Quote Board

Well, I've officially been working at West for two weeks now.  Quite surprisingly, the house hasn't fallen completely apart--yet.  Before school began, the kids were so sweet, pitching in with extra chores and babysitting.  Now that school has started, they have been really helpful with getting themselves up and dressed, making lunches, and being responsible for their own homework. 

Overall, I've been pretty shocked by how smoothly things are running.  Brooklyn gets herself to the bus by 6:45.  I walk Eli to a different bus that leaves at 7:15.  Talia heads off to help at the school library around 7:50, and I drop Annika off at kindergarten on my way to work around 8:20.  Today I managed to get up at 5:20 to clean the kitchen, go to the gym, go grocery shopping, throw in a load of laundry (sadly no time for a shower), work seven hours, read in Spanish to Eli and Annika, fix dinner, take Eli to scouts, eat dinner, have family scripture study, go to the park, practice piano with the kids, clean the bathroom, and fold laundry before climbing into the bed.  Oh, plus I put the the robot vacuum to work sweeping  the floors for me. (Thanks, Callie and Adam, for the best working mom gift ever.)

But here's the deal.  I'm exhausted.  We are keeping it together, but it's taking our very best effort, plus some.  I worry what will happen once I burn out and stop trying so hard.  I guess a messy house, which frankly isn't any different than what we had before, so I suppose that's okay.

 And now for some laughs from the quote board:

• Annika (reporting about her day to me after I got home from work):  "I had a healthy cereal today.  It was called, um, eggs."

• Kara: "Annika, you smell...[searching for the right word]...actually, I could end that sentence right there."
• Annika: "I know.  I wore my undies for a long, long, long, long, LONG time."  (Believe it or not, she is a clean undie fanatic who generally insists on changing her undies about twice a day.)

• Kara (calling out to Annika as she speeds down the hill on her balance bike): Slow down!
• Annika: "But I'm wearing my helmet, you silly."

• Annika (nearly every morning):  "My breath smells like poop."  (It's not really potty talk in this case, just an unpleasant observation.)

• Annika:  "Is it fast Sunday or is it slow Sunday?"

• Annika: "When I grow up, I want to be a vegetarian."  (She's since learned to say veterinarian, but it was pretty cute while it lasted.)

• Annika:  "Mom, if I find a baby dinosaur with a long neck, can I keep it?"  (Nice mommy that I am, I granted her permission to keep all the dinosaurs she finds.  Per her request, she may also keep any lost dolphins, as well as any stray ponies.)

• Annika:  "It wasn't me.  It was the Invisible Nail."  (Annie's siblings had a long talk with her before she started kindergarten about how she couldn't continue to blame things on her invisible nail in school.)

• Eli:  "We need an espatula."  (I think hanging out with espanish espeakers has rubbed off.)

And my very favorite:

• Jason: "It's time for the best time of the day."
• Eli: "Bed?"

A boy after my own heart.  Good night, all!

**********************************
24 Hours Later...

I take back EVERYTHING I said about having it together.  I spent five hours chauffeuring the kids all over town today, but couldn't seem to get anyone there on time.  Jason made macaroni and cheese for dinner at 8:00.  Talia and I ate the cold leftovers when we got home at 8:45.  The house is trashed.  Piano practice? homework? Fuhgeddaboudit.  It's 9:45 and Annika's still not asleep.  Oh, and we were supposed to go camping tomorrow.  All I want to do is curl into a ball and weep.  Just keeping it real, folks, keeping it real.

Good news is, it's the best part of the day.  Bed.  We'll try again tomorrow.

Northport and Centerport

As much fun as it is adventuring to fun and far away places while we are in New York, our very best memories stem from home--at least our homes away from home in Northport and Centerport.  Doesn't the Wells house look amazing with its new driveway and addition?

The finished bulkhead and landscaping make the backyard such a fun place to hang out too.  And yes, those would be my children playing sword fight with big sticks.  They may have gotten a few scratches, but no one lost an eye so we will consider it a win.


The master bedroom is positively stunning.  I think I would go up to my room and never come out.

Even the closet is fantastic, thanks to Alesia's interior decorating magic.

And the master bath?  Wowzers.  We could fit our whole family in the shower at once.  Greg looks ready to move in.

It's fun to see some of Jeanette's incredible artwork adorning the walls.

Of course, Janet helped Annika make some pretty special artwork as well.  Annie saved the hair from brushing Addy and Rondack to make this masterpiece.  Too cute, even if it is slightly gross.


A trip highlight was meeting Katie's three rats, Poppy, Ginger, and Clove.

Katelyn is the best rat mama around.  Her four-footed children get pampered with love and attention.

Believe it or not, her rats are super cute, not to mention intelligent.  Naturally inquisitive, they have been trained to be quite friendly as well.  Were it not for the tails, I'd say they make the perfect pet.

Eila got a chance to meet them the next morning.

It was love at first sight.

Thanks for sharing your furry family with us, Kate!

And thanks to the whole Wells family for opening up your Northport home to us.  You guys were so generous in sharing your bedrooms, your pantry, your time...

...and even your giant stuffed animals.


We always feel safe at home in your beautiful harbor.

As for Centerport, while we may not have stayed there during this trip, we sure enjoyed visiting everyone who did.  Here's Grandpa Grandpa with Anders.

I will forever picture Grandpa with his pipe full of Sail.  

For me, the scent is very nostalgic.  I wonder if Anders will remember it likewise.


Such a chill little dude.


The best part about Centerport is getting to play in Alison's pool.  This would be where I learned how to swim.

Eila may have been timid at first, but she was a water pro in no time, floating all on her own.

Aunt Alison is the Fourth of July party guru.  Alesia helped us get ready to celebrate with these patriotic hair-dos.

Nearly ready for the party.  Looks so festive!

We had a little bit of time to kill before the guests arrived so we headed to Centerport beach to try out Alison's kayaks.  You can tell Brooklyn and Eila loved it (as did everyone else.)

Playing in the north shore waves.

We also headed over to Uncle Ed and Aunt Doris's house in Fort Salonga for a brief visit.  From left to right, we have my mom Cathy, Doris, Ed, and Janet.  Ed is my grandpa John Wells's brother.  We got to chat with their daughter Suzanne as well, catching up on news from their family.  Fifteen years ago, Jason and I stayed in Ed and Doris's basement as our very first newlywed abode.  We will always be grateful for their generosity at the start of our marriage.

At last, back to the party.  (We may have been more than fashionably tardy...yikes and sorry.)

While Papa Kay may have forgotten his flag shirt, he carried the real deal as a suitable replacement.

The essence of a carefree summer.

Hanging out on the pool deck with some of our favorite folks.  From left to right, there's Katelyn, Alesia, Eli, Annika, Jeanette, and Sebastian (Jeanette's boyfriend.)

All in all, it was a great party.  Happy Fourth of July, and thanks to everyone who made our New York vacation so special.

We love you!

I Long for Long Island

The trip home from Lake George was rough, thanks to some classic carsickness that resulted in Annika being hosed off at a gas station.  We needed to change things up, so in honor of Susie, Charles, Christy, Ben, and everyone else who's lived in one Hyde Park or another, we headed to Historic Hyde Park.  If you google Historic Hyde Park, you will get directed to Tampa, Florida, but I'm talking about the one that is north of Poughkeepsie along the Hudson.  This Hyde Park is known as home to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, the first Presidential library, and a Vanderbilt mansion.

We were limited on time, so we only toured FDR's home.  Even that took some courage since it was so very hot.

If you look to the left, you can see FDRs wheelchair.

In general, I'd prefer a small cottage to a mansion, with the exception of a library.

While FDR obviously led a life of privilege, his childhood was also shaped by the fields and woods of the Hudson Valley surrounding him.  A conservationist, he loved being able to gaze out at the Hudson River.  Ironically enough, he probably planted many of the trees that now keep the river hidden from view.

Not a bad place to call home.

Once we were back on Long Island, we headed to the Children's Museum.  While she may not remember, this was not Annika's first visit.  Check out these pictures from our Long Island excursions five years ago.

The last time we were at the Long Island Children's Museum, Aunt Callie was with us.  While she couldn't join us this time (she was finishing up her Master's program at Central Washington University), we were thrilled to have Eila join the fun.

Here's Eli perfecting his construction skills.

Quite prodigious, Annika built all these structures.  (Just kidding, but that would be awesome,)


Our big girls loved the sound room...

...and the climbing area.

Every few hours the museum had an interactive theatrical performance featuring giant ants.




 I thought they were kind of scary looking, but Annika was delighted to help them create their crumb trails.

Last but not least, here's Elia riding the Hands-On Harley.

Yup, it was another great Long Island day.

Speaking of excursions, we took a second trip to Robert Moses beach.  This time our main destination was the Fire Island lighthouse.  In this picture we have Alesia and Eila, Brooklyn's pink hat, and Katelyn's sweet boyfriend Ryan.  (Katelyn's hidden behind Alesia.)  Papa Kay, NomiAnn, Aunt Alison, and the rest of our munchkins also joined the fun.

Afte a bit of trekking, we made it to the lighthouse.

Here's the Fresnel lens that was used from 1858 to 1933.

 Many of us braved the climb all the way to the top of the lighthouse.  Had Annika been any shorter, they wouldn't have let her join us, but she made it by a hair.

The views from the top were pretty amazing.  Here we are looking out toward Kismet.

I saw this message and thought of Jason in far away Utah.

Alesia and Talia

Katelyn, Brooklyn, Talia, and Eli.

Headed back to the beach.

Even on a hot day, Fire Island lighthouse is worth the trip.

Plus when you are done, you still can spend the rest of the day cooling off at the beach.

I don't have many pictures of this beach day, probably because I spent most of my time playing in the water.  It was so warm!  The temperature was perfect, the water was clear, the waves were just the right size, and everyone had a terrific time.

I sure hope we don't wait another five years before our next set of Long Island excursions.