200th Post

Yes, faithful readers, I have made it to my 200th post. And if you're still reading my blog that says a whole lot of nothing, wow!

Anyway, tonight we took the kids to a skating rink. Rollerskates, rollerblades, scooters, etc. These are the things we learned about ourselves (mostly what I learned about everyone else because we haven't discussed it together):

Chris: Loves to skate! His brother, Nate, and he used to ice skate like crazy. When Chris first moved to Utah he took ice skating as a class at BYU. But he hasn't been skating at all since he met me. So, he was enjoying himself and the feeling of freedom as his skated around and around.

Megan: I never rollerskated as a child. That's right. I grew up as a little girl in the late 70's and early 80's and never ever rollerskated. I have ice skated, but mostly on dates and then some guy (my "date") would hold my hand and drag me around. To truly understand how I feel about skating, please read my friend Rob's feelings about sledding. But I'm not a complete loser. I totally rocked it on Ms. Pacman.

Ammon: Soooo excited to go. But he was pretty wobbly on those skates. He was not very willing to give himself time to learn how to move. So, he traded in his skates for a scooter. That worked out much better. However, he was a natural at Galaga. His talents lie in different areas.

Sarah: Had so much fun! She worked and worked to learn how to make those skates do what she told them to do. She was figuring some things out, but decided she had fallen too many times. Her little bottomus-hippopotamus was starting to hurt. So, she traded in her skates for a scooter. She was cheerful and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Nathan: Tried on the skates, but could not even stand up. So, he was the first to trade in his skates for a scooter. Nathan is both oblivious and a noncomformist. He paid no attention to other skaters' uniform behavior; he simply crisscrossed in front of them to get where he wanted to go. Everyone there skates around counterclockwise. But not Nathan. He goes whatever direction he wants. He's pretty coordinated and didn't cause too many problems. He just weaved in and out of all the others.

Beth: Wow. She was the surprise of the evening. She got what they call "trainer skates," made by Fisher-Price. She was a natural. She wouldn't let me hold her hand or help her at all. She skated and smiled and was having the time of her life. She's so little out there, but she was perfectly at ease. She saw some bigger kids doing tricks, and so she tried jumping up--and landing on her feet--with her skates on. But after a while, she got bored of that and decided she needed Chris to drag her around. Then she decided she wanted a scooter like the other kids. That was not as much fun for her. She doesn't quite have the balance down (even though it was one of those toddler-scooters), and so she fell over a lot.

Casual observation: At one point, Beth's scooter tipped over and she fell off. She was right in the middle of the rink where I couldn't get to her quickly. She couldn't get the scooter tipped upright. Adults and teenagers were careful to avoid her so she wouldn't get hurt. But there was one kid--couldn't have been more than 8--who stopped to help her. He's my new favorite stranger.

Um....okay.

Bethie: sometimes she makes sense; sometimes she doesn't make sense.

She found Chris' breathmints today and asked if she could have one. She said, "I'm not spicy."

Um, okay.

After eating pizza for lunch, she was getting her hands washed. She said, "Mom, now I'm spicy. I'm so spicy."

Um, okay.

She's been getting really mad lately, but she doesn't quite understand the anger emotion. She's too sweet by nature. She wanted a snack and I said, "No snacks. It's almost time for dinner."

In her angriest voice and with her fists clenched, she said, "We always have dinner."

Yes, life is rough.

Hablamos...

Last night, we had friends over for dinner. Rico and Karina only speak Spanish at home. Their (almost) 3-year-old, Yadiel, speaks exclusively Spanish. Their 5-year-old, Yenica, speaks fluently in Spanish and English (thanks to pre-K and t.v.).

Yenica came over to me wanting dessert. She said, "I eated all my food." Her dad corrected her, "Ate." She looked a little confused and then said, "I ated all my food." She got dessert.

As they were getting ready to leave, Nathan walked up to Yenica and said, "Can you understand this? Adios, Amigos." She could. And her dad thought it was pretty funny.

I'm how old?

On Saturday, Chris and I had business in Provo. Sometimes we make up business in Provo just because we like it down there. So, we were in the BYU Bookstore. (I know I'm a nerd. There are only a few stores I enjoy being in: Office Max, Heartland Paper Co., and Barnes and Noble. My favorite store of all? BYU Bookstore. It's not just the books. They have great clothes, superb fudge, funnier greeting cards than anywhere else, and lots of funky little trinkets.)

Then, we were hungry. We decided to eat in the Cougareat. It was a grand combination of Terriyaki Bowls and Taco Bell. I am really drawing this story out. We sat in the cafeteria area watching students interacting, eating, texting (there's something I never did while in college), and studying. I love BYU campus. I know, I'm a nerd.

As we were walking around BYU, I felt right at home. I also felt like I fit in. I realize I had four children tagging along with me, but kids aside, I could totally fit in at college again, right? My only question is when did the actual college students get to be so young? Boy, those kids look young.

And then, yesterday, we had a couple of my friends from BYU over for dinner: my former roommate, Jen, and our friend, Rico (and their respective families). Thanks to Facebook, I now know that these people live in Utah. Last I heard, Jen was in Florida. Her husband,Stan, was in the Air Force, so they had moved around a bit. Rico and his wife, Karina, moved to Texas right after they got married. I had no idea they were all back, until Facebook! Anyway, Rico was talking to my parents (we still live with them, you  know) and said it had been 17 years since he had seen them. What?! I think he means 17 years since he first met them. He left on his mission 16 years ago. That's a big difference. Anyway, my point here is that 17 is a big number. Has it really been that long since I started BYU? (It's actually closer to 18 years.)

Maybe I didn't fit in so well at the Cougareat on Saturday.

(I am always amazed when I get together with friends I haven't seen for several years and find that it's as if no time has passed. That is the sign of a true friend.)

The Tooth Fairy must make another delivery...

Sarah lost a tooth tonight. She is delighted and excited. She has a super-wiggly one right next to the new hole that wants to come out. I have nothing much to say about this, but I post the picture mainly for Sarah's cousin in Iowa. I am pretty sure she (the cousin) will think this is very, very cool. The cousins in other states may also like it, but that one in Iowa is big time into losing teeth at the moment. So, may I present, Sarah's mouth: