happy birthday coleman! (i.e. welcome to our comedy of errors)

Once again we had Coleman's birthday party at Wolf Lakes with all his buddies. They are a great group of boys and they have tons of fun on the tube and just hanging out at the lake. Coleman requested a Lego Star Wars guy cake, but he agreed to just a Lego cake--Phew!! It was a little trickier than I thought it would be, and our house was too warm for the icing to work really well, and I had to get up at 6am to put it together, but it turned out cute and he loved it. So that's all that matters, right?

His friend Blake gave him two tickets to go see Clone Wars, which he and Garrett have been talking about going to see for quite a while. He was pretty excited about that. I thought that was a great idea for a gift.

Almost everything he was given was Star Wars something (those moms must have talked to me!) which pleased him greatly. Star Wars Legos, this starfighter, and a game--all big hits. He also got a magic kit, another of his fascinations lately.


I need to take a picture of him on the present he got from us--the Green Machine. Does anyone remember those? They're another throwback toy from our day and it's a big hit with Coleman--and Claire. It's like a Big Wheel, but it has a bike tire in front and it steers from the back and it shoots water. That might be a new feature that we didn't have.

So, the party ended, everyone but Blake went home, and lo and behold, we couldn't find our keys. We spent 30 or 40 minutes looking, and finally decided that Garrett would drive the Range Rover (we keep it at the lake hooked up to the boat) home and get the other keys. When he got home he found that a real estate agent had been there while we were gone and locked every door to the house--including the one from the garage into the house. So he couldn't get in anywhere. After going to the neighbors to call me (his phone was in the truck at the lake) we got a hold of Krista, our agent friend, and he went to her house to get her key to the lockbox on our house. Back at our house, he couldn't find the other keys!!! He spent over an hour at the house tearing everything apart. Some areas look like a burglar came through! He finally gave up and drove his car out to get us. We couldn't fit everyone in the car, so Blake's mom had to come too. What a fiasco! Everyone was hungry--we only had snacks, not lunch planned for the party, so after the snacks were gone I let the kids wolf down the rest of the cake. We finally got home by 4pm and ate some real food. Everyone was a bit worn out. I wanted to wash some towels, so I pulled the last load out of the dryer--there were the keys! The load was beach towels and Garrett's swimsuit---hmmm.

Just to set the record straight, Garrett found the missing keys later on the dashboard of the Yukon. He is convinced that he handed them to me and I must have thrown them up there, because he "never puts anything there" and I always do. Isn't that such a guy thing? The thing is, when he parked, I got out and into the Rover and never got back in the truck. So I never had the opportunity. I am so innocent of this! Besides, I was very patient with the whole thing, never got irritated with him even though it was his fault. Then he goes and blames me!! Men!

tubing fun

For some reason that I can't figure out, this image came out small and I can't make it bigger. So click on it so you can see the details, because it was very funny. Claire, Coleman and their friend Megan were getting crazy on the tube. I caught some good footage of one of their crashes. This was Megan's first time with us. Her face made my day!

solo canning

I finally became an official adult today. At least I became an official adult female child of Ann Coleman. I canned--by myself. Now, this shouldn't have been such an intimidating task. I mean, I've done it a million times with my mom and sisters, both growing up in paradise and as an adult. I've canned peaches, pears, tomatoes, green beans, a plethora of jam, cherries, apricots, and probably lots of other things that I've blocked from my memory. I even can jam on a regular basis on my own. But up until now, I haven't done the "real" canning on my own. You know, with a canner and everything. So I had to grow up and be a real woman and can some fruit! I brought home lots of pears and a few peaches from home so I canned those on Monday, with much success, I might add. Then on Tuesday I was shopping at the Fresno State Farm Market when I spotted a worker/student moving the less-than-perfect tomatoes into other bins. Being the good farm girl/Ron's daughter that I am, I asked, "Are you throwing those away?" The obvious answer was yes, and no we don't sell them at a reduced price for canning, but yes you can just have them. So I happily filled 3 large bags and went on my merry little way, feeling very good about myself for being so industrious. I wasn't feeling quite so perky as I was knee deep in tomato juice today, but I feel good with a bunch of bottles of pasta sauce on my counter. I decided that was the best option for these cast-offs. Mission Accomplished---I'm a real domestic diva now!

funny and not so funny

Ellie just informed me, as I was wiping her, that "I almost cracked my bum with my big poopy."

Funny story: Last weekend Garrett and Coleman went backpacking with my dad, brother, and the rest of the boys in the family. More on that later. On the way in the truck my nephew Seth (Coleman's age, 7) was reading a book about squirrels. This was the conversation as told by Garrett to our family over dinner.

Garrett: Seth, tell me everything you know about squirrels.

Seth: Well, they're brown.

Coleman: (piping in) They stuff nuts in their cheeks.

Seth: And they have nuts.

Garrett: You mean, they eat nuts?

Seth: Well, they eat nuts and they have nuts.

At this point he and I were laughing at the table and Claire and Coleman were laughing along. Then Claire says, "Why is that funny?" So we laugh more, Coleman too, so I ask him what is funny about it. He said, "Well, I was there wasn't I?" Then he said, "And Seth said that squirrels also have bums." He looked a little confused about this, confirming my assumption that he had NO IDEA what Seth was talking about. As the 3rd of 4 boys, Seth is privy to quite a bit that Coleman has yet to learn. I hope it stays that way for a while. However, when we were in Utah we got a taste of what he has been learning while out of the confines of our sheltered home.

Ellie: (Holding up a half-naked Barbie) These are the Barbie's BOOBS!"

Garrett: Who told you that?

Ellie: Coleman! (He responded with that grin--you know the one!)

Garrett: Coleman, where did you hear that?

Coleman: My buddies! My buddies tell me about the boobs. Well, actually, I should call them nipples. (Oh ya, that's what he said!)

You can imagine the discussion that ensued after that. I really hadn't thought that 6 and 7 year-old boys would be discussing boobs while they grovel in the dirt killing ants. All I hear when they're playing at our house is about the Lego ships they're building, bad guys they're killing, and lots and lots of sound effects. Can't they just stick with that? Why do they need to go anywhere else? And where are those boys learning this stuff??!! Just stay little--PLEASE!!

update

Ellie woke up from her nap happy and smiling, like nothing had happened. So she doesn't hold it against me or anything :)

I just put her to bed with no complaining, no protests, just smiles. She said, "Are we going to do that thing where you put me back in bed and back in bed?" I said, "I hope not! Am I going to have to?" She said no, but then added, "Well, we'll see!"

I have no illusions that this is the end of the bad behavior, but it's nice to know she remembered and didn't want to do it again.

Here's to a success today and more successes in the future!

joy of parenthood

I've had a little trouble with Ellie lately--well, maybe more than a little--refusing to go to bed, for naps or at night. I have tried everything that the books tell me to do, from just ignoring her to spanking to giving her choices, etc. etc. I let her know beforehand that it's almost nap time, I let her choose beds, dolls, get a drink, sing to Anson, whatever it is she might want once she gets in bed. But with all of that, she still gets up, throws a fit, screams, cries--you get the picture. The worst part of all of it is that, as good as are my intentions, I end up angry. I am so frustrated with the whole thing and with trying to do the right thing which never works, that I end up angry. Then I leave the situation hating the way I acted, knowing it was wrong but not knowing what to do differently.

So during our morning workout today, my good friends Krista and Lisa were brainstorming with me about what to do. I decided to go with Krista's suggestion to just put her back in bed as many times as she gets up with no talking or anything. This is a type of "taking the sail out of their wind" suggestion I got from a book via my sister Lisa. I have done this with other kids when they learn to get out of their crib, but I've never tried it with Ellie's situation.

So at nap time I told her it was time for nap, put her in bed (amid her yelling that she wasn't tired) and left. Does anyone care to guess how many times I was back? A whopping 76 times!!! Keeping track helped me keep calm. I started out with the determination not to get angry no matter what she did. There was a lot of screaming and crying, and then came the demands. To help keep me calm and mildly amused I wrote them down.

I need a drink!
Cover me!
I need my Cinderella!
I need my Lolly Dolly!
I need my Kitty!
I need my other kitty! (She appealed to Claire for this one.)
Lay me down!
Put my Snow White dress away!
Stay out of my room!
Go away!
Can I eat my sandwich? I'm really hungry!
I want to tell you something!

She has a way about her during these times that makes you think these are legitimate pleas, so I calmly handed her a drink or got her the dolls (they were laying on the floor of her room!) I did not, however, let her eat the rest of her sandwich. I'm not that dumb. But none of it helped and probably just lengthened the time. So next time I won't give in to any demands! But for our first time I think it went quite well!

I'm hoping for under 60 at bedtime and less than 10 demands. Any bets?

Congratulations Rob and Cindy

My cousin Rob's wedding was part of our two week extravaganza--what a great way to end our trip! He married an adorable girl, originally from South Africa, who we all adore, Cindy Long. They were married in the Sacramento Temple. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of the temple, but there were a million people milling around and since I wasn't the official photographer, I didn't feel like I could order people around! Here is just a sampling of the wonderful day.

I love the little picture of Cindy on this first page--she was saying hi to someone outside the temple in her cute little Cindy way. She's so happy all the time and is a lot of fun to be around. It was fun to meet her family, too. I could have listened to her dad talk all night. He was entertaining, plus he has that great South African accent.

The top picture here is Rob's family--my Aunt Patty and all my cousins. It was so good to be with you guys! The bottom picture is all of the girls--cousins with my sisters and mom. What a good looking group of women! :)

Congratulations Rob and Cindy!

A Good Laugh

For a good laugh and a good poke at those of us LDS ladies who do this blogging thing, visit the spoof blog, Seriously, So Blessed! I have been known to laugh out loud while reading it--and that isn't part of my normal personality! Even Garrett is entertained by it. In fact, he's the one who told me about it!

Warning: if you are as old as me and don't do a lot (or any, like me) of texting, you might be a little confused by some of the acronyms/shorthand she uses. I mean, I'm not dumb or anything and know stuff like BFF and bc, but sometimes others slip by me. Maybe I'll learn something. Something really important, I'm sure.

Also, on some of the really funny posts you have to read some of the comments because they're just as funny. There are a lot of really funny Mormon girls out there!

Camping

I get tired of trying to think up cute titles for my blogs! So ignore that and just enjoy the pictures. I put together some "scrapbook pages" for the purpose of a collage only. It takes me a long time to put together good pages! Click on the pages to see them larger.


We went camping for one night with the Roberts and had a great time--dirt, bugs, creepy night noises and all! Oh ya, and mosquito bites. Most of us only got a couple, but Coleman got demolished! I promise I sprayed him like everyone else! Sweet blood, that's what I kept telling him. It made him feel a lot better :)

We camped by a little creek at Nelder Grove because we knew the kids would be able to entertain themselves with all of the possibilities that go along with a creek. But lo and behold, who was most entertained? Mark! He was determined, very determined, to catch a fish with his bare hands. You see, the poor, defenseless, beautiful (Miranda's word, not mine!) rainbow trout were trapped in a very small pool, trying desperately to protect themselves under a small ledge. But that wouldn't stop Mark. No, he bravely straddled the creek and repeatedly grappled with the slippery things. He even brandished his gun as a threat to the poor creatures! But in the end, he triumphed over the lowly fish and came away with a prize specimen. Actually, I was shocked at how big it was for such a little pool. I think it was just about 12 inches. The best part of the whole thing was how excited Coleman and Jordan were. They were right by Mark's side the whole time--accomplices, you might say--and were anxious to make a meal of the trophy fish. Coleman tried to roast it on a stick, but it was too large for a marshmallow-roasting stick. So it went onto the grill and became a tasty midmorning snack for the whole group. Thanks for the entertainment Mark!

The other highlight was the "Shadow of the Giants" hike to see a grove of Giant Sequoias. They are very impressive. I learned that a Giant Sequoia's bark can grow up to 2 feet thick and is more fire-resistant than the rest of the tree, so the "giants" that are still around (we saw some that were over 270 feet!) have lived through many fires in their lifetimes. I also learned that because of conservationists demand for complete protection from logging and fire (I'm not sure how they accomplish that), there are many young fir and cedar trees in the forest, but very few young sequoias, as they need fire to clear out the forest floor so their seeds can reach the bottom.

I just realized that I didn't include any pictures of the giant trees, only giant stumps! Here's one of the big ones from a base perspective. It still doesn't do it justice.

And another of a couple of big ones from across the creek. The are very impressive in person. Trust me, you should go see some!

Happy Birthday Mom! (and happy late birthday to Dad!)

Happy Birthday to the Best-Mom-in-the-World! Dad's birthday was while I was in Utah, so this is a double-duty birthday wish. It usually ends up that way, doesn't it? :)


I was so lucky and blessed to be raised by two great parents and continue to be blessed by the relationship that we have now that I'm all grown up. They love me and my whole family so much. I couldn't ask for better grandparents for my kids. They are great examples of service to family and others. They have strong testimonies of Jesus Christ and live accordingly. They have a great relationship with each other and have always been great examples to me of a loving, fun marriage. And to top it all off, isn't she beautiful? That's another blessing--hopefully I've got her genes for beauty and few wrinkles! Can you believe she's 62? Sorry Mom, but you look so good, I just had to tell.


Dad looks pretty good himself, but I'm depending on Mom's genes to keep my hair! I'll take Dad's physical abilities, though. For an "old guy" he's still in great shape! He's taking all the boys in the family on a backpacking/camping trip next weekend. He loves the outdoors and any activities that keep him young. He even tried wake-surfing last summer with Garrett. I want to be like you when I grow up!

Thank you for being such great parents and teaching me how to be a good person, a good mom and a good wife (even if Garrett has to do his own ironing). I love both of you so much!

Back From and Off To

I have so many pictures and stories to share that I have been putting it off far too long! We spent a week in Utah for our Burbidge/Swallow reunion and a week at my parents' house getting ready for my cousin Rob's wedding. It was a great/busy/tiring/fun/action-packed two weeks, so I'll probably make this into several posts. I just wanted to get a quick one in before we go camping tomorrow!

A few highlights:

Angie (Garrett's sister and Seth's mom, Grandma Swallow, Dixie (Garrett's mom) and Seth

Meeting our newest nephew, Seth for the first time at his blessing. The whole family (and a mysterious couple of friends?) had dinner at the park afterwards where I got to take lots of pictures of him. What a doll! I enjoyed myself the whole week holding him, putting him to sleep, having him do a major squirt, one of the loudest and juiciest I've ever heard a 1-month-old do, during a very quiet part of Mama Mia. It's nice to be able to enjoy my nieces and nephews now that I don't have babies. Keep 'em coming girls!

Aren't baby toes the best?

Kayaking/Fishing at the Daybreak lake (don't know it's real name). A big THANKS to our friend Jason for helping each of the kids pull in a little fish of their own. This was a huge highlight for them.


Hole Digging. What is it with boys and digging holes? All the boys, from the youngest to the oldest spent a considerable amount of time digging holes at the beach. Deep ones. And then they got in them.

Grandma and Grandpa Swallow (otherwise known as GiGi and Poppy to my kids) in the 24th of July Parade in SLC. Grandpa is one of only two living sons of Utah Pioneers. It was very fun for all the kids to see them--it looks like they were enjoying themselves as well!

Coleman's best reaction to a birthday present--EVER!! Dixie planned a birthday party for all the summer birthdays. They gave Coleman a Star Wars Transformer that he has been DYING to own (for about 2 weeks) and I thought he was going to go into convulsions, he was that excited. You couldn't ask for your child to have a better reaction when someone gives them a present. I wish we had it on video because the pictures don't do it justice.


Visiting with my old (I mean, former) roommate, Melissa, who I hadn't seen in 8 or 9 years. She now lives conveniently close to Garrett's parents so we got to visit for a bit. I wonder if we've changed in the 15 years since we were roommates? Don't we still look great?! :)


That's all for now. I'll have to post wedding pictures later, cause I'm tired and I have So You Think You Can Dance finale results to watch and Breaking Dawn to finish. I'm swamped! :)