Fun with Grandma and Grandpa #2

Tuesday it was great to have the extra help to go to Damon's awards assembly.  Grandpa stayed at home with Chris and the girls so grandma and I could go to the assembly.  They made it more like a graduation celebration.  They marched in with music and everything.  Everyone got a medal and certificate for graduating the 4th grade :)  I guess they make it a big deal since this is the last year of elementary school here.  Damon was recognized for being on the 'A' Honor Roll as well.  I am glad that I could go, and I was extra glad that I didn't have to wrestle any kids while we were there.  

After that we loaded up lunch and went to the library.  We got a few books then jumped on the trolley for a ride.  It does a big loop that takes about 20 minutes.  It was a pretty warm day so we decided to go to a park on the way home to eat our lunch.  There was more shade there than around the library. 

Tuesday afternoon was pretty normal, I picked the boys up from school.  We had chicken alfredo for dinner.  Then Doug and I drove downtown to go to a magic show. We got down there a bit early so we went and got a smoothie first.  Which might not have been the best idea since we couldn't take them in with us.  We ate them pretty fast.  The show was pretty cool. They did some amazing things.  They had a big screen so you could see the close up stuff, but I also had some binoculars that I used most of the time.  My favorite was a young man from Korea and he could do the most amazing things with cards.  It was all choreographed very well with graceful music.  He could make cards appear from no where, he even had his sleeves pulled back.  It was crazy.  By the end of his act he had at least 5 packs of cards worth at his feet - where they all came from I have no idea.  

My mom and dad were great to stay with the kids and give us a date night.  

Wednesday morning after taking the boys to school I took my parents to a car rental place.  They rented a car for two days so they could drive to Austin to visit my mom's sister and see some of the sights over there.  They had a good time visiting and going to the capitol.  They also saw the bats come out at night.  I guess they made a bridge a certain way that the bats like and they made their homes there.

Since we were already out and about I took Chris and the girls to the mall to play at their indoor play area and then we went to the Woodland's Children's Museum.  I like that it is smaller - I can keep track of everyone a lot easier.  

 Giant Light-Bright board.

 Wednesday evening I hosted book group.  So I spent the afternoon cleaning and getting things ready.  We talked about the book Eat Cake.  I think I have hosted this book in all the book groups I've been a part of.  It's not the most thought provoking book, but I like the story and the recipes.  I made the lemon cake again like I did in Firestone.  We had a pretty good turn out - 8 ladies I think.  And we had some good discussions.  This book group is more serious about the books than my previous ones, so I felt bad that this book wasn't as powerful as some of the past ones.  But oh well, the cake was good!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa #1

Sunday was pretty normal, church and eating - we had chicken on the grill and mashed potatoes.  After dinner we went on a bike ride around our neighborhood.  My dad always likes to explore new areas and enjoyed seeing where we lived.  We went on a pretty big loop and I remembered to turn on  my odometer.  It measured out to be around 3 miles.  Chris is still bit slow, but he did a great job.  We stopped at the park on the way home.  

Monday Doug went to work and I took the boys out of school for the day.  We went downtown to the Children's Museum.  We had gone before on one of their free days, but we didn't get to see much and it was sooooo crowded.  This trip was awesome.  There weren't very many people there and it was great to have the extra help from mom and dad.  The girls aren't good to stay nearby, they just wander wherever they want to go.  There were lots of cool things to see and do.  

 Damon love the Fruit Ninja that you could play with the Xbox 360.  You could just use your hands to slice the fruit.

 The girls liked the climbing maze thing.

 Tyler did well on the climbing wall.

 And Tyler also really liked the Kidtropolis area where you could get an ATM card and do activities to get a pay check, then deposit that into your account.  Then you could spend your money at the grocery store, or take money out of your account to use at other areas.

 Girls stepping on the lights.

 This was a fun game of dodge ball.  You were supposed to dodge the moving light ball.  If you hit it, the light would explode and you were out.  The funny thing was that the girls thought you were supposed to chase the ball and step on it.  They didn't do very well :)  But they were so cute when Jenna hit it, she would say: "I'm the winner!"

 We had a picnic lunch outside.

 We built an arch.

 Downstairs you could create things: parachutes, Lego cars, paper airplanes, and other things.  Tyler really liked making the parachute and trying lots of different materials to find the best combination.

It was a fun day.  The girls of course fell asleep on the way home.  The traffic was pretty bad getting out of downtown, but after that it was okay.  

We had FHE after dinner and got things ready for the next day of fun.  

Tyler's Baptism

After we let Damon open his birthday presents we let Tyler open his baptism presents.  He got a new set of scriptures, new church outfit, and a personalized towel from us.  He also received a scripture case, marker, and bookmark from Grandma and Grandpa Datwyler.  

We had sloppy-joes for lunch then got ready to go.  Tyler's baptism was at 1:30.  This was the announcement I made for him:

We had a nice program with another girl from the ward, Hailey Ashton.  We had some of their friends from their church class come and sing "I Like to Look for Rainbows."  Damon and other siblings sang too.  My mom and I sang a musical number while they were changing.  We didn't have time to practice much and I had practiced singing the harmony part.  But of course I got nervous and couldn't find my note, so I just joined my mom on the melody.  

 We were grateful that Grandma and Grandpa Datwyler could come to support Tyler.  Doug's parents wanted to come, but health reasons kept them away.  My Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Jim also drove from Austin to join us.  That was so nice of them.

 One of things we will always remember about Tyler's baptism will be the font.  We were told to fill the font 90 minutes beforehand.  We just barely got a baptism coordinator in the ward, so she went up around 12:00 and started the water.  Well, we found out later that it takes 4 hours to fill this font.  I guess the water pressure is really low or something.  So when it was time to start the program the water was barely 1 foot deep.  We did all the talks first and had the grandfathers bear their testimonies while we let the water keep going.  When they did go down it was barely up to Doug's knees.  Tyler had to lay all the way down to go under.  He had to try twice to make it.  The first time his forehead didn't even go under.  The second time his suit kind of billowed up, but the witnesses said he was ok.  It was kind of crazy, but the ordinance was the important thing.  Kind of wish we had known that bit of valuable information beforehand, but now we know for the next one.

 We are so proud of Tyler and his decision.  He is a good boy and wants to do what is right.  He can forget that sometimes, but as soon as he remembers he quickly changes his actions.  He is so good to play with his sisters and to help when asked.  Congratulations Tyler, we love you!

Damon's 10th Birthday

It was fun celebrating Damon's birthday in the morning with Grandma and Grandpa Datwyler.  Damon requested crepes, or as we call them...roll-up pancakes.  After breakfast Damon opened his presents. 

 He received some new scouting things for Webelos, Minecraft for the computer, a Spiderman bike toy, a little Minecraft figure, some clothes, and his new bike.  Grandma and Grandpa Datwyler helped with the bike and also gave Damon some Minecraft books.  Grandma and Grandpa Petersen sent a card with money that Damon was very anxious to spend on a new Lego set, Hobbit Wii game, or a Transformer figure.

 We went to Tyler's baptism in the afternoon and then had spaghetti for dinner - Damon's favorite.  The cheesecake was enjoyed by most - the girls decided they didn't like it.  Oh well, more for the rest of us. :)  My aunt Carolyn and uncle Jim came up for the baptism and even spent the night with us.  It was great to see them and visit.  My mom was excited since she doesn't get to see her sister much since she lives in Austin.

 Happy Birthday Damon.  We love you!  You are such a wonderful example to your siblings and are so good to help when I ask.  You are smart and a great leader.  You excel at school and your teachers say you are a joy to have in class.  I love your goofiness and laughter; I love to tickle you to hear it!  I love having an older child to play games with.  Damon enjoys playing Bonanza, Settler's of Catan, Cities and Knights, Chess, Checkers, and asks us to play frequently.  He still loves his Legos and creates something new everyday.  I think this is the first birthday or Christmas that he did not receive a Lego set from us.

 Doug was good to capture some fun faces of the kiddos and me :)