Graduates

Nolan graduated from preschool this week. He did a great job singing the songs and saying his part: "We saw five alligators, but they weren't green. They were the brightest PINK we've ever seen!" I think Miss Marissa must have known that his favorite color is pink. Ezra really wanted to stay up on stage with Nolan and was so frustrated when Dad kept plucking him off. Finally at the end, we allowed Ez to stand by Nolan as he received his certificate and award. Nolan was given the "Big Thinker Award." She told about how she'd asked what he wants to be when he grows up and he said he wanted to build a big store. She said, "Oh, like an architect?" And Nolan had said, "Yeah, but my store will be huge and have a train running through it and you stop at different places to get what you need." Justin and I both like the idea. I love shopping and Dad loves riding trains! Sounds like a good combination.
We're proud of you, Nolan. I still can't believe you're done with preschool!

And my nephew, Bryson, graduated from high school that same night. Way to go, Bryson! He's so handsome. Here's the little gift I made for him. I'm posting pictures to help me remember for future graduates that come along.

Outside during May

The weather has been gorgeous so we've enjoyed lots of time outside this month. We've got our garden in and finally filled in the remaining portion of unfinished yard with bark. For Mother's Day, Justin built me this awesome trellis for the tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers to grow on. I'm doing square foot gardening and the author recommends this. Hope it works for me. Nolan even helped out with the load of bark so we couldn't resist this pair of work gloves that fit him so well. Like a glove!

  Occasionally the boys stop bugging each other and actually play nicely. Nolan was good to give Ez a ride. I always breathe a sigh of relief when they are smiling together, rather than arguing or whining about something the other one is doing/not doing. It's a blessing and a curse to have them two years apart. Great friends but they really annoy each other, too. But here's another happy moment: making brownies and licking the bowl clean.

The boys were pretty enthralled with the process of tuning the piano. What a sight for them to see how it works inside! They begged the piano tuner to leave it open when she was done! The piano was severely out of tune but there was one note in particular that buzzed. She found a long strip of paper under the key. We're pretty sure it was Ez who put it there. 

  We also had a water party at a friends' house recently. It was fun to see all these kids having such a great time. It was so hot (around 90 degrees!) that I was longing to get wet, too. I guess I should have! 

Mother's Day Card

Today the boys gave me a sweet Mother's Day card that I want to remember. Justin wrote it out for them, but he transcribed exactly what they said. Here is Ezra's note:
Dear Mommy, I just like to watch a movie. Where is my Mommy? I just love her so much because I just don't know. She is the best Mommy in the whole world. -Ezra
Very poetic and open-ended. I like that. Here is Nolan's note:
Dear Mom, I love you and Dad loves you too. It is going to be very nice on Mother's Day. You're lucky because today is the day that's Mother's Day! You be happy on Mother's Day. (A little bossy, maybe.) I like to play games with you. I just like you. You are pretty. You love us and we love you. The end. -Nolan
I think Nolan is more excited about Mother's Day than I am.
Justin also wrote me a nice note, but I won't go into that. It was mooshy and lovey, you get the idea. The boys bought me a bag of dark chocolate (that's really all I need to be happy) and yesterday Justin built me a awesome garden support for growing tomatoes and other vine plants. We've been really busy in the yard and garden this weekend so it's nice to relax today. I think I'll ask hubby to make dinner tonight. But if he cooks then I'll have to keep the boys happy and out of the kitchen. Not sure which is the better deal? But I know I'm so thankful to be a mom and have Nolan and Ezra in my life!

I hope all of our mothers and grandmothers out there are having a nice day. Love to all of you!

CERT Drill

Last Saturday was our neighborhood's big CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Drill, in conjunction with the statewide "ShakeOut" earthquake drill. I tried to get Justin, Nolan, and Ezra to get made up as victims so that I could come rescue them, but the boys were just not ready for that. Nolan said, "I do not want them to put any blood makeup on me!" The makeup lady started to paint a bruise on Ezra but after a few seconds he said, "I want that off of me!" O-well.
We were hard at work for about 2 hours. The fire department came and observed us then later fed us lunch at the fire station. They gave us feedback on the good and bad of our performance. It was good to brush up on my skills and think about things that I need to add to my search and rescue bag.
My friend, Robin, is really passionate about CERT and I dread the day that she ever moves away. I am so thankful that she's around to make our neighborhood more prepared for emergencies. CERT volunteers pay for their training and supplies, review what they learn, and participate in drills to practice. I'm proud to be one of them and to know that I can better help my family and neighbors in an emergency! If any of you are interested in becoming trained, I would highly recommend it! http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/
Justin tried to get pictures of me carrying victims on backboards, bandaging wounds, etc. but after it started he couldn't find me. But here we are getting briefed on the situation and forming teams.

