These pictures from FHE were too darling not to post.
I'm pretty sure the costume was more distracting than study aid, but they enjoyed it!
Sunday, August 31, 2014
School days are here again
I'll be honest, I was excited for school to start. The boys were at the point of fighting more than playing and Alec needs the structure!
The first day was all smiles and happiness:
But, the rest of the week was more:
My fabulous sister-in-law, Carly sent that and she was right on the money!
Alec is a talker. Boy, girl, child, adult-he doesn't mind. So, he's been getting in trouble for talking in class. At first I was upset, but in the grand scheme of things, talking (as long as it's not unkindly), is just not worth getting upset over. I know in a few weeks he'll get used to raising his hand again, but for now he needs me to love and support him. To not make him feel bad because he's not perfect. So, we talked about why talking out of turn can be disrespectful and how other children need the opportunity to answer questions. By Friday? He was back on 'green'!! I know he'll still have rough days, but not getting upset at him when he made mistakes, really built his confidence in his capability to improve.
A few pictures from the rest of us:
"Do I look cool, mom?"
"Always."
Hide and seek counting with Tessie!
Evy finally agreed to be the demonstrator this week at gymnastics:
First day at 'Let's Play Music'!!! We are so in love with this program!!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
She didn't love gymnastics
Evy LOVES to climb things. We've always joked she'll be a natural gymnast, especially when the boys were doing gymnastics and she desperately wanted to join in. So, I signed her up for a session at good old parks an' rec.
Granted we were about 20 minutes late, because on the way I found a stray and we HAD to run her home so she wasn't wandering the streets.
First, she would NOT take her sandals off. Second, she screamed and refused to follow the group. So, I calmly stayed back with her. Finally, when had they had free play time, she climbed, slid, rolled, and hung.
Alec was supposed to be taking pictures, but he was a little distracted by 'Star Wars Angry Birds' on my phone, so I snapped these two at the very end while they were waiting for the gummy bears. Well, the other kids waited. Ev stood up and grabbed one from the lid. 'Carpe de gummy bear', baby!
The boys got to sport their bright, new orange soccer cleats today:
Ahh, I adore these kiddos!
7 children, ages 7 and under running around our house Monday.
My mom decided to stay in Utah all of August. We agreed to help watch cute little Emery (1) whilst she's gone. Child count: 4.
Last week I had promised my darling Visiting Teaching companion to take her two older children for a day so she could enjoy some time with her darling newborn son, Krew. Child count: 6.
My sweet aunt texted to see what we were up to, she was watching her grandson, so we invited them over to make cupcakes for FHE treats. Final child count: 7!!
It was noisy, chaotic, and fun!!
We made rainbow cupcakes-over two dozen for everyone's FHE treats.
Swimming burned off the excess energy, but the dark storm clouds, drizzle and "scary thunder" chased us back into the house.
Doesn't my nephew Ryan have a face you could kiss all day?
In my defense, I only ever wanted 6 children!
Beach
Our favorite family vacations, are quick weekend beach trips to my grandma's house. We've found that more than two nights away from home with small children is no longer a vacation...and slowly seeps into the field of tantrums and exhaustion. Also, trying to match schedules with others just adds stress to a time we want focused on enjoying our family.
So, we have a good routine of our own down. We drive Paul to work Friday, then pick him up on our way out of town.
Saturday morning we pack up lunch, snacks, and head to a beach. This time, Paul had done a little research and decided we should try out El Matador beach, just north of Zuma in Malibu. It was a super treacherous walk down to the beach along the narrow path and some rickety old stairs! But, it quickly proved worth it when we found some cool tidepools and caves to explore.
Alec quickly made some new friends, and they were busy collecting crabs, sand crabs, and looking for anemones. James doesn't particularly enjoy making new friends, so he hung back with Paul, Evelyn, and I.
Evelyn has definitely hit the terrible twos, and our beach trip was no exception. Lately everything scares her, and at the beach it was the loud waves.
Being the kind father he is, Paul filled a large bucket with water and Evy proceeded to sit in it and inform us she was taking a bath.
She thought it was hilarious. Once we were all exhausted, Paul made two solo trips taking our things back to the van, so he could help me carry the little two back up.
We clean off sand at the car, change the kids (they always fall asleep), then drive back to grandma's to bathe everyone and order Mission Burrito! Sometimes we eat there, but lately it's nicer to eat at my Aunt Jerri's-she lives 5 minutes from my grandma-so we can visit with her and my cousin, Colin, also. This trip we watched a Percy Jackson movie which Colin had chosen special for Alec. Alec loved it. James was scared, Evy was bored. Paul took them back to grandma's and Alec had a special late night.
Normally we leave super early Sunday morning to make it back in time for our ward in Vegas, but neither of us were teaching and Paul really wanted to meet a business partner that lives in CA, so I had planned to go to church with my grandma, at St. Martin's of the Field, an Episcopalian church. She's gone there since my father and aunt were children, and it's always fun for her to show off her granddaughter and great-grandchildren. But, she was pretty tired so we opted to stay in whilst Paul was out.
James, trying on grandma's glasses.
Evy, trying on my deceased grandfather's glasses.
The good news was, I got some good videos of my grandma answering questions that will help with our family history. She's 88 years old and can still remember everyone's birthdays!
By the time we drove home, the kids were exhausted.
This is our kind of paradise.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Lake Mead Family Day
We have had to deal with a lot of unnecessary drama in my family, I'm teaching a summer class at the college, and Paul's working hard, and studying for the GMAT. We really needed some time as a family and when the Lorenzen's invited us out on their boat for Saturday, I leapt at the chance!
Evy has been having a hard time sleeping, and was exhausted and cranky the whole day. Paul seemed more than happy to cuddle her most of the day so it was good bonding time for them.
When the water was still in the calm, she was awake and fussy. As soon as we hit some choppy waves she was out like a light!
I tried waterskiing, but was never able to fully standup. I had to give up eventually, when I couldn't keep the right ski on my foot and I pulled a muscle in my left leg. It was my first time and I absolutely loved it!
The boys loved swimming in the lake, and since the weather was too windy to throw the raft out the back for them, we ended up spending over two hours on a little beach area where Tessie and I followed Alec, James, and Aubrey around as they explored every possible surface they could!
I'm laying here in bed trying to cool off my sunburnt legs and stretch out my left leg muscles. So worth it!
So in the last two months...
Alec finished first grade on the Honor Roll. We all adored his new teacher at Antonello, Mrs. DeVoid. She was the perfect combination of kindness and strict rules that were enforced. Thanks to her help, Alec had a wonderful end of first grade!
Paul came to class for his award ceremony, then stayed to teach a lesson on astronomy.
The kids had loads of questions for him and were absolutely intrigued. He used cocoa powder and flour to demonstrate astroids on the moon. I'm pretty sure that's what sold the class!
The parks and rec soccer season ended, and with it, the fun of seeing two buddies regularly.
Alec decided he didn't want to pursue competitive gymnastics even though he got invited onto the team. I was a little disappointed, probably for vanity reasons. It would've been nice to have him doing a serious, competitive sport. But, we've come to realize we don't want that for our children. Life's not a competition, it's an individual test.
Alec's good friend, Cannon Dean moved to Utah. He was Alec's first buddy. They started playing together in nursery and we let them have play dates before they turned two. We will definitely miss the Dean family!
Paul and Alec enjoyed watching the World Cup together. I always think it's so nice being married to a British man, because he doesn't watch any American sports. But, once every four years he's heavily glued to all soccer matches he has time for. I'm totally okay with that.
Alec still loves reading, and his priorities concerning his physical comfort at bedtime is hilarious. Books, Legos, then space to sleep!
James graduated preschool with Mrs Andrea. Although he always did well in class: listening and sharing with others, etc, he absolutely hated to go. I've actually decided to keep him home next year and not bother with a second year of preschool. He will still get plenty of socializing at church, music class, and whatever activity he chooses to do.
The boys both decided they didn't want to do gymnastics anymore, so they're taking soccer training classes at the indoor soccer field. (Seriously, it's the only way to do soccer in the summertime in Vegas!)
James took two full weeks of swim lessons with Ms. Sandy, and is now a really strong swimmer! He's proving to be just as independent as Alec, and absolutely loved diving for rings during class more than practicing his strokes. He did a lot better when I didn't help him in the pool anymore. When James is around people he's very comfortable with (read: family members), he gets silly, but when he's around strangers or teachers he behaves perfectly.
Evy is keeping us all on our toes. I think after two wiggly boys, I fantasized about a sweet little girl who would like to sit down and color neatly the table, then have a tea party with her baby dolls. Although she loves doing those things, it's never quiet or neat!
She's nonstop motion and noise! Her current favorite things are: 'Let it Go', from 'Frozen', pushing her baby dolls in strollers, and trying on mommy's shoes.
"I go temple?!"
She's becoming very good at her apologies, and her sweet little hugs and kisses always warm us over after a temper tantrum. I just wish the outbursts in public could be a little more subdued!
We decided to invest in an aboveground pool for this summer and next. It's only 30 inches deep, so all three kids can stand up in it, but it's deep enough that they can jump across and swim and burn off excess energy.
We celebrated Father's Day,
Independence Day,
and my cousin, Sawyer's wedding!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)