September 2014

With the delay in the start of school, we had some extra days in the beautiful weather of September to have more fun. We went with friends on a tour of the fire station and on a tour of the Recycling Center. We went on a planets walk along the path near our town. And we found a place to pick blackberries! The ones in the front that were easy to reach were gone, so it was hard to pick. They are really pokey bushes! Even with spilling the bucket once, we got a decent amount. And they were so good! We made some milkshakes and jam with them, along with just eating them fresh.

Ellie had a great time with the rocks along the path where the blackberries were.

Ian, Caleb, and Levi share a room. They've had a bunk bed that is a twin on top for Ian with a double bed on the bottom for Levi and Caleb. They are short enough to sleep the short way on the bed. But they are getting taller and want their own bed. We had a bunk bed and twin we could use, but they would take up their whole room. My sister jokingly sent me a picture of a triple bunk bed, saying that's what we need. And, actually, it was! We found some plans online and John made them a triple bunk! Their bunk bed sold and was gone within 4 days of my posting it for sale, so they spent several weeks on mattresses on the floor and on the couch while John worked hard to build their new beds.

And, finally, school started!

Ian, the big 6th grader, starting at the middle school! He loves it!

And Caleb and Levi, starting 3rd grade. They're back at the elementary school this year, with the arrangement that they come home to eat lunch. The office lets them sign themselves out and back in, so I don't have to go get them every day.

And, two new Wolf Scouts! There were no scout meetings in August so they finally got to go to a Cub Scout meeting, after working hard on their Bobcats at home during August.

And then there is Ellie. The first week of school she asked all day where her brothers were. She missed them! She does have fun playing by herself, too. She has her friends all lined up and built the road for the cars. The Little People princess that is second to the end of her line has red hair. She, on her own, decided that the princess is Ellie :).

And, soccer started! Caleb and Levi got put on separate teams, but at least they play on the same night. Ian plays on a different night, and they all have games on Saturday as well. This is Ian's last season in parks and recreation soccer. One night during Ian's game it rained for a few minutes and then this beautiful double rainbow appeared.

September is also County Fair month. And what a great fair it was! Caleb drew a picture and got a white ribbon, as well as entered his 4-H Cloverbud book. Levi wrote a poem and got second place, and the silver award. He even got some money for it! He also entered his Cloverbud book. And Ian decided to enter the King Arthur Flour Baking Contest, there was a certain recipe to make. And, he won first place and best of show! He won some money and a gift card to King Arthur Flour's catalog. Even I entered some peaches I canned and got a red ribbon.

And, the finished product! A triple bunk that only takes up one wall of their room. It's an awesome bed!

And, last but not least, in September we finished our miles for the summer. We made a goal to go 75 miles. Most of them were biking miles. By the time school was supposed to start in August, all three made the 75 mile goal! So, we kept on, trying to get to 100. By the time school started two weeks later, Ian was at 118.5 miles, Levi 100, and Caleb 102!!

August 2014

At the very start of August we made a trip to visit John's family. He was in charge of their family reunion this year. We had planned to have it at our house, until it became apparent that Grandpa wasn't going to be able to travel. And, why have a reunion when the patriarch (and thus Grandma, and several others) couldn't come? So, we moved it to their place. Everyone was super kind to pitch in and let us use their houses and help plan activities. And, John's brother-in-law who is a bishop, arranged it so Caleb and Levi could get baptized there. I did a whole post on that earlier. We stayed at John's sister's house and our kids love it there. They rode scooters and bikes, roller skates, played ball, pretended to be super heroes, you name it, they did it. Their cousins are great.

One afternoon of the reunion another of John's sisters let us use their slip and slide and trampoline, it was fun! Ellie wanted nothing to do with it, but the other young kiddos - and even a teenager and 20-something cousin - had fun.

