GiGi Comes to Town!

Back in March, we had a wonderful visit from my Mom, also known as GiGi!

Matt was out of town that week, so it was incredibly helpful to have my Mom around for company and help with my three little munchkins.

I think one of the most notable events of this week is that Victoria embraced my Mom whole-heartedly this visit. In general, Tori has been pretty slow to warm to new situations, new people, etc. Last visit, she started warming up to Mom the day before she left. So, it was both exciting and relieving to see her jump right in GiGi's lap!

We did lots of fun things with Mom, including our first trip to the park for the Spring! Yay!

We had so much fun with GiGi! I was so very grateful for all of her help that week. When I dropped Mom off at the airport, Tori cried and cried, "I need GiGi! I miss GiGi!" So, we miss you, GiGi! We can't wait to see you this Summer!

The Tree House

I wrote this post a long time ago... I'm not sure how it didn't get published!

While GiGi was visiting, I let the kids stay home from school one day so we could take them to The Treehouse! We LOVE the Treehouse, we held a Family Membership when we lived up that way. Since we moved a little more South, we haven't visited as much, so we were thrilled to see some of the new exhibits.
Since Tori is still two and not really big on delayed gratification, we of course had to stop right at the beginning for the Big Fire Truck: "I'm a Ballerina Firefighter!"

One of the new exhibits is the Pioneer Days section! For those of you who ain't from around here, Pioneer Day is an actual State Holiday here in Utah. It is also referred to as the 24th of July. In the Summer and early Fall, you'll see all kinds of celebrations around here that celebrate the settling of Utah as well as local crops, harvests, etc. There are Cherry Days, Swiss Days, Peach Days, Liberty Days, etc... You get the point. Anyway, so for this section of the Museum, they have all kinds of farming exhibits, this was my favorite:

Yep- there is actual liquid coming out of that cow! I'm hoping that it was just water, but I didn't taste it to check.

The bucket beneath has some fake foamy stuff that you squirt the water into.

The kids had SO much fun here!

Just outside this area is the Rodeo section, where they can pretend ride on these horses!

We stopped by the old-fashioned school house, which has always been one of Daphne's favorites. I will tell you that it appears they did away with the pointy DUNCE hat they used to keep in the corner!

This is a little tunnel that runs through the German house:

Sampling some Sushi in Japan:

Here we have another new exhibit, the Mongolian House. I cannot remember any of the interesting facts that I read about Mongolia. Which is sad. And Pathetic.

I guess it wasn't a very educational experience for me.

This is a little play place where they can pretend to have a ranch in Australia, I think. I really learned a lot on this trip.

The English house, where the kiddos got to have a Beatrix Potter tea party!

This entire area is sort of a Medieval/Royal/Castle kind of place. There is a stage where you can put on a show:

A throne where the unimpressed queen can sit to watch the show:

You can see the stage a little better in this one:

In the same area, there is a giant Chess Board! Tori thought you were supposed to dance with all the pieces. Isaac spent a good deal of the morning destroying a little kid sat chess. As I mentioned, we let him stay home from school, so pretty much all the kids there were at least Kindergarten age or younger. Isaac did not let the little guy have a chance! :(

We also made a little stop by the oval office:

Here is a ship to take you across the sea to America. And, yes I did have to do some deep breathing to squelch the anxiety over whether or not there might be lice in that hat. I did okay, but it wasn't easy. We survived with no bugs! And isn't she a cute Pioneer?!

There is a whole Doctor's Office Exhibit with babies to treat and cuddle!

Daphne and Tori had so much fun at this exhibit!

Here they are in the music room:

And another little stop by the Native American Teepee:

We LOVE the Treehouse, and it was such a fun outing we got to do with our GiGi! On the way out, we dropped by Farr's for some ice cream and as soon as we drove away, Tori said, "I want to go to the Treehouse again!" Thanks, GiGi, for treating us to a fun day!

It's A Wolf Thing

So... if you didn't read Twilight, that may not be funny. But I personally find it humorous to make the connection between my gargantuan boys and the wolves in that series.
And now that I have completely embarrassed myself:

This is waaaaaay old news, but Isaac received his Wolf Award in Scouts!

He actually completed all of these requirements back in the beginning of February, but they weren't able to give him the award until March. And I wasn't able to blog about it until, drumroll, please!.... May!


It is at this point of the post that I make a confession, something a little worse than the fact that I am a perpetually tardy blogger:
Shhhh... Don't tell anyone, but I'm scared of Scouts!

I'm not afraid of the actual boyscouts themselves, I'm just afraid of the requirements, the process, the uniforms, sewing on the patches, etc...

Honestly, I had NO idea what we were signing up for last February when Isaac turned 8.

