Ellie's Birthday

I can't believe my little girl is five! FIVE! It has been a few months now, but I still can't get over it. However, in some ways it doesn't surprise me at all. She seems so grown up sometimes. The girls pretend a lot that Eliza is the mommy and Miriam is the baby. And it carries through to other parts of our lives. I have to remind Ellie pretty regularly that she is not the mommy and can't give Miriam permission to do things. 

She really tries to take care of us though. She is constantly going to John or I with an idea of how to do a nice surprise for the other parent. "Mommy, after Daddy goes to sleep tonight come and wake me up so we can clean the whole house, and he'll be so surprised to wake up to a clean, clean house. He'd just love that."

She is really such a little angel. It is so rare for Eliza to really lose it and throw a temper tantrum. She constantly tries to serve and show love to those around her. She often reads books to Miriam, cleans her room to surprise me, and makes innumerable cards and pictures for me and John with a note of how much she loves us. 

I really do live and breathe for my children and husband. Sometimes it kind shocks me how attached I am to these people. My sweet Ellie is really set apart by her kind and loving nature. But is is more than that too. I am so proud of her for the choices she makes. I love it when I see her choose to calm down rather than get upset by something. I love it when I see her encourage her sister and others around her to make good choices. I love how cuddly she is. I love to see her reason out things for herself. I love to see her courage in a new or challenging situations. I love to see her friendliness and openness with others. 

One thing she has recently chosen to do was to start reading the scriptures by herself. She decided she was too old for the scripture stories so she got a Book of Mormon off the shelf and wanted me to help her read it. I really expected her to be more intimidated by the difficulty of the words, but she has kept it up. Not every day, but regularly she wants to read the scriptures. Ellie really is a blessing to us. 

For her birthday we hung balloons from the ceiling in the hall. She called it a "balloon car wash." Reminiscent of an exhibit at the children's museum.

She knew exactly what she wanted for her cake this year before I even asked her. Two layers of white cake, the top one smaller than the bottom one. White chocolate frosting topped with strawberries. I hope this fit the bill. She was pretty happy with it.

The loot. We are so cheap and didn't get her much at least compared to some birthday parties we have been to. Main present was the movie Tangled. We were desperately trying to get her to stop singing the Frozen songs as often. She also got some books, coloring supplies, and a necklace from her Grandpa.

Another recent story about Eliza. One day when I wasn't feeling well Eliza told me to go take a nap, and she would be okay while Miriam was napping. While I was sleeping (about an hour) she picked up the entire front room (kitchen, dining, and living)!!! She cleared the table and counters of dishes. She picked up all of the toys. She put things in front of the doors to the rooms where they go. (She didn't want to go in and wake up me or Miriam.) She even got out the broom and tried to sweep because, "It looked like it really needed to be swept." What a little sweetheart!!!

One thing that she said that was funny recently was, "I wonder how they made this watermelon." Me: "It just grew on the plant that way." Ellie: "Mom, fruit doesn't grow on plants." Me: "Yes it does. It grows on trees and plants." Ellie: "Really?!" I love being a mom.

Just today she told me about a book that she read at the gym about aliens. (I am really curious to read this book.) Apparently it looked quite a bit like the non-fiction books she checks out from the library and so it was quite confusing to her when I told her I didn't think it was a real story. I wish I could remember more of this conversation! 

Eliza: "It was about New Mexico and the aliens that went there." "There were two kinds of aliens and when the doctors tried to cut one open to look inside it, the doctor died." "The aliens poked needles in people and wanted to learn more about us." "This happened in New Mexico, so we can't ever go there. If we want to go to Mexico we need to go to old Mexico because that is where it is safe." 

Me: "Ellie I don't think this is a real story so I think it is safe to go to New Mexico." 

Eliza: "Just in case it is a real story, we shouldn't go there, just in case. Maybe we should warn other people New Mexico isn't safe." 

Me: "Honey, I think it is safe. New Mexico is a state just like Arizona. Lots and lots of people live in New Mexico." 

Eliza: "Still let's go to old Mexico, just in case." "Mommy, it has to be a real non-fiction book because there were real names in it of real people. You just can't make up names of people of that aren't real!"

She was so earnest about this. It was adorable. I think I have her convinced that everything is okay in New Mexico now. What a funny girl! I love being her mom!

We loved having an outside birthday party for her this year. The perks of living in AZ in February! We were happy to invite kids her age who we have met in our ward, and one good friend who we met at the gym that happens to be in a neighboring ward. Actually, we just found out this friend is moving to Illinois in a couple weeks, and we are really sad about it. :( It is just so rare to find a family where you can be really good friends with the parents, the kids get along extraordinarily well, your schedules match up, you have similar interests and values, AND their kids are exactly the kind of friends you want your children to have. :( :( Sorry about the self-pity party. We are just really sad that these friends are moving. 

Ellie's special '5' balloon didn't last very well so we took it back, and they were out of pink '5' ones. So instead of getting one in a different color, she choose a pink '6' balloon. What a funny girl!

Words really can't express how much we love this girl. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

From my journal:

Our little Ellie turned 5 on February 17th. I can't believe it! Actually I can. It seems like the minute she turned five she has seemed so much older to me. She is not a small child any more. She is more of a kid. She argues and reasons more. She is less hesitant about going into new situations and seems more confident around other kids. She is still my little sweetheart, but she has definitely has been pushing her boundaries during the last few weeks.

She has said a few funny things recently, "Mom, I am surprised at how many things I can remember from so long ago." Me: "What kinds of things do you remember?" Eliza: "Things from when I was a baby." Me: "Can you tell me something specific that you remember." Eliza: "Like when I was three and Grandma asked me if I wanted a spoon with my peas."

Also, yesterday Eliza had her first ballet lesson. As we were leaving the gym first thing in the morning she kind of sighed regretfully (dramatically) "I am sad that I am not going to see Miriam as much as I used to." Me: "What are you talking about, Ellie? Of course you are still going to see Miriam a lot." Ellie: "Well, I am starting my dance class today and so I won't see her while I am there."

On her birthday we surprised her with dangling balloons from the entrance to the hallway and a banner. She loved it and called it her "balloon car wash." That night we had a special dinner with my dad (who is down in Scottsdale for his art show). She requested two pizzas: one with pepperoni; one with ham and pineapple. And for dessert she want a two tiered cake with white chocolate frosting with strawberries. I didn't even give her options, She just knew what she wanted. It was pretty funny. My dad gave her a big girl necklace. We gave her a couple of books, coloring supplies, and the movie, "Tangled."

The next Saturday we had a party at the park next door to our apartment. We had her little friends come and I think everyone had a good time. We played a few games and had root beer floats. We had a couple of bigger kids who were at the park come over and join the fun, which was fine until we were giving out party favors. Nevertheless, I am so glad that she has friends here.

Eliza is such a sweetheart. She loves to help and serve people, especially our little family. She always wants to make good choices and do the right thing. We are lucky to have her in our lives.

She also amazes me at how fast she is picking up on things these days. Just tonight she said, "It doesn't snow in Arizona. Wait, it snows in Flagstaff." Neither John or I immediately remembered ever mentioning snow in Flagstaff to her before. But she remembered John telling her that once almost a month ago. 

Ellie is also such a girly girl. She loves all things pink and princessy. She recently saw the movies, "Frozen," and "Tangled" for the first time and fell in love with the music from them. Particularly we went a few weeks hearing "For the FIRST time in FOREVER!!!" sung at the tops of her lungs. Followed immediately with "Let it go, let it go." She only knew those couple of lines for a while, and believe me, it was too long. :) However, since then she has learned an impressive amount of the songs from those movies. It has also spurred onto other Disney songs. So instead of sticking to just one or two songs now, thankfully she branches out. Actually, it is pretty funny to hear her medley. A couple of Disney songs will turn into church songs, which turns back to Disney songs, interspersed with a line or two of a country song that I like. This girl is constantly singing! There are still a few mix-ups with lyrics though. One church song has the line, "I know when I am baptized, my sins are washed away." But Ellie has recently sung it, "I know when I am baptized, my souls are washed away." Love it. :) 

She still loves being read to, and she is getting pretty good at reading herself. I am still stressing about putting her in Kindergarten. I can't believe she is getting so big!

