4th of July

It's been awhile since I blogged, and I'm going to skip a lot of stuff, but I'm going to try to get caught up a bit. We had a fun Fourth of July in Morgan this year. Since we have yet to figure out how to celebrate things in Springville, we opted for heading up to the parade again that yielded a TON of salt water taffy last year. We were not so lucky in the candy department this year, but we still had a good time. 

Luke found ants on the tree (of COURSE he found bugs) and all the kids took turns poking them with a stick.

Millie was really excited for the parade since she remembered what the hype was all about.

More tree poking

Watching the parade with candy bags at the ready

These boys LOVE Grandpa. And the matching shirts was a coincidence.

Afterwards the kids played in the sprinkler with their cousins.

And did a little fishing (you can't catch much without a hook. . .)

Later we got ready to watch some fireworks.

Millie was in charge of keeping things organized.

She also got to light a few herself.

But she remembered burning her finger last year when she tried to pick up a firework that was still hot, so she was sure to get out of the way quickly.

I have a bit of a firework obsession. Not that I'm a pyromaniac, but I love setting off little cheap fireworks at home. This was an important part of my childhood. Mark could probably do without it, but he humors me and I try to keep it pretty small. But seriously, people in Utah have a passion for these things. And you can legally set off all kinds of aerial stuff that shoots way up into the sky. Which means we get some good free firework shows, but the noise lasts for several days late into the night. And it happens all over again on the 24th of July here. Not to mention there were several fires started in Springville alone from fireworks in July. It might be enough to turn me into a firework grinch, sadly. 

Santa

I used to be a Santa hater. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain Christmas to my kids because I knew they would be exposed to him, but I didn't want it to come from me. I also didn't want them to be the only kids in their class at school professing the truth about Santa Claus to their poor, believing classmates. I wanted to preserve the true meaning of Christmas in our home, but of course that didn't mean no presents. Things like this stress me out because I want to sort out the answer before it ever comes up, but this time I learned to just relax a bit. Because it really did resolve itself. The first time Camilla asked me about Santa (she heard him mentioned in a song on the radio, and probably in other places as well), I found myself telling her all about him. And I was excited. And now she is excited, too. Our little introvert didn't even have much trouble sitting on Santa's lap at the ward Christmas party. She didn't say a word to him, but she was thrilled with the candy cane he gave her and she points him out wherever we see him. 

Even though Millie is excited for Santa, she knows about Baby Jesus, too. 

Me: Millie, who was born on Christmas?

Camilla: Baby Jesus.

M: And where was he born?
C: In the barn.

M: And did people bring him presents?

C: Yes they did!

M: What did they bring him?

C: A teddy bear, a binky, and a Nonie (her word for blankie).

I think those are better gifts than gold, frankincense and myrrh for a new baby.

Our Spooky Halloween

I've been really excited for the holidays this year because Camilla is at an age where she really gets things. I know she's going to be much more aware of the magic and probably remember it for awhile. We've spent the whole month talking up Halloween. She has been so excited to dress us as Minnie Mouse and for Baby Luke to dress up as a Chili Pepper. (When asked, she has responded that Mommy is going to be a Waterfall and Daddy is going to be a Bee. We have no idea where she came up with these costume ideas.) She was thrilled to carve our pumpkins the night before Halloween.

The day of Halloween, Millie wore her costume all day. She couldn't stop talking about going to a party at the church. She kept trying to get us to leave hours before the Trunk or Treat started. We decided to stop at my Grandma's house first so she could see the kiddos in their costumes. Millie was off the wall hyper by this point, and that was before she'd really had any candy. She could not sit still and was all over Gigi's house when she usually stays within arm's reach of me. She climbed up on a chair and stood there for a little bit, and I decided she should get down before she knocked something over. As I moved over to help her get down, all of a sudden she just fell backwards and hit her head on the brick fireplace. I grabbed her to calm her down and assess the damage and found that there was blood. Grandma got some towels for us, and Mark held one on her head. She bled through it in a few minutes. We decided it was time to head to the ER.

