Final Day–Spring Break

On the third and final day of our vacation (Saturday, April 2) we had an early breakfast and headed to the Seattle Aquarium.  We were there at 9:30 when it opened.  This was one of the favorite places for the kids – they love animal life. 

They had some huge aquariums and people swimming in them cleaning the tanks and feeding the fish.   The favorite spot was the hands-on tide pools.  They were much more impressive than the little tide pool at the Science Center the day before and they were a lot more friendly with the “hands-on” part.

Here is my favorite picture because you can really see all the colors and animals they had in the pools.

We wandered around there for a couple hours.  We saw billions of fish, seals, birds, otters, sharks, and tons of other sea life.  The kids thought it was pretty cool.

These little cut outs were a favorite of Miranda’s…she would say, “MOM, Take my picture!”

After the Aquarium we headed up to Pikes Place Market to do a little shopping.  The kids each had some money to spend and it was burning a hole in their pockets.  Kanyon found a framed sand art thing that the sand changes the picture every time you turn the frame.  He is fascinated with all the things he can make with his sand.  Kaydra found a hair wrap.  It’s made of polymer clay and twists around your hair to hold it in certain styles.  It’s pretty cute.  She also spent her money on another apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  She got an Avalanche apple (Apple dipped in caramel, rolled in rice krispies, dipped in milk chocolate, rolled in marshmallows, dipped in milk chocolate again and then drizzled with white chocolate).  Miranda got a couple of wind up toys from the wind up toy shop and a rubber duck for her bath.  She also bought an apple to share with Kanyon – although she wasn’t really happy about sharing it.  They shared a caramel apple rolled in M&M’s.  Can you say sugar high?

After our spending spree – I bought some fresh cut flowers and Leonard bought a soda (we’re the big spenders in the family!) – we headed to one of my favorite places in Seattle.

We had been talking about going to Ivar’s since we planned the trip.  I remember going there with Mike and Stephanie when they lived in Seattle and knew my kids would love it.  The rain had stopped and the sun came out which gave us the perfect opportunity to sit outside and eat and watch the seagulls.  Of course, we had to feed them as well.  Kanyon LOVED that they would eat french fries right out of his hand.  He was not timid about it at all.  There were some older teenaged boys that wouldn’t do it, but Kanyon showed no fear!

I had to make them sit down to eat because they would have fed all the fries to the seagulls if we had let them.  Plus, the fish and fries are delicious at Ivar’s!  We can’t let the seagulls have all the fun!

After lunch we headed for our final destination of the trip.  Alki Beach.  It was a short drive around the bay and we wanted to at least say we had seen some sand – even if the water was 40 some odd degrees!  The kids had a chance to search for shells, sea creatures, and play in the sand.  Leonard found a crab, of course, but I didn’t take a picture.  Here is our cold beach day….

They each had a handful of shells to take home with them as we climbed back in the car for the drive home.  On the way home, I snapped a picture showing that the trip must have been successful…

It doesn’t get much better then to have three sleeping kids in the car on the drive home!  In fact, they all slept until Spokane – except for Miranda – she slept until we got off the freeway in Coeur d’Alene!  It was really fun to spend some time with my little family and I am so thankful for all of them.  We are so blessed!

Seattle–Day 2

On Friday, April 1 the kids were up at 7:00 wondering when we could eat breakfast.  We headed to the hotel continental breakfast – which was actually pretty good – around 8:00 and we were back to the room and ready for the day about 9:00.  Then I found out that the Science Center didn’t open until 10:00.  So we waited an hour before heading out.  It was pouring rain that day (it was Seattle, after all) which was okay because we planned to spend the day at the Science Center.  We decided to walk because it was only three blocks from our hotel and we didn’t want to pay for parking.  I had come prepared with a stroller for Miranda and a few umbrellas.   We made it there pretty easy and decided to try the Science Center as well as an IMAX movie later in the afternoon.  We headed into the Science Center and were impressed with the first exhibit of dinosaurs!  They were pretty cool except Miranda was sure they were real and would not stop SCREAMING!! 

