Park Place

natalie's preschool lemonade stand!

2012-01-25T14:27:00.005-07:00

One of the things I love most about Packer Preschool is that Mrs. Packer doesn't just talk to the kids about things or have them do worksheets, she really helps them learn and understand concepts through many different mediums such as songs, activities, and field trips.

Last week was "money week" at preschool where the kids learned what money is used for, the value of each piece of money, and the Money Song. So this week the kids got to have their Lemonade Stand where they made & sold lemonade, cookies, and popcorn (and yes, we have our lemonade stands in January when the weather is nice!).

Each child had an assignment to bring an item and each child had a different assignment of something to sell so the kids felt very involved and excited about it. Natalie brought lemons from our tree and she (as well as Carter & Gus) was in charge of selling popcorn.
(They weren't quite ready yet when I took this picture below but I wanted to get a photo before all the parents swarmed).
They earned $59.00 (each item was 50 cents), which is the most ever made by any Packer Preschool class! The kids used to split the money, but I was pleased to hear that the money is now being donated to a local charity (which also teaches the children about charitable giving).
We love Packer Preschool and I am having a hard time believing this is my last semester with a preschooler!

brandon made honor roll!

2012-01-23T20:16:00.004-07:00

It's been a fun week for my boys and their school achievements! In addition to Tyler's principal award last week and the science fair, Brandon made Honor Roll last quarter and was given his award at the school assembly this morning! He missed Honor Roll last quarter by only a few points and was determined to get there this semester, so he was very pleased with himself. We, of course, are proud parents as well! He was one of only 4 kids in his class (of 28 kids) that made Honor Roll. In addition to the assembly, he will get to have lunch with the Principal tomorrow along with all the other Honor Roll recipients.
Anyone who knows our school understands that making Honor Roll is no small feat. These kids work HARD! They are doing year-ahead curriculum (5th grade work in 4th grade) and it's not uncommon for Brandon to have 1-2 hours of homework each night. Some days (like last week when we were literally drowning in homework & projects) I wonder if it's worth it. But then when I see how smart and well-behaved these kids are and know that they are getting a great educational foundation, I reassure myself that it's all worth it!
We are so thrilled for you Brandon - keep up the great work! You can accomplish anything you set out to do!

science fair

2012-01-20T20:10:00.004-07:00

This was our first year attending the school science fair. For kindergarten and first grade, they do grade-level projects (1 large project for 4 classes). It's basically just a display of their science curriculum for the quarter. This quarter Tyler is learning about penguins so their science experiment was about which type of feet/shoe could carry a ball the furthest - boots, slippers, or swim fins (the answer was swim fins).
For second and third grade, each class does a project. This is why we've never attended the science fair until now. 12 miles is a long way to drive just to look at a board that your teacher put together for your class!

For fourth through sixth grade, a small group of kids each does their own project and report board. For fourth grade, the experiments are already set and each group just picks one and they are done at school during class time. Brandon's experiment was to see if using double or triple the amount of magnets could pick up double or triple the amount of paper clips (the answer was that they don't).
There are awards given at each of the 4th-6th grades, which is the main reason we attended this year - Brandon really wanted to see if his group won an award. Unfortunately they didn't, but I thought their report was very well done.

We all learned a lot by reading some of the other experiment results (like that Pampers is the most absorbent diaper and that seeds can grow in sand). We are very proud of both boys for their hard work and happy that they love school and science!

tyler's principal award

2012-01-18T14:01:00.005-07:00

Tyler received a principal's award at school yesterday! He earned it for "always setting a good example by doing his personal best in all areas of school." I cannot think of a better way to describe Tyler's feelings towards school! He loves going to school & doing homework and it shows in his amazing grades.

Here he is receiving his award from his teacher and the principal:I have my kids well-trained with the camera...as soon as he got up on the risers he looked right at me and smiled!
We are so proud of you Tyler - keep up the great work and positive attitude!

carlson family photos

2012-01-17T18:36:00.007-07:00

Over Christmas while my family was all together here, we decided to get some updated family photos since it had been 4 years. My friend Liz who is an amateur photographer took the photos and did a great job!

The Carlson family:
Grandma & Grandpa Carlson with the 8 grandkids:
Our family (she also took photos of each of the other families):
And since they were being cooperative, I had her take some updated individual pictures of each of my kids.

Brandon (age 9):
Tyler (age 6 1/2):
Natalie (age 4 1/2):
Taking family photos is such a stressful event for me. I'm glad it's done and was successful!

grandpa & grandma park come to visit!

2012-01-14T19:50:00.021-07:00

As if a whole week of being spoiled by Grandpa & Grandma Carlson (and the rest of my family) wasn't enough, Kevin's parents came down to visit for the second week of winter break! They got home from their 18-month mission to Kiev Ukraine in November, so it had been almost two years since we have seen them.

Since Kevin's brother & family who lives here had just been up to Washington for Christmas with them, we had them all to ourselves! Kevin had a few leftover paid vacation days that had to be used by December 31, so he traded them out for the first week of January and was able to have the entire time off work. It was a wonderful week of fun & relaxation (especially after we got some antibiotics for Grandma who arrived sick).

Grandpa Park has an obsession with trains & Legos, so that's what we spent most of the week doing. Needless to say, the boys were in heaven! (And don't feel bad for Natalie - she loved having Grandma all to herself!)

One of our favorite train places to go is the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, so that's where we headed on Wednesday. There is a train museum inside this train:

We rode on a small train:
The kids rode on the carousel and played at two different playgrounds:
And we discovered a brand new building that just opened a few months ago that has four HUGE model trains set up.
We also stopped by Bass Pro Shop (one of Grandpa's favorite stores) on the way home! Thursday was Grandma's birthday, but Grandpa & Grandma insisted on taking the kids shopping for their belated Christmas presents. The boys of course chose the Lego store:
And not surprisingly Natalie chose the Disney store for more princess stuff:
They also treated us to ice cream!
Our family tradition is that the birthday person picks where we go out to dinner, so Grandma chose Garcia's for Mexican food and then I made her Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Toffee Brownies and we all sang her Happy Birthday! I don't think we've ever been with her on her actual birthday, so it was a fun & special day.
On Friday, Grandpa & Grandma were kind enough to babysit so Kevin & I could do a temple session and go out to lunch. Then we headed over to tour the new Gilbert temple site. They are making good progress and it should be open next year sometime! Not that 30 minutes is so far to drive, but 10 minutes will be wonderful (we can actually see the temple from the closest intersection to our home)! Ironically, the only other people visiting the temple site while we were there happened to be a couple that just got home from a Humanitarian Mission in Russia and had actually visited Walter & Dianne in the mission home in Ukraine once and remembered them! They were from Utah and were down here visiting their kids & grandkids also. It was very fun & coincidental!
Saturday took us to yet another train place (The Arizona Railway Museum), which is just a few miles from our house. We took the kids here a couple years ago, but it is much larger and they have made many improvements since then. The boys wanted their picture with almost every train, but here are just a few:

On the way home from the train museum, we stopped at a local park and played for a few hours. It was perfectly gorgeous weather all week (almost 80 degrees in January!).

Sunday was church and we managed to get a few quick photos before heading out the door:
The rest of Sunday was many hours of game playing and Lego building.
Grandpa & Grandpa left on Monday and sadly it was back to work for Kevin and back to school for all the kids. But it was a wonderful winter break full of family & fun, good food, no major sicknesses, and great weather. We feel so blessed!

2012 plans, predictions, and goals

2012-01-01T13:32:00.006-07:00

Each year, I try to make plans, predictions, and goals. Here are my thoughts on 2012. Some are carried over from last year if they did not get done. I've also tried to push myself a bit harder since the second half of the year all my kids will be in school full-time so I really don't have any more excuses!

Family / General:

Job Promotion or New Job for Kevin. I wonder how many years this will be on here?!?

Finish Kevin's parents' mission book.

Either get our family scrapbooks caught up or get my blog books created & printed. Both are MASSIVE projects and I haven't decided which one to tackle first. I will do my blog books only if and when I can find better blog-to-book software.

More date nights for Kevin & I...at least monthly. I know it's supposed to be weekly, but who can afford the babysitters to do that?!?

Personal / Spiritual:

Attend the temple at least 12 times.

Read the Book of Mormon again.

Exercise at least 4 times a week. I've been pretty consistent about 3 times per week. I would like to increase that, but I'm trying to be reasonable. I would also like run a mile by the end of the year. This may sound like a ridiculously easy goal, but I HATE running and it is very painful for me (physically as well as mentally), so this will be actually be quite a challenge.

Take a photography class.

Travel:

Family vacation. Not sure where. It will depend if we still have flight benefits. I'm hoping we can get to Illinois this year since it's been on our list for many years.

Park Family Reunion. Already scheduled for July in Washington.

Get up to Washington to see Great Grandma Park. We haven't been up there 2 1/2 years and she is now 93 years old. Unfortunately, this probably won't be able to be combined with our family reunion trip since it's on the opposite side of the state.

Another no-kids "real" vacation for Kevin & I. It probably won't be as exotic as China or New Zealand the past few years since those two trips spent most of our vacation fund, but we'll see what happens. And I'm really hoping for somewhere warm & sunny this time!

Home Projects / Major Purchases:

New bed for Kevin & Danika.

We will probably need a new computer.

New piano.

New couches for family room.

Shelving for den closet.

Shelving for and organizing the laundry room.

2011 review

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry this post is a lot of text and no pictures, but this is mostly for me!

I did plans & predictions for 2011. I thought I should follow up and see how the year went before I do a similar post for 2012. This is copied from my post back in January - the results are in RED.

Family/General:

Job promotion/change for Kevin. Not yet, but he's had some promising interviews and he has several recruiters working for him. But life is a bit better at his job these days so a change is not quite as urgent.

Continue working on and complete my in-laws' mission journal/book (created from their weekly letters). The book is done, with the exception of them writing the conclusion and sending it to me. Then it just needs to be edited and printed.

Fun Family Outings - at least monthly. We haven't been as good about this recently.

Family Game Time - weekly on Sundays. DONE! We all love it and it will continue to be part of our Sundays. Between afternoon game time and having breakfast for dinner, the kids have declared Sunday to be their favorite day of the week!

Personal/Spiritual:

Attend the temple - at least 12 times. I did not keep an exact count, but I think I made it about 10 times. I cannot wait for the much closer Gilbert temple to be done in a few years!

Read the Book of Mormon again. No, but we area almost done reading the New Testament again. But the good news is that after many years of inconsistency, Kevin & I have FINALLY found a consistent time to read scriptures together.

Fast each month. DONE - and very proud of myself!

Exercise. After a rough start (I hated the first gym I signed up with so I quit after a few months), I have been extremely happy with the gym that I have been signed up with since August and have consistently gone 3x per week.

Travel:

Summertime trip with the whole family. DONE! We made it to Colorado and had a great time!

Sea World. DONE! We went in March!

A "real" (no kids) vacation for Kevin & I. DONE! We certainly didn't expect that we would be going to New Zealand in August, but it was a deal we couldn't refuse and we had an amazing time.

Home/Purchases:

New dining room table. DONE!

New piano. Not done, but it will definitely be on the list for next year!

Decor for the boys' bedroom. DONE! It's nothing fancy so I didn't do a post about it, but at least it's something.

Decor for the dining room. DONE! I don't think I ever posted a picture of it, but I LOVE it! My friend was selling some stuff before they moved and it looks great!

christmas 2011

2011-12-30T10:26:00.012-07:00

Here's the play-by-play of our Christmas Day:

The kids woke up about 7:00 a.m. to find that Santa brought them some presents. (Kevin's note to Danika: next year remind Santa to get gifts that don't require a million hours of assembly time). Brandon got a basketball standard (the rest of it was outside), Tyler got a new bike, and Natalie got a doll mansion (seriously...she cannot even reach the top floor!).

We didn't let them open anything else (besides their stockings) and we hurried and had breakfast & got dressed & took photos and were LATE to 9:00 church. I was mortified...I've never been late to church in my life!
After I got over my embarrassment and frustration, I settled in and thoroughly enjoyed the program. Great music, fantastic talks, and I FINALLY felt the Christmas spirit for the first time all month! I had been so busy it was nice to just sit and relax and remember the REAL reason for the season. Some may not like Christmas on Sunday, but I personally think it's wonderful!

After we got home from church, we let the kids open the rest of their presents (the ones from us). I am always surprised at which items are the favorites! The boys LOVED their new pillow pets (Natalie already has one).
Brandon almost burst from excitement - he desperately wanted this Arizona Cardinals one ever since he saw it a few weeks before.
I wish I would have gotten video of Natalie opening this. I think she might have actually screamed with happiness! She had told Santa that she wanted "all the Princess Barbies" and "a HUGE Barbie house," so needless to say she was thrilled with her gifts.
After lunch we went up to my sister's house to open all the gifts my parents brought and to have dinner together. The boys thought their HUGE Lego sets were awesome!And Natalie got more princess stuff (notice a theme here?).I told my mom her punishment for buying so many gifts should be to be here at our house on Dec. 26th to open everything, assemble everything, teach our kids how to work everything, play with them, and then find spots for everything in our house!

In the chaos we forgot to get our traditional "all the grandkids in front of the tree" photo before we opened presents, but we did manage to get a shot of Grandma & Grandpa with all 8 grandkids.
December always feels like such a whirlwind of work and stress, but when it's all said & done it's pretty fun and definitely memorable! I crashed into bed exhausted and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude with how blessed we are.

christmas fun

2011-12-28T20:10:00.009-07:00

We've had a busy & exciting week with the entire Carlson family here in town. Here are some of the fun (and not-so-fun) things we did:

Cookie decorating!
Playing with cousins (Tyler also lost another tooth in the middle of a family dinner last week)!
Making up skits!
My sister-in-law Amy made us a delicious brunch and my kids actually tried new foods without complaining!
And what would Christmas be without a sick kid? (thankfully he woke up better the next morning)
I sliced open my hand! (you know you're a dedicated blogger when instead of grabbing a tissue or a band-aid you grab the camera first!)
The usual trip to see the Mesa Temple lights (also known as "the one time a year we wear our coats").
But most of all we enjoyed meeting and cuddling with my adorable new nephew Matthew (3 months old) who came all the way from China to be with us. He is such a good baby and we loved having him (and of course his parents, my brother Eric and my sister-in-law Amy) here with us.
More photos of Christmas Day to come...

natalie's preschool program

2011-12-23T11:22:00.006-07:00

Natalie was as adorable as her preschool Christmas program! Mrs. Packer always does such a wonderful job getting the kids to sing. And the weather was perfect for their outdoor performance.
There are 11 kids in her class (from L to R): Asher, Natalie, Carter, Lucy, Ashlyn, Thais, Chance, Gus, Chloe, Tatum, and Crew.

Each child had a short speaking part.
These are Natalie's two best friends Chloe and Tatum. They are so cute and are hysterical together each week during carpool as they "discuss" things.
I only uploaded one of the songs (I'll Be a Little Angel), but rest assured they were all equally as adorable!

It's starting to really hit me that Natalie only has one more semester of preschool left, especially as I recently got the notice for kindergarten registration. She is growing up way too fast!

holiday class parties

2011-12-22T15:47:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of school before fall break, which of course meant class parties! First was Tyler's, which was a breakfast and different activities. There were crafts, a book exchange, decorating cookies, reading stories, and bingo. The kids were very well behaved. Tyler's teacher is Mrs. Martin.

Brandon's class party was in the afternoon. It is a very different feel to a 4th grade classroom from a 1st grade classroom! Much like Tyler's class, there were different stations that they rotated through: crafts, eating donuts & drinking hot chocolate, bingo, and Minute to Win It games. Brandon's teacher is Mrs. Whitmire.
Both boys had a fun time and came home VERY hyper from all the sugar they consumed. I am thankful for a great school, amazing teachers, and willing room moms who volunteer to put together these parties. I feel very blessed that I am usually able to go help & participate.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

2011-12-18T16:17:00.004-07:00

Christmas is in full swing here in our house and all the usual December madness has ensued. There have been a few funny events & comments that need to be recorded.

I bet you didn't know that there was Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the wisemen, the shepherds, and THE Wii REMOTES in the stable?!? This made me laugh when I walked in the room!
A few days later I received my beautiful new Mikasa nativity set (that I got for a ridiculously cheap price on Cyber Monday and is stunning and my new favorite Christmas decoration) and I moved my olive wood one to another place. I did it while the kids were asleep and the next morning Natalie came out and asked, "Why are there white people up there? What happened to the brown people?"
And after 3 1/2 years in this house, I finally used the master bathtub for the first time! We call it "tub-o-presents!"

ward christmas breakfast &service project

2011-12-18T16:00:00.004-07:00

This year our ward did something different instead of our usual Breakfast with Santa. We did a breakfast and then participated in a ward service project at the Arizona Police Toy Drive Warehouse. It's a building that receives toy donations where police & firefighters can "shop" for families that they have met through their service calls who are in need during the holidays. They also work in conjunction with the suicide hotline and if they get calls on Christmas Eve from needy parents who are contemplating taking their own lives because they have nothing to give their children for Christmas (sad, but true), they immediately rush toys there in the middle of the night.

This was an AMAZING facility and they had lots for us to do in preparation for their big week (they said this week over 500 police officers & firefighters would come to "shop"). The men & young men built bikes & other large toys & put up additional shelving. The women & young women wrapped toys and stocked shelves from donation boxes & trailers. The kids under 12 weren't allowed in the facility (since it basically looked like Toys R Us) so they made cards for the needy kids, played games, and visited with Santa (a man from our ward who did a fabulous job as Santa)!

Natalie didn't want to go sit on his lap, but once she saw he was giving away candy canes, she decided it was worth it!
Overall, it was a great morning and I would have loved to stay and help for a few more hours. I love doing service projects, especially when they are fun & meaningful & with good friends who are hard workers. It is always overwhelming & humbling to hear about other people's tough situations & needs and to feel the immense gratitude that comes from knowing we are so very blessed, especially during the holiday season. I hope this can become a new annual ward holiday tradition!

natalie's christmas dance recital

2011-12-06T20:33:00.007-07:00

Natalie had her Christmas dance recital today and it was every bit as cute as I expected it to be!
Natalie with one of her best friends Chloe who did dance with her this year.
Natalie with her awesome dance teacher Miss Misty.
With her class (Natalie is second from the left):
They did a tap dance to "Suzy Snowflake" and Natalie even decided to sing along at the top of her lungs as you can hear! She is on the front row on the far left side:

brandon's christmas piano recital

2011-12-04T17:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Brandon's Christmas piano recital day! I always get very nervous for him (probably because I was extremely afraid of recitals myself, and especially after his last recital) but he did FANTASTIC! It's hard to believe he's only been playing piano for 2 1/2 years and he's already in Level 4.

He played Deck the Halls and Irish Wedding Dance. Ironically, I played Irish Wedding Dance for a recital when I was a kid, but I'm sure I never played it as well as he does! I may be slightly biased, but Brandon has an amazing amount of musical talent. It's the one area that his determined, perfectionist attitude comes in very handy! Great job Brandon - we are very proud of you!

tyler's first grade concert

2011-12-03T18:27:00.006-07:00

Each grade level at our school has a yearly concert. Every other year it's been in the spring, so we were surprised when Tyler's first grade concert was this past week with a holiday theme. The music teacher at their school is unique (for lack of a better word...I'm trying to be nice) so these concerts are always interesting.

The concert started very late (a HUGE pet peeve of mine, especially when you are waiting on hard benches and with young children). The kids finally marched in, adorable as always.
They got all 120 kids lined up ready to sing, only to realize they had them completely in the wrong order! Having them lined up by class was important because different classes were singing different parts and there was color coordination with some props. So they had to completely rearrange all the kids. Imagine trying to herd 120 cats...that's pretty much what happens with first graders! I'm not sure what occurred outside before they marched in, but the teachers were quite embarrassed & the audience was confused & frustrated.
30 minutes after scheduled start time they finally got around to singing, which was as cute as expected. Though I find it quite amusing that they had a winter theme and it was 76 degrees outside here in Arizona...most of these kids have never even seen snow! And how the music teacher got permission to sing holiday songs like Jingle Bells I will never understand (this school is VERY strict about NO holiday anything - no Halloween, no Christmas, no Easter).

After almost every song, they sang it again with the audience, making the concert feel even longer and very repetitive.

Part of the first grade music curriculum is learning to keep a beat. I thought this was a creative way to teach this concept. However, I will never be able to listen to Nutcracker music again without thinking of this paper plate choreography!

Here's Tyler with his first grade teacher (who happens to be a friend from our previous ward - she was actually Brandon's sunbeam teacher!). This is NOT the music teacher!
Overall, it was a fun evening (once the singing actually started) and Tyler did a great job! And I guess at least all the drama makes for a entertaining blog post!

thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T16:23:00.005-07:00

I'll be honest...although I love the REASON we celebrate Thanksgiving, I don't really love the WAY it's celebrated. But that's probably because I don't like to cook, I don't like spending 8 hours in the kitchen on my feet only to eat a huge plate of lukewarm food, I don't like feel bloated for hours afterward, and I don't like football.

We had Kevin's brother Jeff & his family over. They live locally, but unfortunately we don't see them very often. Since they have six kids ages 10 and under (plus our three kids, making that nine kids ages 10 and under), it was chaotic & loud, but fun.

With all the food preparation, serving, and clean up, I didn't even think about getting my camera out until my sister-in-law Kristina mentioned that we should try to get a photo of all the kids together. Thank goodness for a fast camera!

From L to R: Andrew (8), Rosi (2), AnnaLisa (10), MaggieMae (4),
Brandon (9), JJ (7), William (2), Natalie (4), and Tyler (6).

This is the only picture of the food I got. Park family tradition stipulates that every person (man, woman, child) makes a pie, but since that would be 13 pies Kristina and I rebelled and only made 7 (buttermilk, chocolate silk, pecan, banana cream, lemon meringue, and 2 pumpkin). You can see we had plenty leftover!
Even though Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, it was nice to be with family and remember our endless blessings.

gratitude

2011-11-24T20:25:00.002-07:00

We have doing "thankful trees" with the kids each day this month. I should do the same. I am grateful for...

* The best husband ever. There are a lot of good men out there but I thank God every day that my friend Monika set me up on a blind date with Kevin. Anyone who can tolerate me for 15 years deserves a medal of honor!

* Three amazing kids. Yes, they drive up a wall sometimes, but anyone who knows the struggles we went through to get them here knows they are absolute miracles. It also doesn't hurt that they're really cute & smart!

* Really awesome extended family. This goes for parents, sisters, brothers, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins. I hear horror stories about terrible in-laws and fighting families and often find myself thankful that I don't have to endure that. We don't always see eye-to-eye, but they are really good people who set great examples to me. Not to mention they are really fun to be around and treat my kids well.

* My testimony of the Savior. My faith has seen me through trials and emotions and experiences that I could not have endured otherwise. I am truly grateful for the direction the gospel and it's principles give to my life and the opportunity it allows me to have eternal life with those I love the most.

* Good health. Especially healthy children. And good health insurance. I take this for granted often.

* Amazing friends. They uplift me and inspire me to be a better person. They support me and make me laugh. Not sure what I would do without them.

* Our ward. This goes along with amazing friends, but I never been surrounded by so many good people who try so hard to do what is right. They are constantly serving me and my family and each other through little (and sometimes big) acts of kindness. They are probably so wonderful because we have such an awesome Bishop who sets a great example of love and dedication to the Lord.

* Kevin's job. No, it's not his "dream job" but we are blessed that he has been with US Airways for over six years and they have not gone bankrupt or merged. His job has provided us (and others) opportunities to travel, great benefits, and provides well for our family's financial needs. As we have watched too many friends and family get laid off over the past few years, we feel especially grateful.

* Living in a free country and those who serve to keep it that way. Our country certainly has it's flaws but we are free and for that we should all celebrate and honor those men and women who fight to keep it that way.

* Schools (both elementary & preschool). I often complain about the amount of homework that Brandon has. But he & Tyler go to a great school. They have kind, dedicated teachers there who sacrifice their time & effort to help them succeed. And all my kids have attended the Packer Preschool. Mrs. Packer has a wonderful gift of teaching those preschool kids and they love her to death, as do I!

* Our home. It's perfect for our family. Now if only it could magically keep itself clean!

* Scriptures. What other book has all the answers to life's questions and problems? As we've been studying the New Testament this year, I often feel bad for those who don't have the Book of Mormon also and the truth it provides.

* Books. It's no secret that I love to read. If I could do anything for a whole day, it would probably be read and eat chocolate! I'm also thankful for a great public library that allows me to read all I want for free!

* Music. I could care less about popular music, but I really enjoy inspiring music. Whether it's played on the piano, soundtracks, classical, or church songs, music really "speaks" to me.

* Food. This may sound trivial, but I am grateful for food, and plenty of it. I have never known true hunger. I am thankful that grocery stores are always stocked and that we make enough money to afford whatever we want to eat.

* My calling. I was very unsure about being put into cub scouts a few months ago, but I've really grown to love it. The boys are a lot of fun and it's nice to feel like I'm helping them accomplish something worthwhile. Plus I get to serve with one of my favorite friends. And even though Kevin's calling as Elder's Quorum President takes him away from our family for many hours a week, I know we are being blessed for his service and I am thankful that he is a righteous priesthood leader.

* Technology. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, but I am grateful for it. It has allowed me to stay in touch with many people and communicate quickly and easily. It has also provided me an easy way to write my personal history and share my family's adventures through this blog.

* Beauty of nature. We are not blessed to live in a beautiful place (brown, flat, hot desert), but because of that I am in awe most everywhere else we go! God's creations are amazing. I just wish I had time and money to travel to see more of the beautiful places on earth.

Obviously there are hundreds of other things I could list. I am truly blessed beyond measure.

I heard this quote the other day and LOVE it:
"Gratitude is not the same as giving thanks. It comes from a deeper place that knows the story could have ended differently."

Although some things in my life haven't turned out the way I expected or happened in the way or timing I wanted, I am eternally grateful that the Lord knows best and that he is in control of my story.

church basketball

2011-11-19T19:04:00.006-07:00

Kevin's weak ankle (originally injured playing basketball on his mission 18 years ago)
+ non-basketball shoes
+ men who are trying to relive their high school basketball glory days
= one very badly sprained ankle

Have I mentioned how much I hate church sports? I don't think there's ever been a game without an injury of some kind. I guess I should just be thankful Kevin's injury was only a badly sprained ankle and not a broken bone or stitches!
When I suggested to Kevin that maybe he shouldn't play basketball anymore (he sprains his ankle almost every year), he looked at me like I was crazy and replied that he just needed better shoes and a better ankle brace! I took these photos just in case he needs a reminder next time of how painful basketball can be...

for good

2011-11-18T16:42:00.001-07:00

I never really wrote much about my feelings when we moved houses and wards 3 1/2 years ago. 2008 was probably one of the hardest times of my life. My mom was battling ovarian cancer in California, we decided to put our house on the market and it unexpectedly sold in 2 weeks, my brother & his wife moved to China, and there were several other major events happening in the Park family as well. It was an emotional roller coaster to say the least. In the middle of all of this, we moved. For some people moving wards is not a big deal and they embrace change. For me, it was HUGE and very scary. I had spent 9 years in that house and ward. It was the ward all my babies were born into and were blessed in. I had made many lifelong friends. It was HOME.

I was terrified. I remember clearly the first day we attended our new ward. I HATED it. We only knew two families (who had been in our old ward many years before), but both of those women were in Primary callings so I had to go to Relief Society alone. Thankfully, a sweet girl sat down next to me. I will forever remember her kindness in trying to help me feel welcome. But I still cried each Sunday after church for several months. I missed my old ward and the comfort I felt there. We knew we were in the right place, but it didn't get easier. We never received callings and we felt lost in a huge ward. It didn't help that we were already on an emotional roller coaster with our extended family drama. I felt like I had no support system and no friends.

Two months after we moved in, the stake re-aligned all the ward boundaries. We were then in a newly created ward, basically taking two sections of other wards and combining them. Many people were sad because they weren't going to be with their friends anymore (and I could completely sympathize), but I knew in my heart the boundary re-alignment was a "tender mercy" and an answer to many of my tears & heartfelt prayers. In the newly created ward no one thought we were "new" because they just assumed we were from the "other" section they didn't know before! Plus two more families that we knew previously were now in our ward due to the re-alignment. We received callings, and several months later I finally felt at "home" again. Now I LOVE our ward and dread the thought of ever having another boundary change!

So why am I writing about this now? Several of my friends of currently going through this (boundary re-alignments, calling changes, moving). It brought those heart-wrenching emotions back to the surface and gave me time to reflect. This post will hopefully help uplift them and give them hope. It has also reminded me of how far I have come and how blessed I am. (Plus this will be helpful to go back and read if we ever have another move or boundary change).

Moving or boundary changes (or even a calling change) does not end friendships, it gives us opportunities for new ones. Although I love my old ward friends dearly and still keep in touch with many of them, I cannot imagine my life today without the new friends I have made here in this ward. I would not change one person or experience. They have taught me many things about life, about myself, about my family, and about the gospel. These women are my support system whom I look up to and trust.

I have been listening to the Wicked soundtrack recently and heard this song. It touched my heart and described exactly what I was feeling. Obviously the scenario is very different, but if you don't know the story it's about two women who are very different but become best friends and change each other "for good."Sorry for the cheesy YouTube video - it was the best version I could find that had the song & lyrics together.

There are many people who have changed my life for better AND for good. I don't dare to list them all because I will forget someone. Although I am sure staying in our old ward would have provided different opportunities for growth, I am forever grateful for the things that moving and being forced out of my comfort zone has taught me about myself. It has shown me that change can be good, to love new friends, and that there are wonderful people everywhere. But most of all it has reminded me to have faith and trust in the Lord's perfect plan. Prayers are not always answered how we want or in our timeframe, but they are always answered.

halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:26:00.001-07:00

This was the year of borrowed costumes!

Brandon (age 9) as Harry Potter
(thanks to Vikki for the Harry Potter robe, Carrie for the tie, and our eye doctor for Brandon's REAL glasses).
And I remembered to add his forehead scar after we took the photos. But he wasn't very happy about taking pictures, so I didn't want to make him re-do them.

Tyler (age 6) as a zombie skeleton monster
(thanks to Buffie & Max for the costume)

Natalie (age 4) as Sleeping Beauty

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We had a fun night trick-or-treating. Even though it was 90 degrees today, it was a perfect 70 degrees outside tonight. I am finally remembering why we live here. Now I'll go back to eating the kids' candy!

pumpkin carving

2011-10-30T13:06:00.008-07:00

We survived another year of pumpkin carving. As I have mentioned previously, I don't like it. Pumpkins are not cheap, I feel like I'm just throwing money away, and carving them is messy. But for the sake of my children I buy one, grit my teeth through the carving session, and pretend to be excited.

The boys were more helpful this year. Brandon was good at scraping:
And Tyler who loves to have his hands dirty (and really wanted roasted pumpkin seeds), was in charge of picking out all the seeds:
Natalie was pretty grossed out by it all (she must get that from me!):
Kevin was in charge of carving (he hates carving pumpkins as much as I do, so thankfully we never disagree about this tradition):
Each of the kids were in charge of designing one of the features (Natalie - eyes, Brandon - noes, Tyler - mouth).
It was nothing fancy, but the kids had a fun time and it was nice to spend the evening together as a family.

tucson staycation - day 2

2011-10-23T18:27:00.012-07:00

Our second day in Tucson we went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I had read that it was actually more like a zoo than a museum, and according to Trip Advisor it was the #1 attraction in Tucson, so we decided to check it out.

To get there you drive through the Saguaro National Forest. We were a bit surprised when Tyler (age 6) shouted, "Hey, those are Saguaro Cactuses!" I'm so proud my children know their cacti types...they are definitely Arizona kids!
We arrived at the museum around 9:00 a.m. and it was already pretty hot outside. We had brought water and there were drinking fountains, but I wish we all would have had hats since most of it was outside and not shaded. (and yes, I did go on this staycation, but there's not a single photo of me to prove it!)
We attempted to watch the first show, which had raptors in free flight. But there was no seating, and standing out in the heat with large crowds of tall people trying to see birds flying around did not go over well, so we only stayed for part of the show. It was at this point I was beginning to wonder if this museum was a huge mistake. But after getting away from the crowds and a snack break in the shade we were all doing better. We decided to head over to another show to get good seats (which was thankfully inside an auditorium with seats and air-conditioning).

The man who was doing the next show was outside and letting people touch a chuckwalla (large lizard).
We got great seats and really enjoyed the next show called "Running Wild!" We had an up-close view of animals you don't usually see (these photos are not zoomed!). A porcupine:
A skunk (did you know Tucson is the skunk capital of the United States?):
A pelican. This thing swooped in for some fish and had an impressive wingspan!
The guy that did the show was great and it was geared towards kids so they really enjoyed it, but I learned many things also.

We stayed for the next show, which was called "Live and (sort of) on the Loose" which they said was a venomous reptile show. I wasn't sure what to expect and was a bit nervous when we ended up with front row seats! Unlike the last show (which had probably a dozen animals), this show only focused on two animals - the gila monster and the rattlesnake. Obviously they couldn't let them "loose," but they kept them on the table and they were not in any kind of a cage. It was mostly just informational and probably a bit boring for the kids, but I found it fascinating.
This guy is the snake handler and has been doing it for 18 years and has never gotten bit. He moved to Arizona because we have lots of snakes (18 types of rattlesnakes alone!). He gave us good information about how to avoid rattlesnakes, what to do and not do if you encounter one, and what to do if you get bit (did you know it costs about $150,000-$200,000 to treat a rattlesnake bite?).
I cannot believe I was a few feet away from a rattlesnake! But when the guy told me their range is only 2-3 feet (the length of his handling sticks) I felt a bit more safe.
We got some (very overpriced and not good) lunch at their cafeteria and saw a bunch more exhibits. But this time it was 3:00 p.m. and it was almost 100 degrees outside. We didn't even see the whole place or all the shows in 6 hours! We had hoped to stop one more place on the way back, but we were all exhausted (and probably bordering on heat stroke), and Natalie fell asleep after about 10 minutes in the car, so we called it a day and headed back home.
I had to laugh because after growing up with a dad who dragged us to every museum in the western United States, I swore I would never take my kids to museums! And look what three places I took them this trip...International Wildlife Museum, the Children's Museum, and the Desert Museum!

The extreme heat in October was unexpected and made things a bit frustrating, but I think we all had a good time and we will definitely be back to Tucson to see the things we missed. And I've decided staycations are the way to go. Less packing, less planning, less travel costs (which means more money to spend on fun activities!), but still fun to get away and spend time with your family and escape "real life" for a few days. It's surprising how many great things there are to see and do in your own state!

tucson staycation - day 1

2011-10-19T18:44:00.015-07:00

Because we spent most of Kevin's vacation time & our vacation budget for this year on our trip to New Zealand, we decided to stay home for fall break. But we did take two days and explored Tucson (about 1.5 hours south). It is much smaller than the Phoenix area, but there is still plenty of fun things to do there and we will definitely be back to see the rest someday.

The first stop on our list was the International Wildlife Museum. It's basically a taxidermy museum with every animal you can think of.

Tyler has loved pandas ever since we brought him a stuffed panda from China last year!

Anything that wasn't behind glass or ropes the kids could touch! It was quite fascinating to see the details on and the real sizes of some of the animals (and their sizes compared to the other animals) since usually at the zoo they are far away.

Natalie looks far too happy with her head in an alligator's mouth!
This was our favorite room. There were hundreds of animals in here, including a giraffe that they could walk under.
There were lots of displays with skeletons of the animals, and interesting information (like the difference between horns and antlers).
This elk was enormous! For reference sake, Kevin's arm span is about 6 feet and he was several feet in front of it. I would guess it's antler span was about 10 feet.
I thought it was a great museum and the kids really enjoyed themselves. And the best part was that it was all indoors, so the heat did not bother us (seriously, will summer ever end here???).

Our next destination was the Tucson Children's Museum. My kids love children's museums because they are fun. I love that they are learning and that everything is kid-friendly and safe and I generally don't have to do anything besides sit & keep an eye on them (and attempt to take pictures while they are running by). They had dress-up clothes and half of a real firetruck. This area was one of the boys' favorites. You were supposed to hook yourself on and try to make your way through the rope maze, but of course they turned it into a WWF wrestling ring! There weren't too many other kids around (Tucson schools were still in session and we were there in the afternoon) so we let them get wild & crazy. Miraculously, neither of them ended up hurt and nothing got broken!

There were lots of different rooms including: a veterinary clinic, a grocery store, a train room, an electronics room, a building room, a music room, an art studio, an underwater room, and a dinosaur room.
After almost four hours we (meaning Kevin & I) were getting hungry & tired so we finally were able to convince the kids to leave. But when we walked outside, they found another building area and another dinosaur to climb on! I thought it was a great children's museum, especially if your kids are under about age 11.
We checked into our hotel and of course the kids wanted to swim. They spent most of their time playing in the jacuzzi because it was warmer and more shallow, but there were no other people at the pool so it wasn't a problem.
We had dinner at Denny's because there was a serious lack of restaurants near the hotel. But eating out (no matter where it is) is a special treat to our kids and after a fun day of playing hard they ate more than we've ever seen them eat. None of us slept very well in the hotel room so thankfully we were only staying one night!

brandon got glasses!

2011-10-18T19:08:00.004-07:00

About a month ago, Brandon had some strange things written on his homework agenda. When I asked what they meant he told me he didn't really know since couldn't see the board in class very well (they copy their assignment list from there). I passed it off lightly (as with most children, he often exaggerates or makes excuses) since two years ago at his last appointment his vision was near-perfect. But after his teacher moved him closer and when he mentioned it to me a second time, I decided I would be a responsible mother and take him in.
I'm so glad I did! We have an amazing eye doctor (who happens to be a good friend of ours that we've known for a long time)! When he put up chart after chart and Brandon couldn't read any of them (he could barely identify the largest E), I felt a bit guilty that I didn't take him seriously the first time he complained! He has the same issues as Kevin (near-sighted)...almost perfect vision up to 2 feet, but anything beyond that is blurry. Which explains why he never had problems with reading, writing, or piano!

He's still getting used to them and is a bit self-conscious, but he is already seeing the benefits and noticing small things far away that he has been missing for awhile!

fall break

2011-10-16T20:47:00.004-07:00

We are on fall break here. While I LOVE our school district's modified year-round schedule with shorter summer breaks (when the weather is horrible here) and longer fall and spring breaks (when the weather is usually gorgeous here), we've encountered a few issues this break:

1) We spent most of our vacation budget and Kevin's vacation time on our New Zealand trip. Which I don't regret for a minute. But...that means no major family fall break vacation which we all desperately needed! And my mom is heading out of the country again, so we didn't want to go to California.

2) We had about two days of fall-type weather (which for us here in Arizona means in the 70's) last week. It was pure bliss and we tried to soak up every minute of it. But now we're back up to 90-100 degrees. So it really feels like summer break part two.

3) Two and a half weeks with three kids underfoot makes me feel (and probably look) like this cartoon! 4) We did take the kids for a few days on a short "staycation." It was not glamorous, but mostly fun and much needed. More on that to come.

5) I actually tried to come up with reasons why I should enjoy breaks. My kids don't EVER sleep in, so that is not a luxury we get on break. The only things I could think up to be excited about were not having to pack lunches and no homework battles. I have tried to do a modified version of our summer routine, but it's been challenging for all of us.

The novelty of fall break has officially worn off and we're ALL (yes, even the boys) counting the days and hours until school starts again!

school pictures

2011-10-09T18:42:00.004-07:00

Once again, I didn't order school pictures. But I'm glad they send home proofs so I can scan and keep a copy of them! These ones actually turned out fairly well, but still not worth the ridiculous price they want.

Tyler - 1st grade - age 6

And I thought it would be fun to see how Brandon has grown throughout the years, so I did a little collage for him. You can click on it to see it larger.

natalie's first primary program!

2011-10-07T14:24:00.003-07:00

Natalie is a Sunbeam this year so she got to participate in her first primary program a few weeks ago! She has been very excited for it all year, she knows every word to every song and sings them over & over. The primary chorister told me she should her given a singing solo this year. Get your autographs now folks, this girl is destined to be famous on Broadway someday! She LOVES to sing and dance and has absolutely NO fear of being in front of people. She was the very first kid on the program (after the intro) and didn't hesitate one bit, just grabbed the microphone and said her memorized speaking part perfectly.
In case you're wondering what happened to her nose, Brandon decided to play a game with her that involved rubbing her head against the carpet so she got a huge rug burn & scab!

The boys did great in the primary program too, though someone really needs to re-think the idea of putting the six year old class on the bouncing, folding chairs!
The best part of the whole program was that I was released from primary last month so Kevin & I actually got to sit together alone and enjoy it (plus we got a free two-hour date the day before during their practice time)!

brandon's principal award

2011-10-03T13:01:00.004-07:00

Brandon received a Principal's Award last week!

It was for doing an excellent job on his first current event report (summarizing a newspaper article and then writing his feelings about it - his article was on the anniversary of 9/11). Though I find it quite amusing that he got such a good grade and then a principal's award on top of it because getting him to write and edit and type TWO PARAGRAPHS took us many hours of arguing and negotiating. When I heard that we have to do these current event reports quarterly this year and then weekly next year, I was seriously debating moving him to a different school! I think they should start giving parents some principal's award for their homework time & patience!But we are proud of Brandon for all his hard work at school. He is very smart and has gotten good grades every year at his demanding school.

general conference candy bowls

2011-10-02T16:45:00.002-07:00

Over the years during General Conference we've usually sent our kids to play in the other room so Kevin & I can actually enjoy it. The last few times we've have them come out and listen when President Monson spoke. But I knew they were getting old enough to start sitting and listening more. I read this great idea after the last General Conference and actually remembered it. You get several kinds of candy and then put a word on each bowl (I also put pictures for Natalie since she doesn't read yet). Every time they hear the word, they get a piece (I chose small, no wrapper candy like M&Ms, Skittles, Mike & Ikes). The kids were SO EXCITED for conference to start!

Here's what we learned: having six bowls with very commonly used words (Jesus Christ, Scriptures, Temple, Prophet, Prayer, and Family) allowed them WAY too much candy! They were slightly ill and very sugared up by the end. Next time I think we'll only do like 3-4 bowls and pick less frequently used words. But overall it was a very fun idea. Kevin & I didn't get quite as much out of it as we normally do (having them shout out the words and jump up every 5 seconds was very distracting) but they sat and listened to ALL of the conference sessions, so I guess it was worth it!

new zealand trivia

2011-09-28T14:15:00.021-07:00

Here's some information & terminology about New Zealand that we found interesting & amusing and some photos that didn't fit anywhere else in the travelogue!
* elevators = lifts

* If you decide to travel to New Zealand, be sure to brush up on your metric system, because everything there is in meters & kilometers!

* A "motorway" in New Zealand is like a freeway in America; a "highway" in New Zealand is a two-lane road (see video in previous post)

* When you order fast food, they don't ask you "here or to go?" they ask you, "dine in or take away?"

* trash = rubbish

* line = queue

* shopping carts = trolleys

* flip flops = jandals (nope, I didn't mean to type sandals, they are called jandals)

* restrooms = toilets (if you ask where the restroom is, they will give you a blank stare)

* vacation = holiday (if you tell them you're on vacation, they will also give you a blank stare)

* On the back of food products under the nutrition facts, amounts are not listed as "calories," it's listed as "energy"

* Be sure to specify which type of "kiwi" since it can refer to three different things: a person from New Zealand, the kiwi bird, or the fruit

* flashlights = torches

* Money is dollars ($1 NZD = $0.85 USD), but their coins are 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, $1, and $2. Bills are $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. It was very strange to get 2 coins as your $3 change!

* If you are moving to a new area, you are not relocating you are "shifting"

* Ketchup is almost unheard of there - they serve tomato sauce. If you want ketchup and they happen to have it, they will either give you just 1 or 2 packets and often you will have to pay extra for it (one place it was 50 cents per packet).

* Just like they drive on the left side of the road, they also usually walk on the left side of the sidewalk.

* Light switches are upside down (if the switch is down it is ON, if it's up it is OFF)

* Many places had sliding doors (like closets) with no locks to their bathrooms instead of open/shut type doors

* If something is "cool" (like amazing, not the temperature) they say "flash" ("that's flash!")

* There are not many large, chain hotels, most are small (less than 20-30 rooms) and privately owned and operated by a couple who lives on-site. They also usually offer you a small jug of milk (for coffee) when you check in. Almost all of them have a kitchenette included.

* Motel owners tell you to read the "compendium" which is a notebook full of information in your room.

* Drinking tea or coffee after each meal is expected. When we said we didn't want any, they were very confused!

* There are NO fitted sheets. Most just have a flat sheet over the mattress (not even tucked in) and then another flat sheet on top.* School uniforms are required for kids. And it's not just polo shirts & jeans like my boys wear. It's the exact same color button-down shirt, ties, jackets, and everyone has matching pants or skirts, knee socks, and shoes. I kept forgetting to take a photo, but this one I found online is very similar to what we saw.

There were also many interesting road signs (sorry for photo quality, most were taken as we were driving):

* This one was our very favorite of the whole country. We need these here in America because no one seems to do it right! Now every time I merge I think, "merge like a zip!"
* One lane bridge (whoever had the bigger black arrow had the right-of-way...in this case the other people):
*Speed bumps:
* Because food was very expensive and we had a kitchenette in almost all of our motels, we bought some cereal to eat for breakfast each morning. Most of their food were things we had never heard of before, and the few that looked familiar had different names:
* Round stop sign with no top?!?
* This one didn't make us feel very safe!
* And we were wondering if someone goes around and replaces all these signs with "speed up...summer's here!" ones?
* They are very precise with their kilometer measurements on their signs!
* No carpool lanes in Auckland, but they do have BUS ONLY lanes!
* Here are their speed limit signs (don't worry - this is kilometers!). 100 was the highest we saw which equals about 62 miles per hour.
* Yield = give way
* I didn't take any pictures of their toilets (they were pretty normal, though they were more rectangular shaped instead of oval shaped). Thank goodness there were no squatters like in China! But I did run across a few interesting sinks (this was the only one where no one else was in the bathroom so I didn't look like a weirdo taking a photo of the sink!). This was literally just a slab of concrete that the water ran onto that was slightly tilted down.

* L& P stands for Lemon & Paeroa that can only be found in New Zealand. It's like a lemonade soda. Kevin really liked it, I thought it was just okay. But we had a good laugh reading their slogan, "World Famous in New Zealand!"
* There are almost no canned sodas there, most everything is in bottles. It looked kind of strange to see Kevin "drinking & driving!"
* You don't "rent" a car in New Zealand, you "hire" a car. This is our lovely Nissan Tiida. Never heard of it? Neither had we! Most of their cars were makers that we knew (Toyota, Honda, Ford) but they had different model names. And instead of brand new rental cars like in America, most of their cars are older models (I think ours was like 2005) and most are manual transmission. We had to pay extra for automatic because Kevin didn't want to have to worry about trying to drive a stick shift with his left hand while trying to concentrate on driving on the right-side of the road!

That's all folks - I hope you've enjoyed reading about our trip to New Zealand! Now I can get back to writing about what's going on in our "real" life...I don't think I've posted any photos of the kids for almost two months!

new zealand trip - day 7 - coromandel

2011-09-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Our last day in New Zealand! We had read that the Coromandel Peninsula had some beautiful coastal scenery so we decided to take the scenic route on our way back to Auckland. What we didn't quite understand was that the roads were VERY windy and steep, there is almost nowhere to pull over, and what we thought would be a few hours (according to the number of kilometers on the map) was really MANY hours because you had to go so slow. And by the way, this is what they consider a "highway" in New Zealand!

I don't ever get car sick, but I was pretty close after 6 hours on roads like this! And some parts were much worse than this - even too narrow for two vehicles to both drive so you had to play chicken or take turns! And let's not forget about all the one-lane bridges! Oh, and not to mention Kevin was driving on the left-hand side of the road the whole time. Good times!

But thankfully all the crazy driving led us to some truly spectacular scenery! Our bed & breakfast hosts the night before told us about a place called Cathedral Cove near Hahei. They said it was about a 30 minute walk. What they didn't tell us was that it was a 30 minute HIKE up & down a few mountains (plus about 1,000 steep stairs) to get there. But this beach cove is only accessible by kayak or by hiking in, so it's very secluded and clean.

Below is the arch in the rock (hence the name "cathedral"). Unfortunately, it's becoming so unstable they have it roped off and recommend you don't go under it. It was very tempting to run through because the other side was apparently just as beautiful, but we were obedient and didn't.

There were also plenty of other beautiful scenic outlooks along our drive. I think I might make some framed photo enlargements!

It was a crazy day and we were very tired of sitting by the time we got back to Auckland (not good when you're getting on a 13 hour flight!), but we made it. We returned the rental car and headed back to the airport. The only drama came when they told us AFTER they had checked our luggage (which was under the maximum weight) and sent it off that they limited our carry-ons to 7 kilograms (about 15 lbs.) each! After stressing about it and rearranging a million times we could not make it work. Our roller bag was about 10 lbs. by itself EMPTY! A very helpful Air New Zealand employee asked us what the problem was and offered to get our checked bags back out for us so we could put more weight in those. After waiting for about 20 minutes, they finally found them and brought them back out and we were able to put in everything we didn't need in our carry-ons.

The flight home was okay. We were sitting right next to the bathrooms so that wasn't ideal, but we each managed to get some sleep and watch a few movies. Kevin sat next to an Australian Qantas airline pilot so he enjoyed talking to him (ironically, the pilot was very young and had never flown on a long international flight). We left New Zealand Sunday night about 9:00 p.m. and arrived in Los Angeles about 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. It was slightly freaky to go backwards in time! We were trying to catch a standby flight home that left LA at 4:15 p.m. in the next terminal. After waiting through customs and baggage claim it was 3:20 p.m. We thought for sure it was too late, but we grabbed our luggage and ran to the next terminal. The flight had actually closed but the nice US Airways employee opened it back up and let us check our luggage and we got the last 2 open seats on the flight! We hurried through security, ran to our gate, and were some of the last people to board. Thankfully that one hour flight seemed so SHORT after a 13 hour flight!

It was great to be home and see our kids. We missed them, but we had a fabulous trip. We feel extremely blessed to be able to have the time & money to go, and to have a wonderful mom/grandma who takes such great care of our kids! Visiting other countries is a wonderful experience, but being home with your family is what is really important!

There will be one last New Zealand post to come with some random pictures and thoughts and strange New Zealand signs, culture, and terminology!

new zealand trip - day 6 - hamilton & mount maunganui

2011-09-21T12:43:00.013-07:00

There isn't much touristy to do in Hamilton (it's just a regular big city, the fourth largest in New Zealand), but the main reason we wanted to go to Hamilton was to do a session in the temple.

Although the logistics of how their temple operates and the setup were slightly different than we were accustomed to, as soon as the session started we felt perfectly comfortable because it was exactly the same. That is the beauty of the gospel! We did feel slightly out of place since the majority of the people were of polynesian heritage, but they were some of the friendliest people we've ever met! In fact, we even got invited over to a man's house for lunch afterwards (we declined because we had other plans)!
The New Zealand temple is older (dedicated in 1958, just after the Los Angeles temple) so it has a visitor center. After our session, we walked over there and learned about the history of the church in New Zealand and the Maori people. We had fun talking to a nice sister missionary from Utah (and we enjoyed hearing an American "accent" again!).
After the temple, we drove 1 1/2 hours over to Mount Maunganui on the eastern coast. When we were planning our trip on such short notice, we just knew we wanted to stay near the coast. I randomly picked this area because it had a bed & breakfast for a reasonable price. Little did I realize that Mount Maunganui is one of the most popular and beautiful beach destinations in New Zealand! But since it was the end of winter, it was practically empty.
I found these photos (above & below) online so you can see the full beauty of Mount Maunganui. It's a beach town set on a peninsula. At the end is The Mount.
You can either hike up to the top of the mount or walk around it. We chose to walk around. It was a lovely afternoon and we can understand now why it's such a popular vacation destination! The rest of the photos below are ones I took.
All the water you see is the Bay of Plenty!

Surprisingly, we had never stayed at a Bed & Breakfast before but we had a wonderful experience. Our hosts Jim & Lorraine were very kind and helpful. Their motto is, "enter as guests, leave as friends" and I truly feel like I now have friends in New Zealand (he even sent me an email to make sure we made it home safely and to thank us for staying there). The other family that was also staying there were equally delightful and interesting (they immigrated from South Africa to New Zealand), and they invited us to stop by their house on the way back to Auckland.

new zealand trip - day 5 - waitomo

2011-09-19T18:26:00.017-07:00

We headed north out of Taupo the next morning. Our first stop was Waitomo Caves, which was a 2 1/2 hour drive away. Normally, I'm not a big fan of long car rides, but when the scenery looks like this, I could probably ride all day. This is what most everywhere in New Zealand (at least in the areas we visited) looked like. It was simply breathtaking!
There are three Waitomo Caves ('wai' meaning water, and 'tomo' meaning hole or shaft). Because we had the time and likely will never be there again, we decided to do all three tours. The first tour we took was Ruakuri Cave. According to Maori legend, Ruakuri Cave (‘rua’ meaning den, and ‘kuri’ meaning dog) was first discovered 400-500 years ago by a young Maori hunting for birds. He was attacked by wild dogs just outside the original cave entrance. Some of the things in these caves were almost impossible to capture on film due to low lighting, so I borrowed photos from the internet. This is the spiral entrance to Ruakuri Cave. It was phenomenal. You come in at the top and then walk all the way down the spiral to the cave entrance. Ruakuri Cave is a "living/active cave" - with a river running through it and still growing. You can actually do a blackwater tour floating down the cave river in wetsuits and jumping off the waterfall inside the cave (we did not do this tour!). Ruakuri Cave was the longest tour (2 hours) and our guide was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and humorous! We even got to see glowworms up close.
Our next cave tour was Aranui Cave. I was afraid that it would be slightly redundant, but the caves are very different. Aranui Cave is much smaller (45 minute tour) and is not a "living cave" (no water source and not still growing); but it had wetas (cave insects that look like giant crickets or grasshoppers); and thousands of beautiful stalactites, stalagmites, and other typical cave formations. It was much more fun to photograph! Too bad our guide for this tour wasn't nearly as good!

After we were done with Aranui Cave, we had to wait a bit for our last tour, so we decided to take a short hike. Doesn't it look like a rainforest?
Our last tour was the world famous Glowworm Caves. It was also a short tour (45 minutes), but our guide was a lot of fun. Usually these cave tours have about 1,500 visitors per day. She told us that day there were only about 300 people total. There were 6 people on our first tour, 6 people on our second tour, and only 4 people on our last tour. And four of those people (us and a New Zealand couple) stayed together the whole day! It was fun to chat and get to know the other people and feel like we could ask the guide questions whenever we wanted. Our glowworm cave guide told us since there were only 4 of us and we were all adults she would take us to an area that they don't usually take the regular tours.
The first part of the glowworm cave tour was not that impressive. It was much like the other two caves we had just seen, but didn't have as many spectacular formations. But the second part of the tour where you get in the boat and ride through the glowworm grotto was amazing. These type of glowworms are found exclusively in New Zealand. They are actually maggots (but they didn't think a "glow-maggot" tour sounded very fun!). When we saw them up close in the first cave, the guide explained to us how they survive & catch their food and what makes them glow. Basically they drop these little strings (very similar to spider webs) and catch any flying insects. The hungrier they are, the brighter they glow. Obviously it's very dark and you cannot use flash, so I pulled some photos from the internet so you could see what they looked like.
After we were done with all the cave tours, we headed another hour north to Hamilton where we would stay the night. It had rained a bit that afternoon while we were in the caves, so we even got to see a rainbow while we were driving. It was amazing to see the sun set over this beautiful country.

new zealand trip - day 4 - rotorua & taupo

2011-09-17T16:35:00.013-07:00

We headed south out of Rotorua to Wai-o-tapu, which is similar to Yellowstone, "a wonderland of stunning geothermal activity" (according to their website)! We saw the largest mud pool in New Zealand (photo below). It's huge and there is no way to capture it all in one photo, but I tried. To get a size perspective, you can see Kevin on the right hand side standing by the fence.It was cold out and the thermal areas are boiling hot, so we didn't get a great view of them because of all the steam rising off. This one below is called the Champagne Pool and is one of the main attractions. Again, it was so large and hard to capture on camera so here is close-up of one area showing some of the bright colors. It is 213 feet in diameter and with a depth of 203 feet.
This one below was one of our favorites. It is called Devil's Bath and was literally neon green - much brighter than the photo shows. See Kevin on the left side for size perspective!
One of their other main attractions was the Lady Knox Geyser (or as they pronounce it "geezer"...we laughed every time we heard it!). It is an active geyser which would naturally erupt every 48-72 hours, but for tourist reasons they activate it each morning at 10:15 with some natural soap-type product.

Here it is to start:
After they add the soap it starts to bubble a bit:
About 3 minutes later it starts shooting up in the air:
To be honest, we weren't all that impressed, but that is probably because it is small compared to Old Faithful at Yellowstone. The best part of the whole thing was watching an Asian man while we were waiting. He had a camera in each hand and was trying to figure out where to place his video camera. He decided propping it on the railing would be a great idea. Kevin and I were just WAITING for it to fall in the thermal area and sure enough a few minutes later it did! We thought he would probably climb over and get it (we saw a different Asian man climbing over the railing in another part of the park to get his photo taken while kneeling right next to the boiling thermal area!), but this man didn't. He actually waited for an employee who went down and got it back for him. After experiencing China last year none of this surprised us, but it was quite entertaining!
We walked around the rest of Wai-o-tapu for a few more hours. There were many interesting geothermal areas and it was definitely worth our time.

We drove down to Taupo (about an hour away). We finally got to talk on Skype with our kids. It was supposed to happen the day before, but we never had internet access in Rotorua.

After talking with them, we headed out to see Huka Falls. We had read mixed reviews about this, but it was nearby and free and only a short walk so we decided it was worth our time. It is not that big or impressive (only a 36 foot drop - you can see a man on the left side of the photo) until you learn that 58,000 gallons of water flow through it every second. To put that in perspective, that's enough water to fill an Olympic size swimming pool in 20 seconds!
Also near Huka Falls there was a scenic outlook. Here is the city of Taupo with Lake Taupo in the background. The large mountain in the far background with snow on it is Mount Tongariro. Everything south of Taupo is mountainous and much colder (known for their skiing). Since it was the end of winter, we decided this was as far south as we would go! But you'll notice that most everything in the areas we visited, even at the end of winter, was very green and not dead and ugly.
After dinner at Burger Fuel (their famous burger chain...we thought it was just okay), we headed to Waikite Valley Thermal Pools. We had read that it was much nicer and less crowded in the evening. I didn't take any photos because I didn't want my camera getting wet, but here are a few from online that I found. Best of all they somehow make it so the pools don't stink! They have 6 different pools of various temperatures. The hottest one was a bit too hot for us - we could only handle it for a few minutes. And we didn't go in the big pool since there were kids playing in there. But the other 4 pools were very nice and warm and relaxing. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold outside so it was terrible to get out!

new zealand trip - day 3 - rotorua

2011-09-15T18:41:00.023-07:00

Our first stop for the day was Skyline Rotorua for a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain and some luge rides down the hill. Here is the gondola ride up. My photo looks almost exactly the same except with gray clouds everywhere. I thought this picture from their website looked nicer, so I borrowed it! The city you see is Rotorua and behind it is Lake Rotorua.
They require you to wear helmets, but I'm pretty sure they have never sanitized them because they were horribly stinky! This was one of the only times in the entire country that something felt dirty (even public bathrooms were nice & clean).
It would have been impossible for us to take photos or video while going down the luge (though of course they take your photos and try to sell them to you for $10 each, and they don't allow you to take pictures of your photos), so these next few images are also from their website so you can see what the luge track and sleds looked like.
We purchased a package with two luge rides each, since we weren't sure if we would like it (and, like everything else in New Zealand, it was VERY expensive). They require you to go on the "scenic (beginner) track" the first time. That ride went really well, though Kevin was behind me and thought I wasn't going fast enough! We learned that you don't get to ride the fancy gondola back up, you take the back way up on regular ski-lift type chairs. When we got back up to the top, we decided since we only had one ride left we would do the advanced track (there was also an intermediate track). It was barely sprinkling when we got on, and about 3 seconds into the ride it started downpouring rain! And in case you're wondering, when you're going very quickly down a steep hill on wet pavement and cannot see to steer because the rain is pelting you in the eyes, it's a bit frightening! But we both made it down safely. At this point, we were very wet and thought we could just leave because we were done with our luge rides, but we had to ride the ski-lift chairs back up to the top (in the rain), so they can try to sell you your luge photos and route you through the gift shop. Then you get to take the nice enclosed gondola ride back down (the expensive gondola ride is mandatory). And wouldn't you know it? The rain stopped as soon as we got back in the gondola (it seriously rained for about 10 minutes that whole day - it just so happens it was the 10 minutes we were on the luge)!

You cannot really tell how soaked we were in this photo below, but we were! The reason we are laughing so hard is that we realized with about 5 seconds to spare before we had to get off the gondola that we could balance the camera on the ledge inside the gondola and set the timer to get a photo of ourselves (again, they take your photo on the gondolas and try to sell them to you for $20, but we're cheap and know how to use our camera timer)!

Rotorua is in a highly geothermal volcanic area. Rotorua is actually nicknamed Sulphur City or "Rotten-rua." The whole city stinks like rotten egg geyser smell, and surprisingly you actually get used to it after awhile!

After we had some lunch and tried to dry out, we headed over to Kuirau Park. Kuirau Park is their main city park, and has many areas that are mud pools and boiling ponds. They are each fenced off so it's safe for kids to play there. We didn't see any that were too spectacular (which is why the park is free to visit) so no photos, but they have several flower gardens which were very beautiful. I practiced some photography and came across these butterflies and had fun playing with my telephoto lens.

After we wandered around Kuirau Park for awhile, we walked around downtown Rotorua and bought some souvenirs. We also went down to the lakefront. Again we used our camera timer to get photos of ourselves (not that people weren't willing, there just weren't many people out there since it was still technically wintertime). I'm sure I was very funny to watch set the timer and then run out on the pier each time. This photo isn't the best one of us, but I thought it was cool that it captured the birds flying by at the exact instant it snapped the photo!
There were dozens of these black swans around, which are native to Australia. The red eyes made them look a bit scary. This photo is not zoomed in at all - they were really coming this close!

That evening we did a Maori cultural experience dinner & show at the Mitai Maori Village. These cultural experiences are one of the main tourist things to do in Rotorua (there's 3 main places that do them) and something we had both been looking forward to. It was a veritable United Nations there! Of the 8 people at our table, we represented 6 different countries (USA, New Zealand, Poland, France, South Africa, and Australia). It was very fun to chat with them. The very entertaining host asked where each group was from, and it turned out that there were 21 countries represented that night (about 140 people total).

We went to look at our Hangi dinner that had been cooking underground since afternoon. It was chicken, lamb, potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes - very popular in New Zealand), and stuffing. This is how the Maori people cooked.
Next we walked over to the river and they demonstrated their warrior canoe (waka).
It was very hard to photograph, but the video is actually more impressive anyway.

Then we watched the cultural performance. They taught us about their tattoos, their games, their families, their tribes, their music, their weapons, and their heritage. It was a wonderful mix of education, entertainment, humor, and culture. These guys must have been freezing - we were all bundled up in coats, blankets, and sitting under heaters!

And what would a Maori cultural night be without the famous haka war dance finale? Their chests were actually red they were slapping themselves so hard! Be sure to watch and turn the volume up loud to get the full effect!

And then we finally got to eat our hangi dinner, all of which was very delicious!
We had decided to do the combo package, which takes you on a night walk over to Rainbow Springs Kiwi Wildlife Park. The kiwi bird (not to be confused with the kiwi fruit) is the national symbol of New Zealand. The New Zealand people actually call themselves "kiwi's" like we call ourselves Americans. But it's almost impossible to see the kiwi birds - they are nocturnal and are endangered. They are so rare that only 13 zoos around the world outside of New Zealand have them. So we knew this would probably be our only opportunity to see one. Thankfully they did not disappoint! We saw 3 of them (out of the 4 that are there). You have to be totally silent because they scare easily, it is completely dark in their enclosure, and you are not allowed to use flash photography, so they are near impossible to photograph or video, so here is a internet image of what the kiwi bird looks like. It's about the size of a chicken, has no wings (so it obviously doesn't fly), and they lay the largest egg in relation to the size of their body of all birds (the guide told us it would be equivalent to a human lady giving birth to a 35 lb. baby- yikes!).

The rest of Rainbow Springs Park was a bit boring and like most every other zoos I've been to, so that was slightly disappointing. Or maybe that's just because I was freezing cold and very tired. Kevin was really impressed with the huge trout. But overall, it was a great evening (which we are very glad about, since it cost us more than taking our kids to Disneyland!).

new zealand trip - day 2 - matamata

2011-09-13T11:01:00.014-07:00

We headed out of Auckland in the rain. We were worried that the rest of our trip would be like that, but thankfully it wasn't! We saw bits of the beautiful New Zealand countryside peeking through the clouds and fog and could tell that it was just as impressive as we imagined. There was a road closure and a detour many miles out of our way, but got to see some towns we wouldn't have!

Our first stop for the day was the part of our trip that Kevin was most excited about. The Park family are big fans of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbiton was the only area of New Zealand that we would be near (most of the movies were filmed in the southern part of the North Island and the South Island - we only got to see the central part of the North Island). They are getting ready to film the Hobbit movies so they are currently reconstructing the set and it was almost finished (filming starts in October). To be honest, I have never seen the movies nor read the books (and there wasn't time with our last-minute trip plans), so I was not nearly as excited as Kevin, but it was one of the main things he really wanted to do, so we went.

