Tagg Man

I couldn't love this kid more if I tried. He is so incredibly funny and just wicked smart. He's intense, he loves to win, and yet he can be so very sweet. His laugh is joy personified. He'll pepper you with questions until you can't stand it anymore but you can't help but love his quest for knowledge. He makes you challenge your self, what you know, what you thought you knew. He has such an old soul and those eyes...they just pierce your heart.

He still loves to read. He's moved on to chapter books and we read more adult books like Harry Potter together. He loves to figure things out - science projects, paper airplanes and how they fly, cooking -  and to build things - especially Legos and woodworking projects with papa. He is fascinated by baseball and soccer and golf, and is getting really good at riding his bike.

And then sometimes he's just super weird and cool! Like the night he came out on the patio in his jammies and mimicked one of Sloane's dance moves. It was hilarious. And then we went and bought him bigger pajamas because crop tops are only cool once. But this picture is going to make for some great blackmail material in a few years!

Tiny the Bird

So one Sunday, Tagg comes running in the house and says he and daddy are watching a parrot bird outside. I walk out on the patio, look over at the tree and sure enough there's a little bright colored parakeet looking thing perched in the tree. I told Scott it must be someone's lost pet and called out to it. Shockingly, the little guy flew right over and landed on my shoulder! I felt like the bird whisperer.

Sloane promptly named our new friend Tiny. Everything we own these days is named Tiny or Elsa so I guess we had a 50/50. Tiny loved me the most. Whether it was because of my natural affinity for animals, my big dangly sparkle earrings which he ended up pecking apart, or the fact that my hair kind of looks like a nest we may never know.

Tagg was not a fan. He had a bad experience with birds at the zoo. We went to a bird show and the first act was an enormous vulture that flew right over our heads making a huge racket. Tagg freaked out and we had to leave the show. He's never much liked birds since then. And the fact that Tiny would randomly let out some epic SCREEEECH noises which would leave your ears ringing did not help alleviate Tagg's fear at all.

Scott was also not a big fan of the bird but Tiny did his best to make friends. It must be the curly hair.

Sloane and I decided to get Tiny some food and water and he kindly invited himself into the kitchen for his meal. We figured seeds might make good bird food while we tried to find Tiny's home. After some internet research, turns out we should have given him some fruit and veggies.

 Let me tell you, it's not that easy to find a missing bird's home. We placed ads (PS only crazy bird people respond to ads for missing birds), called the local shelters which were all closed, put up some flyers, and finally found an exotic bird fan group on Facebook who pointed us to a local bird shop which kindly agreed to take Tiny in until they found his home.

We put Tiny in a decorative bird house supplied by my mother (only my mom would have a decorative bird house!) and drove Tiny to the shop. We're hoping they found his parents or found him a good home. Sloane still thinks we should have kept Tiny but I don't think we're exactly bird people.

Tiny & Mom

Tiny & Aunt Kris

Tree Huggers

One of the things we loved about this house when we moved in was the landscaping. Especially this enormous maple tree in the backyard. I'm not sure we fully realized how absolutely gorgeous it was until we lived a full season with it. We can see it from our shower every morning and whether the leaves are golden or green, whether its calm or whipping in the wind, it is nothing short of spectacular.

And now we also realize how much the kids will love it as they grow up. Our first tree-climbing adventure was a blast. I'm a little nervous, and excited, to think how high they will climb.

Crash

So one thing I've learned as a parent is...you just can't keep an eye on them 24/7. We were home one lovely Saturday afternoon and Tagg was jumping on the trampoline. I ran inside to change some laundry and literally 2 minutes later, he's running upstairs crying and telling me he's hurt and he's sorry. I frantically examine him from head to toe trying to figure out what's wrong. Between his sobs, I figure out that he broke something, he fell, and maybe glass is involved. So I'm checking his hands for cuts and blood. Nothing. Finally, I asked him to show me what happened. Down the stairs we go, to the patio we practically never see and there...the old glass patio table is SHATTERED. Literally, there are a million pieces of glass. My hearts starts pounding even faster and I give little man another physical inspection, head to toe. Surely, with this much glass he must be cut and bleeding severely and I missed it. But no. He has a couple of small scratches on his feet and legs, is very freaked out, but otherwise...completely fine.

 

So, after much sleuthing and interrogation I think Tagg put his t-ball stand in the umbrella hole on the patio table, put a ball on it, stood on the table and took a big swing. Why,  I will never know but somehow, that shattered the table and he fell through the top. How stitches were not involved, I will never know. Lucky, lucky, lucky. And thank God for tempered glass!

