I'm a sucker for a Museum ...

We spent the morning at the Michigan Historical Museum. I love this place. Sunny, Ike, and I discovered it a few months ago with some friends and knew instantly we'd be back with Gage and Steve. This museum is HUGE, vibrant, exciting, informative, interactive, entertaining ... in short, I LOVED it. It made me kick myself for never visiting the Warhawk Air Museum in Caldwell. It will be a MUST on my list for our return to Boise. And next will be the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point in UT. I love dinosaurs and museums but oddly, never made the effort to go. HA! I will be rendering that mistake as soon as I'm able. I'm going to put some pictures of the outing up. Hopefully to inspire some of you other history museum geeks out there to check out the one in your town. Happy exhibiting!

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Sunny tries out her guitar skills at the Rock and Roll exhibit ...
I'll try to post her personal contribution to the Motown Record Studio exhibit later. This girl has got the moves!

Gage tries not to look to thrilled as we check out this sweet Corvette in the 1950's "floor show" exhibit. I, on the other hand, had to wipe the drool from my chin. This hot little number would look GREAT in my garage!!

Sunny is helping me show off one of my favorite displays ... the 1950's "modern kitchen". I am totally in love with the powder pink and baby blue appliances. The museum had a kitchen display from almost every era ... so by the time we made it here (the '50s) this kitchen really did look like an amazing new world of convenience.

Ford was a smart one. He recruited from the mines and mills and farms at double the pay to work in his auto plants. $5.00 a day was too tempting for most to pass up.

This state mural is massive and greets you as you enter. It's visible from each floor's open balcony section. The 7 ft. Christmas trees by the window give you a bit of size perspective. I also love the massive pines to the right. So impressive for an entrance.

The scene was to perfect to pass up. A buggy ride seemed appropriate against this amazingly vibrant mural. The recording of birds chirping overhead was the perfect finishing touch.

The old school room was Gage's favorite part. He thought the role of teacher to Sunny's student was quite appropriate. They could have played in here ALL day. When I told him his Grandma and Grandpa went to school in rooms like this his response was, "Aww, no fair!"

Cause for Celebration

Sunny turned 4 and had (and I quote),

"The BEST birthday EVER!"

You be the judge:

Opening presents in PJ's ...

A surprise lunch with Dad at McDonald's ...

A My Little Pony happy meal ...

Helping mom make the Sunflower patch cake ...



and delivering sunflower cupcakes to several friends ...

(L-R: Kate, Katie, Noah)


topped off with a little singing ...

Yep, best birthday ever. It's good to be 4!

A Season for Selds

Love these winter pics.

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Also had a few great days of sledding this week.
Thought I'd post the highlights ...




Spinning down the hill on the "twisty saucer" ...




A near miss (phew!) ...

Ike's miserable protest of the whole thing (poor kid) ...

And it starts ...

It's been snowing for several weeks now with our biggest accumulation occurrence over this last weekend. It's absolutely gorgeous! I love how the snow hangs off the branches. I love the glow that Christmas lights take on under a blanket of the white stuff. I love that the kids get giddy to dress up for the elements. I could have sworn I had woken up in Bedford Wyoming last Monday. I felt like a 10 year-old kid at Grandma's house anxious to get geared up for a day of sledding and snow-machining. I find myself having those fond childhood snowy feelings here in Michigan. Not caring how much comes down ... let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Thanksgiving in MI ...

It only took 10 years ... but I finally managed to successfully host a Thanksgiving dinner! We had Jason and Chris over for the day. They go to school with Steve and both live too far away to have ventured home for the weekend (Long Island, NY and somewhere, FL). Having "guests" made the day all the more fun and exciting.

On the menu: (from L-R) cranberry/raspberry salad, honey glazed spiral cut ham, mashed potatoes, gravey, cranberry/apple/sausage/celery stuffing. The "guests" brought yummy pies and we all feasted. I haven't been hungry since.

Loving the Mitten State

4 things that I love about Michigan ...

1. If you hold your right hand in front of you (palm toward your face, thumb extended slightly to the right) your hand becomes a state map by which I've received many a referenced direction. You think I'm joking but just this morning I was instructed to visit "the tip of the pinkie." Sleeping Bear Dunes is apparently amazing for a weekend getaway.

