Concert In The Park

For almost 5 years, I think we've been talking about going to Downtown Pleasanton and enjoying one of their Friday night Concerts in the Park.

Everyone in my family was free last Friday, so that's the date we set. It also helped that the band would be playing music from the 50's and 60's. I overheard my parents say several times, "Oh! I remember when this came out!" or "I was [this old] when I first heard this song!"
All the families bring chairs, blankets, snacks, toys, etc. to enjoy during the show. Unfortunately, to get a spot on the main lawn, you have to stake your claim at around 4:30 (even though the show doesn't begin until 7). We happily parked our blankets on the lawn across the street and couldn't hear the music but still had fun.
The kids were able to run free (for the most part...The Lime kept running onto other people's blankets, stealing their balls) and many fell into the arms of GrandPop and his tickling fingers.
Others sat calmly in Omi's lap.

We'll have to make this a tradition...just not next week when "Jimmy Hendrix's Sister" plays.

*My niece took most of the pictures you see! Unfortunately, the 1 we have of LaVor shows him getting something out of his tooth with his tongue. I'll spare you and him.*

First Zoo Trip

When LaVor got home from work on Friday, he asked what I wanted to do over the weekend. I told him I didn't care. He suggested the zoo, since The Lime has never been and the weather would be nice.

On Friday night, at the concert, we were talking about it and my sister mentioned she had a membership, received free parking and was allowed 1 guest. Perfect!

We got up this morning, I quickly got my hair cut and while on my way home, called my sister to set up a time to meet. As soon as I walked in the door, LaVor told me his work had called and he needed to go in. Shoot! We missed him but still had lots of fun.

The adventures began in the parking lot, while we were getting the babies situated. There was an empty parking spot right next to us, which we were taking up with strollers, etc.. An older man and his wife, in their BMW, decided they wanted that spot EVEN THOUGH there were several other spaces available. After waiting MAYBE 2 minutes, the man honked at us which got our blood boiling! I threw my hand in the air and said, "You need to wait!" I've never acted like that to strangers before! I think giving birth gives you a new sense of confidence. We finished up and moved to the back of our car so he could pull in. As he passed me, with his window rolled down and a nasty smirk on his face, I asked if he had kids? Still smiling, he said, "No." I replied with, "Well then you have NO clue how long it takes to get a baby out of the car and set up in their stroller! And DON'T hit my car!" It was my sister's car but he didn't know. I still can't believe that he honked at us to hurry up.

We started out with the flamingos which I think everyone does since they're right in front.
The Lime watching the tortoise.
And The Lime being the tortoise.
Waving to the nasty warthog that walked funny and had awful plug-like hair follicles.

The Lime's signature "look". A scrunched up nose and squinty eyes.
Shortly after seeing this monkey, The Lime lost a shoe. After back tracking for 30 minutes and pleading with Heavenly Father to help me find it (because you can't seem to find affordable brown sandals for boys in stores!), I spotted it sitting on top of a sign, asking people to be quiet because the animals are sensitive to noise.
To finish the day, my sister got a quick bite to eat before we headed home. Her baby was asleep and wakes up if my sister sits while wearing the carrier. She didn't appreciate me taking a picture of her standing while eating and she certainly won't appreciate that I'm posting it.But isn't that what sisters are for?

Tally Mark 18

(Channeling his inner dog)

-Is Mr. Friendly Personality with strangers. We often catch him making googly eyes at people.
-Is instantly drawn to kids. I was putting him in the car today and his kiddar went off. A little girl went by in her stroller, he waved and said, "Hi!" and she poked her little head out from around the corner and waved back.
-Went to Nursery for the first time yesterday (with LaVor). He's still young but we're hoping within a couple weeks, he'll feel comfortable enough to stay on his own.
-Runs like the wind.
-Likes to play in closets.
-Is eating better. He ate up the beets at dinner the other night without any hesitation.
-Isn't drinking as much milk as he should. We got a different brand this last time so maybe that's it?
-Likes to chew on dental floss. I think because of the minty flavor.
-Was a little trooper and went on all of our training walks with us last month. He would usually fall asleep in the stroller for at least an hour, which was a huge help.
-Is down to only 1 poop a day. His diet hasn't changed so I'd be interested in knowing if this is a normal thing for kids his age. Speaking of which, he now lets us know when he's pooped.
-Can be the sweetest little boy in the world.
-Has really fat feet. I hope this doesn't last forever.
-Gets extremely excited when he sees the tractor and Mechanic (because of Daddy) in his Richard Scarry book.
-Likes to hold your hand and lead you to wherever he wants to go.
-Is becoming a little boy right before our eyes.

Hidden Messages

I've been the Primary Chorister for almost 2 years and I still look for ideas on a weekly basis, of what I can do to make singing time a bit more interesting for the kids.

Since I was gone last week (for the walk), I thought I'd do something fun today.

I'm blessed to have a Presidency that allows us to bring treats but I try not to abuse it. And I certainly try not to use the treats as a bribe to sing. The kids are there to sing, not to get fed. I've brought treats in the past and unfortunately had to keep them to myself because I performed a solo for 20 minutes, aka, the kids didn't sing.

Anyway, on Father's Day, I had a small issue with a child and I noticed they had boycotted singing time 2 weeks in a row. I had a mixture of emotions. Was I at fault? How could I approach the child and address the situation without making them feel worse? Do I get the parents involved? I was at a loss.

Finally it came to me! We'd "make cookies" and at the end, I'd ask them if the cookies would turn out the same if we left out an ingredient or two. Just as planned, they all answered, "No!" Just like the cookies aren't as good if we're missing the sugar or flour, our Primary isn't as good when we're missing a voice!

Here's what I did:
-Printed out pictures of all the ingredients and randomly placed them on the board.
-The kids had to pick the ingredients in order and we sang a song with each one.
*Butter: Do As I'm Doing (we milked a cow; cream comes from cows, butter is made from cream)
*Sugar: I Know that My Redeemer Lives (I asked them what sugar tasted like and told them there's a line in a song we've been singing that uses the same word..."What comfort this SWEET sentence gives")
*Eggs: Follow the Prophet - Adam (Eggs come from chickens, chickens are animals, Noah saved 2 of each...thank goodness for Noah)
*Vanilla: Children All Over the World (Vanilla comes from many different countries)
*Flour: 4th Article of Faith or Faith (Used the seed/faith comparison)
*Baking Powder: The Wise Man and The Foolish Man (If we didn't have baking powder, our cookies wouldn't rise (like the floods))
*Salt: Once There Was a Snowman (Salt is used to melt snow)
*Chocolate chips/M&M's/nuts/oats/raisins: Child's favorite song (Our dough is a blank canvas and we have the option to add our favorite treat)

The kids guessed "Popcorn Popping" for butter & salt, and it could easily be used for both, but we seem to sing that song way too often so I tried not to include it. Of course the last child picked that as their favorite song.

After we were done "mixing" our ingredients, and it was time for sharing time, I told the kids I'd go into the kitchen and bake them. I think the Junior Primary was easier to fool but all were excited when I brought in the baked cookies. Just make sure not to leave them out on the counter in the kitchen. You might end up with half of them missing.

5 Years Is Way Too Long

I came across a man this week, who just recently saw his grand kids for the first time in 5 years. Apparently his wife and the kids' mother (the man's DIL), didn't get along and they also just started talking after 5 years.

Could you imagine?

My parents have the summer off and they've offered to watch The Lime while I'm at work. They also watched him last weekend while we were in SF for the walk and I can honestly say The Lime loves them just as much as they love him. In fact, The Lime is standing right next to me, pointing to the picture and saying, "Paa paa (GrandPop)!"

When I went to pick him up on Thursday, he was outside with my dad, playing in the garden. One thing they both enjoy, dirt. I loved seeing them play together, my dad holding The Lime on his shoulders. I wouldn't be able to justify keeping them from each other, especially for 5 years.

One Day

After 5 months of fundraising and a month of training, the walk is officially behind us.

I always get sad when we get to this point. There's so much excitement and anticipation in the months leading to the walk and it's over like that *snaps*.

I am going to be 100% honest in saying that I had little faith in LaVor. After doing our 13 mile training walk and seeing how challenging it was, I was totally convinced he'd make it halfway on Saturday and possibly complete Sunday. I am SO pleased to tell you that he not only conquered the 26.2 miles on Saturday (even though we technically only had to do 24) but he finished the 15 miles we chose (again, Sunday we were only technically supposed to do 13 since we did 26 the day before) to do on Sunday. His feet, unfortunately, tell the story of our victory. But he did it and I'm so proud of him. It's a wonderful experience and I'm so grateful we got to do it together this year.

As in years past, the thing that gets me the most is seeing that people are walking for the women in their lives. I loved having LaVor as my partner in crime but I really missed my mom and sister. When I took my annual picture with Indiana Al from 95.3 KRTY, he asked where my mom was. Isn't that cute? He totally remembered her and asked that I tell her "hi" for him.

I also had a "moment" in Sausalito where there were a group of women with t-shirts on that said, "Young Survivors". They each had their age of when they were diagnosed, written on their shirts. One woman was diagnosed at 28 (8 months away for me) and it brought me to tears! I had to give her a hug and LaVor insists that she had a freaked out look on her face but it reminded me once again that this disease doesn't care how old you are, what you look like, where you're from, if you have a family, or if you're a man or a woman.

Since KRTY has such a large crowd participating, they bring out one of their vans that follows us along the route. They had music blasting both days and it really helps to get you motivated! A long trail with no noise can make 26 miles feel like an eternity. On Sunday, walking back to the Golden Gate bridge, LaVor was feeling the affects of walking 30+ miles and was planning on catching a bus at Fort Baker. We passed the KRTY van, blaring Jason Aldean, and one of the guys gave LaVor a huge hi-5 and said, "Way to go, bud!". It gave him that extra boost he needed that lasted the rest of the day.

This was the first time that we were both away from The Lime overnight and it stunk. Any little boy we saw that appeared to be his age, made us sad. But he was in great hands with my parents and I think all 3 of them had a blast with each other. They were able to come cheer us on in Sausalito, as well as my sisters and 2 nieces. LaVor's grandparents were at the finish line on Sunday, waiting for us with open arms.

We had such a great time and will continue walking until one day, there's a cure and nobody has to face this disease again.

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The Flag Of Liberty

I don't remember how old I was, maybe 6 or 7, but one year on the 4th, my parents took the family to Ardenwood Farms. It's funny, because the 1 thing we all remember about that day was eating watermelon in the parking lot and spitting the seeds out. In fact, that's what I was thinking and what my sister said as we pulled into the park.

We didn't eat watermelon at the park (just for dinner) but we did enjoy some Oreos. What's more American than an Oreo?

My sister and I took our babies to enjoy a step back in time. We loved the homemade ice cream, lemonade, pie eating contest, potato race, train ride and all the animals.


On the other hand, we did not enjoy the awful singing that made our ears bleed. The word "when" will never sound the same to me.

With that said, God Bless America!

Click Your Heels

These fit him perfectly a couple months ago but now they're obviously a bit snug. LaVor thinks it looks like he's wearing high heels, and I agree, but he looked too cute and funny.