Did you know I have a twin?

My college roommate, Amy, has been in town this week with her 5 kids. I haven't seen Amy for 9 years, even though we keep in frequent contact via phone, e-mail and reading each other's blogs. To actually get to hang out together this week, though, has been so therapeutic for me! To quote Ann Shirley, we are "kindred spirits." :) Almost more fun this week has been watching our kids get to know each other and become friends themselves. By the time they left tonight, they were convinced they were cousins and were calling us Aunt Misty and Aunt Amy. Actually, during college we were frequently asked if we were sisters. BYU quarterback Ty Detmer even asked if we were twins - our little claim to fame back in the 90's. In fact, we even decided to actually dress like twins for Halloween one year.Now, 17 years and several double chins later (only on my part, Amy) I guess the similarity is still there. What do you think? (My sister, Erin, is the short one - Love you Erin!).There's some fun history with the three of us. Erin and Amy met freshman year at BYU when they were roommates. I was 2 years younger and thought college life was a huge improvement from high school and stayed many-a-weekend with these two. That's actually how I met Mike (a whole other story that I'm sure most of you already know). Fast forward 2 years: Erin is married and Amy and I move in together. So it's a 3-way sisterhood. The last time we were all together was 11 years ago in Seattle when we had a girls' weekend to see U2 in concert. Good times.This is Paige with her new "cousin" Danny, Amy's 5 yr. old son. These two were an equal match in hyperactivity and creativity. Can't you just see the attitude in them both? :}These are the two Haleys. Haley Nielson is 11 and so obviously was named first. When we were considering the name for our Haley, I had to ask Amy to make sure she approved. She said, "Absolutely! The world needs a million Haley's. You just have to promise that you will spell it the one and only true way." Hence, Haley Mayfield -- not Haylee or Hailey or Hayleigh or Haelie ... I've seen some strange spellings over the years. These two Haley's became cute little friends.

Thanks for spending your vacation with us, Nielsons! Think how fun it would be to live close together, Amy. I'm just sayin' ....

Dinosaur hunting again ...

We had a great time today with Grandma Farley at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. She was a good sport to go with us to help me keep everyone accounted for. The kids loved the water area (always their favorite) and also loved assembling a giant dinosaur made of pillows. It was so fun to hear their ooh's and aah's as they rounded each corner and saw the next "ginormous" dinosaur. Here are the highlights:Check out Christian's new haircut. He begged me to do it for him ... it's only hair, right?

4th of July

I love the 4th of July. What a great holiday. Our ward has a couple of fun traditions ... a kids parade - complete with decorated bikes, scooters and strollers - that goes through the neighborhood while older ward members cheer from the sidelines and then ends at the church where we have an outdoor breakfast and program.It's such a fun morning. The festivities start the night before with bike decorating and then the kids are up at the crack of dawn ready to ride in the parade. Truth be told, it ends up being more of a race to the church than a slow parade but the kids have fun.

The food is always a full-blown hot breakfast (pancakes, french toast with fruit and whipped cream :), bacon ... "nummy" as my sister would say). Part of the program this year was a rousing number by the ward choir (including yours truly) with a little bit of choreography added at the last minute. You know I was lovin' that! :}

That night, we had another tradition (for a few years running, anyway) of a bbq on our front lawn with 20 or so friends and neighbors and then fireworks at night. This year, the Steenblik's brought a snowcone machine -- nothing says a good time like a sticky child on a sugar high!(This is Elle's friend, Luke. Wouldn't their children have amazing eyes??) Such a great day. And only a few more weeks to celebrate again on the 24th!

A Happening

We had a "happening" (as my mom would say) Monday night with the Preslars. Troy and Mike went to high school with Mike Tuckfield, who was then and still is an amazing diver. He coaches and does other things professionally and he also dives at The Mayan once a week for fun. So we arranged to go eat while he was working to watch him dive, plus get a behind-the-scenes tour of the diving area.We had a great time and even found a yummy dish (which hasn't always been the case at The Mayan in the past -- try the fish tacos!).Thanks, Preslars, for a fun night -- and way to go, Tuckfield!

