Feels like Heaven

Pulling into my Grandparents' house in Idaho is what I imagine arriving in Heaven will feel like. There is so much peace and love in that little corner of Idaho. My Grandparents have both passed away, but my Aunt Kristine and Uncle Dave have done the most amazing job making it feel just like the place I visited every summer of my childhood.

Some things that are constants in Idaho:

The hot tub
Unfortunately, one night we were out there with Kyle and Kathleen when we noticed the water level was freakishly low. There was a break in one of the pipes, so our claim to fame is that we broke the hot tub.

Paper dolls
Kyle worked and worked on a doll house for them, including a shingled roof over the bay window, which Luke destroyed. So there's no pictures.

The Trampoline
The tramp we grew up with is long gone, so we were begging my mom to get a new one. My parents refused, but my Aunt and Uncle had a surprise for all of us.

Amazing fireworksWe do fireworks almost every night, including tank wars.

Lots of old family friends
Ellie got to take tennis lessons from the State Tennis Champ (and someone I've known since she was a baby), Meg Matsura. Cutest ball boy ever:

Cousins
Zach, Matt, Allie, Livy, Sara. . .we love you!

Painting rocks
As always Kathleen comemerated the summer with a Nate rock. Last time it was Cheesey Worms, this summer was Nate's bum crack. Nate was a little over tired so he didn't think it was as funny as the rest of us. This will hopefully explain why there are no pictures.

Family pictures
Zebra and hot pink -- we weren't going for classic -- but AHHH! Those kids are so cute.
Lots of good food
Every morning Dave would make a feast for breakfast and the most amazing dinners. Square steak (family tradition), Thanksgiving dinner, burgers. . . and Luke's favorite: ribs. f you've ever done a large family vacation, you know how nice it is to have some one who WANTS to cook dinner every night.

Baking
Sadie and Kyle eating some of the 240 cookies I made (on top of all the other sweets: s'mores, brownies, gooey butter cake, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, rice krispie treats, root beer floats. . . ) My Grandma always had the cookie jar stocked and I didn't want to disappoint. Next time I'll have to squeeze in cinnamon rolls and Bonnie Butter cake.

Mudding
Sadie was not a fan. She preferred driving the 4 wheeler.
Food from the garden
Sadie was in heaven! Radishes, onions, lettuce, carrots. . . Nate loved salad straight from the garden for dinner.

Plus all the extra stuff: Taco Wagon, El Mirador, croquet, the park, sidewalk chalk, sleep overs at my parents cabin across the street (thanks for having all the big kids at your house), walks to the cemetery, runs by the lake. . . Does this not sound like heaven?

And this year we added some extra fun activities: Yellowstone and White Water Rafting (which will get their own blogs)

I'm so grateful to Dave and Kristine for all the effort they went to to make this trip magical and for hosting us all. And I feel so lucky that everyone in my family makes it a priority to get together every year and make these fun family memories. We love you guys (and can't wait for the beach next year)!

Back to School

Quick break in the vacation blogs (which I now have pictures for) to put up some pictures from the beginning of the school year.This year we started on Monday, July 26th. When I was a child, I probably would have died if you had told me that I only got 7 weeks of summer, but it really seems to work out here in Arizona. The kids gets lots of playing, we travel and then right before boredom and being sick of each other sets in, the kids go back while we all still like each other.

Nate started Kindergarten and he was incredibly aloof about the whole thing. He didn't talk about it or act scared or excited. At Meet the Teacher he sort of nodded at her and walked aimlessly around the room. He would ask Ellie things like, "What if I can't find the bathroom?" And he did mention he was scared everyone would forget his name, but he knew he had 2 friends already in his class, so that eased a lot of fears.

The actual first day was a different story. You could tell he was really nervous in the pictures. As my sister puts it -- he's not actually smiling, just showing his teeth. Example:
On the way to school
When we got to school he was very quiet and I left him with Dustin so I could go take Ellie over to her line.

Ellie was having fun as she saw all her old friends, like her BFF Lindsay,until I told her I needed to go back to Nate. That's when the water works began. I felt so bad leaving her, especially since she didn't really know anyone in her class, but (her other BFF) Hailey's mom let her come stand in line with them until school started.
When I got back Nate was grinning and running around playing. I guess he fell and hurt himself and came to Dustin crying, but then he saw Jackson and everything got better. He was much more confident and helped him figure out where to put his back pack and then they took off playing. They had all the parents leave the Kindergarten area a few minutes before they went in, hoping for less waterworks and it worked for us. Nate just walked right in without a tear. I even managed not to cry knowing he was so happy. It probably helped that instead of coming home we had a jam packed day (grocery store, Back to School Brunch with friends, lunch/naps, the gym).

The second day went much better, even though poor Ellie had homework starting the first day. Nate s doing great not crying or whining about going to school, but he did have to pull a stick on the third day (for touching someone in line) AND the fourth day (for not paying attention). Friday was a better day and hopefully everything will go smoothly next week.

We're going on a road trip and I'm bringing Advil

OK, I'm only semi-kidding -- the hours upon hours in the car weren't *that* bad.

Friday, June 25th we set off on our pilgramage to Zion (ie our vacation in Idaho and Utah). A week before we left I jokingly asked my kids if they would rather go to Disneyland. You should have seen the horror on their faces.

The first trip to Utah:

Friday we drove 8 loooooong hours to Brian Head, Utah. The first 3 hours were probably the roughest. Nate sat in the back crying because he was going to miss all of his friends, Sadie wanted to play with every little item in her back pack and Luke decided at about 40 minutes out of Flastaff that he didn't like sitting that long and he was not entertained by any of the books or food I brought him. I even tried to entertain him with a lollipop which he threw at me. Fun times! Oh and I refused to let the kids drink because I was worried they were going to have to use the bathroom before we were ready to stop and they all moaned about being thirsty.

I am happy to say that once every one grasped the reality that we were going to be in the car for a loooong time that things went better. And it's very helpful that I'm bendy.

Now you might be wondering why we stay in Brian Head. It adds about 30 minutes to the drive, but it is a gorgeous drive, gets you farther into Utah, and you can get really cheap resort rooms in the summer since it's a fantastic ski destination.

Brian Head was gorgeous -- we saw snow, we saw deer, we got room service TWICE and the kids said, "Thank you for taking us on this very fun vacation." Oh just you wait children!

Saturday we woke up and made a short drive to Cedar Hills to stay with some of very favorite friends: The Hortins. Tasha lived in Arizona until about 2 years ago and our kids line up perfectly (although chunker Nathan is 2 months younger than Luke, but quite a bit heavier). It was so nice to relax and just hang out with them. It was especially nice not to dig out our swimsuits as all their kids had some we could borrow.

Ellie and Ashley ran off and did whatever 8 year old girls do now that they are so very grown up. It involves lots of whispering, giggling and occasionally shrieking that the little girls won't leave them alone. Nate and Tanner had the Wii and Legosand Sadie and Macy dressed up, played Polly Pockets and generally were adorable.
That night we managed to get the kids into bed around 8 (not even kidding although I can't tell what time they actually fell asleep) so we could have dessert from Blue Lemon, watch a movie and then enjoy the surprise fireworks (obviously the City of Cedar Hills knew we were in town).

Sunday was sad because we had to head out mid-morning (next time we're staying longer, so be prepared Tasha) but luckily the boys woke up at 6 am so everyone could still squeeze in some play time.

Next up: Idaho part 1 (as soon as my sister finds her camera cord since she has all the pictures on her camera)

Sneak peek of why I am relying on my sister's picture

Just the Girls

My fabulous and talented girlfriend, Michelle, came over to help me (and by help, I mean pretty much do all the work) sew some summer dresses for the girls. She seriously whipped these out in no time. I'm sure my amazing ironing skills and elastic-threading were *such* a time saver. They turned out so cute and I am so in love with them. Thank you SO MUCH Michelle.

I took the girls out to the backyard and told them to pose.



Ahh, just shows my two girls funny little personalities. Of course both of them have since had hair cuts. I'll have to get some pictures of those too.

The next day was Ellie's book club. Guess what she wore?? We invited some of the girls whose moms are in my book club to come over for cookies, lemonade and a fun discussion. They all read Betsy-Tacy (which I cannot recommend highly enough, it is really sweet and charming) and actually had a discussion for about 30 minutes before they broke for snacks. Oh my gosh, they were SO CUTE! And SO SWEET! I loved it. After they were done eating, they made paper dolls (it goes along with one of the stories in the book). And then we went and chopped off Ellie's ridiculously long and stringy hair. HOORAY!

ONE-derful!

Earlier this month Luke turned ONE! I still can't believe he's one. This year flew by. The first few weeks when he was struggling to eat and put on weight I thought we'd never get here. Well now it's here and I'm not sure I'm ready for him to grow up.

We celebrated the day by swimming at my friend Jacque's where Luke decided that he did not like her cool deck and started standing up by himself. Of course he only did it at the pool or anytime Dustin was not around.

We went out to eat at The Market Street Grill where Luke refused to eat what we ordered him.Sniff sniff, no more bottles. The transition to real milk and sippy cups was pretty easy seeing as he hates eating to begin with.

Then we were off to our Ward Party where he found the dum-dum treat basket and decided that those were better tasting than the cotton candy and popcorn.
Finally we made it back home for some Sprinkles cupcakes. Luke obviously did not know that these were one of Oprah's favorite things because he was not going to have anything to do with them. That's pumpkin with cream cheese frosting in case you need something to crave this morning.

