My Boys

1.  Dallin

Dallin's 2nd grade class recently did reports on famous people.  The kids all chose whomever they wanted, so there was everyone from Cleopatra to Mia Hamm, to Abraham Lincoln.  Dallin chose to do George Washington.  On the day  of their oral report, they could choose to dress up as their subject if they wanted to.  Of COURSE Dallin wanted to.  We love dressing up at our house.  He came up with his costume pretty much by himself by rummaging around the dress-up box and finding things around the house.  We  used batting for the white powdered wig, a blue coat from Mom's closet, and rubber bands held up his pant legs just below his knees, and he pulled up his socks.  He also found a cravat that we used for a Captain Hook costume years ago.  And the three cornered hat was also for Captain Hook.  I came to watch his report, and he did a good job.  At the end all the kids could ask questions about the famous person.  The questions were kinda funny.  Some of them were pretty good questions.  Dallin's responses are in parentheses.

What was his wife's name?  (I don't remember)

Why did you choose this person? (because he defeated the British in the British and American war.)

What is the most important thing he did? (He was the first president of the United States of America.)
Why is his face on the dollar?  (His face isn't on a doll!)  No, the dollar.  (Oh, I thought you said doll.)

Most of the questions had to do with his costume.

How did you turn your hair white? (I don't remember what it's called)

Why did people in the olden days wear white wigs? (I have no idea)

Why did George Washington wear tights? (they aren't tights--they are socks that are pulled up!)

Why did George Washington wear a bib? (it's not a bib!!!)

For some reason, Dallin wanted to give his report sitting down, (I think he thought it looked more presidential) so I didn't get a picture of his whole costume.  It wasn't spectacular or anything, but his pants with his pulled-up socks looked pretty cool. :)

2. Sean & Hayden

What would I do all day without these boys?  

A cold bubble bath in the kitchen sink, instigated by Sean of course.  I heard them laughing uncontrollably and thought I'd better investigate.  Sure enough, they were spilling water and bubbles everywhere, and having a marvelous time.  

This little Hayden is more than I can take sometimes.  Yesterday, I made the mistake of going to the store in the afternoon when he was tired and cranky which resulted in the biggest tantrum of his life on the way home.  I carried him in from the car kicking and screaming and brought him straight upstairs for a nap.  He had kicked off his shoes and pants and wouldn't let me put pants on or remove his coat.

So finally, I just covered him up, and walked out.  Since he doesn't stay in his crib anymore, we have turned the lock around on his door so we can lock him in.  (It sounds cruel, I know, but trust me, it's for the good of the whole family that he eventually fall asleep and take a nap.)  So I locked him in and went downstairs.

Well, in a few minutes, he came downstairs still yelling and screaming.  When I took him back upstairs, I found that he had emptied all of his and Daphne's drawers (clothes completely covered the floor) and found a lone penny at the bottom of one of Daphne's drawers with which he unlocked the door.  Please tell me what you do with a two-year-old who can pick a lock?

I removed the penny and locked him in again, and came downstairs.

Soon after I got downstairs, he came down too.  I didn't even go up to find out how.  I was so tired of him that I figured I'd ignore the problem for a bit.  I know that's not very good parenting, but frankly, I needed to catch my breath from carrying him up and down the stairs.  Well, after coming downstairs and looking around quietly for a minute, he went back upstairs, climbed into his crib, and went to sleep.  That boy has a real stubborn streak in him--it's like he knew he was tired, but it was gonna be his own decision to take a nap.  So he came downstairs just to show me that he could, and then went up for his nap.

Now, I don't remember being two.  It seems like being two is really hard.  But sometimes I think being the mother of a two-year-old might be harder.

Upward Basketball

We had Dallin play some Basketball this year with a league called Upward that is sponsored by a local church.  It seems like everybody does this league--every time we go to a game we recognize people from school or from our church, which makes it pretty fun.  

Dallin had a great time playing, and wants to do it again next year.  I think Daphne wants to try next year too.  

They don't keep score, which was a good thing for Dallin's little team this year.  

Let's just say, Dallin was one of the tall ones on his team.  And he's not tall by any standard.

Unfortunately, I didn't get ANY pictures that turned out decently.  

But here are a few that are the best of what I took.

This little guy on Dallin's team had some physical disabilities and hadn't made a basket all season.  So at the practice before Brock's last game, the team decided to make a play called "operation Brock," (or something like that)  When the coach yelled, "Operation Brock" from the sideline, whoever had the ball, was supposed to pass it to Brock (who had positioned himself close to the basket) and the coach would run out and lift him up to make a basket.  

Here is Brock making his only basket of the season.

 I thought about how much that would mean to me if I was Brock's mother.   And how important it was for Brock to taste that little bit of success, with his teammates cheering him on. 

And I cried as I watched.  

Crazy!

1.  Crazy Hair Day

There are two dress-up days at our school that my kids really look forward to:  Pajama Day, and Crazy Hair Day.  Here are their crazy hair-do's this year:

2.  Another thing that's crazy is eating popsicles on a cold winter's night.  We had a fire in the fireplace, and they were all bundled up in their bathrobes, and they asked for popsicles.  Actually, it isn't uncommon at all for us to indulge in cold treats all year round.  But I was trying to fit this into the "crazy" title.  Crazy to some people, maybe?

Nothing like a popsicle on a cold winter's night.  

Hurray!  Daphne finally lost that tooth.  It had been hanging there for way too long.  :)  

kid'isms

Lately, Sean has been into making random obvious statements.  At one of Hayden's many Dr. visits for his ears, Sean had a cough.  He hacked and hacked and hacked and then told the nurse very loudly, "I have a cough!"  At another recent Dr. visit, Sean informed the doctor, "My dad is ALIVE!"  The doctor (who sounds like he might be from Jamaica) laughed, "Oh, well, dat is good!"

Every week when Sunday rolls around, Sean comes into our room and says apprehensively, "Mom, what day is it?"  Me:  "Sunday"  Sean: "awww, I don't want to go to church!"  It's the same thing, EVERY week.  And sometimes he'll add something like, "I'm sick Mom, I have to stay home."  I hope this is just  a phase . . .

Daphne:  I want to come to Young Women's with you, Mom.
Dallin:  Daph, you can't go because you are not a young woman.  You're more like . . . a small girl.


Last night we were making some sugar cookies.  I used a butter substitute instead of real butter and it made the recipe too runny.  When I tried adding more flour, it kind of ruined the dough.  I told the kids sorry, but I ruined the dough.  Daphne said, "Don't worry Mom, don't feel bad.  You tried your best."  :)

Hayden is like a little First Mate at our house.  He repeats all of the parents' orders and sometimes he makes up his own.  "We go to church Don (Sean)!"  "Sit down Don!"  "At the table!" (food at the table) "Cyoze (close) you eyes!" (during a prayer). "Don't touch!" (yes, he hears that one frequently.)  And this morning when I came down to fix breakfast, he ordered me to "Put away!" (there were some boxes on the table that needed to be cleared before he could eat.)  I guess when you have five older people constantly tell you what to do, you figure out real quick how to boss people around.

 Dallin and Daphne were recently each posed with the question, 

(at different times and by different people) 

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" 

 Dallin's written response:  I have know idea.  I still have a long time to think about it.

 Daphne's verbal response:  Nothing.  I just want to take care of my kids.

I loved that Daphne just wants to take care of her kids . . .  I guess about the time she has her first one she'll figure out that it's the polar opposite of "nothing."  ;)

What's the first thing that comes to mind when your 4-year-old son yells from downstairs, 

"Mom!  The pokey is up!"  

Naturally, the logical explanation for that statement is that the bathtub drain won't seal.  It couldn't be more obvious, right?  Now, what if he calls you a "slick slack?"  No idea?  Me neither.  I'm still working on that one.

Sean has come up with some funny names for his made-up games.  

He calls one "Roll the guy" 

which is a game in which you empty out the big red bucket that holds the stuffed animals, and put a person in it--I think Hayden has been the primary participant--and then Sean rolls the bucket with a "guy" inside.  The other day he came downstairs armed with a light saber and a plastic helmet and said, 

"Hey Daph--wanna play 'Kill the Girl' with me?"

  She thought for a second and then judiciously said, 

"Um, no."

Gariety #5

We went in for our ultrasound this week and for the first time ever, we found out the gender.  

 

 

Spine with legs curled up

 

feet

Gariety #5 is a GIRL!

Isn't she cute?  

So Sean was right.  He told us all along that the baby in mommy's tummy is a sister!  And now maybe he and Hayden will finally get respite from being dressed as fairy princesses with Daphne.

We haven't picked out a name yet, but

here are some of the ideas we've come up with so far:

Dallin:  Lucy, Kaitlyn, Emily

Daphne:  Kirra, Dory (like the blue fish on Nemo)

Sean:  Jocelyn, Jessie (from Toy Story 2)

Hayden:  NO! (is he two or what?)

Sharee:  Abigail

Arthur:  Charity.  Charity Gariety.  Thanks for the help, hun.

Aloha!

I apologize in advance for the number of pictures I have in this post.  I know "more isn't always better-- sometimes it's just more," but it took me so long just to narrow it down this far, and to be honest, I just want to cross this post off my to-do list.  :)  So here you go--35 pictures of our Hawaiian adventure.  (I made some of them small, so maybe those only count as half a picture?)

  

We recently returned from a Stone Family Reunion in Kona, Hawaii, on the Big Island.  My Grandparents provided the housing and we were all in charge of getting ourselves out there.  Our whole family (37 of us, I think) stayed at the Kona Plantation, which has two 8 bedroom homes, (each with their own bathroom and lanai) a pool, a tennis and basketball court, and all the fresh tropical fruit we could pick.  Above is a view of the pool and one of the houses.  It was perfect! 

We took Dallin & Daphne because they would be old enough to remember it, while Sean and Hayden stayed with our good friends, to whom we will forever be indebted!!!  

Thank you Steve and Erin--you guys are the best!  I don't really think Sean and Hayden even missed us, they had so much fun at your house.

Snorkeling in the tide pools.

Arthur teaching Dallin to snorkel.  It's kind of unnerving having your nose covered and having to breathe through that tube.  Dallin did a good job figuring it out, and Arthur was a great teacher.  Daphne didn't like the tube at all, so Arthur found a spot where she could just put her face in the water and look at some fish through the goggles.  She thought it was pretty amazing!

Our hike to Akaka Falls:

 

A little casual vine swinging.

 Beautiful Akaka Falls

The Kathy Wood Memorial 5K walk/run

Here we all are in our wackiness, getting ready to go.

I love Grammy & Grandpa sharing a kiss right there in the middle of all their crazy posterity.

Our big family Luau.

The plantation cooked a pig in the ground for us, and below, the kids are looking at the pig and balking at the tusks and teeth that are still plainly visible.  I think my Aunt Leslie actually found a tooth in her meat that night!

 

Dallin was among those chosen to learn the Tahitian hip-shakin' dance with the Polynesian dancers. This part of the evening had us all in stitches!  

We went to several beaches during our stay.  Since we don't have any beaches in New Mexico, we were just in heaven.  

 

Daphne, Dallin and Colton.

Colton is my cousin, but is the same age as Dallin, and these three had a great time playing together.

This is the village they built and they told me that it had an LDS church and a temple in it.

 

Besides day trips, we had a great time just relaxing at the plantation playing games, reading, swimming, playing tennis, riding bikes, eating delicious fruits, (starfruit, mango, pineapple, bananas, papaya, etc), and catching geckos.

 

And what family gathering would be complete without a sister "photo shoot"? (thanks Kris!)

Some of my favorite moments:

Waking up in the morning and feeling the ocean breeze through the open windows, 

Listening to the rustling of the palm trees and the sounds of the birds outside. 

Going down to the shore at the end of the day to watch the sun set.  

Sharing all of this fun with family.
You can't get much better than that.