Fish Out of Water

Since being called to the Primary, I have really missed going to Relief Society. Knowing that we were going to be on vacation, I was looking forward to the chance to, once again, be in Relief Society for a couple of Sundays. After dropping the girls off at nursery today, we went to Sunday School--which happened to be right next to the Primary room. I could hear the Primary start singing the same songs we've been singing in our Primary and suddenly, Sunday School was the most uninteresting place to be. I realized that my heart is truly in Primary right now. I recognize this is truly a blessing of being set apart for my calling--and I can't wait to get back to my own little Primary in a couple of weeks!

Highlight of Our Trip

While we were driving from Ocean Shores to Silverdale yesterday, we experienced what Kallie decided was a thrilling first. We were about an hour away from our destination when Kallie started saying she needed to go potty. While there was plenty of beautiful scenery along the way, there was nothing in the way of Rest Areas and/or bathrooms. So, the side of the road was our only option. We told Kallie she was going to have to pee on a bush and she ok'd the decision. I'll spare you the details of the actual event. Suffice it to say a few miles after the pit stop, Kallie started singing a song about the trees, the bushes, and the grass. The song ended with a few lines of "I peed on a bush!" And, as soon as she could, she made sure to tell her cousins that she had peed on a bush. (They were, surprisingly, not as thrilled about this information as Kallie was.) At least we know now a 30 second road-side stop is worth hours and hours of Kallie's personal enjoyment.

The Cottage

We spent the last couple of days in Ocean Shores at my in-law's "cottage." It's about a mile from the beach and a comfortable little place. I learned a few things from that experience.

First of all, I have to be more diligent about protecting my children's schedule while we're on vacation. If I'm not careful, they end up grumpy and extremely unpleasant, which makes for a miserable experience for all of us. When I make sure they have their naps at the usual time, bed at the usual time, food at the usual time, etc. Doing that in an earlier time zone makes for some interesting situations. (Yes, my kids WILL be tired at 6:30-7 p.m. Yes, they want lunch at around 10 a.m. Yes, they will be awake around 6 a.m.) It really seems like an obvious lesson to learn...but I guess it wasn't SO obvious to me.

The other thing I've learned is that I'm not a huge fan of the beach. The wind, sand, and salty air just do not appeal to me. I'd rather spend my time at a quiet cabin by a lake in the middle of a forest where I can hike, fish, enjoy the wind in the pines. I don't mind a little dirt, but I hate the sand! It sticks to you like a parasite clinging to life--and no amount of baby powder, water, or soap will remove it all.

Now, I've realized it sounds like we probably had a horrible time. We didn't--in fact, we had a great time! I enjoyed walking on the beach. I don't think I've ever walked in sand as smooth as that in Ocean Shores. The sand was also darker than other beaches I've been to and had little black flecks. (Maybe from volcanic activity nearby?) We also went to a sand castle building contest. It wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be, but it was interesting. We enjoyed spending time with Ryan's brother's family--and the kids couldn't get enough of digging in the sand. So, all things considered, it was a good time.

We Made It!

Well, we're in Seattle. I thought that getting up at 2:30 this morning to make our 6:45 a.m. flight was going to be the worst thing ever. Turned out quite the opposite though! The girls were both in great moods and the SLC airport (and Southwest) have a lot of helps for families--so things went very smoothly making it to our gate. Whitney fell asleep on my lap in the time it took to board the rest of the plane--and she was out cold before we even pushed back. Ryan and I were surprised that she even slept through take-off. Kallie, of course, LOVED the whole experience. Toward the end, she kept asking, "Are we on the ground again yet?" while we reassured her she would KNOW when we landed. We arrived around 8--and couldn't believe that we were here.

Today has been filled with naps and relaxation. Even though the early morning was pleasant, it was still early and we needed to recover. This afternoon, we walked to a park with Papa and let the girls play on the slides for a while. Whitney is really pretty fearless for still being so tiny and did the "climb up, slide down" loop over and over. Kallie had the experience of walking through a small patch of Washington woods on our way to the park...and she wasn't so sure she enjoyed the dark, shady area. (I loved it!) Tomorrow, we'll be spending time with Nana, and Friday, we're heading off for the "Cottage" in Ocean Shores. Stay tuned for more of our adventures!

Airplanes and Ears

Since we're flying on an airplane next week for the first time Kallie can remember, I recently checked out a book called "A Noisy Airplane Ride." It's a great book that explains all of the noises involved with flying on a plane. At the end, there is a little informational section about other things like pressurizing the cabin and air sickness. Going over this section with Kallie, I mentioned that her ears might pop when we get on the plane. A few days later, when we returned to the book and that same informational section, Kallie pointed to the picture of the ear and said, "And that's when my ears pop off!' I had to laugh for a minute before I explained her ears would stay on her head and the pop was only going to be a noise inside her ears.

We're in trouble...

Before we go to the library, I usually make a list of books based on things that Kallie is currently interested in. Now that she's a little older, I can rely on her for a little more input. Today, I asked her what books she wanted to get at the library tomorrow. She said, "Mom--I want books on boys." When I asked what kind of books about boys, she said, "You know, all about boys." If she's already thinking this way at age 3, we're in big trouble!

The Proposal

If, from the title, you're expecting a long, romantic story, then plan to be disappointed. The proposal I'm talking about here has nothing to do with marriage. In fact, it's Ryan's thesis proposal.

It's only been a few weeks since Ryan finally landed on a thesis topic. (It's something having to do with e-mail...I just end up smiling and nodding when he actually explains it.) And, from the sound of it, he wasn't 100% sure it would stick. Then, toward the end of last week, Ryan informed me that his professor wanted him to propose before the committee before we leave for Seattle. By the time we get back, one or more committee members will be out of town for a while--so they want to do it now. I was very surprised by this news, because as far as I knew, Ryan hadn't even started writing the proposal! Tuesday, Ryan told me that he'd finished the first draft--although, in his words, it is very rough. I'm just amazed that it's all coming together so quickly.

Since Ryan began his Masters, his plan has been to graduate in December. And, I started telling people maybe December, but most likely April. I didn't want to get my hopes up in case something should go wrong along the way. If the proposal goes through, (good chance), and all goes well with Ryan's last class in the Fall, (extremely good chance), it's looking like a December graduation is quite likely. Part of me hopes something will throw a slight wrench in the works because I remember watching moving trucks chug in and out of Wymount last December--amidst snow and Christmas preparations. I felt sorry for the families associated with those trucks...and then I realized that could very well be us this year! In the end, whether graduation falls in December or April or somewhere in between, I'm giddily looking forward to finally being done with school!

My Talented Husband

Ryan's been taking a computer animation class this semester. I should clarify--they don't actually animate things, they just learn to use the software used for animation projects. Their final picture was supposed to be a scene with a bug. It's amazing how you start with nothing, type for a while, and eventually out comes a picture. As far as I know, it's just a bunch of computer coding that creates something like this:


I have to say, I'm definitely impressed with what he did! (I'll put here what my husband put on his blog...You are welcome to use this picture, just make sure you give credit to Serrated Software.)

Just because...

Whitney has a total fascination with socks and shoes. She seriously is not happy if she's not wearing at least socks during the day. A couple of weeks ago, Ryan left his shoes and socks in the family room before we went to bed. The next morning, the girls got up and found them...and this is what happened next...

While it's not a shock that Kallie put on her dad's shoes, (just pretty cute!), I was pretty surprised that Whitney put the socks on! It was the first time she had done that. It's now her personal mission to find errant socks and put them on her feet, (or, if she can't get them on her feet, then she puts them on her hands).

It's about time!

I finally downloaded the pics from Kallie's birthday. (I don't know why I think it's going to be a huge hassle to download pics everytime--especially since the camera cord is ALWAYS connected to my computer.) Anyway--here they are:

This is her "Little Einsteins" cake that she LOVED.

One of the games we played was "Leo's Glasses"--which was like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but with Leo's glasses instead.

Here's Kallie at some point during her party. (Ryan was taking pictures.)

Although Kallie loved ALL of her presents, these are the gift that get the most use. She still LOVES Cars!

And, she's all decked out in her birthday gifts! (With the aftermath of the party surrounding her.)

Finally, she loves painting on her new easel! She's always painting some new masterpiece for someone.