Letting Go

A grasshopper hunt and $1.92 in crickets later, we decided to let our frogs go search for their own food. It was disappointing that Croaky and Jerry didn't swipe up our offerings with lightening-speed tongues the way we had imagined. In fact, we never saw them eat anything. Ethan was pretty hesitant about making actual physical contact with the amphibians. McKenzie played with them, gave them one last kiss, and sent them on their way. I've decided this is the best way to have a pet: catch it from the wild, pet it, look at it, talk to it....and when the novelty wears of - set it free. No long-term commitment. I think next time we'll put on safari hats and chase down some lions.

Croaky and Jerry

Jason and I were on one of our regular night-time walks around our home when to my surprise and excitement, I saw a frog in the swampy water that collects in front of our house. "Jason, we have to catch it. The kids will be so excited! .... will you catch it?" (That water was extra slimy green. Yuck!).

We (he) caught the frog and put him in a jar. It was so cute how the kids reacted to it. Ethan held the jar for a long time and kept saying "Hi, Frog! Hi Frog!" and giggled and then just held it with a very proud look on his face. When McKenzie saw the frog, she named him "Croaky" and talked to him for quite awhile. "Don't be afraid, Croaky" She retrieved a blanket from her playhouse and asked if she could put it over Croaky's jar to keep him cozy at night. Permission was granted and she put it on right away so it would be ready. I warned them that we were going to keep the frog for the day and then let him go home to his family. I had dreams that night of all of us frantically chasing a loose frog throughout our house. "RIBBIT!". When we let him go, the kids were delighted to watch him hop away while they scrambled after him until he made one last leap for the water - and was gone. I was surprised that I was a tinge bit sad to see him go.

Yesterday, my weeding/pruning/mowing plans were thwarted when I saw TWO frogs in the water. If it bothers you that my lawn remains unmowed, well, we were doing more important things - like: "McKenzie, be very quiet. Don't scare him. O.k., we need to make him hop into this box. Careful!" Ethan scooping up water in a mason jar. McKenzie waiting with anticipation. Me crouching down very slowly with a box. Then, "Ah, Missed!" Frog hopping, Ethan jumping, McKenzie squealing, Me hustling over to the other side of the gutter to get closer to the frog. Finally the two frogs were captured in a cooler with gross water. And somehow it didn't make me feel as bad to capture two frogs. Afterall, they each had a friend.

McKenzie and Ethan loved touching them. "They're slimin' me up!" said McKenzie. McKenzie named the new frog Jerry. We went inside for baths and cartoons. Then I looked out the window and saw a frog hopping away on our sidewalk. I ran out to see that both frogs had escaped out of the cooler. I was not about to let them go. We had worked hard to get them. I felt like a 7-year-old boy out there chasing frogs (you know, the kind of boy with touseled hair, dirt-smudged face, and a sling shot hanging out the seat of his pants - O.k., the touseled hair may have been true). Anyway....Frogs are fast and slippery little creatures! I would catch one and it would squeeze through a small opening in my hands and I'd be back on the chase.

We made the frogs a home during McKenzie Time. Now the dilemma: as much as I don't want to be out there hunting down crickets and grosshoppers every day, I also don't want to let the frogs go. What to do.....what to do.

Now, what delight can a 29-year-old woman possibly find in catching frogs, you ask?
*Flashback* My sister, Brooke, leading my three brothers and I on a tadpole hunt (I think we were ages 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11). I don't know how accurate this memory is, but this is how I remembered it as a 6-year-old fully equipped with paper cup in hand. We came to a "Do Not Enter" sign. Well, it wasn't the "Do Not Enter" place where we wanted to be. But, we had to go through the place of "no trespassing" to get to the field on the other side of it. It was especially scary because we had heard that someone would shoot us with rock salt if they saw us enter. We all huddled down next to the sign, ready to make a run for it. I was so afraid that, being the little tag-along in the back, I would get caught at the last minute after everyone else had made it to the field. We ran for our lives, ducking next to vehicles, scanning the area, making a run for it and ducking again until we came to a hole in a chain link fence where we were able to enter the field. We were panting and we were free. Now off to the ditch. We went home with cups full of tadpoles and smiles of satisfaction. Our little treasures were poured into a kiddy pool where we could watch them grow into frogs. They were way cute when they reached the frog-looking stage with tail almost gone, but still so tiny. The whole adventure was worth the risk of meeting face to face with a big burly man and his shotgun.

Oh, and this has nothing to do with frogs, besides that it happened on frog-finding day: "Daddy's Home!!!"

The Best Day

This is how we celebrated the 24th of July. I accidently erased these pictures and had to take my memory card to Inkleys to get them recovered. I'm glad they're back because this represents one of my favorite days so far this summer.

We spent most of the day at the park. We watched the sand volleyball players...


until we couldn't wait to join them any longer.



Then off to the playground to climb...



and slide. Cute kids!


What's a party at the park without a snowcone? It's worth $2.00 to see smiles against bright rainbow-sugared ice.





We got a couple slices of pizza, which Ethan insisted on carrying very slowly for what seemed like 3 miles to a spot next to our friends. Then we watched for Jason's truck in the parade (full of students to advertise for his school).


It was during the above picture-taking session that McKenzie looked over into my eyes and said, "This is the best day!" I couldn't have agreed more.

We found Jason and I hoisted Ethan and McKenzie into the window to join him for the rest of the parade.


We met at his school. What a man! I love that he chose a career in education. I'm glad that when our kids are in highschool, he'll be in touch with what's going on in the world of teens.



We went home where McKenzie and Ethan watched a movie on the lovesac. Jason's parents were in town and would be over soon. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I rushed to the store to buy scrubbers so I could hurry home to scrub my toilets since I hadn't cleaned them in *gasp* 3 weeks! (I kept forgetting to buy the scrubbers - excuses, excuses). I got back to find Jason's parents already here. "Just stay away from the potties", I yelled while hurdling the couch with scrubber in hand (dramatization) Yeah, way to impress the in-laws. But, don't worry, Jason had already warned them. Phew! *panting* What a great team we make :) We chatted and relaxed then back to the park we went. It was fun to have Jason's parent's with us. Of course the kids enjoyed every second of the attention.



What's more fun: sliding down a huge slide, rock-climbing, or riding on Grandpa? You be the judge.











The cherry on the top of our day was going to Sue and Casey's house for baths, jammies, Monsters Inc., good company, and a delicious dinner!

McKenzie Time

Once upon a time, a year ago, McKenzie wanted to decide our whole day every day. "o.k., now let's pretend we're princesses.......o.k., now Mom you say this........let's do this.......Mom, dance like this.......now pretend you're a mermaid....no, like this" (as she lay on the floor flipping her tail - which is difficult to do while holding a baby, by the way). It started to get frustrating because I couldn't do everything she wanted me to do all day, and I absolutely did not enjoy being a puppet. However, I also felt bad saying "McKenzie, not right now; I need to do this" or "Just a minute" all day. This is when the best thought that has popped into my head thus far as a mother came to mind: "McKenzie Time". Each day, after I put the boys down for naps, McKenzie gets my undivided attention to do one thing of her choice (usually lasts around 1/2 hr). Problem solved! Now when she wants to do something that I can't do at the moment, I can say "That sounds fun! Let's do that during McKenzie Time." All positive. It also makes me feel better about having her take a quiet time afterwards. Looking back, we have done so many fun things together that we wouldn't have been able to do as well with young crawly grabby boys. I'm hoping that when she starts going to school, I'll shed a few less tears knowing that we've had 2 solid years of spending one-on-one time together each day. Hopefully Ethan will take naps until her first day of Kindergarten and then we can start "Ethan Time".

Just to give you a little taste of this dedicated part of our day, I documented our last two McKenzie times:

McKenzie Time #1

Ethan and Asher had helped us gather rocks earlier in the day (as you'll see in the following pictures, the term "gather" is used loosely). After the boys went to bed, McKenzie decided to make houses out of the rocks for the bugs. She was very specific about how she wanted each house. The first one was for the ants. It was round with no door. The ants can crawl up the rocks to get in. The second one was round with an opening in the side for the ladybugs. The 3rd was square with a weed propped up just right so that the spiders could crawl up the weed to get into their house.

McKenzie Time #2

Earlier in the day, McKenzie and Ethan were outside riding bikes. I heard a knock on the door and there was McKenzie with flowers for me. She thought I would like "these little, tiny ones" She thought they would make me happy. She thought right. How cute! It made my day. For McKenzie time she decided that she wanted to have a birthday party for the flowers. She told me that they were turning 3.

We made a birthday cake, presents and decorations with construction paper...

Then we got everything ready in her playhouse and she decided to hide.

"SURPRISE!"

Then we partied with the flowers like it was 1999. We blew out the candles, ate cake, and opened gifts....

After the flower's party, McKenzie wanted me to make her a gift. No, it's not a witch. It's a beautiful, dazzling princess doll that McKenzie enjoyed dancing around the table while humming a magical tune.

Then it was my birthday. McKenzie went to the kitchen to make my present while I patiently waited in the party room. Of course, you moms know that I was really frantically surveying my surroundings looking for a comfy spot....if only I had the time and ability to scoot the doll over in the doll crib and squeeze in beside her to take a quick power nap before McKenzie got ba- That thought quickly vanished as McKenzie entered with my prize.

Me: "Oh, I love it! It's what I've always wanted!"

After McKenzie Time was over, I rescued the boys from their rooms and starting getting dinner ready. McKenzie was busy working at the table. I wasn't paying attention to her for awhile...until she showed me what she had made.....

A crown for the princess doll I had made her. How amazing is that? She did this completely by herself. And it fit just right.

My favorite McKenzie Time so far:

One day Jason was home during nap time so McKenzie and I were able to go out on the town together. I had to return some things to the mall. While we were there, she started looking at jewelry. We found two matching whistle necklaces on sale. I bought them for us and now we have a "secret" code. If she blows her whistle it means "I love you". Then I can blow mine back. How fun is that? Except for some reason mine doesn't work. I've searched and searched for a small silver whistle charm that actually whistles. They are hard to come by. If anyone has ideas please share. For now, I have to whistle with my mouth. Lame! :)

We have also:

*Had Piano Lessons. Of course I love when she chooses this one. I only teach her when she requests a lesson on her own free will. She is on page 54 in the lesson book and pg 40 in the writing book of the Piano Adventures Young Beginner books. Fun!

*Played Queens/Servants with blankets over chairs for thrones while communicating in a very precise, and eloquent manner - being sure to use any big words we can think of whether they make sense or not.

*Played princesses that go to a ball

*Played house

*Played doctor

*Played camping

*Played hopscotch with our twister game dots and the small sections of Ethan's train tracks for hoppy taws

*Created masterpieces (rice art, painting, play dough, tissue paper art...)

*Baked together (bread, cookies, dinner, whatever sounds fun to her)

*Sewed her a cape once (You can see it in some of the above pictures. It doubles as a queen's royal robe).

*Played soccer

*wandered around the neighborhood looking for a service project (another time Jason happened to be home during nap time).

I'm in Love

Today is our Anniversary. Six years of wedded bliss. Jason and I were joking that every moment of every day has been blissful. Of course, we are imperfect people with selfish tendencies that try to disrupt that "bliss" every once-in-awhile (and that mostly sneak through when our exhaustion level is high). But, I'm glad we can laugh about our flaws and move forward together. It has been a fabulous adventure so far. And with that said, buckle up. I'm going to share some things that I absolutely adore about Jason - which is a lot.

But first here he is, the man himself, trying to imitate those really cheesy bouquet poses. You know the ones. You've all seen them in your mothers' scrapbooks. (No offense to any mothers out there or to their wedding photographers. I love you all).

1. Jason is very thoughtful. He brings home flowers for me every few months - sometimes for no reason besides that he love me. He is romantic. He thinks of ways to make me happy. When we were dating and/or not dating he wrote poems about me. He started a book last year with his poems in the hopes of writing more for me....maybe when he's not so crazy busy! He usually starts planning my birthday and our special events (we have 3 per year) weeks in advance. He usually surprises me with something we can do together rather than with gifts - which I absolutely love. It takes more effort on his part than just buying me something I want, and it strengthens our relationship - which was why he decided to start that tradition in the first place. In fact, it seems that Mothers day and Fathers day are usually the only times we give eachother wrapped gifts of "things". Very very very thoughtful.

2. Jason makes me feel beautiful. He tells me I'm beautiful often. He tells the kids I'm beautiful and I catch him randomly telling other people that I'm beautiful. I may not be supermodel material. But, I feel like I am to him. In a world that is so centered on beauty and that makes it seem like there is only one type of beauty, I'm grateful that I can feel beautiful - as I am - to the one person in the world that it really matters to me what he thinks concerning it. (wow, that was the most awkwardly contructed sentence!) :)

3. Jason is amazing at what he does. He works very hard and excels. He has some start-up challenges in his job, with getting his school running smoothly (he's a principal). However, I have complete confidence that if anyone can do it - he can. Also, I admire that he wouldn't require anything of the teachers at his school that he wouldn't also require of himself. He has huge amounts of integrity. I love that about him.

4. It really matters to Jason that he is a good father and that he can have a strong relationship with each child. And he is an amazing father! He takes the time to explain things to McKenzie that she is wondering about. When he brings home flowers for me, he always gives one to McKenzie. He took McKenzie on a date last weekend to the movies. He said it was fun because they were the only ones in the theatre so he was able to answer all her questions.

5. Jason talks to me and sometimes sorts things out about his job with me. I love that. He'll invite me on a walk around our house while the kids are in bed and tells me all about what's going on at work. I love knowing what's happening in his world. It helps me understand my need to be supportive and patient while he spends a ton of time at work right now.

6. Jason is organized. I love that because he helps keep the clutter put away. He also indulges with me in my desire to dejunk. One of our favorite past-times is searching through our home for things to get rid of. I love it! Unfortunately, we are running out of things to junk so these moments are becoming fewer and further between. Maybe I should buy some random trashy items and hide them through the house to provide ourselves with a date one night......ooooh good idea! That would be fun!

7. Jason likes to play games with me and he'll play even after beating me in the game a million zillion times. Next time I'm sure I'll win...or the time after that.

8. Jason is optimistically practical. This is good for me because it helps me to go a little easier on myself and others. I tend to feel like I've gotta do something just right or I'm doomed to failure. Jason has some of the same tendencies that I do toward perfectionism and organization and achieving goals. However, he gives himself and others room to do better next time. He's not quite so strict about how you need to go about something or the time frame that it should take to get it done.......hard to explain.....hope that makes sense. Oh, here's a good example for ya. When McKenzie was a baby, there was a moment when I was overwhelmed and judgemental of my ability to be the amazing mother that I always thought would come natural to me. In his practical and kind way, he immediately brought perspective with "O.k., you've only been a mother for 2 weeks. Let's not panic at least until the six week mark!" I'm glad I have him in my life to put the world back in it's place when I think it has turned upside-down. He's such a breath of fresh air during my episodes of "too serious". And, see, now look at the fabulous, amazing, wonderful, mother I have become! ..... right? Right?

*sound of crickets*

So....moving right along to number 9...

9. Jason is such a good time. When we were single, he and his roommates would plan parties - organizing unique fun things to do and invite a bunch of people over. They weren't just hanging out all the time. They put forth effort to make things fun. He still does that. I'm excited for when his school gets running smoothly and we will have more time to spend with people in our neighborhood. It's fun getting together with a group of different personalities to just goof off. It's fun to see Jason in these different settings as well - it feels like we're dating again.

10. Finally, Jason has a testimony of the gospel. He desires to have more time to study and ponder the scriptures and reflect on......whatever it is he wants to reflect on. He helps me achieve family home evening success most weeks and scripture reading with our kids most days (thanks to my panic attack a few weeks ago - see, it's not all bad. It can produce results!) :)

I love you, my LoverMost! You are the greatest! I'm glad I get to spend eternity with you!

Jason showing McKenzie our wedding pictures.

Not only does Jason get me flowers, he arranges them to his liking - meaning he rids the beautiful bouquet of those nasty babies breath things and takes off the petals that don't pass inspection. Yep, he's quite the catch.