Oh, I love my little Miriam too. She is so funny these days. Just today she told me that I needed to sit in my chair and finish my smoothie. :) She definitely likes to boss people around, but she is such a sweetheart too. If one of us is sad she will go get her blanket and baby doll to give to us to make us feel better. She tells me pretty regularly, "I am potty trained, Mommy." She is still really proud of that even though this has been the case for a couple months now.

She also takes after her sister in the singing department. She is constantly singing in her toddler voice and commanding Eliza what songs to sing. What we learned from Miriam is that it is funnest to sing at the top of your lungs if you are also running around our apartment as fast as you can. Sorry downstairs neighbors! :) 

She really loves to be read to as well. She gets stuck on books and wants to read them again and again. She also really loves to be Mommy's helper. We watched a baby at our apartment today, and Miriam just loved on him the whole time. She is definitely in a baby phase. It was interesting/sad to me to notice that Eliza doesn't do that anymore.

Gilbert Temple Open House

In February we had the exciting privilege to be a part of the Gilbert Temple open house. This is the first time that John or I have been in an area where a new temple is being built that will be our temple. It is so exciting. To get ready for this opportunity with the kids we did a few activities, including a dot-to-dot with the kids, temple cookies, and a special FHE.

At the bottom of the page Eliza decided she wanted to write something about the temple. She copied the phrase from a primary craft, "One of the blessings of the temple is that my family is sealed together." Love her.

Outside with our family

There was a long line, but it was well worth it. My parents came with us, and it was a wonderful experience.

John also got to be a part of the cultural celebration because of his calling with the Young Men. He attended the performance which was held during a downpour of rain. It was a miracle though because despite it raining really hard for a long time, the performance area (which was a drainage field) that should have been under a couple of feet of water only became muddy, and they could still go through with the performance. President Monson even mentioned it in this most recent conference. We are so blessed!

From my journal:

We were invited over by Anona Davis and her family to dinner on Friday night. It was so nice to actually be invited to dinner by someone, instead of always being the one to do the inviting. We had a fun time visiting and getting to know them better. I  love how well Ellie and their daughter, Lillian, get along. She and Ellie are seriously perfect for each other. It is super cute to watch them together.

Today was the dedication of the Gilbert AZ temple. What an amazing experience! I was touched and humbled of the accounts shared in the talks of the sacrifices and hardships the pioneers went through in order to build and attend the temples. One talk particularly by Elder Tad Callister (of the Presidency of the Seventy) was about covenants and ordinances. It was remarkable to me how much the Spirit testified to me of the truthfulness of what he was saying, particularly in regards to the role of the atonement in those things. Without the atonement all of the ordinances and covenants would be worthless because we couldn't possibly hold up our end of the deal. I was also touched to hear an account of a group of Guatamalan saints that took a bus up to the Mesa temple (since it was the nearest one) and didn't eat for three days because they spent their money on repairs for  the bus when it broke down. I really feel the stark contrast to my life, when the main obstacle to going to the temple is who will watch my kids while we go. I really loved the dedicatory prayer, which included (and President Monson talked about his talk too) a part about each of us rededicating our lives to obedience to the commandments and service to others. It was a beautiful experience. We are so blessed that the Lord trusts us with this amazing gospel!

It was particularly touching to come home afterwards and read in the history my Grandma Lucas put together of her family. I really feel my 'heart turning to [my] fathers.' They worked and struggled so much so that we could live in an area free from persecution. I pray that I can raise my family in righteousness as well. I love the quote, "The most important work that you or I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes." I love my family!

