Baseball Andrew

Andrew is trying baseball for the first time this spring, and I think he likes it. What he really likes, is talking to the other kids out in the field or in line waiting to bat. 

He didn't know anyone on the team on the first day, but he is a boy who quickly makes friends and really likes to make people laugh. He craves an audience.

It's no-stress, everybody gets to swing until they get a hit, no worries if it's foul just run to first base.

Here he is at third waiting to run home.

This girl stole a batting helmet.

My other kids look longingly at the post-game snacks for the team. They don't think the kids worked THAT hard to earn a juice box and granola bar. At least not as hard as they were working on the nearby playground.

Kids in our ward that are younger than James are on the same league's pre-school/K teams. They play before Andrew's first grade age group. But we decided to give James another sports-free spring.  The scars have not healed from the experience with soccer and swimming lessons.

Volleyball Maxwell

Max is fulfilling my dreams of playing volleyball again. I don't want to say I pushed him toward the team, but I did show a lot of enthusiasm when he mentioned the try-outs.

And, without ever playing a game before, he made the middle school JV team. It's co-ed, and the season only lasts a month or so, but I think he is doing great. And hopefully having fun.

His serve is so nice. Underhand, and really smooth and high-arcing. But he hates to lose, and feels it if team members aren't giving their best or if he doesn't do his best.

Volleyball has been hard on his hands, though. I feel like the air is extra-dry in Salt Lake City still from winter, and he has been dealing with really dry, cracking skin. Any tips for that would be much appreciated.

Siblings

A little Throwback Thursday the summer of 1999, to one of the only pictures when all 12  siblings were all together at once. Rebekah and I were home from college, and Joe was a couple months away from his mission. My little sister Sarah had just been born.  The photographer called me the "second mother" and had me hold my little brother. Despite that awkwardness, I do look at this with fondness. I can't imagine the family without any of them.

I almost posted this picture and description on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook on National Sibling Day last week, but never did. Maybe some of my siblings will see it here. 

Sometimes when I see all my children in a row in public, I gasp a little inside and think, "whoa, we are a big family." Yet it isn't half of what my mom had (and this is it for us).

At the library

On Temple Square

I remember my mom saying when I was pregnant with baby number 2, that I shouldn't worry about splitting my love between kids -- my heart would grow. And it has!

I subbed in Primary on Sunday in Ben's class, and the lesson was on twin brothers Jacob and Esau. They spent years apart after Jacob got the birthright, and Jacob was worried what Esau would do to him.  But when they met again,  "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept."

I feel this way when I see my siblings again. I hope my children always count their siblings as their friends.

Sleep training here we go

I told JB that we should start sleep-training and weaning in earnest after our spring break trip. We tried before and she would fall asleep at random times on the couch and mess up the whole schedule.

Crying it out has not worked for this girlie in the past, at all. BUT, do you know what IS working for her? A binkie and a show. That's right, the baby who really never caught on to a binkie as a newborn, now walks around with one in her mouth and really wants it at night.

There she is above with the binkie as a young 'un, the same binkie she recently found again and loves as an almost-21-month-old.

She also found this random binkie and loves it, too.

I give her a show on the old iphone on Guided Access so she can't push any buttons. It's usually Boss Baby or Curious George or Finding Dory, and she stays in her crib without crying and falls asleep.

No shame.

I will not judge any parent for what it takes for them to be able to have some sanity.

So, with these soothers, she may not be nursing half the night anymore, but she still demands it plenty during the day. As I type this, she is pulling on my shirt and demanding "Side! Side!"

So we are still working on that.

A sense of Japan

I have been missing my brother Peter and his cute family since they moved to Japan a year ago. We got a taste of what they are experiencing, when he sent some Japanese treats and chopsticks to the states with his brother-in-law Sidney, who was coming to Utah for a friend's wedding.

Thumbs up!

James has been fascinated with the chopsticks. 

I tried to show him how to use them (I am not very good. My siblings are getting really good at it). He figured out a better way to use them to eat his favorite snack: bread.

Peter has been posting pictures of the beautiful cherry blossoms in his area of Japan.  At the Utah State Capitol Building, they have some as well! My friend Linda took Max and Ben with her Andrew to fly kites last week.

Easter dress

This picture is titled: Sadness when your mom won't let you run around the muddy wet grass in your brand-new hand-made dress from your Nona.

I just love this dress. It is so beautiful. I got so many comments on it at church -- "Where did you get that? Wait, you are saying your mother-in-law MADE it?" 

JB is gone for meetings Sunday mornings, so I had the boys help me try to take pictures to kind of be Easter pictures before church. Ben and I tried different bows on Millie.

But then James was sad he couldn't take the picture instead of Ben.

Different bow, more of a smile (I zoomed in and cropped it).

Back to the first pink bow, and Ben's turn to hold her and my turn to take the pictures.

 

Then the other boys came out, but then James wouldn't stand with them and Millie really wanted to get into that wet grass.

Then I took her back, and let James take a picture from his height.

And then we went to church! Living the dream!

Jordan River Temple

The Jordan River Temple was re-furbished and re-everything, so it will be re-dedicated, meaning they held an open house all this week.  We had tickets Friday.

We went to the Ogden Temple open house in 2014, to the Provo City Center Temple open house in 2016, and our first two boys to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house in 2009 but I don't see that I blogged about that.

The waiting, the crowds, the shuffling through, the hushing...it's all worth it for the awe and the beauty and the sweet feeling inside. Millie didn't want to be put down, and James hesitated about the white booties. But I think he did really well. Until he was hangry.

He thought the wait at In-and-Out Burger was unacceptable.

Millie however has lots of fun being entertained by brothers.

I am excited that the Saratoga Springs and Layton Temples have been announced. We'll go to those, too.

Pools and drive home

JB says there was a girl in one of the long lines at Disneyland who kept sobbing, "I want to go back to the pool!"  I would say the pools at the hotels were a big favorite for our kids as well.

The hotel in California had an outdoor pool and hot tub we visited every day.

The older 3 boys did not mind the times of day when the pool was chilly.

James preferred the hot tub and stacking these floaties.

The hotel in Las Vegas had the best indoor pool, where the kids could have stayed for hours if hunger didn't drive them out.

This girlie did a great job on the long drives. She sometimes tried to listen on the headphones to the movies we brought, or stared at the screen. When she got angry about being in her seat (especially on the Saturday drive home when she was so DONE with it,) I would give her a sucker.

And Andrew finally wiggled out that dangling front tooth!

I am pretty sure that my phone camera was all cloudy with stickiness from the treats I gave Andrew to eat.  The whole trip, I relaxed the rules on gum and candy and screen time and soda and they all were quite pleased.

We listened to conference on the radio during the drive, and got home in time for Max and JB to go to the Priesthood Session of General Conference.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Thursday was Universal Studios.  My four media passes (and the two extra we purchased) came with the ability to enter the park an hour early to visit Harry Potter World. I am very glad of that! Because the park filled up fast with such big crowds.

This was so much fun. Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle are SPOT ON, with so many details included from the books and movies.

Andrew checking out the Monster Book of Monsters in one of the shops.

 The Butterbeer was expensive, but very delicious.

The child switch option is awesome throughout the park. They were very lax, so the boys got to ride a few times in a row alternating with me and JB. We loved the Forbidden Journey and Jurassic Park the most.

This time through the boys and JB didn't get wet, but when I took James and Max we did get splashed a lot.

I am holding Jamesey tightly below, because that last drop was rather intense. 

So far, we are still all about all the "boy stuff" at theme parks because Millie is still so little. But the Minions! 

Here we are before the Minion Mayhem while JB and Millie played outside (and then he tried to stroller her into a nap).

The four boys sat together and laughed a lot. I took off the 3D glasses a lot, because I was getting a little ill. It hit JB worse on the Transformers Ride.

Our sweet Maxwell, back in Hogsmeade, getting so tall.

Waterworld was just like I remembered it. But we didn't do the studio tour. Too long a line. We ate snacks and drank the refillable soda over and over, until we got some pizza outside of the park for dinner. I was very proud of all of us for not complaining all day, even though it was possible.

The only bummer for James and Andrew was that we never bought anything in all the gift shops right after the rides were done. Andrew had the same complaint at Disneyland: "We never buy anything!" 

Beach Day

Wednesday was a beach day. We were staying in Buena Park, by Knott's, and close to Disneyland. As in the past, we just drove south on Beach Blvd until we hit the ocean in Huntington Beach.

I see often posts from Newport Beach on social media (I hear Mormons like it? (haha)) but we have loved this exact same spot by the same lifeguard tower over the years. It's not busy at all.

Give these boys dirt or sand, and they will be so happy to play for a long time.

Baby girlie thought the sand felt funny.

But she loved the waves.

So did the big boys, especially Ben. He ventured out pretty far.

I tried and tried to get Millie to keep a hat on, to protect her head. As I tried to show her in the camera how she looked, that hand is James showing me the first of many shells he found.

JB tried to give her a sucker to keep her hat on, while I played volleyball with the big boys.

In the end I just sunscreened over and over, and I am happy to report no burns on anyone after hours at the Beach.