She's 30!

Yesterday I celebrated my 30th birthday. And even though the love of my life couldn't celebrate with me, as Adam is STILL in Colorado (but will be home tomorrow!), it was a good day, made extra special by my friend Jen, my mom and dad, and the many family and friends who called or emailed. It isn't that I feel so old and wise all of a sudden, if anything I have been realizing over the last couple of years how much I still have to learn; it is just strange that the 20's are over and won't be comin' 'round again. But man have they been great!

I got married (I was 20, TWENTY for goodness sake, when we got married!) to an incredible man who keeps me laughing, gives me comfort, loves me unconditionally-and that's saying a lot-and is my truest friend. That was the best decision I have ever made. I had 4 beautiful, amazing boys in my 20's, who inspire me to be a better person every day, who keep me feeling like a kid, and who have taught me patience, patience, patience. I worked hard and studied harder and graduated with a BA in History with Honors. I ran a half-marathon and delivered my last baby, by choice (not because I ran out of time to get it), without any pain maintenance (I know women do it all the time, and I applaud them whole-heartedly, but I really didn't think I could), proving to myself that I am stronger than I think. And those are just the really big things! That's a lot of living!! I am excited to see what is to come in the next decade!

In my 30 years I have been so blessed to have had many incredible friendships and a very strong bond to my family (and my in-law family, too!). Friendship: I think that has been one of the major themes of my life thus far, because it has helped to mold me into the person I am. I hope this theme continues for the next 30. I have learned so much from my dear friends and treasured family over the years. Here are some of my favorite lessons:

1. The world is an amazing place that needs to be explored and treasured. We need to treat it as the precious jewel it is.
2. Miles don't matter, love travels over long distances, and good friends can pick up where they left off even after a long time.
3. We are loved more deeply than we can ever know by our Father in Heaven and His plans for us are so often completely different from our plans for ourselves. Case in point: Colorado?!
4. Sadness heals and we can be strong in the face of challenges, even when we don't realize how strong we are until it is over. Love you S!
5. Patience and a lot of love are the keys to parenting four boys. And a sense of humor and a very deep breath before speaking can help too. As I type Josh brought me Pooh Bear ears to wear, sorry, gotta go play Hundred Acre Wood.
6. Sometimes it is best to offer a specific service rather than just say, "Let me know how I can help," because no one ever lets you know until the situation is desperate.
7. A good laugh is incredibly healing to the soul; acting crazy and carefree is definitely necessary from time to time, and S'mores or fudge or Adam's dry sense of humor will always get me there.
8. We are not perfect, nobody is, we need to love others as we would like to be loved, in spite, and even because of our imperfections.
9. There are few "things" that are necessary, most of the stuff we acquire is much less important than time spent together, even if you still have the $400 Ikea couch you bought when you got married almost ten years ago.
10. Small actions go a long way; a card, a cup of hot cocoa, a phone call out of the blue make you feel important, and sometimes come at just the right moment. It isn't the gift that matters, it is the thought put into the gift.
11. There is a time for discipline and a time for fun, and the time for fun should well outweigh the discipline because lessons are better learned by trial and error than by lecture (this lesson I am still working on, lectures just make me feel so much better, or do they?) Plus, a little extra mess only takes a bit of time to clean, but hurt feelings take a while to clean up.
12. Everyone needs time alone or with good friends. Parenthood is amazing, but you also need to not be "parenting" from time to time. Vacations alone with Adam are particularly important to me.
Lucky Number 13. "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around once in awhile, you might miss it." That one is from my good buddy, Ferris Bueller.

I look forward to all the lessons I have still to learn! Thank you to all my friends and family who have made these last 30 years so incredible. Without you all I would not be me. I love you!

Lovin' the Lemons

Hooray! We found ONE food that Luke will eat...Lemons! Of all things! The other boys always liked them too, so we gave it a shot tonight at dinner. And lo and behold, he loved them! And I have the video to prove it. He has never opened his mouth like that for food other than milk. We got a kick out of watching his sourpuss facial expressions, then he'd come back for more! Too bad I don't know how to make lemon baby food.

Ben's Preschool Holiday Program

That's one cute ax! Ben with his buddy Hannah (one of the mice in the mouse family)
The kids with Santa, and apparently some good Josh boogers.
Tonight was Ben's preschool's annual holiday program. The school's 3 classes (MWF am/pm and TuTh am) all go up on stage at a local middle school and each class performs a special song they have been practicing since just after Halloween then all the classes perform a handful of Christmas songs all together. Ben's class sang a song called Three Little Christmas Trees. It is about three trees waiting for someone to take them home. One is taken home by an angel family, one by a mouse family and one by a soldier family. Before the tree gets taken home though, it first must be chopped down. That is where Ben came in. He was the ax! He was so cute, he'd go, "Chop....chop..ch-chop!" and off the tree would go with the family as the song continued! He was fabulous and got some good laughs. I didn't want to put the video clip up because it was really long, but here are some stills of Ben as the ax.

Half a Year!

I sit!I drool! (and that ball in the corner is my current favorite toy)
Luke is now six months old. SIX MONTHS OLD!!! He is still an amazing little baby (as all babies are!). He laughs and smiles so easily. The boys, especially Ben, just love doing anything they can to get a giggle, which isn't too hard! Luke is also starting to sit. He can make it about 10 seconds without a tip, and his time gets longer every day as he gets sturdier. We've always been family bed parents, snuggling with our little ones until moving the baby from the Snuggle Nest in our bed at around six months into a crib in our room until they are weaned at a year (although it is going to have to be a little longer for Luke to move out of the bed since the crib is back behind all the packed boxes in the garage). I just love when Luke wakes up first and starts wiggling around and babbling to wake me up. I open my eyes and he flashes me the biggest, sweetest grin. It starts off the day so great! Luke still mostly cat naps during the day, which I blame on myself and our busy daily schedule. And some nights he is up three or four times, ug! But it makes the 3 or 4 nights a week that he sleeps through all the sweeter. He also still hates solid foods. He just gags a lot, sometimes barfs, and then if I still haven't got the point he starts screaming. So we've put the solids on hold a week or two at a time, but we tried bananas tonight; he still made the disgusted faces and dry-retched a few times, but at least he didn't start crying! That's progress! Luke likes to be upright rather than on his back, even if he is at an incline. Therefore, being held is his perferable way of experiencing the day (thank goodness for my Kangakid); he will tolerate his exersaucer for awhile, but gets fussy if he hasn't had "up time" in more than 10 minutes, especially if any level of hunger is involved (and with Luke, there is always a level of hunger). It will be nice when he can really sit; I think he will be happier entertaining himself for longer periods. He is pushing himself up pretty far from the ground on his tummy, and can scoot backwards and in circles, but hasn't tried to pull his knees under him yet, so hopefully crawling will wait! No teeth yet, but dang he drools a lot! He is so wonderful and we are loving watching him grow, even if it is going too fast.

A Good Day

Liz with the boys This house is just around the corner from us...yow!!
Is this supposed to be fun?
Snow Angels
A walk with no end

The boys and I had a great Saturday, even though our afternoon plans were cut short by the snow that blew in. This morning we visited my friend Liz from grade school (we realized today we had known each other for around 20 years!) in her apartment in West Seattle. We baked and decorated Christmas sugar cookies, and made our own personal pizzas for lunch...yummy! We were going to visit with my parents this evening, but by the time we were supposed to leave Liz's we saw the snow starting to pound down so we decided to head back home. It is always so fun to see my beautiful friend, Liz; that girl and I could talk for hours and never run out of things to say!
After the snow let up a little, the boys and I wanted to take a walk around the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights in the snow. We were having such a great time in the first bit of our walk, that I got a little over ambitious and decided to go for a longer walk than planned. A loop of about 2 miles. Not one of my best ideas. Just around the halfway point, the snow started again and the wind picked up. The baby was in the backpack and I was afraid he was cold. His little cheeks were so rosy! The boys were OK, but getting chilly and ready to be home (as was I!). Josh was moving as slow as a snail because he wanted to walk in only the deepest parts of the snow. I decided to take the baby out of the pack and put him in my coat with me. That slowed us down even more. It was a long, cold journey home. I told the boys not to worry, I watch Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild and know how to survive in a blizzard. Don't worry, I didn't need to pee on anyone's frozen fingers. Needless to say, we were all happy to see our Christmas lights flickering merrily when we rounded the corner on our street. We survived; and over peanut butter sandwiches and hot cocoa we all congratulated ourselves on our grand snowy nighttime explore. The boys were quick to forget their discomfort and are hoping the snow sticks around tomorrow so we can do it again! Maybe a shorter walk this time....

