Week #24: School is OUT!

This week we...

...said goodbye to teachers and welcomed the summer! It's a little bit of back and forth between enjoying all the free time away from school and feeling bored with all the time at home. I go the rounds with Paul, giving him a list of things that he can do - color, draw, write a letter, write a story, play with trucks, play with legos, ride bikes, etc. He says no to all of those things and in the very next breath says, "I'm bored! There's nothing to do." We really are getting out to play at the park and ride bikes. These guys just want to be entertained all day long.

...slept in late. Now that we're not in school, we've been staying up late and sleeping in even later. Last night took its toll on Lainey because she didn't wake until I woke her up at 10:30 am. That is so uncharacteristic of her. She is usually one of the first risers at 6:45 or 7:00 am. I kept checking on her - 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 - and nothing. She was still OUT.

...fixed some more bikes. I know I already posted about fixing Emma's and Paul's bikes. Well, on our first bike ride back out together again, Claire got a flat tire! So we were one bike down and in need of repairs again.

 So many willing, little helpers

...had a picnic at Leslie Grove Park. We had so much fun eating our lunch at the park and playing on the toys. That park was nice because it wasn't too crowded and we still had toys and the river. Lainey kept squealing in delight and chasing the other kids around.

...wiggled Paul's tooth. That's right. Paul has got his first loose tooth in Kindergarten. The permanent one is already coming in, as you can see in the picture. I can't remind him enough to wiggle the front one and get it out of there.

...went to a Father's Day dessert party. Our friends, Tim and Haley, invited us over for a little dessert party with the dads as the spotlight. They each brought a white elephant gift to exchange after we ate their favorite desserts. It was fun to relax and visit and the kids had fun getting wet.

I made him four layer dessert.

 You're guess is as good as mine as to

 what she was thinking in this picture.

Week #23: Two Graduations & a Mission Call

This week we...

...went to my Nephew's graduation party and a mission call party. I cannot believe that the oldest grandchild on my side is already graduated. It was fun to get together with my family and be silly. It's such an exciting time of life for my Nephew. 

My brother Kirk and his wife Sharee

My brother Kent and his wife Julie

 Looking at old family photos and reminiscing

SIL Sharee, Kirk, Sis Shelly, Sis Cherice

My mom, Grandma Payne, Kathy

Jordan - The Grad - on left, visiting at the party

Jordan also got his mission call this week. So we gathered once again to hear the exciting news of where he will be assigned. He will be going English Speaking (he was relieved about that) to the New Mexico, Albuquerque Mission. He leaves September 19th, 2012 for the Provo, Utah MTC.

...got Paul's blood drawn. He was such a brave boy. They needed his blood to test for G6PD, something related to his severe jaundice as a baby. Even though he was crying when they drew the blood, he didn't pull away or throw a fit. He was kicking his feet back and forth, but that was it. It also helped that a woman from our ward works there and came in to help. A familiar face is always nice. 

As we left the lab, I knew that this experience would also be a great precedent for the rest of my kids. If Paul could do so well with something so scary and hard to do, so can they.

We went out for ice cream as his special treat

...went to Paul's Kindergarten graduation. They called his name. He walked in the gym. He shook his teacher's hand. He walked across the risers to his spot. He moved his toes even with the front edge of the riser and planted them squarely and firmly together. He kept checking his feet as the other kids filed in. He made sure not to move them. He wanted to do just exactly as he was told.

Signing an alphabet song

with his teacher Mrs. Collins

enjoying cinnamon dusted snickerdoodles with Lainey

...enjoyed our fruit from Fresh Picks. We have been eating fresh apple and pear slices a lot around here. And there's nothing so wonderful as popping a fresh strawberry in your mouth, yummy!

...played with snakes. I guess I should rephrase that...I did not play with snakes, the kids did. I do not care to have snakes near me thank you very much. My brother Corey has two at their house, and since we were there so much everyone had to hold and pet the snakes.

...bought some stools for the island. We have never had so much fun eating lunch or dinner, or just sitting for that matter. The kids really enjoy sitting up at the counter...and I like it too. It's more fun to talk with them as I prepare everything, I can reach across and give them drinks or food, and the table stays clean.

Week #22: $5.00 Jewelry

This week we...

...hosted a $5.00 jewelry party! I went to a party at my friend's house and had such a great time, plus everything was only $5.00. That is fun enough! So I hosted one at our house on Providence Lane. It was even more fun! I enjoyed visiting with friends and browsing the goods. I loved seeing what everyone else picked out. My consultants are Leslie Egli and her daughter Madison (Madison puts what she makes in her college fund - so cool!). If you want to book your own party here's her info: phone - 460-7292 and e-mail - klegli@pocketinet.com.

...put up a bird station. Jason made a bird house with Paul and Benjamin and Grandpa Erickson gave us the Hummingbird feeder to try out. We're all excited to see if any birds come to visit. Jason and Benjamin researched how to make Hummingbird food and then set about doing it. It involved sugar and boiling water - tasty!

  

...went to an open house for the Spectrum program. It was a lot to take in. It was great to learn a little more about the program, see the classroom, and meet the teachers. We got a lot of our questions answered and met and re-met some of the parents of the other students. Jason was working tonight, but was able to come for the bulk of the evening. It was so nice to have him there with us.

...have had a sick toddler. I do not like the barking cough and rasping breath. This kind of sick is always a little scarier for me to deal with because their breathing gets so labored...and the little one is in so much pain. By middle of the day, I abandoned all chores and to do's to sit with Lainey, rock gently back and forth, and watch Tangled. It was really the only thing that kept her from crying. She was just so miserable. Thankfully, I had put dinner together earlier and it just needed to be baked. I got to cuddle Lainey and we still had something going for dinner.

...received new opportunities to serve. I have been put into the Young Womens as the Beehive Adviser. I am SO excited! I love to be around the girls, to talk about the young womens values, to inspire them to develop their talents and look to the temple. I just got online to order the new manuals so that I can get to work on the program again as a leader. What's also more exciting is that we've had three young women convert baptisms over the last several months. They bring new life and spirit. It's awesome to hear them talk about what they're learning and how glad they are to be members. 

So we have the yellow tulip below for good works, opportunities to learn and grow through service, and Believe in Yourself because that is one of the messages of the Personal Progress program, gain knowledge, talents, and experience to understand who you are and what you can become. I LOVE IT!

::Source::

my front yard...hahaha!

Week #21: Rattling Jack

 This week we...

...worked and played at the school book fair. The school does a trash to treasure book fair. The kids bring in books to exchange for book bucks that they can use later at the event. I went through their books first and got what I thought was a good amount of book bucks for them. However, once they saw all the books and experienced the fun of picking out new ones, they came home and pulled out MORE books to take in to the school. It was so funny because they selected books they wouldn't even let me touch the first time. :)

 Emma was having fun taking pictures

 Emma showing much enthusiasm for all the good books

 
...resolved the annoying rattling issue in the van. I was so happy when I figured this out. I could not stop repeating how glad I was to finally investigate and figure this out. For the past year and a half to two years, we have had this annoying rattling sound in our van. It was constant and drive-you-crazy-till-you-want-to-pull-your-hair-out kind of annoying. I would bring it up and Jason would say it was this or that. Recently, I was in the back of the van because Claire's seat belt was locking up (most trying). As I fixed the seat belt, I was right next to the sound and so I pulled off this nifty panel to find the cause. This is where the jack and tire changing tools are secretly stored. I pushed on the jack and found that it was indeed moving back and forth. What was this?! It was not secured tightly. I couldn't believe it. Could this annoying, plaguing sound be done away with this easily? Sure enough, there was a way to tighten up the jack against the side of the van and banish the sound FOREVER!

I thought we would have to put up with that rattle sound indefinitely. I was ecstatic to finally figure it out.


...finally fixed Emma and Paul's bikes. Their tires have popped so many times...and it's always agony when they have to wait for them to get fixed. Jason is a great handy dad, but it takes us a while to remember to get the parts and fix them up. This time we used green slime to help protect their tires. I had heard of this once before we used it. I was very surprised to find that it was indeed a green colored tire sealant with a brand name slime.

...learned that rhubarb isn't so scary after all. I got some rhubarb in my box from Fresh Picks and was a little nervous to try it. I was able to get a great crisp recipe from my visiting teaching companion and I now can say that rhubarb isn't so scary. It was actually quite good.