Steamboat Springs

We pretty much live in the most awesome state, but we hardly ever get out to see it. When Ryan's mom said she could come to Colorado the week after the 4th of July, we canceled our Mount Rushmore trip (that I'd been planning since March) and scheduled a trip to the ski town of Steamboat Springs. I will admit I was pretty reluctant to visit a ski town in the summer, but Steamboat didn't disappoint. What a wonderful, beautiful, family-friendly place.

SATURDAY - Lake swimming & Balloon Glow
We left early Saturday morning and drove the almost four hours to Steamboat. We drove over the Rocky Mountains, and the view was amazing. The road was steep and winding as we followed the river. It was a pretty drive, but it seemed super long as we restricted the boys' screen time (car sickness worries) and couldn't use cruise-control.

We actually didn't head into town at first, but instead headed straight to Stagecoach State Park. There is a snow-fed mountain lake there, and we splashed in the water and played in the sand for a few hours. Brennan made "sand angels" and played tag with Dad. We ate a picnic lunch.

When we were entirely wasted, we headed to the hotel to check-in. We stayed in a Wyndham Vacation Rental. We had a 3-bedroom condo with a complete kitchen, dining area and family room. We couldn't have been more comfortable.

After a short time settling in, we headed to Old Town Steamboat. We wandered a short time, then got ice cream and taffy at a little shop and dinner at a small burger diner.

After some quick showers/baths, we put the kids to bed. We decided to be irresponsible (does anyone else ever do this?) and after we were certain everyone was asleep, Ryan and I walked to the "Balloon Glow." Seven hot air balloons were filled by their teams and lined up along a rocky creek bed.

Counting down over and over again, all the balloons would blast their fires, and since it was dusk, all the balloons would glow in unison. It was beautiful.

SUNDAY - Hot Air Balloons & Water Fall Hike
We woke up super early (4:45) and got ready to catch the hotel shuttle to the hot air balloon launch. A huge Mom-fail though: I packed jackets for everyone, but not long pants. We FROZE waiting for the shuttle and for the first 1/2 hour of the launch. Oops!

Ryan saved us when he bought us some hot chocolate, and I wrapped the boys in our picnic blanket.

First, they filled the Colorado balloon and the US flag balloon next to it. We stood and sang the National Anthem.

To call this part awesome would be an understatement. 

After the sun came up, it warmed up and the boys got to see an up-close filling of Smokey the Bear. 

And then all the balloons started filling. I love how there aren't tons of rules about where you can stand and what you can do. We all just wandered amid all the crews working. 

This balloon didn't have a basket. It was just a seat, with a flaming ball of fire and a huge container of flammable liquid over head. His legs just dangled over the great abyss below him. I think he was CRAZY!

It was perfect: my cute family, hot air balloon teams, sunrise over the mountains, hot air balloons filling and floating above us. Heaven.

The balloons were supposed to fill, launch and return to participate in a "rodeo" contest, dipping their baskets into the nearby lake. Unfortunately, the winds were unfavorable so most of the balloons didn't ever launch; they just filled for us to "ooo and ahhh."

Luckily, there were some people training for the ski jump into the lake instead, so we got to watch them for a while.

After another short rest at the hotel, we headed to Fish Creek Falls.

It was a super short walk (1/4 mile) to a beautiful, lush waterfall.

My very own Super Heroes

We let the boys splash in the water and throw in rocks.

Ethan terrified us when he decided to dive into the whitewater rapids, but luckily a lady sitting nearby (the one in the striped shirt behind Ryan in the pic) grabbed him before he even got pulled under. Thank you, Stranger! It all happened so fast, I never ever had a chance to freak out, but I've replayed all the worst-case scenarios in the following days, and I've been holding him close more.

After our hike, we had another little picnic, this time with a bunch of little chipmunks. We fed them, and it was super fun.

We rested a bit at the hotel again, then headed to the pool. It was windy so it was a little chilly, but it was so nice to be altogether and play and laugh. Brennan and I played in the hot tub after the pool too, while Ryan took everyone else up to the room to make a freezer meal we'd brought.

After getting everyone in bed, Ryan and I pressed our luck again and headed to the hot tub just outside our door. But when we got back 30 minutes later, Collin was crying on the couch. His nose was all stuffy, and he couldn't breathe. Another Parent-fail. He'd woken up too stuffed up to breathe and couldn't find us. We put him to sleep again propped up on the couch with a box of tissues nearby. Oops.

MONDAY - Trail Walk & Mini Golf
Monday was our slower day. We went to breakfast at a super cute little diner and shared the largest cinnamon roll I've ever seen. Afterwards, we walked a trail along the river that runs through town.

 Ryan had bought a fishing license, so we stopped at one point and tried some fishing.

We walked along the trail until we got to another ice cream shop, enjoyed our snack on a picnic bench by the river, and then turned back. It was a peaceful, calm morning.

After naps, we convinced the boys to try miniature golfing. They loved it! We were the only ones there (4 o'clock on a Monday - I wonder why?), and we let the boys play ahead. We decided not to keep score, since Ethan kept collecting our balls anyway.

As Ryan and I played on about Hole #12, Brennan ran over to us asking, "Where's Hole #19?" After we explained it was over at Hole #18, he announced, "I won! I won! I finished first!!!" Ooops, I guess we forgot to tell them the point. :-)

We picked up a pizza afterwards and headed back to our hotel. The boys were getting pretty excited (but were pretty wasted too!) because Ryan's mom was about to arrive. We let them stay up late to see Nana, Aunt Shan (Ryan's aunt) and Great-grandma Fooks. It was fun to have them with us for our last day.

TUESDAY - Gondola Ride

After getting packed up and checked out, we headed over to the neighboring resort to ride the gondola up the mountain. We'd been watching it all weekend, so we were excited to finally get to ride.

I am pretty afraid of heights, but it was smooth and such a gorgeous view.

We walked around up at the top, had lunch at the grill on the patio and rode down.

I think we'd worn the boys as thin as they've ever been. I was pretty wasted too, honestly! We started home a little after 1pm (the big boys had karate at 4:30 and I was hoping to get them back for it), but due to construction it took us forever to get back. Kate also got car-sick... over and over again. I've never had to manage a puking baby, and it was horrible. She couldn't tell us what was about to happen, but I did manage to catch one of the times in our ever-present ice-cream puking bucket. I felt so bad for her; she was so confused and had no idea what was happening to her. Poor Kakey. Luckily, she was fine after we got home. That night the boys were in bed by 6pm (after baths/showers and a dinner of toast). Nana, et al showed up shortly afterwards, and we enjoyed their company here until Friday morning.

It was quite a tiring week, but I really do love my little family. They are awesome, and we had such a great time together. Family vacations are expensive, but some of my fondest memories of growing up are of our vacations to the beach every other summer. We really want to create our own fond memories together. Steamboat will go down in history. It was a perfect long weekend.

Utah Trip & Father's Day

WEDNESDAY 

We started our annual summer trip to Utah after Ryan got off work Wednesday evening. We got on the road about 5pm and got in at midnight. The kids were great in the car, except for Kate's hour of shrieking. Unfortunately, they each got far less sleep than usual - which became the theme for our trip.

THURSDAY

Ryan and I had a rough time getting moving on our first morning, but we made it out the door at 10am to head to Thanksgiving Point to go to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We really enjoyed all the indoor activities, especially the jungle climbing area. Unfortunately, we didn't get a map and only realized there was an outdoor area after the kids and I were about to collapse. It is a fun place. We ate lunch and headed to Kim's to sleep, sleep, sleep. I don't really remember anything else from this day. I think I was too tired to even function. Four hours of sleep just doesn't cut it for me. 

FRIDAY

My sister, Kim, volunteered to keep the kids so Ryan and I could do a session in the new Provo City Center temple. So we got up at 5:30am and left at 6:15 so we could get into the 7am session. It was beautiful, and I'm so glad we got to go. 

After we got back, we took my sister's oldest kids and our own to the Springville Splash Pad. Unfortunately, it was broken, so the kids just placed on the playground. Kim headed to the airport to get Rob, and we all met up at a park close to their home with McD's for lunch. 

