Ensign Peak

Since it was Mr. Orange's last day of school we decided to jam-pack it with fun.

When school let out we ran down to Thanksgiving Point to have lunch with Gramma.

Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a backyard pool.

The kids played in the pool until Mr. Blue got home from work.

We ate dinner then headed up to Salt Lake to hike Ensign Peak.

 I love this hike.

The views are incredible.

 And it's perfect for kids too.

Miss Pink and I ran the whole way down.

When the boys finally caught up to us, we talked them into some ice cream on the way home.

Let summer begin!

Simple Joys

This past weekend was full of simple joys...

Friday was early out day so Miss Pink and I pumped up the tires on my bike and the bike trailer and headed to Mr. Orange's school to pick him up.  The ride there wasn't too bad.  Mr. Orange hopped in the back of the trailer and the ride home nearly killed me off.  Not only did I have 50 extra pounds in the trailer, but the wind was blowing right at me and the trailer acted like a parachute pulling me back.  The kids and I made it home.  I hope that someday the kids will be together telling stories and one will start out with, "Remember when Mom used to take us to school in that bike trailer?"

Mr. Blue had a scout campout that night so the kids and I decided it had better be movie night.  Mr. Orange rode his bike and I pulled Miss Pink in the trailer.  We went to the local Redbox and picked out Spooky Buddies.  (My opinion - Awful.  Mr. Orange's opinion - Liked it.  One part was scary, we fast forwarded through it.  Miss Pink's opinion - I didn't like the dog with the green eyes.)  We took the long way home and enjoyed a nice ride through the neighborhoods and stopped to smell blossoms on the trees.

Saturday morning we were all beat.  I can't seem to sleep when Mr. Blue is not home so I stay up until 2 in the morning so that I can pass out in bed.  I bribed the kids with a trip to Wheeler Farm if they would help me clean the house.  They worked so hard and constantly asked what else they could do to help.  Since they held up their end of the bargain, I held up mine.

Side track for a minute...  Several months ago I went to get in the car and noticed scratch marks on the drivers side of the car.  I asked Mr. Blue if he knew when it had happened and he did not.  Miss Pink comes in the room and says, "Oh, I was just decorating the car with rocks."  (Really??!!!)  We had a nice discussion about keeping rocks OFF of the car.

Back to Wheeler Farm...  I parked the car and got out and noticed some scratches on the car next to me.  I looked closer and, in rock scratches it says, "I LOVE YOU MOM!"  Yes, I laughed right out loud and said in my mind, "Praise be, I am not the only one whose kids 'decorate' the car!"

The kids and I had a great time at the Farm, then we got hot (since when is it 80*+ in Utah in April???), and came home.  Mr. Blue and I actually went out on a date, just the two of us.  We asked the kids if they wanted us to stay home and hang out with them instead and they both said, "NO!  We want T & A!!!"  (Mr. Orange is pretty much in looooove with the babysitters.)  I'll admit it was nice to go to dinner, run errands, and hold hands.

Miss Pink was sick Sunday Morning so Mr. Blue and Mr. Orange went to church without us.  Mr. Orange came home and I was helping him get his suit off when he said, while eyeballing his bookcase next to him, "Hey Mom.  Guess what President Monson loved to read when he was a boy?"

Me:  Peter Pan?

Mr. Orange:  Nope.

Me:  Treasure Island?

Mr. Orange:  Yup.  (Insert a HUGE smile here.)

He thought it was pretty cool that we are reading that book too, although we are currently sidetracked with Peter and the Starcatchers.

Miss Pink felt better later in the afternoon so we found a park to play at.  The kids played on the swings, ran up and down the giant hill, got really dirty, built a grass nest, and of course Mr. Blue threw them in the air.

I know I have said this a kazillion times on this blog, but I love how easy it is for kids to find joy in life.  It's as simple as an underdog, a toss in the air, or watching birds fly in formation overhead.  It reminds me of how the scriptures teach us to become like little children.  If we truly pay attention to our children, we can learn so much.

I love it when Miss Pink runs up to me at random times throughout the day to give my legs or arms a "squeezer", then she looks up at me and says, "I love you Momma!"

I love it when Mr. Orange gets home from school and runs in the backyard, then comes running back in  yelling at the top of his lungs, "Mom!  Mom!  You've gotta come see this!"  Then he shows me how the bleeding heart has grown, or that flowers have opened, or that the clematis is getting bigger.

These are my simple joys.

Splash

Yesterday it was hot when we got home from the Tulip Festival.

The kids immediately ran outside and set up the water tables.

They got soaked within 5 minutes and were inside looking for their swimsuits.

I heard Miss Pink run into her room, but didn't think much about it.  A few seconds later there was a huge thump followed by a crash.  I ran down the hall to see that her dresser had fallen over, that explained the thump.  Frantically I searched the room for her.  She was right next to the dresser with a huge smile on her face and she said, "I jumped out of the way!"  Of course you did, I thought.  I went to pick the dresser up and saw cause of the crash.  

A few months ago our friends gave us their beta fish when they moved to another state.  I have done my best to kill keep it alive.  It lived in the kitchen for awhile, then spent some time in Mr. Orange's room.  A few weeks ago he moved into Miss Pink's room on top of her dresser.

Let's just say that the beta's bowl was in a bajillion pieces all over the floor, water was everywhere, and I thought that hopefully maybe the fish had died.  Mr. Blue happened to be home while all of this was going on and he helped me clean up the broken pieces.  He was moving a larger piece of the bowl and we realized the fish was underneath it.  Mr. Blue picked up the piece and the fish flipped up in the air.  Mr. Blue jumped and Miss Pink ran to find something to put him in.  It took Mr. Blue a few minutes to figure out how to get the fish off of the floor and into the pint jar Miss Pink found without touching the fish.  He managed.

After everything was cleaned up I asked Miss Pink why she didn't ask me to help her get her swimsuit out of her dresser.  She said, "Oh, I couldn't see you and I climb up there all the time."  I think I sprouted 9 more gray hairs this afternoon.

After the fish fiasco the kids set up a water park in the backyard.

If it is even remotely warm outside, these kids will be playing in water.

They dragged last year's pool out and set it up.  Mr. Orange came running inside and said, "Mom!  Something is wrong with the pool!"  I went out and sure enough it was splurting water out the side as fast as it was going in.  Hmmm.  I patched it up enough for them to play and decided we would be getting a new pool this year.  I don't know how they could stand playing in the water.  It was like an ice bath!

I am so happy that warmer weather is here.

And that my heart has calmed down.

And that Miss Pink wasn't hurt.

And that my kids love to play water park in the backyard.

Tulip Festival

While Mr. Orange was out for Spring Break we tried to do something fun each day.  One day we colored Easter eggs, the next we went to The Lorax.  We had an Easter egg hunt at Nana's, then it was Easter.  Today, Mr. Orange's last day of Spring Break (yes, it was a Monday), we went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  The festival doesn't officially start until Friday, but we wanted to go without crowds.  The kids and I have always loved going to the Gardens.  Our trip today did not disappoint.

I will apologize in advance for all of the pictures, but the kids were happy, I had my good camera with me, and the kids were smiling and posing every time I turned around.  What else was I supposed to do?  Just be thankful that I was able to delete pictures and you only have to look at 10 instead of 50.  :)

 Miss Pink stopped and smelled all of the tulips.  I had to remind her that she had to stay on the path to smell, not get in the flowerbeds with the flowers.

The kids know when we are close to the Koi pond.  Today they ran over there and the fish were out in force.  They begged me for a quarter so they could feed them.  Personally, I think the fish are a little bit gross, but the kids are fascinated with them.

Mr. Orange saw this little garden of tulips and sat right down next to it.  He told Miss Pink to come and sit by him, then he got my attention and asked me to take a picture.  A few years ago we had to pull his teeth to get him to even look at the camera!  Ha!

Our favorite place in the Gardens is The Secret Garden.  While we were walking through it last year I told the kids briefly about the story of The Secret Garden.  The next day we were checking it out at the library.  The Secret Garden at Thanksgiving Point is just as magical as the garden in the book.  Today I felt like Mary and Dickens were in there with us.

We also like the Spanish Steps.  Every time we come to this part of the gardens the kids ask me if they can get in the "bathtubs".

My mom, who works at Thanksgiving Point, has been telling me about this new part of the gardens.  It is amazing.  The kids and I walked down to it and there is a spirit of reverence surrounding it.  There is this large statue of Christ walking on water, the caption says, "It is I, be not afraid".  Mr. Orange went to it immediately.  It reminds him of his favorite story of Christ where Christ calms the sea.  Around the large statue are about 10 or so smaller statues depicting scenes from Christ's life.  We looked at each one and remembered the stories.  When we got back to the start I asked the kids which one was their favorite.  I'll let you guess which one it is.  :)

 Miss Pink asked if she could do a dance pose in front of the statue.

 We stopped off at the waterfalls before heading back up to the car.  I'm not sure how the kids had any energy left, but they found a bit and rolled down the hill several times.

 Miss Pink didn't think that Mr. Orange was rolling fast enough so she gave him a push.

Sometimes I forget how much I like my kids, I mean I always love them, but there are days when it seems like everyone is grouchy and we can't understand each other.  The whining seems never-ending.  You wonder if they are going through a phase, or if this is just how it's going to be and you wonder if you will have any hair left at the end of the year.

Then you have a day, or a weekend, or a Spring Break, and the grouchiness takes a vacation, the whining takes a break, and life - family life - is enjoyable, happy, wonderful.  On those days I feel like I get a taste of Heaven.

Today was delicious.
Today was heavenly.

Today was perfect.

Square Foot Garden Boxes - Round Two

I was back at it again today, I just can't get enough digging in right now.  Don't mind the weeds growing in the rocks.  Those will be gone soon.  I sprayed them with vinegar while I was out there.  While the kids and I were planting we decided to do some experimenting with the space that we have.  I have crowded seeds and plants into every nook and cranny that I can.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but the plants and seeds that I added today are in a larger font.

I planted most of my seeds on the 16th, you can read about it here.  Below I will list what I planted today.  I'll use the same format as before and list the vegetable planted and the amount of plants per square.

In my previous post about my 2012 garden, this was the box on the right.

**Second Row L-R**

Premium Crop Broccoli - 1 with Detroit Beets - 12

I am experimenting and I needed some more room for beets, so we'll see how it goes!  I planted the beets around the outside edges of the square.

Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions - 16, grown from sets

**Third Row**

Red Onions - 16, grown from sets

Red Onions - 8

Another experiment.  Trying them in the corners with Kale.  It will be interesting to see who wins.

**Fourth Row**

Red Cabbage - 1

Premium Crop Broccoli - 1 with Chioggia Beets - 12

**Second Row**

Little Gem Lettuce (from old seed packet) - 4

Red Onions

Red Onions - 4 and Walla Walla Onions - 4

Early Wonder Beets - 16

**Third Row**

White Giant Chard - 4

Walla Walla Onions - 16

Premium Crop Broccoli - 1 with Early Wonder Beets - 12

**Fourth Row**

Red Cabbage - 1

Imperator - 8, Carnival - 8, and Purple Carrots - 4

I like how tidy my garden looks right now.  By midsummer I get tired of the jungle and start pulling things out.  You have been warned.  :)

Springtime and Autumn Leaves

I know I just barely mentioned spring a few days ago, but I can't help myself.

It really is my favorite time of year.

Everything is perfect.

The cool mornings turning to warm afternoons.

Opening all of the windows.

Snow one day, sunshine the next, and some rain here and there.

One of my very favorite things about this time of year is that the kids actually want to go outside.

 Lately they have been piling up all of our autumn leaves so they can run,

 and jump,

and bury each other in the leaves.

Why do we still have so many leaves in our backyard?

Well...

We live in a townhome and every year the guys (as I like to call them) come through with their leaf blowers and collect all of the leaves that have fallen in our yards.  Our tree decides to hold onto its leaves until the day after the guys come through.  It almost always snows on the day that our tree drops its leaves, which means we rake up our leaves in March, or possibly April.  

Enough about the dead leaves...

