Saucy and Bobbo!

A couple of weeks ago we headed to Utah for my sister's wedding. They were married in the Manti temple, which is in the middle of nowhere. They chose this temple because my parents were married there, and, hey, it's beautiful. We stayed in Provo, which is a couple of hours away. I have to admit that I grumbled a bit on the drive there, but eventually we turned a corner, and there was the temple, surrounded by rolling green hills. It was like some of the castles we saw a few years ago in Germany. So worth the drive.

The happy couple, just as they're coming out of the temple.

Thing 3 with my cousin, who we lovingly refer to as "Flocky," although it's been so long that I can't remember why. He's more like a brother than a cousin. He's also the one who took all these pictures. Except this one.

Me and the sibs. We always do this pose when we're together. See the family resemblance? If you know what movie this is from, you get bonus points.

The fam. Can you tell how warm and toasty we are? This was on May 1st and it snowed that day. Seriously.

The bride and bridesmaids. I spent most of the night tugging on the bottom of my dress because it was a little too short for me.

The three Things and their Auntie.

This is the best picture we could get with all the nieces and nephews. Doesn't Thing 3's little 3 year-old cousin on the left look just like him?

Thing 3 is still getting his groove on

Last week my sister got married! More pictures from that to come, but until then here are some clips of Thing 3 dancing at the wedding. He danced the whole time the music played. Unfortunately, he was usually in the middle of a crowd, so it was tough to film him (Thanks Flocky for the footage). I wish we had gotten some of the air guitar, but we can't have everything.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

I love playing with my kids. I'm not just saying that - I really do! But in the last few months, Thing 3 has turned into a game junkie. Board games, cards games, whatever. He is constantly trying to get his fix, and he'll play with anyone - he's not picky. He's a good sport, win or lose, although more often than not he wins. He's great at Yahtzee, and he smoked everyone the last time we played Monopoly (with him exclaiming "I love money!" and "I love this game!" the whole time). I play games with him every day, but it never seems to be enough to satisfy him. Unfortunately, I can't play Uno and go fish every waking minute, so in desperation, I taught my four year old how to play 4 card solitare. What does this say about me as a mother?

Feet on the Ceiling

This morning, while "snugging" under the covers with Thing 3 (AKA Genius The Monkey), he informed me that, "I love you, but not as much as I love dad because he can put my feet on the ceiling!" I can't compete with that.

Our House

Here is a conversation that took place in our car yesterday:

Thing 3: "Mom, does our house have a name?"
Me: "No..."
Thing 3: "Hmmm. How about Mr. Fred? Or Whitey!"

I was glad we were in the car so he couldn't see me shaking from held-back laughter.

Watching the Mariners (and Thing 3) is a Treat!

Tuesday night we went to the Mariners-Blue Jays game. My brother and my cousin were here visiting, and my cousin had never been to a MLB game before, so off we went. And let me tell you, the M's did not disappoint. Bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, tie ball game, Ichiro base hit to center for the win. My oh my! Here's a picture my cousin took of that hit:



Thing 3, our star performer, did not disappoint, either. There were some really obnoxious Blue Jays fans sitting in front of us (I knew we were in trouble when I saw their sign - "We're Drunk!!!"), and every time they finished their chants of "Let's go Blue Jays!" Thing 3 would squeak out "Let's go Mariners!" in his very loudest voice. I've never seen a four year old cheer so hard. Usually it's painful to take little kids to the ball park, but he was so much fun. The crowd loved him, and one of the Blue Jay guys even grudgingly admitted, "Now that's a true fan." But the best was when he danced to the music in between innings. My cousin caught one such moment on camera. You can hear the rest of us laughing in the background, and watch for me grabbing him before he topples into the next row.

Viking Fest 2009

Here it is, the post you've all been dying to read, my second annual Viking Fest post race report. I have been waiting for the chance to ask Sparky to put together the race video, but he's been busy seeing his brother graduate from med school (way to go Corn!) and other various things. I can't believe my blog doesn't come first in his life, but whatever. Luckily I have a wonderful friend who was there and grabbed a few still shots. Note Thing 3 ran his race before I managed to get the chocolate frosting from his doughnut off his face.

Here is a picture of Thing 1 and his friend, the one who convinced him to run the 5 mile instead of the 1 mile. These two have been friends since they were 3. Today at church, they both were wearing blue long sleeved shirts and ties, along with Thing 2 and Thing 3. I told the friend he fit right in with my crew - my four boys.

Here is one of Thing 1 and me pre-race. Look how excited he is to be in a picture with his dear mother. I am proud of him, though. He finished in 46:02, way faster than I expected him to finish. I was somewhat pleased with my time, too - 40:37. I'm a little bummed that I didn't break 40 minutes, but I did set a course PR, shaving a minute and a second off of last year's time. Next year I'll have to do a little speed work and see if I can get under 40! This race is so much fun. We had so many friends there and the course is gorgeous. By the way, I didn't forget about Thing 2. He had a baseball game that morning and missed the race.

I am a lousy mother

I am not the most supportive mom ever, and little league baseball tends to broadcast it to the world. I still believe that the best thing about little league is how cute little kids look in catcher's gear. Last year, I was bitter about the snack. Last week, we found out that Thing 2 made the baseball all-star team, and my first reaction was, "Aw crap. Now I'm going to have to go to more games!" Then I realized that normal parents don't react this way, so I gave a half-hearted "Go Thing 2, go!" to keep up appearances. I think there's something wrong with me. There's another family with a kid on this team that totally makes up for my lack of enthusiasm. They have their kid training year round, and they are really into the games. I'm pretty sure they would have been devastated if he hadn't made all-stars (he did). I think they're having a parade in his honor next week, and the paperwork is being filled out to make his all-star debut a national holiday.

Anyway, I was lying in bed this morning, thinking what a lousy mom I am, when Thing 3 came in for his usual early morning snuggle (or "snug" as he calls it). After a few minutes, he turned to me and said I was his best friend, which of course made me smile. I'm not a great mom, but at least I have my kids fooled!

Mother's Day Fun

On Friday, I found this video clip of Thing 1 at age three when I was searching on our computer for something else. I'm sure I knew about it at one time, but I'd completely forgotten about it. I think it was a particularly fun find since it was so close to Mother's day:




And since it is Mother's day, I'd like to thank all the women out there that are helping me raise my boys. It truly takes a village to raise a child. My kids have the best grandmothers a kid could ask for, and the coolest aunts. They've had the most wonderful teachers at school and church. And a big thank you to all of their friends' moms who I sometimes think they love more than me, including two of my friends to whom Thing 3 lovingly refers to as "his girlfriends." You know who you are.

Edit: I just made the video public - apparently I didn't do that before, so people couldn't watch it. Let me know if you still can't view it.

The Easter Bunny Blues

***Spoiler alert: Don't read this post with little kids hanging around. It will totally ruin the holidays for them!

One of my pet peeves is when well meaning adults try to give my children a bit of fun that leads to me doing damage control. Example: Yesterday at preschool, the Easter Bunny hid eggs all over the playground while Thing 3 was in class. The kids got to go find the eggs and take them home. Fun, right? Well, I have been fielding questions ever since. Why did the Easter Bunny come when it's not Easter? Did he go to the big boys' school? Is he coming back tomorrow? Last week we walked by the Easter Bunny at the mall, and I totally had to distract Thing 2 and Thing 3 as we walked by - not because they would want to sit on his lap and get their picture taken, because of the questions that would result. That's the Easter Bunny? Why is he bigger than normal bunnies? Why is he here and not at a mall in a different city? Does he like to eat carrots?

The worst is Christmas. All the different Santas. I know they mean well, but they don't look anything alike, and kids are smart. Last year's church Christmas party was nice, and my 17 year old neighbor got to play Santa. Very fun, but it didn't work for my kids AT ALL. After sitting on his lap, the boys had things to say about it. Thing 2: Mom, I just sat on Matt's lap! Weird! He's not really Santa. Thing 3: Mom, why is Matt wearing Santa's clothes?

