Decipher This!

A few nights ago, we discovered this note taped to Laityn's door. She was supposed to be sleeping (typical) but instead she was making this "sign" for her door. When we asked her what the sign said, she let out with this very involved explanation. "It says no one can come in my room unless they knock and I says it's okay. No boys is allowed in my room except sometimes Jace and Carter, but they can't touch my toys. Mom and Dad can come in always. Kenzie and Maddy can come in my room too, but they have to play with me. And look, I writed my name at the bottom, so it's true!"

Betcha didn't think those little scribbles contained so much vital info!

This should be fun?!

Since school starts Monday, I decided we'd better have a few practice runs this week. So this morning, I woke Kenzie up at 6:00 a.m. While she started in on the piano, I woke Maddy up and had her make her bed, get dressed, etc. I was brushing Maddy's hair, when she went off about Kenzie leaving her alarm going. Really? If the sound of the alarm was bothering her that much, she could have gotten out of bed and turned it off. The morning continued. . . by 6:30, we were in the family room reading scriptures. Of course, Kenzie and Maddy exchanged some not-so-nice words about Kenzie taking dad's spot on the couch, and spent the better part of scripture time shooting eachother dirty looks. After family prayer, I sent Maddy in to practice. Kenzie went to get dressed---that was a whole drama I won't even get in to. Meanwhile, Lady was whining about being too tired to brush her teeth. She did, however, manage to get the lid off the toothpaste. So while she cried, she squeezed toothpaste all over her shirt (pictured above). By 7:50 a.m. (the time we normally hop in the car) everyone was fed, dressed, done with piano, and competely frazzled! I was not looking forward to school schedules already, but now, I'm truly dreading the whole thing! Couldn't we just have a few more weeks of summer?

Banished--Again!

Jace has been heavily involved in swordplay ever since our Disneyland trip. Someone (yeah--that was me) bought him two swords during that trip. Apparently, I was all caught up in the magic, and the thinking side of my brain was on vacation. Anyway--Jace now sports one sword in his shirt, one in his belt loops, and the sheath of the sword in his hand. He fights the bed, the floor, the couch--you get the idea---but it never lasts long before he takes a swipe at one of his siblings. We pulled these back out Saturday morning (after 2 days of being banished). By noon on Saturday, they were hidden away once again. You would think Jace would learn, but you would be wrong!

When did he get so big?

Carter had his first Wolf Den Meeting on Tuesday. He was beyond thrilled to join the ranks of the Cub Scouts! Over the weekend, he worked on getting his fishing belt loop---again---he couldn't be more excited (as you can tell from the pictures!) I'm still trying to figure out how my little boy is old enough to even be a scout?! Maybe it will sink in later this month when he gets baptized.

By the way, Breaking Dawn was the perfect finish! Don't you think?

Making a Deal

You know when you really want that one cute picture of all your kids together? Well, in order to get this one up camping, I had to make a deal. Everyone smiles for the first picture, and then you can do whatever you want in the second. The kids thought that was brilliant, and suprisingly, they all kept their end of the bargain!

Payson Lakes

We spent the last 3 days with my whole family up at Payson Lakes (a tradition that started about 20 years ago). We fished (very successfully!), hiked, rode bikes, played campfire games & bloody wolf, watched every kid turf it hard on the dirt at some point, ate lots of chocolate, clogged up our arteries with Tim's scones/fish & chips, played card games (I set a new record for the worst loss in rummy), laughed at Maddy's fish face (pictured above), mocked the new ten o'clock curfew put in place by the camp hosts, and enjoyed every minute of being together (well maybe not every minute--but nearly). We didn't see anything of the Payson Canyon fire that was burning down below us, but the main road was still closed, so we all had to take the very long way home. We are currently all doing lots of smelly campfire laundry and dreading the all too soon first day of school.

Anyone for ice and grass?

Monday night, we took the kids ice blocking at the neighborhood park. Tim planned and carried out the whole thing--which was fairly impressive considering how much thought it required. Regular ice blocks were not good enough. He bought the "perfect size" rubbermaid tote, filled it with water, and stuck it in the freezer. He also made handles and a tow rope, which he froze into the block. The kids though it was the best F.H.E. ever--except for Jace. He preferred eating the chips of ice that broke off the block--grass and all.