Pigeon Attack, Monster Trucks and Egg-speriments!

We went to feed the ducks, and on the way we saw an injured bird hopping around on the side of this driveway on Chandler Blvd. I would've probably kept driving, but the kids had just been telling me about how they'd heard the story of the Good Samaritan at church, and I was not about to let them think I was like that Levite, just cruising on by. those in need. So we stopped and tried to persuade it to perch onto my pencil, but it wouldn't. Then I tried to pick it up, but it just kept flapping and shaking and hobbling further into the street.
So we called the police, the non-emergency number of course. I tried to explain where exactly I was, but I couldn't quite explain cause it was kind of a driveway, but not a private one, but also not really a public one, more of a side street, but sort of on Chandler Blvd almost in the bike lane. (I don't know, how would you explain that?)
Anyway, the officer was getting kinda frustrated with me, and I told him I felt like I was being interrogated, which was making me more nervous. Then he asked me what kind of bird it was, and I said I thought maybe a pigeon cause it was a little bit big and chubby but wasnn't sure cause I'm not really a bird person. Then his tone was pretty grumpy and he said, "Pigeons are not big. Ducks are big." And that made me really defensive and screechy (which is not like me when it comes to police officers cause i have the utmost respect for authority and the law) and I said, "Look I'm just trying to be a good Samaritan, and pigeons are big compared to parakeets, and I'm not really good at explaining things, and I wanna get off the phone with you."
I think he felt bad then, but not that bad cause he said they probably wouldn't do anything about the bird. When I hung up the phone Stanton informed me that it was definitely a pigeon, which would've been useful information when I was on the phone, but he's too polite of a kid to ever interrupt.

So, after that fiasco we were finally ready to feed the ducks. However, the stinking pigeons attacked us, which made me totally regret trying to save one of their own.
 Seconds after I took this picture, a giant swarm of them came flew out of the sky like dooms day and came straight for us. I'm not even exaggerating, there were probably like 200 of them!
There were so many that I dropped my camera and picked up Noelle and Winston, who were screaming and put them on top of a picnic table, incorrectly thinking that the birds couldn't just fly onto the table and get them and their bread. In that short amount of time, Stanton was screaming and had two pigeons on his arm and one on his back. It was like that scene with the bird lady from Home Alone 2, but with my poor, crying, little boy instead of a strange lady dressed in bird seed. There was a guy fishing and two people jogging and they told us to run. So we did, and they flew after us half way back to our van. It was so traumatizing, we talked smack about those hateful birds all the way home.

Before we went home though we stopped by a very calm, quiet, pigeon-less pond with ducks only. They were like Atkins diet ducks or something though cause they were not at all interested in our bread so it just floated around in the water.

The next night we went out to a fancy pantsy dinner to celebrate our friend's 30th birthday...good times!

Robert got to play with a penguin at work, lucky!

He's also the best at playing with his kids! I love that he builds race tracks and plays trains and ponies and princesses with them. He even reads them these Magic Treehouse chapter books every night, and at Christmas time he reads to them by candlelight for the whole month of December. He is the cutest dad ever!!!

The tradition continues. We went to the Martin Luther King parade with our buddies. They passed out candy like crazy this year. I didn't have to mow anyone down this year just to get my kids a Tootsie Roll. It was fun!

Saturday we went to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dan's for pizza and playdough and finger painting. you could tell it was a party because when we left there was finger paint on her picture wall, playdough in her slot machine and jello on her treadmill.

That night Daddy got us free tickets to Monster Trucks (we're such a classy family!) I was not looking forward to it really, but it was such a blast! I seriously loved it! It was noisy and exciting and entertaining. Stanton loved it the most though. He was cheering and clapping and jumping out of his seat, which always makes me so happy to see.

We had such a fun, family time rooting for "Grave Digger" and "Hot Wheels." We even made up our own Monster Truck names. Mine was "Smooshy Bonker" Winston's was "Dora"and Stanton's was "Crunch." Daddy and Noelle were too indecisive. They couldn't commit to a name.

Besides all of the pure awesomeness of watching giant trucks squish things, another highlight was when they sang the National Anthem. Noelle started crying and said she didn't like the song (which made us gasp that our child was not a patriot) and then she told us it was because it makes her sad that other people don't have freedom like us (which made us gasp again wondering how on earth she can be so sweet and sensitive.)

