Pacific Science Center

Yesterday we decided to take my sister and her family on a trip to the Pacific Science Center- we went in the summer and got a year membership for about $30 more than going that one time cost us, and we had enough passes for my sister's entire family to come, too.  Plus, the Harry Potter exhibit was there!  Leslie's 3 big kids were really excited about going there.

We got there around 11:30 or so and find out that Harry Potter is sold out until 5:45, and we weren't staying there that long.  Lovely.  That's ok, though- there's plenty to do at the science center!

There were way too many people there yesterday, though.  It made it difficult to do anything fun.  But that's okay.  We enjoyed the butterfly house,

Riah and Rose loved the music room,

and I thought the dinosaurs were really cool.

Rose hopped in the stroller when Ri wasn't in it.

But then Turner got lost.  He wandered off when we were doing silly pictures with the girls.  We got security to start looking for him, too.  And then he just... appeared again.  I don't know where he went.  Dave said he searched exactly where he was found and he wasn't there.  Leslie explained the importance of staying with the group to him, and we all decided we were done for the day.  The crowds were too big to have a good time.

We decided to see an IMAX movie (about beavers!  I really enjoyed it until Ri fell on his head in the theater) and then head home.  On the way out we snapped a few pictures in front of the space needle and headed home.

We took Porter with us so he could help butcher Dave's deer and then they went squid jigging last night.  I know they were successful because I was surprised to find a squid helping me do the dishes this morning.

We love the science center, but it's a lot more fun when there aren't huge crowds of people there.  Maybe we can go during spring break, but it might be crowded then, too.  I'll just hope that Lacy's school break is at a different time than the kids' in Seattle.

Merry Christmas!

I've been having some fun with some photo editing software. Here are some pictures of our holiday for you to enjoy! I hope you had a merry Christmas!

Resolutions for 2011

I didn't make resolutions last year. I was too busy being 9 months pregnant. But I've been thinking about it for this upcoming year. This is what I'm thinking of for 2011's resolutions:

• Read the whole Ensign every month
• Have a meaningful spiritual time with my family every day
• Eat to live this year for most of the year (at least through July to see if my diet affects my allergies)
• Keep up with my chores and maintain a clean home by doing Fly Lady every day
• 100% visiting teaching and tithing, and do my best in my calling(s) at church

Mowgli boy

My sweet little boy has been walking! Earlier than either of his sisters by quite a while. He took his first steps about 6 weeks or so ago when he was about 9 1/2 months old. He wasn't even standing up well when he first took some steps. But even though he started walking so long ago, he's still only taking a few steps at a time each time he attempts to walk. Because it is just so much faster to crawl. Especially when you crawl like Mowgli. My boy must have some serious upper body strength! He crawls so fast.

Music and my kids

I love music. Anyone who knows me knows that I am musical, and I hope to raise my children to be musical as well. Now that Lacy is in the first grade, that means private music lessons. I thought about starting her in piano, but since I was having difficulty getting into the groove of teaching her myself, I decided to go for an instrument that I can't play- the violin. Lacy's also been begging me to put her in violin lessons for about 6 months or so, and in September we finally got started with Suzuki violin. She's doing so well and has learned to play Twinkle already (it takes several weeks to understand the posture, holding the bow, holding the violin, etc. before they start in on playing the music).

Today I had a proud mama moment when Rose was done with preschool. Normally I wait outside of the preschool building to pick her up, but today Dave and I had finished our Christmas shopping and Riah was starving, so I went into the waiting area to nurse him while we waited for school to get out. At the end of school the teacher always sings a song as they are leaving. And whose voice did I hear, loud and strong? Of course my Miss Rosie! She was so happy to be singing with her teacher as she left the building, and I happened to be inside where I could witness her singing so well. She loves singing in church, too, and always loves learning new songs, too! I can't wait until she's old enough for music lessons, too!

And my little Ri guy; he's been immersed in music since before he was born. He was lucky enough to be my belly baby when I challenged myself to practice piano every single day in 2009. So he got to hear the music from the first time his ears started working in the womb! And the music hasn't stopped. We're always singing around here, and I play the piano a lot and Lacy practices her violin every day. The girls love to listen to music, so they usually have CDs going in their room when they're playing. It's a lot of fun! Riah has shown his love for music by pounding the piano keys and reaching up as tall as he can to play the keys whenever he passes the piano. I can already tell he's a musical child. People comment all the time on how big Ri is (he's almost to the same weight Lacy was at when she turned 3, and Ri is 10 months old), saying he'll play basketball or football or whatever sport. I really don't care what sport he plays as long as he plays an instrument!

This video features both Lacy playing the violin (Monkey Song) and Rose singing along enthusiastically! I hope you enjoy!

No I haven't forgotten about my blog

I know it's been a while. We've been busy! Lacy's in first grade, Rose is in preschool 4 days a week, and Riah is surprising me by attempting to walk at 10 months old! What a big boy he is!

I have a lot of updates. A lot of good things going on in our lives. Lacy and Rose love school. Dave is working every day in a city that is 2 hours away from here. Why don't we move? Because the work isn't consistent enough for us to move out there. Because I totally would move there if I could. The town has a giant food co-op and is very anti corporation, which is totally my kind of town. It's like Olympia with fewer people and no big chain stores or fast food. Maybe someday, but for now Dave commutes every day. We're just thankful for the work, and that he only has to commute half way.