Murphy is my co-pilot

Our air conditioner went out, which really sucks. When I left to take Mason to swimming lessons, it was 87 degrees inside despite Alan's best efforts. Not to mention the fact that we haven't financially recovered from maternity leave yet, and I'm not back to working my normal number of hours yet. Safe to say I wanted to jump in the pool with Mason. Alan was a rockstar yesterday and got it fixed. It ended up being a capacitor. In our area, large power surges are not uncommon. According to the HVAC guy, he's repaired lots of these out here. Finding the part was easy and it was only a $15 part. The steep part was... are you ready for it?... labor at $95/hour. Seriously.

While we were working on that, Alan noticed that our water heater was running constantly into the drain next to it through a pipe. The pipe is not all that uncommon, but the valve being open isn't normal, either. A trip to Home Depot revealed the reason: the valve on the overflow commonly fails after a few years. They don't make 'em this way any more, so we will have to invest in an overflow tank. But don't worry, it's been leaking at least 5 gallons of water. Per day. In the summer. Alan inquired about our water bill, and I hadn't noticed a huge difference because I was expecting an increase anyway due to summer water usage.

In addition, we caught a large flying rock with Alan's windshield coming home from American Fork Canyon. With the drastic change in temperature from being parked in the sun to the garage, the rock chip turned into a crack. And registration is due by the end of July. We may have to buy a new windshield. Honestly.

They say things come in threes. I hope they don't mean multiples of three.

Our New Summer Home

We took our new used camping trailer out for its inaugural run. It was just a quick overnight trip up American Fork canyon to accomplish two goals: first, figure out what we're missing and what we still need to take a longer camping trip. Second, to ensure Mason got a small taste of the outdoors. He's been begging to go camping since the last time we went camping at Flaming Gorge last September after all.

We met with mixed results, although I would say leaning on the more successful side. We accomplished both of our goals, although we forgot to take a notepad and a pen to write lists with. This was a huge problem since I'm a compulsive list maker. I'm working through that disappointment.

We had a busy day before we could leave, so we didn't get up there until dinner time. I had half-prepared our meal ahead of time, and Alan finished it up and put it all together while I was feeding the baby (again-- I swear, feeding the infant is at least 70% of my day, and this trip was no different). We ate dinner before it got too dark outside and took Mason for a bike ride/walk to go exploring. We found this beautiful (all right, it was also kind of disgusting with all the moss and standing water) pond area where the boys climbed on some fallen logs and tossed some rocks into the water. The dogs thought it was a great place to lay down also, so they were soaking wet and they loved every minute of it.

Our first night in the trailer was mostly okay, but somewhat eventful. We pulled the dogs inside because we were in bear country, and Samson doesn't have the greatest track record with animals larger than he is. We set up the Pack 'N Play for Claire to sleep in as well. So between the two kids and two dogs out in the "living area", there wasn't a whole lot of space. It meant Rio ended up sleeping on the heating vent for half the night and panting profusely if the heater kicked on.

On the other hand, it was so nice to be in a bed while we were camping. Mason was super excited to sleep on the couch that pulls into a bed. We got him a light stick that glows for 12 hours, and he used that as a night light. Claire slept through the night quite soundly. The only real hitch was that Mason kept crying. He wasn't exactly waking up. Apparently at some point, he rolled right out of bed. I have no recollection of this. Thank goodness Alan was there and woke up so Mason didn't finish out the night on the floor with the puppies.

In the morning, we woke up surprisingly late. Both kids slept in until 0830! Alan had the great idea to show Mason how you can buy the small boxes of cereal and cut along the dotted line to make a sort of bowl for your cereal. He was totally fascinated. It was also the first time he's had Cocoa Krispies, because for the most part I'm a cereal purist and refuse to let him get anything with too much sugar in it (although I've caved on the occasional box of Froot Loops, a.k.a "Colors"). After breakfast, we packed up and took Mason on a Nature Trail located just barely down the canyon from the Timpanogos Cave trail. He loved being out on a walk. I loved that it wasn't much of a hike, since I forgot the sling and/or Snugli and I was carrying Claire.

After the hike, we stopped back at the trailer to pack up sandwiches and stuff for a small picnic at Silver Lake. Mason finally got to throw some rocks in "big water"and ate several chocolate/mint cookies (thank you, Anne!). To call it a hit would be a huge understatement. He capped off the perfect day by helping dad pack up and hook up the trailer before we headed home. He's already secured the promise of a much longer camping trip to come.

Two Months. Really?

Likes: showing off her sweet grin and giving the evil eye, putting her head on mom's chest and curling her legs up like a peanut, cooing at you when you talk to her, eating continuously, staring at the ladybugs on her walls, being outside especially where there is sun involved, playing in the bouncy chair, looking at moving ceiling fans and lights

Dislikes: her brother screaming "Bah!" in her face when she's trying to sleep, being in the car seat, laying on her tummy, when her feeding is interrupted, square farts

We don't have her official stats until her appointment with the pediatrician next week, but she is long and skinny. She sleeps between 6 and 8 hours in one block at night, and hates to sleep in the daytime. She has tried since day one to hold her head up and is getting really good at it. Her new goal is to sit up from laying down, because she tries that every chance she gets.

Grins and Fins

Claire has started smiling more and more each day. I first noticed her purposefully smiling a couple of weeks ago, but she wasn't doing it too often. More often than not, she was scowling. I was afraid maybe grumpiness is genetic and I'd passed it on to her. Then we broke out the bouncy chair, and that fear went away. Obviously she loves it! Her favorites are when we rattle the tiger or flip the bird in circles.

Fins might have been a misleading way to title this, but oh well. Mason started his first swimming lessons on Monday. They aren't wearing fins yet, but as you can tell from this shot about 10 minutes into the first lesson, he has absolutely no fear of the water. He is loving it!

For those who are wondering, we're taking him to Shinsel's Swim School Pool. They don't have a website or a listed number. It's a private residence with a huge lot, and the couple built a swimming pool for a large portion of their space. This is the 29th summer they have been open. We heard about them because Alan's parents are good friends with the owners, and Alan and his brothers went there for swim lessons while they were growing up. The pool is clean and beautiful, the water is warm, and there are only three kids in Mason's class.

They cost a bit more than your local rec center (not lots more, but a little bit), but I think it's very worth it and I highly recommend them. If you are interested in swimming lessons there, email me and I'll get it you their contact information. Mason is in the second session now. I believe the third session in August is already full, but openings will become available when people don't show up.

A Slidin', Wavin', Sparkin' Good Time

What is there to say about our Fourth of July weekend? Not much. We had a good time keeping it close to home and did some of what we always do. We took in Dad in a parade, played on a few blow-up slides, had a family barbeque (thanks to the hard work of Alan's family who was willing to hang with us), and lit some fireworks off much to Mason's delight.





We did not have the resident veteran with us this holiday because he's in New Jersey, but we did at least pause to reflect on how dedicated these men and women are. We are grateful for his service, their service, and the sacrifices of all those who came before. It is only thanks to them that as a family, we could celebrate so many good things in our life. We are free to raise our family the way we see fit; I hope we can leave our kids the same legacy.

How to wear out your preschooler

All you have to do is take him for a picnic at a park that has a really big hill. Also, the harder you laugh at his drunken staggering when he stands up, the more angry he gets with you.