The Problem with Pets

Bryce has been obsessed with the idea of pets for a long time now.  At Christmas, we relented and agreed he could get a fish.  We got a goldfish for a school project, and thinking it wouldn't live long, told Bryce he could choose a Betta fish once the goldfish died.  

Four months later, Aunt Jin finally went belly up.  I was surprisingly upset.  I think the idea that a living thing under my care died is what bothered me most.  The kids were significantly less concerned.  "Hurray," they cried, "now we can get a Betta!"

Meet "Weenly," our newest addition.  Fish sound like a simple endeavor, but they require more work and equipment than I'd realized - a water thermometer and heater, feedings, new filters, changing their water, cleaning their tank... 

I thought getting a fish would satiate Bryce's desire for a pet.  It did not.  In fact, it only made it worse. At every possible opportunity, Bryce and Thane are outside with Tupperware containers hunting for creepy, crawly critters.  Super.

Additionally, they spend significant amounts of time discussing and planning the types and amounts of animals they will have when they grow up.  For example, Bryce wants, "21 dogs, 14 cats, 3 elephants, 2 giraffes..." and various other animals depending on the day.  Oh, and I shouldn't forget, he also wants, "seven kids... so they can help take care of all the animals!"

Thane, is a little more specific in the types of animals he wants, "tigers, lions, mountain lions, and cheetahs."  I suggested he consider opening a big cat sanctuary.  Most recently, he told me he wants "eight fish."  Finally, a reasonable option!

In the middle of all this, we came to a science unit all about caterpillars and butterflies.  In a fit of good humor, I ordered a caterpillar cup, and soon we had five more "pets."

I will admit, I was perhaps more fascinated by the caterpillars than the kids.  It helped that they required no maintenance; all their food was in their container.  

We learned that if human babies grew at the same rate as caterpillars, by 2 weeks old, our babies would weigh 6 tons!

Soon the caterpillars wrapped themselves up in their chrysalises.  

And a week or so later, they emerged as Painted Lady butterflies.  At this point, we were supposed to feed and care for them until we let them go.

I opted to let them go ASAP. Taking care of the human living creatures in our house is plenty challenging enough!

 No more pets.

Mini Vacay: Great Wolf Lodge

We know so many people around here who make trips to Great Wolf Lodge a regular tradition in their families.  From what I'd heard, it didn't seem like a wonderful place to take a baby, so we'd avoided joining the throngs.  This year, however, our baby is no longer a baby, and with our next addition still incubating, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to visit.  What made it even better, is that this trip was a Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa Winters.  The kids were singing their praises the entire vacation.  

Great Wolf Lodge is both an indoor water park and a hotel.  As you might imagine, cameras and water parks aren't exactly the best combination, so photographic evidence of our experiences are limited.  

We arrived in the afternoon, changed into bathing suits, and immediately hit the water park.  Walking into the enormous, 82 degree water area took me right back to our time in humid Florida.  All the kids were anxious to try out the wave pool, and that proved to be a hit both days we were there.  

Aubree was nervous about going down the water slides, but after her first run, she was hooked.  Bryce was a willing participant and really enjoyed all the rides, especially the biggest and scariest (which he was just tall enough to go on).  By the end of our trip, it was great to see Aubree and Bryce enthusiastically running to go on rides together.

Thane, our fearless one, was furious that he wasn't tall enough to ride the most intense water slide.  He went on every other slide with gusto, however, and spent hours trying to teach himself how to swim in the wave pool.  The only thing that slowed him down at all was when he scraped his knee on day 2 and had to get a band-aid.  From then on, he was so worried that the waves would pull the band-aid off, that he kept one hand on his knee at all times!

We had dinner our first night in our hotel room, and after hours of water fun, everyone was starving!  We had a casual evening with popcorn and hot chocolate and trying unsuccessfully to find anything even remotely meaningful to watch on cable TV.  

Once Thane and Graham conked out, I took Aubree and Bryce down to story time.  Aubree was less than impressed, but Bryce declared it the best part of his day.  

The kids loved our hotel room.  It had a mini-room for them, with a bunk-bed and a cabin-like feel.  They were especially impressed with all the critters painted on the walls.  

 Oh, and they liked that they had their own TV as well, and they put that to good use the next morning.  

Soon we were off for our second day in the water park.  I spent my time with little G, while Mark and the big three went on water slide after water slide.  

 Graham really liked anything that could shoot water. 

