The Brintons

Closing up 2011

2012-01-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

It is wintertime, but Wisconsin is not that cold. We can play outside almost any day, and it's only snowed three times. I'm loving it! One of the only cold nights was the night of the Firemen's Parade. Eric blasted the heater in the van, but Jacob, Zachary, and I braved the night wind:

The boys and I have spent other days hiking,

exploring new places (including a cool vine that the kids could swing from),

and ultra-hiking (we got exploring this day and ended up going on a 2-hour excursion)!

This is our tenth Christmas as a family, and the first time that I haven't send Christmas cards. :( It was just too much this year. We did go caroling, though, much to the delight of our neighbors.

The boys had fun, too!

One perfect Christmas celebration was attending "The Gift of the Magi," put on by a theatre group in Spring Green. A friend called me and asked me to come, but I knew that Eric wouldn't go for it--he needs to study at night (at least three hours every night). So I was stunned when he texted me and said that he wanted me to go. When he arrived home just minutes before I was to go, I thanked him for his kindness in letting me go do something so wonderful. "Wait...you're not taking the kids?" he said. Uh...by that time my friend was on her way to pick me up and so I just went. "Put them down at seven!" I called out to Eric. It was the first time that I've been on a girls' night since Eric started his residency two and a half years ago!

Eric and I also had a few chances to perform together this month. This photo is from Eric's work Christmas party--I was playing the piano off to the side while he and another resident jammed on the saxophone and ukelele! That was a fun night. We were so worried about our babysitter at home that we weren't paying attention and ran out of gas on the way home--nerdy! Of course we ended up getting there later for the babysitter!

Here is a tender picture. This is at the graveside service for the mother of one of Jacob's friends. Can you see the doves? They released four doves after the service. The mother died of cancer, leaving a second-grader and a kindergartener. Jacob has been in class with the little girl for the past two years. After the funeral he said, "I went there wondering if she [the mother] was a good person or a bad person. Afterwards, I knew that she was certainly a good person." I agreed.

Of course Christmas with the boys was magical. Eric bought nearly every gift this year (even his own!). For the first time ever, I didn't make any homemade gifts. Everyone survived.

I have to brag about my little sister, though, who did make some very thoughtful homemade packages for the boys. One favorite: felt superhero capes and supplies to decorate them. How cute is that?

And that's not all! She also made me this mother's necklace--isn't that amazing? I didn't know that she knew anything about jewelry-making. Sweet Sandra, you inspire me.

For the week following Christmas, we went a few places--ice skating, the library, shopping. But what the kids have really wanted to be doing is playing, playing, playing, all day long!

Anything can be a sword--yardsticks, spatulas, spoons--but now Adam has his own sword-looking sword!

This is the boys' daytime "sleepover" in the dining room.

And we'll close with a shot of Michael and his favorite gift, a play shaving kit. He's used it every day since Christmas!

What a joyous time! We're looking forward to all that 2012 holds.

People are kind

2012-01-01T01:45:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the church to practice the organ, but the key wasn't in the bench where it belongs. After scouring the chapel and calling half a dozen people about it, I came home discouraged. Much to my embarrassment, I found the organ key--on my key hook at home! I sheepishly called the music chairperson, who had been calling around for the past two hours, and told her that I had found it. "Well, it happens," she said cheerily. What a great response. It's just the sort of kindness that has been blessing our family over the past year, and especially in the last month.

When we learned that Max would need to begin CIC (clean intermittent catheterization), we stayed home from our activities for a few days and focused on getting the new routine down. I never imagined that the learning curve would be so steep! My nurse practitioner friend drove over to my house (with her three kids in tow) and helped me place the catheter on the first day. The first time took me several tries over a period of about 15 minutes. When I finally got it, I cried. Then she cried. "Day one," she said.

She continued to help me over the first couple weeks, meeting me after we got our kids from preschool or coming to my home. Another friend helped me on the days that our sons do "project days" together. My dear neighbor came over once, too. Some times it would take an hour from start to finish, if I drove to someone's home for help or if I just couldn't get it. After each catheterization was done, I would start dreading the next time, only a few hours away. One friend sensed how the catheter was taking over my life and made me dinner one night--it was much appreciated! The learning curve has plateaued now, thank goodness. And after reviewing the first sheet of urine volumes, the urology team agreed that we would only have to catheterize Max three times a day instead of four--happy news!

As I'm writing this, I feel physically and emotionally lighter. I feel uplifted by friends who have carried me through this month. I'm grateful for prayer and for God's watchful care.

Enjoy a little clip of Max and start to see why everyone loves him:

He's just a little slice of heaven.

As a record

2011-12-23T15:30:00.002-07:00

Chart:
"Max has diagnoses that include lipomyelomeningocele, neurogenic bowel, and neurogenic bladder."

Visit:
Max's bladder pressure spikes to 120 cm (40 cm is an uncomfortable pressure for an adult) when the bladder is filled with only 50 mL of fluid. He has three bladder spasms during the 10-minute test.
"How can you be certain that the test catheter doesn't influence the results?"
"He cannot take a bad test."
"He was so tired. That catheter was a challenge."
"You cannot fool this test."
"But...."

Seventy-five–minute visit (it is recorded on the chart):
Max will begin using an intermittent catheter, four times a day. Eight a.m., 12 noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m.

Also.

Strangers:

"Oh, look how flexible he is!"

"He's going to be a hurdler!"

"Look how he sits! Did your other kids do that?"

No, they did not.

And then.

Chart: "Max came to this particular Spina Bifida Clinic due to sudden onset of lower body weakness."

Visit:
The lower body weakness has resolved. Sometimes "lipo kids" have relapses like this. Sometimes it progresses. Sometimes it does not.

That haunting mass at L5-S1.

Some days I sail along sanguinely: I guide the catheter in and out in only a few minutes; I chat and laugh about it with friends; I make blankets for the children's hospital. His legs look normal, really.

Some days I throw the catheter against the wall. I forget to record the urine volume on the chart. I cry.

Today I detest it. I scrape the mass off the MRI in my mind with a razor blade and dice it into pieces too tiny to be detected.

November

2011-11-30T00:32:00.000-07:00

For my 29th birthday, Eric sent me to a spa for four hours, where I relaxed and read a book. (Eric was flat-out exhausted when I came back: "I can't believe that you do this!" he said, which was probably the most gratifying thing he could have said, the darling.) My dear friend brought over this gourmet cake, which was straightaway enjoyed by all:

I remember as a kid hearing someone saying that all the angels in heaven are 30 years old because that is the prime of life. Someone also told me recently that at age 30, your desire to be responsible increases dramatically. So here's to a year of pre-prime, pre-responsible life--cheers! Around my birthday I asked Jacob to take a picture of me, as a record. I like the picture that he took. I don't look any prettier or any plainer than I do in real life:

Also, keep this picture in mind because I don't think that I'm wearing make-up in any of the other pictures in this post, which is funny because I love the stuff and always make Mary Kay consultants excited with how much I want to buy. I have trouble keeping it on throughout the day, however, and especially when we're doing fun projects, which are the things that I like to blog about. Anyway, enough about my face, for heaven's sakes! I told Eric that I would stop blogging in five minutes--yikes! Here's what we were doing in November:

The lucky kids got snow, followed by a day that was warm enough to play outside in it. My favorite creation was the "snow carousel" that they made around the flag pole!

Adam has gone from curious to crazy! He paints/colors his face every day, creates his own art/cooking/building projects around the house, and insists on wearing clothing inappropriate to the season and occasion (pajamas everywhere, backwards shirts, athletic shorts in 30-degree weather). He uses a deep, scary voice to tell us about the orange monster that's hiding downstairs and shouts "yeehaw" on the swings. Oh, and he takes off his diaper when it needs to be changed. I am learning to be very fast.

Preschool is a blast. I taught a week on nursery rhymes--we painted fluffy blackbirds coming out of a pie and dipped our own candles and nimbly jumped over them. Later we had a First Thanksgiving lesson and created a nine-foot cornstalk in our living room.

Then we ground corn with hammers and rocks and made cornbread! I get such a high after finishing a preschool lesson--I love these eager little learners.

I went with the boys on a bona-fide hayride through a park festooned with Christmas lights. The kids watched the tractor the entire time, of course. Fun night.

Nana and Grandpa came for a week-long visit and helped us with all sorts of home projects. I was also able to get out and help in the boys' classrooms and run errands with ease--alright! Here's Grandpa at the Children's Museum:

Nana knows a cute baby when she sees one:

Enjoy an example of Adam's fashion sense: backwards hoody with red athletic shorts and snowman leg warmers. He was also wearing light-up Lightning McQueen shoes. Michael is characteristically pleasant and appropriate.

Thanksgiving dinner was low stress--a lot of people were there to help (Eric's sister and her husband came too, plus Eric's buddy from his residency). I made all the normal Thanksgiving things, plus my great-grandmother's fruit salad and cranberry gelatin salad, absolute musts! Here's Max's first run at the annual fare:

Ahh...the relieving moment when everything is actually on the table and we're all sitting down:

Post-Thanksgiving celebrations included The Sound of Music, board games, a hike up Picnic Point, a visit to a state park, and Christmas decorations!

But what would a Brinton blogpost be without a little bonfire? Zachary, Jacob, and I built this dual-chimney bonfire base from scrap wood that we salvaged from a dumpster in our neighborhood. The kids called it "Oil Derrick."

After burning some cardboard to get things started, we accidentally lit the bag of charcoal on fire on the ground and had a lively time putting it out. See the bag of charcoal in the foreground? Don't put a bag of charcoal that close to a large fire!

Some tin-foil dinners,

cuddles,

and anticipation later,

we set our creation alight.

These are perfect moments sitting by the fire with the little babes.

We noticed when we drove up to the fire pit that no one had been there since we had three weeks before! How could our precious pit go unused for so long? We will have to go back and keep it company soon! I'll write about that (and more!) next time. Until then, take care.

October

2011-10-31T00:07:00.000-06:00

I've convinced myself that a mere monthly blogpost will have to do here, at least until I train my kids to do their own laundry! Please pretend that these stories were cleverly reported throughout the month, instead of quickly cataloged here on the 30th.

Biking

We recently bought a "trail-a-bike" from our friends, and we are loving it! After a few days on it, Zachary was able to ride a two-wheeler for the first time! Now Michael is graduated from the Burley and onto the trail-a-bike. Here's the grown-up guy now:

One Saturday Zachary pleaded for us to all ride up to the church (5 miles away). We ended up driving halfway there and biking the rest, which was still a taxing climb for our young bikers in the freezing wind. Running and biking are especially rewarding here at the edge of town:

Bonus: yesterday we discovered a sidewalk route to a huge nearby park. I love seeing the boys set goals and then meet them--biking has become a (nearly) everyday activity here!

Eric's Orlando Trip
Eric had an opportunity to present at a major ophthalmology conference this month. His brother and dad (also ophthalmologists) presented as well. Love this picture of Eric and his bro:

They settled down for a picture with their mom:

And here's Eric on his birthday in Orlando (we celebrated later, don't worry!).

The home front
Although we missed Eric physically being here, I felt like he was more "here" because I got to talk to him on the phone for more than usual every day. Plus, when I know that he's gone I get into super-planner mode--we kept very busy!
Of course we had to go to the apple farm a couple times, because apple-picking season is only too short, and so is boyhood!

I once read a book that advised letting your children know a certain place in nature "intimately." I've tried to familiarize my boys with a few special natural places that they can know deeply. This apple farm is one of these places.

The school put on a costume party and BINGO night, and we frolicked around in our costumes for the evening. Jacob designed his own costume this year--he was Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole. I loved the idea--and I loved that he wanted details like the "Fram" mug (labeled with the name of the ship that took Amundsen and his team to Antarctica). Only a few people have known who Amundsen is, but that's okay. Jacob knows!

The kids had their Primary program, which was honestly one of the best I've ever seen, despite their having 100+ kids onstage! Jacob invited a friend:

Embarrassing confession: After church Zachary wanted to make pumpkin pies. I only had a big can of pumpkin, which makes two pies. I figured that we could share the extras with our neighbors after FHE, but come Monday evening both pies were completely GONE! Yes, the boys and I ate two pies in under 24 hours. We even had whipped cream on top. Oh, the gluttony!

We filled the other days with bike rides to the park

and fun outdoors.

(We even saw a flying monkey once.)

