Into the Drink

This is our cat, Gertie. She's kind of weird. We got her when Lilie was a baby, so even though she's odd, we like her and we're going to keep her. She's very good natured, very self-sufficient, very pretty and clean, she doesn't leave hair all over my house and couches, she doesn't rub up on anybody, and she doesn't claw my furniture. Most of the time, she is outside or sleeping on or under my bed.

One of the slightly strange things she does is drink from the bath tub. When she was a kitten, both the places that we lived had leaky tub faucets. She took to not ever drinking from her water dish, she'd just go lick the faucet. However, we no longer have leaky faucets. Yet she still tries on occasion. -- Like the other day when I was bathing Vi.

Nels is so nice, he'll turn it on for her if she comes to sit on the edge of the tub. I, on the other hand, am more likely to tease her by attempting to push her into the tub. :) She has good reason for liking Nels better than she does me. :)

Skating in the Starlite

Yesterday I decided that Hazel and I needed some time together, so I took her for a date. :) We had been planning on going ice skating, something she's been asking to do since she was probably 4 or 5, but the ice rink closed at 4:00, so we decided to go roller skating at Starlite Skating instead.

I must say, taking a seven-year-old roller skating is quite the experience! Hazel was quite nervous, but she did really great for it being her first time. At one point, I had the genius idea that she should just hold onto my pants pockets and I could pull her. However when she lost her balance, she pulled me down right onto her lap! LOL! Poor kiddo. --- Actually, I still can't stop laughing about it. She didn't think it was so funny at the time, but as we were leaving she was able to laugh about it with me. :)

Hazel wanted to hold on to the railing religiously and kept trying to "walk" instead of skate. She was trying so hard to either rely on me or on the railing --- which I quickly realized was contributing to her unsteadiness. As we skated around, I couldn't help but think of it as an analogy for how we all are. When we try to rely solely upon other people to hold us up or even "the wall", rather than learning how to balance on our own, we skate through life pretty wobbly. That being said, truth be told, I wasn't entirely steady on the skates either. So after a few turns around the floor, we traded our skates in for roller blades and had much more success. As children, my brothers and sisters, went roller blading quite often --- they feel so much more comfortable to me that traditional roller skates. I was happy to realize that even after almost ten years or more of not putting on a pair of roller blades, I was still pretty good on them. Hazel did much better and seemed to enjoy them much better as well.

We'll have to go again many more times before she really gets the hang of it, but we had a lot of fun trying together. Having uninterrupted time with Hazel means so much to her and it was so great to just talk with her about whatever she wanted to talk about. It was also a wonderful experience to help boost her confidence in being able to do things that are hard or even a little bit scary. I'm so thankful for my Hazel and her wonderful friendship. She is such a fabulous daughter and a wonderful example to me. I love you, Hazel!!

Numb Thumb - a disjointed update

Super cool when you've been cutting fabric for so long that your thumb starts to go numb . . .

So yes. It is after 2:00 in the morning, but I've got to finish cutting out "Toothless", but I'm going to be thumb-less soon, if I don't take a recirculation breather. Remind me on Monday to go get my scissors sharpened . . . I'm not even close to the bottom of my project pile.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I've done several transcription jobs for Melaleuca. I've actually enjoyed it. It is odd, however, to listen to my children speaking - and for the rest of the afternoon, automatically be processing how I would write what they're saying in a grammatically correct manner.

My house is totally out of sorts and has been since Thanksgiving. I've either been wasting away researching Christmas presents, and generally getting distracted, online or running from store to store - price checking, buying, returning, etc - with three or more children. It's idiotic. And my floors need swept and vacuumed.

