The Mean Mom Summer Rules

Preface 1: I have good kids. Really, really good kids. They are obedient, and kind, and willing to help, and happy, and self entertaining, and...just, really good kids.

Preface 2: I have a lot of things that I need/want to blog about, like our awesome trip to Mexico, and three birthdays, and all the other things that have happened that I have been neglecting to talk about in this little corner. But today, Imma talk about this instead, for whatever reason. Be patient with me and my sporadic time-jumping blogging.

Okay. So, keep Preface 1 in mind as I tell you a little story. Yesterday morning....well, I'm going to save a lot of time and probably a little embarrassment for my oldest child by not sharing the whole story. My mom and her friends have a saying about being "a fart in a whirlwind". It's where you just are running around, doing things and not really thinking about what you're doing. That was my son yesterday. Just doing things without realizing what would happen afterwards. Which is totally typical of little boys (so I've heard).

But. He LIED to me about what happened to the thing that he broke. "It just happened, Mom. I don't even know." Ooooh, that gets under my skin. And we had had a big long talk about lying about a month ago, how I want him to be able to trust me, and I want to trust him. And to tell the truth, even if he thinks he'll get in trouble for what it is he's about to tell me. I thought I had gotten through to him about lying, but apparently not.

I was mad, and frustrated. About the lying, about the expensive thing that he accidentally broke because he was being a fart in a whirlwind. I called Pete, who was at work. And we decided to lay down a few rules.

I think that this incident was kind of the straw that made me take action. I mentioned that Pete and I went to Mexico right after school got out. Ever since we've been home (for about a week and a half), though, I've been kind of in a funk, of not knowing what day it is, and not really doing much of anything besides the bare minimum. The TV has been on all day, from morning till night, and if it's not some stupid crappy TV show, then it's the Wii and my kids bickering about who is better at what on Wii Sports. Just...little things that have been building up, and I just haven't done anything about it.

Until yesterday.

We talked with the kids about choices and consequences. We talked about responsibilities. We talked about thinking things through before just doing them. And we talked about lying.

Besides the constant TV noise (I really miss being without cable, but our current internet must be bundled with it-dumb, I know), I've been tired of the constant "I'm hungry" and "When's lunch?" And I'm tired of toys being EVERYWHERE, and reminding children of their chores all the time. I know they're young, and need to get reminded, but when does that end, unless you try to get them to rely on their own brains and sense of responsibility early in life?

I needed to lay out some structure. And the consequences are hard. But maybe that will help them remember their responsibilities.

I printed out the list, and put it right by our chore board in the kitchen. We went over every single point with the kids. At the end, I told them that if they follow these rules, that there summer will be easy and great, but if not, it can be hard and not-so-fun. It's their choice. I also told them I had some ideas and activities planned, so we should have a good summer. But the rules come first.

Well, here is the list. After reading it, you'll probably be grateful you're not a kid in my house. :) Any extra comments or explanations I have are in italics.


• You will do every chore on the chore board, every single day. If Mom or Dad have to remind you to do something on the board, you will not get paid for any of your chores for the whole week. My kids each have a kitchen chore or two every week (put away dishes, rinse dishes, load dishwasher, wipe off table and counters, sweep; they also help cook dinner twice a week and that person also helps set the table). Other things on the board are things like make your bed, pick up toys, fold your laundry (yes, even my 4-year-old folds her own laundry),brush your teeth, do homework, etc. Oh, also, they get paid $2 a week for doing their chore. If they don't eat their full meal, they pay me $1 per meal and don't get any snacks for the rest of the day.

• Chore day is on Friday during the summer. After eating breakfast Friday morning, you will do your weekend chore. You will not be reminded of this. If you do not do it at that point, I will have you do it later, and you will not get paid for doing your chore. These are the once-a-week chores, like scrubbing tubs, toilets, bathroom sinks, vacuuming or mopping (the older two), dusting, windexing, etc.

• If you leave anything on the stairs, in the kitchen, or in the upstairs living room (toys, pencils or markers or pens, papers, shoes) at any time, and Mom or Dad get it first, it no longer belongs to you, it belongs to Mom or Dad, who get to do whatever they want with that item, including throwing it away. I don't know how many times I have to step around who-knows-what on the stairs-drives me crazy.

