????Questions and More Questions????

Claire is constantly asking me questions - constantly!! Lately she has been asking me to sing her a new song every night at bedtime. The old standbys aren't good enough anymore - no more Edelweiss, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, or A Spoonful of Sugar. I am running out of songs! Last night I sang The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow - every third word, Claire had a question. "Mom, what's a bottom dollar?" "What's lonely?" "What's a cobweb?" I am glad she is curious, but bedtime already takes long enough without a 2 minute song turning into 10 minutes.


We are watching Sleeping Beauty this morning - in the first 9 minutes of the movie, she has already asked me at least 10 questions. "What's reason?" "Why is there wind?" "Why are they on horses?" "Where are they going all in black?" "Is it to see the princess?"

How do I encourage her to learn and ask about new things without going crazy answering her all day? I guess that is just being a mom - we just have to be patient and expect her to be super smart with all those answers filling up her mind:)

Party Crasher

Miles wants to be in Claire's gymnastics class so badly - he snuck in today, stole a star from the floor and started running for his life. Two minutes later, he was asked to leave. He was heartbroken - he did a sad, low little cry while stretching one arm out towards the door til I distracted him with a video on my phone. The photos are a bit blurry because I was clear across the gym.

Pre-Easter Egg Hunt

We got a head start on the holiday this morning with our ward Easter party, complete with Easter egg hunt and cold french toast (that's what we get for being there 15 minutes late I guess). It was the fastest ward party ever - I think the whole thing was done in less than 45 minutes. We were off to ballet afterward, so we couldn't have stayed longer anyway. It was a really nice day - and as Claire would say, it stopped "wind-ing" (it makes sense really - rain-ing, snow-ing, why not wind too?)so we could enjoy the warmer weather without a dust storm.

Miles was very intense while picking up eggs - I don't think he smiled once, but with that dang pacifier, who could tell? Claire took off on her own and didn't look back once. When did she get so big? Pretty soon she won't need me at all...sigh.




The kids had chocolate and lollipops for breakfast and had fun at the park, though they kept getting lured back to their baskets for more candy.

Signs of Summer

In Vegas, Summer is typically in full swing by May, and this year it seems to be no different. We are well on our way to high 80s, low 90s. For those of you still getting snow, just know we will be wishing to trade places with you in a month or so when our temps hit 100.

One of my favorite parts of Summer is fresh fruit - finally the hard, sour fruit is gone and we have good berries that don't cost a fortune. We had a visit from Avery and we decided to make chocolate covered strawberries. They were a hit - the photos can attest to their deliciousness.

Words

I finally got Miles to say some of his words on camera and show off some of his skills. I especially like some of his sounds, some animals, some human. :) He is such a boy!

Vegas Sunrise

This past week I have seen more sunrises than maybe the past 5 years combined. Waking up at 4:30 am to exercise is not my idea of a good time, but I signed up for a boot camp class and the only time that really worked with my schedule was the 5 am class, about 15 minutes away. I started on Tuesday, and the first thing we did was grab a 15 lb weight (ball or hand weight) and run 1.5 miles. Yes, run. I haven't ran a mile in at least a year - though maybe if you add up all the back and forths on the basketball court each week, I probably end up running that far in the hour that we play.

The class is at a park, complete with hills and a dirt trail. I was hurting. But, I did it. Then we had to do 4 sets of 25 sit ups, 25 push ups, 25 mountain climbers, and 25 curb sits - basically sitting down and standing up til your quads are on fire!! And then, insult to injury, we had to run another mile, with the weight. Though the main rule in boot camp is "No Walking!" I just had to walk on the last mile. I was just about the last person to finish, but at least I kept moving.

Before you are impressed that I did this all week, don't be. On my way to class the second morning, running late and envisioning being forced to do more push ups with my limp noodle arms in front of everyone as punishment, I was pulled over by probably the only nice motorcycle cop in town - and received the second speeding ticket I've had in my life. So, 20 minutes later I really was late to class, so I just couldn't face the instructor. Instead I went to the gym and made myself run a mile, then run/walk another one, and do the other exercises in class.

I have decided that I can actually be a morning work out person again - before kids, I would go to 6 am classes all the time. I think boot camp isn't for me - I have anxiety about it, I am so worried about being late, or not being able to do the drills, that I wake up all night long. But, I am going to go back, mainly because I paid for the month, but it's not going to be my daily work out routine. At least it's got me moving again.

Also, I helped start a Biggest Loser competition at work (everyone has a hard time being healthy during tax season), so I need to get motivated for that. So far, we have $400 on the line! Time to get serious.

Go Team Gryffindor!

Claire's new Harry Potter jersey - given to her by Becky Baird, representative of all things fun in Orlando. She was in town for the weekend and came with gifts for the kids - including a chocolate frog. We are still working on it, Becky.

The back of the jersey says "Potter" and the front has "Gryffindor." Claire wore this shirt several days in a row, refusing to take it off until I insisted it needed to be washed. The whole time she wore it, she would tell me - Mom, I'm a team! Not ON a team, mind you. She is already competitive - guess it runs in the family. Just yesterday she told me she was going to play soccer this year and that her team would be the best. I did NOT say anything like that to her before - that was all Claire.