 

Today we did science experiments! We busted out the baking soda and vinegar and made a candy cane "explode." They were all 3 so impressed. They couldn't get enough of it! Stanton and Noelle even wore their safety glasses to avoid any back splash from the explosion.

Next we did a really cool "egg-speriment" with Newton's law of motion, which is honestly so much more clear to me now...why didn't my 5th grade teacher demonstrate it like this? We put a raw egg on top of a toilet paper roll, which was on top of a pie tin, which was on top of a glass of water, and then we knocked the pie tin off to see if the egg would fly away or land in the water. And do not worry, no toilet paper was wasted during this experiment.

Winston's went in the water on the first try. He kept saying, "Me did it." Even though he had no idea what exactly he did, he was proud of himself.

Stanton and Noelle actually defied gravity on their first try, what do you have to say about that Sir Isaac? Actually, they kinda flipped their tins instead of pushing them. I'm sure that's part of some other law or theory that my teacher didn't thoroughly explain to me. I wouldn't want to tarnish Sir Isaac's good name with our one failed experiment. Plus, they both tried again, and it worked perfectly. We had the best time doing our experiments! I can't wait to show them the one with Mentos and Diet Coke (which, by the way, I have not drank in 4 weeks!)

Our Baby

I know everybody knows I was pregnant. I couldn't help telling everybody, everywhere, all the time. I'm sure though that there are many people who don't know I had a miscarriage, but that's not why I'm writing about it on my blog.
 I write every detail of every big and small thing that happens to me on my blog because I'm so worried that I'm not going to remember all of the happy moments in my life. So I take pictures and write about it because I don't want to forget a cute, funny thing my kids said, or a sweet thing my husband did, or a fun time I had with my friends and family.
I want to always remember everything, and since I don't have a picture to remember, this is the only way I can make sure to remember exactly how happy we were that I was pregnant and that we were going to have another baby.
I want to remember how excited I was when I found out I was pregnant in the Target bathroom stall because I couldn't wait to take the pregnancy test until I got home.
I want to remember how happy Robert was when I woke him up to tell him and how he couldn't go back to sleep because he was so excited, even though he'd just worked all night.
I want to remember how ecstatic the kids were when we told them.
Stanton smiled a lot and told us he was happy.
Winston kept patting my belly and saying "baby in there." He would get close and whisper to it, "hi baby" at random.
Noelle couldn't believe it. She kept asking over and over, "You really are?" and immediately started talking about names and sharing a room and how she knew it was a girl and asking how it got in there (I told her we kissed and said a prayer, not the best explanation) and how it was going to get out of me.
Then she told whoever walked by her in the hall at church the next day, "we're gonna have a baby in July" and Stanton even told his teacher at school. That's how I knew for sure that he was excited cause usually he's a man of few words.
I want to remember that for the next 12 weeks we talked about this baby every single day. The kids would ask every week, what new body parts the baby had gotten or how big it was..."What fruit is our baby this week?"
They called it our baby, and even though we never got to see it, we loved our baby. Even though it probably only made it to be the size of a blueberry, I am so thankful that I was pregnant with that little blueberry of a baby because for those 12 weeks I was extra happy, and that will not be forgotten.
I love being pregnant, and more than anything, I love being a mother!
I don't need to remember the details of being sad and disappointed but I do want to remember how close I have felt to Heavenly Father through my prayers and through so many kind words and deeds from loving friends and family. I know that He knows each of us.
I am beyond grateful for a loving husband and our 3 sweet kids and for the sure knowledge that families are forever. I have so many blessings in my life and so few trials, and I hope that is another thing that I never forget.

Bowling, Olive Tours & Noelle's Birthday!

We started out the 2012 the right way by doing a little New Year's Day bowling!

Winston is a big fan of bowling!

We had so much fun, especially cause we got to use our super creative bowling names..."Brocolli Rob,"Silver Fox," "Princess Maybe," "Stripey Zebra," etc.

The next day we went to the zoo and had fun with cousins and friends in the beautiful weather!

And that night we had a girl's get together/birthday celebration at Zupas, so fun!

The day after that we took a little family tour of the Queen Creek Olive Oil Factory. I've always wanted to go there, and it was really cool! Did you know there's actually no such thing as a black olive...only red and green. Did you know that olive trees are female or male? did you know I think olives are disgusting?

We got to go inside where they make all the olive oil. It was so interesting.

I paid the kids a dollar to try an olive. Stanton was brave, but Noelle spit hers out on the floor, which is totally unsanitary and only worth 25 cents since she only suffered through part of the gross flavor. I don't think the older woman on the tour, who happened to be very knowledgeable and very passionate about olives, liked our shenanigans.

Afterwards, we stopped by the new Gilbert Temple site and visited their visitor's center. They even gave the kids a white rock that was from part of one of the unused temple pieces. Stanton and Noelle were very excited to see it because they saved and donated their temple pennies, and their sure they payed for Angel Moroni's thumb.

A few days later while Stanton and Noelle were at school, Winston and I drove by a giant airplane in chandler and since he kept chanting "me see pane" we just had to stop.

That same night Adrienne had made cupcakes for Noelle's birthday lunch the next day, and she put them towards the very back of the counter where little hands couldn't reach...so we thought. A little before 10pm, we heard little feet upstairs, so I went to check, and Stanton and Noelle were sound asleep, but Winston was sitting up in his bed, in the dark, eating a cupcake. I could not even stop laughing. I asked him where he got it, and he said, "Me go back stairs. Me get stool." He is such an adorable little sneak!

The next day was Noelle's 5th birthday! Aunt Adrienne made her a special birthday lunch of banana and nutella sandwiches with cheetos, and Funfetti cupcakes.

Then we all went to Red Robin for dinner to celebrate. After that we headed to Disney Princesses on Ice cause we have such an awesome Daddy that got us free tickets. Noelle and Kennedy both dressed up as Rapunzel and skipped and held hands (and fell down on top of each other) all night, talking about how they are just like sisters. It was super cute!

A couple nights later, Robert and i stayed up until midnight (I love my husband!) cutting out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cookie cutters and making animal cupcakes for Noelle's birthday party the next day. Robert's lion has a much fuller, shinier mane than my sad looking lion, but my monkey cupcakes turned out nicely!

We had her party at Toy Town, and it was a blast! It was fun for me just watching what a fun time all the cute kids were having!

They loved playing dress up.

They played in the toy bank and the toy library and the toy hospital.

The boys mostly hung out in the toy jail and the toy mechanic shop. We also caught a few of the boys playing with paper dolls, and when we tried to take their picture as evidence, they all covered their faces. It was funny!

We ate lunch and played some games Grandma Mary brought. Apparently she was at the bank (the real one) and they had a bowl full of suckers, and she took them all (like 100+) so she made up games for the kids to win suckers. The best one was where she cut out tons and tons of paper butterflies, and she brought a fan and blew them around the room for the kids to catch. it was a hit and so were the suckers!

Then we had cupcakes...notice the impressive monkey one!

Grandpa Dan dyed his hair pink and dressed up as a butterfly, per Noelle's request. The kids could not stop giggling. Neither could I. It was sweet and entertaining!

It was so fun to have all of our family there partying the whole time!

I love my kids birthdays! I love celebrating each of their sweet little lives and seeing them get excited about every little thing! I'm so thankful Noelle is our daughter! There's nobody in the world like her! She brightens everyday!

Christmas Break, Bouncy Places, Horsey Tricks & Fireworks!

I was so excited for Christmas break. I got my kids all to myself, without having to share them with school.

On the last day of school before the break, I got to go into Stanton's class for his Polar Express party. We made graham cracker trains and he snuggled on my lap while we watched the movie. All the kids cuddled with their parents, and they weren't embarrassed. I love Kindergarteners!

Here is his whole cute class, all 11 kids, bless you half-day Kindergarten! They are all so sweet and they're such good friends, and his teacher is wonderful!
Oops that Stanton's the only one not wearing p.j.'s. I forgot to put his pajamas on him, and his jacket, and socks...triple oops.
He said he didn't mind, but now I can see why he doesn't bring home his library books from school. I guess I wouldn't trust me to bring them back either.

The next day Tara, Adam,Rhea and Amelia came into town for 2 weeks! We started off our non-stop playtime with making our own snow and melty homemade snowmen on a plate.

Then we ate the carrot noses and blueberry eyes and went outside to have a snowball fight.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and I got a Christmas Eve surprise (while wearing my Christmas Eve shirt) Chick-fil-A is opening right by our house. Thanks Santa!
That night Robert and I started getting premature post Christmas blues, even though Christmas was still 2 days away, so we layed in bed talking about how we wished it could be Christmas everyday, but robert reminded me of the cartoon with Huey, Duey and Louey when they wished for Christmas to be everyday and their wish came true but it backfired.
Then we read some super sad/sweet/spiritual Christmas stories, which depressed us even more. We were both tearing up a little, and Robert said, "Geez why can't we find a happy, superficial Christmas story about people who have fun going into debt to buy their kids tons of presents they don't really need." I told him it's cause that's not as uplifting as the stories where people give their coats to homeless people, and that maybe we should make our Christmases more like the people in the stories and he said that I already pay more attention to homeless people than I do to him, and I said, "Technically you are homeless cause you still live with your parents."
Then he told me I was super funny, and we were both cheered up. You probably had to be there, but it turned out to be a happy Christmas memory that I don't want to forget. I love that husband of mine!

We had our traditional Christmas Eve lunch with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dan and friends at Red Lobster. grandma brought giant jingle bells to lunch, which I'm sure all the customers really enjoyed.

That night we had our traditional Christmas Eve Mexican dinner and program with Robert's family, with lots of laughing around the dinner, beautiful music and the Christmas story. I always love it. Winston just liked walking around with a box on his head.

Then we got ready for bed and left Santa his cookies, 1% milk, a giant carrot for Rudolph and a thank you note in advance for the presents.

On Christmas Day we went to Grandpa Dan and Grandma Mary's with lots of friends and played in the play house and the giant off roading wagon that Grandpa built them and then we came back home and Grandpa and Grandma Curry took us all to see Monsters Inc. The kids were so excited cause Grandpa got them popcorn, a drink and a candy, lucky ducks! It was a very special Christmas with lots of family and friends. I know I get caught up in the lights and the music and the activities, but amid all the celebrating I am so thankful for an everyday reminder, all month long of the birth, life and sacrifice of our Lord! Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

The next day Grandma took us and Tara and Rhea and Jade to Makutus Island. the kids have gotten so brave. They climb the highest nets and go down the fastest slides, even Little Winnie.

We played hard!

The next day we went ot Bounce U with Rhea and some friends. We love taking Rhea on a tour of all the fun places to go in Az.

We paused momentarily for a goldfish snack.

And then we went back to bouncing, and sliding down the slide in a dress and accidentally flashing everyone...second day/second slide in a row. I really should invest in some skorts.

That night Daddy got us some free VIP tickets to Cavalia, which was like Cirque de Solei with horses, but first, we got to go in the lounge before the performance and fill our faces with 3 courses of free fancy food.

It was different than anything I've ever seen. I'm not that into horses (or horsies, as Robert kept calling them to make me laugh) but I was so into the whole performance. There was so much intersting color and music and acrobatics. It was definitely entertaining.

Afterwards we got to meet the cast and go on a stable tour. I asked the guy if we could all flex for the picture, but I don't think he spoke English. He didn't get my arm motions either, so I just settled for a regular old picture before I further embarrassed myself.

The day after that we headed to the Science Center, where they happened to have snow that day and where I happened to lock my keys in the car. Robert's dad was our rescuer and so kindly came to our aid so we could finish playing. He was me and 5 little kids hero that day!

And play we did!

That night we had a fire in our backyard. Noelle and Rhea and I tried to roast marshmallows on wooden spoons, since that was all we had, but we were vetoed for "safety" purposes by Stanton and the rest of the adults who've been brainwashed by Smokey the Bear. Just for the record, I am certain I could've made them all nice toasty marshmallows without any casualties.

The next day was New Year's Eve, and we were determined to make it awesome cause it's usually always a bust, and we struggle to make it up until midnight. So we started off the day right by going with the whole family to the Phoenix Children's Museum, SO FUN!

Winston loved the noodle forest. He and Rhea also loved hiding in the fort room and riding bikes in the car wash.

Noelle loves painting the rocket. That's where she always spends most of her time.

I love this picture of Stanton cause he is sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth, which means he is intensely concentrating. He spent like 30 minutes using 3 scoops to try to get the scale full of beans to 9 lbs. we were there for hours. It was such a great time! Someday I will recreate this amazing museum in my home.

That night we came home and lit off tons of fireworks! We had so many that we needed an intermission. The kids stayed up until "midnight" (NY time) They watched the ball drop and danced to the music and toasted sparkling cider in fancy glasses.

Then we went back outside for the grand finale of Daddy's fireworks extravaganza as 2012 went out with a bang...

and we jumped right into to 2013! Hee-hee, what a creative writer I am (: