July Fourth - Four Year Old Beau

Last week we celebrated the Fourth of July and Beau's fourth birthday...and we were lucky enough to do so with grandparents. We have lived in New Mexico for seven years now and I cannot imagine enjoying Independence day in a place without fireworks. I know many places in NM banned fireworks this year because of fire danger, but luckily the folks in Hidalgo county realize that there's nothin' much to burn down there (at least nothing worth cancelling their annual show)...so we decided to head down to Lordsburg for the Fourth, celebrate Beau's birthday in Sierra Vista, and then enjoy church in Safford where Dave and Stacy Hartman blessed their third baby girl.
My mom was seriously desperate to get my dad to relax and enjoy the holiday, so she took him to Lordsburg to enjoy the festivities with us. We also got to enjoy the company of Rus's sister Emilee and her husband Chip. The food was good and the fireworks were great, but the company was the real treat. (Or maybe Louise's caramel popcorn was the real treat...mmm). Emilee is a recent graduate of cosmetology school and she applied her expertise (and lots of hair product) to my mom's hair. My mom is not one to be afraid of schooling the Faux.

Rus and his dad caught wind of my dad wanting to buy a gun, so they loaded up the armory and took him shooting so he could get a feel for what kind of gun he wanted. My dad has never owned a gun, probably because there are people in this world like Rus's dad, who have owned or still own every good piece ever made. Luckily they had nothing to say to each other at this point because it's hard enough for two semi-deaf people to have a conversation...throw in sound protection and you'd better know how to read lips...

Lucky you...you get a true glimpse into my corny personality...How do you throw skeet?

We had planned to take the kids swimming at the city pool but it was surprisingly overcast all day and cooler than normal. We set up a slip-n-slide instead.

I've already shown you how Marianne and her dad share a special gene that allows them to suffocate themselves with their upper lips...turns out Emilee and Roger share that trait...too bad Marianne wasn't feeling like joining in the fun. I think she was too busy wondering why all those people looked so goofy.

 We headed to the fireworks show at dusk and parked on a dirt lot with a front row seats for the show and the newly acquired Lordsburg Fire Department ladder truck. Of course Rus's dad knew the man in charge of the fire truck, so he let us and our kids over to get a peek inside.

The kids got restless for fireworks so Rus and his dad and my dad set off a few of their own. I was worried that Marianne would hate the noise but she didn't - it startled her but then she seemed to love the lights and colors.
Here's a picture I love of Bekah enjoying her sparkler.

 Before we left on Thursday, Nana took time to help Jacob make a blanket with an octopus on it...

 And blanket-capes for Bekah's latest fixation - her little cat and elephant stuffed animals. Nana is so awesome!

Fastforward to Friday - Beau's birthday. He decided to go see a movie at the theater instead of going swimming, so we saw Madagascar 3. He also wanted a transformer cake and so I decided to make pound cakes from a mix and then cut the finished loaves into cubes so he could build his own. (If you're thinking I'm lazy, you're right...) It would have worked out perfectly, too, if I had remembered to add the eggs. Ugg. He didn't seem to mind too much though.

For his birthday he got some money from Nana that he bought four little transformer toys with, an Imaginext dinosaur from Cutesy, and a Trio set and Blocko set from Rus and I. I think he made out like a bandit.

Another great thing about being four is that Beau can finally be done wearing his braces at night! We've really been slacking the last six months just making him wear them every other night (or every other other night), so to be totally done is a very happy thing! Here he is on the last night he had to wear them...doesn't he look happy!

On Saturday we decided to take a hike up in Ramsey Canyon. After lots of whining from my kids I finally turned to my dad for reassurance and said, "we all whined a ton when we were little and we turned out okay, right?" He just chuckled. I don't know what that means. We didn't whine? Unlikely. We didn't turn out okay? Hmm...Here are some pics from the hike:
I think Rus was saying, "Take it quick, I can't suck in my gut much longer."

And here is an attempt to get a picture of the crazy people that rule my life. They're loud and crazy and dramatic...and all mine. Forever.

The end.
P.S. We had a great time at the baby blessing but unfortunately didn't take any pictures. But it was great to visit and eat. And Marianne had a crush on Rus's buddy Clint during church. I kid you not, that child leaped onto Clint's lap at least a half a dozen times, a totally unnatural thing for her to do to anyone but me and Rus. It was awesome.

Summer Academy Fun

Side note: We ran into Big Mama's previous owner at Sams club today. He said, "I saw the Big Blue Thing in the parking lot...it looks dirty." I fumbled over the small lie that we'd been to Edgewood (implying dirt roads)...it's true, although that was weeks ago. I didn't want to admit that the thought of washing it hadn't even crossed my mind. He told me that he used to spend a half a morning giving it a thorough washing...I offered to let him take it and wash it for me next time he had a morning off, but he just laughed and said that it was my and my husband's responsibility now. Shucks...
I just finished up my color class today. What's that? Well...a couple of women in my ward had the inspired idea to start a summer academy for kids ages 5-13. Each person who wants to be involved has to teach at least one five hour class (spread out however you want it). In return your children get to take up to three classes of their choice.
Awesome, huh. Bekah has already taken a ceramics class and an oceanography/astronomy class. Jacob has learned about Indian culture (which involved some fun hiking in the foothills), and is currently taking a hands-on-science class where he just dissected an owl pellet. The things I loathed in school, he is doing for fun. He'll be taking a weather class in a couple of weeks, and Bekah will be doing backyard art. Again, I can't say how cool this whole set-up is.
I decided to teach two classes, with Rus's help. I suckered him into doing a full day adventure with me (five hours right there); we took a ten kids to El Malpais to learn about volcanoes and hike on Lava Falls. It was really fun and hot and Jacob was almost driven looney-bin-crazy by the numerous horse flies we encountered.

Here is our group:

The landscape is surreal; I was amazed that anything could grow there. Here is Bekah at the entrance to a natural amphitheater.
 

Then this past week I taught a Color class, all about learning the basics of the color wheel through different mediums. I had ten kids in my class, ages five through eight, and I taught them about primary colors, secondary colors, and complimentary colors. We used acrylic paints, watercolors, oil pastels, and food coloring. It was really fun and a really good trial experience for me. We mixed colors with tempera paint, made color wheels, made color wheel geckos, painted color wheel cookies, did watercolor paintings with droppers (dropped colors on wet paper and watched them blend together), experimented with wet-erase markers on coffee filters (the colors dilute in water to show the colors they're made from), made collages with our painted papers, made edible play-dough cookies, made complimentary color crayons (by melting crayons together in the oven in a mini muffin tin), and sorted colored objects to where they belonged on the color wheel.
I learned that a gallon-sized paint bucket of tempera paint in each of the primary colors is way more than enough, kids love doing watercolor with droppers, that I should specify not to use their feet to paint with, even when I say "anything goes," that tempera paint washes out of clothes but stucco is a little trickier, and that making a collage out of previously painted papers can be pretty daunting for a lot of kids. I think everyone had a good time, although I wouldn't be surprised if their favorite part of the class was "skating" with their socks on our newly laid wood floor.

Here are some pictures of the color experience:
I think cousin Allie was the first one to start painting with her feet...and then her legs. They look pretty awesome, huh...

On second thought it could have been Bekah who instigated the "let's-get-super-dirty" painting technique.

 The whole gang painting

...once again I must say that "washable" doesn't mean washable on concrete or stucco. My front porch is now tattooed with foot prints, brightly colored footprints. I think I should be mad at myself for letting that happen...but I'm not. As for the handprint on the stucco...you do see what an ugly color of stucco that is, right? The handprints kind of improve it.

Here is Jacob with his color-wheel painted cookie. This was a really fun part that the kids loved. I used a corn syrup-water-food coloring mixture that they painted on like watercolors.

And that is all. Now I can just sit and read a book, right? ;)

Marianne a la Stitch

I happen to know that stairs are dangerous. So are knives and matches. I'm even aware of how toilet lids and grown-up chairs can tip and cause misery. I'm cautious of Marianne around the fireplace because it's made of brick and stucco. I know she's top heavy because her head is so big.
*Sigh*
What I did not think about was how if she was standing at the open dishwasher and then she decided to hold a utensil with both hands, she might lose her balance and her face might hit the lip of the dishwasher before her bum hit the ground. I feel slightly betrayed by my dishwasher...I think I know a little more how Beau felt when the toilet lid fell on him while he was peeing. Ouch. (Sorry for the visual).

So, blood, tears, text messages to Rus and Doug (Nurse) and Tom (P.A.), and a waffle later (it was breakfast time), we headed to the E.R. The kids tagged along because other people had plans (no hard feelings there - so did I as a matter of fact), and couldn't watch them, but they enjoyed it as the grand adventure it really wasn't and loved their little inside peek behind the scenes at a miraculously sleepy ER. Rus came and picked them up before they got to witness the shots (screaming), and stitching (screaming), and glue (screaming). Sufficeth to say Marianne and Nurse Francine did not hit it off. Francine took this a little hard. So Marianne is now the proud owner of one (exactly one), stitch and some Dermabond that I was advised to, "not let it get wet." Ha. Francine might have chuckled as she delivered that directive.
All in all I am happy to report that Marianne is her happy, exploring self. She has been great and doesn't seem to mind her fat lip with a string hanging off it and glue stuck to it. (That would totally bug me, I'd be licking my lips all the time, too.) Here's a photo shoot of the happy, though slightly mangled Bug. Sorry I don't have a before pic. I think all these photos do is emphasize her chubbiness...

Funny...

Please excuse me as I record some things my kids said that I thought were hilarious/wise, but you probably won't...

A few days ago we drove passed a home that had burned down (well the insides had burned but the shell remained), as a result of dad+car+garage+chemicals. No one was injured, thankfully, and my kids were super excited to see the remains. As we rubber-necked pass the house we saw a few people out in front of the house loading some things on a trailer. One of them was a man, and Bekah said, "That must be the dad. He looks disappointed. In himself." Ah! So wise and blunt.

Beau lately has been having a problem getting to the bathroom on time. I am getting really really really really really really sick of discovering him with damp shorts. A few days ago I saw him, with wet shorts of course, and asked if he had peed. He said no, and so I asked why he smelled like pee.  He said, (without a care in the world), "Uh...it must be the trees." Right.

I am learning that Bekah and Beau are two peas in a pod. They are passionate and dramatic, which does not bode well for calm and quiet. One day they were both melting down over various things and I was feeling a little exasperated. Jacob just stood off to the side quietly and said, "Mom, you know why I'm not throwing a fit? Because I knew you needed me not to." Heavenly Father gave me Jacob to balance out Bekah and Beau, I am sure of it. He is quite often my sanity-keeper.

He said something else funny while we were riding bikes. Our neighborhood is super hilly and in all honesty even a mile ride can be pretty tiring. There is one final hill before our home and it's probably the biggest one of all. Jacob was walking his bike up the hill and he said, in frustration, "If this was a downhill I'd be up there already!" So true, so true. Me too.

Rus the Dad

(Younger Rus and Keri, baby #1 due any day)

Rus always says he was trying for a teen pregnancy when he married me. He jests...I might have been a newly-wed nineteen-year-old, but twenty was only a few months away and babies take longer to cook than that. I still remember his reaction when I told him I was pregnant - I now realize he was in shock, but at the time his lukewarm enthusiasm was confusing. I didn't know that his first thoughts would be about how he would support our young family - a crushing responsibility when you're years away from starting a career. But...I knew how much he wanted to be a dad, and I knew what a great dad he would be.
And I was right.
Almost eight years ago Rus became a brand new daddy. Here he is, only a day into Dad-hood with baby Bekah. Just look at that swaddle.

Already the love of my life, it turned out that Rus-the-Dad was even more fun than I could imagine. He was the instant swaddle-pro, the baby shusher, the champion of late night poopy diapers. Rus-pre-daddy was a great napper, but Rus-the-Dad was a baby whisperer who loved (and still loves) nothing more than napping with a sleeping baby on his chest. He got this rocking chair/recliner for Father's day right before I had Bekah, and he's napped with babies in it ever since.

And Rus didn't just tiptoe into the great pool of father-hood - he dove...He was the baby backpack dad, the "let's take this little girl four wheeling/hiking - she'll love it" dad.

(Rus and Bekah with Clint and Marcy going to a Diamondbacks Game. Bekah was only a few weeks old - notice the chicken legs.)

(Rus on a hike with Bekah, sorry, rotate your head)

He was the first person to make Bekah laugh, a fact that still irks me a little bit. :)
And then came Jacob

And Beau

And now Marianne.

Some things I love about how Rus is a dad:
He loves to pay the kids quarters for foot massages.
He loves to wrestle with the boys. It's becoming more of a workout - Beau is rough.
He is selling his motorcycle so he can buy a vehicle like a baja bug to take his kids out in - how cool is that.
He calls Bekah "Pumpkin," Marianne "Buggy," and the boys "Buddy."
He gets a kick out of Marianne smiling at him. It makes him giddy.
He already has plans for a shotgun for Bekah's 16th birthday (or was it 13th? 12th?)
He also has plans for the kids' vehicle - a bug, because it can't go over 65mph, it's small so lots of kids can't ride in it, and it's easy to fix
He is always willing and worthy to give his kids priesthood blessings.
Happy Father's Day, Rus! Thank you for being a great dad and a great example.

Summer - Good Bad Ugly

 It is officially summer here, no matter what the calendar says. School has been out for a few weeks and already we have had an epic day at the zoo (see previous post), picked cherries from a friend's tree and made a yummy cherry pie, gone bowling with Payne cousins (of Joy and Jason Inc.), established (and lost) a morning routine of riding bikes (Marianne hated it - she has a thing with being buckled anywhere and the other kids fell out of love with all the hills in our neighborhood), and last but not least we discovered a water leak behind our fridge and had to tear up a good portion of our newly laid flooring. The hose that attaches to the fridge and supplies the water for the icemaker was apparently leaking ever since we hooked it back up after we laid the flooring the first time. Thankfully the moisture barrier saved almost all of the flooring; we only had to replace about 15 boards. The floor was wet from the fridge out all the way around both sides of the island and back into the hall between the kitchen and dining room. Wood floors are laid out like a jigsaw puzzle though, so we had to tear the floor out all the way back to the front window just to be able to access all the flooring in the hallway. Major Ug. Just what Rus and I wanted to do on a Saturday afternoon. But we did it. We fixed it. We still like each other. It could have been so much worse. As it was it almost qualified a as a date - Rus took me (and the kids) out for dinner and after Marianne went to bed we got to stay up for several hours and have meaningful conversation (while we worked)...we even had some pie for dessert.

So just to recap:

Here is the "good" of the summer (not the only good, just the only good I have a picture of):

 the "bad"

see the hose culprit?

 not just a little wet - soaking wet

 below: the newly laid moisture barrier

 below: our kitchen floors on vacation in our backyard to dry out. Yes there was an order to all that.

and the "ugly"

(Tom, Rus, and Jake about to head out on a motorcycle trip)

Here's to nine more weeks of summer!

Memorable Memorial Day with the Paynes

We were fortunate to spend Memorial day with cousins at the zoo. All the Payne cousins. It was awesome watching Grandpa's eyes flick back and forth over the rims of his sunglasses, sweeping the perimeter every ten seconds to make sure we hadn't lost anyone. Then he and Nana came up with a better containment plan: Grandpa leads (and no one passes), Nana stays at the back (and no one is left behind). It worked beautifully. You might call him paranoid, but you just try taking fourteen kids under the age of eleven to the zoo. Four three-year-olds can put anyone on high alert. And then there's all their parents. ;)
Abi, Claire and Calvin enjoyed telling us about how polar bears really act - they know, they live in Alaska. Turns out polar bears are just giant racoons who love trash heaps. Emma showed off her monkey skills and proved again that she really can climb anything.

When we stopped for a snack break Katie taught us some true Eskimo games. One was to kick someone's hand and then land only on the foot you kicked with. Jake helped Rus try this one out. Oh how this picture makes me laugh. Every time.

Then Rus tried it by himself. Yep. That's my hot ninja husband right there. I don't think he actually kicked her hand, but he didn't throw his back out or pull any muscles, either. Win-win.

Right before lunch we took the little zoo train around the zoo's backside. They sell it as a "behind the scenes" look, but really it's just a lot of dumpsters and walls. The kids liked it, though. Before we got on the train we had the kids all line up, oldest to youngest. The only ones missing were Spencer and Marianne. I didn't notice Rus and Jake in the background until I put the picture on the blog...again they make me laugh.

After the train we headed out of the zoo. The kids were all over the place and Rus and I were walking together. I guess we freaked out a couple - they thought we had eight kids all to ourselves. All I can say is I look great for having eight kids. :)
Grandpa was able to escape the madness and pick up pizza for lunch. Pizza for the kids, stuffed sopaipilla and chicharrones for Katie (who is Mexican food-deprived). Kids played, everyone ate, some even ate it on the spinners and slides. It was fun punctuated by tears and shrieks.
Jacob was so happy to have a boy cousin his age, here he is with Calvin:

Bekah and Claire. Long lost bosom buddies.

Someone had the great idea to get another picture of all the kids. So we tried on the giant web, not too bad:
And again on the monkey bars, slightly less successful:
I took a video of the noble effort, entitled, "What It Takes To Get A Picture Of Fourteen Children."