TWO chocolates will make you FLAT!

Seraya was so excited about school today because it was an "early release day" and for the am kindergartners it meant actually staying an hour longer, packing lunch, and coming home on the bus with all the big kids. Seraya was thrilled to take her lunch to school so we carefully packed all of her favorite things in her lunchbox this morning (half a sandwich, grapes and mini-cheese its). Before she put it in her backpack I managed to sneak two tiny chocolates in there thinking that would put a smile on her face when she opened her lunchbox at school.

She has been home for a while so I just asked her, "Seraya, did you find something special in your lunch box?" She gave me a monster grin and said, "TWO CHOCOLATES! ...did you put those in there?" I told her I did and she said, "Well, the boy next to me at lunch said 'if you eat TWO chocolates you'll get FLAT!' …but, I ate them anyway” Seraya said putting one arm in front of her and one arm in back, “…and see... I didn't get FLAT!"

Oh my gosh, the things kids say!

By the way, that chump was probably trying to get her to give him one of the chocolates - TWO will make you FLAT, but ONE won't! Ha! That's my girl, never mind what the chum next door says, eat the chocolate anyways! And, I'm THRILLED that she doesn't even associate the word FAT with her body. In our house that's the real F-word!

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That big yellow bus took my baby away...to school!

This morning was a special day for my little Seraya, she has been looking forward to this for YEARS it seems. Her first day of Kindergarten! For me, the first day I've let my baby go somewhere without me (or someone I know). I feel so vulnerable knowing that someone else is caring for her now, someone else is also teaching her. I only hope that there will be a loving teacher or helper there the first time she raises her hand and doesn't get picked, or when she doesn't get to be the "line leader", or when she drops her sandwich, or can't find her class, or and of the many things running through my head right now.

It's silly to feel this way, I know. Seraya is feeling free as a bird! She carefully picked out her outfit last night and laid it out on the floor in her room, underwear, shoes, socks and all. We talked about doing this since she has am kindergarten and she did such a great job remembering. I'm really proud of her! Enoch gave her a little blessing at prayer time last night and I said a little prayer with her today before the left. She gave me the biggest hug and told me I'm the best mommy in the world. I made her one of her favorite things for breakfast, an egg, which she gobbled up. She brushed her teeth and got her backpack on and we were off!

Enoch and I piled the kids in the van and went to the bus stop. I was a little nervous for her when I saw the other "big kids" that would be riding the bus. One of the older girls asked who Seraya's teacher is and she said she's the best. Whew!

So, the bus driver, Ms. Jones, checked in each of the kindergartners as they got on the bus. Seraya was so anxious that she was one of the first ones on and she took a seat right on the front row just behind the bus driver. She looked out the window with a HUGE BYE-BYE grin and waved and blew kisses to her dad and I. I went back to the van as the bus pulled away and teared up. I tried to think about how excited she was to have the freedom she's been craving, but I' can't help but be sad that my baby is growing up. I am so proud of her. She knew nothing of the stealth action Enoch and I had planned to see her get OFF the bus as well.

Yesterday at orientation, the teacher said that we were welcome to come to school to see our child get off the bus and take pictures. Enoch jumped out of his skin at the thought! He loves taking pictures of momentous occasions such as this. So, after the bus pulled away we went across the street to the school and Enoch got some video of Seraya getting off the bus. "What's he doing here?" Enoch heard Seraya say in a giggle to a friend. We saw her line up by her teacher who was holding a dolphin sign high on a stick. From the looks of it she was already chatting it up with the girl in line next to her!

We watched her follow her teacher in line to her classroom and then Enoch and I walked back to the van with two children in tow instead of three and it felt so strange. Life just changed for us and now we have a daughter in school. We were choked up at the thought of it. I'm excited for all that she will learn and discover! When we pulled back into the driveway at our house Enoch jumped out to get in his car to drive to work and Kaija piped up, "I really miss Seraya".

Now I just have to remember to be at the bus stop at 12:05 to pick her up!

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Who is that Handsome BOY?!?!

We took in a cute shaggy boy to KidsCuts and we took home a handsome young man! Today Liam got his first haircut. He sat on a Pooh/Tigger toy and that entertained him for about one minute. Then he noticed himself in the mirror and that entertained him for one more minute. The rest of the time he went through two lollipops and whatever other type of distraction mom and dad could come up with to divert his attention and get him to be still. The gal cutting his hair was a complete moron and took forever. While she was nice and agreeable enough I don't think she spoke a lick of English because she didn't cut the hair the way we explained. Thank goodness there was another stylist on hand who came by with the clippers to even things out and blend the haircut to save the day in the end. What a handsome little boy!

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A Geologist and a Hiker

We went on another family camping excursion this weekend to southern Washington area with our friends Ryan and Raelene Weeks and their family. While the weather was marginal, the company was excellent and the fun was diverse!
We went to a camping club/resort in the Mayfield Lake area with our trailer. They seemed extremely well-suited for weekenders like us, with pull-through sites, multiple swimming pools, basketball, tennis, mini-golf and a plethora of other things to keep us and our little ones occupied.

No campfire sites were provided and only elevated fires were allowed. On our first night, we couldn't rent one of the fireplace-on-wheels they offered, so we improvised by putting my dutch oven pan up on rocks to cook our hobo dinners (which are a real hit with my girls) and we then started a small fire on the coals. In subsequent days, we were able to secure one of the aforementioned fireplaces and enjoyed flames galore (which normally meant Enoch nodding off in front of the fire while everyone else enjoyed meaningful conversation). Love of fire is something I share with my son. We put Liam near the fire in his stroller and he was absolutely mesmerized by the hypnotic flickering and sputtering that slowly reduced itself to ashes. He kept reaching for the flame as if it were some new toy to be played with. Fortunately, he was well out of reach of any flames.

On Sunday, we decided it would be fun to go see Mt. St. Helens as we were in the area. It took some convincing to the women that packing the kids for a long road trip (more than hour) up the mountain would be fun. We finally did and off we went! I'm convinced that half the adventure in these type of trips is seeing the countryside and small towns as you pass through. There is an idyllic peace about these tiny communities in the shadow of the volcano.

At one point, on the way up, I turned to Seraya and asked what a volcano is. She explained that it is a "mountain that blows up and lava comes out." I was dang proud of her, because I swear we've never talked about volcanoes before (which means she probably picked it up from some cartoon)!

When we finally reached the Johnston Ridge Observation area, the clouds had descended and began dribbling rain all over us. We had lunch in the back of our vans and headed up to see the mountain. The weather prevented us from seeing much beyond the foot of the volcano and the volcanic plains below it. We did get to see a neat documentary about the eruption in 1980 (which scared the living daylights out of my daughter, Kaija).

We walked outside and I decided to take my girls on a little hike up the Johnston Ridge (Ryan had taken his two older boys and headed up already). As we climbed the paved trail out of the ravine wear the visitor's center was, the wind and weather came on us full force. My girls were motivated and Seraya in particular was soldiering on well in front of us. Shortly, I could see that Kaija was in distress and we needed to turn back. I had another proud daddy moment when it took some serious persuasion to get Seraya to turn back from the hike. She wanted to keep going to the end! I can't wait to get this girl on a real hike!

Kaija, ever our little geologist, loved looking at the volcanic rocks exhibit at the observation center. She kept turning them over and over to examine them. She was particularly smitten with the pumice and was even able to correctly identify it at camp later when she found a little piece at the mini-golf course. She held it up and wanted us to see the"bolcano rock". She, of course, also retrieved various other "specimens" for us to examine!

I am always amazed at the progress and learning that my babies make. I can't believe I'm sending Seraya to school this year. Pretty soon, she'll be telling me things that even I don't know!

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The Beauty of a Car Camp

I've decided there isn't much more life can offer than the glow of the dying embers of a campfire in its last throes. I love camping. I don't know what it is, whether its the escape from the humdrum and boiling life down to its necessities, or playing make-believe of times when life was simpler, but camping just relaxes me.

In recent years, I have not been able to spend nearly as much time as I would have wanted traipsing through the alpine highlands with a backpack full of freeze-dried food. I've come to a new and interesting phase in life where I can finally share these excursions with a coterie of the people who matter the most to me: my little family.

So, I moved from proving and testing my masculinity through grating tests of endurance in the backcountry to s'mores and ghost stories in a tent trailer. At one point in my life, I looked with great disdain on "car camping" and thought little of those who would not "earn" their place to sleep by wearing out the soles of their feet to get there. Now, with my children all asleep and worn out in their Bratz and princess sleeping bags, I have finally gained a love for the beauty of a car camp!

We've made our way to Sequim, WA to camp. We used our spot here at the KOA Kampground as a base camp to visit Sequim and Port Angeles and enjoy the simplicity of small town living. While just in this KOA, there is plenty to do with swimming, mini-golfing and relaxing, we ventured out and made our way to the Dungeness Wildlife Reserve to have a picnic. After a short walk down the easy trail, it started to drizzle. We stopped just short of the descent to the beach on Dungeness Spit at an observation point that was sheltered from the rain by trees. We had our trail lunch and waited out the gentle rain eating bagels and cheese and playing pirates.

When the rain quit, we made our way to the beach to play in the sand and enjoy the surf pounding in. There truly is nothing as beautiful as watching your kids enjoy the sand on a beach in the Pacific Northwest!

On the way back to the KOA, we decided to visit the Olympic Game Farm, which was quite the adventure. The kids loved having animals like yaks, buffalo and elk come right up to the car. They did not know what to think about those particularly pushy animals who put their snouts right through our open windows. At one point, there were simultaneously elk at my window, Kerri's window AND the back window of our van...each pushing their heads as far as they could into the car, trying to get some bread from us! It freaked the kids out a little, particularly Kaija! These were HUGE elk, whose LEGS were nearly as tall as our van!

Probably the funniest part was when Kerri allowed a big buffalo to get close enough to her window before giving him bread that he stuck his TONGUE through the crack in our window where she was! Who knew that buffaloes has such long tongues!?! I let an elk get close enough that I put bread right IN his mouth! Of course he wanted more and I had to roll the window up and almost got his lip in it! :)

The kids really loved the bears too. Each of the bears staked out their own little section of the paddock to sit by the roadside and beg for bread. Several of them even had little tricks that made them crowd favorites. One could actually request more food by waving at you! Another would sit back and "smile" at you. It made them seem so cute and cuddly. It's hard to believe they are really such dangerous creatures and the only thing between them and us was a short four foot fence and a few strands of electrified wire!

After this it was back to camp for a dinner of bratwurst and roasted marshmellows! Then, the girls actually put themselves to bed! This is a phenomena the we only see when camping. It is either really fun to them to sleep in the bags, or camping really tuckers them out. Either way, the net result was an evening where Kerri and I could peacefully gather our thoughts by the campfire without wondering which kid is going to trip and fall into it!

What a day!

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Liam's FIRST Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Liam...what a BIG BOY!
Well, we have this tradition to give our babies their first taste of REAL dairy on their first birthday.

Uhhhheeemmm, now that I think of it, I think Liam has had a taste or two of the forbidden substance courtesy of my dad, Grandpa Cook. For some reason he thinks babies are deprived and feels the need to give them tastes of all sorts of goodies including caramel, frosting, soda, etc. So I'm sure this is not Liams real first taste of ice cream, but it is the first cone he got all to himeslf and he knew just what to do with it!

There are some things in life where a lesson on "how to" is just not required. Eating an ice cream cone is one of them!

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Road Trip!

We did it, we broke down...every bit of COOLNESS Enoch and I had in our bones disappeared. We got a MINIVAN! The kids were so excited about it, I wasn't. Seraya was overheard "bragging" to the neighbor girl (who, by the way, has a Porsche, Escalade, Hummer, and Mercedes SUV) "Oh yeah, well, know what, we're getting a mini-van with sliding doors!"

I didn't have quite the enthusiasm, I loved my Lexus SUV and wanted to keep it, but it just didn't do the job with three little ones in car seats. I surrendered and now I love the ultimate "soccer mom" rig. With the push of a button the doors and hatch slide open and I can yell "get in and put your buckles on" and just like that the magic happens.

Anyhow, we thought there would be no better way to break the new van in than with a road trip to UTAH! What a trip it was!
Enoch and I spent days thinking about the best "plan of attack" for the road trip. How do we get three little kids to Utah with as little pain (for them and us) as possible? Do we leave in the morning while the kids are still sleeping? Or head out after work and stop somewhere on the way for a night? We decided on the latter and it was perfect! The kids were so entertained with their activity bags that I made them...they didn't even ask for a movie (or to get out of the car) until our last hour of the trip. Even little Liam was a trooper. I must say Enoch and I must have been expecting the worst because we kept on looking at each other...are they still alive? Should we stop? We just cranked up the tunes on the ipod and kept on cruisin'!

Our first point of interest was Woodruff, Utah. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised! What's there, you ask? Grandpa Arnold and Grandma Syd serving a mission! They are taking groups on Pioneer Treks where they load up handcarts and the whole bit. The girls were so excited to see grandma and grandpa! Liam was fascinated with grandpas stylin hat and the girls loved exploring and riding in the handcart.

Seraya wandered off through the fields picking all sorts of flowers and grandma Syd helped her make some pressed flower art projects. Kaija was loving playing with and collecting rocks. One of the best parts for the girls was sleeping in the bunk beds at the guest cabin called "Pappy's". At one point I went in there and they had their sleeping bags draped from the top bunk down, turning the bottom bunk into a secret play fort. I love their imaginations!

We also went into town (Evanston, WY) and met a mission friend of mine (Nate Conrad and his family), then went to a Relay for Life walk in support of finding a cure for cancer. We walked some laps and decorated a luminary in memory of Enoch's mom. That was so special!

Enoch loved spending some time with his dad, the rugged surroundings fit them both so well. Two peas in a pod, I'm beginning to realize more and more each day! Riding in the old truck around the property was especially nostalgic for Enoch and the girls loved the bouncy ride with grandpa, too.

Next point of interest was Dave and Amber's house. We celebrated Savannah's birthday with a pizza party at the park. The next day we went to the Seven Peaks Water Park and the kids loved it! I went down a ride on a tube holding Kaija and we went through a really dark tunnel and I kept on making whoooweee noises trying to convince her it was fun. Towards the end I tried to hold her up so she wouldn't go under the water...it didn't work, we BOTH went under. She didn't want to go on that ride again. The girls were so brave about going on the kiddie slides and couldn't get enough of it. We had a picnic there at the water park and went to the BYU Creamery afterwards for ice-cream! Yumm-o!

During our UTAH adventure we also took at trip to Temple Square where we met up with my awesome mission companion, Jane. I love her so much and haven't seen her for so long. Our kids became friends instantly and didn't want to leave. We had fun walking the Temple grounds. Kaija found a deep affection for a mini statue of Joseph Smith. She held his hand and pretended to dance with him. Probably a little irreverent, I know, but it was so darn cute. She said, "look mama, just my size".

I really enjoyed spending time with Jane, we had a few laughs about mission things and we caught up on about 8 years of stuff. I hope we see each other before the next 8 years comes and goes!

Jane and crew joined us for a meal at Rodisio, a Brazilian Grill Restaurant. We had been there once before and it was SO GOOD! Enoch has bee looking forward to returning ever since. They skewer meat and slow roast it and bring every kind of meat you can imagine by and slice some off on your plate. The tastes, and especially the guarana drink take Enoch back to his mission in Brazil years ago. The girls loved eating olives and quail eggs (they were tiny and cute) and little samples off dads plate. I'm still not a meat fan so it was salad bar for me, I enjoyed the variety of flavors.

We drove back through Draper where I was able to meet with two other friends I love, Aimee and Holly. I called Aimee to see if we could hook up for a visit and she said that she had just ran into my other friend at the store and got her number. It was such a blessing to be able to go to Aimee and Bruce's beautiful house and meet their babes and then have Holly come over, I got a double dose of friends. I felt so refreshed after talking with them about fun memories of college and catching up on all the kiddos and stuff. I think Heavenly Father just wanted to remind me that friendships like this don't fade and somehow you can just pick up where you left off and it's like the time never lapsed. Yay! That was so fun!

Another point of interest was a visit to "Aunt Em's". That's Emily, Enoch's sister. We got to meet her new husband, Brent and see their new home, and a special treat was that Kiley (Em's daughter) was there visiting for the summer so the girls were happy to play with their cousin. Emily cooked us a wonderful dinner and it was so fun to catch up and talk about their baby due in December, I believe.

What a trip! Even the ride home was fun. We reunited with family and friends and loved ones. We are sorry we don't get to Utah for a visit more often, but maybe with the new minivan, we'll be taking more road trips like this one!

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