Back in the saddle again

I have to say I had a pretty great mother's day.

John took care of all the meals and the clean-up.

I got a nap.

The kids really tried to get along.  Which was wonderful.  (I always thought my mom was weird and/or demanding the impossible when all she ever wanted for birthday/Christmas/mother's day was for us kids to not fight- sorry mom)

And the kids all made me home made presents and/or cards.

Which I really and truly love.  I get more excited to open those than I do store bought presents.  I keep them forever. (This one is still on my fridge)

This year's lovelyness included-

I love seeing their little personalities shine through.  Maddie is all girl.  Hearts and flowers and butterflies...

Zach is simple and gets straight to the point.

When Maddie told Nick his poems were too plain and he needed to decorate it a bit,  he decorated the card with math equations.  - so typical Nick.

Christopher is in pre-school, so I got three presents- a flower box with lilies made from tracing his hands, a picture of me and him, and and a window thingy with both his hand print, (I love little hand prints- except when they are sticky and all over my walls etc) and he even wrote his own name.  Which might not be a big deal to other parents of almost 5 year olds, but it's the first thing I've ever seen where he wrote his own name.  All of his art projects and papers come home from school with his name written by an adult. And he won't write for me at home either.  "No! mommy do it.  Mommy makka you a Christopher name."

And that's all I ever hoped for on Mother's day. 

A day where I can appreciate my kids and their individualities and creativity while I spend time with them and am not distracted from the meals that need to be fixed, and can enjoy being in the same room with them because they are all trying to get along.  And remember why I love being a mother.  And also take a guilt-free nap if I feel so inclined.   (which I did)

But John wouldn't be John if he didn't try to spoil me and get in an unexpected surprise every so often. 

I woke up to find a brand new bike sitting in my living room.

I love it. So cute and fun to ride.

I was planning on saving up and maybe buying a pink one, but this one is perfect.  (well, as soon as my new basket liner gets here, then it will be perfect.)  It has a bell, and a basket, and a cute retro paint job.

Love, love, love it.

And mother nature surprised me as well with gorgeous weather to go riding in.  May is usually pretty horrid, so at first I was a little disappointed I wasn't going to get to ride it much in the next 6 months. 

I spent yesterday riding all day long.  Bike ride with Christopher in the morning.  Later I needed to drop of one of our Netflix DVD's at the mailbox, and I thought maybe I'd take it to the official blue mailbox about a quarter of a mile away, (passing our neighborhood mailbox on the way) but when I got there and realized that pick up wasn't for several more hours, but the mailman would be picking up the mail from our mailbox in the the next hour or two, I came back and just put it in there.  (Hoping for a faster turn around from netflix) Then, later, I realized I forgot to drop off John's early voting ballot, and decided that was very important, so I rode back to the blue mailbox (with half the kids in tow) then the other kids were upset they got left behind, so we went on a family bike ride for family night last night.

So, you might be asking yourself why I am inside typing away on my computer, sitting in a padded chair, when I could be out enjoying the gorgeous weather? (it's only supposed to be 78 today)  And well, the truth is, I'm a little saddle sore.

I realized that as I was taking Madison her forgotten viola to school today (it fit pretty well in my handy dandy basket)  Also the wooden chair at my desk is a lot more uncomfortable than it usually is.

I know, I probably only rode like 5 or 6 miles yesterday.  Over the course of the whole day.  But that is 5-6 more miles than I've ridden in the last two decades. Seriously.

I take that back, we did do a bike activity with the cub scouts a few months ago, and my partner let me borrow her bike. But it wasn't more than a mile.  Oh, and also unless I burned it or tossed it down the garbage disposal, there is a picture of me somewhere riding my dad's bike and I think I am pregnant with Maddie, and the bike is too big for me, and felt ridiculously awkward, not to mention I am never at my most graceful when I am pregnant,  and it was a mountain bike so I'm leaning forward, and felt like my derriere was on display... Anyway, I barely left the driveway, and should anyone find any photographic evidence, I'll probably deny it's me in the picture.

Anyway,  I just want to end this with a big thank you to John and my kids for making me feel so loved.  I am blessed.  Hopefully I will be able to hold on to all these warm fuzzies as we sprint through these last few crazy weeks of school -and with them their projects and activities and what-not and staying up late at night to work on posters and papers and everything else. And if not, I can hop on my new bike and deal with any frustrations that crop up that way.

New Years

My parents arrived the Wednesday before. They were making the rounds. Christmas they spent in Utah with my youngest brothers, then they headed to New Mexico to see my other brother and his family, and then we were the last stop on their agenda.

We spent our time shopping, cooking, eating, playing games, and watching movies. You know, the usual. My dad helped John with some storage racks in the garage, and sticking a basketball hoop in the ground.

Also at midnight on New Year's we lit off some fireworks in the street. This was the first time since we've lived in Arizona that fireworks have been legal. I think New Year's Eve in Arizona is perfect for fireworks. It was still pretty cold, but it's not like we had to clear away the snow or anything. And once the sun goes down in July it's not as miserable, but it's still 100 degrees out.

We wore my parents out.

They left bright and early this morning to get home.

We all got up to see them off. And by "got up", I mean made our way down the stairs in a semi- conscious state.

Maddie cried as usual. She's a sensitive little thing.

Veteran's Day

As luck would have it, John happens to be in Washington DC today. He's doing some work for the government, so naturally he has the day off.

He texted me these pictures a little while ago, and I thought I would share them with you.

This first picture is at the ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. John was able to attend (he was practically the last one in) and was able to see and hear VP Biden speak. (something the President usually does)

Arlington National Cemetery

John F. Kennedy and Jackie's grave site

Lincoln Memorial

Part of the World War II memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at here. I'll have to have John tell me later, unless anyone wants to chime in on the comments. It's pretty, though.

Washington Monument

On a side note, when John got off the subway at Arlington National Cemetery he told me there were a few protesters there. I thought it pretty ironic that they were protesting outside a cemetery where countless soldiers are buried who died defending their right to protest. It was heartening to hear however that there were 10 times the amount of people counter-protesting the protesters. In other words, more people were there to show support and give thanks, rather than be angry and ugly and hate-filled.

And lastly- to all the Vets in my life- a big thank you for serving!

Yay for Punxsutawney Phil!

Growing up in Utah, I used to pray the groundhog would not see his shadow and that spring would come early. By the time February rolls around, I am really sick of winter.

For obvious reasons I've changed my tune.

Yesterday Madison came home and announced we "HAVE TO" have 6 more weeks of winter, and spring is not coming early this year.

"Have to? We GET to!"

It's cool enough that we can wear sweaters and socks, comfort foods like soups and stews and hot cocoa are the perfect antidote to a chilly day, and yet there is no snow to shovel, no car windshields to scrape, no slushy puddles to step in. Besides, it's the perfect time of year to say "Go outside and play!"

It just doesn't get any better than that. As far as I'm concerned, that groundhog can stay in his hole for the next six months.

Now taking reservations

In our home, we have one of these-

It's our guest room.

When we are not running our free B&B, sometimes the room looks a lot like this-

Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration- John was actually cleaning out the closet that day. Can you believe all that crap fit in both his closet and his brain? But I'd be lying if the room didn't look pretty dang close to that some days.

But we try to clean it up nice when people want to stay with us.

It even has it's own bathroom. Nothing really fancy, but people seem to like not having to share with my kids.

But these last couple of weeks, I've been tempted to install one of these-

We've been blessed with house guests non-stop since a week before Christmas. John's mom, then some friends of ours, then my parents. It's been fun.

But now the Holidays are over and life has to return to normal. And John gets his black hole junk yard home office back.

Easter Egg Hunt '09

Several years ago my grandmother (Grammy) started organizing an Easter Egg Hunt for all her great-grandkids who didn't move out of the state. The little kids would have a good time, and my grandma would get a kick out of watching all her "posterity" run around the yard and find the candy filled plastic eggs. This year the event was organized, the candy purchased, but one of my cousin's kids ended up in the hospital with a severe asthma attack the day before. (If I have my facts straight) He was in the hospital for a few days and eventually made a full recovery but the Easter Egg hunt was postponed indefinitely. Somewhere along the line, someone had the idea to re-organize it when my family was in town so we could finally join them in the festivities. My kids had a great time. Nick was too "mature" to really join in, but he was still happy to help the little kids. Christopher got bored with finding the eggs after about three, but was still happy to help everyone eat their candy.The weather was beautiful, the adults had a nice time talking, it's always good to see my cousins and aunt, and since I will be missing the family reunion this year, (taking advantage of my mom and heading off to San Francisco to go to a big Cisco Geek conference with John) I need to get in that kind of stuff while I can.

Father's Day

Our first night in Utah was a little on the miserable side. After getting in late, most of us were ready to crawl into the nearest bed or air mattress, but Christopher was wide awake and ready to explore (owing to the two naps he took in the car). He finally consented to at least lay down with the kids, but made sure we all knew he was miserable by screaming non stop until at least one in the morning.

When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed and got everyone cleaned up for the most part, we headed up to Ogden to see John's mom and Grandpa. (My own father is off climbing a mountain or rafting down a river somewhere.)

We had nice lunch and an enjoyable visit. The weather was beautiful, and I forget just how nice it is to hang out outside in the middle of the day in the middle of June. What a way to spend the first day of summer. John's mom had picked up a couple pints of ice-cream (John's favorite- rootbeer) from the local ice-cream place. The kids had seconds, and in some cases thirds or even fourths.

When we finally made it back to Salt Lake, I went in to help my mom with dinner, the kids played in the back yard, some neighbor kids came over, and they had a blast, until I realized Christopher was no where to be found.

Nick says he put Christopher in the house because he knew he couldn't keep an eye on him. The yard is only gated on one side, but easy for Christopher to open, and totally open on the other side.

We finally found him a street away, hanging out with some families, eating candy, who seemed to be having a big party. He had been gone for over an hour. Apparently even the police had been called.For a moment I found it a little funny as we went door to door frantically asking the neighbors if they had seen him, that one neighbor was assuring me that this was a safe neighborhood. "Of course I know that! I was raised here!" But then I remembered just how much time has gone, and my parents are the last original home owners on the street, and I started to panic some more.

The worst of it was when I spotted the ungated, above ground pool looming ominously in the neighbors yard. Despite my best efforts to drown proof him this summer, I knew that any pool was still a major danger for my baby. Luckily the pool was totally drained, so at least there's not that danger, but I still had no idea where he was.

He was eventually found, safe and happy, and I think spent the rest of the day trying to escape the now very vigilant eyes of every single person in this household.

It was either escape on his mind, or he was trying to get to my brother's motorcycles. He's as obsessed with motorcycles as Nick and Zach were with trains. (okay maybe not as much as Zach)

He was afraid of them at first, due to their size and noise making capabilities, but by the end of the day, he was climbing on them on his own and making little engine noises as he pretended to drive them.

He also made me laugh until I cried as he would try to say "motorcycle". I need to get this on video, but I worry he got over it, as he can now say it better. But in a high pitched voice, he would stutter out the sounds- "ah-cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cy, cyto" He'd be bent over double with his eyes squeezed shut, as if this were the most difficult word to spit out.

Happy Flag Day!

Although our flag is not flying outside at this moment (Totally forgot until just now, and I am wondering if dragging a ladder outside to hang a flag for a mere 3 hours is worth it) I would like to wish y'all a happy Flag Day.

Quick history lesson- The origins of Flag day can be traced back to 1885 when a teacher in Wisconsin advocated the observance of the day, the anniversary of the official adoption of the Stars and Stripes

Did you know that our Country has a program were you can request a flag to be flown over the United States Capitol on a certain day? It's not too expensive ($17- $28 depending on size and material) and it comes with a certificate. Pretty Nifty.

A few years ago I filled out the request and sent it to Senator John McCain to have a flag flown over our Nation's Capitol on my husband's 30th birthday. I thought it was a pretty awesome birthday present. The only problem is, it takes awhile to get the flag back to you, so we got it in the mail a couple of months after his birthday. Like just when I had forgotten about it.

If you live in Arizona and would like to request one, you can go here, otherwise your State Senator should have a link on their website.

So anyways, Happy Flag Day!

Blogger's Block

I don't know what my deal is this week, but I don't seem to be able (or have the desire) to write anything.

I generally go through periods like this when I am a) tired, b) angry, or c) all of the above.

This week the correct answer is C.

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I am trying not to blog about (and spew venom all over the place) my frustration and irritation with both my oldest son's grades and one of his teachers. We'll call her Mrs. B. Her last name starts with B, but I probably wouldn't defend her honor if anyone were to say that B stood for something else. I truly think she dislikes my kid. I don't think he does much to help his situation, but I'd swear she has it out for him. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. We're counting down the days until school is over though.

Now that I got that out of the way, I'll try and think of something positive.

I love my neighborhood.

Within the first few weeks of moving into this house 5 years ago, I found a note taped to the door inviting us to a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt organized by a couple of moms in the neighborhood. 5 years later, one of those moms (whom I am now happy to call my good friend) still goes out of her way to do this kind of stuff. She says she does it for her kids, but we all benefit, and I am grateful.

I grew up in a neighborhood where the neighbors occasionally got together and did things and I was so excited to live in a place where people were actually interested in getting to know their neighbors and were willing to go out of their way to organize these kinds of things.

I got my hair cut and colored this week.

I love, love, love it. It's pretty much the same as last time (6 months ago? longer?) I even bought a nifty straightener thingy. It makes my hair smooth and pretty. Unfortunately John likes it long, blond, and curly, but now it's shorter (a little longer than shoulder length) and I like it straight, but I did get some blond highlights put in. (I'm really bad at maintenance when it comes to my hair, so to go much blonder would mean really bad roots.)

So that's my week.

Just wondering

I was just wondering if anyone knows if the groundhog saw his shadow today. It crossed my mind as I was driving the kids around to their various activities. They didn't seem to know. I'd like to believe that he went back in his little hole for another 6 weeks, and winter will stick around for awhile, because winter can stick around forever in my opinion. Not that what some little furry animal thinks about the weather has any bearing on reality, but if I can fantasize about delaying summer, I will.