The Cabin 2015

We headed up to the cabin on Monday after the 4th of July and had a very nice time, as usual. As we got up there, my cousin and his wife were finishing loading up all their things and leaving. They have four beautiful little girls. The youngest, Hattie, got along with June.

Our first full day up was warm and perfect for boating and playing in the lake and we took full advantage. It was a perfect cabin type of day when you're in your swimsuit until you finally shower about 5:00 pm. The girls were jumping off the dock (on the shallow side) and playing in the rocks and sand.

Unfortunately/fortunately, the weather after that day was spotty. It was overcast and there were lots of thunderstorms. Though I would have liked more boating time, it also gave us a chance to do a lot of stuff we used to do when I was young, but that we haven't taken the time to do on recent trips. We went up to West Yellowstone and saw some grizzly bears up close at an animal preserve. We went into the park and walked around the hot pots. I thought Willa would be totally amazed by the hot pots, and she liked them, but she also remarked that one geyser looked like the splash pad by Beckham and Brody's house in St. George. It's her favorite splash pad, so it wasn't a put-down, but it wasn't exactly the jaw-dropping reaction I was hoping for. My least favorite moment was when we were driving past a huge herd of buffalo and I kept trying to get Willa to look up from the Ipad in the car. One buffalo was really close to the car, but Willa wouldn't look because she was so into her Ponies game. I finally took the Ipad away so that she could look, and she responded maturely by putting her blanket over her head and hiding so she couldn't look. Oh well, I never said my children or my parenting skills were perfect.

June looking at the bears.

Being the general sissies that they are (which they get from me), the girls did not want to ride the waverunners. I took June for a short ride in which she cried the entire time; after that I decided just to leave Willa alone and not force her. They endured the boat with trepidation and, in June's case, her pacifier for safety.

One of the very nice things we did since the weather was cooler, was take a beautiful hike. I'd done the hike when I was younger but it had probably been ten years. It was such a pleasant way to spend the afternoon! It was very green and quiet and we were the only people out for most of it. I loved that June would squat down with her hands on her knees and very carefully watch the ants walk across the path in places.

Annual sink bath for the non-showering child. I'm a big fan of the farm sink with babies. You don't kill your back bending over the bathtub.

The Fourth of July

We decided to drive up to Utah for the 4th of July. We got there the afternoon of the 3rd, just in time to play and relax for a bit before the children's parade. My mom found a bike at the DI for $5. It's the size above what Willa normally rides, so we had to practice on it a bit first. She ended up riding it just fine, but her feet couldn't quite touch the ground when she was sitting on the seat, so it made it tricky to start and stop. This proved pretty stressful for her riding in a crowded parade where other kids were coming close or sometimes cutting her off. Still, it was fun to decorate her bike, do the parade, and get a Pace's Dairy Ann Popsicle after. She was maybe only a little scarred from it all. 

The Thalmans were visiting family in Utah too, so they decided to join us on the 4th. They drove up for the Fun Run that morning. They were running a little late so they dropped the kids off in a flurry at my mom's and then we rushed to get to the start of the race. We made it with about three minutes to spare! It was one of the most fun Fun Runs in recent memory. Ryan ran alone and got 5th overall, Robert and Kim's sister ran together, and then Kim and I brought up the caboose together. We were please with ourselves for running the whole thing and getting under 35 minutes, we are pretty pathetic but it was fun to be together.

After the race we rushed home to speedily shower and the make it back to the parade. It was so fun to be together at the parade. Willa and June had the best time with Bridgett and Abby. Willa was much braver this year and June, of course, showed very little fear and often ran into the street for candy. She loves to tell people about the parade and how they "give me treats".

Believe me, they were having a great time. 

My dad marched with the pipe band again and it was fun to cheer for him, even though they didn't play while they were in front of us! It was one of the better parades in recent memory and a great small town 4th of July. After, we all went back to the pho use and played for a few hours until the Thalmans had to leave. A great day!

California Cousins

I haven't had a chance to blog because we've been in Utah and the cabin the past bit. But, before we went up to Utah, we took a quick visit to visit our O'Kelley cousins in California. We'd just had two weeks of 110 degree days and another week was in the forecast, so I emailed Shannon and asked if we could get out of dodge and escape to their paradise. They live in the most beautiful, relaxing place that rhymes with Blewport Peach.

The girls have gotten old enough to be good little travelers, so we left Ryan at work melting his brains out and the three of us headed for a middle of the week visit. It was so much fun. We had the best best time. We introduced the girls to the beach and I went to the temple, but really overall it was just so great to see how much fun all the cousins had together. Willa and Claire and June and Scarlett were just in heaven. Actually, poor Scarlett had just had her tonsils out and was a little sad until the last day or two, but she seemed to be having as much fun as her little throat allowed.

The best was all the unplanned matching clothes. Obviously, Shannon and I both shop at Costco a lot and 6pm a little.

They matched dresses every day and nightgowns nearly every night.

June and Scarlett had the same swim suit!

The girls also loved, loved Penny. I don't blame them. I've never met a sweeter, calmer, prettier dog. If they ever decide they are done with her, I'd take her in a heartbeat - and I usually hate all animals as a general rule!

June got to sleep in Scarlett's toddler bed. She was in heaven and told me frequently how much she loved it and how it was her favorite bed. She loved to show me how she could get in and out by herself. It made me think about converting her crib over, but I know it would take just one time when she didn't want to go down for a nap and then we'd be in trouble.

One night I was clearing some dishes in the kitchen and I heard Shannon say to Willa, "Do you like foot massages? Would you like me to rub your feet?" Anyone who knows Shannon would not be surprised if I told them that my jaw nearly dropped open! Shannon has an issue with feet, I'll leave it at that. I called over to her, "What?!! What did I just hear?" Then I went over to get a photo of it. If there was no other proof that Shannon loves her nieces with an unconditional love, this would convince me. Shannon is a great sister-in-law and an amazing aunt. I know that she loves my girls so much and they can feel it too.

It was just such a happy trip. Neither of our children have a lot of cousins their own age. In fact, besides Slate and baby Aero, they are the only cousins they have that are the same age. Cousins are so important and it was such a joy to see the playing so happily together. I'm hoping to make another quick trip in August and have Ryan come too. One last funny anecdote (as told to me by Shannon since I was upstairs bathing June at the time) is that Willa always wanted to shower alone. There were so many fun toys at the house and that included bath toys. She wanted her alone time to play in the shower. One night she and Claire were painting and being so cute together and Claire said, "Willa, please, please can I shower with you tonight?" Willa wouldn't answer and just kept her face down. Poor Claire! The extrovert gets shuts out by the introvert.

Willa's First Piano Recital

Willa had her first piano recital a few weeks ago. Her teacher holds one at the end of every school year. It's at small recital hall inside the local music store. Willa played "Firefly" which was a duet, and I got to play with her. Her teacher gives her one small new song a week normally and we also work on a technique book for finger strength. This song was just one that she happened to be learning, but it was cute and sweet and fun to help her "prepare for it." Her teacher helped her practice walking up to the piano and bowing and saying "hippopotamus" while she bowed, which Willa thought was hilarious.

It was a typical student piano recital, nothing too exciting, but I was surprised at how much fun we all had. I've attended or been in about a million recitals in my life, so seeing one through Willa's eyes was refreshing. She was so excited! After she played, she had the biggest smile on her face. As the older kids went up and were a little embarrassed or sheepish, Willa's innocent reaction was all the sweeter. Truly, children teach us to enjoy life and find happiness in so many things.

It's a little hard to see from the video, but look for her big smile after the bow. Everyone thought she was adorable. (Side note, the piano students who have a lesson right before us sometimes as their mom to stay later so that they can see Willa and June come because they think they are so cute.) Willa and I sat up with the students in the front while Ryan and June sat in the back. She was very patient even though it was a bit of a long sit for her and got a little "boring" by the end. Her teacher called them each up to give them participation medals at the end. Of course, Willa was even more excited about this. I hate participation medals and trophies and was slightly annoyed, but Willa could not have been a more grateful and happy recipient. On the ride home she kept asking Ryan and me if she had won. Mean, but principled, parents that we are, we kept saying no and that it wasn't a competition.

I was surprised at how much fun the entire morning had been. Ryan and I were kind of on a high about it the rest of the day. I don't think we were stage parents, but it was a lot of fun going to an activity like this as a family to support a member of our family. We were also proud of Willa for practicing and working hard at piano.

Her medal and her donut.

Summer Daze

This forecast was from Saturday, you can see that it was 82 degrees when I took the screen shot at 6:52 am and that the high was supposed to be 115!! Yikes! I think it only got to 113, but tomatoes tomahtoes, if you know what I mean. It reminds me of the Irving Berlin song "Heat Wave" from White Christmas. We really enjoyed a cooler than average spring and were able to play outside until just two weeks ago, and then bam, it hit! We've been in the 110's for almost two weeks and there's no sign of it letting up.

This is mainly what we do:

Some weeks we have swam days in a row for hours at a time. This is pool is at a friend's house. You just have to have a pool here if you possibly can. Sure, there are neighborhood pools and those are great, but it's just so hot here. It's so nice to have a way to spend several hours outdoors at your own home without having to pack up for a trip to the pool. The Thalman's grandma has a nice pool by the temple. We spent over four hours the other day playing. It was great to be able to take a break for lunch and run back in again. I'm still trying to get outdoor time everyday with the girls because they need it. We went to the splash pad on Saturday while it was still early. Ryan and I watched the girls run back and forth and commented on how they could never get this much energy out or be so active inside a house, at least not ours. On days when we don't get out, they are so much more sedentary and I don't even notice how little they have moved until I compare what we did indoors all day to other days when we've gotten out. It's a little scary to me. Plus, I know that we all bicker a lot more. The girls with each other and me with both of them - my temper is not nearly as patient and helpful on cooped up days. So here's to the rest of the summer!  Fingers crossed we survive!

Preschool Graduation and Swim Party

Two weeks ago we had our last day of preschool. We had a swim party and just let the girls play. I feel so lucky to have been part of this amazing group of moms that have worked so hard to make a great preschool experience for all our girls this year. Twice every week Willa had great lessons and activities and just loved going to preschool. I was impressed at how prepared everyone was when it was their week to teach. Plus, I only really knew one of the moms before we started and now I feel like I have a lot of new friends whom I wouldn't have met otherwise.

The swim party was a lot of fun. The only bad part was that we planned on a potluck. I assumed that all the other moms would bring lots of chips and junk food, so I decided to bring some watermelon. All the other moms had the same idea and everyone brought a big platter of fruits or vegetables. This wouldn't have been a problem except the girls didn't eat much breakfast. June even told me she was hungry as we were getting into the car, but I told her there would be plenty to eat there. She ate a ton of watermelon, but was pretty whiney the whole time and kept crying that she was hungry. Willa swam about two solid hours without complaint, but she wilted pretty soon after it was time to get out of the pool, as you can see from the photos.

The class: Camille, Paige, Hailey, Aria, Willa, and Maya

Throughout the year, we had a teddy bear named Tessa Teddy. The girls each got a turn with her whenever it was her week to have preschool at her house. We kept a little journal with adventures they had with Tessa and they got to tell the class about it. They LOVED when it was their turn and it was sad indeed when we were on our last rotation and each girl realized it was her last turn with Tessa. One of the moms got each of the girls a Tessa as a present. Actually, she's "Tessa's sister" if we want to get really specific.

Of course, now that we have a Tessa here all the time, she spent the last two weeks forgotten behind the couch. Isn't that just always how it is? June is very thrilled with Tessa and likes to take possession a lot. I think it makes her feel like a big girl. We loved our preschool and I even got the hang of it by the end and stopped dreading when it was my week. Only one of the moms has a baby June's age. I hope we can make another co-op again!

The Riviera

Growing up, we had a few pieces of furniture - mainly just chests of drawers, I think - that my parents had gotten from a liquidation sale in Las Vegas when an old hotel (I think it was The Sands) closed down. I always thought it was kind of cool to have a piece of history like that and also a great way to score some furniture very inexpensively.

A few weeks ago, I was reading in the newspaper and saw that The Riviera was being torn down. The article linked to another article with information about a liquidation sale. I immediately wanted to go! The sale had been going on for about a week, but when I called they said they had plenty of everything left. Ryan and I were going to go, then the logistics of crowds and girls got the better of us and we called off the trip. It was on Memorial Day and we just didn't feel like spending our holiday there. After that, I thought that it wouldn't happen because I didn't want to take the girls alone by myself during the weekdays and Ryan was going to be gone the next weekend for a race. Then Kim and I started talking and she's a sucker for a sale and a bargain. We decided to meet at the hotel on Saturday morning right when it opened at 9 a.m. Robert hopped in my car and drove the girls up to their house to play with Bridgett and Abby. Kim and I stayed to go through the sale. It was amazing! It was truly an experience. The first four days of the sale it costs $10 to enter but after that it is free. We both agreed that even going when we went would be well worth the $10.

Imagine a sale where they want to squeeze every last drop of money out of a space before they tear it down. This was that sale. EVERYTHING was for sale, including the carpets on the floor (there was a sign on the wall with the dimensions of a ballroom carpet and the price), the service vehicles were parked out front for sale, the pool furniture, the exercise equipment, all the beds, the cabinets, the dresser drawers, irons, ironing boards, luggage racks. Everything! It was crazy. Then, on top of that you would find a random ream of paper with a price tag on it. The art from the rooms was on sale, the elevators had price tags on the inside for $550 each. They unlocked the rooms and you would take an elevator up to a floor and just walked from room to room seeing what you wanted. The different towers had different furniture. It was so bizarre.

All the tables and chairs from the restaurants and lounges were on sale. Some of it was worn, but some were really nice wood pieces. I thought that if I had a new space and needed furniture to fill it, then there was a lot of stuff that would have looked great with a different coat of paint and maybe some new knobs or something. You had to use your imagine on some things, for sure, to see what the potential was, but for that type of creative person it was a gold mine. I think Ryan's sister Lianne would be the perfect person to take to this sale. I bet she could have re-imagined everything in there and made it cool and functional in a home.

Kim had a lot of mismatched dining stuff at home, so she got all new glasses (water glasses, goblets, little dessert ones, kid cups) for cheap. All the kitchen equipment was on sale and there were chafing dishes galore, little stoves, walk-in freezers and fridges, and more. I just can't get over the magnitude of STUFF that they were trying to get rid of.

They were selling all the gaming tables. I took a turn behind one of them to see how I fit... not very well, I also didn't have $2000 for it or the space. Who knew that these things could be so expensive?

The strangest thing was really just to have absolute freedom to wander anywhere you wanted in this giant hotel/casino. It felt eery, like someone should be stopping us (or would have been stopping us if it was open and running). Just for fun we went up to see the suites and the penthouses. Strange things had already been bought and claimed - like giant panels of mirror and glass from penthouse walls. It was so weird to think who would want that and would already have claimed it and paid for it. Since it was an older hotel, the rooms weren't that spectacular, but I could see in their heyday that they were pretty cool.

This one suite was different from all the others not only in looks but most especially because everything on it had a "Not For Sale" sign. In a building where people are pulling the light fixtures from the wall, it's strange to find a pink marble jetted tub that's not for sale. Our only guess was that maybe a famous performer or someone like Elvis had stayed there, or maybe it was the owner's. I don't know. It was a weird room.

In the end, I bought a room safe ($30) and mini fridge ($25) for Brandon. There were hundreds of mini fridges, it felt like, and there probably were since they probably had one in every room. We found rows and rows of them on the first floor. The liquidation company were moving certain things out of the rooms and into common areas. Kim got a mini fridge and her glasses.

A few days later, after some thought, I decided to go back and get a television. They were selling 32" flat screens with a wall mount for $75. I was going to get one for us and one for Rebecca for their guest room. I bravely drove out by myself with the girls. There was a room full of 32" t.v.'s, but the worker told me that they had just gotten in a few 42" screens. They really only advertized the smaller ones because there were so many of those, but as the liquidators took more of the hotel apart, the bigger screens would occasionally become available. So, I got a 42" for our living room and a 32" for Rebecca. Ryan and I have had a 32" in our living room since my parents gave it to us for Christmas almost six years ago. It's been a great t.v., but as our living spaces got a little bigger than our 500 square foot Los Angeles apartment, it looked a little small. Action movies were so pathetic. I'm not saying that 42" is so huge, but for us it's a big improvement. So exciting!

If anyone has a chance to go to a major liquidation sale, do it! The company that is running this liquidation has a website. Next time I need something, I'm going to go on the website and see if there are any sales nearby that might have what I'm looking for. It was a very fun adventure.