Locking My Blog

Hello everyone,

I want to let you know that in a few weeks I am going to be allowing only invited users to view my blog. Travis and I have chosen to open our home to children in need of a safe, loving environment and we are excited for this opportunity. However, I am concerned about posting pics and stories online of these children, but I want to document their time here with us so we can remember each of them. So, I feel that I need to lock my blog from everyone except friends and family.

If you would like me to include you on the "invite" list, shoot me an email- or leave a comment and let me know.

Craft and Swim Camp

The last week before school started I hosted a day of crafts at my house for my kids and their crafty friends. I was inspired by an advertisement I saw during the summer for "Pump it Up". They had an artist-bounce camp during the summer that looked like so much fun! The day consisted of snack-bounce-paint. Snack-bounce-paint. Lunch-bounce-paint. And I immediately recognized it as a winning idea. We had a super busy Summer and I waited and waited all summer long to put my idea of crafts and swimming and snacks into my day camp. We finally pulled it off just 3 days before school started. It was a huge success. I loved it. The kids loved it. The parents loved having a day to get things ready for school while I had their kids. It was a big hit with everyone. I basically followed the same routine as the pump-it-up camp. We started with a craft, snack, then swim. lunch, snack, swim, craft, snack. The kids all made these darling paper tote bag's for their new teachers, they also decorated mini-note books and pencils to go in them. We decorated some large notebooks for ourselves and finally we decorated some little tins for ourselves. The kids all loved showing up the first day of school with special things for their teachers. It was a huge success and one that I would love to do on a weekly basis next summer, if we aren't so busy. I wanted to add cooking lessons into the mix and sewing lessons and gardening..... there never seems to be enough time!!

School days, School Days...

School days are fun, fun, fun!! This year I have 4 kids in school and I am finding that I have some free time! I love it. The kids love it. It's a win-win situation, for sure.

Yes, you heard me right. I have all four kids in school this year. It is very weird for me to have no kids here. Weird, but nice... most of the time. I had Olivia signed up for only 2 days of school this year, she is still so little, but she really really really wanted to go every day. Her school offers 5 days a week, so we decided to try it. She has been going 5 days a week and she LOVES it. I feel a little bit like I am missing her, so I have tried staying at her school for a couple of hours each day, to volunteer and be with her. But she basically ignores me the whole time. She runs around playing with all the little kids (there are only 2 boys and the rest girls, so she is in heaven), she plays with the teachers that she loves (and they are so amazing, they greet her each day with big hugs and they get on the floor and play with her and they are just like grandma's to her, they love her so much and she loves them), and she gets to do all the painting that her heart desires- she loves to paint. LOVES to paint. They have a painting station set up at all times that she can run to and paint whenever she feels like it. She has come home every day with no less that 7 BIG pictures that she has painted. They told me that she paints more than any other kid they have seen. She usually comes home with paint in her hair, on her face and all over her clothes. She loves it so much. They also have a playdough station set up at all times that she can play with any time she wants. Livie has always loved play dough. It is one of her all time favorites. Every day when we get to school she runs straight to the play dough table and begins molding and squishing. She loves it. They make their own play dough and have a different color/flavor (they make it with kool-aid and it smells, too) each week. They have a life size play house with little kid washer/dryer, babies, cradles, kitchen stuff, dress up, etc. Again, one of her favorite things in life. They have a big gated-in yard that is open to the school, so the kids can run outside at any time and ride bikes, cars, play with balls and a lot of other cute kid toys stuff. They also have water tables that are filled with colored water. Two different colors each week so the kids can mix and see what happens when 2 colors are combined. They have the most sweet teachers and we are thrilled to have found this great school. We will continue to have her in 5 days a week until she starts to miss me a little bit. I am missing her more than a little bit, but I am also enjoying my freedom, for the first time in a long time I have been able to go running every morning (there are no sidewalks here and it is too dangerous to try to take a jogging stroller on these windy roads, and late at night or early in the morning I am too afraid of stepping on snakes or running across mountain lions or bob cats or wild dogs) and I love running. I have 2 doctors appointments this week, the first EVER without any kids coming with me... EVER! When I was pregnant with Olivia and went for my FINAL check up before having her, I took all three of my kids and no husband, the doctor was a little concerned (as I was holding Cami during the exam and the other kids sat in a chair near my head), she had never met Travis and was wondering if the kids would be with me during the delivery :) But being married to someone who owns their own practice has it's ups and downs. Mostly ups. But sometimes downs, too. So, this week I am going to my FIRST doctor appointments with no kids. How exciting. A little sad, but exciting, too. I will also be able to volunteer in the kid's class rooms for the first time ever, and go on field trips with them, too. I am so happy to be able to participate in my kids' education more this year.

Cami loves Kindergarden, mostly. She loves her teacher, but she doesn't like the boys in her class.... what?! It is shocking to me. Cami loves anything to do with marriages and loves a good romantic movie (disney, of course, but she cheers when Eric finally kisses Ariel, you get the idea), she talks constantly about getting married. I am shocked that she doesn't like the boys. Thankful, but shocked. She also doesn't like to use the restroom in her class room because boys use it too. Funny child.

Gray loves his teacher and most of his good friends made it into his class. He is happy because there are mostly boys in his class. We challenged our kids to not eat any sugar this week and Grayson in the only child of ours who did it!! He made it the whole week. I am so proud of his will power. His teacher offers a piece of candy at the end of every day for every child who stays on the good side of the board all day long. He told his teacher that he couldn't eat candy and she got a prize box for all the kids who don't want candy. I was really proud of him.

Gloria started 4th grade and she is excelling. She loves it. Her best friend in the whole world is in her class, and she is so happy about it. Her best friends name is Andie. The funny part about that is on the first day of school her teacher had organized all the desks so the students were sitting boy/girl (trying to keep the noise down) and who was put RIGHT NEXT to Gloria? Andie!! I laughed and told the teacher that Gloria was so excited about the seating arrangement because Andie is a GIRL and her best friend!! I assured her teacher that Gloria and Andie were the best girls she would ever meet and that they would be great examples for those around them if she left them together, and she could ask their 3rd grade teacher who would verify that they are amazing girls and gave no problems to the teacher, ever. She left them next to each other. Gloria was so excited. She is already exceeding her teachers expectations and is doing great. She loves it. They got pet "meal worms" this week. They had to bring boxes and food for them. She loves her pet meal worm. I can't remember what she named it, though. Sorry. We'll post pictures of it when she brings it home.

HAve a great week, I know I will.

The Uinta's

We just got back from a trip to Utah. We always drive through the night, when we drive long distances. This time was no different. We let the kids sleep all night and Travis and I take turns driving. We download a few good books on our iphones and it usually helps us to not get sleepy. This time, Livie ended up crying a lot during the trip and we had to keep pulling over and taking her out of her carseat to calm her down. Then we would put her back in her seat and drive until she started to cry again. It was a hard drive and it took us 15 hours instead of our usual 12. We arrived in Utah on a Friday morning and headed to my little sisters house. We stayed with her for a night and my kids loved playing with their cousins. The next night we headed over to my BIG sisters house and crashed with her and her family. Again, my kids loved it!! We are so blessed to have such WONDERFUL family.

This past week we have been camping in the Uinta's (utah) with my family. All of my siblings and all of their spouses and kids made it on this vacation, which does not happen too often, so of course we documented with pictures! We stayed at Trial Lake, like we do every year, and it was pretty cool, literally. We brought and WORE our coats. On our hike to Wall Lake we got to play with snow.

There were mosquito's EVERYWHERE. They swarmed around us, all the time. We constantly put on sun screen and burned citranella candles, and STILL we got bitten!!

We were lucky enough to borrow a camper-trailer from Travis's parents. They were so generous in letting us use it, and bringing it up for us and also picking it up and taking it home for us. Bob (trav's dad) is so giving of his time and we appreciate him.

My little sister, Ilesha, of course brought hair and nail supplies, so we weren't too uncivilized! There were 3 campers (or 5th wheels, I guess I don't fully understand the difference) between all of the family, so we all crammed in together and stayed warm and bug free (at least while we were sleeping). It was so cold we NEEDED a camp fire all day long. That being said, we could not keep anyone out of the freezing cold water!!! The men loved jumping in and swimming around Trial Lake. At WAll lake, almost everyone jumped the cliffs to the water below, and you would hear everyone scream as they hit the water and when they came up out of the water,the first thing that everyone screamed was "It is so cold. It's freezing!!!" Even though it was no secret that the water felt like ice, everyone continued to jump in!

Our Fun Cousins

We were so lucky to have my Uncle and Aunt and their 2 daughters come visit a few weeks ago. They come up every Summer to stay at Bass Lake with their family, but they always carve a little time out for us, and we love it!! My kids think that Aunt Julie and Uncle Craig and Krichelle and Holly are the MOST FUN people in the world!! It seems that we never stop laughing when they are around. We had a great time having them hang out at our house, and we loved going up and spending some time at Bass Lake with them and their other side of their family. Bass Lake is beautiful and warm and such a fun place to visit. It is Beautiful!! If any of you ever make it out this way to Yosemite, definitely include Bass Lake on your list of things to see.

Thanks to our aunt and uncle and cousins for taking time to visit us and for making us feel so special. We love you.

Boating

This Summer we have spent quite a bit of time out on the lake. We really enjoy spending time as a family on the boat. We got a new 4 person tube that is a total blast. The kids love getting whipped around on that thing!! Also, this Summer, the kids are really getting good on the wake board. Gloria is learning to ski and she is getting better each time we head out to the lake. It has been so hot here that we look forward to getting into the water every evening when Travis gets home from work. We have 3 lakes that are near our house and we can get out on the lake within 30 minutes of Travis getting home from work. Then we stay out until the sun goes down. I am going to miss these care-free days of summer.

More Friday Night at the Lake

My last post on our annual Friday night at the lake was incomplete, as I just wanted to get some of the pictures posted before I got too far behind, I have A LOT of pictures that I have not posted, yet.

So, Friday night at the Lake is something that our office sponsors once every Summer. A band comes to play, barbeque is available, balloons, games, pie eating contest (congrats Jake on your SECOND PLACE- haha) and a good time for all. We throw out t-shirts and give away a ton of free toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. We have a great time every year and look forward to doing it again next year.