Happy Nie Nie day!

Today was declared "nie nie day" by Design Mom. She suggested everyone out there think of something they could donate and auction it off on their own blog, donating all the proceeds to the Nielson's recovery fund. I didn't get my stuff together to actually auction anything, so I'll just participate by spreading the word and by buying stuff. Here is a list of everything out there -- more than 165 different auctions. If you were thinking about donating anyways, this is a great way to get a little something more out of it! There are some awesome big items, hand-made items, getaways, collectors items, etc. So go check it out!

I hate school! It is boring!

Oliver made it to his first day of Kindergarten. This morning he excitedly put on his new shirt and cool shoes, and jumped into the car with his new backpack full of new supplies. But based on his past reaction to starting new things (i.e. kicking & screaming, won't get out of the car, crying, yelling, etc.), I figured we'd have a breakdown eventually. And true to form, we did experience some of that when we actually pulled up to the school. I had to pull him out of the car and drag him in the door against his will. Walking very slowly and reluctantly down the hall, we ran into Brenden who walked right up and in such a cheerful voice said, "Hi Oliver! Cool shirt!" I told him Oliver was nervous and afraid Kindergarten was going to be boring, and Brenden said "Oh it won't be boring at all. I really loved Kindergarten." What a nice big brother! When we got to the classroom Oliver mustered his courage and went in and immediately got to work.

When I picked him up (right on time!) his face was beaming with pride and his report was all good. And he says tomorrow he wants to walk in all by himself because he remembers where his classroom is. So we'll see how that goes.

in their honor

As a family we participated in the Nienie balloon launch festivities yesterday. We wrote notes of love, hope and well-wishes (Oliver was confused about how the notes would actually make it to Arizona to the Nielsons), attached them to helium balloons (thanks to Rachel for the mad dash around Provo to get the balloons), and at 6pm let them float up into the sky. We did it from our home, which is where we last saw the Nielsons and enjoyed together an evening of cheese fondue, fresh squeezed lemonade, and great conversation.


































A few minutes later we looked to the north - in the direction of Kiwanis park - and saw a massive cloud of balloons floating up. It was lovely and moving to watch the balloons float over the mountains that Stephanie loves so much. It was hard to capture a picture, but if you blow this up and look really closely, you can see the confetti in the sky.


Later that night when I was putting June to bed, we were listening to A Child's Prayer. I was particularly struck with how the simple lyrics of I Am Like a Star describe Stephanie and her aura and her blog and her life mission and her inspiration so perfectly:

I am like a star shining brightly.
Smiling for the whole world to see.
I can do and say happy things each day,
For I know Heavenly Father loves me.

Kind of cheesy, I know, but it was enough to bring tears to my eyes for about the 100th time this week.

ponder this

How would you answer if your kid asked you:


Why is it colder at the top of a mountain if it's closer to the sun?
-Brenden


How can your eyes see black if they are closed?
-Oliver

school starts, and more ideas about Texas

Brenden started school this week. (Oliver starts next Wednesday.) He decided this year he wants to ride his bike to school, at least until it gets too cold. I rode with him on the first day, but since then he's gone alone or a couple times with other friends from the neighborhood. He comes right home after school, and I have to say I'm a big fan of this new system that requires so little from me. He has been good about getting ready earlier (no need to wake up earlier, as he remains the family's early riser), and turns out he can get there in the same amount of time it takes us to drive, considering the shortcuts and traffic. Brenden is in 3rd grade at Wasatch with Mr. Evensen. He's excited to have a male teacher, and says he's funny and likes to tell stories. I just love how easy-going and adaptable Brenden is. Notice he's wearing his new shirt, which I think he's excited to have. But when I suggested maybe he should get a new backpack this year, he said no, this one from Kindergarten is still fine. I think he needs new shoes, but he doesn't care too much. He did suggest, though, that if he did get new shoes he'd like DC shoes. That was a little funny. His first glimpse of brand-name-preference. It's just such a contrast from Oliver who just got a new backpack for school a couple weeks ago and then yesterday had a complete meltdown in Target since he couldn't get another new backpack, and another meltdown at Famous Footwear since he we left without buying him any new shoes. He is my passionate child.


Speaking of Oliver... he's enjoyed watching the Olympics and has convinced me he'd really like to take gymnastics. He'd actually mentioned it a few times before, but I dragged my feet. Now that he's seen what they can do, he is really anxious to learn. So he'll start this fall and hopefully he'll learn some good "tricks."

Some of you might remember some of his pre-conceived ideas about Texas. His fascination with Texas continues during the Olympics and he continually asks us whether there's anyone from Texas swimming/running/playing volleyball/diving/whatever's on the screen at the moment. He also made a tooth-pick version of the Texas flag. He asked me what it looked like, but I guess I didn't help him fast enough, so he came up with his own design -- red with a black "T" on it. He puts it on his cars and trucks and keeps it displayed up by his bed. I really have no idea where this comes from.

it's the least we can do

Click the button below to donate to the Nielson's recovery fund

We will also be participating in the balloon launch on Saturday evening. And continuing to hope and pray and hope and hope some more. My heart aches.

