It Stayed Inside for More Than Two Weeks...

A couple of weeks ago, Mason found a caterpillar on our front steps. He was absolutely delighted and begged to keep it. I washed out a peanut butter jar, put lots of holes in the lid and together, Mason and I made a home for him with a little twig, blades of grass and some nice green leaves. Well, that little critter munched through those leaves in no time. On day two we gave him some more. Then our little friend grew lethargic. I admit, I was nervous that we just hadn't created the right kind of habitat for the fuzzy fellow. Then, about three days into his stay in our jar he disappeared. We looked between some of the leaves and saw a cocoon! How cool is that? Mason was thrilled! The caterpillar stayed in there for what seemed like an eternity to Mason. Yesterday, as I was making dinner, I glanced in the jar and saw a moth! It was a bitter-sweet moment for Buddy because he knew it was time to say good-bye. We took the jar on the back deck and lifted the lid. It took a little while, but the moth eventually flew away. Mason thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, as did the girls. And I must say, that is my kind of pet! I'll welcome another caterpillar next spring; I'm sure Mason will be on the lookout.

Beautiful Saturday

Yesterday was a really beautiful day. The morning was somewhat lazy in that we didn't have to get the whole family out the door for a morning baseball game. I did get up at 5:45 to take a friend to the airport, but even that wasn't bad. I ran to the store and got some milk for all to have a happy breakfast and then we just kind of hung out for a little while. I ran Maia to piano and sneaked off to the library BY MYSELF while she was there. That was criminally enjoyable.

Anyway, when Maia and I got back from piano, Michael wanted to go on a family hike. Now, normally, any family activity requires quite a bit of preparation from me: locating and filling water bottles, packing snacks, diapers, and wipes, etc. But for his hike, Michael did all the prep. I was impressed, shocked, and grateful. When I got home from piano, he hoisted his backpack on his back and said, "Let's go!"


We loaded up and headed to the trail. The hike wasn't long, but it was quite nice under the canopy of trees. We hunted for creatures and the children were all thrilled to spy a millipede, toad, butterfly, and beetle. We stopped at the Middle Patuxent Overlook and enjoyed Michael's backpack fare: leftover pizza, Gogurts, apple slices, and watermelon. He had even remembered to pack wet wipes so we could do some clean up! After our little lunch we walked back to our car (in an unusually anti-Mommy display, Mackenna would only let Maia hold her hand for the entire journey--"Maia, hold you me my hand?").When we got home we were quite hot so I turned on the sprinkler (I was ignorant of the current water restrictions--oops!) for the kids to play outside and cool off. Then, it was nap time for the little ones.

After naps, we headed to a graduation party for one of the teenage girls at church I used to get to teach. It was really fun. They had a giant inflatable water slide, so the kids all had more swimsuit fun. The food was great and it was just nice to sit and chat with friends while the kids ran around having the time of their lives.

When we got home, we divided the children between our three tubs and showers and scrubbed them clean. We did our bedtime routine and put them to bed. I was a little sleepy so I suggested that Michael and I lay down and cuddle for just a second before I had to go reclean everywhere the kids had been during the day. Ha ha. Good intentions. I do remember trying to get up at one point to put a load of laundry in, but Michael told me just to rest another minute. Then it was this morning! That's right, Michael and I went to bed at like eight o'clock. And boy, did that feel good. What better way could there be to end such a beautiful day?

Drama Club

Maia was finally able to join the school drama club this year. She has done drama summer school before, but to join her school's drama club, you have to be in third grade. She really enjoyed her months of rehearsals and was so excited to perform in the big show. It worked out that both my mother and Michael's mother and her husband were able to come, as well as my sister, Amber. My Maia is such an expressive girl; I am so glad she has had this outlet this year. To be honest, I am relieved that it is over. Our family just has enough going on at any given time that I always feel a little jubilant when something ends. Is that terrible? Anyway, I was so happy to see my sweet girl with a smile on her face as she danced around on stage. It reminded me of the high I used to feel while performing when I was younger. I guess she more than just looks like her dear old mom.

How fun is this for a Jane Austen fan?

(Look--it's my first two-post day! I'm a real blogger now!)

Okay, so I don't know how right or wrong this is, but I think it's fun. My friend Melissa had this on her blog. Check it out!

Take the Quiz here!

Maybe I turned out to be Anne because I recently read The Family Fortune, a modern retelling of Persuasion. It was quite enjoyable to an Austen buff such as myself (although I would love to "edit" a couple of little parts)!

A Visit with the Grandparents

This photo depicts my children and some of their cousins on their dad's side of the family. Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Bill recently finished their second mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are here visiting. While they were staying with Michael's brother, they made a treasure hunt game with my niece, Nina. Sunday, after church, the whole family came here for dinner and mayhem. The kids all did the treasure hunt and found 2 chests full of trinkets like candy and head wear--princess hats for the girls and feather headbands for the boys. All of the kids proudly put on their hats and we herded them together as best we could for the photo opp.


This morning, I took my little girls (all three of them with Selena) and my mother-in-law and her husband to Brighton Dam. We missed the time when the Azalea Garden was in full bloom, but still had a nice time. Some of the azaleas were still blooming and the weather today is too gorgeous for any outdoor activity to be a total bust.

The girls loved the different colored blossoms (who knew that there are azaleas that have a light-colored center, but are dark purple on the outside?) and looking into the water to see the little fish. They also loved the little gazebo right by the entrance to the garden.

There was a lone goose there--eating fallen flowers and
who knows what else. Mackenna kept trying to call the goose over to her,"Gooskey! Gooskey! Come here, Gooskey Gooskey!" It was really cute. It's definitely somewhere I need to revisit earlier in the spring next year.

Cleaning Rhythm

Okay, so this is a totally lame thing to write about, but it's late and I'm on a quick break--from cleaning. I just did some clean-up in my laundry room, a toad of a space. It really is something you have to see to believe. Only someone like me, who never had her own washer and dryer before buying this house, could appreciate that room. Anyway, I did what I could to organize it (with no garage and it being the like 5% of our house that isn't finished, it tends to be somewhat of a catch-all) and cleaned it up as best I could.

Next, I am going to tackle the playroom. I'm not going to organize all the toys into their proper bins because my nieces and nephews are coming over tomorrow and I am not crazy. But, I really do need to find the floor so that children can actually play in there. It was looking pretty good until Friday when there was no school and I babysat a couple of extra kids. It's totally getting late now--almost one in the morning--but this is my favorite time to tackle the play room. Michael thinks it's so strange.

What can I say? I have kind of a rhythm with cleaning times. Mornings are the best for straightening my kids' rooms. That probably has something to do with changing their sheets or smoothing their covers after they make their beds. I like to use nap time to get my main level back together nice and neat. There's something about all the bright midday sun coming in all my windows in the living room and kitchen while I clean up in the middle of the day. I enjoy that. It seems almost wasteful to spent those good hours doing duties in the basement. But late at night, long after I'd usually go to bed, I love to dig into that playroom. I like to take the portable DVD player in there and listen to a good sing-along movie like Mary Poppins (if only I could play "Tidy up the nursery" like she does!) or The Sound of Music. Sometimes I'll choose another favorite like, An Ideal Husband, though; it depends on my mood. I love the feeling when it's all done and the room looks so inviting for my children, but I know it will stay clean for several more hours until they awaken. And then when they go in there they act like it's Christmas morning. "Mom! You cleaned the playroom!" "Wow! I've been looking for this..." Sometimes there's even a "You cleaned the playroom? Thanks, Mom," in there. Maybe I like to do it at night, in part, because it glides my children's dispositions into a sunny place immediately the next morning. That's totally worth some precious sleep.

Play along!

So, here's a fun little game I've stolen (again).

Okay, as a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you :) If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.