Last week of June

The summer is already going by so quickly, here are some other things we did during the week.

I had book group on Tuesday, it was on the Book Thief - no one was able to get the book from the library in time so we just visited for awhile and then watched the movie.  A few of us had read it previously - I've read it twice but a few years ago.  It was a good movie, well done and very close to the book.  Of course very sad.

During the movie there was a thunderstorm and we got marble-sized hail.  This is what our zucchini plant looked like the next day.

 The girls like to color more than their brothers.

 On Wednesday I braved the store with all five kids.  We went to the dollar store first, they had earned their next prize for riding 20 miles on their bikes.  They each got to pick a toy.  Then we went to Walmart - these trips are just so exhausting.  I put one of the girls in the front and then I strap the other in the basket sitting down.  It works pretty well.  I did it right from the beginning so they don't know any different; they haven't started to fight me yet to walk around.  We got the normal things and picked out some birthday presents for friends that are having parties soon.

Tyler went to his friend's birthday party on Friday.  They went rock climbing at the beginning and then swimming after sandwiches and presents.  He had a fun time.  It was a pretty nice wall.  It made me think of my brother who likes to rock climb :).

Tyler made it all the way up the easy route and rang the bell (3 stories high).  

On Saturday we went to the Wild Animal Sanctuary.  We meet another family there that works with Doug.  This place helps animals that have been abused or been pets but can't be cared for anymore.  There were lions, tigers, and bears - oh my!  There were also some other cats (leopards, lynx, bobcats, and jaguars) and some wolves.  There were also lots of rabbits hopping around.

 The viewing was done on a raised walkway.  It was about a mile long to a final tent that had some lions in it.  There were some female lions there that roared for us, it was pretty cool.

This lion was pretty close to the walkway and sat nicely for us, then we saw a snake coming close.  The lion saw it too and flinched back and cautiously walked away.  It was pretty neat to see his reaction.  You can see the snake in this picture at the bottom - the lion hadn't noticed it yet. 

 Then he saw it.

It was a fun day.  Everyone was getting tired at the end.  We brought the stroller for the girls but they kept wanting to get in and out; Chris actually rode in it more.  They walked pretty well, but Doug and I took turns carrying them too.  

Damon doesn't know why he was pouting so much in this picture, he did have a fun time.  He is sad about it now.  Hopefully he will learn to smile more in family pictures :)

 The rest of Saturday was busy with cleaning and normal things.  Doug went to Home Depot and bought some plants.  I have wanted to get some planting done in the back yard but we haven't had the time.  We are not done, but at least we have started now.  We got some vinca, purple perennial flowers, a couple of flowering bushes and some strawberries.  We got about half of them planted yesterday and hopefully we will finish tomorrow.

A nice Sunday today, not many kids in primary.  The girls slept in until 7:15! That's about an hour later than usual, it was great.  I still got up earlier, but I had some time to myself to get things done. :)

Lemonade stand

I didn't take a picture but I helped the boys with a lemonade stand on Monday afternoon.  We had made cookies that morning so we took some cookies and lemonade to our nearby park and Damon and Tyler waved to people as they drove by.  They sold the drinks and cookies for 50 cents each.  A couple of people stopped in their cars and some people walked over.  I was actually surprised that they did pretty well.  We figured that they made about $8.  Then right at the end a young man about 19 or so came by on a bike and bought a cookie and then handed them a bunch of money and said keep the change.  He gave them $31!!  The boys gave $10 away to their friends that were helping them at the stand (I was talking to their mom - we both couldn't believe what had happened).  Anyway, so the boys got $21 from this young man - I guess he probably did a few lemonade stands in his youth and is just paying it forward.  The boys of course were pretty excited.  Of course they want to do it again - maybe sometime this week :)

Hogwarts week #3

 Another fun week with Hogwarts homework.  We made cookies with surprises inside.  We actually made two batches.  Damon wanted chocolate cookie dough wrapped around chocolate.

Tyler wanted a peanut butter cookie wrapped around chocolate.  I would have just done one batch, but Tyler wasn't around for the first one, so he got his own.  The peanut butter ones were so good, definitely going to make them again.

 We also made 4th of July shirts.  Got the idea from Pinterest.  I had some shirts on hand for Tyler and Chris, so I only had to get one for Damon.

Other things we did: read with eating breakfast, stack rocks, deliver cookies to a neighbor, play capture the flag with glow-sticks, play drip drip drench (similar to duck duck goose with a wet sponge),  play a counting game with dice, and write letters to the armed forces.  A pretty fun week.

Saturday Fun

 Saturday was full of fun things.  It started early, I woke Damon and Tyler up at 5:40 and we went to the neighboring city for their balloon festival.  There were over 20 hot air balloons going up and we got to walk right between them and watch.

 It was amazing how fast they went up and floated away. I wasn't even that windy, which was good.

 They had some booths set up and had these raptors on display, Golden Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk.

 They had the last balloon drop some parachutes down with a Chic-Fil-A cow stuffed animal on it.  Tyler got one and I caught another - we gave that one to a friend.  Tyler was pretty excited to get one.

After that we did breakfast and started cleaning.  I got ready for the day and then went to a baptism for some girls in my class.  I went with my co-teacher Natalie and we went to Wal-mart afterwards.  I got home around 12:30 and quickly put the food away and ate lunch and then went over to a friends to practice a musical number that we performed yesterday in church.

Then I did some stuff around the house and on the computer, then at 4:15 I left to go on a GNO.  A friend that moved away came back to visit and we put together a evening of fun for her.  We went to a nice restaurant (Hacienda) and I enjoyed my tacos.  Then we went to Madcap Theatre which is an improv place and it was so much fun.  I laughed and laughed.  Doug and I will definitely be going back to that.  (as a side note, their toliet paper was incredibly soft and what is so funny is that they even had a sign in the bathroom pointing it out and saying that they only provide the best for their guests :)  )  After the show we went to Cold Stone for ice cream.  We talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company.  There are a lot of great women in our ward and I was so glad that I was able to go out and enjoy a night with them.  Thanks ladies and it was so good to see you Amy.

It was a long day but very fun.  I was tired the next day and was a bit grumpy at Jenna for waking up at 5:50.  Then Kaylee woke me up during my attempt at a nap in the afternoon, guess they tag teamed it :)

Naps and nails, Bands and bags

 I haven't taken any pictures of the girls asleep - I try to leave them alone as much as possible so they don't wake up.  But I chanced a picture this last week, my sleeping beauties.

 I painted their toe nails for the first time.  They held still very well.  They watched me do mine and then they wanted theirs done too.

 Our library is having bands come and perform on their back patio.  We stayed for a few songs.  It was a bit country-ish but I didn't mind too much because listening to live music of any kind is fun.  The kids did pretty well and enjoyed eating their popcorn while they listened.

Doug participated in a Relay for Life with Halliburton.  The boys and I decorated some luminary bags for both grandparents.  Tyler accidentally colored his upside down, whoops.  (Grandpa on a bike)

2nd Week of Hogwarts

We had another fun weeks at Hogwarts Summer School

Find a secret reading spot:

 Make a worm farm - we had fun digging in the garden to find them.

 Make a balloon rocket - they boys had fun turning this into a zip line for their Legos.

We also played water balloon volleyball, wrote a comic on the computer, made a pop slushy, and played MASH.  They boys thought their futures were pretty silly.   Damon's last one was the best.  He was going to live in a gold shack in the sewer with 10 pet lions :)

We are looking forward to this next week with fun things to do.

Other stuff

Other stuff that happened this week, but I didn't take many pictures.

I did a lot of laundry on Monday and cleaned the inside of the fridge and vacuumed out the van.  It was really dirty from our trip.  Busy day!

