I don’t have anything really funny or inspiring to write. . .but I am very excited about a great deal I got yesterday.
Getting a good deal on something always makes me happy, but the icing on the cake is when I go out with the express purpose of purchasing a specific item and I get a good deal on that item.
So I was thrilled yesterday when I went out to buy some BYU clothes for the kids to celebrate the kick-off of BYU foot ball and found these outfits for just $3.00 each! Yes, you may all tell me how much I rock ;) GO COUGARS!!!
When I picked Isaac up from school he didn’t say much at first, but as we walked home he started telling me bits and pieces of his day and by the time we got home, he was very eager to tell me more and more of the details. He was especially eager to read some books for his reading log. He ran into his room and came back with two books on machines. Both books were not beginner reading books, but he was determined to read from them. I helped him with the words he didn’t know and we read a few lines in each book together. He was very excited about his reading and wanted me to write down each word that he had read and then talked about how amazed his teacher would be with his reading.
I walked Isaac to school this morning for his first day. Charlotte came with us and held his hand as we headed off to school. As he walked, Isaac turned to Charlotte and said “I love you, Charlotte†to which Charlotte replied “I love you too, Isaac.â€
At school he lined up right behind his best friend Sam Kelson. I was glad he had a friend in his class to help him get over his shyness. When they walked into the school, each time the line would lag a little bit, Sam would reach back and take Isaac’s hand to pull him forward.
As you might have guessed, I did cry a few times, but I’m not worried about him. I’m excited for him to begin this adventure and I can’t wait to hear about his day. I think I might be a little more nervous for him if it wasn’t for his friend Sam. I know that with Sam there he won’t get too lonely or scared.
Isaac has been really interested in going bowling since he saw the icon for it in his magnetic calendar. The longer he had to wait, the more interested he became. He checked out books on bowling at the library which he chose as bedtime stories multiple times and talked about it periodically through the weeks it took us to get around to actually going. On the day of the big trip he saw a truck filled with tall skinny propane tanks and excitedly announced that the truck was filled with bowling things (because they looked like bowling pins to him).
On the way there and on the way back he excitedly intoned “Bowling is a fun sport?!†When we told him his score at the end he proclaimed himself the winner. To see a video of Isaac bowling, click here. To see Charlotte bowl, click here.
Ok, first of all, I have not felt any inspiration to blog lately so hopefully this post will end my 4 week hiatus and I will start blogging more often.
Isaac is a very creative boy. Often when we talk about events or other such things, he suggests we make a sign. On memorial day when I told him about my Grandma, he wanted to make a special sign for the yard to tell everyone that we were remembering Grandma O’Bryant. Today, he really wanted to make a sign to announce that Grandma Bunny was going home and he wouldn’t be diverted from his idea. He got the paper out, he found scraps of wood, attached the paper to the wood with tape, and asked me to write the words. He had taped the paper so that there were two flaps and on one he had me write “Grandma Bunny is leaving†and on the other one he asked for “Grandma Bunny is coming.†Next he found a scrap of wood with a pointed end and asked me to attach it to his sign. Once attached we had to find a spot in the yard and hammer it in. He is very proud of his sign, unfortunately the sun was in his eyes so I couldn’t get a great picture of him looking up—but you get the idea.
Today was my ultrasound and of course the big news is we’ll be having another girl. I’m always amazed at all the different things that they can see and measure and I can happily report that she passed every test and measurement. Our fourth child now holds the record for giving the doctor the hardest time and for providing us with the worst ultrasound pictures.
It turns out my assumption that Nicole is too short to climb into the bath was wrong. I’ve seen her along the edge of the bath lifting up her little leg up to climb in and she’s never even gotten close.
Yesterday, Charlotte had a bath in the middle of the day (she has been suddenly deciding that she’s dirty in the middle of the day). I was helping Isaac with something when I noticed Nicole wasn’t in the living room. As I started down the hall to locate her I heard Charlotte yell out “Mom, Nicole is in the bath†and sure enough there she was, fully dressed and happy as can be.
I had the kids make cards for their dad for father’s day. Basically, we make a little book and I ask the kids what it should say and then they draw and I label. Their books always make me laugh. To see the cards, click on the link below
Today is Isaac’s 5th birthday and I’ve been thinking how grateful I am that he is my oldest.
He is a very kind and considerate big brother. On a recent morning, I found Isaac reading (from memory) a book to Charlotte. Later that day, he didn’t want to leave the house until he had showed Charlotte how to spell her name. He showed her where each letter was on the keyboard and patiently waited for her to push the right key. He regularly encourages her to do things. I’ve even caught him bribing her with some candy (that he earned doing chores) to do things like finish her breakfast.
Last August my dear grandmother passed away, so on Memorial day I wanted to visit her grave. When she actually died, I was too emotional to talk about it with my kids so today was the first real experience I had to tell them about my grandmother and her death. Charlotte didn’t say much, but Isaac was full of questions. I told him stories about her one-eyed dog, Mitsey and about drinking root beer floats and watching movies. He asked me questions about her and about death and resurrection in general. I wish I could have recorded every word because we had some very special touching moments and I felt good to be able to share my love of my grandmother with him. He wants to make a flag to put in front of our house today that says “Grandma O’Bryant†because then everyone who sees it will know that we are remembering her today.
As we walked into the grocery store today, Charlotte was listing things she likes. She said “I like chocolate, cats, and spiders.†By the end of our short shopping trip her list had grown from three to six. As I bucked her in the car she said “mom, what’s five plus one?†She was holding up five fingers and a thumb. After I answered her question, I asked her to list her six things for me. This is what she said “I like chocolate, cats, spiders, sticks, rocks, and lemonade.†The last one I assume she added when she saw me purchase a lemonade drink mix that was on sale (discounted from $3.99 to $.99—I love a good deal).
Isaac is at the perfect age for adventures. He gets so excited about everything. Even driving down the freeway is exciting for him. He loves looking out his window and talking about what he sees or asking questions. One of his favorite games lately is finding letters in the alphabet. When he sees the letter he’s looking for he’ll say “got it†then figure out the next one.
He wanted to be involved in everything. He enjoyed helping his dad set up the tent doing everything from bringing stakes to his dad to holding the poles of the tent. He thrilled to see the fire and when Zach gave him a rule to stay 5 steps away, he committed to stay 8 steps away. He got to cook his own hot dog and his own marshmallow.
The first site we went to see was The court of the Patriarchs. He was very excited because one of the peaks was named Isaac. As we rode the shuttle to the site, he heard them say his name when they were describing the next stop—his eyes got wide and he exclaimed “they said Isaac!!†He was very proud to have a mountain named after him (or someone with his same name).
He hiked himself to exhaustion on each trail. He loved to be the leader and would run up ahead if he got behind. On one walk he helped me name some rocks that we thought may have been overlooked when they were naming everything. He wore himself out so thoroughly that at the end of one hike he said “give me some food and put me to bed!â€
As we were preparing a meal at our campsite we suddenly heard Isaac shouting “Mom, Mom!!†and running toward us. When he got to us he pointed to the road and said “What is that thing?!†It was a little white golf-cart type vehicle. What I thought was interest turned out to be fear. He was actually scared of it! He can be a bit of a chicken.
You really couldn’t ask for a better camper. He went to bed on time and slept well. He loved every adventure and didn’t turn down an opportunity for a walk or a hike or to help make food. At the end of our trip as we were packing up camp, Grandma’s tent started to blow away and Isaac grabbed hold of the tent. He was very proud of himself for saving it from “blowing over the mountainâ€
Taking Nicole camping with us turned out not to be our best idea. Our first problem was that since she couldn’t walk she became filthy very quickly if allowed to crawl around. She spent most of her time either in someone’s arms, in her high-chair, or in the stroller. She seemed happy enough most of the day. She was a little wiggly on the bus at times, but in her stroller along the paths she would either sleep or ride along contentedly.
Our biggest challenge came at bedtime. Typically I read her some stories, sing her a song and then lay her in bed where she cries herself to sleep. She usually doesn’t cry too much, but in a strange place I thought her crying might be worse and I didn’t dare annoy the entire campsite by letting her try. First I walked her around until she fell asleep, but she woke up as soon as I tried to lay her down. Then we thought we’d see if she’d be content laying in our bed with us. She just wiggled endlessly and became quite unhappy. Frustrated and tired, I put her back in the stroller and walked around in circles until she fell asleep. It was too dark to go far and I didn’t want her to wake the campsite while I found a flashlight. I carefully removed her from the stroller and laid in my bed with her in my arms and she was awake within five minutes. I put her to sleep again by holding her close and rocking her as I paced around by her bed and once I felt that she was sufficiently sleeping I laid her down and she stayed asleep, sometime after 11:00 PM. She woke up a little after 4:00 AM ready for breakfast and play. I grabbed a few things quickly and found my way to the bathroom which was lit and had a floor not made of dirt. I fed her and let her crawl around on the bathroom floor until about 6:30 AM when I could see that the sun had come up. At which point I could see well enough to take her on a walk in her stroller. She actually fell asleep, but I only got a 10 minute break on my bed before the other kids started waking up and woke Nicole up in the process. We decided we didn’t want to try another night like that and so instead of sleeping one more night in our tents and then leaving in the morning, we packed up our campsite and left after dinner.
I thought I’d start with the middle child for once. I really think the best way to describe our recent trip to Zion National Park is to tell the story child by child.
The way we have our car seats arranged, Isaac and Nicole sit in the middle and Charlotte sits all the way in the back by herself. This seems to be the best arrangement because it allows me to easily buckle and unbuckle the two kids who need help and the hardest seat for me to reach is Isaac’s and he can buckle himself. I do sometimes feel bad when we go on trips or long drives because we have a hard time hearing little Charlotte all the way in the back. She does well to entertain herself, mostly by singing and sleeping. In fact, I can’t think of a time that she complained about her seat, unless you count the non-verbal complaint about Zach’s music choice pictured above.
As a girl who loves to play in the dirt, She couldn’t have been happier to camp. She was constantly playing in the dirt and finding sticks and rocks. Even the threat of spankings couldn’t keep her hands clean for 5 minutes. She did receive a few spanks and often when Zach called out her name she’d stand up and run away with her little hands covering her bottom as she yelled: “don’t spank me.†Ironically, when we got home I asked her what her favorite part of the trip was and she said “playing in the dirt.â€
We went on lots of little trails. She walked most of each trail, but often insisted on holding mommy’s hand or held onto the stroller that I was pushing. Charlotte and I often trailed the rest of the group as she walked along the dirt next to the path and would stop to pick up a rock or stick. Once she had collected a stick she’d trace the dirt along the path with it and poke any small stream of water she saw along the way. When she got to tired she was hoisted up to Zach’s shoulders where she happily rode along wearing her father’s adventuring hat.
My little Nicole turned one on Wednesday. So I thought almost a week late, I might write a little bit about her. Being a third must be hard. Number 1 is naturally spoiled with attention, on number two you try really hard to show them as much attention as number one, but by the time you get to number three it gets even tougher—especially when one and two are still home with you all day. In some ways poor little Nicole gets the short end of the stick. For example, I recently discovered that Nicole really likes to look at books with me.
Nicole is at the age where her personality is really starting to bloom. She loves to dance and yell. She yells when she’s happy and when she’s mad. If she likes a doll or stuffed animal she usually growls and buries her head in it. I even saw her do this to a cat once. She squeals with delight when she sees an animal, particularly a cat or dog and giggles when a dog jumps up on her and licks her face.
She loves to climb the stairs, especially at grandma’s house. She crawls up a few steps and then turns around to make sure you’re following her. Once she sees your face she laughs and climbs a few more steps as fast as she can. Unfortunately, she hasn’t mastered the proper down technique.
She has a bit of a fearless streak in her that is very different from her older siblings (who are both big chickens). In the bath she splashes and lays on her stomach and tries to lay all the way down on her head sometimes. When she climbs onto a chair she immediately grasps the back of the chair and starts shaking it.
Some of her favorite foods are pickles and grapes.
Charlotte wanted me to play a game with her. I told her that I needed to unload the dryer first. As a form of protest, she climbed into my laundry basket as I was pulling the clothes out. I just continued my work and pulled clothes out on top of her. Soon she thought this was fun. She stayed in the basket as I unloaded the washer and loaded the wet clothes into the dryer. She said she was going to wait until the next batch was dry so that I could pile them on top of her too. I walked out, only to return a few moments later and find her sound asleep in the laundry basket.