That evening I went to Provo with my sister. We went to dinner with her friend, AnnDee, and then saw a dance show that her friend had choreographed. It was fun to have a break after my busy morning. Before I left, everyone got a case of Spring Fever and decided to relax on the couch. Ez fell right to sleep. Sweet boys! We weren't used to the weather being so warm!

Sometimes these boys just want to have a little Daddy cuddle time. We can't allow it to go on too long, however, or there's trouble. When they would cuddle every now and then, we would then put them in their bed after they had fallen asleep but then Ez kept waking up in the night saying that he wanted to sleep in our bed. No more falling asleep in our bed!

I bought Ezra a new book and he's really been studying it. Here's the proof. So serious!

We got a little rain and then some warm days so when I sent Ez out to play the other day here's where I found him. He said he was sleeping in his water bed. He stayed in there for 45 minutes until the clouds rolled over and he got cold. We'll be getting rid of that dirty, broken wheelbarrow soon!

 My nephew, Bryson, is expecting his mission call today or tomorrow. We are just so proud and excited for him! We can't wait to hear!!!

And On to St. George

We left Moab and drove to St. George to spend Easter with my family. After the Easter bunny stopped by on Saturday morning, we headed to the picnic. It was quiet this year. We missed seeing all the familiar faces, but we still had a good time. The food was yummy and the kids had a great candy hunt. My mom was such a good sport to wear the bunny suit. My mom was in charge of the picnic this year and so she felt responsible since none of the other family members would do it. Okay, I have guilt. I should have worn it for her. But my mom really did make a great bunny and it will be a fun memory for the grandkids. And the rest of us. He he. Dustin kept cat calling and saying, "Don't let John see you in that bunny suit." John is my Dad. Totally inappropriate. Totally.

We missed the train that is sometimes at the picnic so Justin gave several kids a ride in our bike trailer, including Ethan who is 10 years old. I guess you are never to old for a ride! Nolan was the lucky winner this year, who found the secret egg with the word "bunny" inside of it. I told him that if he finds the egg he should hide it. When he did find it and everyone was watching, he said to me, "Mom, should I hide it?" He was very confused and wasn't all that happy about winning the big stuffed bunny. But it was very nice of Aunt Charlene to bring it even though you can see all the men from my family laughing in the background. Later, Bryson was chasing my boys around with the bunny. I think they might have been genuinely afraid!

After the picnic we went to see The Hunger Games. We loved the movie! It very closely follows the book. Kamrie was nice to watch the kids for us. When we got back from the show, there was a sign on the door that read, "Phineas and Ferb Play - Come on in!" The kids had put together a little skit. Nolan took it very seriously and the cousins had a good time, even if it didn't make much sense to the rest of us that were watching. Here is Nolan introducing the play. He's got Easter stamps on his head.

Later that week, Justin and Nolan headed out on a 6 mile hike at Red Cliffs. It was quite technical (climbing rocks, holding onto ropes, crossing the river) but Nolan was loving it! Unfortunately, the trail became too difficult to follow and they decided to turn back. This put them miles away from the car, though, that we had left at the end of the hike. They called me for a ride but decided they would take another trail over to the car that was easier. Soon it was dark and they were still hiking. Thank goodness Justin had packed a flashlight for just such a situation. Toward the end Nolan said, "Dad, I'm getting tired of hiking in the dark. I'm getting tired of hiking at all." But he really was a trooper up until the end when Justin finally called to tell me they were safe at the car. They had hiked 8 miles, 1 hour of which was in the dark. Not to mention they hadn't had any dinner, only snacks, since we thought they'd be done around 7. If I had been there I would have been one cranky lady!  I feel bad for not insisting on picking them up when I had the chance, but I'm so thankful they came back safe! Nolan's hiking shoes didn't fare so well. They were full of holes, sand, and St. George's red dirt. We figure that our family hiked and biked a total of 47 miles over those 8 days of our trip so it doesn't surprise me that Nolan needs new hiking shoes!

Justin and I took our bikes out by ourselves for some mountain biking. I always thought I didn't like mountain biking but I had a good time, other than when I crashed into a creosote bush. I would rather go uphill though, because going downhill was so bumpy. I felt a little out of control. Justin loves the downhill. It's so great that the tortoise reserve is practically in my mom's backyard... it's full of great hiking and biking trails!

 

We did take the kids swimming and they loved the water! Ez seems to like the new floatie that he got in his Easter basket. It was so nice to celebrate Easter in St. George and enjoy the warm weather!

Spring Break in Moab

We had so much fun in Moab! The boys were great hikers and Justin was so glad to have a break from work stress. Arches National Park is Justin's favorite park. It was only my second time visiting. We started off with Delicate Arch and Ezra hiked all the way up the long slick rock hill by himself. Although there was the one time when he got near the top, decided to lay down on the rock, and said, "I'm dead" to everyone that passed by. But Ezra was impressed because he's still talking about Delicate Arch. While on the hike we talked a bit about minerals in rocks. At one point Nolan pointed to a cool rock and said, "That rock has a lot of criminals!"

Our friends were so kind to lend us their awesome bike carrier so that we could take our bikes on our trip. We had some great rides, especially this 10 mile bike route down the canyon into Moab. Doesn't Justin rock his new bike shorts?! Justin and I couldn't bike it at the same time since we needed a pick up person at the bottom, but the kids were lucky enough to go down twice! We even brought Nolan's new bike and we rode for a couple of miles through the heart of Moab. They had a fun musical park for kids but we didn't have our camera there.

We also visited Jewel Tibbits Arch on BLM land. It included an exciting dirt road where we even drove on slick rock. Who needs a Jeep when you've got a minivan?! The hike was fun because we really had to watch for the cairns so we didn't get lost. Nolan was our "scout" in the lead. I was a little nervous at the end because there are some scary cliffs. Justin and I had bad dreams that night about our children and cliffs. It just made me queasy so we didn't stay at the end very long. Along the way, we discovered that Ezra has a fear of moss. He tried touching it and then decided to fear it. "I don't want that moss to get me!" he would say on the way back.

We also visited Corona Arch on BLM land. I was so impressed! It was a really fun, easy hike with spectacular scenery. We saw some guys on top of the arch and at one point one of them jumped off the top and went swinging through. Justin happened to be walking up to the arch from the other direction and was quite surprised when a man went swinging just feet away from him. Afterward, Nolan said, "I want to swing through that arch when I grow up." I just don't want to be there when he does it! I have to admit, it did look fun! There was also this cool "O" formation on that hike.

The kids' favorite place was Sand Dune Arch. Talk about a perfect place for kids to play! They rolled about in the sand, dug their toes in, and ran down the hill laughing. It was lovely. Also pictured below is Nolan near some dinosaur footprints. He thought this was pretty neat since they had been talking about paleontology at preschool. And Justin and Nolan went exploring the rock "fins" around the Arches campground while I stayed with Ezra while he napped in the van.

While at Arches, Nolan completed the Junior Ranger program. He helped pick up litter, watched the movie at the visitors center, did some drawings and wrote down his favorite place. The park ranger was pretty serious in going over Nolan's work, but Nolan did a great job answering his questions. He took an oath to protect the parks and help his brother (I'm glad the ranger threw that part in!) and then he received his badge. Way to go, Junior Ranger!

We stayed at Hampton Inn and while enjoying our breakfast we met a couple speaking German. They could see that Nolan was curious about their speech so they asked if he knew what language they were speaking. He was silent so the man said, "We're speaking German." Nolan said, "Oh, German?! I thought you were speaking Swahili!" We had a good laugh about that. Then Nolan talked their ears off and I had to carry him out as he was still talking about Zelda and Minecraft (his favorite games).

We ate at yummy restaurants. Our favorite was Pasta Jay's and Peace Tree. I wish I had a bowl of "pasta pillow puffs" drowning and baked in alfredo sauce with grilled chicken. Be still my heart. I can't remember where we were, but one day Nolan said, "You know what I love better than Mommy?" Finally he said, "A CLEAN Mommy!" Several people heard him and joined in laughing. I guess I must have been a little dusty or something.

While in Moab, we biked approximately 12 miles and hiked 9 miles. Next we were off to St. George for more outdoor fun!

Latin Moves

We watched Puss in Boots for the first time last week. Actually, the kids had seen it once with their cousins. We all liked the show but the best part for Justin and me was watching Nolan dance to the song on the credits. It's called The Puss Suite. He mentions that he did this dance at his Aunt Lacey's house but we were quite surprised when he busted out these moves. He was really feeling the music!

A Bad Mix

Last Sunday I was asked to substitute in Primary for our singing time leader. I have never done singing time and was feeling pretty nervous. I was afraid that I would time the activities wrong and have lots of time left at the end, or I worried that the kids would just be so chatty that I couldn't get their attention. Well, it turned out that it was a lot of fun. We did a little egg hunt and each egg had a song with it. The kids were really well behaved and surprisingly, things went smoothly. I was feeling pretty good about myself when it was all over. Justin came in to watch for some of the time (he was just too interested) and afterward he said, "You didn't really act like you were nervous at all. It went great." I said, "Yeah, I really wasn't all that nervous after all. It was fun!" Then he said, "But I could tell that you really were nervous deep down because of the giant pit stains under your arms!" AAAHHHH! I looked down and to my horror saw that my light blue shirt had turned dark. Well, I was humbled. I'm not that great after all if I can't pull off singing time without giant pit stains! Pit stains and song leaders don't mix.