T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Uh, oh! I have another monkey on my hands. Michelle has been a climber since she learned to walk...Ella was a little bit, but nothing compared to Michelle. But Gabrielle is determined to be another climber.

Tonight, at bath time, I turned the water on in the tub and left Gabrielle on the floor of the bathroom with Michelle while I ran to Gabby's room for maybe 30 seconds. Suddenly, Michelle yelled and I came running. Gabrielle had climbed into the tub, fully clothed.



As I ran into the bathroom, this is what I saw... Gabrielle in the tub, still clothed, and drinking the water. I called her name and she looked up at me, eyes filled with joy. She loves to take baths, but apparently, taking a bath with her clothes still on is the best thing ever! Especially when she got herself into the tub.



Boy am I in trouble with two climbers! I'd already been worried, because I've seen her trying to climb onto the living room table and other not-so-safe locations. Now I can't leave her unattended for a moment. (I should mention that tonight she got herself caught in the grocery cart when she was trying to climb out of it and somehow wedged her foot into a tiny space between two bars. Boy was she unhappy! I am sure it hurt, but I think she was also really mad that she couldn't climb out of the cart.)

Scripture ABC's--Proud Mommy Moment Monday

I'm excited to participate in Proud Mommy Moment today. I've mentioned before that I'm not as consistent at doing FHE each week. (FHE is family home evening. It is encouraged by our church to spend time as a family on Monday evenings and teach our children about the Savior.) I have the desire, just not the follow through. Anyway, I found something that I think is going to work great...for me and for my kids.

I created this board that has the alphabet. Each week we will study an Old Testament story or Old Testament prophet. We'll read the story, either from the Bible or the children's scripture story (great resource is www.scripturestories.lds.org). We will do some kind of activity...play a game or something. Last night (we're going to try doing it on Sundays for awhile and see if that works better) we read about Adam and Eve. We played a little game. Then the girls each got a small piece of paper to draw a picture of something that will help them remember what they learned about Adam and Eve.

Ella drew Eve eating the fruit. She decided the fruit was pears (her current fave). Michelle drew the serpent (Satan) telling Eve to eat the fruit.




SO here's the great part: This morning a friend came by and Michelle happily pulled out the board and showed her their drawings. Then she and Ella told the whole story to my friend, explaining what they drew and all that they knew. (I didn't prompt them to pull out the board...they wanted to.)

The board is nice because I can hang it on the wall and their pictures can serve as a visual reminder of what they've learned. Or it can be folded and put in a small space. And it is sturdy. I found another idea I liked at
this website, and I might do it for the New Testament. But the idea for the board was all mine and I think it will keep me and the girls motivated and help them remember what they've learned.

If you want to join Proud Mommy Moment, swing over to
Shannon's and join now! It's a lot of fun, and it's a great chance to reflect on what we are doing right as moms!

family photos

So, while my family was here we took family photos. My sister Rebecca (Becky to most people) found a great photographer named Keli B. Anyway, I don't have the photos yet, but Keli just put them on her site. If you're anxious to see them (like I was), click on over andcheck them out. I'll put some on my blog when I get the CD in about a week. Thanks again for organizing this Rebecca!! While you're at it, check out my sister's photography blog... I'd try to send you all to her for portraits, but she lives in Canada.

Suggestions wanted!

So I would love to hear what you all do with kid's schoolwork and awards and such. I mean, I recycle much of it, but there is some artwork and certificates and special work that I would like to save. I don't have the time or energy to make a big scrapbook of it, and some of it is bulky and can't just be stuck in a plastic divider sheet. What have you done to save these items?

On an unrelated note:
Only one more day off before I head back to work! Boo hoo! My summer is over. I'm so not ready to go back this year. But once I'm back, I know I'll be fine. I do love teaching! Just miss being home with my kids.

Our Living Planet

Isn't it an amazing time to be alive? There is so much to enjoy and to be grateful for. We had a fun, fun day yesterday.

It began with elephant pancakes. Grandma gave us a mold to make elephant shaped pancakes and it is so much fun!



Then we headed to the living planet aquarium. The girls were all in awe of all the amazing fish, sharks and other underwater creatures. And I have to say that the new aquarium is much more impressive now than it was when it was at Gateway. Still not the biggest aquarium I've been to, but nice all the same. There are so many fascinating creatures to see in this world! Seeing the animals and watching one of the videos made me want to go scuba diving. That is something I want to do at least once in my lifetime!

There were fun areas to play in and animals to touch. They had a storytime that we went to which was fun. I really liked the book How Animals Move and the reader made it interactive and had the kids try moving the same way the animals do.

By far, my favorites were the jellyfish. Michelle was also captivated by them. We stood there staring for quite awhile and I read about them on the signs (which I even took pictures of!) Michelle also really liked the octopus. It was HUGE!!




Gabrielle spent much of her time trying to run away from us! She is really a walker now! She is getting fast. Now I have 3 kids to chase after! :)


My girls absolutely would not reach in and touch the rays. Especially because right as we came over, one of the rays slid up on the side and splashed water right by us and looked like it was trying to get out. It shook them up a little. But when we went into the South America area and they had a snake out for people to touch, they both walked right up and touched it without hesitation.



I love this photo with the amazing reflection in the water!

We learned a lot, gained an appreciation for the beauty of the water and these aquatic animals and had a fun time together. It was one of our last outings before I return to work next week, and I'm glad we did it. (Oh, and did I mention that I had a ticket that got me in for free?! That made it even better! Just had to pay for 2 kids.)

Some scrapbook pages about the time with family.

A funfilled, fantastic family visit

As most of you know, my family has been in town for just over a week. We had an excellent time. Here are my top ten favorite memories of the past week. (They aren't really in order... just my favorite things as I think of them.) Photos and additional journaling/blogging to come when I have more time later:

10. Having my niece (who is only one and who I met for the first time this week) climb into my lap or reach out to me to pick her up. She loves her aunt Jenny! (And everyone else too! She is such a sweet, friendly baby!)

9. Watching my nephew play with our crazy dog Chester. My nephew said that Chester is his new best friend. Listening to and watching my niece play with her dinosaurs...she knows more about dinosaurs (by far) than I do!

8. Family dinners with extended family...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, parents, etc. all in my backyard for a bbq and lots of yummy food. (We had a BBQ with my mom's side of the family on Saturday and had my dad's side of the family that lives here over on Sunday.)

7. Staying up late talking to my sisters and my brother-in-law.

6. Going to the park and watching the kids play with each other.

5. Driving up American Fork Canyon to have a picnic. We were able to visit with my grandparents and great aunt. It was beautiful and peaceful. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and pushing the babies around in the stroller.


4. Having family pictures taken. I can't wait to get the pictures back! I think we'll have some great ones.

3. Attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. It is so beautiful and the spirit was so strong there. It was so neat for my kids to have the opportunity to go inside the temple and learn more about it. Gabrielle absolutely loved the chandeliers and Michelle and Ella loved the beautiful rooms.

2. Going ice blocking for the first time. It was my first time and the kids' first time! What a great idea Rebecca.

and the NUMBER ONE thing I loved about this past week:Watching my kids play with their cousins (who are their same ages...but we only see every year or two since they live so far away). It was such a great opportunity for them to become better friends. Everyone was so sad to leave/to have them leave. And considering that we had so many people here for the past week, everyone did an amazing job of getting along and we all had so much fun!

ice age

Friday night we headed to the drive in with a bunch of friends from the neighborhood. It was so much fun! I'm so glad Aly organized it, and super happy that 6 families were able to come. We got food (pizza, popcorn and other junk) and ate and talked and took photos before the movie. My kiddos loved the movie... Michelle laughed out loud several times.



Aly and Shannon finally met. They have been blogger buddies for quite some time. We had so much fun. This was Alfredo's first time going to a drive in. (The girls and I have gone a few times with friends, but since Alfredo used to get up for work at 4:30 he has never come with us.) Alfredo enjoyed snapping photos, especially with the sunset in the background.




Notice my girls in dresses? I tried to convince them to wear shorts, but they love to dress up. And I brought pajamas to change them into, but they spilled bubbles on them, and they were soaked. :)

Let's do it again soon! It was so much fun. Even Gabrielle had fun and made friends with Grace. And she fell asleep about 10 minutes into the movie and slept peacefully throughout.

What I didn't know.... (edited...I added a few more thoughts)

I read a post on motherhood on another blog, according to kelly.

She talked about the things she didn't realize about motherhood before she became a mother. Reading her post (and all the comments) made me think about what has surprised me about motherhood. Here are a few of my thoughts. I'm sure there are more and I agreed with many other people's thoughts (and disagreed with a few):

Hmmm... what I didn't know was how you could feel like strangling a child (but of course you don't) one minute and like hugging them the next. ... I never guessed that my kids would be able to make me so frustrated or angry or so happy and so proud. (Was that too honest?)

I didn't realize how hard it would be to not compare...my own kids with each other, my kids with other kids their ages, myself with other moms. It's not productive and I don't mean to do it, but it happens anyway.

I also didn't realize that I would be helped so often by others...strangers and friends alike. I don't think I seem incompetent, I think I usually do a pretty good job of handling 3 kids, but so often friends or strangers have offered help without me asking. Watching my kids while I work when my babysitter is sick, helping me unload groceries into my car at the store while I got the kids in the car, helping me in church if I'm alone with all 3, etc. I have been brought to tears by the kindness of others on many ocassions, especially when my 2nd had open heart surgery.