• If you can’t find something to do, Mom will find something for you to do. Oh, and it will be an extra chore, like wiping down walls, cleaning out cabinets, changing cat litter. Fun stuff like that. For free.

• The Wii is going away for a while. When I feel that you have earned the privilege to play the Wii again, I will let you know. If you ask at any time about the Wii, I will add 2 weeks of time on to its disappearance.

• You are allowed to watch TV for one hour total each day. If Mom or Dad does not like the show that is on, you change the channel to something that they approve of. If you cannot find anything to watch, the TV goes back off. If you whine or complain about turning off the TV, NO ONE will watch the TV AT ALL for one week.

• You will read or be read to every day. Jakob reads for 45 minutes, Brock reads out loud to Mom or Dad for 15 minutes and to himself for 15 minutes, Troy reads out loud to Mom or Dad for 15 minutes, and Ivy will get one story read to her. If you whine or complain about reading, your reading time will double, and stay there for the remainder of the summer. It doubles EVERY TIME you whine or complain. I'm a mean mom. Hear me roar.

• Jakob will practice the piano every day (Monday through Friday) for 10 minutes. If he whines or complains about practicing, his practice time will double and stay there for the remainder of the summer. It doubles EVERY TIME he whines or complains. Roar!

• You will clear your own dish right after every meal. Rinse your own bowl, throw away your own paper plate. If you don’t, then you get to do ALL of the kitchen chores after dinner for that day. My kids end up leaving their bowls of milk on the table until lunch time, or until I clear them myself. It's annoying.

• You will not ask WHAT is for lunch or what is for dinner. You will not ask WHEN we are having lunch or when we are having dinner. You will not tell me you are hungry, or do anything else passive-aggressive concerning meals and mealtime. If you ask, or whine, or complain about food, you will not eat that meal and will instead sit on your bed. My kids really are not big whiners. They really are more passive-aggressive in their requests. "Gee, I sure could use some fruit snacks right now."

• The only time we will have snacks is at 2:30 p.m. If you ask for a snack at any other time, your snack privilege will be revoked (taken away) for one week. They were fine with snacks once a day during school. So suddenly, now they need snack after breakfast, and an hour after breakfast, and after lunch, and three times between lunch and dinner? I don't think so. I did tell them that I would work on getting breakfasts that were more filling than cereal, like making eggs or pancakes or fruit smoothies. Same with lunches-not just a PB&J, but a sandwich and cheese and a veggie and a fruit thing and a dessert. Because yes, kids gotta grow.

• Mom reserves the right to add to this list at any time.

Mean, mean Mom.

Oh, and our new consequence for lying? You get grounded for a whole week for each lie you tell. We were merciful this time because it's a new thing, but no more Mr. Nice Guy from here on out on that consequence.

It will be an interesting summer.

Bir-Cay-Ding, Part 2

'Kay, folks.  Here is the much-anticipated Part 2 of our awesome celebrations!  Aren't you SOOOO excited?

July 29-July 30: Grand Targhee adventures

We drove to Targhee on Friday, and checked into our room.  It was awesome!  I should have taken a picture.  There was a hide-a-bed in the upstairs/main level of our...I'm going to call it "suite".  There was also a mini fridge and a half bath.  Then downstairs there was a full bath and two rooms.  One of the rooms had a king bed, and the other room had two bunk beds.  The kids were way excited about that.  So we had Jake and Brock on the top two beds, and Troy and Ivy on the bottom two.

Lex and Chris had a kind of golf game near Grand Targhee, and then they were having a dinner afterwards with the wedding party and family members. So, we got just word-of-mouth directions to get to the golf course, which is at a place called Teton Springs, which is very, very beautiful-it's near Driggs (where you turn to get to Grand Targhee) and Victor. 

So, the people we talked to were all, "Just drive through Victor, and then it's just right there with a ton of signs-you can't miss it." We had also heard, "It's a little bit farther than you think.  Just keep going, and you'll see the sign-you can't miss it." The golf course is called Headwater, by the way. So we were looking for signs showing a golf course, or for Headwater. Shouldn't have been too hard.

