A Dad and His Kids

If you know Cameron at all then you already know, the man loves his kids.  He is almost always doing something with them whenever he has the chance.  He plays Wii with them, tells them stories, teaches them to use his tools, plays in the yard, reads them books at night.  The list goes on and on.  It is rare indeed to find another father so in love with his children.  It warms my heart to see it.  Not only is he constantly interacting with them, he is also often worried that he isn't doing enough.  I guess we are all hardest on ourselves.

Today Cameron came home for a little while at lunchtime.  He had a short list of things to do (eat, call the cable company, rub my feet... okay not really... I wish that really was on the list though).  As the clock ticked on it was clear he should be headed into work so he could be at his next meeting.  I had assumed he'd headed back when, from the open window in the sewing room upstairs, I hear the kids laughing and playing in the backyard with their dad.  I assumed he'd gotten sucked into a quick game of Nerf tag (a current favorite of the kids').  However, a few minutes later Cameron and Maddy call me down to see what they are doing. 

I emerge into the backyard to find it overflowing with bubbles!  For Christmas I had given Cameron an electronic bubble gun in his stocking.  He hadn't taken the opportunity to try it out, until now.  The thing is amazing!  There were bubbles EVERYWHERE.  It was so much fun.  The kids were dancing around and we were all laughing and having a great time.  Bubbles.  What a great invention. 

I love that Cameron couldn't resist bringing out these bubbles, just so he had an excuse to spend a few more minutes playing with his kids before heading back to his office.  He really is a great dad.

Just so you don't miss out on the fun, here's a clip of the action: 

Called to Prepare

In this month's Ensign magazine, the message that President Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, had for the Home Teachers to share with their families was titled, "The Lord Needs Missionaries".  There has been quite an emphasis lately from the Prophet and Apostles on missionary work.  In General Conference the Prophet gave a talk that focused on this very topic, and specifically gave weight to the fact that the Lord is in need of Senior Couples to serve missions.  So, as a result, the subject of missions has been a hot topic of conversation.

Cameron and I have been doing a lot of financial planning recently.  We've been discussing what types of accounts we would like to begin saving in and for what purposes.  Top of our list is a fund for the children's education and missions, and a fund for our own future missions together.  It is so much fun to be thinking realistically about those things.  Saving money makes them seem so much more real, and so much closer!

To start the kids' thinking on missionary work as well, for Family Home Evening last Monday night he shared some pictures from his own mission in South Korea.  He also let them look at and touch a few of his missionary name badges.  It made it seem so much more real to them to hold the badges in their hands.  River told Cameron that when he turns 19 and is a missionary he wants to wear Cameron's missionary name tags.  Since he will be Elder Alverson just like his father, that might actually make sense.  However, River also told Cameron that when he is a missionary he wants Cameron to be his companion.  Sorry River, that's not going to happen.  I need Daddy home with me!

To help the kids remember that they need to start preparing to serve a mission now, there was a little certificate in the Ensign to print out and have them sign.  It lists some things they can do to start preparing now such as:

• Keep myself clean and pure and worthy to represent the Lord.
• Maintain my health and strength.
• Pray and study the scriptures

There is then a place for their signature.  Tonight we decided to revisit the lesson from last Monday, and we let the kids help Daddy laminate their "Call to Prepare" certificates.  This way they will last!  We already had to reprint River's certificate.  In the week since we had him hang it on his wall somehow it had gotten wet and the words were smeared down the page.  Hopefully sealing it in a layer of plastic will help keep it safe from now on!

Talking with the kids about serving a mission when they get older has been really fun for them.  River talks about things he will do on his mission all the time now.  Today he told Britta that she couldn't drink out of one of the stainless steel water bottles we have because he is saving it for his mission companion when he turns 19.

It's really neat to hear all of the kids excited to be preparing to serve missions.  Time goes by so quickly.  Before I know it the time will be here and we will all be very glad they started preparing to serve today!

Resisting Slumber

When you're a kid the last thing you want to do is sleep.  There is so much going on!  If you sleep, you're missing all the fun.  From the moment you wake up in the early early morning, until the time you are forced to give into the urges to sleep at night it is nothing but GO GO GO!  At least, that's the story in my house.  Naps seem to be resisted at an earlier and earlier age with each child.  Britta is barely 3 years old, and I can't remember the last time she purposely, and voluntarily took a nap.  I do try to give the kids downtime during the afternoon in hopes that they will rest their bodies, but there is no forcing my children to sleep. 

