a last hurrah

I decided that we had to cram in some more summer fun during the last week before school started.

It started with our second (gasp!) trip to Seven Peaks. (The boys went 3 or 4 times, but we only all went together twice! At that rate, it might have been cheaper to just buy the day passes.)

I forgot to take my camera – this photo is from our first foray of the season. The long lines we had to wait in while everyone's bags were checked for contraband food/drinks were enough to make you want to scream. It was much better the last time we went.

We took Landon and Eva's friend Riley with us. Eva got really brave and finally went on a few slides – the kiddie ones. Riley was disappointed that she didn't want to go on the big ones!

At one point in the wave pool, I was in serious trouble. Eva had her life jacket on and was sitting on top of the waves, but Riley, who is a good swimmer, was getting mouthfuls of water and was holding onto me for support. It was too deep for me to stand, so I was treading water and trying to hold her up to the surface. Waves kept crashing over my head and I was choking and starting to feel panicked. For a second, I feared the life guard was going to have to jump in after me, and the next second I was hoping she would! She didn't even see me. So reassuring. I managed to drag us all to the edge. I really wish I were a stronger swimmer.

The next day was Lucas's friend birthday party. We took him and a bunch of his friends to play laser tag. Of course I forgot to get any pictures of that.

In the short time that I was with his friends, I rediscovered that I really do not like one of them very well. All he could talk about was girls (in not the most respectful of terms), and when he wasn't doing that, he was putting down some of Lucas's other friends.

I didn't want to make a huge deal out of it and possibly make said friend more attractive somehow, so I just quietly told Lucas later that I was uncomfortable with the way this friend was talking and behaving. I hope it sinks in.

Fortunately, Lucas requested donuts from Costco! Even though I love baking cakes, I really wasn't up to another one that week.

Everyone had donuts and milk and then after Lucas opened his gifts, I took them all home. Easiest party ever.

Lucas totally scored on his gifts with money, iTunes cards, and treats. He was thrilled.

The next day, I took everyone to Trafalga (including Landon and Riley). Thankfully, Landon didn't mind spending a third day in a row with us, because Landon is such a good friend and a great influence that he is always welcome!

Max and Landon on the climbing wall.

We all played laser tag together, a first for Eva and me. I wish I had pictures of that, it was hilarious. I could not seem to get the hang of holding my gun in the right place, because it kept flashing and giving me the message: "HOLD WITH TWO HANDS." I was holding it with two hands! It was still fun, though.

Riley spraying water at us in the bumper boats. She was just barely tall enough to drive one by herself. (Eva was not and had to ride with me.)

I had not expected to get so soaked! Our clothes were totally wet and I ended up with unplanned smoky eyes – on the top and bottom!

Riley rode the airplanes. Eva watched from the ground.

Eva rode the carousel twice, but held on for dear life. (Apparently this is one result of our being extreme homebodies.) Never mind that she rode about a hundred carousels in Paris. Two years ago.

There was just enough room on the go-karts for all the kids to go at once. I'm amazed that Eva agreed to it, but she seemed to feel comfortable with Max at the wheel since he drives a lot these days.

Landon volunteered to go with Riley. Lucas frustrated everyone by going too slow and not staying in one lane so that everyone could pass him. Good times.

These two were delighted to share a lunch of chicken strips and fries.

The Frog Hopper is Riley's favorite ride and she probably went on it 10 times. She really wanted Eva to go on it with her, and Eva finally relented, if I would do it, too. There is one seat in the middle for adults. I figured, what the heck? No big whoop. Oh, there was whoop.

It drops you down suddenly and then goes back up. Repeat many times. I couldn't stop myself from screaming a little. Eva was white-knuckled the entire time. I won't make that mistake again! I am now a total wuss about rides.

And, of course, Riley did the climbing wall.

Eva preferred playing on the indoor playground. Maybe next time we'll spare ourselves the drive and just go to a McDonald's playland!

