Wallace Words of Wisdom

A Boy and His Big Boy Toys

2010-03-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday a friend from church came over with a treasure of "boy toys" found within the confines of a very large plastic container. She had been cleaning out everything her 14-year-old son had outgrown, and came to church with the mission of sharing the love. She announced in our Relief Society meeting that she had some clothes as well as some transformer-type toys, Legos, and other toys that a 14-year-old no longer needs or wants and wondered if anyone was interested. My ears perked up when I heard "transformer" because Ben has been talking about Transformers for weeks. I told her we'd take a few. Well, she came over to the house when I was at choir practice and brought her son's treasures for Brad and Ben to see. Wouldn't you know it, we ended up with the entire container! Ben was ecstatic.

There were so many toys that I said, "Hey Ben, now you don't need any birthday presents." I full expected him to disagree, but he didn't. He enthusiastically said, "I know!" He is also blessing his Transformers in his prayers - guess he is exceptionally thankful for this little gift from Heaven!

Ben has spent hours playing with the transformers and other goodies found in the box. The bonus goodies included a container full of little cars and a bunch of "guys". A few months ago Grandma Judy bought Ben some "guys" with little guy guns, and Ben has loved laying with them. He was very excited to get some new guys to add to his collection - especially the Star Wars guys - I guess because we have nothing Star Wars in this house.

I find it fascinating that Ben knows all about Transformers and Star Wars and other "big boy" toys when these are never a topic of discussion in our house. Somehow he is getting his boy education despite being surrounded by girls every day of his life. He did mention that he needed to show Jack and Morgan (boys of dear friends Rod & Lesli) his Transformers and Star Wars guys. In fact, he has mentioned it multiple times, so I am quite certain that he can't wait for Jack & Morgan to see his new collection of big boy toys. In the eyes of this almost four-year-old those two big six-year-olds know all the ins and outs of the world of big boy toys.

And just a side note about the life of Ben these days . . . this post could have also been titled "Pajama Boy" because he refuses to put on clothes! He wants to wear pajamas all. day. long. - thus all these pictures in pjs. If I ask him to get dressed because we are leaving the house, he grudgingly will do so (usually), but the minute we are home he runs upstairs and puts his pajamas back on. I'm hoping it's just a stage . . .

Valentine's Festivities

2010-02-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

*Sigh* I am missing those days when all my girls sat at the kitchen table a few days before Valentine's Day and made beautiful valentine cards to give to all their classmates. (Now that I think about it, I guess they all did it last year, but it seems like so long ago). This year Lacey was the only one who made valentines for the friends in her class. I found a cool kit for making "stained glass" valentines out of craft foam and tissue paper that we used for her valentines this year. Lacey was a regular pro at putting these lovelies together.

Madi did make ONE homemade valentine for her friend Nate, which she delivered via the ring-and-run approach. It added some excitement to a typical tax-season evening around here. The kids and I all hopped in the car and drove the 3 minutes it took to get to Nate's house. Madi insisted that Katie be her partner in crime and Katie graciously agreed. On the way, Madi made little rolls of tape and stuck them on Katie's arm so they could quickly pull the tape off Katie's arm and stick the paper hearts and the valentine on Nate's front door in about 30 seconds flat. Before they left the car, they had a mega-stack of construction paper hearts to stick on Nate's front door. When they got back to the car (30 seconds later - it could have even been 20 seconds), they still had half of a mega-stack of hearts because they were too chicken to stick the rest on the door. Are you kidding? You didn't use all those hearts?

Don't you remember what I went through to get the paper to make those hearts? I had about 20 minutes to buy the construction paper and get home so that we could maneuver this ring-and-run before it got too late. So there I was, 2 days before Valentine's Day, in search of RED construction paper to make the hearts. This was no easy task. I had searched a couple of stores earlier in the day with no luck at all. It must have been meant to be, because in my last-stitch effort to find this hot commodity, I hit the jackpot and bought the last dilapidated stack of red construction paper in Michael's. I did a little dance on the way out :)

Anyway - back to the ring-and-run . . . After the girls got back in the car and we sped away, Madi said "Katie, you did ring the doorbell didn't you." Katie - "I think so but I don't know for sure!" Madi - "mom, we have to drive back by to make sure Nate got his valentine." Mom - "wait - we're almost home, besides, the criminal never returns to the scene of the crime - what if we get caught?" One U-turn later . . . we're headed back to Nate's house and drive through the neighbor a "different" way so that, just in case they're looking up and down the street, they won't see us. Good news - we successfully drove past their front door without getting caught (even though Nate knew who the valentine was from because Madi signed it) and the hearts were all still on the door, but the valentine was gone. Mission accomplished!

A couple days later . . . Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, and though I was sorely disappointed to not be at the cabin celebrating President's Day weekend playing in the snow like we did last year, I decided I still wanted to make our traditional "fancy" dinner to celebrate the occasion for our little family and my parents. The past 2 years I have made an almost completely "red" dinner. I wanted to do that again, but I wasn't in the mood for pasta, which is about the only main dish I could think of that's red - although as I'm typing this, I could have done BBQ chicken. Anyway - BJs Restaurant has the awesome chicken dish and I found a copycat recipe online and decided to try it for our dinner (if you're curious, the chicken is pounded flat, breaded in Japanese bread crumbs and flour and pan fried in a little bit of olive oil. It is covered with a lemon wine sauce and garnished with sun-dried tomatoes - my red!). I spent the entire afternoon working on our dinner. I was tired, and in the end, the sauce for the chicken didn't turn out and I was more than bummed (this after the fresh strawberry frosting for the mini pink cupcakes didn't turn out like I wanted it too, either - ahhhhh!) I blamed it all on too many cooks in the kitchen (Brad, Madi, & I) and not just too many cooks, but 3 oldest-children cooks, who all would have liked to have been in charge. I was grumpy and disappointed, I will admit! All in all, the chicken was really good, even without the sauce and the cheese sauce for the broccoli tasted pretty good on the chicken (as did the homemade dijon mustard, lemon vinaigrette salad dressing). Regardless, I was so bummed I didn't even take a picture of our dinner. What a pouty-face I was! So our dinner wasn't entirely red, but the "red" for the evening included red jello, a red berry fruit salad, the sun-dried tomatoes, cherry 7-up, and grape tomatoes in the salad.

On the upside . . .

And our table looked really pretty

The kids had fun decorating our giant heart sugar cookie

and they were all happy to get a valentine present from mom and dad (note the hearts on the wall - these are part of the leftover mega-stack of hearts that never got taped to Nate's front door.)

. . . and I didn't take a picture of my beloved valentine and I that night because, sadly, we were annoyed with each other :(. Good thing we love each other so much! It's makes the occasional annoyances pretty insignificant.

And I'm just going to throw in the following picture, even though it has nothing to do with our Valentine's Day festivities . . . but just because it's so pretty . . . at Christmas our neighbors gave us a kit to grow an amaryllis. The kit sat on the counter, unopened for at least 3 weeks - maybe a month. I finally decided to open it up and give it a try. I tossed the dirt in the pretty chrome pot, stuck in the bulb, gave it lots of water and left it alone - took me all of 5 minutes. This is what we have a month later - isn't it beautiful?

The best of friends

2010-02-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

When you're 14 years old . . .

Who can you text or chat with on Facebook for hours?

Who do you like to walk with from the church seminary building to to the school every morning at 6:50 am?

Who do you carpool with so you get a few extra minutes to laugh and giggle and tease each other?

Who do you like to hang out with at your house so you can play Wii, watch Psyche, take silly pictures on PhotoBooth, listen to music, and talk?

Whose family do you want to sit behind in church every Sunday?

Who do you walk with hand-in-hand on the way to your pick-up-point after school (thinking that your mom won't notice the hand holding)?

Who do you make a giant Valentine for then go nervously and secretly "heart attack" his front door?

Who makes you feel like you are truly an AMAZING girl (other than your parents)?

Why - your best friend, of course!!

Madi even decided to take down ALL of her David Archuleta in honor of her best friend. She decided the real thing is much better than the imagined one! Someone's really going to miss her best friend, otherwise known as N8 the GR8, when he moves to Texas in a few weeks!

Birthday Month Again

2010-01-31T12:39:00.000-08:00

Isn't it kind of strange how so many families end up with one month that has more birthdays than any other in the year? In the Wallace family it is November and in the Zobrist family - it's January. Of course, the fact that five out of six of my parents kids were all born in January has a lot to do with that! Every year as soon as we say good-bye to Christmas we say hello to birthday presents, cake, and non-stop celebrations. Frankly, I am "birthday-caked" out! We started the month with a family pot-luck and birthday cake to celebrate everyone's (who lives in town) big day in January. Sadly, whoever ordered the cake forgot to include Brad's name. I added it, but I guess the picture was taken before. Sorry honey - it's not that you're easy to forget or anything . . . it's just that there's so darn many of us! In January we said "happy birthday" to Jared, Vivien, Grandma Zobrist, Mike, Dawnae, Me, Mom, Brad, and Janae!

The highlight of birthday month was the arrival of a new nephew and yes, the addition of yet another January birthday. Baby Owen Douglas Erickson was born on January 15, 2010 to Janae and Doug. Several of us were hoping he would make an entrance on our birthday, but with all the possible January birthdays, he chose to come on his very own day and does not have to share it with anyone. Owen joins 5 big sisters in the Erickson household - Wow!! Ben can hardly wait to teach him how to play, and Owen will be need some training from a fellow member of the male species since he is surrounded by girls. He and Ben have that in common - though Owen has 2 more sisters than Ben - lucky boy!

My birthday was on a Sunday, and my dad wanted to know if I wanted anything special for my birthday dinner. I am at a point in my life where I want very little fanfare and if I could, I would skip the day entirely. So - my first reaction was "no, nothing special." Then I thought - "well if you're asking - how about prime rib?? I just didn't get enough of it at Christmas" (my dad makes the best prime rib!) I didn't know if I would get it or not, but I went to my parents house for dinner and my dad had the prime rib all ready to carve. I am a lucky girl, I know!

(obviously I caught my dad in a weird-face-making moment, but oh well, I'm posting the pic!) along with one of my yummy birthday dinner.

I can't tell you how many pictures we took to try to get one of me and my kids. They are not the most cooperative! If I never got another birthday gift the rest of my life, it would be OK because I have the greatest gift of all - being mom to these fabulous kids!

After dinner Madi and I went to stake choir practice to get ready for our upcoming stake conference then we went back to my parents for cake. My mom, totally on the sly, also invited several friends from our ward to come to her house for a little surprise for me. Even though I really don't even want people to know when it is my birthday, it was a fun evening. Thanks mom!

My kids think I'm weird for posting a picture with my eyes shut - but really I'm just checking out my cake - and I kinda like the picture.

Brad was born 9 days after me - (he is such a cradle robber!) The extent of the celebration involved a lively rendition of "Happy Birthday to you", some cake, some recycled balloons (from my birthday), and the opening of his very exciting gift - a new griddle for making pancakes.

So glad to say good-bye to birthday month! When is your family's "birthday month?"

A Not-So-Vegas Kind of Day

2010-01-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

Wow - I almost feel like I'm not in Vegas anymore. It has rained every day this week, with the possibility of more today. Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. It never does that. When we are lucky enough to get rain, it typically clouds up, pummels us with rain for 10 minutes tops, then the clouds quickly dissipate and the sun reappears. Rarely, ever so rarely, does it rain for the entire day. Where do I live, Seattle??

This morning the ground was wet and big, fluffy gray clouds blanketed the sky, the air was crisp and clean with a bit of a breeze blowing, but it wasn't raining. So, I bundled up Ben and myself, grabbed the stroller, and we went for a walk. I can see these mountains when I walk out my front door. The rain in our little valley resulted in snow-dusted desert mountain tops.

My Walking Buddy!

I remember one year - probably 20 years ago - when we had a wet winter like this. It resulted in the most beautiful wildflowers blooming throughout the desert in the spring. Road trips to California and Utah were actually entertaining as we looked for all the hues of green and yellow, mixed with bits of purple and pink. You gotta love a bit of color in an area where the color variation is about as diverse brown and tan! Perhaps this spring will be the same - keep your fingers crossed!

Totally Independent? Not Quite

2010-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

When you're just 2 months shy of your 4th birthday, you think you're capable of conquering the universe, or at least conquering your own little world. After all, you're almost four years old! Do you need help opening the car door? Absolutely not! Do you need help buckling your car seat? Are you kidding? No way! Would you like a little help putting on your shoes or choosing an outfit to wear? Not on your life!

Yep - you're pretty self-sufficient in many ways. Even when you are in a difficult predicament, I can hear you say to yourself, "don't even think about helping me pull this tight-fitting shirt over my head. I would much rather scream in complete frustration and suffer near-suffocation than allow you to help me remove this shirt that is stuck around my Wallace head." Spreading a little butter on a serving of rice for you or helping you into the car is grounds for a complete "re-do" in which you need a new pile of rice so you can spread the butter yourself or you insist on getting out of the car so you can get back in on your own.

Yes, my dear, you are quite the independent soul, but when your blanket takes a trip to the washing machine . . .

You pretty much fall apart!

Don't worry, it will be our little secret!

Dressed in White

2010-01-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

About a week and a half ago Madi made Lacey's hair look curly and beautiful, and then she took her out for a photo shoot in her new baptism dress. Lacey withstood the cold (while barefoot and wearing short sleeves) and tolerated Madi's commands, and the results, to me, were worth the torture of winter weather and big-sister-bossiness.
Madi continues to amaze me with her talents. I am in love these pictures she took of Lacey - I can't even choose a favorite. Of course, I love them all.

We went shopping for Lacey's baptism dress when we were in Utah over the summer because I knew it would be difficult to find a white dress in the winter. We had such a fun day shopping with Lacey's Aunt Janae and cousin Ava, who was also looking for a baptism dress. Lacey tried on many beautiful white dresses, but this one was her absolute favorite, so this is the dress that we brought home. It has been sitting in my closet since July, just waiting for the day when Lacey would wear it for her baptism - and that day is tomorrow!

Ringing in 2010

2010-01-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

2010. Can you believe it? And just out of curiosity, when you read "2010", did you say to yourself, "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten"? Just wondering. So here we are at the end of a decade or are we at the beginning of a new decade? Has it really been 10 years since I was hoarding up gallon containers of water at the grocery store because of all the hysteria around the "Y2K" computer bug at the dawn of a new century? If that computer bug caused anymore than a few minor glitches, I certainly didn't hear about it. If anything, I think we sailed right through the turn of a century, and now, 10 years later, the world is, in my opinion, in a lot less stable position. Now I'm hoarding gallon containers of water for fear our economy is going to collapse.

But, despite the difficult times, 2010 is a new year that brings hope for better days ahead. And the new year definitely brings an excuse to have a party! The past couple of years we have celebrated New Year's with the Ericksons at the cabin, but with Janae being great with child (baby due in a couple of weeks) and with Lacey's baptism a couple of days away, a New Year party of the cabin will have to wait until 2011. So this year, Madi hosted a New Year's party of her own with Brad and I as somewhat reluctant chaperones. We were reluctant only because this was our party girl's 2nd party of the holiday season. So - I would say we are pretty cool parents to chaperone not one, but two parties within 2 weeks of each other! Though we were reluctant at first, the party was a complete success and left me ready to host a party just like it next weekend. Madi's guests included siblings from 3 families in our ward - the Trumans, Cottrells, and Messinas, along with Parker Judd. Throughout most of the party Brad and I sat in the dining room putting together a puzzle (we're party animals, let me tell ya!), listening to the kids, which was extremely entertaining.

The party started with an entertaining game of "Would You Rather", which presented some thought-provoking questions to group such as "would you rather have your grandmother's name or her hair cut?" or "would you rather shave your head and eyebrows bald for a year OR wear a really good looking Elvis wig for a year?" Difficult questions, I know.

The best part of the game was the challenge questions when the kids had to complete challenges in order to advance in the game. Here Parker is completing his challenge by having a lovely dance with a mop.

And while the big kids were playing "Would You Rather" in the kitchen, the little girls were playing an intense game of Super Mario Brothers on the Wii (just look at that concentration). Rachel Messina came with her older siblings and Katie invited Meredith to come and hang out with us too.

Meanwhile - Madi had to pass her own challenge - identifying foul-smelling items chosen by the other players. Mmmmm - somebody's sock! I wasn't overjoyed when all the guests started rooting through my refrigerator looking for old and moldy food to put in front of Madi's nose, but was thankful when they didn't find much more than a container of leftover broccoli.

And even though Madi's number-one texting buddy was seated right next to her at the party, her cell phone never left her hands.

"Would You Rather" was followed by a roudy game of "Imaginiff" - and I didn't get any pictures, but I could tell the kids loved it. Things then winded up in front of the Wii for a little bit of "American Idol" playing. Brad and I had some great laugh-out-loud moments as we listened to the boys all sing along to Fergie's "Big Girl's Don't Cry". (please note the extra appendage in Madi's hand - and no, I don't mean the Wii controller)

Right before midnight everyone came into the kitchen to get their drink and toast in the New Year. (Please don't panic, I am not serving Mormon minor children wine - it's sparkling grape juice!)

Rachel Meredith and Katie

The whole group - Harry, Spencer, Parker, Nate, Madi, Mason, Maddy, and Emily (back row)
Rachel, Meredith, Lacey, and Katie (front row)

Friends - I am thankful for Madi's friends who made our New Year's Eve a night to remember.

After the clock struck midnight and the guests all went home, I found these little beauties sound asleep on my bed. A new year has begun.

It's About Time

2009-12-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

I've never before had a kid this big or this old still sleeping a crib, but this cribbie has been Ben's happy little home for over 3 years now. He spent the first 6 months sleeping in my closet in his little portable bassinet, but since then, the cribbie's been his world. Ben's sisters all moved out of the cribbie before now because there was always another sibling on the way to take over the crib. For Ben, this hasn't been an issue. He has always loved his cribbie and never even climbed out of it until about a month ago. But, as his 4th birthday inches closer (now within 3 months), I guess it's time to retire the cribbie and time to grow up a little.

Ben is very happy with his new little bed. Granted, at almost 4, he probably should have gone directly to a twin, but . . . he's our baby - so the toddler bed it is! (Hey Lacey can still fit in it and she's 8, so leave me alone!) His new bed is just perfect for showcasing his new quilt made by Grandma Judy.

Looking good! Ben says he's definitely a big boy now. Anybody need a cribbie?

Peaceful Christmas Day

2009-12-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I am reminded, once again, of how very quickly we pass from one Christmas to the next year after year. As I was putting out my Christmas lights at the beginning of the month, I could have sworn that I had barely put those lights away. And, I know that next year, when I go to once again wrap my trees and bushes with tiny white, red, and green lights, I will, again, swear that I had just packed the lights in their boxes to store in the garage until next year. So it is with everything in our lives, huh? Time marches on and we can either deliberately choose to enjoy it or lose ourselves in the vastness of it.

As I experience the whirlwind of the month of December, I am amazed that amid all the business and craziness that I always seem to surround myself with, there are moments of pure enjoyment when the Christmas spirit abounds. Some of the highlights of this season for me have been singing in the Christmas program at church with our ward choir, visiting Grandma Jo and going to the live nativity in St. George, and going to our friends house to hear their children play amazing music on the piano & then singing Christmas carols as they played their guitars. Every year I promise myself that I am going to get more of my holiday "to-do's" completed by the beginning of the month so that I can just relish the whole season, rather than just tiny glimpses of it, but I never seem to be successful. Perhaps next year . . .

Though I am always a little sad when Christmas day arrives, because I know the season is over, I am also a bit relieved at the fact, that the season is over. I always love Christmas day because after all the gifts are opened, it is truly a day for peace, quiet, rest, and family. My children, thankfully, don't wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. We have never opened gifts in the dark, though I know of many families that do. This year we went downstairs about 7:30 am to see all that Santa had brought to our kids and then open our gifts from each other.

I loved the "just woke up" dazed look on Lacey's face. I am pretty sure that a similar picture of me when I was about Lacey's age exists in the archives of the Zobrist family.

Here's Lacey - still dazed - checking out the guitar she got from Santa.
Santa also brought her a Baby Alive.

. . . and later - a little less dazed.

Santa brought Katie an iPod touch - just what she wanted! :)
I think she's growing up - *sniff sniff*

Ben was excited about his Handy Manny motorcycle and helicopters that Santa left for him.

Santa brought Madi speakers for her iPod and some picture frames for framing her photography. I don't have a picture of her with her Santa gifts - but here she is opening a gift from mom & dad.

Daddy bought Ben Rock'em Sock'em Robots. In reality, this gift was for Brad, but we'll just pretend that it's for Ben.

Present time - Christmas morning surprises are the greatest!

Madi claims that she was being really cheesy on purposed when she posed for this picture, but I think she looks really cute.

Katie was very excited to open her new nap blanket.
Madi opened one earlier and Katie was very envious.

After we open presents, Brad always makes a delicious breakfast that includes his semi-famous blueberry pancakes. We feed my mom and dad, and Mike and Karla usually come to join us too. After we eat, we open our presents from my parents. My mom loves to give gifts and we are very grateful recipients. She buys multiple gifts for every member of our family - that's over 30 people! She's a little crazy, I'll admit, but she loves it - can't you tell by that look on her face?

The kids got an extra-special present from Brad and I this year. We bought them a new TV and DVD player and set it up in the playroom so that they can play their Wii games and watch movies.
They have hardly come out of the room since Christmas afternoon.

On Christmas night, we usually go back to my mom and dad's to eat our Christmas Eve leftovers, which we did once again, this year. It's fun to get together and not have to worry a lot of food preparation. I am very thankful for the peaceful Christmas days of my life that have often followed a month of non-stop activities. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

For the size of my family, this year's Christmas Eve celebration was a bit meager with just my family and my brother Phillip's family along with my mom and dad. My other four siblings were either celebrating on their own or with their spouse's family. Although we missed everyone, a small group has its benefits. There's not nearly as many dishes to do and not nearly as many screaming, wild, overly-excited children to cause total anarchy.

We enjoy staying home for Christmas, and since my parents live just up the street, we usually find ourselves at their home each year to share Christmas Eve dinner. Our family's tradition has always been to have a big dinner on Christmas Eve with ham and in the past several years, a prime rib along with what we call special potatoes (better known as funeral potatoes), homemade rolls, salad, and other side dishes - anyone attending dinner contributes in one way or another. This year I made the potatoes, rolls, and a red jello (always a request of my parents). My mom set up a lovely table in her dining room for our feast. It's a big deal when the kids get to eat in the dining too, because most of the time, the "adult" table is in the dining room and the "kid" table is in the kitchen. Probably not a big surprise to anyone.

Continuing with our tradition, following dinner, we always read the story of Christ's birth in Luke 2 of the New Testament, and whatever kids are present, play all the parts. This year, our high school freshman, Sophie and Madi were our narrators.

Because so many of the kids are getting older, and consider themselves much too grown up to dress up anymore, we were very short on actors and actresses for this year - with a grand total of 4. Lacey and Kara played dual roles - first as animals and later as an angel and shepherd. The last couple of years, these 2 have always played Mary and Joseph, so it was a great opportunity for them to branch out :)

Ben was old enough to play Joseph this year - so this was the first year that we have actually had a boy portray Joseph.

Annalise was Mary - aren't they the cutest??

Our final Christmas Eve family tradition, which I think is a tradition shared by just about everyone I ever meet, is to open up new PJs on Christmas Eve. This year I opted to buy just the bottoms because that's all the girls end up ever wearing anyway - plus it saved me money!

Ben, however, always loves a good pair of flannel, "grandpa" style pj's, so he got matching tops and bottoms. He also got some Spiderman sunglasses, so he thought he was very cool, as exhibited by his pose here in front of the Christmas tree!

Happy Birthday Granddad

2009-12-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

Granddaddy Ken turns 70 years old today! He is the youngest 70-year-old I know! He is so active and so youthful in body and spirit that you would never know he was 70. I am very thankful to have Ken as my father-in-law. He is the greatest dad and granddad.

I am very fortunate to have a wonderful husband who is the product of the two people in this photograph. The person Brad is today is a direct reflection of the type of parents Ken and Judy were as he was growing up. I just feel fortunate to have married into such an amazing family.

Ken is an example to his family. He is dedicated, kind, and easy going. He is easy to please - just hand him an oreo or a jar of peanuts. He is Brad's fishing buddy. Ken loves to fish, and since he has retired, can be found on the river at least once a day all summer and as late into the fall as possible. Brad will frequently receive phone calls from his dad to tell him about the results of the day's escapades on the river. Ken's also a pretty handy guy to have around, and I am so glad that he imparted this talent to Brad. Once he came down for a visit so he could help Brad move and rebuild a closet in Katie and Lacey's room. Ken also spent time helping build our school playground, a memory my children will always hold dear. Everyone in this house loves our Granddaddy Ken! Happy Birthday!

A New Christmas Tradition

2009-12-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

You would be hard-pressed to find something that could get you more in the Christmas spirit than spending an hour fully enveloped by all the grace and goodness of your grandma who has lived for 100 years, followed by viewing a live re-enactment of the Christmas nativity. Yes - most definitely hard-pressed. Our little Saturday-afternoon and evening trip to St. George to visit with Grandma Jo has been a true highlight in all of our holiday festivities. In fact, on our ride home, we decided that this little trip needed to become a new tradition that we do every year, and one that I really wish we would have started a long time ago.

Grandma wanted to see the picture in the camera right after I took it. Then she declared that she looked pretty good for 100! Absolutely - she looks great!

Visiting with grandma was an absolute delight. She shared stories of her childhood with the kids, and we talked about what she did on her 100th birthday. She was surprised by her son, Doug, with a long drive to Alamo, Nevada to visit the places of her youth. That little town is apparently steeped in tradition and history because she said it was still the same in many ways. I've never been to Alamo so I'll take her word for it. We also heard about what grandma does each day. She was very proud that she still washes her own hair, & she's not too excited by food anymore, so she drinks a nutritional shake a few times each day. The highlight of her day is when Doug comes to her room to get her in the evening so they can watch a movie together. Grandma also showed us a couple of the hand-crocheted bandages that she works on everyday to donate to our church humanitarian effort. I can't help but wonder if that little bit of service she does each day is part of the secret to her longevity - that and the rootbeer floats she and Doug go get twice a week. I was curious if she went to the dr. to at least check her blood pressure or her heart - the answer is "No." She's just a little tiny miracle, quietly living each day being the very best 100-year-old that she can be.

I talked to grandma about how we have been reading some of her life story as a family and that we liked the part about how, as a child, she was always singing. She immediately started to sing some of the songs she remembered from her childhood. I told her that Madi was just like her and was always singing. So, of course, grandma wanted the girls to sing her a song. They were shy and didn't want to oblige, but we finally begged long enough and they eventually succumbed. Madi and Katie sang a beautiful song then we all sang a couple of Christmas carols. It was sweet. Ben was shy, but decided it was OK to be close to grandma if he sat on his dad's lap.

It was a joy to spend a little time with Grandma Jo, and I mean that sincerely, it was pure joy to be around her. I could feel of the goodness and righteousness of grandma's spirit and I felt blessed to be in her presence. She is such an example of enduring to the end!

After our visit with grandma we went to the Tuacahn outdoor theater (which incidentally was founded by Brad's uncle Doug) to see a live re-enactment of the nativity. We walked in and sat on the front row. It was simple and short, but just perfect for helping find that Christmas spirit in this ever-crazy and distracting world.

Ben and dad keeping warm in the outdoor theater.

The girls tried to keep warm by putting Lacey on their lap. Poor Katie, who wore flip flops for the trip and brought socks to change into, couldn't find her socks - so her feet were freezing! She wrapped Lacey's scarf around her feet in an attempt to warm them, but it didn't work too terrifically. You would think, by the look on Madi's face, that she was the one with cold feet - but no - it was Katie - who kindly smiled through her pain :)

The highlight of the nativity was the live camel - check him out on the far right.

One more shot of the camel - leaving the stage at the end of the presentation.

Of course there were beautiful lights outside the theater.

While in St. George we also drove by the temple to see the grounds all decorated with lights for Christmas. Next year we will make it point to get out and walk around there too. The lights were fabulous - almost a little mini Temple Square going on there.

We made a quick stop at Harmon's grocery store to buy some cinnamon bears and gummi raspberries as well as a gift card for my dad for Christmas. These are little indulgences for himself and all the grandkids. He brings the candies to church every Sunday and passes them out to my kids (I manage to score a few myself, as well) and the grandkids all ask for them when they come to his house. Every time he goes to the cabin he stops by Harmon's to get his candy stash, so - I figure he will definitely use a gift card from there. It was a relief to check that gift off my list since my dad is one tough guy to buy for! My dad says Harmon's cinnamon bears are the best. I believe him.

Our final stop before heading home was to eat dinner at The Brick Oven. I was very excited to find out that my favorite restaurant from my BYU days in Provo was now in St. George - only 2 hours away, rather than 6! Yay!

It felt so good to drive home that night, knowing that we had spent a memorable time together as a family. Everyone was in good spirits and the kids all actually got along for the 2-hour drive home. Christmas spirit was in plentiful supply that night! Joy to the World!!

The Big E-i-g-h-t

2009-12-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

Has it really been 8 years since that little curly, dark-haired newborn baby girl was placed in my arms. I couldn't believe she was mine. No - I mean I really couldn't believe it! Surely this chubby-cheeked, olive-skinned, furrowed-brow, short, chubby baby girl with more hair than I had ever seen on a newborn belonged to the hispanic family down the hall.

But there were enough eye-witnesses to attest that she was indeed mine, and oh how I loved this little baby girl. I remember feeling blessed to have 3 beautiful daughters. Life. felt. perfect.

I thought it would be hard to have a newborn at Christmastime, but truly, it was one of the most beloved and cherished times of my life. I remember laying on my bed for the first few days of her life, just holding her while she gently slept on my chest. We had some quiet mommy-baby time while daddy took Madi and Katie for a little trip to visit Grandma Judy and Granddaddy Ken right before Christmas. That Christmas, more than ever, I thought about the mother of another baby - and how she must have felt after giving birth to the Savior of the World. Amy Grant's song "Breath of Heaven" became my favorite Christmas song that year. For truly Heaven visited our earthly home that Christmas in 2001, and oh how I loved that baby girl.

And now - Heaven is replaced with mostly chaos, interspersed with an occasional quiet moment, but life is still as perfect as can be with this beautiful 8-year-old daughter.

Lacey at 8 is fiesty, smart, independent (when she chooses), the baby girl (when she chooses), a great speller, lover of math, interested in playing a musical instrument, Nintendo DS player, Sponge Bob addict, soccer playing, mother to her dolls. She is a watchful big sister to Ben and pesky little sister to Katie and Madi, and oh how I love this 8-year-old girl.

She finds the kitchen table to be an ideal napkin and she cleans her room by stuffing everything (& I mean everything) under her bed. Her fingernails are frequently dirty and she doesn't like braids or fancy little-girl dresses. She likes her shirts to be tight-fitting, and she loves when mom reads her a story. She begs dad to take her to 7-11 and buy her powdered donuts and a slurpee. She's rather bossy and extremely persistent. She's a debater, always ready to negotiate her point, and oh how love my 8-year-old girl.

Rather than do it herself, she prefers to have mom or dad make her toast, get her a drink, pour milk on her cereal, or dish up her dinner plate. She likes to be tucked in at night, although she is starting to resist hugs and "I love you's" - unless she initiates such behavior. She is loving and sweet, yet capable of being naughty. And occasionally, she gets really, really mad. But always, she is a bright and shining light in our home. She is our Lacey Grace and oh how we love her!

Lacey's 8th birthday ended up being a 3-day celebration. Here are a few highlights -

The Big E-I-G-H-T Part One

The day before her actual birthday, Grandma Judy and Granddaddy were in town and we had Sunday dinner with them, Mammy and Poppy, and Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Russ's family. Lacey opened presents from the family that evening. She also had a pretty, pink birthday cake. (For some reason I forgot to pull out the camera until cake time so I missed getting pictures of the family - bummer!)

The Big E-I-G-H-T Part Two

Lacey's birthday was on a Monday, so bright and early that morning, we headed to the school for Lacey's annual birthday circle. During her birthday circle we show pictures and share highlights from each year of her life. She carries a globe with her, and each time she walks around the circle, it represents the passage of another year of her life. It was a special treat to have grandma and granddad there.

Lacey shows photos to her classmates from the 5th & 6th year of her life

Everyone oohed & ahhed as Lacey showed her class the beautiful, warm and cozy handmade quilt that Grandma Judy made for her.

Lacey blowing out the traditional candle in the center of the birthday circle.

Grandma and granddad left to go home right after the birthday circle. That evening we celebrated as a family by going to see some amazing Christmas lights. Our first stop was the garden atrium at the Bellagio Hotel, where they decorate with fresh flowers and plants. This polar bear is made completely of flowers.

My favorite part of the display this year was this gingerbread house - again made from flowers.

Ben's favorite part of the display were the 2 trains that went around and around at the entrance. We could hardly tear him away.

Our next stop was the M Hotel where they had the world's largest living Christmas tree on display.

I had to take this up-close picture to show that the tree is definitely REAL.