So, all year long I just put off even cracking the book open to look at it. We got his bobcat requirements done and then I just sort of... tabled it. I was just sure we would open it up and the first page would read, "Sew a tent by hand and then sleep in it outside in the mountains." Or something like that. And we all know that when you give a task like that to an 8 year old boy, the person who really ends up doing the work is his mom. And if we are being brutally honest, I don't even sew the buttons back on our shirts. Matt does that.
And I certainly don't.... CAMP.
So, I just kept putting it off, hoping that he would eventually complete the activities during Den Meetings (or whatever you call that weekly meeting I take him to!) But in early January, I got an email from one of the Den Mothers (or whatever you call them!) saying that it was crunch time and we really needed to buckle down if he was to complete his wolf by the time he turned 9 next month.
Sigh.
Oh, fine.

So I put on my good mother hat, and opened the book. And you know what?
It wasn't that bad.
He had actually completed 85% of the requirements just through things we naturally do as a family or projects he has worked on with Matt. So, we buckled down and completed the last few assignments and, Voila! He was a Wolf!

So, the fact that they put a little pin on the Mother to give her an award as well as the Scout may have been a little undeserved on my part.

I know I make it sound inconsequential, but it really is quite an accomplishment. If you look at all of the activities laid out together, it really is a big accomplishment. And he did more than was necessary, earning a few extra silver arrows! What a great boy!

We sat down and made a goal to complete the Bear requirements by the end of the Summer so that we don't have the same January Mad Rush again.

At the end of Pack Meeting, they had some fun activities, and the boys were put into teams and had to climb this rope.

Those gargantuan genes I mentioned previously sure do come in handy sometimes!

He wasted them! Okay, maybe that's not a very "Scout Mom" thing to say, but it's true!! And I never asked to be a Scout Mom anyway!

After the boys got done, Daphne gave it a try. I think this inspired her to become a monkey climber (you'll see in a post to come soon)!

We had a great night and we are so proud of our boy! Really, it is so impressive that he accomplished this task in spite of his City-girl, Prissy, Shopping, Anti-Camping Mom. My goal is to be more proactive and supportive during the year of the Bear, and I think we are well on our way!

Just for Today....

Victoria was literally awake for over half of the night.

Matt's out of town and although all of the children were put to bed at about 8:45, it was 10:30 before the girls got to sleep. Tori woke up at 1 and from 3- 4 am , then again at 5. Now, for many moms with young children, that's a typical night. We have gotten past the stage of frequent night-waking, so a night like that kind of rings me a new one! Then, when Daphne woke up at 6:45 and woke up her sister as well, I found myself on the verge of a toddler-like temper tantrum. Okay, maybe I was past "the verge".

Daphne got up and Isaac woke up shortly thereafter, I was thankful to get Victoria back to sleep (or at least quiet in her room without me), and when I laid back down, I tried to sleep more, but I couldn't. All I could think was how Daphne must have felt waking to my frustrated, ill-tempered manner rather than a Mom who was grateful to see her; grateful to have another day with my precious children. I just laid there and prayed, and finally arose to ready myself for a day, slowly shedding the frustration and irritation of unexpected sleep deprivation.

When I went to get some Motrin for my pounding head, I came across this poem taped inside my medicine cabinet. The author is unknown, and I have had it taped there for years. But I needed it today. Just in case someone else needs it, too:

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear and smile and say just how perfect it is.
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink and let you teach me how to put together that puzzle of yours.
Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.
Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble, when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.
Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours and miss my favorite tv shows.
Just for this evening, when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and the mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.
And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day...

I know there will be more nights like last night. And I'm sure I will fail to be cheerful enough on several more mornings, but I'm going to try harder to be better every day.
My Mom and I took the kids to the Treehouse museum today and then we stopped by Farr's for ice cream on the way home. I'm hoping the weather will hold out long enough for a trip to the park, but either way, I thank God for this day with them.

Tori's Top Twelve!

Here are some of our favorite pictures of Tori that didn't make it into her book elsewhere!

4 months old:
Mother's Day 2009

My Girls, May 2009!

Potty Time! This is Tori at 19 months... totally potty trained now! Although she has used the potty since birth, this is when we mark her ability to tell us she needs to go and just go! You are amazing, Tori Grace!!

Dress Up! March 2010

March 2010

March 2010

Hello?

St. Patrick's Day 2010

March 2010

September 2010

Dinosaur Park, September 2010 Sisters! Oct. 2010:

Our beautiful Victoria Grace:

We love you so very much Victoria! We are so excited to see where you go and who you become. We pray, every day, that you will know that you are loved. You are loved beyond measure- by your Father in Heaven and by your family. His love is what will carry you... we just pray that we can be vessels of that love; so that you may know, truly know, that you are His child.