Thoughts for next time... I think we will definitely go again, but not till our new baby is at least two.  I think I'll have a lot more fun when I'm not pregnant and can enjoy the water slides as well.  Finally, going with a group of friends would make it even more enjoyable.  So, who's in?

Thanks millions, Grandma and Grandpa Winters!  

Tiptoe Through The Tulips (but don't forget your coat)

Last Friday we decided to attempt a second visit to the famed Skagit Valley Tulip Festival a couple hours north of us.  Our first trip, a couple years ago, did not turn out well.  This time the weather forecast suggested the weather might be slightly more amenable.  

Do you know what happens when you trust weather forecasts?

An accident resulting in a six-mile back-up on our drive north caused our already long drive being maddeningly extended. 

We were also trying to coordinate meeting up with friends and Katie's family, which necessarily complicates matters when no one really knows exactly where we're supposed to be going.  

We first stopped at a little park hoping the kids could play with their friends and have a picnic lunch before heading off to see the tulips.  That's when we first began to distrust Mr. Weather App.  It's also where I realized Aubree had neglected to bring a jacket.  The wind was strong, biting, and frigid.  Our lunch kept trying to fly away.  Katie was supposed to meet us at the park, but her GPS took her... somewhere else.

Finally, we decided to head to Roozengaarde, one of the major tulip destinations.  After waiting in line to park, and waiting in line to pay, we finally made it into the gardens, which are indeed gorgeous.  

Thane LOVES getting his picture taken.

Aubree confiscated my camera and took boatloads of pictures of beautiful flowers.

A good indicator of how windy it was!

She also captured my side-kick (attached to my leg is how G spends a good portion of his time).

Finally, we managed to meet up with Katie and her family, and decided to trek out to the main tulip fields.  A major benefit of catching up with Katie, is that she happened to be wearing an extra jacket and graciously allowed Aubree to wear it.  Saved the day!  

As far as I'm concerned, the main reason for going to the tulip festival is to capture cute kid-in-tulip pictures.  We tried, but the cold and the wind made it tricky.

I'd made my kids all wear rain boots because the fields are known for being extraordinarily muddy.  Of course, this particular day they weren't too bad.  It was too bad that Graham's boots were slightly too big, and he didn't know how to walk in them well.  That meant he kept kicking them off or walking right out of them.  He managed to snag Piper's seat in their stroller for a while, which helped, but by the end of the day he needed to be carried more often than not.

Despite having Katie's jacket, pretty soon Aubree was begging, "Can't we just go hoooooome?"  My inner-whiner was saying the exact same thing, so we made a hasty retreat for the car.

I made the kids promise to remind me that in the future, we would only consider attending if the forecast called for sunny skies and 65+ degree weather!  I'm afraid I'll probably lose "legit Washingtonian" points for saying this, but... I'm afraid the effort just wasn't worth it!

Our trip wasn't totally unfruitful, though.  In addition to getting a few great pictures, all that time in the car resulted in some pretty fantastic conversations (one of the main reasons why we don't use a DVD player in the car - captive audience).  The kids and I talked in depth about all kinds of great things.  

At one point we started talking about college and the things you need to do to get into college.  That led to talking about how to pay for college, which eventually led to a discussion about scholarships.  We talked about different kinds of scholarships, and finally discussed private scholarships.  As an example, I explained to the kids, "Maybe Boeing offers a scholarship and a bunch of kids apply, but they only have a few to give out.  How do they choose who to give the scholarship to?  They consider grades, but they'll also look at other things you've done.  They might look at Aubree and notice she plays the violin and has been involved in orchestra.  They might look at Bryce and see that he's earned his Eagle Scout, and they'll have an idea of all that entails.  They might notice that Aubree has a heart for service, because she's been involved in helping out in many different areas..."  I continued on in this vein for a bit, suggesting ideas of ways of being of service, and additional items scholarship committees might consider.  

A few minutes later, however, I heard Bryce whimper crying behind me.  Surprised, I asked, "Bryce! What's wrong?!"

"It's just," he quivered, "I want to have a heart for service!"

Seriously, friends, my heart melted into a warm "maybe-we're-actually-doing-something-right-here" puddle.

"Oh, Bryce!," I assured him, "I was just using Aubree's name as an example.  You can have a heart for service too!"

"I can?!" he asked, relieved.  

Then I had a burst of inspiration.  "Actually," I told him, "you already do have a heart for service.  Every time you go to the store and you have your money with you, you always put some in the giving box.  You often pray for people who are sick or poor or need help.  You're always anxious to help out when the opportunity arises.  You'll have many additional opportunities to serve as you get older, but you definitely already have a heart for service."

Bryce beamed.

And from the far-back seat, Thane piped up, "I want to have a heart for service too!"

So... maybe it's worth a trip to the tulips again next year.

Mini Vacay: Portland

Since we're having a baby in early August, that means we won't be able to take a longer summer vacation.  Instead, I planned a series of mini vacations a little earlier in the year.  We just finished our first trip, an overnighter to Portland.

We took advantage of reciprocity benefits from our Pacific Science Center membership, and spent the afternoon of day 1 at the Portland Children's Museum.  We'd been to this museum once before, about three years ago, which ended up being both a help and a hindrance.  It helped Mark and I have a better idea of how much time to allot to each area, but Aubree remembered some of her favorite areas and was always in a hurry to move on to the next fun thing.  Graham was happy to follow her wherever she went, but Bryce and Thane (Bryce especially) preferred to take their time in each area. 

Aubree is just on the cusp of being too old for this museum, but she was great about sticking with Graham and playing with him as much as possible.  They're really great buddies. 

I definitely saw personality characteristics come to the surface on this outing.  As I mentioned, Bryce liked to get fully immersed in each area.  He was particularly drawn to engineering-type tasks.  He really enjoys figuring out how things work and designing, planning, and building things.  

When we ventured into the ubiquitous grocery store, Bryce quickly designated himself a "worker" and started putting the food left behind by other, less conscientious kids, back where they belonged.  

Speaking of being fully immersed, Thane loved the hands-on exhibits.  "Bury me!" he begged.  Thane is a little scientist.  He really thinks about all the things he hears and asks numerous follow-up questions.  He has an intense desire to understand what's going on around him.

Aubree loved the art and story-telling areas best.  She carefully designed a pinch pot in the clay room, and was eager to set it on the display table.  

Actually, all the kids loved the clay area...even when they added too much water and their clay turned to mud.

A new exhibit this time around was a circus area.  This was a pretty big hit all around.

Walking the tightrope:

What a strong man!

We left the Children's Museum shortly after 3pm and headed for our hotel.  The kids were eager to go swimming, and the hotel pool did not disappoint.  It was warm and relatively shallow, and all our little fish loved every single minute.

Once they were done swimming, we changed back to regular clothes and went out for dinner.  The Mexican restaurant right next to the hotel just happened to be having a Kid's Eat Free night.  Score!  All four kids got dinner for free, including an ice-cream cone.  I wish I could say it was great planning on my part, but really it was just tremendous luck.

The next morning we headed off on our final Portland adventure, a return visit to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).  We went last year and had such a great experience we were all eager to return.  And again, it did not disappoint.  We hit some of our favorite exhibits (such as the earthquake house), but were impressed with how much was totally new.  

Our kids are at a really great age.  We didn't need a stroller, and for the most part they stuck right with us and were enthusiastic, willing little scientists.  We had a couple melt downs (Thane), but that's just life.

Bryce experimenting with static electricity

Aubree showed off her musical skills when she found a pipe organ.

We stopped exploring briefly to have a picnic lunch in our car.

Complete with Jelly Belly trading posts as a conclusion.

Then we were right back to exploring.  That meant two days with no nap for Graham, but he handled it like a champ (and fell promptly asleep as soon as we started driving home).  Our last stop of the day was in the little kid science playground.  Aubree and Graham explored lots of different areas, but Bryce and Thane stayed in the sand pit until it was time for us to leave (and even then they were reluctant to go).  As you might expect, this lent itself to lots of sand in their hair, car seats, and later, their beds.  Still, so much fun.

As we were driving home, reflecting on every one's favorite vacation moments, my driver's side windshield wiper suddenly flew off!  Within a few moments, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour.  I put the remaining wiper on full speed, leaned over to Mark's side, and made our way to the nearest exit.  

Did I mention we were in the middle of nowhere?  Nearest WalMart? 69 miles.  Nearest auto parts store? 89 miles.  Excellent.

Mark is a genius, and had the brilliant idea to switch the passenger side wiper over to my side.  Then he took a baby wipe, wrapped it around the exposed end of the empty blade holder, and held it together with an elastic from Aubree's hair.  It worked great for the remaining two hours of our drive.  Nothing like ending a trip with a little excitement!

Easter Weekend

Have I mentioned before that we're spoiled?  We are.  We are blessed with great friends and family who go out of their way to create wonderful, memorable experiences for us.  

