A few things we have done in August

Adam perfected personal jet propulsion with his rocket man suit.  What you can't see is the jet pack taped to the back of the suit.

 Caleb had his first s'more and decided to eat it piece by piece and enjoyed every bite.

 The other kids enjoyed theirs too.

 Aaron worked with the kids on painting, teaching them about mixing colors and creating a palate.

 Elaine used some birthday money to buy a new doll which she loves.

Our family went swimming yesterday and we even splurged and picked up a Little Caesar's pizza on the way. It was extremely enjoyable because there was food to eat, everyone had fun, and we left before anyone got bored or started complaining.  Elaine went off of the diving board I don't know how many times and would have been there the whole time if we'd been willing.  Adam "cannonballed" into the not really deep but safe enough for him to jump in end.  Caleb was just happy to be in the water, even when his lips turned blue.  (Poor guy.)  We can't believe there is only one more week until school starts!

This week was very cool for the first week of August.  The older kids (Elaine and Adam) have swimming lessons at an outdoor community pool.  Even the swim instructors were hesitant to go into the pool.  Elaine swam the entire length of the pool.  She proudly told Aaron the news when he got home on Thursday evening.

Our garden is starting to produce produce. :)  We have gotten many cherry tomatoes, three beef-steak tomatoes, a couple of cucumbers and a green pepper this week.  We also got 5 big cucumbers from another family's garden last Sunday.  We are blessed with 3 children who are each enthusiastic about eating garden produce.  Our cherry tomatoes rarely last long.

Caleb this week

Caleb loves cheese.  I made the mistake of leaving the block on the table this week while I went to help Adam for a moment (Caleb was strapped into his booster seat) and came back to find Caleb nibbling on the block like a little mouse!

On Saturday it was too quiet so I went looking for Caleb.  I found him in the downstairs bathroom where he had successfully pulled off all of the toilet paper remaining on the roll and placed in in the potty.  Fortunately it wasn't a new roll - though it was still way to much to flush!

Caleb is close to having his canines break through and will sometimes grab at his mouth and cry.  This makes me sad!

He has also taken up screaming as a form of communication for any displeasure or if he wants something.  Not our new favorite phase.

Last night Elaine was saying the family prayer in the middle of the prayer Caleb came up to her and put his head against hers and then gave her a hug.  (Yes, sometimes I peek during prayers - primarily to make sure Caleb isn't doing something crazy or dangerous!)  He loves to hug his family.  He also loves to mimic Adam and will copy him regularly.  We are trying to help Adam be proud of this and be a good example for Caleb. Sometimes it works beautifully and sometimes it needs work. :)

Family Vacation Part 1

We had a great vacation the last two weeks.

We were planning on staying at Emily and Jeremy's home on Tuesday before we flew out of Harrisburg, but then on Monday Aaron went to the doctor and was diagnosed with strep throat.  On Tuesday I started running a fever and even though I wasn't positive on the quick strep test, the doctor prescribed me antibiotics too.  Since staying with family was out we made reservations as a motel near the airport that had a park-sleep-fly package (so we wouldn't have to pay for airport parking).  I thought that would be perfect since we would be close to the airport in the morning.  And it would have been - if our family slept well.  Caleb was up past 10:00 screaming, I tossed and turned all night and Aaron was up sometime after 1:30 am and never fell back asleep.  Then Adam woke up by 6:00 am and woke everyone else up too.  *Sigh*  I guess we could have slept at home and just gotten up early!

The flights were ok and the woman sitting next to Caleb on the flight was a grandma and a godsend.  She played with him and told me multiple times what a wonderful baby he was and how well he was doing - which was much appreciated, especially since I could tell he annoyed the passenger in front of us.  I hope some day I can help a young mother out like she helped me!

We had reserved a premium car at the car rental (5 seats with a little more room) and since they were out of premiums we got a minivan instead for the same price.  (About 1/3 of what a minivan would have cost).

Elaine had been complaining of a sore throat so before we visited anyone we made a stop to Urgent Care - thankfully she was negative for strep and was feeling better by that point!

We headed to Bethany's house and the kids were happy to see their cousins and to be done traveling.  One thing our kids enjoyed doing at their house was checking on, feeding, and looking for eggs from their chickens.

On Thursday we took the new train up to SLC with Catherine, Sarah, Bethany and their kids.  We had 5 adults and 17 kids in tow.  It was a little crazy but we made it.  We walked through Temple Square and then went and took a tour of the Conference Center.  The best part was the spirit we felt when Sarah bore her testimony of seeing the prophet there.  We did go on the roof but by that point I was hungry and tired (never a good combo for me) and we needed to go to catch the train back so we got the short version of the roof.  Pretty cool to see all the plants and trees up there.

Thursday evening was Bethany and Devin's ward temple night so Aaron and I went with them while Meagan and a friend watched their kids and ours.  The only hitch was that there were so many people there that we waited an hour to get into a session.  I guess I should be grateful that attendance was so good!  It worked out and we saw Sarah and Catherine there too.

