Photos of My Girls

Here are some totally random pictures of my girls. Are you ready for these? Cause really, this will go down in history as the most random post I've ever written.

Here we go.

April 24

Mara's first solids. I mashed up some banana for her and she was not feeling it. 

April 25

 Magically, the very next day the EXACT same mashed banana was absolutely delicious!

May 1

 Nell was the most wonderful police officer Oshkosh Public Library has ever seen! She stopped robber from getting away with loads of cash and she also (for real life) found a missing toy and returned it to the rightful owner. She was in imagination heaven and I couldn't help but snag a photo.

May 1

That very same day, Mara fell asleep while we were grocery shopping at Festival, so I took some time to admire. I figure if all the old ladies want a peek at her, I better take time to enjoy her sweetness as well.

May 5

She actually had a pretty hard time adjusting to life after our Utah vacation, so I got some extra snuggles in during nap time. I think she may have had a bit of an ear ache, but nothing too severe.

May 5

Coraline on the other hand, has this mystery going on. More on that later.

Look at those three girls? Are they not the cutest? Words can't even describe how much I love each of them. 

A Moment of Perfection

Our family experienced a moment of perfection this afternoon. It wasn't planned; it wasn't painstakingly created. But it was perfection.

Ben and I rounded everyone up for neighborhood nature walk when the two littlest girls woke up from their Sunday naps. We made it to the school's nature center by about 3:30. Lou was on her own two feet, so none of us were in a hurry. We took time to observe all the seeds the various trees have shed. We stopped at the creek to race pine cones and poke at a dead fish. We enjoyed the wild flowers. 

Honestly, I was surprised by how pleasant it was to walk through the nature center at a toddler's pace. Mara was riding in a pack on Ben's back. She'd occasionally sing out for attention. She'd quickly smile when I glanced her way. I can only think of one instance of whining throughout our entire hike. The kids were so curious and content. We picked up trash, identified various fungi, and watched the clouds roll on above our heads. 

Ben and Coraline found a snake on the rocks near the pond. Reid, Nell and I listened to the bullfrogs moan as we tried to spot them in their hiding places among the reeds and lily pads. As we stood on the floating bridge small sprinkles began to splatter on the water. Ben scooped a tiny baby turtle out from under a lily pad, and Reid and Nell each took turns holding it. The exciment of the whole hike was nearly impossible to contain. "This is so fun seeing so much nature!" Reid kept exclaiming.

As Ben put the turtle back into the pond (right near a bullfrog who would likely eat him for dinner), he pointed ahead at the classroom shelter area and told the kids we'd stop there for our snack. The rain started to pick up as we hiked the small hill out of the pond area. By the time we were all settled down with our water cups and trail mix the drops were really coming down. We had no idea that the little rain cloud we'd identified earlier would pick up so much steam so quickly. The down pour was intense for a full 60 seconds or so. The Earth felt so fresh and smelt so new.

By the time we all finished and each picked up another piece of trash, the sky was bright blue and filled with the suns beaming rays. As that light beat down on us I could nearly touch the perfection of this beautiful afternoon. I'd say my heart nearly burst -- but that is not an accurate description of my emotions. My heart was calm. My joy was full. And I knew that having this sweet little family of mine was the greatest adventure I could have ever dreamed up. 

When bigger storms inevitably come, I hope I always remember the simple peace of afternoon walks like this one. They are an anchor for my soul. 

Utah Vacation in Quick Takes

I've been sitting on my posts about our Utah vacation and haven't drafted up anything substantial yet. So, I need a new approach. I'm going to quick take our Utah vacation! Just so you're in the know, a quick take is a mini post that doesn't really seem sufficient on it's own, so I publish it in a group with seven other mini posts -- making the total post really looooooooong (the name can be misleading). Brace yourself.

I already wrote all about our travel to and from Utah and gave a quick overview of our various adventures back here. I also drafted a post for our Bassett family reunion. So today I'll mention the other odds and ends of our trip that I would like to remember.

1.  Bassett Family Easter Egg Hunt
On Saturday my mom hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for all her kids who could attend (Jon's family wasn't able). We also had our big yummy Easter dinner. The kids had a lot of fun playing with cousins again. But if I'm being completely honest, I've forgotten most the details from our afternoon. I remember Isaac found the money egg in the garbage can (luckily Reid thought his 25 cents had a bigger value than Isaac's 20 dollars, ha!). I also remember my mom's traeger grilled turkey roast was amazing. So those are the important memories you get for the egg hunt.

2. Meet up with Friends
Earlier Saturday morning Ben and I walked the kids down to the grocery store for it's anniversary sale. They have 25 cent hot dogs and cotton candy. Nell had been dying for that cotton candy for weeks, weeks! We waited in line for what felt like forever, and then she didn't even dare taste it. Seriously. I was so mad. But ... I did see a couple of old friends while I waited in line. It was funny, Reid was trying to figure out how I knew people in Delta if we didn't live there. "So you're friends, but you just met her?"

One friend I ran into was actually someone I was planning on meeting up with later that night. Two of my best friends from HS, Ali (Nickle) Hughes and Carolyn (Gardner) Jenks, were both in town for the weekend. They came over to my parent's place once all the kids were in bed and we chatted away for about two hours. It was so fun to catch up and see where they are in life. I just love the memories we share together and how much we still connect after all the growing and changing we've experienced in adulthood.

3. Easter in SLC with the Szilagyi's
Sunday morning we loaded the kids up in my parent's minivan and headed to Salt Lake City for another fun Easter Egg hunt and dinner with their Szilagyi cousins. They loved playing with Henry and Jazella, and Coraline and Mason got along marginally better than they had the week prior when Katie and Mason visited us here in Wisconsin. Two-year-olds are such interesting social creatures. It's like, "hey, I like you and want to be your friend" one minute and then "I'm mad at you and am going to plow you down for no apparent reason" the next.

After the hunt the kids each found an Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa Szilagyi, and it's a good thing because we had absolutely no Easter bunny this year. And you know what, the kids didn't even notice his absence. It was perfect. Reid couldn't wait to build his new Lego plane, Nell quickly switched her and Coraline's My Little Pony's (Nell wanted Pinky Pie and Lou loves Rainbow Dash -- so it was a great trade), and I couldn't wait to watch Moana.

We walked to Church with Bizzie and Steve shortly after the hunt. As we settled into our pew Ben leaned over and commented that the median age of our group was four. To make things worse, the mode was zero! We had three babies, and then a pair each of two, four and six year olds. They were easy enough for five of us adults to handle. Ben and Lauren took the two-year-olds home for nap after sacrament meeting. The others all stuck around for primary (or naps in their parents arms).

After Church we headed back to Bizzie and Steve's house for a yummy, yummy Easter dinner.  It was so fun to spend some time with each of our families over the Easter weekend. We had originally planned to stay the night in SLC, but I was so tired of traveling and having new sleeping arrangements every other night that we decided to just head back to Delta that evening. The kids were such troopers through all our many travels in this first leg of our vacation.

(for a quick recap: Tue -- travel from Oshkosh to Delta, Wed -- from Delta to Hatch, Fri -- through Bryce Canyon and then back to Delta, Sun -- from Delta to SLC and then back to Delta, WHEW!!!)

4. Exploring the Wild, Wild West
On Monday Ben took Reid out to the dump to look for scorpions (we'd read a big scorpion book from the library earlier in the month) and Reid said "I think we're in the wild west dad!" He was pretty excited to be part of the real deal. Even as Ben tried to explain that it wasn't so much a place as a time period, Reid insisted that the outskirts of Delta were in fact, the really real Wild West.

Scorpion Hunting near the dump.

Trilobite hunting at U-dig

They had even bigger adventures when they went to U-dig fossils with Nell on Wednesday. At U-dig they were able to search for trilobites and they brought back a whole bucket full! Ben said they also saw even more scorpions than when they went scorpion hunting.

Those two big kids of mine are super in to Dinosaurs, and Nell has always really loved rocks. So the fossil dig was perfect for them. Though they are young, I hope it was a fun day with dad that they'll always remember. When they got back to town he took them to the gas station for lunch -- a slice of pizza and a soda. They were beaming from ear to ear when they arrived home.

5. BBQ and sleepover at the Bassetts
On Monday night my brother Matt invited us over for a BBQ. The weather was perfect for it and the food was delicious. It was such a wonderful evening. Reid and Isaac learned of each others love for Minecraft and quickly ran to the basement to play it on the Xbox.

The kids were not happy about having to head back to Grandmas at bedtime. Reid wanted to play Minecraft all night, and Nell certainly didn't want to leave if Reid didn't have too. Ironically though, Reid was pretty anxious about actually staying the whole night at Isaac's house for a sleepover. He didn't quite grasp that staying all night meant not sleeping in a room right next to his mom and dad. In the end Reid came home around 9:30, but Nell stayed the whole night through. She was in heaven; I'm sure. Zoey and Sofia were both such sweet cousins to her. They really helped her feel like one of the big girls, and I know she valued her play time with each them.

6. Picture Night
We made plans to have one last get together with all the Bassett's (we hadn't all been together since the reunion) on Tuesday night. Our main motive was to snap a picture of the entire family, but I think the delicious Chinese takeout and cousin play time were more exciting for most the group. The weather had been hot and sunny all day, but about a half hour before picture time we saw the storm coming. Those clouds roll in pretty heavy and pretty dark when storms brew in from the West. It was a complete down pour by the time we were all gathered at my parents place. Their basement -- with it's golden 70s carpet and limited lighting -- would have to do.

Ideal picture or not, it was a fabulous evening to top off a great day. Most the cousins had been over to play for a bit around lunchtime, so my kids were really starting to feel at home with everyone. It's pretty awesome to have so many built in friends to grow and laugh with when you're part of a big extended family.

7. Final Day for Cousin Time 
They had one more day of good cousin play on Thursday. We met Kristina and her kids at the park for lunch. I seriously loved that Hudson was still calling Reid "Buddy" after a full week together. My mom tells me that since we've left he's asked her where his buddy is. I think they'll be quite the match for years to come.

Playing at the "old mine entrance" (it's cosmetic) in the park. 

After the park we headed to McDonald's for some lunch. Matthew and his family came over for goodbyes around dinner time and soon after Phil and his crew came too. My mom ordered pizza and we all watched the kids run around the backyard one last time. Well, I was upstairs trying to contain Coraline's throw ups, but I had a pretty good view of all the action out the back window. Poor Lou.

Fun in Grandma's Backyard

Bonus:
Here's two more photos of things that happened while we were in Delta.

Jumping on the tramp with sprinklers just moments after we arrived home form Bryce.

Reid went to Lance's Barber Shop for a (much needed) haircut.

Bassett Family Reunion

I began drafting this post ages ago, but it's finally here! And now I'm motivated to wrap up our entire Utah vacation as quickly as I can. I mean, it all took place over a month ago ... sheesh!

My mom put so much thought, care, and love into all the details of our stay in Hatch, Utah. She booked a huge, gorgeous home with a beautiful view of Red Canyon (state park). She had treat boxes (and movies) for the car ride to Hatch. She packed goody bags for a boy (game) and girl (spa) party on Thursday evening. And she took care to plan each and every meal from lunchtime Wednesday through lunchtime Friday. I can only imagine how much work it must have been. I'm not sure she'll want to plan another one anytime soon, so it's time for my brother's and I to take over (if she'll let us, ha!).

The reunion started when we all met up at Cluff's drive-in over in Fillmore. The kids got busy playing right away. Reid had a blast with Hudson and Noelan from the get go, and he wasn't super happy to crawl back in the car without any cousins. He was very concerned that we see them all again soon. We tried our best to explain that we were quite literally a caravan of two minivans and two SUVs chuck full of cousins!

Our first group stop was in the town of Bryce. We played around a bit at the shops, but they were all closed since we were there before the season officially kicked off. That seems kind of crazy, because the Park sure was busy for midweek off season!

Nell, Jack, Sofia, Zoey, Reid, and Coraline

Ava and Nell

After playing around a bit in the jail and salon, we drove over to the "Granny Hike." I'm not sure how granny friendly it really was, but the kids enjoyed it. The initial climb was slow and steady, right along a full flowing creek. The last bit of the hike had a steep incline before hitting a fork where you could head toward either mossy cave or a little waterfall. We ended up spending some time at both, of course.

Noelan, Jaedon, Reid, and Hudson

Front: Noelan and Nell. Standing: Max, Ava, and Phil. Crouching:  Zoey, Livy, Sofia, Reid, and Jon.

Ben and I definitely had the slowest kiddos. Nell is NOT a hiker (she whined to be carried the whole way) and Coraline did not want to be carried (and her two-year-old pace isn't exactly fast). At some point Coraline decided she only wanted to be carried by my brother Jon. She preferred him to both Ben and I. It was a nice break, but I also felt a sting of guilt over the whole thing. He carried her almost the whole way to the cave. And when he didn't have Coraline, he ended up with Nell (but her whining stopped the moment she was with him). When we were just about back to the car we heard some hollering from the top of the mountainside. When we looked up we found Nell with Jon and Jaedon in a little cave. Reid and the twins immediately wanted to join them.

Lou being carried by her buddy, Uncle Jon

All the cousins age 2+

Jack and Jaedon in the cave with Hudson, Noelan, Nell and Reid hanging out at the entry. Uncle Phil also included.

Uncle Jon helping Nell and Jack down from the cave.

After our hike we headed to Ruby Inn for dinner. Then we were off to the house for check-in. The house fit us all perfectly and kids quickly started scrambling for rooms and hidden closets to sleep in. We put Mara in a closet (no kidding), and I'm pretty sure Phil put one or two of his kids in a closet. Ava and Livy found a perfect spot under the stairs. There was sleeping room everywhere we looked! The room Ben and I took had a pull out bed for Lou and the huge closet for Mara. Nell and Reid wanted to sleep in the basement with cousins, but by bedtime Reid decided he'd prefer a couch in the Loft, close to mom and dad. Nell had no problems sleeping away from us and was happy to share a room with Zoey, Sofia and Uncle Matt and Aunt Laura.

The basement had a pool table and three bedrooms (plus the under stairs sleeping quarters) that were divied up between my two oldest brothers and their families (plus Nell). My mom and Dad took a room parallel to mine and Ben's. And Phil and his family took the master suite on the main level.

The main level had an amazing view. We loved sitting in the main room and just gazing out the huge two-story windows. When we first arrived the kids spent almost an hour chasing each other around the back deck, which ran the full length of the house. There was also a river to explore at the end of the property. It was so nice that they had so much room to roam since we were stuck with 16 of them in one house!

View of the river from the gazebo, and view from the back deck of the house

Of course the big kids wanted to stay up late, which kept the little kids up. But the little kids still woke up super early, which got the big kids up. But overall, we all slept well enough and had lots of fun together. The adults (minus mom and dad) stayed up chatting till nearly midnight that first evening.

Most of us headed to Bryce canyon for a big hike the next morning. Phil brought his whole family for the first stretch of it. Reid was pretty heartbroken when they took off with Zoey to explore another part of the canyon. But those of us remaining (all of Jon's family, my dad, Matthew and his two boys, and Ben and I with Reid and Mara) were headed on a three mile hike down into the heart of the canyon. It was such a beautiful hike and all the kids did awesome! Jack and Sof were a little scared getting started and then Reid was super tired and slow coming out (in his defense, so were Grandpa and I!), but overall I was so impressed with all those kids!

Hands in for group cheer before take off!

This is the view from the take off point, you can see the trail on the left side.
It goes all the way down into the heart of the canyon and back up the other side of the rim.

Grandpa with all the Grandkids who hiked. Jaedon, Sof, Liv, Jack, Max, Isaac, and Reid. 

Matt, Sofia, and I beginning the ascend out the other side. 

You can see just a couple of the more than twenty switchbacks we hiked up to get out of the canyon.
The look on Reid's face and his need to be propped up by Ben tell it all!

One passerby even commented on how amazed they were that Sof had enough breathe to carry on a conversation with me as we were started a steep ascend. I loved asking her and Livi all about their favorite books and other school activities. I also loved feeding Mara as we walked through the forest in the middle (flat) part of the hike. I don't believe I've ever fed a kid while walking before, but she did awesome the whole hike and didn't even stop us for a feeding. Such a sweet baby!

We met up with everyone (we'd left Nell and Coraline back at the house with my mom, Laura, and Ava) at Subway for a much needed lunch. Phil and his group had gone and explored an off road reservoir while we were hiking. After lunch we split up again for some separate exploration before meeting back at the house for dinner and party time.

Nell and Lou felt so spoiled and so grown up with their gift bags. They had fingernail polish just like their big girl cousins! Thankfully grandma painted their toes while I took care of Mara. Reid was excited to have his own candy bar and soda. He must have shown them to me a half dozen times, and then he didn't even open up his soda to drink it, ha!

Livy, Ava, and Sof lounging with their masks. Nell and Coraline's feet are the top left corner

Once all the kids were all mingled together again (Zoey, Reid, Hudson and Nell had a hard time staying split by gender, they just wanted to chase each other up and down the stairs), Uncle Jon told them to get ready for scary stories by the river. Oh man, those youngest kids were so excited! Luckily Reid took Ben and Nell stayed behind. She and Zoey put on a dance show for us adult women. It was pretty fun watching them beam with joy while entertaining us.

The next morning we all cleaned up and headed our own ways. Jon and Mel went home to get ready for another road trip. Matthew and Laura (with Grandpa) headed home because they weren't feeling great. We (plus Grandma) drove back to tour the main road through Bryce Canyon. Phil and his family went fishing and exploring on another reservoir.

It was so fun to all be together as an extended family unit, and it was also fun to see each of the individual families function in their own stages of parenthood. Mostly, I hope my parents enjoyed having all their kids and grandkids together in a house they didn't have to worry about deep cleaning themselves! It was a wonderful reunion and I can't wait for another one a year or two down the road. 

Two Conversations

There are two conversations that took place in our house today that need recording.

First, this morning.
Reid: Hey Daddy, do you know what store I got this shirt from?
Ben: Goodwill
Reid: No daddy. Guess again.
Ben: Goodwill
Reid: No! Guess which store it is from.
Ben: Goodwill
Reid: No, it's not from goodwill.
Ben: Well then where is it from?
Reid: Nike! *pause* Can you cut off this tag?
Ben cuts off tag that clearly states: Goodwill.
I suppose it's a good thing Reid can't read yet.


