Life

With school starting and Sparky's birthday I have a bunch of pictures that I am working on, but they're not quite ready to post and so instead please enjoy a few of my thoughts on life as it is being lived right now.

1. My oldest and dearest boy just turned 12. It kind of hits me in the gut to say that and so I will continue to think of him as the precocious 3 year old who never stopped talking and only wanted to read non-fiction books. Honestly, not much has changed.

2. With my oldest turning 12, life has become much busier since he is now part of Young Men at church. The weekly activities are definitely going to take some getting used to, as well as a bit of coordination to get him to those activities because of all of the other things he and the other kids are involved in. I am sure you know what I mean because that's life. Although, it kind of makes my head swim. Big kids are busier kids.

3. We threw him a big Nerf war birthday party. It was a lot of fun and I will be just fine if I never have to throw a party again. Except for the fact that Woo gets a party for her birthday in March. Well, at least I have a reprieve until March.

4. I am trying to find some motivation to start working out again. If you find some, let me know.

5. Fall is in the air. A small seed of anxiety has been planted deep inside of me knowing that winter is right around the corner, but Fall is my girl's most favorite season and her excitement is pretty fun to witness.

6. School is in full-swing, house projects are underway and life is marching on.

Pictures for those of you not on Facebook

I post many more pictures on Facebook than on the blog because well, it is just so much easier. Posting on the blog takes so many more steps and sometimes I just don't feel like working that hard. Perhaps there is an easier way, but right now I sure don't know what it is. Regardless, here are some pictures from the last week or so that I took with my phone.

Doug and I headed to Costco to pick out some new glasses. While we were there Tiger found these sweet shades and thought he was looking pretty cool.

This boy of mine is about to turn 12 in one week and so it was time to buy him his first suit. I must say that he is one sharp looking kid, but every time I see him dressed like this I just want to cry.  I am having serious issues these days with my kids growing up.

Last Sunday I had a splitting headache and so what better spot for our Sunday walk than at the bottom of a dam. My, oh my was it loud down there. Not really helpful to my head, but way fun for the kids. My favorite quote of the night came from KK who, when asked if they had fun said, "Yes, but it smelled a bit like a man who never takes a shower." Descriptive and true.

What good little sports these kids of mine are. They are always being asked to stop for pictures and they handle it like champs.

I think Tiger just likes to use photo stops as an opportunity to practice his many expressions.

Sparky has been testing the bounds of his freedom and has been dying to walk to McDonald's which is really not that far from our house, but on a busy street without sidewalks. I am not quite willing to let him walk there by himself yet and so as a compromise we all walked there together. It was a small victory for my boy and I got to be "fun mom" for a moment.

Tiger's outfit choice the other day. Wow. It just hurts my eyes to look at this, but as a good mom I just let him go with his mismatched self.

My boys are quite obsessed with video games. Whether it be on the DS, the computer, or the Wii. It absolutely drives me crazy and I totally limit their time, but playing makes them happy. As you can see here it is Sparky's turn to play and Tiger is stuck watching because he has already played his allotted time for the day. Although, I must say that Tiger loves to watch his brother play almost as much as he love to play himself.

He also loves to make faces for the camera.

I am sure you have all noticed that Tiger likes to dress up. Well, we were walking through Costco the other day and all of the Halloween costumes are out. Tiger was instantly taken with this Ninja costume because, well because it is a Ninja and it has a mask and weapons.

He wasted no time running down the street striking "fear" into all who crossed his path.

So, there you have it, snapshots of our life from the past week. Two things have become very clear to me. I need to get more pictures of my girl, and Tiger and I spend way too much time together.

Track 2012

Every year I am totally surprised when Sparky tells me that he want to do track, but I am thrilled that he likes it so much and it is a fine way to spend a Saturday morning.

This was the year of the long jump for my boy. It turns out that he really has a great natural jump and even came in third for his group. I like to pretend that the guy measuring my boy's jump in the picture above is opening his mouth in awe and not just because he is a little bit bored and yawning.

Look at the height. Quite impressive in my book.

My favorite moment of track this year was when he informed me that he is now more of a distance runner. His preferred distance you ask? Well, that would be the 200m. Yep, he's a distance runner all right. Although, that is slightly up from last year's favorite race which was the 100m.

It's been a busy few weeks

This has been kind of a weird summer. We started off with our trip out west right after school got out. As fun as that was, it really threw everything off and we never quite got into a groove after we got home. I feel like we have been in a state of constant chaos ever since, but the last few weeks in particular have been quite crazy. First we had swim lessons for a couple of weeks. Tiger and Woo were in heaven, but Sparky was there under duress. This is what happens when you refuse to actually swim when you are in the water, you find yourself almost 12 years old and still in swim lessons. That's ok, I think he got the message and he tried extra hard this round after I promised he wouldn't have to take lessons again if he proved he could swim.

My cute little Tiger. This boy just loves to be in the water. His feelings about lessons are much like KK's were at this age. He is so happy to be in the water and just wants to swim, but doesn't so much want to listen to the instructor. He was often found off to the side doing his own thing and was constantly being pulled back to the group. On a positive note, this kid can hold his breath for and amazing amount of time. I am constantly amazed at how long he can stay under water.

We have also had lots of opportunities for dressing up in costumes that are way too small. Perhaps it is time to update the dress-up box?

Can you tell this boy enjoys a good party? A week or so ago our very kind Mexican neighbors invited us over for one of their kid's birthday party. It was an experience to be sure since we were the only non-Mexicans, but I tell you these Mexicans sure know how to party! There was food and more food, games and prizes, and good times being had everywhere. One of the best moments was when Tiger got up on the deck and proceeded to spontaneously dance for about 5 minutes to the 80's hits that were playing on the Karaoke machine. It was hilarious! Next to that however, my favorite part by far was the food. In fact, Sparky called it the Festival of Food. It just kept coming until we were ready to burst and it was so incredibly delicious! I really need to learn how to cook like they do. Perhaps I can get the recipes? I'll have to work on that.

Here's KK doing the egg walk. She totally rocked this game. It was quite humorous though because the mom would give everyone the instructions for the game and then one of the daughters would have to translate for us.

Here's the classic eat the apple off of the string without touching it with your hands. Tiger was all about this game until he realized that the goal was to eat the apple and since he really doesn't eat fruit, and certainly not apples unless the skin is cut off, he quickly gave up.

Sparky and Woo kept trying and trying, although without much success. I'm just glad that my girl didn't pop a bracket off of her teeth.

At the end of our second week of swim lessons this little man came down with quite the illness. It was so very sad. In fact, he's still coughing.

One night we had my sister and her husband over for dinner and afterwards KK had the genius idea for us to play Apples to Apples since it is her favorite game. It was seriously so very funny, especially since Chad didn't win a single hand and he is used to always winning every game we ever play. That is the beauty of playing with children. You never know what will happen.

Even Tiger got in on the action and he took it very seriously. I must say, for a boy who can't read he sure knows how to pick some good cards.

This week Sparky has been at soccer camp every morning. This has been very good for us because it has forced us to get up and get going in the morning. The other two kids and I have had all sorts of adventures while Sparky has been at camp. We've gone out to breakfast a couple of times, visited the party store, gone to the pet store, we went school supply shopping, played on many playgrounds, and even had some play dates. It has been a lot of fun.

Here's my little Tiger being his usual silly self on our outings.

And here's Sparky one day after soccer camp. Holy sweaty mess, but the kid has had the time of his life this week and I think he has learned a lot. I am so glad that I signed him up to do this.

Yep, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Now only one more full week of freedom left until school starts. I have mixed feelings about that, but I think that overall we are all ready. We'll just have to make the best of the free time we have left.

Beware of the Tie Dye Cowboy

I said, "Come here Tiger and let me take your picture."

"OK mama, I'm going to lean on the bed and look like this."

P.S. I love that he calls me mama. It is uniquely him.

On Sundays we like to go for a walk

 Here is Sparky educating all of us on some insect/animal/flower/plant that he has found. The kid is a walking encyclopedia and he absolutely loves everything in nature. His current fascination is birds, but that doesn't stop him from learning about everything else he passes along the way. He spouts off so many facts about things whenever we are out that sometimes I wonder if he really knows his stuff or if he is just making it up. Although in all seriousness, he probably really does know his stuff. After all, this is the kid who would ask for non-fiction books on spiders and stingrays and whatnot for his bedtime stories when he was a baby. I used to beg him to just let me read him a picture book. "Come on, please" I would say, "I don't want to read about the mating habits of sharks. Can't we just read Barnyard Dance or something?" He also likes to refer to his classmates as he colleagues.

 And the nature lesson for the moment has come to an end.

 Who loves Sunday walks? Tiger does!

Long ago Doug taught the kids that when you are leaning over a fence or a railing that is situated above a body of water then you are to spit. The kids all think this is great fun and so here they all are, leaning over the fence and spitting. I'm so proud.

Setting fire to minor explosives - aka, The 4th of July

I may, or may not have stopped at a fireworks store one afternoon and purchased some fun little explosives as a way of celebrating our nation's freedom. These fireworks may or may not have been legal, but since I don't have any actual pictures of those then I guess the world will never know.

Sparky had it in his head that he just had to have some army men to blow up this year. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but my husband kindly let me know that this is what boys do. So I stepped back and let my boys be boys. Many little plastic men were melted into unrecognizable blobs throughout the night and as a result my two boys discovered a new found love for these little army men. Since then many a battle has been fought between them in little Lego built forts.

On the legal side of things, my kids get quite a kick out of smoke bombs and they love to run through the smoke. They have each learned that you don't breathe while you run through the smoke. A lesson each of them only had to learn once.

Tiger gets so excited each time a smoke bomb starts to smoke. He jumps up and down and shakes his hands. He is very easily entertained you see.

Of course a night of explosives wouldn't be a night without sparklers. Always a favorite of the kids. Well, except for Tiger. He's a little too afraid of getting burned, but he is happy to watch the others run around with their sticks of fire.

Yessirree, we sure do love our fireworks. Hopefully next year it won't be so dry because we were a little too nervous to set off any really good ones this year. I don't think my neighbors would have liked it very much if we had burned down the neighborhood.

Blahs and birthdays

I have been hit with a case of the blahs this summer. I don't know why. Perhaps it has a little something to do with the fact that the Lord is once again giving me a lesson in patience and things are not happening when and how I want them to. Apparently I never learn and so I have a feeling I will be taught this lesson over and over again throughout my life. Sigh. Plus, I think the kids are driving me a little bit crazy. Anyway, since our little adventure out West, life has been pretty boring around here and so I had to reach back to June to find some pictures to post. Shockingly, I forgot to write about my little Tiger's birthday. My baby has turned 6 and I am lamenting the loss of his babyhood. He is officially a big kid now, with big kid hopes and dreams. Here he is dreaming about this chocolate cake that I made him for his birthday and hoping that he gets to eat it soon! Chocolate is his very most favorite thing on earth you see.

Since Tiger was turning the ripe old age of 6 this year, I thought that it was finally time for him to have an official birthday party. He has never really grasped the concept of a birthday party or cared for that matter, but it finally clicked this year and he was all about a party. Of course I was not going to disappoint my little man. We went to the party store and he decided on a pirate theme, Pirates of the Caribbean specifically. The boy just loves that Captain Jack. We invited all of the little friends that he wanted and headed to Grandma's backyard for the festivities.

Presents? Why yes please, I don't mind if I do.

Spiderman! Score!!

The kids basically just played on the giant inflatable water slide the whole time, but I did plan one game for them to play. We had a treasure hunt, because all pirates care about is finding their treasure. It was totally adorable to watch the kids race around the yard finding the clues that led them to the treasure. It also got a little heated at times as the competition to find the clues increased, but since no weapons were involved, everyone was able to make it to the end.

Here are some of the kids checking out their booty.

At one point Doug organized a competition to see who could climb up to the top the fastest. I don't remember who won, but it almost killed the kids to have to wait their turn. I tell you, this water slide is one of the best purchases my mom has made. The kids all love it, even though it is a pain to set up and put away.

Of course Captain Jack made an appearance to the party because it wouldn't be a pirate party without him. Yes, good times were had by all and the kids all declared the party a success. Good thing for me because those 6-year-olds can be pretty picky.

For the sake of the children

I am not sure when I realized that I seriously don't like crowds, (perhaps it was about the time I realized that I seriously despised shopping) but because of my aversion to crowded spaces I realized that my children have never been to a parade. But first I have to say that Doug dislikes crowds even more than I do and so that hasn't helped matters any. We also don't like to get up early on days we don't work or have school. So, you can see how attending a parade has been difficult. Well, no more. For the first time ever we took the children to a July 4th parade. Our church had a float in a local parade and so we thought that we would show our support by attending the parade and cheering them on. In full disclosure, we had the opportunity to ride on the float, but it was a million degrees outside and there was no way I was going to walk for 2 miles behind a car pulling a trailer. So, we found our spot of shade and did the best we could to cheer on everyone else who was willing to walk in the Hades heat behind a trailer.

Here's Sparky showing his total enthusiasm for the event. Sparky spent most of the time with a serious case of pre-teen attitude proclaiming that he just really didn't want to be by anyone and that he just wanted to be by himself. Tough luck my man. You are at a parade! There is not alone time at a parade. In his defense though, he was the only one who thought to bring a bag in which to hold the candy that the floats threw out to the kids. Sadly, it has been so long since I have been to a parade that I totally forgot that candy was a part of this experience. I think the candy was the only bright spot that Sparky was holding on to at this point.

Just another example of our inexperience. We totally left the house without a single thing to eat or drink. I refer you back to the fact that it was a million degrees outside, in the shade. My poor little lambs were melting and wilting and parched in the mouth. It was a sad state of affairs. Getting to the parade extra early because we got the time of the start of the parade wrong didn't help matters any. Luckily these two little troopers were able to keep their eyes on the prize, which was of course candy.

At last the parade made it to our section. Hooray! The kids perked right up and really got into the spirit of things. They even managed to get a little bit of candy which helped to brighten their spirits.

The parade was pretty dinky and by no means impressive by the standards of parades, but we still had fun. Hot, sweaty, sticky, dehydrated fun. We're totally going to have to do this again. Also, Doug totally saved the day by taking us all to the gas station afterwards to get giant sized slushies to quench our thirst and then picked up some pizza for us to eat for lunch. In the end, even Sparky admitted that it was a great time, although the sugar buzz from his monster slushy may have been the cause for his turn around in attitude.

Aunt Sandy

We had the great pleasure of having Doug's sister Sandy drive out to St. George from California to see us while we were on vacation. We were so excited because it has been many, many years since we have seen her and we were so grateful that she was willing to take the time off from work to come down and see us. This was by far one of the best treats of our trip out west. We definitely have to make sure that we don't let so much time pass before we see her again.