Ethan's New Fishing Pole

Ethan wanted to go fishing and he had a fishing elective for cub scouts and Grandpa Oman wanted to go fishing, so we combined them all. Grandpa took Ethan to the "side of the road somewhere" and they cut a reed to make a fishing pole. Then they went to Grandpa's house and made a hook from a paper clip. They then made a fishing pole "that didn't cost any money at all!" And Grandpa took Ethan fishing....but Ethan didn't catch anything. Grandpa caught 2 little blue gills which he promptly let go, much to Ethan's dismay. But they had a lot of fun!

Family Pictures

I got the disk with our family pictures on it and they are great. Our photographer did a great job. Since she knows us, she was able to capture personalities as well as cute smiles (and sometimes weird looks). They were fun to look at, now we just have to figure out which one we like the best and get it for our wall.

Here are just a few of the picture she gave us on the disk:

Best Librarian

We have the best librarian at Ethan's elementary school. Her name is Mrs. Roberts and she does a great job. Ethan LOVES to read and she is the person who tries to keep him supplied with reading material during the school year (which isn't an easy job when a kid reads as much as Ethan does). They have summer library hours at the school on Tuesdays from 9-11 a.m. and we go each week. The first week Mrs. Roberts was so excited to see Ethan because she had ordered some books just for Ethan knowing that he loved this particular series. He read all 4 books the first day. The next week she had another series that she bought thinking Ethan would like them...he did, but read all 4 books the first day. This week we went and she had another book for him to read but she had just bought it and hadn't had a chance to get it scanned into the computer or covered with plastic. So she asked for our address and brought the book over after summer library hours were finished. What a great librarian! Ethan was so excited to see her at our house because he knew she was there just for him.

I am so grateful for good people and good examples in the lives of my kids. We live in a great neighborhood and a great community!

Miss Independent

We went to the pool today and they have a big slide that Courtney loves to go down. She has to wear a life jacket and they have a sign that says that "Riders with life jackets must go with adult." Today I noticed that there were kids going down the slide with life jackets on who weren't with an adult. So we went up the slide and asked the life guard if that was allowed and she said it was (I guess she hadn't read the sign she was sitting next to). So Ethan went down first, I followed second and Courtney went last. I waited at the bottom to catch her and she had the biggest smile on her face. She didn't have any problems so Ethan and I spent the next 45 minutes watching her go up the stairs and down the big slide. She was in little girl heaven! I still caught her at the bottom in case she was tired, but she could have gotten herself to the side without a problem.

She is growing up so fast!

Courtney's Writing

Courtney has been practicing her writing and loving the freedom of expression it gives her. Following are notes she brought to Bryan and me today and then one she wrote to herself. See if you can discover what word she figured out how to spell today. Not bad for a 4 year old.


(Translation: "Mom u r a cat" and "Courtney u r a cat Pack" and "Dad u r a cat")

Lowe's

Ethan needed to build something, use a hammer and identify tools for one of his cub scout requirements so we took him to the You Can Build It! day at Lowe's. They have one at Home Depot too which we have been to a few times, but it's only once per month and Lowe's has it twice per month so we wanted to check it out. Also, they were building a monster truck and Ethan was excited...oh, and they gave out not only an apron, but safety goggle too. The goggles were what pretty much sealed the deal!

Anyway, we went from camping straight to Lowe's and it was crowded. But we got our kits and the kids began building. They both had a lot of fun but later said they like Home Depot better. But it was fun anyway!

Pine Valley Camp

We went camping in Pine Valley on Friday. It's only about 30 miles, or so, from our house and it is much cooler in the hot summer. We made reservations a few months ago and were excited for it. They have been making improvement to the area and we stayed in a new campground they just finished. It was right by a lake and gave us a great opportunity to explore.

