Sweet Spencer

This pic is from a couple of years ago but it is a favorite of mine. Isn't he a cutie! Spencer came home from school today and told us that he had an early Mother/Father's day gift for us. He gave us a plant (red maple tree) and he wrote us a poem! He is turning out to be a man of few words (much like his father) so this is a real treat for me.

Here's our poem:

Thank You

Thank you, parents

You're like a current

Taking me on the right path

Helping me with my math

Helping me in every way

Every single day

You're the best mom and dad

I think that you're so rad

You are the best

Of all the rest

When I have a frown

Turn it upside down

When we are in the sun

You help me have fun

I think I'll end right here

I don't have much to fear

Love,

Spencer Jolley

04/30/2008

Free Range Kids

I just found this site. I think she has a really interesting perspective. I tend to be on the "helicopter mom" side but would love to be more "free range." I think I'll be checking this blog often to remind me of that. Anyway, check it out. What do you think?

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/

The difference between my kids

Exhibit A: Ella, who still thinks the word "poop" is deliciously funny, has now expanded her repertoire to include body parts. A couple nights ago Lance and I were in her room putting her to bed when she started saying various things like "you are a poo poo face, you have a poo poo nose, etc., etc." We were trying so hard not to laugh but her little belly laugh is so contagious. Anyway, Spencer came in the room to say goodnight and Ella broke out all her jokes on him. Spencer was instantly offended. We tried to tell him she was just joking but he would have none of it. He eventually covered his ears and got down near the bed to wait for prayers. I asked him what was wrong and he said "it's just that . . . that word makes me very uncomfortable." I really had to try not to laugh then.

Exhibit B: Sunday morning we watched The Simpsons Movie before church. We figured it was a good wholesome way to spend our time. :) Anyway, Spencer covered his eyes or turned his head frequently while watching the movie. I noticed the parts where he didn't watch were the parts that Ella laughed the hardest about.

Exhibit C: We got caught in a massive downpour on Saturday. Spencer hates getting rained on and dashed for the house asap. Ella got out of the car and took her sweet time getting to the house. She had a huge smile on her face and looked at the sky as if to say "Bring it on!"

I know they were meant to be brother and sister. Ella helps Spencer throw caution to the wind, and Spencer reigns his little sis' in when he needs to. I have such fun watching these two little creatures.

Sunday Summary

A lot went down this week. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Spencer was starting pitcher at Saturday's baseball game. It was his first time pitching - something he has wanted to do forever! We were all very excited and I was very nervous. I just couldn't figure out how he was going to throw the ball that far. He started a little shaky. He threw 4 balls. I could see him start to lose it and I could tell he was crying. But then, he pulled it together and struck the next batter out. I was so proud of him for not giving up. After he struck the kid out, we saw some lightning so the field was evacuated and the game was cancelled. I was so happy to have it end on such a good note. I'll add some pics later.

2. Popcorn the hamster died this week. We are trying to tell ourselves that old age killed him and not all the little random things I saw Ella sneaking into the cage a day before he died. Spencer is begging for a rat but we are leaning towards a cat next. No pets are coming into the house until the kids start being a little more consistent with chores.

3. Lance turned 33 on Friday!!! I struck out for the 11th time with birthday gifts for him. He is the hardest man alive to shop for. I thought for sure he was going to like this year's gift. I got him, along with other things, Guitar Hero for the Wii. He immediately said he was probably going to exchange it for something else. I spent the better part of the night trying to convince him that he would like it because I really really wanted to play it. After the kids were in bed, he told me that because Spencer is going into his teenage years soon he didn't like the idea of owning a game with such a scantily clad woman in it, along with some of the suggestive songs. I had to agree with him. I wish he would have told me that right away so I wouldn't have harassed him for so long. I feel very lucky to be married to a man who sees the big picture and does not give in to peer pressure from his crazy wife! :)

4. Lance was sustained in a new calling today. It is a long-term calling that he will be in until Spencer is 14. Any guesses??

5. I discovered the books of Harlan Coben and cannot put them down! I love it when I find a new author. I think I have checked out most of his books from the library this week and have spent glorious hours neglecting everything and reading.

Easter Fun

Easter was so much fun this year. We celebrated a day early so the cousins could be together. My nephew Michael cracked us all up. He decided the color white offended him so he wanted nothing to do with dying eggs.

Easter morning while the kids were eating the Easter bunny "hopped" by the window and then rang the doorbell. The kids tried to chase him down, but he was too quick. He left the baskets on the front porch with treats for all.

All dolled up . . .
Easter Sunday back in Virginia:

The Call of the Wild

Check out the tongue on this beast! One of our last days in NC we went on a safari. It was so incredible! We rode on a wagon while all sorts of animals approached and we got to feed them. It was such a neat experience for the kids. Who knew that someone in NC would decide that it was a perfect place for a safari?

Peter Breinholt

We were lucky and got to see Peter Breinholt while were visiting. Michelle orchestrated the whole thing. It was funny, when Michelle originally asked if we wanted to go, I couldn't for the life of me figure out who he was. I recognized his name but that was it (I blame my meds :)). Anyway, as soon as the concert started I felt like I was 19 and back at BYU. I instantly recognized the music. We somehow scored front row seats. It was really cool for Spencer to see the guy playing the fiddle. I bought two CD's after the show and we listen to them constantly. Every time we get in the car Ella asks to hear "her" song (You Wear Flowers), Spencer's favorite song is "What About." It was a fun night.

More spring break fun

It seriously has taken me WAY too long to post these pics. I love this one of the kids. Ella was chasing the two boys threatening to lick both of them. I love that as she catches Michael and licks him, he also has his tongue out.

We went into uptown Charlotte and took the kids to a children's museum. They all had a blast! Here are some pics. This is my version of making you all sit through a slideshow of my trip :)

The highlight of the museum for my kids was "Rat Basketball." The museum staff have trained rats that play basketball. This only added to Spencer's determination to have a rat for a pet (he's still trying to talk me into it). Here we are cheering them on:

My favorite part of the museum was the traveling Norman Rockwell Exhibit. We happened to be in North Carolina while the Discovery Museum was hosting it. It was an interactive museum - they brought the paintings to life. Here is one example:

And here are my kids "in the painting.":

Tennis, anyone???

Our first day in NC we went outlet shopping which we adults loved, but the kids hated. We had promised them that the next day would be about them. The first activity they wanted to do was play tennis.

It was great! A neighbor kid tagged along with us and the kids got on the court and just played together so nicely while we adults sat and chatted about how wonderful our children are . . . just kidding!

I think this picture best sums up our time on the courts:

We had 6 kids down there plus 3 adults and someone was always crying. It cracked me up! It was amazing to me that all these little people with such BIG personalities (minus the neighbor kid) belonged to us when just a few years ago we were kid free.

I think most of the frustration stemmed from the fact that they couldn't play as well as they did in their mind. Braxten was the only one who stayed happy most of the time -

I did get one smiling picture -

Isn't she sweet! Maddi is so fun to take pictures of because she actually looks at the camera and smiles!

Luckily, Aunt Michelle saved the day by bringing bread so we could all go feed the ducks. The kids LOVED doing this and ate a lot of the bread themselves - so hunger probably played a part in the earlier grouchiness:

That night we took the kids to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny. Ella took one look at the bunny and decided she wanted no part of it (can't say that I blame her!). Here's a pic with everyone else:

Spring Break

The kids and I spent Spring Break this year at Scott and Michelle's house in North Carolina (Lance's brother). If you are ever lucky enough to get an invitation there definitely make sure you go - or do what I did and invite yourself! My MIL was also visiting at the time so it was nice for the kids (and me!) to get a chance to see her this year. Lance had to work so I made the trip solo. My kids have reached the age where traveling in the car is actually almost enjoyable. They were so excited to see their cousins. When we got home Spencer told Lance to start looking for jobs in NC because he needs to live next to Michael.

Anyway . . . the next couple of posts are going to highlight some fun stuff we did while we were there.

Date Night

A couple of weeks ago I went on a fabulous date around the world all in one night!
I had noticed that Spencer really needed some time alone with me so I set up a date night with him. He was completely mortified that I kept calling it a date so of course I had to loudly say it often. I am such a good mom. We started the evening by going out to dinner together. The restaurant we wanted to go to was closed because of a power outage so we drove around until we found another. We went to a wonderful little Italian place. Spencer completely floored me by ordering spaghetti and meatballs instead of pizza. It was so much fun to sit and spend time with just him. I love his quirky sense of humor and observations.
After dinner we went to the Stake YW/YM Multicultural Night. Each ward was responsible for one country. They have a competition to see who can do the best job. They put together displays on the country, games kids could play on the spot, food, and at the end of the night had to do a skit representing the country. It was months and months of work but it was well worth it. Spencer and I had a blast!

Here are some pics from the night. Spencer is standing in front of part of the Thailand exhibit. The rest are of the YW and YM from my ward.