As part of our “summer survival” plan our family has been trying to do one big outing a week. This week we chose to go on the tour of the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. We had lots of fun and stuffed our own jelly bellys full of candy! Thanks to Aunt Lisa for helping to keep Ellis safe as she tried to escape us many, many, many times…..
Many eager Jelly Belly lovers (it was a 45 minute wait..yuck)
Lincoln and Rulon are part of our local swim team, The Forest Park Flyers. As they are young, novice swimmers they are part of the “mini-flyer” team. Once they start swimming by themselves (basically being able to keep themselves afloat by any means possible) the team throws them right into their first meet.
Lincoln participated in his first meet last Saturday. It was an away meet at a large unfamiliar pool. Lots of hustle and bustle and screaming parents and kids, a cocktail for pre-race jitters. I couldn’t tell who was more nervous, Erik and I or Lincoln. He was signed up to do the 25 yard freestyle, just once across the pool. I’d never seen him do it without having to take a break. But with the help of a coach swimming in front of him shouting encouragements, he swam the entire length of the pool without stopping, even taking first in his heat! I was so proud, I cried! Lincoln told me later that when he was standing up on the blocks, waiting for the cue to jump, he kept saying to himself, “I can do it, I can do it….” He certainly did and we couldn’t be prouder of our sweet brave swimmer boy!
Waiting to dive (aka belly flop) into the pool.
The Lizard, Part Deux
The Lizard Strikes Back
The Return of the Lizard
Whatever you want to call it, this is a sequel.
Like most sequels, we can’t guarantee it will be as good as the first installment, but for all of those who saw Heather & Lisa vs. the Lizard and wondered what happened after that cliffhanger of a storyline, this video is for you.
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How is it that a small 3-year-old can take up 3/4 of a king-sized bed? As I woke up this morning clinging to the edge of the bed with Rulon’s feet pressing into my lower back, I pondered this question as well as the obvious question of how he got into our bed into the first place. Rulon has been our worst at sleeping in our bed at night and “sneaks” in 4 out of the 7 nights of the week. I am such a heavy sleeper that I usually do not wake up as he hefts himself onto the bed (in the middle of the night), creeps over my slumbering form and wedges himself between Erik and I. There may have been some light shed on my conundrum when Erik and Rulon had this exchange this morning:
Erik: ”Rulon, where did you sleep last night?”
Rulon: ”In my bed…”
Erik: ”No you slept in our bed, Rulon.”
Rulon: ”No, your bed is in my room..”
Now does this mean he thinks that our bedroom belongs to him or that he thinks that his small bunk bed is the bed Erik and I should actually be sleeping in? Either way, this troubles me greatly. 
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of contention that takes place in our home but every once in awhile we have are moments, and even more rare we have those moments caught on film. My friend, Sarah Parker, referred to them as “Ensign moments” on her blog. Well, here are a few that we’ve documented. It’s nice to see that my kids enjoy each other at times…..
Little Mateys…
I had such a fun time last week seeing my good friend Jill Hoopes and her adorable kids, Jake, Ali and Emmie. Jill was my first friend when we moved to the bay area over 6 years ago. We spent several years in the Walnut Creek 2nd ward together and her oldest Jake and Lincoln were best little buddies. They moved from Walnut Creek to beautiful Seattle a couple of years ago and we miss them dearly! Even though we haven’t seen them for awhile, when we met up again this week it was as if not a day had passed. Even the little boys fell right into their old routine of legos and star wars. I guess that is the test of a good friendship! We love you Jill, Jake and family!
Jake and Lincoln
Jill and Heather
We celebrated Ellis’s 2nd birthday on Monday. Hard to believe our baby is so old! Having another girl in the family has been fun but also very interesting. A few observations: girls are extremely articulate at an early age. I mean, Ellis is speaking in full sentences, telling me exactly what she wants and expressing her displeasure when it doesn’t happen in the time frame she specified. Girls (even two-year-old girls) can be talked out of a bad mood when the promise of Dora, chocolate chips, or when a pretty red and white swim suit is offered. Girls can be down right manipulative. I know this is not too surprising for most but for me I couldn’t believe is started so early! Even on the day of her birthday, Ellis was milking it for all it was worth as she batted her long eye lashes at me, pursed her sweet little lips and said in her little baby voice…”Park…birthday..me?” I am in so much trouble….. Alas, we love our sweet little girl and have been so happy to have her in our home. We love you little Ellie Bellie!
Ellis with her presents.
We don’t live out in the country or anything, but our little suburban development sits just a few hundred yards from a large open space where all kinds of bugs and creatures can be found. Every once in a while they come down from the hill and pay us a visit. On a few special occasions, they even try to make themselves at home. The other day as Heather and Lisa were cleaning the family room in preparation to paint the walls, they came across a little friend that must have snuck in the back door while they were cleaning. I think he just wanted to get out of the sun. And thus ensued the battle of Heather & Lisa vs. the Lizard.
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I never thought I’d be saying those words, but here I am with a blog. After fighting off the desire to join the droves of my friends and family who now have blogs, I’ve decided it’s time to conform. So here we are world, the Adams family is making it’s debut!
We just got back from a 3 week vacation which started with a trip to Utah for Dallas and Kirsten’s wedding (Kirsten is Erik’s only sister). It was beautiful and we had a great time. The photographer got to know my kids very well as Rulon was making all sorts of crazy faces and being his usual maniac self and Ellis would not have any of it and screamed the entire time.
From Utah we traveled to a really hot vacation spot. Some of you may know it…..yep, I am talking about Rexburg, Idaho. It’s a well kept secret among us seasoned travelers so don’t let the word out. Erik and I hadn’t been back to Rexburg since we graduated from Ricks in 2000 so we decided it would be fun to visit a few friends who live around the area, see one of Erik’s old teachers and check out all of the changes they’ve made to campus since we’ve been there. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed a long leisurely stroll down memory lane. While we were there we took the kids up the road to a fun yet sorta of unsettling place called Bear World. Essentially they open some big gates and give you a brief warning about not getting out of your car and you follow a little road that takes you through this gated area with bears wondering around. Very cool to see them so close and walking by your car but I kept fighting the urge (against all of my better instincts) to open the door and jump out. After escaping the danger of the bears we took the kids to a petting zoo on the other side of the park and let them ride some kiddy rides.
After Idaho we drove to Washington to spend about a week on the farm with Erik’s family and a couple days in Othello with my family. We road ATV’s, went swimming, camped out in the orchard, went to the movies, and visited friends and family. It was bliss! We love going home and enjoying a slower pace that we don’t quite get around the bay area!!
Now we are back at home and Erik is back to work. We joined a pool and the boys are taking swim lessons every day as part of a swim team called the Forest Park Flyers. We are loving the beautiful weather and are looking forward to more adventures. I told Erik last night that my goal was to completely exhaust the kids this summer. I am sure it will be the other way around!!
