It is with mixed emotions that I write this entry. I began this blog at the beginning of the summer and it amazing to me that so many weeks have passed since then. When I think back on the numerous adventures that I(we) have been on, it is hard to think that the summer fun has to come to an end. I think there is a quote that says something like this: "When one door closes, another one opens". So...although the summer door has closed, the next door has opened and I'm sure that what lies ahead will be just as wonderful as what we have already experienced.
So...I decided that each one of the kids should share what they enjoyed about their summer. Let's just say that it was like pulling teeth to get them to agree to write a few sentences.
Mason -
This summer has been one to remember. One of my favorite activities was Scout Camp. It was a chance to get away from the busy city and enter extreme mosquito territory. I earned 15 more merit badges and swatted away about 10,000 mosquitoes; literally. It was also nice to get away from the constant fighting of my two younger siblings.
Another nice, but not so nice thing about summer was summer gym. It ended up to count for the pe credit, but it was not fun. We ran and ran and ran most of the days. We ran the mile 5 times, did the pace test 3 times, and did 3 fitness circuits. The rounds of lightening kept the adreneline going. The best part about it was lunch! That's all for now.
Evan-
I got to ride Frontrunner a few times. It was fun and long. Last Friday we had lunch with my Aunt Lindsey at her work, and then my Dad, and Mason and me went to have pizza at the Gateway. It was okay. Then we saw the movie Dark Knight. I would say that Batman was cool. It was a good movie. I like the Joker. I was sad when it ended, because it could have gone longer. Two Face was scary at first, but then he died. Bummer. I really liked Batman's motorcycle.
At Scout Camp I earned 3 pins. They were my first pins. I also liked going swimming so much this summer. I learned how to jump off the diving board. It has been a really fun time.
Avery-
A short story by Avery: Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Avery. And she had fun this summer. She got to go camping, and swimming and have sleepovers and eat frozen yogurt and go shopping and find pets that were her friends like a squirrel and a butterfly(while camping) and eat lunch with Aunt Lindsey and she played with Madi and got to go to some movies and have a pedicure and.....the list could go on. What a lucky princess!
Something that Avery failed to mention in her story was that she lost her front teeth. It was quite the ordeal. We were having hamburgers last Sunday and she bit into hers and she could tell that something was different. After several tries at pulling the first one out, she gave in and let me have a go at it. Once I could her to put her hand down, it came out quite easily. What we discovered next was that the other tooth was just as loose. She was determined to do that one herself. The cry of triumph was heard all over the house when she was successful. She yelled,
"I did it" and was crying either because she was elated that she got it out, or because she looked in the mirror and discovered the large hole that now there. It was very funny!
The majority of the week was spent getting ready for school to start. We had one last hoorah of fun this weekend. The boys had their outing to the Gateway where they saw a movie, ate at the California Pizza Kitchen, and rode Front runner. The girls also saw a movie, ate dinner at Robintinos, had a sleepover, and had pedicures. All in all, it was a wonderful way to wrap up the summer. Tomorrow morning is the first day of school and I think everyone is excited to start a new school year. Have a great week doing whatever you have planned. Hopefully there won't be a need for any more hurrication days-right Dad? We send our love to all of you!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A MUSICAL PARODY
Welcome to an opera blog. This is a musical version of the blog, if you were wondering. Get ready to sing along. The music can be found in the Children's Songbook if you need help with the tune. (numbers in parenthisis will indicate page numbers in the songbook) HAVE FUN!
"Good Things Utah on Tuesday"
(Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam - pg. 60)
Lisa was on television
to celebrate her birthday.
The ladies were full of "Good Things"
to show and read and say.
On T.V., on T.V., she was waving and smiling on T.V.,
On T.V., on T.V., they showed her for her birthday.
"Sprinklers"
(Popcorn popping - pg. 242)
I looked out the window and what did I see?
People sleeping out on the trampoline!
The night brought us all such a nice surprise,
when the sprinklers came on right before our eyes.
I only took a second to grab my stuff,
The tramp was wet and I'd had enough!
We made it through the night,
With mosquito bites,
When we slept out on the trampoline.
"Friday Fun"
(In the Leafy Tree Tops - pg. 240)
On this Fun Friday, we started by swimming.
There were some great back flips,
It was a neat day trip,
Mark could join the party, because he works 4 tens.
"Surly"
(When we're helping - pg. 198)
When we're laughing we're happy-
Brian Regan made sure.
That we heard funny jokes
And our stomachs were sore!
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
"A Midnight Run"
(For Health and Strength-pg.21 - grab your friends and sing this one in a round)
At midnight we laced up our shoes and ran a fun 5K.
We ran up hill and beat our times, the moon showed us the way.
"Es My Birthday-Feliz Cumpleanos"
(Your Happy Birthday-pg. 283)
Today is such a special day
It's birthday time for me.
I came home to a big surprise
Balloons up to my knees!
Strawberry pie and party hats
A burger from the grill.
A trip to Logan is what's next,
Thirty-eight's a big thrill!
Welcome to an opera blog. This is a musical version of the blog, if you were wondering. Get ready to sing along. The music can be found in the Children's Songbook if you need help with the tune. (numbers in parenthisis will indicate page numbers in the songbook) HAVE FUN!
"Good Things Utah on Tuesday"
(Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam - pg. 60)
Lisa was on television
to celebrate her birthday.
The ladies were full of "Good Things"
to show and read and say.
On T.V., on T.V., she was waving and smiling on T.V.,
On T.V., on T.V., they showed her for her birthday.
"Sprinklers"
(Popcorn popping - pg. 242)
I looked out the window and what did I see?
People sleeping out on the trampoline!
The night brought us all such a nice surprise,
when the sprinklers came on right before our eyes.
I only took a second to grab my stuff,
The tramp was wet and I'd had enough!
We made it through the night,
With mosquito bites,
When we slept out on the trampoline.
"Friday Fun"
(In the Leafy Tree Tops - pg. 240)
On this Fun Friday, we started by swimming.
There were some great back flips,
It was a neat day trip,
Mark could join the party, because he works 4 tens.
"Surly"
(When we're helping - pg. 198)
When we're laughing we're happy-
Brian Regan made sure.
That we heard funny jokes
And our stomachs were sore!
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
"A Midnight Run"
(For Health and Strength-pg.21 - grab your friends and sing this one in a round)
At midnight we laced up our shoes and ran a fun 5K.
We ran up hill and beat our times, the moon showed us the way.
"Es My Birthday-Feliz Cumpleanos"
(Your Happy Birthday-pg. 283)
Today is such a special day
It's birthday time for me.
I came home to a big surprise
Balloons up to my knees!
Strawberry pie and party hats
A burger from the grill.
A trip to Logan is what's next,
Thirty-eight's a big thrill!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
A husband's Perspective
I suppose a sub-title to this blog would have to be Long hours, Opera, Girls hair and 20 years is not all that long.
When Lisa told me that I should write the blog for this week I thought, "Hey, no problem, I can just make notes during the week, put together a travelogue of activities and call it good." Needless to say, that didn't happen. This is probably due to the fact that I squished a weeks worth of work into 3 days, took a day of work so I could watch the kids for a couple of days by myself and, let's face it, I forgot. So ready or not, here goes...
My employer, the State of Utah, decided to mandate all available agencies to begin working a four day work week. The hip phrase the governor used when he decided to do this is "Working 4 Utah" (Catchy!). The idea being that everyone would work 10 hour days Monday through Thursday and have Fridays off. According to the Gov this will save the state a truckload of money in utility and maintenance cost and better serve the public by extending our hours of operation into the mornings and afternoon a little more for the days we are working. For me, the jury's still out as to whether this idea will really work or not. Before the days of working 4x10's I was at work at 6:00am and of at 2:30 so I missed traffic both ways (I rode the bus) and I was home close to the time the kids got home from school, now I have to start at 6:30am and don't get off until 5:00 pm which puts me home about 6:15 in the afternoon (I am forced onto the train due to UTA schedules). I admit the Fridays off are nice, but this a change that is going to take some getting used to.
I mentioned that I watched our children Thursday and Friday by myself. The reason for this is that Lisa went to some program up in Logan called "Opera by Children" which is organized by the Utah Festival Opera Company. Ok, I didn't really know what to think about this and I'm not sure if I even do now that she's home and tried to explain it to me. Apparently this program is to teach the teachers how to put on an opera with Elementary school children...One word..."Interesting." Not quite sure how that will work, but apparently they are planning on doing one this next year with the 5th and 6th graders, of which Evan is one, so I guess I'll get to see it all first hand.
As a side note...It seems to me that whenever Lisa is out of town it very nearly always falls over a Thursday afternoon. Sometimes I think she plans it that way. You see, Avery has tumbling on Thursday's and there are certain requirements to how your girls hair is fixed when they come to tumbling class. I know of no better way of saying this than to say simply, "I am hair challenged." Normally a headband will suffice...and does when Lisa isn't around to do some cute thing with her hair. Really, there are many things I do well, however girl's hair is not one of them. On Avery's tumbling days I do give it an effort. After about 15 minutes of me combing, brushing, pulling and tugging on Avery's hair while listening to Avery scream, I can finally get a pony tail in, the problem is it is not very tight, the hair is a little bulgy in places and I still have to get the hairspray to shellac it all down. It's really pretty sad when Avery looks at it in the mirror and says "Dad, you’re not very good at this." I try, but the results are most decidedly not worth the effort I've put into it. I'm just hoping the day comes...and soon, when she can do it herself.
On Saturday evening Lisa and I attended her 20 year High school reunion. I'm not a real connoisseur of reunions, but I do have to say that Lisa's was a lot better than mine was (2 years ago). It took place up at Snowbird in one of their conference rooms and I think there were about 200 people there. Lisa denies it, but I think she was more popular than she let on. There were a lot of people that came up to her to say hi and do a little catching up.."Where do you live, How many children do you have, What do you do, Etc." The usual stuff. If she wasn't popular then she seemed to sure have a large circle of friends, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the definition of "Popular." In any case, my responsibilities at this function was to 1. Carry the cell phone, 2. Carry the camera, and 3. Carry the pen (for writing down friend’s email addresses). So I was basically the secretary for the calls, (all 7 of them, from our children), Photographer, stenographer for the email addresses and gopher for whatever my beautiful wife needed. I affectionately called myself "the mule." However, despite that, I had a really good time and wouldn't change a thing. I was able to catch up with a few friends I hadn't seen in many years and was able to meet some of those people Lisa had spoken of that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet. It was a very good time and a fun experience I'm sure Lisa will not ever forget.
To wrap up, the week was a busy one, but aren't they all.
When Lisa told me that I should write the blog for this week I thought, "Hey, no problem, I can just make notes during the week, put together a travelogue of activities and call it good." Needless to say, that didn't happen. This is probably due to the fact that I squished a weeks worth of work into 3 days, took a day of work so I could watch the kids for a couple of days by myself and, let's face it, I forgot. So ready or not, here goes...
My employer, the State of Utah, decided to mandate all available agencies to begin working a four day work week. The hip phrase the governor used when he decided to do this is "Working 4 Utah" (Catchy!). The idea being that everyone would work 10 hour days Monday through Thursday and have Fridays off. According to the Gov this will save the state a truckload of money in utility and maintenance cost and better serve the public by extending our hours of operation into the mornings and afternoon a little more for the days we are working. For me, the jury's still out as to whether this idea will really work or not. Before the days of working 4x10's I was at work at 6:00am and of at 2:30 so I missed traffic both ways (I rode the bus) and I was home close to the time the kids got home from school, now I have to start at 6:30am and don't get off until 5:00 pm which puts me home about 6:15 in the afternoon (I am forced onto the train due to UTA schedules). I admit the Fridays off are nice, but this a change that is going to take some getting used to.
I mentioned that I watched our children Thursday and Friday by myself. The reason for this is that Lisa went to some program up in Logan called "Opera by Children" which is organized by the Utah Festival Opera Company. Ok, I didn't really know what to think about this and I'm not sure if I even do now that she's home and tried to explain it to me. Apparently this program is to teach the teachers how to put on an opera with Elementary school children...One word..."Interesting." Not quite sure how that will work, but apparently they are planning on doing one this next year with the 5th and 6th graders, of which Evan is one, so I guess I'll get to see it all first hand.
As a side note...It seems to me that whenever Lisa is out of town it very nearly always falls over a Thursday afternoon. Sometimes I think she plans it that way. You see, Avery has tumbling on Thursday's and there are certain requirements to how your girls hair is fixed when they come to tumbling class. I know of no better way of saying this than to say simply, "I am hair challenged." Normally a headband will suffice...and does when Lisa isn't around to do some cute thing with her hair. Really, there are many things I do well, however girl's hair is not one of them. On Avery's tumbling days I do give it an effort. After about 15 minutes of me combing, brushing, pulling and tugging on Avery's hair while listening to Avery scream, I can finally get a pony tail in, the problem is it is not very tight, the hair is a little bulgy in places and I still have to get the hairspray to shellac it all down. It's really pretty sad when Avery looks at it in the mirror and says "Dad, you’re not very good at this." I try, but the results are most decidedly not worth the effort I've put into it. I'm just hoping the day comes...and soon, when she can do it herself.
On Saturday evening Lisa and I attended her 20 year High school reunion. I'm not a real connoisseur of reunions, but I do have to say that Lisa's was a lot better than mine was (2 years ago). It took place up at Snowbird in one of their conference rooms and I think there were about 200 people there. Lisa denies it, but I think she was more popular than she let on. There were a lot of people that came up to her to say hi and do a little catching up.."Where do you live, How many children do you have, What do you do, Etc." The usual stuff. If she wasn't popular then she seemed to sure have a large circle of friends, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the definition of "Popular." In any case, my responsibilities at this function was to 1. Carry the cell phone, 2. Carry the camera, and 3. Carry the pen (for writing down friend’s email addresses). So I was basically the secretary for the calls, (all 7 of them, from our children), Photographer, stenographer for the email addresses and gopher for whatever my beautiful wife needed. I affectionately called myself "the mule." However, despite that, I had a really good time and wouldn't change a thing. I was able to catch up with a few friends I hadn't seen in many years and was able to meet some of those people Lisa had spoken of that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet. It was a very good time and a fun experience I'm sure Lisa will not ever forget.
To wrap up, the week was a busy one, but aren't they all.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
All Camped Out
For those of you that follow this humble little blog, you will have noticed that I have not had a chance to update it for a few weeks. Thankfully, it is because I have been having so much fun.
The past two weeks have been a lot of work in getting ready for camping trips. Our first camping adventure was as a family and with our friends. We spent 4 wonderful days in the Uintah Mountains over the 24th of July holiday. This was my first time taking the trailer out and getting it set up without Mark's help. I am happy to report that a bunch of girls can sucessfully set up a camp- we are so good! Once the work was done, we spent our days playing card games (UNO was a huge hit), taking little hikes, eating lots of yummy food, hanging out late by the fire and Avery's favorite highlight: visiting the "stinky potty". It was a great way to relax and enjoy the holiday.
We returned home on Sunday evening and I was to leave for Girls Camp on Tuesday. That didn't leave me much time to get ready. Monday was dedicated to packing, shopping and preparing food for Girls Camp. All I can say is: thank goodness for little helpers! I honestly don't know how it all got done in one day!
Girls Camp was amazing, as ususal. I know that I was only there in the capacity as Camp Cook, but what a blessing it was to be a part of that experience. I will continue to lobby for that position because I love to be with the Young Women in our ward. They are so much stronger in the gospel than I was at that age.
The weather was really hot, our camp spot had no shade, and it was a week of work, work and more work. But I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
Now I know that you would think that I would be completely content to stay at home since I have been away so much. But, that is not the case. I was home from camp for 4 hours and then I was off to my next activity.
It was my friend Michelle's birthday and we celebrated by attending a Peter Breinholt concert and spending some time in Park City riding the Alpine Slide and new Alpine Coaster. It was very exhilirating! Eating some delicious Mexican Food, watching movies, bowling and an ice cream cone were also included in the festivities. When I asked Avery what her favorite part of that day was, she said: "I beat YOU Mommy at bowling!" That's what being a mom is all about! Keeping the kids happy.
I am trying to get caught up on my sleep and get back into the groove of being the mom again. It doesn't take long, believe me. Although I have to say that Mark does an excellent job of running the show while I am gone. I better be careful, because he might prove that he is a better mom than I am!
