Best Day Ever!

I love the movie Tangled & the part when she finally gets down from the tower is hilarious. "Blondie" goes between running around full of incredible joy and shouting "best day ever!" at her new freedom  - or she sits down in hysterical crying moments of guilt she feels betraying her mother....the scenes are both repeated often and they make me laugh, but I do love most when she is shouting at the top of her lungs that it is indeed the best day.  Ever.

Although I don't often like to exclaim that something is the best, worst, funnest, most delicious, etc...I do enjoy a best day when it comes along. Today happened to be such a day.

I took the kiddos skiing today to enjoy their first day of Spring Break & to enjoy some new snow that fell yesterday. I'm usually not a fan of snow in April - but living by the mountains has changed me to wanting as much snow for as long as possible! We went skiing a week and a half ago when my sister Celeste's family was here for their Spring Break. We chose the warmest day & put the kids in afternoon lessons & then I helped out on the tow rope with my 3 and her middle 2 - yes, 5 children on a rope tow. Thankfully I'm not inclined to use rope in destructive ways - but the first 30 minutes was torture! Everyone was falling off the rope tow & causing back-ups & then if we were lucky to go down the hill they were either dominoes falling upon one another or they would put their skis together (french fries as they call it) and zoom down the mountain Kamakazi style...I stopped breathing a few times & had never lifted so many children up in my life! Something happened after that first 30 minutes - the kids found their rhythm & whether or not they actually did listen to what I said...either they did take it to heart or they just started to put their skis in a pizza and do wider turns!  It was suddenly magical watching these 5 kidlets zooming up the rope tow & staying on 95% of the time now - their form was really improving & there were some real legitimate turns!

We stayed skiing on the rope tow from about 3 until 5pm when the resort shut down & we were finally asked to leave :). I loved all the smiles & the satisfaction that the kids knew they had really practiced what they had learned in lessons & what mom/crazy Aunt Summer would shout to them from wherever we happened to be on that rope tow hill. That part of the mountain even survived - the fence that corrals people into where the line takes you to catch the rope tow had taken a little beating with multiple kids running into it or using it as a pole to swing them up onto the snow "ramp"....but thankfully we never knocked it down. Close but not all the way :)

Although we had to say good-bye to the Sessions the next day & it was much more fun to ski together - my kiddos have begged to go again. When the forecast predicted snow before spring break I knew we had one day's activity set!

We spent the early afternoon on the rope tow & with the first few runs I got excited about how well they were doing! Madeleine was doing more turns & keeping her body held straighter (something her teacher had mentioned specifically to work on). Bryson & Jacob were getting more confident & before long we were going all the way up to the top of the rope tow & not getting off in the middle. The ski school had said when the kids were at that level it was time to hit the chair lift.

Thankfully the rope tow is free & then Alta has a Ski After 3 program where it's only $10 to ski the bottom 3 lifts for the first time you buy the pass - each time after you can refill your card for only $5 a time. What a deal!

We took a short break which involved hot chocolate and a near melt-down from Jacob. An angel of a lady came by & offered us all some chocolate Easter candy she had brought up....all angels should carry chocolate :). As much as I wanted to take the kids up on the Sunnyside lift I thought Jacob might have that break-down on the mountain & I don't walk down mountains....at least with snow on them. They are made to ski on & I crossed my fingers all would work & off we pushed to the ski lift.

And oh what a funny scenario occurred within the first few minutes at that ski lift!  It didn't end up involving a melt-down, but by the end I was never so glad to just get to sit down on the chair lift and not have to do anything for the next 5 minutes except just ride and take in the scenery!  I am someone that has traveled often & usually it was with my kids and usually alone.  I could navigate any part of the airport - taking bags in to check-in & the security gate...nothing phases me when traveling because I've done it so often & I've developed a tough skin to things that could possibly unglue others...and definitely have unglued other young mothers that I have seen through the years.  Going through airport security is not my favorite activity in life - but it's manageable. Well, the security line has met it's match in the chair lift line. WOWZA!- that was a comical site trying to get 3 kids through these new gates they have - it's like metal detectors but smaller & they read the bar code on your ski pass so you can supposedly zoom through....supposedly being the key word in our story. First of all, the lift line can be problematic for beginner skiers - people who are still working to keep their balance on 2 long poles that your feet are attached to & then you need to navigate yourself through a ropes course of sorts....some skiers have a hard enough time navigating their way on a huge mountain, a narrow ropes course can be traumatic! I know it was for us....at the time, now it's just funny!

