The Seven of Us

Well...a lot has happened since my last post. I will be adding more today and throughout the week, but for now, here's some stuff about McKenna. The day before the kids & I went to New York (August 4th) Kenna finished her summer gymnastics classes. I went to the class, camera in hand, planning to document all of her progress for you. Caleb went with me that day and reviewed pictures on the way there. When I was ready to begin taking pictures, I realized he'd left the camera on, and the battery was dead. I was pretty sad about not having any pictures. For now, you'll have to try to picture these things: *McKenna on the balance beam. She walks along, doing tuck jumps the entire way (I think I would lose my balance on the landing, but she didn't--her toes touched down every time.) At the end, she did a really nice roundoff for her dismount. As the class went on she worked on adding more "spring" to her roundoff and she was able to land farther away from the...

Well...to do this post justice I really need a picture. I'd forgotten that I grew up in the middle of the forest! The "Adirondack Park", to be precise. When we arrived last night I was surprised to see so many ferns growing along the sides of the roads, and when we got out of the car to come inside I said, "it smells like a forest". And it does. We're off to explore in a bit. More on our adventures later!

Corbin was emptying the water from the dog dish into the puddle created by the sprinkler. What fun! Notice his muddy bottom & his swimming shorts. This is his daily attire. Sooner or later, he finds his swim trunks and brings them to me with his "Aren't I cute? Won't you help me?" look. Being the mushy mom that I am (and having given up caring what my kids wear long ago), I take one look at him, quickly consider his innocence, and cave. He will only be this age today. Tomorrow he may be done, so I'm enjoying today. A few days later, Corbin decided to test his "climbing shoes". I'm just grateful he stays in his crib.

I need to clarify what I wrote below. Just for the record, there are NOT 2 vehicles on my front porch. Sorry. You all know we're weird already; that really would've had you scratching your heads.

Being knee-dip into summer ("over my head" better describes some moments) causes me to reflect on some things that happen here each year. I gave a mother's day talk at church last year, but didn't mention these things...I was trying to inspire, and these just aren't too inspiring! But since these things sometimes weigh on my mind, I'll share. REMINDERS THAT I HAVE CHILDREN: *Every time I leave home, I return to find that the back battery panel on the phone is MIA. Today, it disappeared with grandeur; we haven't found it yet. When will I run out of uses for duct tape? *I have a perpetually open, but empty, ice cream carton in the fridge. (Regardless of how new the carton is.) *In order to keep yummy food stored in the deep freeze, it has to be buried under several grocery sacks and yucky cuts of meat. I can only retrieve this food between 10 pm and 6 am, and only alone. *My 2-week supply of sacrament meeting snacks sometimes lasts 2 weeks if I keep it...

Jared's brother Jon and his wife Maritza just had their first baby. (Jon was 11 when we were married. Time flies.) I love the excitement of a first baby, and watching that happen in someone else's life is just sweetness. Sorry, I realize you don't all know them, but read on anyway. I stole this post from Jade, one of my sis-in-law. Her husband, Josh, lived with us several years ago and is definately on our favorites list, as are most of our family members! (Josh is pictured in the "proud uncle" photo and again at the end of the post with Aleeah and his little guy, Max.) Jared and I are blessed to have the relatives we do. And yes, sharing Maritza's post-hospital pictures makes me glad I didn't blog when my kids were born. Passing my picture around would NOT qualify as a First Amendment right. Here's what Jade had to say about the big event: Jon and Maritza welcomed their little bundle of joy on July 15th and she is CUTE! I had to post about her. Bab...

This was probably our best Fourth of July. Here are some things that made the weekend great: *Jared had the holiday off. That's a rare treat. He also worked the Saturday before the 4th so he and I were able to spend Friday the 3rd together. We went to Menard's in Scottsbluff (Nebraska) and bought a vanity and shower for our bathroom. It's nice to know that someday soon we will have a second bathroom! Plus, it was great spending an entire day together, without kids. (Yes, guys, I love you...but I loved him first.) *I got to play softball with Jared, the kids, and friends. I hadn't done that for years. Fun! The kids were amazed I could hit the ball. (I had warned them about my lack of hitting ability, but I think I have improved a little since high school. Boy, am I sore though! I forgot that old people need more warm-up time.) There was just enough cheating to make the game fun, such as when Jared used Taylor's friend Rece as a "body sh...