Wally World it up

And, we finally did it. We took the kids on a theme park, amusement ride, good ol' American summer vacation last weekend. We didn't end up at Disneyland like I've been trying to get in the works for over a year now, but we had a great little tour of northern New Hampshire and all it has to offer in the way of kiddie fun.
We also checked off 2 other things from our "need to do" list. 1 - take the kids camping on the East Coast (take them camping at all - Hattie has never been.) 2 - Grace has been lamenting that she has never stayed in a real hotel. Oh, poor thing, she's stayed in ski condo's, beach houses, and the sort, but never in a regular hotel room. I'm playing a tiny violin for her sad story.

For amusement park fun, NH has a couple of REALLY nice places for the 2-12 year-old crowd. Storyland and Santa's Village were both super fun, nice, and relaxed, and perfect for our kids and their interests. I think I liked Santa's Village the most. Who can resist Christmas everywhere you look on a nice day in July? Christmas music playing, a barn filled with Santa's reindeer, and even the Jolly Old Elf, himself made for a pretty fun day.

Camping around here is, well, not like the camping David and I really like to do in Utah where you can get away from everything and everyone up in the mountains. But, we found a campground right next to Storyland complete with flushing toilets, showers, and a swimming pool. I decided trading peace and quiet for a flusher was worth it - especially with 2 girls, one newly potty trained! It was actually pretty nice when we pulled in and seemed very clean. Not too shabby. So, we pitched our tent, hooked up the camping stove, and settled in for a night under the stars (well, under the tree canopy anyway.)

(Day 1 - dry tent, happy girls)

THEN, came the second night. We came back from a day of fun at Storyland and pulled into the campground to find a complete assortment of New Hampshire's "finest", um, red-necks (what's the politically correct term here?) The once really clean bathrooms and showers were now, well, disgusting, after the volume of new people using them. The crowd that had gathered in the neighboring tent site was delightful fun, full of Metallica blaring, beer drinking, kids. Sweet. Nice place to put your little girls to sleep.(Day 2 - roasting weinies in the rain)

It started raining too, rained all night. We woke up in a very moist tent full of water, and wet towels and swimming suits that we had hoped would dry hanging up in the tent. Ya right. Still, we pressed on.

Grace wouldn't get out of bed all morning. We thought she was pouting. She was homesick and not happy with the tent situation anymore. We finally rolled her out of bed and threw her in the car to head to Santa's Village. On the way out of the tent site, she said "mom, I need to vomit." Lovely. We got out of the car quick and sure enough... It didn't end there. She was sick ALL day at Santa's Village, ran a 103 fever. We pushed her around in the stroller all day, but she basically missed everything. I felt so bad. She LOVES Christmas and everything that goes with it. She would have had such a great time there.

What to do? Pack up and go home? Sleep in a wet tent with a vomiting child next to the party crowd? I didn't actually say anything about it, not wanting to crush David's camping spirit. On his own, he said "why don't you call the Attitash ski resort and see if we can stay there tonight." Are you kidding? Did he really say that? YES! He CAN read my mind after nearly 12 years of marriage. AND, he agreed with me! I didn't waste any time calling and quickly made the reservation before he could change his mind.

So, we doubled the total cost of the trip and checked into civilization. As we pulled up to the pretty yuppie place, WE felt like the red-necks with our packed-to-the-gills subaru station wagon, mismatched duffle bags, camping gear, stuff strapped to the top of the car, grocery sacs full of wet crap, and sporting our classy camping fashion. Good thing we were still in New England where no one really cares what you look like 99% of the time.

We prayed that Grace only had a 24 hour bug and would be healthy the next day. David even gave her a blessing. In good faith, we bought tickets to do the alpine slide at Attitash for the next day. Little did we know that we had actually bought day passes to their entire resort which also included a water park, ski lift rides, and bungy trampoline.

(Hattie and I don't look too happy here because for the 1/2 hour ride up the lift, I spent the whole time trying to keep her from dropping something or squirming out of the chair. It was torture!)

Miraculously, Grace DID wake up the next morning feeling 100% better and we were all able to have a blast for the rest of our salvaged trip. And, Grace got her hotel wish!

I do feel bad that David didn't get to camp the whole time and he missed out on driving to the top of Mount Washington, but we did see it from our view at the top of Mount Attitash :-) I'm so grateful to have such a nice hubby and super dad that he let us wimpy girls crash in a hotel when the camping got iffy. I would have been fine if all the days were like the first day, but seriously.

Our list of favorite things:

1- Bamboo Chutes (log flume ride) at Storyland
2- Yule Log (log flume ride) at Santa's Village
(can I just say that Hattie went on these over and over and over and finally asked if we could just put one in our back-yard! the kid LOVED it!)
3- beautiful flower gardens at both parks
4- super darling themes for the rides and attractions at both parks

(Grace and Hattie in the 3 bears' house. I always call them my Goldilocks!)

(Princess Hattie and her Prince Charming sitting in Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach)

5- getting to meet all of Santa's reindeer
6- riding the longest Alpine slide in North America. I didn't know it was the longest one, but when we got off, I said "wow, that was a really long Alpine slide" and David said "duh."
7- the circus at Storyland, cool magic tricks and performing house cats!

A strange trip to SLC.

I just got back from a short, 3 day trip to Salt Lake. I feel super lucky that I got to go. I didn't have any Utah trips planned for the summer and was starting to feel really itchy to go back. The reason for the trip, was unfortunately, a sad one. As you can tell from my last post, my Grandpa died last week and I miraculously made the trip for the funeral. I did not take very many pictures, so I don't have lots to share that way. I wish I had taken more.

The spectrum of strange started with buying a single ticket for me to go. David really wanted to go, and I would have loved to have taken my girls, but last minute flights over the 4th of July weekend were just too outrageous to buy one of them, let alone 4. David was extremely generous and still urged me to buy a ticket for myself and took time off work to stay home with the kids while I went. That was strange number two (for all of us!) I have NEVER left Hattie overnight before, and the only time I've ever left Grace was when we came to Boston to look for houses and I left her with my mom for a week when she was two. I vowed that I would never travel without them until they were more grown up, but there I was with one plane ticket.

Strange number three: going into the airport alone, not checking any bags, going through security without 4 carry-ons, liquid to declare, a stroller, and 3 pairs of shoes to get off and on, sitting in the airport terminal by myself. CRAZY! I was so bored and lonely. I had no one to take potty, no one to chase, no one to beg me to buy expensive stuff in lame shops, and expensive food that wouldn't get eaten. WEIRD.

Strange number four: you can see where this is going! Being on an airplane by myself with no spilled juice, lost crayons under the seat, fighting over the movie for the DVD player, kicking each other, fighting for the window seat. Well, it was just a bit too much! I watched MTV (and Michael Jackson stuff on CNN) for hours straight thanks to the cool tv's on jetblue (not sure if that is good or not.) Haven't done that since high school.

Strange number five: staying with my sister, Melissa (and not my mom like I always do) and getting to spend quality time with my niece and nephew. I have never really gotten to know them well because I already had my own kids to chase by the time they came along and I had already moved to Boston too. I loved spending time with those little stinkers! I hope they know their Aunt Shell better now too. I was especially happy to see little Kate. She broke her leg a couple of weeks ago and I had wished I could go and hold her and help Melissa a bit. I didn't go anywhere much except Melissa's house and it felt great to just hang with her for a few days.The funeral: It was strangely good too. I haven't been to tons of funerals, but I've been to my share. It was really nice to sit and listen to stories of my Grandpa that I had never heard. (He has been my Grandpa since I was about 6 years old. My Dad's dad died when I was only 3 and I am the oldest grand-child, so no one really remembers anyone in the Grandpa spot except Grandpa Hal.) His sons and 2 of my cousins did an amazing job of speaking and singing. Luckily, I got out of speaking at the last minute and only had to say one of the prayers. Strange number five: sitting in church with my ENTIRE family. All of my sisters, my parents, most of my cousins, all of my uncles. That has probably never happened before, and may never happen again. I joked a few times that I have reached the point in my life where I am unlikely to see all my family except at weddings and funerals and since I haven't made it to the last 3 weddings, I really need to go to the funerals.

Everyone keeps asking if this was an unexpected death and if we are all doing ok. I should say that Grandpa was 92 and had cancer here and there for a couple of years. So, unexpected, really isn't the right word. He did go kind of suddenly. We thought he would last a few months longer and he was only really super sick for a couple of days. I do feel really badly for Grandma. She's not taking it well and has been left with quite a few details to take care of with his cable supply business and his sheep farm. He worked until the week he died. He lived a really healthy, productive, full life, so there isn't much tragedy to it. Except, again, Grandma, who has now buried two husbands and has quite a bit of time left alone in her life thanks to her younger age, good health, and lots of longevity in her genes. I also feel bad for my dad and his brothers who are again left without any sort of father.

Well, it isn't strange to be home, that's for sure. All the normalcy you could want is here. Plenty of chores, work, refereeing, and all the usual things were here and waiting for me. David will have to blog about what he did with the girls while I was gone. Apparently, he gets the award for super dad this week!

Grandpa Hal

no time for blogging today, but I want to at least post this:

Harold Schofield "Hal" Coleman
Harold "Hal" Schofield Coleman 1917 ~ 2009 Harold Schofield Coleman passed away peacefully June 29, 2009 surrounded by his wife and family who dearly loved him. Hal was born March 24, 1917 to Irene Schofield and Charles W. Coleman. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1940 as an Electrical Engineer. In 1940, married in the Salt Lake Temple to Rose Kathleen Halling, who preceded him in death in 1946. Married Amy Tift in 1953, later divorced. Hal married Pearlie Mitchell in 1982 and they shared 27 wonderful years together. Hal worked for General Cable back East for many years before returning to Salt Lake City to open his own business, Coleman's, in 1976. Hal loved his sheep farm in Fillmore and was a gardener extraordinaire. An active member of the LDS Church, he served many positions including a service mission with Pearlie. Survived by his wife Pearlie; sister Gloria Baker; sons Steve (Kathleen), Brian, Mark and Tom (Stephanie); step-sons Louis (Cece), Lyle (Debbie), Kurtis (JoAnn) and Randy; 15 grandchildren; and 11 great-grand-children. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 6 at noon at the East Millcreek 2nd Ward, 3750 S. Hillside Lane, Salt Lake City, UT. A viewing will be held at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 S. Highland Drive, on Sunday, July 5 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and also on Monday prior to the services at the church at 10:45 a.m. Interment at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery.

I'm headed to the Salt Lake for the funeral this weekend. More later. Love to Grandma Pearlie.

a fond farewell to kindergarten

(Grace and some of her friends building blocks on their school fieldtrip.)

Poor Grace. School is over for the year. She LOVES school. She thrives at school. She wants to go, every day. She cries real tears when there is a snow day. She is bummed that the weekend is coming. She says "thank you for going to school today" every night in her prayers. She also HATES change.

Now, truthfully, she did have a bit of anxiety at first this year. She was scared to ride the bus, and I think she worried about school too. She was diagnosed with some speech problems and had to go get extra help. There was something strange going on at the playground that she never would really tell me about. She developed a nail biting habit that was pretty bad. But, sometime around Christmas, she suddenly quit doing it one day and school has been a haven for her ever since.

This year, she made her first real friends. She has a few friends at church and a few at the barn, and she had a few little friends in pre-school, but she's never had true friends to play with on a regular basis. She's never had friends that she thinks about every day and who think about her. She's never done many playdates (partly due to her mother.) But, this year, she finally made some good friends, especially her friend Eamon. She and Eamon started the year making pictures for each other at school. Then they started playing at each other's houses. When Grace's dance teacher suddenly disappeared, she asked to go to karate with Eamon and they have been fast friends (and fellow warriors) ever since! I have to admit I also got a friend out of it. Eamon's mom, Annelie, is so cool and so nice. We've gotten along famously too.

(Grace and Eamon painting their own faces on the kindergarten field trip.)

Grace has also loved her kindergarten teacher. As a former teacher myself, I had to learn quickly to stand back and not judge my own child's teacher against my own teaching standards. At first, I had such an impulse to question so many things, especially after my first time volunteering in the class, but I really did swallow down the urge and stay away from it. (what do I know about teaching kindergarten anyway? I taught chemistry in a high school!) I remembered how much I valued parent trust in my own classroom and decided unless I had a glaring reason to interfere that I should just stay out of the way and support her in any way that I could. I'm so glad I did too. Even though I still might not agree with some of the classroom philosophy, (which might have more to do with the school and the town we live in than the teacher anyway), Grace's teacher turned out to be a really super fantastic kindergarten teacher. She was funny and serious and strict and easy-going at all the right places. She watched out for Grace and helped her through all the rough patches, and she advocated for her speech therapy and did everything she could to help Grace feel comfortable reading outloud (a real struggle for us.)

So, the last day of kindergarten was not bitter sweet. It was just plain bitter for her. She was the only one NOT celebrating the last day of school. All her other friends were totally happy. She doesn't want to change into a first grader. (although, she wants to keep going to school AND she wants to go ALL DAY.) She wants to be in kindergarten forever. She got off the bus on the last day and burst into tears. She sobbed for 45 minutes and then cried herself to sleep that night too.

(getting ready for the kindergarten song day celebration, 2 songs, 30 minutes!)

Well, like it or not, kindergarten IS over. I actually can't believe that summer has begun, finally, on JUNE 24th?! We don't have much of summer left and we would really like the sun to come out now, please?.

Daddy Rocks

We love you Daddy!

Keeping up...

It's already started and Grace is only in kindergarten - the keeping up with friends. I don't know why I didn't expect it yet, but I've been so surprised at how much Grace wants to be like her friends and do what they do and how much they compare with each other. I'm really thankful that Grace is friends with super nice kids who have great parents. I don't think anyone in her class is over-indulged (what do I know) but I know most of the parents from her class and they all seem pretty down to Earth, none show off at all, and none of them seem to care what others think too much.

Still, the kids get to school and they want to be like everyone else. I shouldn't be so surprised, who didn't want to be like everyone else at school when we were little? It started with simple things, like snacks. (reminds me of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding when she wants to have the same kind of lunch as the cool girls.) Grace all of a sudden asked to take snack-pack puddings to class. She wanted to take a spork to eat them with too. Come to find out, this is what her friend Eamon brings for his snack. Fine with me. Eat all the pudding you want.

Then, it moved onto little toys and things. All the boys she plays with like Star Wars and legos and pokemon. Guess what Grace likes? Star Wars and legos and pokemon. She has been a trend-setter herself though. I don't know it from her end, but I always have parents telling me how much their kids like Grace and that they wish they could "be like Grace Chapman" or do something because "Grace does it." There are definitely things about Grace that she comes up with first, so I'm not worried that she's a total follower either.

So, that brings us to our big day yesterday. After much waiting and saving and earning, Grace bought herself a Nintendo DSi. Because "everyone else has one." It's kind of true. The list of kids who have one pretty much covers the whole class - girls and boys. I guess Santa should have brought one of those instead of the ipod (which she does love too.) But, we didn't realize until the end of the school year that this was the "must-have toy for kindergarten and beyond. "

The DSi is not your dad's game boy folks. The gaming systems these days blow me away. It's basically an entire computer complete with wi fi connection, camera, and tons of other stuff (I thought you just put in a game cartridge and played Mario on Nintendo... shows you what I know!) These little things are also pretty spendy. There was no way I was going to go out and blow nearly $200 on a toy just because everyone else has one and she wants one.

So, David and I saw a golden opportunity to have Grace really work towards and earn something big for herself. She's been getting allowance since school started. She is actually pretty good at saving her money for stuff she wants. She saved for 4 months for a wii game she desperately wanted last year. However, how long are you supposed to make a 6 year old girl wait to earn something like this? At her allowance rate, it would take her about a year and a half to earn it. That's 1/4 of her life so far. Seems like too long to wait for a toy that she's excited to play with current friends. David didn't have to wait 1/4 of his life to buy the iphone he's getting tomorrow!

So, I told her I'd help her. I would donate a big chunk (still less than half the money) if she'd pay the rest. She already had about 1/4 of the cost saved, so the earning actually wouldn't take too long if she'd just be patient, collect a few months worth of allowance, and do a few things that I've been desperately wanting her to do, but she refuses to do (buckle herself in the car to name one.)

She started her saving and earning. She got a bonus for trying hard and learning to ride her bike on 2 wheels, she got little check marks for buckling herself in the car which added up to a few bucks in the end after months of doing it. She was about 4 bucks short yesterday when we started shopping online to see how much the system was really going to cost. So, for her last effort to earn her last few dollars, she cleaned up a TERRBILY messy playroom that was entirely made by her sister. I figured if she could clean up the mess that Hattie and friend made, we'd spot her the rest and let her get the system before school ended. (Yes folks, it's June 17th and she's still in SCHOOL! Last day next week!)

I have to admit. I am pretty impressed with how patient Grace has been to get this toy and how willing she was to pay for it herself as much as possible and basically do anything I asked if it meant another notch on her earning chart. There were many times in past weeks when she wanted to buy this or that and I reminded her that she'd have to hand over some DS savings for it and she instantly changed her mind.

She handed over all her dough last night, shook the last coins out of her piggy bank, and went to the store with her dad. She came home with a slick, blue, game thingy and is pretty darn happy about it. (too bad Hattie can't have one - she's pretty GREEN with envy.) David is worried that Grace will just turn around and want another expensive thing and I won't be able to help her like I did with this one. But, I think she's pretty content for now and I also think she realizes how much money it really did cost. Hopefully that will help her realize that not everything wanted can be bought, especially, not right away. Now, she's saving her money anyway for games! This could occupy her for quite a while. now...how do you tell her she's been playing it too long and needs to put it away! (actually, she's been good about that so far too.)

Good job Grace! I am so excited that you did such a good job saving your money and bought something you REALLY wanted with it.

Potty Party!

We had a huge celebration yesterday. Hattie is nearly, almost, just so close, to being completely potty trained. I don't know why my kids have been so tough to convince to use the potty, but Hattie took quite a long time too.

Much in the same way we tried to bribe Grace with a coveted toy, I took Harriet to the Paper Store about 2 months ago, maybe 3, to pick out something she really wanted as a bribe for the potty. She chose a baby doll, of course. We brought it home and put it on top of the fridge as the grand prize when she finally mastered the subject.

Our other bribe has been boxes of chocolate balls from Idylwilde. They sell these really yummy chocolates wrapped up like all kinds of things. I bought a box thinking that I would give Hattie one chocolate ball each time she thought about, sat on, tried to go, or actually went, pee pee in the potty. Unfortunately, Hattie won't stand for just one chocolate, so she goes through 2 every time and then of course we have to give one to Grace too. We've been through more boxes than I can count. These little things are pretty expensive! Still, when you're trying for THIS goal, you're willing to write a blank check if they'll just do it!

The baby sat on top of the fridge the whole time. Hattie wanted it so bad, but she was totally set against any discussion of going poop on the potty. I decided after so many months that if she would just do it once, I'd give her the baby.

We've strangely had 3 days at home with virtually no where to go this week, so I took the opportunity to really practice this potty stuff. Yesterday it paid off big time. Harriet, completely on her own, decided to tell me that she needed to poop in the potty and totally did it! HOORAY!!!

Now, we're going to be gone to a million places today...we'll see how this big girl Hattie does...

Reading Atlas

I'm not sure why I force myself to squeeze in time for reading these days. It's definitely a struggle, and I'm always feeling guilty that I read my book assignments for book group, but I still struggle to open the scriptures. I guess it's because my book club reading provides 2 escapes - the escape to another world while you read, and the escape to book club every month to see my friends and eat great food! But, then, at least I'm reading something and I really spend very little time watching TV, so at least that seems worthwhile.

I try to keep my reading projects updated on the side of our blog. I belong to Good Reads because of a friend who signed me up, but I have yet to post anything on it. I rarely talk about things I've read on the internet, but I have to say something about the book I finished last night.

First of all, I feel that it was a monumental accomplishment for me to finish this book. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is 1069 pages long. And we're talking 1069 pages of teeny, tiny, dense font, with NO white space, chapter separators, or anything. One chapter ends in the middle of the page, and the next one begins on the very next line. If it was printed the way most novels are printed, it would easily be a 2000 page book. I know you can cruise through 600 pages of a Harry Potter or a Twilight in a day, but this book is not that way. Ayn Rand does not waste ONE word. You cannot skip a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or a page. Every single thing is important. Her writing is immaculate. She is truly a master.

We started reading it a year ago as a book group project in an effort to read "a major classic." We intended to read it "on the side" for a year while continuing to do another, easier read, each month for our monthly meeting. I did start out reading it "on the side", but this thing is so massive and requires so much attention that you can't really read it on the side. I got through a couple hundred pages and didn't get back to it for several months. Then, when we decided on a date to discuss it, I did start reading it more and more. It seemed like I was "half way done" for absolutely weeks. It wasn't until we devoted this last month, to ONLY this book, that I was able to finish it. And, let me just say, that many other areas of life have been put on hold so that I could finish it. It feels like I have had this book in my hand for the whole month. I take it everywhere I go trying to get one more page read wherever I am.

Well, I did it. I finished last night! I have never read anything like this before. I feel like I did when I finished Harriet's Christmas stocking. I really thought it might not happen, but I did it! (book group is tonight!)

If you have never read it or have never heard of Ayn Rand, she was a Russian-born woman who immigrated to the US in the 1920's seeking a better life. She was a student of philosophy and has developed her own brand of philosophy - "objectivism." Her views are pretty controversial and as I started to read, I wasn't sure if I could really buy into them, but in the end, her entire message is to live by truth and virtue, use your brain, seek for real happiness, stick to your values at all cost, and accept nothing else. How can you argue with that, really? Her opinions are extremely complex and so interesting and thought provoking. It is going to provide for a super cool discussion at book group tonight.

I have loved reading this book. It is a story about a woman who runs a transcontinental railroad in an era of giant industrial successes dominated by men. As I started reading the book, I thought of my daughter, Grace (who used to tell us she wanted to be a choo choo train driver and has the largest train collection of any girl I know.) Dagny Taggart and Grace have so many of the same characteristics. I could totally see Grace in as an adult in the descriptions of Dagny with her long skinny body, blonde hair, love of railroads, fierce personality, and black and white value system. Not that I wish for Grace to do EVERYTHING Dagny does, but if Grace turns out to be that kind of person, there wouldn't be a prouder mother than me.

The book goes through the struggle of Dagny and her industrial friends, as the entire country is brought to complete ruin by the corruption and shady values of the national leadership, and describes how they rise above it. Even though the book was published in 1957, it eerily mirrors things that are currently happening in the United States with all the government bailouts, sinking economy, and standards that seem good one day but are so bad the next. It feels like it should be required reading for every citizen of our nation right now. People are starting to realize it, I think. Sales of Atlas Shrugged have tripled in sales this year.

The woman who suggested it for our book group has read it 3 times. I couldn't believe that when I heard it. I couldn't imagine devoting that much time to one book. It took so long just to do it once. But, then, on Sunday, I heard that her husband, our stake president, has read it 10 times! He used to have the goal to read it once every single year, it was that important to him. Now I see why.

I'm really glad I did get through it. I highly recommend it. It makes me want to read more of Ayn Rand's stuff, although, I think I need to let my brain rest for a while. I need a good fluffy, summer, sit on the beach, and veg out book!

Master of the Bike

I learned a valuable lesson from Grace last Sunday. I have been trying to teach Grace to ride her bike over the last month after finally getting fed up with training wheels. I never used training wheels and after my experience with Grace, I don't think I will use them with Hattie.

While Grace is still young, I was starting to think that she would never master her bike. Being the cyclist that I am, I was getting a little frustrated with Grace's slow progress and I'm sure that caused some of the problems as Grace and I were not happy with each other after some of our practice sessions.

Anyway, about a month ago I was finally fed up with training wheels. Much to Grace's chagrin (and plenty of tears) I took off the training wheels after a particularly difficult practice session. After we both calmed down, we spoke about things and Grace made the goal of wanting to be able to ride her bike by Memorial Day. We started going to large and empty parking lots to practice and I would run behind her with one hand on each of her shoulders. I found this to be the most effective technique as I could put pressure on her when she started to lean and she learned to correct her balance and relieve the pressure.

We made some good progress, but Grace was still lacking confidence. Last Sunday I got home late from church and I was in no mood to go out in our driveway and practice with Grace. However, Grace realized that it was her last day to master her bike to reach her goal. I tried to tell her that it was OK, we could practice the next day and it wasn't a big deal if she didn't master her bike by Memorial Day. This did not sit well with Grace. She told me that she had set a goal, and it was important to keep it. She was right. She reminded me that it is important to stay true to your goals and so I went outside with her. Within 10 minutes she was riding by herself. Now, after almost a week she is becoming quite the little cyclist. It won't be long before we start doing some rail trails and other fun rides together.

Good job Grace, and thanks for reminding me of important things.

too much fun, or just too much?

I haven't updated our blog in a couple weeks because we have simply been too busy to report on what it is we're doing. People who facebook me know what I'm up to, but the Grandmas are probably suffering for some details and some pics.

I can't decide if we've been having too much fun or if things have just been too much. I had such a tumultuous, long, dark, winter that "May" must have sounded nice and relaxed. The birthdays would be over, the weather would be better, I would be feeling better, kids wouldn't be sick anymore, right? I don't know what I was thinking when I registered Grace for swimming and riding lessons and Hattie for swimming too (at a different pool on a different day!), on top of Grace's ongoing karate class. I also somehow scheduled every single doctor/dentist check up for the girls this month. The kids have also been playing quite a bit with friends (well, quite a bit for my standards) It's been crazy. On top of it, I've been really feeling badly that I haven't taken my kids on any big outings for a long time and so I planned a big trip to Boston for us last Friday when Grace had a day off from school, right before we spent the whole weekend getting our yard and house ready to host a Memorial Day BBQ yesterday. Plus, I refuse to give up "having a life" so I continue to go to dinner group, book group (keeping up with reading too!), attending special events, even went out to dinner with David last week. I feel like I'm coming close to the phrase "running to stand still." I can't keep up with my work at the barn (which is much heavier this time of year), RS stuff, and YouthLINC tasks, let alone the regular mundane sorts of things around the house.

My car which used to be able to run on a tank of gas for 2-3 weeks is now going through a tank a week, or more. At the end of the day I wonder if any of it was worth the trouble or the expense, or if we would have been better off staying at home. I am a home-body. I feel best if I've been home for at least most of the day (although I do like to get out here and there.) I hate feeling like we're only home to change clothes, sleep, and maybe eat. But, at the same time I feel super lucky and blessed to be able to go and do all that we do and that my kids can have all these experiences. I guess there's a balance in the middle somewhere, but I think I missed the middle spot this month. Hopefully June will bring us back to the middle after some of these lessons are over and we don't have to go to so many appointments. School doesn't get out until June 25th in these parts, so we're still nowhere close to "summer vacation!"

Here's some of what we've been up to: (more on flickr)

(Hattie sitting by the pool at her first swim lesson.)

(Grace riding Tink at her first "real" riding lesson!)(Hattie hanging out with Wesley during Grace's riding lesson.)(the girls all ready to go to their friends' "Pirate/Princess birthday party"!)(trying out the "hand bikes" at the Boston Children's Museum - using "kid power" to generate enough electricity to run some moving parts up above.)

(Katie Clifford and myself, meeting up in Boston to see each other for the FIRST time in 15 years! And, as she stated, it felt like only 15 minutes had gone by... we picked right up where we left off, it was awesome.)(watching giant fish, sharks, rays, sea turtles, and about a thousand other kinds of sea creatures in the enormous tank at The New England Aquarium.)(just outside The New England Aquarium on the Wharf)

(Grace and her best friend, Eamon, on one of their many recent playdates.)

snakes and (bugs) and puppy dog tails...

No, we're not announcing a baby boy. I have 2 little girls who care more about the snake in the garden than they do about sugar, spice or anything "nice."

This is just a bunch of random stuff rattling around in my brain, but the first thing is that I NEVER thought I would welcome a snake into my yard as much as I did this one. I don't hate snakes and I don't run screaming, but I don't love them either. I could never watch "Snakes on a Plane", I'd have nightmares forever. Still, after the INUNDATION with black flies and now mosquitoes in our yard, the snake was a welcome, quiet, and unbothersome guest.

I am really about to lose it with these black flies. I don't even remember them being here the first 2 years we lived here. (I think the first year I didn't go outside in my yard because I was always at the barn during the day in the spring, and the second year, I just seriously didn't leave my house for a whole year with baby Hattie.) The third year, last spring, I did notice the flies. I didn't know what they were, but one day I took Harriet outside and she just started crying for no reason. I could see little flies buzzing around, but in my experience, little flies are usually harmless. (I would run from a giant horse fly though.) I took Hattie inside and to my horror found about 12 blood-red bites all over her body. The flies had gone inside her clothes and bitten her all over. They do draw blood and leave a blood blister that develops into a huge lumpy red welt with a crusty sore. I called the doctor and they said she'd be fine. Great. After a few days, I didn't see anymore flies. The neighbors said that once the dragon flies come out, they eat the black flies and it's over in a week. Ok, I could deal with that.

THIS spring, oh my gosh, these flies have been here over a month. They are vicious. They are repelled by nothing. We have had weeks of absolutely gorgeous weather and I've stayed inside almost the whole time. EVERY time I go outside - even just to get in the car, one of us is bitten. Harriet's entire hairline on her head is so covered by fly bites that it has made her lymph nodes swell up into huge marbles all over her neck. It's disgusting! I used to think the mosquitoes were bad. Well, at least you can wear OFF for them and swat at them! Dragon flies where ARE you?

So, a little, cute, non-poisonous snake who actually might EAT some of these bugs? You are welcome at my house! That's the other thing, in 4 years, I have NEVER seen a snake in my yard. When we moved here, I thought for sure there would be snakes all over with all of the water around. My neighbor who has lived here for 50 years said she's never had a snake in her yard until this spring? What is UP with the animals this spring? Global warming? Armageddon? I am at war, that's for sure.

The snake has wandered off now, but he stayed in one spot in our garden for a couple of days. The girls went outside to check on him (her?) often. Grace named it "Garter of the Garden" or "Guarder of the Garden." We're sure it was eating some of our froggies and hopefully some mice. We hope it didn't eat "Peeper", a frog who also resides in our rock wall.

Onto the puppy dog part. Today is May 13th. Grace has decided to officially name May 13th "Pet Day." She has planned a celebration for days to have with her dogs. She is so funny about stuff like this. It started when we were talking about Mother's Day and thought that pets need a special day too (I'm sure someone has come up with some lame day where you're supposed to shop at PetSmart for an official Pet Day, but I don't know when that is.)

So, Happy Pet Day to all. Give your doggie or kittie or whatever you keep in a cage an extra treat today and play with them more than normal.

shiner

It's a good thing that we took pictures of the girls LAST week. Now, before I say more, I'll do what the school does when they call the house. When you see the school caller id on the phone and you know your kid is at school, you panic before you even answer. They know this, so the second you say hello, whomever is calling immediately says "Grace is ok, this is not an emergency call." Whew, ok, you can keep listening and, now you can keep reading. Grace is ok.

