Dreams

There have been some weird things going on in our heads while we sleep around here. For the last few days, Eden has been waking up and getting in bed with us, something that she has never done in all her four years. She has always been afraid of the dark, but we let her keep her closet light on, and she falls asleep fast, so she is okay with that. But she has been waking up with bad dreams this week. She is a funny one. She's not afraid of strangers or getting hurt or things kids are normally afraid of, but she is TERRIFIED of large, fluffy, animal characters the likes of Mickey Mouse, the Chick-Fil-A cow, and the prairie dog from the kids club at the mall. She goes absolutely ballistic every time she sees a big character or if we even talk about one. I wonder if that's why she's waking up scared.

The other day, Tibi and I took the kids to the mall for the kids club and she would not stop clinging to Tibi and looking around trying to locate the huge scary prairie dog. She was crying and screaming and it was horrible. The last time I took her there, the Chick-Fil-A cow was out in front of its restaurant, and she wouldn't even cross its path, she was so scared. I had to go back and pick her up and carry her across because she wouldn't walk.

Last night we went out for dinner, and there was a Hooters restaurant near the one we went to. The whole time we were eating, Eden kept mentioning "The Owl" that was going to come out and scare her. We had no idea what she was referring to, but Tibi and Peter had some fun teasing her until she was going crazy again. I swear, Peter wouldn't tease her if she was coming into HIS side of the bed every night.

When we went to get in the car, Peter held her and walked across the parking lot a little to explain that the sign on the wall of Hooters was just a picture and that it wasn't a real owl. She wasn't convinced. We let her and Jonah stay up last night and watch Wipeout with us to get her to forget about the scary owl on the side of the building. That reminds me of a funny story...

Yesterday we went to Meet the Teacher night for Eden's preschool. She has Miss Amy this year, Jonah's teacher from last year. She is so excited and I know she'll learn a lot this year. Anyway, while we were walking down the hall, I was holding Levi's hand and he tripped over his feet and fell on his face. Jonah was walking behind us and he started cracking up and pointing at Levi. You probably had to be there, but Tibi and I were laughing so hard at Jonah's reaction. I told Jonah he was so funny, then he said, "I'm not funny, Levi's funny. He fell down!" Jonah is starting to see a lot of humor around him. I love hearing him burst into genuine laughter- now I just need to teach him not to laugh AT people.

Anyway, back to dreams. Jonah has had a few nightmares this last week, but they are nothing like his night terrors used to be. He comes in and I get him a drink and put him back in bed.

I have been having crazy dreams and one night I even had one that had my crying when I woke up. It was really vivid and seemed real. I was trying to protect a few people from this snake that killed, and I couldn't protect everyone. So I chose to sacrifice Levi and only after the snake bit him and he was dying did I realize what I had just done. I was cradling him in my arms and crying and saying his name... then I woke up crying. It was horrible. I went straight into Levi's room and checked on him and hugged him tight (I love that my kids are heavy sleepers), then I went downstairs and noticed that the light was on and that Jonah was awake, playing down there. He saw that I was crying and asked why and I told him that I had a bad dream. He was really cute and sweet to me. He asked me what it was about and I said that Levi got hurt. (Didn't want to mention his death.) He said, "Well, what was scary? Was Levi a giant?" I laughed a little at that. Getting hurt is nowhere near as scary as a giant to kids, huh? We talked a little more and Jonah told me I could stay downstairs with him. But I eventually went back upstairs and fell back asleep pretty quickly.

Anyway, I have been having some really crazy ones lately. I think I prefer not remembering my dreams when I wake up!

What's Happening?

We finally went to the Kids Club at the mall a few weeks ago. I have never made it out there, despite the numerous invites from other moms to meet there. It was actually really fun! My kids are super terrified of big animal characters, but they didn't mind the big prairie dog from far away! Eden did REALLY freak out when we passed the big Chick-Fil-A cow...

They scored these awesome masks...
and a free ride on the carousel...The kids have been doing lots of swimming and also swimming lessons...

We did Eden's hair in rag curls and foam curlers one Sunday for church. She loved it, and when she saw the pictures, she told me she wanted to do it again for church next time. She is getting good at letting me do her hair without a big scene. From this:

To this!

She's such a ham. Eww, you can see the Cheetos stuck in her teeth!

Oh yeah, and guess who came to visit?

