Fishin' With the Boys

Steve's brother called one day and said that some of the brothers were going fishing. It was a Saturday and we didn't have anything on the docket for that day. With all that has been going on this summer with our son in law, getting away with his brothers for a fun day of fishing might be just what the doctor ordered for Steve :)



They met up and headed into the Uintah Mountains (their playground growing up). They didn't stay overnight or anything, but looks like they had a great time. Steve said they just reminisced and enjoyed being together. Not all the brothers were able to make it, but four went.



They caught lots of fish and had a great day! Now their planning a "boys trip" with all of the brothers, the brothers in law and their Dad. What fun!!!!

Cup Land

I was working on the computer one afternoon and Reagan and Cole kept coming past me to the pantry. They would open the pantry, grab something, close the pantry, and run down the hall. I sort of didn't think anything about it until the 10th time or so. Then, I grabbed one of them as they were running by. They were holding a handful of plastic cups. I asked what they were planning on doing with the cups and they said it was a surprise. (Usually - that is not a good sign.)



Well, I was surprised at what they were doing - they were building stuff (Really - Stuff .... castles, towers, rockets, etc.) with the cups. Apparently Cole started building something and Reagan decided to do the same and by the time we were done, we had used up a huge amount of cups.



Their little art projects stayed up for a few days. Then, I suggested we take them down. Reagan asked "What shall we do with all the cups?" I told her she could wash them all so that they could actually use them to drink from. "What?!?" she said. She had no idea that when she was done with the cups, that we'd actually have to WORK! Oh well - it's been a couple of weeks and I think she has washed about half of the cups they used. Honestly - I love that they are creating something - if I had to throw away the cups, I wouldn't care. But since she asked, we'll wash them :)


PS - Yes, once again, those are Halloween pjs that Cole is rocking in July. Gotta love him!

 

A Singing Show?

We were all playing in the backyard one evening when Reagan disappeared for a while. When she returned, Cole, Steve and I were each given a little invitation to come to "Reagan's singing show". Wow - is this like a concert? We went into the house to find all the blinds had been drawn, all the lights were turned off except for one light that shines over the mantle on the fireplace. Reagan welcomed us, sat us down and grabbed her microphone and stood next to the fireplace. She sang a couple of Taylor Swift songs and then I encouraged her to sing the song her voice teacher had just given her - it was from Toy Story 2 and is sung by Jessie.

 

As Reagan sang, we looked down to find a box with a note next to it. It said "If like and want to give money." What? Is this like a handout box? She then proceeded to give us some bills and coins from the play money set that we use to teach Reagan and Cole about money. Ok - at least she is giving us the money that we are supposed to give to her.....I think.

 

She sings all the time, so, I don't know that we can attribute this singing show to her new voice lessons, but she is certainly loving it. She was so cheesy - I mean in a good way. She brought out this little chair that my parents gave her that was my grandmother's. She sat down in it, crossed her legs, smiled at us and put the microphone up to her mouth. Crazy, silly girl. Well, I loved the show and so did Steve and Cole. Way to go Reagan!!! Ps - we gave her all of our play money - it was a good show and we liked it :)

 

Last Days of Summer School

Since Cole doesn't go to summer school on Fridays, his last day of school was Thursday. I took gift bags of Great Harvest bread as a thank you to their teachers. One of Cole's teachers - Miss Joanie - actually left the last week of school, so, we left her a candle (as it wouldn't go bad until she returned to school). Since I knew he would have a substitute, I took a bread gift bag for his substitute teacher. She was so surprised - she hugged me. Cole's other teacher - Miss Eleni whom had been with him throughout summer school - just gushed about Cole. She said how she had never had a student who was as eager to learn and as well behaved and as social as Cole. She said how he is so popular and how he is friends with everyone, yet he listens and is well behaved and is excited about what they are doing in class each day. She just couldn't say enough. (As you can imagine, I just couldn't hear enough!!!)



