Traditions

Traditions...the handing down of beliefs, customs, practices, etc. from generation to generation.

Celebrating anniversaries...definitly a tradition for generations. Today S and I have been married 8 years! What a great 8 years we've had. We love the song, Remember When by Alan Jackson...and we already have some remember whens and I'm excited to make more remember whens! I'm so glad he's my hubby and we get to be together for eternity. Happy Anniversary Scott! Here's a look at us 8 years ago:

Memorial Day Tradition: Camping at New Brighton Beach. A tradition in Scott's family for around 20 years. They've only missed a few...our wedding year was one of them. I had no idea until we made plans to go nearly a year later. Somehow many LDS members go to the same camp ground over the Memorial Day weekend each year. S's family started going when they lived in Sacramento/Carmichael area. Most of the families who go are from there and know each other from their wards back in the day. As with many traditions...you gotta be a part of it to feel of its goodness. Here's a few of this years highlights and lowlights:
Hotdogs over the fire are GOOOD!
Headlamps - grandpa brought them for the boys and they were a big hit!
Smores - with strawberry slices added (YUMMM-O!)
Fuzzy Caterpillar
Three outlets in the entire campground didn't work so church hair wasn't so great.
This year was COLD at the beach...Sunday of course was pretty beautiful.

A first timer asked me if it was worth it (after speaking of the COLD weather on Saturday) and I said OF COURSE! There's something about traditions that makes them wonderful regardless of the mishaps.

Experience

We got spoiled last weekend! S was invited to a seminar for work at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. It was just a one nighter and within driving distance and wives were invited. So we turned that into the whole family...and they even paid for our gas to and from! Staying there is just an experience! They are so super nice to you everywhere you turn! The little things they do makes you feel special and important! Everything from using your name(I've wanted to do this for a while...isn't it nice when someone uses your name? Often, we go through days without using others names...just because we are talking directly to them.), to chocolates and waters by your bed at night, COLD waters for when you get into your hot car and more! We loved it. It didn't hurt that there were the most amazing views and beach right at the hotel. It was so fun to get away as a little family and enjoy eachother and a fun outing. It reminded me how being extra nice to others is a great thing to be. Not that I'm a mean person, but I think we could probably all use a reminder every now and then that we can go the extra mile more often. Then Sunday I taught a lesson in Young Women about Love and Harmony in the Home. What a great reminder week!

I've thought several times lately that I don't know how or why I'm so lucky! Reading the life histories of my ancestors makes me wonder why I get to do so many great things! Ancestors who left their native country never to see relatives again...I'm so lucky to live in a time where coast to coast airplane travel is available! Ancestors who trekked across the wild wild western states, probably never experienced the vastness, beauty and fun of the ocean! Digital photography! What life changing technology! Modern medicine...to identify and take care of ails our bodies may encounter and help us through child birth (ancestor gave birth to a child with her two year old hanging around and husband lost his horse and was therefore absent...not retuning for 3 weeks).

We do have our challenges too...in 1952 at the age of 94, my very own great great great grandmother Elizabeth Reese (Craig) said, "Yes, I’ve pioneered in Arizona, but my mother was a pioneer before me – she came from Illinois to Utah with the first handcart company, and my husband’s father, James Craig, was a bugler for the pioneers of 1847 and crossed the Plains into Salt Lake City with Brigham Young… Yes, I suppose you’d say that pioneering in those early years was hard, but we were all trying to develop the country and build a better nation. No one was trying to destroy it or tear it down. Everybody worked together and tried to follow the teaching of one of the Apostles who said, ‘Stick to the good and work for the right.’

Of course we worked hard, but hard work is good for the souls of men. Hard work kept our children out of mischief and kept men from getting into trouble. If I had my life to live over, I believe I’d take the hardships of our times rather than the problems of today. We built the nation. A lot of people now are trying to tear it apart. No matter how hard, it is easier to build a country than to keep the enemies from destroying it afterwards.

There’s a tremendous job of pioneering for our young people today—pioneering in a wilderness of unrest, selfishness, intolerance, greed, and dishonor. True courses must be charted through this wilderness just as we broke trails through nature’s wilderness sixty-nine years ago.”

Wow! Can't wait to get to know her someday(by the way...same lady that went through childbirth ALONE). So through all the wonderful experiences I get to have that she and others didn't, my goal is to tackle the wilderness that my family will face with her wisdom, faith, and good old fashion family values.

May we all enjoy and appreciate the experiences we are so fortunate to have!

Happy Mothers Day and Bonding with the kids

Happy Mother's Day! My best Mother's Day present this year was getting to see R go sing with the Primary kids during Sacrament Meeting(Scott and the boys spoiled me too)! I started getting teary while he walked up (luckily Sean was playing and didn't notice R slip out - otherwise the experience would have been different...ie: little S screaming because he wants to follow big brother). They started singing...but nothing came out of R's mouth. New experience I guess. He looked around, smiled, and waved. He was standing on something so you could see him really good. I didn't even care that he didn't sing. I've always wanted to have my very own kid up there to watch and it happened! Yea for Mother's Day! I was also really excited about Mothers Day because I got to work on one of my inspirations! Remember the aprons I fell in love with? This is what I came up with for our moms.



Last weekend was fun. S and R got to go to their first "Father and Son Campout" with our ward. S's been excited to do this for years. They had a blast. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (S wishes we lived on a ranch with some cows and horses), S and I had some fun of our own.
S and R's Highlights: IBC rootbeers and potato chips. R was in heaven having his own soda and free range of the chips (They were living it up-he doesn't usually get sodas or chips). R also was the most popular kid in camp as he had the bag of chips and was willingly sharing with anyone who wanted some...and plenty of kids wanted some.
BBQ hotdogs on the campfire. S asked R how many hotdogs he wanted and R says, "Two, because my mouth is this big." Then he opened his mouth as big as he possibly could. Unfortunately, R asked (I think he was having a sudden growth thing going on or something as he was excessively tired for 3 days or so)to go to bed just before 8 -- so he missed the program the Aaronic Priesthood prepared and S had brought stuff to make Banana Boats...but we made those for FHE last night...it was a big hit:)
In the morning, as S was helping R get ready, R says, "Dad, my teeth are cold!"
Taking a walk around the lake...wishing they had a canoe.
R got soot on his forehead and the kids called him a warrior indian.



C and S's highlights: Applebee's dessert...he didn't want the kids icecream cup...he wanted the fancy molten lava cake and ice cream. "THAT ONE! THAT ONE!"
So he got it. Then to the park until 8pm. I won some much needed mommy points! Don't get me wrong...he loves me...but lately he's been a daddy's boy and I didn't want him to think he got a bum deal by staying home with mom.

Yesterday the boys and I had fun with the sprinkler in the back yard. Sorry, strike that...R had fun in the sprinkler. S wasn't a big fan. Not hot enough yet.
There is major construction going on behind our house. There was a huge bulldozer working meticulously RIGHT outside our fence while we were playing. He waves occasionally. The noise was not so fun.

I haven't sent videos to my family for a long time...so we took a few to share:
S's is funny. He does this all the time now. He's yell so loud and with such passion..."Mommy, where are you?" or "R, where are you?" He didn't do it very good in the video...they NEVER DO! Drives me nuts! Not good show off, but it's hilarious. The funniest is when he does this after we've put him to bed...he'll open the door, and yell, "Mommy, where are you?"

This is our outside play:

Take me out the the Ball Game!

