Steve...the Surprising Sweetheart

Our 10 year anniversary was last week and I was under the impression we were going to just have a nice dinner out...without the kids. Steve, who is not known for surprises (understatement), surprised me with a four day trip to Seattle. He sent me a really sweet e-mail, and told me he had flights and babysitting all arranged but he needed my help with renting a car, booking hotels and planning our activities! It's not that he isn't capable of doing those things, he just knows how good I am at it!

We had a fabulous time just being together and doing all the typical Seattle tourist things. We spent an evening down at the pier, went to pike's market (and drooled over the beautiful and CHEAP fresh flowers), visited Snoqualmie Falls, went to the music and science fiction museums, ate good food and shopped. Steve felt bad about the timing in regards to shopping...being this pregnant only allowed me to shop for my kids and my feet!

By the last day we were really missing the kids, especially Steve, and were really excited to come home to them. However, within about 30 minutes of being home, without the expected greeting from either of them, we wondered why we missed them so much! Sophie was beyond tired when we got home, which equals whiney, and Maxwell was playing x-box with his cousin, which equals zoned out! Even though we had just had a 4 day break from the kids we still managed to be exhausted and relieved when they went to bed that evening!

I won't go into all the mushy details about how much and why I love my husband, I'll just leave it at...I truly couldn't have married anyone else. He is perfect for me. And all of you who know him well, or even just know him, know exactly what I am talking about.

First Day of School

I have no idea why my kids are such posers, seeing as I just learned how to camera smile less than a year ago at the ripe old age of 33!

Don't you love it when their backpack is over half the size of their body. It is even more comical when they come home with one lone piece of paper in it!

Isn't it Ironic?

This is a picture Maxwell drew during primary a few weeks ago. Obviously the lesson was about being kind because it says "I can be kind" at the top of the paper. What's so kind about a tank and a man with a machine gun shooting at each other? That's my sweet little boy! By the way, art is not one of Maxwell's gifts, but just for the record, he was drawing with his left hand because the right one was in a cast.

Cousins are the Best!!

I have lots of cousins, several of whom are some of my dearest friends. I am so grateful that my kids have lots of cousins, and am sure they will be dear friends as well. I didn’t get to live by cousins after we moved to Kansas in 3rd grade, so a I am also grateful we get to live so close to cousins – the closest being a 5 minute bike ride!! Here are a few recent excursions with cousins.

While the dads and older cousins were away on a week long backpacking trip, the rest of us partied in Sun Valley.

Not a bad plan would you say?

Emily (6) became Sophie's favorite buddy and caretaker.

I think we have a future babysitter fast approaching.

Maxwell and Elle boating at Lake Cascade.

Elle is such a sweetheart.

I have a feeling Maxwell will be dating her friends in 10 years!!

Sophie and Sicily at a condo in beautiful Donnelly, Idaho.

These two cuties play so well together.

I have a feeling they will be dating the same boys in 13 years!!

Stay off the Sidewalks!!

For my Mom's birthday we all gave her a new scooter...yes, it's street legal...so watch out. Actually, she is one of the most annoyingly cautious drivers I know, so I'm not worried about her driving, I'm just worried about the drivers around her. She bought a bright yellow hunting vest to wear so she will be ultra visible to other drivers. I had so much fun picking this retro looking scooter out for her. I almost picked a bubble-gum pink color, but my Dad vetoed that choice just in case he ever took it out for a spin. Picture a 60 year old, 200+ pound man in dockers and a dress shirt on a pink retro scooter. How's that for a hilarious mental picture? Anyway, after practicing in parking lots for a few days, and getting licensed, she now drives this scooter quite often, and gets up to speeds of nearly 50. It actually will go a bit faster, but even I think that is kind of scary. No more gas guzzling beater Cadillac for her, at least for the summer.

What's cooler...broken arm or missing teeth?

Maxwell broke his arm about three weeks ago and has a bright orange cast (his choice) for all to see. Of course the cast prompts lots of people, old and young, friends and strangers, to ask what happened to his arm. He says, "I broke my radius". How cute and accurate is that? When they want to know more, like how it happened, which is what they were wondering to begin with, I have heard Max say several times, "Hey, do you want to see something really awesome? Look at my missing teeth (there are now two)!" Since when are missing teeth more awesome than a broken arm?

What I've learned this summer

I've learned that when a 3 year old, really smart and independent little girl is not yet potty-trained, forcing the issue doesn't work. I also learned that when that really smart and independent 3 year old decides she's ready to go on the big girl potty two weeks after Mom's miserable failure, she can go all by herself without ANY help (including wiping and accompanying her in public restroom stalls). Yea for smart and independent 3 year olds!

I have also learned that when your 6 year old breaks his arm playing Indiana Jones on Grandma Smith's rope swing, it is not necessary to rush him to the ER at 10 pm because the orthopedic surgeon on call will not want to come in at that hour so the ER doctor will try to reset it but will completely fail, and then the orthopedic surgeon will have to reset it the next day at a surgery center resulting in two hospital bills. Next time we are using Dr. Steve Payne's prescribing ability to drug our kid for the night and will then take him to the specialist in the morning.

I have also learned that camping is more fun than I remember. Especially when the kids have their favorite playmates (their cousins) as camping partners. Having playmates for the kids allows the parents to actually relax occasionally. I also re-learned that I should bring sleeping pills with me when I go camping because even though I'm a really brave and strong woman (!!) any sound outside the tent is a big hungry bear!