Grandma and Pop

I finally have my laptop back, so I'll be playing a little catch up!

Grandma and Pop (Jeff's parents) drove out to spend a few days with us on Monday May 17th. As usual, their visit was packed with lots of fun stuff!

We went out for pizza and Monkey Joe's Monday evening. Leah, in typical fashion, made a friend while we were at Monkey Joe's. However, I'm not sure the friend considered herself Leah's friend. It wasn't clear from my vantage point whether the girl was trying to run away from Leah or if she was leading Leah to the different jumps a little too quickly. ;-) Either way, Leah was happy.

Tuesday we spent most of the day at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. That day was especially fun because Jeff took the day off to go with us. We ate our sack lunches in the museum cafeteria. That was followed by the obligatory cotton candy. We spent some time at the Etch-a-Sketch, Barbie, and Bob the Builder exhibits. We also rode on the vintage carousel and spent some time in the playscape (a cool play area with a water table area, a sand table area, and other types of play areas). We finished up the adventure with some Dairy Queen on the way home.

Wednesday we went to our local zoo. They have several new exhibits this year, so Leah and David wanted to show the new animals to Grandma and Pop. We got to see a Wallaby Joey stick his little head out of his mother's pouch. The kids also loved crawling through the tunnel under the river otter exhibit and watching the otters swim around. David was especially intrigued by the prairie dogs digging a new hole for their home. Pop loved watching the bald eagles. Jeff didn't get to spend this trip with us, so we still need to go as a family to show him the new exhibits. The kids had a great time playing at the nearby playground after we'd covered all of the zoo exhibits. We finished up the day with a trip to one of our favorite restaurants and some games at Chuck E Cheese's. Leah and David had their favorite meal: pancakes and bacon. Everyone is always amazed at how they gobble up every, single bite! The final treat of the day was a trip to Cold Stone Creamery.

Thursday was Grandma and Pop's last day with us. They took the kids "out" to breakfast at their hotel's fabulous breakfast buffet. Jeff and I took the opportunity to go out for breakfast just as the two of us. It was a nice break from routine, but I did find myself wondering how the kids were doing, etc. It turns out they did a great job of stuffing themselves. ;-)

We're all looking forward to Grandma and Pop's next visit in early July. I'm sure we'll have plenty of adventures then as well. Thankfully, we have time for our sleep schedules and waistlines to recover before then. ;-)

I will post photos as soon as a) I figure out how to get them from the camera into the computer myself, or b) Jeff has/takes the time to do it for me. :-p

Recent Quotables

David and Leah say something hilarious (at least in our opinion) almost daily. Here are some of their recent quotables.

David "The Holy Ghost isn't in the car." (This was sung over and over on our way to an appointment)

Leah "I can only do big jumps on Wednesdays."

Leah "I can only open the bathroom door by myself once a day."

David "Leah, there's a barking spider on you!" (This was quickly followed by sound effects, and, no, not the kind you're thinking of. Apparently, barking spiders say "Eeeeeeeeee, bark, bark!")

David "Jesus put a lollipop in my throat and it went down the drain. Now it's in my belly." (his explanation for what made him choke)

Leah "Uh-oh! It looks like the Holy Ghost is playing on our swings again." (the wind was blowing them around)

David "Mr. Birdfeather!" (This was the one and only peep we heard from him on the baby monitor all evening. It was spoken in a British accent, and accents always make things funnier!)

Leah "I'm only doing the windows, the floor, and the roof!" (said while trying to stall bedtime and convince daddy to help her build a Lego house)

Leah "I hope my doll's hair doesn't look too dorky."

Mother's Day

I feel blessed every day to be a mother, but it was nice to have a specific reason to celebrate today. The absolute highlight of the day was getting to hear Leah sing in church today. I was afraid she was going to miss the opportunity because she announced that she needed to go to the potty right before (or at least what we thought was right before) the children were supposed to go up for the performance. Thankfully, she said she could wait for a little bit. I normally don't make her wait, but there were clues that she was just bored and trying to get out into the hallway. ;-)

The kids first sang "Mother, I Love You" in Spanish. I know her Spanish wasn't perfect, but Leah sang out loud and strong, without hesitation. The sincere look on her face is one of the most precious things I've ever seen. The children moved on to "Mother, I Love You" in English. Leah didn't miss a beat. The children finished up with "A Child's Prayer." For those unfamiliar with the song, it has two parts. The first part serves as the first verse; the second part serves as the second verse; for the third verse, both parts are sung together (the children's choir split in two groups to do this). This type of song can be challenging for children, but Leah held her own. I could tell she was very focused on singing her part just right. It brought me to tears. I just couldn't believe that I am the mother to such a precious, talented little girl! After the song finished, a lady from two pews back said loud enough for us to hear, "Anna, you have a star there!" I couldn't do anything but giggle at that point because I am so happy to be Leah's mom.

