Beaches, BBQ, and Birthday

My Mom arrived last Thursday and we’ve been having lots of fun (and taking lots of pictures).

On Friday we went to Dash Point beach. The tide was out so there was lots of sand for playing and digging. The water was too cold for the adults to get in, but that didn’t stop the girls. Jason wasn’t so sure about getting sand on his feet. Notice how he trying to walk on his heels.

Abigail found a dead crab that had taken quite a beating…

Carly enjoyed playing in the sand the most

Saturday was our community social/BBQ and since it’s paid for with our annual dues we go each year. The girls had lots of fun running around with their friends. Abigail and her good buddy from pre-school won the three legged race. (Granted there were only two or three other, and younger competitors)

Abigail was in the running to win the potato sack race too, but she jumped a bit too high and took a tumble.

On Sunday we invited the family over to celebrate Jason’s first birthday. It was getting late after dinner so we decided to wake Jason up (of course) for cake.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it at first…

He finally took a few bites…

But his interest didn’t last long…

The gifts were much more exciting for Jason. The excitement from his sisters and cousins combined with hearing the fun noises from his new toy Grandma Fletcher gave him had Jason squealing with delight.

He’s a pro at pushing his new toy all over the house and has mastered all the noise making buttons. It’s hilarious to watch him stop and dance along… so cute!

Yesterday we ate dinner along the boardwalk at Alki Beach in Seattle. After dinner we walked along the beach and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. It’s been two years since we’ve been to Alki Beach.

Summer 2008

This is the girls trying to reenact the “flying on the beach” pictures we took in 2006.

Summer 2006

The girls have changed so much in two years!

Look how he's grown!

During each of my kids first year I take a picture each month to document how much they have grown. I like to put a little stuffed animal in the shot so there's something to compare. Today is my baby's first birthday (I'll post some more pictures after we eat cake).

My Sleepy Boy

Jason has been so sleepy lately. He still likes to nap twice a day and his naps range from 3-4 hours each (Sunday his nap was over 5 hours!). He’s ready for bed by 7pm and has been sleeping in til 8am or later (we’re finally completely free of night & early morning wakings!!!). I figure on average he sleeps at least 17-18 hours a day. Of course this is great, but only when I don’t need to leave the house. Yesterday morning I had to wake Jason up at 9:15am (the girls had a 10am dentist appointment).

QUICK SIDE STORY: He was sound asleep in dried up vomit. After a quick bath and breakfast we were heading out the door just as he threw up again. And again in the car on the way to the dentist. And again on the way home (this time I had my Mommy sensors on and caught it in a bucket, while driving and obeying all traffic laws). He has been fine since.

Yesterday afternoon I had to wake him up again from his afternoon nap so I could make my dentist appointment. Poor guy! I really, really, really hate waking up a sleeping baby. Especially after the morning we’d had. And he looked so darn cute!!

This morning I had a goal to get the house vacuumed before Jason’s morning nap. Abigail was in charge of keeping Jason safe and happy. She did a great job. The girls completely spoil him and he loves it.

As I was vacuuming the office I saw this sweet scene and while still vacuuming grabbed my camera and took a picture.

JUST A THOUGHT: How is it that women can drive and catch a child’s vomit in a bucket (Note: the child is in the backseat and sitting backwards), vacuum and take a picture, talk on the phone while playing a game and changing a diaper… and men… well, I’m sure you see what I mean. :)

I got a fun email this morning from a friend and instead of responding to it via email I decided to post it on the blog.

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? Around 8:15 am (I would have slept in longer if it wasn’t for the stake breakfast we had at 9 am. We still had to wake up Carly and Jason to get there in time.
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? I met my sister-in-law and mother-in-law this afternoon to see Mamma Mia. I rarely go to movies so two in one week is a treat.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? LOST, Survivor, Samantha Who? (just to name a few). I don’t have anything I’m watching right now which is great.
5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Cereal – our regulars are Cheerios, Life, and Raisin Bran.
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? I’ve never had one. After I got married I adopted an H. (for my maiden name, Hipwell).
7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? meat (except occasionally chicken or turkey)
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? I haven’t bought a CD in years. If I ever listen to a CD though I pull out my 80’s rock… Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, etc…
9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Toyota Sienna
10. FAVORITE SANDWICH? homemade grilled panini – turkey, avocado, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, olives, and cheese… so good!
11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? Selfishness
12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? Comfy elastic-waist pants
13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON HOLIDAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? to a tropical destination with warm water and clean sandy beaches
14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? We painted it a neutral brown taupe-y color
15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? I don't have a favorite brand, whatever is comfortable and inexpensive. I probably shop most often at Old Navy or the Gap Outlet.
16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? I have no idea. Maybe someplace by the ocean?? Not to hot, not too cold. It would probably depend on where my kids are.
17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a memory… I can hardly remember last week.
18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Basketball or Hockey (if it’s in person)
19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? New Jersey or Georgia?
20. WHO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? pretty much everyone
21. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST? Not sure
22. FAVORITE SAYINGS? I probably say “in a minute” and “shhhh” the most frequently.
23. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? July 5th
24. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? Once I’m out of bed I do good at getting things done, but getting out of bed is not easy especially before 8 am. I do like to stay up late, but I wouldn’t say I’m the most productive at night.
25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 8 ½ or 9
26. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Nope
27. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? A mom
28. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I haven’t done a single thing on my to-do list and Justin hasn’t touched his honey-do list… so I’m a little on edge, but it’s still been a good day.
29. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SWEETS? chocolate
30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Gerber daisy
31. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? My Mom visiting this week
32. LAST THING YOU ATE? super buttery popcorn
33. DO YOU WISH ON THE STARS? Not since I was a teenager… sad, huh?
34. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I seriously must be one of the most indecisive people so to pick one color would be stressful
35. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Surprisingly sunny and warm (upper 70’s)… the day started out pretty cool
36. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? I don’t drink soda much, but if I do I go for root beer. I was a serious Coke drinker when I worked at McDonalds in high school.
37. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Mexican (Chevy’s), Asian (P.F. Changs), Burgers (Chili’s… so sad they closed down both restaurants in the area), Italian (Macaroni Grill)
38. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas… so fun with kids!
39. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer (but it can’t be over 85 degrees)
40. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
41. COFFEE OR TEA? Neither
42. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate
43. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO E-MAIL YOU BACK? Of course, it’s always fun learn new things about friends and family
44. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I have no idea… I’m not a crier
45. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Susan
46. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Went to the temple and out to dinner with Justin – two dates in one week!! We had a great time and decided we really need to make it a habit to go out more often.
47. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? something serious happening to one of my kids
48. HOW MANY YEARS AT YOUR CURRENT JOB? 7 years as a mom (or expectant mom)
49. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday… Justin’s home!... well usually.
50. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY? No. I think I’m shy. I really am lucky to have as many friends that I do.
51. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL YOU SEND THIS TO? Who ever reads our blog
52. HOW MANY WILL RESPOND? I guess we’ll find out

Practically Perfect Summer Day

• Justin took the day off.
• Everyone slept in til nearly 9 am.
• Justin and the girls went on a long bike ride.
• We picked up a babysitter at 10:30 am.
• Justin and I ate a yummy lunch at Olive Garden.
• After lunch we headed to the movie theatre to watch Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian (much better than our last movie, although I wish I would have read the book first)
• After nearly five hours kid-free we headed home.
• Made smoothies
• Let the girls run through the sprinklers.
• Justin’s Dad came over so we could help him bid on an online auction (won 2 out of 4).
• Grandpa provided Chinese for dinner and McDonald’s for dessert.
• Abigail gave a short FHE lesson about the Book of Mormon (which she had prepared herself on the computer yesterday).
• Carly stayed in the garage crying most of the lesson, but with two doors between us she could hardly be heard (She had to throw away the last part of her cone that I accidentally made her drop on the floor… I’m such a mean Mom – I did feel a bit guilty though)
• Kids in bed by 8:15 pm
• Watched a little TV with Justin.
• Finished a scrapbook page.
• Zero exercise, lots of food.

I wish every day could be like today.

Summer Begins

Since we just got back from vacation, it feels like this is our first week of summer. As I looked at our calendar last Sunday I suddenly felt behind. We hadn’t done swim lessons or enrolled in any extra-curricular activities and there’s only seven weeks til school starts. So when a friend of mine told me she was enrolling her daughter in a gymnastics camp this week I decided to enroll the girls as well. They loved it and it was nice to be down to only having one child every morning this week (an added bonus is that he was napping so I was able to spend some time scrapbooking).

We love having smoothies, especially on hot summer days.

Jason really likes them too.

Yesterday was Justin’s annual work party. We look forward to going each summer. The surroundings are gorgeous and there’s lots of food, fun and free stuff. This year Justin’s parents joined us. Abigail loved climbing the rock wall several times; she made it all the way to the top and looked like a pro! Justin was surprised he made it to the top as well.

My personal favorite is the BINGO tent; I can’t seem to get enough. We learned from last year that the best time to play is at the very beginning when there are not as many people. It still took over an hour, but I finally won. I picked out an awesome duffle bag as my prize. We made it back to the BINGO tent just in time for the last game. They had six cell phones to give away and Justin’s Mom won one of them… her first and only game and she won a phone.

At the end of the evening we had just enough time to do one more activity so the girls decided to ride the ponies. This was Carly’s favorite activity of the day.