**Special note** Because it is an active movie set, we were allowed to take as many photos & videos as we wanted but we had to sign a confidentiality agreement that we would not post them on any public sites. Since there are only a handful of people who read this blog, I am going to post a few photos and take my chances that none of you will report me! If you want to see the photos larger, click on them.
Almost everything that was originally used for the LOTR films was taken down many years ago, so it all had to be rebuilt. It was amazing to see the detail and care they take with their sets. And it was fascinating to hear some of the "Hollywood magic" tricks they used to make the hobbits seem small and the other people seem large (most of the scenes were filmed separately and then overlaid digitally).

The Hobbiton set is on an active personally-owned sheep farm. Peter Jackson hand-selected the site and leased 10 acres (of their 400 acres) of their land. He loved the area because it is so remote he didn't have to worry about any buildings being in the background of his filming.
The green hobbit hole door near the top of the photo below is Bag-End. The tree above it was found elsewhere and deconstructed and then reconstructed here branch by branch (the leaves are fake). Peter Jackson was very particular in getting each and every detail in the books correct. This tree is only seen in the movie for about 20 seconds, but they spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars making it accurate.
Proof that we were really there!
Even the moss on the fences was hand-made. All together there were 42 hobbit holes created (17 more than the original movies). The doors open and close, but they only go back a few feet into the hill. All of the indoor hobbit hole filming is done at a different location.
Below is the party tree! This is a real tree and was one of the main reasons Peter Jackson selected this specific area of the farm. Unfortunately, the tree is very old and dying. They are trying to keep it alive so they can film the Hobbit movies. I had Kevin stand there so you could see the size of it (and he's not standing very close to it - it's huge!).
The tour is about 2 hours long, and at the end of it we got to see a sheep shearing demonstration. It was short but fascinating. Did you know there are more sheep in New Zealand than people (about 40 million sheep and 4 million people)?
And then we got to feed the lambs!
We were so happy that it stopped raining and we could enjoy our Hobbiton tour. I really enjoyed myself and I was so impressed that I started to read The Hobbit and have watched the first Lord of the Rings movie. I am actually quite excited to see The Hobbit movie when it comes out next year!

After our Hobbiton tour, we headed further south to Rotorua, where we would spend the next few days. We checked into our hotel, only to find that their internet was completely down. We were very frustrated, since we were somewhat planning as we went, and that was our only source of contact to our friends and family (and Kevin's work) back home.

We couldn't research restaurants in Rotorua, but I remembered someone telling me about Hell Pizza (it's a New Zealand chain) so we gave that a try for dinner. The pizza wasn't that great, but it was a clever & amusing theme. Here are some of their specialty pizza titles: Lust, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Pandemonium, Mayhem, Trouble, Brimstone, Mischief, Cursed, Purgatory, Serpent, Underworld, Demon, Vampire. Their restaurant is painted all black & red and is very dark.

new zealand trip - day 1 - auckland

2011-09-11T14:17:00.031-07:00

We arrived safely in New Zealand...at 6:15 a.m. Monday morning! We left LA Saturday night and actually skipped Sunday (not to worry though, we got to live the following Sunday twice!). We passed through customs and immigration quickly & with no problems. The most interesting thing in the airport were the bio-terrorism dogs they had sniffing around everyone's luggage at the baggage claim area. You are not allowed to bring any fresh fruits, vegetables, or meats into the country to protect their island environment (which apparently has no snakes, no spiders, and very little disease). Another thing that surprised us was that we had to put our luggage through security x-ray machines again on the way out of the airport.

We got our rental car okay, but notice anything different? Yes, they drive on the OTHER side of the road in New Zealand! I've never seen Kevin so worried! Plus all their rental cars are older models and we had to pay extra for an automatic. Most cars were manual, and Kevin didn't want to have to worry about shifting gears with the opposite hand while trying to concentrate on the road.Auckland was the only place on our trip that had freeways ("motorways") - wait until you see what they consider a "highway!"
After a scary, crazy first driving experience and trying to figure out our GPS, we managed to end up safely at our first destination...Mount Eden! We went there first because nothing else was open at 8:00 a.m.! Mount Eden is the highest natural (not man-made) point in Auckland and provides great views all around. It's a dormant volcano (last eruption 15,000 years ago) with a crater that is about 165 feet deep. It is a sacred site for the Maori people and there are warnings all around to not go down in the crater, because apparently it's still hot and the ground is unstable (and it looked very steep to try to get back up). I included two photos - it was very hard to capture to size and the views. The photo above is the best one I got of the crater, and the photo below shows the city in the background the best (it was a very hazy morning).
There weren't very many people up there at 8:00 a.m. (except some runners), but a nice lady took our photo. And if you're wondering why we were wearing warm clothes, don't forget that New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, so August means the end of winter, not summer!
I put on my telephoto lens and was able to get some better photos of downtown Auckland (otherwise known as the CBD, central business district).
Our next stop was the Auckland Museum. This place was HUGE and had something for every age group and interest. There was war memorabilia, animals, volcanoes, a kids section, and tons of Maori cultural stuff (as well as other historical information and items from each of the South Pacific islands).
Kevin loved these statues:
And he even found a new friend!
We spent almost 3 hours there and barely scratched the surface. We walked through every area, but didn't stop to read much. We were hungry and very jet-lagged so we set off to find our hotel, which was across the harbor. We ended up at McDonald's for lunch where Kevin had a kiwiburger (regular burger with beets & eggs) and we learned that ketchup is a rare commodity in New Zealand. We got checked into our hotel room (which was larger than our first apartment!) and I took a short nap. We both got showers and felt much more refreshed.

Our hotel offered a free ferry service over to downtown Auckland, which was nice so we didn't have to worry about finding somewhere to park and paying parking fees. These photos are the view from the ferry. This is the Auckland Harbor Bridge that we drove over to get to our hotel. It's the second largest bridge in New Zealand and is over 3,000 feet long. Interestingly enough, you cannot walk or bike across it - only drive. Or you can pay lots of money and do a tour that you walk along the very top of it and then bungee off (130 feet)!
Here is a view of Auckland. It reminded us so much of Seattle. You cannot see it because it was cloudy, but Mount Eden would be in the background (so this was the other side view than we had from Mount Eden earlier).
We walked through a bit of the downtown area. We were surprised at how safe we felt & how clean it was. We went up into the Sky Tower (the thing that looks like the Space Needle). It is 1,076 feet tall, making it the tallest freestanding tower in the southern hemisphere, and the 15th tallest tower in the world. (for reference, the Space Needle is 605 feet tall and the Stratosphere in Las Vegas is 1,149 feet tall)Don't worry - that is not me doing the Sky Jump! Though I have to admit being very tempted, at least until I got to the top and saw what 1,000 feet down looks like! See the little red target in the photo below - that's where you land! The other deterrent was that it cost $225!

They had glass floors you could stand on, though it was a bit unsettling, even with signs like this one below! (for those who don't remember their metric conversions: 38 mm = 1.5 inches)
Even though the day was cloudy, we still had some great views of the city & surrounding areas (that is the Harbor Bridge again in the photo below).
We had booked a table for dinner at Orbit (the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower) because it was only a little more expensive to have dinner there than to just pay to go up and do the observation deck. It was very similar to the restaurant on top of the Space Needle in Seattle. We enjoyed watching it turn from day to night over Auckland and having a leisurely dinner. One of my favorite things about going on trips like this is that we aren't constantly looking at our watches and calculating how much we're paying for a babysitter and we can relax and take our time!
After dinner we had fun browsing through the gift shop at the bottom of the Sky Tower. Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand so of course they had displays and merchandise (but surprisingly, this was one of the few places we found that sold it).
We were debating about buying each of you a Hobbit cloak, but decided against it when we saw the price tags ($1,270 and $2,199)!
We had a nice ride back on the ferry and enjoyed the view of Auckland at night.

new zealand trip - travel day!

2011-09-11T13:48:00.003-07:00

Our New Zealand tickets were round-trip from Los Angeles, leaving at 10:15 pm. No problem, we fly for free (and in the worst case scenario, we live close enough to drive)! We had planned to fly into LA in the afternoon, spend a few hours and have dinner with Kevin's uncle Mark & aunt Margaret who live nearby the airport. But as usual, our standby flying was not without drama! Unfortunately, the LA flights were completely booked. We contemplated driving and then remembered the Burbank airport. We got on a flight into there just fine, claimed our luggage, and thankfully Mark was able & willing to come get us there instead (which was about an hour away, rather than 15 minutes to LAX). We got to see their cute house, and we went out to dinner with their daughter Allison and our other aunt Rebecca (who actually lives here in Arizona but happened to be visiting Southern California that weekend and drove up from Orange County). It was fun to spend time with them, especially since we missed the family reunion in Washington in July.
Mark dropped us off at the airport and we were off on our New Zealand adventure! Our 13 hour flight was tolerable and not full so they gave us 3 seats which was wonderful. Thanks to some good sleep medication both of us actually slept a few hours, watched a few movies each, and enjoyed decent food. A much better flight than our trip to China!

new calling!

2011-09-09T15:31:00.005-07:00

I promise New Zealand posts very soon (I am finally over my jet-lag and pretty much caught up with regular life stuff here)...but in the meantime I don't want to forget about this!

You know the old saying "when it rains, it pours!" It's very true! Somewhere in the midst of planning our New Zealand trip, it was decided that I should have a new church calling. I have been teaching primary for 1 1/2 years and they have been making lots of changes in our ward, so it wasn't terribly surprising, just bad timing. Nor was it surprising that I was called to be a Bear Scout Den Leader (working with Brandon & his friends). I figured with two boys I would eventually be called to cub scouts! And apparently I'm really supposed to be working with 8-9 year old kids since I was an Activity Day leader (8-9 year old girls) for 1 1/2 years, then a Primary teacher (8-9 year old kids) for 1 1/2 years, and now I'm a Bear Den Leader (9 year old boys)!
I am sad to leave my primary class (mostly the girls since the boys are in Bears so they are still stuck with me!) but it will be nice to interact with the ladies in the ward more. The thing that I'm most excited about it working with this lady:
I've mentioned her a few times on this blog - her name is Buffie and she is one of my good friends. We have known each other for 10 years and actually served together in Young Women in our old ward (we used to live near each other in our old houses, then she moved, then a few years later we moved). She is an amazingly talented woman. Not only is she Brandon's piano teacher (as well as 50 other piano students), but she makes cute jewelry, and has kids the same ages & genders as mine (plus an older daughter) so we have carpooled to preschool together for 4 years now! And apparently we have the same husband (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read HERE). She is super organized, reliable, and communicates everything - just the kind of person I enjoy working with! We will make a great team!

Although we are both fairly new to scouting and don't have a clue what we are doing, it should be fun! It is a new challenge and will definitely keep me plenty busy!

If you want to follow what we do in Bear Scouts, Buffie created a wonderful blog for our den:
http://troop841bears.blogspot.com/

And a big thank you to my other friend Jenny who loaned me her scout shirt so I didn't have to buy one!

new zealand!

2011-09-06T12:35:00.002-07:00

I wasn't trying to be suspenseful about what our upcoming "big event" was, but since this is a public blog and I don't know if there are any creepy stalkers reading it, I didn't feel like advertising that we were going to be out of town for 9 days to...

NEW ZEALAND!!!!

Long story short, on August 10th Kevin received a company-wide email advertising an inter-airline last-minute employee offer for BOOKED seats on Air New Zealand. To be honest, New Zealand was never really on our international traveling list, but we couldn't resist $395 round-trip tickets which included all taxes and fees (especially since flying the same flight STANDBY on Air New Zealand would cost us $466). It was a VERY limited offer (only a certain number of seats available on certain days and flights) so after talking with my mom to see if she was available and willing to watch our kids, within a few hours of the email we had bought tickets. And we were leaving in 2 1/2 weeks! It was a whirlwind of research (thank goodness for TripAdvisor!), reservations, and reading about New Zealand, and planning for my mom to be here with the kids for 9 days. Needless to say, I don't remember much of the second half of August.

But we made it there and back safely and had an adventure of a lifetime! We were sure if or how we could ever top our trip to China last fall, but I think we came close (if not succeeded) with this trip. It was wonderful to spend 9 days alone with just my husband. I don't think we have EVER spent that much time together, even before we had kids. Good news...we still love each other!

New Zealand is an amazing, beautiful country with friendly, generous people. Even though they spoke english, it was definitely a foreign country! 7 days was not nearly time enough to even scratch the surface. We will definitely be going back.

Much more to come after I catch up with my life here at home, get over a terrible case of jet lag, and sort through 550 photos!

girls getaway!

2011-08-23T16:08:00.004-07:00

This isn't the "BIG EVENT" that I referred to in my last post, but I wanted to get this posted before it was forgotten!

The family of a lady from our ward (Sarah) owns a lovely, big cabin up in Show Low (northern Arizona). She invited a bunch of the ladies to come and join her for a fun girls getaway weekend with cooler weather!

Our trip up was memorable. I was riding in the car with 4 other ladies and we took Carrie's husband's new rental car, assuming it would be better than her older vehicles that had high mileage. Unfortunately, about an hour up into the mountains, the car started having problems and overheating and we lost power so we ended up on the side of the road with the heat blasting to try to cool the engine down (plus it was about 100 degrees out!). Avis' roadside assistance was not very helpful and didn't have any locations nearby to change cars. We said a prayer, checked the owners' manual, and thankfully got enough power to make it to the next big city. We called Carrie's husband who was kind enough to drive up and bring us their other car and wait for Avis (3 hours away) to tow up a new rental car for him. We missed dinner with all the ladies, but we still had a fun time and we found a wonderful little restaurant in Payson.

We finally arrived in Show Low at 10:30 p.m. (instead of 6:30 as planned) and got to bed really late after much chatting, laughing, game playing, and junk food eating.

The weather was gorgeous up there and we had a fun day taking walks, sitting around on the porch talking, eating delicious granola & yogurt & fruit for breakfast by Carrie, a yummy homemade mexican food lunch by Marsa, and plenty more junk food. Hayley cut people's hair and did eyelash tinting for free, and taught us how to give girls haircuts.
They also own a bunch of scooters and they have a very long, sloped driveway that is really fun to ride down.

Back row: Jen B, Sara W, Crystal C, Lisa M, Stefney C, Leslie M, Hayley M
Front row: Sarah G, Marla S, Angie M, Jenny J, Sara C, Julianne B, Marsa R, Carrie T, me
not pictured: Gwen JB the photographer!

The ride home was also slightly dramatic, as a huge semi-truck that was out of control came down around a mountain corner into our lane in a construction zone. I am extremely thankful we said a prayer before we left and that Carrie is an amazing driver, as it was the closest I've ever been to a head-on collision. We ate dinner again at our new favorite restaurant in Payson and made it home safely.

Even though I felt like we spent almost as much time in the car as we did at the cabin, the ladies in that car were fun to talk to and it was still wonderful to get away to cooler weather and have some much-needed girl time. I am especially thankful for a husband who encourages me to go on these types of outings and is willing and capable of taking care of everything here at home and for the kids. We didn't communicate the entire time I was gone and I never once worried!

*some of these photos were taken by Gwen.

still here!

2011-08-11T07:45:00.002-07:00

The problem with blogging regularly is that when I don't post something every few days people start to wonder and ask if I'm okay! Somehow I thought once the boys got back to school life would slow down a bit. But the first week of school Natalie needed lots of extra attention, it was my birthday, and I was planning for Brandon's birthday & his party. Once I got through all of that, I thought it would be smooth sailing. I got caught up on a few projects that never got done over the summer and I decided to join a new gym (which is SO much better than the other one!), plus I got back into school volunteering stuff.

And then yesterday...just when I finally felt like life was under control and Natalie is headed back to preschool on Monday...we decided to do something crazy & spontaneous & totally huge which will take all my time & attention for the next month. I won't mention what it is (not because it's a secret so feel free to email me or ask me if you see me - but because this blog is public I don't really want all my life information exposed).

