Independence Day 2017

In keeping with tradition of having no 4th of July tradition, this year we hosted a few neighbors for a barbecue and fireworks show.

First we ate dinner in the backyard. Then once the sun was low in the sky, we moved around to the front yard and started fireworks.

What is it about men and fireworks? The even took lighting sparklers seriously.

I loved seeing all the kids play together and be super goofy.

Hey there handsome. And no, I don't want to hold a sparkler. They still scare me.



This was one of my favorite 4ths so far. The kids had a blast with our sidewalk of fire.


We got a trampoline!

We've been telling the kids that we would get one when we moved to a different house that had a bigger backyard. But I don't know when that will be and I'm tired of waiting so we surprised them with it the day before the 4th party. Best baby-sitter ever.


They go out in the morning before it gets too hot, play under it when it is hot and then are back out there once it's in the shade in the afternoon. It is waaaaay too big for our narrow yard but oh well.

When Justin took the older kids camping, Erica got a little bored creative with her toys. I remember Sarah doing this same thing with her toys and other dining chairs. "That girl and the king are hiding from the monkey. The king is supposed to attack the monkey and the monkey is in jail."

We got another box of grapes from Costco so Erica made a "hat crown"

She found another one for James. He's such a good sport.

The Art of Homemaking: Family Store

We've had several job charts over the years. It seems to be a slow evolution to accommodate the skill levels of my children, our schedules, and what needs to be done around here. I like to change it up every few months or so to keep the kids interested and also tweak things to be more efficient and make sure all the things I need them to do make it on the chart.

Since school got out, this has been our job chart. It is plain and not creative. I've made cuter ones in the past with colorful pictures but I just felt like doing something simple. The jobs are the same as they've been for the past year and Henry and Sarah can both read so I didn't need to go all out with illustrations this time around. Erica follows their examples each day so she doesn't refer to the chart anyway.

Every morning they do their "first five" jobs and their dollar job. Last summer it was a "sticker job" since they were working toward filling up a sticker chart to earn ice cream cones and a trip to the pool. This summer they are earning fake dollars. The dollar job is my choice and it is always cleaning. Basically I look around and see what needs to be done that morning so it's mostly emptying the dishwasher, picking up the living room, cleaning a toilet, washing walls, etc. Mondays and Thursdays it's always cleaning their rooms (twice a week means it's not as messy and daunting for them). They can earn as many dollars as they want each day but they have to do at least one and their other five jobs before they can play or earn more dollars. 

Here's where we keep the money. It's from a Family Feud board game. And yes, it's an envelope taped to the wall. Their wallet envelopes are taped to the wall too. Erica has an old peanut canister she likes to keep her money in.

Ideally they earn $6 each week. Friday after dinner we do Family Store. This price list used to be cuter in years past but again, I wanted something simple looking this time around. I like to change up the products to keep them motivated. This time around picnic in the park and visit to their grandmothers' is new. We all stand around the envelopes and chart and they hand over money for what they want and we try to do the activity or give them the reward that night as much as possible.

Friday nights usually consist of me making cookies with one of them, another picking a movie and staying up little late to watch it (the other kids get to watch it too but they have to go to bed at their usual bedtime), or scooping ice cream cones while the kids go through all the sprinkles.

This is the candy basket. This is usually where Erica spends all her money each week.

Henry bought "3 things from the dollar store" one week. I let him pick out anything he wanted. He had so much fun showing the girls what he picked out.

Henry and Sarah occasionally go for a movie night but mostly save up for Culver's and Chick-fil-A.  They look forward to Family Store all week long and it's fun to hear them talking about spending and saving and asking for extra jobs so they can earn what they want. We'll keep this up for the summer and then probably switch it up gain once school starts.

Erica's sense of style, Sarah gets creative, and why I love James even more now

This is Erica wearing the packaging from a box of grapes on her head.

And she's wearing mismatched socks because she lost their pairs but she doesn't care and will just wear them together. 

