Happy Fourth of July!

Sweet rolls for breakfast...

a parade with friends...

and card games.

Don't worry--Dad, Aunt Alexa, and Aunt Eden took them to the fireworks. I hung out at home visiting with a friend, which was perfect.

Out West

We decided we would head out to Mike's family reunion (this year held in Idaho) a week early so we could spend some time visiting my brothers in Salt Lake and also take the kids to Yellowstone. It was a lot of driving and hot, hot weather--the first time my feet have ever swelled up during pregnancy--but it was a lot of fun and the kids were duly impressed with Yellowstone. It is a very cool park.

We stayed with BJ and his family in Utah, which was perfectly situated between my brothers in Salt Lake and Mike's grandma in Orem. 

Levi has a trampoline, which was a huge hit with our kids. Mike would love to get one, but I keep killing it. Sorry kids--you can blame me when you're feeling deprived.

 The kids ask a few times a year--especially Finn--if we can find a zoo to go to. The closest thing Maine has to a zoo is the Maine Wildlife Park, which is actually really cool, but is three hours away. It hosts native animals, but many of them are very reclusive and difficult to find, like fishers, moose, and wolves, so it's worth visiting now and then. But, while we were in Utah, we promised we would take them to the Hogle Zoo, which, despite its size, is actually a great zoo. And this coming from a girl who has visited some impressive zoos.

I took the kids on a train ride around the African savannah enclosure and the Old American West section.

This girl makes the craziest faces. She's not sad here, she's just being weird. She loved the train, so she wanted a picture with it.

We also hit up the mall and surprised Madie with some ear piercings. It was scary, but she is wicked happy to have them.

After Utah we started the 6 1/2 hour drive up to North Yellowstone, but broke for a couple hours in Rexburg for old time's sake. Mike visited a couple of his old professors with the girls while I took Finn to see one of my own. As Dad and the girls disappeared into a building Finn said, "Actually, I want to go with Dad." 

"No, Finn, it's too late. He's gone and it's too busy a place to let you run off to look for him."

"Awww..." he drooped his head and shoulders.

"Listen, Finn, Dad's professors are nice, but trust me, this guy we're going to see is the one you want to visit. He's a medievalist, which means he's got some really cool stuff in his office."

Obviously, I was right. He talked about it for a couple hours after. Thanks, Merrill, for visiting with us for a bit.

There are lots of Yellowstone pictures, so here they are:

A herd of bison passed right in front of our car, with a bunch of calves among them. They are awful cute.

At Artist's Point 

Mammoth Hotsprings on our last day. We saw a bear here too!

Walking to the petrified tree.

On our last couple days, our friend Trish and her kids joined us at the hostel we stayed at and then hit up Mammoth with us. It was great to see them and spend a little time with them, even though we knew we'd see them later in Maine when they came to visit. Here we got them all to ourselves. 

Ben is about 5 months younger than Petya. Here they are "playing" Nintendo.

Then it was a drive from Yellowstone to Boise to meet up with Mike's family at his sister's house before heading up to McCall. McCall was beautiful, and although it was a little warm still, there were some lovely breezes that helped cut it down. And we witnessed a marvelous thunderstorm from the cabin in which we stayed.

Petya on a sitting stone at the peak of one of our hikes.

Madie and Petya overlooking the water from the top of our hike.

Walking with Dad.

At the town beach in McCall, which sits on Lake Payette.

Our family at the top of a waterfall hike--sorry, neither of us can recall the name of the falls. The reservoir was beautiful and had a gorgeous snow-topped mountain right behind it. The picture, as usual, does not do it justice.

At one point on our last hike before heading back to Boise, Finn and I got a little confused. In this particular state park, they don't use trail markers, and when the trail became unclear, I told Finn we would just look at the falls (which was the goal of the hike--I didn't realize the trail continued to the top of them) and then turn back and meet up with Dad and the others somewhere on the trail or back at the cars. This was unsettling to him--until then he'd been singing songs and chattering away happily. Now he stopped and said, "Are we lost?"

"No, we're not lost, but I don't know the way forward and I don't see Dad, but the waterfalls are right there, so we'll look at them, then head back."

"We're lost?"

"No, Finn, we're fine. The trail is right behind us, through those trees."

He started to get panicky and to cry a little. "I want Dad! I wish he were here!"

By some miracle, Mike thought to look back down at the trail (which, apparently, we were still on--I honestly couldn't tell; we were only not lost because I knew where the trail was behind us, not because I thought we were still on it!) and called to us. We scrambled up a rock face and there was the group at the top of the falls. I'm glad it happened before we turned back or we would have missed the view.

Madie and Sadie are recent pen pal cousins. They're so sweet together. 

All the Watkins grandchildren from youngest to oldest, ranging between 2 1/2 and 15.

Helping Papa with his chocolate cake.

It was a lot of fun, but I must say, we were all really ready to head home.

Madie practicing the art of airport slumber.

Finnegan Turns Five!

Madie made this tie and two more for him as a gift. She really did a great job--I don't know if she will enjoy sewing, but she does like to craft and paint, so maybe with a little more practice she'll get to a point where she can do it alone and have fun with it.

^This kid^ turned five today. 

He is an active boy who loves riding his bike, rock climbing with Dad and Madie, playing dress up with his friends, going swimming, camping, and canoeing, playing Harry Potter with Madie, and is extremely interested this year in going fishing. He is our sharing and caring kid, which is good because the older and younger sisters he has need the example in those areas. Above all, he loves Elvis--maybe a little bit too much for the dog's taste.

He got some new clothes and a water gun from Nana and Papa. One of his shirts even glows in the dark!

Finn had plenty of present requests, but we settled on getting him this Captain America armor and I made him a lunch bag for kindergarten. He seems happy with the choices.

We strung his birthday celebration out over the weekend. We were supposed to go camping as a family per his request on Friday night at a campground on the far end of the island, but because of weather we decided to bail. Mike set up a giant fort in their room, we opened some presents, and had hot dogs for dinner. Mike even started a fire in the wood stove so we could roast the hot dogs as if we were camping.

Finn chose cookie dough in a waffle cone. 

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. We had doughnuts for breakfast--Finn's request--and Mike took the kids swimming at Echo Lake. We all went to the pizzeria in the village for lunch and finished up with ice cream. 

After some chores and yard work, Mike and the big kids set up camp in the woods. Petya and I slept inside since we spent the night before hanging out with each other from 12:15 to 5:30. Needless to say, we slept like rocks. I don't know how the other kids did, but generally they sleep better in a tent than they do in the house.

It was a family birthday this year, so I asked Finn if he wanted to go to Grammy Haskins' house after church and have cake up there. He was excited at that prospect, so we stayed for sacrament meeting and drove the hour and a half to Gram's right after. We had Elvis with us, since we were dropping him off at my uncle's before our trip out west, and an ice cream cake. Thankfully, only the very top of the cake was melted at all when we arrived, so we popped it in the freezer and it was ready by the time we got to it. Finn wanted a s'mores ice cream cake this year. It's graham cracker crust with a layer of chocolate, followed by fluff, followed by s'mores ice cream (or chocolate if you're unfortunate enough to not have s'mores ice cream available) and then you top it with halved marshmallows and stick them under the broiler until toasted. It was slightly melted on top, but really it held together well and Finn and everyone else loved it.

Grammy Haskins provided pizza and punch and Aunt Alexa bought balloons and a banner so the house looked festive. He got another water gun, a toy pistol and handcuffs (which he loved locking people up with), and his own box of Lucky Charms. Grammy and Grampy Conner gave him an awesome camping hammock that everyone was excited to try. 

Happy birthday to the Chunk Man.

