Every year we head up to Idaho to spend time with Darren's family at their cabin.  This year was no exception.  The only difference was we decided to go straight to the cabin first and spend time in Utah afterwards.  Which meant that we drove a different path and got to drive through Jackson Hole, WY and see the Grand Tetons!  I really love going that way because it is so beautiful.  Here we are documenting our drive:)  Colby was sleeping and it was not worth waking him up to include him in the picture!  

Apparently it was our lucky day because we saw a herd of buffalo was grazing right off the highway.  The kids loved it!

My kids got a hold of our ipod and ipad and took pictures to their hearts content (like a million).  This happens to be one of my mine though.

We made it to Jackson Hole and decided to be tourists for a few hours.  Darren was in heaven.  Can you tell?

The girls and I preferred the amazing geods!  Have you ever seen one so big?  Seriously, I have a weakness for geods and have since I was young.  Something about the sparkly inside I guess.  If only I had an extra $1200 and room in the van, this baby would have come home with us;)

And some nice people we passed had a pet bird.  Random.  They took him around in  a cage with them.  They were nice enough to let the girls take a lookie.

There was one terrible incident that happened while we were traipsing around Jackson.  We had all gone into one of the little shops and gone downstairs to a toy shop that had an area set up for kids to play in.  They had a train set up and a kitchenette and some other things.  Darren was sitting on the stairs watching the kids and I had gone to look at the toys to see if there was something we could pick up for Jace's birthday since we would be at the cabin on his birthday.  I was gone for 10-15 minutes and when I got back everyone was gone except for Brooklyn.  So I asked Brooklyn where everyone was.  She gave me a blank stare, said "I don't know" and went back to playing.  So I shrugged my shoulders and went back to searching the toys.  

As I was headed around the corner I ran into Darren who had Colby.  He had taken Abby to the bathroom (right down the hallway from where the toys were set up for kids)  and was coming back.  But he didn't have Jace.  And he didn't know where Jace was.  So I started searching through the toy store (which was jam-packed with toys and corners and dead ends) to find Jace.  Couldn't find him.  Headed back to Darren who still didn't know where Jace was and then upstairs.  I looked and looked and looked through the store and he was nowhere. 

At this point I was beginning to panic a bit. I had been searching for at least 10 minutes and hadn't seen him for longer than that.   So I went back downstairs and told Darren that I had looked through the entire store 2-3 times and he was not there.  Darren gave me Colby and went to search.   

Meanwhile, Abby is still in the bathroom.

So I go make sure everything is fine with her so that we can all start looking for him and I'm 90% sure we are going to have to look outside.  Which meant he could be anywhere.  But then, I remind myself he could find his way back to the toys and what if no one is there.  So I don't know what to do and am really starting to not be able to breathe when I decide to focus on Abby and her bathroom problems.  And she was having problems.  No toilet paper.

So I say, "Ok, Abby, just let me in and I have some Kleenex in my purse."

Abby: "Noooooo!  I'm not getting up I haven't wiped yet!"

Me:  "Abby, it's no big deal.  You're not going to get messy.  Just reach over unlock the door and sit back down." 

Abby:  "NO!"

Me:"Abby!  Seriously!  We have to go!!!  Your brother is missing and we have to FIND HIM!"

Abby: "Mom.  I Am  Not Getting Up Without TOILET PAPER!"

Just so you know there was a line (of course there was.  She'd been in there for 20 minutes).  And they were listening.

So, I ran back out to find the teenage boy who was at the checkout counter and asked if it was possible to get some toilet paper.  And to unlock the bathroom door.  So I could get in and get on with the urgent matter of finding my lost son.

After we had that all taken care of we were going on 25-30 minutes of not seeing Jace.  And I started rambling to the teenage boy asking if they had a "Missing Persons" protocol in place and who should I contact.  He was no help but at this point lots of parents have overheard all of our conversations and are promising to keep and eye out and I am about to lose it.

I still haven't heard from Darren but I do have 3 of my kids so I decided it would be best if we waited upstairs until Darren got back and we could decide what to do next.  We found some couches to sit on and that was when my phone rang and it was Darren telling me he had Jace.  Relief flooded over me and I just sank down into the couch thanking Heavenly Father for keeping him safe.

Darren found him two blocks away from where the toy store was wandering around looking for our van. When Darren took Abby and Colby to the bathroom Jace didn't notice Brooklyn (playing right beside him) and thought everyone had left him.  He wanted to make sure to get to the van before we drove off without him.So he headed out of the store and began walking. Luckily, there was a group of people (there were lots of people out walking around that day) that noticed Jace looking lost and grabbed him. They were just about to call the police when Darren showed up.  When Darren left he picked a direction and just started running the streets hoping to cover as much ground as possible. Poor Jace was traumatized.  He just burst into tears when he saw Darren.  Needless to say, we had a good talk about what to do if you think your parents have abandoned you. And it didn't include walking outside of a store looking for your van.  

Jace's 4th Bday

A little boy I know has turned 4!!  

Jace had his birthday on July 26 but we celebrated early as we do nearly every year.  We are usually at Darren's family cabin on Jace's birthday so we try to get in a celebration before we leave and then we have a celebration in Idaho or Utah as well.

This year I decided to try my hand at creating a 3D dog cake.  I was scared but determined.  It wasn't as bad as I thought and it turned out pretty cute. 

Just what Jace wanted.   A Hoss cake.  Hoss is my brother's black lab puppy.  They look nearly identical. (The cake and the dog.  Not my brother and the dog:)

Can we say the highlight of any party are the presents?

And here is Jace with all his loot.  The orange top is part of his new pajamas!  Thanks Grandma.  Abby and Brooklyn hooked him up with new handcuffs (which have seen tons of use, by the way.)  And Dad was able to finally get Jace his very own flashlight.  What a great birthday!!

I'm not exactly sure why it looks like there are only 2 candles in Jace's birthday cake but there were definitely 4!  They must be hiding.

A few things about Jace at the age of 4....

-He is obsessed about being super fast (think Dash from The Incredibles)

-His favorite shirt is his "so fast I'm invisible" shirt (and he believes he can't be seen when he wears his shirt and runs;)

-He is the sweetest little boy and often opens my car door for me

-He loves playing the iPad

-His hair constantly sticks up

-His scooter is his favorite mode of transportation

-He has borderline asthma problems that no one else in the family has had - we're hoping he outgrows them!

Happy Birthday Jace!  We love you!!

Sweet Dreams

I've often wondered what happens at night when I go to bed.  I do wake up periodically and listen for anything out of the ordinary. But I'll admit it's a bit hard to "listen" for anything when you have a fan blasting on the nightstand all night and all year long.  Darren's habit that became my habit once we got married.  Now I can't sleep anywhere without a little bit of white noise.  Newborn therapy that works shockingly well for adults.  A blessing and a curse.

And by "out of the ordinary" what I really mean is "Are my children sleeping peacefully?  Are they up and about?  Are there things that go on in the middle of the night that I should be aware of?" Surely not.  But then I see and hear what goes on in my girls room after they have gone to bed, but before we've hit the sack.  It's weird.

There seems to be a lot of sleep talking.  Sometimes I head in just to see if I can make out what they're dreaming about.  Then I see tossing and turning.  Or sitting up in bed.  Or out of bed wandering around in circles.  Sometimes looking for the bathroom.  Other times just wandering.  Mostly with vacant stares.  It kind of freaks me out.  And makes me wonder what happens when I am asleep.

And then Jace will tell me about how he needed a drink in the middle of the night.  So he got one.  Or he was uncomfortable in bed so decided to sleep on the couch for awhile.  These things happened years ago.  He's only 4.  An independent 4.

So awhile back I was surprised ( but really not) to notice a light on in the kitchen.  And while Darren does get up to eat midnight snacks every night ( I thought it was weird too when we first got married.  Now I'm just used to it), he was sleeping peacefully beside me.  So I got up to investigate and found Jace getting his water bottle.   I helped him back to bed, wondering how often this actually happens,
and went back to bed myself.  I wasn't sleeping well that night so it took awhile for me to settle back down.  About a half hour later, just as I was dozing, I heard my door creak open.  I cracked my eye open to see Jace standing inches from my face.

"Mommy, I was just laying in my bed and looking out my window for a while, and a monster is there.  I was wondering if I could just sleep with you guys until he decides to leave?"

"Sure, jump in."  And now I know that there is in fact, a lot that goes on in the middle of the night.

Weekend in Denver

Back in May, Darren had a weekend long class to attend to get certified in Dry Needling.  What? you say.  Dry Needling?  

Yes. Dry Needling.  

It's basically the Physical Therapist form of accupuncture and Darren spent the weekend getting stabbed with needles.  Oh, and getting certified to do it to any other willing participant.  I haven't been willing yet.

But we did decide it might be fun to take the kids and make a long weekend out of it.  We got to Denver on Thursday night and had all day Friday, Saturday, an most of Sunday to hang out.  I was a little bit anxious about getting around the city with 4 kids by myself (without tearing out all of my hair) but it ended up being just fine (I only lost a few strands:)

Friday morning we headed to the Children's Museum.  We had never been there but learned that it was tons of fun!  First stop, the Fire Station, complete with a "real" Fire Truck!  Jace for some reason didn't think being a fireman was cool, so he didn't dress up.

Colby was also not impressed with goings on of a fire station.  I had to throw him on the bed in the sleeping area and snap a picture quick.  He wanted nothing to do with the big truck the other kids were posing at.  It might have had something to do with just waking up from a short nap...

Our next stop, however, grabbed everyone's attention.  There is not one person in my family that does not like to play with a ball and this was fun for the whole family.  Here the girls are creating a track for the ball complete.  It took some work.  Some of the gaps were hard to smooth out!

Colby's favorite place of the day.  That little orange hole sucked the ball right out of your hands!

The kid's also loved trying to work the ball through this gadget wall!  

We tried our hands at making and launching paper airplanes.  And then discovered we weren't very good at it so we snagged some of the "already made" ones.  They took off much better!

I had a bit of a problem in the Bubbles Room.  His name was Colby.  Colby thinks he's big enough to hang out with his brother and sisters.  He's not.  This room could have been great fun (more than it was) if Colby had decided to take his nap right then.  But he didn't.  So I ended up trying to keep him from ruining his clothes for the day (floors were slippery and there were tubs of bubbles everywhere that were just calling his name!) and slipping and breaking his head.  Needless to say, we were in and out!

Here's Abby forming a huge bubble!  It took a bit of practice.

And here the girls are creating a bubble to stand in!  It worked really well unless Colby got away from me.  He was very good at popping those bubbles!

The kids had fun running around this area.  Tunnels to go through and such.

And another "fun" room with Colby. Finger painting!! I would have walked right by it if my motto for the weekend hadn't been "I am the fun Mom."  So we stopped.  And I snapped a picture.  And we left. 

Not really.  Everyone painted and had fun.  Because I am the fun mom.  But I put my foot down to go back and get the masterpieces.  No thank you.  Not toting those wet things around Denver.

And then we went shopping and I let Jace take his scooter in the mall so he could keep up and I pushed Colby in the stroller and it worked!  The girls and Jace got the ipod ever stop we made and I made a mad dash to the dressing rooms and I was very impressed that no one got lost or had a meltdown!  Except for the fact that "mall police" informed us that scooters were not allowed in the mall (I kind of wondered but thought it best not to ask), we had a great time.   Granted, there was ice cream and the candy shop thrown in there, but that's because I am the fun mom! 

And then we went back to the hotel and met up with 

Darren and put the kids to bed (Colby did not sleep by the way) and finally went to bed ourselves (when Colby finally fell asleep)!

And the next morning, the fun mom was back!  We headed to the Aurora Rec Center where they have an indoor pool with slides and water features and playgrounds.  Basically a dream come true for any little water-loving child.

Once we got in trouble for having a scooter in the mall, Brooklyn's own "police radar" was turned on.  When we unloaded to get into the pool and she saw I had brought lunches she informed me she would not be carrying the lunch box.  She was pretty sure it was against the rules.  When I told her she had to help carry things in she traded with Jace so she wouldn't get in trouble.  Once we got inside and it was lunchtime, Brooklyn told me she didn't want to eat and asked if we could just leave instead.  When I gave her no choice, she hid behind me so she wouldn't get in trouble for breaking the rules (the rules were that you could bring in a lunch, by the way).  As we were leaving, Brooklyn saw me take out the combination lock I had brought with me from home and asked me "Mom, what are you doing?!!  Why do you have that?  Mom, I saw you put that thing in your bag.  Why are you doing that?!!!!" 

 Oh.  Brother. 

 I break one little rule so I don't have to drag Jace  through the mall and this is what I get to suffer through for it.

Anyway, once I convinced Brooklyn not to turn me in, we headed to the rock wall that is in the same building as the pool.  It was even covered by our entry fee.  Talk about a win-win!

Neither of the girls had ever rock climbed and were excited to try it out.

Abby made it to the top several times.

And Brooklyn decided it was harder than she thought!

And then, we went to another all that we just happened to drive by!!  Because I'm the fun mom who deserves a little shopping after spending the day keeping my children from drowning!

And I told Jace to bring in his scooter.

And he did.

And we didn't get caught.

By the "mall police" that is.  Brooklyn caught us.  And almost didn't come inside.

What can I say, she's walking the straight and narrow.

And this is what happens when I have to stop to pick up some make-up!

Whew!  What a weekend!

Spring Sports 2013

Spring has sprung and we are full swing into soccer and softball!  We have soccer in the fall and spring so I'm going to keep the story short (not much to tell anyway, we played soccer!) and post a few pictures to remind us of all the fun we had!

This was Jace's first year playing soccer and he loved it!  He had a bit of a hard time keeping up with the older kids (he was playing on Brooklyn's team) and got worried when the masses headed his way, but overall it was a success.

  

Brooklyn was all over the place and got down to business once the whistle blew.  She has no qualms about getting in the middle of all the action (Jace usually ran the other way if the ball came near, you know, because with the ball came lots of wild kids!  I don't think I blame him).

  

I think Jace actually kicked the ball once or twice. And that was for the season.  He was upset after games because no one let him get that ball.  It's tough playing with the big kids.  And when you're running the wrong way.

Abby was in an older division where they learned more about the rules and techniques of the game.  And they played on a bigger field so there wasn't as much action.  Abby feels like the boys try to dominate the game and doesn't appreciate the fact that she is open lots of times without ever getting the ball!

Jace tried his hand at goalie.  It wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be.  In fact, I'm pretty sure the concept went right over his head.  But I think he found a cute bug to keep him occupied while the ball was at the other end of the field.  And if I remember right, once the ball came back to his end of the field it really made no difference.

This is what Colby did to stay busy.  Kicked around whatever soccer ball he could get his hands on.  It was a trick to keep him off the field and out of the way.  This kid just loves anything to do with balls and playing games and wanted in on the action.

And after it was all over, we all got medals.  For partcipation.  Once again.  The kids loved it.  I rolled my eyes.

I mean, how can you really learn to be  champion when everyone is hailed a champion?

Oh well.  When the kids are happy, mom's happy.  And they look pretty happy to me.

And then we headed straight into softball.  It was Brooklyn's first year out of t-ball and the only reason we moved her up was because Darren was coaching Abby's team.  I was pretty nervous about it because they do Coaches Pitch and I wasn't sure Brooklyn was ready for it (at all), but we practiced with the wiffle balls out in the back yard with her and she did great!  In fact, she was one of our most reliable hitters!

Darren's job as coach.  It's not a great thing when the coach strikes out all of his players.... luckily that didn't happen to our team (too often anyway!).

This field wasn't the field we played most of our games on but we did play a few.  It is an unfinished field that  will someday be for softball but that's why the dugouts look the way they do.  It was actually a bit of a safety hazard with nothing for the girls to stand behind while they their team was batting but we didn't have injuries from it.

Look how cute she looks!  This is Brooklyn and she was bound and determined to hit every ball.  You could tell from the expressions on her face that she was giving it everything she had!  At the beginning of the season she about gave me a heart attack by waiting until the last pitch to hit the ball. 

 Every. Single. Time.

And if you know Brooklyn you know that she was nervous.  (This girl gets nervous about attending bday parties - I mean, she gets herself worked up). So I was very happy when she stopped that trend and began hitting the ball after the first few pitches.  We all breathed easier.  I think Brooklyn only struck out one time all season! Yay!

And our team made it to championship game!  And then we lost.  And I got a glimpse of my future with my little athletes.  I'm that mom.  The one who goes to games and instead of cheering for the little girls on the other team starts badmouthing the unpaid officials for not getting the really close call right.  And gets so involved in the game that at the end of a loss they can't handle it!  I was upset.  And I wanted  a rematch. 

 It was kind of nice to know that my competitive edge lives on.  

More Easter

Eeeeek!  I totally missed the rest of our Easter!  I decided no time like the present to finish it up:)  Can you believe that I have never dyed Easter Eggs with my kids before?  Well I haven't. I know.  How could I? (Well, thoughts of dozens of hard boiled eggs in my refrigerator with no one to eat them but me had something to do with it.  As well as visions of splattered dye all over my kitchen. Which did happen, by the way.) 

 I did have good intentions, however.  Which is why  we had an Easter egg tie dying kit lying around (it was about 3 years old.....see, told you I had good intentions)

I'm not going to say too much about it, but our Easter Egg dying actually happened after Easter.  But happen it did!

It was really quite fun.  See our nice little tray with all different colors of dye?  Well about 5 minutes later Colby got his hands up there and pulled that tray down.  Yes, dye everywhere.  Luckily 409 got most of it out.   But our color tray ended up being mixed after that. (And I ended up with a much higher blood pressure.)

 And here are all of our finished eggs!  Aren't they pretty?  I thought they turned out great and Abby and Brooklyn even helped me eat them!

These are our Easter Sunday pictures.  I was very ambitious this year and decided to make the girls Easter skirts and the boys ties.  Brooklyn's didn't quite get finished in time (I ended up having to add another layer I wasn't planning on because it was a little short) but she was able to put her new outfit on with a different skirt and it worked out fine.

Aren't they so cute? I just love Colby in a tie.  And yes, he is an ornery little boy.  Doesn't his face show it?

Happy Easter!!