Rambling Update

I'm not sure what the title of this one should be, because really, I'm just in the mood to ramble tonight. Brian's been working like a crazy man... for months now. I miss him tonight. A lot. And I miss my friends that live here, who are out of town for the next couple of weeks. What am I supposed to do with myself, with all this time to "myself" (and my three kids, and my messy house and filthy car)?

I've been reading Stephanie Nielson's book, Heaven Is Here. I got it as a birthday gift last week. It's a very touching read -- makes me feel very tender toward my family these days. I've also been working on my own story -- the one about me and Brian and how it took us (mainly me) forever to figure out that we belong together. And I've been staying up too late and suffering from slight insomnia, I think because Brian's working so much, and also because it keeps being too hot. I try to turn the air temp up a bit at night, but really, I should be turning it COOLER, so I can get some good rest, I think.

Anyway, in all my "spare time" lately, (and you can read that as the time I should be cleaning house and nurturing my kiddos), I've found myself alone with my thoughts, and appreciating the time for some introspection. I've been thinking about what's important to me in life, and what's not important, and what should be important, and what should be more important, etc. You know... lots of those deep, insightful thoughts about how I should prioritize my time and my life. And... well, I have no new epiphanies to share here tonight. But I've recommitted to be a little less critical -- of my kids, myself, my husband, my house, my friends, and basically everyone and everything around me. There's a lot of good out there, and I might as well be looking for it, right? And I've recommitted to take better care of myself -- which means eating smarter, getting rid of that last few pounds of baby weight, sleeping earlier and getting outside more. So far, so good, except for the sleep part -- will work on that as soon as I'm done blogging tonight. Promise. :)

I've also been thinking a lot about the many people who make my life so wonderful. Most of them live thousands of miles away from me. And yet, the people here that I've come to know and love are amazing, beautiful people too. This may be a personal quirk of mine -- I really and truly savor relationships and memories, past and present. (Or, maybe most people feel this way on the inside, but I just don't get to see it and feel it?) Even after paths have crossed and people I was once really close to have gone a different direction, I love and cherish the closeness we shared. And I miss those people and think of them, and love them. Not that I pine for the past or feel unsatisfied with my life as it is. Really, I'm a very happy person. I just have so many wonderful memories with so many wonderful people.

I know it's not nice to name names, but I have to give some examples of what I think about, so you can see what I mean by "quirky" and by "savor":
-- A perfect summer salad tonight, with greens, caramelized walnuts, apples, gorgonzola and sweet viniagrette dressing. I picked up the absolutely perfect bite: Alicia Buchanan, I smiled and thought of you.
-- Oreo Coolatta this afternoon with the kids: Erin, I thought of you, because you brought me oreos, and you would like this drink.
-- Old-school merry-go-round at the playground, pushing my kids a million miles an hour: Dad, I thought of the merry-go-round you helped assemble at the Wapello School 30 years ago.
-- Dollar-store jewelry trip, found an awesome pair of big dangley pierced earrings: Lindsay, I paid $1 for them, thought I'd see if you want them when you get back.
-- MAC lipstick and new eyeshadow this morning: Randilicious Johansen you'd be proud of the new shade. Scott Buchanan, you'd still make fun of me because I still hold my lips funny.
-- Little girl in the store with bright blue eyes today: Blaine, they were just like yours, true blue.
-- Scratching a mosquito bite that just won't go away: Leslie Friel, did you really tell me to put carmex on them? or did I dream that up?
-- Butterfly on Natalie's shirt. I touched it, tried to make her say "butterfly." She said "who who" because she wanted to wear the owl shirt again instead: Aunt Darla, I thought of you and how you love butterflies.
-- Chicken and rice soup. No matter when I have it, I smile and think of Joyce Farnsworth, and the time you brought it to me when I was so sick and pregnant with Spencer. Nothing ever tasted so good in my life.
-- Cleaned out my closet last night and actually hung up my shirts instead of folding them in stacks: Dalana and Cindy, you'd both be so proud to see it.
-- Toblerone chocolate bar, also a birthday present, is sitting in the back of my fridge, a slow indulgence I'm nursing along every day: Kurri, I know it's really Swiss chocolate, but I tasted it first in Canada, with you. Also, made Samantha try mac-n-cheese with ketchup yesterday, because I was thinking of you.
-- Got a Randy Travis CD for my birthday from Brian, no joke! Amber, remember when you shook his hand at his concert when we were 16, and you wouldn't wash it until your mom made you?
-- Samantha picked up several shiny, pretty rocks at the park the other day and showed them to me: Amy Partridge, I missed you and picking up so many rocks up Fred's Lane, so many fun little girl memories with you.
-- Thought about dying my hair: Marissa, I wondered what color you'd recommend, to mix things up for a change.