PS...Scott got more injuries cleaning up the mess than Tagg did making it. That's another parenting truism, I think.

Color Me Mine

 

Becky knows how to throw a party. She started a tradition last year where we rent a school bus and drive a whole mess of crazy people down to Spanish Fork, Utah, to the Holi Color Festival. It’s the largest color festival in the United States, hosting over 70,000 revelers over the two-day weekend event on March 29 and 30. The “Festival of Colors” is derived from an ancient Hindu tradition, celebrating the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. Apparently in southern India, friends and neighbors gather in small groups around a bonfire and throw colored corn starch in the air. The Color Festival in Spanish Fork is a little more intense…thousands of people throwing color, music from bands and DJ’s, a yoga pavilion, and some “interesting” Indian food. 

This year there were about 50 of us who cruised down in style (if you can call an old school bus "in style") with dance music playing over the tinny school bus speakers, lots of laughs, and enough adult beverages and sugary kid treats to ensure that everyone was sufficiently happy and celebratory when we arrived.

Me and Marc...bus buds.

Tagg and his buddy Greyson enjoying some snack. You'd be amazed how many suckers,
pretzels and candy two little dudes can eat in a 1-hour bus ride.

Tagg and Sloane after about 15 minutes of the Color Festival.
The glasses only help if you wear them, Boo!

  I think this might be one of my favorite events we do with the kids. They love being able to throw colors at all of the adults, and each other, without getting in trouble. Even when they get a shot of corn starch to the mouth or the eyes, they are still having a ball. By the end of the 2-hours we hang out at the festival, they all look like little orange zombie children. And, without fail, about 10 minutes into the bus ride home they are all dead asleep.

Greyson, Hen-Dawg, and Tagg dusting each other.

My poor Converse may never recover but they do look super cool!

Miss Sloane. She took a shot of green to the face early on
and still had smiles for days.

Marc and Harper...I think I got hit in the face with some orange
right after this photo was taken. You can see Harper plotting it, right?
She's serious...

Sloane, Henry, Tagg and Harper...colorful kids. By the time the day is over,
it's really hard to tell them apart! Next year, I'm getting crazy hats for my kids.
Easy to identify!

 According to the priest at the temple, the event has morphed from a shared religious experience to more of a rock concert environment (check it out) and you can certainly see this when the high school kids are crowd surfing and stuff. These days, I prefer to watch from a perch on the hill while the kids try to dump purple color on my head and throw rocks at the koi pond. 

 I love that the throwing of the colors is a metaphor for rejuvenation or renewal, to leave aside the past, to move with a great positive vision into the future. I think that’s a perfect way to usher in the spring season, especially when we get to celebrate it with such fun and amazing friends and family. And it's a really amazing thing to share with the kids. So next year? Bring on the bus! I'll have some new white clothes and goggles and some kind of hair protecting hat ready to go!

Little Tagg Man. Those eyes...and the best part? He wanted to sit
by me on the way home and as he fell asleep, he made sure that
we were holding hands. Those are the moments you just cherish like gold.

Me and Amy, acting as crazy as we look!
At least our teeth are still white-ish.

The girls...cleaned up (sort of) and sacked out!

Before...

...and After.
My hair was stained rainbow colors for days!

PS...Super glad we don't have to clean cars or the bus after this! Seriously, we tip the bus driver like crazy and it's worth every penny!

Oh Mama...

Palisades State Park. The view from our camp spot...
Before the Snow.

On Mother’s Day weekend, we took our new little trailer down to a place called Palisades State Park to meet mom and dad for a weekend of camping. It was so nice to have Scott home for a Saturday – best present of all! The park is really lovely with a small lake, a golf course, a playground and lots of places to hike. We saw deer walking up the mountain just outside our trailer which was really cool. It's right near the Manti-LaSal National Forest which apparently has great hiking and ATV trails. Definitely worth heading back there again to do some more exploring when we have more time.

The boys tried their luck at fishing. They didn’t catch any fish but they did find out what a 5-year-old’s attention span for sitting still in a tiny boat waiting for something to bite. 42 minutes. And that was a stretch! Tagg really enjoyed helping Papa with the bait and hooks and getting the fishing poles set up. More than he enjoyed the fishing, actually.

I got a new camera for my birthday so I thought I'd test it out on my little supermodel. She struck this mermaid pose all on her own. Yikes?

Of course, she also makes these faces instead of rocking her "princess smile" as directed.

  Saturday was so lovely. I went for a nice run. The first 2 ½ miles were gorgeous and all downhill, which made the return trip a little rough! Gravity is my friend when I run! We went for a walk, played in the park, collected sticks for a fire. We just couldn’t figure out why so many people were heading out on a Saturday afternoon. Seemed like a lot of work for just one day of camping. But the fishing tournament was over by mid-afternoon so maybe they really did just come for some sort of fishing trophy.

And then we looked at the weather report for Sunday. It was a snowflake. Snow? In May? No way. So we played some cards and washoes, barbecued burgers and dogs, enjoyed some of mom’s famous potato salad and then lit the fire and made smores. And it kept getting colder and colder, and windier and windier.

My amazing mother. She is such an inspiration. The epitome of grace, patience, good humor
and a great cook to boot. Not to mention that she kills us all at washoes.

Of course, Scott did have a little handicap.

This one might qualify for Awkward Family Photos. It was a nice thought!

Family photo. This was cuter in my mind. Such a picturesque spot.

They love splashing and jumping in the water,
and finding and throwing skipper rocks.

Family selfie on a little hike.

By 9pm, we decided it was time to head indoors to watch a movie and get the little ones to bed. By 10:30 the wind was gusting so hard the trailer was literally rocking, and it was pouring rain. I woke up around 5am and it was so quiet. I thought, “Nice…the storm must have passed.” Or it was snowing. By the time we rolled out of bed, there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground! It was dumping! Pretty funny. I guess when the weather says “snowflake” you should take that seriously! 

Luckily we brought some winter gear for the kids.
Mom and dad did not fare as well!

Someone was really looking forward to the fire!

Smores! Finally!

After. As advertised. Snowflake.

My little snow bunnies.

The kids made me the most awesome gifts, a little frame with a gorgeous photo of Sloane and Tagg planted me some pansies and they both wrote sweet books about Mom. Apparently Wendy’s is my favorite restaurant (so not true), they both know my real age (which I’ve been trying to hide from them for years!), Tagg knows I like it when he helps with chores (and he likes earning money), and they both like it when I buy them stuff. Huh. We might need to work on that one!

Happy New Year, You Crazy Kids

Scott and I were planning a nice, quiet New Year’s Eve with our little family this year. Pizza, sweatpants, some Dick Clark - or Ryan Seacrest, I guess. And then we offered to take our niece and nephew overnight so Marc and Becky could go celebrate the new year like adults with a bunch of their friends. And then we offered to watch Alice the dog so Tiff and David could celebrate their first New Year together. It was awesome, but it was not quiet.

As far as New Year’s Eves go, this was probably one of my favorites. We had a dance party. We played princess Candyland. The girls dressed up in their princess dresses. I didn't have to put on a lick of makeup and stretchy pants and a sweatshirt replaced sequins and heels. Our neighbors shot off fireworks all night long including one epic hour-long, borderline professional show at midnight. And the kids were an absolute riot.

Princess Candyland? This party is ON!

We faked the kids into thinking that 10pm was the “real” midnight. We erroneously assumed that the local TV station would show the ball dropping in Times Square at midnight Eastern time, so 10pm here. Nope. They just cut off at 10 and saved it for midnight. So we had to scramble a little but I think we pulled it off. Of course, little Carter was long asleep but the other three had a ball. They got sparkling juice, lots of noisemakers and, of course, candy.

Shockingly, after all the excitement the girls were wound up! We tried to put them in the same room but after another hour of them giggling, trying on princess dresses, fighting, and ripping the curtain rod out of the wall while trying to watch fireworks out the front window, we finally had to separate them in the interest of our own sanity. I have a vision of future slumber parties in years to come and it's going to be ridiculous!

Luckily, by midnight, the house had quieted down and Scott and I were able to sit on the front patio, absorb the fireworks extravaganza  (thanks, mystery neighbors! You rule!) and sip on some lovely champagne. My resolutions this year are few – be healthier, enjoy every little moment, live laugh and love. My gratitudes are many – these beautiful, precious children. Love, especially this wonderful man who teaches me about how to be a better person every day. He’s the light of my life, my inspiration and my rock. My amazing family – near and far. My spectacularly gifted and loving friends. My health and the health of those I love. Our jobs which we treasure, sometimes they are challenging but they offer us the opportunity to grow and learn and work with amazing people, and generously fund the blessed life that we have. Our home, which we fall in love with more and more every day. Our sweet dog. We fear she may not be with us much longer but the loyalty, patience and joy she brings to our life and family are without compare. And all the little things. We are so truly blessed and my only New Year’s wish is that we continue to enjoy such bliss in our life.

Happy New Year toast selfie.
This may be the least make-up I have ever had on in a New Year's photo,
hence the black and white! Thanks to Amy for the highly inappropriate
champagne flutes. They crack me up every time we pull them out!