An example of my kids' reluctance to stop what they are doing in order to sleep was illustrated to me just today.  We were on our way home from San Antonio.  My friend Robin volunteered to watch the kids so Cameron and I could visit the LDS temple in the area.  I hadn't seen her in years, and was thrilled with the chance to let our kids play together.  It's amazing how much kids can run one another ragged.  My kids were exhausted when we finally started home. 

While in the car, Britta was playing a rousing game of, "Eat the Jessie toy while hitting her with various other figurines."  It was a hilarious game in the first place (wish I could have gotten a video), but seeing her fast asleep with Jessie still in her mouth was priceless.  Little nose all scrunched up, chubby cheeks bulging.  Absolutely priceless.  I figure I can use these pictures to show future boyfriends.  Either that, or we should all use them as a reminder that we need to embrace sleep instead of fighting it tooth and nail.  If we don't, you never know what pictures will surface as a result.

Family Shopping

You know when you're at home, and the kids are being good, and you really need to go shopping, and you tell yourself they will be just as good at the store?  I can always picture the two personalities, one with my optimism, and one with my pessimism, sitting on my shoulders as I am about to make a possibly unwise decision.  (You know, like my shoulder angel and devil.) My optimism is saying, "Oh, the kids will be very well behaved *this* time.  It will even be fun!" The pessimism snorts out in laughter and can't get another word out.

The kids need clothes.  I made a list of what clothes each has, and what clothes I would like them to have in an ideal situation.  River's wardrobe in particular is almost laughable.  It's tough keeping enough clothes in his closet that aren't too small (that kid is growing like a weed), or full of holes or stains.  So, as the winter clearance sales are in full swing, I figured today was a good day to venture out.  Cameron got off work around 2:30 this afternoon, so he was able to accompany me.  It's more fun to go shopping for the kids when he comes too because he always has an opinion.  He loves seeing them wear nice clothing, and it feels like a joint venture when we decide together what to purchase.  The only down side is when we go shopping together, the kids have to tag along.

Today we were able to hit an Old Navy while Maddy was at her singing practice.  We were hoping that the two adults to two children ratio would make the trip easier.  It wasn't bad.  The store didn't have much of a selection and we were able to get in and out rather quickly.  We grabbed a few shirts for River and a couple for Madalyn.  Success!  It was a close call when the kids started chasing balls down the aisles and when Britta threw herself onto the ground when we refused to purchase the bright pink umbrella.  But we did make it out with patience left to spare.

After picking up Maddy and refueling the children with some quesadillas, we headed to the outlet mall.  There's a Gymboree there along with a few other places that I felt were worth checking out.  Gymboree is probably my favorite children's store.  They always have really cute clothing, and often have great sales.  As we searched through racks of clothes we took turns telling the children to "Put those back on the rack," and, "Please don't scoot that stepping stool around the store!"  Luckily there weren't very many people shopping at the time so we didn't have to shout the usual, "Don't run into people!"  Finally, after narrowing our selections down to 4 pants and 4 shirts for River, and a pink long sleeved shirt with a fuzzy monkey and the words "Daddy's Little Monkey" just for Britta, we were ready to head out of the store!  But not before Britta decided that the pair of sunglasses she, of course, could not have, was worth a tantrum on the floor.  It literally took a good five minutes, but we were finally able to carry her out of the store (without the aforementioned glasses) and make one last stop at OshKosh.  Luckily this was a quick stop, with one more outfit for River.  THERE.  DONE.

Sometimes I think these shopping trips make me a better parent.  I am forced to exert more patience than I possibly would otherwise because, we've all seen those parents that yell at their children in public, and who wants to be one of those people?? If I were to stay home and shop online I would never get that kind of practice.  I would be a thoroughly impatient person the rest of my life.  Or maybe that's just my optimism talking once more.  Sometimes I hate that guy.

Pajama Heaven

One of my very favorite things to make for my children, as I have mentioned once before, is pajamas!  I have made more pajamas than any other type of clothing (aside from cloth diapers).  I think one of the reasons is because I can use whatever fabric I want without having to worry about looking silly in a public place.  I love big fuzzy fleece pajamas.  It's colder in Austin than it is in Phoenix and one of the lovely results is that instead of only getting to wear fleece feet pajamas for a few weeks out of the year, we get to wear them for a few months!  It's really been great.  Cameron and I have two pair a piece, and the kids each have at least that many.