Spring

After a very wet few weeks of spring, we are finally enjoying some sunshine. Along with that sunshine, we have been at defcon five due to some recent fox attacks. A few weeks ago, we had one chicken drop dead out of nowhere. A week later, a fox took our five of our hens, leaving one lone survivor. It was an all-out rampage, all while Mal and I were at Reel Pizza and a babysitter was at home with the kids. Our neighbors came home to witness part of it, and actually saved one chicken for us. Stripey had a chunk taken out of her back and had an injured leg, but somehow survived. She was definitely the smarter hen. After that attack, we got Stripey a rooster. Chief, a polish, has enough wits about him to breath. I don't know that he can handle much more than that. He is a Polish, and repeatedly runs into walls when in fight or flight. Well, Mr. Fox returned on Friday morning. I had just let the chickens out in the morning, then went to get some breakfast. About ten minutes later, I heard Stripey freaking out in the front yard. I ran to the glass door and saw the fox chasing her! I ran out, yelling and chasing the fox. The fox was so close to finishing the job, but ran off as I approached. I think we are all in agreement that we need to trap that fox. Should be an interesting few weeks coming up.

We have been getting out as much as possible, as weather permits. There is so much we want to do outside, but so many projects need to get done around the house. It's difficult to balance between the two with such a short summer season. We already have so many fun things planned this summer, between Yellowstone, Idaho, and Utah.


Yesterday, we helped out with the Bangor Stake service project. We were cleaning up the carriage roads in Acadia. The kids (even Madie) mentioned a few times how much fun they were having. Even Petya was wielding a rake and getting into the action. It's a good experience for the kids to get involved in activities like these.


When I came home Friday night, the kids had constructed a fort out of lava lavas on the front deck and were eager to show it to me. Obviously, very proud of their engineering. Madie asked to sleep in it with Elvis. I considered it, but then wasn't feeling so warm and fuzzy about it. Mal suggested doing it in the back deck. Easier for everyone to access, hear if there are issues in the middle of the night, etc. The kids were so excited about the idea, they immediately began moving everything back there! I decided to help them create a new fort with a large tarp, which would offer better protection. We also set up Mary Poppins in there for them. Petya and Finn both fell asleep before the end of the movie, but Madie was awake the whole time. I decided to sleep out there with them just in-case they needed one of us for something. Madie was pretty insistent on keeping the fort up for the rest of the weekend. She loved reading out there Saturday afternoon, enjoying some fresh air. I'm sure we will do some more of that this summer.


Thursday of last week was about 85 degrees, and neither of us felt like cooking dinner. That's right, we start to become dysfunctional after 85 degrees. So, we went to The Thirsty Whale for dinner, and ran around Agamont Park.


Finn is doing T-ball again this year. Let me just say, I couldn't be happier with the way it's going. Last years T-ball was a big boring disaster that made Finn dislike T-ball. It involved a lot of games that were geared toward teaching a few fundamentals with baseball. But Finn is already at the stage of hitting my overhand throws, and can occasionally catch the ball with his mitt. He is more interested in actually playing the game of baseball, and not all of those "...stupid..." games used to teach you the game of baseball. This year, it's very simple. Roll out to the field, set up a T, take turns at the T, have a few kids field the hits and throw it to first base, and a few kids off to the side playing catch. And parents are involved all over the field. This is such an improvement, and Finn actually likes it. He is doing so well too. He really has a great arm and outstanding hand-eye coordination.


Madie did excellent at her piano recital. She always impresses me with her ability to read music. She is comfortable playing in front of an audience, even though she appears to be embarrassed afterward.


Finn's first performance. He is also coming along nicely! Just some simple, basic songs. I am proud of him and Madie for their performances. Mal does a great job teaching them.


Did I mention all of that rain we were getting? After a few days of significant rain, we went hiking to a few places that would offer some interesting falls. This one was the bridge at the trailhead of Deer Creek. And can I say, this photo pretty much captures the personality of each kid. Madie appearing bored (she loves hiking and running, but you would never guess it from this photo...not into having her photo taken still), Finn looking distracted (...squirrel!), and Petya happy we didn't leave her at home (anytime we are getting ready to go somewhere, she always asks "Can I go?" She is a happy girl always wants to be included in whatever is going on.)