When we got back from lunch at the park, my parents arrived. While the kids napped, we got to chat. My parents and Rob left to meet up with his girlfriend in Provo, and we got ready for dinner. Just as Rob, Rachel, Mom and Dad got back, Jared surprised us by arriving with Sean, Jen & Julian. It was awesome to be altogether as a family, but we could already definitely feel the hole left vacant since Charlotte was unable to come. We ate a delicious dinner and toasted marshmallows. It was a great evening. 

Unfortunately, Collin woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. He threw up 5 times over the next 12 hours. We are speculating that he's developed an allergy to pineapple (it started a few months ago with a tickley tongue and/or mouth sores after eating it each time), but we haven't confirmed it yet. 

SATURDAY

I was worn out by this morning, but Ryan took Kate & Ethan to Kneader's for free Father's Day french toast. He brought some back for all of us. We all headed to the new Springville Reservoir, minus sick Collin, baby Kate and medically-restricted no-swimming Ryan.

Side Story: I might as well document now Ryan's toe injury. Two years ago we hired a contractor to build us a covered roof for our existing patio. It has been a nightmare. Some highlights include missing house siding, leaking rain water, wrong color of metal roofing installed, birds building homes INSIDE our walls, falling pergola boards, failure to pass city inspection, threats to sue us for failure to pay, etc. Calling the situation a nightmare is an understatement. 

Anyway, with the contractor and his negligence behind us, Ryan climbed up on the roof on Memorial Day to remove the hideous green, metal roofing in order to finish the roof decking and waterproof our house and roof, as well as to put the roof in accordance with our HOA approval for brown roofing. 

Unfortunately, one of the sharp sheet metal edges came down on the inside corner of his big toe (he was bare foot in order to better grip the roof) and sliced a big chunk off. Kate and I took him to the ER while a neighbor kept the boys. They stitched the now-dead chunk back on to act as a band-aid, and he's been seeing a foot specialist weekly for the last month. 

Long story short, he isn't allowed to get his foot wet, and it looks like it might be the whole summer. This roof is cursed!

Anyway, I took Ethan & Brennan to the reservoir Saturday. Most of the extended family came too. It was so fun! My brother-in-law rented a paddle board, and the weather was beautiful. It wasn't even crowded until the very end. Ethan dug in the sand, and we even got him out of the board at the very end.

Janice is the oldest of the cousins. She took the board out a few times by herself, and then took all the cousins at the end. I was so proud of her!

That evening we were too wasted to cook, so we ordered pizza and did smores and sparklers outside. It was a great evening. Collin was even feeling better by this time. Unfortunately, Brennan had freaked out earlier and went to bed, missing both the sparklers and smores.

SUNDAY
Ryan and Collin went up to Salt Lake with Rich and Janice and my dad for the special Father's Day performance of Music & The Spoken Word. When they got back, Ryan, Brennan and I went to sacrament meeting in Kim's one o'clock ward while Ethan & Kate napped with my mom, and Collin rested.

The last event of our weekend was meeting up in Provo with friends from our Madison days. We had great fun with Sheena (whose husband Johnny was unfortunately away at a Conference) and Dave & Jenn.

Sheena & Jenn are both expecting this Fall. And don't you love my baby pooch?
I'm not expecting, but I guess after four babies I'm just always going to look 15 weeks along. 

We ate a delicious dinner, and Jenn even got Ryan a special cheesecake dessert. 

 

We got back late to Kim's and after so many late nights and early mornings, the kids (and us!) were beyond tired. Kate didn't really nap or sleep much at all the whole 5 days, so I was done "vacationing." We all tried to rest, but Kate was up again at 4am, and despite trying EVERYTHING, she screamed and screamed screamed until 6am, when I got up, got dressed and packed the car. We were on the road by 7am.

We got home about 2:30, and Ryan promptly fixed two lawn mowers (ours to sell and my parents' to keep). I put the kids to bed at 6pm and mowed the lawn. Nothing like a vacation to make you feel more overwhelmed and tired than usual. Despite the exhaustion, we loved seeing my family and some Madison friends. It was a great time! 

