Bring it ON!

I was all set to make the drive to Utah to visit my sister’s family for Thanksgiving. I had been planning to go with my mom and felt strongly I should leave Tuesday morning. She had to work and was trying to get me to go that evening, but I really felt like I needed to go on Tuesday morning. Sunday night, it started to snow. and snow. and snow. These pictures were of Monday morning. All my local family was calling. “Are you SUUUURE you want to travel with three children in THIS?!” “Paula, you can’t do this. You need chains.” “Are you STILL planning on going?” “You need help form another adult.” yada yada yada. My constant response was “THE LORD TOLD ME I COULD.” To me, it was as simple as that. So what if there is snow? I promised my sister I would be in her home for Thanksgiving, by golly, and it was going to happen. I almost let those voices get to me. I called off the trip Monday night. I called my sister and sent my regrets. By that time, there was even more snow.

Tuesday I awoke and it wasn’t snowing. The sky was clear. The burb had more than twice as much snow on it as you see here. I thought to myself, “Why am I not doing this again? The Lord said I could!” I checked my Facebook and there was a note from my brother-in-law saying how disappointed they were that we weren’t coming, and to please reconsider. Screw it. “Kids, get your stuff. Let’s go. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Did I say the drive was long? Yeah, that is kind of an understatement. The normally 8 hour drive took 14 hours. There was snow everywhere on I-82 except between Ontario and Mountain Home. I-84 was even closed! I had to drive around through Pocatello. You know what, though? I was so blessed. The suburban ran beautifully, the pesky check engine light didn’t even come on. The traffic was clear (I think the newscasters scared everyone off). And the kids…oh, my sweet children. I have never had a better time travelling with them than I did that day. They only fought once and it was quickly resolved. There was not any whining, they were helpful. I just couldn’t even believe how kind they were being to one another. It didn’t hurt that we have a DVD player in the car and some yet unseen movies from the Disney Movie Club that I surprised them with. We pulled into the driveway just at the tail end of the sixth movie. I could hardly see and barely walk.

Thanksgiving was amazing. I missed John. My BIL smoked an awesome turkey. My sister made her fluffy rolls and we made a five pies together. The kids had a blast playing together, as usual. This is the only picture I have of the day that I can share. Why, hello to you, too, Mr. Shawn! On Saturday night Shawn and I got to take a fun trip to the ER! I thought he swallowed a toy because he was breathing really funny. In reality he had a wicked huge tonsil and a bad sore throat. Poor guy. That night, after having a clear week, it started to snow. and snow. and snow. This is the part where I’m glad I homeschool and I had no where I *needed* to be, like work, and such. At this point I was glad the rest of the clan stayed home. My mom would have missed her surgery. I-84 was closed once again. So I stayed two more days!

My sister and I went out on the town, DI shopping, eating out, getting out for some fresh air after being in the house for 5 days with kids that all had fevers. It was working it’s way through the crowd. Tuesday, I checked the weather report and thought I could at least make it to Boise. I didn’t want to go down the 3 mile long 6% slope on ice at night, but rather during the day when it could be warmer. I got a hotel in Boise and it started to snow. and snow. and snow. Maybe I should have just driven straight through?   The next morning, it was worse. So bad they even cancelled school there. How does that happen in Idaho?! So, still not having anywhere to go, I stayed with my dear friend Sally. It was fun! The kids got up the courage to dig in the snow, sled, build snow forts, and shovel the driveway. Thanks, Sally for hosting us for a night! The chicken noodle soup was delish!

Slowly, we made our way home. Sarah started to get her turn with the fever on the way home, but hers was accompanied by body aches (more on this later). We got home and it was still light out. Our cat was still alive, that was good. We wanted to start a fire, but there was a lot of digging to do by then to make that happen.

The whole trip was a testament to me that I can do anything with the Lord’s help. I am so glad I trusted in his word. It wasn’t right for everyone else to go, but I had the promise that I would be fine. And I was! I was more than fine! I love traveling. Even with my kids alone, it’s such an adventure. I felt so free and independent (and kind of rebellious) to just take off and go.

