Sunday, July 25, 2010
Summer Week 8
This will be a really short post as there is nothing exciting to report. The first half of the week, we cleaned house & worked on homeschool. The second part, we went school shopping (yay for getting it done early!), and started packing for our vacation to California next week. We are really excited to see my side of the family & we have a lot of fun things planned like hanging out with Papa John, Uncle Larry & Aunt Sally on Wednesday. Then a BBQ with all of my aunts & uncles, my sister & her family on Thursday. On Friday, we are going to Water World with Jen & her kids. Then on Saturday, to Santa Cruz to play on the beach with Jen, her husband John, & their kids. I'm sure I'll have a ton of pictures when I get back!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Scout Camp
Jonathan has spent the summer working as a camp staff member at Maple Dell Scout Camp. He is a life guard & a merit badge teacher in the Aquatics center. He also has the responsibility of being a troop friend to a troop camping up there each week. It is a hard job. The leaders expect a lot out of their counselors, & Jonathan has proven himself to be among the best, most respected staff up up there. We are pleased with his work ethic, his integrity, & how he gives 100% to his job.
Of course, he is still a teenager, & working with teenagers, they are bound to do things that if their mother's were up there, would never happen. One being sleeping in Canoes on the lake all night. Another being rubbing cooking oil all over their bodies to get a quick tan. And I am sure that there are many more stories I will not hear about until he is home from is mission!
Here are a few pictures of his "home" up at maple dell that we took last week when we dropped him off:
Driving up the canyon
Of course, he is still a teenager, & working with teenagers, they are bound to do things that if their mother's were up there, would never happen. One being sleeping in Canoes on the lake all night. Another being rubbing cooking oil all over their bodies to get a quick tan. And I am sure that there are many more stories I will not hear about until he is home from is mission!
Here are a few pictures of his "home" up at maple dell that we took last week when we dropped him off:
Driving up the canyon
Monday, July 12, 2010
Summer Week 6
July 5th- 11th
Jonathan was off last week, & Stephen started his vacation time on Wednesday. We decided to make last week a "vacation week." Meaning, we did not do any home school & only a minimal amount of chores around the house. Instead, we decided to do fun things & enjoy spending time together. Here is what we did:
TOY STORY TUESDAY- We went & saw Toy Story 3. Cute movie & fun to watch in 3D. We were going to go swimming at Salem Pond but it was contaminated, so Jonathan went & hiked the Y with Young Men's instead.
WEDNESDAY- We intended to go play miniture golf, but Stephen & Jonathan started playing a playstation game, I read a book, & the girls played barbies... before we knew it, it was dinnertime! Sometimes a day to relax is better than anything else!
THURSDAY- Kaitlyn went to the Manti Temple with Young Women's. Emily went to a birthday party. Stephen & I packed & prepared to go to Rexburg.
FRIDAY- We went up to Rexburg, ID to spend the weekend with family & had a very nice time! We visited Stephen's brother, cousin, & their families. The kids were content to hang out in the backyard & swim. The kids also enjoyed visiting a neighboring farm While the adults sat in the house relaxing, talking, & enjoying each others company. Here are a few picture, the rest are on facebook:
Jonathan was off last week, & Stephen started his vacation time on Wednesday. We decided to make last week a "vacation week." Meaning, we did not do any home school & only a minimal amount of chores around the house. Instead, we decided to do fun things & enjoy spending time together. Here is what we did:
TOY STORY TUESDAY- We went & saw Toy Story 3. Cute movie & fun to watch in 3D. We were going to go swimming at Salem Pond but it was contaminated, so Jonathan went & hiked the Y with Young Men's instead.
WEDNESDAY- We intended to go play miniture golf, but Stephen & Jonathan started playing a playstation game, I read a book, & the girls played barbies... before we knew it, it was dinnertime! Sometimes a day to relax is better than anything else!
THURSDAY- Kaitlyn went to the Manti Temple with Young Women's. Emily went to a birthday party. Stephen & I packed & prepared to go to Rexburg.
FRIDAY- We went up to Rexburg, ID to spend the weekend with family & had a very nice time! We visited Stephen's brother, cousin, & their families. The kids were content to hang out in the backyard & swim. The kids also enjoyed visiting a neighboring farm While the adults sat in the house relaxing, talking, & enjoying each others company. Here are a few picture, the rest are on facebook:
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Cinnamon Rolls
I was busy doing laundry all morning on Monday & when I walked upstairs to put clothes away, I noticed Emily making a concoction on the kitchen table consisting of yeast, flour, sugar, water, & salt. I asked her what she was doing & she said, "oh, just making cinnamon rolls." I immediately felt bad.... she had been asking me to help her for a few days & I hadn't gotten around to it. I asked her if she used a recipe. Her reply was an unconcerned, "nope!" I looked at what was in the bowl, & being busy, I decided not to tell her that I doubted that it would work. I decided to let her do it anyway, & see what happened:
THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!!
THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!!
4th of July Fun
I think when the 4th falls on a Sunday, it's only in Utah that it becomes a 4 day event!!! On Friday evening, we barbequed with a bunch of neighbors & Stephen & I had a great time visiting with friends while the kids played. It has been a busy summer & it was nice to catch up on each others lives. I especially liked talking to my friends Janae & Amy. Steve enjoyed talking politics, scouting, gardening & fishing with Ron, Walt, & Kevin. I enjoyed watching Sarah & Jenna with their babies, & had a hard time believing they are both old enough to be mothers. They were both 11 years old when we moved into the neighborhood. Time has flown by! Stephen & the girls stayed for fireworks, but I went home to rest.
Kaitlyn's best friend Megan slept over & were up until 3 am, so I was very surprised to see them up & at our ward's patriotic breakfast at 7am. Stephen & I had to eat fast, & then drive up to Herriman to attend a baptism at 9am. We had to hurry home to get Jonathan from camp. He called six minutes after we arrived home! We rested most of the day as we went to bed late & woke up early. Around 3, Jonathan & Stephen left to work at our ward's booth at BYU for the Stadium of Fire. The girls & I debated going up to Provo to watch fireworks, but opted to go to bed instead. Yes, they were very tired!
Sunday the 4th was a typical fast & testimony meeting at church. I love my calling as nursery leader, but since we have moved into a new building, that ironically has a much smaller nursery, the kids I serve have had a hard time settling in. There was a lot of yelling, crying, & hitting. I felt like all I did was break of fights & try to redirect their attention. We tried taking them on a walk, but even that ended in disaster. As soon as I came home, I sat down on a couch in our sitting room, & I couldn't move for 20 minutes! Luckily, the evening ended on a pleasant note with a nice visit with our friends & neighbors, Reed & Suzanne Butler.
Monday was the last day of our 4th of July celebration, & I have to admit by this point, I felt partied out. Hannah went swimming with the Cloud family as Emma's guest. Jonathan worked at a firework booth for a high school fundraiser. Emily played wit Katie Smith most of the day. Steve worked. Still, Jonathan has a week off from Maple Dell, & I wanted to celebrate with him. So I made a nice dinner for our family, & later, we lit off a few fireworks.
Summer Week 5
No pictures this week, I just wanted to update the blog so I can remember what went on during the week. One reason is that I plan to make a scrapbook of the summer & the other is to have a point of reference for the moments when the kids say, "our summer is sooooo boring." I can pull up the blog & say, "look what we did."
I guess from a kid's point of view, the first three days our week was pretty boring. We had work so hard rearranging rooms last week (week 4), that we neglected most everything else. So on Monday, we did a ton of housework & catching up on the kid's home summer school. I also cleaned the van inside & out. On Tuesday, laundry, school & grocery shopping.
On Wednesday, we worked on our yard all day. I love my hard, but it is very high matinence. I trimmed a few trees, pruned rose trees & weeded the front & back yard, & weeded the fence line by the lilacs. I mowed both yards in under an hour. The girls had their assignments & grumbled a lot, but completed them. Steve took care of the garden, which is looking beautiful & healthy. He also fixed the mailbox (Jonathan accidentally ran over it). He figured that since we have three more drivers to teach, he would hook it to the fence instead of a post to avoid having it ran over again. Smart man!
On Thursday, we had everything pretty much under control again & after doing basic chores & school, the girls & I rested. Later in the afternoon, Emily friends came over for a sleepover & Hannah had a friend over for a late over.
Friday, 4th of July Festivities began. I think that deserves it's own post!
I wish I would have taken pictures of all we did this week. Although there was nothing particularly exciting, it's life as we know it. My goal for next week is to take pictures of these simple events.
I guess from a kid's point of view, the first three days our week was pretty boring. We had work so hard rearranging rooms last week (week 4), that we neglected most everything else. So on Monday, we did a ton of housework & catching up on the kid's home summer school. I also cleaned the van inside & out. On Tuesday, laundry, school & grocery shopping.
