Antelope Island Trip

We went to Antelope Island this weekend for a two night camping trip.  Neither Mark nor I had visited the island since we were kids, so we felt it was high time we got out there with the boys.  We were a little skeptical to stay there because of all the rumors of bugs and smells, but it ended up being an experience I am so glad we have in our memories.  We got lucky with the weather and mostly lucky with the amount of bugs.

Friday afternoon we arrived and set up camp.  Oh how I love that tent trailer.  It is perfect perfect perfect for us.

 We hung out around camp for a bit.  There were tons of little white butterflies all around and Brian was trying so hard to catch them in his butterfly net.  Lucky for him, Mark stepped in to help out.  This is Mark with Brian on his heels chasing down the butterflies. 


They caught one and put it in the bug holder for awhile and then let it go.  Throughout the trip Mark caught quite a few more butterflies for the boys.  I tried several times to help catch one to no avail.  Thank goodness for spry daddy!



After setting up camp, we headed up to the Visitor Center to check things out and learn more about the island.  The whole trip I just kept thinking what a strange lake we have here.  The lake and the island are certainly unique.

That evening we took a long and beautiful bike ride.  Since my last bike post, Mark has acquired another Trail-a-Bike, so when he is with me we each can pull a child.  It is perfect.

We saw some wildlife on our ride.  We saw several bison, a deer, all kinds of birds, and this snake on the road.  Oh and plenty of bugs too, but if we just kept riding they weren't a problem.

My favorite discovery of the whole trip was when we decided to try riding our bikes on the beach and found out that it actually works!  The sand was hard enough that it allowed for the perfect sunset ride on the beach.  What more could we ask for?

 Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful breezy day.  I am so grateful for that breeze, because it kept the heat and the bugs at bay.  

After breakfast, we headed over to Fielding Garr Ranch, initially established in 1848, and still a working ranch.  We tried our hand at a little steer roping.  

 Then we checked out the homestead and the spring.

Of course the favorite attraction was the tractors.

On our way back to camp, this is what we found.

Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam
Where the Deer and the Antelope play;

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the sky is not cloudy all day.

The buffalo herd was on the move and Mark anticipated where they would cross the road.  He positioned our car in the perfect spot and we ended up surrounded by the herd.

 We opened the sun roof and enjoyed the up close and personal experience from the safety of the car roof.  It was seriously cool.

After that incredible morning, we went back to camp for lunch and naps.




While we were quietly talking with Brian waiting for Timmy to finish his nap, this huge bison came lumbering through camp.  It was fun to watch him from the comfort of our beds.





Saturday afternoon, we packed up our beach stuff on the bikes and rode over to the beach and down to the water.  The water is actually quite a distance from the parking lot, and we thoroughly enjoyed reaching the water by bike rather than trudging down there hauling all our stuff on foot.


At first the boys could not stand the sting of the salty water on their bodies and we had them on our shoulders. 

Mark and I had actually never swam in the Great Salt Lake, and we wanted to experience it fully, so while Mark played with the boys in the sand, I rode all the way back to camp to get the floaty boat thing I left in the trailer.

Now they are happy to be in the water and we could really experience that weird salty water.

It is so shallow you can walk out so so far before it gets too deep.

 The floating part was the strangest of all.  Both my feet and my hands are sticking out of the water and I'm just sitting there on top of the water.

Then Brian decided to experience it and thought it was pretty cool too.

Timmy stayed in the boat and wanted to just float around forever.

 Finally we went back to camp and rinsed off as best we could.  Here is where the pictures stop, because the attack of the bugs began.  We ate dinner in the tent trailer and stayed inside for the rest of the night.  Swarms of itty bitty biting gnats were out in force.  We thought we would see how it was in the morning and maybe take another bike ride.  We woke up Sunday morning to even more than the night before, so we decided to join the other campers who were abandoning camp.  We packed up that place as fast as we ever will and drove out!  It made me so grateful for the beautiful time we had on Friday and Saturday!  It all ended up working in our favor and we had quite the experience!  I am glad we got to experience such fun family time as well as Utah's unique geography.

Timmy's Third Birthday and Memorial Day Weekend

Timmy's birthday is always close to Memorial Day.  This year the weekend became one big party packed with loads of fun!

Swimming

It started on Friday afternoon with a family swimming outing.  The boys loved every minute and did not want to leave the pool.  Timmy is so excited to start swimming lessons this summer.

Chuck-E-Cheeses

Timmy requested we go to Chuck-E-Cheeses for his birthday.  We went on Saturday because his big day fell on Sunday.

Birthday Morning

Sunday morning we surprised Timmy when he woke up in the morning with presents and balloons.  The pirate ship boat thing was just an added afterthought.  We had bought it the day before for a few dollars at D.I., and we decided to blow it up for the morning to make everything more exciting.  

 Timmy got a bunch of little tractors and a basketball hoop from Daddy.

 Before we got ready for church the boys helped me make the cake with yummy edible dirt on top for the tractors to dig.

Birthday Afternoon

After church we headed to Nai Nai and Ye Ye's house.  Timmy was so tired from staying up late with excitement the night before and no nap for church that he slept for a while in the car.

After he woke up, we ate dinner and he opened a few presents.  He loves this green grabber tractor Nai Nai and Ye Ye gave him.

Then it was time for cake!  He had been waiting and waiting and waiting for days to sing happy birthday and blow out candles.  Timmy sang happy birthday to himself while we all sang to him.  It was so cute.

 

Then he ate two huge pieces of cake!

When we got home from Nai Nai's house, there was a present waiting on the porch from Grandma and Grandpa!  It was an exciting end to an exciting birthday!

Timmy's Third Birthday Interview

• What is your favorite color? blue and green
• What is your favorite food? macaroni and cheese
• What is your favorite toy?  tractors
• What is your favorite thing to do?  play pirates
• What is your favorite animal?  giraffes and pandas
• Who are your friends?  Xander and Lily
• What is your favorite thing to do?  play basketball
• What is your favorite movie or TV show?  Mighty Machines
• What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?  Play tractors
• What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?  Play hide and seek and hide the pirate
• What is your favorite song?  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• What is your favorite holiday?  Halloween
• What is something you like to do with Brian?  Play pirates and play outside

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!

The next day was Memorial Day and we went back to the Hsiao house for a BBQ and a beautiful bike ride along the parkway.  It was a perfect weekend!

Timmy - 3 Years Old

Timmy is three!  How is it that he is already three years old?  I love taking time at each of my boy's birthdays to think about them, their personalities, what they are up to at that particular age, etc.  The first thing I think of when I want to describe Timmy is he is such a joy to have around.  There is just something about him, maybe it is his mannerisms, how he says things, what he says, his laugh, or just all those things together that makes people smile.  He is exuberant and funny and darling.  

Timmy is generally pretty outgoing with people and animals.  He enjoys telling people about his toys and things he likes to do.  If someone is asking Brian a question about school or something else, Timmy always has to get a word in about himself even if he has to make up an imaginary story about a school that he did not even go to.

Timmy loves being outside and digging in the sandbox or digging in the dirt.  I've just decided to let the boys go to town with digging holes in the backyard.  I'm certainly not going to get around to manicuring it into a beautiful landscape, so they might as well enjoy it.

Timmy loves tractors.  He loves tractors more than trains or anything else.  He can sit on the tractors at wheeler farm for a long long time.  I always have to convince him to get off when it is time to leave.  He collects toy tractors at home and loves to play with them.  He plays tractors by himself, with Brian, and occasionally he can convince me to get down on the ground and play tractors with him.

Timmy is usually pretty brave when it comes to physical activities.  He'll speed around on his strider bike and try new things.  However, he is super super lazy when it comes to walking anywhere!  Believe it or not I am still carrying this guy around.  He even makes me carry him into the store, and into get Brian at school.  I try to make him walk, but he stands on my feet and grabs my legs and whines until I get so frustrated I pick him up.  I know I encourage this when I do pick him up and carry him, but I give in on this one often.

Timmy loves playing with Brian and with Mark and he has the cutest laugh.  I love just listening to him play and laugh.

Timmy sleeps in a big bed now, but he still doesn't use his blankets for cover.  Up until a few months ago Timmy slept with all the stuffed animals and toys he could manage to fit on his bed.  He would ask for more and more every night until finally I buckled down and limited it to his brown blankie and two other items.  His usual choice is his owl, his blankie, and either his baby giraffe or baby panda.  The picture below is how I found him one morning before we put the limit on items in his bed.  He even ended up with shoes in there as little beds for his animals.

Timmy is usually put in bed by 7:00 p.m. but he does not fall asleep until about 8:00 p.m.  He just talks and talks and plays and roles around his bed even when he is super tired. He wakes up usually between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., but his owl doesn't turn green until 7:00 a.m. when he is allowed to come out of his room.  He likes reading with me now and often wants to read the same book over and over again each night rather than reading several different books.

Timmy talks a lot, but he still has a hard time pronouncing his "L's" and his "B's" and he has a cute little lisp.  He is active and healthy most of the time.  He tends to get sinus infections easily.  He is at 50 percentile for his height and 30 percentile for his weight.  He is doing great.

