Long Post For a Long Weekend

The kids were off school for the entire week of Thanksgiving. I swear, if we'd wanted to take a trip they would have only been off for 2 days.

In light of our extra free time, we decided to hit the Gainesville Zoo.  We love that place even though it's a bit of drive and doesn't have many of the "big" animals.  The admission is relatively cheap, you can get very close to the exhibits, it's easy to navigate and see the whole thing without getting too worn out or overwhelmed, and my favorite part--it's never, ever crowded.

The night before as I lay in my bed, last year's Thanksgiving post came to my mind, and I realized that we may have inadvertently started a tradition.  Thanksgiving and a trip to the zoo.

The weather is always pretty great this time of year.

Our Thanksgiving was really delicious and relaxed.  My parents came over and we had planned to have another family over but they cancelled at the last minute.  That worked out fine though, because it removed that small bit of stress that comes with hosting.


We had our usual line up of food-turkey,rolls, stuffing, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, corn pudding, sweet potato suffle, cranberry sauce, pickle and relish tray, apple, pecan, and pumpkin pie, spice cake, and cheesecake.  In fact, in my notebook (the one that holds the written version of my whole life) I found last years Thanksgiving plans and they were nearly identical.  We scratched green bean casserole and jello salad  this year.  I made the rolls, mashed potatoes, cheesecake, and a pumpkin pie.  Mom did all the rest, including the turkey.  And my dad made the apple pie.

We cooked together and we cooked separately.  We corralled all the food to the buffet about a half hour past schedule, and were just about to sit down until we realized we had no bottle opener for our sparkling cider.  So it came down to this, Dan and Dad demonstrating their man skills as they pried off the lids with knives.

The day after Thanksgiving, we skipped the sales and took a day trip up to Oklahoma.  About 1.5 hours from us is the beautiful Turner Falls.

I couldn't believe something so beautiful was so close.  (Though I very much wish it were closer.)

Apparently it's crazy busy in summer, but can you imagine going for a swim here?!

I hope we can make it happen this next year.

In the meantime, having a picnic on the huge stone table,

 and hiking through the woods was satisfying enough.

The wind made us a little bit chilly even though the temperature was around sixty.  I wore two jackets and our hoods supplemented our thin Texas blood.

The park even had the remains of this "castle".  Back in the '30's it belonged to a professor who owned this whole area as his ranch and these buildings served as his summer home.


My dear Ava was in her element.  She was born to be outside, exploring, pretending, losing herself in beautiful surroundings.

The castle was fun to walk through (minus the billion stairs I counted as my exercise that day) and the fact that there were dozens of levels and patios all without railings.  Our kids and the images of them tripping right off the edge kept our blood pressure raised the whole time but we all enjoyed it.

The campsites are first come, first serve, which makes a trip from Dallas a little hard to plan, but man that would sure be a fun place to stay.

And finally, on Saturday, the final installment of our weekend agenda came along--a girls' trip to the Nutcracker.

I don't know why pregnant people hold on to their bellies in pictures.  I did it so I wouldn't look like I was wearing a circus tent for a dress, but I'm not sure the effect is much better.

The Texas Ballet Theater put on a wonderful show.  Ava thoroughly enjoyed herself as did Mom and I.

 I am ready for Christmas, at least in my mind.  I may (do) still have pumpkins on my front lawn, I haven't bought a single present, and the tree is still in the attic, but I'm already feeling the Christmas Spirit!

I Thought I Had a Really Good Idea.

Because we were behind on Max's birthday celebration, and we weren't planning anything too over the top or out of the ordinary, how about we surprise him with his party?

 I sent the boys off on an errand and quickly threw up some streamers and pulled out the wrapped presents. I had planned a few games with prizes.  I put the finishing touches on the Darth Vader cake.  My parents brought over a bouquet of helium balloons and helped me decorate.

Dan texted me when they were nearly home.  We gathered by the front door and when the boys walked in, it was not quite the reaction I had anticipated.  I should have continued taking pictures just for illustration's sake, but once I realized he was not amused I put the camera down.

Luke, on the other hand, would have been totally pleased with a surprise party. And in case you weren't sure, Dan kind of likes BYU. Sometimes I just don't think he shows enough support for his team.

Anyway, Max walked into the foyer, his back to us all, and stood there with his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.

He did not want to play games.  He did not want to eat dinner. He did not want to have a party.


He did want to open presents.

I never was able to talk him into any games, but after presents we ate dinner and cake.


Of course he volunteered for the prayer and he kept it short and sweet.

"Dear Heavenly Father, Pweese bwess my Darf Gator cake.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen"


The table favors were quite a hit.

His happiest moment seemed to be when we sang Happy Birthday.

In fact he continued to sing it to himself as he ate.


He is a funny boy.  And as perfectly illustrated by this night, he can either be hot or cold, sweet or sour, well behaved or naughty, and the choice is simply not yours.  It's totally, totally his. He will not be swayed, encouraged, bribed, or talked into.


He insists that his middle name is Daniel even though it is Joseph.  In fact, he insists that everyone's middle and last name is Daniel Colton. (Grandma Daniel Colton, Ava Daniel Colton, etc)

He still always tells me "You're my baby" or "You're my baby pumpkin" and  I die a little each time, it's so cute.

But what is really ironic about this whole birthday scenario is that while he was excited to have one, he has some sort of baby complex and seems to be holding tightly to anything "baby" he can clutch.

He refuses to give up his crib.

He refuses to give up diapers.

And he refuses to eat with regular utensils.  He digs through the silverware drawer for every meal and will settle only once he has a "baby spoon", the kind that can hold barely an 1/8th of a teaspoon.


He eagerly talks about the baby in my tummy.


 But he's still my baby too, and he's not giving that up without a fight.


We had talked about his birthday for quite some time.  He seemed to feel that turning three was synonymous with him being Darth Vader (that's what happens, I suppose, when you can't distinguish between Halloween and your birthday),  almost like he would turn into Darth Vader on his birthday.

But as it was happening, I realized that as long as he thinks he's going to turn into some fictional character, an introduction to Peter Pan might be more up his alley.

Family Pictures (except they're not exactly ours)

There was a period of time over the last six months, where I literally didn't lay a finger on my camera.  I was lucky to snap a few with my aged iphone, whose shutter hardly opens and then takes about 30 seconds to close.

I wondered if I'd ever take a real picture again or if I would even remember how if I actually tried.  Luke's birthday came and went and I never took the pictures (until last month, which I already posted about).  Right around that time my sister, Leah, approached me with a proposal. I had already agreed that I would be more than willing to travel to Milwaukee, visit her and her family, and while there, take some family photos for them.

But then she presented the extended version.  How about I come and take their pictures and the family pictures of two of her friend's families, who would contribute to my plane ticket expense?  Apparently there are no reasonably priced photographers or even mom's with cameras trying to earn an extra buck in their area.

I have to admit, that the thought was exciting and scary at the same time.

But I went to Milwaukee and made up for lost time.  In my two day stay and three family shoots, I took a little over 2,000 pictures (and I already posted about that too and the rain).

The pictures weighed on me when I got home and I was overwhelmed by the thought of sorting them all out. But I did it.  And I got them in the mail on Friday.  Looking back I think the whole experience really got me over a photography hump. It gave me some of the confidence I was lacking.  Not to imply that I fancy myself a professional, but I feel more capable or sure of myself and my ability to get good pictures even if it's a family of four kids, or a family with two wild and energetic kids.

I know of approximately two people, who are interested in seeing these pictures, and who am I  if not accommodating to my friend and sister?  Besides this is a real part of my history and life, so bear with me as I share. You get to see what you probably consider "too many" pictures of my own family and now I'm making you look at "too many" pictures of other people's families!

These are some of my favorites.  As well as a couple I took just this past weekend of one of my best friend's family, who has coincidentally ended up living 40 minutes from me, even though we both started off in NH.

No Shame in a Repost

As I sorted through my emotions at the conclusion of this very long-seeming election cycle,  I remembered a post I wrote almost exactly four years ago.

The feelings are slightly different this time around, but my decided course of action is nearly the same.  There are so many things I cannot control.  I will only focus on those I can.  I will not let the fear of the future for my children paralyze me.

I will do my continued best to teach them to work hard and be nice to people.  To love their country, to make wise decisions, and to take responsibility for the consequences of all of their choices. And to love God and to serve Him.  I will teach them to care more about what He thinks about them than anyone else.  Because in the end that's what will really matter.

The fact that a hurricane happened just before the election this year just as it did four years ago is a strange coincidence. Of course, the one I refer to in the letter is Hurricane Ike, which as Houstonians at the time, was in our backyard.  No comments regarding that situation need to be extrapolated to any other hurricane.  Have a nice day :)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008

A Letter to My Children

My Dear Children,

The ideas in this letter came rushing into my mind with a passion I could hardly contain as I laid you down for your rest yesterday afternoon. Though you don't know it, we have entered into some unsettling times. Financial institutions are failing and we are finding ourselves in the midst of an emotionally-charged presidential election. I don't know how things will play out in our country and our world, but my first thoughts are for you. My guess is that things will continue to deteriorate and if this is the situation right now, how will things be for you as teenagers? Young adults? Adults? It is easy for me to worry about you because I am your mom and I love you and want the best for you. And while things are uncertain, here are a few things that I am certain about mixed in with some good old fashioned advice.

