Adams Family Vacation June 2007

June 11 - 12, 2007


Follow the link on the title to see the awesome video of our vacation (it's only a couple minutes). Jack was a trooper and hiked 3 different hikes. Monday we hiked the Emerald Pools (Jack fell in) and Weeping Rock. Tuesday we hiked up the Riverside Walk that leads to The Narrows. Jack, Mia, and I stayed at the trail head for The Narrows, while Dave took Jenny and Lydia up river a bit farther. Jenny came back soaked, but they had so much fun, they decided to stay in the river while I walked with Jack and Mia on the trail back. After driving through the tunnel, Dave, Jenny, and Lydia hiked up the Canyon Overlook.

June 13 - 14, 2007

Wednesday, Lydia's soccer team played their first game in the Utah Summer Games. They won 5 - 0. Thursday they weren't so lucky. They were playing girls a year older, but they played well against them. They almost tied the team who took first place, but in the last minute, the other team scored. BUMMER!!

Thursday night we all went to the opening ceremonies of the Utah Summer games. We all participated in breaking 2 records in the Guiness Book of World Records. The records they broke were for the most people wearing balloon hats and the largest game of "Simon Says" ever played on planet Earth. After Jack was scared to death by the Utah State "Aggie" ( and who wouldn't be), we enjoyed the show and the fireworks.






Jack enjoys the festivies at the social before the opening ceremonies










June 15, 2007

Friday we walked around downtown St. George. It was WAY too hot (108). We visited the St. George Temple visitor's center and watched The Joseph Smith Story, then had ice cream at the Blue Bunny ice cream shop. After visiting the tabernacle we headed back to the condo to get out of the heat.

June 16, 2007

Saturday Jack, Mia, and I stayed at the hotel, while Dave took Jenny and Lydia back to downtown St. George. They went to the Brigham Young home and the museum run by the Daughter's of the Utah Pioneers. They met Brigham Young (a guy dressed up like him was at the Brigham Young home). We all went to lunch at the Iceburg Drive Inn, where we saw Dr. Denning!! What a small world.

June 17, 2007 - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

We are glad to get home and see Rod and Melanie's family has finally made it to Utah.

Our Family

Sunday, June 3, 2007

We celebrated Mia's baby blessing with family and friends. Check out pictures of everyone, plus pictures from our Memorial Day fish fry.

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u249/tanyaadams/

Espaniolandia

5/23/07 Lydia works in the post office. The third grade had a fun night where the kids traveled to "Espaniolandia" with a passport. After exchanging our money, we went to the post office and mailed a post card. Then we went to a dinner of traditional Spanish food, had our picture taken as a bullfighter and dancer (see below), and finally bought a souvenir t-shirt.

SAY CHEESE!!!

5/5/07
Jack takes his traditional "first bite" of the birthday cake. Can you believe he is two years old?

5/9/07
Dave was preparing to grate the cheese, but didn't pay close enough attention. Jack grabbed hold of the block of cheese and, well, you can see the result! This kid definitely takes after his dad in his food tastes. (by the way, he's not blinking. That's the way he smiles for the camera. Silly kid.)

5/22/07 Jack cuddles with his favorite friendly neighborhood Spiderman (or Maaaaaan!).

Mia Elizabeth Adams

April 18, 2007
7 lbs 8 oz
19 in long


Baby Blessing scheduled for Sunday, June 3, 9:00 am.
590 W 2000 N,
Layton, UT 84041

Refreshments will be served at our house afterwards.


4/23/07

Since bringing the baby home I have been very proud of my active little two-year-old.He has shown an appropriate amount of curiosity without making me nervous that he is going to hurt her. However, I don't think he understands that he needs to be careful around me as well. So this evening while it was just the two little ones and myself, I decided to show Jack my incision with the hopes that he mightbe a little gentler with me. I explained that the "owwie" was where babyMia came out. Jack thought for a minute, then turned to Mia and, wagging his finger, said, "naughty, naughty!" What a funny kid!


4/22/07

Thanks to everyone who was able to come visit us while we were at the hospital. We have been home for almost 8 hours and I realized why I stayed that extra day. Within the first hour of being home Lydia smashed her finger in the door and Jack bit Jenny's finger while she was trying to clean lunch off his face. Needless to say, I wasn't ready for the noise of everyday life again. I hope you like the pictures

Easter Egg Hunt

Sorry we didn't plan this sooner. Next year we'll plan sooner and have everyone there!

