Admirers of the rain

One day not too long ago we got a day full of rain.  Not just a powerful short lived down pour like we usually get but an on and off all day steady, nice rainy day. It was awesome.  It was peaceful and every one in the house was relaxed and sort of mellow.  We enjoyed an afternoon of board games and quiet reading with blankets.  I went in to check on the boys and found them perched at their window together.  Hunter had Hudson standing on the window sill and he babbled away as he looked around and pounded his little hands on the glass.  

 They sat like that for quite awhile until I heard Hudson fussing.  "Mom, every time I take Hudson down from the window to give my arms a break he starts having a melt down" Hunter called to me.  I headed in to take him and relieve Hunter.  "Here mom, can you hold him until I get my jacket on?" he asked me.  "I am going to take him to sit outside to watch the rain instead."  He ran and grabbed a jacket and headed out the front door as I reminded him to let Hudson look but not get him in the rain.  When I walked out they were sitting out front on our little bench together and Hunter had put him inside his jacket with him.

 They looked so cute sitting there together.  Hudson was so content.  Normally after five minutes he would've been wiggling off Hunter's lap eager to explore things and crawl around.  It was like the steady sound of the rain sort of mesmerized him and he just sat there and stared.  They were out there for a good thirty minutes until I came and scooped Hudson up for his nap.  Hunter is an amazing big brother.  Even though they are nine years apart I am so glad they have each other and moments together like this.

Origummy

 Hunter has been itching to start some sort of "business" for awhile now.  At first he wanted to try to do food of some sort but then I think he realized that mom was going to have to help with it and that I could only help him at certain times of the day.  Last year when I got home from my trip to San Francisco I had brought Hunter some origami paper and a book about folding.  He loved it and had a lot of fun with it.  A few weeks ago he decided that it was the perfect product to sell.  So he used the techniques he knew already as well as practiced some new ones and built up quite a little inventory.  He came up with a name for his business, Origummy.  He asked if he could make a sign on the computer and created a logo and a pricing sheet with only minimal help from mom.  He also included at the bottom that he offers origami lessons as well.  Deke and I told him the rules of no going to people's doors, only selling to people he knows in the neighborhood or friends.  The first day he came home grinning, he had made $.75 that afternoon and he was thrilled.  It has been fun to watch over the last few weeks.  He has learned to make some new items to provide to his "regular" customers and has even had a day where he had a sale on a few items.  To date he has made $11 and some change which is fun.

He has also come up with the idea to skype with grandma's or other family members and offer origami lessons that way.  He is super excited that Grandma has already "put in her order" for which pieces she is going to receive lessons on next time we skype. I think it is great all the things that he is learning about running a business and he has been having a lot of fun.  I look forward to getting to take my own origami lesson from him soon :)

"Here Mom."

The weather is getting nice and the kids can finally play outside.  As I was making dinner Hudson sat on the kitchen floor and used a whisk to stir magnet letters in a plastic bowl as the the older three rode scooters and chalked all over the driveway. The start to a wonderful evening.  They came in with a small handful of flowers from the yard.  "Here Mom" they each said as they placed their flowers on the counter next to me, gave me a hug and then went off to play.  It made my day.  I filled some baby jars with water and placed the flowers inside thinking about how much I love these four little people and the way they show love to me.  I love all the hugs, drawings, stories, performances, snuggles etc. that they fill my days with :) :)  

Gilbert Food Truck Court- The grilled cheese truck

I don't love cooking, I can, and I do, but I don't love it.  I do however LOVE eating!  Deke and I both enjoy watching the food network, and the cooking competition shows.  One of the things that we have both been wanting to do is try food from a food truck.  I have seen some really delicious things on food network from food trucks.  We found out a guy from our ward is the chef of the truck Great Balls and Sliders.  So one night as we were trying to figure out what we were all craving, we decided to find out where we could go to taste his food.  Good ole Google led us to find the Gilbert Food Truck Court in old town Gilbert.

Every Friday night, different food trucks gather at this location and sell their food.  In the middle they have picnic benches set up for people to sit and eat.  The kids were all so excited to try something different.  We went around to each truck and looked over their menu.  We were disappointed to see that Bro. Dixon's truck wasn't there that night but were so excited when we ran into some friends of ours.  Emma was particularly excited to see her good friend Sara and get to hang out with her for awhile.

