Cutest Camper Award

O.K....so it's been like a week and a half since he finished, but I'm slow on the blog lately. Parker got to go to a 5 day day-camp at the National Ability Center in Park City. It's for kids on the Autism Spectrum and he LOVED it.

(In front of the challenge/ropes course)

They did archery, swimming, jet-skiing, rock climbing, biking, gardening, arts & crafts, and horseback riding.  He loved it. Because there were boys on all points of the autism spectrum, Parker really excelled and enjoyed being the star for once. It was really good for him. 

(the rock wall....he's become quite the poser lately)

Here he is getting the award for the "Most Creative Camper". They were given a chance to draw a picture of the horse they rode. Parker's was equipped with helicopters and jet packs so that it could fly. So, Yea! I'm glad he had a great experience. He totally can't wait until next year.

Well, on to other summer activities!

R.I.P, M.J.

As I'm sure you are all aware, Michael Jackson died today at age 50. Now, regardless of his personal life, you cannot have been a child of the 80's and not have been influenced by M.J.  I can still do every beat of the "Thriller" choreography, spent hours perfecting the moonwalk, and still get excited when I hear the opening notes to "Billie Jean". As a dancer, his influence on the dance world was HUGE. He was one of the most captivating performers that has ever graced a stage and had a talent like no other. 

I am well-aware of his personal life. As a person, I would not have liked to have known him. He was out there, freaky, and mangled. He made a gigantic mess out of his life. However, I totally can separate the man from the art. In my line of work, I find this necessary. I can love someone's contribution to art and society and not condone their way of life. I was really turned off by a comment I received from a GA's wife while I was in London (BYU study abroad). She asked us what we had been doing while there, and I listed off all the ballet, theatre, and museums that I had seen. I went on and on about how beautiful and exciting it was to be so close to such great culture. All she could do was go on and on about how most artist's lives are "so evil". I couldn't understand why she couldn't see the beauty and had to make sure I knew she wasn't condoning their lifestyles. It is stuff like that that makes mormons look bad. Some of the greatest dance teachers that I have learned the most from are beautiful artists, people I love being around, but do have troubled personal lives. 

So, Rest in Peace, Michael. You were a thrill.

Best Daddy Ever!

Happy Father's Day, Bill! You amaze me with your great daddy skills. You work tirelessly at work and church, but always have time to play with your kids. And very elaborate, creative playing like Mr. Crab, Crazy Hide-n-Seek, Superman, The Amazing Race to Bedtime, and all the others. I was especially impressed when you sat down and tried to explain how to play "Yahtzee" with Emi. I guess she's not quite ready for that, but you were sweet to indulge her.

(2003)

You are extremely patient with the kids, letting them help with things that I would tell them "no" to. 

(Emi and Bill painting the nursery pink for our new girl)

All this...and your the best mt. biker on the hill. Don't let it get to you that you lost the race to Parker's counselor. She's pretty tough!

Kisses for you....enjoy your homeade ice cream and Weinharts. No honey-do list today. Except the litter box.....it's making me ill.

I love a tradition

I grew up in a family steeped in tradition. We made gingerbread men cookies for the Christmas tree, we sang certain songs on Christmas Eve,  we have the same silly jokes that must be said on various occasions....but it was fun. A little annoying to those joining our family, but fun nonetheless. I started trying to count up the traditions my own little family has...good and bad. Here's what I came up with:

*Coronado: On our annual trip to Coronado, our kids have started traditions that they love. They love to have their picture taken in the gazebo of the Del every year. I think Parker came up with this.

(2005)

We also started trying to get cute beach shots at sunset on the beach, but this is about as good as our kids could be for it. The pic at the top of my blog is their best effort....of course, not one with all of us turned out. 

(bad pic of kids....2008)

I also take pics of them on the boogie boards at the beach, but this is always a challenge before they become sand monsters....

(2005)

*This is another tradition....the BYU/Utah or Superbowl glutenous feast. Bill requires certain food for these games. It consists of Vanilla Cream Soda, mozerella sticks, peanut M&M's, onion dip, and wienies. It's a good this he doesn't have time to watch too much football.

*Every mother's or father's day, the kids love to make breakfast in bed. It really isn't the thrill that it sounds like....at least on my end. I usually have to wake up Bill to tell him he has to get started on it or we will never make it to church. I secretly shower, put on make-up, and do my hair and then pretend to be asleep when they come in, as to not ruin their "surprise". There is no sleeping-in involved. 

*On our drive to California every summer, Bill and I must say, "The Meadows" in 2 places....one by an American Fork shopping center and one by a housing development in St. George. We are quoting a line from "So I Married an Axe Murder". We also must listen to B-52's and Moonpools and Catepillars while on a road trip. "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys MUST be played while driving over the Coronado Bridge. 

*Bill and I love going to the "Parade of Homes" every August...we call it our "covet date". We love to look at ridiculously big homes.

(me coveting this beautiful scrapbook/craft room)

*Christmas: I give my kids a new Santa ornament every year, usually relating to something they have done in the past year. I plan on giving them all their ornaments when they get married.

*We have done the funnest neighbor gift for the last 7 years.... a mix CD of our favorite Christmas songs. It started out quite simple, but we now are deep into it. We feel a little pressure to do it for the rest of forever....or move. The kids love picking songs.

*We have to cross our hands when we sing Happy Birthday. This is a tradition that we did in my family, but my kids are dead serious about doing it, so I now claim this as my own tradition.

* Our inevitable fight in Disneyland. We usually go for 3 days and it just wouldn't be right if we didn't have some major family argument somewhere on the the 2nd or 3rd day. The pic below is where the most recent fight was...Pirate Island....right before we took this picture. This was also a tradition of mine growing up....cherry cokes/walking brooms/hot Tomorrowland ring a bell to any Newmans?

Anyway, that's all I got right now, but I love to have these written down. I am trying to start a few more traditions of Mom sleeping-in on Saturday or Sunday afternoon naps....can you tell I'm not getting enough sleep? What are some of your traditions????????

I used to really like rain....

Seriously...that's true. I used to find rain cozy, romantic, and somewhat renewing. I think I'm over it. I have spent the first 3 days of summer with my kids INDOORS thanks to the crazy cloudbursts that we have been plagued with. We went to the aquarium instead of the farm today, and I related to the fish. Soaked. To make it a little worse, during today's cloudburst, the rain gutter started overflowing over Parker's window well. Emi and I soaked ourselves while getting tarps, buckets, towels, etc to prevent flooding his room. After lunch, I sent them outside....thunder and all. I told them to go outside and get some exercise! I tried to ignore there pleas to come in because they were cold!

Yesterday, we went to Barnes and Nobles to get P & E a chapter book for our rainy days. It was really cool to see them dive into their books once they got to the car. Sometimes I forget how pleasurable reading can be. Which brings me to my next question; I need suggestions for a good read. I'm headed to the beach in a few weeks and love having a fun book. All I have read in the last year was pregnancy books, Asperger books, and you know....vampire stuff. I want something fun, light, and even a tad trashy (j/k). Any good suggestions?

Summer

Thanks for the petunia advice....it was enlightening to say the least.

Now I am asking for one more thing. ENERGY! Who's got any extra? My kids are out of school now and I'm so stressed that I don't have the energy to make it fun for them this summer. On a normal day, my lifestyle requires an insane amount of energy, but add pregnancy and kids out of school, and it has to be doubled. I'm not sure how this is going to happen. Granted, my energy is lower than normal, thanks to this stupid summer cold for the last 4 days, but I am nervous that my kids won't think I'm fun when I just want to lay on the couch, be fed grapes, and get fanned by palm leaves. I've been watching my dear friend, Monika, adjust to her week-old baby and her 3 other kids, and  I KNOW I do not have the energy to be a mom of four yet. I'm a bit stressed. I need to somehow store it up this summer. Wouldn't it be great if you could bottle energy? 

In other news, we took the kids to "Up" on Friday night. So, so sweet. You'll cry in the first 15 minutes, or maybe that's just me since I'm uber-emotional prego girl. I always look forward to the Pixar movies...Dreamworks are really funny, but they fall onto the potty humor a lot. This only fuels Parker in his love of potty humor. 

Have a great week, and if you have a little extra energy, send it my way. Have you met my kids?

A quick call for expertise

I am a pitiful gardner, especially to my family's standards. I do what I can, but it's not much. Just a quick question for you "green-thumb" types; Something is eating my petunias in my front flower bed. I cannot figure out if it is a bug, mouse, or what. I spent a good chunk of change on those petunias, and I'm losing the battle. What do I do?