The Deluge is Ending

After not posting on my blog for months and months, I finally sat down, had Michael put all the photos in one location, and went on a blog posting binge.  Over the course of a couple days I wrote 13 blog posts.  To make it look not so crazy, I scheduled only one or two to post per day.  I didn't want people to drown under the weight of my words. However, I'm pretty sure the people I email the blog to started groaning and ignoring the emails after day five.  I understand and I forgive you.  You didn't miss much.

Now the good times have come to an end.  By the time this post is made public (remember, I'm trying to schedule things here) my new school semester will have started.  While I am grateful to be finishing up my degree, it does sap all my free time and energy, most of my patience, a large portion of my good will, and all of my sanity.  The good news is, if the people at BYU-I do not change their mind, again, I only have a couple semesters left.  While I am not ready to celebrate, it helps me stay a little more sane to know there is an end, and will someday reach it.

In the meantime I will probably go back to doing the bare minimum, the children will be fed, they may sometimes have clean clothes, and I will make sure Grace and Sam do at least some school work everyday.  We have survived before and will survive again.  My blog will be lonely, though.  I will eventually be back, and maybe someday I'll even have a bachelors degree.  I bet that will make my posts super smart.

Closest Any of Us are Going to Get to the Gold!

My family is not athletic nor do we follow most sports.  That being said we have followed Kristin Armstrong in her athletic endeavors.  After she won her second gold medal in cycling, the YMCA hosted an event where kids could go on a bike ride with her.  Hundreds showed up, including Ethan and Michael, as Ethan was my only kid big enough to ride his own bike (it was eight years ago).  She was such a sincere and lovely person and we all kind of fell in love with her.

This year she won her third gold medal!  She also works at St. Luke's, and her and Michael have worked together briefly on a couple occasions.  Her department hosted a party in her honor and she brought in her medal for the celebration.  She graciously allowed Michael to take a photo of himself holding her medal.  I keep thinking we should try to let the kids meet her, but I think they would just hide behind me and be shy.  Sometimes we like to worship our heroes from a distance.

Also, I'm not sure why the medal looks silver in the picture.  Michael assures me it was definitely gold, at least as far as he could tell without biting it.

Libby's Birthday

Libby turned eleven!  Even though she still isn't tall enough to sit in the front seat of the van (which she finds grossly unfair) she is growing up fast.  School started and the next day she turned 11. She is the youngest kid in her sixth grade class and was pretty excited to make brownies to share with her them.  Even though I didn't help, she graciously let me have a sample, and I deemed them good.   I kind of miss cooking with her but I love that she can cook most things independently.  Tonight she even made dinner!  

This year all she really wanted for her birthday were boots and a camera.  Her aunt Amy bought her the boots, which she has worn pretty much daily since.

We found a good deal on a camera (I love Craigslist!) and Libby was well pleased.  With school starting back up she hasn't had much time to play with her camera, but she seems to love having her own. 

She is still really looking forward to being tall enough to sit in the front seat, though.

First Day of School

Ethan started junior high this year.  He was a little nervous even though he looked snazzy in his required uniform.  His first couple of days he came home pretty excited.  He might have seven new teachers but he also had a lot less rules.  He loves there are only three rules in the cafeteria and the school bus is quiet enough to do homework on.  Growing up does have its benefits.

Libby started sixth grade and was very excited to learn she had the same teacher she had the previous year.  She loves her class but still abhors riding a bus full of loud, misbehaving kids.

Libby, the Budding Photographer

Wallowa Lake: The Return

This was our second year camping at Wallowa Lake.  My semester at BYU-I didn't end until almost the end of July and we knew we would need a vacation, but it would have to be low-key.  Michael suggested Wallowa Lake and the kids and I whole-heartedly agreed.  The kids spent most of their time playing at the playground right behind our campsite.  They would come back to camp to eat and then dash back to play with their new friends.

We did drag them away from camp long enough to go on a hike into the Eagle Cap Wilderness area.  It was a pretty steep ascent that ended in some falls.  We did not make it to the falls.  The kids made it three miles up and could not go any farther.  I was super impressed their little legs made it that far.