I feel like I should go on, because, what if you're reading and saying, "well, what about me, Kamber? Did you think of me?" The trouble with naming names, I tell you! :) But I also can assure you, that yes, I did and do think of you, if we ever had any kind of relationship or friendship. And if you're really interested to know, leave me a comment and I'll tell you things that remind me of you. ;) Every day, all day, my life seems to be filled with touching thoughts of people who mean something to me. Does this make me a freak? Or are there other people who just seem to remember it all? I mean, the more experiences I have, the more memories I'm making, the more I seem to be reminded of past memories, past experiences, and the people who made those moments in my life meaningful. And I like it! And poor Brian has to hear about it -- when he's around.

Anyway, I told you this would be a rambling, random journalish bit tonight. And I also told you I was going to take better care of myself by sleeping earlier. That time has come... Good night!

Road Trip

The official title of this post should actually read: Really Fun Road Trip with Only a Few Pictures. But I thought that probably wouldn't do much to draw in the readers, eh? But it's true, the kids and I decided to take a really fun road trip. And we took very few pictures of all that funness.

It all started a few months ago, when I was looking at our summer plans and I realized how CLOSE we are to Indiana. Why not road-trip ourselves over to South Bend and spend some time with my cousins who live there? While we're at it, let's invite sis-in-law Alysa to join, so she can take her kiddos to see their grandparents who are serving a mission in Indiana. Sounds super fun, right?... twelve hours in the car, two moms, five kids, including two one-year-olds who refuse to sleep in cars. (Well, actually, maybe it was only my one-year-old who refused to sleep. But it still felt like a car full of restless wee ones.) Who knew Indiana was NOT actually so close as it looks on the map!?

Anyway, it was fun trip, and it went down like this...
Sunday night: meet up in New Haven, CT to pick up Alysa, Aftyn and Bronwyn (who were joining us from their home in Mass.) Bad traffic. Super bad traffic. Our 2-hr evening meet-up plan turned into four and a half hours in the car, with no snacks because I figured the kids would just go to sleep, and they did NOT. Not the best start to our trip, eh? Oh well.

Monday morning: Leave bright and early (9 a.m. -- that's early, considering I was up packing until after 1 a.m.!) Drive to Pennsylvania. Drive through Pennsylvania. In fact, spend the ENTIRE day driving, driving, driving across Pennsylvania. Long state, P. Long to spell, long to say, and long, long, long to drive across. We stopped in Gettysburg, just a 20-minute detour from our route. These are some of the only pics I took of our almost week-long trip, so savor them.

A very beautiful monument/memorial, where we stopped to rest and look around...

Two cute girlies, chasing each other near the monument..

Oh, little Bronwyn, I could eat you up, baby girl!

There were names of soldiers all around the plaques on the outside of the monument. Very touching and moving (but not so much, to Natalie, who was more excited about the steps)...

 Spence and Samantha, "posing" with the overlook of the battlefield behind them...

 The battlefield, oh how I would have loved to learn about it a little bit more, really take time to appreciate its history and its sadness...

On the monument, our little climbers. We went all the way to the top, and down again. These three wanted to climb the 60+ steps again, but there wasn't time, and it was super hot!

