Summer Bowling

A friend of mine told me about an amazing deal for bowling in the area this summer. When you have five kids, that is good news. We really don't take our crew to places that cost much because 5 times anything is a lot. Not just a lot of money, but also a big crowd. When I heard about this deal, I decided to seize the opportunity and took the 25 minute drive towards downtown to give my kids a chance to bowl.

They all got fitted in those cool bowling shoes, even Nathan. I was surprised they had size 7 for him. We found the extra small balls for the kids. We went with some friends, so in all we had 12 kids. It was quite the group but a lot of fun.

My kids did surprisingly well. I guess they have learned a thing or two from wii bowling? Nathan could barely lift the ball let alone get it rolling, so I helped him a little. And when his turn was over he could not understand why we wouldn't just let him keep going, so he threw himself to the ground screaming. Yes, I have a (almost) two-year-old who acts his age.

Spencer did well. The ball only got stuck twice where we had to call an attendant to go get the ball because he didn't roll it hard enough. Those balls are pretty heavy and to lift it and throw it at the same time is pretty hard.

Danielle did amazing. I had no idea she could swing a ball like that. That girl has talent!

Camie and Taneal had a lot of fun and scored really well too, especially for their first time bowling.

It was a fun day, a little harder because of Nathan's continued fits. But, I'd be willing to take them again, next summer. I got home and was contracting about 6-7 minutes apart. I think I did too much. But Taneal made the nicest comment on the way home. She told me this was the best summer ever. She said even though we haven't done anything big, we've done a lot of little things that have made the summer so much fun. I appreciated that because I have really worried that I was wasting their summer away not doing much because I really can't do too much or the contractions start in and I don't want this baby to come early. I waddle around the place and am so tired topped with anemia. But the kids are having fun and I am loving having them at home. I love having a lot of kids, they are so much fun. And I love that Taneal recognized my efforts to help create a great, memorable summer so that when the kids go back to school they will feel like we played, had fun, and built a lot of memories even though we didn't do a big family vacation.

Metronome

Evan said he never had a metronome growing up. I grew up with a metronome. Do we really need one? Absolutely!

Since we got our piano, my kids have been busily plucking away at the notes and playing great beginning masterpieces. Taneal has already started learning Christmas songs which is so fun for me to listen to, until she quit counting and started playing the song at the pace that she wanted, no consistency throughout the song. I started to plug my ears because I could not stand having "O Come All Ye Faithful" playing to a different, unnatural beat.

What is my problem? I kept asking myself over and over. Why is this such a big deal? As long as she is playing, why not just be happy? And then I remembered my mom. I'm going to blame this one on her. She doesn't even play, but she would go crazy when we played a song without counting. I should have picked up on this annoyance of hers back then and used it against her, but I didn't. And now it has become one of mine. Oh, sometimes we are just like our parents regardless of how we resist. And I am resisting, trying to let her play without counting, but I can't get over it. As soon as I find the right metronome, I will require it's use as my children practice so my ears can feel happy and so I can allow some of that ingraining that is deep down inside me, caused by my mother, to have peace.

Lego Land

Another adventure we had this summer was to go to Lego Land. My girls haven't really been into Lego's, we only own the toddler size ones and Camie and Danielle do play with them quite a bit. Spencer is run off my Camie and Danielle if he tries to play because they are already playing with them. For his birthday, Spencer got some of the smaller, grown-up Lego's from a friend, a small pack that he has really enjoyed.

We decided to venture out with some friends to Lego Land and do their free make and take project. We got there a little late so we had to wait in line, but once we got in all 5 kids were able to create a little duck bird. They LOVED it! I'm not sure which one of my children like it the best. Nathan was a little young and had had enough waiting in line. The demonstrator put Nathan's together for him and Nathan was excited to hold it. I tried to help Spencer, but it was a little too complicated! I had no idea Lego's could be that hard! The girls all did really well. I'm thinking we might need to start investing in Lego's. I think it could some pretty good brain food.

