Bear Lake... again!

We can't get enough of this place! Julie and I went up on a last-minute whim last week and had the best time. We packed all our gear and children into the LandCruiser and drove over the mountain to the Jewel of the Wasatch... Bear Lake. Okay, I don't think it's really called the Jewel of the Wasatch, but it should be. It's gorgeous. I'm struck by the colors there every time I go.
We stayed all day until the wind picked up and the kids were hungry. The time flew by so fast as it always does when you are with a good friend. We stopped for hamburgers and drove home with a car full of sandy, tired, happy kids. And Moms.

Science Lesson

Bennett attended a fabulous summer camp this year through 4-H and USU Extension that was all about dinosaurs. He LOVED it. They did art projects, played games, etc. It was really heart-wrenching/warming to watch him shyly approach a group of kids and then join in whatever game they were playing while waiting for camp to start. It was such a good experience for him.
One day he brought home this excellent drawing of the earth's layers. I asked him, "Oh, did you learn about volcanoes and hot lava today at camp?" To which he replied, "No, Mom. We learned about earth's core, mantle and crust today." Oooooooh, okay. Sorry, Bennett. I sometimes underestimate my young Padawan.

Poor Baby

Jake has a little baby doll that he has been playing with lately. He talks to the baby in this sweet little baby voice, "It's onay, baby. Bruva's here, baby. Don't ty, don't ty." It's really very cute. He is a little sweetie pie, that boy.

We have started Jake on some acid reflux meds this summer, as he is having some problems with eating, sleeping, drinking, ears, etc... He has choked several times this summer, mostly on hot dogs. And yes, we do cut them up. Very small. He still can't swallow them.

So it's easy to understand why he brought his baby doll over to me the other day, pointing at the little tongue-like thing in its mouth and said, "Baby chokin' on a hot dog, Mom."

Food, Folks, Fun, and Nasty water.

We spent part of today at Willard Bay with Jaime & Tyler, Kate & Andy, and all associated kids.  It was so much fun. A lot of eating took place, especially by the kids.  I could have spent all day visiting with Jaime and Kate about various motherhood trials and joys.  They are so much fun.  Tyler brought along some "vintage" jet-skis too.  One was very vintage, and had to be carried up the beach into his truck after it died in the water.  The older kids got to ride around a little bit with Uncle Tyler, motorsport master, but spent most of the day wallowing in the shallows, having mud-fights and trying unsuccessfully to see underwater with their masks.  We made sure to wash their hands and way up their arms with lots of soap when we went to eat at Maddox afterwards.  (YUM!)  Tonight's bath water was a little murky.  :)   It was a great afternoon!  Thanks, guys!  

Limestone Cowboys

Jason and Lee took the big boys climbing last week in Logan Canyon.  They were in HEAVEN!  

Note:  muscle tee power.

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

Summertime... And the livin's easy.

Irrigating the backyard is always fun. As is singing in the street for money. Bennett, Owen and Jack (and later Jake and Clara) stood out on the sidewalk for hours the other day trying to get people to stop and listen to their sweet music. However, when their first customer came by, they got stage-fright and ran away.

I'm surprised Bennett chickened out while wearing his new muscle shirt. That thing seems to give him super bad-boy confidence. Man, he struts when he's wearing it. Which means 5 days in a row now of strutting, because he doesn't want to wear anything else. I have managed to wash it only once. Ew.

Happy Birthday to DAD!

Dad celebrated his birthday by running 9 miles in the Freedom Run at Blacksmith Fork Canyon with Mom. He finished second in his age group! Way to go, Dad! After the race, they hopped on their bikes and rode from Hyrum to our house. They are so awesome. Seriously. They did all this while the rest of us ate pancakes at the all-you-can-eat Scout breakfast at the church. Yep.

After a shower and a little nap for Dad, we headed up Smithfield Canyon with Kate and the kids to picnic and play in the water. It was so much fun. All the kids (and Kate) ended up getting very wet, and very tired. It was beautiful there, and we were lucky enough to find the perfect campsite with a nice shallow area for the kids to splash in the river. Smithfield Canyon is sort of an undiscovered gem. We like it.