On our way home Abigail was saying her eyes REALLY itched. She’s allergic to grass and trees so we figured that it was because she had been outside all afternoon. She sounded so miserable and stuffy all the way home. I turned around and saw this…

I don’t know why the leotard is on the top of her head; I think she was using it to rub her eyes. It’s hard to tell but her eyes were really puffy (and still are today). It was obvious it wasn’t just the grass… we learned she’s allergic to horses too. Poor girl.

The kids were so tired from their busy week that we all slept in till after 9am today. Hope you are all enjoying your summer too.

Jumping Ahead

Where Jason is concerned there are three positions you will see him in: lying down, sitting, and standing. When he is lying down he rolls from his front to his back and from his back to his front (not often, but he can). When he is sitting down he has learned to turn himself in a circle while remaining on his bottom (he doesn’t actually move anywhere, just turns in a circle). When he’s standing he can cruise around the furniture. All great things, but the hard thing for me is that he can’t switch between these three positions on his own. (He doesn’t pull himself up, he doesn’t sit down, etc…) I haven’t been concerned with his progress... I figured he’d catch on sooner or later (probably later) and if he doesn’t ever learn to crawl then I guess we’ll see if there really is any correlation between crawling and learning how to read. However, over the past day or so he’s started taking steps:

How can a child walk if he can’t stand up or sit down?? It’s the weirdest thing and honestly frustrating because usually walking means independence, but we’re missing a few key developmental milestones here…

Independence Day

The 4th of July was our last day in Minnesota. We traveled to Crosby, a small town about 30 minutes away from our cabin for their parade. We backed the van into a parking spot along the parade route, it was the perfect setup. I could sit in shade in the back of the van while the girls collected candy with Grandma.

It was a great small town parade. I’ve never been to a parade with fire trucks, snowmobiles, hydroplanes, and tractors all in one.

After spending the afternoon on the lake, we heading back to Crosby for the firework show. My sister brought tons of bubbles and “pop-it” fireworks to keep the kids entertained with until the show started. It was awesome to be there with my entire family. We were quite the group and had several other kids join in on our fun.

The fireworks were fantastic. Jason was tense when they first started, but he just laid down and watched the show until he fell asleep. The girls said the best part was watching them with all their cousins.

Keeping it real

Bookmark & Share

Vacation Rentals By Owner

Favorites	Email
Digg	Del.icio.us
Google	Facebook
Live	More ...

To:
From:
Note:

One of my concerns going into my family reunion as that our accommodations would be less than satisfactory. My brother found the lodge on the internet. It was described as a 12 bedroom/7 bathroom lodge "perfect for family reunions or corporate retreats" and "completely updated in 2004" with the following two pictures.

Clearly not luxurious, which is fine. What had me worried is that the rental website allows previous guests to leave comments. There were zero positive comments and one negative comment (which had been deleted by the owner). So all we knew was that somebody didn't enjoy their stay, but we didn't know why.

Before I go any further, I've got to make it clear that we've had a great time at the reunion. With 12 bedrooms there's plenty of beds for everyone and we all have our own space. The living area is a great size... four big couches and three long tables for eating and playing games. Having a lake right across the street has been so much fun. The girls can spend all afternoon out there.

With that said though, I've got to document the less than fabulous aspects of our accommodations. It's all part of the memories and in spite of it all, we'll definitely look back at this week as a great one.

• The "fully equipped kitchen" includes a vintage 1978 microwave and two equally ancient and unpredictable ovens. It doesn't include: 9x13 pans, measuring spoons, or a garbage disposal.
• Our ping-pong table is buckled across the entire middle and since the net is secured with duct tape, it needs to be adjusted throughout your game. As if that wasn't challenging enough you still have to find a ball that hasn't been smashed in and a paddle that won't give you slivers.
• "air-conditioning included" consists of ceiling fans and a few other fans throughout the lodge. Thankfully we've only had one really hot day.
• My sister-in-law joked that after swimming in our lake the kids will never again need to have iodine in their salt. I wonder what it is that makes the water so red...
  
• I've never been in an environment with this many bugs. Besides the millions of mosquitoes we battle each day there are creatures all over the house. Our first day here I vacuumed up an entire colony of dead ladybugs on my bedroom floor.
  
• In addition to the insects, we finally caught the mouse that's been living in the kitchen. I'm still not sure what I saw scurry across my bedroom floor early one morning... maybe it was all in my imagination... maybe not
  
• I don't think there's a single piece of furniture in the entire 5000 square foot lodge that was made before the 1990's (including the mattresses)
• "pets welcome" means that the owners pets are welcome to join in on our fun (and do their business on the beach)
• A guy in his twenties runs the lodge. That should give you a little insight into how clean things have been (as if the bugs and mice didn't give that away)
• There are two bathrooms downstairs and five upstairs. A few of the showers upstairs leak through the downstairs ceiling. One more minor distraction when playing ping-pong.
• "kid-friendly" means there's very little kids could ruin or destroy. Thankfully Jason doesn't crawl around. Pipes are exposed, the floors are disgusting, and seeing him eating dead bugs or playing with a mouse would be a bit much for me.

