Playing Catch Up

I know that almost every blog has one or two of these posts eventually.............. so here is mine..............

I have gotten really behind on my blogging and I am very sad about it.  At first I tried to convince myself that I was keeping up by posting a few things here and there, but as I look back at what I have written lately I am sad.  I have missed so many important things.  I really love having a place where I can keep track of the goings on in my kids life as they grow up ever so quickly.  It is nice to be able to have a place to look back....with pictures... and remember those important things.  Facebook is ok,  but It is not the same as being able to write the stories out like you can on a blog.   I now feel that I am ready to recommit myself to this project of getting those moments down if for nothing else, me to look back on and remember.  So today I am going to start fresh.  I am going to do this catch up post,  and then I am going to move forward and once again try to stay up to date with everything  (meaning that things get posted at least within a week or two of them happening.)   So for those of you 2 readers still out there thanks for sticking with me on our adventures.  Here we go again...........

Emily had another great season of softball.

Her team this season was called Pink Adrenaline.  They were all pretty young for the league,  So they only won 2 games,  but they had a lot of fun together.  Emily loved playing with them and was happy to get to be catcher for another season.   

In May my mom's family had a big family reunion for the Workman family.   Growing up they were always good about having reunions,  and I know a lot of my moms aunts, uncles and cousins,  So it was really fun to get to see them all again.  

My Grandma and her 3 remaining siblings are in the middle.  Dale is in the blue shirt,  Eileen in the black and white,  Beth (my Grandma) in the pink and Gloria in the purple.  

While we were getting pictures of everyone we had my moms cousin take a 4 generation picture with my girls.  

 There were so many fun things going on at the reunion that I can honestly say I only saw glimpses of the boys except for when it was time to eat, but I did manage to get one picture of them with my grandma Atkin as they ran past us.

The next weekend Joe had his Karate test.

Where he earned his Full Green Belt.  Watch out.....This boy is dangerous!

Ryan is now a Blue Belt

 But in order to get that he had to break a board. I wondered if the boards would be pre cut or pressed board,  but it was a real piece of wood.   It was pretty impressive to watch him do it.

To wrap up the school year,  Emily had one last band concert, where she did great playing in both the beginning band and the Jazz band.  

Joe and josh Both had field trips that I got to go on with them.  

Josh went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point.  This was our little group. 
(the class pretty much stayed together though.)

Josh really liked the animals,  but his favorite thing was getting to ride on the bus.  

Joe's Class headed to BYU to the Monte L Bean Museum.  

 The highlight of their field trip was the reptile show.  The boys really likes touching the snake.  

 We also stopped by the paleontology museum for a few minutes.  The kids thought that was fun too,  but it was really small for the group that we had.

Early in May when the weather turned warm Josh discovered my stash of kool aid in the cupboard.  He decided he wanted to do a lemon aid stand.  

We talked about it and decided it would be a good idea for him to do it when the kids were walking home from school.  Josh did his stand for two weeks and made quite a bit of money.  The kids walking home started coming with their dimes in their pockets ready to go,  and our cute neighbors came over a few times and bought a cup and sometimes even left him a tip.   Josh was very proud of his stand,  and I was proud of how well he took care of his business.  I helped him mix the Kool-aid and then he did the rest.  

For Memorial day we headed out to Tooele With Grandma and Grandpa Bolander to clean up some of the family plots.  The Tooele cemetery  is fun, because I have family there too.  

The kids worked hard shining up the headstones.

But before we could clean them up we had to find them.

This big one had been on Grandma's list to find for a few years,  but we have never had the time to look for it.  When we found it we laughed at how easy it was to find.  There were a few other ones that were not so easy.  

The first week of June school ended, and for our family that meant big changes.  We bought a  house in Eagle Mountain and it was time to move from our home in Sandy.  (I will do a separate post with more on the new house later)

The boys each had a going away party  First Josh had his friends over for some fun.  

 Nathan, Rowan, Ryker, Jackson, Josh, Camden, and Devin.

The following night Joe's friends came over.  

 Jaxson, Max, Joe, Aiden, Cooper, Ethan, Max L, Jack and Josh

8 and 9 year old boys play a lot rougher than 5 and 6 year olds.  They all had a great time,  and it made it a little easier for the boys to say good-bye.  

This post does not quite catch me up,  but I feel like this is a good place to stop, because this ends our time in Sandy.  As I am writing I feel like I need to give our move it's own post because it is such a big thing in our lives. But this is a really good start to my new goal of staying on top of things here on the blog.   

Happy Mother's Day!

When Emily was in Kindergarten I would go and help in her class every Monday.  One Monday, when I arrived her teacher approached me concerned, and asked me if everything was OK.  I was very confused and assured her that everything was fine.  She then showed me the story Emily had written in class the week before.   If you want to see how your child really sees things, have them write about it.  

Last week as I was cleaning out closets I came across it so I thought I would share it this Mother's Day.  

(Mom Wouldn't get out of bed)

(We went to the hospital)

(Mom had to stay at the hospital for 3 days)

(Grandma had to be my mom.)

     This was how Emily viewed the arrival of her brother Joe.  He was one by the time she wrote it.  The details in the pictures are great.  At the time the comforter on my bed was blue with yellow flowers, and the car that we drove was a green car.  I love that in the first picture she is a poor neglected child without a face and in the last picture she has long flowing hair.  

     With the two pregnancies that followed I tried really hard to "get out of bed" during my sick phase (the first 16 weeks) But when you feel like you have the stomach flu for 3 months it is really hard.  Good thing we have Grandma's to fill in.  

 This story made me laugh the first time I read it, and I laugh every time I find it.  

I am so grateful for my children and the Joy they bring to my life.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Beginning Band

Emily has always liked music.  When she was younger she asked me if she could learn to play an instrument.    I always hoped she could,  but there was never an opportunity for her too.  In fifth grade they learned to play the recorder,  and Emily loved that.  She would practice every day and learned every song she could.

  

Last year when the Junior high registration forms came home She was really excited about the band.  Being a choir person myself I did try to convince her to try the choir, but I knew my efforts were no good.  It was no surprise to me that she wanted to learn to play the trumpet just like her dad.  I knew she would get plenty of support and help from her dad and he would be happy to help her learn.  I also knew how hard she would be willing to work.    

Emily started playing the trumpet in the beginning band last September and has loved it.  I know she loves it, because I never have to tell her to practice, and she has also joined the beginning Jazz band which meets every Tuesday and Thursday after school.  She is pretty good for only playing a few months, and I am really glad she has found something she likes.    This video is part of a song with the beginning Jazz band.  She is the only girl in this extra band, but that does not seem to bother her.    The teacher placed her right in the top middle where everyone could see her though.  I think he was trying to recruit more girls.  

I am so glad Emily is getting to learn how play an instrument.  I love seeing her develop her talents.   

Biking Season Begins

Spring is here so it is time for biking.  

Last summer Joe was getting a little too big for his bike, but when we took him out to look for a bigger bike he was not ready to get one yet, so he happily spent the summer riding his little Orange Specialized bike.  This year, it was time to move on. though.  Joe knew exactly what he wanted and and it took a little bit of shopping around, but luckily he was able to find it.  He loves his new blue bike.

 He told us he thinks it looks like the Tron blue so it is his light cycle.  He had to practice a little to get used to the hand brakes and the gears, but that did not take long.

Last summer Ryan tried to teach Josh how to ride a two wheeler,  but he was not interested.  At all.  Even when his friends learned how and got rid of their training wheels,  Josh was happy to continue to ride around with his still attached.

Yesterday, While Joe was off with dad looking for his new bike Josh and mom went out to get him a new helmet. Josh is a fast shopper so it did not take us long.  When we got home he was dying to try it out.  The only problem was his bike needed some repairs before he could ride it and mom could not fix it.  Josh did not want to wait for dad to get home, so he pulled Joe's bike out and asked if he could ride it.  By then I was trying to help Valerie so I told him he could, but he would need to wait a minute for me to help him.  He asked me a few questions about riding a two wheeler and then went over on the grass and started working on it by himself. He used some of the tricks his dad had tried to teach him the year before.

 Within just a few minutes Josh had figured it out on his own, and can now ride on two wheels.  Now he keeps begging to go ride his bike.

