New Jersey Sunset

So long New Jersey.

Coach Cooper

Need a new warm-up for your daily workout routine? You're in luck! Cooper offered to share his pre-scooter-riding routine. It involves lots of finger stretching.

Sometimes Cooper's a Photographer

The Helmet

Morning Surprise!

We woke up this morning to the packers arriving a day early.

One. Whole. Day. Early.

They agreed to come back tomorrow, when we were originally expecting them.

Today I'll be using this massive burst of adrenaline that's left over from the packer surprise to make sure we're ready when they show up again tomorrow.

Also, expect the next two weeks to be full of pictures and movies. Those posts require almost no brain power but still meet my daily blogging requirement.

And they're adorable.

Sparkles

Phoebe has been counting down to her fifth birthday ever since she turned four. Longtime readers of this blog may remember that five is a magical birthday at our house because that's when you get your first official birthday party. She knows this and has been looking forward to her exciting event.

Sometime around March of this year we were talking about the possibility of moving during the summer. Phoebe asked if that was before or after her birthday. When she found out we might move a mere month before her much anticipated celebration, she was crestfallen. She has a tight group of friends here thanks to the co-op preschool and her dance class. She asked if we might hold her party before we move so her New Jersey friends could attend.

Since it was March and we didn't even know for sure if we were moving and summer seemed so far away, I said sure. Then, when we found out the move was happening, and because I obviously wasn't thinking clearly, I decided we should have the party the weekend before we move, because of course there's nothing else I should be doing with my time with just a few days before we need to vacate our house.

The party is tomorrow, the packers arrive on Tuesday morning. I've pretty much ignored any kind of moving preparation, working instead toward the party. That gives me about a day to get ready for moving. But don't worry, I haven't been totally unproductive. In the last four days I've made fourteen sparkly tutus and eight bow ties.

And that, my friends, is why my house, my children, and my dreams are covered in glitter. 

Little Hands, Grown Up Manners

Hillside Pagentry

After our day at Niagara Falls, Canada, we drove an hour and a half to Palmyra, New York. Of all the adventures we've had this year, this was one of the most anticipated. Before we visited the significant church history sites in that area, we had the opportunity to watch the Hill Cumorah Pageant.

We got there early enough to run out our road-trip wiggles and snag good seats.

The spectacle was kind of amazing. Throughout the course of the show we saw fire shoot up from the stage, water spray several times and some really clever set changes. The most jarring was a slowly rising set of three crosses from the upstage right corner while Christ's Crucifixion was being foretold and then later depicted. At the other end of the emotional spectrum was the portrayal of Jesus visiting the Nephites. The actor seemed to really descend from Heaven. It was stunning.

Do you remember how rainy our Niagara Falls visit was? We saw the Pageant that same night. The forecast called for a thunderstorm. We almost canceled and went home, but I really really wanted to see it, so we braved the weather. The rain stopped shortly before we got there. The air was cool and damp and the ground was soggy. The sky still looked threatening an hour before the show, but the clouds didn't drop anymore moisture. During Samuel the Lamanite's foretelling of the sign of Christ's birth, a followspot illuminated the clouds directly above our heads. Not long after, I turned to see Peter looking straight up. I followed his gaze and saw that the clouds had parted to reveal a sky full of beautiful stars.

Cooper, Phoebe, and I got separated from the rest of the group before the show started. We meandered back to our seats, stopping to take pictures with several cast members who were mingling with the audience. These guys had the most elaborate costumes I saw.

This woman came and spoke to us about the show while we were waiting for it to start. Phoebe loved her costume and asked for a picture.

Flash photography was not allowed, so I took this one picture sans flash then put away my camera and simply enjoyed the show. This is the opening scene and gives a good picture of how big the cast was, though this isn't quite the whole group. Near the end, while they were showing the last battle of the Nephites, I heard Bryan lean over to Cooper and say, "That happened right here."

Cooper questioned,"Where I'm sitting?"

"Maybe."

"Whoa."

At the end of the performance, while we applauded enthusiastically, Peter turned to me and said, "That's the best thing I've ever seen."

Mom, Can We Build a Fort?