Jacob was standing in a line, when Madeleine skied into the line and collided with him.  When she tried to move around him she ended up pushing him down then fell on top of him.  It was a rough start!  When they were finally back up on their skis and we were all together (sort of) - the kids were in front of me trying to go thru the gates when the man working asked where the cards were...of course I had all 4 tucked into the pocket which was the most complicated to get into. He was trying to be patient - most people around us were as well....it's times like these I wish we could have personal license plates that would identify we were an out of state people, therefore we don't know the local way of going through the ski gate :). We finally made it through, only to realize that the chair lift was for 3 people & we had 4 - yikes! I quickly thought about putting Madeleine with another party, but people had started to lose their patience and were pushing past us. Thankfully Madeleine & Bryson said they would ride together so I could ride with Jacob....which was a great solution, but it did cause my mama heart to skip a beat. My 2 children on a chair lift alone? Oh please don't let them fight & push each other off that thing! Why do they have height requirements at Disney but not on chair lifts that are dangling dozens of feet in the air?!!! Finally, I decided to let them try....a rather generous offer because if it doesn't work out I'm pretty sure there isn't a next time :/

The beauty of your children growing up - is that suddenly they are ready to do things that you had no idea they were ready for. Those 2 kiddos went onto the chair (well they did miss one but that was my fault for assuming they remembered how to get onto the chair from 2 years ago!) - anyway they pulled the bar down after my mama bear self shouted at them from the next chair back some last minute directions.  They were completely fine riding up together....they even did it twice! I still don't know if they talked - but I hope that year by year by being stuck on the same chair lift they'll start to talk and really enjoy the time together - I always loved talking to the person I was riding up with!

We took Sunnyside & kept to the easiest part of the trail possible - which although "easy" it's still a mountain & some hills are rather sizable. I remember being the kids age & looking down some of those same hills & thinking I would fall off the edge of the earth by going over the edge to try & ski down! All 3 did great! Jacob skied between my legs on the really steep parts for the first run, but the second time down he only stayed with me on the first hill & was off on his own skiing next to one of us all the way down.

I got the biggest thrill looking over and having one of my children skiing next to me! It was the best!  I don't know why it hit me the way it did - but I wanted to shout out "Look - I am skiing with my children!  We are just skiing together on this mountain.  Wahooooooo!!!"  Perhaps it's because I'm not big into sports.  I will go and kick or throw a ball around for fun, but besides tennis which I do love....I was always so afraid I'd get hit in the head with a ball that I just didn't proactively play sports. Skiing is a sport that I have always loved - being on a mountain as close to heaven as I can physically get myself on earth is amazing! I love the rush of zooming down the mountain & that it's something you are in control of and that you can do with as many or few people as you want with you. When we married, Bryson & I realized our skiing loyalties lie in different areas....he likes to ski on water in its liquid state, while I prefer it in the frozen state. We want the kiddos to try both - but for myself as much as I have tried water skiing I just don't feel the same thrill as I do skiing down a mountain.  The feeling of being pulled behind a boat versus letting yourself fly down a mountain is apples & oranges - they both use skis but the feel & taste of each is so different!

I wish we had more skiing days left! I wish I had more money to spend on ski rentals & lift ticket prices....skiing is a "gentleman's" sport in that I think those sports are the most expensive! (ex - golf!). I'm looking forward to scouring D.I. and yard sales to find our own skis in the next few months. I look forward to skiing on many early-out Fridays next year to enjoy the Ski After 3 program much more often! I look forward to having Madeleine sign up for the 6th grade ski classes thru the school next year. Basically I look forward to any & all parts of skiing...well, except for the boot fit, I don't think they ever get to the point of feeling "great".

