Another Tooth is Gone!

Nathan lost another tooth!

 He's starting to look pretty funny as the one big front tooth grows in and he's still got such a huge space where the other one is still so obviously missing.

They might be awkward years as these teeth come in, but my Nater Tot is winning at being handsome in spite of a toothless grin.  :)

A Few Things

There are a few cool things about this picture.  One is the fact that Jason is learning to eat right handed because we only have right handed chop stick learners that I brought home from Korea.  I didn't even think about the fact that eating with them might be hard for Jason.  He is so determined to be able to use them that he has tried and tried until he succeeded.

The other cool thing is that he has found that he likes spaghetti with sauce on it.  I've put it in front of him ever since he was little (after he changed his mind about ever liking it in the first place).  He's always refused.  This time, the incentive of ice cream after eating a small portion, was tempting enough and he was reminded that he really does like spaghetti with sauce.  Now, Nathan is our only hold out with mixing the sauce and noodles.  We'll convert him some day.  I'm determined.  Almost as determined as Jason was to learn to eat with chop sticks.

Trust Me Allie...

...there is a big difference between spinach and romaine lettuce...at least when it comes to making a smoothie.

I came home to find a pile of girls in my kitchen.  They were in the middle of making a smoothie.  They were raiding our fridge and couldn't find any spinach, but we did have a bag of green salad mix.  I told them it was unwise...they didn't listen...so I grabbed my camera to see if I could capture their faces as they tested their healthy "green" smoothies...

Some of them gagged theirs down.  Some of them did not.  Lesson learned.

Game Face

Mike and I love watching Jason play sports. Not necessarily because he's the best player out there.  He's really not.  But we love watching him because his face can be darn right scary sometimes.

When he is barreling down on someone with the ball, he can strike fear to the heart.  I've still never really gotten a good picture of it, but I'll continue to try.  You've just got to see it to believe it.

Eggwina

Allie had to take care of an egg for a project in her class at school.  Her egg's name was Eggwina.  She had to ask me to babysit any time she was somewhere that she couldn't take Eggwina.
One day, on the bus, someone took Eggwina from her and peeled off an eye.  Eggwina had a big hole in her head.  Things were a bit traumatic that night as she worried about having to fill out a child abuse paper and potentially failing her project.
We emailed Allie's teacher and glued on a bigger than usual eye and all was well in the end.
She did learn all kinds of terrifying facts about things that can happen to children though.
She became even more concerned about the way I parent Jason and Nathan.  She worries so much that they are going to suffer some random and horrific fate if I don't keep them under constant and complete supervision.  I'm pretty sure having children of her own will cause her to have ulcers and panic attacks regularly.  :)
She'll find a good balance though.  I just know it.  She's going to be a wonderful parent.  And, now, after having Eggwina, you can be sure, she'll never let someone peel off the eye of her real life kid and get away with it.

Cinnamon Creek Archery Range

Jake's been working on his Eagle for a while now.  It was finally time to go do the project.  We planned to take the motorhome up there and spend the night, but things were rainy and cold the night before and we just didn't get the motivation to go up.  People were dropping out of the project and it just seemed like a hassle.  Mike was a real driving force though and he wanted us to go up, even though the weather was supposed to be crap.  He knew that if we didn't go now, it might not ever get done.  He was a good motivator and I'm glad he was because we ended up going and the weather held out and we had a great time.

The first year that Jake came back from scout camp, he was on fire about shooting a bow and arrow.  I guess he had a spread of arrows that wasn't beat by anyone in the whole camp.  He saved up his money and bought a bow, and he's just really loved it since then.

When we were brainstorming ideas, we talked about going up to Cinnamon Creek (a camp ground used mostly for girl's camp near Porcupine Dam) and building trails or something.  Jake went out with Mike and a guy in our bishopric to scout out the area and he came home excited about doing an archery range.  

He was going to work with 3 other scouts, but they dropped out and it turned out being just us and the missionaries that are assigned to work at Cinnamon Creek.  We also ended up with one of Jake's YM leaders, Lloyd, who is completely awesome.

I didn't get a real good "before" picture...don't know what I was thinking, but this was the area.  When we first got there, I couldn't figure out how there would ever be enough room to stand back and shoot arrows.  Once we started clearing brush and falling trees, I caught the vision.

We had to laugh at Mike.  This has to be the most protected he's ever been as he's done any dangerous work.  I guess when you're working at a church owned site, you've got to follow the rules...at least for a while.

The kids were all such troopers!  They seriously worked so hard.

The boys loved watching the wood chips fly from the chipper.

At one point, the chipper started to act up.  He needed to know that someone was sitting at the wheel, prepared for anything, or it wouldn't run.  Nate got to be a place holder for a little while.  I guarantee that was the longest he ever sat in one place that day.  Eventually, he had to be replaced by Allie because he kept forgetting that he had to stay glued to the seat and he'd get up and the chipper would shut off.

There's Lloyd, working his magic with the tiny equipment.  I knew it was killing him not be driving his big loaders or excavators.  He's used to having major power at his fingertips.  But, he was able to do things with that small loader that no one else could have managed to do.

Jake had to be in charge of everything.  It was funny to see him try to direct people and tell them what to be doing.  He did a great job!

Here's the best "after" picture that I took.  It was cleared right out and ready for the next phase.

Jake had also planned to build a bench by the water.

It's a lovely place to sit and reflect.

We had a great day as a family and were so grateful for the missionaries and for Lloyd's help.  It was a big project and a long day, but we felt very accomplished in the end.

It also happened to be spawning time for the Salmon.  They were filling the river near Porcupine Dam, so we stopped to see them on our way home.  It was really cool to see.  I'd never seen anything like that before.

So, now the project part is done and Jake has to work on the paperwork and go get things signed.  I'm glad he's got Mike spurring him on.  On to the next phase!

Haircuts and Friends

Charlie got a new haircut.  It was a really short one.  I think he always feels a bit out of sorts when he gets home from the groomer.  I'm not sure that he's ever really completely proud of his new look.  :)

On this day, we were babysitting a cute little boy that Charlie was completely jealous of.  He kept wanting to get closer and check out the scene, but he was also terrified.

Seconds after this picture, the baby tipped over and Charlie was somewhat squished.  He wouldn't go near the baby again. 
It was fun to have a little one around the house again.  I did remember how much work they are though.  I forget that they tend to squawk and want to be held a lot.  Oh man, there are so many good things about those really little kid days.  So many things that I miss.  But, having complete freedom from children for a few hours every day is not something that I'll ever take for granted.   
I look forward to being a grandma in the very distant future.  I'm going to squish on my little grandbabies and hold them for hours.  For now, friend's babies will have to do.  :)

Flag Football

Both Jason and Nathan are in flag football this year.  Each and every game, I drag my big camera out and each and every game, I get talking and forget to take pictures.  I need to be better before the season is over.

In this game, I did take one picture.  Mike was helping coach and Nathan got a touchdown.  I missed it because I was picking Jake up from swimming, but I got a text from another mom that said that he had a 40 yard run and a touchdown.
For a kid that is always throwing the ball around and talking about Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, it's fun when he gets to play and actually touch the ball.  Last year, he had a coach that never let him touch the ball. 
He's already begging to play tackle football...we'll have to see about that.   

FHE

We're trying to get back in the groove of having family home evening again.  We've been pretty good at being together as a family, but not really good at doing lessons or things like that.  

We made ice cream and played a memory game with our  Harry Potter cards that have been tucked away until the whole family had finished the books.  There are a few spoilers in there. 
We all got along and had fun.
The kids are asking about starting up the weekly dates again.  It's fairly obvious that our lives fall into chaos during summer. I thought we were doing pretty good with family prayer and scripture study, but there are no bed times, dates, FHE...no one practices the piano...it's just nuts.  I think we're finding the rhythm again though and it's a good thing.

Haircuts and Homework

I came into the kitchen today to find Jake doing his homework with a study buddy.  

In other news, Charlie got a haircut today.

Leap!

I'm always amazed at how high Charlie can leap.  He jumps like he's got springs in his legs.  Especially when we're withholding something he really wants.  

We tried and tried to get a picture that does it justice, but really none of these come close.  I was always a tad off, or maybe it's the angle.  It's just cool.  The end.

Bribery

Jake has been working on his Eagle project.  He's going to build an archery course up at Cinnamon Creek camp ground.  Part of it is fundraising.  He has a hard time talking to adults.  I agree, it isn't the easiest thing to do.  

We had a whole Saturday before us and I was canning pears.  Jake was supposed to go talk to a few store managers about donations.  Mike told him to ride his bike because they were close by.  Jake didn't want to go alone and asked if I'd drive him.  I told him if he helped me get the canning done, I'd take him.

He was actually a good help!  I remember canning with my mom in the fall.  We'd make grape juice and bottle peaches.  I have to say I was probably a better helper than my friend Jake, but he's better than nothing!

I was good for my word and took him to a few stores.  We didn't end up with any donations, but he talked to the managers and proved that he can do hard things.
All sorts of lessons were learned today.

Out of the Groove

The kids started school and you'd think that I have all the time in the world now, but I just don't.  Plus, I'm out of the groove of taking pictures and blogging.  I feel like I've taken all the pictures before. The kids don't say cute things anymore...There's nothing new.  I've got to stop thinking that way because the kids really do change all the time.  They do say cute things, I just need to listen better and write them down.  I love reading back through the years and in order to do that, I need to keep writing.
I need to break free from all this and just get back to me. 
So, today when the kids finally got out the door, I took a walk with Charlie.  This weather is not to be wasted walking inside on the treadmill.  It's for walking outside with Charlie and feeling the warm sun on my face with the cool breeze of the beginning of fall.

 Charlie was pretty scared the whole way up the canyon.  He stuck to me like glue and had his tail between his legs.  When he heard a dog bark, he ran to me and plopped down like he was refusing to go a step further.  I don't know why...he was just being a wimp.  We ran into my friend a few yards up the road and he tried to climb up my legs like a tired toddler begging to be held.  It was so weird.  As soon as we broke off the main road, he settled down and had fun smelling all the new things.
I always think it's cool to see our house in a new perspective.  We really are down in the trees down there. 

 I love where I live.  Life is good.