I have tried to ignore the elephant in the room for too long. This is now my third attempt to post an update so I hope this draft makes it to the publishing phase. We really enjoyed our summer immensely, but how can I post all of the wonderful things we did without acknowledging the loss of one of the most important people in my life. In all honesty, this has been a summer that I don't like to remember, but also one I never want to forget.
Within the course of a month I watched my Grandma Mare go from cooking us all dinner and working in her yard- to suffering in a hospital bed as a result of a horrible fall- to struggling to be able to communicate from the effects of a stroke- to the very last moments of her life on her death bed. I loved this lady so much, and it is still so difficult for me to think of the past few months without bursting in to tears. It was a difficult struggle for my entire family. It broke my heart to watch my mom lose her own mother. I am amazed at how well she has handled it all. Despite the many tears that we have all shed, I know that we have been given many tender mercies. I am so grateful that all of my cousins were able to attend the funeral. We have been very close over the years and we all felt those bonds as we mourned together. Many had to travel on short notice and from great distances. For my own immediate family, we were so blessed that my brother Jim had already made plans to visit for that exact week. As a plastic surgeon resident, he would not have been able to get the time off on such short notice. It meant more than anything to me to have all of my siblings there. I have missed my older brother and sister so much as they have lived away from home. I was so grateful to have my big sister here for an entire month (and my little sister who is always around). The three of us girls were there to pull each other through this difficult experience. Despite the wonderful memories with my kids, husband and the rest of my family this summer, I will always remember it as the summer I got to spend with my sisters. Sisters are one of the greatest blessings in the world.
I am so grateful for the last moments I had to spend with my Grandma. It was as if she knew and my Father in Heaven knew exactly what memories I would need to carry me through the rest of my life. I hope I will be able to exemplify my Grandma in some little way. She loved her family and was always the life of the party. She taught me to work hard and not to be afraid to get dirty. But she also taught me to enjoy life and to enjoy getting all dressed up. I want my children to know and remember my Grandma through me.
Now that I have finally been able to release some of these thoughts and emotions, I hope I can get back to the regular updates. Next time I'll be able to post about the absurd without feeling guilty for neglecting the meaningful.

We're Back!

So now that school is over, I feel like I can breathe again. I thought I had stopped procrastinating once I got out of school myself, but this is not true. Anna's school requires 30 hrs. of parental involvement and I left 22 hours until April. I have spent the past few months making preschool videos, cutting papers and mattes, separating Scholastic Booklets, making Kindergarten awards and calligraphying diplomas. (Don't tell the kids but their diplomas were actually signed by me, not their teacher.) When did graduating from Preschool and Kindergarten become such a big ordeal? I hardly remember kindergarten and never went to preschool--look how I turned out! Despite the big production, we did enjoy both Seth's and Anna's end-of-year programs. Seth played the role of the third little pig and Anna sang a darling song about moving on to first grade--put to the tune of "New York, New York."
Ruthie has turned into the embodiment of all personality. She walks around all day with something tucked under her arm and when she casually sets it down she exclaims, "Oh no! Where's the baby?" or "Oh, no! Where's the 'buppy'?" depending on what item she is currently torturing. She is still a total Daddy's girl. She won't even look at me anymore if Rob is home. She has all eyes for her Dad. Occasionally, I find myself turning a little green that Daddy is her favorite and not the Mama. But in truth, it is pretty sweet. I can't argue with her. She has great taste and we both absolutely adore the same guy.

Yes, We're Still Here

I get a lot of flack for not posting frequently enough. Here is my explanation as to why: I have now killed two motherboards in the past three months. Both incidents occurred as I was attempting to upload videos or pictures to post on the blog. The computer glitched and crashed right in the middle of my uploading. I am married to a computer engineer who has built a real "screaming-machine" of a computer. But he is ready to have me quit blogging all together. I guess even though he does this for a living, it's not as fun when it is his own project that he has to work on in his spare time that doesn't exist. I don't know how the rest of the world deals with not having a working computer and finding someone to fix it. I have just about gone mad after one week and I have an in house expert. Anyway, there is my lame excuse. Now, to update:
Ruthie had her First Birthday back in September. Being the third child, she had a great party, but Mom and Dad failed to take one picture to remember the event. This is the story of my life--you'd think I'd be better about things like that. Luckily, Grandpa came through as he always does. So these pictures are brought to you by Jim. Ruthie really knew she was the center of attention. She loved having all of her family in her home. (We don't get very many visitors WAY up here in Syracuse.) I've always done a multiple-choice activity for the kids' first birthdays to re-cap what they have learned for the year. They are questions like: What was the nickname Ruth received when she was born and who gave her the nickname? What is Ruth's favorite tub toy? What does Ruth do when encountering a new object? etc. I think Anna got the most right--Seth was pretty close too. (By the way, the answers are: Roopie, Seth, the xylophone sticks, and says "hi" like she has encountered a new object to torture.)
Now that I have a third child I am beginning to understand a few things about myself that only another third child could see. For example, Ruthie is extremely possessive. That is because the other two kids are constantly attempting to take things away from her. But, she will hold on for dear life and let them have it with her shrills. I'm a little obsessive about my things. I have to have every piece to a puzzle, every part to a game, every matching pair of Barbie shoes. Yes, this could just be because I am OCD, but I think it might stem from those early childhood years. I love watching Seth and Anna interact with Ruthie. She really is the center of attention. They absolutely adore her. I always felt like "the neglected third child". I realize now how untrue that is. I'm sure, knowing how incredible my older siblings are, I was just as adored. (Until I got a little bit older and then they started ditching me and telling me there were invisible alligators to block my path.)
Update Number Two: We had such a fun Halloween. The kids loved visiting the Pumpkin Patch and pretending to trick-or-treat for the entire month of October. The kids wanted to be Wizard of Oz characters. Anna was a beautiful Glenda and would say her line on que with perfect intonation: "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" Seth was a darling scarecrow and Roopie was Dorothy. As I was making costumes, the kids decided their "pets" needed costumes as well. Anna's dog, Lady, became the wicked witch, Richard Parker the tiger was the lion, and Roopie's kitty became Toto. I am rather glad Halloween is over. Next year we're going as ghosts with sheets over our heads.Well, if you don't hear from me ever again in the blogging world, you will understand why: I've driven my husband to madness with a third computer crash during finals and busy season at work.

Anna's Dance Performance

Anna started dance again the first week in September. She has been taking dance from The Virginia Tanner Dance Co.'s satellite location in Ogden. They immediately began choreographing a piece for a performance at the Children's Dance Festival at Weber State. I periodically ask myself why I drive to Ogden once a week for a dance class. This performance reminded me why. I was so impressed with how much these girls--especially Anna--learned in a month. It was so magical to watch her. I was amazed at how well she remembered what to do and when. She looked absolutely beautiful. Anna and I got to spend the whole day in Ogden. She had two performances in the morning and one in the evening. During our break we went shopping and went out to a "fancy restaurant", meaning Chili's. We had a magnificant time together.
(Anna is in blue with bouncy, curly hair.)

Starting School

We spent the last part of the summer getting Anna used to the idea of going to Kindergarten. We went clothes shopping, made a few bows and bracelets, and would drive by the new school to check the progress about once a week. Anna got especially excited when they put in the playground. Then we got a phone call that Anna's name had come up in the lottery for the charter school down the street. All of a sudden we were having to rethink a decision that we thought was already made. Oh, by the way, and they needed to know in two days since school was starting the next week--plus it was the two days that Rob was at school until the late evenings. After two stressful days of running to both schools, talking to everyone I knew about Davis School District, principals, and charter schools--in particular Syracuse Arts Academy, we decided to put Anna in the Charter School. This meant we had to find uniforms and readjust her to the idea of another school and of starting in four days. Anna was great! Her biggest concern was that she wouldn't be able to watch Playhouse Disney and what was Lady going to do while she was gone! Anna looked so darling in her knee high socks and khaki and navy uniform. Anna's first day of school was also her last day of swimming lessons, so we did the mad dash from one commitment to the next. Welcome to the life of Soccer Mom! She really enjoys her teacher, Ms. Beier. Her favorite part is recess and she likes sitting at the red table. She also loves riding to school with Dad every morning (she likes the smell of his car, which still smells like Grandpa Tidwell--it was his Honda).
Seth was ecstatic to start Preschool. After two weeks of asking where Anna was and when she was going to be home, he was so ready to start his own school. His "Lightning McQueen" backpack is bigger than he is, and he seems a foot too short to be a preschooler, but he sure looked cute walking to Miss Diana's. He created a master plan of having Anna come and pick him up after school on her Princesses Scooter and then he could ride his Spiderman Scooter back home with her. (Mom and Ruthie were in tote on this adventure.) Now I'm down to one twice a week for three hours! What a beautiful thing!

Ruthie: From Infant to Toddler

It's amazing how much your perception of your kids can change in a week's time. Almost overnight, Ruthie grew out of her infant stage. Last Saturday morning I discovered a third tooth. Later that day, Rob said to me, "You didn't tell me about her new trick!" I walked in to find Ruthie standing in her crib. I hadn't known she could pull herself up to standing yet!
She is interacting so much more with the two big kids. She absolutely adores them. What is funny is she seems to be the instigator. She tends to egg them on to get them to play with her.
Ruthie is also communicating so much more. She says small words like "Mama" and "Ba" (bottle) and "Dada". She'll raise her arms up when she's done eating. She has also started throwing temper tantrums. Despite her few fits, she is still about the most pleasant and happy kid I know. Granted, she is very much a Mama's girl and really does not like strangers. I've gotten to where I get really irritated if people try to interact with her while we're at resaurants, stores, etc. She'll immediately break down and begin to cry. It's always with the sweet little old ladies too! When she is at home, however, and around her family, she is one happy soul --with the craziest hair you've ever seen!

4th of July Weekend

We were so happy to be able to spend the 4th of July with the Mortensen Clan. Rob's sisters and Grandmother came in to town and we all had a big sleepover at Rob's parents' new house. We went to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi, saw Wall-E (not worth the time or money, but the kids enjoyed it), spent hours on the slip n slide and riding scooters, watched John Adams in the theater room, enjoyed our own fireworks display brought to you by Rob, and had family pictures taken. These were some of our favorites of the kids: