Utah: July 2013 | Part 1

Middle of July I got brave and drove with the kids solo to Utah to visit my mom. Our purpose was twofold; visit my family/escape the heat and give Phil a quiet house for a bit so he could further study for boards without 4 distractions. I admit I was nervous about tackling a 12 hour drive by myself. I armed us with snacks, movies and a froggy potty and a planned pit stop at a park in Kanab.

 

The kids actually did really well! We made numerous pit stops in various towns along the way and at least 5 roadside potty breaks. Bringing that little potty along saved us so many times! I bought fun treats like animal crackers, fruit snacks and fruit to keep the trip fun and the kids enjoyed that. I also got good at tossing things to the back of the van. If I missed then they were out of luck until the next stop.

Oh yes, that major purchase I hinted at a few posts (months!) back? We purchased a minivan back in June. Obviously with a new baby on the way our current and adored truck was not going to cut it with our required 4 car seats. With our Utah trip looming in the future I was really pushing for getting the van sooner than later. We found what we were looking for and I've been a minivan mom since. It is lovely having a degree of separation between the 3 kids.

Pictured above is our new van and the park in Kanab. The park will definitely be our go to from now on! It is beautiful with picnic tables everywhere, bathrooms, huge grassy and shaded areas, a great playground, splash pad, etc. It puts all of our local parks to shame.

   

We finally rolled into my mom's driveway and we were all so excited to get out of our seats and see Grandma and Papa. Kate loved the dogs they have and she could be found where ever they were.

Our stay was full of outside play, parks and cooler weather. The kids had a wonderful time playing outside and with their cousin Kash when he was visiting.



One night we were playing out front in the grass and the kids started digging around the the empty flowerbeds. At one point Rhett was pretty much swimming in the dirt.



While we were there my mom gave Rhett his birthday present. His very own plasma car. I captured his reaction on video too, priceless! He was so excited and has since mastered his skills and can keep up with Max and Kate pretty darn well. Speedy little boy.

He inspected every inch of that car, checking out his new wheels.



Grandma's little posse.

Preschool Kids 2013

Max and Kate started preschool in early August. We were all very excited! I was originally going to put them in a morning class as they still can take naps but then an opportunity came up for Kate to take a morning dance class that would have conflicted with preschool. Plus some friends of ours would be in this class too so we switched teachers and to an afternoon class.

Kate had gotten pink eye (thank you gym child care!) just prior to school starting and was a bit miserable but had been on eye drops for a few days and was starting to clear up. Thus her less than enthused look and red eyes. Poor girl.

 

She perked up once we got to class though.

 

They love their teacher Miss Chelsea, love what they are learning and generally ask me everyday if they are going to preschool. They just go twice a week for 2 1/2 hours each day. Since they have late birthdays they will have 2 years of preschool and I am glad that we started this year. They need it socially, I think it is important to have them exposed to another adult authority figure and also to lay the groundwork for a structured school environment. And goodness knows we can all use a break from each other! :) 

Miss Chelsea is wonderful and I am always impressed by what the kids bring home and the amount of effort she puts into my kids. She evaluates them throughout the year to monitor their progress and I am happy that they are learning and having fun.

 

She sends home monthly homework packets and we enjoy working on them together. Actually, Kate is still learning to enjoy the process, as she is a perfectionist and gets terribly upset and frustrated because she "can't do it!". We are working on that...

 

Since they do miss their nap we often catch Max passed out. Kate has done well with the no nap transition but we still have the grumpies at our house around dinner time. An early bedtime makes us all happy!

 

Waiting for Mom

Max is so independent and capable. He chooses his clothes, dresses himself and can do most of his shoes on his own. He even likes to spend time in the bathroom combing his hair until he looks most handsome, then he comes and shows me his handiwork. I don't change anything about what he does on his own, if he is wearing some crazy combination I just let him be. He does a pretty darn good job at it.

He also is very much in love with his belt, tucking in his shirts and most recently his new pair of Saltwater sandals. I found them at a consignment store for $5 and snatched them right up. He loves that he has sandals just like his friend Owen. I'm impressed that he can buckle them on his own.

10 on 10: August 2013

One photo, every hour, for 10 hours

Phil started his first audition rotation at a Phoenix hospital in the psychiatry department.  An audition rotation is a month long working interview basically. Phil gets the chance to see the program he is interested first hand, work with the current residents, get face time with the program director and they in turn get to see him and see if he is a good fit for their wants. This is the first of four auditions that we have set up.

He usually leaves for the hospital by 6:30am and doesn't get the chance to say goodbye to the kids before they wake. Today we were lucky. It is a Saturday though. Bummer.