Back at home, a kind couple in our ward let us come pick cherries, as many as we wanted. We picked 26 pounds, and she'd already had 7 families over to pick! Plus what they picked for themselves. And there were still more after we left. So, we pitted a lot of cherries. Thankfully I have some good helpers. We canned some and made jam.

And Ellie painted.

During August we went to the cheese/ice cream factory with Daddy (his first time), to a park or two, to the train park, bowling, to a National Park where the boys became Junior Rangers, hiking with friends, and back to the cheese/ice cream factory with the same friends. And we rode our bikes on more, longer rides. We even went on a few 5 mile rides! School was supposed to start near the end of August. But, there was a little problem with the bathrooms in every school being torn out and not finished, so, they delayed school for 2 weeks! So, we had even more time to have fun.

July 2014

July was spent teaching Barton to play the piano,

helping cook,

being cute,

swimming at our aunt and uncle's pool,

being Garfield,

and celebrating two boys turning 8!!

We also got to help celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary! We had a reunion at the same time and it was so much fun. Because the anniversary party and reunion were at the beginning of the month, this was the first time ever that Levi and Caleb did not spend their birthday with their Grandma, with whom they share the big day. They were sad about that, but had a fun birthday at home. They're so excited to be 8, to get baptized, and to start Cub Scouts!

June 2014

Ian graduated! They had a 5th grade graduation, and he did it, finished elementary school. I can't believe middle school is here already! Ian is ready, though.

We started our library's summer reading program. The boys like to take turns reading to Ellie, which is great for me, since she wants to read the same book, Pooh's Easter Egg Hunt, every single day. But, she pretty much has it memorized now, so she's starting to read it to us!

The first time Ellie has drawn on herself. This may not seem like any big deal, but for a girl who has had some sensory issues with her hands, not wanting them to get wet, dirty, or even wanting someone to hold her hand, it's a pretty big deal. She also wants to hold my hand a lot more. I used to just have to hold her arm.

Happy Father's Day! And, happy birthday to Daddy! We love him!

I love Ellie's ringlets!

One morning I came out to the living room and this is how I found Caleb. It was only about 7am, he said he got up at 5am and came out to read. Apparently, that's a little too early for him :).

May 2014

The baby geese and ducks at the pond near our house. It's so fun to see them each spring. Then they grow up so fast! We had grandparents here visiting and took them to the pond.

Ian had a "People Fair" at school, as kind of an end of elementary school project. They researched a person they were interested in, wrote a paper, created a power point presentation, and then presented it to a group of all the 5th grade students and parents (only a few parents, they were assigned times so there wasn't a huge group of adults). Ian chose Meriwether Lewis. He also had to dress the part. He do SO well! He gave his presentation without even seeming nervous at all. Way to go, Ian!

Ellie got sick :(. She put herself to sleep a few times over the few days she was sick. Thankfully she recovered without having too much difficulty. I'm so thankful she's never had to go the doctor when she's been sick. Each time, I prepare myself to have to take her in for dehydration, but we've been so blessed (and usually she receives a priesthood blessing) that she's been able to keep hydrated through her illnesses.

There was a free fishing day at the reservoir near our house. So John decided to take the boys. There was equipment for them to use, and they ran into some kind campers who let them fish near their site, and who cleaned the fish for them! They each caught one or two. They brought them home and fried them up for lunch.

Lots of reading going on. Ellie's moved on to chapter books already :).

Ian's second overnight boy scout campout!! He was so excited. Daddy went with him the first time, but couldn't this time, as he was taking Levi to visit John's brother, for his niece's wedding reception. So Ian went and had a great time! Levi had fun with just Daddy, and Caleb enjoyed being the only boy home for a while. He said he wanted a break from Levi. But, it didn't take long before he was moping around, wondering when Levi was coming home, because "Ian doesn't want to play what I want, but I know Levi would." As much as he says he gets annoyed with Levi, he loves him so much. They're best buds. And Ellie? She was confused as to where everyone was most of the weekend.