Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Where Have We Been????

Yes, I know, I have been MIA as a blogger lately. When my sister, Shannon, calls and says, "Where are you? I haven't seen any updates on your blog in over a week." I know I am a slacker! So even though I am in the midst of a crazy week at cub day camp, here is a little update!

Caleb and Dad came home from scout camp. We were so glad that Caleb survived! He was dragging all week, but he made it through! He even tried to go on the zip line, but when he got to the top of the line, they said he was too small. Apparently most 13 yr. old boys weigh 100 lbs by now! Poor Caleb is still pushing 70 lbs!

Here is the group of scouts from our ward at the mess hall. Caleb is in the far right corner. Apparently the food left much to be desired! Our Relief Society fed the missionaries at zone conference midway through the week and Chris just happened to be coming home to work one day in the middle of scout camp, so we were able to send all our leftovers back up to camp for the boys to enjoy! Funny how things work out for the best!

Samuel swam in the championship swim meet and did a great job! He placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in his races and improved his times substantially! Here he is waiting at clerk of course before his first race.

And this is how he looked after his race! Apparently the goggles and swim cap were a bit tight!



Here is a video of Samuel swimming freestyle at champs. He is in the second lane from the top.

We have been spending the week at cub day camp and having a great time! Samuel and Joshua are in the Grasshopper Den. Here they are with Samuel's craft from yesterday, Japanese Carp Kites.
Shelby and Caleb are working on staff with me in "The Craft Shack" providing entertainment for the cub scouts. They lead camp songs and activities when we take breaks from crafting! It has definitely been a stretch for Caleb, but Shelby is really good at this! We have had several parents comment on how well she performs with the kids! I am glad for this opportunity to volunteer with my kids and watch them grow and feel the rewards of serving others. I can't think of a funner place to volunteer than cub day camp!

Joshua has done really well at camp this year. He scored high enough in BB's to get his junior marksmanship patch. He was so excited! He came very close last year and has waited all year to try again!

Samuel is technically not a cub scout (he will be 8 in November), but since I am on staff they are letting him attend camp as a cub scout. It has been fun for him to be a part of everything this year, but it is extremely HOT! I think he misses the air conditioning in tot lot!

Savannah is in tot lot while we all are at camp. She has enjoyed making new friends, but I took this picture on a day when she was feeling a bit left out. Things are better now! She really does love tot lot and looks forward to this all year long! This is our 3rd year volunteering as a family as cub day camp and we are really enjoying ourselves!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Last Swim Meet

Wow! I can't believe it's over! We are all a little sad for the end of swim season, but it has been a great year! Our last meet of the season was very hot and muggy.....at times I wished I was the one in the water swimming! Savannah's swimming skills have improved incredibly over the course of the year and she even came in second to last in freestyle last night! Yes, she actually beat someone! She improved her time by 4 seconds! Unfortunately she was disqualified on backstroke for turning over and swimming a few strokes on her front. Oh well....there's always next year!
Shelby got a little creative with the marker and Joshua was a willing canvas! Shelby, Joshua, Samuel, and Savannah all got personal best times in various events, so it was a great way to finish off the season.

Here's a short video of Joshua swimming butterfly. He came in 6th place and was so excited because he gets a ribbon! He beat his time by 3.34 seconds.

Since it was the last meet of the season, both teams agreed to forfeit points for their relays in order to do some fun relays. The older kids did bellyflop dive-ins, there were some mixed age relay teams, and the coaches even participated. Samuel had the opportunity to be on the "Dream Team" relay with two other boys who are the best swimmers in his age group and a 15 yr. old boy named Morgan who is a competetive swimmer headed for the National Jr. Olympics! Those 3 little boys thought they were the coolest thing ever! I think it made their season to do that relay with Morgan! Samuel's swimming season continues for one more week since he has Champs next Monday. Check back next week for those pictures!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Off to Scout Camp

Chris and Caleb left today for Scout Camp. This is Chris' first foray as scoutmaster with one of our boys actually going along as a scout! He is so excited to go with Caleb! Caleb, on the other hand, doesn't quite share the excitement......okay, so he is just sick. Caleb is still dragging from his bout of mono. He has had to change all his merit badge classes to ones that stay in the nature center. He will probably not have great memories from this year's scout camp, but I hope he can still have some fun.



The younger kids had a primary activity this morning for pioneer day. They had a fun game where they were eating donuts off a string and it made for some cute pictures!



Joshua is working on earning his religious square knot, so he helped out by teaching one of the games. His game was leapfrog and the little boys LOVED it!

Friday, July 18, 2008

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Thanks to our neighbors, we have a nice little spot of ground to grow our little garden in this year. Samuel and Savannah have been on water duty with me and they like to check for bees every morning to be sure our plants get pollinated! Caleb and Joshua have shown some real interest in the garden this year. They like to walk next door and see how things are growing.

As you can tell, it is still quite shaded, but by afternoon there are several hours of sun. Our squash, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and cucumbers are doing quite well. Unfortunately our watermelon is barely hanging in there, much to Savannah's dismay! This is our first real experiment with gardening, and I have been surprised at how much the kids enjoy it and have really take ownership in our plants. I look forward to trying again next year and hopefully expanding on our efforts!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Why Have I Never Done This Before?

My birthday was a week ago, and one of my friends decided to take me out to get a pedicure with her for my birthday. It was SO relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I cannot believe I have never done this before! It was a great way to feel pampered and I will definitely do this again! If you have never had a pedicure, all I can say is "GO! Go NOW!" You will not regret it!
I couldn't believe what a great job the girl did with her artwork. It was incredibly intricate and beautiful! We even had her wax our eyebrows while we were there. Thanks, Julie, for a great birthday present!
(Oh yeah, and I never thought I would be showing off my toes on my blog! But when they are this pretty, who can resist!?)

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Eating Healthy

Many of you know that I am a Registered Dietitian. Years ago, before I ever had children, I had perfect ideas about how well my children would eat and about how I would lovingly take time to prepare well-rounded meals for my family that would be graciously eaten and appreciated. I even fantasized about how my teenagers would take in their 24 hr. food history log to their high school health class and the teacher would be so impressed with how well-rounded their meals were. Unfortunately, those lofty goals got lost somewhere along the way (along with the goals of having a perfectly clean house when my husband got home each day, never taking my children out in public without having their face clean and hair combed and matching clothes, and the list goes on.......) So what happened? Life, I guess! I got really burned out on cooking anything when my children came to the table and immediately said, "Do I have to eat THAT? Never mind, I'm not hungry!" Night after night, the complaints came in. Motherhood really is a thankless job, isn't it?!!! I gradually gave up the emphasis on nutrition for what was easy and what was appreciated by the kids. It is sad to see how far we have fallen and what poor eaters my children can be!

A week ago, I stumbled on this fun blog which I added to my "Blogs I Love" list. It is about one mom's quest to help her kids become healthier eaters. I applaud her efforts and have been inspired in my own efforts to bring about a healthy eating revolution in my own family. Chris and I started "dieting" this summer as part of a weight loss challenge that my sisters thought up. Really we are not dieting; we are just being more health conscious in our eating and have stepped up our exercise efforts. We are encouraging more exercise for our children and I am bringing my nutrition expertise off the back burner and trying to plan healthier meals for our family. My efforts are still not met with cheers and great acclaim, but I acknowledge that it will take a while to create a nutrition revolution at my house! I am planning gradual, health-conscious changes that I hope will just as gradually be accepted by my family. In the meantime, Chris has lost 12 lbs. and I have lost 6 lbs. and I am definitely feeling like I have more energy! I think the effort is worthwhile!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Finding Peace

This has been somewhat of a crazy week. It is one of those weeks when I have too many things going on and I can't seem to wrap anything up. As a result, I have mass mayhem going on in my house! In my quest to create some areas that portray a semblance of organization, everything seems to have made its way to my room where I have piles and piles of projects! I do not consider myself to be unorganized, which is why it is so distressing to me to open the door to my room and find the chaos that now exists there! Chris seems to be on the same level of disorganization as me right now since summer scout camp is a week away and he is spending every spare minute trying to get things together for that. Everything came to a head yesterday when I was trying to finalize my craft projects for Cub Scout Day camp which involved actually making the crafts to determine feasibility for my age groups, shopping and getting quotes on supplies, and coming up with different options for those that I deemed too difficult or too expensive. I was also holding a Relief Society Presidency meeting at my house and the Stake Relief Society President had called wanting me to co-chair a zone conference meal for 120 missionaries in our area in TWO WEEKS! In the midst of all this I had to take Caleb back into the doctor for a recheck to make sure that his spleen wasn't enlarged due to mono (it was, which limits the merit badge classes he can take at summer camp; but that's another story!). Have you ever felt like you honestly could not take on one more thing? That is exactly where I was at! I feel like I am doing lots of things, but none of them well, and that causes me much distress!

This morning I woke up at 7:30 and decided to drag my tired body out of bed, over the piles of craft supplies and art projects, and go walking. I knew I had a million things to finalize today, but when I get stressed, I really need to take care of myself first and exercise is a great stress reliever for me. The sun was starting to peek through the trees in my neighborhood and the July weather was not nearly as hot and humid as it should be at this time of the year. It is a beautiful day! I caught myself smiling as I walked my normal route and heard the birds chirping and enjoyed the beauty of my neighborhood. Near the end of my two mile route, I passed the lake which was perfectly calm and still and created a mirrored reflection of the trees and the sky. I love living here! I realized I have so many things to be greatful for: the beauty of nature, a husband who loves and supports me, children who can be so much work but who I love more than anything, counselors who are willing to take over zone conference meals so I can focus on day camp, friends who bless my life by their presence, and a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to remind me to see his love in everything around me. I am truly blessed, and in that knowledge, I have found peace.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

He's the Man!