You can do anything you want to do. You are capable of anything that you can imagine. Your choices will dictate where you end up in this world. Wise choices will bring you peace and happiness and unwise choices will bring you misery and heartbreak. This is not negotiable. Hard things will come to each of you, that is also not negotiable. And I believe that there are two kinds of trials in life. There are the trials that our Father in Heaven sees as needful for our progression and there are trials that are the result of poor choices of our own or others. My advice to you is, take the ones from Heavenly Father and don't bother making up your own. No matter the source of those trials, you are responsible for how you respond-not your circumstances, not your family, not your friends, not the government-YOU. And how you respond will mean everything. Even when you may not be able to control what happens to you, you can always control how you react.

There was a big hurricane that came our way this past month. I watched the news and saw repeated pleas from officials for those on the island to evacuate. "You could die, " they warned over and over all the while predicting that the city would be non-functional following the storm, unable to support the daily life of its residents. Transportation was provided for all who wanted it. But you know what? Some people stayed.

They just stayed in their houses and came out to walk up to the waves as the storm approached, giving excuses to the news reporters as to why they planned to stay put. And you know what else? That's okay. They have the right to decide what they will do. We all have that right.

But the problem came a day later. The hurricane hit the island directly, destroying homes and businesses, ruining everything. And you know what those people were doing that next day? They were standing in front of the news cameras , complaining, "Where is the help? We need help! We don't have water! We don't have electricity! Why isn't the government doing anything for us?!"


Do you know what I couldn't help from yelling back at the TV? "You are idiots! You did not heed the warnings! You did not take the free ride out of town! Help is coming but it could never get there fast enough for you! You chose to stay and face 'certain death'! Now how do you lack the self respect to stand there and complain about it?!"


Of course they will need assistance to rebuild their lives and homes. There will come a time in each of our lives when we need assistance and I hope that it will always be given generously. I hope the reconstruction of all that was damaged by the hurricane will happen as quickly as possible and that the suffering will be short. But that type of assistance was not what they were complaining about. They were looking for others to remedy their immediate situation, a situation which was the result of their poor decision, and asking others to come to their rescue at great personal risk. It was irresponsible.

This attitude of entitlement runs rampant in our country. Be responsible and be accountable. If I can do one thing as a mother it will be to instill in you, my children, that you are the master of your own destiny. You make a choice and face the consequences, good, and inevitably bad, because we all make mistakes. And when you do, don't even for a second look around for someone to blame or think that you are owed something.

You have a strong heritage. Your own grandparents on both sides, made their way in this world, in one common way, hard work and sacrifice. You can do the same. Don't think it will be easy, but it mosrt definitley possible.

Someone once told me that I was lucky to be able to stay home with my kids. I couldn't agree more! I know that I am very lucky. I know that there are many women who would love to have that opportunity but for different reasons, find themselves unable to do so. My heart goes out to them. Later, as I thought more on the comment I realized that yes, there was some luck involved, but that was only part of the equation, the other part being the hours of work and school sacrificed by your loving Dad. Chalking our situation entirely up to luck, robs him of the work he did to get us where we are. I promise you, if you work, you will be well on your way to getting where you want to go. Know also that hard work does not guarantee that your situation will be ideal, but neither does luck, and knowing you've tried your best can bring you peace. Hope for luck, but don't count on it and don't leave hard work out of the equation.

As a child of God, you hold within you everything you need to succeed in this life. His divinity runs through you and by heeding His warnings, you will keep yourselves in safety. You must do all in your power, including hard work and sacrifice, to achieve the things that you dream of and want the most. You must also do all that you can to love and aid and help those around you achieve the same. Don't listen to anyone who tells you, "you can't!", because "you can!" As children of God, we all can! I promise if you do all that you can, God will make up the rest and even as the institutions, morals, and status of the world fail, crumble, and fall, you will not.

I love you immeasurably,
Mom

I Like Big Buns

Max had a birthday but I can hardly post about it since we haven't celebrated yet.  This weekend is looking to be kind of crazy itself, so hopefully soon.  Which reminds me, I need to do some Darth Vader cake research.  Black cake doesn't sound too appealing to me...

But Halloween also happened and we did celebrate that.

We could have had a family theme this year, but Luke would not be convinced.  No Chewbacca, no Hans Solo.  He wouldn't even go for Luke Skywalker despite the name sharing.

He was adamant on being Mario.

And yes, he applied his own mustache.

Thank goodness Max was open to suggestion because I wasn't too keen on sewing/buying a Yoshi costume, his original request.

With some Star Wars prompting, he got really excited to be Darf Gator.

 He wore the mask for weeks prior to Halloween but it figured he wouldn't wear it when October 31 actually rolled around.  So he ended up just being a little kid in black.


But maybe standing next to her,

provided the necessary context clues.

Ava's buns cooperated perfectly for trunk or treat on Monday night,

but Halloween night those ladies would not be tamed. I tried and tried and tried again.  We finally settled on "not too bad" and went with it.

The kids were so excited!

We did our street and then made a trip across town to Grandma and Grandpa's porch, where we did a few more houses and then sat and ate candy with them.

We decided to call it a night before the probability of puking moved from "maybe," (Ava's admission) to definite, which I'm thinking was a wise choice.