Okay, so maybe it sounds pretty bad, but the week has flown by and I'm sad to see it end. Being here with my family has been great. We're all so different and I'm sure everyone has been frustrated or frazzled at some point, but we've been together and that's made it all worth it.

Family Pictures

Yesterday we finally got a picture taken with my entire family... it's been too long!

My siblings

The grandkids

My awesome Mom

Activities

Besides playing at the lake the kids have had a blast playing games, painting, coloring, playing the Wii, and just hanging out with all their cousins.

The kids sugared up on candy from a patriotic pinata yesterday.

Today the kids participated in a "field day" organized by my talented sister-in-law. Games included, potato sack races, filing up jugs with water squeezed from sponges, egg races, and balloon popping... Lots of fun.

Tonight I went fishing. I haven't been fishing since I was a child and my family went to a local fish farm. My brother is an avid fisherman so he showed me the ropes. I spent over two hours casting without actually catching a single fish. It really was a slow night, even my brother only caught one fish. In his expert opinion, I "did everything right and I should have caught a fish." It sure was beautiful to be on the lake though.

In times of war

Have I mentioned that the mosquitoes in Minnesota are outrageous? I've only experienced mosquitoes like this once before when Justin and I were waiting for the pizza-delivery-man outside our hotel in Cancun. Our hotel was located right on the beach. On the other side of the hotel was a lagoon. I wasn't outside for more than five minutes before I received over 20 mosquito bites. They seem to love my blood, but for the most part leave Justin alone.

It's quite warm in Minnesota and without a/c it's tempting to leave the windows open. However, if you open your window, you run to risk of letting in the swarms of blood thirsty mosquitoes. When we laid Jason down last night, Justin told me he closed all the windows in our room. It was hot and stuffy and I woke up several times during the night itching the mosquito bites covering my body (literally from the top of my head, to the bottom of my feet... seriously the bottom of my feet!) This morning as I got out of bed I noticed a few squashed mosquitoes laying in tiny pools of blood on my sheets... and an open window. I smacked a mosquito resting on the wall beside me... leaving behind a trail of blood on the wall. There a trails of blood all over the house... so much carnage. In addition to the mosquitoes the flies are also getting in on the action and their bite is much more painful.

At the Lake

Saturday afternoon we picked up our rental van at the airport and drove the 3.5 hours to our reunion location. Each of my siblings is in charge of cooking all the meals for one day (our day was Sunday) so we stopped at the Super Wal-Mart closest to the lodge to pick up all our food. I was hoping we could get in and out in an hour. Nearly two hours later and spending more money on groceries than we ever have before... we were back on the road. Since Sunday was our cooking day we spent most of the day in the kitchen either cooking or cleaning up, but now we get to enjoy the rest of the week having all of our meals prepared for us. Yum, yum.

Yesterday was the first day the girls we able to go out on the lake. We have a fun trampoline on the water that the kids have loved jumping off of. Abigail didn't hesitate to take the plunge...

Carly had second thoughts once she started sliding down...

Justin had a hard time even getting on it.

There's also a paddleboat and fishing boat that we can use during the week.

Check out the rust color of the lake...

Last night we bundled up (not that it's cold, but the mosquitos are savages here) and had smores by the campfire... delicious! I also saw my first fireflies... they are awesome, but impossible to take a picture of.

Mall of America

We woke up early last Thursday to catch our 9 am flight to Minnesota. I was hoping to be able to take Jason's car seat on the airplane so he could nap on the way. He has no problem falling asleep in his car seat, but falling asleep in our arms is a rarity. Unfortunately it was a full flight so I spent the next three hours dealing with a restless baby. It was a lot like sacrament meeting, but with no place for him to get down and cruise around. Jason finally gave into the exhaustion and fell asleep in my arms... five minutes before we landed... just my luck. In spite of being so tired, we didn't have to deal with any crying fits, I'm definitely grateful for that.

We spent the first two days in Minneapolis with the majority of our time at the Mall of America.

I remember as a teenager thinking how awesome it would be to go to the BIGGEST mall in the US. It was definitely huge, but I've outgrown my teenage passion for shopping. Instead we bought Justin and the girls a unlimited pass to enjoy the amusement park in the center of the mall. They had a fabulous time.

Carly is much more adventurous than Abigail and seemed to always be smiling from ear to ear, even on the "scary" rides.

Jason tolerated the loss of regular napping surprisingly well.