Merry Thanksmas

It's a big month.

Max turned two.
Frankie's about to turn 18!
Christmas is coming.
And part of me would like to skip straight through to March... except for one thing (and for that, you must read on!)


I usually love winter, but when winter brings expensive car repairs, holiday overload, birthday overload, and turning 40, let's just say part of me wants to jump several months ahead.

Nevertheless, we are blessed.  We are so very, very blessed.

We have four relatively healthy children (coughs aside).
Michael loves his work and has the most understanding boss and kindest co-workers ever.
After nearly 20 years of marriage, I am even more in love with my sweetheart.
I have AMAZING friends.
I have a new business buying precious metals (which I am excited to grow).
We have a lovely home (which you are all welcome to visit, just not all at the same time).
Our cars are running (or will be shortly).
We have a fantastic extended family who are always there when we need them most.
We are free to worship as we see fit.
We are free to express our opinions and educate ourselves and our children.


And, this cold, busy, crazy, hectic, snowy holiday season brings one important thing:  a Christmas Elf named Flummox, gifted to us by our dear sister-in-law, Michelle.  Who knew a doll could keep my kids so in line? (for more info, visit www.elfontheshelf.com)

But more than everything listed above, this is a season of peace.  No matter what your religion, the peace of this season is undeniable.  This is that time of the year when good will and selflessness reign.  Whether you celebrate this season for the same reason I do, (namely the birth of Jesus Christ), or simply because of the cheerful heart and spirit of giving that comes to your home,  the pervasive feeling is that of kindness and thoughtfulness.

Amidst the busyness, the noise, the gimmes, and the commercialism that this season has come to be associated with, I offer you these powerful words from a gentle man of God:

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments."

-Howard W. Hunter 

To be continued...

Does anybody know if Eskimos play football?

Ah, Thomas.

This adorable "little" child is going to be the death of me.

Most of you know that we're not exactly what you would call a "football" family.  In fact, one of the things I loved most from the get-go about Michael was that he wasn't a guys' guy.  He wasn't into staring at sports on TV for hours on end.  This was good for me, as I've always considered watching any televised sporting event, other than gymnastics and figure skating, to be a special form of torture.

We've watched the Superbowl once in the entire 19 years that we've been married.  The only football events we've really enjoyed going to are college games, and even then, I think we've been to one game in the 13+ years we've lived in Utah.

Enter Thomas.

Now I realize he's only three (and just barely at that), but here's the thing:

Thomas is an off-the-charts tall and big kid. 

Almost every person who comes across Thomas comments on the fact that we have a future football star.

See, it's not just that watching football doesn't interest me; it's that watching violence doesn't interest me.  And the only thing worse than watching violence would be watching my child PARTICIPATE in it.

And yet...

He's had "man hands" since the day he was born:

He has a very high tolerance for pain.  While most kids have (what I would consider to be) a normal reaction to smacking into walls, he just looks at the wall quizzically and returns to whatever destruction he was in the process of unleashing.

And when he poses for pictures, he makes a natural "gridiron" face:

 

The other day Thomas was playing out front.  Our kids usually play in the backyard and we don't see our neighbors all that frequently as we're only in the front when it's time to mow or to back out of our driveway.

Our neighbor, Mat (who likes sports), spied Thomas and made the following observation:

"Man," he said, "That kid just needs a jersey with a five and a one on it.  The kid's a natural linebacker."

Michael responded with, "Don't tell Kristin that.  She doesn't want him to play football."

Mat replied, "Keep him out of football?  That would be a federal crime.  Just wait until the coach starts pressuring her that he needs to play and Thomas starts begging to join."

So without further ado, I would like to officially announce that we are moving to the Alaskan tundra, effective immediately.  If you want to reach us, send a carrier pigeon, a telegraph, or snail mail 'cause where we're goin' there ain't no wi-fi and there ain't no football scouts.  Oh, and if you could also send parkas, that'd be great.

Oh where, oh where has my little blog gone?

I've been a little...absent from blogging for the last couple of months.  It's been crazy busy for our family!

Here goes the summer (minus birthdays 'cause I already blogged about those).

