Joseph Stanley on the Sattelite of Love

I am a big fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The only person who I can say likes it more than me is my son Joseph. I think he watches an episode a day on average. Many more if I would let him. He knows everything there is to know about the show. He is obsessed with every thing there is to know about Tom, Crow, Mike, Joel and TV's Frank. On one hand he makes me proud and pleased that my son shares my sense of humor. On the other hand, I hear so much about the show on a daily basis, I can't keep up with his enthusiasm.
I find it ironic that we both warmed up to the show after much resistance. I would watch the adds for it when I was 19, thinking "That looks SO DUMB! I know I would hate it." One time it was on after another show and the tv just never got turned off. It took less than 10 minutes for me to be converted and I was recording ever episode I saw. Many years later, when I watched it as a mom, Joseph would run screaming in the opposite direction every time. so I stopped watching them except for special occasions. It was one of these special occasions that Joe fianlly was able to watch it in a way that didn't scare him. He has been converted, ever since.
Joe's greatest regret is that the show is not still on the air. His goal is that if the show hasn't returned by the time he is an adult, he will bring it back himself. I am behind him 100%.
Hit the button Frank!

Elisabeth is 6!

September 23rd was Elisabeth's 6th birthday. She is growing up which I have mixed feelings about. I started the day by
giving her a manicure and pedicure. Tim made Strawberry Pancakes and I took her to get a haircut which is totally adorable on her. I kept it a surprise until we walked into the salon and the smile on her face when she realized what we were going to do was worth the wait. She jumped up and down and everything. She is always jealous when we take her brothers to get a haircut but not her. When the stylist asked if she wanted about the same length or to go shorter, Elisabeth exclaimed without hesitation..."Shorter!" I got my hair cut too at the same time so it could be a mommy-daughter outing.
We didn't plan on throwing a big party this year but her friend had her own party on Elisabeth's birthday. She got to do all the fun party stuff, hang out with her friends, AND we didn't have to put on the party. Kind of nice. But, I feel like a slacker mom and feel guilty about it somehow. After the party she opened all of her presents. She recieved some money from her Grandma Judy and she went to the store to spend some of it.
We took her to Fuddruckers for dinner but they didn't have her favorite dish anymore (Mac and Cheese) and they brought her birthday sunday before they brought the dinner. They didn't sing "Happy Birthday" to her either. Kind of dispapointing, but she was a good sport about it all. This is one of the many reasons we love her. We came home and had cake and ice cream.

School rituals

On Joseph's (my first child) first day of school 3 years ago, we started the tradition of sitting down after school and letting him show me everything he brought home from school. Joe would always hold the bag in his hands and pull each page out,showing and explaining them to me, one at a time. He has had a a lot of fun surprising me with fun things like his book order deliveries and school photos. He often amazed me with his ability to keep the secret from me until it was time for the unveiling.
This year my daughter began kindergarten. I have been anticipating this a long time. Before we had lunch after her first day, I insisted we look at what she brought home from school. I don't know what I expected but it wasn't what happened next. She pulled all of the papers out of the bag at once and plopped them on the table. "Here they are mom." I was thrown for a second trying to figure out what was different in this picture. Why was I thinking something was missing? I then realized that my two kids who seemed similar in many ways, each had their own little style of playing out this simple little daily ritual. Maybe, she was always annoyed with the way Joe made us wait. Perhaps food is a higher priority to her than my attention. Whatever it is, it represents how each of my kids make my life interesting, by being unique from eachother.

Wisdom of Wiz

Here is an amusing quote by my 5 year old daughter. We were reading the book "Call it Courage" We were reading the part when he is in his canoe in the ocean and very thirsty. I asked my kids, "So..if he is so thirsty, why doesn't he just drink the ocean water? He is surrounded by it." Joe said "Because it is unhealthy, it will make you sick" I asked "Why is that?" Elisabeth answers "Because of all the sea monster pee that's in it"

What I did on my Summer Vacation

We had two trips this summer. The first was to St. George to visit Tim's Grandpa Nix. Tim's mom was helping to take care of him while his wife was on a trip so we were able to visit her while we were there too. We had fun in Zion National Park one day we were there. The other excitement was Tim wearing shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes to Sacrament meeting (we didn't think we were going to church so we didn't pack for it). Lincoln ended up yelling "HUZAH!" in the middle of a talk and yelling "MOMMY!" across the room another time. Thank goodness it wasn't our ward at least, but poor Grandpa. He has to go back to these people every week. It was fun visiting with them.