After checking things out we all decided to try the "Grilled Cheese Truck" that serves specialty grilled cheese sandwiches.  I chose a grilled cheese on a black peppercorn bread that had Brie, caramelized onions, honey roasted pecans and a marmalade sauce.  It was SO GOOD!!!!  Just writing about it makes me want to eat one. I don't remember everything on Deke's but it was really good too.  The kids got a three cheese blend sandwich that I thought was good but I think because it had some cheese that they were not accustomed to they thought it was just okay.

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They also had "dessert" sandwiches that looked yummy but we were all really full afterward and decided to try that another night.  The pictures make it look just like a normal grilled cheese but trust me it was so much better!!

We all loved having all the different options all right there and it was hard to choose just one to try.  We ate and visited and just enjoyed a different experience of eating.  It was really fun and now we are all anxious to go back and try more things.

" I'm lonely at table."

This girl.  I love to record little things that our kids do that make me laugh or smile and that I want to be able to remember someday.  I can't even really remember when Em started doing this it feels like it has been always but it has only been since she could talk.  You see, Emma is our slow eater.  Pretty much because she won't stop talking to everyone and is easily distracted by all the "going ons" of the people around her at the table.  So undoubtedly as everyone else is taking their dishes to the sink, Emma still has some bites to go.  As soon as everyone gets up to rinse their plate and head on to their other activities Emma announces, "I'm lonely at table."  She continues to say it each time getting a little louder and a little more dramatic so that we get the full effect of her suffering :) :) Even if we are two feet away from her cleaning up dishes, she still complains to us of her loneliness.  "You are fine, we are right here" Deke and I tell her but she protests that "no one is sitting by her at the table though and that she is so so lonely."  Oh my goodness little miss.  It is a routine we all know is coming.  It makes me smile when Hunter or Ave intentionally slow up the tail end of their meal just to stay by her until she finishes.  This makes her grin and she makes a point of telling us "Mom, Avery and me are still both eating, the two of us together at table."  You are so funny kid, I have never heard of a kid getting lonely at the table when everyone else is in the room still, but it is sweet.  I am glad you love good conversation and enjoy the company of your family.  Now lets just see if that lasts when you are sixteen :) :)

The flower girl that froze

 Our good friends from Prescott, Kyle and Tiffany, got married at the beginning of September.  Deke was one of Kyle's groomsmen and Tiffany had asked Emma to be her flower girl.  They had asked her a couple of months ago and Emma was so excited.  She talked about being a flower girl, we read the Pinkalicious book about being a flower girl, watched videos online of flower girls walking down the aisle and practiced with an easter basket filled with pieces of cut up paper.  Tiffany bought her a sweet little necklace with a rose on it which Em loved since it is her middle name.  Her and Ave and I went shopping and found an adorable dress for her to wear.  She was ready.  I was worried.  I know my Emma and she is our most shy child by far.  Once she warms up she is fine.  She is silly and talks a mile a minute and gets goofy like her older siblings, however she hates being in front of large groups.  She never wants all the attention on her and gets embarrassed.  She is often unsure about new people and gets totally quiet.  The night before the wedding they did a dress rehearsal and with the promise of a package of Starburst she walked down the aisle and threw the petals.  I was relieved and she was proud of herself.  After they got home though she started complaining that her legs itched and as I got her into her pj's I noticed she had some mosquito bites.  I started counting and the poor girl had 34 bites!!!! Thank goodness her dress was long to cover her little legs.  The next day we got there early and went into the brides room to get ready with Tiffany and the bridesmaids.

 Emma loved getting to get ready with all of the "big girls."  She actually was loving them doting on her and constantly saying how cute she was and talking to her.  She mentioned being hungry and they brought in some fruit and a roll for her.  She was loving every second of it.  She looked sooooo sweet.  After getting to be in with the girls and getting all ready we headed outside to get her lined up with the rest of the wedding party.  She sat out there and talked excitedly with Jaden, the little ring bearer....

 Soon it was time to go and I quickly reminded her what to do. She would walk in front of Deke in case she got nervous just like they had practiced. As they started to walk I saw a slight shift of concern in her eyes. The wedding planner held her back and Deke headed around the corner.  "She will go right before the bride" she said and then told Emma to get ready because it was time to go.  I reassured her as she hesitated to move forward.  "Okay mommy will walk with you until right before we get to the aisle to drop the flowers okay?"  She looked relieved and we headed on our way.  "Oh no" I thought to myself "You can't change the plan on her in the last instant" this child is not good at improvising.  As we reached the aisle I went to let go of her hand and gracefully take my seat to the side when she death gripped my hand.  I looked over and she was standing completely still, deer in the headlights look, panicked.  I leaned down and whispered a quick word of encouragement. She stood there.  Keenly aware of the bride getting ready to come up behind us I tossed my purse and camera into the grass to the side of me and started practically pulling my slightly catatonic three year old down the aisle.  Okay great, now what.  What was the "practiced plan" for this scenario.  So I didn't think so much as just started walking.  Walking in heels that make me as tall as Deke, wobbling as I bent down and picked out handfuls of petals and tossed them, trying to motivate her.  Nothing.  It was making it worse.  "Stop throwing the petals, you look ridiculous and just get her down the aisle" I thought to myself as the photographer took pictures and I thought about how I never wanted to ever see these pictures.  The small aisle seemed to lengthen by five feet with every step we took and finally we reached the stairs and I nudged her to walk up the three steps to stand by Deke.  Nothing.  Nope she was still totally frozen.  Awesome.  Okay pick her up and lift her over the three stairs and finally her eyes connected with Deke and she walked over to him on her own.  I walked off to the side trying to smile and act natural about the most awkward mother/daughter team flower girl moment in history.  Okay Deke...I stared him down.  Thank you for not insisting and making sure she walked with you, that was just great.  Then the ceremony started and of course she smiled adorably and at one point looked at me and waved.  You little stinker.

 The wedding was beautiful and even though it was really hot and sort of muggy out the location was beautiful and they had done a great job of decorating.

 They had dinner and a candy bar, a program and dancing.  It was a great night.  We were so happy to get to share in their day, congrats Tiffany and Kyle!!!!!

A day in Prescott

 The Saturday after the wedding Kyle's parents had an open house for them up in Prescott.  We were more than willing and excited to get to go up there for a visit.  We got up early on Saturday morning, grabbed up some fresh bagels and bananas and headed up.  It was so nice to watch the temperature go down as we headed up the hill.  We drove into downtown Prescott and as we parked, the cars thermostat read 87*  We hopped out of the car and the kids ran for the grass.

We walked all around the courthouse and let the kids run around and pet all the puppies that were walking in the park.  They played chase and tag and all I could think was how I can't wait to move away from here and get somewhere green where the kids can play outside in the summertime.

 I had to snap a pic of Emma running up and down the sidewalk flapping her arms like a bird and giggling.  Emma loves to pretend she is "flying" when she is running.  Deke and I smile, it is so cute to watch her....

 We spent the afternoon walking all the fun boutique and antique shops.  There were so many things to see.

 After shopping around all day we decided to head over and get a bit to eat.  We found a fun little seafood place and decided to try it.

 Deke and I both got a lobster roll which was yummy.  I love trying new food.

 We headed back out and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.  The kids were so awesome all day.  We decided to stop by Shannon's Gourmet Cheesecakes and Deli and have some cheesecake.  Seriously it was DELICIOUS!!!  The couple that owns the place were super nice and sat and visited with us and the kids.  Homemade cheesecakes with a big selection of flavors.

 We decided to get four to split between all of us.  We tried the turtle, the banana nut (which tasted like fresh homemade banana bread), and the lemon berry.  They were all good but the banana was the best.  Next time I definitely want to try the pina colada, the key lime and the pumpkin.

 Then we headed to the open house at our old church building in PV.  We saw lots of friends from our old ward which was nice.  People we hadn't seen in six years.  It was great to eat, visit with old friends and enjoy the time with Kyle and Tiffany.  Around nine thirty we changed the kids into their pajamas, loaded them up into the car and headed back home.  We have been back to Prescott many times since we moved away and almost every time we have visited we have left to come back home missing living up there and wishing to go back.  It was interesting to me that this time as much as I loved the visit, as we headed home I felt happy for the memories I will always have there but felt very ready and excited for what is ahead of us.  We are excited and we are ready.