M.I.A.

Yeah, so I've been missing in action for a while, I know.  I hope it won't become a habit.  I've been intimidated by the thought of trying to recap, so instead of worrying about that, here's just a few recent pictures to let you know we're alive, and because I wouldn't want them to be even more out of date than they already are.

Halloween. I wasn't about to get all creative this year.

Of course I went all out for the pie making contest that was part of the Trunk-or-Treat/Fall Festival at the church.
Sheesh, I'm so competitive.
I won a chef's toque.

My little baby burritos. 

Bed head.

Yeah, they all needed hair cuts.

Just one of many shenanigans.

As if the lotion wasn't enough, yes, that's a permanent marker in the middle of it all.

Practicing to be clowns?

Ugh. Breathing treatments for Bronchiolitis. He was so good about it though.

This is a daily occurrence.
This particular masterpiece was done in the medium of yogurt followed by grilled cheese and tomato soup.
(Actually it's warmed up V8, or soup juice as my kids say. And yes, it extended onto the carpet).

This is the lovely Amaryllis I acquired from my Grandmother's house last January.
Don't ask me why it's blooming now. I also have no idea how it survived what I did to it this Summer. 

Random post about Books and Families

I picked up a book at the DI.  It was a book I hadn't read since I was in first or second grade, but I remembered liking it so much I bought it so my kids could read it.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with The Boxcar Children, but it was a chapter book originally written back in 1924 for young readers.  There are actually over a hundred books under the Boxcar Children name, only 19 of which were written by the original author.  I never got into those subsequent books though, I didn't really care for them, all I cared for was the original.
So upon bringing the book home, I opened it up to be reminded of what it was like, and suddenly I was whisked back in time. I didn't realize how much this book affected and shaped my childhood play.  I ended up reading it from cover to cover over the last two days, not just because the story was so engrossing, but because the feelings and memories associated with it were so strong.

In a nutshell, it is about 4 orphaned siblings who run away and set up house in an abandoned rail car.  Their ages range from 14-6, the oldest and youngest being boys. 

I loved the idea of surviving simply upon one's resourcefulness and wits on the periphery of civilization yet beyond the conventions of modern society. And I'm afraid that being an orphan, or at least a runaway, was highly romanticized in my youth (nothing personal Mom). :)

Thinking back on some of my favorite books as a young person, I realize that this was a popular theme even as I grew older:

My Side of the Mountain, --NY runaway who lives in the forest

Island of the Blue Dolphins, --Orphan who lives on deserted island

The Cay, --shipwreck survivors who live on an island

Call it Courage, --storm tossed boy who is lost and left to survive on a island

Julie of the Wolves, -- Eskimo runaway who lives on the tundra

Wolves of Willoughby Chase --runaway orphans (although they don't do it all on their own, they have help.  I just liked the secret passageways in their house).

Hatchet --plane crash survivor

Just to name a few.*


I recall all sorts of games my younger sister and I played which involved us being somehow lost or orphaned and having to survive on our own.  Most often our yard became an island, with the wheat fields around us easily imagined as the vast expanse of ocean which we occasionally checked for ships. If my mother or any other member of the family showed up on our island, they were explained away as the native cannibals that inhabited the island --generally to be avoided-- and my cat, the ferocious man-eating tiger (which we eventually tamed and befriended because we were sick of running away screaming each time she came near).  On the other hand, if we were runaway orphans, my mother was either the evil headmistress, or the kind cook who smuggled us food unbeknownst to the evil Master of the house ...depending on the mood of the day.

My sister and I even went so far as to start writing our own book based on our pretend games. We were in 2nd and 3rd grade I believe, and the the basic premise of the story was that of two girls --the sole survivors of a plane crash, who washed up on a tropical island and had to survive on their own for an indeterminate time. The story is really laughable.

Ah yes, those were the good old days.