On Tuesday our library had a magician come and the boys really enjoyed that.   I knew it would be crowded so we went early and the boys got to be front and center.  I was a little bit annoyed that the librarians asked me to take my stroller out - I wanted to keep the girls contained.  They had asked other moms to take their strollers out to have enough room for everyone, but I had my stroller in the front and to the side where no one was sitting and it wasn't blocking the way and you know, I have twins. It's kind of hard to keep track of two 2 year olds.  Anyway, I held them on my lap for all of 2 minutes and the rest of the time I'm telling them to sit down and not play with the blinds.  I survived by feeding them rice size bits of gum (the only thing I had in the van) and a few apples from our picnic lunch.  It was getting harder at the end and I was tired of chasing them, but it was worth it.  The magician was really good.  He entertained the kids very well and I just loved the look of wonder and awe on the boy's faces as he did his tricks.

Wednesday we helped return a lost dog to a neighbor who was watching it for a friend, kind of a funny story.  The girls had fun petting it and feeding it though.  Tyler had an orthodontist appointment in the afternoon.  I drove him to Brighton (30 min drive) and then Doug met me there to stay for the appointment and I took the rest of the kids home.  I felt bad that all the kids just basically had an hour car drive, but what do you do.  Tyler will have to have some work done fairly soon.  He has an under bite so they are going to try and have his jaw grow a certain way to fix it while he is young.

Thursday and Friday was Day Camp for Damon with Cub Scouts.  He had a lot of fun.  I was able to help Friday morning.  They needed more help with the Webelos group so I actually didn't get to be with Damon, but at least I got to see what he was doing.  They did a good job with the different activities.  Damon was able to have his friend from school come on Friday so that was fun for him.  His favorite activity was shooting the BB gun.

Saturday was normal cleaning then we talked about doing stuff in the back yard.  Doug went and looked at different plants and strawberries.  We were going to go get them and plant, but then it rained.  So I guess that will be on our list to do this week.  Our garden is doing well and there are a few blossoms on our tomato and pea plants.

Today was good, Doug is pretty easy going so I don't feel too pressured on Father's Day.  I made him oatmeal and he opened his few gifts this morning.  I got him a Wii Golf game (found at the DI during our Logan trip) and an alarm clock that you turn off by shooting at it with a gun.  The boys all loved this.  It actually had a game mode as well, so they all took turns shooting the target.  (it's just a sensor, no projectiles).  The bad deal was that of course it was made in China or Hong Kong so the buttons were all a bit faulty and it was really hard to get it to go into game mode.  The buttons wouldn't work consistently.  Oh well, Doug was a good sport about it and had a good laugh when he opened it.  I am so grateful for Doug and the great father he is to our children.  I am also thankful for my dad and for everything he taught me and for the good example he is to our whole family.  Love you both!

As a side note, the girls have discovered side walk chalk and enjoy coloring the whole deck.  I don't mind, we just have to make sure they don't get chalk all over when they come in the house.  Kaylee is saying 'cheese' and Jenna is screaming 'no!"

Then Jenna decided to smile for me ;)

First week of Hogwarts Summer School

 This was our first week of Hogwarts Summer School.  The boys were both so excited to do their 'assignments'  Damon is in Griffindor house and Tyler is in Ravenclaw.  They get a point for each activity they do during the week, then they award the house winner each week and then the house cup at the end.  The individual who earns the most points in each house at the end will win a wand.  We are going to try hard and do every activity because Damon and Tyler would both really like to win that :)

This week some of our assignments were to create something from cardboard (Transfiguration class), make something yummy with chocolate (Potions), and have a water balloon fight (Quidditch).  We also wrote some happy messages on the sidewalk for a friend, played sardines, wrote a note to dad, and visited the Library.

This is our cardboard creation, it is a string pinata.  There are a lot of ribbons stuck into a box and only one is taped down.  So you pull on the strings and most of them just pull out, but when you find the one taped down the box with open and you get the surprise.  I didn't want to do candy, so I just put in some bows.  We needed to make a few adjustments - the box opened too easily, all of the ribbons were making it open.  Then the bows didn't fall out very well, they were too packed in I guess.  But everyone still had fun with the game.

We are doing this Hogwarts thing with another family and we had our water balloon fight together.  It was a lot of fun.  We tried to make it like the game of Quidditch with everyone taking a turn being chasers, seekers, and keepers.  It was a little challenging keeping everyone happy with taking turns, but they still had a fun time.

Utah trip part 3

Thursday morning we packed up and went to Providence to Doug's parents house.  They have been working more on their new house.  We hadn't seen the movie room completed and also saw the progress on the landscaping.  Their back yard goes into a ravine and they are planning on making some terraces and paths to access the creek more easily.  Doug was put to work hauling branches and sticks out of the ravine, there is still a lot of work to do.  

Here are some pictures at the house, everyone found something to do: 

 Thursday afternoon I went over to Doug's sister to get my hair cut.  I usually have an appointment every time we visit.  She does the best with my hair.  I got highlights this time as well and it looks great, at least in my opinion.  :)  We had a nice dinner and got everyone settled.  All the boys have beds in one room and the girls were in a separate room in their pack 'n plays.

Friday morning I scheduled a play date with my high school friends.  It was great to see everyone and catch up on each other's lives and kids.  It's hard to visit with young ones climbing around.  I kept missing half of conversations because I would have to go help Jenna or Kaylee.  We went to Ryan's Place in River Heights, it is a fun park that I haven't been to very much.

 Mandy, Alisha, Audrey, Me, Taryn - I realize how lucky we were to grow up together.  Great friends!

 After naps we drove to Mantua to the Box Elder campground.  The girls loved running around and got plenty dirty.  The mosquitoes were out in force so we sprayed quickly.  (We discovered the next day that the girls had a bunch of mosquito bites on their faces - I didn't spray there so I guess it was my fault.) We played around for awhile then had hot dogs and hamburgers with smores of course.

 The girls were in a hugging mood and I got a couple of cute shots.

Doug trimmed up his beard for his family just for fun.  He shaved it off for work two days later. 

Boys + fire = fun

 Kaylee in the tent.

 Chris and Emily

 After dinner I drove back to Providence with the girls, Chris, and Doug's mom.  We didn't want to deal with 2 pack 'n plays and the rest of us in one tent.  Also, I don't think it would have been quiet enough for them to sleep at their normal bedtime and I don't think the rest of the family wanted to be woken up at 6:15 when they normally get up.  So we had a good night's sleep and drove back up in the morning.  We got there just in time for breakfast, perfect timing.  Doug, Damon, and Tyler slept pretty well, the boys said they were a little bit cold.

 We packed up and went to grandma's house and the cousins played for a bit.  The Wii was set up and they had fun playing Mario Kart.

The rest of the reunion was at Doug's sister's house in College Ward.  She rented a water slide bouncy thing for the day, it was a lot of fun.  I went down multiple times :)  

 We also ate lunch, shot off water bottle rockets, took turns driving a go-kart, played with water balloons, and had a great time with our family.  The girls napped well after lunch, it was nice not having to worry about them for all of the activities.

Thanks Wendy for setting everything up, it was a great reunion!

Sunday morning we packed up and left around 8:45.  Jenna fell asleep in Logan canyon and then didn't nap the rest of the way - she was pretty grumpy by the end.  She screamed the last 30 minutes of the trip.  We stopped once for lunch then a quick stop for gas.  The kids were good to stay put for the long drive.  We had a head wind again - we had one on the way to Utah as well.  And it was rainy; that slowed us down a bit.  It was really scary passing some of the semi trucks, you couldn't see at all.  But we made it home around 5:15 and quickly made dinner (pizza) and then unpacked everything.  It was a great trip, but I was tired by the end and ready to go home.