(Note to self, and ti others who may be considering Gettysburg: small children don't really "get it." Would love to go again, maybe when they're a little older, or something?)

We made it as far as Columbus, Ohio on Monday night.  A loonng day, on the road from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Natalie was very unsettled all night long, poor thing, so we had a tired morning -- swam at our hotel and got on the road by noon. We dropped off Alysa and her girls in Dayton, where she got to meet up with her parents. yay! (Their plan was to fly back to Boston at the end of their trip, so we didn't see them again.) Then the kids and I drove on to South Bend that afternoon. We had such a nice visit!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: We stayed with my cousin, Nathan, and his wife, Kristina, and their four kids. An extra special treat -- my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Brad (Nate's parents) came at the same time, and stayed at a nice Marriott hotel less than a mile from the house, and my cousin Candice and her family came from southern IN to join the party. We ate delicious foods, slept in every morning, stayed up late chatting each night, and swam at the pool at the Marriott for several hours, three different times. Fun! My kids were in heaven, to be in a big house (well, bigger than ours!), with new-to-them toys and friends to play with, and THREE trips to the pool!?! What's not to love? (Except that Brian couldn't be with us. sad.)

Can I just say, from a perspective of someone living far away from family for many years off and on... it was sooooo nice to be with family for a change! Even though Kristina and Candice and I haven't spent tons of time together, and we didn't grow up together, I just loved visiting with them and watching our kids play together. Candice told me a sweet story about her twin, Kim, who passed away a few years ago. The ending of the story was, "Everyone needs a sister." And I felt a lot of that sisterly love from both Candice and Kristina while I was with them. Such a great feeling, family.

We went on a quick little walking tour of historic Notre Dame University while we were there. Sadly, I only took two or three pictures of that gorgeous campus...

Touchdown Jesus, from a distance. (A bit sacrilegious, I know, but it does look like he's making the touchdown sign, and it's close to the stadium.)

Us, and the Basilica in the background. Sadly, I didn't get a pic of Nathan or Kristina, but three of their darling kids are in this pic with us...

 The gold dome building... Very pretty!

Oh, and Spencer, running away, crying and screaming and throwing a HUGE fit in the middle of the campus for 15 minutes, with loud shouts of "I DON'T LIKE THIS!!!" and "I WANT TO GO HOME NOOOOOWWW!!!" Yeah, maybe college campuses are not the best places for small tired children, either. sigh.

Friday morning: We left. And it was hard to say goodbye. Samantha especially really wanted to stay one more day. But we got on the road headed home. We made a ten-minute stop in Michigan, to say we've been there. And we stopped in Kirtland, Ohio to see the Kirtland Temple, landmark for our church. It was closed. My camera was running out of battery. I got this pathetic drive-by pic...

Maybe we'll have to redo Kirtland some other time, I guess?

We grabbed Subway sandwiches for dinner, then drove to a park overlooking Lake Erie. As in THE Lake Erie, massive, gorgeous Finger Lake. It was a happy stop...

With happy kids...

 And happy water...

 Samantha started a big rock collection, with rocks she was pulling out of the lake. She picked out five MASSIVE rocks to bring home with us, one for each member of our family. Brian's was the biggest -- a reddish rock the size of a loaf of bread. She named it The Bread Rock. I didn't get a picture, but here she is with Natalie's little rock...

We stayed that night at a somewhat smelly Motel 6. The kids thought it was fabulous, I thought it lacked charm and had a loud A/C that kept me up all night. Oh well. Price was good and we survived. The rest of the trip included driving alllll the way back across Pennsylvania, again. But we took I-80 this time, which is a prettier route, if anyone wonders. And I listened to "The Help" on CD while we drove, so it seemed to go a little faster.

Saturday night: Home by 8 p.m., kids in bed by 9 p.m. A road trip well executed, happily enjoyed! Almost 1700 miles in the car, 30+ hours. Whew!!

The sad part is the bit about Brian not joining us. Not only did he NOT come along, but he worked like a maniac while we were gone. It was very sad to come home to the crock pot still on the counter from a week ago, the load of laundry I left on the couch still half folded, just as I had left it. That's totally NOT Brian's style; I know if he'd had even a few extra minutes, he would have spiffed up the place. He literally worked like a dog the ENTIRE time we were gone. Poor man. We're hoping he'll get a BREAK soon, and that he'll get to JOIN us for the next road trip!

Looking forward to even more fun when we head to Idaho in a couple of weeks. Oh, but we'll do that one by plane this time! :)

Yet Another Birthday

I definitely feel a year older this time around. But it's been a good year. I think the oldness came from all the grey hair I found this year. In the Kamber History Book, it will be recorded that I started going grey in my 37th year.... Or is it 36th? I never remember how it works, but I think it's 37th, and now I've completed that year and turned that age... right? (Rand, help me out on this one, eh?) No fun, about the grey hair. But I guess it's in my genes (and I'm sure my mom would like me to add that it's NOT from her genes. ahem.)

Anyway, today is my day. Again.
And yes, it still is better known to the world as the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969 --- "One small step for man, one giant step for mankind." I guess I'm glad to share that anniversary. Because, really, it's kinda cool that we landed those astronauts on the moon, isn't it? :)

In honor of my birthday, I looked back at my blog from 2009, where I listed all my birthday memories. I decided I'd update the list to include the last few birthdays, as follows:
34 yrs -- Brian and I floated the Boise River together, while our sis-in-law, Dalana, watched the kids. It was so much fun, except when Brian dunked me. ;) I long for another river date, someday.
35 yrs -- I was expecting Natalie. We went to Lagoon for the day, with a lot of our Bishop family. It was a super fun day... except for the part where it was 90+ degrees, and I was pregnant and couldn't ride any rides, and my hip was out. But still, it sounds cool to say I went to Lagoon for my birthday, right??
36 yrs -- We were on vacation at Redfish Lake, stayed in a darling little cabin right next to the lodge. We had a delicious birthday breakfast in the lodge, then spent the day swimming at the lake before driving to my parents' place for a bbq and party in their back yard.
37 yrs -- Today! It rained most of the day -- only the second time I EVER remember it raining on my birthday. I went to the mall with the kids, and with my friend Erin and her kids. I finally used my gift card for the MAC make-up store that Brian gave me for Christmas, and also bought a nice smelly candle I had my eye on in the Bath and Body Works store. mmm.... Came home and made a chocolate/peanut-butter tort cake, with Samantha and Spencer. We put it on the gorgeous new cake plate my mom and dad sent for a present, and, as an extra special present tonight, Brian made it home in time for dinner and cake. He even helped wrestle the kids into bed while I lazed around checking fb messages, etc. Ended with a nice wind-down 2-mile walk. Good day!

And Good Night!

Lovely Walden, ever so Lovely.

 I've been sitting here trying to remember the first time I dipped my toes in the loveliest waters of Walden Pond. It was the summer of 2001, probably sometime in July, probably with Alicia dear.


I kid you not... In that moment, even though I don't remember it exactly, I'm sure I must have had an awareness that I had found a little piece of swimming heaven. And I still feel the same way, more than a decade later!! 

(shh...I didn't actually take this pic. I stole it from some unknown blog. Forgive me, please, unknown blogger and fellow lover of Walden. I have my own pics, they're just not scanned into the computer -- from yesteryear, predigital, you know??)


Ah, Walden...
Crystal clear water. No slimy bottom. Very few bugs and/or creepy crawlies. Perfect temperature -- not too cold, but cool enough to take the edge off the hottest summer day. And a lovely, picturesque setting. No wonder Thoreau built his camp out there! I'd join him in a heartbeat, if that kind of thing were still "the thing." (and if I didn't have kids, and another life, etc. of course.)

