A few weeks ago, Austin and I took the kids on a Sunday afternoon family walk in the local cemetary. It's only a couple blocks away, and it's a nice, shady, quiet place to get out for a breath of fresh air. I've been doing my morning walks there most days since we moved to Baltimore. I've had some interesting discussions with Carson about death and what happens when you die. He seems pretty cool with it. (Although, for a while, he had a "I'm going to miss you when you die." phase. He'd say that about everyone--me, Cora, Dad, the dog. I told him that's not happening for a long time yet.)
But this particular afternoon while walking with Austin, a new question came into my mind--well, an old question with a completely new angle: What Happens When We Die? No no, I get the spiritual stuff. I believe our bodies are left behind on earth, while our spirit returns to our heavenly home to await final judgement. And I get the physical stuff--our bodies cease to function and the matter begins to decay. What I don't get is the social aspect of death.
Walking thru the cemetary, I see big headstones and small ones; large mausoleums and monuments; flat headstones and wall plaques. Some are buried individually, and some with spouses. Some are with children and some are buried as a whole family group. But how do you decide where and how you're going to be buried? I've never lived any one place for more than 6 years, and my parents don't even live there anymore. I married a man from a place I've never ever lived, and neither of our parents live anywhere near where any other family members are buried. So neither of us has a default place to, dare I say, "put down roots" in that sense.
Who decides where someone gets buried--especially after a spouse is involved. Is there some sort of social custom to decide this? What if your family has a plot and a space for you, but so do your inlaws? Or what if Grandparents set aside land for grandchild burial--or what if they didn't?
And here's another thing. I have always felt that I could never get a tattoo (for various reasons, but mostly) because I can't think of any one statement I feel that attached to. How on earth could I choose a gravestone, and what would I want put on it--making the most final of statements on life? Also, it seems like headstones and fancy coffins must cost an awful lot. Why would I want that much money spent on me posthumously? What's wrong with a good old pine box and a sturdy pile of rocks? Or why isn't cremation and/or ash scattering more widely done?
And everytime I see someone in the graveyard, visiting or mourning over a grave, I think, "I would never want anyone to feel like they have to visit me all the time!" There are some graves with elaborate trees, gardens, and other decorations around them that have to be tended and pruned. Causing yardwork from beyond the grave? No way! But then when I think about it in reverse--if I lost Austin, how would I want to remember him?--I feel differently. How would I want to honor his memory? Maybe it would make me feel good to go tend a few flowers or sit on a marble bench at his side. I don't know.
So I guess that's what it's all about. We talk about honoring the dead, but I think it's all really for the living. I didn't think writing this would make me feel sad--I thought it was a rather amusing quandry. But I certainly hope I can keep my promise to Carson, and that I don't have to deal with this sort of thing for a very very long long time.
30 August 2012
29 August 2012
"Mom, I have to tell you something..."
I have been reading thru a lot of old journal and Dispatch entries lately, and it's made me wonder: "What happened? Where is that charismatic girl of days gone by who had lots to say about everything?" And I thought about how not only can I rarely get up the gumption to write these days, but when I do, it's usually just something about the kids. Heaven help me, I haven't just become a boring mom, have I?
It's not that I have any problem with all the wonderful stuff I have to write about my kids. It's just that I worry about what's happened to the stuff about me? Well, worry is probably a stronger word than I need to use. It's more of a passing ponderance, really.
Having said that, my inspiration for writing tonite was a day chock full of amazingness out of Carson's mouth. He was seriously on a roll. So it's time to catch you up on my store of Carson-isms. And here's hoping this opens the floodgates for my writing as well.
* As always, Carson is really in to fast things. His favorite expressions include: "I go/it goes/that was fast! Speed like a bullet!" and "That was flame fire!" and "That was speed limit!" Everything, including himself, is fast these days--no, wait, the fastest in the WORLD!
* "Mom, why do tornadoes come?" (pause, chuckles to himself) "It sounds like tomato!"
* One Sunday, we were visiting Austin's parents' church, and I pointed out to Carson that Grandad was sitting on the stand. I explained that he was the Bishop. A few minutes later, he whispered excitedly to me, "Hey! Grandma lives with the Bishop!"
* While walking to the nearby grocery store, "Mom, this place just used to be a desert. But then the big wind came and just...BLEW all the sand away! Blew it to North AFRICA! The tornado was so strong it just blew it far far away to North Africa."
"Where is North Africa?"
"It's next to Maryland, far far away."
* I took Carson to Applebee's for a little Mom&Son time. We walked in the front doors and before the hostess could even greet us, he proclaimed, "I want a steak! I want a BIG FEAST!" And later that same nite, he said to me, "Mom, this is our first date!" Also, he wouldn't let me open my own car door, because he wanted to be a gentleman.
