Is It Naptime Yet

So I’m getting around to picture posts again. I guess not being able to talk from a sore throat and having two sick girls who are just watching TV helps.

Lilah’s birthday fell on family night, or our first performance with an audience, during the play. With all the craziness we opted not to give her a birthday party, plus we like to give only one big birthday party a year and it was Eden’s turn this year.

For her birthday we went to Chuck E’ Cheese, something we do every year for each girl. Lilah wore her curlers while there and I think she was pretty dang cute. (Funny thing: This night we were not being feed, so we stopped by McDonald’s on our way to the theater and the attendant who gave us our food smiled when she saw Lilah in her curlers.)

Lilah’s friend Britta and her mom Sam joined us, as well as Auntie Carolyn.

We had a fun morning just playing games and eating.

That night the women of the play sang Happy Birthday to her while we were getting ready. (I still think she was the cutest munchkin, though I  am highly bias.)

I forgot our camera, but Carolyn brought one from work and we snapped just a few pictures.

Lilah and Britta playing air hockey.
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Lilah with her cupcakes.
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Lilah decorating her cupcake.

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Lilah also opened her presents earlier that morning. Jon didn’t use the flash so they’re slightly fuzzy.

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It’s so weird to look back and see her with long hair, or is that just me?

Also Lilah has wanted a certain kind of bug catcher from Target for like two years. She’s received around three or four other kinds, but not this one, so she was so happy to finally get it.

So here are the anticipated pictures from our Ely trip. Well, maybe not anticipated, but fun.

Friday at Ely

The girls were blowing bubbles outside.

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Lilah was playing fetch with Jack.

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Zarina wanted to wear a backpack like Lilah.

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It was pretty chilly as night settled.

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Carolyn must have had the camera.

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Saturday at Ely and Cave Lake

How many Blake’s can you fit into a sleeping bag?

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Brien and Andrea taking the girls out for the first time.

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Some ducks I noticed while waiting for them.

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They decided to come up on the shore near me.

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This was later in the day. The girls started putting their hands in the water.

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Sunday at Leeman’s Cave inside Great Basin National Park

Lilah crawling through the hole that was about the size Mr. Leeman crawled through and then discovered the caves.

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Jonathan was a good sport and was the first adult to crawl through.

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Us a the beginning of the tour, soon after we were separated and the girls were up front with the ranger/guide.

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Aunt Carolyn with me and the girls.

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Lilah was taking pictures of Carolyn as we walked out.

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The girls with the cave cadet pins they earned.

Ely Trip 2009

So this year there almost wasn’t an Ely trip since we went camping in Caliente with Andrea and Brien in May. Jon was going to consider that our “Ely trip” since we traveled two-thirds of the way to Ely and saw Andrea and Brien, but since we were unable to make it to the family reunion this year and I was bummed that I wasn’t going to be able to see Andrea and Brien and have our girls go to the Hoggle Zoo together or have any awesome sisterly fun driving to the reunion with Carolyn, he felt bad and said we could go to Ely. I thought he meant just me, Carolyn, and the girls, but he came along too and it was lots of fun.

We went up on Friday the 7th of August and did the normal visiting thing, except there was lots of teasing Lacey this trip, and it all started Friday night. Andrea and Brien made us dinner, though I can’t remember what we had this night. Brien made kinda an upside down cake, but with apricots he picked off his neighbors tree. Don’t worry the old lady neighbor said they could pick as many apricots as they wanted and it was also the first summer in like 20 years that it was summer long enough for the apricot trees to produce apricots in Ely. The cake was delicious, and made even more delicious by ice cream, something I asked if they had to go with it earlier, but was told  “Jeez, do you think we’re a buffet?”, though this was also after I said apricot cobbler would be good but Brien was just making a spice cake with apricots in the bottom. So Brien baked the cake and then tasted it and decided it needed ice cream, so he then went and bought some and might I add I would have eaten it without ice cream, but he really wanted it and it did help with the tartness of the apricots.

Saturday we went canoeing at Cave Lake. We made a sandwich stop at Subway and enjoyed the fresh air as we ate. I left our state parks passes in our suitcase at Andrea and Brien’s so we did not get them stamped, though we didn’t really see anywhere to have them stamped, so we’re still gonna just check that off. We will probably go there again because canoeing was so much fun, despite my dislike of natural bodies of water, and Brien was also trying to talk Jon into getting a canoe. I’m just happy to know that we have a long list of other saving projects before this can ever even remotely become a reality.

Brien and Andrea took the girls out first on the Lake. Jon and I went out alone so we could practice in the canoe. It was my second time canoeing, with the first being about 12 years ago at girls camp one year. Lilah would say that I needed to put my paddle into the water more, but this was something she heard from Brien as he made fun/ teased me some more.

After our practice run we  took the girls out on the water with us. We then switched back and forth, with Zarina only going out once since she didn’t like her life jacket and Carolyn also avoiding it till the last run. She doesn’t like natural bodies of water either, but thought it would be fun to let my girls play in the water and get a little muddy and wet. This was while Jon and I went out our last time. Of course when we returned they said the fun was over to the girls since Mommy was back and it took a lot of will power to let them continue to get wet and muddy. I know I can be a little uptight about dirt and messes, so I was trying to relax since the damage had already been done.

We then headed home and after some naps and showers had a delicious turkey dinner that Brien and Andrea made.

Sunday on our way home we decided to take a little, but long, detour to Great Basin National Park and take the Leeman’s Cave Tour. We’ve been to Great Basin twice, but had yet to take the tour. I called the week before to purchase the tickets in advance, something I recommend so you don’t have to wait an hour if a tour is full and ours was. Since Eden is only 4 we went on the shorter 60 minute tour and someday may go on the longer 90 minute one which includes one or two more caverns.

Before we entered the caves the ranger/ tour guide gave the challenge to crawl through a cement hole that was about the size of the hole the 70 or 80 year old Mr. Leeman had to crawl through to find the caves. It was a part of becoming a cave cadet. The girls both went through and the other children, then he gave the challenge to the adults and I challenged Jon to go through since he was the slimest adult. He did and since he went through so easily the guide challenged another adult and one other man did.

We started off the tour together, but as it got narrower, the guide had the children up front with him, and we were in the back, so I have no idea what happened after we were separated.  We had areas that he was able to talk to us directly, and then at other times it was just through the grapevine. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun from what we could tell at the end and we entertained ourselves with them gone. It was a cool tour and I recommend it to anyone who might pass by Great Basin National Park.

After the tour we enjoyed some of the yummy homemade ice cream the cafe makes and then hit the road to return to Vegas.

We all loved seeing the Park’s and getting to see Zarina. They grow so fast and it’s so hard when you don’t get to see the small children often enough.

It was a fun little trip and the girls enjoyed Aunt Carolyn’s company. I also enjoyed talking with her and being able to chat.

This will be the fourth year we’ve made a trip to Ely and I hope we continue the tradition as long as Andrea and Brien live there. Brien said we could come back anytime after it snows, but I don’t see us visiting till after it melts away next year.

As I make my last minute preparations for leaving my family tonight to go to Pine Valley for one night with some girl friends, my craziness surfaces.

This is the first time I’ve left my girls or Jon and I worry about not returning. You see I worry about death a lot in some ways. If Jon becomes more than 15 minutes late I just know that he’s been in a car accident. If he’s 30 I just know he’s dead. I’ve never been right and I always breath a sigh of relief when I see his car pull into the drive way or hear him open the front door.  I also hate when he goes on business trips. I just know his will be the plane that goes down. I’m strange that way.

With me leaving and driving 3 hours away with friends I just know that this will be my death. I can hear Nina Raditich announcing the tragedy of three young mothers and two children who were just trying to get away being hit by a semi and dying. I know I’m crazy. But here’s the really crazy part. I cleaned my toilets and mopped my floors just so people wouldn’t come to help Jon and the girls and see what a disaster those places are. Though, it’s also to help Jon out so he doesn’t have to to worry about cleaning those areas for a while. I’m really just trying to be a nice wife before I leave for a mini vacation.

Really I know I’m strange, and I’m pretty sure that I will safely return from my weekend, hence why I feel fine posting this. I just needed to kill a little time while my bathroom floor dried before I took my shower.

I’m just neurotic that way.

I just want to note that it’s best to blog right after an event and not 3 months later. A mind becomes very foggy.

Jon had his birthday at the beginning of May. We celebrated by making homemade pizza and eating watermelon for dessert, though I think the girls and I enjoyed some ice cream after the watermelon. He is always striving to be healthy and isn’t the biggest fan of cake so that’s why we had no cake.

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My birthday was pretty regular. Jon had to work since we had just gone camping with Andrea and Brien and it was a three day weekend. I had a little meeting with someone on my birthday so I dropped the girls off with Jon at  his work then he picked up a frozen pizza, but it was a California Kitchen BBQ chicken pizza which we had never had and it was tasty, and frosting for the cake he had baked the day before. Lilah had play practice that night and I was going to go home and sew on the costumes, but decided to just hang out with Jon and Eden while we watched Lilah. Eden fell asleep on the way home so I was sung to the day after my birthday, but before Jon went to work.

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Also, I just wanted to include this picture of Lilah churning ice cream on Memorial Day. My dad has a cool ice cream maker that can be hand cranked, or cranked by a motor. It brought back lots of memories of watching my dad and brothers crank our old ice cream maker, which was very hard to crank. I tried but was always too weak.

We just returned home from visiting my sister Andrea and her family in Ely. My sister Carolyn came also came with us.

So here are my five things I’m thankful for that happened on the trip

1. Jon had to sit in the back seat because his hips were the smallest ones out of the three adults, and were the only ones who could fit in between the two booster seats. I’m so thankful he was willing to sit back there with squished legs and hips and put up with two silly girls who kept putting the toy snakes they bought in his ears.

2. Andrea and Brien for letting us invade their home all weekend.

3. Andrea and Brien for cooking such delicious food, even if they didn’t have everything a buffet would have.  😉

4. The beautiful outdoors. We went canoeing and it was absolutely beautiful, even if I felt like I was going through menopause because the weather couldn’t make up it’s mind. It was windy and cold, then calm and hot, windy and cold, than calm and hot, etc.

5. Carolyn who came with us and drove when I was sleepy. She also helped with all the children and I hope had fun with my silly family.

In an effort to not get completely behind and post every picture post months after if happened, I’m posting pictures from Eden’s 4th Birthday Party.

We had the party at the Zurflueh’s house where Lilah’s was held last year.

We of course had a pinata.

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I made the pinata this year, like I did last year, but since I painted it it didn’t take me 8 hours to decorate. Just $4 for spray paint and half an hour. It’s the only way to make a homemade pinata.
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This is the cake I made, sorry it’s dark but it looks better since you see less of it’s imperfections. I drafted a slightly bigger genie since I decided 8×10 would not be big enough for the sheet cake my mom baked for me.

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We did pin the lamp on the genie. The genie was drawn by my wonderful friend Anna. I painted it.

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This is my niece Adrienne, with her big sister behind helping to hold up the blindfold that I did not securely tie. The funny thing is my niece is far sighted.

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Judging who won.

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We enjoyed some Otter pops and then it was pinata time.

Eden the birthday girl was first.

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Gracie got a really good hit in. I think next year I will make the pinata three layers again and maybe blindfold the kids.

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Josh is in Eden’s church class and lives down the street from us.

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Some of the kids close their eyes when hitting the pinata anyways.

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Christina, Josh’s older sister, broke the pinata on her third hit, but it wasn’t quite spilling the candy yet.

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Her sister finished it off for us.

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We then sang Happy Birthday.  Lilah is such a wonderful big sister. I think everyone needs a big sister.

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I just thought that this was a funny picture.

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We opened presents and then it was time for swimming!!!

The Spencer family.

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Elona Spencer with mommy and sisters behind her.

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Lilah looks like she’s waiting for a swim meet.

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And she’s off!

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Eden swimming with Jon. I think they’re so cute.

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Cute Eden.

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Sam with Britta and baby Matilda.

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Carolyn with Adrienne.

It was a fun enjoyable party and we thank everyone who helped and was able to celebrate with us.

On May 29th the girls, Hannah, and I went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. I had a free ticket for me, Eden was free and Lilah was just $8.50, and so was Hannah even though they first wanted to charge her as an adult.

They gave us these hand held devises that we would punch in the correlating code and then listen to information on the animal or animals we were looking at. Apparently if you don’t pay for that child they don’t need to listen, so they only gave us three things for the four of us. I gave Eden mine, and then Hannah let me use hers for most of the time, she had been before and apparently knew that the information was only somewhat interesting. Lilah was very intent on listening to each little recording, but towards the end, at like 32 of 36, she stopped. Eden gave up a little sooner, but still listened to most of them.

We saw so many interesting fish and the girls loved petting the sting rays. Hannah was a nice help and hopefully she had fun too.
We watched two divers cleaning one of the tanks and one even put his hand to the glass to “high five” the girls. We also saw some bait for some fish, but they must not have been hungry because they didn’t even notice it for the 5-10 minutes we watched and waited to see if they would eat it.

I don’t have too many pictures because it was not the most ideal setting. Most of the time if was too dark and then the flash would wash everything out. It was still fun and I will try to get a free ticket next tax season so we can go again.

Some giant fish from the Amazon.

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Eden watching another giant fish from the Amazon.