Grandpa Coach visited for Father's Day.  This was the first Father's Day I spent with him in I can't even begin to remember how long.   He was so impressed (?) by the amount of snow left (in fact, it snowed on Father's Day) that we had to snap this picture after our Father's Day brunch at Snowbird Ski Resort:

While Grandpa was here, we also took in a Salt Lake City Real soccer game.  It was actually a ton of fun.  Adam especially loved passing the Real banner overhead.

 

Adam also really enjoyed being schooled at Chess by his Grandpa.

Frankie (very bravely) read a poem that she wrote from the perspective as a child who has been abused at a Safety Fair/BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse) anti-abuse rally.

Adam enjoyed the bouncy slide at the aforementioned safety fair (remember, I said SAFETY fair):

That is to say, he enjoyed it right up to the moment he landed on his foot, sprained it badly, and had to be carried to the car. 

The kids had a blast chasing down candy at our local Fort Herriman Days parade.  (They throw it from floats as they pass by).  Nothing like encouraging your kids to play in traffic ;-)

Not too shabby for a little local parade!

We spent some quality time at the library, and in our backyard.                              

Note the awesome swing set in the background:  It was a birthday gift to Thomas and Adam funded by the grandparents and built with the help of friends.  Lucky boys!

And, while on a family hike, we tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to take ONE good picture of all the kids together, looking at the camera.  Instead, we got:

Eyes closed (Thomas)

Awkward expression Adam

Silly monkey Max, Adam eyes closed, Frankie fake smile, and Thomas turned around

And, finally, "It's good enough.  Let's go.  I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes."

And so we move on to Fall:

I've been pursing my new business (purchasing precious metals - gold, silver, platinum).  Check out  my website! PGR - Platinum and Gold Refiners  My purchasing prices are phenomenal, so if you have any scrap precious metal to sell, please drop me a line!

So here's a little taste of what we've been up to in September and October:

Adam went back to public school.  And sadly, I cannot find the photo of his first day of school anywhere!  He is so happy to be back in "regular" school.  He misses spending time at home, but, he really relishes the opportunity to make friends and have social experiences.  Since I couldn't find the first day of school picture,  here's a picture of Adam (and Thomas) from earlier this summer.

Our enormous Thomas (seriously, the kid is as tall and big as a five year-old) started preschool and had his first field trip.  This little jaunt was to our local fire station.  I thought Thomas would be enthralled by the big red trucks and the noisy siren.  (Heaven knows he's the loudest member of our family).  Not so much.  Our big, giant, (not so) brave boy cried the whole time and wouldn't release his death grip on his teacher's arm.  Of course, for the week following, all he could talk about was "I go fire station wif Miss Jenny." 

Frankie went to homecoming and had a mystery dinner.  This was not a murder-mystery dinner.  This was a dinner for which we provided an encoded menu.  The kids (excuse me, teenagers) had no idea what they were ordering for each course.  They also had no idea what kind of plate or utensils or cups they were getting.  The girls unwittingly ordered their drinks in plastic sippy cups and got their dessert first.  The boys found themselves eating mashed potatoes with giant serving spoons.  Most of them got their salad dressing with their second course, and their salads as their dessert course.  They weren't allowed to hold any items from course to course.  They all seemed to enjoy it.

 

Max (aka Sven) and his betrothed (Gwen) played a lovely duet for us.

 Thomas and Max played in the pumpkin patch. 

 And Max explored...

 

  

...while Thomas emphatically refused to abandon the tractor.  

Tomorrow, we're heading to the pumpkin patch as a family and we'll carve our pumpkins as well.
We're heading into the busiest season of the year.  We told the kids their holiday wish lists had to be full and complete before Halloween, and they are. All I can say is thank heaven for Amazon!  So nice to have presents arrive and be stored in a secure brown box!


I have a fun Thomas story to share, so watch for it soon.

Thomas' 3rd birthday

Thomas... according to Thomas: What's your favorite color? Bwack. How old are you? Ummm...Thomas. What do you like to eat? Noo-doos. Are you a choo-choo? Noooo. Do you like choo-choos? No, nood-oos. Where do you like to eat? P, S, S, C, U, B Which is your favorite choo-choo? Thomas boo engine. What do you like to play? My fwends. How many friends do you have? Five What do you like to play outside? My five fwends.  It waining outside and I closed door ;hind me wight now even wet outside. Are you going to get married? Yup. Who are you going to marry? Kami. How many kids are you going to have? Nineteen. Are you going to marry Kami, or her car, or her keys? Kami car. Where are you going to live with Kami? Kami house where you bwing me. How many years are you? Two. Are you three? Yeah.