Our other vacation was to Laughlin Nevada for a Nix Family Reunion. We spent half a day and a night in Las Vegas on the way. While in Vegas we ate at In-n-Out Burger which is always a treat. Even more exiting than that however was riding the Star Trek Experience. We went on both rides. We did the parent swap where I went with Elisabeth and Tim went with Joe. If you ever do the parent swap with your children on this ride, go on both rides and let the other parent wait outside of the attraction. Trade after you are all done or you will end up waiting in line the whole time with restless kids. You are stuck there. The rides were pretty fun though.

The next day we went to Laughlin Nevada and joined the reuinion already in progress. We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel Casino. While we were there we had a lot of good opportunities to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins, nephews and neices. We also had my whole husband's family together except unfortunatly Amber's husband Sandi.

It was fun to have a lot of other Mommies with strollers. When we went to see "Cars" I knew I would be in the hallway in no time but I knew I wouldn't be alone. I wasn't Spencer and Samuel are the same age and 1 year olds and movie theaters do not mix. Mom's of small kids have a different experience on vacations and I knew I was in good company.

The highlights of the trip were the Apples to Apples midnight game and our trip to Oatman Arizona. This ghost town is named after Olive Oatman, someone in Tim's geneology. Neat story. We also went to Casino College that was interesting and fun. Now I know what I am seeing when I watch James Bond movies. Hopefully noone becomes addicted to gambling now that we know how to play the game.

Post Vacation Blues

Here it is, the Monday after all the vacations of the summer are over and after the highlight of my son's baptism. (I will talk about what we did on a different blog.
I have mixed feelings right now. I have post vacation blues. I feel very relieved it is all over, since family vacations are never vacations for Mom really. Especially things like family reunions can be hard. You end up doing things you would never do on your own just because you don't want to be a spoil sport. It turns out being fun, but a lot of work.

I also feel sadness and emptiness because the things I have been looking forward to are now over. They have kept me going for a while now. Now I am just at home, the highlight of my day is that if I work hard, I can get my house in order again. Not as exciting as a road trip and a family reuinion, but a lot less stress.

The summer is coming to an end. That means my favorite season and favorite Holidays are around the corner so now I have new things to look forward to.

Kids!

So many things my kids do and say crack me up. They get away with and struggle with things that grown-ups just don't.

When was the last time you were at a family gathering with all adults and one of them just falls off their chair in the middle of a conversation (assuming no one is drunk)?

When was the last time you saw a grown up stand up on a pew, looking back at the congregation and drinking a cup of milk. Or lying on the floor rolling under the pews?

When is the last time you hit your head on a door knob because you bumped into it as you walked out of your room?

As an adult you cant scream and cry at Walmart because things aren't going your way. Believe me...if it were acceptable I would scream and cry EVERY SINGLE TIME I am there. I envy my kids that they can express their frustrations more openly, while I just have to bottle them up inside and die just a little every time I am there.

My husband was holding our sleeping baby in Priesthood and the elder next to him said "remember when you could get away with that in church?" Then my son passed gas at that very moment. My husband replied "Remember when you could get away with THAT in church?"
In some ways, kids really do have the easy life.

The Wit of Wiz . . .

Kristin added me as a contributor, so I better throw my two cents in.
All of our kids are wonderfully conversationalists, and have great alternative perceptions on the world around them. Elisabeth, in particular, has startled and amused me in the past couple of weeks.
The other day we were walking across the Shop-Ko parking lot. Elisabeth noticed a shaved ice stand on the other side of the lot. She asked innocently enough, “Dad, could we get some shaved ice?”
I replied, “You don’t really want shaved ice, do you Elisabeth? It is raining! Shaved ice
is best when it is hot and sunny.”
Elisabeth looked at me with a scowl that barely concealed what appeared to be a surprisingly mature decade of teenage angst.
“Dad,” she said, pausing dramatically before dispelling my ignorance, “SOME people just really like shaved ice!”

Elisabeth episode two:
Kristin had built a tasty make-shift treat for the kids---Fresh Strawberries and Vanilla yogurt---with a bit of granola bar crush up on the top. Elisabeth tasted it an asked Kristin, “Mom, what is this stuff called?”
Kristin replied, “It is kind of like a parfait.”
“You know what I think would be a better name?” Elisabeth flatly stated, “Yogurt and Strawberries of Goodness +2”
That’s my girl!

Swim Lessons for Lincoln

This year I have three kids in swim lessons. It is at 4:30pm (because I signed up so late) which is not a good time for Lincoln because he is either sleeping by then or grumpy because he hasn't taken a nap yet. I signed him up for Pre-school 2 which means he should be comfortable with the water. He has decided that this is his "I am afraid of the water" or "I am afraid of the teacheer" summer.

He usually is ok with people he doesn't know that well, and with water. I guess it is the combination of water and stranger that makes him sit on the side of the pool refusing to do anything the class is doing. The teacher keeps stretching his arms out to him, encouraging him to join. He just shakes his head and remains stubbornly on the side of the pool sucking his thumb and twisting his hair.

The first day of class I decided maybe I could help. I made it much worse and learned an embarresing lesson that day. So, I remain up in the observation room cringing every time he shakes his head at his teacher. If I had signed him up for the class he should be in, (the one where the kid is supposed to be afraid of the water) I wouldn't be half as embarressed or concerned.

I really should be more patient and understanding since I can't swim, This is because when my brothers learned to swim in their swim classes I freaked out and my mom couldn't bring herself to force me to do it anymore. So, I hope that by allowing him to sit there by the pool he is learning something. Maybe he is getting more comfortable and by the end of next week he will have made $35 worth of progress, even if it is all in his head. Next time I will sign him up for the morning and for preschool 1. To his credit, every day he goes willingly to the side of the pool and is excited for his class.

10 Things I like about You!

Joseph
1. He is thoughtful and seems to think before he acts or speaks
2. Sensitive to others feelings
3. Likes to learn new things,
4. Likes to teach others these new things
5. He is a good student, works hard and respects his teachers and peers
6. A good friend to his sister and to everyone in the family. A fun guy to have around.
7. A good example to his brothers and sister
8. Has broad and adventurous tastes in food
9.He wants to please his parents, he seems to honor and respect us.
10. He is a little reserved, but not too shy to play the piano for his school class or make new friends

Elisabeth
1. She is all girl. she likes to play princess and dress up and loves the color pink
2. She can be one of the boys too
3. She is matronly and likes to take care of people, especially Sam
4. She is very affectionate and loveing, full of hugs, kisses and "I love you"s
5. She is artistic. She has an eye for design and color.
6. She is great company. I will often take her with me even if I don't have to..just because I want to.
7. She is a good friend and makes new ones easily
8. She loves to have fun and is full of smiles.
9. She is a great conversationalist. Loves to use big words
10. She is a drama queen. She isn't afraid to be the center of attention but admits to being shy too.

Lincoln
1. He is a prankster. He often has a mischevious gleam in his eye.
2. Life is a game, he likes to have fun doing whatever he does. When he is happy, he shows it very well.
3. He often thinks of the comfort and happiness of others
4. He is eager to be helpful and please others
5. He laughs easily
6. He is very determined when he wants things
7. He is independent but not too independent
8. He is a little dancer and comedian, he makes us laugh a lot
9. He is all boy with his love of cars and trains
10. He makes friends with others easily, old and young alike

Sam
1. He loves to adventure. With each step of independence he seems to relish in his new freedom
2. He has an adorable smile that comes often and easy.
3. He is very affectionate
4. He has interesting taste in food. Dislikes things all the other kids loved (bananaas and cheese) and likes things the other kids didn't (almost anything, but most specifically meat)
5. He likes to be held by other people making him fun for everyone
6. He is my only blond baby, a different color hair then any of my other kids....a change
7. He is cautious and careful
8. He is pretty happy anywhere we go. especially if we do anything outside of the house
9. He is an esecape artist and keeps us on our toes
10. He is a mild mannered, content, and easy kid