Once dad has left we do the morning routine of breakfast, PBS kids, getting dressed, diapered, etc. I have a class I want to attend at the gym so once I get the kids mostly ready I change my own clothes. Here Rhett has hijacked my phone and the smart little booger knows how to open my phone and access what he wants. Like all technology, especially our phones, the kids all crowd around trying to get a piece of the action.



We load up, drive to the gym and I drop off the kids in the child care area. I just barely make it in time to my class, a power cardio/weight lifting class. It's my first time and I don't know what to expect. I really liked it and plan to keep it in my weekly rotation.



10 AM: still in class and then I get the kids out and we drive home. I didn't take a picture in time for the 10 hour.

Snacks and nap time prep! Cute boy.



Noon-1PM: The kids are down, I eat some lunch, putz around on the computer and then wise up and take a nap myself.

Rhett and Kate are awake, sweaty little bedheads that demand milk and a show to ease their wake-up process. Max is still passed out and I leave him be since he was up at 6am.



I take advantage of having one less kid around and since Kate asked we decide to paint her fingernails. She started the nasty little habit of biting her nails and as an incentive to quit I told her that she couldn't have her nails or toes painted until they grow long. It has been a few weeks, she has done well and then chewed them all off again so we start over. Finally she seems to be over it and her reward was a full mani-pedi. She was thrilled and loves to be pampered in this way.



I'm proud of her.



Max wakes after 3pm, the kids weren't eating much lunch so I tried again. They only ate their watermelon.

Here Rhett is saying "cold mommy!". No clothes, air conditioning and cold watermelon...

The day carries on and since we did most of our outings in the morning we stayed in the rest of the afternoon, the kids playing/destroying and I trying to maintain a tidy abode. We are still waiting for Phil to come home.



Phil finally comes home, we play outside for a bit, visit with friends and Kendra, do a very light dinner and relax with some TV. I go grocery shopping alone and return to the kids in bed. We watch a new show on netflix for a bit and then go to bed.

Rainy Day

It is raining today and I just love it. Last month when we got a cloudy wet day I let the kids out to play. Today's rain made me remember these forgotten pictures and prompted me to get back to blogging.

I pulled out our lonely umbrella knowing the kids would love it. I was right and thus ensued the task of taming the squabbling and whining of the umbrella. If we ever move somewhere rainy individual umbrellas will be key to my sanity and keeping the peace.

My 30th Birthday

Thirty! Back in June I turned another decade older. Sheesh. Hopefully I am a bit wiser but like most birthdays I still feel the same as always. I have noticed as I am getting older that my face is getting more fine wrinkles and I am getting a "mommy frown" line between my brows that I am not happy about. Clearly I need to work on that. Or see a dermatologist!

The day of my birthday was really busy. Phil was working in the ER that month and I believe we both worked that day, I know I did. So a full day at work with a nice birthday lunch with the office, then I came home to find the sweetest cake that Kara and the kids made for me. I am sure the kids just loved helping because as soon as I walked in the door they assaulted me with their enthusiasm and news of cake. It was cute. Kara was already gone since Phil arrived home first to relieve her. Thanks Kara!

We decided on an impromptu and rare dinner out as a family and after some driving around we settled on Fuddrucker's for a burger. It was a great choice for our family since the kids were crazy and we didn't have to worry too much about their boisterous nature. Phil and I wolfed down our burgers amid the demands of three kids hopped up on soda and then we went back to our van. We had to eat quickly since I had mutual to attend that evening. Once in the car we received the horrible text from a friend that their son had a drowning accident and was in the hospital. Phil and I were devastated for them and their family stayed on our minds and hearts the rest of that week. He has since made a miraculous recovery and is just as he was before, a healthy, lovely 3 year old.

We returned home to do cake for the kids. I took a bite or two and rushed off to mutual.

   

 We had a really good activity focusing on the Savior and virtue and at the end the sweet girls and leaders surprised me with cupcakes. It was such a busy day but full of thoughtful texts and messages of love from family and friends. And with the busyness of our life it was as good as it was going to get! Here's to 30!

4th of July 2013

We kept it very low-key and last minute this year. Seems like everyone else had plans or was out of town and we were on our own. Luckily our friends Brent and Terina were home and were willing to join us for some last minute fun. We swam and BBQ'd at the pool and then came home for some toddler friendly fireworks courtesy of the Maldonado's. I didn't want to keep our kids up until 10 to sit in the heat and they don't know any better so this was perfect for them.
 

The following pictures are pretty much the same but I love the evolution of Rhett's face in them. He goes from apprehension to pure amazement.
 

The night ended with sparklers and hovering parents.
 

During the evening I looked over to see Rhett and Maizy sitting near the porch. Maizy was just minding her own, busy eating rocks. I love how Rhett recognizes that she is smaller than him, he sat down next to her and started tickling her legs.
 

Haha! And clearly Maizy has her priorities down. Rocks! Cute kids. It was a simple and fun evening.