The Kidds: August 2013

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

All I Wanna Do... Is Have Some Fun

So I've been talking a lot about this upcoming trip to Cali... That's because we are sooo excited! My family used to go every year when i was living at home and it was amazing. We went with three other families and we would rent a beach house. Heaven. In a word... heaven.

Now that we are all grown up- every year doesn't always work... and it gets kind of spendy for my dad since he still insists on footing the bill for all of us. He's amazing right??

But this year... this year we loaded up the car and went Surfin' USA. Okay. Not really. I don't know how to surf. Not that I'm opposed to learning... but maybe some other time. I'll learn with Ty.

Our first stop was Santa Monica. I've never been to Santa Monica. Apparently there is this pier and a boulevard...? We climbed out of the car and walked along the pier. Kate was enthralled with all the little stands along the way. She could't get enough of the seashells.

On one end there was a small carnival...

But the kids just kept watching the water...

Okay... maybe they were eyeing the ferris wheel...

the Kidds hangin' at the end of the pier.... And please- if you are going to take the time to read the blog and look at the pictures... please note my children. In almost every picture that I tried to take of the three of them... someone is doing something totally dopey. You wait. It's hilarious.

The Jacksons...

Some Henriksens...

Towards the end... Jer got eaten by a dragon...

Not to be outdone... the boys were eaten soon after.

As far as the trip goes... I've got a feeling that I'm not the only one... you know that wants to have some fun... at least until the sun comes up on the Santa Monica Blvd...

Swim Swim Swim... I like to Swim

We took swimming lessons every morning during the summer. And I've got to say... I loved it! And so did my babies! Our morning routine started with breakfast, then the kids put on swimming suites, did a few chores and then it was off to the pool for a few hours. Add lunch and a nap... and I just don't want the summer to end.

Kate's favorite pair of shoes to wear to the pool were NOT flip flops... She insisted on wearing boots. Boots that I continue to hide from her because they are two sizes too small. She keeps finding them!

Ty and his Teacher...

Another Birthday Boy

Ty is turning 8 this year. But we will be on vacation in sunny California. He doesn't mind- but he did want a little to-do for him since you only turn 8 once!

So I made him a special Birthday Blintz... it was SO good! We even stuck a candle in Ryan's piece and he allowed us to sing to him tonight.

Ty has been trying to talk his dad into buying him ANYTHING Under Armour... apparently EVERYBODY is wearing it. Can you believe we heard that this early? He's only 8!!! Shaun wouldn't do it because it's ridiculously expensive... but we totally caved for his birthday. He was stoked!

And what's a birthday without Legos? I don't know- it's been too long since we've had one for Ty without some. He has been eyeing Jabba's Palace for months and he was so excited to take over my dining room table so he could get started.

I know it's not technically his birthday yet- but I just wanted to take a second to say how extremely proud I am of this little boy. It's no secret. I brag about him all the time here. I should probably take more time to make sure he hears it from me too.

He is so smart and so precise in all that he does. Ty loves to read and his favorite subject in school is math. Math!!! Can you believe he is smart enough to like math?? I wasn't.

His favorite color is red and he wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up and coincidentally- playing baseball is his favorite thing to do too.

His favorite food is Mushroom Bourginon and he loves to spend time with his grandpa.

He is a really talented writer and loves to write and illustrate short stories during Sacrament Meeting in church.

He loves to tell jokes because they make him laugh.

His favorite time of day is the afternoon. He wouldn't elaborate on why. Strange? Maybe.

Ty scares pretty easily- but he is mostly afraid of lightening.

When asked, he said his best friends are Charlie Wilson and Grandpa.

But when he does spend time with his family- he thinks it's the best when we swim!

He loves to learn about fish. He did a report on sea lions during the year and he could spend hours in the aquarium at the zoo.

He loves to vacation in California and his favorite book is "What if the Shark wore Tennis Shoes?" by Winnifred Morrison. If you haven't read it... go find it. It's a book about Ty.

In a nutshell... that is my 8 year old. Amazing isn't it?

Soux Chefs

I love to cook. I used to just love baking... but cooking has become a necessity... mostly because we all have to eat something other than cookies and cakes. So I cook now. And so do my kids. I love having them in the kitchen most of the time. It usually leads to a little bit more of a mess- but they are so happy- most of the time it's totally worth it.

Ty is helping me make a butternut squash risotto and Kate is stirring a mustard vinaigrette for our beans in this picture.

They have become so invested in what goes on our table. I love to have the Food Network on TV in the afternoons and more often than not, I find myself and my three little ones snuggled up on the couch together watching either the Barefoot Contessa or the Pioneer Woman (at least- those are our favorites). Ryan asks most mornings what time the Contessa comes on- she is apparently his favorite. We were at Costco the other day and he kept trying to sneak her latest cookbook into my cart. I love these little ones!

And what in the world am I going to do once summer is over??? I just want to keep them home all the time!

