Im sharing

Our BIG Kitty. I think she eats too much ;)


This is Kacen if I let him watch a cartoon in the MIDDLE of the day. Any other time of the day is fine and this doesn't happen.

This is what Alona has done most of the summer :) She has devoured tens of books. She is starting to really love chapter books, such an awesome reader!

I cleaned the van today. It definitely was not the hottest that it has been here. It was well over a hundred a week ago but there was a pool of sweat on my forehead when I was finished. I should have waited a few more weeks, until it was cooler. But it was worth it, the van is much more pretty and livable.

what was I thinking

Jesse slept through the night and I didn't!! Ughh and I feel so tired even though I got so much more sleep than I have been getting.

not as slow as I thought it would be

My card in my camera isn't working and some places I didn't bring my phone so I don't have many pictures. This week was set out to be quite slow, but I made it in to a great week!

Monday-Went to the library and received some coupons for completing the summer reading program. Went and enjoyed Carls Jr for lunch with the coupons.

Tuesday- the kids and I enjoyed Chuck E Cheese rides and games and brought home Del Taco for lunch, another treat from the coupons :) Alona's keen observation, Mom these fries aren't the same kind we had yesterday. Each restaurant's fries has their own texture and crispness.

Wednesday-we went to Oquirrh mountain temple open house. It was gorgeous, breath taking. Sitting up on a hill of its own, with mirrors of an endless view and spectacular chandeliers. It was so nice to go and not be rushed, take our SWEET time with four children there. Talking to them about all the things that we saw. The baptismal font was one that they all liked. Abbi was convinced there were cows holding it up. Talking to them about doing baptisms in the temple and Alona's comment of "I get to be baptized next year". She is getting so big. We brought in the double stroller, so we were able to ride the elevators many times and not worry about lugging children up and down flights of stairs. The enjoyed the cookies and water after wards, they wanted to try both kinds of cookies and were brave and went and asked the lady, chocolate chip and sugar cookies :) The kids got to go to Village Inn after wards and pick from their menu. It was a great day!


Thursday-Canopy Capers (story time) at the library. The story teller sure was dramatic this week. We made it in time to actually get a spot in the shade, super happy about that especially for the baby's sake.

Friday-Pioneer Day! We went to the celebration in Provo on 5th West! Each year they give out a punch card for the children with various activities. There was an obstacle course, throwing balls at milk bottles, a game called koob, paning for gold, shooting ducks off of a log, tasted homemade butter, making clothespin dolls and pie tin art and throwing tomahawks! I cant believe all my children threw tomahawks and that the missionaries let them, it scared me to death. Yes, here in Provo the missionaries are in charge of the games for children on the 24th. It is fun to see them out there.
Of course after the activities Jesse had to eat, there was face painting right next to us and so I told the kids to stand in line while I fed Jesse. Of course I didn't notice the sign next to the lady with pricing, being that it was in front of her and I was sitting off to the side of her feeding Jesse. Good thing I brought a few dollars. Abbi got her face painted first, she claimed it was flowers and then changed her mind saying she had fireworks. Kacen had bear feet and Alona's were more of purple and red colors that resembled flowers, she washed hers off right when we got home so I didn't get the chance to take a picture of it. They also got to pick a rock sucker or bag of rock candy and we listened to the Indian dances that were near us while we waited in line and they were painted. After they got their faces painted, I wasn't quite finished with Jesse. So the children went to the petting zoo and looked at all the animals. It really was a great day at the park.

Quality time with four children

Friday I got out some brown packaging paper, rolled it out and had one child at a time lay their bodies on the paper trace them and move on to the next child. When that was all finished, we held down each roll of paper with whatever we thought would work, mostly cans and then they got the chance to decorate themselves to create what they thought they looked like or really to just have fun and color.
Kacen had fun coloring and took his talents on to the kitchen floor as well

Alona did an amazing job, striped socks, a bracelet and ring. Her portrait of herself was truly beautiful.
Abbi's drawing was more along the lines of what she can do now. She wrote a lot of the letters that she knows how to write along the outer space of herself on the paper and drew a few shapes and other things as well.

Jesse has been having tummy time and really is quite a trooper. He spits up while on his tummy and cries. He doesn't really like it too much but he tolerates it for me. He gets his little bum and legs all the way in the air and lifts his head up. Occasionally he will almost turn over when he gets hysterical.

