Too Funny

I took dictation today for a letter from Maryam to her friend Taylor (a boy). In the letter she told him that she loves him and they should have a playdate soon. She also said, "You choose: friend or girlfriend. Circle one and mail it back to me."

Ha! Where did she learn that already? I'm sure I must have been at least 7 or 8 before I was writing "check the box" notes to my friends.

I did point out to her that she is not old enough to have a boyfriend yet. She said, "I know, Mom! We just like to play boyfriend and girlfriend." lol. Does that make it better??? I think I've got my work cut out for me here!

Gualala Camping Trip

Several of our friends go camping together over Memorial Day weekend each year.  They have invited us to join them several times, but we always gave our excuses and stayed home.  Peyton and Maryam have been asking to go camping for a couple years now, so we decided this would be a safe way to test out the camping waters.  Tobin and I are not really campers.  Neither one of us enjoys it much, due to all the dirt and bugs and lack of real beds, etc.  Our rule for the weekend was "No complaining!"  I wanted to make sure that the kids got a chance to decide for themselves if they like camping or not.  In the end, we all had a great time!

Waiting for the tire to get fixed

We drove up Friday, caravaning with the Croskeys.  One of the tires on their trailer blew out, so we made an unexpected pit stop for a new tire.  Thank goodness we left early!  We still made it to our destination by mid-afternoon.  The campground was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the fresh smell of nature.  It's been a while since I last left the urban jungle.  :)



We had rainy weather most of the day Saturday.  Luckily, the Sungas were also part of our camping group at Gualala . . . in their fabulous RV!  They let us take refuge there for a while so I could nurse and the babies could nap in a warm, dry place.  If it wasn't for them, I think the babies and I would have spent the whole day in our cold tent.  By evening, the rain was finished, so after dinner we watched a movie on a big screen in our campsite.  Seriously!  Our friend Wolf brought up his projector and a big white cloth and all the technology required to make that work.  It was cool.

 

Movie Night



Sunday we attended church at the campground.  There's a ward from Fremont that comes up for the same weekend, and they hold Sacrament Meeting followed by Sunday School/Primary.  It was a neat experience.  Sunday evening we had a fireside with just the families from our ward.  Those who had served missions were asked to share a faith promoting experience from their mission.  We enjoyed listening to all the stories and testimonies that were shared.  Tobin talked about an experience he had in the MTC, gaining his testimony of Joseph Smith and the first vision.  We were all sitting in a circle around the campfire.  Peyton was sitting just in front of Tobin, and about half way through Tobin's story, Peyton stood up and turned around.  He quietly stood there looking up into Tobin's face as he finished sharing his story and testimony.  It was really sweet watching him soak up his Dad's influence.

Since we had a group of friends there together, we paired up families and took turns cooking breakfast and dinner for the whole group.  What a treat!  That really made for an easy camping trip.  We were blessed to have the use of two microwaves, one in the Sunga's RV and one in the Jensen's trailer, to heat up our baby food.  I was pretty nervous about doing that over a campfire.

Of course, the babies loved the trip.  There were plenty of people willing and ready to hold babies all day long.  Bishop and Sister Jensen and their daughter Angela were frequently found wandering over to our campsite to help with the babies.  And the Sungas offered a bed in their RV for nap time every day.

Toward the end of the trip, Susan (who coordinates each year) asked Tobin if we would come again next year.  And he said . . . . YES!  Well, there you have it.  We may be campers after all. 

We did learn a few things, and I'm hoping we can remember all of them for next year.  I brought way too many clothes for everyone this year.  Consequently, it took me two weeks to catch up with the laundry once we got home.  Our extension cord was much too short, so we need to get a longer one before next year.  And our tent really is too small.  When the box says it sleeps six people, that means wall to wall sleeping people; there's no room for bags or gear.  And that really doesn't allow room for regular sized air mattresses either.  Our current tent is sort of a football shape.  I think we will be looking for something square or rectangular that sleeps closer to ten people.  Or a tent trailer.  Or an RV.  Yeah, right!  I'm dreaming!  So really just a bigger tent for now.  I like the trailer idea, though, since things could then be stored in it for good and I would feel more organized.  The chaos of our tent and car during the weekend really drove me crazy.  (I know I'm an A-type personality, but I think it's getting worse the older I get.  :)

All in all, we had a fabulous weekend!

 
(The pictures below are in no particular order.  I'm struggling to get blogger to let me move them where I want.  Grrrr!)

Tobin sitting by the fire

  

Four Cuties Snuggled Togther

The weather was pretty cold, so our tight sleeping conditions turned out to be a blessing.  What better way to keep warm?  Well, our fire rocks helped too.  :)  Good thing, since there was no room in our tent to use the space heater we borrowed.

Lunch Time!

Headed Home . . . All Tuckered Out!

  

Snug as a Bug

Braden, Tobin, Natalie
Don't you just love those baby coats?  Adorable!

  

Ricardo

Tobin, Braden, Natalie, Angela

  

Maryam, Peyton, Cole, Phylene, Taylor, Ashlin, Sadie

Peyton and Lydia



Time Flies

I know I have lots to catch up on again, but it's not going to happen tonight.  I guess maybe I'll be a better blogger again next year.  Right now I'm just trying to soak up every minute with my kids.  The babies are growing so fast!  It seems they change every day.  They are now six months olds, and I really have no idea where that time went.  Natalie has two bottom teeth already!  Braden seems to be teething, but nothing has broken the surface yet.  His favorite thing to chew on is anything fabric.  I'm not really sure why.  He is mildly interested in teething toys, but really prefers cloth.

Braden and Natalie had their six month well check last Friday.  Braden is now 14 lbs 6 oz and 26 1/4 inches long.  He can roll from front to back and almost from back to front.  He is intense and really loves his mama.  He is not shy about letting me know that he wants me to play with him or pick him up.  Natalie is now 13 lbs 2 oz and 26 inches long.  She can also roll from front to back easily.  She probably could roll from back to front if she wanted to, but she doesn't really like tummy time much.  Natalie is very happy and loves to babble.  She is generally pretty calm and sweet.  And she gives very cute, slobbery, open mouthed kisses!

 Natalie

Braden

Peyton and Maryam turned 5 on March 27th.  We had a HUGE friend party--their first ever.  I didn't really consider putting a cap on the number of children we invited, and when the list was 19 kids long, I never dreamed they would all be able to come to the party.  In the end, we had 17 kids between 4 and 6 years old, and 4 babies.  Not to mention a few parents and grandparents . . .   Needless to say, we had a full house!  Luckily, the rainy weather cleared in the middle of the party, and we were able to go outside to let the kids break the pinata.  Otherwise it would have just remained as a party decoration.  I think all the kids had a great time, and Peyton and Maryam got so many fun presents.

Maryam's Ariel cake 

Peyton's Baseball cake (not sure why I can't get the picture to rotate)

There's a bit of a story behind Peyton's cake.  He initially wanted a cake with many different kinds of balls on it--all different types of sports.  So I was going to make cupcakes and decorate them as different balls.  The day before I made the cakes, Peyton told me that he wanted a baseball player on his cake.  I decided to switch the plan and make him a regular cake so that we could include a baseball player with many other types of balls.  The night before the party I was decorating the cakes, with help from my sister-in-law, Kristyn, my mother-in-law, and my friend Sue.  Peyton decided then that he also wanted a pitcher on the cake, and didn't really care about the other balls.  Thank goodness Sue brought over some fondant!  I was able to make stick people with that for the new baseball themed cake.

 Attempting to break the pinata.  I think every child got a least three turns hitting that thing.  They make sturdy pinatas these days!

Speech! 

With a bit of coaching from Tobin, they both thanked their friends for coming before opening their presents. 

We are so blessed!  Every time I start to feel down about life's challenges, I'm reminded of how much we have!  Heavenly Father is truly so good to our family!  I'm so thankful for our wonderful friends and family.



Unexpected Preschool Interruption

We do a co-op style preschool with some other moms and kids from church.  It's my turn to teach preschool this month, so yesterday the four kids were sitting around my dining room table, workbooks ready, pencils out.  I began the directions for their workbook page, when Maryam said, "Oh, sorry.  My phone is ringing."  She proceeded to pull an old cell phone we let them play with from her pocket and answer it!  I explained to her that it is against the rules to use a cell phone at school and that I would have to take her cell phone away if she used it anymore.  She put the phone back in her pocket and we continued with our lesson.  A few minutes later she said, "Oops!  I forgot to turn off my phone.  It's ringing again."  I told her that when I was teaching high school, if a student used their cell phone I would take it away from them; so she better not use her phone again!  What a precocious little girl!  Thankfully, she got the message the second time and we didn't have another cell phone ringing in class.

The similarities between teaching preschool and teaching high school are uncanny, don't you think?

Caught Up . . . Mostly. . . and Baby Update

I think I'm caught up with posting about major events I missed.  I need to download pictures off the camera again so I can post about Valentine's Day.  And of course I need to post more pictures of the babies.  They are growing so fast!  I can't believe they will be five months old next week!

Here are the stats from their four month doctor appointment:
Braden:                       Natalie:
11 lbs 10 oz                10 lbs 3 oz
25 1/4 inches               23 1/4 inches
16 inch head                16 1/2 inch head

I guess they are a bit small for their age; they are low in the percentiles.  But their doctor thinks they are growing nicely so far.  They started eating oatmeal baby cereal about a month ago, and they love it!  They are consistently sleeping through the night, and I love that!  Natalie just started trying to give me kisses this week.  What a sweet girl!  She was struggling with lifting her head while on her tummy, but after just one visit to the physical therapist she is doing much better.  I think the PT will be pleased with Natalie's progress when we see her again in a couple of weeks.  Braden loves to smile and talk, but he seems to have a red-head temper too.  When he gets really mad, he sure lets us know by screaming. 

Both babies are trying to roll over.  Natalie is getting close to mastering the roll from tummy to back, especially since the momentum from her (large) head gives her an advantage.  Braden had one successful roll from back to front, but hasn't repeated that performance--maybe because he fell off the couch doing so.  I was nursing the babies, when Peyton yelled to me that the toilet was overflowing.  I quickly set the babies down on the couch and ran to contain the flood, while instructing Peyton and Maryam to bring towels as fast as they could.  We had just about cleaned up all the water when I heard a loud thump followed a second of two later by a loud wail.  I knew immediately what had happened.  Poor little Braden somehow rolled himself off the couch onto the floor.  He was not hurt, but he managed to scare himself--and me--quite well.  

Our days never seem to be dull, even if we don't get out of the house.  Four small children demand a lot of attention.  (I'm sure you already knew that, right?)  Tobin is working like crazy since it's busy season, and some days I'm pretty sure I'm going crazy.  Ah, parenthood!  What a life!  Seriously, though, I'm really enjoying being home with my kids full time.  That truly is a blessing.  Before I know it they will all be in school and I will have the rest of my life to work.  These years with young children are so precious!

Catch Up Post #6 - New Year's Eve

We partied with Auntie Kristyn, Uncle Trenton, and cousin Samantha for New Year's Eve.  The highlight of the evening was playing Rock Band on their Wii, which they were kind enough to bring to our house.  Everyone had a great time, and the babies slept right through all the noise!

The Gang

Peyton on drums - Rockin! 

Uncle Trent

Sammy and Aunt Kristyn

Babies Snoozing

Maryam and Sammy rockin out

Peyton on guitar

Sammy and Kristyn

Go Tobin!

Tobin and Maryam - Great vocals!

Kris, Trent, and Sammy spent the night at our house so they wouldn't have to drive home late.  The super treat for Tobin and me was that Trent and Kris got up in the night to feed the babies, so we got a full night's sleep!  It was so nice to sleep for six hours straight for the first time in a couple months. 

Catch Up Post #5 - California Academy of Science

One of the fun things we did over Christmas break was a trip to the California Academy of Science with Peyton's friend Gavin and his dad.  The kids had fun seeing all their favorite things again.  They even got to see two live reindeer!  We discovered one of my favorite things at the Academy of Science on this trip - the Explorers Cove.  It's a play room for children ages 0-5 and their adults.  The number of children in the room is limited, so we had to wait a few minutes to get in, but it was well worth the wait.  It's a completely enclosed area with a tree house and a ship and lots of toys and puzzles for the kids.  What a super place for parents to take a break and let the little ones play freely for a bit!

Maryam 

Maryam

Peyton next to a butterfly (while we waited to get in the rainforest) 

Maryam and the butterfly

The kids enjoyed the see-saw at the aquarium

And this is how the babies enjoyed the trip

Tobin livin' it up!

Lydia - so glad to be out of the house!