The Last Week of Summer

The week before school was to start we told Jack that it was the last week of summer and asked if there was anything we needed to do before school started. That was probably a bad idea, he had a whole list of things to do. I told him we would do something fun everyday, again probably a bad idea. We did end up having a fun week though.

On Monday we went with some friends to the Air Force Museum. The boys loved it and had so much fun. Jack wanted to read all of the information at each exhibit, but had too much fun running around with his friends. Max did really well too. I was glad I had some help though. The moms agreed we need to go back without the kids to actually learn the info there. Thanks for the idea Brit.

Tuesday was another fun outing. We went to the 3-D movie "Fly Me to the Moon". The older two kids thought it was great and had so much fun. It was fun to hear them laughing out loud and to hear the comments between the little friends. Max did okay for his first movie. I tried to plug his ears with blankets, but I really think that kid can sleep through anything (except the night). Maybe I need to strap him in his carseat and put him in front of a loud recording of his brothers screaming and playing to get him to sleep.

It was off to the aquarium on Wednesday. Jack and Luke had earned some money (I'm not sure how legitimately) helping some friends with a lemonade stand. They decided to spend it going to the aquarium. Jack has always been obsessed with the underwater world and has now passed that love on to his little brother.
Thursday was swimming lessons, so I let them swim before and after for a long swim day. Notice in the second picture that the top of Jack's hair is still not wet. Unfortunately, Jack inherited his parents' natural love and talents for the water. He is not fond of putting his face in the water. I remember being a teenager and still swimming with my face out of the water. Luke on the other hand doesn't think anything of it. Thank heavens their teacher Emma is very patient--there are many times that I wanted to jump in the pool and dunk Jack or push him off the edge (I know, what an evil mother). That's what my teacher did when I was little, even pushed me off the high-dive. They have both made huge improvements and Jack can swim by himself in the deep now. We're so proud!

On Friday I wanted to take the kids to the farm and go for a wagon ride or ride the ponies. They had other ideas. They both agreed we should go back to the aquarium, so that's what we did. (sorry no more pictures) Then on Friday night Randy took the boys swimming again at the rec center. I think I'm exhausted, I thought we were done, but Randy had other ideas.

My hubby has a problem--I know acknowledging it is the first step. From about Easter on his brain is on automatic countdown to the start of football season. When August hits it seems that nothing can distract him from this countdown. So....Saturday was the Ute Fan Fest. He took Jack and Luke and they had a blast. Well actually I'm not sure who has more fun at these things the kids or their dad.

The boys with Swoop.

The boys with the Utah Cheerleaders. Randy?! tsk..tsk..tsk(that's me shaking my finger at you)

That's Luke in the middle playing tennis with the Utah Men's Tennis Team.

The annual picture in the middle of the U on the football field.

Coach Boylin the Men's Basketball Head Coach.

Checking out the Women's Volleyball team.

Adding to the boys obsession with Michael Phelps, this is a cut out of him at the Olympics. I'm still not sure of the Utah connection, but Jack and Luke loved it. And yes, Luke is wearing both goggles and a red swim cap.

These are "those nastics girls". Even after taking gymnastics themselves for a couple of years they both still say it that way. They loved that the girls had been having handstand contests with each other and the spectators. They're BUFF!

And of course some of the football team. They were all pumped up for the start of the season, and Randy loved adding to the fever with the team members.

The boys had a full and exciting week and after it all we were all ready for a vacation. I can't believe I have a 1st grader and a preschooler. They are awesome boys and I am so blessed. They have such a great dad that is willing to do fun stuff with them.

One project down, many to go...

We finally got our new back porch. It was actually finished a week and a half ago, it is so nice to get rid of the ghetto porch that was falling apart. It took a little more effort than we had anticipated (sorry Mark), but for those of you who don't know Trex is a whole different thing to build with. Thanks to our patient friend who did this for us. Once again its great and sorry about the grief it caused.

"Child, SHUT UP!!!"

