Family Time

Our family took a much needed day trip. It was hard coming up with something to do in our local area that would accomodate the young kids with the teenage kids and that would fit in our budget but we managed to pull off a fun day for everyone.

We started at the zoo in Idaho Falls. On the way there I joked with LeRoy that we were taking our zoo to the zoo and then I got pictures of my monkeys looking at the monkeys. Nathan especially liked the one that kept jumping on the window right next to him.

Nathan and Justin had fun walking among the goats and giving them mohawks. Hyrum loved all the animals, reaching for them and calling out to them "kitty", but once he went in with the goats he didn't seem too excited anymore. Nathan's favorite animal was the llama because of his favorite book "Llama, Llama, Red Pajama".

The last pictures we got of Levi and Erika at this zoo they had to stand on tippy toes to reach the lion water fountain. Nathan liked the animals that he could actually sit on but was a little warry of sitting on them by himself.

Then it was time to go to the big kid activity. With our tickets for the derby cars we also got tokens for the arcade. It was funny to see every one of the kids spend their tokens on the driving games instead of all the others that were there. Nathan was in heaven with a "huge car to drive".

Then it was time for the derby races. Justin wasn't tall enough for the big track (which I was so thankful for!) so he had his own race with a bunch of other kids. Derek, Erika, Levi and LeRoy all went on the big track and I had a hard time watching. They aren't supposed to run into each other but at the speeds they are going and the turns in the track it is part of the race. With the exception of Derek's accident which stopped the whole race for about 5 minutes, they all had fun. I have a hard time watching my kids do something that has so much potential for injury but they all had a good time together and that is what matters.

If you watch this video you get an idea for how loud it was, which really bothered Nathan at first, and at the end of it you can see how LeRoy ran into Levi going around the corner. Derek came flying around this same corner at full speed and did not even make the turn but instead ran into the side wall. We think he got confused with the gas and brake pedals which caused him to smack into the wall at full speed. As soon as he hit the wall his body was thrown forward, then lashed back and he was out cold. His eyes were open but he wouldn't move or respond to the guy on duty or to me. It took a couple of minutes to figure out what had happened and he seemed to be in a bit of shock. Once he was responsive again I wanted him to get off the track but he wanted to finish and LeRoy thought it wasn't that big of a deal so he stayed. He did spend the rest of the race at the edge of the track going quite slow and he let everyone pass him for the rest of the race. After he walked off the track and I asked him if he was ok (because he still looked like he was in a bit of a daze) he started to cry. He was trying to be a tough kid but it scared him pretty bad and he had seatbelt bruises from it. I'm not sure he will do that one again for a while which would be fine with me!

After we got home we colored eggs. To understand the value of this family activity you need to know that I have never colored eggs in my whole life. In 18 years we have never done it in our family. LeRoy stopped at the store to pick up eggs and coloring kits, the kids and I prepped the kitchen for the 'art project' (as they called it) and we had a fun time. It was fun to see the kids help each other out and share ideas.

Nathan's Birthday

The search for Nathan's birthday cake began on Hyrum's birthday when Nathan picked the cake for Hyrum: Strawberry. We made it together. He helped me wash and cut the strawberries, mix and bake the cake, plop dollops of glaze, crumbled cake and strawberries in layers and he even chose the strawberry ice cream to go with it. When it came time to eat the cake Nathan left the cake, glaze and ice cream in his bowl and only ate the strawberries.

I was stumped. What kind of birthday cake can you make for a kid who doesn't like cake, or many sweets at all for that matter? I would have given up on the cake tradition altogether if he hadn't kept asking when we would make his birthday cake. Everyone gets birthday cake on their birthday and even at 3 he understood that. But what kind of cake would Nathan eat? The search began and this is what I found:

It even has 3 candles on it for his 3rd birthday!

When I showed it to Nathan his comment was: "it yooks yummy! Let's make it right now".

Ok - all of you that are dying at the fact that I would give my kid broccoli for his birthday, I didn't. Instead, I decided to try fruit pizza.

