Near Death Experience (Sort of)

Doesn't this look like such a sweet, charming Memorial Day afternoon?

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and all is right with the world.

Not quite.

Actually, there are literally HUNDREDS of poisonous rattlesnakes strategically positioned in that grassy area you see all around my very precious children. Nate and I had no idea when we decided to take the kids on a hike for Memorial Day at the Santa Rosa Plateau that it is a really terrible time to be in the wilderness, aka. rattlesnake season! We were about a quarter of a mile into the hike before we heard the first recognizable rattling sounds. Olivia noticed it right away and started to get nervous. She said, "Is that sound a RATTLESNAKE???" We didn't want to scare her, so we said, "Um, I don't know. Let's just pound our feet and move quickly, okay?"

By halfway through this lovely hike, we were freaked out! Olivia was whimpering, Brennen was declaring how NOT scared he was, and Nate and I were seriously wondering why on Earth we were not at the beach, at a pool, or at the mall. The rattle sounds were so loud and coming from every direction! Every grassy open area vibrated. At one point Nate laughed, "What are we DOING here? We aren't nature people! We should be at the Hilton! HILTON!!"

We started busting up, more from the tension than anything else. It was hard to stay calm and not make a big deal so that the kids didn't get scared. But we were scared! I was just sure that a huge rattlesnake was going to lunge out of the grasses and bite my leg off, or drag my 29 pound son off into its hole. I could really visualize it!

Needless to say, we survived. But barely.

No more hikes in May for us.

Siblings

One girl, one boy... that's all we've got. They love each other, they annoy each other. Brennen steals Olivia's DS and Olivia plays too rough. They are convinced they are co-pirates on our "couch-ship" and they squeal with delight in the bathtub. Brennen still calls her "Wiv" and Olivia melts every time he allows her to cuddle him.

I hope they always have the LOVE.

JANA ROCKS!!!

This week at MomSpace we had The One and Only Jana Alayra come to speak and do a concert for us. Needless to say, someone was a little star-struck:

Our evening concert was amazing and I wish I had lots of pictures for you to see, but my memory card was full, of course. Imagine hundreds of multi-colored balloons arched across the stage and all over the room, two hundred little dancing children in a mosh pit, and me singing my heart out to all of the great Jana songs I have come to love over the years. It was a blessing to work with Jana and her husband Ron all day and I encourage anyone to go to one of her concerts, she is a truly wonderful woman.

Our Easter

This year we celebrated Easter at my mom's house and with my brothers and Cousin Avery. The kids had fun looking for eggs and I had fun taking pictures of some majorly chubby cheeks.

Palm Sunday

Me: "Olivia, what did you learn about in Sunday School today?"

Liv: "About how Jesus rode into town on this day and he was on the back of a donkey and all of the town people lined up along the street and waved palm trees at him and shouted, "SUSANNA! SUSANNA! SUSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!"

Me: (choking on my laughter) "Wow, Liv, that's really great."

Bedtime Prayers

This is Brennen praying before bed... it's a version of the Lord's Prayer, in case you couldn't tell. Sometimes his raspy voice gets in the way...

"Father God, You are great!

Help us do whatever You say,

Give us our food every day,

Forgive us when we disobey,

Help us choose to do what's right,

Keep us safe both day and night,

For You're the God of everything!

Forever You will be our King!"

Still Innocent

Tonight I was driving Olivia and Bryce home from Awanas and listened in on their conversation. Olivia had just commented on a stalled out car with flashing lights and said that must be an accident. She then leaned over and started whispering furiously in Bryce's ear and then they both burst out into hysterical giggles. I was curious, of course, so I asked what was so funny. Liv first said, "I can't tell you, it's a secret!" but then thought again and said, "All right, I'll tell you..." She explained how it is really funny that a car accident is the same word as an "accident" that you have in your pants, "like when you go pee-pee in your underwear."
"Isn't that funny, Mama?"

Yes, it is. Mostly, I'm just thankful that my daughter and her friend still giggle about such silly things.

Funny Words

I was walking through Walmart yesterday with Brennen in the cart and he saw something attractive over my shoulder. He bursted out urgently, "LOOK MAMA! Chucky Arms!"

Uhhh.....

It took me a minute, but then I remembered his version of the sugary cereal he's eaten only a handful of times. Lucky Charms. Right. Boy, that cereal has made a lasting impression on that kid. He acts like it's his long lost friend whenever he sees a box in the store.

This incident reminded me of all of the funny words my kids have said over the years.
Let me try to remember some of them:

Olivia: "Gack-a-mody" for guacamole
Olivia: "Buh-dult" for adult
Brennen: "Guh-mote" for remote
Olivia: "Thor head" for forehead
Brennen: "Woo-vie" for movie
Brennen: "High High Moosica" for High School Musical

Kids are always good for a laugh!

The Sound of Music

I think one of my favorite sounds in the whole world is a laughing baby...

Even better is when it's one of my nieces.

Avery is 8 months now and really a lot of fun.

I've realized that I will do ANYTHING it takes to make a baby laugh. In this instance, I was barking like a dog and shaking my head making loose lips sounds. Silly, I know, but it worked!

Please excuse my appearance... it was morning.

Me, according to Olivia...

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
"Come here, Liv!"
2. What makes your mom happy? "When I obey you."
3. What makes your mom sad? "When I throw a fit."
4. How does your mom make you laugh? "By tickling me."
5. What was your mom like as a child? "You looked like me."
6. How old is your mom? "Right now? Um.. 31?" (she's right!)
7. How tall is your mom? (she's measuring me with her hands right now...) "20 feet long"
8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do? "Type on the computer."
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "Talk on the phone."
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "A child carrier" (???)
11. What is your mom not really good at? "Playing games... because you never win!" (Hmmm...)
12. What is your mom very good at? "Driving!" (Thank you very much!)
13. What does your mom do for her job? "A substitute teacher."
14. What is your mom's favorite food? "Meatloaf."
15. What makes your mom proud of you? "When I do good work at school!"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "Spongebob!"
17. What do you and your mom do together? "Play games"
18. How are you and your mom the same? "We both like eggs!"
19. How are you and your mom different? "You are bigger than me."
20. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? "The mall! And BJ's." (Pretty darn accurate.)
21. How do you know your mom loves you? "Because you hug me and kiss me!"