Shoes vs Snickers bites

A few weeks ago I ran three miles, fast. Fast for me that is (seriously, not really that fast). And I felt great. And I thought, man I love this. And my skinny jeans fit. And that makes me happy. Vain, I know.

Nearly three weeks have passed and I have been telling myself how I don't really have time to run right now. Jason's schedule, all the activities we have going on, a million errands, making stuff for Christmas. . . something has to give! So the running dropped off the list. And my skinny jeans still fit and I am thinking I am getting some bonus days here.

Yesterday Jason nearly kicked me out the front door. So I went for a run on the most perfect fall day. Clear sunny skies with a little nip in the air. I felt like a sea cow. I was dragging terribly. That chocolate is catching up to me. Easy on the snickers bites!! I am pretty sure Ethan could have wasted me. Humility can be a bummer, huh? Today it's a motivator. Fewer snickers and more miles under my feet from now on.

Yesterday I was sore. Today I am sore. Tomorrow I will be sore. (I'd better be over it before Wednesday though because I have a date with a little white ball!) But I went for a run on a beautiful fall day and even though I was slow it felt good to run again.

Kate's Baptism

Kate was baptized on Novmeber 1st. Hooray for Kate! We had hoped to have lots of family here but weather, funerals and sickness held everyone at bay. Kate had a hysterical crying fit when she realized that not one member of her family (besides the boring ones she lives with) would be at the baptism. I am sure she had visions of Ethan's baptism in her head (lots of family and friends. . . the summer is certainly a better time to travel).

But she got over it and all was well. Our family provided a prayer and the Holy Ghost talk. We asked Kate what she wanted and she requested that Ethan say a prayer and that her home teacher give the talk. Our home teacher is the bishop and he happened to be the supporting bishop for this baptism and as such was already giving the bishop's remarks. She was happy to have his companion and 14 year old son, Daniel give the talk. He did a great job! Several families from our ward came to support Kate and it was very sweet.

Before

A friend of mine made a dress for her daughter to be baptized in (instead of a jumpsuit) and offered to let us use it (thanks Gretchen!). It is so darling! She was loving it, thinking it was so pretty. While we were in the bathroom I told her how happy I am that Sis. Child let us borrow it it. Her reply, "Well, I think I want to wear a jumpsuit." That's Kate, expressing the exact opposite of my opinion. Oh her teenage years are going to be fun! Two days later she was glad she got to wear a girly dress and not a boyish (ie-pants) jumpsuit. Go figure.

She went right under without any trouble and froze in the cold bathroom while I helped her dry off and get dressed (Thanks for the towel Mom and Dad!).

After

Loving her Daddy

In sacrament meeting, just before it was time for her confirmation she looked over at Jason with tears brimming and said she had to go to the bathroom! What??? She couldn't wait. We didn't want her to wet her dress so she ran off to go. The bishop didn't see her leave (funny since we were sitting on the second row) and got up and started talking about Kate. He mentioned how nice it was to see her baptized and, "now she will be confirmed. She is sitting right here by her Dad and she is dressed in white and is so spiritual that I think she's transparent because she has disappeared and I can't see her anymore." It was hilarious. So he was like, "Well, I guess I need to filibuster here for a minute. Uh. . ." Then he reviewed a few announcements and she came running back and was confirmed.

She hand picked several men to stand in the confirmation circle. . . her two primary teachers, her friend's dad, the bishopric and her favorite babysitter's (Valentine) dad. Jason did a wonderful job. Valentine's dad bore his testimony and said he was honored to stand in for her. He mentioned how neat it is that she could just pick from so many, how blessed she is to know so many worthy priesthood holders.

At home before church Sunday morning

Happy Belated Halloween

This Halloween is one we won't soon forget. I planned to take the kids downtown where the merchants hand out candy (beginning at 4 pm). Then we were going to eat dinner, go to our ward trunk or treat and then come home to watch a movie (The Goonies- edited version) and roast marshmallows in the back yard.

When Nathanael got home from school at 11:30 I told him that I wanted him to do his chores (would have taken him 10-15 minutes to do his two chores) right after lunch because he wouldn't have time to do them when the bigger kids got home from school (this is when he would normally do them). After lunch I nagged and he goofed off for a good thirty minutes. Long story short, after the nagging I gave him a very clear ultimatum. Do your chores before Ethan and Kate get home. If you don't do them, you won't trick or treat. Do you understand? Yes. You won't go with us if you don't have your chores done. Do you understand? Yes. No candy for you- do you understand? Yes. Ok. Can you do it? Yes. Will you do it? Yes. Awesome. I won't bug you anymore.

So every so often I would randomly call out the time, "It's now 2:15, 1 hour and 15 minutes until the kids get home." He sat in the kitchen and played games on the chairs. "It's now 2:45, 45 minutes until the kids get home" and so on.

Story becoming long again. So he didn't start working until about five minutes before they got home and he didn't make it. AHHHH! Are you kidding? What kid would *not* do two measly chores and give up trick or treating? I don't get it. I felt terrible about it- total backfire. He still had to finish his work, while Kate and Ethan were trick or treating. He was weeping and wailing and carrying on. I was so close to just letting him go, but I didn't and he stayed home.

After getting some candy (not a ton this year for which I am so grateful!) we came back home and had some friends over to watch our movie outside (Nathanael joined in for this). It was so warm we were able to do it and be comfortable (with blankets). We also had a fire to stand by if needed. Later we roasted marshmallows. Once the sugar high wore off we dropped like rocks into our warm beds.

Can you guess what my kids dressed up as?

Blank space where Nathanael should
be shown dressed up as a bat.

Ethan wanted to be an "Australian." Aside from telling him that Australians wear clothes just like we do I didn't argue since I didn't have to do anything for this costume. He wore the hat he made at cub scout day camp this summer (theme was cubs down under), the shirt Grandma and Grandpa sent from Australia for his birthday and a sign on his back saying, "G'day Mate!"

Kate asked to be a polar bear. Yikes. I don't want to go into the hairy details but I ended up throwing some material on the table with the sewing machine and this is what came out. Next year she wants to wear the same thing, without the ears, and be a marshmallow.

Eli was our adorable frog. Jason took this awesome picture with his new SLR "work" camera (that means work pays and he plays). He says it was luck getting such a good shot. Luck or skill, I don't care I LOVE this photo!

Music to my Ears

An unsolicited comment from Kate. . .

"Mom, now my favorite thing to do after my homework and chores is read my book, it's not watch TV anymore!"

Proof that depriving my kids of uninterrupted hours of TV does not make them desire to watch it even more. Awesome.

Get out and Vote!

It's rainy and cold and windy and yucky outside today. The kind of day when I want to stay inside and drink hot chocolate. But not today. Today I voted.

In Washington, voting is done by mail. We get our voters pamphlet and ballot in the mail a few weeks before the election and we can mail it back.

This bugged me when we first moved here. I like to drive to the voting location, have my name marked on the voter registration list, stand in a booth and then put my ballot in the box. The act of going somewhere to do this appeals to me. But the advantage of voting by mail is that we got pour over the voter pamphlet for as long as we want and research this or that online as well when we have a question about a candidate's stand. We make our choice without being in a hurry to mark the ballot and get back to whatever is going on in our lives.

My compromise of these two voting methods was to vote this morning in my house and then drive my ballot (and Jason's) to the drop off box. When I got there I saw many people dropping off their ballots too. It warmed my heart to see all these people coming and going; exercising their right to choose their leaders. I was one of them.

I think this moment was more poignant for me because my kids are paying attention to this election. They are eager to learn about the process. They are watching their parents. I was in second grade when Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter. This is the first election I remember. My classroom had a vote complete with ballots and booths and a winner. I voted for Ronald Reagan, but Jimmy Carter won our classroom vote. Ronald Reagan won the election. It was a big deal to vote and take part in the process. Now my kids are in that situation. They know who John McCain and Barack Obama are. We looked in our voter pamphlet and talked about other candidates and races as well (for president, congress, initiatives, etc). At home we talk about the importance of voting. Their classes talk about the election and how it's important to be sure your voice is heard. It's good to be part of this process. It's even better to know it was inspired by God. We feel fortunate to live in this wonderful country.

One day last week when Ethan got home from school he came to me immediately to talk about something he heard that day. He told me that a kid in his class told him that he would never vote for Barack Obama because "Obama believes that it is okay for a woman, if she is pregnant and doesn't want to be, to go to a doctor and the doctor will put poison inside her to kill the baby and then the baby dies and gets sucked out and she doesn't have to worry about it anymore. Isn't that crazy?" His intent was to tell me this outlandish thing that couldn't possibly be true because it is just unbelievable. I looked him in the eye and said, "That is true. It's called abortion and Barack Obama does support it." He was shocked beyond words. His whole body kind of slumped and after a few minutes he said, "I bet that makes Heavenly Father really sad."

Yes, it makes Heavenly Father really sad.

I believe he had a life changing moment. His perspective has changed. The world isn't as nice a place as he thought. Growing up can be a bummer.

Please vote, if you haven't already.

Kate is eight!

Kate is great!
On Tuesday last, she turned eight.
Nearly nine pounds was her birth weight.
October 21st is her birth date.
For her special day she could not wait.
Just two years ago we moved to Washington State.
Riding her bike increases her heart rate.
She has a cousin whose name is Tate.
With her dad she likes going on dates.
Her silly giggle always invigorates.
Her hair is blonde and straight.
She’s easy to appreciate.
She’s impossible to duplicate.
We love you Kate!

November 5, 2000

On the day of her blessing

A random Sunday morning in 2003, when she still liked sponge rollers.

October 2005 in Salt Lake City

Eight Great Things about Kate. . .
1. Kate loves cheese pizza.
2. Kate's favorite toys are Littlest Pet Shops, but she also loves her dolls- Emily and Bemily.
3. Kate is a huge help with Elijah. She always wants to hold him, help him, get him up, change his diaper, put him in his high chair, get him out. . . It's a wonder I ever had a baby without her help.
4. Kate loves pretty dresses. . . but ONLY on Sunday.
5. Kate loves to draw and color and ride her bike.
6. Kate loves to go shopping with me and bring a notebook along where she keeps the list and marks everything off as we buy it.
7. Kate's favorite color today is "rainbow. I love all the colors."
8. Kate giggles and giggles and giggles and giggles. And giggles.

I Don't Like

I am in love with BNL's kids CD, Snacktime. The kids like it more than me. In truth, I am a little bit sick of it but EVERY time we get in the car it must be on with the kids singing to it. One of the songs is called, I Don't Like. We simply cannot get through this song without commentary from the peanut gallery. Not only that, it's the same commentary EVERY time. Like it's been rehearsed. I suppose it has, but not really on purpose.

I can eat pork 'til the cows come come
And cheese like it's going out of style
(Kate, "Me too, I LOVE cheese." Ethan, "I HATE cheese.")
I like just about every type of vegetable
(All three of them, "Oh yea, I'm with him, I love vegetables!")
I like raisins, and nuts, and seeds, and olives,
And pickles, and fruit, and beef, and bread,
But I don't like... salmon.
(Nathanael, "I am totally with him. I like fruit and I don't like salmon." Ethan, "How can you say that? You've never even tasted it." Kate, "Well salmon is fish and I don't like fish so I don't like it." Ethan, "You've never even tasted fish!" Kate, "Yes I have." Ethan, "No you haven't" repeat this like an annoying echo including a few supporting arguments. . .

I've jumped from a plane with a parachute
Scuba'd to the ocean floor
Driven super fast in a racing car
I've bungee jumped, and zip lined too,
I've crossed rope bridges over raging rivers
But I don't like... those spinny rides.
(Kate, "Oh yea, I love spinny rides!" Ethan, "I am so with him, I hate spinny rides." Nathanael goes into a long explanation of which spinny rides he likes- did you know there are varying degrees?)

I can fly my very own aeroplane
And I've been to the top of mountains
I've been to the top of the CN Tower
I can work on a ladder, I can climb a tree
I can look out the window of a really tall building
But if I stand close to the edge of a railing, or up on a roof or something I realize I don't like... heights so much.
(Ethan, "I agree. I don't like heights." Nathanael, "Me too, I don't like heightsomuch." "Nathanael it's heights. . . . .so. . . . .much, three words." Nathanael, "Well I still don't like heightsomuch."

sigh.

This is the best "snacktime" picture I could find. This is Kate in July 2004 (3+ years old)