The yearly Grandparent visit

Grandpa and Grandma Cows made their way down here for President's Day weekend, hoping the weather would be a little warmer than it's been the last two Januarys they visited. It wasn't. :) At least it didn't rain though. We did a lot of stuff while they were here, something every day I think. 

 We took one day to visit San Diego. We stopped to see the Historical District, where the Mormon Battalion Museum is housed. It's gone through a complete makeover in the last few years. This wagon sits right over the street, and you can climb through it. 

 After going through an interactive tour inside the museum, you can head to the courtyard to pan for fool's gold...

 ...or play with the water hand-pump...

 ...or wash clothes the old-fashioned way. I asked Evelyn if she liked washing clothes this way and she said, "Nuh-uh. I like washing machines." Ben told her his clothes were washed this way when he was on his mission. I definitely learned a lot about the historical importance of the Mormon Battalion and the kids said this was their favorite stop of the day. 

 Seven historical homes that have been preserved sit on the property next to the museum. There's a walking tour to see the exteriors, you can only go inside two of them. 

 Very distinct and colorful architecture though. 

 We also stopped to see the San Diego temple which we've only had time to drive by in the past. We learned there will be a visitor's center here in a few years. 

It was hard getting it to all fit in the frame. 

 My parents tried to get a shot of us, but the kids were just feeling too silly I guess. 

 We also visited Crystal Cove State Park and the tide pools they have there. The tide wasn't as far out as it could have been, but we still got to see lots of big starfish, a few big sea slugs, and many small hermit crabs. 

 A couple of starfish here. 

 Gordon going barefoot everywhere, he wanted to be held because he was afraid the water or the little crabs might get him. 

The girls checking out some hermit crabs with Grandma. 

We also rode the train and visited the Orange County Zoo at Irvine Regional Park. The kids really enjoyed that short little outing. We also made the short trip to see the progress on the Great Park. It gets bigger each time we visit it. It was fun having Grandma and Grandpa visit and go see a few places I've been meaning to see with the kids. Hopefully we'll be the ones doing the visiting this summer!

FHE Report

We had Family Home Evening last night about the importance of prophets, and then talked a bit about what President Monson has taught us to do. We mentioned "the attitude of gratitude" and Ben asked everyone to list five things they're grateful for. So I'm recording this for fun.

Evelyn: school, rootbeer, my Little House on the Prairie books, softball lessons, and my family.

Ben: My family, the gospel, my bike, the fact that I can read books for a living (thus far), and the clear blue skies we get with white puffy clouds after it rains.

Jilly: My blankie and my stuffies, my food, the house, our car, and the holidays.

Gordon: My energeeeeee! (jumps off the top of the bar stool), Buzz Lightyear, the robot man (?), spit! (raspberries he means, and then he blows one), and airplanes.

Shaunie: My family, the gospel, piano, the gym, and our house.

Gordon's growing up!

He said some things today that he's never said before that show he's getting older. I wanted to get them down before I forgot them.

We had Orange Chicken, rice and broccoli for dinner. All the kids love this meal, and they always want more orange chicken.
G: "Mommy, I wan' more chicken!"
Me: When you've eaten your rice and broccoli you can have more.
G: Mommy, I eat my rice.
Me: When you finish your broccoli you can have more chicken.
G (with his hands up like he's declaring a touchdown): Mommy, I eat all my food! Yay! I get more chicken!

Tonight's little conversation while I was putting him to bed tonight. This was the first conversation he's ever initiated at bedtime (the girls do this all the time). We had just finished saying his prayers.
G: Mommy, what is Jesus Christ and Nephi?
Me: Jesus made our bodies, and the animals, and the trees and grass for us.
G (still confused): Who is Jesus Mommy?
Me: He lives up in the sky, and He made our hands and legs and feet and head. He made the bunnies, the doggies and the kitties, and the grass and trees for us too.
G: Oooohh. (Like he understands now).
Me: Do we love Jesus?
G: Yeahhhhhh. (In a growly, quiet voice). Who is Nephi?
Me: Um, Nephi is a prophet from the Book of Mormon who made a big boat.
G: (Blank stare like this idea was way beyond him).