Shoo fly, don't bother me...

It's fly season in Herriman again (read:  Summer) and we are so sick of those little buzzing things bumping into our arms and legs and getting "all up in our grill."  We've become handy with our fly swatters, much to the (recently discovered) chagrin of our family's most sensitive soul.

Today's conversation with Adam:

Adam:  I'm not going to kill another fly.
Me: Okay.  Why not?
Adam: Well, you know how we have lives?
Kristin: Yeah...
Adam: How would you like to be swatted by a giant finger?

The kid does have a point.  It won't stop me from tirelessly working to eradicate the fly issue.  Perhaps I'll just save my swatting for after bedtime.

For our next vacation, can we go to... the dentist?

Adam had a checkup and a teeth cleaning with a new dentist today.  He sure is a little chatterbox.  He told jokes on his way from the lobby to the chair.  They took his x-rays and had to ask him to be quiet so they could take his pictures.  Then they leaned him back in the dentist chair.  Looking up, he spied Looney Tunes being played on the TV in the ceiling.  With a huge sigh of contentment, he put his hands behind his head and said, "Ahhh.  This is the life."

What could be better than a TV in the ceiling at your doctor's office?

"How 'bout one in your bedroom," the dental assistant NOT so wisely suggested to my son.  Yeah, sure, thanks.  And then we can get him a pony, and move into Disney World.  Thanks a lot for that suggestion, lady. 

"Yeah," said Adam, "And then I would never have to get out of bed!"

Hahahaha.  Fat chance.

And in other news...

After the dentist, we went over to our local elementary school and got Adam all signed up to go back to public school.  He has been so looking forward to going back to school.  He's aching to make new friends, have new adventures, and have some time away from Thomas the Tank.

Here in Utah, we have year-round school.  This means that at any given time, three "tracks" of students are in school, and one "track" is off.  The first three tracks started two and a half weeks ago, so we assumed that Adam would join the fourth track.  Nope.  "We've put you on C track," said the school secretary, "and they're going off track next week.  So, Adam will start school the day after Labor Day."

He cried.

Adam, I hope you always love school the way you do today.  But much like your hope for getting a TV installed in your ceiling, my hope for you continuing to have this level of passion for school is not likely to be realized.  But a boy can dream, and so can a mom.

And hopefully, one day, we can have that vacation too.  But not at the dentist's office.

Not even three and he's ready for the workforce.

Last weekend I made these really cute schedules for Frankie and Adam.  I spent a good deal of time on them, cut them out, and put them on clipboards.  I gave Frankie one for her room, and I gave Adam one for his room.  I also made one for each of them that will be posted in a central location on the first floor.  I hadn't gotten around to hanging up the first floor ones when I found this:

sitting on my desk.  Considering I don't remember making any little cut-in designs, I asked the older kids if they knew anything about it.  Of course, they didn't. 

So then I asked Thomas.  "Did you do this?"  I asked, holding up the schedule.  "Yes." he said.  Not quite sure if he quite knew what he was admitting to, I said "How did you do it?" "Scissors." he said matter-of-factly. Knowing he knows his colors, I asked, "What color scissors?" "Owange," he said (yeah, not so much).

I considered that answer inconclusive.  Wanting to see what else he'd "admit" to, I held up a piece of paper that Frankie had written dog training instructions on.  "Did you do this?" I asked.  "Ye--eesssh," he said delightedly.  "How?" I asked.  "Pe-skewel."

"Okay," I said.  I held up a typed invoice from my doctor's office.  "And did you do this?" I asked.  "Yeaahh," he responded.  "And how did you do that?" I asked.  "Because I'm type wedy fast."

Okay Thomas. Forget pre-school.  Time to hit the classifieds and earn your keep 'round here.  Anybody need a typist?

Silly Old Bear

 
Thomas hit a milestone this week.  He got to go to the theater and see his very first big-screen movie.  Our friend, Kami, took him to see the new Winnie the Pooh.

Now, for those of you who know our Thomas, you know that he's not exactly a sit still for an hour-and-a-half kind of kid.  He's not really a sit still for five minutes kind of kid.  But I hoped that the animation and simple storyline of Pooh would combine to help his restless little legs be still.

Before Kami picked him up, I had a talk with him.  "Thomas," I said, "You are going to a movie.  We don't jump or run in movies.  We sit in our seats."  "Okay mommy," he said.  "Thomas, do we run in a movie?"  "Nooo."  "Thomas, do we jump in a movie?"  "No."  "Do we sit still in a movie?"  (emphatic) "Yes!!!"

Just to be safe, I had that conversation with him once more before he left.  And then Kami had that conversation with him twice in the ten minute drive over there.  I told her to call me if there were any problems and she needed me to come get him.

The movie ended and my phone had not rung.  I called Kami (wondering if she had just dealt with my little monkey's rowdiness without calling).  "So," I said, "How'd he do?"  "Oh," said Kami, "Remember how you were worried about him sitting still?"  "Yes." (Somewhat nervously) "Well," she continued, "You do not have to worry about him sitting still in a movie."  "I don't?" "No," she said.  You don't."  "Okay." I said, somewhat surprised and relieved. "What you do have to worry about is how much he gets into the movie.  The whole time it was playing he was shouting loudly at the characters.  Every time anything went wrong, he would shout "Nooooooo!!!" at the top of his lungs.

Remember how he wanted to go to college with Steve, Joe, and Blue? I'm thinking there will soon come a time when a pre-movie conversation will involve somehow teaching Thomas that life and media are not actually one and the same.

But perhaps, I can let him stay engrossed just a little bit longer.  He may look like a five year-old, but he only gets to be almost three for a very little while.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit.  "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."

Back to life. Back to reality...and the dawn of a new "ism"

It's too soon!!!!

I'm not ready for school to start for Adam, but, he'll be heading back in just two weeks.  I'm not a big fan of this whole year-round thing for elementary students and traditional schedule for junior high and high school students.  It leaves us with too many schedules to manage.  Preschool for Thomas, 4th grade for Adam, 12th grade for Frankie and they're all on different schedules.

I want to squeeze every last drop out of what's left of our summer.  Our summer started late and I'm mourning the early end of it.  The skies may be sunny but mamma's feeling a little blue.

At least I have Thomas to lighten things up --

Conversation with Thomas this morning:

I just explained to my friend, Nicole, that Thomas pronounces his name as "Nomas."  I thought it was adorable and endearing.  He would say things like, "Me Nomas.  This my Nomas choo-choo." I called him over to us so I could show off his cuteness.

Me:  "Tell Cole the name of your choo-choo?" 
Thomas:  "My choo-choo name Thomas."
Me: (astounded) "And tell Cole your name."
Thomas:  "My name Thomas wike my choo-choo."
Kids - they'll always prove you wrong at the least opportune moment.

Conversation with Thomas this afternoon:

Thomas:  "Daddy, what are you making dinner?"
Michael:  "I'm making chopped salad."
Thomas:  (with all the hope a little boy can muster) "Chocolate salad?"
If only Thomas, if only.

Conversation with Thomas this evening:

Me:  "Thomas, are you excited to start preschool?"
Thomas:  "Yes.  And I want go college."
Me: "Oh, you want to go to college?"  (what on earth -- where did this idea come from? Not that I don't want him too.  It's just a tad premature.) "Hmm.  And what will you do in college?"
Thomas: "Wif Steve, and Joe, and Blue."
Me:  "Ohhh, okay.  Of course."
Thomas:  "Yeah."
Note:  If you have no idea what I'm referring to, click here

The torch passes forward as we usher in a year of new schools, new experiences, new language skills and the dawn of... Thomasisms.

Potty Mouths

We have begun prepping Thomas for potty training.  We tried once before, but, it didn't take.  This time around he's showing a little more interest.

He likes the books we borrowed from the library on going potty - they receive his rapt attention.  He LOVES the potty training cartoon movie we borrowed from the library.  (The rest of us are a little bit tired of it, having watched it six or seven times in a row over the last two days).  He's sort of okay with sitting on the potty, but he's not really interested in staying there so much as he likes putting toilet paper in it and flushing. He doesn't really seem motivated by keeping the print (that disappears when wet) on his Pull-Up.

We're planning a potty party for him next Monday morning (for more info see: Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day).  I spoke with the author of this book and while it doesn't really mean that your child will be fully potty trained in a day, it's a great jump start.

And it's been very entertaining to enter this world again.  For Adam, it's been a little too entertaining.

Adam's friend Isaac came over to play on Tuesday.  They had fun playing Legos, swinging on the swing set, jumping on the trampoline (even though I told them to wait at least 15 minutes after eating and they only waited about fifteen seconds).  They were about to go outside again when Adam stopped Isaac.  "Wait," he said, "I have something to tell you.  Well, see, my little brother is two and he's learning how to use the potty.  And he has this potty training movie and it has a train in it.  And you know what it says? (He's so excited he's jumbling all his words together because this is SOOOOOO funny to him).  Well, you know how trains always go Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga Choo Choo?"  "Yeah," says Isaac, seeming confused.  "Well, on this potty training movie, instead of saying Chuga Chugga Chugga Choo Choo, it says "Chugga Chugga Chugga POO POO."  Both boys break into hysterical laughter.  They are beside themselves.  It is the funniest thing they have ever heard.

Guess who else thought it was funny?

Thomas.

So now he runs around screaming "Chugga Poo Poo... Chugga Poo Poo" and then laughing like a loon.

Sigh.

Potty training 101.  I hope Max catches on quickly when it's his turn.

Hippo Birdie Two Ewes, Sonic Hooten

My baby boy turned nine yesterday.  You know how people say things like, "Oh, I can't believe little so-and-so is already X years old"?  Yeah, I don't say things like that.

I have no problem believing that it's been nine years since my son was born because it's been a looong nine years.  But not because of him.  He's a bright spot for me every day.  I am eternally grateful that he's my son and that I get to be his mom.

Adam constantly amazes me.  He's bright, funny, articulate, dramatic, and goofy.  And even though he's a pretty handsome kid, it's almost impossible to get a good picture of him because he does his over-the-top cheesola smile and most of them end up looking like this:

He's completely obsessed with video games, so much so (as evidenced in his interview below) that we have to stop him from playing too much lest he turn into Mario, or Luigi, or Sonic.

To celebrate his birthday, we took him and a few of his friends to see Kung Fu Panda 2.  They were cute.  They laughed uproariously through most of the movie, and didn't cry at the sad parts.  My friend Jill and I did though.  I sure felt like a boob crying in an animated movie about a stupid noodle-loving awkward fighting panda.

And the conversation that followed the movie (from the back of my car) was entertaining on so many levels.  I never knew that eight year-old/nine year-old boys could be so very entertaining.  I don't even remember most of what was said but I do know that it was some sort of contest to see who could tell the worst story about his younger siblings.  I know somewhere in there was a comment about one boy's five year-old sister having three boyfriends. (Yeah, her mom was surprised to hear that too).

The friend party took place the Saturday before his birthday.  On his actual birthday, we held a family party.   We served Adam's favorite foods - Shrimp Cocktail (thanks Nicole for the gift of birthday shrimp), Stuffed Artichokes "the way mom makes them", and garlic pasta.  We had a Sonic the Hedgehog birthday cake, opened presents (Legos were involved), and got overly full.

All in all it was a great birthday.

But cake aside, presents aside, shrimp and artichokes aside...wanna know what my favorite part of his birthday was? It was the part where he said (more than once), "Mom, thanks for making this such a great birthday.  I know you're spending a lot of time and a lot of money on my birthday and just thank you so much."  Thank you Adam so much.  When a nine year-old child remembers to express gratitude, I get to be  gratified in knowing that we are doing something right.

Hippo Birdie Two Ewe Adam James Hooten.  We love you with all our hearts and can't wait to celebrate many, many more with you.

An interview borrowed from a fellow blogger:

.::Favorites on His 9th Birthday::.

