Summer

Well it finally got hot here.  Up until the past 2 weeks, it has actually been quite pleasant.  I was beginning to wonder if my memory had failed me, and perhaps summers in Phoenix were not as bad as I remembered.  That was silly!  Of course they are!  But the good news is, Mother Nature was kind this year, and we got through May and even a little of June without too much trouble.  I actually even enjoyed being outside.  See, and Don thinks I always complain about the weather, Not always.  Just when it deserves it. :)  Don told me he would pay me 5,000 dollars if I could go an entire year without complaining about the weather. I told him that was a lot of money. He said, "Ya, but you are not ever going to be able to do it."  Sadly, he is right.  I complain about the weather as easily as I insert the phrase "and I was like" into my common conversations.

We have been having a grand ole time.  A lot of swimming.  A lot of play dates.  A lot of afternoon naps after heavy playing:

 I thought this was funny.  The girls were using their towel like a costume.

 We have a membership to the children's museum which gets us out of the house and they can make all sorts of messes there, instead of just at our house.

 And then we go get Slickables ice cream sandwiches down the street.  It has become our summer tradition.  Macie gets the birthday cake ice cream cone every time.  Chloe is partial to the ice cream sandwiches.  And I beg them to let me have a taste, they reluctantly oblige.

 They found the dollar store makeup kit.  Some real high quality stuff.

 Macie was going for the Beetlejuice look.

 The girls at a swim meet. They felt a few drops of rain so they brought their dilapidated Disneyland umbrellas.

Father's Day

Don far out weighs me in making a person feel special.  We tried.  But came up short.  Of course, he was number 8 out of 10 kids and his birthday is on New Year's Day, so he is used to not being the center of attention and is very easy to please. The girls put up streamers and we made him a little video.  We gave him a breakfast burrito before he scurried off to bishopric duties at 7:30 am and then slaved over lunch, freezer section orange chicken.  We did make him his favorite cake, tres leches, and the girls did a great job helping, er I mean, eating the batter.  After he got home from church at 3 pm from all his new responsibilities, we basically lounged around the house the rest of the day.  I probably should do Father's Day Part 2 today, since I think we fell rather short on Father's Day Part 1. Don really, truly is all those cliche things people say a Father is on Father's Day.  There is no one like him. He is forever optimistic.  He never gives up.  He is forgiving.  He loves everyone and gives people the benefit of the doubt.  He puts me and the kids first and cares about making us happy.  His needs and wants are placed on the back burner as he works to makes the needs and wants of the kids and I, a reality.  And that is what makes him happy, making us happy.  He gets up early every day, and goes to work which makes it possible for me to stay home with the kids.  This is the greatest gift he gives me.  He is just good.  Down to the bone, good.  He is a better person than I am.  And I really mean that.  When the kids are grown, they will be able to look back at their Dad and say, wow. I was lucky.  Because Don, he's a one in a million type of guy,

 I took these pictures the day after Chloe's baptism. Mostly because we didn't get very many pictures of her actual baptism. But Don is missing in these.  And the quality is poor because there must have been finger prints all over my camera lens. No idea how that could have happened.

Also. In latest news.  A week ago Don was released from his calling as Elders Quorum President and put in the Bishopric.  I was released as Music chairman not long before and put in as Acitivity Day Girls.  How do I feel about this?  : /    I miss my calling.  And I probably miss Don's more.

Oscar the Great and Terrible

I thought Oscar was going to be a mellow child.  He showed early signs of being quiet, easy going.  Stationary.  I was wrong.  He is 11 months old. And he is insane.  I have noticed a change within the past few weeks.  The more mobile he gets, the more insane he gets.  He crawls at the speed of light.  He is just a few squats away from being able to walk.  He can't sit still. He loves dumping flour and oatmeal. He loves pulling hair out of the shower drain.  His favorite activity is taking dvds out of their cases, then diving over the armchair of our couch. Over. And Over. And over again.  And today I found him sitting in the toilet like a play pool.  And drinking water out of his hand.  I think I am getting my taste of what it is like to have a boy.

Last Day of School

 We have been in denial that 2nd grade was ending and that Chloe will get a new 3rd grade teacher. She has had Ms. Coxon for 2 years and she has loved her.  On the last day of school, I ran into Ms. Coxon and we both started crying because we are so sad about the transition. Ms. Coxon sent home a letter to Chloe that was the sweetest letter I have ever read from a teacher.  Chloe didn't even want me to read it because she felt like it was just for her, so I won't say what it said.  But it made me very proud of Chloe.  Chloe has a sweetness and a goodness about her that is so unique.  She is thoughtful, inquisitive and sincere.  She cares about people, she cares about doing things the right way, and she cares about making good choices.  And she is funny. And so smart. And so kind. The other day she told me I didn't need to get all dressed up and "fancy" to go to the pool. She said, "Mom, I always think you look perfect.  Even when you aren't wearing your makeup."  I mean...where did she come from?? I obviously love my Macie and Oscar just as much and they are amazing little individuals too!  I have odes to write for them too.  I don't mean to be creating any sibling rivalry here!  All of my children are perfect.  And I am allowed to say that because I am their Mother!  And they cost a lot of money.  I want to always know that they are my sun, moon, and stars.  Nothing in the world is as precious to me as they are.  Anyway.  We gave Ms. Coxon a bracelet as a thank you gift, it had a compass charm as a symbol for her job as a teacher and Chloe wrote her this note.

 "I will never forget you."

 (this is just a shot of chloe trying on a dress that I tried to convince her to get instead of the other one she chose. I settled for a picture)

I found Chloe had written this note on the white board in our office.  It said:
Dear Whiteboard, today is my last day of school. I am going to miss my teacher a lot. she is a great teacher. I have good news though. My Mom asked Miss Coxon if me and her could have a brunch at kneaders, Kneaders is Miss Coxon's favorite place to go eat. My wish came true. Now I will get to see miss coxon often. miss Coxon is a really nice teacher. When I didn't have lunch money she bought me a lunch so I woulnd't be sad.after school i went to swim practice. When I was done swimming I went to the mall so I could get Miss Coxon a present. We got her a charm bracelet. The charm was a compass. The compass meant guiding the way.

Field Trip

Summer is in full swing. We have had a lot of things going on the past few weeks.  Chloe's last day of school was 2 weeks ago.  A few days before that, 2nd grade went on a field trip to a dairy farm and I went along. It was leaps and bounds better than the 1st grade field trip to the desert botanical garden, also known as Hell during the month of May.  Luckily this May has been unbelievable pleasant.  I feel like I can get through the summer because it really hasn't even been very hot yet.  It was a beautiful day to visit the milk cows and to see where our milk comes from, and to successfully turn me into a vegetarian for a week after.  I am sad to say that Chloe did not choose to sit next to me on the bus, to or from the dairy farm. She sat with her friends instead.  I died a little inside. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun.  We took a tractor ride to see where the cows live.  And I learned an unfortunate piece of information about cows that I wish I could erase from my memory.  Probably every other person that has watched documentaries on food knows this, but I purposefully like to remain ignorant on these things, because I look food, A LOT, and I don't want to know about the cows or chickens that I eat.  Anyway,  Cows produce milk after having a baby, (duh! For some reason I just thought cows produced milk just for the fun of it. I probably shouldn't admit that).  Within 3 hours of birth the calf is taken away from their mother for forever.  FOREVER.  They do this because if they wait any longer it will be more traumatic for the cows (information that did not make me feel any better.) I was told the calves need to separated because they have poor immunity and being with the herd makes them susceptible to illness and death. The skeptic in me says that sounds a lot better than saying they take them away so they can get more milk out of the Mom cow. But I am not a farmer so I what do I know.  And I also really enjoy the fruits of those farmer's labors so again...what do I know.  All I know is that I feel sorry for cows.  I asked the tour guide if the cows were very motherly, hoping that she she would tell me, "no, cows are too stupid to care," instead she told me , "Oh yes! If their calf dies in birth, they will try to go steal another cow's baby as their own." Again, information that did not make me feel any better.  I prefer to believe my animal products are in actuality plants, and they never belonged to something with a face.  

 The kids all got to pick a flavor of milk, which of course they all thought was disgusting because they were flavors they had not tried before. I think Chloe played it safe and got a chocolate milk. They also had ice cream sundaes.  Chloe wore her "field trip outfit" from last year.

 I found it amusing pairing moms with their kids.  Kids dress exactly like their Moms. Go figure.  And then I looked and myself and laughed.  My daughter of course wore a dress to the farm. Because that's what we do.  And lace socks.

 See, I wasn't invited to sit by them.  : (

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day.  Especially since it is pretty close to my birthday. And most of the time I need a little pick me up after the depression of my birthday. I'm still not over being called middle aged. ha!

Chloe made the most awesome Mother's Day present at school. It was a jar of sugar scrub.  And then she gave me this coupon book for a day at the spa...courtesy of Chloe and Macie.  So Sunday morning I wake up, and they have turned their room into a spa.  They gave me a foot rub, a back rub, a glass of water, and some strawberries and cream cheese dip.  They also made me some pictures and cards.  Then I had stuffed crepes, a la Don, and then we went to church. We just went to the first hour and then headed down to St. David to spend the afternoon with Don's parents and Curtis.  It was a perfect day.  Actually a perfect weekend.  Friday, I went with Don up to Show Low for the day to go check out a hotel he is selling.  Macie and Oscar came, but Chloe had to go to school. We had a great day trip.  It was fun to experience some chilly weather.  Macie met a little friend, the hotel owner's daughter, and she was excited to take a small tour of the hotel, especially the indoor pool.  We also got to visit every bathroom at each location we stopped, which is always my favorite part of traveling with children.  We ate at "Persnicketys," a cute local cafe, and then came back home.  I actually really like car trips now. Don and I can just sit and talk.  Oscar did amazingly well with both trips.  He didn't cry at all.  He is pretty much a perfect baby,

Saturday Don took me out to dinner to Pita Jungle for Mother's Day and then took me shopping for clothes.  Although I didn't end up getting anything because news flash, everything in the stores is hideous.  I honestly can't believe just how ugly everything is.  I lived through the 90's and I have no intention of dressing like that ever again.  All the clothes available do nothing to flatter real women.  They accentuate the negative and hide the positive.  Baggy and frumpy yet revealing in all the wrong places.  It seems that if I want anything cute, I must be willing to fork out an arm and a leg, because the clothes that are massed produced are plain crap.  Even Target has let me down! Can't they make just ONE knee length skirt?  I am waiting for fashion to come back around to another decade besides the 80's or 90's.  Just bag that whole era, there is nothing worth repeating.  I can't wait for knee length clothes to be back in mainstream style so there are actually clothes I can wear in the stores, instead of having to look online.  In conclusion, 2015 style...super ugly.  The End.

Okay back to things that actually matter.

This is the letter Chloe wrote me:

"Dear Mom. Happy Mothers day! I hope you like the gift I made you! You are the best mom! I love you so much.  I know that you want your feet to be soft. I made you sugar sugar scub. Sugar scub make your skin soft. This sugar scub smells like pepermint. I made it! It is pretty easy to make sugar scub. To make you add 1 cup of sugar and put two drops of food coloring and mix.  I hope you like it! Love, Chloe"

The sugar "scub" was pretty great.  Kudos to chloe's teacher for helping them make it because I am pretty sure it was not just food coloring and sugar.

 Chloe also made me this picture illustrating my spa day.  There she is giving me my foot rub while my eyes are freshened by cucumbers.   (I did not actually get cucumbers for my eyes and I feel a little miffed about that).

 This was the card from Macie.  She put eye lashes on the hearts, which was my favorite part.

 My coupon book...Chloe even gave me freckles.

 In other news, Chloe brought home this stellar essay on the merits of McDonalds.  She had to pick her favorite restaurant, and she picked McDonalds.
"Have you ever been to a restraunt that is not crowed, has a good price, and has tasty food? I think McDonalds is a fantastic restraunt.  First is has a good price.  Specifically my dad bought 2 Egg Mic Mufens and 1 hashbrown and it cose $5.00.  Next Mc Donalds is not crowded.  In fact when I went there there were only a few peple.  Lastly the food is tasty.  For example when I am about to bite in to my hambuger my mouth starts to water.  In conclusion Mc Donald's food is tasty, is not crowed, and has a great price."

 I am so glad Chloe has not realized yet that it is not cool to admit to liking McDonalds.  You know what I think? I think people secretly like McDonalds they just know it is not socially acceptable to admit.  I'll admit it. I like McDonalds.

 This is Macie with her cherished new friend "Mittens."  Grandma's house had a brand new batch of kittens and the cuteness meter was off the charts.  I really wanted to keep this kitten.  But then it would turn into a cat. And I don't want a cat. I don't want pets in general.  I can't take care of another living thing that I do not love as much as my children.  And I don't want to clean up any more poop than I have to or spend more money on food that we don't get to eat.  But when I look at Macie and this kitten, I am really torn.  But then I remember their poor fish.  Their pink fish "Pinkie" died a couple months ago.  And then a couple weeks ago, "Sunshine" took a swim to that big lake in the sky.  I felt terrible about it.  Sunshine hung on for a couple of days and I watched it floating at the top of the tank, barely breathing, wondering if I was supposed to put it out of it's misery,  But then I thought, maybe it will snap out of it! I can't kill it!  Poor thing.  I hated cleaning the tank. It was probably my fault.  And then I opened the freezer and said, "Fish for dinner?"

 Macie carried the kitten around all day.  We went to see the 3 day old baby goat and watched Grandpa and Curtis milk the goat and then feed the baby goat through a bottle, and Macie brought the kitten along.

 She asked me if we could "borrow" the kitten, and I actually would have considered it, but the kitten is still nursing.  The next morning at home, I saw Macie on the couch looking at a picture of Mittens, and her chin quivered a little a small tear ran down her cheek, and she said to me, "Mom, I miss Mittens." Heartbreaking.  She begged me to print a picture of her and Mittens so she could carry it around all day.  And then she would show me the little scratches on her hand and say, "Mom, you know how I got those scratches? Mittens." And then she would smile with pride and love for that little dear kitty.  Oh my gosh, I can't even handle the cuteness.

They will be visiting their grandparents in 3 weeks, and Macie can love on that little kitty to her heart's content.  and I might have no other choice than to adopt a cat into the Mortensen family!

Macie really wants a pet.  But she doesn't want one that poops.  If she sees a new animal on tv, she will ask me "Do they poop?" And I will say, "Yes...all animals poop." And she replies, "what am I going to do?! I am never going to find one!" Meaning...she is never going to find a pet, because they all poop.
Macie also told me in the car the other day what happened to dinosaurs.  She said Jesus took them off the earth so that people could go camping in the jungle.  It's probably a good a guess as any....
Macie touch my thigh the other day and said, "what's so fluffy?"

In Oscar news...
He is 10 months old and as mentioned previously, the best baby in the world. He's a busy bee and into pulling everything off the shelves, but he is the most lovable and cuddly little guy.
The other Sunday, he crawled under the bench and when the lady in front of us picked him up, he laid his head on her shoulder and cuddled.  She was a complete stranger to all of us.  He loves to cuddle and be cuddled.  He especially loves when his sisters play with him, they take very good care of him.