Utah Rocks!

On the flight from Chicago to Utah Elijah casually mentioned that while we were there he planned to go "mountain climbing". I had no idea this was on his agenda. Rebecca and I decided to oblige the little boys on our first morning in the mountain state. Kaleb came along and was a tremendous help. As we drove up to the squaw peak trailhead, the boys saw some snowcapped mountains and asked if we could climb all the way up and play in the snow. We had to break the bad news that we were not equipped with harnesses and ice picks and clamps. In the end, they were very satisfied with the hike we did and felt as if they truly climbed the mountain. I had forgotten how breathtaking and beautiful Utah can be, even during the relatively brown month of March. After our hike, the boys spent some time stacking rocks and making little miniature pyramids. I think building with rocks must be some sort of primal male urge. I liked looking back at the little mounds as we left, the remainders of a short-lived toddler civilization. I hope you enjoy these photos of our mountain climbing adventures.

Reunion Randomness

So, we went to Utah last month. Did you know? What? I didn't post anything about it on my blog? Well, to be fair we didn't get back until THIS month, and we were very busy doing family reuniony things while we were there... I know, I know, it is now April 22nd and my posts and pictures about Utah are long overdue. Luckily, (drumroll please) here they are! First up we have some random pictures and anecdotes that didn't fit nicely into the other Utah themed blog posts I have planned. Enjoy.

Stephen and Shirley Ricks, the founders of all this insanity.

One thing we always enjoy at these big family gatherings is playing games. This year, Jonathan brought a card game he is developing that is like the game Spaz, if the game Spaz were taking steroids. It was a lot of fun. We also enjoyed Scribblish and Blurt. I think my favorite gaming moment was during the game Blurt (a game in which you quickly try to guess a word as a definition is being read) when Kaleb, our 9-year-old nephew heard the definition "An alcoholic beverage made from hops" and yelled out "Beer!" before anyone else did. Marcus, his dad, said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.

Before we played all these games, we had put the little kids to bed. Apparently they were not-so-much asleep . We caught the twins sneaking up the stairs and stealthily placing hangers on the railing. They were able to hang quite a few before we saw them. Stinkers.

Here is my beautiful niece Meagan who, though not in very many of my pictures, was a never-ending source of good conversation and much needed help. She did far more than her fair share of watching our little boys while we there. Thank you, thank you, thank you Meagan! May you be blessed for all your service by only having extremely helpful girls when you get married some day.

This is Cai, another under-photographed member of the family. She is a super sweet dog and was extremely patient with my boys. She also had a knack for sniffing out stinky diapers. Benjamin enjoyed sharing his food and sometimes his binky with her.

One thing I really enjoyed about this trip was how much our boys enjoyed being with their cousins. They spent a lot of time outside playing who-knows-what in the backyard and possibly even more time on the basement couch watching shows and stuffing their mouths full of popcorn. Opa got a theater-style popcorn popper for Christmas and put it to good use. Although it has been three weeks, my boys are still quoting movies I did not know they have seen. When I ask them when they saw that show the answer is inevitable, "With Opa! In Utah! We had popcorn!"

On Saturday, after our family photo session, we all went out to lunch at Tucanos. We hope this becomes a tradition because we LOVE Tucanos! For those of you who are not familiar with Provo, Utah, Tucanos is the most affordable Brazilian-style steak house on the planet. The food is so good! Anyway, part of the experience is that the grilled meats, fish, pineapple and vegetables are brought to your table still on the roasting spit. The servers slice the meat while you grab a piece with your tongs. Our boys opted to use their tongs as eating utensils instead. I love this picture of Gabriel feeding Maya some pineapple with his tongs. For such a tiny girl, that mouth can open pretty wide!

This last random picture is of a typical encounter between Benjamin and his cousin Liam. Liam is four months younger but about the same size. Liam is very enthusiastic about other babies and wants to touch and grab. Benjamin, on the other hand, approaches other babies with extreme caution. This is probably the result of being the youngest of four boys. He's never sure what to expect. He wasn't so sure about Liam either. I think, in the end, Benjamin decided they could be friends.

An Apiarian Anecdote

A conversation overhead today while Gabriel and Elijah were coloring a picture of a bee.

Gabriel: Do you like bees?

Elijah: Yes, well, yes, but I'm kind of scared of them.

Gabriel: Don't be scared. They won't sting you.

Elijah: I know, but I'm worried they will get my stuff.

Gabriel: They won't!

Elijah: Or, I'm worried they will get some chalk and eat it.

Gabriel: (incredulously) No.....

Elijah: Or they might eat some garbage!

Gabriel: No! They eat honey!

Elijah: I know! Stink. Captain Crunch.

That was the end of the conversation. I guess "Captain Crunch" trumps all other arguments. They have a point. How can you argue with someone who wears such a ridiculous hat?

March Madness

Here are some fun pictures from the month of March:

Benjamin has decided that he LOVES the dishwasher. Is there any better place to play than inside a dishwasher? If the dishes are dirty, there are free snacks. If the dishes are clean, you can still play with knives. Ahh, the simple joys of life.

We ate these happy little shamrock pancakes for breakfast on St. Patrick's day. My boys are completely spoiled in the pancake department now. If their pancakes are not colored, fancifully shaped or don't include chocolate chips then I get complaints. In addition to these shamrocks, this month I made doggy pancakes, kitty pancakes, and violet pancakes. (My boys discovered some violets in a friend's yard and decided to eat them. No, I don't know why. They wanted me to "buy some violets at the store, they are delicious!" Our stores are lacking in violets. The pancakes were a successful substitute.)

Here is Gabriel with some green milk. Our house has seen a rash of random acts from March leprechauns. They turned batters, yogurt and milk green at various times throughout the month.

Benjamin stole this sucker out of his brother's hand and would not relinquish it. I guess he figured if he couldn't play the games at the little fundraiser we were attending then gosh-darn-it he was gonna get some candy! You have to love the combination of snot and sucker residue all over his face. We had to wash the baby bjorn after that.

This golf game was the decided favorite at the fundraiser. My boys all had a different approach to these games. Elijah would give it an honest try and would usually succeed. If he didn't, after a few attempts, he would accept a consolation prize. David John refused to be coddled and had to keep playing the game until he won without help or cheating. Gabriel, on the other hand, just wanted to win. He had no qualms about blatant cheating.

This month, Elijah had decided to be camera shy. I can't really complain. I know I did this to my parents and they were using film cameras. Mom, I am so sorry.

I have decided to try and take more pictures of myself to prove that I was actually around. So, here I am, crazy mother-of-four at the school carnival fundraiser without my husband. I am sporting a pink plastic lei which David John won for me. Thanks, son.

Have you ever seen a cuter clown puppy?

Gabriel's favorite color is green. St. Patrick's Day was the perfect opportunity for him to go all-out. Here he is sporting his shirt with green stripes, green necklace, green bracelet, green ring and pants with a green stripe. He is holding his green balloon, green bouncy ball and green stickers.

We had unbelievable weather this month. I think that was the true madness. Some days felt like spring, others like summer. For Cleveland, in March, warm weather is almost unheard of. We lived at the park. Benjamin is getting big enough to really enjoy playing outside with his big brothers. Thanks to my friend Sarah for taking this cute picture!

I can't believe this boy is going to be 1 on April 1st. I just love this scrunched-up baby sleeping position. As hard as it is to care for a baby, I know that I will miss the little moments like this.

Towards the end of the month, Marc and I took all the boys to a Spring fun-fest put on by a local church. It featured tons of inflatables, dressed up characters, hot-dogs and games. They had a blast. Sponge Bob and Mickey Mouse were hanging out by the entrance. Once volunteer, seeing how excited David John was about this, told him, "You should go inside! Elmo's in there, and Batman!" David John put his hand on the man's shoulder, raised a warning finger and whispered loudly "No! Batman is scary!" It was pretty funny. We did see Batman inside. He wasn't scary. David John gave him a high-five. The next four pictures are from that event.

These big boys all piled on the bed in our guest room with a huge stack of books, then called me in to take a picture. I love it when they play together and I love their love for books. This picture is pure joy. I am one blessed mama.

Shenanigans

I chose this title for random tidbits about the boys thinking that the word was Irish in origin. Apparently, it's origin is "unknown" and the first known usage was in 1855. Weird, huh? Regardless, here are some of the latest shenanigans and quotables from my boys:

Gabriel's preschool class read "Green Eggs and Ham" this month. How do I know? Well, it was in a note sent home from school but I would have known anyway because Gabriel is constantly quoting from it and adapting the text to the current situation. At dinner the other night:

Elijah: Mom, I don't like fish or cauliflower or potatoes!

Me: You haven't even tried them how do you know?

Elijah: I just know!

Gabriel: Try them and you may! Try them and you may I say!

Last week, Gabriel was very angry with me. I don't even remember what it was about but I certainly remember his response.

Gabriel : "Fine! I don't love you! I don't love you here! I don't love you there! I don't love you anywhere! And I won't smile! I won't smile on a train or in the rain! Or ever again!" I'm pretty sure Dr. Seuss is rolling over in his grave.

Before I go anywhere with the boys, we have a little meeting about what behaviors are expected based on where we are going. I think in this particular instance we were going to the library. I asked the boys what the rules were.

Gabriel: No yelling!

Elijah: Stay with mommy!

Gabriel: No running!

Elijah: Don't climb on the shelves!

David John: And no panicking!

Good advice, David John. He must have read the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.

One of the blessings of having boys is that when you are at a park without access to any bathrooms and someone needs to go, you can just find a secluded tree instead of packing everyone back into the car and driving home. My boys, and I think boys in general, are very interested in peeing outside. They find it fascinating. Unfortunately, being 2 and 4, they don't always have the best aim. Poor Elijah was using a tree at the park when he decided to look down and see how things were going. He simultaneously turned the stream upward and got himself right in the eye. I felt like a very bad mother because I couldn't contain all of my laughter while I helped him get cleaned up. Boys are so weird.

Gabriel has found a new passion this month. He has become a letter-writer. Often, he makes cards and writes letters just to show love or appreciation for someone. However, he also uses his letter-writing to advocate for social change. He wrote a letter to one of his teachers at school because he did not like getting messy during arts and crafts time. He wrote the letter, read it to me, and I rewrote what he said in somewhat more legible hand so that his teacher could read it. The letter included the following sentiment, "I don't like getting my hands dirty 'cause that makes me crazy. Please get me an art smock." He also wrote letters when I told him that he will not be able to go back to his preschool next year. He filled an entire box with letters to his teachers and school administration asking for a tuition decrease. He also threw in some change and a few plastic toys to sweeten the deal. I didn't rewrite those letters for him. The school board will have to figure it out themselves.

Elijah likes to use a calculator to "send emails". The other day, Elijah was sending emails to friends and family and periodically asking Gabriel who to send an email to next.

Gabriel: Send an email to the zombies.

Elijah: No! Zombies can't read!

Gabriel: Yes they can. They write notes.

Elijah: Well, they definitely don't have computers. They are dead. I am not sending email to the zombies.

Good thinking, Elijah. The last thing we need is undead using the internet.

Most of you know, but for posterity let me note that David John broke his nose this month. When the boys were supposed to be in bed and sleeping, they were instead playing "circus act" in the dark. Circus act involves feats of derring-do, like jumping from bed to bed and doing flips. David John did a flip and landed nose first on the headboard of his bed. I am sorry to say, I failed to take a picture of the resulting swollen nose and black eyes. He was definitely in pain after the initial accident, but was back to his dare-devilry by the next day. His nose is slightly flatter and wider across the bridge than it was and we considered getting it fixed. However, the day before we had to decide David John did the exact same trick and landed on his nose again. He did not re-break it, but the incident convinced me that fixing his nose at this point would be premature. He will likely break it again. Besides, it will be a nostalgic reminder of his toddler shenanigans.

Full of Hot Air

Recently, Marc forced me to catch up on the project of backing up all of the pictures. As a result, I found some pictures that I had edited for a blog but never got around to posting. Long-time readers may remember a post back in September 2011 about Marc's balloon tying skills. Shortly after it was published, Marc was approached at work by some female residents in his pediatrics program who indicated that they did not find his balloons all that impressive. They seemed to think that they could easily teach themselves to do the same thing. Marc, being a man, was full of bluster about this encounter and asked me to photograph and post some more balloons in hopes that they would appreciate his "mad skillz". So, here it is: the catalog of balloon shapes that only real men can tie.

First up, we have the very masculine motorcycle balloon. I wish I had a picture of one done in black, but this is still pretty cool.

Speaking of hogs, nothing says "man" like a chauvinist pig.

Awww, but this one is cute and fat and pink!

Okay, sorry, back to the manliness. We'd like to see those girls attempt to tie this scorpion of death!

Yeah, take that. Or how about this ferocious black bear?

Actually, I want to hug that one and take a nap...

Focus! Okay, here is a fire-breathing, princess-eating dragon!

And it's fearsome cousin, the dragon.... fly?

Really, babe? This is what you give me to work with?

Nothing could be more frightening than a fuzzy... pink... bunny. Umm, maybe it's one of those bunnies like in Monte Python?

Oh look, and here are some flowers. I'm sure they are, uh, carnivorous. Yeah.

Finally, we have a petrifying, um, penguin.

Don't ask. I have no idea what is manly about penguins. You'll have to call Marc. So, uh, boo-ya balloon-skill-doubting residents..... and stuff. Gotta go.

Little Shopping Trip of Horrors

I got some bad news recently. The preschool that we are sending our boys to this year, and which we could only afford because their tuition was unbelievably low, tripled the tuition for next year. It is still a good deal compared to other preschools. Most parents are unhappy but undeterred. Most parents will not have three preschool-aged children next year.
Marc and I crunched numbers and concluded that we just could not afford the new higher tuition times three. I got a little choked up when I handed them my letter today informing the school that Gabriel and Elijah would not be returning. I knew I would miss those 2 1/2 hours, four days a week when I only had two children and could run errands without fear of losing control of the situation. However, I had convinced myself that it wouldn't be so bad. Gabriel and Elijah are getting older. It had been a while since I took them all to the store... surely things would have improved.
I tried it today. It was not so good.
It wasn't even the worst shopping trip ever. Nobody climbed the shelves, squirted cleaning solution in their eyes, licked yogurt off the floor, opened unpaid for groceries, sat in an empty cashier's station and started pressing buttons, tried to shoplift or yelled and screamed. "What bad behaviors are left?" you might wonder. My friends, there are plenty. First, there was just the general chaos of having three small bodies running around my cart and constantly getting in the way of other shoppers despite my pleas to "Please put one hand on the cart unless mommy asks you to go get something." Then, there was the arguing about whose turn it was to get something off the shelf and put it in the cart which included blowing raspberries and elbowing each other. Sometimes, I am tempted to just buy three of everything to avoid these fights. Of course there was also a lot of whining and begging for grocery items made of pure sugar like marshmallows and shiny foil-wrapped Easter candy. Benjamin was no saint either. It does not seem to matter how tight I make those little belts on the grocery carts, he wiggles out. Invariably, I look away for a moment and when I look back he is standing up on the seat, one hand clutching the cart and the other extended like some sort of baby surfer. Sometimes he responds to my exasperated face with an "uh-oh" and a smile so big I can see all six of his teeth.
All of this craziness was happening and I was handling it pretty well. I did get some looks. Older women often chastise me about Benjamin's surfing habit and a new father out with his wife and baby looked positively terrified that one day his child might start behaving like my boys. I wanted to reach out and pat his shoulder and say, "There, there. You only have one. And she's a girl." Anyway, as I was saying, despite the insanity I still felt in control. Then we hit the produce section.
Picking produce is the most dangerous part of any shopping trip. Pay too much attention to the fruits and vegetables, and your kids might pull a disappearing act. Pay too much attention to the kids, and you end up with rotten tomatoes in your bag. I made the former error. I was choosing a cauliflower when from behind me I heard, "Pickle fight!" I whipped around to see my three boys sword fighting with English cucumbers. They were each wielding two, one for each hand, and were wildly slashing the air. Luckily, the cucumbers seemed to be unhurt and I hurriedly replaced them and shooed my boys back to the cart. At this point, I knew we had reached the limit of their mildly bad behavior and were fast approaching catastrophe. We made it through the checkout line with only a few minor incidents. (Elijah jumped in and out of the cart a few times, David John tried to fill the belt with gum and other check-out items, and Gabriel put up a sign that indicated our lane was closed. Several shoppers went to other lanes before I noticed what he had done.) I was relieved when I had all four boys and my bags of groceries safely stowed away in the van.
I am REALLY going to miss preschool next year.