We've been playing a new game at our house.

You could call it Mommy-is-Sick-of-Feeding-the-Ungrateful-Masses, but as I am not bitter, it's really about a simple points system.

I told my food-fearing, taste-starved children that I was going to cook what I wanted for dinner and no one was going to make them try a bite of anything anymore. They were in charge of their own hungry tummies for each meal and they couldn't be unkind about the food I make and that whining about dinner would no longer be tolerated. (Then I throw in the sweet part...) "However," I said, "every time you try something new, a nickel-sized bite of something, you will get a point. If you get ten points, you will get a prize. You'll get a bonus date with mom and dad, a game rental from the Redbox, a snowcone... (stuff around a dollar)"

And I left it at that.

It has been magic!!!

Just last night, watching Bryce dig into a mushroom-filled wild rice casserole was more rewarding than finishing a good book.

Over the last two weeks my kids have eaten kale chips, kohlrabi, carrots, that rice casserole, steak sauce and grilled garlic spread on grilled french bread. The funniest part is how surprised they are that they actually like things.

I didn't think it would work this well. 

They only amendment I made to the original statement is that they could get up to five points per new thing (to encourage truly tasting what they put in their mouths).

We have had snow cones, rented Epic Mickey...and that's just the beginning. Bryce is DEFINITELY in the lead on this. He just cleared his third set of ten yesterday. Ella's had two and Dane one.

The final benefit is that I'm enjoying dinner again. Family dinner is quality time instead of tense and unhappy. I'm not afraid to share that in the past I have left the table in tears because food and filling tummies has always equaled love to me. I think my love may be better spent elsewhere, instead of using it as a cooking ingredient.

Three months ago, Cam and I decided to have dates with our kids in earnest. Each month they get a date with one of us. One month I'll take both boys (at different times) and Cam will take Ella. The next month we switch. 

We try to keep them on the cheap, though we do have a $5 dollar budget just in case. 

Most often, they involve an ice cream cone and a movie (at home or the dollar theater). 

This ice cream date with Bryce was sponsored by the library. Read five books, get a small ice cream for free. Yay! So Bryce and I used the rest to buy dye to tie-dye a shirt for him. He loved that!

Once Ella and I bought flowers for our garden, I let her pick out several six packs. When I first came up with the idea she hugged me and told me I was the best mommy EVER! The night before we were to have our date (keeping in mind that Bryce had gone to a movie with dad earlier in the week) she said, "Mom, our date tomorrow is really just shopping. That's not a date." 

I was so sad! Cam told me to stick with my plan, so the next morning we headed to Lowe's to get the flowers. We hadn't been browsing long when she hugged me and said "This was a lot more fun than I ever thought it would be!" She even stuck with me throughout the planting and she designed how they would be planted (in a rainbow shape). The girl has good taste. 

I've taken Dane to the library in the evening, just the two of us. That was enough for him. 

I think they really long for one on one time with us. I can see the benefits of them knowing they're going to have us all to themselves. I think they feel closer to us and I feel like I have permission to give them my full attention.

This is my off-track summary and my-computer-is-working-hurry-and-post-something post.

First, we found some monarch caterpillars. Very exciting! The kids named them Thunderbolt and Wiggles. Wiggles was the most friendly and everyone held him.

 Bryce was devastated that we put them in jars. He probably would've slept with his if it was allowed.

When the monarch's instinct tells it to become a butterfly, it'll hang upside down with the aid of a lot of silk and then hang there in this 'J' shape for a day or more (this is all written from observation, not pre-written scientific material).

The green hat is actually the beginning of the cocoon. It happen so quickly. Moving from the 'J' to this.

To this: all covered, but still stripey like the caterpillar. This all took about five minutes.

The cocoon is all finished here (well, there were a few more golden dots of color added as it ripened).

Then we waited.

In the mean time, Bryce began t-ball, Ella started soccer and Dane...got pneumonia.

Bryce is having a great time, but won't watch the ball. Ella is having fun with her best buddy on her team, but won't watch the ball. Dane is making a great recovery after about 10 days of being exhausted, moody and restful. He has only a couple of days left of his anti-biotic.

  We've made lots of yummy salsas. (I couldn't get this pic to turn). This is half-Lemon Boy tomato and half red.

Ella had a VERY happy birthday. She requested cup-cake baking supplies and got them. She's kind of a wiz with that pastry bag. We had a extended family party the Sunday before she turned 7 and then just a celebration with our family with some reserved presents.

 As part of the birthday fun, we traveled into Little Cottonwood canyon to our favorite rock throwing spot.

"We" did the final touch up painting in the kitchen. Just need to get those pendant lights installed and then the remodelling will really be finished. 

More nature inside the house: found this tiny half-dollar sized mushroom growing at the base of one of my house plants. CUTE!

Then this morning! The metamorphisis was complete for Thunderbolt. 

As of this moment, he's hanging on my ficus tree, drying his wings in the warm dining room. I have tiny sugar water supplies throughout the room. 

Bryce was so gentle. We're excited for Ella and Dane to come home so that they can see, too! This has been a precious miracle to experience for our family. It's been great!

Bryce says that "Jesus is the best!" because he helped Daddy find the caterpillars in the first place.

The kids' school held a fun run on their last day of being on-track. It was so much fun to watch and to visit with other moms between races.

Bryce's class went first. That's him in the middle in the green plaid shorts. He was so excited.

Bryce at the end of the race. Exhausted and ready for the refreshments provided by the PTA.

Dane had a great time running with his friends. (However, I've tried to avoid including images of other kids here)

I nearly missed Ella's run because the switched the order of the classes. Just as I got there, she took a tumble, but I was so proud of her because she just got right back up and kept going!

There is something wrong with my children, Bryce especially.

The problem is that they are growing up.

Bryce talks like he's thirteen: wizened, self-confident and done listening to others.
His face is more angular, his hair is darkening.
I was amazed to listen to a conversation between Bryce and his cousin-to-be (also 4 years old) as they discussed their matriculation to new schools. HiLARious.


It's the little things that make my heart break, one little crack at a time. I was looking over Bryce's preschool teacher's blog (she posts pics of the kids w/o their names and such) and found this cute little photo of Bryce. It was last Summer or early Fall. He's so small!

And now he looks like this. He's an amazing helper, but only when he wants to be. He's intense. He loves his mom: loves to kiss her and play with her hair and latch on with his monkey legs to be carried around the house. He's a complete joy most days (just don't cross him).

I continued to scroll through the photos and suddenly I was looking at Ella (who had the same teacher the year previously) and I wanted to cry. They are changing so fast!

On a whim, I whisked my kids off to Antelope Island on Tuesday.

We have a special family connection to the LDS church-run horse ranch that this place was in the "olden days."
The kids loved roping the steer.Bring 'em down, Brycie!This is what is left of the ranch on the island. Lots of old buildings including a cellar, spring house, bunk house, barns, blacksmith, etc. Very cool and well preserved without feeling like a museum. For the most part, it's very hands on for little ones. Don't worry. Old saw blades are hung up high.The kids, having a bit of fun posing in the bunk house (where transitory workers would stay).A view of the ranch's beauty with the main house and cellar to the right.We spent a lot of time looking for different bird varieties here and at Bountiful Lake. We saw so many, we even made a list. (Thankfully, we had our bird book and binoculars)

Birds seen and heard (if you follow these links, you can even hear the bird sounds):

Cinnamon Teal

Swan Goose

Cliff Swallow

Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird

Double-Crested Cormorant
Yellow-headed Blackbird

Since our computer died weeks ago, we've found ways to survive...

Daddy's new I-Pad has helped.

It's obviously a fascinating piece of technology. I guess we've gotten used to it. I tried to "swipe" the screen at a Red Box, trying to rent a movie. This month, my sweet nephew was baptized by my dad and confirmed by my grandpa.

On that same day, my cousin got married and we hung out at the beautiful reception center with our family.

Here's Mandy, my sister and Bryce

Zealand loved going over this little bridge.

You've gotta take photo ops when you can!Cam took last week off of work so that we could work hard in our back yard. We got a lot done on Monday. He built a few square-foot-gardening boxes, took out portions of our lawn and leveled out other areas in the yard.I began to build my retaining wall by first hauling around 2,000 lbs of stone into the back yard.

The more it rained, the more our plans seemed to expand. We started getting bids and ideas for remodeling our kitchen.

This is Dane at a granite-slab showroom. Heavenly Father sure made some incredible rocks! We're pretty sure we've got the company chosen to do the cabinets, but there's much to be done before then. First and foremost is to do nothing until after I host my brother's fiancée's bridal shower.
But after that, Cam and I will play demolition crew and get the job going! We're really excited!

This is Bryce's last week of preschool. It's bitter-sweet. Thankfully, he's completely excited for Kindergarten and is looking forward to having Ella's teacher, too.

I'm going to miss the string of waves he gives me as he runs up to his teacher's home. Today we celebrated B's birthday. She will be my niece as soon as her mother marries my little brother.This is our attempt at a grandkid photo. It didn't go over well at all.

The rest of the month is busy as well. Bryce is enrolled in swimming lessons. So far, so good!

Ah! I'm so glad to be back! I've missed blogging and hope that our computer troubles are at an end.

Love

these

kids!