I took some days off this week, so I thought I’d spend a day with each of the older children. When I asked them what they wanted to do, Isaac wanted to go to a mountain far away, and Charlotte wanted to look at fish.
So Thursday morning, Isaac and I set out for Arches National Park. It’s not the best for mountains, but it’s accessible in this cold spring. When we set out, we had a solid foot of new snow; I had to put Grandpa’s truck in four wheel drive to get out of our driveway. Things were sloppy on US 6 through Spanish Fork Canyon and on into Price as well.
That little Toyota is probably the finest piece of 20th-century automotive technology. While it’s a little underpowered and noisy at any kind of speed, it’s pretty near indestructible. With 275,000+ miles on it, it’s still sporting the original clutch, transmission, and motor. On top of that, any trail I’ve thrown it at (and I confess I haven’t gone too nuts) has been no problem. There are some quirks; as we hit Soldier Summit, the right side wiper popped off. A helpful clerk at Checker Auto in Price got us the right part (these pick-ups don’t have j-hooks for the wipers, so you need an adapter) and got us on the road again.
When we got to Arches, Isaac and I headed up to Delicate Arch. Isaac is a chatty kid when he wants to be, and he had questions and thoughts about everything. I use a pair of trekking poles when I hike, and when they’re not extended, they’re just the right size for him to use. He calls them “hikersâ€, and talks about how the help us not to fall over. Any time we’d go up a hill or along a ledge, he’d talk about how we were helping each other not fall. We would look for the cairns of stones
Isaac is a good hiker. Delicate Arch is 1.5 miles each way, and he did just fine.
After we hiked to Delicate Arch, we went down and roamed around in the Double Arch area. He was a pretty fearless climber there, and scrambled all over the rocks.
The GPS recommended the Willow Springs road to get out of the park, and I figured since we had the truck, we could give it a try. It was very bouncy, and by this time, the boy was very tired. Even going slow there were a few obstacles that tilted the truck a lot or bounced it. Once we hit pavement again, though, he got a nap in. Then it was off for home.
Charlotte wanted to see some fish, so we went to the aquarium in Sandy. It was very crowded, and while they had a few nice displays, it was just a little underwhelming. Charlotte still liked it, though. She especially liked one of the Amazon displays, where they had little caiman, turtles, and fish swimming together. I showed her an octopus; it made her very nervous, though. When we were done with the aquarium, I took her to Cabella’s so she could look at a lot of fish without a crowd. She fell asleep on the way up and on the way back, so I didn’t push it; we’ll have lots of times together if I have my way. Unfortunately, it was really dark in the aquarium, so my pictures didn’t work out well. Here’s one of Charlotte helping me admire a spider.
I got Isaac this bubble rocket for Easter. I had some fear that it wouldn’t be a great gift, but it was a big hit. First they played with it inside (with no bubble solution) and had lots of fun torpedoing the rocket into the air by stepping on (or jumping on) a plastic pouch of air. After dinner we took it outside and tried it out with bubbles. All the kids had a ball running around chasing bubbles. The only issue with the bubble rocket was that as we used it with bubbles the bubble solution acted as a lubricant in all the different parts of the rocket so that soon it started to come apart each time it was jettisoned into the sky. Luckily it was easy to put back together and to clean out after we were finished.
Does anyone else think it’s weird that we celebrate Christ’s triumph over death by saying a bunny hops around hiding candy and colored eggs? Were still at that stage where we are developing our traditions and I just didn’t have it in me to hype the Easter Bunny—I need more justification for his “existence†I suppose. We tried to be simple this year, we hid a bag of jelly beans and a bag of Reces Peanut Butter cups and gave each kid one gift. We decorated hard-boiled eggs, but then I just fed them to the kids instead of hiding them.
I tried to put more emphasis on Christ by talking about the Crucifixion and showing them a few movies about Christ and his Crucifixion. Charlotte and I watched “To This End Was I Born,†and talked about the events at the end of Christ’s life. I’m grateful for the special moments we had together as we watched that film. After Church, we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner followed by a short Easter devotional. Krista helped me fill 12 plastic eggs with scriptures and items surrounding Christ’s Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. I hid the eggs around the living room and the kids found the eggs and delivered them to family members who read the scriptures contained therein. We followed that activity by watching our Church’s Easter message (given my one of my very favorite Apostles).
deal I got yesterday. 