James can sit up all by himself! I just love this age. I just love love love sitting him down and watching him play with his basket of toys spread out all around him. And he stays put and completely entertained while I clean the rest of the room and his mess is contained to that one little spot. He's happy, I'm happy, and he's stinking cute.

I brought out the farm since he's never seen it before and I though he'd love it which he did.

Erica pouted on the stairs because she didn't want him to get everything all slobbery.

Sarah finished up a week long art class at a neighboring elementary school. Today we got to go see all the art she's been making all week (and help her carry it all home).

 She was so sweet and made personalized art for all her siblings. Henry loved the little basket she made out of clay.

And that wraps up our month of June. Justin took Henry and Sarah camping tonight so I took Erica and James out to eat. It's so strange to just have two kids for two days. 

Swimming Lessons and Father's Day

Henry loves swimming, maybe a little too much. During his swimming lesson he just played and didn't pay too much attention to the new skill they were going over . Then when it came time for his turn with the teacher, he had to be told again what they are doing. He always had a smile on his face though.

I debated whether or not to put Erica in swimming lessons or wait another year or two. She is still really young and I knew she wouldn't retain too much. But I figured she would whine about getting a turn if I didn't sign her up so I did. The first day was so cold and windy and the poor girl was pretty nervous but she got in the water. The sweet teachers held her most of class. She didn't always pay attention either (as you can see in the photo below) but did what they asked. She only said she wanted to go home once! She's more confident and I've watched her practice blowing bubbles in the bathtub so it was worth the money.

Listen for Henry's shout.

Sarah's class is in July and she can't wait!

Fathers Day! I made Justin his most favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy. The kids each made him a picture or card and picked out a treat from the store. Henry gave him sunflower seeds, Erica gave him Reeses, and Sarah picked jalapeno kettle cooked potato chips. He also got some new parts for the grill and I got him a giftcard for Cabela's because all he wants is hunting stuff and I don't know how to pick that out.

Sorry Sarah, everyone looks so cute but you're not looking.

Then Justin wanted a photo of just him and James but Erica didn't want to be left out.

I love this one.

He's such a good dad and takes good care of us and makes sure we have lots of fun. Sometimes (usually during church or dinner) I catch his eye over the heads of our crew and we share this look like "How did it go from just the two of us to this crazy life?"

Yesterday I drove my kids to Heber to see my good friend Megan. She and her family moved from our neighborhood to Heber a couple of years ago but I had never been to her new house.

Our kids are kind of the same ages and get a long really well. Only Sarah and her oldest remembered each other's families but it only took like 2 minutes for all the kids to be playing together. I wish I took more pictures but I was holding James pretty much the entire time.

My kids thought their house was as good as Disneyland. They have a trampoline, swing set, zip line, tetherball, a big lawn and tons of toys inside. It was great to see them again and my kids are already asking when we can go back.

Henry and Stockton went through their basketball cards and made a few trades.

Few things make me as happy as Erica's hair in the morning. She looks like Pippi Longstocking.

It's even crazier in the back.

So Erica didn't get suspicious as to why I was only taking a picture of her during breakfast, I took a picture of the rest of my kids too.

Sarah set herself up to make toast to order for everyone.

Judging by how sticky my kids and kitchen floor are by the end of each day and how exhausted they are, I think they are having a great summer!

James at 7 Months

James is now 7 months old! Man, the past month was a tough one. He wants to be held pretty much all the time. And not just held but walked around or entertained somehow. For the first time I'm actually looking forward to my baby learning to crawl so that he can entertain himself!

Plus he's a pain to nurse. I've never had a baby cry and fuss while nursing before. I am tempted to give up some days and feel like he wouldn't care. But I'm stubborn, more stubborn than him. I read that if babies fuss at this age while nursing it's because they are overstimulated (which makes sense with this family) so I try my darndest to only feed him where it's quiet and boring and that seems to help. But he whines and fusses and stops and starts so much that I can't read or do anything but try to soothe him while nursing him. Sheesh.