Eric's birthday surprise

I have never been more excited for a birthday present than I was for Eric's this year. While he was out of town, the kids and I took the storage-shed of a garage (this is when everything was moved to the center)

and turned it into a well-organized, beautiful place. We assembled new steel shelving, put up wall mounts for the bikes, hung racks to store the bike helmets, hung hooks for lawn tools, and cleaned every corner. I still have a few racks to hang, and sometime when the cars are out I will have to take my "after" picture.
Also, I have to give a shout out to my dad, who I called more than a few times for help on things that weren't working. Another experience I'm grateful for: I said a fervent prayer once in regards to a stud finder that would not find any studs. (Maybe the insulation was thick? I haven't figured out why it wasn't working--it worked on other walls.) Within seconds, it occurred to me that I could find the studs on the other side of the wall, measure the distance with a level, and then mark points. They were 16" apart on the inside wall, and so I marked out 16" on the outside wall with a level, and then checked for studs with a finishing nail. This experience was very faith-promoting for me--I would not have thought of that process on my own. I feel like our Heavenly Father answers prayers in loving, simple ways.
Well, Eric loved the surprise, and we were all happy to have him home again.

A day with Grandpa and Kim
My younger sister moved across the country this week, and so she and my dad stopped by on their way East. The kids were off of school and Eric got off of work, and so it was a mini-vacation for everyone!

We climbed the tower in Blue Mounds, made tin foil dinners,

and played in the leaves.

Maxey-pumpkin, you are adorable!

In the afternoon we built a bonfire and roasted s'mores. (Do I mention s'mores in every post? Honey Maid should pay me royalties.) We were generating 7-foot-high flames for a while there:

We were sad to see them go.

Halloween fun
Our ward threw an amazing Fall Festival, complete with dinner, a pie contest, a costume contest, a parade, trunk-or-treat, the works!
Here we are: Max as a cow (I couldn't find his hat--oops!), Eric as a baseball player, Michael as a wizard, Zachary as a knight, Amy as "Miss Mush" the lunch lady, Adam as a tiger, and Jacob as Mr. Amundsen.

Strange coincidence: When I told Kim that I was dressing up as a lunch lady, she ran to her car and retrieved an authentic 4 oz. school lunch scoop (she used to work at a preschool). It was the perfect accessory, and I ended up getting "Best Female" costume--ah yeah!

I guess that's a wrap--I hear a baby awake now, and that's my cue to shut the computer down!

September Stories

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-06:00

September was stressful. One reason was that we had twenty-one doctor's appointments within the month! To me that means at least twenty-one phone calls to receptionists, dozens of calls to babysitters, several notes to teachers, and hours of worry. Half of it was to check up on Max's condition through the spina bifida clinic here. He's doing okay. The other visits were check-ups for the boys and for Zachary's kidney monitoring. And one visit was for Eric, who walked into a clinic complaining of chest pain and was taken by ambulance to the hospital (which, comically, was next door). He was not having a heart attack--he is a stress case from work, and his body is fighting back! Work is the other reason that September was stressful. Eric has pulled ahead full-throttle into his studying. Any time he's sitting down, he's reading; any time he's standing up, he's listening to his audio study guides. (He uses an earpiece in one ear--I keep thinking of the seashells in Fahrenheit 451.) I'm proud of him for his diligence, but I'm also trying to manage my larger workload.

With that (long) caveat, let me also report that September was beautiful. As I was scanning through our photos, I longed for these special moments with my boys. They and Eric are my fuel! Here's what we've been doing this month:

Michael is busy each week attending his co-op preschools and a music class. They have show-and-tell every day in preschool, and they sit on these placemats that we made. It's adorable.

One day the ice cream truck came down our street and so we splurged and bought each boy a popsicle, because ice cream trucks never, ever come down our street! Encouraged by his success, the ice cream man came back the very next day. The boys dumped their banks and bought popsicles all in coins. When the truck came again, however, the market had run dry. The kids didn't feel like they had that kind of money to spare, and so they quit buying and he quit coming. The end.

One night for home evening we wanted to go roast s'mores, but we kept striking out on parks--why did none of them have a fire pit?! Finally we pulled over in this muddy creek bed and made a fire. I kept saying, "This is a memory, guys!" and Eric kept saying, "Aren't you guys having fun?" I think that we were trying to convince ourselves--the kids are always having fun.

One week I taught preschool three times, all on birds. Check out our packing paper bird nest and awesome beaks! We had seven kids decked out in beaks.

Later on Michael had a friend over and we made "bird pudding." I don't know why I was so into birds that week!

All my kids love kitchen crafts--I think that even Adam could fend for himself for weeks, he's so independent. Here he's made himself a six-decker peanut-butter sandwich, without a lick of help (or permission) from his mother. Gourmet!

There were some perfect days, crystallizing days when we felt as if autumn could just linger here indefinitely. A beautiful farm near our house had perfectly ripe raspberries for $2.75/pint, and so we went and picked some.

This picture is Wisconsin to me: the farms are picture-book beautiful.

Here's a different farm, with a delightful little market.

I bought the boys bottles to feed the baby goats. They finished the bottles and then went after our jackets, naughty kids!

One evening we went on a 4-mile bike ride through a trail in the woods. Zachary was a real champ, finishing up as the youngest biker--he probably had to complete about twice as many rotations as the rest of us!

I always squish the little boys all into the Burley even though it's made for only two kids. Is that horrible? They look cozy enough.

Two funny backpack findings:
1. I gave the kids corn on the cob in their lunchboxes one day. Both boys ate the corn, wrapped the cob back up in foil, and then put it back in the lunch bag. I laughed when I opened them. Why did both boys think that they should return the cob to me?

2. The other day I found that Jacob had revised an item on his spelling homework. Look at number 10:

Yes, he crossed out the "three" and wrote "ten." When I saw it, I laughed aloud again. That it just the theme of my life: why do something easy when you could easily make it harder? Sheesh. What am I teaching my children?

Three fun field trips:

1. I went along with Jacob's class to a nature center, where they spent a morning catching bugs and pond creatures. It's the sort of thing I did every single day of my childhood--I felt seven years old, too, with my hands in the pond mud.

2. I also got to go to Zachary's field trip to a farm. We fed dried corn to the goats and Zachary giggled and whispered to me. I was glad that I could just be his mom for a day.

3. The little'uns and I have been trying to navigate our way downtown with the free campus bus. One day we went to the university's dairy; another day we went to the geology museum. But seriously, the field trip is the bus ride!

For Michael's birthday, we bought a bouquet of helium balloons, and they've stayed up for almost two weeks now! They remind me of upbeat, darling Michael, now four!

We decided to camp for his birthday present--we went back to a spot that Michael had chosen earlier in the year. It's since become a favorite place.

In our family, we teach s'mores in infancy! Roast, Maxey-baby, Roast!

And hallelujah--here's Eric, earpiece-free, documented relaxing for a moment!

The next day we climbed up this 60-foot-tall tower to see beautiful Blue Mounds area--check out my self-timer magic.

We topped off the month with a visit to Minneapolis, where Eric's sister and family have recently moved. We got there late and transferred the kids into their beds. We heard squeals of joy at 6:30 the next morning, when the cousins woke up and discovered each other! They played non-stop the entire weekend.

I caught the five-year-olds enjoying some "conference popcorn," our tradition for the past few General Conference weekends. I don't know why I didn't line up all the boys together--between our two families, we have nine boys! It sure made for an energy-packed visit!

On the way home, we stopped by "Spoonbridge and Cherry" in Minneapolis's Sculpture Garden. Apparently Eric did a report on Minnesota in third grade and has been wanting to see this sculpture ever since then. Check! The kids got a kick out of it.

Oh, and doesn't this picture of me look like a candid celebrity mom shot? Eric teases me incessantly about these glasses.

Well, it is way past my bedtime now! But how could I not record such precious times? Every time I feel like my plate is too full and that I can't do this, I think, "but I am doing it." I'm doing it and loving it.

Big day

2011-09-02T22:20:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. I stayed up until the wee hours cleaning the house, setting out everything, and doing a lot of details that probably didn't matter (especially since we missed the bus, anyway--the guy was 7 minutes early!). Oh well. Last year I loved the first-day-of-school photo so much that I blew it up to a 16x20 and hung it on my basement wall; this year's lackluster photo was taken as an afterthought as we rushed back into the house to wake up the younger kids and drive to school:

After we got there, though, I was glad that we had come. I was happy to see Jacob confidently settle down

and Zachary manage bravely.

Thus comforted, I dropped off Michael and Adam at a friend's house so that I could meet Max at the children's hospital (Eric had brought him earlier that morning for a scheduled MRI).

Here he is just about to awaken:

Isn't it funny how much you miss your baby after being apart for just a few hours? Holding him as he woke up was a sweet moment.

Also good: the MRI showed that Max has healed well from his surgery, with no adhesions or cysts. He has a day-long visit to the spina bifida clinic next week, and we hope for more good reports then!

P.S. I much preferred the second-day-of-school photos:
1) brother friends,

2) bus stop buddies,

3) last glances.

I miss my big boys when they're gone for just a few hours, too! But they're loving school, and I guess that I will, too.

Summer stories

2011-08-24T00:17:00.002-06:00

I haven't written a blog post in a month and a half, which is the longest I've neglected the blog since I started it three years ago! I blame the summer--the glorious summer--that keeps us outside more than in. Summer is something to cherish in Wisconsin, but it is also something to record! So here are a few summer stories (from the past 10 days, because I'm out of town and that's what I have on my camera), for the sake of remembering.

1. Rafting the Wisconsin River

Jacob and Eric took our inflatable raft down the Wisconsin River last weekend. They let down a fishing line as they floated down and caught a clam. A thunderstorm came up and they wondered what they were thinking being in the middle of a river! But it didn't last long, and a friend lent a poncho.

They and their buddies set up camp on a sandbar island in the middle of the river. We're trying to figure out how to do this as a family. Eric calls these adventure trips "real vacations."

2. FHE on Lake Wingra
The lakes near our home are often warmer than the swimming pools, and most of them are free! We swam at Lake Wingra one night

and roasted sausages and s'mores for dinner. I taught the home evening lesson in my swimsuit, which is something I've never done before! We told stories about the pioneers who traveled through "Hole in the Rock" in southern Utah and we talked about faith. Of course we played baseball, too.

This was also the night that Zachary had a sudden onset of pain in his legs. He literally could not walk for three days! Some lab tests and doctor's appointments later, we found out that he has HSP, an uncommon vascular condition that affects the joints and intestinal linings. Virtually all the symptoms have resolved over the past several days--but he will have to go in for regular lab work for the next two months to monitor his kidneys. Poor Zach! He has been so patient.

3. Donut stand
I called my friend the other day to ask if I could bring in a meal--she had just had a baby. "Oh that's so nice," she said. "But what if we make a donut stand instead?" So my darling friend was frying up homemade donuts while bouncing her three-week-old in one arm! I tried to keep up and help the kids get organized. I hope that they will remember this as a perfect summer day, because it truly was.

It was a super bonus that they made $22. Not bad! Don't those just look delectable?

(The only heartache: Zachary was feeling awful from his HSP and lay on my friend's couch for most of the time! I will have to do this again sometime with him.)

4. Biking

Cautious Jacob has been wary of a two-wheeler ever since I tried taking his training wheels off a few months ago. But last week I brought Zachary's smaller bike--sans training wheels--to the park, and Jacob gave it a try. And after a few times of me holding his shoulders, he got it! He has been working at it systematically each day ("Today I think that I'll work on turns at slow speeds"), and now he rides like he's been doing it for years. He keeps saying, "I can't believe that I thought this was hard!"

5. Adam is two, or nine, or something

Adam turned two last week, but he will tell you that he's nine. Then he laughs like he's never told the joke before. He is an absolute crack-up! His trademarks are his baseball glove--which he wears nearly all the time--and his sly little smile--which often follows his joking. Here he is with his coconut cake--we ate a coconut cake the night we brought him home from the hospital and at his first birthday, so we figured that we'd continue the tradition.

6. Half-marathon

On Saturday I ran a half-marathon. I didn't know that my friend Rachel and her husband were also running, but we saw each other in the parking garage and ended up running a good portion of the race together. Lucky! The race was delayed 90 minutes because of thunderstorms, and so we ended up running in the muggy mid-day heat. I have never been so relieved to finish a race! It was a good summer goal for me and a satisfying day.

7. Maryland

A few hours after the race, we took off for my parents' house in Maryland. (Advice: sitting in a car for 14 hours just after a race will make you stiff beyond your wildest dreams!) We visited the "big slide" yesterday

and played at the park.

Maryland is ultimate relaxation for me, mostly because the boys run off with their uncles all day! My kind brothers are always willing to play.

8. The ill-fated D.C. trip

I love, love, love going to D.C. with the family, and so I encouraged everyone to come along today. We drove over this morning and got ready for a monument-admiring, Smithsonian-searching day. I dropped the kids off at the Jefferson Memorial, parked at Hains Point, then jogged down to meet them. My brother took this lovely picture of us there:

Soon after that, however, the beautiful Washington Monument in the background was undergoing seismic damage! We were standing right outside the Department of Agriculture building when we heard a booming crash and witnessed hundreds of people evacuating the building. We eavesdropped on earthquake accounts while we enjoyed our lunch on the Mall.

These aren't tourists outside--these are all businesspeople who had been evacuated.

Only a few people were genuinely worried--most seemed relieved for a mid-day social hour on a sunny afternoon. We discovered that the Air and Space Museum hadn't been evacuated, so we went there. Ten minutes later, however, that was closed, too! I was the only one who still wanted to stay in the city. So we headed back.

Conversation in the van:
Zachary: Why are we going home? We didn't even see anything good!
Amy: We saw the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument and the Capitol. And we saw some of the airplanes. But the best part was that we felt an earthquake!
Z: We didn't see anything good, and I didn't even feel that earthquake!

I agreed that it was much ado about not much. But even disappointing days are memories, right?

A permanent film of summer dirt

2011-07-10T23:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when kids are playing in the dirt or getting sticky with their food I hear parents say, "Well, I guess it's a bath night." Then I always wonder if there are really any justifiably "non-bath nights" judging by the dirtiness criterion because kids get filthy every day, and especially in the summer, when, in addition to the dirt of everyday playing they are regularly smeared in sunscreen and/or bug spray. This dirtiness is paradoxically both a disgusting and delightful sensation, and thankfully, one that my family has enjoyed almost daily during the past week and a half.

Camping was at the top of our list for the Fourth of July weekend. We recently graduated from our four-man tent and purchased a multi-room one. The entire top is mesh and so you are truly sleeping under the stars, plus the lovely trees! When we woke up in the morning Michael said, "I know that it's morning because the trees are green again. At night they are black."

Every time we camp we have tin foil dinners for dinner; pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast; hot dogs for lunch; and s'mores at every meal. Since I forgot the propane tank for the camp stove, we cooked everything over the fire this time, which made it even tastier.

Yes

and yes!

If I could get them to eat this much at home, they wouldn't all be hanging out at the bottom of their respective growth charts. Look at those happy campers!

They all remained happy throughout the day, especially since our tent could accommodate the nappers:

A silly story: Later we enjoyed a visit from a friendly butterfly that took a liking to Michael and stayed on his index finger for about ten minutes.

Zachary, determined to have a similar experience, smeared a roasted marshmallow all over his hands so that a butterfly would stick to him. He soon found a butterfly and it did stick to his marshmallow hands. I did not take a picture because I was busy trying to save the poor insect from becoming a flightless cripple. After rolling off most of the marshmallow, the little butterfly was able to fly away. Phew. Where does he come up with this stuff?

That afternoon we swam at a nearby state park, and then it was time to go.

But we felt disappointed to be leaving so soon, and since Eric didn't have to be at the hospital until Tuesday afternoon, we booked another campsite for the following Monday! So after a nice day at church,

we hit the road again, this time for Devil's Lake. I left most of the supplies from Friday's trip in the van so that we wouldn't forget anything. We ended up forgetting plenty of things, including Adam's shoes! He didn't really complain:

Like all of the boys, he was excited to row around in our inflatable boat and do some fishing.

We ate our favorite camp menu again and slept under the stars again, and except for the viciously snorting raccoon that spooked us in the middle of the night, it was practically perfect.

Yesterday we swam at Stewart Lake (our friends call it "mud lake"), where we swam through and around mounds of brilliant green algae. The kids found a cool water spring and built all sorts of dams and waterfalls around it. We picked wild berries and watched some teenagers cannonball off the limb of a pine tree (Adam pointed and said, "Guys! Tree!"). That evening the kids went over to a favorite friends' house to play, and so Eric and I went to a lake again, date-style! We took the smaller boat out on Lake Mendota and ate sandwiches on board while we talked and watched the sailboats.

Summer dirt, I adore you. I'd like more of you, please, and soon!

P.S. My sister Michelle currently does not want anything to do with summer dirt and so did not accompany us on any of these outings. Maybe next time.

Sister support!

2011-07-06T22:14:00.000-06:00

My sister Michelle is going off to college this fall--can you believe it?

Before she goes, though, she agreed to come out to Wisconsin for eight weeks to 1) help me out as a part-time summer job and 2) have the experience of living away from home, but not as far away or detached as Idaho, which is where she's going in the fall. My mom drove out with her and then stayed for a couple days, when we picked strawberries, visited a farmer's market, and enjoyed some baseball. Yes, I had my mom and sister here at the same time! Can you spell a-h y-e-a-h?

(Aside: darling boys picking strawberries. Go, boys, go!)

(Also: Jacob, I am so glad that it is summer vacation so that I can benefit from your sunniness all day. You are such a delight.)

But back to Michelle. Michelle is awesome! She helps me every morning from breakfast until lunch. Here's what's changed:
1. I can exercise every single day! Pre-baby size, I am coming!
2. My house has not been a complete disaster for even one day since she's been here! I once heard housecleaning described as a cycle of cleanliness and chaos; the homemaker's goal is to keep the home situation at the cleanliness portion of the cycle for the greater portion of the time, even though it inevitably must cycle through chaos occasionally. I have gone through DAYS (weeks) in the rut of chaos before returning to cleanliness. But Michelle has helped me keep up with the maintenance, plus she's given me flexibility to do big-scale organizing projects.
3. Summer Camp Brinton is shaping up! Our morning routine is this: exercise, eat, and dress; conduct devotional, scripture reading, and flag raising; complete chores, music time, and reading time. During the week before Michelle came, it took us until noon to finish our morning routine. With her help we're done an hour earlier, and each child has had more attention during it.
4. Field trips are safer and less stressful! Last week I convinced Michelle to come to a waterpark with us, and it was much more manageable with another adult nearby.

That way the big kids could do slides

and the little 'uns still had someone to chase them around.

Here are Zachary and Jacob with a couple friends that we met there. So fun.

I've realized that my ability to reach my goals as a homemaker and mom are possible at c-1, where c=the number of children that I currently have. Is it always that way? I don't know. But for now Michelle makes up for my inadequacy, and I'm looking forward to the rest of her visit here.

Little League Champs!

2011-06-28T22:15:00.001-06:00

Jacob was drafted into an incredible baseball team this season. Not only do these boys look cool, but they can really play ball!

(Also, speaking of looking cool, check out Eric's baseball pants! They were a buck at the little league store--what a steal.)

But back to the important news: tonight the boys finished a perfect season, 20-0, and claimed the Rookie League Little League Champ title!

The boys gave their head coach a good post-game tackle:

We're so grateful for the devoted coaches and players who have really made this season dynamite for Jacob. Jacob's work with the Rays--and countless hours of work on his own--have added up to substantial progress on the field

and at the plate.

We are so proud of you, Jake! And congrats Rays!

Speedy Utah trip

2011-06-22T21:56:00.000-06:00

Eric's brother is going on a mission! To Russia! We went to Utah to see him off:

Yes, that's a wheelchair. The poor guy broke his leg just days before his departure date. But he gets around okay, always with a smile:

Yes, we're all wearing coordinating clothes. Because what's a family reunion without a family picture?

Over the weekend we were able to visit the temple, hear Sam talk in church, meet with relatives, and relax. (Eric's Father's Day request was that he would get to sleep in guilt-free! Even a plate of crispy bacon did little to arouse him.)

The kids, on the other hand, barely slept for the excitement of being with their cousins. They swam, played Wii, crafted, and played. One day they discovered a treasure trove of a dress-up box in the grandparents' basement:

Michael ("Mikhail") and Zachary ("Pasha") even learned some Russian phrases to go with their Russian-esque outfits:

We ended our trip with a picturesque day at Wheeler Farm with my grandmother, aunt and cousin, and brother and sister. We didn't wear matching clothes for our picture, although Eric did purchase a pink John Deere hat for baby Max. So I guess that he and I matched somewhat.

You should never visit a place you love on a weekend with gorgeous weather! What a day for some picnicking,

calf-watching,

and grassy wrestling!

Oh Utah, I adore you. Your mountains, your sunshine, your Cafe Rios! You're just the place. I met my dear one in Utah almost ten years ago. And isn't it magical to be in the place where you fell in love?

P.S. Eric and I had different flights home, with connections in different cities. Eric took our nearly-two-year-old, and I took the other four kids. Who do you think got the better end of the deal? Honestly, I think it's a toss-up. Jerry Seinfeld: "A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it." Yes.

On whether or not I'm the dirtiest person in our family

2011-06-14T10:50:00.001-06:00

Undisclosed Son #1: "MOM! Adam is trying to put on dirty clothes!"
Me: "It's okay. It's just my skirt, and I'm not that dirty. I never wet my pants and I always take showers."
US #1: "Yes you are! You are the dirtiest one because you are much, much bigger than us!"
Undisclosed Son #2: "Yeah. And you do MUCH more work than us. That makes you dirty."
US #1: "And you are older!"
US #2: "Yeah. Think of Max. He's only been here a short time and he doesn't ever even touch the floor."
US #1: "You touch the floor every MINUTE!"
Me: "Oh. Huh. Adam honey, let's put the skirt back in the hamper."

A post written in 10 minutes with two babies on my lap

2011-06-09T14:31:00.000-06:00

I love walking into a grocery store and seeing the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars lined up like this:

The display says to me, "swimming!

early-morning runs!

fairs!

more swimming!

splash pads!

Scout advancement!

hikes!

weenie roasts!

parks!

swimming, swimming, swimming!

end-of-year plays!

and, yes, s'mores!"

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! The anticipatory excitement of SUMMER! Eric constructed a raised garden bed and a sandbox for our backyard (here are the boys playing in three TONS of sand on our driveway, before we filled the box!):

I will post pictures of the garden when things are growing more. We also installed a flag pole for the front:

And of course we're spending a lot of time at the little league ballpark! These little guys want to be just like their baseball champ brother:

I love these little babies on my lap. This one, especially, has been tugging at my heart so much lately that I'm almost always behind on my laundry:

Who wouldn't want to spend the day cooing at that adorable little face? Hooray for babies, and hooray for summertime!

Dryers and decks

2011-05-18T00:34:00.000-06:00

I spent half an hour in my dryer drum last night. The reason that I was in the dryer drum was because there was a crayon that went through the cycle and melted down to a fat stripe around the interior. Things like this happen daily.

You may enjoy pictures of something else that happened this week: the kids found some drippings of deck paint and painted themselves, the patio, the house, and their dump trucks red. When I realized what had happened, I told them to de-robe immediately (their clothes were soaked with paint and I was afraid that it would spread everywhere, which it did anyway). So then they were running around the backyard nude, except for the paint:

I carried them in individually to avoid red footprints on the carpet. Then they sat under the shower for a good 20 minutes while I scrubbed paint off the house (which was easy) and off the patio (which was hard). When I came back to scrub the kids, Michael asked to say a prayer in the bathtub. He bowed his head and prayed that they could be more obedient. It's hard to stay frustrated for long.

Vacation, family-style

2011-05-18T00:19:00.000-06:00

Eric had an ophthalmology conference to go to in Fort Lauderdale. We thought that we might make it a date, but then decided to take everyone. Because, seriously, why relax when you can take a circus of boys along? The plane ride was smooth, anyway:

And Eric (aka ZOZO) was smooth at the in-flight trivia game:

Ah yeah.

Eric went straight to his meetings; the kids and I immediately hit the beach:

Watching them run from "space sea monsters"

and build wave-resistant dams

made the preparation far worth it (a total of 33 pieces of clothing/accessories to put on, plus sunscreen!).

We were lucky that Nana dropped down for a day and a half, which allowed Eric and I to go night-swimming in the ocean. Magical! (We found out later that we swam during prime shark feeding time; also Eric recently watched Jaws this week and doubts that he'll ever go back into an ocean, ever. So I'm glad that we had this chance.)

See look! There's Nana now:

Doesn't she look fantastic? She's carrying strawberry shakes from a roadside stand with fields of strawberries right behind it. Freshness guaranteed! We also visited Monkey Jungle, "where humans are caged and the monkeys run wild." The boys deposited raisins in little silver dishes that were suspended from the cages; then the monkeys towed the goodies up.

Adam was especially fond of the primates, probably because he is so like them in manner:

We went mansion-peeking along Las Olas Boulevard, where people have their yachts parked in the back like cars:

I stood on the other side of the park while Eric attempted to scale a palm tree:

(In her current post, my sister-in-law Jami has a picture of Eric's brother doing the exact same thing--funny. They were also there for the conference, as was Eric's cousin Matt and his family. Ophthalmology is popular in Eric's family! It was fun to see them all.)

And here's Eric swinging from a tree:

We found a treasure of a county park where we hiked through a tropical forest.

The boys picked their own oranges

and spied on dozens of spiders with 6-ft.+ webs.

We splurged on ice cream in waffle cones for everyone one night. They got the two classic boy flavors: Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum. I think that every child cried at least once that night--ice cream is touchy business.

When we weren't site-seeing, we were probably relaxing on our balcony,

at the beach,

poolside,

in a cabana,

or just on the couch.

After managing the repacking and flights home, we felt triumphant:

Absent in this photo is our red bag, which we didn't notice was missing until we were clear home. Bother. Also, when we got into our van it smelled like rotten eggs, which was exactly what it was. Someone had stowed away a hard-boiled Easter egg in the back, where it cooked for five days. Double bother.

What a trip! I felt like it was a microcosm of my life right now: high-stress (five crying/whining simultaneously at times and messes galore!) but rewarding (Marco Polo with giggling youngsters? Babies squealing at monkeys? Pockets full of beach treasures?). I love it.

Easter bow ties

2011-04-24T22:37:00.000-06:00

Easter 2011 was one of the latest dates possible for an Easter Sunday, yet I still found myself up in the night finishing off the bow ties. I guess that it's part of the tradition! Ta da:

Eric was on call this weekend, and so I felt it a grand accomplishment to get the kids all decked out and off to church:

And here is the complete ensemble, when Eric joined us later:

I told them that I would give them each five M&M's if I could take individual pictures of them. They eagerly took the bait.

(Michael is always winking at people, which is adorable. Really he is not trying to be adorable; he's pretending to be a pirate with an eye patch.)

(I literally chased this one down the street to try and catch a smile. He doesn't understand about candy bribes.)

(Max didn't get the M&M's either, poor guy.)

I laughed aloud once when I read this advice on someone's blog: "Stop doing family traditions that you hate." There are some of those, aren't there? There are traditions that I feel like I have to carry on even though they take more time and energy than they're worth. I didn't even give the kids Easter baskets this year or dye eggs (yikes!). But I can't give up Easter bow ties! Going to church in Easter bow ties makes the holiday memorable for me. I think that they enjoy it, too.

Wisconsin, you are miserable and bizarre and wonderful

2011-04-23T13:50:00.001-06:00

Despite the beginning of baseball season, the coming and going of spring break, and the optimism around town,

spring has not sprung in Wisconsin (at least not in the warm, springy, outdoor-park-going way that I want it to!). Thankfully, the peculiar city Wisconsin Dells is only a short drive away. The main strip, peppered with cement mega-statues (a flamingo, a carousel, a frog, a red high heel, and dozens more!), provides an entertaining excursion by itself.

And what could be more fun than staying overnight in a Coliseum-esque hotel?

You can even sleep under a wall mural of Neptune,

plus spend the next day in the indoor theme park

and waterpark!

It turns out that running around in a pirate ship was just the getaway to forget the sub-spring temperatures.

Good times.

Second Annual Rainy Day Regatta

2011-04-16T23:44:00.000-06:00

Last year the boys and I had a fun-filled day using recycled and inexpensive craft materials to create some creek-worthy boats, which we sailed that evening. Since Eric was working today and the weather seemed appropriate, I thought it an excellent time to create our 2011 fleet.

We began at about 8:30 a.m. and--barring a few minor interruptions--worked until 5:30 p.m. The boys sawed, sanded, glued, taped, and decorated with remarkable enthusiasm. Yes, I let my three-year-old use a hot glue gun (and Sharpies!). He was in crafting heaven.

"Duck Tape Dreamer" and "Lucky Seven" were among the first several boats ready.

Once we piled them in the wagon, we headed down to the creek,

which, unfortunately, was too low for sailing. The wind was whipping strongly enough that we could send the boats sailing across a neighborhood pond, however, so we set up there. Zachary launched the first raft:

And did those babies fly! It was thirty-eight degrees outside and windy, but we hardly noticed the cold for our excitement. The single casualty was my boat, which succumbed to a high wave on its maiden voyage. (I knew that I had gone heavy on the ballast!) The boys sympathized and tried to think of ways to retrieve it from the pond bottom, the cuties. Maybe we'll paddle out there in the summer and attempt a rescue.

Their more successful boats were across in the pond in a couple minutes, with Zachary's tandem syrup-bottle model setting the record for speed and Jacob's "Water Bottle Wonder" claiming the record for the greatest distance covered. Here's a victory shot:

Until Regatta 2012, then!

Spring, on the upswing

2011-04-11T00:44:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I was overcome with a sudden, debilitating headache. I put baby Max in his crib and had the other kids playing Legos so that I could lie down. As the headache worsened, I began to hear a high-pitched sound, become extremely sensitive to light, and feel an intense pressure unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was in bad shape, and I became worried that I could even care for the boys. Holding my head, I rocked back and forth in bed and worried.

Then the doorbell rang. It was, of course, my visiting teacher. "Can I come in so that you can go see a doctor?" she asked. She came right in and stayed until Eric returned from work.* The experience was amazing--that she would come at the moment I needed help and that she would be willing to help--and yet it typifies what our family has experienced during the past three months.

Initially it was all about Max. I was taking him to multiple doctor's appointments each week (five one week!) and spending hours each day managing his pain and tending to his dressings. Keeping his wound "clean and dry" required about 20 diaper changes a day (which all needed to be weighed) and multiple dressing changes. And of course he wanted to be nursed or just held day and night. During this time the Relief Society sisters became our family's guardian angels. Someone was in our home helping on a daily basis for the first two weeks. Since then we've had help during every moment that we've needed it. The cleaning, the child care, the errand-running, the kind words, the prayers--it has all been so tender to us. I've observed service both from our family and friends closest to us and by those who literally introduced themselves at our doorstep. In all of them I see a light, an extension of our Heavenly Father's goodness. And I have been so grateful. These have been tearful weeks, but not for the normal reasons: instead of feeling overwhelmed with a new child, I have felt overcome with an ennobling sense of God's love.

I feel like the beginning of spring also marked the beginning of our self-reliance in our new family situation. Instead of just getting by, we can even be great! Here are a few happy moments:

1. Jacob won first place in his den for pinewood derby. Studly!

2. I love reading to freshly-bathed boys at night! Here, Jacob reads to Michael, Zachary, and Max (on his lap).

3. Both Eric's and my dad were able to come for Max's baby blessing, which we held in our home. The boys loved a few days with "the grandpas!" (Also, both Eric's and my moms were able to come out closer to when Max was born, but I don't have pictures! It was a hectic time and I forgot to record it well, but we loved having them just the same!)

4. During Max's blessing I feel like I could envision him as an adult. I have such dreams for him, our little darling.

5. The first "warm" day of spring (it was 43 degrees outside!) the older boys put their swimsuits on and filled up this sled with water. They wanted me to pour it on their heads from the deck, but it overturned when they moved it outside. Silly boys.

6. My sister Kim came and stayed for two weeks, and we soaked up every moment of it. It was so fun getting around town (and getting things done around the house!) with her around.

7. This was great fun: they tied the rocket car to the police car and barreled down the hill, ramming into the fence only once before I made them put on helmets.

8. Jacob was home from sick for a few days with scarlet fever, the poor guy. I set up math and reading centers to do together, and we had fun playing "school."

9. Baseball season is starting! We've almost got an entire infield now.

10. When I have the energy, I run through a beautiful, wooded trail near our home. Tonight we took the boys on a walk there just as the sun was setting, and it was practically perfect. The walk was perfect. Eric is, the boys are. It all is.

*I ended up being sent from the clinic to the ER, where I had a CAT scan. The scan showed all of my sinuses filled or nearly filled with fluid (this condition is called pansinusitis, which is medical terminology for "awful"). The antibiotics/pain medications are managing it well, and I should be back in shape within the next week.

Brave Max

2011-02-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Max and I came home from the hospital last Sunday to a group of excited older brothers. What a joy it was to be there with my sons!

I was disappointed to leave them Monday morning, when we were to meet with a neurosurgeon to investigate a small dimple on Max's back. Because the dimple was located near Max's spine, the surgeon was concerned that it communicated with the spinal cord, creating a tract that would put him at risk for serious infection. We scheduled an MRI for Wednesday, which required general anesthesia and, subsequently, an overnight stay in the hospital. How brave Max was! At just five days old, he took the monitoring like a champ.

His bravery didn't end there: we ended up staying at the hospital for four exhausting days. We learned through the MRI that Max has spina bifida occulta, marked by a fatty mass that tethered his spinal cord. Without surgery, Max would most likely lose complete function in his bladder and legs. We decided to operate immediately to minimize the risk of infection. So at six days old, baby Max underwent a four-hour spinal surgery. Here he is the night before the surgery:

And here he is post-surgery, holding up his wrapped IV hand:

The days spent in recovery were full for us: managing Max's pain, caring for his wound, and attending to his blood and urine work seemed to leave no time even for sleep. Although Max received excellent care and loving attention from the hospital staff,

it was a relief to finally unplug him from everything and take him home, again.

Max's prognosis could be excellent--he may need no further surgeries and enjoy full use of his legs and bladder. He may not. For now we are grateful for the gift of this beautiful boy, for the medical experts who have cared so well for him, and for the generous kindnesses shown to us by friends and family.

The (newest) birthday boy

2011-01-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

My two oldest sons share the same birthday, which was also the due date for our newest son. We thought that it would be pretty special to have three boys born on the same birthday (have you ever heard of that happening?), and so we hoped that baby boy would arrive promptly on his due date. I even tried to move things along with anecdotal techniques to induce labor at home. Just for the record, these techniques did NOT work for me:

1. Pushing a preschooler in a stroller for 5 snowy miles

2. Snowblowing the driveway and sidewalk

3. Hauling 10 boxes of boys' clothing from the basement to their bedrooms

4. Cleaning four bathrooms and vacuuming three floors

5. Eating an entire bowl of the spicy salsa at Abuelo's

What finally worked was waiting until two days past the due date until the little guy was ready. I guess that he wanted his very own birthday.

The Story:

Eric and I raced to the hospital at 3 a.m., just after I started having "serious" contractions--both my grandmothers had their fifth children in hospital hallways, and I didn't want to follow that family tradition! Eric was on call that night and was talking to one of his patients during the car ride, while I was trying not to scream during contractions. Instead I was gritting my teeth, repeatedly slamming my hand against the car door's interior. Can you believe that despite our hurry I still insisted on taking a picture in the hospital parking garage?

Medication slowed the labor considerably so that I could have my four hours of penicillin (for Group B strep). Eric continued to take call in my hospital room during that time. Eric finished his call at 8 a.m., and the baby was born at 8:01 a.m. Here's the proud dad and his boy:

Later on that day, my mom (visiting from MD!) and Eric brought the boys over to meet their brother.

Even for young Adam, it was instant love:

We're all in love!

And how could we not be, with a pleasant little face like that?

After spending a day with the little guy, we decided that his name will be Max Raynor Brinton. Welcome, welcome, little one. Sure love you.

Birthday boys

2011-01-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Jacob and Zachary had their birthday last week, and we threw them (nearly) identical parties, one day apart. This was a great plan! We only decorated once

and even used the same cake!

Here's Jacob, waiting near the door for his guests to arrive:

In both parties, we sent the kids on a "space mission" to retrieve the abducted birthday cake.

They had to build rockets and a space station out of refrigerator boxes (a local appliance store donated three huge boxes to us--they would have given me a dozen, but I didn't have the van space to haul them all).

(Here's Zachary's personal spacecraft.)

After they finished their space missions,

they had defeated the aliens and could eat the cake.

For Jacob's party, which was a day after Zachary's, the aliens had already eaten five pieces of cake before the boys rescued it (this was the only way we could figure on making a cake last for two parties!). Fun times.

Locals yet?

2011-01-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

People in Wisconsin use the word "yet" at the end of a sentence when I would use the word "still." Here's an example:

"Are you 29 years old?"

"No, I'm 28 yet."

It is also used at the end of a question to mean "now" or "soon," as in "Are you coming yet?" or "Will you visit us yet?" Besides the pronunciation of the word "bag," it's the easiest way to sound out a native Wisconsinite. The easiest way to spot out one is by his ice fishing shack. Yes, these guys are the real deal:

Although still obviously greenies, we're getting there! Look at that manly auger (and its manly operator!), barreling through a foot of snow to the ice:

The boys couldn't take their eyes off the action even long enough for a picture:

They helped clear away snow, flush out holes,

and drill some more.

Then we let a few lines down to try it out. But after Michael and Adam found out that the snow tasted the same as ours at home, they were ready to hike back.

Next time we'll stay longer and catch our dinner! We're definitely up for some ice fishing again soon, especially since there's a bait puck in our fridge full of "mousies" (ew). Can you believe that I carried this guy to the middle of a frozen lake in the snow and didn't put myself into labor? I guess I've got some time to go yet.

Eleven tidbits for 2011

2011-01-16T21:11:00.001-07:00

1. We had a blast at my parents' house during Christmas break. One highlight was taking pictures of ourselves walking on iced-over bodies of water. This just never got old. Here we on the West Virginia side of the Potomac:

We went to some other ponds and did the same thing, and now I have about 50 photos of these ice-walks. Who knows why this is so fun?

2. On the way home, Eric and I drove through the night while the kids slept. We had never tried this strategy before, but it turned out to be a nice deal--we probably saved a couple hours and $40 or so on missed bathroom/snack stops!

3. Eric bought me this book for Christmas, and it's since become my dear companion. I've never been so efficient in my housecleaning/organizing efforts. Eric has ordered me two other titles by this author, and I can't wait to start them! Also, our baby is due in ten days. Efficiency is paramount here if I'm going to keep things running smoothly. Please, please be a happy baby.

4. The other day Jacob woke up before the other boys, and we spent an unusually quiet morning alone, talking over breakfast and reading together. I walked him to the bus stop in the snow, and when I walked back I saw our two sets of footprints walking toward the bus and only my set walking back. I felt a sad tenderness then, knowing that I wouldn't see my boy until that afternoon.

5. Why Jacob Is a Good Boy tidbit #1: When I told him that I would help him with piano if he would commit to 20 minutes of independent practice every day, he asked, "But can't I do more than 20 minutes? I mean, is there a maximum?"

6. Why Jacob Is a Good Boy tidbit #2: Last night Eric was on overnight call and up for most of the night. I was also up for most of the night enjoying some false labor. When Jacob woke up at 6:30, I asked him to get Adam out of his crib. So Jacob got Adam out of the crib, brought him downstairs, fed him breakfast, and played with him for an entire hour while I slept. The kid should be sainted.

7. Speaking of pregnancy, why did no one tell me that my body was going to fall apart on my fifth? Some days I have to walk around the house from furniture piece to furniture piece because I simply cannot move my joints. Blood vessels are protruding everywhere, and I feel like I've been in labor for days! My OB prescribed me the highest grade of compression stockings available, and they have helped immensely. I will not post a picture of them, but I will tell you that they are darling. Actually, no, they're not. Actually they would pair perfectly with these knock-outs:

Also, I'm sorry for complaining. I really don't mind--it's mostly just alarming to me how much function is being lost! But aren't babies the most beautiful things in creation? I wish that we could think of a beautiful name for him. Someone suggested that Quentin would be a distinctive name for a fifth son, but Quentin Brinton? I hope that he arrives looking like a name and that we can just bestow on him.

8. Adam is building a vocabulary of post-baby words, words beyond the "mama," "dada," "ball," and "duck" set. My favorites: "moose," "tractor," and "SpongeBob" (he learned this under the tutelage of his doting older brothers). He has also started to enjoy fingerplays and songs like "The Ensy-wensy Spider" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Cutie.

9. One afternoon I was in the garage tidying up and Zachary called out to me, "Mom! Come here quickly! Come soooo quickly!" When I rushed in, he was sitting at the piano with a few chairs lined up behind the piano bench. "Mom! When Adam pushes the high keys on the piano, he steers our ship that way and he is steering us right into a SHARK!" When I smiled and made no movement to redirect them, Zachary resigned, "Oh well. I guess we'll just have to die." Here's Michael in his pirate finery:

10. Pinewood derby is coming up! Patient Jacob and Zachary wait for moments when Eric can help them with their cars--aren't they manly out there in the sub-freezing garage polishing axles?

11. Each year I make a major resolution--one that, if the others fall through, I will be sure to keep. This year I am working on being calm. Even if I sell twenty articles and run a marathon and become a rock star organist this year (and wouldn't that all be so fun!), I won't be doing well unless I can be calm. I want the kids and Eric to feel peace in our home, not stress inherited from my needlessly taking on extra responsibilities! I have some simple sub-goals to help me. We'll see how it goes.

Homemade Christmas

2010-12-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

This year my family decided to exchange homemade Christmas gifts. The ideas were so creative that I wanted to record them here:

a fleece BYU throw,

a fabric party banner,

a treasure box filled with pirate supplies,

festive crocheted washcloths,

a POWERFUL potato launcher,

a lap desk,

a child-size chair,

a guitar strap with a pick case riveted on,

a photo desk calendar,

a hollowed-out book with foreign coins hidden inside,

a leather quiver for my brother's arrows,

a drawstring backpack with Scooby Doo books inside,

a homemade Uglydoll,

made-from scratch hot cocoa mixes,

a recipe holder and personalized recipe cards,

a basket of fabric play food,

a duct tape wallet,

and a Guess Who? game personalized with our family pictures.

I've never had more fun watching gifts being exchanged. What a memorable Christmas morning!

Boston weekend

2010-12-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

Eric's parents gave us an ideal Christmas gift this year: a weekend date trip to Boston! What on earth would I do with a husband all to myself, I wondered? Everything became a date--the plane ride, the meals, the walks around the hotel, the trip to a used bookstore--everything! Here we are at the Inn at Harvard Square:

The trip's main event was the Harvard University Choir Christmas concert, in which sibs Lindsey and Sam performed beautifully. We also got to see their dorms and meet some friends.

And can I also mention that the 50-degree rain felt like a balmy slice of heaven?

One favorite stop was a trip up to Lexington and Concord,

where we enjoyed a pleasant walk over Old North Bridge.

We partook in strictly local food establishments: a delectable creperie (twice!), a basement Harvard hangout, a Mass Ave Chinese joint, and an iconic hamburger place:

Boston! That city's so cool, someone should name a band after it. We had a really good time.

P.S. ALSO, this date would have not been possible were it not for my dear sister Kimberly, who indulged my children with a weekend of cookie-making, movie-watching, Christmas-tree–decorating, bowling, and game-playing back home in Wisconsin. I'm not sure if they were too busy having fun to take pictures. If I see some, I will post them. I think that the kids probably had as good of a time as we did!

Wisconsin winter

2010-12-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

When the weather here in Wisconsin began to get cold, we all felt a little cheated.

But after getting acclimated,

it's not so bad.

One of our favorite days so far was a wintry one at a nearby tree farm.

The tree farmers even turn over saws to the common costumer:

Although we didn't cut down our own tree, the boys spent a magical time there poking around the evergreens,

following animal prints,

and joking around with Aunt Kim (visiting from Utah!).

I'd say that even despite my unfortunate shoe choice,

it was pretty much a perfect afternoon. Snow on, Wisconsin.

More fun with 27

2010-12-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving Eric, the boys, and I were excited to welcome all of Eric's family to our home: there were twenty-seven of us in all! It turns out that you can have a lot more fun with twenty-seven Brintons that you can with six.

Check us out enjoying fun mealtimes (with all paper products, ah yeah!),

demolishing a pinata in our living room,

completing a Thanksgiving service project,

exploring the local treasures

(including an indoor tropical garden!),

decorating gingerbread houses,

tearing up the gym in an intense broom hockey game,

decking out the serving bar with a gorgeous Thanksgiving spread,

hosting a marshmallow war

(the girls were naturals),

and hiking around the neighborhood.

This year, it was easy to think of things to be grateful for:

We miss you all!

What I've been doing when I haven't been blogging

2010-11-06T23:53:00.000-06:00

I've been telling Eric today different things that I want to do with my extra hour this evening. This is funny, because I never plan on things that I'm going to cut out with the hour "lost" when daylight savings time begins. I am tickled nonetheless for the chance tonight to not feel so bad about going to bed late, and so here I am at the blog with a quick-and-dirty to record some of the past few weeks.

Sutter's Ridge Farm
One afternoon Eric had three hours in between clinic and overnight call, so we went to a nearby farm to play in the sand, feed the goats, ride the kiddie tractors, get lost in the corn maze, and enjoy the caramel apples.

One detail: there were signposts hidden throughout the maze that we had to find to receive a prize at the end, and the two older boys were surprisingly systematic about the search. They would place two corn husks in an 'X' to mark spots where we had been--it took us over an hour to finish, but we did it!

Old Woman Park and the Zoo
Isn't this the most charming slide you've ever seen?

We spent a day at the park, then we walked from the park around Lake Wingra to the zoo, where the active animals were an absolute pleasure.

One detail: There was a UW Badgers game that afternoon, and we were surrounded by tailgating parties all day. It made it even more fun--a festival of red.

"Day Camping" at Lake Kegonsa
The kids always ask to go "day camping," which basically means that we go to a state park to poke around, make a fire, and eat s'mores. This time we also caught a fish, burned a dump cake, and lit a bonfire. Isn't the reverse sunset gorgeous?

One detail: When I was cleaning the fish to cook it, Zachary pled to "see its brains! PLEASE let me see its brains!" After I showed him what I thought looked like the brains, he said, "Now can you take off your skin? I REALLY, REALLY want to see your bones!"

Jacob's school play
Jacob has a phenomenal teacher, who helped her class write, memorize, stage, rehearse, and perform a humorous play about an overzealous school principal. Jacob played the narrator and hammed it up. I was blushing by the end, I was so proud.

One detail: Ever since the play, Jacob has been using his dramatic "stage voice" when he reads books to the younger boys. I love it!

Eric's Birthday
For Eric's birthday we went on a date to go target shooting and shoot clay pigeons with some friends who live outside of Madison. Later the kids arranged a scavenger hunt for Eric's gifts and we had cake. It was pretty much a perfect day.

One detail: Eric got a fitted Milwaukee Brewers cap for his birthday, and he has pretty much worn it at every opportunity since. Handsome guy.

Chicago, for the Giant Eyeball
A month ago when I told Zachary that there was a 30-foot eyeball on display in Chicago, he began talking about it daily. So even though the thought of driving for six hours and trekking around a big city with four little boys by myself was initially intimidating, I got up my nerve and took them last week! The giant eyeball did not disappoint; and the Sears Tower, Millennium Park, the Chicago Temple, and Dunkin' Donuts were a huge hit!

One detail: I took the boys around the city by wagon, and the two younger boys were so exhausted by the end that they fell asleep on top of each other in the wagon bed. They looked like little puppies cuddled up next to each other--we were an unlikely sight tromping alongside business folks on a Thursday afternoon!

Halloween Celebrations
Our church Trunk-or-Treat and Halloween carnival were an absolute blast! We also went to a spook alley (staffed by costumed local high schoolers) and a preschool Halloween party. On Halloween night, the kids made construction paper monsters and posted them all over our house while we greeted trick-or-treaters. The kids wore different costumes to every Halloween event that we attended, so they were constantly confused when adults asked them, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" Oh well.

One detail: At the Halloween carnival, the kids scored big at the cakewalk. Zachary came home with this haunted chocolate mansion,

and Jacob snagged a dozen of GiGi's cupcakes!

The wins were especially ironic, as I've been constantly quoting this book lately:

We decided to save some of Dr. Sears's advice for our post-Halloween resolutions. :)

My Birthday

Last night Eric and I biked through a beautiful nature trail, where we saw deer, opossum, rabbits, and more! When the sun went down, we went out for some sukiyaki and sashimi. Eric and the kids planned a family party afterwards, the little darlings.

One detail: One time I called a friend on her birthday and she told me that she was cleaning her house as her birthday present for herself. I tried to do that on my birthday, but I kept feeling entitled to something more fun and ended up spending most of the day reading books with the kids by the fire. It was lovely.

And a few more details...
First of all, what is it with the kids writing on other people? Zachary labeled Adam the other day (the 'r' and 'y' are on the nape of his neck). I also have a picture of Adam with Jacob's name on his forehead from several months ago. Today I saw that Zachary had "DAD" carefully printed on his back and "ZOO" on his stomach. I don't get it.

Also, I never liked the song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" when I was a kid. It was so laborious to repeat all those animals' names. But my kids love it, and we've been making all sorts of visuals for it:

They also can belt out "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "On Top of Spaghetti," and "Little White Duck" with amazing enthusiasm. Our time at the piano is so precious to me.

The two older boys' project is making pinewood derby cars with Eric whenever they have some time in the evenings. The endeavor has necessitated new woodworking tools, a bench, and Dremel attachments, which Eric assures me will be indispensable in the coming years as Cub Scout parents.

And now I've spent more than my extra hour, but it will have been worth it. I love rereading the blog and remembering all these joyful little experiences.

Autumn with the boys (and some glimpses of Eric!)

2010-10-12T23:11:00.000-06:00

During the past three weeks (up until this weekend) Eric had exactly one day off of work, during which he napped all day (wouldn't you?). Sometimes I feel like I'm gasping for air, with the nonstop work that it takes to keep this family running! But it's hard to feel down during such a beautiful autumn, and I've certainly enjoyed keeping pace with these spirited little boys.

A hike to Blue Mound State Park made for a lovely afternoon one day.

Jacob even documented my attendance--this was before Michael got tired and I was also carrying him and his three special walking sticks. (Am I too accommodating?)

Later we went and picked some more apples to make applesauce. We used a delicious non-cooking recipe, and Zach basically completed the whole project himself.

I taught preschool twice, once on dinosaurs and once on ducks.

On the day that we did dinosaurs we spent a sunny hour on our rice digging sites. Then we spent another hour vacuuming up the rice that was tracked everywhere--it was worth it, though!

Speaking of cleaning, I cleaned up approximately 20 bowls of spilled cereal and 4 boxes of spilled cereal (why do I keep buying this stuff?).

We watched the construction on a neighbor's house go up--the boys squealed when the crane lifted the pre-fab shower into the upstairs bathroom.

We spent a delightful conference weekend with Uncle Jason, Aunt Jami, and cousins Matt and Jackson. Unfortunately the only thing I took a picture of was the boys' conference packets:

We hosted a Cub Scout den meeting--the scouts (there are 11 in his den!) and their parents all seemed to have a good time.

While we were in the hosting spirit, we also prepared a dinner social for about 20 of the current residents in and applicants for Eric's program. (Eric came, too!) Eric works with such interesting, positive people--I was happy to get to know some of them better.

We set up the bicycle/tricycle obstacle course to end all obstacle courses and timed each other running it well into one balmy evening.

And of course we went to a pumpkin patch--pictures of babies in pumpkin patches are always so endearing.

Then of all things, Eric got Columbus Day off of work yesterday. We let Jacob stay home from school and spent the whole day together. We organized the garage, mowed the lawn, caught up on laundry, and went on a bike ride in the morning. We spent the afternoon and evening at serene Lake Kegonsa.
After filling the kids up with roasted sausages

and gooey s'mores,

we rafted,

dug,

threw,

and relaxed

until it was too dark to take any more pictures.
And that is the story of how one perfect day made up for three weeks of me running solo and even sharpened the saw enough to gear up for the next stretch. Good times.

Appleberry Farm

2010-09-24T22:35:00.001-06:00

This afternoon the kids and I wanted some fresh fruit,

so we loaded up the wagon with the kids and a mop bucket

and headed over to Appleberry Farm. (Isn't that a delightful name?) The apples were hanging perfectly low enough for the young pickers.

Only Adam needed a little boost.

We picked fifteen pounds of crisp Empires before heading back.

For dinner we enjoyed apple donuts and cider from the farm store, plus some scrambled eggs and carrot sticks to balance it out. I don't know if serving donuts for a main dinner course makes me an especially good or especially bad mother. Either way, it was a lovely afternoon.

Michael, three years old

2010-09-24T22:10:00.002-06:00

Darling Michael turned three this week. And what a delightful week it was! He received phone calls, cards, and packages from several loved ones over the past few days. He's felt so special.

If anything defines Michael, it's his talkative, social nature. Michael carries on happy conversations with strangers, memorizes moderately-long picture books, and consistently tells me "thank you for making this dinner for me." Recently he made me blush when he sighed, "Mommy, you make my life so happy." Michael, you are a joy!

We celebrated his third birthday in style with a little Betty Crocker number:

Since he loves playing "restaurant," "store," and "kitchen," he got a shopping basket, a shopping cart,

and some fabric M&M cookies as gifts. (Zachary and I made these when Michael was napping. Does my homemade gift make up for the semi-homemade cake?)

The next day we set up a shop for each of the three older boys

and they spent a couple elated hours shopping, exchanging, and bargaining with each other. When Eric came home and joined in, the boys became so excited that they could hardly keep their feet on the ground.

This is just about how excited I am about being with Michael every day. Oh Michael, I could take a dozen of you! Happy, happy birthday.

Campout

2010-09-19T22:07:00.000-06:00

Fall descended upon southern Wisconsin just before Labor Day, and we've enjoyed crisp mornings and pleasant afternoons since then. We figured that we had better schedule a camping trip soon, though, before it got too cool for comfort! Friday was perfectly mild--even a midnight thunderstorm sounded beautiful from underneath our trusty rainfly.

Can you believe that we fit into our dear four-man tent? The kids slept like puppy dogs; even though Eric reported that he had slept with a tree root piercing his sternum, I know that he loved it, too. Is there anything more beautiful than waking up in the middle of a forest? It even makes the mess in my van/mudroom/garage worth the trouble.

We loved these:

an early morning hike around the campground, where the boys collected piles of treasures,

making s'mores (at night and again for "breakfast dessert"),

and a venture out into the lake, where the boys braved up little by little

(Zachary and Eric are the manliest!).

Just before going home we warmed up on the beach

and made some creatures like "upside-down ice cream cone guy."

Look at those sandy feet on that tired-out boy--this was a successful trip!

Do I dare post a picture of myself with crazy hair, no make-up, and wet pants? Yes, now we are officially friends. Enjoy the lovely trees and precious boys, anyway. I love this memory.

Boys

2010-09-15T09:08:00.000-06:00

Last week our little nephew Jackson came to visit for a few days. We did regular things, like bike riding and going to parks and reading books and making forts, and Jackson fit right in. Hurray! That was a very good thing, because in January we're going to have a new baby. Hurray again!

A few weeks ago I went in for an ultrasound, when the OB and I discovered that our fifth child would be a BABY GIRL. My immediate response was obvious:

A green gingham sundress with a fancy white cardigan, hot pink jeans with a snazzy striped shirt, play dresses with flowered bloomers! I had a blast.

Yesterday I went in for a follow-up ultrasound, when the sonographer's first words were, "That baby is NOT hiding the fact that he's a boy." A boy? My girl...is a boy? Yes, he definitely, definitely is. The OB who reviewed the images even used the phrase "textbook boy image." For heaven's sake! At least for four weeks I was expecting a girl, which is longer than I've ever expected a girl in my whole mothering experience.

I got over the disappointment in less than an hour, when I was back with my four beautiful boys:

Jacob, who scrounges around for extra chore money to use at the baseball card shop each Saturday;

Zachary, who stealthily saran-wrapped his entire bike one night while I was preparing dinner;

Michael, who sleeps with cowboy boots on and carries a harmonica around in his pocket; and

Adam, who was squealing so euphorically in Joann yesterday that I had to take him away from the bright fabric aisles.

What are the chances of having five boys in a row? About 3 percent? Sounds like we're pretty lucky.

Jacob, loving first grade

2010-09-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

Eric's mom dropped in to visit for a few days this past week. Yeah! Her visit corresponded with the beginning of school, which was a great help to me. The day before school started I was able to go on a last-day-of-summer-vacation date with Jacob, where we went mini-golfing:

The kid even got a hole-in-one and ended up beating me by 12 strokes! (For the record, I didn't even let him win. I am horrible at mini-golf; he turned out to be pretty amazing.)

The next day I sent Jacob off to school smiling:

He literally skipped off the bus that afternoon: "That was just TOO MUCH fun, Mom. The teachers are nice. Everyone is nice." And the next day: "That was 10 BILLION times more fun than yesterday." And the third day: "The days just keep getting more and more fun. It's going to keep going that way forever." If that weren't enough, Jacob has an after-school friend: another first-grader on the bus and he have hung out for a bit after school each day. (Here they are hanging with Zachary.)

He hasn't been this buoyant for months. Do you know how much his happiness cheers my heart? I grin every time I think of him. Hurray for first grade!

Devil's Lake

2010-08-23T23:30:00.000-06:00

While cleaning this morning, I realized that I was fighting a losing battle: the kids were actually making messes faster than I was able to clean them up. So I decided to cut my losses and leave for a day trip to Devil's Lake, a state park about 40 miles north. I left half the breakfast dishes in the sink, a couple loads of unfolded laundry on the couch, and possibly some other messes around the house. We took off!

We only forgot two things: the sunscreen (which cost us about $7) and the camera (which cost us about 8 megapixels). Oh well. Here are some phone pictures of the kids building on a perfectly sunshiny day:

Forestland surrounded the beach area on three sides, and the warm water extended for a hundred feet before becoming deep--just ideal!

This river system became more complex throughout the day, with dams, reservoirs, and cities across the area.

Sunny Michael told me, "Mom, this is the best place in the world!"

Adam has officially figured out how to play in the sand instead of eating it--hurray! Even though he missed a nap, he was a darling all day and really had his share of fun.

After scrubbing down and redressing (you've got to love those dank state park showerhouses!), we stopped by the concession stand and bought some reasonably-priced ice cream cones:

We ended up being gone until dinnertime, which was long enough to wear them out: three of the kids fell asleep on the ride home. I took this picture at a stoplight, which was probably even more irresponsible than leaving my housework undone at home.

I tidied up and de-sanded the swim gear tonight after the boys went down. Being in the sunshine all afternoon has made the clean quiet even more satisfying. Good day, good night.

Fun to be one

2010-08-18T23:28:00.000-06:00

Can you believe that Adam is one year old today? Happy, happy birthday, darling boy!

We celebrated with a bike ride and baseball in the morning and a trip to the toy store in the afternoon:

Topped off with some carrot cake,

I'd say it was a successful commemoration.

Fun facts on Adam:

He snuggles up and hears a song to go to sleep. I rock him to sleep with "Nearer, My God, to Thee;" Eric sings jingles from 1980's toy commercials. Adam loves both.
In his first year of life, Adam has traveled to twenty-three states!
Adam has probably read Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar a few hundred times. He always relaxes on the page about Saturday and then impatiently turns the pages until we get to the butterfly.
He shouts "hi" to strangers and puts his right hand straight up in the air to wave.
He lies on the floor with a toy car and runs it back and forth while saying "brrrmm, brrrmm!"
A few weeks ago Adam met his great-great-grandpa, Grandpa Roy, who is 102!

How would our family be complete without our little Adam? A friend to everyone, Adam fills our home with joy. Happy birthday, little one.

Fenced

2010-08-08T14:37:00.000-06:00

This week we got a fence, and it came with all kinds of bonuses. First of all, the fencers brought in a skid steer with a drill attachment. If you ever want some time to fold your laundry, I highly recommend the skid steer:

The skid steer was more than captivating, however: it also left some wonderfully large clumps of dirt behind

PLUS some kid-sized holes.

Are you beginning to see how exciting this all was? There was also a pile of wood perfect for climbing

and some scrap wood for building.

We're talking HOURS of building

(and painting).

I dug this "garage tunnel" by Michael:

We were also given a pile of extra fence planks for the boys to build with. Jacob made a list of 18 ideas for that project, including "a clubhouse," "a pretzel stand," and "a go-kart." We'll see how it goes.

The fence served us nicely last night, when the boys dropped and retrieved parachute guys during the entire time that I prepared dinner:

Ah yeah.

In other news,

Eric and I had our 8th anniversary on Friday! It's our special tradition to have Eric either be on overnight call or out of town on our anniversary--we observed this ritual for the sixth time in a row. But we celebrated yesterday, when we bought ourselves bikes and then took a fun family ride around Madison. Being married to Eric is my greatest joy.
I am the new organist for our church! I've been working for a few hours each week to pipe some new life into my repertoire. It's been a delight and a challenge.
The house is coming together! There are many rooms that have NO BOXES in them. Eric's study is "done." There are also blinds in the windows now, and I think that it turned out nicely:

Loving summer

2010-07-27T07:20:00.000-06:00

A few nights ago we had a tornado warning. Eric was taking call from home and got paged at about 9 p.m. He braved the storm and headed out, only to get a flat tire halfway to the hospital. ("It looks like a dinosaur talon took a swipe at my sidewall," he said.) So he gets out in the pouring rain and changes his tire, which only makes him slightly later than expected. What makes him slightly more later than expected is that he takes an underground tunnel to walk to the ER before he realizes that the hospital side of the tunnel locks at night. And of course the side he came in locks after he gets in. So the poor guy is drenched, stuck in a tunnel, and wondering where this is all leading his career. He eventually finds an ancient call box and tells security that he's going to exit using an obscure, alarmed emergency door. The door leads him to an even more obscure atrium, which has a fire escape staircase, which leads him outside the hospital. He goes into the ER, finds his patient, treats him, and returns home at three in the morning.

Some of Eric's residency stories make my job seem like a birthday party! I guess it kind-of is like a birthday party: it's not the kind where you rent out Jump-o-Rama and they bring the pizza and cake and decorations and clean up when you're done--it's more like a homemade one where you're working the entire time, but it's still plenty fun and something that you would do again. This is what the party looked like this week.

A friend brought us to a delightful splash pad, where the kids spent a happy couple hours:

We were also kindly introduced to an indoor gymnastics center filled with kid-friendly equipment:

We've been digging the (heated!) pool near our home, plus the library programs and parks. We've played baseball in the backyard and rode bikes/wagons/police cars around the neighborhood:

And of course there are the normal things like mixing "potions" and trapping brothers in laundry baskets and writing letters to baseball players:

I guess that "birthday party" is a poor analogy--it looks more like a summer camp. I should think of a funny camp name for myself and puff paint it on a khaki hat.

Even better than all that was a magical Friday night with Eric, where we went to the Dane County Fair!

(Unfortunately the turkey legs tasted like salty ham, but the delish cotton candy, funnel cakes, and fresh lemonade made up for it. Eric was proud of me for not stressing about the cost of all these things, which, by the way, is absolutely criminal. I guess it's just once a year, right?)

Notice how the kids' smiles in the first ferris wheel picture (taken before the ride) look a little plastic, but the bottom pictures (taken after the rides) are all authentic. They really had a good time.

In general, we're all having a good time. Even Eric is, despite being overworked and a little bewildered. And even I am, despite the same reasons.

Here we are

2010-07-15T23:29:00.006-06:00

We're in Wisconsin now. Wisconsin! The neighbors, the Relief Society, and the mosquitoes came to meet us with immediate enthusiasm. If I feel a burst of energy sometime, I will backdate and tell about the adventuresome last month in transition here. But for now, just know that we're loving the home, the neighborhood, and the city. Some unexpected benefits to life in Madison:

1. There is a grocery store here called Woodman's, and it is every discerning shopper's dream. Think of any grocery item you like, and they have it--in every variety imaginable. I went there to get some brats for the Fourth of July and there were no less than thirty different choices. Six aisles of sandwich bread! A forty-foot–long aisle of yogurts! It is wonderful and cheap (and slightly ghetto) and five minutes away.
2. Our master bedroom has a view of the wooded green hills surrounding our neighborhood. We drive past a dozen corn fields on the way to church. I go running around fields of wildflowers and forested areas. And ever since finding two wild turkeys in our yard, the kids and I have been "turkey hunting" every evening. We ride bikes to the roosting spots and make turkey calls and throw bread near the birds until they run away.

3. The second day we were here we bought a mattress. Three teenage guys went out of their way to help us secure it on the van. When it blew off a half mile down the road, two men stopped and helped us reorganize. Dozens of other experiences could exemplify the friendliness here. Wisconsinites are just pleasant, nice people.

4. I was a little worried that we would have trouble finding things to do in Madison. But cultural and community events here are varied, quality, and often free. Just today we attended the best children's theater production I've ever seen: Z Puppets Rosenchronz presented "A La Carte: In a Fool's Kitchen" with such warmth, humor, and creative genius that it impressed attendees of all ages. It was free, at the public library.

5. Speaking of attractions, have you ever heard of Wisconsin Dells? The central-Wisconsin city is a conglomerate of super-sized water parks, theme parks, theme hotels, and roadside animal statues, right in the middle of nowhere. We went there yesterday and knocked ourselves out at Mount Olympus, "a land of myth" with "156 acres of adventure." Here are some photos:

In this last picture is a new friend, who invited me and the kids to go up to the Dells with her and two other families. The women offered generous help with the children, including little snacks and the photos. The next time I want to do something good, I will invite someone new to come somewhere fun with me. There is nothing as relieving as a friend!

In summary, we are glad to be here and feel optimistic about Wisconsin life. Eric is taking his residency on like a champ, although it's certainly stretching for him (and for all of us, of course). But life is good and we have much to be grateful for.

Baseball boy

2010-06-14T22:41:00.001-06:00

This weekend was the last game of Jacob's baseball season, which meant 1) a trophy

and 2) snowcones!

We've had such fun during baseball that even the eighteen-game season seemed to fly by. I will miss seeing him bat (this is a serious league--coach pitch for kindergarteners!)

and run (he leads off like a pro!)

and field (he's even had a couple double plays this year!).

Our entire family has loved supporting Jacob. Eric absolutely delights in playing catch and pitching balls;

Zachary and Michael play catcher for us or take swings off a tee; even little Adam throws his hands up and cheers each time I do (and I do a lot!). I love being a baseball mom.

I really, really love it.

Hurray for Jacob! And here's to several more years of the great American sport.

Eric's back!

2010-06-07T21:54:00.000-06:00

For the past four weeks Eric has been on night float at the hospital, and we've hardly seen the guy (awake) at all. But now he's done, and so he's been trying to get to catch up on the life that he was missing for the past (almost) month! First he replaced the brake pads, calipers, and rotors on his car, a project that took him and my dad several hours over two days. Their work saved us over a thousand dollars, though--hurray for handiness!

Zachary's learning the ways of handiness, too:

Oral surgery was also on Eric's to-do list. Today we had a six-hour "date" during the excursion to Western Maryland for the surgery. The mountainous drive was a beautiful backdrop for conversation. On the way back, however, the poor guy was still half under anesthesia and had short-term memory loss. This was similar to how he felt when he was doing night float, though, so he took it like a champ.

Darling Eric, I'm glad that you're home tonight. Life's better when you're here.

Goals!

2010-06-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

This book about reading aloud to children recently inspired me:

As I was telling the kids about it, we decided that we would make May a super reading month. We made goals to visit the library weekly, expand our reading pool to include new authors and genres, and read a total of 500 books for the month. Five hundred books would be approximately four books per child plus one shared scripture story per day. It seemed manageable when we made the goal, but it turned out to be a goal that we really had to work on. We ended up finishing on June 3, so it was actually 500 books in May, plus three days. Five hundred books is A TON of books!

I maxed out the limit on my library card during every visit and felt like a pack mule lugging them back and forth each week. It was a positive experience, though, and I think that we've increased our selection skills and reading enjoyment. It gladdens my heart to see Jacob taking a book along with him

or to hear the younger boys ask for another and another.

Books! What deliciousness.

The other goal we recently reached was part of the kids' chore responsibilities. They get a nickel for each completed chore (or a dime, for hard ones). We told them that we could go to the National Aquarium if they could earn $20 towards the trip. I know that this goal took more than a month, and even more than a month plus three days. In fact, it probably took them more than two months! But last Thursday the electronic piggy bank said $20--hurray! We even excused Jacob from school so that we could be at the aquarium on a less busy day. The boys savored every exhibit, even the river ones displaying grayish trout that most people brush past.

And of course they loved the shark staircase, the coral reef shipwreck, the rainforest room, the ray pool. We even got to see a dolphin show:

Amazing!

So great work, boys, on your goals! You're super readers, super workers, and super kids.

Department of Tourism

2010-05-27T10:32:00.000-06:00

Have you ever called your county's department of tourism? It never occurred to me until yesterday, when I wanted to plan a hike with my sisters and niece. When I called the department, a receptionist told me about a trail built on the original B&O RR roadbed, plus he clued me in about parking options, historical sites, and the terrain. This is a resource that I will use again!

Armed with sunscreen, water, and those delicious Nature Valley peanut bars, we set out with enthusiasm!

After hiking down to the Patapsco River,

we splashed around,

crossed a metal suspension bridge,

and finally arrived at a roaring dam.

I could sense a calmness--almost a reverence--as the children sat on the riverbank

or stared up at the treetops.

What a beautiful, sacred earth we have.

After we came home the boys stripped themselves of calmness, put on capes, and requested pictures of themselves jumping off the ottoman. Yes.

Here's Jacob,

Zachary,

and a double!

What kids! I guess they can't always be calm, but they can entertain themselves for hours, without as much as a single phone call to a county office.

Rugby

2010-05-26T13:38:00.000-06:00

It's intense, fast, international--what's not to love? Eric and I played a walloping game on Saturday, where His Brawniness scored about a dozen tries. Here he is in action:

O.K., maybe that's not actual, actual footage. But if the other players had been able to catch him by the waist, they would have been airborne. Eric and I, my brother, dad, and son (Jacob) played on the same team and everyone on the field called us all "Raynor." I haven't been called my maiden name for a long time--it felt fun, like I was fourteen years old playing church basketball. (Also, my dad was the oldest guy out there by about 15 years, and the guy was a beast on offense--go Dad!)

Contact sports! There's nothing like being grass-stain–slammed to the ground to say, "we're friends." Oh, here we go. I found the picture:

Good times.

Outside, inside

2010-05-18T07:10:00.002-06:00

On Sunday we took the kids through the forest near our home to a huge honeysuckle bush, where they all enjoyed the nectar. Witness the first tastes:

Honeysuckle! It's deliciousness defies description, as do the forests here. The boys love to walk through them,

collecting sticks/butterflies/rocks/scales/flowers/bugs/rashes along the way.

The county parks are all surrounded by trees,

not to mention some handy equipment!

(This is all four boys doubled up on the swings. The big boys wanted to be together--it took a good five minutes to wriggle them out!)

When we can't be out for long,

we spend time indoors playing (Adam crawls like a little tiger cub!),

cooking (The kid made himself Cream of Wheat on the stovetop independently--see him beam with pride!),

and pretending (This is the "library" we set up in the living room on a rainy day--such fun!).

And sometimes we are able to take the outdoors, indoors. (Can you believe that the caterpillars we captured actually formed cocoons right in our house? Intellectually I knew that it should happen, but I somehow doubted that it really would.)

For all these little wonders, I am daily grateful. What joy.

romantic/Romantic

2010-05-17T23:05:00.001-06:00

Gentlemen, buy some flowers for your lady. Today. If you have an especially careful lady who will worry about the cost, go to a florist and choose a $4 stem and they will give you the greenery (and maybe some Queen Anne's lace!), the ribbon, and that wonderfully crinkly floral wrap for free. You probably spend $4 on some extravagance every week, and you can do without it this week. But your lady cannot do without the flowers.

If you have an additional $5 to spend invest, go to Costco and buy a Garden Bouquet. It will bloom brilliantly all week.

The other romantic thing is poetry. Eric knew about the flowers, and I knew about the poetry--he gets credit for both, though, because his flowers reminded me of the Wordsworth verse, "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud." The poet describes ten thousand golden daffodils, not fifteen golden tulips, but they are both bulbs and so I've been thinking of it. The distinction doesn't matter anyway, because the poem isn't about daffodils at all; the poem, like all poems, is mostly about poetry. Poet becomes nature, and nature becomes poet--they converge and diverge throughout the piece until the reader either becomes confused of the action or aware of it, whichever he is careful enough to observe. Poetry as natural, even impulsive expression. Yes.

When you bring the flowers to your lady, she may think Romantic thoughts. Or not. But YOU will certainly "flash upon [her] inward eye." And that is why you should buy them. Today.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T22:58:00.001-06:00

Each Mother's Day I have an eagerly optimistic desire for an ideal day. For instance, I hope that

1) the newly mobile baby will not create a nauseating hot dog odor in the kitchen by smearing six baby-crumbled dogs e v e r y w h e r e;

2) a two-year-old, resistant to his church clothes, will not run out on the porch deck, un-diaper himself, and fling the said diaper over the balcony;

3) two young entomologists will not create footbridges for their pet caterpillar to access various household objects; and

4) when asked to sing with other children for our church congregation, the darlings will not poke and claw and harass each other during the entire (1-minute-long) song.

Each of these things did happen on Mother's Day morning, when I was still recovering from a nearly sleepless night (baby, oh baby!) and feeling a little fragile emotionally. I cycled through feeling amused, then bothered, then hurt, and then even a little bit entitled.

None of those attitudes did me any good. In fact, they made my dear ones concerned that they had failed to deliver a happy holiday for me. Soon after the singing event, I realized that I was experiencing a beautifully boldfaced motherhood experience right then--no retouching, cropping, or straightening required. This is what it is to be a mother: daily leading and maintenance of an energetic, unpredictable, and self-willed group!

I hope that they know how much I adore raising them. I recently saw Jacob hand some flowering clover to Zachary and whisper, "Mother loves these." The two picked armfuls for me during the rest of our walk. Delightfully simple acts like those,

(not to mention Eric's generous kindnesses!),

motivate me to improve my efforts daily. What joy I find in this role! Whenever I think about being a mother, I feel as if I should shout aloud for the wonder of it.

I think that most mothers feel the same way.

Four-generation photo: Grandma Joyce (visiting from FL!), Mom, and I with the boys

Monocacy

2010-05-05T21:44:00.000-06:00

The Monocacy River bank where we spent last Saturday looks like the backdrop for a film about a boyhood summer vacation. Intuitively, the kids raced down the bank and began building structures,

searching for guppies (tell me you love the sumo wetsuit!),

casting fishing lines,

and sampling the earth's goodness (literally).

We brought the kayak, which provided a grueling workout for Eric,

me,

and my dad,

who all tried to conquer a 75-foot stretch of rapids with no success. My brother Brian (who is becoming quite strapping!) finally made it and so became the star of the day.

Or more accurately he became a star, since my mom also reached stardom status by preparing pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. What else could so whet a family for summer like a day at the river and pulled pork sandwiches?

Grandma Yvonne

2010-04-28T10:44:00.000-06:00

Last weekend my beloved Grandma Yvonne came out to visit. She and I oversaw a fun tee-ball game with my brothers and sons, in which Grandma became Michael's heroine for keeping him warm and everyone else's for finding a lost baseball (and ending the 15-minute search for it!).

Later we played games, talked about our latest travels, and played with the boys.

Now if you've read my previous post, you'll know that last weekend we went with the Brinton visitors to Old Ellicott City. Obviously I didn't get my fill, because yesterday I suggested that we go again with Grandma Yvonne! The place has so many different things to see that we were able to have a completely different experience there. Of course, we walked Main Street again (witness my taking advantage of having Grandma and Grandpa along!),

took a look at the Historical Society Museum

(where they let me play the 100-year-old, 700-pipe organ!),

and enjoyed each other's company.

Oh how I miss my grandma! This year has been the first time that I've lived away from her since I graduated from high school and went to BYU. I loved walking in beautiful Ellicott with my parents and grandma. I feel like I'm gearing up for summer, when we'll be off to Wisconsin on our own. Will anyone still visit me even if I don't live in a beautiful town with a picturesque downtown district? My grandma said that she would.

P.S. The pipe organ was (of course) originally built with a manually-powered bellows. The curator allowed me to crawl under the organ and see the bellows and the concealed pipes. Also, when the "Swell to Great" was pulled, the swell keys would actually depress when the corresponding great keys were played. I have never played such an instrument--what fun!

Brinton visitors!

2010-04-28T10:05:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Eric's parents were in town, and we took them to Ellicott City's downtown district ("Old Ellicott City"). Ellicott City, founded in 1772, has a beautiful main street lined with historic buildings and other points of interest (the first American railroad station! century-old stone chapels! Civil War trails! the first Maryland governor's false teeth!). Wikipedia it and be amazed: Ellicott City. Also here.

If the history isn't enough for you, maybe you would enjoy the vibrant shopping scene, including charming garden shops, antique stores, and more. Doesn't this lovely boutique look like it was plucked straight from France?

Oh, how we love it! The only thing better than visiting Old Ellicott City is doing it with visiting family:

Having Grandpa and Nana along made the parent-to-child ratio just ideal, and we enjoyed a good meal

and a pleasant walk through the city.

Later we spent some time with Eric's sister Stephanie and her husband, Lindsey, who also stayed over a night. The kids were excited to go with them on a misty-turned-rainy walk through the woods in our neighborhood (non-Old Ellicott City). I neglected to take any pictures--we'll have to remember it in our hearts.

Career day

2010-04-22T06:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Jacob's school had Career Day, and the kids were asked to come dressed up as their future, working selves. Jacob wants to be "a dad and a doctor." I thought about buying a scrubs set at the toy store, but later decided to $AVE A NET EIGHT DOLLAR$ by sewing it myself. Thrifty, right? After I managed to sew one leg on inside-out, both armholes shut, and the collar on backwards, it eventually worked out:

Oh, how sewing humbles me! This set is higher-quality than a store-bought costume, though, and it matches Eric's. Plus, life skills, right? Jacob left for school looking pretty professional:

The classmates performed some snazzy numbers onstage,

presented individual job reports,

and enjoyed each other's enthusiasm.

And here's a smile from our buoyant junior resident:

Endearing

2010-04-15T20:41:00.001-06:00

This afternoon a friend and I were rehearsing a piece for church as our kids played downstairs. When we went down to retrieve them, we found that they had been "shopping" in my food storage shelves. "I'm the husband," Zach told me, "and we're shopping at the store." I'm only sorry that I didn't get a shot of Zachary's darling wife. Here are their selections:

Apparently matrimony has been on his mind lately. Yesterday he told me that he is disappointed that his other friend Mary is moving to Chile. "What?" he exclaimed. "But I wanted to marry that girl!" As long as she can handle Zachary's insatiable curiosity (Some kids you can just tell "don't touch the stove," and some kids need to try it themselves! It's starting to heal.),

Zachary's wife is going to be just about the happiest lady in the world.

Spring break!

2010-04-12T22:47:00.000-06:00

This spring break we planned a course through Virginia and North Carolina, where we enjoyed some history, some beaches, and some good times! Seriously, if we could live in a Winnebago on a permanent road trip, we would! These kids are pro travelers, and we're all up for roadway adventures.

Attraction number one: Jamestown, VA

The National Park Service has created stunning displays to describe America's first permanent English settlement. Walking along the shore of the James River, we visited the beautifully preserved/restored buildings and viewed hundreds of artifacts. I was interested to see a collection of rounded buttons that look similar to those on one of my favorite blouses. It struck me as odd that the button hadn't been through any major transformations in at least 400 years. I guess that if it works, it works.

During the first several years, the colonists suffered a drought--the worst in eight centuries!--that caused all but a handful to die. Skirmishes with the Powhatans and failed economic projects made the colony seem hopeless. Why did they stay?

It felt sacred to be there, hearing about the colonists' lives. What sacrifice. What moxie!

Attraction number two: the hotels!

Is there anything more fun than a hotel pool?

Zachary's hooked on swimming. He even convinced me to go with him at the OUTDOOR pool at the next hotel. It was 75 degrees outside, so I said okay. He squealed when I cannonball splashed him--then he braved the water himself!

And here, witness a moment of boyhood bliss: they're eating corn dogs, at bedtime, while watching a monster truck rally. Living it up!

Attraction number three: Outer Banks, NC beaches

The kids had never been to an actual ocean beach before, but they ran right up into the water as if they'd done it every day of their lives.

We did the normal beach things:

watching,

digging,

swimming (yikes! Eric wins the bravery award, because the ocean was much cooler than the pool!),

more digging,

crabbing,

burying,

and, finally, de-salting.

I wasn't expecting such nice beaches, but these were Florida-esque!

Attraction number four: Wright Brothers Historical Monument, Kitty Hawk, NC

Learning about the Wright Brothers makes you proud to be an American, as you have some stake in the gutsiest, most enthralling endeavor in modern history. The NPS visitors' center describes the Wright Brothers' experiments in some detail. Jacob was earning his Junior Ranger patch there, so we attended a lecture about the brothers, too.

And here, these brothers stand at the landing spot to the fourth and longest flight on the day that the Wrights flew the first airplane. After this flight, the wind took up the craft, along with a bystander who tried to save it. He struggled with the plane, eventually crashing down again. As he tells it, there were five flights that day--and he earned the distinction as the first person injured in an airplane crash.

Attraction number four: Yorktown, VA

We did another Junior Ranger program here, rode the trolley throughout the town and battlefields, and even climbed up on some of the Revolutionary War earthworks. For the third time in that many days, we're awestruck over the history of American bravery.

We love being in these places together, and we're already looking forward to future adventures on the road!

Easter weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's

2010-04-06T09:12:00.000-06:00

For Easter/conference weekend, we headed to my parents' house. I love this picture of the boys lining up with their uncles for an Easter egg hunt. Don't Matthew (my brother, on the top left) and Zachary look like brothers?

And they were off! Jacob and Zachary knew just what they were after.

Michael's still catching on.

And Adam's just happy to be doing anything.

We also celebrated my brother Nathan's birthday, when, much to the pleasure of every boy in the house, he received four Nerf guns.

Battle time!

Easter Sunday was perfect: we enjoyed many beautiful conference messages, accompanied by the traditional cinnamon rolls and fruit plate:

Later we had our family Easter devotional, then fish and honeycomb for dinner. We loved every minute!

Harpers Ferry, WV

2010-04-03T21:39:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the kids had school off, so we decided to take a day trip over to Harpers Ferry with my family. What a gem! We have never been disappointed with a trip to a National Park, and Harpers Ferry is as great as they come. After a short stop at the visitor's center,

we took a complimentary shuttle to the lower town,

where we learned more about John Brown's raid,

saw the historic B&O railroad,

hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail,

and relaxed near the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

The adults loved:

the extensive information posted around the city

the gorgeous stone walls and spring flora surrounding the historical buildings

the variety to Harpers Ferry's significance: its role in the Industrial Revolution, Civil War, Lewis and Clark expedition, and much more!

The kids loved:

the shuttle ride through the Blue Ridge Mountains

the perfect skipping rocks near the Potomac

the "touch anything" policy throughout the town

the day out with their uncles/nephews!

Boys in bow ties

2010-03-29T23:27:00.000-06:00

When Jacob was one year old, I decided to make father and son bow ties for major holidays (Easter, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Christmas). Little did I realize that it would take some serious sewing to keep this tradition rolling, with the quick succession of sons we've had! It's special to me, though, so we've been consistent with our holiday bow tie tradition. (And we've been able to reuse several ties--I'm certainly not making twenty a year!) These photos crack me up:

Easter 2005:

Easter 2006:

Easter 2007:

Easter 2008:

Easter 2009 (when we had the cousins over--the best bow tie line-up ever!):

Easter 2010 (They're still sporting the 2008 ties--thank heaven for elastic! Adam, I'm sorry that I haven't made you an Easter tie yet. Next time, sweet boy!):

Boys, thanks for indulging me. Please don't ever grow too old, independent, or self-concious for this! Love you.

House hunting

2010-03-23T12:39:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Eric, Adam, and I flew to Wisconsin to find a home. Adam took it easy on his first flight:

(Can't you just hear him piping up with, "Excuse me ma'am, a ginger ale please? And may I have the whole can?" He looks like a frequent flyer, all relaxed in his chair!)

Eric's mom, armed with real estate expertise to the gills, met us there and we all set to work. After the first two days, we'd seen many homes--some beautiful, but no real deals. Feeling a little frantic, Sally and I drove around past nightfall scouring the neighborhoods for "for sale" signs--certainly there was some non-MLS-listed gem that we could find! But there wasn't.

The next morning (and the last day of our trip!), some anxiety and prayers later, we were driving a favorite neighborhood when we spotted this:

It hadn't even come up in our searches because it was listed as a three bedroom (we only searched for four). But with an office and "extra room," it's PLENTY of space for us. And we bought it from a builder, who was able to give us a lot more house (and yard!) for the money. What a blessing!

When I called Jacob to tell him about it, he asked about the school:

A: I saw the school. The kids look really nice.

J: What kind of kids are there?

A: All kinds! I saw them running around playing tag!

J: What kind of tag? Dinosaur tag?

A: I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you could teach them dinosaur tag if they don't know.

J: What color hair do they have?

A: All colors! They looked great! And there's a huge playground!

J: Are there swings?

A: Well, it looked like it had everything.

J: Yes, but are there swings?

(We drove back to the school later on and looked to confirm that there were swings. There were. Phew. I called to report.)

A: Hi Jacob, this is Mom. There are swings. Lots of them!

J: OK. I have to go. Bye, Mom. Make sure that the house is one that you love. And find one that is for medium money.

I do love the home! And I feel like we were blessed with a great deal. It's not finished yet,

but it will be by the summer. In the meantime, I am searching for deals and ideas on all things home: window treatments, outdoor play units, storage systems, and more! Let me know if you're especially clever about these sorts of things (I'm not).

Rainy day Regatta

2010-03-15T05:03:00.001-06:00

8 a.m. Faced with a rainy day ahead of us, the kids and I begin a boat-building project.

12 noon We work through lunch, snacking as we go, and begin testing some of the vessels:

3 p.m. After almost a full day of building, the kids christen their creations "Little Aloha," "Zip Zip," "The BIG Henry," and half a dozen more:

4:30 p.m. We head out to the creek and set up our dry dock.

4:45 p.m. We launch boats, catch worms, and watch the roaring creek.

Michael calls it all "delicious:"

5:45 p.m. We head home, straight for the bathtub, which we fill to capacity with the four kids and their favorite boats!

7:30 p.m. Everyone's all cleaned up and ready for a favorite dinner: chicken nuggets, broccoli, and noodles.

(Too much) later: After such a fun day, everyone sleeps soundly!

Bins

2010-03-15T02:04:00.000-06:00

A couple years ago I started to label toy bins like this:

Functional, but not very cute. (Fisher Price, I hereby apologize for my lame drawing of a "Little People" guy.) Enter Jen, armed with her vinyl-cutting machine and endless creativity, and you have this:

and this:

and, my favorite, this!

OK, I think that you get the picture(s). No one could be more excited. Well, except maybe these guys, who struck these poses when I asked them how they liked their new bins. (Dramatic?)

Jen, you are the best thing since vinyl. THANKS!