Last Day of School

Before they left in the morning, they had to stop and tell me what grade they'd be in next year (I am having a reeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy hard time comprehending how I all of a sudden have a 3rd, 2nd, and 1st grader on my hands!!!).


I got a kick out of these pictures on the way home.
Lily was ecstatic and ran home as fast as she could.

But Chloe was so melancholy.  She has so loved her wonderful teacher and class.  And her best buddy, Morgan, will have a different teacher next year.  And THIRD GRADE???  MOM!  I love second grade!  I don't want to be getting older!
She ended up having a good cry for a bit and then we moved on with life.  She's now looking forward to 3rd grade, but still apprehensive about growing up.  I am just fine with that.  She has a lot of time to be little still and I want her to enjoy it to its fullest.

It's been a really busy and wonderful summer so far.  June was insane.  I have pictures and individual posts for some of it, but not everything, so here's a snapshot of our calendar for that month:

Wednesdays were particularly crazy.  The boys did a little Pirate summer camp over at our awesome preschool.  The next week, the girls did a Sports summer camp at my dear friend Angie's.  She's opening a new preschool in the fall in Hyde Park and is amazing.  If you're interested in preschool with her, contact me.  I'll get you hooked up with her.
In addition to their camps, the girls did piano lessons, tennis, and baseball.  Brigham had tee ball to go with his camp.  It doesn't sound as crazy or look as crazy as it felt, but those mornings when we were racing from one thing to the next sure felt crazy!  But they were fun, too, and made us all excited to have a little slower July and August. 

I remember a few years ago when I really quite dreaded summer.  I would hear my friends with kdis in school talk about how excited they were for the break and how fast it went by.  Because I had so many little ones in such a short period of time, it turned out that I had one full calendar year from when Cannon was born to when Chloe started Kindergarten.  So for 5 years, I felt like I was a hamster in a wheel.  I know a lot of moms experience that.  No day was ever different - the weather just changed.  Summers dragged along as slowly as any other months and it was so hot that the kids didn't spend a ton of time outside anyway.
That was a depressing paragraph, but its point is that now here we are, just 3 years later, and I am one of those moms who just can't wait for summer vacation to start and those sweet kids to be all mine for a few months.  The time is flying by and we are loving most every second of it.  It's not all sunshine and roses, but I don't wish they were back in school yet.  Time just has this way of marching forward and the trick, I think, is to just try and enjoy whatever moment in time you happen to be in.  I made an effort at that when the kids were all so little - I really did - but I have to say, it doesn't take much effort to do it right now.  This phase of life is so perfect.  Everyone is small enough to have small problems.  They love me still and want to be with me.  They don't face many of the temptations that I know will come their way ever too shortly.  But they can make their own sandwiches if I'm not available.  They can help with chores.  They play together pretty darn amazingly.  We don't have to get to bed on time every single night - Cannon and Brigham still get up somewhat early even if they've been up late, but they're able to handle it better throughout the day.  Life is just becoming more flexible and it's a truly perfect phase of life.
So, of course, we're going to throw a newborn into the mix so that everything can change again!  Hahahahaha!  Yes, I do think Heaven is having a good laugh over that one!  But I am equally excited to see how little baby boy will meld into our new normal here and how we will have to change for him.  I do hope, however, that we don't have to find out for another several weeks.  I would love to have the rest of this summer to just play and enjoy our freedom!!

I won't ever tell a young mom with her hands as full as her heart that the time is going to fly by, because those earlier years didn't fly by for me.  But I will say that I don't know how we ever got here so quickly.  And that now that we're here, it is, magically, flying right past my eyes with nary a second to blink.  Life is great.  Marriage and children make it better!

Continuing the Fun

Cindy and her kids stayed the weekend with us after the reunion.  It was so fun and crazy to have ten kids running around for the weekend.  And I love every minute I get to spend with Cindy.

We had a lot of fun.  We ended up renting a bounce house from the same guy who got us the water slide.  It was fun, but the day was really hot and the kids spent a lot of time running in and out of the house.  The sheer amount of dishes, cooking, tidying, etc that is required by 10 children is staggering.  Especially 10 children between 2 and 12.  Ha!  It was awesome.
Oh, we also went to Cars 2 on Saturday afternoon, too.  That was a lot of fun.

