Our Summer Trip to Utah 2008-Getting There

We started out our trip in quite an interesting way. We flew Emily to California to drive with me because Joseph was flying to Utah the next day. On Saturday night Emily and I made a late run to the gtocery store to get some snacks for the trip. We were deep in conversation when we arrived home and I forgot to turn the lights to the van off, and I left the keys in the ignition slightly turned. Sunday morning, Joseph went to put something in the van before his 6:30 bishopric meeting and realized the battery was dead!

James and Tanner came over to give the battery a jump start while Joseph was at his meetings, so we made it to 9:30 church on time. After church we ate lunch and finished packing and prepared to roll out about 3:30 p.m. We had plans to stay in Elko, Nevada on Sunday night (about 7 hours from here). Well we made way just before 4:00 that afternoon and once we got things rolling I decided to put a movie on for the kids. That's when I noticed there was no power to the DVD system. In fact, there was no power to the entire stereo system. Ahhhh! All Hondas are equipped with an anti-theft device in the stereo system, if anyone steals the stereo system, you have to have an access code to get it to work again. That access code is located in the owner's manual. Well, we bought our Odyssey as a lease buyback, and the leasee didn't turn in the manual with the car...NICE!!! We called the Honda dealership in Davis and they laughed telling us this is a common call for them and told us it would cost about $200 for them to take the computer out and figure out the code. A 12 hour trip with no movies is one thing, but with no music too? That's just too much to bear! I did have my ipod shuffle, but I felt bad listening when everyone else had to sit in silence. For sanity's sake, I did pull it out a couple of times.

We drove 5 1/2 hours in complete SILENCE....well, almost complete....every 10 minutes or so Abby would ask, "Are we almost to the hotel yet?" To which we replied, "Yea, about 6 more hours." It made the ride sooooo much longer...for everyone! Brynn and Abby slept for a couple of hours, but Aaron napped before we left, so he just sat and twittled his thumbs, kicked his legs back and forth, and danced to rhythms in his head. I apologize for those who live in Nevada, but that has to be the worst drive in terms of scenery. Usually, when I don't want the kids to watch the television in the car, I tell them we are going to look at the beautiful world around us. None of them thought the brown desert of Nevada was consistent with the phrase "beautiful world around us." I didn't even bring books or coloring stuff, I didn't want any more "stuff" in the car than we absolutely needed. BIG MISTAKE! We should have turned around and picked up "stuff" when we realized it wasn't working.

I have to hand it to the kids, they hardly complained at all, that's what made me feel the worst, seeing their bored little faces as we traveled through the Nevada desert, in the dark, in silence.

Emily was a trooper, she told about 5 different versions of Peter Pan. She had to make up her own variety, because when she tried to tell the real story, Abby would interrupt every few seconds with, "That's not what happened." Emily tried to get her to tell the story, because we all know we would have heard the whole Peter Pan story verbatim for about 2 hours, but Abby refused, so Emily told her this was a new version of Peter Pan.

When we arrived in Winnemucca (about 2 hours from our hotel for the night) at about 9:00 p.m. we decided we could take it NO LONGER! Emily could not come up with any more versions of Peter Pan. We found a Wal-Mart and stocked up on books, coloring books, crayons, and even a little CD player and batteries. Wahoo! We were ridin' in style!


Aaron LOVED his new Cars books! We were all so relieved and happy to have something to do!
Brynn and Abby completed their Strawberry Shortcake coloring books. Please excuse Brynn's mouth full of crackers, we just couldn't contain our wide-mouthed perma grins! Emily and I thoroughly enjoyed our "ghetto" blaster. Could we get any more ghetto than this? Music has never sounded so good!
We arrived at the Elko Holiday Inn around 11:30 p.m. , had a good night's sleep and yummy breakfast and then headed on our way. Emily had to make it back for the John Mayer/Colbie Caillat Concert later than evening.
We were again gratfeul for our all our supplies!

When we arrived in Wendover, I decided to give Honda of Orem a call to find out if I could bring the car in so that the system would be ready for our trip home. They guy on the phone said, try this......he told me to push this and that and then gave me a disabling code and wala! WE HAD MUSIC! WE HAD MOVIES! WE WERE IN HEAVEN!!!!! (and all without having to pay the dealership the $200 fee). I started a movie for the kids and we all started screaming with joy!

I know that people have traveled for years without DVD systems in their car, and I'll admit, sometimes we can be a little too dependent on them, but I have never been so grateful for music and movies. We made it 5 1/2 hours with no music and 9 1/2 hours without a movie. I know it's silly, but I am very proud! It's amazing how much faster the trip goes with music and movies.

Thank you dear man from Honda of Orem, for helping this pregnant woman who is losing her mind! We had a great time on our trip. More details coming up.....

Baby Talk - 27 weeks

My pregnant belly today - My photographer had to get to work at his other job, so pardon the I-just-got-out-of-bed-look. I feel thick all over.

I haven't taken many pictures of my pregnant belly. I usually do the classic "right-before-I-leave-for-the- hospital" photo. I should do more, it would be nice to have a record of what I looked like and how much weight I had gained along the way with each one, but I never do, all I know is that I am fast approaching the weight where I was when I gave birth to Abby (after vacationing, I may already be there, and I still have 13 weeks to go, YIKES!) . But per a request from a friend, please indulge me with a little "baby talk."

Names - We haven't come to an agreement on a name. We mull through the same names over and over, never coming to a conclusion. Joseph likes to look through baby name books or lists...I don't....I honestly don't think that there is a name out there that I haven't thought of, that I will suddenly fall in love with. He always points out that with Brynn, that is exactly what happened. I think boy names are different though. I want classic, not unique.

He still likes the name Lance....we all know why....I just don't want to have to log on to People Online every morning to see who his next fling is with. Sheryl Crow, Ashley Olsen, Kate Hudson, who's next? I think if he and Kik had stayed together, I might be able to roll with it. I respect Lance immensely for what he has accomplished in his professional career and for what he has overcome in life, but the matters of his personal life don't settle well with me. Joseph says he genuinely likes the name and I believe him, but let's be real here with Joseph's love for cycling, it's obvious who his namesake would be...so, that's where we are with Lance...this topic has come up every time we're expecting. Brynn is all for Lance...in her words, "So he can go bikin' with Dad!" Who knows, maybe I'll concede.

Names we both like....Nathan, Zachary, Jacob, Matthew..... other Hebrew names like that.

I like the names Isaac and Ezra....he thinks he could get used to them, but they're not his top choices.

We've pretty much decided that the middle name will be Joseph or William (my dad) depending on what we choose for the first name. But he also mentioned the possibility of Lance as a middle name. I have the same reservations for using it as a middle name.

Other rambling "baby talk" - I was just telling my sister-in-law, Alyson, last week that I am more nervous about having this baby than any other baby. She made me feel a little better when she said her fourth (she has seven) made her feel apprehensive as well. I thought I would feel like a pro by now. I attribute it to the fact that we are in a new place and they have a different way of doing things. We've chosen to deliver in Davis. Joseph does lots of work with that hospital and really likes it, he also thought it would be nice to try a female OB. I've always had males....and I've been happy with both of them, but in case this is our last (we're undecided) I thought I'd give a female a try. Which brings me to my next point, at the hospital in Davis, delivering with a CNM (certified nurse midwife) is the thing to do with a normal low risk pregnancy (or so they tell me). They recommend it for the fact that the midwife is with you through the entire labor and delivery, rather than the doctor catching the baby at then end, (but if you do become high risk, they call the doctor in) lower use of meds and episiotomies...to name a few. They were mortified to learn that my last two births in Spokane were calendared and induced for non-medical reasons. To me, they were perfect, I had my other children taken care of, they broke my water, gave me the pit, I labored for a few hours, got an epidural and then had a baby within an hour or so. I've never had a baby without pitocin or an epidural, I have this vision of me asking for my epidural and them telling me, "No, we don't do that here."

Another factor, when I'm in pain, I want to be left alone to deal with the pain, I'm fine with counter pressure from Joseph, etc., but for the most part I like to do my own thing and I don't want to talk to ANYONE! I'm wondering if having the CNM there will make me irritated because I'll want to be left alone....but then another part of me thinks, "Why not try something different?" So we have some thinking to do in the next few weeks.

So, things are going well. The baby squirms and moves around alot. I LOVE the feeling of a little person moving inside of me. That's what I always miss the most when I'm not pregnant. Seriously, one of the most wonderful and magical feelings is to feel something that's living, move inside of you. We don't know if this will be "it" for us or not, and it may sound silly, but I get sad when I think that this might be the last time I feel that amazing miracle inside myself.

So there you have it....thanks for indulging me in a little "baby talk."

Swimming Lessons!

We've completed a successful swimming lesson session! The kids made great progress and loved their experience. Morley's Swim School is a private pool in Woodland where Mr. Morley has either taught or trained people to teach swimming to children for 40 years! The buzz from all the moms at Abby's pre-school and was that this is the place to do lessons in Woodland, so we decided to give it a try. I was a little reluctant because of the price, but having taught swimming lessons for six years myself, I know that springing for private or semi-private is worth every penny.

Aaron was a trooper. During most of the lessons, we hung out in the shade reading book after book after book. Aaron loved exploring the lush green grounds around the Morley's property. For the most part, the weather wasn't too bad (around mid 90's) but we had a heat wave for a few days with temperatures as high as 105. Luckily the wave didn't last too long. It made me feel sorry for our friends and family in St. George, Arizona, and Las Vegas.

