I believe we left off with Ethan's birthday. On the 25th of June we celebrated birthday number 7 for the number one son and then just a few days later EVERYTHING started to roll. So here's the story outline: Scott had to leave us to start work on July 1st; I was left behind with all the children and a house to keep perfecto until the movers got there on the 12th, Scott's parents got back from their mission in Ireland on the 1st and flew in through Cincinnati where they spent one night at our house and then we all took off for Kristin's for the 4th of July weekend; the next week my little sister Amy came up to help me with the kids and the house; the moving trucks got there on the 12th and rolled out a couple days later; me and Amy drove down to New Orleans to spend a week there before we could close on our house here in St. Louis; Amy helped me drive UP to St. Louis and then helped for another week to get unpacked while Scott had to go BACK to Cincinnati for a conference for a few days; Amy left in the morning on the 28th; Scott got in that night; and early the next morning we flew out to Utah for a 10 day vacation and Family Reunion at Aspen Grove. And then got back just in time for Ethan and Grace to both start school the next week. Are you tired? So am I. Hahahaha. Let's just say that school couldn't start fast enough for me.
Ethan's Birthday
Poor little Ethan. His birthday was a bit lost in the shuffle this year. With so much else going on we did the best we could to make his day special. For weeks I had been telling him that I was going to get him an extra special birthday present that he would never be able to guess. I think the anticipation of what that gift might be was ALMOST as great as the present itself. Hahahaha. Ethan has gotten it in his mind that these Willow Tree angel statues are the go-to present for everyone in our lives. After all, I buy them for end of the year teacher's presents, I've given them for birthday and Mother's Day gifts, and every now and then Scott will buy one for ME. So, believe it or not, he was actually tickled pink to open his first gift from me and find this little Willow Tree statue entitled "Inquisitive Child." Quite apropos. Of course, he was probably even more excited when he opened his main present to find the Mario Party 8 game that he'd been wanting for the Wii since Christmas. Not pictured but equally enjoyed were the bubble wand from Grace, the sand toys from Sophie and the Pictureka board game "from" Jane.
And for possibly the WORST looking cakes I've ever created for the birthdays I decided to take my inspiration from Ethan's favorite past time -- the Wii. These are supposed to be Wii remotes in case you can't tell. It's okay, Ethan couldn't even tell what they were at first. Hahaha.
The Birthday Boy
To round out the festivities we hit up the movies to take in Toy Story 3 in 3D. Cute movie -- although not worth the extra money for the extra dimension. Hahahahahaha. A few short days after Ethan's birthday, Scott left for what would turn out to be the LONGEST 3 weeks of my LIFE. Even WITH Amy's help.
Moving Day
Before Moving Day could happen, there was a lot that needed to be done. Thankfully I had Amy to help me and several people from our ward who volunteered to get children off our hands so that we could get down to the work of cleaning and prepping for the movers. Even more thankfully, Scott's company covered the packing up and moving for us.
As soon as the movers had those trucks packed up and the house was locked behind us, we hit the road and we discovered real quick that my children are not good roadtrippers. It probably didn't help that the Mountaineer was overloaded with enough STUFF to last us for the next couple of weeks until we'd be able to access the stuff that was boxed up. Amy and I were both exhausted and seeing as to how we didn't leave Cincinnati until 2 0'clock in the afternoon we didn't think it would be the smartest move to push through and drive straight to New Orleans. We ended up making it to Meridian, Mississippi around midnight and since I know you want to be able to imagine you're right there with us, let me paint the picture for you: Me, Amy, 3 cranky children, and an overtired baby were sharing one room; Sophie was coughing up a storm and wheezing to the point that I was pretty sure she was close to having an asthma attack; meanwhile I was so weary that all I could do was lay there praying she would calm herself down on her own because I REALLY didn't want to have to go all the way back outside to the car to get her nebulizer and albuterol and then start up a loud and distracting breathing treatment which would most likely wake up the other 3 children who had FINALLY gone to sleep. Luckily the coughing stopped, her breathing calmed down, and we all drifted into a surprisingly deep and restful slumber. The good times continued before check-out the next morning with our complimentary continental breakfast, and the final leg of our journey flew by with a breeze. Made breezier by the GENIUS idea to switch up the seating arrangement so that Ethan and Grace were no longer near each other. Genius I tell you.
New Orleans
Proud to call it home. Although, July in the Big Easy is brutal. We hadn't been back to New Orleans since Christmas 2008, so we tried to fit in every single thing we could think of that we HAD to do before our week was up. Luckily, we checked just about everything off our list.
My favorite place to eat when I go back home? The Camellia Grill. The BLT with fries and a chocolate freezie. Mmmmmmmm. There's a reason I pack on 5 pounds every time I visit New Orleans.
