It's The End of the Year as We Know It!

So...umm...April...May...?
Ok, it's July now, but frankly it actually FEELS like October outside, so who's really counting!?

April/May was INCREDIBLY busy (and fun) with parties, guests, school, snow, stray dogs, Awana, more snow, music class, piano lessons, get-togethers, field days, overdue library books, subject finishing, test making, soccer ending, tornado watches and warnings, picnics... and... well...whatnot! What was the high school go-to word? Vaclempt? Yes. May=Vaclempt.


Making a Lewis and Clark Venison (beef) stew.
We actually had such beautiful weather that we were able to sit out by the fire that night!
Oh... and to top it off, we finished with Missouri River Sand Bars!
Mmmm...good work explorers!

Happy Birthday 7 year old!

Celebrating Seven!

End of the soccer season for the 1st and 2nd grade Purple Pirates. This setting, (and those of the other soccer lads pics) is at the end of May, by the way... :-) End of soccer season for the Pre-K and K Green Lizards. End of soccer season for the 3rd and 4th grade Cowboys. Homeschool field day- Softball throw. Homeschool field day-potato sack races. Homeschool field day- three legged race. :-)

Fun at Rocky Mountain National Park.

World History completed!!! EB's favorite part? "All the wars! Especially WWI and WWII!" One VERY happy 7 year old now (finally!) can enjoy Night at The Museum with his older brother, who completed part 1 of American History this year. Isaac's favorite part of American History this year? The American Revolution. Final science test Science notebooking covers completed. Love, Love, Love the Apologia Science program! Can't wait to start Land Animals of the Sixth Day this fall! Finishing the Ocean Box. Boys LOVED doing this (even though we only had white clay). There is a manatee and a dolphin coming through the waves at the top of the box. And if you look really closely, you can make out the jellyfish tentacles (blue yarn) in the back. The continental shelf/slope is covered with various kinds of corals, etc. An octopus is hiding on the ocean floor and squid are propelling themselves through the water. There are many more creatures in the box today, but I don't have a recent picture.

So, super busy season, but so worth it! And now, we have a 2nd grader, a 4th grader and a pre-kindergarten(er)!

I've told them to stop growing, but they just won't do it!

Like Warm Chocolate...

He's melting my heart...

"Mommy, I love you.
You're my favorite Mommy.
You're such a sweet girl."

"I love you, too, sweet Double C...
Goodnight."

The Case For Summer

Now that AWANA, Homeschool Music Class, and most of the other special spring events are over for the season, I am starting to feel like I can breathe a little bit.

Breathe.

Breathe.

And, of course, now that I can breathe, now that soccer practices and games were canceled all week (i.e. snow on the fields; rain lakes on the fields), now that school is winding down-ish... and now that the kids are all trundled up in their beds, I can montage away.

The Case for Summer...

April 9
The boys built a very cool treehouse in our very cool tree that is being bored by insects and is dying before our very eyes.

April 9
And what could be more fitting than a very cool day. :)

April 11

This is what one warm day will do to a person!

April 11

See above caption...

April 12
And now he's learned how to open the parsley. But let's not forget to mention the dried mustard, too.

April 14
Double C's first, well... gluing. Due to rollerblading into a wheelbarrow handle. And, ummm...that would be speed-skate roller-blading in the garage with his two older brothers...because it's too cold to rollerblade outside.

I'm pretty sure we'll see more gluings and stitchings in the next few years.

April 15
Yes, he knows very well that he is not supposed to be out of bed...And no matter how cute it is that he brought his Christmas bear from the Tree Frog, his beloved sea-lion from SLC, and two of his oldest brother's puppy collection, all in one big, bear-hugged trip, he's heading back up...well, after another kiss! We think he's been having trouble sleeping because he's been too cold. Now that we've added 4 more layers of fleece (I'm not kidding), he seems to be sleeping longer and better.

April 24
Have you ever seen Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen? You know the part where the guy folds himself up into a little cart... oh, and also a duffle bag...and...?

April 20
Little Man and Oquirrh have a special bond. One plays with the food and dumps it out and the other is hugely grateful for the extra morsels. There's a reason that Oquirrh likes to pitch her tent right by Z's high chair.

April 26
Oops...Basketballs break glass.
And, now we know. When it's warmer, we'll play outside, huh?!