Well...we drove, and got through Victor, and kept looking for signs.  And soon we were heading up a canyon. Both Pete and I were all, "Oh, it will show up any minute. I'm sure it's around this bend in the road." Um, no. We were heading to Jackson, which is about 20 miles from Victor. I think we were about halfway there when we decided to turn around. Neither Pete nor I had cell phone service because we tried calling for directions.

So we went back to a gas station we had seen earlier to ask directions. The guy was all, "Go left, then right, then left. You can't miss it. Oh, and the sign says 'Teton Springs'". Yeah, that would have been nice to know in the beginning. We had been right on top of it, and just didn't know what we were looking for. So once we got there, it was great. And we showed up right in time for the dinner.

It was SO yummy!  They had these chicken and/or steak fajita things, and a salad with a cilantro-lime dressing (I'm in love with cilantro).  And for dessert: peach cobbler, with blackberries in it!  YUM!  So, so good.

It was really nice to meet all of Chris' family.  Honestly, though, from that night, names-wise I remembered a guy named Chad, who was Chris' brother's buddy that drove with him.  Go, Chad, the Random Dude!

That night we went swimming at their pool.  The main pool was pretty cold, but the super deep hot tub was really nice.  Afterwards, we went back to the suite, and Pete and I watched TV, which reaffirmed the fact that we don't miss regular TV. (We don't have any form of television; we just watch stuff online.  You know, where you get to see exactly what you want, when you want, without commercials. It's luxurious.)

The next morning (July 30), Pete, Jakob, and I went horse-back riding.  I had gone a handful of times growing up, but Pete had never ridden a horse before.  We would have taken everyone, but the other kids were too young for it.  My awesome parents watched our other kids while we rode.  Jake's horse was named Cammanche, Pete's was Spirit, and mine was Butch, which was funny to me because I had a cat while in high school named Butch that loved me a lot.  The horse stuff was right on Targhee's grounds.

Pete told the rancher dude that I had ridden "a bunch of times", so I think the dude thought that I was super experienced.  Um, no. That would be my other sister, Brianna, that rode and trained horses for years and years.  So Butch was a little...strong-willed. And apparently, hungry. 

We went on a trail up the mountain, and it was very beautiful.  Butch kept trying to eat every two seconds, and he kept wandering off the trail. The rancher told me to pull up on the reins and kick him  a little and he would stop. Yeah, right! If I kicked him, he would just start running, and then he would stop and eat some more, and then wander around. After a while I put my reins behind the horn on the saddle so he couldn't reach down as far to eat the grass.

I definitely had fun riding, but it was like a wrestling match the whole time. And when I got off, my knees were hurting from the stirrups. I'm such a city slicker.

After our horse ride, we did another ride: the chair lift up the mountain.  I've ridden on this lift about a thousand times in the winter, but never in the summer.  The chair is lower in the winter, because you're standing on a bunch of snow to get on.  I also think they ran it slower than they do in the winter.  Here's my mom and dad with Brock and Jakob:

We went up Saturday morning and Sunday morning.  On Sunday it was cloudy, so the top was pretty cold.  But Saturday it was nice and warm and sunny.

Another thing: I've ridden up chair lifts a million times.  But to get back down you either had to bike, walk, or ride.  We opted for ride, but it's pretty trippy to see how far you've actually gone up.

So here's my family with the valley behind us.  At the top of the lift there's a little trail, and you walk to a platform to overlook everything, including the Grand Tetons a couple of ranges over.

Here are the boys with the Grand Teton behind them. I was a little nervous about my run-around kids.  Why, you may ask?  See the little rope under Brock's arm in the picture below?  That extends out, though you can't see it because of the snow (yes, snow) in the picture.  But on the other side of that rope is a very, very, very steep cliff.  So I told the kids they had to stay on the platform at all times.

So of course, Troy being the close listener that he is, started running around on the entrance of the platform.  I grabbed his arm, and tried to show him the IMMINENT DEATH that awaited him if he didn't stay on the platform.  Which, in 4-year-old translation, means I was just being a mean mom because I wouldn't let him play wherever he wanted to. That is why he's being a grumpy pants in the picture.

My dad took the boys down below the platform (where the ski hill is), to an area that still had snow on it.  They tried to make snow balls to throw at us.

And here's my family again, this time with the Tetons behind us.  Ivy had gotten a combination of sun lotion and bug spray in her eye, so she rubbed it and whined the whole time.  (You can see the rope behind us in this picture.  In front of the rope = nice happy beautiful pictures.  Behind the rope = IMMINENT DEATH!)

These next two pictures were taken on Sunday, after we rode the lift back down.  We were chatting with my parents and my two aunts and two uncles that had come for the wedding.  And my kids, being the self entertainers, decided to play with sticks and dirt.  Seriously, why do we even buy toys for our kids?

Alrighty.  I know I suck, because I should have started this train of posts with the most interesting event - the wedding. But instead, I decided to save the best for last.  And I'm going to stick it in its own part.  Soon to come: Part 3 (the final part) of the Bir-Cay-Ding extravaganza!

Half-Way Already?

I realized that the summer is already about half over.  Wha.....????  Where does the time go?  We've definitely been busy, but we've been relaxing as well.  In fact, so far this summer has been exactly what I had envisioned in my mind.

So, this is my philosophy: I want my kids to do things in the summer that are constructive, as in, I don't want to hear the phrase "I'm BORED!"  BUT.  I don't want to over schedule my kids so that they don't have free time to just BE KIDS, you know?  They need to be able to explore, and relax, and come up with their own entertainment, too.

Luckily, I've been blessed with self-entertainers, that play together very well.  One day they made up a game called "Dandelion Store".  This speaks ample amounts about the state my back yard was in at the beginning of the summer.  (More on this topic later.  I have, like, 5 blog posts swimming around in my head that I have yet to put down on paper.  I mean, on computer.)

So.  What have we done this summer?  One of the things I wanted to do was sort of a "field trip" idea.  It hasn't been anything terribly creative, but we've still gone out and enjoyed what is around us.  I wanted to do something about every other week.  Like, for instance, the zoo.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago, before it got too hot.  My cute friend Joanne and her amazing kids went with us.  We headed over first thing in the morning, and all the animals were out because it was fairly cool.  Even though the kids went there at the end of the school year, it's still fun to go and see the animals.  And it wasn't really busy that early, either.  So that was nice.

Troy has been climbing the walls-literally.  He is such a monkey!  But this is one of the examples of just relaxing, and entertaining themselves that I was talking about.

Summer time is not just a vacation for my kids; it is also my break time, for me to do things that I want to do.  I've had these quilts that I've been wanting to make for the boys sitting around for almost a year.  I was going to make it all from scratch, but that was too expensive.  So then my friend Arin suggested I just buy ready-made bedspreads, and add some squares of color or something.  Brilliant idea!  Or so I thought.  It really is a great idea, if you have a quilting machine, which I don't.  There's no way that big hulking blanket is going to fit through the little tiny hole of my machine. 

So....I glued it, with fabric glue. 

I'm sure every quilter lady out there just about fainted after reading that.  But you know what?  It's done, and my boys REALLY REALLY REALLY don't care if it's beautifully stitched on or slapped together.  And in a few years, when they wear out, I'll either do it the right way, or just buy an interesting bedspread that I don't have to sew.

(Now I want to paint the walls to match, but that's going to have to wait, I'm afraid.)

I also made a new skirt for myself, that gets totally wrinkly all the time, but oh well.  I had a couple of church tops that needed a bottom, so I was going for color when I picked the fabric.  The pattern ended up being jacked up, where the top of the skirt didn't quite work out on the inside, but I jimmy-rigged it.  Plus, it's on the inside, so no one can see its flaws.  I'm currently working on a vest for myself as well.  We'll see how it goes-it's only cut out so far.

Let's see.  I've also had time to clean out my vacuum really well.  I replaced the filter, and the belt, etc.  It's much more happy now.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning lately.  But that's yet another topic for another blog post.

Like I said, my kids are self-entertainers.  They are also very artistic.  I have no idea where it came from, because even my stick figures are questionable at best.  Here are two pictures, gifted to me from Troy (that's him and his "grown-up" house on the left) and Brock (his is on the right-his house when "I was 19 years old").

We've also been doing a lot of reading.  Brock has gotten really good at reading this summer.  He even attempts to read in The Book of Mormon when we read at night-he'll do one verse, and I help him with the big words.  But even those he's trying to do on his own.

So far this summer I have read some Sherlock Holmes short stories (I read some last summer and loved them), The Great Gatsby (two thumbs WAY down-HATED it), The Walk by...Richard Paul Evans?  I think that was his name.  Anyway, it was fairly good. I also read a book called The Third, by Pete's mission companion Abel Keogh.  It was good, but ends on a cliffhanger.  I've also read two books by Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, and The Bonesetter's Daughter.  I LOVED both of them.  I really like her style of writing.

My kids have also been riding bikes non-stop.  Troy wanted his training wheels off, and has tried a few times to ride his two-wheeler, but he gets freaked out and then steers too sharply and falls over.  Oh well. 

And Ivy, well, she's my little outside baby-she loves being outside all the time.  Yesterday it was raining super hard, and it stopped for a minute, and she was all, "Can I go play outside?"  I'm like, uh, not with thunder and lightning.  She also tends to wander, and I've lost track of her a couple of times.  Luckily, we've found her, but it makes me nervous.

Also this summer, we went to the Playmill and saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".  It was really cute, and a musical to boot, which I wasn't expecting.  I haven't seen the movie, though, so I didn't know the story line or anything. 

Another goal I had for this summer was to have my kids do some worksheets.  I have a few little books that work with math and matching and letters and stuff for Troy and Brock, but I couldn't find anything for Jakob.  So I've been making my own sheets, mostly of times facts.  The 2nd graders started some of those at the end of the school year, so I thought it would be good for him to keep learning those and working on them.  Some of the facts he knows really well; others, not so much.  But that's the whole point of practicing them, right?

I originally wanted to have my kids do the worksheets every day, but I haven't been super diligent.  It's been, like, twice a week instead.  Maybe we'll be better at it for the second half of the summer.

We've also played soccer in the back yard, endured OODLES of ALLERGIES, watched some fireworks, had some barbecues, attended my nephew's baptism, gone swimming, watched one sister go off to China for 8 months, had another sister come out to visit from New York, and my other sister is getting married at Targhee in a couple of weeks.  (While we're up there, I want to go horse back riding with my family.  We'll see, because I don't know if they'll let little kids go or not.  But if so, that would be another "field trip".)

Which brings me to the second half of summer.  Things to look forward to: three birthdays, swimming lessons (hopefully), playing tennis in a goof-off way, the wedding, Harry Potter movie this weekend, and...maybe more posts from me.  Hopefully.

Summer FAIL, Complete with Tantrum

I AM SO NOT READY FOR SCHOOL TO START ON MONDAY! AAAAEEEEE!!!!!

I keep hoping that if I DON'T blog about my kids' birthdays, and our car dying, and going to SLC and visiting Pete's fam, that I can somehow prolong summer, and that it's not really coming to an end.

my gorgeous gladiolas

But yesterday it was all chilly outside, and fall was in the air. *sigh*

I love fall, and I love school routine (because then I actually get things done), but my lazy summer has been so nice.

Yet, my summer has FAIL written all over it. I know that's exactly opposite of what I just said. (Lazy, wonderful summer equals summer WIN, right?) But. Ivy potty trained? FAIL. Downstairs family room painted? FAIL. Nasty cold for three weeks? FAIL. Car wreck on the 4th of July weekend, which bummed me out, and so we didn't even buy fireworks? Triple FAIL.

I guess I'm not ready for summer to end because all of these craptastic things happened amidst the awesomeness. Also? I'm not ready to get up early. I've been really trying the last couple of weeks. FAILING that, too. Grrr. Me and the snooze button-we've become tight in the last little bit. Which worries me, because how am I supposed to get my own body, along with another, up and at 'em, and out the door at 7:30?

Please, someone. Invent a Time Pause Button. I could really use it.

The Long and the Short of It

My kids hate wearing shorts. I have no idea why. Today, Jakob asked if he could wear pants, and I said yes, but his pants are being cleaned as I type. So, instead of wearing shorts, of which he has ample amounts in his drawer, he opted to wait for his jeans to be cleaned, and is now sitting on the couch in his undies. Whatever, dude.

Although, I have never really been a shorts wearer, either. But I have some really good reasons:

-I don't shave my legs as often as I should during shorts weather (I'm usually in a hurry or I forget until I'm drying off after my shower).

-I'm cold, like, all the time

-My shorts, until this year, have been baggy and weirdly-shaped, so that I look frumpy(er) and short(er). (I bought some new ones this year, thank goodness.)

-My legs are so white they make snow look gray

But my kids? They don't need to shave their legs (in fact, that would be weird). They're little furnaces. They have these skinny little cute bodies. And they tan easily (I have no idea where they got that from). So, what's the problem? Not a clue. They get really hot outside in their pants, too, yet they refuse the shorts.

Not that I haven't tried to get them into shorts for the two-ish months of "summer" that we experience in Idaho. I've tried many forms of coercion:

1. Concealment. Hiding the pants, so their only choice is shorts or the one pair of pants that has massive holes in the knees. Obviously, today that hasn't worked.

2. Reasoning. "There's only two months of summer. And you'll overheat if you wear pants outside."

3. Persuasion. "You want to wear shorts. You need to wear shorts. Listen to the sound of my voice..." (Hey, maybe I should try hypnotism.)

4. Threats. "You'd better wear shorts today, or I'll cut off all your pants at the knee and you'll have to wear shorts year round!"

5. Bribery. "If you wear shorts today, I'll give you some chocolate."

6. Reverse psychology (with some sarcasm). "Wear pants. It will probably get cold today, like 85 degrees out."

7. Peer pressure. "All the other kids are wearing shorts today."

8. Passive aggressiveness. "Fine. See if I care. I'm only the one who birthed you. My opinion as your mother shouldn't carry any weight."

All to no avail. But, the battle will be over soon, as school starts in 5 days, and then it will get very cold very soon. And maybe next year, I'll come up with some new tactics that will work. After all, I'll have 10 or so months to come up with something.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

It's weird. I feel like I've been having a super lazy, laid back, just kickin' it kind of summer, but then I look at all that we've been doing, and it's been kind of jam-packed. I feel very oxymoron-ish. You know, jumbo shrimp, and pretty ugly. Busy summer. Or maybe the oxymoron is calm summer. Either or.

I mentioned in passing that Jakob took an art class at the beginning of the summer. They learned about mixing paints, and about different artists like Van Gogh and Picasso. Here's one of Jakob's masterpieces:

When I saw it, I was like, my 5-year-old painted that?!? I was impressed. He also did a clay thing, where they pushed different items into the clay to create molds and texture, but it was so brittle that it broke. Doh.

We've been playing outside, a lot. Especially the boys. This means that even though the boys are pretty good about keeping the doors closed behind them, sometimes they forget. So the ever-curious Ivy was leaning out the door, and either tried to step out onto our stairs or just fell out, and over the edge onto the cement. Don't worry, though, her forehead caught her fall:

Poor thing. I've been wanting to get a rail for forever, and I just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe that will happen this year (you know, now that the threat has passed-I doubt Ivy will be hanging out of the door again).

We got a swing set, which the boys have been loving. Pete's parents came to visit us a couple of weekends ago, and Pete and his dad put it together. The first day they kept doing different poses down the slide-on their bellies, with arms folded, backwards, as a train, etc.

I love this picture, of Jake's little grin. And it looks like Troy had just fallen off of his swing. Pure awesomeness.

We started swimming lessons for the two older boys yesterday. No pictures yet, mostly because they don't allow the parents to stay close by ("Go up to the viewing area! I'm the pool Nazi!"). But hopefully I'll sneak some in soon. Jakob stays busy during the lesson splashing around and wiggling a ton, and Brock stays busy refusing to do anything the teacher tells him to do, and will only go in if he's attached to her like a baby koala to its mom. I'm glad I pay money for these things.

And today we went to the park, and had a picnic with my sisters and mom. Here's my Brocky-foo-foo eating some watermelon:

It was fun to just go and play. It's been hot hot hot, but the kids don't seem to notice as they're running around being crazy and cute. Here's a little slide show for the picture pirates:

Like I said, I think it's going to continue to be a good summer.

Noteworthy or Not Worthy?

Well, been keeping busy. Some stuff has been eventful, but mostly we've just been hanging out. Pete had last week off, and we started listing-literally-the things we wanted to do as a family. So I wrote stuff on a ratty receipt.

I think we did everything on the list, except go to a drive-in movie, firstly because it's been raining (where are you, warm weather?) and secondly the shows out right now are not ones I'm dying to see. Pete redeemed his birthday massage that I had bought for him, we went swimming at Green Canyon, we took Tuna in to get checked out, Ivy got shots, I picked up the super cute yearly pics from the store, and Jakob started a once-a-week art class.

We also got sick, and the boys got super sunburned:


I've been re-reading Harry Potter-just finished #1. Can't wait for the movie!

Jakob finished Kindergarten. He says he's glad to be done, and I'm both glad and sad that he's done. He's still reading up a storm, and I know I need to harness that this summer so we don't let the skills slip. He and Ila have grown so much! Here's the first day of school (top) and last day (bottom) pics to prove it:


We ate Olive Garden and got it to go; and because I have bad customer service karma, my order got messed up. So I had to take it back, but then got a $15 gift card. Aw, yeah!

And Ivy is starting to take steps without holding on to things. Oh, and I am trying to learn the ways of the baby girl hair, and have done pigtails a couple of times. Knowledge in progress, my friends. (Could you just die from that smile?)

I think it's going to be a good summer.

Bee All, End All

Well, we made it! The Busy Bees had their last game today. It was fun, but I'm glad it's over. The kids all did really well throughout the season. Next year, I'm totally finding someone else to coach, then Arin and I can just hang out and cheer from the sidelines. Arin did a phenomenal job, I must say!

Today I managed to remember my camera. I got a few shots of the kids running to first base.

Gavin:


Ila:


Jakob hitting:


Jakob:


Kaylan:


Dylan:


Who's on First:



I Don't Know is on 3rd:



Today is the Catcher (I may be the only 28-year-old that knows a bit of that comedy routine):


So fun, so HOT, and so over! Hallelujah!

So Bee It

Today we had our first T-ball game.

What, no pictures of this milestone? What kind of mom ARE you?

Um, yeah, I was one of the ones running around trying to get the kids going in the right direction. Oh, and I was carrying Troy and holding Brock's hand while doing it.

Oh. So, you're the coach?

Well, no, I'm not. I'm the unofficial assistant coach. I have a cool T-shirt; does that count?

Kind of. Only if it looks good on you.

Uh, not really. It's yellow. Because we're the Busy Bees. Cute for the kids, not the best color on a strawberry blonde, super fair-skinned person. And it's really long and baggy, because apparently the city people think that all the mom coaches are the same size as sumo wrestlers. I'm going to have to do a little choppity-chop sewing job on it.

And how does that help your skin tone? I've seen your legs, and nearly got blinded.

How about I wear jeans the whole time.

I guess that helps. Are you a good coach?

Unofficial assistant coach. Um, I know about 5 kids' names. Um... and I didn't trip over any of them while carrying my 22-month old.

Wait, I thought you just had a baby. Why weren't you carrying her around?

She slept in her seat the whole time on the sidelines. And Brock cried the whole time. And Troy thought he was super important, like always, and kept running to hit the ball too, hence the carrying.

So, it was a normal fiasco event for you. That's all you had to say. How did Jakob do?

Sad to say, he had more fun going to the dentist this last Friday than he had playing T-ball. How does that work?

Don't ask me. He's your kid.

Well, I think it will just get easier and more fun as the season goes on.

Yeah, we'll talk again when you have an 8:30 game.

Oh yeah...