We had fun Sunday evening when Grandma and Grandpa A. came over to visit. April, Karin, and Chris came over, too. David and Jenny played 2v2 soccer against Chris and Lydia. We had a tough time keeping Mia and Jack off the field



Mia enjoyed the Red Vines. She made a mess, but nothing a hose couldn't handle.



Jack with his "Hulk Out" tattoo and Hulk shirt. We are into the second day of potty-training. It hasn't gone too bad today. Yesterday we had quite a few accidents. I finally had to cut the 45 minute timer down to every 10 minutes. By 3:00 I had Jack sitting on the potty every 10 minutes. We finally had a breakthrough when Jack ran up and said, "Mommy, I have to go potty." We haven't had an accident yet today (but it's only 11:00am). We may be able to start pre-school next month after all.

Raspberries

Last week we pulled up the peas. In April I didn't think we would get any, but the seeds were just waiting to emerge when the sun decided to make a more permanent appearance. We've never had peas so late in the year. They were about 1 month late this year.

We got the tomatoes and peppers planted for the salsa garden. I also bought a cilantro plant this year. We'll see if it grows.

The raspberries are producing like crazy! Every other day we get about 2 cups. Sometimes we eat them. Sometimes I freeze them.

Fun at the Duck Pond

Jack was funny when he forgot to smile in a picture. He wanted his picture taken again, but he looked away. Silly boy!





Mia enjoyed walking with Great Grandma Flynn at the duck pond today. She is visiting with us until Marilee's wedding on August 2.

I don't have enough energy to think of a title

Today was one of THOSE days. Of course, that makes two in a row. I think that should be outlawed. The law should be that people are only allowed to have one of THOSE days per week or month, or better yet year. But with Jack and Jack Junior (AKA Mia) around I'm guaranteed two or three a week. Yesterday was a mild one of THOSE days. I lost my keys. I looked everywhere. Including the garbage that had been taken out and the garbage that hadn't been taken out. Why did I check the garbage? Because Mia likes the garbage can. This cool container with a cool lid is just her height and is her favorite place to put almost everything. After two hours of searching, I found it in Dave's night stand drawer (again an item the is just Mia's height with a cool opening.) I only missed one appointment.

This morning, Jack's buddies, Connor and Dallin, came over for a couple hours. I've been painting Jack's room, and I figured the boys would be entertained playing in Mia's room. Jack was thirsty and wanted me to make some Kool-Aid. He found a packet, and he and Connor opened it. What I saw was two funny looking boys spitting what looked like blood out of their mouths. That alone wasn't too much.

Lunch time came. I had just finished painting the window in Jack's room, so..

I'll finish this later.

Ok, enough time has passed that I can finish the story.

So I took a break from painting in Jack's room. I made some sandwiches and sat down with the kids for lunch. I took a book with me and read a book while eating lunch. Mia finished and wanted down, so I let her down. I continued to read my book, enjoying my lunch break. Then I suddenly remembered not putting the lid on the paint can. I sprinted to the bathroom and found Mia playing in the paint. Luckily for me, she had only just begun playing in the paint, and there wasn't too big of a mess. But she was not happy with me when I took her away from it and put her in the sink for a rinse.

A few hours later....

Jack and Connor were playing in the wading pool in the back yard. Jack has been rebeling against the idea of potty training, so when he started to fill his swimming trunks, I wasn't all that surprised. I took him in and cleaned him off. Then went to get a diaper. My mistake was not putting him on the potty while I got the diaper. I came back to a pile on my bedroom floor.

Looking back on this day I realize that events like this happen almost every day. But I usually only get one every day or so. It's tiring to have it happen in such rapid succession. I don't know how mothers with more children keep up the energy to do everything!

Gold & Bronze

We had a great time at the Utah Summer Games. Unfortunately Lydia's team had a couple errors in the semi-final game that resulted in the other team scoring. Besides these two major errors, the Rebels were the obvious best team there. Next time!

Jenny's team barely made it through to the final game with two wins, a loss, and a tie. They had to play for the gold medal against the team they had just lost to. It was an exciting game that went into overtime, and finally to PK's. At the point of the PK's there wasn't even a contest. Jenny's team scored their first three, and the goalie blocked every one of the other team's. It was an exciting finish to a very long and fun week.