All We Need is One-Half Inch of Slushy Soggy Snow

Luke's first Snowfall


Last night's teensy wintry blast provided big time fun for my boys. Bedtime went out the window as boots, gloves and hats were donned to play in the dusting of wet snow that coated our neighborhood. I know that moving to Colorado Springs will make snowfall an everyday happenstance, but for now we love every little flake! Here are some shots from our slushy adventure!

My Favorite's the Battle Scene...

The Man Himself Grrr...We're not Scared of You, RAT KING!
Or You Crazy Uncle
The Cannons for the Battle Scene The Boat that Carries Clara and the Prince Away (and check out Ben's tie...it's almost as big as Ben!)
The Rat King's Tail from the Big Battle Scene...can you tell yet what was the favorite part?
...so luckily we get to see it twice!! At the dress rehearsal for the PNB production of the Nutcracker that is (which has to be the best Nutcracker production there is!). Once upon a time, my dear friend Jen was a ballerina in the Pacific Northwest Ballet company, and still works for them in their physical therapy room as a massage therapist. Thus, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for the past two years I have gussied up a boy or two and headed down to Seattle for dress rehearsal with Jen and Hannah and Beth and Madison. It is basically the same as the regular show, but we get to see the battle scene between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King TWICE, which my boys see as a bonus, and from time to time you hear the director make a subtle comment. And we get the added bonus of exploring the back stage area before the show and during intermission (or half-time as we non-dancing folk call it). When we sat back down after intermission and the show started with the Nutcracker Prince and Clara journeying across the sea, Ben leaned over to me and said, "Hey, Mom, that girl in the puffy dress said "Hi" to us back there!" It was great this year sharing this beautiful story with both Ben and Zach (last year I just brought Zach). On the way to the car after the show, Zach kept twirling Madison, and both Ben and Zach repeatedly reenacted the battle scene complete with leaps, stabs and gracefulness. Thanks, Jen, for another night of memories!

A Day of Thankfulness

Frozen Football...is that even fun?!

A crisp beach walkThanksgiving Snuggles: Auntie Barb and Uncle Wayne with Luke
Sorry Adam and Dave, no football today, we have to watch Caillou's Holiday Movie...again! That clock says 5:15. We were planning on eating at 3:00!
The Conlin Boys Players present The Story of the First ThanksgivingThe Narrator and Baby Oceanus born on the MayflowerFINALLY! 180 Degrees!

It has to be done...dirty dishes at the end of a feast.

This Thanksgiving was a McKenzie year (we switch off every other year between the families so we don't spend the day running back and forth between houses, which was fun once upon a time, then we had kids). Usually we are down in California with the extended McKenzie gang, but with the timing of the move so uncertain we didn't want to plan anything big. It was sad to miss our family who we see too rarely as it is, we love spending time with the Andersons and Frykmans, but we were still able to spend the day with extended family. The guest list: my parents, Tutu, Aunt Barb, Uncle Wayne and cousin Dave, who all live close by. It was a lovely and peaceful day. Adam started off the day with our Elder's Quorum Turkey Bowl in the frozen, frosty mud. Later, while my mom and I prepped, sauteed, baked, chopped, roasted and more (I love cooking all day!), Adam and my dad took the boys and the dogs to the beach for a FREEZING Thanksgiving walk. As seems to be the McKenzie Thanksgiving Law, the Turkey took much longer to cook than planned, but my mom is always thinking ahead and made sure there were pupus to keep our hunger at bay. Plus, we had plenty of time to watch Christmas movies, as it is the official start of Christmas celebration in our house on Thanksgiving day. In the end, we finished with a Thanksgiving pageant presented by the Conlin boys, ate until our bellies were begging us to stop, and listened to all the things each of us have to be thankful for this year. It is fitting that on a day we come together as a family to celebrate our many blessings, there was one blessing that was mentioned in one way or another by each of us: family.

