Bear Lake

Inspired by my friend Stephanie and her blog, I am going to post more often because I want to remember all the little things in our journey as a family.

I have a little recipe box full of 3x5 cards that I have recorded milestones, funny sayings and sweet moments we've had since having children. I read some with Caleb tonight, and we laughed and laughed at the hilarious things he said and did as a little child. I'm so thankful for the idea from a friend in Sandy to keep memories in a recipe box in my kitchen....because that is where I live my life...in the kitchen!

Yesterday, we took off in to Bear Lake (45 minutes away). We roamed the beach, skipped rocks, built a ramp for Caleb's remote control car and watched Caleb and Ivie jump off a rickety old pier. It was a beautiful early fall evening, the water was so calm, the beach deserted. Jane, at 19 months, is still summoning the courage to walk but she charged into the water on all fours, fully clothed. Norah and Ivie gathered tiny shells. My nephew Brigham, who has become Caleb's surrogate brother was with us. He always brings a sweetness and contentment to our outings, and is a super companion for Caleb on our many adventures.

All the children were soaked at the end of our time on the beach. I've been a mother long enough to know that would happen so I brought a change of clothes for each child. Then we went to a little pizza place for some mediocre pizza. While we waited for dinner, we each took turns acting out a movie or book, without using words. Hilarious, especially with 3 year old Norah doing the acting. All her movies were princess movies, of course! On the drive home, we introduced the children to "Lunchlady Land" by Adam Sandler....navy beans, navy beans...sloppy joe, sloppy, sloppy joe." What a classic tune. OK, maybe not classic or classy but hilarious.

It was a fun evening. One of those times that I was happy we didn't do the practical thing, but went out and created a memory!

Friend

I have a fabulous friend named Stephanie. We became reacquainted in Minnesota (after having known one another in college, but lost touch for 5 years). I loved being with Stephanie because she adores her children and savors time with them. Most of us adore our children, but Stephanie really, really enjoys being with them. I remember talking to her one day and she mentioned that her husband had been working the previous night and she wanted to watch a movie, but didn't want to watch alone. So she let her two little ones stay up and they watched Mary Poppins. It had never occured to me to 'hang out' with my children like that. But it occurs to me now, thanks to Steph! We went on many, many adventures together with our children in tow. Oxbow zoo, the nature center, apple orchards in autumn, children's museum in Minneapolis, lots of picnics at the park and slip 'n' slides in our backyards. We were never in a hurry...we just noticed the roses and watched the clouds roll by. We did a co-op preschool two or three different times and I was always so happy my children were able to be around her loving influence. Steph always made me feel like a better person and a better mother. We had so much fun together creating memories with our children. We were REALLY WITH our children, listening to them, dreaming with them and laughing with them. I'm so thankful for Stephanie's friendship and her lasting influence on my mothering. I will always long for carefree days (before our children started school) full of exciting adventures, but I'm so grateful for the memories we made together.