Green Bluebirds: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Cabin

The cabin was the real reunion. We spent Wednesday through Saturday up in the mountains near Heber, just enjoying one another's company and the beautiful surrounding area.

My Mom set up a spider web for the kids. They each
found a prize at the end of their strings.

My sister Miriam was nice enough to let us piggyback onto
Johnny's first birthday party with a little celebration for
Nora as well. Johnny did a smashing job with his cake
(pun intended), as did Miriam.

Nora didn't cooperate any better the second time around-
she never even touched hers. I think Benjamin was trying
to help by holding her next to the cake with her arms down...

But when she opened another pink doll, she was in heaven.

The salt lick just outside brought lots of beautiful visitors.

Benjamin wanted to play horseshoes with whoever would join him.
He was right at home at the cabin, and even took a seven or eight
mile hike with all the big people without any trouble until the end.

Benjamin, Nathan and Isaac.

It was SOOO good to see my sisters again. I've missed them!

Benjamin really hit it off with his cousins Natalie and Lucy.
They were always off somewhere playing together.

Another shot of the 2010 babies.
Miriam with Johnny, Me with Nora, and Bryan with Isaac.

Jon torturing Benjamin.

On our way out, Peter wanted to go give
Lucy a hug. She happily obliged. :)

Pine View

Since my Mom and Dad moved to Utah, taking day trips to Pine View has become sort of a tradition. With all the rain that Utah's had this year, it was hard to find any beach!

Nora loved sitting in the tiny chair that was just her size.

Benjamin and Sarah

My Mom and I took the paddle boat out for a turn.

The kids having fun decorating Grandpa with sand.

Anna, Benjamin and Peter.

Centerville and Park City

Alright, I promise I'm almost through. I know almost none of you have any interest in the endless posts and pictures from our trip. I'm trying to chug through the last of these so I can be done and move on to current life. It really was a fantastic (and long) vacation. On our way home, Paul and I both admitted that we really didn't want to go home, and fantasized for a bit about how we could just abandon our real lives, quit the job, and find a fresh start in Utah. Something about the ignoring our mortgage just didn't sit right with us though. Anyways. We had a great time, and now it actually is good to be back. Even if Paul did just leave me again for a business trip through Thursday night. Boo.

So here's the Centerville portion. For whatever reason, I don't have as many pictures of this chunk of time. It may have been the extra busy-ness and chaos of having more people around. In any case, you're welcome. :)

Up by the falls near my parents house with my Mom,
my brother Bryan and his wife Jeni and their family.

Our kids' ages are all in sync. Sarah is Benjamin's age,
Bonnie is just a couple months older than Peter,
and Nora is just a couple months older than Isaac.
The kids had a blast playing together during our
time there!

The kids loved playing in the backyard, sliding down this
giant slide into the wading pool. It was fast!

There's my wonderful Mom and Jeni by the pool.

Sarah was so sweet with Nora! It was fun to see them interact.

The three 2010 babies- Isaac, Johnny and Nora. Miriam, Jeni
and I stole some time away from our babies to go look for fabric.
Miriam found some classy floral to go in her kitchen, and I
found some gorgeous fabric that I'm currently turning into a skirt.
We also got to have a temple trip with Bryan and Jeni, and Miriam and Marc.

My Dad took some time off work to hang out with us.
It was special to be together!

On our way to the playground.

Peter loves Grandpa!

More of Sarah being sweet with Nora, lifting her up
so she could play with this.

These two had a great time together! I loved having the cousins together.

I got to see my sister Jeannine and my brother Nathan too.

The boys love Uncle Jon. He put up with a lot!

We spent one afternoon in Park City, which was fun. Here's
Nathan carrying Nora, Jeni, Sarah, Bryan carrying Isaac, and Michelle.

Jon wasn't too happy about Jeannine's other suitor.

We just hopped in an out of shops, including this Native
American one. Nora loved all the shiny animal figurines.

Jeni, Bonnie, Sarah, Jon, Jeannine, Bryan and Isaac walking down Main.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Visits

We managed to squeeze in a few visits while we were in Utah to see grandparents, cousins and friends. Some were documented, others were not. It was great to get together with some of Paul's friends, who are all married now. I think that was the first of these get-togethers didn't last through mid night hours.

We had a few days with Paul's grandma, which was wonderful.
She is a remarkable woman. Here she is with us at the parade.

I made sure to go see my friend Stacy, who was was my neighbor
in the freshmen dorms. We recently got reacquainted through our
blogs, and I'm so glad we have. She's awesome!

I'm pretty sure we're the only two people from our dorm
with three kids. Her girls are adorable!

We also visited my Granda (Dad's side), and were lucky to
have my Aunt Kathy's visit coincide.

This house has wonderful memories for me.

I'm pretty sure I know where I got my short genes from!
These women are incredible!

We also visited my other grandparents (mom's side). My
Grandpa has always been so fun with kids!

They were excited to get acquainted with Nora.

I'm starting to recognize more and more of my Grandma in me,
which has been fun. She has recently taken up oil painting,
and has a LOT to show for it! I really admire her.

Here's Benjamin on their rope swing. I remember playing
in their back yard as a kid and how fun it was. I'm glad to
be able to share these memories now with my own kids!

Josh and Anne

We had a few days to catch up with Paul's brother Josh
and his family, which was fun!

The boys had a blast playing with their cousin Adrian.

We went up to the Kennecott Copper Mines with them.

Nora and Josephine, just a few months apart, looked eerily similar.

Hmm...you think they're related?

Riding the bus up to the mines.

Looking out over the giant pit.

I still don't think I understand how huge those trucks down
there were. This was one of the wheels.

Josh works up in Salt Lake now, so we met him for
lunch on our way up north to my parent's house.

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Noraisms

1/19/14
"Why you like Daddy's germs? Because why do you kiss him on the lips at home?"

6/20/13
Nora randomly asks if she can say a prayer in my presence: "...and bless that Benjamin can get on the school bus and go to school and that we can go to the Butterfly House..."

6/10/13

While Paul was bouncing her around, Nora tooted and sheepishly said, "That's not propriate!"

6/10/13

Mom: Nora, tell Lydia a happy story.

Nora: Unicorns and pink trees!

6/08/13

While Paul was spinning Nora around, she started aggressively rubbing his cheeks and gleefully said, "You a SCRATCHY lil man!"

5/8/13
Observing from her car window a random female adult without any children: "Look, a Mommy! Poor Mommy, she doesn't have a girl."

4/28/13
At my mention of George Washington: "George WASHING MACHINE!?!"

3/27/13
Referring to Lydia's fuzzy newborn head, "Oh, she's so cozy!"

12/21/12
Nora often says, "I can't need that!" when explaining that she doesn't want something as in "No. I can't need broccoli."

12/20/12
Dad: "Nora, do you want me to buckle you in?"
Nora: "Yeah...actually no, Mommy!"

She uses "actually no" surprisingly often. When Dad goes to get her out of her crib in the morning, "Actually No! Mommy!"

Mom: Do you want jam on your toast?
Nora: Yes. Actually, no.

Peter Prattle

6/20/13
"I'm glad Daddy decided to marry you mom....I'm glad that I grew inside your tummy. Because I LOVE being ME!"

6/10/13

Peter: I wish I was a cheetah, because I could eat anything!

Mom: What would you eat?

Peter: EVERYTHING!

5/21/13
Referring to the voice-over narration in the Tale of Despereaux, "I don't like people talking about the movie!"
I think he's his Dad's son.

3/27/13
Referring to Lydia's newborn ears, "Her ears look like ham!"

12/30/12
After spending a few minutes playing with an interactive coloring display at the LA Temple's visitors center, a befuddled Peter asked, "Why does God's home have crayons for us to draw on?"

12/07/12
Dad: "Aaron was Moses's brother."
Peter: "Oh! Just like the 'Aaron' Space Museum!!"

12/03/12
Dad: "Peter, I love who you are; you make me so happy."
Peter: "...and you don't want any more of me."

11/29/12
"I'm not someone who turns bad dreams into good dreams; I'm just a PERSON!"

10/29/12
Mom: If you grow up to be a doctor you can learn how to fix people.
Peter: I just want to be a chef. Actually! I want to be a doctor, a BOY doctor when I grow up because there aren't many BOY doctors in this land.

10/8/12
After Peter read Red Hen six times in half an hour:
Dad: "You can do anything you put your mind to."
Peter: "Like when I'm a chef I could learn how to not get my hands burned?"

8/24/12
"I'm the SWEET-Heart of the Family!"

8/24/12
Playing Scrabble with the boys:
Peter: "s-e-k-x. What's sekx?"
Mom: ?!...
Peter: "What's sekx?"
Mom: "It's whether you're a boy or a girl."
Peter: "Ohhhh. Sekx."

3/7/12

Ben: "Guess what I'm going to ask for for my birthday?"

Me: "What?"

Ben: "An Ipod."

Me: ".....?!"

Peter: "Guess what I'm going to ask for for MY birthday? An escape pod. It's from Star Wars."

3/6/12

Butterflies have butter in them, but we don't eat butterflies."

2/14/12

Peter, who has a cold complained during lunch that his "breath hurt." I'm pretty sure he meant his throat.

1/9/12

After recovering from a dinnertime tantrum, "I have an angry face on my smiley."

11/10/11

Very matter-of-factly, after observing some windblown black and white garbage in a neighbor's yard, "Looks like a penguin is dead."

10/14/11

"I'm just tipping on my toes."

10/13/11

"I'm just raking the inside of my mouth...because I have a bun stuck inside my teeth."

8/10/11

Peter: "Mmmm...this is yummy!"

Me: "You like caramels?"

Peter: "No, car-di-NALS! ...you don't chew on the cardinals or you won't have any teeth, and you'll be a baby and I'll say, 'where's my teeth?'"

8/2/11

After feeling my legs, "Your knees are so scratchy! You better go scratch them."

7/29/11

Peter picked up a pretty rock and exclaimed, "A Julian! I found my own Julian! it's white and black and blue!"

7/18/11

Referring to a dandelion that his cousin found, "She found a dandy land!"

7/15/11

Not wanting to take any pain medication after landing on his head, Peter cried, "I want to have a hurt head!"

5/12/11

Peter: "It's the weekend?"

Dad: "No."

Peter: "It's the work-end?"

4/25/11

Benjamin: "Where's my orange?"

Peter: "In my throat."

4/17/11

Mom: "Pick a Sunday movie. It's Sunday."

Peter: "NO! A COOL movie! Not a nice movie."

4/16/1

After making a mess, "I'm a natural."

4/15/11

"I'm NOT a baby! I'm a JOKE!"

2/23/11

Mom: "Thank you for being the peacemaker, Peter!"

Peter: "No, Coolmaker!"

1/26/11

"I need a towel. NOT the flower one. That'd be gross."

Benjaminisms

3/8/12

Peter, referring to a Jeep: "That car has a wheel on the back of it!"

Benjamin: "That's called a GPS."

1/10/12

"If I ever catch a Leprechaun, I will wish to be an angel or a prophet."

8/8/11

Referring to the Boppy, "Nora's milking pillow is on my bed."

6/5/11

Peter: "I'm going to be an astronaut when I grow up."

Benjamin: "But be careful! An asteroid might come and break your rocket!"

5/1/11

Benjamin recently watched the entire first season of the original Transformers animated series. This morning while piling into the van Benjamin said, "Let's get ready to go IronHive!" thus aptly naming our family transport.

3/4/11

"I don't know why all the days are called tomorrow."

12/13/10

Benjamin, in response to Peter's moaning: "Peter, that freaks me out!"

11/20/10

Someday soon, I'll have hairs in my nose like Daddy...then I won't have to pick it with my finger."

