Neighborhood Summer Stuff

One nice thing about not traveling as much this summer, is that the kids got a chance to play a lot outside with their neighbors/friends. It's interesting to watch them start certain activities and games with other kids that seem to develop over a few days. Then they move on to something new--sometimes with new friends or just different combinations of friends. At the beginning of the summer, it seemed like the kids wanted to just be with one friend or certain friends, leaving out others. Now that most of the summer has gone and everyone has played so much together and gotten to know each other better, (I think this happens because when one family goes out of town, they give new kids a chance and find out they like to play with them also) they are playing more as groups. Whoever is outside gets to play. Another thing that is fun about summer is that girls and boys play together more, and they play with different ages (at least when they are pre-Jr. High.) Here are some of the things they did that seemed to capture the essence of what childhood summers are all about:

Scooters: (Sorry about the bad photo--my camera was brand new and I obviously forgot to put it on action mode) All of the kids still use these scooters. Even though they've added "rip-sticks" and "power-wings," they still ride these scooters. This jump at the Rouska's house kept getting built, torn down, then built again. Nick and his friends started a scooter gang--they use this jump, go around the neighborhood and ride to Wal-Mart & Game Stop. We'll try to get a photo of the gang if possible. I think that matching bandanas and decals are involved. . .

Eating Watermelon: What's cuter than 3 little girls eating watermelon on the porch? I brought out a large tray of watermelon for Mallory, Roma and Madi. By the time I got outside with the camera, they were all on their third piece. I guess it was too close to dinner. (In fact, it ended up being dinner I think.)

Mud Pies: Mallory and Madi--not worrying a bit about getting dirty!

Backyard water slides: Since Mallory's birthday is in May, she usually gets a water slide from one of her friends. Good thing she gets one every year since we've all learned that they are disposable. These photos were taken pretty far away with a zoom lens so it wouldn't get wet.












Bug Jars: These really gross me out, but come on, you've got to let little boys do this! Carter and his next door neighbor Rhett, collected bugs day after day. The problem is when they want to make slits with their pocket knives into metal lids, by themselves. We managed to avoid huge lacerations. Another problem is that they were discovering that lots of grasshoppers seem to gather in the tumbleweeds that get stuck in the window wells. Their solution was to get them out by throwing rocks down in there to scare them and make them jump. Hmmm. . .not too bright guys. Let's lay off the rocks near windows. Carter also entertained the neighbor kids by feeding grasshoppers to the web of a black widow.







Club Houses: Our new neighbors set up this play gym that has a little play house. The kids had a stuffed animal party in there. I'll be interested to see what else they do up there before the summer is over. Madi Rouska, Carter, Gavin & Cole Ayotte, Mallory & Kylie Branom.






Watergun Wars: They always start out fun, but eventaully somebody cries. There is one going on right now and I'm just waiting for Carter to come in crying. But it's a summer must activity. I took the photo before any fighting could start. Someone always sprays too much water too many times and the other kid feels like it's unfair. Pretty funny.



Rhett, Carter, Gavin, Jett, Kole & Jarrett

Cute body, cute swimsuit: Mallory looks so cute in her swimsuit. I'm a little jealous. My life-long, amazing, gorgeous and creative friend, Nicole Bruderer, started the swimsuit company with her sisters. It's called limericki.com. They sell modest but trendy swimsuits. Women love them too, but they are targeted for teenage girls. (She was old enough finally to fit into the XS this year, right before they came out with a pre-teen size that is even smaller.) What's great about the tankinis is that the top and bottom overlap about 2 inches, so they still cover the tummy, even when they raise their arms. Plus, the material is really thick and great quality.

9 Weeks to Go!

I thought I'd better hurry and take at least one photo during the pregnancy that really shows the tummy size! Maybe one more right before he's born. . .

Neighborhood Picnic

Last night was our summer neighborhood picnic. It's amazing how much anxiety I have before going to things like this and they always turn out to be so fun. Even with all the "Did you steal the watermelon and put it under your shirt?" jokes. That's so funny and so clever. 3/4 of the families showed up and brought lots of yummy food. We have several new families that are so great! People ate and talked and stayed almost 3 hours while the kids played in the open grass area and jumped scooters over at the Rouskas. (It's amazing the amount of hours of entertainment that a few boards can provide.) The little kids were up in the playhouse at dark telling stories and laughing--Carter had his blanket for further effect. Nick ended up having a sleepover on the neighbors tramp--Five 13 year-old boys having a sleepover outside--I'm sure that went well. . .

It was also my mom's 68th B-day--I failed to plan ahead with a fun gift but I'll make it up to her. I called her a couple of times and got a hold of her late--she'd been to "Mama Mia" and loved it. I really want to see that. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mom!

Mallory is Home, CLEAN garage & food storage muffins!

OK, highlight of the day is that Mallory is home! I missed her dearly. She had a wonderful time. This was her first trip away from everyone in the family for that long. The Branoms said she was perfectly behaved and loved having her--very polite and she and Kiley never got in a fight. I think they spoiled her--she came home with all the money she left with.

Michael cleaned the garage! Yeah! Lowe's is awesome--he got some great shelving and bike racks and hanging thingys for tools.

Face on Nick--he ate applesauce muffins with wheat flour and pureed pinto beans in them! And he loved them! Please don't tell. Ok, I'm out of control with the food storage experimentation. Stop me!

Food Storage

Ok, so I'm on a little kick with food storage. I'm trying to organize what we have, what we need (we had a year supply before Carter so we need to update for two people), and what we need to use. So of course in that process I'm reminded to use wheat and beans etc. and have some recipes. This morning I made cracked wheat cereal--Michael and I loved it, Carter liked it, and Nick thought of every excuse why he couldn't eat it all: "The wheat pieces are getting stuck in my braces", "my stomach is hurting." (he used that one because he knows that high fiber foods can give you some intestinal discomfort if you are not used to it--yeah, in several hours from the time you eat it, not immediately! But good try.) Nick, just shut-up and eat it. And no, I did not actually say shut-up to my kid, so you can cancel any comments you were going to send.

Carter's First Sleepover

Carter went with Caleb Hunt to the rec center tonight. He called from there to ask if he could sleepover at Caleb's house after swimming. I paused and then said yes. His response was a noise I have not yet heard from him--it sounded like he was crying (Had he mis-understood me and thought I said no?) Anway, he was telling Caleb that he could in a voice that was, I guess, overwhelmed. Carter's reactions are halarious--complete emotion. When Heidi came by to get his stuff, I told her that we need her to sign a disclaimer--take Carter home overnight at your own risk! Just kidding--I just don't know how he will do! I'll post a photo if she takes one. . .

Update on "Dark Knight"

Interesting. . .Tonight on the news, they had a little segment about this movie and psycologists from Primary Children's strongly advised for children under 14 or 15 not to see this movie and why. The type of violence and how children feel afterwards I guess is just over the top. Thanks news for your support. I've never seen a news segment that chooses a specific movie to review like this.

Summer Re-Cap

I'm feeling kind of bad that we haven't done as many fun things this summer. I'm the one that's kind of holding that back. I forgot that pregnancy during summer not only is hot, but you give up lots of fun stuff. It about killed me to turn down boating with Scott and Tracie last Friday. I think I'm also getting depressed from not being able to excercise like I'm used to. But, we have done some fun stuff, so I thought I would re-cap the summer so far:

First of all, we finished out baseball and softball. Mallory played on a team that Michael & Rob Caldwell coached. It was a fun season--a great learning experience. Mallory's first year was a bad experience for her so she skipped a year, then tried again--much better. She gets very upset when she makes mistakes, so the emotional part was the hardest, but she did love it this time. Their team did pretty well but improved overall during the season.

Carter played baseball for the first time and really enjoyed it. It was pretty halarious to watch all the boys, including Carter, try to make plays in the outfield. But also play around! Their attention is pretty limited at that age, but it was fun to see the progress through the season. As you can see, in this particular game, it was very hot. Carter dramatically displays this with his last picture:

Nick played on his own team and umpired for the last four weeks of the season. Watching him be confident and having to deal with angry coaches with maturity made me step back and take a moment to realize he is growing into a young man. He played first base all season (twice catcher--the only time I brought my camera) on his own team--he thought they were going to be terrible at the beginning of the season and they ended up taking 1st or 2nd (depending on who you ask)

The new rec center has been a nice addition to our lives. The kids have wanted to go almost every day that they could--swimming, rock wall climbing and basketball for Nick. Nick rode his bike down there many times to play and practice.

We went camping with Scott and Tracie Peterson to Spirit Lake, which is a beautiful place high in the Uintahs. But the mosquitos ruined it! (Carter's swollen eye is from a mosquito bite on his eyelid!) I'm not going to pretend that it was fun because I was miserable. The kids and Michael managed some fun with fishing and 4-wheelers, but I was a loser and stayed in the cabin most of the time to escape the swarming mosquitos. They were a constant problem 24 hours a day. I would love to go back there another year in August when the mosquitos are gone. Other photos: Michael in his fishing vest, Michael with his fish, 4-wheelers!, the beautiful scenery, treasure hunt, the loot!, "fire works" (as close as you can get in the mountains) Cute cousins, Carter with his sickening spider (this is an example of Mom going way out of her comfort zone to be a good sport), paddle boats.










Last weekend, we went to Orem for a Peterson Family Reunion. Everyone (but me) went on a walk together up Provo Canyon, then had lunch together at Chuck-a-Rama. Then to Mary Lou's for a program about Donl and some distant family members that had a run-in with pirates. It was a great day. Our kids played non-stop with Scott and Tracie's kids, since we did stay at their house.

Nick got to spend a few days with his cousin, Bruce, in Draper. Me and the kids drove out later and spent a couple of days with my parents and then back to Draper with Bruce and Aimee. We got to see their new cabin in Heber Valley, went to IKEA, hung out on their deck and hot-tub and had a BBQ. I got to spend a lot of time with Bruce, talking and laughing. His little girls are so cute--Mila came up with some halarious observations like, "You will put food in the baby if you put food in your throat!" And, pointing to my stomach, "that baby looks like one big tummy ache!"

Well, that's about it so far. Oh, and scout camp for Nick and Lagoon for Mallory. Oh, and the kids have read quite a bit--Mallory has read two huge chapter books this summer--that is huge for her. (NOT her choice, I might add!)

The Dark Knight

Batman, the Dark Knight, has been a movie we have all been waiting for, especially Carter. After several people have seen it and commented on how dark and disturbing it was, we decided we better not see it. Michael has a friend at work who's pretty laxed about movie watching for his kids and even he said he regretted taking his 10 year old son. Anyway, we broke the news to Carter--he sobbed on the couch and then said, "the only reason I wake up in the morning is knowing I get to see the Dark Knight!" He cried for a while longer and then said, "The movie makers are so stupid! Super hero movies are for kids!" I feel so bad about it. I'm about to cave in. I've just heard that the violence is so over the top and an 8 year old little boy does not need to see that. Michael and Nick have agreed not to see it either since Carter can't. . .

First Ever Blog

I'm going to try this for awhile. I've heard it's a great way to keep a journal and organize photos. My biggest fear is that it will be boring! Oh well, at least we have a record being kept of some sort. I don't know why it's taken 16 years to finally keep a journal of my family and kids. I think that this method may work for me--the motivation being that I'll get to read some of my friend's blogs, then once I start typing my own, I think I'll finish. Hopefully.

Today is July 24th--normally a day we would go to the Vernal parade and do something fun, but I can't stand the heat being this pregnant and Nick hurt his back yesterday. Motrin is a great thing, but he's not really up for it. Michael hates (ok maybe not hates, but would NEVER initiate) parades anyway so he is happy. I think he'll go fishing later.

Mallory is at Lagoon with a friend--camping for 3 days with their family and another family. She called this morning to tell me she misses me--that means a lot, coming from her. She's not the most expressive child. I'm so happy for her that she gets to do something like this. This summer she's watched Nick do stuff she's never done like go to scout camp or staying for a few days at his cousin's, so it's finally her turn. But I miss her. I missed her when she left the house with her backpack & pillow, riding her ripstick to her friend's house.

I think I'll crochet and read now--maybe plan a meal for later. Like I said, pretty boring.

Carter's 8th Birthday

Carter's 8th Birthday is on a Sunday! And to top it off, a fast Sunday! He was pretty disappointed until he found out that Papa, Grandma Lynne and Great Grandma "Tutu" were coming!

He woke up with the biggest smile and best mood. We looked at his baby scrapbook and talked about whether or not he was ready to start fasting. (8 is when we've started that with our kids.) Since our meetings don't start until 1pm, it was going to be pretty hard but he was willing to wait until noon and have 1 piece of bread only. Although he kept asking every 15 minutes "How much longer until noon?" he still had a great attitude.

He got a new shirt and looked dang handsome it! Here is a photo as we are ready to leave. By the way, we are waiting to have him baptized in Novemeber on the same day as the baby blessing.

Carter and Tutu looking nice before church.

The afternoon they arrived, (Saturday, July 5th)we sat and visited on the couch as Grandma Lynne prepared dinner. Tutu giving her undivided attention to Carter as she looked at every drawing and story from the first grade. He went in his 1st grade folder and brought out pretty much the whole thing. She seriously looked at each one and either commented or giggled. He was thrilled to have someone interested.

Giving Papa a goodnight hug. After this, he kept coming downstairs and telling us that he's just too excited to sleep and that his eyes just won't shut!

Carter loves to make people happy. He found a way by being a backscratcher. He started that with Michael because Michael was willing to pay. But for his grandmas, he insisted that it was free. Here is Grandma Lynne, (on the couch so Tutu could have the bed) going to sleep with Carter scratching her back.

Here he is with Tutu--she's hooked up to her oxygen machine and he's in there with a back scratcher up her shirt. He was scratching a little too hard but she was trying to sweet by saying, "Oh Carter, that felt so good! That was great, thank you." He wasn't catching the hint--he said, "Oh, no--I've BARELY started! And this is free!" Finally, I had to kindly end the session.

Finally! After church and a yummy dinner, the presents: a super soaker,

Then a pocket knife from Mallory

Very appreciated! Carter is famous for his enthusiastic reactions to surprises and presents.

Mallory helping Carter read the card from Tutu

Then a card and $20 from Grandma Peterson!

Iron Man action figure from Nick

Appreciated once again!

Another card with cash from Grandma Lynne

A box of gold dollars from Papa

And finally, the Ripstik! And in green--he didn't even know it came in that color. No more having to borrow Nick's and Mallory's.

Extremely happy!

He has to try it out right now and in the house

All three on the ripstiks

When I asked Carter what cake he would like, without hesitation, he said carrot cake. Thanks, Carter, for choosing the most time consuming cake in existence!

Stealing a kiss from the birthday boy

Saying Goodbye Monday Morning--the kids sat on the porch and pouted as they were driving off. . .