Summer fun

I knew that we wouldn't do anything too big this summer because I would either be very pregnant or have a brand new baby so I told the boys we would have fun around the house.  Here are some of the things we have done:

The boys made a lemonade stand with their friends.  They sold quite a bit but the highlight of the afternoon was when a teenage boy from our ward rode by and gave the kids 5 dollars for 1 cup of lemonade.  The boys were so thrilled!

We went camping with our ward.  I was 37 weeks pregnant and I debated whether I should go or just send the boys but we all went as a family.  It was really fun except the actual sleeping part.  I forgot to bring a mattress to sleep on so I spent most of the night trying (and failing) to get comfortable.  I'm still glad I went though, it was fun to visit with people and eat yummy dutch oven food and watch the kids have fun with the whole camping experience.  Then next morning we packed up and went for a short hike.

Micah, Conner and I stopped at the waterfall to take a break and rest.  Reed and Alan hiked up to the top of the falls.  Conner initially wanted to stay with me but he later changed his mind and decided he wanted to hike with dad.  It was too late by then so he was kind of grumpy as we waited on the bench:

It is hard to see but Reed and Alan are in the middle of the picture and the falls are on the right side of the picture:

Micah walked the whole way by himself.  It was nice to have a little hiking buddy so that I had a good reason to go slow:

We also explored new parks.  Some ladies in our ward started doing a picnic in the park every Wednesday afternoon.  We would pack a picnic lunch and then go to a different park every week. 

We discovered a park that had an area of old big tires - the boys had fun going through, over, and around them and playing hide and seek. 

And of course we played in the water.  We put Alan in swimming lessons again this summer.  He ended up with the same teacher that he had last year, which he was excited about.  They put him in a fairly advanced class - all the other kids were older than him and could swim better than him.  The first day they tried to get him to swim the width of the pool without any swimming aids.  I was surprised when he almost made it (I had never seen him swim more than 5 or 6 feet).  When I asked him how he liked swim lessons he said he liked it but he didn't like the part where he started to drown.  I hadn't seen anything like that so Alan explained to me that they wanted his class to tread water and he got tired so he grabbed the kid next to him and pushed off him so that he could make it to the wall.  Yikes!  By the end of it he could swim the length of the pool and tread water for 45 seconds.  Unfortunately I wasn't up to taking all the kids swimming by myself so Alan didn't get to practice much.  We did have a lot of fun with water in our backyard though, especially since it seems to have been an extra hot summer.

Playing in the pool and sprinklers

Playing with water balloons

Conner trying to get Alan wet with the hose:

The kids were so excited to play in the water that they didn't want to wait to change into swimming shorts so they got soaked in their clothes:

 

It's been a fun summer!

Last day of school

I know this post is horribly late, since Alan just started school again but I fell way behind in June and July so now I am trying to catch up.  Alan enjoyed kindergarten for the most part.  He did very well academically and he got along well with the kids in his class. 

 

A week before school got out I went on a field trip with the kindergarteners to the children's museum.  It was fun to watch Alan play with his classmates and I felt so popular on the walk to the museum and on the way back - I had 4 little boys all trying to hold my hand!

Alan dressed up as a pirate

Alan made the honor roll again for the second half of the year.  He is the one on the far right:

 

Alan standing with Mrs. Harrell, his teacher, on the last day of school

 

Alan holding his kindergarten diploma



 

Mother's Day 2012

On Mother's day the boys all got up early and made me breakfast in bed.  I love how excited they were to give it to me.  Then after church Reed got to come home earlier than usual and he and the boys made my requested dinner - carribean enchiladas - yum!  They gave me their gifts in the afternoon.  It was a great day.  I am so grateful for my children and for the opportunity to be a mother.  It is hard sometimes but it is what I have always wanted to do.

Alan and Conner made these flowers in primary:

Alan made a vase and a nice card at school.  The card is a flower that opens up and says "my love for you grows and grows".

I love my boys!

