Novella -

WARNING - You are about to read a seriously long post -
There is a story behind this picture. Elyssa is one week old here. Her big brother G is holding her for the first time! I told the kids at the hospital that they would need to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer if they wanted to hold their baby sister. Well, G has a serious aversion to hand sanitizer and the only time he'll use soap is if he is home and can use perfume free bar soap in his bathroom. If he even smells hand sanitizer he begins gagging and often throws up. He throws up every time I put on the sunscreen or the bug spray too. Anyway, G finally decided to get his chance at holding his new sister and washed his hands just to do so. Don't think that G only washes his hands once a week. I actually make sure he washes several times a day, it's just that it is a big ordeal for him. BABY STEPS -
The kids just finished a session of swimming lessons. They are all so excited because they each passed their swimming levels.

If you know where this is, you should get a prize! My DH went on sort of an adventure to find this rock made of black basalt. It is covered in petroglyphs. He's been uncovering clues to its' whereabouts for a couple of months. Now he has found the elusive rock!

The 4th of July!

*Thanks to our family who showed up on the 4th of July to paint and work on electrical! Next up - CARPET!

*Here's Grandma L holding Elyssa. The baby got lots of hugs and kisses from Grandma's, Aunt's, and Uncle's that day.

*For the 4th we had a BBQ with our neighbors and my brother. We played Bocce ball and Croquet. Then went to see the fireworks display in Grantsville. We had a blast!

5th of July -

Here's our latest attempt at getting a picture of our whole family.

Here are the sweetest pictures of Elyssa that I took yesterday. Isn't she adorable. Oh how I love babies! I can still say that after she kept me up half the night.

34 Weeks and Holding -

I've made it to 34 weeks. Just two more weeks to go! Also, this little baby girl is breech at the moment, so hopefully she turns soon. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and especially your help! Dinners and babysitting have been much appreciated.

School is out! Yep - school ended yesterday. Any ideas on how to keep 5 kids happy and helpful for the summer months?

I'm done home schooling!!!! Those two years of school with my oldest passed so quickly. It was hard at times and sometimes frustrating but overall worth it! I feel like he is in a better place then he was two years ago. It has been fun having him home all the time and watching him learn and grow.

The dry wall is almost finished! Our basement is looking so good! By next week, the mudding and taping should be finished. Then my DH will paint and hang doors and all that fun stuff. Anyone know a good place to buy carpet?

Aaaahhhh Summer :)

Swim Lessons -

I was so happy that B decided to go to class. Last week he was getting more and more reluctant until on Friday he just wouldn't go in the pool at all. On Saturday, we went swimming as a family which seems to have helped.

Street Hockey -

A got a new pair of roller blades and new hockey sticks. We've been out playing street hockey every day since.

Gardening -

We've pulled weeds, trimmed plants, watered, dug out rocks, and played in the dirt. DH is especially enjoying the garden.

Fireworks -

This is A's first installment of homemade fireworks. He's taking a 4 week course on pyrotechnics. Yes, I paid money for him to learn how to make things go Kaboom! It's a 12 year old's dream come true!

Movies -

The kids and I are going to a weekly movie at our local theatre. The movies are old (on DVD) but fun to watch in the theatre. We are also looking forward to paying full price for this one ----