We just knew he'd love them if he took a taste so we resorted to stuffing it in his mouth. We're not proud of this moment, but it looks like it worked!
The next morning we let Luke play with his fun new birthday present from my parents -- a water table. He is very serious about it. The big kids seemed to be equally entertained.

Monday we went in for his well check. He's 30.5 inches (75th percentile) and 20 pounds 7 ounces, which puts him back in the 10th-25th percentile. Little pip squeak. I really do try and feed him, but he's very head strong. I blame Dustin. His favorite foods are apples (hence the Chunk from Goonies look above), cheese puffs, macaroni and cheese and veggie straws. Somehow my pediatrician has assured me that this is OK as long as he's getting a little bit of the healthy stuff he'll eat (yogurt, baby food, apple sauce, oatmeal, milk and bananas). That's seriously about all he eats. Maybe some cereal or goldfish if he's desperate.

His favorite word is Dada. He says Mama when he's sad or can't find me. Every once in awhile you can get him to say Hi to other people or he'll yell Ellie which is really cute.

He's transitioning down to one long nap, which I'm learning to love because he'll sleep in a lot longer in the mornings now. He used to be up at 6:30 every morning, but now it's more like 8.

He has 5 teeth. I have no idea when that fifth one came in, I just noticed it one day.

And he's JUST starting to walk. He took his first steps last Wednesday and just started getting really brave this weekend. He has a few bumps and bruises and a nice gash on his head to prove it.

Saturday night we were at our friend's house and Luke was out on the putting green with the dads and kids. I was suppose to be helping Dianelle get some food ready, but I was just in awe watching Luke as he took a nice big bunch of steps. Dianelle asked me if it was as exciting with the last as it was the first and I have to say -- I think it's MORE exciting if that's possible.

With Ellie I was waiting for the next milestone and expecting walking to come, but with Luke I've been so happy to let him be a baby that it surprised me. Plus the other kids get *SO* excited that it's fun to watch their reactions. I think having them to share the amazement with makes it so much better. We seriously can sit around for an hour and just clap and cheer as Luke takes a few steps.

Luke was definitely a surprise for our family but I am so in love with him and can't imagine not having him. We are so lucky Heavenly Father had a plan and didn't follow ours!!

School's Out for SUMMER!

WOO HOO! I know in 7 weeks I'm going to be sooooo ready for the kids (ahh, kids -- I can't believe Nate will be a kindergartener next month) to go back, but I am loving summer so far. . . even with the heat!

Wednesday Sadie started swim lessons along with one of her cute little girl friends, Ashlyn.

Then I ran up to school to take some pictures of Ellie on her last day of 2nd grade. Ellie is in a different class than most of her friends next year, so it was a sad day. She's been lucky to have so many cute girls, I know next year she'll be just as lucky. Her 2nd grade teacher is moving to Colorado to teach and her amazing 1st grade teacher is retiring.I probably shouldn't have pointed out that her Kindergarten teacher isn't there anymore either. I think she had one of those, "Everything is Changing" break downs. I was going to take the kids out to celebrate, but we ended up having the YM over so instead I ran to the grocery store and spent way too much time making THESE (ok, they are time consuming but so yummy , let me know if you want to make them and I'll share some tips).

It didn't matter anyway because Ellie ended up swimming and spending the night at Hayley's (the little cutie in the picture above). Thursday the little kids all slept in until almost 8 and then we had some friends over in the morning, went to Sadie's swimming lessonsand then swimming with the Haymonds for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday we went swimming with a bunch of friends at my girl friend Jacque's (yes, there IS a theme here), and then celebrated Luke's birthday. I'll have to do a whole separate post on Luke's birthday. You only turn ONE once! I can't believe I'll never have another baby :(

Saturday we decided to be lazy. I think it was our first free Saturday in months and we had fun just running to Costco and Sprouts. Sadie ended up going swimming with her new BFF, Kaylee, and then Dustin and I finally managed to see Iron Man 2.

So these pictures are from last Saturday, when we were crazy busy, but I wanted to make sure Nate's mug appeared somewhere on here. The kids had a Princess and Pirate birthday party to attend. Plus they make me laugh. How could we be bored with those two crazies? If you're wondering what is in Nate's hands -- they are hair curlers that Nate has made into swords.

Today we've already gone to the Pediatrican for Luke's well check, done swimming lessons for Sadie and Ellie has a friend over for the day.

Plus we've already got two play dates, Ellie's book club and a swimming day planned for the week. Hopefully we'll have the perfect balance of lazy summer days with enough entertainment to escape too much TV and "we've spent way too much time together" fighting.