Been there, done that, blah, blah, blah

When I'm trying to play catch up here and back-dating a bunch of posts, it becomes clear that this blog is totally uninteresting unless you are pictured here, or a grandparent of someone pictured here. So feel free to skip this post if you're not.

Melissa invited us to join them at the zoo for Megan's birthday. I always take way too many photos there, and this one is standard.

It might seem like it, but I am not posting every photo. The baby lemurs were a highlight, very active and fun to watch.

Here's cute Peter, being a good sport being dressed up by his older sisters and cousins.

This is what going to the zoo with nine children looks like in the rare moments they're all in one place.

We haven't been here since the installation of the dinosaurs, so most of us enjoyed that.

Everyone except Duffy (running away), Peter (trying to run away) and Amelia (ears plugged).

We managed to convince them to pose next to this dino, which was not animatronic.

There is no such thing as a perfect shot with nine kids in it.

Every time I ride the train I question my kids judgment, but they love it.

Here's where the photo nazi in me comes out, making the kids pose for one last photo looking directly into the sun. Good times.

We're only two weeks into summer break and we've already checked off four activities on our fun list! (S'mores up the canyon, Bear Lake, Slurpees at the park and the zoo). Yay!

Happy Father's Day

Well, hopefully it was a happy Father's Day for Rob, even though it was very low key. Actually, the low-key (a.k.a. nap) part of it was probably his favorite part. The gifts were sub-par, some iTunes cards and a bike helmut. Not a new one, just his old one wrapped up, with instructions to pick out his own. No doubt he'll find some other bike stuff while he's shopping.

Plus DOZENS of drawings the girls have been working on and saving for weeks.

And to top it all off, they each made him a necklace.

As proof that he's a great dad, he even wore them all day, including to Davy and Emma's house for dessert. The necklaces sum it up nicely: Daddy rocks, and Daddy is awesome.

Chalk Art Festival

After Colin's blessing (see this post), we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were already downtown and go see the chalk art festival at Gateway. We always stop for any fountains, Joey is especially enamored with them, and usually pretending that he is Percy Jackson, controlling the water.

This was one of the first pictures we saw, and it was probably the boys' favorite.

I loved this one:

And this one:

We got to see an artist at work. Looks like a messy job.

I got a photo with the "free hugs" people because my brother in the family I lived with in France does this in France. The girls wanted to know why they wanted free hugs. :)

This was one of the girls' favorites, and they thought it was fun to see the artist too.

It was fun. Definitely something we'd do again.

Bear Lake Weekend

I'm so far behind posting this that I can't really muster the right words to go with the photos. We only had three days at Ralph & Judy's condo, and it was overcast or rainy most of the time. Still, it was like coming home. But with new siding. :)

The kids played to their heart's content at the playground, and Rob helped both Ellie and Ainsley try to learn to ride a bike, since we have hills in every direction at our house.


He was also super-dad and sat at the swimming pool while they swam, along with almost every other person up there. I tried to get photos of the kids in the rare moments that they weren't surrounded in a mass of humanity.

I need to start buying the dark lens goggles...the squishy eye look just isn't attractive on anyone.

I can't remember if Robbie stayed in the condo to read, or if he just swam the other way when he saw me coming with the camera.

One highlight of our weekend was the fact that the Griffiths were there too. Ellie and Ainsley played (and I use that term loosely) croquet with Eli.

While Cole and Joey plotted a screenplay.

The construction hole made a great set.

Forget the Pickleville Playhouse, we had all the drama we could ever want right here.

We fit in dinner and malts at LeBeau's.

And a little more practice on the bikes.

No luck yet. Hopefully they'll get it when we have a full week there in August.

I can't wait.

S'more Fun

Last year we had our June pack meeting up Millcreek Canyon, and it was so fun that we decided to make it an annual tradition. We were a little worried about the water, but found a great site on the south side of the road. We went to a wedding reception before, so we got there a little late, but still in time for s'mores. Another summer favorite.