For the kids I don't actually attach "feet" to the feet pajamas.  I've found that by having a cuff on the ankle instead it allows for more growing room, and I also don't have to worry about them getting holes in the soles of the feet (which was always a really common problem when I was a child).  Luckily feet pajamas on kids are cute both with and without feet.  Here is proof:

Today I finished a pair of pajamas for Britta.  I made them out of the same fleece as I used to make my mother pajamas for Christmas.  I figure she'd love a little red headed twin.  Wouldn't we all?  I added front pockets to this pair because Britta LOVES pockets.  Anytime I give her a new item of clothing she checks first thing for pockets.  When she finds them she squeals and says, "Oooh!  Pockets!"  It's almost enough to motivate me to resew all of her clothing to add pockets just so I can hear her happy response.

Sewing is such a fulfilling hobby.  I'm loving having such eager recipients of the items sewn.  I am hoping there never comes a day where my kids decide they are too "cool" to wear feet pajamas to bed.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

When Cameron and I first decided to purchase this house one of the things we were impressed with was the neighborhood.  Our little neighborhood is called Shadowbrook.  It consists of a single loop of road lined with a few dozen houses.  The houses were all custom builds and most were constructed around 1980 (give or take a few years).  They are all beautiful and very well kept.  Though Round Rock is a suburban city, we are lucky enough to have beautiful greenery and even wildlife around.  It is not an uncommon thing to have deer eating our grass in the evenings. 

It has been such a novelty for us to have access to nature trails and paths along the nearby stream whenever we like.  There is a small single lane road that leads off the main Shadowbrook circle to the Shadowbrook Club which consists of a swimming pool, volleyball court, tennis courts and ramada.  The short road crosses a bridge over the stream.  There is also a walking path from the club over to another small neighborhood called "Shadowbrook North".  This street is quite a bit larger than our small neighborhood, and we share the Shadowbrook Club with those residents as well.

Today, when Cameron arrived home from work, we decided to head out on a walk with the family.  There are often people walking around our neighborhood, and I love how friendly and safe I feel when doing so myself.  We took the children down the little single lane road to the club. 

Though the club is closed for the season right now, the walk to and from is still lovely.  I was again amazed at how beautiful the landscape is.  It was a peaceful feeling to let the children run ahead at their leisure and talk and laugh and enjoy the fresh air together.

On our walk back toward our house we spotted a half dozen deer grazing in the yards bordering the stream.  I managed to get a single photograph, which unfortunately only captured a single deer from the herd.  Though we've been in our house nearly 5 months the novelty has most definitely not worn off.  I wonder if it ever will.  I hope not.

I love living in a place where my family is able to feel the full advantage of our environment.  I am most certainly a lover of the outdoors, and am thrilled at all the opportunities I am being given to relish in it.

Preschool at my house!

When we moved here back in July I was approached at church and asked if we would be interested in participating in a Preschool group for River along with a few other 4 year old children from our ward.  I was excited to have the opportunity.  Since we homeschool, I am always looking for fun ways to give my kids the chance to play with other kids.  We decided to meet every Tuesday from 9am to noon.  We rotate houses.  There are four kids and four moms involved (which is actually a nice sized group!).

Today was my day to host the kids.  I have hosted a handful of other times thus far.  I learn something each time.  One of the things I was glad to learn was that these kids like to do a craft and learn a letter, but that's about all the structure they really want (at least, at *my* house).  Mostly they just want to play.  I'm a big believer in free play.

Including my 2 girls (one 3 years old and one 7 years old), there were 6 kids here today.  We learned about the letter "O".  They traced worksheets with the letter, and then we made a mini windsock Octopus craft.  They all turned out very cute.  I love how proud young children are of their art work.  I had at least 3 of the 6 tell me (privately) that their octopus was definitely the best of the bunch.


After the craft the kids put on jackets and went into the backyard to play.  It was in the mid 50's today.  Not too cold, but chilly enough for a jacket.  Perfect running around weather though.  I love how kids can run and run and run.  I also love how it's not necessary for me to engage the children in play.  They are much better at it than I am anyhow!

We took a break for a snack a bit later.  I made peanut butter protein balls from a recipe my friend Heather gave me.  They have peanut butter, organic milk powder, flax seeds, ground flax, oat, oat bran, and honey.  That's it.  The kids devoured at least 3 good sized pieces each.  They called them "cookies" and asked for more.  I love it.  Healthy and yet delicious.

When it was time to go they gathered up their things, said their goodbyes and thank yous and loaded into their cars.  I was surprised at how fast the time went by, and pleasantly noted how fun and low stress today's time together turned out.

Fashionable is not a sweeping statement

There are so many extremely cute things out in the world of fashion.  Cute dresses.  Cute accessories.  Cute pants.  However, it is important to remember that just because something is cute does NOT mean everyone should wear it.  Seriously.  Skinny jeans?  Well, maybe if you pair it with a smock style top.  Dresses are great... but not really if you're male (as a general rule ;).

I had my own experience in the dos and don'ts of fashion today.  My daughters had the cutest hair bows on their heads today.  They matched well, and the bows themselves were also very fun.  They were big, flashy, and fun.

However, this may not be the case with all children, but my children rarely wear an accessory in their hair longer than an hour at a time.  It either falls out, they take it out, or someone pulls it out.  Inevitably I will find it on my livingroom floor sometime later that same day.  Well, I hate to lose these hair bows.  They are never in the place I want when I'm ready to put on in the girls' hair.  My solution?  I pick the thing up, and fasten it into my own hair.  You see where this is going?

Today, I had both girls' (completely contrasting) hair bows fastened upon my head.  Of course, I completely forget about this fact until AFTER my neighbor comes over looking for her son (who is playing with mine at another neighbors' house).  I STILL don't remember as I stand on my porch and wave as another neighbor pulls into his driveway.  When it dawns on me that I must look like a total fool, I remove the incriminating evidence and hope nobody noticed.  Yeah, right.  The neighbor that I waved at as he drove past and went into his driveway (my next door neighbor as it would turn out), was getting his mail a few minutes later and after greeting both myself and my daughter Britta, turned to me and told me how much he liked my hair bows.  Of course, I acted as though it didn't phase me a bit and I just let him know I picked them up as the girls dropped them around the house.  He didn't care, he just thought it was funny.  I guess it is rather funny.  But maybe next time I just put the bows into my pocket and remember, just because it was cute on the kids doesn't mean mom should wear it, too.

There's always room for Jello.

I have discovered, through experience, I have a hard time keeping things simple.  I always manage to add things and take things away in order to transform a perfectly simple task into a complex project.  It's a curse.  On the other hand, those complex projects do spice things up a bit.  Plain can be boring at times, so why not add sequins?

Today was another example of my sequin philosophy.  After church is a stressful time for me.  The children always have a ton of energy, and are typically bouncing off the walls.  I have found that unless I find a way to help them channel that energy, I am easily annoyed and prefer shutting myself into my room for an hour or so.  Considering that our view on the Sabbath Day is that it's primarily a family day, I prefer find things to do that have us all spending time together.  During lunch I asked the kids if they wanted to make jello with me after the meal.  Of course this was followed by cheering.  The kids then took turns asking everyone to raise their hand if they wanted to make Jello.  After raising our hands three times, there was no doubt as to the unanimous vote in the affirmative.  Hooray for Jello!

Of course, making jello is not just a matter of "making jello" in my house.  Yes, we bring a cup of water to boil on the stove and add the jello to dissolve.  But then, the sequins are added.  Since we are making orange Jello, the first thing we add is mandarin oranges.  I like to measure out the juice and sub that in for some of the cold water to be added as well.  Once that's all poured into the cups, they go into the refrigerator for about an hour, waiting for the next layer to go on top.  Normally I use goblets (just because they're pretty), but this time I decided to use our bigger glasses instead, simply because they hold more jello!

Once the bottom layer has set a bit, we make the next mixture.  It's similar, but instead of adding mandarin oranges, we add some plain homemade yogurt.  It provides a slight tang and brings a bit of an opaque look which adds the bit of variation we're looking for.  Then back into the fridge they go!

The next layer is the family favorite.  My dad makes these for special occasions, and one holiday he experimented and added cream cheese.  Incredible.  Seriously.  We'll never look back.  This is the best layer ever.  I added about 4 oz this time 'round.  The Jello turns a nice pastel orange with the addition, and adds a special something to the presentation.

Once the Jello is all set, we add a layer of whipping cream.  There is just something about whipping cream that makes a dessert look finished.  Personally I just love seeing the bit of whipping cream on the kids' lips that show how much they are enjoying their treat.

It's amazing how much more enjoyable a dessert is when it's prettied up a bit.  And I think my children agree.

As you can see, I could easily have spent 10 minutes with the kids making a simple, plain, orange Jello.  However, you can also see, by adding a few "sequins" we now have a delicious parfait dessert fit for a queen -- or anyone who just likes their Jello with a bit of flare.