Just now (yes, like ten minutes ago -- cause apparently I'm now blogging about US breaking news).
I'm alone in the bathroom (yes, on the toilet), reading an NPR article that's just five minutes new.
Me: WOW!!!
Nell enters and asks me how I got hurt (ha! She thinks I screamed "ow)
Me: I'm not hurt. I'm just reading the news.
Then I lean in so our foreheads are touching and I change my voice like I'm sharing a murderous secret
Me: President Trump is CRAZY! *pause*
Me: *whisper* And I secretly hope he ends up in jail. *closes with a giddy smile*
She must think I'm nuts after this exchange. But she just left the room and went back to watching Numberjacks on Youtube.

Seriously, I haven't been following these Russia stories all that closely. But now ... now I'm convinced this is another Watergate. He's hiding something. He cannot possibly last four years. And in four years, I'll check back here and see if I'm right. And Reid will understand what Goodwill is (and that it's the only way he'll get high-brand clothing). 

Utah Vacation 2017

We decided to go to Utah for Spring Break this year -- instead of our usual summer trip. I liked this idea for several reasons. #1 It's cheaper to go during the "off" season. #2 I was ready for a break. In fact, if we hadn't all gone as a family, I was going to go with just Mara for a long weekend in March. #3 Our summer (gardening, community activities for the kids, etc) won't be interrupted with a long absence.

We left at 2am (no lie) on Monday morning (April 11th). I think the kids were most excited about this. They mentioned it every day for nearly a week. They couldn't wait to be woken up in the middle of the night (or was it early in the morning?) to sneak off to O'Hare. I couldn't believe they stayed awake for most of the car ride. I can't remember if Reid ever went back to sleep.

Playing in the O'Hare airport before take off

The plane was a bit hectic. Our seats weren't together (of course). And Lou pitched enough of a fit that I was stuck with her and Mara in the back of the plane. Reid and Nell sat together in the middle with Ben in a seat right in front of them. But ... ugh -- the airline booked other people in each of our children's seats. I couldn't believe it! How do you see three small children and not put them right by a parent? And even worse, apparently give their seat to someone else?!?!? It was ridiculous, but the wonderful flight attendant sorted it all out.

On our flight back home we were all grouped together in the very last row. But ... ugh they double booked my seat on a plane with at least 8 empty seats! I am not making this up. How do you give one seat to two people when there are that many empty seats? I will never understand airline seating. For example, I pay the same for my ticket as anyone else, but no matter what --- EVERY TIME -- we get the very back. I've obviously gone off on an airline rant I didn't intend to turn this post into, but let the record show in my children's youth airlines treat kids like garbage. Garbage! Even though their seats cost the same as anyone else's.

Leaving super early in the morning had it's advantages. It was nice to have arrive in Delta mid-afternoon and have some time to settle and enjoy ourselves before bed. We had another busy day of travel planned ahead of us. When we gave my mom our dates she decided to throw together a Christmas in April. She rented a huge house down by Bryce Canyon and started planning all the details of hosting her family of 8 adult children and 16 grandchildren in the rented home two and a half hours away from her own.

It was a sweet party, I tell ya. I'll have to write a separate post about it later. I'll also write a separate post about what to do with small children in Bryce Canyon (to go with my series) later. Right now I am apparently just giving a vague overview before I bombard you with more detailed and (hopefully) better organized posts.

We spent Easter Sunday up in SLC with Ben's sisters and their cute kiddos. So the first six days of our trip required a lot of traveling and repacking. It seems we are always packing for a vacation within a vacation when we go to Utah.

During the last portion of our stay we finally had four solid days to sleep and play in one home -- my parents home. Things were nice and slow in Delta, but still filled with plenty of family time and wild cousin play. It really felt like we never stopped, but it was all so relaxing anyway.

I'm having a hard time recovering and readjusting to life back in Wisconsin, but I think we are finally settled in and back into our routine. Reid was more than ready to head back to school. And Nell has fallen back in love with our hour(s) long together time. Mara started solids yesterday and is sleeping well in her crib. Coraline, well that spunky one didn't really seem to get out of sorts and she hasn't fallen back into anything either. She's always just cranky, goofy, serious, excited, and content all in a matter of minutes no matter where we are. Poor girl though, she had a bout of throw ups the night before our return. Luckily her recovery was quick and no one else was affected. She's such a spunky and unpredictable little toddler.

Vacationing as a family always makes me love my people a little more. It strengthens our bond and reinforces our tribe power. The kids were able to branch out and explore new things (from sleepovers to rock hounding), but at the end of each new adventure they always find a safe home in my arms. And for that I am indeed grateful. Love my bunch!

Stop at the Chicago Temple on our way home, Apr 21

Much more of Utah 2017 to come soon!

Nell Update

I'm scrolling through my camera roll and realizing there are very few pictures of just Nell. For a moment I think I should feel guilty about this, but I stop. This isn't a reflection of me, this is a reflection of Nell. I can't think of a better way to capture Nell's soul than to find her always posed with a sibling. 