The next day was Friday, and I treated myself to a lazy day at home. I think it was well-deserved. I also think I should get some major points for being a fun mom that week.

we're here!

We arrived in Paris today around noon. It is so weird to leave on Monday and arrive on Tuesday.

The flight was uneventful, just long. Still, I would take the direct flight any day! It cuts the travel time by so much. The kids all slept for about 3 hours, Marc and I not at all. The only sickness occurred during the shuttle ride to our apartment (Max). There was a lot of jolting, and I was starting to feel sick myself. I had to take deep breaths and use some serious mind control.

The apartment is a huge mess. They have been doing repairs, painting, etc. and everything, everywhere, is covered with dust. Even the insides of drawers and cabinets are blanketed. One of the first things I did was to load up the dishwasher with supposedly clean dishes and glasses and silverware. I also vacuumed the mattresses and then began the hunt for linens to fit all the different beds. The only time I went out was a quick run to the grocery store.


We tried to keep the kids from taking a nap, but we couldn't prevent it. They all slept for 2-3 hours and are now struggling to go to bed. It's 11:15 and Eva is chattering away.

Tomorrow I will be scrubbing sinks, doing laundry, and finishing the unpacking. So, not quite the relaxing day I had been hoping for, but you know...

I'm just so glad that the travel is over!!

progress report

I just thought I'd report that the water damage reconstruction from our flood is finally, finally done! All the drywall, painting, and baseboards are finished. We got new carpet downstairs (charcoal), we had a mold test (negative), and the contractors sent someone to clean up the mess they made. And it only took 9 weeks...

I brought in and cleaned up everything that had been moved to the patio.

We decided not to move back our old sofa, the treadmill, and the elliptical machine (but now the garage is so full we can't walk in it.) We thoroughly cleaned out the closet in the laundry room, for the first time since we moved in.

Marc painted the downstairs (Sherwin Williams Anonymous).

And he's currently painting the downstairs fireplace (Sherwin Williams Intellectual Gray). It's all part of his transformation of our second family room, which has really been more like an exercise room/music room/guest room, into his "man-cave." Now he can finally have the modern media room he's been pining after (eventually, pending additional $$).

And when Marc moved our bookshelf back into position and re-organized all of the books, he also added this to the top.

I guess some positive things came out of that blasted flood after all.

the pink party

Let me just start by saying that I was prepared for the worst at Eva's first birthday party: tantrums, screaming fits, emotional meltdowns caused by being the birthday girl and thus the center of attention, arguing over the opening of the gifts, etc. And I could not have been more shocked by the way the party turned out! It was the calmest, quietest party I have ever seen. The guests and even the birthday girl were all polite and well-behaved.

We invited 6 little girls. Jill's niece, Ashley, couldn't make it because she lives in Freakin' Eagle Mountain and her mom had to work. Another little girl from Eva's Sunbeam class was taking a mega nap and her mom couldn't wake her! (which was really sad because it was going to be her first birthday party as an attendee and she was very excited) Perhaps it was the fact that we only ended up with 5 girls total that accounted for the quiet nature of the gathering?

Since the party didn't start until 3:30, Eva had a lot of time to fill. She kept asking me all day when her guests were going to arrive. Mostly we worked on party prep, such as making and frosting the cupcakes and going to get balloons, but we also took time out to paint her nails with sparkly pink polish. We had to put on two coats to satisfy her need for glitter.

before the guests' arrival

I bought a kit of 30 foam crowns at the craft store (thanks for the tip, Jill!). I could not believe how focused the girls were on decorating their crowns. I think this quiet activity lasted about 30 minutes.

We had another little activity where I passed around a bag of rice that had sparkly gems buried within. After each girl had found two gems, I took them and hot-glued them together with a paper clip sandwiched between. We then strung a sparkly cord through the paper clip to make a necklace for each girl.

Comparing necklaces.