O Canada!

So, we went to Canada. See?

Since our time in this part of the world is almost up, we decided we needed to finally squeeze in a trip to see the famous Niagara Falls. After doing some research, we determined that the view would be better from the Canadian side, so we gathered our passports and birth certificates and visited another country. Cooper and Phoebe had a hard time wrapping their brains around the concept of not being in the United States anymore. The only thing thing that threw me for a loop were all the speed limit signs that said "100 km/h." That's a little more than 60 mph to the uninitiated, but seeing the number 100 on a speed-limit sign required a double take to process.

Bryan found a hotel that would earn us points and provide a modest view of the falls. Since he's stayed with this hotel chain so often, he has Platinum status. That means that sometimes he gets upgraded to a nicer room. Lucky us, we were bumped to a much, much nicer room with a breathtaking view.

I believe Phoebe's exact words were, "Best. Hotel. Ever!" We got in late on Thursday, oood and aaad over the sight out our window, found some ridiculously overpriced dinner, then called it a night. After some much needed sleep and a big beautiful breakfast, we headed out to see the Falls.

They are AMAZING! The sound is so loud and the spray can reach you all the way up the hill and over several tall hotels. Add rain to the already damp air and we were nice and soggy while we basked in the majesty of the Falls. Our water-logged state was in part why we opted to enjoy this wonder from the safety of land and not from one of the tour boats that offer an up-close Niagara experience. The other reason, which was really more important to us, was that we were told there were no benches on the boats to hold onto and the water can get pretty choppy. We didn't want any of our kids to be washed overboard; we like them and would prefer to keep them.

Sophie and Phoebe didn't love the rain, but the rest of us didn't mind. Bryan took as many pictures as the precipitation would allow.

A fellow walking by offered to take a family picture and we said yes. At this point we were getting cold so we hightailed it back into the visitor's center to dry off. I think it's amazing how much the Falls have moved in the last two hundred years. See where we're standing in the picture below? That's where the Falls were in 1819. See how far behind us they are now?That's some serious erosion.

We somehow left home without a jacket for Peter. No worries though, we did bring a box of trash bags and a clever Bryan. Behold, Peter's scented poncho! It wasn't fancy, but it kept him dry-ish.

After we were dry, we found our traditional Christmas tree ornament souvenir and headed back to the US for the next leg of our journey.

Thanks go to my Grandma Bonnie for making this adventure possible. Last Christmas she called and asked what the kids would like for presents. I suggested a few things, then I rambled on about how we want to give experiences instead of stuff. She had visited Niagara Falls a few years ago and wanted us to enjoy it as much as she had. Her generosity funded the fun!

Thank you Grandma!

Words of Sophie

Sophie's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. She has quickly transitioned from "hi," "bye," and "no" to all kinds of words. She thrilled her sister a few days ago by announcing "Bye Bebe" on her way to nap time.

Here is a not-at-all-comprehensive list of the words Sophie says:

Mama

Dad

Peter (beta)

Phoebe (bebe)

brother, which means Cooper

Grandpa (bumpa)

Nana

bye

hi

no

yes (yesh)

cup (puck)

again (nuda)

another (also nuda)

doll

ball

book

water (this one isn't really English because it sounds like "mumu")

amen

everybody (buddy)

duck (ack)

cheese

thank you (ankoo)

She also says "oof" when she sees a dog and makes an adorably spit-filled elephant sound when she sees one of those majestic creatures. She signs please and has mastered the universal sound for wonder, "ooooooo." 

In short, she's adorable.

Well What Would You Do With Giant Glasses?

Apparently gold, over-sized, late-era Elvis glasses turn Phoebe and Cooper into rappers. Who knew?

Following the Leader

Deep Thoughts While Cleaning the Bathroom

As I was wiping down the downstairs bathroom sink on Saturday morning for even more prospective tenants to look at our house later that day, I had an epiphany. We have had to thoroughly clean our house almost everyday for the last week and a half. The result? We've had a consistently clean home. Instead of taking five hours to get the house ready, it now only takes an hour.

In other words, if I clean my house for an hour each day, it might actually stay clean.

