Mouse in the House

Cough, cough. Sniffle, sniffle. At-choo!
Got a cold.
Got three kids who have colds.
Got a husband on a killer deal who's almost never home. (Unless 3 - 4 a.m. arrivals count?)
Got wonderful in-laws in town who aren't seeing much of their son.
Got a weekend full of plans that don't sound very fun when I'm feeling lousy.
Got a 3-year-old who wakes up screaming MOM!!! hysterically multiple times a night, most nights of the week.
Got a 1-year-old who doesn't appreciate the 3-year-old's screaming and lets us know she's a little upset.

There's my internet whining for the week. Now, for the really SERIOUS complaint.

I'VE GOT A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!!!

I know.

Totally gross.

I'm in the kitchen, at the table right now. Brian and his dad are in the living room nearby, watching the BYU game. Lights are one, people are talking, moving... etc. And, get this... I've seen him come out from under the stove three different times as I've been sitting here. BRAZEN little critter!! He sniffs around the rug by the sink, crawls along to the hole by the dishwasher, and hops under our cupboards... heads back to the stove. A few nights ago, he came out DURING DINNER! Yep. I was sitting there with my little kidlins, have some rice, and he poked his little head out from the side of the fridge and wandered slowly down the hall. Gross. Gross. Double Gross!!!

We have ten traps set in our house. TEN.

They're loaded with peanut butter, cracker crumbs, raisins, butter, cheese, chocolate. We've had them out for several nights in a row. Just now, I watched him go up to one trap, within two inches of "the goods." He sniffs carefully, backs away slowly and heads a different direction. We've got snap traps, glue traps, fancy plastic traps... And, one smart mouse.

I'm about ready to break out the deCon. But that's nasty stuff -- not something I really want to use with kids in the house. Plus, what if he eats it (which he's probably smart enough that he wouldn't) then dies in the crawl space under our cupboards? We'd smell him for months.

Anyway. He's about to drive me crazy. I'm obsessing over him, how to get rid of him, what to do?! I clean the floor after every meal, pick up crumbs from every snack, etc. Natalie insists on leaving him a small feast every time she eats -- so I REALLY have to stay on top of it.

Last night, Brian came home at 1 and worked downstairs until a little after 3 a.m. I laid awake in bed, listening to every move, imagining I was hearing the trap snapping, finally. But nope.

Brian named him Henry. (No offence to anyone who knows anyone named Henry -- Brian was just picking an H name, to match with his London cousin, Humphrey, who frequented our first flat after we were married.) I guess we're just going to adopt him and make him part of the family. Expect to see pictures of him soon. I mean, he made the blog, right??

Camp Joseph, for the record

Columbus Day weekend was perfect this year. The weather was spectacular -- 70s and warm. And the colors were FINALLY coming out. (Let's be honest, the very BEST reason to move to New England is the fall colors, right?!)

So, what better way to enjoy our festive fall spirit, than to invite some friends along, and introduce the kids to Camp Joseph, Sharon, Vermont...

What is this Camp Joseph I speak of?? Well... it's just one of the most perfect places on this beautiful earth, in my humble opinion. A hidden treasure. In fact, I hesitate to even blog about it, for fear that the secret will be out, and people will start MOBBING the place, ruining it's peaceful serenity.

But it can't be helped. It must be blogged about. In great detail. (And luckily for you, Brian was camera-happy all weekend and got us PLENTY of great "scenic" views of the place.) The fact is, I googled it, and tried to find any pictures/write-ups of the place before we went. Nothing. Zip. (Unless you count two lame blogs that gave very little detail and whined about the music at the memorial -- I don't.) So, I figured, if I'm putting it on the blog, I might as well do the place justice. For the record. Right?

Well then...

There it is, in all it's loveliness. The open meadow, the hills and trees, even the lake up the road, in the distance. And below, here's the lodge and the pavilion, if you're thinking "family reunion"...

 And the darling little playground, complete with darling little kids. (To be honest, I didn't even know that playground was THERE, until this trip... wasn't on my agenda before, I guess!)

