San Diego 2015

We just got back from a wonderful vacation! I felt like our family benefited from a week together with no distractions or commitments. I think it helped us relax, goof off, and not take life so seriously, which was needed. Perhaps having Layla start Kindergarten was a bigger change for our little family than I realized!

We flew into San Diego and stayed at a house we rented in Oceanside, which was about 15 minutes from Legoland.


Every time we got in the car the kids did their own activities:

We spent the first two days at Legoland and it was such a hit! The kids seriously loved it and had smiles on their faces both days we were there. Marcus was just barely tall enough to ride almost all of the rides. We loved the interactive Lego experiences too (Layla has Mitch's nerdy engineering brain and loves to build Legos) and I thought it was genius to have Legos to play with while waiting in line for rides. Of course, we barely waited in line because the park was not crowded in the least. It was so awesome! Mitch and I were amazed by and embarrassed for the "Master Builders" who built all those figures out of Legos. I didn't know whether to be amazed or appalled that someone spent their time doing that. Ha, ha! But I guess if they can get paid for doing it, then more power to them!

The Lego Movie is what started us even thinking about going to Legoland!
The have an ad for it on the movie and that's where the dream all started. ;)

Marcus's favorite ride. Pretty sure they rode it at least 8 times in a row!

No lines = ride all by yourself!

While in San Diego we went to Old Town San Diego and also visited the Mormon Battalion Museum. It had been updated and was so cool! Definitely the most unique LDS museum I've seen. My knowledge of the Mormon Battalion was limited, so I learned a lot. It's crazy to me how things always happen for a reason and have a greater purpose than one might initially realize. The Mormon Battalion seemed to have the purpose of earning money to help the Saints move West, but it was so much more than that. God works in mysterious ways, but His way always works out better than we can imagine! I loved learning the stories of those Saints, and the kids did too, until they dressed Layla up like a Battalion member! Ha, ha! She was fine with it until they handed her the (fake) shotgun, at which point she started crying! She's so sweet and sensitive and I'm glad she knows that guns are dangerous. She got happy again after the sister missionary showed us that the kids could pan for 100% fool's gold. :)


One morning was spent at the Museum of Making Music. Yep, we're total nerds, I know. The museum was pretty awesome though! They focused on music from each decade from 1900 to present time. They had antique instruments, many of which I have never heard of before, and some of which you could actually play yourself. I loved playing and steel guitar and it reminded me of my childhood and my love for Garth Brooks. :) Layla was really into it and got a little piano practice in on their very expensive, top of the line electric keyboard. Marcus did not enjoy the museum because he wanted to touch all the things that were not supposed to be touched, so he spent some time outside with Mitch.

We spent several hours at the beach near the home we rented. To sum it up I would say: Layla wouldn't stop running into the waves and Marcus was scared of the water so he didn't leave the sand. But he did love the sand! I went in the waves and they were huge so I got tossed around and had sand EVERYwhere. Mitch could not be outdone, so he went even farther into the waves. We all loved the beach and I wish we lived closer! We'll just have to go back each year. When it was time to leave the kids were sad, but Marcus helped us carry stuff back to the car and I loved watching him drag a chair that was twice his size across the sand. He's such a good little helper! Layla helped too, but mostly she was sad to be done with the waves. She's my little water girl and I'm pretty sure if we lived near the ocean she would grow up to be a surfer. :)







The last day we went to Sea World. It was fun; Layla enjoyed it more than Marcus, but it still was not as big a hit as Legoland. It was really crowded that day (the weekend of Labor Day) and we were tired from the fun week, so that may have been part of it. I was proud of Layla for overcoming her fear and walking through the shark tank with us. The ocean and the creatures living in it amaze me! I would LOVE to travel to the Arctic someday and see polar bears, walruses, and whales!

Marcus could barely contain his excitement at meeting Elmo and Grover!
He kept giggling and smiling the entire time!

