Oh what DO we do in the summertime?

The other day on the phone, my brother Paul asked me what we do all day long. So I started thinking, what have we been doing? So here is a recap of our month of June. Maybe in July I'll do better about blogging about things during the month, but no promises...

Dentist appointments - Benson and Grace's 2nd, Sabrina's 1st - no cavities plus new toothbrushes and balloons made for a great afternoon outing


T-ball - Benson has been playing t-ball all month. His team is the Twins and Mike is an assistant coach. Benson is a great hitter and is learning lots about how to play in the field. Sometimes he gets frustrated because he doesn't know what to do with the ball and there are usually lots of people yelling different instructions when he does get the ball. But overall he's had fun and made some new friends. We run into his teammates at the swimming pool a lot which has been fun for him.


Swimming lessons - Benson and Grace are just finishing up two weeks of lessons. They have both improved lots and had fun. Benson started in Level 3 and finished in Level 3 but his kicking has improved so much. Grace started in Level 1 and was able to pass it off! She got to have her own teacher since she was the only kid in our session who couldn't stand in the big pool by herself. Grace will now jump off the side of the pool into the water and puts her face under ALL the time. We are so proud of both Benson and Grace, I really don't worry about them when we go swimming anymore because they are such good swimmers. Sabrina enjoyed being able to play in the baby pool during lessons.


Grandma Stacey's visit - no pictures, sorry. We (and by we I mean Grandma) finished the curtains in the eating area. We took the kids to the Insect Zoo and bowling at K-State. It was a fun visit, and we are glad she could squeeze us in between multiple trips to Utah this summer.

Grace's birthday and trip to Omaha (see previous posts)

Watching Daddy's soccer games - Mike's been playing on a Rec Soccer team with some other guys in the ward. He's had fun and it's been a great way for him to get some exercise, which is something that has fallen low on his list of priorities in recent years. The other night at one of the games there was a bleacher full of the wives and kids of the players on our team and the other bleachers were full of parents of the players on the other team. Needless to say, they aren't winning since most of these kids are almost literally half their age, but I think they are still having fun.

And then we fill in with trips to the park, pool, and splash pad, playing outside in the backyard on the swings, in the water table, and with the slip n slide. Once a week we go to the library for story time and to get some new books.


So we are staying pretty busy. It's harder for me to find time to get things done like cleaning, blogging, etc because I spend a lot more time entertaining these days. But summer doesn't last forever, so we're trying to enjoy it while we can.

Whatever gets you through the day...

I have a few posts I'm working on for Grace's birthday, but in the meantime...

Last night I was up working on said posts (at 12:30am) and I heard a weird noise. After listening for a minute I realized it was one of the kid's trying to open their door without actually turning the knob. It was Grace. She was so sad and saying over and over "I have the flu!" And it was true. So after 45 minutes of cleaning up, we put her back to bed. She's been fine all day, but we were supposed to go on our first field trip for the Field Trip Playgroup that I'm attempting to get going. Bummer for us.

About 11am I realize Sabrina's laying on the rocking chair, looking like she's going to fall asleep. Never a good sign when she wants to take a nap before noon. She's running a fever.

So we read some books, play a game, watch a movie and by 3pm I'm losing my mind because they are all going CRAZY. So what do I do? I send them outside to play in the water - fever, stomach flu and all. Because really some days it's just about whatever will get you through the day.

Aftermath on the patio

Laying out on the front porch

P.S. This is one of those things that I would have said that I would NEVER EVER do

BEFORE I had kids.

Grace's Birthday Trip

I mentioned before that for birthday's this year, instead of presents and birthday parties we are going on mini-vacations. For Grace's birthday we headed to Omaha, Nebraska. On Tuesday, June 15th we left Manhattan about 10am. We stopped for lunch part-way there and then headed straight to the Mormon Trail Visitor's Center and Winter Quaters Temple.






We checked into our hotel and Mike headed to do a session at the temple and the mom's took the kid's out to eat and to the hotel swimming pool.

The next morning, Grace woke up to balloons on the bathroom door of the hotel, we couldn't break with tradition!


Then we headed to the Omaha Zoo. We first went to the Desert Dome, which was awesome. The animals were mere feet away from us and in some cases there wasn't even really a fence separating us from them. It didn't look like it would be very big but once we got in there it just kept going and going and going.


Underneath the Desert Dome in the same building is Kingdoms of the Night, which is where we headed next. It was perfect timing because Jillian needed a nap and it was nice and dark so she took a great nap. The pictures didn't turn out because it was dark, but we saw lots and lots of bats and other nocturnal animals. The swamp section was especially cool, you walk on a wooden bridge and looking down on either side are alligators, beavers, and crocodiles.

After Kingdoms of the Night we ate lunch and then headed to the aquarium. Everyone LOVED the penguins and the Shark Tunnel. Grace would have stayed there the rest of the day, but others were anxious to move on.


We finished up by checking out the butterfly garden, the giraffes and zebras, riding the train, and visiting the petting zoo. By then, everyone was hot and tired of walking and we still had a long drive home ahead of us.

We stopped at the gift shop on our way out and Grace got to pick out a souvenir to remember her birthday trip, a stuffed cheetah she immediately named Sparkles.

As we drove home we got a phone call from our neighbor telling us that the creek that runs to the north of our neighborhood was flooding. They had closed the road that we usually take to get to our house. By the time we got home, the water had already receeded and the road was open again, but there was still a lot of water. We had had a lot of rain each day for the week or so before that, but I guess that afternoon it rained something like 3 inches in just a few hours. CRAZY! It was so weird to step outside and hear rushing water. By the time we woke up the next morning, the water had gone back down.

Man alive, Look who's 5!

Gracie is 5 years old! Mike and I have been talking for months about the fact that we CANNOT believe that this little girl is 5. We have never before had a hard time accepting any of our children getting older but it is so unbelievable to us that it has been 5 years since she joined our family.

To celebrate we had Grace's favorite dinner, manicotti, on Monday night along with cake and ice cream. I tried making homemade fondant for the first time and it turned out ok. Then on Tuesday we headed to Omaha. We went to the Winter Quarters Temple and Mormon Trail Visitors Center, ate dinner at a restaurant, and swam at the hotel pool. On Wednesday, Grace's big day, we headed to the Omaha Zoo which was amazing!

Here are some fun facts about Grace at age 5:

LOVES, LOVES, LOVES barbeque chips. Will not eat any other kind of chip. She asks for/demands barbeque chips every day at lunch and is very sad when she doesn't get them. Other favorite foods include: french toast, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and manicotti.

Grace is VERY picky about desserts. She loves brownies and Reese's, but other than that she usually passes on dessert (even ice cream). And I know she has a little of me in her because she also hates root beer.

Favorite spot on the couch - the crack. She has to be right in the middle, snuggled into the cracks of the seat and back cushions. If anyone else is sitting in "her spot", she will insist that they move and if they are unwilling they will have a fight on their hands.

Green is her current favorite color, but give her a few days and it will be something else.

Whenever Grace gives her toys or stuffed animals a name, the first thing she always says is whatever sound pops into her head like Enna or Ooaa. She usually changes it several times but the first pass always sounds nonsensical. For example, we let her pick a stuffed animal at the Omaha Zoo on her birthday. She picked a cheetah that was named Ooaah, then Adda, before finally settling on Sparkles. She also has a stuffed puppy that she has named Pinata.

If you want to make Grace's day tell her she is a) getting so big or b) getting so tall. Seriously, nothing makes her happier. She is so happy to be 5 because it means she is getting older and therefore bigger.

Grace is one of the best self-entertainers I've ever met. She will sit and read books or play with toys by herself for hours. She is also the most focused movie/tv watcher out there. It doesn't matter what is on, she will sit and watch it. She is really into watching TLC lately, her favorite shows being "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Bringing Home Baby."

Loves to sing! Usually sings VERY loudly. Favorite Primary song is "Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus".

Grace is a morning person. She ALWAYS wakes up happy, ALWAYS! And having breakfast quickly is very important to her. She has this cute little way that she says breakfast every morning that we keep thinking she will grow out of, but she hasn't yet.

She loves to dance and "shake her booty" as she likes to say. Crazy girl. Her favorite song to dance to is "Single Ladies".

Still loves everything girly - jewelry, make-up, getting her hair done, new clothes, shoes, Barbies, talking on the phone. Her favorite books are Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy. Would totally get her ears pierced if we would let her.

And here is her 5th year collage.

Boy she really is a big girl!

6.5 Months!

Jillian swinging at the park for the 1st time

Jilly and Daddy being silly at our Memorial Day Weekend cook-out

Flying Jilly

So summer is kicking my booty! I dreamed all winter that life would be so much easier once summer hit, but the reality is that a) we still have 4 kids b) even though you do wear fewer clothes in the summer, between towels and swimming suits, you still have as much OR more laundry and c) life isn't supposed to be easy. So I'm a little late doing Jillian's 6 month post.

Things Jilly learned how to do this month:

-roll over both front to back and back to front

-sit unsupported - she can sit for a few minutes now, but someone needs to be close because she likes to fall flat on her face

-scoot backwards

-eat baby food - she really likes cereal, she's had rice and oatmeal, but if we mix baby food with her cereal she will eat it - she's had apples, pears, prunes, and sweet potatoes so far. She's also had fruit puffs and loves those.

-GRAB at everything that comes within her line of sight

-put EVERYTHING that makes it into her hands in her mouth

-fake cough

-say "dada"

Another milestone - we have finally moved her to a crib! Over Memorial Day weekend we did some major rearranging at our house. Benson and Grace are now sharing the bunk beds in one room and Sabrina and Jillian are in the other room. Jillian is finally napping better and was sleeping through the night in her crib...until last week...

Jilly in the crib

Benson and Grace in the bunk beds

Sabrina and Jillian in their new room...yes it's a little crowded, but we make it work!

Last week Jillian had her first ear infection! At 6 months old...yuck! It started with Jilly running a fever the night of Friday, June 4th. She continued to run a fever all weekend and was cranky, miserable, not sleeping, and not eating well. So I took her to the doctor on Monday morning and he looked in her ears and declared them fine. That afternoon she finally started to act happier and she even slept through the night on Monday night. But by Tuesday afternoon we were back to extremely cranky, screaming actually, and she was up all night Tuesday night. She had her 6 month appointment on Wednesday morning and the doctor looked in her right ear, which is the one she's been pulling at, and said she has an ear infection. I was so relieved that there was something wrong that we could do something about! I had forgotten how frustrating and exhausting having a sick baby is. They can't tell you anything and they are SO needy and demanding. It still took a few days for the medicine to work, but yesterday and today we have had our sweet, smiley baby back! THANK GOODNESS! Except she has still been getting up at night. I'm going to give her one or two more nights and if she keeps getting up we are going to let her cry it out.

Jilly's hair is getting longer and sticks straight up on the top of her head, despite my best efforts to get it to lay down. Her hair is getting a little lighter and her eyes are still going back and forth between brown and green.

Other stats:

weight: 14 lbs, 14 oz - 20th percentile

height: 26 inches - 48th percentile

teeth: 0

For recording purposes:

Benson weighed 17lbs, 12 oz at almost 7 months

Grace weighed 15 lbs, 13 oz at 6 months

Sabrina weighed 16 lbs, 6 oz at almost 7 months

School's Out/Summer Vacation Kick-off

Benson's First and Last Day of Kindergarten

Benson's last day of kindergarten was Thursday, May 27th. It was a half day and the girls and I took some cupcakes to Benson's class that had little graduation caps on them made out of a miniature Reese's and a square of chocolate. I didn't get a picture, but they were cute. I tried to get Benson to stay for the yearbook signing party, but he wasn't interested and came home early with us. Bring on 1st Grade!

To celebrate the start of summer on Friday, May 28th, we went out to Tuttle Creek State Park with our good friend's the Horspool's and had a cook-out. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for yummy s'mores. The kids had a great time running around exploring nature. We've decided we need to do things like this more often!

1-Benson and Grace Horspool are quite a pair, they both like bugs and critters. Grace is a great listener and all Benson needs is a semi-captive audience and he will tell you everything he knows. And he knows quite a bit! 2 - Grace and Sabrina snacking on chips, waiting for the hot dogs to be cooked, 3 - The dad's cooking hot dogs. We made them build the fire (with wood Bryan chopped in their backyard) and then we also made them cook the hot dogs. Did I mention it was quite warm? What good dad's! 4 - Raegan and Sabrina, 5 - Grace toasting her marshmallows. She did not like how the hot fire felt on her face. 6 - The Grace's


1 - The girlies with flowers in their hair, 2 - Daddy and Jilly being silly, 3 - Flying Jilly, 4 - Raegan and Jack, 5 - Grace Horspool with her firefly. The kids spent a long time chasing fireflies. 6 - Benson squishing his firefly to death.