I'm Looking For a Word

 

There are some words that just don't translate from one language to another. VOLADO/A is one of these (Spanish). It's the emotion or reaction that you get from somebody when they do something that they are really proud of but that they really don't want to admit. They'll do it over and over because they love the reaction they get from others, but they won't admit that they love it. I was trying to explain it to a friend the other day and the closest words we could come up with were BASHFUL and COY. But these don't really capture the essence of VOLADO/A (volado for a male, volada for a female).

Abraham and I have a cute little game that we've been playing all summer long. Whenever we are outside and he spots a flower, he stops whatever he is doing and he picks a flower for me. Then he hides it behind his back, sneaks up to me and tells me he has a surprise for me. Of course, I always know what it is, but I act like I really have no idea what he's up to. He super-quickly gives me the flower and then runs away. I chase him down and smother him in kisses and tell him what a sweet boy he is and how much I love him. Then I put the flower in my hair so he can notice it and make comments about it. When I catch Abe, he does his little VOLADO face. He kind of puckers his lips as they turn upwards towards a smile he's trying not to let out and scrunches his shoulders.

I haven't been able to catch the VOLADO face on the camera, but here he is giving me one of his latest flowers. I love it, I just don't have an English word for it.

Sunny Day... Yeaaahhh!!!

If you asked me to, I could probably count the number of sunny days we've had this summer on one hand. As far as the weather goes, it really has been miserable. However, we've learned that in Alaska, you still have to get out and enjoy summer... no matter what the weather! This we've done, and I'm so glad of that!

On Tuesday though, the sun actually decided to shine! We immediately made plans with the Maws for some outdoor fun. We drove to their house with the kids' bikes and then walked/rode to a nearby elementary school that has a really cool playground. My kids love this playgound because the play stuff there is new and different than the other parks we usually go to. I love the park because the ground has tiny pebbles instead of sand or dirt, and I don't feel like we have to immediately throw everybody in the bath when we're done playing. Ziya loves the feel of the rocks. She played for a long time just dumping pebbles onto the slides and then brushing them off... then starting all over again.

We had a peanut butter picnic (I forgot the jelly!) and just played, played, played. I actually got just a touch of pink on my arms. It felt soooo great! Rachael and her kids, new in our ward, met us there and joined in on the fun. Even though we'll take whatever we can get, sunny weather really is the best!

Ziya helped us raise Abe's training wheels. They're just about ready to come off!

 

These spinning seats are a blast!

 

And Jacob thought doing this spinning contraption alone was fun... try doing it with three kids!

 

I love seeing such humongous smiles on my kids!

 

Hatch, Maw and Munyer kids... thanks for looking at the camera Abe and Alyssa!

 

Ziya had fun playing on the Maw's trampoline after the park.

Victor Turns One!

My sister-in-law, Mardi, and her two children, Marissa and Victor, moved to Alaska back in May. Mardi wasn't comfortable with me putting any pictures of her kids online, but with Victor's b-day last week, we finally convinced her. The b-day celebration was a fun one. We started with crepes after church. I'd never made crepes before, and I was surprised at how easy they were. They were a big hit -- especially with my boys. We filled them with eggs and sausage first (so we could get some nutrition) and then lots of sugary stuff: jams and jellies, whipped cream and Nutella. Scrumptious. We waited for that to digest and then later we sang and cut Victor's b-day cake. I made him a dinosaur cake. I think his favorite part was the sugar covered orange slices that I used for the scales on the dinosaur's back! We had a fun time singing and eating cake. Victor's attention for most of the time was on the orange slices. He opened a few presents and then we just had fun hanging out. Elders Eaton and Bedke joined us, too. They're great at entertaining the kids. Happy First Birthday little nephew!

Coolest Club A Kid Can Belong To

 

A few weeks ago, Angeline posted about her kids' visit to the dentist. I started feeling guilty that my 4 and 5 year olds still have never been to visit the dentist and vowed that before summer was over, I'd get them there. I know that I need to establish dentist habits with my kids, but that's a hard thing for me since I never had, and still don't have, that habit. See, I grew up hardly ever going to the dentist and my parents not making a fuss about my teeth... but still having great teeth.

Well, parenting is sometimes about teaching your kids to make better decisions than you've made, right? We got in on a cancellation today to see an Anchorage pediatric dentist who comes to the peninsula a couple times per month. She, and her dental assistant, were both amazing. Ammon and Abraham, who are both as shy as shy can be around strangers, were immediately made to feel comfortable and trusting of both women. They got to choose from an array of cool kid sunglasses so that they could block out the bright light she was going to put in their face. They also got a detailed explanation about the mouse camera, its tail, its spit cover and the giraffe camera that would just give their cheek a little hug. They got to pick out stickers for each amazing thing that they did and when they collected three stickers, they got to go to the prize drawer (which surprisingly, was full of really cool toys!).

The coolest thing about the visit is that both boys now know that they officially belong to the coolest club a kid can belong to: THE NO CAVITY CLUB!!! I'm so proud of Ammon and Abraham! They're move convinced than ever now of a few important facts of life: 1) we should eat our fruits and not drink them (the dentist strongly advised against fruit juices) 2) even though they are getting to be big boys, mom and dad still have to help them brush their teeth 3) they must get into the habit of flossing (this one is going to be hard for me!).

I'm so glad that we didn't have to have a nightmare experience for our first dentist visit. I just hope the positive vibe carries over to their first cleaning, which will be in about a month!

Frustration Turned Delicious

Last night Raquel and I went out dipnetting. We went out at about 9pm and had to be out of the water at 11pm when dipnetting closes. Although there were not a huge amount of fish being caught, at one point, I did stop to realize that every single person around me had caught at least one fish in the time that I'd been there. This was frustrating. At about 2 minutes before closing time, I felt a fish in my net. I quickly turned my net and started running towards the shore. I got to the sand and could still feel the fish struggling... then he was gone! Just like that! Two hours of my life just swam away before my very eyes. Talk about frustrating.

The Youngs felt sorry for me and sent me home with a fillet (Raquel caught two fish while we were out there... she seems to be the lucky one in any group she's with!). I cooked it up tonight with a recipe that my college roommate put on a comment on my post about dipnetting. It was beyond delicious! I had to take a picture because just smelling it out of the broiler, I knew it was going to be awesome. Here's the recipe again from Shirley (a.k.a. Cheerly girl).

Salmon with Hoisin Glaze
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 4 salmon steaks (8 to 10 ounces each), 1 inch thick
1. Heat broiler. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey.
2. Place salmon on foil in a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Brush half of the hoisin sauce mixture over to coat.
3. Broil salmon about 4 inches from the heat source, basting once, until opaque in center, 10 to 13 minutes.

If you're in to salmon, you've got to try this one. She also included another recipe that I haven't tried yet. I'm sure it's delicious, too! While we were eating tonight, I paid tribute to my good friend Shirley and told my kids some fun stories about her. Thanks Cheerly girl!

Somebody Might Get Mad At You

The other day Jacob took all three kids to Home Depot and came home with a chest freezer for our newly caught salmon (we are true Alaskans now!). Ammon was helping Jacob empty the closet where the new freezer would go when Jacob dragged something across the floor. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Ammon: You'd better pick that up and not drag it. Somebody might get mad at you.

Jacob: Oh yeah? Who might that somebody be?

Ammon: Your wife!

NOTE: I am constantly getting after members of my family for dragging stuff on the floor and possibly making scratches. Living in a remodeled apartment that has to sell as "new" after we move out of it can be stressful at times!

So You Think You Can Dance?

When Ben and Kortney moved back to Idaho, they gave us a little CD player that we put in the boys' room. They just "discovered" it a few days ago, and now they constantly shut the door to their room, lay on their beds and listen to music. They also practice dancing in there. I feel like I'm getting a preview of what the teenage years will be like (thankfully for now their CD collection consists of primary music, children's learning songs and one UB40 album). Jacob took this video while I was on the phone just the other night. They have some really cool moves they've been working on. This is great entertainment for rainy days... but I still think we need a yard!

I included both videos because Ziya dances more on the top one, but the boys have "sweeter" moves on the bottom one.