Game On

As I geared up for the worst case scenario (we have had BAD week long sickies running around our hood) Miriam's sickness was nothing.
1 day and 1 night of low grade fever, two afternoon naps and she is fine. Bouncing off the walls, snarfing on Halloween junk, begging for friends...

(if that was the flu with a little help from the flu shot I am one happy mama)

so we made our trip to Gardner Village.

It was COLD

We made a quick jaunt around to spy the witches, had our picnic in the bakery, and spent the rest of our time in the shops....of course that included a trip to Sweet Afton's to peruse the isles of candy.

We settled on fudge and were very happy with our choice.

Oh! and yes, I did make those Halloween costumes myself, see them here. It's all fabric glue, easy peasy stuff. Although I did hem the cape with a sewing machine...I know I KNOW I am pretty amazed with myself too. Once Darin had the bobbin full of thread and the machine threaded there was no stopping me.

What would I do without my husband...I wouldn't be hemming any Halloween capes that is for sure.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The Celebration begins...and ends

Miriam's Halloween program today was the kick-off to our spooky weekend.

Today: Concert and Halloween themed play group

Tomorrow: School Halloween party, and Pumpkin Walk

Friday: Gardner Village for fudge and witches

(Bub is getting is two year molars {perfect- finger chewing during flu season..good grief} and note to self, stop ask him to smile for pictures)

Saturday: Neighborhood soup dinner and Trick or Treating!

Or wait.......

maybe not.

Maybe staying home all weekend with movies, apple cider, and chicken noodle soup.

Great Weekend

Miriam had her final show of Stone Soup on Saturday.

We were so excited to have guests come watch with us!

Afterward, we had an Indian food dinner party.

Grammie and Papa got a hotel room and let us come swim in the hotel swimming pool.

We were so happy to have guests to watch Miriam in the Primary Program the next day.

All the kids were given a subject and told to write their own ideas and testimony.
Miriam's subject was Mothers nurture the family...

Miriam's talk:
"Mothers nurture the family. My Mom nurtures our family by keeping us healthy, by making sure we do the right things, and by helping us do stuff we don't want to do."

We couldn't help but but smile at her perfect description of what motherhood is, and the congregation couldn't help but laugh out loud at her earnest delivery. The laughing, unfortunately hurt Miriam's feelings as she didn't mean to be funny, and she began to cry. She has a wonderfully sweet teacher who was able to settled her down. She finished out the program, singing sweetly and trying to keep the little girl next to her from bouncy off the walls.

The whole day was wonderful, with a trip to the park for the kids with Papa, and my dinner turning out well (which isn't always the case with my cooking).

Thank you Mom and Dad and Mom and Dad for making our weekend so great!

Theres a story there...

These pictures say so much...

Miriam "Just saying No" to drugs by saying "YES" to crazy socks for Red Ribbon Week.
It's raining buckets on PICTURE DAY so alas...no curls.
Miriam so excited to use her NEW umbrella purchased with gymbucks graciously given to me from my cousin Kristi.
Miriam, as always, concerned she will be late for school.

and Bub, he's just along for the ride.

Nose Tingling

I cried while watching Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert get married. I couldn't help it, the way he looked at her....my heart and my nose began to tingle which is a sure sign that the tears are on their way. It also reminded me of what Oprah said about how Christian looked at Nienie with such love. I cried through that too.

Being loved and adored by someone who knows all your flaws, and accepts your current less-than-perfect physical self makes me incredibly weepy.

Heres another one. Last month I spoke in our church. After I finished the wonderful woman who spoke after me gave such sincere compliments I actually truly believed her, and was satisfied with how things went (that rarely happens). Then she said the heart tingling part: "I enjoyed watching your husband gaze at you with such love and admiration throughout your talk, it was like watching a love story".

The tingling and crying continue..........

Apple Pickin' and Bean Snappin'

We made lots of applesauce today.
One of our cutest retired neighbors put a sign in their yard advertising FREE golden delicious apples if people would just come pick them. He said his wife is sick to death of canning and they still have apples sauce from two years ago. Luckily Bub and I were walking by just as the sign went up so loaded our stroller full of apples from the low branches, pet their bunny, watched the chickens peck around, and had a wonderful conversation with the cute retired neighbor.

I want to be so generous, kind, and full of wisdom someday.

Miriam performed her role of a bean snapper in the play "Stone Soup: a Dance Tale" this afternoon. She loved it, and is so excited she still has two more performance.

She is such a pretty, enthusiastic girl.

and here is another pretty girl.

Thanks for coming Alicia, it made Miriam feel so special.

*Edited to add: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!!

World History

While listening to the soundtrack Wicked yesterday, Miriam explained to me lifes historical timeline

It goes like this:

Adam and Eve....Pioneers.....Wicked.....Wizard of Oz.....Grandma is born....I am born....she is born.

Random Conference Weekend

This girl is spending 4 days with her Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins.
Luuucky!
She is having the time of her life.

And what are we doing without her?
Watching Conference of course
Learning how to cook lamb...including a rosemary paste rub.
(which turned out great and is such a relief because I had to really search to find it, and it was more expensive than I thought, and I have a tub of taziki sauce I bought at Costco to use up)
Playing with Bub
Eating yogurt with friends during the Priesthood session

Bub is such a character, its killing me how camera shy he is!!

Whapp

(I am totally getting my $'s worth out of these photos Leah took)

I am in a Blog Funk. The computer makes me feel ill, I haven't uploaded a single picture in September, but even if I uploaded them there would only be 4 with 2 little movies. I am fighting these feelings of funk because I must....I MUST document some family doings and goings on before it's too late.

Miriam is training wheel free!!
Still working on slowing down with the brake, but the girl is riding! It is all due to her patient father. Big shout out to Daddy!
That is what the 2 short movies would show, and maybe someday I will upload them but not today.
Miriam, after only a few weeks of school is using phrases such as "in my crew", "he's into me" and my personal favorite "my friend" as in "that is some good mac and cheese, my friend"

I have been trying to get creative with our massive tomato harvest. Waiting for the giant sunflowers to dry out, and de-rosebushing the yard. Not to mention walking Miriam to and from kindergarten five days a week. It's enough to make me home school, but she loves it.

Darin is getting a community yard sale together. We will be busy this Saturday!

Bub continues his foley artist training. His newest sound affect is "Whapp" (said with a nod of the head) meaning "yes" or "yep". Oh Bub don't grow up! I will miss this stage too much.

I am off to bed. Dentist appointment 7:00 am tomorrow...wish me luck!

I am a Debbie Downer tonight.

So, I think I will write about happy things and then go straight to bed.

Bub has orange fish in his pockets. Sometimes they flop out and he has to leap on them. You can feed them if you ask, and if you want fish in your pockets you can have them....any color you wish, but Bub's are always orange.

Miriam saw her teacher at the library today.
Whoa was that exciting! She got a sneak preview of the book they will read on Tuesday and had undivided attention while she showed off the books she had picked.

I got to look like a pretty great mother. All her videos just happened to be wildlife discovery type movies (luck), and Miriam said: "I just love to come here for books. And teacher, I read for 20 minutes everyday with my mom".

Mother of the year I tell you what.

Sometimes, we are lucky and we get to see a glimpse of the good things to come from endless exhausting (sometimes mind numbing) mothering moments.

Good night.

Niiigh-T......MaMa

Thats what Bub says to me every night with his budding language skills.

"Niiiigh-T.....MaMa" (heavy emphasis on the T)

I love it, and I want to remember it.

Having the kids in one room has its challenges, but one humongous benefit is our family night routine. We play and laugh while the kids get ready for bed, we read stories together, we say family prayers. Then there are big hugs for daddy, and he turns off the light as he walks out the door. Miriam climbs into her loft while Bub and I get comfy on the glider. He usually points to a picture they have of a bird, which means he wants me to sing My Heavenly Father Loves Me, but sometimes I can sing You are my Sunshine, or Give Said the Little Stream. Miriam sings along with me. Bud just looks up at me with these adoring big eyes but will end the song with "...loves me". I lay Bub in his crib, place his silky on him, then I climb Miriam's ladder to give her a kiss. She usually tries to engage me in a conversation about something but I can get her to calm down by saying another prayer.

As I walk out of the room I pat Bub on the back and say "Good Night Bub".

and then he says it, those words I absolutely adore.

"Niiigh-T....Mama"

************************************************************************************

I had a great birthday.
I have so many people to thank for gifts, parties, good mail, facebook wishes, and emails. There is no excuse for the delay, except to say I am taking the whole weekend as my birthday gift and being really seriously lazy.

Our Firsts

My first time making a Schultüte
Our first back to school blessing
{First time Darin has grown a full beard}

First time I have ever taken first day of school pictures

First school flag ceremony

First story time with her new teacher.

Miriam doesn't really go to school until next week. This "first" day was for the students and their parents. {I couldn't help but wonder if this was for the teacher to evaluate the parents rather than for us to see her in action} After getting tested on Wednesday, Miriam will start for earnest on Monday.
It's harder than I thought sending her off. I know she is ready and eager, and I thought I was too...until the school flag ceremony. When we walked upon the whole school on the lawn, Miriam showed her first sign of hesitance "My class is so big" she whispered. "This is the whole school, your class only has 15 kids in it" I answered with a smile, but when we started to sing the national anthem I was the one quivering and hesitant.

I am excited for her too though, and so grateful.

Grateful the school is 1/2 block a way
Grateful there are only 15 students
Grateful her teacher hugged her goodbye
Grateful she already knows 5 kids in her class
Grateful its half day
Grateful I am the one crying instead of her
Grateful I get to volunteer in her class
Grateful I know most of the other mothers who will be volunteering

That's lots to be grateful for.

So Bub

This guy....I just can't get enough.

He is a little foley artist in training.
Why say words when you can mimic the sounds of things?
Case in point: For the LONGEST time he wouldn't say drink or water (or do the proper sign language) he would open his mouth point to his throat and make a gagging sound.
He pointed to my tiny wrist watch the other night and said "tick tock, tick tock, baby tick tock"
He snorts a lot, FOR FUN and then laughs afterward.
When he wants to eat (again refusing the sign language) he says "yumyumyumyumyum"
He loves "quack quacks" "moooos" "baaaas" "neighs" "rooooars" I could go on and on.
The words he does say regularly he says with unique pitches and tones. "No" is in a deep voice and drawn out like "Naaaaaaw" while "Mimi" (Miriam) is high pitched and quick usually said with eyebrows arched high.

I swear to you I do not go around mimicking the sounds of things. I clearly say "clock" "cow" and I don't snort for fun.

This is all uniquely Byron.

and I wouldn't change a thing.

Thursday: Kayaking class up north, we drive home arriving after midnight physically and mentally exhausted.

Friday: Authentic Indian celebration (one of Darin's classmates and co-workers). Miriam and I both wish our heritage included the wearing of saris while enjoying the music and food of India. We arrive at my parents cabin after midnight.

Between my kids and Julia's little ones, no one gets much sleep.

Saturday: The men work....REALLY HARD

The women do to....keeping these guys happy, and the food ready.

The kids and I drive to my parents real home to celebrate Madison's birthday.

Most of the men arrive home. We talk, laugh, and eat Greek food, tear Miriam away from Madison weeping and wailing.

Arrive home after 11:00 pm.

Sunday: After early morning church, Darin Bub and I take a lovely 2 and 1/2 hour nap.
The perfect end to such a vibrant weekend.

Pride vs Vanity

Pride wins.

Here I am, rolling a yak with a nose plug on. Very attractive.
At least I have the cool new rash guard.



Here is Darin doing the same, as well as a T-rescue at the end.

I have to mention here that my father-in-law and Darin made the nose plugs...I know, I KNOW, they take every opportunity to create.

County Fair

It is officially a tradition.
We hit the petting zoo, science tent, insect encounter, play yard, and of course enjoyed a slushie.

Bub faced his fears....

Miriam didn't seem to have any.
She pet the snakes, asked to hold the birds, would have spent all her money on animal feed, and begged to get her picture on this Brama Bull. This has been a brave Miriam summer.


Ris came with us this year. We accidentally arrived 2 hours before the fair officially opened (my fault, I didn't read the brochure) but it happened to work out just the way Ris and I prefer it. We small town girls don't love the crowds. We got plenty of animal petting, and playing before things got busy. One slushie machine was up and running, and we got to avoid the rickety carnival since it wasn't set up. We were all played out just as 3 buses of blue t-shirted children headed our way.

The End

Rascals

Don't turn your back on them even for a second!

Luckily for me, Miriam likes to document mischief.

Saltimbanco

Last month the kids and I spent a week away from Darin. We were playing with cousins, while he worked and came home to an empty house. This may sound harsh, but I was happy when he would call and say how much he missed us. I was a bit worried that he would like coming home to peace and quiet better than what can be a chaotic household. It's nice to be missed, but the best part was how those lonely feelings caused Darin to want some quality family time.
He surprised us all with cirque du soleil tickets!

It was breathtaking. Really funny too. We knew Miriam would love it, since she watched a DVD of a different performance over and over, but even Bub was captivated. That is my kind of circus...complete with kettle corn.

Conversations on the way to Saltimbanco:

Bub whining as I pulled out of our drive way: "oeshs...oeshs...mama, mama oeshs"
I finally got it and put the car in reverse to go get shoes for little B. How could I forget to put his shoes on??

Miriam: "Mom, I have decided that when I grow up I want to be on So You Think You Can Dance because....you know how in Cirque du soleil they have painted faces? That would make me itch like crazy, because remember when I was a butterfly? Oh no, I couldn't do that. So I will be on So You Think You Can Dance but Mom, if I am, you'd better get a TV or you will miss the whole thing and if the judges don't like my dance it is probably like, the choreographers fault."

Oh, and guess what?

We rolled kayaks last night.
I have never been so sore.

Girls Camp.....

is over, and like Youth Conference all the worry and fretting was for not.

It was wonderful!
and so much fun!

and because a nice man lent us this fabulous cowboy cauldron I thought I had better blog about it. My blog probably doesn't have a huge readership from the cowboy or the cauldron crowd but I feel I owe him something.

(have you had these? I forget the name but you roast biscuits around a stick and then pour honey butter inside)

I also owe a big Thank You and I LOVE you to my sisters and my parents. Miriam and Bub had the time of their lives. They love staying at Grandma's house.



Miriam was in her third parade of the summer (Encore Dance) and then....

Sarah gave her the best day of her life. Fish pond, cotton candy snowie, train ride, air brushed t-shirt with her NAME on it. Apparently, she has wanted a dream catcher FOREVER, and she remembers that Madison had an air brushed shirt with a unicorn on it years ago.

All kids need an Aunt like Sarah.