Old News

Well, I actually finished the play kitchen months ago, but I never posted any pictures of it.  My sewing machine broke and so I wasn't able to finish the curtains for the window until this week when I borrowed a friends machine.  So here it is.  Annie has been playing with it for a while and really likes it.  It was definitely one of those projects that I just dragged out forever and by the end I was kind of tired of it.  But I'm glad I made it for Annie and hope she enjoys it for a long time.  I could not have done it without Jeff.  He helped me figure out and put on the oven door so it would be strong.  I definitely need to make more play food though because I think she is tired of making pancakes and sandwiches. :)

Happy Birthday Michael !

Wow, 5 years old.  Today I reflected on that crazy day 5 years ago when little Michael came into the world a little over 2 weeks early and was almost born in my friend Maile's car...ya, long story.  It doesn't seem like it was that long ago.  But here we are with our grown up boy Michael who is definitely 5 years old and has so many talents to show for those 5 years.  Michael is so imaginative and has such a sweet heart.  He is quite shy until you get to know him, but he'll be your best friend once you win his trust.  :)    Today he got breakfast in bed and got to open his presents first thing in the morning.  We played at the park and had cupcakes with some friends in the afternoon and went out to eat in the evening.  When I asked Michael what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner he said he wanted, "chicken nuggets, fries and sauce with Brother Arguelles."  Our friend from church works at a restaurant and we go out to eat there on occasion.  That worked for me....I didn't have to cook.  It just so happens that Bro. Arguelles has the same birthday as Michael so they got to celebrate together.  It was a fun day.  We love you Michael!!

A few fun facts about Michael:  He likes drawing (but doesn't care much for writing yet)
He tells an amazing bed time story
He is a picky eater but his favorite food is spaghetti or chicken in most forms...well actually most meats.
His favorite primary song is "I Am A Child of God"
He mostly likes to just play with his siblings.
He loves wearing his suit on Sundays.
He likes to snuggle up and read books.

No Bullies....or pigs.

Today was the beginning of the No Bullying campaign in Secaucus school district.  I know this is a big problem in schools around the country.  I haven't really seen any of that at Christopher's school but I'm sure it happens, probably more in the older grades.  I'm glad that they talk more about it at school and are really taking the initiative to make sure that children are safe and happy while at school.
Christopher was mostly excited that they all got this cool t-shirt and got to have a "fun" day.  It sounds like they didn't do much work today, except for their spelling test, but they got to have a big assembly and do bowling and a magic show.  I'm not really sure what this has to do with not bullying, but I'm sure they tied it in somehow. :)

Here's a funny story about Christopher.  The other night at bedtime we were reading and the story was talking about how the family that lived on a farm had a pig.  This is how the conversation went:
Michael- "Was it a baby pig mom?"
Me- "No, I think it was probably a big pig."
Christopher- "Ya, like you mom."
Pause.........
Me- "Are you calling me a big pig?" (smile)
Christopher (unabashedly)- "No, I just mean it was big like you are big, not a kid like us."
Me- "Oh, that makes me feel better."

I just had to laugh.  Kids totally don't know when they put their foot in their mouth.  I recall a conversation similar to this one where I got called a cow also.  Good thing I don't get offended easily.  But it did make me want to go down to the basement and run about 10 miles on the treadmill.  :)

Happy Birthday Jacob !!

Oh, I love my little Jacob bug.  I can't believe my baby is a year old already.  That first year is just so precious and now I no longer have a baby....he is a growing boy already.  Jacob isn't walking yet and he doesn't seem to care too much about learning to walk.  Oh well, that will come soon enough I'm sure.  Jacob is such a happy baby.  Of all my children he has been the most content as a baby.  He sleeps well and eats well and is pretty content to let his brothers and sister play around with him.  He loves taking baths and snuggling and reading books.  He loves eating and is becoming very independent.  He will sometimes spit out food I put in his mouth but pick it back up and put it in himself.  :)  Jacob likes to be outside and has the sweetest toothy grin.  He has 8 of his front teeth and is working on some of the back ones already. 
We had a pretty low key 1st birthday...just family fun, presents and cake at home.  Jacob dug into his cake pretty easy.  He thought it was fun to play with but wasn't so sure he wanted to eat in untill Jeff put a little bite in his mouth and then he liked it.  After a warm bath and clean jammies he went right to bed.  It was a fun day to celebrate our little (big) man.  :)

Hikers are friendly

We try to take a trip every fall when the leaves change color.  We decided to go to Vermont this year and to combine it with our conference getaway (since we try to go stay at a hotel for conference as well).  This years trip was really fun.  We decided since Christopher and Michael are only in 1st grade and kindergarten they could miss a couple days of school (don't worry we did their homework in the car on the way home). ;)  We left Thursday night and got back super late Monday night.  We drove up to Burlington Vermont and found a fun hotel to park ourselves for the weekend.  Here is the funny story.  We like to live on the wild side and rarely reserve a hotel beforehand.  We just find one when we get where we are going.  (Sometimes they look nice online but aren't when you get there).  Evidently there are lots of colleges in the part of Vermont we went to and most places were completely booked up for parents weekend.  We just kept driving north and eventually got too tired so we parked the car and slept...in the car....for most of the night.  Ya, we're crazy like that.  Actually the kids slept pretty well.  Jeff and I....not so well.  But we woke up and finally found a great place that had one suite left and they let us check in at 7am.  So then we all crashed again and slept till like 10am.  Ahhh, memories.  :)  Friday was really rainy so we just drove around and saw the area and swam in the pool.  Saturday we watched conference and took a few little nature walks.  Sunday we watched conference which was so amazing.  I loved Pres. Uchtdorfs talk, (he is so inspiring), Pres. Packer (he just tells it like it is), Pres. Monson (he is so Christ like) and Pres. Eyrings, (he is so kind and wise).  They were all great talks.

So, on to the title of this post.  On Monday we decided to hike Mt. Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.  Now, when I say highest peak...that is in New England terms.  It is 4400 feet in elevation...which I think is what the valley's of Utah are.  :)  But still, it was such a great hike and a great experience for the kids.  We drove up this super steep windy road to the base of the hike.  (There were actually many different trails going to the top of this mountain, some as long as 200+ miles coming from Canada).  But we did the last 1.5 miles to the top.  It wasn't super long but most of it was rock and so it was lots of rock scrambling and you had to follow the little markers closely.  The boys LOVED it and they did the entire 3 mile round trip without any help, expect for a little hand holding where there were some ledges.  Annie walked some of it too and then Jeff carried her on his shoulders...and had Jacob in the carrier on his front.  My hero!!

Anyway, we passed many people going both directions and only saw one other child who I think went all the way to the top.  Everyone was so nice and most people said, "My, you have your hands full" (which I hear daily here in NJ).  But everyone was so kind to the kids and told them how great they were and how they should be so proud of themselves and what great little hikers they were.  At the top everyone came up to us and wanted to take our pictures and talk to us and tell us they've never seen anything like it before...a family with 4 kids at the top of this mountain.  It really was a great experience and I think the boys were very proud of themselves.