New Babies

We went to Burke's brother's house to see his baby blessed today. It was amazing to see a room full of people there to support one small family. What a blessing.
There were so many babies there as well. I got to hold a family friend's baby while the parents ate and chased after their other little ones. The baby was just a little over a month old and was so cute...she actually dozed off in my arms...and she smelled so sweet...and she had on the prettiest little dress...
Anyone need their baby held?

The Way to My Man's Heart...

We have tomatoes galore around here. Unfortunately, our garden has been a bit of a bust this year, so the only things we really have are tomatoes, and we are well stocked in those. I even went and got some from my sister's garden (for some reason she doesn't want to can tomatoes while nursing her newborn).
The stage was set, and we got to work last night putting them up as Burke's favorite: tomato juice.
It was messy, it was sticky, and it was wet (the kids were in charge of washing them), and it was thankfully all done outside. It was also a lot of fun. Everyone helped out, even Adrienne. You can see what a helper she is in this picture. They felt a sense of accomplishment when we looked out the window this morning and saw 18 quarts of juice gleaming in the morning sun.

The First Day

Today is the first day of school for Nathan and Kade (Annika has another week, I remembered from last year). They were so excited that they got up and were dressed with backpacks on by 6:30 AM. I was not quite so chipper so it took me a bit longer to drag myself out of bed. We had a nice hot breakfast (they wore their backpacks the whole time), I made them brush their teeth (Mooooommmm, we're going to miss the bus!), comb their hair and then we had to do pictures.


The girls already miss them. As the bus was pulling away, Adrienne sobbed to me "I will never see the boyses again!"

Summer's Sweet Endings

We have been keeping busy with the last week of summer. I finally took the kids to feed the ducks after promising to do it all summer. We also got to see our newest cousin and visit with her for a while.
I have been finishing up with the kids' back to school stuff, the clothes, the backpacks, and the supplies are all ready for the first day. We had back to school night on Tuesday so the kids got to meet their teachers. Now we just have to wait for the bus to come on Monday morning...
The only thing that didn't get checked off the list was the promise Burke made to sleep out on the trampoline with the kids. That was the plan for Friday night, but then we got a call that his dad was back in the hospital with some problems. Burke spent the night in the ER with his parents instead. It probably wasn't as much fun as sleeping out on the tramp with the mosquitoes and four small kids (maybe it was). His dad is doing better today, and we are expecting him to go home by the end of this week, or the beginning of next.

In a Hurry

My sister had her baby on Saturday morning....At home....No, it wasn't planned that way....Her Husband delivered the baby....with the help of a 911 operator....Mom and baby are fine....Dad is looking a little pale.

I Love a Fair

The movie was sold out...Why not go to the fair? The other one, that is?
We found ourselves at the fair with water toys, bubbles, animals, and creepy creatures. Annika, again, was the brave one to touch the tarantulas and hold a bird (I have this thing about birds....)
She showed all of us up. She even held a snake. All of this while I was keeping Adrienne from running off to play in the sand so I didn't get pictures.
Adrienne has been having so much fun with her birthday presents. She has actually worn the orange sundress Grandma gave her everyday this week. She starts out in one outfit, and then mysteriously shows up in the orange dress by lunch time. I finally had to hide it at the bottom of the laundry basket last night when she took it off for bed. Hopefully I can get it through the laundry before she notices. She also has to sleep with a party of her new birthday Barbie and her new baby. It has become quite the bedtime ritual.

Back in the 'Hood

This weekend Burke and I took some time away from the kids to see the Dark Knight. It was really nice to be able to eat a quiet meal and go see a movie without interruptions. Well, with only two interruptions. Nathan decided that it was an emergency and necessary to call when the babysitter told him it was time for bed. He happened to call twice, during the movie. Let's just say that will NEVER happen again...

Anyway, we also fed into Burke's nostalgia for the good old days by heading back to his hometown to see the local parade and participate in the festivities. I don't think that I have ever seen so much candy thrown in one parade in my life. The kids were actually getting picky over which candy they would take the trouble to pick up.
After the parade, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit and eat lunch.
I got my hair done by my sister in law and am very happy with the result.
After all the fun, we took a moment for Burke and his brother to give his dad a blessing. He has really struggled lately, and we are all working to help him keep his spirits up. Please remember him in your prayers.

Jabberwocky

I found a CD of the the Sword in the Stone and other tales in a dollar store about a month ago. To my surprise, the kids weren't that excited about the Sword in the Stone, but really enjoyed the "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll. We have listened to it innumberable times, and the other day I overheard the kids reciting it together while they were playing.
I'm not sure that it is considered fine prose, but I am glad they enjoyed it. Maybe I can move on to Emily Dickinson or Shakespeare now... We will probably stick with Shel Silverstein.
If you are interested, I posted a copy of the words to the "Jabberwocky" in the sidebar.

Finishing up the summer fun

We spent yesterday getting the most out of the last of the carefree summer days. I took the kids to the county fair and then we went to see a baseball game.
At the fair, we got to see lots of really cool animals, including some stingrays (they had had the barb removed). The exhibit allowed you to pet them gently. We all did it, including Adrienne who was terrified and touched one only when it swam by her hand when she wasn't looking. She freaked out.
There was a climbing wall the kids could try as well. Both boys got halfway up and then were too nervous to continue, but Annika made it all the way and was able to push the button at the top to make the siren wail. She was so proud of herself and happy to be able to do something her brothers couldn't. The kids also got lots of free stuff, including lots of candy, pencils, and some gold bead necklaces. The beads were the biggest hit. Annika and Kade thought they were so cool, as you can see from the picture.
That evening we went to the ball game here in town. It was fun, and thankfully free, since after spending the day at the fair Annika and Kade were exhausted. We lasted until the seventh inning stretch and left after we sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". Burke and I both felt a sense of accomplishment at that feat, considering that we are usually packing up by the end of the third. All in all, it was a great day, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with the kids before they are gone all day.

Happy Birthday to Adrienne

Adrienne turns three today! She is such a big girl now, it is amazing how fast the time goes. She will even be starting dance this fall. (I think I may be more excited about that than she is).
Remembering back...

And now today: helping me make her birthday cake...

We love her so much and are so glad she wanted to come to our family.

Reunion

We had a big family reunion this weekend. It was fun to see everyone and get a chance to catch up. Adrienne had a lot of fun playing with her cousin the same age. Dirt kept them occupied most of the weekend. I guess it is a kid thing. Youth conference is over as well, Burke can relax for a while. Except the bishop put him in charge of doing a fireside in two weeks. Busy as a man can be...
This movie is of Adrienne at the splash pad the other day. She is saying "Shake my bootie" (don't know where she heard that one). She really got into it.