Summer is Here!

Chance

It’s hard to believe, but Chance officially finished first grade. His teacher (Mrs. Pitcher) made a darling scrapbook for each of her students that highlighted a few of the things they worked on all year – with pictures and all! I thought that was so thoughtful of her! His final report card reflected straight “4’s” (or A’s, I guess. 4 is the highest you can get.) He was very proud of that.

Chance is having a blast this summer with zero responsibility and all play. Well, with the exception of mowing the lawn. It’s a little hard for him, but he’s getting the hang of it. I keep telling him it will make him tougher for football. I want my kids to be kids and enjoy life and play, but I also think that they need to learn skills to make them hard workers. Shawn, who DESPISES gardens because of the acre-sized garden he had to weed growing up, suggested that we plant a garden behind my grandparent’s house in Pleasant View. He wants our kids to go over and weed the garden daily in order to teach them hard work. It’s June 16 and we still haven’t planted anything or weeded anything, but I think it is an excellent idea that we will have to put into motion next year or hurry up and do this year. I occasionally tell Chance when he is whining about something, “There’s nothing I can’t stand more than a wimpy boy.” Because really, maybe I’m sexist, but it is such a turn off to me when a male is whining. Even if they’re seven! I really want to teach my kids the value of hard work. It is one of my husband’s traits with which I am most impressed.

Chance has also been playing baseball this summer – he has really improved from his first practice/game, even though he was pretty dang good to start with (in my opinion!). This year is “coach pitch”. Shawn and I laugh every time Chance gets up to bat because of his batting stance – he crouches down really low and puts his bat up really high. He’s so serious. His favorite position is shortstop. He likes baseball, but not as much as he likes basketball or football. I have loved going to his games, I am excited for football season. This will be his first year of real, live, tackle football! Wahoo!

Hannah

Hannah finished preschool at Wee Wonders and had her graduation. I have video of her singing, as well as talking and giggling with her friend Esi! It’s pretty cute.

I enrolled Hannah in summer school at Wee Wonders because she has a tendency to write her letters backwards, and also sound out words backwards. I never had that problem with Chance, and maybe it’s just her age, but I thought she needed a little more practice before Kindergarten. Hannah had complained about going to summer school, but I knew once it rolled around that she’d be excited. Her first day was yesterday and she had butterflies in her tummy! I dropped her off and she marched right in. Then I picked her up after (it seemed like FOREVER to me!) and she was the happiest girl I had ever seen! As she was getting in the car she said, “Wow! That was fast!” She obviously had a WONDERFUL time. I think it was a good choice to get her that little bit of extra help. Hannah is a good helper around the house and if she is fed and happy, she will do about anything I ask her to do with a smile on her face. Her main chore is taking off her sheets to her bed and taking them down to the laundry room because she’s still struggling with staying dry all night. We’ll get there – eventually!

Shawn
Shawn was recently put in as Elders Quorum president in our ward, so he has been trying to stay organized. We figured out how import all of his meetings and appointments on his phone calendar, and I set like three reminders prior to each of them so that he could stay on top of things! His phone rings and beeps off the hook, but I don’t think he’s missed a meeting yet! I think he will be a wonderful Elders Quorum president. Even though Shawn is not outspoken, he is very friendly and can easily talk to people from all walks of life. I heard him give a portion of a lesson on the 5th Sunday of May and I was so impressed. He really has a great way about him to relate with people. I am helping him organize a “neighborhood squirt-out” which will allow people from the neighborhood to play a little squirt gun game through the month of July. Hopefully it works out! Shawn’s lesson was all about getting to know people in the neighborhood and we thought this might be a good way for people to get out of their comfort zone a little bit and mingle.

Memorial Day

We took a short but sweet Memorial Day vacation to Pelican Lake. Pelican Lake is pretty far from our house – it’s almost to Vernal – but it is definitely worth the trip! We took our trailer and met Shawn’s brother Brett and his family there with their boat. Shawn’s dad and sister came as well. We didn’t leave our house until Sunday and drove home Monday, but we had a great time! We choose to go to Pelican Lake because when the fishing is on (and it is most of the time) the kids can catch fish after fish after fish after fish! And they are the cutest little fishies! They are bluegill, sunfish, and bass. Well, the bass aren’t very cute, but the others are!

sunfish

bluegill

We fished, cooked hotdogs and smores on the fire, and fished some more. By the end of the trip I was actually squeezing worms in half and putting them on the hook for Chance to cast out! Then, I was removing the hooks out of the fishies’ mouths and throwing the fish back into the water! I don’t think I’ve ever touched a worm or live fish in my life until that trip! (Unlike Hannah, who is obsessed with the worms and likes to hold them every time she can. She also loved to feel the fish - Chance would reel in a fish, and then Hannah would feel its bottom fin and tell us whether it was a girl, boy, mom, or dad. We believed her, because we had no idea and it was a fun game.) Shawn couldn’t always do the bait, catch, and release thing because the kids were literally catching fish every single cast! We have decided the Memorial Day Pelican Lake trip needs to be a tradition. Any later in the year and the bugs at that place would be unbearable.

The House

We are trying to get our giant hole in our backyard filled up with a basketball court! The hole has been there for over a month and we have had a hard time having someone come to put cement in. Finally on Monday Shawn’s cousin came and started working on it! Yahoo! Maybe the end of Rags bathing in mud puddles then running through the house is near! And I can finally get my carpets cleaned!

Chance and Hannah have begun sharing a bedroom in bunk beds in preparation for the new baby. Chance sleeps on the top bunk and Hannah’s on the bottom bunk. At first, they were THRILLED! They thought it was the greatest. However, after about two weeks the excitement is now gone and Chance has changed his mind into hoping that the baby is a girl so that the baby and Hannah can share a room and Chance can have his own room back! Hannah likes to talk and sing before she goes to sleep, which drives Chance crazy!! But, they’re gonna have to get used to it. I’m trying to make the bedroom for a boy or girl, so I took the sports theme down and I’m just making it blue and lime green. I moved all of Hannah’s toys out of her old room and into the toy room, but I haven’t taken down the girly flowery things until we know what the baby is.

Baby!

Speaking of whether the baby is a boy or girl, I find out on June 29! I could have sworn I saw a little “something” on the ultrasound picture last time I went to the doctor, but after talking to my sister, I think it was probably just the umbilical cord. I really have no preference as to what the baby is. I have said that I hope it’s a boy, but I’ve decided it’s really not a “hope” – it’s just what I think it is! I guess we’ll see! We are going to take the kids to the appointment so that will be fun. Hannah gives the baby kisses on my tummy every day and talks to it like it’s already here. She asked me, “When the baby comes out, will it know that I was the one who was giving it kisses all of the time?” Hmmm, probably? She is so funny. Every day she comments on my big tummy. I took Chance to the grocery store yesterday and asked him to grab some fat-free milk. He asked, “Why does it have to be fat-free, Mom? Because your tummy is already too fat?” Little does he know it’s only going to get MUCH fatter!!

Extended Fam

My sister and her husband finally moved back from Hawaii! Don’t ask me why, I would never choose come back to this cold and yuck weather after living in paradise, but they seem happy about it. They are living with my mom right now. My kids have been so excited to see baby Lily! They just love her to pieces and now instead of watching videos of her on the Internet, they get to play with her in real life! My sister is so talented, she is designing artwork and selling it on Etsy. Her designs are so, so, so good! I wish I had that talent! She’s an awesome photographer too. And she’s a brilliant accountant. And the best mom. There’s nothing that girl can’t do; it is fun to have her back.  And Jason is our home improvement guru, he is quite the handyman.  And he actually enjoys it!  My mom always tells my dad, "I'll ask Jason to do it," when she has a project and Jason is in town.  I can't tell if my dad is a little jealous or just extremely relieved!