Secret Language Decoder

I know that everyone says that stay at home moms would be worth tons of money if they did the same amount of work for actual dollars, I totally agree. But while those totals include things like house cleaning and childcare, do they include the skills that I have acquired in translating secret kid languages? I'm thinking not, or it would be a lot easier for me to move to Maryland and work with Lauritz.
I know you are all thinking that my 2 speaking children do it well enough not to need translation, but you have to remember that while they know all the words they are using, they don't always use them correctly. Just 2 examples from the last few days.

We spotted a windmill while driving downtown that got Gavin thinking about power...
Gav- "Did you know that you don't need wires if you have silver pedals?"
Caleb- "WHAT?" (I know, you are all thinking it too.)
Gav- "If you have silver pedals at your house you don't need wires to get power."
Me- After sharing a confused look with Caleb. "Um, Ok. What are silver pedals?"
Gav- "You put them on your roof," waits for us to catch up, "And when the sun shines down..."
Caleb and I at the same time- "OH, Solar Panels!"
Gav- kind of annoyed with us, "Right. Solar panels give you power so you don't need wires."
Gee, can't figure out why we were a bit behind on that one.

Then Henry, who talks up a storm when he decides he wants to, came into the kitchen the other morning while I was loading the dishwasher...
H- "Is that what Dad and I make next year?"
M- Once again the "WHAT?"
H- "Next year dad and I were making that, is it done?" (keep in mind Henry tells a lot of stories that are not in the least bit true and start with phrases like "when I was really big" or "one time when I was a small boy")
M- "What are you going to make with dad? I don't know what you mean."
H- "Dad and I were mixing up the bananas..." waits for me to catch up "and put them in the ice cream maker..." still waiting for his clueless mom
M- "Oh. Are these the dishes from the ice cream that you and dad were mixing last night?"
H- "Yeah." Then he gives me a look like I am the most clueless women on the planet.
M- and all I can say is, "Yes, they are."

It's amazing that I can even think or speak in English anymore, so don't judge me when it turns out that nothing I saw makes sense.

We survived the 1st month

We've had a busy month, but have finally spent the last week trying to get back into some kind of normal life routine around here. Wyatt has done well in the busy life and is getting bigger every day.
Spent some time chillaxin' with Henry in the bean bag.

All dressed up to go play with his friends at the park.

A handsome bunch heading off to church.

So worn out after a busy morning of napping.

I'm sure at some point we will be forced back into a schedule, hopefully we'll be ready for it.

3 Decades Later

30 years ago this handsome man came into the world.

I'm a firm believer that not many men could pull off this look... somehow he does it.

And just to make this years photo more fitting... cause where would we be without this great sense of humor.
When Gavin said prayers tonight, he said, "Thank you that Dad can turn 13 today and that we could have fun together."
I guess that goes to show you that even though he is 30 now, he still acts like he's 13.

Happy Happy Birthday. We love you a lot.

First trip to Lagoon (Amusement Park)

Last week the boys and Caleb headed to Lagoon with some of the Cardon family. Until earlier this summer it would never have occurred to me to take them to an amusement park, since I thought they were too little. I was totally wrong. They had such a great time. There were so many rides for them and they had such a great time with their cousins.
Before they left, we had a long talk about trying new things, and having fun, even if we were nervous etc. I was really talking to Henry about all of this, since he is the kid that refuses to go in a bounce house, but as usual, he never does what you would expect. Turns out he was a maniac on the rides and more than willing to try anything that was suggested to him.

Gavin turned out to be the nervous one. It's a well known fact that he doesn't like loud noise, but that was only have his issue. He did ride pretty much everything that Henry did, but with much more worrying and reluctance the first time. He's wearing the yellow hat in this series of pictures and on the ride next to his cute cousin, Mallory, and Grandpa (in the orange shirt). I thought this was funny because in the close-up you can see that Gavin never takes his fingers out of his ears (this ride had loud music) and he ends up behind little Mals in the seat.

Henry and Claire, ready to rock.

Just a little look at Gavin's nervous face... oh yeah, and the Oregon mesh hat that he and Caleb love for him to wear, and I hat for him to wear. I tried to hide it the other day, and seeing the two of them search the house was quite amusing.

Cardon Reunion 2010

Last weekend was the annual Cardon Reunion. We headed up to Deer Mountain between Park City and Kamas, UT. We had a great vacation rental that overlooked Jordanelle Reservoir. We did some relaxing and some staying busy. Even though we didn't get any pictures of it, we got to see a cool ski jump competition at Olympic Park. The kids even got to try to the kiddie ski jump.
Wyatt seemed to enjoy his first reunion, especially all the people that were more than willing to hold him.

There was lots of time to play with cousins and do many treasure hunts put on by Grandma and Rachel. They always come prepared to keep the kids busy following strange clues and finding prizes.

What a fun group with just a few missing.
We even spent a little bit of time near the water. Though hot weather and people with short legs meant that there was only one long walk to the waters edge.
Lots of kids in one small hot tub... plus Aunt Rachel and Uncle Brennan who are always better sports than the parents of these crazy kids.
Plenty of cookies and treats. These two make quite the pair. Henry came to me all concerned a few minutes before this picture and said, "Mom, Claire doesn't have any pants on." I said, "I know, she has a dress on." Henry- "Yep, but she doesn't have any pants."
Caleb and Nathan both decided to take a vacation from white shirts and suits for church and ended up like twinners. They acted like they were embarrassed and surprised to find themselves matching, but we know that they really called each other to plan it.
I mean really... they even both get the same look on their face when I want to take a picture... how is that not planned?
There was a great night of sunsets to top it all off.
And even though the pictures just don't do justice to the real thing, we had an auction of items that were hand-made by different members of the family. Everyone was able to earn fake money in the two days before the auction by helping out and finishing their dinner, etc. Then we all go to bid on the crafts and gifts. It was hugely entertaining and will most likely become a tradition for the reunions to come. We always love a good laugh.
The only thing Henry wanted to bid on was a big box of puppy chow made by Rich. He sat contentedly munching while everyone else bid on their items.
We had a great time, and hopefully will remember to take even more pictures next time.