The tree is just about to burst with blossoms.

I keep looking, every day.

Maybe tomorrow will be the day that the first blossom will pop.

Hitting the Slopes

Mr. Blue and I have waited for this day for a long, long, very long time.

The day when we would hit the slopes with our kids.

Mr. Orange didn't have school on the 9th (a Friday), the weather was going to be perfect, it had just snowed, so we decided that would be our day.

We headed up to Brighton bright and early, got the kids outfitted, signed them up for ski school and they were off.

Mr. Blue and I waved goodbye and took a few runs.

As we came down one of the runs, we noticed our kids getting off the Magic Carpet and spied on them for a bit.

The kids were in good hands and seemed to be doing fine, so Mr. Blue and I took a few more runs.

(We couldn't believe how warm and beautiful it was up there!!!  Gorgeous!)

Mr. Blue had to prove that he still has some skills.

I'm not sure why.

I already know that he's pretty cool.

We arrived a bit early to pick the kids up from the ski school and saw them walking back to the building.  Mr. Orange was dragging his skis behind him.  Miss Pink batted her eyes at her instructor and he carried hers for her.  Mr. Blue and I cracked up watching the two of them.  Mr. Orange would walk a bit, look around, locate Miss Pink and keep walking.  Miss Pink would take a few steps, bend down, eat some snow, stand up, walk a few more steps, eat some more snow, etc.  (You can see her eating the snow in the collage above.)

We ate some lunch after checking the kids out.

Me:  How was it?  Did you love it?  Are you ready to go with Dad and I?

Mr. Orange:  No.  I don't ever want to do this again.

Miss Pink:  I cried for you Momma.  I kept my goggles on so my instructor wouldn't know I was crying for you.

(Mr. Blue and I exchanged glances that said, "What have we done?  Are they going to hate this forever? That's not good!!)

We enjoy our lunch and the beautiful scenery, and being with each other.

After lunch Mr. Orange stands up and starts putting his skis on.

Me:  What are you doing?

Mr. Orange:  Hurry up Mom and Dad!  I want to ski!

Miss Pink:  Me too!  Let's go!

(Yippee!!!)

Mr. Blue and I took them over to the Bunny Hill and we had some great adventures with the kids to finish off our day.  Mr. Orange did some pretty fantastic splits and Miss Pink proved that she has a need for speed.

In all our excitement we forgot to take a picture of all of us.

At the end of the day we all had huge grins on our faces.

Can't wait for next time!

I Spy...

Crocuses

(yellow and purple)

 Tulips and Daffodils pushing their way up, soon to bloom.

Buds on the backyard tree.

Everything is waking up.

Spring is here.

Hooray!

I love this time of year.  I look out my window each day to see if the first bud has opened on my tree.  I know it will still be a few weeks, but I can't help myself!  There are packets of seeds sitting on my counter, ready to be planted.  (I think I will plan out my garden tonight and start planting tomorrow.  I even bought a blanket for my garden today at the garden store.)  I almost bought flowers at Home Depot earlier but I was good.  Flowers can wait until May.

Until then, I'll enjoy the pansies, crocuses, tulips, daffodils, buds on the tree, and planting seeds.

Has Anyone Seen the Keys?? and other Sunday Fun

Mr. Blue had to go to church early today.
My plan was to surprise him and actually be five minutes early.
Ten minutes before we needed to be at church I had everything gathered up, the kids were ready, I was ready, we were good to go...
except for one thing...
I couldn't find my keys
ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!

I remained calm (surprisingly).

Mr. Blue had driven the night before which meant my keys could be anywhere.
I asked myself, "If I were Mr. Blue, where would I put the keys?"
I looked in all the logical places - the key bowl, the counter, the cabinet in the living room, the kitchen table.  Hmmmm, nothing.  Search harder - looked under the items on the counter, the cabinet and the kitchen table.  Still nothing.

It is now 5 minutes until church starts.

Maybe the bathroom?
Nope.
Mr. Blue's coat?
Where is that coat?
Seriously, where is it?
The ignition?

At 11:00 (yup, church starts at 11) I text Mr. Blue:
Where are the keys?
Text to Mr. Blue at 11:04:
We are walking.

I slung my heavy church bag over my shoulder, grabbed the kids hands, and we were off to church - on foot.  Now usually in Utah that is not a big deal - to walk to church.  However our church is a little over 1.5 miles from our house.  As we left the house I did give thanks to my mother-in-law for giving me a dress a few weeks ago that I can wear flats with.  Had I been wearing my usual dress - with heels - we would have put our jammies back on and called it a day.

Off we went.
Luckily it was warm and the sidewalks were dry (for the most part).
We were only 40 minutes late.
We would have been there sooner but we took the looooong way to the church.  I realized my mistake after it was too late to turn around and go the short (1.2 miles) way.
We sat in the very, very, very back (I couldn't find Mr. Blue).

Five minutes later Mr. Blue walks in with a strange look on his face.  After Sacrament meeting he told me that he had driven home to see where we were - his phone had died.  He had called me from the church but no one had answered.  (Hello, it was Sunday.  This girl doesn't take a phone to church silly!) He opened the garage door and the car was there.  He came inside and called for us, but no one answered.  He started to get panicked.  (His words and I quote, "I thought the KGB had come and abducted my family!"  I'm pretty sure the KGB is the least of our worries...)  Then he saw my phone and checked my texts.  Mystery solved.

After church, things were much less eventful.  The kids were wild and crazy so we kicked them outside. They were enjoying themselves so much that Mr. Blue and I went out to see what they were up to.

Mr. Orange (like his orange outfit?) built a "sculpture" of China and Taiwan.

Miss Pink was wondering on the wonders of the world.

Mr. Blue decided to clobber them both with snowballs and the last little bit of snow was used up.

I stayed out of the way and let the three of them go at it.

The kids still needed to run off some energy so we ate some dinner and went for a walk.
Somehow I ended up riding Mr. Orange's scooter and Mr. Blue ended up pushing Miss Pink's bike home.

Favorite parts of my day...
*Remaining calm
*An unexpected walk
*Family Fun
*Riding a scooter in my dress (should've ridden it to church with the kids on their bikes!)
*Warm sunshine
*Gentle breeze
*Going to church

I heard you ask, so I better answer...

The keys.

The keys were in Mr. Blue's coat that was on top of the laundry basket that I walked past 15 times while I was looking for the keys and somehow never saw.

Oh, do we HAVE to???

Wow.

I just love days like today.

I ran this morning and it was cold, sunny, and beautiful.

Mr. Blue needed to work today so around 11:30 I made my two little "slugs" (because they wouldn't move off the couch and I knew that I would just eat cookie dough if we stayed home) get up to go for a walk.
(Ugh!  Mom!  Do we have to???  Why can't we just watch TV??????)

You would have thought that I asked them to pull out all of their arm hairs one at a time - that's how thrrrrrillllled they were about going on a walk.

We put our jackets on (with much screaming, yelling, and gnashing of teeth on their part) and off we went.

We decided to walk over to the temple.

The walk started off slooooowly.

Miss Pink needed a drink of water 5 minutes from our house.

Her legs were tired 2 minutes after that.

Um, I think you get the idea.

I was afraid we weren't going to make it to the temple, let alone our house!

Surprisingly, Miss Pink rode her bike the entire time.

When we got to the temple, Mr. Orange wanted to keep going.

I told him we should probably head home (since I wasn't quite sure we were going to make it home) and if they wanted to ride their bikes somewhere else, they could.

On our way back Mr. Orange was having a hard time pushing his bike up the ramp in the raised crosswalk.

I offered to take it up for him (since he had banged his shins on the pedals - multiple times - in the crosswalk on the way to the temple).

Miss Pink started to ride her bike up the ramp.

Uh, the ramps are a bit steep.

Particularly for a girl that really likes to ride on flat ground.

She started to push her bike up and Mr. Orange walked over to her and said, "Here, I'll take your bike.  You can just walk."

{Insert Proud Momma here!}

We made it all the way home.

Phew!

I am loving these mild winter days.

Is anyone else afraid that winter is going to hit in March and last until June???