And now for the best part, the cabins! Ah... this is camping at it's BEST, folks!!

Two of the worst "down" sides of camping are completely eliminated with these little adorable bare-bones cabins: 1. no sleeping on the ground. Instead you get a less-than-comfortable, but not-rock-hard, somewhat-clean, wrapped-in-plastic BUNK to sleep on! Tell me that's not a BONUS?! And, 2. no bears... they still don't know how to open doors, and even if they DID, these cabins have keys and locks, so there! Also no other "creatures" venturing into tent territory at night.

Have another look... Aren't they just the cutest!? 

Here's Spence (and Nat, in the stroller), in front of our place. They all have different names from the Book of Mormon. We got the Cabin of Aaron, and our friends were next door in Ammon.

 We aren't the tidiest campers, so thankfully this is the only picture we got of the inside of our little abode. But as you can see, it's got the necessities. Even curtains and a little rug. (Pack-n-play not included.)

 Another best part about Camp Joseph is that it's right behind the Joseph Smith Memorial and chapel. So, for Sunday campers, it's just a five minute trail walk over to the chapel for church. And then another five mins over to visit the memorial and visitors center. Said chapel, looking picturesque (good work, Brian!)...

And church-goers, as mentioned. (I was off galavanting with a sleeping baby who was NOT about to stay put for the entire church meetings, so... I missed the great photo-op. rats. I'm sure you're all so curious to know what I would have worn to church while camping... a mystery.)

Here's a close-up of the chapel, just because. They've remodeled it, since my last visit there (2004). One sad thing, it looks like they took out the little bushes that used to line the steps; they were the kind that turn VIBRANTLY red in the fall. I vote they replant!

From the chapel, it's just a short walk (or even shorter drive) up this lovely tree-lined avenue to the Joseph Smith Memorial...

And here is the memorial itself, quite striking, I think....

I have to say, we took "the tour" this time, with one of the senior sister missionaries (a first for me, in all these years!). It was lovely. I recommend it. Did you know that is one SOLID chunk of granite, all the way up!? And the man who  commissioned it (way back around 1900) was the only church member who helped haul it?! He hired a bunch of locals (who thought he was a bit crazy to attempt the whole plan), and they dragged it to the site, uphill, with horses, mules and oxen.

The kids, of course, loved the hill across from the monument (also something I never even noticed, sans children)...

 Right next to the monument is a nice tree and a little bench, along with the big, stone step where Samantha is sitting. Apparently that step was the front doorstep to the house that used be there, the house where Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805.

We actually got all four kids to sit on the step, AND look at the camera at the same time! Well done!!

I tried to make an artsy picture with the monument and this darling tree with little berries...

 I think I did better when I just focused on the berries.

Another favorite part of this place, for me, is the path behind the memorial, that leads back into the woods. So lovely... Brian and I walked in these woods together way-back-when, before we ever even had a first date. He picked up pretty leaves for me, since I was collecting them at the time. Memories, sweet memories...

Back in the woods is the site of the Solomon Mack home. Mr. Mack was Joseph Smith's grandfather -- his mother, Lucy's father. I like that place. So did Natalie, as you can see...

And further along the path, is the Old Stone bridge, where the old highway used to run back in the 1800s. Pretty cool, I think! (And don't let those sr. missionaries tell you it's too far a walk; we managed it with six kids in tow.)

So, how did the kids like our trip to Camp Joseph??

They loved it. So much, in fact, that we hardly EVER saw them. Here they are, having fun in the wood-hauling hand cart...

Poor Nat had to spend quite a bit of her time relegated to the stroller, which was not to her liking. But every time we let her down, she promptly put pebbles in her mouth, dug up handfuls of wet dirt, and headed for the road. Babies never learn, I guess. She would not honor me with a smile...

I know this is getting long, but it's going to get longer still, lucky you!

I thought I'd better throw in a few pictures of the nearby Quechee Gorge. It's tradition -- we always stop at the gorge and look over...

 Here's a shot that includes the shadow of the bridge we were standing on, just to give you a better feel for it's "gorge-ness." We were the itty bitty little dots on the bridge. Wow.

 Natalie really enjoyed looking at gorge, and I'm glad Brian kept a tight grip on her!

Awww... she even let me take her picture WHILE she was looking at the camera! (Seems to be a rare treat these days. rats!)

The gorge from the other side of the bridge... Too bright, I know. And even the postcards I bought don't really do it justice. It's GORGEous. ha. Get it??

What's a trip to Sharon, Vermont without an add-on trip to Woodstock, Vermont?? I don't know, actually, because I've never had one! ha! 

Every time I've been to Sharon, we've always detoured over to Woodstock, just because it's one of the most darling little New England villages EVER. The sign probably even says that...

It's a little hard to capture all that Woodstock darlingness on film, but here's the General Store, which brings back memories of darlingness to me, for sure! Picture the quaintness of Cracker Barrel restaurant/store craftiness (ya know what I'm talking about?) Then, times it by four or five. Or maybe even six. That's the General Store. Soooo cute! We bought a giant checkers set for the kids for Christmas. Shhh... don't tell.

 Oh, and it looks like Brian managed to sneak over to the covered bridge for a quick pic. Lucky us, again!

Of course, we were biased, but we certainly thought the cutest part of Woodstock this time was right here... Say cheese!

And everybody go CRAZY!!

And now, I know you were thinking I was done again. But no. If you've borne with me this far, you get the reward of hearing the back-story behind Camp Joseph and Sharon and Woodstock (I'll try to keep it brief, promise.)

A long time ago, back in the fall of 2001, I was living with bff Alicia in Boston, just starting our East Coast dream. Alicia got this idea of getting a group together to go up to Sharon, Vermont during our church's General Conference weekend. She'd stayed at Camp Joseph with her roommates the fall before (which happened to be before I got enough courage to move to Boston). So, she made the arrangements, promised us all we'd have a great time, and voila!! -- that's how I came to know of Camp Joseph.

Brian and I were both part of our first little group there. But it was a couple of months before we ever started dating (Round 1). So, that other girl that liked Brian at the time sorta had "dibs." No biggie. It was a great trip! In fact, the colors that year were the VERY BEST I've ever seen. No kidding. (As you may have noticed from these pics, colors this year were a little faded, due to the warmer fall than usual.)

We went again the following fall, again for General Conference weekend. That time, Brian and I had just broken up (Round 2) in September. It was a bit awkward, but we try not to dwell on that one. And then the next year, we were sort of somewhere in the middle of Round 3 of dating -- which consisted of me chasing him, and him not wanting to give me the time of day. Again, a bit awkward, but there was that nice moment where we went for a short run together, only to find everyone in our group ditched us and we watched a whole session of conference just the two of us. I thought it was nice. Brian did too -- I'm writing this, so I'm allowed to say things like that. right?? ;)

The next fall, we went back again, right after we were married, as we passed through Boston on our way to London to start Brian's new job and our new life together. Ah... the memories. See why I love Camp Joseph?!

Just a little note, for those who may be wondering, Camp Joseph is a church-run facility, operated by senior missionary couples, and is exclusively for members of the church.. (At least, that's what their list of "rules" posted in the cabin said.) It is often reserved for YW girls camp programs or other youth activities. It is open from May until Columbus Day weekend in October. (We were the last campers this season.) It does cost a bit, but it's worth it! Flushing toilets and hot showers are included, plus if you smile and ask nicely the host couple will let you borrow their can-opener.

Good stuff, folks. This is the good stuff that makes me happy to be in New England.

For HC

I found out this week that I lost a dear friend. His name was Houston Clinton Gilbert. I knew him as HC.

I taught HC about our church when I was a missionary in 1997. He was baptized six months after I met him, at age 81. He was a great member of the church -- always on time for his calling as usher/printed-program manager. He loved BYU television and General Conference. He felt he had a lot in common with President Hinckley, for some reason -- and liked to watch Pres. Hinckley wave his cane around during conference. HC was a great home teacher, from what I heard. He also loved going to the temple, and enjoyed feeding the elders for years.

To me, he was a good friend, someone I felt close to as a missionary, when my all family was far away. He would occasionally meet my companion and me for lunch, or send a card with a bit of extra cash (let's face it, missionary support fund isn't that much to live on), just because he was thoughtful. As I was leaving my mission, he gave me and my family a big box of tangerines off his trees -- the BEST tangerines I've EVER tasted, I'm sure. After my mission, we stayed in touch. He came to visit me in Idaho and stayed with our family for Thanksgiving one winter. I went to visit him a few times, and we sent letters and cards back and forth. He even met Brian, way back in Round 1 of dating. (Tried to warn me to stay away from anyone who speaks Arabic. ha! Obviously I didn't listen.)

With all my moving around, we managed to keep up with regular phone calls every month or so. Even after I got married and moved to London, we weren't quite so regular, but still kept in touch fairly often. We talked politics a lot, and he told me about his wife, Lula, who passed away of Alzheimer's disease just a couple of years before I met him. She loved elephants, and had a collection of elephant figurines in their home, stacked on shelves all around their living room. He told me stories from his time in China during World War II. And he told me about his son and grandson, and later his great-grandson and great-granddaughter, who are the same ages as my kids.

I loved HC, and learned a lot from him. I miss him.

Sadly, he passed away in May, several months ago. I know. I'm especially sad and embarrassed that I didn't know until now. I knew it would be this way -- that he would be gone and I wouldn't know. I asked him once how I would ever know if something happened to him -- a hospital stay, an illness, etc. He shrugged it off, and I just knew that when he died, it would happen like this. But it still makes me feel so terrible that I didn't know for such a long time. The last time I talked to him was in March, right before we moved. I told him we'd keep our same number, and that he could still reach us same as always, but I could tell he was confused.

I kept meaning to call him all summer long -- got out the address book a few different times, but wanted to "wait till the kids were in bed," or "wait till I finished this project," or "after dinner." ... So, I finally called this week to wish him a happy birthday (he would have been 95 on October 15). His son answered the phone and told me HC had died of congestive heart failure on May 24. We had a long talk, both of us cried and talked about what good man HC was. His son said he would have called me, but HC didn't leave any kind of list for him, as I suspected.

Now I'm just left with that hollow space in my heart for a dear friend. I hope he is at peace, with his dear wife. I'm feeling an urgency now, to stay closer to so many people who make -- and/or have made -- my life meaningful. Life is short, and so many people mean so much to me. HC was one of them. A good man, a good friend.

Oh Boy! I've got joy!!

Any Joy School veterans out there who read this title probably started singing the song that goes along with it. That's right, we're doing Joy School this year. Spencer and me. And so far, it's been really fun. Here's Spencer's little group, posing so sweetly for one of the other Joy School moms (who also happens to be a great photographer, obviously.)

Aren't they soooo cute?!?

Unfortunately, our lone girlie in the group just moved away. So now it's just the boys. For those who aren't so familiar with the Joy School program... it's a preschool group that focuses on values and principles, rather than academic learning. The moms in the group take turns teaching the lessons. We've set it up so that each mom teaches four different lessons at a time, over the course of two weeks.

I just finished my first week, and really enjoyed it. Our focus over the next few weeks is "Finding joy in the earth around us." Nature walks, seasons, planting seeds, harvest, etc. The first session, we made nature scopes and talked about the difference between nature vs. man made.

And yesterday, we talked about seeds and plants, and how things grow. And apples. The boys really loved talking about apples. We made apple sauce, sliced apples into stars, painted with apples, shared their seeds, read an apple story, etc. 

The applesauce was a real hit! But then, what three-year-old-boy wouldn't like banging, smashing, splashing apple goop all over a jellyroll pan?!

We also read a story about rain, then used our "nature scopes" that we made on Tuesday, to look at the back yard in the rain. They stood at that window with their scopes with very little prompting for a good 3-4 minutes. I was surprised!

 

Okay, so dumb blogger has changed its format and now I can't figure out how to just type my stuff and add my pictures like I used to.

Anyway, the most loved activity was playing with Thomas the Train during free play time. Can you blame them, really? I didn't get great pics of it, but what I got shows how cute they all were, working together to build the track, taking turns with the different engines, etc.

There was only a little weeping and wailing when Thomas had to be put away before they left to go home.

We also made seed collages, which went well, except for the fact that they wanted to eat the seeds. I tried to steer them toward the sunflower seeds, but they were determined to sample all of them. Here are Spencer's finished crafts and applesauce...

Well, so, Joy School has been a good thing for us, so far. Spencer seems to enjoy the interaction with the other kids, and he has especially loved having it at our house. I was a little nervous about teaching -- mainly because things have just felt so hectic ever since Samantha started school. And with Brian's unpredictable schedule, I've felt... well, overwhelmed, I guess. Plus, we went camping this past weekend (pictures to come), and didn't get home until 11-something, the night before my first day of teaching. It takes some good prep time to make it run smoothly, ya know? But anyway, so far, so good.

Things I've been learning from Joy School, so far:
-- Masking tape Xs on the floor are not good "places to sit" for 3-yr-olds, but make great things to pick at while adults are talking/teaching.
-- "Guessing games" (I'm thinking of...) are out, and Joy Boy puppet figures are IN! Picture books are also IN, especially ones with lots of details in each picture. Wow! 3-yr-olds LOVE the tiny details. Who doesn't, I guess?
-- Bibs are a REALLY good idea when working with red paint. Red bibs are even better. Edible red paint would probably be even better, if you put it on apples. If it's not edible, you may find yourself saying "don't eat the paint" multiple times. To multiple kids.
-- If the kids make a craft, they want to take it home with them -- even if they're supposed to leave it for the next time.
-- I better be comfortable singing solos, if I plan to use music. They love to listen, but getting them to sing is like pulling teeth.
-- Bathroom breaks work best if they're allowed to bring one toy with them.
-- Expect some tears at clean-up time. And expect some of the kids to look at the ones who are crying like they are total freaks. (As if the onlookers have NEVER had a meltdown over a train set.)
-- It's handy to have four green cups, when four boys need drinks!
-- Outside play better be conducted in a contained area, or I better invest in some leashes. The phrase "it's like herding cats" comes to mind. ha!

Next round, we're doing a nature walk in the woods. Fun! I'm just happy to be doing something fun and good for my little Spencer boy. I feel like a good mom for doing this with him.

Next step. Potty training. For real. Stay tuned...  ha!

Sammie Jr.

Here's a picture of me and Natalie. I took it this morning...

And here's a picture of me and Samantha. I took it in March 2007, when Sammie was 14 months old...


Anyone else impressed?
Every day, I pick up Natalie and feel a strange sense of deja vu... or however you spell it. It's like we have a baby Sammie all over again. Only different.

I mean, Natalie definitely has her own personality, and her own look, too. But so much about her reminds me of Samantha baby. She has some general spunky-ness that's just like her big sis. And, she's going through those same phases that were so darling and mesmerizing with our "first." Getting to watch Natalie discover the same joys of babyhood as Sam, and having them look -- and act -- so like each other is... well, it's really a wonderful thing, to me. I love my little redheaded babies. (And Spencer, too, of course.)

They grow so fast. SOOOO fast. It's kind of nice, to feel like we get to relive the sweetness, noticing their similarities and differences as Natalie becomes her own little person.

Just thought I'd throw up a few more pics of both girlies, just for fun. All the ones of Samantha are older ones that you've seen on the blog before (if you track back far enough).

Natalie, loving the clothes drawers and the pull-everything-out-as-fast-as-I-can phase...

Samantha, an old pro at emptying her dresser (13 months):


Natalie, mugging for the camera. She knows she's cute, that's for sure!

Samantha (13 months), looking adorable with her baby blues...


Natalie, on the stairs...

Sammie, on the stairs...

Natalie, discovering the toilet paper...

Samantha, a little more mobile, discovering the toilet paper...

Anyway, I just love my girls (and boy). And thought I'd share some of the thoughts I have about having two babies who have a lot in common. It's fun!