We did see some awesome plants and the thimble berries and currants were ripe, so they stopped often for a little snack.  We even found a plant that looked exactly like a currant but the berries were almost black.  Although I guessed they were black currants, I didn't know for sure so we refrained from eating them.  We found out later that they were black currants.  Now we know.

These plants looked like a Dr. Seuss illustration.

We also saw a stoat.  It was adorable but I didn't manage to get a picture of it.

We also saw many, many deer.  One even tried to climb into our cargo trailer and eat our properly stored food.  The ranger hit it with what looked like a kids plastic baseball bat my kids labeled "The Orange Stick of Doom."

We also went on a rail ride excursion.  We pedaled six miles out over abandoned railroad tracks.  The pedaling was fun and easy, the scenery beautiful, even if the day was a little warm.

The six miles back were not as enjoyable.  It was a small but steady uphill slope all the way back.  The "tour guide" in back had a motorized bike cart.  He had to push some of the slower members of our group at times.  Ethan and Libby were behind Sam and I but in front of Michael and Grace, and greatly appreciated the helpful push.

Dog Sitting

We were dog sitting (the little brown dog, named Frodo) and the girls decided Frodo needed to sleep on the top bunk with them.  Sam felt left out, so they invited him to join them.  Our dog felt very left out.  Once everyone was in bed for the night, she climbed over Grace to secure her own spot.  Good thing we have sturdy bunk beds.

PS: The big brown and white dog in the foreground is ours and she is named Harley.  She is a seven year old springer spaniel and we adore her.  Pita got hit by a car early this spring and we had to make the hard decision to put her down.  A month or so later we adopted Harley and decided she was too old to rename.  She is incredibly sweet, a little protective, and loves to play fetch.  I couldn't ask for a better dog.

And Now Sam is Six

We seem to have a lot of summer birthdays and they always catch me a little off guard.  My baby turned six this year and I had to admit he no longer a baby.  I am not a young mom with a young family.  I'm older, grayer and my kids are much more independent.  And although the march of time makes me a little sad it's also incredibly awesome.

This little man is incredibly funny and energetic.  He reads very, very well.  It's almost scary how well he reads and how happily he will sit on the couch reading Captain Underpants and science books.  He also has a harder time listening and sitting still than any of my other kids, unless he is engrossed in a book.  I'm hoping to help him reach adulthood with a minimum of self-inflicted broken bones and with my house still standing.  I may have to choose one.

I cannot remember what cake he originally requested.  Probably something along the lines of apple cake with cucumber blackberry frosting and marshmallow filling.  After catering to his requests for the last few years, and Sam not even sampling his cake, I strongly suggested we make a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting.  He relented when I said we could draw a Spider-Man web on it.  He still didn't try his cake until two days later, but at least the rest of us enjoyed it.  He was sad there was only one leftover piece, "But Mom! I didn't know I was going to like it!"

His Aunt Amy got him a TMNT card that hollered something about pizza every time it was opened.  Sam was endlessly entertained.  It was mysteriously lost about three days later.

His aunt also bought him a sturdy cast-iron piggy bank online.  This is what came!  The poor disfigured creature was shipped back after everyone had a good laugh at his expense.

Independence Day in Boise

The kids were so excited we were going to be in Boise for the Independence Day this year.  We had been out of town for at least the last two years.  All they could talk about was going downtown to see the parade.  We got there a little late, but still managed to find a shady spot to wait for the parade to start.

There was some boredom while we waited.  We also had enough time to read two chapters from Elijah of Buxton.  If you're reading this, you should read that book!

Finally, the parade began!  And it was not everything the kids remembered.  It seemed a lot longer, with less interesting floats, and there was hardly any candy.  They each managed to get about three pieces during the entire parade.

Finally, though, the best part came.  The fire trucks!  The fire trucks follow a simple rule.  If you squirt them with water they will squirt you back.  Alas, we did not bring water guns.  We did have water bottles, though.

 Here is Sam all poised to throw water on the firefighters.

 Here are the firefighters retaliating.

Here is Sam crying in deep, soaked despair.  The big kids loved it.  Grace had hidden herself away so she would not get sprayed.

We went to Winco and got popsicles to make up for the lack of candy goodness at the parade.

We also did fireworks in our alley, instead of going to the big display down the hill. Ethan even bought himself a few fireworks was thrilled to light them off.  Michael bought some fancy plastic goggle things which enhance your firework watching experience, which I think was the highlight of the holiday for his dad.  There are no pictures, but it was lovely. 

Bling!

The Boise Bicycle Project hosted a bike-a-thon during the month of May to help raise money for their Raise the Roof campaign.  My kids solicited donations from around the neighborhood and from their (very generous) family and friends.  Then for the entire month of May they tracked their miles biked.  They asked to bike to their grandparents, offered to bike to the store, and biked to school almost every day.  They were bike-riding fools.  By the end of the month Ethan and Libby had almost 150 miles each and Grace had only about ten less.

The BBP hosted a BBQ and party at the beginning of June.  We biked (of course) down to the park to join the festivities.  After a delicious and nutritiously void supper the festivities kicked into high gear.  All the kids who participated received a bag of prizes including a bike bell, a bike lock, and numerous stickers and patches. We were all well satisfied with our delightful prizes.  Then they announced the riders who had the most miles.  Grace came in third place and received a membership to the BBP.  Libby took second place and got a membership and a day pass to the zoo.  Ethan took first place and won a membership to BBP and two passes to Roaring Springs!  Ethan took second place and won passes to Roaring Springs.  Libby took first place with 142 miles, thirty more than her brother!  (Their mother has a faulty memory, they do not not).  Then they were endowed with the coolest prize yet, their medals. Look at that bling; made entirely out of recycled bike parts.  These are simply the coolest medals, ever!  They are hung with love, and prominently displayed on their respective walls.

Mother's Day

Sometimes I think my family is full of ungrateful urchins.  I get cranky about doing so much...and NOBODY even NOTICES!!  And other times they are so thoughtful I feel ashamed of those awful thoughts.  For Mother's Day, my little kids picked out this fabric and had a neighbor sew the dress for me.  We will ignore the fact I rarely wear it because it goes straight down to my ankles, making it hard to walk in, and the top is held together by numerous safety pins because it was so large. 

My older kids pooled their money and bought me chocolate.  They planned on buying it from The Chocolat Bar in downtown Boise but it was closed.  They ended up at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company instead.  The chocolate was still lovely!

The family also picked out some beautiful flowers to put on the back porch, which I still have months later.  They also did all the cooking all day long.  I was so spoiled.  It was awesome!

Grace's 7th Birthday

No matter what I say, no matter what I do, my kids insist on having birthdays.  Also, some random kids at the park insist on celebrating with us. 

Grace requested a chocolate cake with raspberry icing.  I made said cake.  She did not eat said cake.  The adults enjoyed it.  The kids did not.  I may stop taking cake requests from my kids.  They frequently request very specific cakes and then decide they do not like the flavor, usually without even trying it.  On the other hand, I certainly enjoyed the cake.

Grace is now seven.  She can read, tie her own shoes, do chin ups, and loves her gymnastics class.  She is more talented at seven than I am at thirty seven.

From Ugly Bug to Beautiful Butterfly!

In March we received a cup of caterpillars in the mail.  We put the creepy looking little things on the counter and watched them.  They came complete with food, so all we had to do was watch.  A couple weeks later, after molting several times, they created their chrysalis, and metamorphosis began!

Watching them emerge was pretty incredible.  The little bugs popped out of their shells with tiny crumpled wings.  They started beating their wings quickly and within an hour, we had beautiful butterflies. 

A couple days later it was time to release them into the wild.

All the kids gathered, including some neighbor children, and our butterflies experienced freedom. 

One even rested and waved goodbye.