The AC is Out

The AC is Out, so we headed down to the icy Atlantic to *Chill* out.

It was so *wicked* cold we considered hauling some home to dump on our beds. 

(A concept Pops first experimented with when we were first married and didn't have AC. 

Why not wet the sheets, ring them out and turn on the fan?

Good times.)

We even tried the teensy tiny tidepools for relief... and even found some crab friends (see what LC is about to pounce with his greedy little hand about 1 foot in front of him?)

Superkid and Abizella decided there is nothing like being on the receiving end of old fashioned mud slinging to keep you cool, so they helped each other out.

We all tried to let our bodies seep deep in the cool wet sand...

And even Mom benefited from splashing!

The only thing left was to pull on the goggles and dive in head-first!

You See This Face?

"You see this face?" said Tadpole.

"This is my ANGRY face!"

"Do you know why I have an ANGRY FACE?" 

Tell me Tad. 

"Because you made me put down my King Pig for Family Home Evening!"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I can't believe that it is the end of May! I can't believe that this is seriously the first time we have been down to the beach this Spring. I have wanted to go on a few occasions but there are so many wonderful things to do on *warm* days... namely go for bike rides. No worries, this only whet our appetite. Much beach LOVE to come!

How do I tear them away?

The Trane Train

All Aboard! Abizella's Trane Train is pulling out!

Labor of Love

Abizella's dance recital was this week. It was an event that almost didn't happen. There was some unpleasantness in ballet class leading up to the event. Abizella was having some "issues" with her highly structured and strict teacher. Pops was at the end of his rope after dragging 3 little boys to their sister's ballet class week after week, only to have Abz claim a stomach ache 10 minutes into the class. Three weeks before the recital Pops put his foot down (hard). No more ballet. 2 weeks went by, it was a closed issue. Pops didn't bring it up again, and neither did Abz. I just couldn't STAND the thought of of not seeing Abz in her little costume and watching her dance. I brokered a deal between the two. Let's just say that the gallon of gel I used to get Abz's hair into the bun wasn't the only thing holding the delicate situation together.

Abizella was SUPER excited the day of her last class. I got a call at work from Pops. He said, "Do you have something to write with?" I was in my lab coat and gloves but scurried for a paper towel and a sharpie. I got "the list" of recital information, including the fact that Abizella was required to wear a bun. Probably shouldn't have chopped her hair off last month. But the teacher imparted the trick of the trade, a bun hair net. Wa-lah!

Sadly, when Abizella pulled on her costume instead of squealing with glee, she howled in discomfort. She complained of the itchy costume and started to rip it off. I, quite rationally, explained that there will be several occasions as a woman when you have to sacrifice comfort for style. Somehow this didn't comfort her. Our ingenious Pops, on the other hand, pulled out a roll of scotch tape and began lining all of the scratchy parts of the costume. As he applied the placebo over all the offending portions of the leotard, I couldn't help but wish for Abizella's sake that they let her father into the Bride's Room at the temple on her wedding day. He is by far the more tender-hearted parent.

He even wiped away her sad little tears...

He didn't miss a spot...

And made everything all better...

Ready for Show time!

Abizella is the 3rd from the left on the back row.

We were all very pleased with her performance...

We love our pretty Ballerina!

Who's up for another year of ballet?

Tad, the Bike-Riding Toad

 Tadpole joined the ranks of bicycling Toads this week, and he is a force to be reckoned with!

 He came out of the gates in a fury! This kid did not want to be left behind.

Special thanks to Abi A. for being the resident bicycle expert. She assembled the training wheels on Tad's bike. She is definitely the most qualified, after living the dream of biking all the way across the USA! 

This leaves one more Toad as a bi-ped. He is cool with it for now, as long as he gets to be in charge of Shadow's leash!

Teacher Appreciation Night

The big Toads invited their favorite school teachers to a SPECIAL night of APPRECIATION at church. Abizella has been out of her mind excited for the big night for a whole month. She set aside a special outfit weeks in advance and started a count down to the big night. She was especially excited to spend time one-on-one with Mrs. Morrison. She is a major fan!

Superkid is an old pro at Teacher Apreciation night by now. He played it a little more cool, but was a perfect gentleman as he hosted his teacher Ms. Keif. He also proved to be a brilliant conversationalist and even found out that he and Ms. Keif both share a fondness for lime drinks.

Our Toads sure won big when it came to teachers this year! They both were on the receiving end of caring, engaged and devoted teachers. We have seen great gains this year. 

Thank-you to the 2 ladies who these kiddos will never forget!

Another Great Day To Be Their Mom

Best Mother's Day EVER!

Nothing could be better than being surrounded by my favorite little Toads, being lavished with flowers, breakfast, and hand-made cards. I am one blessed Mommy.

I missed spending time with my own Mommy and my 2 wonderful Mother-in-Laws. I don't know what I did to get such amazing, strong, independent, bright, loving women in my life. 

I have a lot to live up to! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Tad Quote of the Day

 "It's bigger than the sky! Bigger than heaven!

Bigger than an iPad!"

Little Chief Turns 2!

Little Chief is a BIG 2 year old! 

We kicked off the festivities with his favorite activity- 

hot tubbing!

We invited his best friend, "Sha-ow" to be the guest of honor...

Who was also the inspiration to 'Lil Chief's cake...

Little Chief LOVES birthday candles, he will always beat you to the blow on your birthday. 

He did blow out his own candles at least 4 times before we got through the birthday song. 

But in the end, he did take a brief moment to reflect on a birthday wish...

And then made it official...

Before I could even put the camera down and grab a knife for the cake, 'Lil Chief helped himself to a doggie paw.

And then we just PLAYED!

Played!

Played!

We LOVE our Little Chief to pieces. Pops is particularly proud of Little Chief today, in his words Little Chief was a real "Potty Pooper" by sealing the deal in the potty training arena. This little one is seriously the busiest little boy we know. He keeps us on our toes every day. It is wonderful to have him express his ideas and needs better everyday. When he portrays something  successfully and I repeat it back, his eyes light up, he raises his eyebrows and shouts with joy, "Shyesh!" (meaning, "yes") and nods his head with the satisfaction that he can communicate. Melts my heart every time. Happy Birthday to my littlest Toad!

FAVZ

We sadly had to end our Spring Break trip to the Midwest, and with a combination of crummy weather coming and the realization that we had 8 days of laundry awaiting us we decided not to prolong the return trip. 

We hit the road, driving from Indianapolis, IN to Boston, MA in a breathtaking 14 hours. 

That includes 2, 15 minute pit stops. 

How did 4 small children accomplish this incredible feat? 

Well, lots of time reading stories, lots of time watching Netflix (Yes, that rope the children made in Nauvoo was SUPER handy. And yes, we are watching the Man vs. Food episode from Carmel, IN. And yes, we totally ate Bubs DELICIOUS burgers. And no, none of us clobbered their biggest burger) and we spent a lot of time talking about our favorite parts of the trip.

Little Chief's favorite part was definitely all of the animals...

ESPECIALLY cousin Ruby, who was quickly re-named "Sha-ow". We love this happy pup.

Tadpole was all about the ice cream cones... well all except for the cone part. I give him 2 thumbs up for perfecting his ice cream extracting skills... which also means I didn't get to polish off any discards.

Tad wandered through the vacation in his own elaborate Angry Birds game, finding pig towers in nearly anything he saw. If any of the tour guides asked if there were any questions, Tad's hand would shoot up and he would say something like, "How many Bomb Birds do I get on this level?"

For Miss Peachy Pie the all time best thing was definitely connecting with her cousin Belle. These ladies were fast friends. We are DYING to get together soon.

Abz also was delighted to find that he had actually eaten her tooth along with her sandwich.

Superkid found great joy on keeping his own sketch book of our travels. Much like all great artists, he had a following of admirers...

Here is his interpretation of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma's graves. 

The flock of birds descending is his own artistic flare...

No contest, the best part for me was being with Steve and his family. I LOVED the covered bridges tour, but mostly because I LOVE the directions Steve gave me to get there (more on that to come).

I also just loved being together. Just little things, like being there when the kiddos wake up...

And Pops and I agree, it was refreshing to actually hold a conversation, in person, about something besides who needs what and what needs to be done next.

Pops just LOVED being THERE. All the places he has read about and talked about finally came to life. Big favs include the Masonic Lodge, the Red Brick Store, and the secret passage in Joseph and Emma's Mansion house. It is tucked in the closet behind the chimney, concealed by a peg board.

 I'm just telling you because unless you are lucky enough to get the "Rock Star" tour we did, 

you won't ever know.

Pops was also excited to see the stuff that doesn't remain to be seen, like this little alleyway where the Nauvoo Expositor once stood. 

Old Joe Smith would be happy to see that wretched institution no longer stands.

Okay, how soon can we go back?