Brothers

At a break in our neighborhood game of Capture the Flag tonight, Maggie lay back on the grass, looked up at the starry night sky and said, "There's babies up there."

"What?"

"See the babies in the sky?"

"Maggie, those are stars."

"No, they're babies."

"Who told you there were babies in the sky?"

"Nathan and Mathew and Collin and Chase [some neighbor boys]."

They confessed that they told her the sky had a baby. And now she thinks stars are babies in the sky. I wonder how long it will take before she stops believing anything her brothers tell her.

Lego Maniac

Grandma Swings let Nathan order a Lego Factory creation a couple of weeks ago. Normally, people build things like houses and cool vehicles online and then Lego sends the pieces so you can build it for real. Nathan just wanted the pieces.

If you look closely at his custom Lego kit there's a lot of chairs, a few guys--including a skeleton with a crossbow--and some weapons. And a few red flowers.

Matthew said, "Nathan, why did you order that one? It's stupid."

Nathan replied, "But it's PIECES."

I asked him why he needed those two funky green seaweed pieces. He said, "They're just for fun. Sometimes I have to have some fun, you know."

I guess so.

Reunion Time!

Last week, we went to a reunion for my mom's family at a historical college campus in the middle of nowhere (Albion, Idaho) now converted to a reunion center. It was an amazing place and we all had a great time.

You can see the building we stayed in--a beautifully restored dormitory built in 1901, I think--behind Becca and me.

The kids (Nathan and Matthew and some of my cousins) put on a show of cub scouting skits where Matthew's hidden acting talents came to light. He delivered the punchline to the fly skit ("Hey, look! It's a raisin!") with flawless skill and brought down the house. I'm thinking that boy may have been born for the stage. And, maybe, he comes by it honestly.

Maggie "swimming in the boat" with Grandpa Camper at Lake Cleveland.

Maggie giving two thumbs up while cousin Baby Owen chews on his favorite bottle of sunscreen.

And Becca riding in her sling with that darn hat over her eyes again.

All the gang on the front steps of our dorm.

Becca with my grandma.

Nathan and Matthew climbed up and down granite formations at the City of Rocks with my cousins and Uncle Pat. It wasn't as steep as it looks--although some hot shot climbers drove by and after totally confusing the kids by yelling at them to go in three different directions at once, told us they hoped we knew our kids were going to die and drove away. It was a nice experience.

Maggie did a little climbing, too.

Bath rock.

Matthew hamming it up.

And Nathan on top of the world.

Two happy campers in Grandpa Camper's trailer. (Check out Matthew's water bottle pocket.)

On a walk with Aunt Tori, Uncle Ryan, and Baby Owen...

Matthew: "Gee, I hope nobody thinks my hair looks weird."

First Day of First Grade

Matthew: ready for school!

Maggie: "Take a picture of ME, Mom!"

There's no picture of Nathan--he wouldn't let me take one. Apparently, taking pictures is uncool in third grade.

Becca, 4 Months Old

13.3 pounds (50%--that means she's heavier than 50% of babies her age.)

26 inches (97%--that means she's taller than 97% of all those other 4-month old babies! That's a lot of shorter babies--like, almost all of them.)

I've never had such a tall baby before. People always guess she's 5 or 6 months old. What do you think, future supermodel or WNBA player? And the scary question: will she be taller than her short brothers?

Playing "I Spy"

Maggie: "I see sumping green."

Me: "Is it a tree?"

Maggie: "No, I want to guess!"

Me: "Is it the grass?"

Maggie: "I WANT TO GUESS!"

Me: "Okay, you guess."

Maggie: "It's a tree!"

How did she know???

Whatever it was, it was GOOD

Maggie, eating a caramel apple covered in white chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate: "It's not a apple, it's a cake. But it's look like a apple. But it's look like a cake. [Commentary becomes unintelligable as she takes another bite and another.]"

Park City

We just back from a little two-night trip to Park City courtesy of Brian's office. We stayed in a three bedroom suite at a posh new place called The Sky Lodge. It was very swanky--lots of leather and dark wood and a bathtub that filled from the ceiling (and made a mess). There was even a pool table and a couple of hot tubs in our suite!

But the air conditioner didn't work. After several complaints to the front desk, they finally brought us a couple of floor fans. Talk about high class. The maintenance guy who came to check out the cooling system also changed a burnt-out light bulb in our bedroom where Becca was sleeping. He walks out, looks at us and--waving his hands in front of him like claws--goes, "It's moving." Becca was awake.

We also decided outlet malls are stupid. It was SUPER crowded--like the Saturday before Christmas crowded--and the deals weren't all that great after all. I just didn't think it was worth standing in line for half an hour to buy a pair of shorts and a shirt that Maggie doesn't need--because the summer stuff was all on clearance but fall clothes were full-priced--even if they were only $0.99 each.

And then it rained. And then it poured. And then it hailed. And the spa didn't have any openings for pedicures. And watching Brian with his friends from work was...educational. And I hardly got any sleep at all between the loud card games going on right outside my bedroom door and Becca waking up to eat all night long and just insomnia in general.

So, it wasn't the best weekend get-away we've ever had. But we had some dang good barbecue Friday night, plus a lot of other yummy food. And we had a gorgeous drive home through Guardsman's Pass (because Parley's Canyon was closed for construction). And I brought my beads and re-strung Maggie's old binky holder for Becca--and introduced Brian's co-worker's wife to beading which he'll probably never forgive me for once he sees her first $100 investment in pretty pretty beads. And it's always nice to get away for awhile, right?

What's next?

Matthew: "Hey, there's a Hannah Montana sticker on the ground."

Me: "How do you boys even know about Hannah Montana?"

Nathan: "What?! She's a famous rock star! Geez, Mom."

Apparently, even 6 and 8 year old boys who only watch Nick Jr. and Spongebob cartoons know who Hannah Montana is. I'm always surprised by the permeating nature of pop culture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAGGIE

The big day finally came with cake and "Happy Birthday" songs and a hat with three felt candles on the top.

Maggie even got a Barbie car. And then I realized that when I was a girl, I always wanted a Barbie car--but I never got one. And Maggie has a Barbie car before she even has a Barbie to drive it. Oh, my children are so very very spoiled. Isn't it fun?

R.I.P.

His scales were orange.
His home was blue.
Adolph, goldfish,
We'll miss you.

Brian: "Poor old 'Dolph-dog."

Nathan: "Well, there's another pet gone."

Matthew: "He's been laying down on the rocks."

Maggie: "Mom, the fish is dead."