Those Summer Days

Well, it's been a long hot summer of being cooped up inside.
But, it appears it is beginning to come to an end because we have gotten outside a couple of times recently!
Here's a glance at the start of our slow venture back to the outdoors...

We tried out the little water play area underneath the water tower in Downtown Gilbert!
So much fun! We never knew this little treasure was here!
Here are the kids, giving it a whirl.

James LOVED this. He loved running through and being surprised as to when the water would pop up and get him!

Ben was more hesitant. Here we all are, walking around the water, trying to get him to warm up to it.

Bethany and James also enjoyed playing in the fountain walls they have there.
I'm not entirely sure they're supposed to do that. Anybody know? Haha...

JC, standing in the middle. The kids all scattered at the last minute and it ended up being a picture of him standing in the middle alone.
In front of Hale Theater.
I love Hale Theater.

James was pretty brave, flying like an airplane through the giant spurts of water!

Ben still preferred to watch from a safe distance away!

And run up and down this hill. I may have done that too.

Whee!!!

We will definitely go back there soon. It's about two miles from our house and if I can keep the kids from running toward the street nearby, a pretty easy outing!

On a Saturday not long after that, we ended up spending some time outside in the morning when it was a bit overcast.
First matter of business - - sadly remove the plum tree.
Didn't make it through the summer.

Bethany gives it some final loves.

Then the whole family gets into helping remove it.

Luckily, we'll have a new one come October. Since it died within the time it was still guaranteed. Feels a bit disrespectful to speak too much of that just yet. For now we'll go on mourning this one.
Actually, this tree was a little sad from the day it got put in the ground. I had a sneaking suspicion that it may not live...maybe I killed it with karma. Who knows?

I am also a little worried about our apple tree.
Isn't looking so hot.
Then again, at one point, I thought the peach was dying too but turned out it was just sunburned. So, maybe this one will get a little more lively once cooler weather rolls around.

JC brought "Bubba" out on this fine summer morning.
Bubba is the name of his giant keg-like water glass.
In fact, I think it is actually called the Bubba Keg.
Don't get me started.
But anyway, the kids took it over and it became their entertainment/refreshment.

This used to be their entertainment.
Now it is the Land of Desolation.
It basks in the morning sun. Way too hot to play on for the rest of the day.
Oh Autumn, where art thou???

But back to our refreshment on this hot morning...

Well, their refreshment. Once they've claimed it as their own, you don't really want to be drinking from it as much.

A pretty picture of thoughtful Bethany:

She leaves the boys to all their splashing and wanders, shirtless (it got wet), over to our lovely pomegranate tree.
Which I still call Queen Anne.
Isn't she lovely? (both of them)

Then, this happened.
I guess they all got too wet and decided to abandon their pajamas.

Ben was having some trouble and Bethany wandered over to help/make fun of him.

Ahh...too bad we can't all get away with this in our backyards.

Free!

Free!

And refreshed.

I gotta say, I am glad this summer is ending. I am learning that the key to a happy summer is preparation throughout the rest of the year! I'm going to try to be more ready for next summer. Or maybe we'll just become snowbirds and find somewhere up north to spend our summers! One or the other. :)

Either way, it's almost fall and I can hardly stand the wait!!!
In the meantime, we'll keep venturing outside more and more and enjoying a few more red-cheeked, thirsty, naked mornings outside before the more coveted weather hits!

How-to of the Month: How to disappear during rest time

Either you can relate to the following statement or you will one day be able to:

When you discover your child has outgrown naps, I can imagine it feels about the same as finding out you were adopted and nobody ever told you.

Astonishment.
Anger.
Betrayal.
A sense of being incredibly wronged by the world in general.

Bethany outgrew them first, obviously. Then James. Though really, I'm pretty convinced he gave them up way before he was actually ready. It actually was more of an awareness that Bethany was no longer napping. (since when there is an awake and energetic four-year-old in your house, it's pretty hard to keep that fact quiet)
Ben still naps. Most of the time.
He definitely switched to just one nap a day earlier than he was ready for the same reason James gave up his naps. Only add a three-year-old to the four-year-old. Impossible to enforce a nap for one sibling with those two playing (let's be honest, screaming) together!

So, anyway, what happens here now is rest time. This consists of us getting washed up after lunch (most of the time), getting settled in our "resting spots" with blankets, animals, and water bottles, listening to a story from The Friend (during which Ben stares at me blankly, James talks to himself, and Bethany listens intently, asking a million questions. Then, I close the blinds in the playroom, turn off the light and put in a Disney movie chosen by the lucky one whose turn it is. I then kiss them all and we have a conversation that goes something like this:

Me: Is it rest time?
Children: Yes!
Me: Do we get up and play?
Children: No!
Me: Do we talk loudly?
Children: No!
Me: Do we watch the movie and rest?
Children: Yes!
(then James likes to take over)
James: We play with toys?
Other two: No!
James: We get up?
Other two: No!
James: We be loud?
Other two: No!
Bethany: Do we climb on the table and get the remote and push buttons?
. . .
(silence
. . .
Ben: 'mote? I do it!
James: No Ben, I do it!
Bethany: I won't do it, I know that is not a good choice.
James: NO, Bethany, I do it.
Bethany: I know! I'm not going to do it! Climbing up on the table is danger! And then you are teaching Ben to climb.
Ben: Climb? I do it. (starts to get up)
James: No Ben! Don't climb! I'm going to do it!!!

. . .

and anyway...at that point, I settle them back down and tuck them back in with their blankets, kiss them again, and push play.

I retreat into the office to read from the scriptures, pray for my sanity (only half kidding), and move onto whatever of my many suffocating tasks I feel is deserving of some attention! Return emails, meal plan, make grocery lists, work on my preparedness project, work on the kids' chore charts, organize our office, research whatever is pressing on my mind that day, etc. Now that I write it all out, it all sounds a lot less suffocating than it feels! Hmmm...oh well, I guess that's what I get for being me.

On this particular day, JC was home...it might have been a Saturday...and on those days he usually either finds something random to work on as well or he will sit with the kids through their movie, dozing off snuggling one or two of them. On this day we were both in the office and he went in to check on them (this is most necessary!).

He found James' resting spot empty. No sign of him anywhere.
Looked around, he wasn't hiding in a corner playing with his animals (normal)
He wasn't standing directly in front of the tv (also normal)
He wasn't attempting to rile Bethany up into some form of a fight. (unfortunate but also a little normal)
Just gone.

Upon further investigation of his resting spot...
It appears he never actually left it.
When JC moved the couch cushion where James used to be, this is what he found folded behind it.

Sleepy James.
Animals still in his hand.

He was out COLD.
Squatting.

He is such a funny little guy! We were laughing so hard we could hardly catch our breaths and settle down enough to move him to a more comfortable spot! But we did. And he slept on.

I just had to share.

Now, I am a bit behind since I opted out of blogging last week and we've had a rather interesting week quarantined here at home with first chicken pox, then hand foot and mouth disease. (sounds a lot grosser than it is)
We didn't really have both. I just declared their illness as chickenpox too soon and turned out wrong!
And anyway, we even had Ben's second birthday!
But I am so sleepy...(how many posts do I end this way??) and even though everyone is feeling better, I'm already getting crazy vibes about the approaching week and feel that it's best I get my buns in bed. So, I just wanted to get this on here for something fun for now!

Maybe during rest time tomorrow I will push all that other nonsense aside and get some more fun stuff on here.

I guess that, even though they were sick this week, we all got a little sick of each other, and at one point I literally thought I might lock myself in a closet and stay for several days, I still get excited about sharing pictures and funny moments of my kids.
Because they are the best, cutest kids in the universe!
I don't care if I am biased.

Blahg.

This week was full of non-events.
But the eventful kind of non-events.

There's not really a non-eventful non-event in a house full of preschoolers and toddlers, is there?

But anyway, then this weekend got a little hectic, a little unpredictable, a little tiring, and a little accidentally-fall-asleep-on-the-couch-at-nine-fifteen-on-what-was-supposed-to-be-date-night...yeah...um...a little like that.

And it all ended in a big blur of sick sad James today.

SO...the point is, instead of blogging tonight, I'm going to go have a re-do of date night with JC and try to stay awake through at least part of a movie or something. :)
We could use a little downtime together.

So, I'll be back soon!

And that's all she wrote.

We've had a birthday, shout hooray!

JC turned 28 this week!
My blog is underlining my words again...I really need to figure this out.
But, before we get into the birthday fun, here's some other highlights from our week:

James spends a lot of time trying to bond with Scout lately.
Unfortunately, much of the effort toward bonding comes in the form of unintentional violence.
But, here we've captured one of the nice moments...these happen often as well.
Usually, while he's petting Scout, he can be overheard mumbling things like,
"Scout's a good cat."

We've been spending a lot of time in the music room. It's just so dang hot, even our most fun outdoor activities are on the back burner. But, the music room calls to us a couple times a day and off we go for some dancing, playing, marching, singing, and here:
a teeny tiny little piano lesson.
Because Bethany wanted to know how to play just one part of her favorite primary song.
I just assume leave the teaching to the professionals but I couldn't resist.

Ben's piano of choice.

So, getting on to JC's birthday, it came around on a Thursday this year. Just so happens, JC has Thursday morning off. Odd, I know. But it works out rather nicely! Especially for a birthday!
So, we spent the morning kind of hanging around, eating some yummy breakfast and visiting with JC's dad who came by with something fun for the kids (future post once we get some uses in!). Then, mid-morning, we decided to make something nice for daddy for his birthday.

Just the occasion for some water color paints.

While Daddy does this.
Seriously, what could be a better birthday present than a nap?
I can't think of much that is more treasured at this point in our lives!

By the way, he fell asleep watching this:

I thought it was worth mentioning.

Anyway...

When it came time for cleanup, our finished product was this...

and this.

Once he went to work a little later, we had the chance to display the lovely works of art and create some lego towers to act as celebratory statues.
Along with a hat that Bethany made from a piece of paper and crayons.

Everyone liked it very much.

We celebrated without cake this year, since JC and I just started getting pretty hard core about building healthier habits and he just really didn't want one!
And we celebrated without presents because since he is going hunting this year, he was reserving birthday money for a trip to Sportsman's Warehouse.

Which we actually went and did the next night on our birthday date night. Thanks to a willing babysitter in JC's mom, we went out for seafood and some shopping. Then came home to watch JC's free birthday rental from Hollywood Video. Who knew they'd ever make another Fast and the Furious worth watching?
I sure am branching out these days in the kinds of movies I'm enjoying.
But anyway, it was nice. And hopefully a good couple of days celebrating his birthday for him.

I always enjoy a reason to celebrate my sweetheart. He's a favorite.

Speaking of which, I am going to go hang out with him. I don't know what is going on today but I am BEAT and though it's a happy beat, it's a tired beat. So, off for some couch potato time before my new 10:30 bedtime I am striving to stick to. It makes such a difference when I do!

Guess whoever said that whole early to bed, early to rise thing knew what they were talking about, yes?


But first, a little story from our day - - today we almost didn't go to church. My back has started going out overnight occasionally (probably due to upping the intensity of my workouts) and I was feeling grumpy about it, the kids were fighting, we were struggling to get ready on time...we had sort of decided to let it slide.
JC and I were laying on our bed half wishing we were asleep, half wrestling with the boys and in wanders Bethany in her church clothes. Shoes and all.
I look at JC.
"What does this mean?" I say
"That we have twenty minutes to get ready" he says

And we did.
And we had a great day at church. One of Bethany's favorite ladies has become her Sunbeam teacher so she went straight to class with no tears (tears have become the norm lately after a slew of changes in teachers), Ben went to nursery without any problem whatsoever (unheard of), the fifteen year olds in our class were attentive and one of them complimented me on my shoes (sorry, had to be said, it made me feel happy), JC made it most of the way through priesthood without nodding off (about as rare as Ben going to nursery without problems), and I really really enjoyed Relief Society. I learned a lot and came away renewed in my conviction to do this lovely work of raising children and building the kingdom.

Thanks Bethany, for the good example.
We are lucky to have such a faithful little lady in our family.

Come to think of it, we're pretty lucky all the way around.

Keepin' on with the keepin' on.

So, the summer is moving right along . . . coming to a close for those headed back to school, so I hear.
As for us, we are still plugging along with our indoor activities, counting down the days until preschool starts again for Bethany in September...gazing longingly out the back door at our once-upon-a-time downstairs outside play shoes that, much like our backyard, have grown crusty and stiff with the suffocating summertime air sucking the life and memories slowly out of them...
We dream of autumn air that carries with it sweet smells and the possibility of sniffles (but who cares???), whole days spent outside, muddy shoes and jackets, and chilly cherry-colored noses. We dream of green grass, early sunsets, and . . . maybe a few pomegranates from our tree???

But, alas, a good quote that was handed to me today on our ward's Relief Society Newsletter - -

"There is an attitude of tolerating today, even looking past today in anticipation of a better tomorrow. To people so inclined, the better future may never come. The pleasant future belongs to those who properly use today. We need to find the abundant life as we go along. How can we be happy tomorrow if our "nows" are filled with self-inflicted unhappiness and unwise delays? Generally speaking, those inclined to count their daily blessings have more to count because they help make more possible as they learn gratitude. A constant waiting for a brighter future may cause us to lose the beautiful today. Some spend so much time getting ready to live for an unknown future, too late they discover there is no time to live. Very often in our anxiousness for the joys of the future we run away from the very things we are wanting and needing today. An appropriate examination of the passing moment will prove it leads to eternity. We need to constantly remind ourselves eternity is in the process now."
-Marvin J. Ashton, "The Time is Now," Ensign, May 1975, 85


Okay, a little deep for the subject matter, yes, yes, but you get the idea.
I think I can be quite guilty of the kind of thinking he is warning us against . . . so I really liked that quote.

