June 2011

(I know...yet another month in which I fail to get this posted at the beginning. Ah, well. Who needs to feel like a failure over something so silly as a blog post when there are so many other things to feel like a failure over? Onward and upward!)

I'm not really sure where June went. We didn't really do anything exciting, but it seemed to whizz by! We did go to the parade in my hometown, which is sort of the official start of summer. A few details to remember:

HALEY started summer off the exact right way. On the last day of school I picked her up and, after a long tussle over her Spanish book, which her ex-best-friend swore she'd turned in but was nowhere to be found anywhere and trust me, we searched through every single Spanish book the library had, we went to the library where she checked out a massive tower of books. Reading just for fun = the best part of summer! (Well, maybe not the best part, but it made this Momma happy!)

In even bigger news, June was the month that brought driving to Haley's life. She took the test, passed with exactly 80%, and the next day I started teaching her how to drive. It's been less stressful than I expected but still feels a whole lot like potty training a toddler: you can't relax because you're always afraid an accident is going to happen.

Haley also: got a new swimsuit that totally & perfectly matches her style, went to a pool party, hung out with her best friend, and was put into the presidency for her Young Women class at church. AND! She gave a talk in sacrament meeting about getting her patriarchal blessing.

JAKE'S big excitement this month was a basketball tournament. It was a quick one, just two weeks, and as it was his first experience playing basketball it wasn't really about winning. But he had a great time! On the last day of the tournament, he had two games. It was held in Santaquin, which is 35 miles south of us, so we hung out on the southern end of our valley that Saturday. Went to breakfast at I-hop between games, survived an excruciating trip to Walmart (seriously: you know I hate Walmart, right, and that trip is exactly why. I stood in line for 28 minutes beforethe cashier started ringing me up, and there were only two people in front of me. I sent Kendell a text that said "I'm in Walmart hell!" which, when you think about it, happens every time I go there), visited Grandma Sue's kitties one last time.

He went on a scout camping trip to the geode beds and came home with some cool ones.

After much shopping and discussing of options, we found him a new suit and some new church shoes. It is good to see him going to church without his wrists and ankles visible!

NATHAN has made a special effort this month to be a good big brother to Kaleb. I imagine it's frustrating that, at 11, he has to share a room with his 6-year-old brother. Their interests are so different. (On a regular basis, I have a dream that I find a room we forgot about somewhere in our house, and then Nathan can have his own room. Hmmmmm...think this bothers me much???) But he has tried to be patient and kind. I've caught him several times sitting on my bed with Kaleb, reading to him or helping him to read a book. I so appreciate his extra effort! His is a good boy and still has a tender heart.

He's also a little bit obsessed. Nathan wants a butterfly knife BAD. He shops online at Amazon, looking at the practice ones (they're dull so you can learn how to flip them open without, you know, slicing off fingers and various other bits of flesh). I keep putting him off because I can't decide. Is this a cool, fun thing for him to learn to do, like being an expert yo-yo-er or knowing how to juggle? Or will it lead to a life of crime? I mean...why would a person need to know how to flip open a butterfly knife? Am I being too uptight about it?

This summer has given Nathan something he's never experienced before: hay fever. It hasn't been his favorite thing. Zyrtek and eye drops have helped, and it seems to be subsiding, but he's lost his status as the only kid without that fun experience!

KALEB turned 6 on June 7. We had his Grandmas Party on the 5^th(the Sunday before his birthday) so he and Kendell could celebrate together (they’re almost birthday twins). He was sad that no one was coming on his actual birthday, but two people (our family friend Steve and his cousin Ben) called to wish him a happy birthday. He told me that night when I tucked him in, "Mom! What I loved best today was the birthday phone calls! That was so fun!" We celebrated on his birthday by picking up some pizza and snowies and hanging out in the park. Plus he got a new scooter. Not even two weeks later, he scooter was stolen out of our garage. Sigh. (Whoever took it was gracious enough to leave Nathan's old and very beat-up scooter behind.)

Kaleb also got socked by hay fever. He's been taking Benadryl at night and Zyrtek in the day. His has been the worst—his nose gets so stuffy it's literally swollen. When he wakes up in the morning, he'll find me and say "Mom! I have a hayfever today!"

KENDELL finished up his astronomy class with a solid A (after starting the class claiming d be happy just getting a C). He's helped with the teach-Haley-to-drive project in a surprisingly calm manner. He also taught her how to change a tire. He's nearly finished with helping his mom clean out all of her sheds and the garage and basement; they're going to put her house up for sale soon.

Aside from Ragnar, I finally got my marathon race training going in June. I'm not sure what's stopping me, but although i've decided to run the Layton Marathon, I still haven't actually signed up for it. Mostly I think it's a lack of confidence—I'm not certain that I really can run a full marathon. But I've been training like I'm going to do it. And waiting for the magical boost of confidence that finally gets me to click on the "registration" button.

Comments

[Andrea]

you are an amazing mom! You have such great kids. You can totally run a marathon, you keep up with all your kids, you work, you cook, you always look beautiful. You can do anything, I really admire you.

[Jamie]

Some i knew, some I didn't, fun to catch up on your June. Makes me realize how much we're not talking and not spinning. Where is all the extra time summer was supposed to bring?????

[Wendy]

Ha - maybe there's a room under your steps (H.P.)! They actually have those little cubbies, exactly like in the movie, in most of the row houses in London.