Luke screamed the whole way to the hospital (he was starving) and Millie sat silently in my lap while I pressed a towel to her head. And despite the chaos and the horrible timing of it all, Mark and I just felt the worst about the fact that she was going to miss her party. She'd stopped bleeding by the time we got there, so we knew it probably wasn't too serious, but we wanted to make sure there was no concussion or anything. One hour and a $150 copay later, we left the hospital with one staple in the back of Millie's head. You can kind of see it in this picture, so feel free to skip if that stuff grosses you out.

At this point, we knew the Trunk or Treat should be over, but we went to the church anyways in hopes that it had gone over time. It was getting dark and the parking lot had almost emptied when we arrived, and I didn't really recognize anybody. We had to find a way to give Millie some sort of Halloween. So I jumped out of the car and walked to the small group of stragglers to ask if they would give our daughter candy if I supplied them with some. And of course all the emotions of a difficult night finally boiled over the minute I opened my mouth, and I just bawled while I tried to explain what had happened and what we needed. And all of these kind people took pity on the crazy crying woman and hounded Camilla when she climbed out of the car. They filled her purple pumpkin bucket with candy from their own buckets and told her what a pretty Minnie Mouse she was. She was too overwhelmed to say Trick or Treat, but she didn't really need to. I was so grateful for such a small gesture on their parts to salvage Halloween for a 2-year old who had to miss her party. It's moments like those that make me grateful to be a part of a church family full of good people who are friends even though we may not all know each other well. 

Luke lucked out and didn't have to wear his rather warm Chili Pepper costume on a rather warm October evening. He actually kind of had a good night because Momma held him the entire time which she usually doesn't have time to do. He was really a trooper--the whole night could have been even worse had he been in a bad mood. But I did make sure to do a little photo shoot with him the next morning since there's nothing cuter than a baby in a ridiculous costume. 

Pumpkin Patch

We braved the first really "cold" day of the year to take the kids to a pumpkin patch. Despite the fact that it wasn't anywhere near snow weather, we found it to be more chilly than anticipated. It was probably in the high 50's or low 60's with a cold wind that wouldn't relent. But it really felt like fall for the first time, and we were happy to be cold again! Luke didn't relish the experience but Camilla was in heaven. She loved the hay ride we took to get from the parking lot to the activity area especially, and she would not take off her hood the entire day. Even after we got home. We told Millie she could pick out a pumpkin, but she just ran around looking at all of them and couldn't decide. I finally picked up a tiny one and gave it to her, and she is in love with it. She held it all the way home in the car. It turns out Luke may be more of a social butterfly than his big sister. Lots of strangers managed to get smiles out of him, including a baby girl sitting next to him on the hay ride. We were glad to get out of the house for most of the day and do something special as a family.

Easter

Millie woke up to a fun Easter basket full of her favorite things, including chapstick, Dora, and bubbles. Her favorite thing of all was the Easter grass, which was promptly thrown away that night after being scattered around the house all day. We look forward to holidays in the future when she understands a little better what is going on. We got a couple of pictures before church and before the bow came out of her hair for good.

That evening we went to my Grandma's house for dinner with all of the family. I really should get a picture of all these people. It has been fun to spend time with them and get to know them after about 15 years. I love getting together for holidays and Millie loves the attention. She is starting to get pretty comfortable with these people and loves to make them laugh. She and Colton got to have an Easter egg hunt all to themselves. It's a good thing she had some practice earlier this week at her first Easter egg hunt with her playgroup from church. It will be nice to teach her more about the real meaning of Easter someday down the road, but for now it's nice to share in her innocent, childhood joy as she experiences these things for the first time. We are indeed grateful for our Savior and the knowledge we have that He still lives, and that we will live again because of Him.

4th of July

We look forward to years when we can enjoy fireworks with our kids for the 4th of July. Ithaca has always done them on weird days (not the actual 4th) and not really in town. We always miss the boat, and besides, bedtime is pretty sacred around our house. With a kid who hasn't slept well from about 3 months on, we just don't like to mess with it. (Fast forward to Houston, and we are having HUGE success in this department. Camilla sleeps all night long most nights, in her crib, and with almost no crying to get her down. Bliss.)

Anyways, we were happy that there was a Cornell Branch barbecue at the Zimmers' home that afternoon so we could do something different and special that day. There was a park nearby, and we took some fun pictures of Camilla playing. She adores parks, and we will probably be spending many future hours in them.

Christmas

We had a nice, quiet Christmas at home this year. We did not sleep in, but not because Camilla was too excited to sleep any longer. She simply hasn't gotten to the age yet where she values sleep. However, we lingered around until after a nap before getting down to business. Camilla was in heaven--there was paper everywhere to munch on, and we didn't make her stop eating it. Plus she kept getting bombarded with colorful new toys to distract her. She was in a good mood all day. We look forward to Christmases when she will really get excited about the magic of the season (mixed with some eventual understanding of the Spirit of Christ that makes this time of year so special). 

Camilla was thrilled that Daddy was wearing his glasses AND a HAT!

Happy Baby 

If you lean a little closer, I can get ahold of that thing

Camilla's new doll which she doesn't love quite as much as Mommy does

This toy is really cool, but I still like the paper best

When I see the camera flash, I like to make funny faces

Thanksgiving

I'm a bit behind on posting, but we had a nice Thanksgiving in Ithaca. Mark's cousin, Jacques, flew out from Las Vegas to hang out with us, and it was nice to have a change of pace for a few days. Most days I feel overwhelmed by motherhood. Not necessarily that I feel inadequate, but that I don't have time to even think of anything else. I'm really glad that the holidays are here to remind me that life is good, even if it's crazy. When I actually do stop and think about our blessings, I'm overwhelmed by all that we have and feel undeserving. I'm definitely grateful for this little girl, even though she poses her own challenges for me. She's just the one I would have picked out for myself if I had any say in the matter. She enjoyed a jar of turkey and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, as well as a few pieces of bread and bites of Jell-o that I snuck her.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was SO excited to go cut down our Christmas tree. I've never been one to rush into the next holiday before the first one is over, but if we're going to kill a tree in the name of Christmas spirit, I want it to adorn our home for as long as possible. I LOVE having a real Christmas tree. It just a huge, pine-scented, light-adorned statement that Christmastime is here. I especially love looking at it all lit up at night. Makes me want to be a child again and feel like it's a magical season despite the nasty weather outside. It was really freaking cold when we cut our tree down, so we did it as quick as possible with Camilla bundled up as warmly as she would tolerate. Apparently it was also a little windy, as evidenced by my huge comb-over hairdo.

We thought the tree would scare Camilla. She's checked it out a time or two, but honestly she really doesn't care about it. I'm sure next year will be a different story.

Batman Villains

Last night was our Branch Halloween Party, and every year Mark and I have made an effort to go against our introverted natures and dress up. Not that we have the fanciest or most creative costumes, but at least we don't show up in our street clothes and tell everyone we just didn't want to dress up. Because, or course, before you leave the comfort of your own home you feel like you've made a rational decision to not dress up like a lunatic, but as soon as you get to the party you wish you could have the personality to really get into Halloween like everyone else. This year, I knew it was coming, but Halloween was very far from my mind. Camilla had a costume ages ago (it was a gift from her aunt) so we didn't have to think about it. The morning of the party, we still sort of figured we weren't dressing up. And then I had an epiphany. Camilla was going as a penguin. So why shouldn't Mark and I be Batman villains as well?? So forgive the simplicity of our costumes, but as a theme I thought it was pretty fun, and possibly my favorite costume idea yet.

The Riddler, The Penguin, & Catwoman

Cutest little penguin ever!

Dickens' Festival

During our first winter in Ithaca, we discovered the Dickens' Festival in Skaneateles, NY. The local businesses contribute money (in hopes of making even more money from tourists) so the locals can dress up like characters from A Christmas Carol. They go around singing Christmas carols and acting out scenes from the book on the street corners. You can even get free hot chocolate, donuts, and roasted chestnuts if you know where to look. We went with the Hicks, some friends from our branch who are always looking for the creative, fun things to do in the area. The only reason we know about anything is that the branch is great about spreading the news when they find these fun things.


I don't remember who all of these guys were, except that the one in the maroon robe was the spirit of Christmas present. He had the most amazing singing voice, and he was usually singing while he walked around.


Here is a large group of carolers. I totally dig the costumes, but by this point I was really uncomfortably, miserably cold. I took off to find a restroom, and didn't come back until the singing was over.


The reason it took me so long was that I had to hunt down the free hot chocolate. Mark was a little mad at first that I'd gone without him, but realized he should be grateful that I could lead him right to the place.