Sparklers!

Here are some pictures of the boys with their sparklers:

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Happy 4th of July!

This week has been pretty fun. Kolby and Eli started up swim lessons at the rec. center, and they go on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They are in the same class, along with three other kids, and they are the youngest in the class. I wondered if they should be in a different class, because there is a boy who is 5, and then a girl who looks 6 or 7, and another bigger boy who looks maybe 9 or 10. But they can both do everything that the class is doing right now without trouble – dunk their head under water, jump in from the side, and float on their backs and on their stomachs with support. I am glad they are doing well and enjoying it. I took all the boys with me on Thursday morning, and I think it won’t be too much longer before Camden will start swim lessons – it was hard to keep him happy and out of the water. After their lesson that day I swam with the boys, which was a lot of fun because there is a nice wading area and the water is plenty warm (and I hate cold water, so this is a big plus for me!)

On Wednesday evening I took Kolby for his night out with Mommy, and we went to the nearby mall. We had a game that we were given, but we already had that same game, so we went to return it at Deseret Book. With the credit from the game, Kolby was able to get a new CTR ring (“choose the right”), and a few fun little figurines. He wore his CTR ring all the time in Milwaukee, then lost it outside the afternoon that we moved, so I was glad to replace it. We made sure it was snug and talked about always leaving it on so it doesn’t get lost (this was my alternative to his idea: that we should buy more than one so we’d have an extra if this new one ever got lost), and he has done great with keeping it on all the time. It’s pretty cute.

Friday we had fun for the 4th of July. Michael was on call at the hospital overnight on the 3rd and got home around noon on the 4th, and he hasn’t had to go back in until tomorrow morning, so it’s been a nice little break. On Friday afternoon we went to my great uncle and aunt, Guy and Sharon’s house, for their annual family BBQ. We got to see some of my 2nd cousins who I hadn’t seen for years, and a few new little kids who we hadn’t met before. We swam in the pool for a while and then had a very nice dinner. Then we had to head out a little early because we were meeting Mel and Christian for fireworks. They go and sit outside the BYU stadium every year, and we joined them there. The fireworks were great – we all lay down on the blanket and watched them together, and all four of the boys liked them. I was happy that none of them were scared or bored – even Isaac held still and watched intently. The only down side was that the fireworks didn’t start until 10:30 at night, and then the traffic was so bad that it took us 2 hours to make the regularly 45-minute drive home afterwards.

We had some fun yesterday too. After dinner we got out all the bikes. We were excited to use the ‘new’ bikes I had found for the boys. Last week I was looking on craigslist.com and couldn’t really find an inexpensive kids’ bike for sale, so I posted that I wanted a bike for a 4 year old, that I didn’t care what it looked like except I didn’t want a pink one, that it needed to work well and should have training wheels, and that I would pay $10 to $20 for it. The next day I got an e-mail, we drove to Taylorsville, and ended up getting a bike for Kolby and one for Eli and only paying $15 total for the both of them. Anyways, we have been excited to go on a bike ride, so we pulled out all the bikes and pumped up the tires. Camden and Isaac rode in the bike trailer, Kolby rode his bike, and Eli ended up opting for his old Big Wheels tricycle because his legs are just barely too short for his new bike still. We rode down around the school and played at the playground for a minute, went across the street and down a couple blocks, and then over to the church parking lot and back home. It wasn’t a really long ride, but pretty good for Eli’s little legs. And I had fun – this was my first bike ride in years. I have either been big pregnant or it had been freezing winter for quite a long time now. So that was fun.

After we got home from the bike ride, we got out the sparklers and little fountain fireworks that I’d picked up the other day. We started lighting a few, and a couple neighbors ended up coming over to join us, which was nice. We met a girl with two little children who spoke mostly Spanish, and Michael had fun speaking with her. And we met a man with two of his little girls who just moved in across the street a couple weeks ago. The fireworks here don’t really compare to the ones in Milwaukee, since none of the ones here go off the ground, but it was still fun. We saved the sparklers for last, which is always the most fun for the kids. We got those extra long ones, and they loved waving them around in the air. I’ll have to put of some pictures soon.

Also, Isaac has started doing a fun thing. He doesn’t really scoot yet, but he can push himself backwards across the floor, and lately he has started getting up on his hands and knees and doing the rocking thing, but hasn’t moved his hands yet to take that first crawl. I have heard of kids that skip crawling and go straight to walking, but have you ever heard of kids skipping sitting up and going straight to crawling? (He can sit up a little, if we prop his legs and arms up, but he doesn’t last very long and he has never tried to sit up on his own). Oh well, every kid is different.

Oh, and congratulations to Michael’s brother, Alan, and his wife Jenn. They had their first little baby (a boy – there are only boy cousins in the family so far) on Monday. They named him Alanjerome and will be calling him Jerome. We’re excited to go down and visit them sometime hopefully soon (once Michael’s schedule cooperates).

4th of July!

So, our 4th of July this year was great! Just like last year, the weathermen on the news predicted rain, but it ended up being bright, sunny, and quite warm all day. It was beautiful out. We got up early to walk with the Maases down to North Avenue to reserve a spot for the parade. The Hunters, Hansens, Simons, and Hymases all came and joined us for the parade too. Kolby remembered that last year there were people dressed up in Elmo and Mickey Mouse costumes in the parade, and he was excited to see them again. The kids all got little flags, which they enjoyed waving around. There were people walking on stilts and high school marching bands. A civic band came by playing their instruments, and Michael commented that he wants to join a community band when we get settled down sometime soon. And there was a carriage pulled by two large horses that came up near where we were sitting and Kolby and Eli both jumped up and moved away because they were a little startled. At one point the people came by dressed as the different characters and Elmo was across the street, but Kolby got to shake hands with Bob the Builder and Donald Duck, which was fun for him. And both Kolby and Eli came away from the parade with a little bag full of candy that the people in the parade threw to the kids. Camden ended up asleep on my lap by the end of the parade.



After we went home and got a few things ready, we went over to the annual ward 4th of July BBQ party at the Twelmyer’s house. It was very fun. Michael and the boys all swam (we were surprised that there were lots of people swimming, because the pool wasn’t heated and Michael has been one of the few crazy swimmers the last couple of years we had the party, but this year it was nice and warm out). We had lunch and the kids played with Daddy in the big pool and in a little baby pool that someone brought. Camden had a blast splashing in the baby pool, and then fell asleep in my arms as soon as I got him dried off and dressed. He had a short nap in the playpen while we enjoyed the rest of the party.

After going home and letting the boys have a 2-hour nap, we met and parked our cars at the Taylor’s house and walked a couple of blocks to Hart Park for the professional fireworks show. We got a nice spot on the grass in the football field, right up front. The kids ran around playing for a while before it got dark. At one point Kolby and Eli were chasing each other and they got a little too far from us, so I went to get them because there was a big crowd of people there and we didn’t want to loose sight of them at all. So, they were running and chasing each other and then they were running from me, and they thought it was a great game. I was darting in between people and around picnic blankets, and I finally caught Eli, but Kolby kept running fast. He wouldn’t stop when I called him, but I couldn’t loose him in that big crowd, so I picked up Eli under one arm and carried him like a football as I ran, literally as fast as I could, after Kolby. People were probably laughing at the sight of this pregnant lady with a big belly, carrying a two-year-old under one arm and jumping over blankets to try to catch a 3-year-old. I finally caught up to him after running around at least half the length of the football field, and then headed back to our group, where Michael was searching the crowd because he couldn’t see where the boys or I had gone. I was panting for several minutes after I got back, but fortunately the boys stayed right by us the rest of the night.

When it got dark, we all lay down on our picnic blanket and watched the fireworks show together. It was great (especially since last year someone brought a wagon and the boys played in/fought over the wagon through the entire fireworks show). This year they were so excited about the fireworks and they just lay still right next to us the whole time. Camden really wanted to watch the fireworks, but each time one made a loud noise he started to cry. After a minute or so, Michael covered him with his blanket and laid him on his stomach, and Camden quickly fell asleep for the rest of the show. Michael said that during the loudest part of the finale, Camden stayed asleep, but his legs popped up in the air each time a firework exploded. The show was very good, but there must have been a bit of a breeze blowing toward the crowd, because there was ash falling on us from the fireworks, and some got in my eye. Never had that happen before. Also, at one point, part of one of the fireworks hit the ground about 10 or 15 feet from where we were sitting, and sparked and bounced around on the grass for a few seconds before going out. Everyone around there was lucky, because there were people sitting a few feet on either side of where it landed, and it could have burned someone pretty badly. But luckily it all went well, and the fireworks were beautiful. My favorite are the gold, glittery ones that kind of make a crackling noise as they come down. We came home and put the boys right in bed, and got to sleep around 11pm. It was a long, but very fun day!

Sparklers

Here are the pictures I took of the kids at our BBQ last night.

A Long Weekend

This week has been wonderful! Michael finished his trauma surgery rotation and had his test on Thursday, which he felt good about after he took it. We are both so relieved to be done with this rotation – and on to better things. (Wow – Michael’s now a 4th year – one more year of medical school to go!)

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, we all went over to the church and Camden and I went to an enrichment activity about family history. Most of the evening was an introduction to genealogy, so I just went to help out, but they also scheduled a time once a month when a group of us will be going to the family history center during the day and we can trade off babysitting so we can have some time to work on our research. I am excited because this should allow me to find the time to get some more names ready for temple work. While I was in doing that, Michael and the older boys went outside and helped as a group of church members pulled weeds around the church grounds. Michael said that they will still need to get together again because it didn’t all get done, but about ten families showed up to help so that is a pretty decent turn-out, I think.