Every year we go to Sparky's work Christmas party for the kids of the employees. At least there they have the same Santa and Mrs. Claus every year. Things 2 and 3 are convinced that this is the real Santa (he really looks great), although they still ask me why he's here and not at the North Pole, and where is his sleigh and reindeer? Shouldn't he be getting ready for Christmas eve? Why can't my kids be like the other kids at the party and just blindly accept Santa and live in a state of pure bliss?

About a year and a half ago, Thing 1 and I were in the car together without the others, and he admitted to me that he knew that Santa wasn't real. I remember feeling really conflicted about it - I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or pull over the car so I could dance a jig of celebration. I asked him how long he'd known, and he said since before last Christmas. When I asked him why he didn't tell us then, he said that he didn't want to ruin it for me and his Dad, so he just went along with it.

I know I'm going to miss everything when the other two stop believing. Thing 2 is already on the verge. But until then, everyone pass the word around to play it cool with the world of pretend. I heard the Tooth Fairy came by Thing 2's classroom recently, and I'm not looking forward to THAT conversation.

Little Worriers

I've decided that Sparky and I tend to breed little worriers. When our kids hit four or five, they tend to start obsessing over something that they won't have to deal with for decades. When Thing 1 was younger, he wanted to know how to get a job. I told him if he helped clean the windows, I'd give him a dollar, but he said no, he was talking about a real job, like Dad's. I asked him why he wanted to know, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. He said, "Someday I'm going to be married and have kids, and I'm going to need to have a job so we can have some money. So how do I get a job?" He was genuinely concerned about this, and he was around five years old. He wouldn't let it go until I mapped out for him the whole high school - college - grad school - job interview thing, and then he finally started breathing again. Poor stressed out baby.

With Thing 2, it was leaving home. He kept saying he was going to live with us for the rest of his life, that he was never moving out. The funny thing was, he would usually say it when he was acting up or doing something to bother me, and I'd say under my breath, "You wanna bet?" He was really worried for a solid year about growing up and moving away, and then all of a sudden, he started wanting to sing "I hope they call me on a mission" every family night and started talking about going to BYU someday (like I said before, his brainwashing is officially complete!). Sparky and I breathed a sigh of relief when Thing 2 grew out of his worry phase.

So I've been wondering lately what Thing 3 is going to worry about, and I think that I stumbled upon it this week. He's worried that when he grows up and moves away, he won't be able to find our house again. He's been begging me to promise that we'll never move to another house. He asked me if, when he grows up, I would come pick him up from his new house and drive him to our house when he wants to visit. I pointed out that he would probably have his own car by then, but he insisted that he wouldn't remember where our house is, and I should just drive him in my car. He happened to have a friend with him when he said all this to me, and his friend said to him in exasperation, "Come on! We're not grown-ups! You can't even drive yet!" Thing 3 can't help it; he's just like his brothers. I should probably be concerned about my kids getting so stressed out, but it's just so cute to see a little four year old worrying about something that's 15 years away. I guess what I'm trying to say is, my kids are weird but cute.

Busters

The boys are currently on a lego kick. We've had them forever, but they recently realized that they're actually fun, and they run to play with them after school. Thing 3 can't put together all the sets, but he loves the lego people. In fact, he loves the lego legs. He calls them “busters,” and he pulls them off all the lego people and just plays with the busters. Our playroom usually looks like there's been some sort of lego massacre, with legless lego people lying all over the place. Sometimes he'll put the busters on top of each other so there's one tall, mutant buster. Other times he'll line them up and have them kick in bizarre rockette style.

I don't know how he came up with the name busters, but it stuck. The whole family calls them busters now. I curse the busters when I step on them in the middle of the night when Thing 3 wakes me up and makes me tuck him back in bed, and I shake my head at the busters when I find them clanging around in the dryer. Busters have totally taken over my house!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Oh, I love March. I'm like a kid at Christmas with my nose pressed against the store window, gazing longingly at the Red Rider BB gun. It's March Madness, baby! The brackets came out today and I'm in heaven.

We have done a pool with our friends (for bragging rights only, of course!) for about 10 years now. I've only won it once, and it's a year when my brother in law has chosen to experience some very selective memory loss. I know I'll never win again. Usually someone wins who has no clue about college basketball and just picks all the high seeds (except the two years my dad won). I end up grumbling about it for a few weeks and then placate myself with chocolate and Mariners games.

All three Things are already claiming victory with their picks. Thing 1 has declared that he will win with his superior knowledge and insider information. Our brain washing of Thing 2 is complete, he picked BYU to win it all and is appalled that anyone would pick differently. I love his dedication. It's totally me at his age. I'm just afraid he will end up like this kid:




And Thing 3. He picked Gonzaga to win it all, after all, he's heard us talking about them constantly for the last 4 months. But it's his final four that's really gutsy: Gonzaga, BYU, Portland State, and To Be Decided. Yep, he picked the winner of the "play in" game, one of the two worst teams in the tournament, to go to the final four. I love it.

We've sent out our email to everyone from last year. If you want in, let me know. It doesn't matter if you are a huge basketball fan or not; like I said, you actually have an edge over me if you aren't. And, hey! You could be the one I grumble about in April!

Thing 3 Turns Four!

I can't believe my baby is four! He started off as our miracle baby, surviving being inside a very sick mommy and having the cord around his neck. Now he is our comic relief and one smart cookie. Last night a friend of ours was sitting with us at Thing 2's basketball game (He is finally well enough to play in a game! Yay!), and she asked Thing 3 to dance for us. He jumped right up and did this booty shake thing that Thing 2 taught him, much to the delight of the crowd/horror of his mother. Well, I guess I wasn't too horrified - I had to stifle a few giggles myself. Thanks, Thing 3, for being a part of our family and making us smile!

We had a birthday party for him on Saturday. Here is a picture of the poster that the kids colored for him, and one of the little rascals themselves. It was a "Halloween" birthday party. Yes, it's March, but hey, that's what he wanted. Who am I to judge? We had a pirate, Diego, four Star Wars guys, a ninja, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Surfer Boys

One of my favorite things to do in the entire world is to watch Sparky surf. I love laying out on the beach, attempting to get a tan, flipping through a magazine in between sets. He is a good surfer and, as a bonus, he looks great in his wet suit. Don't laugh, I have proof. When we were in San Diego, a young 20 something tourist asked if she could have her picture taken with him and his brother-in-law in their wet suits with their surf boards. We had a good laugh about it later, since she thought she was getting a picture with the locals and really they are from Silverdale and Cincinnati.

Here is Sparky at the end of a wave. The waves were pretty wimpy on the day we brought the camera.




Thing 3 begged to get in on the action. We stuck the smallest wet suit on hand on him (the water was 58 degrees!) and hoped for the best. For a while, Sparky ran along the side of him and held him up:




And then he got more adventurous and tried having Thing 3 ride on his back. Thing 3 had a vision of him and his dad surfing side by side on separate boards holding hands, and he cried when we told him that it wasn't going to happen. He also cried when we left the beach, even though his lips were blue and he was shivering.



Thing 2 decided he wanted to get in on the action:


But he didn't last too long - it was just too cold!

Thing 3 is Thankful

Bah! I meant to post this on Thanksgiving, and I forgot. Thing 3 brought home a paper from his nursery class at church two weeks ago, with the classic painted hand print turned into a turkey. On the side, they had asked him what he was thankful for and wrote down his answers. I think it's a pretty good list for a three year old:

My family
My body
All three blankies
My grandma and grandpa
Jesus
My friends
Grant
All the colors

I love that he's thankful for his friends... and Grant. It makes it sound like Grant isn't his friend, but really what's going on is his relationship with Grant is beyond friendship. Grant is five, and Thing 3 thinks that everything Grant says or does is genius. He worships Grant.

