Day 246

Homework isn't just for kids. Didja know that? I'm sure all the other parents with school age kids did, but this is something I am now learning for myself. They aren't into the full academic thing at school yet so Kaitlyn's homework is more activity related. The teacher sent home this list of things and Kaitlyn has to pick 5 each week and do them - some of which I'm not excited about because they just might require quite a bit of parental involvement. Tonight's pick was "help make dinner" and I have to say, this one I really enjoyed. Sam was working late so we decided to make spaghetti and breadsticks. Kaitlyn helped with absolutely everything she/I felt she was old enough to do. She poured the sauce into the pot. She put the breadsticks on the baking sheet. She put the spaghetti in the pan. And she set the table - completely by herself. If I were putting up 2 photos the 2nd one would be a shot of how her place settings turned out. She insisted on the white plates (usually only used by the grown ups while she and Ty get the colorful plastic ones), putting out all the utensils, napkins, and big kid glasses. And everything was artistically stacked on top of the plate at each setting. She is now in love with this task and insists that she gets to set the table every night now.

Day 245

After a second mostly-sleepless night in the tent (too cold! at least that's part of my theory. I just don't sleep well anywhere but my bed and so it seems, neither does Tyler. I was also awakened by an elk bugling 3 or 4 different times (kinda neat!) and a very short rain storm) we were ready to pack up and head home. But we couldn't pass the Provo Falls without stopping to let the kids explore and take some photos. The water was surprisingly high for this time of year - so pretty!

The rest of the day was spent unpacking, cleaning up, bathing, and relaxing.

Day 244

The fishing was good today. Sam and the kids headed to the lake as soon as breakfast was over and I stayed behind to straighten up and watch the fire die down. And by the time I made it to the lake they were reeling in the first fish. Kaitlyn talked Sam into letting that one go, saying it probably "missed it's family", though it was small so he was going to let it go anyway. It wasn't long afterward that he had hooked a decent sized one and Kaitlyn got to help reel it in. Ty was predictably scared of it, but Kaitlyn loved holding it and petting it. The fishing slowed down a bit after that and despite a few really good bites, we didn't land any more. But we all considered it a huge success and everyone was happy.
We went back to the campground and made rootbeer and had lunch, then spent the rest of the day alternating between spending time at the lake and hanging out at the campsite. The kids weren't exactly on their best behavior at all times but overall it was a good day out camping.

Day 243

Gone camping!

It was a long and busy work week, but we were able to head for the hills by 5:00 PM. We had reserved a campsite by Moosehorn lake this time (one we could easily drive to and had a closeby - though stinky - restroom), a very nice location with surprisingly few bugs (oh how nice that was not to have to wear stinky repellant!). We had enough time to set up camp and take a quick walk by the lake before it was time to light the fire for hot dogs and smores before bedtime.

Day 242

Day 241

Kaitlyn's first day of Kindergarten! Oh what an exciting day for our big 5 year old!
We started the day making ABC blueberry pancakes with whipped cream from the can - an extra special treat since we never make pancakes (somehow waffles seem easier) or get canned whip cream. Then Kaitlyn climbed on the bus - tripping along happily after the other kids at the bus stop. Ty and I were instructed to follow the bus so that we could walk Kaitlyn to her class, which we happily did. Katy deposited her bookbag in her locker, her pencils at one of the tables, and was able to play on the playground for a few minutes before the teacher called them inside to start class.
Kaitlyn got home at 1:00, bubbly and excited to tell me all about her day, which mostly involved gingerbread men...? Yeah I was a bit confused too but hey, she loved her first day!

Day 240

Tyler's first trip to the dentist. He did great! Hopped right up in the chair and opened his mouth every time he was asked. Then he waited patiently while they cleaned my teeth and Kaitlyn's teeth. Katy also did great -no cavities!

Day 239

Here's another photo from yesterday because they're just so cute!

Day 238

Kaitlyn's scooter has been broken for quite a while now and she was very happy when Sam finally took a few minutes to fix it this afternoon. She and Tyler took turns riding it up and down the driveway. Then Sam pulled out his rollerblades and they all raced up and down the road - Katy on the scooter, Ty on his bike, then both kids on foot. Lots of action for a Sunday afternoon. And thankfully, no scrapes or bruises!

Day 237

Another "date" Saturday for Sam and I - yay! We went tubing down the Provo River with Orvil, Sharon, Czar and a bunch of other people. It was a blast.

We had a bit of time before meeting up with the group at the river, so we bought tickets for the Parade of Homes and went through a couple of them. We hit a couple more on the way home - one in particular that had a lot of things that we liked. In general, Sam critiques the carpentry and I look at all the furnishings and finishes and stuff, trying to figure out what I want to put in our future house.

We finished up the day watching the last half of the NASCAR race. The kids were really into it today. Each picked a car (or two) to cheer for. Ty chose his based on the color (the green and black FedEx car - his fav seems to be green) and was so excited every time he spotted it on the TV, saying "my car! my car!" Kaitlyn chose to root for the Taco Bell car and the M&M car. As luck would have it, Sam let Katy stay up a few minutes past bedtime so she could watch the end and the M&M car (Kyle Busch - who Sam really dislikes) won. She was pretty happy about that.

Day 236

The "copter" at the Outlets. The 4-5 ride on thingy's at the mall are one of the kids favorite things - even when I don't have any quarters with me.
Today we were off shopping again - but this time for my cousin's baby. My cousin and her baby are visiting my mom for a few days and we tagged along on their outing. Have to say, not a good day for me to take the kids shopping. Ty tried to get himself lost at every store. And when I wasn't chasing him, I was taking one of the kids to the bathroom. The easiest part of the day was actually when the kids and I had enough and I decided to run to WalMart on my own and then head home. A combo of threats and bribes kept Ty in the cart and we breezed through the store (and the one additional potty stop) - phew!

Day 235

Today Kaitlyn got to meet her Kindergarten teacher! She was so excited and could hardly wait. But first she insisted on changing into some of her "school clothes."
The school was really busy. We found her classroom and introduced ourselves to her teacher, running into more than one person we knew in the process. Kaitlyn is particulary happy that one of the girls from her dance class is in her class. We found her locker and her cubby, and she played on the Kindergarten playground for a couple of minutes and we reviewed how she would find her classroom when she got off the bus (my only real concern about sending her off to school is that she will get lost in the big world without me). The teacher sent her home with a packet of information for us and her first homework assignment! Kaitlyn was very happy about the homework (just a few "get to know you" type activities), telling me she would work on a little bit every day until it was done. And as soon as we got to my mom's house to pick up Tyler, Kaitlyn sat down and started working on it. Oh, how I love her enthusiasm!

Day 234

Bubble wrap! Sam brought a bunch home from work for the kids to play with. Fun fun! It's amazing how much entertainment they can get out of something so simple.

Day 233

Day 232

Time for our annual BBQ with The Girls and our families. I hosted this for the second year in a row. It's something I think we all look forward to. Everyone contributes something to eat, the kids run around, the women talk about kids and laundry, the men talk about guns... :) And we were too wrapped up in it all to bother to take any photos. So I set up a quick shot of the chocolate chip cookie bowls I made for dessert. Thanks Girls for a great party!

Day 231

Sam stated this morning "I bet you want to take the kids to the park today so you can play with your new camera." Actually that wasn't on the agenda, but Kaitlyn overheard and just HAD to go. So we did our morning ad scouring, discovered a couple of deals we didn't want to pass up (including a great price on an MP3 player for Katy's birthday - shhh! don't tell her!) and headed down to the city for the 3rd time this week. We did our grocery shopping on the way home, gave Ty his nap, and then finally we were ready to go to the park. They had so much fun and I had fun too - despite having to bribe Kaitlyn to hold still long enough for me to snap a few shots of her adorable smile. Then we were too tired and lazy to cook so we ran to Foodtown and grabbed some frozen popcorn chicken and fries. Phew. Very long day and everyone is exhausted.

Day 230

The clarity. The sharpness. The ultimate close-up (of Tyler's foot - cute!). That can only mean one thing...we replaced my good camera! LOVE IT!
We are still a long way from getting compensated from the parade fiasco (grrr!) and after a rather frustrating week (where that and other things were concerned) Sam and I decided we would at least look into replacing the camera now. So we left the kids with the grandparents and went shopping. Ran into a terrific deal that we couldn't pass up - I even got the telephoto lens I've been wanting in the deal. And as Sam says, I'm "happier when you can take photos every day." He's right. I'm happy :)
The rest of our "date" included a terrific dinner at Texas Roadhouse and a stop at a car dealership to test drive an Avalanche. Sam's current obsession is pricing new trucks. Daily (on the internet). Even though we aren't going to get a new truck until November. But I got my camera, so he got a test drive. I wasn't even upset when he got us sucked into going inside the dealership to talk prices for a minute and got stuck there for WAY too long.