Reagan's last day was on Friday. Her teacher also loved the gift bag. Reagan really enjoyed her teacher and hopes to see her when school starts in the fall. We didn't get much time to chat, but Reagan's teacher - Mrs. Ivins - said how much she loved having Reagan in her class.



So, now Cole is officially out of preschool and on to the elementary school. Whoa! When did that happen? My baby is a kindergardener? Uggggh! Reagan is officially in second grade. Seriously!?! These two are growing up WAY too fast. Well, we have four weeks until school starts - let's make the best of it and have some serious fun!!!!!

Pioneer Day 2013

Pioneer Day is here once again. Each year, our ward holds a breakfast at the park next to the church. This year, we invited our friends , the Pescis. Actually, Joe was on a trip, so, Jennifer, Eric and Claire joined us.



There was a great breakfast with lots of good food. Then, there was the children's parade. In the past, the children have followed the fire truck around the church. For some reason, this year, the primary president just started walking around the park path and there was no fire truck involved. Not sure what that was about. Plus, they didn't announce anything about the parade, so, our kids didn't even know it was going on. They tried to catch up, but couldn't. Next, there were water balloon throws. Claire and Reagan were doing great. Cole was just interested in getting wet. Steve was being mischievous by throwing a water balloon at our friend Jennifer. However, another man in the ward thought it would be funny to soak Steve (not sure what that was about???). There were also two primary boys who thought it was funny to soak the primary leaders, the Bishopric or anyone else standing around. Steve had his revenge on all of them and everyone was soaked by the time we left.



Of course, the fire truck did arrive and they sprayed the children (and the adults who were brave enough to join the primary kids) until they were soaked. All in all, it was a great time. After the breakfast, the Pescis came over to our house to play for a while. The kids had fun being together and the adults had a good time as well. Thanks Pioneers and thanks Firemen!!!!

 

Draper Days Parade

Reagan and Cole's karate studio enters the Draper Days Parade every year. I remember hearing about this last year, but 8 am seemed to be really early on a day when you could sleep in and a day when you would be up pretty late for the fireworks at the Draper Days celebration. Well, this year, they weren't fooled - they heard the announcements and were gung ho from the get go. Cole was telling people for weeks before "I'm going to be in a parade!" I was initially unsure about it, especially since I would miss it while at camp. Well, the week of camp, we changed the dates and I was able to be home. Our friends the Pescis joined us and all four children were "in" the parade.



It wasn't much of a float - more of a trailer with the karate students sitting in it. Rather than drop our children off with a bunch of karate guys and see if they made it to the end of the parade with the same number of children they started with, Jennifer and I decided to walk along with them on the parade route. It was unorganized at best. The parade was to start at 9, so all the parade entries needed to be lined up at 8. We got there at 8 and waited until we started moving after 10:30. Ugggh! It was super hot, not many bathrooms and the kids were not exactly patient. Oh well - there wasn't anything we could do.

Our karate teacher's wife owns a dance studio, so, they were the entry in front of us. In front of them was our friend Gary Free with his race car (remember we saw him at the Sandy City parade on the 4th of July?). In front of Gary was a float for a daycare and one of the ladies helping out with the daycare kids is the daughter of one of the ladies I used to work with. So, we were among friends at least.



Once we started moving, everything changed. Reagan and Cole had a blast. They were able to sit on the trailer and throw candy to the crowd. They also got to take turns holding the sign in front of the truck which announced our karate studio. Then, they got to take turns getting off the trailer and doing kicks, forms and breaking boards. They loved it.



Steve parked our car at the end of the parade route and walked toward the front of the parade route until he met up with us (about 1/2 way through the route). Reagan and Cole were thrilled to see him. It was hot, but a fun experience. The karate studio gave the students popsicles at the end of the parade route and everyone left with their children. Reagan and Cole were very proud that they had been in a parade. Not sure if they will want to do it next year, but that's a discussion we'll have in a year :)

Girls' Camp 2013 - Stand Ye in Holy Places

We had a great Young Women's Camp this year!!! We had the theme of Stand Ye In Holy Places. We went to Bear Lake and stayed in our Bishop's cabin (yeah!!). Our first day's theme was Stand in Holy Places with the Spirit. We didn't leave until 6pm, so, this was a short day; however, during our ride up, we listened to the CD of music written by the youth this year and especially the theme song of "Stand". We also listened to a talk by John Bytheway about standing for something.  We arrived at the cabin and settled in. Then we watched the Wizard of Oz while we ate treats and decorated flip flops with all sorts of jewels and flowers and balloons. Hey, if we are going to stand in holy places, we need to have cute shoes, right? Then, our amazing camp director talked to the girls about the phrase "There's no place like home." and how heaven is our home. She compared the girls to Dorothy and how it is within their power to return home and that they always need to remember that their ultimate goal is to return home to our Heavenly Father. To help them remember, she gave them each a charm with red ruby slippers on it. We also talked about how you can be standing in holy places anywhere you are if you are worthy and seeking the spirit.



The next day, our theme was Stand in Holy Places with the Saints. We drove into Logan and performed baptisms (at earlier YW nights, we had tried to have every girl research an ancestor to take a name from their own family to the temple). Then, we had lunch at a park in Logan and made necklaces that had pictures of the temple glued under a plastic, clear dome. It was then mounted on a charm type hook to go on their necklaces. The pictures of the temple were as varied as our YW - some used the temple spires - others used the doorknobs, still others used the angel Moroni. They were darling (plus, they could put their ruby slippers charm on the necklace as well). After lunch, we took a tour of the Tabernacle. We really could feel the history of the Saints there and how they had paved the way for all of us, regardless of whether we, individually, had pioneer ancestors. Of course we had to stop for Aggie Ice Cream on our way back to Bear Lake. We had scripture and journal time and our camp director had prepared a journal for each YW with suggested topics for their entries each day. That night, we had a great campfire meeting. We made smores and other yummy treats and had a lovely testimony meeting with the girls. After testimony meeting, we had an object lesson regarding testimonies. It was a concoction made of water and corn starch. You work it in your hand and it becomes solid; however, if you stop working it, it turns back to liquid and falls through your fingers. We talked about how your testimony is like that. You are never "done" and if you stop working on it, it can fall through your fingers. The girls LOVED messing with the cornstarch mix and then loved teaching this object lesson to our Priesthood holders :) Before bed, we brought out several church magazines and scrapbook supplies. The girls had a certain part of their journal which read: What I Believe. They cut, glued, and collaged together pictures and quotes that they cut out of the magazines. It was interesting to see what they combined to represent themselves and what they believe.



Our last morning, we focussed on Standing in Holy Places in Nature. We headed out to boat on Bear Lake. We talked about how we could feel the spirit in nature and how Heavenly Father has created this earth for our enjoyment and benefit. After returning from the lake, we needed to clean up. This changed our focus to Standing in Holy Places in our Families. Our camp director had made packages for each of the girls. She had made Dorothy - type aprons for the girls (blue and white gingham and white lace) and gave them a copy of the book The Wizard of Oz. She also had contacted each of the parents to find out what that particular YW contributes to her family. We talked about how we can be leaders in our families and we can make our homes a holy place. We cleaned up our cabin and the last thing we did before leaving was to receive a letter from each of the parents to their daughter - telling them of the love and appreciation they have for them and telling them of a time when they saw their daughter standing in a holy place or standing for something. Of course, each morning and each night, we had flag with the prayer, the song (Stand), the theme and a devotional. Each girl was in charge of the devotional one day and she shared a story from her family's ancestry that showed an ancestor who had stood in a holy place or had stood for something. One YW's great grandfather was the second saint baptized in Colombia. Another had an ancestor who was in Liberty Jail. The stories were wonderful and helped us appreciate what our ancestors have done for us to help us stand in holy places today. The girls will never forget camp this year. We truly did Stand in Holy Places.