This is how much of a facebook junkie I am, though. I told my BIL not to tell my sister I had changed my mind so I could surprise her, but because I had not posted on facebook all day, she was worried, and then figured out that I was on the road. Gee, so all I have to do to freak people out is skip facebook for a day? hmmm…..

 

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Our Summer

I don’t even want to know how long it has been since I blogged. I have a general idea, but I don’t know for sure, and I’m not looking. It’s kind of the “IN” think to do this summer, though, from what I can tell from all my friend’s blogs. That makes it okay, right? Like, it just means that we have been having tons of fun and spending lots of time together. Sure, we will go with that. One thing I have found is helpful is not a lot of text, but just a buttload of photos. So, without further adieu…

Our trip To New Orleans

We went over the 4th of July weekend to see John before he left for Afghanistan.  It was fabulous to be together. Here are some highlights (roll over photos for more details):

The holiday was a Sunday, so we spent it with my Aunt Kathy and her awesome family. Louisiana is no joke, man. I don’t know how you southerners deal with the humidity and the mosquitoes and the hurricanes and the weird mold that grows on your soil that makes it hard to garden. It’s pretty…if you don’t get out of the car. Travelling with three kids across the country has got to be the hardest thing I’ve done since John left. If you ever have the pleasure of being seated close to a family on a plane, please keep your snide comments and sneering looks to yourselves. The children are just as tired and cranky as you are, but they don’t know how to deal with it. And neither do the parents, usually. The bitter woman behind us kind of ruined my vacation. This TOTALLY made up for it. We got to see the beach before oil came and ruined it.  it was amusing for all of 15 minutes before we got sick of trying to keep Shawn out of the nasty water and we left. We went to Jackson Square and toured the museums there. Awesome place! I even went in a Catholic Cathedral. Different. Took the kids to get a Beignet at Cafe Du Monde, since I had loved it on our solo vacation over memorial day ( I did mention this before, right? I went down, and then a month later, took the kids?). Sarah remembers that the tables were all sticky and there was powdered sugar everywhere. We shelled out the dough for a mule drawn carriage ride through the French Quarter. It was actually pretty good. I learned a ton about the city I wouldn’t have if I was just walking around. The city has a definite feel to it. I’m not sure it’s for me, but it’s for a lot of other people. We had the pleasure of going to the insectarium and seeing the butterfly house. I was really inspired there. It was so nice to have my children behaving well, and to have my husband by my side. Shawn, however, got a fever that day. He had one on the first vacation we took, so I am thinking it’s just something that happens when he travels. poor guy. He was fine by that evening, though. We went to the aquarium, which was also amazing. The girls got to touch a ray! by that time Shawn was totally wiped out and I was getting lots of sleepy snuggles. We also saw an IMX movie. Shawn HATED the Imax movie. There were huge fish, right in front of his face. Once I stood at the back of the theater where he could see other people and not feel like he was falling into the ocean, he was okay. While we were waiting for the IMAX movie, we went to the edge of the pier to look at the mighty deep and muddy Mississippi River. Sarah felt the need to get a closer look. I’m glad John was there to help because when I saw that she had her head stuck in the railing, I could not help her. I was laughing too hard. We got her out, though, without too many tears. The zoo was…wet. it was fine when we first showed up. We saw the elephants and flamingos. And then it started to POUR. Umbrella? What’s that? We live in a desert (actually, a steppe plateau, but who cares?) We continued on our trek to see the lions, tigers, and whatever else was hiding from the rain. Saw a monkey or two. maybe a gorilla. The girls pet a black mamba. That was really cool. Ultimately, we had to leave. We were soaked to the core. All the animals were hiding and the puddles were more interesting than anything else. We stayed at the hotel the rest of the day to dry off. As long as we were together, we didn’t care. John left the country three days later. 

