Goodbye Summer!

The last two weeks of summer were crammed full of fun!  We had our second week of swim lessons (sadly, no pictures, I got sick the last few days and it was all I could do to get them there and back home).  We also had fun doing our last craft of the summer - everyone got to pick their own.  Everyone picked out a birdhouse to paint (they were fancy birdhouses) except for Anna Elise who chose to do a latch hook rug. Calvin was able to go swimming with his friend a couple of times, we went to Busch Gardens one more time, we had a 'friend' day (actually I was asked to babysit for two different families on the same day - it just so happens that with the two families everyone had a friend) so I had 11 kids at my house for most of the morning (note: I'm glad I don't really have 11 kids!).  We had more orthodontist appointments and went to the school to meet our new teachers and drop off our school supplies one afternoon.

Mike and I were able to attend the BYU v. UVA game in Charlottesville.  It was CrAzY!  Mike got the tickets as a surprise anniversary gift for me.  I was SO excited.  I haven't been to a BYU game since I was an undergraduate student at BYU years ago (we'll just say lots of years ago, no need to count them =) ).  We got a sitter, drove the hour to Charlottesville, managed to get parked in all the craziness of 'game day' in a small town and hike to the stadium.  It was so fun to see so many people wear their blue BYU shirts!  After a frustrating first quarter they announced a lightening warning and evacuated the stadium.  We were told to return to our cars.  Since we parked a mile away, we found cover across the street at the UVA bookstore.  After lots of thunder and lightening and a rain storm we wandered back to the stadium, but still had to wait for the lightening in the distance to finally stop before they let us back in and resumed the game.  Right around half time it started pouring rain.  By the time I made my way to cover - I was soaking wet and the cover was all taken.  We debated about leaving, but I was already wet so why leave?  I had to keep wiping water out of my eyes as we stood in the rain and watched the teams try to play.  It was ridiculous.  Every step produced a spray of water.  Nobody could hold onto the ball!  It finally stopped raining and there was some really good action.  Unfortunately we lost - but I had a blast.  I'm happy to report I still remember the fight song =)  It was good to hear it again!  Goooooo Cougars!

 Eating watermelon from our garden for FHE

Our crafts

Celeste has been begging for pony tails, so we put some in.  As bald as all my girls have been, Celeste has less hair then any of them.  She also seems to have some curl  (hopefully it stays)!

Calvin's lego tower.  He had his little legos taken away for a week, so had to resort to playing with the big legos.  The babysitter helped him with this tower while we were at the BYU game.

Learning to Swim

We started swimming lessons!  The kids have been looking forward to this all summer.  We joined an aquatics center for the month of August.  We have been able to go for family swim several times and we can stay after lessons on some days for free swim as well.  The kids love it!  Our first week went pretty well and we are ready for week 2!  Celeste is the only one who is not in lessons and she is not happy about it.  Luckily she has other opportunities to get in the pool.  She will be old enough for independent lessons next summer.

We've been really busy the last few weeks with orthodontics appointments for Anna Elise.  She has an expander in right now and she loves it (not really).  She is looking forward to getting head gear and then braces.  Exciting times (that was sarcastic =)).  Our chickens started laying eggs!  This was earlier then expected, but so exciting.  We had one chicken that was really early, but today we collected 6 eggs so we think that all of them are now laying eggs.  It's fun for the kids to get check the egg box every 30 minutes and bring in new eggs or to report back that they had found another cracked egg not in the egg box.  Apparently the chickens have a short learning curve when it comes to where to lay their eggs, but they seem to be getting the hang of it.   We also celebrated Mike's birthday.  The kids blew up balloons to surprise him.  Mike came home earlier then expected - while the kids were all upstairs - I motioned him out the back door just before they came downstairs and he was able to make a second entrance and be 'surprised'.  We had apple pie to celebrate.  On Saturday of that same week we had our 12th wedding anniversary.  We went out to dinner and a movie, it was very nice to get out for a few hours.  Calvin participated in the cub scout cardboard regatta and raced in a cardboard boat his dad helped him make, his boat did ok, he did eventually tip over during each race.  We also went to Busch Gardens (again) and had fun until we got rained out. Unfortunately I have not been taking pictures these past few weeks and I only have a couple to share.  I didn't take any pictures of our eggs, I plan on getting pictures at swimming lessons this week and I'm sad I missed pictures of Mike's birthday, of Celeste getting her hair fixed for church (we can squeeze a teeny, tiny ponytail out on the top and clip a little barrette to it), and lots of other things.  I'll try to do better these last 2 weeks of summer.

A sign the kids made in our yard - so funny!

Calvin in his boat

Calvin not in his boat =)

The Eastern Shore

On Friday we drove out to the Eastern Shore - a string of islands along the eastern coast of Virginia and Maryland.  You have to go across an amazingly long bridge (17 miles) to get there and it feels very remote, but I love it!  We went to a farm and picked blueberries.  It was a small but nice place and blueberries are only 75 cents a pound (instead of 2 - 2.50 a pound around here).  While there we ran into our friends who told us about the farm.  It was nice to visit while we picked.  We then headed back towards the bridge and stopped at Kiptopeke State Park and went to the beach for the afternoon.  It was a small, but nice beach.  The kids had a blast.  I had fun going to the beach without a baby for the first time ever!  We then drove back across the long (and expensive) bridge to find some dinner and then headed home.  It was a really fun day!  The next morning we woke up to backed up kitchen pipes.  I know, all you read about is our plumbing woes.  Mike spent a lot of time troubleshooting and trying everything we could think of (and making a huge nasty mess) he climbed under the house, figured out the problem and then the real work began.  After 3 trips to Lowes and a trip I made to another hardware store and hours later it was fixed!  It was a very nasty job and I was so glad Mike was able to figure it out and fix it so we could avoid another large plumbing bill.  While he did that I cleaned and froze over 10 pounds of blueberries and then ate, baked or stored the remaining 7 pounds for now.  That wasn't easy without a kitchen sink!  We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, blueberry pie for dessert and I made blueberry muffins for breakfast today (and froze some of those for later).

In other news, we also been having fun swimming in our pool, playing with the chickens, working in the garden, canning tomatoes, peach jam, peach syrup (peach jam that doesn't set up makes delicious syrup for waffles!), and peppers.  We've had missionaries and friends over for dinner, been to the dentist and orthodontist, as well as the library!  One day after we'd been to the park we stopped at the grocery store to get a couple of things on our way home.  While herding everyone into the check out line an older gentleman in front of us asked me if those were all my kids.  I smiled and said yes.  He said God bless you.  He told me a little bit about his family.  As he was getting ready to leave with his groceries he took out his wallet and handed me some cash.  I said Oh no sir, I can't take your money.  He said you don't have to, it's for the kids.  Go buy them some ice cream.  I started crying.  I was so shocked.  I'm not sure why he did it, I think he was trying to be nice and helpful.  I asked Mike if we looked homeless or something.  It was very touching.  Most of the attention I get in regards to my family is negative and it's so refreshing to get some positive attention.  Later that afternoon we met Mike at Steak N Shake during happy hour and had half price shakes!  They were delicious and well appreciated!

Picking blueberries!

So I'm actually eating a blueberry and smiling - that's why it's such a weird expression...thanks Mike.

The girls with our friends we ran into

Kiptopeke Beach!  Aren't these fun chairs?

That's Lilah way out there by herself, she is fearless.  She did ask me if there were any boats (you could hear motors) sharks or alligators.  Once I told her no, she was good to go.  Those old boats in the background were set up in a ring around the swimming area, I guess to block the big waves, they were very cool.

Eating ice cream

Later in the afternoon, these guys showed up so we stayed out of the water

My kitchen for most of Saturday

Lilah with her chicken Molly Mae 

Summer!

I feel like our "regular" summer vacation is well underway.  We've been doing lots of "regular" summer stuff:  weeding the garden, picking vegetables in the garden, hacking away at rogue plants that are trying to take over my garden (tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and watermelon are going crazy) swimming in our pool, water balloon fights, crafts, wii games/dancing, parties, 4th of July fireworks and more!  Our weather has been cooler than usual and a little bit wetter as well, but we are still enjoying it.  My pictures (like my blogging) are random and a bit sparse, so we'll see what I can find to post.

In other news I haven't done any family highlights since school got out, so I think I'll do a family highlight catch up!
Celeste:  Celeste still has a pacifier, despite our efforts to take it away, and she may have it for awhile because I'm tired.  Her favorite thing to eat right now is cottage cheese and apple sauce (yes, together).  She asks for it all day long.  She has it for lunch most days and if she doesn't have it for lunch she demands it for a snack when she gets up from her nap.  I guess there are worse things she could be eating.  Her hair continues to thicken but not lengthen - grrr.  It looks like it has a little bit of curl -we'll see if that stays.  She is talking more and more and is very precise about what she says, she usually says a name at the end of everything - it's not just thank you, it's thank you Lilah, or good night mommy, or see you later daddy.  She enjoys her nursery class and knows everyone's name.  She has started playing pretend more often and has the funniest conversations with her dolls.  She likes to be either a doggy or some other animal.  She loves to go outside and hates her carseat.  She is about the cutest monster you've ever seen.  She is getting more demanding and louder every day!
Lilah:  I think Lilah likes having everyone home from school, she always has someone to play with.  She has never had a problem standing up for herself so she doesn't let her older siblings push her around.  She is turning brown out in the sun and looks more out of place with her darker coloring every day!
Madeline:  Madeline was excited for school to be out but really missed going to school and seeing her teacher every day, but she is adjusting to being at home.  She likes to swim but prefers to be indoors and likes to play on her own (still) inside.  We have found since Madeline switched rooms that she is messy!  I didn't realize it was her causing the mess, but now we know!
Calvin:  Calvin is busy, busy, busy.  He loves to create things.  Most of the things he creates don't work, but we were impressed when he made a bow and some arrows and they work!  He has been shooting everything inside and out.  He is always looking for something to do.
Anna Elise:  Has continued to love to read and reads every evening.  She seems to be enjoying being at home and is a big help to me during the day.  She made a friend at school and misses her horribly.  We are trying to work it out so they can get together and play this summer.
Sally:  Things have shifted at work and I am busy again.  I am having to go into the office one day a week now and it will most likely get busier and be more often in the coming months.  I enjoy my work and I'm trying to not be resentful of the fact that it's taking up more of my time and pulling me away from my family.  Really, it's been a blessing that the past two years things have been slower and I've been able to do more from home and have gone into the office less.  I've been at home more with Celeste, I've been able to do more with my home and spend more time gardening, and making food from scratch, and doing other things - and I'm grateful I got that chance and now it's time to go back to working.
Mike:  Mike has been busy, but around more and we love it.  I'm thankful that although he is busy, he has been able to hire help so that he is around more and he is going to be able to watch the kids while I am in the office.  So far we haven't had to hire a babysitter and that is good!

 Celeste snagged these high heels from the other nursery teacher and wore them around

 a batch of bread and butter pickles

 We went to a pool party and had to wait for the rain and thunder to stop so we could get in and actually swim.  Celeste is soaking wet from the rain and dirty from chocolate frosting.

 the kids are having a good time in the pouring rain

   Calvin went off the high dive - so impressed!

Calvin's bow and lots of arrows made from a hanger, rubber band, tape, pencils, and nerf bullets

Calvin posing in our garden with his sunflower plants.  He planted those seeds at school.  He brought home tiny seedlings that we planted in the garden and they grew!  We are excited to have some sunflowers!