She was so scared.  She was sure they would get her and she didn’t want any part of that.  Unfortunately for her, we had to walk through that exhibit about 4 more times that day to get certain places – she was just as scared each time.  Kanyon, however, thought they were amazing.

Right behind him on the pink wall is some petrified dinosaur poop – one of his favorite things!   We spent about 4-5 hours there (including the IMAX movie on Lewis and Clark)  They had a lot of hands on exhibits and some fun things to see.  They had a tide pool where you could hold hermit crabs and touch other sea creatures, a space shuttle you could sit in and pretend you were getting ready for lift off, a bunch of little experiments where you could test your speed, strength, and sense of smell, and our favorite, a butterfly garden.  

Those are butterflies eating the rotten fruit on the plate!  It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but there were butterflies everywhere. You had to watch your step so you wouldn’t step on one by accident.  Plus it was about 80 degrees in there so it felt like summer!   One butterfly landed on Miranda and she about came unglued!  She did not want a butterfly on her.  The other two kids were jealous, of course, and tried their hardest to get one to land on them without much luck.   We stopped in the middle for lunch at their little café which was pretty much like eating at a gas station except about 4 times as expensive.  Other than that, we really enjoyed the day.  We walked by the Space Needle a couple of times but with the rain, never got a good picture.  We decided not to take the expensive elevator ride to the top – maybe next time.  I did manage to snap this picture through some windows while we were waiting for the movie

Not bad considering it was inside and that outside it was pouring rain. 

After the Science Center we headed back to our hotel.  It was about 4:00 and we decided to spend the rest of the evening in the hotel and let the kids swim again.    We spent a couple hours in the pool which was nearly empty because it was early afternoon.  The kids had a really good time until Miranda slipped on the concrete and gave herself a pretty good goose egg on the side of her head.  I was doing all my neuro checks on her because it looked pretty bad and I was pretty sure she was about to throw up but she did fine and just has a sore spot on her head – even tonight, a week later, it’s still there.  We decided to call it a night after that and headed back to our room to order pizza delivered to our hotel and watch a movie.

One thing to remember…as we were waiting for our pizza, Leonard said, “I’m hungry” and I said, “We had a late lunch.”   He replied sarcastically, “And I had a HUGE Burger” (Remember our gas station lunch)  That’s when Miranda chimed in, “Well, then blow your nose Dad!!”  It took us a minute to figure out what she was talking about – In fact it was Kaydra that pointed out to us that Miranda thought burger meant booger – funny kid.

Another good day to remember on our little vacation!

Spring Break

This year the kids had another long spring break – 11 days!  Last year we spent much of their break driving to Southern California and while it was a fun trip, we decided to stay closer to home this year.   We decided to take the kids to SEATTLE.  It’s about a 5 hour drive and Len remembered visiting as a kid for spring break, so we thought we’d give it a try.  We started off by trying to convince Miranda that we were going to Seattle, and not to “SEE” ATTLE!  She kept trying to tell us that Attle was nice and Attle would let us sleep at his house and it would be “so fun!!”  In fact, I think she is still a little disappointed that we never met anyone named Attle!

Len had to work most of the break but had a long weekend off starting Thursday, March 31.  We got up and on the road about 9:30.  We planned to stop just after we passed the Columbia River at the “Petrified Forest”.  Len remembered this from his trip many years ago and we packed a lunch and planned our first stop there.  Unfortunately, the visitor’s center and gift shop were closed for the season but we guided ourselves along an interpretive trail and saw different species of trees that had been petrified long ago.  It was a good break along our trip and a good spot to eat lunch.  I enjoy going over the bridge that crosses the river – it’s a beautiful place.

