Thankful

Today I am thankful for...

and

and

especially when he gives me these.

And today, I am especially grateful for building toys, and the hours they keep my son out of my hair while I prepare for the feast of the year.

Temple-Logas

Logan has a fascination with temples. He likes to associate them with the people who live by them. For instance, there's Grandma Pendleton's temple (Provo), Zach's temple (Oquirr Mountain), and other Grandma Mackay's temple (San Diego). As we were driving home yesterday, I pointed out the temples as we drove past them and identified them by their proper name. As we passed the temple closest to our house, I told Logan, "That's our temple. It's called the Timpanogos temple."

Logan gasped in excitement and shouted back, "The Temple-Logas temple? For me?"

I laughed aloud, then made him repeat it several times to ensure I had heard right. He realized soon enough that it wasn't really named after him, but Logan--like his dad--will do anything for a laugh, and hence repeated "Temple-Logas" the rest of the way home.

I love you, little buddy.

This post is brought to you by the letter "F"

Logan has been attending a neighborhood preschool and last week was our turn to host. The letter was "F," so I thought it would be fun to go on a field trip to the fire station. Unfortunately, the fear of large groups of children passing h1n1 to medical personnel caused our local fire stations to suspend all school groups. "Well," thought I, "we'll just have to make our own fire station."

We started by giving everyone a fire hat to wear. The girls were less than interested, but the boys couldn't have been more enthusiastic.

We talked about fires and firefighters, then we made firemen out of toilet paper rolls. (If you ask me, the chubby one is a little unrealistic. Who's ever seen an overweight fireman?) We also played an improvised version of Chinese fire drill on the couch.

We ended "class" with a game of Cranium Caribou, which also provided an unforeseen *ahem* opportunity to teach about lines and waiting your turn.

It may not have been as good as the real fire station, but it kept 4 two- and three-year-olds entertained for an hour and a half, which is good enough for me!

To run or not to run...

This summer has been a turning point for me in terms of exercise. A neighbor suggested we trade kids so we can run/bike/whatever kid free and it made all the difference. During that time I prepared and ran in a 5K, triathlon, and marathon relay, thereby doubling the number of races I have run in my life. Although I didn't notice much of a speed improvement, I did increase my endurance and overall stamina. But more importantly, I just felt better. Maybe it was in my head, but it was enough to get me back at it week after week. I even found myself enjoying my runs, which I'd NEVER done before.

But alas, I am a fair weather exerciser, and the weatherman says the fair weather is quickly coming to an end. On my run this morning I found myself wondering if this winter would be different. Will I be able to motivate myself to bundle up and run when it's 30 degrees? When it's raining? When it's snowing? Maybe. Or maybe not. Time will tell.

As one of my favorite photographers says, every post is better with a picture. And since I'm not in the mood to post a picture of me in my running getup, here are some from this morning.

My letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know what a fantastic job you have done in past years with our children. Their Christmases have been "merry and bright" which is what every new parent hopes for. You are very much appreciated in our household, and I am thankful every day that it is YOU and not ME trying to prepare the perfect Christmas during this hectic and chaotic season.

I can only imagine how challenging it must be to find toys that (a) do not have a bazillion pieces that could be lost, swallowed, or dumped down the garbage disposal, (b) make minimal (if any) noise so I can maintain my sanity from day to day, (c) provide some small sort of educational value so my kids don't grow up completely illiterate due to my negligence, and (d) are reasonably priced so your workshop doesn't go broke. What a job! I am truly amazed that one man can do it all, since I am certain I could never accomplish all those things for my two children alone.

I might be able to do it if Christmas fell in July, but certainly not in December when I am trying to do so many other things, such as finishing a 6-month project at work, furiously editing pictures for holiday cards, and winterizing my house and yard, to name a few. During this crazy time of year, I am especially grateful that I do NOT have to add "Santa" to the list of hats I wear.

So thank you, Santa, for not forcing me to enter a toy store or mall in October, November, or December. That is truly the best gift you could give me.

Sincerely,
A young mother

P.S. My children come first, but if you happen to bring something for me, I'd really like a pair of boots. Thank you.

Halloween

Usually I can't wait for Halloween to pass so I can start listening to Christmas music, but this year I had so much fun planning and putting together our costumes that I almost didn't want it to end! I hope I still have this much fun when my kids start having an opinion about what they wear. :-)

First, I'd like to introduce you to our little ladybug. Precious? I think so.

Next is our sheriff. He rules the town around these parts.

And finally I'd like you to meet Dr. Gregory House and Dr. Lisa Cuddy.

Our Halloween fun began Friday morning with a neighborhood party. We paraded around the block, made googly eyed pumpkins, and decorated scary Halloween cookies.

That afternoon we visited my office where cubicle world had been transformed into a spider's lair. I knew it was going to be a long evening when both Logan and Savannah hit a sugar high at 2:00.

On Saturday, we got an early start trick or treating in our neighborhood. To help speed things up, we loaded the kids in the wagon between houses.

Savannah didn't have any trouble picking up on the concept of trick or treating. Look cute... pick candy... put in bag... repeat. Logan was very polite and did great minus one small instance of "Trick or treat, smell my feet...". Now who taught him that? (Grandma.)

All in all, it was a great holiday and I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Hallow-bean

I really wanted to do something fun and Halloween-y for FHE on Monday. Thanks to some great suggestions via Facebook (maybe that site does have some value, after all), we decided to go to the Bean Museum for their Halloween Family Night. This was Logan and Savannah's first trip to the Bean Museum, and Jeff and I hadn't been in years. Other than the costumed kids and some scattered cobwebs, it was exactly as I remembered.

One of the Halloween activities was "spooky crafts." Jeff and I each took a wing, which explains why Logan's bat is a little lopsided. The real mystery of the night is why you would give kids a bag full of candy in a museum with a "no food" policy.

Savannah and Logan watched a really boring movie about elephants for 10 minutes. We had to drag them away kicking and screaming to go do the other activities. I think the next time I need some peace and quiet I'll just turn on the Discovery Channel.

We ran into some friends from our ward and all went to the "scary animals show." The whole show was narrated by a skull (i.e. the guy in the back of the room with a flashlight reading a script while another guy in front carried the skull from place to place). I didn't know whether I was more amused by the kids reactions or by the phantom reader's overzealous enthusiasm.

A good measure of a quality kids activity is how tired it makes them. This one scored pretty high.

First day of winter

As I walked out of my office for lunch yesterday, big, fat snowflakes fell from the sky. One of my co-workers shouted, "Hooray!" A little girl on the sidewalk scooped up handfuls of snow in excitement. Others smiled, some laughed, and one cheered.

I cried.

Yesterday marked the first day of winter. (Winter: the period of time from the first snowfall until the last snowfall.) It usually lasts about seven months. Last year it was eight. Let me explain to you why I dread the next 7-8 months.

It will be seven months before I:

• can walk outside without a jacket.
• can get in my car without shivering for the first 10 minutes.
• won't have to wake up early just in case I need to shovel my driveway.
• can sleep without socks on.
• can drive around town without facing weather-related traffic and slippery roads.
• can be outside for more than 5 minutes without my nose turning bright red.
• won't be paranoid about bringing the flu epidemic into our home.
• can wear flip flops.
• can spend lazy afternoons reading in my backyard hammock.

I could go on, but this is getting rather depressing. Luckily, my FAVORITE holiday of the year is less than 2 months away, so at least the early part of winter will be bearable. But once January hits, I will spend my days staring at pictures like this and wishing for 90 degree days.

Help!

I need some pictures of the kids to put alongside our family picture, but I can't narrow it down! Please vote to help me pick which ones I should enlarge for our "family wall."

Here are Savannah's options:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

And here are Logan's options:

1.

2.

3.

Help! As both the mother and the photographer, I am too biased to pick. Comment and let me know which ones you like best.

Saying goodbye

Before I married Jeff, grandparents were unknown territory to me. I never knew most of my grandparents, and by the time I was 16 none were living. You can imagine my surprise when with a short wedding vow I inherited not one or two, but seven grandparents! I have loved having these grandmas and grandpas in my life and have learned to appreciate the wealth of knowledge and advice they have to offer.

Last week, however, we said goodbye to Grandpa Skousen. He was Jeff's great-grandfather, and at 93 years old, his passing wasn't entirely unexpected. At our family reunion over the summer, we made a special point to take a picture with him. This is only a third of his posterity! There are five generations represented in this picture; Jeff is part of generation four and our children are generation five.

I am honored to be part of such a great legacy and know that Grandpa is joyfully working on the other side of the veil.