* While driving nearby, Carson saw a flag with those gangly Germanic dragon-lions on it. This was his explanation of what they are (better than mine, perhaps): "It's a dragon squirrel! Dragon squirrels shoot fire out of their mouths...underground...to cook their next meal. Also, in our houses to help us get rid of mice."
* We attended a baptism at church recently, so we've been talking to Carson about that a bit. We were explaining that when he turns 8, Dad will baptise him. And that when he is old enough, he can have the Priesthood, and then he can baptise his own kids someday. His (excited) reply was, "Yeah! When they turn 8 years old, I'm gonna hold them under the water for a long, long time!"
* After Carson squished a cricket with his bike, Austin told him that he didn't need to because crickets are nice. Carson replied, "No, crickets are bad. Everyone in Alaska just uses their swords to protect them selves from the Old, MEAN crickets."
* He is really into numbers right now, and really likes giving irrelevant number values to pretty much everything. "This goes 79 miles an hour!" "I'm 20!" and, the other day, after spending 2 nites at Grandma's house, we asked how those 2 days had been, and he said emphatically, "No, it was just 60 days!"
* Most everything he says, by the way, is preceeded by, "Mom, I have to tell you something..." Last Saturday, after a conversation with Dad, he came and found me to tell me this something: "Jimi Hendricks can play the guitar a lot lot better than you."
* Tonite after his bath he was hopping around with wet feet and (just as I was trying to warn him to stop) he slipped and whacked his head on the floor. Much wailing and crying ensued, but after about 2-3 minutes of holding him and trying to comfort him or distract him, he said--mid-wail--"Moooomm! I have to tell you something! Some people have tracks with bridges that are already built!"
* He came in for a snack while I was preparing dinner tonite. After I gave him a small piece of brownie, he said, "Mom, I have to tell you something. I appreciate you." (Awwww!)
* Later that same time, "Mom, I have to tell you something. Craisins don't have any seeds, so they are vegetables."
* And finally, also today. Attempting to self-entertain while I got some work done, he was throwing around some of those little fuzzy pom-poms. He said, "This game is called 'floor catch juggle'. It's where the floor has to catch 3 balls at the same time."
Hope we made you laugh. :)
It's not that I have any problem with all the wonderful stuff I have to write about my kids. It's just that I worry about what's happened to the stuff about me? Well, worry is probably a stronger word than I need to use. It's more of a passing ponderance, really.
Having said that, my inspiration for writing tonite was a day chock full of amazingness out of Carson's mouth. He was seriously on a roll. So it's time to catch you up on my store of Carson-isms. And here's hoping this opens the floodgates for my writing as well.
* As always, Carson is really in to fast things. His favorite expressions include: "I go/it goes/that was fast! Speed like a bullet!" and "That was flame fire!" and "That was speed limit!" Everything, including himself, is fast these days--no, wait, the fastest in the WORLD!
* "Mom, why do tornadoes come?" (pause, chuckles to himself) "It sounds like tomato!"
* One Sunday, we were visiting Austin's parents' church, and I pointed out to Carson that Grandad was sitting on the stand. I explained that he was the Bishop. A few minutes later, he whispered excitedly to me, "Hey! Grandma lives with the Bishop!"
* While walking to the nearby grocery store, "Mom, this place just used to be a desert. But then the big wind came and just...BLEW all the sand away! Blew it to North AFRICA! The tornado was so strong it just blew it far far away to North Africa."
"Where is North Africa?"
"It's next to Maryland, far far away."
* I took Carson to Applebee's for a little Mom&Son time. We walked in the front doors and before the hostess could even greet us, he proclaimed, "I want a steak! I want a BIG FEAST!" And later that same nite, he said to me, "Mom, this is our first date!" Also, he wouldn't let me open my own car door, because he wanted to be a gentleman.
* While driving nearby, Carson saw a flag with those gangly Germanic dragon-lions on it. This was his explanation of what they are (better than mine, perhaps): "It's a dragon squirrel! Dragon squirrels shoot fire out of their mouths...underground...to cook their next meal. Also, in our houses to help us get rid of mice."
* We attended a baptism at church recently, so we've been talking to Carson about that a bit. We were explaining that when he turns 8, Dad will baptise him. And that when he is old enough, he can have the Priesthood, and then he can baptise his own kids someday. His (excited) reply was, "Yeah! When they turn 8 years old, I'm gonna hold them under the water for a long, long time!"
* After Carson squished a cricket with his bike, Austin told him that he didn't need to because crickets are nice. Carson replied, "No, crickets are bad. Everyone in Alaska just uses their swords to protect them selves from the Old, MEAN crickets."
* He is really into numbers right now, and really likes giving irrelevant number values to pretty much everything. "This goes 79 miles an hour!" "I'm 20!" and, the other day, after spending 2 nites at Grandma's house, we asked how those 2 days had been, and he said emphatically, "No, it was just 60 days!"
* Most everything he says, by the way, is preceeded by, "Mom, I have to tell you something..." Last Saturday, after a conversation with Dad, he came and found me to tell me this something: "Jimi Hendricks can play the guitar a lot lot better than you."
* Tonite after his bath he was hopping around with wet feet and (just as I was trying to warn him to stop) he slipped and whacked his head on the floor. Much wailing and crying ensued, but after about 2-3 minutes of holding him and trying to comfort him or distract him, he said--mid-wail--"Moooomm! I have to tell you something! Some people have tracks with bridges that are already built!"
* He came in for a snack while I was preparing dinner tonite. After I gave him a small piece of brownie, he said, "Mom, I have to tell you something. I appreciate you." (Awwww!)
* Later that same time, "Mom, I have to tell you something. Craisins don't have any seeds, so they are vegetables."
* And finally, also today. Attempting to self-entertain while I got some work done, he was throwing around some of those little fuzzy pom-poms. He said, "This game is called 'floor catch juggle'. It's where the floor has to catch 3 balls at the same time."
23 May 2012
The Triumphant Arrival
We made it. We have arrived in Maryland. We survived the final packing and the loading of our car. We survived (and enjoyed) a trip to Dinosaur National Monument. We skipped a stop at Mt. Rushmore because the forecast was for rainy and foggy, and I knew from previous experience that there is NO view of the mount in the fog. We survived the rest of the 3-day drive to my parents' house in Columbus, OH.
THEN my Mother survived 2 weeks of babysitting our children while Austin and I went gallivanting around Ecuador (more on that later). And finally, we all survived the final day's drive out to Maryland. We spent a day with Austin's parents and a day house hunting, and since then we've crashed at his older brother's house deciding, applying, and getting approved for our own house in Towson.
It's amazing range of houses there were in our price range. We saw big, dumpy houses; small, dumpy houses; medium-sized, decent houses; a really awesome house with a TINY kitchen, and finally a pretty-good house with a good, new kitchen, and a beautiful yard. We wanted the awesome house, but the price was higher and the road out front was pretty busy (and with no fence, one dog, and 2 kids, that seemed a little iffy), so we applied for the pretty good house. And the landlords chose us! So we get to move in this week! Possibly tomorrow!
Meanwhile, the kids have been having a blast staying here with their only cousins. Carson and his cousin Rocky are really close to the same age, and since they both only have sisters, they have been in boy-heaven--wrestling, jumping on the trampoline, tackling, wrestling, playing with cars, wrestling, and more and more wrestling. It's amazing that they have neither fought with, hurt, nor gotten sick of each other yet.
Cora has also enjoyed the cousin her age, Quincy--mostly by pointing and squealing at her, hugging her, and crawling up and down the stairs with her.
And Austin and I are enjoying the time we get to spend with Logan and Sarah before they move out to Colorado. (Just one month after we move here, they are leaving...stinkers.) Sarah and I took a Girl's Nite break last nite and went to a chick-flick at the cheapie theatre in Frederick. (The Lucky One. Perfectly mushy-gushy.) Austin and Logan have been staying up late watching things like NBA Playoffs and American Ninja Warrior (okay, so I've been watching that one too).
Austin starts work next Wednesday, so we're just making the most of our downtime before we have to get our lives back to normal.
THEN my Mother survived 2 weeks of babysitting our children while Austin and I went gallivanting around Ecuador (more on that later). And finally, we all survived the final day's drive out to Maryland. We spent a day with Austin's parents and a day house hunting, and since then we've crashed at his older brother's house deciding, applying, and getting approved for our own house in Towson.
It's amazing range of houses there were in our price range. We saw big, dumpy houses; small, dumpy houses; medium-sized, decent houses; a really awesome house with a TINY kitchen, and finally a pretty-good house with a good, new kitchen, and a beautiful yard. We wanted the awesome house, but the price was higher and the road out front was pretty busy (and with no fence, one dog, and 2 kids, that seemed a little iffy), so we applied for the pretty good house. And the landlords chose us! So we get to move in this week! Possibly tomorrow!
Meanwhile, the kids have been having a blast staying here with their only cousins. Carson and his cousin Rocky are really close to the same age, and since they both only have sisters, they have been in boy-heaven--wrestling, jumping on the trampoline, tackling, wrestling, playing with cars, wrestling, and more and more wrestling. It's amazing that they have neither fought with, hurt, nor gotten sick of each other yet.
Cora has also enjoyed the cousin her age, Quincy--mostly by pointing and squealing at her, hugging her, and crawling up and down the stairs with her.
And Austin and I are enjoying the time we get to spend with Logan and Sarah before they move out to Colorado. (Just one month after we move here, they are leaving...stinkers.) Sarah and I took a Girl's Nite break last nite and went to a chick-flick at the cheapie theatre in Frederick. (The Lucky One. Perfectly mushy-gushy.) Austin and Logan have been staying up late watching things like NBA Playoffs and American Ninja Warrior (okay, so I've been watching that one too).
Austin starts work next Wednesday, so we're just making the most of our downtime before we have to get our lives back to normal.
25 April 2012
So much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say
'Cos here we have been standing for a long long time....
There really is so much to say and so little time. Austin and I are about to embark on another part of our Big Life Adventure. As of...well...sometime last week (we're not entirely sure, because we didn't attend any ceremonies), Austin graduated from BYU Business school. HOORAY!
And perhaps more importantly, as of a couple months ago, he was offered a job with Stanley Black & Decker. They're located back in the Baltimore area of Maryland, so that's where we're headed.
We started sorting and packing yesterday, and then today we started moving stuff out to a big moving truck. How do people (read: WE) have so stinking much stuff? Sometimes I really wish I could cut the ties and pitch more. But who knows when you might need...that....ummm...box of fabric scraps that weighs about 80lbs and has barely been used since you picked it up for free 4 years ago... Who knows? (But where else could I get so much cool fabric for free??)
Anyway, the truly stinky part is that yesterday morning, (the day we were meant to start the real clean/organize push) I woke up all dizzy, light-headed, and sick to my stomach. (No, I am definitely NOT pregnant.) So I spent most of the day napping and trying not to puke, but managed to at least thin out the baby clothes storage to just things that I really love (nope, still not pregnant) and get my craft boxes sorted.
And then, if that weren't bad enough, although I miraculously recovered about 95% overnight, Austin came down with a more severe version of the same flu this morning! This time accompanied by fever and chills. Pobrecito! And today was the day we really needed his oxen-like strength to get boxes packed, furniture dismantled, and the truck loaded. Alas, I spent nearly all day packing, wrapping, taping, and hauling. I do need to give him credit, of course. Once the Tylenol kicked in this afternoon, he was able to run a few errands. And then in the evening he helped oversee the loading of the truck.
We were extremely blessed thru all this to have SO MANY amazing friends who offered to take my children away from the madness and let them play at their houses so they could be entertained and I could be productive. I haven't even had a chance yet to take everybody up on their offers to watch them, yet I barely saw them today.
Then in the evening, the Youth from church came up and a couple girls took my kids to the park while the rest started moving all our freakishly heavy stuff down the driveway to the truck. They were amazing! They started showing up around 6:30, and there were seriously still people here helping us until nearly 9:30pm. I feel so blessed. I hope they realize the great act of service they performed for us. It would have been a huge challenge with both myself and Austin doing the work, but for me alone it would have been impossible! I'm not very good at sending Thank You cards, but this is one time I must not fail.
So hopefully we get the final piles of junk sorted out and boxed up tomorrow so we can be on our way Friday morning. Then we're off to see Dinosaur National Park near Vernal, UT and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota! Woo hoo! I've been to both places, but I'm excited to go again. And I think Carson's old enough to get a real kick out of seeing real dinosaur fossils actually IN the ground. And I think he'll enjoy seeing 4 giant heads sticking out of a mountain as well.
And THEN comes the Journey Supreme: Once we reach Ohio, we will ditch our children (well, not ditch. "Leave them happily" is more like it, I believe) with my parents and fly off to Ecuador for a Graduation Celebration Trip. Hopefully I will remember to write about that later. (Although I think that's a curse that actually makes you never write about something--to say that you're going to.) Well, I might. :)
There really is so much to say and so little time. Austin and I are about to embark on another part of our Big Life Adventure. As of...well...sometime last week (we're not entirely sure, because we didn't attend any ceremonies), Austin graduated from BYU Business school. HOORAY!
And perhaps more importantly, as of a couple months ago, he was offered a job with Stanley Black & Decker. They're located back in the Baltimore area of Maryland, so that's where we're headed.
We started sorting and packing yesterday, and then today we started moving stuff out to a big moving truck. How do people (read: WE) have so stinking much stuff? Sometimes I really wish I could cut the ties and pitch more. But who knows when you might need...that....ummm...box of fabric scraps that weighs about 80lbs and has barely been used since you picked it up for free 4 years ago... Who knows? (But where else could I get so much cool fabric for free??)
Anyway, the truly stinky part is that yesterday morning, (the day we were meant to start the real clean/organize push) I woke up all dizzy, light-headed, and sick to my stomach. (No, I am definitely NOT pregnant.) So I spent most of the day napping and trying not to puke, but managed to at least thin out the baby clothes storage to just things that I really love (nope, still not pregnant) and get my craft boxes sorted.
And then, if that weren't bad enough, although I miraculously recovered about 95% overnight, Austin came down with a more severe version of the same flu this morning! This time accompanied by fever and chills. Pobrecito! And today was the day we really needed his oxen-like strength to get boxes packed, furniture dismantled, and the truck loaded. Alas, I spent nearly all day packing, wrapping, taping, and hauling. I do need to give him credit, of course. Once the Tylenol kicked in this afternoon, he was able to run a few errands. And then in the evening he helped oversee the loading of the truck.
We were extremely blessed thru all this to have SO MANY amazing friends who offered to take my children away from the madness and let them play at their houses so they could be entertained and I could be productive. I haven't even had a chance yet to take everybody up on their offers to watch them, yet I barely saw them today.
Then in the evening, the Youth from church came up and a couple girls took my kids to the park while the rest started moving all our freakishly heavy stuff down the driveway to the truck. They were amazing! They started showing up around 6:30, and there were seriously still people here helping us until nearly 9:30pm. I feel so blessed. I hope they realize the great act of service they performed for us. It would have been a huge challenge with both myself and Austin doing the work, but for me alone it would have been impossible! I'm not very good at sending Thank You cards, but this is one time I must not fail.
So hopefully we get the final piles of junk sorted out and boxed up tomorrow so we can be on our way Friday morning. Then we're off to see Dinosaur National Park near Vernal, UT and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota! Woo hoo! I've been to both places, but I'm excited to go again. And I think Carson's old enough to get a real kick out of seeing real dinosaur fossils actually IN the ground. And I think he'll enjoy seeing 4 giant heads sticking out of a mountain as well.
And THEN comes the Journey Supreme: Once we reach Ohio, we will ditch our children (well, not ditch. "Leave them happily" is more like it, I believe) with my parents and fly off to Ecuador for a Graduation Celebration Trip. Hopefully I will remember to write about that later. (Although I think that's a curse that actually makes you never write about something--to say that you're going to.) Well, I might. :)
27 March 2012
And Now, a Word...from Carson
After church one Sunday while Carson was still in Nursery, he came home and told me this story:
C: One time, at church, there was a burned up bush on top of a mountain. And there was a voice! It was Heavenly Father!
Me: Who was he talking to?
C: Joseph Smith! He had to climb up. (He moved his hands in front of him to signify "climbing up.")
Me: What did he say?
C: Take off your shoes.
One morning I had to wake Carson up early. He sat up out of a deep sleep and proclaimed: "(mumble mumble) MOM! I just lost the spaghetti in my bed!" Then he snaps to a little bit and shakes his head to clarify, "No, bread!"
When we were in Seattle this summer, Austin had a bike wreck in which he broke his left cheekbone and got a massive black eye. When we returned to Provo, Carson learned to ride his own bike and one day he wanted to ride it down the grassy hill in our back yard. At the bottom of the hill, he crashed. I helped him up and, thru sobs, he cried, "I broke my cheekbones!"
Carson, like most kids his age, goes thru phases where he tries out sounds and asks what they mean. Mostly they're nonsense. Par example: "What's a blash clash?" And sometimes he tries using his nonsense words in sentences, as in "But the floating house came from a blash car!"
Another Sunday in church, he must have played a game or learned a story involving toy soldiers. When he came home, he showed me how to stand straight and tall like a soldier. But he was wiggling like he needed to go to the bathroom. I suggested that maybe he should go relieve himself, but he indignantly replied, "Soldiers don't go pee-pee!"
A few months ago, we went for a family outing to get ice cream at the BYU Creamery. Carson said something in a scratcy voice, and Austin asked him if he had a frog in his throat. Carson said, "No, the frog is just," (pause to make a cold, shivery face) "COLD!"
Running up to me while playing with Seamus:
C: Seamus was trying to get into me! He was trying to eat my bones!
While we were eating lunch on a picnic bench one day last week, Carson struck up a conversation with a lady on the other side of the table. He noticed that she had something written on her hand and asked her what it was. She told him that when you get old, you have to write things on your hand to help you remember them. This past weekend, Carson took the liberty to write on his hand with a pen he found. He showed me and then told me, "This helps my brain to remember to stay in my head."
C: One time, at church, there was a burned up bush on top of a mountain. And there was a voice! It was Heavenly Father!
Me: Who was he talking to?
C: Joseph Smith! He had to climb up. (He moved his hands in front of him to signify "climbing up.")
Me: What did he say?
C: Take off your shoes.
One morning I had to wake Carson up early. He sat up out of a deep sleep and proclaimed: "(mumble mumble) MOM! I just lost the spaghetti in my bed!" Then he snaps to a little bit and shakes his head to clarify, "No, bread!"
When we were in Seattle this summer, Austin had a bike wreck in which he broke his left cheekbone and got a massive black eye. When we returned to Provo, Carson learned to ride his own bike and one day he wanted to ride it down the grassy hill in our back yard. At the bottom of the hill, he crashed. I helped him up and, thru sobs, he cried, "I broke my cheekbones!"
Carson, like most kids his age, goes thru phases where he tries out sounds and asks what they mean. Mostly they're nonsense. Par example: "What's a blash clash?" And sometimes he tries using his nonsense words in sentences, as in "But the floating house came from a blash car!"
Another Sunday in church, he must have played a game or learned a story involving toy soldiers. When he came home, he showed me how to stand straight and tall like a soldier. But he was wiggling like he needed to go to the bathroom. I suggested that maybe he should go relieve himself, but he indignantly replied, "Soldiers don't go pee-pee!"
A few months ago, we went for a family outing to get ice cream at the BYU Creamery. Carson said something in a scratcy voice, and Austin asked him if he had a frog in his throat. Carson said, "No, the frog is just," (pause to make a cold, shivery face) "COLD!"
Running up to me while playing with Seamus:
C: Seamus was trying to get into me! He was trying to eat my bones!
While we were eating lunch on a picnic bench one day last week, Carson struck up a conversation with a lady on the other side of the table. He noticed that she had something written on her hand and asked her what it was. She told him that when you get old, you have to write things on your hand to help you remember them. This past weekend, Carson took the liberty to write on his hand with a pen he found. He showed me and then told me, "This helps my brain to remember to stay in my head."
26 March 2012
Christmas Highlights
For the 2010 holiday season, we were pretty immobile. We were lucky enough to drive to San Diego to be with my family for Thanksgiving, but Christmas was spent in Provo, pretty much anticipating Cora's birth, and being very careful not to do anything to entice her to come early. (As cute as it sounds, I just didn't was a Christmas or New Year's baby. I like to keep my celebrations separate.)
So this year we lived it up. Not too long after returning from our Maryland Thanksgiving (and an October jaunt in San Diego with my family again), we flew out to my parents' house in Ohio for Christmas. We got to stay for 2 whole weeks (benefits of being on a student schedule again), and over the course of that 2 weeks, siblings trickled in, eventually culminating in a nearly complete McHardy family Christmas. Less only Tobi who is still on a Mission in California. (Sorry, kid. We'll get together again when you return!)
Highlights:
Erynn: I was able to see several good friends from my former life. Sarah brought her little boys over for a play date with Carson. I think it was a good break for him to have kids to play with. And it was good for me to catch up with one of my oldest friends. Later that week, our mutual friend Lisa was in town, and we got to go out for an evening with my friends and their husbands. We talked, ate sushi, and went to a live show performed by another old friend that I was in a band with once.
Austin and I also celebrated our 6th Anniversary--the first time ever (since our wedding) that we've done anything celebratory on the actual date of our anniversary. Having a Christmas-time Anniversary, it's usually more convenient to celebrate in, say, September when there's nothing else going on. But this year it worked out this way. And after an evening with friends, Austin and I were able to spend a kid-free night in a local hotel. Nothing fancy, but at least I never had to wake up to deal with crying children!
Austin: Poor Austin struggles with Ohio. He certainly does enjoy hanging out with my family, watching movies, playing games, and philosophizing. But we're usually only there during cold months, and even at the best of times, the state isn't much of an outdoor mecca. And when he's on vacation, he likes to spend it out adventuring and exploring. But this year, he discovered a "Metro Park" down the road from my parents, complete with woods, river, running trails, and indian mounds. He spent some portion of most days running in that park.
Also, inspired by a GPS he had received from my Dad for Christmas several years ago, he has taken an interest in Geo-Caching. This time around, Carson was old enough to have fun with Dad on these "treasure hunts", and so they spent a bunch of time searching the area for buried treasure. I think this was equally a highlight for Carson as well as Austin.
Carson: Carson loves Granny's house, so he was mostly just happy to be there. He had fun seeing all his aunts and uncles and playing games with us. But his highlight was, of course, Christmas morning. And despite the fact that he received several awesome car-related gifts (Lightning McQueen toys, a Hot Wheels race track, a pack of classic Chevys), the gift that received the greatest reaction was a t-shirt that Paul and Aleta got for him. It's a black and grey 2-layer shirt with a screen-printed tiger on the front. For some, inexplicable reason, the tiger has a wheel in its mouth. On the sleeve of the shirt is another little tiger head--this time with no wheel. Carson went on and ON and ON about how much he LOVED his tiger shirt (pronounced tah-ger). And, to anyone whose attention he could accost, he explained, in very excited 3-year-old tones, that "the tiger on the front is eating a wheel! And this one," pointing to his sleeve, "already ate the wheel!"
Cora: Cora, after pretty much giving up entirely on the walking thing, decided to start picking it up again at Christmastime. So she spent a lot of time falling down, crawling fast, and then trying to get up again. She mostly had it down by the time we left. But there was still plenty of time for crawling adventures. The biggest and, might I add, most horrifying of which, I will relate to you. (Warning: This is not for the weak of heart or stomach.)
On Christmas night, Cora was crawling around exploring the semi-finished basement where our room was. This was normal, and I didn't expect any particular problems from it. I knew I'd probably have to fish something out of her mouth, but again, that was normal. What then, wasn't normal was the object that I DID have to fish out of her mouth. I picked her up to change her diaper in preparation for dinner. I saw that she was munching something, so I squeezed her cheeks and stuck my finger in to get it. (Ack! Ack! my stomach is turning and my skin is crawling at the thought of even typing this!!!) What I pulled out was a big, dead, black, fuzzy SPIDER. Gaaaaahhhhh!!! Seriously, I am not joking when I say that this thing was at least the size of a quarter--and that was with its legs curled up. Oh my gosh, I screamed bloody murder and flung that horrid thing across the room. Then I ran upstairs and ruined everybody else's appetites by telling them what I had screamed about. Yeah, that was Cora's highlight.
And I think that about sums it up. Good times were had, memories were made, awesome gifts were given and received, and all returned home safely.
So this year we lived it up. Not too long after returning from our Maryland Thanksgiving (and an October jaunt in San Diego with my family again), we flew out to my parents' house in Ohio for Christmas. We got to stay for 2 whole weeks (benefits of being on a student schedule again), and over the course of that 2 weeks, siblings trickled in, eventually culminating in a nearly complete McHardy family Christmas. Less only Tobi who is still on a Mission in California. (Sorry, kid. We'll get together again when you return!)
Highlights:
Erynn: I was able to see several good friends from my former life. Sarah brought her little boys over for a play date with Carson. I think it was a good break for him to have kids to play with. And it was good for me to catch up with one of my oldest friends. Later that week, our mutual friend Lisa was in town, and we got to go out for an evening with my friends and their husbands. We talked, ate sushi, and went to a live show performed by another old friend that I was in a band with once.
Austin and I also celebrated our 6th Anniversary--the first time ever (since our wedding) that we've done anything celebratory on the actual date of our anniversary. Having a Christmas-time Anniversary, it's usually more convenient to celebrate in, say, September when there's nothing else going on. But this year it worked out this way. And after an evening with friends, Austin and I were able to spend a kid-free night in a local hotel. Nothing fancy, but at least I never had to wake up to deal with crying children!
Austin: Poor Austin struggles with Ohio. He certainly does enjoy hanging out with my family, watching movies, playing games, and philosophizing. But we're usually only there during cold months, and even at the best of times, the state isn't much of an outdoor mecca. And when he's on vacation, he likes to spend it out adventuring and exploring. But this year, he discovered a "Metro Park" down the road from my parents, complete with woods, river, running trails, and indian mounds. He spent some portion of most days running in that park.
Also, inspired by a GPS he had received from my Dad for Christmas several years ago, he has taken an interest in Geo-Caching. This time around, Carson was old enough to have fun with Dad on these "treasure hunts", and so they spent a bunch of time searching the area for buried treasure. I think this was equally a highlight for Carson as well as Austin.
Carson: Carson loves Granny's house, so he was mostly just happy to be there. He had fun seeing all his aunts and uncles and playing games with us. But his highlight was, of course, Christmas morning. And despite the fact that he received several awesome car-related gifts (Lightning McQueen toys, a Hot Wheels race track, a pack of classic Chevys), the gift that received the greatest reaction was a t-shirt that Paul and Aleta got for him. It's a black and grey 2-layer shirt with a screen-printed tiger on the front. For some, inexplicable reason, the tiger has a wheel in its mouth. On the sleeve of the shirt is another little tiger head--this time with no wheel. Carson went on and ON and ON about how much he LOVED his tiger shirt (pronounced tah-ger). And, to anyone whose attention he could accost, he explained, in very excited 3-year-old tones, that "the tiger on the front is eating a wheel! And this one," pointing to his sleeve, "already ate the wheel!"
Cora: Cora, after pretty much giving up entirely on the walking thing, decided to start picking it up again at Christmastime. So she spent a lot of time falling down, crawling fast, and then trying to get up again. She mostly had it down by the time we left. But there was still plenty of time for crawling adventures. The biggest and, might I add, most horrifying of which, I will relate to you. (Warning: This is not for the weak of heart or stomach.)
On Christmas night, Cora was crawling around exploring the semi-finished basement where our room was. This was normal, and I didn't expect any particular problems from it. I knew I'd probably have to fish something out of her mouth, but again, that was normal. What then, wasn't normal was the object that I DID have to fish out of her mouth. I picked her up to change her diaper in preparation for dinner. I saw that she was munching something, so I squeezed her cheeks and stuck my finger in to get it. (Ack! Ack! my stomach is turning and my skin is crawling at the thought of even typing this!!!) What I pulled out was a big, dead, black, fuzzy SPIDER. Gaaaaahhhhh!!! Seriously, I am not joking when I say that this thing was at least the size of a quarter--and that was with its legs curled up. Oh my gosh, I screamed bloody murder and flung that horrid thing across the room. Then I ran upstairs and ruined everybody else's appetites by telling them what I had screamed about. Yeah, that was Cora's highlight.
And I think that about sums it up. Good times were had, memories were made, awesome gifts were given and received, and all returned home safely.
Some notes from the Holiday Season
I never finished my Thanksgiving post, but I realised that, while we had a good time, to write about everything wouldn't be super interesting. We had a delicious, traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings--including a labor intensive, delicious, gourmet stuffing made by Logan. I contributed apple and blackbottom pies. And Sarah and I made a pact not to let each other eat ourselves into disgusting, piggish discomfort. And for that, I was grateful. Leftovers are always so yummy, so why make youreslf uncomfortable feeling like you have to eat it all at once?
Up at the Wilcox Farm, Austin and his brothers put their backs and brains into hanging swings in the barn and a zipline next to the house. The kids were thrilled with both, and even the adults had some fun with the swings. More than one person attempted to swing high enough to kick the rafters in the roof of the barn--tho I'm not sure anyone succeeded.
The highlight for our little Cora was that she took her first steps. Although I managed to bring both of our cameras, I foolishly didn't charge the batteries on either one. So I got zero pictures on our Nikon, and very little video with our camcorder. Fortunately, however, I did get video of Cora walking. Logan set her up on the rug in the living room, and she probably took 10 steps before she either fell or reached her goal. She did this a handful of times, but then gave up walking altogether for the next month or so.
The highlight for Carson, aside from having a blast playing with his cousins (especially including wrestling with Rocky on the indoor trampoline) was family friend Randy's blue convertible Corvette Stingray that he drove to church on Sunday. Carson's favorite show is still Top Gear (car enthusiast show on the BBC), and seeing such a sweet ride in real life sends this little boy into fits of excitement. Hearing Randy rev the engine and (appripriately) peel out of the church parking lot were both very thrilling to him. (And it's possible that Randy and Carson were both enjoying the car on basically the same level. Sheer giddiness.)
The highlight for me was a lunch date out with all the adults. We went to a swanky place in Frederick, MD called Volt. It's the first time I've ever eaten at a real foodie establishment. I was intrigued by the elaborate presentation and the extreme diversity in the ingredients. If I'm completely honest, I think I'm a little too pedestrian to really appreciate a place like that, but I was very happy with everything I ate.
I think the highlight for Austin was being out of doors and with his brothers. He was able to play Turkey Bowl football and joke around and have the types of discussions he can't have with me because I don't like to debate for debate's sake. He got to use tools building the zipline and swings, and he got to have a break from the city life we've been living for the last 3 years.
It was a good Thanksgiving. It's always good to spend time at home.
Up at the Wilcox Farm, Austin and his brothers put their backs and brains into hanging swings in the barn and a zipline next to the house. The kids were thrilled with both, and even the adults had some fun with the swings. More than one person attempted to swing high enough to kick the rafters in the roof of the barn--tho I'm not sure anyone succeeded.
The highlight for our little Cora was that she took her first steps. Although I managed to bring both of our cameras, I foolishly didn't charge the batteries on either one. So I got zero pictures on our Nikon, and very little video with our camcorder. Fortunately, however, I did get video of Cora walking. Logan set her up on the rug in the living room, and she probably took 10 steps before she either fell or reached her goal. She did this a handful of times, but then gave up walking altogether for the next month or so.
The highlight for Carson, aside from having a blast playing with his cousins (especially including wrestling with Rocky on the indoor trampoline) was family friend Randy's blue convertible Corvette Stingray that he drove to church on Sunday. Carson's favorite show is still Top Gear (car enthusiast show on the BBC), and seeing such a sweet ride in real life sends this little boy into fits of excitement. Hearing Randy rev the engine and (appripriately) peel out of the church parking lot were both very thrilling to him. (And it's possible that Randy and Carson were both enjoying the car on basically the same level. Sheer giddiness.)
The highlight for me was a lunch date out with all the adults. We went to a swanky place in Frederick, MD called Volt. It's the first time I've ever eaten at a real foodie establishment. I was intrigued by the elaborate presentation and the extreme diversity in the ingredients. If I'm completely honest, I think I'm a little too pedestrian to really appreciate a place like that, but I was very happy with everything I ate.
I think the highlight for Austin was being out of doors and with his brothers. He was able to play Turkey Bowl football and joke around and have the types of discussions he can't have with me because I don't like to debate for debate's sake. He got to use tools building the zipline and swings, and he got to have a break from the city life we've been living for the last 3 years.
It was a good Thanksgiving. It's always good to spend time at home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)