Phoenix Zoo February 2014

The Phoenix Library system has this really great program called culture passes. It allows members once a month to check out a pass worth two admissions to a bunch of museums and the zoo. They are in high demand so it is tricky to get it first, but it is great because everything is so expensive! It has really enabled us to visit places that we never would have visited any other way because of the cost.

When we first got to the zoo, we tried to double up in the stroller. Turns out my kids are bigger than they used to be. It wasn't going to work. Fortunately we had an umbrella stroller in the car. All was well again.

How fun is this baboon that was sitting so close to the glass!

The Rhino had dug a hole into the ground that he could stand in so it could rest its head on the ground.

 We liked the hairy Asian elephant. It was a smaller elephant and the hair practically glowed.

 We liked the slide that looked like a saguaro cactus. 

I liked the giant turtles.

The flamingos were awesome. We watched them for quite a while. I didn't realize that they have black feathers underneath their wings. Super cool!

The last thing that we visited was the monkey enclosure. Monkeys were everywhere crawling over our heads. It made the kids a little nervous, but was fun!

I love my little princess. She is constantly pulling poses and asking me to take her picture.

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

So while my mom was here for an extended visit in February we went on a few excursions. One excursion was to a random railroad park in Scottsdale. It was so fun. We went on a little train ride.The kids loved it. Eliza wanted to be in the enclosed car. We also rode on a carousel.

I love my kids' twin nervous expressions.

They had a fun play area, with a play town and stagecoach. We had a fun picnic here too!

There was a building with a massive model train exhibit. Unfortunately we couldn't make a lot of the trains run. (They were supposed to turn on when we pushed certain buttons.) However, the Lego train didn't disappoint!

There was a real train car and engine that was the historical mode of transportation for the Presidents of the USA. Essentially this car was the railroad version of Air Force One. How cool! I went inside and saw all of the fancy train car amenities. Apparently FDR used this train car a lot.

We love it when Grandma is here!

It's the little things

I have been thinking a lot recently about how quickly my kids change. They are growing up so fast. Often in this blog I record the big, unusual things that we do and the places that we go, but really, the real treasures of life come in the day-to-day. Don't get me wrong, I have bad days where I just want to throw in the towel at the whole idea. But the best part of my life is in the day-to-day as well. I feel extraordinarily blessed because of this.

I love seeing the delight of my girls in everything. This was John's present to the girls for Valentine's Day this year. Their very own flowers. They couldn't have been happier.

Grandma gave them a present of Valentine's pencils and white chocolate chips. Perfect in every way. Except that the very next day, Miriam bit all of the erasers off every pencil except one. Stinker!

They were so thrilled at the simple joy of climbing up on some rails in a dressing room. 

Of course the best is swimming! This shows the perks of living in AZ in February. Love it!  

Going for a 'hike' up the hill behind our apartment.

Casa Grande

Since my mom drove back from the funeral in Utah with us, we spent the next week or so hanging out with her. We really enjoyed staying up late watching the Olympics while she was here. Of course since my mom is the traveler that she is, we also had a lot of activities and excursions while she was here. The first on the list was Casa Grande. A national monument situated between Phoenix and Tucson. 

We went because we wanted to see the ruins, but lets be honest, the kids mainly wanted to play in the sand. :) 

These Native American ruins are notable for the size. Four stories tall originally. Also, they were mysteriously abandoned not long after construction. Mainly, I just can't believe anyone lived here with no air conditioning.

It was a fun excursion. I like it that when my mom is here we break out of our routine and go explore this new area that we live in.

From my journal: 

After my mom got here we had a pretty intense week of shopping, playing, and site seeing. We went on a walk and a hike. We went shopping a bunch of times. We saw the ruins at Casa Grande National Monument. We went swimming and went to a train museum. We went to the zoo and saw Dad's show. Our favorite activity was going to the Gilbert temple open house. We even made temple cookies and did a dot-to-dot to help celebrate. We watched a lot of Olympics and were able to the go to the Mesa temple too. Anyway, it was pretty crazy, but fun. Needless to say it is sad to be done, but a little bit of a relief to get back to our normal routine.