Friday we went to Roy and Sharon's home to visit.  Our kids played with their Johnson cousins.  In the afternoon I went to visit Bekah and had a really nice time seeing Amy and Nathan and visiting with Bekah for 2.5 hrs.  I wish I could have stayed longer!  Then I picked up some Cafe` Rio on the way home - yummmm!

On Friday Aaron helped to put in a railing in his parents food storage room for a platform Roy had built. Saturday he spent most of the day over there working on the railing.

Devin was teaching some friends how to make cream puffs and I got to join in.  They were amazing!

In the afternoon Aaron picked us up and Caleb slept at his grandparents while I took Elaine, Adam, Katie and Brooklyn to the splash park in Spanish Fork.  The kids enjoyed splashing for a little while, but ended up having more fun at the playground.

 Then we headed up to South Jordan to meet up with some of Aaron's high school friends.  It was nice to see them but a sudden explosion of rain (really, quite the downpour) caused a hastier exit than originally anticipated.  Though it was time for us to go anyway!

Weekend with the PA Bakers

  On Saturday, June 22 we went to visit Keith and Amber and the boys.  We met up for a hike about 30 minutes from their new home.  The kids did a great job on the hike. We saw a little waterfall, dropped sticks off of a bridge into a river, ate lunch on logs, and just had a nice time in general.

After the hike we went back to their home.  The grown-ups played a game while the kids played with each other.  Elaine and Brendan disappered into his room and happily played for a long time.  James was interested in the "baby" and Caleb liked pushing him around on his three wheeler.  Adam and Kyle had some game going (not sure what) but they were rough housing like boys and having a lot of fun (no tears).  Aaron also helped Kyle build a "nuclear battery" with cardboard and aluminum foil for Kyle's time machine.  We enjoyed chatting with them and the time went by too quickly.

Everyday happenings

 Being child #3 Caleb has greater access to the bathroom.  To be fair the kids are pretty good about remembering to shut the door, but when they forget and it has been quiet for too long, you know there is trouble!  At least he is really cute.

Elaine made this paper mache hot air balloon at school.  Since we couldn't save it forever we immortalized it with a photo.

Sometimes eating the food under the high chair is tastier than on the tray.  At least according to Caleb.

Aaron shared his father's day chocolate to make s'mores.  We happened to have marshmallows on hand (rare) but we were out of graham crackers.  Being the amazing husband he is Aaron made some homemade graham crackers.  The result was delicious!

 Our future doctor.

 

It doesn't get more exciting than watching the recycle truck!!

 Though Caleb's climbing abilities get my heart racing at times!

Some thoughts from this last week

This last week 6/2-6/9 was Elaine's last full week of kindergarten. She has been bringing home lots and lots of art projects and other papers.  I don't know that she really comprehends that she is almost done with this year - or maybe it just isn't emotional for her.  I don't recall ever feeling emotional at the end of the school year - just excited for the adventures ahead.  I feel a little sad I guess that her kindergarten year is almost done.  It's such a magical time and it means she is growing up and though it is exciting, it also is going faster than I expected.  On Friday Elaine's class had a summer birthday party to celebrate kids with summer birthdays and she loved that.  She also had a play date with a little girl from her class.  Elaine often asks to have friends over and I'm not great about coordinating that, partly because Adam wants to play with her when she gets home.

I have never had a cavity in my life until now.  On Tuesday I had four filled.  Yikes!  Honestly I had high levels of anxiety about the process from stories and jokes I've heard.  Luckily things went very smoothly and the numbing wasn't too bad and my fillings match my teeth so you can't even tell.  I contemplated rewarding myself with ice cream but decided maybe that wasn't prudent.  Tuesday evening Aaron and I watched Studio C which is on BYU TV and is one of our favorite shows.  (We really don't watch many so it's not hard to have a favorite, though we do think it is funny.)

Aaron is teaching finance 305 right now.  This is the second finance class for undergraduate students.  He loves teaching but this week has been filled with some frustration.  Some students are perplexed why they are failing even though they don't attend class.  *Sigh*  Aaron has less control over student attendance and overall accountability than he did when he taught ROTC but he says he still enjoys teaching.

Our garden is starting to grow and it is actually looking like a garden now and not just a weed patch, which is exciting.  This is largely due to Aaron's heroic efforts.  Our lettuce is producing enough that I haven't purchased lettuce at the store the last two weeks and we are hoping to not have to buy it for most if not all of the summer.  The rest of the plants will be ready in mid-late August, so we'll have to wait awhile.  Aaron built and installed a trellis for the cucumbers - apparently since they are vines they can grow vertically - so we are going to try that this year.

Poor Caleb has been sick most of the week with a cold but fortunately for me still is his happy self most of the time.

Adam is now proficient at putting on his own shoes and socks.  Hooray!