monsoon season

August is here as well as some much cooler weather. A fairly mighty monsoon hit our area just as school was getting out on Thursday. I get to the school quite early to wait for the boys and when I arrived, the sky was black yet it hadn't started raining yet. By the time 3:00 came around (about 20 min. later), it was dumping rain and there were wind gusts up to 40 mph. I wasn't sure what the school would do with the kids, especially the new little kindergartners. I waited and waited (I didn't want to pull my two babies out of the car into the storm to take them into the school to try to find the kids) until the principal came by (drenched) to radio in the names of which kids to send out. The boys were soaked when they eventually got to the car, but were pretty excited about the storm and the mayhem that went along with it. Hewitt was hilarious about the storm, "...all the girlfriends were crying, and some of the boyfriends were crying, and I even saw a big girl that was crying, but I wasn't crying, I just kept saying, 'I'm FREEZING!'..." We've been keeping our trees trimmed back and so we're hoping not to lose any more to monsoons. I must say that I really like the rain, but the increase in humidity makes me even hotter.


School is going great for the boys, although it is wearing Hewitt out! On Wednesday morning he said, "Mom, I think two days of kindergarten is enough; I just want to play today." He comes home very happy and excited though. I am really impressed with both of the teachers the boys have. I think it will be a great year.


Being home with just the two younger kids has been a little exhausting...mostly because Tosh and Liv work together as the destruction duo and really go to town trying to get into everything. Liv is generally taking one nap instead of two now, and so I try really hard to fit as much work into her nap time as I can. It's been fun to have more one on one time with Tosh. We swim together, play board games or he will help me clean. He is my little buddy and I love hanging out with him.


I was able to go to the Bishop's Storehouse with my Young Women this week. Our volunteer shift was for three hours, and in that time the girls did a lot of cleaning (it brought back memories of my summer custodial job that I worked after my freshman and sophomore years of college), stocked shelves with food, and helped host the patrons that came in to fill food orders. This was really a touching experience for me and made me feel grateful for my blessings. I was impressed with the facility and all of the missionaries and volunteers that keep the place running. I was also impressed that the girls had such a great attitude and didn't want to stop helping the patrons when it was time for us to go.

A couple of my cute girls mopping in the back room:





Liv is starting to "smile" for the camera. Her face is suddenly looking a lot older to me:

The other big news of the week is that my mom is here! We picked her up from the airport yesterday and she will be here until Tuesday. The kids (and I) are so happy to have Grandma here. We're having a great time!

back to school

The boys had a great first day of school and even survived the 'first day of school' photos...


I took one pic of Hewitt while he was saying, "It's too bright out here!" and then my camera battery died. Rob dropped the boys off at the school before heading to work. Off Hewitt goes:
I think they both had a great day. It sure was quieter around here. Here is Hewitt just after school (finishing off some leftover crackers from his lunchbox):

One of the things in Burke's backpack was the following that he wrote about himself:

Things I like, or am good at:
Math
Tennis
Drawing
Soccer
School
Swimming
Ping pong
Reading
Dancing
Table tennis
Video games
Running

Things I'm not good at, or don't like:
Heat
Jump roping
Eggs
Sitting around
My brothers hitting

The most interesting thing in Hewitt's backpack was the following list of Class Rules:

In case it's too small for you to read, he lists:

Be Happy
Be Clean at school
Be Smart
Be Graetfel (grateful)
Do not hit

I'm really not sure that these are the actual kindergarten class rules, but at least I'm feeling like our family home evening lessons on the "Be's" are starting to sink in a little...

first anniversary

We moved here one year ago today! I've been thinking back on that experience a lot this weekend. My mother-in-law (Patti) accompanied me on the LONG drive from Provo to Chandler (Rob had already driven down in a moving truck to start unpacking before we arrived). I drove the entire 13 hours as she tried to entertain kids, pass out snacks, and keep the binky in newborn Liv's mouth (I got the better end of that deal, I think). We had to make so many stops to let the kids go to the bathroom and so I could nurse Liv. The last couple of hours was the worst: Tosh or Liv cried the entire time from Flagstaff to Chandler and we tacked on about a half hour to our drive because I ignored my MIL's GPS and followed Rob's (bad) directions. We arrived on the 25th at about 11:30pm. The house was dirty, full of boxes and very dark since most of the light bulbs were burnt out... The next morning Patti and I got to work scrubbing and unpacking the kitchen (ox in the mire, people). We took time out to go to church before Rob drove his mom to the airport so she could fly home for work on Monday.

I remember HOW HOT I was getting ready for church that Sunday morning (I have since learned to shower in cool to luke-warm water only and to keep blow-drying to a minimum). We parked in the driveway instead of the garage for about a week (garage was packed with boxes) and I'll never forget Burke gearing up to go out the front door in the Arizona heat for the first time. He stood at the door and counted down slowly before opening it to run to the car, as if we were asking him to walk directly into a furnace or fire...

And now a year has passed, both quickly and slowly at the same time. Rob used to tell me that he thought that "moving away" would be a good thing for us. I used to think he was crazy, but I think I am starting to see what he meant. I think we have both learned to appreciate family, friends, and each other more than we used to. I'd like to think that we are closer than ever as a couple, and that my kids are each other's best friends. I still get that "homesick" feeling from time to time, but am so grateful for friends, old and new. Another blessing is that six of our eight (combined) siblings have already visited us this year (some twice), and several other friends and loved ones. What a huge blessing (to me especially because I'm friend/family-needy like that). On top of that, we really love our house and are slowly replacing/changing/improving things to make it our own. And good news: My mom gets to sneak away from her mission for a short, first visit to our house this weekend!

So enough on that, here are a few things about the week. Liv is getting into accessories! She is starting to keep clips in her hair (a clip stayed in her hair for all three hours of church today--a record!), and continues her growing love of shoes. We took it up a notch this week and I gave her a little bag that I got from one of the girls at church. She is certainly growing up.


Burke was sitting by me while I was watching her and taking the previous photos and said, "Mom, Liv's really growing up, isn't she?" Isn't that right (sigh). Liv was so loud in Sacrament meeting today. Apparently we can't bring crayons anymore because she yells until she can steal them away from her brothers and then tries to put them in her mouth. She is really starting to think she is Queen Bee around here...

Tosh is willing now to pray by himself and said a really cute prayer this morning. He asks questions a lot (like his brothers), and asked the following, "Is Burkie's tooth still missing? (yes) Well, where could it be? Does the tooth fairy still have it? How will he eat?"

Hewitt, Burke, Rob and I went to "Meet the Teacher" on Friday evening. I got choked up when we walked into the kindergarten building with Hewitt and had to laugh at myself. School starts tomorrow, and I have to say that I am so excited for the boys! My being "excited" honestly has nothing to do with the kids being gone away from me during the day as one might guess (I will miss them although it's been a while since I've only had two kids at home during the day). It's more that this is really the first year that I feel confident the kids are in the right place (school/teachers), and I feel so excited for the new opportunities and growth to come.

Hewitt made us a card this week. He's sure a sweetie (most of the time...):

An original joke by Burke: What kind of vehicle is always gasping? A hiccup truck!

We tried to get in lots of swimming this week before life gets a little busier again. Apparently I don't get tired of pictures of the kids in goggles:

Burke doing a handstand in the water:

Going "boating" with the boys:

It was all smooth sailing until we encountered some turbulence:

man, is it hot out.

We are heading into our last week of summer break! We did some "back to school" shopping this weekend. We must have reached a family record because we ran errands to seven different places yesterday with ALL FOUR children (broke into two separate outings). Rob did some work for his boss's boss on Friday and she rewarded Rob by saying, "Take your family out to ice cream on me." I asked Rob if she knew how many kids we have, ha ha. So among our many errands was a trip to Cold Stone for an afternoon treat. Yum.

The kids had fun playing and creating different games this week. Burke and Hewitt have really gotten into dancing lately and love it when I show them little snippets of "breaking" or "hip hop" from "So You Think You Can Dance." Not only is Hewitt dancing around the house pretending he is in the group "Remote Control," but he is always showing us dance performances that his Bionical, Rescue Hero or Lego guys are doing.

Tosh's new catch phrase is "last week." Whenever he is referring to something that happened in the past he will say, "...remember from last week?" or "I want the cup I used last week" or whatever it is. It makes me laugh.

Rob just found out that his song "Longing" has been placed in a show that will be aired on MTV! We aren't quite sure what the show is, and it might be just a snippet, but he'll make some money off of it so that is kind of exciting.

Liv is starting to get more *expressive* when she doesn't get her way. She is saying "uh-oh" all of the time and it reminds us of how the "Teletubbies" would talk. Liv seemed pretty upset when her older brothers got new shoes yesterday and she did not. She LOVES shoes. We tried to get her foot fitted at Nordstrom yesterday (one of the many errands) and they didn't have a walking shoe in her size! Her feet are so tiny. We will have to order something because she is cruising around all over the place. Today in nursery (I was in there to help Rob for both hours today. It was just us with 12 kids) she kept climbing up on the table and stealing crayons from all of the two and three-year-olds that were trying to color. I called her by her first AND last name for the first time this week. Silly girl.

Rob and I got a babysitter and went out on Friday night (temple and dinner). I am wondering when I will learn that eating late makes me feel very sick. I guess I'm too old to do that anymore. Rob and I did a musical number today in Sacrament meeting...I am wondering when I will be old enough to stop feeling nervous before singing in public (ha!).

I didn't take many photos this week, but here are a few.
The boys in a rousing game of Candy Land:


Livvy at the piano:

Hewitt reading to Rob:
Hewitt and Burke playing "Knight and King" which was awesome because they were so good at looking out for each other and working as a team fighting for good:

And one of me that Rob took. I just got my hair colored this week. Can you tell?



Here are a few funny videos (at least I think so) of our kids dancing:

cousins!

It was a really great week. We convinced Rob's sister and her family to stop here on the way home from their camping trip at the beach. We had a fun time; we swam every day at least once (sometimes twice), the kids played great together, and the adults were able to visit or play games every evening (this was especially fun since we haven't spent much time together -just adults- for the last several years).

The kids helped to design and make their own puppets one day. They turned out super cute, and also serve as a "souvenir" of the week.

Some of my favorite swimming shots:

The "Four Cousin" Jump:

Going "Fishing" with noodles:

Come back again soon, guys! We miss you already.

happy 4th!

It was mostly the same-old, same-old this week. Trying to keep the kids busy during the day and then lots of swimming in the evening. We were invited to a family-style birthday party for some friends whose little boy was turning two. There was a bounce house (indoors), a train ride, snow cones, tons of food, etc. It was quite the bash!

Liv watching the boys on the train:

Tosh helping Liv collect pinata candy:

Liv has become a pro at going down the stairs on her tummy. She's pretty quick:

(Notice that the back of her hair is getting longer and seems to have some curl to it):

We had a fairly mellow 4th of July. The kids were excited about the s'mores:

Liv was not-so excited about taking photos:

And my favorite photo of the day, Tosh's wet eyelashes:

We let the kids stay up a little later tonight to play some games, hang out and check out a few fireworks from our balcony. We are looking forward to Rob's sister and her family joining us this week. I hope they don't melt (I think it hit 116 this week--the record since we've lived here)! I was really missing family today, so this is great timing...

I actually wrote on my other blog today. So check it out if you want to.

Happy 4th of July everyone!