See the bridge in the background?  The kids were a little nervous to go across!  Here are some pictures of us on the “interpretive trail”. There were warnings to watch out for rattle snakes and Miranda was again disappointed when we didn’t see any snakes – “You help me find them, ‘k mom?”   Uh – no thanks!

Honestly, the highlight of the petrified forest was that Leonard managed to find a lizard. 

The kids had a good five minutes holding him and playing with him…

Until he got scared and jumped out of their hands and right under Miranda’s foot!  She promptly stepped on him, never more to move.  Oops!  Leonard set him in the bushes hoping that maybe it was just a defense mechanism and that he was pretending to be dead.  Then we piled in the car.  It was only after we returned home that we learned that Kanyon pocketed the lizard and carried it around Seattle with him the entire trip so he could show his friends at school – WHAT!!!  Like father like son apparently….

Our trip took us up Snoqualmie Pass where there were waterfalls all along the freeway.  So much water was falling off the mountain – it was impressive.  We decided to pull over and try to get a look at Snoqualmie Falls.   Apparently, they often look like this:

But unfortunately the runoff was so high that we just got wet!  I am not kidding, there was just mist everywhere and we couldn’t even see the falls!  We could barely see the water cresting over the top and that entire section of rock in the picture above was COVERED with water.   It was not raining, but here are the wet girls after our expedition:

We made it to our hotel about 5:00 and headed to the pier to have dinner at the Crab Pot.  Lots of fresh seafood – we both said, Dan and Dad would love this place.  They just dumped a bucket of crab, mussels, clams, oysters, sausage, corn on the cob, and potatoes on our table, gave us a bib and a hammer (seriously) and said, have at it.  It was kinda fun, even though I’m not much of a seafood lover – I enjoyed the crab, corn, and potatoes though!  We followed up dinner by stopping at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to buy an “apple pie” caramel apple (large granny smith apple covered with caramel, dipped in white chocolate and then rolled in cinnamon and sugar – yummm!) to enjoy later.  We headed back to our hotel (free shuttle service was great!) and went swimming in their heated indoor pool.    It was a pretty packed day, but we had a great time.  The kids settled into bed and even Miranda was asleep pretty quickly.  The last time we stayed in a hotel with her she was awake until 3:00 AM! 

I think I better split up the posts into days because otherwise, it will be pretty long – hang on for more of our trip to See Attle!

Walk in the Rain

So it seems that in Coeur d’Alene the weather is simply wet from February through June.  The weather forecast shows that we’re in for rain for the next 10 days with no end in site.  I finally decided that if we were going to get any fresh air, it would have to be in the mud and rain.   So we dressed appropriately and headed out for a walk in the rain to Grandma’s house.  The pictures are kinda fuzzy but you need to understand that it was POURING RAIN!!!
It was rather cold but the kids had a great time.  Miranda was so happy to use her “a-bella” and put on her mud boots.  I dug up a poncho for her that Kaydra used to wear and the big kids found their ponchos from Korea – best dollar ever spent!

When we walked up Grandma’s steps to her house Miranda said, “Mom!  We did it!!!”  I think she may have been watching  a little too much Dora the Explorer! 
It was a refreshing walk and thankfully, it wasn’t raining for the walk back home.  Oh summertime – where are you???!!!!

Kanyon’s Birthday

Still behind!  Where is my blogging motivation?!  Kanyon celebrated his 7th birthday on March 2nd.  Things were a little busy at our house and we had a difficult time finding a time to have a party – I know, pretty sad for a 7-year-old.   On the day of his birthday, Leonard had to work a 3-11 shift so we all had breakfast together since it was the only time we would be together that day.  We had one of Kanyon’s favorite meals – egg and sausage biscuits – and let him open one gift that morning – a new shirt – that he could wear to school. 

We sent him out the door and Leonard and I went to town to finish a little shopping for him.  I took some donuts to his class for their treat to celebrate.  It is Dr. Seuss’s birthday on the same day, so the first graders were having a Dr. Seuss Party.  He seemed to have a good day.  We had another favorite meal for dinner – fruit crepes – yummm! 

The next day I left for Kansas City to visit Jodi with Michelle and Sara.  I’ll try to blog more about the trip later but suffice it to say that we had a fun girls weekend and got to know each other a little bit better.  I even learned some things about Michelle and Jodi that I didn’t know.  Who would have thought after 12 years that we would still have things to share!!!  It was a really great trip.  When I got back on Sunday it was amazing how swollen my feet were from sitting all day on the flight home.  It’s weird how pregnancy symptoms seem to come on earlier and earlier with each pregnancy.

Sunday night we had a joint birthday party for me (my birthday was March 5th) and Kanyon.  We had Neil, Kay and Kelly (who was visiting for work) over for dinner and Kay made a cake for dessert.  Kanyon got some great gifts and he was really excited to finally have his party after the long wait!  Thanks for being a good sport, buddy!  We love you!

Here are a few pictures – Happy Birthday Kanyon!

A new bike!  He is so happy that he will probably be able to keep up with his sister!  If only the snow, rain and mud would go away!!!

Miranda’s Birthday

I am a little behind on blogging – surprise, surprise.  I’ll start with a post about Miranda’s birthday.  Sorry in advance for all the pictures!  Miranda turned 3 on Feburary 17.  Leonard went fishing all day that day and I had to work that night.  Not very exciting for a three year old – but we made it up to her over the weekend when the Stephan’s came to visit.  We celebrated her birthday on Saturday, Feburary 19.  We woke up early and made a birthday cake.  She helped me and loved licking the beaters.  Then we got her all dressed up for the party – she INSISTED on green ribbons for her hair.  Not really sure why but it’s HER birthday!  When the cake was cooled, she helped me decorate – and decorate she did! 

She wanted a chocolate cake with pink – whatever that means.  We settled on chocolate cake with pink sprinkles – or sparkles as Miranda called them.  I think she liked the stars the best

Isn’t it a beautiful 3-year old cake?

She could hardly stand the wait until after lunch when the party was set to start.  FINALLY the time arrived and everyone showed up ready to celebrate Miranda!

Funny thing was, she didn’t want any cake!  Just ice cream – silly girl!  She had a good time.   She got some great outfits, a cool card table that has a dry erase top, some playdoh, some bubbles, and a princess dress-up treasure box.  What a spoiled (or blessed!) little girl!  We love you Miranda May!

The next FitzSimmons will be a…..

GIRL!!!! It’s true.  We found out yesterday that we are having a baby girl!  We are really excited. Sorry if many of you feel out of the loop.  We actually didn’t tell anyone until last week that we were even pregnant – unless they specifically asked (we couldn’t lie, could we?!)  Anyway, most everyone was in the dark until last week and the news is spreading like wildfire!  I thought I would confirm all the rumors and say that we are extremely excited to welcome baby girl #3 in July. 

I would post a really cute ultrasound picture here but after my appointment, we stopped at Neil & Kay’s to pick up Miranda from being babysat by grandpa.  When I went to show Miranda the pictures of the baby -- they were not in my purse!  I looked all over for them and even called the Doctor’s office to see if someone turned them in … to no avail.  I was pretty bummed.  We even had a couple of 3D pictures!  I never had them with my other kids so that was kinda fun – and now I can’t show them to anyone!

We broke the news to the kids about their new sister when they came home from school.  They knew we were having a baby (we told them on Valentine’s day) and they knew the appointment was yesterday.  They walked in the door and said, “What is it?  A boy or a girl?”  Leonard said, “Yep, one of those!”  So they asked Miranda, “Is it a boy or a girl?”  Miranda looks up and says, “a girl baby.”   They were a little shocked – “Really?!” Kaydra asked.  When we confirmed the truth, Kanyon fell to the floor in tears.  He had been praying for a little brother every night this week.  I know that he is disappointed but I also know that this little girl is meant to join our family and that we will love her with all our might.  I also know that she is going to love her big brother.  I also know that Miranda is going to love having a little sister to play dress-up and dolls with.   I started talking about the ultrasound and how we could see her move, kick and even open and close her mouth!  They seemed to warm up a little bit. 

