Science Camp

Because it was a real highlight of the summer, here are a few more pictures of science camp.  The big three went while Noah and I enjoyed a peaceful naptime every day for a week.

Elephant toothpaste, magnetic slime, suncatchers, popsicle stick chain reactions, rockets, pop bottle explosions, dry ice bubbles, and so much more... science camp is basically all of the fascinating experiements I see on Pinterest that I don't have the supplies or haven't dedicated the time to do with my kids, all wrapped up into one super fun week of learning. 

It's the best!

Secret Language

I'm sure every family has their own language that makes no sense to outsiders.   Here are some of the staples in our family's secret language.

Truthing- are you telling the truth?

YATG- borrowed from Jason's childhood, it stands for You Are The Greatest.

Budging- Cutting in line.  This is an Iowa-ism.

Scratchback- an essential part to the bedtime routine.

Snuggy- a cross between comfortable and snuggled up.

Grandpa Mark- means you've taken something that someone else just asked for, most likely the Mercy cup. (No offense to Grandpa Mark!  True or not, this one just stuck.)

Mercy cup- the 32 oz. plastic jug from the Mercy Hospital that gets filled up with water and drained at least 5 times a day.

Nefi- you're looking at your phone at the table.  A cardinal sin that originated with a sister-in-law's ex-boyfriend, who couldn't bother to excuse himself from the table while carrying on a conversation on his phone.

Ham! Ham! Ham!  It's what you do with a hammer.

Eye dabber- when you need a towel because you're getting your hair washed and water gets in your eyes.

Scream time- what Noah calls screen time.

Lowing the mown- what Daddy does every week.

Closet of doom- the closet that never, ever stay clean, no matter how often I clean it.  Contains church bags, craft supplies, reusable bags, play-doh, moon sand, hexbugs, and anything else that will be used in the near future, such as glow sticks or car ride activities.

Voldemort- the front hall cupboard/bookshelf/side table.  We just couldn't figure out what to call it, so it became that thing which cannot be named.

Bobs butt- Any reference to ladybugs.  I don't know why.

Buttchkins- Any reference to a tooshy.  I also don't know why.

  Here's to speaking our own secret language!

(Also, how was this picture only taken 6 months ago?  Look at those tiny babies!)

A Fabulous Fourth

We may have found ourselves a favorite new 4th of July tradition.  We joined up with friends to attend the Des Moines Symphony's Yankee Doodle Pops concert on the lawn of the state capital building.  We got there plenty early, snagged as many friends as we could as they texted or walked by, and ended up sharing the evening with about 30 of our friends, and another 100,00 people or so.  

 We had plenty of food, activities and friends to keep us busy until the sun finally started to set and the music started.

Then we enjoyed an hour of favorite Yankee Doodle Pops, including a fabulous crooner who sang "That's America to Me", "I'm Proud to be an American", "New York, New York", and "God Bless America".  I have several happy childhood memories of the Army band playing patriotic songs like "The Stars and Stripes Forever", Yankee Doodle" and "The Armed Forces Salute", and I'm glad that now my children do too.  There is nothing more patriotic than watching grandpas all over the lawn of the state capitol stand and salute as their song is played and everyone around them cheers and hollers and waves at them.

 And the fireworks were terrific!  We even saw smiley faces and hearts, and the finale seemed to go on forever.

Noah was terrified by the cannons that were shot off during Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (we all were surprised- they were really close and really loud and really smoky- hence the cloudy picture up there) but once he had these headphones on he was all smiles and giggles about the beautiful fireworks display.  It was such a fun night for all of us.

 And it only took us 21 minutes to get out of the parking lot.  Not bad for such a huge crowd. 

The next day- the 4th- we attended the annual church baconfest breakfast, enjoyed a delicious spread of favorite 4th foods with friends, lit sparklers, and then came home to our own personal fireworks show all around us.  We stayed out past 10 watching the fireworks and playing with glow sticks and all around just feeling very grateful for this amazing country that we live in.  

 

Isms

Noah, while weaving a web of string around the house to use as a laser obstacle course-

Mommy!  You didn't break our lasers and Adam didn't break our lasers and Emma and Leah didn't break our lasers... so... I think I broke da lasers.

*****

Noah, while crying- Where are my sadness drops?  Where are my sadness drops?

M- Your tears?

N- Oh, yeah, my tears.  Where are my tears??  (Starts crying even louder.)

*****

Before walking into a store, I gave the kids the usual lecture- 

M- Be on your best behavior- no goombas!  (My parents name for rowdy children)

N- But Mama, I didn't bring any goombas!

*****

After a long and busy weekend, we had a wide open day to spend at home- 

M- Guess what we're doing today?  Nothing!  We get to stay at home and enjoy being a family.

N- Yay!  I love doing nothing!!

*****

Emma has a fluffy white coat that she loves to wear, even in the dead of summer.  It was discarded on the bathroom floor last week.  Noah walked into the dark bathroom and hesitated.

N- What is that?!!  (He's a total and complete scaredy cat lately.)

I turned on the light. 

N- Oh!  It's Emma's coat!  I thought it was an elephant sleeping on the floor.... a baby elephant.

Of course.  It just wouldn't make sense to find a full-sized elephant in the bathroom.

Sunday Musings

It's amazing how quickly we move from one phase of life to the next.

I still remember this day from 2013 with complete clarity.  I had a brand-new, very needy fourth baby, a barely turned two-year old Emma, a brand new house, a busy with his new calling and his new job husband, and man alive I couldn't believe how cold it was in the wintertime in Iowa.  We were headed to church and I just gave up on actually getting inside the building, opting to sit in the warm car and punch out this blog post that I never published instead.  So while it's nearly 4 years old, it's a peek into our lives that I don't want to forget.

Jason has been called to serve as the Elders Quorum President. For the fourth time. Meetings- ugh. Blessings- yay.

It snowed last night. It takes me twice as long to get the kids geared up and out the door as it does for them to trek around in the snow.

I'm sitting in the car again.  It's 18 degrees out this time.  Emma fell asleep on the way to church, and even our Christmas Sunday sacrament meeting can't trump her need to catch up on sleep.  Plus Noah needed to nurse, and now he's got a full belly and an even fuller diaper. And Jason took the diaper bag.  And there is snow and slush and ice all over the parking lot, and I'm wearing those darn gray heels again (the ones I swear I will never wear again every time I put them on).

Sometimes I wonder why I try.  Why do I bother dressing my kids up in their church clothes when they would so much rather hang out in their pajamas all day? Why do I bother getting dressed myself, only to spend half of church in the car and the the half in the mothers lounge?  Why do I put any effort into meals? My family loves frozen taquitos, and so do I!  Why bother with the laundry when it just has to be done again and again and again? 

If these sound like the musings of a slightly overwhelmed, sleep-deprived, wishing she could do the work of 20 women mother, that's because that is exactly what they are. 

That's all I wrote before Emma woke up and the three of us trudged into the chapel, snatched up the diaper bag and relocated to the mother's lounge.

That seems so long ago.

Nowadays, I still go to church by myself.  But my kids can help each other with brushing their hair, buttoning their buttons, and finding their shoes, even with getting breakfast ready while I finish getting ready upstairs.

They can all articulate their needs.  They can pitch in and help out and take care of themselves and their things.

I can leave my kids at home while I run one of them to their activity, or while I run to the store.  I can count on consistent naps.

I look forward to the conversations that I get to have with them when they come home from school, or from church activities or from a party.  They can be really great company.

And, judging from the lessons learned from this hidden post, some of the things that I love most- and some the things that drive me just a tad crazy- about them are going to disappear in just a few short years.

Like the way they still get up in the night to tell me about their fears and dreams and try to snuggle into our bed.

Or the way some of them still require assistance in the bathroom.

The way they ask permission before leaving the house, or eating any food, or turning on a screen.

The silly plays they perform, and the endless rounds of songs they all sing.  They love harmonizing, which always cracks me up.

Playing with dinosaurs in the sandbox.

The hours and hours dedicated to Legos, and the complex worlds they create.

That they all request a "scratch back" every night.  I'll never stop tucking them in.

The way I can scoop the little ones up to hug and kiss and tickle them.  Leah comes up to my eyes now, and Adam's not too far behind.

The arguments over dinner.  Just how many bites constitutes a fair attempt at trying something new and scary like beef.

It's always changing, but it seems like the years have really been flying lately.  But I keep holding onto them as best I can!

A Visionary Artist

This year's trip to the Des Moines Art Festival was made extra special because Adam's art was selected to be part of the Visionary Artists exhibit!

 He got to walk across the stage, shake a few hands,

and sport a very fancy artist medal while we checked out the festival.  It was such a fun way to kick off the day!  All of our kids love art, and it was fun to hear them debate over who would be selected to participate next year.

 I asked a woman to take our picture with all of the big buildings in the background.  I guess that one is pretty big...

Oh well.  Look at that cute family!  Everyone is getting so tall.  

Then off we went to check out all that the festival has to offer.

 The kids would have happily spent the whole afternoon playing dress-ups in the performing arts booth.

That green screen transported the kids into these classic paintings that are now titled

"The Grumpy Family"

"Mona Lisa's Biggest Fan"

and "Hear No Evil, See No Evil."

Adam's picture didn't transfer, which was a real bummer.  But still, he was the only one to come home with a medal.  Once we had hit up our favorite booths- spin art, dog toy braiding, dress ups, and storybook makers- we got sucked into the looooong line for face painting.  Actually, I stood in line while Jason and the kids finished checking out the rest of the kids area, and they swooped back over with their requests (after 45 minutes in line).  They'd tell you it was worth it!  

Except for Noah, who had zero interest in getting his cute face painted.

 This is my favorite sculpture in downtown Des Moines.  

 Let's flash back to the first time we visited this sculpture, back in 2013.  Noah was still five months away from birth in this picture.

 And we all talked about this very stream, where in a previous year we had a painful teaching moment about gratitude and forgiveness and all of the other life lessons that parents help children learn.  Those darn balloons.

Summer Sometimes

Some nights are perfect for playing baseball with friends. 

Some science camp experiments are extra fun (and messy).

Sometimes the clouds look like cotton balls.

Sometimes they look like doom and gloom.

Sometimes I wonder why I spend money on swim lessons for my little ones. 

 Sometimes we skip swim lessons to see jugglers.

Some days we can't decide which activity to do first. 

 Some days are perfect for outside forts. 

 One time I sat by the pool by myself. 

Most of the time I wonder why summer is flying by so fast.