Utah–Part 1

Our annual trip to Utah this year began as usual with a really long drive.  We left on Friday, June 20, at 2:30 p.m., and arrived in Utah at 3:30 a.m. Utah time.  Even though we were pretty tired at the end, it was nice that the kids went to sleep when it got dark and slept fairly quietly the rest of the way.  The one scare of the trip was when I all of a sudden saw flashing lights in the rear view mirror as we drove through Boise.  This was my first time being pulled over since my rear brake light was out in high school.  The speed limit changes several times through the Boise area, so I nervously tried to think if I had missed another speed change.  When we asked the officer what I was being pulled over for, he said that I had changed lanes without signaling.  Just before he pulled me over, I was driving in the left lane, and a fifth lane emerged on to the left, so I merged into that one as it formed without signaling.  Apparently that was enough for him to pull me over, but thankfully he just gave me a warning. 

Saturday, Shane went on a bike ride, and I relaxed at home with the boys.  Later in the day, Wendi came down with her kids, and Christie took them swimming with James and Asher had a nap. 

 

That night, we went over to Mark and Melanie’s for Ames’s fourth birthday party.  It was a great time to get together with family, and Mark and Melanie have such a great backyard for the kids to play in.  Ames was excited to be four, and we are all glad to be there to celebrate with him.  Mark made this fun sandbox with Kent, and the kids all had fun playing in it.

     

They have a couple of apple trees in their backyard, and the boys had fun climbing them and trying to reach the tiny apples.

     

Alexys and Laci liked using Mark and Melanie’s big lawn to practice their gymnastics, and I caught Laci doing this flip.  Asher liked to given Ewan hugs, like he does with all babies. 

       

Asher thought Mark’s ride on lawnmower was pretty cool!

 

Ames’s birthday also happens to be our anniversary!  We celebrated in the best way possible – with family. (and we went out to dinner and a movie earlier that week while our live-in babysitters watched the boys)

Asher HLHS Update–15 months

This month, Asher had an appointment with both his pediatric cardiologist and with his pediatrician.  He was a little scared when he met with both doctors, but he calmed down quickly.  He had an echo with his cardiologist, and although he had to sit still for about twenty minutes while they took essentially an ultrasound of his heart, he was so good!  He sat on my lap on the exam table, and he watched the Baby Einsteins video they put on for him.  His heart function and pulse ox numbers still looked good, with his oxygen sats at 80.  Our next appointment will be in four months, and we are looking at most likely a cath lab procedure in a year or so to check his heart function more accurately, and then his Fontan surgery in two years.  At the pediatrician, he weighed 22 lbs, and was in the 25th percentile for his age, which is where he has stayed through most of the last year.  The doctor said we need to make sure he maintains the 25th percentile since he burns more calories than most kids with his heart.  If he starts to drop, we will add some pediasure or other high calorie drink to his diet, but for now, he is doing great.

His development is up to where an average 15 month would be, so there are no concerns there for now!  He is walking, talking, sleeping, and eating like he should be.  He loves to point things out, and has new words all the time.  Some of his favorites are bird, ball, dadoo (daddy), mama, ah-oooh (uh-oh), dodee (doggy), quack, meow, nana (banana – used for most foods), shzzz (shoes), and da-dee (baby).  He also lately likes to point his first forward at his brothers and make a cheesy grin.  He is such a fun boy and so full of life. 

       

Strawberries!

We had an unusually warm May this year, so the strawberries came on in full force the beginning of June.  Stacey and I went twice to pick berries, once with my mom when she was visiting.  We picked a total of 85 pounds of berries, made 72 pints of jam, and froze and ate a bunch more.  The kids were pretty good helpers picking the berries too!

       

   

Crazy is the New Normal

In November of last year, when my brother Jake found out that he got an internship at Intel and we moved into our new house, I told him it would be fun if they just lived with us in the summer with his family while he worked.  On Memorial Day, Jake flew in from Utah, and he started his internship the next day.  He flew back that Friday, and drove out with Stacey and their four kids that Saturday. 

We had a week and a half of school left once they arrived, and then we’ve had fun with our summer activities.  I think everyone thinks we are crazy living with eight children age nine and under, three of which are barely two, one, and 8 weeks old.  It does make for a crazy house at times, but it has been so much fun so far.  The kids have a lot of fun together, Stacey and I work together on meals (we each cook a week), cleaning up (the other couple cleans up their non-cooking week), and helping watch kids while the other runs errands (normally me with so many appointments lately – chiropractor, cardiologist, pediatrician, dentist).  We’ve established a good routine for the kids each morning, where they do their job, read scriptures (or watch scripture videos), do some workbook pages, and write.  In the afternoon, they read for 30 minutes (the older ones) during naptime.  We have swimming lessons and I’ve started some French lessons with them too. 

   

Thank goodness it’s summer!  The kids spend a lot of time outside, playing on the swing set, playing games with the neighborhood kids, riding bikes, and looking at ducks in the frog pond. 

   

Quiet time is more important than ever for mine and Stacey’s sanity!  We’ve instituted some good routines to help keep the young ones napping and the older ones reading for a set time every day.  Sometimes the older kids even read to the younger ones.  Maggie really likes Landon, and so she has become interested in reading chapter books like him.  One afternoon, we couldn’t find her anywhere.  We finally found her “reading” in Landon’s room with him. 

   

    

Another favorite thing to do is to go to the library.  We walk over, and the kids have fun guessing how many things are in the weekly jar (part of the summer reading program).  They pick out books and books and more books.  With seven kids picking out some out, they really start to pile up quickly!

 

 

Maggie and Asher are about 10 months apart.  While Maggie seems much older in most ways, the two have fun playing together (most of the time).  There are time when we have found clumps of Maggie’s hair in Asher’s hands, or when Maggie has pushed Asher, but most of the time, they are good buddies.

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One Saturday, it was Cruisin’ Sherwood, an old car show in old town.  It was fun to walk down all together and check out the cars.  The kids thought they were all pretty cool!

 

We’re looking forward to lots more craziness as the summer goes on!

Kindergarten Graduation

Davis is now officially a Kindergarten graduate!  He has done such a good job this year, even with moving halfway through the year and having to start all over with a new teacher and new friends.  His teacher, Ms. Goodman, gave him the award of being “most sincere,” because he is a hard worker, always doing what he’s supposed to, and a good genuine friend to others.  He has become a great little reader as the year has gone on, and while he is excited for summer, he told us he can’t wait until first grade!