Friday afternoon, when Aubree got out of school, we headed up to Suncadia to spend a couple days with our good friend Ashlee and her family.  We hit horrendous traffic just outside of town, which left us wondering if we'd ever reach our destination, but eventually we arrived at the "cabin" of wonders. 

Despite not having seen each other for too many months, within moments the kids and their Frank friends were back to best buddy status and excitedly exploring their new surroundings (new for my kids, at least).   

After dinner, the kids all had a chance to decorate eggs (an activity I've neglected for a number of years now...).  The bigger kids got pretty creative with their painting.  All too soon it was time for the boys to go to bed.  Bryce surprised me by insisting he wanted to go to bed, but then explained, "I'm really tired because I couldn't sleep very well last night because I was so excited about coming up here!"

The next morning everyone was up early (yawn!), ready for a new day of excitement.  First, they went on a brief elk hunt, and were thrilled to see two.  Then we met up for a big Easter egg hunt.  As is typical, the organizers divided the kids into age groups.  Unfortunately, all four of my kids were in different age groups, and all the hunts ran simultaneously.  Aubree is more than capable of hunting without assistance, and Bryce had his buddy Maggie.

I stayed with Graham, and Bailey (a 13 year old boy of an Allred family friend who was also staying at the cabin) agreed to keep an eye out for Thane.  Bailey later told me that when the hunt began, Thane ran to an area with lots of eggs, threw himself on the ground, and started pulling eggs underneath him.  He came out with quite a haul!  I'm not at all surprised that my super competitive boy figured out such a strategy.  Of course, as soon as he opened up his eggs, he immediately started giving away his prizes.  He's equal parts competitive and generous.

Graham was in the 1-3 year old age group.  They had his hunt in a big corral.  Initially, Graham did great running out and picking up eggs, but then he stopped and stood frozen.  Confused, I looked around to see what had happened, and realized that Graham had noticed the huge Easter bunny just a few steps away.  Life size Easter bunnies are terrifying, let's be honest!  I distracted him, and he went back to picking up eggs, but only for a moment because as he bent down to grab an egg, the Easter bunny stepped backwards right on top of Graham.  After that, G was done.  Can't say I blame him.

No worries, though, once back at the cabin there was plenty to keep everyone occupied.  Let me just take a minute and say how impressed I was with Bailey.  He spent the entire weekend helping out wherever possible.  He was especially gentle and accommodating with the little kids. My boys adored him.   I kept threatening to adopt him.

Bailey playing peek-a-boo with Graham

 The first weekend of April means General Conference!  I brought a packet for each of my kids with coloring pages, puzzles, bingo, and (for A and B) places to take notes.  These packets were met with varying degrees of success. Conference Bingo is always a favorite activity, and the kids all took it very seriously this year.

Gracee and Aubree

 Bryce and Maggie decided to work together, and for a while they stood right in front of the TV waiting for certain topics to be mentioned.  Once they heard a key word, they'd race across the room to cross off a square.

There were a lot of kids, and lots of distractions, and lots of noise, however, so don't get the mistaken idea that we were able to watch in peace for four hours!

 

In the late afternoon, we made a short trek to the beautiful nearby park.  Bryce and Thane are in a "don't-take-my-picture" phase.  Can you tell?

I have to sneak pictures of Bryce when he's not looking!

 

 Bryce took his big brother role very seriously, and took Graham all over the play structure.  

We stayed in Suncadia until just after dinner, when we needed to head back home.  This departure did not go smoothly as no one wanted to leave.  Bryce declared, "I am NOT going back home.  I'm going to stay here forever!"  Even sweet Graham refused to get in the car.  Argh.

I didn't have much sympathy for them, because I knew more excitement waited for them back home; Katie and her family were staying the night with us in preparation for Easter.  Can you imagine the hubbub that occurred when we got home and Anna, Piper, and Dallin were here waiting for us?

Easter morning, Katie treated us to a Graff family Conference tradition - sour dough waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  Can you say Yum?!

I think Dallin had 4 plates full! (and stupid blogger insists on autocorrecting his red eyes)

Next we all hopped in the car to head over to Aunt Deanna's for more Easter festivities.  As always, Deanna put on an amazing egg hunt.  All of the kids had baskets full to overflowing.  After breakfast we attempted to watch the morning session of Conference.  Let's just say that 7 kids aren't very quiet.  However, what we did hear was simply phenomenal! 

Such a beautiful day to spend with family and remember the great Atoning sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that we are richly blessed and I am deeply grateful.