100th post

This is the 100th post on our family blog, and in keeping with tradition, I'll tell you 100 random things about us. Some you know, some you don't. And without further adieu, random musings from a random mind:
1. The time now is 4 something in the morning and I am up with a sick child. No fun.
2. We had a grand time with family from out of town for Easter
3. I make my children's Easter outfits every year.
4. This year, I made a fun skirt which John says makes me look I'm "trying too hard to be young". And to that I say "PPPLLLLFFFTTTTT!!!" :P
5. Here is Shawn's:6. And Katie
7. And Sarah:
8. It was really windy that day.
9. My dear husband has been gone for 18 days.
10. I have been sleeping really well at night with the bed all to myself.
11. I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom after 5 years of having it one way.
12. I moved it again when I discovered that Shawn likes to play with everything on my bookshelf that he could now reach.13. I have a new obsession with IKEA. I have never been there, but I have been admiring from afar.
14. We cannot WAIT to move!
15. If we could live anywhere, it would be in the rural parts of Spokane, like Chewela.
16. I love my family.
17. Sarah is smart and such a help to me.
18. Katie is sweet and sensitive.
19. Shawn makes us laugh every day, but is still a mama's boy and very clingy.
20. I love cheesecake. I don't get it enough.
21. Cheesecake flavored pudding pie is not a substitute for real baked cheesecake made with cream cheese and lemon juice.
22. I have yet to bake a perfect cheesecake.
23. I miss my sister.
24. When I visit my sister this spring, we plan on making dress forms of ourselves out of paper tape. It will be a grand silly time, and I will be able to do all that draping stuff I see on project runway.
25. My mom and I watch Project Runway together every week. I don't know what we will do in 2 weeks when the season is over. I like having a standing commitment with her.
26. My Aunt Karlene visited last week. It was wonderful. She is a wise, wonderful woman. We stayed up all night talking.27. My Aunt on my mother's side thinks I look like my mother, but I think I look like dad. She said she would have to see a female relative for a comparison.
28. Here is an old picture of my mom and I for comparison:
29. In the above picture, we were camping, so please cut us some slack. I'm pretty sure that is the last picture I have of my mom and I together and I am 5 months pregnant.
30. Katie had a birthday last week! She turned 4!
31. Daddy sang happy birthday with us over Skype and it was probably the coolest thing ever. Okay, not EVER, but the coolest thing that week. You can probably see him in the back there on the computer monitor.
32. To celebrate, we had the kids' cousins come for a sleepover. In reality, it was their parents' anniversary and their turn to go to Cameo Heights, but it made Katie feel special that it was for her birthday. We won't be able to get away with co-ed sleepovers forever. I can just see my daughters' friends having crushes on my handsome nephew.
33. I hope the weather is grand today. It has been too windy to spray weedkiller on my lawn and I need a calm day to spray.
34. I have never been able to get peppers to grow in my garden.
35. This post is the lengthiest thing I have written with my new keyboard. Shawn poured cereal in my old one. Luckily they are cheap to replace. It was fun to try and see which keys would work and if I could type responses to my friends on facebook.
36. I have an addiction to facebook. With the help of LeechBlock and deleting all my apps, it's getting better, but I still miss it.
37. I have a wonderful family. I love that they are so close and always concerned about our needs. I truly did fall in love with John's family before I fell in love with him. If marrying him was the only way to get Marianne as my mom, I was going to do it. Her son isn't so bad, either.
38. Katie is bent on being a grown up. I wish I could trade places with her for a day so she can see that the grass is not greener.
39. I love candy.
40. Olive green is my favorite color.
41. Katie's favorite color is purple and she is in the stage where EVERYTHING has to be her favorite color.
42. Sarah really enjoys art.
43. Shawn spoke his first word a few weeks ago. I was sure it was "go" until we went out to grandpas and saw the cows and he started saying "cow cow cow".
