around the house

I know this is picture overload but this one will be just for the grandmas. T-storms keep on coming so we've spent a little more time in the house the last couple of days. It's nice to relax a little and just enjoy being together.

Looking for something to do on a beautiful Sunday evening? The kids are really in to paper airplanes these days. Now, I just have to teach them to stop making them during church.

Sarah loves Tyler. She just calms right down when she sees him. I'm so grateful for their relationship right now. I try not to make him the constant babysitter, but he's just so good at it!

Yes, there it is. The tooth! Her first one. And a big drool drip for you, too.

I know this is all normal baby stuff but I just had to get a picture of Sarah's action just before I pick her up. Both of her arms go up to a 90 degree angle and she turns her wrists so fast. She stares down and puts on a fake, pursed smile and threatens to cry if I don't reach down and pick her up...now! I just can't resist...

The boys love her blue eyes. They are a lot like Jordan's.

Jordan gets to hold Sarah at night while we're reading. He says it's one of his favorite parts of the day. Jordan is my buddy lately. We play card games every morning, all during the day, and we would play all night if it were up to him. He tries so hard to make Sarah happy. He's not always successful with her but he does it for me every time!

She is so anxious to do everything her brothers are doing. She tries so hard to crawl to them, but she is still a pro at scooting backwards. It won't be too long, though. The house-proofing is underway.

Therapy

Being at the beach does wonders for the soul. My kids are still smiling from Saturday's outing. I must say that being in the tops of the mountains is still medicine and magic for my spirit, but the beach is a soothing, fun place. I love the mountains and I love the ocean. I'm lucky to live in places where I can have both.

Jordan is a fish. He just saw the beach and started running...and he would keep running without a little instruction. He likes the waves so much..and the sand, and the seagulls, and the seaweed, and the salt, and the sun, and the snacks...and everything else about the day. Just before we left he spotted something in the ocean and ran back and dove in to see what it was. It was a $5 bill. He felt like the luckiest kid in the world! (Check out the guy behind Jordan getting pummeled by the wave. Jordan thought that was pretty cool when he saw the picture.)

The kids are crazy and they think this game is just grand--daddy saving them from crashing waves. They love to hold onto his arms while the waves whip them all around. Look at them laughing hysterically. We've been discussing how to teach our children to use caution at the same time they enjoy life to the fullest. The kids were so happy to play with Jason all day long!

Tyler is on the boogie board and loving every minute of being in the water. He's also got a talent for running on sand. Jason and Tyler raced across the sand and Tyler was a little speedster--I think it surprised Jason. The time is not far away that Tyler is going to beat the dad. Tyler liked jumping the waves and helping keep his brothers and Sarah safe.

Ahhh. Sarah loves her daddy. She's growing so fast and doing so many things he has a hard time keeping track of everything. She's got a tooth now and 3 more are on the way. She tries to crawl to objects we put in front of her. We give all the encouragement we can but she ends up just scooting backwards. She gets so frustrated that she just buries her head in her hands and cries. She turns her wrists and kicks and breathes so fast whenever she sees the mom and wants to be picked up. She can't be put to sleep when she's not really tired but you can wake her up any time and she will have a smile for you. She likes to be dressed and to get dressed. She loves her brothers and wants them around all the time. When I pick her up she immediately turns forward and looks for something to do. She grabs everything and she wants new things to do all the time. When she nurses to sleep her eyes roll in the back of her head about 5 times before she finally drops off to sleep. She still doesn't like any kind of real food. She just likes to nurse.

At least that's what we thought before we introduced her to sand.............

Fistful after fistful she was eating as fast as she could. When her fist wasn't fast enough she just buried her face in the sand and started eating. She cried when we took the sand away. Which baby food tastes most like sand? I'd definitely being willing to try whatever it is. (I changed her diaper after church today. Ewwww. Lots and lots of sand.)

This is my friend, Julianne, teaching me the finer points of the delicate art of boogie boarding. She's good. Really good. That's my Southern California friend who is in love with New Hampshire. There's not many of those, you know. She's good at lots of other things, too. Thanks for a great time!!! (All the time.) Oh yeah. And this is me the one and only time I caught a great wave. I'm looking forward to getting more practice.

This is an arranged marriage. Well, I haven't discussed this with the other party, but don't they look cute? Claire and Carter got really brave near the end of the day. They jumped waves over and over again. It was near impossible to get them out of the water.

"This is my favorite day, ever! Thanks for bringing us!" All three boys are still beaming. Tired, but beaming. We'll be going back again, soon!

Sunday

Sunday afternoons...aren't they wonderful!! Today I just had to take a picture of Sarah's dress. It's my absolute favorite. You know how sometimes you just hit a home run when you make a purchase? It's just a simple dress from Carter's, easy wash cotton. But it's the perfect color--just right to bring out her blue eyes. Just needed a little puff-sleeved T and a little bow for the peach fuzz head (thanks, Michelle) and that's it. I just love it! I am just now getting into the whole girl shopping thing--so, so, so fun! Up until now, I've had tons of clothes (thanks, Sarah, for the dresser full of the cutest girls clothes ever!!!) Needless to say, I'm having tons of fun!

"I just can't wait any longer!"

The kids keep looking at the clock and asking me how many days and minutes until we get on the airplane and fly to Utah and Nevada. The time must be ticking so slowly for them! Earlier today Tyler said that when he closes his eyes he imagines driving up into grandma's driveway and getting out and playing right away. They all have promised perfect behavior on the plane and they have already started packing their stuff. We can't wait to see everyone! Here are a few pictures from fun family visits..

Big Helper

I've always heard people say it gets easier when "the older ones get old enough to help with the younger ones". I can't believe how true it is! Tyler is such an amazing helper when it comes to taking care of Sarah. He puts her to sleep for every nap and sometimes for her bedtime. If we're out at any kind of activity he's still able to do it! Last week, I even had him take her out and put her to sleep during a church meeting. I appreciate Tyler so much! I think he has a special talent for calming Sarah and I think there's a little chemistry there, too. He's so good at it that the other night (around 2:00 a.m.-ish) I actually thought about waking him up for a little help in getting Sarah to go back to sleep. I can't believe I thought about waking up my 8 year old to take care of my baby!

4th of July

I know the day has already passed. It ended with some great fireworks last night! We had a great holiday. We started out the morning by finishing our strawberry jam. Then, we took a little time to talk about why we celebrate the 4th of July. I want so much for my children to be grateful for our country and to love America like I do. Jordan drew a picture of a battle--he said it was the Revolutionary War--there was lots of "blood" in the picture. On the flip side of the paper, he drew a church with lots of people walking in. "They fought the battle so we can go to the church and be happy, too." I guess they're starting to understand.

We enjoyed the day with the Mender's--swimming in their pool and eating their food. We had SO MUCH FUN! We ended the night with fireworks. Today, we had a big breakfast at the church, played baseball, went swimming at the pool, and had a fun bbq. Holidays never last long enough!

Strawberries!!

We went strawberry picking this week. It was perfect weather and the patch was full of big, ripe, juicy strawberries. We had a blast. Jordan is my master berry-picker. He just puts his head down and doesn't look up until his basket is full. Tyler walked around with Sarah and put her to sleep and Carter enjoyed the time with friends. We had a wonderful morning in the strawberry patch!!

Then comes the part that nobody really likes--making jam. But, I'm grateful the boys helped out with stirring and keeping Sarah happy. It is always so nice to have fresh, yummy jam throughout the winter. (Look at these happy faces....)

Resemblance

Yes, my babies are chunky--I'm o.k. with it. I also realized that they both had a dinner of sweet potatoes before their baths. Can you tell they are brother and sister?

Sarah at 6 months................


Carter at 6 months.........

Perfect Day

Skate Park

We're finally taking advantage of the greatest little skate board park by our house. The kids have been begging to go for two years now. Can't believe we waited this long! They had so much fun on all types of wheels and with lots of good friends.

Carter surprised me. He got on his scooter when we got to the park and didn't stop until it was time to go two hours later. He was so intense about the hills. I'm thinking we'll be returning to this spot a lot this summer.

Carson and Tyler racing.....scary...I heard them talking about "cool X-Games".

Does sticking out your tongue really aid in concentration? All 4 of my kids do this! I guess there must be something to it...

Carter, Adelaide and Ethan enjoying the view from the half-pipe.....