Kitchen Sink

Does it get any better than this?

Family Home Evening at Angie's. Yum! I tell folks that I am an emotional eater...Well, the Kitchen Sink is pure happiness -- especially when there are four other spoons and my four favorite people in the world are using them!

Mr. T

We have a goldfish. His name is Mr. T. Mr. T is a pretty important part of our family. He's been with us now for about two and a half years.

Let's step back in time: Matthew's just turned 8 and we are attending our very first Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. It's a Hawaiin theme and the ward gym is decorated for a Luau -- floweredy Hawaiin shirts, pineapples, etc. So great! On each table is a centerpiece...look a little closer... they are glass bowls with little goldfish swimming in them. I think, "Oh, please don't send those home with the boys. I don't want a goldfish." Skip ahead about and hour and a half. We are leaving the banquet (that was wonderful) with Matthew happily clutching a plastic bag full of water -- and goldfish.

After spending a night in a Tupperware, Matt's new fish was moved into the newly purchased fish bowl - complete with blue marbley rocks. Thanks to some careful deliberation and a book from the library, the little fishy also received a name: Sushi. I sure love happy endings, but sadly, this portion of our story isn't so happy. A week later, Sushi entered her watery porcelain grave. There is always a silver lining, however. Our silver lining was called Grandma. She was here visiting when we found Sushi floating and quickly eased Matt's grief by giving him five bucks to go buy a new fish. :) Off to PetsMart. Matthew picked a cute little guy and was a happy camper with his new fish and the $4.65 change in his pocket. This new fish had a black stripe on his head which looked a lot like a mohawk, so Matt named fish #2 Mr. T.
Mr. T has now, as I said before, been a part of our family for over two and a half years. We've had a few scares: a big red mark that has mysteriously appeared on his nose a few times and then goes away. (The worker at the pet store - yes, I actually called the pet store over a fish- said the medicine to correct the problem costs $10. For a $.35 fish... Nope, didn't buy it.) His black stripe faded and is now gone. (I swear it's the same fish). The biggie happened on the day we brought Bailey home from the hospital, though. We got home and mohawkless Mr. T was floating...on his side...not moving at all. Being emotional and hugely hormonal, I started crying (can't believe I'm admitting this) and told Steve to get it over with and flush him. He was dead. I kind of have a phobia of dead things and just wanted him gone. Steve kept staring at him and then told me that he thought we should try changing his water. There was no way I was going to touch a dead fish and change his dead germ water! But, c'mon, it's Mr. T!! So, sobbing, I cleaned his bowl and changed the water. As I scooped his lifeless body up with the little fishy net and dropped him back in the bowl, the darnedest thing on earth happend - he started swimming! I swear it on all the Diet Coke in North America. The dad blamed thing was alive and swimming rather animatedly around his sparkly clean bowl. That was 16 months ago. Who says miracles have ceased? :)



So, Mr. T has been through an awful lot and is still quite a spunky little character.

A few weeks ago I was walking into the kitchen and was nearly knocked over by Rachel running the other direction. She booked it into the living room, dove into the couch, and hid her head in the couch cushion. That's a sure fire sign that she's done something naughty. I went into the kitchen to find this:

Poor Mr. T. Look at his little face! Steve and I choked back our hysterical laughing long enough to scold Rachel and remind her we "only draw on paper." Later when I asked her why on earth she colored all over Mr. T's fishbowl she said, "I thought you would think it was pretty and that you might want to take a picture." Nice.

Swimming

Last month the kids were able to take swimming lessons at the aquatic center. Matthew has taken lessons before, but it was Rachel's first time. We were a little unsure what her reaction would be as she's going through a "mama's girl" phase... which she's been in since about birth, but that's another discussion for another day. At any rate, we were curious as to what she'd do. After all folks, it's now August and the child still won't go to Primary alone. Okay, okay - another discussion for yet another day. The great thing we had going for us was that she and her cousin were in the same class, so we figured that they'd probably be more comfortable together. We knew, at the very least, that it would be entertaining to watch.


Let me also say from the start that I was a little challenged when it came to taking pictures of the lessons. Our camera is a simple one intended for not very technologically savvy folks - perfect for me, but I found that it was so blasted bright out by the pool that I couldn't really see the display screen. This little beauty (see below) is one of my favorite pictures. (I didn't realize that I had even taken such a nice picture of cement until I had gotten home.) Sheesh, it's amazing I got any pictures at all. :)









Bailey was my spectating companion. She was not always happy to stay in the stroller through the whole lesson, but overall, she was a super little gal.

Rachel's teacher was darling. Both Rachel and her cousin really took to her immediately. In the picture below they are playing the "chop, chop" game. The kids all lined up along the side of the pool and they got to choose what kind of tree they were going to be. Then the teacher would go to each one and "chop, chop" them down -- and the kids would jump into the pool. Cute idea. The funny part was how gosh darn creative our kids were in choosing what type of trees they were. Generally the type of tree they chose was very curiously related to what print was on the swimsuits they were wearing that day. :) If Rachel wore her Dora swimsuit, she was a Dora tree. If she wore her rainbow suit, she was a rainbow tree. Her cousin fluctuated between being an orange & blue tree and a shark tree. Funny kids.

Matthew is proving to be quite a good little swimmer and really enjoyed lessons. For the record (and for anyone who may be feeling anxious or concerned at this point), his teacher does have a head. I just cut it off in this photo. I'm not sure if it is to be blamed on the sun and inabilitly to see the display (as with the lovely cement shot), or if it was merely that I was focusing on the looker in the black swimsuit.

Here's the whole swimming crew having a little "raid the diaper bag of all snacks" break.

I'm very happy to report that swimming lessons were a huge success. Both of my kiddos and all of their cousins loved the lessons and did a super job. I was very proud of all of them! We'll definitely be back next year!

Cousins!

July was a fun month, after all, we Utahns get two big ol' holidays. It was especially fun for us this year because we got to spend time with lots of family and the kids adore hanging out with their cousins. The day after Steve's b-day, his brother and his family came to Logan as a surprise to see the old man. :) It was so much fun! Because life is so busy and schedules are so hectic, we, unfortunately, don't get to see them very often. (I realized too late that I didn't get a shot of the kids all together. Bummer.) We went to dinner together (buffet - YUM!), and then headed to the park. Logan did their 4th of July fireworks that night so the kids ran off some steam at the park, then we all went and watched the fireworks together.



Bailey warmed up to the girls really quickly and loved all the attention. I decided that they should move in with me so I always have someone to carry and entertain my baby.




The Cutie in this picture with Matthew is just a month older than he is.

We had a great time and are grateful for a fun surprise visit!


On the 24th of July, we met up with our Logan cousins and watched the parade. My kids love, love, love the Pioneer Day parade here in Logan. Truth be known, I do too! I love that we can show up 10 or 15 minutes before the parade and still find a super spot. I love that a good number of the participants in the parade are in trucks with butcher paper banners hanging on the sides. I love that every single year The Waver hops on his bike and joins the parade!

Here are some of the kiddos eagerly awaiting the parade -- and mentally preparing for the oodles of candy that they will soon be dashing off the curb to retrieve.

(Not really sure what little jig Steve is doing in the back... but it sure is nice...)

Rachel firmly believes that an event is not truly an event until there are princesses involved. So, we naturally do what any good and honest parents would do - we tell her that the royalty from all the little cities are princesses. Our boy cousins weren't quite as impressed with the "princesses" as Rachel, but they were good sports and helped Rachey wave at them. (Like the big green bags on their shoulders? It was all I could rummage from the trunk of the car to hold their loot. I usually remember little lunch bags or something. Oh well.)

To finish off our month of fun cousin visits, my oldest brother and his family came from California. We get to see them so seldom, that it's always very eagerly anticipated, and we love spending time with them. We got to spend some time with them in Ogden at my other brother's house - hiking, swimming, eating, and just hanging out. The last day of their stay in Utah, they came to Logan. We took them to the school park where, serendipitously, the sprinklers turned on to save them from the heat of the day. They played hard, got sopping wet, and then ate like horses. Good times.

We absolutely loved being with family this month. The only bad thing is that it makes us remember how much we miss those who are far away and those who we don't see enough. Thanks to everyone for making the trek up north to see us! We love you!