Superfluous shot of Jane. She's just too cute. And good.
City Park's Amusement Park is Ethan's favorite place in the world. I think after this trip Grace and Sophie are jumping on the bandwagon. Ethan and Grace are FAR more daring than I, so I was happy to stick with my little scaredy cat and let Amy and Jacob take the other two on all the fast rides. Fun was had by all.
Inside the Park
On the Ladybug Rollercoaster
Riding the Carousel
Playing in Storyland
While in town I just had to take a little trip to Thibodaux to see my grandparents and aunts and uncles. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially my grandmother whose health has not been very good lately. Her short-term memory is basically kaput and she tends to get confused really easily these days, but the whole time we were there with the kids she was happy and carefree. It made my heart happy to see her this way.
Poor Jane -- she has spent a vast majority of this summer strapped into this carseat. :(
Another major item for my personal checklist of things to do while in New Orleans was to introduce my children to the delight that is The Snowball. I'm not sure if they have become as big a fan of them as I am, but then again, who is? Hahahaha. I'm pretty sure I got one every single day we were there except for the Sunday. We taste-tested between Uptown's Plum Street Snowballs and Mid-City's Pandora's, and I have to say that Pandora's won hands down for me.
The 3 clowns at Plum Street
Shortly after the above shot was taken, Sophie promptly knocked her snowball onto the ground.
The best snowball stand in New Orleans.
The after math of the snowball all over Sophie's face and clothes.
On one of our final days there, we enjoyed a little family outing with Amy minus Jane. First stop was my favorite little bookstore -- Maple Street Book shop -- where Grace promptly threw a knock down drag out FIT over wanting a new little dog junk at the store. Forty-five minutes later I finally managed to snap her out of it with the promise of food. After we were all fortified, the rest of the morning was decidedly pleasant.
Waiting to eat at Camellia Grill
Riding the Streetcar
"sisters, sisters"Moving IN Day
Our stay in New Orleans soon came to an end and Amy came to my rescue once again to help me drive up to St. Louis in time to close on our new house. She stuck around once again to help me get settled in and unpacked while Scott had to go BACK to Cincinnati for a conference. After spending 3 weeks STRAIGHT with me and the kids, I'm pretty sure Amy has had her fill of us for at least another year. Let's just say that the transition of the summer brought out some lovely behavior issues and bedtime problems with the kids. We love you Amy! Especially when you willingly come to help and have to endure a week with no cable or internet, 4 out-of-control children (okay scratch that -- Jane's never out-of-control), and a house full of boxes to unpack. We owe you!
Amy left and Scott got back just in time for our Aspen Grove trip that had been planned LONG before our moving plans got in the way. After the month I had been through, I was more than happy to take a much needed vacation.
Salt Lake
We flew out to Salt Lake on a Thursday and spent a lovely day walking around Temple Square. We stopped to smell the flowers, visited the Visitor's Center, serendipitously ran into one of my good friends from our Provo 3rd Ward days, and took a gander at the Church History museum where the kids enjoyed playing in the I am a Child of God display. Although I'm not exactly sure if that's what it was called. It was a practically perfect day.
Jane loves baby dolls. Isn't she presh?Provo
After our day in Salt Lake, we had a couple of days to kill down in P-town before check-in on Saturday at Aspen Grove. Scott was so kind to humor me in every single one of my requests. BYU Bookstore (twice)? Check and check. Consuming a bag of chocolate-covered cinnamon bears? Check. Eating at the Cougareat? Check. Shopping at my VERY favorite quilting store ever (American Quilting on 800 North in Orem)? Check. Eating a Hula Salad at Rumbi's? Check. Hanging with Freddie and Laura? Check and check. It was magical.
Here is a shot of me teaching Grace how to "sew" the dress for her little clothespin doll she picked out at the Church History museum store. Doesn't she look adorable?Aspen Grove
And now -- the piece de resistance. Aspen Grove Family Camp. This place definitely lived up to its reputation. A week of no cooking, cleaning, or taking care of children? Paradisiacal Glory. Hahahaha. No really. It was. Scott's whole family was there and we were all on the same floor with a giant common room lobby to hang out in when the kids were (in theory) in bed each night. Games were played and fun was had by everyone all around. Each day we dropped off the kiddos with their groups and then the grown-ups were free to do whatever they wanted. I spent a lot of my time napping, reading, and otherwise recuperating from the harrowing past 3 weeks of my life. It was awesome. And even though the kids never went to bed without putting up a fight, and by the end of the week they were MAJORLY sleep-deprived, and the camp cost an arm and a leg (and a nose) -- I'd still do it again in a heartbeat. It's all about making memories, people.
Abby and her doppelganger
One of several hundred shots evidencing what a sweetheart Jane is.
The Aspen Family Follies took place on the Monday afternoon and it was a blast. There were a bunch of different stations with games and activities for the families to compete in. It was a lot of fun even though I forgot to put sunscreen on and got majorly burned in the afternoon sun.
Check out Sophie's face for a visual of what a hot, cranky, and overtired child looks like.
Jonah and Sophie were our cute little Trompers; Jane, Lucy, and Ella were in the Romper room; we pulled some strings to get Ethan, Grace, Hannah, Joseph, and James all in the Cubs group; Josh and Ben were the Cougars; and more strings were pulled to get Abby, Sydney, Sam, and Jake all in the Teens group. Each day there were morning and afternoon activities planned with a break in between for lunch with the family.
During some down time I convinced Sydney to come with me to the Pottery throwing class in the Arts and Crafts cabin. Has anyone ever actually done this??? It is the hardest thing I have EVER tried to do crafts-wise. I was terrible at it. I literally had to stop and start over from scratch 3 times. And in the end, I learned that the tiny little bowl I managed to make wouldn't even be fired there because it takes 2 weeks to air-dry out before it can go in a kiln. Oh well. Good-bye pretty little bowl. You were (kind of) fun to make.
There is also a "Ropes Course" at Aspen Grove that everyone ELSE seemed keen to take on, but which I observed from a distance. Here is Scott on his triumphal return from the ropes.
There was also a climbing wall which Ethan apparently scrambled all the way up on his first try. Who knew he was so coordinated? And who knew that Grace would actually give it a go herself? Certainly not I. Oh Grace, our ever-surprising surprise.
Jane loves Sam (and all the others, too).
(this shot makes me laugh because Sophie is wearing no pants and Grace's shirt is tucked into her biking shorts)
Stewart Falls was the destination of Wednesday's hike for all the groups. Scott actually hiked up there with his parents and brother and sister, while I opted to take a Watercolor class in the Arts and Crafts cabin.
I was beyond surprised that Grace was able to make the hike (she's one who can't walk 3 feet without complaining that her legs/feet/whatever is tired) but apparently she toughed it out with her crew.
The Cubs Crew on their way up to the Falls.
Eventually I caved and let the kids come down to the Arts and Crafts cabin to paint a little figurine. Grace's concentration and attention to detail when it comes to projects like these are always kind of fascinating and hilarious all at the same time to watch.
Meal time was always a favorite for the kids.
Cute little twinsies -- Lucy and Ella
Josh provided excitement for everyone when he caught a fish in the pond out back.
And finally on the last night there, we were treated to a treat of all treats. The kids put on a show for all the parents featuring music from "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat." Absolutely priceless. A pure, solid gold effort from everyone involved. It was hilarious. Especially the Cubs singing about Jacob and his 12 sons, and Sophie wearing a corn on the cob costume to embody one of the 7 years of plenty in the dream Joseph interpreted. I wish we would have had our video camera with us. :(
Kristin and Scott (with Jonah and Sophie)
Waiting for their turn to perform.
Cute little Soph.
Topping the evening off was a Family Dance in the dining hall when the program was over. Celebrate good time, come on!
Busting a move.
Sadly, sadly it all had to come to an end. In some ways it was nice to finally come home and start to get settled in and back to normal, especially since we were only here for a few days after moving in before we took off. Nevertheless, with one last week before school started we managed to get our school supply shopping done and tried to get the kids back on a normal bedtime schedule after weeks and weeks of time-zone-hopping and late night partying. I had never been more ready for school to start! Way too much family togetherness going on. We ALL needed a break.
So here we are to the first day of school. Although technically this happened last week. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were hopping up and down with excitement to get on the bus. We opted to put Grace in all-day Kindergarten this year and I am a fan. She is, too, so it's a win-win situation for us all! Although should I be worried that she came home from the first day of school telling me that she likes one of her new best friends in her class because they "talk potty talk???" According to Grace, she told her new friend that Ethan (after he waved to Grace as he passed her classroom during the day) drinks toilet water. What the bunnysauce? Why would she SAY something like that?? Aaaaaaahhhhh! I guess I should be glad that she TELLS me the bad choices she's making, right? Hahahaha. After giving her a talking to, she came up to me a few days later to tell me that she told her friend that Ethan doesn't really drink toilet water, so I guess that's that.
Although since we're talking about Grace I'll leave you with one final picture:
Last Thursday Grace lost her first tooth. It had been wiggly for a while but finally popped out. It's a good thing because the one next to it is loose also and she already has the two grown-up teeth growing behind them shark-style. Well, that's it folks. I'm pretty sure no one but family will have stuck with me to the final end here. (And maybe not even all of them). But that's okay. It has been a LONG summer and I for one am glad that it is OVER!
