Camping in Pine Valley

Oh how I love Pine Valley. It's crazy to me that we can go from sunny hot desert weather to mountain fresh tall tall pine trees 20-30 degrees cooler in just a 45 minute drive. I love camping thanks to parents who took us a lot growing up.

My favorite thing is looking for the best camping spot and sitting by the fire at night.

Aislee's favorite...eating smores (she can make a dang good smore)

Easton's favorite...cooking mallows over a fire..especially one's that catch on fire so he can blow it out.

Lewis's favorite...eating dirt.

Of course I don't have any pictures of Lewis, because he's my 3rd and also when he's awake...my full attention is on where and what he's doing.

Very fun and successful first camping trip to Pine Valley...and I can't wait to go back...I found the perfect spot!!!

Gymnastics-Utah Summer Games

Aislee competed in the Utah Summer Games in June in Gymnastics. It was definitely our most favorite meet, because it was in the SUU Arena, and the medals were pretty awesome!! Aislee had a great meet. She messed up a little on bars, but recieved Gold in Beam, Floor and Vault, and also won a Silver medal for all-around! We are so proud of her.

Since competition season is over her coaches and Barefoot owners feel it would best for her to move up to level 5. I've been a little skeptical of this because she would skip a level, and it requires more hours during the week. But she does like to be challenged and I do think she has amazing natural talent. So, we're trying it out for the summer to see how it goes.

Yesterday in class she was doing back walk-overs on the beam, and she can not only do the level 5 requirement of round-off 2 back handsprings...but the other day she whipped out 4 back-handsprings. It's so fun to watch her, and when she learns a new skill it's so fun to see how proud she is and it makes all the hard work worth it!!

Gooooo Aislee!!! I'm your #1 fan and forever your cheerleader!

Mr Popper's Penguins

We finished our second book club book. The book was really funny, there was one part that my kids had me read over and over again and we were hysterically laughing!! It was a short quick read. 4 hours after we finished the book, we went and saw the movie together..they were soooo excited. The movie was COMPLETELY different than the book. The only things that were the same was the fact that someone named Mr. Popper unexpectedly received penguins in the mail. Everything else was different in some way. Aislee noticed and during the movie she'd say...this is not how it was in the book. So...she paid attention! The movie was fun with some funny parts...and after Easton kept asking me what world penguins lived in...when I told him our world...he asked if we could drive there on the way home to see them!!

Next book....Wind in the Willows!

Me and My kids have a bookclub!

My cute sister Jill is such a GREAT mom! She is always giving me fun ideas/activities to do with my kids. She recently told me about how she reads books with her kids. Sometimes if the book has a movie, they'll watch that after they finish. I LOVED this idea because I love to read and I love to read Children's books. I still remember my favorites when I was little. So I started a book club with my kids! Our first book was Little House on the Prairie. We read at night together and my kids just sit and listen (surprising!). It has been such a fun thing for all of us. And it has totally surprised me how much they actually listen. We cried, laughed, and cuddled together because we were scared. At one point Easton even said...Mom...they don't have a microwave. So that led us to a lot of conversation about how lucky we are to have what we do. It also made me dream about life being more simple.

I HIGHLY recomend starting a book club with your kids. Since we finished that book, we've started Mr. Popper's Penguins, and we're going to try and finish so we can go see the movie this weekend!

Here is the actual list of books my sister gave me: (feel free to leave a comment with your favorite Children's book)

Little House on the prairie
The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame
The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo
A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket
The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Fantastic Mr. Fox- Roald Dahl
The Hobbit- JRR Tolkien
A Wrinkle in Time- Madeleine L'Engle
Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Byond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn
A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Matilda- Roald Dahl
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
Marley: A dog like no other- John Grogan
The Mouse and the Motorcycle- Beverly Cleary
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- CS Lewis
D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths- by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulair
Harry Potter
Sideways stories from wayside school- by Louis Sachar
Holes
Matilda
Mr. Poppers Penquins by Atwater
Horace Splattly: the cupcaked crusader by Lawrence david
Danger Joe Show by Jon Buller
Aliens for breakfast by johnathan etra
how to train your dragon
the giggler treatment by Roddy Doyle
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Charlotte's Web- by EB White
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The indian in the cupboard by Lynne Banks
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

Im In Timeout

I had a meltdown tonight, so I put myself in timeout. I've been here for an hour. I'm really starting to like it. I might need to have more meltdowns.
Let me tell you how it started.
I made dinner for my family, and we are all sitting down at the dinner table enjoying our meal. And that's where the perfect-family-dinner-moment ends. Easton hates it, and Aislee loves it so much she's finished it, and is still hungry. Lewis downed it too, so he starts whining for more food. Okay okay children...calm down, let's see...we had Lentil soup and asparagus, so I offer them strawberries or an apple...of course one says strawberries, the other says apple. So, I settle it and go for the apple. One wants skin on, one wants skin off, so I start cutting away, and still I can hear whining from all three......wait a second, I do have a husband here don't I?, oh yes, but he is miraculously deaf at the moment and apparently has no bodily functions, because he's just sitting there. (which to his benefit, is rare) I hand the baby a handful of goldfish (because it was the quickest thing I could get to) he throws them off his highchair and starts yelling at me again. Meanwhile, Aislee and Easton are both whining their apple requests...and something snaps in my head, I scream...and walk/run to my room, slam the door (because that's key in melt-down procedure), and walk in my bathroom, slam that door, and lock it. I sit down on the floor, count to 10 and breathe deep. Peace and quiet....wow....this is nice. I notice my laundry basket full of clothes that need to be put away, so I do it....all alone, this is actually really turning into a nice quiet moment for me, and I get to do my chores peacefully and quietly.
That's when I hear my door trying to open, which I ignore, and then I hear paper rustling under the door. A note from Aislee:

mom wus it me Easton
or Lewis or DaD
and are you (picture of a frowny face with tears) I love you

I write back:

Thanks Ais, I love you too. I'm ok, I just need to be in time out for a bit.

Another note:

You wrnt Being meen
wiy are you in time out wy are you Sad.
I love you. (the o's are replaced with hearts)

My reply:
I yelled, so I put myself in time out. I'm not sad, just frustrated. So I'm calming down. Love you.

Her reply:

Your Qute.

Then another note:

I am the mom Go to time out
Jest tiesing
You can do wut you want to do
I love you

I wrote: You make me (picture of a smiley face) then I let her in, and hurry and locked the door behind her.


Moral of my story. Meltdown's can sometimes turn into great things. And also, I'm an honest blogger, and this is an honest life moment. Also, when Aislee calls me after she's had kids and cries because she had a meltdown or feels like she's going to go crazy, I'm going to pull out my blurb blog book, and this entry will be bookmarked and I'll read it to her, and I bet ya it will make her smile and help her feel normal. And maybe I can read this soon and laugh. And maybe it will help someone else laugh today.
My life is wonderful, even my crazy moments.

And if only kids knew how wonderful time out really is!!

Easton's Preschool Program and Water Party

I LOVE Easton's preschool, and so glad he loves it. He goes with his best friend Halle, and his best buds Connor and Braden. They did a short program and then they got to have a water party with a water slide, and popcorn and lemonade. Last night Easton sang us all the nursery rhymes he learned and it was so cute!

Our In Town Garden

We are lucky to be able to plant a garden at an old historical home in St. George. We share the duties and the harvest with our wonderful neighbors. Last year was a success with plenty of zuchhini, squash, and peppers to last a lifetime. We also got cucumbers, cantaloupe, a few beans, and pumpkins in August!! Our tomato plants were beautiful but never produced any fruit..probably because of the heat. My onions are finally growing, which were planted over a year ago! The kids love going and playing and can't wait to see what the garden will bring this year!

Aislees First Dance Recital

Aislee and her best friend Brynlee!

Best Buds!

The cute neighborhood girls! Madison, Chloe, Ais, Sofie, and Brynlee! It was so fun watching them!

Easton gets tubes in his ears

A few friends have made comments about the way Easton talks...and at first I was defensive and thought there is nothing wrong with my kid...but then after hearing multiple stories of speech problems having to do with hearing...I thought it might be smart to get him checked out. And he hasn't had a lot of ear infections, which is a common indicator of something wrong. So, we first went to the Hearing and Balance specialist...and great news...no hearing loss. BUT, he did fail a couple hearing tests indicating that he might have fluid in his ears. They wanted me to go see his regular doctor, be put on antiobiotics and then come back and take the tests again. If he did still fail the tests, they would refer me to an ENT doctor. Well, I bypassed all that trouble and went straight to the ENT doc. He looked real deep into his ears and said...it looks like he has really thick fluid and his eardrums are enlarged which also indicates fluid. So, we scheduled the surgery. We were there at 6:45 am. I love those pictures of my cute little bud with his favorite blanket. And of course when you see your child start to get nervous to go back without you, you'll say anything to make them feel better, so I told him I would take him to Target (his favorite place) to pick out a toy when he got done. They took him back...he cried...my heart broke...and then what felt like minutes later...they called me back to get him. It is so hard/weird/AND funny to see your child on drugs like that. He was so loopy. The Doctor told me he had thick fluid like goo that he drained out, so it's been like he's had ear plugs in for we don't know how long. Poor bud. The first thing he said was...let's go to Target. So, we left at 8:10 (fast hu?) and waited in the Target parking lot a minute to make sure he was okay. He was still really really drugged. So it was pretty funny. And Easton could seriously spend HOURS in a toy store, he looks at EVERY SINGLE toy. So, being on drugs even made it more difficult, but we did get out of there after about an hour! And, Daddy couldn't say no when Easton asked "Pretty Please can I get 3 Star Wars guys?"

We can't wait to see what it does for him and his speech. He keeps telling us how loud everything is, and he whips his head around everytime he hears any background noise. He even heard an ambulance siren when we were in the Target parking lot from far away, so we waited until it drove by. He thought that was pretty cool. I LOVE you East!

Aislee Can Do a Back-Handspring!!!!!

So, all of a sudden today Aislee whips out a round off back handspring--on her own. Me and Brian have been spotting her for about a week now...and today I guess she decided she didn't need our help anymore. She's a brave little sucker. It freaks me out. Just a minute ago she begged me to let her do another one...then she layed on the floor, closed her eyes, and said "that was so fuuuun". Which reminds me of another story. Last night after she came home from gymnastics...she brushed her teeth and went straight into her bed...I checked on her to make sure she was okay after like 10 minutes....and she said "Mom, I'm trying so hard to go to sleep but I keep picturing in my head doing back handsprings and I'm too excited to go to sleep." So...I think her next goal is Summer 2020 Olympics!! Go Aislee!





And yes, that's Easton in the background...pretending he's either a dog, a star wars storm trooper, or a caterpillar!