Of course, I missed Steve, Reagan and Cole very much. The first night we were there, Steve sent me a picture of Reagan and Cole reading their scriptures. I knew they were in good hands (and good fun) being with Steve :)
 

Gold Cup Soccer

I've posted before about how we bought those Pass of All Passes. Well, I received an e-mail that our pass included tickets to the semi-finals of the Gold Cup at the Rio Tinto Soccer Stadium. We had to go and get the tickets in person - first come/first served. We got up early and headed out to the stadium. What a line! I must say that they moved the people through very quickly though - Reagan, Cole and I were there less than an hour in line. That afternoon, we went to the game. It was really fun! We've never been to a professional soccer game before. With both kids playing last spring and Cole playing now, we figured this was a chance to see some of the best in the world play.



It was exciting and loud - the crowd was cheering U-S-A (just like the Olympics!!!) and it was a contagious energy. Of course we had hot dogs, cotton candy and churos (its a requirement, right?). One highlight was a crazy man who ran onto the field in costume and evaded the authorities for a bit. We had a great time and really will have to look into tickets for Real Salt Lake. This was too fun to not do again!!!

Allergic to what???

So this is our own little, family mystery. When we were visiting Rachel and Kevin in April, after church, Reagan and Cole were sitting at the bar and eating lunch when Reagan all of a sudden started getting really upset. She said her face was itching and burning. I looked at her and she had red bumps and splotches all around her face. Luckily I had brought Benadryl with me. I gave her a dose and had her drink a bunch of water. Within an hour, it was all better. I mentioned it to our pharmacist who recommended I get an epipen from the dr in case this happens again. At her 7 year old checkup, I asked our pediatrician about it. He didn't seem concerned at all. He said that anything could have triggered it - something flying around in the air, something Reagan touched, or something she ate. Uggh!!! I determined to forget about it (and I did).



Then, the first week in July, Reagan was eating snacks with Steve and Cole and she said her face was burning. I looked at her and - again!!!!! She was eating a dried fruit and nut mix (that she didn't eat at Rachel's). I started to think maybe it could be a peanut allergy, but she seriously has peanut butter and honey on a sandwich almost every single day for lunch. She also loves chocolate with peanuts in it and we've never seen anything like this before. Ugggh again!!!! I'll have to ask the doctor about it again. Luckily, Reagan reacts well to Benadryl - I'll just have to make sure to keep that around..... always :)

Another Daddy Daughter Date

I took Cole to soccer practice one afternoon and Reagan decided that she wanted to stay home. Steve was here, so, that was no problem. What I didn't know was that she was scheming to have a Daddy/Daughter Date with Steve. Not long after we arrived at soccer, I received a text with Reagan's list of activities for the Date. Steve obliged and they crossed off each and every item on the list. When Cole and I arrived home from practice, Reagan and Steve were bouncing on the trampoline - so cute!



We also had our windows washed today. We had to take out all the screens and put up the blinds and remove any decor in the window sills. Well, before I could get everything back in place, I came down the stairs and heard giggling. I looked over to see Reagan and Cole each sitting in a window sill. I seriously have no idea how they got up there. There was no chair, ladder or step underneath them. Cole was in the higher one and I really don't know how he got up in there. They were just sitting there, reading books. Silly kiddos.

Lost another - top - tooth!!

Reagan's other front, top tooth has been loose for what seems like forever. I know it was loose before our trip to Jackson. She keeps working on it and she can't eat an apple or other foods that would require her top tooth to be used. Well, we were driving back from Park City one night and Reagan was complaining about her loose tooth. I told her to just work it back and forth ... HARD. Even if it hurt, she should keep working it. I heard her squeal and I looked back to see her holding her tooth in her hand and cupping her other hand under her mouth. She was bleeding a bit, but was SO excited to finally have that tooth OUT!!!

