Celebrating the 4th of July

We met up with the Bray family, in Colorado, for the fourth of July. We thought Cole may be a bit out numbered with 6 girls and Ike , so he got to bring his good friend, Robbie, with.
Thanks, Brays, for making the 12 hour drive, from Oklahoma, to meet up with us. Chris and Gale have four beautiful, extremely talented, good girls. They were fun and easy to vacation with. This will go down as one of the best vacations our family has taken.

We stayed in the General Palmer the first night. It was nice, with a lot of old-fashion charm. The elevator was about as big as a broom closet. They messed up our reservation, so Tom and I got to stay in the Presidential Suite.
The next day we climbed aboard the Durango to Silverton train. We sat in the open air gondola car and enjoyed some pretty amazing scenery. The ride takes just over 3 hours. None of the pictures I took, do the scenery justice.

We opted to take the much faster shuttle back down so we could go river rafting. The rafting was freezing and so fun! We got to experience a series of Class II and III rapids. The only bummer ---we had to all split up into different rafts. Chris took all the older kids, Gale and Ava were in a different one, and Tom, Isaac, and I were in another. Isaac loved every minute of it.
After river rafting, we drove to Pagosa Springs, where we stayed for the rest of time. We stayed in a great cabin that housed us all comfortably.

Our first day in Pagosa, Chris found a great spot to take us to---Treasure Falls. It was so beautiful. The kids enjoyed exploring around the trails, streams, and falls. It was also such a beautiful drive to and from. We had fun spotting deer and elk.

The last day we went to check out the Pagosa Hot Springs. There were at least a dozen different hot springs, with varied temperatures. It was a perfect day of relaxation. The springs overlook the San Juan or Piedra (?) river. We all took a plunge in that freezing river and then warmed right up in the springs. Tom was taking the picture
After the springs, Gale put together a fun treasure hunt. There were nine clues, so each child got to find, open, and read a clue. The treasure chest was filled with poppers, sparklers, snappers, candy, and small fireworks to celebrate the fourth of July. It was the perfect conclusion to our vacation. All the kids loved celebrating that night, with their loot.

This was a fun filled weekend. It was so fun to meet Carolyn and Corey and to have my sister Aryn, Nate, Ava, Sophie, and baby Luke, down from Idaho. I miss having them close.
We decided to head up to Nana and Jack's cabin for a quick get-away and hike.

These are the girl cousins with Bridgette and Corey. The boys were off hunting for monsters



Clint organized a hike to Fossil Springs on Friday.
The hike was a little more than I bargained for. The hike down was great fun, but the 4-mile uphill, in 90 degree weather, was a bit much for Cole and I. I was feeling every bit my age with all these 20- somethings and triathletes. I hate being out of shape. Cole hung in there like a champ and when the cloud cover hit, he got a second wind and finished strong.



It was fun and weird to see Chad and Bridgette all a flutter.



This was our hike's destination. It was absolutely beautiful. As we hiked along the river, I kept thinking of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. It was lush green and the water was clear blue.
Cole is pretty cautious and it took a little coaxing from Clint and Chad, but he jumped in and did the swim through. My brothers were so great with him the whole time. Chad was a great motivator and Clint makes everyone always feel safe and secure.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

My grandpa Ray celebrated his 90th birthday this week. What a great example he has been to me and my family. When I think of my grandfather I think of his great example of missionary work. He's served full-time missions in Missouri, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Arizona.

High School Musical

We went to see High School Musical last night. My kids were all excited to see it. I have yet to watch one of the High School Musical shows all the way through. But I sure know the music. Unfortunately, Summer missed out because of some "Love and Logic" parenting. It was killing me to leave her home. But, she received her consequence really well and I was proud of the superb attitude change and acceptance. So, Meg's buddy Clare came in her place.
Cole and Tom had to attend a court of honor. Cole received 11 merit badges and first class rank advancement....just 7 more merit badges and a project until he gets his eagle. Yeah!

The kids all loved it. I would give it a B. Ike wasn't sure what to think at first. He was bothered that it wasn't the original people and the music sounded different. But by the end, he was bouncing and singing along. He didn't care for the flamboyant character, Ryan. "I really don't want to grow up and be a boy like that, Mom." I think it was kind of confusing for him to see a boy that was acting so much like a girl. His favorite part, that brought out the great Ike belly laugh was the Wildcat mascot dancing. He is still talking about it, the next day.

I have said this before: I love listening to my kid's conversations in the car. It is like being a fly on the wall. They half forget that I am there and listening.
Meg and Clare's was one continuous flow of talking and a lot of it over each other. It jumped from the high cost of gas, the Miley Cyrus backlash, a show they watched on conjoined twins, their own birth stories, and then Meg very matter- of- factly asks,
" Mom....tell us again how babies are made...I forget."