9 mos - Out as Long as She was In

Happy 9 months, 

to the sweetest little girl around! 

Nicknames: Cake(s), Baby-cake(s), Kate, NOT KATIE

Sleep:
Night - 7pm-6am most nights, usually with one nursing between 3-5am
Naps - One in morning and one in afternoon, never know time or duration :-(
Clutches her blanket

Teeth: 8 (4 on top & 4 on bottom)

Eating:
Baby food - 4-5 jars per day mixed with oatmeal (nothing homemade with baby #4)
Table food favorites - waffles, pancakes, toast, rice, pretzel sticks
Likes her baby food very thick
Still nurses every 4 hours

She loves our construction site in the front room.
I thought only boys liked tools, but I'm starting to think boy and girl babies are just alike. 

Joys
Crawling, Exersaucer & Jumperoo, Cleaning (eating) the floor after dinner, bath splashing, Outside (with hat so sun isn't in eyes), Pulled self to standing on Tuesday!, Smiling, Joyful Shrieking

Failures
Fallen down stairs twice, First Cold, Hates face-wiping, Sucks on her hair bow, Kicking off all her shoes

Try to ignore the giant stack of hardwood flooring in the background.

Mother's Day to Four

Happy Mother's Day to me! 

I can't believe they are all mine. 

Here's my loot from the day.

This picture takes a bit of explanation. I have started to enjoy wearing long necklaces (to distract from my nursing-voluptuousness and my Mommy-muffin top), but they are always getting all tangled in my bathroom drawer or on the counter top. I have even started hanging them on the bathroom door handle, but then they bang when we open and close the door. So I asked Ryan if he could use an old white baseboard and put some key-rings on the bottom to hang in my closet to keep them all straight. This was a few months ago.

Imagine my surprise when I saw my "Mom's Bling" necklace holder today! Fancy-shmancy... and practical too. Thank you to Ryan for making it, and the boys for helping decorate it. Now let's see how long it takes to get it hung up. Lol.

I guess all these cards, pictures, picture frames and booklets are the compensation for having so blasted many kids! j/k

Hope everyone else had a fabulous day too!

Whining

I'm having a bad day. Kate has decided that sleeping isn't necessary. She's my first baby to not need much sleep. I've heard friends talk about their baby not needing much sleep, and I thought they just hadn't tried hard enough. Kate must be my punishment.

She is sleeping 7 pm - 6 am each night. That's a total of only 11 hours at night! (My other kids did a minimum of 12 hours at night.) It boggles my mind that she can get by on that little. Unfortunately, those 11 hours are far from being uninterrupted. Every night for that last couple months, she's been up at least once (usually between 1-3 am), and last night she was up at both midnight and 4 am, and then she was chipper and ready to roll at 6 am.

As far as her napping, I usually get about 20 minutes out of her sometime in the morning, and then about 1-2 hours in the afternoon. And that's it. She just doesn't sleep. Her room is dark and the house is as quiet as I can get it. She's pretty smiley and happy too, but I need a break sometimes! (My other kids would nap 2-3 times per day for about 2 hours each at this age.)

For a comparison, Ethan (who is 2 years older) sleeps 7pm-6:30am non-stop every night, and then naps every afternoon for at least 3-4 hours. That is many, many more hours than my much younger baby.

I feel like I'm going to die. I took two Tylenol this morning for the headache, ate a cold slice of pizza for breakfast, and drank a Sprite for lunch. My new calling is taking over my life. I am the secretary in the Young Women's (girls ages 12-18 years). I didn't think it'd be that hard. I was wrong. Our president has a full-time job, and both of the counselors do lots of volunteering. Everyone travels A LOT. I haven't been home for one bedtime since last Tuesday (YWs activities every night). Ryan is giving Kate baby food at bedtime instead of milk (she doesn't take a bottle or sippy, and I'm not here to nurse here).

This morning I was in tears. I exploded on Ryan (who took out the trash, emptied and loaded the dishwasher, got me Tylenol, and started a load of laundry all before taking Collin and his space project to school this morning) ranting about wanting my blessings for taking this calling NOW. Really, I just want my baby to sleep. She used to sleep; what's her deal?! Shouldn't I get what I want?

Anyway, I know it isn't rational. I haven't slept decently in months (I do YWs stuff during Ethan's nap time most days, and as I mentioned Kate's nap is sketchy at best). Oh, and it doesn't help that my woman hormones have started up again, and that means my insomnia is back a few nights every month with my cycle. BLAH!!!!

Ok, I needed a good whine today. I'm done now.

If You Give a Mom Laced Shoes...

If You Give a Mom shoes with laces,

she'll have to sit down to tie them.

If she sits down to tie them,
she'll probably sit on a plop of oatmeal.

If she sits on a plop of oatmeal,
she might have to go upstairs and change her pants.

If she goes upstairs to change her pants,
she'll probably see herself in the mirror.

If she sees herself in the mirror,
she might need to brush her hair, fix her ponytail and put on a bit of mascara.

If she sees the overflowing laundry basket she added her oatmeal-ed pants to,
she'll probably have to collect all the laundry from all the bedrooms.

If she tries to collect all the laundry,
she'll have to venture into The Boy Room.

If she goes into The Boy Room,
she'll probably start turning all the wadded pajamas on the floor right-side-out, straighten the beds, lay out jammies for the coming evening, check the "clothing squares" to make sure everyone has things to wear for the week, and straighten the pictures above the crib.

When she's comes downstairs, she'll realize she was supposed to bring down the laundry she was collecting. She'll go back up to get it all.

She'll put the laundry in the washer, and sit down to tie her shoes.

And chances are, if she sits down to tie her shoes, she'll sit on a plop of oatmeal.

THE END

 The moral of the story: Buy Mom slip-ons - $13 at Walmart and worth every penny :-)

Happy Easter!

March Wrap-up

This week was our two-year anniversary of moving to Colorado. That means we officially no longer have to repay our moving expenses to Ryan's company if we decide to leave. But, I'm happy to report, a move doesn't seem likely!

SPRING BREAK

Last week was Spring Break. Despite being in the 70s for the two weeks prior, it snowed and was windy and bitterly cold all week. We attended a St Patrick's Day party at the cultural hall of our old chapel one morning (complete with a bounce house, decorating green cookies and party music). Another day during the week, I hosted a play-date in our chapel's gym. The boys rode their scooters and did coloring pages. I think everyone had fun.

Ryan took the Friday of Spring Break off work, and we headed to Denver under a Blizzard Advisory. It took us almost twice as long to get there, and we saw lots of cars in the ditches. Lucky for us, we enjoyed a few hours at the Children's Museum with it almost empty and then checked into our hotel. While Ryan went to the temple, I took the kids swimming. He brought back brick-oven pizza and cheesecake for dinner. We ate and put the boys to sleep. Then we waited in the lobby with Kate for her to get tired. After tossing and turning all night, I got up early on Saturday and went to the temple while Ryan tackled the continental breakfast all by himself with all the kiddos in tow. But they got a compliment for good behavior, so I guess it was a success. After I got back, we checked out and went over to Krispy Kreme. We watched them make donuts for awhile, grabbed a dozen to take home, and started the trek home. The roads were totally clear, and it was an easy drive. We earned it after the trip there!

KATE

Kate is seven months old on Monday. She is still a smiley little girl and a complete joy in our home. I couldn't ask for an easier, happier baby.

If mom neglects her, she takes matters into her own hands

My favorite time of the day is getting her dressed each morning. She has the cutest clothes, and I love matching her shoes and bows to her leggings and tunic tops. She wears a lot of skirts, even not on Sundays. It is just too fun!

St Patrick's Day (she had matching socks too)

She now has four teeth - two on top and two on bottom.

She wasn't so interested in showing off her four teeth today.

She can sit on her own for about 20 seconds now. She is getting stronger and stronger, and she loves to roll and roll and pivot to get to anything that interests her. We are so grateful to have her in our family.

ETHAN

Ethan has had a cold for several weeks now, and just when I thought I couldn't take any more nose-wiping and whining, he FINALLY got better. His speech is still limited to nouns, but it is amazing how he can string so many words together and tell a whole story.

He face-planted after church on Sunday, so he has a fat lip in this picture. I took this picture when he said, "Picture, Dada, hop, bunny" and handed me my phone. Doesn't everyone know that means, "Take my picture to send to daddy. I'm a hopping bunny!"

He'll be 2-1/2 at the end of April. He loves choo-choos, wee-oos (everything with lights and sirens) and "dumps" - typical boy there, for sure. He loves to run, jump and kick. He particularly loves the trampoline and scooting on the plasma car. He still loves to escape out the front door and run down the middle of the street, and he only rides his scooter in the street too. It is a good thing we don't have much traffic on our road.

BRENNAN

(He won't let anyone take pictures of him, and I literally don't have any of him from this month. You'll just have to imagine his handsome self here.)

Brennan is finishing up his last year of preschool and really looking forward to going to school with Collin next year. I've signed him up for half-day kindergarten for the fall. He has had a good string of days this last week, and I dread it coming to a close. He can be such a sweet, kind helper... and he can be such a little obstinate, mean devil. He really thrives on one-on-one time, and I'm trying so hard to spend more time with him. It seems to make a difference, but there really is only one of me to go around, and I feel really stretched thin most of the time. He still loves to draw, and currently he is creating a book of Pokemon characters which he has me write the names for.

COLLIN

Collin is finishing up first grade. He seems to have landed right in the middle of the pack academically. He's a decent reader, and he enjoys math class. But it is all I can do to get him to read at home (usually only as a consequence) and do his math fact practice. He doesn't seem to naturally make connections with numbers. He doesn't like to do hard things, and he gets frustrated very easily. He does seem to be a really speller though. I'd say he does best with things when they are specifically taught but doesn't really enjoy figuring things out on his own.

After climbing the structure at the Children's Museum

He did a St Patrick's Day creative writing at school. He wrote, "If I found a pot of gold, I'd get a job as an engineer at Woodward." When I asked him why he'd get a job if he already had money, he said that he would pay for the job with the gold. Guess we haven't explained finances much to him.

He has started taking piano lessons again, this time from a boy teenager in our old ward. It has only been a month, but he is doing well and loves to practice and go to his lesson each week.

RYAN

Ryan has been really busy at work. He has at least one late phone call each week with China, and he's been helping with interviewing for new positions too. It's been a little crazy.

Super Dad!

He is also in the middle of remodeling our front room. We decided to move the last three stairs and the middle landing and remove our coat closet in order to open up the entryway and create a formal sitting room. He's also doing board and batten on the walls. It is going to look awesome, but we started in mid-December, so I'm just hoping it is completed in time for our temple open house and dedication. We are also going to lay hardwood flooring throughout the main floor, and it is already stacked all over the house to acclimate to our humidity. We are living in a construction zone! He is still serving as the Sunday School president in our ward, which seems to be pretty easy. He mostly just deals with staffing challenges and substitutes.

LINDSEY

(I guess I don't have any pictures of myself either. Brennan and I both avoid the camera.)

I am getting SUPER excited for the Fort Collins temple. I'm excited to live only 12 minutes away and be able to go during preschool/kindergarten hours. I spend all my time cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and running kids here, there and wherever. I am currently (until Sunday, hint hint) serving as the Laurel advisor in the Young Women's. I love teaching every other week, and I love the girls. I am still reading like a crazy person, sometimes many books per month. I absolutely love my book club, which meets once per month. In January, I organized a monthly Brunch Bunch for women with small children to share a dish and chat while their children eat and play. Each month, I ask for a host, and now we are rotating homes. It seems to have really taken off. I also have started a craft group, where the women meet once per month at someone's home without children in the evening. Everyone brings their own craft and supplies, and we chat and eat a treat while we work. It has been fun.

CONCLUSION

And there you have it. We are busy and happy and looking forward to warmer weather. I'm terrified to have ALL four kids home ALL day this summer. I've bought the older boys workbooks to do each day as part of their morning chores. We are also planning to visit Mount Rushmore for the 4th of July week, and of course we'll be at the pool almost every day too. Hopefully, they won't kill each other... and I won't kill them!