Playground

We used to live across the street from this park. I miss it. It was clean and has shade. We visit on occasion. MY kids still love it.

Anneke has always loved the swings. (Remember Cari, telling me she wouldn't be sleeping in a swing when she was in kindergarten? I think she would if she could.)

 Marcus thinks he is too big for playgrounds, but he loves helping Mallory.

 Luke is just busy. (Notice his "apron pants")

 Mallory loved exploring. I still can't get her to wear shoes.

 Here she is smiling at Marcus above her:

 Another cute Luke shot.

This was the highlight of our Saturday. What did you do?

Two

Why is it that in books, and movies a family consists of two children, commonly a boy and a girl? If there is a third it is a perpetual baby. Most people I know have three children. (Not just LDS.) I can understand that it is easier to keep track of fewer characters and you can care about them more easily. However, part of what makes Pride and Prejudice so fun is that there isn't just Jane and Lizzie. On the flip side, Taming of the Shrew would be different with more than the two sisters. Maybe because of this dynamic in media "society" feels guilty when they have more children than what they perceive as the norm. (This is obviously my opinion.) Why do people give so much power to the entertainment industry?

I have been reading books set in the late 1800's to early 1900's. These women had child after child and were sad if they were blessed with only four, or even two. I think that part of that was the death toll. If you had more children it was more likely that some would live longer than you, but still not a guarantee. Still, what changed? I am not condemning people for having small families, that is their choice. But, family size is a choice that should be left up to the people. Not dictated by society. You should have as many children as you feel you can take care of. (There is a difference between "take care of" and "want" by the way.) Why is it so hard to raise a large family now? Why can't you afford it now? Why do people look at you askance when you bring a group of children somewhere? "Are you Mormon or Catholic?" "You are so selfish adding more to the already overpopulated earth." "You are a drain on OUR resources." "Having too many children is not very 'green' of you." Oh, I am green, but I prefer red. Any thoughts?

Wenesday

It is my favorite day of the week. I went on a walk this morning with one of my friends. She is moving to Logan, Utah the same time we move to wherever. At least she knows where she is going. We have been accepted to UNLV (Las Vegas) but I am holding out for Oregon or Arizona. If I am in Oregon i could maybe see the filming of the Twilight movie. Arizona would put me around where Stephenie Meyer is from so I can do the fun events she plans. Yes, I recently got into the Twilight series again.

A couple of weeks ago all the Bailey girls met in Texas sans our husbands. (Except Carianne since it was at her house.) Marcus and Anneke were the only grandkids not there, which was sad. I kept looking for them and missing them. It was the longest I was ever away from them thus far. I tried to put some pictures on here, but I am still figuring it out. Sorry if it doesn't work.

Soap Opera Called Life

Wow! My family consists of major drama queens. I just found out that my little sister would not come to my graduation because I could not make it to her graduation due to awards banquet and finals. So, I had to smooth all that over, only to find out that it wasn't true. I have so much going on and did not need that little moment. However, it did remind me that I am neglecting the people that matter, my family and friends.
Anneke has decided that she is interested in going in the potty occasionally. This is frustrating because I can never tell when we will have that moment. She is so independent I shouldn't be surprised though.
Marcus is scared to move away from his friends to a big rock. (Isn't that what a Boulder is?) He has been very sensitive and worried lately and I feel bad. Today he asked me when Jesus was going to come again. Then he said that Jesus probably is still getting things ready. The reason? His roly-poly died yesterday and he felt awful thinking that he had killed it. He hoped that putting it in the sun would bring it back to life. So, Andy told him that it would not come to life again until Jesus came. This afternoon he asked me when he could get a pet. I am not feeling like a winning mother when I have to tell him we need to wait until we have our own house because apartments don't usually allow pets. Ugh!
USF owns us again. Andy is working Company Management for a few weeks and has not gotten home before 6pm this week. Well, it is only until May 14th then his contract is up.
We found an apartment in Boulder. It is available May 23rd, a Tuesday. That means Andy will be packing on his 27th birthday, May 20th. It is 2 bedroom, twice as much as our old apartment and smaller. I am not excited about that, except that we are not living in a moving van when we arrive. The job search is still a search, but I have faith that I will find something soon.
I got my FACS honor cords last night. They are maroon and cream. My tassel is light blue for my cap. I would assume that the tassels are all red and white, but no, each college has a different color. The college I am in is education, light blue. I wonder what color my history cords will be. They had better not clash. Already my honors medallion is red. I will look like a rainbow. Wouldn't that be pretty?