Whoa.

Of course, it helps when we all clean together (which doesn't always happen) and we've been spending most of our time out of the house to preserve its beauty. But still, a little more daily concerted cleaning on my part might go a long way.

Your Song

In anticipation of our upcoming move, yesterday Bryan and I were released from our callings in Primary. I had really hoped to serve all the way through July, but it was not to be. At least they let me do singing time yesterday. I've known since the Sunday before that it would be my last day with the kids. Throughout the week, each time I thought about being released, I got a little teary-eyed.

Before learning yesterday would be my last day, I had planned to teach the second verse of Come Follow Me. But I decided to leave that for the next Primary music leader. Instead, I had the kids write a song. Bryan and I drew whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes of colorful pieces of cardstock the night before. Then before Primary started I drew a treble staff on the chalkboard.

I told the kids that each note had a number on the back which corresponded to a song that we've learned this year. One child would choose a note, then everyone would sing the song. If they did well (remembered the words, sang loud, didn't yell), then we could add that note to the board. A new child would be picked to decide where the note should go. There was no time signature and no attention was paid to counting out the notes. When singing time was up the pianist would play the song the kids had composed.

They loved it.

This activity worked well in both junior and senior Primary, but the big kids seemed extra excited. They would yell out the notes as they were placed and each wanted to be the lucky one to make that important choice.

When we finished I took a picture of each song. Here's junior primary:

And here's senior Primary:

The pianist did an excellent job of fixing the timing so the songs sounded real. The kids were thoroughly impressed with their creations.

I have loved this calling even more than I thought I would. It is still my favorite calling in the church. I learned that I do a great job with teaching and explaining and keeping their attention. However, I'm not great at the visual aids. This isn't a new realization, I just hadn't anticipated how much stuff I would need to create. There were several late Saturday nights of me wishing I had a paper cutter or some innate craftiness. Nevertheless, I loved the time that I served in this calling and hope that I will have the joy of serving in this capacity again.

Fountain Splashing

We ventured to Pennsylvania yesterday to have a park day with my dear friend Danika and her kids. We met halfway between their house and ours and got amazingly lost on the way considering I was (mostly) following the GPS. After finally arriving, we talked and snacked and swatted at six-legged critters while the kids played and went for a walk in a beautiful (but dirty) fountain. Once we were all sufficiently grimy the grown-ups begrudgingly announced an end to the fun.

Between us we have eight kids, five boys and three girls. Even though the odds were in the boys' favor, I mostly just got pictures of the girls. I think it's because the girls stopped moving long enough to be photographed.

Thanks for the lovely day Danika!

It's Good to Have Goals

Phoebe has decided she wants to be famous.

On Tuesday she asked me, "What's the fastest way I can become famous?" I suddenly had terrifying images of Kardashian-like shenanigans running through my brain. I explained that it's important to be famous because you've done something good, like scientists who end diseases or authors who write inspiring books. We also talked about a little boy who ran a lemonade stand and used the proceeds to buy wheelchairs for people who needed them.

She decided that a lemonade stand was probably easier than becoming a scientist.

Yesterday, after listening to Shake It Off for the twentieth time in two days (next time I'll wait until my kids are asleep to watch music videos on YouTube to figure out which note I'm singing wrong), she announced that she would be a famous singer.

"Oh, like Taylor Swift?" I asked.

"Yes!" she gleefully answered.

"Then you should learn how to play the piano and guitar. Did you know that she can play both of those?"

Phoebe didn't believe me, so I turned to my friend YouTube and showed her clips of Ms. Swift rocking out on both instruments. After watching, Phoebe agreed to start piano lessons after we move.

Her desire to be famous is scary, but I totally understand it. I wanted to be famous when I was her age and for many years thereafter. It wasn't until I was out of college and could see what a little bit of fame was doing to my old classmates and friends that I rethought that wish. Even now the old siren song of notoriety calls out to me. I do my best to close my ears to it.

On the bright side, maybe Phoebe will be more willing to practice the piano than she otherwise would have been!

Sophie Selfie

Guess who discovered the magic of the camera on my phone?

Punctuality

In addition to purging our possessions, part of the moving process for us includes letting total strangers wander though our home while we're not here. The landlord has listed the townhouse for rent and several interested people have come by to see if they want to live here next year.

The week that we were in Atlantic City lots of people came. In New Jersey all rentals have to use a real estate agent. We left the for the trip knowing that our house had to be in show condition. Our hope was that someone would come by, see it, love it, rent it, and then we wouldn't need to worry about keeping everything pristine. For as many chores as we do regularly, it's tough to keep every room totally clean all the time.

In spite of all the people that came by the week we were gone, no one rented the house.

No one called to see it last week either. We started to wonder if the listing had been pulled when I got a call on Friday asking for an appointment for yesterday. That gave me the whole weekend to pull everything into order.

Monday morning dawned and we got to work. Peter was pretty helpful, Cooper was slightly less so, and Phoebe spent most of the day lying on the ground, complaining loudly that her legs hurt. At least, they hurt until her brothers came in to play, and then all maladies vanished. Nevertheless, and despite lots of distractions and calls to come back and help clean, we were on track to be out the door to the library before the agent and prospective renter came at the appointed 4:30.

Shortly after 3:30, with dishes in the sink, unfolded laundry in the front room, and a few errant spots on the dining room floor. I glanced out the window that overlooks our driveway. There was a car. And there was a man that I didn't know getting out of it.

All of sudden, I knew what was happening. "They're here early!!!" I yelled to the kids. "They're an hour early!! Grab your shoes! Grab the library books! Get down to the van!" The kids scrambled to comply, just as frenzied as I felt. I hauled the baskets of clean clothes up the stairs to my room, whisked a doesn't-go-here bag to the basement, and grabbed daytime clothes for a fresh-from-her-nap Sophie. I came downstairs just as they were walking in and saying, "We know we're a little early, We hope it's alright."

In what culture is AN HOUR a little early?

I should have said, "No, no it's not alright. We needed that last hour to make sure everything was done and we could leave before you arrived. Please come back when you said you would be here originally." But I didn't. Instead I said, "Uuuuhhhhh, weeeelllll, okay. I guess it's alright. We could have really used that hour, but we'll head off to the library so we can get out of your way." And then we scurried around gathering what we needed to get out the door, complete with children screaming and being generally chaotic.

We finally got to the car, I opened the garage, and saw that our early visitors had blocked me in.

Awesome.

I ran back upstairs to ask them to move the car. As I rounded the corner on the stairs and before I got the words out of my mouth, I saw the real estate agent's face. She was showing the master bedroom and she was wearing a look of dismay. I heard her say, "Try turning on the other light." But there is no other light in our room. The light hasn't worked in that room since the end of last August. Bryan rigged a wireless switch to a standing lamp, but it doesn't provide much illumination. Phoebe's light failed recently as well. Each time we've needed maintenance we've sent a letter to the owner, and each time the request has gone unheeded.

In that moment, standing on the stairs, registering the look on her face, it hit me: perhaps no one will rent this house, at least not until it gets some attention and care. We've maintained a clean house and have kept our wear and tear to a minimum, but the almost complete lack of upkeep that this house has received over the years shows. I have met three of the former tenants and they each tell the same story. Things broke, the landlord promised repair, then stalled, then simply ignored until the renters fixed things themselves. And while they were reimbursed for parts, they were not compensated for labor. That means the owner has been getting years of free work on this house. Other than installing smoke detectors that weren't ten years old and replacing a broken end-cap on the top rack of the dishwasher, we haven't fixed a thing.

I have no idea if the visitors found anything redeeming about the house. We left for the library before they had a chance to ask any questions.

We have another person coming to see the house today. I'm seriously considering leaving two hours in advance, just in case.

The Big House

We have a place to live in Illinois! The commute for Bryan will be kind of ridiculous, but the house (yes, a house) is within our price range and near a good school. Bonus: it has a giant backyard. Well, that's a bonus for me and the kids, Bryan isn't looking forward to mowing the lawn. But hey, from what we've heard, the yard will be covered in snow more than half the year anyway, and when there's snow you don't have to mow.