I also love "all three blankies" and "all the colors." I know my son, and those are two things that he really is thankful for.

Blue Moon

Um... what do you do when you see your three year old mooning his brothers with glee? I'm pretty sure the proper response is not to laugh, but I just couldn't keep it in. Both big brothers were completely offended. Where the heck did he get the idea to do this? And, more importantly, is this a one time thing, or am I going to get a phone call from the preschool telling me to come pick up my wayward child?

First Day of School 2008

I have been meaning to get these up for a while - first day of school pics! Sparky's family had a tradition of taking a picture of each kid in the same spot on the first day of school every year, and we have done it every year, too, starting when Thing 1 started preschool. This is the first year that I have had all my kids in some form of school; for the last ten years I have always had some little guy with me that I tortured by dragging him on errands with me. What do I do with all this free time, you ask? I've gotten to go on some long runs during the week, which has been nice, I run lots of errands of course, and apparently today I'm wasting away my free time by blogging.

Thing 3 started his first year of preschool. He loves it and is completely frustrated that he doesn't get to go as often as his brothers. We know he likes his teacher, because the other day at church Sparky asked him what Jesus did for him, and he said He made Ms. Diane. If you ask him what his favorite thing about school is, he'll tell you it's the blackberries that grow near the playground.

Thing 1 is in 5th grade. His teacher told me at parent night that he is the top of the class in every subject, although I think she must have forgotten about spelling because he seems to have inherited his father's abilities in that area. Too much spell check! He ran for class president and lost, although the girl who won picked him as her VP. They also have a class legislature and a judicial system, and his teacher said she has had to send him as VP over to the legislative meetings to break up some arguments. I think the class politics thing ended up being more realistic than she expected! She also told me that she had a meeting with Thing 1 and the class president over who to appoint as Chief Justice, and he suggested that they choose one of the two new kids in class, since they didn't really get a chance to run for anything because no one knew them. What a sweet kid.

Thing 2 is in 1st grade this year. His teacher told me that he is Mr. Popularity. Everyone wants to sit by him, and the kids keep giving him gifts - cool looking rocks, twisted up paperclips, pencils sharpened down to little stubs. You know, what most of us refer to as trash but first graders see as treasures. I think the first day of school was a little long for him. He came home from school and plopped down his stuff and went to lie down on his bed. I don't think he has taken a nap since the day he turned two. I hated that I had to tell him to get up and get his cleats on because he had to leave for soccer practice in 10 minutes.

Monkeys

Question: What do you do when you walk into a room and you see your kids doing this:

Apparently I am raising a couple of monkeys.

Whaling Days 2008

Here are some pictures from the races the boys and I did at the end of July. Whaling Days is the big festival here in Silverdale and is always lots of fun. Here is Thing 3 in his first race ever! He is in a navy blue shirt, number 2200. Note how he keeps looking back to check on his mama!

Next is Thing 2, on the far right in a gray shirt, who had a great start and a not so great finish. At the very end, a kid cuts in front of him and trips him. Not the sparkling first place finish we saw at Viking Fest in May.

Thing 1 ran the 1 mile again and did great, finishing in 8:08. This course is pretty hilly, so he was pretty happy with his time. As you can tell, he gave it all he had!

I ran the 4 mile, and had a lousy race. I felt really tired from the start. I had been sick with a cold, and I coughed throughout the race. At the end, I felt like it was hard to breathe, which brought back memories of childhood asthma. Apparently other people were having trouble as well. Sparky said four or five people who crossed the finish line before me puked while crossing. Nice. No wonder the race worker looked panicked when I crossed looking green. I ran it in 33:26 which is a full minute and a half slower than last year. Here is a picture of me at the beginning of the race before I knew what I was getting myself into. Sparky took one of me at the finish line, but I'm not posting that one.