Anyway, back to this book which sparked so much reverie, The Boxcar Children.
I believe it was one of the first chapter books I ever read.  It is written simply and is easy for young readers to understand.  It glosses over any distressful things such as any details of how their parents died, and simply leaves out mundane details that kids might not think to ask but made me curious as I read, such as where do they go to the bathroom?  (Okay, so maybe kids these days would think of that, along with my immature self, but back in 1924 it wasn't something anybody talked about.) Barring the fact that the story is super simplified and everything works out so conveniently (it is a children's book after all), I was actually really impressed with the undercurrent of cheerfulness, selfless concern, maturity, and the skill and industry that the children exhibit.
They build a fireplace, and a makeshift refrigerator of sorts behind a waterfall, glean useful items from a nearby dump, even manufacturing their own tools and such out of bits and pieces of stuff they find there. The girls cook, sew, do laundry by hand, gather blueberries, and care for their younger brother as well as an injured stray dog. The oldest boy, exhibiting responsibility and independence, earns money by offering to do odd jobs at the home of an elderly Dr. as well as procuring leftovers from thinning the vegetable garden, some bent nails to be straightened and reused and an extra hammer he finds while organizing the garage which the old man is happy to give him. With his money he purchases milk and bread and ingredients for the girls to cook with. With the nails he builds a cart to haul rocks and together they build a dam across the stream to make a pool to bathe in.
The girls are motherly and skilled, the oldest boy is hard working and resourceful.  How many things in our popular culture today actually promote such ideals?  I'm coming up blank. I know this is only fiction, and in real life those kids would most likely have come to very unfortunate circumstances, but why stop promoting those kinds of attitudes?

Another book that I loved growing up was not on the list because the kids weren't necessarily on their own, and also because it's not really fiction, although it is written for kids, is that of the Laura Ingall's Wilder series.  Now there's a lesson in self-sufficiency and hard work.  Even within those stories, not everyone was cut out to make it on their own, but the whole series celebrates the freedom and independence and joy --yes joy of a job well done and living upon the fruits of one's labor and knowing how to provide and survive on the basic necessities of life.  In fact, the only antagonist, if you can call her that, I can think of is Nellie Oleson --the little girl in town who has everything and never has to work a day for any of it and who is so spoiled and mean that she really isn't very happy.
I'm afraid that the world today is filled with Nellie Olesons.

I mean, what happened? When did work become our enemy? When did comfort and ease become so important?  When did complaining cease to be considered ill-manners? In fact, what happened to manners at all? I mean, I know it wasn't all rosy, and that things weren't always ideal --I suppose I can be grateful that the "children should be seen and not heard" was left behind, although there are times when I wish I could apply it in my home... but honestly, sometimes I'd like to go back to the good old days, when hard work was the rule not the exception, people -even kids were empowered and taught how to survive and to rely on their own knowledge and industry rather than to wait for hand-outs from parents or the government.

I wouldn't give up modern medicine though, or transportation  ...or laundry machines...or flushing toilets...

Okay, so I'm not quite as idealistic as I sound, but at the very least, I can strive to foster these principles in my own home as much as possible.



Speaking of nurturing good principles through books, the annual Celebration of the Family Proclamation is going on right now through the 28th (you may have noticed the button in the side bar of my blog, see how I participated last year by clicking here).  Today's post was inspired by another great post about books for children that exemplify happy family relationships with a wonderful list of books that I think everyone should read.  (Probably more uplifting than my measly list of orphan and survivor stories, although you may notice my comment includes another book about an orphan). Anyway, check out all their other posts by clicking on the sidebar button and scrolling back through posts of the past week (there's been some really great ones), and following links to the other two blogs that are hosting this celebration. (When it's over I'll try to have a link to the main index page that lists all the posts and articles of past years --they're really all so great.)

Anyway, those are my random thoughts for the day.  Kinda random for being MIA for a few weeks I know, but hey it's better than nothing right?



(*Disclaimer: depending on your views, some of the books I listed are more appropriate for older children because the serious nature of surviving on one's own could be distressing to young children, and some parts could be a bit graphic.  Reviewing this list and googling certain titles, I am actually surprised at how many of them had been pulled from the shelves of libraries at one time or another, and equally surprised at what age I remember reading them.  Kids are so sheltered these days when it comes to human suffering, yet so exposed when it comes to sinful behavior.)

