The Seven of Us

Isaac has a lot going on lately! 1-Cats!!! Isaac is the proud owner of a mama cat & 4 kittens. His kittens are about 5 weeks old. They are really making their presence known! Here's Isaac with Sunset, his favorite kitten. Oops...I may have a problem posting videos. I'll try to fix it soon. 2-Isaac is falling asleep alone! This is a big deal! After mom or dad (or sometimes Kenna) reads a book or two, Isaac goes to bed! It's a miracle! :-) For his efforts, Isaac gets a prize the next morning. This new system is working well. I like having another "pocket" of time in our day when Isaac gets read to. We try to read a scripture story each night, plus some of Isaac's favorite books, the "I Wonder Why?" series. 3-Isaac has a new toy addiction. It's a Backugon (back-U-gon); in English, that's a Pokemon transformer. He worked hard to earn money to buy one.

WEll....Caleb has earned his Webelos award! To do this, he had to complete four Webelos badges. He earned his fitness badge, citizen badge, readyman badge, and traveler badge. He learned how to wear his scout uniform (granted, he doesn't HAVE a uniform, but we're working on it)& memorized all twelve points of the scout law. Here is a sample from the "safety notebook" he made: From the section titled "HOw Can I Be Safe at HOme?" Caleb's answers: 1-Make goody 2 shoes choices 2-Obey the laws of the house! 3-Don't tell people I'm home alone. 4-Know the right phone # 5-Don't drink candles--I did! :-) (#5 happened when he was a baby; we spent a long night at the hospital) Sometime I will try to post some pictures of Caleb in his scout attire.

Every year at Christmas time, Haxtun's (teeny, tiny) newspaper publishes kids' letters to Santa. Isaac's letter expressed how badly he wanted a cat. An older lady called us and offered us one of her cats. Isaac was really happy to have his own animal! He was even more excited when he found out he would be the proud owner of kittens! (Yikes. Who really needs kittens--or animals--when they have children?! This is a discussion for a different day.) The kittens were born a month ago. Isaac has chosen one to keep and named it Sunset. Sunset looks just like his mom, Snowy. Some of us are anxious to be able to give kittens away, but Isaac and Corbin would not agree!

Last fall McKenna watched a lot of ice skating. She even decided she wanted to be a professional skater! The only problem: she hadn't ever skated! When we went to Utah, Kenna was able to try out the ice at Seven Peaks in Provo. She wrote: "When I went ice skaing I was not very good but before we left I was doing spinny things and other things like the pros do."

1. Thinking about flexibility assessments. And what's that little muscle under your scapula? The supraspinatus? Infraspinatus? Can I find my anatomy book in the morning? Will I have time to look at it? 2. Wondering if we folded enough socks for everyone to have a clean pair...or will we have to find some for someone in the morning? 3. Wondering why am I reisistant to penicillin and zithromycin when I have taken very few antibiotics in my lifetime? Will I remember to finish all of my clyndamycin, and will my strep throat LEAVE ME ALONE? 4. Thinking about the big spreadsheet I will make to track my progress at the "gym" (Haxtun's gym is too small to be a real gym, but it's not too bad). 5. Wondering when I will have time to finish an entire post before I need to go help someone do something.

Taylor is twelve. When she reads this, she will remind me that she is "almost thirteen and I'll be driving in a year [NOT] and WHY can't I have a cell phone if I pay for my own plan"? All of the above will be said as written, using one breath, accelerating as she speaks, and ending with a plaintive smile. Taylor likes 6th grade and enjoyed being able to play volleyball and basketball this year. She has NOT enjoyed science (teacher issues). She's debating whether or not she wants to oversee our garden for a young women value project. Taylor loves to pose for pictures and is a big BYU/Jimmer Fredette fan.

Well, for a few years I've beep preping the kids to stay home alone. We've made lists of important phone numbers. Taylor took a Safe Sitter class. I talk with the kids about "what-if" scenarios. Caleb took a mini first-aid class. I've tried to make sure everyone over age 8 knows how to change a diaper (theoretically speaking). Today the girls were telling me interesting stories about the last time I left Caleb in charge. (That means I give Caleb responsibilities but Taylor is here, I have my phone, and Kenna is taking notes to give me a report worthy of a NY Times columnist before I actually get in the door.It's not that I don't trust him; I'm a realist.) Anyway, things went like this on Caleb's "trial run": Caleb (mumbling to Isaac as he heads downstairs to play a video game): "If you get hurt, just yell down through the heater vent. Yell REALLy loud, okay?" Caleb (coaxing Corbin as he fixes himself a snack): "Corbs,...

Well, I am learning how to do pictures, so bear with me. THis is one I needed to include. Since most of you don't see us very much, this will help you understand how Corbin has MORPHED into a Climbing Machine. He really loves the sink and water; fortunately he's only climbed in once. Do you like his cheesy grin?

Hey everyone, Just thought I would see how this blog stuff works. Scrapbooking isn't happenign anymore, so I guess I'll just print this! Gosh, that would be a lot of paper. I think saving it as a file sounds better. This morning we had some plumbing done. YEah! Sometime soon we'll get started on the (hole-in-the-wall) bathroom. I'm tired of the kids' stuff all over mine. Hope all is good for ya'll.