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Lilah is listening to the recording about the giant fish from the Amazon.

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Learning about the piranhas. They had a staff member stationed at the tank. No doubt to keep idiots from putting things, or there own hands, in the tank.

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Hannah helping Lilah pet a sting ray.

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Gross fish water!

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Eden’s turn to pet the sting ray. Hannah actually had to pull her arm down so she could reach.

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I thought this was a tiger fish, but it’s actually a lion fish.

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Lilah looking at the jellyfish.

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Eden ready to go home.

I am not good at schedules. At least self imposed schedules or tasks. You give me a deadline and I will do it. If I give me a deadline, I might do it.

As we get back in the grove of our normal life I find myself craving a schedule. Mostly I think I want something to anchor me, something to help me anchor my children. I’ve never really had a schedule, or stuck to one, at least for long. I suppose I’m good at getting up and feeding my family at specific times of the day, and having the girls go to bed at certain times, but that’s it, and even Jon and I have disagreements about when they should go to bed since we don’t always stick to a schedule. Some nights it’s 9 some nights it’s 9:30.

I think part of the reason I’m not good at sticking to a schedule is my home never had one growing up. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but with six kids it can be hard to implement something and have us all follow through, especially when both parents work and weren’t there to supervise all the time.

In my house it was both a group effort and a fend for yourself environment. We all helped with dinner, though one person was assigned the main meal on a certain day of the week. (Mine was Wednesday  for a long time because I didn’t go to mutual or the youth activity, and yes I was cooking dinner before I was twelve.) The person in charge of dinner would then assign the different dinner assignments. One always wanted juice and vegetables because it was the easiest and then dishes was the least desirable. We worked together, but the goal was to get the easiest task possible.

I feel this has stuck with me. Try to accomplish what you need to the easiest way possible.

It was that way at home and it was that way at school.

So now that I’m a mom and one of the two providers of my children’s education, I find that I need to change my mindset. Schedules should be empowering, not a struggle. I should help my children learn in whatever way necessary, not the easiest or the quickest.  I should have my girls help me around the house more because in the end it will help me, even if it takes longer now.

So I’m asking for advice. What schedules work for you, or don’t work for you?

Jon’s told me to start out small. Do just one task and make it a habit and then after a week or two add something else. I think it will take me two years if I implement that to it’s fullest, but I think it is good advice.

If it helps, my goal in scheduling isn’t to fill every moment of my day, but to make time for the things I want to do and to limit my self indulging which takes away from my family. I find myself on the internet entirely too much, and sleeping too much also. Both are to avoid doing work, though sometimes I’m just tired.

I want to make time to have my girls help with making lunch, and make time for me to do things to improve me and work alongside of them as they do work too. Not just assign them to do things and go off and do what I want or need to do. So if Lilah is writing in her journal, I should be writing in mine, not blogging. 🙂

So what schedules work for you? Both in keeping your house organized and your children occupied.

This week we started swimming lessons for the girls  and they are everyday, and they’re in the early afternoon so about an hour after we finish lunch, if we have it on time, we have to start getting ready for  lessons. It kinda ruins any plans a person might have for doing cleaning or organizing, or even sewing, something I’m somewhat dying to so, I’m just not dying to cut out the fabric.

So we finished the play and then had a week off, but in that week off we cleaned and organized the house on Monday, visited with Jon’s niece on Tuesday. Both days he had off. We sent Jon back to work on Wednesday, I did something, but nothing truly productive, Thursday looked the same. Friday Jon had off for the Holiday and I went to my parents to tidy for the BBQ that would be there next day. (I mostly sat and made remarks on how cheesy Escape from Witch Mountain was, the movie my mom was watching on the Hallmark channel.)  I also ran errands for the party/ BBQ that was on Saturday. Saturday was the Holiday, but I ran more errands that morning, made cupcakes, had Eden take a nap, then we went to the 4th of July BBQ/ birthday celebration for my niece and Lilah.

Then it was Sunday and then the week of swimming lessons started and I’ve gotten nothing done. (I have mopped my floors and been able to keep my living room looking mostly descent, except the fact that I have two girls who leave things around the house. Like yesterday one stripped down in the living room after the swimming lessons so she could take a bath. )

I think my life we never be normal. I’m doomed to a life of chaos and somewhere in there I try to home school and do all the other things a mom and wife has to do.

I want some normalcy. I want to have a whole week with no engagements and no errands to run. Just one week to get my house and home schooling schedule in order.

Nah, I think I like not getting anything done. I’m gonna go play Go Fish with my two girls.