Public Garden with the Joy Schoolers

Quack! (Ava's shot)

This Week's Funnies

Ezra has been having a hard time with cleaning up. We have tried everything from no dessert, to being put in his carseat while we finished cleaning at a friend's house to no stories at bedtime (a consequence I will never repeat because it's my favorite time of the day). We have been trying to get creative.

The other day I told him if he didn't help, there would be no snacks until dinner. He'd just have to wait. Dinner was an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes away. I took him out for a walk in the stroller on a few errands in the neighborhood, thinking it would be good to keep this tired, hungry boy out of everyone's space or he just might hit something. It worked, he behaved, but when I reached into my purse to grab my wallet, he spotted a sandwich. YUM! He quickly grabbed for it, forgetting his consequence.

"No buddy, you're going to have to wait until dinner," I reminded him.

His eyes immediately filled up with genuine tears and he said, "You're going to let me die?"

Poor little guy! I assured him he wasn't going to die, but he still didn't get the sandwich!

Ava just spoke in sacrament meeting for the primary program. She was so proud to stand up there and not need help with her lines. Everyone could tell the words were her own, not edited by mom, and when she was done there was a big giggle from the congregation. At the end she asked me if she'd done a good job. "Then why did everyone laugh at me and no one else?" She asked. I assured her it was because she was so cute.

Mark is walking, yup, walking. And clapping. And kissing. When did this sweet angel baby get so big? Mike can make him giggle and laugh like there's no tomorrow. He loves chasing around balls and yaps and yaps and laughs at them. Too cute.

Fitting It In

We're just trying to fit in a few fun things as a family before we leave this beautiful city!

Castle Island, where you can see the ships come in and the planes take off simultaneously.

Hiking with good friends.

Lake Cochituate. Relaxing. Warm water. Nearby. Lots of fun.

Why Do I Follow Jesus Christ?

I feel that between Ava's sweet description of Jesus a few posts down, and Ezra's singing, "I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am, I know God's plan, I'll follow Him in faith..." I wanted to share a heartfelt thought about my Savior too.

I was doing my scripture study a few nights ago and came across a question in a guide book I am using as I read. "Why do you choose to follow Jesus Christ?" It was late and I was tired but I want to share the thoughts that I jotted down, my first impressions.

First of all, I follow Jesus Christ because he is real. Very real. I know that He is the son of God, that he loves and cares about me, that he atoned for my sins. How can I not follow him? He blesses me daily. His big picture plan for my family is intricate and beautiful and perfect and I am grateful every day for it as I watch it unfold. I follow Jesus Christ because he protects me and my family. He gives us guidelines which keep us safe from the baseness of the world. He has lent us health and strength, for which I am grateful, knowing it is a gift He has given and we may one day not have, but will love Him regardless. I follow Jesus Christ because it makes me happy. He gives me perspective. He helps me find joy as I serve my family and others. I am grateful for his example and sacrifice and I love learning about him as I study my scriptures and the words of our modern day prophets. I hope I can follow him enough, be enough. It's a good thing I've got time to work on it.

Ezra's Show

Ava's primary program is coming up. We've been practicing all the songs at home to get ready. Check out Ezra's enthusiasm for helping with this project, and notice two things:

1. He is using the antena on the radio as his microphone
2. He has lined up his "babies" as his audience.

Love that boy.

Utah Fam

Yes, we made it to Utah this summer. Three months ago actually. I was hoping to get more pictures from family because my camera died while there, but we are going to put up what I have to represent because we love these people!! Thanks for the great time fam! Can't wait to see you next.

My Little Sea Turtle

Ezinator

Ezra is quite the little man. He's been cracking me up lately with the things he's been saying. Here are some Ez quotes:

E:"Nursery is so hard."
M(mom): suppressing a giggle "What's so hard about it buddy?"
E: with a sigh and an eye roll "you have to sing soooo many songs!"
I tried to drop him off at nursery today and had to wait until song time was over before he'd go in!

Dad took them to a park yesterday and they saw a dead and decomposing rabbit (sorry I know it's gross)
A: Dad! There's something dead over here.
D: Okay, let's play somewhere else.
A: Why are there flies all over it.
D: Because they like germs and it's probably pretty germy. Come on! Let's play somewhere else.
A: What are those white things?
D: I don't know, let's go somewhere else..
E: (very seriously and matter-of-factly) those are bones.
That kid knows what he's looking at.

I had brought two couch cushions down to Ez's room to make a little bed for Ava so our guest, Uncle Danny (or "Daniel" as Ezra seems determined to call him-where did that come from anyway?) could have Ava's room. Ava was too tall and needed one more so I told the kiddos I was heading upstairs to get another.
E: I'll do it.
M: Are you sure? They're pretty big.
E: (with a no-big-deal wave of his hand) I got it mom!
He totally cracks me up with his hand movements when he's talking. He takes himself so seriously, I love it! He should take himself seriously, he's himself, obviously, but I just don't always see that confidence, in a three year old. Lovin' him!

Ava's Birthday Party

I shamefully admit that the birthday party-in-a-car wasn't quite the hit I was hoping for. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was right at Ezra's nap time that we finally hit the road. Or maybe, that we were moving that day and I couldn't seem to locate the extra streamers and balloons. Or that I left the gift that she had picked out all wrapped up along with the cupcakes in the old house (welcome home to the new tenants!). Or that because the car was in the shop for the two days before hand we had only word games planned, and that's a lot of talking and thinking for a barely five-year-old and way beyond a three-year-old's attention span. What was I thinking a birthday party in the car? Who could really pull that off on moving day anyway, right? :o)

Not everything went horribly though. We did get chicken nuggets for lunch, she did have people call to sing to her (her favorite thing about birthdays), and I did remember to paint "Honk! Ava's 5 today" on the outside of the car. For days she thought all honking was for her.

Even better than that though, was our new New Jersey friend's offer to throw her a playdough and pool party in her backyard. Ava loves nothing more than swimming and we had a great time.

Hope you enjoy the slide show.

Ava Answers

In a few weeks the children in at our church will be putting on a program for sacrament meeting. They each have a speaking part and will be singing lots of song. Tonight for Family Home Evening we decided to practice the songs and get Ava ready for her speaking part. I was asked to ask Ava a specific question and have her answer in her own words. They only need one or two sentences, but I thought I would give you the unedited version because it is so cute.

Q: Who is Jesus? What is He like?

A: He’s like a really good person that can never make mistakes and he has enough power to change the weather and do anything he wants. He made the world and decided it should be beautiful and made up words, and us, and all those good things, and he’s a good person. He chose styles like buns, ponytails, straight hair. He did beautiful things, paper, colors, bright orange, blue, all those things, and he’s like amazing. He did all those things. I’m so glad he made Mark! He’s kind of like the Holy Ghost and heavenly father. He’s a perfect person. I know we’re going to be with him and never have ouchies, and never be Him.

Sea Turtle

Mark is my little baby sea turtle. Last time I was at the beach Mark was carried the entire time in my baby carrier-over the sand, in the sea,-you name it, the baby carrier was there for me. Yesterday after three hours of baby carrying in the pool I decided to give my back a rest and let Mark do some exploring. As soon as I plopped him down on the blanket he took one big gulp of sand, flopped onto his tummy and started army crawling toward the ocean, even somersaulting down a decline, which didn't interrupt his beeline toward the water. He loves it. Lots of laughs and kicks and splashes.

All of my kids were so good out there today, and so happy. Sometimes I wonder if who enjoys their childhood more, me or them.

Car Game Ideas

Sweet A's birthday happens to be the day we need to make our road trip back home. She put it all together by asking how many days until her birthday and how many days until the big move. I was nervous about her throwing a fit because long car rides are not her favorite thing. Instead she said, "I have a great idea. Let's have my birthday party in the car. We can decorate it with balloons and play games and eat cupcakes...."