You should have seen his excitement, and his snitching, as I washed and cut all that fruit! And he was thrilled with the Tigger, Pooh and Honey Pot candles (excited enough to pack them around for the 4 days following his birthday). So when it came time to eat the cake Nathan quietly ate one bite and then proceeded to pick all the fruit off leaving a bare, creamy cookie behind. Still not a 100% winner for Nathan. Maybe I should have gone with the broccoli.

The cake may have fallen short of his birthday expectations but his gift did not. Winner all the way! It is still being worn, packed around, flown in, and it is soooo very dirty!

During the Saturday afternoon session of conference I locked myself in the guestroom with a radio, my sewing machine, fabric and a picture from the internet that I intended to transform into a 3 year old dream. This was my picture:

To explain a little, Nathan is hooked on Greatest American Hero. Not many people remember it because it ran from 1981 to 1983 and most of our our friends are enough younger than we are that they have no idea who the superhero Ralph is. Well Nathan knows. He checks the mail every day watching for the next Netflix envelope that he hopes will have Ralph in it. He cries when it is time to send the Netflix envelope back with Ralph in it. He is the only one who can carry the Netflix envelope with Ralph in it. It really is insane.

While I was in Peru he was staying at a friends house for the day and he kept telling her that he wanted to watch Ralph. She named all the kids shows she could think of and none of them were right. He finally went to her video cabinet and pulled down the 1st season of the Greatest American Hero and said again "I want to watch Ralph". I couldn't believe his good fortune. How many people even own the show? So as I thought of what to do for Nathan for his birthday, the only thing that came to mind was to take his imagination to the next level and make it real.

This is the result:

100% WINNER! For the past month he was been putting on and wearing his imaginary suit and saving it in it's imaginary case so actually seeing and wearing it must have seemed so wonderful! He kept rubbing the belt and touching the cape almost in disbelief that he really had a visible suit to wear. It didn't take him long to realize that it was real and it was his to keep. The bribing and persuading we had to do to get him to come from flying was beyond crazy.

That suit has changed his walk. When he has it on he not only struts like a really cool 3 year old but he has this shoulder action that goes with it, similar to swaying hips but with his shoulders. What confidence it has given this quiet little man!

Maybe a little too much confidence . . .

I was washing Hyrum up after his cake (of which he ate every bite!) and when I finished I glanced into the back yard and Nathan wasn't there anymore. I looked around to the side of the house and couldn't find him. I went to the front of the house and he was 3 houses away flying down the street ! Once I caught up with him I asked what he was doing and his very matter-of-fact reply was, "I'm saving the world!". We went clear around the block, stopping to show his "suit" to his friend Camden and many of the neighbors that were outside. It was a great first day flying and he hasn't stopped since.

He still packs around the black shoe box that it was wrapped in and he changes in and out of his suit several times a day, just like Ralph does in each episode. He always puts it in the box in the same order: cape, pants, shirt, belt. It sits by his bed at night, it sits on the table while he eats, it goes in the Yukon with us while we run errands, it almost went to church with us. I think he likes it!

Happy Birthday my little superhero!

Quality Time

I love it when they hang out together!

Happy (late) Birthday Hyrum!

I thought about Hyrum's birth day for nearly a week. That rough pregnancy together, his labor and delivery, our first glimpses of each other, his newborn smell and cry, spending every night for the next 2 months sleeping on the couch with him on my chest, swaddling him, cuddling together trying to hide from the rest of the world as I attempted to hold onto the peace that emanated from him, the hardships surrounding his birth and the joy that came from it.

Hyrum's birthday was 2 weeks ago and other than the week long trip down my memory lane, we didn't do much. LeRoy and I realized about 6pm that we didn't even get him a birthday present. On his way home LeRoy picked up a birthday balloon for him, at my suggestion. Since he loves balloons I figured that was a good idea, even though I didn't even go to the effort to pick it up. Uh, yeah, he looks thrilled with his balloon!

You can see the concentration and intense effort going into opening his gift from Grandma.

He loves his book!

I gave my little boy a pink cake, and didn't even bother taking a picture of it. There was good reason for the pink cake (Nathan's help) but no excuse for lack of pictures. Hyrum's part of the cake was frosted with chocolate frosting for ultimate 1st birthday mess. What was I thinking? On his first birthday I present him with enough sugar to kill a small elephant, especially one who has never had sugar. Luckily, he only used the frosting for body paint and ate so little of the cake that it wasn't really worth making. Of course, his happy mess what worth witnessing so a little sugar couldn't have been all bad.

I love Hyrum!

I love his name

I love the way he jumps up and down in his bed in excitement when I walk into his room

I love his toothy smile that brightens up his eyes

I love his excitement for little things, like splashing in dripping water

I love the way he leans his head into me signalling his desire for more hugs

I love his chubby arms and thighs

I love his little pinky finger that has no fingernail

I love his enjoyment of books, both for eating and reading

I love the sky blue color of his eyes and his outie belly button

I love the way he throws his head back when he laughs

I love the way he emphatically throws his food on the floor when he is done eating, even though it makes a big mess

I love his orange food face, proof of his love of minetrone soup, lasagna, and spaghetti

I love the way he covers his head with his blanket and giggles when I put him in bed

I love the times that he lets me hold him for his bottle, setting his independence aside just for a moment

I love the way he sticks his lower lip out and whimpers, squeezing out alligator tears, when he doesn't get his own way

I love how he pulls his socks off with his teeth

I love my baby Hyrum!

Joy and Sorrow

The past three days I have watched Levi feel, see and share more emotion and spiritual growth than ever before in his short 17 years. Watching him develop through these rather grown up experiences has left me in awe at the wonderful spirit that he is. Truly a choice son of God.

JOY . . . and my sorrow

Monday evening he picked up the missionaries serving in our area and went with them to two appointments. They weren't just member families that were being encouraged to share the gospel with others, both appointments were with investigating families and one of the individuals they taught is being baptized on Friday. As we had family home evening at home without him it seemed so odd. We are used to having extras at family home evening, usually Levi's friends. I was a little choked up as Derek said the opening prayer for family home evening and blessed Levi that he would be safe while out with the missionaries. It won't be too much longer (ok, 2 years, but that seems like such a short time!) before he is actually on a mission and that prayer will be offered daily.

When he returned home his countenance was different. He left as a teenager and returned as a witness of Christ having shared his testimony with someone gaining their own testimony. The influence of the Elders, the Priesthood, and the Holy Ghost had all left it's mark on him as truth was testified. He seemed to just float through the room as he came to give me a hug. My little boy had the presence of royalty, a worthy son of God. My heart was bursting with joy to see him through spiritual eyes, yet my heart had pangs of sadness admitting that he will in fact leave home, go on a mission, marry, and live a full life without checking in with me every night to give me a hug and tell me he loves me.

Tuesday morning he had come down from his missionary high a bit, spiked his hair before school and resumed his teenager life but I have no doubt that when he questions whether or not to serve a mission it will be moments like these will make that decision easier.

SORROW . . . and eternal joy

Tuesday afternoon came with a new lesson. Levi spent the evening lending support to a close friend as she and her family gathered with family and friends to let their 15 year old son and brother pass from the pains of this life. Brayden wasn't just Caytlyn's brother, but a good friend of Levi's as well. They have joked around, watched movies, eaten meals, and had family time together.

The evening was light hearted, full of home videos, jokes and stories but with the underlying knowledge that this was the end of Brayden's journey here on earth. Levi came home late and we sat talking for a while with the rest of the house sound asleep.

Wednesday morning started like any other: gearing up for school, work and another day, but Levi had left his backpack in Caytlyn's car. He drove to her house to get it and called me minutes later wondering if he could skip school and stay with the family. They once again had close friends around them and it was clear that Brayden would not make it through the day.

Levi came home around 3:00 to switch vehicles with me and tried to sneak in the door without being noticed. I was watching for him so I followed him down to his room. He was already in tears as he turned to me in a hug and just wept. Sitting on the floor, I held my son longer today than I have since he was probably six. He was overflowing with emotion having witnessed a friend leave this life, struggling for breathe as his very weak body let go of the fight. As I listened to Levi express his intimate thoughts I realized that what he experienced today was a better lesson on the plan of salvation and eternal families than any lessons he has heard in primary, seminary, or family home evening. He witnessed a close family sharing their love and saying goodbye with the firm assurance that it is only a temporary goodbye and then sharing their tears with them as they felt their loss even having that firm testimony in God's plan. So much sorrow for today, so much joy for eternity.

I received the call earlier in the day that my Grandma had also passed away this morning. It wouldn't have been such a surprise a few months ago when she was in the hospital but today it completely caught me off guard. I cried mostly for my mom. I couldn't help but be a little happy for Grandma, she gets to be with Grandpa! Once again I thought of the sorrow in this day, but the joy that comes eternally.

Picky Eaters

Nathan feels that he needs to choose his own breakfast

and have it presented the way he chooses

and even if there is sugary cold cereal on the table it is not guaranteed that he will eat it. He may be in the mood for peas, even for breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyrum rarely puts up with cold cereal and has to be in the right mood to nibble french toast or pancakes before tossing it all to the floor.

His absolute favorite (eat it every day kind of favorite) is minestrone soup. Actually any kind of beans will do: garbanzo, green, black, pinto, white - and his follow up favorites are carrots and potatoes. Unlike Nathan, he refuses peas!

Ahhh, soup! Mmmm, Mmmm Good!

In the yellow pages . . .

One of LeRoy's mission companions called today (he also lives in Rexburg) and teased LeRoy about being a chiropractor. We were a bit confused until he told us to look in the Madison phone book yellow pages. Sure enough, there we are.

So if electrical work doesn't pick up soon around here . . .

We have been very concerned about work since it started to really slow down last November. We currently have no jobs lined up, all the contractors that we have worked with are out of work as well and most of them have filed for seasonal unemployment. We have also had to lay off 3 of our 4 guys, which was very hard as employers and also their friends, knowing that no one else is hiring. LeRoy (and one apprentice) just go on faith from day to day hoping that small repairs come in, and so far they have.

Our Relief Society lesson today was taken from Elder Wirthlin, "Come What May, and Love It" and one of his suggestions was to "learn to laugh". We've been so stressed about work that I even thought during class, "how to we just laugh at this?". Well, the answer is in the yellow pages. It doesn't fix anything but it did give us a laugh.

I know that things will work out (in all of our struggles, not just the finances):

somehow

eventually

and for our best good.

"Come What May, and Love It"

Ensign, November 2008, pg 26

"How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? Don't . . suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. Don't . . smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it. As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspecitve, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, "Come what may, and love it."

Track Meet - Pocatello

Jo and Mo (aka Erika and Whitney)
Just finished her final race.

Erika's first track meet for this year was held in Pocatello. LeRoy and I, along with Nathan and Hyrum, spent the afternoon hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa while waiting for Erika's races. It was such a perfect day to be outside! We didn't need jackets, there was only a slight breeze, and there wasn't any mud around us.

Erika did great! The coach put her in 2 relays so she was only able to do 1 individual race. She was a little frustrated with her time on her individual race because it was 2 seconds longer than what she had been running all week long in practice, which put her in 3rd place in her heat. The disadvantage today was that she ran the relay and only had 1 race between her relay and her individual to catch her breath. Still, a great start to the track season!

Nathan sure adores his Grandpa!

These two didn't sit still for very long! They rolled down the hill, raced up the hill, did circles around the fence post, went up and down the bleacher steps and did steps and jumps on the concrete edge along the field. What a workout!

Peru - Details

The Women The typical women's clothing that we saw all around Cusco, Aquas Calientes, and the surrounding areas. It was so hot outside and they were layered in these thick woven clothes with hats and the huge blankets on their backs carrying a full load.

Our guide introduced us to this young lady (27 years old) and she showed us how to weave. I wondered how many hours she spends sitting there on that hard spot of ground in those hot clothes weaving away under her hat. I was a little embarrassed as the guide spoke to her, then took her hat and told me to get in the picture and put her hat on my head. I felt so invasive of her space but she just smiled and continued weaving.

Roads

In Lima Kellie pointed out that there are only the lanes, then the sidewalks. There is no such thing as a shoulder at the side. Then in Cusco we saw that there aren't even marked lanes just cobblestone, brick and dirt, and barely wide enough for 2 small vehicles to pass each other. We saw one travel bus coming down the road and had to back up because there wasn't room to pass each other.

In Cusco the front doors to shops and homes run right along those narrow roads. It was all a bit too crowded for my taste.