Stephanie & Christian we love you!

Our dear friends Stephanie & Christian were in a small plane crash on Saturday night. My heart hurts for them and their darling 4 kids, and we are hoping and praying for a speedy and complete recovery.

impromptu inter-continental conference call

Last night at midnight I get an out of the blue call from Rachel, calling from Jerusalem. She says, "Hey - can you conference me with Annee?" to which I reply "sure" and proceed to dial Annee in Korea.

I love that Rachel called me at midnight and knew I'd still be up.
I love that she assumed I'd know how to call Annee in Korea and would know how to conference her in.
I love that Annee was home in the middle of the day to take our call.
I love that I have no idea how much that transaction just cost us, but it was totally worth it.
I love being a part of an adventurous travel-savvy family.

I knew she was tired, but...

I just thought she should have some lunch before taking her nap.

Guess she disagreed.

how to be cool

According to Oliver:

"There are two ways to be cool: one is to get a tattoo, and the other is to do something cool like BMX, skateboarding, monster truck driving. That way if you do something cool, you don't have to get a tattoo."

He seemed relieved to have figured out a way to avoid the needle.

the long road home

We pulled in to our driveway at 1am, already missing the beach and our family but glad to be home. On the way, we stopped at Buffalo Bill's in Primm to investigate the roller coaster again. We've done this a number of times, but this time Brenden was finally ready to do it. He was so nervous, but pressed forward and tackled the fear. We're so proud of him! Scott said the look on his face as they went down the 225 ft. drop was the look of death -- sheer terror. Afterwards he was laughing and so excited.

The parking lot of Buffalo Bills was on that particular day was the gathering place for desert racing vehicles preparing for an upcoming race. The boys had a great time looking at them. We drove away and about 15 minutes down the road Oliver bursts into tears since we didn't take any pictures him in front of the racing trucks. We tried to convince him it's no big deal and it was still cool to see them, but he was unconsolable. Scott, being the generous accomodating dad he is, actually turned around and went back, so we could take some pictures. This made Oliver's day! Dad of the year! In the process they were able to talk to one of the owners and actually sit in the truck. So of course, these pictures have to go on the blog!



When we got home we were greeted by a back yard with plants and grass! Very exciting. The sod is new and still settling in, and we will add some creeping climbers that should cover more of the rocks when the weather cools off a bit. We are also planning on splitting some of the perrenials from the front yard to put around the raised area. But key favorite features are: a fire pit, a large maple tree that should hopefully shade most of the deck (eventually), three Swedish aspen trees for Scott, a pink flowering dogwood tree right outside my kitchen window (reminiscent of the Kensington house from my childhood), a large sand box along the side of the house, a garden plot, climbing roses that should eventually cover the neighbor's 8 ft fence (due to be installed soon), and two new hose spickets. The boys are dying to get a slip & slide out there ASAP.

baby mine: classic songs for bedtime

The latest CD in Scott's Lullaby series, Baby Mine, was just released, and is now available for purchase and download. I know I'm slightly biased, being Scott's wife and all, but I'm serious - this is an fantastic CD! The songs, arrangements, singers are all amazing. There are some great new takes on old classics including Hush Little Baby and Braham's Lullaby, and a Beatles song and a Disney song and a Wilco song (look at Deseret Book being all modern and progressive!) and some instrumentals and a bunch of other great stuff. Singers include Amy Gileadi, Paul Jacobsen, Ryan Tanner, Marcus Bentley, Mindy Gledhill, Libby Linton, Becky Williams, and several others. In addition to the fact that it really works like a charm to put the kiddies in the sleeping mood, it is just beautiful and inspiring and gives me the chills. So get one for yourself and for your kids and then give them as gifts to any new parent, old parent, grand parent, or really anyone you know. All the songs on this CD are traditional classics -- i.e. secular/non-religious. Scott - you've really outdone yourself this time. It is perfect.




If anyone is interested in the other CDs in the series, the first one, A Child's Prayer, was released a couple years ago and consists entirely of LDS and traditional christian hymns and primary songs. The arrangements are beautiful and many of the same singers contributed their voices. I love this one since it is a fresh and updated take on many of those old classic songs that are a part of our LDS culture but haven't really been recorded in a respectfully modern way before. I don't really know how to describe it, but just take my word on it -- it's not "deseret book-y" at all and does not have any childrens choirs on it.

The second CD, Mary's Lullaby, was released last Chirstmas. Scott took several favorite traditional Christmas carols and gave them his signature cool updated lullaby treatment. This is a perfect Christmas gift for anyone. Really.

All three albums are available for download from iTunes, and also for purchase from Walmart.com (best prices) or DeseretBook.com or in Deseret Book stores (and probably any other LDS book store) everywhere. Only the first one is LDS-music-specific. You can listen to clips from every track of each album from Walmart.com.

So anyway, sorry about the shameless plug and for the super-sales-pitchy sales pitch, but when you believe in something, you've got to share it with a passion, right?! Right.

can you believe we're at the beach again?!

We spent the first week here with favorite friends The Tanners. They were great company. Ryan cooked some amazing meals for us and introduced us to cotija and goat cheese. I can't get over how especially awesome Oliver and Jack's curly locks are in the ocean air. They looked like long lost brothers. It almost blew Jack's mind to be so close to the train tracks, so we thought it would be fun to actually go on a ride.




On Friday we met up with Stephanie and her boys and all went to Sea World. We saw the whale show, the sea lion show, the circus show, the sharks, the penguins, etc, etc, etc, etc. It was hot and crowded and there were snack and souvenir and wet shoes issues, but in the end it was one of those things the kids will remember and we're glad we did it*.

After Sea World, the Tanners left and the rest of the Wileys** arrived. We've been playing in the sand, the water, riding bikes, making s'mores over the fire, bbq-ing, boogie boarding, body surfing, collecting shells, blowing bubbles, etc, etc, etc, etc. It's been awesome to be with family and there's really just nothing like the sound of the waves putting you to sleep at night.


Here are a few things in particular to remember from this week:

• Brenden has been working to overcome his fear of the ditch and gone out in the ocean a few times. He's learning how to handle himself in the water and judge when to jump over or dive under the waves.
  


• We took the kids to a couple other beaches to try to find better boogie boarding/body surfing waves***. We found it easiest to ride bikes so as to avoid the parking hassle, and my bike proved to be a most useful pack mule.
  


• I seem to be cured (?!) of my allergy to the Pacific Ocean****. I've gone swimming almost every day and haven't passed out even once. I'm so excited! I had a great time at the body surfing beach mentioned above, but have lost some of my nerve and skills over the years, so I need to do some more practicing.

• June's favorite activity***** at the beach right now is blowing bubbles on the patio. She started saying BaaBaa (bubbles) over and over again all day long. For the record, other words in her vocabulary: Mom, of various forms (mama, mommy, maaaaaa) -- which all mean "give me something" or "help me with something" or basically look at where she's pointing and do something about it; No -- which sometimes means the same as Mom and other times means "get away from me" or "don't do that" or "give that back to me" or just general flexing her toddler muscles of independence. She went through a phase where she'd say Oh Yeah a lot, but that's gone now. We also don't hear byebye, dada, or nighnigh much anymore. RollIt still comes back every now and again.

• Scott and I successfully took the kayak out and back through the waves without any scrapes or bruises!

• Thanks so much to Steve & Ie Li for dropping by to visit us on Sunday. It was so great to see them - we really miss our spread-out family members.

• We felt the earthquake! It was a 5.9 centered in Chino and was pretty gentle and uneventful by the time it got to us. This is quite significant for Oliver who prays to be safe from earthquakes every night.

• We saw a circus train! A real live Ringling Brothers train went past and that made us curious so we spent a while learning about them. Turns out the train is still the primary mode of transportation for the circus and carries all the cast & crew and their family members, the animals, and all the equipment. We all wondered if there would be a giraffe sticking it's head up through the car, but decided it would be too risky to train it to lower it's head for the tunnels.
  

• Is this the best way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the beach?!

• Riding bikes to have ice cream at the harbor?! All****** my favorites!

And it's especially great having a photographer along on the trip to snap some priceless family pics like this! Thanks Aunt Stephanie - this one's going on the christmas card!

I'm pretty sure my skin can't absorb any more sun and I have sufficiently stored enough melanin for the long dark winter ahead. They finished putting in our back yard while we've been away and we're dying to see it. Scott's getting stressed out about the work he has to do when he gets back. Brenden actually said in his prayer tonight, "thank you that school can start soon." All signs pointing to the fact that summer is coming to a close and it's time for us to go back home. Although we are feeling ready, I know we're really going to miss this place when we're gone.


*and glad we don't have to do it again for a long time.

**Plus of course Natalie - an honorary Wiley

***Read: waves that don't crash right onto the shore covered with sharp pointy rocks.

****For those of you unfamiliar with my illness...
Our family has gone on beach vacations almost every summer for as long as I can remember. Until I was 14 we'd go to the Atlantic Ocean and I have memories of swimming in the water all day long and having a grand 'ole time. But when we moved to California and started beaching there, I was no longer able to swim in the ocean without passing out. Well I only actually passed out twice, but other times I'd get extremely light headed and dizzy and almost pass out. And I'd get all swolen and welty. So I pretty much gave up swimming.

*****Besides her usual fun with the pantry and elevation changes

******Well is there a way to add in a ferris wheel and a pedicure in there somewhere?