Sick and Tired of Being Sick

Sydney is on her fifth day of being very sick. Today she was shivering uncontrollably for 10 minutes or more and then broke out sweating from the fever. She has been fighting fever off and on, and now Axle and Atticus have the bug, too. Axle has a croupy cough and Atticus complains that his forehead hurts. My poor kids. We're hoping Colin will resist it since he had the flu a few months ago. I have been lucky to stay healthy most every time my family gets sick. Maybe the Lord realizes that I have to take care of everyone else! Looks like everyone gets out of fasting and going to church tomorrow. I doubt I'll hear any complaints about that, though! Except from Atticus, who loves his class and his teacher. Axle likes to "play toys" too.

Afternoon Splash

There is a drain on our street that doesn't exactly drain. After a big rain storm we get a big flood! This day, the sun came out before the water went anywhere and everyone came out to play. Parents would do numerous drive-by sprayings and the kids all screamed with delight. That is Atticus riding his bike through the deepest part. Needless to say, he and Axle went straight to the bathtub after the fun!

Summer is Over

What a beautiful Fall-ish day! I love the lowered temperatures and the chilly nights. I am excited to use my new quilt on my bed. Time to start thinking about Halloween costumes! I think I will have Axle be Max from Where the Wild Things Are. I'll let him carry around a plastic fork for making "mischief of one kind and another".

My garden has been a success and I am still harvesting tomatoes and green beans, plus a few cucumbers. I have done a lot of canning in the last week, including some peaches.

Sydney and Colin are riding their bikes to school every day. I am loving that! My days have been low maintenance without any carpooling to worry about. Starting tomorrow Atticus will be getting some one-on-one at the literacy center. They have volunteers work with the preschoolers on their letters and sounds. He is so excited to go to his own class. He was also invited to be part of a playgroup once a week, so he will not be at all bored this school year.

Sydney is enjoying Junior High. She is learning to play the flute and taking piano lessons at the same time. She thinks the after school dances are pretty cool, too. I must say she spends a lot more time in front of the mirror than she used to!

Colin almost got on to the Student Council but will definitely try again next year. I am so happy he wants to get involved! He is doing well in his BMX competitions. He just moved up to the intermediate class so will have to claw or pedal his way up to the top again!

Lava (too hot) Hot Springs

We drove to Lava Hot Springs for Independence Day. Its about a three hour drive and everyone got to sleep most of the way(except for me, of course). When Axle was awake he exclaimed "horsey!" at least two hundred times as we passed by field after field of horses and cows. Who needs a dvd player?

The town was crammed with campers and tents, but we were lucky to get a spot after a cancellation. (They must have heard about the coming rainstorm). We got our brand-spankin-never-been-opened tent set up before the wind started bringing the dark clouds in. I should have got a picture of the tent completely flattened from the wind! Luckily, it wasn't time for bed yet so we just hung out in the van while it blew and down-poured. When Frank couldn't take all the togetherness anymore he tried to save the fire. The rain did let up enough for us to roast marshmallows. When we went to bed we found our bedding to be wet from our new apparently- not-so-rain-proof tent! I swore I would not do this a second night. (I also swore this tent was going back to Walmart.)

The next day was much brighter and we all got sunburned at the pools. We stopped at the actual hot pools first and couln't stand the 112 degree water, go figure! The olympic sized pools with slides and diving boards were much more our style. Colin and Frank braved all three of the diving platforms (18', 25', and a scary 33'). Again, no picture to prove it, but you can see how high they are in the photo of Sydney below. I did the 25' and was satisfied enough to call it good. Now I won't feel like I have to jump off any cliffs at Lake Powell this year.

By the afternoon, the clouds were rolling back in. I suggested we go back and take down the tent before the rain hit again. We were back on the road by 4:00. Talk about a short vacation. But, you know, it was what we needed and the kids are still talking about the fun they had! I was even happier when my husband agreed to eat at the Olive Garden on the way home. Yum!

Since we missed the firework show in Lava, I took the kids to Thanksgiving Point for their big show. Axle stayed home with Dad since he found the fireworks a little too loud.

13th Anniversary- Not such an unlucky number!

We got to go to Park City for a weekend in May. It was such a fun two days for the two of us. We stayed at the Marriott, soaked in the hot tub and even got breakfast in bed! We rented these cool mountain bikes and took the chair lift up the mountain and rode down.(Up didn't sound like much fun for two old folks to try!) We went down three times, through mud and rain and shine. Frank told me I needed to absorb the bumps through the shocks and my legs, but I am going to bring my own big padded seat next time! We came away with only a few scrapes and bruises and lots of smiles. We also brought home fancy carmeled apples for the kids.

Sydney was left in charge at home, with a little help from Aunt Lindsey and Grandma. Sydney is a great mother when I'm gone. She adores Axle and he loves her almost as much as he loves me. (Sydney argues that point) Axle's favorite word is "Sydney". He can and does say almost everything he hears. "Marshmallow" is the cutest so far.

Family photos

So its been 4 years since our last real family photo shoot. We went this weekend since Frank's mom was visiting. It actually went really well considering we were there for two hours. The photographer was great and got Axle to sit and smile time after time. She took 120 shots! So the hard part was whiddling it down to a package we could afford(she started out at $1000!) We spent more than we were planning but love every picture we got.

Axle is so much fun as he spouts new words every day. He now says thankyou, cheetoh, stinky, juice, bye-bye, blankie, milk. His very favorite word is uh-oh. We put away the highchair cause he wants to be a big boy and sit with the family at the table.

Today is Mother's Day. Atticus is at church cause he loves his class, while the rest of us are at home trying to get over Sunday grumpiness. I decided to keep everyone home till we could be nice and have a little peace before we go into the church. We're still here!

I hope to see my mom and grandma today to give them a hug. They are both great examples to me and I am so glad to have them in my life. Grandma lives only a mile away now. I try to go visit her and Grandpa more now but it is hard cause her house is not at all baby/child friendly. We will be going over once a week for Sydney to mow their lawn. She went for the first mow last week and insisted I come with her. When I asked why I had to be there she said,"Cause Grandpa scares me!" I laughed and said I understood!

New Hair-do

Sydney let me cut her hair today! I wanted to donate 10 inches to Locks of Love but she wanted it to her shoulders or a little longer. She cried and complained that it was too short all the way until I styled it. At that point she finally admitted it looked okay and said Thanks, Mom.
Isn't she a doll? I also cut all the boys' hair this week. Its fun and saves me money.






We had a great Sabbath today(not always the case). Everyone went to church willingly and then Colin surprised my by bearing his testimony while I was in the foyer with Axle. Sydney took the sibling challenge and also bore her testimony. Frank taught Elder's Quorum and Axle stayed in nursery the whole time. Who could ask for a better Sunday? I love my family!






Frank built some great shelves in our garage this week! It looks better in there already. We may eventually get a car inside!

Atticus turned 4 this week. He had 6 cute friends over for a little party. They broke a pinata that Sydney andI made. It took them each about 4 hits before it broke! Sydney also had a birthday but has yet to have her party. She did get a male gerbil that she hopes will end up in many tiny gerbils running about!