It will be fun to get out on the trails again.  The next question will be whether or not Valerie will be willing to ride in the cart or if she will insist on riding her trike.  I have a feeling It will be the latter of the two.  During one of the shopping trips looking for Joe's bikes Valerie was busy checking out the princess bikes for herself.   Either way it will be fun.

Tea Party

There is nothing more fun for a little girl than a tea party with her friends

Valerie went to her very first Tea party today to celebrate her friend Elena's birthday. It was a princess tea party, so they had to wear their princess dress. Valerie had so much fun, and it was fun for the moms to watch all of the little princesses run around.

When Elena's mom gave Valerie her wand and heart sticker, Valerie ran right over and showed it to me. She had so much fun playing and dancing. She did not want to leave when the party was over.

(I wish I had brought my camera to get pictures, but I didn't so I had to use my phone.)

Joe's Bob Cat

In January Joe started Cub Scouts. He was very excited to go and he has a lot of good friends in his pack.

He was really looking forward to this months pack meeting for two reasons.

First of all, it was the Blue and Gold Banquet, and they were serving one of his favorite meals, tacos.

And Second, he had worked very hard the past few weeks to earn his Bob Cat Merit Badge.

I am very proud of how hard Joe worked for this. He was very motivated to earn it quickly. For this badge there was a lot of memorization. Every day after school, he would bring me his book and we would work on it. It did not take him long before he was ready to pass things off.

After all of the awards were handed out the boys put on a few puppet shows. Joe was the narrator for this one.

I am grateful for Joe's leaders who make Cub Scouts so fun. He is loving it!

My Big Helper

At two and a half, Valerie has entered a new phase of busy. She still gets into things, and makes a few messes, and she still prefers her clothes on the floor rather than in her drawers, but now her intentions are to be helpful.

For example, her clean clothes are usually on the floor because, she likes to pick out her own clothes, and get herself dressed. But often this results in most of her clothes on the floor, because she was looking for a certain item. (usually something pink.)

Most days I enjoy this new busyness It is fun to have a little helper with me at the grocery store. She loves pushing the little cart, and as long as I remember to put my foot up when I stop, it is not too painful to let her do it.

She always tries to add a few things of her own. I usually let her add one thing, and she is always good about leaving others on the self if I tell her no. But, it is usually because I point to the item already in the cart and have her chose which one she wants. There have been times when we find an extra item or two in the cart when we check out, but she does not seem to notice that they don't always make it home.

Valerie also likes to help me in the kitchen. She likes to stir the things in the pan, and sometimes she tries to add a few spices of her own to the dinner. I usually stop her, but with three other kids, sometimes I am not quick enough.

The other night I was helping Josh with some homework and did not notice the items being added to the soup I had simmering on the stove for dinner.

Valerie had helped me make the soup by adding a few things that I told her to, and stirring it while I added others. When we were finished I put the lid on the pan and told Valerie that now we just needed to let it cook. I then went to help Josh on the computer.

While I was in the other room, Valerie got back on her stool and added an entire containers of Thyme, Cumin, and bay leaves to it. Needless to say we did not have that for dinner.

Another thing she likes to help me with in the kitchen is the dishes. What kid can resist a sink full of soapy water? She also helps me unload the dishwasher. She likes to hand me the plates and cups and have me put them away. She has been doing this for a few months, and I found this week she is getting a little more Independent in this job.

The other morning when I got out of the shower, I could hear dishes clanging in the kitchen. I knew this meant Valerie was "Helping" with something, but I could not imagine what. So I quickly got dressed, and ran out to find Valerie unloading the dishwasher and placing everything in it's appropriate pile, ready to be put away. I was a little surprised how well she had done.(and glad nothing was broken) The bowls, plates and cups were all in nice stacks. So I quickly put it all away. This turned out to be very helpful, but I hope next time she waits for me before she does it.

Valerie also likes to help me clean up. She is good at helping me put things away when I ask, and when I vacuum she gets out the old Swiffer mop and pretends she is vacuuming too. It does not have any soap in it, and Valerie likes that it makes a sound like a vacuum.

I love my big helper, and I am glad she is learning so much. I don't mind cleaning up the messes that come from her helping. It makes me happy to have a buddy to do my everyday things with.