A trip down memory lane

Last Saturday we went to good ol' Sanpete County.  I am half Sanpetian (Sanpete-ite?) as all 16 of my great-great-great-grandparents on my Dad's side settled in the county after crossing the plains. And all 8 of my great-great-grandparents lived and died there as well has all 4 of my great-grandparents and my grandparents. You get the idea. In fact, I'm the first generation of Syme to not be born in Sanpete County since the Restoration. Thank you, Dad.  Although if Justin had his way, we'd live and die there.

I felt like I did my duty by attending Snow College for a year and marrying in the Manti Temple. The kids had never seen it so we stopped there first.

 Any idea what kind of trees these are? Justin likes them.

It was also our anniversary weekend so we got another picture taken on the same steps as our wedding photos eight years ago.

And then switched it up so all were photographed.

 

 Of course we had to encourage Sarah to roll down the hill.  "As yooooou wiiiiiiish!"

We met my sister Rachel and her family for lunch in Mount Pleasant then drove over to Moroni. I stopped to show my kids my grandma's house but it's in sad shape and makes me mad/sad to look at the pictures so I'm not posting them.

Then we visited my grandparent's and aunt's grave. Here's Sarah by my aunt Ilona's grave. She died when Sarah was 18 months old and was Sarah's and this blog's biggest fan. Sarah bought a purple pinwheel to decorate her headstone.

Mason and Henry getting a lesson in headstone etiquette.

Then we drove home. Henry was tired.

On an unrelated but super cute note, this is Erica's position of choice if you lay her down on her back. She's getting close to rolling over which I don't like. I like my kids to stay in one spot for as long as possible.

 She's pretty cute. I'll give her that.

May Milestones

Seeing my kids grow up makes me so sad sometimes. I have to remind myself that for them to stop growing in any way would be the most terrible thing -- just to keep perspective.

We took Henry's 3 year pictures last night. He was mostly a good sport. I bought him a new shirt which he wouldn't wear. He wouldn't wear any of his nice shirts either. He insisted on wearing this too-small red shirt. I decided to let him have his way so he would be a good sport and actually smile. Plus it helps capture his personality. 

I made him sit in this old loading bay of this abandoned builiding south of town. Who knew his red shirt would actually look good with the brick and rust? Apparently he did.

 He insisted on wearing his hat and sunglasses so I let him for the first shot. I'm just glad he didn't want to wear socks and sandals like he does most days.

Here's his first birthday interview. I wrote in parenthesis what the true answer is. Either he didn't understand some of the questions or he was trying to be random or funny.

Sarah had her second preschool graduation on May 9th . It was pretty cute if unnecessary. Mostly I like seeing what they've done all year and get a little glimpse of what Sarah is like when she's not at home. 

The teachers shared a few of their favorite kids' quotes. Sarah made two of them. "My mom says not to put a whole coconut in your mouth." (Sound advice although I never said this.) And the Sally joke: Why did Sally fall off the swing? She didn't have any arms. Knock knock. Who's there. Not Sally.  I was pretty proud of that one. She also said she wanted to be a vet when she grew up which is news to me.

She was actually pretty sick this day. She had caught Henry's cold.
But she really wanted to go so we went and spread the germs.

Fellow graduate, best friend, and cousin, Allison.

 Fellow graduate, other best friend, and next-door neighbor Jaida.

Much beloved Mrs. Crandall. Sarah cried the night before about how much she was going to miss her. Sarah can't believe Mrs. C was once my teacher in junior high.

And Sarah learned to ride her bike without training wheels. This is also while she was sick, thus the pjs. She had a fever of 101 this day but that didn't stop her from becoming a bike-riding maniac. It took her just a couple of days to get the hang of it and she has the bruises and scrapes to prove it.

And now that Henry has his scooter, Erica gets the trike. I told you they were growing up too fast.

I like her.

I too have grown a little this month. I made my own strawberry jam. My mom is not going to come home from her mission just to make me jam so I decided to grow up and make it myself. My pep-talk went like this:  I've made creme brulee and birthed 3 kids. I can do this!  

It wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined (although I never realized it's 50% sugar) and Sarah said it tasted just like my mom's which is the highest compliment I could have received. I just hope a double batch is enough to see us through the year. I've never thought how much jam we consume; there's always a never-ending supply in my mom's freezer.

Henry Turns 3

I didn't know where Henry was just a few minutes ago so I checked his room. He is in his bed under his blanket, fast asleep. What kid puts themselves down for nap? I wish I could say this is a sign that the terrible two's are over. But I know better. Terrible three's are far worse.

Yesterday was Henry's birthday.  When he woke up, I told him happy birthday and he told me happy birthday right back. He did it all day. 

After a week of pinkeye, colds and stomach flu, I was ready for a party. We started things off right with a table full of presents. I had asked Henry a few times what he wanted for his birthday and he'd say, "A football cake!"

"Okay, what do you want for your presents?"

"Orange presents!"

So I wrapped a few things in orange paper.  And I decided to take pictures of him opening his presents instead of video because hearing me say "Sarah, let Henry do it" gets a little old.

"A scooter!"

Sarah, of course, had to take a turn right away.

Sarah had been sad for Henry all year since he broke his sunglasses (on purpose) last summer. So she got him some new ones. He wore them all day, indoors and out.

Drinks I never buy but he always asks for. And a big bag of candy that I love and I hope he likes.

A motorcycle helmet to wear instead of a bucket.

Justin, of course, had to take a turn right away.

 Space Jam.

 Little Critter Collection and Gruffalo. This boy loves books.

After breakfast we headed to the Provo Rec Center to swim. We hadn't been there yet and I wanted to go before school let out and it got all crazy busy.  So Justin took the day off and Nadine came so that we could play in the water 1 on 1 with the kiddos. Henry didn't want to go until he saw Sarah go out then he put on his swimming suit.  He had a blast. So did Sarah. They loved it so much that I had to promise them doughnuts to get out them of the pool.

Messy birthday powder doughnut.

 Sarah approves.

Justin took a nap (he was still recovering from some weird stomach bug) and the kids played outside. Then we got cleaned up to go to the park for dinner and cake.

Henry has been talking about his football cake for months. I'm glad I didn't disappoint.

 I always think the cakes I make are harder than they should have been. But I had fun making it and Henry was pleased.

 He sang right along with everyone.
After playing on the playground, he opened his presents from Nana and Papa -- a sleeping bag and Buzz Lightyear flashlight. He cried all the way home and all through getting ready for bed that he wanted to go camping.

"This is the best day ever," he kept saying all day long. 

What Erica Did Today

Erica turned 3 months old today. 

She can't believe it either.

 I like this age because she is super expressive.

 And her eyes look super big.

 Ach! She kills me.

Check out her eyelashes.  All my kids got my long lashes. I like that there's one feature that's clearly from me (and thanks Dad for the long-lash gene).

She slept 10 hours last night. She may not do it again any time soon but it's nice to know she can.

And she can rock whale prints like nobody else.