On Sunday, we went out to Park Valley for my cousin's (Bill) baby Wade's blessing.  It was so so neat to revisit that wonderful place where I spent my early years of life.  It's a community that doesn't experience a tremendous amount of change, which makes it all the more magical.  We had a great time at church and a great, and huge, luncheon afterward.  There is nothing like coming from a large family!

Pictures:::

We lit sparklers on Friday night.  I think the looks on everyone's faces do a great job explaining how fun that was.  :)

We cooked hot dogs on the grill and roasted marshmallows for s'mores on Saturday night.  Yay!  Another night with fire and burns.  haha!  We had a great time and only came away with a few minor burns over the 2 days.

No pictures from Park Valley, but it was wonderful!  Thank you, Cindy, for sticking around.  It was so great!

Swim Lessons 2011

We took from Gin Manning again this summer and once again, the kids all learned a ton.  Cannon started this year and loves it all, including the diving board.  Brigham is starting to real swim.  The girls are rock stars.  They are so good.  Swim lessons take over our collective lives for a couple of weeks, but they sure are worth it!

Thanks, Miss Gin!

Shoveling Fam

This was while Stanton was on his absolutely incredible CAT skiing trip.  I wish I had some pictures of the event so I could blog them.  It was the most amazing powder he'd ever skiied, though, and something he'll probably end up doing every year.

Anyway, we got a big storm here in Cache Valley while he was gone and I was determined that we were going to shovel it ourselves.  Each of the kids had a small snow shovel and we got to work.  Chloe was having a slow morning that morning and (why is does it always seem so stupid in hindsight???) I seriously lost my temper with her.  Like, SERIOUSLY.  I was yelling and calling her names and being completely immature.  I figured no one could hear me (like that makes it any better) because there were a million snowblowers going outside when I walked in to yell at her.  I even left the door open.  Yeah, it seems that they all turned off right as I started yelling and pretty much our entire neighborhood heard me screaming my head off.  Our poor neighbor Riley must have wanted to disappear when I he saw me walk outside afterward.  I apologized to him and to Chloe.  I suck. 
Chloe finally got ready and came out, though, and we all shoveled for a couple of hours.  It ended up being really fun and we went to Angie's for breakfast afterward.  I'm sure glad my kids forgive me for my issues.  I'm a pretty crappy parent sometimes.

To her credit, Chloe did stay and finish to the very end, as did Lily.  The boys, however, were pretty done.  And this was pre-cast removal for Cannon, so notice the plastic baggie over the cast.  I'm sure his toes were getting pretty cold by the end....

So Much December

Wow...what a month December 2010 was.  There were moments when I thought I'd have to be committed to a mental institution...really.  But we made it through and it ended up being so great.
Just a brief glace at the calendar for record-keeping's sake....

Doesn't look like much, I guess, but it felt like much.  I had several parties at my house, which was so fun and so much work.  I truly appreciated having Heather come clean -- it relieved a lot of stress to not have to worry about bathrooms, etc. in the midst of the chaos.
I really like having parties at my house, I've decided.  I don't usually have them because I think they're going to be a lot of work, but the payoff is amazing.  I don't do anything really as far as decorations go (except just normal Christmas decorations, of course) so that takes some of the stress away.  Just having family and friends in my home makes my soul happy.  Christmas Eve was a treasure for me -- having my parents, Stanton's parents, and two of his siblings here was something I'll never forget.  It was joyous.

Anyway, December was insane.  We had so much regular life going on (the kids didn't get out of school until 2 days before Christmas) on top of the Christmas parties, etc.  It was overwhelming at times, but it ended up being a really special month.

A few events I want to remember, but didn't get pictures of:

After-temple Ice Cream Social (December 10th).  Craig Day called and asked me if we'd like to host the social at our house this month and even though I knew it was going to be a busy week and month, I had to say yes.  And I'm really glad I did.  We had about 20 couples at the house and there was a real feeling of friendship and closeness that was so enjoyable.  We moved the couches around, set up a ton of chairs, and everyone else brought the toppings.  It was delicious!  Again, having people in my home really made me happy.  It's cozy and just fun.  We are surrounded by amazing people.  I hope to host another get-together like this soon.

Our ward party (December 14th).  My dear friend Shaynna was in charge of the event and I got to help her plan it, decorate for it, and cook for it.  It was busy and fun.  I really enjoy spending time with my girlfriends and it was nice to see how happy it makes our ward family to be together for parties like that.  There was a great spirit there and a lot of excitement over the visit from Santa Claus!  The girls were thrilled (Stanton took the boys home early because they were tired and crazy).  Shaynna put a ton of effort into the party and it was a success.  I love our ward so much.  I don't know that I could ever leave this neighborhood.  I love it.

Dental Alliance Christmas Dinner (December 15th).  We have pretty much monthly dinner meetings with the dentists in the Valley.  It's a neat group of people.  I love getting to know the other folks in Stanton's profession and love that even though they're in competition with one another in theory, there's a true sense of camaraderie and concern for the dental health of the people in our area.  It's a neat group and the Christmas party is always really nice.


Dave & Erica Low's Christmas Party (December 17th).  This was a formal event at the Riverwoods here in town.  Dave and Erica were awesome hosts and the food was great.  What was super neat, though, was just the company.  Dave and Erica have collected some great friends and it was a treat to get to know so many of them.  We had a White Elephant gift exchange (with some super gifts, my favorite being the leopard print Snuggie we stole from someone).  They had a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with a twist.  Each of the men in attendance was given a part to read, along with a voice they were to read it in.  For example, Stanton was given one stanza of the poem to read in the vocal stylings of Mr. T.  There was also a Spaniard, romantic, chicken, nerd, Barack Obama, etc.  It was really fun.  Before he shared his Christmas message (along with fantastic singing from another of the guests), Dave went around the room and said something about each person in attendance.  What could have been something really corny ended up being just awesome.  It brought a spirit of friendship into the room that was just cool.  Dave is a great guy and we learned a lot from him from that experience.  Also, Erica is a dear friend that I don't spend nearly enough time with.  I admire her so much.  2010 has been a pretty rough year for her, but she's handled it with so much grace.  I just love her.  AND....she made her gown the day of the party....Rock Star.  Anyway, this is an event I will look forward to every year.  So great.

Allen Family Christmas Party (December 18th).  This party is so much fun.  It also happens to conflict with our Park Valley Rose Family Christmas Party every year and we've had to forgo that one (as it is extended family) for this one (as it is immediate family).  I miss the PV party a lot and wish we could be in two places at once.
Anyway, we had such a great time at the Allen's this year.  I love my in-laws...all of them.  What an incredible bunch of people.
We didn't even take our cameras to the party -- darn.  It was a lot of fun.  We ate pasta from Firehouse, along with other great food and a chocolate fountain (hello chocolate covered cinnamon bears).  We had an impromptu talent show where Chloe did a front handspring, Lily sang "All the Animals Down in Texas" and Brig and Cannon sang Jingle Bells.  The other cousins sang songs, read books, danced, and made us smile.  After the program, we watched our Christmas Movies.  We did The Friendly Beasts, Em's family and Jim's family did Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Ann's family did Mr. Finnegan's Giving Chest.  We're still waiting for Julie's family, but they get a tardy pass since they're in Singapore this Christmas.  I LOVE this movie tradition.  The kids so enjoy seeing themselves on TV and it's amazing to mark the passing of time in such a way.  I love our videos we've made.  They're a treasure.
After movies, we went upstairs and opened presents.  We haven't done a cousin exchange yet, but we do a sibling/couples exchange, which is fun.  Julie and Scott got us a Nativity set from Singapore (it hasn't arrived yet, but I'm so excited!).  We got Jim & Rachel a Blu-Ray player.  I love looking for those perfect gifts.
The kids all opened their presents from Dave and Judy, too.  Chloe got a new camera (a real one, digital and everything), Lily got a Toy Story Jessie doll, Brigham got Lincoln Logs, and Cannon got a Karate Chopping Buzz Lightyear, along with a Buzz Lightyear cartoon.  They were all so excited.
We got Dave & Judy (all 5 kids & spouses) a new Bosch, as well as a pocket-size projector for Dave.  It attaches to your iPod or computer and projects a great image on the screen.  Dave & Judy were nice and went in with us on both gifts.  They seemed excited about the things we got them.  Oh, and Jimmy made them their annual calendar with pics of each family.  Love that.
Always such a fun party and it's just awesome to see everyone getting older.  The cousins play so well and everyone loves being with one another.  We are so blessed.