You could see the tree from miles away!

Our final stop of the night was the Ethel M Cactus Garden where we met up with Uncle Jared and Aunt Katie and their kids. The gardens were as beautiful and bright as ever. This is one of my favorite stops every Christmas season.

The Big E-I-G-H-T Part Three

The final chapter of Lacey's 8th birthday was her big movie party that Friday afternoon. It was the Friday school got out for winter break, so there was double reason to celebrate! Mammy and Poppy were gracious enough to let Lacey invite a few friends and use their movie theater for her party.

Friends from school and church, along with cousin Kara all helped celebrate this grand occasion.

Getting ready to watch "The Grinch"

Presents and cupcakes in the shape of an "8" ended the night

One Hundred Years

2009-12-04T19:33:00.001-08:00

100 years ago, in 1909, there were under 10,000 cars in the entire country and the average salary earned by a worker was about $750/year. The first long-distance, coast-to-coast phone call would not take place for another 6 years, and it would be almost 45 more years before a television set in every home would become the norm. At that time, no one could even fathom the idea of cell phones, the internet, or DVRs. And, 100 years ago today, the world became a better place, and part of the roots for my little family were sprouted, when Josephine Schofield was born. Josephine is the grandmother of Brad, mother to Brad's mother, Judy, and great-grandmother to Madi, Katie, Lacey and Ben.

Grandma Jo was born in Provo, Utah and spent most of her growing up years in the tiny town of Hiko, Nevada. She had 6 sisters and 1 brother. She and 5 of her sisters shared one bed for many years - 3 at the head and 3 at the foot of the bed. As a girl she woke up at 3:00 am to milk the cows and when she was finished with her morning chores, she would ride her horse to school. She lived through the Great Depression. She taught school in a one-room school house. She married Cornell Stewart in 1932, and together they raised 8 children - 7 daughters and a son. She is a talented seamstress and sewed draperies for many years. She was the Nevada Mother of the Year in 1983. She was widowed over 20 years ago, after watching her husband suffer from cancer. She is a tiny lady, under 5 feet tall, 75 pounds, with a size 3 1/2 shoe. Grandma Jo currently has 57 grandchildren, 143 great-grandchildren, and 49 great-great-grandchildren.

Grandma Jo has loved babies her whole life. As the 2nd oldest in her family, she was around many babies, starting at a young age. She describes the arrival of her mother's fifth child in her personal history:

"As usual, with every new baby, I would not leave the house. I would stick around praying Mama would let me rock the baby to sleep or give it a bath. I remember rocking Alice to sleep. Mama would say to leave her wrapped, because I would be in the screen house where it would be cold, but as soon as Mama would leave the room, I would take her over and lay her on the bed and unwrap her and pick her up and hold her without the blankets on and then lay her down real quick and roll her up again!"

She then went on to raise her own 8 children, and she says that as soon as the babies started to come she went right out and bought a rocking chair. She says, "The greatest joy in my life was when each child was born."

And her tradition of rocking babies continued with grandchildren. Grandma Jo stated in her Nevada Mother of the Year speech in 1983:

"I have fifty grandchildren. They have all been held in my arms and rocked. The other evening at 11:00 pm a 7-year-old grandchild called and said, "Grandma, the babysitter is here. I can't go to sleep. If you could come over and rock me and sing to me, I'd be to sleep in 2 seconds."

Grandma (97) and Ben (8 months) - Katie in background

For many years now Grandma Jo has been knitting special bandages that she donates to our church Humanitarian Center. One of her life's philosophies is to stay busy and work. As she has said, "Be of service every chance you get, and don't dwell on physical pain. Be involved in things. Work usually takes care of any problems you may have come up. If you get busy and work, pretty soon things can be overcome."

pictures of grandma, knitting her bandages - age 97

Grandma Jo has seen a lot of change in her lifetime. I doubt that she knows much about the internet, and she's probably never heard of blogs or facebook. I don't know if she's ever even used a cell phone. Though she isn't well educated about using the tools of the information age, she knows much more than I will ever know. She knows what it was like to go from having to ride around in a horse and buggy to driving in a car. She knows the difference between living in a comfortable, climate-controlled house and having to place wet towels around her baby's crib to keep her cool during the hot desert summers in a home with no air-conditioning. She knows what a miracle it is to be able to go to a doctor and be treated with antibiotics after watching her own mother die from an appendicitis because there was nothing the doctors could do.

And after 100 years, she knows that the simple things in life are what bring joy - these are her words of wisdom she shared with a host from a radio interview yesterday -

Tell your children you love them everyday
Pray every day and read your scriptures
Root beer floats twice a week are a wonderful treat
Trees and nature bring joy
Put God first and all other things will fall into place

(If you are interested in hearing more of that interview, you can listen on cousin Katie Morgan's blog - it's 25 minutes long, but such a treat to hear. You will be be amazed at how witty and alert a 100-year-old can be.)

Patriot Day 2009

2009-09-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

This year, our Patriot Day ceremony began with our first assembly of the school year, lead by the new student body officers. This was Katie's first assembly as the student body secretary. Here the officers are singing a rap that they made up to introduce themselves to the student body.

Lacey at the assembly

All the elementary students assembled to attend the assembly.

The annual Patriot Day Ceremony began after the assembly. Each September 11th the school holds a ceremony to honor those who lost their lives in the horrific terror attack on the Twin Towers. We also pay tribute to the heroes who saved so many lives on that day. Our celebration is always short and respectful. A student at the school sings the National Anthem (Madi did this last year) and then we recite the pledge, lead by one of the boys at the school who is a boy scout.

A few students read a poem and then we honor local firefighters. One of the mom's at our school (her name is Tobi) is a firefighter - she is the one 2nd from the left in this picture. Ben was enthralled with the firefighters this year. He noticed that one of them was wearing a walkie talkie and wow, was he impressed. After the ceremony I took him over to talk to a couple of the firefighters, including Tobi. He asked them all kinds of questions and wanted to know about their fire trucks and their walkie talkies. He was in awe.

At the celebration the children sing, the school song "Listen" - complete with hand motions (the song always tugs at my emotions a bit) . . .

Katie's class

Lacey's class

I am so thankful to live in America and I am thankful for this day to reflect on that day 8 years ago when it seemed as if the world was coming to an end. And how grateful I am to live in a resilient country that will not let and act of terror destroy the ideals and values that we hold dear. God Bless America!

Captain Underpants and his faithful sidekick

2009-09-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

I just wonder what goes through his head . . . what is it about a pair of Thomas underwear on your head and a blanket around your neck that immediately transforms you into a powerful superhero?

Judging by the pony tail used to secure the blanket cape, I think this superhero was transformed through the help of a trusty sidekick . . .

The world is definitely a safer place with these two on patrol!

The First Week

2009-08-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Ahh - the first week of school. With all the first-day jitters and anticipation of a new year, there's always ONE thing we don't have to worry about - what to wear! With new shirts and shoes and jeans, it is the only time of the school year when the girls know every outfit they are going to wear for five consecutive days. The new hair cuts are an added plus! Katie & Lacey pose in their "first day of school" outfits . .

And two other outfits for Lacey and Katie from that first week of school . . .

For Lacey, the beginning of this school year means the 2nd of 3 years with her current teachers, making a very easy transition from 1st grade to 2nd grade. She just picked up where she left off in June. Katie started middle school this year, which is a bit more of a change, but still - she is at the same school and with teachers who know her.

On the other hand, Madi's first week of school has been an entirely different experience this year. As a new high school freshman, she had no idea what to expect at the new and much larger (like 15 time larger) school. For Madi, deciding the right outfit to wear for the first day of school was much more challenging and painful than it was for Katie and Lacey. Madi & I spend a good hour in her room the night before school started looking at and trying on every possible outfit combination in hopes of finding the absolute perfect outfit for the first day at a new school where she knew almost no one. And after all the pain and work to come up with something to wear, I didn't even get a picture of Madi on that first day! Since she started seminary too, she left the house at about 5:50 am and just wasn't up for having her picture taken at that time of day. And, honestly, I wasn't up to taking her picture at that time of day either. But, here's a picture of her later that week - after school!

Madi may be smiling in this picture, but after the first day of school, she wasn't smiling. When I asked her about her day, she told me, "It was the longest day of my life." The report was not good. The day was very long and very boring. She was worried that her math class was going to be too hard, and after the homework assignment (on the very first day) that took a combined effort on the part of Madi, me, & Brad, I was beginning to wonder that myself. Here we were at 11:00 at night - still doing review Algebra problems for her Geometry class - and Madi had to get up at 5:00 am the next morning to go to seminary. I'll be honest - I was worried. Was this going to be our life for the next 9 months? I went to bed after that first day of high school, wondering how Madi, and I, were going to make it through the entire school year!

The 2nd day of school I was a nervous wreck, spending those six hours with knots in my stomach. Thankfully, that all changed when I picked Madi up. She got in the car and when I asked her about her day she said, "Today was so much better than yesterday. Oh, and that math assignment that took us all night - well, I was only supposed to do 10 of those problems, not all of them!" I was so relieved! Maybe this year will turn out OK after all, and maybe both she and I will adjust to this life after our cozy little private school of 300 to a public high school of 3500. This will be a year of change and new experiences, that's for sure! I think we are up for the challenge.

Dear Aunt Katie

2009-08-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Aunt Katie,

Hi. It's me Lacey. Do you like this picture of me? Madi took it. All summer she kept dressing me up and taking my picture. I like to be her modle. Anyway, I wanted to tell you sumthing. My mom said I shud do it on her blog so you wood quit bugging her about win she is going to do a blog post. becuz now she will have a blog post. sorry if i don't spell that good sometimes I forget how to spell some words becuz I am just strting 2nd grade. Oh - & my mom said to tell you that playing bejooled on facebook sumtimes is not keeping her from riting on her blog.

My mom says she is going to blog agin soon. She said she has sumthing called riters block. I dont know what that is, but I hope she gets better soon! I don't want to get it :( Did you know Madi started high school this week? I am glad becuz she is gone when I get up in the morning and she doesn't bug me any more. I started school this week to. It was ok, but I miss Sponge Bob. I drew a picture of Bikeenee Botum in class today. I wish I didn't have to git up so early - but still not as early as Madi! Hahahahahah Madi!

Did you know that Aunt Janae is having a baby boy? I can't believe it! That means he is going to have 5 big sisters! That's even worse than Benny boy who has 3 big sisters! What is he going to do with all those girls? Ben is glad to get a boy cuzin. I'm glad too. Now you need to have another boy too!

Anyway, Aunt Katie. I wanted to tell you sumthing. Do you remember that cool thing you helped us make at cuzin camp? It was a terr???? I don't remember what it's called . . . . but it's that plant in the soda bottles that uncle J had to cut up for all of us. Do you remember?

I really loved mine with the pritty pruple flower. But guess what Aunt Katie . . .

It doesn't work anymore and I didn't do one thing to it! yuck!

Another "Catch Up"

2009-07-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my efforts to catch up my blog readers . . .

I got to celebrate May Day by dancing around a May Pole. This was a new experience!

Click HERE to see our May Pole - although I'm not the one dancing in these pictures.

The Catch Up Continues

2009-06-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you got a chance to peek at yesterday's catch up post. Check back tomorrow for yet another catch up post & in the mean time . . . For today -

Madi & Katie were in our school's first ever "professional" theatrical production at the end of April.

Click HERE to hear about our production of "Into the Woods".

Playing Catch Up

2009-06-29T14:20:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of months at the Wallace household & now I'm trying to update my blog & fill you in on all our comings & goings. We've had a school play, 3 school trips (including one to Disneyland), a middle school graduation, dance recital, a couple of holidays and more!

Check back daily for a new "Catch up" post!

We got a parental pat on the back in April - a rare occurrence! Click HERE to read about it!

A funny thing happened in the church nursery

2009-06-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

On Monday night we paid a visit to one of Ben's church nursery teachers with a peace offering, so to speak. She would have never asked for such an offering. In fact, when we went to see her, she said "I know what you're doing, and you don't have to." But, really we did.

Ben has 4 lovely women who are all teachers in his nursery class. 3 of them are young grandmas who all still have at least one teenager living at home. They love little children and love being with them each week - especially since they all have grandchildren of nursery age. We feel blessed that he is so happy during nursery Sunday after Sunday. Each week he plays, he snacks (though he usually eats only the goldfish and water, while ignoring fruit and cheese or other such offerings), he prays, he sings, he listens to a lesson. And always, he comes home with a picture that he has colored and on it, a little bug that he has requested that his teacher draw on his paper. I am not sure why he requests a bug, because he doesn't really like bugs all that much, but he requests, and his request is always granted.

So, anyway, there we were, at her front door, ready to make amends. I held a plate of cookies and Ben held a bottle of lemonade with a card attached that read, "In memory of that fateful question, 'do you sit or stand?,'" which Ben then handed to her while delivering his prepared speech, "thank you for being a great nursery teacher." Sister Lee laughed. He husband laughed. We all laughed as we reminisced about the experience the day before. I commented that I was sure that a nursery teacher could write a book about all the experiences in nursery and the Lees agreed. Can you guess the experience? The lemonade with the card attached are both telling clues.

Here's the story with all the ugly details . . . Ben had been in class for a while and realized he needed to head to the potty and fast! They have a little bathroom right in the nursery classroom with a toilet seat that is literally 6 inches from the ground. It's the cutest little toilet - as far as toilets go. Sister Lee went to assist Ben and asked him, "do you sit or stand?," to which Ben replied, "I sit." So he sat, and in a split second, let's just say, Sister Lee didn't know what hit her, but it was as if there was a hose gone wild in that little bathroom and no one could bring it back in control. Then Ben declared in frustration, "oh man, I forgot to point it down." and then, "it's in my hair!" Sadly, Ben's pants and underwear got drenched and the bathroom floor was wet, wet, wet. Sister Lee's skirt was wet, but not wet enough to send her home :)! Luckily it all happened when one meeting was ending and another beginning so Brad was able to take Ben home to change.

Considering that Sister Lee had to wear Ben's pee for the afternoon, we thought the least we could do is take her some cookies and a little lemonade to remind her of the things nursery teachers are willing to do for their students. And next week . . . we will make sure Ben visits the potty before going to class so that he isn't full to the brim right in the middle of class.

A Quiet Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Brad spent this past week with Madi and the other young women and young women leaders in our ward at Girl's Camp and got home last night, just in time for Father's Day. He volunteered to be one of 4 male chaperones during camp, which was quite an adventure this year. They went to Arches National Park in Moab Utah and then spent 2 1/2 days on a white water raft trip own the Colorado River. Brad & Madi both loved the experience!

Since he had such an adventurous week, it was nice to have a quiet and simple dad's day, celebrated with just our immediate family. In the morning we made Brad his favorite whole wheat waffles for breakfast along with some sausage. The girls gave dad the best gift of all by playing quietly and peacefully so that their dad could have a peaceful morning himself.

We had prime rib and baked potatoes for dinner and Madi made Brad a yummy chocolate cake.

Brad's little family - his wife and 4 children - love him with all our hearts. He works hard to support our family. He is a husband, a father, a leader, a protector, a hero, a friend. He puts his family first. He takes his kids for slurpees and Krispie Kreme donuts. He goes to their soccer games, dance recitals, and school plays. He takes them swimming and on bike rides. He goes to girls camp for a week - taking time off work so he can be with his daughter. He is a devoted dad.
Happy Father's Day, Brad!

. . . and to my own dad & dad-in-law, Ken - happy father's day to you, too! I am so thankful the dads in my life. Life would not be the same without you!

One week down - eleven weeks to go!

2009-06-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

The girls survived their first week of summer, but it was not without grief and way too many declarations of boredom. I never knew my kids were so well entertained at school. Obviously their teachers have spoiled them rotten by entertaining them all day long. Why else would they come home and proclaim "I'm bored" about every 30 minutes? They will adjust to the boredom, I'm sure. If not, I am certainly willing to help by offering an endless list of cleaning and organization projects.

Despite the moments of boredom, there were some high points:

Lacey was able to entertain herself for hours over the course of 2 days by creating and playing with this little penguin family. She made them almost entirely on her own. Madi helped design the mom's attire and I helped make the baby, but that was all the help she wanted.

Madi and Ben played some game against each other on the DS's. I am sure Madi won because Ben is not overly skilled on the DS yet.

Lacey and Katie were briefly entertained watching the DS duel.

There was also way too much TV watching this week, including some TV watching on mom & dad's bed late into one evening where all 3 girls fell asleep - dreaming, I'm sure, of more exciting days when they got to be at school and their teachers entertained them for hours upon end :)

The end of an era

2009-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight Madi graduates from her school of 9 years. She has grown up at this school, and the school has grown up with her. Our school was brand new when we discovered it in the fall of 2000. Since that time it has grown from a school of about 35 or so students to over 300. We have gone from a school of 3 trailers on a desert plot to 4 separate buildings and a custom-built playground. And since that time, my little girl of not quite 5 years old has learned and grown and become a 13 year old young woman. I thought that on this evening of her graduation I would post a few pictures from her 9 incredible years at this very special school . . .

Kindergarten

Madi and Maria the hamster (named after Maria Montessori) - Madi loved that hamster!

Our first annual International Children's Day. Madi is 2nd from the left - dressed as a little Swiss girl (in honor of my Zobrist heritage)

Madi & Allison singing in the spring program - Madi was a flower

First Grade

class picture - Madi is on the far left - 2nd row (her teachers are Ms. Amy & Ms. Meredith)

2nd Grade

Spring class program - they performed a song that helped them memorize all that states and their capital cities

Singing for their moms at the Mother's Day Tea. The sang "A, you're a adorable - B, you're so beautiful - C, you're a cutie full of charms . . ."

3rd Grade

Lauren, Lexi, & Madi on the 3rd grade field trip - after their camp out at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

4th Grade

International Children's Day - with Blair & Lacey

5th Grade

Earth Day, April 2006

6th Grade

Madi is definitely not a wimp when it comes to dissecting creatures . . .

School play - Romeo & Juliet combined with West Side Story

7th Grade

International Children's Day - with Molly & Lexi

Parent - Child Night - Jeopardy Game - Greek Style

Spring musical performance with Zarek & Molly

8th Grade

Madi & Lauren sing the National Anthem on Patriot's Day (9/11/08)

With Cristien & Lauren after Parent-Child Night

The Graduating 8th Graders
Sebastian, Lindsey, Cristien, Lauren, Lexi, Madi, Elan, & Zarek
(Sebastian, Lauren, Madi, & Zarek have all been together since kindergarten - Lexi came in 1st grade, Elan in 2nd, & Cristien in 3rd)

How to Create the Perfect Science Project

2009-06-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

If you're a first grader and you have to create a science project for the school science fair during the last week of school, the first thing you do is enlist the help of your dad. He will go online to find just the perfect project for a 1st grade girl to do. Then you nag your dad for 2 weeks and ask him every time you see him when he is going to help you with your science project. Finally, you nag enough, and the deadline gets close enough that he decides to help you.

Everyone wants to know how to make a penny shiny again, don't they? Seems like a winner of a project. So, if you mix vinegar and salt and put the pennies in it - will the pennies be shinier if you rinse them or don't rinse them? Lacey & Brad set out to discover the answer.

But there was one big problem - the pennies looked the same regardless of whether or not they were rinsed. Now you have to enlist the help of your mom to find out why this happened. After a little bit of online research, your mom tells you & your dad that you have to do the project again - this time with copper pennies - the kind of pennies that were made before 1982. If they were made after 1982, they are only 5% copper and the project doesn't work.

So then you start over . . .

You use the pennies that your dad got from his friend at the office who has a rather abundant penny collection (to make sure you use pennies that were made before 1982) and you mix the pennies in the solution . . .

You rinse half of the pennies . . .

You put all the pennies out to dry . . .

You compare the pennies - your hypothesis was right!
The rinsed pennies are shinier . . .

And finally - you get your dad and mom to help you put all your findings on a display board to show everyone at the school science fair your amazing results . . .

If you're a fifth grader and you have to have a science project for the school science fair during the last week of school, the first thing you do is decide on a project in class, do some research in class, then get your mom to help you conduct the experiment. If you're a fifth grade girl, the perfect science project has to do with cookies and baking. You want to know if the type of cookie sheet you use when baking causes uneven baking.

So you gather different types of baking sheets then you make some cookie dough with your mom and start making cookies . . .

You make sure that each batch is baked at the same temperature and for the same amount of time. You wonder how the cookies that you make on your grandma's oldest, thinnest cookie sheet will turn out . . .

Not so good . . . Looks pretty uneven to me!

The cookies on the insulated cookie sheet your mom uses all the time seem to turn out pretty good. It would appear that the type of cookie sheet used definitely plays a part in even baking.

You taste a cookie from each batch - in the name of science, of course!

Then you start working on your science board with minimal help from your mom. You do an amazing job and take your work to share with everyone at the science fair . . .

May Madness OR My Silly Kiddies

2009-05-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's just been one of those months. It appears that my children may be interested in a career in fashion design in the future - although I'm not sure if anyone would buy their creations.

Ben was excited to show off his new swimming attire to Esther when she asked him if he was going to swim in his grandma's pool this summer. He immediately went upstairs and put on his new Thomas suit to model for her. He had to grab his Thomas suitcase to complete the ensemble. He wouldn't change clothes for the remainder of the day.

As Katie put stickers on pencils to give away during her campaign for student body secretary, Lacey and Ben swiped some of the stickers to create a bold and bright new look for themselves.

Who knew a Target bag could be turned into a bodysuit. Such creativity blooms from Lacey. I am anxious to see her future creations.

Wacky Wednesday - what more can I say? Madi played a large role in formulating these incredible creations. She was the mastermind behind these stunning hairstyles (except for Meredith's - her mom gets the credit for the hot pink hair)

After all this craziness in May, I can hardly wait to see what June will bring.

And the winner is - Katie Wallace!

2009-05-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

I looked at the clock and it was 1:00 pm. I immediately got butterflies because I knew Katie was giving her speech. Immediately following the speech the election would take place and not long after that, Katie would find out whether or not she was elected as the new Student Body Secretary. I was nervous for her, and I had to wait till I got to the school around 3:30 to find out the results. I naturally hoped she would win, but knew it was a possibility that she wouldn't. We had talked in the morning about what she would do if she lost. She knew that I was proud of her whether she won or lost. The fact that she had the courage to run for office, do all that was required to run for office, conduct a campaign and give a speech in front of the school was good enough. But still - I was hoping for the win.

The 2 1/2 hour wait for me was semi-torturous and I was genuinely nervous as I drove to the school. I got there hoping to hear the results from Katie. She had made arrangements to walk home with a group of friends for some swimming and fun after school, but she was supposed to wait for me to get to the school so I could hear the news from her. I couldn't see her anywhere. I pulled up to pick up Madi & Lacey, and Katie's teachers met me with Katie's school gear because they had already sent her on her way. I was a little disappointed. One of her teachers said, "so did you hear the good news?" With the word, "good", I knew she had won and breathed a sigh of relief. Then I looked up and Katie was calling me from the other side of the parking lot, walking up the sidewalk with her friends. She gave me a big smile, a wave, and a thumbs up signal. It was a great day - a small little triumph in her life to always be remembered. Had she lost, she would have survived, but most definitely disappointed. Poor Brad is still a little scarred from the day that he lost his 5th grade election to Peter Vo because of Peter's rousing slogan, "ho, ho, ho - vote for Peter Vo." Such disappointments happen. I'm just glad it didn't happen to Katie, this time.

Here's the winning speech if feel like reading a little more -

Hi! My name is Katie Wallace and I am running for secretary. I chose to run for secretary because I am organized, good at note-taking, and I want to be more involved in the school. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. How many of you are first graders? Well, my little sister, Lacey, is a first grader in E2. My older sister, Madi is in middle school in E1. Some of you might know my blonde, curly-haired 3-year-old brother Ben. He makes pretty much everyone laugh. You will probably see him hanging out with my mom at the school. Do any of you play soccer or dance? Well, like a lot of you, I like to play soccer and I like to tap dance. Some of my favorite things at school are field trips, assemblies, PE, math, art, and choir.

I have been at this school for 8 years now and have enjoyed every second of it. I started here when I was 3 years old. I have been involved in a lot of things at the school this year. Raise your hand if you saw the school play, "Into the Woods". Well, you may not recognize me, but I played the part of Rapunzel in the school play. It was a wonderfull experience. I have been in choir this year and have also been an E6 representative in student council. I have enjoyed my time in student council and want to do more for the school next year.

If you want someone who loves this school as much as I do, who likes to help everyone and wants to help make the school an even better place than it is already, then vote for me, Katie Wallace, for secretary!

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

2009-05-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

We started Memorial Day weekend with a 24-hour whirlwind trip to the cabin to celebrate the birthdays of Dawnae's boys Spencer and Joey. Spencer turned 13 in May and Joey is now 1. Janae's family & Mike and Karla came up as well.

Along with the birthday celebration, we also spent Saturday doing a little spring cleaning around the cabin. My mom had several projects she wanted accomplished, and she put us all to work. My dad worked outside and recruited several of the older cousins. They washed windows and cleaned cobwebs off the desk, and seemed much happier working outside rather than inside. Janae and I cleaned out the pantry and Katie and Lilli worked on a few organization projects.

And while the rest of us were cleaning & working, Madi and Lexi escaped after helping Poppy outside for a while and had their own little photo shoot with Lexi as model and Madi as photographer. The pictures turned out really cute, even though they were supposed to be working :)!

Katie stayed at the cabin for a couple of extra days with my parents and the cousins, and Brad & I and the rest of the kids went home to fulfill church obligations on Sunday. Then on Sunday afternoon we went to visit our grandparents' graves. My maternal grandparents & Brad's maternal grandfather are all buried at the same cemetery. It is a peaceful little place surrounded by neighborhoods. The cemetery also has a veteran's area, so it was very well decorated for Memorial Day. It was really a beautiful sight.

Ben and Daddy by Granddaddy Cornell Stewart's grave.

Lacey looks over the grave of my Grandma Katherine Bode Knotts Foscarini who passed away 3 years ago.

Daddy talks to the kids as they overlook Granddad Cornell's grave.

Ben made up a game as he walked between the flags and gravestones. I tried to tell him to not walk on the stones, but to him, the cemetery was one big playground.

We also went to my Grandpa Herman Zobrist's grave, which was at a different cemetery. It was not quite as peaceful since this cemetery is right under the path of airplanes as they land at McCarren Airport.

I was thankful for our little afternoon outing to reflect on the lives of our grandparents and the legacy they left behind. We are blessed to come from wonderful families and we truly appreciate our heritage.

We ended our weekend on Monday evening with a pretty mean meal cooked up by Madi and Brad. We had BBQ ribs and chicken with homemade french fries, beans, corn, cornbread, and pineapple. Madi told me that she & dad would cook everything & I didn't have to do anything. I did make the cornbread, that was about it. Everything tasted so good! It was the perfect way to end our Memorial Day weekend.

Madi's class trip to San Diego

2009-05-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Madi's middle school class just got back from a trip to San Diego. This was Madi's last trip with our school since she will be graduating in just a couple of weeks! They had a great time together, but Madi was a little disappointed that only one of the 8th grade boys went on the trip (there's only 4 of them). But, at least all 4 8th grade girls went.

While in San Diego they -

Had lots of time to spend with friends

Lexi & Madi

The 8th grade girls - Lauren & Madi and Lindsey & Lexi

Ate good food

Played at the amusement park at Mission Beach

Savannah & Madi

Went to a Padre's game - the Padres won!

Lexi, Krystal Jo, Madi, & Savannah

Went to the beach - of course!

Lexi & Madi

Madi & Krystal Jo

Classmates (back row) - Brandon, Alex, Jasmine, Tristan, Griffin, Emily, Katie, Ms. Denise, Krystal Jo, Lauren, Vivian, Emily, Sebastian, Lindsey, & Bronson
(front row) - Sheridan, Savvanah, Sarah, Madi, Lexi

They also went to The Reuben H. Fleet Science Museum at Balboa Park (saw the iMax movie there), the Cabrillo National Monument, the Point Loma Lighthouse and historic Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery at Point Loma, Coronado Island, and had a bonfire on the beach. It was a jam-packed, fun-filled 4 days for this group of kids.

On Keeping Sheep

2009-05-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for baby animals, though I am not a self-proclaimed animal lover or animal advocate. I just love the babies. As I was recently driving through beautiful, green farming country in Utah, babies were plentiful - baby colts nursing, baby cows and baby goats grazing, and baby sheep bounding after their mamas. I wish I would have been walking through farming country, rather than driving, so I could have watched the babies for more than just a glance here and there while traveling at 65 miles an hour on a 2-lane highway. I was alone, but caught myself saying aloud, "oh look at the baby lambs!" Though all the babies captivated me, the tiny little lambs were the ones that made me want to pull over and watch. The lambs seemed to be the most childlike to me, as they stood close to their mothers' sides. If they weren't right next to their mothers, they were running to keep up with their mothers' strides.

It's not very often that I drive alone in the car, and on this occasion, I had been alone in the car for almost 6 hours, which is about unheard of, really! I was on my way to spend time with sisters-in-law and friends and consequently, would have a little rest from my motherly responsibilities for a few days. I am blessed to do this at least once a year, and it is always a wonderful time with wonderful women. We eat way too much amazing food, graze on chocolate and other delectable goodies, watch movies (chick flicks, of course), work on projects, talk, and laugh. Home is never far from any of our hearts or minds, though the time away is always rejuvenating. Much of what we do while away from home focuses on our own little lambs (& grand lambs) - ranging in age from infant to 30ish! We talk about their struggles and triumphs as well as our own. We seek advice from those with more motherly experience. We make quilts for them, design scrapbook pages for them, make necklaces for their bridesmaids to wear, or in my case, create a slideshow of photos to be shown at the upcoming graduation of a certain 8th-grader I know quite well. This time away from day-to-day responsibilities is, though somewhat of a break from mothering, really all about mothering. And when I leave, I always, always come away a better mother after being with these other incredible mothers for a brief time.

And while the mama is away from home, the lambs get to spend time with their dad, and seem to realize that for all the apparent grief their mother often gives them, they actually like it when she's around. In fact, I heard a rumor from a very reliable source, that one of my lambs went up to her grandmother on Sunday and said very astutely, "We have mothers for a reason, you know." I'm so glad this lamb had the opportunity to come to such a conclusion on her own!

On Tuesday when I came home, I accompanied a friend of mine as she practiced a song she will be singing in church on Sunday. As I listened to her beautiful soprano voice sing these words, I have no doubt that there will be many mother's eyes wet with tears as they reflect on their own opportunities of keeping sheep. Here are the words - now if only you could hear my friend sing them . . .

I have a little flock of sheep, and they are mine to tend and keep,
And I must guard them every day, for little lambs, when left alone, will lose their way.
So many voices say to me, "A sheep fold is no place to be. Your time in there is dull and slow, And lambs leave very little room for you to grow."

Oh, if I ever start to stray, deceived by thoughts of greener pastures, Remind me, Lord, that keeping sheep will lead to happier everafters.

Oh surely there will come a day when all the lambs have left my side,
And I am free to roam about, and go exploring other meadows, green and wide.
Yet something whispers in my heart that when my sheep have left this pen,
I'll long to stroke their little heads; to draw them close to me and have them young again.

So, if I ever start to stray, deceived by thoughts of greener pastures, Remind me, Lord that keeping sheep, will lead to happier everafters.

So while they still are in my care, I pray that I will clearly see
these little lambs within my fold are tender gifts the Master Shepherd has given me.

I am so thankful for the little flock of sheep I have been given to raise. I simply can't imagine doing anything else!

Mother's Day, 2009

A New Disney Experience

2009-05-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

I love reading this sign upon entering Disneyland. It's so true! I always feel like I am entering a different realm when I go through the park's gates and I love having permission to forget any worries or stress and focus on simply having fun.

This trip to Disneyland brought a few first experiences that we had never had before!

We had 2-day park hopper passes and spent the first day in California Adventure. I definitely did not get out the camera very much this trip, but at least we have a few pictures. We went on the Toy Story ride for the first time, and Ben loved it.

Lacey Grace, age 7

Katie, age 10

This was Ben's 2nd trip to Disneyland, and it left much more of an impression on him since he was a breast-feeding infant the first time around. He surprised me by being afraid of the Winnie-the-Pooh ride. I thought it would be the perfect ride for a 3-year-old. I even made him go on it for a 2nd time because there wasn't a wait (unlike every other ride in the place). But, as I started looking at the rides through Ben's eyes, I realized that, in reality, even the rides geared toward small children are quite scary as you pass through dark areas, larger than life characters, and overly bright and stimulating colors. But, for the most part he was brave as we took him on ride after ride. He fared just fine on Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Lightyear. In fact, I think Buzz Lightyear ended up being his favorite ride.

He was so brave that he even went on the Matterhorn, which, incidentally, is Lacey's favorite ride. Lacey loves Big Thunder Mountain, too. She and Madi both love the more thrilling rides. I am sure that when she's tall enough Lacey will be tackling California Screamin' as well.

There was plenty of standing-in-line time this trip. The one thing that drives me crazy about Disneyland is the hordes of people. If Disneyland were a sole indicator of the economy, you would think that we were in a major boom right now. We were there on a Thursday & Friday and obviously, no one went to work those days because the entire world was at Disneyland!

We went on the Finding Nemo ride for the first time this trip. At the beginning of the ride you see a little of the old "Submarine Ride" motif, which felt a little out-dated and fake but then you plunge deeper into the world of Nemo and the animated characters surround you as you ride. It was very entertaining, and then you emerge once again into the 1970's era Submarine Ride for a brief moment before the ride is over.

We also enjoyed the updated Small World ride for the first time this trip. Ben loved Small World, which will forever be a favorite Disney ride for me.

And for our biggest first - I played the piano for the first time in Disneyland and Madi and Katie sang for the first time at Disneyland. And, we got to go "backstage" at Disneyland for the first time.

I have played the piano for our school choir this school year and right after Christmas break our director sent an audition tape to Disneyland. We were accepted and performed on Friday, May 15th. We decided to incorporate a little family trip with the school trip and it worked out great. We took the kids out of school a day early so we could spend a little more time enjoying Disneyland and California Adventure. It worked out great because we had time as a family on Thursday followed by time with friends on Friday. The girls enjoyed hooking up with different groups of friends and spending time with them before we performed.

We performed in Carnation Plaza and sang several songs that we have been learning all year. A Disney employee took us through some camoflauged doors in Toon Town where we walked to a large staging area with big locker rooms for the kids to change. We had to be very quiet as we walked because we were basically either adjacent to or underneath rides where people could hear us if we got too noisy. Once the kids changed, we were then taken to a practice room where we could warm up. We were then escorted, once again through the Toon Town doors and paraded through Disneyland to Carnation Plaza. The kids did an amazing job! They sang better than ever. We had one little hiccup which happened at the very end of our performance, sadly. Somehow the director and kids got off and we were singing a song that has several parts that repeat, so I could not tell where they were. Finally the director just told me to go to a certain measure and on we went. So we didn't end on a high note, but it was still a great experience.

It was a long, late night as we drove home that evening, but we all loved our many firsts from this Disney experience.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is always a reminder of how much I love my family. It's a little tradition of mine that I take a picture with my kids on Mother's Day. This year we had a pretty busy day because we had all my family over for dinner, so I didn't get my picture until the very end of the day when all the kiddos were ready for bed. No worries - I still got my picture! I am a little crazed about taking pictures of the family I love so much. Brad and the kids got me a perfect Mother's day gift - a digital picture frame. Now I just have to get some of the 10,000+ photos that I've taken over the last 3 years that are in my iPhoto library loaded onto the frame. Choosing which ones will be quite a task!

We were the hosts for our monthly family potluck dinner, which happened to land on Mother's Day this year. We missed my brother Jared and his family because of sick kids. Bummer! For our dinner, I decided that what we should have "girl" food in honor of the moms. The boys were not all that excited about idea of "girl" food, but I think everyone was pleased at the outcome. We had flank steak salad, Chinese chicken salad, fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, and bread. For dessert we had Mike's famous molten chocolate cake with ice cream at the request of my mom. Sadly, I did not take a picture of the dessert - what was I thinking?

I took minimal pictures this year, so I only have a few to share from our evening . . .

Madi has been into wearing the highest possible shoes and standing up to everyone to see how tall she is next to them. She especially enjoys being taller than me - although she can do that without the heels! Actually, I think she really enjoys towering over me in her heels. Here she is relishing in the fact that she's almost as tall as Poppy!

I was able to sneak a quick picture with Ben, but didn't get one with any of my girls until the end of the night. I think they were all busy with cousins!

Mom got a Kindle - something she really wanted. We all chipped in to buy it for her, and she wasn't expecting it at all.

My brother, Mike (aka master molten cake maker), didn't want his picture taken because he didn't want to be on the blog. So, this of course, (being the annoying big sister that I am), made me want to take his picture just so I could include him in this blog post. So - here's Mike hiding from me, then semi-cooperating by getting his picture taken with his mommy & his adorable wife, Karla. Ahhhhh - isn't he cute?? I love you Mike, even though I know you'll never even read this post! :)

From curly to straight

2009-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

For the most part, when Brad and I leave home with the girls in charge, things are usually status quo upon our return. On this particular day, however, some sisters seemed to think it would be fun to play beauty salon with a certain little brother.

Here's the result . . .

I am amazed that Ben sat and let Madi straighten his hair with a flat iron, but he did. He then cooperated while she took pictures. Amazing! It's a good thing they got pictures, because his hair was promptly returned to its curly state, where it will stay until further notice!

Mother's Day Teas

2009-05-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Lacey's Mother's Day Tea

My favorite tradition at our school has rolled around once again - Mother's Day Tea! Every year is as enjoyable as the next because I get to spend one-on-one time with my girls in their classrooms. Lacey's class has been studying about Asia, so they chose to have a themed Mother's Day Tea that supported their studies.

They learned a dance from India, which they performed while wearing skirts (girls) and shirts (boys) straight from India.

The mother's were served Indian food by our children. We all sat at the tables with our children by our sides. They were able to get food for themselves after they served their moms. I don't typically venture into the international realm of eating beyond Mexican, Italian, and Chinese. So - the flavors of Indian food were new to me, but I tried everything. Here's the menu:

Samosa - baked pastries with spiced potato and peas filling

Bhel Puri - a mixture of savory morsels, including puffed rice, potatoes, garbanzos, tomatoes, and green mango tossed in a tamarind and mint chutney.

Mango Ice Cream - mango and cream seasoned with saffron and cardamom

The children sang a beautiful song about mother's entitled "She". It is a song that Lacey's teachers (who were also Katie's and Madi's teachers) like to use every year and it is guaranteed to make the moms teary!

Lacey also painted a picture for me and wrote me a 2-word poem -

My Mom

Great mom
blued-eyed, short-haired
plays piano,
dances, funny
cooks, walks
bakes, reads

I always feel so loved and so blessed to be my kids' mom after I go to the Mother's Day Teas!

Madi's Mother's Day Tea

Madi's Mother's Day Tea was middle-school oriented - meaning no songs or artwork created for mom. But I did get a poem!

Happy Mother's Day, by Madi Wallace

My mom takes care of me in times of need,
All things she does are good for me.
In almost everything she does, she succeeds.
I am sure our whole family would agree.

She works all day, never takes a rest,
Hardly ever makes a fuss.
Our family is truly very blessed,
And she loves us, which is a plus.

Mom is never afraid to show her love for us
And of that I certainly am sure.
So now I really must confess that
She's the greatest and I love her.

Even though writing poems are difficult to do,
this poem was not so hard to write, because it is for you.

We also had yummy treats and got to visit with all the other moms in the class (including Marie Osmond!). For the sake of nostalgia, I wanted to get a picture of all the soon-to-be graduating 8th graders with their moms . . .

Katie's Mother's Day Tea

Katie's class was on a school trip the same day the Mother's Day Teas were held, so they had their tea the next week. Sadly, we were out of town and missed the Tea! But, Katie also wrote me a few poems, using different types of poetry she has learned about -

Haiku
I love my mother
she is loving and caring
she takes me to dance
takes me to soccer
She takes me to play practice
my mom is awesome
I love her so much!
She always has time for me
when something goes wrong
she takes care of me
She is always there for me!

Cinquain
Mom
Caring, Loving
Likes to cook
Musical, Plays the piano
LaRae

Limerick
My mom is the best
She needs some rest
She takes me places
And taught me how to tie my laces.

Acrostic
My mom is very talented,
Outrageous, and
Makes me feel happy.

Found poem
I am so glad I have a mother like you!
I know that you will always be there for me!
Thank you for taking time out of your life to bring me to
soccer, dance, and activity days.
Thank you for all that you do for me.
Thank you for taking care of me.
I am glad you can make me dinner and do my laundry.
Thank you for buying me food and water.
I love when you take me places and when you pick me up from school
I love you!

On days like today, being a mom is the best! I love my kids!

What does "I love you" mean to a 3-year-old boy?

2009-05-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

It was a quiet evening - just me and my baby girl and my baby boy. A rare, quiet evening. Katie has been on a school trip all week. Madi was babysitting and Brad - off on a fishing venture. I was sitting in front of my Mac, perusing my online world with Ben on my lap. He was squirming and begging. "Please mommy, can we go to the park? Please?" He wanted to go to the little park in our neighborhood - just 2 houses away.

I kept giving him reasons why we couldn't go. "Ben, it's almost time to go to sleep . . . It's getting late . . . It's almost dark." The reality - I just didn't feel like going to the park. Lazy, I guess. I wanted to play on the computer, I guess. Plus it was hot outside. Besides, we had just come inside after spending almost an hour enduring the 90+ degree temperature.

I hadn't planned on staying outside when we walked my mom to her car after she stopped by for a few minutes, and I warned Ben of this fact, telling him it was too hot to stay outside. He didn't care, & out we stayed. After spraying the grass with the hose, traversing the sidewalk on scooters, waving to neighbors entering and exiting the neighborhood, and sweeping the gutters along with our driveway and the driveway next door, Ben and Lacey finally decided they were hungry for dinner and wanted to go in.

So when we came inside, in my mind, we were done for the night. I knew Ben wanted to go to the park, but I knew he also needed to eat dinner and that daylight was waning. I figured if I had to, I could remind him of the bobcat sometimes seen looming outside our neighborhood and Ben would definitely give up the "go to the park" idea. Things were going well. It was 7:40 and almost dark. It was just about time to get ready for bed. But then the begging began. I fought the begging for a few minutes, and then contemplated, "why am I resisting this? It's just me and my little kids. I really have no other obligations but being with them right now."

So I said, "OK Ben - let's go to the park, but just for 15 minutes, then it's time for bed."

And his jubilant reply, "OK! Yay!! This means you really love me, mama! Come on Lacey, we're going to the park!"

And you know what - after 15 minutes, Ben said, "I'm ready to go home, mama." Only 15 minutes - doing something I didn't really feel like doing initially - but my little boy went to bed knowing his mama loved him. So simple . . . so why do I make it so difficult sometimes?

May Day

2009-05-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

We actually participated in a May Day Celebration at the school this year - on May Day and complete with a May Pole - this was a first! Lacey was asked to be one of the girls who danced around the May Pole as people entered the school. The ribbon on the May Pole was simply luxurious and beautiful, and Lacey was a bright and cheerful May Pole dancer - though she did get bored after a while and I got to take her place for a while :). One of Lacey's teachers, Ms. Amy, showed the girls how to wind back & forth, and over and under each other to create an impressive weaved pattern with the ribbon on the May Pole, but this proved to be rather complicated for the girls to accomplish. It worked for a while then rapidly turned into a crazy, jumbled criss-cross pattern instead.

The celebration included food, crafts, games, face-painting, music, and a silent auction for a few art items created by the children (with the help of our art teacher) as well as gift baskets and dates with the teachers. Even with all there was to do, I think the girls had the most fun just being with their friends.

Madi and her fellow 8th grade buddies
top picture - Cristien, Lindsey, Lexi, & Madi
bottom picture - Sebastian, Lindsey, Lauren, Lexi, Madi, Cristien

Katie & some of her friends - Skala, Lauren, Christina and Katie P.

Sisters with painted faces

Lacey with her friend Kyla

Into the Woods

2009-05-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

Meet Rapunzel

Meet Rapunzel and her handsome and devoted prince

Meet the wicked step-sister, Florinda (center), and her family

These characters - along with Little Red Riding Hood, Granny, and the Wolf, a baker and his wife, Jack (as in Jack & the Beanstalk) and his mother and pet cow, as well as a wicked witch and a mysterious man - made up the cast of our school's first ever major musical theater production -

Into the Woods Jr.

Our music teacher, Ms. Linda (seen below with Katie), did a phenomenal job organizing and directing this production. The auditions were in January, followed by months of rehearsals and 3 performances at the end of April. Madi and Katie were happy to be a part of it, though Madi was disappointed in her role as a step-sister. She felt she was qualified for a larger role (despite a less-than-desired audition due to nerves), but when all was said and done, Ms. Linda did a perfect job casting the play. Once she got over the disappointment, Madi decided to be the best step-sister she could be, and in the end, she said the play was the most exciting thing she had ever done.

I was able to be involved with the play as well, accompanying the cast as they learned the group ensemble numbers in the beginning. I then worked with the soloists in the end, helping them get ready for the performances. It was a big family commitment, with rehearsals 3 days a week after school, added to our already busy extra-curricular activity schedule. Ben spent lots of afternoons hours hanging out by the piano at the school.

Madi particularly enjoyed going to the rehearsals because she got to spend time with with her friends. She poses in the picture below with her friends, Lexi and Lauren. Lexi was on the tech crew and Lauren was the Wicked Witch.

Madi and the other 8th graders who were part of the play - Cristien (narrator), Madi, Elan (the Mysterious Man), Lauren (Witch - the green nose gives it away, right?, Lexi (tech crew)

And in the picture below - my actresses - the night of the final performance. Those big smiles on their faces tell you just how they felt at the end of the night. They were on such a high! Before the performance Katie said she hoped they would get a standing ovation, which of course, they got. It made her night! Madi and Katie both grew from participating in this production. Madi learned that you don't have to be the star to have a rewarding and positive experience. She also learned that it can be a lot of fun to be a drama queen - hamming up her role as much as possible. Katie learned that she can sing some pretty high notes when necessary and that it's OK to pretend to care about a prince even when he's a silly boy you've gone to school with since you were 4. The girls were both sad to see it all end, and wondered what they would do with their afternoons now that the rehearsals were over. I, on the other hand, did not have that same concern :). I know one thing for certain - our school has now entered the realm of theater and there's no turning back now!

A Parental Pat on the Back

2009-04-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Parenting seems to bring out a lot of my insecurities, and I am far from a perfect parent. I know that I make mistakes daily, and if I don't see them personally, my kids are quick to point them out to me. It is difficult to see progress on the parenting front each day. It's even more difficult to get positive feedback on a day-to-day basis. When I was the marketing director at Valley Foods, I got positive feedback all the time. I would complete a project and receive the accolades of my managers and co-workers. The formula for success seemed fairly simple - do a good job, receive a reward, do a good job, receive a reward. This job of parenting is a whole different ball game! Though I definitely consider parenting to be rewarding, it is a long process and the positive feedback comes only occasionally. I often wonder how I am really doing and if the teachings Brad & I try to instill in our girls are sinking in.

I felt very fortunate, as Brad and I sat with our girls' teachers this week. We actually got a pat on the back, and the positive feedback came when both Katie and Madi's teachers had auspicious things to say about the character of our girls. One of Katie's teachers shared a specific incident she observed and then told us that we should be very proud of our daughter and her dedication to staying true to her values:

During lunch one day that week Katie and a few friends were planning to get together and one of the girl's moms was either going to take the girls swimming or to see a movie. The girls were deciding what movie they would see, and Katie knew that we would not approve any of the suggestions and told her friends that. One girl suggested that Katie just tell us one they were seeing one movie then go to another. Katie immediately said, "you want me to lie to my parents about the movie? I'm not going to do that!"

Good for you, my daughter! By the way, the girls ended up going swimming :).

We went right from our meeting with Katie's teachers to meeting with Madi's teachers. Her English teacher is the one who actually brought me to tears as she complimented Brad and I on our parenting and our dedication to our faith which, she believes, has grounded Madi in a way that has prepared her for high school more than anything else. It meant the world to me to get this compliment from Madi's 60-year-old, New York bred, long-time school teacher. She then asked us if we had read Madi's American Dream paper, a short paper the students were assigned to write after reading "Death of a Salesman". We had not read Madi's paper - we didn't even know about. Her teacher couldn't believe we hadn't seen it and essentially assigned us both to go home and read it - which we did. This paper was evidence to Madi's teacher that Madi knows who she is and where she is going. Maybe - just maybe the things we are trying to teach ARE sinking in . . .

My American Dream by Madi Wallace

In a world full of judgment and hatred, we can’t help thinking about what our life would be like if everything and everyone were perfect. When this comes to mind I think of these words. Love, acceptance, joy, and happiness. Harmony, family, laughter, and stability. All these words have one thing in common; they are a part of my ideal American Dream.

When I get older, I would like to look back on my life and know I was happy, that I had a happy family, and that our family got along and enjoyed each others company. So, part of my American Dream would be a happy family, with good morals and values, times of great laughter and fun, and a financially stable life. Unlike Willy’s family in the book The Death of a Salesman I don’t want to have to worry about money to support my family all my life and would like children that can support themselves when they get older.

Although it would be great to have expensive things, and look great in nice clothes all the time, in the end those materialistic things won’t matter. I am not saying those kind of things are not a part of my American Dream but, I do think that those kind of things leave our brain after awhile, or they get lost. So it would be nice to remember good memories, and harmony in lots of things we do.