So, instead of talking tonight of the horrible heat, the boredom of the indoors, the days spent cleaning out closets, drawers, corners and toilet bowls...moments spent daydreaming about a couple of days that will be spent in Huntington Beach in late September...
I will keep us joyfully in the present.

Here's some of our summer fun this last week:

JC climbed up high to do some decorating for me.
I don't do a lot of it these days...but I had an idea for these window blinds that we didn't have a window for but I loved anyway...

The kids liked watching.

I should have taken a picture once they were hung. Oh well...someday I'll do a recap of our little projects around the house this year. Especially since I made the obnoxious point of posting a list of little projects we were planning to get done this year. :)

JC got really creative this weekend when the kids were getting restless and I was feeling un-creative.
It involved a shop-vac, our playroom and a bunch of fuzzy little pom-poms.

While he got stuff ready, I cuddled with this guy:

He's a favorite.

Then, the kids spent some time just "rannin around" (Out of the Mouths of Babes, anybody?) with the shop vac in reverse, creating a crazy wind current through our playroom!

JC also got the grand idea to use a squirt bottle to create a sort of intense spray wind.
It's like a blow torch.
Only...water instead of fire.
And non-toxic.
And for kids.
(It appears I'm running out of creativity (and logic) in a lot of areas . . .)

James decided to attempt using the rug as armor.

Will it work?

Nope!
I don't think he was disappointed though...

Then, Bethany watched as JC got his next ingenious idea.

Ben watches preparations from a distance, taking in a nice cool drink...from...the...squirt bottle...

So, apparently, when you combine a cardboard box with holes cut in the sides, a shop vac nozzle fit into one side, a pillow pressed on top to create more pressure, and a bunch of little fuzzy pom poms inside the box, it creates a way to shoot little fuzzy pom poms at your children.
Kind of like...a...little fuzzy pom pom...blow...torch...?
Anyway, I took video of this so I don't have any pictures that do it justice.
But it was fun.

And, lucky for me, part of our routine that has stayed the same over the summer months - - rest time.
You never know how successful it will be or how long it will last but, I take what I can get. They need it, I need it, we all can use a good rest time, can't we?

We also sprayed down the back porch this weekend. It was hot and dirty.

(Well, JC did this while we supported him by cheering him on and letting him spray us.)

Other random bits of our week - -

I took my workouts back up with a vengeance after a complacent couple of weeks and took them to the next level. It feels good.
The Summer of the Second Move-In continues on - - closets are getting cleaned out. That feels good too.
We paid a visit to Evergreen Cottage Preschool and Bethany got to see her teacher for a few minutes, we got to tour the new additions to the cute little school, and I decided that, while Bethany was rearing to go at 3, James is just not interested in preschool yet! Bless that child, he is just as content as can be and I can imagine he will be excited as all get-out next fall when it will probably appeal to him a lot more!
I watched parts of my house fall apart (the office...the playroom...) while other areas thrived for the first time in a long time (the laundry room...closets...) and breathed deeply, smiled, and ignored it all to dance and sing along to "Staying Alive" in my best beegees voice.
I helped plan a lesson for 14 yr olds about the early Saints in Nauvoo. Spent time thinking about how different our challenges are today. Spent time thinking about how much strength these people had and how much of a lazy, whiny, fearful bum I can be. Committed to try harder to honor my heritage. To work harder to keep our foundation firm. To grit my teeth and dig in instead of give up and sit back when something is hard and tiring.
I meal planned until I never wanted to look at food again.
James decided he was no longer afraid of heights of any kind and since we want to keep him in tact, we rearranged our music room. Thanks to some good friends who couldn't stand to see him and his fearless heart in danger any more than we could, we got the organ/stepping stool to a ten foot fall, moved this weekend. Thanks, Jimmy and JC, for being the big strong guys you are!
Bethany and I began to behave a bit like a teenage daughter and exasperated mother far too often for my liking (and probably hers as well). This next week, I plan to get some good chill moments in together and spend some time laughing and playing.
We talked about plans for JC's birthday coming up this next week! And had a Hawkes' Family Dinner for such an occasion (including Miss Bonnie's August birthday as well!)
My sister Katie came in town!!! Just for a few days, now back up to Provo, to take some finals, graduate, and COME HOME!!!! I can't wait.
...I am trying to not think about the fact that, a couple of weeks later, my sister Monica leaves for BYU Idaho...

On that note, I'm ready to move into this next week with a renewed commitment to living in the present.
The sweltering, hot, present. :)