Flashback Friday

Some of my favorite random pictures from days gone by:

Dad jumping on the trampoline in his suit.

My brother Jake: I love that guy.
Jake and Zach 4 wheeling in MN. Obviously they found a mudhole.

Good intentions have a way of coming back and biting you in the . . .

Many, many years ago Becca (my sister) and I were told to watch Camille (another sister) and not let her scratch. Camille was born allergic to the world, it seemed, and had eczema and asthma. Her allergies would get so bad, she would scratch until she bled. So Becca and I, ever mindful of our duty, held her down. One of us pinned her arms and the other pinned her legs and Camille screamed and kicked and writhed and I'm pretty sure called us every bad name her 5 year old brain could think of. We seriously thought we were doing her a favor.

I developed seasonal allergies when I was pregnant with Kye and they have gotten worse every season since. Clariton does nothing. Benadryl knocks me out, and Zyrtec does nothing AND knocks me out. My 24 hour Allegra works for a few hours every day and then poof! It's gone. So I have an appointment with an allergist tomorrow and in preparation have been off all allergy medications since Monday.

I want to scratch my eyeballs right off my face. My whole body itches, but my eyes are the worst. And NOW I am realizing just how cruel we were to poor Camille when she wanted to scratch. It must have been pure TORTURE! It has remained one of the more traumatizing memories of her childhood, and I can see why. So, even though I can scratch my eyes as much as I want, I am trying not to. They are already weepy, burning, and puffy.

I will now step down off my soapbox of complaint and say I have never been more excited for a doctor's appointment in my life, . . . except maybe the appointment I had to confirm my pregnancy with Lucy after we had been trying for 3 1/2 years. Uh, yep. That wins. Still, really, REALLY excited. Wish me luck.

Before the first day

Zach gave each of the kids a father's blessing before they went back to school. Isaac will get one next week before he starts preschool.

Kye's First Day of School

The theme for this year's first day of Kindergarten was "Catch the Kindergarten Wave." Kye was so excited to start!

Busy at work!
Could not WAIT for the first day.
Coming out after his first day of school:
Giving Miss Mellor a high five as I picked him up.
His thoughts on the first day of school: it was fun. I liked recess. I didn't really play with anyone. I'm hungry.

Tuesday Tell All--School Days

This week, for posterity's sake, share with us a school memory from your own childhood. What is your earliest memory of school, what did you love about the first week of school, who was your favorite teacher, subject, or playground game?

I'm not sure if I have a terrible memory or if my memories are terrible and I have purposefully blocked them out. Just kidding. Hmmmmmmmm, my earliest memory of school was that my Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Browning. I thought it was Mrs. Brownie for a long time because brownies were my favorite treats.

The thing I remember most about the first week of school was the weaher. It would be a little chilly in the morning and it would feel like fall was really on its way. I remember riding the bus every day. Warm coat+sun beating through the windows+reading a book during the long drive=unpleasant carsickness. Blech. To this day the smell of diesel makes me nauseous.

Aside from the bus rides, however, I was always being excited to go back to school. The first week of my senior year was interesting because I had flown in from Korea the day before school started and I had some major jetlag.

My favorite subject by far was history--a small miracle, considering every single history teacher I had until college was unbelievably boring. My next favorite subject was English. I also enjoyed Physics, Chemistry, and Geography. Math of all types was okay, but not my very favorite. I hated biology, though it provided some amusing jokes amongst my friends. (Our biology teacher got cancer early in the year. Our biology sub, who also happened to be a bus driver, told us that when a woman ovulated, her body was temporarily paralyzed when her egg dropped into her fallopian tube. Huh!?!?)

My favorite playground game was Chinese jumprope. In, out, side, side, on, in, out, anyone?

That's as far as I will delve for tonight. Be thankful, people.

If you will please

open your September issue of the Friend magazine to page 34, you will find a story about Zach's grandpa, written by his uncle Dennis. Continue on to page 46 and you will find a story written by Zach's cousin Heidi (Dennis's daughter). Turn it back to the cover--illustrated by Zach's coworker. There is a lesson to be learned here: Zach associates with and is related to greatly talented people. You can just imagine what talents exude from the one he chose to be his wife . . .

Zeekyisms

One morning, I went into Isaac's room and found this:
and this:
Our conversation went something like this:
Me: Isaac, ummmm, what are you doing?
Isaac: I'm weading.
Me: What are you reading?
Isaac: I'm weading dis book to my popcorn pets.
Well, so long as it keeps them quiet . . .

Bookworms

We love, love, love books here. We usually go to the library every week. Lucy averaged 15 books a week this summer. Kye started on the Magic Tree House series. He reads them because they look really interesting. He doesn't comprehend any of it, however, so most of his other books are Level 2-3 readers. He is currently fascinated with Calvin and Hobbes. Isaac likes to get books about sports. This week he got a very interesting (read "poke-your-eyes-out dull) book about golf. He also enjoys Clifford books, TMNT, and Froggy books. Adam likes to hit (and sometimes chew on) his Chicka Chicka Boom Boom board book.

ANYHOO, when Zach called from Mississipi one night last week to tell me he had found a bargain bookstore having a great sale, I was thrilled. The selection wasn't fabulous, but each book was only $.20. That's right . . . $.20. SOOOOOOO, he came home from his trip with these:

Four hardcover books (including The Candy Shop War), a joke book, 3 Angelina Ballerina books, 6 Jr. Mad Libs, 4 painting books, 7 sticker books, 3 color-your-own picture books, and Nacho Libre, the movie for $7.40. Not too shabby.

Flashback Friday

10 years ago this week, I graduated from

with a BA in American Studies and a minor in Native American Studies. I remember nothing from my graduation except a family gathering afterwards. My graduation/birthday gift from Zach was my first trip to NYC. I saw my first Broadway shows, went to Central Park for the first time, and spent my first (and thankfully, my only=) homeless night on the streets of New York. But THAT is a story for another day.

Family Adventures in SD

Kye was not happy about the plastic footwear provided for us at the SDSU dairy farm.

The crew in front of the farm offices.
Wearing the required headgear for our tour at the Dairy Bar.


Showing our exhaustion after the climb up the Campanile.

Enjoying the reward: 2 scoops of delicious ice cream.


Adam's goofy grin.

I'm 32 and Feeling Gooooooooooood!

We celebrated my 32nd birthday in SD in a joint party with my SIL Becky. After delish homemade pizza, we opened gifts and let the kids dance around while we listened to the IPOD on the new dock Zach gave me.


My true birthday morning was dark and stormy. We went to church in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. We saw a bolt of lightening strike just feet away from the house. We were met at church by an umbrella-wielding missionary, who helped get the kids into the building safe and dry. The storm cleared up by the time church was over and we went home to a hot and muggy afternoon. A breeze stirred up in the late afternoon and we spent hours outside visiting with the family--Jake & Kaylee, Micah and Katie, Matt and Becky, Ben and Becca, Katie, and mom and dad. Some favorite birthday moments: the "happy birthday" voicemail from Rachel, Emily, Tara, and Priscilla, and this fabulous picture (taken a few years ago, while showing off a side ponytail ala Napoleon Dynamite), sent via email from my sister Camille. No matter what ghastly, cringe-inducing pictures exist of you in this world, I guarantee there are more of me. You may think I'm exaggerating, but sadly, I'm really not. Fortunately, however, they are usually good for a laugh. Enjoy!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

All has been eerily quiet here since 7:30. The boys woke up too early this morning (in anticipation of Lucy's first day of school??), and fell into bed, exhausted at 7:25. Kye laid down and said, "Mom, I can't sleep," and immediately started snoring. Isaac was asleep before I could check on him. Lucy's reading until 8:30. I'll take advantage of the extraordinary early silence and catch up on my summer blogging. More to come . . .

Tuesday Tell All--Back to School

It's that time of year again. What are your family's back to school traditions?
When I was growing up, my mom would go out and buy all of our school supplies and hand them out to us the day before school started. I was always so excited to go back to school. It never started until after Labor Day, so I always felt ready to get back to classes. We rode the bus every morning, so we got up very early. . . I remember a lot of dark mornings (especially in high school once early morning seminary started).

My children are still young, so our traditions are very simple: meet the teacher the day before school, go to sleep early, wake up, have a special breakfast and head off to school. Kye doesn't start Kindergarten until next week, so once they are both off at school , reality will set in.

I know my sisters empathize, but we may be some of the only moms on the planet who are sad about school starting again. I love summer. I love having my kids at home. I love the vacations, the fun, the warmth, the sunshine, and the family time. I've managed not to think too much about school starting until today. Perhaps I just need some good traditions to smooth the transition. What are your traditions for back to school?

Flashback Friday

This hails back from October of 2003. Kye's hair was out of control, so I decided to capture it in a photographic journey entitled--ahem--get ready for it--"10 minutes in the life of Kye's hair." Here it is in all it's glory:

Kye's hair: 3 minutes after bath.

