The Utah Arts Fest... 2 ways

We have found it… It’s official… the BEST way to do the Utah Arts fest as a family.

Do it twice! Once as a date night (we did Friday), and Once as a Kids day out (we did Saturday morning).

It is the perfect way to fully enjoy the festival.

Arts Fest #1: Date Night!

Thanks to my wonderful parents A and A had a fun sleepover, freeing me and Jeff up for a grown-up night at the Fest. We were able to leisurely stroll through the aisles of art. Jeff chatted with fellow artists and we ran into several friends we could stop and chat with. We ate and drank some of the wonderful offerings at the Fest and stopped to enjoy some of the fun entertainment, (the aerialists were especially impressive! We stayed out late and enjoyed the Arts fest at a relaxed pace (not something possible with A and A).

Arts Fest #2: Kids Day

We picked up A and A and headed out for Festival opening. This Arts fest experience was completely different from the one we had the previous night. It was kinetic, full of joy and energy. There was very little stopping at any of the booths, however some of the bright, bold pieces did catch A and A’s eye.

There was no time for chit, chat, no time for pleasantries. There was one focus… the art yard! The kids had the BEST time! They painted the huge “sculptures.” A put big blue A’s everywhere!  They did all of the activities; Tracy Aviary was doing “seed bombs,” Museum of Natural History did DNA bracelets, there was wish bottles, and time capsules. The SO delicious Dairy Free company gave out free “ice cream” bars to everyone (They actually ARE SO delicious!). It was all perfect and the weather was absolute perfection, 80’s but sunny, couldn’t have asked for better! A and A had an amazing time and since we had done the festival the night before we didn’t have to drag them to do anything they didn’t want to.

Another Arts Fest for the books!

1...2...3... Strikes... and we're out

 

It has been nothing but baseball, baseball, baseball at our house this spring (early summer).

Both A and a and me and Jeff have been doing pretty much nothing but baseball.

 

Big A moved up to AA ball this year. This means it's competitive now! Outs count, they keep score, there's a draft, Kids pitch, and it has all become very, very serious. There were 20 games. Jeff decided to coach again this year and he and Big A were part of the Pirates. It seemed like such a daunting thing when the season was starting, it seemed like So many games and so much effort.

 

Little a was old enough to start tee ball this year. She was so totally excited for it! She has spent 3 long seasons watching her brother from the stands and she was ready to hit the fields herself. Since Jeff was taking on the AA team I decided to try my hand at coaching (It's tee ball, I can teach them to run to the right!) It was an amazing experience. The kids grew so much and so improved from the first game to the last. By the end of the season I had 3 kids hitting a pitched ball (Little A was a total slugger, hitting a pitched ball so good!) I loved it!

 

It really has been all baseball for all of us for the last few months (My Amazing parents, Ma and Pa attended EVERY game!). Now that the season is over and I'm cleaning cleats and putting away bat bags for the year I can't believe it's over! It really did fly by. It was so wonderful watching the kids grow and improve, watching them form the wonderful bond of a team, watching them gain confidence as the season progressed. It was so fun getting to know the families, cheering on all the players. Now that it's over I can't wait for the next season!

 

 

Disneyland 2016… They did it again!

I start off by saying that I realize how very, very blessed we are. My parents have once again completely spoiled us. They treated us to a wondrous, magnificent, amazing vacation once again. First whisking us away in a Limo to the airport and taking us all to the “happiest place on earth.” We spent four jam packed days in one of our very favorite places…Disneyland!

We stayed in the glorious Grand Californian. We rode all of our favorite rides (most more than once!). We completely gorged ourselves on decadent food. We played with some of our most beloved character pals (thankfully both A and a embraced the magic and still loved the character experience!) Most of all we got to spend 4 wonderful days making amazing memories with the people we hold most dear. This is what makes these times the most special.

Disneyland 2016 brought us so many, many wonderful memories; bonding memories of things not going quite as planned (a canceled flight! Craziness at LAX!), Funny memories (PaPa using the child strap in Soaring!) Sweet memories (The innocent beaming faces of A and a as they hugged their favorite character friends), Tasty memories (waiting in line almost an HOUR for the most delicious corndogs I have ever tasted!), loving memories (My Mom and Dad walking hand in hand down Disneyland main street with A and A, all 4completely brimming with pure love and happiness). Our trip may be over but the memories of Disneyland 2016 will last forever!

Lessons from a funeral...saying yes

Last weekend Jeff and I attended the funeral for our Brother-in-laws father. We left A and a with Jeff’s parents, put on our dressy, dark clothing and went to the church where the services were held. (Do you ever feel like the only time you REALLY dress up any more is for funerals and weddings?)

We were there to support our Brother-in-law. We had only spoken to his father a few times and when we met him he was already in very poor health. His funeral however made me really think about what kind of a parent I am and what kind of a parent I want to be.

During the service his 3 children spoke about him as a father, their funny, favorite memories of being with him.  Mostly all of the stories were about fun memories from their childhoods. All the stories were about the fun exciting times they had had with their father. They were about the impromptu road trip or the crazy, completely impractical gift, fun dress-up and silly games.  None of the stories were about when the house was perfectly clean or when the yardwork and chores were completed.

It gets to be so hard as a mom to find a balance. You want to be the Pinterest perfect wife and mother who crafts, cleans and bakes; whose house is perfectly clean, whose meals are all homemade, who has an amazing décor theme for every holiday. You think the kids will love this, this will mean something to them. It doesn’t. They don’t care if there is no clutter, they don’t care if their cute outfit was handcrafted or from target, they would rather have a happy meal than the gourmet meal you worked on all day. They want you to say yes. They want to ask you to play dress-up and have you say YES and grab a Storm Trooper helmet instead of No and vacuum.

About a year ago early on a Sunday morning when Jeff and I were lounging in late and we had no plans when A and A cam e running in and pounced on our bed… “Can we go to Chuck e. Cheese? Please!!! It looks So AWESOME! (They had seen a commercial during a Disney show.) Without taking a moment to think too hard about why I should say no I went “Yea, let’s do it! After breakfast we will go!” They FREAKED out. We had said YES! We went (we had never been before) and the kids ha a FANTASTIC time. It was WAY nicer than Jeff and I thought it’d be and it was pretty in expensive too. It’s now a fun time staple at our house. To this day A and A will talk about that awesome morning when Mom and Dad just said yes to Chuck E. Cheese.

So I’m trying to be more of a YES mom. I’m trying to not knee-jerk say no. I’m trying to be a little more okay with a couple dishes in the sink so I can play Go Fish. I’m trying to be more why- not when the kids come up with a suggestion on what to do.

At my funeral I want my kids to have tons of stories about the fun times we have because they don’t care how Pinterest-worthy their Mom is.

 

 

Happy Birthday!!....Chespin?

Big A recently had some minor surgery and was given a stuffed Pokemon character as a get well present from Ma and Pa. Not to leave out little a they got one for her too, a crazy little brown character with a green hat named Chespin. I thought she would not really care about it since she is not into Pokemon like her brother is. I was totally wrong. That little guy has become her favorite snuggle buddy who she sleeps with every night.

One night little a announced that "Tomorrow is Chespin's Birthday! He wants a Batman vs Superman cake and decorations and I HAVE to get him a present!" She was so excited for this and had so thought out the planning of the "party" that I decided to just go with it and have a Birthday party for Chespin! Big A asked me "Mom, are we REALLY gonna do this? It's so lame."

We went to Smiths (local Grocery Store) and found Batman vs Superman cupcakes for Chespin and some perfect presents (clearance Easter candy! 75% off!). Big A had a batman party last year so I dug out the banner and leftover plates and napkins (my decoration hoarding came into use!).  Little A wrapped the "presents" and made Chespin a sign and invited Ma and Pa (who brought Chespin a gift! (fruit snacks!).

It was a crazy fun Party and little a was so happy and she told us Chespin was "Super, SUPER Happy!". As the party was winding down Big A came over to me all sheepishly... "Mom, I think Pikichu's birthday is in a couple of days!"