Camping

So we braved our first camping trip with all of the kids the weekend of July 24th. I was very excited to be up in the mountains and the kids were excited to have their first big sleepover in the tent away from our house. Let's just say that Kevin was mostly excited.

We left on Thursday afternoon and reached our campsite in the Spruces up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Our little campsite was just right for the boys - lots of trees, dirt, and a little stream that ran through the back part. I was actually very impressed that we only had one water casualty while we were there - Ryan tried to jump on a big rock and missed. After seeing how cold it was the other boys decided not to follow suit.

After we got the tent up, we went for a walk to find little sticks for the fire. We found where the bathrooms were and even took a tour inside. I had told Matthew and Ryan about my experiences camping there as a girl - i.e. one big hole in the ground to go in. They were surprised - and a little smug- that the site now had flush toilets.

After the stick gathering we headed back to camp for dinner. The boys watched the brave little chipmunks and squirrels race around the campground getting their little paws on every bit of food they could. Zachary was actually not a fan of the little critters and started saying "Shoo!" everytime he saw one.

After dinner we went for another walk to distract the boys because Matthew was impatiently wondering when the marshmallow roasting would start. We told him he had to wait until it was colder and a little darker, but try reasoning with an overly anxious 5-year-old. We went back to camp and I convinced the kids to have some fun by throwing rocks into the water. That finally got their attentiion! After lots of splashes we were finally ready to make our fire. Bring on the s'mores! Ryan wasn't impressed - he wanted the licorice instead. Zach and Matthew thought they were great. We had fun talking around the fire and making up stories about Star Wars and Cars.

After s'mores we started to get things put away. We started to get ready for bed after the first star came out. The boys were tired, but somehow got their second wind when we got inside the tent. It was a lot of bouncing and jumping and giggling, all fine and dandy for a few minutes but not so great when you are trying to get them to go to sleep. And on top of it all Zachary was not very fond of the tent or the graco he was sleeping in. So after splitting up the boys and singing some songs, we finally got the kids settled down and to bed, I'm guessing somewhere around 10:00. Zach was quiet but didn't fall asleep for a long time. The night wasn't exactly a restful one, but I was happy to be in the mountains nonetheless. I had finally dropped into a deep sleep when I start to hear the birds chirping outside. I knew that would be our wake-up call. Sure enough, Zachary started to rustle and let us all know about the birds. It was about 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning.

Well, since everyone was up, we thought we would get some breakfast going. Pancakes and eggs are always yummy. The kids had their breakfast and we started a small fire to keep them warm. After clean-up the kids informed us they wanted to go home now. Home? Really? You don't want to play outside in the dirt and rocks? We could go on a hike or go up to the ski resorts for a walk. Nope. They had done what they wanted: rocks, water, dirt, s'mores, tent, sleeping bags, and bugs. Zachary wasn't exactly a happy camper with his little amount of sleep and was even more irritated by his furry friends. So we packed up our stuff and headed out at 8:30 in the morning. I was sad that we left, but eveyone else was ready to go. Zach and Ryan fell asleep on the way home because they were so exhausted and Zachary took a four hour nap later that day. I guess camping was too much fun for them!

Overall I think the kids had a great time. We'll have to try again and use the things we learned so we can stay longer next time. If there were only a way we could get the birds to sleep in...

Straw-Berries

Matthew has been really interested lately in knowing how specific foods help our bodies, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. I can't decide if he's really curious or if he is trying to find a hole in my nutritional reasoning. I've had to explain the benefits of broccoli, grapes, green beans, peas, carrots, milk, apples, etc. The other day we were having strawberries with our lunch and the usual topic came up.


Matthew: Mom, what do strawberries do?

Mom: You know what Matthew, I actually don't know for sure. I know they have Vitamin C though.

Matthew: Well, I know. I think they help you to suck.

Mom: Because they are STRAW-berries?

Matthew: Yep.

Pretty good rationale, I have to admit.

Brother's Day

I know this is late, but I had to write it down because it was so funny. A few weeks ago I asked the kids what they wanted to do for Kevin for Father's Day.

Ryan: I know. Let's buy some red Zingers! (Yes, Kevin really likes Zingers.)

Mom: That's a good idea. Anything else?

Ryan: And then we can get yellow Zingers for Brother's Day!

Apparently there is an additional holiday I'm not aware of. And as a sidenote, Kevin had a fun Father's Day and got all of the manly things one would expect - a purple tie picked out by the kids (accompanied by Zingers of course) and some new drill bits. We are so lucky to have such a great dad!

Tough Week

*This was composed the end of June but never posted. Go figure. :)

It's been a while since we updated the blog, but we honestly have good reason this time. Last week the whole house came down with a not-very-fun sickness, so we spent a lot of time watching TV and eating soda crackers. Since everyone is finally feeling better, we have been trying to get back into our normal schedule, and unfortunately we've run into a couple of days where the kids have decided to rebel. Today, for example, the boys were downstairs playing Star Wars after lunch. I took advantage of a few spare minutes and went to my room to do some filing. The air conditioning came on and closed the bedroom door. I thought nothing of it and finished going through some papers. (Yeah, mommy-sense had apparently suffered from the sickness as well.) When I was done, I went downstairs to check on the kids. They were having a little scuffle about sharing, so I asked Ryan to come over and talk to me so we could work it out. When he came over I noticed orange powder around his mouth and smelled Doritos on his breath. Now, we don't have Doritos at our house very often, so the kids get pretty excited when they are around. I asked Ryan if he had been eating chips. He just looked at me and tried not to smile. I asked Matthew the same question, and he told me no, but the Mommy-sense (finally) kicked in and I could tell he wasn't being truthful. After some more questioning Matthew led me over to a blanket on the floor and lifted it up to reveal the bag of chips. It was almost entirely empty. Apparently the boys had decided they needed a snack and snuck the bag downstairs while my door was closed. Let's just say they had to clean up the mess and it looks like Doritos will have an even bigger hiatus from our house. Boys!

Buzz-Man Zach

Zachary is just like his brothers - tons of fun but FULL of mischief. He loves to grab things he's not supposed to, wait until I see him, then run away full throttle in an escape attempt. And I have to admit he is pretty fast. He likes to take favorite toys away from his brothers when they aren't looking and thinks it's hilarious to have them chase him down. And then he throws the tantrum when they reclaim their goods. This has resulted in a new era of life for him - duh, duh, duh - corner time out. He's been in time out on my lap before, but he's old enough to start the regular stuff. The first few times he went to the corner he went pretty willingly, sat down, and started to fake cry (obviously imitating his older brothers). Honestly? I had to try very hard not to laugh. Because of his talent for disturbing the peace, he has also learned to say "sorry" (sha-sha) and "love you" (lo loo).

Zach loves to play. He likes the typical cars, trucks, little people, etc., but he is usually interested in whatever his brothers are playing with (as previously mentioned.) He can really get into their ball games and can hold his own in wrestling matches.
He even likes to have lightsaber fights and can make some pretty good blaster noises. Legos are also a favorite, although he prefers to play with the lego people (he calls them "guys") by pulling them apart and putting them back together again. He loves playing outside on his bike and on the swings.

He is also starting to talk a lot more and is trying to imitate the things that we say. He wakes up every morning with the same question - "Daddy bye-bye car?" and has started to put more words together in phrases and sentences. He heard one of the boys pass gas one day and started to laugh. "Mat-ma toot!" he told all of us. New words he is saying: Mat-ma (Matthew), Rye-Rye (Ryan), uh-oh, nuh-uh, swee (swing), sly (slide), pan (pants), sock, ha (hat), bye (bike), pwee (please), tank oo, pop-pop (popcorn - the kid is an addict), my (mine), no, ow-sy (outside), muh (milk), wa-wa (water), der (there), show, gink (drink), umpa (grandma/grandpa), bubbo (bubble), Buh (Buzz Lightyear), Queen (Lightning McQueen) and some others as well.

And finally, we had to give our little guy a buzz. His sweet baby hair just wasn't filling in where it was supposed to. It was long and wispy and he was starting to have a mullet. Cool as that may be, Kevin opted to give him a buzz to give Zach's hair a new start. Here's a short breakdown of the process:

Before

During

Mohawk

Final Buzz

It made me a little sad to see all of his hair go. He looks bigger now and is no longer my baby, just a happy, busy toddler. He is such a fun little boy with a lot of spunk and personality. I guess he has to be in order to fit in with the rest of the crew. I can't believe he will be two in a few months. We sure do love our Zachary!