The Real Reason(s) I Haven't Been Blogging.

Goodbye Wyoming

So you know how I promised an overload of blog posts?  Yeah... that didn't happen, and now our Summer in Jackson is over. Seriously, where did the time go?!

I've got a TON of pictures from the Summer and to be honest, it's a little overwhelming when I think of catching up now, so I'm just going to give excuses instead.

Biggest excuse:  I'm pregnant!

That's a sufficient excuse don't you think?  I went through my whole first trimester and then some during the summer. If I had any down time I was sleeping or eating and trying not to be sick.

Of course, I was still able to read a few books... so next excuse: The hard drive on my husband's laptop was too full to download many pictures, or else he had it with him at work so I had no way to blog... yeah.

Okay, my excuses are getting lamer.

Last but not least, the lamest one of all:  I just wasn't feeling it.

Do you ever feel that way? Maybe I'll start feeling like blogging more now that we're back in Idaho (oh yeah, did I mention this was move number 17 for us?), although I still have the problem that the laptop is still unavailable most of the day (that's why there's no pictures of the ultrasound --that and they were terrible pictures that made the baby look like an alien.  Did I mention it's another BOY? Oh, and I'm due mid-January).

Anyway, you didn't really want to hear about how sick and boring I was all Summer, and how I have placenta previa so I'm not allowed to lift more than 10 lbs (including the two-year-old who apparently doesn't agree with the Dr.'s advice), and then my husband hurt his back two weeks ago and could barely bend over, and how horrible those two things made the move this time around, and how when we did move in we had no electricity and had to rely on the goodness of nearby family members and friends help us and take us in for a few days...  But then again, maybe you DID want to hear about how blessed we were to have friends and family members nearby to help us, and how we got to learn a little humility, and when we asked for help help came, and how despite some complications the baby is fine and healthy, and the boys still think they had a stellar Summer despite my lack of energy and oversight (actually that's probably why they had a great time, they got away with murder this Summer because I was too busy lying on the couch to make sure they stayed out of trouble), and how, miraculously, we were still able to get out and do a few really fun things as a family.

Perhaps I will get around to posting a few top pictures from this Summer after all, and maybe even a few lists of their shenanigans, but no promises --I know myself too well.

Well, I guess that's it. I just thought I'd let you all know that I'm still alive.

Welcome to Wyoming

[Warning: Very out-of-date post I meant to publish back in May but never did. Sorry if it throws you off.]

This is how we were greeted as we made our way over the mountains to our new home in the middle of May.  Mind you, just 5 days prior I was being tortured by 97 degree weather. Luckily once we were down in the valley it wasn't so bad. Just drizzling as we unpacked the moving truck.  Sounds like fun eh?

Hello Wyoming

It eventually warmed up a little.  Let the Summer adventures begin!


Playing at parks:

Riding bikes:

Acrobatics in the back yard:

Throwing rocks in the river:

Scientific explorations:

Viewing wildlife:

Summer here we come!

Final Adventures in Idaho and Move #16.

So, while I was supposed to be packing for our move,  I kept getting sidetracked by the beautiful weather.  I admit, that perhaps it was part of my strong avoidance reaction to anything so unpleasant as packing up a house and cleaning for a move, but I also realized how much I love the month of May and every year it gets ruined!  So, part of it was a determination to enjoy the  beautiful weather and flowers, to see friends one last time and make more memories than just the painful kind of moving.

So first, my avoidance revealed itself in the form of just plain getting out of the house on a crazy whim, telling my two youngest (the oldest was at school) that we were going on an "Adventure" in which I packed a few snacks and took them in the bike trailer farther down the bike path than we had ever been.

Our first cool sighting was a huge bee swarm.

I actually just stopped to pump up my tires, but my four year old pointed it out in the tree next to us.

Luckily no one got stung, and I have a good zoom on my camera so I didn't have to get any closer.
As we got further out into the country we began to see more horses and cows.