Jack and Mia for the most part enjoyed being outside on the pitch all week. As we were cleaning up and leaving the field after the final game, Jack's "little blankie" was lying on the ground. I asked him to pick it up, but he told me he didn't want it. So as far as he knows, the little blankie was left on the field for a baby who needs it more than he does. He wasn't real happy about it at nap time, but maybe he's learned a little about choices and consequences.

Summer Games Schedule

Wednesday, June 11
10:00 – Departure
2:00 – Check-in at Hotel
(Exit 57. Left at 1st light, then left again at 2nd light. Hotel is on the left)
4:00 – Jenny’s Game (Field 10, 1150 W 100 S)
7:45 – Lydia’s Game (Field 15, 2215 W Royal Hunte Dr.)


Thursday, June 12
9:30 – Jenny’s Game (Field 10, 1150 W 100 S)
2:15 – Lydia’s Game (Field 19, 1925 Fiddler’s Canyon Rd.)
8:30 – Opening Ceremonies

Friday, June 13
9:30 – Jenny’s Game (Field 4, 1925 N Northfield Rd)
1:00 – Lydia’s Game (Field 19, 1925 Fiddler’s Canyon Rd.)
6:00 – Jenny’s Game (Field 14, 100 W 1925)

Saturday, June 14
8:00 – Lydia’s Game (Field 18, 499 W 400 S)
11:00 – Check-out at Hotel
2:00 – Jenny’s Game (1150 W 100 S)

Jenny's Team Schedule

Lydia's Team Schedule

Map of Fields

Trout Farm 2008

Despite the cold rain, the kids had a fun time at the trout farm. Jack helped Dad catch the smallest fish in the pond.
Mia enjoyed getting to know the fish. Check out this fish kiss video

Vacuuming

The smallest monster loves it when I vacuum. She chases the vacuum, then lies down in front or sits on it.

Columns

Finally, the reason the carpet has been delayed for so long is gone. The columns were put up yesterday. Tonight Dave and I put on the "grey coat" to make the styrofoam columns sturdy. Saturday we'll put on a hard finish, then we'll be ready for the carpet next week.

We all have our days...

Yesterday I was reminded of a time when Lydia was three or four years old.

We have an electric piano and a Light-Bright toy. (You know the toy with little colored pegs that you push into a device that is covered with black paper.) Well Lydia noticed a little hole on the front of the piano that was the exact size for a Light-Bright peg to fit. This hole just happened to be the jack for head phones. Well, when she put the peg in, the piano thought there were head phones in, and stopped making any noise at all. When I found the peg stuck in the hole I had no idea how to get it out. The peg was stuck tight, so even if I could tip the huge piano over, there was no way it would come out. Then my one brilliant idea of my life struck me. I took the rubber tips off a small bobby-pin. Then I used a lighter and heated the tips until they were red hot. I shoved the hot bobby-pin into the plastic peg, and left it there until the plastic cooled, then pulled out the bobby-pin with the peg stuck to it. I still have the bobby-pin/Light-Bright peg to remind myself on those days when I am feeling like a complete lump of useless goo, that if I just hang on and keep trying I can have great moments.


On another topic, Mia has had a runny nose all week, and I wondered if it was from teething. Sure enough, she has 4 teeth coming in. Poor kid

Thanks for the party

Jack enjoyed his party. He's been looking forward to it since Jenny's birthday in March.

Today Dave's family came over and helped us clean and install electrical stuff in the basement

Check out Jack's first attempt at movie making

Happy Birthday, Jack

Today is Jack's third birthday. We celebrated this morning by taking the mini-van in to have the brakes fixed. Jack, Mia, and I walked to Krispy Kreme's and had some yummy birthday doughnuts. Then we walked to Shopko and got new Spiderman shoes, Spiderman sunglasses, and a cool Spiderman hat. Tonight we had Jack's birthday dinner. His choice was hot dogs and french fries

Front Runner

Yesterday we took the Front Runner down to Salt Lake and walked around Temple Square. The train was FULL, but we had fun anyway.

Gloves

A guy in the neighborhood picks up stray gloves while he runs and places them on the fence post at the top of Fort Lane. In the spring of 2007 someone removed them all, but almost all of them have gloves on them again. Check them out next time you drive this way. There are a lot of gloveless workers out there!

Soccer Season Again

Jenny scored two goals in Saturday's game! Hurray for soccer season starting again. The cold winter months of playing indoor are finally over and we get to go out and brave the elements, whether rain, snow, or sunshine, to see our kids play soccer.

Dave's leg

Dave went in to have his ACL repaired on March 27. Everything went well and he is back up and walking around. Not quite back to normal, but the doctor said it would be about 6 months.

Easter morning

Saturday night we decorated eggs. The kids had a blast hunting them in the morning.

Spring Break 2008

Friday afternoon we had fun hiking.

Science Fair 2008

Jenny's Science Fair Project:

WHAT CURES SPICY FOODS?

I learned that what makes chili peppers spicy is a flavorless, colorless, and odorless alkaloid found in the tissue around the seeds called capsaicin. Capsaicin does not actually burn but tricks the taste buds into thinking they are being burned when it stimulates the nerve endings in the mouth.

Capsaicin is not soluble in water, but it is soluble in alcohols, fats, and oils. Milk has fats and a protein called casein that neutralizes capsaicin. Edger Hegyes, a medical scientist, discovered that capsaicin “stimulated the mucous membranes of the mouth and stomach and increased the secretion of gastric juices.”

Capsaicin is measured in Scoville units. This is based on how much it is diluted before it isn’t hot anymore. Something that isn’t hot would be 0 Scovilles, while the jalapeno peppers that my dad uses to make his salsa are at 55,000 Scovilles.

The bread and milk were both successful in stopping the spicy affect. The soda also reduced the spicy affect, but not as much as the bread and milk.




Lydia's Science Fair Project:

DO GREEN BAGS REALLY WORK?

Debbie Meyer’s green bags claim
“Scientists searching for ways to prolong the freshness of produce for Antarctic exploration became aware of a region in Japan known for thousands of years for storing produce for extended periods of time.
Farmers in the region had been warehousing their produce in mountain caves with amazing results. The caves were dark, consistently cool, dry and, it was discovered, the caves themselves were in a mountain of clay called oya. The oya absorbed the ethylene gas that the produce gave off as it matured, significantly prolonging the freshness. Debbie Meyer’s Green Bags' special film is made with that mineral, oya.”

We have learned that the Oya stone contains zeolite, which will absorb gasses. There is no scientific proof that the ethylene gas will actually be absorbed by the green bags. However, we’ve read that the holes caused by the Oya clay particles, increases the gas exchange from inside the bag and outside the bag. The ethylene is able to escape the plastic bag through the holes.


We found that the green bags do work to help keep the fruits and vegetables from ripening faster. However, the bags also hold in the moisture, increasing the growth of mold and fungus. We also found several other people's experiments with the green bags. They had similar results as ours.

Valentine's Day

I'm feeling good about my thriftiness today. I sent the girls off to school with valentines for their classmates, and I didn't spend any money on them. I took some 9X12 envelopes and folded them in half. I hole punched the folded edge and put some folded printer paper inside to create a booklet. We then decorated the front with red, pink, and white paper, fabric, buttons, lace, and ribbons that were left over from other projects.

Of course, Jenny didn't want to give the boys these "cute" valentines, so she bought some Shrek valentines from the store.


I've been thinking of a way to prevent Jack from sucking his thumb. I took Jack's "silky" (a pair of silky pajama bottoms of Jenny's that Jack used to drag around with him wherever he went). I made a thumb template and sewed up the "silky" as a thumb cover. He only complained a little at nap time.

Yesterday I took Jack and Mia with me to the indoor soccer arena. I left Mia in her stroller and Jack on a blanket in front of the portable DVD player. The other kids enjoyed it for a while, too. But it wasn't too long before I looked over, and Jack was stripping down to his diaper. I don't remember how I was entertained before I had kids. Those of you without are really missing out!