This is the way we walk to school...

I have been meaning to take the camera with me on our walk to school, but keep forgetting.  Today I remembered, but it was cloudy - so the pictures aren't as pretty as they could be.  Besides my battery ran out half-way home so I didn't get to take very many pictures anyway.  As you all know I am uber-talented and things like this are very normal for me.

Still, it is a fun walk, so I wanted to document it.  

Right now we walk E to school because it is nice outside and it is not too far.  It is .5 mile each way, so E walks 1 mile a day and M and GQ walk 2.  Since I am physically incapable of pushing a two-person stroller up and down the hilly road to school (my arm muscles are definitely mal-nutritioned) and since M and GQ are physically incapable of behaving well when we have a one person stroller (it's my turn, no it's my turn, no IT'S MYYYYY TURN), we do not take a stroller at all.

We are slow and take a long time - Justin is always surprised, but I remind him that I am definitely walking with a 2 year old and a 3 year old.  (Not that I would walk much faster on my own.... I have always been a dallier.)  Still, we usually make it without too many tears.  (In my book each child crying up to 3 times is not that bad if they stop within 2 minutes.)  I have not cried so far.  Though I am not sure if anyone from my backpacking days will believe me about that one.

When we walk though the woods I often feel like I have stepped into one of those early-Mormon history movies.  You can hear the road, but you also hear the birds and bugs.  And you definitely don't see anything but forest.

This is my best shot of all the hills.  There are several.  One day I tried to count them.  Then I got distracted and forgot what number I was on and whether I had counted the hilll I was walking at that time or not.  I've never tried to count them again because I am a slacker and prefer to fill my head with more useful thoughts.  (Do not ask me what the useful thoughts might be.)

Last week the kids saw a deer while walking in the woods.  That was a real treat.  Usually, it goes like this:

1.  They race out the door.  I yell "slow down."  This is usually the only time I yell this.  They are very fast when we are still by cars.  The rest of the trip is filled with "come on's" and "catch-ups". 

(And yes, M's outfit often rivals E's.  Today???  Pulled up "Hello Kitty" socks, pink capris, and her jacket zipped to her chin.)

2.  GQ picks up sticks at the first opportunity.  He then brandishes them at sisters, strangers, bugs, trees, sidewalks and other such offending articles.

If his sticks break while he is beating something/someone up.... he cries.

3.  When he does not have a stick he races down the hills.

4.  Then, he falls.  I have counted... and I didn't even get distracted... GQ falls approximately four times each way for our school trips.  He is covered with skids, and so I finally bought some fun bandaids.  This was a stupid idea since now when he falls again - and Buzz is scraped off as well as his skin - he cries even harder.  Sadly I am a vagrant mother and will not pick him up when he falls.  I rationalize this with the fact that I am pregnant, but mostly it is because if I picked him up then I would have to pick M up... and I am way too lazy for that.  So, when he falls, he cries and gets back up, and usually falls again.  Poor thing.

5.  M and GQ pick flowers and blackberries.  M will only eat the red ones even thought they are not ripe and are very likely disgusting.  GQ once tried to eat old cereal off the ground.... we are working on that.

6.  M also likes to play "Red Light, Green Light."  Although she stops listening when she feels like it and runs away.

7.  GQ looks for bugs and declares they are "going to eat him."  If he has his stick he kills them, despite the fact that I tell them the forest is where bugs are supposed to live. 

Overall, we have a fun walk every day.  When snow arrives, I'm sure our walks will stop.  Just like this post, which will now stop because my stupid letter p on my computer broke again and that makes typing very annoying.

the end.

Ice Cream Celebration courtesy of Grandma

After school last week we headed out for ice cream courtesy of Grandma.

As you can see, GQ enjoyed his ice cream very much.  He was not so sure about it when we handed it to him (it had chocolate on the outside) but after we made him try it, he decided it might actually be good.

Since we were celebrating for E, she got to have a "grown-up" ice-cream instead of a cone.

M ate all the ice-cream out of her cone, picking at it with her fingers.  But lest you think she is taking after her Uncle Joey, she did finish eating the cone when she was done.  She likes her ice-cream and cones separate, I guess.

Thanks, Grandma!!!

A Theme Revisited

Did you know sometimes I lie?

Well, I do.  For instance, take these sentences I wrote yesterday:

"Me? I like the personality of her dress choices. And hey, I never knew how to be trendy anyway."

This, in reference to E's wardrobe choices.  And usually this is very true.  Usually E looks slightly odd, but in a five-year-old way, and I'm good with that.  And sometimes she even comes up with cute outfits that I would never have thought of on my own.  I like to see what she picked and to know that it is totally E.  And sometimes I even let her dress GQ - which, let's be honest, is a less tricky business.

But sometimes, sometimes, E wears this skirt:

And this is when I have trouble containing myself.

I picked up this skirt at a "trading clothes" event we did with the MBA group.  It was already a little worse for the wear, but it was pink and it was a skirt, and I thought it might be something that E would like.

Boy, was I right, because that was two years ago, and E still hoards this skirt and "saves" it for special events.

Now, the skirt is more than slightly threadbare and frankly - as ugly as a person could imagine.  You can not quite take in it's gruesome-ness in the photo.  Every time E gets this skirt out I have to flinch.  Honestly, I was surprised she didn't wear it yesterday - which was why the purple "Hello Kitty" montage seemed perfect.

But out it came today.  For Day Two of kindergarten.

I admit, I resorted to a little bit of pressure.

"You know E, that doesn't really match."
"I know you like it, but it is just so worn out."

And finally, the big guns:

"Did you know I bought you a new pink skirt for your birthday.  I will let you have it early and wear it today, if you want to."

But no such luck.

The trick up my sleeve wasn't quite the trick I had hoped for.  And she stuck with her personal favorite

Which meant that even though I told E that she can brush her hair on her own in the mornings - since it is so short - I had to do her hair up nice.

There had to be something that said this girl has a mother.

Even it was just a clean braid and a nice hairbow.

On how to do your laundry...

This is how I liked to do laundry: every single load on one day. 

This was my reasoning: I only have to do it once a week and then it is done. 

This is what my mother said: "You should do one load of laundry every day." 

This is what I said:  "No thank you.  I like it my way."  (Insert M's whiny "my" if you'd like.)

This is what happened about one month ago:  I decided to try doing one load of laundry every day instead of doing it all on one day.  I do not remember why I tried, but I remember that it WAS NOT because I was listening to my mother.  (Insert M's opinionated "No I didn't" if you'd like.)
This is how I felt about it:  "This is great!"
This is why I thought that:

1.  I cut the amount of trips up and down the stairs carrying big heavy laundry baskets down significantly.
2.  Laundry was almost over before it began.  I can usually fold yesterday's load while putting today's load in.
3.  We are not left with our most worn-out, unmatching clothes for the end of the week.
4.  Our clothes are not wrinkled from sitting in the laundry baskets while I get around to folding them.

This is how I felt about sending E to kindergarten: Not excited.
This is what I did last year when I could have sent E to kindergarten: I didn't.
This is how I felt, and continue to feel about that decision: Great!
This is what my mother said about sending E to kindergarten (and Justin, and everyone else): You should send E to kindergarten.

This is how long I stewed about sending E to public school kindergarten: 1 1/2 years.
This is what I considered doing instead: homeschooling.
This is why:  I could not figure out why - if I believe that it is my sacred duty to teach my children, which I do - I was sending her away for the major portion of the day to get this learning from someone else.

This is what I knew deep inside me: That even if I really felt the above to be true, E was supposed to go to public school kindergarten.
This is when I finally knew it was I supposed to do: In the Temple right after little Clark left us, when I sat and thought about my children.
This is what I did: I signed E up for kindergarten.

This is how E feels about kindergarten: GREAT! (Do not be fooled by those frightened faces below.  She has been dying for this day to come.)
This is how Justin feels about kindergarten: GREAT!
This is how I feel about kindergarten: Slightly irritated, but content that it is the right thing.
This is how my mother feels about kindergarten (and everyone else):  It's about time!

This is: E off to kindergarten

This is what E is wearing: Her "Hello Kitty" shirt from Grandma, her purple pants ("I will wear all purple today") and her "Hello Kitty" socks.  She made sure to keep her socks up high enough on her legs that you can see her socks.  Justin was WAAAYYYY excited.  Me?  I like the personality of her dress choices.  And hey, I never knew how to be trendy anyway.

You know...

I have a feeling it will turn out like the laundry.
I will like it better than I thought.

Beach

Thank you everyone for all your great book suggestions.  I'm excited.  And if you come up with anymore, please let me know.  I have a year ahead of me!

****

Here are my pictures from the beach... mostly without comments, but I tried to pull up as many as I could stand downloading.  I don't know if that is good for you or bad.

Getting buried by Uncle Danny.  She didn't stay in their long, but she sure loved it.

This is similar to my favorite picture from the beach last time.  Justin with all his kiddoes.  How times have changed.  E would barely hold his hand long enough for me to take the picture.  She was ready to rush into the ocean.

Digging a hole in the ground with Daddy.

What else???  Playing ball.

Poor E.  I bought her new swimsuits, but still got a size too small.  Derelict mother.

M loved the water.  She would run in and when a wave came up she would scream and run away.  Over, and over, and over again.

This is to help me remember to send these pictures to Christina.  Now she can regularly get on my case.

I know, I know.  But honestly there isn't one picture of me on the beach.  Justin usualy runs the video camera and I take photos.  It results in some lopsidedness in our record keeping.

Having a tea party with Grandma Paula and the cousins.

Sitting on the lion bench.  GQ would often roar when he saw it.  One person thought he was crying.  Not that he didn't do that too.  Boy did we have a lot of fun!