Jacob's booboo

Well, it must be the start of the toddler years for Jacob! Bring on the black eyes and broken bones! Last Friday, Mike and I went on a date and left the kids with a babysitter. Now, don't get me wrong, we have an absolutely wonderful babysitter. She's awesome! She brings a little babysitter kit with her every time with new games and toys that my kids always love. She's very responsible and even cleans my house! Anyway, Jacob likes to do his own thing lately, which means going everywhere and getting into everything! He especially loves Ethan's room with all of its hazards and chokeable items! He just started walking only a couple of weeks ago, so he still looks like a drunk baby when he walks. He was in Ethan's room exploring and tripped over the hazards and gonked his little eye right on the corner of Ethan's bed. Ouchie! Now he has a cute little shiner. He looks so tough, especially when his hair is in a faux-hawk!

So, no, we don't beat our kids! They are just accident prone, especially at this age. I thought back and remembered that Ethan and Asia both hit their eyes on our pointy coffee table we used to have. I think that's one of the reasons why we got rid of the thing! Poor kids! Oh, and isn't it crazy how much Jacob looks like Ethan in these pics. Ethan just has more hair! Fun stuff!

Ethan's First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of first grade for Ethan. He was so excited, but a little nervous as well. Daddy stayed home for an hour to watch the other kids while I rode my bike with Ethan to school. He's never gotten to school on his own because last year we car-pooled him everyday in the afternoon. I wanted to make sure he knew where to go and where to leave his bike. Plus, he wanted me there as moral support too I think. We went to his classroom, found his desk, and put away all of his school stuff. He looked a little nervous, especially since the kid that was supposed to sit next to him wasn't there yet. He felt a bit alone until he started recognizing some kids that were in his class last year. He looked like he was going to be just fine, so I left. When he got home from school, I wanted to know everything about his day from when I left him, till now. He said he didn't remember! I asked him what his favorite part of the day was. He said lunch and recess! Of course! That was his favorite last year. After that, he thought a bit more about his day and remembered he liked it when his teacher read them a story and they watched and movie about a guy with lots of caps and the monkey kept taking the caps away. That night we talked a bit more and I asked him if he liked his teacher. He said, "Ya, she's nice. She's a grandma. Alex has a cool teacher. She's very pretty! Mine's a grandma." I guess I need to teach him a little more about not judging a book by its cover, even if it's a little older and worn looking! What a kid!

One Last Hoorah!

We had to get in one last zoo trip before school started. It actually took us two days to get it all in, but we did it! The kids love to pet the goats and check out the monkeys. The monkeys were very active that day, swinging around everywhere and coming right up to the glass to say hi. It was pretty cute. Jacob wanted to high-five them everytime they put their little hands on the glass. We also got to see them feed the penguins too. Jacob liked to play with the peacock that just roams around freely. It was a pretty fun 2 mornings.

After the zoo, the kids really wanted to ride the rides at the fair. They earned 2 free rides from the library reading program, so I let them choose 1 ride each. They both eventually chose to ride the ariplanes together. At first they thought the ferris wheel would be fun, but then changed their minds for some reason. After they rode the airplanes they both said, "We wanted to go on the ferris wheel." I said too bad, you picked the airplane. The ferris wheel actually cost more to ride and if I'd have known that before, I would've made them go on the ferris wheel just because it was a better deal!! I'm such a cheapo! Anyway, the airplanes were great fun and I'm sure we'll get to ride more rides soon. The fair is only 1 week away!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!

Yesterday was Jacob's first birthday. It was a pretty uneventful day since there are not a lot of things that a one year-old likes to do, or that he can tell me he wants to do, other than eat, nap, poop, and play. So that's what he did all day while I got ready for his party. Since his birthday is in the summer, I thought it would be fun to have a summer birthday cake. I made a picnic table with all of the food and condiments to go with a picnic. It was pretty fun to make, but very time consuming. As I was making the things for the cake, the kids decided they wanted to make stuff out of play-dough. That kept them pretty busy so I could finish my stuff. I also made extra cupcakes for our party guests and a special hamburger cupcake for Jacob.

Anyway, we sang Happy Birthday to Jacob and of course he tried to touch the candle. We've been practicing all week on how to blow through our mouths and he had it down. Then it was showtime and he choked! He just looked at the candle and wanted to touch it. So Ethan blew his candle out for him. Then it came time to eat his cupcake. At first he was pretty careful not to get too messy. Then he just started squishing it with his one pointer finger. Then the whole hand got involved and the rest is history. He just wanted to play in it, not eat it. I thought it tasted pretty good, but he didn't I guess!

Shortly after that, he was done and had enough of everything and we hadn't even gotten to his presents yet. We hurried and cleaned him up so he could open his presents and get ready for bed. After everyone left, we were going to get him ready for bed, and he thought it was finally time to play with his new toys, now that he was alone with no disturbances! So we let him play for a bit and then it was bedtime. I think the favorite part of the day for him was playing with his balloons. They were fascinating! Thanks to everyone for coming and for the gifts. :)

Raspberry Huckleberry Jam

We decided to make jam out of the huckleberries that we picked. Toni was able to get us some yummy raspberries and then we were all set. The kids always have fun helping me in the kitchen so today was no exception. They helped mash up the berries, pour in the sugar, and mix everything all up. Asia's like her dad and loves both the huckleberries and the raspberries. That's what he grew up eating. I grew up eating strawberries, so Ethan is like me. We'd rather eat strawberries. When Michael came home for lunch after we had finished a batch of jam, he said, "This smell brings back memories of when I was a kid and my mom made jam." It was sweet that he remembers such fond things from his childhood. Our house smelled so fruity and yummy that day.

Huckleberry Picking TIme! Yummy!

I always look forward to this time of year when we can harvest our garden and pick huckleberries again. We've already picked a bunch of stuff out of our garden, including about 5 gallons of beans, about 20 zucchinis, tons of strawberries, and a couple of beets. Our pumpkins and squash are getting bigger and bigger each day, and the beets are about ready to be picked and pickled. Saturday we were able to go up to the mountains and pick huckleberries with Mike's mom and dad. There weren't any to be picked last year, for some reason, so this year we had to get some. We ran out of berries about 6 months ago and we were craving huckleberry pancakes and huckleberries and ice cream. So, we went to our "secret" spot and found the bushes just loaded with berries! We could've stayed there all day and picked. Ethan was excited to go up and pick berries, but when we got there, he soon became very bored and tried to find ways to get into trouble! He accidentally knocked over our whole bucket of berries into some elk poop and had to pick them all up. Nasty! He was more careful after that incident. Asia ate most of the berries she picked. She kept saying, "I love cranberries!" I'm surprised she doesn't have diarrhea from all the berries she ate! Jacob was pretty content to sit by a berry bush and eat/squish every berry he could reach! He was pretty funny. Every time he saw a berry he would get all excited and say, "Ooooooooo!" and make this funny new breathing sound, like he was having trouble breathing. Weird! So, after all the stained clothes, faces, and hands, we were able to make it out of there with about a gallon of berries. We just might have to go back up there and get some more! Ethan wants to pick his own, next time, and sell them to buy a PSP. We'll see how much he gets, and how much he spills! :)

Haircut Day

Well, every month the boys need to get haircuts. It seems to take a big chunk out of my day, but it needs to be done. Ethan and Jacob had wings growing over their ears, and Mike's grey hair was looking more and more noticeable because it was getting so long! I started with Jacob. He has to play with something, or he just wants to see what I'm doing with his head and doesn't sit still. He does pretty good though, for being only 1. Then Ethan had his haircut. He always asks, "When are you gonna be done?", like every 5 seconds! He doesn't like to sit still either and he's 6! He said, "Don't cut my sideburns!", referring to the back of his neck. He hates that part because I cut him once. Oooops! I had to tell him where his sideburns were, and he actually had quite the chops growing! Then it was Asia's turn. She wanted me to buzz her hair like the boys'! I said no, of course! I just trimmed her hair a bit to even out the little haircut she gave herself that was finally growing out. Then on to Mike. He sits very still and actually almost falls asleep! It's just so relaxing, I guess, until I accidentally cut him or something! That didn't happen this time, though! Now who's gonna cut my hair?!

Scrabble Pendants.... Sooo Cool!

So, my friend and her husband just started up a new business together. They make necklace pendants from old Scrabble board letters! It's so cool! Mine just came in the mail and I love them! Plus, if you order now, you can buy 2 and get 1 free! Great deal. Anyway, you can find them at www.jnsdesigns.etsy.com I hope you enjoy them as much as me. Sorry, these pics don't do them justice. I don't know why they're so blurry! Grrrr!

The "Roaring" Roaring Youth Jam

Yesterday we were able to go down to the river in town and participate in the Roaring Youth Jam. They have tons of art activities for kids, games to play, and different shows to watch. And, the best part, it's all free! It was very hot, but there were shady spots to rescue us from the heat. My kids love everything to do with art, so this is right up their alley. We go to this thing every year and the kids love everything about it. They get to do every activity and get as messy as they want. I try and put them in clothes that can get wrecked and they wear their Home Depot aprons just in case. Jacob was a little too young this year, so he just watched everything around him and was a real trooper. Next year, he'll be all about the paint and stuff. That night, we went to the free dance show that they put on. They had mostly contemporary, weird dances. The best part was the beat boxer they had perform during one of their costume changes. He was amazing! I don't know how people can do such things with their mouths. Crazy! Anyway, it was supposed to be for all ages, but I think the age limit should have been 6 and up. Ethan enjoyed it, but Asia and Jacob were done by the second number. And, again, it was stuffy and hot inside the theatre. Oh well. A little culture never hurt anyone, right!

Busy Boy!

Jacob has been quite busy for the last few days, trying to find every toilet paper roll in the house and unrolling all of them! He thinks he's so sneaky! I caught him in the act yesterday in my bathroom. He looks so proud of himself.

Pioneer Day

The wards in our building like to organize a primary pioneer day parade. They do a great job. Asia and Ethan dressed up in their best pioneer attire and they walked down the street to our neighborhood park where they played pioneer games. Thank goodness I saved all my stuff from when I went on Trek back in the day! They had popsicles for a treat when they were all done. What a fun hour!