I thought Mal would do a post on her Shrek performance, but time got away...yada yada yada, we haven't blogged for over a month. She started working on the show back in January, and stuck with it through the end. The show was hilarious, captivating, and entertaining. Mal did a great job as the wicked witch. The kids loved the show. Bravo!


On a personal note, I passed my Certified Safety Professional (CSP) exam. I had studied for that off and on for the past couple of years. After a training I went to in November, I resoled to buckle down and get it done. Every morning, I went to work to study for an extra 30-60 minutes. On Saturdays, I would go in to work early to get in an extra hour, and periodically studied in the evenings as time permitted. Having this will open up a lot of professional possibilities in the next few years, and of course offer extra job security should anything happen with my current job. I'm not done yet, though. Still have one more certification I'm already working toward. I'll really buckle down for that in October/November. Summer is approaching fast, and I live in Maine. Time to enjoy it while it's here!

The End of Winter

The past few weeks have been packed with play rehearsal and preparation. We're almost done though and with the end of the play comes Easter and spring break, so we'll have some proper time off. I'm enjoying the play, but I'm also looking forward to being done.

Nellie is getting big enough to be out in the yard by herself as long as she stays in the front (we still are having some issues understanding why it's not okay to just take off to our neighbor's without asking, but generally she's good about it). She has loved the independence, especially since it's been nice out the past few days. And since the ducks have returned to the pond. The drakes are particularly entertaining during mating season--they chase each other all over the place and splash at each other. 

Watching the chickens eating.

Before "hell week" (the last week of rehearsals before the show), I did fit in some quality bake time with each of the kids. Nell is obsessed with helping in the kitchen, and doesn't take "no" very lightly if I'm in a rush to get things done. It's always nice to have some time to really make something with her.

Macarons with jam.

Finn always asks to make the same thing: blueberry muffins. I love blueberry muffins, so that's all good and fine, but it gets a little monotonous. The problem really is he's just not thinking much beyond that. This time I insisted we make something else--scones. He wasn't pleased until I suggested chocolate scones. He was willing to settle for that.

A couple of weeks ago Madie had a half-day followed by a day off of school. Finn had a friend over for the half-day and Madie was a little bored. She's usually good to just read all afternoon, but I guess she wasn't feeling it, so I suggested we make something together since it's unusual to have time to do anything like that until the summer. She had asked for a "kids' cookbook" for Christmas, and although she didn't get one as a gift, my cousin asked me a couple days after, completely out of the blue, if we wanted one she had now that her kids had outgrown it. Yes! So Madie pulled it out and decided on chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies. We even got to use the pastry bag to shape the cookies, which was a highlight for her.

Shortbreads break easily, especially when a 7-year old is shaping them with a bag. That meant  lots of mistakes to--*wink*--clean up.

Making the most of winter

Last week, we officially found out the gender of baby number four: girl! We are excited to welcome another baby into the family. Madie has been pulling for a sister all along, until she found out that Finn would likely have his own room since he is the only boy. Madie quickly changed her vote because "...I don't want Finn to have his own room." Finn was pulling for a brother, of course. We had a few good boy names picked out that we were fond of, but now we know we need to redirect our attention to girl names. We are eagerly anticipating the due date in August. 

What's that you say? It's 95 degrees in Arizona? The spring run-off has already begun in the mountains out west? Yeah, well I have news for you. It's still winter in Maine! Although winter starts a bit later out here than it does out west, it also drags out a bit longer. I typically compare my Maine winter experience with Rexburg, because that's probably the most extreme place I've lived that I can compare it to. Rexburg is getting spring showers, 55-60 degrees right now. Meanwhile, this just happened a few days ago. Still thawing out. It's been a pretty mild winter, overall. 

Mallory has volunteered to be the cookie mom for Madie's Girl Scout troop. Yada yada yada, we have consumed at least eight boxes of girl scout cookies in a little over a week. It's extremely hard to exercise self control when you know you could just shove $4 into a manila envelope and get it over with. I feel mostly bad because I (Mike typing) have probably accounted for 60% of the cookie consumption. We will crack open some thin mints after dinner and the kids will ask about them the next day. Let me just say, the look on Madie's face is the look of a serial killer. "Dad, you ate all the cookies?!" Those are some of the hardest conversations to have with my kids. How am I going to keep this up when the kids don't go to bed at 7:30 anymore? Beats me. I'm going to keep on eating.

I'm so glad that our elementary school puts on a science fair every year for the lower grade kids. We were one of the few volcanos this year (there had to be at least five other volcano-based projects at the fair). Nothing like a quick vinegar and baking soda experiment! Madie elected to create sugar crystals, which generated quite a bit of interest. So much that she was featured in her school's newsletter in two difference photos. She was the only one that made sugar crystals. Madie did a great job and stuck around her project to explain it to those that were curious. This girl loves science and learning. I recently brought home a microscope from work and set up a 'lab' in our basement for the kids to play around in. Unfortunately, they don't like to go down there alone. That's when Elvis gets dragged into the picture. Poor old boy gets dragged everywhere the kids are afraid to enter. Just that act alone earns his keep in our home. He gets me out of a lot of frequent requests to walk to the back room to retrieve something. 

Wednesdays are probably one of our busiest days at home. I usually stay home a bit later to have breakfast with the family because that's the only quality time we have together. While I'm at work, Mal is running around to teach piano in Ellsworth, run errands, etc. When I return home in the evening, it usually consists of sitting at the table for ten minutes to eat, then running out the door to head to scouts. This last Wednesday, I got home a little earlier, which made it a bit more relaxed. Madie and Finn were downstairs watching a movie, and didn't want to come to scouts with me. So, I took just Petya with me. Anytime one of us begins to put on our shoes to go somewhere, she always asks that person, "Can I go?" Sweet girl wants to go with any of us, wherever we are going. She will ask it literally every time. We are all getting ready for church, and she will ask. We are all getting ready to go play outside, and she will ask. I don't know if it stems from a fear of abandonment or what. But I was able to just take her this evening. I got done a little early, so I ran over to LL Bean before they close for some quality Dad and Petya time. They usually have a few kids bikes laying around that she likes to ride in the store, so it would be a huge win for her. We entered, and sure enough, there was a perfectly sized, pink balance bike. She ran over to it and got right to work. She followed me around as I checked a few sales they had going on. Then we headed on home. Looking back to when Madie or Finn were Petya's age, I did a lot with them individually. It's harder to do the same with Petya because I keep taking the older two to do more challenging things that would be a bit more difficult for Petya, such as rock climbing. I'm glad we could do something together. 

Yesterday I was making bundt pan rolls, and I turned around. This is the sight that I saw. Petya, sitting in the stool, cross-legged, and taking down some serious notes on her writing pad. She means business, folks. She loves to help in the kitchen. She is almost becomes a bully in the way she hogs the su chef responsibility, nagging and physically attacking any potential challengers. She always wants to help. 

This guy makes me laugh. He is turning out to be quite a clown. The other day we received a package from Amazon, which usually consists of a small item in an overly sized box. I left the box out because it usually means a few hours of entertainment for the kids. Petya jumped in with her dolly to pretend that it was a car. Without missing a beat, Finn jumped right in and sat in front of Petya as if Petya had been expecting him. Finn was obviously the driver, while Petya sat behind him and placed her little hands onto his shoulders. Finn made some car noises and was obviously driving somewhere. Once they arrived to their destination, he hopped out and turned to Petya and said "We are here, c'mon babe." We just signed him up to start school in fall. He will be starting with a slough of his friends, which will make the transition a lot more enjoyable.