Our last night there was funny. We put the kids to bed at 8 pm and then stayed up watching Big Bang Theory. After two hours we noticed that the Ipad was missing, and then we hear Marcus laughing, and found him playing the Ipad in bed while Layla was sound asleep next to him (they shared a bed)! The little thief had snuck out,  stole the Ipad, and stayed up for two hours playing it. It was SO funny and we had to turn our heads so he didn't see us laugh. But then it got not so funny very fast because of course he refused to go to sleep after that and missed out on sleep on the one night that it mattered since we had to be up early to catch our flight home. Stinker! Thankfully he was good the next day and didn't have an epic meltdown like I thought he would. The flight home was good, except for landing where we had to fly through turbulence and I thought I was going to toss my cookies. We were glad to be home; Layla was a little homesick while we were gone I think. She drew a picture of our house and wrote, "I miss home" while we were in San Diego. It was sad, but at least she had a great time. Now Marcus has asked, "Mom, go Wegowand, peeze, peeze, PEEZE?!?" everyday since we've been home and Layla is already planning to back for her birthday ... her idea, not ours. So I guess we can call the trip a success! I would love to go back, but I feel like there are so many other things to do and see that the idea of doing the same vacation every year just seems wrong. But I'm glad we had a fun, safe, relaxing trip!!!

I had only two regrets on this trip: forgetting to pack my blow dryer and hair straightener, hence the funny hair dos, and not taking a selfie with my hubby!

End of Summer

We took some pics of the kids with their only two cousins, Tennesey and Evelyn. They turned out so cute!





The season is definitely changing here. It's chilly in the morning now and the sun sets much earlier, both changes that I love. Layla is off track for two more weeks and we're trying to fit in some fun. We went to the park with Camille and Brinley today, and we're planning to go the the zoo with them next week.

On Monday, Labor Day, I completed my 20 mile run for my marathon training! I ran 18 miles the week before and recovered well enough to do the 20 mile run. It was easier than I thought it would be for the first 15 miles, and then something changed and I thought I was going to have to crawl home. I didn't hit the wall, but every muscle in my legs were screaming at me and I hurt so bad!!! I pushed through and managed to very slowly jog the last two miles home, but I did it! Now I cut back for three weeks and run the marathon the end of the month. At first I had a tough goal of finishing under a certain time, but now my goal is to just finish. I am not the best runner, and I'm really slow, but I'm okay with that and I'm determined to finish even if I have to army crawl over the finish line! Ha, ha!

Layla is enjoying being off track. She misses her friends, but has managed to see a few of them over the break. She asked us for weeks to cut her hair and we finally, and regretfully, gave in. Her long hair was so naturally beautiful; all I had to do was wet it and comb it out and it looked amazing. But, she begged and we caved and now she has short hair. It's cute, and she's very happy with it. She looks a lot older with short hair and that makes me sad. But I'm glad she's happy.

She and I needed some good bonding time lately. I'm sure it's partly the stress of Chinese Immersion, Suzuki piano, etc., but she has been extremely resilient towards me lately and we've had a couple major blowouts that resulted in me screaming at her (which I've never done before) and her losing all sorts of privileges. I was finally at my wit's end and called her school counselor to ask for some tips and she put Layla in a little group that meets once a week. Layla has only been once, but we've been doing these little "exercises" with her to help her learn to calm herself down and have more positive self talk, etc. It has helped a lot. I can see a big difference and we haven't come to blows for a few weeks now. She listens so much better and has avoided getting mad over things that would normally set her off. I'm hoping when she goes back to school that it stays good and we continue on this path. Layla is so bright and strong-willed, which can be very positive traits if she uses them correctly. She seriously amazes me with how smart she is and other people (her teachers and church, school, her friend's parents) are always telling me how smart she is, but sometimes I feel like her brains get the best of her and she's too smart for her own good! I often have to remind myself that she's only five because she acts so much older most of the time. I love her so much and I am amazed by her and that I get to be her mom. I only hope that I can be the mom that she needs and help her in every way possible.

Marcus is talking now, full-on sentences and he actually manages to talk as much as Layla! As you can imagine, our house is never quiet. Sometimes I say it sounds like we have four kids, not only two, because there is so much chatter constantly going on! Marcus is also getting his two year old molars right now, which is giving him diarrhea, so my plans to potty trained have been postponed. We'll get there.

August 2015

Well I have some extra time to write on my blog since I am not training for my marathon this week. Grrrr! I ran 15 miles two weekends ago and felt awesome. But the next week I still felt tired and sore every time I ran. On Thursday I ran 4 miles and ended up limping home for the last half mile. Boo!!!! I had to finally admit that I was hurt and take a week and a half off from running. I have been using a foam roller and soaking in Epsom salt baths and finally feel better so I'm going to try running at least 5 miles this weekend. If I can't get my mileage back up in the next week or two, then I won't have enough time to finish training before the marathon. I have been so bummed out about being hurt, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can continue!!! My little family has been so cute and every time I come home from a long run they clap and cheer for me and Mitch makes me breakfast and has a big glass of water waiting for me. So sweet!

Layla is still enjoying school and is making new friends every day. She is such a social butterfly. It was Sophie's birthday and she got to pick one person to sit at the birthday table with her ... she picked Layla. Sophie is a new friend from Kindergarten whom I have yet to meet. I am just pleased that Layla is a good friend and I hope she will continue to be and find good friends throughout her life. I am not excited for the girl drama that I'm sure will happen, but I hope I can prepare her and help her through it in the best way.

She is still enjoying piano (most days) and I have seen a lot of improvement. With Suzuki method piano I am her coach, and that is rough a lot of days! Do you think she wants to listen to her mom lecture her about proper hand position? But I must be doing something right (not to toot my own horn or anything) because her teacher tells me each week that I'm a good coach. In reality I think I'm too strict on Layla a lot most of the time. I try not to be, and I am working on it, but that girl has so much potential and I hate to see her waste it! Anyways, I love listening to her play and I love her smart, pretty little face, and her goofiness, and her sweet, kind heart. She's the best. Lately she reminds me more of me when I was young: loves to read, play the piano, did I mention loves to read? In other ways she is still so much like Mitch: very logical, good number sense, things must be a certain way, total perfectionist. And in other ways she is completely her own personality: extremely social (Mitch and I are both very much introverts, especially me), and talks nonstop (again, introverts). And I mean nonstop. She never stops talking! But I love her, even when it's exhausting to keep listening. ;)

I am loving hanging out with Marcus one on one these days. That boy is absolutely hilarious! He genuinely enjoys making people laugh and is getting good at figuring out what things people find funny. He reminds me so much of my brother, Brock, it's crazy! They both get the same goofy grin on their face when they're proud of something they've done, they both like to make people laugh, and they're both so fun to be around. Marcus is still a Mamma's boy, and he has taken to calling me Mommy, always saying things like, "Okay, Mommy" and "Sowwy, Mommy" and "Wuv woo, Mommy!" He pretty much melts my heart. He and Layla are best friends most days and have a grand time playing together. I hope I can encourage them to stay friends throughout their lives.

On the days that Layla is at school and Marcus is napping, I find myself quite bored. At first I thought it was awesome that I actually had two hours to myself to relax, but now I'm over it and I need something to do. I could start taking more pictures and use that time to edit them, but then I have to find time to actually take people's pictures and weekends and weeknights are pretty much shot until Mitch finishes school. So then I thought about doing some more online editing and actually use my degree, but I feel like I need to take a grammar course or something before I can call myself an editor again. Lol. But I really need to figure it out because I'm sick of being bored. Maybe next time I write on here I'll have found a new hobby.

Mitch is just as busy as ever. How does he do it? He might just go crazy when he finishes his Ph.D. and finds he has oodles of extra time. He is about ready to start writing his dissertation proposal so that's exciting! Last week he was invited to tour the Disney Imagineers campus with his focus group at work and he said it was awesome. He is still traveling to California for work frequently, but there are definitely perks that come with that. We have fun on the weekends when there is no school or work! We've been lucky enough to go on several dates just the two of us lately. We've been to the temple, seen a few movies, out to dinner, and found our new favorite cupcake shop. I love spending time with him and he always makes me laugh.

What else? I went to girls camp with our ward last month. We stayed in Bloomington, Idaho, on the north end of Bear Lake. It was gorgeous and we were also able to tour the Minnetonka Caves, which were incredible. We have some amazing young women in our ward. They are by far better girls than I was at that age! I only hope that I can raise my daughter to be as good as they are in every way.

I have loved having a niece close by (who actually lives in our same state) and watching her grow and change. I mostly love seeing how much my kids enjoy holding her and playing with her. I hope they will all be friends as they grow up, and Tennesey too, it's just harder because she doesn't live here. It's fun to be an aunt and for my kids to finally have cousins!

Well, I guess I better go change a poopy bum now. Oh the joy. Marcus keeps asking to go on the potty, but I'm trying to wait until we come back from our vacation. I don't really feel like potty training on the airplane or at the amusement parks. :/ But I'm hoping since he's interested that it will be easy once we do start! I'm a little concerned about potty training a boy, but I guess we'll figure it out. I just remember sharing a bathroom with my brother and being amazed at the amount of pee that ended up around the toilet. Sick! Hoping to curb that at our house.

Kindergarten!!!

I can't believe we have a kindergartner. Cliche, but it went by way too fast! Layla started Kindergarten on July 20th (year round, hopefully just for this year since the new school should be done for next year).

She is in the Chinese Immersion program, which means she is there for five hours a day. The first hour and ten minutes is with her English teacher who teaches English and re-iterates the math instruction that they cover in Chinese. Then recess and lunch. Then the last three hours of the day is spent with her Chinese teacher (literally a teacher from China) learning math, science, social studies, art, etc. Basically everything besides English.

with Amelia

I attended all of the meetings regarding what to expect when you enroll your child in an immersion program. But I am still uneasy with some of it. The idea of her learning things in a different language and bringing home homework that I don't understand kind of worries me. For example, she may learn about the water cycle in Chinese, and only know the word "evaporation" in Chinese. So when she comes home and tells me about it, she can only explain it in Chinese and I have to teach her the English words. They say by third or fourth grade their vocabulary catches back up. I guess as an English major the idea of my kid's vocabulary suffering kind of freaks me out. Ha, ha.

Marcus was grumpy that he couldn't go with her.

That being said, I have also read multiple studies that say how advantageous immersion programs are, so I'm focusing on that and going with it. The immersion program here goes through high school, at which point she should be just a couple credits short of a minor in Chinese. Pretty awesome, huh? I don't know if she'll ever use the language beyond that point, but it is the second world language, and being in Utah there are so many job opportunities for linguists should she decide to go that route. We were told at one of the meetings that the Utah government is trying to make Utah the model immersion education state and the top state for linguistic employers, so I figure our kids might as well take part. And who knows, maybe the Church will be able to have proselyting missionaries in China and she will be called to serve there. That would be awesome.

So, back to the first day. I didn't cry like I thought I would. (I cried for several days before, but not on the actual day.) Letting your oldest child be away from you for five hours a day after being with them every day from the day they were born is tough! But it helped seeing her excitement. Mitch had given her a Father's Blessing the night before and I think she was comforted by it. I was overwhelmed dropping her off; so many kids, so much noise. Layla actually got sad and shy, which is the complete opposite of her normal self. But she was okay and we left. When I picked her up that first day she was SO excited and happy and already knew several Chinese words. And she's been on a roll ever since!

A lot of mornings Marcus insists on wearing his "pack pack" while we drop Layla off at school. Oh, and that hat. It is trashed from falling in the lake, and two sizes too small, but he loves that hat!
 

It's seriously so weird to hear her speak Chinese! We're a few weeks in now and I'm still not used to it. She'll be telling me something and in the middle of the sentence she'll throw in a Chinese word and I think she's just mumbling and tell her to speak up and then realize it was Chinese. HA, ha, ha!!! But in all seriousness, it is amazing to me how much she already knows. It blows my mind. Oh yeah, on the first day of school she came home and said, "Mom, my Chinese teacher had me write some numbers in Chinese and I think she must have been making it up because it was silly!"

On the English side of it I went and talked to her teacher about finding her more difficult books to read. She was so helpful and went to the school library and checked out the first A to Z Myteries book to send home with Layla. She is also sending home the easy peasy books, but including a worksheet with them with questions like, "What was the problem in the story?" etc. for Layla to do in addition to her normal homework. My worry is that Layla will think school is so easy that when it gets hard she will be frustrated. I know it's just kindergarten, but when she already reads that well I want to find other ways to keep her challenged. She's a smart one, my Layla!

After the first full week of school we had to have several talks with Layla about not talking during class. She told me several times she doesn't like her Chinese teacher and I finally got it out of her that it's because she always gets mad at Layla for talking too much. (HA, ha, ha! I've known this was coming since she was three years old.) She is a talker, that's for sure! I think our little chats helped though because she seems to be doing better in this regard.

Marcus and I walk her to school every morning and she rides her scooter home with the neighbor girls. She just seems so grown up to me when I see her riding her scooter down the street with her backpack on. And the eating lunch at school thing is weird for me too. I think I miss her the most at lunch time! Marcus misses her every day and always asks me where she went, but I think he missed her less once he realized he has free reign to the toys in her room. Lol.

They told me at the immersion meetings that most of the kids would rebel, act out, throw tantrums, etc. for the first month or two until they adjust to everything. That is most definitely true at our house! She is acting like she's back to the terrible twos again and it's no fun, but it's getting better and I still think the benefits of immersion outweigh a few tantrums. We go off track in a few weeks and I'm hoping once we go back after the break she will be over that part of it.

When we moved one of our main criteria was a good school, and once I found not only an amazing school but the immersion program, I was sold. And I can see now that we made an excellent choice. I am so grateful to be here, surrounded by inspiring, kind neighbors, with access to excellent schools, and wonderful friends for my kids to grow up with. We are so blessed!