Too Much Fun?

When I was in fourth grade we had an assignment to write a story called, "Fortunately, Unfortunately." As you might imagine, the plot went back and forth between fortunate events and unfortunate events. I think my mom kept the book in my "special school papers" folder and I loved to reread it whenever I had the chance. Although that folder and the story are now probably long lost, I sometimes find myself thinking about the events of my life in like manner:

Fortunately, I have great friends who encourage and inspire me. Two of my friends, Juliana and Amy, have daughters the same age as Aubree and we all try to do "preschool" with our girls. They usually do a much better job, but I do what I can to keep up. The theme for April was "Birds" and Juliana arranged a field trip to the local Wildlife refuge. We had our own private tour guide. Our guide prepared a perfect presentation talking about the birds around us and then gave each kid a pair of binoculars and took us on a 1/4 mile bird-hunting adventure. In addition to seeing a great variety of birds (including Ospreys in their nest!), we also saw four large alligators (which made me slightly nervous since we were traipsing through their territory with a bunch of little people).
Unfortunately, somehow in the process of loading up the kids to go home, I lost my camera. :(
Fortunately, Mark's parents came to visit a couple days later and we used his Mom's camera to take pictures of the many, many activities in which we participated over the course of the following week.
Unfortunately, my kids never let me take good pictures of them in their fancy Easter clothes. It's a running theme. The picture on the left is the best we got from our photo shoot Easter morning. This was Bryce's first Easter; doesn't he look handsome in his suit?!
Fortunately, we were able to go to the beach, the zoo, and on numerous Wildlife Drives with Grandma and Grandpa. Bryce spent the majority of his time at the beach fast asleep in my arms. Aubree played in the sand with her friend and with Grandpa. Grandpa's primary job was to fetch bucket after bucket of water for the girls to dump sand in, or dump on each other, or stick their feet in. When Bryce woke up, we joined in the sand playing and built a great sand cake. The wildlife drives were somewhat disappointing - we didn't see any alligators (except for a piece of one being eaten by vultures), but did see a ton of neat birds and an armadillo. The zoo was fantastic! I loved seeing Bryce get so excited when he saw the animals and the Brevard Zoo has some great exhibits where you can get very, very close to the animals. Aubree remembered quite a bit from when we had a membership the year she was one. I think we'll enjoy our membership this year.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the kids at those fun events (edit: I swiped a beach picture from my friend's blog - thanks, Amy! That's the sand "cake." Notice Bryce eating the sand...yum!).
Fortunately, I had a meeting get rescheduled that allowed us to go on another super bird-related field trip with Juliana and Amy - and Grandma & Grandpa got to come too! We made an hour trek to Orlando to visit the Audubon Society's Birds of Prey facility. They host a kid's program once a month and this time our little ones were the only participants. Again, it turned out to be a really amazing experience. The theme was "eggs" and the kids all got to hold models of different bird eggs and learn about the different parts of the eggs and how the babies grow. Did you know that the baby birds eat the yolk and drink the egg white as they grow? I didn't. The kids got to go on a little egg hunt, they read stories, colored, and even got out hula hoops and pretended to be little birds breaking out of their shells. The highlight, however, was when the leader brought out birds for the kids to see. Basically she asked, "what do you want to see." The kids asked to see an owl, so she brought out an owl. Then they asked for a Bald Eagle, so she brought one out! That was Aubree's favorite part of the trip. She still talks about "Trouble" (the eagle's name, because he was a lot of trouble to take care of when they first got him). After the program we had time to look around the facility and see hawks, ospreys, owls, vultures, more eagles, falcons...all kinds of amazing birds. The kids even pretended to be baby birds in a scale model of a bald eagle's nest. Thanks for organizing the trip, Juliana!
Unfortunately, all those fun things meant we spent a lot of time away from the house and resulted in lots of missed naps for Bryce. Overall he was a trooper, but by the end of the week I could tell both he and Aubree were suffering from Too-Much-Fun-And-Not-Enough-Sleep Syndrome.
Fortunately, the kids were able to handle one more long day so we could attend Family Day at Kennedy Space Center (one of the main reasons Grandma & Grandpa Winters came down). On Family Day, each KSC employee can take a carload of people on to the normally restricted grounds. This is only the second such day since 9/11, so it's a fairly big deal. We arrived early and made our first stop at the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) where Space Shuttle Discovery is currently housed. This was the first time I was able to see the Shuttle close-up (Mark deals with the shuttles every day at work - he's even been in the crew compartment several times), and it was really interesting to see all the tiles, engines, etc. The picture on the left is a view from the back of the shuttle. The engines are currently all pulled out. The most surprising thing was to see how delicate the tiles are; they are extremely light and you can easily break one by pushing against it with your fingernail! After seeing the shuttle, we walked through the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), which is the largest one story building in the world. The flag you see on the right is the size of a football field! I'd been in the VAB previously, but this time we were able to see a little bit of the Ares 1-X project, which is the next-phase in space exploration and Mark has been doing a lot of work with it. Finally, we hopped in the car to drive out to see the launch pads. There was a lot of very slow traffic, but it was worth it because there were shuttles at both pads. On the left is a picture of Space Shuttle Atlantis which is getting ready to be launched in a couple weeks for a mission to the Hubble Telescope. Atlantis is the shuttle Mark works with the most.
Unfortunately, Mark had church responsibilities in the afternoon so we had to leave the Space Center early and didn't get to see anything else or go to the Astronaut Hall of Fame or the Visitor's Center.
Fortunately, having grandparents around means more people with whom the kids can play. I can't even guess how many hours Grandpa spent reading books to Aubree. Every morning when Aubree woke up she would sneak into the living room where Grandma and Grandpa were sleeping. If they were awake, she would ask them to read her a story or play with her. If they were still sleeping, she would curl up on the couch or the rocking chair and watch intently to see the moment they would open their eyes. She was very sad when they left.
Unfortunately, Bryce showed no such enthusiasm for the "strangers" in his home. The first afternoon they arrived, I left Bryce with them for 15 minutes to take a meal to some friends who just had a baby. Mistake! When I returned Bryce was quite upset and knew that he'd been left behind. It was downhill from there. He decided that when Grandma was near, that meant he might be kept away from Mom, so he'd immediately start crying and beeline to my side.
Fortunately, shortly before she left, Grandma found my camera!!! Hurray! She found it under the seat in my car. I promise I'd looked there at least 2 times previously, but she has a very special gift for finding lost things.

Thanks for visiting, Grandma and Grandpa Winters! Sorry I don't have any pictures with you in them...but next time I'll have my own camera, so watch out!

You Can't Eat Money

Due to the recent economic crises, I - like many others- have had to re-evaluate our finances and level of preparedness. It's quite disconcerting to listen to news reports week after week filled with doom and gloom. The scriptures, however, remind us, "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." (D&C 38:30) Modern day prophets and apostles have long counseled us to have food storage, to stay out of debt, and to build a monetary reserve. In times of prosperity it is all too easy to become complacent.

A couple months ago I had a dream - well, more like a nightmare. When I awoke, I only remembered a snippet, but it was still powerful and motivating. What I recall is as follows: I was walking a long, deserted road. I understood that there had been some kind of disaster and I was out trying to find food for my family. I knew I'd come a long way and still had a long, long way to travel and that the chances of finding sustenance were slim. As I walked, I thought about my kids and I felt sick with regret. The thought that kept running through my mind was, "you knew better. You KNEW better. And now, it's everlastingly too late."
Fear = not prepared. I am certainly no prophetess, and my dreams have never "come true," but the message for me was clear - Get Moving, Get Prepared! I never want to feel like that again - that I knew better and did not follow through. A couple years ago I was talking to a gentleman about food storage. He made a comment that really stuck with me. He said, "during the Great Depression there was plenty of food, but very little money. The next time we have a Great Depression, there will be plenty of money, but very little food." I'm not totally sure where he got that information, but considering the way the economy has been moving, it doesn't seem like too far-fetched of a possibility.
One of the things we decided to help us be more prepared and self-sufficient is to plant our own garden. We have a huge backyard, so space certainly isn't an issue. The biggest roadblock is my own dark purple thumb (I don't think it's "black" because once I kept a bamboo plant alive quite a while...) and lack of experience. I planned to consider our first attempt a "learning experience," that way if none of the plants survived and we didn't get any harvest I wouldn't feel like too much of a failure. We started our plants from seeds, which was surprisingly enjoyable. Every morning Aubree and I would go outside to the patio to check the progress and we were always so excited to see the little green shoots pop out of the dirt.
My Mom suggested we try a gardening method called "Lasagna Gardening," which involves building raised beds. After doing a little research, we decided that sounded like a good idea and "built" our first garden. That takes a LOT of dirt, so we owe a big debt of gratitude to a couple friends with trucks.

Vanna-Aubree showing off our first little garden

Our family posing with the bush beans

Ultimately we made three garden beds. Right now they're just surrounded by mesh and poles, but I hope someday to make nice wood supports (I wanted to make sure we liked them and they worked before doing anything more permanent).

Every day I go out and check the progress of the plants. Some days are better than others. For example, I killed off a bunch of tomato plants (oops) and don't know enough to tell if many of the other veggies are growing correctly. Today, however, was definitely encouraging. On the right is a picture of Aubree posing with the garden this morning. The squash and zucchini plants are blooming, the bush beans are almost ready for their first picking, and the surviving tomato plants actually look healthy! Hurray! Maybe our garden won't be a total flop.

Green bean almost ready to be picked

Tomato plant growing well

Hope You're Comfortable...

This is one of those, "gee, I should have been better about writing shorter updates all along-" posts. There has been a lot going on lately - some good, some bad - all busy. I've wanted to blog more, but I recently got a new calling (Stake Young Women's secretary) that has been taking up substantial chunks of my evenings. Hopefully I've gotten things set-up now so it won't be quite as time-consuming. In the meantime, here's a collection of mini-blogs wrapped into one.

