Rooster Turns 3!!!

Okay, so she's almost 4. Well, just about halfway there. She is really a little light of sunshine and makes us all smile and laugh, a lot. She's our little mama and makes sure everyone is in line, as long as it doesn't apply to her ; ) Her birthday breakfast consisted of peanut butter and jelly butterflies with orange juice. She thinks PB&J should be the main course at every meal. 

She insisted on My Little Pony Cake, and we had over a couple of friends. It was pretty low key as we had just moved into our new house, but she was so excited and had a great time. We love you Rooster. Happy 3!!!

Our Smiling Rooster

PB&J Breakfast Delight

Definitely Her Grandma's Girl

My Little Pony Cake

A Few Close Friends

A Bit of Healthy Jealousy

Lake Powell

Family vacations. What's not to love? I can think of a few things, but those are always trumped by great memories and a lot of fun. Back in June we had a family vacation at Lake Powell. This was no ordinary vacation as we were celebrating my father's 80th birthday and all 6 of his children and most of his grandchildren and great grandchildren were able to come. It was a logistical nightmare, but a tremendous success and everyone had a grand time. Some of the highlights:

1. EL CAPITAN

My brother got stuck with driving the mammoth boat. It was no small task. Particularly when there were numerous "el hefe's" on board who frequently had others ideas about navigating, driving, etc. There were more than a few mishaps, including hitting a sandbar which caused food and any other thing on shelves to go flying. Luckily, no one was hurt, but it was an ordeal. The motorboat, which he was also in charge of, also died on a number of occasions which I know caused him and his wife a lot of stress. Unfortunately, I missed one of the more memorable events which involved gassing up the beast. Let's just say that this elicited a classic "senior el hefe" moment of shouting, arm waving and hopping up and down. Unless you have experienced an 80 year old man doing this, you won't be able to accurately picture the hilarity. I can. Thanks Jr. El Hefe.

2. FAMILY TIME

When you don't live next door to your cousins, this is a great time for the kids to bond and play. They did plenty of both. The LG had plenty of occasions to be shown up by his female counterpart. She's fearless, and didn't flinch at jumping off a cliff, jet skiing, tubing, sliding off the slide, water skiing and a laundry list of other activities I don't likely know about. The LG had a great time tagging along, though often as a spectator. The Rooster and PoPo also had plenty of time playing with the many cousins who were there. 

3. SR. EL HEFE
This was a vacation Papa had been wanting to take for a long time. He was pretty happy when he wasn't flying off the handle ; ) It really was an amazing feat to have so many of his posterity there!

SCENERY
It's a pretty amazing place. The water is warm, the cliffs are amazing, and the sunsets/sunrises are brilliant. The weather was also perfect when we were there. Hot enough to keep you in the water, but not to cook you once you got wet.

PLAY TIME

Though I am not going to recommend this as the best vacation for small children if you as the parent want to relax, it is a great place for playing on the "beach", and in the water.  There's plenty of both. 

STRANDED
A group of us ended up stranded for about 6 hours while scouting out our camp site. This had something to do with the motorboat dying, and cell phones not working all that well. Me and the BK (and our kiddies) were part of that group. We didn't have nearly enough drinks, food or water toys to make this pleasurable. Luckily, the group of campers across the lake from us were kind enough to bring us water, some treats and support. It was very kind. The site was perfect however, and once the houseboat actually found us, we had a great few days exploring and playing.

DANCE PARTY
This was definitely one of the genuine highlights. It was the night before we left, and everyone was having a ball, particularly the girls who really know how to shake it. The Rooster is there in the middle, and is learning some awesome moves from her older cousins. Below, the PoPo is showing off some moves all his own.

It was a great vacation, but is the kind you need a vacation from when you get home. The kids had an amazing time, the adults will need a few years before thinking this is a good idea to repeat anytime soon.

Back in the Swing

I have been considering dropping the blog, as you can see from the date of my last post it is no longer on my priority list. After consideration however, I decided that I really should make a renewed effort to document our family life since I am even more terrible at printing picture or making scrapbooks. I am 3 years behind on that. Life is busy, but there are always worthwhile things to report so here goes. The first thing to note is that I am changing the moniker's for the youngest 2. The TP will now we referred to as the Rooster, and the baby as PoPo. I'm sure they will love me for this later. I am going to start with the most recent and catch up in subsequent posts.

SCHOOL!!!!

We didn't start until the day after Labor Day this year, so that meant that both the LG and the Rooster started on the same day. I know most parents say it is hard to believe the time goes so quickly when their oldest starts Kindergarten. In my case, I feel like this should have been last year, so we were pretty excited, and READY!!! Even sending a 3 year old Rooster to a local preschool for 2 days felt like something she was more than ready for.

Anyone who knows anything about the inner workings of our family should know that it was hairy getting out the door on time. I keep thinking that it will get easier or faster but so far, regardless of how prepared I am for another day, we still battle finding lunch boxes (this was actually prepared the night before but somehow disappeared just prior to departure), shoes (also laid out the night before), combing hair, and making sure the baby's diaper is clean (it is inevitably NOT, regardless of when we are leaving or when he was last changed). So we were kind of running barely on time all day.

I am also blaming some of it on the logistics involved in getting everyone where they need to be on time. TP's preschool is local. LG's school is 20 minutes away on the freeway. We were so thrilled to have gotten him into a Chinese immersion program, but the reality and commitment required in commuting to a city we don't live in is a wee bit challenging some days.

The Rooster is happily leaving for her first day. She is pictured here with one of her good friends. She LOVES Mrs. K and it is a wonderful place where she gets to paint, make big messes, sing, dance and play with friends.

The LG was a bit tentative when we met the teacher at Back to School night, so she was thinking he was shy and reserved. Poor woman. He darted into class so fast the first day that I actually wasn't able to take a solo shot of him until after school at which point he had on a name tag so they won't be appearing here. It was a rocky first week, with some usual LG shenanigans including sneaking out of class and requiring a small search party (including the Principal) to locate him. But a few weeks in, he seems to be settling in and is LOVING his Chinese class and teacher. I am just glad that we won't have to homeschool due to him getting kicked out of school in Kindergarten.

Too Good To Be True

Do you ever think that things are too good to be true? I do. Wonderful family. Handsome, dashing, and loving husband. Beautiful, smart, sassy, and tender children. Incredible parents. Crazy creative and amusing brothers. Health. A job (s). Enough money to provide for our family, eat good food, and have enough fun to keep ourselves entertained and refreshed. Brilliant friends. Lots of friends. Lots of different kinds of friends.

I'm not afraid of very many things. I get afraid when the good things run circles around the bad. Those moments when I realize that I have most of the things that want out of life terrify me. It makes me think one of two things: either bad things innevitably must start to happen, or that I am off track and doing a poor job of making wishes. Either way I am in the doghouse. I have never thought that bad things wouldn't happen to me, rather I am of the opinion that I don't have any exemptions.

I'm not saying that things are perfect. Just nearly, and only prayers can take care of the remainder.

I'm enjoying it. My kids are little and love me. My husband makes me smile. I feel loved by many people. I feel alive, and happy. And I know that it doesn't last always or forever, so I am grateful now for what I have, and think I have gotten pretty good at looking past all the vast oceans of things I don't.

No point really, other than to say thanks to those of you who make me happy.

Mentionables

Today at school, the LG learned about jobs. He told me that all work is boring, and dad, particularly, works in a really boring building. So, to appear more interesting to his friends, he made up a "secret" (i.e. lie) that dad works at a grocery store. He thought that would make it more exciting.

This past weekend, as we were leaving Grandma's we were backing out and saying our farewells in Spanish: Grandma: "Adios" Me: "Hasta manana, I mean hasta luego" LG: "Hasta my Lego Grandma!" Indeed.

Lucky Number 1

Happy birthday to the Big H! We can't believe he is 1. I think he takes the cake (literally) for passing the "stuff your face with cake" test we give all our children on their first birthdays. No hesitation. Just dug right in and kept going until the whole piece of carrot cake was gone. In fact, there was very little mess to clean up - he shoved most of it right down to his belly.


What a wonderful little boy he has been. He is following in the footsteps quite literally of his older brother and sister, and has been walking for a couple of months now, much to mom's dismay. He is happy, busy, and has a very cheerful smile on his face most of the time. Everyone is enamored by this little soul, particularly anytime he is strutting around the house in his birthday suit - which is frequent these days as he hates having his diaper changed or clothes put on. He is a little monkey, and loves to climb all over everyone and everything. He has started flirting and feigning shyness around new people, and can often be heard chuckling with no provocation which gets everyone giggling - particularly strangers at the store.

He is huge - weighing in at 25 pounds, and is in the 99th percentile for his height. This surprises no one who has actually held him - or watched him shove cake into his mouth. He is solid as a rock, and is helping mom to keep at least her arms in shape. We were really lucky to have both Grandmas and Papa here for the event.





There's something so amusing to me about kids this age opening presents they probably don't care much about (though this year I think everyone did a great job as they toys were played with more than the paper ; ). It was a wonderful party, for a wonderful little guy.



Happy Birthday Big H! We Love YOU.

It's a Preschool Christmas Singalong

Okay, maybe this is something that only parents appreciate. Sort of like people talking about their dogs like other people care, but I find preschool productions hysterical. There are always a few of the following: star performers, troublemakers (usually the LG and usually the funniest to watch unless it is your own child), blank starers, nose pickers (also usually the LG - we're working on this one), missed cue performers or those who are always a few seconds behind or ahead of what they are supposed to be doing. It is the combination of all of the above which makes it hysterical - at least to me.

The LG had his Christmas performance, and I came away thinking that he was perfectly paired with a girl suitable for marriage one day. Just kidding. Okay, no I'm not. I think you can tell a lot about kids when they are 5. Right? I mean, it is reasonable to have their whole lives mapped out at this stage, right? Anyway, you can see what a cute couple they make.



Santa also made a very unconvincing appearance. As parents were trying to get group photos, the LG was tugging on Santa's hat, peering around in his face with a very skeptical expression, and coaching him ("Santa is supposed to say Ho, Ho, Ho!"). In the photo below you can see Santa leaning forward to escape the LG's attempts at pulling off his hat. It was also clear to the BK that the LG wasn't buying any of it. After the LG informed us there was no way that was the real Santa, I had to explain that it was just one of his poorly trained helpers. We're still not sure that he bought any of it. What's a parent to do?