Whether she's playing her role as the glue that holds the oldest three together ...

Or her role as the leader and example to my pack of girls ... 

Nell's always surrounded by these siblings she loves so much. I often find myself saying "Nell doesn't know how to play by herself." And it's true. Reid can throw himself into a world of imagination and Coraline can find a toy to keep her busy -- but Nell is a social child. She needs a second person to help her occupy her time. Lucky for her, she can usually find one. 

Coraline admires her big sister so much. Maybe even a little too much. If Nell gets a little fussy it isn't too long before I have Coraline stomping her feet and crossing her arms at me as well. She loves to act just like Nell. 

Nell is my biggest helper, often taking on jobs without even being asked. She puts Mara's car seat away unprompted. She always tells me to close my eyes the moment I take off Coraline's diaper. Then she grabs it and runs to the garbage to toss it out. Earlier today when I asked her to bring me Mara's bumbo so I could clean it, she decided to just get a wipe and do it herself. This was extra thoughtful as Mara had just had blow-out.  

One morning as I was coming up the stairs from doing the laundry, Nell hollered, "Mom, we're cleaning the house so well. You're going to be so proud. We're making it clean in case anyone comes over." That last sentence kind of tipped me off and when I rounded the corner I saw them scrubbing away at Lou's little playhouse. 

Nell is definitely our spunky child. She seems to know who she is and has all the confidence in the world about it. I hope she never lets that go. She's also our sassy child. She loves to push the limits and often intentionally does things to get a rise out of me or Ben (or Reid or Lou). 

The other day she and Reid were coloring at the table. I was making something, but needed more flour. As I ran downstairs to get some I remembered the half filled cup I left on the counter. I knew right then I would walk upstairs to find Coraline playing with it. I was right, and since the mess was my own fault I decided that instead of getting mad I'd just let Lou have her fun. She was playing for about ten minutes before Reid and Nell even noticed. 

"Um, Mommy." Reid said, making sure I saw what was happening. When I turned and looked he added, "There's no way you are okay with that." I explained how it was my fault and how she was being so quite with it (honestly, I loved that she stayed out of my way while I tried to cook). I told him it was sweep up easily, and then I bent down to take a photo. Just then Nell jumped down from her seat at the table and walked right through the whole thing. That's when I lost it. Poor Nell, I didn't offer her the same patience I offered Coraline. 

I know we never truly know someone's intent, but if I know Nell as well as I think I do, her intent was to get a rise out of me. I suppose I failed because I gave her just what she wanted. Lous' mess would be easy to clean, but now I had an even bigger one. Plus, I just thought she should know better. I didn't get the carefree photo of Lour I wanted, but I feel like I captured the two of them pretty well. Lou's fun interupted by a misbehaving big sister. 

Don't tell anyone, but I think Nell prefers Reid to Coraline. She does love playing with (and disturbing) Coraline, that's for sure. But Nell lights up when Reid gets home and she always seems happier on the weekends, when he's around, than the weekdays. The two of them truly are best friends and I hope it lasts forever. 

She also loves the special time we have together each day while her little sisters nap. We've been reading The Secret Kingdom and Junie B Jones books. Sometimes we get through a whole chapter book in one day (even one sitting). They hold her attention so well. TV holds her attention well also. She loves Dinosaur Train on PBS kids. She also loves Strawberry Shortcake on Netflix. But I noticed her attitude gets kind of rotten after Strawberry Shortcake, so we are limiting Netflix to just Saturday morning. If they ask for TV on a school day it has to be whatever is on PBS kids at the moment. So Nell watches a lot of PBS kids. 

She's a really healthy eater, but she asks me about food constantly. I don't really know what to do about that, but there is no way she is as hungry as she makes herself out to be.  She is wearing size 7 clothes and has all her summer shopping done. I decided to take her with me to pick out her clothes, since she only wore the winter stuff she'd chose herself. We came home with nothing but skirts. She loooooves to twirl and dance. 

She also loves to wrestle fight and get dirty. She also has a super silly potty mouth. The girl loves to use the word butt in every situation and she burps her way through most of dinner. She's the perfect little princess tomboy. We love her so much and are so thankful to have her in our life. 

Helping Pre-Readers Write Primary Talks

Our kids are blessed to attend a rather small LDS Primary. An average week yields about a dozen kids aged 3 -11.  A larger primary (like that of my own childhood) would be awesome as well. However, I've really come to love our little group and the experiences my two older children have because of its small size. They absolutely adore the older children -- who shower them with attention and kindness. Also, they are frequently called upon to say prayers, answer questions, choose songs, and give talks. Last year Nell gave two primary talks as a sunbeam (that's the youngest class). I'm willing to bet that's pretty unique. 

Neither Reid nor Nell read (or write), but they love preparing and giving talks. We've had to think outside the box as we've helped our pre-readers write their talks, so I thought I'd share some of the strategies that have worked for us. Hopefully this can help some other parents of pre-readers prepare their kids to give talks during sharing time as well. 

1. Make sure the child is using their own words, and not yours (or someone else's). 

My goal for my kids, even at age three, is that they will both write and speak the talk themselves. Of course we help them with the outline and structure of each talk, but we encourage them to use concepts and language that are familiar to them. When they each gave their first talk I stood by them to offer encouragement and help get them through any hiccups, but I do not whisper the talk into their ears. The words are theirs and they are comfortable expressing them to their peers. If a child does need the words whispered into their ears (because we all have different abilities), those words should still be comfortable and natural to them. 

2. Study the topic with them every day of the week.

The purpose of speaking in Church is mostly for our own benefit. When we are asked to prepare a talk or lesson we have to spend a great deal of time studying the topic on our own. Then we put together our thoughts and deliver them to our audience. This should be no different for our children. Most recently, Reid was given a somewhat complicated topic, his assignment was: "Jesus Christ created the Earth so I could learn to choose the right." Throughout the week we talked about the two very separate ideas in that sentence. Why did Jesus create the Earth? How can we choose the right? After some good discussions on these two points, we started putting the two concepts together. We kept having Reid flush out ideas and express what he was learning in his own words. The final draft of his talk included comments about dinosaurs and the Mariana trench -- so you can trust me when I say our kids use their own words! We always encourage them to come up with their own ideas, but they can only do this if they understand the doctrine they are asked to speak on. 

3. Create a storyboard for the child to read from the pulpit. 

This genius idea belongs to Reid. As we kept talking about the reason for the creation and the importance of choosing the right, he said something about writing his talk as a picture. That was a real light bulb moment for me. I got out some paper and made six frames; then he and Ben filled it out together. I would highly recommend this method to anyone. By the time they were finished Reid had six concrete thoughts he knew he needed to hit and his talk was built on strong organization. This gave him the confidence he needed to stand at the podium (without me by his side), make eye contact with his audience, and deliver his talk with near perfection. He occasionally made quick glances at each square and then spoke from the heart as he moved from one point to the next. 

4. Use props.

I know props for talks in sacrament are frowned upon, but I think it is okay to make an exception for children's primary talks. I imagine some church members may disagree with this approach, but it worked really well for us when Reid was 5 and asked to speak on The Creation. I created a flannel board story of the Creation and it served as the outline for his talk. This allowed him to tell the entire creation story in his own words, while also offering a visual for his peers.

Props did not work for Nell when she was asked to speak on Christ's birth. I envisioned her putting out each piece of our Little People Nativity set as she told the story, but every time we practiced it at home her retelling of the story just became more and more ridiculous. She was ad-libbing all sorts of junk that certainly would have made her story interesting, but not at all accurate. In the end we just put the nativity out on the table next to us and stuck to simple story telling from the pulpit, which leads us into number five.

5. Practice, practice, and practice some more.
I really don't have any wisdom to offer here, other than what is said: practice, practice, practice. Nell had to run through that nativity talk a couple dozen times. We'd interrupt her when she got too dramatic; we'd remind her of any parts she was missing. We did it again and again and again. Reid also runs through his talks a couple dozen times before delivery. We are sure to go over it several times the morning before church.

6. Always close with a testimony.
When our kids practice their talks we always ask them to include their own testimony at the end. We have never given them instruction for this portion of the talk. It isn't something we correct or persuade. They know they need to close with two or three comments about something they are thankful for and something they know to be true. Naturally, they stick pretty closely to their assigned topic.

I'd love to hear any other ideas that have worked for parents with young children. Feel free to leave them in the comments or pass this post around if you find it helpful.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Ahhhh!!!! I have so many blog posts started. I need to get to it! Have I even mentioned Christmas yet? No, no I have not.

I love this blog so much. Yes you, dear blog. I love you. I started it over 8 years ago as a way to keep in touch with my family. It has grown and shrunk and grown and changed so much since then. I'm most grateful that it reminds me to reflect and to see blessings in my life. I love that it holds my most precious memories. 

But to be honest, sometimes it's nice to let two or three weeks go by without any documentation. Trying to jot down our life in weekly journal style entries can feel daunting. There are many memories I want to carry with me, but sometimes just letting go feels nice too. 

I'm getting off track here. Over two weeks ago I titled a post "Monkey See, Monkey Do" so I'd remember to capture a couple funny Nell and Lou moments. I've had so much fun bonding with these silly girls this past fall. They are truly becoming quite the buddies while Reid's away at school. 

The other day I was sitting on the couch holding Mara when Nell came running out of her room to show me the silly potato head she made (with Reid). I loved her giggle and her creation so I decided to snap a picture. Coraline was in the room with me reading books when all this happened. But as soon as Nell ran away, Coraline followed. She came back shortly after and showed me her own silly creation. I thought it was sweet she decided to join them in their room for some giggles. I quickly realized that wasn't really her motive. Her motive was to get me to take a picture of her. She seriously got so mad when I didn't immediately give her the same response I gave Nell. I became kind of frustrated with her screams, but then I reminded myself to treat her shouting as if it were communication. Within seconds I figured it out. She wanted a picture too. Once I pulled out the camera her face flashed from anger to pure joy. 

Dec 12

A few days later I was feeding Mara in her room as the kids colored nicely at the table. They had each finished one page of their Christmas coloring book and I was so grateful they could sit quietly and occupy themselves. Then suddenly I was interrupted by Reid and Nell strutting down the hall saying something about fashion girls. They turned the corner into Mara's room and boy was I surprised. Apparently one page of their coloring books was enough! After that they turned to their faces. Oh boy did we all giggle when I saw Nell. She was covered! I just had to get a picture. As soon as I did Coraline (and her clean face) darted out of the room. This time I knew exactly what she was doing, so there was no screaming when she came back! I took a photo right away. I just love that she colored her own face. I also think it is hilarious that she didn't do it while Reid and Nell colored each other -- but rather after she saw my reaction to their faces. 

Dec 16

Dec 20

I'm so grateful these two girls have each other in their lives right now, and forever. It's been delightful watching Coraline follow Nell around and figure out how to live life like a big girl. One of my greatest joys as a parent is watching my kids become friends. 

Thanksgiving 2016

On Wednesday, the 23rd, Ben took Reid and Nell down to the airport to pick up my parents. While they were away I made a couple of yummy pies, threw the turkey in the brine, and prepped side dishes as best I could (I had to cook up two packs of bacon and toast some pretzel bread). We all went to bed pretty excited on Thanksgiving Eve. It is so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Bassett stay with us! And it's a treat that doesn't happen often enough. 

Thanksgiving morning was pretty low key. Coraline (who was asleep by the time Grandma and Grandpa arrived the night before) took to Grandma and Grandpa right away. She and Reid were snuggling G&G all morning long and Nell was eager to play and be silly -- all true to character. 

I continued to do the prep work I had outlined on a google document. I don't know why I didn't think to have the table set before the final hour, because things got real crazy in those last 45 minutes before dinner. I think though, that I was using the table as extra counter space -- so I don't know that I could have set it anyway. Plus, that was a good chore for the kids to do while I was trying to get all the dishes together. 

Reid had been so excited to eat Thanksgiving dinner. They'd been learning all about it in Kindergarten and he'd even made a turkey hat, a pilgrim costume, and a poster decoration. They'd talked about the history of Thanksgiving and even discussed what kinds of food it eaten. He was so looking forward to it. Then, when he sat down to eat he said his tummy hurt, and sure enough he was running a low fever. Poor boy. He ate his roll, and we wrapped up the rest of his plate so he could have it when he felt better. Luckily, a little medicine did the trick and he was able to eat it a few hours later (before pie, of course). 

But lets get a better look at what is on that plate! Remember my October post where I explain how food is one of the ways I show love? Well, having my parents in town for the foodiest holiday sure had me excited! I was going to show them lots and lots of love! We did our usual Alton Brown turkey brine, and I made gravy from a recipe my mom gave me that her own mother used.  For the sides I scoured my favorite food site -- Mel's Kitchen Cafe -- for the yummiest dishes: confetti corn, (a savory) sweet potato casserole, garlic and parmesean mashed potatoes, pretzel bread stuffing, and spinach salad! The green bean casserole was just the one listed on the French's onion box, the rolls were simply Rhodes brand, and I also bought a pumpkin pie from the store. I wanted to focus my pie energy on making a chocolate pecan pie I also got from Mel's Kitchen cafe. 

It was all so yummy, even if things were a little crazy during the final hour before dinner. And of course, the moment we all sat down to eat, this little Turkey woke up looking for her own dinner. 

I'd actually forgotten to put her in that little onsie, but I had to throw it on before bedtime because I have a picture of both Reid and Nell in it and I wanted to compare them all.  

Before bed, we did the truest photo comparison:

Christmas Eve 2014:

Thanksgiving 2016: 

Reid and Nell were both a little snug in jammies that were 2 years old! During the post Christmas sales of 2014 I tried to guess what size Lou might be in by 2015 and I was wrong, they were way too big for her last year (when I'd hoped I could do a "compare" picture), but it turned out perfect because we got to do it this year instead. Even better, right?