The New Adventures of Skippidy

Skippidy is doing new stuff! And it's exciting!

First of all, we've got this girl swimming. We have never had great experiences with those group swim lessons at a big pool where a cute teenager teachers 5 or 6 kids a lesson.  No one ever seemed to make any progress. Cap and Bitty figured it out on their own, but so far Skippidy has just not gotten the deep down hang of swimming where I know she's safe and can get to the side of a pool on her own. I found out, through that awesome machine called the neighborhood word of mouth, that Westminster College has a pool (who knew?) and that you can sign up for PRIVATE half hour swim lessons for $12 a week.  So worth it!  Skippidy goes swimming with the awesome Sarah once a week and is making real progress.  She's not quite the water-safe swimming gal yet, but almost. I should probably put the other two in a few lessons so they learn some actual skills instead of just knowing how to get around. This teacher is great because she's firm, she doesn't let Skippidy squirm out of things, but is soft spoken and kind too. I really like her.

We take a raccoon-eyes picture every week after she swims. Those goggles are not letting any water in, by gum!

Also, blessings be forever on the head of The Becky, Skippidy started taking violin lessons. I was not sure I was ready to start child number three on the daily practicing schedule, but it seemed unfair not to. And as it turns out, so far, she absolutely LOVES it and practicing with her every day is going so smoothly. I'm sure we'll hit rough patches as she gets frustrated from time to time, but that's nothing new around here! The Becky is a wonderful teacher. Skippidy is really zooming along already. I'm so very grateful for her.

Yay Skippidy in all your new adventures!

Another Year Gets Started

Another school year is upon us. 2016-2017....wait, is 2017 right? That number is just SO HIGH!! That is seriously weird.  But here we are. We made it through another summer.

Here's my giant 8th grader - feeling a bit more confident than he had one year ago. (And puh-leeease don't remind me that next year he will be a high schooler. I can not currently handle that.)

Now that some weeks have gone by, I'm thrilled to report that Cap is having a really great year. I was quite happy with our choice to send him to Clayton last year, but I'm even more so this year. I love his teachers, he is doing really well in his classes, he's happy and more confident. Okay, we still have our moments, but the child is 13 going on 14. That's how it's supposed to be, right?

And the girls!  This is actually the last time they will ever be at the same school....ever.  Wah!!!!! I hate that! They haven't figured that out yet and I'm not telling them because Skippidy has already had a few very tearful incidents thinking about being at Wasatch without her big sister next year.  I'm sad too but I'm trying to be brave.  Bitty is now a 6th grader which is just crazy - I'm imagining that I'm going to feel that way pretty much from here on out.  And Skippidy is a 2nd grader - still one of the cute littles but not for long.  Both of them have lovely teachers whom we have had before with Chase. Bitty is blossoming as a sixth grader although her math homework is starting to bring her down.  Skippidy is enjoying her pirate-loving teacher, although is occasionally anxious about her strict nature when other kids misbehave. (Hi, anxiety, nice to see that you've made it to another family member.) She has decided to omit the "Mrs." from her teacher's name and refers to her as just Lloyd. As in, "Lloyd was barely even strict today." It is so funny.

And me? Poor me? What was I to do without my kids at home to ask me to do stuff for them all the dang day long?  I'll tell ya:

Here's to a wonderful year ahead. And just so you know I was only in that hammock for like 10 minutes before I had to get up and start doing the stuff I couldn't get to all summer long. But those were 10 awesome minutes.  

Bitty's Birthday

Our baby Bitty turned 11 this August, and had a really lovely birthday. Of course, it happened the day before school started, so naturally it was kind of hectic, but hey, at my house, what kid's birthday isn't totally crazy?

Bitty planned her birthday celebration all on her own, and her idea was charming. Before that though Bitty got a really really sweet surprise.  On Saturday afternoon we arrived home from an outing of some kind. I have no idea what it was. That's what happens when you don't blog about something until six weeks have gone by. Some of the details get a little fuzzy. Anyway, we arrived home to find a very large box on our front porch addressed to Bitty, and it was from her cousins in St. George. I was going to have her wait until the next day, her actual birthday, to open it,  but she was too excited. I was feeling slightly horrified deep down to see this huge box - what on earth had they sent? As it turns out, it wasn't a gift really, not a toy or box of new clothing, or anything big and expensive. Instead it was a priceless memory that Bitty will remember fondly forever. The box was filled with confetti and balloons. Each balloon had a message written on it telling Bitty something each person loved about her, plus a bunch spelling out Happy Birthday! It was amazingly sweet. Bitty was so filled with joy and love. Couldn't ask for a better present than that. Thanks for taking the time and energy to do that, you guys.

That evening we had a little celebration for Bitty.  It was all her idea. First of all, she just wanted to go out to dinner with one friend. This cute gal has been a buddy of Bitty's since 1st grade. They really wanted to go to Noodles and Company, so we did. Skippidy and I sat at a different table to give the birthday guest a little pre-teen privacy.

After dinner we came back to our house for a viewing of the original Ghostbusters. Bitty and I made cupcakes earlier in the day, and she had a very specific plan for them. She wanted to make the cupcakes and then cover them with "slime." (Actually a very tasty lemon curd.) She then decided that she would announce that it was cupcake time and I would go get them, then start exclaiming in distress over the state of the cupcakes. Bitty and her friend were to run into the kitchen to see what was the matter, whereupon I was to cry out, "Your Cupcakes Got Slimed!!"  I'm happy to report that her plan worked perfectly and everyone was delighted with the slimed cupcakes.  I'm grateful for famous baking you-tuber Rosana Pansino for the idea, and even more grateful to my daughter who did not insist on completing the recipe with a hand-piped Ghostbuster symbol made of icing to perch precariously on top of each one.

On Sunday morning we had just enough time for a breakfast of scones with a couple little gifts such as new pajamas and some school clothes. Not to mention a GIANT watermelon balloon, which was all I could get from Smith's at 11:00 on a Saturday night. (No....I didn't do Bitty's shopping the night before, nope, not me!) I need to state here as I write this on October the 11th that that balloon is still afloat to this day. In fact, it's hovering right behind me in our laundry nook where it was a nuisance for a long time but has now become a permanent fixture. I think we just are waiting to see how long it's going to last.

After church we held a little family celebration where Bitty received her big and much longed-for gift of a Nintendo 2DS - I'll just say that so far we've gotten our money's worth out of that thing. Probably too much money's worth. She loves it.

Auntie Margaret and Apa came over for key lime pie - Bitty's absolute favorite.

It was a grand celebration to celebrate my truly grand girl. Bitty is one force of nature, I'm telling you. What a big heart, what an ability to be generous and kind. I love watching her become a young woman, knowing herself better and better. She's a truly darling little performer - I can see her in a comedy troupe someday. (Season 19 of Studio C! Yes!!) I look forward to the years ahead as she blossoms into a person who's not only my daughter but a really neat person who brings a lot of good to the world.

Love you, my Bitty.

The End of Summer Smash

As seems to happen on about August 1st every year, I notice that despite my doubts and fears, summer is passing by. In fact, it's almost over. And if there is a summery-type thing that I want to include in our master-list of summer fun I'd better get on it pronto. Thus on about August 2nd every year my days begin to fill with a flurry of activity in the hopes that we'll cram enough summer into summer.

This year that flurry included a couple of trips to the aquarium, swimming, zoo trips, and music camp, as well as an entire day spent in Utah County with the Moores. That was a really fun day - I think I'll start there.

We decided to just blow the wad and do every Provo-type thing we could think of. (Well, besides the Bean Museum and the Creamery, but only because we ran out of time.) We had been invited to go to Thanksgiving Point's awesome Children's Museum with our old friend Danna and so we spent the morning there, bringing a picnic with us to enjoy on the lawn between activities. The museum was slightly challenging because we had Jr. High and High School kids with us as well as preschoolers and other littles. Plus I think they were really putting the capacity of the building to the test. So many people! If we had only had the littles I think we could have easily spent another entire day there -it seemed that we had hardly scratched the surface when it was time to go. The kids really loved it though. Then the plan had been to go to Seven Peaks in Provo after that but there were some ominous clouds in the distance and besides, the kids all wanted to go to Lowe's Xtreme Air Sports, the trampoline park. Again. We had all been there several times over the summer, but hey, I guess if the kids were dying to go and it meant I didn't have to hang out in a swimsuit, then whatever. Emily and I chatted the afternoon away while the kids worked themselves into a sweaty and tired bunch.

We also enjoyed a visit from our Seattle cousins, and ended up going BACK to Lowe's with Smitty as well as Bitty's friend. They all did what they seem to love the most which is get really sweaty and tired and then go to In-n-Out Burger on our way home. I love the picture of the kids wearing their fancy hats. I did not expect them all to happily don them for a picture, so I snapped it quickly before the spell was broken.

Random Zoo Pictures - I can't even remember if there was an occasion for this trip. Oh yes - I think there was one evening that was open for Zoo Booster Members. It was pleasant to be there later in the evening, especially with the animals being so much more active at that time. Those cubbies sure are cute. So are the lions. Ha ha.

Also in August was my sister's annual cello camp, aka Salty City Band Camp. Cap was not too keen on going this year, but since it might be my sister's last year of doing it (more on that later), I made him go. As I expected he would, he had a good time and the performance at the farmer's market on Saturday was a treat.

Another memorable evening from summer's last few weeks was spent at a great little swimming pool up in the high avenues that I didn't even know about. I guess it's one of those private pools you have to buy a membership to for a few thousand dollars then pay a monthly membership as well - sorry kids! It only took a week for them to stop begging me to buy into it. I don't blame them - it really was fun. The occasion was that our dear Durhams from Seattle came into town and we celebrated the Mrs.' 40th birthday there with pizza, salad, ice-cream bars and most importantly a wonderful gathering of dear friends. I know I was able to see the Durhams in June, but it's never enough.  Every time I'm with them my heart is filled with a very sweet longing to be nearer to them. I'm lucky to have friends like these.

My children absolutely loved this pool.  Skippidy was awesome at the diving board - I know I'm a total baby but I was so happy to once again be excused from spending time hanging out in a swimming suit. Maybe someday that will be my favorite thing but....at this moment, not so much.  I guess that's not really because I don't like my suit or something, it's just that I wanted to be there talking with my friends who I don't get to see very often, and if I had been in the pool my kids would have demanded a lot of attention and interaction.  As it was, they had the Durham kids to play with. I was tickled to see that our two gangs of children seemed to really get along. I have hopes of getting together more often in the future. Oh - I got off on a tangent. Sorry.  I was going to say that Skippidy loved the little diving board, and my big kids experienced their first high dive. They could not get enough of it and leaped off of its towering platform over and over and over again, even after they got their first tastes of just how hard water can be when you're headed towards it too quickly.

Here was a great event for me - the annual Preslar family (UN)camping trip! Normally we head up the Mirror Lake Highway one weekend in August to hang out with our Preslar relatives. Last year only two families plus the grandparents made it, and there were no other kids besides my own. It was challenging. And this year the two families with trailers were trailer-less due to sales and mechanical issues. Plus Troy and also two of his brothers could simply not get away from work. I proposed a family BBQ on our back porch, but happily Rick and Tonja upped the ante by offering their spacious home and yard for a family un-campout overnight. It was SO MUCH FUN. I know that most of the brothers think we should still try to make efforts to go to the mountains and camp every year, but as much as I love the mountains, I would be okay to do this every year for the foreseeable future.  It was so much less....hard! And so much cleaner. And so much more hygienic. We made it up to Millville just in time to enjoy a hamburger cookout together before we set up tents on the back lawn then sprawled out with glowsticks (provided by the awesome Tonja) and watched The Sandlot which was projected onto a giant sheet hanging from their back deck.

After the movie we roasted s'mores then WENT TO THE BATHROOM (this is a very important detail in my book) then crawled into our tents.  Our tent was laid so thickly with foam pads that I slept better than I do at home. I snuggled with the kids and read Harry Potter to them...no wait, even better, we listened to Jim Dale read Harry Potter to us from my phone. And we slept. (Also an important detail.) 

The next day we had an awesome breakfast before heading on a long walk to a new splash pad to let the kids frolic for a while.

Can you see why I want to make this our  new annual tradition? Don't hate me. I still love the mountains.

We did get in one more Seven Peaks evening with the Moores, although it wasn't at Provo, much to my middle child's chagrin:

That was probably the week before school started, and by that point I was feeling worn thin. (Not literally. Dang it.) All that fun was adding up, and I could barely stomach one more deliciously perfect burger and fries for dinner on the way home from some outing or other....I'd definitely call that a 1st World Problem. Even so, I was feeling like I had accomplished a great feat by really stuffing those last three weeks of summer full to the brim with....

funfunfunpleasestopfightingfunfunfun

But THEN.....my dear friend/adopted auntie/mom I babysat for 100 years ago Jeanne called me. I love her. She recently purchased the cabin her parents built when she was in college and spent the rest of her life going to. She's very thrilled to have made the purchase and she decided that she would like to give me and my family a chance to stay there. We didn't have much time before school started, but the kids and I made room on a Friday night and Saturday morning to go up.

I have to say here how much I love my husband Troy. This was a hard summer for him, as I mentioned before, and these activities were tinged with some sadness because he just could not join us. Of course, most working daddies can't get away that often to spend a summer day at the zoo or going swimming or whatever, but even things like the cabin he couldn't escape for. We missed him, we love him, we're proud of the work he's doing, and things are getting better. I just didn't want to go ahead without mentioning that it was sad to go off and do stuff without him as if we didn't care. 

The cabin was darling, and it was a rather magical last hurrah for us - we only stayed one night, and it was no one but the three kids and me, but that made it all the more precious. It was the weekend before school started and we just went up into the quiet mountains and were together. We picked our favorite meals, like Trader Joe's orange chicken and waffles with Nutella. We explored the cabin and watched movies and went for walks. We brought our favorite board game. Jeanne came up and showed us where the river was and where the giant swings were. This cabin is not on the exact same property as the old "Up The Weber" family cabin I spent my childhood going to, but it was close to the very same Weber River and the landscape and smells and sights were just the same. How strange that now I'm the mom packing up food and bags and kids and books and games and taking my kids up through Weber Canyon to a cabin in the hills.

I love this picture of Cap teaching Bitty how to skip rocks

Everyone did a good job pitching in, helping with dishes and clean up.

The best was roasting s'mores and then singing Brighton Camp songs as the sun went down and the stars came out.  
Oooo Oooo I want to Linger...

Now this is kind of cheating, because this fun activity happened a full week after school started, but it was supposed to happen in the summer and we just didn't get it together until then. We got a chance to go tubing with the Burnetts. It was a lovely late-summer evening. One down side was that Bitty, who does not enjoy being on boats (a recent development - last time we did this she LOVED it and sang camp songs at the top of her lungs the entire ride), absolutely refused to go, so I left her with a friend without even trying very hard to convince her to join us. Oh well. Anyway, we spent the evening tubing on East Canyon Reservoir.  The biggest surprise for me was that Skippidy absolutely ate it up.  I thought she'd be crying and terrified but no way. Not even a moment of fright. She just had a whale of a time.

So there you go. The End of Summer Smash. It really was smashing. And fun, and expensive, and exhausting. But we did it. Just in time for school to start....