Because I'm Awesome

I am so awesome sometimes. It's true. I had a flash of genius the other night and I have to share. We have a WHOLE bunch of grandma birthdays coming up and I had to think of something to give them. I get in trouble when I spend money and frankly- when it's grandma... you have to have something better than a store bought box of chocolate. She's grandma. You spent some of your favorite childhood moments at her house. She bailed you out of trouble. And always kept an extra shirt at her house... because you know... you were messy. Or was that just me?

We have been doing a little bit of yard renovating and have recently dug up a bunch of rocks. Now... all our grandmas (except for Old Grandma) are outdoors-y women... so we painted some garden rocks for them to have in their yards! Ha! I love it! I kind of want one too...

Sorry the picture is crooked... It just won't turn.

Happy Happy to My Little Bear

Shaun loves to give everyone he meets a nickname. I don't know if it helps him remember people or if he does it just because he always has. It's a mystery. But I giggle when I think of his names for those that he loves the most. Pookie (that's me), Squinchy (Ty- because when he was potty trained Shaun thought he had a squinchy bum), Fuzzy Bear (Ry- because he is FUZZY. really really fuzzy- everywhere) and Roonie (the boys used to call Kate "Cake-a-roons" and somehow her dad shortened it to Roonie). He's not so nice to others... Buzzard, Beavis and Flipper... they leave something to be desired. I guess I should be happy I'm just Pookie.

Ry can get a little riled when he's called Fuzzy Bear, but he seems alright with just Bear. So- a lot of the times- Bear it is. It is pretty tough sounding.

That said... Bear turned 5 in July. 5 people. I feel so old. But enough about me. This post is all about RYAN!

Ryan isn't one for the spotlight- so I thought we would keep things pretty low key for his birthday bash. We just invited immediate family and he made me promise that we would NOT sing Happy Birthday to him. I kept to his wishes and instead of a big BBQ- we made homemade pizza and we made homemade ice cream. I bought any and every topping you could ever think to put on the ice cream and we had a happy birthday bear on our hands.

Ry's favorite topping was the Star Wars candy topping things... I thought they looked pretty gross- but as I pointed out earlier- this was not my day.

And in keeping with Ryan's love of Star Wars... We made Jedi Knight Sugar Cookies. Do they look fierce? Don't tell me if they don't. I don't want to know.

My Bear is such a source of strength in our family. He has been through so much, in and out of hospitals and drs offices for various reasons... And through it all- he has the happiest and most simplistic outlook on life. I could learn a lot from this little guy if I just had the patience. He is kind of our pokey puppy... My mom likes to call him methodical... but she's grandma. I would use the word maddening most of the time. You CANNOT hurry Ryan- no matter the situation. It just won't happen. So don't try. You'll implode. But there is also something calming about Ryan- maybe it's because he does refuse to be hurried. He takes his time and he gets it right the first time. There are no do-overs when Ryan is working on something.

He is also very much a problem solver. If there is an issue- he takes his time to think it out and he almost always comes up with a solution on his own. Sometimes it's an odd solution... but a solution nonetheless. Take Friday for example- he went to get dressed in the morning and found he was out of underwear. There was clean underwear upstairs in the laundry room- but I guess he didn't know. So he just went without. When I told him he had to wear underwear... he went back downstairs and pulled out a pair of Ty's underwear and wore it instead. Problem solver.

I took a few minutes on each of the kid's birthdays to ask them a few questions... Here's what I got to learn about Ryan...

His most favorite thing to do is play baseball and he wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up.

His favorite food is quote "EVERYTHING". And it's probably true. He is the easiest to please at mealtimes and is the most adventurous. He loves watching cooking shows and pointing out new recipes that we NEED to try.

Ryan says that he likes to spend time with mom (woohoo) and he loves to read his "Max" books.

Funny jokes make him laugh, but his favorite time of the day is when he gets to play games with mom.

When I asked him what scares him, he told me about a commercial he saw on TV- it had a scary clown on it. He shivered as he told me about it. Ryan is so timid sometimes and it can be the tiniest thing that sets him off. Good thing he has such a big strong brother...

He told me today that I was his best friend. Talk about melting my heart!!!

He likes to swim with his family and he loves to learn about Dinosaurs.

Currently he can't wait for our vacation to California and wants to spend his waiting time reading his favorite book, "What if the Shark Wore Tennis Shoes?" by Winnifred Morrison. Hilarious book. I suggest you find it at your local library.

I love this little guy and I am so grateful that he is my baby (even though he keeps pointing out to me that he is in fact NOT a baby any more)... I have wiped more tears and blood off this one than the other two combined- and I think I just love him all the more for it. Thank- you for helping to teach me patience Ryan... I just hope you have the patience to continue teaching me not to be so crazy all the time.

I love you too much.

Baby Baby Baby

My brother and his wife finally brought their babies out of hiding... All three newbies have been given a clean bill of health and have been set loose on the general public. Okay... Nat probably wouldn't let the general public near any of them- but it's SO awesome that we can go see them now!! Kate is probably the most excited about this.

To commemorate this event... Dave and Nat blessed their babies a couple of weeks ago... Or maybe it's the other way around... Either way... BABIES!!!

The whole fam...