Here is my favorite video of the kids right now! They love listening to music and singing in the car, and here they are, singing "Easy Going" from Follow That Bird. Even Levi comes in on the chorus.

Shirley Family Reunion, part 1

Over 4th of July weekend, we had a family reunion with Peter's immediate family in Oceanside, California. We had a great time seeing family that we rarely get to see. And although we were freezing our watoobies off (as my mom would say), we had a lot of fun! We have definitely acclimated to Arizona. The whole weekend in California, it only got up to around 65 degrees, plus it was a little windy at the beach, so we were freezing. I couldn't believe that I was actually happy to get back to 100 degree weather! We only have to get through it for about one more month, and I can do that.

We got to California Thursday night. The kids did good in the car, and even fell asleep before we got there. Peter says I take too many pictures of the kids sleeping, but what can I say? A sleeping kid can bring a mother so much joy! Ha ha!

We got to stay at my grandparents' house in Carlsbad. The only bad part was that they weren't there, and I haven't seen them for a really long time. We will get to see them in September at least. The reunion didn't start until Friday afternoon, so we went to IHOP for breakfast. This is how Levi "smiles":Eden kept us pretty entertained until our food came.

We also went down to Oceanside Pier for a few minutes before we headed over to the reunion.

We started off our reunion at Poinsettia Park in Carlsbad. We talked...

we barbecued...

we snacked...
we watched the kids play...

then we watched the men play.

This was pretty funny. I am only putting two videos on to save these guys from too much embarrassment. Just kidding, they weren't THAT bad!

Here's Carter's awesome shot:

And Peter scored a few...

The kids played for what seemed like hours at the playground. Levi and Nick were little buddies at the park. It was really cute how they kept chasing each other around and going on the slide together. Levi needs a little buddy!
Henry, your smiles are too perfect! Your mom must be a photographer!
Jonah was content to dig in the dirt. Sounds like our camping trip!

After the park, we went over to Cheryl's parent's pool. It was pretty cold, but the bravest of the group got in.

Maddy's awesome action shot!

We figured out really quickly that the hot tub was a great place to be.

This is one of my favorite kids ever! I don't know if I could handle all of his energy (good job, Kristie!) but he is such a little joy to be around! I just can't resist that smile.
to be continued...

Shirley Family Reunion, part 2

On Saturday morning, we went down to Old Town San Diego to visit the Mormon Battalion Museum. To be honest, this was one of my favorite parts of the reunion. I highly recommend visiting if you are going to be in San Diego. It was really interesting and fun for the kids as well. The church has done a great job on this center.

Inside a covered wagon...

We went through a bunch of rooms and watched a movie about the Battalion.

At the end, we got our pictures taken.

Then the kids got to pan for gold...pump water...and make bricks in the oven.

The rest of the day we spent at the beach. The kids had fun digging in the sand.

None of our kids wanted to get in the water, and I don't blame them one bit! I didn't even put a toe in to check, but I'm sure it was freezing!
Good thing there's lots of sand to play with!
Luke, having a grand time...
Uncle Tom showed off his beach bod...
The kids caught some waves...


And most of the uncles eventually went in the water. Peter stayed out for quite a while. He probably was wishing we had brought his surfboard.
As for me, I chilled out and got a little sun on my legs before snuggling up with Levi as he fell asleep.

The next day was Sunday and we were able to go to Jack and Kathy's ward. The members of their ward bore some amazing testimonies, especially considering that a family in their ward had suffered a tragedy over the weekend. I felt a lot of love in the ward for that family, and a renewed trust in our Heavenly Father's plan.

It was great being in that ward because I also got to meet the Oddous, who are my sister's best friend, Marc's, parents. Wow, that sentence sounds really crappy. Anyways, they were so fun to talk to, really fabulous people.

After church, we ate at Jack and Kathy's, had a testimony meeting, and sang songs around the piano.

The kids had fun outside...

and Eden found a buddy in Aunt Cheryl.

It was a great reunion, and I so glad that everyone was there (well, except Abby). We had a lot of fun being around everyone. It's so much fun when everyone gets together at once.

Some of us were still around on Monday, so we went down to Oceanside to walk on the pier. My camera was on a weird setting, so these pictures didn't turn out too good, but I'm going to post them anyway!

Family picture, Take 1:

Take 2:

And one of Peter and I: