Henry Ford Museum

Today we took a trip down to the Henry Ford Museum. The membership we got to Greenfield Village was good for the museum too so we thought we would check it out. Despite the fact that Ford Motors is Tyler's sworn enemy, I still think he had more fun than the kids. He loves machines of all kinds and I know he wishes the kids weren't so ADD so that he could actually stop and read more of the plaques.

First we saw some awesome trains. Check out this snow plow train:

Then we saw a huge model train set. I'm sure Poppy wishes he had a set like this:

 After that the kids got to "fix" a car. I learned that they would not make good mechanics:

Next we saw lots of old cars. This Chevy convertible was mixed in with all the Fords and Tyler informed me that this his dream car:

Ben insisted on getting a picture in front of this sweet car:

After this I slacked on pictures but we saw some planes and then some machines. Machines that just looked like lots of gears and boring things to me but totally got Tyler's nerd on. All in all a good morning out. I do love that we get to go on these little adventures more frequently as a family.

Our next adventure will be a huge one. I was going to try to fly with Lucy to AZ by myself over the 4th (Tyler has the whole week off and could have watched the boys) but it didn't work out because ticket prices decided to jump before I could be decisive. So instead, as a family, we are going to make 8.5 hour drive to Tennessee to visit our besties, Brian  & Pattie. Both Tyler & I are dreading the drive (him because he actually has to drive it and me because sitting with this big pregnant belly is awful) but I have a feeling after the drive, there will be some good times had SO for that, I am excited :)

First Week of Summer

This week was the first week having all 3 kids home all day and it actually was kind of beautifully calm and perfect. Here are some things that happened....

Lucy developed a sense of style. After church on Sunday she insisted in changing out of her dress, into the one below. She also insisted on wearing Ben's Crocs with it:

Later on in the week she let me paint her toe nails. She even waited for them to dry:

She did not let me give her pigtails but I forced them upon her, hence the reason they looks so sloppy. She also would not let me get a good picture of them and then yanked them out minutes later. Epic fail:

I got to get another ultrasound of Penny and she even gave me a little smile. She is still right on target with growth and healthy as can be:

We took a spontaneous trip to the zoo! The weather was perfect, it was not super crowded, Steven got to see his beloved Sting Ray, we got to watch the seals swim in the water tunnel, Ben was amazed that the polar bear stood on 2 legs, we successfully avoided having our lunch eaten by seagulls and not a tantrum was thrown: 

The kids found a new hobby. Sitting on the coffee table, tuning into a favorite station on Pandora and clapping after each song. Every once in awhile they'll run around the table dancing but then they'll peacefully return as respectful coffee table spectators. Entertainment for hours: 

School's Out for the Summer!

Last Saturday afternoon we attended the Annual Milford Picnic. It was a warm day and the kids got nice and sweaty but they had fun (80's here is nothing like the 80's in Arizona thanks to humidity). They pretty much spent most of the Picnic in the Bounce House and doing the Bouncy Obstacle Course, their idea of heaven. They also got to ride on a pony (even Benny got brave and rode on one), run in a race (in which Steven tied as a winner), sit in a Police Car and eat free hot dogs (I may or may not have eaten 3 of these). No pictures taken, but good times for the kids.

This Wednesday we went to Steven's Kindergarten Celebration. All the Kindergarten classes sang some songs (titles included "The Vowel Song" "Apples & Bananas" and  "I live in Michigan") and we were SO impressed that for once, Steven was singing and not just chewing on his hands! After the songs Steven got to come sit with us and watch a slideshow of pictures from the year.Lucy stayed happy throughout the Celebration but you'll see by the pictures that Ben was a pretty big grump at times during it:

After the slideshow we went to his classroom where we got to see work he has done throughout the semester. It seems like he had a pretty good semester with Mrs. Hornyak:

And now, believe it or not, school is over and I can officially call Steven a first grader! I am impressed with his growth as a reader and it never gets old to hear him give answers to simple addition and subtraction facts. He is such a fun loving guy, with a huge imagination and a huge amount of energy (he LOVED being a part of the mileage club at his school). I am proud of my boy!

And lastly for this week (a long boring self indulgent story), yesterday I was feeling kind of down after a play date at the park with some ladies in the Ward. I was having a hard time relating to them and it made me miss my Arizona friends! So after feeling properly sorry for myself I said a prayer in hopes of feeling better. Not too much later I was outside with the kids when my neighbor came outside with her kids and I had such a good conversation with her. I felt so much better and I realized that I can make good friends here in Michigan, I really can! It helped chase away some of the homesickness. 

Later that night, I had scheduled to do an Endowment Session with the sister I visit teach. As we were driving there I found out she hadn't been to the temple for over a year. Her husband didn't go and that had made it hard for her. That made me feel extra good! I helped someone get back to the temple! It helped me feel like there are reasons I am here in Michigan. Really, it's the little things sometimes that can help us feel so much better :)

Green!

With Poppy gone it was back to our normal lives this week, not so much fun. And that meant back to my Yoga videos. I think they are helping with my achy back but if not, they at least make me feel better about myself. The best part, though, is when the kids are around and they try to do the Yoga positions too. They really give it a valiant effort :) I asked them to do the downward dog and this is what I got:

Lucy was doing it...but she had to look up and say "Chee!" when I took the picture.

Wednesday we had a tragedy of epic proportions. I was planning on keeping this tragedy a secret for fear of what Poppy would think of me but I just can't keep it in any longer. Here it goes, on Wednesday I was responsible for the death of a turtle. From afar, it looked like a rock but as my car neared it I realized too late that it was not a rock. That poor turtle didn't stand a chance. 

I'm hoping the fact that I was on my way to do service for a friend will counteract the bad mojo of killing a turtle...one can hope.

Friday we took our weekly trip to Kensington and my goodness is it green! Compare this picture we took there in April:

To these pictures I just took Friday:

2 months later and now we are surrounded by green and the temp's have stayed in the high 60's and 70's this week. I am a happy lady!

Well, I would be even more happy if Benny wasn't so determined to make me stark raving mad. Not only has Benny been extra emotional lately (if that's possible) but he's also been having constipation problems due to a fear of pooping. This has led to tiny accidents and lots of bathroom drama. Right now panty liners are saving the day in the underwear department, I can't wait to use this against when he grows older! And we are giving Miralax a try. I just hope this gets resolved before I have another little one to worry about. Between him and Lucy these days, I feel like my life revolves around other people's poop.

Lucy also continues to have a crazy temper and throw fits when she doesn't get what she wants or when someone has what she wants. But she does some super cute things too, like say "shoes" when she wants to go outside. Or if you say "one" she'll finish off the count with "two, three." And sometimes she wakes up in the morning and serenades us with the "Space Odyssey Theme Song." Yeah, it's pretty cute :)

So yes, motherhood has been challenging as of late but sometimes I just have to try and embrace the rare good moments...

And let's end with my big 29 week belly: