Spring Break

I have been looking forward to Spring Break: slightly warmer weather, more sun and all 4 kids. Besides no school and no homework, other things (clarinet lessons, 4-H, scouts, and Young Men) have been canceled, giving us more time together. I have planned activities and projects for each day. So of course I got sick. But I lived in denial first.

LAGOON
We went to Lagoon on Saturday for Adam's birthday. He said that even though it's his birthday, he'll let other people ride his rides. We have season passes (equal to the cost of going twice) and love to go pre-season. It was great weather and the lines were short.

Micaela and Adam love the little bumper cars. There's a new ride called OdySea that's fun for the whole family. It's an Octopus with big fish cars (adult-size) at the end of its tentacles. You go around and can control whether you go up or down. The fun part is that a whale, a shark and two dolphins are trying to spray you with water while you're going around. Since it's still chilly out we were trying to avoid them, but I know when it gets warmer we'll be seeing how soaked we can get.

I finally got to ride Wicked. Last year the ride either wasn't open or the line was too long. It's a roller coaster that takes you straight up and then straight down and then twists you all around and upside down. It lived up to its name--Wicked! Chris was brave and went on The Rocket/Blast Off with me. The line was too short for him to rethink his decision. Once we got strapped in, he started getting nervous, but then it started and was over before he knew it. The first thing he said when we got off was, "Mom, did you see that view from up there? It was cool!"

I promised myself that I would do a better job this summer remembering the sunscreen. It's a habit I never had to develop, due to my skin tone, and my poor kids have had to pay the price on more than one occasion. Well, I didn't even consider sunscreen when I was grabbing the jackets, so fair Micaela came home with rosy cheeks. But boy did she have fun! She woke up Sunday and the first thing she asked for was to go to Lagoon again.



MONDAY
The boys were excited to sleep in. When we finally got up and going and cleaned up, Dad surprised us. He came home with a 50" plasma TV which he had won in another contest at work. He had won a 32" LCD TV about 5 months ago. He gave that one to his boss after winning the 50 incher since his boss helped him qualify for the contest. Since the 32" TV had been in our bedroom and since we already have a big furniture-type plasma TV in our family room, we spent a good chunk of the day mounting the prize to our bedroom wall. Now it's like a drive-in theater!

When we showed the TV to the kids, Jonny scowled and complained about how we are cutting expenses and then we go and buy this. I realized I forgot to tell him about Dad winning it, but I couldn't pass up the chance to tease him a little. I told him we had to cut back on the kids' expenses so that Mom and Dad could get this nice TV. Then I laughed and told him the great news.

On Monday we also went to Deseret Book. I have been planning an art project for each of the boys to do and I wanted them to pick out their own picture of Jesus so that it would mean more to them. We still haven't had a chance for them to make theirs yet. I stayed up late and made mine so that they would have an example to look at. (I think if you click on the picture, you get a bigger view.)

TUESDAY
Tuesday was Adam's actual birthday. I had planned on taking the family swimming at the rec center some time during Spring Break. Then Chris said that it would be a good idea to go on Adam's birthday. They were so excited. Even after I told them that we wouldn't be able to stay very long since I wasn't feeling well. (At this point I was starting to admit that I might be getting sick.)

We had so much fun. Jonny and Chris enjoyed swimming in deeper water and diving for pool rings. Adam spent his time on the steps with his mask and snorkel, crawling back and forth and showing me how he could "swim". Micaela loved jumping in the water and going under even before I could get the water wings on her. She kept trying to swim out to deeper water. I had to keep pulling her back so we could stay with Adam.

Tuesday night we celebrated Adam's birthday with cake and presents.



WEDNESDAY
Wednesday I took the kids to the library. I wasn't sure how that would go over. We have so many books at home and they usually roll their eyes whenever I tell them it's time to read. So I was thrilled when we got there and I had to set a 2 book limit. Adam was upset that we were only borrowing the books. He wanted to keep them. I want to turn a patch of our back yard into a garden, but I don't know what I'm doing so I grabbed a stack of gardening books. (I could not hold myself to the 2 book limit.) Then I found some old Cub Scout Leader PowWow books that I could not resist borrowing.

THURSDAY
Today, I fully admitted to being sick. I postponed all plans and watched the kids play in the backyard. They were excited to get to play with their friends.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to take them all to Thanksgiving Point. We have a family membership and they want to go to the dinosaur exhibit. I would like to see the tulip gardens while we're there. We also need to find the classrooms because Jonny will be going back on Saturday for a merit badge class. (He does have homework during Spring Break.)

Thoughts from a New Mom

I'm struggling with the expectations I have for my kids. I expect that when I speak they will listen and respond accordingly. I think I have worked too long with adults. I am grateful for a loving husband who patiently reminds me that they are just children. (In all fairness, we actually have to take turns reminding each other.) I am also grateful for the talks in General Conference which reminded me of the great importance of being a mother and teacher. I also realized that if we, as adults, have to have lessons repeated, how much more children need lessons repeated.

I am also casually reading some books that John and I picked up at Deseret Book. ("Casually" meaning a paragraph or page before losing consciousness at night.) My thought for today comes from Before they turn Twelve, by Deborah Pace Rowley. It's actually just from the Introduction because that's as far as I've gotten.

A speaker once compared our children's lives to a basketball game. The children are the players; each parent is a coach. During the first eight minutes of the game, the opposing team is not even allowed on the court. Knowing these rules, wouldn't you have your players stand directly underneath the basket and shoot nonstop for those eight minutes? Potentially, you could be so far ahead after eight minutes that the opposing team could never catch up. . . . It wouldn't be very wise coaching to let the players spend those first eight minutes lounging on the bench, talking to friends in the stands, or dribbling the ball around midcourt. Sure, at the eight-minute make the score would be zero to zero. But it wouldn't take long to fall behind against such a determined opponent and losing the game would be a real possibility.

I know that this is obvious information, but the analogy really struck me. I think it sparked my competitive nature. Anyway, I'm really excited about the book because it has lessons and activities to teach younger children the 18 principles that are covered in For the Strength of the Youth.

I have a goal of teaching a lesson a day to my children. I know that there are teaching moments throughout the day, but I also want to make up for all of the moments that I have missed. These lessons are less formal than a Family Home Evening, but a little more than impromptu. I realized I needed to this when I realized that there are so many lessons I haven't taught them. I can't wait for the teaching moments to come, I need to make them happen.

Well, nap time is over, so I better stop typing and go back to loving and teaching.