44. He really likes to carry keys around. Last week he tossed a small set down the toilet and it got flushed.
45. By default, because there is nothing else on, we have been watching dancing with the stars.
46. "Matching Monday" is the night we mate socks while watching the aforementioned program. That, or the Bachelor (yes, Aunt Karlene, I watch that "fake mindless drivel" hehe).
47. I threw out all Johns mateless socks last night. I figure that if I have done all of his laundry by now and these socks are still lonely, I'm not going to find the match.
48. The seeds and starts have still not been planted outside in my garden.
49. Kids that are not mine tend to think my raised garden bed is a sandbox.
50. I am trying corn this year.
51. For our science lessons, Sarah has been growing bean seeds in a jar with wet cotton balls. It is very cool to see the roots and everything.
52. We are growing purple string beans this year, and the bright swiss chard. Trying to have a little more fun with the garden since the children will be more involved than ever this year.
53. I mentioned to John when we were buying seeds that I really wanted to have planters and baskets hanging from our front porch with herbs and flowers in them. He told me to do it if it would make me happy. It made me cry right there in WinCo.
54. I thought I was going to chop off all my hair after he left, but I still haven't done it yet. I saw some pictures of a friend and her hair was about down to her butt. I loved it. I don't know if I will have that patience.
55. I love blogging. My journal hasn't been cracked in a while, but I am sure this is a decent substitute. I'll have this hard bound someday...
56. It is now one in the afternoon and I have been trying to think of more random things to say all day.
57. This is the oldest picture on my computer:58. During my time in the Army I jumped out of planes and helicopters 15 times.
59. My favorite aircraft to jump from was a blackhawk helicopter. Six of us strapped into a central ring and dangled our legs out of the doors. It took off, straight up, and felt like a roller coaster. Gliding back down to earth after shoving off from the door was the best feeling ever. The breeze in my ears, the adrenaline rush, the anticipation of hitting the ground, doing that perfect PLF, and then laying on the warm sand of the DZ looking up at the clear blue sky while I undo my harness. Truly amazing. Can you tell I miss it?
60. I also miss being that skinny and looking cute in whatever clothes I want.
61. In 1997, I was starring in our high school spring musical "FAME" as some drug addict girl who thought it was a good idea to lay on the casting couch.
62. At the same time, John was somewhere between Nebraska and Utah on the back of a horse, participating in the largest re-enactment of the Mormon Wagon Train. He marched into Salt Lake City in a parade with hundreds of thousands of spectators. Didn't see him in any footage? He was 16 and avoided cameras at all costs.
63. You can find his name on a monument that "This is the Place" State Park.
64. Sarah and Katie are like Jack Spratt and his wife, but with spaghetti. Sarah will eat just the meatballs, and Katie will eat all the noodles.
65. Sarah lost a tooth! It's the fourth one, which rounds out all the fronts. They were some tiny teeth! She yanked it right out herself. One tough cookie. 66. In 1999 while I was touring the world singing and dancing in the Army Soldier Show, John was getting his CDL and driving the graveyard shift. I was so proud of him for that, even though we were not romantically connected at the time.
67. The Spirit at one point told me that I shouldn't "like him like that".
68. That was at the beginning of our ten day vacation to Utah. We had to go down for separate events, and our dads conned us in to traveling together to save fuel. This is why we say we have an arranged marriage.
69. On that trip, people asked us 16 times if we were together.
70. We discovered that we had more fun together than we did separately with our friends, and that has been the case ever since.
71. Sarah likes to get crafty with paper. (that is what she wanted me to tell you)
72. We have a winter baby, an autumn baby, and a spring baby, but no summer baby (unless you count me, who is probably the biggest baby of them all).
73. Some of our favorite foods are: Pizza, Spaghetti, Chicken Nuggets, Meat, and French Fries. I'm not sure why I capitalized all that. And yes, I do feed my children vegetables. I guess I need to cook them better.
74. Some of our favorite places to eat are: Applebees, Ice Harbor Brewing Co, Rodizio, the chinese buffet, Olive Garden, and Jack in the Box. We eat out a lot. It is something we enjoy pampering ourselves with.
75. My sister, our sister-in-law, and myself, all had babies 2 weeks apart, within a 4 week span. Being pregnant together was a total ball.
76. Because I was the last one due, I knew that I was getting two nieces. Even though we were originally trying for a boy, I was devastated to learn that I wasn't going to have a girl, too. Now I couldn't be happier to have a son. I love him so much.
77. John doesn't like eating cooked vegetables.
78. Sarah is the bravest eater in the family. She has eaten: sushi, octopus, alligator, fish with eyes, squid, buffalo, and probably some other stuff I can't remember right now.
79. You should try digi-scrapping. It's seriously the best thing ever. I love it. I don't think I could ever paper scrapbook again. Once you learn the programs, you'll be a convert, too.
80. You should consider doing something to be kind to the earth. I know we have plenty, but "just because we can" is no reason to harm it.
81. To cut down waste at our house, we use cloth rags/towels/napkins instead of paper, cloth diapers, and I am considering doing something even more weird and drastic. I won't go into details.
82. We have a cat named Cleo. She shares a birthday with Katie. She protects her at night. I feel like she is watching over my children, but really, they are probably the warmest legs to sleep on.83. I used to work at Baskin Robbins. I gained 10 pounds when I worked there.
84. After that I worked as a costumer at my college theater. If I knew then when I knew now...
85. During that time I had the female lead in another play as an uptight personal assistant who loosened up a little after she fell in love. The man that played the title role passed away this year.
86. John and I got married the day after Christmas with only our parents and our grandparents in attendance. I am happy about the day that we chose (by default) because nobody ever forgets it and we get Christmas/Anniversary presents ever year. This year we celebrated 7 years together.87. When I moved with him as a new bride and saw the place he brought me to (the Bachelor Pad) 1000 miles away from home, I burst into tears. It was like 7 brides for 7 brothers, except that we moved out 2 days later.
88. He bought my engagement ring, and I bought both wedding rings. I spent more money than he did by about $30.
89. Two weeks after our wedding, he lost his wedding ring while 4x4ing in the snow. He is on his third wedding ring.
90. John gets no points for creativity when it comes to the marriage proposal. It was cliche and I made him do it three times. Well, four if you count the time I blew him off and told him I didn't want to marry him anymore and then came crawling back 2 days later when I saw how I had hurt him. I can't believe he still married me after that.
91. This is the newest picture on my computer:92. This kid is a such a joy! He is mellow, he is finally sleeping through the night, he is great in the store, and he is pretty flexible. He doesn't have anything he can't do without, he isn't picky, he can nap whenever fits in our schedule, within a given time frame, and he eats more than his sisters most of the time.
93. Right now I am shaking Shawn's keys to make them jingle and he is dancing to the sound.
94. I wonder what my children will want to do later in life. I think I have Sarah pegged, but aces are wild for the other two.
95. I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I got my wish. I'm a homeschool mom.
96. John's wish is to be rich and famous enough that he can build whatever car he wants and people would be willing to pay top dollar for it, like Chip Foose or Jesse James (minus the adultery). The downside of that is that he hates working in the shop all day. My hope for him is that he will be happy with what he does and realize that money can't buy happiness or solve all our worries.
97. I love Skype.
98. When Shawn hears the skype phone ring, it's like Pavlov's dog and he comes running to see daddy on the computer screen.
99. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love to try new recipes and cook.
100. John's favorite is Christmas and he is always bummed that he never has enough time or money to shop for gifts the way he wants to. Me? I make most of my gifts.

