Four Things Summer Edition

Alpine Rodeo

I much prefer Instagram to blogging these days.  But in case you don't follow me there, here is a little catch up on what we have been doing this summer:

Luke:

1.  Luke did two basketball camps--one at BYU and one at Skyline High School.  He loved both of them.

2.  Luke and Sammie have both been taking tennis lessons.  I am living vicariously through them.  I am dying to take lessons--just so I can wear the cute skirts.

3.  Luke turned 10 this summer and let his little brother blow out his candles.  That's the kind of kid he is.

4.  The big news is that Luke started tackle football for Alta.  We said no for the last two years and he finally wore us down to the point that we said yes.  He absolutely loves it.

Sammie:

1.  Sammie spends 90% of her time tumbling on the front lawn.  She taught herself an aerial and almost has a back hand spring.  It scares me to death.

2.  She started dancing at a new studio and spent a considerable amount of time dancing this summer.  She also did a cheer camp at BYU.

3.  Sammie went on a trip to NYC with Sam for five days.  She saw three shows and toured the city.  At the airport, she turned and barfed all over Sam's shoes and then exclaimed, "phew!  I was so worried I was going to get it on my clothes!"

4.  Sammie loves little kids.  She comes to the gym with me each morning so she can go to the daycare and play with the toddlers.  They adore her.  Too bad she wants nothing to do with her own little brothers.

Ryan:

1.  Ryan spends all of his time outside roaming the neighborhood on his bike.  Luckily, we have fantastic neighbors who basically let him live at their homes. 

2.  Ryan took swimming lessons again this summer.

3.  He also played on a t-ball team with his buddies.  He was the biggest and slowest kid on the team.  And just like with soccer, he thought he was awesome.

4.  Ryan, Luke, Sammie and Mitch all went on a vacation with Sam for five days to Snow Mass, CO.  They had a blast swimming and going on bike rides.

Buster:

1.  The big news is that Buster is potty training.  We are half way there and it has about pushed me over the edge.  After ten years straight of diapers, I am ready for this kid to be trained!

At Walmart in no pants.  When in Rome...

2.  We thought he broke his arm last week on my sister's trampoline.  After one horrendous trip to the ER, and a week of wearing a cast for no reason, we found out he is totally fine.

3.  Buster's favorite thing to do is go swimming. We did Seven Peaks, Cottonwood Spa, Alta Canyon and the gym pool.  He mostly enjoys puttering around the pool deck or sitting in a lounge chair eating treats.

4.  He loves going anywhere with the big kids. 

 

Churros at the Real Game

Me:

1.  The big anticlimactic news is that I got a job.  I am working very very part time for the Utah Senate.  I won't bore you with the details but I can do it from home and so far it hasn't been too much of a thorn in my side. 

2.  Still dating on and off.  Summer is so busy that I try to slow down the dating a bit and focus on the kids.  I do like dating in the Summer because you can get outside and do things like bike rides and hikes. 

Look at that view!

3.  My vacation was when my kids went to Colorado with their dad.  I managed to get Mitchell's baby book finished which was my only goal for that week.  I am still trying to lose the five pounds I gained eating out with friends for every meal.

My friend Kari and I at City Creek before we gorged ourselves at Cheesecake Factory

4.  I did a lot more biking this summer. I have some kind male friends who take me since I have a hard time finding girls to go on rides with.  There is a great new trail from Alpine to Provo Canyon.

The end.  I will do my annual Best of Summer post next week.  I am not ready for Summer to end!

Leader of the Pack

Me in Luke's scout shirt.  Please don't tell him.

I am currently the assistant den mother for the Wolf pack in our ward.  Don't be jealous.  To be honest, it has not been my favorite calling.  8 year old boys have a lot of energy and a warped sense of humor.  My son is no exception.  And we get them right after school, every Wednesday, for an hour.

