Quatro de Mayo

We had a fun Cinco de Mayo party this year.  We just did it on the fourth instead.  You may or may not know that May the 4th is also Star Wars day, so after the party we had a Star Wars marathon with the kids.  It was a really fun day!

At the party we made maracas out of our old Easter eggs, plastic spoons and duct tape.  We filled the eggs with rice, beans, macaroni and popcorn.  It was a lot of fun and I still have about 10 maracas left in my house four months later.

We also had a marvelous time smashing a pinata.  It was so much fun watching all of the kids - the little ones who were hitting a pinata for the first time, up to the big ones who swung the stick with purpose.  In the end it was a girl that broke the pinata open.

After everyone was inside, I looked out and saw Charlie smashing the remains of the pinata to bits.  He was so happy out there, destroying something that was perfectly allowable.  It was one of those moments that you wish you could have frozen in time.

Our kids really enjoyed their Cinco de Mayo party and I enjoyed doing something to celebrate the day. We may just have to make this an annual tradition!

Welcome Back, Farrell's!

Do you remember Farrell's restaurants?
I had a birthday party at a Farrell's in fourth grade.
I don't remember all of my parties, but I do remember that one...
Because Farrell's was awesome.
I think the Farrell's around Riverside were all shut down within the next year.

So, earlier this year, when my Facebook friends down in California started posting about a Farrell's,
I knew I'd have to find a way to pay it a visit.

On our last night in Riverside, we met up with a few friends,
And Andy's sister and her kids,
At the brand new Farrell's.

It is pretty much just as I remembered it.
Which is to say, awesome.
It is loud.
There's a ton of commotion.
The food is good.
Apparently, if you ask for a pickle with your dish, they will bring you a whole platter of them.
They have a balloon animal artist.
Who knows that your three year old would much rather have Pluto than any old dog.
And their servers are willing to get into sword fights,
With balloon swords wielded by seven year olds.
Even Macie hung in with all of the alarms,
And the beating drums,
And other various crazy noises.
She thought it was grand.
And it was.

(And the ice cream... delicious and in large portion.)

Farrell's, welcome back.
I'll be back soon.

Remembering Bouncy

Ephram loved his bouncy seat when he was a baby.
Which was good because he spent a lot of time in it every day.
Like Macie, Ephram had pretty bad reflux.
Unlike with Macie, I did not trust my mommy instincts and insist on medication.
So every time he fed for the first four or five months of his life,
I'd love him and hold him and burp him.
And kiss him.
And then I'd put him down -
In his bouncy seat.
For 20 minutes.
It was the only way that I found to prevent the projectile spit up from erupting.
And it was a bonus to watch him kick and giggle at the sight of his little woodland friends.
The kicking would start him bouncing.
And then he'd get really excited.
He was such a cute baby.
Bouncy also provided a convenient napping location in his first months.

We put Bouncy away when Ephram was done with him.
And when Macie came home, we bought a new bouncer.
She was so very tiny and I wanted one that reclined her a little more.
And Bouncy stayed right where I had prepped him for the new baby
Before the new baby decided to change things up.

When I went through my first post-Macie purge,
Bouncy was staring right at me.
My next door neighbors had just had a baby girl,
And I thought that it was time for Bouncy to get some new love.

So I pulled him out.
I washed his cover.
And came around the corner to find this.

Still in love three years later.

I swear he remembered it on sight.
Well, that might not actually be possible.
But he did seem to know that it was his and he felt a definite affinity for his woodland friends.

So I shared my plan with my son.
I told him that a little baby next door could use Bouncy for a friend.
And that she'd talk to his woodland friends, just like he did.

He was very excited,
(Which was a bit of a relief, because this attachment was a surprise to me.)

He carefully said goodbye to each of his friends.

And walked with me next door,
Proudly delivering his friends to a new little baby.
And came home still smiling.

And I'm pretty sure that little Lula loves Bouncy as much as my Ephram did.
He's a good friend,
And takes excellent care of special, sweet babies.

Hello Molli

I have had the opportunity to see more old friends this summer then in years past.  Perhaps the best of all was my old friend Molli (formerly Sparks, now Black.)

Molli and I did not go to any of the same schools growing up, nor did we really live anywhere close to each other.  However, we belonged to the same stake of our church.  When we met during an overnight church trip - Snow Conference, I believe it was called - to me, it felt like we'd known each other forever.  Molli was just one of those people that you meet and instantly know that you were supposed to meet them at that point of your life.

For the next two years, I spent week nights and weekends having fun with Molli and a larger group of friends.  I remember spending countless hours talking on the phone.  And I'm sure the phone had a cord.  And I'm also sure that our conversation was full of overly-dramatic-teenage-girl talk.  Regardless, what I remember most about my time with Molli was laughter.  And a lot of it.

Then her family made the decision to move to Northern California, and they were gone.

A few years later I saw Molli a couple of times at BYU.  But from then, until this past July, we hadn't had the opportunity to meet again.  I have been keeping up with Molli and her family, she has 5 kids, over Facebook for a couple of years now.  I love how Facebook gives opportunity to rediscover lost friends.  The chances of Molli and I reconnecting without Facebook were very slim.

Molli posted a status update to Facebook mid-July about how she had made it to Washington in the car, with her five kids, by herself.  I was excited to hear that she was staying less than an hour away from us, and she made the offer to drive up to our house for a visit.

All three of my kids loved her kids.  And I was really super impressed at how well behaved they were. There was no mess to pick up when they were gone.  It was just a fun time for the kids.  Charlie mostly hung out with her girls, and he and Ephram spent the last half hour running around the backyard with them.

It was so nice to see Molli.  I love seeing old friends!

Fun with Tanna

We had a few opportunities to play with Tanna this winter.  Both of the boys love Tanna and have so much fun when she comes over!

Good Family Friends

Years ago I was fortunate enough to have two excellent coworkers that became very good friends.  Over the years we left Volt one by one.  We had kids, both adopted and birthed, at last count six between the three of us.  Our husbands became friends, our kids playmates.  Life became hectic for each of us in unique ways.  We don't have the opportunity to see each other as much anymore.  But our friendship still stands.  It is one of those wonderful relationships that everyone needs.  The kind that you know will always be there.  The friendship that refreshes instantly the moment that you see each other again.

This February we all had the chance to be in the same house for the first time in over six months.  The Stutzmans hosted all three families and it was a wonderful time for all!

Shortly before this day, Ephram had learned how to climb up into a chair and sit down.  I couldn't resist a couple of pictures.

Tanna wanted to show me that she could climb up into a chair too!

Ephram loved Jacob and Caleb's keyboard.  Actually, he's turning into quite the pianist!

Caleb loves his blankie.  I think this was taken shortly after naptime.

Tanna was so helpful mowing the hardwood floors and carpets.

All of the kids enjoyed a snack.

The boys spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen conversing about things most likely related to technology and using their smart phones.

When Ephram was ready to sleep Carleigh gathered these two pillows and we laid him down.  It looked remarkably cozy.

Carleigh and Candice helping Tanna walk in her big shoes.

All of the kids spent time playing peek-a-boo in this cabinet.  I think that Caleb was the most enthusiastic about it!

Although I managed to take very few pictures of them, Jacob and Charlie played really well together too!  Getting them to smile at the same time is a wholly different matter.

All of the kids played so well together.  Hopefully they will continue to do so as the years go by!