Now that we have an address to move to, we need to finish getting ready on the New Jersey end. Bryan and I have been sorting through boxes and drawers, pulling out stuff to give away. After so many moves you'd think that we would have purged as much as possible, but stuff keeps accumulating. I spent three hours on Saturday sorting and organizing our wall of art supplies. In that time I gathered two big bags of trash. The funny thing is that the space, while certainly much tidier, doesn't look dramatically different.

I'm sure this week will bring more purging and organizing. It's a liberating feeling to see a half empty drawer or a dresser top free of clutter, you know?

Oh I've Been Everywhere (Almost)

Have you seen the map going around Facebook that lets you mark all the states in the US you've visited? I finally filled one out.


Create Your Own Visited States Map

The South is calling out to me, "Come visit, ya'll!" Or something like that. But North Dakota is just mocking me. I can see myself getting to Alaska and Hawaii before making it all the way up to North Dakota.

This bothers me far more than it should...

And on that note, have a great Independence Day!

Jersey Shore

Bryan had a work conference in Atlantic City last week. When he told me that he would be gone for the first week of summer break, I asked if we could tag along. So while Bryan attended classes and meetings, the kids and I had fun sight-seeing.

The hotel we stayed in was really fancy. It even had a giant pink chandelier in the lobby. Of course, that lobby opened directly to a casino, which was a new experience for my kids. Phoebe was incensed that she had to be twenty-one years old to cross onto the carpet. Cooper really wanted to "play those video games" that were masquerading as slot machines. I told him those video games would steal his soul. He stopped asking after that.

Our first full day in south Jersey was spent at the Cape May Zoo. It was free, but a good size and well-maintained. The high temperature for the day was 94 degrees, so we made sure to drink lots and lots and lots of water. And to pour water on our heads and necks and arms. And the kids each ate an ice cream bar to stay cool. Peter was so grateful that as he ate he said, "Thanks Mom! This is the first time you've given us a treat without us having to beg!"

Sophie loved pointing out each animal she saw.

There were peacocks wandering through the zoo. We got close to this one.

How thoughtful of the zoo to have a face cutout at just the right height for each of my children.

The next day in Atlantic City I didn't take any pictures at all. We got into swimsuits and sunscreen and loaded up our sand toys. Then we walked up and down the famous Atlantic City boardwalk looking for lunch that didn't require dipping into our 401K. We finally found some hot dogs and headed for the beach.

Actually, we headed for the shore, because that's what the natives call the beach here.

Sadly, a huge storm the night before churned up lots of riptides, so all of the beaches were closed to swimming. Instead, we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool. We played for about an hour, then headed out to get ready for a fancy dinner with Bryan's coworkers. But just as we were about to leave the pool Cooper called out, "Dad!" And there was Bryan, out early from his meetings and ready to swim. So we all went back in for another half hour. It was a fun surprise.

The dinner that night was fancy. And Bryan's coworkers all commented on how well behaved our kids were. Of course, Bryan and I were the only adults at the table not drinking alcohol, so that may have colored their perception a little.

The next day we drove around a real-life Monopoly board and saw Atlantic City from our car. We even drove to see Lucy the Elephant.

After more time in the pool and too much Disney Channel, we were almost ready to head to Baltimore. Of course, we did take one more trip to the boardwalk, but this time with our whole family. We even walked to the shore and dipped our toes in the Atlantic.

Nursery Diaries

Sophie is officially a nursery-goer. She had previously visited with me to do singing time, but that was just a ten-minute stint for a few weeks. With both of her parents serving in Primary, she's spent most of her Sundays with us and all the kids in the ward rather than sitting with quiet adults in Relief Society or wandering the halls. I think that helped her transition to Nursery. 

So far it's gone well. She plays happily, enjoys her snack, scribbles with a crayon on her weekly handout/coloring page, and is thrilled when I come sing songs with her and her Nursery-cohorts. And while I worried about the bad habits that Peter would acquire when he first went to Nursery, I'm not similarly concerned about Sophie. She's already aware of those traits from watching her older siblings, so Nursery will not be the culture shock that it was for Peter.

Sophie, on her first day of Nursery.