Wilson = old man

So Wilson had a birthday yesterday - 10 years old.  And, yes, he most definitely acts like he's 70.  He's a great dog really and has always been so good (i.e., tolerant) with our kids.  The kids, Miles especially, was quite adamant that we celebrate with cake.  Of course.  So I made a cake - and we even let Wilson eat a slice.  Ha. Miles also really, really wanted to buy him some goodies at the pet-store.  So we went on Tuesday and Miles bought a big baggie of dog treats - that look so good that all my kids were mad they couldn't eat any of them (not that they haven't ever tried some. . .).

Yesterday was also Jonas' last soccer games.  He had a double-header due to a game that was rained-out (it probably rained for 5 minutes) a while ago.  While Jonas did have some improvement over the season, I'll just say that I don't see soccer in his future.  Or anything else that involves running.  My children lack the hussle-gene.  Well, Emmy might have some. . . we'll have to see.  Anyways, the first game Jonas did really well in defense during the first half.  Second half, I can't remember.  Last game?  He was pretty pathetic.  He let 2 goals in - which, really, I wouldn't care if he was trying.  But he wasn't watching the ball at all and that was the problem.  Then he complained to me that he just doesn't like running, which I reminded him that he was goalie and so he hardly had to run!  Geez.

Anyways, some pictures from yesterday:

 The cake.  I've made something similar to this a few years ago.  It did look better, but when I was doing some piping a big blob of frosting bursted out all over the front.  Oh well.  It was definitely edible.

 Wilson begging for his slice.  :)

 Awwww, we do love him.

 Lucy enjoyed the cake.  With her hands.  I don't know why she's holding the fork.

Enjoying a snow-cone after Jonas' final soccer game.  Perhaps the best part of his soccer season?  :)

Oh, and a video:

Our Book List

Just in case you're curious (which probably nobody is. . .) about the books we are reading:

Ben - reading Anne of Green Gables.  No I did not make him read it (the book I want him to read is The Count of Monte Cristo. . . ).  Of course I support his choice and he is enjoying it.

Me - I am reading our book club book, The Book Thief.  I am not super far in to it, but am liking it so far.  I am also reading the boys "Owls in the Family."  It looks like an old book?  The boys picked it up on the free table at school one day.  I totally love reading it to my boys.  It's a fun book - full of good boy adventures.  The boys are loving it just as much - "Please, mom, please read one more chapter.  Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

Miles - He just finished Little House on the Prairie last week.  Then he just, just finished (as in last night) The Castle in  the Attic.  He really loved this book (I don't think the kid has read a book he doesn't like. . .) and would have to come down and tell us all about it.  I found out about this book via the new section in The Friend, Book Reviews.  Awesome.  It was a winner.  He's reading lots of other non-fiction books about space, Mars, Antarctica, and so on.

Jonas - While he is a good little reader, he goes through phases of not wanting to read to himself - though he always loves being read to.  He loves me reading to him Cowardly Clyde.  A Peet (I don't know his first name) book.  We like him.  He did read Scooby Doo's Carnival Creep.  He likes it.

Emmy - she reads (looks at) whatever "girl books" we picked from the library.  She's always adamant that we get "girl books."  Love it.

Lucy - she loves carrying around books and looking at them throughout the day.  She likes "My First Book of Sounds."  She likes some of the Arthur books.  She likes "Can You Tell Elmo How to Get to Sesame Street?"  And any book that has babies in it.

The end.

My Mother's Day Weekend

(my sweet spoils. . . )

(I'm so long-winded!)

Well I had a really good weekend.  It started with a 6-mile uphill race - The Black Canyon Ascent - on Saturday morning.  I loved the race for lots of reasons.  It was in my town (my first in town race?).  Since it started at the bottom there were no shuttle-rides to the start of the race - thus meaning I didn't have to be there an hour or 2 before the race started.  I think I got there about 15 minutes before - perfect!  I was slow, yet steady.  It was cool, except when it wasn't - but then we'd usually get a good breeze that would help (not with speed, but I'd rather be cool and slow than hot. . and slow).  It was a 2,000 feet climb.  The last 0.5 mile was downhill - sweet peaches!  I was so happy about that.  I could have/would have pushed myself a little more at the very end, but I kept checking to see if Ben and carload were coming yet - then I would have let them see me finish.  But they came about 5 minutes too late.  Oh well.

The after-race was fun:  lots of food (I think Great Harvest provided my boys with at least 1/2 of their food for the day. . . And why were the kids so hungry; they hadn't just run???), live music, and awards.  No award for me, of course, but still fun to just be there.  I finished at 71:20 - 48th overall (160 - but that includes the walkers, too) and 10th (out of 38) for my age-group.  I was actually pleased with that.

On the way back from the race we stopped off at the local "petting-zoo" that was there for the morning.  We saw pigs (including brown ones - soooo cute!), chicken, horses, sheeps, and goats (including a teeny-tiny baby one).  Miles and Lucy loved petting the sheep - especially Miles.  It was very sweet.

Then was lunch-time:  I was amazed my kids still ate lunch even though they had eaten up most of my race-food stuff I had grabbed (I grabbed them mainly for them anyways. . .).  You would think they are growing kids or something.

Lucy napped; Ben and Emmy went grocery shopping (part of my mother's day treat:  not having to come up with the food menu, nor shopping!); and the boys and I played some pirate board games.  When Ben and Emmy came home, the 2 boys and myself rode our bikes to Main Street.  It was having some "vintage mother's day" something or other.  We saw some neat early 1900s Model-Ts and such.  The boys made some neat mother's day cards.  Oh, and the boys got yet another slice of bread (free, of course) from Great Harvest.

After that Ben took all the kids (carwash, quick library trip, park) so I could have some quiet-time for napping, etc.  I did a post, read for a while, then took a nap.  It was lovely.  It's probably been a year since I've had a nap.  Loved it.  That evening I did get to skype with my parents and wish my lovely mother a happy day - since it was already Mother's Day in Japan.  I got to see some cute Elders that had brought over a homemade, in their rice-cooker, cake for mother's day.  How thoughtful were they!?

So that was pretty much Saturday.

Sunday we all enjoyed a hot-cereal breakfast - which I love.  No, not in bed.  I think I prefer to eat my breakfast at a table. . . I got showered with all sorts of paintings, drawings, letters, and cards.  It was fun and sweet and cute and everything good.  Ben didn't have any meetings that morning and so that was a nice gift, too.  After church we had my requested dinner:  paninis, corn on the cob, salad, and key lime pie.  All was yum.

And that was that.

I'm lucky to be a mother to 4 wonderful and sometimes-not children.  And I'm lucky to have a wonderful mother and mother-in-law.  I've got it good indeed.

Bear Coming!

Lucy likes to say, "bear coming!" a lot.  I think her siblings started this "game" with her.  She says it, acts scared, and makes the most darling of faces.  If I really get in to it and scream, then she gets scared for real.  It's all too cute.

Here are the many of faces expressed during the "bear coming!" game:

(of course she has a dirty face. . .)

And a video, too.  Why not?

A Pain in My Neck

Who or what is a pain in my neck?  Miles?  Jonas?  Emmy?  Lucy?  Ben?  Laundry?  Dishes?  Cooking?  Nope, none of those.  The pain in my neck is just that - a literal pain in my neck.  That has been going on for a couple of months.  After a few weeks when it first occured  I went to a chiropractor, and I've been going ever since.  And things had gotten significantly better.  The kink was still there, but not as noticeable.  Until yesterday.  A new kink arrived. Worse than before.  I'm so mad.  I've got limited range of motion side-to-side (like before) and now front-to-back as well.  Ugh.  I think something is wrong, eh?  I'll see the chiropractor again today and see if he has any ideas, suggestions, or what.  I just want to feel all well.  And get rid of this pain in my neck.

(The pictures is there for really no reason.  This is a Wednesday afternoon - TV day.  Each kid gets to pick a show and one episode - we use hulu or netflix.  Lucy lasts for about a minute.  And I think that's a good thing!  :)

An Apple a Day. . .

helps teeth to fall out.  Or at least that is what Jonas is hoping for.

Me:  "Jonas, why are you eating so many apples lately?"

Jonas:  "I want my teeth to fall out."

Poor kid has had to suffer through an entire year of kindergarten (9 days left. . . ) without losing a single tooth.  I think Miles lost 3-4 teeth his K-year.  So Jonas is trying to do whatever he can to help speed along the process of losing his teeth.  Wish him luck!

6th Fishing Derby (plus more) - minus the girls

Last Saturday Team Maxwell split-up - girls and boys.  The girls all went to Grand Junction for the Girls on the Run (GOTR) 5K Race.  Someday I'll write more about me doing the GOTR this past season.  So I took the girls up with me bright and early and we enjoyed the hot race - the little girls were lucky in their amazing stroller with shade, a box of raisins, and rice-cakes.  Luckies.  After the race we went and got frozen yogurt and then headed over to Old Navy - where I was successful - yay!  A fun day for us girls.

The boys stayed back at home as there were activities going on here for them.  Jonas had a soccer game at 10:30:

 I just like this picture.

 Jonas got to do a goal-kick.  Yay.

Team Zebras.

After the game the boys went to the Fishing Derby.  We've gone just about every year (I think we missed one year.).  There they enjoyed a sack-lunch prepared by Miles and then they started the fishin'.

 Sweet boy.

 Why, yes, yes indeed, Miles did catch a fish on his first cast in the first 10 seconds.  Remember, that kid has The Miles Luck.  I know the lake is crazy stocked for this event, but still we have been plenty of times without catching a thing.

 Our fish-kissing boy.  He loves creatures, especially water ones.  He was so torn between throwing the fish back in versus keeping it to make his beloved fish-pie.  The fish got thrown back in.

 Jonas caught at fish towards the end.  Thank goodness.  :)

Cute little fisherboys.  (Miles did end up catching, and keeping, a second fish.  All were made in to fish pie on Monday.  Miles, Jonas, and surprisingly Emmy, were the only ones that actually ate it.  It wasn't bad, but there was an ENOURMOUS amount of butter in the whole thing and so I just couldn't do it!)

The rest of the day Ben and I were pretty tired!  But there were bathrooms to be cleaned (by me - blech), dinner to be made (by Ben, some french vegetable soup - yum), home-improvement projects to work on and more.

It was a good and productive day!

Cute stuff

cute quote:
"Ohhh, I have a beauty freckle!"
~ emmy

And, of course, some cute pictures:

 Jonas spear-headed this one afternoon.  He "cleaned" the cement patio - with water (so fun I'm sure!) and towels and brooms.  Awesome.  Then he and Emmy set-up this little outdoor snack-area for me and Ben.  Unfortunately Ben and I couldn't eat together (he was at work of course and the kids wanted me to eat then), but it was still sweet and fun - for them and us.  :)

 Some cute fun with bubbles (from Grandma Diana - thanks again!).

And a cute after-snack (and a lucky snack, too - chocolate pudding!) picture of The Goose.  (Yes, sometimes we call her The Goose.  Or even Lucy [loosey] Goosey).

Yay for cuteness.

Why Are We Still Living in Montrose. . . ?

That was the great question posed by moi as Ben and I were enjoying our 22-mile bike ride in Littleton this past weekend.  :)  It was such a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ride and I loved every minute of it.  Ben and I even stopped at downtown Littleton and went in a couple antique shops and then ate lunch (we went "all out" and even ordered an appetizer - fried pickle chips.  Loved.).

We decided to go to Littleton for several reasons:  go to the temple (check!), go out on an awesome 10th anniversary celebratory date (check!  check!), and, of course, visit Jim and Diana (check!  check!  check!).  We were a tiny bit nervous going out as 1.  Lucy had never been put to nap/bed by anyone other than myself or Ben and 2.  Lucy had never been away from both Ben and me for more than an hour or two, while awake.  But she did super fantastic because she has super fantastic grandparents.  Seriously.  

After Ben and I got back from our ride and lunch we hung out for about an hour and then headed out to the Butterfly Pavilion with our kiddos.  It was a really cool place - except for the actual butterfly place, aiyiyi it was soooo hot and humid in there!  :)

We had to head back today as Ben has work tomorrow (He does have every other Monday off - usually - and so we usually try and do our trips on a long 3-day weekend.  But it just didn't work out for any other weekend and so we just had a quick trip.).  It was short, but a really great and practically perfect weekend in Littleton.  If poor Emmy wasn't sick with fevers and such, perhaps it would have been perfect. . .

Ironically, I have tons of pictures but not-a-one of our date.  Bummer, but oh well. . .

 First things first with Lucy.  As soon as we got there she was already busy with drawing and writing.  She likes to say, "E, I, O."  It's awesome.

 At the Butterfly place.  This section was the "Creepy (Creeping?) Crawling things," or something like that.  Here is Miles holding "Rosie, the nice tarantula."  So gross.

 Cute, yet pig-nosed, Emmy looking at gross things.

 Miles' luck.  As soon as we enter the actual butterfly exhibit, one lands on him.  (Though a worker came by and asked him to gently nudge the butterfly off.  I guess they taste with their feet and our oils on our skin can clog up their tasters.)  Notice Emmy's frustrated face at not having any land on her.

 Lucy had to sit upon every bench we walked past. . .

 Here is Miles, the "brave boy," being the only volunteer to answer the question of "What does endangered mean?"

 Three cuties.  I love each of their expressions!

 Some cool black-and-white butterflies.  There are anywhere between 1,200-1,500 butterflies in there.  They were so pretty!

 This was the "marine life" exhibit.  Ocean life?  Sea life?  Jonas was touching . . . something.

 Miles looking up at the gigantic starfish.

 We took a walk around the nature trails.  What a cute dad with his adorable girls.  (P.S.  Jonas was totally scared of the prairie dogs we saw there!  He would literally run to me - help!  I had to remind him of his talk with Miles on the car-ride up - of him shooting a bear someday.  Hmmmm. . . might need to get a little braver Jonas. . . :)

 Jonas did braven up (really?  braven is not a word??) and held Rosie as well - with 10 minutes left until closing.  Awesome.

One of the highlights for the boys was catching squirrels in the backyard.  Miles had caught one earlier in the day (it was a catch'n release thing) and Jonas was soooo hoping to have caught one while we were away at the butterfly pavilion.  And so luckily he did!  He was ecstatic!

 Look at that excited boy!  It was so cute and fun to see them have that experience.

 Releasing the squirrel. . .

 The car ride home.  We had picked up some fun candy for the kids on our date - there is this really adorable little candy shop on Main St. in Littleton.  We decided on these gummy snakes.  So cute.  Sick Emmy, who really didn't eat much this whole trip, gobbled it all up - of course - in record time, too.

The boys decided to play with theirs for a little bit before devouring theirs up.

Our ride home was fun because we listened to The Tale of Despereaux.  Such a wonderful and delightful book!

I've already talked to Ben about going back to Littleton in a month or so. . . and we just might not return to Montrose. . . :)

Happy 10th to Us

So this post is going to be pathetic.  But that's just how life is these days - well, not quite pathetic, but busy.  There is never enough time to get it all done.  So I don't have time for any lovely "10 reasons why it's great to be married to Ben."  But, believe me, they exist - and many more.  So I will let my lovely rhubarb pie (first of the season!) tell Ben what I think.

10 years, 4 cuties, pretty great.