Kye's hair: 5 minutes after bath. Combed down, but already starting to sproing.
Kye's hair: 7 minutes after bath. Right side of hair apparently dries faster than left.
Kye's hair: 9 minutes after bath. Lost all hope it might stay down.
Kye's hair: 10 minutes after bath. Natural pompadour. Add a little grease and he could be Elvis.

Zeekyism

After playing quietly downstairs for a few minutes, Isaac ran into the kitchen at top speed. "Look mom!" he said, "It's an X-Box." I thought it was pretty clever, even if we DO have an unhealthy infatuation of gaming systems in this house.

More from Martin's Cove

While we were pulling along, Isaac got brave and ran on ahead. About 20 feet away, he froze. He saw a snake start to cross the road and literally could not back away, he was so scared. It moved quickly across the road, and all was well again. Here are a few more shots.

Dave and Isaac, ready to go. Devil's Gate is in the background to the right.
Lucy, pulling a child's handcart.
Lu, trying to control Adam in the handcart. How did they DO it with squirmy babies?
Taking a little break.
Kye and Isaac spent the whole time drinking water and eating granola bars.
Not too far from the path.
J, H, S, and Kye
David, Lucy, and Zach. Devil's Gate is back and to the left.

Top Ten from the Fesler Family Farm--July 2008

10—Field trip to the SDSU dairy farm. I warned the kids about the smell before we went, but they still managed to gag in true dramatic fashion when we stepped out of the car. One cow actually had a port in its side, which could be opened up and the contents of its stomach examined. Fascinating, yes. But, ewwwww.

9—Climbing the Campanile. My hometown metropolis of Brookings, SD, has slim pickings when it comes to attractions. This is #1—we climbed the 180 stairs up, ran back down and got coupons for free ice cream. 2 scoops from the SDSU Dairy Bar. Totally worth the trip.

8—2nd annual “Jump in the pool with all your clothes on” evening. I missed it last year because I was 6 ½ months pregnant. I missed it this year because it was a little chilly and I’m lazy and I have strong aversion to jumping into cold water, even with a swimsuit on. Arizona summers ruined me—I like my pool the temperature of bath water. Lucy is convinced that next year is my year. Mmmmmmm, sorry sweetie. Not happening.
7—Happy Birthday to me and Becky! We celebrated on Saturday night with homemade pizza and cake. My dad shared one of his favorite memories of me: every morning when I was little, I would go into the bathroom and my dad would put me up on the counter. I would watch him shave, while sucking on my fingers, and as soon as he was done I would leave the bathroom.
6—Dinner at Kaylee and Jake’s in Sioux Falls. A little shopping at Target before, a wonderful dinner and a trip to the waterfalls. There were lots of rocks to climb on, a beautiful park to run in, and a sidewalk for Isaac to face plant on. What more could you ask for?

5—Our trek at Martin’s Cove. We pass right by Martin’s Cove every time we drive home, and this time we happened to be driving on Pioneer Day. So we stopped for a few hours and toured the museum, watched a movie, and took a little trek for ourselves. We took two handcarts two miles, over nicely made dirt roads, with Adam in the stroller (in brake position) so he wouldn’t squirm around. The kids rode for a little bit, but often walked and even helped with the carts. Guess what? It was hard. I cannot even imagine walking another 1000 miles, in the snow, pulling my belongings behind me. But as Zach observed (as we were back again in our nicely air conditioned car, headed to SD going 75 mph, with lots of water to drink and snacks to eat, and books to read and movies to watch)—once you started, there was no quitting. I’m going back for a longer trek someday. I might be doing it alone, though . . .

4—Family, family, family: there’s nothing better than sitting outside in the evening breeze, visiting with my siblings and spouses while the kids play. I pretty much lucked out in the family field. Love them all.

3—The Enchanted Forest: Cousins Big M and Lil M spent some time renovating the fort my brothers built in our shelterbelt back in the 80’s. A new coat of paint, some mowed out ATV roads and some street signs. Viola—the Enchanted forest was born. The kids lived out there: spotting unicorns, fighting dragons and trolls, solidifying ally status with the centaurs. All in a day’s work.
2—Play, play, play: filling the slide with sand on the playset, rides on the ATV, double bike and riding lawn mower, jumping from the tree stump onto the trampoline, and swimming in the pool. I actually missed my kids a little bit while we were there—I so rarely saw them.

1—Rount Mushmore. Zach and the kids have never been, so we stopped on the way back. It was fantabulous.

We love visiting SD!