Franken-Bryce: Bryce is now an exclusive walker. Since he started walking on his birthday he has not gone back to any form of crawling or scooting. He's getting better every day, but he still often walks with his arms stretched forward doing a great impression of Frankenstein's monster. After just a couple days he even learned to stand up without pulling up on anything. Admittedly, it's been a steep learning curve; who knew walking could be so dangerous?! I've seriously wondered if his head is a magnet for walls and floors; he's hit his head so many times in the last couple weeks that his goose eggs have goose eggs! I just hope there's no permanent brain damage. Here's a video from a week ago (I really need to take a new one...now he can easily walk the length of the house and back.)

Eyes in the Back of my Head: As a kid, I remember wondering how my mom always knew when I was doing something naughty. Now that I'm on "the other side," I imagine Aubree might have the same question. The secret is, there's really no secret; Aubree is delightfully transparent with her misdeeds. For example, she'll often come out of her room and announce, "Mom, don't come in here!" Which, of course, means, "I'm doing something you don't want me to do." Other times she'll say come up to me and say, "Mom, I didn't do anything." Translation: "I did something naughty." Many times she'll be sitting next to me and she'll use one hand to cover up her nose as she digs for gold with the other hand. I'm looking right at her, but she thinks she's being so sneaky. She's genuinely surprised when I comment and it never fails to make me chuckle.
Life with a Piranha: Now that he's sporting five fabulous new teeth, Bryce has apparently decided they should be used for more than just mealtimes. He's become a biter. Thankfully he doesn't bite while nursing - for some reason he likes to bite my shoulder. His biting peaked in frequency about a week ago and seems to be getting better. One time I was holding him on my hip during my cub scout meeting. I was standing and had one leg up on a chair. He bit me hard! I tried to immediately put him down on the ground and say loudly, "No Biting!" but somehow in the process I got tangled up on the chair. After a split second trying to regain my balance, I fell *smash!* back against our wall. Everyone was fine (although the scouts were quite alarmed), but since then Bryce hasn't bit nearly as often...
Speaking of Bad Habits: Most parents realize that their children are very aware and are always watching them. Parents realize that someday their children might copy their bad habits. Well, I didn't expect "someday" to come so soon. I'm sad to report that Aubree has become a nail biter and it's all my fault! Most articles on nail biting suggest it's related to anxiety. Perhaps that's how my bad habit started, but now I think it's just a bad habit. And for Aubree? I think she's just a little copycat. Grrr.
Like a Weed (a very cute weed): Bryce had his 1 year check-up last week. His current stats are as follows: Weight = 21 lbs. 10 oz. (50th percentile). Length = 30 3/8" (90th percentile). Everything seems right on track and it was a nice change to be able to answer "yes" to all of the developmental questions. He is falling a bit in the weight statistics, but I think that's because he's just become mobile and is go-go-go all the time.
Word Decor: A while ago Aubree and I finished learning the lowercase letters. We had such a good time doing the daily letter-crafts. Aubree's favorites were the "King k", the "mini-marshmallow m," and the "Uncle u." My favorites were the "pizza p" and the "caterpillar c." I got some of the ideas from the website notimeforflashcards.com, but some of them I thought of myself (shameless brag - sorry!). Last week I was playing with the alphabet letters on the fridge with Bryce. I wrote a word and called, "Hey Aubree, come see the word Bryce and I wrote." She walked up, cocked her head to the side and casually said, "puh-eh-tuh ... pet." After I picked my jaw up off the floor I yelled to Mark, "Mark! She just read a word! She READ!" "Yeah," he responded, "she's been doing that for a few days now when we read bedtime stories." Uh, thanks for sharing.
Little Hepper: Bryce continues to enjoy putting things away. He especially likes to help Mark unload the dishwasher. Bryce pulls out the silverware and hands them up and Mark just tries to keep pace. Unfortunately, Bryce's new favorite place to put things away is the trash can. Aubree's gotten very good at frequently checking the trashcan in her room for "treasures." A few times I've even had to wash toy building blocks that Bryce "put away" in his diaper pail.
Deathly Afraid: For the past couple weeks Aubree has been quite anxious about death. One day last week she cried all through lunch, "I don't want to die! Mom, I don't want you to die because I love you SO much." I'm not sure whether to be flattered or worried. One thing that helps me not be too concerned is that other friends (& their blogs) suggest similar tendencies with their same-age kids. Mark and I spent some time discussing where she might have come up with her concerns (since she doesn't watch regular TV) and our best guess is that she gets it from the illustrated scripture story books that Mark reads her nightly. There really is a lot of violence and death in the scriptures.
Portend: Perhaps Aubree's interest in death has been helpful in light of recent events. Sunday morning our ward's Bishop passed away unexpectedly. He was only 41 and leaves behind a wife and six children (ages 7-16). Needless to say, it's been a difficult and emotional week and our hearts break for the family left behind. I am so deeply grateful for the knowledge and peace the Gospel provides. As Aubree has asked questions or expressed fears about death, I've had the opportunity to talk with her about the simple truths of the Atonement, Resurrection, and Forever Families. Today was Bishop's funeral and as all those doctrines were reiterated I felt great comfort in knowing that death is not the end. These children will see their father again; this is just a temporary separation.