Yesterday Grace had one of her worst childhood injuries. Next to the burn when she was two, this one probably ranks second. Nothing life-threatening, nothing that even took us to the emergency room. Still, enough to make your stomach fall flat. (I know - some of you are moms of wild little boys who are on a first-name basis with the staff at your local emergency room and you'll think this is totally wimpy, but, it was really scary for us!)

This is actually the second time I have seen a close friend of mine covered in Grace's blood. No one is really sure what happened. Grace won't say and no one else really saw, but it basically boils down to kids running wild in the gym after church while parents clean up and a 12 year old boy's head colliding forcefully with Grace's nose - right between the eyes.

I had just left her in the gym, maybe not even a minute had gone by when a lady came up to me and said "Sister Chapman, Grace is in the kitchen with a bloody nose and she needs you." She didn't say how or why, so I thought she must just have a regular bloody nose. I walked to the kitchen and as I came in the door, I saw Bret Bahe (yes, the very same Bret who photographed the girls last week!) standing there with his white shirt totally splashed and covered with blood. Then I saw Grace sobbing while David had a wet paper towel held up to her nose. Grace was covered in blood from head to toe too. Her new favorite blue dress that she wore for the first time yesterday, her white sweater and even her white shoes were all splattered (someone asked me later about the floor of the gym, didn't even think to go check it...)

It took a while to get the bleeding to stop and about 3 hours to get the crying to stop and an hour to get the blood out of the clothes (yes! saved the blue dress!) She was so traumatized. She doesn't deal well with getting hurt or any sort of attention that is out of the ordinary and she's been that way ever since she was burned as a toddler. Thankfully, we have a few in our ward who are physicians and they come in handy often. Dr. Hangen looked at her nose and assured us that it wasn't broken and there wasn't a laceration inside, so we decided not to take her to the ER. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have done just that.

Anyway, I mentioned that this was the second time I have seen a close friend covered in her blood. The first was actually just after she was born. I feel like it's a journaling opportunity since we didn't have a blog back then. When I saw Bret's white blood-stained shirt yesterday I had an instant flashback to the day Grace was born. I had a close friend, Sara, who was a labor and delivery nurse come to the hospital with me that day. She helped me deliver Grace naturally and was there when she was born. Just after Grace came out, before I even saw her myself, before they let David cut the cord, I saw my friend Sara get totally sprayed and covered with blood. She was also wearing a white shirt that day. Now, I know that child birth is not a tidy business and since it was my first, I didn't know what to expect. However, no one had told me to expect this kind of carnage.

No one said anything or explained it so I thought, wow, it must be worse than I had imagined and didn't think anything else of it. A few days later, Sara called to tell me what really happened. She said that just after Grace was born, her umbilical cord ruptured and the artery burst all over Sara. It is NOT how things normally happen, and it was a very dangerous scenario. The reason no one said anything was because my OB doctor had delivered a baby just 2 weeks prior who had died of the very same freak occurrance. She was so distraught that it had happened again that she soundlessly and quickly worked to take care of it and couldn't bring herself to tell me since everything turned out ok. If the cord had ruptured in utero, one or both of us could easily have died. Luckily that wasn't the case and we felt like it was a huge miracle and a total gift that Grace was safely out when it happened.

Still, I have this image of Sara and now of Bret standing near me where I can't see Grace yet and they are covered in Grace's blood. It's an image I don't care to repeat a third time, please! I am so grateful, though, that Bret was there and that he is a close enough friend that Grace trusted him to grab her and pick her up and help her. Thanks for being there for us Bret. We owe you a white shirt and probably a plate of cookies too.

As for Grace's shiner, a picture really doesn't show it very well. It's just starting to turn green and the swelling is nice and even. But, she's going to have 2 black eyes this week, that's for sure. Look at last week's pictures instead :-)

Photo Shoot

Our friend, Bret Bahe, is setting up a new photography business. He just did a photo shoot of my kids this week. I'm doing 3 cheers for Bret! If you live in our area, you should TOTALLY use him if you have a special photography project to do. Everything he does is top quality, actual photography. None of the mall-type pictures, and nothing is photo-shopped in afterwards. The pictures are exactly as they were taken. He does amazing things with lighting and all the photos are just natural shots of the girls - nothing canned. Look at how the faces just pop out of the picture.

I'm totally thankful to Bret for taking such beautiful pictures of my girls. Hattie was a tough customer though. She would NOT cooperate and give her million dollar smile. Her assortment of scowls and "crusty" faces are actually pretty hilarious. In any case, he definitely captured her personality, the little stinker.
He took 182 shots, so this is just a tiny sample.