I had no idea how amazing it would be to watch my children interact with each other. Their relationship is so special, and they often surprise me with their kindness and sweetness. This is one of the most amazing parts of parenthood.

I never knew that my kids would be able to make me smile or laugh like nothing else. That there is nothing in this world to compare to the smile or laughter of a baby or child. That holding an infant in your arms is one of life's greatest joys (except at 3 o'clock in the morning when you are sleep deprived and the baby is sick and you would do anything for sleep!). And that the days (and years) pass by way too quickly. That you really shouldn't blink... That as the song says, "You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good days. So take a good look around, you may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this."

I, unlike many others, would never have guessed how much I would love being pregnant. (I really do!) Or that having a baby naturally would literally change my whole perception of myself and what I can do.

Or that, at the end of the day, we all do the best we can and that we need to let that be good enough. But that I would often wonder if it really was.

I had no idea how hard it would be to work full time and be a mother. It is overwhelming and exhausting... There is always so much more to do and it is hard to juggle and determine priorities.

But I also know that it is hard being a stay at home mom. I am like a stay at home mom during the summer (since I'm a teacher) and I LOVE it! Most of the time. But there are days when it seems like the house is a mess despite my efforts, and dinner doesn't turn out and the kids fight and I haven't slept and I'm restless and every once in a while, going back to work seems like a break. I had 2 days like that this past week. I was grumpy; the kids were grumpy; we were all a little stir crazy. So, I admire those of you who are stay at home moms.

Wouldn't it be nice if parenthood came with an instruction manual? But then, I guess many of the lessons we need to learn as mothers are personal and individual. And what works for one child or one family won't always work for another.

But most of all, that being a mother is the best job in the world and that despite the difficulties, you wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!

April- June Reads

A Thousand Splendid Suns ...great book, but his books are incredibly sad, need a happy book now

Breakfast with Buddha
Camel Rider by Prue Mason
CrissCross
Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life
Everlost by Neal Shusterman
Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis
Lockdown by Traci Hunter Abramson
Outliers by Norman Gladwell
Promises to Keep by Dean Hughes
Stolen Promises by Elissa Wall (about polygamy)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Patriotic Panamenos

We had a fun 4th of July, which began with the girls and I heading to the zoo. We went to the bird show, which all 3 girls really liked. And for some reason, when they brought out the bald eagle, I got all choked up. I love this country! I am proud to be an American. In addition to seeing all the animals and riding the train and carousel, the zoo had American flags from different eras around the grounds. It was neat to see all of these different flags...all standing for this great nation as it grew from 13 colonies to 50 United States.

Then we spent the evening with family...both my aunt and uncle and Alfredo's extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins). We went to 2 barbecues and then did fireworks at his aunt's house. The girls had fun, including dressing in patriotic clothes.

Notice Ella's shorts are on backwards?! Often this summer, she puts her shorts or pants on backwards...how can she fit? Oh, I forgot, she is tiny!

Look at Michelle's cute 4th of July hairstyle.


This is such an amazing country. Here are some of my top reasons that I love America:
*freedom of religion
*freedom of speech, press, right to vote, etc.
*the military men and women who, throughout the more than 200 past years, have fought to provide, protect and maintain freedom
*the right to have an education...as much education as we choose to have and in whatever field we choose to have...many women and children are denied that right in many countries
*the right to choose our occupations, to choose our spouse, to choose the number of children to have, to choose where to live, etc.
Do I think the United States is the only place with these freedoms? No. But it was the first, and it is still one of the greatest. I get choked up every time I hear "I'm Proud to be an American" and in school, we sing this beautiful song called "This is America" and in it, we stand and say the pledge. Each year our third graders perform it for their parents, and each year I tear up listening to them sing about this country and say the pledge. I love this country!

Anyway, back to my kiddos...here they are.


Take a look at their faces...here we are watching fireworks with Alfredo's family. All of the girls were so excited and amazed. Look at Michelle's wide eyes. Gabrielle would often clap. They loved them.

I have to admit that I always miss the big fireworks when we don't go...to me, there's nothing like a professional fireworks display to make me appreciate this great nation. But this was a pretty spectacular day, especially because Alfredo's grandma and aunt and uncle are here from El Salvador right now. And his uncle and cousins were also here from California. I know he, especially, enjoyed the time to visit with family. And my girls love their cousins Daya and Laly and had a great time with them.

first steps

Last Sunday, June 28, Gabrielle took her first steps (plural--she'd been taking one step for a couple of weeks, but no more than one unless there was something to hold on to). After a week's practice, she is getting pretty good. She still prefers crawling (it's faster) but she's taken up to 8 or 9 steps at a time now. I love how cute they are when they're first starting out...arms out wide to catch themselves, bent a little at the knees, ready to plop down or fall forward after just a few steps.