Day 229

"Mommy, take our picture!" Kaitlyn said.

Day 228

School shopping! Oh how fun! Today was our second round of school shopping. I loaded up the kids and my mom and we went down to the city. It only took a few stops to finish getting Kate completely outfitted and supplied for school. We're all so excited!

Day 227

Hehe - our little pea crop actually did produce a few! A very very few. Like um...30 total in the last week? But they taste good, the whole ONE I got to taste because Kaitlyn LOVED them and didn't want to share. She eats them pod and all (they're sugar snap so that's OK).

Day 226

Daredevil 2 year old.
Poor Ty. He was more than a bit accident prone today. He tried to ride the neighbor's scooter down their sloped driveway - not a good idea. That's where the major scrapes and bruises came from. But he also had a bike accident and hurt himself in the sandbox.

Also of note today - it was the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. I don't know anything about that stuff, but stumbled across an article about it today. So Sam and I spent about 20 minutes looking at the sky before bed tonight. The best time to spot them was supposed to be 4AM but I'm happy to say we did see 3 of them - one of which was pretty impressive.

Day 225

Kaitlyn's new entertainment - the shredder. Sam had a bunch of materials he didn't want to put in the recycling without shredding them so Kaitlyn was happy to help out. She spent hours and hours at it.

Day 224

Day 223

Lots of dress-up play lately. The kids' favorite is the kitty tail. They fight over it daily. Guess I need to look for another one when the Halloween stuff is in stores. Isn't Ty cute as a kitty fairy?!

Day 222

Took the kids to go throw rocks in the ditch. Kaitlyn though the view was pretty cool from there.

Day 221

rainy day - fits my mood perfectly

Day 220

Playin' frisbee before it rains. Wasn't nearly enough activity for Tyler. He couldn't hold still AT ALL once we had to go inside. A fitting end to the day I suppose. It was a really rough day. Kaitlyn woke up (at 6:30!) with another migraine and we were dealing with that a good part of the morning. Ty also happened to have his big accident of the day, on the carpet, mere minutes before Kaitlyn threw up - again on the carpet. And I won't even get into the frustrations we had with the incompetant, lazy woman who was supposed to be handling the claim from the parade damages. UGH. Cute photo though, huh?

Day 219

An almost nightly sight - Ty running around in only his frog towel. (I am really really missing my camera. This was as close to an action shot as I could manage right now)

Day 218

Our little Kate is growing up so fast! She has been asking to get her ears pierced for weeks so I took her to get them done today. She happily picked out some pretty CZ sparkly ones then nervously climbed into the chair. The girl that was doing the piercing was keeping Katy talking so the first one took her by surprise. She said "Ouch! Ouch! OUCH!" Then the other ear "OUCH OUCH OUCH" with a bit of hysteria entering her voice. Then the girl brought out the hand mirror. As soon as Katy caught a glimpse of herself she gave a little "oh!" and a big grin crossed her face. She is so happy with her new earrings and very proud of how brave she was.
I let her pick out another pair of earrings to have on hand when she gets to change them in 6 weeks. Then we did a little bit of school shopping - another first for us! And at every store while we were checking out, Kaitlyn would inform the cashier that she had just had her ears pierced :)

Day 217

Despite our (Sam's!) best efforts yesterday and today, the fishing yielded no fish. So on our way home from the mountain we stopped at the Fun Fishing place near the fish hatchery and did the cheater's method for fishing. The kids had to experience it at least once right? Kaitlyn thought it was great and even helped real one in. But they made Tyler nervous - he liked seeing them in the lake but the fish flopping around in the bucket since him running away squealing. It was actually pretty funny. A nice end to our first family camping experience.

Day 216

We finally made it camping! It's been really hard to work it into the schedule this summer, but I'm glad we did. It was the first time we've taken the kids and they loved it. The most memorable part of the trip though was the drive up there. Sam decided we should go up to Pyramid Lake, which is way off the beaten path - more like a dry river bed instead of a road. Sam thought it was great fun, but the kids and I were white-knuckling it for the whole HOUR we spent bouncing around. It was a bit much. But the rest of the trip was a lot of fun.