4th Recap

We were totally prepared for the Fourth of July. Not a finger went unnoticed. These are Lexi's nails. She actually painted them herself. She did the left hand and then requested that I do the EXACT same thing on her right hand. And let me tell you she did not go easy on me. When she says exact, she means exact! There were also patriotic toenails to go with the ensemble but unfortunately we didn't get a snapshot. I painted Kendri's for her and those girls were ready for the 3 day weekend of parties!

We started the weekend off at a ward breakfast/swim party. Then on Sunday we went down to Tracy for the newest Reese baby. Our little nephew, Jackson, was blessed on the 4th of July. We spent the night in Tracy and then woke up for another family affair. Rachel was baptized on Monday. It was big weekend for the Reese family! We wore our red, white, and blue for 3 days straight! Talk about Reese heaven. We love the 4th. It ranks up there near Christmas for us. (P.S. I use "us" loosely because I have been accused of having no patriotism whatsoever by my husband. I'm working on it. See the fingernails?) So back to the 3 day weekend....It was a good thing because Gammi got all the little girls big patriotic bows to wear in their hair. They were really cute. But.....I forgot my camera so I have no actual proof that we there. Or that we were so patriotic. Just the fingernails. Oh well. I'll remember next year!

Summer Lovin'

So we're officially half-way through our summer vacation. That's right. We start school at the end of July (sniff.) But....since we're not there yet I thought I'd share some of our summer fun so far! Lexi and Kendri are in an art class in Moke Hill. Here are just a few of the things they've got to do.....Kendri painting the mural. The finished project will hang in their library.

Lexi really liked this project. She spent quite a bit of time working on her portion. When she finished one part they'd give her another area to work on. Most of the kids got tired but she just kept painting.

This was one of their first projects. It was a wind sock.

They hung them in our backyard when we got home. And they're still there. Actually only half of Lexi's has survived. We got some rain a few days after they hung them out there. Rain and crepe paper don't really mix well :)

They have also made clay sculptures, learned how to make paper, participated in a puppet show, and done water color paintings.

And this is what Kyson and I do while the girls are creating masterpieces......we wander around talking to stray dogs. All right, they're not really strays. Mokelumne Hill is a country town that still lets their dogs run free. Apparently this particular canine is considered the "communtiy dog". He shows up to most community functions.

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Anyway, Kyson loves dogs. Loves. Them. All. He calls them "woof-woofs". There seems to be a pleuthra of them around so he's really gotten quite brave. (You know, considering we don't own a pet unless you count Sharky, our beta fish. Which I do. He is our pet and he gets me out of owning anything that requires more responsibility than tossing in a few flakes every now and then. Thank you Sharky, for living so easily.)

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So yes. I follow Kyson around to visit the dogs that are nearby. Or I chase Kyson as he makes a beeline for Main Street. Or I grab him just as he's destroying some child's art project. Or we wander around calling for the woof-woofs who are hiding. One of us loves it. And one of us needs a nap after art class.

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We've also been swimming. I've been trying to get the kids to the pool more this year so that they can learn to swim better. I've been dreading taking 3 small children to the pool because none of them can swim. That's a lot of stress trying to keep them all above water! Luckily one of the families in our ward has a pool and has let us come over everyday this week. It's a smaller pool and their teenage daughter swims with us so I have some help. The good news is Lexi has improved by leaps and bounds just going these last few days. I finally can say she's swimming! Whooohooo! She's very proud of herself to say the least. It was a fear she really had to overcome. And then there's been the library activities, play dates, church functions.....Whew....I'm tired just thinking about all we've been doing! So to say the least, we're getting everything we can out of this summer vacation!

Window Pains

I washed my windows last week. Can't you tell?

They were perfect. In fact, my pride and joy.....if only for a mere 3 days. (Do you feel my pain yet?) I'm not sure what it is about a sparkling window. Perhaps the illusion that air is the only thing separating indoors from outdoors. And then a Must-Touch-Just-To-Verify-Reality ensues. Poke, poke. Maybe the exhilartion of creating your own mural using only handprints. My personal opinion on the matter is neither.

I think the thrill of destruction is intoxicating.

Give them a taste and they're hooked. Ask my children, I'm sure they'd agree. I mean, why else would they insist on dirtying everything I clean? Even my smallest guy is affected. Give him access to a toy box and what does he do? I can tell you what he doesn't do. He doesn't paw through the toys and choose the one he wants to play with. Nope. He dumps it. The whole thing.

Every time.

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Cherry Pickin'

This past Monday we were able to have a fun Family Home Evening. There's a family in our ward that has cherry trees. They told us we could come out and pick to our hearts content. So we did just that! We picked 2 1/2 buckets full. And can you believe we didn't even make a dent in their cherry supply. So I've been busy pitting cherries and freezing them. I thought about canning but then decided that was a little ambitious for me. Pitting cherries is enough.

The kids had a great time. They threw bread to the chickens. Lexi got pecked by a hen. Kendri was chased by about 5 chickens. Apparently chickens are not patient. She couldn't tear the bread apart fast enough. So she resorted to some weird "run and toss" method. She was chucking bread pieces over her shoulder with super-human speed. With a slightly panicked look, I might add.

The girls also got to search the hen house for eggs. They managed to find a dozen fresh eggs that came home with us. They were amazed at how you could lift up a hen and find 3 or 4 eggs sitting there. Just like Easter. I must admit that I thought it was fun too! While we were busy hunting eggs, Kyson was busy finding all the cherries that dropped to the ground. He was desperately trying to shove them in his mouth before I could catch him. He LOVES cherries. (I usually just bite off half and give him the half without the pit.) After all the cherry picking we went and collected some blueberries. Yes, blueberries. Did you think it couldn't get any better? We already ate most of them. Ryan did put some in the freezer for safe keeping but I think we should've just eaten them fresh. They wouldn't have lasted long, that's for sure ;) We came home happy, tired, and STICKY!

Has This Ever Happened To You?

WARNING ! ! ! ! WARNING ! ! ! ! WARNING ! ! ! ! WARNING ! ! ! !

I'm about to admit to faulty parenting. But I must add a disclaimer......It could happen to anyone. (Just makes me feel better.)

So.....Ryan and I were in the kitchen while Lexi and Kyson were in the backyard playing. They had been playing back there for probably about 20 minutes. We were sitting at the kitchen table which is right by the sliding glass door so we could see them when they were on the patio. Pretty soon we heard them playing in the sideyard. We'd see them every now and again.

We saw Kyson playing golf. He was walking around hitting golf balls.

Kendri came into the kitchen and asked if we could go on a walk. Sure. So Ryan and I went upstairs to get shoes. All of sudden we hear someone knocking on our door. I look at Ryan. Who's at our house? We weren't expecting anyone and we don't usually get unexpected visitors.

So I look out the window and see a firetruck.

"Ryan! What is the fire department doing at our house!"

Ryan ran downstairs to open the door and this is what I hear.....

"Is this your kid?"

Now I'm really confused. My kid? I know where all my kids are..... right? But then Ryan answers with, "Yes. Where was he?"

Kyson? And did he just answer with, "Where was he?" Brilliant. Let them think we had no idea where our 16 month old was. (Which I guess is sort of accurate considering I thought he was in the backyard when obviously he wasn't.) I made a quick decision. I would stay upstairs and hide so the fire department would think mommy was out of the house and daddy was babysitting.

The firemen told Ryan they had found Kyson playing in the street in front of our house. Lexi had accidentally left the gate open and he certainly noticed. I can't believe the timing. He couldn't have been out front for more than a few minutes. But thankfully they found him and not some psycho-path. We felt like horrible parents. But now it's been a few weeks and we can look back on it and laugh. Amazing what time can do!

Chompin' at the Bit

Kyson has been teething. Or he has a cold. Maybe both. You know the drill..... snotty noses, poor sleeping habits, crankiness. Hard to tell which one it is. Which means I've been listening to him whine for a week.

(I suppose I should add that I did get a break over the weekend while he was at Gammie's house. But he probably didn't whine for her. He saves all his whining for his mommy.) And it doesn't help that I've been trying to break him of his first love.

His binky.

Poor baby doesn't know what to do without it. But I cheat, cheat, cheat. I let him have it at naptime and bedtime. And when I can't take the whining anymore. Baby steps, people.

Anyhoo, I'm wondering how long it could possibly take for one tooth to come in. Because I'm pretty sure Kyson has been teething for a year. Seriously. He only has 3 teeth. And one almost poking through but at the rate we're going it could be another year. And he is 16 months old. I bet your babies have a full set of chompers by then, huh? I saw his first tooth coming in for probably 2 months before it actually broke through. Perhaps I'm partially senile in my thirties but I don't remember it taking so long for my other kids. Hmmmm. Senile at thirty. Maybe.

On an unrelated topic, Kendri's catch-phrase for the week is.........

"I'm not affiliated with you!"

Usually shouted after someone has made her angry. I like to think it will impress the nosey people who are eavedropping. But more likely it will result in a 911 call.

Memorial Day Knock-out

We had a great 3 day weekend. We had a barbeque at Angel's Camp with swimming and playing with cousins. Too bad I didn't take any pics except for this one.....I think it about sums up our day!