I have struggled to get my heart into scouting in general.  It is all so corny--the cheers at pack meeting, the requirements, the horrible outfits.  I get the heeby-jeebies just walking into the scouting store.   I spent about four hours at Cub Country this last summer and it was the longest day of my life.  There were women leaders up there wearing the scout shirt.  Did you know those babies cost like 80 bucks?

Do you think they could come up with a more unflattering look for ladies?

The best thing that ever happened to me with scouting was finding this stuff called Badge Magic.  It is for us moms who are lazy who don't sew.  You stick the badges on the uniform and they never come off.  Now that is an idea I can get behind!

We had the Pinewood derby on Tuesday night.  As a single mother who never had anything to do with the derby in the past, I had no idea what this was all about.  On Sunday night, Luke pulled his car out of the box.  It was a block of wood.  THEY EXPECT US TO CUT THE BLOCK OF WOOD INTO A FREAKING CAR!  Luke said "Don't worry mom..I can use my pocket knife!"  Umm, no.  Luckily, my awesome home teachers were over visiting (the ones who gave me the makeover) and Steve said he had a car Luke could borrow.  Saved again.

Horrible lighting on this picture

In the Mormon culture, it is kind of a big deal for boys to get their Eagle (an advanced scout rank.)  It involves lots of camp outs, merit badges and a huge project at the end.  I have three boys.  I started doing the math on how many more years I might have to be a den mother or be involved in the scouting program.  Somewhere around 15 years! 

Then the other night as I was googling where to put Luke's badges on his uniform, it hit me what I have to do.  I came across this awesome photo of Destiny's Child.  Guess what I am wearing to next month's pack meeting:

Do you think this would get me fired from scouts forever?

The Universe Is Trying to Tell Me to Stop Shopping

I had three horrible incidents in the past week that occurred during shopping trips.

#1.  I was at Walmart on Friday and I got a call from the secretary at my kids' school telling me that Luke had a seizure in the school lunch line, passed out and hit his head.  I was standing in the deli section looking at the ham and cheese.  My heart stopped and I couldn't even think.  I instantly started crying and a worker told me just to leave and he would take care of my cart full of groceries (as if I was worried about that..but I appreciated the gesture.)

By the time I got to school, the ambulance was outside with the lights flashing.  I hurried inside and saw the gurney outside the office.  When I got to Luke, he looked totally fine except that he was covered in syrup.  The EMTs told me they didn't think he had a seizure..just passed out and landed on a girl's lunch tray. Other than Luke telling the EMTs some stuff about Ryan learning how to flip the bird, no harm done.  Luke was only concerned about getting his faux hawk back up and we headed home. 

But I will tell you, in that short drive to the school from Walmart, a lot of things got put into perspective for me.  All of the stupid little things I stress about completely disappeared and I was just concerned about my amazing, sweet, smart boy.  I am still so glad he is okay.

In his new blazer and tie on Sunday.  He doesn't wear the 'hawk to church

#2.  I was at Harmon's yesterday back in the ham and cheese section again (maybe the universe is trying to tell me to not make chicken cordon bleu for dinner!)  All of a sudden, I heard a man yelling at the top of his lungs at the woman next to me.  I heard her say "They're not my children."  I looked over and Buster was running around with a roasting stick (for roasting marsh mellows.)  The man began yelling at me "Your kids are F-ing out of control...you need to control your children!)  He picked the wrong lady to yell at, especially about my kids.  I screamed back in his face "It's none of your damn business!  My kids are fine. Get away from me!"  I was seriously ready to jump on his back and kill him with my bare hands.  Remember this incident?  Yeah..like that.

Right at that moment, his mentally handicapped grown adult son jumped out holding a roasting stick and yelling the F word at me.  Mayhem people!

 

 I just grabbed my kids and started down the aisle.  My neighbor Tom English happened to walk up right at that moment and asked what was going on.  I told him and burst into tears.  He gave me a quick hug and then went busting over to the two men  and yelled "You got a problem..you deal with me!"  I honestly thought they were going to go to blows!  Loooong story short, the two men were escorted from the store by security and I got a 25$ gift card for my troubles.  I was very very grateful for my awesome neighbor for being in the right place at the right time.

