buddy's big 4

Summer birthdays at our house are the best! We have cake and ice cream for breakfast, to start the day off right, and then have presents right after. I got up early this morning to finish frosting Collin's cake before he woke up. And not a minute too soon, either! I had just gotten the last candle into place when Collin came downstairs, thrilled to see his Kung Fu Panda cake. I couldn't resist taking a picture right away-that's why he looks so sleepy here.

Time to make a wish and blow out the candles.

Nothing says happy birthday like a brand new red scooter! Finally, a way to keep up with those big sisters and brother around the backyard and cul-de-sac . . .

Collin in action in the backyard. Next stop: the front yard, but definitely with the helmet!

Happy 4th Birthday, Collin!

a crazy collinism

As the youngest of four children, Collin is constantly being told not to do things that are perfectly acceptable for his older siblings to do. Like using a knife at dinner. I don't put a knife by his place setting because frankly he isn't able to use it well enough to even bother, and I didn't want him to injure himself while sawing away at something. I didn't realize how much Collin was actually paying attention to my dinner table admonitions until the following incident occurred while dining out at a restaurant.

We are being seated at our table, which has a knife and two forks rolled up into the napkins at each seat. As we are getting settled in, I notice that Collin has unwrapped his silverware from the napkin and is staring at his utensils. Suddenly, he picks up his dinner knife and wields it proudly while exclaiming, "Mom, LOOK! It didn't kill me!"

I don't remember telling him that the butter knife might actually kill him, but apparently whatever I said made a pretty big impression!

vernal bliss

For the past couple of weeks we have been enjoying gorgeous weather! [Although it is supposed to rain today-but it might not!] While we wait for the older two kids to get out of school, Julia and Collin have enjoyed romping around the school playground.

Of course Julia has to do her reading to me beforehand and is then free to roam, leaving her other homework for the kitchen table. But both kids really look forward to their romps in the mild sun and light breeze that we've been blessed with recently. Absolutely perfect weather. And it's nice for me as well-I stow a book away in my bag and read as they play. It makes for a nice relaxing break in the middle of an otherwise hectic day.

Of course, now that I've posted this, it will most certainly rain today!

little pea

Here's a fun book for your little ones! The last time we went to story time at the library, one of the librarians read this cute book to the kids.

It's about a little pea who has to eat all five pieces of candy on his dinner plate before he can have his dessert-which turns out to be spinach! Very fun. The kids really got into it.

Fun note: Collin just came up to me while typing this post and got very excited when he saw the book cover picture! He even remembered about the book when I asked him to tell me about it. A winning testimonial from a pint-size reader!

my fella

Collin atop his favorite perch in the mall playground!

We were planning on going to story time at the library this morning, but when we got there we found that the children's librarian was sick today. Poor Miss Valerie! So, after we collected the books and DVD I had on hold, we decided to go have some fun. I had a couple of errands that needed running at the mall, so that's where we headed.

After making my stops, we made for the playground, Collin's favorite place to hang out at the mall. His favorite thing to play on is the yellow VW bug-he especially likes to jump off of it [that's where he's perched in the above photo]. And of course we had to have lunch at the mall while we were there-we shared a huge plate of nachos. Collin loves his chippies. Since no trip to the mall would be complete without the requisite visit to the See's Candy establishment, Collin giddily picked out a small chocolate rabbit and sat down on a nearby bench to relish it.

All in all, a good morning!

a morning in exile

I almost forgot about this experience last week until I was uploading digital photos to the computer and came across this picture and video. Let me explain:


Our story begins last week as I pull into the school parking lot to pick up the kids. A car that had been driving behind me followed me into the parking lot, where the occupants [good samaritans #1] informed me that one of my back tires was extremely flat. Fortunately a school bus driver [good samaritan #2] noticed me trying to pump it back up with a battery-operated gizmo I keep in the van and offered to pump it up for me in the school bus barn several yards away. Fortunately I was able to make it home just fine, but I knew where I would be the next morning: at the Costco tire center for a repair and an overdue tire rotation as well.


Collin and I dropped the van off and began our sojourn by wandering about town for the two-and-a-half hours that it would take for the job to be completed. We started off close to home by getting a bite at the Costco snack bar. Two hot dogs [sans buns], two drinks, and twenty minutes later, we decided to wander around the store for a bit. We found a new LeapFrog video for Collin's collection, but after 30 minutes or so, we were weary of perusing the warehouse. So, we buttoned up our coats and ventured across the enormous vacant field in front of Costco to check out the nearby shopping center. As we left I noticed our van still parked in the Tire Center Parking, the plastic yellow service hat perched woefully on the top. Hmmm. That doesn't bode well for us, I thought.


After picking our way through vast amounts of weeds, ruts, and other vacant field paraphernalia, we decided that some ice cream was in order. We headed straight for Coldstone Creamery, ordered our favorites, and settled in to kill some time together.





The above picture shows the contents of my bag by this point: my Costco work order, Collin's new video [it was either stash it in my purse or carry it around in some tuna fish box], a bow and arrow brought along by Collin to help pass the time away, Collin's partially eaten hot dog wrapped in foil, and my cell phone, which I checked constantly to make sure that Costco hadn't performed a miracle for me and called to tell me they had gotten the job done sooner than expected.

So, we hung out at Coldstone for awhile. Although Collin was being a real trooper, by this time, the poor little fella was getting pretty punchy! Watch the video to see him in action-he's pretty hilarious. He was having a good time being silly. We left a few minutes after taking this video to stroll around Michael's for a spell.

After meandering through Michael's, we headed back across the field to pick up the van. Mission accomplished! But, we weren't done with these tires yet. The next morning as Collin and I were getting into the van to run the errands that didn't get done the day before, I noticed that our troublesome tire was flat again. So, I flipped the air compressor on, filled it up, and headed straight for Costco for the second day in a row. This time the wait was only one hour, so we decided to stay in Costco the entire time. Neither of us had any desire to roam that day. We made our way to the DVD section, where we decided to just camp out on the floor in front of the flatscreen that was playing the BBC planet earth series. And there we stayed for the hour! Collin really loved seeing all the wildlife.

And I'm just glad our tire is fixed for good this time.

proud mama alert

Here's an update on some of the fun things the kids have been up to lately!

Last week, all of the 4th graders took a huge spelling test to find out who the best spellers are. The top two spellers win a trip to the spelling bee held at the end of this month to prepare them for entering the bee next year [they have to be in 5th grade to enter]. Libby was one of the top two and is going on the trip! They also go out to lunch afterwards, so she is thrilled at missing basically the whole day to have fun outside of school. The other top speller is also in Libby's class and is a friend of hers, as well as being LDS [although we're in different wards]. It will be a fun day for both of them!

In other news, this past Sunday was Bailey's first time playing the piano in Priesthood. He has been working on several hymns during the last few weeks and is really sounding good. He has played for opening exercises in Mutual a few times, but yesterday was his first time in Priesthood. He played [very fittingly, I thought] "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet." We're already putting those piano lessons to work! A special thanks to Grammie, who is Bailey's piano teacher [and the girls' as well]!

And here is an amusing incident from today involving Collin. This morning I was watching BYU-TV to hear the announcement of the new First Presidency. Collin was playing nearby. The name "Thomas" was being mentioned repeatedly as Thomas S. Monson had been called as the new president of the church. Everytime he heard the name, Collin would perk up, because for him the name Thomas is all about Thomas the Tank Engine. He kept asking me if Thomas was on TV. I told him that Thomas S. Monson the prophet was on TV and showed him the picture from our conference Ensign. He looked at it and repeated the name "Thomas S. Monson" with me several times, then seemed content with this particular Thomas. Funny little guy.

Julia has a performance tomorrow night at the school for Founder's Day. This being our first ever Founder's Day, I'm still not sure what it's all about, but as she has been learning a patriotic song, it's sure to be patriotic! Will have to let you know how it goes!

"daycation"

I've been so stressed out lately with Primary and scout stuff that this morning I declared a "daycation" for Collin and I. Since we had already put in our workday on Tuesday at the school, we didn't have any commitments today and were therefore able to put the day to its true purpose: having fun!

After the kids left for school, we started off our morning by setting up Collin's train tracks again, as someone had disassembled the entire thing several days ago. After accomplishing that, we decided to give Thomas the day off and headed downstairs to play on the Wii!

We started off with tennis. I took a few minutes to warm up, since the first time I had played tennis on the Wii was briefly on Monday during family night. Then, Collin and I played each other, and boy, he was really kicking my patootie! It's not so much skill [although he does have this uncanny sense of coordination and timing] as it was his funny way of continually jumping up and down and waving his remote back and forth so rapidly that earned him so many points! Even though I won [thank goodness for my ego], he was really impressing me with his skills!

We also managed to slip in a quick game of Wii bowling before we headed off into the rain just in time to catch story hour at the library. We met up with some friends there, listened to lots of great stories, and sang some silly songs. After Miss Valerie handed out snacks, we ran back through the rain to our car to get home for lunch and naptime.

After naptime [and before we left to pick up kids at school] Collin surprised me yet again. Since I'm filling in for our pianist for the next month [only for the beginning part of sharing time], I was practicing some Primary songs on the piano. Collin hears the song I'm playing and comes downstairs to inform me that I'm playing the "Hello Song," which he's only heard maybe twice! I was surprised that he knew it, since as a Sunbeam he hasn't logged much actual time in the Primary. And last Sunday the chorister complimented him on his singing of "I Am a Child of God," since he was the only Sunbeam singing. What a funny little fellow.

So, even though I did have to sneak in some phone calls to take care of Primary and scout stuff this afternoon, I thoroughly enjoyed my little "daycation" morning with Collin. We'll just have to make it a regular event!

little trackmaster

Collin enjoys his new train set

Here's a fun video of Collin playing with his new train set! Thanks to generous Christmas cash from Papa & Amoo and Grammie & Papa, Collin was able to add other pieces to the basic train set we gave him for Christmas to create a great setup. He had lots of fun making his choices at Target!

We set up the train tracks in the spare room, so 1] there's plenty of room for Thomas and James to meander along the train tracks and 2] we don't have to worry about taking it down since it's not in the way. Collin is quite the conductor-he handles the remotes for both of the trains, flips switches to change routes, and in general keeps things running smoothly. The other kids have a fun time playing with him as well, and Bailey has helped him set up his track a few times in a variety of ways.

pictures worth a thousand words

Collin has a thing for trains, especially Thomas the Tank Engine. Check out these fun pictures in succession as he opens his first ever Thomas the Tank Engine set for Christmas!

Libby helps Collin open his Thomas the Tank Engine Set. Right now Libby looks more excited about it than Collin does!

This one is my all-time favorite! Realization dawns. Don't you just love the expression on his face! Classic little boy Christmas excitement!

Collin lovingly caresses the box while Libby helps remove the final wrappings.

This one isn't Thomas-related, but I still loved it! Collin desperately wanted a Spiderman from Santa. At the ward Christmas party, he confidently asked Santa for a Spiderman and was rather dismayed when Santa only offered him a candy cane! We had to explain to a somewhat confused Collin that Santa doesn't actually have the presents ready until Christmas Eve. Here he proudly shows off his long-awaited Spiderman to Mom with Julia.

right on target

Collin standing in front of the brand new SuperTarget. Apparently the new stores are sporting a series of red concrete ball sculpture balls in front! Of course Collin thought that they were so awesome, so we had to get a picture.

And can I say how much I love Target? We already have a regular Target not too far from our house, but this new SuperTarget has groceries, too! You know, in case I need to pick up shirts for one of the kids AND some apples for lunch the next day. You've just got to love Target. I don't know what I'd do without it. Some people are crazy about Walmart, but I've always been a Target girl. If I had a Walmart next door and a Target across town, I'd drive across town in a heartbeat. Which is what I actually used to do before we moved to our current house nearly four and a half years ago. Anyone else have a preference, or am I just an incorrigible Target snob?

And it just occurred to me: with my blog's current musical selection [you know, they're playing "La Ti Da" in the newest Target ads] this could basically be an ad for Target. Where do I pick up my paycheck? :)

quiet moments

Julia reading aloud. . .

We have a routine we follow every day. When I pick up the kids from school, Julia gets out first. We then have an hour to work on homework, read, and if time allows, go to the playground while we wait for Libby and Julia. If the weather is nice, we like to sit outside at a table somewhere and do homework and reading. Today was just lovely. The sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing, the sky was a brilliant blue and the clouds were amazing in their size and variety. It was such a pleasant day altogether that, while Julia was reading to Collin and I, I took some shots of our quiet moments together.

. . . and Collin listening and watching quietly

young samurai

I was inspired to turn Collin's antics into a short movie! Enjoy!

got moves?

After dinner tonight the family was just hanging out. It had been another long and busy week and I was ready for some serious veg time. I was sitting in the study where Owen and Julia were on the computer, trying to decide between reading or taking a short nap, when suddenly Collin bursts into the room sporting his Cars underwear and some pretty fancy moves! It was so hilarious that I had to grab the camera and get a short video of him in all his glory. He was really getting into it, whatever it was!

i do it!

Meet Collin. Collin is three years old. Collin is potty trained and a big boy. Collin likes to do things all by himself. "I do it!" is a constant refrain at our house.

One morning Collin wants to put his clothes on all by himself. "I do it!" Of course Mom allows Collin to do it, if only to avoid the inevitable tidal wave of shrieks and cries of sheer frustration as a result of being denied to dress himself. Mom knows that she will eventually have to help Collin turn his shirt around [and possibly his pants, too], preferably before going anywhere in public.

This morning Mom could not resist getting pictures of Collin after he had dressed himself. At first glance, everything seems to be fine [see above photo]. So what's the big deal?

Upon closer inspection, Mom immediately realizes that wearing a collared shirt backwards is far more humorous than wearing a plain old T-shirt the wrong way! Mom realizes that she must give Collin due credit for trying. After all, doesn't the cute picture belong on the FRONT of your shirt? Why do the shirt-people have to make these things so complicated!!

And yes, Mom definitely needs to hit the mall, as high waters [even for three-year-olds] are never in style. If Collin were a girl, Mom could have the luxury of declaring them capri pants. Mom is just waiting for the fashion powers-that-be to declare capris in style for boys as well.

panda

Since Collin and I had been on the go all morning long, [and had a long afternoon still ahead of us] we treated ourselves to lunch @ Panda Express. Now, I just have to tell you that Collin has a thing for pandas. Big time. Ever since I gave him a small stuffed panda a few months ago, it's been all about the panda. So, you can imagine his delight when we stepped into a restaurant full of them! He literally couldn't stop pointing at and talking about all the various pandas situated on the walls, on the cup, and on the employees' shirts. He even carried on a conversation with the panda sign located on the window just above where we were sitting. He was so excited he could hardly even down his favorite Chinese dish of all time, broccoli beef, aka [by Collin] as "trees and chicken." I had to keep telling him that panda had made his lunch especially for him and that he needed to eat it! Funny little fella.