I always win

Because Corbin went to school wearing this:

He came home with this:

(Yes, it's lots of yummy chocolate. He won a contest for best dress up from another country. He also got a $5 gift cert to the book fair.)

Which prompted this the next night at dinner:

Mom: Corbin, do you want to tell Grandma how you got all those chocolates?

Corbin: Well, because I pretty much win everything.

(laughs)

Corbin: Remember I won that trip to California. Now I won this. I pretty much always win.

At the book fair about half hour later:

Corbin's name is drawn for bringing a grandparent to family night and he wins another $5 to the book fair and a poster of his choice. Like he says, "I always win."

Heeere fishy fishy

I was feeling a little despondent about not having Cody in preschool this year. Not because I feel like he has to, or because he will be behind, but because the poor kid is stuck with me all day and asked where Corbin was about 4 times the first day he was at school. I really just wanted him to have something to look forward to and get excited about. So after much discussion with many people I was somehow convinced to do one of those preschool swap things (even though I always said I would never do that). It is a little unconventional, and we pretty much just made up our own thing so that our kids (and us) could get together and do something fun. So here's the basic "rules": each mom takes a turn hosting - she can do whatever she wants besides just letting the kids run around and wreak havoc. The other moms come with their kids to maintain control and to join the fun. We do it once a week for an hour and a half. Basically, it is a playgroup with a bit of structure. I think it will be just what Cody needs. He already talks about his "playgroup school" all the time.

Last week was our first day and my friend Jennifer did a fantastic job. The theme was "fish". We did all kinds of fun fish things and even learned a little bit. Then we hopped in the car and went over to feed the fish (and the ducks) at the pond. It was an awesome first day of "school". I can't wait for more! Oh, and Cody can't wait either.

wise or foolish?

From Corbin's church class last Sunday:
Just in case you can't read the yellow crayon:
Foolish: Hit your brother and don't say sorry.
Wise: Hit your brother and do say sorry.

Great wisdom.

I'm a sucker for free fun

Yes, yet another fun filled day of activities for all the family to enjoy. Last Saturday I took the boys to Spanish Fork's Annual Harvest Moon Hurrah. I love free stuff! I don't know why, but I can't NOT go. How can I pass it up if it gets us out of the house and is free? I was reletively impressed with this one - not too crowded, lots of crafts and fun things to do, and not alot of junk given out. And of course, you did have to pay for food, but everything was, as advertised, less than $3. None of this $4 for a hotdog. So we all got to pick what we wanted for dinner and kept it under $10. Wahoo! If I haven't enticed you yet to try it next year, think about your kids and . . . leaf rubbings, apple stampers, balloon animals, mini caramel apples, sunflower mosaics, foam fall bracelets, leaf crowns, mural painting, ring toss, football throw, hay rides (complete with live fiddlers) . . . and all of it for free! They also had dancers, singers, musicians, etc going the whole time. That night, Peter Brienholt was performing. But since I'm not a fan of Peter, nor am I a fan of doing anything with my kids when they could be in bed asleep, we opted out of that one. But a nice shaved ice on the walk home made it a perfect day (well, as close as it can be without Daddy there too.)

No pictures, because my camera was dead. So you get another video . . .

How Sweet It Is

I have been saving this post because I was planning to think of some really creative and cool analogy about how life is like picking berries or something.

But every time I sit down to do a post, it is generally late and dark and close to my bedtime, so my brain quits functioning on any creative level.
So this is it: Life is sweet and so are fresh-picked raspberries, you should take some time to enjoy both.

An evening spent outdoors, 3 happy kids, only $10 of raspberries turned into 9 jars of jam and plenty left to eat and share with friends . . . Life truly is sweet.

Yard Salers Beware

Click here to read the new regulations for garage sales. Yes, there are rules and regulations - 24 pages worth. They say it is for anyone who resales, which could mean pawn shops, thrift stores, charities and your friendly neighbors. Ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous.

I might be the coolest mom ever

I went to pick up my son from school riding a scooter, no, not one of those silly vespa things, a real scooter, ya know like a Razor scooter (only this one was a Superman one). I know, cool huh?
So we have been walking to school for the last week or so, well, the kids ride their bikes while I walk with the little ones in the stroller. My neighbor (who just had twins)'s daughter goes with us in the morning and then in the afternoon I pick her up along with her brother who is in afternoon kindergarten. So the first day I had to do this, I thought, "oh poor David is just going to have to walk with me while Corbin and Nadia ride their bikes". And then, oh it's genius, I'll just ride the scooter so David can ride that home and then the kids can speed off and I will just make my way home. So I inadvertently discovered a seriously intense butt workout and was the raddest mom on the block. (I did see one other Dad coming on his dirt bike, but that's not quite as cool.)
The funny part, David didn't really want to ride the scooter. So he walked most of the way and we all sweated our guts out. So now they ride bikes or scooters in the morning and we throw them in the back of the jeep for a nice cool ride home.

When I'm dead and gone

I'm sure one of the things my kids will reminisce about one day is how their mom took them to all these wonderfully fun and enriching events and activities. They will sit around and say "I can't believe how amazing our Mom was. She would pack up all three of us boys all by herself and bring picnics with cool snacks and take us to all kinds of fun stuff. And she did it all for us, so that we could have fun and be edified and learn and experience the world . . ." Honestly I don't know why I drag my kids around to all these things, but some part of me thinks its good for them and that somehow its better than sitting around at home doing the same old thing. But its usually at least a little bit fun.

(My attempt at getting a picture of the three of them.)

This weekend we went to Payson City Onion Days. Just a big festival with booths, food, face painting, games, carnival rides, etc. They had a free "Children's Fair" that was just for two hours on Saturday morning, so we mostly just went to that part.

And don't worry, there is lots more fun to come this month - India Fest, Harvest Moon Hurrah, State Fair, and probably something else I've forgotten. And I'm sure my kids will love it.

The Windy City

No, still haven't been to Chicago. Spanish Fork, where I live, has a wind farm, yes, with several huge power generating windmills. Should be a clue to anyone thinking of moving here - if you don't like everything blown off your porch, move somewhere else. It's not quite as bad where I live, because we are not right by the canyon. And the good news is that now every year they have a fun "Windfest" to celebrate our wind. It is held at the little man-made reservoir I mentioned before. Last year was the first one and it was fun, this year the boys and I went to the 2nd Annual Windfest and it was better, so hopefully goes the pattern of getting bigger, better and funner every year. It probably would have been even better this year if Russ had been there, because then we could have done the cool zipline and the paddle surfing. But we did have a good day, and most of it for free - always a plus.

Hand made kites, great music, Utah trikes, watching jet skiing Kiteman on the water, playground, shave ice, and on and on. What more could you ask for on a late summer Saturday?

(Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the page)