We Like to HIKE

Well, most of us do. Some of us like to be carried on hikes.
My family tries to get up to the Albion Base above Alta during the wildflower bloom. Last time we went Miranda was 8 weeks old or thereabouts. It is a LOVELY family-friendly hike. I highly recommend it.
This time we were lucky to have Katie back from China. Dad and Fernando kept switching off hoisting the kids, and the rest of us occasionally lugged whichever was whineyest.
When I go to the mountains I always wonder WHY in the world I don't go there more. My perspective seems to clear with the crisp thin air and the view...I can better see the earth in its splendor and the beauty of my life and the blessings I enjoy. My worries, busyness, and problems get smaller as all of the world gets bigger.





pride rock from Lion King. Look closely.

the destructor

We've always called Sam "the destructor." ...Like "skeletor" with an emphasis on the "or." Just want you to read it right.

Yesterday he proved it.

He flipped his blue popsicle all over the wall and, and, AND got a big drop onto the matte (sp?) of a painting we bought in Italy! All from the convenience of his high chair! Don't worry, the little blue spot will NOT come out.

He also spread his sister's cake all over the couch downstairs.

And finally...

He got a little mesh bag that I keep fingernail polish in, like about 10 bottles, and threw it down on the carpet in our room. No worries. It's carpet, so the fall was cushioned, right? Wrong. They smashed against each other and of course the one to break was the BRIGHT RED ONE. So red goes through the mesh bag (MESH!? very smart, Sharon...grrr!) onto the carpet and onto all the other stuff in the bag. I took it all to the sink to try to wash it off while it was still wet (leaving the carpet stain there to dry...VERY smart, Sharon...) and none of it would come off just with the water, it was already sticking (a valuable quality in a nail polish at any othe r time). Right now as these fingers fly across the keyboard they are still stained with red. I finally got it all cleaned up and off of the sink after having to throw several things in the mesh bag and the bag itself away. I had to use SO much nail polish remover and ruin a towell, strike that, two towells.

Then like a genius I started to try to get the red out of the carpet with nail polish remover. Which Fernando almost simultaneously found out downstairs on the computer with wikipedia should NOT be used to get nail polish stains out of carpet.

So, the stain is still there. I've read a few removal suggestions I'm willing to try. But this red blotch might just be the motivation we need to rip up the carpet and refinish the wood floor. If Fernando is reading this, please recognize that the word "we" in the previous sentence should be interpreted very loosely as I plan on helping, or non helping, about as much as I did when you refinished the rest of the upstairs. So, yeah, maybe we won't be starting that project anytime soon.

It was all in a day's work for the destructor.

thinking ahead...we do more than potty training around here

Yes the Seminario children are preparing for football season. You can see we have really been encouraging them to eat a protein-rich diet and push themselves with the weights. Clearly such dedication has paid off.

the best lullaby

I have to resist the urge to drive Sammy in the car every time he needs to go down for a nap or for the night because IT'S SO EASY. He was a really easy go-to-sleeper, just put him in his crib and 10 minutes later voila, but after all the traveling and since he's growing up he's quite resistant lately (to put it mildly). I have to fight the drive to sleep method because it won't work too well if he turns 16 and still goes on a drive to fall asleep.

missing the Chinese peoples

Yes, I'm missing the Chinese peoples in our family. That's Patrick, Xiao Yu, and Katie (for five more days! KATIE!!!!!) who are far away in the east. I cried about it today and I have a few times before that and Fernando even got choked up about it on Sunday when we sat down for dinner at my parents and none of them were there.

We're glad we had a chance to vacation with Patrick and Xiao Yu before they left, since they'll be gone a long time, and we look forward to spending lots of time with Kate when she gets back.



These are my favorite...Katie and Xiao Yu in the double stroller...sisters should play nicely together! Plus my cute mom who would still have that smile on her face if they were her real twins fighting...the perfect mom.

back

I thought I'd jump back with a really stellar post but I'm sorry to say that just a post is all I have to offer. Thanks to everyone who has kept checking in on us while we've been off. I appreciate your friendship and that you care about our little family.

These are just pictures I love that show just a smidgeon of the fun our kiddos had with their family in California. When I think about being a kid in summer I feel so happy. I'm so happy our kids are having a wonderful summer. I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer also.

I know I don't need to mention that Sammy had popsicle juice coating all exposed skin as well as most of his clothing after he finished this wonderful treat. He only wants to eat things if he can feed it to himself right now. I think we went through that with Miranda, but Samuel takes that need for control to a whole new level. My mom said the other day that Sammy is the happiest when he has a fork in his hand. Although he loves seeing dogs as well and playing in water.

Miranda is three now, you know, so of course I should have expected it but right now she'll often say, "It's soooo romantic!" about things that are romantic and about things that aren't romantic at all. I love it. She's also into being JUST like her dad in everything. She likes to tell me the ways she is just like her dad and then she wants me to say, "Did you come out of Dad's tummy or something? I think you did!" after which she tells me, "No, I came out of this tummy of course!" and sticks a finger into my nice squishy belly. Which is unfortunate because I do a pretty good job of convincing myself that it's not squishy most of the time. Your kids help you to face reality head on, right? I know it's only going to get worse. I can hear it now, "Mom, you're not going to wear THAT are you?" "Mom, don't say 'rad' that is SO embarrassing." Stuff like that. Stuff that maybe Fernando already thinks. Do you hunny? Don't answer that.

Anyway, she's also into directing everyday life. I think it's hilarious but also good for me as I've fallen out of practice with my acting skills and I appreciate a chance to get back into it. For example, the other day I was sitting at the computer working when I heard her come in, and then shut the door behind her. I was wondering what was up so I said, "Miranda, are you okay?"
"Mommy, pretend that I come into the door and you are just working at your computer, and then you hear something but you don't look up."
"Okay."
She walks in a makes a little noise that I'm supposed to hear but not look up. So I don't look up.
"Then you hear it and you look up and you say, "Did I hear something?"
Alright. So I do it.
"Did I hear something?"
"Then you see my little baby that I'm carrying and you get surprised and say, 'Is that your baby?!'"
Me: "Is that your baby!" suprisedly.
This went on for awhile and is typical of the type of staging I'm required to do multiple times a day. Sometimes it's hard to give a Academy worthy performance because I'm trying to keep a straight face. It's clear to me that she knows EXACTLY what she wants from each make believe scene she enters. It's a good thing she usually only plays with her mom, right? Can you imagine her "directing" kids her age? She'd probably be punched.

Well, the post turned out to be longer than I thought. Fernando made a good joke today but I can't remember it right now. And I'm still plugging away at being and doing all the things I've committed to be and do, and succeeding at very minor portions of all of it. But I'm still trying. That counts, right? Let's hope so.

Happy Birthday Miranda Panda!

Yes we are still alive...we're in CA staying with the Seminarios and we've had some unexpected trouble with internet. So, when we get back to Utah we'll be back online.
TODAY is Miranda's 3rd birthday! We were just commenting to each other the other night, Fernando and I, about how we could not have fathomed the ways our lives would be blessed by even just three years with this incredible little person. We love her so much, all of the let's pretend and why's and her sweetness and incredible memory and her love. HAPPY BIRTHDAY little Miranda Panda!