July 4th Weekend

As with other posts this summer, this is better late than never.

Our family was divided this year for the 4th of July. Rusty and Sam went to Utah for an O'Brien family reunion. The rest of us stayed back and made sure we too had a blast. The weekend began on Thursday night, July 3, 2008. We met Rusty downtown and ate at a Mexican restaurant. After dropping Sam and Rusty off at the airport Ben, Meg, Molly and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby to pick out a few crafts to do over the weekend. (If I ever ask Ben what he wants to do in his spare time it's always "make a craft." Hence, the log cabin we made out of Popsicle sticks, the many molding clay people that are adorning his shelves and, my favorite, those darn beads that you make different designs and then iron them together to form an image). I hope that that he will always want to do this and not be embarrassed that I'm saying this. Anyway, we then rented some movies, got snacks and went home. After putting Molly to bed we watched Flicka.

Friday was the Fourth of July and we decided to go to the pool. The weather was overcast and it rained a sprinkle or two, but because of that NO ONE was at the pool. Therefore, all the games the lifeguards put on, my kids won. We won goggles, t-shirts, and other pool stuff. Here are some pictures of the events.

The "littlest splash contest." The kids that you see in this picture were the only ones at the pool that day.

The life guards only let us build "forts" when there aren't very many people at the pool. This is the deluxe model.

Monkey see, Monkey do.

Molly enjoying ice cream in her wing of the fort.

Later that day, we went to the Miller's house for a cook-out and fireworks.

What we "affectionately" call the "Molly Look."

It's sad with Sam gone. We miss him.

Doing "Pop Rocks."

Molly did a lot better with the sparklers than I thought she would.

Meg and Ben had a sleepover with Max and Dominique, and Molly and I went home.

Saturday we went and saw the movie "Wall-E." I drifted off to sleep after eating a tub of popcorn but was quickly awakened when Molly dropped her water bottle on my lap. We then went home and started on our crafts while Molly took a nap.

One of the activities that Ben chose at the first of the summer was make a "Castle" scene for playing with our castle guys "figures," putting on a puppet show or the like. Here is Ben's castle.We had to let Molly paint something, and I was too lazy to go upstairs and get her something else to wear, so I just took off her dress and let her go.

Sunday we wrote in our journals about our great weekend.

Meanwhile, Rusty and Sam went to Utah for an O'Brien Family Reunion. He and Sam went on a ropes course one day with many of the 125 (out of a possible 160) cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

They also participated in a family talent show, Sunday testimony meeting, basketball games, and many "get caught up on your life" sessions.

Randoms

The other day we were at the pool (like most of our summer). The night before, Sam had been flying home from Utah with Rusty, and didn't go to sleep until 2 a.m. (although he slept until 11:30 a.m.) and was just out of sorts. He came to me with shoulders slumped, looking very sad and said, "my eye hurts, I think there is a bug or an acorn in it." Ben: "Sam, do you know how big an acorn is?" Sam: "Yes, and I think there is one in my eye." Ben opened his mouth to argue with him, when I pulled Ben away from Sam and told Ben to just drop it. Which he did but first had to mutter something as he walked away.

That same day Sam was playing in the baby pool with Molly. He didn't last too long and when I asked him why he said, "The baby pool is like leaf world, and I'm not swimming in that." I mean who does like swimming with leaves?

One night last week I caught Meg with a flashlight and a book under her covers at about 10:30 p.m. She told me she "just can't put this book down." Then I heard some noise in the next room and Molly was laying on her tummy reading a Barney book (more than an HOUR after I put her down). If I was more a glass is half full kind of girl then I would think, "At least my kids love to read." I'll try that.

I think I've helped my kids become dependant on Ibuprofen. The other day when Ben hit his knee on the tramp he asked for two pills. Today, when Sam scraped his foot (I never actually could SEE the scrape) he told me he needed two Ibuprofen as well. Today Ibuprofen, tomorrow EXCEDRIN??!!

Lately, Rusty has had to work a lot of nights and, therefore, I've been putting the kids to bed (a task that Rusty usually does). In Louisville it doesn't get dark until honestly 9:30 p.m. in the summer, so my kids are never in a rush to go to bed. At this point in the night I was DONE being a mom for the day. I put Molly to bed and then told the older three to brush their teeth, say their prayers and get in bed (I think it was probably that blunt as well). Then I went downstairs to do the dishes, check email, etc. Finally, after almost an hour I went up to go to bed myself. I didn't even check on the kids, but then got tired of tripping over a sword that Sam left in my room and decided to take it in the boys' room. When I went in there Ben said, "Mom, I knew you would come and tuck me in." Okay, I felt AWFUL!!! Of course I acted like that was exactly my purpose for going in there. Learned my lesson--always tuck the kids in.

Today in the van Meg told me she wanted 5 kids (BTW two of them are a set of girl twins, which she told me I could come and live with her for a month or so to help her with them--thanks Meg:). Then she asked Molly how many kids she wanted. Molly's answer, "A purple one and a pink one." Not exactly sure that that means, but hey, our extended family is multi-racial, so we'll take anything.

Happenings on the Last Day of School--June 5, 2008

I know this post is over a month late, but my philospophy is better late than never.

Molly gets hurt--In every girl's life there is an incident with high heels. Molly's just occured a few years earlier than most. She was running full speed with her plastic, princess sling backs (anyone who has a little girl from the ages of 2-5 has these) down the driveway and biffed it. Luckily, Meg was right there and brought her in to me screaming. She kept a tissue on her mouth for hours and would not let anyone look at it.

Sam's last day in Kindergarten--We've hit another bitter-sweet moment in our life. Sam will never be a Kindergartener again. I've said this so many times, but I can't believe how fast this year went. A few FAVORITE memories/things about Kindergarten for Sam were:

1) "Mrs. Banbury and Miss Mary teached me a lot and weren't ever mean."

2) "Doing art and music IN the classroom" (as opposed to Meg and Ben who had to go to different rooms for those activities).

3) "Going down the slide when it was wet, and I had to wear someone else's underware and shorts from the nurse's room."

4) "Learning to read in my mind with my lips only moving a little bit. Also knowing that 10x10 = 100."

Sam's self potrait. He is TOTALLY into making sure the correct eye and hair color (shade) is used when drawing portraits.

Sam's "treasures" from this past school year. Everything has "Sam O." because there were two Sams in his class. He actually now introduces himself to people by calling himself "Sam O."

Vicki goes a little (or a lot) blonde--I decided I wanted to test the theory of "blonds have more fun." So far it doesn't really seem like it, but I have liked the look and so does Rusty. Meg told me it would take her "a little while to get use to." Whatever!

No More Cribs

Molly has outgrown the crib. I think I was in denial of that fact for a few reasons: 1) it is the last time that we will have a child in the crib we bought almost 11 years ago, and 2) I knew that the second Molly is released from the constraints of the crib, my life as I know it for nap time will be over.


But then about three weeks ago, she started to climb out. I was worried that one of these times she would climb out and lose her balance and get hurt. So after our weekly trip to Costco last

Wednesday, we saw this darling bed and bought it. Rusty and Ben put it together yesterday. During the entire time, Molly kept saying "my bed, my bed," with the emphasis on "bed" not "my." She was so happy, she must have told Rusty five times, "Thanks for buying my big girl bed daddy" (even though mom is the one that actually bought it). These pictures show Molly sleeping on it for the first time, of course with all her dolls, blankets, etc. that were in the crib.


I've been looking for a trundle bed for Molly for the past few months. The trundle part we decided not to use as a bed yet, and just put her books and "treasures" in it. As Rusty always says to me when I get a little nostalgic about a milestone passing in our kids life, "Oh, she's going to be going to college soon." I hope not!