Sorry to my little girl who may read this one day and feel sad – Don’t feel sad!  I knew the moment I saw you on that screen that it didn’t matter what gender you were – you were ours and we were in love with you from the beginning.  You are a gift from our Heavenly Father and we will cherish every moment we have to spend with you!  Welcome to the family little princess!

P.S.  I think I fixed my comment problem so leave a comment and see if the issue some people were having is fixed -- if not, email me please!  fitzlb0898@gmail.com

Three Projects and a Wedding

I have hit a blogging slump lately and I know that I will regret it at the end of the year when I start to put together the book for 2011.  I need to get motivated again somehow!  I’ll start with a catch up post. 

My brother-in-law, Kelly was married to Sara Turner in December.  We were able to drive to Twin Falls for a very short weekend trip to see them sealed in the Twin Falls temple.  It was a beautiful wedding ceremony and they were both so happy.  We are very happy for both of them and are really excited to have Sara join our family.  Here are some pictures of them coming out of the temple ….. Don’t they look happy?!!! 

Kelly and Sara asked us to host an open house for them here in Coeur d ‘Alene at our new home.  We were exited to have it here but we also knew that we had to get a few unfinished things completed before we had a bunch of people over.  It was good motivation for us to get some things done around the house. 

Leonard finished up some trim work that had never been finished.  There were a few pieces of trim on the island that he put up and he put up the rest of the baseboards and some of the trim around the doors in the hall, the bedroom, the pantry, and in the half-bathroom on the main floor.  I am really enjoying the old doors and trim work from the old farmhouse -- lovingly called “Grandma’s house”-- here on the farm.  The house was built in 1902 and as far as we know, the trim is original.  I was a little leery at first to use the old wood but it looks beautiful and adds so much character to our home.  It’s probably the one thing that people comment on the most – and now that it’s finished, it looks even better!

Here is the laundry door (on the left) and the half-bath door with trim complete!

Here is our bedroom door (on the left) and the pantry door – it has an elk scene etched into the glass:

We even kept the same door knobs and hardware – I think they are beautiful. 

While he was working on trim, I worked on putting slate on the backsplash of our kitchen.  We had a hard time deciding what kind of backsplash to put in the kitchen.  We didn’t like the tile that we put in the bathrooms because the countertop is a different color and it just didn’t look right.  We had pretty much decided to just leave it painted for now – in fact, we took all the tile stuff back to my parents when we were there for the wedding.  While we were there, Len went to visit a few friends from his old work and one of them showed him some pictures of their new kitchen which had slate as a backsplash and he thought it looked great.  So….we loaded up the tile saw that we had just returned and headed back to Coeur d’Alene.  I cut and set all the slate and Len grouted it one morning – I hate grouting!  We love the new look!  It really makes the kitchen look awesome!

The pictures don’t do it justice, but you get the idea:

Before:After:

The third “getting ready” project happened because Michelle came to stay with me to help me clean and get ready for the open house.  I was so grateful to have her there.  She was really hard worker and my house was spotless for the open house because of her.  While she was here, she helped me recover my dining room chairs!  They had this beige fabric (that I never really liked) on them with so much dirt and grime that it made you not want to sit on them!  I found some fabric that I love and we recovered them on Friday night – the night before the open house.

They look SO much better and the best part is, I got to keep them even after the open house was over!  Thanks again Michelle!

I think that’s all for now – it tells what we were doing the first couple weeks of January.  The open house was a success and we were happy to do it for them.  Congratulations again Kelly and Sara!