a big part of my upbringing. I thought I had done this before, but apparently not, so I am actually adding a memory monday for today.

*My dad has an amazing voice. He would sing to wake us up "Oh, what a beautiful morning" or "It's time to get up.." He would sing when we were upset at each other "Let us oft speak kind words to each other..."

*Each grade would perform a play in our Elementary school. I played a reindeer in the first one I can remember. (Second Grade) My costume was too big so I spent the whole time holding my pants up.

*I sang a solo about prepositions in my third grade play, a solo about John Henry in my fourth grade play and a summer camp song in my fifth grade play. I did not get a solo in fifth grade but was in the ensemble. It made me sad. I always seem to be second best. (I still remember the words to all the songs and sing them on occasion.)

*Dad liked to participate in the stake plays. He was a very scary bad guy that led the Nephites astray in the San Antonio stake production of Moroni.

*One summer dad discovered the Point Theater in Kerrville. He was in the musical The Man of La Mancha. Again, a bad guy. My little sister and I went to most of the rehearsals and were the biggest fans of the cast. I even wrote them each a "break a leg" note.

*When I got into middle school I took jazz dance and musical theater classes.

*I played a reindeer twice in the musical "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: the true story" Dasher ("I'm the Baptist") and Vixen.

*I have always wanted to be Cinderella in a production. (I lost out in high school and am still a bit bitter because of the reason.)

*I was Sterling Scholar in speech and drama.

*I competed in Miss Ephraim pageant with a monologue from "The Star Spangled Girl".

*My husband kissed another girl when we were engaged in a production of "You Can't Take it With you". The girl and I were kind of rivals to begin with, so that was interesting.

*Marcus was born on the only day Andy had off from rehearsals for "Of Mice and Men".

*Andy changed his major to English from theater when we got to SUU and he minored in Theater.

*We still miss performing in our family.

I know, this was random and odd. I can add so much more. And I might, next week, but I am going to the playground now to enjoy the gorgeous weather instead.

To nap or not to nap?

My youngest has decided it is time to give up naps. It all started when he was not confined to a crib anymore. He still needs a nap because he is tired and tantrums are more, but try telling him that. I am balking at the thought of giving the nap up for a few reasons.

1) Anneke is still in half day kindergarten and that is my one on one time with her.

2) On the weekend that is the time we do things that we can't with Luke awake, like playing games, going to the library, etc.

3) I was looking forward to having some "me" time again (to actually clean and get organized) in the fall when Anneke was gone all day.

(Marcus gave his nap up at 2 1/2 when Anneke was born. Anneke lasted until about 3 1/2. I was hoping for somewhere in between with this one.) So, now what? Do I let him continue napping, then fight him to go to sleep at night and wake up at 5:30 each morning? Or do I just give up? Any other options?

Reading with Anneke

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA! 7 is a great age.

Anneke loves to have me read to her. When we go to the library she likes to pick out books too advanced for her and then pretend to read them. Once, she chose The Tiara Club books and begged me to read one with her. I obliged her and was surprised to realize it took about half an hour to finish the whole book. The message was good even if the writing was not amazing. So, we read all the books we could find in the series at our library. We missed a few, but they still haven't shown up on the shelves. (Our library does not catalog paperback books by title so there is no way to search for them.) Then, she discovered The Rainbow Magic series.
These books also take about 1/2 an hour to read. But, there is no real message and there seem to be a lot of them. Each "series" within the group is 7 books long. We started with rainbow fairies, moved on to weather fairies and just finished jewel fairies. She has not discovered pet fairies, music fairies, "green" fairies, party fairies, magical animal fairies, fun day fairies, petal fairies, sporty fairies, special fairies or dancing fairies yet. Phew! I hope we can avoid them. The best part is that there is Heather the Violet fairy, Bella the Bunny fairy/Isabella the Air fairy and Evie the Mist fairy for the Nordell family. Rebecca the rock n' roll fairy for Mom. Carrie the Snow Cap fairy for Carianne. The writing is not all that stellar. Still, Anneke looks forward to it and it is our time together. Someone once told me it doesn't matter what your child reads (that is appropriate) as long as they are reading. There is a boy in our ward that just reads his parents Honda manual over and over. Won't he be handy in a car emergency?

What books do your children read that you are less than excited about?

I'm wishing

There are a few appliances that I would love to own. These are my top 3 and they have different reasons why I don't own them.

The pasta maker - growing up we had one and we loved making noodles with Mom. My older sister has one and my children loved making noodles at her house, too. Sadly, I can't find one, and I am not sure where I would store it. But, it is not very big, so I would find a spot, I am sure. ($30-35)

The bread maker - I have wanted one of these for a looooong time. I make 2-3 loaves a week for my family and it would be so nice to just pop it all in the machine and not have to worry about it again. Here, my big problem is knowing which one to get. I don't want to get a crumby one or one that is harder to use. So, instead I just wish. ($50-300)

The wheat grinder - This one actually goes along nicely with the other two appliances. I would love to use wheat flour partially with white flour. It seems to work the best for my family. However, these babies run about $200 and that doesn't include the wheat. ;)

Dream, dream, dream....

Nothing much

There has not been a lot going on around here. We are in a routine with nothing much out of the ordinary. Luke is still not going to bed very well, Anneke still has bad dreams and Marcus still tries to be the parent. Chores are getting done better with a new system I figured out after much prayer. (BUT, it has only been a week.) I want to chop my hair, but probably should wait until I am not so fed up with it so it is not too drastic. Andy has a bunch of stuff going on for school and another conference this weekend. My house is messy and I just can't get up the energy to do much about it. There are people that hire a certain babysitter because she cleans after the kids are in bed. Um, I don't like other people cleaning my house. It makes me feel weird. Is it really just me?

Oh, Anneke did have a mysterious illness this weekend. She complained of a sore throat on Friday, but we sent her to school anyway because she fakes sick a lot. When she got home she was pale and running a fever. Saturday, same story. (I put on a movie for her and took the boys to soccer. She watched it and then just sat and waited for us to come back. No playing, reading, or anything else.) Sunday morning she said she was better, but was still pale. It was bizarre. No one else got whatever it was. Interesting.

Marcus Man

It has been mentioned that I do not focus on Marcus much in my blogs. I think there are various reasons for that. Mostly he is gone all day at school, but also, he is getting older. He doesn't say things incorrectly anymore, and he is careful with his actions. Anyway, here are a few things you may not know about my oldest child.

He loves to play chess and will play it over and over with anyone that is willing.

He enjoys reading. Right now he is reading nonfiction, especially animals and earth science.

He is struggling through the Book of Mormon for the first time. He is more than halfway finished.

He tries to take care of everyone.

Today he played soccer and had a great time. (Not on a team, but as a stake primary.)

He has been entrusted to walk home from the bus stop occasionally. (It is about a block and a half away and I can see him. Shh...)

He does not like, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, cooked apples (no apple crisp), oatmeal or Ranch dressing. (I am sure I forgot some.)

(I am on a different computer. I will post a Marcus picture when I can.)

Annekeism's Again

I love to take Anneke to dance class, especially when it is just the two of us. We have some amazing conversations. She makes me laugh. Yesterday I actually thought to write down what was said as soon as she walked into her dance class. For this to make sense you should know my mother in law looks to be no more than 40 years old and Anneke’s best friend is Scout but she has a late birthday so is not in kindergarten yet. Enjoy.

A – Are you older than Grammy? (Andy’s mom)

Me – No.

A – Are you sure?

Me – Yes. She is Daddy’s mom and I am younger than Daddy.

A – Then how old is she?

Me – You should ask her. I think 50 or 51.

A – WOW! That’s old.

(Her attention is turned to the temperature gauge on the console.)

A – This button should just say O – F instead of O – F – F.

Me – If it had only one F it would say of.

A – No, F says ffffffff. So, it would say off.

Me – What does this say? (as I cover one f while stopped at a stop light.)

A – Of. But, F says ffffff.

Me – I know, but it doesn’t work that way this time.

(She sings to herself for a while and makes up actions to the song.)

A – I think my dance teacher is older than you.

Me – Probably.

A – People can be older even if they are not in the same family.

Me – That is true.

A – Ginia (girl in our ward) is older than me and Marcus. But I will always be older than Scout (Ginia’s younger sister). I will turn 6 before Scout.

Me – Don’t turn 6 please.

A – Why not?

Me – I want you to stay my little girl.

A – Mooooooommm, don’t you want to be a grandma?

Me – I would rather have you.

A – It’s okay. You will have another girl soon.

Me – (a bit surprised) Really? When?

A – Maybe a little boy then.

Me – I wish I could record our conversations.

A – Why?

Me – Because you make me smile.

A – You’re silly, Mom.

Anneke likes to shift into reverse, drive and park for me. In the middle of reversing out of my parking spot after dance she threw it into neutral. So, she doesn’t get to do that job anymore for a little while. She immediately got over it and we had this conversation on the way home:

A – Can I be a dental?

Me – Um, I guess. Why?

A – I want to work on my teeth.

Me – That might be hard.

A – Why?

Me – You would have to use a mirror and do things backwards.

A – If you ever need your teeth fixed you can visit me.

Me – Thank you.

A – What should I call my dentist?

Me – I am pretty sure it would be Dr. Anneke.

A – No, my dentist hoooouuuse.

Me – Ummm…

A – (very excited) I know! Dental Floss!

Me – That is a very good name.

A – I know, it has “dent” in it. (while patting my knee.)

Almost like home

Okay, you have all heard me whine and moan quite a bit. Particularly when we move, especially here. I wanted you to know it almost feels like home. I am not sure what is missing.

We have great friends and have two wards that we have enjoyed being a part of. We know how to get where we want to and not hit main streets or traffic. We have an apartment with great neighbors and a pretty okay neighborhood. It is true that you can forget the Strip is even there.

Any ideas what the missing piece is? It could be that I know we are not staying here. It could be that the education system is less than impressive. It could be that I have something missing. But, for what it is worth, we have an almost home here in Sin City. Just thought I would let ya know.