Wednesday was a busy day. Camden had his 9-month-old doctor’s check-up in the morning, and he looks healthy and right on track with his growth. He now weighs 20 pounds 4 ounces and is just over 29 inches tall. A few hours later I dropped the boys off with Rachel Roberts and went for my first physical therapy appointment. I liked the physical therapist and she gave me some good information. Since then I have been doing several different stretches for about half an hour two times a day, and the pain that I had in my hip for the last week has gone away. My knee pain is still there, but hopefully it will go away soon too. Then that evening I took Kolby and watched while he had his swimming lesson. He has done so well this session with listening and doing just what the teacher asks. He did an especially good job of floating on his back this week.

On Thursday morning I took the boys to their art class, which they always enjoy. After Michael got home from taking his test and the boys took their nap, we went and got some fireworks. We found a good deal on a big pack of fireworks that was buy 1, get 2 free. When we got home, we took Eli to his swim lesson. Michael got to swim with him while I watched. And afterwards we went to a BBQ for the students who were all on the same track with Michael to celebrate the end of 3rd year. I only knew two couples there – the Cortezes and the Jays – but it was nice to meet some of the people Michael has been working with and have some time to socialize and play at the park.

On Friday we were thinking about going camping overnight because Michael had the day off, but then decided that it would be less expensive to just take a day trip. We ended up going to swim at the Lake Pewaukee beach, and it was a lot of fun (although I still find it a little difficult to call anything that is not on an ocean a “beach.”) But we all enjoyed ourselves there.

On Saturday evening we had our annual pre-4th of July BBQ and fireworks. There was a very good turn-out – there were over 20 adults there and tons of little kids. I love the summer time when you can do stuff like this and you don’t have to worry about how many people you can fit into your apartment. After eating, we gave sparklers to all the kids and they had a blast. Some of the little girls kept running around waving the sparklers like magic wands and saying, “Bibbity bobbity boo!” Afterwards Michael and Matt Vernon put on a fun fireworks show. Lots of the people ended up heading home before the fireworks were done, just because their kids were tired because we had to wait so long to start the fireworks because it doesn’t get dark until after 9:00pm in the summer. But it was a fun show – especially since the boys enjoyed it so much. Kolby kept naming all the different colors of sparks he saw, Camden watched with a smile from his stroller for the first little while until he got tired, and at one point Eli was so excited that he was jumping up and down and shaking Camden’s stroller. It was pretty cute.

This morning Kolby was kind of grumpy when he got up and he said that he didn’t want to go to church. I was telling him the fun things that we would get to do, like going to his sunbeam class and taking the bread and water for the Sacrament. When I told him about the Sacrament, he seemed to be happy to go to church. So, this morning we went early to set up chairs at church, but someone had already done it before we got there, so Michael played a few hymns on the piano until it was time to start. Everything was going pretty well until the young men went up to the front of the chapel to help pass the Sacrament, and then Kolby wouldn’t calm down. He said that he needed to go help, and when Michael told him he needed to stay in his seat, he said that Mommy told him he could. So, when I told him about taking the Sacrament in church, he thought that I meant he could be one of the young men who got to go help pass out the bread and the water to everyone in the congregation. He finally calmed down some when we told him that he could pass the bread and water to us after it was passed to our row. But he still wanted to go up to the front and help. The rest of the meetings went like normal. This is the fourth week in a row that Camden has been happy right up until the third hour of church, when he acts so tired and fussy that we have to take him out in the hall. Michael took him for me the last few weeks when he did this, so this week I said I could stay out with him. I did get to meet another new family in the ward while I was out there, so that was nice. After church Kolby’s sunbeam teacher told me that during primary there was a family visiting who’s son had recently been baptized. The boy was baptized in the Susquehanna River, which happens to be a significant location in the history of our church, so the primary leader was asking the children to guess where the boy had been baptized. So, his teacher told me that Kolby raised his hand right away and answered, “At a garage sale.” She said that he was very proud of his answer.

This afternoon we came home and water was leaking from the light fixture and wood work above our kitchen sink. We finally got a hold of the apartment maintenance worker, and he came and said that he will have a plumber come tomorrow, since it seems that it leaks more in our apartment every time our upstairs neighbors use their sink or dishwasher. Luckily, the majority of the water is dripping into our sink, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

This next week should be a lot of fun too. Tomorrow Michael has the day off because in his dermatology rotation they are training new interns tomorrow, so they aren’t going to have the students start until Tuesday. So we are planning on taking the boys to the zoo in the morning. And then Michael gets Wednesday off for the 4th of July, so we will take the boys to the parade in the morning, then to the annual ward party at the Twelmyer’s house, and then to see the fireworks in the evening. Hopefully the nice weather holds out. Well, we hope you all have a happy 4th of July!