Happy Birthday America

(Notice the orange tie? Definitely not the blue and white striped one I picked out. He thinks he has a say in what he wears.)

The kids didn't seem to mind our low-key holiday spent close to home. The community breakfast was a cold start to the weekend. It felt more like an Easter breakfast than 4th of July. The weather remained cool, ruling out any sort of water activities.

We enjoyed a family reunion and fireworks at the Falls.

Wagons Ho!

My sister and her husband participate in a wagon train. We took the chance and tagged along for a few days. It was like a dream for the kids: horses, wagons, dirt, fire, camping, junk food, and no baths. My first born demands that "the next wagon train be 100 million days long." He could not get enough of sitting by Uncle Ty in the drivers seat and talking to the horses. In fact, once we'd get back to camp, the kids would take turns "driving" one another around. "Step up girls, gee over, and haw over."

The scenery was beautiful, the rides were so relaxing, the food and people were great, and the candy cannon was a favorite. Of course the family bonding experience isn't complete without a miserable night in the tent, but the experience certainly earned our family's seal of approval.

Yard Work

For the past month my yard has undergone some major transformations. First, Brent used the backhoe to dig trenches for new waterlines on the area east of our house. Up until then, it was a big weed patch. Most of the area was buried beneath mounds of dirt and it looked concerning. Everyone kept asking what sort of major thing we were doing.

Next, he installed an irrigation system in the new and existing yard. We finally completed it, brought in a belly dump full of sand for the sandbox, smoothed the ground, and got grass planted (as it was getting dark so we could leave on a family trip.) A big shout out to my husband for his long hours of hard work.

Although the yard is far from being complete, we've made some great progress.

Wasatch Back

More drama than I care to remember. Sisters may or may not be the best team members. But things settled down once we were off and running.

I bounced around and ran all different legs than I had planned. (4, 15, 23) I made a last minute van switch and then pinch hitted for my aunt who got sick. I did my part, but rest of the team are the real heroes. They really are Wonders, whether they are Wilkins or not. Many faced injury or were recovering from other setbacks. Some were tackling this as their first major run. Whatever the circumstance, everyone dug in their hills and got the job done.

Ruby Doo got to hang out in the van the entire time. She was awesome and had smiles for everyone. It helped to be sharing vans with Grandma and Grandpa.

Van #1 - White Bread

Want to read more? Go here, here, and here.

I Am

I am the mom of three. One six month that is still nursing.

I am inspired by my mom, our team captain.
I am not fast.

I am fitness and health minded (and sadly enough, size and weight conscious too.)

I am a minimalist. No stretching or shot bloks for me.

I am sick of training in long sleeve shirts and gloves for crying out loud.

I am grumpy when I don't get my run in for the day.

I am apprehensive.

I am not a runner, I just pretend.

I am running in Wasatch Back.

Yikes!

Picking a Fight

As we were dishing up our plates Hudson commented, "I'm not eating peas. I'm just not going to do it. And you can't make me!"

"That's okay," I replied. "Kids who eat their peas will get cookies for dessert."

"So how many do I have to eat?" Without any resistance at all.

Next Time

Bedtime used to be torture. Dalanie would throw a fit if her book and Book of Mormon weren't read first, if she didn't say her prayer first, and if she didn't get tooth paste on her tooth brush first. As soon as she'd start in on her tantrum, Hudson always conceded. It upset me that she always got away with it.

It took a few days, but we started alternating so each kid could have their book read or say prayers first. So when she thought about getting upset we'd remind her "next time you get to be first."

Turns out that "next time" has settled more than one fight.

"Next time me be nice." (Be nice has become her favorite answer to any question in FHE.)

"Next time me get bubble gum."

"Next tim me go to Grandma's."

"Next time, next time, next time . . . "

Half Year Birthday

Holy smokes. Ruby has been with us for 1/2 year now. Her big brother absolutely adores her. He can make her smile and giggle like no one else. He talks to her in the sweetest little voice and tells her funny things. "Who's got the craziest hair? Is it my Ruby?" Hudson is great at helping her in the car and when I'm in the middle of something.

Put the two of these girls together and you've got a lot of wild hair in the mornings. Dalanie is really good at getting anywhere Ruby is- crib, counter, anywhere she shouldn't be.
Ruby turns six months and she think she needs a sippy cup. And boy, does she throw a fit if you try to take it away. She loves to chew on everything. She's a pretty messy eater, but she's enjoying baby food.

Recently she discovered her thumb. It's cute now, I just hope she doesn't get too attached.

She can roll across a room in no time.

She prefers Mom and is getting kind of attached.

Sometimes I think we have a pterodactyl in the house because she can sure screech and squawk.

We all love her so much and can't imagine life with out her.

Meet Duke

After several job interviews and background checks, Duke got the job as our kid horse. He's an 18 year old Appaloosa so the kids are certain he likes apples. He is a very solid horse that you can trust with the kids. You can throw the kids on bareback and even let the take a turn leading (dragging as Dalanie says.)

The kids can not get enough of him. We had to wait for him to dry off this morning before they could go for a ride. Once they finally got on him, we made a loop around the yard and then it started raining again.

Brent thought the new horse was a perfect reason to come up with an odd job for the kids [me.] We went around a field and picked up triticale we missed when we chopped. Duke is a fan so the kids were satisfied with their work.

Silent Movies

Up until recently, the audio for movies was a bit difficult to enable for some of us (like babysitters and me.) Consequently, Hudson would be given the option to watch without any sound or choose something else to do. He always opted to "watch" the movie picture. On more than one occasion he would invite me to watch with him. No thanks, I'm not into silent movies.

Pocket Change

Dalanie was so excited to show me a penny she found while we were shopping. By the time we left the store, she had found $.27.

And then today, she came home from exercise with $1.12.

Not bad.

She has been putting it in her money bank. Along with her "new" socks. Turns out Hudson started conning her into buying his old socks.

Nothing like generating a cash flow.

All Aboard

We ran into the library after preschool graduation for Hudson's "boys only"- Thomas the Train Party. When there were spaces still available, the girls even got to participate. They read stories, chugged through the library blowing their whistles, and had individual Twinkie train cars for treats. Leave it to Hudson to grab the only engine car for his treat. It was comprised of 2 chocolate zingers, tootsie roll smokestack, and oreo wheels.

Obedience School

After barking orders at my pups without much response, I decided it was time to enroll them in obedience training. I purchased an inexpensive collar, leash, and Scooby Snacks and set aside an evening for our first class.

It was an absolute hit, the kid canines enjoyed leading each other around with the leash. For safety we used the collar around their tummies, like a belt. By the end of the night they could "sit," "stay," "shake," "fetch," and "roll over." They loved being rewarded with Scooby snacks for their good behavior. We had a little discussion on obedience and why it is important. After so much fun, we plan on having more training sessions in the future.

I found an interesting article on obedience training for dogs that I could easily relate to my children. A little excerpt states:

"Obedience training should be fun and rewarding for you and your [child.] It can enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable. A well-trained [child] is more confident and can more safely be allowed a greater amount of freedom than an untrained one. "

"Keep the obedience training sessions short and sweet. It is dull and boring to schedule tedious and lengthy training sessions. Instead, integrate training into your daily routine. Make obedience training interesting and meaningful to your [child]."

"The single most important aspect of training is rewarding your [child] for good behavior. . . Praise and reward are the most important part of maintaining good behavior and preventing problems from arising."

Turns out I learned a little from obedience school too. It's not as one sided as I thought. There's more to obedience than just barking orders.

Chocolate Caper

Ever since Dalanie was little, she would head for the chocolate chips when she wanted a treat. Now it's no different, only worse.

After grocery shopping, I proceeded to put things away. I reached for my chocolate chip canisters only to find them gone. Dalanie had apparently misplaced them after reloading her Easter eggs and purses. After I was about crazy from trying to coax their location out of her, we found them beneath the desk.

She must be related to this one.

Pretty On The Inside

It's sad that our society puts such an emphasis on good looks. Even at my son's preschool graduation, I felt like all the kids were being judged and rated by what they look like. How unfair and ridiculous.

And then the next morning after Dalanie's hair was fixed, I told her to go show Dad. He tells her how pretty she is and she loves hearing it. Well, this particular morning, he scooped her up and asked, "But are you pretty in here?" pointing to her heart.

How do we teach our children that? Because to me, that's the most important pretty, pretty on the inside.

Grandma's House

It didn't take much of an excuse to get us to Grandma and Grandpa's house, so the invitation for Hudson to go to Father and Sons with Grandpa was enough. The kids were eager to go. We left Brent behind to hold down the fort and work and headed to Burley for a few days.

The weather was gorgeous so there was asparagus to be hunted, lawn to be mowed, work to be done, and ice cream to be eaten.

I had to restrain Hudson from following Grandpa to the shop at 6:00 am. He loved using Grandpa's tool, building hitches, getting his own soapstone, and heading out on their boy campout. Luckily Grandpa had a hat he could borrow since he forgot one at home. I don't know which one enjoys the other more. Hudson told Grandma, "He's my best pal."

Ruby couldn't be outdone by Grandpa's tricks, so she decided to start rolling over while we were there. A trip to the hair salon rounded out the trip. Hair cuts for all the girls.

Daddy's Girls

The girls have been the lunch ladies for Dad while he's been planting corn. Ruby got to take her first tractor ride yesterday. Despite Hudson's differing opinion, girls can ride in tractors. Dalanie's rides are brief, but enough to make her feel pretty important.

The Dad sure enjoys the company, but is requesting twice as big of lunches. For some reason, Dalanie is pretty smooth about conning people out of things.

Reality Check

I woke up to kisses and "Happy Mother's Day" salutations on Sunday. Nothing better to put a smile on my face. I was off the breakfast shift as the kids and husband tackled that. I lounged around until I was summoned to my egg and waffle breakfast. I was living the life, a magazine fairytale for Mother's Day.

And then it happened, my first born prayed over the food and then over me.

"Help my Mom to be a better Mom."

What!?! That was even after a very pleasant morning.

I wonder what he uttered in his prayers last night, after a very long a trying day for me. Oh well, I guess I can use all the help I can get.