It truly was the best day to spend with the 3 cutest kids who were so ecstatic about their progress & accomplishments today!

We really did have THE BEST DAY EVER!

p.s. The gloves, skis & boots Jacob wore are the same that I and my sisters used! Those gloves are amazing - like many things today they just don't make things like they used to! The skis were harder for him to use - I think we'll use them to decorate with & get the newer skis so he isn't tripping over the tips of those long skis! (they were the right size - the styles have just changed for the better over the years thankfully!)

p.p.s - I wrote this entire post on my iPhone....my finger is now in the running for being as sore as my legs are from today!....but I wanted to keep the goal of writing today :)

So long until next ski day....we can't wait!!! 

no foolin'

I've determined that the only hope I have of getting back into the routine of writing is to bind myself to a schedule that will force...okay, maybe not force....encourage (yes) me to write more often.

I can see this being a benefit on a few fronts....

One.  I like routines & schedules.  I never thought I'd have to schedule in my hobbies, but that is the phase of life I'm in.

Two.  I might actually start writing in a more concise manner.  I tend to start to write an entry and I get so caught up in that I have to state everything and have it be rather perfect.  Well, that perfection has gotten me a long list of entries that are all dated to the specific day of an event - but I got too caught up in trying to tell everything that I'm really behind in telling something.

Therefore, as it's a new month I want a new goal to write something each day.  Just something.  It can be whatever - and I've thought about making a theme for each day, however I like to be scheduled but not constricted...so I'll have to see on this one.

I realize the irony of this as I make this goal on April Fool's Day - but this is no foolin'....I promise to write something each day.  And, for good measure I'm going to post something for today besides this declaration. How is that for a great start?!

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Friday evening I took the kiddos to a movie as Bryson was flying back into town from a business trip to Mexico.  The kiddos and I love to see movies, but Bryson detests sitting through a movie.  When he is out of town or working late, it's our time to have a little outing to a show.  We have wanted to see Big Miracle (the story of the 3 trapped whales in Alaska and yes it was a fantastic show!), so off we went.  When we came out of the movie, there were 3 ducks waddling by the side of the road where cars quickly come in & out of the complex.  A few people voiced their concerns that the ducks would get run over & after seeing a movie about 3 animals that needed to be saved I thought the timing rather ironic for the ducks to play out this scene.  As we walked to other side of the street, a man ran towards the ducks and it startled them so much that they took flight and started to fly right towards us.  Jacob let out a shriek and did the fastest drop to his tummy that I have every seen!  When the ducks had flown over our heads, he got up looking a little shaken.  I asked him if he was okay and I had the sudden desire to laugh....really hard.  A chuckle leaked out, and he looked at me..."It's not funny Mom!  They were flying right at me & I thought the duck would fly into my head!"

I know that he was saving himself for the possibly duck attack...but it really was funny.  I get a really strong urge to laugh and get  a big smile when I think about that one.  :)

Also I volunteered in Jacob's Kindergarten class that day and the first thing that struck me is that Jacob and 2 of his buddies are like the 3 Stooges - and thankfully one of the boys has a big head of curly hair so I dubbed them Larry, Mo & Curly....Jacob is now Mo :)  They said in a line on the carpet for the opening activity and the boy on the outside would bring his hand up and hit himself on the head, then the next boy would do it and then the last boy...then it would go back to the boy in the middle and on to the end.  They did this a few times before I really caught on and moved Jacob away.  It's not good classroom behavior - but inside I had a laugh at these characters...seriously, where do boys get their energy and ideas to behave in such crazy ways?  I watched the girls that day...completely mellow, serene and on top of the lessons with the answers.  This could be another post on the differences each gender needs in their learning styles - but let's just keep it at I had a laugh at those 3 Little Stooges today...another time I'll go on my soap-box about how boys need a different learning environment :)

There was another incident as well that was really hilarious.  while the class was on the carpet area being led in 'Do As I'm Doing' by the lead student teacher, she paused for a brief moment and looked towards the bathroom then said, "Um, _______ needs a little help in there."

The other student teachers and parent volunteers looked behind us into the open concept restroom they have (Jacob and I aren't fond of this idea but it's what they have for both the Pre-K & Kindergarten classes that share the space), and a student teacher quickly made her way into help the little guy.

We caught sight of his bare bottom as he stood in the middle of the floor surrounded by ribbons of toilet paper stretched all over the room!  I don't think all the toilet paper was exactly clean and he was in the process of trying to wipe and finish his business.  It was the scene that broke the tension of a long Friday afternoon with a bunch of 5 and 6 year old children that were acting like little monkeys that day.

I tried to stifle a laugh, but it was no use.  And all the other adults started to laugh as well. Thankfully our bodies at the back of the circle blocked the view from all of the students....they thought we were laughing about the actions for the song and so they started to laugh, which made us laugh harder...and honestly, it was so fabulous to have a big laugh right then.  I don't know the last time I have laughed that hard or at such an innocent act...but it was great.

My goal this month.....laugh more.  Laugh deeply.  Enjoy the moments in each day to laugh with and about.

Kids are great entertainment!  

walking on sunshine

Today was a beautiful day - the weather was extremely fantastic

and warm for this time of year - high 60's! I came out from helping in Bryson's classroom & just wanted to do a heel kick from excitement...the weather is amazing and we have our children in some really awesome schools!

I've been thinking lately about how blessed we have been with the schools where the children attend right now. As I was walking out from helping out in Bryson's classroom, I was hit not only by the intense warm rays from the sun - but I started to put together why I love the new schools and situation so much. Here are my top reasons why I absolutely adore our school situation right now:

* Madeleine and Bryson's school let parents volunteer. In their OWN child's classroom! This might sound so basic it's ridiculous - however, parents were not welcome to help in our own child's class in the city. We were looked upon as almost the enemy - we couldn't help anywhere at the school without going to get a Learning Leader certificate with the district which was really a pointless certificate stating that you were a parent that should have the common sense to do the things they were teaching in the class :) Even with a Learning Leader Certificate - you were not allowed to help in your own child's class - it would be with another teacher. I love helping in many ways for the good of education - but I want to help where my children are. I want to make an immediate impact for them - and even though I don't help my child the entire time I am in their classroom, I know that they are aware that I care enough about them, their class and their school experience that I have made the time to volunteer. I love seeing their eyes light up when I come in - even Madeleine will give me a genuine smile :) It's incredible for me - and the perk is that I get some really cute hugs from the little girls in his class...it helps me remember how fun it was to teach and have so many hugs from my own students.

* As a parent it's nice to know that I can walk into Madeleine's & Bryson's school and that I can act as a grown-up and sign myself in on a Volunteer sheet and get my own volunteer badge and walk to my child's classroom. There is no security guard and multiple books that I need to sign-in when I get to the school - the hoops we were made to jump through in NYC made me so upset & it only got worse before I left....the Principal wanted to track the PTA's every move and so she upped the amount of times we would have to sign in. It had gotten out of control & ridiculous...and although there are times when I worry that Utah might be a little too trusting and that anyone could walk in (not always with a child's best interest in mind and to help out in their class or for some other event)....in the big picture I have to think that there are hundreds of schools like this that allow parents and volunteers to come & go in the school as needed to help and give benefit to the educational experience.

* I love that on average then there are usually 2-3 parents that help in Bryson's class each day! In Madeleine's class there are about 2-3 parents a week - there aren't as many as the class is older and the teacher's have chosen not to utilize parent volunteers as much...however, parents are still regular helpers. And the very best is Jacob's class - each day he has between 6-8 adults in his class of 14 students! That is one of the best ratios I've ever seen for a class! The reason the adult number is so high is not only because they require parents to be part of a co-op experience (we need to volunteer at least 6 times during the semester and each time is the entire school day) - they also are able to have the students who are part of the Early Childhood Education program at the U of U come in as part of their Internship and Student Teaching. The students don't change day to day either - there is a group that is there Monday - Wednesday and then another group on Thursday & Friday. I love their enthusiasm for teaching and being with this little munchkins day after day - every so often I'm a bit jealous that Ms. Rachel has so many students that help her, but then again she is in charge of a lot of their practicum within the classroom.

I am really so happy that things have settled in a way that has put the children in these schools and with their teachers. I didn't talk about their teachers as much in this post - but I will....Teacher Appreciation Day is coming up in two weeks & I've been able to find many cute ideas on Pinterest to give to the teachers and I'm going to do a post on why we have enjoyed the teachers that the children have in their new schools.

So happy to be walking on sunshine these days in a school....it sure beats walking on the eggshells I & other parents were on at 217!

And in honor of Dr. Seuss and his birthday, here is his quote on having such a great day :)

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." ~ Dr. Seuss

catching memories

Blogging rut.

I dislike when this happens - stories and life moves on, and thankfully there has a been a bit more time to spend on that life happening....however, I have realized how precious saving memories are.

Madeleine celebrated her 10th birthday in February and I put together a little memory book of pictures and about her 7th birthday that we celebrated in Disneyland.
It was so much fun to put the book together for her & see her light up while looking through the pictures and read the captions.
The part I wish I could have done better - putting in more details! Not about when or where we were - but what she did and said during those days and the little yet big parts of life. I love the quotes that the children say, the cute things they do which I'm always sure will stay cemented in my head...but with passing of time the memories slip out like water. Not very cement-y I've come to realize.

I'm also in a funk as I've been reading blogs - oh the many blogs on this internet! Between organizing blogs, design blogs, and blogs about Activity Day ideas (yeah, new calling!) & others...I've been wondering what is this blog? Besides it being the main place to write about our family and our memories, I want it to convey a message about me (the writer), some thoughts and feelings I and the family have and of course the reason the blog exists - to express the ins & outs of our "normal'ish" daily life.

Anyway....it's just taking a while to get into a new groove with where we live, new routines & making sure it's all properly (love that word) documented.

So, although this is more of a rambling start than I had planned on, it helped me start to write again. It has me thinking of the potential and that even if it's a few lines - I need to continue writing down our memories. They are just too precious not to.

Happy Valentine's Day!

spy kids

My date night on Friday with the boys consisted of activities and food tailored to their active lifestyle :) They wanted to enjoy the fine fare of a McDonald's Happy Meal...why do those meals make kids so happy?....I was hoping for something a little more along the lines of Cafe Rio(!), but a good french fry is hard to turn down...unfortunately! :/

They then ran and ran up and down the play area and got out a lot of energy. And yet - there is always more energy built up in these boy bodies...how DO they do that?!

We came home and had movie night watching 'Mars Needs Moms' - the message of that show is tender & I'm hoping they got the message that moms that ask their children to do things, do it for that crazy LOVE thing....the female martian in the show that says that line over and over is my favorite :)

The next day we split into groups - I took Madeleine to dance and then we had lunch with the Lord girls. The boys got haircuts and went and bought a new toilet seat as Jacob broke the seat when he was in time out. That boy is 98% sweet - it's the 2% that is an intense storm!

We all came home mid-afternoon to finish our Saturday jobs and play Legos....the latter wasn't exactly on the list of work for the afternoon but the 3 kiddos are in serious Lego building moods lately.

We finally had everything finished for the day & started to get ready to go to Grandma Joy's for her Valentine's Party with the Utah grandkids. The boys came decked out in their Spy Kids gear --- this is their other joy besides Legos it's to dress up and play spies and it's hilarious what they come up with. Such as Bryson's disguise of the yellow wig!

These boys crack me up - they are becoming such great friends and playing together super well for the majority of the time. When they don't get along it's intense and fireworks definitely shoot out from their personalities...but overall I love how much they can play and entertain one another and that they get so excited to show one another things that they have done. Throughout the day I hear Jacob talking about "Bryson will be so excited that I found this for him" (usually something to do with a Lego piece) or "When will the kids be home so that I can play with Bryson?"

I love my Spy Boys!

{here's a little video of Spy Boy Jacob doing a little dance with his spy get-up....I did actually watch this on the blog so I know it was up at some point - but if you can't see it please state in the comments...I can see it on one of our computers and not the other! }

Dynamic Duo

We found out there would be a Daddy Daughter Dance to celebrate Valentine's Day at the children's new school. Madeleine was really excited about the opportunity to invite Dad to come to a dance at the school - she asked him to come, plans were made, the ticket was purchased and tonight was the big event!

This is one of the times when I'm so grateful that Bryson has a job that actually works for our family to do...family things.  It would have been so rare for him to have a night back in NY when he could have taken any of the children to an event....this move continues to bless our lives in so many little ways that are proving to make big impacts.  The schedule finally fell into place yesterday when Bryson & I were talking about how to get Madeleine down to his work place so that they could go to dinner.  The older two have early out each Friday, and Grandma Joy has picked them up every Friday but today she was working...so I picked them up and we zoomed up to drop Jacob up at his Kindergarten program at the U.

I finally remembered to get a photo of our little Ute today...and appropriately he was all in red!  No worries - yesterday he was all in BYU blue....but people up at the U just call it blue.  Strange.  

I needed to run up to the outlets in Park City to exchange some clothes for the kiddos, so with the older two we drove up the canyon and marveled that there is actually more snow up at the top of those mountains!
The weather was beautiful - sunny and 40 degrees.  After being in two stores, Madeleine & Bryson begged to play on the playground in the parking lot...which I forget to do as often as I should now that we have moved back and NO ONE in Utah it seems goes to the park in the winter.

 Why would people need to do that when they have homes with playrooms they can play in, or other places they can go I suppose?  For us - this is one NYC habit that I'd like to keep....on days when the sun is pouring down & the air is brilliant blue, it's almost as if the weather is begging for people to be outside enjoying the brilliance!

 We obliged Mother Nature's request and M & B had a blast running around and chasing each other around the playground.  I don't remember the playgrounds in NY being covered with so much snow...either I'm already forgetting or they did have people that came and shoveled them knowing that children would be out to play.  The only tricky part in playing on all the snow came when Bryson stepped in a slush puddle and his feet became sopping wet - so, yes that wouldn't happen at home, but neither would getting outside and gulping in the fresh air and turning your face up to the sun to say a big cheery HELLO!

We picked Jacob up from his class and then drove down to Bryson's work. It was our first time in his office and although Salt Lake is not NYC - it's a beautiful downtown! I want to spend more time discovering the streets - there are beautiful buildings that I'd love to try my hand at taking photos of - more importantly I picture the children standing around these visual masterpieces.  I need to work on getting down there - as a huge lesson learned from NY is that time goes so quickly and I don't want to procrastinate any day that I have in any place we live.

We enjoyed seeing Bryson's office while Madeleine changed into her cute Valentine's outfit, and then Bryson surprised Madeleine with a bouquet of flowers and we pretended he was coming to pick her up when he knocked on the office door. Bryson had asked Madeleine where she wanted to go to dinner before the dance, and she chose The Garden on top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building...she has great taste! I was able to convince Madeleine to let me take a few pictures of her after much persuasion, and then even more persuasion to take a picture with the handsome man she gets to go out with!

She is one lucky girl to enjoy a date with this man.  They got home from the dance and I asked them both how it was....did Dad show her a lot of dance moves?  She gave me a cute but funny look...."I danced with  my friends a lot Mom."

I looked at Bryson and he nodded in the affirmative.  She then proceeded to tell us, "But I did INVITE Dad, and we did dance for some of the songs.  It's just I wanted to dance with my friends."  And so it begins - the point in life when our little girl doesn't cling to her Daddy's legs for her dance.  She doesn't beg to be twirled around anymore....at least in public :)  I know they had a great time together and that it builds their relationship - however, as life moves on moments like this are a little bitter-sweet....she is growing up all too fast.  

He is one lucky dad to have this beautiful, smart and incredibly sweet GIRL to take out!