The Fickle Four-Year-Old

It was the release date for the much-anticipated Apple iPhone and the movie Ratatouille. It was also Morgan's 3rd birthday: June 29, 2007. The day began the way a normal 3-year-old's birthday does, but that didn't last long. At work, I got the call from Melissa: "Morgan broke her arm; Morgan broke her arm!" During the normal part of her birthday, she opened her Tinkerbell Polly Pocket. Like a normal little girl, she stood up on top of her bed to get as high in the air as possible, because Tinkerbell flies, of course. But Tinkerbell Polly Pockets fall out of little girls' hands, too, and a 3-year-old doesn't stop to think that it would probably be a bad idea to dive off the bed trying to catch Tinkerbell.

That was Morgan's third birthday. She spent it having surgery on her arm and got to have a sleepover with Mommy at Primary Children's Hospital. I'll never forget her whimpering while clutching her mommy as the anesthesiologist came to remove her from her "safe" place to take her into surgery. With her good arm, she clung tighter, and with her perfectly good lungs, she sobbed louder. We consented to the anesthesiologist's request to administer a little laughing gas. Within seconds, Morgan started laughing and cheerfully allowed the strange man to take her in his arms and whisk her away. Makes me wonder sometimes if we wouldn't all be a bit better off with just a little laughing gas!

Having her 4th birthday party reminded me of the events of that fateful day last year. This year, there were Polly Pockets, too, but no broken bones, thank goodness. Just a normal little girl's birthday with princesses and horses—Webkinz and Breyer horse stuff, Barbie and Polly Pocket princesses, and of course, the princess nightgown.

What do you get a 4-year-old who has a gazillion hand-me-downs from two older sisters? These days, I think Barbies, Polly Pockets, and "horsies" are pretty standard because she let us know long ago and many times that's what she wanted, but other than that, all she wanted was a pink room. So, here we go and get the paint and the matching bedding, and Melissa even started working on what it would take to remove the princess wallpaper from her room. Then, a couple days before her birthday, she decides she doesn't want a pink room. I guess the fickle woman starts young! We kept the pink paint and bedding because just as sure as she changed her mind before, she'll change it again!

Totally Twins

Every once in awhile you have those moments that just reaffirm things in your mind. Today we had one of those moments. Of course we know Mackenzie and Madison are twins, but today we had a vivid reminder. Our ten-year-old twins both lost the same tooth (on opposite sides of their mouth) on the same day . . . within hours of each other . . . without even trying. Talk about twin connection!

Just a Bit of JibJab Fun

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Everybody Cut Footloose

Every year Lehi holds Round-up Days the last week of June, and every year we've lived here we've enjoyed it (except last year, but that's another post). It is tradition that half of the LDS wards in Lehi enter a float one year and the other half the next year, and the Primary children walk with their ward floats. This was our year!

Our float's theme was Footloose, and we were! Our float, a big red Converse high-top, blared the title song. Some of the primary kids (Kenzie & Maddie included) danced to the chorus at the head of the float.

Friday night Morgan was hesitant about the experience and stayed in Mom's water bottle/candy wagon. Saturday morning she was brave enough to try the float and had a blast, asking if we could do the parade again tomorrow.
Clayton and his favorite sidekick, Jaxon, were my amazing helpers. They squirted the dancers, float pullers, and each other--keeping everyone cool. They hucked bubblegum into the crowd like nobody's business. They attempted to assist the older boys with pulling the float, and they were even caught attempting to dance a few times.

I love the spirit of walking about two miles in a parade with a bunch of energetic kids . . . even in the blistering 94° heat. I love that my husband and my brother, who lives ten doors down, walked the parade with me both times to help with kid control! And I love that Friday night we could go from the parade to get burritos at the new El Pollo Loco; finally there's one in Utah. Right here in our own hometown. Right here in Lehi City!

Mormon Miracle Pageant

Friday afternoon we packed up the Pilot and headed out to Manti with Grandma and Grandpa Besaw. We looked forward to a nice weekend experience but had no idea just how wonderful it would actually be.

After arriving in Manti we hurriedly staked out our seats and headed over to the house on Main Street where we planned to stay the night, thanks to a friend of Grandma's. The house was darling with that quaint charm of yester-year with the summer porch and the lead glass windows. The kids cracked us up as they raced from room to room, excitment building with each one, trying to decide which room would be their's for the night. After setting up shop we walked to the stake center for a delicious BBQ turkey dinner. Who knew turkey could taste that amazing - we highly recommend it!

The pageant was great. The three older kids managed to stay awake for the whole thing, and it inspired several explanations and discussions that were great bonding opportunities. Craig and I wondered if the kids were too young to understand (or sit still), but I'm so glad we went because they did great. Afterwards, back at the house, we sat at the table and talked and munched on midnight snacks before bed. Morgan, having napped through the last half hour of the pageant, got her second wind and was hilarious (but still not as silly as Grandma)! I don't think my kids have ever stayed up that late, but it was sure fun! It was also wonderful having Grandma and Grandpa with us. We are lucky to have so much family close by, but it was nice having them all to ourselves for a change.

We came home Saturday after visiting Palisade Lake, McDonalds for breakfast, and Kmart for Clayton to buy a pack of Super Hero Squad figures that he'd saved up for. It was a wonderful, memorable, spiritual experience that we'll never forget.

Daddy and the Giggly-Guts Girls

Who knew two girls could giggle so much? I guess that's what 10-year-olds do best because Mackenzie and Madison did lots of it when they put shaving cream all over my face and "shaved" it off with popsicle sticks at the daddy-daughter Activity Days picnic. I had fun, too--not so much by getting shaving cream smeared all over my face, but rather by seeing how much fun those giggle-guts were having.

On my way home from work I stopped at Subway and got the girls' favorite: seafood with tomato, olive, and a titch of mustard. We had a little picnic, they got Activity Days progress certificates, and we played games. We didn't even come close to winning any of the games--wheelbarrow race (last place and second to last), three-legged race (last place and last place), and so forth, but I'm sure we had the most fun!

What a Zoo!

Wednesday night we attended members night at Hogle Zoo. This is a night where they open new exhibits and have special activities for the kids to participate in. We got the invitation back in April and hadn't planned to go, but last minute decided to spend the small fortune in gas and head up there. I'm so glad we did because we had fun! It was nice to be at the zoo when it wasn't completely packed or swelteringly hot (yes, it is mid-June and we all wore long sleeves).The kids each colored an animal they attached to a pixie stick to celebrate the opening of the carousel. Clayton and Morgan got temporary tattoes of the white crocodile's eye. We got to pet a possum, see the pregnant elephant (and I thought my belly got huge!), and ride the train. Unfortunately we missed the bird show because it filled up so fast. I guess we'll have to hit that next time. My favorite part was seeing the kids play on the playground. We had never done that part of the zoo before and the kids had a blast! Clayton made a very agile Spiderman and the kids had fun on all the different props.I don't use the word very often, but our evening was truly delightful.

Dance Festival

I've enjoyed Dance Festival every year the kids have done it, but this year was especially fun. The theme was Dancing Disney, so the songs were familiar to the kids, and they seemed to really enjoy it, too.
Clayton and the first graders were dressed as cowboys and performed "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. He was so cute, and I was impressed at how well he knew the steps.

Mackenzie and Madison joined the rest of the fourth grade dancing to "Disney Mambo #5" by Lou Bega. Their performance was the grand finale, and it was great. Thanks to Shana for lending Madison her cute brown Disney hat; apparently fourth-graders are too mature for flower-pot-style Disney princess hats! I guess I know what souvenirs they'll be getting during our trip this fall.

The magic of the day was complete when Belle, the guest host, agreed to pose for pictures afterward—Morgan's favorite part. Top it off with a picnic lunch together and you have the perfect way to end the school year!