California Trip Part 2 -- Jelly Belly Factory & Leslie's House

While visiting family in California, I took the kids to the Jelly Belly Factory. My sister, Steph, came along with her son T as well as my dad. It was a first for my dad. He said that mom always took us, and he had to work. The kids LOVED having Boppi (aka grandpa) along for the "field trip." We were able to get right in on a tour where we saw how jelly bellys are made from start to finish. They've changed the tour over the years....it used to be that the tour was along the factory floor. Now, we walk above the factory and view the goings on from the 2nd floor. Here is a picture before all the candy. Notice, they are standing still. Rare, I know. They just haven't had any candy yet.

 

Here is my dad at his inaugrual tour.

 

Everyone on the tour is required to wear a hat. Here's MK in her's. She wouldn't leave it alone.

Here is C already opening up and eating his free samples.

 

And this is S and his cousin T after the tour looking around the jelly belly store.

 

After we loaded up on Jelly Bellys, we had lunch at Wendy's. Then, we parted ways. The kids and I went down to Leslie's house while Steph, T, and dad went back up to Steph's house. C and S were excited to go see the "gingerbread" aunt. Last Christmas, Leslie made every grandchild their own gingerbread house that they got to decorate themselves. C thought that since we were going to Leslie's house that that meant he was going to do another gingerbread house. Um, no. He was slightly disappointed when I told him that there would be no gingerbread houses. They cheered up once we were there and they had more cousins to play with.

Here is Leslie's C holding MK.

 

I didn't get many more photos while playing with Leslie. It was just so nice to be there hanging out with my sister. We bbq hamburgers, got our eyebrows done, let the kids run wild, and sat around and talked. The kids had a sleepover in the living room. Leslie put out a queen sized air mattress for C, C and S. When I checked on them in the middle of the night after MK woke me up, Leslie's C was the only one still on the mattress! S had moved to the couch, and C was on the floor. Whatever.

Califonia Trip Part 1--Concrete Slides & Bike Rides

We had so much fun visiting family in California! We've been home 2 days now, but we are all still pretty exhausted from all we did. I wanted to post some fun pictures from our adventures last week.

First, the kids and I went to a park with my sister Steph and her son T. There is a park nearby that has concrete slides. We brought some cardboard along and let the boys go. Here's one of C.

 

I love the look on S's face on this one, even if you can't see him so well.

 

Later, once the others came home from school (they still had a few days left of school when we showed up), they all wanted to go on a bike/scooter ride. I forgot that CA has helmet laws and didn't bring the boys helmets, so they had to borrow some from their cousins. C's fit okay. But S's helmet barely stayed put. It was pretty hilarious. I thought that the helmet would be the reason for any falls he might have. But, S did great. They all went around the block a few times. Here's the group picture.

 

C posing for the camera, showing off his borrowed helmet.

 

Here's S coming in the home stretch. The helmet kept falling in his face. I love how he's trying to peek up to see. It reminds me of how he wears his hats. He likes to wear his hats down low over his eyes....maybe that's why this helmet didn't bother him at all.

 

The boys keep asking for their cousins. It was a fun trip. More pictures later.

A Recipe Coup!

I have been after my Grandmother's wheat bread recipe for years! I love my sister Leslie who has Grandma's old recipe box, but it has been hard to get it from her because, well, she has a life! Well, while I was in California visiting, I managed to "borrow" the box of recipes and took it to my other sister Stephanie's. Steph and I spent a couple of hours scanning the entire box of recipes. We now have over a hundred scans we need to type out of all of Grandma's recipes for all her favorite things! She had recipes for everything. I'm so excited! I was able to return the box to Leslie as promised, and now I have the wheat bread recipe. Score! Leslie, Stephanie, and I have all sorts of grand ideas about what to do with the recipes, but we'll see what comes of it. I would like to get them all typed up and put together for all the family. We all have some favorite recipe and fond memories of sitting in grandma's kitchen. I remember Grandma making mini loaves for David and I when we came to visit, so we had our very own loaf of bread. Looking back, she probably did that so that we didn't eat all the bread. So without any further ado, (drum roll please) here is grandma's recipe as written down.

Bread 50-50

10 Cups White Flour 3/4 Cup Sugar
12 Cups Whole Wheat Flour 1 Can Milk
2 Tlbsn Dry Yeast
6 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Shortening
2 Quarts Liquid (Water, Milk, or both)

Combine all ingredients and mix with hands until all flour is mixed in and will form a ball.

Visiting California

I've been lucky to be able to come to California for the week to visit with my family. My little brother just received his PhD in Math! That was fun to yell and shout for him when he walked across the stage to be hooded and receive his diploma. I've been playing with my sisters and nephews and nieces and parents. I'll post pictures later when I get home. I have to pick R up from the airport in a few hours....he couldn't get time off of work and will just join us for the weekend and the LONG drive back to Utah.

Our Funny Kids

I have some random pictures of our random kids.

First up is MK. Earlier this week during bath time, MK finished her bath, and I left her to play in the living room in just a diaper since it was still pretty warm. MK and S were playing in the living room while I went to help C finish up his bath. I left the bottle of lotion on the couch after using it on S thinking that MK couldn't reach it. I was wrong. I came out to the living room to find this.

 

Lotion everywhere on this little girl! She had managed to pump lotion all over her head. I asked S if he did this, which he denied. I'm not sure what to think because S will almost always tell us the truth even knowing he's going to have a time-out. But she got lotion all over her head! It was quite funny. I couldn't stop laughing. I quickly took this picture then grabbed a towel to clean her up. At least she's moisturizing, right?

Next up is C. C has be asking for goggles forever! I just never got around to getting him any last summer, and now that it's warm again he has been asking for goggles again and again. Two days ago while we were running errands getting ready for our trip to CA, we stopped at Costco. Before I even parked the car, C reminded me that Costco has goggles and won't I please buy him goggles. I did indeed buy him googles, and he wouldn't let go of the box the rest of the time in the car. As soon as we got home, he asked me to open the packaging. I opened it up and then went about unloading the car. Next thing I know, I see C watching TV like this.

 

Yesterday, we while we were out and about we made our first stop at the post office. I turned around to help S out of his car seat and had a surprise. His big brother had helped S wear his goggles.

 

I thought they were going to wear them inside, but C insisted they needed to take the goggles off so they didn't lose them. But yes, they wore the goggles in the car between every stop.

Batter-up!

 C at bat

C had his first T-ball game today. The whole fam went to watch him play. C did a great job and nailed a few out of the infield :). We still need to work on the running part after the hitting part, but he's getting there.

R has been trying out his new fancy camera and took a few pictures at the game. Here's one with A and MK that we really like. They were supposed to be watching C play T-ball, but MK can't focus when the camera is out.

Me and MK

Graduation! Gradutation! Graduation!

I've been meaning to post some pictures of our graduates, but life has been kinda crazy around here. Plus, R received a fancy-smancy new camera as a graduation preasant that I don't know how to work, and it took R a while to convert the pictures. (He's been a little busy letting his belly button heal.) So, without much further ado.....

Babcock Famly at Dad's Graduation

R's graduation. I know I already posted about the "after party," but the graduation itself was great. We are so proud of R and his hard work in finishing his MBA! Especially while working full-time and having a full-time family with a new addition to that family. We stayed in SLC for a few nights so that we could be there on the spot. R's mom, step-dad, sister, brother, and his brother's family all came up to support him. Thank you everyone! It really meant a lot for you to be there. And it was great seeing you all. We had the school's cerimony in the morning, we all went out for lunch, back to the hotel room for naps (parents included), then back for his Business School's cerimony. The kids all did so good. It helped that they had Mimi, Papa, Auntie J, Aunt Kelsi, Uncle Ryan, and cousins to keep them entertained, not to mention Mimi's and Auntie J's activity books.

Our next graduate.......

C's Kindergarten Graduation

C graduated from Kindergarten! I know--I can't believe it myself. The kindergartners put on a fun little program with songs they've learned this year. Then they all received their diplomas. C has loved school and has made a lot of new friends. He's learned to read, to do math, and a lot more. C loves to help and work.

Last, but not least.....

S participating in the Preschool Graduation

S had his preschool graduation. (Sorry about the quality of the photo--this is what happens when I use the new fancy-smancy new camera.) He still has another year of preschool, but participated in his classes graduation. It was a fun program with lots of songs. This picture is of the song he got to sing. He never actually opened his mouth to sing, but did all the actions. It was cute. S has loved preschool. He wasn't too sure about it in the begining, but has loved it. He has grown up so much since the first of the school year. After the program, each kid was given a personal yearbook and DVD. I love his preschool--they run such a great program with so many activities. He has learned so much. It's especially fun to watch him write his own name by himself.

Hernia--not to be confused with hyena

When I was a kid, I didn't understand the difference between 'Hernia' and 'Hyena.' I thought both referred to snickering doglike animals that made fun of Mufasa and Simba. Unfortunately, we've had to deal with a hernia this weekend, not to be confused with a hyena.

While in SLC enjoying graduation festivities, R notice a small lump on his belly above his belly button.....which turned more painful and larger as the weekend progressed. (Happy Graduation to R, right?) I took him to the doctor yesterday morning, who sent us to a specialist, who sent us to radiology, who scheduled a procedure for this morning. R had his belly button removed and put back as part of the procedure to repair the hernia--the boys thought that sounded cool. (My mom's dad always told us our legs and arms would fall off if that happened. I forgot to ask the surgeon if he had to sew those back on at the same time.)

R is now home and resting. MK came along with me to the hospital and won over many of the staff who loved her chubby cheeks. S played with a preschool friend all day and collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. C played at a kindergarten buddy's house. Yesterday, they played at a friend's house all day, too, who not only watched the boys but also made us dinner. I'm so grateful for good neighbors and friends who've let me call them at a moments notice and happily helped out.

***UPDATE***
I've now had the same conversation with R concerning his surgery multiple times. Each time he seems lucid and so I explain in detail about how I talked to the surgeon, the PA, the nurses about different things. But it must be an act because he doesn't seem to remember it a few hours later when the painkillers wear off. Last night I just had to laugh when he asked me for the 6th time, "Did Scott come talk to you?"