#3.  Today I was at Gymboree with Buster and he was begging for my 44 oz Diet Coke.  Yes, the child loves Diet Coke..I'm a sub par mom.  I gave it to him to pacify him and moments later he dropped it on the floor and it sprayed all over a rack of clothing.  While I was cleaning it up with an entire roll of paper towels..he came and walked through it and slipped and fell into the mess...getting completely wet.  This incident was the most minor of the three but it was a nightmare to clean up.

Soooo, I am avoiding any kind of store for the next while.  I guess I can't stop shopping completely.  I still have to return to Walmart to pay for the half eaten bag of Snicker's bars that were in my cart when we rushed out!

Rise and Shout!

We are gearing up for the big game tomorrow! For those of you not "in the know," tomorrow is the BYU-Utah football game..a huge rivalry here in Utah.

I put these flags on my car and drove to the mall.  I got flipped off on the freeway and one dude actually gave me the thumbs down sign when I pulled into the mall parking lot.  I was afraid my car was going to get keyed.  U of U fans can be really classy.  cough cough.

My kids are all decked out in BYU gear:

My dad has season tickets and I have already taken Luke to the two home games this year.  My fondest hope is that he will love BYU football and want to go to BYU.  I think it is working:

I am planning to make this for the game.  I will probably eat the whole thing myself:

I took my little guys to Costco today for hot dogs since I won't be getting one tomorrow at the stadium.  (The game is at the U.)

Go Cougs!

Best of Summer 2012

I spent the better part of August dreading the kids going back to school.  I hate following a schedule, and routines and the driving non stop.  What was I thinking?  Back to School is the best thing that happens to moms.  It is delightful having my big kids gone and occupied for a good portion of the day.  Preschool starts in a few weeks and then my life will really be complete!  There is a bit of crispness in the air...Fall is coming.  Bring on the cute clothes..jeans, sweaters, boots! 

But before we dive into Fall, I do want to document our summer with a "best of" list.  Without further ado:

Best Vacation (and only vacation): Sun Valley with the kids (and the Ex):



Best Weekly Activity: Seven Peaks.  I tried to take my kids every Wednesday afternoon.  Food is half price after five..so cheap, we couldn't afford to NOT eat dinner there.  The Diet Coke on tap is delicious.  I have only good things to say about the place.  Last year I thought it was totally nasty.  This year, my friend Susan and I decided it was nice.  I doubt the place has changed one bit..we just lowered our standards...a lot.

Best lessons:  Swimming lessons at Swim Kids.  They are the best out there, people.  Not cheap but really good private lessons.  I am a fan.

Best Treat: Red Mango Frozen Yogurt.  Golden Spoon is dead to me.



Best Shindig at my house:  Bridal shower for one of my old YW, Megan:



Best Purchase: A new bike!  I call it my Barbie bike.  It is so girlie and I totally love it.  I hate this photo because I look like I have some dead animal around my neck.

Best Value: Ice Cream at Thanksgiving Point.  I think it is 25 cents for a cone.  I am a sucker for their chocolate malts:

Best Boy Heaven: Cub Country:  Yes, that is dirt all over Luke's face.  The four hours I was up there chaperoning was the longest day of my life.

Best Educational Activity: Taking Luke and Sammie to watch my dad in Court (he is a Federal Magistrate judge:

Best Warnerpalooza get together: Fourth of July Weekend and being the Patriotic Pirates in the East Millcreek Parade:



Best Shopping Find: These pink kicks at Nordstrom Rack.  I am addicted to pink right now. 

Best Song: Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen (I don't care how bad you hate it..it is catchy and happy and I love it.

Best Time Suck: Swim Team for Luke:  Practice every day for an hour and three hour swim meets every week about did me in.  But he liked it so it was worth it:

Best Cousin Activity: Playing in Grandma's "river"



Best After Church Activity: Temple Square with the kiddos

Best Mama-Son activity: BYU season opener in Provo with Luke:

Okay, now bring on Fall!