In other Mother's Day news, the kids made me some lovely gifts. One was a flower with a tootsie pop in the middle of it and Leah's little handprint attached to it. Leah informed me that the flower and the handprint were for me, but the candy was for her! :-P David thought the tissue paper flower arrangement he made for me in nursery was a toy for him, so we had a bit of a tantrum on our hands when I explained it wasn't a toy at all. I guess we need to have a little lesson on sacrifice and giving cheerfully! ;-)

Family Activities

I love it that the kids love being involved in our family activities. They cheer when they realize it's Monday, and they get to participate in Family Home Evening. Usually, they get to pick the songs ("Follow the Prophet" and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" are some favorites) and say the prayers. Leah has even taught the lesson a couple of times (imagine a 4-year-old trying to teach about the Resurrection; it was quite touching, but also quite humorous!). They love to help plant and water the flowers and vegetable garden. David especially loves to help mommy make dinner, and sometimes pulls a few extra ingredients out of the pantry. ;-) It makes me so happy that they love being together as a family. I hope this love runs deep so that it extends later into their childhood and teen years. A girl can dream. ;-)

Anna's Birthday

All four of us had a great time on my birthday. We spent most of the day at Turkey Run State Park, which included a gourmet picnic lunch and hiking. We, of course, had to get Dairy Queen on the way home. We also tried to go to the local zoo, only to be disappointed when we walked through the gates a minute after it closed. Apparently, their evening hours don't start until after Memorial Day. The kids had a great time playing at the huge playground at the park instead. We finished up the day with a delicious meal at Cracker Barrel. I love spending time with my three favorite people!

Love Unfeigned

I know we don’t do good deeds so that we can go around flaunting it, but I’m just so proud of my kids that I think this one just has to be mentioned.

As I’m sure you all know, there was a major earthquake in Haiti, about two weeks ago. (If you’ve missed this, you must have been hiding under a rock somewhere.) Thousands, perhaps millions of people have been giving their time and money to help the survivors in this already impoverished nation to recover from the immeasurable devastation.

As with most disasters, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was among the first on the ground, sending out not only medical teams but hundreds of tons of food and other supplies. But in the midst of such total destruction, there’s always more needs than can reasonably met, so the call has gone out for more.

Anna and I had been planning to make a donation anyway, but my darling wife saw this as an opportunity to help our children. When she told them what was happening (in terms a four- and almost-three–year old can understand), they immediately caught the vision and volunteered to share some money from their own piggy banks, to help others so desperately in need. This morning, before Church, I helped them each remove a dollar from their piggy bank, which they excitedly placed in separate envelopes (each with the appropriate offerings form) and gave to the bishop.

And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.

And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, … yea, and to every needy, naked soul (Mosiah 18:27-28).

Thank you, Leah and David. I love you, and I’m so proud of you!

The Simple Answer for Everything

Our family made a shopping trip to Meijer on Saturday, to take advantage of their awesome deals. Among the items on sale: Teddy Grahams, which make a great morning snack for the kids. Strangely, there’s a new kind of Teddy Grahams that’s shaped like Disney Princesses—wouldn’t that be Princess Grahams?—so of course Leah noticed that immediately and just had to have it. (No, we don’t give in often, but Graham crackers are a pretty good choice, so I let her have that one.)

Yesterday after lunch, Leah noticed that Mommy was in the pantry and made a beeline for her, in hopes of getting some of her Princess crackers. Unfortunately for Leah, Mommy isn’t so easily swayed and informed her that no, she couldn’t have any right then, that she’d just had lunch and it wasn’t snack time. So our little girl, with all the indignation she could muster, placed her hands on her hips and responded:

“So change your mind!”

Wouldn’t it be great if life were that simple?