On Wednesday, we worked on our yard all day. I love my hard, but it is very high matinence. I trimmed a few trees, pruned rose trees & weeded the front & back yard, & weeded the fence line by the lilacs. I mowed both yards in under an hour. The girls had their assignments & grumbled a lot, but completed them. Steve took care of the garden, which is looking beautiful & healthy. He also fixed the mailbox (Jonathan accidentally ran over it). He figured that since we have three more drivers to teach, he would hook it to the fence instead of a post to avoid having it ran over again. Smart man!
On Thursday, we had everything pretty much under control again & after doing basic chores & school, the girls & I rested. Later in the afternoon, Emily friends came over for a sleepover & Hannah had a friend over for a late over.
Friday, 4th of July Festivities began. I think that deserves it's own post!
I wish I would have taken pictures of all we did this week. Although there was nothing particularly exciting, it's life as we know it. My goal for next week is to take pictures of these simple events.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Summer Week 4
Yay, almost caught up! Last week was a project week. Emily & Kaitlyn have wanted their own rooms for almost a year. But we had to wait. First, for Dad to move out. Then for time to do all the work to rearrange bedrooms. The first step was to convert the playroom into a master bedroom for Stephen & I. The girls had to go through the playroom & divide all of their toys & possessions among the 3 of them, and place their belongings in their rooms. Since Kaitlyn's new room was to be my old room, she had to place her things in our basement's hallway. There were a lot of tears shed as they divided possessions & the house (particularly the basement) was a big mess, but on Thursday, Stephen & I moved in to our new room.
There is still a lot of work to be done in this room. We plan to re-paint in a few weeks, then I can hang up pictures. We are also hoping to re carpet the house in the next year or two. I will post pictures of the progress we make on the room as we go.
In the midst of all the moving, this showed up in our yard & refused to go away:
The girls immediately became attached, especially Emily.
Thus, Gracie is now the newest member of our family. She is sweet, & littered box trained well, so no complaints here... well, maybe just one....
Daisy is scared of her! Gracie hisses at her!
Back to moving, Emily & Kaitlyn have shared a bunk bed since Hannah was born. The girls decided that Kaitlyn would keep the bunk bed. On Friday, Stephen logged on to ksl.com classifieds & found a nice day bed with two new mattresses posted. He called, & two hours later, Emily had a new bed!
Kaitlyn hasn't really settled into her new room yet. She is waiting for "paint week" where we plan to repaint everyone's bedroom in a few weeks. She doesn't want me to post pictures until we are finished, so stay tuned.
Jonathan came home on Saturday from camp very surprised by the new cat & room changes. He also enjoyed the Elder's Quorem's barbeque. After we ate, they played baseball & the ball was water balloons. He slid into base as many times as he could, & suffice it to say, I think he stays cleaner at camp!
There is still a lot of work to be done in this room. We plan to re-paint in a few weeks, then I can hang up pictures. We are also hoping to re carpet the house in the next year or two. I will post pictures of the progress we make on the room as we go.
In the midst of all the moving, this showed up in our yard & refused to go away:
The girls immediately became attached, especially Emily.
Thus, Gracie is now the newest member of our family. She is sweet, & littered box trained well, so no complaints here... well, maybe just one....
Daisy is scared of her! Gracie hisses at her!
Back to moving, Emily & Kaitlyn have shared a bunk bed since Hannah was born. The girls decided that Kaitlyn would keep the bunk bed. On Friday, Stephen logged on to ksl.com classifieds & found a nice day bed with two new mattresses posted. He called, & two hours later, Emily had a new bed!
Kaitlyn hasn't really settled into her new room yet. She is waiting for "paint week" where we plan to repaint everyone's bedroom in a few weeks. She doesn't want me to post pictures until we are finished, so stay tuned.
Jonathan came home on Saturday from camp very surprised by the new cat & room changes. He also enjoyed the Elder's Quorem's barbeque. After we ate, they played baseball & the ball was water balloons. He slid into base as many times as he could, & suffice it to say, I think he stays cleaner at camp!
Summer Week 3
I am playing catch-up a bit, but each week, we are trying to either go somewhere fun or complete a project around the house, On June 17th, we went to the Gateway Museum in Salt Lake City. Emily brought home a pass for free admission for up to 6 people. I am glad we went because this musuem is for younger kids, & although Emily & Hannah enjoyed it, Kaitlyn was a little bored. So, I don't think we'll be going back until we have gradchildren, our kids have outgrown it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)