Collins Extraveganza

So I haven't posted for a couple of weeks because, well, my whole family was in town for most of that time. Four of my six sibs live out of state, and my mom was giddy with joy at having them all at her house for almost a week. Well, everyone but us. We live about 20 minutes away, with my youngest brother, his wife and little boy living in the small apartment above my parents' garage, so they might as well have been in the main house. But the rest of them, four siblings, four in-laws, two two month old babies, and eleven other grandchildren. Our 5 stayed home with us, but we spent most of the past weeks at my mom's house, so it was like we never really left. We did some church family stuff, a baptism for my niece Emma, and the baby blessings for the two baby boys, Henry, and Mason.
We also did some swimming:

and took family photos:

(sorry, Tina, I totally stole your photos since we never seem to take a camera anywhere)
The photographer was amazing, Aime Maughan. Check out her work! You might even see one or two of my kids in her galleries.

And one day, my mom and all of us mothers (except Merci and Haley who were already back in CA) went shopping at the outlet mall in Park City. Now that was fun. A full day of shopping...so much so, we didn't even eat lunch!
We said goodbye to everyone last night, so life gets back to "normal". But boring. Oh well. Next year it will be 10 days in So Cal, and we'll get our Collins fix next summer!

Vacation, Staycation, and Escapism

So we spent last week up at East Canyon, where we have a membership. It was horrible getting up there, packing clothes and food for 7 people for several days. I was so grumpy by the time we got up there and poor Andrew, who decided on July 4th to be newly independent from diapers or pullups of any sort, had not yet gotten used to using a toilet not his own. I was prepared for accidents, but not that many. I was afraid that first night all the progress we'd made would be swept away by another toilet, until I figured out it was because the toilet was too tall, and the upstairs ones were the right height. It only took 3 hours and 4 accidents before I hit the "DUH" button and reset my brain.

Honestly, though, after the first day it was great, very relaxing, and I could forget, for a few days, that real life with all its time pressures was waiting for me at home.

I've talked to a few people this summer about taking vacations, just getting away from it all, and between those conversations and my own observations, I have realized that even if a vacation means more stress for Mom, they are so important to the sanity of the household. And I have to agree. That family bonding time is important, away from the normal ins and outs of life. It strengthens the family unit through common experiences and memories, even if the memories consist of kids throwing up, kids throwing bottles at the other passengers in the airplane, kids throwing up, "AAAAAAHHHH! Mom, he's pinching me! AAAAAAHHHH", kids throwing up....

That being said, Kendall and I have two different definitions of what a vacation is. For me it is doing whatever will cause the the least amount of stress for all parties, myself being the exception. (And now I know why my mom was always working during vacations. I could never figure it out at the time, but now I know that for mom, if the vacation includes the children, there is no vacation for mom, only the same work in unfamiliar surroundings.)

Kendall's definition is exploring, finding interesting places to visit and learn about, expanding one's horizons. That was great in Italy, where every P-day was filled with those visits to amazing places and vistas all crammed into that little boot, but here in Utah it's all too familiar. And if it's not familiar, it's too expensive for a family of 7.

So this year we opted for the staycation approach, something really close by, and within reason. (This is also because Benji is still a horrible child in the car, demanding after about 45 minutes "Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!" at the top of his lungs, pulling at his carseat buckles all the while. He has occasionally been able to worm his way out of the seat, I don't know how, and wandered freely in the car until we can pen him in again.)

But after we came back and reality with all its pressures had reasserted itself, I find myself searching for ways to escape. Not that I'm running away, mind you, but I just am tired and don't want to do it anymore. So I am reading. A lot. Or staying up until 2 in the morning. Too much Facebook. Any and all of it, just to escape it all for a few minutes.

Sometimes it's harder to come back from vacation than to be on one. Sigh.

Amazing Acappella Music

Kendall and I have sung in a couple of acappella groups over the years, and it has been loads of fun. The joy of making several voices come together to create harmony and beauty is just joyful. A friend of mine sent this link to a Slovenian choir on YouTube, and I just had to share:



The other thing I had to mention was the new Fox show, Glee. They've only shown the first episode as a teaser after the American Idol finale, but it was so much fun, I don't care that their marketing worked. I am already hooked and anxiously waiting for the season to really begin. Here is my favorite song from this episode, though I loved all the music in it.



Anyway, every time I take a break from music, and then come back to it, I'm always stunned at how much I love it and miss it. (I guess that's about right...it's basically July, six months from the Christmas season when I'm singing my brains out.)
Have fun, and I hope I've addicted all of you to Glee (if not, go to Fox and watch the whole first episode) so you can talk about it with me when the season starts in September!

Cold Stone Concoctions

I've always been a fan of Cold Stone Creamery. I love the idea of being able to put together flavors that no one else has ever thought of and have it be really nummy. We don't go often, but when we do, Kendall always complains that I make much better concoctions and then eats half of it.

So after going to see Hello, Dolly! at Hale Center Theatre last night, we stopped at Cold Stone. After tasting my experiment, he said, "You need to blog about flavor combinations, and say things like 'It finished with the deep flavor of oak.'"

He was kidding about oak, but not about the blog. So here is last night's nirvana (and I wish I had taken a picture): Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream, raspberries, and Twix. Fresh raspberries add tartness, the caramel is smooth and chewy as it cools, and the cookie base and milk chocolate bring a satisfying crunch and creamy finish. The oatmeal cookie ice cream also gives it a nice roundness of flavor, rich and buttery, with some cinammon to add a final dimension.

I would also recommend Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream, raspberries, Nilla wafers, and white chocolate chips. It would taste like the fabulously indulgent white chocolate raspberry brownies that my mom makes from Aunt Deb's recipe. (Thanks, Aunt Deb!)

So there's your Coldstone recommendation for the week. If I made your mind work and your mouth water, go indulge your craving with this recipe. It's on the house.

Speed Bumps of Life

What are speed bumps for? Why do they even exist? Physical ones are there to tell you to slow down, drive slowly, cautiously, with careful considerations of your surroundings.

The speed bumps of life do the same thing in our consciousness. These experiences come into our paths to say "Wait! There are things here to stop and ponder! Think through the path you've chosen before you continue!"

Some are small, like a child trying to get you to listen while you're busy 'working the plan'.

"Mom, Mom, Mom! You gotta come see..."
"Just a sec. Mama's got to finish this one thing--"
"But Benji just flushed the shampoo down the toilet!"

Or it could be major, like Kendall's dad collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. The doctors have ruled out a heart attack or stroke (his dad is almost 78), and think he might have a really bad inner ear infection, or something that can be taken care of. We're hopeful that it will be something "minor".

But today as this unfolded, and a few years ago when Kendall's mother was extremely ill, it caused us to stop and think about where we are, and this "plan" we're working so hard to follow. Where are our priorities? Where is our focus? Are we really choosing "the better part"? Or are we settling for good, when better or best is who we should be?

Edelweiss

Edelweiss - Sound of Music - Christopher Plummer's own voice from Mark on Vimeo.

Today we changed Benji's crib into a "transitional bed", i.e., a toddler bed with railings at either end. He's been successfully climbing/falling out of his crib for the past week, and hurt himself a few times.

I don't know why I thought it would be just like any other night, where I could put him in and walk away. He likes his freedom too much. So for almost an hour, we played "Get out of bed and find Mom so she can put me back in bed", including a bonus round of "crying so hard I throw up". I finally figured out (duh) that he wasn't going to stay, so I had to lay him down and sit in the opening created by the two end railings. He still didn't want to stay, so I offered to sing for him.

Now I have to add here that one of the only things that this busy, busy, BUSY boy will sit still for is when Kendall sings "Edelweiss" to him. He loves the sound of his daddy's singing, and will be so still I don't even recognize the tornado that is normally my son. So I usually leave Kendall to sing this lullaby to him, because, well, I love to hear him sing it, too.

But it was my turn tonight (since it was my decision to change up the crib situation) to figure out how to keep him in bed, so I sang to him. I used all my usual lullabies, but he wasn't quite there.

"Benji," I said, "Do you want me to sing Edelweiss?"

He smiled his biggest smile at me and said, "Yeah."

So I sang it to him about 20 times, the last time a gentle humming as I listened to my baby snore. Peace.

So I post the picture of my now FAVORITE flower and a video clip from one of my favorite movies, in honor of Benji, sleep, and peace.

Milestones

This is the summer of learning something new...for me and the three youngest. Meri is on the brink of making a breakthrough in reading...so close. So this summer she will learn to read before she goes to kindergarten. This is awesome, and I look forward to working with her.

For the two youngest, not so fun. I think it's time to teach the two little boys the joys of toilet training. Andrew has been very reluctant, refusing any suggestions to start. But (and here's where the psychology comes in) he always wants to do things BEFORE Benji. But Benji is showing signs of readiness, and I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to get the rest of my kids out of diapers.

So wish me good luck (and good aim).

Make Most of Time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

"To The Virgins, To Make The Most of Time", Robert Herrick, 1591-1674

Kendall and I love to travel, but with five kids, (three of them under 5) we don't do it as much as we would like. We went through a period about a week ago thinking about squeezing in a "ROAD TRIP!!!" (insert "Legally Blonde" squeal here) to San Francisco or there abouts (No, Benton, we were not going to crash at your place, so no worries) and find some place like this:

Instead, after reality and sanity returned, we decided that what we really should be doing this summer is this:(And no, this is not our basement. This one doesn't have toys and loner socks float around on the ground.)

Yeah, I know, boring. It's not all work, though. We already had a week up at East Canyon set up, we just wanted a little bit more. We only have 5 or 6 more years with Sarah in the house. How weird is that? I swear she was just 5 years old herself, and we just celebrated her 13TH BIRTHDAY!!!! Ack!

We do want to make the most of the time we have left, make those memories (remember Mazatlan, siblings? Or maybe Europe? Or Yellowstone?). How do you create balance between the responsibilities of today and family bonding time beyond normal life? We still haven't found it, and time's a-flying.

Summer's So Close, I Can Taste It!

I posted these two pictures because this is where I want to spend my summer: somewhere between a cool green forest and the beach. No worries, just letting the kids explore and having a very relaxing time.

You don't realize how taxing the normal schedule is until it starts to lighten up. The end of the school year is close, and the release of pressure is making me giddy. I just want to run away somewhere and let all the rest of the stress seep into the earth and sky. Anyone care to join me?

And Then There Are Those Days....

....where you swear, if they weren't so darn cute, you'd just....