A variation on Duck, Duck, Goose was very popular. The person who was "it" would walk around the outside of the circle and quietly drop a pink napkin behind someone else. That person would, in theory, jump up and run around, sitting down before getting tagged. In actuality, it ended up being kind of a running free for all, with the girls sometimes running in opposite directions and then bumping into each other. They didn't seem to care, it was all good, and I think they played this game for at least 20 minutes!

Pink table settings for pink cupcakes, strawberry ice cream, and pink lemonade.

She must have told me 20 times throughout the day that she wanted the cupcake in the middle with the most edible pink glitter. Yet, just prior to the candle lighting, she pointed it out again, lest I forget.

She could use a little practice with her blowing technique. But look at that concentration!

Our little pink princess holding court.

When all the little girls were leaving, we gave them the party bags we had assembled -- filled with pink items, of course! (bubbles, Littlest Pet Shop velvet art, giant rings from the dollar store, balloons, YoGos, pink-wrapped peppermint patties, pink bubble gum)

Our little neighborhood friend actually told me she had a lovely time! I could not believe it, especially from this tomboy.

To sum up, it was unbelievably calm and smooth. But I was still glad it was over. For this introvert, planning and pulling off a party is a stress. Worth it, of course, but I'm glad I have a good long time before another one rolls around...

p.s. I'm so glad Marc was on hand to take pictures!

just plain happy

This week was full of happiness for me, both small pleasures and bigger things as well.

I was finally able to publish a Blurb book (the songs and poems of his step-dad) that Marc and I have been working on for over a year! That was huge.

We took advantage of the rebate program our utility companies are providing -- they refund the entire cost of adding to the attic insulation -- it is supposed to lower our energy costs, and it doesn't cost us a dime! The whole thing was so fast and easy, too. When they were finished, they vacuumed up after themselves and even cleaned up the stray insulation pieces outside! Most impressive.

I've been having fun with fabric again. Textiles are just so pleasing to me.

After seeing the bibs that Amanda was making, I decided to check out the Bend the Rules Sewing book. Now I'm working on a couple of projects and it is fun to return to sewing!

I don't love ironing, but when I'm quilting or doing little sewing projects, it does have a certain satisfaction. And when I do iron, I sure do appreciate my Rowenta Advancer!

Am I the only one who loves selvages?

selvage (noun) 1. the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling, often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of the fabric.

Something about those little circles of color with numbers inside really does it for me...

I finally scheduled a long-overdue piano tuning. Our friend Brigham came over to tackle the job (old, old piano). He spent 3 hours working on it! He fixed a broken key, adjusted several keys that were clicking, and just gave it a good tuning. It sounds so much better now, and I don't have to keep apologizing to my students about the broken key...

Brigham has these big cases of containers with all of his parts neatly organized. I found them very pleasing to look at, and I think Brigham was delighted that I shared his satisfaction.

My sister-in-law Michelle came down from Salt Lake today to take me out for my birthday.
She is so good to me!

There's not much I love more than California Pizza Kitchen's pear gorgonzola pizza paired with adult conversation!

We even got pedicures together. It was so warm and relaxing, we both were ready for a nap afterwards. Our kids had fun hanging out together while we were gone, so it was good for everyone! And when we came home...

we had some of this cheesecake that Max made!

Tonight, I sang in a quintet for the adult session of our stake conference. It's been far too long since I did any singing, and that is my favorite kind -- multiple parts, pretty harmonies -- it was really fun.

There were so many happy things this week that even having a 3-hour nosebleed on Friday night with a 40-minute reprise this morning couldn't dampen my spirits! Well, maybe a little... it was incredibly frustrating to not be able to staunch the bleeding, to have to stay up way later than I wanted, and to get blood all over my clothes, sinks, floor, face, and hands. (I opted not to do any photo-documentation of this episode, it was too disturbing.)

I paged my ENT and when he called me back, he was not concerned at all. I was a little nervous about going out today in case it should happen again, but the day passed without incident. Whew!

the longest day

Today was the big day when Lucas and I got up at 5:30 to go to the dentist.

He was so cold, he wore his coat and used a blanket that they had in the office and he was still shivering!

The nitrous they gave him upset his stomach, so by the end he was writhing on the table. I've never seen the dentist pull a tooth so fast! Lucas didn't even know they had done it. Once they switched him back to oxygen he started to feel better.

It felt so weird to have paid and be leaving the dentist at 6:48 a.m.

We saw a sunrise on our way home.

I guess he wasn't completely recovered because he threw up in my van on the way home. :(

He rested on the couch for about 3 hours while the numbness wore off and his stomach recovered. Then he was able to truly delight in the tooth that was returned to him:

I think I'll refrain from showing the actual tooth, because it is kind of nasty (it has a big hole in it and a very long root!). After lunch, he went to school and showed it off to his friends.

Besides that little adventure, I finished making a Christmas gift, played "egg in the nest" with Eva, went to Borders, talked to Jill, took Max to cello, went to Barnes & Noble, went to Jo-Ann's, talked to my s-i-l Michelle, wrapped gifts, packaged gifts for tomorrow's mail, made visiting teaching appointments, talked to Jessie, listened to Max's new pieces, uploaded photos to Smugmug..... and I haven't eaten dinner yet.

A little while ago, I asked Lucas if he could believe that it was just this morning that we went to the dentist. We both agreed that that felt like yesterday because today was a very LONG day!

weekend update

Well, it's over now. I made it through all of the things that were overwhelming me. I don't know why I let myself get like that -- it really wasn't such a big deal once I broke everything down and took it one step at a time. I'm 37, for heaven's sake, how old do you think I'll be when I have learned this lesson once and for all?

First things first:

The blossoms popping out on our plum trees herald the official beginning of Spring for me -- and it finally happened this week! I snapped this photo before Jill arrived for Creative Friday. These pretty pink flowers never last long enough, but while they're here they lift my spirits every time I look out at them. Such a happy sight.

Jill came bearing lunch for us (tacos & burritos) and she also brought along her little niece Ashley. Eva's playdates are very few and far between, so she was beside herself with excitement.

It just cracked us up that they could split a kid's meal from Wendy's and still have leftovers! Jill divided the tiny kid's Frosty into two little ramekins and Eva still couldn't finish it. Perhaps I would be tiny M if I only ate a couple of bites at each meal...

Ashley climbed right into Eva's crib, something Eva has never managed. She came running out for help to get in and join Ashley. They played babies for awhile, and then called for rescue. (It was a day of many interruptions.)

A very blurry photo, but I just love their expressions when Jill told them to say "cheese". We didn't get any pictures of them jumping on the trampoline, but Eva was reminiscing about it tonight before bed and told me that Ashley has very golden hair in the sun. Yes, she does.

I fear Jill's productivity suffered in helping me to accomplish something. She responded to many of their calls while I sewed away on my birthday banner. And guess what? After she left, I actually finished it! dum dum da dum! Just in time for our party on Saturday. (I've had some requests for more info on the banner, so that will be a separate post.)

I got Max off to his Scout campout on Friday afternoon. It took several trips to get all his gear in the car. He seemed fine with going, but I was honestly a little nervous about how cold it was going to be that night.

We went to our first ward activity in the new ward on Friday night. It was called "Getting to Know You". Unfortunately, we just weren't feeling too capable of going outside our comfort zone in order to get to know people. We sat down at a table and when another family that we already know joined us, we were none too disappointed. They had the bishopric sit up on the stage after dinner and had people ask them questions. We found out that one of the counselors (who lives across the street from us and we thought we knew fairly well) runs ultra-marathons! I've never even heard of ultra-marathons (50-100 miles) -- as if regular marathons aren't insane enough already! So that's now he stays so thin... another point of interest: he revealed that he was an extra in Footloose! Now we want to watch it and search him out...

I love the way Lucas misses Max when he is gone, even for a short while. He had to come out and solicit one of us to go into his room and make sure his music was at the proper volume when he was on the top bunk (Max is usually his music & lights regulator). When Max returned, Lucas informed him that he did more screenwatching than he had done all week, and it was all Max's fault for being gone. (!)

On Saturday morning, I had to make the birthday cake. I slept in and had a bit of a leisurely morning, so when I decided that I just had to make a cake that my grandma made for Marc's birthday -- that I didn't have the recipe for -- I was a little under the gun. Long story short: I called my grandma and got her voicemail. I ended up getting the recipe from my mom but there were some misunderstandings as to the doubling of certain components of the cake. (Mom says double the filling and the frosting; I found out later that Grandma says not to. "Well, your mother is quite extravagant," she said.)

That would have been all well and good had I not made a serious error in the doubling of the filling. I remembered to double the cream cheese. I forgot to double the whipped cream. Oops! It was still tasty, but it definitely had more a cheesecake flavor than whipped creamy goodness. This particular cake requires slicing each layer in half horizontally in order to create 6 layers. I know that this is a tricky enterprise, but I'm no cake novice, I've done this before. You would have thought I used a chainsaw given the way it turned out! 3 of the halves completely fell apart into chunks and I had to pretend that I could salvage the mess by gluing it all together with the filling. Good grief. It was, without a doubt, the ugliest cake I have ever made in my life. But, as Grandma told me, "nobody gives a damn about how the cake turns out except for you, honey". Too true.

When the cake was out of the oven, we headed to Thanksgiving Point to meet Marc's parents and his sister Michelle's family. I think Michelle's 13-year-old daughter was pretty bored, but Lucas and Eva had a great time seeing all the animals, and Marc and I had fun seeing the kids so entertained.

Lucas feeding corn to the goats. There was one goat who was a bit of a bully, always nudging the others out of his way. Lucas would never feed him as punishment.

Marc actually got Eva to feed the animals! I can't believe that the girl who is petrified of a cat on our porch would pet horses and feed goats, sheep, and a calf. Will wonders never cease?

This little calf was absolutely adorable. I don't know if you can see her long long eyelashes, but... wow.

Not surprisingly, Eva was Marc's little buddy, even holding his hand all during the wagon ride.



sheep! My favorite kind, too. This one was baaaa-ing incessantly, it was hilarious.

By the time we were finished with the animals, Eva and Lucas were cold (it was extremely windy) and ready to go home. We decided it would be best for us to skip the tulip festival and head home to be there for Max's return. (Plus, I still needed to assemble the cake, oh the humanity.)

Max got back not long after we did. He dropped his gear and went right in to take a shower. He returned with this entire bucket full of rocks that he had dug up -- I guess Topaz Mountain is full of topaz, and they went excavating. What will we do with all of these?


We put 3 candles in the ugliest cake that ever has been and sang to Eva. I honestly think that her favorite part about birthdays -- hers or anyone else's -- is the birthday bear that Grandma brings, along with the birthday hat. Look at that grin!

After we sang to Eva, we put in 10 more candles and sang to Nicole.

They didn't seem to mind sharing their celebration.

Michelle gave Eva a Zoobie. I had never heard of these, but they are super-soft animals that zip open to reveal a super-soft blanket inside. Hers is a tortoise, and I think she's smitten. She also got Dora Legos and Dora Play-Doh. She's in heaven.

I looked over at Max during the present-opening and saw this. He had a good time on the campout, but it was really cold at night and now his cold symptoms and fever have returned. I sent him to bed at 8:00 and he didn't even protest! He was snoring a little while later.

I didn't get to prep my lesson until last night. It went fine. It wasn't the best lesson in the world, but at least we did get some interesting discussion going. I'm just glad it's over.

I took this picture today. It's fully loaded now!