11/12/10

Measuring Nora with a ruler: "Looks like you're one and a forty half. That means you're a little bit big...."

Measuring Peter with a ruler: "Looks like you're one and a fifty half. That means you're a little bit chunky big."

8/23/10

Paul, packing up our suitcase: "Zip it up!"

Benjamin's quick response: "Zip it up, fuzz ball!"

6/6/10

"I can't wait to meet the new baby! Your tummy is getting REALLY big...are there two babies in there?"

5/1/10

Sarah, making a dumb joke: "We're going to feed the koi fish. They're very coy."

Benjamin: "Are they shy?"

2/23/10
"You have to be careful! You don't want to fall and break your leg skeletons!"

12/11/09
"Mmmm! That bagel was so, so, SO plain!" (describing to us just how delicious his plain bagel with plain cream cheese was)

11/2/09
Sarah: "Tell Peter about Santa Clause."
Benjamin, to Peter: "Santa Clause is...he's kind of like a wizard."

10/24/09
"Butter is the new toast."

10/22/09
Benjamin: "Hey Mom! Have you ever heard of penguin squash?"
Sarah: "Nope..."
Benjamin: "That's the squash that penguins eat."

10/13/09
Sarah: "Daddy's not coming home tonight. He's on a business trip."
Benjamin: "Oh! Kind of like Business on Ice?"

10/7/09
Peter: "Bababa...shriek!"
Benjamin: "Peter said 'Gandalf!'"

10/6/09
"I was in my room and I heard the rain, and the thunder was taking some pictures."

9/25/09
Sarah: "Why are you so happy?"
Benjamin: "I'm so happy because I'm excited to be your kid!"

9/24/09
"I just played "Hot Cross Buns" with my mouth!"

8/23/09
"Let me take off my pants so I can shake out all my nickels and diamonds."

8/12/09
After sneezing he called out, "Hey! I just made some bless-shoos!"

8/8/09
"After dinner, I get to have a very special treat...it's called oatmeal!"

6/22/09
"NOOO, Mommy! Don't go outside by yourself. The big, scary bugs might come and take you!"

6/13/09
Paul: "Can I have a bite of your strawberry custard?" Ben: "OK! Oh...you should take smaller bites, Daddy."

5/15/09
"Oh! Rodents are my best buddies!"

5/3/09
"Wake up, Daddy! We don't sleep at church. That's not the place we go to sleep!"

4/29/09
While "huffing and puffing" and blowing on his hot dinner, Benjamin said, "Not by the hair of my chimi-chimi-changa!"

4/28/09
"Mommy, can I marry you in the Salt Lake City Temple?"

4/17/09
While taking off his favorite "Thomas Toy Train" shirt during his bedtime routine, Benjamin assured us he could put it away in the drawer. "It's ok. It's a little bit clean." He was probably right. I'm sure there were clean spots!

4/1/09
Benjamin yelled this from the bathroom: "Sawah! Take that thing off your hair! That's yucky! We don't put things in our hair!"
What I want to know is how did he know? He hates it when I put my hair up, and I had just put it in a clip.

3/11/09
"Might Mommy will fall on you, and you will bleed a lot." Hmmm...not sure where that came from, but apparently I have a lethal mass.

2/26/09
Benjamin refers to himself as "Little Tiger" these days, but this morning he said, "I'm not Little Tiger. I'm Baby Tiger. And Mommy is Mommy Tiger and Daddy is Daddy Tiger, and Peter is a dog."

2/12/09
After clipping Benjamin's fingernails, he said to me, "Now I never scratch Peter again when he cries. Now I never get a time out!"

1/27/09
Paul: "Who's that?" (referring to Abinadai).

Benjamin: "I can't say it. I'm too sick."

Sarah: "Do you need to go potty?"

Benjamin: "No, I already did last week at the library."

1/4/09
As we drove past Salt Lake, I pointed to the city and told Benjamin "That's Salt Lake City." He replied, "No, we only put salt on eggs. Not on buildings and mountains."