Milestones and Fun

We've had a great week! It has been very full of doing and accomplishing for our kids. It's one of those weeks that brings into perspective for me just how big (and little at the same time) my kids are.
On Tuesday we started potty training Kate and she has done awesome!!! So proud of her. Only a handful of accidents total. Hooray! And I'm so grateful that she has been easier so far than Isaac was. Guess that's a girl thing, huh? Not going to call her "trained" yet, but well on our way.
Yesterday Isaac started riding his bike without training wheels. He is a fairly cautious kid so I was interested to see him ride just until he felt a little out of control then stop himself. Steve feels like Isaac's approach is similar to his own when he was learning to ride. Isaac has been pretty brave when he has crashed, even when he plowed into a thistle in the field next to our place.
Steve and I are people that very much like a certain amount of control, especially with regards to our children, so these milestones are milestones for us too. It always stretches me a little to have to let go and let my kids take charge of themselves in certain areas, but they have done great. So proud of them.
Today we went to the Homestead for some Pioneer Day activities. Very hands on activities that were great for the kids. Taffy pulling. Ice cream making (in ziploc baggies). A petting zoo. Lunch down the road at the timpfreeze (thanks for the tip Lloyd family. It was good!)

Of All the Things I've Lost...

...I miss my mind the most. I consider myself to be a pretty normal, sane, person. So when I started hearing voices this morning I was a bit alarmed. I was taking advantage of the fact that neither child was awake and was soaking in the tub. As I was sitting there I started hearing voices. I listened and froze. All of the unsolved mystery shows that I used to watch started to haunt me as I realized that the voice that I was hearing was male and not Isaac's or Steve's. What to do? So I listened some more... and realized that the voice was singing... and it was Bono... coming from my MP3 player. I had forgotten to turn it off after exercising this morning and could hear U2 serenading my craziness. What a great start to my day. I needed a good laugh on this cold blustery day.

Spring "Break"

This week was spring break for the district so we had a __(insert adjective here)_____ week.  It was: fun because we were able to do some shopping and planning for the yard; expensive because we have really begun in earnest the process of landscaping our yard;  tiring because of the yard; wild because of our fun trip to the zoo; crazy because Miss Muffet has been sick and cranky; a wonderful break.

My zoo at the zoo.  (Sorry for the blurry pic.)

Kate loves birds!

We love the train at the zoo!  Even if it was noisy

 These pictures are a bit out of order, so you see the end of our week first.  We figured that with all of the yard stuff and shopping we ought to take the kids to the zoo.  Isaac kept wanting to see where they kept the dogs (so we told him the wolf was a dog).  Kate gets so excited for anything furry that moves.   She makes the funniest growling noise!

Steve the bobcat guy was at it all day, you can ask our neighbors.

The captain Moroni approach to landscaping and home defense.

How to Eat an Elephant:  We brought in a bunch of fill dirt  from a neighboring lot that is under construction because we figure we will need about 20 loads of dirt to get it sloped the way we want.  We are going to spread this out and get it level and as "de-rockified" as possible.  (Not totally possible because the soil is just too rocky.)  Steve rented a bobcat to take down these piles and spread them around.  We totally underestimated how touch and tricky these things are to operate, so it took the morning until he felt comfortable-ish with how to make it work.  He was at it all day and the next morning, but he got it done.  Now we are starting the never ending process of removing the rock and getting it smoothed before we bring in some good topsoil.

If you need a laugh...

If you are like me, and I know you are, a good laugh from a bad situation is always welcome. We've had a couple of those this last little while. (The "irony" of Steve getting a job offer that he's been hoping for for a long time right after - 30 minutes after- getting the final go ahead for closing on our home. That is another post in and of itself that I'm not sure I have the words or time for. Long story short, he didn't take it.)
What I'm really referring to is this, a post on my twin's blog about one of her friend's dogsitting experiences. I'm not usually one who will follow links from blog to blog, but this is well worth it. I have laughed and laughed. Enjoy.
PS: Still not closed on the home yet, but it looks like 7-10 days from now it will probably happen.

Channeling Ursula the Sea Witch

Alternate Title: I must be the meanest person on earth.

My twin sis told me I needed to post about this.
Growing up, my little sister loved The Little Mermaid. Consequently, I have way too much of it memorized--a fact that came to my attention while cleaning up garbage around our condo. (Other people's garbage.)
There are bushes around our bedroom window and a deck right above the bushes. Some of the local kiddies decided it was the perfect grotto for playing house and collecting "treasures" (junk). I had had enough of it, so I decided to clean it up.
I was amazed at the effort that they put into making a little place to play house. They swept all the landscaping bark away and made a path which they lined with straw-looking weeds. They hung hats on the water meter that looked like they'd been lost and buried under the snow. There was a broken planter box filled with broken toys. A broken bird feeder hung on the bushes. Berries and broken forks were laying on our window sill. I thought, "Look at all this stuff." I could almost hear Ariel singing..." Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?" as I Grinch-like crammed it all into a large garbage bag.
So there you have it. I am the meanest.

Happy Things

Last night as I was preparing for bed it occurred to me that I was singing the Cruella DeVil song from 101 Dalmatians, not as it is on the DVD but as Isaac was singing it. It made me smile so I thought I'd post a few things that have made me smile these last few days.

1. Isaac singing 'Ruella a Ville in his little sweet voice.
2. Watching Isaac either bear his testimony or say a prayer as he climbed the Primary podium on Sunday while I was setting up chairs. It included Mommy, Daddy, and cookies, and ended with amen.
3. A potential job change for Steve not coming through and having a sense of peace that all is as it should be... better timing or opportunity to come at a later time.
4. Listening to Isaac "read" his books and imitate the voices that Steve makes.
5. Summer will come whether we really have spring this year or not.

By Request... the Easy Cheese Sacramento Story for Jill

One year my parents took our family to Sacramento for a family wedding. We packed the usual trip food that you don't eat at other times, inlcuding lots of crackers and Easy Cheese. I must state now that at that point I was a total fence-sitter about my opinion of said product. We were enjoying our stay there and had our various treats on the little table in the motel room. That night we drifted off to a blissful sleep. We awoke to find ants happily helping themselves to everything but the easy cheese, or so we thought. Until Sarah and Nicholas decided to investigate more closely. They found little ants had crawled inside, risking their lives I might add, all for a taste of this "treat." I am not sure if the can continued to dispense the cheese product the same way, but it would definitely have been packed with little ants who gave their lives for a taste of it. Probably a delicacy in some country... not here. Because of that experience and my further contemplation of what really is in that can (it sprays, it doesn't need refrigeration, interesting texture...) I am on the "against" side of the fence now. Sorry Jonathan.