S got River Cats (Sacramento minor League Baseball team) tickets from work for last Friday's game! It was great fun to bring the boys! They (R) remembered going to the same stadium last 4th of July. He happened to get ice cream and some other treats that day...so he requested the same routine this time! Boy did he get it. We wanted them to have fun and watch some of the game...and treats seemed to work great for that. SO MUCH FOOD! First we had ice cream...when I found out the ones I ordered from the snackshack were on a stick...got a little worried. But S was so clean! So was R, but he's always a pretty clean eater. S is not. So dark chocolate covering cheery ice cream on a stick actually worked for my messy 2 year old! I'm guessing that it not being 100 degrees out thus melting the ice cream was a life saver.
Then we all shared Cracker Jacks, Red Rope, a hot dog and a pretzel(the last two were really for Dad, but the kids had to have a bite or two). Can you believe R was still sad that he didn't get Cotton Candy? Those guys who roam the stadium saying, "Got your Cotton Caandy!" "Peanuuts!" "Reeed ROpe!" They have some serious power. When they weren't eating, they were playing in the kids section. They had a bounce house and a slide made from Bounce House stuff. The slide was tall and you had to climb the back. S could hardly get his feet to get to the next rung...but it was bouncy and soft so I wasn't worried. Everyone who saw him do it was amazed and thought he was a very cool little kid. Everyone asking how old he was. There was a dad who was holding his boy around Sean's size and saying, "look! See you can do it! He's just your size!" The little boy saying, "NO!" While actually watching the game, someone from the River Cats did hit a Homerun! It was fun teaching R what that was and what it meant. Later he was telling us other rules he made up, like if you hit the ball over the signs, that's BAD! We had to inform him that that would still be over the fence and a homerun which is GOOD. He's a total crack up. He makes things up all the time that are funny. Signs of being almost 4! Anyhow it was a blast!

This is S at the Top of the Bouncy slide. A terrible picture. Sorry. Should have gotten pictures of them climbing up. I wish I would remember more often I've got video on my camera!

S with a mitt two times the size of his head:)

Can you tell R isn't into taking pictures these days? Not unlike myself near that age...when I said, "No more pictures ever!" Obviously I've gotten over it, maybe he will too someday!


R said he most liked "Dinger" the mascot dancing on the duggout, watching the players run the bases, and the big slide. S definitly loved the BIG SLIDE and the bounce house and food. But the slide was tops for him too!

Fairytale Town

We love fieldtrips. Basically everyday, Ryan asks, "Is it preschool day?" I say yes or no, then he'll ask, "What day is it?" Then I tell him and then he says, "Well what do we do on Monday...(or whatever day it is). He loves to know what's going on and loves to do stuff. Frankly so do I. Even if we just take a walk to the park, we're all happy campers. But fieldtrips are the best! Getting out to the Zoo, or other real fieldtrips are very fun for us. So when our friends called Friday morning and suggested doing something fun, we were all in! Sacramento has some great places for families with younger children, one of them is Fairytale Town. Built in 1959, it has play equipment from various fairy tales. It's a fun day for the kids to run from story to story, playing on and around these things. Unfortunately for us, last Friday happened to have lots of 1st graders on fieldtrips enjoying the park too. There were lots of big kids who didn't care much to watch out for the little ones. That bugged. Otherwise, it was a fun filled day. The favorites were the train as always, Jack's beanstalk, the giant's, and Kennedi LOVED being in Cinderella's carriage(We've been to fairytale town a few times a year for the last three years...but with my boy and their boy cousins...no girls, so it was fun to see her love the Cinderella carriage). I think my favorite is the Old Lady's shoe that is huge and has a fun slide down the middle. But that day with all the big kids, our kids only got to go down a few times. I was having nightmares of my sister's fall from a high dive ladder when big kids were pressuring her to hurry up. The ladder for the old lady shoe is very steep...so when the big kids were crowding and not caring about the younger ones, we were outta there.






Speaking of preschool...have you ever had super glue on your hands? It's so annyoing! We had preschool here today. I was a loon and planned a beach theme...not checking the weather. Yes! It rained. Brilliant me. Oh well. Anyhow, we made Lei's with paper flowers and pasta. The whole time, Ryan is saying, Mom, we've never been to Hawaii. When are we going? Who went to Hawaii? (His Motley grandparents and cousins just recently went). Anyhow, then we made beach in a bottle - you know, the oil and blue water...we even added small shells. The water and oil will always separate...my dad LOVES these things. He had one from when he was a kid. But I didn't do research to find out the correct way to do it. I used cooking oil, so it's rather yellow instead of clear. Also...right before taking this picture I dropped the bottle...so it was all shook up. Normally, the two colors would be completely separate...and after being shaken, it'll take a few mintues before the bubbles all settle. I was just not patient for it to go back to normal. So back to the super glue, I tried super glueing the lids so the kids wouldn't be able to make a big mess (with food coloring no less). And it didn't work, except for on my hands. Oh well, have a great day!