I am starting to prepare in my life now so I can live up to my American Dream. My education, and the way my family is now will help for that purpose. I think everyone should have their ideal life planned out so that in the future they can try to live to their American Dream.

I can't leave out Lacey because her teachers had many good things to say about her, too. She is a very driven student and hard worker. She especially excels in math and reading. She is a good friend and respectful of others. I am so glad that she is doing so well in school.

So for all the trials and difficulties of parenting, it's moments like these that gives me confidence to continue what I am doing. These moments help erase a few of my insecurities, even if for a brief moment, to help me see that there is progress and that despite all the mistakes we make, we are doing something right and our daughters are truly amazing people. I came straight home from those meetings, sat my daughters down, and through my tears told them how inspiring and phenomenal they are and how proud I am of them. I told them that when we live together day in & day out, it's sometimes easy to see all the things we do wrong and not as easy to see all the things that we do right. I wanted them to know that what they are doing is right . . . that what we are doing as a family is right. And yes, they thought I was a little silly for crying, but then - they're not mothers yet!

Annoyed

2009-04-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

I am annoyed about 2 things tonight & I just had to tell someone! Brad is out of town- so I guess it's my blog audience. - SO -

First, I am annoyed at Perez Hilton (a celebrity blogger & pageant judge - if you haven't heard of him) & the media backlash that Ms. California, contestant of the Ms. USA Pageant has received after answering a question about her opinion as to whether or not same-sex marriage should be legal in all states. She chose to be true to her personal values and stated that she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. Perez Hilton said he believed her answer to this question cost her the crown! Ms. California came in 2nd place. I am annoyed. In my opinion, when it comes to the media and the way things are reported, it is apparently only OK to have an opinion expressed in public as long as it is "politically correct, liberal, and/or green." It seems to me that all other opinions are frowned upon and quite frankly, ridiculed, and I am tired of it!

Second - I am annoyed at Barbara Walters. Earlier today I was searching through channels on my XM radio in the car & happened upon her show. She was interviewing Reverend Joel Osteen, and he was promoting some big event he is doing at Yankee Stadium this weekend. She asked him a question about his belief that only Christians can go to Heaven since there are a lot of good people who do not believe in Jesus. She then went on to say, "after all, Jews don't believe in Jesus, Mormons don't believe in Jesus, . . ." Oh, she got my attention right there. Did she actually just say that? How could this apparently educated and highly-experienced journalist say something like "Mormons don't believe in Jesus??!" Someone needs to set her straight!

If I could have, I would have called her right that minute and asked her, Barbara -

"Do you KNOW that the name of the Mormon Church is actually, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?"
"Do you KNOW that the entire Mormon religion is centered in Christ?"
"Do you KNOW that testimony of Jesus Christ is born in every meeting I attend on a Sunday afternoon in a Mormon Church?"
"Do you KNOW that we believe in God the Eternal Father and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."
"Do you KNOW that we believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel?"
"Do you KNOW that - we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. 2 Nephi 25:26?"
"Do you KNOW that the words, "thank you for Jesus Christ" come out of the mouth of my 3-year-old little boy every time he utters a prayer?"
"Do you KNOW that we end every prayer ever offered in our church in Christ's name?"
"Do you KNOW what you're talking about?"
"Do you KNOW how very wrong you were in making that one simple statement?"

Apparently not!

So - tonight I am annoyed. Somebody get me Barbara Walters secretary - and while you're at it, find a way to get a hold of Ms. California so I can say, "Thank you for being true to what you believe!"

Small step = really big leap for me

2009-04-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

I made the phone call today that I've been putting off making for at least the past 2 weeks. When I tell you about it, you might think, yeah, so? What's the big deal? But, this is one phone call I have found very good reason to NOT make, even though I knew it had to be done - eventually.

I've been really busy you know. I haven't had much time and when I do think about it - it's 11:52 pm, and that's just too late for making phone calls. And then, spring break happened. No one will be there to answer the phone - excellent excuse!. "I'll call soon enough", I tell myself. If I make that phone call . . . then that will mean that my little girl is really, truly growing up. I don't think I want to admit that . . . not yet . . .

But, finally today, I did it, despite my innermost desire to NOT. I already had the number entered in my cell phone, so it wasn't hard to locate - no excuse there - darn! However, I knew it had to be done, and now, sooner than later.

"Just 7 numbers. Do it - OK - NOW!" I did it!

And - when I finally punched those 7 numbers into my phone and asked for the registrar at our neighborhood high school, I got transferred and promptly - cut off. Busy signal. "You've got to be kidding me! Maybe I'll just wait till tomorrow," I think.

But I ignored that inner voice speaking to my insecurities, and I didn't wait. I called back to hear some unfriendly person who transferred me, yet again, to the registrar. This time, I got her voice mail. Come on people! Don't you know how hard this is for me? "Couldn't you make this the slightest bit simpler for me?"

I get her voice mail - Carol isn't available, but if I leave my name and number, she'll call me back. "OK - this could be a good thing. If it doesn't happen today, it won't be for a lack of trying on my part." " She doesn't know me. She's never heard of me. Will she really call me back?" Leave a message. Beep.

I left my message and hung up. Not 5 minutes later, my phone rang. Check caller ID - bummer - it's the high school! I answered as a woman on the other end identifies herself as Mrs. Somethingorother from the high school. Wait? What happened to Carol who told me to leave her a message? I guess this is her. I guess I won't be calling her Ms. Carol, like I'm used to at our little bubble of a school, I guess it's Mrs. Somethingorother. Hi.

I get all the details about everything I have to do so the school district knows my child exists and so that she can start high school in the fall. It doesn't sound all that difficult. But then - it doesn't sound all that easy either. Birth certificate. Proof of residence. Paperwork to fill out. Electives. Course catalogs. Websites.

My brain wants to stop this information. Mrs. Somethingorother talks and I semi-tune-out her voice and think, "Can I just have a do-over? Can Madi go back to kindergarten? Can we do the past 9 years over again? Can she just be 5 again? Can we go back to birthday circles and first night celebrations, field trips to the fire station, and chapter book parties and Mother's Day Teas? Is there any way I can find a way to get that little girl back again?"

Snap back to reality and listen to Mrs. Somethingorother. She speaks, but now she sounds more like Carol than Mrs. Somethingorother as she asks, almost sensing my trepidation, "Are you ready mom? I always ask the moms - the kids are always ready - it's the moms who aren't."

Am I ready Carol?

Of course I'm not ready . . .

. . . but she - well SHE - definitely IS!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

I feel my Savior's love

Lacey & Ben, 7 & 3

In all the world around me

His spirit warms my soul,

The boys

Through everything I see.

The girls

He knows I will follow Him,

Ben, age 3

give all my life to Him.

Madi, age 13

I feel my Savior's love,

Katie, age 10

The love He freely gives me.

Lacey, age 7

Highlights of the day -

Early morning egg hunt
Daddy's homemade whole wheat waffles for breakfast
Gathering as a family to read scriptures about Christ and discuss his last week on earth
New Easter outfits to wear to church
Ben's orange linen shirt and green tie from Children's Place
Beautiful weather
Brad, LaRae, and Madi singing in the ward choir
Katie and Lacey singing "I am a Child of God" and " I Feel My Savior's Love" with the Primary children
Delicious Dinner (ham, prime rib, Jared's twice-baked potatoes, homemade rolls, salad, veggies, & Nothing Bundt Cake - YUM) with my parents, 3 brothers, and their families
Knowing that we didn't have to get to bed early because our school was giving us one more day of spring break! - Monday off - Yay!

Downsides to the day -

Ben's mysterious illness that started at about 11:30 am and was gone the next morning - that caused a very glassy-eyed look, fever, tummy ache, headache, and ear ache (though you wouldn't know by the pictures - the symptoms were a lot worse earlier in the day - with the exception of the ear ache that came on after dinner).
Finding out 20 minutes before Relief Society started that the presidency was expecting me to teach (major mis-communication here) - but I did pull it off : )!
Being told that dinner was at 5:30 - rushing to get rolls & veggies made by then, after getting home from church at 4:20 - only to find out that dinner was really at 6:00-6:15 (my parents were definitely on 2 different pages here!)
As usual, too much candy!

Spring Fling with Mammy

2009-04-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

- Girls in pretty spring dresses -
- a fancy table and fresh flowers -
- delectable new food to try -
- a special message from a caring grandmother -
- an egg hunt -
- prizes - pictures - and time with cousins -

This is how we spent our afternoon today as my mom hosted her sixth annual "Spring Fling" for her granddaughters who are at least 3.

The first was in 2004 - when our babies were still babies.

Here are our 2004 spring flingers - Lilli, Marin, Katie, Lexi, Madi, and Sophie.
Lacey, who was still 2, was not old enough to be a spring flinger that year.

Fast forward 5 years - and here are the 2009 Spring Fling attendees -the Zobrist girls were in Utah for Spring Break so we missed them this year :(

Mammy with (back row) Lilli, Katie, Madi, Lexi, (front row) Vivi, Ava, and Lacey

Our lovely table - with a very delicious menu of Chinese chicken salad, rolls, veggies and dip, and cherry fluff fruit salad. A couple of the dishes were unfamiliar to the girls so they had a chance to try something new. The granddaughters all know it's a special occasion when they have the opportunity to sit at Mammy's dining room table, and they were all very lady-like, polite, and neat as they ate their lunch.

When my mom has a captivated audience of granddaughters, she doesn't like to miss an opportunity to impart some words of wisdom - to share a gospel message - to help them along their path of life. At her Spring Fling this year, she had a discussion and shared some ideas about modesty - not simply modesty in dress - but also modesty in behavior, attitude, language, and thought. The girls listened to my mom, and in this picture, my mom is listening, quite intently, to a comment from one of her granddaughters. My mom gave each of the girls a gift along with a special box to keep things in with Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." written on the inside of the lid.

An egg hunt is always part of the Spring Fling tradition. This year, Janae was the official egg hider, and claims that she would like to relinquish this title in the future. I believe this is the case because the girls kept asking Janae to help them find the eggs - leaving her to wonder the purpose behind actually hiding eggs and not just giving them to the girls. In this picture, each girl counts her eggs so we can discover how many more eggs are still hiding in the house. Believe it or not, it really was quite complicated!

Some years, my mom asks me to come be the Spring Fling (very novice) photographer. She likes me to take individual photos of each of the girls, and for the most part, the girls seem to enjoy being models. (I guess she didn't ask me to do this last year, because I was looking through my photos and have nothing from 2008), but we have a batch of new photos from some fresh-faced beauties for 2009 -

Vivien, age 5

Lexi and Madi, ages 12 &13

Lacey & Ava, age 7

Katie & Lilli, age 10

Ben & Nicolette did not attend Spring Fling because one, Nicolette is NOT yet three, and two, because Ben is NOT a granddaughter. Based on the fun they had together, I think they created a spring fling of their own.

Thank you mom and mammy for doing this for your grandchildren. They will always remember days like today!

Ben's Celebration

2009-03-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ben's 3rd birthday all weekend, starting on his actual birthday - Saturday - opening gifts from mom & dad.

Ben is at a stage in life where he is very easy to buy for. He loves trains, trucks, tools, firefighters, and sports! One of his favorite TV shows is "Fireman Sam" (an older, 15-minute animated show - kind of like Bob the Builder - on PBS Sprout), so a firefighter dress-up costume was a no-brainer! Each of Ben's big sisters found an opportunity to help out the birthday boy.

Ben is also a big fan of trains and especially Thomas (as I am finding out is the case with many little boys in this age group.) Ben also loves helmets and is getting quite proficient at pedaling his tricycle - so a Thomas bike with matching helmet made Ben a very happy 3-year-old. Truth be told, I was happy for an excuse to get him his own helmet because he is often seen by our neighbors sporting his sister's much-too-big-for-him, purple and pink bike helmet.

Ben also opened a special package that arrived in the mail from Grandma Judy & Granddaddy Ken - a train t-shirt - fitting right in with the train theme we had going on!

The birthday celebration ended on Sunday with a Thomas the Train cake and presents from Mammy & Poppy. Our friends the Gallaghers came to celebrate with us along with Uncle Mike & Aunt Karla and cousin Ryan. Sadly, I slacked off a bit in the photo-taking department and did not get pictures with Mammy & Poppy, Brad & I, Kim & Jeff, or Mike & Karla! Bummer!

Mammy and Poppy gave Ben some spring outfits and fun toys! His favorites were the wooden fire engine, little wooden alphabet train set, and a construction magnet book. Feeding Ben's sports love, The Gallagher's gave him a cool light-up football and a plastic baseball and bat. Uncle Mike & Aunt Karla were hoping to match the excitement of last year's lawn mower gift with a very real-looking toy deer and bear. Considering Ben's recent story about shooting a bear, this would be a logical gift. However, it appears that Ben is much better at fending off live bear than the plastic variety. He was terrified of his new bear and deer. Sorry Mike & Karla - he will get over it! :)

And finally - the cake! It was quite a process to create this cake! I found an inspiration cake online then altered it to meet Ben's request of a "Thomas" train. I worked several hours on Saturday evening and Sunday morning & finally finished the cake about 15 minutes before everyone came over on Sunday evening - just in time for a few pictures & then we took a knife to my creation. I can't even tell you how much frosting I ended up using - but it was A LOT! By the time I was done, it all seemed kind of crazy, but Ben loved his cake, so I guess it was worth it.

Here is Ben with all the kids who came to his "party" - Ryan, Lacey, Madi, Allison, Meredith, & Katie. I can't believe he's 3! Neither can he. Ben is already lying about his age. When you ask him how old he is, he claims to be 2, and gets rather angry when you remind him that he is 3. It's time to face the truth, Mr. Ben, like it or not, you ARE a year older!

Guess Who's Three?

2009-03-21T16:47:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday 3-year-old!
Ben's nursery teachers at church gave him this golden crown in recognition of his birthday this week. He wore it all evening last past Sunday after church. However, by the end of the evening he tired of his crown and said, "Mom, I don't want to be King Benjamin anymore". Happy birthday to the Wallace family's King Benjamin! We love our little 3-year-old. May he stay 3 for at least a year!

More "Benisms"

2009-03-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here were a couple of my laughs of the day from Benny Boy -

Laugh One -
The scene: Still in the car after just driving into the garage upon our return from picking the girls up from school. Ben said -

"Mom did you remember yesterday I shot a bear?"

"you shot a bear, Ben? I don't remember that."

"yeah, I did!"

"where were you when you shot the bear?"

"I was really closer."

"and where was the bear?"

"He was hiding in the leaves. He was at Merrill's house (that's our neighbor who lives directly across the street."

Very impressive - don't you think? I am rather certain that Ben is the youngest bear killer in the state of Nevada. And, the fact that he discovered a bear in the desert southwest is even more amazing, I do believe!

Laugh Two -
The scene: In Ben's room right before I put him down to bed tonight. Lacey came in the room and I was reminded that we needed to review her spelling words. So, with Ben listening, I told her to go get her words so we could practice them before she went to bed."

Ben quipped - "oh yeah, mom - I need to do my homework."

Nice try buddy - off to bed you go!

The things we do for our kids

2009-03-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

I've had a very interesting afternoon, to say the least - looking after a lion, a cute little brown monkey named Coco, an adorable elephant, a fussy poodle, a fluffy white kitten, and amazingly enough, a unicorn! (and you thought unicorns didn't exist! Ha!)

It has been rather challenging and time-consuming, but I do believe I've been somewhat successful. Several of the animals have been quite ill, even near death, and it has been my responsibility to revive them. I don't have a lot of expertise in this area, but as a mother, I find that I am often given tasks to accomplish where my expertise is significantly lacking. But yet, I must take on such tasks simply because I am a mother, and because my children need me, and it is up to me to rise to the occasion.

The story begins this morning when I came downstairs to find Lacey on the computer. I quickly reminded her that she had lost her computer privileges for a couple of days and needed to get off. She did not meet my reminder with rebellion or anger, but she looked up at me with deep sadness as she pleaded with me, "But mom, I have to feed my pets or they're going to die," and almost immediately, the tears welled up in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. I knew this was genuine concern, and not a manipulative response to get her way. So, you can imagine my reply, can't you? Was I going to kick her off the computer and knowingly allow the deaths of Lacey's beloved virtual pets? Certainly not!

Here are the pets who have been, I must brag, very well-behaved today.

They may look fine to you, but I assure you that a few of them were hovering near death this very morning. These dear pets are of the Webkinz breed, and not only do they live in our home, but they live in a virtual world where Lacey cares for them, feeds them, dresses them, makes cute rooms for them, and more. It costs virtual money to do all these virtual activities, and the money is earned by playing games on the Webkinz web site. If you neglect your pets for a prolonged period of time, their well-being is severely jeopardized.

In early February, Lacey changed her password on the Webkinz site, sadly forgot the new password, and consequently, could not take care of her pets! This has been both a worry and concern for her for the past several weeks. The only way to get back on the site is to find one of the secret codes that comes with each pet, and not only could Lacey not remember her password, but she could not find any of their secret codes. As luck would have it, one of the codes was finally discovered yesterday, and Lacey was checking in on her pets this morning when I scolded her for being on the computer. You can imagine the scene in the virtual world since it's been over a month since Lacey last fed her 6 pets. It was not pretty! She bought up all the food she could and started feeding pets, but 3 of the pets were without food when she ran out of money and time because she had to go to school.

So what does a girl do when her pets are dying and she's out of money to feed them? she instructs her mother to play some Webkinz games, earn some money, and feed the dang pets and bring them back to life! So, as we drove to school, I was educated on the ins and outs of buying food and feeding Webkinz pets. "Now the lion loves Zebra hot dogs, and the the monkey likes banana shakes. Buy this special cereal for the cat - she is picky." And so it went, as I was schooled in negotiating the Webkinz site. I have played a few of the games before to earn money, but never have actually taken care of a pet! But - I am happy to report that at this time, all the pets are revived and well on their way to recovery. So glad I was up to the task, and now I have mastered a few skills that I did not have this morning! I guess that's just one more job to add to the never-ending list of things a mother will do for her kids!

Going Green

2009-03-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

When you're not Irish, you've never caught a leprechaun, and you have no idea who St. Patrick really is, what do you do on St. Patrick's day, but go green? And that's just what we did! We dedicated our day to the color green!

Lacey's class had a potluck "green buffet", and our contribution was green rice krispie treats. I thought the idea was quite clever, but Lacey said they were not particularly popular on the buffet. Picky kids - what did they expect edamame and celery?

Lacey and her classmates continued the tradition of making a futile attempt to catch a leprechaun. Lacey and Katie created her innovative trap which was left, along with her classmates' traps, in their classroom the evening of March 16th in the hopes that one of them would capture the leprechaun that visits our school each year. All of my girls have tried their hand at catching the little bugger, and we have failed year after year. Gold pieces and chocolate are always left behind, but not one child at our school has ever been successful at capturing our clever & illusive leprechaun! Well, there's always next year. You never know when our luck will change.

How do you top off a day full of green? With a green dinner, of course! Our green dinner consisted of -

grilled chicken breasts (they were NOT green, but oregano & tarragon (both green) were part of the marinate)
green rice pilaf (with a few craisins thrown in for a little variation)
asparagus
artichoke
green salad
limeade

The girls were a little unsure of the green rice, but after giving it a try, decided it was edible and actually pretty delicious.

Madi & her friend Lexi

Katie - color coordinated with her meal

Shamrock sugar cookies were planned for dessert, but it got too late - so we will have to make them later in the week! Bummer!

A Man of Great Importance

2009-03-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about how much I love Brad and look up to him and about how important he is to me and my family. He is an amazing person. He is a leader, a provider, a servant, a student of the scriptures, humble, kind, giving, yes - amazing. To me, he is practically perfect.

But, he tells me, "we have to be careful because we can work on overcoming our weaknesses and we might think we are getting closer and closer to perfection, but if we start to think that, well that would be pride, and then we're in trouble." So - I guess for me to think Brad is just about perfect, makes me prideful. But that is typical. I am prideful and Brad humble - which is what makes him so close to perfection in my eyes. I guess we're a good combination because he tempers my pride. And, I guess it is good that occasionally he shows a tiny imperfection, to remind me that he is not perfect. Perfect or not, he is a man of great importance in our home.

Saturday night I had a dream that I think illustrates how important I believe Brad to be - (I loved this dream by the way - one of those that you don't want to wake up from). I'll call it . . . .

Brad - Beloved by All

Brad and I were attending some type of grand athletic event - somewhat like the Olympics. We were seated in a huge indoor arena watching a famous woman diver, who happened to also be my friend. We were on the very front row. There were thousands of people in the arena all watching different sporting events at the same time.

At some point, later in the dream, all activities were about to stop, and the massive crowd in the arena was going to sing "happy birthday" to Brad, lead by a sports team of some sort (seems like perhaps a football team.) Everyone in the arena knew Brad, though I don't know why. Anyway - the team was in the hallway looking for Brad so they could lead him out to the floor of the arena. They couldn't find him anywhere. Then I started looking.

I found Brad outside, hiding (like in the bushes or under a table, or something. I spotted his eyes peeking out from wherever it was he was hiding) because he didn't want all the attention (see, he's humble). I, on the other hand, thought the attention was fantastic (see, I'm prideful - or at least I enjoy attention)! I told the team where to find Brad and they cornered him and marched him into the arena.

We entered the arena together, Brad and I, with the team in front and in back of us. We were waving to all the cheering people, and I remember grinning from ear to ear. This was definitely one of the greatest moments of my life. At one point we stopped and Brad picked me up and twirled me around like we were teenagers, then he kissed me in front of the entire arena and the crowd roared and clapped. (We were so popular!)

Then everyone sang to Brad, and he was taken up on a platform where there was a chair waiting for him and women lined up to have their picture taken with him. I was on the sidelines with a somewhat famous guy (kind of like a Ryan Seacrest) who was talking with me. He asked me if I wanted to go up with Brad, but I told him I was fine and that I was off to check in with my famous diver friend. I wanted Brad to have his moment, and I didn't seem to care in the least about all those girls having their picture taken with him because I knew that I was his and he was mine. And everyone else in the crowd knew that too.

And that's all I can remember . . .

In my dream, Brad was not a celebrity. He was not a well-known politician or a famous athlete. He was simply Brad, and everyone in the crowd loved him. To me, he is even more important than a famous athlete, politician, or actor. He is the father of my children. He is my husband and friend. He makes me feel like I am the most incredible person in the entire world. He makes me want to be a better person. He is a most amazing man, who is practically perfect to me!

I've Been a Bloggin'

2009-03-06T22:34:00.001-08:00

To my blog readers (if I have any left) - I have not been the most faithful blogger the past 6 months or so. I have really missed writing and recording the rather ordinary life of the Wallace family. I have also missed your feedback & comments and "involvement" in my life through this blog. Sadly, I may have lost a few readers due to my haphazard blog posting. I am hoping to improve! Can you forgive this blogging slacker? I have tried to catch up my blogging for February tonight. If you have some spare time, you might want to scroll down through about mid-February. You will find some new posts. If you don't have time to read everything all at once, just come back and visit and catch up with the Wallaces. Our life isn't all that exciting (I'm very thankful for that), but we want to share a bit of ourselves with you, and hope you enjoy reading about the ordinary lives of an ordinary family!

Ahh the joys of a Friday Afternoon

2009-03-06T16:51:00.001-08:00

What could be better than a day when -

after-school activities are on hiatus
homework has no meaning for 2 whole days
your only short-term obligations are deciding what TV show to watch and which snack you are going to devour next
play of the relished and revered game "who can demolish the house first" commences
and the whole glorious weekend is ahead of you

What could be better? - Ahh - the joys of a Friday afternoon!

On this particular Friday, the late afternoon hours were welcomed with a bit of creativity - bordering on educational (gasp)! Katie and Lacey decided to draw pictures of animals - using copies photos of real animals they had collected in a file folder as their pattern.

Katie's orca whale
(Incidentally, don't do a search on "whale tail" in yahoo images with your 10-year-old daughter looking over your shoulder. Sadly, what you're looking for is NOT what is displayed - I found that out the hard way.)

Ben said - "take a picture of me and my gun." great.

Ben's creation that he made with his "gun"

Don't be too worried about our seemingly educational activities around here on a Friday afternoon when all that is productive should be put on hold because always, always, always - in the background - there is . . .

Spongebob - our constant weekend companion

. . . and then Madi enters the room, declaring, "I'm bored!". So she starts torturing Lacey, who then screams so obnoxiously that she ends up in time out, all the while screeching, "I hate you" - and I am the target of those lovely words!

Ahhh the joys of a Friday afternoon!

Tech Savvy at (almost) Three

2009-03-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Last night Ben came up to me with Brad's Blackberry in hand and stated, quite matter-of-factly -
"Mom, I'm texting someone."

Hmmmm - I wonder who it could be?
I can honestly say that "texting" was not part of the vocabularies of my other children at almost 3! I don't know if that's good or bad!

A Perfect Day

2009-02-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

What an amazing day! We couldn't have asked for better weather and the surroundings were quiet, peaceful and desert-ly beautiful! I was so thrilled to have a chance to jump in the car with Madi and her friends and head out on a field trip to Eldorado Canyon - somewhere off the road to the minuscule town of Searchlight, Nevada. Shame on me for living in this valley for most of my life and not knowing more of the places of beauty that surround me.

After a picnic lunch on the rocks (wondering if any snakes were hiding to come and eat us - or at least bite us), we hiked through sand and sage brush to come to a canyon - not a big canyon - but still a canyon.

Here we are in our very sunny picnic lunch spot - ready to take on the hike

At the mouth of our little canyon, we talked about how canyons are formed through movement of plates below the earth's surface along with rain and wind - and how it takes millions of years for that to even happen. Then, as we continued our hike through the canyon, Madi's science teacher, Mr. Boshko, would stop us and quiz his students on the scientific names of all the rocks & rock formations - names which are not likely to become a part of my permanent memory bank of information. But still, it was interesting, and I did liked touching all the different rocks - especially the conglomerate rocks that were so interesting to look at (hey maybe that one will stick in my memory!). The rocks with specks of iron pyrite sparkled in the sunshine, and the sun warmed our skin while the cool breeze kept us from getting too hot. It was a perfect day to hike in the desert. Believe me, you would not want to do this in July. Though there is green vegetation along the way - it's a far cry from the welcoming shade of a big, leafy tree. We climbed down rocks and jumped over small pools of water and finally hiked to a point beyond the natural bridge (shown below) where we could look off far in the distance and see the Colorado River. And some kids and parents (though not Madi and I) climbed high up steep rocky surfaces beyond ear shot and view from those of us down below to see even more of the river, caves, and other beauties of nature.

I am thankful for this day. Thankful to be with Madi and her friends and her teachers. Thankful for these last few months where she can go to a school with only about 30 middle-schoolers and 8 graduating 8th graders. It is not the real world, I know that, but that's OK. The real world will come soon enough, so why rush it? Perfect days like these are numbered and vanishing quickly, blink by blink. High school is just around the corner for Ms. Madi and honestly, I can't imagine I will be going on any more field trips like this with her. I could be wrong, but I don't remember my mom ever coming on a field trip with me in high school. Maybe that's because I never went on a field trip in high school - unless you count the school band trips to Disneyland, but seriously - that is NOT a field trip. As we drove home with the smell of the sun on our skin and clothes, I was thankful for a perfect day. Never mind that I needed some Tylenol for a headache. Never mind that I was worried about running out of gas because I didn't bother to check beforehand to see how far we were actually driving. And, never mind that as we were leaving the school to begin the field trip and I started the car (transporting 5 7th & 8th grade girls) that the radio blared a very inappropriate commercial (thanks Oprah channel) for my under-aged passengers. Never mind that I needed a potty! All were mere inconveniences in a most memorable, most perfect day.

Mom and Madi at the end of a wonderful day!

The 8th grade graduates (plus one 7th grader - Dylan - to the far left)
Zarek, Elan, Cristien, Madi, Sebastian, Lauren, Lexi, Lindsay (front right)

Madi & Lauren - these 2 have been together since kindergarten

The 8th grade girls - Madi, Lauren, Lindsay, Lexi

The whole middle school - ready to conquer the world!

Melt My Heart

2009-02-20T14:56:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, I lose my patience with my kids :(
Sometimes, I get frustrated with my kids :(
Sometimes, I get aggravated with my kids :(
Sometimes, I get down right mad at my kids :(
Sometimes, I yell at my kids :(
And sometimes . . . they lose patience with me, get frustrated with me, get aggravated with me, get down right mad at me, and EVEN yell at ME! :(

But, no matter what, absolutely ALL the time, I love my kids :) They know how to melt my heart and take away all the frustration, anger, and aggravation!

Just lately they have melted my heart as I -

- Listened to Madi give a beautiful talk at Young Women's New Beginnings for church. She is growing up to be such an amazing person!

- Watched Katie act as "teacher" at her annual parent-child night, teaching mom & dad about what she is learning at school. Katie is such a responsible and organized student!

- Had Lacey plop into my lap just because she needed a love from mom. She is growing up to be such a big first grader, but still seems to need to be the baby girl at times!

- Heard Ben's sweet words as he prayed, saying "Thank you that mommy can stay home and take care of me" and sensed his excitement when he first spots my shadow on our morning walks, proclaiming "There's mommy's sunshine!"

It's a good thing I love them so much! When they make my heart melt, I know they are worth every single second of aggravating, frustrating, and patience-trying moments. I love these babies of mine - and offer my thanks to Heavenly Father for the many ways they enrich my life and make me a better person.

"Upon a Time" - by Benjamin Wallace

2009-02-19T12:26:00.001-08:00

[Note: please read with scariest, meanest, gruffest voice to get the author's intended effect of the story!]

Upon a time there was a helmet.

Upon a time there was a helmet and a sword.

Upon a time there was a scary monster.

Upon a time there was a scary guy.

Upon a time the monster was going to get mommy with his sword.

The mommy, while protecting herself from the sword, thought . . .

. . . if only an empty container and a ruler could bring out the imagination in all of us!

President's Day Weekend

2009-02-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

Highlights from our President's Day Weekend 2009 at the Cabin

Our journey to the cabin this weekend was a rather nail-biting experience. It was raining as we left Vegas, at about 6:00 pm, and once we got to Black Ridge, just beyond St. George, snow was sticking to the ground and cars were slipping and sliding off the road all-too frequently for my liking. I said a bounty of silent prayers on that little trip, and even had the thought that we might have to spend the night in Cedar City. However, we got out ahead of the storm and by the time we got to Cedar, there was no snow on the ground, so we headed up the mountain to the cabin. Almost immediately, the snow began again. It was heavy, but oh so beautiful, and the Yukon forged ahead with our faithful dad at the wheel, and we made it successfully to the cabin. Once there, we were amazed at the 5 inches (or more) of snow that had attached itself to our back window and bumper. It was an adventure, and we were so relieved to be out of the snow and safe inside the warm cabin.

I already told you about our Red Dinner in my last post, but we had a few other adventures as well!

For some reason, not understood by the women of the family, dad, Brad, and Jared decided to make a fire in the middle of the snow, just for fun. Ben and Ryan were out with their dads for as long as their mom's would allow it. Much to their disappointment, once the sun went down, the little boys had to come in. They didn't care that they couldn't feel their almost purple fingers or toes, they wanted to be out with the big boys, who were quite proud of their fire. I am glad Aunt Katie braved the snow and cold to take this picture so we have a record of their fire-building skills!

Dad, Jared, and I had a blast towing the kids around on sleds behind the four wheelers in the big field in front of the Harris' cabin. The next couple of pictures show J pulling Madi and Ryan.

Dad tows Lacey and Ava in these pictures while Katie sits on the back of his four wheeler.

I would have loved to have been out there longer, pulling the kids and riding around on the four wheeler fitted with trax around the wheels to make it more snow-friendly. Madi said I was a crazy driver, but I think I was an awesome driver! She didn't like when I took her over a hill going faster than she wanted me to go. How was I to know that? Do you just love my 1980's ski jump suit? Again, I have to thank Aunt Katie for this picture. Since I don't hang out in the snow much anymore, I don't have my own snow attire and wear whatever ancient relic is available at the cabin. This is it in all it's glory!

We had great fun in the snow just outside the cabin too. Poppy and Uncle Jared helped the kids build a little sledding hill just outside the garage. The girls also couldn't get enough of the virgin snow between our cabin and the neighbor's, making snow angels and building snow forts to their heart's delight.

Ben and Ella warmed up in the tubby. All went well until Ben thought it would be fun to compare body parts - "Look Ella, I have a belly-button. Do you have a belly-button too?" Then Ben checked out Ella's belly to find her belly-button. As soon as he started looking for her belly-button, I knew what was coming next, and I was right. Let's just say that Ben may have discovered the difference between boys and girls on this trip!

Ahhh - sweet Valentine Katie with her sequined heart tattoo.

My little snow buddy playing outside the back door of the cabin. Love the hat!

Our long weekend trip ended much as it began. The weather was sunny and beautiful the whole time we were there, but as we pulled away from the cabin, tiny snowflakes began to fall. With each mile we drove, the snowflakes got bigger and bigger, and at one point, all we could see in every direction was pure white! Thankfully, once down the mountain, the weather wasn't too bad, and we were more than happy to make it home to our snow-free abode.