2. Everyone loves to share their favorite spot with you. When people find out I'm not a local they launch immediately into, "Well, have you seen this yet ... or have you been here yet?" People all over the place wanting to share their favorite thing about this unusual state with you. (See "pinkie" reference above.)

3. Snow in November. The conditions are very Sugar City-ish which means I've spent several bitter cold mornings reminiscing about my fairly fabulous childhood. Home-made skating ponds, weather too cold for school buses to start, going on an actual date in a snow cave (having lunch and playing board games - talk about creative group dating). It really was an amazing place to grow up! Is it possible to imagine a white Christmas for my kids??

4. Trees. Every neighborhood is connected in some way to a nature preserve. We get to walk through ours every day on the way to school and back. People assured us that it would all become quite ugly as the seasons changed and the leaves fell ... but I tell you it is NOT. The forest was just as exciting and beautiful this morning as it has ever been. We tracked a deer's hoof-prints in the snow (along with a small "pawed" creature) and fresh white snow clung the slender naked branches that stretched way up into the sky. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.

And there you have it. The first, of what I'm sure will become many, lists of reasons I am loving the Mitten State.

p.s. I would love to hear about why you love your state and/or town ... don't dissapoint, fellow bloggers!

Happy Birthday to Gage!

Happy Birthday Gage!!

I can't believe it was already 7 years ago that I sat breathing through contractions as I attempted to give report after a long 12 hour night shift. I distinctly remember Neil saying to me, "If you want to go down stairs, I'm sure I can figure the rest out." It would take until that afternoon to get him here (our little Scuba) but seven years to be able to look back and say that was the moment our lives truly changed FOREVER!! Ahhh, good times.

Gage is the perfect oldest kid. He is the epitome of patience, kindness, forgiveness, do-right-because-it's-right kind of kid. For example, as he left for school today he called back to Sunny, "You can play with my new birthday stuff while I'm at school if you want to." Whoa!! Impressive. He's mentioned before that he wants to marry his little sister because "she's fun to play with and I'll miss her." He plays dead when Ike shoots him. He asked Sunny if she'd be his vice-president when he became the President of the United States. He's just a darn good kid!

p.s. The cake is a re-creation of the end battle scene from Star Wars episode III wherein Obi-wan Kenobi fights Anakin Skywalker and leaves him for dead on the violent volcanic lava planet, Mustafar. A cool cake indeed!

Michigan Halloween

Halloween in Michigan was way more fun that I had anticipated. With weather in the upper 60's the kids didn't even need jackets as we headed out to invade the neighborhood. This area has a great feel to it ... warm neighbors, lots of families out together, strangers waving and saying hello ... perfect Halloween conditions.

No theme to our costumes this year. I apologize ... I'll do better in '09.

I am Bat-boy ...

Trick-or-treaters:
(friends from the ward) Brett and Kate
Sunny, Ike, & Gage

A great time carving our Pumpkin-fest pumpkins - even Steve has a smile on this year!

Batman.

Cat woman (dressed up for a party).

I've been holding off posting any seasonal pictures becasue I was waiting for that one perfect shot that really captures the entire season in one view. But I don't think I'll find it. Instead, I'll have to settle for several different peices of the greater seasonal puzzel. I like these because they're changes that are happening in our yard, our forest, our field ... and that makes the changes personal ... which is better than perfect.

Autumn in the Mid-West looks a bit like this:

Kids running up the front lawn after school eager to roll in the newest leaf pile.

The trail that connects our street to the school yard.

Looks a bit like the Hundred Acre Wood I think.

These trees surround the field at the edge of the school.

I am amazed at the range of colors in just this space:

green ...

orange ...

yellow ...

brown ...

red ...

pink ...

purple ...

This tree greets us at the top of the hill on the way to school.

The sun hits it perfectly in the morning to make it glow.

A neighborhood cat ("Zip") perched in a sea of fallen leaves.

After meeting Zip for the first time Sunny turned to me and said,"I need someone to take me to the pet store to get a cat. We really need a cat."

Gage on Polotics

Gage came home from school yesterday and asked to borrow some paper and a marker. He made a poster supporting McCain. He asked us to put it up in our front yard. He told me he was going to vote for McCain. He told me that Jon McCain can help families. Then he asked Sunny who she was going to vote for, "McCain or O'bama." She said, "O'bama, because I want to win." He never tried to sway our decisions about who we would vote for, he just wanted to let us know where he stood. He's actually been on a solid McCain platform for the last few weeks. I have a feeling the other kids at school are talking politics.

p.s. Gage only agreed to have his poster appear on my blog because he thought it might let other people know that McCain can help them. So ... now you know.

Waddle, waddle, balance check ...

I love the learning-to-walk phase in a baby's life:
Waddle, waddle, waddle ... balance check ... waddle, waddle, fall down, look dissapointed, fuss in protest. Stand back up, waddle waddle ... balance check ... look to see if mom if watching, giggle and grin.

Tired in Michigan

A peek into our Michigan lives ...

Wednesday:

8:30 - home late from work (awake 26 hours straight)
- dash to get Gage to school on time

9:30 - finally ... lay down for a few hours sleep
- Steve juggeling kids and homework

12:00 - wake up, take over as parent, Steve off to class

1:00 - Sunny at neighbors, Ike napping, Jean back to bed

3:40 - overslept! wake up Ike, run to pick up Gage from school

4:00 - come up with a dinner plan that won't end in "You want me to eat what?!?"

4:30 - no clean socks for Gage, start laundry

5:00 - quick shower

5:30 - eat, clean up, try not to snap at kids

6:00 - Steve home from class, takes over as parent

6:15 - scriptures, family prayer, huggs, kisses

6:30 - in the car, back to work (12 hours)

8:00 - single dad puts 3 kids to bed

Thursday:

8:30 - home late again, "run" Gage to school

9:30 - Jean to bed, Steve juggeling homework and kids

10:00 - Ike fussing incessently while pushing new teeth

10:30 - Sunny "bored" and bossy

12:15 - wake up, take over as parent, Steve off to study

12:30 - lunch, more laundry, more cleaning up, still trying not to snap at kids

1:30 - Ike's nap (hallalujah!!!)

2:00 - time for a blog update =)

I think this picture says it all ...

Science

A day at the local Science Center and Discovery Museum.

Learning included, but was not limited to:

1. Teeth - how many, how to clean them ...
2. Bubbles - what they're made of, how they form, Noah discovering that your head can indeed become soaked when dunked in the soap tray =)
3. Music - exciting sounds and tones ...
4. Light - how to bend it, how to make colors with it, seeing our shadows on the shadow wall ...
5. Space - reminded that the middle star on Orion's belt is not a star at all but is in fact a nebula - a star factory - world's being created before our eyes!
6. The heart - how blood flows through it, how arteries clog, seeing an actual cows heart in a jar of fermaldahide ...
7. Pulleys - 4 instead of 2 makes a job a lot easier ...
8. And a robot exhibit that is under construction ... hmmm, guess we'll be going back!

Sunny declared she would be a scientist when she grew up. Good choice! I smell a nobel prize in the making (do they make them in pink??).

-Thanks to Jessie, Noah, and Baby Gage for sharing the fun.

the 3rd "First Birthday"

The first "first birthday" is more than a party. It is a mighty celebration of survival. Survival of your first year as a parent. Proof that what does not kill you (though at times you were sure it would) indeed makes you stronger.

And then a sibling is born and you relive all those firsts. And the whole time you keep telling yourself, "It shouldn't be this hard ... I've done this already." Except you haven't. Now you have a whole new set of firsts because you have a second. Which makes the second "first birthday" another mighty celebration.

Then something strange happens when two become three. Suddenly you lose track of the third's firsts. You wonder to yourself how he learned to roll over? ... where those teeth came from? ... how long has he been able to stand like that? And before you know it, the day of the third "first birthday" has arrived and the third mighty celebration takes place. But this time it's the first and the second that makes the third's so special. No jealousy, no bitterness ... just pure excitement for their third to have his first. Makes me a very lucky mom.

Ahhh ... sleep.

Sleep ...

So many factors to consider:

• are the kids tucked in ...
• did I brush my teeth ...
• have I remembered to pray ...
• do I have the right pillow ...
• will I be cold while I sleep ...
• should I put on a pair of socks ...

And then it comes; one of my favorite life moments ... the feeling of my head finally sinking into my pillow. I love this feeling. It feels like "I'm done for another day ... I'm finally getting some ME time ... I can let go of the things that are giving me furrow wrinkles in my forehead for a few hours and run away ... far, far away."

Have you ever listened to your body as it falls asleep? Any night shift nurse can tell what an art the act of sleeping is. Your body starts to relax ... your thoughts slow down ... your breathing becomes rhythmic and soothing ... your limbs become heavy ... and then finally, you're gone ... out into the black.

Do you dream while you sleep? Steve seems to be in constant turmoil as he saves the world night after night in his dreams. He usually gets shot at at least once before he wakes up in the morning, thankfully living to tell the tale. Do you have a recurrent dream? I have two. The first is a tornado dream in which I look out my childhood bedroom window and watch a gigantically frightening twister race up over the dry farms toward the house collecting dust and debris as it comes. I blame The Wizard of Oz for this one. The other is a little less specific but usually includes a common theme - marrying the wrong man. Sometimes I'll dream I'm at the temple with an old boyfriend ... knowing that we shouldn't be getting married but not being sure how to break the news to everyone. I usually think, "Something about this just isn't right. Aren't I already married?" No matter how the dream unfolds, it is always a relief to wake up and realize I'm sleeping next to the right man in my 'real' life.

As a night shift nurse, I'll take sleep whenever I can get it. I've been known to choose sleep over food. I'll frequently go 25 or 26 hours without sleep. I think the longest I've ever gone without sleep was 40-ish hours. I woke up at 6:00 am Saturday morning and didn't make it back into my bed until 10:00 pm Sunday night. Thankfully this is a rarity and I don't recommend it. Granted, the body can endure amazing things when it has to ... but it starts to divert it's remaining power to the main deck for "life support" leaving all other areas of the ship without power. Areas like "rational thought" and the "patience zone" are gone and for some reason it becomes that much easier to cry over the silliest little things. A tired body is an emotional body. I've been told that lack of sleep takes years off your life ... which I can live with as long as it's the last ten years of my life. =D

Happy Zzzz to you all.

Got Giggles?

From time to time our little Ike will get a serious case of the giggles. Usually toward the end of the day when he's feeling a bit tired and is finding things to be particularly funny. Sometimes it starts with someone jumping off the couch, or a toy being tossed into the toy bin. But tonight it was a bouncy ball ... a super duper, ricocheting back, giggle inducing bouncy ball.

I show this clip, inspite of the frightening double-chin camera angle, and include a warning: These giggles are contagious!

eNjoyIng cLasSic mOmenTs

What is it about a bLacK & whiTe photo that can turn even

silly moments into classic moments?

Enjoying a Sunny walk ...

Enjoying a thoughtful moment ...

Enjoying being home from school ...

:::::Water Park:::::

"And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down and the floods came up, up, upper."

These pictures made me think of one of my favorite movies,

"Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day."

A classic for sure that contains one of my favorite songs about rain storms and flood waters ...

"Pooh too was caught and so he thought, 'I must rescue my supper.'

Ten honey pots he rescued, enough to see him through,

but as he sopped up his supper, the river sopped up Pooh.

And the water twirled and tossed him

in a honey pot ... canoe!"

This is one of our favorite parks that was flodded out by the weekend's massive rain fall.

Sunny's response was, "I guess we'll just have to call it a water park now."

Ha! I guess so Sunny.

I love you, Mommy ...

This cracked me up. Sunny and I were testing out our new camera with video capabilities and all I did was say, "It's recording you Sunny." The rest was her own doing. I must admit ... I'm touched that she thinks of me even when she's feeling silly.

Zoo Day

Time to visit the local zoo with some Michigan friends. It was a day filled with food, friends, and fun!!

Up close and personal with this pacing tiger ...
Ike and mom ... NOT loving the effects of humidity on my hair!
Ike and pacing tiger ...
Sunny at the bronze giraffes ...

The goats were Ike's FAVORITE part ...
Sunny by the "girl lion."

I asked Sunny what the lion was thinking and she said, "I think she's thinking about coming on this side of the glass to play nicely with us." hmmm ... maybe!

Sunny and Ike at the fish exhibit ...
Sunny, Alex, Noah ...

Deer Crossing

I was finally able to capture a picture of the family of deer that live in our neighborhood. They wander in and out of yards that are connected to the nature preserve on our street but I never seem to have a camera around when I see them. So there you have it, more evidence that this is a beautiful place to live (or visit - hint, hint).