Later that night Jason made a fabulous dinner for everyone, including tasty steaks. Mom brought birthday pie rather than cake, which was perfect! Great idea! Is there anything better than spending time with family? Thanks for spending your day with us, Dad! We love you so much.

I don't have any photos here of my sis, Cami, but I should mention that she and I had the greatest time in the card aisle at Smith's Marketplace looking for cards for Dad. We were laughing so hard! Cami is fun to be with, and I don't get to see her enough!

Oh, I should mention another activity that Dad did on the day of his birthday celebration: cleaned out the clogged drain in our bathroom. I assisted, and it was truly disgusting. I won't post any photos, but just imagine pulling out a little wet, nasty hamster from the drain. That's what it looked like. Too much information? Well, I'm just trying to let you know how unselfish my Dad is. I am pretty sure I didn't clean out anyone's bathroom sink drain on MY birthday.

Grand Celebrations!

This was a very fun Fourth of July for us. We are so happy to have Kate and Andy living by us now! We love spending time with them and of course their three cute kids too. We did our traditional fireworks viewing with them this year, from the lawn at the Middle School just a few blocks from home. We rode bikes and walked over to enjoy the spectacle. Andy and Jason went over to the fireworks stand at Smith's Marketplace while we waited for the show to start, providing us with even more pyrotechnic fun for the next night as well. We had quite an amazing show in our driveway; Grandma and Clara watched from inside where it was a little quieter!

These are a few of my favorite things...

This post is mostly for my siblings. Enjoy the nostalgia!

Chore Bucket and Marble Jar Genius

I found the idea for a chore bucket on this blog, which I LOVE and have discovered lots of cool ideas on. After the kids have breakfast and get dressed, they get to pick a chore from the bucket. The chores are simple, and don't take too much time. Here are some examples: Sweep front porch and stairs, Put DVD's and videos in their proper cases, Feed and water Lucy, wash the front window, Take out the bathroom garbage, Help Mom change Dennis' water, Practice writing your name 10 times, Straighten the books on your bookshelves, Pull 10 weeds, etc...

Okay, here's what has happened. The kids cannot wait to do chores, and they usually do 3 or 4 every morning, and ask to do more throughout the day. I don't know how long this will last, but they seem to be excited to have some responsibilities, like big kids. Even little Jake loves it. It has been really fun. We have found Bennett doing dishes on his own without being asked twice now. And he does a really good job! This is great! Surely he'll enjoy this throughout his teenage years. Ha! Yeah, right, but still, I'll take what I can get! Even if it just lasts this summer, I'll be happy.

The next thing we are doing is called our Marble Jar. Again, the kids are so excited, they can't stand it! We explained at Family Night last week that we are a team and we have to work together to make home life happy. So we try to catch the boys doing nice things for each other, picking up toys without being asked, playing nicely, listening to instructions the FIRST time rather than the four hundredth, etc. We will tell them to go put a marble in the jar. (I got these at the dollar store.) Sometimes they get a few at a time, and sometimes they even get 5 marbles! We let the boys pick the reward they will get when the jar is full. It had to be a family activity, for the whole team, not an object like a new toy or something. They had great ideas, and for this go-round, we decided on miniature golf as the reward.

I have used this in classroom settings with great success, but had never tried it at home for some reason. Wow. It has made such a difference in our lives! One of the most frustrating times of day for me is bedtime, mainly because Bennett has such a hard time going to sleep. He always cries for someone to lay by him because he's "so lonely." He shares a room with Owen, but Owen falls asleep in about 3 seconds, just like me. Anyway, it's a battle to try to get Bennett to stay in his room at night. That is, until we instituted the marble jar. We offered the incentive of 10 marbles the next morning if he would just stay in his bed. And guess what? He did. No problem. And it hasn't been a problem ever since. SWEET!

Just thought I should share.