A Day at the Lake

Saturday Evan took the girls out to the lake to go water skiing with Troy and Becky. Their boys were out-of-town, so it was just Audrey. That meant a lot of time to themselves to ski, tube, swim, and do whatever they wanted without the older boys pestering them to do more "adventurous" things. I stayed home with my little boys. The girls spent the entire day out on the lake and didn't get home till well after 9pm. When they got home they had story after story of what they did and how much fun it was. Taneal was bragging about catching air on the tube. Danielle was miffed because she and Evan got on the tub together and as soon as they started to go, Evan jumped off leaving Danielle on the tube by herself. She was capable of doing it, just too scared. I thought it was funny that that was her highlight of the day. Camie didn't try the knee boarding but sure got courageous on the tube. She started kneeling on it with no hands. She thought that was pretty cool. And I was happy with Evan because he took pictures. I really wanted to go but thought it best if me, my pregnant belly, and the boys stayed home. I hate missing out on things like seeing my kids have the time of their lives, but life doesn't always allow that. So, I was glad Evan got a few shots. Thanks Troy and Becky for a fun day at the lake.

Can you tell Danielle is a little nervous in this picture? I liked her expression.

Taneal knee boarding. Way to go Taneal! I don't think I knee boarded until after I was an adult. So fun to see what kind of grown-up things she can do.

Audry and Taneal being goofy. They had so much fun.

Camie doing the "no hands" thing. That silly girl. Glad she had fun and got a little brave. She tends to be more cautious like me.

Evan and Danielle. I'm suprised Danielle didn't do more on her own. She is a little daredevil at home.

Summer Skating

This summer we decided to head back to the roller rink for some fun skating. The kids absolutely love it. Nathan is a little difficult since he can't skate yet and doesn't like to sit still. I go ahead and rent Spencer skates but he hangs with me most of the time. Taneal is starting to get the hang of it. She is such a first born. She is cautious, tries to do everything perfectly, just can't let go of all the rules and feel the movement. But she's getting it and I'm having a good time watching her figure it out. Danielle can really skate. Of all my kids, she picked up on it the quickets and smoothest. I don't know if it becuase she has always had great coordination or if it is becuase I introduced it to her at the right age. Whatever the case, she is good. She was so wonderful with Spencer. I didn't even ask her, and she spent probably an hour holding his hand and skating around the rink with him. It was so cute and sweet. Camie thought she would be nice and help Spencer, and they just kept falling. I don't know if it is becuase Camie doesn't quite have the balance like Danielle does or if Danielle is just the perfect height for Spencer. They are all just great kids and had so much fun. We will continue to go back until the kids don't want to.

My Little Artist

Spencer has really taken off with his coloring and drawing and writing letters. Usually when my children turn 4, I start a reading program with them that teaches them all their letters and sounds and how to write them. I stared the program with Spencer because he was asking to spell words, writing his name every where, and seemed really interested in learning to read. I was a little hesitant because everyone told me boys were much harder and not ready as early as girls, but that was proving wrong because of the interest SPencer was showing. So, we started the lessons, Spencer has done really well, and then I decided to stop at about lesson 15. He was getting it, getting a little frustrated because it wasn't what he wanted to be doing. And we have plenty of time to restart later. But look at the creations he has been making since we started. All my children seem to really take off with the art as soon as we start the reading lesson becuase it teaches them to write their letters, such as "s" and "e", which are pretty difficult to write for a new beginner. Once they have that coordination down, the whole world of drawing opens up and this is the results I get. I love their creations and Spencer's are so unique.

A Bull in a China Shop

Evan calls Nathan "A Bull in a China Shop" because . . .

Well, that kid is into everything. He has colored my grout with crayon. I guess I should be happy to have rainbow grout, but it frustrates me. And my belly is so big that I have a hard time getting down and scrubbing, so it will just have to wait. He has gotten into the fireplace that I thought was clean because we don't have fires in it and managed to get soot all over the carpet. I meant to get out the carpet cleaner or even spot clean the areas, but reason after another reason has kept me from that. And he has colored all over my walls. My children NEVER have colored my walls. If they did, it happened once and I made sure they realized they should not even think about doing it again. Nothing fazes Nathan and he repeatedly colors my walls. I have tried everything, even Mr. Clean Magic Eraser won't take the marker off. And then the lock. Mr Nathan can unlock the front door and go out. Not a good thing with a 1 year-old. So, we replaced the lock with a new lock that only can be opened with a key. And guess what that little guy figured out? How to unlock it with the key. SO, we have the key hung up out of reach to where the older kids can reach it but to where Nathan cannot. That little guy is one handful. He is so cute and fun to watch and play with, but my, my house is paying for it. I have survived 4 children before Nathan and have never experienced anything like him. And I am having another boy. Three boys! Spencer is sweet and kind and gentle. Nathan is just as Evan described, "A bull in a China shop" Oh, I love that little guy, which is why he has survived!

Did I mention the shampoo dumped out on his bedroom carpet? Or the toothpaste smeared into the carpet in the hallway? The dent in the wall from his head as he jumped off the couch?

Stubborn!

Talk about one stubborn kid!

Today Nathan got really excited and just happened to be sitting on Taneal's lap through his excitement. Well, as little children can be when they are happy, especially Nathan, they lean forward and throw their head back while squealing with delight. Nathan pulled that little stunt and whacked/head butted Taneal right in the mouth. She bled a little and then swelled. He got her good. The thing is, he is always so rough and usually doesn't realize he has even hurt someone. I wanted him to know how much he hurt Taneal, so I asked him to give Taneal a hug and tell her she was sorry. He replied with a sassy, "no!".

Well then. So, I told him he could either tell Taneal he was sorry or he could stand in the corner (our type of time-out). He marched over and stuck that cute little nose of his right in the corner. After about a minute, I asked him if he was ready to tell Taneal he was sorry. Again, the sassy little, "no". I told him he had to stay in the corner until he was ready to say sorry. Remember, Nathan isn't even 2. About every two to three minutes I would ask him if he would tell Taneal he was sorry and he refused. He ended up staying in the corner for well over a half hour! Finally, he started bawling. I told him so sweetly that I wanted him to get out of the corner, he just needed to tell Taneal he was sorry. He fell to the floor, face buried in his hands, and fell asleep. This kid doesn't hardly take naps anymore! And here it is at 11:30am and he is sleeping because he tuckered himself out by refusing to tell Taneal he was sorry for giving her a fat lip. That is one stubborn kid.

And if I remember right, Taneal was the same way. If she had it set in her mind that she was or was not going to do something, it didn't matter the punishment, she stuck to what she wanted. There was one night when she was about 11 months old and she refused to lay down in her crib. She would fall asleep kneeling, holding onto the side of her crib but would not lay down. After I thought she was good and asleep, I would carefully lay her down and she would wake right back up screaming and stand back up until we did this over and over and over. We were up nearly the whole night. I have learned a thing or two since then, and I should have just let her fall asleep kneeling down, but I was all concerned about her safety and blah, bah, blah. So glad to not be a first time mom again with this stubborn little boy. I can actually sit back and think of the situation as very funny and not get all stressed out. He will grow up, just like Taneal, and will never outgrow that stubbornness, but embrace it for good (I hope). If he turns out as good as Taneal has, I will be one lucky mom.

Taneal was pretty insistent on me taking a picture of her fat lip. You can hardly tell, she had ice on it for a while before the picture was taken. She also wanted me to whiten her teeth in Photoshop, but I couldn't figure out how to do it and ended up turning them blue. Sorry Taneal, I tried!

Summer Karate

A friend of mine from my old ward is quite the community coordinator person. She decided there weren't enough things for the children in her neighborhood to do to keep them from getting into trouble, so she arranged with a local Tae Quan Do school for five weeks of free lessons, twice per week. Wow! We do not live in the neighborhood, but because we know her and are in a neighboring neighborhood, we were invited to partake. Danielle and Spencer are in one class, Camie in another with some of her friends, so she is absolutely in heaven, and Taneal is in another class. My kids LOVE it. You can see just how much Spencer loves it in the pictures, he has the biggest grin through the whole class. Danielle thinks it is great, also. Camie loves being with her two church friends. And Taneal takes the karate very seriously. She claims she has the highest kick in her class and that to graduate at the end of the five weeks she has to break a wood board. I really have a hard time because I have to sit at the studio for 2 hours with Nathan. We have to sit still, he cannot leave my side, and we can't make any noise. It is worse then sitting through Sacrament Meeting! I usually leave frazzled and reminding myself that this is a once in a while opportunity and my kids love it. If I had to pay for it, it would be somewhere around $600/month for 4 children. I really need to be seizing the opportunity, so I can endure the silent, no movement torture of my 23 month old for three more weeks, right? If only he liked watching movies. But he isn't quite 2 and I guess it is a good thing that he would rather move and play then sit like a vegetable. And we can't go outside because of the heat and humidity combined with a very pregnant momma wearing compression hose. But lets end on a positive note. The kids are having a blast this summer. They love the karate lessons which also require homework of cleaning their room, doing whatever I ask them the first time, and using good manners including ma'am and sir. It is fun seeing Spencer struggle, not wanting to do what I have asked him but knowing he has to for his class. They are learning good skills and I am loving their excitement.