One More Lesson

Remember how I learned many things about tie-dying??  Well, here is one more:

Leftover dye should NOT be dumped on the grass!!

Temple Party and Family Pics

In between the two soccer games we had a church activity at the park by the Timpanogos Temple.  It was so nice to go and relax under shady trees (my neighborhood is so sparse!) with friends from our neighborhood.  We made marshmallow Temples, heard testimonies, and got our family picture taken.  I am thankful Inez was patient enough to try to take our family's picture; 4 kids is a lot to deal with, especially when they are so young.  Here are some of the pics she took:

I think the funny ones are my favorite!!

Super Busy Saturdays

For the next two months our Saturdays will be filled with these handsome boys kicking a ball around.  We took Spring off of all sports and activities due to having little Callie, but we are coming back and the boys seem to be excited.  This year we joined the North Utah County League which is just a little more expensive but we get a full uniform, a ball, and we play on  the same team for both Fall and Spring.  I love the uniforms!  Ryan scored a goal at the end of his first game and was very proud of himself.  Nathan is getting older and so this was his first game where he actually had a position.  I am not sure the coaches went over it enough at practice because he was still trying to be everywhere the ball was, but I am sure he will catch on to terms like: half-back and forward and hopefully I will too.  It was a nice day to be outside so much.  A little cooler than usual but no rain.  I hope the rest of the season will be as nice.

1st and 3rd Graders

WoW!  How time flies!  Can I really be old enough to have a 1st AND 3rd grader? 
Nathan is getting to that point where he will remember the things that he does and that happen to him, even when he is older.  I have a very keen memory of my third grade year.  Nathan has been very excited to start school and then at open house night he was so shy with his teacher that I got a little worried.  Luckily he was all smiles when he came home and couldn't stop talking about all that had happened.  His teacher is a joker and he loved that about her.  He loves that he gets to move into the new part of the school when they finish it in a couple weeks.  I loved that he was so happy.
Ryan was excited, but very nervous.  It scared him a little to be gone all day and do the whole lunch thing.  But, like his brother, he came home with all smiles and was excited to tell me about his teacher and all the candy she gave him.  He said lunch time was great, even though he couldn't find his drink in the separate bottom zipper of his lunch box. 
I have to admit that my day was much quieter, much calmer, and I was really happy to see the boys at the end of the day.  While the girls and I ran a few errands (I love having only 2 at the grocery store again) we saw some funny things outside.  At first I turned to tell the boys but realizing it was Annie and Callie I had to change what I was going to say.  First we saw the new Chick-fil-A with 2 dozen or more tents outside with people waiting for it to open the next day and I thought that was so silly (I have only eaten there once so maybe I just don't know the deliciousness of the place), and then we saw 5 horses running down the new road by our home.  It was pretty funny, until one ran out in front of me and I had to honk at it.  I knew the boys would be laughing, while Annabelle just liked to look at the pretty horses and couldn't even see the tents.  So, even though I did LOVE having my boys at school all day, I did miss them a little.  But I know that this year will be a great one for all of us.

Look-a-likes??

I found this picture of me the other day and remembered my mom had given me the shirt for my girls.  We are about the same age and have about the same color of hair.  But the more I look at Callie, she has a lot of her daddy in her.

Call Me Crazy

At the beginning of the summer the kids and I came up with a list of things to do-places to go and crafts to make.  Well, the start of school came quicker than imagined and we had still never tie-dyed shirts.  My original plan was to tie-dye the shirts at the beginning of the summer and then pick a day and wear them (like "Tie-Dye Tuesday" or something).  Well, we just never seemed to get it together.  Finally Sarah and I decided that it had to get done and we did it on Monday.  It was a lot more work than I had imagined.  While it was crazy and tough with seven kids roaming, plus neighbors, it was fun and I am glad that we finally did it.

 

Here are some things that we learned through our experience:

1. Kids 8 and under can't help as much as we would have liked.  
2. Windy days make it harder.
3. If they tell you to wear gloves, wear them.
4. Wet shirts are heavy and won't stay on a make shift drying line.
5. Only do three colors and make the kids pick from them-seven was way too many.
6. Don't forget to put your dinner in the crock pot and turn it on.
7. You need A LOT of rubber bands-the thicker the better.

Boondocks

 We decided it was finally time to head over to Boondocks.  Our kids have been asking for not just months, but years, if we could go.  Thanks to coupons from the mail and on their website we got a free large pizza and a free unlimited pass for one of the boys (I love saving money).  Annabelle and I only got 2 attraction passes each but it worked out perfectly as we (she) were ready to go early and Greg and the boys stayed and played for a few more hours.  For my 2 attractions I choose race cars with Nathan and then Bumper Boats with Annie.  She went on the boats with Greg for her second attraction.  I of course did my hair for the first time all week, only to have it blown to bits on the cars and then drenched on the boats.  Ryan and Nathan were relentless with their squirt guns.  But what could I do?  I just laughed and even though it was straight in my face over and over, it felt great.  Before Annabelle and I left we played 10 tokens worth of games.  She earned 16 tickets and was excited to be able to pick things out.  While we were relaxing at home, the boys got to go mini-golfing, play laser tag, ride an XD ride (all as many times as they liked) and play 30 tokens each of video games.  They were exhausted when we got home but full of smiles.  Here is one way the boys differ.  Nathan used almost all of his tickets to buy candy.  Ryan got a little candy but a bunch of small toys, including a whoopee cushion that was the cause of A LOT of laughter that evening.  I am glad we can finally cross that place off our list.  It was fun, but I see no need to go there again until the kids are all older.