Angels Among Us

First of all, I have to say it is TOTALLY Safeway's fault! Tempting me with the prospect of 20 cents off a gallon was too much for me, and I fell to the temptation. But more important than passing blame...because really I am the only one to blame here, we learned that there are truly angels among us, and tonight we met one of them. We drove down to Sno. Ridge this evening after church to have a fun birthday dinner for Alea and Adam (a little belated, we know) at the new and lovely Franklin home, and on the way down the gas light popped on. I was so confident we wouldn't run out of gas before getting down there and then back home that I told Adam we weren't stopping (after all it is only a 50 mile drive, and that gas light gives you plenty of warning). First of all, it was Sunday, and then to top it off, I had this great 20 cents off per gallon for our new Safeway gas station that I could just use tomorrow. I even went so far as to tell Adam I would walk for the gas if needed (chuckle chuckle, like that's going to happen). Well, my foolishness was broadcast when just before exit 60 the car chugged, then coughed, then began to slow. It was full dark, and the freeway was busy, and I felt like the moron I am. I really did mean to walk myself to get the gas, since I was the dummy who was so sure we'd make it, but Adam wouldn't let me. Ben was in full panic mode and the baby was crying as Adam left the car to walk up the dark, busy freeway to the Chevron a mile and a half away, with a "lock the doors, I love you." I called my WONDERFUL dad, and he immediately said he would come save us even though he was nowhere close to where we were, and would meet Adam at the gas station. But two minutes later Adam called to say he was at the gas station. And here is where we met our angel. A woman probably close to our age saw our car with the hazards on off to the side of the road, and then saw Adam, in his church clothes, running up toward the exit. She took a risk, and pulled over offering help. I don't know if I would have done it, considering it was dark, he was a man, and she wasn't a large woman by any means. But she did. She drove Adam to the station, lent him her gas can, drove him back to our car, and waited to make sure we got up and running OK. What a gift! We talked to the kids on the way home about paying it forward, when people show you kindness you make sure to spread that kindness on by helping someone else, even when it inconveniences you. And in their prayers tonight both Zach and Ben gave thanks for this woman and asked for her to be blessed for her goodness. Thank you stranger for your kindness! We are so grateful for good people, and for a Heavenly Father who loves us and watched out for us tonight.

Zach's Big Day

Back in early October, when we were sure someone would buy our house any day (she says with dry cynicism), I thought it would be a good idea to plan Zach's birthday party early so if we moved before December 13th rolled around he could have one more fun bash with his buddies. So yesterday we held Zach's 7th Birthday Party at the Skate Deck, our local roller skating arena. It was really fun watching the kids improve over the 1.5 hour-long skate session. Everyone started a little wobbly, but finished with more skating than falling, and even had a few races. Zach gave in-line blades a try (as opposed to the "quads" we all know and love), and I think he did great. Ben was also much improved over his last time on skates a little over a year ago. Josh put on a pair for about 15 minutes and then he was done, but he did a little skating hands free before removing his skates in favor of the inflatable slide they had set up next to the rink. I was able to reminisce over skating parties I attended as a kid. Yes, there is still the Hokey Pokey, yes, the designers of skating arenas still believe in carpeting floor to ceiling, and yes, the skating police still move across the floor like they were born on skates; it even smells the same, that stinky shoe/industrial cleaner combo. Zach loved his skating party, even though many of his friends couldn't make it on this pre-Thanksgiving weekend, and enjoyed the friends that were there!