I Amsterdam!

Remember how I mentioned that I had big plans for the summer? That's right, we went to Europe! Rubin's dad works in Amsterdam, so we went to visit him there and also saw many other places. You might be thinking that we were crazy to take three small children on long plane rides to the crowded cities of Europe. Well, you might be right, but we still did it! And all those nightmares about losing one of the children (usually Uriah) in a foreign country proved not to be prophetic!

I decided to do this post as a photo essay instead of a boring travel log. You're welcome.

GETTING READY

The boys were crazy excited about the trip!

Uriah was tuckered out by the preparations.

On our way!

This is where the boys discovered they had their own tvs!

ADJUSTING

Traveling wears you out!

At first we all pretty much felt like we could fall asleep anywhere.

We saw lots of COOL THINGS

The canals of Amsterdam

Tower Bridge in London

Stonehenge

Grandpa keeping Uriah in the boat during a canal ride.

Eiffel Tower

Omaha Beach - it was so beautiful and peaceful that it was hard to imagine that such a hard-fought battle took place here.

Omaha Beach

Holland's windmills

In case you're wondering, Uriah was dead set on wearing his Mickey pajamas this day!

Luxembourg City

A market in the city of Gouda, Holland.

That's a lot of cheese! (Gouda)

 

And we saw some WEIRD THINGS



This really needs no caption!




Might I ask where the collar of torment for husbands is?!

"Honey, did you just hear that strange growling?"

Coolest Burger King ever!

I don't know if that netting will hold him for long...

 

We saw a few CASTLES

Our French favorite - Chateau de Chenonceau

 

Mont St. Michel (also in France, but technically an abbey)

Castle #5 of the "Valley of the 7 Castles" in Luxembourg

Schloss Lichtenstein (in Germany)

Neuschwanstein (German favorite)

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Euro Disneyland. Okay, maybe this wasn't a real castle, but I think it still counts.

We did some EXPLORING

Ramparts of Schloss Lichtenstein

Schloss Lichtenstein again

Chenonceau garden maze

A maze in the "Valley of the 7 Castles"

 

We had a lot of LAUGHS

Rubin and Uriah at the park in Amsterdam.

Platform 9 3/4 in London (you won't believe how long the line was to get into Hogwarts!)

Tower Bridge looks pretty good on Rubin!

The beach in Holland

Graham's sand angel

Uriah on a car ride at Euro Disneyland.

 

RJ and Graham on the Small World ride.

 

Uriah and I in the Alice in Wonderland maze.

 

First Graham tried his strength with the Sword in the Stone.

 

RJ really wanted to get that sword out!

 

Last Uriah pulled at it. (Graham is busy making sure the other kids give his brother a turn!)

Carriage ride in Germany (Uriah would not take his eyes of the horses for anything!)

Our favorite train station in Holland. We always said going to "Murderport" was a one-way ticket!

 

And we had a few TANTRUMS

Uriah broke the stillness in Our Lord in the Attic Church (Holland)

Trying to stop Uriah from falling down the 8-foot drop to his right.

I honestly can't remember what Graham was even mad about on this bus ride.

Uriah fell asleep during this particular tantrum.

 

But we had some GOOD FOOD

Ice cream at Mont St. Michel

Great pizza in Antwerp!

Belgian chocolate!

Belgian chocolate!

 

And we made some NEW FRIENDS

This guard was a little standoffish.

A knight at Mont St. Michel

Snapping turtles at a Chinese restaurant in Germany. (We ate the one in front . . . just kidding!)

A tiny frog friend we found in Germany.



My friend, Duchess Kate, waited until I was in London to have her baby! This pub named a sandwich after the royal prince.

 

My London friends wouldn't join me in a chant of "Give us the baby!" outside Buckingham Palace!

All that's left to be said is that we made it back alive! It was a crazy 3 weeks filled with all the things mentioned above and much, much more! You might ask if we will attempt another international trip with little kids in the future. To that I say, "Ha!"

And "No."

Mission Completed!

In my last post I couldn't wait for school to end. You see I fell into the trap of thinking that somehow, magically I would have more time to do things in the summer. I wrote a long list of projects I was going to accomplish. My theory was that once I wasn't chauffering kids to and from school, I would have more time than I knew what to do with. {Insert hysterical laughter here} Yeah, right! How could I possibly have thought that having 3 boys home all day long would mean I would have any free time?! I was so naïve.

This is why I have to write a catch-up post now. So, here it is.

RJ's uniform shoes lasted. Barely. We had our shoe-throwing away party. Okay, it wasn't a party, but we did eat popsicles after, so that's something.

Bye bye shoes! (By the way, RJ lost that front tooth later that same day!)

Somewhere around this time I had a birthday. It was no ordinary birthday because I turned the big 3-0!! I kept trying to think up a midlife crisis to have, but I couldn't think of anything to be stressed about. Maybe by 40 I'll be able to think of something (it seems wrong to never have a midlife crisis, right?). Besides I really felt like I became part of the 30 club a few years ago when Rubin turned 30.

But I didn't want to turn 30 quietly. Our first idea was to get a babysitter for our kids and go to the airport and hop on the first (cheap) flight we could get to anywhere. How exciting would that have been?! But then we talked to a pilot friend and he said those are always the most expensive tickets. He also told us about a minor issue in which getting tickets like that apparently puts you on some sort of terrorist watch list.

Anyway, on my birthday Rubin surprised me with an adventure: a zip line in the mountains!

It was a blast! And the whole zip line group sang happy birthday to me as I was speeding wildly toward them!

After zip lining we took the kids to the zoo.

Uriah looks nervous in this picture, but trust me, after he rode once, we couldn't pull him away!

RJ found his true roots!

We ended the day at Leatherby's with my family. What a great birthday!!

Hanging in There

I still can't wait for school to end! But in the meantime I've been distracting myself with some crafts. (I know, that's how cool I am!)

Here is our Family Home Evening train chart. This was fun to make because everyone picked their own colors and wheels for their car. It still needs to be bolted onto a board, but you get the idea.

As the room parent for RJ's class, I was in charge of decorating his teacher's door for teacher appreciation week . Here's what I came up with.



Those circles hanging down are bubbles in case you can't tell.
 

Finally, I finished my Christmas wall hanging. This project was fun because my sister did the same design and we worked on them together. I must say quilting is really fun with a buddy! And in case you're wondering, this project is not 5 months late, it is 7 months early!

On Saturday we went into the canyon with Rubin's parents and his sister's family. We had tin foil dinners and smores for dessert. It was so much fun! I love little trips like this because they're pretty simple and yet they are the things our kids remember for a long time.



Grandpa with 5 of the grandkids. It was a true miracle no one fell in the water!
 

I love this picture.



Uriah found the cutest little hiding spot away from the group!

He decided let me join him for a picture.

Finally an update on our Operation: Make Uniform Shoes Last (see previous post).

RJ's shoes are holding up, barely. I have colored the toes in with a black Sharpie three times, Rubin has super glued the front of one shoe twice, and I've started putting a long spoon in one shoe to prop up the back during the night! There are only 14 days of school left. RJ has started wearing his brown church shoes once a week (even though last week he told me those are getting too small) and I think there are a couple of free dress days left. That means they only have to last about 9 more days! That's not too long, right? Right?!

RJ asked what we were going to do with the shoes after the last day of school. I told him we would gaze at them lovingly for three seconds, audibly sigh, and then throw them unceremoniously in the big trash can outside!

Mission: Make Uniform Shoes Last

Last week was Spring Break for my kids. It was such a fun, carefree week. Here's a couple of things we did:

We took the kids to see the Manti Temple, where we were married almost 8 years ago!

We had a cousin sleepover. Uriah's face says it all!

While some parents may dread days off of school, I usually enjoy them. Last week I didn't have to drag children out of bed in the morning. I didn't have to shuttle kids to and home from school three to four times a day. I didn't have to wake Uriah up from his nap to pick up RJ from school (just to give you an idea of how grumpy Uriah is when he is awakened and then put in the car, imagine yourself trying to buckle a raccoon into a car seat).

Of course, the noise volume was higher last week, going anywhere had more whining (I usually run my errands while 2 kids are at school), and there were a few "I'm bored" declarations. But, overall, I enjoyed the break from school. I am so ready for summer.

Over spring break I went through the kids' clothes to see what didn't fit anymore. I was looking at their shoes and I noticed how beat up RJ's school shoes look. RJ's school has a dress code, so he has to have a particular color and style of shoe. The toes are very worn and I have already had to color them in with a black marker. One of the shoes is also bent in the back because RJ doesn't always make sure his heel is firmly in the bottom of the shoe before he's off and running. 

It may seem like buying a new pair of shoes is no big deal. Maybe they are only $10 at Payless. Maybe I could get them during a buy one, get one 1/2 off deal. But can one put a price on dignity? Isn't there some value in enduring to the end?! For some reason I must make these shoes last. I tell myself, "There's not that many days left of school! If I buy new shoes, they won't fit him after the summer and then I'll just have to buy more for the next school year!"

That's when it hit me: I am like this worn out pair of shoes! I am so done with monitoring homework, driving to and from schools, planning school parties (as RJ's room parent), and all that jazz. I need a break and next year I promise I will take it a little more easy. If this pair of beat up black shoes can make it...so can I! Mission: Make Uniform Shoes Last is in effect!

Now don't get me wrong, it has been a great school year. I've had fun being so involved. RJ has really learned a lot. He is a great speller, reads at a 4th grade level, and seems to pick up math concepts easily. And Graham has learned a lot at preschool. He has studied the letters, worked on his temper (he can get a little frustrated when things don't go his way), and made new friends. It's not really about school, it's just nice to not have a schedule sometimes.

RJ and I at the 1st grade Valentine's Dance. I love his huge smile, because we really did have a blast!

So, there are now only 31 days of school left. Several of these days will be free dress days where RJ can wear non-uniform shoes. Armed with a Sharpie (and Dr. Pepper), we will see if these shoes (and I) can last.

Because I have big plans for the summer...

Rye Guy Birthday

This little guy had a birthday!

 

Yes folks, Uriah is 2 years old now. That means he can officially start the terrible twos. Of course, he’s so advanced that he started the terrible two phase 9 months ago.

Usually we don’t open presents until after dinner, but RJ had a soccer practice and we were going to the mall later, so we did it in the morning. It was actually more fun this way because he got to play with his presents all day on his birthday. Usually we open presents and then it’s time for bed, so the kids don’t get a lot of time to play with them.

 

 

 

My favorite birthday present for Uriah! I finally finished it, so I can check that one off of the New Year's Resolutions!

 

Instead of overscheduling the day, I decided to just stay home all morning and play. We hit balloons to each other, read books, and“built” things with toy tools. Uriah also took a bath (which he loves) and vacuumed as much as he wanted to (which he LOVES)!

Working hard with his new tool set.

 

 

Look at his face! This kid sure loves vacuums!

 

We played at the park during RJ’s soccer practice, ate Uriah’s favorite food, chicken and fries (which he pronounces as one word) at Chick-fil-a, then played at the mall play place.

It was a fun, relaxing day and I certainly enjoyed every minute.

Happy Birthday Rye Guy!