Fun Things

Whenever I'm driving down the road and I see a shoe I always briefly wonder how it got there.  Someone was playing a joke and threw it out the window?  A kid accidentally left it on top?  For days there was a shoe on Layton Parkway that I passed each day on the way to the gym.  Then it was gone.  And now there's a bigger mystery.  Where did it go?  Does somebody have the job of picking up lone shoes from out of the middle of the street?  If they do will they please come and take this sock that has been hanging in our front tree and put it with the shoe collection?  It is too high for me to reach it and heaven knows I'm too lazy to go to the trouble of getting a ladder and trying to get it down that way.  So hopefully it disintegrates soon.    

 When December was a sixty degree dream come true, one day it got down to like 59 and Maci wanted to go out and play.  Spent the 47 minutes getting those clothes on and went out to play for 6 minutes. It wasn't even that cold.  A coat would have been great.

 The Santa parade put on by Kaysville City is so much better than the 4th of July parade.

 Maci and I made this wreath for preschool.  She was SO proud!!

 Oh my gosh.  Texas Roadhouse.  No other place shows up quite so often on our list of "fun things".

 We went to the Christmas Village and that white bar like thing on the left of this picture was showing up in all my pictures.  It was pretty fun to tease the kids about it being a ghost but less fun when I was stressing about a possible broken camera.  It randomly went away, so it turns out it WAS just a ghost.  Probably.

 Um.  Texas Roadhouse 2.0.  One reason I love it so much, the kids fill up on rolls and we bring home one or two meals worth of left overs.

 Quilting.  This is probably Allie's first and last experience with quilting.

 I was in charge of this beautiful tie quilt so Allie, of course, got to do some extra.  Although I don't think she loved it.  Quilts are cute, but people of generations older than me hear me out:  QUILTING IS EXPENSIVE.  I know that every women who came before my generation was a quilter, because it was part of provident living.  Now it's a hobby.  An awesome one.  I would love to have a quilt with the material I wanted rather than what Target tells me to buy.  But I can't afford it.

 Here's a selthie from our ill-fated Surf N Swim adventure.  It was only ill-fated to me.  Maci stopped staying selthie.  And Elth and Twelth (instead of 12).  Now she says selfie, Elf, and twelve.  Life is so unfair sometimes!!

 One of my favorite "fun things" to date was our all day trip to Boondocks.  We took the kids out of school ("you must be B track, too" one of the mom's commented.  "Nope, just parents who take our kids out of school to go to Boondocks!")  It was awesome, we were basically the only ones there until school let out.  And the weather was nice enough that everything was open.

 I about had a heart attack per second on the bumper boats.  Kendall wanted to go alone.  Maci and Kendall wanted to go alone, together.  Or together, alone.  Anyway, without me.  So I was all rehearsing in my head what I would do when I had to jump in the water and rescue them.

 Hahaha Allie made this list one morning and was carrying it around on her clipboard, lest she forget to do all the mundane things for the day and "get up" (number one) and "get dressed" (number two). You can see the "fun thing" is highlighted on the list.  Check fun thing.  Fun thing.  Oh I love her.

 I believe this was the fun thing on the day of the list.  This was like fun thing day extraordinaire.  Started with Get Air.  Free, thanks to my friends.  I just love that most people run habitually a half hour behind.  I knew if we got there right on time, we would have the place to ourselves and I was right.  

 Then we went to Salt Lake.  We ate at Applebee's.  The night would have been improved had we gone to Texas Roadhouse.  But we had free kids meals at Applebee's.  I'll be honest, I probably wouldn't go there again, even if I had four free kids meals. I'd rather pay for delicious Texas Roadhouse than eat for free at mediocre Applebee's.  What happened?  We used to love that place and go there all the time.  This time the menu was slim pickins, they advertised FREE BOTTOMLESS FRIES (then told us that deal wasn't included with what we ordered), and they've totally changed their menu and if you ask me they were like, "what do people most like to order?  Remove it!"  Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing.  And our waiter was...off.  And the kids ordered the wrong thing, too.  But I think Dave like his!

 Temple Square was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  Kendall is very proud that she took this picture.

 Family Reunion!

 Kendall's church selthie.  She's all "what's the most horrible face I can make?  SCORE."  Still not her worst selfie..

 I love that my kids can play games that I really love now that they are getting older.  Maci is not ready for Rummy-O.  But she tried anyway.  It was basically painful but she looked so cute making the effort.