I figured out if I give him a blanket, any activity lasts twice as long. He loves soft things.

Other milestones.
He is getting pretty good at sitting up. I stay right by him the entire time he sits and plays with toys. He can keep himself upright and steady for awhile but he'll tip without warning.

He can roll over onto his tummy pretty easily but he's only rolled back onto his back a couple of times and I think it was an accident when he did. He doesn't like to be stuck on his stomach so it's annoying to have to go into his room at night to roll him back over.

He loves to eat. He's at that stage where every food is new and exciting and delicious. He can eat an entire banana.

You can tell his mood by his kicking legs. Kind of like the wag of a dog's tail.

Since his hair is practically in a Mohawk without trying, I made it real.

He's been sleeping great at night. He woke up at 2 am a couple of weeks ago but he usually sleeps until 7 or 8 every morning.

He also goes down much quicker too. I can usually get him fed and drowsy in 40 minutes. I can't tell you how nice it is to have some time to myself in the evenings. How I missed that the last 6 months.

He's good at: feeding himself Cheerios, drooling, growing hair, squawking, saying "da-da-da", tracking my movements with his eyes, not getting too nervous being held by strangers, sucking on my jewelry (I've all but given up wearing any except for my wedding ring), and playing peek a boo.

Everywhere we go he gets attention for his hair.

 But if people get passed that, they admire his big blue eyes.

Oh my drool!

He's cute and he knows it. He's the baby of the family and he knows it.

Mom School and Summer Haircuts

When I saw the several uncompleted workbooks my kids brought home from school on their last day, I had a brilliant idea. They'll work on these all summer long! And Mom School was born!

At first Sarah was downright opposed to the idea. "You can't make me." Challenge accepted.

We had a beginning-of-summer meeting the day after Memorial Day where we went over summer rules, Family Store (more on that later this month), and they got to pick which day of the week we'd visit the library, the park, and which day Mom School would be on. They chose Thursdays for Mom School.

Mom School has to be simple or I wouldn't do it. For 30 minutes the kids do school-like activities. They have to each be on the same level of the house (so that I can keep an eye on them) but in different areas (so they can't bug each other). They must be doing workbooks, reading, writing, flashcards, or in Erica's case, coloring. They can decide how long they spend on any activity but they must be working for 30 minutes.

Sarah chose the landing and did a handwriting workbook and reading.

Henry chose behind the couch and read and then did his math books.

Erica colored then she and I worked on her alphabet flashcards.

At the end they showed me what they did and got jelly beans and mini eggs for every page they read and every workbook page they completed so they each got a good handful. They did a great job keeping themselves busy and I LOVED the productive silence.

They wanted to have Mom School again right away and even asked the next day if we could do it. I told them they were welcome to read or do work any time but I'd only pay them candy on Mom School Thursdays. Always keep them wanting more, I say.
 

*****

When Sarah was Erica's age, her hair was way past her shoulders. Erica's hair has come in much slower and thinner so I've trimmed it quite a few times over the last three years. Nevertheless, Erica's hair is very hard to keep looking tidy. It mostly has to do with the fact that she rarely lets me do it and then undoes it soon after. Luckily she doesn't mind getting it cut. In fact I commented that her hair was getting long the other day and she replied, "We better cut it."

Here's the before.

And here's the after (while she eats her reward ice cream).

(I think she'd get her hair cut every week for the ice cream.)

And then after it was dried and straightened.

I just think she's the cutest thing ever and now even more so. She was adamant about keeping her "Anna bangs" but I don't know if we can do "Anna braids" anymore.

It's so much easier to brush and even when it's not done, she doesn't look homeless.

Hair not done but still super cute

It wouldn't be summer without a buzz cut. Henry was super stoked to get his head shaved after I promised his hair would be long enough for the Gordon Hayward 'do by the time school starts.

Henry's sports and style hero.

It's 90 degrees out and I'm tempted by a buzz cut too.