Ethan Crawling

This is not an exciting video, but I wanted everyone to see Ethan in action because he is so cute. (And I am trying to learn to be more technologically savvy which means you get to share in my learning experiences. Don't you feel lucky?)

Pioneer Child

I came home from a trip to Costco to find our swingset covered with Lindsey's clothes. (I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture.) Apparently, Lindsey decided to wash her clothes in our little baby swimming pool "just like the pioneers." She used soap and scrubbed them in the water (I am not sure about rinsing.) Then she hung them up to dry. When it was getting dark I asked her to bring in her clothes. So she went and got her big wicker basket and folded the clothes one by one and put them in her basket. I informed Lindsey that she could put her clothes in the dryer if they were still wet. Her reply "I don't want to use one bit of electricity to clean my clothes just like the pioneers." Way to go green!
This was a good reminder to me of how much children are influenced by what they read. A lot of Lindsey's play time centers around the current genre she is reading: pioneers, princesses, etc. Of all the things she could pick up on, I am glad it is these things. And I am very glad I read everything she reads before she does so I can make sure she is reading appropriate literature. That which will add positively to her world and ours.

Men and women DO think differently

I thought this was a funny parody on the differences between how men and women think. It's a little long, but I think you will enjoy the clip. Happy viewing!!

Our Family Vacation

You should all be very proud of me and as one of my friends said "you are a very good wife." Thank you. Yes, I am. I am not trying to boast, but those of you who know me well will understand why when I tell you what we did for our family vacation this year. Drum roll, please. Dadadadadada. 

We went camping for a week on an island in the middle of a lake in which the only thing provided for us was a fire pit. That's right, I agreed to go camping for a week at a place where there was no running water of any kind. It was a pack it in, pack it out place in which you could only get there via boat and it was BEAUTIFUL!  I don't think the pictures do it justice, but you will get the general idea. The trip was fun if not the most relaxing as Ethan didn't sleep much at all - day or night.

 

Some of the highlights included: eating dutch oven cobbler (twice, yummy!), smores (need I say more :) ), Rick letting me drive the boat so he could water ski, the kids innertubing and Emily not being able to get enough of it, Ethan falling asleep every time we went on a boat ride, 

the kids playing together all day in the sand and water with minimal supervision and NOT fighting, 

the big kids sharing their own tent and going right to sleep every night, 

and Rick doing most of the cooking and cleaning up. (I didn't get off that easy, I had to keep Ethan from eating every stick in sight and keep him happy and fed.)

All in all we had a blast. But I cannot lie, I was really glad to get back to civilization and a good night's sleep.

THANK YOU!

A big thank you to Aunt Anny who made these wonderful outfits for my kids. Jacob couldn't be happier with his "dinosaur Hawaiian" shorts and the girls love their matching outfits. We've received multiple comments on the girls' cute outfits. So, in the tradition of Grandpa Groberg - "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Couch Saga or Out with the old, in with the new.

After 11+ years of marriage we have finally purchased some couches - NEW. Yup, that's right we actually bought something and it wasn't from goodwill.  Our living room setup no longer consists of particle board and a couch that we bought "used" prior to dental school. I know that you will all miss the blue background on most of our family's pictures or for those who experienced first hand the lovely furniture, the "automatic" reclining of the seats of the couch when you sat in them or just happened to bump them as you walked by. It was a little surreal to see the blue couch drive off to the dump as I remembered some of its highlights. Each of my children has a new baby picture of me holding them while basking in the luxuriousness of that couch, many forts and tents were built using the couch, and many heartfelt conversations were had with dear friends while we kicked back and relaxed. (However, I have to think that they might not have been so relaxed if one knew how many different things had been spilled on that couch. :) But I digress.) 

The new couches are brown leather and very comfortable to sit on. The tables are oak with a slate top - its quite fun and neat looking. I was laughing as I realized the date I started this post was May 28th and I am just now getting around to posting. However, this time I have a really good excuse, no a really good reason. We originally bought the couches the end of April after spending hours in the store looking at different couches. It took us twice as long because one would stay with the kids in the car while the other would look at the couches. (We couldn't quite bear the thought of keeping 4 kids from jumping on furniture.) The kids did amazingly well considering they spent the day in the car or playing in empty parking lots. We originally ordered a living room set - the couch, love seat chair combo. Well when they delivered it a month later (don't ask) we just couldn't get the look right, so we called them up and Rick was able to get them to take the the love seat and sofa back in exchange for another couch. The catch was the couch wouldn't be in for a while and it would be another month before they could deliver the couch and pick up the other furniture. (The store was in Spokane which is an hour and a half away.) So for a month the love seat and chair were in my corner with blankets over them and nobody could touch them. I didn't even cook bacon during that time because I was afraid it would make them smell and the store wouldn't take them back. The couch finally came and the old (new) furniture is gone (not without the delivery men almost dropping the love seat as they were loading it on the van - gasp!) 

I love my couches! I don't know if it is because I had to wait so long to get them or because they just look good or because they are so comfortable. Regardless its exciting to buy our first pieces of nice furniture.

(Now for an explanation of the title - it was inspired by one of my favorite reads of late "Sorcery and Cecilia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot" by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.  Sometimes its just too hard to decide on one title...)

The List

Lindsey is growing up.  A good majority of the time I wonder if I am teaching her anything of value or I guess more accurately if she is internalizing what I am teaching her. I found this list in her room and it made me smile on many levels.  Maybe she will learn to be responsible after all. :)

"'How to get your chores done quickly' (by Lindsey Ballard)

1.  Hurry up 

2. Hardest things first

3. Don't go d'stairs till all you're u'stairs jobs are doen.

4. Obey your mom

5. If you do a job bad, redew it

6. Sing, hum, or whistle while you work

7. If you're asked more than 2 times, punish yourself

8. Be patient

9. No Backtalk

10.  Have fun, enjoy your time to work."

With a few modifications, I think this list could apply to all.