JUNE

The kids and I had three weeks to play between the time they got out of school and when we left for Idaho.   During these same three weeks, our school district offered summer school to all elementary-aged kids. (Grrr....) But since the whole idea of "summer school" was new for us, the kids wanted to at least try it.......thankfully it was only a week or so before they were asking to stay home and hang out with me!! So the rest of our time was spent together, sleeping in, playing games, reading tons of books and planning fun outings. Thursdays was a designated pool day so we hit a new pool at least once week, usually two or three times.

 Fridays were deemed "Field Trip Fridays" and we visited all kinds of places.....one week the kids wanted a field trip to Target to stock up on Snow Cone making supplies. Friends were invited along, we visited the neighborhood splash park, and then headed home to make huge snow cones.  Another week we headed downtown for a picnic lunch with Chris. We also visited the "Clifford" museum, an awesome model train museum, and hit the city's biggest water fountains.

 Our last field trip was just the boys and I since Livi had a chess tournament at summer school that she just couldn't stand to miss! It worked out perfectly since I had been waiting for this "secret" outing. First thing in the morning, I gave Nick a list of chores, a small bowl with scraps of paper that had letters written on them, and a told him he must be done by 11:45am. After he completed each job, he chose a letter. It didn't take him too long, since some of the jobs were things like "kiss your mommy 5 times" and "Do 20 jumping jacks." Once he'd earned all the letters, he had to unscramble them to figure out the clue to our field trip....

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Can you see the excitement on this child's face? He knew exactly where we were going....to the long awaited showing of The Karate Kid!  We packed treats and off we went. The boys thought it was great. I loved the fact that Will Smith produced it and that Ralph Machio was nowhere to be seen. It was a fun afternoon with just my guys.

The kids were also really excited about our local  summer reading program so we hit the library every week for new books and to take in some of the fun shows they presented. We saw a great children's musician, a puppet show, magic show, a cool eagle presentations and an amazing reptile show. The kids were in heaven, especially at the reptile show. The boys wore their alligator/snake shirts and had no hesitations when it came to petting all the little and not-so-little creatures. Ben even got to ride Buster, a young tortoise. The trainer told Ben to get him moving so Ben whispered, "Giddy up" and scratched his head with one little finger.....

Our month of playtime went so fast! I know we will have a great time on our summer travels, seeing family and being busy. Sometimes it's just nice to be around home and I love it when my kids are with me!

CRICKET

Today the kids had a birthday party to go to over at the neighbors and I had a meeting at the exact same time. Chris didn't mind taking them over...... I should have known something crazy would go on with their dad as their chaperone at the "Bug and Frog" party. I showed up at the tail-end of the bash and Livi could hardly wait to tell me that she voluntarily ate a whole cricket, "legs and all." I could not believe her for anything, knowing that she is the same child that doesn't like spaghetti most days, prefers not to eat carrots, and doesn't "love" peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Since when did she like crickets?! She informed me that it was salt and vinegar flavored and, apparently, that made all the difference. My neighbor finally pulled out the package of remains to prove Olivia's bravery. Listen kid, If you can eat a cricket and live to tell about it, you can eat ANYTHING I fix for you!!! I Love ya, Liv! You ARE a brave little thing!

ORANGE

Nick and Chris tested for their orange belts this week in Karate. They did so well! It's great that it has really become "their thing" and that they can practice and train together! Way to go!

There are other adults in the class...

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Waiting... 

Reviewing their scores..

new belt from Master Tyler

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You boys look good in orange!

EARLY RISER

Dear son,
Oh, sweet Ben, we love you. We really do. But you could please sleep in past the five o'clock hour? See, your Dad and I, we just don't function at all  well any earlier than 6am. If you could just stay in your room until then, you would not have so much unchaperoned time that always ends in total distruction of the kitchen. This has gone on way too long and it is starting to effect our relationship. Please, child, we beg of you....

Your parents

Batmobile/chocolate powder explosion

"making a cake..."

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

It's been thirteen years for me and this guy....and we're still in love! The last year was really a year of challenges and growth for us and it is looking like this year could be much of the same! As hard as it seems sometimes, it is wonderful to be doing it together. All of our prayers and efforts only increase the strength and specialness of our relationship! I love you Christopher! Thank you for all you do for us and for our little family. We are bestest pals forever!

In honor of our special day, here are 13 of my best memories from the last 13 years, in no particular order....

1.  Buying our first home on Saint Charles Street! It was darling and perfect and we KNEW it was supposed to be ours!
2.  Bringing home little baby Nick after his surgery. Our prayers and tears were heard by a loving Heavenly Father and he is so healthy now!
3.  Walking home in the dark from those late night ESPN II basketball games at the U. Thanks to Andre and Doleac, we stayed awake!
4.  Cruising through the mexican jungles on a 4- wheeler outside of Cancun.
5.  Stratus..Mountaineer..Explorer....Beetle....Suburban
6.  Learn how to haul rocks, week, garden, and grow lots of pretty stuff, all thanks to your master gardening techniques!
7.  Seeing super chubby and super purple baby Ben for the first time. Wow, he was big!
8.  Every Christmas Eve we have spent together, just our little family.
9.  Sealing your Grandparents together in the Bismarck temple.
10.  The Charlie-dog story. And the Stella Luna story, too....
11.  Leaving Utah with a U-Haul and newborn baby girl, headed towards our life as Creighton Blue Jays. What an awesome year!
12.  Parasailing in shark-infested waters.
13.  Today!

Love you forever, babe! XOXOXO

SPRING

 We are really enjoying our first spring in Kansas City. We weren't too sure what our yard would like that at this time of year, but it is absolutely beautiful. Every inch of it is blooming! The kids and I have been cutting fresh flowers to have inside for nearly two months!

STELLA

So this cat, it's been hanging around the neighborhood. For quite a while. She seems to be making her way down the block, spending a few days with one family and then making up to another family further down the street for  the next few days and so on.  Then she arrived in our yard and never really left. The kids saw her and instantly fell in love. They named her Stella Luna, after that story about the little black bat. They went to our neighbors on the south all in a panic, wanting them to come check out the kitty and make sure it was healthy becasue "you guys have a cat and my mom doesn't really know about cats." Ben even headed outside just after 6am one morning to lay with the kitty who had found a resting spot on the zipline platform.....

Stella spent a few nights-and days- in our house when the kids couldn't stand to leave her outside. She was such a sweet cat and loved to be loved. Ben hauled her all over, never leaving her alone for even a second, and she never made a fuss. Even during "bath time."

Stella, wet and wrapped in toilet paper after Ben gave her a bath

Olivia absolutely adored this cat and I think the feeling was mutual. Stella often slept under Olivia's bed during the day and Livi was happy to share her bed pillow with the kitty at night. 

Even Chris was a sucker for this cat from the very first night when we let it in the kitchen and it laid and rolled around and purred in his lap. I agreed that this was one of the prettiest cats I had ever seen, but I was still very allergic and really not wanting another pet. Everyday I was asked if we could "get a collar," "keep her," and "make her ours." Just like with the dog, my ability to say no was crumbling. I told the kids we would take it to the vet, see if she was chipped, and then we we would put up some BLACK CAT FOUND signs. We could keep her until her owners came for her.....

According to the vet, she was a young cat, declawed and well cared for. Probably an inside cat that had escaped and run away. But there was no chip to be found.... and no one ever called to claim her. I wasn't totally sure that someone would, it just bought  some time to make a decision. That actually got a little easier, since both Olivia and Ben became obviously allergic to her over the next few weeks. And Stella wasn't eating, anything that we were feeding her anyway. We watched her kill numerous mice in mere seconds so  she certainly wasn't going hungry. We decided that she could stay, as long as she lived outside. She seemed most happy there. Everytime we brought her in, unless it was time for her to start her all-day long nap, she would meow and pace at the front door. Maybe it was the large black lump of a dog that paid her no attention that was bothersome, we weren't sure. But she would be fine out in the yard. For a while...

We left for vacation for a two weeks and when we got home, she was gone. The kids were heartbroken. I was a little worried, too, thinking maybe something had happened to her with all the extreme heat we were having. I had heard that Wayside Waifs, a no-kill shelter, had picked up 1500 cats in the last week and saved them from the heat. I actually got online to look for her and I swear, five of those cats could have been Stella! I felt sorry for the kids but I  certainly was not going to try my luck and hopefully buy back the cat who my kids were allergic to. With time, I figured, they would move on and forget about her. I did however promise them that I would check with our neighbors on the north, who also frequently saw Stella, to see if they knew what had happened to her.

A while later, I saw Jim working out in his yard and remembered Stella. They are a cute older couple and when I asked him if he had any idea where that black cat had gone, he said, "Yeah, the wife's got it in the house. She took it in, it's been to the vet and had a haircut too. She loves it." Total and complete elation! Stella was okay. And happy. And not in my house! I told the kids the minute they came home from school and they were really excited, too. They can visit her anytime they want to, right next door! And we all lived happily ever after. The End.

DAD

Today was Father's Day and we had a great time letting Chris know how special he is to us. This guy is all about treats so we were up early, making his favorite morning meal...strawberry milkshakes! The kids thought it was great to get to have dad's kind of breakfast!

They had made cards and I gave him some decadent chocolate-dipped Hostess treats that I found at a local chocolate shop. (Seriously, can anything Hostess be decadent? I think not.) We did a digital picture frame with pictures of all of us for him to have at work and included some pictures from his special day. He loved it! Here are some of the best photos from the day....

(No, Charlie is not dead.....)

After church, it was finally time for the "Father's Day Contest." The kids do one of these for him every year, just for fun. Last year it was an ice cream taste test, this year it was soda....

They all get SO into it! The boys couldn't stand to wait any longer so they put their shirts over their eyes instead of going to find bandanas. (Insted of participating, Ben sat on the table by me and threw back glass after glass of soda that I poured for him!) Chris nailed almost every soda, even the weird ones, so that means he really is the SODA CHAMP we thought him to be! 

P.S. I heard next year's competition has something to do with frosting....

Honey I hope you know how special you are to our family! Thank you so much for....the crazy fun you bring into our house, working so  long and hard to bring home the bacon, being willing to help out when I need it, being understanding, singing all the time, being a "master gardener" so I don't have to, just for being ours!  xoxoxoxox