Summer = Swimming

This was going to be a straight-forward post about our first swim meet of the season, but I started getting all nostalgic.

This is our fifth summer on the swim team. Here's a peek at the kids our first year:

Robbie was eight; Joey, six; Ellie, three; and Ainsley, one. Robbie was on the "Swim-to-Win" team, and didn't compete in any meets. Joey was in lessons, but NOT happy about it. It was really a spectacle when he had to go off the diving board. Ellie and Ainsley would play in the baby pool, and I couldn't take my eyes off them for even a second. It was exhausting to get everyone ready to go, with suits, towels, goggles, snacks and sunscreen. When we got home I had to bathe and dress them again. I wondered if I'd made a mistake.

This year Robbie is almost thirteen, so it's the last year he'll come to the later practice (8:30 a.m. instead of 6:30 a.m.). Ainsley (five) is on the team for the first time, and thrilled. The kids all swim for an hour a day, and will swim in nine meets in June and July. They are not the fastest kids on the team, but they are solid swimmers (well, the older three, anyway) and they love it. Robbie and Joey get dropped off at the Stringhams at 8:00 a.m. and bike to the club, then back after practice. I show up with Ellie and Ainsley for practice at 10:00, and usually make it home by noon, after their lessons and showers. I enjoy our mornings there—I don't have to worry about anyone drowning anymore, and get to hang out with Melissa, and see other friends I've made over the years. By the time we get home, I don't have enough time for everything else I want to do, especially on the days we have meets, but really, that is the only downside (well, it's not cheap either). I'm so glad we've stuck with it. Even if they are never competitive, the kids have worked hard, and gained a great life skill. They have bonded even more with their cousins, and we have great memories of our summers at the pool. And I don't have to listen to them ask if they can play video games all day long (only half the day :). Anyway, when I walked into the club for our first summer practice (they practiced after school for three weeks), I felt a surge of happiness. This is summer.

And finally, here are a few photos from our first meet. Here's Joey, probably twice as tall as he was, and a hundred times more comfortable in the water. In the background you can see Robbie (with Lindsay).

Ainsley was a spectator at this meet, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to wear a pair of "real" glasses. Her teeth are the only remnant of that cute toddler.

Ellie, waiting for her race to start.

She's made a ton of progress, even since last year. She's very proud of the fact that she's in lane five (lane six is the top lane).

Here's Joey. Needs to get his head a little lower, but a nice stroke.

Robbie, doing the breaststroke.

This next photo is NOT one of my kids. One of my friends told me she'd love a good photo of her son doing the butterfly, so I took a bunch, and initially thought I'd post this one as another reason I LOVE my camera. But now that I've gone the sentimental route, I can't help but think of the next five years. Another huge shift in our lives. I'll be busy trying to savor (and photograph) every fleeting moment.

That "Dirt Rain" This Afternoon...

Yeah, that was my fault. But the kids had a great time, and the car was clean for a good twenty minutes or so.

91 and Still Young

Grandma Clayton's birthday party wasn't as big as last year's, just family for cake and ice cream.

No one can believe she's 91. As I was growing up, my friends always asked if she was my mom. She's still active, physically and mentally. With my cataracts, herniated discs and bursitis in the shoulder, I swear she's in better shape than I am.


Grandma is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I'm so grateful for another year to spend time with her, and for the chance my kids have to know and love her. I need to figure out how to do this more consistently—we live so close, but sometimes go for a couple of weeks without even talking. A sad example of the urgent things crowding out the important things.

Now that she's a regular blog reader via her iPad, at least I can tell her here:

Grandma, I love you! We all love you!!

Then and Now

I did the last post oldest to youngest, so I'll reverse that here. I've always managed to remember a first day of school photo, but this year I thought it'd be fun to take a photo on the last day of school and compare them.

