Children's Museum

One of the funnest parts of being a kid is playing at the children's museum!  We went to Omaha a few weeks back and spent the day at the children's museum while Jason and I swapped off time in the temple.

It's a smaller museum, but there is still plenty of fun to be had!  Like this awesome topographical map sandbox, baking a birthday cake, and find the buried brother.

I love going to any children's museum because it is such a finite adventure- in 10 years I doubt that one of our kids will find such joy in sorting fruit or dressing up as starfish.  But for this stage in our life, it's pure magic!  It was a perfect way to spend a family Saturday. 

Who's That?

I had a great conversation with Noah the other day about who exactly is in this picture... 

Dat's Noah! 

Then where's Emma?

She's gone!

No, that's Emma.  Noah's right there in mommy's tummy.

Oh!  I'm hiding under mommy's shirt!

Sweet Sleep

There aren't any newborns in our house anymore, but somehow that hasn't increased the number of full-nights-sleep we're getting around here either.

Although, let's be honest, nothing is quite as difficult as the newborn phase.

However!  I can't really remember the last time all six of us slept through the night- no kids insisting that they're just not tired and reading stacks of hidden books under the covers by stolen flashlight, no first weeks-of-school exhaustion that causes meltdowns and tears, no stuffy noses due to seasonal allergies, no bad dreams, no mid-night dispersing of medicine due to high fevers from hand-foot-mouth disease or new molars coming in, no crazy loud thunderstorms, no restless children that insist on sleeping sideways- simultaneously whacking me in the face and kicking Jason in the back- in our bed, no requests for "just snuggling wif you, Mommy"...

It's been a good long while, but I remember what a good night's sleep feels like and I'm confident that one of these days we'll be enjoying it again... I hope!

Biking and Bridges

We've enjoyed a lot of beautiful days as this summer has come to a close.

Except for the days when the storms roll in like this- 

or this- 

But we're well aware that these gorgeous days aren't going to last forever, so we're trying to get outside and enjoy them while we can.  Over Labor Day weekend we (read: Jason) packed up all of the bikes and we set out to cross another item off our Iowa bucket list- riding across the High Trestle Bridge while it's lit up. 

The High Trestle Trail run from Des Moines, through our town, and north for 25 miles.  It culminates with this amazing half-mile refurbished railroad trestle bridge that has been converted into a biking and walking trail.  

We have been here before, but we didn't quite make it to the lighting up of the bridge.  And it was a super windy day with much smaller babies that time around.  

 This time we all hopped onto our bikes and set off to check out the lights- and they didn't disappoint!

Something what we often fail to take into account is the fact that we aren't the only people that might be interested in checking something out, and this particular evening we shared the road with hundreds of bikers that were participating in some kind of race.  We were consistently passed by a steady streak of all kinds of two-three-and four-seater bikes with the cutest teams riding them.  Lots of grandparent-aged bikers that "ooh"-ed and "aww"-ed at our kids (and particularly Emma with her furry jacket and sparkly dress) while we "ooh"-ed and "aww"-ed at their LED-decorated bikes and flashing bracelets and helmets.

Because of all of the traffic, we had to carefully pick our way through the crowd to avoid getting run over.  If there is one thing Jason hates, it's inconveniencing strangers or random passers-by (whereas I could care less if they have to wait a minute or two to let us take a picture in the middle of the bridge), so we quickly took a few pictures and made our way back to our bikes.

Only to then realize that it was getting really dark really fast!  All of those super-lit-up bikers were really on to something, and we were about to really be a hazard in the road with our basically non-visible train of six.

But with the help of Leah's helmet lights and Jason's iphone flashlight we cautiously made our way back to the car and out of the way of all of the super-serious bikers, who had probably biked 25 miles or more to get to the bridge at the exact same moment we wanted to be there.  It was a spectacular sight, and now we'll know to check for local events and races before making our way out there again!

Dial-A-Mommy

I wasn't always this tired...

I sometimes think I should just assign a number to the top nine things I say around here, then call out a number when I need to know something.  If everyone knew the numbers assigned to the statement or question, I wouldn't have to talk nearly as much and things would still get done!  Such as-

1- No more reading.  Go to bed.

2- Have your practiced your music?

3- That's recyclable.

4- Did you flush?

5- Did you pack a lunch?

6- Go turn off the lights.

7- Have you brushed your teeth?

8- What's your after-dinner duty?

9- Who smells?

