Firsts

This 4th of July we had a lot of Firsts. It was the first time we went camping as a family.

First time we weren't with any extended family for this fun holiday. First time we went camping with our friends, the Tanners.

First time to have cake in an orange, cooked in the fire coals.

First time we didn't have fireworks, but had a great lesson/activity on the founding fathers, the constitution, and this great nation! (poor pictures)

First time we wore Joe completely out that he fell asleep in his chair.

First time we were in a tornado and survived! A tornado made contact in the town of 600 people that we were camping in. We found quick shelter in the stinky men's bathroom (the womens was just as stinky). Hannah was in tears, the rest of us thought it was a pretty cool adventure. The only damage our camp sustained was a large tree branch that fell on our picnic table. So grateful that no one was hurt and that our tents didn't fly away.

The rest of our time was full of good fun, lots of swimming, and LOTS of delicious food.

We've got some good little swimmers.

Me and Jen - I want to be just like her when I'm all grown up!

It pretty much goes without saying that whenever we are with this family we laugh a lot! They never disappoint. This 4th of July will go down in the books! Happy Birthday America! Oh how I love you!

Camping

We are going camping this weekend for the first time with all of us. So last week we did a trial run in the backyard to see how Joe would do. All things considered, he did pretty good. I think Aaron brought him in around 4am, but other than that he did sleep through the night. Now, we are off to Idaho to test him out in the real outdoors. PRAY it's a success! There's not much worse than a screaming baby in a campground in the middle of the night!

Antelope Island

One word describes it all. Stinks! Like the p-u kinda stinks.

But somehow, the kids still had a great time!

Oh, and we saw no antelope or bison. Double stinks!

Messy

Aaron gave me the BEST gift a couple weeks ago. He had some cleaners come in and deep clean my house for 7 hours! My face had a per ma-smile all day! It truly was heavenly!

I have every desire to keep an orderly and very clean home. My children do not. Aaron would LOVE to come home to an organized and clean home. He often does not. I will sing his mothers praises all the days of my life for teaching her son to be clean. He tells a story of how, as a teenager, he left a plate and fork in the clean kitchen sink and went to a friends. His mom called him home to take care of his "mess". Oh man, I love her for that.

Aaron worries that our kids are never going to learn to clean up after themselves. He may have a good point, but I tend to be a bit more optimistic and know, (maybe better than he does) that kids are messy and have to be taught to clean after themselves. That said, it's my most favorite thing to come inside to puddles of water on the floor near the kitchen sink and then follow a lovely trail that leads to outside. Or Popsicle juice splattered sporadically on the floor, or a kitchen table full of sticky crafts where their work of art is also stuck to the table, or a bedroom that looks like a bomb has gone off, or SHOES left all over the house! or bookshelves with books strewn all around, or toilets that aren't flushed, and on and on it goes. Please reread that paragraph dripping with sarcasm.

notice the above picture of popsicle clippings on the grass, that I reminded him TWICE to clean up and put the scissors back. He did do it the second time.
Love her mug and I have to say, she's got the whole cleaning up after herself down. She's the BEST cleaner!!!!

This munchkin however has a ways to go!

Things they are learning and doing this summer:
 - Before they can play with friends they must do the following:
    - make their bed and get dressed
    - do their assigned jobs (feed chickens, gather chickens eggs, etc)
    - do two pages out of their school books
    - read a book to me or I read to them
Sadly for them, this usually takes all morning long! I rather like having them home with me in the morning though since once they are with friends I hardly see them the rest of the day.

She's a Girl!

The verdict had long been predicted (by the girls anyway) that this peanut in my belly was a baby girl. Friday confirmed, what us girls already knew. Our little Holland Deanne is small (all my babies are and have been), but looks to be growing healthy and that's what matters most! It is always so exciting to see my baby by ultra sound. Aaron and I both can't seem to get over the wonder of a child growing inside me, that we helped to create. It is a spiritual and sacred event and one I will miss dearly if she is to be our last baby. At one point during the ultra sound, the camera was right over her face and she opened her mouth wide. It was the cutest thing ever! Pregnancy is truly miraculous!

Documenting my 21 weeks

It's a girl!

The kids were so anxious for us to tell them if they were going to have a baby sister or baby brother. We, mean parents that we are, sprayed them with silly string to let them know.

Nathan was perfectly happy to learn he's going to have another baby sister until Aaron told him that the boys in our family are going to be outnumbered by the girls. He did not think that was cool at all! We girls on the other hand, thinks it's pretty darn cool indeed.

Summer

Nothing says summer like friends and popsicles!

Friendships

I have forgotten how to relate to other people. Such a weird thing for me to even write. We have lived in our neighborhood/ward for almost 5 years, and I still feel a disconnect from most of the women here. There are a few that I can talk to with ease, but really the rest it seems totally unnatural at all to talk to them. I haven't been able to figure out why. There are so many lovely women here. So many I really look up to and admire, and for the most part, we are all the same. Same ages, same stages of life, but for the life of me, we just don't connect. I go to activities and say hello, and we small talk, and then I sit back and watch and realize, I just don't fit in.

I am weird. I'm the mom who is going to home school her kids this fall. And really, I don't think anyone thinks that's all that weird. At least not for me (except for one neighbor who felt it her duty to let me know that she totally disagrees). I'm the mom who doesn't have a lot of "junk" food in her house. I'm the mom, who does not get dolled up very often...like only one day a week; Sundays. I'm the mom who doesn't have television in her home, or video games, or doesn't allow her children to watch more than one movie a day, and that's if they are lucky. I'm the mom who doesn't have her children in every extracurricular activity and I swear, I'm the only mom who hasn't taken her kids to Disneyland...ever!

And although I used to have a much larger circle of friends. And I used to be more fun and hip, I do not know how to be that person anymore. Myself has changed. A lot. I cherish my close friends. I cherish those who knew me then and know me now. And I might only be able to count them on one hand, but they are dear.

Not a Yeller

Hmm...I can't honestly say that I'm not a yeller. I have yelled, I do yell occasionally when I can't seem to get the "reaction" I'm looking for out of my children. Do I hate it? yes. Do I ALWAYS feel bad after I've yelled? You betcha! Do I want to crawl into a hole when my daughter will say things like, "mom, it seems like you don't love me". Oh my word, just hide me away somewhere when those words come out of her mouth! Why on earth would I ever yell at those I love most?

I have to insert that there have been lots of times that I have bit my tongue and have been able to refrain from yelling. I'm always proud of myself during those times, but I can't say that I still exude much disappointment and frustration from my face, that somehow still gives me the reaction I want from my children, and that is to stop what you're doing right now and be quiet. I don't know that that's so bad because children do need to know boundaries and have limits, but I certainly believe they can learn those things in a loving manner.

I read an article today that really hit home. I relate. I relate. I relate. Favorite quote from the article, "...yelling shuts down the communication; it severs the bond; it causes people to separate—instead of come closer." Words of truth! I most definitely don't want to create separation between those I love most.

So when I was at my wits end the other day, and my children were not cooperating, and I had rage pouring out of my eyes, and when a sweet woman at the grocery store said to me, "your children are absolutely beautiful. They grow up so quickly", I stopped and watched them instead of yelling at them, and was thankful for her kind words to help me remember they are wonderful and they are children and they do make mistakes. But so do I. Every. Single. Day.

Fatherhood

Aaron has always done a superb job of making Mothers Day pretty special for me. I can't say that I am the best at returning that for Father's day, but I certainly do try. He got his usual choice of breakfast. This year it was German pancakes. He had a very short cat nap, and requested a BBQ with some friends. I pulled through on each request. The evening ended with a water fight between us and the kids (Sabbath breakers), and a leisure walk. It was a wonderful day. Hope he thought so too.

Father of 4-1/2 kids

 Hannah's interpretation of her father. Spot on!

 

And now, a tribute to my own dad. I've been pretty blessed with good men in my life. And he's been a good man in my life!