Our Baby Birds--June

We spent a good two weeks the first of June watching these baby birds that decided to nest on our outside window molding. The nest has been there for about three years now, but haven't noticed baby birds until this year.

They were perched outside the front of our house on top of the window.

The first sign of life.

Growing up a little--only three days later from the previous picture.

We thought there were only three birds in the nest, but after the first week saw the fourth one finally stick his head out. The mommy bird kept flying into the grass to pull cicadas and worms to feed her babies. I know how she feels at lunch time. . .four kids with their mouths wide open waiting and "chirping" for some food to be put in.

We were seriously captivated by these birds. Now that they are gone, we miss them, especially Molly.

Sam Drafted as a St. Louis Cardinal--April-June 2008

Sam had such a fun spring/summer Rookie Baseball season. His team was coached by Rusty, and since this was case they were the St. Louis Cardinals for the SECOND year in a row (needless to say, I told him maybe he should choose another team next year--I'm sick of Cardinal pictures. This didn't go over so well. In short, we'll be the Cardinals next year as well).

The recruiting process of this year's team was something I began working on in January (you can only do this for a couple of years, because soon the boys have to try out, get ranked and then it's the luck of the draw who is on your child's team). I offered a coveted position (ha, ha) on Rusty's team to anyone who was 6-7 years old that we go to church with, as well as all our neighbors. Many took us up on it and therefore, we had a team filled with friends.

The Oldham County St. Louis Cardinals.

Sam and John Larsen

I don't know if you can tell, but when you zoom in close you can see that Sam's eyes are closed. Don't see him hitting any home runs with his eyes closed.

Sam taking the CORRECT batting stance--eyes fully opened.

A few of my favorite memories this season included.

I was taking pictures of Sam playing pitcher and therefore had to stand in our team's dugout to get the best shot. He looked at me and without saying a word, gave me a dirty look, pointed to me then pointed to the stands as if to say, "mom, get out of the dugout, you don't belong in there." I quickly obeyed as to not receive the wrath of a Cardinal.

The first picture shows Sam racing to not get out at first. Well, if you know Sam, you know that he is seriously not a competitive guy. He's just in any activity for the fun of being with friends. But for this, dare I say, "girl" to get the ball and get him out at first, KILLED him. He marched into the dugout, passed up three friends trying to give him a "high five" and sat in the corner on the bench. Then he took off his helmet and threw it. I was totally shocked, but decided to not say anything to him about throwing his helmet. He's a baseball player, and as long as he doesn't put a tobacco "chaw" in his bottom lip, I'll let him be one. Anyway, it took him only about 30 seconds of pouting until he realized he was missing out on a spitting contest some of his friends were having and decided to quickly join them. The out at first was all but forgotten.

Sam the goof ball.

Sam with the game ball and trophy.

Vancouver, Baby!!!

Wow!!! Rusty and I arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday evening, June 24, and have been having the time of our lives. Rusty had a conference, and as with every year, I'm lucky enough to tag along.

Before I go on with the "adventures" of our trip, I need to give a big public THANK YOU to my mother-in-law Kathy for taking care of our kids which allows me to come every year on this "working" trip with Rusty. Not only does she do it, she claims (and I believe her) to LOVE it and enjoys the time she spends with the kids, getting to know them a little better (maybe all except the glycerin stick she has to apply to Molly to help her go #2).

Tuesday we arrived at about 6:30 p.m. (Vancouver time--three hours earlier than we were used to--it made the next day a little rough, but who cares, NO KIDS). We decided to rent a car for a couple of days so we could really "see" the sights. Rusty of course thought the ONLY way to see Vancouver was from a convertible and, therefore, we rented a Ford Mustang GT convertible.

The first night we ate dinner and walked around Vancouver to get the lay of the land. The next morning began with a workout (that's Rusty's idea of a vacation--unlimited time to work out--I know, he's nuts). Then we decided to go to Stanley Park. It's a park that is the third or fourth biggest park in North America and it is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. It is AWESOME!!!

