:: halloween came & went ::

We have survived the craziness called Halloween although our Australian naivety was amusing at times. We went to the Harvest Festival at church which was pretty amazing. It had lots of games for the kids to play for prizes as well as a giant inflatable slide. As soon as Jamin saw the slide he wasn't interested in any more games. 

The boys in their trick or treating costumes on the way into the Harvest Festival at church.

We borrowed Jamin's costume from Boston & I got the elephant hat from the op shop for 50cents. 

On Saturday afternoon we decided to head downtown to the kid's museum because it was cold & rainy & we needed a distraction for the kids. Little did we realise that the museum would have a special Halloween Spooktacular afternoon, complete with prizes for family costumes & a corn maze. Luckily Kael's elephant hat was still in the car & Jamin was wearing a grey jumper, so we dressed him up as an elephant. The rest of us didn't care much... 

The trick or treating corn maze.

Kael having a go at the ball toss game. 

The cool helicopter up on the roof that the kids can play in. 

Our jack'o'lanterns lighting Saturday night dinner. 

So what are our thoughts about the whole halloween tradition in America now that we have experienced it for ourselves?

Well I have to say that a lot of it is focused on creating a fun dress up experience for the kids but I hate how that is centred around the subject of death and horror. The few things that we did participate in were non scary but even then there were adults & older boys dressed up in some pretty scary costumes. We intentionally chose not to take Jamin trick or treating around the neighbourhood because the displays & people handing out the candy were pretty full on. 

I loved making the jack'o'lanterns & they looked so great sitting on the table most of the night. Tradition says that we were supposed to leave them out on the front step to welcome the trick or treaters but then I wouldn't be able to enjoy them so I ditched that idea.

All in all - halloween was fun but I don't think that I am going to miss it when we get back to Australia. 

< halloweens coming >

This afternoon we had some friends come over to teach us how to carve our halloween pumpkins. It was lots of fun, although I did end up doing all of them. Jamin, in predictable 3 year old fashion, disappeared to play after 10 minutes. It all got too hard by the time I was up to Kael's so he just got a face drawn on. Still cute though!

Scooping out the guts! Yucko.

Jamin's finished pumpkin. I think he is trying to pull a pumpkin face :-)

Our finished jack'o'lanterns! 

Tonight we are going to a Harvest Festival at our church with lots of games & some non scary trick or treating. Saturday night is the SLC halloween as the Mormons don't do Sundays. I have some candy (yes, if I am going to do halloween I might as well call it candy) so we will put candles in our pumpkins to make some jack'o'lanterns & wait to see who turns up for trick or treating. 

Stay tuned for more halloween action!

:: winter play = fun ::

We have had so much fun the last couple of days, bundling up & going out to play in the snow. We have only had about half a foot in the yard but it has been dry & powdery & more than enough to play in.

My snowman creation named Ted. Sadly he met an untimely death. Was he kicked or pushed?! 

Jamin's very own snowman creation. He was pretty proud of "plopry" before he too was kicked off the wall. 

Yes, it looks like I have just thrown a giant snowball at Jamin. I will not confirm or deny whether it actually hit him...

Snow Angels

I know that I am going to be very sick of snow by the end of winter but at the moment we are having lots of fun & creating some wonderful memories. I wish Kael was just a little bit older as he is having trouble walking in his snow boots which frustrates him a lot. Hopefully with a lot of practice he will improve. 

+ winters here +

We woke up this morning to a foot of snow which was very exciting! Jamin got to have a little run around in it on our way out. The boys are having their first full day with their new family day carer, Ginger. We are all very excited about this development... actually I think it might just be Danny & I who are excited about having a regular break from the boys. The boys weren't real keen on going but here's hoping that they get used to it! 

Danny & I were planning on going for a hike up in the mountains but with the 8 foot of snow they reported getting last night we opted to go to the climbing gym instead. 

Danny & I started hanging out about 9 years ago as climbing partners. We had a lot of fun which after a lot of games & heartache resulted in a marriage, 2 kids & not much climbing. Funny how these things work. So we were pretty happy to go & check out this amazing gym not too far from us. It was unbelievably equipped & we both pretty much pumped out our arms after about 5 climbs. Mine are actually still sore a few hours later. 

What a great date morning!

In a few weeks the ski resorts will open & we plan to head up there snowboarding on Wednesday mornings. 

Ahhh the life?! Envy us much?

:: remembering to remember ::

Things are changing in my mind about being a mother.

In that first full year of Jamin's life I was trying to keep up, trying to fit it all into the plan of how I thought a mother should mother. I was focused on sleep & feeds & filling up the day.

And then along came Kael and somehow because I was further down the track I realised that these years do go quickly, even if the days sometimes drag. And the sleeps & feeds are not quite so important because there will be another chance tomorrow.

Right now my boys are both sleeping in their beds, it's the kind of overcast day when you are happy to be cozy inside & somehow I realise that this is not going to last forever. However challenging and full our days are, life is going to keep moving forward & my boys are going to grow up.

So I wanted to document this moment of clarity today so that I can remember to remember them at this age, having a sleep in a quiet, dark house. So that I can be thankful for the challenging days because we are together & the only person my boys want to be with right now is me.

< the first snow >

Last night we had our first light dusting of snow for winter so naturally as soon as we were dressed we put on some extra warm clothes & headed out the front to play.

Jamin had a taste - it was cold!

Kael had a sit & cried but he has been doing that for a few days - new teeth are making him sad

I tried out my new ski jacket - it was deliciously warm!

Then Jamin found a stage & sang some Wiggles songs to us.

Sadly the boys only lasted 10 minutes before wanting to go inside. Hopefully they will acclimatise when the snow really comes. Plus putting some gloves on them would have helped I think.

+ 2nd hand wooden toys +

A few weeks ago I picked up these amazing wooden toys at a garage (sorry, I mean "Yard") sale for the grand sum of $10. I was actually planning on buying Kael a wooden train for his birthday & had priced them at $80 so I was pretty happy to stumble upon this set.

There are plenty of fun components to the train like a car, passenger & helicopter carraige. Both of the boys have had a few fights over it this morning. We are working on sharing but it's slow progress at the moment.

Kael is just obsessed with putting the little wooden man into the passenger carriage then taking him out again. Sometimes he will put the lid on.

If you are family & enamored with Kael you will probably want to watch this video. Sorry I have been unable to rotate it the right way.

If you are not family then I probably wouldn't bother because it is 24 seconds long & it hurts to twist your head. :)

There was also a semi trailer included complete with cars, a truck & bus plus a loading ramp. It's pretty heavy but I can see lots of use for this one as well.

:: today 6 years ago ::

Well this photo wasn't actually taken 6 years ago - more like 23 years ago by the looks of my age. This was taken on a family holiday to Byron Bay & we are waiting at the door to the lighthouse. I am not actually sure why... must get the back story on that. Mum? Can you fill us in here?

But I can tell you the reasons why I love this photo. I think it's mostly because I am in just the place that I always wanted to be as a daughter - enveloped in my daddy's arms. I was continually forcing my Dad to give me hugs to try & fill up my never ending need for physical affection. I don't quite know where this came from but am now at a place where I can just accept it as being a part of 'me'.

Today 6 years ago Dad died & God for reasons still unknown allowed it to happen. I think I am a little more at peace with it now than I was 6 years ago. As Danny just said to me "That's the grieving process I guess". I can't help but feel a little saddened by that thought. It almost feels like with each passing year we are losing him just a bit more. The pain isn't as raw but the memories aren't as sharp either. Very sad really.

So today is a new anniversary of the day Dad left this earth & I guess that part of the point is that I can stop & remember him. Mostly I remember the horrendous day of his death & the blinding emotions that went with it. That is not a good memory. So this photo helps me to remember another side of Dad - the father to some young children, much like where I am at right now. I wish that he was here to give me some of his wisdom. I'm sure he would have been disgusted at the thought of us moving overseas & taking his grandkids with us. Hmm... is it bad that I am relieved to have sidestepped that guilt? Not that I don't have it for the other 3 grandparents but Dad would have been much less accommodating than they are. :) It was just part of his charm I guess.

I love you Dad & I miss you everyday.

+ The disease called perfection +

As you might be able to tell from today's posts I have been doing some blog surfing.

Here is a post by a cool guy called single dad laughing that totally blows the perfection myth out of the water.

I love it.

Being real & authentic is one of my closely held beliefs so finding a beautifully written piece about this very thing warms my spirit.

Make sure you read the follow up post as well.

+ Thanks to Walking with B for the link +

This List of Top 10 Blogs by Women Might Change Your Life.

I found this post whilst browsing the web recently.

There are some great blogs here!

This List of Top 10 Blogs by Women Might Change Your Life.

:: an ice skating lesson ::

We stumbled into a kid's ice skating lesson out at Park City today & Jamin was able to join in with his good friend Curtis.

My mother heart watched on from behind the glass, feeling lots of things... excited, nervous, disheartened & proud.

Jamin did amazingly well. Basically he walked into the ice skating arena with no idea about what ice skating was. On the way in he was telling us he was going to made snowballs. We then strapped on some skates & pushed him onto the ice with a few buckets.

At some points I was wondering if it was the right move as he could hardly see from under his helmet, the buckets were too low & the rest of the kids already had one week of lessons under their belts. But he amazed me - isn't it wonderful when your kids do that?

He stuck out the lesson even when it was too hard, persisted in listening to the teacher & doing his best.

I am a proud mama today.

Here is a series of video's from my iphone. His progress is pretty astonishing considering he was only on the ice for 45 minutes.

How's this for a stack?! No tears either - what a brave boy.

This last one is just a little amusing.

Afterwards Jamin made sure that we were going to be able to go back to the ice rink because he said it was "good" & "lots of fun". Not sure what to do with Kael but we will definitely go for a family skate soon.

:: this time 6 months ago ::

there were 4 little boys in the bath

next week another one will be added

i don't know what it will be or how big or even it's name yet

but i do know one thing

i will love this baby just as much as the other ones that fill my heart up

Thinking of you from all the way across the world scott & ainz

wish we could be there to greet the new little one

more than you could imagine

xox

:: hot sauce, biking & bums ::

This weekend provided a few parenting experiences that left us with the choice of either laughing, crying or getting angry. I am glad that both Danny & I see the humour in these situations because neither of the other two options are as much fun as having a good laugh.

The first happened on Friday night when we decided to go & try out a restaurant that we had heard served some pretty amazing mexican food. So we were sitting in Chipotles eating our delicious burritos & tacos when Jamin decided that he wanted some of the tacos, which Danny had ordered with medium sauce. Now this is the real deal in terms of mexican restaurants & therefore medium means 'really hot' & mild means 'hot but bearable'. We both tried to talk him out of it but alas he just would not be persuaded. About 3 or 4 bites in Jamin spits out a big bit of meat, sauce & cheese but decides to try it again. About 2 seconds later he starts losing it - I mean the screaming, crying, gasping, losing it. We both try & give him water, burrito & finally a blueberry bar but he would have none of it. He just sat there screaming the restaurant down.

Me & Danny felt bad for him but also smirked a little at each other because he totally brought it upon himself. This was a lesson he just needed to learn on his own. I think next time we warn him something is hot he will get the message.

I would have taken a photo if I had of thought of it but I was a little busy at the time.

So the other amusing experience came about on Sunday afternoon when we decided to drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon for Danny to show me some of the downhill jumps he had stumbled upon. The boys & I were having a great time watching Danny & taking some video when I noticed that Jamin had started holding himself. At times this can mean that he needs to go to the toilet (or 'go potty' as he is now demanding I call it) but sometimes he's just being a little boy needing some reassurance :). He said no & I left it at that.

Watch this video to see what happened next...

Yes - if you caught the very last second you will see Jamin really does need to go to the toilet & is going in his pants. Not only is he weeing, he is also doing a great big number 2!

Because I have experienced this before I quickly pulled off his shoes before they got all wet & he couldn't wear them. Danny hunted around for some a la natural toilet paper (read: leaves) and we managed to get him cleaned up. I was holding Jamin up while we tried to get his pants off and I had Kael in the backpack but because of the angle he was almost falling out the top. Danny was trying to deal with the poo before it went everywhere & I just could not stop laughing. It was horrible but also kind of hilarious.

So this is the way we walked out to the car. I have to admit I was hoping that we didn't meet anyone but alas I had forgotten that we were parked on the side of the highway.

We still had time for Danny to do a few more jumps on the way up with a nudie cheer squad.

A memorable weekend to be sure...

+ camping @ diamond canyon +

This weekend we took off on a mini adventure to Uinta National Forest. This was the same area where we did the Fifth Water Outdoor Springs hike a couple of weeks ago & were amazed by the beautiful fall colours. Most of the leaves have dropped now & it is starting to get a little chilly but we still had a relaxing time. Of course there was lots of time spent throwing rocks in the river because thats what little boys want to do but we also did some other fun things too.

The boys hanging out in their camping chairs.

There were some great roads around the site to ride our bikes.

We had lots of fun playing in the leaves.

We took a drive to Strawberry Reservoir in the afternoon through some beautiful country. Here's Danny's car picture from "on top of the world" (according to Jamin).

A few times during the trip I thought about how I was coming to love the caravan, although I did cringe a little each time. When it started to rain this morning there was no scrambling for wet weather gear or packing up tents in the rain. And I really do just love being able to empty my fridge & freezer into the caravan without a whole lot of thought for space. But most of all I love the furnace. It would have been a cold night if it weren't for the thermostat which kept us toasty warm at about 69'F (20'C). I know it's soft but... it really is lovely. That may have been a contributing factor to the fact that both boys slept all night. I am a new woman today!

+ birthday fun +

After a week of reflecting upon this time last year and the many changes that our family has experienced, today is the day we are celebrating Kael's first year with us. He is such a little spark of happiness & is changing so much everyday. We are full of gratitude for the gift to our family that he is.

We started off with a suprise balloon tent which was loads of fun first thing in the morning. Both of boys are maniacs about balloons (& yes we do watch them very carefully for choking hazards). Jamin had actually quietly spirited most of them away to his bedroom within the first hour. Kael didn't seem to mind.

Next came the presents. This was a new book & bag from Gran. Thankyou!

Here he is doing what most one year olds do with toys they are given. After playing with the box he climbs into it & proceeds to eat the toys.

Thanks Aunty Linda, Oma & Gran!

Kael also got a very cool pair of pants from Aunty Ainsley that he put on straight away. Here they are being modelled by Jai.

Thanks Aunty Ainz!

Presents are followed by a special pancake breakfast made by super daddy.

A few hours later, with the arrival of Mummy's friend Merrilee, we bring out the cake for a special happy birthday song. We have to help him blow out the candle after he talks to it for a little while & then tries to grab it. Ahh 1 year olds!

Jamin, with his baby cino, waiting patiently for some cake. He helped to make it & ice it this morning. Such a great big brother!

The end result of the cake. He really enjoyed it!

Some of the duplo creations that we have been playing with most of the morning. I love duplo! There are not many toys that will keep big & little boys & mummy amused but duplo does!

We are planning on finishing off the day of fun with a trip to the aquarium. Should be lots of fun for little boys.

{ i miss home }

I am having a week of missing all of the special people in our life back home in Australia.

I keep finding myself picturing what I would be doing if I was there right now...

- visiting my nephews out at the farm & trying out their new super fort -

- talking to my other niece or nephew in Ainsley's belly who is due to come out any day now -

- cuddling my newest nephew, Asher, who is getting so big that by the time I meet him he will be a squirming 9 month old -

- wandering down to the park near our old house to swing on the disc swing with Kael, who I think would just love it at the moment -

- escaping from the children for a shopping trip with my sister -

- making the most of mum's holiday next week by having lots of visits & playtimes with her & the boys -

Instead... I am here... many, many, many miles away from home & the people I love the most.

We are expecting lots of visitors in the next few months which is exciting for a number of reasons.

My cousin Sam is coming for most of November & we are looking forward to making the most of the fall weather. Family life with us may be a big change from his bachelor lifestyle he's been living in Vancouver for the last year but considering he is enamoured with Kael & Jamin I think it will be ok. At least he won't get woken up by the crying in the night downstairs in the basement.

Danny's parents are coming over for a white Christmas & we are so looking forward to fulfilling all of the American traditions around Christmas, including going hunting for a real pine tree. It is going to be a very special memory I think!

Then my Mum is coming over again to experience some real snow for the first time in her life. We are also planning on making the most of her babysitting skills & taking off for some time on the mountains snowboarding. It will be so good for her to see how different everything looks in winter time.

So there is a lot to look forward to & some very busy times ahead.

For now I guess I will just hold the special people back home in my heart & hope that I can experience all of those things I am yearning for when the time comes for us to go home.

< table time >

This week I am making a big effort to put a little more structure into our day in the hope that it helps us all to feel a bit more purposeful. I have made up a table of toy & activity ideas for each of the play times that we have.

Today for Table Time I printed out some scary cats & people match games for Jamin from the Made by Joel blog. He did a great job and suprised me with how much his fine motor skills have improved over the last couple of months. He also did some gluing & colouring of pictures that his Gran sends over every month or so to put in a scrapbook.

I am loving the fact that he enjoying arts & crafts! I can start dreaming of some family drawing times coming soon. Unfortunately Kael continues to eat the rock crayons so it may be some time before we are all drawing...

{ life }

What is it

you plan to do with

your one wild & precious

life ?

Mary Oliver

I love this quote. It reminds me that every day is something to be cherished not endured. Amidst the mundane everyday tasks I sometimes forget that life is an adventure & its my choice what I make of it.

If I get to the age of 100 I would like to think that I will be able to spend my days remembering a life full of challenges & adventures, times when things have been too hard but I have persevered anyway & times when life has been so full of love & happiness that I could hardly breathe.

:: a hike to donut falls ::

This weekend we ventured out for a hike to Donut Falls. It was a great, family friendly hike which Jamin basically ran the whole way. I love it when I don't have to carry him in the backpack!

Danny actually took these first few photos as he was the one who got to climb up the falls to see the actual donut hole. I would have loved to follow him up but had to stay down the bottom with the boys. Jamin had a little climb up as far as Danny would let him. He wants to climb everything he sees these days!

This is the view from the top of the falls. You can just make out Jamin's blue jumper.

Jamin & I balancing across a tricky section on the way up to the falls.

I was able to get some good photos with our little point & shoot camera. I'm nothing like aunty Linda but I think I may be developing an eye for my own style of photography. I am hoping to get a slightly better camera for my birthday in a months time (hint hint family & friends who want an easy present idea for me!).

It was a very cold afternoon which has made me feel nervous about the winter that is coming our way. I do not 'do' cold very well & have absolutely adored the 2 consecutive summers that we just experienced. Danny is considering invoking a 'one whinge a week' clause about the weather when the snow comes. I'm not sure if that is possible...