Conference Weekend

Saturday Tristan slept much later than usual. So late that I checked on him twice before we finally woke him up. We all came downstairs and he was clearly not himself. He was very lethargic and just wanted to be held. He asked for a "gulk" so I gave him a sippy cup of milk. Chris made French toast for breakfast and shortly after starting our meal Tristan started gagging and the milk and toast were all over the table. Poor thing has never had a vomiting illness and was very confused by the whole incident.

We cleaned up the mess, gave Tristan a bath and set him in front of the t.v. watching "Cars". He was content for the moment. After conference started he fell asleep in my lap. I took him up to bed and hoped for the best.

By the afternoon Tristan had perked up and wanted to eat. I begrudgingly gave him some yogurt and a bit of water. He kept that down and by the time dinner came he was back to his old self again.

Sunday we continued our tradition of visiting Duke Gardens between sessions. It was the first time we have worn coats on our Conference outing.

The grounds were very wet. I didn't think we would be going to the gardens because of Tristan's recent illness and the wet weather we had been having. I thought I could safely dress Kennedy in white pants. She saw the hill that she typically likes to barrel roll down and made a dash for it. Chris and I were trying to keep Tristan from going into a little stream near by when we turned around and saw Kennedy rolling down the muddy hill. She stood up and then slid down on her bum. Her white pants were and are no longer white. It was one of those "oh well" moments.

The kids really enjoy the gardens and we ended up going with the neighbors kids the next day too.

Saturday Yard Work

We had a beautiful day today. We spend the morning preparing a bed for some raspberry bushes. It's not quite time to plant yet--a few more weeks--but we ordered some plants and bushes through a catalog yesterday and thought that since it was such a nice day today we would work in the yard.
Kennedy and Tristan enjoyed playing outside. Kennedy has her own garden tools and enjoyed digging in the dirt with us. Tristan, on the otherhand, looks at the dirt and thinks, "buffet". When will he stop eating dirt?

Ahh Nuts!

When Kennedy turned one I started giving her peanut butter because I though PB & Js were a staple for kids. Soon after, she developed what I thought was a peanut allergy. When I told the doctor about the rashes I found she told me to wait 6 or so months before trying peanut butter again and explained that some children grow out of these early-onset allergies. However, six months later she still seemed allergic. I have never taken her to get officially tested but have just assumed she was allergic and have avoided making some of my favorite goodies that included peanut butter.
Last week when I went to the beach for my quilting retreat I made a big batch of my favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (recipe courtesy of my lovely sister, Alison). Incidentally, I left a few behind for Chris's lunches, stored in the freezer in snack-size Ziploc baggies. You can guess where this is going. . . .Mom out of town, unlabeled cookies, Dad's first time ever being left in charge for more than just a few hours. Kennedy had downed about half the cookie before she told Chris, "Daddy, I think there is peanut butter in these cookies!" Chris panicked but, being the doctor he is, kept a close eye on her. Nothing happened. We thought our troubles of the peanut allergy were over.
This weekend I made one of my favorite desserts that I haven't made in a very long time: Peanut Butter Pie. I thought this would be a good way to ease Kennedy into the life of peanut butter. After all, I didn't want her to be afraid of peanut butter just because we had been telling her for her entire life that she had to avoid peanuts and peanut butter. I was right, she ate her whole piece of pie then asked for more.
About an hour after dessert I started getting the kids ready for bed. Kennedy came to me complaining that she itched everywhere. . . .even in her bum. Poor thing was miserable. She had rashes all over. I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed the Benedril and asked for "the doctor" to come check her out. We agreed that this was probably due to the peanut butter and decided that there would be no more peanut butter for Kennedy.
You would think this would be enough to traumatize a four-year-old but she seems to take it all in stride. This morning she told us, "No more peanut butter for me until I'm an adult!"

Travel Log

I didn't mean for this to be a travel log but I have to write about my trip to Utah. We had such a great time and each year I go I remember why I make the trek out every summer.
First I have to say that my kids did great on the flights. It was such a long day travelling it would not have surprised me if they were miserable. We held it together until the car ride from the Las Vegas airport to St. George. Kennedy was just getting over a cold and I think that combined with the ear pressure from the airplane, the long day and sitting in the back seat of the car was just too much. As we turned into the Target parking lot in St. George she threw up. Poor thing. She was much better the next day and we were able to have a healthy trip the rest of the time.
Our first major event was preparing for my niece's baby shower. Tyffanee is expecting her first baby, a girl, and we decided at the last minute to throw a shower for her. Even though she isn't from Beaver we have a lot of relatives there and we had a good turn out with a few out-of-towners, including her mom, sister and mother-in-law. Since we decided to host the shower last minute (five days notice for guests) we gave the option of going in on a group gift. This turned out to be a great thing because we were able to get her a Pack-n-Play, a Baby Bjorn and a high chair. She also got lots of cute clothes, blankets and other fun things. I'm so excited to see my cute niece be a mom.
Our next great adventure was celebrating Pioneer Day. My sister came to town and Kennedy enjoyed playing with her cousin, Megyn. My niece, Alyssa, also stayed with us along with her friend Mary. We had a houseful but the more the merrier. Beaver starts Pioneer Day off with their own tradition. At approximately 6 a.m. dynamite can be heard in intervals all around town. Wake up! Time to get ready for the day. After listening to this for about 15 minutes I am ready to get up. My sister and brother-in-law head to the high school track to do the 5K. Alison and I walk because I am usually not in shape for it. It's a fun time to have with my sister, however.
After the 5K we rush home to shower and get ready for the parade. This year Beaver was hosting a little league tournament so a lot of the floats were trucks filled with cute little baseball players from all over the country. The rest of the parade was unremarkable. I was a little disappointed this year. After the parade we head down to the city park where there are kid's foot races (which we never do because I hated them when I was a kid), snow cones, hot dogs, moon bounce and slide, and old friends. Everyone who left Beaver comes home for Pioneer Day and we hope to see each other at the park. It's our yearly reunion. I saw more friends this year than usual, which is fun.
After the festivities at the park we made ready for a family cook-out. We were going to head up the canyon but it turned out to be a rainy day so we went to a local park instead. My mom and her two sisters still live where they have always lived--within two blocks of each other. They all gather their families together and we have a potluck. My cousin, Wade, brought his pony and cart to take the kids on rides. Kennedy loved that. Meanwhile, my dad and I went to check out some antique cars parked along the block--about 7 or 8 cars all belonging to the same man. He happened to pull up in his 1922 speedster and offered to take me for a ride. I love antique cars so I took him up on it. He couldn't convince me to drive it though. That was the highlight of my day.
I told Kennedy that if she took a nap she could stay up for the fireworks. She thought that was a great idea until they actually started. She wanted to go home right now. She then told me that the next time I tell her that she can stay up for fireworks she WON'T take a nap. She made it through and I enjoyed the show too.
I was able to visit with some of my dear friends whom I don't get to see very often. I was able to visit my old high school friends Melanie, Kerrie, Debbie and Alison. I met Lucy at Thanksgiving Point and we went through the Dinosaur Museum. We had a nice visit from Chris's brother and his wife. They spoiled the kids for a whole day. My mom and I took the kids to the "This is the Place Pioneer Park" which was fun. My sister and her kids volunteer there. It was a fun place to spend the day. We also met Nana and Poppa at Thanksgiving Point for a few hours and toured the beautiful gardens there. We had such a good time and it was nice for the kids to see the Kelsey Grandparents since they haven't seen them for a year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel so loved when we go back to Utah.
Some other highlights of the trip were shopping at many quilt stores, reading the final book of Harry Potter, going on walks with no humidity, and just relaxing a little bit. Now it is time to get back to reality.

Mickey Mouse Park

Last Sunday we packed up the kids and flew to Orlando where we met two of my siblings, Alison and Steve, and their families. Before we left I knew it would be a great vacation but also very difficult. Tristan is still taking two naps a day and is not used to "sleeping on the go". Nevertheless, we love to travel and we haven't traveled much since Tristan was born 14 months ago so we gave it a shot.

We visited Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but the best part was being there with family. Little Kennedy adores her cousins. Since we got back we she can't stop talking about Tamsyn, Megyn and Mandy-forget Mickey Mouse!

Some of the highlights from our trip were:

1. Being with family (of course)
2. Kennedy's face when she got to hug Alice in Wonderland



3. The Philharmagic show at Magic Kingdom
4. Baby giraffes at Animal Kingdom
5. Swimming with the kids
6. Free hot breakfast at the hotel!
7. Finding Nemo the Musical
8. Watching Kennedy entertain everyone

The Flavor of Memorial Day

Did you know Memorial Day has a flavor? It is pancakes with strawberries and whip cream--not the store-bought in a can or container kind but the freshly whipped kind that's made from heavy cream and sugar.
Our family had a Memorial Day tradition. Each year Uncle John and Aunt Ann hosted a breakfast. It started out as just family, then a few friends, then half the town! I think the last one we had served almost 100 people.
Uncle John's pancakes weren't the usual 3-4 inch pancake. They were the size of the whole plate and if you could eat more than one you were either some kind of hero or really sick! The pancake batter was made from a sour dough start that was over 100 years old. The dough is set out the night before. It grows and grows then in the morning some of the start is taken out, put in the refrigerator and saved for then next time. More ingredients are then added to the remaining dough to make it the batter consistency we all are familiar with.
Along with the pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream each person was served a couple of eggs--sunny side up--and a slab of ham. There was a choice of milk or OJ to drink.
After our large breakfast we would all head up to the cemetery to put flowers on our loved-ones' graves. It was a happy day that our family shared.
I can't help but think of Uncle John and his pancakes on Memorial Day. I know that pancakes with such toppings could be had any time of the year but for some reason we saved it for that special day. I have since made that meal but it just doesn't have that same tickling of the taste buds. Oh, it's good, and we'll have it again, but I sure miss Uncle John and his pancakes.
Happy Memorial Day!