 My dad and Stephanie got us this DVD "The Last Straw"-I had read the book before about a family who has lots of fights and ends up learning the importance of service.  The kids loved the movie but I was about ready to jump on screen and teach their kids a lesson.  It was a bit frustrating that their parents let them be so rude and disrespectful with no consequences and then they were all "WHY ARE OUR KIDS SO TERRIBLE!"  Anyway, you do service and put a piece of straw in baby Jesus manger.  By Christmas He should be sleeping in a nice, soft straw bed.  Det has been doing even more service than usual.  Going out of his way to find extra things to do.  Maci was fussy and didn't want to eat her dinner so he was spoon feeding her.

 I am room mom in both Det and Kendall's class, which is the best because I delegate all the work and then I just come watch and I never miss either of their parties!

 Allie loves to read, which is great and all but man when she gets a book she loves she WILL NOT put it down for anything.  She read that book in like two hours and I kept saying, "I can't wait til you're done so I can talk to you again!"

 The kids loved building ginger bread houses.  It is definitely one of the favorite fun things.

 Poor Kendall was not feeling good.  I knew it was serious when she couldn't even do her ginger bread house.  Thankfully she was better later that night and finished it.

Aunt Diana had a Christmas party this morning.  Kendall and Maci were the cutest little Bunco players.  I only got to play with Allie once and I never played with Det.  Which means they must not have been losing every round!

We shoulda got a pizza

I love Christmas season.  I used to think it was weird when people got all stressed out over Christmas but then I realized that oh, those are the same people who are basically stressed year round.

So we have lots and lots of fun traditions.

I have a calendar that was in my childhood home.  It has a little mouse in it and each day you move the mouse to a new pocket.  Before the kids get home from school I put a "fun thing" (that's the clever name we've bestowed upon it) in the pocket.  The kids get home from school and sprint to find the what the fun thing is for the day.  Sometimes it small but I'll be honest with all the things we have going on in December, it's usually not small.

But last night.  Grr.  We did Surf N Swim.  Because it only cost a dollar.  A dollar is way too expensive.  Here, let me pay to torture myself.  But I consoled myself by thinking of what an unseasonably warm December we are having (holla!!!).  Reminder:  40 degrees=STILL NOT WARM ENOUGH FOR SWIMMING.  Every.Single.Time. we got to Surf N Swim in the winter this is EXACTLY how it goes:  bribe the kids with any other activity.  ANYTHING.  Berate myself as I get into my swimming suit, then cover it with my sweatshirt and warm pants (hint that you shouldn't be swimming), pray the whole drive to Surf N Swim that it will be closed for a private party.  Get in the pool and wonder how they manage to keep it so freezing in the dead of winter.  Work up the courage to walk out past my knees.  Finally immerse myself in the water and start to play with the kids and think "hmm. maybe it's not so bad."  About two minutes later get told that Maci needs to go potty.  Try and talk her into peeing in the pool (I've driven home topless.  Surf N Swim makes me do bad things).  She won't so suffer taking her potty.  Shake from the cold.  Never been so miserable.  Rush back into the now great feeling water as soon as she's done.  Maci, though, never recovers.  So after about two minutes of coming back from the potty her lips turn purple and I have to go get her in the shower.  Then the real fun begins of getting everyone showered.  My favorite part was when Allie was taking twenty minutes in the dressing room and the rest of us were ready to go so I was like Allie!!!  What the freak!!!  And looked in her dressing room to see her sitting there in her towel.  She was too cold to get dressed.  Um.  Don't worry we'll all wait for you to get perfectly dry and cozy!!!

A popular thing at Surf N Swim is Little Ceasers.  90% of people bring pizza with them.  And I was just looking at the pizza thinking you know, for five bucks (same price) they would have been just as happy if the "fun thing" was getting Little Ceasers.

But in all honesty I would have happily shelled out the $20 for Pizza Hut, which I love.  Unfortunately in this case it's not really about the money.  They had so much fun swimming.  They love it.  They are insane.

Next I might post about all the insults I've received this month.  There's been plenty and I'm like I TOOK YOU TO SURF N SWIM IN DECEMBER YOU SHOULD THINK I'M THE COOLEST MOM EVER.  And the worst is they're not "you're stupid and I hate you."  They're the ones that they don't even realize "ah, man.  We have to go to Boondocks with just Mom.  I wish Dad could come."  Then, when they find out Dave took the day off to surprise them and go, "it's okay Mom.  You can stay home and we'll go with Daddy."  Which would have been a win win for me.  But I had to go anyways.  So I feel like I should really take a minute to vent about how unfair sometimes it is to be the mom.  NO CREDIT I TELL YOU!!!