Yeah, we'll save Nephi for another time when I have pictures at my disposal. He pretended he was a puppy this evening, which he has done quite a bit lately, and has created his own game of "Timber!" on the couch. He's getting a lot better with pretend play and it's fun to see what he does with his toys. I can't believe he's going to be three soon!

Add-ons in the last few days:
Gordon does a really cool air guitar. He'll grab a pillow or some other large-ish, flat object (book, pillow), and start singing some tune from "The Killers."

He's discovered what "Timber!" means and says it while knocking towers of blocks down, or more commonly, as he falls over in a heap onto the bed or couch.

He told me he wants a big box for his birthday with a strawberry house inside.

Today I was making a chocolate cake (he loves chocolate, my kind of kid) and when I cracked the eggs in the bowl he happily said, "Mommy! Da eggs are hatching! De'r hatching!"

February

Finally, a day warm enough to go to the beach in swimsuits. They dug furiously and splashed around for a few hours one afternoon.

Jilly was the only one I could get to look at me for a picture. She is growing up so quickly these days, both physically and emotionally. We had quite the rough patch with her last fall, but she's doing really well these days and will certainly be ready to head to kindergarten later this year. I think Jill's tired of Evelyn being the know-it-all, just because she's in school. Jilly's ready to level the intellectual playing field. 

One of Ben's long bike rides through a local canyon. 

 He did another century (100 miles) a few weeks ago in Palm Springs, CA. Lots of desert, brush, wind, and wind turbines. In the morning, the winds were gusting to 45 mph and his group was riding in a really bad side wind and headwind, complete with flying dust. They didn't give up though, and some cyclists did. There were somewhere around 6000 cyclists on this ride.

The winds calmed later in the day, and he finished the ride in about 8 hours.

 He's also been learning to cook - he makes things he wants that I haven't bothered to, like hummus and flan. The hummus has been a success, the flan failed. He's going to try a different recipe next time. I just have to avoid being the over-bearing cooking instructor.

 We signed Evelyn up for softball, and she's having fun with it. She's the last one on the right. Ben enjoys helping out at practices. They are the "Mighty Mermaids".

 This is Gordon in Big 5 when we went to purchase Evelyn's gear. That boy was in heaven, and it was not easy for him to put all that stuff back. At practices, he thinks his place is right by Evelyn, doing whatever it is she's doing.

 Gordon and his buddy. They're about 6 weeks apart in age. They get along great, and can also be great at fighting. Like brothers I guess.

 Hiding in his "fort." Otherwise known as my laundry hamper and a Korean bubble mailing envelope for his roof.

 Excuse the barbecue sauce (I think), and the tongue. This is his new way of telling you he doesn't like what you just said. Usually a reaction to being reprimanded. I'm pretty sure Evelyn taught him this one. Those two are a couple of peas in a pod, they're so much alike.

 My friend who also walks her kid to the bus stop in the morning snapped this with her iphone. Gordon always comes with me to drop Evelyn off. He's always in his jammies, and lately it's been warm enough in the mornings he can get by without shoes (because I carry him) and a blanket. My friend thought he was so cute wrapping himself up like that. Jilly is more than content to stay at the house, eat breakfast, and watch cartoons. She's enjoying it while she can.

The things they say...

Me: Gordon, why is your shirt all wet?
Him: Because i' was raining on my shirt.

Our fire alarm went off on a Sunday afternoon in January when we were all changing our clothes after church, so we hauled Gordon and Jilly out in blankets. Gordon was totally traumatized. (Our fire alarms are louder than any fire alarm out there. They could wake the dead). Now whenever he hears an alarm-type noise, he'll ask if it's a fire alarm. It's also a topic of choice for him to discuss with whoever will listen.

He also likes to talk about In 'n' Out. He'll say, "I wan' two double-doubles and fries. Wid ketchup." He randomly threw this out one day in December, not long after our friend Ed had stayed with us. We had eaten at In 'n' Out with Ed one night and he had ordered two double-doubles. I guess Gordon was really impressed by that or something.

During one of my piano lessons with a student named Nate (same age as Evelyn).
Evelyn: Mom, I have something to discuss with you.
Me: Uh, discuss with me? (I was giggling at her very grown-up choice of words).
Nate (looking incredulous): What six-year old uses the word "discuss"?

