Little Spooner is so happy to have me back :). He keeps coming up wherever I am at and gives me a bunch of sweet and gentle kisses wherever he can reach: my legs, my arms. My favorite thing is when he snuggles up next to me, leaning his body into mine and sliding his little pudgy arm around behind my neck and leaning his head against mine. I am grateful for such sweet and affectionate boys :)! I know the time will transition to when they get "too old" or just have different physical affection needs from their mom and that is how it should be. I recognize and am happy with that :). However, it is still so sweet and tender to get these little kisses from my two year old...or from my 10 year old or 13 year old :).
This last weekend I ended up accompanying Lek's ballroom dancing group, Silhouette, to their Gem State Competition in Idaho Falls. What a whirl! Avot and I had talked about going up with him a while back so she could take a trip up to Rexburg from there to check out BYU-Idaho for next year. She is trying to figure out her plan of action. She would like to serve an LDS mission in February of next year right after she turns 19 but wanted to get in some college before she left on her mission. However, toward the end of our decision making, I had decided to stay home and just let her go up, not feeling that the burden on those at home would justify me going up.
Well, the morning of the trip, I got a call from the dance instructor for the group, asking if I could go up as a chaperone and take others as one of the chaperones had come down with an illness. My original plans didn't include being available for dance chaperoning nor sleeping with the group, so I was going to take Hava and Papaya with me for some bonding time. I don't know that the dance instructor was too excited about that but I wasn't about to leave two very intense and passionate young ladies home with their father last minute :).
So, with only about 5 hours notice, I tried to get us all packed, some food prepared and groceries bought for those at home, a schedule prepared for the Goob, Liliputian, Chugger-dude, Pipalicious and Spooner to follow while I was gone to make Daddy's busy life easier, and not leave the house looking like a bombshell happened! This was no mean trick with moving happening and no notice :). I prayed for strength and mental capacity above and beyond my usual allotment that day and was blessed with it :). So many times I wander around in a mindless condition of wonderment...what was I doing? That morning and afternoon I was blessed with energy and focus--and I used every bit!
It was a good weekend:
-Lek took 2nd and 3rd in Nationals with his cabaret team, and 4th in a syllabus competition where couples compete against each other in different dance styles. Among about 150 couples, he and his partner placed 4th in Viennese Waltz, one of my favorite dances! He made it through a couple elimination in some other rounds: the waltz and one other I can never remember :S. The last two he entered with little to no prep, but simple desire for fun :). It was so fun to see him compete and do so well! There is a video of one of his dances on my "page" on facebook...I don't know how to link that here, but it captures a little of what he has done. Great job, Lek! Not bad for less than a year and a half of ballroom dance experience
-We had a great time going up to the Rexburg temple...in crazy wind weather! When I asked a "native" if it was unusual they shrugged their shoulders: "It's only, what, 35 mph?" Yah. Crazy!
The little girls and I planned on going to the park but it was horrible for my contacts and too cold for the girls so I napped and read in the van while they played among the seats. I am so glad I brought two of them to entertain themselves!
-Avot was able to get enough of her questions answered as well as a good impression of the campus there so she has a plan of action for the fall. How exciting! She was also able to watch Lek's performances among the many others with me and the little girls. It was fun to see Lek's group compete with so many others and appreciate all of his hard work and training!
-The little girls and I were able to have a lot of time snuggling, talking and playing. One on two make it easier to do that and they felt spoiled with hot pretzels, some bubble wands and new flip-flops...and they got to watch some "TV" in the hotel room (a novelty for them...commercials! Woohoo!) One of the days was particularly long, with the competition running until 11:30.
At one point they both fell asleep on me at the same time...while I was up in the highest bleacher section well away from anyone I knew :S. I wasn't sure what to do and how to move them without taking away from them their much-needed rest (it was about 10:30 and they hadn't had much sleep the night before). I spotted Lek across the way--clear on the other side of a huge gym and Avot in the bottom section of bleachers in front of me and tried to send mental messages: "Look up here! Look over here! Look at me!"
Surprise, surprise, it didn't work :).
After about 20 minutes, Hava shifted in her sleep and moved her head off of my leg and "settled" along the hard bench next to me. A lady a couple rows back (on the back row, in fact) had pity on her and put a sweat shirt under Hava's head, who remained blissfully asleep the whole time. Grateful, I cuddled with Papaya for a while and then finally decided that because I could technically keep an eye on Hava while taking Papaya to Lek on the other side. (Going up and down stairs while carrying a little one to take them Avot--with my pregnant tummy--just wasn't going to work :S.) So Lek got a beautiful bundle dumped in his lap and I went back for Hava and was able to keep her asleep until we left around midnight. What a day! I was ready to crash when we got home and the girls stayed asleep for the most part, thankfully! They were good little troopers all weekend.
-Speaking of troopers, Q-dawg and the kids were really awesome. Liliputian was a saint in taking care of so much, including Spooner, and the other kids were great at following through with their assignments according to their father. I am grateful for responsible kids! It helped that they were able to watch a couple movies a day, I think, as a little break from the responsibilities of running the house and caring for Spooner, but it all worked out...and the house was clean when I got home! What a wonderful family!
This last weekend I ended up accompanying Lek's ballroom dancing group, Silhouette, to their Gem State Competition in Idaho Falls. What a whirl! Avot and I had talked about going up with him a while back so she could take a trip up to Rexburg from there to check out BYU-Idaho for next year. She is trying to figure out her plan of action. She would like to serve an LDS mission in February of next year right after she turns 19 but wanted to get in some college before she left on her mission. However, toward the end of our decision making, I had decided to stay home and just let her go up, not feeling that the burden on those at home would justify me going up.
Well, the morning of the trip, I got a call from the dance instructor for the group, asking if I could go up as a chaperone and take others as one of the chaperones had come down with an illness. My original plans didn't include being available for dance chaperoning nor sleeping with the group, so I was going to take Hava and Papaya with me for some bonding time. I don't know that the dance instructor was too excited about that but I wasn't about to leave two very intense and passionate young ladies home with their father last minute :).
So, with only about 5 hours notice, I tried to get us all packed, some food prepared and groceries bought for those at home, a schedule prepared for the Goob, Liliputian, Chugger-dude, Pipalicious and Spooner to follow while I was gone to make Daddy's busy life easier, and not leave the house looking like a bombshell happened! This was no mean trick with moving happening and no notice :). I prayed for strength and mental capacity above and beyond my usual allotment that day and was blessed with it :). So many times I wander around in a mindless condition of wonderment...what was I doing? That morning and afternoon I was blessed with energy and focus--and I used every bit!
It was a good weekend:
-Lek took 2nd and 3rd in Nationals with his cabaret team, and 4th in a syllabus competition where couples compete against each other in different dance styles. Among about 150 couples, he and his partner placed 4th in Viennese Waltz, one of my favorite dances! He made it through a couple elimination in some other rounds: the waltz and one other I can never remember :S. The last two he entered with little to no prep, but simple desire for fun :). It was so fun to see him compete and do so well! There is a video of one of his dances on my "page" on facebook...I don't know how to link that here, but it captures a little of what he has done. Great job, Lek! Not bad for less than a year and a half of ballroom dance experience
-We had a great time going up to the Rexburg temple...in crazy wind weather! When I asked a "native" if it was unusual they shrugged their shoulders: "It's only, what, 35 mph?" Yah. Crazy!
The little girls and I planned on going to the park but it was horrible for my contacts and too cold for the girls so I napped and read in the van while they played among the seats. I am so glad I brought two of them to entertain themselves!
-Avot was able to get enough of her questions answered as well as a good impression of the campus there so she has a plan of action for the fall. How exciting! She was also able to watch Lek's performances among the many others with me and the little girls. It was fun to see Lek's group compete with so many others and appreciate all of his hard work and training!
-The little girls and I were able to have a lot of time snuggling, talking and playing. One on two make it easier to do that and they felt spoiled with hot pretzels, some bubble wands and new flip-flops...and they got to watch some "TV" in the hotel room (a novelty for them...commercials! Woohoo!) One of the days was particularly long, with the competition running until 11:30.
At one point they both fell asleep on me at the same time...while I was up in the highest bleacher section well away from anyone I knew :S. I wasn't sure what to do and how to move them without taking away from them their much-needed rest (it was about 10:30 and they hadn't had much sleep the night before). I spotted Lek across the way--clear on the other side of a huge gym and Avot in the bottom section of bleachers in front of me and tried to send mental messages: "Look up here! Look over here! Look at me!"
Surprise, surprise, it didn't work :).
After about 20 minutes, Hava shifted in her sleep and moved her head off of my leg and "settled" along the hard bench next to me. A lady a couple rows back (on the back row, in fact) had pity on her and put a sweat shirt under Hava's head, who remained blissfully asleep the whole time. Grateful, I cuddled with Papaya for a while and then finally decided that because I could technically keep an eye on Hava while taking Papaya to Lek on the other side. (Going up and down stairs while carrying a little one to take them Avot--with my pregnant tummy--just wasn't going to work :S.) So Lek got a beautiful bundle dumped in his lap and I went back for Hava and was able to keep her asleep until we left around midnight. What a day! I was ready to crash when we got home and the girls stayed asleep for the most part, thankfully! They were good little troopers all weekend.
-Speaking of troopers, Q-dawg and the kids were really awesome. Liliputian was a saint in taking care of so much, including Spooner, and the other kids were great at following through with their assignments according to their father. I am grateful for responsible kids! It helped that they were able to watch a couple movies a day, I think, as a little break from the responsibilities of running the house and caring for Spooner, but it all worked out...and the house was clean when I got home! What a wonderful family!