Sweetest girl ever. She is genuinely excited. In an attempt to make it the best birthday-party-in-the-car ever I am in need of some game ideas. So far we have 20 questions (a new favorite developed on the commute to Mike's work and back), the ABC game (kinda hard for kids this age but we try anyway), and the rainbow color game (like the ABC game but with colors of the rainbow). Any other ideas for us? I'm hoping to find car paint to decorate the window saying "honk, Ava's 5 today." I wonder how many honks we'll get going through NYC.

Princeton

I know I've just been complaining about the bugs, but the reality is that I love Princeton. Here's a few reasons why:

1) The People- Such a friendly church group. We were welcomed with big wide arms and even though we've only been here on month today, I feel like I've been here at least three because I feel like I know people, my kids have friends, we've been having so much fun hanging out. It's been great. The neighbors have been awesome too. We've been lent fans and driveways for bike riding and are always greeted with a smile when out and about.
2) The land and neighborhoods- It's so beautiful! Lush, green land covered in trees and farms and lovely river runs. It's beautiful. I can only imagine in the fall. I actually like running because it's pretty, and I've found a fun running pal in Nancy. We also have deer, wild turkey, and an endangered species of black squirrel indiginous to our area and tramping through our yard.
3) The campus-The buildings are intricately designed. medieval style. Love them. Also there is a fountain that you can "dip your toes in." Sadly we bent the rules a little when we went dipping because there was another family with three kids swimming. It's about mid-thigh level on Ava and she had lots of fun.4) Princeton Library-Ultimate best library. It has a cafe downstairs with fresh pastries, a play room for the kids with toys, computer games for the kids, beautiful new books, and the farmers market is held right outside. These week on our way out the door and through the farmers market we ran into a "Free Face Painting" sign and our kids came home looking like this:
5) Halo Ice Cream-A great find for the Sorensen ice cream addicts. A farm out here produces home made ice cream in all flavors. Some of the best ever. Mike even says their Peanut Butter beats Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup. Wow!
6) Proximity to Philly- We've been down twice to see our good friends, the Vance's. We've met up at fun places like the Philly Zoo and Please Touch Museum.
7) Kid Friendliness- Whether it's Terhune Orchards with the Goats, tractors and horses, fruit picking and baked goods, or the free airport tour on Tuesdays, Princeton is a great place for kids to explore. There is even a weekly email distributed with all the events for the week. Mike's taken Ava to a children's theater, I've taken kids to library activities and Farmer's Markets all thanks to Princeton Kids. Makes my job much easier. We try to have two activities a day out of the house, and it's easy here.
8) Great Garage Sales- I am sorry. I have been totally addicted to these after being introduced to them by my adventurous mother in law. My top finds so far this summer have been endless amounts of clothes for Ava running at fifty to eighty cents a piece (she's set), a crepe maker which I lovingly refer to as my crepe wand (I am a crepe fairy) for fifty cents (I KNOW!), and an excavator bike complete with digging shovel for Ez for $2. I'm hoping I can somehow squeeze it into my car and get it home. It's amazing.

Four Going on Eighteen... A Talk About Love

Ava was wishing that we were back in Joy School because we had snacks that a friend usually had in his lunch. "We could have matching lunches," she said. "I like Boy X."

"You do, what do you like about him?" I asked.

"He likes me...a lot."

"Oh? How do you know?"

Smile...smile..."Well.....he told me he wanted to marry me."

"He did?!" I couldn't help but start laughing. I also couldn't believe we've been out of Joy School for two whole months and she hadn't said a word about this until today. She has boy secrets already?

"Yeah." Silence. "I didn't tell him this, but I thought," [imagine with a little Ava attitude] " 'that's not going to happen.' "

Mom's dying of laughter even though she's trying hard to hold it in.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Well, we'd have to fall in love."

"Do you know what it feels like to fall in love."

"No."

"You're right. Not yet, you don't."

I cannot believe I just had that conversation with my four year old daughter.

Newest House Guest

We have a bumble bee colony under our front porch. I killed five centipedes within the first 40 minutes of my day. Mike killed two in the middle of the night last night when we awoke to our daughter screaming. Four more weeks and I'm out of here!

New Tricks

Not really a new trick, but look at what a determined boy he is. He's so much fun. Took the kiddos to the beach today with ladies from church. Such a great group of moms.

Ava learned her new trick in Grandma Duck's pool, and Mark has been crawling now for a few weeks. He can even pull to stand, and once or twice has stood on his own on accident. Growing up!

Father's Day

This Father's Day was especially meaningful to me because I'd been without my other half for a couple of weeks. Once again, my parent's saved the day and flew him out for the weekend. Thanks! Having him around only made us miss him more when he left. He's such a cheerful guy. A great leader in our family. Gentle. Kind. The perfect kind of firm with the kids. He takes such good care of me and he reminds the kids (well, one in particular I'm sure you can guess who) not to hit me. It's nice having someone stick up for you. :o)

Ava was super excited about Father's Day this year. She was thinking and thinking about what to get dad. She came up with two really good ideas: a game, and an ipod. She decided to go with both. If you look closely she's made Dad an ipod with her favorite car game on the screen. She was pretty excited. She also thought she would give him the heart box she decorated with paint and stick on jewels you can see in the bottom left hand corner. I convinced her otherwise, but it's proof to what a selfless sweetie she is. She had so much fun decorating it and is still loving it here in NJ.

Las Vegas

For those of you who are confused as to our whereabouts let me do some explaining. Yes, for the time being (the next six months perhaps) Boston is our home central. However, Mike is doing his summer internship in the Princeton, New Jersey area, so we are here. We were only able to find family housing for six of the twelve-or-so weeks of Mike's internship. Because my parents truly love to spoil me, they flew me out west to spend June with family instead of being a single mom. THANK YOU! We spend about 2 1/2 weeks in Vegas and 1 1/2 weeks in Utah. We loved seeing friends and family, and only wish I'd had more momentum the second stretch of the trip (the Utah portion) to see more of you. Miss you all!

Grandpa and Grandma have an awesome yard, whether you're running through sprinklers, picking apricots, swinging, or driving cars.

Ava had the idea to go to Grandpa Duck's grave. She wanted to pick out flowers and then deliver them and tell stories about Grandpa. Sweet girl. Ezra's not the most cooperative for photos. That's why you're not seeing much of him.

We did lots and lots of reading. We love a good story.

Mark loved getting to meet some new family members.

Disneyland

Grandma Paula was nice enough to take me to Disneyland while we were in Vegas last month. Bekah was nice enough to drive down to let us in and go with us, and Jess was nice enough to help us out with all the kiddos. It takes the whole team to take five babies and four strollers around. We had so much fun.

Ava had to pose with each letter before we left. Who taught her that? She hasn't even been in dance this year.

Meeting the Princesses was a must, of course.

Grandma with all the grandbabies that made it to Disneyland.

We could have left after Ava got her face painted and it would have been a perfectly fabulous day for her. She watched everyone else with painted faces so longingly. Once she had her "mermaid crown" she skipped around the park and was nothing but smiles. It's amazing what a little make up can do, eh?

Mark had a great day too.

Thanks for the treat and wonderful day Grandma!

New Jersey Bites

Literally. We've been here a week now, and have had multiple house guests. See if you recognize any of these guys...

our friend the centipede

the classic daddy long legs spider

I have never seen so much leg in my life. Take me back to my safe second floor house in Boston!!!

a deer tick

We found this guest embedded in Ezra's upper leg. We ran him to urgent care where they gave him a shot, took a razor blade to his leg and then plucked the little guy out. Now he's sipping amoxicillin twice a day to keep him safe from Lyme's.