Sacrament Meeting Christmas Program (December 19th).  Part of my calling as Ward Choir Director is to put together a Christmas Program for the Sunday before Christmas.  It's a huge undertaking, at least for me.  I feel a huge responsibility on my shoulders with it.  You hope it's filled with the Spirit,  things the children will enjoy, good music, not too long, insightful narration, not too flashy, doctrinally sound, etc, etc, etc....  It's an emotional stress for me.  I found it even more difficult this year for whatever reason.  As soon as it was over, I felt an enormous burden lifted from my shoulders.  And, I loved how it turned out.  We had angels singing with us, I swear.  And the narrators were perfect and the words really ended up coming together in the right way.  I really really really appreciate the choir members who come every week, put up with my lack of musical knowledge, and my hyper-active tendencies when I'm nervous.  They make it happen and I love them.  And since I'm almost certain my mom will ask me for a copy of the program, here's a link.
Keeping Christmas in Our Liveshttp://allenfamilyupdate.blogspot.com/2010/12/keeping-christmas-in-our-lives-2010.html

Tithing Settlement (December 19th).  Just love our Bishop and any chance we get to meet with him.  He's a great man and loves our children. I appreciate him very much.

Lily's Kindergarten Christmas Program (December 21st).  Pretty much a repeat of last year's with Chloe and a preview of next year's with Brigham, but darling all the same.  The boys were way hyper and a little naughty during the program, so I missed some of Lil's songs.  The ones I saw, though, were awesome.  Lily is so animated and music is definitely her thing.  She's a talented little person.  Love her.

Tangled with the kids (December 23rd).  Stanton had Thursday thru Sunday off work, so we took the kids to the matinee on Thursday.  It was a treat!!!  The kids LOVED the show and I have to admit that Stanton and I loved it just as much.  It was great to have a little outing as a family.


I think I have pictures of everything else, so they'll get their own updates.

So much December and so much happiness.

ABC Pediatric Dentistry Christmas Party

We went back to our roots this year and invited everyone to our home for our Christmas party.  The past few years we've done it at either a restaurant or a play.  I felt this year like I could handle it at home again and I really wanted our (Stanton's) employees to be in our home.  Don't you think there's something special about being in someone's home?  I do.  I love the family feeling and the intimacy of a home.

Anyway, we invited everyone to our home and I did the food.  Now, a few years ago when we did this the last time, I was a slacker and waited until the day of the party to prepare everything.  Yikes!  I learned my lesson and this year I made a schedule for myself.  Each day from Monday to Thursday, I prepared different parts of the meal.  On Monday I was a stress case.  By Thursday, I was feeling pretty good.  Things were still crazy for the couple of hours before the party, but I don't think there's any way to avoid that, no matter how you prepare.  Shout out to my amazing Kiki who came early and helped us get last minute things done, then tended the kids downstairs during the party -- including putting them to bed.  She's the absolute best.  Love that girl.

I want to remember the menu, so indulge me, please.

ABC Pediatric Dentistry

Christmas Party Menu

Appetizers:

Vegetable Tray

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

Club Crackers with Hot Artichoke Dip

Shrimp Tray w/ Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Fruit Tray

Main Course:

Roast Beef with Carmelized Shallots & Mushrooms

Smoked Turkey Breast

Twice Baked Potatoes

Green Beans with Almonds

Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

Lion House Rolls

Dessert:

Chocolate Cookies

Rice Krispies Treats

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

 
The food all turned out well.  The roast was not my highlight (someday that cattelman's daughter's blood is going to kick in and I'm going to cook a decent roast), but really, all the food was pretty darn tasty.  I didn't take many pictures due to the rush the last couple of hours, but here are the 3 I did manage to take.

Here are the employees and significant others who were there:

Every one of them is awesome.  We were missing Ilse & her husband, Ashley & Collin.  April & her husband had to leave early.

We had a white elephant gift exchange and it was the best one I've ever participated in.  Holy cow there were some hilarious gifts.  Some favorites were suppositories and a rubber glove, live goldfish, half-eaten chocolates, a used chapstick that had a $5 bill wrapped around the inside of the stick, a Team Jacob poster, and potted meat and Immodium AD.  We laughed.  A lot, as you can imagine.  It was awesome.

The night was so fun.  Stanton's staff is amazing.  We are really blessed to have each one of them working at the office.  The staff is such a huge component of the image of a dental practice and these girls just make ABC amazing.  Love 'em!

I felt like, as everyone left, the party was a success.  I hope they don't mind doing it at our house again.  They probably wouldn't dare say no, even though I would welcome their honesty.  Ha ha.  I have them cornered.  :)

This week was a really busy one.  On Wednesday night I hosted Card Club at my house, on Thursday  we had the office party at our house, on Friday we had our ward after-temple ice cream social at our home, and on Saturday we went to Blackfoot for my family party.  On top of that, I volunteered in Chloe's class, helped my friend with the program for our ward party, and wrote the Sacrament Meeting Christmas program for next Sunday, wrapped extended family presents, and made a little sense of the presents that have been arriving daily from the UPS, USPS, and FedEx drivers.  I think the biggest relief of stress came once that Sacrament Meeting program was written and approved.  Huge burden off my shoulders.
I love this time of year even though the busyness sometimes gets me a little frazzled.  This week we have our ward party on Tuesday, the First District Dental party on Wednesday, a formal Christmas party hosted by our friends the Lows on Friday, Stanton's family party on Saturday, and the Sacrament Meeting program on Sunday.  I think things will slow down a little after that.  Maybe.  But I'll be bummed when it does - almost certainly.

4th of July on the 6th

We promised the kids we'd do fireworks for Family Home Evening on the 5th.  It didn't happen.  Instead, we lit them the evening of the 6th and the kids had a ball.  Come to think of it, so did we.  One of the things I really love about my kids is their enjoyment of just about anything.  They have low expectations as far as fun is concerned....evidenced by the fact that they were completely thrilled that we did fireworks, even though it was $20 worth and in daylight.

 

The best conversation of the night came from Lily, who took to heart every word of warning we gave the kids about the dangers of fireworks.  

After the lecture, we proceeded to give each kid a sparkler to run around with.  As soon as we handed Cannon his, Lily yelled, "Cannon!!!  Keep it away from your body!"  I'm feeling like that is getting lost in translation, but it was hilarious in the moment.  And Cannon did great with his sparklers, although the look on his face expressed his agreement with Lily on the dangers of toddlers with fireworks.  He was content with one or two and watching the kids do the rest.

Swim Lessons

The kids take from an awesome instructor who is no nonsense and really gets results.  We've loved her.

This was Brig's first year and he did really well.  He's here and there in his love for/fear of the diving board, but on showoff day, he did pretty well. 

Gin moved Chloe and Lily up a level after their first class this session.  They are becoming great swimmers.  Lily doesn't love that the divider rope is off, as for her it sort of serves as a security blanket.  She's doing well, though, and overcoming that fear.  Fear notwithstanding, the girl can swim and swim well.

Chloe, on the other hand, can't get enough.  She's a total fish and loves being in the water.  I was shocked at how well she was swimming on showoff day.

Various Items

Just a little this and that to remember:

We tended Porter & Kamryn, my little twin nephew and niece, on Saturday.  It was delightful.  They are just barely 2, so a couple of months older than Cannon.  He really enjoyed their company and since being with them, now refuses to drink out of any cup with a lid.  He's doing a great job with it and well, it's nice to not wash as many sippy cups lately.

This week is a busy one.  We go straight from swim lessons in the morning to summer camp at preschool (the kids will be 10 minutes late with travel between the 2).  Then we have piano lessons and practice on top of that, as well as a weekend trip south for a family get together.  The next week is equally busy with swim lessons and a family reunion in Idaho on the agenda.  This summer is absolutely flying by and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  It's the first summer of my motherhood life that has seemed to go by quickly.  I'm definitely recognizing a shift to a new phase of life.  I think if I had the option of bottling my kids at a certain age or phase, this would be the one I chose.  At least right now.  I may change my mind when they move to yet another phase.  We're definitely loving life right now.

At this particular moment, Cannon is napping and Chloe, Lily, and Brigham are laying under the trampoline with a blanket, water bottles, and a basket of books.  Summertime....and the livin' is easy....

Last night at 2 am, I woke up from a terrible dream.  Our home had been broken into.  The thieves thought we were away, but we were just downstairs.  It ended rather humorously, as I ran upstairs and told the man to get out of my house.  He made it out with just 2 apples.  I saw that he wasn't alone in my backyard and I yelled to the others "You drop those apples NOW."  They did and ran away.  I was able to take the apples to the police where they lifted fingerprints from them and caught the bad guys.  In spite of the happy ending in my dream, I couldn't get back to sleep.  I had a gnawing feeling that we needed to lock all the windows.  Stanton, who has a very difficult time getting back to sleep if he's woken in the night, was so kind about my neurosis and got up with me.  We checked all the windows and discovered a few that were unlocked.  I was able to drift back to sleep pretty quickly after I knew everything was secure.  Stanton said he didn't have much trouble, either.

Finally, a funny conversation that I keep replaying in my mind.  Yesterday Chloe asked me to come talk to her while she used the bathroom.  She was asking pointed questions about the difference between girls and boys.  We have a policy in our house that we use the real words for body parts and explain them as appropriately as age allows.  So, Chloe and I had a conversation about the different parts that girls have compared to boys and how that's something that makes us different.  After the conversation ended (with the reminder that we should only talk to Mom and Dad about things like that, not our friends, etc.), Chloe had just one more question:
"Now, can you tell me again, We have a what from China?"
I literally laugh out loud every time I replay those words.  May she remain ever so innocent.

Cute Skiing Pictures

This is how far behind I am on the blog.  SKI season, people. 

Anyway, on the last Saturday of the season, we took the girls up for the Snoopy Carnival.  They do a 3 hour lesson with lunch and games and prizes, etc.  The girls loved it and I loved getting a one on one lesson from Stanton.  I made some huge improvements in those 3 hours.  I wonder how easy it will be for me to pick back up next year. 

Anyway, a few lift pics from the day.

Again with the cross-eyes.  I stand by its being funny, though.

Lily's doing it, too!  Oh, wait, that's still Chloe.

Stanton with the girls.  I rode single behind them.  We can all get off the lift without falling now.  Stanton is pretty proud of us.

Chloe Lately

Chloe's finally recovered from her post-vacation naughtiness (she has a hard time readjusting to normal life and it takes her....a WHILE), so I'm in the mood to post about her cuteness again.  :)

She hadn't done a puzzle in quite a long time, but decided to work on her 100 piece Littlest Pet Shop one finally.  She finished the whole thing by herself.

Ha Ha.  The girls think making cross-eyes is so funny.  Grandpa David likes to remind them that he was born cross-eyed and it's not so funny.  It is, though.

Her friend, Winston D., taped her favorite flower from his yard on our door with a cute little note.

She was a rat in her Kindergarten Opera (part of the Utah Festival Opera program).  These are from the dress rehearsal.  The actual performance was the day we left for Hawaii.  She felt bad about that for a moment, but then remembered she was going to Hawaii.  I particularly love her pink shirt and pink rainboots.

She's fantastic with Cannon and (mostly) patient with Brigham and Lily.

Oh, how she loves babies.

She had her dance recital recently.  I love that she chose her pink cowgirl boots to wear to the auditorium.

Just a side view.

And with her whole class.  Such a pretty little thing.  And as pretty on the inside as she is on the out.  Also, she loathes mascara, which I think is pretty rad for a 6 year old.

Chloe has become an excellent reader over the last few months.  There aren't many words she can't figure out.  I've had a bit of a rough time motivating her to read on her own, though, which concerned me for a while until I remembered that she's a kid and shouldn't ever feel pressure about things like that.

She finally told me the other day that she gets a headache when she reads and that's why she doesn't enjoy it.  I have an eye appointment for her on Monday, so we'll see if it's eyesight or if it's just not something she finds a lot of pleasure in yet.

Also, she has been making word search puzzles for us lately.  I love them!  She hides real words up and down and backwards and forwards in the puzzles and really loves making them!  It's things like that that make me realize I have zero need to stress about her reading on her own, for pleasure, right now.

I love Chloe's good phases.  I always love Chloe, but I don't always love the phases she passes through.  The good ones appear to be lasting a lot longer lately, while the tough ones are fading more quickly.  I love seeing her grow up and mature.  She's a good little girl and we sure love her.

If You Find a Girl's Camera...

You're bound to get a picture-vomiting post eventually.

Commence Regurgitation:

 We made cookies in November and actually gave them to neighbors.  Yikes.  It's a good thing we live in such an awesome neighborhood.
I love Lily sneaking sprinkles in the background of that second picture.

This is one of the kids' favorite games.  They really think they're lifting Daddy up. 

This might be the only time in the history of their relationship where Cannon is smiling when Lily is touching him.  Glad we got that one on film (or memory card, as the case may be).

So, that's it.  I guess there wasn't a whole lot of regurgitation to be had.  I suppose that makes sense, as the camera wasn't around for all those months it missed.

Finally, the world's longest kid video that really only Grandmas and parents can endure...although there are some pretty awesome moments of Lily dancing and Brigham singing, so, you know, it might be worth the watch...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

LOTOJA

They did it!!! Stanton, Don, Brian (W.), Jon, & Wayne (Leary) got their LOTOJA on! Stanton rode the first leg to Preston and led his little pelleton most of the way -- he averaged 21 mph!! Out of hundreds of riders, he came in 36th. Brian took the next leg (a huge elevation climb) and was amazing, Don did the next ride (even with the wrath of shiz fully in force -- thank goodness for Immodium AD) and was amazing, as always, and Jon and his dad, Wayne did the last two legs. All told, out of about 65 relay teams, their team came in 9th!!! They had a great day and didn't end up getting home until after 11. Stanton came home saying it was really fun and that he'd never want to do the race by himself. I'm very thankful for that, as the time he'd have to put into training would be insane.

This was Stanton's best ride yet -- he beat his best times by several minutes. It's so cool to 1. see the improvement he's made over the last year, and 2. see how real the adrenaline rush of being in a race is. It's really amazing what our bodies are capable of!

Way to go Stanton and team!!!

Swim Lessons

We got swim lessons in during the last week of the summer. The girls have really improved this year. Their teacher is fantastic: no nonsense, no messing around, and excellent results. We love her.

The girls especially loved the two days I was late picking them up. Gin let them swim in the pool while they waited. The next day, Lily asked if I would be late again and Chloe added that, "Yeah, will you be late because it gives us extra time to practice our swimming." I'm pretty sure Miss Gin wasn't as thrilled with my tardiness.

Clip of Lily actually(!) swimming and Chloe actually(!) doing a backstroke. It was really quite remarkable to see their abilities after a short 2 weeks. August 19th was the show off day.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pool Party at Trudy's!

To celebrate Brigham's 3 week post-op mark, we had a fun afternoon at Trudy's swimming our guts out. I love when you can just kill an afternoon doing such a fun, relaxing thing. Trudy had us over (okay, we invited ourselves) to play in their above ground pool. Angie H. and her boys came, too. I'm getting so sad because Angie and Rick move in just a few short weeks. It's been such a great friendship and I will miss them very much.
So, we partied like it was 1999 and played for over 3 hours in the pool. Trudy has the funnest pool -- it's wide, probably 6 ft. or more, yeah, definitely more, and only about 2 1/2 ft. deep. The kids love it so much because they can play and touch the bottom and run around or float or swim.
Nate & Joe were awesome and played with the kids the entire afternoon -- Jared ended up getting home from work, too, about a half hour before we left. I love them for being so great with the kids. It's beginning to freak me out, though, how grown up and buff they're getting. We've only lived here just a few short years, but they've gone from kids to serious hotties lately! They'll love that their old neighbor lady just said that, I'm sure.

So, pics for the day...
Most of the gang here...Lily, Trevor, Chloe, Ethan, Brigham

The girls loved splashing Nate.

Cannon wasn't thrilled about the pool at first, but warmed up to it after I got in with him. And I'm thinking I'm in serious need of a haircut -- got a little mullet mushroom thing going on here.

Oooh, she's just edible. She was in the pool probably 90% of the time. And she and Ethan seemed to have a blast playing together today.

Brigham was trying to throw grapes into Joe's mouth. He finally decided the most effective way was to get really close and hand it to him.
See what I mean? Joe! Trevor loved being jumped on the trampoline. Ethan and Lily loved watching the stunts.
And Nate! When did you guys get this old and cute?! The big tube was a huge hit. The kids loved being pushed from one side of the pool to the other in it. Chloe, however, did not love being pushed into the side of the trampoline by it.
Cannon & Joe -- Family Twins. They love each other.
That's Cannon laughing at Joe...and showing off his awesome belly.
We got to see Chalisa W. and her kids. Angie came over after work -- or AdamandAngie as she's now becoming known. Angie, congratulations!!!!

Trudy thought she was taking a picture of Chloe, but it was on the video mode. So, heeeeeere's Chloe!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Not counting the near drownings of Brigham (Hello! You just survived open heart surgery...You Will NOT Drown, do you hear me?????!!!) and Trevor, it was a perfect afternoon. Thanks for coming with, Ang. And Trudy and boys, THANK YOU!!!