Motherhood is fantastic, AND it sure is a lot of dish-washing, appointment-making, form-filling, meal-prepping, toilet-unclogging, boo-boo kissing, back-scratching, emotion-decoding, and always wondering if I'm getting any of it right at all.  And while it's exhausting, it makes me happy.

How is that possible?

I read this in The Happiness Project last night, after having said each of the above phrases at least 3 times in the last two hours-

"The happiness of having children falls into the kind of happiness that could be called fog happiness.  Fog is elusive.  Fog surrounds you and transforms the atmosphere, but when you try to examine it, it vanishes.  Fog happiness is the kind of happiness you get from activities that, closely examined, don't really seem to bring much happiness at all- yet somehow they do."

Exactly.

And it's the moments of sunshine that peek through the fog that make it all worth it.  And I have the feeling that by the time the fog has lifted, all I'll really be able to remember is the shining moments anyway.

Now I'm off to make another meal for my little clouds of happiness.

Lucky 13

13 years ago we didn't think we be parents who had four kids in six years.

We didn't think Jason would be living the "field of dreams" dream in the land of corn.

We didn't know much about eternal commitment, compromise, companionship, loyalty, hard work, life-long dreams, or real happiness.

We were just friends, neighbors, students on a "thank you date"- he fixed my car, I thanked him with ice cream.

We didn't really hit it off on our first date there at the Malt Shoppe.  We had a nice conversation, but we both thought the date would be our first and last one.

I'm glad we were both wrong.

We've had lots and lots of nice conversations since that first one.  And given that we've been together 13 years now, I'd be lying if I didn't say we've had some not-so-nice ones, too.  But our relationship is officially the age of a moody teenager now, so I guess that's to be expected.

A bad day here and there doesn't mean that we're in trouble.  It just means life is long and we're in it for the good and the bad.

Happy Famiversary to us!

Back to Preschool

Despite spending a delightful summer mostly in her nightgown, Emma was more than ready to go back to preschool when her chance finally came.  She kept asking if it was time to go, then told me not to wait at the stop signs and lights along the way because she was "going to be late!  And they probably already started playing without me!"

But we got there in plenty of time to take a picture of her choice- with a bushy beard-

 and of my choice- I love that sweet smile!

 Preschool is old news for Emma this year, and I think she likes it just fine that way.  She marched right in, hung up her backpack, hugged her teachers, 

 and settled in to play with some of her favorite preschool friends Leah and Lexie.

 After a quick puppet show, 

 and some fancy-ing up, 

it was time for us to part ways for a bit- me to a parents meeting and Emma off to have fun!  And just a little while later she was done and ready to tell me all about the "super huge fun" that she had, how great it was to be back with her friends, and the changes that were made to the classroom over the summer.  Then she ate a huge lunch, took a long nap, and told me she's ready to go back again!  We both love preschool!  Here's to a long and happy year of cutting, coloring, crafting, and snacking galore.

Starting Off Right

As the years goes by, I'm learning that teachers don't expect a lot of interaction from parents.  Older kids are capable of more than the little ones, sure, but when I offered to help in Leah's 4th grade classroom her teacher suggested I check with the library to see if they need any volunteers.  Ha!  Although if that's what it takes to get into the school, I'll do it!

I've given myself permission to not be a homeroom parent this year- that was a tricky balance with my Relief Society calling last year and there are always eager parents who want to help out with party planning.  I always pictured myself as a PTO kind of parent, but this year I'm giving myself a little grace.  I've got at least nine more years of elementary school ahead of me, so I think that if I don't do it all this year, that will be okay.

In the meantime, I've been trying to make myself known (in a friendly and helpful way) to both Leah and Adam's teachers.  This was a response from Adam's teacher last week.

Thank you for the note! It's great to know that my emails are appreciated and I am thrilled to know that Adam is talking about school! He is such a great child....he is always doing what is right, working his best, sharing his thinking, being attentive, and he has a great attitude!  Could a teacher ask for a better student? 

Which hopefully means there isn't a lot of this going on during class time- 

Be still my mother heart, though.  I always love those little confirmations that huge decisions (like waiting an extra year for kindergarten) were the right ones for us.  

And given that Emma is going into the second hour of her afternoon nap as I type this, I'd dare say we made the right decision about her as well.  

Running Down the Hill

 And up... and down... and up again.

 Then over the bridge and back again. 

And conquering the mountain. 

 And scaling the wall.

All the things that make childhood great.

Saturday is a Special Day...

...it's the day three of the four kids wake up even earlier than they do on school days.