So, anyway, being soooo close to this lovely little haven (because we all know NY is close to Boston, right? ha!) I convinced my friend Lindsay to make a little overnight trip with me, so we could experience Walden and introduce our kids to its loveliness. It did not disappoint, not in the least!

Just as I remembered, it was the perfect temperature, crystal clear waters I loved so long ago. And, remarkably, the parking is STILL only $5 for the day. What a bargain. We loaded up our kids and got on the road by 9 a.m., arriving at Walden by 12:30ish. 

Even more fun than just the water and the essence of Walden, was the company. See these lovely ladies? I had so much fun reconnecting with both of them. We knew each other as single ladies, way back when. Made me feel even more nostalgic for the good ol' days of Boston life. Aww...

Also, sis-in-law Alysa joined us for her first experience at Walden. Yay!  

And, she brought her girlies, Aftyn (not pictured), and this little cutie girl, Bronwyn ...

 The kids were in heaven. I didn't get a good one of Spence and the twins, playing cars in the sand, and diving in with their life jackets. But here are Samantha and L, building a very creative sand castle, moat and all (which Natalie later sat on top of, oops).

Natalie took to the the water with no hesitation...

But her first love, of course, was the sand... Crazy baby!!

We stayed allll. day. long. And finally left at 7p.m. to venture over to Kimball Farms for ice cream. That's right, we fed our children ice cream for dinner. And they did not complain one bit, surprise! :) I missed that glorious photo op (might beg Lindsay for the great "messy" shots she took with her phone... or you can just imagine). 

Then off to the hotel. Our kids were tired. And they slept hard. And looked very cute and peaceful... 

Samantha was going to share a bed with me... until I realized she is still an infamous roller! She was quickly relegated to the floor, and didn't mind a bit...

Next day, a stop at Robbins Hill Park, in Arlington. One of my all-time favorite parks. I mean, check out this wonderful slide, all the way down a steep hill. So cool!!

Our kids went down it over and over. Then, before we were leaving, Lindsay and I decided to give it a go. OUCH!! It was H-H-HOT! How did our skinny kids bear to put their little bottoms on that, time and again? I don't know.

Here's L, queen of the monkey bars. Every time we're at a park, she's out to conquer the monkey bars, so cute!...

Another reason I love this park, is for its original toy selection. Check out this funky tetter-totter. So fun!

Or, this little train/house/sand pit. The kids would have been happy to stay all day!

 We marched them up the hill to get a view of the city. Turns out, they were more interested in the bushes, and the bees. Samantha and L were being a dual Statue of Liberty (bush as torch). .

And then, no surprise, they all crashed out in the car for a couple of hours, which made for a peaceful ride for a lot of the trip home. :)

Goodbye, Walden, until the next time...

Our little Queen of Hearts

Samantha was in a little production of "Alice in Wonderland" last week. It was so cute and so much fun! She had a blast. Her special role was the Queen of Hearts...

Isn't she the cutest Queen of Hearts you've ever seen? I heard her telling her friend, Leah, "I get to be a little bit nasty, because queens are just sort of nasty." I laughed and reminded her that not ALL queens are nasty. She replied, "yeah, but Mom, THIS Queen IS!!" ... she had a point.

She loved practicing "OFF WITH HER HEAD!!" over and over again. And she loved her costume, and she loved the little theater camp she was part of for the play. A couple of young women in our ward got this idea to set up a theater camp for several of the children in our area. They did a great job, and I think they were pretty pleased with the results. Samantha sure was!

Here she is, coming out to the garden to find they were "painting the roses red." She had an extra long train on her dress, and when she snapped her finger, one of her guards removed it. She thought that was extra snazzy! Here's her train coming off...

Here she is "holding court" with the king. She kind of forgot her lines at this part, but she eventually got them all in order...

Here they are, playing croquet...

And here she is with the whole cast and the two girls who organized the camp and play...

She loved it all, and cried when it was over... It was just that much fun! :)

Weekend Fun Times

Happy Weekends!