This dude is funny about his food.  When he decides he doesn't like something there is nothing I can do to get him to continue trying it.  He likes kid foods of course and he will eat carrots and corn, but no other veggies.  I know I just need to keep offering and trying to give them to him.  His favorite places to eat are Panda Express where he eats loads of fried rice and orange chicken and Cafe Rio where he eats a kids quesadilla and a whole tres leches dessert.

During the day Timmy hangs out with me.  We take Brian to school and then usually I take him running in the stroller or we go to the gym where he plays with friends and I work out.  Then we either come home or run some errands before we go get Brian.  After picking up Brian we come home, eat lunch and take a nap.  After naps the boys play together or we go somewhere fun for the afternoon.  Timmy is getting really good at climbing and loves parks with something to climb.  In the evening we eat dinner around 5:30, take a bath, read books and go to bed.  This summer he will do swimming lessons and then start two days of preschool in the the Fall.  Timmy is growing too fast!

I love this boy!

Motherhood Matters

Motherhood has been on my mind lately. The following things have kept motherhood at the forefront of my thoughts.

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day.  I love celebrating all mothers and thinking with gratitude how much my own mother has done for me.  Mother's Day also fills me with gratitude for the opportunity I have to be a mother.  It is one of those most precious gifts from Heavenly Father that fills my soul with emotion and gratitude whenever I think about it.  Not only do I get to be a mother, but I get to be the mother to the greatest two boys on the planet.  Only a mother can understand how much I love these precious souls!  

Without any encouragement from anyone, both boys gave me beautiful Mother's Day gifts.  Brian made a card which included the drawings below, and he showered me all day long with hugs and "Happy Mother's Day" exclamations. 

 This is a picture of "Brian and Mommy playing in the rain".

 This is "just Mommy and Brian being happy".  I LOVE how he draws me.

Timmy's gift came a few days before Mother's Day.  I was buckling him into his car seat on our way to go get Brian from school.  Out of nowhere, he got very serious and said, "Mommy? (then made sure I was listening) I just think you are a good mom."  That little thought coming from Timmy's mouth at that moment was a sweet tender mercy that I needed more than anything.  With a tear in my eye I gave him a warm hug and told him how nice it made me feel.  The experience has been on my mind since and makes me want to try even harder to be that "good mom" Timmy was talking about.

New Baby

My little sister had her first baby a few months ago.  We had the opportunity to visit them in the hospital.  When I saw and held that sweet new baby for the first time, I was overwhelmed with some very strong feelings.  The feelings were so strong it sort of shocked me at the time.  It was an assurance of God's love for all of us and an assurance that this new sweet baby was a miracle meant to be here with her loving parents.  

 This is me holding my baby sister Mandy's first baby named Eleanor.

Choosing Motherhood

Back when I was 19 years old and at BYU, I went for a semester to study Church History in Nauvoo, Illinois. I made many wonderful friends there that still influence me today.  I recently got in touch through Facebook with many old friends from Nauvoo.  One of those friends, Lia Suttner Collings, compiled/wrote a book that just came out this Spring at Deseret Book.  It is called Choosing Motherhood and it is a compilation of stories from successful women who put motherhood first in their lives.  I got the book because Lia, whom I admire and look to as an example, wrote several of the chapters.  I loved this book.  

I learned something from each chapter and each mother represented, but the chapter that has stayed with me the most is called "Teach These Souls To Fly."  In this chapter, Lia was asked by her sister the question, "why would anyone want to be a mother?"  Lia's answer came while contemplating the the painting Teach These Souls to Fly by William Blake.

Some of Lia's own words are best.

"As I watched the flight of this mother-child pair, I thought of how my sister-or any outsider-couldn't know about motherhood until she experienced it herself.  I didn't think that my sister could know that the ignorance I saw in the child's face could also be innocence.  In humility, he let his mother pull him-just as my children let me-proving him everything King Benjamin required: "submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, and willing to submit to all things which [his mother saw] fit to inflict upon him" (Mosiah 3:19).  In devoting my days and nights to my children-the sort of individuals the Savior had said made up the kingdom of heaven-I might teach them all that I knew, but they would teach me many, much more important lessons through their childlike nature.  We would lift each other."

"This powerful woman reminded me of Elder M. Russell Ballard's counsel; "As mothers in Israel, you are your [children's] first line of defense against the wiles of the world."  I couldn't provide my children better protection against darkness than to teach their souls to fly above it. . ."

""Teach these souls to fly" - the sacred duty entrusted to mothers, a sacred opportunity afforded to women."

""Who wouldn't want to be a mom?" I wondered. . .What other career could claim as its end product the elevation of a human soul?  Not just the enlightening of a mind or the development of a body, but the improvement of every aspect of a vibrant child of God?"