And so the homework begins!

Ethan and Jake have now been in school for two weeks. Yeah! Ethan started 4th grade and Jake is in 3rd. On the first day they were soooo excited that they woke up at 5 am to get ready. Luckily I was still at work and Ben got to have fun with this! When I got home from work to help them get ready they were already dressed and had already had breakfast. Unfortunately they were dressed in summer play clothes. Yuck! I told them they had to wear something new-it's just something I grew up with-having new clothes on the first day. I guess boys don't care so much. After a little bit of grumbling we found some new clothes in the box of summer clothes for next year.(since I always buy a season ahead during the clearance sales) So hair was done, new shoes(even though it is 100 degrees still) and socks were chosen and they were ready- a little too early. This year I decided to have them be later gaters, much to Jakes despair. I just figured with the new baby and chores and piano practicing it would be easier. So far I love it. This morning we had time to catch up on homework that was not finished because of dentist appts,soccer practice and back to school night. It was nice. So now it's just Jocelyn and Riley at home. Poor Jocelyn wants to go to school so bad and I had a place picked but it ended up not working out so I'm on the hunt for a new school. She needs something!
So starts the new school year, craziness but fun. I love to see the excitement the boys show on their faces as they tell me about thier days and the friends they haven't seen over the summer. So next thing -a new baby. Although I'm not due till sept 23,I've started progressing and contracting, like usual. The doctor says in the next week-wow scarey, I've got tons to do!

Jake is Eight

Saturday Jake turned eight and was lucky enough to be baptized on his birthday. He was so excited and I was too-he started counting down about a month ago. Almost everyday he would give me the update on how many days and what he wanted for his presents (it changed every time). It was a great day. After the baptism our family came over for lunch, cake, and presents. Jake was so surprised to see his cake. The day before when I was picking up his plain chocolate cake from costco, I had an idea on how to decorate it. I know-last minute-I'm pregnant what can I say! That night when Ben got home he used his amazing graphic design skills and came up with the picture we put on his cake-Yes- star wars again! I think that makes it four years in a row! I just hope he doesn't end up a single star wars crazed man who shows up at toys r us when new toys are released in his darth vader painted car wearing his favorite star wars shirt! Ben and I had a lot of fun creating the picture and couldn't stop laughing. Jake loved it. Aside from his new scriptures and journal everything else was star wars presents. He is in heaven and is now counting down the days until his Star Wars Battlefront game arrives in the mail. Happy Birthday Jake We love you-Our family would be so boring without you!

Sooner than I thought...

So the other day we were in the car and Jocelyn out of nowhere says "I want sisters" to which I replied "Sorry, you just get to have brothers" Jocelyn then says "Yeah but I the only sister,you have lots of sisters, I want lots too." Poor thing, she's just going to have to deal with it. The only way she will have a sister is if some vital parts fall of this baby before birth! Yeah, she's out of luck.

Oh Snap!

There's something to be said about the younger kids in a large family-they are just cool. You know what I mean. For some reason, thanks to their older siblings, learn to be cool at a very young age. Sometimes this can be a good thing. Thinking back to when my little sister who was barely 3 could sing such songs ad "I should be so lucky" by Kylie Minogue and hang out with such cool teenagers. And yet from this guidance she is still cool-You're welcome Laura! AmyLyn, you're cool too and that obviously came directly from Ben and I since KristyAnn and Jennifer had moved out by the time you were first impressionable(or so I like to think). I understand this unwritten rule and realize it was very apparent in us kids but when it starts to really take shape in my own kids it's a little crazy to witness. This thinking has all come from a few circumstances that are reoccuring at our home. Our cute little Riley-who can't say a whole lot- thinks he's one of the big kids. I know this kid will be cool, he's not even 2 and yet two of his favorite words are "oh snap"(thank you Raven from the disney channel) and "sweet". Not just plain "sweet" but a long drawn out "sweeeetttt". Crazy! Yes I think it's adorable! I just hope he knows who to thank when he is the coolest kid ever in kindergarten and beyond!

I love peas!

No kidding! Fresh garden peas are one of my favorite things. This year since it was so cool I was able to get peas planted-at least 4 packages. So we have a million peas. I didn't even care if nothing else grew. I just wanted peas. Although everything we planted has done well, even among all the weeds that I don't have the energy to pull. I made the boys pick peas one day so we could have fresh peas for dinner-they had a lot of fun shelling them with Jocelyn and Riley. It didn't take Riley long to realize there were peas to pick and eat. He's pretty cute. He finds a pod and points and makes some weird noise(not sure what he's saying) and if I say yes he picks it. If I say no, he moves on until I say yes. It's pretty funny. His tummy has been full of otter pops and peas each afternoon for the past few days. Yum!

Summer fun has begun!

Finally it's summer. The weather is hot and the kids are bored. Luckily we've been able to keep busy. Our swing set was intsalled a few weeks ago and the kids have loved it. Jocelyn loves to swing and constantly asks to be pushed higher even though she can go no higher. Riley has learned to climb the ladder well and also learned that a hot slide on a bare tummy is not good. Ethan and Jake have their friends over a lot and everyone is entertained. It has been wonderful!
The kids and I made a trip into Salt Lake one day-last minute- I forgot my wallet at work!!! Anyways the kids wanted to go to the church museum and how could I say no-it's free. We had a picnic lunch and a short trip to the Gateway to shop. Although it was pretty cool that day, the kids played in the fountains and had a good time.
How can it be summer without a few snakes being caught and also ran over by the lawn mower. The neighbor found a snake and let Ethan have it-Ethan took it to a field down the street and let it go. Funny thing is yesterday it had returned or maybe it was his brother. I almost stepped on it!-bare foot!!! I screamed so loud. Ethan again got hold of it but couldn't get it out of the weeds. So now I carefully inspect the back porch each time I go outside. yeah I know pretty pathetic Huh?
For the past couple of months every time we go to walmart Jocelyn rides the same barbie bike and says "maybe one day huh mom?" So we finally bought it for her only because her b-day is in October and by then it's too late. It had to be this barbie bike because of the small barbie bike on the handle bars for her barbie to ride along. She needs a little more practice but does pretty well.
One of the things our family has started to look forward to each summer is Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove. The kids walk in the kids parade and get a ticket to the rodeo,a ticket for a free carnival ride, and a popcicle. This year we decorated their scooters and the wagon. Lakota crashed hard on her scooter and less than 2 minutes later Riley fell out of the wagon! What a rough parade. We headed for the rodeo after the parade. Mom and dad met us there and Ben's mom went also. She was in town for Bonnie's sealing. It was fun-we only made it half way though. Riley is just a little too young to sit still and I'm just a little too pregnant. So we went home. It had been a long day. The next night was the carnival and more strawberries and cream. It was all worth it for strawberries and cream! So summer has begun and so far has been fun-tiring but fun.

Summer Fieldtrip

What time is it? Summertime-but not really. The weather has been anything but summery. We have only reached in the 90's for 2 days and that was when the kids were still in school. Bummer! So yesterday it rained pretty much all day and by dinnertime I was ready to runaway. Unfortunately Ben had young mens so I couldn't go anywhere. So today with the weather rainy again I decided there was no way we could stay home again. After a quick orthodontist appt the kids and I all loaded up, gave Laura 10 Mins. notice and met her and her kids at Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The kids love this place! They get to watch the process of making doughnuts and then of course they get to pick which yummy doughnut to eat. The kids actually spent a lot of time watching the doughnuts cooking and at one point everyone including Riley were chanting "Fall,fall,fall". At the end of the conveyor belt the worker puts the fresh doughnuts on a tray, sometimes she would walk away and the doughnuts would get close to the end of the line. Somehow she always knew when to return much to the dismay of the kids. They had a lot of fun and it was good to do something different. On the way home we stopped at Ben's work and delivered him his favorite kind of doughnuts, lemon and raspberry filled. What a great lunch! It's now no longer raining and hopefully it will be dry tomorrow-they come to set up our swing set-the kids are so excited and I can't wait either. The summer has begun- a little wet but I'm not upset the cooler the better for this pregnant girl!