Has it really been a month? Time flies...

Well, after there weeks of play time, it’s back to reality for me. I think I’ve had enough vacation time that I’m ready! Earlier this month Josh and I went on a cruise to celebrate our anniversary. We had wanted to go somewhere for our tenth last year, but we had a little Jillian who was too small to leave. So, we switched to celebrating our eleventh. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where we met Gary and Debbie (Josh’s parents), and went on a 7-day cruise around the Eastern Caribbean. We made stops in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, USVI; and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. We had a wonderful time, we played on the beaches, we rode zip-lines through the rainforest canopy, Josh went snorkeling, we read books, took naps, ate glorious food, and someone else made the beds, cooked the food, and washed the dishes! For a stay-at-home Mommy, it was a perfect vacation. I think my two favorite stops were San Juan and the little island in the Bahamas.

Of course, none of this could have happened without my Mom. She very graciously agreed to come and take over management of the Felt household for the week. She was wonderful, the kids were more than well cared for, and honestly, I don’t think they missed me at all, even Jillian! She even survived the homework battle with Alex without strangling him. I was worried about asking her to do this until she said, “Let me tell you a little secret, we grandmothers wait around for chances to get our hands on your children WITHOUT you around to interfere!” That one statement put my mind at ease and I was able to leave them behind without a care. I will admit that by Thursday, five days into the trip, I really missed my kiddos, not because I was worried about them but because I wasn’t quite sure how to handle myself without them. It is amazing how much of what you do every day and who you are is defined by caring for your kids. No wonder some people get weird when their kids are all gone! (No offense intended to our parents who are only weird some of the time! Ha ha ha … :))

At the same time we flew home, my Dad flew to Phoenix from Las Vegas after running the first marathon of the year there. Go Dad!!! We got to spend the whole weekend together. While Dad was here, we celebrated Ryan’s fifth birthday. He had a family-night party at the park with his grandparents, his cousins, and “the friends,” meaning the four families that we have shared our babysitting group with: the Rosens, the Atkins, the Christiansens, and the Householders. We had dinner at the park and ate Ryan’s surf-board birthday cake. I must say, Ry’s cake was a triumph. Usually my cakes look like I made them with my eyes closed, but this one worked out really well. Maybe it’s because I’d just spent a week cruising around the Caribbean looking at the most beautiful oceans I’ve ever seen!

Birthday number five has traditionally been “The Lego Birthday” around our place. When they’re five, they’re old enough to get their very own big-boy Lego kits. Ryan has been having a great time learning how to build under the tutelage of his brother and occasionally his Mom. I realized the first time I gave Alex Legos that for the next 10 or 15 years, my holidays would be spent crouched over a pile of Legos with my sons. They are such great toys. I love watching their little minds work as they figure out how to read the instructions and place the pieces correctly. Ryan is a really sweet little boy. I think the Lord knew that I would need him. We call Ryan “the little diplomat.” He is gentle and unselfish by nature. He would rather give up something that he wants than cause an argument. Usually that means his older brother manipulates him in to giving him whatever he wants, but we’re working on that! Ryan’s small frame and big blue eyes really bring out the mother-bear instincts in me.

We spent the next two days washing laundry and re-packing our suitcases getting ready to go to Salt Lake. My mom stayed on and we planned to drive up together. In the meantime, Alex made his theatrical debut playing Willy Wonka in the third grade class rendition of the play. His teacher did a wonderful job of paring down the script so that the play was actually less than a half hour long. Each child had a part, some were speaking parts, some were singing, and the kids had all helped to color the background scenery. Alex needed a bright colored jacked and a top hat for his part. I took him to Goodwill and we found a red plaid jacket in the women’s section. He didn’t say anything at the time, but as we walked in before the play, I over heard him whisper to one of his classmates, “My mom made me wear a women’s jacket!” (I’m sure you can envision the rolled eyes here!) He did a wonderful job. He spoke up, but didn’t yell, and he spoke slowly enough that you could follow his part. Most of all, he had a lot of fun. I do so love his teacher. She has been such a wonderful influence in his little life.

The next morning, we drove out at 3 a.m. and headed for Salt Lake. We had a grand time. We got to see Uncle Greg and Aunt Shannon and their girls, and Uncle Doug came down for an overnight visit. Ryan had his another fifth-birthday party with the Felt family Sunday night and then we all went bowling together on Monday for family night. Alex and Jackson (Meggan’s little guy) had tons of fun playing together, despite their age difference. I think it has something to do with both of them being cracked out of the naughty mold. :) Uncle Rich took the boys over to his place and they made their own chart-busting track starring Alex’s fabulous beat boxing, Uncle Rich on the electric guitar, and Ryan as lead vocalist. I think I almost wet the chair in Debbie’s living room when they played it for all of us. I was really trying hard not to laugh too much because I didn’t want the boys to feel bad, but I could scarcely hold it in.

Jillian has struck up quite a friendship with her Aunt Abby. The two of them did all sorts of girly stuff: fingernail paint, hair do’s, lipstick, etc. She would wake up each morning and start singing, “Oh, I love Abby…” in her crib. She also took quite a fancy to both of her grandpas. She dragged Gary all around the house by his finger for a good 30 or 40 minutes Sunday night and loved sitting at his desk at work coloring pictures. She had loads of fun having tea parties, playing dollies, and learning all about snow (“Snow is white and cold!”) with her Bapa. We had a few days of snow, a few days of sun, and a wonderful time just being with our families every day. Mom and Dad and I also had fun watching episodes of “Foyle’s War” each night, running a whole bunch of little errands and iChatting with Sunny. Mom and I got the materials to finally make a cushion for the window seat in our playroom. We had everything cut out and ready to go, but I had to leave for the bowling party with the Felt clan. When I got back, she had a glint of accomplishment in her eye and produced a beautiful completed cushion. She’d done the whole job all by herself in one evening. SUPERMOM!!!

On the way home I asked each of the boys what their favorite part of the trip was. Ryan: “I liked my birthday, and opening presents, playing with cousins, and bowling, and going to Brenda’s house, and watching Quest for Camelot, and going to Felt Lighting, and…..” Alex : “I liked the childrens’ museum because I got to be with BOTH GRANDMAS at the same time.” I knew there was a sweet kid in there somewhere! We are back with one more week of Spring break for Alex. I think I am going to have a massive case of Grandma withdrawl to fight off. Wish me luck!

In regular, boring news: we have been trying hard to get Jillian to go to the church nursery without breaking down into hysterics. The first time I went to take her, we had prepped her and talked about how much fun nursery is—books, toys, kids, snacks—and she seemed all ready to go. Just as we got to the nursery door, she put on her best scowl—lips puckered, calculus eyebrows, and the whole bit—and said, “I NO LIKEY NURSERY!” Whereupon she proceeded to throw a massive fit, prompting the nursery leaders to bring her to me. For the next couple of weeks she was so naughty that the Nursery Leader had been carrying her around most of the time to keep her from disturbing the other kids who were trying to adjust to nursery. While we were gone, Mom took the kids up to Ken’s ward and didn’t even attempt to drop her off, given that her parents had just disappeared. When I came back from the cruise, I was walking down the church hallway talking, half to myself and half to her, “I don’t know whether to try you in nursery today or not.” She looked right up in my face and said quite forcefully, “NOT!” Today, she went in and only threw fits for the first hour. I sincerely hope the Lord has extra blessings in mind for her longsuffering nursery teachers.