Just a little update on the kids:
Mason has almost finished his summer pe. Thursday is his last day and I think he is looking forward to being able to sleep in again. Even if it is only for a few more weeks.
Evan has spent a lot of his time doing odd and end jobs for Mark and I so that he can earn some fun money for a cap gun that he is dying to buy. This is a win-win situation. I get the help that I need and he ends up with what he wants too.
Avery has had quite the social agenda this summer. She is definitley had her fill of fun. She has had sleepovers, done painting projects, found a love for stamping, and played her little heart out. She better know how lucky she is to have so many people catering to her every wish. She did get a bit alarmed today when she realized that we had started into the month on August. She is very aware that this is the month that school starts again. I had to remind her that we were at the very beginning of the month and that she has plenty of fun days left. She was okay after that - at least for now anyways.
We hope that all of you are finding the time to enjoy yourselves as much as we are. Please know how much we love you and wish that we could spend more time together. Thank goodness for email and telephones. I would really be in world of hurt if we couldn't at least talk to each other.
I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are thinking of us. Because we are thinking of you too!
Have a great week-and don't forget to leave us some comments!
The past two weeks have been a lot of work in getting ready for camping trips. Our first camping adventure was as a family and with our friends. We spent 4 wonderful days in the Uintah Mountains over the 24th of July holiday. This was my first time taking the trailer out and getting it set up without Mark's help. I am happy to report that a bunch of girls can sucessfully set up a camp- we are so good! Once the work was done, we spent our days playing card games (UNO was a huge hit), taking little hikes, eating lots of yummy food, hanging out late by the fire and Avery's favorite highlight: visiting the "stinky potty". It was a great way to relax and enjoy the holiday.
We returned home on Sunday evening and I was to leave for Girls Camp on Tuesday. That didn't leave me much time to get ready. Monday was dedicated to packing, shopping and preparing food for Girls Camp. All I can say is: thank goodness for little helpers! I honestly don't know how it all got done in one day!
Girls Camp was amazing, as ususal. I know that I was only there in the capacity as Camp Cook, but what a blessing it was to be a part of that experience. I will continue to lobby for that position because I love to be with the Young Women in our ward. They are so much stronger in the gospel than I was at that age.
The weather was really hot, our camp spot had no shade, and it was a week of work, work and more work. But I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.
Now I know that you would think that I would be completely content to stay at home since I have been away so much. But, that is not the case. I was home from camp for 4 hours and then I was off to my next activity.
It was my friend Michelle's birthday and we celebrated by attending a Peter Breinholt concert and spending some time in Park City riding the Alpine Slide and new Alpine Coaster. It was very exhilirating! Eating some delicious Mexican Food, watching movies, bowling and an ice cream cone were also included in the festivities. When I asked Avery what her favorite part of that day was, she said: "I beat YOU Mommy at bowling!" That's what being a mom is all about! Keeping the kids happy.
I am trying to get caught up on my sleep and get back into the groove of being the mom again. It doesn't take long, believe me. Although I have to say that Mark does an excellent job of running the show while I am gone. I better be careful, because he might prove that he is a better mom than I am!
Just a little update on the kids:
Mason has almost finished his summer pe. Thursday is his last day and I think he is looking forward to being able to sleep in again. Even if it is only for a few more weeks.
Evan has spent a lot of his time doing odd and end jobs for Mark and I so that he can earn some fun money for a cap gun that he is dying to buy. This is a win-win situation. I get the help that I need and he ends up with what he wants too.
Avery has had quite the social agenda this summer. She is definitley had her fill of fun. She has had sleepovers, done painting projects, found a love for stamping, and played her little heart out. She better know how lucky she is to have so many people catering to her every wish. She did get a bit alarmed today when she realized that we had started into the month on August. She is very aware that this is the month that school starts again. I had to remind her that we were at the very beginning of the month and that she has plenty of fun days left. She was okay after that - at least for now anyways.
We hope that all of you are finding the time to enjoy yourselves as much as we are. Please know how much we love you and wish that we could spend more time together. Thank goodness for email and telephones. I would really be in world of hurt if we couldn't at least talk to each other.
I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are thinking of us. Because we are thinking of you too!
Have a great week-and don't forget to leave us some comments!
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