Post-Easter Note

Goodness, sorry for the brief blog hiatus. Work has been crazy-busy for me, so I haven't been good about getting on the computer once I finally get to come home.

Anyways, I wanted to post a quick note about our lovely Easter weekend with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Pam. They came last Thursday to visit us, and the boys were so happy to have visitors. They were also very proud to show off their bunk beds (which is going really well, by the way).

Here are some pictures of our time together:

There was a whole lot of this over the course of the weekend. Grandpa Bill surprised the boys by bringing down their favorite pedal cars.

Driver Morgan...

On Earth Day, Grandma and Grandpa helped get our square-foot garden set up. We are hoping to grow beans, peas, oregano, basil, carrots, peppers, onion, zucchini, lettuce, and strawberries. Wish us luck! We planted some of the cool-weather things, and the rest are currently planted in dixie cups.

A family affair...

Saturday was cool and rainy, so we took Grandpa and Grandma to the museum to see the new National Geographic pirates exhibit. We happened to park by the elevators for the first time and got to see these guys.

They're quite impressive up close...

Morgan taking on the escalators...

The African wildlife area was open this time, so we explored some here...

This guys remains very popular in the prehistoric area...I can't tell if it's his sheer size or the fact that he growls menacingly at you when you walk through, but both boys like to race by him and get past as fast as they can. (:

Helping Mommy fill cups with dirt...a great project for little boys and their shovels.

Helping Grandma spray the newly planted seeds. They're going to need all the help they can get until Mommy develops a green thumb!

Building blocks with Grandma...

Looking for Easter eggs. We attended a wonderful church service on Easter Sunday and then came home to hunt for eggs and special treasures and have a yummy dinner.

Morgan checking out his loot...

Both boys got new lunch boxes from Mommy & Daddy...

Jacoby checking out his loot. They also got buckets filled with gardening tools from Grandma & Grandpa. We're all set with buckets, shovels, rakes, and watering cans!

The boys kept Grandpa Bill very busy: "Can we go outside?" and "Can we go ride the cars?" and "Can we go outside?" and "Can we go ride the cars?" were questions often asked of Grandpa throughout the weekend.

We had a great time together and a lovely Easter. We hit the ground running this week. Jacoby started Occupational Therapy. We weren't sure what to expect, but as it turns out, he seemed to really enjoy interacting with his therapist and was thrilled that he got to play the entire session. It's very interesting work, and a lot of the session was getting to know Jacoby, his strengths and interests, and the journey that has led to OT. I think it's going to be very helpful. He's going to have a physical therapy evaluation to check on his pigeon-toeness. Overall, I think we're off to a great start.

Hope you all are having a great week!

PS--to any mom readers, there's a great give-away going on over at http://www.toddlerboredombusters.blogspot.com/!

Aloha.

I'm having a wonderful time in Hawaii. Don't worry, I really am working! But it's an incredible place to be on business! After arriving yesterday around noon, I made my way from Honolulu up to the Northern Shore. I'm staying at a beautiful place called Turtle Bay, and this is where we'll be staying this coming fall for our board meeting. I met with the president of BYU-Hawaii yesterday evening (he's one of our board members). He's hosting our board meeting on his beautiful campus. I learned more about the history of his campus, which has a very unique and interesting mission. 35% of their students come from the Pacific Islands, so it's considered one of the most international campuses in the US. I then went to a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Over 700 students at BYUH are employed at the PCC, which helps fund college educations for many of these international students. The food was wonderful, and the night show later in the evening was awesome--drums, dancing, island stories, fire! My little boys would have loved it! I'm excited to see it again with our board members in the fall.

This morning I texted some of the family that my toes were on the beach and in the ocean by 7:30 am. (: I went for a walk around the resort, grabbed coffee, and did some work in my room. I spent most of my day at BYUH, meeting with staff, touring their meeting space, and figuring out logistics for transportation, AV, catering, etc. The staff at BYUH are wonderful, and I feel really fortunate to have such a cool job. I was back in time to take a swim in the ocean and soak up some Vitamin D on the beach.

Tomorrow I have a breakfast meeting with the resort folks, and then I head back to the southern part of the island. I hope to get to Pearl Harbor before having dinner with one of our HI commissioners in downtown Honolulu. I'm on an overnight flight to San Fran tomorrow, so I'll be back home Friday morning. I'm missing my boys whole bunches. They're getting a lot better about talking to me on the phone. Justin said that firemen visited the school today for an inspection. Apparently, Morgan talked to the firemen extensively about their truck and their jobs. And he had the firemen laughing and quite impressed by how much this 2-year old knew about them! That's my boy! Although, I have no idea where he picked up his extrovert genes!

View from my room

BYU-Hawaii

The luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center

The grounds at the PCC are amazing and replicate all of the Polynesian islands.

My zippy little rental car. It's served me well on this trip.

One of the swimming beaches at Turtle Bay.

The lovely ocean.

Growing Up, Grandparents Visit, Bunk Beds, Preschool Transitions, Or...An Update (:

There's been a lot of activity in our house the past couple of weeks. And by activity, I mean the exciting, fun, family kind of activity...not the ER, medical, germy kind. (: Here are a host of pictures to update everyone on what's been going on in the Barber house:

Jacoby pretty much dresses himself completely now (sometimes backwards, but hey, we're not complaining). It's challenging for him, and sometimes fraught with angst and grumbling, but we're doing our best to encourage and empower him in this important milestone.

The great bed saga continues. We tried Morgan in the "toddler" part of the crib, but after falling out 3 times before midnight we decided that this might not be the best option for him. So, back to the crib he went until we could figure out Plan B.

We enjoyed a great visit with Grandmanette and Grandpa Michael last weekend. Our weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside. The boys also enjoyed playing with Grandmanette's iPad.

One of our favorite activities: having a snack outside at the park.

Morgan on the playground.

Jacoby digging and scooping and dumping...one of his all-time favorite activities.

70 pounds of sugar! Grandmanette pulled our big boys around the lake until Jacoby decided he wanted to run and run and run!

Running with Grandpa Michael.

More fun with the iPad.

Here is Plan B for the bed situation. The boys had to show us that they could behave in their room once the lights went out...namely, Morgan staying in bed and Jacoby not encouraging his little brother to break out of bed. "Compliant" is not part of Morgan's DNA, as much as we can tell right now, but they did a great job for 5 nights!

Playing with cars on the track. This is a borrowed idea from a blog I follow every once in awhile.

Happy, silly boys.

We went up to Winter Park this weekend to enjoy some spring skiing. This wasn't Jacoby's best day thanks to a hefty case of grumble bugs and whiney-itis. In his defense, the snow was terrible because it was so warm. Justin and I had a hard time staying upright a few times! But we still enjoyed time in the mountains and are looking forward to a great season next year. We'll be putting Morgan on skis too, so it should be a lot of fun for the 4 of us.

Making his way down the slope. Jacoby seemed to like racing Mommy best. I did try holding the leash, which is a lot more work (i.e., holding back 40 lbs while also trying to keep oneself upright on skis without running the small 40-pound skier down!) than I ever realized and I give Justin a lot of credit for how much of it he did this winter!

And of course we had to have a snack...it's one of the things we do best!

And Morgan decided he needed a quick nap while riding in the backpack.

Here we are helping Daddy put together the long-awaited bunk beds.

As you can see, Jacoby wasn't excited about his new bed at all. Not at all...

Morgan is a little on the fence. He in theory is excited about his new bed, but I think he's still unsure. He's kind of little for this transition, so the crib is still up in the spare bedroom. This turned out to be a good thing because he came down with a fever last night and was up a good portion of the night. Thankfully, he's taking a really good nap in his new bed this afternoon with no mishaps.

Jacoby's doing really well sleeping on the top bunk. We've put some rules in place to keep everyone safe, and so far he seems to understand and is doing great.

We're looking forward to a busy week ahead. In the past 2.5 weeks, both of Jacoby's lead preschool teachers have quit. The whole thing has been a bit confusing, but the new teachers they've brought in are wonderful and Jacoby seems to be thriving. I'm looking forward to my first "Mommy Adventure" of the year with my trip to Hawaii this week (Tues - Fri). It looks like I may get a chance to visit Pearl Harbor after all of my meetings and before I jet back to Honolulu to have dinner with one of our commissioners and catch my flight. I'll send updates on my adventures.

Have a great week everyone!

This one...

...is a world-class escapee. Momo decided last night that he was done being held captive in the crib. He appeared in his doorway with a quiet, serious "Hi, Mommy" late in the evening. And then it was clear he had perfected his escaping abilities to a level that makes the crib fairly useless. So, baby no longer, this little boy is ready for a big boy bed and some big time training about staying in bed (esp. his bed, since we found him once or twice snuggled in with Jacoby) when it's time for night night.

I'm happy to say that Momo's bedtime shenanigans was the extent of our excitement this week. All has been calm and peaceful on the home front, and we've been very thankful for this.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend of Recovery

The weekend was as quiet as we could make it with two energetic boys. They're definitely showing signs of boredom and squirrel-iness having been out of school for a week and cooped up in the house with sick parents for most of that time. Saturday we did some painting and spent time outside. Sunday we got out the sand table, and despite a chilly morning, had fun playing in the sand with all of the shovels and trucks that have been put away since last summer. In the afternoon, it was "kids' choice" for their activity. Jacoby opted to finish his beloved "Land Before Time" movie with Daddy, and Morgan chose to go to the library with Mommy. I think Justin and I have nearly recovered from the germ fest, and the boys are looking and feeling happy and healthy. We're looking forward to a great week, a lot less commotion, and a fun visit next weekend with Grandmanette and Grandpa Michael.

Messy, messy, messy. I often find out about things that happen when I'm not home via new pictures on the camera. When I asked Morgan, he said this was recycling. (:

Making brownies together. Oddly, I found this allergy-free brownie mix at Target of all places.

One of the benefits of not cooking with eggs...

Jacoby was very intent on licking the bowl clean.

Two boys in the crib. I fear the crib will be seeing its final resting days very soon.

Painting

Hooray for the return of the sand table!

Busy digging away