 

Once again, she wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy, telling her how she lost her tooth and requesting that she get to keep the tooth. Oh - she also requested that the Tooth Fairy put glitter on the money she left for Reagan. Yep, the Tooth Fairy granted all Reagan's wishes and now we have even more "special", glittery money that she won't spend
 :)

 

Counting Down

I forgot to post about this back in June, but since I see it every night, I had to "catch up" and post about it. So, we make little construction paper chains to count down special things. We count down days until a trip or until a birthday, days of school left, etc. Reagan and Cole love to make the chains and then to wake up each morning and break off one of their chain links. Our last chain was to count down until school got out. Those last 10 days or so were exciting. Soon after school was out, Cole wanted to make a chain to count down until his birthday. It's in October, so, I suggested he wait a while and make the chain when it was closer. He didn't like that idea and was dead set on making a chain. We counted the days and there were 110 days until his birthday. He got out the scissors and construction paper and stapler and he got started making his chain. Of course, it was all over the kitchen. Plus, after each link that he attached, he would count to see how many links he had. It was laborious!!! I kept suggesting he mark the 50th link in his chain so that he only had to count from that point on. He refused - he knew how he wanted to make this chain and he was going to do it his way! Alrighty then. I helped him cut, held the chain while he attached each link and then requested that he put it up in his room, rather than in the kitchen where we usually put the chains. He was all about that and headed downstairs with a tail of links trailing behind him.



We had to hang it all over the mirror on his dresser because I didn't know where else to put it. He would wake up each morning and rip off one link and tell me how many days were remaining until his birthday. He would also inform almost everyone else we encountered. He would say "It's 107 days until my birthday." and the people would stare at him and then at me. I would say "Yep - we made a chain and we are counting down, right Cole?" Then, they would smile or laugh. I'm sure those 110 days are going to fly by, but we are counting them one .... by ....... one   :)

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Independence Day is here again!!!! As usual, we headed over to the Sandy City celebration. There was bouncy bounce (Steve and I keep thinking Reagan and Cole will outgrow these). We bounced and bounced and then needed to cool off with snow cones. We watched some singing and dancing and we relaxed under the picnic table tent.



Next, we headed out to watch the parade. There were great floats, policemen, school bands and politicians. One of our friends, Gary Free, was driving his race car in the parade. Cole and Reagan quickly got into the mode of waving and cheering in order to get the candy that the parade entries were throwing into the crowds. I also had to laugh that there were several bagpipe bands. At one point, we saw a bagpipe band coming that had grey, burgundy and yellow as their tartan colors. Cole looked at me and said "Oh - it's the Challenger Band." Those are the same colors as our school uniforms, so, Cole figured it must be his school's band :)



After the parade, we were so hot and sweaty that we decided to come home and have lunch in the cool, air conditioned house. We watched a movie and just relaxed. When it was dark, Reagan and Cole begged to go back to the celebration to watch fireworks. We tried to convince them to watch from our back deck with treats and ice cream ..... they weren't having it. So, we drove back down to City Hall. Rather than walk over to the middle of the grassy area, we parked in the mall next to the celebration and we put Reagan and Cole on top of the car. Those were the best seats in the house!!! Reagan and Cole were loving it!!!!



All in all, it was a great 4th of July!!! Happy Independence Day everyone!!!!

July Decor

My sis Amber and I had a really fun time putting up decor for July. Red, white and blue is everywhere in our house :)  As I've blogged about before, we started putting holiday decor on the shelves above the cabinets at Halloween time last year, so, each holiday brings the fun of figuring out what goes on those shelves (or finding something to buy). We needed a few more things, so, I headed to Tai Pan. They have EVERYTHING there!



Amber has a great eye and always knows right where things should go. Me? Not so much. She will ask me how it looks and I'll say "Great!" Then, she climbs down from the ladder, looks herself and says "Nope - that needs to move to the left." Thank goodness I have her - I'd be lost without her :)



My favorite things are the red, white and blue gumballs in the apothecary jars on the dining room table. We start out the month with all 3 jars filled and we make little bags with ribbons and give them away all month. One bag to each of Reagan and Cole's teachers, one to my visiting teaching ladies, one to each of the YW, one to our karate teacher, one to friends, etc. By the end of the month, they are gone and we are ready for the next holiday. Of course, we enjoy them as well. Between the 4th of July and the 24th, we have two holidays to recognize and celebrate and we have a great time. Thanks for your help Amber - you are amazing!!!