My guy's a biker

Mike rode in the MS 150 over the weekend ... and the man rode 75 miles. Hello! I'm so proud of him. He rode the 40 mile portion last year and then pushed for 75 this year. The girls and I drove up to Logan to surprise him and cheer him across the finish line. I thought he was only riding 40 miles but as we waited and waited and waited for 2 hours at the finish line, it was obvious that he had gone for 75 miles. We eventually had to leave without seeing him since Christian was coming back from Scout Camp and would come home to an empty, locked house. We took a picture of us at the finish line and sent Mike an e-mail telling him how proud we were of him and that we had wanted to surprise him. Ten minutes after driving away, he called and said he had just finished. Nice!! He loved at least knowing that we had been there to cheer him on. And the girls were happy to have had 2 hours of eating free snow cones and cheering all of the cyclists. I'll add pictures of him that were taken at the event as soon as they are posted. Go Mike!

Tagged

I've been tagged. Here goes:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Mike and I had been married for 3 years and we were living in an apartment in Holladay. I was sick as a dog with morning-sickness with our 1st child. I was working full-time at O.C. Tanner and had just graduated from the UofU. We were in the process of buying our first place ... a total grandma-fixer-upper condo.

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list for today?
*Go cheer Mike on as he crosses the finish line at the MS 150 bike tour (check - sort of; I'll have to write more about that one later)
*Buy a stepping stone-making kit (Elle's is one of the last to be done to complete my mom's grandkid collection)
*Clean the house (We had a babysitter last night who played with the kids but didn't help them pick a single thing up -- Why was I such a maid when I used to babysit?)
*Buy dessert stuff to feed the missionaries tomorrow night
*Mow the lawn - front and back this time (I tend to let the back lawn go longer than the front... Who sees it anyway?)

3. Name 3 snacks you enjoy.
*cold cereal of any kind
*anything chocolate
*cheese fries at The Training Table

4. Where are 5 places you've lived?
*Murray, Utah
*Alameda, California
*Provo, Utah
*London, England
*Bountiful, Utah

5. Name 5 jobs you've had.
*Sign language interpreter
*Stocker at Baby Gap (all for the discount!)
*Customer Service supervisor at O.C. Tanner
*Birthday Party Hostess at 49th Street Galleria (great fluff job during high school)
*Secretary at many, many different places

6. 5 things people don't know about me.
*I married my sister's boyfriend. (OK, most of you know that)
*I am a master procrastinator, yet I always seem to get the job done somehow.
*I made out with my boyfriend at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
*I would rather bake a dessert than make dinner.
*While serving a mission in England, my companion and I took a small road trip to the Scotland border. (Disclaimer: it was actually in our Deaf Program area but still slightly bending the "Hearing Program" mission rules)

7. 3 bad habits
*Spending too much time on the computer
*Wasting time on my kids' Nintendo DS (they actually come to me for help on certain games)
*Shopping (in person and online)

8. What would you do if you were suddenly a Billionaire?
Buy a few niceties (a house and one of those 2 wheeled cruiser/scooter things) and travel, travel, travel

Nickname

My sister mentioned that her toddler's new nickname is Bam Bam because he likes to crash into things or make things crash into each other. My toddler has a new nickname as of yesterday. Any of you who know Elle know that the child has a language all her own. She looks you in the eye and babbles her little heart out. You can tell that she knows exactly what she's saying (she babbles in full sentences) but the rest of us just say, "Uh-huuuh..." Her nursery leaders asked me to come in and help decipher what she's saying so they'd understand her. I told them that I don't even understand her so good luck with that. We used to joke that she sounded like Beaker from The Muppet Show (remember the labcoat-wearing guy that had his own jibberish language?) but we watched Monsters Inc. yesterday and realized that she's far more like Boo - the toddler that finds her way into Monstropolis. My little Boo sounds just like Boo from the movie who speaks in her own jibberish language. Elle laughed at Boo in the movie several times. Maybe she actually understood her.

