The Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked, and Walked, and Walked, and Walked.........

Today I'm thankful for . . .

1. More songs.  I'm in the process of trying to get Liam to sleep.  He had a long, late nap this afternoon, so he's not very interested in going to bed right now.  I laid him down in my bed, hoping it would calm him down and lull him to sleep better.  I tucked him in and sang him a short song.  I started to leave when he started saying something that my Mommy brain translated into "temple."  He wanted me to sing the "Temple Song," or "I Love to See The Temple," which I usually sing to the kids at bedtime. So I sang him the song and told him to close his eyes and go to sleep.  But he started saying something else and when he got his hands free from under the covers, his little fingers were furiously going back and forth making the "more" sign.  He wanted more songs!!  I couldn't refuse, so I sang him another song.  Again, he asked for more.  This time I told him that if he could lay in bed quietly with his eyes closed then I would come back and sing him another song.  He shut his eyes tight and said, "Ok," in his deep, little man voice.  I tiptoed out of the room, heard him cry once, and haven't heard him since.  He's such a cute little guy.  Love him!

2. Pioneer Day.  Last Wednesday, July 24th was Pioneer Day, which commemorates the day that the Mormon Pioneers finally made it to the Salt Lake Valley after traveling nearly 1500 miles from Nauvoo, IL.  It's an official state holiday and a big, huge deal in Utah...not so much here on the East Coast, but we celebrated anyway.  The kids and I read a story about a pioneer girl who got lost from her wagon train [and then found again...happy ending], making whirly-gig toys out of paper plates, making paper bonnets, and playing pioneer games outside like Shadow Tag, Leap Frog, Blind Man's Bluff, Hopscotch, and Birdie in My Cup.  We were going to extend the celebrations today by making ice cream, but I didn't have the right ingredients, so we made paper quilts instead.  The girls cut squares out of scrapbook paper and glued them to cardstock.  Then Lillian had the idea to laminate them and make them placemats! (She always wants to laminate every.single.art project that she does, which I usually say no to, but this time it was a great idea!!)  Their pioneer quilted placemats are so cute, and they used them for dinner tonight!

3. Balloon popping!  We took down all of Lillian's birthday decorations, which included a lot of balloons hanging from the ceiling.  All three kiddies had a blast popping them.  They sat on them, poked them, and cut them with plastic knives.  Liam cracked up laughing every time one of them exploded with an ear-deafening pop.  The girls bounced endlessly on balloon after balloon until they popped underneath of them.  Liam couldn't stop retelling the fun they had; he kept repeating, "bum, bum!  POP!!"

4. Long walks.  It wasn't too hot this morning and I was dying to get outside for some fresh air.  I told the kids we were going for a walk, so we got our tennis shoes on and headed out the door.  Sydney and Lillian brought their scooters to ride.  A few blocks later Sydney was tired of riding her scooter, so she joined Liam in the stroller.  Lillian was still going strong, so I decided to head in the direction of Bobby's hospital.  I didn't think we would make it the entire way since it's nearly a mile, but before long we were just a block away.  We stopped to rest and play at a fountain in a small park and I called Bobby to see if he was available...he was finishing up a case on a guy who got hit by a car last night.  He was done, but there were three other people in the ER that he needed to see.  He had a few minutes, though, so he met us outside and brought us to the cafeteria for lunch.  The girls were SO excited to dine at "Daddy's Hospital," and I didn't mind because it was pretty cheap.  While Bobby reset someone's broken ankle in the ER we ate chicken nuggets and french fries in the cafeteria overlooking the river and watched ospreys fly overhead. The girls chose a table for two in the corner and Liam was my date at a nearby table.  Bobby joined us for his lunch before he had to rush off again to take care of someone else.  We made the mile trek back home in the heat.  My stroller was heavier with three kids and two scooters, but it was still a pleasant walk.  We cooled off in our air conditioned apartment and ate ice pops on the porch.  Our little adventure this afternoon was fun!