The Nursery

Check out my attempts to start labor!!

Are blonds really dumb?

Jenny wanted to prove in her Science Fair project that blonds are not dumb. However, we were surprised at the results. She had 70 5th graders and 70 high school kids take the following test, scored them, and sent the test scores to a statistician to have them analyzed. This is what the statistician found:

For the 5th graders: there is no significant difference between the groups.

For high school student: blonds have a 95% chance of scoring lower on the intelligence test than non-blonds

Can you believe that she lost half of her points from the judging on the fact that her project wasn't creative or original! Some kid running a clock on fruit won (like I haven't seen that on ZOOM before). I'm only a little bitter. I try not to let it show in front of her too much.

Test Questions
On a standard traffic light is the green on the top or bottom?
_______________________________________
How many states are there? (don’t laugh some people don’t know)
_______________________________________
In which hand is in the Statue of Liberty’s torch?
_______________________________________
What 2 letters DON’T appear on the telephone dial?
_______________________________________
What 2 numbers on the telephone dial DON’T have letters by them?
_______________________________________
When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?
_______________________________________
How many matches are in a standard pack?
_______________________________________
On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?
_______________________________________
Which way does a “no smoking” sign’s slash run?
_______________________________________
Whose face is on a dime?
______________________________________
How many edges does a stop sign have?
_______________________________________
How many sides does a standard pencil have?
_______________________________________
Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who’s missing? _______________________________________
What is zero divided by zero?
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On the back of a one dollar bill, what is in the center?
_______________________________________
How many curves are there on a standard paperclip?
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Some months have 30 days, some months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?
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Divide 30 by half and add ten. What do you get?
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A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many live sheep were left?
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If you drove a bus with 43 people on board from Chicago and stopped at Pittsburgh to pick up 7 more people and drop off 5 passengers and at Cleveland to drop off 8 passengers and pick up 4 more and eventually arrive at Philadelphia 20 hours later, what’s the name of the driver?

________________________________________

Warm Weather

Yesterday morning as I was coming in from taking the girls to school, I saw the most wonderful thing that each spring has to offer. The crocuses next to the sidewalkare coming up. That means the mini-irises, daffodils, and hyacinths aren't far behind.

It's been nice and warm. Dave and the girls built several huge snowmen and snow forts last Sunday and the only thing left of them is a small nub of snow lefton the lawn. They may enjoy the snow and cold, but I prefer the spring - warmerweather, increased daylight, fragrant flowers, and the baby is almost here. Only39 days left. Only 38 days left of busy season for Dave. Only 120 hours of overtime,he tells me.

I hope the warm weather brings you as much happiness as it does me.

End of January

The kids sure had a great time visiting at Grandma and Grandpa Adams' after the big snow storm a couple weeks ago. Even Jack went down the hill a couple times. This picture is after he went down. He sat on Grandma's lap and watched everyone else. I sure wanted to go down, too. But I didn't feel safe being as big as I am right now.

The bishop was inspired!

The bishop was inspired when he called me to be the cub scout leader in our ward. At the time I was the mother of two beautiful little girls (who by the way, never got into things - just a little whiny at times). But the bishop was inspired to call me to be the leader of several 8, 9, and 10 year-old boys to prepare me for what was coming. I spend one afternoon a week with rowdy, loud, and sometimes downright obnoxious boys who try my patience. I grew up with brothers, but that still doesn't prepare you for the energy a group of boys displays during the weekly ritual of flag ceremony, prayer, games, art projects, etc. that we call Den Meeting.

Two months after being called as the cub scout leader, I found out I was pregnant. Nine months later my little ball of energy was born. We call him Jack. I have now been a cub scout leader for 2 1/2 years and have learned to love the fun time I have with the cub scouts. I also have learned that EVERYTHING must be out of reach of a two-year old little boy's curiosity. I will tell you about today's adventure....................