Have I mentioned that we are over our heads in swim meet season?!!!! Last night was our 4th meet and in spite thunder delays that made our meet start late and run till 11:00 pm, it still was a great meet! Samuel has been working hard at improving his times by signing up for and completing every clinic that his coaches teach to improve technique. His goal has been to get his times fast enough to qualify to attend Champs, a big swim meet at the end of the season for the best swimmers. Well, last night Samuel was able to qualify to compete at Champs in Freestyle, Butterfly, and Breastroke! He improved spectactularly in every event he competed in! Way to go, Samuel! Here is a video of him swimming butterfly.

Savannah was part of "the girl's club" playing with Barbies and Polly Pockets over on the deck. They think swim meets are the greatest! Who knew waiting for your race could be so much fun?!!!

Everyone has been asking me how Savannah is doing on her swimming, so here is a video of her swimming freestyle. She is allowed to touch the lane lines to get a breath.

Joshua competed in his first IM and did surprisingly well. He was worried he would be too tired to finish it, but he took 4th place! Caleb competed in backstroke only since he is coming back from his bout of Mono and doesn't have the endurance or strength that he used to have. Shelby spent the day laying out with her friends at the pool and got chastised by her coaches for not going home and resting before the meet! In spite of all that she still did very well and placed in every event she competed in.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Froggy Bathroom

I finished decorating the kids' bathroom this week with some fun vinyl wall art that Aunt Shannon sent me. It appears we have been taken over by frogs! The kids love their fun bathroom, but Samuel thinks that he needs to have lots of bug stickers for the walls too! Thanks, Aunt Shannon, for the decorations!






Fourth of July

We had a fun and relaxing Fourth of July! After sleeping in late, we went down to the pool to spend the day with our neighborhood friends.


We had lots of fun playing water games and just relaxing in the sun. It was a beautiful day!

Later on, we came home and had a barbecue, then headed out to watch fireworks. I am still having a hard time watching fireworks when they are partially obstructed by trees, but I am getting more used to it. I have been gone from the desert a long time, I guess!

Dinner with the Missionaries

On July 3rd we had the missionaries over for one last dinner before Elder Batty was transferred. Unfortunately, Chris was late getting home from work and they had to wait outside on the front porch till he got home (they aren't allowed to go in the home without another adult male present).
After waiting about 20 minutes in the lovely July heat and being thoroughly entertained by my kids, they had drawn a sidewalk chalk replica of The Plan of Salvation. Isn't it great that they are always teaching?!!!!
Here's Elder Batty and Elder Eno with Joshua, Savannah and Samuel enjoying the shade on the front porch.
We had to take a picture of Samuel with his sidewalk chalk portrait of our missionaries! We can't wait till Samuel is old enough to go on his mission! We will add sidewalk chalk to the list of things he needs to take with him!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Our Kids Are Falling Apart!

I feel like I am spending every day of this summer running someone to and from doctor/dentist appointments! Somewhere the meaning of vacation has been lost on me! I got up at 7 a.m. this morning to take Caleb to the doctor. He has been in bed since Sunday feeling totally miserable. It is all he can do to walk down the stairs once a day and collapse on the couch till I send him back up to his room! After a strep test and a blood draw, they determined that he has Mono! Poor thing.....what a way to spend your summer! For the time being, he is out of swim team indefinitely and is hoping to be well enough to go to scout camp in 2 weeks. We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight and they helped Chris give him a blessing, so we are hopeful he will feel better soon.

After the doctor's appointment, I rushed home to take Samuel and Savannah to the dentist. We went last week for cleanings and checkups with all the kids and discovered that Savannah had 3 cavities and Samuel had 6!!!! It was a complete shock to me since only one of my kids have EVER had a cavity and it was a wierd one where the gum formed a pocket around a tooth that was coming in and there was nothing we could have done to prevent it. Now, I don't claim to be the best mom at oral hygiene, but cavities really are not something that I expected.

Savannah went first and was a little trooper! She got all 3 of her teeth filled in one appointment without having to be numbed! She was fortunate they were all small cavities! Then they started in on Samuel and boy were his teeth bad! He ended up having to have a procedure that is similar to a root canal done on one of his baby teeth. They numbed him up good! They were only able to get 2 fillings done and it still took an hour and a half! So he is lined up for another appointment that will be similar to the one done today in two weeks and hopefully he will do as well. I am just glad that they both were able to handle it without being put to sleep because that would have added $2000 per kid to the bill! As it was, I noticed the balance on our account when I checked out was $1700!!! Of course that includes all the routine checkups done last week, so I am hoping that after insurance pays their part I will only owe a couple hundred dollars. In the meantime, chewy candy and fruit snacks are now off limits at our house!