My Baby Bird

I'll be the first to admit that I may be a bit of an over-protective parent. I like my babies to stay close by. I homeschooled Ellie for two years of preschool, even though I knew she would have loved the social life that goes along with formal education. I admit it was due to some selfishness on my part. I wasn't ready to let her go just yet. I wanted to hold on to her a little longer, and I loved having my own schedule and all three of my chickies around me all the time. It felt right, I went with it, and I don't regret it. This morning though, I felt kind of like a momma bird that just shoved her baby out of the nest. Perhaps "shove" isn't the right word. It denotes some force was required, but really, no force was needed. This girl dived on out of our comfy little nest without even looking back. She was so confident, so excited, and so ready for this moment.

She asked all of us several times yesterday, "Do you know what's going to happen to me tomorrow? I'm going to school!" She was counting down the days and had her outfit picked out way ahead of time. Dad came with us this morning, and I was grateful to have him there to take her to the door, because I knew I'd break down and cry, and I didn't want my little girl to see her mess of a momma, because I really am happy for her. I'm excited for this new start in her life and all that it will bring. I know that it is right for her.

My baby's gonna fly.

And rewinding just a bit.

We took a little Saturday excursion to Cascade Springs. I hadn't been here since I was in my early teens, and although I do remember it was cool, I had simply forgotten just how beautiful it is. And, Nick and I have discovered that drives on skinny canyon roads with hundred feet drop-offs scare us both just a little. Okay, so maybe more than a little. We are getting to be chickens more and more in our advancing years.

My girls pick out their own clothes, as a disclaimer. And, my Ellie has learned how to put her hair in a ponytail, which is handy, but not necessarily very neat.

The drive was worth it.We should have keys in hand by the end of today if the sellers close as planned.

Oh, to have my own house again.

Out of Dodge

As a homeless family, we thought this was a good time to take off and do some fun things as a family. I must say one thing about being without a house - it is REALLY nice not to have to worry about yard and garden work. Our weekends are once again our own (for a short time anyway - we close on our house in just a few days, and believe me, there is some work to be done). We couldn't go too far for our vacation, we are buying a house afterall and have lots of things to be spending money on besides our own entertainment. So, we kept it close and simple.

Saturday, we did the six county loop. We drove up to Morgan, where we had heard of a fun restaurant called Taggert's. It's right off the freeway in the mountains, and has a beautiful garden and waterfall in the back. The food was very good as well, the dessert alone was worth the drive. Yum. We stopped in Park City and browsed the outlets (note to self, mid-August is a terrible time to go shopping - it was like Christmas shopping in December, but in shorts). We headed on down to Bridal Veil Falls, where the kids could have spent the entire day: Our adventures continued on Monday. We went to This is the Place Park, where none of us had been, and we were pleasantly surprised at what the park had to offer. The train ride was a highlight.The kids had school lessons.And they got to ride a pony.

And get up close and personal with some other animals (Everett LOVED that part).

We also panned for gold, as well as tour several pioneer homes, and make some pioneer crafts.

It was a lot of fun. That night, we checked into our hotel, had dinner, and then had some pool time.

After a leisurely morning of donuts and more swimming, we checked out and went to the Children's Museum. The kids LOVE this place, and I must admit that Nick and I enjoyed ourselves too.

We had shakes and drove around for a bit before coming on back home. We were wondering if spending the night at a hotel just a short drive from home would feel like a real vacation, but you know what? It did. And bonus - we didn't have to deal with whiny kids in the car for hours! What a fun (although short) trip.

Happy Birthday, Little Miss

My Dear Little Miss Maren,

Today you are the big 3. I can't believe it! You get into things you shouldn't, make big messes, scream a lot at your brother and sister, disregard most of what I say, but man I love you. You are one happy girl. You love to sing and mom and dad love to listen. You love your movies, and we think it's hilarious that "Nacho Libre" is currently one of your favorites. You love your big sister and the two of you are pretty much inseperable. You also like being the big sis with your little brother, and the two of you have a great time together. We love you, Missy, and are so grateful to have you in our family.

Love,
Your Mom

Change of Scenery

The kids and I spent the week with my mom and dad, just for a change of scenery. We had a great time. The kids loved playing Hungry Hungry Hippos. The girls spent pretty much an entire day jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler running underneath. Maren was mad in this photo because Ellie was bouncing her or something like unto it. She screams a lot these days.

Everett watched from the sidelines.

We enjoyed a lot of watermelon and corn on the cob.

Here's little sis. I am 30 weeks pregnant (already!!!), and I can feel every twist and jab. Notice the fly right in the middle? Ha. There are lots of those on the farm. :)

My mom taught me how to crochet around the edge of a hemstitched blanket.

And I did four batches of apricot jam, and froze 13 quarts of sour cherries.

It was good to be home.

Oh, and right after I took those sweet photos of my kids, we got this:

My Maren. I had put her down for a nap in my room and all was quiet, so I assumed she had fallen asleep. Wrong. About two hours later I saw her in the bathroom like this. And then I went into my room to find this (amongst other treasures):

She had gone through all of my makeup, dumped an entire bottle of hairspray on the bed (sorry Mom, your mattress may never be the same), chipped out my deoderant, and just generally made a big mess. Oh my. My life is never dull, that is for sure.

My Three Kids

The kids and I have been spending the week at my mom and dad's house, which has been really nice. The kids have had great fun playing with cousins, jumping on the trampoline, and making a big mess of Grandma's toy room. I've enjoyed being here too - it's always nice to come 'home'. Anyway. I'll post more on that later. For now, here are some cute photos I took of the kids this morning:

I didn't try very hard to get them all to look and smile...I guess this is what you'd call a candid shot. Maren is such a ham these days and makes silly faces when I take photos of her.

They were all clapping, and Everett by this point was covered in lovely farm dirt.

Man, I love these three.

And a house update. We have a home under contract! We are excited to have a home again! House hunting was really not fun - we were hoping to have more options being as this is a 'buyers market' and all (or so we thought). This house is in a wonderful neighborhood with high ranking schools. The floor plan will fit our family well. The only thing we are sad about is the backyard is not near as spacious as our last home (although the lot size is only .04 acres smaller) and a portion of it is terraced. I guess there is always a trade-off somewhere.