We went to the Clinton city parade on Saturday. The children got a ton of things. For once it wasn't my children that were having trouble getting the candy and other things that were thrown, it was a lady and her two girls that were next to us. Abbi and Alona were more than willing to share with the little girls. There was a float that had children with some awesome sling shots and were hurdling water balloons at the crowd. Alona did not want to get wet. I thought that their float and the sling shots were pretty neat and made sure to point it out to the girls. I even commented to Alona that she could run after the float to get wet! "No Mom"!!
While playing at the park after the parade, I was feeding Jesse and the children were running around. Alona put her hand in the grass and got stung for the first time. Of course she was more hysterical than ever and we ran them over to the nearest relatives house and Alona got some ice to soothe her finger.
We stopped at my Grandmothers before coming home on Saturday. Jesse just wanted to stare at her. A new unfamiliar face, the first time that she ever held him :)Today playing a board game together. They also had pudding!Currently my other half and three of the four children have set up camp in the back yard! They are all having a blast! laptop is set up out there and they get watch a movie together. They and their daddy will be occupying the tent outside tonight. I will have a quiet house :) Well of course until they come knocking on the door in the morning to use the bathroom and be fed.I made our own version of summer bingo this week for the girls, thanks Emily for posting a link to that idea! They have had many things that they could do and have done.

• Playing an educational computer game
• watching an educational video
• write a thank you note or draw a picture and mail it (we still need to buy stamps!)
  
• paint a picture
• play baseball outside together
• do an extra job for mom
• ride bikes at the church
• learn a new song from the songbook
• pass off a new article of faith
• play play-doh
  
• playing at the park for an hour
• Abbi has had some that include: practicing flash cards, doing three pages in her workbook, read 20 min with mom, practice writing letters
  
• Alona has some specific to her: three pages of math, reading an article in the friend X 2, read a book outside, read scriptures, read your book in a secret place, read little house on the prairie with mom

These were most of the things on their cards, there were a few others. They had 25 spaces and have to get 20 done within the week and then we would go to Chuck E Cheese and use the tokens that we can get with our coupon. Each week I can fill in the bingo spaces with something new and reward them with a new activity! Next week I think Kacen wants a card to play along too!

mimicking mom

Yep that's right, my SON feeds his baby dolls and his sister Abbi's pink teddy bear too! Great pictures for when he's grown up I say!
Abbi did this when I had Kacen, it must be a 1 1/2-3 year old phase :)

the last month in pictures

Brothers.
In the van when I told Kacen that he and Jesse were my boys he started blushing. I have been able to say "girls" for the past four years with Alona and Abbi. So in the van Kacen was in awe that he and Jesse were the boys like Abbi and Alona are the girls.















Jesse playing stick puppets with Abbi (I think this is so cute)



















Fathers Day playing at the park with their daddy. We brought popsicles and Paul showed Alona how to sharpen a stick on the sidewalk. He pushed the kids on the swing and they all had a lot of fun playing together.































































sprinklers in the front yard. The most dangerous of the two yards to do it, but the back does not have a turn key. So every time that they want the sprinklers Mommy or Daddy goes out there with them. They had a lot of fun.. Alona likes the sprinkler to be really high and Kacen likes it real low and then him and Abbi put their faces in it :)

















































































CAMPING
waiting for forth of July fireworks (Lava Hot Springs, Idaho)
a very pretty place to be, very majestic and the perfect setting for celebrating our country.














We met and played with a great dane, Titan














I met my brothers girlfriend



















The kids had fun playing.
Abbi loves animals, especially dogs. This one, Sammy, I lived with him in tenth and eleventh grade when he was a little puppy. He is now an old dog, but still loves to chase his ball.









cousins got to play together up at the camp site. Only a year and 8 months between the three of them.














all of the kids loved the 4-wheeler. Kacen is definitely our little boy, he kept climbing right up on it waiting for someone to enable him to ride :)














dino ride at a park in Lava Hot Springs














feeding the dino














in the woods one last time before we left














Library story time, under the canopy at Provo City Library. We were late, so we just threw everything to make our lunch in a grocery bag and I made it after we found a place to sit down. Eating jello at the library, what a treat! There are stories acted out, skits, musical instruments on occasion and puppets and they are very interactive with the children.
One of Alona's favorite places is the library, she asks if we can just go inside so she can sit down and read. She always tells me that we don't have to check out any books, she wants to go in and read though. And that is what you can catch her doing at home 90 % of the time, reading a book.















Swimming at Veterans Memorial Pool