The Princess Festival! ~ June 14-17, 2010

This year I went to the Princess Festival three times. I had planned on taking Abi there for her parent daughter date but then Grace wanted to go for her parent daughter date. Then after both the other girls went, Scout felt left out and wanted to go, too. So on Monday I went with Grace. It was great! She loved everything. She got her hair done, she bought her own soap, and the Prince himself fitted her for a slipper. The cast were out playing games with the kids and putting on tea parties and skits.

Wednesday I took Abi to the Princess Festival, but it was so windy they were cancelling our session, so they put us in the one starting right as we showed up and then told us to come back a different day to do all the extra stuff. Even the vendors were all packed up and gone when we got there. It was actually kind of nice, because they had all the characters come into the room at the end of the adventure and Abi was able to get to meet all of them without having to run all over the park looking at them.

Since Abi didn't get to do all of the activities on her day, the whole family went back to the Princess Festival on Thursday. After getting their faces painted and doing some crafts, Jared took Scout on her adventure and we all did the activities together.

Max enjoyed the little of the festival that he experienced, which was playing at the park and eating a candy necklace.

We all had a great time and are looking forward to being able to go again next year, just the one time though, with everyone.

Trip to Washington! ~ June 18-27, 2010

We had so much fun in Washington. We have really missed Angela and her family, and it was nice visiting with Aunt Susan also. Here's the picture highlights!

Scout and Jared got in this big fight on the drive up because Scout fell asleep and leaned on Abi. Abi didn't want her to lean on her so she freaked out and Scout woke up. Scout then insisted that she never fell asleep and would never lean on Abi. Jared told her she did and she got angry, and Jared couldn't just drop it so it lasted forever. Consequently, when Scout fell asleep later on, we had to take her picture to prove to her that we were, in fact, telling the truth and she really did lean on Abi.

Abi and cousin Carson being the slow pokes, walking to the beach.

Me smirking at Jared, and Max thinking it's all pretty funny.

My boys, can't tell they are related can you?

I love this picture of Scout.
Our family, we took several, that's as good as it got.

All the kids, minus Max- Abi, Grace, Carson, Ewen, Jeff, Calista, and Scout.

After this I think Ewen noticed the bugs crawling up the sides and promptly came out.

On the dock.
Seattle from the ferry.

We are looking forward to our next trip out there!

Swimming

This week it seems like my girls have broken through their plateaus with swimming. Scout has been moved up to the Piranha's class at the 10 foot deep end of the pool. She has become a much better swimmer since being forced to swim or half drown.

Grace is eager to catch up to Scout and be put in the Piranha's class also so she has been trying like crazy. Jan said she needed to keep her knees together when kicking and all week has been working on it. Today she got it. She is especially good at the butterfly. Jan said it looks like that's going to be her stroke.

Abi has started swimming on her back by herself, doing chicken-airplane-soldier and moving all over the pool. Today she also started doing freestyle herself with the ball tied to her to keep her bum from sinking.

Next week the older girls are going to take the side breathing class and hopefully by the end of the week they will have that down. Then there will be nothing stopping them!

In non-swimming news, Max is completely weaned now and is much less grumpy now that I have just stopped. We are also looking forward to Jared getting back from his work trip to LA.

Benno's Bear by N. F. Zucker

It is my goal this summer to read more, both with the kids and on my own. One of the main purposes of my own reading it to find more chapter books that I think would be good for my kids. Since I am a very ordered person I couldn't just start grabbing random books and have decided to choose one book going in reverse alphabet order, because I'm a rebel like that.

The first one I have chosen in the Junior Fiction category is Benno's Bear. I really liked this book. It's about an 11 year old boy and his father who have been caught stealing. The father is sent to jail and Benno ends up staying with a police officer as his care giver. I will definitely be reading this to my kids, probably not for a couple years. I think it would be a good one for an eight or nine year old or older. I am not a crier in movies, but books get to me, and this one did it. Maybe that's only because I stayed up to late and had a migraine when reading it, but there it is.

Outdoor Adventures!

May 30th- June 5th

Family Read-aloud Books- Little House in the Big Woods

- The Misadventures of Maude Marche

(Please! If you know of any other outdoor adventure books that you or your kids love, let me know! I am always on the lookout for more great books.)

Sport of the Week- Frisbee Golf

- Bike riding

-Capture the Flag

Sunday- Family Home Evening

Lesson- The Creation http://lds.about.com/library/bl/fhe/blcreation.htm

Song- Heavenly Father Loves Me

Song- kids choice

Treat- Pumpkin Cake Roll

Monday- Field Trip- Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point Tarzan and Jane Story time and craft 5-7 pm

Tuesday- Library

Craft- Decorate a Summer Box of Memories

Wednesday- Kids Cooking- Foil Dinners, Cup of Dirt

Movie- Wilderness Family, Swiss Family Robinson, Wild America

Thursday- Swimming- Spanish Oaks Reservoir

Friday- Piano Lessons

Hike- Bridal Veil Canyon

Saturday- Breakfast & Family Day Hike at Kiwanis Park (it's Free!) 200 S. 1700 E. Pleasant Grove 8:30-9:30am

Camping and Free Fishing Day!

Kids Camp Cooking- Pigs in Blankets (biscuits- 2-3 c flour, 1-2 Tbl baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2-3 Tbl butter, 2/3 c water, mix with hands, wrap around hot dot and roast over fire)

Kids Camp Craft- Nature Picture Frames

Scavenger Hunt- (have a bag for each child)

- a blade of grass longer then your middle finger

- an acorn cap

- a leaf from the ground

- a pine cone

- a few pine needles

- a twig longer then your thumb

- signs of a spider

- an ant hill

- signs of a bird

- your favorite small rock

- signs of other animals

Night Games- Sardines, No Bears Out Tonight

And so it goes

So I have been getting rid of the food in my house with potential migraine triggers. It's seriously like 70% of the food I have in my house. I have sent three boxes full of stuff with Jared to work, and packed up three more boxes full to keep in case of an emergency, and that's just the stuff out of my pantry! I still have my fridge, freezer, and food storage to go through.

In the mean time, the table has been my dump spot and everyone has been munching on that stuff for the last time before it gets packed off, including myself. I have had the biggest headache these last few days! You would think I would learn and stop eating it. A lot of the stuff I think, I doubt that gives me headaches, but with the headache I have had I am starting to believe the book.

I am taking most of the freezer and fridge stuff to my mom's house, but if anyone needs some food, let me know, because I certainly can't keep it.

Here we go again

I tend to go through cycles of being so sick of getting headaches all the time, I finally decide to try something to get rid of them. Then I get sick of gaining weight from whatever meds the doctor give me that don't do a darn for my headache so I go back to doing nothing until I can't deal with life and start the cycle over.

If you have seen my house lately you would know what I mean about not being able to deal with life. I always have a headache and bending over to pick things up and the smell of cleanser always makes them worse so everything has just stopped and I can't deal with my house any more, or with myself. Always before, I didn't let my headaches absolve me of my responsibilities, but since having a baby (yes that was a year ago), I've used headaches and being tired and a baby as my excuse for dropping everything. And it really shows, in my house, my relationship with my husband and kids, my friendships, my church callings, and even my hobbies, which I have stopped doing and being interested in. I just sit, or sleep, and watch the days flying by while I am miserable, and I'm sick of it. I don't want to loose another summer, another year. I have goals, for my family and myself, and I don't want to put them off any longer.

It's become abundantly clear to me that I can't rely on doctors for relief from my depression or headaches. They just prescribe meds that I always have horrible side effects to and that don't help at all. Did you know that 40% of people don't respond to depression medications? Doctors deny it though, claiming you just have to find the right one. Well I have been on 9 different ones and all they have done is make me gain weight and get more headaches (I won't even mention sexual side effects), and be the meanest person in the world going off of them. I'm not willing to go on the other meds they are practically forcing me to try for headaches. ("If you won't go on ___ then there isn't anything I can do to help you." "If you insist on nursing, or want to have another baby, then there isn't anything we can do for you. Come back when your done with those.") So that means it's just me.

A while back Jared found the book called Heal Your Headache. I half tried it back then but still thought some medication would work and didn't want to invest the time and effort into doing what the book said. I'm willing now. Today I am going through all the food in my house and getting rid of everything the book says is a possible trigger. It's probably better this way anyhow because my two older girls have started complaining of mild to moderate headaches lately and a lifestyle change will be a change for my whole family (except maybe Jared, he'll just end up taking all the food to his work).

Funny Kids

Grace- "I hope Jesus doesn't come during my daddy-daughter date because that would ruin the end of the play." Afterward we talked about how most likely it will be "inconvenient" for a lot of people and started listing other things she hopes she isn't doing when he comes again, like going to that bathroom. She said that would be so embarrassing.

Abi- We were listening to Moon Shadow and Abi said, "If you didn't have any eyes you couldn't blink, and blinking is the most awesome thing on your face! Because, uh, Princesses. (Duh)"

Abi- "This is not even broccoli."
Scout- "Yeah it's cauliflower."
Abi- "Yeah, I call it flower, too."
Grace- "GET IT!?! I call it flower! Cauliflower! That was a funny joke!"
Abi- "Yeah it's funny because I call it flower." I don't think she got it.