An awkward pause from me.

Then Meg pipes up " Oh, yeah a lot of S- E- X- Y, right?!"

Oh my!I don't mind explaining the elementary things to Meg (once again), but not with her friend in the car. She sure keeps me on my toes..all the time.

Chad and Brigette are both bringing their "special friends" to meet the family this weekend. We have been tossing all sorts of ideas and plans out via e-mail. We don't want to overwhelm them. We are planning an outing to the cabin, a good hike to Fossil Springs, and some competitive wally-ball. The Sampsons (my sister Aryn's family) are making it down for the big meet and greet. Can't wait to see our new nephew, Luke.

Visit from Matt

Every once in a while we will get a visit from Tom's buddy Matt. Tom and Matt were in the same MTC group and served in Illinois together. Matt is a cowboy---the real deal. He is the most clever, quick witted person I know. I always look forward to seeing he and his wife, Kathryn. We have yet to meet their kids, but they did name their youngest after Tom. They are currently living in Oregon.
On this last visit, he came in late and left early. The kids were so worried they'd miss him. They asked me to take a picture so they could see that he really stayed at our house. So I snapped the above picture of Tom half-awake and in bad lighting.

This past week the kids and I escaped the heat wave and headed up north. It was a great week in the mountains. We wish our dad could of joined us.
Cole went to basketball camp in Prescott. He went with the Shill, Pothier, and Denham boys. This year we let them stay in the dorms and they had a blast. We made sure they got in adjoining rooms. When they first arrived they set some rules, so everyone would stay happy and safe. They couldn't go anywhere alone, must keep their area clean, and go to bed when it was lights out. From what Cole has told me it went really well. He won two awards: 3 on 3 competition and the Hustle award. The Hustle award is given to 3 boys at camp (High school, Junior High, and Elementary division). The coaches watch to see how well they follow instructions, keep a good attitude, and hustle. They nominate and then vote on the players at the end of the week. Cole also won it last year in the elementary school division.

While Cole was in Prescott, I took the other kids up to Pinetop. Summer and some of her cousins and a friend did a volleyball camp at Blue Ridge High school in Pinetop. I think Summer has found a new love. She has been carrying her purple and white volleyball, they gave her at the end of camp, everywhere she goes.


Meg was too young to join in volleyball, so she got to hunt for lizards, catepillars, ride a horse named Cherokee, and just be one of the boys. That was just fine with her. She informed the boys that she was 1/2 boy anyway so she is just fine with whatever they had planned.
Another goal---to learn how to master the spin ball. Mission accomplished in one afternoon of practice.
Tom's sister, Carol, arranged for the kids to perform a medley of songs for Camp Tatiyee. It is a camp for kids with special needs. They performed a few numbers from the Musical Theater that they all just completed. We just had to do some small adjustments and practice for a couple of days.
You couldn't of asked for a better crowd to perform for. They had the audience up dancing and singing along with them.

It was a great week at the cabin, but we were excited to pick up Cole in Prescott and head home to see dad. Thanks to my great SILs Carol, Bonnie, and Sheri. I really love being up there with them and their kids. They all made it such a fun week. Thanks Carol for organizing the nightly devotionals, games, reading, & Camp Tatiyee performance.

Sheri did a great FHE lesson on Lehi's Dream. She strung rope through the trees and blind folded the kids. They had to feel their way, without any help, to find the end the tree of life. It made a lasting impression on Isaac. That night when I was tucking Isaac in, he said with a very serious expression, "I learned a lot about the gospel today."
Thanks to my cabin mate Bonnie for being a great walking partner & for the late night conversations. Despite a teeny bit of pre-teen drama and a few tired tears, everyone got along well and we made some great memories.

A Hard Day Just Got A Little Better

The past week has been a difficult one for Meg. Her very very best friend is moving to Illinois tomorrow. In fact, they are moving to the same area Tom served his mission. She has had some pretty good cries over the past few weeks. However, the past couple of days she has been really down. This is not like our Meg.
I came home from running errands, today, to find Summer giving her a little TLC. I think it helped lift her mood. At least we got a thumbs up for the picture.

He's home. After 8 long days, Cole returned from Camp Geronimo. Other than one phone call (because he was a bit homesick 2 days into it), he had a great time and stayed strong. We have loved hearing all the stories. He always does a great job filling us in on the details.
He earned 8 merit badges while at Geronimo, one of them being photography. Here are some of the pictures he took with his disposable camera. I loved seeing what he wanted to capture. There were a lot of fun goofy scout shots, but they came out too blurry. My favorite is the one of the Book of Mormon on his sleeping bag. He said he liked how the colors looked together and he wanted to remember doing the STOMP challenge.



Cole was pretty excited about the purchase of this "make your own moccasins" kit. It was his one souvenir he bought at the Geronimo trading post. He convinced his dad to help him put them together. 2 hours later they were ready to wear. Tom is good about doing projects with the kids.

From 11:00 on Saturday, Ike has not left Cole's side. He counted down the days for his homecoming. We had a copy of his camp schedule, and Ike would ask periodically "What's Cole doing RIGHT now at camp?" So we would look it up.
How can you not miss a big brother like this?

I am grateful to such great leaders that are working with Cole in scouts right now. It made all the difference knowing that he was up at camp with these good men.

A First

I got my very first speeding ticket today. I had just dropped off the carpool for their musical theater workshop. Ike and I were jammin to Radio Disney going a cool 41 mph. I glanced to my right and saw the barrel of a radar gun pointed my way.
" Oh I'm glad I wasn't speeding," was my first thought.

"OK, wait what is the speed limit?," was my second thought.

"That speed limit sign did not just say 25 mph!"

"Don't start following me, turning on those stupid lights!," was my last thought.
Motorcycle cop was all business. Please spare me the over-used insincere salutations, Officer Cox. It was immediately apparent that no charm of mine was going to work on this guy. Dang!

My perfect record is now tarnished. Sorry honey, call me(:

Cole left for Scout Camp today. Tom helped him get packed and prepared (4 days early). He has given him some good talks about what to expect and to make the most of his time there.
He will be gone for 8 days. That is a very long time and we will all miss him a lot. About 3 hours after he left, Isaac asked me if I could call to the scout camp and ask how Cole is doing. I told him that we won't be able to talk to him until he gets home. That made us both sad.
They do get mail and so we sent a card that you can record a message on. It was an Indiana Jones card that plays the theme music after your recorded message. We all left a quick (upbeat) message. We also swapped out Harrison's face with a picture of Cole, drew a little 5 o'clock shadow on him and wished him a GREAT ADVENTURE AT SCOUT CAMP! I hope he likes it and that it doesn't make him homesick.

Every summer, my kids look forward to the GPS Musical Theater. It is a 2 week workshop, where they learn songs and dances from a few Broadway musicals. This year they are doing HS Musical, Bye Bye Birdie, and Rent. They have an audition day where they try out for different acting, singing, or narrating parts. After the 2 weeks, they put on a big show in the junior high auditorium. It is so well done.
One of my favorite things is driving the carpool home. The kids are all in a flutter of excitement and I love just listening to them talk and laugh about what happened that day. On the first day, they always get a CD with all the songs on it. You can bet that CD is cranked up and they are all singing to it on the way home. I love it.

We had a great "memorable day" as Meg put it. My friend, Pam, and I took our kids out quad riding today. We had a blast.
After we got home, we showered and went to our favorite Japanese steakhouse, Ah-So. Then over to our cousins, the Shills, for some evening swimming. We, adults, played cards while we let the kids completely exhaust themselves. We played rummy and I was the big loser. Despite the bad card playing, I think the day could be summed up best by Isaac. He asked "Can we do this day again?" It was a great day. I am really so excited for the summer break. I wish it went from Memorial Day to Labor Day, like the old days. But we'll take the 11 week break and try to make the most of it.

Closing a Chapter

I can't believe Cole is finished with elementary school. I've been a big baby about this. For me, it is much harder watching him enter junior high than Kindgergarten. I knew it would happen, just not so quickly. He's such a great kid and student. School has been a natural fit for him. He is a self-starter. He also maintained straight As from K-6th grade....never a B. The principle awarded him Outstanding Student of his class today. He was pretty shocked and we were pretty proud. Thanks for making our job so easy Cole!

Another chapter that is closing is our time at Franklin. We are switching schools next year. Franklin has been a good fit and my kids have done well, but I feel its time for a new direction. We will be going to our neighborhood school where my kids can ride their bikes and leave a full hour later for school. That full hour in the morning is going to be precious.

My brother Adam is graduating from dental school at Temple University, in Philadelphia, this week. We are so proud of him....... and Carlee for being such a great help and support with their 3 wonderful, cute kids. Now onto the next big adventure. Can't wait to see you soon!

This is the fun bunch that went out for Adam's graduation and then on to NYC. (Adam, Mom, Chad, Bridgette, Meghan, and Clint)

Our Summer Challenge

Our ward does the STOMP program every summer. (Students Trying Out Moroni's Promise.) It is basically a schedule to get the Book of Mormon read from the time school is out to when it starts back up again. We had a youth fireside, on Sunday, to help get everyone motivated. Cole and his two cousins sang "How Can I Be" while playing their ukuleles. It was sweet and they did a good job, despite the nerves. They were glad they did it because they got some "hugs from the ladies" afterwards.
Cole and Summer are taking the challenge. I'm going to join them. I have never read the Book of Mormon that quickly. Hopefully we can encourage eachother to stay on schedule (even on vacation).

Spelling Bee

Way to go on winning the 4th grade spelling bee , Summer! This makes 2 years in a row . All that reading pays off.

Ike and I headed down to the science fair this morning. We wanted to say hi to Cole and see all the wonderful science projects the sixth graders have been working on. Before we walked in to the science fair, Isaac was trying to convince me that it would be o.k. to tell everyone that he is a first grader and I was for sure not to bring up the fact that he was in preschool. I told him that no one was even going to ask or care how old he was. "Its just fun for Cole's friends to meet you." He gets so embarrassed that he is in preschool. Maybe its a youngest child thing.

There were some great projects. And all those kids were so cute sitting by their displays. They were happy to be out of class for a couple of hours, while all the other grades walk through the science fair. Our school is really strict about outside classroom/instruction time. It was fun to run into Summer walking through. Sorry we missed Meg.

Cole's project was on hand grip strength between dominant vs. non-dominant hands. Tom got him started with the idea and then Cole ran the experiment. Thanks to all of his willing test subjects. The conclusion to his science project was that our hand grip strength differs greater between our dominant and non-dominant hands as we age. He won second place. Good work Cole, now you can relax and enjoy the final days of elementary school.

As I was picking up around the house, so I could get out the door; I looked over and saw that Ike was getting himself all set for Fathers and Sons .....backpack,pull-up hidden underneath a swimsuit and some cars. I couldn't resist making a quick post. The anticipation has been building ever since Tom told him about it. We purposely don't tell him about upcoming events too far in advance.
At every nightly tuck-in: "You wanna talk about Father's and Sons?" This is his first campout and he doesn't quite know what to expect. He is planning on catching wildlife and sneaking it in the tent with he and Bret(cousin). He wants to catch a bat and put it in Cole's sleeping bag. He has his backpack ready to fill and dug out his favorite fishing hat, because he is "going to catch some great fish and bring them home for Mom to cook or just put in our swimming pool and watch 'em swim around and stuff." Or he'll bring me some real pretty crystals, because "When you camp you find these crystals all over the ground." He thinks he is going off to the emerald city and the possiblibities are endless. We've tried to lower the expectations. We've broken the bad news that he probably won't see but one or two animals, and that there won't be any bats to sneak into Cole's sleeping bag. Mom really loves small pretty rocks instead of crystals.
He will have fun just being with his dad, Uncle Clint, Cole and Bret. Just one more sleep!

Our weekly ukulele lessons came to an end with this week's recital. Thanks to my SIL, Janet, for hosting the lessons at her house each week. Thank you to Adam, Ben, and Uai for teaching them more than the ukulele. We wish you the best with upcoming graduation and missions.



After climbing all over the couch and Papa. Ike finally got all tuckered out.

Our Curse

That full cup of mine turned upside down Sunday evening. We discovered water seeping from under our kitchen cabinets. Our RO system had come apart at the ice machine and had been slowly streaming water for at least 4-5 days. As we began to investigate, we found water damage in our pantry, bathroom, music room and all throughout the kitchen. The base board trim was bulging away from the walls. What is it with us and water?
Tom and I have a history with the ugly side of H20. We feel cursed. Before we moved into this house a little over a year ago, we had a home with a basement. We moved into our house in May and enjoyed that great basement for 2 months before it flooded for the first time. The sump pump caps were never removed and the window wells filled up with water and spilled into our basement walls. We got it fixed. The next summer, we had a big monsoon season and it flooded again. New carpet, baseboards, drywall, not once but twice!!! Rest assured we got the basement problem completely fixed before we sold it to a nice family.
I guess multiple hits and moving into a different house didn't lift our curse. It reared its ugly head again. I can hardly concentrate as I type because it sounds like a hurricane in my house right now with all the industrial fans and dehumidifiers churning away. We all have to yell to hear one another. We are hoping to salvage our wood floor, walls, and cabinetry. Good thing our wood floor is supposed to look distressed, we'll see how really distressed it looks after its declared dry by the restoration guys. Hey, I was just proud for not shedding one tear...this time. I think I cried out all my water woes after the basement waterfall incident.
On the brighter side, things can always be worse and its not a life changing event, just really windy and loud from the fans. If I have to rip out the wood floor in the music room, I'll replace it with carpet and piano practicing will be a lot more quiet around here. That's not so bad, right?

My Cup Was Filled

I had such a sweet Mother's Day weekend. Thank you to a great hubby and kiddos. Saturday morning, they took me, straight from bed, to my favorite breakfast place. I had the best omelet I've ever had. Then, straight home to open their homemade gifts, even if it was a day early. I was all for it. I loved their sweet gifts, but my favorite is their excitement to give it to me. I remember my mom would always make us feel like the home-made gifts were far greater than anything we could buy her. She had a mantle, above her bedroom fireplace, that could lift up for storage. Inside, she would store "her treasures." A few years ago, I bought a simple wooden treasure box where I could keep my treasures. I hope they know how much I value their "love notes."
Thanks Cole for making me my favorite cookies, they were perfection! Summer, thanks for the early morning hug and greetings. You can't beat a big smile looking down at you to start out your day. Meg and Ike, thanks for all the hugs, kisses, and "Happy Mother's Day!" declarations throughout the day. Oh, and I can't wait to sit by the pool with my new lounge chairs and umbrella that the kids helped Tom purchase. My cup was filled!

Star Wars

So we are a little behind the movie curve. My kids are just now getting into Star Wars. Meg and Ike are the biggest fans. In fact, there is a Star Wars battle going on behind me as I type.
We had 5 of the 6 Star War movies, until yesterday. While the other kids were at school, Ike and I finally bought #3 after much pleading and begging. Ike could hardly wait to show Meg. He decided he would tape the movie to the front door and wait to see her reaction. He patiently waited on the front porch for the unveiling.
Meg and Ike were patient and waited through homework, practicing, dinner with Big Grandpa, guitar lessons, ........and then finally we had the Star Wars III premier and a few light saber battles. They all got to stay up too late for a school night. The kids were not disappointed.

LUKE

My sister Aryn and Nate welcomed baby Luke into the world, 6:00 a.m. this morning!
He weighed 7 lbs. (her biggest baby yet).
We are so excited to have him join the family.
Everything went well--- a la natural (Wow, good job Aryn!).

We are loving this spring weather! Usually, it jumps from chilly to hot, hot. But this year we can really enjoy the outdoors. I am sorry for those that are still bogged down in cold.
My brother and his wife, left for Mexico to do a triathlon. So, we got to have their kids come play. I decided to let my kids skip school, so we could play all day. I wish I had a picture of their faces when I told them. Shock and Awe!

Cole, Summer, and Meg were my entertaining committee. (We had Isaac's play group also over in the morning, so there were a lot of kids).They organized some fun activities including, a water balloon fight, dodge ball, & "Baby Kate" daycare center.
I'm still trying to win over my niece, Kate. She has never cared much for me. I thought this may be my chance to win her over, but no such luck. I just gave her plenty of space and very little eye contact. Oh and a little treat helped me get close enough to change a diaper and clean her face. Although I was disliked by Kate, little Bret balanced all the rejection out with his spontaneous hugs and kind words.
It was a great day.

When we got 3 parakeets, six weeks ago, we didn't get Isaac one. We told him that he could get one when he showed that he could be soft and gentle. He never hurt them, but the urge to scare them was strong. "Mom, I try to not scare them, but I just can't stop myself," he told me in defeat. In order to keep himself in check, he set up a plan to tell me every time he went in to see them, so he wouldn't scare them. He was really trying, but once in a while he would sneak in and do his pirate "AAaarg!" and rattle their cage.
Over the past couple of weeks, he has really cut back on the scare tactics. I thought it was time for Ike to take ownership. When something belongs to you--you take better care of it. We went down and picked out his bird. He has changed names from: Frightful, Polar Bear, Lovey-Dovey, Snowball, Blanco, and finally it is Knuckles. Thankfully, the bird has survived 24 hours of Isaac lovin'.
If someone would of told me, 6 months ago, that we would own 4 birds, I never would of believed them. Tom and I actually are glad we got them. They have been messy, but easy to take care of. I love that they allow the kids to carry them around on their shoulders, fingers, heads, etc....Finally we don't hear pleas for a puppy anymore.

I owe you Tom. He was our "Alex Trebek" for last night's YW/YM activity. We want to start a tradition, in our ward, by holding a Jeopardy tournament after each general conference. We have some kinks to work on, but overall it was a success. Our husbands really helped out with all the technical gadgetry and by donning a mustache, velour coat, and awful wig.