Visited by Pennsylvanians

Our million projects got cut down to a million minus 20 this week. We fixed up the front flower bed, dragged the kids through Home Depot and decided on some new flowers to put there, cleaned out the garage, Gary patched and painted all over the house, I steam cleaned the carpet and fixed the curtains . . . all on the list for a while, but people coming to our house meant GO. Always nice to knock down that list.

BUT, nicer to have our family from Pennsylvania come! Kids were so excited, parents, too. Violet immediately bonded with "The Lissy," and the boys were pumped to have more participants for kickball, football, trampoline-jumping, and every other thing they do. Actually, they really love Madeline's CF treatments, because they get read to for a long time. Bonus. Dave was awesome enough to watch all 6 kids while Sarah and I went to Utah county to get our hair cut and go wedding-outfit shopping. What an amazing thing, just talking to my Sarah all day.

Having Dave and Sarah over was fun, and then to add to it, my dad flew into town and met us at Iggy's in Salt Lake. Hooray, my dad, what fun we had! Kristen and Dylan came to pick him up, and enjoy a little dinner. Dylan discovered that kissing Lissy over and over is a wonderful activity, and squealed and did it again and again until Kristen pulled him away. She just sat there and took it, wet head and all. Afterward I ran around the mega-sales at City Creek looking for an outfit for my sister's wedding, and when everything was closing I finally bought something in desperation. Drama happened when the receipt fell into the actual City Creek. Gary is my hero for saving it. Pictures from the week are random, but that doesn't affect the cuteness.

Somebody has decided she's good at helping me cook.

These two not only look alike, but are the two most interested in helping me in the kitchen - coincidence?

Josh woke up too early for his level of exhaustion, and rather than go back to bed, he went out and laid on the trampoline until breakfast. At least he's having more fun than he would in his bed?

Violet and Lissy got right to playing dolls together. Lissy finally had a someone equally doll-minded!

My kids had all sorts of plans for when Madeline visited, one of which was to use the topping tornado. Madeline was on board - yes, she's eating sprinkles out of the tray.

This is how you know Lissy loves Violet - she gave Vi her unicorn to hold for a few seconds, which is huge for her. Also, Uncle Dave is the best.

After we sent Josh to bed on Sunday night, he came running downstairs, tooth in hand. He lost number five! Sadly, I guess the tooth fairy doesn't work on Sundays (I am awful at remembering), but on Monday she did drop by.

Have to give a shout-out to my visiting teachers, because they illustrated what visiting teaching is all about. I had a master plan for the day Sarah and Dave were to arrive - I had a health assessment in Salt Lake in the morning, so I thought I'd go, then take my kids to Seven Peaks for an hour to get them tired, then go home and clean until it was time to go to the airport. My visiting teachers had asked if they could visit me, and I thought I'd have everything accomplished, but warned them I may be folding towels when they got there. Well . . . we ended up meeting Cindy and Kristen and family at Seven Peaks, and having a really grand time. Also, taking a really long time. By the time I got home, it was waaay late. I didn't have time to change out of my swimsuit as I ran around crazily trying to get things cleaned up. When my visiting teachers came into my soggy-carpet swimsuit-wearing mess, they said, "What can I do?" In 20 minutes 3 rooms upstairs sparkled, and I was able to feel okay about the state of our house. What an amazing example those ladies are. They didn't blink, they didn't say nevermind, they just did it. Love them, hope to do that someday for someone.

Jedis on the Move, Mom Tries to Keep Up

This photo is just awesome, so it goes first. More later.

Andrew and Gary were eating lunch when Andrew said out of the blue, "Some people like hot tubs, but I want a warm tub."

He also told me this week, "When I'm big like Dad, I'm going to bake." I asked him what he would bake and he said, "Hot dogs, for you and dad. Also I'm going to drive."   The kid is just funny these days. His singing all the time is hilarious. Apparently yesterday he had the jingle for O'Reilley Autoparts in his head, because he went around all day singing, "O, O, O, O'Reilly . . ." 

Had an awesome trip to town on Monday - I had to get our fix-it ticket from Wendover cleared up, and needed to stop by Walmart on the way home. Lissy is a squirrel at the store, and waiting forever at the checkout line didn't help. Gave her a chance to toss a 2 pound yogurt at the floor. I had fun cleaning that up, and paying while trying to keep her from falling on her head, and just as I thought I was done, Josh and Noah gave the checker their money to buy some candy. I thought they had bills and quarters, but it turns out they gave her over 100 pennies as part of it. If the lady behind me had been armed, I would have been a goner.

Tuesday I had the fun of finding out  just how horrendously dry my eyes are at the ophthalmologist, and on Wednesday the ENT was amazed by how well my nose has healed. After the ENT we picked up some food and ate it with Gary on the lawn by the capitol. So perfect! I was remarking how awesome summer is - I could just sit and enjoy being there without being worried about getting back to something

The kids and I met Kristen and Cindy with their fams at Seven Peaks on Thursday. Dreams came true all around. We had a lot of fun, and Lissy and I got to bond with Dylan for the first time in a while. Cindy was a total pro at taking her 5 kids for a fun day, it's impressive. Uncle Shane wins the cool award for taking the kids on the slides.

Keaton is such an adorable little monkey!

Lissy and Dylan interacted for a while. Lissy wanted to feed him water and Dylan wanted to poke her eyes. It's going to be a great relationship.

Andrew got really tired after a few hours, and this was his relaxing spa-spot.

Relaxing is more fun with a cousin just your age.

I spent the entire time with a toddler who thinks she can swim.

We enjoyed ourselves at Apollo Burger afterwards. The kids were getting silly while waiting for the adults to finish, so I entertained them by taking funny photos of them. This one has all of the kids in it, from Lissy peeking at Tate on one end, to Keaton peaking out of his blankets on the other.

There was a whole series of pics, but this one struck me as especially amusing.

These guys requested this picture special - Beckett was way proud of himself.

On Friday we went to an activity at a really fun park about 15 min away, and the kids got to dig for dinosaur eggs in the sand, which they loved. Noah found around 15 before I told him there was a limit of 2. Other options were doing dinosaur crafts and listening to library ladies read books about dinosaurs. Josh thought the idea of doing something other than playing at the park was beyond ridiculous. You should have seen his face when I suggested we listen to a story, it was funny. That kid can go and go allll day. The others, too. When we got home from Seven Peaks they were all asleep or nearly asleep, and they wearily climbed out of the car and grabbed their scooters.

So, summer has now begun (surgeries and conferences don't count), and it's pretty great. Forget about the Noah-turned-psycho part, and we're good. Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you, so it's easy to forget. Hooray summer!

So, how self-centered is this update? Very. Gary stayed at work until 3 a.m. on Monday because he had a big presentation about federal funds. He rocked it, and hopefully by now has gotten some sleep. I think I forgot because it seems a while ago now.

Lissy is constantly asking me to put these on her.

Unrelated, but is our reality - our county cut mosquito abatement out of the budget this year and my kids look like they have chicken pox, no exaggeration. They itch like it, too. Also the flies are way worse than ever. Gary killed 45 on Father's Day, and today one flew into a newly opened jug of milk and drowned. Today I was thinking these are the plagues that are being sent to drive us out of the county. Frogs are next? If so, I'm not sticking around for the others.

Noah came downstairs with a blanket draped around himself in perfect Jedi-fashion on Saturday. He looked good, and the other boys were jealous, (Andrew's monkey blanket didn't have the same effect), so Gary got out the Halloween costumes from a few years ago. Instant hit. The boys wore them all day, while doing all activities. That explains the first photo on the post. I was laughing my head off when I saw him scooting down the street with his robe flowing behind. The kids were full-on Jedis for days after that. On Sunday the boys ran out of energy, and just laid on the couches for a half an hour talking about whether their next battle should be on the Death Star or the Millenium Falcon. Then, they had a friend over on Monday, and when I went to check on them, all of the boys were on the floor but Noah, who was choking them with the force.

I just wanted the scooting photos, but Josh preferred having an awesome one.

Andrew . . .

Kind of a more casual Jedi-scooter look.

The kids decided Andrew should also wear his outfit from Halloween long ago - he was only 12 months old when we made this for him! Ah well, he still rocks the shirt, and the light saber fit well on his pants.

Noah goes riding . . .

Why is this soooo amazing? I can't quit giggling. It's Noah, by the way.

Our Wet and Cheesy Block Party

12 bags of Cheetos + 5 new Super Soakers + a neighborhood full of little boys = dreams coming true. Our Party Pack from Houseparty came in the mail a few weeks before the neighborhood block party, and from that moment on, I had to constantly answer the questions, "Can we play with the new Super Soakers?" and "Can we have some Cheetos?" Every time I had to tell my boys about how they were for our party, and I promised I wouldn't use them before then . . . and they'd say, "Why did you even make that promise?" Somehow they made it through the torture to the big day, and it was a blast!

Gary and I had a lot going on the week before the party, and I wondered if we should have been having a barbeque, but it ended up to be perfect. We got our jobs done abnormally fast, and then we got to relax with the neighbors while the kids engaged in some very serious water battles and Cheetos consumption. There was one neighbor we don't get a chance to talk to often who kind of nervously appeared at our house with her daughters, claiming she came for the kids . . .and then she stayed all 3 hours and said she had an awesome time at the end. As we were packing up all of us said, "Why don't we do this more often?" Seriously!

Gearing up for the battle-to-come. Choose your weapon. . .

Let the Cheetos night begin - this wasn't even all of them.

Gary tends a mean grill.

Taking a break from water to get in a little hoops

Caught some people off guard with an eating shot

Let the battle begin!

Abram, Ben, and Christopher . . . it got pretty intense!

Josh isn't in too much of a rush to ham it up for the camera when he spotted me with it.

Nice strategy, Tyler.

Noah in mid-battle

Andrew LOVES the water guns.

Taking the battle to the trampoline

Lissy got a new friend from down the street - they had a great time toddling around  together.

(Most of) the crew

Whitney found the perfect spot to enjoy her own bag of Cheetos

Andrew fit perfectly in the spot, too

Thank you to Houseparty, Super Soaker, and Cheetos for bringing our neighborhood together - it was just what we needed. And the bonus for us is once you have a Super Soaker party, every day is a Super Soaker party . . . for real. Why do my kids ever wear anything but swimsuits?

From Desolation to Wrestle-Your-Father Day

We got home from our trip in 6 pieces, which is the proper amount for a family of 6, but not without stopping  to eat our packed lunch at the most amazing rest stop ever. Check it out. Turns out to be the gateway to the "40 Mile Desert," a notoriously horrific place for early settlers to travel.

I didn't crop the photo, because it's not of people, it's of desolation. Not pictured is heat, bugs, and dirtiness.

We all used the stinky port-a-potties, and dealt with the fact there are no sinks anywhere at this place.  When we were getting near time to leave, suddenly Josh yelled out, "Noah, I found water!" It was hilarious, like he was a thirsty desert-traveler. I told Josh, "Don't forget to prime the pump!"

We got home late on Monday night, and lucky us, Gary's brother Christian and family were in town. I didn't feel like cooking, fresh off a getting home late from a vacation and all, so instead we went to Heber and stayed up really late there. Ha! It was fun, though, how can we leave early when we're having a great time talking and laughing with people we rarely see? We can't. The pictures of kids on the trampoline with cousins are blurry, but they were having a blast!

Michael, Josh, Noah, Christian, and Jill

Noah, Andrew, Josh, Christian, Jill, Michael

Christian, Lissy, Gary - enjoying dessert and also brotherly bonding via comedian on TV.

No pictures of me, but if there were, I was handing out with Sara and Candacy, solving the world's problems and laughing about it.

Then a few days later was the surgery, then the conference - already talked about those elsewhere. What we have here is Noah being an awesome big brother. Lissy loves to play dolls, but my boys normally don't. I didn't teach them these gender roles, it just happened, so I think that says something. Anyway, sometimes one of them will do a great job of playing babies with her, and she is in heaven. The best is when all the boys said they would play dolls with Lissy, and how did they play? They gave the diolls showers with Super Soakers.

Our van is officially a sports vehicle, what with its spoiler and hubcaps. Andrew added in the missing pinstripe with a sharpie while I was talking with a friend. She had been awesome enough to watch them all day while I was at a conference, and they had a blast. Andrew apparently decided to add art time when I returned, and this scene goes all around the car, plus extra styling on the handles and back.

Poor Josh's eye was getting puffier and redder over the weekend, we even had him stay home from church because we thought he had pink eye. Borrowed antibiotic drops weren't helping, so we let him play with kids on Monday and I took him to the doctor right after dinner. A fun kid-date, all things considered. Turns out it was allergies. This kid has them something awful! So, we went to Walmart to get his prescription filled, and he picked out Father's Day cards - slightly irritating talking ones he was sure the dads in his life would love. I have to say it - he is adorable.

You can't really tell how awful his eye was in this picture, but I do like his pose  he decided was right.

Our neighbors let us know about Pastor Pete's Fun Kids' Sports camp, put on by a local church. My kid will play sports any day, and we thought it would  be a great way for us to interact with the community. Josh chose baseball camp and Noah chose soccer camp, and they really learned some stuff. Noah will show you his scissors, fundamentals . . . It's cute with the way he talks. So, all week long, from 6-9 p.m., wow. It concluded the last night with family night, where we got to watch some scrimmages and do a fun awards ceremony.

As part of the camp, they were collecting peanut butter and jelly for the food bank. The sports were competing against each other to see who could bring in the most. The day after he found out about the contest, Josh brought Gary a peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had made and said, "Here, Dad, this is to give for my sports camp." Such a sweetie. When Josh found out his donation wouldn't work, he begged me to get some real stuff. It was a hard week for us, with me going to the conference and post-op and all, so I didn't make it to the store until the last night. My donations got rushed into the count . . . and soccer won by a single jar of jelly! If it hadn't been for my kids' begging, Noah's team wouldn't have won. The kids were pumped because Noah got to bring home a little soccer ball for winning. Oh, and Noah's soccer coach was very impressed with him. I wish I would have seen it, I'm so glad he has something he can enjoy!

I had such a fun time talking with some of the people after the ceremony, I was very glad we came. I love the feeling of different churches coming together. Also, now my children are singing, "Give your heart to Jesus" to the tune of Hokey Pokey, so it's a win all around.

Noah's soccer group

Awards for participating, he's pretty pumped.

Josh's baseball group

Josh loved the whole thing!

Andrew and Lissy had a fantastic time dancing afterwards. Yes, it was a bit cute.

Noah got this ball for winning the pb and j contest - until he traded for the mini-soccer ball.

The week wrapped up with Father's Day. Our fathers live far away, so we stayed here to try our best to spoil Gary with cinnamon buns and hugs. I was trying to give him a break and not have him do anything, but being as he's an amazing dad, while I was cooking dinner he let the kids wrestle with him on the couch. It started out with just Andrew, but then they all joined in with various techniques. Andrew did the Kickboxing Kangaroo, then Noah performed the Tornado Ninja, then who knows . . . what a guy.

It all started pretty tame, with a mini-wrestle while Gary rested . . .

Then, on to this - does this say Happy Father's Day?

This one was especially awkward . . .

I like Gary's face here - he was actually not in pain at the time, but this also says "Happy Father's Day" to me.

And then the big one got in on it . . . phew. Maybe cooking was easier?