Yummy

This picture of E doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but I thought it was cute. I haven't posted for along time. I decided to take a break from slow internet-only checking e-mail and doing neccesary things. But, the bug returned and I'm feeling the need to be in contact with the world again.

Summer is here! G graduated from pre-school a few weeks ago and we went to his kindergarten screening yesterday. I can't believe I have a kid starting real school! He is very excited and I'm feeling sad and nervous but excited too.

I wanted to let people know that we are going to be in Utah July 10-29 so if anyone is going to be there at the same time let me know! We would love to see some friends. The kids are super excited to see their grandparents and the dog too. It's all Iyah talks about. Ready or not Grandma and Grandpa here we come!

Spring!

Look at our pretty tree! Don't you love springtime? George told me yesterday that he wished it would snow so he could play in it. Go figure. I told him it would snow again soon enough! This tree in our front yard is so fun this time of year. I love walking outside and listening to the hum of all the bees buzzing around in there. It literally vibrates.

NYC

The Boys in Central Park

I'm a little bit late posting about our family trip to the Big Apple because I've been sick ever since we got home this past weekend. However, we had a blast! The kids did really well and we really enjoyed ourselves. We were so fortunate to have generous friends that let us use their apartment on West Central Park Ave so we had a very nice place to stay for free!

The first day-Wed- we spent the afternoon at the Bronx zoo. I was excited to see the giraffes and Iyah really liked the lions. El was fascinated by the 'big meow' (tiger). After dinner we explored some of Central Park.

Thursday we went to the Metropolitan Museum and saw the Egypt exhibit and G's favorite- the Arms and Armory exhibit (lots of suits of armor), and then did the Time Square-shopping stuff. The kids loved all the big buildings and TV billboards and toy stores. We had dinner at MARS 2112. The boys were in heaven, but were a little bit wary of the aliens walking around.

Friday we took the Staten Island ferry and road past the Statue of Liberty. G asked all kinds of questions and brushed us up on all of our American History. We went to Battery park after and watched the street performers and walked through Chinatown and Little Italy. After dinner we headed to the Manhattan Children's Museum which the kids loved although it was kind of a mad house!

Saturday we went and saw the Temple and were planning on walking around the Lincoln Center Plaza, but it was under construction. We spent the rest of the day in Central Park-riding the carousel, eating hot dogs & pretzels, watching the horses, and playing on the playgrounds! G really liked the castle and almost gave me a heart attack trying to climb on top of the high walls to see over the side.

It was fun to finally see the big city- this was my first time! True to form I forgot my camera a lot of the time and this picture of the boys is the only one I remembered to take in low resolution so that I could post it on the blog with our slow Internet. Thank you daddy for planning a fun vacation for us! We love you.

Gardening

Well, it's been awhile since I last blogged. The weather turned nice and we've been spending a lot of time in the great outdoors. I decided to expand our garden a little bit this year so I've been digging up grass in the back yard. It's amazing what people dump in their own back yards. Here is a list of some of the things I've found...

1. An old coat hanger
2. A rusted out can of RAID
3. Electrical wiring (old-not like the stuff we use today)
4. Metal pipes
5. Insulation
6. A seashell
7. Lots of glass-green, clear, white, etc.
8. A 2x4
9. Random pieces of metal
10. I can't remember

It makes me wonder what I would find if I dug up more than a 4 foot space, and is it even safe to eat vegetables grown in such dirt? I guess we'll find out.

Ella has been hilarious to watch outside. She wasn't walking last summer so this is her first real experience with the outdoors. When I first put her down, she sat on her bottom and lifted her legs and arms in the air so nothing would get dirty. Now she's the complete opposite. I can't keep her out of the dirt. She swims in it. I'll look over and she'll be on her belly sifting her fingers through the dirt and staring at it from an inch away just enthralled. It's fun to see her get dirty. The boys of course could spend all day running and digging and riding bikes. It's so nice to have spring finally here!

Just Some Pictures

My very own Warrior Princess

Big Cheeses

Look at her flex those muscles!

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker?

Snip Snip

We had our first experience with one of our kids cutting their own hair. Luckily it's just on little bald patch up on top. Iyah got a little scissor happy when I was giving G a haircut. At first he was really pleased with himself, but after he saw my reaction he changed his mind. At first I was kind of upset with the little guy, but honestly, it's one of those things where the natural consequences are much harder than anything I could say or do. EVERYONE comments on it when they see him and I see him getting sad and teary when people laugh. I know he wishes he'd never picked up those darn scissors. I keep telling him it's okay and that hair grows back quickly. If it wasn't so cold out I'd just give him a buzz. Maybe I still should. What do you think?

Good Music

Great music transcends all boundaries/barriers, as I was reminded yesterday. I was driving home with the kids from an afternoon of crazy shopping and I just couldn't handle the "kiddie music" any more. So, I popped some Beatles into the CD player and settled in for the drive. About half way through the first song my 3 year old pipes up from the back seat, "Turn it up, Mommy!" Gotta love it!