Violet is cruising around like a pro now. She has been able to stand on her own for weeks now, but is too afraid to actually do it on purpose. :) She's also getting two new teeth - which will put her at eight. She loves to eat. She is such a good natured baby. - But at the same time, incredibly stubborn. Most of the time, she's an absolute angel, but when I thwart her from climbing under my desk to play with my external hard drive, WATCH OUT. It's amazing to me that 9 month old babies can know how to throw such tantrums. Wow!  --- She is my special little friend. We have such a wonderful connection and I am completely loving the stage she is at right now. She totally adores me and I really do love it. -- Particularly because she loves her daddy so much too. :)

Hazel has recently decided that she loves math. She is working hard every day to get better and she gets so pleased with herself when she succeeds. The first thing she wants to show me when she gets home is how well she did on her math sheet that day. :) She reads super well and really is enjoying "The Magic Treehouse" books right now. We've renewed our efforts to read the Book of Mormon as a family each day and she constantly impresses both Nels and I with her ability to read certain words. She is such a smart and good girl. She so wants those things that are right and good in life.

Lilie is also learning to read. She reads one to two verses at our scripture study time and tries hard to follow along while Hazel is reading as well. She loves school and gets along well with everyone in her class. She doesn't tell me much about school - even when I ask questions. She is so different from Hazel in that respect. If I ask her what she learned, she usually tells me that she can't remember. :) And when I ask her who she played with, for the first three months of the school year, she's tell me that she didn't know, she couldn't remember (or hadn't asked) anyone's name. LOL! However, her teacher has wonderful things to say about her, she is super smart, and comes home with the most impressive rainbow colored papers. Most everything is an elaborate and detailed rainbow. I love it! I've spent a little more time cuddling Lilie lately. It's amazing to me what a difference this makes in her behavior. Her "love language" is definitely physical touch.

Elsie is still my princess. She talks quite a bit about getting married --- always to her Prince (her cousin Isaac). She even tells me every once in a while about how she had a dream about getting married! :) She also talks about other people being married all the time. She is SO different from my older two girls in that respect. She is very helpful and really enjoys being my buddy in the mornings. She is openly obstinate when she doesn't want to do something, but most of the time, she willingly complies. She is a very sweet little princess.

Nels is doing great. I love him so much. He is always concerned with how I'm doing and is very good to come home from a long day at work and help with the dishes, the kids, dinner, etc. He is an incredibly loving and dedicated husband and friend. I've thought a lot lately about how different my life would be, had I not married Nels and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude that he is my husband.

I AM HAPPY.

Injuries are Hereditary in Our Family

Accidents in our family seem to be hereditary.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Utah visiting my new baby niece, I got a text from Nels,

"Hazel needs stitches. Should I take her to the ER?"

Nice.

Apparently while she and Lilie were supposed to be sleeping, they were actually "flying" off Lilie's bed. I imagine they must have been having some sort of contest. The funny thing about that is I imagine it would have been hard to tell who was winning in the dark. Also difficult to gauge where the toy box is located - as that is what Hazel smashed her face into. :)

Nels emailed me this picture. As soon as I pulled it up on the computer, my mom said, "She'll have a scar in the exact same place you do." -- As a child I took a nose-dive off the kitchen table and had to get stitches in the same spot.

I'm not sure who the blood and stitching must have been more traumatic for, Nels or Hazel. Nels just about passed out when I needed stitches when we were newlyweds and "demonstrates proper breathing technique" every time I have to get blood drawn when I'm pregnant. :)

I talked to Hazel on the phone while they were en route to the doctor. She was missing her mama and pretty upset about the whole thing, but she was still very brave. - Plus, Lilie offered great moral support, since she's a pro at all sorts of injuries that either do - or should - require stitching. Hazel ended up with four small stitches and a yellow teddy bear.

-----------------------------------------

And now I will tell you a story about how my family seems to be determined to knock their teeth right out of their heads. My maternal grandmother damaged her front teeth - I'm not positive as to the extent, but I know she did. I have at least one cousin and an aunt who have also damaged their front teeth. As a child, my mother broke off a chunk of her front teeth while climbing up a slide. When my brother was about ten, he ground off the majority of his front teeth on a sidewalk when the front tire of his bike came off whilst attempting a jump. A few years ago, my little sister, while impressing her date with her incredible ballet skills, broke off her front teeth on my parents' new hardwood floor.

Last but not least, when I was about seven years old, my cousins and I were playing dress up in my grandmother's basement. While walking up the cement stairs in a dress that was too long for me, I tripped and bent my brand new permanent teeth completely backwards into my mouth. Amazingly, they didn't break - as the roots must not have been fully formed yet - and my mom was able to pull them back straight. They turned black for a couple days, but as they healed, they returned to their normal white color. They've been perfect ever since. In fact, I've been asked by every dentist I've ever been to whether I had braces as a child, because my teeth are so pretty. :) Hooray for me. :)

A few years ago, when Genny had so gracefully met up with my parents' hardwood, I was laughing about it to a friend of mine. I told her about our long family history of knocking our front teeth out and she had suggested that maybe we just have weak teeth. LOL!! I informed her that not too many teeth can hold up to hereditary clumsiness combined with sidewalks, hardwood floors, cement stairs, metal slides and the like. :)

Well, I've always believed that I was the lucky one. My teeth had fixed themselves! -- However, at my last dental appointment, my dentist asked me if I'd ever had any problems with my front teeth. Apparently, it took about 20 years, but bending my teeth backwards did actually damage one of my teeth. As a result, I had the fabulous experience of my first (and hopefully only!) root canal last week. Lucky me!

I got home and went to kiss Nels goodbye as he left for work, only to realize that not only does Novocain deaden the paid, it also deadens you muscles. -- Muscles needed for kissing. :)

PUCKER UP!!!

San Diego 4: New Adventures

We'd been planning all along on going to the San Diego Zoo at some time during our vacation, but when it came right down to it, there were always other things we'd rather do instead. Friday was kind of a free day, but we just couldn't imagine walking around the zoo all day and then hop in the car for a 5 hour drive back to Las Vegas. So instead, we opted for a day filled with some new adventures.

First Train Ride

We packed up and checked out of the hotel fairly early and decided that instead of driving all the way downtown, only to have to pay for parking everywhere we went, we'd just catch the local commuter train that runs along the coastal cities in Southern California. Since Hazel was the only child over six, it wasn't terribly expensive, compared to gas and then parking downtown. It was cool and grey, but that was the story of our trip.

While Nels took pictures, I wrestled with four children and attempted to keep them from getting squashed by passing trains. :)

All you need is LOVE . . . ha, ha, ha!

Lilie - unsuccessfully attempting to NOT pose or be mauled by Hazel. :) 

Say Cheeeese!

The girls (and I) had never been on a train before, so this was a lot of fun.

The girls were very good, albeit REALLY excited. As we departed the train in Downtown San Diego, several people stopped us to -
first: ask, "Are these all yours?" (referring to our apparently unusual number of children),
second: "All girls?!",
and third: to tell us quite profusely that they were amazingly well-behaved! LOL!

Actually, this seemed to happen every time we went anywhere. "Wow! Are these all yours?!" Yes. *smile* "Wow! All girls?" Yes. *still smiling and starting to laugh a little* "I just have to tell you how pretty they all are. We've been watching your family from across the (insert: restaurant, train, line, boat, room, lobby, way, etc.) and I just have to tell you how impressed we were with how well behaved they all are!" LOL! Thank you. Yes, they really have been very good.

It cracked me up every time someone would talk to us about it. Living in Idaho or Utah, it seems entirely normal and commonplace to have four young children, but apparently in more urban areas we're quite the freak show. LOL! I could feel people watching us all the time. And for the record, the girls - all four of them - truly were angels the entire trip. Hallelujah.


First Boat Ride on the Ocean


Our reason for taking the train to downtown San Diego was so that we could take them to the Maritime Museum that is there on the Bay. It was a short walk from the train station to the Museum and we got there with just enough time to sign up for the Boat Tour that they take around the Bay. My kids have been on a ferry before (in the Puget Sound), but that's not quite the same as taking a smaller boat out on the not-so-open ocean (Bay).

Dancing in the "ballrooms" of a steamboat before boarding the "Pilot".

It's not a huge boat, but it was a lot of fun to see the sights from the "oceanside", especially since we weren't really going to be seeing any more of San Diego during our stay. 


We were able to see the huge aircraft carriers (and other ships) that they have docked at the Navy Base there as well, which was incredible. Next time we go, we'll have to go on the tour of the USS Midway.

I loved watching the pelicans flying over the water.

After we returned, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the many different ships. There was a couple of steamboats, two submarines (one US, one Soviet), several sailing ships - one built in 1863, and others. It was very cool.

 Yep. My eyes really are kind of yellow. :)

They had some great costumes on board one of the one sailing ships. :) Lots of fun. I think Nels and Lilie should have been born in the mid-1800's. They look good as voyagers. :)

My only wish was that we could break our exploring up into several days. All in one day, it starts to lose a little of the excitement by the end of the afternoon, but it was still lots of fun.

New Adventures Amid a Series of Unfortunate Events . . . 

We left downtown San Diego later than we'd planned, but luckily we were able to catch a train heading back up to Sorrento Valley (where we'd parked), just moments after we arrived. The ride back was just as enjoyable as the ride down. In fact, we sat right next to a couple who had stopped us to make the *ABOVE* comments in the restaurant where we'd eaten lunch early that day. We had a great time chatting with them. The girls told them all about our vacation, and Elsie - true to form - made immediate best friends with them. Even preferring to sit next to them as opposed to her parents. :)

As we approached our stop, we gathered up our Chicks and our bag and began herding them down the steps toward the door. Well. Just so you know, those trains are not piddling around when they stop at a station. They've got a schedule to keep and no way of opening the doors if they close in your face, just as you're about to step through them! So there we stood. Staring at the doors, watching our stop - and our van - roll past as the train started toward its next stop.

It was a very sad and stressful moment. Made even more stressful once we realized that we would miss the last train heading back down to our beloved Sorrento Valley Station for the day - by a whopping FORTY-FIVE SECONDS.  ------ So. First time missing our train stop.

We arrived at the next station about fifteen minutes later. We spoke with the station attendant - no more trains that evening going South. We asked about buses. He said he wasn't sure, but there might be a bus that heads that way arriving down the street in about 15 minutes. So we hightailed it down to the bus stop. Upon arrival, the driver told us that while he was heading South, his closest stop was about a mile and a half from the station we needed to get to and he didn't know of any connecting buses -- and he figured our chances of getting a cab from that stop would be pretty slim. So we walked the quarter mile back to the train station, with our tired children, to try to catch a cab.

After finally convincing one of the cabbies with a van to take us - even though we didn't have car seats for our kids - I realized that we'd need to pay him cash. --- He drove us to an ATM. --- Only for me to realize that I couldn't remember my PIN number. Nice. He finally agreed to take a check.  ------- My girls first cab ride.

It was an incredibly stressful evening. Violet and Elsie whimpered and cried most of the 20 minutes back to the van. But every once in a while, I'd just have to look over at Nels and laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

All because we didn't get to the train doors five seconds sooner.

We finally made it back to the van about an hour and a half after we'd seen it slip out of view earlier. --- And we still had a FIVE HOUR drive ahead of us! LOL!

Upon arriving back at our van, Elsie was once again in high spirits . . .

. . . but apparently the rest of us were slightly less enthused with the detour.

We pulled into our hotel much, much later that night. We slept in the next morning, got ready, checked out, got breakfast, and then spent about four hours at the hotel swimming pool - enjoying the Las Vegas sun. The girls practiced swimming under water - which they'd perfected throughout the week. Amazingly even after hours of swimming, they still weren't ready to stop when it came time to head home. :) We made it home - I think - at about 3 o'clock in the morning.

It was a wonderful week! So wonderful to be able to spend all of that time totally uninterrupted together as a family. I love my girls and my Nels so very much and I'm to thankful that we were able to make this happen. Hopefully, we will have many more adventures together in the coming years! :)