These totum poles are in the middle of the park and represent the British Colombian "Coat of Arms" which tells of mystical or real events. I was thinking as I was looking at them what my coat of arms would be--hauling four kids around in a mini-van while doing laundry. Does that count?

This is The Lions Gate Bridge that connects Vancouver with North Vancouver. Still part of the park/seawall walk in Stanley Park.

We then decided to take a Harbor Cruise (Rusty thinks these are so cheesy), but we learned a lot of interesting facts about Vancouver and it was amazing weather.

One of the highlights of the tour for me was seeing this bald eagle. I have only seen one other in my life. Okay could I BE any more of a dork?

Wednesday Night we drove over the border (I was so glad to be back in the US of A. Only because my cell phone worked without a major roaming charge) to meet my college friend, Nicole and her husband, Steven for dinner. She lives in Seattle and we met half way in a town called Bellingham .

I roomed with "Nicool" as we called her for four years at BYU. Although I haven't seen her for about 5 years after just a few minutes of "catching up" if felt like we were back in college (well except I have 4 kids and she is expecting her first baby in January and we're 17 years older). Rusty and I had so much fun. Steven is great, and Rusty and I loved to hear about all his cycling adventures. I had forgotten how much I love having Nicool in my life on a daily basis. She always makes me feel important and is continually making me laugh. In fact, on my run today I listened to REM to even further remind me of our college days.

Thursday morning Rusty and I took a run on the seawall that surrounds Stanley Park and then Rusty went back to actually attend the conference while I went on a horse drawn carriage ride around Stanley Park. I love these nerdy kind of things because I always learn so many interesting facts about the city that I am visiting. Then Rusty and I went and picked up Matt and Julie Martinez from the airport. We put the top down and showed them some of the sights that we hadn't yet explored. Our first stop was at the "Inukshuck." It's basically just a bunch of stones put together that "resemble man." Anyway, it's the symbol for the 2010 Olympics and Rusty and Matt decided it was the "word of the day" and tried to use Inukshuck in every sentence that came out of their mouths.

Just like being with Nicole, it was great to be with Julie this weekend. I haven't seen her for a year, but we have kept in contact and talked frequently. The last few days we have had so much fun talking, comparing kid stories, encouraging each other, and mostly eating. We have eaten some really good food in the past two days, and a lot of it.

Next we decided to take advantage of the last few hours of having the car and drove across the Lions Gate Bridge to go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It is a suspension bridge that was built in 1905. Now, if you know me at all you know that my GREATEST phobia is crossing bridges. I wasn't going to go across it, but with Rusty's encouragement and the security guy telling me that no one "accidentally" died, I DID IT!!! it was pretty awesome, but I wish I had the heart rate monitor on because I'll bet my heart rate was in at least in the 170's.

Rusty and Matt at one of the thousand souvenir shops trying on some "coon skin caps."

We found Mecca in Vancouver by the name of "Cafe Crepe." Here we are eating a Nutella and cocunut crape a la mode. It was seriously the best thing. We went back the next night and got another one. I discovered the beauty that is Nutella! Where has it been all my life?

Julie and I walking on the seawall.

Honestly, the best seats in the house at a restaurant called "Carderos". The hostess let us know when it was our turn to be seated by "hoisting" our flag (they assign each party a different color flag) up the pole and then ringing a bell.

This clock is on the grounds of the art museum counting down until the 2010 Olympics begin.

We rented bikes with Matt and Julie on Saturday and rode around Stanley Park.

Although it was a breezy, cool day, Rusty did not wet his pants. . .it's sweat. Out of all the pictures we took this was Sam's favorite picture--go figure.

I had the time of my life. I know it's because I was with Rusty. He is so much fun and always encourages me to try new things. I am so glad I have him in my life.