What's your favorite color? Aquamarine
Who's your best friend? Cole Barton
What's your favorite food? Stuffed Artichokes
Where is your favorite place? Monkey Island (Bouncing place)
What is your favorite holiday? My birthday
What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
What is your favorite song? Largo by Ludwig Von Beethoven (bear in mind he recently learned to play this on the piano).


.::His future according to his 9 year old self::.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A video game designer

If you could be anything, what would you be? A video game designer or a video game champion
How old do you want to be when you get married? I don't know.  Around my 20s.
Do you want to be a dad? Yeah
What kind of dad do you think you will be? A good one who will be nice to my children.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Sonic
What makes you most happy? Spending time with my grandpa. I like watching soccer with him.  (I told this to my dad.  He said that Adam was going to make a great politician some day.)

Happiness is...

Do you remember the song "Happiness" from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown?

Out of nowhere this song popped into my head the other day.  It's such a great song that I immediately started teaching/singing it to Adam.

I got as far as "happiness is two kinds of ice cream" before Adam interrupted me.

"Mom," he said, "Thomas and I are two kinds of ice cream.  I'm, you know, like, pink strawberry ice cream that's careful.  And he's chocolate that's messy and runs alllll over the place."

I laughed, and had to agree.

Special - today only: Two, two, two Adamisms for the price of one!

We just got home from watching Rio, and may I say that was a great movie.  Incredibly beautiful animation, funny, moved quickly.

In case you haven't seen it, it the storyline centers around two blue macaws named Jewel and Blue.  Jewel is a no-nonsense, take charge kind of bird.  Adam observed the following:

"Mom, Jewel doesn't take anyone being mean.  She'd beat the tuna fish outta them.  I didn't wanna say a bad word so I said tuna fish instead of, like, crap."


------

We had just stopped at  a Latin market to pick up some platinos maduros for Sunday dinner.  I was speaking to the cashier in (limited) Spanish.  Walking out the door I thought to myself, "Maybe Adam can take Spanish in school and then he can teach me and we can speak together."  Let me stress that this was a thought,  not a verbalized idea.  Out of seemingly nowhere, we have the following conversation.

Adam:  Actions speak louder than words, right?
Me: That's true, Adam (wondering where this is going).
Adam: Yeah, so I think I should learn sign language.   



...Pienso que seré la única persona para hablar español en mi casa.

Interview with an Adam (re-visited)

Mom and Dad
as described by Adam Hooten, age 8 (almost nine)

1. What is something Mommy always says?
"I think that you always say that video games are bad for you."

2. What makes Mommy happy?
“Getting a good present for Mother's Day like a good thought-up card like I'm probably gonna do this year."

3. What makes Mommy sad?

"Well, I know that Dora (the Explorer) makes you crazy mad."

4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
"Your jokes, like...What's green and has wheels?  Grass. I was kidding about the wheels."

5. What was your Mom like as a child?
Why do you ask these questions?"

6. How old is your Mom?
"Thirty-seven." (Good boy, I like that you think I'm younger than I am.
7. How tall is your Mom?
I don't know.  'Round five feet.  (Ummm.... nope, taller.)
8. What is your Mom's favorite thing to do?
“Be with Daddy."
9. What does Mom do when you’re not around?
“Watch the boys.”
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
“You would set the record for setting the record of watching the two danger-boys.”
11. What is your Mom really good at?
“Super Mario World.” (That's what he said last year.  I don't think I've even played it since before then).
12. What is your Mom not good at?
"Napping 'cause of the two little boys."

13. What does Mom do for her job?
“You type.”
14. What is Mom's favorite food?
“Jim's Family Diner.” (Uhhh, no.)
15. What makes you proud of your Mom?
“Watching me, Thomas, and Max at the very same time.”
16. If your Mom were a cartoon character who would she be?
“Well, this is on the Super-Mario World series, you know, TV.  The Amazing Flying Hammer Brother.”
17. What do you and your Mom do together?
“Watch the boys.”
18. How are you and your Mom the same?
“Our lips.  We have the same lips.”
19. How are you and your Mom different?
“I have no idea.  Oh, you're older and I'm younger.”
20. How do you know your Mom loves you?
“You show it with hugs.”
----------------------------------------------------
1.What is something Daddy always says?
“I don't know what Daddy says.”
2. What makes Daddy happy?
“A good present for Father's Day like new ties."
3. What makes Daddy sad?
“What I described for you.”
4. How does your Dad make you laugh?
“Daddy makes me laugh when he laughs."
5. What was your Dad like as a child?
“Hmm.  I have no idea.”
6. How old is your Dad?
“Forty-one."
7. How tall is your Dad?
"Around six feet."

8. What is your Dad's favorite thing to do?
“Spend time with his family."

9. What does Dad do when you’re not around?
“Watch the boys with mom or work."
10. If your Dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
“The messiest office."
11. What is your Dad really good at?
“Let's see...I don't know.  I thought and thought but I don't know.”
12. What is your Dad not good at?
“Watching kids shows with me and Thomas."
13. What does Dad do for his job?
“Electronics."

14. What is Dad's favorite food?
"How about Easter dinner?  That's my guess."

15. What makes you proud of your Dad?
“Being so nice to me, and Thomas, and Max."
16. If your Dad were a cartoon character who would he be?
“He would be more like Shaggy 'cause Shaggy's trying to shave and he's trying to grow a beard.  And he gets little hairs on his face like dad.  And Daddy also has that blondish-color hair.  And he's tall, like Shaggy."

17. What do you and your Dad do together?
“Daddy-son dates."
18. How are you and your Dad the same?
“Blonde hair."
19. How are you and your Dad different?
“I have no glasses."
20. How do you know your Dad loves you?
“He hugs me and kisses me."

Good day sunshine!

When I was younger, I hated living in Florida.  I hated the heat.  I hated the humidity.  I hated the lack of seasons.  I hated the bugs - the flying, biting, crawling, disgusting bugs.

After spending the last nine days there, I no longer hate Florida.  I still hate the bugs (ten mosquitoes, thank you very much for feasting on me).  I don't hate the heat, the humidity, or the lack of seasons.  Actually, the heat was lovely.  The humidity was refreshing.  I wouldn't know about the lack of seasons, but I could live with visiting snow rather than shoveling it.

Also, I didn't realize how culinarily deprived I've been.  I mean, I knew but I didn't fully realize it.

Have you ever read the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle?  Just in case you haven't, it describes the eating adventures of a caterpillar as he works his way through a variety of foods on his journey to become a butterfly. 

I feel like I ate my way through Boca Raton.  I ate every food I missed - corned beef on rye with mustard, bagels and lox, kasha knish, real jewish pickles, cuban lechon asado, moro rice, plantains, and amazing garlic knots.  And it was alllll delicious.  And I am still full.  And I did not become a butterfly.

I also got to shop at my favorite grocery store:  

 and brought home some of my favorite brownies from that store.  My kids love them.

I got to have dinner with this great guy:

(who drove two hours just to have dinner with his daughter).  And he drove two hours again just to have dinner with me at his house and take me to the airport.  My dad is a wonderful man.

I got to see this (up close and personal-like):

and buy souvenirs for my kids.

Okay, I did buy them souvenirs but I did not buy them alligator parts.  Not that they wouldn't have liked it.

I got to have dinner (and lunch) with great friends - the Goots and Marsha & Dom.  

As truly wonderful as all of the above was, the best part was serving Hiram, my step-dad.  Hiram has been part of my life since I was two years old.  He's the whole reason I went to Florida.  He was diagnosed with Stage I prostate cancer, and I went to be with him for his prostatectomy.  It's always an amazing opportunity to serve one of the parents who gave so much of themselves to me.  Hiram has been one of my parents for (almost) as long as I can remember.  And I had the opportunity to serve him and give to him.  I went to the pre-op appointment with him, waited at the hospital during his surgery, cared for his dog during his recovery, cooked some freezer meals for him, and cleaned the house a little.  

Our relationship is stronger for it, and I am better for it.  Thank you, Hiram, for allowing me to be there for you in your time of need.

And when I returned I came back to a colder, wetter Utah.  And while I am so happy to see my husband and kids, the sunshine still beckons.

Hope to see you again soon Florida.

And my kids are bickering.  Vacation...officially...over.