I've been meaning to write about all the fun stuff we've done with our weekends over the past few months. And now, instead of writing a post for each fun event/outing, you get to see ALL the outings in ONE fantastic "weekend fun" post. Enjoy!

The Children's Museum of Manhattan

My parents gave us some money for a Christmas gift. We decided to use part of it to take the kids on a special outing to the city, to visit the Children's Museum. (Yes, this was way back in February, but I've been negligent, so it gets to be part of this post.) The kids loved it (of course). And we had fun watching them explore every nook and cranny of every exhibit. Just a few fun pics...

The balls. Natalie's one big fascination that she kept coming back to again and again...

 The sand. Spencer could have played there all. day. long...

The reading nook. She was happy in this chair, "reading" her books, for a long time... unless someone wanted to actually READ to her. Then she screamed and threw the books...

Samantha finally found her niche -- the arts/coloring table. She made a really cool drawing of some flowers, copying something she saw there...

She was very proud of her work...

Fun times with Friends
We've also spent a few different weekends visiting with our friends, the Hunters. We were neighbors and good friends in London, and now they live in New Jersey, just an hour away. Our kids are just about the same ages, which makes for some fun entertainment...

Also, they've come to visit us, which has been a lot of fun, too! Debbie just had a baby last week, so I think it's our turn to visit THEM again...

Walk Around Manhattan
This was one of Brian's fun weekend adventures. He and a friend joined a group that walked the entire perimeter of Manhattan Island -- a whole 36 miles, in one Saturday!! Did you hear that bit about THIRTY-SIX MILES?!? Wow. Way to go, Brian!!

He took a lot of pics of some parks, and bridges. But I'm not sure what most of them are, so here are just a couple, to celebrate his accomplishment. Here he is, with the GW Bridge in the background...

Artsy bridge, from below. (I'm not sure which bridge this is, actually)...

Here are Brian and Spencer, when they finished. It was a good 12-hour day of walking, and he was pretty sore and tired when it was all over. But he said it was really fun, too.

Bishops in Central Park
For Mother's Day weekend, we had a really fun visit with Reed and Alysa, and Aftyn and Bronwyn. We took a day trip into the city, bringing a picnic lunch to Central Park...

Our kids loved climbing up and sliding down the rocks in the park. Yes, Samantha's shorts were ruined, from all her fun sliding adventures...

We also let the kids ride the carousel. Spencer was very proud to be riding all. by. himself. (with no mom or dad on board with him!)...

 Lucky for us, we got to celebrate this little cutie's first birthday, which was the day after Mother's Day. The cake was officially a gift from Brian and Reed -- for me and Alysa, for Mother's Day. But we popped a candle on top, and voila --- perfect birthday cake...

 She made good work of it, too!! Happy Birthday, Bronwyn, cutie!!

The Marshlands Conservatory
We've discovered the Marshlands -- a conservation area, less than  mile from our house. Not sure why it took us so long to take advantage of it, but we've recently enjoyed some nice family walks and picnics there...

 I tried to get a pic of all three kids sitting on this log in the meadow. This is the best I could get...

So, I finally joined them, and we got this...

View of the marshy Long Island Sound inlet, near our house...

 Bishops in Newport
Another great day trip we took a couple of weeks ago was to Newport, Rhode Island. Steve and Amanda were in town for a little getaway, so we all met up to tour around Newport, walking in the shops and on the Cliff Walk.

We got to tour the famous Vanderbilt Mansion -- the Breakers. It was one of several amazing-looking houses along the Cliff Walk...

No photos inside the house, darn it. But I was allowed to take this one ... looking out to sea, from their back veranda, so gorgeous...

Got to see more of this darling cutie girl...

And this one (who was not about about to sit for a photo shoot, when she and Samantha and Spencer were having so much fun together, traipsing around the lawn)...

Cutie Cousins...

And, a family photo op...

As you can see, we've been having some pretty fun adventures around here, even if I haven't been writing about them very often. Let the good times keep rollin'!