Terrible Twos Arrival!

That's right. For the last couple of weeks, Everett has been grumpy while his 2 year old molars came in, and they brought bad behavior with them. Take today. When Ev woke up, he was upset because he had a poopy diaper. When I took it off, he got mad because he wanted the poopy diaper back on. When I tried to put a new diaper on him, he refused because he wanted to put his pee pee in the potty. I agreed and took him downstairs with nothing on but a T-shirt.

During breakfast I didn't make his bagel right, and when I served him a bowl of peaches, he had a screaming fit because he wanted the spoon I gave to Cooper (which, by the way, was identical to his own.) Cooper, the little peacemaker, gave his spoon to the two year old. "Here Ev! You can have mine!" Everett broke into an even bigger fit. When asked why he was upset, he said that he didn't want Cooper to be nice to him.

After breakfast, Ev said he needed to go potty, so I took him to the bathroom and stood him on his stool in front of the potty. He had a fit because he didn't want to pee pee in the potty, he wanted to pee pee on the rug! When I told him no, he simply refused to get his pee pee in the potty. Finally, he waited for me to move or be distracted and he got off the stool and peed on the rug, staring straight at me with that "ha, ha, ha!" look. He got in big trouble.

After the disciplining of the pee pee on the rug, I got in the shower. While in the shower, Ev came and left a poop on the rug in front of my shower! Can you believe it? I mean, that is serious cognitive ability! When I got out of the shower, he was hiding, because he knew he was in trouble. He actually did it on purpose.

Later in the day, he got a poop in the potty, and so he got a popsicle. He took the popsicle outside and put it in the sun. He didn't even lick it. He said he wanted it to melt. So I let it happen. Then, when he came outside and it was a puddle, of course, he had a humongous fit! Goodness gracious.

While I was reading a book to Cooper and Ev today, Cooper was trying to turn a page, and Ev wanted Cooper to only turn the pages when Ev said it was OK. Well, he hadn't said it was OK, so he was really upset when Coop turned the page. It was a fight that almost ended up in a ripped book. When I told Cooper that we need to be really patient with Ev because he's just learning, Cooper said, "I know, but it's just no fun Mom!"

Later tonight, when he was praying, he said, "Please bless Sammi and Scotti and Cooper to sleep really well in their sleeping bags tonight!" Then he looked at me and started laughing like he was the funniest thing ever because "they are really sleeping in their beds mommy!" He's just such a character.

Phareses in town!

Oooh man, we have had a fun week with our dear friends the Phareses. We have missed our Pennsylvania friends so much since leaving them last year. The minute these guys walked in the door it seemed like we were never apart. It was fun to have the kids have a sleepover--5 kids in one bedroom! We loved going to Lake Sylvia with them and kayaking and swimming. We also went to Seattle to Pike Place Market and to the Aquarium where we got to pet Sea Cucumbers and all sort of other tidal life! They also had a giant octopus that fascinated us all. I laughed at myself though, because this day in the city was stressful for me--keeping the kids together, not losing anyone. It ended in me driving home in traffic and realizing that maybe I have become a country bunkin! We spent another beautiful day hiking, swimming, biking, and exploring at Lake Sylvia and then went to the Quinault Rainforest and spent a day and a night in a cabin there on the lake. Wow, it was fun. The Phareses are such good people.

I'm starting to realize that visiting me is not quite what I had imagined. I imagined myself serving up smoothies before bed, delivering delicious dinners and creative breakfasts to my guests. I imagined so much fun in the outdoors that people would get tired of it in the end. I'm realizing that the reality is that anyone who comes to visit me ends up helping ME a lot. I can't help it. I try to have it all together to serve the guests, but ultimately, they end up helping me out a lot. Just too many needs around the Jackson household I guess. If you plan to come visit me, and I certainly hope you do, keep this in mind. It's just the way things are at the Jacksons in this stage of our lives! (I hope when you come, you actually enjoy spending a little time helping and playing with the kiddos anyway!)

Yesterday we went to our friends' house for dinner and they brought out the 4-wheelers. I thought my kids were going to just die. They were so excited about them! They each got to ride for their first time on a 4-wheeler. They thought it was so fun, even though they were only driving 10 miles an hour. One "fabulous" thing about living in the country: everyone has a 4-wheeler. (Now Grant and I have to figure out how to keep our kids safe with all these vehicles around!) Love to you all!

Oh yeah--the above pictures: 1. Coop on his first 4-wheeler! (Don't worry, he didn't ride it alone!), 2. and 3. all the kids on our hike at Lake Quinault, 4. Sammi, Scotti, Cooper, and Zoe on the world's largest piggy bank at Pike Place Market, 5. Sammi and the peonies we bought at Pike Place Market, 6. Sammi and Zoe at Lake Sylvia.

Sammi's and Scotti's Dance Recital

Sammi and Scotti had their dance recital last night. They are such good dancers. They knew the entire dance and have such great rhythm. On the way to the recital, they were really excited and were chanting, "We love to dance! We love to dance!" Then, they started saying, "If you love to dance, raise your hand" or "kick your feet" or "wiggle your hips!" They are so funny. They loved it. Their dance was called "Bugga Boo" and they were supposed to be bugs. Scotti had a great attitude about his costume. He thought it was really dumb, but said that it was worth it to be able to dance. I loved watching them and was so proud.

Beckstrands are comin' to town!

Oh man! We had such a fun couple of days with our cousins this week! My brother Jon and his family came to visit us. We had a fabulous adventure to Olympic Mountain Ice Cream Factory outside of Shelton, WA. It was a fabulous little ice cream factory that some people were running out of their barn. They have the best flavors and certainly the best ice cream I have ever tasted. We came home with about 30 flavors of ice cream and had an ice cream pot luck where we all got to try each flavor. It was fabulous and I recommend it to all who live close by. The kids loved camping out in the yard, and you could not get Matt and Scotti to stop playing sports in the yard. The two were so happy that I hardly even talked to either one the entire time. The next day we spent a fun day at Lake Sylvia hiking and then kayaking and playing in the lake. These are some of our favorite people. Lauren, Ali, Matt, Andrew, Jon, Trina. Oh man. They are welcome back anytime. They are all just such great people. Grant and I will be so happy if our children demonstrate any likeness to the Beckstrand kids. These pictures are us outside of the ice cream factory, and at our ice cream pot luck at my house. Trina took all the pictures. I'll post more when I get them from her. She takes such great pictures.

No Training Wheels for Sammi!

Sammi learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels this week. She was so proud, but her excitement couldn't possibly match Grant's excitement! That is one of his favorite parenting experiences. Now, she is cruising all over the place.

Cooper's 4th Birthday!

That's right. My Cooper is now a 4 year old. I simply can't believe it. He had a great birthday. He got a pool, slip n' slide and squirt guns, so he was pretty happy, although I think his favorite present came from Dad: a nerf football that he's been sleeping with every night. He was so cute, because Sammi and Scotti and Ev wanted to play with his new toys so much, and in most cases, Cooper let them play with his presents before he even got to play with them! He had a really fun soccer party with all his friends. We ran drills and stretched and scored goals and had snack and cake. He had a great time. I love you Cooper, my four year old!

Grandma Beck is comin' to town!

We were so excited this last week, because Grandma Beck (Great-Grandma Beck for my kiddos) came to visit with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Richard. It was so fun to be with these three. We had a great time at the Rusty Tractor, where we discovered an old stove that is just like one my Grandma had when she was a kid. We went to the beach, which was as windy as can be. All the adults sort of geared up to face the wind, because the kids all were happy as can be in their swimming suits! They had a great time. When I announced to my kids that Grandma Beck was going to ride in the car, they broke out into a "Grandma Beck" chant. You would have thought she was a hockey player shooting a game-winning penalty shot! We loved going to Mount Rainier and staying at the Paradise Lodge. My favorite thing we did there was to play National Park Memory with Grandma Beck in the lobby of the lodge. Boy that place is beautiful! Mount Rainier is gorgeous, and we hit it on possibly the most beautiful days of the year! My kids loved to hike through the rainforest and especially liked becoming Junior Rangers. It was fun to walk with our Grandparents around the National Park Inn on their trail around the meadows. I was so excited to have my Grandma see my house and my town, and just how my life is playing out. What a lucky person I am to have her come to visit! When I went in to get Everett out of his crib the morning after the grandparents all left, Ev said, "I want Grandma Beck!" I said she was gone, and he said "That's so sad!" What a cutie pie. I made my mom take most of our pictures, so here are just the ones I had! She has much better ones. I love you Grandma.

My Garden

In classic Bird family fashion, I took a bunch of pictures of my yard recently. I always remember my mom taking pictures of her beautiful flowers. Not all the time, but I always loved the pictures I have of our house. I also always remember looking at all the pictures my Grandma Bird takes of flowers--not just in her yard, but everywhere she goes. If it is beautiful, she has to have a picture of it! In taking these photos, I felt like I was carrying on some sort of tradition!