If you are lurking, say hello. I would love to know who all reads this blog. If you got to the end of this post, I congratulate you. You are either very interested in our measly lives, or you have nothing better to do at the moment. If it is the later, feel free to visit my other blog and waste some time there, too. It's way cooler than this one. http://mycutiefruity.blogspot.com.

Goodbye

He's gone. It was hard to say goodbye. I don't know how much I want to say about it right now. We spent that last day together cherishing every moment (as we had been doing for weeks). We swam at the hotel, played, and then had fathers blessings. We cried. We held each other. We told each other everything we wanted to say the night before so we could head to the airport early in the morning with nothing but hope and a smile. That didn't work for Sarah, who cried just about the entire time. Because we are a military family, we were able to go through security all the way to the gate and see the plane off. Sarah was insistent that we did so. Katie was bored. Shawn didn't understand anything. I was just trying to keep it all together.

I was most scared for the lonely drive home. I found that it wasn't lonely at all. I had three beautiful children in the backseat to make me smile and make me feel loved. I told them that we would get home the same time as dads plane landed, and that was the case. We got a phone call as soon as we got in.
I am so thankful these past 8 days for skype, cell phones, friends and family, and Wonder Wife (my alter ego who has been MIA since I got pregnant with Shawn, but is now BACK!). John is by now done with his in-processing at his training destination and will hop the pond some time mid summer. Things are going well and he is very set up there. If you want to write to him, contact me and I will send you the address.

A romantic getaway

My mother-in-law is awesome. She scored a 2 for 1 coupon at Cameo Heights Mansion and gave John & I, and his brother & his wife a night's stay at the luxury bed and breakfast.It was the perfect way to tie up any loose ends in our relationship before we were apart.
 We arrived in the afternoon and had a tour from the housekeeper (the hosts were not home yet) of every room in the house. We were supposed to stay in a certain room, but because we are friends of the owners and the only ones at the mansion that night, they let us choose any other room we wanted. We chose the spanish suite. It was lovely (as were all the rooms). Plush robes, fine linens, handmade soaps, chocolates, a fireplace, a HUGE tub and beautiful music greeted us in our suite. It was beautiful. Everything was perfect. John and I just laid on the king size bed in awe that THIS was our room. Amazing.

After enjoying the rain shower and walking around the mansion, it was time for dinner. We sat in the dining room overlooking the acres or orchards, the river, and the trains. Picturesque. Deanne brought us the  salad for our four course fondue feast. We had a wonderful conversation catching up on old times and talking about family. The cheese course came next and was delicious. 

We felt so spoiled being the only guests that night. The food was wonderfully prepared. The meats and veggies for the racelette grilling were well seasoned.  We had to cook them ourselves. I don't think I liked that. I cook enough at home, I did not want to do it on vacation. Everything tested good though, and by the time the german chocolate came for the dessert fondue, I couldn't fit it in my belly. But I wanted to! It was so yummy!

That evening we enjoyed a movie in the private theater. What a lovely theater! When it was over and our meal finally digested for the most part, it was time to take a dip in the very large tub. Holy heavens! This thing was huge. The mansion provides handmade bubble bath, and a little went a really long way with the jets and everything. I put in some when it was filling, and then when the jets came on, the bubbles grew. And grew! AND GREW! And they were slippery! We were sliding all over the tub, hardly able to stay up! Bubbles were about to spill out all over the floor! Six-foot John could sit with his butt against one side of the tub, and barely be able to touch the other end with his tip toes. We had to brace against one another to stay up. We laughed and laughed and just had a good time playing in the bathtub. While we were in the shower getting all the suds off, the drained tub started blowing it's jets dry. It was loud and I couldn't turn it off and I was a little freaked out. Then it did it again about a half hour later!

The morning greeted us too soon and it was time for us to depart and retrieve our children. But not until after a beautiful breakfast made by the innkeepers. Apple stuffed french toast with caramel syrup? o.m.g. so good. We stayed in our room as long as we could. We did NOT want our stay to end. We laughed, we loved, we had a total blast while away, with no cares in the world except to be together and enjoy one another. It. was. awesome. 

A picture heavy journal of our trip to Spokane

John had to go up for a week of training followed by a family pre-deployment fair that we were invited to. It was good to see him, to learn about all the resources available to us while he is away, and also have a little fun. We left to see him on Friday morning. First thing we did was stop by Buttercuppity, a new fabric store in Steam Plant Square that I am totally in love with. All the kids picked out prints to make their Easter outfits from. The owners are so nice and the fabric is even nicer! During the Olympics she had a great giveaway and I won a set of mom/daughter aprons. We will get them this week.

After ogling over cotton wovens and lunch with daddy, we met up with friends Kaylie and Grady at Jump and Play, a huge steel building filled with inflatable playgrounds. Shawn had fun, Katie had a blast, but Sarah, not so much.

By this time, Sarah had spent a week or more without playing with other kids her age. We were sick from church the Sunday before, and she was really missing socialization. (this is the part where my brother-in-law will say "I told you so" about the socialization and homeschool thing, but she had been sick, she wouldn't have gone to school anyway). When she saw that not only were there no kids her age to play with at the bounce house place, she was also banned from the 3 and under play areas that all other children in attendance were able to go on.

 

This resulted in her sulking and hiding in unseen corners of the jump-jumps. It was pathetic. She didn't care that she could play on ANYTHING else in there that she wanted to, she just wanted to play with other kids. This forced her 30 year old mother to climb, bend, and run in ways that she hasn't in some time. Like, before I was pregnant last. I got sore, quick.

We spent the afternoon at our friend's house sewing and introducing my children to DJ Lance and Yo Gabba Gabba. Yes, that show is psycho. I brought my sewing machine and it was a good thing, since K's busted halfway through the tote bag project I was walking her through. It was fun to see her and G, since we met online and rarely get the chance for our boys to play together.

We met up with John afterward and ate at Marie Calenders in Spokane Valley. Not only was the pie to die for, the staff was so nice. Katie was so exhausted that she slept through almost the entire meal. Luckily, Shawn didn't eat all of his food, so she had something to eat. We will definitely be going back.

What a glorious Saturday when we woke up. While the east is experiencing a very heavy winter, it is practically spring here in the west. We took the opportunity to meander through riverfront park on our way to the children's museum, one of our favorite haunts.

 

That meant that we got to play on the giant radio flyer and see the ducks (which Katie was not too thrilled about)

 

Katie wandered through the kids museum and it was hard to keep a handle on her. I had to spy her out to get any pics. This time, she was playing doctor and taking some random woman's blood pressure.

Sarah did a good job of staying with Shawn. The thing I was really disappointed about was that I couldn't watch all my children all the time. I wanted to enjoy playing with them, but I couldn't because there was just too many of them, and not enough of me. I had to focus most of my attention on the smallest, since the older two are more independent and mobile. While I enjoyed the moments I got to spend with them, I found myself longing for more.

Sunday found the children playing with kids their age (finally!) in the craft and game room set up for them at the pre-deployment fair. Except Shawn who had a horrible time in the nursery without his sisters to keep him company. He stayed with us during the afternoon. We created a Will, I met the people I should call in case of emergency, We signed up to receive a "flat daddy" for the kids to have while he is away, and learned about our new medical insurance. Some fun. On the way home, the girls were busy coloring and writing, Katie was practicing her scissors skills cutting a bazillion tiny pieces of coloring book paper all over the back seat. I was annoyed, but figured "hey, she is learning fine motor skills, right?" Yeeeeaaaahhh..... "MOM! PULL OVER! KATIE CUT HER SEATBELT!" There it was, clean in two, one end sucked back up into the seat. Luckily we have several empty seats in our suburban. She is now banned from scissors.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) we will get to go back to Spokane for a few days very soon. John has to do some further medical testing with the Navy docs and has to check in a few times a day over the course of a few days. In the meantime, we get to do whatever we want. It's like a 3 day vacation that will be interrupted a few times by his military obligations. We will have plenty of time to make more memories, and I am so excited.