Giving Credit

It is far too easy to make fun of Iowa.  It's Iowa!  I don't expect there to be a ton of fun things to do around here, but since we've been back, we've found plenty to keep us busy.  Good thing, too, because the corn that brought Jason (and the rest of us) here in the first place is keeping him busy for 12 hours a day.  We need to keep busy to keep from going crazy!  This week we found...

 A forest!  With green trees and dirt paths and a crazy big rope swing-

 and frogs-

and rocks to climb all over with our big muscles!

 Ooh! And Jason was there, which means I was in a picture... "Do you have to take my picture?"  and do I have to put my hand on my stomach like that?  Apparently yes, and yes.

 Emma says she has a baby in her tummy, too whose name is Baby.

We also found 50 cent rides on the wooden carousel in the park-

Screaming fast trips down the rocket slide-

Shopping trips at the nearby grocery store (the kids absolutely love the mini carts, and are quick to pick up Lucky Charms and chocolate donuts, but quick to put them back, too)

And today we discovered another lake- this one with a wooden park!

and a sandy beach!

And a place to rent boats- we'll be visiting here again soon.

We've also been busy with swim lessons, which includes time at the splash pad and the library.

Daily visits to the house are a must, and we are getting to know the many young families in our church and neighborhood.  And when that all is not enough (or too much), the kids are happy to stay home and play with each other.  We have lots to look forward to in August- the state fair, baseball games, an overnighter for Mom and Dad, moving into our house, and a trip to Mount Rushmore... we are not ready for summer to come to an end!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Man!

 Four years old!  It seems just about right. Adam is ready to start preschool, confident in the swimming pool (with his swim ring around him) and looking forward to having a little brother join our family soon.  He is so social- he always makes new friends at the playground and can strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere.  Like the one in a hotel elevator in Nebraska on our way home in which he informed the other riders that he was headed to Iowa to visit his dad, or the one in the apartment parking lot the other day.

"Hi!" he said to a 20-something guy carrying a stack of boxes. "My mom told me that someone new is moving in here and that's why the door is propped open and is it you??"

Guy- "Yep, it's me."

And then I got to make small talk with the guy for a few more minutes while Adam and his sisters skipped off to the pool.  Adam has a great ability of talk to anyone.  He will be a wonderful missionary one day.  He often muses about heaven, and randomly says things like "Mom, if I still lived in heaven, I would punch Satan in the nose." or, while playing with Oobleck, "When I go to heaven, I will show Him my slimy fingers!"  He also informed me the other day that, "I wish we had a Jack-in-the-Beanstock!"  He meant a Jack-in-the-Box...

We had just returned from our 7-week vacation when his birthday rolled around this year, so we gave him two family-oriented options: bowling or Chuck E. Cheeses.  He went with Chuck E. and we had a great time!  Although it was very different from my usual birthday parties, it was very nice to have something so low-key, especially right after returning from a vacation.  Even the cake was simple- no staying up past midnight this year!

As the only Chuck-E-Cheese-birthday-party-veteran in our family, Leah informed Adam that he got to take a turn in the ticket blaster as the birthday boy.  I'm not sure how much he loved it, but I laughed so hard at the sight of Adam and Jason squished in there together.

We ate lots of pizza, played a ton of games, and enjoyed the cake, ice cream and birthday show with Chuck E. himself.  Adam was so polite through the whole thing.  We had a birthday attendant that kept checking in on us and moving the party along.  Every time she asked Adam a question (Are you ready for cake? Do you want to meet Chuck E.?) Adam would turn to me for clarification.  "Am I ready for cake? Do I want to meet Chuck E.?"... until she started asking about the ticket blaster.  

He was leisurely enjoying his birthday cake and was in no hurry to move on from it (he is a sloooow eater, just like his mama).  Every time she came to ask if he was ready for it, he would say, "Ummm, maybe in a minute" or "I just need a few more minutes."  It was pretty hilarious.

All in all, it was a very fun birthday party.  And the best part was, we got to celebrate our Mr. Man!  He is such a delight in our family- so full of energy, happiness, and love.  He runs up to me several times every day just to give me a big hug or a fish-lips kiss.  He often says, "Mommy.... I just... love you!"  He tells me when he grows up he wants to marry me.  I just say okay.  I know one day he won't feel that way anymore.

And, because I will probably always associate his scar with his birthday (he got it just a week before his third birthday) I have to comment that his scar is looking pretty darn good these days.  Much better than this, anyway.  And he is fond of it- he still calls it his "upside-down-red-only-rainbow scar".  I'm glad someone likes it- Jason and I rank it among our top three "mistakes we'd correct if we could go back and do it again" right up there with the hot water on Emma's face and pretty much the entirety of our first home-buying experience.  So many lessons learned.  

I was chatting with a friend today about the terrible twos, and I was thrilled to realize just how very far removed we are from these days, too.  It was a good reminder of how quickly the phases- good and bad- fly by.  Adam is really growing up, and I'm so grateful that we get to go along for the ride!  Happy Birthday, Mr. Man!

Back to Life and A House Update

We are getting closer! It was very nice for me to not be in Iowa for the last 6 weeks- to not even have the option of driving by the house and seeing the progress (or lack thereof) on it. Jason sent me frequent updates, and that was enough for me. We had a few FaceTime sessions with the electrician and the faucet guy, and I loved getting tours of the house as the rooms slowly began to take shape.

Now we are back and anxious as ever to get into the house! We were last told that we'd be closing on August 9th, but it seems that would take a miracle to pull off. Leah's first day of first grade is August 15th, and I would just love for her to get to walk to school on her first day.

We have selected paint colors, fixtures, bought our first washer and dryer, and met our soon-to-be neighbors. There is still a lot of work to be done, but by and large, we aren't the ones doing it. All we can do is continue to wait.

While we're waiting, and knowing that we're getting closer to the end, I'm trying really hard to find joy in apartment living while I can. 

There is a small but perfectly nice pool at our apartment complex. It has been a fun way to spend the hot afternoons.

I love that we only pay a fraction of the utilities that are required of us when running a house.  I like being able to keep our whole apartment so clean with so little effort. I like having so much of our stuff boxed up. It has been a good reminder of how much we really need to get by. Not much. However, it's the space, not so much the stuff that I find myself missing most of all. And a garage. Boy, I am counting down the days until I can bring groceries into the house without loading up and climbing 18 stairs to my kitchen again. 

We ran into some of our new neighbors last week and were invited to a neighborhood BBQ for the Ankeny Days fireworks display.  

We got to meet about a dozen or so of the families that are surrounding us, including a few that we already knew of from Leah's few weeks here in kindergarten.  There are so many kids the age of each of our kids. I'm especially excited about our back-door neighbors, whose 4-year old boy will be in the same preschool class as Adam, and the nearby family whose mom is a teacher at the elementary school. They will make great walking buddies for Leah on the days the other 4 of us don't make it out the door in time.

There is a labor and delivery nurse who works at the hospital I'll be delivering at in October. We got great information about landscaping, dance companies, pair colors and nearby churches (many people here attend whichever church is closest to the neighborhood).  

There is a pretty even mix of working and SAHMs, and I did observe that no one has more than 3 kids. 

The more kids we have, I suppose, the less common our family size will be. I feel like we need to be extra clean, polite, and kind so we don't end up being labeled 'that huge family with the crazy kids and the screaming mom'.  And really, our family is not even that big...

But we loved our first introduction to the neighborhood. It continues to feel like the right place for us to be- if we could just get there already!

(The pictures that aren't of the house are of our trip to the Ankeny Days fair and just life.)

Week 6- The Final Fun

Our last week in Utah was just like the ones before it- packed with fun! We started off with a weekend visit from Grandma Morales and Emily. The kids loved playing with the dogs and splashing through a creek near Auntie Sarah's house. And I loved the adult conversation while Uncle Matt wrestled with the kids- they sure have missed their Daddy!

The next day we met up at the dinosaur museum, which was a nice cool alternative to playing out in the 100 degree heat. 

We met up with the aunties for dinner in Provo, followed by a generous soak in the splash pad, ice cream cones and a ride on the carousel. 

It was so nice to see them again, and we went home exhausted- some more so than others.

The next morning we were back to Thanksgiving Point, this time at the Children's Garden. 

There was so much to explore.

The grown-ups also went to Thanksgiving Point to see the Utah Symphony and some fireworks. I loved these larger-than-life bronze sculptures of Christ.

And before we knew it, it was time to celebrate Independence Day!  We braved the crowds in Provo at the Freedom Festival. 

 Thanks to our sweet Indiana friends that have moved there we had great seats with no fuss at all.

Emma reminded me so much of Leah at this age-not about to smile until she fully understood what was going on around her.

Adam, as usual, loved it all and wanted to make friends with everyone around him.

This picture makes me think not much has changed with Leah... 

My parade-loving dad went with us and was even brave enough to take the kids on the 'berry-go-round' at the festival. I love using pregnancy and picture-taking as an excuse to not have to go on those rides anymore. 

We spent the afternoon in the pool at my parents house 

and that night at my sister's house, setting off fireworks, eating tasty food and visiting into the night.

If Jason had been there, the night would have been perfect. Still, we had a great time celebrating the Fourth.

The last few days of our trip were filled with more visits with friends, a shopping trip or two and lots of playing with cousins.

A few days before we left, Leah commended to me that "It's almost like you and Daddy are divorced.... you know, because he's in Iowa and we're here."  I replied quite emphatically that divorced people don't like each other and Daddy and I like being together very much, then listed off all of the ways that we stayed close during our time apart- nightly phone calls, daily texting conversations, letters in the mail, updating the blog AND a surprise visit in the middle of our trip... but by then she had moved on.  Clearly, it was just time to get our family back to some semblance of normal.

When it was time to pile into the car to make the two-day trek home, we were all ready! We made the trip rather uneventfully, thanks to my mom's amazing driving skills and the kids eagerness to get back to their daddy.  Before we knew it, we were back to life in Iowa again.  So glad to be back with Jason, but also so grateful for the wonderful time we had in Utah this summer!  I'm grateful to my parents for putting up with our noise and messes and for my siblings, in-laws, and friends that made so many efforts to visit with us and help us make so many wonderful memories.  It was a perfect summer vacation.