Our Bundle of Joy

We have a new addition to our family!

This is Roxy!  She's a Lhasa Apso Poodle Mix.  Which means she's nice and she doesn't shed.  She is 20 weeks old, born Feb 25, so still a puppy and despite what her previous owner said, she still needs some training.  She loves socks (I'm hoping to train her to pick up sock around the house and deposit them in the sock basket - instead of dragging them out as she does now), she loves to play, she doesn't bark much, she sleeps through the night, and from what we can tell, is pretty smart.

You may be asking yourself why we have a dog after, as you may know, I have been vehemently opposed to owning such a creature.  Here are the reasons:

1. D.J. has been wanting a dog for quite a while now and while he likes the Lily, the gerbil he got last year, she is just not as interactive as he had hoped.  

2. The other two boys can make a list a mile long containing their birthday wishes, but D.J. doesn't really know what he wants, which makes him hard to buy for.  He really wanted a dog, so that narrowed down the gift issue instantly, and I was at a breaking point.

3.  I've been thinking about the dog issue for 2-3 years now and my reasons for not owning a dog seemed to decrease as the reasons for owning one increased.  

4.  This last one is sort of a petty, selfish reason, but it's really nice to have a living thing happy to see me at all times.

5. My heart melted when I saw her and I wanted her even though she wasn't as fully trained as I had originally hoped and planned for our dog prospects.  She just felt right for our family.

There are many other reasons, but I'll leave it at that. Spencer and James are doing tolerably well with her, though they are still a little timid and worried she may attack at any given time.  I'm hoping obedience classes will give them a measure of security and control.  Spencer's allergies have not been a problem with her, which is great.  Mark likes her and she likes him. All in all and so far, a good addition to our family!

What's Up with Spencer?

What's going on with Spencer?  He's always thinking, that's what.  Of course when it comes to finding things, he forgets to look with his hands. But he does think about it for a second.

Spencer is also always, always creating.  

He received his green belt in Tae Kwon Do in February, then took a few months off from earning his share of the TKD tuition until July when he earned his blue belt.

 When the solar eclipse occurred this spring, Spencer was prepared.  Although a pinhole viewer was not in the original plans for his emergency helmet, he improvised and made one at the back of his helmet.  While looking away from the sun he could see the eclipse through the pinhole inside his nifty helmet.  The original emergency helmet included snacks on the inside, a catapult on the side for defensive strikes, a flashlight and a hand held video Tetris game.  What more do you need?

In order to get his blue belt, Spencer had to break a board with his foot.  Not only did he break it on the first try, but he broke it in a second place, since the first break was closer to the side of the board.

What's Up with D.J.?

And here we have a modern art depiction of D.J.  Stand back, frown, clear your throat and nod approvingly. He likes to mess around with my phone.

D.J.'s big deal in the last little while was breaking his thumb.  One Sunday evening we had some friends over for dinner.  After finishing dinner, the boys had enough of adult talk and usually wander away.  This night, they wandered to the back yard to play.  We could see them wrestling, all normal-like, no need to worry.  Then D.J. walks in the house whimpering, not even crying, that there's something wrong with his thumb.  He was diving for Spencer, Spencer rolled and D.J. landed on his thumb.  We look at it, have him bend it, compare it to the breaks we've seen on America's Funniest Videos, and it just doesn't seem that bad.  But then my mother instinct kicks in and I feel we should take him to the instacare.  The x-ray there showed the tip of his bone on the first knuckle broken.

But then when he goes to the orthopedic doctor, we discover there was a clean break straight across the bone! Here is his first cast.  Yes, this is 1 of 2 casts in 4 weeks.  The stuffing from the first cast came out of the top for a number of reasons: D.J. is still very active with a cast, he decided to play in the mud at the father's and son's camp out, and he pulls on it mindlessly.  He chose a white cast for his second one because he felt it would be cooler since dark colors absorb more light.

D.J. is free and is a testimonial of the importance of opposable thumbs.

D.J. was very excited to hear that the Rec. center started a flag football league.  He had two practices a week and games on Saturday.  Mark and I agreed that this is one of the funnest sports to watch that our boys have been in so far.  This picture is from the last game he played, one of the only ones without his cast!

Fourth grade is a time for do-si-do's.  I remember doing the Virginia Reel in fourth grade with a boy who happened to have a scab right in his elbow which I refused to link with, so I linked with his fore arm. To make matters worse, his name was Brandon Stubbs, which sounded to much like scabs.  I digress.  D.J. wasn't too happy about the whole situation either, which is why I don't have any pictures with him looking at me.

That's one fast virginia reel. . . or his mom can't figure out the camera.

Memorial Day hike with slingshots.

D.J. decided one day that killing ants with a magnifying glass would be fun.  But that wasn't enough excitement.  It turns out that burning your name into the back deck with a magnifying glass is much more exciting. . . until your mother makes you scrub it off with a toothbrush.  Looking on the bright side, he gets points for creativity and resourcefulness and making me laugh on the inside.

D.J.'s favorite way to read a book it to listen to it and follow along.  It's much faster.  He's always good to figure out faster, more efficient ways to do things.

I love this kid.

Update on James

James has apparently decided within the last six months that he knows everything, can do anything and everybody loves him.  Needless to say, we are experiencing growing pains with him. The problem is that he is still so cute and cuddly.

Here's what's up with him:

In February, James's class performed a patriotic program in honor of President's Day. He did a great job, even though his face doesn't display much excitement here.

This year he lost his two front teeth.  They are starting to come in now and he is happy about that because he can finally scrape off the good stuff on an artichoke.

James loves to read which is probably the reason that he thinks he knows everything. He's made it through two Harry Potter books and is now working on The Candy Shop Wars by Brandon Mull. 

When James was two he didn't draw on things.  When James was four he didn't draw on things. But now James is seven and he's decided to draw on things.  I find little pencil drawings on the kitchen counter, the window sill, his desk and this lovely masterpiece: his shirt.  Apparently Superman can do his own stunts but not without a little blood coming from who knows what body part.  Maybe he used kryptonite toilet paper.

As if James's natural face wasn't pathetic enough when he asks for something, he decided to make a "begging boy" out of foam paper, with blue pleading eyes and a sweet smile. Maybe Mom will say yes to someone who doesn't look like James?

Things that have come out of James's mouth:
James' prayer: Help us not to be like Megamind in the beginning, but like Megamind in the end, so we can be good.

Prayer from James tonight: We're thankful for the people who invented ice cream and candy. (Thank you Candy Shop Wars)

James lost a tooth in Moab in the sand and we never found it. James lost a tooth in church today and someone gave him a tiny green treasure chest to put it in (Thank you!).

James's note to the tooth fairy: Dear, toothfairy, in Moab I litrliley lost a tooth so will you give me two dollers? if you will thanks! P.S. Please leave the box hear

James prayed last night that "people who don't have very good brains will get better brains."

 James also finished another season of soccer and had a soccer party with his coach, Kevin Daly.

Literacy Costume Review

Another school year has come and gone and I had another fun year reading to the kids at school.  It has come to the point that whenever I'm at the school, the kids think I'm dressed as something.  My favorite is when I go to school in exercise clothes or am sporting a pre-shower look and they say, "who are you today?"  I say, "a frumpy housewife." I get blank stares for that one.

For Candy Shop Wars. . . 

. . . a Laffy Taffy, complete with jokes: How do you mend a broken jack-o-lantern? With a pumpkin patch.  What do you call a monkey who loves potato chips? A chip monk.

Little Critter books

Joseph had a Little Overcoat is one of my favorite books. Mark wasn't crazy about the costume.  I guess I looked too much like a man.  I had a PTA Christmas party to go to in the middle of my reading so I just went like this, because they already know how crazy I am.  Nobody recognized me as I approached the door and someone told me, mid-sentence, that they couldn't take me seriously.  So, I consider this my most successful costume.

Maybe this is why I decided to let my hair grow long.

Froggy books are always a hit! I need to do a better job at matching my greens because many kids pointed out my mismatch.  When you are finding costumes at the thrift store you can't be too picky.  Frogs are multicolored anyway.  Well, this one is.

Literacy Month was "Rhyme Time."  Nobody knew what a beatnik was.  Perhaps that's good.

The principal joined me for Dr. Suess Day to peruse the lunchroom and ask students to rhyme words.  Many took the opportunity to pull on my tail too.

The Arcade

My mother sent me a link to this youtube video of a kid who built an arcade out of boxes. Watch it, it's worth your time.

I showed this video to the boys, so immediately afterward they started planning an arcade of their own.  They began by gathering all the "old" toys they don't want anymore and any game that could be attached to a large box.  They immediately wanted to sit outside and wait for customers to come, but their dull mother convinced them to advertise a little and set up a specific time for patrons.  Here's what they came up with:

 This sign is attached to the advertising scooter:

They had a trial run with one of their friends, Brock, who spent a little money on the games he always plays when he comes over to our house.  The games on the box are a utah football and basketball game where you flip the ball through the hoop/goal posts with a spoon, a pokemon game, a handheld solitaire game, and a lego jousting game that Spencer invented.  When the smaller kids came, they added Balloon Lagoon by Cranium.

 Once the day and time were set, they were so anxious for that time to arrive.  What do you know it, but a few of the neighborhood kids showed up to see what all the fuss was about. The boys couldn't contain themselves as they shouted, "They're here! They're here!" Spencer and D.J. were good guardians of their games and made sure people followed the rules.  James played.

 As indicated by the advertising sign, the cost was a penny per token (the tokens also happened to be pennies).  Thanks to my good-hearted neighbors for letting their children borrow a few cents.

They even sold a few toys and a few books and came away with a little over $5 for their first day.  There has not been a second day.  I guess either the novelty wore off or they are satisfied with splitting $5 three ways.  Perhaps the summer will bring more entrepreneurial adventures.  It was a great learning experience for the learning how to run a very, very small business!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail! Easter 2012

In the years since we've moved back to Utah, we have spent most of our Easter Days in Logandale because it coincides with Spring Break and it's not hot enough to suck all the moisture out of you when you step outside.  We have a fun time hanging out and letting the kids play in the dirt outside. I don't know why I have them pack extra clothes to change into when they really only wear one dirty outfit the whole time. I have them pack extra socks, but invariably we come home with four clean pairs still in their place in the suitcase and one pair for each boy that no longer have bottoms.  You would think we would keep a closer eye on their health and hygiene, but all parental responsibility goes out the door when we're with Grandma and Grandpa (or at least in their house while they are gone).

Mark had to work quite a bit, but at least he could do it on cushy couches and just one trip to the St. George office (which I tagged along for and he treated me to massage and pedicure while he worked! Thanks Wendy for watching the boys!)

The boys spent a good part of their time at Ryan and Wendy's new home and in their swimming pool, even though the water was not up to Nevada bathwater temperature.

We also had a visit from some Centerville friends, the Larsons, who were in St. George for Spring Break.  We took them to Red Rock to ride four-wheelers and also to the reservoir to play in the water and do some more riding.  Yes, I rode the four-wheeler and didn't even have panic attacks or start stuttering.

As always, we had a fun Easter egg hunt with the Nevada Cousins!