 

2nd Annual Grandparents Week

Before I had Brooklyn my mom and I were discussing the help I would need after the baby was born.  We talked about her coming down to stay for a week after I had the baby and I said sure but then she suggested taking the 3 boys up to their house for a week while I rested at home with the baby.  That sounded wonderful.  When I told the boys about the plan they were really excited.  Alan started saying how excited he was for the baby to come.  I assumed he was just excited to meet his new sibling but he said he was excited for me to have the baby so that he could go to Grandma's house.  So the Saturday after Brooklyn was born we packed the boys, their bikes, and their clothes into my parents truck and said goodbye.  I was a little worried about Micah, since this would be his first time away from me for more than a day (last summer Alan and Conner went and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa P. for a week but Micah was too young so he stayed with me).  I shouldn't have worried.  When we were getting them ready to go he hurried and put his sandals on and ran to the truck.  After he was buckled in he wanted me to close the door and then he pointed ahead and said "Go, go, go!"  He happily waved bye to us and told us over and over "Bye, see you later, bye, see you later".  So here is a summary of their adventure filled week:

Sunday:  Go to church.  Apparently Micah did good in nursery and Conner eventually warmed up to his primary teacher.  Alan did great as usual. 

Monday:

Alan, Conner, and Micah sitting on my Dad's 4 wheeler that he uses for work:

They got the bikes ready to go for a bike ride.  They had to replace the tube in the bike trailer and clean it out.  Micah really likes to help clean, especially with the vacuum:

Alan lost his second tooth!  It has been loose for ages and the adult tooth was already all the way up behind it so we were happy to hear that it was out:

That afternoon they went to see the movie "Brave" in the theatre.  They liked it but said that the bear part was scary.  I guess Micah did pretty good but didn't want to sit for the whole thing.  I think that was the first time Conner and Micah have ever been to a movie theatre before. 

Tuesday:  They got ready to go to the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum in the morning.

My parents found some old cameras and let the boys play with them. 

Say cheese!

That afternoon they went to the dinosaur museum.

Alan and Conner standing in front of a T-rex (I think).

Micah started a fever that day.

Cute little Conner

That night they went to Calgary and stayed in a hotel.  The hotel had a pool with a slide.

Wednesday:  I think they went swimming that morning:

Then they headed to Calaway Park, which is a big amusement park.  Alan had been looking forward to this all summer. 

Alan is getting so big - almost too big to ride the little kid bumper cars

Micah on the Merry-go-round.  He still wasn't feeling the best.

Alan and Conner on the bumper cars.  Conner was able to control his car better this year so he could actually drive around and crash into people:

Alan's favorite ride was the log ride, even though he said that they had to wait an hour in line.  Conner said it was not his favorite but he seems to be enjoying himself in the picture.  Conner and Grandpa got all wet but apparently Alan didn't (thanks to hiding behind grandpa):

Conner said his favorite thing was shooting these guns:

All three boys on a jeep ride

Micah's favorite ride was these old cars that went around a track:

Grandpa and Grandma also bought the boys their own bag of blue cotton candy.  That is something that they have been wanting all summer so they were pretty happy about that.  They stayed and played until the park closed and then headed back home. 

Thursday:  I think they went swimming in the afternoon. 

In the evening they went for a bike ride:

They stopped at a park to play.  I think Micah has kind of a mischievious smile:

Friday:  The boys helped pick raspberries:

Just a cute picture of Micah:

That evening they had fun digging and playing in the dirt pile.  My kids LOVE dirt!

The next day they came back home.  When they walked in I was expecting a big hug but Micah saw me, smiled and walked past me.  He was looking all overe and saying "Book, book, book".  He was looking for Brooklyn.  Oh well, at least I got a smile when he walked in.  The other two were eager to show us the toy they got before they left and to tell us what they had been doing, although they were also very eager to see Brooklyn.  That was a fun packed week.  Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa!

Brooklyn meets her brothers

 Grandma B. came and stayed with the boys while I went to the hospital to have Brooklyn.  When we called and announced that they had a new sister Alan and Conner started jumping around.  Grandma and the boys came later that day to meet her. 

Micah taking a look at his new sister  

Conner and Brooklyn

Alan and Brooklyn.  Alan liked looking at her tiny fingers and pointed out how tiny her finger nails are.

This is what they were really excited about - the juice from the fridge out in the hall.  Last time, when I had Micah and they came they had little cups of icecream and when I told the boys I was going to the hospital to have the baby, Alan got really excited and said he couldn't wait to go to the hospital and have some more of their "fresh" icecream.  They were pretty disappointed that there was no icecream this time but they did get to have a juice:

Reed holding Micah and Conner so they could see baby Brooklyn.  Conner kept saying "He's so cute!"  We are working on saying "she" instead of "he".  Old habits die hard.

Grandma B. holding her 20th grandchild

I love the next three pictures.  I start by trying to get a picture of Grandma B. with our kids:

but Brooklyn is much more interesting to look at than the camera:

Look at all those admirers!

This is the best we could do for a family shot:

After 24 hours in the hospital Brooklyn and I were ready to come home.  Here she is in her carseat: