September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a little slower and a lot less crazy. We meant to try and get in a lot of playing, but J has had some form of pink eye and other issues most of the week. That makes it a little hard to take your children places. Most of the week was spend in preparation for B-man’s birthday party. Luckily he thought that was all very fun. Monday when M got home we went to a very early dinner at place in town. The sandwiches were delicious, and we were amazed at the amount of food that B-man consumed. He finished his large sandwich and the last of one of ours! After dinner we came home and got ready for the pool. J couldn’t swim so we hung out on the edge getting our feet wet and playing with various toys. That night for FHE we discussed Father’s Blessings. We wanted to prepare B-man in advance because he gets nervous about it sometimes. Even with the preparation he ended the night saying he didn’t want one. Hmmm…

The big event for Tuesday was that B-man had his first soccer practice. His practices are kind of late (6:00) and so we had to eat dinner first. We have definitely entered a new phase in our family life. The weather has been insanely hot, and B-man did not complain at all about the heat while at practice. He had a great time. At one point he was in a big group trying to get the ball and he just sat on it. Not so great for continuing the game, but very effective ball control. Because of the heat I wasn’t too sad that I had to leave a few minutes early to get to mutual. For our activity all the girls tie-dyed shirts. We are going to use them in another activity coming up. It was a messy but fun activity. I had never done it before, and it was fun to see how it was done.

Wednesday was a slower day. I went to the farm. It was one of our hottest picking experiences ever. I felt bad for the men that had to do it all day. After the farm B-man had a day of play dates. First we had a friend over that is younger. We saw him at the farm and B-man wanted to have him over. Then after we dropped him off at home I took B-man to another friend’s house for a little bit. He was so happy. We hit the pool that night after dinner. When it is so hot it is the perfect time to go and get refreshed before bed.

Thursday was a busy day. I finished the shopping and things that we needed for B-man’s party during the day. When M got home we had a fast dinner and then got ready for soccer and back to school night. M took J and went to soccer. I went to Back-to-School night. I got to meet the teacher, but it was so fast that we didn’t get enough time to get our questions answered and such. I had just enough time to get the kitchen clean before the boys got home from soccer. Apparently he had a lot of fun again. We got the boys clean and then to bed.

Friday was a busy but fun day. Most of the morning was spent working on last minute party details. We packed the goodie bags (which I then forgot to pass out…), made the cake (several near disasters there) and got everything organized that we would need to take to the pool for the party. B-man has been saying for months that he wanted a party at the pool. I was happy to oblige. It was the perfect place to have a bunch of kids. We invited about eleven, and we had seven that came. It was the perfect number. But before we could focus on the party we had to go to the school open house first. B-man was excited for a chance to meet his teacher and see his classroom. They didn’t stay long and then we headed straight over to the pool to set up for the party. We played some games in the pool, and had a water balloon toss. The water balloons were a big hit with the kids. When the party started we had the entire pool to ourselves. It was wonderful, one of the life guards was helping watch J, and I ran the games while M did a bunch of little details for me. We ended the party with cake and ice cream. B-man wanted a chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and he wanted it to be a Star Wars cake. I am NOT a cake decorator. All I know I learned from watching my mother decorate our birthday cakes. I want to take a class, but I have not. And yet I keep making cakes for birthdays and trying to make them look nice because I can’t stand to spend a bunch of money on a cake. After cake people started to filter home. We stayed at the pool for a while because B-man and J were having so much fun. Eventually I was tired and hungry so I forced us all to go home and get some food. We all got dressed and then went to Costco for dinner. We saw several friends at Costco and had a good dinner before heading home to get people in bed. Such an exciting day!

Saturday morning I woke up with no voice. It was seriously gone. B-man kept telling me that I shouldn’t talk for a long time. .. It didn’t keep me from hunting at garage sales. I felt find I just didn’t have a voice. I found some great things for the new baby and some new cowboy boots for B-man to wear on Sundays. After I got home we let J sleep for a while and then headed off to the farm for their potato festival. It was the first day of the potato harvest and they had free pancakes and we were able to pick some potatoes for free too. I love fresh potatoes. The weather was about fifteen degrees cooler than when we went on Wednesday and made for a much more pleasant experience. After the farm we spent the rest of the day working on things around the house. B-man enjoyed playing with his new toys. We had a summery dinner and then went to the pool, but with the weather being so nice during the day, it made it a little too cold for swimming. The boys didn’t last very long in the water. We then came home and put the boys to bed. We then stayed up and watched some episodes of “Lost.” We got several seasons from a friend and are watching from the beginning since we never really watched the show.

Sunday morning was very lazy and wonderful. No meetings for M, and I had no lesson to prepare. Actually I was supposed to be teaching, but I still had no voice making it impossible so I had to switch with another leader. Church went well, other than forgetting to bring the church bag. B-man was a little bored, but luckily I always carry a few toys in my purse that can distract J. After Sacrament meeting B-man always asks to walk someone to Primary. Usually it is one of his good friends. After church we came home and had a quick dinner of homemade fettuccini alfredo. I usually halve the recipe, but B-man has started eating so much, (and J ate it too) that I am can’t do that anymore. I’m sure it is only a sign of things to come. We had a pretty quiet evening after dinner. We went on a walk around our neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather, and then headed home for bed.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J