Philadelphia

We went to Philadelphia for a family vacation!  We left on Thursday morning and made the 4 and half hour drive to the Philadelphia Zoo!  It was fun, the kids enjoyed it.  Their favorite was the petting zoo where they got to pet and groom sheep and goats.  It was also very hot and humid and like most zoos it seems to all be uphill - so we were ready for some swimming when we went to check into our hotel.  Unfortunately the pool was closed and we were not able to go swimming - the kids settled for exploring the hotel room and watching cartoons.  We went to dinner and watched The Croods at the hotel.  We were lucky - the thunderstorm that was suppose to dump on us held off until that evening.  The kids were way too wound up to sleep and it was a long night with little sleep.  The next day was not pleasant.  We drove into the historical part of the city and saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, The Betsy Ross House, Benjamin Franklin's Grave and lots of old buildings.  There was lots of whining and complaining due to the heat and the walking and the lack of sleep for everyone.  Lilah had a complete melt down on our tour of Independence Hall - she and her Dad had to leave early.  Celeste decided she was done with the tour shortly after so the rest of us joined them outside while Lilah finished her tantrum.  It was lovely!  After lunch we gave up and packed everyone back into the car.  We had some friends move to New Jersey last year and so we went to visit them - the kids played while we got to tour their house and catch up!  It was nice.  We went back to the hotel and the kids were able to swim for a quick half hour before the rain and lightening drove us out of the pool.  The kids slept really good that night so we decided to give the city another try on Saturday morning and I'm glad we did.  The kids were much better behaved and it was an enjoyable morning.  We went to the US Mint and learned how they make coins, The Carpenter House where the Continental Congress met, and we tried to go to a Military Weapons Museum but it was closed.  We walked back through the visitor's center and then headed home.  We hit some awful traffic on the way home, but we finally made it!
It was a hard trip - but it was good and the kids had fun.  Their favorite things were swimming, the breakfast buffet at the hotel, and seeing their friends.  It's a good thing we drove all the way to Philadelphia to stay in a hotel.  Maybe next time we'll get a hotel with a pool and a free breakfast buffet here in Richmond =).

You can see from the pink cheeks and sweaty hair how hot it was (and this was inside resting!)

This tiger walked right in front of us - he almost brushed up against the glass he was so close.  Celeste slunk back and tried to climb behind me - apparently a sheet of glass wasn't enough of a barrier for her.

Grooming the shorn sheep

Lilah and Madeline really enjoyed this part - I think Madeline made sure to brush every goat and sheep there!

Celeste was a little unsure of them, but we convinced her to pet a few of them.

We are looking at the large gorilla.  He came right up to the glass as well.

This is after they all finally fell asleep our first night at the hotel.  It's too bad they didn't stay asleep!

This is our 'ducky' picture.  When we are all out together Mike says 'duckys' and the kids all line up like ducks and follow their daddy duck - Mom usually brings up the rear.  We've done this for years and when we first started it they would quack.  This was a silent duck line in Philly.

The Liberty Bell

Pennsylvania State Hall - aka Independence Hall - this is where the liberty bell hung and it's where the Declaration of Independence was read and the Constitution was written.  It was gorgeous inside!

Stopping for a rest and a snack

The kids listening to a story about Betsy Ross - just outside of the house she lived in when she was asked to sew the new country's flags.  

Madeline, Lilah, and Calvin signing their names on parchment with old fashioned quils and ink

Saluting with a soldier

In other news our summer break has been kind of crazy.  I've been going into the office more, including a really long trip to Baltimore for some meetings, Calvin had a week of Cub Scout Twilight Camp, we've had some crazy weather and it's been a crazy couple of weeks.  I'm ready to settled down into a summer routine and enjoy some 'regular' summer stuff!

Calvin with his two buddies at Cub Scout Camp - this is the day they got rained out.  Calvin had a great time - he LOVED it and can't wait to do it again next summer.