I know the title is disturbing, but I have to share. Tonight after back to school night we took the kids to Applebee's (its really Fazoli's, but the kids have always called it Applebee's). Anyway, we were almost done eating and I had been holding Max and he was just a little fussy, but hardly making a peep. All of a sudden Luke said, "Child, Shut up!!!" He even said it in his sweet little innocent, but intense voice. Randy and I were so disturbed, but it was one of those parenting moments where you can't keep a straight face while disciplining the kid because you are in shock. I was holding back the laughing and trying to scold him while Randy and I were both almost in tears trying not to laugh. The funny thing is, at our house "shut up" is not even said, it is referred to as the "S" word. I asked Luke where he heard that word and he pointed to Jack. Who knows, what do you do? We just laughed...such bad parents. We'll have to fix this one later.

Correction

My last post was apparently mistitled. Today while Jack was helping me change Max's diaper I called him (Max) cutie pie. Jack said, "Mom, I think you mean cutie banana pie." I asked what he meant and he said that I call all of the boys cutie pie, so Max wouldn't know I was talking about him so he has to be banana flavored pie. Okay--from now on I guess Max will be cutie banana pie.

My Little Cutie Pies...

I've been trying to remember to write down the cute things that my kids say and do, but I am horrible at it. It seems like everyday there is something that totally busts me up, but I forget to write it down. My Luke is a character, here are a few of his latest obsessions.

Luke absolutely loves tomatoes, so this time of year is great for him. At this particular afternoon "snack" he ate 4 tomatoes. Thank heavens we have a cheap "dealer" for this addiction. Thanks grandma and grandpa J. He eats so many tomatoes that his face starts to burn and itch from all the acidic juice on it. Hey, at least I know he gets his lycopene.

Luke is also obsessed with Michael Phelps. For those of you who live under a rock, he is the American olympic swimming sensation. I have always loved watching the olympics so we have had a good dose of it at our house lately and Luke has become totally obsessed with "that tough guy" Michael Phelps. As we were watching this race Luke had to pretend he was Phelps and this is what it looked like. He waits for me to blow the whistle, then jumps off the couch and "swims" from the family room to the kitchen, hunched over with his cheeks puffed up and turning his head to breathe. Then he races back and declares himself the winner! We have to reinact this race 10 or 12 times a day.

Jack's current cutie pie moments usually revolve around Max. He is such a protector to his little brother. Don't you dare touch Max if Jack is around. He will stop you and make sure you washed your hands. The other day Max was fussing and Randy was fixing a bottle while I tried to calm him down. Jack is standing over my shoulder just watching me try to settle down the baby, then he said, "uh, mom...you might want to feed him." He can even tell what the baby needs when his is fussing. He is always sure to point out when I am doing something wrong with the baby. I'm just glad Max has such good brothers, he will be just fine with them by his side.

And then there's Max. He is a cutie pie when he just does anything. My favorite thing right now is that he has lost all his hair on top of his head. I call him my little old man because he didn't lose it around the back and sides, but just the bangs and the top of his head. It is soooo funny and cute.

My sweet blue-eyed little old man.

My sister Alisa's kids (mostly Jessica and Andrew) are obsessed with Max. They are so cute with him. This is Jessica helping me change Max's diaper at swimming lessons. Max has such great cousins (too bad these ones aren't just around the corner anymore). Thanks for all the help Jessica and Andrew.

I can't help myself...

I just want to eat him up. Max is now one month old...how the time really does fly.

Back to the Blog

So the computer saga continues! The old computer finally really truly died. It was a sad day. I guess we're just lucky it didn't actually ignite and burn the house down. We bought a new computer last week because I was dying to blog and to work on my photography, and as luck would have it the day we bought the new computer we had a power outage and the surge fried our dsl modem so we couldn't connect to the internet. Today we finally got the new modem and got it all set up tonight so we're back connected to the world. I didn't realize how dependent we are on the www until we didn't have it for so long.
Everyone is doing well and we are adjusting to having three boys. Max is growing and eating a lot! I will post more pics soon, I'm still figuring out how to transfer my old programs to the new computer.
Thanks to everyone for your support and friendship during the last few weeks. We are blessed to have such great people in our lives.