April 27
This two year old just can't keep his (very smooth, now) hands off the Mary Kay lotion samples.

April 27
I am not sure how many times I have washed these jeans now, but he was wearing them today, and I was still getting a whiff of Warm Amber when he'd pass by.

May 6
Did you know that a bouncing basketball will create enough vibrations to knock a vase and a mule deer antler off of a shelf? Not to put too fine a point on it, but as soon as the wind isn't so bitter, maybe bouncing the ball outside would be better.
:)

And the Bold Conclusion...

...Sending the boys outside, ASAP, Sprinter or not.

P.S. I'll watch them from inside the warm house, with a hot cup of coffee in my hands.

:)


P.P.S. (I did feel a beam of sunshine yesterday, by the way, but today it got lost in the heavenly deluge and tornado warning).

The Blonde Celebrity

As long as I'm going out of order in all of my blog posts, take a look at the cute little something we picked up on the way home from AWANA last week.

May 5

All of the boys just fell in love with Arthur, who just happens to be getting a little old and forgetful and sometimes loses his way when he gets out. We found him wandering along the road, obviously very tired and thirsty. I swung around to see if I could check his collar and ...ha, ha... found that when I opened the door, he just jumped right into our car and sat in the empty carseat like that was where he belonged! No hesitation, whatsoever. It was like he was saying, "I've been waiting for you all this time...but I'm sure glad you're here, now." Yeah, we definitely got a kick out of him! :)

Happy ending, of course... The boys had lots of fun taking care of their new-found friend- getting him water and a chew and a ball and making him a bed, while we waited for him to be reunited with his lost person.

What an fun dog. He just came over and sat right on Scott. He sort of reminded us of Wasatch, our gopher-hunting dog. I guess all labs and their mixes must consider themselves lap dogs, no matter how big they get!

What a fun ending to the day... Well, except for Oquirrh. She was just a touch jealous of all the attention Arthur, the celebrity, was garnering! :)

Like a Moth to a Flame...

Have I ever mentioned this child's love of water?

This is what happens when you turn your back for one second (literally) to trim another spot on an older son's hair.

Who needs words when you're a man of action!

That's right. Mr. Water-bug, himself, hopped right over the edge of the tub and then acted like it was no big deal to start playing away fully clothed. The boys thought this was ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!!! And when they saw and felt the massive size and weight of his waterlogged diaper afterward, they just couldn't laugh hard enough!!!

Awana Awards Night

A.W.A.N.A.

[God's laws] are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. Psalm 19:10

What a fun night for the boys! New treasures and rewards for some hard work!

Big Bro' received his very cool T'n'T first book award patch.

Tree Frog got his Sparks 1st and 2nd book award and some gold (chocolate) coins for his Truthscripts verses- Psalm 1, 23 and 72.

Double C got his first book Cubby Bear award to put on his vest and a very fun Cubbies cup and pen!

And, the Little Man gets the much loved award of going to bed pretty easily tonight and staying in bed once he was there! He also gets the big applause for using the words Mama, Dada, and moke (milk) pretty regularly now!

..............................................

AWANA is such a wonderful program! If you have a chance to learn more about it, work with it or have your kids attend it... do it! You will be truly blessed. What a great way to hide God's living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword words in your heart!

The Best Things You Can Give Children Next To Good Habits Are Good Memories

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I just wanted you to know how much I love you! I don't have all of my ducks in a row or chickens in the pot to be able to show you in tangible ways, nor the organizational skills/time to really show you how I've been blessed by you again and again, so the least I can do is tell you. :)

Thankyou for all the time you spent praying and doing and being for us. Of course there is no way for a child to understand how much a parent gives of him/herself every day. And no matter how much a child might try to understand, the limits of experience hold them back. Sounds like a picture of God and his children, huh? Thankful, but not completely understanding the depth of love for his creation.

Now that I am a mother as well, facing the joy, the worries, the excitement, the pride, the anger and frustration, the forgiveness and love, I understand more of what goes into a nurturing character and a nurturing character. And I'm thankful for the example that you've given. None of us could possibly achieve a perfection in this, but, Mom, I love knowing and feeling a deep respect and joy coming from you simply because of my being. What a special feeling that I want my boys to have...to know that they are loved just for who they are, whether there are flaws in their character or places where they don't measure up to a pre-set standard. Whether they make a place in history or make a difference in a couple of people's day to day life.

Mom, you are special and I know that you've made all of our lives special, too. I am grateful for the things you shielded me from, pushed me toward, supported me through, praised me for and taught me with.

Thanks for letting me get grass stains and play in the gutters, climb trees and lose coats and shoes. Thanks for bringing my trumpet when I'd leave it on the city bus. Thanks for having a party when I invited guests (what was I, four?). Thanks for making ruffly doll dresses with matching doll blankets and doll underwear. Thanks for flower door-knobs and library book stacks and wonderful birthday parties. Thanks for taking pictures and letting me use the hot glue gun when I was five. Thanks for the popsicle sticks and the use of your sewing machine to make mattresses, bed spreads, and bunk beds for my little tiny dolls. Thanks for taking me to gymnastics and tap dance and piano lessons and soccer and swimming and pioneer girls and Awana and camps and volleyball and basketball and track and drama practices and choir concerts and bells concerts and band concerts and Ensemble concerts and youthgroup and youth group events. Thanks for typing some of my papers and staying up really late in 1986 to finish a project that I had not understood. Thanks for calling my teacher to straighten out a mix-up I'd had with magazine sales that I was supposed to be in charge of, also, 1986-not a great year! :) Thanks for encouraging me through my college hunt, my Major hunt, and all of my relationship ups and downs.

Thanks, mom for encouraging me to be who I am.

Thank you for taking time for me.

Most of all, thank you for praying for me.

Thank you for allowing me to be an individual... a shoe-losing, key-losing, kid-loving, Jesus-loving, extremely organized in a few things, extremely disorganized in a few others. An individual who sometimes is outgoing and sometimes not, who is sometimes competitive and sometimes could not care less. An individual who loves things clean and organized but just can't keep them that way, due to the fact that I am probably working on about 5 other projects at the same time (Oooh... look at the shiny, sparkly item in the distance...). Yes, thank you for the graciousness of growing an individual and raising an individual and loving that individual through all the weather of these 35 years.

I love you, Mom!

"...for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galations 6:7,9




(As a slight disclaimer, I had to take the quote marks and the commas out of the title, even though it bothered me greatly to do so, or it wouldn't publish. It's the little idiosyncracies that make us all special, isn't it! :) )

This Pressed Down and Shaken Together Post is For Jeanne, But the Rest of You Can Sure Read it, Too! :)

So one day, not so very long ago, I was having a rough day... mess, screaming two year old, more mess, starving, wild, feral children, no words, but only screaming two year old, more mess, no shower in sight, yet, etc. Anyway, as I was relating my day/past "few" days to my loving sister, she gave me a big ole phone hug, and then laughed heartily and said, "I'm so sorry it's been rough...ha...ha...ha!...make sure you are taking pictures...because I want to see it...ha..ha...ha...!" and, "You're livin' the dream, man...livin' the dream...ha...ha...ha...!"

And of course, that is true.

Exhibit 1.

Here is a picture of a wonderful race track (thanks, Uncle Carter) with thousands, maybe millions, or more, of little, hook-them-together-at-the-sharp-protruding-corners-pieces. The boys absolutely love to play with, take apart, and then leave these hidden in full view, in the middle of the room, for some unwary adult to step on at night, in the dark. Here, as you can see, the boys have rigged up a very cool race track down the stairs... Using toilet paper as an anchor and dirty laundry pulled from the laundry basket, as the supporting structures.

"Please, Please, Please, can we keep it here to show daddy when he comes home?"

Lesson 1: Don't have the kids wear any clothes. Then there won't be any dirty ones for supports.

Exhibit 2.

I always get so excited when I come down to this little set-up by our entry way. With four boys of varying ages, we probably have eight different sizes of coats, shoes, boots, flip flops, snow pants, gloves and hats...because someone is always growing out of one and into another...

Lesson learned: Move to Arizona.

Exhibit 3.

Well, lucky for you I don't have a picture of Exhibit 3. Suffice it to say that pictures of vomitty sheets and jammies (plural) would just be too gross. Also, when a two year old child comes down in the morning before his parents are awake and opens a tupperware of leftover baked beans that were in the refrigerator and dumps them all over the kitchen floor (I know it was him...his baked bean smelling hands gave him away)...the thought crosses your mind..."Should I take a picture?" But no, baked beans on the floor also looks a bit vomitous, so we'll just leave that to your imagination, too.

Lesson learned: Put a padlock on the refrigerator and also the two year old's door.

Exhibit 4.

Technically, I could have listed Exhibit 3 as Exhibit 3 and Exhibit 4, which would technically put this at Exhibit 5- But, since I lumped all things gross and disgusting that make their way to the floor, I will allow that this is still Exhibit 4. Here, though is another picture you really don't want... several hours after the baked bean incident, my eldest son sought me out with an urgent request/tattle. "Zane put a toothbrush in the toilet, Mommy" What he failed to tell me was that not only was there a toothbrush in the toilet, the toilet had not been flushed...many times...thanks older boys! So, Super Mommy (Daddy was at work, or I'm sure he would have done it!) donned a chemotherapy blue glove (thanks, Jeanne...who knew it would come in so handy!) and reached down into the bottom of the yellow pool-yes, bottom- and grabbed that Cars Character toothbrush right out (and put it right back into the boys toothbrush drawer- ok, just kidding!).

Lesson learned: Focus more on toilet flushing, don't worry about aim.

Not exhibit 3, 4 or 5, but certainly worth re-visiting...

Exhibit 5.

I'm sure this speaks for itself...

Lesson learned: Buy a trampoline before the crib breaks.

Yes, this is normal.

Yes, Colby is coloring Mater while in his jammies, up on the table. Perfectly logical reasoning behind this, folks: markers need to be on the table for the other boys, dogs eat markers that are on the floor and goodness, it's just so fun to be up on the table coloring.

The other day, Isaac was frustrated that his spelling/handwriting was "so hard to do." I, of course replied with the extremely wise, "I don't think it's hard to do, I think it just takes a long time." He then agreed with my non-flawed thinking but continued to be grumpy about the length of time it was taking. To which I asked, "Why IS it taking you so long?" His response: "Well, I did look at the map for about a half hour." Case closed!

Lesson learned: Stick to geography and allow climbing on the table "for artwork" and there will never be any complaints, right!?

P.S. on this one... Isaac and Ian (especially Ian, right now) absolutely LOVE Foxtrot (the comic books). I find them all over the house. Especially in front of the warm vents where the boys like to sit and read! Anyway, although living a comic book life can be slightly irritating at times, at least the boys have a new respect for math, thanks to math genius character, Jason.

Exhibit 6.

Markers. Mmm. Cute. This picture actually occurred in Florida and was at least somewhat accidental. However, several weeks ago, I came downstairs to the boys, who were supposed to be working on their school stuff, all being super quiet... so of course, I knew something was up... Isaac was drawing designs/war paint all over their faces (not sure WHY I didn't take a picture, kind of wish I would have). His biggest disappointment? That I came down before he'd gotten his war paint on. He was sure I would be delighted... "Isn't this great, Mommy?! Look how I gave everyone their favorite colors and everything!"I must have been thinking...seriously, blue and green marker all over Zane...right before his speech evaluation with social workers...great! Kara, if you happen to read this, I'm sure you can relate, huh...! :)

Lesson learned: "Just smile and wave boys... smile and wave!"

Exhibit 7.

Ok, this peanut butter picture is a little old...

And so is the popsicle picture...

But the pasta is not...
Lesson learned: Bread and water only until they are 16.

Exhibit 8.

And here's the crazed beefalo dog in motion. Yes, Riley. I think you will love Oquirrh just as much as you loved Wasatch. Unless you leave some of your toys out...maybe even some of the aforementioned cool tracks... or if you drop a toothbrush on the floor... or maybe even if you're not watching the marshmallow you have on the edge of the table next to you (yes, she's stealthy).

Lesson learned: Eat your marshmallows in the kitchen, standing up, where no children can see you. If you heat marshmallows and chocolate chips in the microwave and then stir them together, they taste almost like fudge and I've never met a dog yet, who can use a spoon to eat marshmallow fudge.

So, there you are... these are our days... and we have been truly, truly blessed...

God has given us so much, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over has been poured out into our lap...we ARE living the dream...and it's a good one (except for the throw-up sheets, maybe). No, it's a great one! (ummm...slight paraphrase of Luke 6:38)

And I wouldn't trade it for the world (except the sheets, maybe).

Just smile and wave, boys! Smile and Wave!

He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs... Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD. Psalm 107:35,43