Beach Bum

For two people that grew up in California we sure waited a long time to take our kids to the beach. Almost eight years in fact. We have been to California numerous times to visit family and friends but only on this last visit did we take the kids to the beach. It was overcast, windy, and cold. Exactly how I remember the beach from when I was a kid. Of course the kids didn't care and had a blast. Alan stayed in the water the longest and Hyrum who had been talking about building a sand castle for months finally was able to achieve his goal with the help of his cousins and his Dad. I think we will have to go out to the beach again soon.

Legoland

Last month our family got to go to Legoland. What a fun trip. We really had a lot of fun. It was nice to go to an amusement park in the middle of the summer that didn't have crazy long lines. We only stood in one line that was 30 minutes long. Legoland has some really great things going for it. The playground areas are by far the best that I have ever seen. They were huge and had all the fun gadgets. Despite the weather being in the sixties the kids still wanted to get wet. The water playground was awesome. We had the kids go there last thing before we left the park for the afternoon so that we could go right back to the hotel and get into dry warm clothes before we went back for the evening.

Legoland also just opened up a water park. It was great for the kids because the height requirement for all of the water slides was only 42 inches. Hyrum is unable to go on most water slides here in Phoenix but was able to go on all of them at Legoland.

Another great thing that legoland had going for it was that for most rides that the lines were likely to get long they had a Lego station for the kids to build at while parents waited in line. Most of the time the lines were short enough so that we didn't need to take advantage of it, but we all know that the lines are the worst part of amusement parks so this was nice. Legolands rides are also more interactive that any other amusement park (that I know of), you frequently had to pedal, pump, or steer, your ride. I thought that was kind of cool.

There was an advertisement there that talked about miniland, where they build miniatures of cities all out of Lego's. The advertisements said something about how many millions of blocks of Lego's were in miniland and only one toilet. I told the kids if they could find the one toilet I would give them each a dollar. With a bit of help they were able to find it.

Take note of the kids bandannas. They really made it easier to keep track of the kids. And they are still young enough to think they are cool. Great idea John!

We also stopped by the sealife aquarium while we were there. It was cool as well but let's face it. When there is a choice between fish and rides, the rides win.

A Joyful Independence Day

It's been a great Independence Day. Church this morning was wonderful. I love it when we get to sing Hymns about our country at church. Then this afternoon we made some decorations and had a special dinner of Hot Dogs (The kids find hot dogs more special then anything I could have spent hours on. In fact the pasta salad, the only thing that really took any work, was also the only thing they didn't want to eat.) Hyrum insisted that since it's our country's birthday we needed to have a cake. So I made a brownie and told the kids it was cake. They decorated it with strawberries and blueberries to make a flag. But the best part of the day came when I was trying to fit our leftovers into the refrigerator.

The kids had been asking all day for juice boxes and I kept saying no. As I was looking in the refrigerator I noticed that there were fewer juice boxes than there were yesterday. I began the inquisition with Alan and felt confident in his denial. I moved on to Hyrum and could immediately see the guilt.

"Hyrum did you drink a juice box with out asking?"

"But Mom, you said if I asked you one more time I would have to stand in the corner."

Figuring he didn't want to stand in the corner he went ahead and helped himself.

I think this was the time the time I have had the hardest time keeping a straight face while lecturing my kids.

Dad

John and I have talked a lot about how we will be able to keep an eye on our kids when they are teenagers. We want our kids to WANT to hang out at our house. We are not sure however how to accomplish that. Do we buy all the cool toys? Have endless supplies of junkfood on hand? I don't know but if any of you have suggestions we would love to hear them.

At my house growing up we certainly didn't have all the latest gadgets (I remember begging my parents to get an answering machine because we were the ONLY family who didn't have one.), and we rarely bought prepared food, but my parents did do one thing that made our house a frequent place to hang out. My friends were always invited to come over. After Saturday night dances it was always a given that friends could come over for ice cream. Most of my friends wouldn't be allowed to have a large group of teenagers show up at 11:30 at night (it helped that I'm the youngest therefore there were no younger sibling to wake up at my house). But my parents never complained.

I remember one particular time after a dance a large group was at my house. A few people asked me for a ride home afterwards and my car was full. When things were winding down and everyone was going home, one friend had waited until the last minute to ask me for a ride home. Not only was my car full but this particular friends lived across town about 20 minutes away. So in the middle of the night I woke up my Dad to ask for his help. If it were me woken up in the middle of the night I'm sure the scene would not be pretty. But my Dad didn't complain. He just quietly took everyone home. I didn't even get a lecture.

As a parent I can see how it could get really annoying to have kids over in the middle of the night all the time. I'm glad my parents were willing to put aside their comfort for me. And I am especially glad that my Dad was willing to help me with out lecturing me. Glad that I was safe.

Vacation

A couple weeks ago we got the chance to go to Utah for my sister's wedding. It was a wonderful day. Charlene was just glowing with happiness. We are so happy for her and are so glad to have Mark and his kids in the family. We also have more good news that John's brother was married last Saturday. Unfortunately since the wedding was out of the country we were unable to make it. But we can't wait to meet you Liz! Charlene and Mark

Don't they look great despite the terrible shot?

The kids had a blast playing with cousins.

I got to see my good friend and previous roommate Alyssa while we were there. Alyssa, I had a blast hanging out and wish we could do it more often. There is just a great bond that forms between roommates that it seems no longer how long it's been since we have seen each other we can just pick right up where we left off.

On the drive up there it started snowing. Of course this was too exciting for us Arizonans so we hopped out in our shorts and sandals to have a snowball fight.

And I made sure to take a picture of me with my mother while I was there. Isn't she beautiful?

To my Mom

I wanted to find a picture of my mom and I when I was a kid to share but I simply couldn't find one. The only picture I have of the two of us is from my wedding day. My mom was always behind the camera and was unable to take pictures of herself. So to mom's everywhere, make sure you get some pictures of you with your kids. Dad's, make sure it happens. And mom, next time I come out I'm getting a picture of the two of us.

Happy Mothers Day. There are some amazing mother's on this planet and I count my mother at the top of the list. As the summer travel season is approaching I am in awe of my Mother. We went on a family vacation every year and most of the time these vacations involved a FULL day's drive and a lot of camping. I never realized just how much work that is to prepare for.

She was able to keep kids entertained for 12 hours in a car (before portable DVD players or even the mini VHS player). Recently one of our leaders at church admonished us to not just "plug in" our kids for road trips. He talked about how road trips are a time for families to grow closer to each other. I looked back at my road trips growing up and though I would have never admitted it at the time, I have really fond memories of the road trips.

My mom didn't simply have us all sitting in the car together watching TV, but she had us playing together. We had a travel box that was only allowed out for such occasions so the novelty of the games wouldn't ware off. Remember travel battle ship? And war cards? Not regular playing cards, but cards made specifically for playing war. I remember playing endless games of war in the car. My mom made travel bingo cards. Since we couldn't just print out a game card online my mom drew each picture on each card. Wow what a mom!

And camping. Do you know how much needs to be packed for seven kids to go camping? My mom organized a master camping list so we were always prepared. She passed that list on to me for which I am truly grateful. Another thing that my mom always did for vacation that I still have been unable to master is that the house was always spotless when we left. It seems to be more than I can handle to get everything packed but my mom always made sure that the house was clean and that we were able to come home to a clean house. It really makes such a difference to come home to a clean house.

John and I decided a few years ago that it was important for our family to have a vacation every year for just our family. It's not easy. I can see why lots of people don't make it a priority. But I know how much I appreciated those family vacations as a kid and how much closer my family grew as a result.

Mom, you are amazing. I am still striving to be like you everyday.