Climbing Walls, Sowing Seeds, Saying Farewell

Right now Lissy is force-feeding Gary a roll. She opens his mouth, puts the roll in there, and then slams his mouth shut again. What a relief to know we'll have someone to take care of us when we're too old to feed ourselves.

There was definitely stuff on the schedule this week (the usual variety of baseball, soccer, community council and whatnot), but since there was less than there has been it felt so luxurious. On Monday I watched two sets of kids, and it was awesome. My kids had a blast playing outside, and I made a freezer meal and jam. Wins. Then during preschool on Tuesday and Thursday I didn't have any appointments for once, and was able to visit a friend one day and go to the park another. Playing with my kids and talking to friends - weird, right? So nice.

In the middle of my shower one day, suddenly I saw a little hand reach in and pull the water over to the very hottest setting. Nice shock - good thing we follow the guidelines for water temperature settings for houses with young children, and thank you, Elisabeth.

Noah has been talking a ton lately about kindergarten. He's mentioned how awesome it will be to get Pizza Hut coupons, among other things. He licks his lips when he talks about it. We were in the car together when we had this conversation:
Noah: So . . .what grade did you teach again? Kindergarten or first grade?
Me: A little first grade, but mostly kindergarten
Noah: Why don't you do it anymore?
Me: If I taught kindergarten, who would take care of you guys?
Noah: Andrew and Lissy could get a baby sitter.
Me: Oh . . . are you asking this because you want me to be your teacher?
He nodded shyly. I agreed that it would be a lot of fun. He said I'm the best, and I have to tell you, that makes me feel pretty awesome.

My worst offense at school-slacking-mom occurred this week. Josh was given a blank book, and was supposed to author something great. Due Monday, and assigned three weeks ago. Josh brought me the book the day after it was assigned, and he'd written crookedly in pen on the cover, "ABC Sports book." Ack, publishing is supposed to be best work! So I hid it from him until the point I would work on it with him. Except we've been living la vida loca (not proud of it, that's just the way it's been), and I never got it out. Last Saturday we got back from the baptism way later than I thought, and oops! Sorry, Josh. He worked on it early Monday morning, Monday after school, before bed, and then woke up on Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. to finish. Even then, I didn't get him to school until 10:30. Yeah, a day overdue and late for school. Also, sleep deprived. Ummm . . . yeah. Josh actually had a pretty great attitude for most of it, he did a cute job, and it did create quite the Stepford vision for Gary when he came home on Monday and all 4 kids were writing at the table. My favorite page in the book was I - I is for Italy, a team in the Olympics.

This little friend and Lissy worked so hard to get all of these balls onto the trampoline to play with, and then they played up there for about 15 minutes. FOREVER for toddlers! I had to take a picture, what are they doing playing for real?

The kids played playdough for a very long time with some kids that were over. Noah decided if he put floam on his hands and feet he could climb the wall like Spiderman. I don't know why I thought taking a picture was the best course of action. Also, Noah put a platter of playdough creations in the oven. It wasn't on, no big deal. Until a few days later when I preheated the oven. Interestingly, playdough containers don't melt until several minutes at extreme heat. Good to know.

Andrew became a gecko with floam on his hands.

During our trip to Walmart this week, Noah really wanted to buy seeds. He was asking if he could grow "fresh cucumbers" and "fresh beans." Can't really say no to that. So far we only planed a few seeds, but we'll do more soon. Don't know if it will work, but the kids are really excited. Noah licks his lips when he thinks about it.

The second Josh got home the kids' root observer thing was opened. Poor Josh's face was cut out of this photo, but he was the one who actually read the instructions.

Is there something more awesome than stirring a bucket full of dirt?

Lissy was having a grand time picking and blowing on dandelions - had to get a picture. Even though I couldn't really capture the moment, I can still look and remember her little lips all puckered up to try to blow the seeds away.

On Friday morning I woke up too early. The kids still weren't going to be awake for a little bit, but I couldn't fall back to sleep, so I started reading. After a little while I thought I heard Lissy wake up. Then I thought I heard Andrew getting her out of her crib. I expected to see their cute little faces any minute, but I never did, and I didn't hear anything else, so I kept reading. I figured it must have been them stirring in their sleep. However, a full half an hour later, I suddenly got worried. What if it was them and they're not making noises because they're hurt? I got up to investigate. When I opened the door, I saw this:

They were reading books quietly on Andrew's bed for at least 30 minutes, and who knows how long they would have kept going!

This one is pretty much the same, but I couldn't stand the cuteness.

Noah made me this at preschool for Mother's Day. He was pretty proud, and it actually is beautiful!

It started getting kind of hot in the house on Friday, so even though I'd made pizza dough and chopped the toppings, I couldn't handle turning on the oven. So, Gary grilled the pizza, and he discovered a new thing. He used the griddle on the side of the grill to cook the toppings while the first side cooked, so then the finished product was fully cooked and AMAZING. I'm not kidding, it was ridiculous. What a man. After that we headed off to Coldstone to redeem Josh's birthday ice cream, and Gary let him get a huge one. Josh said he was sick at the end, but he'd do it again. The kids were having a dance party in the store, and with Andrew's Chris Farley jumps and Noah's booty shaking, it was quite the thing. Lissy has some moves, too.

The oldest cousin, Brent, is headed to Tampa, Florida on his mission this Wednesday, so we got to go to the temple with him and Gary's family on Saturday night and to his farewell today. It's always so nice to be in the temple. I was reflecting that after 5 1/2 years of living here, the Salt Lake temple has so many great memories for me now. Last night with family now included!

I was so glad today at the farewell to see that Josh was really interested to listen to Brent give his talk. We really appreciate great examples around here. I can still remember so many things from my childhood I saw other people do that affected me. Also, hooray for getting to see Gary's parents and family again! This time I did bring my camera, but the battery was dead, so Gary's phone saves the day again.

Dallin and Martha's back yard is a dream come true for kids. Andrew really wanted a picture of him with these sticks.

I think it's funny that every time I try to take a picture of Lissy  she tries to approach the camera. So, mostly I have pictures like these.

But, every now and then she finds a brick to sit on, and I get a cute shot.  I think Andrew is handsome, too.

I found some of the other boys playing in this amazing hideout.

Get in the hideout, and this is what I find. Luke, a second cousin, and Noah. I love Luke's expression.

The reason for the whole occasion - our last chance to see Brent for two years!

Happy Mother's Day to any mother out there who has gotten to this point in the post. Hooray for you!