Nicknames

There has been a lot of talk of nicknames around my house lately. Probably because of the introduction of a certain neighborhood boy named (or should I say, nicknamed) "Spanky". I guess Ethan and Ava now feel they should also be known by a new alias...and tonight they have chosen. Drum roll please....I now introduce, "Marshmallow" and "Bonk Head". (surprisingly..."marshmallow" would be Ethan...not the other way around)

Ava and Prayer...

A couple of weeks ago, Ava gave her first talk in primary. The topic was "I can pray to Heavenly Father and He will answer my prayers." When I asked her what she wanted to say, she thought about it for a moment and then responded, "Remember when we lost my shoe and Heavenly Father helped us find it? That's what I want to say."

Yes, this was a memorable experience. We went camping at the beach back in August. I took the kids on a bit of a hike along the bluffs and down a very steep trail leading to the beach. When we arrived at the waters edge, the waves were crashing hard on an entirely rocky coast. When the water came up, so did the kids' feet and inevitably their flip-flops would slide right off and drift into the sea. This happened a few times and I was always able to retrieve them...until the last time. Ava's shoe was just gone. No trace left behind. We searched, we scanned the incoming waves, the outgoing waves, the rocks from here to there, and nothing. The ocean had claimed for itself a blue and white striped sandal. I was a little panicked. The walk home would be nothing short of torture for me. Ava was already crying. She would have to ride on my back up the steep incline and the half mile back to the campsite. And then, though it was time to cook dinner, we'd be off to the store to find some kind of replacement (we brought no other shoes). I know, I know. I sound like a bit of a pansy but any extra work added to the amount of energy needed to keep 3 kids happy while camping was just not something I was up for. The dread was setting in and in my last ditch effort to save us from this dilemma, I offered a quiet, yet earnest prayer. And then we looked one last time. Shining in the distance, resting on a large flat rock, quite far up on the shoreline and a bit removed from the tossing waves, there shown Ava's shoe. It was as if it had been plucked out of the thieving sea and brought to rest serenely on this ordinary rock. My heart leapt, tears came to my eyes. My prayer had been answered! In my moment of doom and gloom I had forgotten to include my children in my original prayer...but there was no way I was going to completely miss this life lesson. I quickly gathered my children and together we voiced a heartfelt prayer of gratitude and relief. They have not forgotten this and I doubt they will. As for me, I think I need reminders like this every once in a while and hopefully I too will not soon forget!

Climbing...

First he climbed up on the stairs,

Then it was onto some chairs,

then hoisting himself on the table

"The Monkey" became his new label.

Too Much Energy...

My kids really need something to do...even with all-day school and 2 day a week preschool, they have way too much energy and still, I need to be home sometimes. "Being home" as defined in the children's dictionary just means BORING! So, we enrolled the kids in a gymnastics class. They love it!

Cruising...

We went on a weekend vacation, and yes, it was a vacation as we were without children! It was so nice! We, and a few of our friends, headed out on the Monarch of the Seas for a 3 day cruise to Ensenada.

It was wild! We rode the on-board roller coaster...Oh wait...that was just the mandatory emergency drill:)

We ate wonderful meals...Now, I know people complain about the food on cruises but eating in the dining room - well, really anywhere for me, was a treat. I did not have to cook it, I did not have to decide what would be cooked, I just ate whatever I felt like! It was bliss!

We saw some cheesy shows and some pretty dang funny ones. We got our groove on - well, we did the best we know how in our old age! Ensenada was...well, we didn't go on the cruise just to see this Mexican city - it was merely a side-light! Kim & AJ opted for a ride on a couple of mopeds while the rest of us took the much more subdued (can we say s-l-o-w) ride on a golf cart. It was great... for an hour!

Street tacos were the next order of the day - of course! The fish were the best but I may have been the only one brave enough to try them.

We took in some of the culture...

And the local parade... What was that! Some kind of scary circus in town - maybe it was just the women's costumes that frightened me but we did see a few tigers riding down the street.

Then massages for all 6 of us, some junk shopping for the kids at home, ice cream cones, and we were back aboard our Royal Caribbean floating hotel. Back on board we played "Family Feud", "Finish the Lyrics" and saw a couple more shows. Sunday we were at sea all day so we took advantage of the sun and just relaxed.

We even put on our "special hats" and climbed the rock wall.Now we are back to reality and I feel like I haven't slept for weeks! Perhaps we should do this every year!

Ava's First Day of Preschool!

Yes, Ava is now an official pre-schooler (for the next two years). She woke up pretty early Tuesday morning and told her dad that she did not want to go. Oh no! There isn't much that changes this girl's mind when it is set to be mopey and difficult! I told her I was going to go in her place and have a great time with her teachers and all of her friends. She laughed and let me know that I was way too big for preschool and that she would be going... Oh well. I tried (at least now we were both excited for the day!).

She found her name, accomplished all of her first day tasks and had a great time! She was most proud of staying in the "Happy Hive" all day! This is a big deal to her...but I knew she wouldn't have a problem!

Baseball Done Right

Baseball is the great American pastime but admittedly you can get a little bored watching from way up in the nosebleed sections. Friday night we did baseball right! Who can resist seats in the first and second rows right next to the Angel dugout? We even made it in time for batting practice. It's fun to be so close to the players and even more fun to people watch while all the frenzied fans do their best to get that coveted autograph from their favorite. I couldn't believe how many people were able to smash into the small area between our seats and the concrete wall.

Ethan had his glove autographed and Ava her ticket by the rookie of the night...Sean Rodriguez. We loved that he took the time for the fans and loved even more that he had such a great night there on 2nd base.

Towards the end of the night, one of the umps hooked Ethan up with a game ball. I think Todd might have been more excited than he has. You really can't go home without a ball when you are sitting that close! Todd's love for baseball is great...but Ethan's love for getting "things" might just be greater!