I was working on the computer and Jack was watching Curious George in the other room. I didn't notice the tube of super glue on the bottom shelf of the entertainment center. I'm not sure how it got there with his toys. I was alerted to a problem when I heard him make distressed noises from the other room. I went in to see what the problem was, when I saw the tube of super glue in his lap. He was rubbing his mouth, obviously distressed at what he had just bitten. He had super glue all over his teeth, lips and hands. Luckily he was spitting and trying to get it out of his mouth, otherwise I would have worried that he had swallowed some of it. Suprisingly, super glue DOESN'T stick to wet things. We peeled super glue off tongue, teeth, lips and fingers.

So, I just want to say, "Thank you!" to Bishop Love for his inspiration.

The holidays are OVER!!!!!

Greta and Caroline











Jack and Grandpa Flynn











Jack and Uncle Chris









Great Grandma and Grandpa Adams

We had a great time visiting everyone for Christmas and New Year's Eve. Mom & Dad Flynn were able to spend the night for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. We had a fun time visiting and playing games. Mom & Dad Adams made it home from California after visiting with Clay, Alisa, Regan, and Morgan. I hear they had a fun time, except that Dad would have liked to have had Dave at Disney Land to ride the "fun" rides with.

New Year's Eve, Jack got into a bottle of glass cleaner and dumped it out on the living room floor. New Year's Day, he got into the sugar jar and dumped it all over the kitchen table. He's learning to get into stuff, and the girls are hopefully learning to put stuff away! Not very likely, though.

The votes are in. The winner is...............

Sorry dad Adams. As much as your grandsons are outnumbered 3:1, we are only adding to your beautiful granddaughter population. But at least we can say we did our part in having a boy. Jack is loving the attention he gets from his sisters. I'm not sure how he will react to being ousted from his baby spot in the family. The doctor also moved the due date back to April 24 - same day as Jon and Erin, and the same day as Aunt April's birthday.

Make a guess

A lot has happened in the last month. But before I get to that, please take a look at the above picture. Dr. Sharon was so kind as to do an ultrasound yesterday at our appointment (sorry Jon & Erin for making your appointment late!) The baby was not very cooperative with a cute face shot, but was very accomadating in letting us know if he/she was a boy or girl. Jon & Erin were able to figure it out from this picture. Since they haven't had any children yet (i.e. never interpreted an ultrasound) everyone else should be able to get it too. Just leave a comment with your guess, and we'll see how many get it right!

As for what else has happened......

Jenny participated in her 5th grade "Waxless Wax Museum" Thursday night. Each student was assigned a person, place, or thing from the revolutionary war to portray. The wax students stood in the "museum" (school hall) and the parents walked through. If they were interested in learning more about that person, place, or thing, you pushed the button on the floor in front of them. Jenny was Abigail Adams. Fortunately we found an appropriate dress at Savers (thrift store). Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera with us to the museum, so I'll update the blog later with that. She was definitely the most beautiful girl in the museum.

Lydia participated in the school Geography Bee after winning in her classroom. She came in second place (last year she was disappointed in taking 4th because that meant no medal). All of her cramming really paid off - although, I'm not sure she will remember it all. Again, I forgot to take the camera to capture the exciting moment, so I will take a picture of the victor and her medal and update the blog later.

Halloween

Wow!! It's been a while since I last posted anything. Outdoor soccer season is over, and indoor started this week. Jenny's games are on Saturdays and Lydia's are on Mondays. Jack had a fun time as a "construction worker" at the neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat on Halloween. His favorite part was hitting his hard hat with the hammer. Dave and the girls spent the entire evening trick or treating in Grandma A's neighborhood with Uncle Chris, Uncle Jamie, Adam and Sam. Jenny was a purple party girl and Lydia was Hermione.

We had fun celebrating Lydia's 9th birthday with friends and family October 28. And Sunday we celebrated Dave's birthday.

Today is November 7th - Voting Day. Lohra is in a heated race for the Salt Lake County Attorney's office. We are excited to go her victory party tonight after the kids go to bed.
http://www.lohramiller.com/

Announcement

For all of you who read this blog, you will be informed of the secret that Jenny was so bad at keeping. About 2 weeks ago Dave and I told the girls that they are going to have another sibling, but that they aren't to tell anyone for a while. This week, I found out that Jenny immediately told her friends at church, who then told their parents. So much for secrets. Sorry that our entire ward knows our exciting news before family.

We are expecting a baby around the end of April, 2007. We were going to try for 7/7/07, but I jinxed us. In July, Grandma Barker had a "shop for free" where I gave away all my baby girl stuff. In August, I discovered that I am pregnant. If that's not a jinx, I don't know what is. With Jack, I had just given away my maternity clothes at Grandma Barker's "shop for free." So if any of you are having difficulties with conceiving, now you know the secret.

Oh yeah, I've been doing some Family History research that some of you might find interesting. Dad asked me to find information on a Moses Westberry, who is an ancestor of Grandma Flynn's (Opal). He was quite an important preacher in Georgia in the century prior to the Civil War (1805 - 1855). While doing this research, I came across a paper entitled "A Christian Justification of Slavery?"© by Cassandra Miller. It's a very interesting paper on how southern preachers justified the institution of slavery. Moses Westberry is not mentioned in this paper, but his uncle (?), the Rev. Richard Furman is mentioned. There is also a story of an ancestor who was a confederate soldier that was interesting. His name was James Harris.

The Cutest Kid in the West

I don't know how other parents can stand it, because everyone must just be super-jealous of my kids (of whom I am never bored). The only dull moments are when the girls are at school and Jack is asleep. When Jack is awake, he has gotten pretty good at signing at me that he wants to go outside to pick raspberries or play in the water. I'm sure it's funny to watch us. He makes signs and I guess what he's saying (like charades) until I get it right. When I get it right he nods his head up and down with a HUGE grin on his face. I thought I had done great with this signing thing, until two days ago he wagged his finger at me (saying "no"). My only consolation is that he learned to sign yes several weeks ago. It's inevitable that the kids will learn to say "no" and "mine" sooner or later. His other favorite thing to do is watch the "Jack Movie." I recorded all our home videos onto DVD, and Jack liked watching them. So I asked him if he would like to make a movie about Jack. It's only a few minutes, but he likes to watch himself on tv.

Jenny and Lydia are back in school (picture day was yesterday). Jenny is in 5th grade and according to her teacher, she will be learning to be responsible this year. Wow! Is that possible. They are both playing soccer still, the fall season has just started. Jenny has had two games so far (and two wins-things are looking up for her team). She still plays goalie. She and her best friend, KensLee, switch off goalie and defense. Lydia also plays goalie, but she hasn't had any games yet (next week is the first). Her team is looking forward to taking revenge on the Wolfpack (their nemesis) who took first place at Ultimate Indoor during the summer.

I am staying busy with work. I'm still the Webelos Den Leader (with only one Webelo), and I have a fun new calling - I'll let you know when it's official. Dave is the new Scout Master (only two scouts). Wednesday he got to try out his new calling. He took the boys and other leaders to Speed Street (Gocart racing) as a reward for their progress at Scout Camp. That's the kind of calling I like. Handing out rewards without having to do the hard part.

Ward Campout

Last Friday night was our ward campout. Jenny, Jack, and I went up early, and Dave and Lydia joined us after Lydia's last game of the Weber County Fair Tournament. We played "Faith Factor."Jenny won her jump-rope competition and I won my "waking up late and getting dressed in a hurry" competition. They also had worm eating, baby food eating, and other fun stuff. After the fun, a thunderstorm came in, so we hurriedly got our beds ready, and pretended to go to bed. The storm passed, so we decided to play games in the pavilion with the "fun" ward members. Saturday morning we got up and played a game of soccer with all the youth in the camp. After the games some kids in the area brought their ponies over and let the little ones sit on them. Then we headed home for a day of rest (much needed after a week off soccer games and camping).

The last week of SUMMER VACATION

Summer went by fast this year. I'm not sure where it all went, but I'm glad it's over. Jenny and Lydia start school on Monday (August 21). Lydia is playing her last soccer tournament of the season. Our summer has been full of horses and soccer. I'll be glad to have a few hours of quiet time while the girls are at school. No more "I'm bored" or "she's looking at me!" comments. That leaves Jack without any friends to play with. It'll be just him and me (and signing time).

Check out Dave's (Robert A.) comments about the ReAl Stadium.

Cousins

We sure had fun with Heidi and Katie visiting us!! Jenny and Lydia played with them all day Monday and Tuesday. Staying up waaayyyy too late and getting up early to go play with the horses. The picture above is the "Leopard Girls." They found some leopard print pajamas at the "shop for free" at Grandma Barker's on Saturday.