Lindon Pool

All summer I heard about this awesome pool and we finally made it there.  It couldn't have worked out more perfect.  Sarah and I headed there right when it opened, and right after Callie had eaten, so it wasn't too crowded and everyone was happy.  The boys were tall enough to let loose, with a few precautionary words and the promise to come check in every so often.  Annabelle had a life jacket on and Callie was with me.  We got to all go on the lazy river, down slides (yes, even Callie and I went on a little one), and enjoy a fun little water park.  Tomie and her kids came after we had been there for a couple hours, but Callie was in good spirits (especially after she ate and took a little nap), so we stayed for another couple hours.  We will definitely be returning.

Jumping Around

We have had a coupon for Jump On It since Christmas and I decided it was time to finally use it.  While it was just me and the 4 kids, it was a lot of fun and we definitely had our fill.

Nathan Is getting so big and I love taking him places and not really having to watch him.  However, I love that he still loves to pose for me so he makes it into our family books.

 

 

 Poor Ryan got Greg's genes when it comes to sweating.  He gets SO worn out so fast.  And SO red in the face.  He was doing small flips over in the big kid area and that freaked me out enough to venture in there with Callie to stop him.  He wasn't happy but changed to somersaults instead.

 Annabelle is such a funny girl.  There was this rock music playing and while I was thinking it wasn't the best music for a place with a majority of little kids, she was dancing and making some pretty funny moves.  Annie thought she was so big (now that she is 4) and jumped off the podium (top picture).  I love her smile!

 Callie was a good sport, as always.  She and I jumped a little and then after 45 minutes she zonked out.  Luckily the other kids were ready to go, too.

We stopped and got smoothies on our way home and it took FOREVER!!  Callie woke up and was crying.  They got my order wrong.  And then Ryan ended up getting my smoothie.  Oh well, mine was good, too, and it was definitely refreshing after all that jumping.

Firsts

Callie has had some fun firsts these past couple weeks:

She is a tummy sleeper and some mornings I find her on her back when she wakes up.

She sometimes "yells" at us if we aren't paying attention to her.

 

She has figured out how to hold onto toys if they are placed in her hands.

And of course she then brings them to her mouth.

She loves to suck on her hands and can be quite noisy with it.

We tried a pony tail the other day and while I think it is cute, she cried when I did it so I probably will stick to head bands.

I even gave her rice cereal the other day, and haven't since, but she LOVED it.  She was smiling and kicking and wanting more and more (even though in total she probably ate about a tablespoon).

I love this little girl so much and am so glad that she is a part of our family.

Annabelle's 4th Birthday

I can't believe we had another birthday in our home.  My little Annabelle has turned four.  She has been waiting for this day for a long time.  Her and I went to the store in the morning to pick out donuts.  I have trained my kids well and I think everyone likes the maple bars the best (so next time I need to get more so I can actually have one). 

"I'm four now"

Annabelle loves opening presents.  She got this minivan from Nana and Grumpy and played with it all morning.  Nathan had just woken up and you know how it is when you're a kid-not fun to watch other people get stuff.

We strung beads onto necklaces for our first activity.  I should have planned more time for this as the girls all had a blast.  They kept showing me their necklaces and asking if they were beautiful.

Annabelle wanted to have a Fancy Nancy type of tea party.  We had mini sandwiches, fruits and veggies, all eaten with a toothpick.  She even made little place cards for everyone (my Grandma Sally would have been proud). 

We all had fun dancing around and playing together.  The girls loved it when I joined in.

I love Annabelle's face in this picture.  She LOVES to dance.  Notice the girls have wands.  A girl party is SO different from the boys' parties of the past.  Not better, just different. 

Thanks to Family Fun we had these fun cupcakes with a laffy taffy crown on them.  For some reason Annabelle had a really hard time blowing out the candle.  I think part of it was that she didn't want to get too close to the fire.

Here is our Queen Annabelle.  She loved this new dress and was excited to wear it.  However at the very end of the party she was really hot and fussed for it to come off.  Good thing we had clothes on under.  The rest of the afternoon has been spent playing with all of the fun toys and games she got from family and friends.  Later tonight we will head to Carl's Jr (her choice) for dinner.  It has been a fun and crazy day.  We sure do love our dramatic and girly Annabelle.

Outings With 4 Kids

Taking four children any where is quite an ordeal.  That is why we haven't done much all summer.  On Monday my good friend, Tomie, convinced me to go out to lunch and then to her grandma's neighborhood pool.  I thought I could handle it, and I did survive, but it was quite exhausting. 
We went to Sweet Tomatoes, which was delicious and fun, but tricky with my entourage of kids.  It is a buffet type place and the kids just kept wanting more and more.  I would go into these sweaty panic attacks as my kids displayed their horrible manners and I struggled to feed Callie as discreetly as possible. 
Next stop was the pool.  I decided to try and see if Callie would like it, but she didn't.  It was a little cold and windy so I can't blame her, but I was hopeful.  Meanwhile Ryan jumped into the 4 ft deep water, right next to the wall, and panicked.  He couldn't remember how to swim or how to reach over to the wall, he just yelled to me across the pool with a look of pure fear on his face.  I could do nothing fast enough but yell at him to swim (which he knew how to do after lessons this summer).  Nathan was right next to him and pulled him toward the wall, but Ryan was too shaken up to leave the kiddie area the rest of the time we were there.  Which wasn't long since Nate got a bloody nose and Callie fell asleep.  I was just done, but Annie wasn't.  Tomie was nice enough to let her stay with them (though the whole time I feared for her life-water is scary!).  I came home and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  And that is why it is almost time for school to start and we have not done as much as I thought we would have done.  Oh well, I have a marvelous excuse.