Today, taking down all the Christmas cards and pictures.
Evelyn: Mom, why are you taking down all the pictures?
Me: Because.
Evelyn: "Because" is not an excuse, Mom.
Me: Um, it was time to take them down.
Evelyn: Why is it time to take them down?
Me: Uh...

Jilly is locked into the, "Why (enter question here)?" phase. She's just trying to figure out why we all do what we do. "Mom, what is this big box (my hope chest) for? Is that our quilt? Why are you folding it up that way? (So it fits in the chest). When did you make it? (This summer at Grandma's). Was that when I was two? Or when I was five? (When you were four.) How did you do it? Did Daddy make this little clock when he was little? How did he make it? Why is there a crack in it? Is this Evelyn's book? How did she make all the pictures? And on and on and on...

As I'm finishing this post.
Evelyn: Mom.....Mom.....Mom....You need to read my homework.......Mom.....Mom....Mo-om! Is your brain broken? You need to read it.
Me: "Is my brain broken?"
Evelyn: Laughing and laughing.

January

 I can't even remember what we did for New Year's...I think I was catching up on crafts or something. Very exciting. Evelyn headed back to school first, with Ben and I following a week later. I am taking one piano class right now. I started in a class with a Russian concert pianist, but quickly realized through the class and after perusing the homework, I was a little out of my league and would need at least 2 hours a day to practice. So I bumped down where I am having a lot more fun playing. Jilly's pre-school group was never able to get together as illness struck after the holidays. She's still waiting for a new start date, hopefully tomorrow. 

Gordon playing with his boy toys. 

 In his fireman get-up. 

 We all

 want to be 

 like Dad. 

 Building a Littlest Pet Shop village. 

 Mandarin oranges are good for eating and for toy truck cargo. 

 The last weekend in January we had an 80 degree heat wave pass through and took advantage of it. 

 Don't worry all you winter-dwellers, it didn't stick around. Today it's in the '50s. 

 Gordon loves him some bananas. Ben titled this one, "Haven't you always wanted a monkey?"

We finally checked out this park that's not too far from our house. It's got a huge duck pond, but you have to pay to park at it and that's mostly why we haven't been there. I have visions of picnics there on a not-busy Saturday. 

I will mention, only because I forgot to before, that Evelyn played in her first piano recital at the beginning of December. (It was my first recital in quite some time too). She played "Yankee Doodle." 

Southern Utah

 A few days before Christmas, Ben's maternal grandfather passed away in Southern Utah. So two days after Christmas we took off on a short road-trip. 6 hours seemed like nothing after all the driving we did this summer. Ben's aunt arranged for the family to stay in some condos there (it was nearly as big as our current apartment). It was nice to see all of our family. 

 Ben brought his bike to ride the Virgin River Trail, and it was his first real experience riding in cold weather. It gave him a good idea of what gear he needs to ride more comfortably in temps below 40 degrees F. He was literally numb when he came back to the condo. 

 A view of the local mountain range (and Gordon asleep after the funeral). 

We had to bring a few toys to keep the kids entertained, Gordon now hoards his own small toys just like his older sister. 

 Ben's mom took us on a tour of the city (she's quite familiar with it), and we visited the St. George city center park complex, which was really fun. That family dressed in white tees in the background ended up throwing bright-colored paint all over each other while having a photographer record the scene. 

A nice picture of Ben and I. They don't happen very often. 

The water feature in the park was very cool. Most of us, including the adults took their shoes off. The water was just as cold as the Pacific. I really don't need to mention Gordon got super wet. 

Then we drove over to the Sugarloaf (a big red loaf-shaped rock on the hill) and climbed on top of it. We also visited the historical homes of notable Church and St. George civic leaders. 

 The pool at the complex was nice and warm (or just warmer than the ambient air temperature). The girls enjoyed swimming with Aunt Michelle here. 

 Gordon and I hung out in the hot tub mostly. He's my brave kid when it comes to hot stuff. 

 Visiting the Nativity at the St. George Temple. 

This picture is here just because he's so silly.