July so far

The other night we helped cut down a tree in Bryant's backyard...

then had our scripture study & popsicles

I wasn't very camera savvy on the fourth of July, but we had a fun day! We slept over at Grandpa Horton's the night before, went to the parade in Provo the next morning (as always), then headed up Provo canyon for a BBQ, fishing, and bike ride at Vivian Park. This might become our new tradition since it was so much fun. Later on we watched the fireworks done by PG city. A great Independence Day!

Toes?

Ammon is five months old now and has really discovered his toes...this is one of my favorite things that babies do...plus don't you just love his big blue eyes?!

Family Reunions!

We had two family reunions this week...lots of fun in the sun! Wed - Fri we were down in Moab for the Stum reunion. It was HOT and we got eaten alive by mosquitos, but it was fun to see everyone. Mark had fun mountain biking on his new bike and taking Josh and Holly river rafting, we all had fun hiking in Arches, and enjoyed lots of time in the pool. This was Ammon's first time swimming and he really loved it - he even fell asleep twice while swimming! Personally I would have preferred a different location (lots of heat and sun aren't that baby friendly) but I did really enjoy visiting with all the cousins we haven't seen in a few years.

We got home Friday night around 11:00, then Mark flew out to Chicago for a work conference, and the kids and I headed to the Black family reunion Saturday. We skated at Classic Skating for the morning then spent the rest of the day at the Scera park eating, playing games, having water fights, launching rockets, visiting, etc. It was lots of fun but we are so worn out! I'd love to say thank goodness today is Sunday (a day of rest) but with Mark out of town and four kids to manage, that's not really what I'm experiencing!

First Cabin Trip of the Year

We finally made it up to Grandma Stum's cabin! This is always a much anticipated trip and really lets us know that summer has arrived. We were glad the snow finally melted and the roads were clear - we were starting to wonder if we'd ever get to go the way this Spring has gone. We saw lots of deer - even one that came up to eat within 15 feet of the cabin while we were watching out the window which mesmerized all of us. There was also a cottontail bunny living under that cabin that we saw several times, and hummingbirds that didn't seem phased that we were near. The kids enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa Bishop, building things with popsicle sticks, lounging in the hammock, and sailing boats down the stream. Even without running water we still had a great time...

"Mom where is my...?"

So I have to say that I hear those words at least twenty times a day (minimum!) Oh, let me add that I also hear it another twenty times from Mark: Honey do you know where my ____ is? So this entry is in honor of all those moms/wives who spent at least 50% of their memory keeping track of where everyone else's belongings are! Whoever said that a photographic memory was a requirement for marriage and a family?

Oh, another favorite..."I'm Hungry!" I won't even start on how tired I get of this phrase. I have no hesitation in giving a kid a snack if they've eaten at meal time, but it really just drives me nuts when they won't finish their plate at meals because they're "full" and then within a half hour I hear the dreaded words. Anyone else get annoyed by this?

Well the whole thing that started this entry was a funny thing Holly said a few minutes ago that really made me laugh:

"Mom do you know where my crap book is?"
"You're crap book?"
"Yeah, my crap book...you know the one I got at preschool?"
"Oooh, your scrapbook!! It's on the counter!" (I could barely get it out through my giggles)

I guess the reward for keeping track of everyone's things is that you get to hear gems like that!

My Happy Boy

So we've captured a bunch of cute pics of Ammon lately - he seems to really like sitting in the bumbo and watch me cooking. Don't mind the purple bumbo...it's borrowed (thanks Jessica!) and don't mind the spit-up on Ammon's shirt...no excuses there! He's sure growing up fast; he was 15 lbs at his 4-month checkup - no wonder my shoulders & back ache when I lug him around in his heavy carseat all day!

Ella loves her little brother! So much that Mommy has to keep a close watch to make sure she doesn't "smother" him with affection - literally! He really likes having her play with him when she remembers to be gentle...

Got teeth?

I'm a week or so late on the four-month picture of Ammon - but I love these. I'm 99% sure he's working on teeth now since he looks like this all the time. The other day he had his whole fist in his mouth and he wasn't even gagging!

Picture of Contentment

So as I was doing a few things on the computer today I looked over at Ella and saw a true picture of contentment. She's wearing her fashionable new bike helmet (albiet crooked), wearing winter clothes even though it's 90 degrees outside, eating a popsicle, and bouncing away in Ammon's bouncer. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera. Don't you ever miss the carefree days of being a kid? And, for the benefit of my family, do you notice anything funny about Ella's toes? They are curled like mine always are!

Coming Along

So the house framing is nearly complete...

We took the kids over and let them run around inside and they instantly started playing "castle" so I guess that's a good sign. We let them pick out which bedrooms they would get, and explained where everything would be. We were happy to discover that we'll have a great view of the mountains out the front windows. Right now we are trying to finalize colors for the exterior which is proving to be more difficult than we thought. We will have a full finished basement below what you see here...a total of about 3000 square feet which is such an improvement over what we had before so we are really excited.

Mother's Day

So I'm a little late posting about Mother's Day because, well, let's just say it wasn't what I expected this year. I guess I should have known when Mark returned home from his soccer game Saturday night with a sprained ankle. I don't think either of us realized how bad it was until Sunday morning when he woke up and about fell over when he tried to walk on it. I was wishing all my training in sports medicine would come right back to me...but ten years of non-use makes for a cloudy memory. Anyway, as I was taking Mark breakfast in bed that morning I'm thinking to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?" Needless to say my expectations for a day of rest and relaxation (with Mark handling the majority of the kids' needs) went right out the window! He ended up on crutches and I ended up having five kids!

I also was asked to sing in Relief Society that day - so I had to practice for that and naturally was a little nervous for that. The hardest thing about it was that it was a song called "My Mother's Love" and I had to try so hard not to think of my own mom or I knew I would lose it. So I had to be totally detatched emotionally when singing - which doesn't necessarily make for a meaningful performance. I miss my mom like crazy. I can't believe it's been two years since her passing...it seems like an eternity and I still am trying to understand how she was needed more elsewhere when I still need her so much...

Mark did give me an awesome gift - a "coffee table" hardcover book he had published full of our favorite family pictures...thanks honey, I love it! I was happy we got to spend time with both of our families - dinner with Mark's parents and dessert with all my siblings & their kids. It's so fun to be with everyone and I'm so grateful we have good relationships!

To top off the night we stopped at Urgent Care on the way home to have Mark's foot X-rayed. After all the horror stories we'd heard all day we needed peace of mind that his ankle wasn't fractured. Of course it took forever, and since it wasn't a planned stop I wasn't prepared with things for the kids to do. At the end of a long day, 9:00 - 10:30 on a Sunday night goes by so slow in a waiting room with tired kids! At least we found out it's just a sprain...

I told Mark that I get a re-do for Mother's Day (and he definitely agreed) - so this year Father's day is all mine!