Weekly report card

Trying to fit all of our earthly belongings into a 16' by 8' trailer: D-

After three days of repacking, squeezing, and tossing (with MUCH help from Eric's parents and our friends), we finally rented a little trailer to tote the "necessities" that wouldn't fit in our POD. Besides the 8 mpg drop in our gas milage, it has been a pretty good deal. Plus, now we're part of the U-haul club on the road.

Saying goodbye to Salt Lake friends and family: F

Eric told me that I needed to stop crying just after I'd said goodbye to people--I should cry in front of them so that they know that I care. So I guess that I have to work on my farewell etiquette. Sorry if you were offended; I miss you.

Driving the scenic byways: A+

Our route has taken us through six national parks so far. I tend to toss around the term "amazing" without thinking of its meaning, but I can honestly use it here. Absolutely amazing! Even the roadblocks are picture-worthy:

Staying up all night in a hotel room with a vomiting baby: C-

This was terribly annoying, but at least I didn't have to wash the soiled sheets and towels! Plus, thank heaven, he was over it in one night.

Visiting Yellowstone: A

Seeing over 3,000 gallons of boiling water shoot upwards of 100 feet in the air amazed everyone except Michael, who was most interested in his own tennis shoes.

Yellowstone Lake and the Lower Falls were other favorites. I have to laugh at this next picture, however, where two people are crying and two are trying not to. Did I mention that it was freezing cold up there? We drove through a blizzard (and eight feet of snow pack on either side of the road!) to get to Old Faithful and the falls.

Implementing the "High Five" behavior system: A+

Every time the kids do something heroic (telling us that they have to go to the bathroom in good time, eating all their food, having a good attitude), they get a hand die-cut (a "high five"). After they collect five high fives, they can choose a prize from the prize bag. This has been the first time that I've successfully implemented an incentive program for the kids. A huge hit.

Stopping by Mount Rushmore: A+

Great faces, great places.
And really clean walkways.

Maintaining hotel loyalty: C

Super 8 is fairly inexpensive, but not so ghetto that you feel dirtier leaving than when you came. So we've gone straight Super 8 this time, with varying success. The first two places were nice: last night we got a huge suite (bargained down to the price of a single room!) at a place with a pool, internet, breakfast, the works. Tonight we're in a place that Eric says is "nice, for Russia"; I won't let the kids step on the bathroom floor without shoes on, and I think that there are bite marks in the ice container. Maybe tomorrow we'll try a Travelodge.

Reading my grandmother's book recommendation: A+ (so far)

Such a rich experiment in characterization and place has coupled perfectly with my interest in the people and places that we're enjoying on this trip. You must read it and call me to talk about it!

Paradise Powell

If camping is no vacation for moms, then staying on a houseboat is no vacation for dads! When we went down to Lake Powell this weekend, poor Eric had his work cut out for him: he spent the first day disinfecting the bacteria-laden water system, servicing the jet skis, and repairing the electrical system. See him at work testing the water: Michael, worried that Eric was so often out of sight, would walk around calling out "Daddy-o, Daddy-0, Daddy-o!" until he found him (I don't know where Mike picked up this nickname for Eric, but he uses it exclusively: not Dad or Daddy, just Daddy-o). Eventually the boat was in running order, and we spent a few glorious days enjoying the lake. My mom and sister were even able to come, making it a particularly special trip.

We loved these:

1. Kayaking! The boys and I zipped around in this little beauty, even giving Aunt Kim a scare when we totally almost beat her in a race.

2. Sandcastle-building! My mom helped the boys make this intricate tunnel/dam/reservoir/waterfall system. The boys could poke around all day in the sand, digging and finding little treasures. Once Zachary, upon finding something special, turned to Eric and said, "This egg-shaped rock could really make a guy happy." Apparently, it had.

3. Jet-skiing! Because it's early in the season, there were only a few boaters out and we could really rip up the water.

4. Hanging out! Once I noticed Jacob holding a rope off the end of the boat calling, "Zachary, come here! I need you to help me lasso this fish!" After several failed attempts, the boys decided to feed the fish crackers instead.

These memories make family trips worth the effort, even for a husband who's too handy for his own good. So thanks, Eric, for making this a paradise Powell weekend. Sure love ya.

P.S. On the way home we stopped by Goblin Valley State Park, where we climbed and ran among the creatures. It was a perfect way to shake off the road trip restlessness and definitely worth the detour.

On the market

For the past several weeks (OK, for the past four years), we've been getting our house ready to sell: painting, improving, planting, maintaining. And now, it's done. Whalah! No more projects, just like that! Here's a shot of Michael and me after finishing the last of the major spring gardening. See how pleased we are?

Now the task is to keep the home, at least for a few weeks anyway, looking as if we live in immaculate bliss. So we don't keep any dishes in the sink or clutter on the countertops, and we regularly restock our fruit bowl with fresh bananas and a pineapple;

after playing we promptly tuck the toys away and vacuum straight lines on the carpet;

and we adorn the bathrooms with fresh hyacinths and bleached white linens. And wait a minute...what's this? No laundry? It's done? It doesn't even smell like dirty rags in here. It smells like...what is that? It smells like Bounce dryer sheets!Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about cleanliness. But I feel like I'm getting a little OCD here. Do people really live like this all the time? Really? If I had to go on keeping the house looking this...what's the word?...romantic? unrealistic? impractical? Yes, if I had to keep on making the house look this impractical, I think that I would have to hire someone to do all the things that I used to do before we put our house on the market and I acquired OCD.

At least there are the showings. Ah, the showings! After two hours of "last-minute" cleaning, we leave to have Forced Family Fun, which has actually been Relieving And Delightful Family Fun (or RAD, for those of you still cool enough to use the term). Here are some favorites:

Zachary enjoyed digging for fossils at the Natural History Museum.

When we visited the farm, the boys were most interested in flying kites and then going on "an adventure" by the creek. We saw the spring baby animals, too.

And of course the best place to experience springtime is on Temple Square, where the gardens are almost as beautiful as the principal structure.

We were even calm enough to go inside the visitors' centers and tabernacle,

and then we let a little loose.

Which is exactly what I'm going to do when the house is sold. Heck, I might even let a LOT loose and throw dirty clothes on the laundry room floor. Track dirt on the hardwood floors! Leave a stack of books on my nightstand! It all sounds so decadent.

Six under six

Last night we handed off our three nephews (ages 11 months, three, and four), who we'd been tending for the past eight days. The house has been non-stop fun, and we loved entertaining our six little 'uns!

We made a tent for the big boys to sleep in on "Crazy Night."

The boys all wore coordinating Easter bow ties, and they looked picture-perfect sitting on the pew at church (for the first few minutes, anyway :).

One day we put the big boys to work weeding the garden bed. I think that they actually enjoyed this more than any of the field trips we took during the week!

We spent one evening in the mountains, picnicking, toasting marshmallows, and hiking.

The nephews came out to support Jacob at his game on Saturday. By the end of the overcast week, we were ready for some sun!

It gets even better: while we were in the middle of our nephews' visit, we decided that our home was ready to go on the market. So it needed to be within thirty minutes of being immaculate at all times, just in case we had a showing. Oh, boy. I honestly think that I mopped the kitchen, dining, and living rooms eight times in the past eight days, and I went through almost half a bottle of Windex. It was insane, but I'm sure the boys will always treasure the fun cousins week that we shared. Oh, and in the rare case that Eric and I ever actually have six boys under six in a permanent sort of arrangement, I'm requesting two dishwashers, a trampoline, and a weekly professional massage.

Rationalization at its best

Reasons why you should not go skiing when you're 20 weeks pregnant:

1. You have an increased risk of dying.

2. You have an increased risk of feeling like you are going to die. Here's a nice shot of me resting, which I was wont to do about fifty times during each run.

Reasons why you might go anyway:

1. Your husband scored $30 day passes at Park City.

2. You feel like celebrating the end of medical school. Yay!

3. You like to watch your hot husband ski as he tears up the slopes in a manner that makes even the ski patrol jealous. While I'm content on the family-friendly slopes, he goes for things like this:

Fun times! When we got home, we had to stay up until 3 a.m. getting the house ready because the realtor was coming the next morning to appraise it. But some things are worth it, right? (Just don't ask me tomorrow when I can't bend over.)

Think pink?

Think again! About five seconds after the ultrasound wand touched by body, I could see a familiar image on the screen. It's a boy, with a sonogram-certified due date of August 24th! We're just thrilled. Four brings all sorts of possibilities: a pair of tennis doubles teams, a barbershop quartet, double bunkbeds! To celebrate, we picked up Eric and went to B&D Burgers, where I gave our new baby boy a generous dose of cholesterol. Afterwards the kids and I went to the zoo and then made some green popcorn balls at home. I don't know what these celebrations had to do with babies or boys, but they made for a pleasant spring day. Who wouldn't want another of these darlings?

(Jacob at his most recent soccer game)

(Zachary's "fierce T-rex" imitation)

(Michael asleep with "baby")

(The boys and "a project")

P.S. Eric's first response when I told him the news: "So now can we get a urinal?" It seems justifiable to me, maybe when we're a little more settled.

Stress relief

Lately I've been waking up in the middle of the night to stress myself out. Did I pack the sleeping bags in the Wisconsin pile or the Baltimore pile? How am I going to repair the broken blinds on my bedroom window? Where did I put the semi-gloss Ultra Pure White paint? Do the kids have any clean pants for today? How many calories were in the junk food that I ate yesterday to combat my stressors? Most of the time I just get up and start working, and the pattern has made for some unusually long days. So last night I decided that we needed to do something non-stressful, wintry, and exhilarating. Sledding!

Seeing these boys jump up after their crashes did good things for my heart. And don't worry; we got smart on successive runs and moved away from any obstacles.

P.S. Documentation of Michael at the event: