Beginning of Summer

We had our family home Evening on Wednesday, our lesson was on safety. Paul told them a story about Pete the Possum and the safety rules that his mother had given him and he didn't listen, he wasn't supposed to sleep hanging upside down unless his tail was tightly wound around the branch and it wasn't, so he fell. He needed band-aids for that and other things that happened, the girls put band-aids on their pictures of Pete. We had chocolate chip cookies made from a recipe in Alona's cookbook. She gave me the book, "here Mom, make the cookies." "Don't you want to help?" "I'll do the chocolate chips", and she went to play outside until everything was finished but the chocolate chips. Abbi and Kacen stayed to help and enjoyed it. Kacen is real good at dumping the sugar in and Abbi held real still as I poured the vanilla in to the measuring spoon. After the lesson, we got our swimming suits on and headed for Seven Peaks to go swimming.
It took us 25 minutes to walk there and then we had 20 minutes to play. And we had fun, it was just so nice to go with Paul. I had gone on Tuesday with just me and the kids and sitting in the waves for an hour holding two children, not the greatest thrill. Paul gave them piggy back rides swimming around in the water. The waves didn't come on which was good, the younger children got a little too much water in them last time from the
waves. On Tuesday when I went with the kids we left Alona's brand new sandals at the park, we left right at closing time and were more than half way home before she told me that we didn't have them. I figured that they would be ok figuring that it was closing time and thought that an employee would just put them in the lost and found. But when I went back looking for them on Wednesday morning and evening they were not there, so we figure that someone swiped her brand new $20 shoes. Ouch, a big hit to our pocket book and sad little girl, especially going to get a new pair, money we don't have at the moment.
We were walking home and caught this sight. What a beautiful sunset. The rays of sun are shining through a break in the clouds and there was a perfect spot where you could see it all through the trees.
On Thursday after dance class, I had a little one who was throwing a fit. Not wanting to get out of the van and walk to the cart with me and so got put in to the baby seat of the cart. Of course this was not desirable, so the entire time Mommy told this child that if they sat down safely for two minutes they could walk the rest of the time, being that the way that were sitting was unsafe. At the end it turned out ok they got to push the cart in to the cart corral, and while there a lady came up and commented, "You are a Patient Mother." She had witnessed me dealing with my child's fit and how I handled it, it was really nice to get that kind of a compliment. I have struggled with patience, and am witnessing my weaknesses become my strengths.
I read "The Secret Life of Bees" on Monday. It was a good book.
Paul has homework up the you know what. He has been up until 7 or 8 every morning doing homework and still has 90 questions and 5 programs left to do. He has until next Thursday to finish. Good luck to my dear husband, I know you are working so hard. Can't wait to go swimming with you again.
We get to go to my cousin's wedding on Saturday, that will be interesting. They are having a "cousin party" all of the little kids get to play at a house and be watched while their parents are at the ceremony. That sounds great, I just hope that they watch Kacen really well, never left my kids with complete strangers. And Paul is off, so we get to go together!!

Abbi was holding a spider that fell from the ceiling and Alona got it, here is the conversation that I heard from my bedroom door....
Alona: "He's dead I squished him"
Abbi: "Can I eat him?"
Alona: "No, Spider's are gross!"
Abbi: "Hello, I am a spider!", she was pretending to talk for the spider!...and she kept going too!

Yesterday's words:
Stairs: He was climbing up the stairs in the neighbors back yard and saying, "up the stairs, up the stairs!"
Cook: Playing with the little kitchen things, he was cookin!