Back to Routine

Today marks the end of our off-track period.  The kids head back to school tomorrow.  I am sad.  Zach asked if they could just miss one more day of school and, to be honest, I considered it.  But there is no sense in delaying the inevitable so they are all showering up and getting ready for bed early tonight.

We played a lot the past two weeks . . . 

two trips (California and the Cabin), 

eating out at Maddox, 

the Sepulvedas came for dinner, 

we saw Race to Witch Mountain and Monsters vs. Aliens, 

there was a sleepover at Grandma's . . . 

I just hope they are not too worn out for school.

Lazy Cabin Days

Last Wednesday, my kids were going stir crazy.  They are off-track but all of their friends are still in school which means I was left to entertain them.  Since plopping them in front of the tv for the next two weeks was not an option, I decided to pack them up and head to the cabin.   

My parents, Brian and Erin (along with Jack and Sam), Danny and Cassie, and little Carman (to keep Ella company) went along as well. We ate tons of good food, watched movies (Ghost Town), played card games (Cory and I each lost), and let the kids roam in their pajamas all day long.

I always wonder if my kids know how lucky they are to have a place like this . . . a place where we can, at any given moment, drop everything and escape into nature.  We snowmobile and sled/snowboard in the winter, we ride atvs, bike and hike in the summer.  We love to go in search of deer and moose.  If allowed, I would live there forever.

The Lesson

My dear children - here is a lesson on a word you are using incorrectly . . .

ACCIDENT:  any event that happens unexpectedly, without deliberate plan or cause.

Ella - when you used marker to draw flowers all over your white shirt, that is no accident.  Simply saying, "Mom, it was just an accident" doesn't make it so.

Grant - Hiding your homework anywhere and everywhere in the hopes that I will forget about it is not an accident.  Please don't say, "I'm not sure how that ended up in the freezer.  It must have been an accident."

Zach - When your sister ACCIDENTLY bumps into you and causes you to trip, it is no longer an accident when you turn around and TRY to trip her.  I'm not going to believe, "We both accidently knocked each other over."

Does this clear things up?

Love you!

Mom

A Visit from Buddy

Today was one of those post-trip days where you just can't quite get started.  I tackled laundry, put up Easter decorations, made breakfast, lunch and dinner, went to a school meeting, ran kids to lessons . . . and I feel like I didn't get anything done.  Why is that?

At the end of the day, the kids and I pulled up into the driveway to find a strange and very sweet dog sitting on our porch.  He had his own ball which he rushed over and dropped at their feet.  Grant shrugged, picked up the ball and threw it.  The dog raced after his prized possession, scooped it up and promptly returned it to Grant.  Grant shrugged again, threw the ball and said, "I guess he came to play.  I think I'll name him Buddy."  After several rounds of fetch, the dog walked out of the yard and down the street.  Grant came in for dinner, plopped down on the barstool and said, "I already miss Buddy."

I wasn't sure if I should remind him we have a our own dog in the backyard.

Dannon

I called my parents tonight and invited them over for dinner.  After dinner, we sat at the table frosting cupcakes and laughing about Ella's (now deceased) imaginary boyfriend.

A couple of years ago, Ella told me she had a boyfriend named Dannon (yes, like the yogurt).  I asked her what color his hair was (yellow), was he tall or short (tall), was he skinny or fat (duh, mom - skinny).  Then I asked, is he her age.  She told me no - he is a little older.  When I asked how old, I was told 42.  YIKES!

Dannon was a part of her life for a while until one day she told me she had bad news.  It looked like Dannon had gotten a job transfer to Sun Valley.  She told me he put on his "flower shirt" he wears to Sun Valley and said "I guess I won't be seein' ya cause I got a lot of work to do."

She didn't talk about Dannon after that until . . . one week her room was a mess everyday.  I finally told her I was tired of her messing up her room.  She told me it was not her, it was Dannon.  His job was over and he was back and now had a lot of free time so he kept messing up her room.  So, I sat her down and told her that boyfriends are not allowed in our rooms and that Dannon could only visit her in the family room.  That put an end to the messy room.

One day, out of the blue, she announced that Dannon was dead.  Yes, dead.  He was in a car accident and he was dead.  Days later, I asked her if she had talked to Dannon.  She reminded me of the car accident.  I told her that I thought maybe he had come back like he did from Sun Valley.  She said, "No mom, people don't come back from dead."

She has had no imaginary friends since then.  I have to admit, I kind of miss the drama.

Home Sweet Home

We are home.

We are tired.

Disneyland was fun but oh so crowded.  So many people.  If this is off-season, I hate to see what peak season looks like.  We had to do some creative fast pass/parent switch pass tricks to get in the big rides.  Peter Pan was a long, painful wait. And yet, crowded Disneyland is usually better than real life.

Pictures tomorrow.  Today we have tutoring at Kumon, grocery shopping to do, and snowboarding to top off the day. 

 

Lucky us.

We are off!

Today is the day - we are leaving for Disneyland.  The kids can barely contain their excitement.  Mimi is coming as well as Uncle Brian, Aunt Erin and cousins Jack and Sam.

Our bags are packed.

Yesterday I bought Heeleys for Ella which will help her "grow" that last inch so she can ride Indiana Jones.  This is the greatest trick in the books and I am sure the Disney height police are fully aware, yet it still works.

Cory and the boys left first thing thing this morning to help Grandpa Hal remove the BIG Christmas star still hanging over his garage.  Ella and I are packing the last few necessities, but only after we ate the cake she made for breakfast.

But before I go, I am leaving one great quote from Grant.  He was discussing his ongoing obsession with becoming a zookeeper "when he is big" with my mom (Mimi). He was describing all his plans for "Utah's Hogle Zoo" when he suddenly started to cry.  When Mimi asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm just sad because you will never see my zoo."  Mimi said, "Why wouldn't I come to see your zoo."  Grant, through tears, replied, "Because you will be dead."

Can't argue with that logic.

Egg Pie

Yesterday I decided Ella and I needed to spice up our lunches.  We usually feast on the same turkey sandwiches or soups and I had had enough.  I informed Ella that I was making a really good surprise lunch.  She got excited and asked if it had pickles, I said no.  She asked if it had red tomatoes, I said no.  So I explained quiche to her.  I told her we were going to mix eggs, bacon and cheese, put it all in a pie crust, and bake it.  She scrunched up her face and said, "Hmmm . . . egg pie."

Once we sat down for a lunch of quiche and grapefruit, we had a conversation about career choices:

Ella:  Mom, I'm having a really hard time deciding what to be when I grow up.

Me:  What are your choices.

Ella:  I have four I'm trying to decide - Robot Girl, Rock Star, Zookeeper or Mail Girl.

Me:  Those are all good choices and I think you can be anything you want to be.  Plus you still have lots of time to decide.

 

There was a long pause and then . . .

Ella:  I think when I am old, there are going to be tons of Robot Girls so I think I will just be the Rock Star, Zookeeper and Mail Girl.

Snow, Snow, Go away!

It is snowing again.  My house suddenly feels colder and the big windows in my great room are freezing to the touch.  My spring bulbs (I'm not really sure what they are yet since they were planted by the previous owner) were just peeking through the ground. Now they are covered in cold slush.  But it is ok because we are leaving for California in three days.  So snow all you want Utah - just make sure to have it gone when I return!

Sugar Overload

Whenever Cory goes out of town, I seem to get the desire to make cookies.  I'm not sure why that is.  Maybe it is because I feel the need to occupy the kids who are constantly asking, "When is Daddy coming home, when is Daddy coming home?"  We pulled out all sorts of cookie cutters including the new "animal cracker" cookie cutters I just bought from Williams and Sonoma.  Have you seen these?  They are so little.  I am always drawn to things that are smaller than usual so when I saw these, I knew I had to have them.  We rolled dough, we cut, we ate raw cookies and cooked ones.  We frosted.  Some we gave away, most we ate.  After our bellies were full of sugar, we made grilled cheese sandwiches for dessert.

How to spot a policeman

Me:  Ell, you need to strap in.

Ella:  Mom, there are no signs of cops.  Do you know the signs of cops?

Me:  No.  What are the signs of cops?

Ella:  The signs are a police car, a blue uniform and eating a donut.  Got that mom - car, blue, donut.

Really Kinda Brown

See this room?  This is my boy's bathroom.  This is what it looked like when we bought the house.  Now, 10 months later, this is what it still looks like (minus the previous owners' lovely decorations).  Grant finds this room "really kinda brown" and wants to know what I can do with it.  That means I have a project this week.  I plan on transforming this room with paint - paint on the walls (Souvenir - a pale blue color), paint on the cabinets (Salsa - red, red, red) , and yes, paint on the tile (white).  It is possible to paint tile.  Did you know that?  Here's to hoping for much nicer pictures by Friday.  Wish me luck!