Brynn has a beautiful freestyle, and her side breathing has become so smooth. She looks very natural and graceful as she swims. She's mastered the backstroke, elementary backstroke, learned and made great progress with the breaststroke and even started learning the butterfly stroke the last few days. (I still can't do that one!) She has the kick down and the rhythm down, it's just getting her shoulders strong enough to actually get her head out of the water. It is so cute to see her doing it. We're thinking about swim team for her next year. The only thing that makes me hesitate is thinking about how much I dreaded waking up early in the morning for summer swim team when I was little. I tried to think of every excuse to get out of it. Here in Woodland, they practice at 4:00 in the afternoon, so I guess we wouldn't have that battle.

We've made great use of our summer swim pass. We go nearly everyday, and somedays twice a day so Dad can join us at night. A few weeks ago, we were at the Brooks Community Pool and she decided she wanted to go off the high-high dive. I told her she could, but I thought for sure she would get up there, see how high it really was, and climb right down the ladder. She surprised me, she climbed to the top, walked to the edge, jumped right off and swam to the side, and then did it over and over and over again.

Pregnant old me even jumped off the diving board. I know it must have been quite a sight, but it was fun. I love swimming!
We went to "The Cookie Company" to get their teachers a special treat, and we coudn't resist snagging a few cookies for ourselves as well.
Abby loved swimming lessons too! However, she's the type that you just need to throw in the deep end and make her swim to the side. She's not afraid of the water, but LOVES to be in control of the situation. She can do more than she's willing to let on, and she will if she feels like it. She cracks me up, because she tries to talk the swim teacher's ear off. She did start to do better with her "high arms," as she calls them. We go swimming nearly everyday together, so she gets plenty of practice in the water. She puts on her goggles and is underwater exploring most of the time.
I am so happy that my children love the water! I LOVE to swim, spending our summer days at the pool is as much a treat for me as it is for them.

And.....I had to include this picture of Abby and Aaron. Abby had just returned from her friend, Annette's "Building" party. Oh my goodness, what a cute idea. The kids had lots of fun, painting, constructing, hammering...she loved it! We've been painting up a storm here all day since returning! I thought she looked so cute in her hard hat and home depot apron. When I went to pick her up, she was very serious about the painting she was doing, and the shingles she was putting on the roof of the cardboard house. Clever idea...I'll have to remember that one!
Oh, and notice that we are getting some of our blue skies back. We've had quite a few "sepia" days with all of the fires blazing in Northern California.

I'm losing my mind....

I'm rather absentminded to begin with, but pregnancy just seems to exacerbate this trait. A couple of examples.... the other day I had to write out a few checks, one for our savings account, one for tithing and one for Joseph's sister's wedding gift. Well the first check I wrote out was to our ward for tithing, but I accidentally wrote it for the amount that was supposed to go to the savings account. I tore the check up and wrote out a check for tithing with the correct amount, and then placed it aside (or so I thought). Then I wrote the check for the savings account and for the wedding and placed them in envelopes with stamps, ready to mail. Fast forward to Sunday, I'm looking for that tithing check to send with my husband (he collects and counts the tithing at church). I couldn't find it anywhere! I thought about all the places it could have gone...maybe I placed it in one of the envelopes? Because it was Sunday I had to wait until Monday to call the credit union...I called...no check. I then asked my sister-in-law if our tithing check happened to come with the wedding contribution...again, no luck! I know I can just write a new check, but knowing me, I will find the check and pay it anyway, forgetting that it's already been taken care of...:) So, I continue to pray and look in every place possible...but I have to admit, I want to say, "Dear Heavenly Father, if you want your money, would you please tell me where it is?"

July 4th at Muir Woods

We took a break from the heat and headed toward the coast for the fourth of July this year. Muir Woods National Monument is a forest of coastal redwoods located a little more than 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This year Muir Woods celebrates it's 100th Anniversary! It was a beautiful place to visit as a family. Because of the moisture in the area and the low light, there are lots of plants and animals that make it their home. The temperature and scenery were wonderful, nice and cool and very green. Being in nature feels relaxing! Aaron lasted in the backpack for a few steps and then wanted to wander the paths with everyone else. The wide trails were perfect for letting him do just that.



The tallest tree there is over 252 feet and the widest is over 14 feet. We learned that the world's tallest living thing is a coastal redwood in northern California. A few years ago, one was measured In Redwood National Park at 379.1 inches tall!

Do you see what I see? Aaron was fascinated by the deer he saw grazing on the hillside. He was mezmerized for quite a few minutes.

After Muir Woods, we headed to Muir Beach to catch a view of the ocean and wade a little in the water. The girl's had fun chasing and being chased by the cold waves.

After our time at the beach, we went out for a bite to eat and then headed home to catch some of the small town festivities. Woodland does a nice firework show at one of the high schools... on a much smaller scale than Sstadium of Fire, but good nonetheless. We went out for ice cream and then found a perfect and non-crowded grassy area to watch the fireworks. Here's what Brynn wrote in her journal about the events of the day....

On July 4 it was a graet night becuze we got to see big fireworks. We saw green fireworks, gold fireworks, and green and pink fireworks! We got glo sticks too. Me and my sister got red ones. My brother got a blue glo stick. We got to eat ice cream. I got Oreo. My sister got french vanilla and my brother and my mom and dad shared. Guess what? Before we did all that fun stuff we went to the bech! We found lots of shells. And we had lots of fun at the bech when the waves chast us. And then we got a little bit wet at the bech. The end.

When we watched Music and the Spoken Word the Sunday before the 4th, it was fun to see all of the beautiful photographs of our country...many of them from our state! As we walked through this national monument we couldn't help but think of the words...

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

We are grateful to live in this beautiful land America!

It was a different 4th of July than any we've ever had, but it was a welcome change! It was very nice to take some time out to be with our little family. Every moment we have to be just us, is a treasured one.

Brynn's Ballet Performance Video

Here is a very long video done with our snapshot camera, Joe did a better one each night with the video camera, we will send a copy for the grandparents. The performance ends when the girls come out with the train, not when the "Imagination" song ends. Brynn is the Little Tinkerbell in the middle, you can barely see her, the video is so small. :) While they are bringing the train out, listen for Aaron calling out Brynn's name, he did that every night, it was really cute.

Applegate Dance Company ~ Disney Dances

One of the treasures we've found here in California is Applegate Dance Studio in Davis. The girls have loved their creative movement and ballet classes this year and last week was the big show. We were amazed and once again grateful to have found such a wonderful opportunity for our girls to take part in such a strong dance program.

Brynn played the part of Little Tinkerbell this year in the first half of the program, "Disney Dances" and did a beautiful job. Each night when the curtain opened our insides squealed to see her perfectly still little sillouette sitting there. She choreographed her little solo part and actually changed it every night, it was pretty cute. Every single time I saw her perform whether in rehearsals or during the show, I got teary eyed, she was so darling and she LOVES every minute of it. brynn is a fairly reserved little girl, but she had no reservations while on stage. On the way to the first performance I asked her if she was nervous, she looked at me with her lipstick smile and said with enthusiasm, "No, I'm just so excited!" We received many compliments about the way she carried herself throughout the duration of the shows. She was such a little sweetheart and was a delight to watch perform!

She performed 5 different times and we all attended each performance. The show was amazing and very entertaining. We had originally planned to get a babysitter for Aaron for a few of the shows, but after he sat perfectly through the first show we decided to take him every night. He did awesome! We even stayed a couple of times to watch the second half of the show, Stravinsky's one act ballet "The Firebird," performed by the studio's company. Once again he was completely mesmerized by the dancers for the whole 2 1/2 hours (and so were the rest of us). The prince was played by a guest performer from the Sacramento Ballet who was amazing, and the evil villain played by a contourtionist training with the San Francisco Circus Center....very creepy movements. They were both amazingto watch and of course the ballerinas were stunning and very talented. We loved every minute and we are so sad that this year's show is over, but can't wait for next year's show.

"Tink"
Part of the cast in the green room listening to the motivational speech on opening night!
Little Tinkerbell and Little Jasmine
Brynn as Little Tinkerbell and Tinkerbell played by Tara Alemi. Tara was so sweet with Brynn and is an amazing dancer. She's extremely talented, not only is she a beautiful dancer, but she sings, plays the piano, acts, and is a great student. She just graduated from Davis High School and will be attending a local university in the fall.
The dancers were asked to wear costume cover-ups to keep their costumes top-secret until the start of the show.
We were so happy that Grandma and Grandpa could come to support Brynn. We loved every minute they were here.

Grandpa bought Brynn a rose for the last show and then realized he better get one for Abby too. When he walked in with another rose, she looked at him with wide eyes and dropped jaw, and then said with a sad, sulky face, "But I wasn't in a play..." Grandpa then explained the rose wasn't because she was in a play, but because he loved her, and then all was well.

Joseph was extremely proud of his girls andwas very impressed with the show. He delights in exposing the kids to fine culture and this weekend did not disappoint.

After the last performance, we went home and shared a yummy dinner and then headed for a walk/hike at the Davis Arboretum. We had lots of fun feeding the ducks. The kids were terrified (as usual) of the ducks and ran away while Joseph and I throw huge chunks of bread at each other and my parents, trying to get the ducks to swarm the other person. It's funny unless you are the first to run out of bread...then you are the one left with all the swarming hungry ducks!

Wonderful memory making weekend.