Vacation--Part 2:Niagra Falls

After our day in Kirtland, we were on our way to our next scheduled stop in Palmyra. Upon further inspection of the GPS, Josh realized that we were SO "close" to Niagra Falls, so we had to go. This is Josh. He is willing and quite enjoys a bit of spontaneity, as do I in controlled settings, but being on the road with two volatile boys in the back seat does not count as controlled for me. However, in the spirit of true road-tripping, and held back my initial reaction to scream "NO! think of all the things that could go wrong" and simply said, "OK".

Things were going along fine until we realized that we weren't sure exactly what exit to get off of to reach the falls, and then things started getting a little stickier when we saw a sign that said 3 miles to the Canadian border. With this sign came 3 miles worth of traffic that was sitting at a complete stand still. Here is something I learned: if you are really trying to catch the spirit of a road trip, then it is important that your posture and sounds remain in sync with such spirit. Here is an example of what not to do: Upon seeing that you are 3 miles from entering a new country that you do not want to be in, and never wanted to even be in this situation in the first place, do not angle your body away from the "spontaneous" person who the idea in the first place, while crossing your arms, and letting out a sigh. This is to be interpreted as a "bad attitude", thus resulting in a sour mood for all parties.

After my quick realization, I was sure to praise Josh for his great idea of taking us to the falls after we got there. They really were amazing, and completely worth the extra time and effort.

next stop, Palmyra.

The Vacation--part 1

We have been home for a few days now, and I've been too intimidated by all of the pictures we took on vacation to blog. Baby steps.

When Josh and I were planning this vacation I was skeptical to say the least that it would be 1) any fun and 2) that it would actually happen. We were, after all, taking our kids who, since birth, have been notoriously crappy car riders. It didn't seem like the recipe for fond, family memories, but I can now say with more certainty than ever before, that miracles do happen. It can be added to the list right after "with few loaves the multitudes were fed"..."the Brown boys were incredibly well behaved in the car---the WHOLE time!"

Those teeny tiny people are us, sitting on the steps of the Kirtland Temple

This is how Isaac and Will passed the time waiting for Josh to get out of his temple tour. We realized very quickly that although the boys were shockingly good in the car, they really were still themselves, and the historic tours offered for these sites did little to hold their attention. If we (meaning Josh and myself) wanted to get anything out of this trip, we would have to do the touring solo--so we did.

We first went to the sites that our church owns and operates, and then to the tour of the temple that is owned by the Community of Christ Church (formerly known as RLDS). It was a bizarre feeling to be in the building where so many miraculous things happened at it's dedication, just to feel like it is really only a shell of itself now. It was a little sad for me.

Picture of us at the visitor's center

Newel K. Whitney store.

More to come!

Day 1 Eve

We just returned from a vacation that I swore that I would never do with kids, especially my kids--but, 9 days, 9 states, 2600 miles, $100 in tolls, and 2 birthdays later, we are back! Interestingly enough, it was an awesome time.

As most of you know, Josh and I have had a 1990 4-Runner since we have been married. It has been good to us, and although old, we both really liked it. The kids were attached, so much so, that at the mere mention of possibly getting a different car, it sent both of them into hysterics. The only way we could convince Will that maybe a new car wouldn't be the end of the world was when we told him that a new car could go faster and pass other cars on the road better than the 4-Runner did. So, on a whim (quite literally) and thanks to Cash-4-Clunkers we traded in our 4-Runner and got our brand new car.

We sealed the deal on the car purchase the day before we left on our road trip. I think that it made a big difference in how comfortable the driving portion was.

On behalf of the whole family, though, we bid our beloved 4-Runner adieu. You were a special car, in fact, maybe even one of a kind. We bought you 7 years ago for $4200 and traded you in for $4700. That just doesn't happen. You will be missed.

The Thriller at Miller

On Saturday, Josh got to play in some softball games appropriate titled, "The Thriller at Miller". The medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin play against the dental students at Marquette. I am proud to say that in the two games that Josh played in, they creamed the dental students!

The park that sat above Helfaer Field where they played there games.

The boys

Josh warming up with the team

Josh at bat. He hit a home run, right over the wall.

You can't see it very well, but Josh is running the bases. No matter how out or in shape Josh is, he is always incredibly fast. To somebody like me, who wakes up at the ridiculous hour of 5:00am to go the gym, this is point of frustration, because I try so much harder, yet am never going to be faster.

At one point in the first game both of the boys started complaining that they had to go poo! "Oh great!" These are where we spent the next half hour of our day. I thought it was totally disgusting, but the boys thought they were the best thing they have ever seen. During this picture they are both inside there, and I overheard them saying to each other, "Look! our poo is turning green in that blue water! Hey, Mommy? Could you come take a picture?!" I drew the line at just taking a picture at what they deemed to be one of the highlights of the whole day...using the port-a-potties.

Josh warming up pitching. I thought it was a terrible idea, at first, to have him pitch, because past experiences have proved this to be the case, but he found his groove and did really well.

Isaac, feeling total dismay as Will tells him, "No ticket for you!"

We all agreed this picture is frightening! On the drive home we were talking about how only certain hats work for my exceptionally tiny head--this one, not so much. Josh suggested that I smile real big to make my face look as big as possible. What you get is part human part reptile. In addition to a teeny tiny head/ears and amazon hand, I also have the privilege of sporting a lizard/raptor neck.

**What did I learn from all of this? I can't say with certainty that the medical students are indeed better at softball, but I can say that they as a whole were less drunk. When we pulled up to the park in the glorious AM, you know, before NOON, and you see a sea of yellow Marquette shirts pounding down brewskies, you have a feeling you might have a leg up on them. It works to the med students advantage that they are doing rotations that require them to be on call at the hospitals, otherwise the games might actually have been closer, but really? I don't think so.

Temple Trip and What a Rip?!

Chicago, IL temple

Once a month, Josh and I attend the temple. This month we made it on the last day of the month, but still made it. Going to the temple is always a production because it takes about 8 hours start to finish, but it is SO worth it, and I'm grateful that we do it. We usually bring the boys with us, and just switch watching them while the other gets to do a session. When we are all done, on our way home we stop at what I consider one of the happiest places on earth (next to the place that we just left) and that place is called Lake Forest Oasis.

oa·sis: 1 : a fertile or green area in an arid region (as a desert)
2 : something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast

For our purposes we will reference definition 2. A refuge indeed! By the time we are done with our day of the temple we are starving, and going to the Lake Forest Oasis definitely provides the relief we seek. Basically, it is like a foodcourt that is built over the freeway. We walk in the doors, I head to Panda Express, Josh to Taco Bell, and then after that down to McDonald's for the boys, and the best part--you get to sit there and eat your hodge podge of deep fried goodness as you watch all of the cars on the freeway zoom under you. I love temple days!

Also located at the Lake Forest Oasis is a large kiosk of these bad boys. Will and Giggies excitedly run to it to "play" it while Josh and I get all of the food. In the past we have never given them money for them, knowing, that they are impossible to win. (I'm sure I'll have some smarty pants comment that they know the trick to actually getting a prize, if that's the case, then, do tell, Houdini! I'm pretty sure it can't happen) I mentioned a while back that Will lost his first tooth, and he has been saving his tooth fairy money for this very machine. We tried to warn him many times that he may not win. Wouldn't you like to just go to target and get a toy? But to him, that was crazy talk! With this machine you get a toy and you get to play a game, how is it even a choice?
So, Josh learily walked with Will to Satan's toy machine after we were done eating. With the dollar they had two attempts to get the toy. Will tried first---not even close. He then wisely deferred to daddy, and naively said, "Hey, daddy, I want this green one here, (you know the one wedged in the corner that you can never possibly get) " Josh told him that they would be lucky to get one at all. Josh tried, lined it up, the claw went right over the ball, and of course slipped right from it's grasp. Will was crushed. Never have I seen him look so disappointed, not even when we pulled the fast one on him of "yeah, yeah, it's just a doctor's appointment" when really it's "oh and by the way, you are getting surgery".
He plead for more money. Seeing his distress we reluctantly gave him one more shot, which again, he wisely said, "you do it, dad" talk about a pressure situation! Unfortunately, again he couldn't deliver. Immediately, Will started crying and as Josh scooped him up and took him aside to comfort him. I snuck back to the machine, inserted my last 2 quarters, said a quick prayer, "Heavenly Father, please let me win" now let me digress for a moment. I am confident that if I would have left the prayer at that, that I would have indeed got that little, stupid ball, but I pridefully continued my prayer, "...please let me win, so I can show Josh how this is really done," and my outcome was the same. Now quarterless and crushed we all headed to the car. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this experience:
1-The proud will fall
2-Toy crane machines, like slot machines, are Satan's tools, stay away from them
3-The combination of chow mein, Chicken Chalupa, and french fries, no matter how delicious it sounds, will make your tummy feel sick.

Silly Thing to Do

A conversation from this morning:

Will: What are you doing?

Me: It's called plucking my eyebrows

Will: What is that?

Me: It's pulling your hairs out of your eyebrows

Will: Why would you do that?

Me: Uh... (????)

Will: Does it hurt?

Me: Yep

Will: Does it hurt a lot?

Me: kind of (tear rolling down my cheek from a missed attempt where I got skin not hair)

Will: That is just a silly thing to do! (leaves laughing at me)

Will: (yelling back at me from the next room) maybe you should do the hairs on your legs next!

Knock on Wood

This is an outfit that although, cute, you never hope to have to see your kids in...knock on wood.

Today Will had to go in for some scheduled surgery. I suppose it was minor in nature, but anytime that they have to put you under general anesthesia, and insert a breathing tube, it never feels minor to the mom! Here he is before.
Here he is being wheeled away. He was incredibly calm, this probably had everything to do with the fact that we didn't really tell him much of what was going to happen to him. I figure it would have only panicked him. I'm sure though that he left that surgical center today thinking, "That was the most jacked up doctor's appointment ever!" We only told him he'd be going to see the doctor today--I think that he has forgiven us already, though.

Will, after. Josh's frown is posed; Will's is not. Coming out of anesthesia is a rough process for anyone, but especially for a little guy. He felt crummy.

This is Will sucking on the magical sucker that is supposed to take away that nagging side effect of the anesthesia of nausea and vomiting---it didn't work :(

Now he is at home, sleeping peacefully next to me. I brought his bed in and set it up next to mine, because I couldn't imagine him waking up and me not being able to help him immediately, thus, the room change. While Will was back having the surgery, it allowed Josh and I some quiet time to talk. It's funny, because even though, we felt totally comfortable with the doctor and the facility, and knew that everything would likely be ok, there is still that moment, when you feel helpless as the parent, and you can't help but get teary eyed as you talk about the things you love about that kid. This is the same kid that was nearly banished to an eternal time out yesterday for dumping his Capn' Crunch all over the floor, and today, I would have been willing to spend the rest of my days cleaning up his Capn' Crunch if he could just be all right. At one point Josh looked at me, and said, "I know this sounds ridiculous, because I know it's not true, but it seems impossible that Heavenly Father can love us as much as I love Will." He is right, it's not true. It is, however, amazing that Heavenly Father can PERFECTLY love us beyond what we are capable to understand, and offers us the gift of the Holy Ghost, who knows how to precisely succor us when no other earthly thing can. So, while hear on this earth, it seems fitting that as we were allowed to go back with Will the nurse told me that from the time he woke up he just wanted his mom--because for this life, God has given Will me to be his primary source of comfort, but I am thankful that Will has a Father in Heaven who can perfectly succor him, when I don't know how to, and I have Capn' Crunch milk dripping down my hair. Blessings! and may we never have to experience this again...knock on wood.