Vicious play

I was ironing shirts today and overheard the following between TJ and Coop as they were playing with their jungle.

Toby: "Here baby, I saved you the eyeballs and the intestines. I took off the feet cause there's yucky toenails on there."

Coop: "Mmmm, thanks I LOVE the eyeballs! *slurp* Yum, yum this is so delicious."A little later.......

Coop: "We're going to throw you out and get a new Dad from California. He's going to come on an airplane."

Toby: "No, we're not going to get a new Dad, we're going to eat him 'cause he was trying to eat Tails and the bad human."

From what I could glean from the rest, I think they were playing spiders in the jungle.
At least, I hope so.

Suspicion confirmed......
Toby: "Okay baby, say brother. Bruh-th-er." (Can you tell we are learning to read?)

Coop: "bruh-ther." (in best baby voice)

Toby: "Mom! (me) killer spider learned how to say brother!............Room service!"

Not sure what happened next. Hopefully brother didn't get eaten. They crack me up.

Happy Birthday America!

That's what the kids said all Saturday after we reviewed what the 4th of July is all about. We had a busy, wonderful day celebrating our country's independence. I found myself setting the alarm, which shouldn't be allowed on a holiday, to have enough time for a special breakfast before we headed out to the parade. We planned on relaxing afterward at the parent's house to swim and BBQ. I really wanted to find a decent firework show close by, but we opted to stay home because everyone was pretty beat by then. It was still a great day!

One of my fond memories of 4th of July as a kid is Grandma Payne's Old Glory Pancakes. Basically, they are buttered pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled and lined up on a platter, then lined on top with a row of cherry pie filling, sour cream, and blueberry pie filling. We had a few variations like whipped cream instead of sour cream or different fruit, but that is how I remember them most. I realized that my kids had no idea what Old Glory pancakes were, so this year I had to change that. We got up early to make our version and everyone loved them. Since we are a mostly non-dairy home, we used non-dairy whipped cream in place of sour cream. I decided the kids would like fresh fruit instead of pie filling (it's not my favorite either), so we had strawberries and blueberries. Toby took one bite and said, "Mmmmmmm! These taste like Snickerdoodles!" He's right, they kinda did. It is positively a tradition that must be carried on! Naturally, all calories consumed on a holiday are free anyway.

Silly Logan is usually moving so fast and trying so hard to keep up with his older siblings that he rarely has a quiet moment. While he sat down to eat his pancakes he looked at me and said, "Mom, this is the best day ever! I am having so much fun!" He kept saying that all morning. I think he felt the excitement and sweet spirit in our home that morning that I felt as well. Toby and Jessie expressed it in their own way too, by playing God Bless the USA 10+ times in a row and singing at the top of their lungs. I'm sure we woke up a few neighbors.

So we had some drama and set-backs trying to get Jessie to the staging area for the parade on time while still making it there with the rest of the kids. Jessie got to ride on the Little League "float," a big truck/trailer, so we needed to get her there by 9 AM. When I say set-backs, I mean Dave didn't think to go the back way and got stuck in mega traffic ON the parade route right before they closed it. He planned on dropping J and coming back home to ride bikes with the boys. He didn't make it, so it was up to me to hurry out to the parade route with the rest of the kids. We live up the street from the route this year, which switches districts in the city every year. I had the wagon packed with snacks, camera and Sydney already, so I threw our chairs on the pile, tied them on so they wouldn't squish Syd, and gave the boys the go ahead to start riding their bikes quickly while I pulled the wagon. Our ward was going to meet at one intersection to watch the parade together. That intersection was 5+ blocks away, and we had 20 minutes to get there on back roads. We totally made it right before the parade started, and I burned off all those calories from breakfast that didn't count anyway. ;)This boy was not sure about the whole parade thing this year. The only one he has seen in the past was the superhero parade at Six Flags last 4th of July and it was wimpy. He finally warmed up until the ghoulish pirates scared the pants off him at the very end. Sydney, too, was a little unsure about the parade. It took her 15 minutes to feel comfortable with all the strange things passing by, especially the bands. By the end she was sitting down and waving flags at everyone, except the pirates. We covered her eyes for those creepy people.

