Category: Family Fun

Sometimes, I want to be “fun” by letting my kids do things that are out of my comfort zone, because I don’t want to be super controlling and say “No, no, no” all the time. I mean, why not let them do what they want?

Live it up! Let kids be kids! Life is short!

But sometimes, the whole thing kinda sorta backfires and the joke’s on me.

Example: When I allowed Chase to play/rejoice in a huge box of styrofoam packing peanuts and it took a long, long, long time for us to get all those tiny, sticky pieces all cleaned up! I was not pleased with the outcome, and I kicked myself.

Or a couple days ago, when I let Charlotte carry around my deodorant stick, because she JUST wanted to “hold it & smell it,” and we later found this mysterious white, chalky stuff wiped all over Charlotte’s face & hair, the couch, end table, and all the coasters:

Sure enough, the deodorant was all used up! Silly me. I wasn’t sure how to get the coasters all cleaned off, so I stuck them in the dishwasher… Bad idea. Deodorant residue all over "freshly cleaned” dishes! I had to laugh at my silliness.

Also, on the same day, Chase wanted us to go out & build an igloo in the snow (we hadn’t had snow in forever, until a few days ago!). But there wasn’t enough snow to build a large, person-sized igloo like he wanted, so I got out our dozens of toilet paper & paper towel rolls that we have stocked up. We built a nice igloo with a blanket over it & a tunnel going inside.

However, after about 5 minutes I really should have snatched those things up & put them far, far away from Chase’s grasp! Because he threw the rolls all over downstairs, unraveled a few rolls of the paper towels & toilet paper all over downstairs, & also snuck a toilet paper roll up to his room so he could “TP” the bunk beds. I caught him in the act! He was bummed that he wasn’t allowed to continue.

At least he had fun while it lasted.

And I later informed Pace that we officially have a “Kid House.” I figure you know what I mean by that!

Yesterday, my friend Jamie and I were discussing (on the phone) how even though we’re aware that there are a variety ways to be a “Good Mom”, we sometimes still feel like we’re not very awesome because we don’t do super awesome things that other moms do. (I know that comparing ourselves to others is just pointless, because it discourages us & we’re comparing our weak points with others’ strengths. But I find myself doing so, anyway!)

I’ve felt like I should make more creative craft-type items with/for my kids, because “Good Moms” do things like that all the time, but then I just think that the $ and effort to purchase/gather all the materials (and perhaps just wanting to throw it in the trash after a few days) is not worth it!That’s just my opinion.

So I take a simpler approach and do things like the following:

–Make & eat homemade popsicles (for these, we poured 100% apple juice into molds & dropped a few blueberries into each one, too—kind of nutritious!):

(Those Ikea popsicle molds were certainly a great investment. I didn’t know if they would be one of those things that you think you’re going to use, but never do. However, we’ve made a variety of pudding pops, juice pops, & yogurt pops over the last couple years. So easy & cheap!)

–Build things together (or just watch your kids & admire their creations) is another simple yet great thing to do:

–Give them cookie cutters at lunch time to cut out their sandwiches and gobble them up! Easy & fun.

–And then there’s the simple pleasure of spending time together, doing ANYTHING. (The Hottie below is watching Duck Tales with his kids, and cuddling with them. He also enjoys taking Chase to Home Depot the 1st Saturday of each month to do the free wood craft.)

I mean, look how much fun Charlotte is having. Ha!

–Another simple activity is going to Story Time at the library, checking out books & movies, then playing on the playground there.

…That list isn’t too shabby! Even if I’m not very crafti-licious, we can still do interesting things.

So my point is this: If you’re like me & feel like you don’t do enough super awesome things with your kids, think again, because maybe the simple things you do with them or for them are more valuable & “awesome” than you originally thought.

I don’t really like basketball, but I love clicking things. And Cotton made a March Madness tourni bracket called McBracket, so I had to go in and click away. Want to join in the fun for whatever reason you’d like? Get your Yahoo, Google, or Facebook ID ready and click away. Lets hope Joy’s Alma mater makes it all the way!
Join in the fun

Can’t click the link above?
Go to Yahoo.com
Group ID#: 30241
Password: charlotte</blockquote

Grandma T. recently came to visit! Below are some photos that I actually remembered to take! 🙂

Right after Charlotte was born, my mom took Chase to run a few errands, and to this day, he considers those exact errands a tradition. (Side note: Whenever Grandpa T. comes, Chase believes that they have to get a “hamburger & root beer at BYU.” Because they did that once & it was fun = tradition.) So now he thinks that every time Grandma comes, they/we must go to the library, Funfinity (toy store), and the grocery store, preferably in that order. This time we did all those in one trip, and we also went out to ice cream at the SOS Drug Store! Watch out, that could become part of the “when Grandma’s visiting” tradition!

It’s such a cute little soda fountain that makes you feel like you’re back in the 50s or earlier. And it’s super inexpensive; that’s always a plus!

Note that Charlotte looks like a poor little orphan girl in the above photo. She’d had a MAJOR tantrum/meltdown previous to this, because Grandma got her dressed in a non-Disney princess shirt, and made her wear PANTS! I quickly stuck a bow in her hair & considered her to look somewhat presentable, but she immediately yanked the bow out. SO, oh well. (She’s been an angel again for the last few days, though!)

At the toy store, Charlotte got a box of princess accessories including several pairs of clackety high heels. She is now obsessed with them (along with a Barbie book she got at the library)! Chase got a science experiment kit at Funfinity, and we’ve done a few of them together. He absolutely loves doing experiments (figure most boys do)!

(These are some “wiggly crystals” that Pace & Chase just made tonight from the kit.)

We enjoyed a family day last Saturday when my cousin Leann’s daughter was baptized, her husband Jake went to the temple for the first time, and their family was sealed in the temple for time & all eternity. Amazing! BEAUTIFUL sealing; their 3 girls were radiant in their sweet little white dresses. (We also had our roof redone that day, and Pace & Casey put together our new shed that Pace bought in SLC!) That evening Mom put the kids to bed so we could go get In ‘N’ Out Burger & Krispy Kremes with Jess & Casey. Not the most nutritious meal, I know!

Mom & I had a blast shopping with Jess and chatting/hanging out in the evenings with everyone else, etc. I also enjoyed having someone around to help me cook, take care of the kids, & help pick up the slack (I would go to unload the dishwasher and it was already done), etc. Love you, Mom!

About a month ago, we tried moving Charlotte into a big girl bed. She was already sleeping poorly in her crib, so we wondered if she would sleep any better in the big bed. She didn’t, so she’s back in her crib and lately wakes up about once per night. Not too bad! Note the cute bedtime charts Pace has made for each of them. Chase has had his for a long time, but Pace just made one for Charlotte, too. We love following them every evening for their bedtime routine.

Charlotte thinks she’s a princess. She recently got into my mascara, and put it on her eyelashes (and around her eyes). I thought it was kinda funny (photo below)! And I was glad she didn’t smear it all over the bathroom or anything.

This girl also thinks she should wear summery dresses every day. Maybe she believes it will entice the warmer weather to come our way. I’ve been having to force her into warmer clothes and endure the craziest tantrums whenever we go somewhere! I haven’t even been bothering to do her hair because it’s already so hard to get clothes on her. Our little angel has become a bit of a challenge now that she’s a legit 2-year-old!

The other day I almost didn’t go to the grocery store because I dreaded getting her pants & shoes on (yes, I do give her choices, but she just says, “None!). I called my mom in desperation, & she said in situations like that, you just have to put your foot down, or the kid will be in control of the parent. So I persisted, I had to wrestle her to put her pants back on multiple times, she screamed her head off, and then she was just fine when we were at the store. So there you have it.

These are just a couple of girls that I love. I’m pretty emotional about Katie (middle) having to move away soon.

We bought one-year Trafalga/Seven Peaks etc. passes for $40 each. GG has yet to use hers because she’s been gone for such a long time! I recently took Chase & Charlotte to the Lehi Trafalga & met up with Becky and her girls. This type of place is HEAVEN for Chase. Becky & I loved chatting (as always), and our kids loved the rides!

Unfortunately, poor little Charlotte is 2 inches under the height requirement for the rides. She was sad to not go on the pirate ship ride with Brother. Maybe next time she’ll have grown 2 inches!!?!

On Friday afternoon, Pace suggested that we check out the new Provo Beach Resort in the Riverwoods. It is an odd name for the place. It sounds like a some sort of romantic honeymoon destination, but indeed, it is not. Soon you will learn more! But I have to tell a story first.

We went to the Riverwoods to meet up with Pace & Grandaddy. I’d made sure we had water & diapers & snacks, and that Charlotte was dry before we left home. As soon as we parked, Chase announced, “I’m tired!” and laid down across the back seat to go to sleep. When I told him we could just go home rather than check out this new place, he instantly woke right back up again! It was magic.

I quickly got Charlotte out of her car seat because she was whining about her pee pee diaper (she does this all the time lately!). I was changing her diaper when I discovered that she had wet so much, she’d wet down her leg & her pants were soaked. Hm. How does this happen when the diaper was dry 30 minutes previous? I looked up from my predicament, and there was a Gymboree store to save the day! I was sure they’d be more than happy to assist me in my trial. I told Chase we had to run over there to buy some new pants for Charlotte. He said he would just wait in the car because he didn’t want to go into a store to get clothes. I told him that was illegal. Somehow that convinced him.

After we had bought some green, non-pee leggings for Charlotte (and some glow-in-the dark underwear for Chase), we met up with Pace and Grandaddy. Grandaddy told Charlotte he liked her new UVU pants (green for UVU) and she loved that. (Later on the way home, she kept telling me, “I have new UVU pants!!!”)

So on to the Provo Beach Resort: It’s this super nice, 2-story place that has a carousel, flow rider, arcade games, croquet, a large (& clean) playground, bowling & mini bowling, etc. I labeled it a “money pit,” but it was a really great place! We tried out the mini-bowling and the big playground before we decided that was enough money spent & that we wanted to go get dinner (OK, maybe it was just ME that wanted to go get dinner). The playground alone was worth the $4/kid because our whole family could have spent hours in there! Nice place.

I was starving, and since the others didn’t care where we ate, we got to go to Zupas! I gobbled up my Turkey Artichoke Panini and Wisconsin Cauliflower soup. My favorites! I also ate the bread that comes on the side, the chocolate strawberry, and half of Pace’s ham sandwich that wasn’t as good as mine. I was very stuffed by the time my eating rampage ended.

Pace & Chase went to Costco afterwards, while I took Charlotte home. Somehow those two managed to return some lamps of ours that were already 3-4 years old! ha. Costco is the best. Pace got a few groceries & also bought me a Professional Kitchenaid because the little 30+ year old mixer I’d gotten from someone a couple years ago was malfunctioning. And we can’t have that when we’re whipping up cakes, bread, cookies, etc. on a regular basis! I am so grateful for this new mixer.

We spent more than originally planned (a ton in one day!), but luckily that’s not how a typical day goes around here. All in all, a great evening!

I just want to say that of all our fabulous toys, these big Legos have been used the most by both of our young children over time. They can stay occupied with these things for MINUTES! And I enjoy seeing what they build. Duplo Legos are the best toy! (My parents already knew that because they are the ones who got them for Chase a few years ago.)

Charlotte built a castle, and then Chase constructed his own castle to one-up hers. The “minutes” of fun were ended abruptly by their ferocious squabbles over the flower Legos (found atop Chase’s castle). But all that creative building was great while it lasted!

A few days ago, I was headed to the bathroom to take a shower, when Chase called after me, “Be sure & wash your feet!”   …haha so random!

I asked Charlotte to show Chase where she’d left the markers. She enthusiastically said, “Come here Chase, I show ya! I show ya!”

Chase drew a colorful picture in his church class. At the top, the teacher had written what he’d told her: “I can show love at home by babysitting my sister while my mom is in the shower.”

Charlotte is obsessed with The Little Mermaid. She constantly sings the song “Kiss the Girl.” But she puts her own little twist on it: “Shalalalalala, kiss the girl, TO-NIGHT.”

Chase was standing near me on one of our barstools, so of course he took the opportunity to show me what people do when they slow dance. He didn’t mess around. He put my hand on his shoulder and we clasped our other hands together. Then he instructed, “Now, we twirl around, and stare at each other the whole time.”