2nd Annual Red Dinner

2009-02-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

This year, we held our 2nd-annual Red Dinner at the cabin. Valentine's Day 2008 was our 1st-annual Red Dinner, hosted by me for my immediate family and parents. It was fun to continue the tradition in '09 with even more family members and more hands to prepare the food! We had pasta and red sauce once again - what else do you make for a red dinner? I made the pasta and furnished the red Cherry 7-up. Janae made the salad (with red tomatoes) along with stunning red velvet cupcakes. My mom made the fruit salad (red fruit included) and the bruschetta. It was a delicious feast!

Janae's red velvet cupcakes - so much lovelier and more delicious in person!

Janae's Nicolette loving her red velvet valentine cupcake.

And the happy couples in attendance included -

Mammy and Poppy (my mom & dad)

Katie and Jared

LaRae and Brad

Janae and Doug

The kids were there too - but I don't have pictures - strange, I know!

Homemade Valentines are the Best

2009-02-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day - 2nd grade - I was eight.

I had a crush on 2 very cute boys - one blonde, one brunette - Jimmy Woodland and Todd Handley.

I loved them both. But - Jimmy won the prize that Valentine's Day by delivering an over-sized, heart-shaped envelope, handmade out of construction paper and chock full of more homemade Valentine's, just for me. I felt like a queen! Jimmy had 2 older sisters - they were big 4th and 6th graders - who helped him design this Valentine creation just for me. I loved my valentine so much that I think I kept it till I graduated from high school. And, for the record, in all my years of school, no boy ever matched that 2nd grade valentine gift from Jimmy Woodland.

I am sure part of the reason I loved Jimmy's valentine so much was that he made it for me. Today, after celebrating Valentine's Day in their individual classrooms and examining the collection of valentines each had received, my girls unanimously agreed that homemade valentines are the best of all! When I was in elementary school, I remember going to the store with my mom and picking out tiny valentine cards (perhaps Holly Hobbie, cute animals, or some other random design) that I would sign, sometimes fold in half and put in equally tiny envelopes, then deliver to the desks of each of my classmates at school the next day (naturally giving the boys my least favorite valentines). My girls' valentine-giving experience has been a bit different. In the early days of our school, we were not only encouraged, but required to make our valentines - no store bought allowed. Through the years we have stamped, painted, drawn, and even baked the loveliest of valentines. However, as our school has grown and time has gone by, store bought valentines are now acceptable at classroom valentine celebrations. Although, we have chosen to continue with the "make your own" tradition even though we are no longer required to do so. As my girls came home and looked through their collections of Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Star Wars, Sponge Bob, and other various themed valentines, the valentines that really got their attention were those handmade by their friends. What better way to say "Be mine"?

Lacey used stickers and pink cardstock to create her valentines.

Madi went with a "David Archuleta-themed" valentine - surprise, surprise!

Katie designed bookmarks for her classmates and teachers.

Have you ever touched a snake?

2009-02-12T22:36:00.000-08:00

I have never touched a snake before. That is - until Lacey's parent-child night at school. She was so eager to show us everything in her classroom, including one of the favorite classroom pets, Naga, a bubblegum corn snake. Naga is so loved that at the beginning of the school year, the bubblegum corn snake was chosen as the classroom mascot. Lacey loved and cuddled Naga like a baby doll. How could I not show my "affections" as well? It wasn't all that bad.

Speaking of Pruning . . .

2009-02-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Just like the tree in my back yard (see my last post), Ben's hair got a little pruning as well this week, with emphasis on little. I am not ready to part with the curls, so to those who are pressuring me to do so - it's not gonna happen, yet! You'll just have to be happy with a little pruning (even though the lady at the deli counter at Vons thought he was a girl today.)

He is so NOT a girl. When the tree in the backyard was getting it's major pruning job, Ben ran to the window in my room to see what was happening because he heard the chainsaw. He said, "look mom, those guys have a chainsaw just like me." Yea - my girls never wanted a chainsaw or even knew what a chainsaw was at this age - so there!

Pruning

2009-02-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

Don't be sad, tree.
I know you may feel naked and embarrassed, but those limbs had to go.

They were weakened and sagging from that winter storm you were not prepared to handle.

Storms come. They may weaken us in spots.
And then the pruning begins.

The weakened branches have to go.
So don't be sad, tree.

I understand you may not feel like yourself. You don't even look like yourself.
You are probably missing those branches that were a part of you.

Though you don't know it, sometimes the pruning is necessary.
It will help you become yet stronger and more beautiful.

Trust me.

I speak from experience.
Don't be sad, tree.

2009-02-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

Funny how circumstances can change so drastically when you're not looking. Funny how your children can all be gathered together in one room for 5 minutes of nightly scripture reading, and what is supposed to be a calm and serene occasion turns into an all-out brawl. Funny how that happens. Or maybe not so funny!

It all started when Little Sister felt the need to hunt for a more exciting case to carry her scriptures in right when it was time to read together. After running upstairs and digging through the 30 or so little purses and bags she could rightfully claim as her own, and realizing the cute little Tinkerbell bag was just a tad too small for her scriptures, she moved on to explore the 30 or so bags of Bigger Sister. Bingo - she immediately found just what she needed! Little Sister brought the bag downstairs, where all were gathered, and declared that since Bigger Sister never used that particular bag, she would claim it as her own and use it to carry her scriptures. Bigger Sister, feeling the need to protect her stuff, yanked Little Sister's newly discovered bag out of her hands and sat on it. It was obvious where Ben's allegiances lay as he started screaming in Bigger Sister's ear, demanding that she return the bag to Little Sister. Ben was adamant about protecting Little Sister's rights and was not about to back down. It went downhill from there as yelling and name-calling ensued followed by an energetic tug-of-war as Ben raced from sister to sister. I stood in the adjoining room, dumbfounded - knowing the bag belonged to Bigger Sister, but disappointed in the way Bigger Sister was handling the issue. Finally, I asked Bigger Sister what she would do about this situation if she were the mom. With that, Bigger Sister took the bag and threw it at Little Sister telling Little Sister she didn't really want the stupid bag anyway. Nice. So glad we had this brawl just for fun. Funny how that happens.

Little Sister did not have a good night for more reasons than the bag brawl. Perhaps the less than desirable behavior of the evening was purely a side-effect of a more than tired little girl! At least I'd like to think so. Funny how that happens.

Biggest Sister - who stayed home sick today commented, "It was so nice and peaceful here all day until you guys came home!" Interesting observation, don't you think?

Ben says . . .

2009-02-06T14:01:00.001-08:00

I didn't expect Ben to be so verbal, and I certainly didn't expect him to talk non-stop as he often does. There are times when I wish he were a little less verbal. He has 3 very verbal big sisters, and with so much verbosity in the house, sometimes, my brain just wants a break from conversation. When we are in the car, Ben talks almost incessantly, and he demands that I be part of the chit chat. If I allow my mind to wonder and don't answer one of his endless questions or don't recognize the very cool truck that he tells me about as we pass it, I am reprimanded. So - we converse (a lot), and Ben frequently ends up saying something that makes me smile or laugh out loud.

[Now - this really isn't the Ben blog even though I do a lot of Ben posts - but I want to remember his words years from now. If I don't record these moments, I will forget them. I know this, for sure. I have not been a proficient record keeper in the past, and though I know my girls have all said things at this age that made me smile or laugh out loud, I cannot reach into the far corners of my mind to remember the details. It makes me sad that I have forgotten, and I wish I would have written them down, but I didn't. And because I didn't write the details, I remember only a few of the things my little girls used to say. I remember that Madi could sing the ABC's before she was two - and that she loved to sing - a lot. I remember that she was the one who nicknamed my mom "Mammy" because she couldn't say "Grammy" and that she asked her dad for cinnamon toast and chocolate milk for breakfast every morning. When Katie was little I loved hearing her call her cousin Jacob, bup-bup, and loved listening to her say good night to Brad every night, saying "see you in the morning, daddy" in only the way an adorable, blued-eyed-brunette, 3-year-old can say it. And, I remember how she asked for "pampakes and syriup" or chocolate milk and milky for breakfast. I remember how Lacey couldn't say her "r's" and would call Brad's mom "gwamma Judy." I remember that she did a mean dance to Hokey Pokey Elmo and that she would always talk about our "baby" and would want to buy things for our "baby" long before Benjamin was a reality. I wish with all my heart that I could remember all of the details of what my little girls had to say, because they definitely had plenty to say! Sadly, the details fade from memory, and 13 years of parenting become a convoluted blur.]

Since I want to remember the details of the early years of at least one of my children, I come to my blog to record the profound sayings of Benjamin Bradley Wallace. Here are sample conversations from the past week or so -

"Mommy, when you grow up, you can be a worker man, and when I grow up, I am going to be a first grader and then I am going to be a garbage man."

"Mommy - how do firefighters fight?"

Ben - "Mommy, when I get older, I am going to have a blow dryer."
Mom - "What are you going to with a blow dryer?"
Ben - "I am going to blow some trees."

Lacey - (on the ride home from school with just Lacey & Ben in the car - the big girls stayed late) "I am so hungry. I want something really good to eat when I get home. What can I have for a snack, mom?"
Ben - "Lacey, what would you like? We have steak or pasta."

Ben - "When I grow up I'm going to be a daddy and drive in a truck."
Mommy - "And will you have a little boy?"
Ben - "No, I'm going to have a little mommy."

Here's to remembering the details of our lives and the lives of our children. I want to remember when my life was filled with details like firefighters and garbage men and trucks and little boy questions and endless conversations . . .

Adios baby teeth

2009-01-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

Here is my dear Lacey girl, a couple of short weeks ago just before New Year's. Isn't she cute? Look at that smile. I love that smile. She is extra happy here because she is holding one of her favorite treats in the whole wide world - Grandma Judy's cinnamon rolls. Grandma knows how much Lacey loves her cinnamon rolls, and every time we go to visit, there are, of course, always cinnamon rolls - for Lacey & the rest of us. In fact, rumor has it that Uncle Casey knows just how to get Grandma to make them - even when Lacey isn't around. All he has to do is say to Judy, in his best, little-girl Lacey voice, "Grandma Judy, will you make cinnamon rolls?" And chances are, he can get her to do it! The whole Wallace family is thankful for Lacey's passion for Grandma's cinnamon rolls, because we all enjoy the fruits of her passion!

But - this post is not about cinnamon rolls, so look at that sweet 7-year-old smile up above again. Isn't it adorable? Now - look at the picture below of my 7-year-old Lacey girl. Notice anything different?

Ahhhh! Ms. Tooth Fairy has been working overtime at our house, as Lacey seems to keep losing teeth. Though this new smile is still adorable, I will admit that I did not cheer with excitement when Lacey recently lost her top front tooth. Every time she would wiggle her tooth, I would say, "stop doing that right this instant!" I could have waited for this event to transpire. I wanted to keep that little tooth in tact in her mouth, and if given the opportunity, I would have probably resorted to a little super glue to keep that tooth in place. But those who know Lacey know that she is a very persistent little girl, and that wiggly, annoying tooth had to come out! She would not let it be until it was out of her mouth & under her pillow, awaiting the Tooth Fairy. For me, when those two front teeth go, I know that my little girl goes with them. She is teetering between little girl and big girl at this very moment, and if those baby teeth would have just stayed a little longer, I am sure my little girl would stay longer too. But she is in a hurry, so I guess I will follow her lead, as the big girl inside gradually surfaces from one day to the next. And when the little girl shows her face, I will be there to give her a hug or read her a story and savor those tender moments, which I know, are limited - just as limited as those darn baby teeth!

Speaking of losing teeth, I think it is interesting that each of my girls has had a different way of handling her tooth-losing phase of life. Each daughter's personality is definitely reflected in the way she deals with the presence of a wiggly, wobbly tooth. My independent oldest, Madi, pulled out almost all of her own teeth. Perhaps this was due, in part, to the time, early on in her tooth-losing career, when my dad decided to "help" her pull out a tooth. (This is the same dad who was known to chase his own children around the house and sit on them, all for the chance of pulling a loose tooth -- and yes, I speak from personal experience). He was apparently a little over-enthusiastic as he "helped" Madi, because she ended up swallowing that loose tooth! Madi actually handled that experience rather well for a 5-year-old, but from then on, the number one puller of Madi's teeth was Madi, herself. I remember a couple of times when she asked for my help to rid herself of a frustrating baby tooth, and though I tried, I couldn't seem to accomplish the task. Madi was always happy to wiggle and jiggle, twist and turn those loose teeth, working them free from her mouth as quickly as possible, all on her own.

Katie, on the other hand, is my cautious daughter who leaves loose teeth dangling by a proverbial thread until the permanent tooth practically grows in to fill the would-be gap, all to avoid the pain and blood. No amount of talking, coercion, bribery, or threats will convince Katie to let you gently tug on the tooth, even when it's so loose that a strong gust of wind could blow it out, unless, or course you're her teacher. For some reason, Katie will let teachers pull out her loose teeth. A few times, amid sobs and tears, she has succumbed to my proddings and allowed me to pull a tooth, only to begin giggling the minute she realized the tooth was gone and that she had felt no pain.

And then Lacey - she enjoys losing her teeth. She wants you to pull them before they are ready, and she will wiggle them incessantly until they are finally ready to come out. But then - being the baby sister that she is - she wants someone else to do the dirty work. She has no interest in pulling her own teeth or waiting until they are ready to drop out on their own. She wants the loose teeth out, and she wants them out now, and she wants someone else to get them out. And for Lacey, the fun continues as more loose teeth loom in that mouth of hers. Oh well, even if she loses 5 more teeth in the next couple of months, she'll still be able to eat Grandma Judy's cinnamon rolls, and that's all that really matters!

A Milestone Accomplishment for Ben - my little man in embryo

2009-01-16T20:53:00.001-08:00

Considering that Ben has now been potty-trained for almost 2 weeks, it only seems fitting that he get a blog post in honor of his great accomplishment! I was dreading the potty-training process, because I have not had experience doing this with a little boy. But, as is usually the case with me, things end up being much harder in my mind then they are in reality. Ben has been an amazing student, and he is even waking up in the night if he has to go potty. I would say he is just about a potty pro. All it took was a day of running naked (Ben, not me), drinking lots of Sprite and a handful of Poppy's cinnamon bears and gummy raspberry candies.

Whether I like it or not, Ben's 3rd birthday is looming, and my baby boy is emerging from the toddler phase and entering the preschool phase of life. As much as I am sad to see the baby boy leave, I love every minute of watching the "big boy" personality emerge. He is developing a manly, take-charge attitude, and wants to help take care of "things". He is very sure of himself and thinks he can do more than his little body is capable of doing. Today I went to get a new jug of milk out of the overflow refrigerator in the garage. Ben quickly told me that he could do it, and was rather insulted when I wouldn't allow him to carry a full jug of milk from the garage to the kitchen. As this little experience illustrates, Ben tries to help carry things that are way too big for him, a behavior that was also manifested as he attempted to help stack chairs after a school event in December. Surprisingly enough, he did a pretty good job of taking down chairs that were twice his size. Ben's self-confidence astoundss me, and yes, at nearly three, he is well on his way to manhood.

Ben keeps me entertained all day with his manly sayings, and I can't help but shake my head in wonder. For example, here a few things he had to say over the past few days -

"Mom - I need to go in the back yard and cut down some trees."
(wanting to get some use out of his chain saw that Katie gave him for Christmas)

"When I get bigger I am going to go in a garbage truck, and Lacey is going to go with me."
(said after watching the garbage truck pick up our trash)

"Mom, you need to go to the store and buy me a sword and a gun and a monster helmet."
(I am not sure what prompted this thought, and I am definitely not sure of what a monster helmet may be, but I do know Ben loves helmets! In this picture he is wearing a little helmet my mom bought to keep at the cabin. When we left the cabin after New Year's, Ben threw a tantrum because he wanted to take the helmet home and didn't want to leave it at the cabin.)

"My daddy needs to go out there and fix that bunny
(in reference to the flat-as-a-pancake, dead rabbit in the middle of the road in front of our house. Ben obviously thinks his dad is one powerful dude!)

"I can fix it mom"
(Ben loves his tools, and is eager to fix whatever needs fixing around the house.)

And finally - just to add to his manly attitudes, my mom bought Ben this pint-sized lazyboy chair for Christmas.
(I wanted Ben to pose for a picture, but he wasn't interested in the least!)

I love my little man, but I am really glad that when he's feeling a little tired he still sucks his fingers and holds his blankie up to his face and rubs against me until I pick him up and give him a little snuggle. Thankfully, we still have a few years before that man in embryo actually emerges!