Blunn Creek Preserve

This afternoon Cameron and I took the kids on another hike here in the Austin area.  After wading through traffic for 50 minutes (it was only supposed to take us half an hour to drive there), we arrived at a charming little area a few minutes south of downtown Austin.  Blunn Creek is a forty-acre Nature Preserve with a fun (short) trail hiking into and back out from a Volcano Overlook.

It is a good thing to area had well marked trails because I had a hard time reading the directions provided in our book (I was apparently reading the wrong section) and we missed our first turn off.  It lead us to an area blocked off by construction.  My knee jerk reaction was to blame the book.  The last hike we went on had a closed trail as well.  Fortunately (and unfortunately?), we soon discovered we'd merely taken a wrong turn.  After following a different trail, we soon stumbled upon the original trail we were supposed to have followed.  Unfortunately, we were then taking the trail in the wrong direction.  This was fine other than the fact that I was then completely unable to follow the guided directions from the book.  Again... good thing for well marked trails.

The area was beautiful even in this colder weather.  This hike had a much more rustic feel to it, which was a lot of fun.  The kids loved to run ahead and see what they could find.  Maddy was intrigued by these fun twirly tiny vines.  Cameron pointed them out to her a few times and she was able to find one to carry with her.  They remind me of ramen noodles.

The kids also found a ton of small twirly shells.  The littlest two were especially excited about this discovery and insisted on grabbing as many as they could to keep in their pockets.

There is a small creek that runs through the center of the preserve.  We got to cross it twice and succeeded in keeping everyone dry in the process.  There was also a place that had rocks leading down to the creek where the kids sat and tossed pebbles into the water.  I have to admit that I felt like a paranoid mother and soon urged Cam to gather the kids before one of them fell.

It was so strange to hike in this beautiful wooded area where we could hear birds and push aside branches and play in water and enjoy nature, and yet, when we reached the overlook point we could see clearly the high rise buildings from downtown Austin.  So strange, and yet, so much fun to know we weren't very far from home!

We all had a great time!  The kids are already asking to return.  I'm glad we took the time on our busy Saturday to enjoy nature and get to know yet another fabulous place to be in this great place known as Austin, TX.

The Necessity of Pretend

One of the things I remember from my childhood was my frequent adventures in the land of pretend.  I spent my first decade of life playing make believe along side my sisters.  There was no limit to where we would go.  From simple things like the belief that our Barbies were alive and had feelings, to more active things such as playing pirate ship on the swing set in the backyard.  Together there was no holding us back!

These experiences were the key to opening up the world of possibilities for us.  By allowing our imaginations to run away we were able to explore what things could be like for us.  Adventures we might take.  Experiences we might have.  We were able to be the people we wanted to be.  In the process we were strengthening our bonds with one another.  After all, how could you ever stay mad at the sister who pulled you back onto the boat before the shark consumed you whole?


As a mother, one of my very favorite things is watching my children interact in their own world of make believe.  I love watching their nearly ongoing game of "Puppy" as it unfolds.  I smile to myself as I see them racing around the backyard riding their magical unicorns.  I almost don't mind when they bring inside pockets filled with rocks and acorns when they tell me it's their newly acquired treasure.

I enjoy the memories they bring back of my own childhood, and I revel in the fact that they are able to have similar experiences.  They are already the best of friends.  The experiences they are having now are the most carefree of their lifetime.  They will look back upon their childhood with probably as much fondness as I do.

And all the time I spend helping them clean up messes from various adventures will seem such a small price to pay for the cherished memories I have of watching them make those messes.

Mmm Mmm Veggies

I have heard it said that a lot of people post things on their blog that portray them in a falsely positive light.  We're told not to compare ourselves to other people based on what they write about themselves on their blog (or anywhere, for that matter).  They might have a point... however, I have no personal experience to prove this correct or incorrect.

Well, today, I thought you would all enjoy seeing my healthy kids eat their vegetables (like they do every day as I am sure yours do, too ;)

Okay okay fine.  I actually fed them these veggies at 2:30pm (hours after their normal meal time) because I'm not feeling well and they hadn't had lunch yet.  They were especially excited to eat them because I bought them from Costco for the first time in weeks (Hey, fresh produce is harder to keep on hand... and not spoiled... than you'd think!).  And the last fact that takes all my glory away... they consumed more Ranch Dressing than veggies.

But hey... had you going for a little bit, didn't I?  ;)