So pardon my absence from blogging. But I promise it will be worth the wait!

toy time out

2011-08-03T10:29:00.003-07:00

My friend told me about this idea many years ago and I never had to use it until recently. Even though this summer was better than expected, there were still the usual fights over toys or making a huge mess and then complaining about cleaning up at night. Or if they are slow with cleaning up we set a timer and whatever is not cleaned up by that time gets taken away. Toys were taken away and put on the top of our fridge, where they would be forgotten about or if the kids happened to catch me in a good mood a few days later I would just give them all back. I was tired of toys on my fridge and it didn't seem right to just give them back. I recalled my friend telling me about her TOY TIME OUT and I decided to give it a try.
Mostly it is used for toy issues (fighting over a toy, not cleaning them up) but it also has been successful as a good motivation for other behavior issues and usually just the threat of putting another toy in time out has worked. The toys have to "live" in toy time out (my kids also like to call it "the box of shame" like in Despicable Me) until they earn them back. They can earn them back by doing their chores without being reminded, by being helpful or kind to others, by cleaning up after themselves before getting something else out, or by doing something the first time they are asked (without complaining). However, they are not allowed to ask for toys back if they do these things. I want them to learn that there doesn't always need to be a reward for doing something good (or something they were supposed to be doing anyway). It has also taught me to pay attention and "catch" them being good.

It's been a fun process to watch & has brought up many good conversations about rewards & consequences. For example, Tyler had earned all his toys back and was rewarded for something else good he did. I was interested to see what he would do. He kindly got one of Natalie's toys out of time out and gave it back to her - she was thrilled! And Brandon asked me the other day what they will get for being good after they have earned all their toys back. I reminded him that it's okay to do good things even if there isn't a reward attached.

So far, so good with this new idea!

brandon's lego birthday party!

2011-08-02T15:23:00.010-07:00

I have wanted to do a Lego themed party for several years and finally made it happen for Brandon's birthday party this year! Thanks to the internet and smart, helpful friends it was much easier than I expected!

How do you entertain a bunch of active boys in the Arizona summer heat? Give them a few huge tubs of Legos and make everything a competition! The only noise at times during the party was the "pawing through Legos" sound.

Our first game was a guessing jar with Lego block candies. Our second game was "who can build the strongest, tallest tower in 5 minutes?"
Then played some Lego bingo. We used the Lego block candies from the guessing jar - they taste like Sweet Tarts, and you can actually build with them (sadly, they are about the price of regular Legos).
The next game was "build a race car in 5 minutes!" We gave each boy a set of wheels & axles so they didn't have to spend their time digging for those.

From top L clockwise: Matthew, Joaquin, Tyler, Andrew, Santiago, Collin, Ethan M, Brandon, Ethan JB, LiamThe racetrack Kevin created (a table and some tape) was a huge hit! They could have easily spent the entire party doing this. The cars got crazier and the boys got sillier, but they had so much fun!
We opened presents and Brandon mostly received Pokemon stuff, money, and Legos, so he was thrilled!

And of course we had cake & ice cream!
At first when I debated about doing a Lego party, I thought the Lego block cake would be the easiest part (how hard can giant rectangles be?). But the more ideas I looked at online, the more I was tempted to try my hand at fondant (the covering that goes over the frosting that makes it look smooth). I have always wanted to learn how to do fondant but have been scared it would be hard, I heard that it was gross tasting, and the packages in the craft store are very expensive. But my friend Sara who is an awesome cake decorator gave me her recipe for homemade marshmallow fondant, which would solve my problems of gross-tasting and expensive. So I braved fondant and I was extremely pleased with the results! It did take quite a bit of time & work, so I will be very selective about when I use it, but I'm thrilled that I don't have to shy away from cool cake ideas anymore!
My only disappointment was that I did pound cake instead of regular cake. It was much easier & stronger to work with for the fondant, but either the fondant or the pound cake or the combination of the two together did not taste right. It wasn't gross, but not very good.
After cake & ice cream, we played Creationary (like Pictionary but you build with Legos instead of draw) until the boys' parents showed up.

I consider it another birthday party success!

brandon's 9th birthday

2011-08-01T08:25:00.005-07:00

Today is Brandon's birthday! Here's a little bit about him (in his own words) at age 9:

Favorite Color: blue

Favorite Number: 32

Favorite Drink: lemonade

Favorite Food: pickles

Favorite Game: PokePark Wii

Favorite Animal: turtle

Favorite TV Show: Johnny Test

I feel sad when: I get incomplete on my homework

I feel mad when: I get things wrong on my homework (can you tell what we had just done before this?)

I like it when my friends: are nice to me

I like it when I: get to play with Joaquin

I wish I could: fly

Who is your best friend? Joaquin

Why? because he is nice & trustworthy

What makes you laugh? funny jokes

What is your favorite movie? Megamind

What are you most afraid of? scorpions

What is your favorite song? Under the Sea (I don't think it really is, but this was all he could think of since we had just listened to it in the car)

What is your favorite activity? drawing

What do you want to be when you grow up? Lego designer

Do you think it would be hard to be a mom or a dad? yes

Why? because you have to pay all the bills

If you could have a magical power, what would you choose? mind power (to be able to do anything with your mind instead of having to actually do it - like The Force)

What three things are you are good at? drawing, coloring, games

What is the best thing about being nine? being a Bear Cub Scout

What makes you special? I am always kind and loving

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!
We love you & and are so proud of the young man you're becoming.

danika's birthday

2011-07-27T21:45:00.001-07:00

I had a great birthday this year! Thank you to everyone who made it extra special! I got to go out for lunch with some friends, I had several friends stop by unexpectedly, I talked to family on the phone and Skype, I got emails & Facebook messages, my kids made me cards, and we went to dinner as a family.

But these two things still make me laugh so I had to share! My good friend Buffie makes & sells these cute necklaces (because her own 4 children plus the 50 piano students she teaches each week apparently aren't enough to keep her busy!). She made me this necklace...if you can't read it well, it says: "Coupon Queen - I got my tiara for free!"

And my sister-in-law Amy found the perfect card for me:

back to school!

2011-07-25T20:07:00.003-07:00

Believe it or not, the boys are already back to school! We are on a modified year-round school schedule, with 7 weeks of summer, and 2 week breaks at fall, holiday, and spring. While it always shocks people that we start school at the end of July, I personally LOVE our schedule! 7 weeks of summer is plenty of time to be stuck inside with the extreme heat here, and I like that we get longer breaks when travelling isn't as busy or expensive and the weather is nicer here so we can actually enjoy our school breaks playing outside.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Brandon is almost 9 and is starting 4th grade:Tyler is 6 and is starting 1st grade:
When we got to school the boys immediately found their best friends, who unfortunately are both not in their classes this year.

Tyler with Kirk:
Brandon with his best friend of 4+ years Joaquin (interestingly enough, one of the tallest boys and one of the shortest boys in 4th grade):
Tyler was happy and excited and waving and shouting "Bye Mom!" as he walked in the building.
Brandon was not as thrilled with his mother who followed him with her big paparazzi camera (his look in the photo below means, "Stop shouting my name Mom, I'll turn around and pretend to smile for you and then will you please leave, you're embarrassing me!"). He said he was excited about school starting again, but I could tell he was a bit nervous and wasn't looking forward to homework again.
They both had a great first day and even though being in school means being busier and more work for everyone, we are all happier with a good schedule and a consistent routine.

colorado - day 6

2011-07-23T09:51:00.001-07:00

Thursday was our last day in Colorado. Since we weren't sure what flight times we were going to try to get on, we didn't make any major plans. We checked the flight loads before we left our hotel, which showed that the morning flights were all sold out but that the afternoon & evening flights had almost 100 seats open between 3 flights. That was great news - we could still have a morning of fun in Colorado and then get home that evening!

I had marked a few ideas for places to go see on Thursday if we had time. One of these was Helen Hunts Falls. It said it was a "free, easy hike" which sounded perfect for our family. After a long drive up into the canyon (with our gas tank dangerously empty...we didn't realize it was quite so far) we arrived at the falls.
The falls were nice, but much smaller than I imagined. The "hike" was about 20 stairs. Easy & fun, but probably not worth the drive. But definitely something my kids don't get to see very often.
And we saw another deer on the way out of the canyon!
We drove an hour back up to Denver but still had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport. The last thing on my list was the Littleton Historical Museum. It was a cute place - a living history farm and buildings from the 1800's. The workers were even dressed in costumes.
It was very kid-friendly and had many things they could climb on or touch.
They even had a real blacksmith who was working and gave us a short demonstration! We also spent a bit of time in the main building in the kids area that had fun things for them to play with.
After getting some lunch, we headed to the airport and returned our rental car. We were shocked to learn when we checked in that the flight we had hoped to get on (that had almost 30 seats open that morning) was now overbooked. After a long time getting through security (I think the regular lines were faster than the employee line, plus I forgot to empty my water bottle) we hurried to our gate. We knew it would be close whether we would get on, but crazy things happen with standby. The gate agent told us she MIGHT have 2 seats so we made plans for Natalie & I to go. We got as far as down the jetway and to the airplane door this time, before they told us they only had one seat, so again we gave the seat to the next standby group.

After talking with the gate agents, we learned that the storms each night kept messing things up. She told us it wasn't looking good for the next flight, but to not give up. For a week they had been dealing with flights that were cancelled or delayed, connections that were missed, small planes that couldn't land, and other airlines who would push their passengers onto whichever other carriers had open seats.

It was a three hour wait for the next flight. Thank goodness for portable DVD players! During the wait ANOTHER storm rolled in with hail, lightning, rain, and thunder. As you can see by the photo, you could barely see to the end of the jetway. They closed the whole airport for 2 hours to all incoming and outgoing flights. It was strange to only see people sitting around - not any planes loading or unloading. We weren't sure what to think - this storm could either be really bad for standby or really good for standby. We were nervous because we told them to send our luggage on the first flight (that we didn't make it on) - so if we didn't get on those later flights we would have had no car seats and no luggage! I tried to keep reminding myself this would make for good blog writing!
We learned that our plane for the next flight was delayed - it sat on the tarmac in Phoenix for an hour. They weren't allowed to take off until they were sure they could land in Denver. So we waited another hour. Amazingly, ALL the standbys (I think there were 26 of them) got on the next flight. We got home much later than we hoped, but we made it! It's days like these that we really question if the stress of standby is worth the "price" of flying free (especially when you factor in feeding 5 people expensive airport food!).

Overall, we had a great trip. Thankfully the fun things we did, the good friends we visited with, and the beauty of Colorado far outweighed the travel drama. There were several times before we went that we almost convinced ourselves we shouldn't go because of work problems or bad weather, but we're so glad we ignored those minor issues and went anyway!

colorado - day 5 (part 2)

2011-07-22T12:46:00.001-07:00

After Pike's Peak, we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit (I was still not feeling great from altitude sickness). The kids watched cartoons and Kevin took them swimming in the hotel pool. If you ask them what their favorite part of Colorado was, they will probably tell you the cartoons & pool at the hotel...if we would have known that we would have just gotten a hotel room in Phoenix and saved ourselves a lot of time & money!

Kevin & I LOVE the Olympics and really wanted to visit the Olympic Training Center. It's one of only 3 Olympic Training Centers in the United States. The one in Lake Placid, New York does all the winter sports (since this one was in Colorado, I was quite surprised to learn this). The one in Chula Vista, California does all the outdoor summer sports. And this one in Colorado Springs does all the indoor summer sports.
They show an excellent 10 minute Olympic highlight video at the beginning and then we got to go inside several of the buildings. We were there late in the afternoon so there weren't too many athletes training, but it was cool to see the amazing facilities and hear the interesting information about how the athletes live & train there.

FYI - this set of rings below is not the same as the photo on top - we did not dangle our kids up high in the air!
The tour was free and less than an hour. Definitely worth our time (and money)! Next summer's 2012 London Olympics can't come soon enough for me!
My friend went to Colorado Springs last fall and wrote about a fun restaurant they went to on her blog. I knew my kids (and Kevin) would love it, so we went to check it out for dinner!
You actually eat inside an old plane that has been transformed into a restaurant (and they obviously spent a lot of time & money figuring out a creative name for it!).
The food was okay (after 5 days on vacation, no restaurant food seems very good) and not terribly overpriced.
The best part of the restaurant was that the kids could play in the cockpit the whole time we were waiting for our food!

colorado - day 5 (part 1)

2011-07-21T12:52:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was another busy, fun day in Colorado Springs. I think I will split it into two posts since I have so much to write & many photos.

Our first adventure was one of the things I really wanted to do on this trip...the cog train up to the summit of Pikes Peak. Here is the cog train (the highest in the world!) pulling into the station:
Since our vacation plans kept changing and the weather had been unpredictable, we didn't book our reservations until the night before. We were thankful they still had tickets available and we were able to sit together and even on the side of the train with the best views.
These pictures do no justice to how beautiful the scenery truly was. After a week of thunder & rain storms, we were lucky it was a gorgeous morning
Our train conductor was fascinating to listen to as she told the history of the area, the building of train line, and the stories of the summit. She had a great, natural sense of humor, and it never felt "canned" of forced. She stood right next to us speaking into the microphone, so when she wasn't talking I was able to ask her a few questions.
The summit of Pikes Peak is above the tree line, which is an interesting contrast.
A little over an hour on the train...and we made it! The kids kept asking why they had to wear jeans and bring their sweatshirts. As soon as they stepped outside at 14,110 feet they finally understood! It was about 75 degrees at the bottom and 42 degrees at the top.
I was not aware (until the train conductor told us) that the view from Pikes Peak was the inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful." That should tell you something about how the views look from the top! They had this lovely plaque honoring the song.
Here's our cog train! On the other side of the train is a 4,000 foot cliff drop off...
They only allow you about 40 minutes at the top because many people feel altitude sickness after that amount of time. We felt kind of rushed to use the bathroom, buy the famous warm donuts, and take pictures, but I was glad we didn't stay any longer since I was feeling very dizzy & nauseous.
You'll notice there are no guardrails anywhere at the summit. I had read this before and was very nervous. We scared our kids into staying close to us and they did great!
It was expensive, but it was worth every penny (you can also drive up for free, but we heard the roads are very narrow & curvy). My goal for vacations is to do things we cannot do at home and we certainly don't have cog trains, mountains, or views like this in Arizona!

colorado - day 4

2011-07-20T20:41:00.016-07:00

Tuesday morning we said goodbye to the Matthews family and headed out on Part 2 of our vacation. When I asked my Facebook friends for advice on what we should do while in Colorado, my friend Mike suggested we head down to Colorado Springs about an hour south of Denver. I am so grateful for this advice (see Facebook is useful...who needs TripAdvisor?). Colorado Springs was amazing and there were so many fun things to see & do.

Garden of the Gods was our first stop. Even my good camera & decent pictures do this place no justice. It was stunning. We spent 3 hours here and could have easily spent longer, if not for our grumpy, tired kids and threatening rain.

We thought it was funny how the kids were "so tired" when walking on the paths, but as soon as we found rocks they could climb on they were suddenly full of energy!
These rocks were named Kissing Camels:
And here's Balanced Rock:
And to my good friend who called me right after this picture below was taken...now you can see why I was acting a bit distracted! I was trying to keep my kids from falling off giant rocks!
And of course, the obligatory "pretend like you're holding up the rock" photos!

We almost hit Bambi while driving!
And we even stopped at the Visitor Center (my dad will be so proud!).
If you look towards the right side at the top of the red rocks, you can see the Kissing Camels! Can you believe this place is free to visit? Me either.
I originally thought "Garden of the Gods" was a bit presumptuous of a name, but now I couldn't agree more. It was truly beautiful.

colorado - day 3

2011-07-17T16:07:00.016-07:00

Because we had to rearrange our trip, Monday ended up to be our only day in Denver, so we jam-packed it full of fun! Our first stop was the Red Rock Amphitheater. This is the main outdoor amphitheater where most major concerts perform in the Denver area. This place was massive! It was impossible to capture the entire thing with my camera, so here is a model that was in the visitor center.
This is the view from the top. You cannot see Denver very well in the background because of the clouds, but I think it would be distracting to have such a beautiful setting at a concert!
We all hiked down the (very many, very steep) stairs. Security won't let you go all the way down to the stage, but this was far enough for us! There were many people exercising there.

My friend Gayla that we were staying with had never been here so she came along with her 3 boys. These six kids (all ages 8 & under) kept us on our toes! L to R: Natalie, Braxton, Carson, Brandon, Tyson, and Tyler.

Our next stop was only a few miles away - Dino Ridge. Apparently many real dinosaur tracks have be found by archaeologists in Colorado and New Mexico. With 5 little boys it sounded like a perfect place. There were dinosaur statues, places to dig up fake dinosaur bones, and even a pink dinosaur that Natalie LOVED (then she got too scared to take a picture with it, but like any good mom I forced her too!).

They offered a hour-long tram tour ride, but with six young, active kids we didn't think they would enjoy it enough to make it worth the time & money. But we were told that you could hike it yourself for free, and the best stop was about 1/4 mile up the hill so off we went!What we found was a large section of real dinosaur prints that have been preserved. The tram happened to stop while we were there so we got to listen to the tour guide tell us all about them. Most of them were roped off but there was a small section that the kids could climb on and touch and they thought that was pretty cool! The kids were getting tired and bored and it was starting to rain a bit, so this was as far as we got.
Gayla & her kids had already been to our next stop (Hammond's Candy Factory tour) so they headed home. Here are the kids waiting enjoying the free samples.
I find tours like this fascinating and always learn a lot. Hammond's mostly makes hard candies - large suckers and candy canes. Learning about the whole process & many steps & time it takes was very interesting. For example, the room where these guys work stays at 106 degrees all day so the candy stays soft enough to work with. And the candy hardens in 30 seconds! I will never look at a candy cane the same way again.
Gayla told us there were free samples at the end (broken, unsellable items). I was picturing small pieces and was surprised when they gave us these (below). I sent this photo to my brother-in-law (our dentist) letting him know we'd be visiting him soon!

colorado - days 1 & 2

2011-07-16T15:18:00.008-07:00

Even though the kids & I spent a week in California in June, Kevin had to work. We decided since we have great free travel benefits we should go somewhere fun (and cooler) this summer for a REAL vacation. We chose Colorado! Kevin, Tyler, and Natalie had never been there before. Brandon had only been there overnight a few years ago, and I hadn't seen or done anything there since I was a child.

But as always, worthwhile things don't come easy. The week we were scheduled to go a massive (emergency) project that Kevin was in charge of came up at his work. He worked many long days & nights to get it to a point where he felt comfortable leaving, since I was not willing to sacrifice our family's vacation. We rearranged our plans many times, and ended up leaving a day later and coming back a day later. We are thankful that our friends who were hosting us in Colorado were flexible and very accommodating.

When we finalized our plans, the flight we selected looked great (24 seats open), but by the time we left for the airport on Saturday morning, there were 5 seats open with 5 standbys ahead of us (based on seniority). It was a nerve-wracking wait, and at the last minute the gate agent told us she might have 1 or 2 seats open. Natalie & I got as far as walking down the jetway before they told us they only had 1 seat available. We figured we'd have to split up, but I told her 1 seat did us no good, so we gave the seat to the next standby person. We grabbed some lunch and waited in the Phoenix airport for 3 hours. Thank goodness for a portable DVD player! We knew the next flight out wasn't looking good either, but we also have learned that standby travel is very unpredictable. All it takes is one delay or weather issue somewhere and seats will open up. Miraculously that's exactly what happened. All 20+ standbys got on the next flight, so we were finally on our way!
Our kids are experienced fliers, but it never ceases to entertain them! I found it ironic that the first turbulence hit at precisely the moment when the flight attendant was handing the boys their drinks. Thankfully there was no spilled juice! It was a bumpy flight, but we made it safely.

Even after a safe flight, our worries were not yet over. They told us they wouldn't send our luggage on the first flight that we missed and that it would be put on whatever flight we got on. We were very happy to see all our luggage was re-directed properly and waiting for us in Denver.

Off to get the rental car, which mercifully was quick and easy after a long day of waiting and stress. I had borrowed a GPS from a friend and tried to trust in technology by not printing any maps or directions. But my lack of trust in technology was confirmed when we couldn't get it to load anything for Colorado (it was stuck on an Arizona map). We headed off in the way I thought our friends lived and I called her on the way to get directions. I pulled out the old-fashioned paper map (which thankfully I brought) and figured it out. We stopped for dinner and when we came back out to the car, the GPS magically worked! Apparently it just took an hour to find the satellites and load the maps. We arrived at our friends house, much later than we hoped but safe and glad to finally be there.
It was great to see Gayla, my good friend and previous neighbor. Brandon & her son Carson were thrilled to see each other again and always pick up playing like they are best friends. We went to church with them on Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon we went to visit our other friends who live in the Denver area, the Hoffmans, who just moved there in December. The Hoffmans live just a few miles from the temple so we went over to take a look. As you can see by the clouds in the photo, it was a stormy afternoon with much thunder and lightning. But we felt pretty safe at the temple!
The Hoffmans have 4 children, ages 4-11, so our kids had lots of fun with them. Right after we snapped this picture at the temple, the rain started coming down hard so we ran back to our cars.
The Hoffmans cooked us a yummy dinner and attempted to teach me how to play Settlers of Catan (which was very complicated and required too much thinking & strategy for me!). It was a fun afternoon with friends that we miss!

happy 4th of july!

2011-07-04T14:10:00.002-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

Brandon - almost 9, Tyler - 6, Natalie -4

We don't have many 4th of July traditions, but I always try to get a picture of Natalie in her cute patriotic clothes, so just for fun here's a look at her over the past five 4th of July holidays. It's amazing how this girl has grown up so fast!

splash pad fun

2011-07-01T18:47:00.007-07:00

Right before we went to California we took a little field trip with my sister & her kids to (in my opinion) the best splash pad in the Valley. It's not close so we don't go very often, but it's free and always a lot of fun!
While it's nice to not have to worry about anyone drowning, we keep having to get up and get ourselves wet so we don't get too hot.
I've had to buy three new swimsuits this year, not because my kids have grown but because they literally wear them out with all the use they get during the summer here in Arizona!

california vacation - friday & saturday

2011-07-01T12:21:00.004-07:00

Friday morning we saw another childhood friend of mine Julie and her four kids (including her adorable 1 month old baby girl!). We met at the park, but only had about an hour together. We were so busy chatting I never took any pictures!

Friday afternoon I was able to go to the temple with my dad while my mom watched the kids. Brandon finished his Lego city that he had been creating all week. He really enjoys my brother's huge Lego collection that my mom has kept.
We enjoyed our last few hours of beautiful weather and I went to get Kevin from the airport. We are thankful for his job that allows us this wonderful opportunity of him being able to fly back and work and us be on vacation!

Saturday morning on our way out of town we stopped to see another childhood friend of mine Jen and visited with her for awhile. And we had a fun surprise when we stopped at a gas station in Quartzsite and ran into some good friends of ours from Arizona who were on their way to California.

Our kids have turned into good travelers and our trip was without incident. It was brutal coming back to a 50 degree temperature increase (it was 63 degrees in CA and 113 in Arizona) but as always it felt nice to be home. Thanks to my parents for allowing us to come visit and helping us have a fun week!

california vacation - thursday

2011-06-30T16:40:00.010-07:00

According to my kids, Thursday was "the best day ever!" Southern California offers so many fun places to go. Each time we go there, I try to find at least one new thing for us to do. On my list for awhile has been a place called Adventure City. It's a small amusement park up in Anaheim (near Disneyland). From the reviews, it appeared that it was geared for kids ages 2-10 so I figured we should probably do it now since Brandon is almost 9. While we love the big amusement parks as much as everyone else, my kids are not patient and do not like waiting in the long lines, I don't like the huge costs & time commitment, and many of the bigger rides are either too large and/or too scary for all my kids to enjoy.
There are about 12 rides at Adventure City. We literally never waited more than 5 minutes for anything (especially after a few large day camp groups left). Most of the time we walked right on, and several times if there was no one waiting they'd let you ride things again without even getting off.
My boys could ride everything without an adult, but most of them my mom & I could ride if we chose to. There was only one ride that Natalie (38") was too short for but it was the larger roller coaster she didn't want to ride anyway. And Brandon was right at the height limit for one of the smaller rides. But overall they were the PERFECT sizes & ages for this amusement park.
My kids BEGGED to go on the Drop Zone (photos above & below). I had no idea how they react because they've never ridden anything like it before. Natalie was barely tall enough to ride it. After the first drop (each ride is about 5 drops), she had a look of terror on her face and I was panicked. By the second drop, she was laughing and smiling. I think we ended up riding it about 6 times that day. Grandma even joined us a few times!
We spent about 4 hours there and easily could have spent more, but my mom & I were getting a bit queasy from all the rides. I guess that's the good thing about long lines at big amusement parks - your stomach has time to calm down between rides! Overall, it was a great afternoon and a place I would highly recommend. We had McDonald's lunch before and pizza on the way home. You can understand why my kids thought it was a perfect day!

california vacation - wednesday

2011-06-30T16:23:00.005-07:00

Wednesday was beach day! We went with my good friend Bekki from childhood and her two daughters Maddie & Darya (ages 8 & 5). Bekki has a beach parking pass so we all loaded up in my van and it made for a free afternoon of fun for the kids! We try to see Bekki's family each time we are in town (Bekki is married to another childhood friend). Our kids play amazingly well together, especially considering they only see each other once or twice a year.
It was an overcast day (and also a weekday) so the beach was fairly empty. It was pretty chilly day (about 65 degrees) so my kids spent most of their time playing in the sand. Brandon braved the water up to his knees for awhile. When I had to run into the water to grab a toy that was floating away I realized why they weren't in the water more (the sign said the water was 60 degrees)!

california vacation - tuesday

2011-06-28T15:51:00.003-07:00

After a full day of playing outside on Monday, the kids actually slept in a little bit. In the morning we hung out at my parent's house. After lunch we went off to explore Huntington Beach Central Park. Funny story: when I told the kids we were going to Central Park, Tyler thought we were going to New York again! We walked all the way around it and I soon realized Central Park is much bigger than I remembered it to be, with only one play area (that happened to have an entire day camp group there). But the kids entertained themselves running from one exercise station to the next. It was another gorgeous day and just nice to be outside. I had my camera with me, but apparently I was enjoying the weather so much I totally forgot to take any pictures!

The main Huntington Beach library is part of Central Park so we stopped in there to look at the fish tanks. Then the kids wanted to play in the children's section so we stayed awhile. I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch in there while my mom read to the kids. On the way home we stopped for ice cream at McDonald's and the kids ran around the playland which, because it was outdoors, was a novelty for them!

My mom is the Family History Center director which is right near our house so after dinner my mom would usually take the kids over so she could collect the money and the kids got candy from the treat jar. On their way back into the house, the boys noticed some snails on the sidewalk. We do not have snails here in Arizona so this was fascinating for them. They started picking out as many as they could find from the bushes and they created a "snail convention!" It was actually quite fun to observe snail behavior - I bet you've never done that before! Then the boys got the snails to crawl up on their hands. I was almost sick to my stomach taking these pictures! I could not believe Brandon did this (he actually did it first!)....this is the same kid that is scared of dogs! They had fun for a long time with the snails. Who needs expensive fun? It's really the simple pleasures in life that entertain the most and create the best memories. A walk in the park, the library, an ice cream at McDonald's, and snails.

california vacation - monday

2011-06-27T15:00:00.005-07:00

Monday morning I took Kevin to the airport. He had to fly to Charlotte for a business trip (which was part of the reason I chose this week to spend in California).

Later in the morning, we headed to one of our favorite local parks. It has a huge play equipment area. The kids played for over an hour while my mom & I sat and talked.

Funny story: A woman was ready to leave and her daughter did not want to go. The lady told her, "Honey, it's too hot out here, we have to go home!" I started laughing because it was barely 70 degrees out there! People in that part of Southern California should never use the word "HOT!"

Then we went over and the kids climbed on the giant rocks and chased squirrels.
Then we took a walk around the lake (the woman who thought it was "too hot" probably wondered why my kids were wearing jeans, but 70 degrees is pretty much winter for us!)
There are many ducks in this park. The kids had fun following them around. I was disappointed that we didn't bring food for them, until I saw the ducks swarm & almost attack some people who were trying to feed them!
We would have stayed much longer, except we were all hungry and I didn't bring any food since I didn't expect us to stay that long! It was a great start to a fun week!

happy father's day!

2011-06-19T14:23:00.004-07:00

We usually spend one week of summer in California (more on our vacation in another post). This year it happened to fall over Father's Day weekend. It was great to be with my dad on Father's Day for the first time in many years.
And we certainly cannot forget that Kevin (aka the best daddy ever) was there too!

Did you notice that everyone coordinated with no planning? My Dad & I were both wearing brown and Kevin & the kids were all wearing red!

It was fun to be together with two of the most important men in my life to celebrate this special day!

swim lessons

2011-06-16T12:50:00.004-07:00

What would summer in Arizona be without swim lessons? I am still not a big fan of city swim lessons (class sizes are too big), but with three kids doing them, you can't beat the city lesson prices.

Brandon is still going strong, working on his endurance and perfecting all of the different strokes. City lessons work well for the older kids because they need the bigger pools for distance. He basically just swims laps for an hour. He said he counted one day and they did 25 laps of the pool. He's exaggerating, but not by too much.
Natalie is still young enough that city swim lessons are just lots of fun & games. I am okay with that since I really don't expect her to be swimming well and water safe at age 4. Last year she had a rough time and cried through several days of the second session we did, but this year she LOVED it and was the best behaved child in her class. She especially enjoys diving for rings. Ironically enough, the only thing she DIDN'T like was when they allowed them to play on the structure (slides, spray features) the last day of class!
Tyler is the one that I had big swimming hopes for this summer. We kept him in swim lessons through the winter so that he would be water safe this summer. It paid off! A few months ago he "graduated" to the higher level classes. I was a bit worried when he showed up to this session and there were 8 boys (out of 8 kids) in his class. I thought it might just be goofing around and playing games the whole time. Thankfully, I was wrong! Their teacher pushed them extra hard and they swam nearly as many laps as Brandon's class (2 levels above). I was thrilled when on the second to last day of class Tyler swam not only one, but TWO lengths of the pool all by himself without having the grab the wall and rest! Up until that point he could usually only go about 1/2 way. I was so proud of him! His swimming style is not pretty (he needs to work on his side breathing), but he can get there and I can finally rest easier & enjoy taking my kids to pools knowing he is water safe!
Funny story: The whole session I thought Tyler's swim teacher looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out from where! The last day of class I went over to get Tyler's "report card" and he said to me, "I don't know if you remember me, but we were in the same ward together..." I looked at him and said, "Oh my goodness...KYLE!!!" Kyle and his family are from our previous ward. His older sisters were my usual babysitters and Kyle even babysat for my boys a few times, and his mom was my visiting teacher and good friend. His dad was the Bishop and his family usually sat right behind ours (for 8 years). I have not seen him for 3 years since we moved. He was 15 then and is 18 years old now. He definitely hit his teenage growth spurt during that time! After I got over the shock and embarassment, it didn't surprise me that Tyler had made so much progress in that session, Kyle is such a great kid and has always been a hard worker.

bass pro shop

2011-06-14T20:44:00.006-07:00

Our kids think Bass Pro Shop is a giant playground for them and they LOVE to go there. It's a bit of a drive so we don't get there very often. The past few summers they have done a "summer camp" on afternoons & weekends with lots of free, fun activities. Crafts, shooting arcade, fishing practice, classes, and photos. Not to mention watching their awesome aquarium tank of huge fish, playing with giant stuffed animals, and climbing on all the boats and four-wheelers. This year we went with my sister & her kids. It's always nice to go places with them. Her girls love Natalie and follow her around & help her, Ryan (age 15) kindly tolerates Brandon's pestering, and even though Sean & Tyler (4 days apart in age and best friends) are extra loud & crazy around each other, it makes them easier to keep track of! I wasn't as impressed with the photos this time - they aren't using the vest or the fish hooks anymore so the photos aren't as cute (you can compare them with the ones we got 2 years ago HERE), but they were free so I guess I can't complain too much! It's really fun to see how much the kids have grown in two years!
It was a fun (and free) way to spend a few hours indoors on a hot summer day with the cousins!

If you want more info on the Bass Pro Summer Camp: click HERE

les miserables

2011-06-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Guess what we saw?

I saw Les Miserables when I was a sophomore in high school 20 years ago. Even though we were reading the novel in English class at the time, I didn't understand the depth of the story very well and had never heard the music. I think I even fell asleep in a few parts during the play!

After becoming more familiar with the plot over the years, watching the movie, and being touched by the music, I promised myself I would see it again if I ever had the chance. I was thrilled when I heard it was coming to Arizona! I bought good seats (totally worth the extra money) and we had a wonderful evening. I wish I could afford to go to the theatre more often - it always inspires & entertains me.

princess birthday party!

2011-06-12T18:43:00.008-07:00

I may or may not have been planning this party in my head since the day I found out we were having a girl. I was SO EXCITED to finally plan a girl-themed birthday party after 5 years of boy-themed parties!

We asked all the girls to come dressed up in their princess attire so we gave Natalie a brand new Sleeping Beauty dress for her birthday (then I told her it would be put away after her birthday and used for her Halloween costume so it wasn't destroyed before then. After Halloween she can keep it for playing dress-up...what a mean & practical mother I am!).
What would a princess party be without a princess cake?
I had nightmares about making this cake, but it turned out to be super easy and I think it's beautiful. It made me very sad to cut into it!
We had nine little girls attend - friends from church, preschool, and our babysitting co-op. Getting this photo was the hardest part of the whole party! From L to R: Chloe, Bella, Ella J., Livia, Annie, Tatum, Ella C., Natalie, and Kassidy (and yes, if you're keeping track we had Ella, Ella, and Bella - which was slightly confusing!)

We did lots of fun activities - coloring, making jeweled crowns, decorating our favor bag with foam stickers, playing princess memory, pin the crown on the the princess (and we ran out of time before we got to play BINGO). All of the girls were extremely well behaved - they sat still and took turns so nicely. I was very impressed at their attention span and patience. An entirely different experience than boy parties!
At the end we opened gifts, sang happy birthday, and ate cake & ice cream.
It was a very simple party, but all the girls seemed to have a great time. I thought it was a huge success and I'm already dreaming up ideas for her next birthday!

happy 4th birthday natalie!

2011-06-11T08:45:00.009-07:00

Natalie turns 4 years old today! I'm still not sure how it's possible that my "baby" is this old, but I did my little birthday interview anyway. I love doing these - it really helps me see what is in their minds and how much they have grown each year.

Favorite Color: pink

Favorite Number: 4

Favorite Drink: juice

Favorite Food: ham (this is true!)

Favorite Game: Candyland

Favorite Animal: butterfly

Favorite TV Show: Caillou

I feel sad when: mommy is mean to me

I feel mad when: when someone is rude to me

I like it when my friends: play with me

I like it when I: get to play outside

I am good at: puzzles

I wish I could: play a game

Who is your best friend? Chloe

Why? she always likes me

What makes you laugh? doing silly faces

What is your favorite movie? Tangled

What are you most afraid of? monsters

What is your favorite song? Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam

What is your favorite activity? play dress-up

What do you want to be when you grow up? a princess or Tinkerbell

Do you think it would be hard to be a mom or a dad? yes

Why? because it's hard to make food

If you could have a magical power, what would you choose? flying like Batgirl

What three things are you are good at? puzzles, games, and dancing

What is the best thing about being four? my birthday party

What makes you special? because I'm a girl

Natalie, you are a beautiful little princess and we are thankful every day that you are part of our family. You bring such joy and happiness to our lives. We love you! Happy Birthday!

our summer schedule

2011-06-10T12:49:00.001-07:00

The picture has nothing to do with the post, but I bought this shirt for Tyler.
Those who know him well will understand how hilarious & appropriate it is!
And blog posts without photos are boring.

I like to have schedule. That might be an understatement. It is my comfort zone and my kids are very routine-oriented because of it. Summer break has always been my nemesis because it is so unstructured. I love my kids, but I hate the chaos and fighting that always ensue (from all of us) when they are left to their own devices. After the extreme structure during the school year, they get bored and lonely easily. Plus with the heat here in Arizona, we are trapped inside together for much of the summer.

So this year I vowed to have a plan. I thought about it for several months & decided what would work best for us. So for my own record and for anyone else looking for summer ideas, here is our "schedule" that I created. It allows for flexibility & fun each day, while maintaining a bit of structure & routine. Each day we will have certain allotted "times" but they will be totally different (and in different order) each day and each week, depending on what other activities we have going on.

WATER TIME - This includes swim lessons, backyard water play, swimming at other people's pools, or going to the water park or splash pad. It's important for us to be outside during the day, and water activities are the only way to do that in Arizona in the summer. And now that I only have one non-swimmer we have more water options.

SCHOOLWORK TIME - I bought workbooks for each of my kids to keep up their skills. They do a few pages each day.

READING TIME - Brandon reads on his own in his room for 15-20 minutes. Tyler reads to me, and I read to Natalie.

CLEANING / CHORE TIME - This is in addition to their regular daily & weekly chores. Each day they are helping me clean or organize something. They actually really enjoy this and I am getting so much accomplished!

QUIET / ALONE TIME - For one hour each day, they are required to play alone quietly. They need the break from each other and I need a break from them!

COMPUTER OR Wii TIME - The boys get one hour of either computer or Wii playing time. We usually do this later in the day, because it works well as a motivating factor (they lose some of their time for behavior issues or complaining).

MOVIE TIME - Each day we will only watch one movie. On the days that we have Summer Movie Tickets at the theatre, that counts for movie time. The other days we will watch a DVD at home.

FUN TIME - Each day we will have either have a fun outing, we will do a special activity at home, or we will have a playdate with a friend. For the special activities at home I made cards with ideas of things that they always ask to do that I usually say "no" to because it either takes too long or it's too messy, etc. They get to draw two out of a bag and choose which one they want to do. Ideas include: play-doh (I HATE that stuff so it only makes a rare appearance), sidewalk chalk, painting with water, going to the dollar store, taking silly photos, arts & crafts time, making paper airplanes, dress up & create skit, building a fort, bubbles, dancing time, baking a treat, play a game together.

*As a side-note, we also have "days" and it rotates (this lasts throughout the whole year). We have it marked on the calendar so there's no forgetting. The person whose day it is gets to go first or make any decisions (what we have for lunch, what movie we watch, which activity we do, what order we do things in). This idea alone (who I must give credit to my mother for since we did it as kids) has cut down on arguing and fighting in our home dramatically since the kids know they all get a turn and it's as fair as we can make it.

So far we have done this "schedule" for a week and it has been amazing. There has been no fighting, no temper tantrums, no complaints, no chaos, no whining, and no yelling (from any of us!). They love having a list of things to do and to "check off" each day (no idea where they get that from!). I fall into bed exhausted each night, but I am spending lots of quality time with my kids and they are learning that we can work hard AND have fun together. So far I can honestly say I am enjoying summer for the first time ever! I know it won't be perfect, but we're off to a great start!

cub scout day camp

2011-06-05T14:09:00.001-07:00

Brandon got to attend Cub Scout Day Camp for the first time this year! Last year he heard about it from many of his friends (he missed it by 2 months) and he has been looking forward to it all year. They go for 3 full days, from 2:00 pm until 10:00 pm (getting home at 11:00 pm). That's a long time to be out in the hot sun in June in Arizona!

They go to an outdoor facility in Phoenix where they do all sorts of fun activities that boys love to do such as shooting, archery, crafts, swimming, games, classes, and astronomy.

Here are Wolves & Bears from our den (the Webelos were in a separate group & area) - Brandon is on the left side down near the ground. We are lucky to have such great boys and leaders in our ward.
I was signed up to chaperone, but after I heard how loud & crazy & hot & late it was, I volunteered Kevin to take my place! He had fun and enjoyed spending time with Brandon and the other boys & dads.

I am thankful we are part of the scouting program. I love the activities it allows Brandon to do, the friendships he (and I) has made, and the principles & accountability it is teaching him.

good events, bad events

2011-06-02T16:06:00.008-07:00

A few other noteworthy events (good & bad) from May:

* Kevin's birthday. Unfortunately, he had to work. The kids and I got him a few gifts and as our family tradition, the birthday person got to pick where we went out to dinner and he chose NYPD pizza.

* Our 14th wedding anniversary. We started a new tradition last year that we would go do temple sealings for our anniversary date. We did that again this year and it's a great way to remember the promises we made & the blessings we can receive. And of course we carried on our tradition of watching our wedding video. It gets more entertaining each year!

* May also brought large amounts of stress and frustration and expensive repairs. First our garage door opener was acting strange. A repairman came out (charging us several hundred dollars) and we thought the problem was fixed. The very next day it started to have the exact same problems again. The repair company came back out and told us there was nothing more they could do and that the whole system needed to be replaced. After trying to live with the inconsistency of it for another few weeks, we finally gave up and bought a whole new system and paid for it to be installed (another couple hundred dollars).

* About two days after we got the garage door opener replaced, Kevin went out to his car one morning to leave for work and found a large crack in his tire. Which (especially in the heat) meant we needed 2 new tires immediately. And his car does not have cheap tires. And he didn't have time to research which tire place was currently offering the best deal (many more hundreds of dollars spent).

* Just when we thought we were done with major repairs, a few weeks later our air conditioner motor decided to quit (several hundred dollars)! In Arizona at the end of May, this constituted an emergency. We were grateful my friend & her husband own an A/C company and could squeeze us in the next morning, and even more thankful it was not the compressor which could have easily cost us thousands of dollars.

* In the brief period of time between when we got our tax refund in April and the time all the broken things started in May, I had ordered my new dining room set. If we wouldn't have already ordered it and paid the deposit, it would have probably had to wait another few months or years. The light-colored wood on our old table looked strange with our darker-colored decor and it was very small in the dining area space. It has bothered me for three years! Plus with all 5 of us finally sitting at the table now (no more highchairs or booster seats!), we had to get out an extra table any time there was more than 1 guest. But getting the dining set did not come without frustrations either. The company told me 2 weeks and it took 6 weeks!

BEFORE:AFTER:

Even with a truckload of unexpected expenses, we are trying hard to find the blessings through the frustrations. Mostly we are thankful we had the money and will not have to go into debt, even if it means saying goodbye to the plans we had for our tax refund!

kindergarten graduation

2011-06-01T13:13:00.001-07:00

How could it be possible that Tyler's already done with kindergarten and going into first grade? It seems like just the other day we were going to kindergarten orientation and meet-the-teacher night and now we attended Kindergarten Graduation!

Our school does not have an indoor facility big enough for events like this (which is very bad planning, since we live in one of the hottest places on earth and we have school 10 months of the year) so it was held on the playground. As it's always held the end of May, it's usually brutally hot, but thankfully it was a lovely overcast evening. Here are all of the kindergarteners (which will be the high school class of 2023!). Tyler's class was on the front row and he is the very end person on the right wearing blue.
And a here's a close-up of my handsome boy!
I was doing great with my emotions until they sang the last song "Big, Big Dreams!" and I was reminded that Tyler (and all my kids) are growing up very quickly.

Each child was presented and the teachers told something special about them. Tyler's teacher said, "Tyler writes the most interesting and creative sentences. He already has a great voice in his writing."
Tyler with his teacher Mrs. Soyland, who was been a wonderful teacher and is a new friend of mine.
And Tyler with his best friend Kirk!
Tyler has grown so much this year. He is a very smart boy who is always thinking ahead. He tries his best and he has done amazingly well both academically and behaviorally. We are so proud of you Tyler! You're going to make one awesome first grader!

brandon's animal report

2011-05-27T13:32:00.002-07:00

Third grade is the year that the kids at our school are required to do their first major report, poster, and presentation all on their own. They get to do it on any animal they want and Brandon chose the Galapagos Tortoise. They have to go to the library and on the internet to find resources. It's a seven paragraph report, with photos, table of contents, bibliography, title page, and diagrams. They could either type it or handwrite their report and Brandon chose to type his. This report took Brandon many, many hours to get done (and much self-control by me to let him do it almost entirely on his own). After his report was completed, he created his poster and then did a two-minute class presentation.
All his efforts were rewarded when he received 100% on his report, 100% on his poster, and 100% on his presentation. It made for a wonderful end to third grade. Watch out 4th grade....here comes Brandon!

As a side note, at the end of the year Brandon's classmates all voted for each other in different categories. Brandon was voted "Most Likely to Become a Millionaire!" I hope he does and it wouldn't surprise me one bit. This boy is very smart and very determined!

natalie's preschool program & party!

2011-05-26T16:57:00.007-07:00

Natalie was so excited for her end-of-the-year preschool program and party, it was almost all she could talk about for a few weeks before. This girl loves to be in front of a crowd singing, dancing, or speaking. She is definitely not shy!

They sang about 6 songs. They were all adorable, but I will only put one on here ("Number Rock") for your viewing pleasure (ignore the beginning, she started the wrong song and I am too lazy to edit out those few seconds from the video):

And each child was given a short speaking part:
These are the 11 kids in the preschool class! Their class name is The Busy Bees.
Here's Natalie with her amazing teacher Mrs. Packer!
The day after the program Mrs. Packer hosts a water party & lunch fiesta for all of her classes (28 kids total).
There were only 4 girls in her class and they are such cute little girlfriends (Natalie, Tatum, Chloe, and Livia).
And what would a party be without a pinata? 28 preschool kids swinging a metal bat was slightly terrifying, but thankfully we all escaped unharmed.
Natalie loves preschool, her friends, and Mrs. Packer. She cannot wait to go back in August!

clean house!

2011-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Remember THIS POST? A few of you were right...it did motivate me to get things cleaned up (well, that and an overnight guest)! And since you all know how much I love before & after photos, here's proof that I really do have countertops, a desktop, and carpet underneath all that mess! I definitely liked it cleaned up better, but it felt like a stranger's house! And unfortunately it didn't stay like this for long. But I'm trying harder about not letting it get too deep. I just need an overnight visitor every few weeks!

brandon's piano recital & achievement day

2011-05-24T14:11:00.001-07:00

May is a busy month for Brandon with piano playing!

One Saturday was an optional Achievement Day that is held at the community college. They learn & perform three memorized songs, 7 sets of scales, and do music sight reading for judges, as well as doing ear training and theory tests. Last year Brandon performed & tested as a Level 1. This year he jumped all the way up to Level 3. He was a bit nervous, but he did great and was thrilled with his trophy, ribbon, and certificate.The next Saturday was piano recital day at his teacher's home.

Brandon was the first to perform and I don't know if he was over-tired from the Father & Son campout the night before, if he was nervous, or if he just totally lost concentration, but it was slightly disastrous. It took him four tries to say one of his song names correct (Chiapanecas) and then at the end of his other song (Light & Blue) he could not find the correct chord at the end! After struggling for a minute, his teacher helped him. His second song sounded better, but also had several silly mistakes. Kevin & I were in shock since he had played those songs memorized perfectly hundreds of times in the past two months!

After the recital, Brandon acted okay but I could tell he was not satisfied with himself (he is somewhat of a perfectionist). After everyone left, I took him back in and asked if he would perform it again for just me & my video camera and it sounded perfect like it usually does:

As tough as his recital performance was, it was a good lesson for both of us. He learned how to deal with mistakes and carry on. I, as a parent, learned that even when your heart is breaking for your child, you cannot fix or change everything. I am so proud of Brandon and his piano achievements. He has come really far in not even two years of playing. He has an amazing talent & musical gift.

peaches!

2011-05-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

After three years in this house we FINALLY got tons of really good peaches off our tree! The first year we had two trees, one died and the other gave us a few hard slightly orange things (we actually thought it was an apricot tree, that's how tiny and inedible they were). Last year we got a few dozen very small peaches that were somewhat tasty. This year we have had very mild spring weather (for Arizona) and we literally had hundreds of juicy, ripe peaches that I was giving away by the bagful. They were too small to can, but I made peach syrup and peach cobbler and my friend made a delicious peach jam. I only wish they would have stayed good for longer than a week!
This is only a small section of the tree:
We love our fruit trees (we also have grapefruit, lemon, and orange trees)!

father & sons campout

2011-05-21T20:28:00.002-07:00

Kevin and the boys attended the ward Father & Sons campout. Brandon & Tyler have been looking forward to it since they went last year. This year Kevin is the Elder Quorum's President so he was in charge of the whole thing. Because of trying to do many assignments himself (none of his presidency were able to make it), he didn't have a chance to take many photos so I "borrowed" a few from other people's blogs (thanks!).

I didn't get much information from them, but here's what I do know:
1) they got very dirty
2) they ate lots of sugar
3) they didn't sleep much
4) they had a great time
5) they are already excited about next year

So I guess it was a successful father & sons campout!

tyler's first lost tooth!

2011-05-18T13:10:00.001-07:00

Guess who lost their first tooth? After watch most of his friends lose their teeth this year in kindergarten, Tyler was very excited to finally have the tooth fairy visit him!

And let's just pretend his fingernails are totally clean and well-manicured!

brandon the wolf scout

2011-05-17T20:03:00.003-07:00

Brandon finished his Wolf rank in cub scouts! He had a full year to complete it, but (not surprisingly) he was determined to get it done early and he finished it in 9 months - thanks in big part to his awesome den leaders!

Our pack has a tradition that when a boy gets his Wolf he gets to "wolf" down a Twinkie as fast as he can while everyone chants "WOLF IT! WOLF IT! WOLF IT!" Brandon has seen several other boys do this over the past year and was excited for his turn. He decided he would shove the whole thing in his mouth and then start chewing. His plan backfired a bit, and between laughing and choking, there were several of us very nervous he would vomit it all back up (Kevin got it on video, but we'll spare you!)Thankfully, he was successful and then was awarded his patch and I received my mother's pin.
Great job Brandon - we are so proud of you and support you in all your scouting goals and achievements!