BOATING AT SAGUARO LAKE

Last week Grandpa Duncan came to visit from Utah. The weather has been getting warmer...we are already in the 90's!! So, we decided to take the boat out. Besides a few mishaps, like throwing the anchor in the water, when it wasn't attached to the boat, & squirting half a bottle of red punch in the back seat of Daddy's truck....a good time was had by all!

ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN

So, I have been tossing around the idea of ALL DAY kindergarten for a few months. With Everett being the youngest, and the baby in the family...I have not been in a hurry to get him out the door and in the classroom. But, everyday he complains about not having anyone to play with. "When are my friends coming home? Who can I play with?", etc., etc.

I called the school JUST TO SEE if they had an opening for him...just to think about it. The office secretary would check and call me back.




Well, they did.




And, at risk of being the worst Mom ever, I enrolled him. Now, in my defense...he doesn't nap, he loves to go to school, and HE NEEDS FRIENDS!












And....if it doesn't work out, we can move him back to morning kindergarten.

























Man---they grow so stinkin' fast!!!

IN THE MIDDLE

I realized that Park hasn't gotten much of the lime light recently. I wanted to showcase his many characters. He is such a fun kid!! We went to Branden's parents this weekend for the cancer walk, Relay for Life. It was held at the Safford Fairgrounds....very dusty! The family had a booth set up where we sold nachos, pickles, cookies, glow necklaces, etc. Kamarin was a real trooper and sat at the booth all night. I took the boys back to Grandma's and Grandpa's to go to sleep. Parker decided that sleeping through the night was to boring. His belly full of hot dogs, cookies, and watermelon revisited us at around 2:30 am. Fortunately, he seemed fine in the morning. I was really surprised by how many members of Branden's family, they have lost to cancer. It is definitely a disease that targets all ages. I was grateful that my kids got a taste of what it is like, to give of oneself in an effort to find a cure.

PLAYING BY EAR

I realize that all parents think their children are gifted. But, no really....Kamarin really is!! I first noticed her ability several years ago, when she would sit down at the piano and recreate a song from just memory. We have taken some time off of piano lessons...and so when she sat down to play for fun, I quickly wanted to capture it. She is not playing from any music. She just sits down and tinks the keys until it sounds like she wants it to. Okay, so it is not Mozart, but I am impressed!!!

A BIKE RIDE

The weather has turned sooo nice here...in fact, I am afraid that a heat wave is just around the corner. The kids and I went on a great bike ride. Of course, there was much coercion to get Kamarin to go with us...and then, she trailed half a block behind. Her brother's have taken to excusing her attitude, by saying that she just thinks she is too cool. Really, the biggest issue, was that she did not want to mess up her hair by putting on a helmet. I, however, am a helmet freak so after threatening to take her Ipod she agreed to join our adventure. The boys took turns fighting over who was going to be the leader. We had planned to end our trek at the Cederstrom's for a BBQ. Just as we were pulling into their driveway, my back tire started to hissss and completely popped. Luckily, we had reached our destination. And, believe it or not--A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Well, the party has come and gone. Everett has had a great week and his me-me's are a thing of the past...without any difficulty. (Thank you Build-A-Bear) We had 8 little boys over for a Star Wars birthday party. Each boy received a jedi robe and lightsaver when he arrived. In the first 15 minutes we had a great jedi battle. They had soooo much fun!! Everett was all smiles! We played pin the lightsaver on the jedi, destroyed a Darth Vader pinata and had giant cupcakes with juice boxes. Each boy had a picture with the birthday boy posing in their jedi gear. It really is GREAT to be five.

HI, IT'S ME EVERETT

It was my birthday today...I turned 5! I want to tell you all about my day. My Mom took me to Build A Bear. I got to pick out my very own stuffed animal. I picked a really fluffy doggy. I gave him to the girl that worked there to fill with fluff. Then, before she closed up his back, I put in my last 2 me-me's and a red heart. Then, I combed Chubby's fur....that is what I named him. I picked out a hat and a Wildcats T-shirt for him to wear. As we were leaving the store, I asked my Mom if there was a way to open Chubby? She said that he was all closed up...but, if I feel like I need my me-me, I just snuggle my new doggy. The whole rest of the day I didn't asked for my me-me...not even once. And when I went to bed tonight, I just snuggled Chubby really tight and didn't ask for it then either. I am glad I am 5!!

PLEASE STAY IN BED....PLEASE!!!

Everett will turn 5 on Monday...and the me-me's will be gone forever!!! Two nights ago, Everett came into Mom and Dads bedroom to snuggle. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing habit and his parents are TIRED. So, very lovingly, he was encouraged to go back to his own bed. Oh, and I forgot to share that it was 2:00 in the morning. This request was met with all of hells fury and then some. Everett sat in the hall outside the door wailing and pouting. Next his brother, who he shares a room with, came to snuggle as well. By now, there was no snuggling to be had by anybody. Parker went back to bed and Everett continued to fuss. No amount of middle of the night bribing, yelling, and being patient seemed to work. The end result was a very tired family in the morning!!

So, Everett lost the privilege of playing with he best buddy. If he isn't big enough to sleep all night in his bed, then he isn't big enough to play with friends.

He slept all night in his own bed....and wanted to call Gabe at 6:30 am this morning to make up for lost time.