September 24-30

I will try a new style of posting... instead of each event getting its own post, I'll just post once in a while, everything that has been going on, unless it's a bigger vacation or trip or whatever. 

 

I got these folders ready for our annual class presidency training meeting. Using 8 1/2 by 11 sized label sheets, I put the 2017 mutual theme on the cover. I thought they turned out a lot better than simply gluing a sheet of paper on front. Hopefully they last!

 

My brain was turned off for 10 minutes when I came up with the brilliant idea to get Jesse a Father's Day gift... an apron... which he finally cracked open 3 months later. 

 

Charity eating her sandwich (on gluten free bread) on the way to the raspberry farm. Her face was covered in jam, so this picture does not do it justice!

 

Shoal Creek Berries- if I could choose what my husband did for a living, it would be to move to a small town and start a U-pick farm of some sort (peaches or raspberries or strawberries or watermelon...). Then my four boys could one day do the manual labor and I could enjoy my berry lemonade in the shade of one of my massive trees in the summertime. Hmmmmmmm....

My 3 babies at the berry farm in front of one of the many flower gardens. I think we easily ate 8 pints on location. So delicious. When Charity's basket ran out of berries, she discovered my basket was the perfect spot to pick more, plus easier than the bushes!

 

Parker was the spotlight in Kindergarten! He picked each picture he wanted on this poster. One mistake I did... not printing a picture of him on the jet skis from our trip to Montana this past summer. 

Pictures include the following: Pokémon; Great-Grandpa Bird; fireworks; trip to Mr. D's to buy a treat; pet snail; 4-wheeler, brothers and sister; kindergarten pictures; name in play dough. 

 

Griffin and Oliver are doing Tuesday/Thursday preschool this year and love it. Charity and I got to tag along to 2 of their field trips so far this year. Here they are at Staheli Farm. (Griffin in teal; Oliver in red/white stripes)

Train ride! 

 

 My arms are so incredibly sore from doing TRX with Sabrina... so I doused the table in vinegar spray and asked Oliver to clean it. Charity loves to clean, so she had to help. When your arms are too tiny to reach across the table, what else would you do?!

This Girl Loves Selfies!

 

She's looking at herself on my computer screen. And she knows it's Charity. And she loves it. I love that cute smile, too! 😍

Childproof Bins... Why didn't I think of it??!

Emily, you are a genius!!! 

She needs help making this product available for purchase, so she fundraising with KickStarter. Your card won't be charged unless she gets the support she needs, from family, friends, and anyone who thinks these bins are a good idea and is willing to be a "backer" for even $1. She needs our help!!!

Support her fundraising here:

http://1e.fnd.to/childproofbin

Sand Hollow (again!)

Flora pushing Charity on the tube- she's our little daredevil and loves thrill. I could tell she was nervous, but she loved it!

 

Lincoln was busy building sand castles the entire time. We purchased some sand toys since we will be going to the lake a lot this summer. Plus... we have a trip to Cali planned for the end of June. Griffin (not pictured) was busy building the entire time, too. 

 

Zoomed in on these two floating in the "deep" water (5 feet or so). Parker and Lola. All the big kids (Lincoln, Parker, Flora, and Lola) swam out to the buoy and touched it- Lincoln touched "the slimy part!" Jesse and Nathan swam out there with them. Pretty far for little kids! Jesse said maybe 1/4 mile round trip. 

Oliver was having issues keeping his shorts up...

Counting to 10

This morning I went to get Charity out of her crib, and she just spouted off counting to 9 all by herself. What??! When did she learn that? I tried to reproduce it, which sort of worked...

Haircut!

 

After every shower Oliver wants his hair spiked. It was looking a bit ridiculous to spike lately... So I chopped it!

 

This little lady of mine...

 

She loves to pose for pictures. It's so cute! Plus I wanted to document this adorable swimsuit before retiring it to the "too small" pile. Okay.. I admit - I placed her hands on her hips in this picture! She was doing all sorts of weird things with her arms. And a pink bowl. She loves pink!

 

 

Sand Hollow Reservoir

 

Griffin

 

Oliver 

 

We have a beach 30 minutes away! Our kids are old enough now I am not as anxious to bring them here and enjoy the giant sandbox. The kids (even Charity!) love it. Now we just need to coordinate with Uncle McKay who has the boat...! 🏄🏊🚣

And a question... What to do to get rid of the bucket of sand that accumulates in the van...? Is there a way to deal with it? My only idea so far involves the leaf blower... 💨🍂🍃

Season of the Splash Pad

 

 

These 2 boys could play here forever. I love how there are so many choices for splash pads here in southern Utah. They make the hot summers... more bearable. 😎😰

Worms, Dirt, and Mud

 

So funny! We made cups of dirt, mud, and worms (crushed oreo cookies, chocolate pudding, and gummy worms) and Charity absolutely loved the pudding. She discovered one of the worms... And this was her reaction:

This kid loves Zucchini!

 

We got our first zucchini of the season this week, and Griffin went nuts and didn't want to share with anyone! He is my veggie lover. He absolutely loves salad with strawberries on it, and calls it his "favorite salad".  

Griffin and His Trains

 

He would play trains all day long if I kept building the tracks. And if no one else bothered him. He is very protective of those built tracks, until it is HIS idea to destroy. 

Scooting Chairs around...

 

My Knight in ...Shining Armor?

 

Pinto for Memorial Day Weekend

 

Jesse helping Parker fish and Lincoln fishing. Finally getting to use the new fishing poles!

 

Lincoln caught a fish on his first cast! But wouldn't touch it and freaked out when Jesse put it close up...

 

Oliver trying fishing..

 

Asher showing Griffin and Oliver the snake he caught. 

 

Jesse and Parker on top of the hill. 

 

Ashley gutted her first fish! (The fish Lincoln caught didn't survive the swallowed hook...)

 

I took Lincoln on a ride up the hill on a 4-wheeler... He was incredibly worried about getting lost.

 

This is Parker riding a kid-sized 4-wheeler. He and Lincoln were in heaven - the only one that they had to share it with was Jet!

 

I took Charity for a ride, too. She was obsessed after that ride and kept climbing up and asking for another ride. She and Parker are the thrill-seekers in our family!

My Little Yogi

 

My little yogi... I went to grab my yoga mat this morning, which happen to be near the scriptures. Charity cheerfully said, "sip-shuhs" and then I grabbed my yoga mat. I asked her if she wanted to read scriptures, and she changed her mind and said, "No...yo-ya!" This is her impression of downward dog... 

 

Her and Ada (cousin) wanted to join in on the fun. Charity knows it is impressive to fold in half, so she likes to show off her flexibility. 

 

I tried to get her and Ada to have their legs straight and to touch their toes, and this is what I got... Cute girls.

Bye Bye Butterly

9 of the 10 chrysalides hatched into butterflies this week!

 

They drink their food, so sliced fruit was placed in their "garden". 

 

We were excited to release them, me included! 🤓

 

One even let us hold it for a few minutes. That was definitely the highlight of the release. 

 

I think Griffin, Lincoln and Parker all got a chance to hold it. Oliver was squeamish and Charity was scared of them when they were in their cage...

Zion National Park- Emerald Pools

Before we got all grumpy and tired, I wanted a nice picture. Flora and Lola (cousins) came with me, and Charity stayed home with her Aunt Audrey and cousin Pearl. 

 

 

They loved the shuttle buses. Flora is such a character- she loves to make goofy faces for the camera. 

 

Our first stop was Zion lodge lawn. Fueling up with lunch. 

 

I chose Emerald Pools- challenging, yet doable without having to bring a stroller. One of our many breaks- Griffin and Oliver are only 3 years old, so we took many. 

 

They loved climbing up the rocks - probably one of their favorite things about the hike. 

They also loved the "cave" and the waterfalls. 

 We had to take a potty break...

 

Then they wanted to take off their shoes and play in the water for a while. 

 

At the top (that chain behind them was a warning to stay away from a giant cliff... I was REALLY nervous here and talked to them about how dangerous it was before reaching this point).

 Had to bribe them with French fries to avoid meltdowns. They did awesome! It was fun to have a couple extras with us this time!