Wild Waves

Yesterday I took Brianna, Tucker, and Mason to Wild Waves. It's a water/amusement park that I went to as a kid and wanted to share the experience with my children. My mom stayed home with Gage, for obvious reasons, and Hayden who decided he didn't want to go. I knew he would have a lot of fun, but I also knew it would be soooo much easier if he didn't, so I didn't try to convince him : )  We met up with my cousin Naomi and her two older kids, Noah and Kaylani. Luckily she had 3 friend passes we could use, so it was great that we didn't have to "break the bank".  I wanted to travel as light as possible, so I used my phone to take pictures, which is why they aren't crystal clear. But for a phone camera it isn't too shabby.

There weren't very many people at the park, so a lot of times we would be the only people on a ride and if they kids wanted they just stayed on and rode as many times as they wanted, which made the experience even better! In the last picture of the slide show Mason is riding "Silver Lightening". I thought it would be fun to name our horses on the carousel : )

"Point No Point" Beach

We spent part of the day at Point no Point beach in Hansville. Mason, Cody and Abigail spent most of their time exploring the beach away from the water. The driftwood was all they needed for their imaginations to run rampant. Gage was not as excited about the beach as I had hoped. He didn't like to get sand in his sandals and he refused to walk in the sand bare foot. He wouldn't even let me put his feet in the sand. From his screeching and wailing you would have thought I was trying to lower him into a vat of boiling oil. So he spent most of the time on my lap and some on Grandma's. Hopefully when we go to the ocean next week he'll be more willing to explore the sand. I'm planning on dressing him in socks and shoes and hopefully that will make a difference.

When we arrived at the beach we found a cool driftwood fort someone else had made.

Mason and Cody log jumping

 Gage and Grandma... he really does know how to smile. You can also see

Tristalene Morgensen and her daughter Capri in the background.

We Love Washington!!!

Three days ago on Friday, I left for Washington with my five kids. I had originally planned on making the 16 hour trip all in one day, but luckily I wasn't able to get all the packing done and get adequate sleep, so I split it up in two days.  Friday evening we stopped in Middleton, which is west of Boise, and stayed with our good friends the Holmsteads. My kids had so much fun that they wanted to stay and have our vacation there. I think it was their huge above ground pool that dazzled them. They also have a large game room upstairs with a ping pong table and soccer table. They even have a secret door in one of the kids closets that leads to a hidden play room that then has another little hidden door that goes into the game room. Mason told Lorena (the mother) that he wanted to keep their house. May be he has a secret shrinking machine I don't know about.

We arrived in Kingston the following day at 4:30 in the afternoon after traveling for over 9 hours. While the driving wasn't too bad, nor the wails from my 2 year old who couldn't find his binki, the Washington drivers did give my patience quite a try. No offense, but the left lane on the freeway is not the "Mosey Lane"!

This morning my dad took my older 3 kids, Brianna, Hayden and Tucker backpacking to Lena Lake for an over night camping trip. They were excited about the prospect of a lake and packed their swim suits. They were told it is very cold and could still have some snow, but it didn't deter them. Hopefully my dad gets some good pictures : )  Meanwhile, Kristi (my sister-in-law) and I decided to take the rest of our kids to "Jump" in Gig Harbor. I was a little skeptical of driving 45 minutes for a blow up slide and bounce house place. We have one near us back home and my kids tire of it after 30 minutes. But this one was well worth the drive. Mason and his two cousins Abi and Cody ran around sliding and jumping for an hour and a half nearly non stop. Gage and his cousin Kaitlyn, who are both two, also had a lot of fun and no one complained of being tired, bored or hungry, which is almost mind boggling if you know my children.

This is a slide show of the pictures I shot, most with the fast motion shutter, so it may look like a choppy video, but it's not.

New Header Photo

(double click the photo to enlarge)

I've been wanting to update our photo for awhile, but it's nearly impossible to get a picture of us all together AND have everyone be happy and cooperative. This was the first version and we got the best of nearly everybody (you can decide on your own who looks like they may have been sitting on nails).
Later I took another photo and created our header photo as you now see it. Although it was a hassle for some and I did have to use m&m's as a bribe, that's how family photos usually go, but as I told a "certain someone", it's only once a year so it's not all that bad.

Lights, Camera, Action!

This is the invitation I made for Brianna's birthday. YES, they are awesome, and YES, I did spend way too much time making them. But it was fun and I'd rather be doing something crafty as opposed to say, laundry and dishes : )  I was proud of Brianna for going outside of her comfort zone and inviting "friends" that she isn't joined at the hip with. One of the activities I planned was a skit where your head is upside down and you put googly eyes on your chin and then cover up everything from your nose to the top of your head. I provided lots of supplies for the girls so they could each make their character an outfit. It was really hard not to laugh when we were filming them. Gage thought it was hysterical and laughed his head off the whole time. Afterwards we watched the skits in the backyard after it was dark with a projector I borrowed from a friend. Everyone had so much fun watching themselves, the neighbors were probably wondering what the giggle fest was all about.

 

The girls chowed down on pizza and bread sticks after playing some games

                                                                    Film Reel birthday cake

Capitol Reef

During our spring break we met my parents down in Capitol Reef and camped for a few days. It was a lot of fun and no one fell over a cliff or ledge, so it was a success!

Elmo's Pooped!

The other day we picked up a free Hokey Pokey Elmo from our wards "Big Give" function. Gage has recently become obsessed with all things "Melmo". Unfortunately Elmo doesn't turn around, but that hasn't hindered any of the fun.  We put him in the middle of the kitchen floor and let Gage dance around him. After a few rounds of the hokey pokey, Elmo said "I'm pooped"!  We all thought it was pretty funny, but funnier still was Gage's response. We're trying to decide if it's AFV worthy, so let us know what you think  : )

Hand Washing

Gage wanted to wash his hands by himself, so I let him stand on a taller stool so he could reach the sink. I filled the sink a quarter of the way with warm soapy water and let him have at. I figured he'd splash around and make a mess, but it would be worth it to keep him occupied so I could start making dinner. A few minutes later I thought I'd better check on him and survey the "damage". I was extremely surprised when I walked into the bathroom and found him in the sink!

I had greatly underestimated his passion for water.

Ghost Underwear

Recently Mason has been opting to not wear his underwear. I am not sure why he prefers to be without, but I have explained to him that because I am the one who does the laundry I get to make the rules. I have been checking each morning to make sure he is wearing a pair, but yesterday it slipped my mind. After Mason got dressed he came downstairs to let me know he was ready. I was busy in the kitchen so I didn't give it much thought. I replied,"Oh, ok, good job". He paused for a moment then said, "Mom, I have ghost underwear." I wasn't paying much attention, but I answered, "Oh ya?", which is an answer I often give my kids when they are rambling on about stuff and my mind is occupied elsewhere. A few seconds later, my brain turned on and an image of a pair of underwear with ghosts on it came into my mind.  A red flag went up, Mason only has Scooby-doo and Batman underwear, so I quickly turned to him and asked, "What do you mean you have ghost underwear?"  In a matter-of-fact tone he replied, "I have ghost underwear, so you can't see it".  I had almost been outsmarted by a four year old!  I told him that we don't get to wear ghost underwear and sent him to put on a pair that was visible.

Gagey-poo is 2!

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since my baby was born. We've all heard and said it a million times, time goes by too fast in terms of our kids growing up. I'm trying to be better at putting house work aside and spending more time making fun and lasting memories with my kids. I don't want them to look back on their childhood and think, "Wow, our kitchen floor was always so clean we could eat off it"! That might give me good credit as a house keeper, but not as a mother. As a grandma I want to hear them share stories with their kids about camping with their dad, having water hose fights with their mom, and about the time we both surprise attacked them in the kitchen with their nerf air strike guns. (Sigh...) that time is still far into the future, but it will sneak up on me before I know it.

I'm a bit emotional knowing that we won't be celebrating any more 1st or 2nd birthdays for our kids. Luckily Gage loves to snuggle and is very affectionate, otherwise it would be a lot harder. The other kids all adore him and he loves to run around giving them hugs, he looks like an airplane coming in for a landing. Gage isn't the most talkative kid, but he does love to imitate animal sounds. His favorite is "bibbit" for a frog, so that was my inspiration for the frog theme. We decorated with frog balloons, played games with frog beach balls and lily pads, and ate frog cupcakes.

Gage is thinking, "Keep that thing away from me or I'll mess my pants!" 

Watch the video below to find out why.