Twos

Two names I go by: Misto (the men in my life call me that - my hubby, my dad and my brother) and "Mom!" (as only Elle can yell it)
Two things I'm wearing: my new Mother's Day watch and my favorite tan pants
Two things I want/have in a relationship: laughter and good lovin' :)
Two favorite things to do: Go to a movie (with Mike or my girlfriends) and read a good page-turner
Two things I did last night: took the kids to a playland at Carl's Jr. and folded laundry when we got home
Two things I ate today: Chocolate Chex with cold milk (my new favorite snack) and movie popcorn
Two things I did this week: Went to a neighborhood bbq and went to a movie with Rachel P. and our kids
Two people I last talked to: my friend Steph and Paige (For the 4th time, go to bed!)
Two things on my to do list today: buy a new dishwasher (check!) and buy Christian new church pants (didn't happen today)
Two things to do tomorrow: buy Christian new church pants and go to book group
Two longest car rides: San Diego and Red Lodge, Montana to see Nana and Papa
Two favorite Holidays as an adult: Christmas and Halloween
Two favorite drinks: Diet Coke and Propel (lemon, grape or berry)
Two things about me you may not have known: I've never broken a bone and I'm surprisingly able to birth large babies :)
Two jobs I have had: Customer Service supervisor at O.C. Tanner and sign language interpreter
Two movies I could watch over and over: A Knight's Tale and Princess Bride
Two favorite foods: cold cereal and warm Lion House rolls
Two places I'd rather be: On a cruise or asleep in bed

Street party

Remember when I mentioned about our annual street party/bbq? Here are pictures from tonight's party....

Timpanogos Cave

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've never hiked to Timpanogos Cave before - and I've lived in Utah my whole life. But we changed that on Saturday by taking (or forcing, if you ask Paige) the whole family on the trek to the Caves. Christian had one more "family outdoor activity" to achieve for scouts and he chose Timp, so up we went. Everyone, including Elle, did surprisingly well (again, except for Paige although you'd never guess it from these smiling photos).
The whole adventure took us about 3 1/2 hours (with plenty of rests along the way) and most of us agreed that it was worth it. Paige said that she "never want(s) to do that ever again." We discovered that she has a fear of heights (the drop off on one side of the trail seriously freaked her out) and that she's not a fan of walking long distances up or downhill but she liked the caves so at least there was one positive part for her. The only part of the hike that she liked was "tight rope walking" on these red painted lines, and fortunately there were plenty of those.The darkness proved too much for Elle ... she slept through the best part. On the way back down ....

Summer's here

Summer is in full swing and so far I'm holding it together. I love having the kids home but I must confess that I also enjoy the structure & schedule of school. There are benefits to having the older kids home now to help with the younger kids, but it can also be challenging finding entertainment for an almost 10 yr. old, a 1 yr. old and everyone in between. Our new summer job chart seems to actually be working, so I'm hopeful there...

The kids are each signed up for a couple of camps/classes to entertain them (swimming, tennis, dance, Lego Mania camp - oh yes!) but I tried to leave gaps open throughout the summer so we wouldn't be scheduled the entire time. Hopefully it'll be the right balance. How's a mom to know?

Ssshhh, don't tell my kids but we are getting a trampoline - finally! I have such great memories of jumping on the neighbor's trampoline almost every day and I've been slowly wearing Mike down with my pleadings. :) The lawyer in him sees all of the potential injuries but he finally gave in. We're going to have another Daddy Surprise to give it to them. Daddy Surprises can be anything from going to get an ice cream to bowling & pizza at Fat Cats to a surprise trip to Disneyland. That one was the best. But I have a feeling the kids will freak about a tramp and we're both excited to surprise them. Fun summer memories ahead ....

