Girls

Recently, as I sat in a doctor's waiting room, I overheard a conversation between a young couple expecting their first baby. Having just come from an ultrasound, they each called and texted people on their own cell phones, and this is what I heard from the father-to-be:





"You were wrong....Yep, get out the pink Harley. It's a girl.....Well, it sucks, but whatever."





I found it a little bit shocking to hear him talk that way, and then I just pitied that poor baby girl. If they don't want her, I'll take her! She would fit perfectly in my beautiful little set.

Photo by the fabulous Summer Murdock. See more here!

Stormy Weather

Front yard, May 24th

It's the last week of school. Summer vacation is supposed to start this Friday.

Our garden is planted, our winter clothes are rotated out of our drawers and into storage boxes, our bikes are oiled and pumped and ready for a nice long FHE ride.

And it is snowing today. Doug was whistling "Sleigh Ride" as he shaved and showered. Our poor tomato plants. Our lonely bikes. Our closets will have to make room for sweaters and boots again.

Or, I'll just have to stay in bed all day and read a book.

That's all I have to say about that.

Raising Little Ladies

Hannah and I were enjoying our afternoon story time, cuddled up in a cozy chair together. Among the stack of books Hannah chose that day was one of my favorites: Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey. Sal and her mother are picking blueberries on one side of Blueberry Hill, and Little Bear and his mother bear are eating berries on the other side of blueberry hill. Eventually, the little ones and their mothers get mixed up! When Sal's mother notices somebody taking a great big mouthful of berries from her pail, and realizes it's not her Little Sal, it reads:

"Little Sal's mother turned around and gasped, 'My goodness, you are not Little Sal! Where, oh where, is my little child?' "

Hannah began to quietly giggle as I read on. It is a very clever book, and when you have heard the story before and know that everything is alright in the end, it can be pretty comical. But Hannah's laughter continued, and it made me curious.

I stopped reading to ask her what was so funny.

Pointing to the picture, Hannah answered, "She gassed!"

Can you imagine it the way Hannah thought I was telling the story? Little Sal's mom was so surprised that when she turned around and saw little Bear, she gassed!

I don't know about other households, but in my own experience raising five daughters, the humor of bodily functions is not lost on sweet little girls.

For her birthday, I gave Olivia...

...a haircut!

Sunday morning I spent a good amount of time giving her a cute hairdo, but after church and a nap and the ordinary events of the day, I was disappointed that it looked like such a mess!

A cute mess, for sure, but definitely a mess.

So Monday morning, as Olivia officially completed two years of life, I snipped off two inches of her hair.

She cooperated pretty well during the process, but even when she got too wiggly for any hair cutting, she was willing to hold very still so that I would paint her fingernails pink.  She's trying to show them off, but I'm too focused on her cute little face.

The next thing I'm going to take scissors to is her B-I-N-K-Y.  Wish me luck!

Ta Da!

Olivia is two!

Mowing, Mulching, and a Mystery

Last week, eight yards of mulch was dumped in front of our house. Mysterious? No. We paid a neighbor to deliver it, and we split the load with the yard next door.

Friday, Saturday, and Monday were spent outdoors (YES!!!) mowing the lawn, weeding the flower beds, trimming the bushes, and spreading the mulch...not to mention tilling the garden, and moving lots of dirt and sand in the wheelbarrow. So the fact that I woke up Tuesday morning feeling pretty sore was also not a mystery.

However, several weeks ago my glasses went missing. I regretted having to go on a road trip and wear my contacts during the long hours of driving. I had searched all the hiding places I could think of, but my glasses were nowhere to be found.

When I scooted along on my knees, pulling weeds from the flower beds in front of my house, and I found my glasses lying there in the dirt and dead branches, I wondered how they got there. Or, more specifically, which cute little pair of hands had delivered them there: Hannah's, or Olivia's?

But here's the biggest mystery of all.

Where is the big old bird that took aim at my poor left lens and left it covered in yuck? I'd like to have a little chat with him...

The Best part of my Birthday

When I was a kid, something I always loved about my birthdays was that I didn't have to do any chores. 

At that time, "chores" included
1. making my bed 
2.perhaps setting the table for dinner.

Can you imagine how unburdened I felt when I got out of doing those things once a year?!

As a mom of young children, No Chores days are few and far between.  I mean, there are many days when I don't make my bed.  (Sorry, Mom.  I'm the failure, not you.  You did the best anybody could.)  But chores such as picking up clutter (over and over) and doing dishes just have to be done, no matter the special occasion.  Actually, on some special occasions, there are more chores than usual!

So today, the best part of my birthday has been getting out of doing chores. 

Whenever my kids asked me what I want for my birthday, I told them I'd like "a slave."  Hannah hesitated.  "I don't know what all the jobs are.  Could you make me a list?"  I told her I'd be happy to do that for her.
In the end, she drew a picture for me.  I'll take her willingness as a gift, anyhow.
Doug made breakfast and packed the girls' lunches before he went to work.
Katelyn came home from school and started picking up clutter. 
Everyone seems to be pitching in, and while I can't say that I haven't had to lift a finger, I definitely feel loved.

And to top it all off, my washing machine broke down!  Happy birthday to me!  No laundry today!

It's the best.

Spring Break

What started out as a two-day business trip for Doug, turned into a seven-day road trip for the family! We made a big loop, from home to Portland, then along the Oregon coast and up to Seattle, and then home again.

The Chinese Gardens in Portland, Oregon.

It was beautiful and interesting, even for the kids, and even in the cold weather!

Smarty pants Hannah played an I Spy game at the Chinese Gardens.

Voodoo Donuts.

We tried the Voodoo Dozen. Hello, sugar! That purple one was actually one of my favorites--grape flavor!

Tilamook Cheese Factory. We did the tour, and then ate the product! 38 flavors of ice cream. I chose White Licorice in a waffle cone. It was so yummy!

The girls LOVE swimming at the hotel pools and hot tubs. (Our favorite hotels included the Homewood Suites in Boise and the Rivertide Suites in Seaside--just in case you're planning a trip there with your own family of seven. You can get a two bedroom suite with a kitchenette and even a washer & dryer in your unit--which is a lifesaver at the beach!--for less than the cost of two rooms at a cheap hotel. You're welcome.)

The ocean water was less inviting, but we loved walking the beaches, hunting for shells, and exploring tide pools.

This stop was for Doug: Fort Clatsop, which is a re-creation of Lewis & Clark's winter camp.

Olivia was an angel during our 2000 (or so) miles of driving.

The older girls got along pretty well, too. Until the last leg:

(Who looks the most guilty here?)

It's good to be home!

If you want to rent a movie...

...may I suggest Redbox?

Here's why.

We rented two movies from Redbox this week, while we were Spring Breaking in Oregon.
I returned them tonight, in Utah.

I love that you can rent from and return to any location--and they're everywhere!

And guess what! Since I rented them in Oregon--no tax. Just an even dollar a day per movie.

It's the simple things, you know?

How to Dye Eggs

Step One: Prepare the dye.  You could cover your work surface with newspaper (does anyone take the paper anymore?) or wax paper, but I like to dig through the storage room for old plastic placemats that nobody remembers you still owned.  They stay in place well, and it's impossible to ruin these things.

Step One-A: Have you ever wondered what the color yellow tastes like?  Choose a willing taste tester. 

 Place dye tablets within her reach. 

 

Watch for facial evidence. 

 Hmm.  Yellow's not too bad.  

How about blue?

Step Two: Use the "magic crayon" to color designs on the hard-boiled eggs.  This is something you'll remember fondly when you're a mother someday.  Seeing your own children do this may cause nostalgia.

Step Three: Dip the eggs in the dye.  Take this step very seriously.   There should be no smiling and very little talking.  And remember: Whichever color your sister chooses, that's the color you need to use right away.  Leave several bowls of dye untouched while you both dunk your eggs in the same color.

Step Four: Allow your eggs to dry.  Admire the pretty colors and designs.  You may want to set them on the counter while you clean up the table, and then you may forget to put them in the fridge.  If this happens, you won't want anyone to eat them.  But that's okay, because you can just admire their pretty colors a little while longer.  You can always boil more eggs for consumption.

Step Five: At this point, your egg dyers might want to keep decorating eggs. Problem: You only boiled 18, and they're all colored by now.  Solution: Teach your children the craft of emptying an egg.  It's gross and sometimes difficult.  But they'll be up for a challenge.

Step Six: If, by the time they've emptied the eggs and rinsed and dried them, they become restless and decide not to color them after all...Send them outside before they start smashing egg shells over their heads and throwing empty eggs at each other like snowballs.