Seasonal Confusion

This spring has just been stupid. We haven't been warm at all and it's been incredibly wet, so much so that for the first time in 6 years our sump pump is plugged in 24/7 and goes off with disturbing regularity. It's grey and dingy and if it wasn't above freezing I would mistake it for February. Soccer games are hit and miss - last Saturday William's game was played in what can only be described as a deluge and other games this week have been cancelled because the fields are in terrible condition.

Tessa seems to think it's December, however. She has been wanting to watch Christmas shows (Barbie in The Nutcracker and How the Grinch Stole Christmas were the last two DVD's that she chose from the library) and today she insisted on listening to Christmas music in the car. Luckily I still had the Glee Christmas CD handy so as drove to Sam's Club we sang along to "Jingle Bells" and "Baby It's Cold Outside".

As we got out of the car at the store, Tessa astutely commented that Christmas songs were supposed to talk about Jesus. I pointed out that lots of them did - as a matter of fact we had just been listening to one (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen). She thought for a minute and said that I was right, that the song said that Jesus came to save us from sin and the power of Santa (not Satan, as the song says). Maybe we need to have a few more lessons on Christmas? Not sure Easter was the time I thought I'd be doing that, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, right?

Interview with a 4 Year Old

My friend Lori (hi Lori!) recently posted an interview that she did with her 4 year old daughter, Sophie. It was adorable. So I decided to steal the idea for myself and interview Tessa. Here are the results:

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
No (OK, this answer made me a little sad because I really don't think I say NO that much but maybe I do)

2. What makes Mom happy?
Singing Firework on the treadmill (Not so much - the only thing that makes me happy on the treadmill is watching the minutes tick down so I can get off)

3. What makes Mom sad?
When we don’t do the things that Mom wants us to do (Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
By telling funny stories (I can't imagine where she got this because I don't really tell funny stories but whatever)

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don’t know because I wasn’t there (True enough)

6. How old is your mom?
I don't know (Good answer - The boys will gleefully tell people that I'm 42)

7. How tall is your mom?
Maybe 50 Feet long (Obviously we need to work on units of measurement; Maybe they'll cover this in kindergarten)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
To make us happy (Another winner)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Fun things like go out for lunch or the grocery store or hang out (Obviously some of those things are more fun that others)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being lucky (???)

11. What is your mom really good at?
That’s a hard one to know. She is good at making us pasta. (Yes. I make an excellent pasta - penne, angel hair, you name it. It's my special way of boiling water.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Making biscuits (The only reason she thinks this is because Jay has spent way too much time on Saturday mornings perfecting a buttermilk biscuit recipe. My regular old drop biscuits are perfectly fine)

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Be on the computer and do what she’s supposed to do (OK)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Dumplings and beignets that are from New Orleans (A little esoteric, but pretty close)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she plays with us (Well, I'm proud of me when I play umpteen games with Tessa too, since she tends to make up rules as she goes along)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
I think I know….a mom (Probably. Or a superhero.)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go to lunch, sometimes get haircuts, and we also love each other (Awwwwww)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Our hair is the same and sometimes we match and we have the same last name (We won't discuss how much it costs for me to have the same color hair as Tessa)

19. How are you and your mom different?
Because we have different colored lips (Again, this costs a bit but not as much as the hair color)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because we are her kids (Obviously, but there are all the times I say and show it)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
To Chick Fil (Well, not really top 10 but maybe top 20)

Spring? Break

This week is spring break for the kids. The week started out well. The weather was pretty good - not great or as warm as I'd like it but April in Utah is a mixed bag so you take what you can get. The kids played with friends and spent time outside. William had a soccer practice. It was a little cool and a little breezy but doable. On Wednesday my good friend Melissa and I took our kids (5 between us) to Ogden to the Nickel Arcade. You pay an admission but then all the games are a nickel (or two or four, but you get the idea). Tessa and Easton liked the rides best - you know, the kind of rides you can ride at the grocery store? They had a ton of them and most of them were just a nickel. Score! Henry and William played some games and at the end we cashed in our tickets for some incredibly well made merchandise (insert sarcastic face here). It was a lot of fun, however, and I'd post some pictures but neither Melissa or I remembered our camera. Lame, I know. Trust me when I say it was The Best Day Ever. Today it looks like this:

Sigh. We decided to go to a movie. There were a few options to choose from in the theaters. The kids have seen Tangled and I just got it in the mail from Netflix so we'll watch that this weekend at home. We don't have Beiber fever enough in our house to brave the Justin Beiber concert movie (actually, we don't have Beiber fever at all). I refuse to see Yogi Bear - I already saw Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 a few years ago and am still regenerating the brain cells I lost during that 90 minute time period and Yogi Bear seems like it would be worse (if that's possible). So that left Hop, which got a D in Entertainment Weekly magazine, or Gnomeo and Juliet. Since Gnomeo and Juliet is playing at the discount theater, we opted for the 2:10 pm showing today. I don't think I'd recommend it. It was basically the story of Romeo and Juliet, except with garden gnomes, set to the soundtrack of Elton John. The music part confused me. After a while I started thinking, "why are all the songs in this movie by Elton John" and wondering when the song "Benny and the Jets" was going to come on because there was a garden gnome named Benny. So I looked it up when I got home and it was produced by, you guessed it, Elton John.

Anyway, it wasn't even that funny. No laughs, Tessa was in my lap the last 20 minutes and Henry said it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. Take that for what it's worth (for the record, Henry loved Alvin and the Chipmunks 2) but if you have any other options, I don't think I'd see this movie. Or rent it. Or Netflix it. Or buy it. But it passed the time on a snowy April day. So that's something.

Only one more day of spring break. The forecast - Rain/Snow Showers. Hop is starting to look pretty good about now.

Scenes from a Conference Sunday

Here is William, getting ready for the Sunday morning session of General Conference: A favorite activity is Conference Bingo. The kids each get to choose a treat to use as bingo markers and they get to fill in their cards as they listen to the talks. This years treats were Pretzel M&M's for Henry and Tessa and gummy bears for William. This activity loses it's appeal after an hour or so, but they do listen pretty well.

Here is the clan, trying desperately to be the first to get BINGO! Jay is either helping Tessa or doubling as her jungle gym for the morning.

This year we asked the kids what their goals were for General Conference. Henry's goal was to listen to one full session of Conference, William's was to listen to President Monson's talk, and Tessa's was to get a Bingo. They all accomplished their goals this year. Generally they do pretty well on Sunday mornings - they get antsy around 11:30 but they do a good job listening. We find coloring pages and word puzzles to keep them occupied once the allure of Bingo wears off.

They are now watching Where The Red Fern Grows, per Henry's request. He read the book at school with his class and they watched the original movie; this movie is the remake that was done several years ago. I refuse to watch it because, well, you know. Oh, and funny story. Last month Jay was driving Henry home after a dentist appointment and they got on the subject of school. The conversation went something like this:

Henry - We're reading Where The Red Fern Grows in school.

Jay - Have you gotten to the part where the dogs die?

Henry (stricken) - The dogs die?

Oops.