Climbing the Walls

I know that rainy, Sunday afternoons are not my kids' favorite times, but I always thought "climbing the walls" was just a figure of speech.

I had a great afternoon as we talked on the phone with family and friends. I can't believe how blessed we are to have such great families and right now I feel so incredibly blessed to have the greatest friends in the whole world. I guess I started thinking about all our wonderful friends when I was talking to a good friend who just moved away. I can't even express how nice it is to be able to be with such good people all the time.

Beautiful Summer

I think we're finally into the swing of our summer schedule--meaning reading, chores and practices are done before the skate board park, the pool, bike rides, basketball, and ice cream. I don't ever want to waste a minute of New Hampshire summers (oh, they don't last long!) so we're always on the go. However, I really want my kids to understand and savor the concept of pure and peaceful down time (reading, resting, thinking, enjoying the beauty of solid GREEN in New England). Hopefully this summer will be full of all these important things. Here's Sarah just chillin' at the pool......

My Jordan.

So, yes. There are some similarities. This little boy takes such good care of me. He's always looking out for my feelings. I just love his eyes. They sparkle and they make me so happy. I feel so blessed to have such great kids.

Eight is Great!!!

It's here, Ty! You're 8 years old. He told us he even feels different now that he's 8. We're so excited for him and we can't believe we have a little boy who is ready to be baptized. He's such a great son and brother. We love Tyler--he's smart, funny, athletic, and thoughtful. His birthday was so much fun. Breakfast with Dad at Denny's, shopping for new church shoes, swimming at the pool, a Pokemon party, presents, and cake and ice cream. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TY!

Another peaceful afternoon at the Menders......

Owen's Birthday, steak, tag, a ton of fun....Kim, what would we do without you??? (Not to mention everything else you do to help our family.) We had a wonderful afternoon. THANK YOU!!

.....did I mention the beautiful back yard??

Kung Fu Panda

Great movie, by the way! We giggled through the whole movie just watching our kids laugh hysterically. It really was worth the $50 we spent to see it as a family. What we did not factor in, however, was all the injuries, broken objects, and the constant begging for karate lessons. It's really adding up........

We have arrived.......

Yep. A new activity. Tyler's joins cub scouts this week. He got to be in the pinewood derby and he's still beaming from ear to ear. He is so excited to join all his friends on Wednesday nights at the church. Being the only girl in my family, I spent hours in the cub scout world. Now that I have boys I'm so excited for the whole scout thing!

Swimmin' in the Rain

The pool opened on Monday! Tyler, Jordan, and Carter count down the hours every day until the pool finally opens at 4:00! Too bad that's when all the T-storms start. The rain didn't seem to bother the kids though. They are having such a great time!

Life Beyond the Car Seat...

I love, love, love having my kids home for the summer. We are having so much fun! Sarah, for the first time, is waking up in the morning and enjoying some play time instead of going straight from her bed to the car seat. We think she's pretty happy about it.....

Happy Father's Day!

I love Father's Day! I'm so thankful for my dad and grandpas and especially for Jason. Today in church we listened to a talk listing all the wonderful things that husbands, dads, and grandpas do for us!! We hope everyone had a wonderful day. Our day included church and a big main course of beef and a big dessert of ice cream all for our daddy. Here's a copy of the kiddos' card to Jason (thanks Shaunie!) So fun (funny)!

Our Father's Day activity was a Friday night camping trip. We've been anticipating this camp-out for quite some time now. We went with our friends--the Richins. We had so much fun with them! We camped at the Joseph Smith Memorial and on our way we drove right through the Quechee Balloon Festival. We got to see tons of balloons taking off and some even landing unexpectedly by the freeway. It was amazing except for the fact that we almost ran off the road three times while watching the balloons. Camping was great--hotdogs, marshmallows, sticks, hiking, sleeping. We had such a great time. On the way home we stopped at this little pond. The kids just jumped out of the car and started stripping all the way down to the dock. They just ran and kept running and dove right in. I guess we didn't realize how anxious they were for the season's first swim!

2 More Days!

Now, Jordan's teacher doesn't run a farm. She's more of the slip-n-slide, basketball, order pizza type. Lots of learning going on the last week of school, huh?? We wouldn't have it any other way!

A Day at the Farm

In the next few days I'll be posting the kids' end-of-school parties. We think school should already be over and the pools should already be open. But, since we're not getting our wishes, we're so grateful for wonderful outings at school!!

Tyler's party was out at his teacher's farm--she took the kids on tractor rides, caught salamanders, built bird houses, planted flowers, ate hot dogs, and played water games. Her house is so beautiful and it was so fun to take a day and play on the farm.

Tyler's teacher helping the kids catch fish and salamanders................


Sprinklers at the farm house!

HAPPINESS IS............

DISCOVERY!
I just love to watch how excited Sarah gets about everything. Her little hands just shake and twist when someone is about to pick her up. She quickly rolls over to get her favorite toys. She ended up in the boys' pile of pennies yesterday. She truly thought she hit the jackpot! And watch out for the dive she will take out of your arms if she sees something she wants. Her constant babbling keeps the whole family talking to her every minute. We love our little Sarah!

BATHTIME!
We love bath time. So calming and fun. We like to watch Sarah try over and over again to pick up the water.

SPEED!
Any free minute Jordan is out the door and on his bike. Crying and showing me his banged up elbow and knee, "Mom, I was just trying a new trick. I closed my eyes and steered with one hand."

LITTLE BOY SWEAT
(especially after they shower and they smell and look so sweet!) Carter could play basketball for hours. He can dribble and shoot away a whole morning while the kids are at school. I love watching him and listening to his play by play commentary.

Daddy's Home!

Status in Kindergarten

Today at 6:52 am Jordan joined the ranks of his fellow classmates by losing his first tooth. It was getting close--only 9 days left of school. So important to lose that first tooth in the kindergarten school year. Jordan is so, so, so happy.

rare adj. /rair/ (rarer, rarest) 1 seldom done or occurring; uncommon, unusual. 2 exceptionally good.

Sleep. Peaceful sleep. We'll take in whenever and wherever it comes......