Blustery Days and Bubbles

So, it's been quite a while since I was caught up enough to be actually blogging about the week we had in the week we had it. (Was that understandable?)

...

(Is understandable a word?)

...

Anyway, I have been looking forward to being in this position so I could post pictures and comment, write about all the ephiphanies I had, all my crazy moments, all my embarrasing moments, etc.

Then, tonight, I'm just not quite feeling it. Having a hard time getting going. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we're all a little sniffly (except me, thank heavens, so we're not completely out of commission!) and though the kids are sleeping peacefully right now I can not really be sure about what the evening holds (should I put the humidifiers in their rooms? Fans on/fans off? More blanket? Less blanket? etc.) and JC is in the room just behind me breathing loudly, sniffling, occasionally coughing, etc. So I feel inclined to make this short and go scratch his back or sit next to him closely in my attempt to make him feel cuddled and better (but really just making him feel hot). Or maybe it's that we skipped church for understandable reasons...but when it's Sunday and church doesn't happen it just feels like it offsets everything and everybody...so anyway, I may not have gems of wisdom to offer tonight but what I do have is some fun pictures from a couple of days in our week!

It has taken to storming at night every other night or so. It doesn't always rain but there is almost always lightning and mad wind. These summer monsoons are something I look forward to/fear all year. I love storms but hate the power going out. I love thunder but hate the kids waking up scared. I love love love rain, especially at night. But I hate that the kids are having to sleep through it. During the day, we always play in it. At night, I am tortured by the thought that they are missing it! I love some danger and a little unpredictability but I HATE even a little unpredictability and even the scent of danger.

Yes, you heard me right. I know it's contradictory.

Does anyone else feel like the you who has kids and the hypothetical you who doesn't are two completely different people?

I don't know that I wish for it to be that way for me...but...it is. Very much so in so many ways.

Even with the monsoon season.

But anyway . . .

We DID get rain one night and the next morning once the kids were up, before they were dressed or fed, we headed out to enjoy what we could of a nice wet morning!

We went ahead and enjoyed our breakfast on the front porch.

In mismatched pajamas, we ate:

Toast spread with strawberry and boisenberry jams

mixed nuts

blackberries

We love how sidewalk chalk looks on our wet driveway.

"Like pretty paint!"

I wrote "Dad" and Bethany felt compelled to add my title next to his.

She's getting really good at spelling a lot of words!

Including her own name!

Ben wanted his spot on the driveway to be labeled as well.

And James just colored and colored and colored.

Ben spent some time running around...

and relaxing.

while the other two took it easy as well.

We all really enjoyed soaking up the wet cool(er) morning! I sure hope there are more like these coming. They make the day so wonderfully fresh and give us a nice change of pace!

Another day, JC had the morning off and we had an extra friend around...good ol' Rowdy came to play! So, naturally, we showed him one of our favorite past-times.

The bubble machine.

The best ten bucks you can ever spend if you have toddlers and preschoolers.

We just set it up on top of our entertainment unit and let it go go go!

Bethany takes some time during playtime to make sure her doll has a full tummy.

What almost-two-year-old doesn't love bubbles?

Bethany and James decide to attempt catching them in their mouths...though I don't think they especially liked the taste...

Everyone getting their groove on!

Ben and Rowdy each find ways to amuse themselves during bubble time.

I had to include this picture because Ben is so funny about this...when James needs a diaper change, he avoids me at all costs. When Ben needs a diaper change, this is what he does:

Yep, brings me the whole pack of diapers.

Later in the afternoon, we take it easy for a little rest time movie.

Honestly, this lasted about ten minutes.

Then, it was playtime again. :)

But special occasions call for special exceptions, yes?

It was a fun week!

JC has a new schedule at work which causes him to work later some nights but have a couple mornings off during the week. This is taking some getting used to for everybody but I think it's going to be a really good thing! The kids get to see him more and, let's be honest, it's a heck of a lot easier having an extra set of hands to get us through the morning! Haha...but really, I just love when we're all home together so any time JC is not at work always feels so nice. The real change will be when fall rolls around and the kids are going to bed a little earlier...so some nights they won't get to see him BUT they will get to have him home for full mornings a couple times a week so it will be SO worth it!

Something else new this week - - JC and I started on one more step in our shared road toward better health. We are attempting to get off some of the extra weight we're carrying around by setting small five pound goals. For every five pounds until our goal weight, we have chosen incentives to reward ourselves with. The tricky part is, for either of us to receive our reward, BOTH of us have to reach the goal. So, if one of us loses the five pounds but the other lags behind, the ambitious one has to wait around for the other to catch up. Hopefully that will keep us motivated! Haha...and because I'm me, I am in the middle of making our little incentive chart. I think JC might hate this part but I love it so the compromise it...I make it and he doesn't have to look at it if he doesn't want. :)

ALSO, worth mentioning - - two days ago, I was in the bathroom putting on makeup (surprised I still remember how to do that with how my summer has been thus far!...an evening out with my husband and Harry Potter is just the trick to make it happen apparently) and I hear a very loud and excited "WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!"

Now, JC is not one to express excitement. His parents always tell me that the only time they really ever saw him get excited about anything when he was growing up was when he went skydiving. For his eighteenth birthday.

So, I figure, if this kind of excitement rolls around about once every eighteen years, I better pay attention and get excited too!

In this case, for some reason, I knew exactly what he was yelling about.

"Did you get drawn?"

"Yes!!"

Hunting.

I don't claim to know everything about this process but I do know that when JC put in for deer he was pretty much not planning on going...the odds of getting drawn are not fantastic. I haven't had much opportunity to delve much into this hunting world of his but I did know that he was planning on going later this year, didn't think he would get drawn for this specific hunt but that he has been eager for a couple of days to get the draw results.

And he did. And he's going. And that's pretty darn exciting for him.

For me too.

I like to see him happy.

This crazy thing called love, right?

Well, speaking of which, my sniffling honey is moving around getting his lunch ready for tomorrow...I think I will go help, kiss him good night and perhaps turn in.

Probably lay awake in bed and ponder the complexities of the universe like usual.

(or just think about the purple shoes that I really want)

You never know.

A Fantastic Fourth - Part Two (the FOURTH!)

After a stormy start to our weekend (in a good way), we claimed the privilege of celebrating Independence Day in our own colorful way.

There were t-shirts to wear, toes to be painted, swimming to be had, dinner and desserts to be shared and fireworks to be witnessed!

Bethany and James model their newly-decorated t-shirts:

And, for some reason, their criteria for posing for pictures all together was being allowed to use random unused vacuum attachments and...blocks...as musical instruments.

(Do you like Ben's shirt? I hurridly painted it myself that morning when I realized that we had yet to do so)

Happy faces!

Now, it was Saturday. And Saturday means a treat.

I adopted this idea from my good friend, Ali - - we have a chart on which we document our fruit and vegetable consumption throughout the week. Every serving gets a star. If we all get five stars every day of the week, then on Saturday, the kids get to choose a special treat. Whatever they choose, they get.

We've been doing it for about five weeks now and we've yet to miss a Saturday treat! Good job, kiddos!

I knew we would be having dessert later at my parents' house but the kids had already been adament about the fact that they wanted to choose to have a donut as a treat this week, so I went ahead and obliged. Really, they average five to eight servings a day and they do pretty darn well. So, their systems can handle a little extra on a holiday weekend, wouldn't you say?

Mmm...

mmmm....

mmm!

Also, Bethany got a special treat and we polished her toe nails in a spicy red with some blue rhinestones that she chose.

I figure red polish on a 4 yrd old is acceptable on the Fourth.

Probably only the Fourth.

It was something fun to do together. :)

After the afternoon was well on its way, we headed over to my parents' house to spend time with family and let the holiday unfold.

The pool beckoned us, and we gladly took a dip.

The kids had so much fun. They had lots and lots of grownups to hold them, play with them and catch them when they jumped in!

Also, comfort them when they get nervous.

And applaud them when they get brave.

Chase and tickle them...

and be silly with them!

(my new favorite picture of Monica and Ben)

After a swim and dinner, dessert called our name. We had birthday cake to celebrate the June birthdays that had been missed due to previously mentioned strep throat (or whatever combination of horrible things it was...), Jello salad, and cherry pie. We did NOT have a homemade made-from-scratch cherry pie as was planned because after t-shirt and toenail painting, rain dancing, tantrum avoiding and all the other things that encompass our days, I decided it was not the year for such things...even though the organic produce aisle at Fry's had inspired me otherwise.

Let's put a pin in it for next year.

But dessert was good without my over-achieving homemade cherry pie anyway . . .

The kids take a gander at the goods.

Everyone laughs at Bethany blowing out Andrew and Monica's birthday candles.

Since some were still burning, Andrew "conducts and experiment" using a plastic cup to remove the candle's oxygen supply.

This was easier than blowing them out apparently.

We were unsure how our evening would go. We usually stick pretty close to normal routines, even on holidays . . . so we figured we may not make it to fireworks time. But, everyone stayed pretty happy, JC stayed pretty involved with the wii, and we all enjoyed visiting into the evening. Right as we were thinking about calling it a night, the fireworks started at Mesquite High, right by their house.

So, we wandered outside to watch.

It's been years since fireworks were anything to me but something annoying and ridiculous my neighbors do late at night. But, I've got to say . . . I really enjoyed these. :)

And, the kids had never seen any, so it was quite magical for them.

James gives Monica his reaction after witnessing some.

Bethany watches in traditional little-girl fashion - - atop Daddy's shoulders.

And Ben and Grandma share in the (sleepy) fun!

Soon after these pictures were taken, James fell asleep standing up. We went home.

What a fun day of celebrating!

What a fun weekend!

Let's do it again.

I'll meet you in July of next year.

A Fantastic Fourth - Part One (the third)

One of the best treats for our little family is when JC has a day of from work! We just love being together as "a whole family".
Whenever we are all sitting together on the same couch or all together in a similar way, Bethany always says "We're a whole family!!"
That's how we like to be best.

The Fourth of July fell on a Saturday this year, so JC had Friday, the third, off. We went into it with no plans really...just a plan to get some stuff done around the house, play around, make some festive t-shirts with the kids and enjoy enjoy enjoy.
Going into the weekend, I felt a really good energy about it all. Hmm...actually, I'm pretty sure this is the week I had my private yoga session...so I think I was feeling a really good energy about a lot of things!

So, side-note - - my mom has a really great massage therapist who also is a yoga instructor. For Christmas, she gave me two private yoga sessions with Brittany. I was SO excited. I kept putting it off only because I wanted my little workout space in the garage to be in perfect shape before inviting her into it...but after a while, I decided that I needed to give that up and embrace the imperfection. :) So, that first week of July, we had the first of our two sessions and it was DIVINE.
In fact, thinking about it just now made me push the chocolate chips I've been munching on aside. It was a much more delicious treat for my body than chocolate could ever be.
I am looking forward to our next session with such eagerness! If I could give myself any wonderful treat on the face of the earth it just might involve weekly yoga sessions. And...since she would be here anyway...maybe a massage or two. (I've had one of those from her before too and it was gooooood.)
If anyone wants to experience either of these treats for themselves, please email me for her information. You will be glad you did.
P.S. Thanks Mom!!!

So, anyway, back on track . . .
good energy going into this holiday weekend. I just knew it would be good.

To start off, it was time to hose off our air filters. Sounds boring enough but anything is fun when you involve the little ones!

James' turn!

Bethany is big enough to be in charge of the hose by herself it appears.

JC wipes the sweat from his brow.

Then, he gives Ben a turn.

Which he takes very seriously.

A few times when I was growing up, we would paint t-shirts for the fourth, decorating our bright whites with red and blue fireworks, stars and splatters. I liked it and thought it was something we could handle with the kids without too much grief! They love to paint and don't get to do so very often. So, although Ben decided to take an extra long nap this afternoon and missed out, we went ahead and got 'em done!

Bethany is ready to go in her giant painting t-shirt.

"Who wants the blue paint first?"

"Me!"

James takes to the task like everything else - - very seriously and with a very specific plan in mind.

Yeah, they just used regular sponge-type paint brushes. I thought about cutting out little shapes out of sponges but JC made a good point in that they would probably just smear them all around anyway!

They liked this though.

See?

And...um...see?

We finished up the t-shirts, Ben woke up, we got busy about dinner prep and sat down . . . and things got a little blustery outside. Then . . . a little thunder-y. And suddenly, the heavens unleashed their fury.

We got the most delicious downpour. Ever.

So, of course, our dinner plates were abandoned. What choice did we have, really??

Bethany wandered out into the downpour.

And others soon followed!

THIS is exactly why I will leave dinner, naps, and anything else that we may be engaged in for a family dance in the rain.

That face.

...tasting the rain...

It REALLY started coming down! There is literally a pond in our cul-de-sac! James stands at its shoreline...

...and splashes in its glory.

The kids and I wandered over to use our neighbors' tree as shelter.

Well...almost all the kids...James didn't get the memo.

But he enjoyed himself nonetheless.

It came down this hard for probably about twenty minutes. All of which we enjoyed outside. About the time it started letting up, the littlest of us started shivering and that was our cue to retreat. By the time we got everyone inside, undressed and wrapped up in blankets and new pajamas, it was still as can be outside. What a perfect little gift for a wonderful weekend!

After playtime...recovering in a comfy cozy way.

So sad that we had to come in! Even though he was shivering and shaking he wanted to stay outside so badly!

But, luckily, there were still smiles to be had!

As we moved further into the evening, a good family movie and some warm popcorn kept us comfy, cozy and happy...ready for more holiday weekend!