around here

Around here Anne is nearly crawling. Today she managed to move all the way across the family room floor.

Around here we are going to lots of soccer games. Emma is playing competition soccer this year (meaning they keep score). They've lost most of their games but it has been exciting to see Emma's progress. She is totally loving it. Nathan loves the idea of soccer. He wants to wear his uniform (either this year or last year's) all the time. At the games though he is less excited about actually playing. Dave is still the best coach.

Around here football season is in full swing. sometimes, we do begrudge the time drain that football is but it hasn't stopped us yet. I went to the huge disappointment that was the first home game. Emma went last Saturday.


Around here Slade is sitting down to play the piano all the time. I'm using a learn-at-home DVD from Simply Music as the basic method and supplementing with other stuff. I'm trying to keep it rather low key. He is constantly at the piano not only playing the songs the way he learned them but also improvising. Emma plays too but not nearly as often as Slade. I think it is neat to see them improvising and composing their own songs.

Around here I am so happy its fall. There have been a few days with a chill in the air. Perfect for flying kites on a Monday night (though this evening was a little too chilly). I'm looking forward to jackets, soup, pumpkins, and holidays.


Around here I am struggling. With housework. With my diet and exercise routine. With keeping my patience. With feeling overwhelmed. I really try to keep everything in perspective and choose happiness over grumpiness but I'm not always successful.

Around here we do a lot of things divided by gender. This weekend, Dave took the boys camping for the ward Father and Sons campout. They came home very smelly but full of smiles. Emma, Anne and I did the girly thing and went shopping for jeans and skirts.

Around here Sawyer is almost three. Almost potty trained. Learning at warp speed. Wanting to be involved in everything.

Around here I feel really grateful that we belong to such a great homeschool co-op. We just started Story of the World volume 4 which covers 1850-present. Last week we learned about Florence Nightingale. The kids did a relay race complete with hand washing stations and wounded soldiers to attend.

Around here we are glad to be near BYU for fieldtrips and cultural events. Last week, I took the kids to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures on Thursday. Dave and I went to World of Dance on Friday and then back to the football game on Saturday.

Around here some blog posts are filled with snapshots and a jumble of random thoughts.

special witness

Yesterday and today we were privileged to hear Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at our stake conference. Afterward, I was able to shake his hand on my way down from singing with the choir. I took Anne, Slade and Sawyer while Dave went up with Nathan and Emma. I thought Elder Perry was so kind and thoughtful to all who shook his hand. It must get seriously tiring for him but he remained personable and friendly the whole time. When it was Emma's turn he said, "You have a really big smile. It's very pretty.You should keep it." He told Dave he has a good looking family. He is a special witness after all, so it must be true.

six months

Well, our once sweet, happy baby is rather grumpy and difficult now. She no longer sleeps through the night. In fact, like an alarm clock, she wakes me up between 4 and 4:30 every morning. She continues to be a terrible napper. Today I got three thirty minute naps out of her. Heaven help me! My daily productivity has been reduced by about 80%. I call it "the Anne factor". She is sitting up, eating solid food and is showing her first two teeth. The teething and possibly some allergies too have made her a constant drool and snot fest.


But, man oh man, she sure is one cute little thing! I'll continue to take lots and lots of deep breaths. I'll forgive myself that so many tasks on my to-do list remain incomplete. I'll just keep on snuggling her because soon enough we'll move one from this phase. Thank goodness.

thirty-five

1. His deepest desire is to be a good man.
2. His favorite candy bar is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
   
3. He has been working at Micron/IMFT for almost 11 years and loves his job.
   
4. He served a mission to Chile.
5. He is the oldest of five children.
6. He has been training to run in a Ragnar Relay down in Las Vegas next month.
7. He has lost 15 pounds and looks great.
8. He loves playing World of Warcraft.
9. He is very careful about how much time he spends playing World of Warcraft so that it does not become all consuming.
10. He is always helping with the dishes, diapers, putting away laundry. Without being asked!
11. He likes watching BYU football. He likes to go to the games and must be there from start to finish, no matter what.
    
12. He plays with his kids a lot even when he doesn’t feel like it.
13. His favorite dessert is Cheesecake for a Crowd.
14. He can eat a large lunch and then not be hungry for dinner.
    
15. He would rather save money than have things. This makes it very hard to shop for him.
16. He likes to play board games especially when my mom is in town.
17. He totally supports me in whatever I am doing.
18. He is trying to learn more about computers and networking so that he can help people.
19. He rarely reads books. He does read Popular Science magazine every month. He really likes listening to books on tape when we travel—almost always books in the fantasy genre.
20. Even though he doesn’t like reading, he plowed his way through Jesus the Christ recently.
21. He recollects storylines and details of books and movies very well. Consequently, he doesn’t like to read or see a book or movie twice.
22. He gets totally absorbed when he is watching TV so that you have to almost yell at him to get his attention.
23. He will burst out in random noises and nonsense words.
24. He gets really fired up in political discussions.
25. He is a rather extroverted and loves being around people.
26. He would always like to be the last one at the party but is gracious about leaving when I tell him its time.
27. He wishes I did more tests and worksheets with the kids because he loved doing them in school as a child.
28. He loves to shop for things almost more than he likes actually having the item. He will look at prices and reviews for months.
29. He has curly hair when it gets long enough (and with enough hair product).
30. He would rather be with his family than out with friends or co-workers.
31. He is a fantastic soccer coach. He wears the same blue soccer jersey for each and every game.
32. His favorite color is blue.
33. His wardrobe basically consists of clothes that are blue, beige and gray.
    
34. He gives the boys piggy-back rides down to their bedroom and tells the stories every night.
35. He is seriously the best husband ever. He compliments me all the time, is always willing to help me, and leads our family in such an awesome way.

Happy Birthday, Dave! I'm so in love with you!

the bright side

Even though Nathan told me I was fat today two or three times, I have lost eight pounds. I'm eating better and exercising regularly. I'm still hoping for the momentum to kick in but I am making progress.

Even though it was hot today, I was able to take the kids to the pool. As an added bonus, they all worked together to clean up the house before we went.

Even though Anne is teething and not sleeping, she is so totally adorable.


Even though some days are hard, I still get to enjoy moments like these.

pad pool park

The weather this summer has been on the unusual side. When August should be sweltering, we've had mild temperatures that feel like fall. This should totally make me happy, as I am not a hot weather fan, but it has meant that our pool pass has seen little use. I'm too cheap to be okay with that. Yesterday and today the weather was back up in the 90s so I thought a day at the pool was in order. Today we started out by checking out a new splash pad nearby. The boys thought this was great fun. Emma was not so thrilled by it.

A couple of experiences in the last few weeks have made me aware of the fact that we are no longer a young family. Suddenly I have the "older" kids. I remember being that young mom who took her preschoolers to play at the park. Suddenly, we are more clearly the odd ones with school age kids at the park on a school day. Additionally, the divide between what Emma wants and what the boys want is growing.

Anyhow...the boys enjoyed the splash pad. Dave came and brought Subway for lunch. Then I said the magical P word--pool--and suddenly everyone was happy.

We drove a few minutes south to the pool and stayed for over two hours! Yet again, we stuck out but it didn't phase the kids at all. Emma and Slade went off and played happily together in the deep end. Sawyer flitted here and there to whatever struck his fancy at the time. Nathan stayed in his little corner diving for toys and doing flips. Anne swam for a little while and then eventually succumbed to sleep in her stroller.

Emma said, "Mom, you're amazing for taking us to two water places." Such sweet moments make it all worth it.

To gain even more cool parent points, we went to Anderson Park in Pleasant Grove for a campfire. We originally thought about going up the canyon but didn't want to spend the entrance fee or fight to find a picnic spot. Anderson Park was a perfect little compromise between city and canyon. We also invited Grandma and Grandpa Daniel to come join us which was fun. While the boys were completely fascinated by the fire, we discovered we are not much of a marshmallow roasting family. I think we'll have to learn how to do Dutch oven cooking instead.


What a great day!

in the zone

My kids don't do chores. Shocked? Well, let me clarify. Instead of chores, we do family work in daily zones. Everybody works together to complete the required tasks in each area. Then later, in the day (or a few days later :P), I do more deep cleaning.

Monday--main level

Tuesday--bathrooms

Wednesday--basement

Thursday--bedrooms

Friday--miscellaneous (laundry room, backyard, etc.)

Saturday--fifteen minute blitz


I'm a big believer in routines. With this routine, the house stays generally clean and the kids are learning to work with each other. After all, things always feel easier when you work together.

Just thought I'd share what works for me.

august catch-up

Emma finished the swim season at the Gold County Meet. She improved a lot and came to really enjoy it. Now she has a big stack of ribbons and at the awards ceremony, she was given a coach's favorite award.

50 yard freestyle
start of the season: 46.32/end of the season: 42.43
25 yard backstroke
start of the season: 26.42/end of the season: 23.38
25 yard breaststroke
start of the season: 26.89/end of the season 24.34

Anne is eating cereal. Still not napping. Crying a lot. Wanting to be held all the time. Still super-duper cute.


I've been exercising 4-5 times a week. Eating.....better. Down 6 pounds. I am thrilled to be moving in the right direction but still feel daunted by the long road ahead.

We have continued to meet with our history and science co-op through the summer. Last week, we talked about the Trail of Tears. Sad, sad stuff. We ended on a lighter note with face paint.

Yep, even me.


We discovered a new park in our little city. We spent a perfect evening playing on the playground, kicking soccer balls, rolling down the hills, swinging and enjoying the fabulous view and sunset.

This picture just makes my heart happy!

Emma has some weird cyst on her eye.

I photographed my first wedding! I totally loved it. I know I made some mistakes out of inexperience but I think on the whole everything turned out well. I hope I get to do it again. And again. I'll be posting pictures here soon if interested.

We went to the open house at IMFT (Dave's work). We entertained ourselves for almost four hours with carnival games, an inside tour with lots of educational stops, lunch and a climb inside a fire truck. We are so blessed that Dave has such a wonderful job.

We started school yesterday. Emma thought that was unfair since the rest of the neighborhood goes back on Thursday. What can I say? I'm just a mean mom. Of course, I have big plans for the school year. New curriculum to try out. Favorite curriculum to continue. Lots of art/craft/cooking/fieldtrip ideas to complete. This is our sixth year. Suddenly, we are the veteran homeschoolers. When did that happen?

It feels great to be getting back to our regularly scheduled program.

ode to the annual pass

We love Thanksgiving Point and use our annual pass all the time including twice in the last four days. Last Friday, the older three kids were invited to Seven Peaks with their aunts so I took Sawyer and Anne to the Dinosaur Museum. Sawyer wasn't all the interested on this excursion. He had just come recently with Dave and it was crowded since it was Pioneer Day. We just walked through at his pace which was rather quick. Because we have a pass, it didn't matter how long we stayed. We went over to the Ice Cream Shop for a cone afterward and then walked around the gardens in that area.



Tonight, for Family Home Evening, Dave suggested that we go to the main gardens for our activity. He had never been there. We arrived after the Monday night activities (though luckily still in time for the popsicles). We just walked down to the first open grassy area and then played.

Tag

Mother May I

Red Light Green Light


Hold hands and run so Mom can take a picture (I love that game)


Just thirty minutes of fun before we had to hike back up the hill (and roll down a few times too). We paused to take a pretty picture, eat a few TicTacs and pile in the stroller.

To end the evening we got kid cones at the Ice Cream Shop. Cost: one dollar. Oh yes, we love Thanksgiving Point!