The parade was longer, and I little better than I expected. I have high expectations for what a good 4th of July parade should be after attending many Freedom Festivals in Utah. While our "Spirit of the Springs" themed parade (Warm Springs hosted the parade this year) was a fun event to start the day, it certainly didn't compare to the grand scale of parade I remember. We had a few marching bands, balloons, floats, cars and service vehicles, but the rest was eh, so-so. It is funded by sponsors and volunteers now, because the city it too broke to fund it anymore, so I can understand the small scale. Jess was happy to be in the parade, but later realized that she kinda missed out seeing all the other entrants. I missed having her there with us, too. The highlights for us were;
the Mister- the old F100 trucks
Me- the bagpipes, the veterans, and the old cars
Jess- riding up on the float with her friend Katelyn and getting treats/bubbles after
Toby- the Vikings and the Pirates of Emerson (local Haunted House) ship
Logan- eating watermelon and high-fives from Sharky (San Jose Sharks Hockey) and SpongeBob
Sydney- the dogs being walked by the 4H group (she got up and started following them down the street)
I was kind of on celebration autopilot that day until, towards the beginning of the parade, a big extended-cab truck decorated to the nines rolled by in the parade. It was the family of a local serviceman that was recently killed in Iraq. The truck was followed by members of other families walking with pictures in memorial of sons, husbands, and friends also killed in action during our current war with Iraq/Afghanistan. A huge wave of gratitude and thankfulness hit me at that moment as I remembered why we were all gathered that morning. So many have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms in America, and we are forever indebted to their bravery and service. A few vintage trucks and military vehicles carrying older veterans from various wars rolled by soon after and we made sure to cheer and clap for those men just as loud. I want my kids to know and remember how important our freedoms set forth by our God-fearing Founding Fathers are, and that these brave men and women who serve in the military should be respected for their part in upholding those freedoms. I know God watches over us and blesses us when we are faithful to His commandments. We cheered extra loud for all those in uniform that day.We all helped decorate the kids bikes and the wagon for maximum patriotic-ness as we rode to and from the parade. It's amazing how many people comment to me about how cute my twin boys are. They are 26 months apart. I must admit watching them ride their spiffed-up bikes to the parade with matching red shirts and buzz cuts I almost thought they were twins. They certainly got everyone's attention as we made our way to meet friends.

After the parade, we spent the day at Dave's P's house to swim, talk and eat fabulous food with family and friends. A huge thanks to my in-laws for opening their home to us and a bunch of friends. We always have a wonderful time swimming and hanging out on the back deck when we are there. The food was fabulous as well. I have been craving kabobs and Dave Sr. was happy to oblige on the grill. We ate beef and chicken kabobs, coleslaw, fresh corn, beans and rice, and lots of watermelon and cherries. Great-Gram made some scrumptious dessert and the kids ate double helpings after swimming so long all day. We even splurged and bought all different kinds of soda, a very rare occurrence at our house. Hey, if the calories were free all day, we were going to go all out.

Happy Birthday America! We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe day!

Softballs and hockey pucks

I love this sweet girl. She got up and tried to make chocolate chip pancakes this morning all by herself, well with Logan's help. That boy will find his way into making anything sweet in the kitchen. Jessie got as far as flipping the first pancake when she called me in to help. The saying "flat as a pancake" comes to mind when I saw what was cooking in the skillet. It was a hockey puck with chocolate chip lumps. Really bad. We determined the recipe she tried was awful and chalked it up to experience. I'm so glad J is getting more adventurous in the kitchen though!Jess had a great day despite our pancake debacle. She got the game ball tonight at her softball game which made her week! She was so excited. Every other game she comes home complaining that only the home team gets to give out the game ball (in little league both teams do) because she has had some great games as the visiting team. Last week, Jessie got 3 outs and hit really well, but since they were the visiting team there was no chance of a game ball at the end of the night. This girl is very competitive. Her game ball tonight is vindication to her perceived injustice during those other games.

And a random thought- there is another Jessie on her team and she had a Jessica on her baseball team this season as well. If I would have known how freakin' popular her name was when she was born we would have named her something else. I know, there's no use cryin' about it. It just bugs me that there is a Jessie her age around every corner.

{{Heat wave}}

Summer kicked it in high gear here in the Bay Area last Saturday. We went from a pleasant mid-80's kind of weather to a scorching 97+ degrees in one day. It sucked the life out of me. Saturday was a wash with respect to the things I had planned. The kids and I were too hot to move by about 1 PM, and we got a late start on the day. I am proud to say that I did not turn on the AC even though it was blazing hot, just a small thing I am trying to do to keep costs down. Sunday was a different story. ;) We were sick of the heat and rested very comfortably under the AC in our room. Modern conveniences are such a blessing!We had it easy last weekend compared to my Man though. He walked the Trek, which is a reenactment of the Mormon Pioneer Handcart Companies, with our church youth down in Gilroy for 3 days. They had 2 beautiful days of mild weather, but got scorched on Saturday with 107+ degree heat. Can you imagine pulling a handcart 6 miles in the middle of the day up and down steep terrain in that heat? It doesn't sound particularly fun or easy. It was character building, according to the youth who spoke about their experience last night at the Fireside, and the rest of the 3-day Trek was amazing.

*Dave and Eric the prairie medicine men.*

*Have you ever seen anyone so excited about a flesh wound?*

Dave went as part of the medical staff to treat the anticipated blisters, heat exhaustion/stroke, sprains, muscle pulls, headaches, and everything else that could happen to a group of people hiking, pulling handcarts and sleeping on the ground for three days and two nights. He was a little worried about whether he had enough of the right supplies, and if he would be able to eat the food (he's pretty much Vegan still). When Dave surprised us at the door all dusty, scruffy-faced, and as handsome as ever on Saturday night he reported to us that he had a fabulous time, the food was good, and he was able to help everyone who sat on his table. By the end of the Trek, Dave had helped out lots of people in trouble, converted some to chiropractic/ART, and made many great friends. *So we hike for 6 miles and we have to sit on the ground and sleep on the ground and now you want us to dance?*

*This was were I slept...yeah...its the ground!*

I heard from numerous people over the last couple days how much 'Doc Dave' helped them and what a fantastic service it was for him to be there on the Trek. What a blessing it is to have a husband and provider that loves what he does and is really good at it. Hey babe, I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say I'm glad you changed direction from the electrician thing. Love you Bones!

Fathers are so important!

Here's to the most important Father in my life (next to the big man upstairs and my own Dad), my baby's daddy, the Father of my children, my partner in child-rearing, the sperm to my egg, you get the idea.....

I love watching my Man play with his kids. There is a sweet, playful, different side of Dave that came out when babies came to our family. There are always tickle wars, wrestling matches or games on the agenda when Daddy has free time in our home. He loves his kids so much and thinks about their happiness and well-being just as much as I do. For me, the best part of the day is when Dave comes home from work, opens the front door, and all the kids yell, "Daddy, you're home!" Sweet little Syd points to her Dad with a huge grin on her face and runs to give his legs a big hug with pat-pats. Toby then calls for a "commercial hug" which means all the kids surround Dad and squeeze him so tight he falls over. Logan still gets whiny and sad when Dad leaves for work in the morning, so when Daddy gets home Logan is over-the-moon excited. The kids and I are so thankful for how hard Dave works for our family, AND especially that he loves what he does. Here's to many more smackers-on-the-beezers, special dates with each kid, Family Nights, commercial hugs, superhero wars, playing catch out front, bike rides, sword fights, game and movie nights, crazy hair days, beach trips, camping and hikes, the "spine game," and baseball seasons in the future! J-Bird, the Tob, Mr. Cooper and Squidy love you Dad!!*Sportin' a new tie from the girls*

We loved celebrating Father's Day with all our Dad's here. I was thankful everyone was healthy and the weather was beautiful so we could enjoy the day. Dave was greeted with breakfast and presents in bed first thing in the morning. The kids all woke up early to help me make chocolate chip waffles, berries and OJ for breakfast. Yes, it's the same thing I had for Mother's Day breakfast in bed, but why mess with a good thing. Daddy loved his gifts from the kids and we wolfed those waffles down and flung on our clothes to get to church early. J and I had to be there early to practice our choir number and I was playing the organ for sacrament meeting. It was not one of my finest hours for sure. I certainly kept the congregation on their toes with all the mistakes I made on the organ. I'm filling in for our regular organist and I really need to sit down to figure that thing out so I'm not trying to mess with all the presets and buttons while playing the hymns in church. I'll put it on the list. Sorry, enough about me.

Dave was pleasantly surprised with all we did for Father's Day and admitted he needs to step things up next year for Mother's Day. Darn tootin'! We spoiled him, but he deserves it. Toby made Dad a cute picture frame at school, and he and Mr. Cooper got Daddy these which he loves;
The girls gave him a belt buckle (as requested) and a couple ties that were on killer sale at Kohl's. I rarely go to Kohl's, yet every time I do I find wonderful sales and clearance items. Score! Jessie also made Dave a precious photo book with pictures of them and the fam doing favorite things. I selfishly gave the Mister some movie passes so he can take someone (I wonder who he'll choose) to one of the cool movies coming out soon. We need a date night badly and Transformers and Harry Potter are calling to both of us.

The chillies made Dave ties at church with 'All About my Dad' papers on the back. All three painted very different pictures of the same wonderful Daddy. It's funny what the kids say and remember most.

According to Jessie: (in her own hand)
Dad's name- Dave
Favorite food- soop
Favorite color- green & blue
Favorite thing to do- swim & sleep
When he plays with me, we- restle & bike ride
I love my Dad because- he's very, very, very, very, very fun!

According to Toby:
Dad's name- Dave
Favorite food- rice milk
Favorite color- brown
Favorite thing to do- play with me
When he plays with me, we- fly a kite
I love my Dad because- he's awesome!

According to Logan:
Dad's name- David (full name)
Favorite food- anything!
Favorite color-black & blue
Favorite thing to do- play video games with me
When he plays with me, we- play Super Mario
I love my Dad because- he unlocked all the villages (in Super Mario)

It was a great day. Daddy got his Sunday afternoon nap (nothing new there ;)), played with the kids, we enjoyed dinner at Grams with our Dads, and ended the day with a hike (Dave and I) up Mission Peak with Arnold and Denise. The goal was to show Dave how much we love him and appreciate all he does as Dad in our home, and he definitely got the message today!

And I can't forget my Dad who is an amazing man. When I think of my Dad the first thing that pops in my head is 'hard worker.' He has taught me and all his kids that an honest days work is both fulfilling and teaches valuable skills and knowledge. Growing up, I suffered many a Saturday chore marathon under Dad's iron fist. I can still hear myself complaining, "You mean you want me to vacuum all around the edges of the room too?!" or "I have to clean behind the toilet?!" Dad was meticulous and thorough and taught us to be the same. Do the job right the first time. Dad taught me to take pride in my work and the satisfaction at the end would be worth it. Now that I'm a Mom, I still chuckle inside when I say the same things to my kids on Saturday during chores. I am so thankful for all that my Dad has taught me.

I remember learning things about my Dad as a young girl that surprised me, like the fact that he has multiple college degrees, one of them in psychology. He has taught me by example to look at problems logically, with a level head, and make decisions based on principle. He is honest, fair, and not afraid to stand up for himself when wronged, especially against the crazy neighbor lady who calls the cops on him just because she's bored, and really crazy.

Most of all, I'm so thankful Dad is around to teach and get to know my kids. The chillies love to use Grandpa's power tools and putter around the garage and yard with him. When we go over on Monday nights for Family Night the kids know that Grandpa has all the treats and that he will almost never say 'No' to them. He teaches them funny sayings and spoils like a Grandpa should. I credit Dad's example as the standard by which I chose a husband and father for my children. Keep taking care of yourself Dad, so my kids can learn as much as possible from you. You need to stick around to pass on all your nuggets of wisdom to your grandkids!No, I haven't forgotten Dave's Dad in my little tribute. The kids love to spend Sunday afternoons with Grandpa (& Grandma), and sleep over as much as possible. They get excited when Grandpa comes to their baseball/softball games and know that Grandpa Dave will spoil them too. They love the movies and CD's, like Bunnicula, that Grandpa lets us borrow or keep. He is very generous with his time and resources to keep our electronic and computer needs met. We enjoy camping (or 'cabining' lately) with Grandpa, and Toby especially, loves going fishing with Grandpa on Uncle Mark's boat. We are so thankful that Grandpa doesn't mind us crashing at his house to swim or drop kids off for awhile for a date. We especially enjoy summer BBQ's from Master Dave and eat whatever comes off his grill. WE LOVE OUR DADS!

Slow down and enjoy the ride

Yesterday was one of those wonderful days where I felt like a successful parent, our family enjoyed each others company, had lots of fun, and we got a lot done- all in the same day. I got up early to get J out the door to her softball clinic, and then crawled back into bed with the Mister. He didn't have to be to work until 11ish, so we spent the morning together. I do have a love/hate relationship with his schedule. Yesterday it was all love.

We got up late and ate breakfast with the kids who were playing peacefully in various rooms. The rest of the day was mostly getting crazy with color on the kids hair. Now that I think about it, Dave is the one who starts all these insane ideas like putting temporary color in the kids hair, and then he leaves (for work) the actual doing part to me. We read, played games, and watched movies most the afternoon while I did this:I relented and did the Kool Aid color on Toby's hair. He thinks it's awesome!Mr. Cooper thinks it's cool that we can play checkers on his head. He could never sit still long enough though.

Jessie has purple highlights in her hair that she likes a lot, but she thinks they should be brighter. She didn't understand at first that to get her hair as bright as the purple-haired lady on the box we would have to bleach her hair first. That is one step further than I'm willing to go and told J she would have to wait until at least high school for that one.

I don't know why this happens, but every time I try to get out the door or have someplace to be there is something at home that draws my attention which I would rather stay home to do. It's time to go to J's softball game, but I really need to deep clean my room right now. Our friends are waiting at the park to play, but I have to get all this laundry done first. That sort of thing. It's like a cruel joke I play on myself that I'm motivated to do things when I should be leaving the house.

Last night was the same feeling of being pulled to stay home when there was somewhere to be, but the kids and I were having such a great time together. We had planned to go to an Elders Quorum BBQ at the park close by. It would be a fun outing where I could visit and kids could play, plus it would kill lots of time since Dave was working a soccer game on family movie night. Since the BBQ wasn't until 6:30 PM I planned on fixing an early dinner then going to hang out. The kids can't last until 7ish to eat, so we had a quick meal of Ling-Ling pot stickers from Costco (love those!!!) and fried rice at 5. When it was time to pack up and leave, the chillies and I were playing games without any fighting and I didn't want to ruin the fun. This was a refreshing change to the constant fighting we had all week. I can't really explain it, there was just a sweet, wonderful spirit with us as we played games, had tickle wars, wrestled on the lawn, snuggled and flew the kids on my feet (one of their favorites). There was no way I was going to break up our delightful evening. I took a U-turn with our plans and the kids didn't even notice. We jammied up and watched Bedtime Stories while I ran into the kitchen every 10 minutes to put in a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles. I enjoyed every moment.

Right before bedtime, I sat on the kitchen floor blowing bubbles for the littles and thought about what made this day so much better than others. I came to the conclusion that it was MY attitude that was different. Then the saying, 'when Mom is happy, the family is happy,' popped into my head. I completely agree. Sure, there are some days where no matter what I do there is contention or problems in our home. For the most part though, I know that I can turn around a cruddy day with my actions and attitude. I let the little annoyances go, got down on my kids level and simply enjoyed their company. It may sound lame and sappy, but it made for an awesome day.

Summer is HERE!!

Thank the stars above, we are done with another year of school. My hopes of sleeping in came true this morning after I rolled out of bed at 8:22 AM. Beautiful. Jessie even snuck in and took Syd out of her crib when she woke up so she wouldn't get loud. Fabulous start to the summer.

Yesterday was our family's third annual Crazy Hair Day. The last day of school we bust out the clippers, hair elastics, and, if Dave had his way, Kool Aid hair dye to have some fun with the kids hair.I tried to do some corn row style braids in J's hair but they just weren't working so this was our plan B- the lattice. It looks pretty sweet for being really easy to do. We watched The Deadliest Catch (we were drooling over all that crab) after J's softball game on Tuesday night and did her hair. She loved staying up late- she always does. Toby was ready to sport a red, KoolAid-dyed mohawk, but a). we ran out of time to color it and b). I chickened out. I really didn't want red stains all over clothes, pillow cases and towels. I told him I'd get out the colored spray paint from the Halloween box instead. He was still happy to go to school with it spiked up and it stayed all day. As I dropped Tob off at school the first lady that saw him said, "Whoa! Cool mohawk dude!" Toby said, "Thanks! It's crazy hair day today." Apparently, one of the boys in his class told Toby he looked like a duck which bummed him out a little. After we talked about how it didn't really matter what that boy thought, he was cool and still happy to strut his mohawk around town.

Logan was overtired and fell asleep in the early afternoon on Tuesday, so we didn't get a chance to cut his mohawk. I think it will be a Dad/Mr. Cooper activity on Friday because Mr. Coop says he wants a checkboard design on his head and I have no idea how to do that one. Good luck babe. Mr. Cooper, however, is still just as crazy with his normal haircut.And not to be out done, Syd was a clueless participant in the near butchering of her own hair thanks to her big brother who thought he could give her a crazy hair cut this morning with the craft scissors. Maybe I shouldn't sleep in anymore....... :-( Thankfully, it's not too noticeable. She's just a little thin on her front right side.

This is the look I get lately when I catch Syd up on the table or flinging a roll of toilet paper to the ground, two things she loves to do all the time. Here she is reading a Human Anatomy book on the table after breakfast with that look like, "I'm busy! Don't you think about taking me off this table." That's what I felt like she was saying anyway.