Ainsley's before and after photos are not quite right. I took a photo of her with Ellie on the first day of school for the older kids. I loved that she wanted to match her older sister, so I got them together, but not a shot of her alone.

I did get a shot of her alone on her first day of preschool, but not in the same spot as the other photos. Either way, she looks so much older to me. She's definitely a girl, not a toddler. Sigh.

Ellie looks older too. Those two front teeth really make a big difference. It'll be a few years before she grows into them. And although the camera angle is not the same, she is definitely taller too.

Joey went from loving a buzz cut to wanting a mop. I love it. Orthodontist visits are in our near future.

Robbie hasn't changed much. New glasses, a little taller, and if possible, even more confident.

It has been a great school year, but hooray for summer!

Sometimes the Apple Falls Far From the Tree

Warning: Reading through this post, I'm aware that it sounds a lot like bragging. It's intended as praise for my kids to read, not as a comparison to anyone else. Although I mean every word of this, luckily my kids are also blessed with an abundance of flaws and weaknesses to keep them from getting whisked off to heaven. This is a celebration of some of their strengths and achievements.

Today was a blur of awards assemblies at our elementary school—they paired grades 5-6, 3-4, and 1-2, so with kids in 2nd, 4th and 6th, Ainsley and I were there most of the day. We didn't really know if any of the kids were winning awards, but went anyway. The fifth and sixth graders were first.

Robbie won the Presidential Academic Excellence Award (you have to maintain a 3.5 grade point average, score above 90% on all state and national tests, and be recommended by a teacher and administrator). Whatever your politics, it is pretty cool to get a letter from the President, even if it is a form letter. It wasn't really a huge surprise, Robbie is a smart kid, and has been in the honors program all through elementary school. The BIG surprise was when they announced the awards for the Math Olympiads. I guess they take a series of five tests in five months, all "hard" problems. They passed out certificates for participation, then patches for those who scored between 35-85%. They kept calling names, and I'm sitting there thinking, "Did Robbie even take these tests?" because he wasn't called up. Finally, they held up the trophy for the person with the high score, and announced that it was Robbie! Lots of cheering and applause, and a few proud mom tears. This is all the more impressive considering the lack of math interest/ability modeled at home. He really did it on his own. We're hoping that Grandpa Ralph is willing to tutor in a few years, when he gets to Trig and Calculus.

We are so proud of Robbie. He has excelled academically, socially and spiritually. It's hard to believe he's old enough to start Junior High, but he is ready. It was fun to hear the sixth graders singing along to the music in the year-end slideshow and cheering when they were promoted.

Half-an-hour after Robbie's assembly was Joey's. He made the Honor Roll (all A's or A-'s for the year) and got a certificate for "Best Reader" in his class. He is also in all the honors classes, and his teachers always comment on Joey's fun and creative personality. As Rob likes to say, he is "wicked smart" and we're proud of him too.

Sadly, here's where the narrative goes photoless. We went back to the school for the 1st-2nd grade assembly, but had to leave for Ainsley's swimming lesson before they got to the 2nd grade. They don't start getting letter grades or separating out into advanced classes until 3rd grade, so Ellie simply got a certificate from her teacher (the "Deep Thinker" award). However, she had straight "5's" (the equivalent of an A) all year long, in all subjects and citizenship. Her teacher loved her, and Ellie is already ahead of where the boys were in 2nd grade, having passed off her times tables through the 5's. Maybe a future Math Olympiad winner? She is very social, and gets invited to more birthday parties than any person I know. She is the youngest in her class, but still at the top. We're super proud of her.

One last "graduation." Ainsley had her last private lesson at Swim Kids. She wanted to be on the swim team with the other kids this summer, and has been working hard to be able to swim 25 yards. She has a great attitude, and it has paid off—she is ready and excited for swim team. In addition to her positive attitude, she has a super high social IQ, and she's practically a human GPS. She is a joy, and of course we're proud of her too.