The end of BasketBall

MaryKate has learned so much and grown a lot in her basketball skills since she started this clinic four weeks ago. She has better control of the ball, she no longer double dribbles or travels, and she knows how to cross over and the importance of being able to dribble left or right handed. She knows all sorts of technical basketball terms that I had no idea about! Her basket shooting skills are improving and she even learned the basics of doing a lay-up! I am so proud of her and the hard work she put in.

Way to go MaryKate!

Happy Father's Day Kevin!

I am so thankful to have Kevin in my life. For Father's Day we bought him a new set of white temple clothes. Then he got to cook himself a steak for dinner. (Well, I bought it and made everything else and would have cooked it also but he is just soooo much better at grilling steaks then I am :)
"My Daddy is my favorite pal, and I help him every day..."... It's plain to see I want to be like him in every way!...

"...He teaches me that honesty is best in all I do,

I'm very glad that he's my Dad! And I know he loves me too!!!"

I love you Kevin, Happy Father's Day!

Cub Scout Day Camp

This year our ward put on a triathlon for the cub scout day camp. Friday night they learned about cooking and made dinner for all of the families then early Saturday morning we met at a leader's house where the boys swam four laps in the pool...

Then rode their bikes down to the church...

and completed with a run around the church parking lot. All the boys were given medals and certificates and were fed a delicious pancake and fresh fruit breakfast. (We all met at 6:30 which is why Sara is still in her pj's).The only bad thing about the day was that we were in such a hurry to get out the door on time I forgot to remind Nikolai about taking his Asthma medicine. BIG Whoops. By the time he was done swimming he needed his puffer. I ran home and grabbed it and he made his way slowly on his bike to the church where I met him in time to finish the running. I was so proud of him how he kept going even though his asthma was acting up, he didn't let it beat him.

Sara kept herself entertained at the church rearranging the cones set up for the race track.

Cuddling Sisters

Sara wants to do whatever her big sister is doing and every time she sees her curled up watching T.V. she has to join her.

It's been a busy week, too bad it is only Tuesday!

Our dog, Lucy, had her last litter ever (she already has an appointment at the end of August to be spayed) and we got ONE puppy! Have you ever heard of a dog having only one puppy? Okay, maybe a pug, but a cocker spaniel? Weird. He is a miniature of his father, a buff male. Very cute and very squeaky.

This is Sara demonstrating how to drink out of a water bowl like a dog. She is fascinated by the new puppy and Lucy is good as gold with her, she even lets her climb into the crate with her and the puppy without batting an eye. The month of June is a very busy month for us. Nikolai has Thinker's Inc. classes in the morning (typing and an animal science class), Monday's the kids have piano lessons in the middle of the day, and then MaryKate has Basketball clinic in the afternoons. Unfortunately for Sara that means a lot of her napping gets done in the car.

Nikolai and MaryKate get allowance every week. I have a jar that I keep spare change in to make up the kids allowance (truthfully, I steal Kevin's change at the end of the day and put it in the jar. He complains when he wants exact change to pay for something but I save a LOT of money up that way :) Sara discovered how much fun sorting coins can be. She had four piles, the three you can see on the table and then one on the chair she was standing on. Also this week, I turned 24 weeks pregnant! Which means a new picture of my ever growing belly.

In Payson with Dad and the Rapiers

Marty and Sylvia were very generous in offering the use of their cabin up by Star Valley to Dad to take Amy and I up on a long weekend. We had a fun couple of days with the kids all getting filthy dirty.

This is Sara's kissy face, riding on the pony.
The kids built an Indian fort underneath the stairs and spent many hours playing an Indian family. They each had Indian names and ranks. Nikolai and Colin spent their time making traps for neighboring tribes while Chesley, Emma, and MaryKate gathered and prepared food.

Sara meticulously made a soup in the dogs water dish, placing only the tiny pine tree sticks and Juniper berries into the bowl.

Sara and Zach played in the water and got thoroughly soaked next to Emma and Nikolai building a bridge across the "river".

We took all the kids on a hike in the most sensible part of the day, the hot afternoon. (I'm not sure what we were thinking). We found this fort and the kids had fun pretending to shoot the bad guys.

This is the only picture that got taken of me the whole trip (something about being the Mom and commandeering the camera, but sorry, Dad, I think I got one shot of you, but you are in the background). We brought our two dogs. It was the first trip we've actually brought them on and they did great on the car ride and being up there in strange territory.Eating breakfast.

The favorite part of the trip for the kids was the endless hours of playing on the zip-line that they did. It was hard to drag MaryKate especially away from it.

Probably my favorite picture of the whole trip, Sara taking a turn.

And this is the look she wore the entire trip up. She was amazed at the idea of a T.V. in the car, and couldn't drag her eyes away from Mo (translation, Elmo). Note the ever-present Blankie.

Cooking with Mommy

I've been in a baking mood lately and last Sunday it was the idea of a fresh cherry pie that got my attention. MaryKate is a really good helper in the kitchen. She is tall enough now that she can stand at the counter or stove without a step stool. Here she is stirring the cherries and sugar waiting for it to boil.
Sara wants to help too which usually means a huge mess but all I have to do is give her a bowl with a little flour in it and some stirring and measuring utensils and she is set. She does this so often that when I go into the kitchen to cook she runs and grabs the step stool and pulls it up beside me to check out what I'm doing and to "help" in her own toddler way.Me brushing the top with milk and a coating of raw sugar.... mmmmmm.

And the finished product, homemade cherry pie!

Sara's recent cuteness

Sara is 17 months old now and her 3rd and 4th teeth just popped through!!! Instead of having only one set of opposing teeth she now has two!

Sara's newest trick, raising her hand when you ask a question like "Who loves their Daddy!"
She recently discovered that her two little teeth were pretty powerful and could do really cool things like eat an apple (one tiny bite at a time). Another new favorite of hers to eat is raw baby carrots. She nibbles it down one itty-bitty bite at a time until it is about half way gone then she asks for another.

Sara sleeps with this big lion and her blankie every night and insists it go across the short side of her crib like this. Most of the time she just uses him as a pillow for her head but we find her regularly like this, curled up on his back.

Lounging watching Elmo's World, or "Bwo Wo" in Sara-Speak. (Note the same blankie as in the sleeping picture. I've never had a blankie kid, I'm never quite sure what to make of it, especially when she insists on having it over her lap in the car or the stroller on these HOT Arizona summer days)

Sara mimics EVERYTHING her big brother and sister do, including laying out in the sun to warm up after swimming, or tanning, as MaryKate calls it.