I had been mentally preparing all week long for the road up to Machu Picchu . I had heard that it is pretty scary and I don't do so well with those kinds of roads, but I was willing to do it for the view at the top. I have to say that I was more scared on the streets of Cusco than taking the bus up the switchbacks to Machu Pucchu. In this picture you can see the switchbacks all the way up the mountain .

There was so much vegetation all the way up the mountain that only a couple of times could I see all the way down the valley. And even though the buses seemed to just barely have enough room on the road, I felt rather safe.

Food
The food could be almost as scary as the traffic. Not really, but mealtimes did bring a few surprises. My favorite food experience of the whole trip was the first "Pina Frozen" that I had. They make these really great slush drinks with real fruit (not some reconstituted, sugared up fruit juice) and ice and I tried a pina frozen at 4 different places. The first one was by far the best. Levi tried a Strawberry Frozen which was also very delicious.

Fear Factor Food:

This is Levi enjoying his first cuy (guinea pig).

I love Jeremy's expression in the background

The presentation is lacking, bordering disgusting and tactless. Notice the full head with teeth, eyes, and yes, even the brain, as well as the claws reaching out in 'please don't eat me' begging. I really had to focus on my own plate while Levi picked away at his (gag) lunch. Even with the gross display, Levi and Shawn both claim that the meat is good.


So now that you've seen the worst of it the rest won't seem so bad. The only time I nearly gagged was when I was getting ready to eat what I thought was Spanish rice with chicken only to discover that one of the pieces of 'chicken' had antennas. In looking a little closer I realized it was snail and quickly had to squelch that gagging feeling in my throat. One of the other pieces of 'chicken' looked more like a hairless caterpillar, so I passed that up too. I had been brave during the past 3 days to try new things but this was pushing it. Levi on the other hand ate all the meat that came with my rice . . yup, snail and some other wormy creature.

This is the restaurant where I had my snail meal. The rest of the food was very good but the building and scenery were even better. It was a gorgeous setting and was so relaxing and the bathroom even had toilet paper in it!

The main dining hall at the restaurant

So here is the rundown:

Kimberly:

Cow heart - I'm not a red meat fan to begin with so I wasn't too impressed but it tasted like steak.

Alpaca meat (from the llama family) - even though I had held a 1 month old alpaca earlier in the day, (pictured above) I gave it a try and it wasn't bad. A little like pork but less fatty, more tender.

Lamb - delicious, probably my new favorite meat (that I have no idea where to buy or how to prepare).

Levi: Alpaca, cow heart, lamb, snail & wormy thing, ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juice), and the gross looking cuy (guinea pig)

Levi wins the travelers stomach award!

Considering we both had rather sick bowels for about 4 days I don't know what we really won other than bragging rights.

Our Hotel in Cusco

These are a a couple of pictures of the hotel we stayed at in Cusco.

As we entered the front door from the very narrow street I was a little concerned but once we walked into the courtyard I was in awe at the beauty of it. I couldn't believe that such a beautiful flower garden could be growing in the middle of such a dirty, congested, rocky area. the balcony seemed a little rickety and the room was less than comfortable (especially with the 2 hobo looking spiders that were snuggled in my towel as well as the grime on the floor that prompted me to always have socks on) but it was better than camping. I wasn't expecting the Marriott - good thing! After driving for 2 days and seeing what all of the citizens of Peru were living in I was thankful for our simple hotels to stay in.

Other Housing

These are a couple of shots of the Inca village that we visited (where Guinea Pig Love came from that Shawn so eloquently shared with us :)

These waterways run through several of the walkways in the village and at one place we saw a woman washing her laundry in it. Even though it looked a little cleaner than the murky brown water I had seen in the river, I still wondered how clean it could really be and hoped that it wasn't their drinking water. I was grateful at this point to have my bottled water.

The cutest little girl in all of Peru!

Andie was my occasional tag-a-long during the trip. She would sit by me, cuddle up with me, giggle with me. Just what a mommy missing her own 3 year old needed! What an infectious smile!

Wacky Wednesday

As part of Dr. Suess week, the elementary school had Wacky Wednesday. Since I was out of the country, Erika helped Justin put an outfit together.

Wacky indeed! The hair does look like something out of a Suess book.