Random stuff

See, I knew this blog would control my life in some ways. I should be asleep right now, since I don't seem to get enough as it is, but here I sit blogging instead. There are just too many things bouncing around my head.


Paige and I had "mommy time" tonight, which for her meant that she put clippies in my hair and I painted her nails. I love that she's so girlie. That extra 20 minutes of alone time with mommy made her night, and mine too. Don't you envy my hair? Paige has been using some of the "fancy" words that she's learned from the Fancy Nancy books (her absolute favorite). Yesterday she said, "Mom, I yearn to play Barbies." The other day she told Mike that he looked "dapper." I love her little attitude. She aspires to be just like Sharpay from High School Musical "only nicer."

Father's Day was fun because the kids and I totally surprised Mike. We got him a new bbq, which turned out to be a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. Just choosing a new bbq from the sea of bbq's at the store wasn't as easy as you'd think but then getting the giant thing home wasn't something I'd thought through as well as I should've. Luckily, my neighbor happened to be there with his 4 kids and his minivan. Once the seats were taken out, my bbq went in and I carted all of the kids home. Thank heaven for good, helpful neighbors! I owe him cookies. The next morning, the kids and I sent Mike on a scavenger hunt to find his new gift and he was totally surprised. A little deviousness is good for a marriage. :)

We spent Monday night with the Preslars, which is always a good time. The dads are lifelong friends, we moms were instant friends when we first met, our kids get along so well... We got the yummiest food from a great little neighborhood market and ate at a nearby park. The kids played, the 38 yr. old boys played football, the weather was perfect .... great summer night.

And lastly, I love having great neighbors and a fun street with lots of kids. We all seem to congregate outside in the early evening on the lawn and the kids ride bikes and play ... We're going to continue last year's tradition of potluck spur-of-the-moment bbq's in our driveway, which we did multiple times. We lined up a couple of grills on our driveway, everyone brought whatever they had on-hand and somehow we managed to pull dinner together for 3+ families. We have a more organized street bbq every year, too, which is so great. Good friends, great times.

Movie-aholic

I grew up in a family where watching movies was our favorite pass-time. Mom couldn't afford to take us on big vacations but we definitely saw plenty of movies ... old movies at the Avalon, lots of new releases at the Murray Theater or the Vista on Highland. Occasionally, mom would check us out of school to catch a mid-day movie. I aspire to be as cool with my kids. At our house, the Oscars were more important than the Superbowl, much to Mike's dismay (although he has learned plenty of Hollywood trivia since we've been married and doesn't actually mind it now).

I saw two movies this weekend alone -- Nim's Island with my kids on Friday and The Hulk with Mike tonight. I often go to late night movies with my sisters and our girlfriends. We've seen many-a-chick-flick and our husbands don't mind a bit. :)

My favorites lately have been Ironman (smart, funny & just enough action), Penelope, Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Across the Universe, Enchanted, I Am Legend .... And don't get me started on videos. I'm an avid renter from Blockbuster.com. Movies are always coming and going at our house.

If you have any good recommendations, I'm all ears. And if you're in the neighborhood and feel up to a late night movie, definitely call me. I'm always game.

Dinosaur Hunting

Fun with the Preslars at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden ....

Birthday bash

Haley turned 7 last week. This was the off-year for a birthday party so we went to Lagoon as a family to celebrate. (My kids get a party every other year -- both to spare me the hassle and so they don't expect a horde of gifts every year. Who has the room for more stuff?) Grandma was surprisingly willing to come help me keep tabs on my kids as they ran from ride to ride. (That's not her kind of fun, normally, but she was game for it this time. Thanks, mom!) Lagoon was fairly easy in years past because everyone was little and we just stayed on the kiddie rides the whole time. Now Christian & Haley were begging to go on the big rides while I'm sitting at the tug-boats with Paige and Elle. Between Grandma's help and dad taking the little girls home early, I think we made everyone happy. Haley especially. She rode every big ride she could -- Collosus, Wicked, the Spider, the Roller Coast, the Bat.... the bigger the better for her.

As I rode the big rides with my kids this year, I realized how much motherhood has changed me in one way ... I'm now suddenly acutely away of the danger risks of each ride. Who, praytell, decided the Sky Ride doesn't need seatbelts? Try sitting with your kids, 50 feet up in the air with nothing but a bar in front of you and cement and metal below you and see if your stomach doesn't lurch every time one child shifts in their seats. Even the big swing ride gave me nightmares of us detaching from the ride and going flying out and crashing into something. I wasn't too worried about the little tugboats until a 1yr. old actually climbed out of the boat and went straight into the water while we were waiting in line. What are the odds, right? Elle thoroughly enjoyed herself, despite her psychotic mother, and the kids loved taking turns riding with her on different rides.

Haley said this was her "best birthday ever!" so mission accomplished for mom & dad. She has such a big personality -- you can hear her laugh from two rooms away and she'll definitely let you know when she's upset. The child wears her heart on her sleeve. I'm sure she'll do big things in life because she's fearless and determined, not to mention extremely competitive. She wants to do it better and faster than the next guy. (Totally gets that from her dad.) I'm excited to see what she'll do with her life. It'll definitely be a fun ride.

Entrepreneur

I remember as a kid trying to find creative ways to make money. We had a car wash business, sold lemonade, did odd jobs for neighbors and even charged admission to talent shows starring my sisters and me. (Who wouldn't want to come to one of those?) But all of my creative juices as a kid were far outweighed by the creativity of Haley and her friend Sara the other day. Here is the sign they made for their money-making venture:

Yes, that does say "Snail Smooshing." They had collected a bunch of snails and put them out in the road. Then, for $.25, they let people drive over the snails and gave them a snack at the end. Fun stuff, eh? And they actually earned money from it. Apparently some of the neighbors thought it was clever and actually paid for the experience. It just goes to show ... you never know what people will pay money for. Maybe Haley & Sara have serious futures in business ahead of them.

Good times

As squished as these kids look, they actually had a fun time in the car on the way to St. George. Smart mommy that I am, I had plenty of food and electronic equipment to keep them entertained. We've never owned a Nintendo DS before but I splurged for one, especially since we have multiple roadtrips planned for this summer. Best investment I could have made for the 2 boys (although I kicked both of their butts at Super Mario Brothers, thank you very much!). Elle slept most of the way and Paige kept herself entertained without watching any movies (she has a motion sickness problem in the car which we sadly discovered when she threw up twice while watching movies on our last road trip).

This DS saved me many times this trip. We were staying in a house with 4 moms, 13 girls and these 2 boys. With that many girls, the typical entertainment (besides swimming) was painting nails, doing hair and shopping. The boys were happy to let us do all of that as long as they could bring the DS. No problem! They were happy and I was happy doing girl stuff with the girls.

We watched too many movies, ate way too much junk, stayed up too late, swam too many times, spent too much money and had a total blast doing it. Perfect way to jumpstart summer. Just ask my kids ... I'm the coolest mom ever. "Who takes you on fun trips?" I'd ask them, and then force them all to reply, "You do!" "Who takes you swimming two times a day?" "You do!" After we did anything fun (eat out, get a treat, whatever) I'd say, "Repeat after me .... Mom, you totally rock!" Mom - you totally rock!! "We are so lucky you are our mom!" etc., etc. That's right, baby. :)

Many thanks to the Fetzer sisters for letting us crash their party, two years in a row. Good times, ladies!

Road trip

We're leaving ... but not on a jet plane. I am taking my 4 kids plus 2 extra friends on a road trip to St. George. By myself. :) Are you jealous? I'm meeting some girlfriends with their kids for a week of fun in the sun -- swimming, playing, watching movies and vegging. We had a blast last year so we're doing it again. I'm not looking forward to the drive but I know the final destination will be worth it. We're outta here.....