Andrew anecdote

So, a few months ago Andrew was sitting next to Sierra on the couch and started to look a little worried. I asked him what was up and he said that he was darker than Sierra. I told him of course! He'd been outside more than her. He proceeded to tell me (in so many words) that he thought he was darker because he was naughty. WHAT?!?!?! I asked him where he got that idea and he said that he had learned it in primary. That he had learned that when you do something wrong you get darker. WHAT?!?!? I'm in primary and I didn't remember a lesson about that. Bob and I let him know that he was NOT darker than Sierra because he had been naughty. I later talked to Sister Peterson (who had given the lesson) and come to find out it was the lesson about the Holy Ghost and a penny. And how when we don't stay close to the spirit and do REALLY bad things, our spirit darkens. She had shown them a dirty penny representing our spirits and then put in ketchup and garlic to clean it, representing repentance. We got a kick out of what he actually got out of the lesson. If you're naughty your skin darkens. Maybe I shouldn't have corrected him and just let him get darker and darker over the summer and see what happened. I love you Andrew, you take things so literally. We sure have fun with you!

Now that's what I call AWESOME!!!!

This year for the 4th we stayed home and spent the day with friends. After dinner we still had PLENTY of time before it got dark enough to light off any fireworks. So, the kids found things to entertain themselves....cheesing for the camera, playing games, and even Abby and Ashlan giving piggy back rides. We adults even got ourselves a few rousing games of hand and foot going. And Sierra and Austin decided to take a nap.

FINALLY it was time for the fireworks! while Bob was setting out the MANY fountains, the kids played with the sparklers.

Then it was on to the "big" stuff. Well, as big as you can legally get here. We were definitely reminiscing about WA where we could light off just about anything we wanted. But, alas, at least we could do something. We had A LOT of fountains and so we got to decide which were our favorites. I think I enjoyed the cactus the best.

Andrew really enjoyed himself too and kept saying "Now that's what I call AWESOME!!!" Sierra was SO tired but was just mesmerized my the whole thing...Ben, well, he was falling asleep.

Good times though were had by all. Can't wait for next year!!

COUSINS!!!

Friday June 25th we were able to head up to Los Banos to visit Jen and her kids. They were in Los Banos visiting her parents. We figured that since they were only an hour or so away we would make the trip. As you can see, the kids had a BLAST playing with their cousins.

Upper right we have all of them...Ben, Sierra, Andrew, Hazel, Seth and Dylan. It was hard to get them to sit still they were having so much fun.

Sierra and Seth. Seth is about 4 months older than Sierra and a VERY happy boy. He had a smile on his face the whole time we were there. He and Sierra just kept smiling at each other. It was obvious they recognized each other, As soon as they saw each other they had a look of "Oh! There you are!" I lOVED it !

Then it was time to go, it was actually hard to get them to leave. At least we were heading off to see more cousins! This time we were headed to Clovis to see Connor march with the Wyoming Troopers!!!

We were pretty high up and with their uniforms on it was hard to see who was who. I think I found him though. They were AMAZING!!! I'm so proud of him he's worked really hard to be able to march with a drum corps. Great Job Connor. the trumpets ROCKED!!! We were able to see him for a few minutes when the whole thing was over. It was late and our kiddos were tired. They had so much fun watching all the drum corps. Andrew informed us that he now wants to march too. Sierra fell asleep right before Connor marched and then woke up right after. She was mesmerized by all the music and marching. I hope they come back next year so we can go and see them again.

Swimming Lessons

The past few weeks the boys have been taking swimming lessons. I was really nervous because they really don't like the water...unless they're just floating around. But, they really need to learn to swim, even if we didn't have a pool, all of their friends do. Besides, it's a very important skill to know. Well, this is how the first part went...really up until yesterday. There were tears, fighting, debates and all in all, some really bummed out little boys. But we persevered. And I'm so glad I did.

Today we had THIS!! The boys were jumping in! 2 days ago Andrew couldn't even jump off the side. He would try....you could see he was willing to try, but when he would say "ribbit" and jump, he wouldn't go in! One time he even just landed on his bum on the side of the pool. It was pretty funny...so Caitlin ( one of the teachers) got out and as he jumped, she gave him a little help. He came up with a look of "what happened!?" This isn't the first time he's been thrown in this summer. While playing at a friends house, Ryan didn't know he didn't know how to swim and picked him up and jumped in with him. Once he realized he didn't know how to swim he swam around the pool with him. When I asked Andrew if he liked having Ryan throw him in. He said he didn't know who threw him in, Ryan was just there when he came up. Just all the more reason this boy needs learn to swim! He's really enjoying it now and says his favorite thing to do is kicking and big arms at the same time. WOW!!! just a few days ago he wouldn't even put his face in. He did like to remind the teachers though that if they said 3 more times, he would count for them....2 more right?! Now 1 more right? He doesn't really like to jump in, but hey, I'll take what I can get!

Benjamin's become a little water bug! After some tears this week, he now LOVES to jump in and swim under water. Just a few days ago he was screaming that he wanted to sit on the stairs. He would do what they asked him to do, but cry the whole time. He was really happy when they moved Andrew into his class. I think it helped both of them. By the time the 2 weeks was over, half the class had quit so there were 3 kids and 4 teachers. The boys loved the one on one attention and I really think that's what's helped them to succeed to fast!
Ben enjoys jumping in but likes someone to stand behind him on the edge...you can see Caitlin "helping" him. What makes me laugh is that he swims straight up and down, today we saw a smile on his face when he started to come up instead of tears. Then, after swimming lessons when we went swimming in our pool Ben was doing

BOMBS AWAY BENJAMIN!!!

Then he would swim to the side. He just kept swimming to me and back to the wall. I then noticed his eyes were open when he would go under. I got on my goggles and went under with him and it was pure joy on his face!

Thank you Miss Terry and Caitlin and Big Ben and Cody! We love you! We will always remember who taught the boys to enjoy the water! We look forward to swimming with you all again soon!

More family fun

Over the weekend we were able to spend time in the pool. We even got Sierra in. The water was a nice 81 degrees. She loved it! She didn't last very long, but she did enjoy the time that she was in the pool. Ben loves to float around and Andrew had been sick the night before but was insistent he get in, he really was having fun.

Family fun

A few nights ago Andrew was brushing his teeth and Sierra and I were hanging out in the bathroom with him. He missed his teeth and brushed his nose, he started to laugh and then so did Sierra. Of course this really got him going so he proceeded to miss and she kept laughing. Then, with toothpaste on his face he looked at her and she started to laugh, then he would laugh, then she would laugh. It was pretty funny and the first time she had laughed. We tried to get her to laugh for us again the next day. He got a few out of her, and since our video camera's broken, I tried to get a few shots of her laughs.

Last week we went to check on the boys and this is what we found. Ben doesn't stay in one place very well. It's not uncommon to see him curled up at the foot of their bed, or turned around completely. He's a pretty crazy sleeper, good thing Andrew's a deep sleeper.

 

Sierra's Blessing

Sunday May 16th we were able to bless Sierra. We were able to have both sets of grandparents here to celebrate. We had a very special day. Sierra doesn't like being cold so grammy had to sit all by herself at the end of the row so that the air wouldn't blow on her.

Sierra was spoiled...well, I would call it loved.Everyone got to hold her and snuggle her.

Three generations, grandma with the kiddos, grandma and grandpa with Sierra.
The boys looked so handsome! Andrew's such a great big brother and is so proud of his little sister. Thank you grammy for the dress! She looked adorable! Good call on the buttons! You can see how much she had grown just from when you sent it to us. (The picture with the yellow background was the day we recieved the dress.) Thank you Becky for the bracelet, and Amy for the hair bow. All of us together, grammy and grandpa with the kiddos...attempting to get Ben to smile...we had to bribe him with starbursts. Grammy with the kids.

Thank you all for coming. Sierra looked stunning and sweet. Thank you to all who made it a special day.