Thursday, July 29, 2010
Junior Entomologists
The girls have been collecting bugs ever since Ben made his collection last year. Getting the jar full of bugs out of my freezer was at the top of my to-do list this summer and we finally crossed it off last week. I have to say that the biology teacher in me thought it was pretty fun to see the kids get so excited about finding new bugs. We even pulled out my old field guide so they could look up the ones they didn’t already know. It was a great little science project . . . but hurray for the return of a bug-free freezer!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Boating Party Redo
After our less than stellar boating day with my friends, we were excited to try again. We went out on Thursday and the weather was perfect. Phew! I had fun chatting with Hilary and Cyd, and I loved that I got a chance to get to know their kids’ personalities a little better. There are some quality kids in the second generation crew. We had a great time. As we were leaving Ben said, “The only thing that wasn’t better than last time was that Kaylynn’s family wasn’t here.” We’ll have to try to coordinate next year’s boating party with their Utah visit.
I was a slacker and didn’t take any pictures on the beach, but Nate got some good ones from the boat.
Ben loved having so many boys his age to play with and Emily got along great with Jenna.
The older kids all tried skiing and kneeboarding. The back strap on the skis broke on Jenna’s last try making it pretty tricky to get up, but she gets an A for effort.
Elise wanted to try skiing. Nate helped her get the skis on, but she changed her mind by the time he got back in the boat. We’re taking this one little step at a time.
Korinne was not excited about being on the boat and even less excited about riding on the tube. She was not afraid to let us know when she was done.
Adam drove the boat so Nate could ski for a minute. I was happy to finally get a picture where he was actually in the frame.
Abby tried out a new sleeping position this trip. It amazes me that she is able to sleep like that for long stretches of time.
Ben, Emily and I swam out to one of the buoys. Ben had already done it twice with Nicolas and Alexander and wanted us to try it. I love that the kids are getting old enough to do fun stuff like that.
I was a slacker and didn’t take any pictures on the beach, but Nate got some good ones from the boat.
Ben loved having so many boys his age to play with and Emily got along great with Jenna.
The older kids all tried skiing and kneeboarding. The back strap on the skis broke on Jenna’s last try making it pretty tricky to get up, but she gets an A for effort.
Elise wanted to try skiing. Nate helped her get the skis on, but she changed her mind by the time he got back in the boat. We’re taking this one little step at a time.
Korinne was not excited about being on the boat and even less excited about riding on the tube. She was not afraid to let us know when she was done.
Adam drove the boat so Nate could ski for a minute. I was happy to finally get a picture where he was actually in the frame.
Abby tried out a new sleeping position this trip. It amazes me that she is able to sleep like that for long stretches of time.
Ben, Emily and I swam out to one of the buoys. Ben had already done it twice with Nicolas and Alexander and wanted us to try it. I love that the kids are getting old enough to do fun stuff like that.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Brigham City Pool
We took the kids swimming at the Brigham City Pool on Monday. We have a pool in our town, but they have lame rules. It is worth it for us to drive an extra 20 minutes (right past the pool we pay taxes for) to get to a pool that is lots more family friendly. It was the first time we have been to the pool this summer and we all had a great time. Abby wore her little floatie tube swimsuit and loved swimming around all by herself. Any time I would try to help her along, she would look at me and say “Mom, I don’t need you!” The older three spent lots of time jumping off the diving boards. Elise and Emily were pretty cute with their synchronized, doublemint twin jumps. The slide was the big hit of the day. The girls aren’t tall enough to go down the slide at our pool, so this was their first real chance. They loved it. Abby was a little afraid to try it, but once she did she was hooked. As soon as we got to the bottom she would say, “I want to do it again!”
When we got there I realized that I had forgotten the camera. We took a few pictures with Nate’s phone. The quality stinks, but they’re better than nothing.
I have no idea who this girl is. She just came over to where we were sitting, pushed most of my towel off the chair (her elbow is still on it), adjusted the back of the chair and laid out for a while. The crazy part is that there were a couple of empty chairs about 4 feet away. People are funny.
When we got there I realized that I had forgotten the camera. We took a few pictures with Nate’s phone. The quality stinks, but they’re better than nothing.
I have no idea who this girl is. She just came over to where we were sitting, pushed most of my towel off the chair (her elbow is still on it), adjusted the back of the chair and laid out for a while. The crazy part is that there were a couple of empty chairs about 4 feet away. People are funny.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Boating Adventures
We’ve taken the boat out a few times in the last couple of weeks. The weather is finally starting to cooperate to make for some fun boating days (after the freak wind storm a few weeks ago . . . think opening scene of Gilligan’s Island). The kids have been trying out new things with varying levels of enthusiasm. Ben and Elise both got bounced off the tube last week and it seems to have made them both a little gun-shy about getting out there again.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day. The water is finally getting warm (74 degrees according to our handy floating thermometer), there was no wind, and it was sunny and hot. We figured we would take advantage of the perfect conditions to let the kids try skiing. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Ben finally agreed to give it try. He got right up on the trainer skis but decided he was done five seconds later and basically just sat down and let go of the rope. He went on and on about how horrible it was and how much he hated it (then, on the way home he said three times, “Skiing is AWESOME. I loved it!” . . . some days that boy makes my head hurt). Once Ben was done with his dramatic attempt, Emily wanted to try it out. She popped right out of the water and did great. The look on her face was priceless. I don’t think she really thought she would be able to do it. When she got back on the boat, she said “that was so much fun that I just couldn’t stop laughing!” I’ve been shocked by how daring she has become. It’s not really in character for her to be so fearless, but it’s been fun to watch.
My goal for the year is to learn to slalom. So far it isn’t going really well. Elise said last night, “Mom, remember when you were trying to drop a ski and then you dropped both skis?” That translates to, “Remember when you were trying to drop a ski and then wiped-out so badly that the other ski flew off and ended up 100 feet away from you?” I’ll keep at it as long as this old body can take it, but I am sure sore today.
Here are some pictures from our last few trips out to the bay:
We found a tiny little beach with perfect skipping rocks, so Nate gave the kids some rock-skipping lessons.
The kids were hesitant to try skiing out in the open water, so Nate was a work horse and helped them practice in shallow water.
Abby slept through all of our beach fun.
Here’s a picture of Nate skiing. I have yet to master the art of taking pictures and driving the boat simultaneously. :)
The kids were getting pretty brave on the tube until one slightly too sharp turn knocked Elise off. She was completely freaked out. After that they insisted on the “mom’s a human seatbelt” technique.
Here’s Emily showing off her new skills. (It’s Abby squealing in the video, not Emily.) Ben’s run was too short-lived to get a picture. We’ll try next time.
These damselflies are all over this year. We love them because they seem to be eating all of the annoying little gnats that are usually out there. We also love that they make a cute little heart shape when they are mating.
Abby almost made it through the whole day without falling asleep on the boat. Almost.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day. The water is finally getting warm (74 degrees according to our handy floating thermometer), there was no wind, and it was sunny and hot. We figured we would take advantage of the perfect conditions to let the kids try skiing. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Ben finally agreed to give it try. He got right up on the trainer skis but decided he was done five seconds later and basically just sat down and let go of the rope. He went on and on about how horrible it was and how much he hated it (then, on the way home he said three times, “Skiing is AWESOME. I loved it!” . . . some days that boy makes my head hurt). Once Ben was done with his dramatic attempt, Emily wanted to try it out. She popped right out of the water and did great. The look on her face was priceless. I don’t think she really thought she would be able to do it. When she got back on the boat, she said “that was so much fun that I just couldn’t stop laughing!” I’ve been shocked by how daring she has become. It’s not really in character for her to be so fearless, but it’s been fun to watch.
My goal for the year is to learn to slalom. So far it isn’t going really well. Elise said last night, “Mom, remember when you were trying to drop a ski and then you dropped both skis?” That translates to, “Remember when you were trying to drop a ski and then wiped-out so badly that the other ski flew off and ended up 100 feet away from you?” I’ll keep at it as long as this old body can take it, but I am sure sore today.
Here are some pictures from our last few trips out to the bay:
We found a tiny little beach with perfect skipping rocks, so Nate gave the kids some rock-skipping lessons.
The kids were hesitant to try skiing out in the open water, so Nate was a work horse and helped them practice in shallow water.
Abby slept through all of our beach fun.
Here’s a picture of Nate skiing. I have yet to master the art of taking pictures and driving the boat simultaneously. :)
The kids were getting pretty brave on the tube until one slightly too sharp turn knocked Elise off. She was completely freaked out. After that they insisted on the “mom’s a human seatbelt” technique.
Here’s Emily showing off her new skills. (It’s Abby squealing in the video, not Emily.) Ben’s run was too short-lived to get a picture. We’ll try next time.
These damselflies are all over this year. We love them because they seem to be eating all of the annoying little gnats that are usually out there. We also love that they make a cute little heart shape when they are mating.
Abby almost made it through the whole day without falling asleep on the boat. Almost.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Camping
We took the kids camping last weekend. I was so excited to cross off all of the baby items on our camping checklist . . . no more playpen, booster seat, diapers, stroller, etc. Camping with older kids requires lots less stuff. Unfortunately, it comes with lots more complaining, and fighting, and opinions. :) To be fair, they were really pretty good most of the time. We hated the abnormally excessive number of mosquitoes and Nate and I froze the first night, but other than that we had a great trip. We didn’t even get rained on (rain seems to be our camping curse).
Most of Friday was spent on the river. Ben and Emily both loved tubing. Elise oscillated between thinking it was great fun and HATING it. Abby sat out the first few rides, but once she started she was hooked. On the last run of the day, she and Emily fell off the tube. It was pretty traumatic for her. Emily was a good sister and held on tight to her until Nate could get them both back on the tube. Tubing with kids causes me lots of anxiety. I’m glad that Nate can manage all four of them at once, so I can just jog along the shoreline and take pictures as they pass by.
When we were driving around looking for a campsite, we were talking about all of the ones we had stayed in . . . the “raccoon campsite” where a raccoon stole the serving spoon out of our peach cobbler, the “moose campsite” where a moose walked right through our camp, the “cousin campsite” where we stayed last year, etc. As we were leaving, Ben said we should call this one the squirrel campsite. The little guys were all over the place. (You would think we could have gotten a non-blurry picture.) We had fun watching them eat grapes and part of the chocolate bar from Abby’s s’more.
The girls were inseparable the whole time we were there. It was fun to watch them play together with their imaginations in full swing. They loved playing in the little “secret hideout” that led into our campsite.
Ben was (of course) all about the firewood. He spent most of his time hunting down wood and sawing it into pieces. He was mad when we would make him stop to do lame things like eat or play a card game.
My number one camping skills are building fires and making perfect marshmallows. I spent some time on this trip passing on those skills to the kiddos. I still toasted Abby’s marshmallows for her, but the other three are as good as I am now. Everyone took a turn building their own fire. Ben took three turns. We’re going to have some quality fire builders in this family.
Most of Friday was spent on the river. Ben and Emily both loved tubing. Elise oscillated between thinking it was great fun and HATING it. Abby sat out the first few rides, but once she started she was hooked. On the last run of the day, she and Emily fell off the tube. It was pretty traumatic for her. Emily was a good sister and held on tight to her until Nate could get them both back on the tube. Tubing with kids causes me lots of anxiety. I’m glad that Nate can manage all four of them at once, so I can just jog along the shoreline and take pictures as they pass by.
When we were driving around looking for a campsite, we were talking about all of the ones we had stayed in . . . the “raccoon campsite” where a raccoon stole the serving spoon out of our peach cobbler, the “moose campsite” where a moose walked right through our camp, the “cousin campsite” where we stayed last year, etc. As we were leaving, Ben said we should call this one the squirrel campsite. The little guys were all over the place. (You would think we could have gotten a non-blurry picture.) We had fun watching them eat grapes and part of the chocolate bar from Abby’s s’more.
The girls were inseparable the whole time we were there. It was fun to watch them play together with their imaginations in full swing. They loved playing in the little “secret hideout” that led into our campsite.
Ben was (of course) all about the firewood. He spent most of his time hunting down wood and sawing it into pieces. He was mad when we would make him stop to do lame things like eat or play a card game.
My number one camping skills are building fires and making perfect marshmallows. I spent some time on this trip passing on those skills to the kiddos. I still toasted Abby’s marshmallows for her, but the other three are as good as I am now. Everyone took a turn building their own fire. Ben took three turns. We’re going to have some quality fire builders in this family.
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