We'll just pretend I was being all artistic with this picture
 and not that my auto focus refused to focus on the real subject.
I may have a good zoom, but lousy controls.

We even got to pet some chickens --one of which was really crazy looking.  The lady said it was a Polish Crested chicken, but her neighbors call it the headless chicken. My husband thinks it looks like a mushroom cloud, as if the chicken's head blew up in a nuclear explosion. (Just for fun, try googling Polish crested chicken and look for the david Bowie look-alike).

We stopped to smell the flowers several times,

Gotta love Lilacs!

And there were some cool rocks along the bike path that apparently needed to be climbed...

Although I wouldn't suggest sandals as proper climbing attire.

Finally, we stopped and had a picnic in a lovely little garden/park area where we enjoyed the trees, birds, and bugs and where the kids had a really fun time throwing rocks into whatever water they could find.

I returned home physically exhausted but mentally/emotionally invigorated. The kids had such a fun time they keep asking for adventures, which is much better than always asking for shows and computer games (which they still do, just less often).  I am usually happy to comply, since I prefer adventures over housecleaning any day. Besides, My oldest had missed out so we just had to do it again the very next day finding even more cool things to do and places to explore. :)

Our last Sunday there (Mother's day), we went for a shorter walk in the other direction on the bike path to see some baby goats.  The kids loved them.

The last crazy thing we did, at the invitation of a friend, was to go to the Boise Zoo. Like I said, I should have been packing, but who could resist a discounted trip to the zoo? We hadn't been for over a year, where we had pretty much gone at least once a week when we lived in Boise and had a pass.

It was interesting to see what had changed, for example they had a few new animals and exhibits.  I still think it's funny that some of the highlights for my kids were the Canada geese that roam all over the park and nest along the river --including in the zoo.

It was also a really hot day! Even though it was just the middle of May, when I passed a time and temperature sign on the way home it read 97 degrees!  I realized why I was having such a hard time with the heat.  We usually escape Idaho before it gets even close to that temperature, and in Wyoming where we live it rarely gets that hot. We'd expect that kind of heat visiting Utah in July, or in late August when we come back to Idaho, but seriously, May?  We were all sweating.  My friend who was five weeks from her due date was visibly melting, but she was a trooper. The kids loved it. To make it extra special we even got to feed the giraffe.

It was awesome. Look at that tongue!!!

Walking to the car afterwards we ran into this huge goose nursery, though this picture doesn't do it justice. There had to have been at least 60 babies. It was amazing to see all the different sizes of the goslings.

Since the geese apparently molt when nesting, the kids were able to gather quite the collection of feathers.
After that excursion, with only two days left to the first leg of the move it was down to business.  So we could get some packing done, we had to come up with things to keep the kids busy, like sending them out to catch butterflies.

Success!

And since it was so hot we turned on the sprinklers several times for them to play in.

Perhaps he has a future in the plumbing business?

My lawn was not doing so well and needed it really bad anyway.

I know, embarrassing.

At least the dandelions were thriving.

 There's something to be said for finding beauty in unexpected places.

Finally, it was time for the moving van. My kids thought we had brought home an amusement park just for them. Perhaps I should take a lesson from them. There's something to be said about the childlike quality of finding fun in just about anything.

That being said, moving, for me, was no fun.  That's about all I'm going to say about it.  I wrote up a whole long post about how bad it was this time (mostly due to my own pride and trying to do it all ourselves) and how late we were getting out of there (6 hours this time), but I've decided that whole post was too complainy and made me exhausted just to read it. Who needs to hear all that anyway?

I do need to say, however, just how grateful I am to those people who helped with babysitting, moving boxes and furniture, and even cleaning.  I couldn't have done it without your help. I'm also super grateful to those family members who have helped us all the other times we've moved.  I don't think I realized just how much you've always helped me until I didn't have you there this time (for good reasons of course --brand-new babies and company are totally justified).  Thank you.

Now I'll leave you with a view of the wet laundry I had to hang out on a make-shift clothesline when they came to move my dryer to storage and I realized I hadn't pushed start on the last batch. Oops.