Glow in the dark Bowling...and Jacked Up

One of the items on the kids summer "to do" list was glow in the dark bowling!  It was a complete and total success!  Super easy, super fun, and the kids felt like it was an extra treat because they got to stay up late in order to do it.  Give it a try:)

 Jack, oh bless his sweet little soul, has a tendency to not be very aware of what he's doing when he gets dressed.  8 out of 10 times his shirt is on backwards, once and awhile his shorts are, about 5 out of 10 times his shoes are on the wrong feet, etc.  You get the idea!  Well you think that those might be minor, unnoticeable errors to a 4 year old right?  Well he managed to come out of the room a few nights ago with this dressing error that boggled my mind on how he could have possible functioned throughout the day with??  Talk about uncomfortable!  Well now it will go down in the official record and I can use it as blackmail against him when he gets older!)

8 months

Max turned 8 months last week, and I feel that despite my determination to not let his baby info slip through the cracks of my already absentminded brain...but alas - it is happening.  So here's a quick update to help me remember, this sweet baby boy:

 Max is a wonderful baby. He loves being talked to, played with, etc.  He enjoys splashing in the water, playing in his exersaucer, eating my hair, and chewing on everything - poor little guy!  He got his top front teeth over the past two weeks.  The first one popped through June 27th and the next June 30th.  So he's got the cutest set of choppers.  He makes the funniest noises, grunt like moans, and screams.  Yes screams...to the delight of his siblings, and the horror of his mother.  He loves oatmeal cereal, and is hit and miss with baby food.  He's not crawling - but I consider this a blessing to not have to chase him around the house quite yet.  He is content unless hungry or sleepy... or if I've ignored him too long doing chores.  We love this boy, and are still patiently awaiting him to sleep through the night!!!!

Introducing Dr. Summers

It's official.....Dr. Summers has arrived!

Simply Summer

 I love summer - the relaxed days filled with water, sun, and sweaty kids.  Our kids are enjoying the neighborhood so much, and I love that each day they wake up with a list of "summers stuff" to do. Sprinklers....one of the best things about summer, and we've been putting ours into good use: Each child has such a different personality, and I think the way they play in the sprinkler really illustrates these differences - You've got wise guy Jack - always looking to make people laugh; Serious Sam - who is always trying to make every game into a competition and doing his best stunts; Little Lyv - Princess Supreme, gracefully sashaying over the spray.

Although outnumbered by males, Lyv maintains a strong foothold in both worlds - spear in one hand, while donning her crown all while posing for the perfect picture.

 Boys of summer - the neighborhood boys out exploring the vacant lots in search of treasure.  Armed with light sabers, water guns, and sticks.

It's Great to Be Eight!

Eight years ago today, I became a mother and my life has never been the same since.  Sam celebrated his eighth birthday today.  Because of the move and the upcoming celebrating we'll be doing for his baptism in August, we kept his birthday fairly low key.  Yesterday we went swimming at Surf and Slide in Moses Lake - it was awesome!  The body surfing was a favorite for the olders - and the pool and sand was perfect for the youngers. This morning we celebrated by eating his favorite breakfast - buttermilk pancakes with buttermilk syrup and sausage.  We went to church where even though he was a newbee - was treated to a birthday treat and a song!  We then had his favorite dinner - ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and wheat bread.  We followed that up with chocolate sports cake!  I didn't think I would make him a cake this year, but I couldn't resist attempting this one - it seemed too easy to not try.  We completed the day with a game of kick ball in the back yard!

Sam is the best.  I feel so blessed to have him as our son and as our oldest.  Unfortunately for him, a lot has been expected of him, even at a young age.  He continues to support Shawn and I as we move our family across the nation, as we try to figure this thing called parenthood out, and as we fail to always make the right choices as parents.  He is an excellent helper - and I jokingly call him my second husband.  He has a great sense of right and wrong, and it serves him well, sometimes too well!  He is great to try new things, and always gives a valiant effort at everything he does.  He loves to learn - and seeks out knowledge.  He also handles the responsibilities of oldest well.  We are so happy he is part of our life - my favorite moments with Sam are when he smiles and laughs - he has such a wonderful smile, it literally lights up his eyes.  Love you Sammy Boy!  The greatest gift I ever received was becoming your mom!

Sparklers

4th of July was very low key this year.  We took the kids to see Despicable Me 2 and then had our own firework display.  It was Lyv's first time with sparklers and she loved it.  

A Need for Speed

Because we now have a place to actually ride bikes, Jack decided it was time to make a break with the training wheels and ride FOR REAL!  Shawn hoisted the training wheels up and gave Jack a push. He had a little difficulty balancing the bike, but after a few attempts and a few falls - (Jack would comment after his fall "That was not good!") he did it.  And even better he got to show off his skills to Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Steph!  That is a big treat for my kids.

One fashion trend we sadly weren't able to leave permenantly in New York was Sam's necklaces - specifically the gold chain!  Yikes...he thinks it's pretty awesome, but we're having flashbacks of guys named Tony saying "Forget about it!" This may or may not get lost in the near future....

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Sorry to steal some Mr. Roger's lingo...but we made it!  The long and hard journey is over.  Like Lewis and Clark before us, we covered many miles and finally found the WEST!  Oh, it's good to be back.  I flew into Utah on Wednesday and visited my sisters there, and I felt like I arrived in heaven.  Every favorite restaurant and shopping place surrounded me, AND people actually smiled as they helped you.  I wasn't a total weirdo for having four little kids in tow!  I was amazing.  

We headed up to Washington on Monday and met Shawn at the house.  We were greeted by 106 degree temperatures!!  Holy Hot Tamales Batman.  It took some major arranging and a lot of squeezing, but we have finally got our things put away and life is returning back to normal.  We are really excited about our home - especially the fact that we are in a neighborhood.  The kids love riding their bikes around and we've already made little buddies to play with.  

I feel very optimistic about Yakima, and hope that we'll be able to finally call a place home.  We have pretty wonderful family that have helped us move to all of our homes in the past 11 years and we couldn't have done this move without them.  Thank you Jake and Kelly for driving across the country and helping us unload the truck.  Thank you Mom and Dad for driving me and the kids up to Washington and helping us unload, organize, put away, and put together EVERYTHING!  

We broke in the neighborhood with our first official Lemonade and Shaved-Ice Stand.  The kids are loving it, and will hopefully make a little spending money with this venture!

Residency Graduation...goodbye to the Empire State

The weekend before we left, Shawn had his residency graduation party.  He and his co-resident Reanen both received their official graduation certificates to perform surgery.  It was a great moment seeing the culmination of three years of hard work and dedication.  It was especially heartwarming to see how much people love Shawn.  The other physicians, attendings, nurses, staff, etc. all had great things to say about Shawn and sincerely enjoyed working with him.  He will be a great physician and we are so proud of all he does for our family.  Even through the demands of residency, he continued to give us his time and energy.  We are blessed to have him as a husband and father!

Our friend Laura is quite an artist and was enlisted to do some face painting for the kids.  Jack thought he'd take on this project on his own, and created his own face painting masterpiece.  I asked him what it was and he just shrugged his shoulders....it looks like a squashed spider to me.

We took a final picture of the kids in the yard at our Creek Locks home.  New York might not have been my favorite state, but I will miss how beautiful and green it is here.  Our yard seemed like a paradise at times.  Never again will we have a small creek with frogs to catch, surrounded by huge trees  filled with cardinals and bluebirds, and wildflowers in the day and fireflies at night.  We have thoroughly enjoyed this yard.  It has been our children's ideal growing up playground, with room to run and explore.  I feel blessed to have lived here for the past three years.