After we set up camp we went exploring down by the lake. A lot of people were fishing and we could see fish jumping but never saw anyone actually catch one. There was a stream leaving the lake and the kids played in it for a while. When we returned to camp it was time to build a fire and get ready for dinner. Bryan taught Ethan how to build a fire and Ethan was really nervous to begin with. He was terrified that the match would burn him, but once he lit the fire and got it going he was hooked and kept asking if he could build another one (what is it with boys and fire?!?). Ethan planned our dinner of hotdogs, chips, rootbeer and s'mores and then he cooked it for us.

When dinner was finished the kids and Bryan went on another exploration trip while I sat in the peace and quiet and read. It was great. That's what I remember from when I was a kid...sitting in the quiet outdoors reading a book and enjoying life. When they returned we played baseball. Ethan finally got his swing and was doing well. Then it was Courtney's turn and Ethan played catcher. She hit some nice ones. We had a few deer that were our audience and stayed for quite a while watching us.

Then we popped our popcorn, finished cleaning up camp and went to bed where Courtney talked and talked and talked while we told her to be quiet and be quiet and be quiet. Finally we all fell asleep and slept pretty well. The kids were a bit cold, but they didn't stay awake because of it.

The next morning we woke up and had cereal for breakfast, cleaned up camp and went exploring down some roads we hadn't been on before. Then we drove back to St. George. It was a fun campout!

Camp Invention

Okay, so Ethan had a great time at Camp Invention this past week. He made up a new game, made a maze, built a working robot that moves, played a ton of invention games and basically learned a ton about the world. Last Friday we were able to go to his camp and see what he had been up to. He was so proud to show off all he had done. I loved the house he made for his robot and he was so happy to show us how it worked. They even had a camp cheer that he did for us. I'm glad he is curious about the world and not afraid of different situations where he gets out of his comfort zone but learns!

He can't wait for next year.

Oh Courtney

Courtney was showing her friend the tokens we use to keep track of the kid's chores. They are poker chips and Courtney's friend said, "What are those?" Courtney said, "They are our tokens but they are really poker chips...but they won't poke you, really."

I had to laugh!

Camp Invetion

Ethan participated in Camp Invention last summer and loved it, so we signed him up for it again this year. What it is, basically, is a week of activities where they take apart household items to create something new, play invention games, solve problems and have a lot of fun. I drop him off at 9 a.m and pick him back up at 3:30 p.m. and he LOVES it.

Today was the first day and he is on the blue team. (I have to mention that this year there seems to be only about half the participants there were last year.) They made up a team cheer, took apart items, made a structure from marshmallows and toothpicks (see attached picture which I'm glad I took before starting home because he ate the marshmallows in the car), began building helicopters with engines that work, played all kinds of logic games and had a great time. He was so excited when I picked him up and talked all the way home (wonder where he got that from?!?!). He can't wait to go back tomorrow.

We get to go on Friday to see all the things he has invented and so he can show off. I can't wait to see all he does.

Painting Nails

I should have posted this the other day but I forgot, so here it is on Father's Day.

Courtney wanted some "daddy time" and wanted to have her fingernails and toenails painted. Since Daddy is the expert in that field she asked him to do it. And he did a great job!! He is a great dad and I'm so blessed to have him in my life. Love ya Bryan!!

Family Pictures Sneak Peek

We had family pictures last night at Ancestor's Square in St. George. We had the same photographer that did Ethan's pictures (the one in our neighborhood) and she did a great job. She emailed me a few this morning for a preview but I won't get the disk for a few weeks. I will post more when we get them. When we showed up Ethan told her that he didn't want any individual pictures because we did that in May and "I'm done with that." But she got a few of him. Courtney was ECSTATIC to be having her picture taken but quickly became a ham and kept making faces and looking up at the birds. I think we got some good ones but I just have to cross my fingers on the family photos. Hopefully we were all looking good at once. Thank heavens for Photoshop!

Here's your preview:





(I had to buy Bryan some jean for pictures. These are the first pair of jeans that Bryan has owned for the last year, I think. The man lives in shorts, even in winter!)

I love my house!!

I can say that I have always liked my house. Bryan designed it and we built it so we picked everything out ourselves. But I have not loved our air conditioner. We have had problems every summer (4 so far) and twice we have ended up living in the basement for a few days while they try to fix it. Which isn't fun in St. George in July! Last year we had some AC guys out to tell us how they can fix it and they all said we had to get all new duct work in the attic because the original company messed it up. So we saved up and yesterday had the work done (they were two hours late and took a lot longer than they told us they would but it's done)!! And today I am happy. The kitchen is now the same temperature as the rest of the house, the AC is much quieter and I can actually hear air moving through the vents. Life is good and I love my house!!

Pie Cherries

I have standards when it comes to cherry pie. I hate, absolutely hate, cannot stand, etc. store-bought cherry pie filling. It is so gross. I say this because I grew up with a huge pie cherry tree in our backyard. Every summer we would pick and bottle all the cherries and then use them in our pies and treats. They taste wonderful (with a lot of sugar and cinnamon of course) but it made is so I don't like the store stuff at all. This presents a problem since my parents have moved and we don't have the tree anymore.

A couple of years ago I searched all over for sour cherries to make a pie from and found that they aren't sold anywhere near. I finally found an orchard in Santaquin that ships them in, so when my parents went for their next ride they went up and bought a bunch of buckets full of the stuff. I then bottled it (it was great because they were pitted for me) and it has been great. But then my dad decided they needed another sour cherry tree, so they bought one. It takes a few years for it to produce enough for a pie but this year they picked the cherries and brought them over for me to pit and bottle.

I must have blocked out the horrible memories of pitting pie cherries from my youth but they quickly came back when it took me 4 hours of pitting cherries to get 5 quarts of bottled cherries. My shirt is all stained, my kitchen floor is sticky and I'm going to have to ration this batch out so it doesn't disappear too quickly. But it was an accomplishment!! And I can make my great pie again!

Swimming Videos

Here are some random swimming videos from this year's swimming lessons. Ethan ended up earning a Cub Scout belt loop and pin for swimming because he passed all the requirements they have! I was pretty impressed. They were kind of bummed when swimming ended, but they have another session at the end of July to take. They both did a great job.

Courtney:

Ethan's dive (this kind of hurts to watch but he did better than last year):

Courtney on the slide:

Ethan on the slide:

Primary Talent Show

Our Primary had a talent show today and both of the kids wanted to participate. Ethan signed himself up to do some magic tricks and Courtney signed up to sing a song. Courtney went at the beginning and did a great job. She forgot some of the words and ended the song early but she didn't have any fear getting up in front of everyone and they all got a kick out of her song. Ethan did a great job too! He was really nervous and practiced all morning and I think you can tell. Courtney was in charge of the video camera when he was doing his "act" so it's a bit sketchy, but you can get the idea. I'm so happy that they are confident enough to do it and both had a great time.

Here is Courtney:

Here is Ethan:

The Courthouse

I am trying to help Ethan pass off as many requirements as he can while he is still excited to be a Cub Scout. So last week I called and scheduled a tour for him and some of his friends at the new Washington County Courthouse. Ethan was excited to see where Dad goes for court.

We picked up Brennon and drove downtown where we met some other boys from Ethan's troop. They were pretty nervous when we had to go through the metal detector but then they relaxed when the nice woman, Jana, came to give us our tour. She was so cool and explained everything to the boys. She told them all about the legal process, showed them where the records are kept, the judges chambers and all kinds of things. We even went in a courtroom for a Q&A session where the boys asked some great questions. (The part the boys loved the most was when her pass key couldn't get us in the front of the courtroom so we entered from the judges side and were behind the judges desk then realized that we couldn't get back out so we had to climb over the division between the witness box and the judges desk to get out. They loved that!)

The tour lasted about an hour and she did a great job to explain everything in a way the boys could understand. She also gave them a stern lecture saying that she would be happy to see them come and work at the Court, but that they better not EVER appear in Court. Then she gave them candy and we were on our way. Now Ethan has decided he wants to be an attorney like his dad. I think Bryan will have some advice about that one ;)

Safety Town Graduation

Courtney did it...she graduated from Safety Town so she theoretically should know all the rules of safety. We'll keep working on her but she had a great time and it was a great program. I have already seen a difference in how she acts so it was well worth it. They sang a cute song called "Twinkle, Twinkle, Traffic Light" that I have included on here. It was pretty cute!


Courtney is in the middle with the red shorts.


Here's the video:

Ethan's Last Day of Swimming Lessons

After we had Courtney's lesson, we drove home and she changed clothes. When it was time, we went to scouts to pick up Ethan and go to swimming. He was NOT happy with us. He loves scouts and it was his first time at den meeting and here I was, pulling him out early...before they started playing Ultimate Frisbee. What kind of mom am I?!?! But about halfway there he was calmed down enough to get excited for his lessons, but he made me promise that I won't pull him out early again.

He is doing such a great job. He passed all but 3 things and one of them he passed at the lesson today but she had already filled out his card. That's okay because he has another session at the end of July. This kid can swim though! I was amazed when he swam the length of the pool underwater. I was a bit nervous when he wasn't surfacing, but he knew what he was doing. He did his yearly belly flop while trying to dive. He really can do better, but he likes to goof off and he has a ready audience on Parent's Day so why not?!?

Here are some pictures:

Courtney's Last Day of Swimming

Today was the last day of swimming lessons for the kids. Courtney's was first. Ethan stayed at a friend's house so he could go to scouts and Bryan is in Moab with the Young Men, so it was just me to watch the "mermaid" swim. She did an awesome job. She didn't pass the level (it usually takes a few times) but she had a great time and loves her teacher. I was amazed at how well she is doing the American Crawl now. She even went down the slide which she loved. We have another session at the end of July so we will practice until then.

Here are some photos:

St. George Live Tour

Ethan needed to see a play or live performance for one of his Cub Scout requirements and we needed something to entertain the kids, so we decided to go on the St. George Live tour. If you don't know what this is, it's a historical tour through downtown St. George where they have actors who portray important people in the history of the town. These actors tell stories about each character and how they affected life in St. George. There was Erastis Snow, Brigham Young, a judge, and a few others.

Since it was a Cub Scout thing, I invited a few other boys in his troop to go along so they could pass it off too. And since I was picking up from Safety Town this week, Courtney and one of her friends got to go along too.




We started at 10:30 at the St. George Art Museum and heard from Jacob Hamblin. Then we went to the Opera House and heard stories from an apostle who was sent to settle St. George (I can't remember his name right now). At this one, Ethan and his friends got to help reenact a story and they loved it! Then we got on a bus and went to the Tabernacle where we heard from Erastis Snow (I think) who told us all about building the Tabernacle in those days. We got on the bus and went to the Old Courthouse which is now a museum. The boys had a blast here because one of them was put on trial for stealing water and the other boys were on the jury. Ethan was the "voice" of the jury and loved it! We got back on the bus and went to Brigham Young's house where he told us about sending the saints to this area to settle (he was a very good actor) and then we went through his house.

When I called to find out information about the tour they told me it was 1 to 1 1/2 hours long, but it ended up being 2 hours and the kids were STARVING! But they said they had a lot of fun and I was impressed by how well they paid attention and didn't goof off once. It was fun!

The jury:

At the Mulberry tree that was supposedly struck with lightening behind Brigham Young's home:

Ethan's Piano Reward

Ethan's piano teacher uses the "Reading Keyboard Music" system to teach notes. This has students learn note positions instead of note names. Ethan has been doing so well with it but it has been hard for him because he has to sit down and say the positions when he practices (bottom line, top line, middle space, etc.) and he feels silly. At the end of the book there is a 1 minute test that kids have to work on and pass. They also have to memorize three songs, be able to do 6 exercises without stopping and take a written test. When they do all this, they earn a candy bar from their teacher. Ethan didn't like the choices of candy bar so he wasn't motivated, but I made a deal with him to switch his earned candy bar in for a King Sized Milky Way bar. It was a deal.

Ethan has been working on it and had passed off everything but the 1 minute test. Last week he tried to pass it off and missed it by about 10 seconds so that was the only thing we practiced this week.

I went with him to his lesson and he was so nervous. He told his teacher that, at home when we practiced, he did it with 20 seconds to spare so he was ready to go. She had him warm up with his scales and chords and then let him do it. He did great!! When he finished she said, "Ethan, you have 15 seconds to spare." He slumped and looked like he was deflated. She said, "Do you realize what that means?" He shook his head. He had misunderstood and thought he had gone OVER by 15 seconds and missed out. He looked pretty upset. Then she said, "Ethan, I need you to stand up, put your arms in the air and do a happy dance because you made it!! You had 15 seconds left on the timer when you finished. Great job!" I still don't think it really set it because he was so calm about it, but when she gave him his candy bar he was smiling from ear to ear! I was so happy for him.

We promptly went to Albertsons and bought a King Sized Milky Way bar for him to trade me and then we dropped the other candy bar by Bryan's office. On the way home Ethan ate his candy bar (King Sized bars now have two little bars in them instead of one huge one). He took out the first bar, ate a few bites and then shoved the rest in his mouth and about choked getting it all down since it was so big in his mouth. But he was loving life.

GREAT JOB ETHAN!!



This was AFTER he had eaten most of the bar he shoved in his mouth!

Courtney's Haircut

About once a year I convince Courtney that she is really shaggy and needs a haircut. I made my own hair appointment and she decided she wanted a cut too. One of her best friends just got her hair cut short and Courtney was shocked that she hadn't turned into a boy. So Courtney decided she wanted to go short too.

My friend did a great job with her. Courtney got a shampoo:


Then she told Lori (my friend who cuts hair) that she wanted it short. So Lori began cutting (check out the difference between the right side that is cut and the left side that is not):


And when she was finished, there was enough hair on the floor to make a wig! But Courtney looks so cute! I love the short hair. She said that she will make this her "summer tradition."

Courtney's Mustache

Courtney had a fingernail scratch under her nose and decided it needed a band-aid.

Roadrunner's Baseball Game

Ethan won 5 free tickets to a St. George Roadrunner's baseball game so we decided to use it when everyone was here. Bryan, Courtney, Ethan, Grandpa Pack, David and I went to the game and it was a lot of fun...even though the team lost! Ethan was kind of bummed because there weren't any fly balls that were hit by us but after the game he waved at a player and the player threw a ball up to him. It made his day!

Ethan's Baptism!

He is baptized! On Saturday morning Ethan was really impatient for 9:15 to come when he and Bryan could go to the Stake Center and get ready for his baptism. When it finally came they took off, got ready and then had to wait until 10 a.m. for the service began. It was a packed Chapel with a lot of people there to support the 7 kids who were baptized. Everything went off without a hitch and Ethan loved it! He was so happy to be baptized.

After it was over we went to our house and had a BBQ. I had made a cake for Ethan and he and Courtney helped me decorate it. It turned out cute and everyone had a fun time eating and visiting.

We are so happy for his decision to be baptized!

Poor Fish

Last Friday Ethan went in to look at his fish and it was laying on the bottom of his fish tank. Poor thing was dead. He was pretty sad about it because we ran out of fish food last December and I just kept forgetting to get some more. Yup...this fish hasn't been fed since before Christmas. We are so awful!

We had a burial for it and put it back where the last fish was buried and then set off for the pet store to get another one. This time we bought 2 containers of fish food!

The sign Ethan put where his fish tank was...

The cleaned out tank

The new beta fish called Big Blue: