Back to Reality

One of the inevitable realities of having a baby (or babies,) is that at some point, you have to come out of that blissful baby bubble and realize that real life is still going on all around you.

Emily and Sarah - one week old

While I am still gaga over my sweet baby girls, reality has hit hard these past few weeks.  Ever since these babies were born, every person in our family has been sick at least once - some two or three times.  We'd had a relatively healthy winter with very few colds or coughs or stomach bugs - until the day I got home from the hospital with the twins.

As Andrew and I pulled the car into the driveway, Isaac, who was so excited to have us home, came running to the car and said, "Can I hold the babies!?" followed by a loud sniff and a terrible cough.  YUCK.  The poor boy had to spend the next several days wearing a medical mask and practically bathing in hand sanitizer.

That was only the beginning of the illnesses at our house.  Every child had some sort of upper respiratory infection, including a fever, a runny nose and a hacking cough.  Sarah and Emily were sequestered in our bedroom and our poor other kids weren't even allowed in there.

Henry was sick for a few days with fever and cough, and on the third day, when I thought he would be well enough to go to school, he somehow climbed out of bed and realized he couldn't walk.  His legs were cramping and killing him and he shuffled stiff-legged, like a 90-year old man as he tried to walk.  Finally, it was too painful for him to walk, so he got down on the floor and commando crawled across the kitchen floor.

I was pretty nervous as I helped him, wondering what was wrong with my boy.  At first, Andrew thought perhaps he was dehydrated, but that wasn't it.  After a little research, we realized that he had benign acute childhood myositis, a condition that occurs usually in young boys, after a fever and cold, and makes it extremely painful to walk for few days.  It was crazy.  Here I had one-month old twins, and my seven-year-old son couldn't walk.  It was such a relief when he was back to his normal self a few days later.

It was only a couple of days later that Andrew was at work and I was up around 3:30am feeding the babies.  Suddenly I heard a noise coming from the boys room, followed by the unmistakable sound of vomiting.  UGH.  I set the baby down and ran to the bathroom to find Isaac.  He had jumped out of his bed feeling sick, and run to the bathroom just in time to hurl all over the TOP of the toilet lid - and the floor, and the side of the tub.  Awesome.  (Note to Isaac: next time, just throw up in the tub, or the garbage, or even the sink.)

While I was in helping Isaac get cleaned up and back to bed, I heard Lucy from her room say something about throw-up.  At first I wondered if she had be awakened by Isaac, but I quickly ran to her room just in time to see her throw-up all over her bed and onto the floor.  Of course, seconds later, both babies started to cry and all I could do was text Andrew and laugh.  Throw-up all over a bathroom and a bedroom and two babies crying at 4:00 in the morning, what's not funny about that?

Anyway, eventually, everyone got feeling better - but not before both babies caught little sniffles themselves.  It was a long six weeks dealing with all the illnesses, and kids staying home from school, and it was rough way to be dragged from my blissful baby bubble into the reality of caring for seven kids - in sickness and in health.

Still at the end of those sick days, when everyone was in bed for the night and the only sound throughout the house was the echo of hacking coughs coming from sleeping children, it was pure joy to go into my room and snuggle my babies and for at least a few hours, be back inside that glorious, heavenly, baby bubble.

Beginning of the End

Summer vacation was so slow in coming this year.  The weather in Utah turned summer-like sometime in April and for nearly six weeks, it felt like it was time to be done with school.

The whole routine became torturous:

Those last few weeks of school, the afternoons were so warm and gorgeous, the only thing my kids wanted to do was play outside in the sunshine.  Which meant that homework was postponed until after dinner.  Except i was always late getting dinner ready and then the evenings were so lovely, all we wanted to do was hang out in our backyard until it started to get dark.  Except it wasn't getting dark until nearly 9:00.  Which meant homework wasn't getting started until it was past bedtime.  Which meant my kids were getting to bed much later than they should.  Which meant they were soooo tired in the morning. Which meant we were always running late for school and we had usually skipped practicing.  Which meant we had to do it in the afternoon - except, did I mention how gorgeous those springtime afternoons were?

Anyway, you can see that I had lost all control of our schedule and for weeks, the kids and I were all dying to be done with school.

When school finally ended on June 1st, I couldn't have been happier.  I was so excited to have my kids to myself for the summer and was so excited about all the activities and lack-of-activities we had planned for the next three months.   Those were my thoughts as I walked to the kids' school for the closing flag ceremony.  But then halfway between home and the school, I had the sinking realization that another school year had come and gone.  I thought about the past year and it felt like only weeks before, I had been at the school for the opening flag ceremony.  And wasn't the Halloween parade just a few days ago?  And the Christmas program?  And the school play?  How had this year flown by so quickly?

I thought about Abby, who when we first moved into this neighborhood from Minnesota, was just starting Kindergarten and somehow, that same little girl will be in sixth grade next year.  How did that happen?

Abby's first day of Kindergarten - which was yesterday.  Ouch.

I thought about Isaac, whom I still think of as that little first grade boy who, on the first day of school, clung so tightly to my hand until the last possible second and then gave me the tightest squeeze that his little body could manage.  How is it possible that he's now a couple of inches taller than Abby and is going into fourth grade next year?

Isaac's first day of Kindergarten - also yesterday.

I thought about Henry, who on the first day of school this year, was a little shy and timid about being in school all day and about learning Spanish.  Now he's my boy who sings Spanish songs non-stop and stays up late into the night reading Magic Treehouse books.  When did he make that shift?

Henry's first day of Kindergarten - wasn't it yesterday?

I thought about the fact that when school starts again in the fall, I will have my four older children all at the same school and that they'll all be able to walk home together in the afternoon.  How sweet will that be?  But, behind the sweetness I fee as I anticipate the coming year, is the gnawing feeling I have, that once Abby hits Junior High, life will be on fast-forward.

So, as I walked to school on June 1st, ready to celebrate summer and free time and late nights and all the things I love about this time of year, there was a part of me that longed to turn back the clock and just slow it all down.  

I felt a little emotional as the flag was lowered for the final time this year and my kids and I said good-bye to their teachers for the last time.

But then, before I got too carried away by emotion, we went boating and I forgot all about feeling nostalgic and all I could think was, "HOORAY!  IT'S SUMMER!!  BRING IT ON!

The Giving Tree

Five years ago right now, I was pregnant with Peter and we were looking for a house.  We had moved from Minnesota ten months before and had been renting our friend's house.  But now, they were coming home and we needed to find a place to live.

Every morning, one of the first things I would do, was search the MLS to see if there were new homes on the market.  I would peruse pictures of interiors, study maps to see exactly where the homes were located, and check out the schools associated with the homes I saw.  Occasionally, I would find a house I liked and I would make Andrew do a drive-by.  Even less frequently, I would find a house that seemed ideal enough that we would actually go walk through it.

This was a time of sincere fasting and prayer.  I believe that Heavenly Father cares where we live and where we raise our children and I needed his guidance as we made this huge decision.  And so, five years ago this week, after a colossal melt-down (during which I cried and wailed that I didn't know where we were going to live and Abby encouraged me not to think about the house, but to "just think about candy, lots and lots of candy") a woman in our ward called and said they were selling their house.  She asked if I would like to come see if we were interested in buying it.

Andrew was at work, so I took the three kids and went over by myself to see the house.  I sent the kids out to play in the backyard while I walked through the house.  I would give anything to go back in time and know what I was thinking as I walked through the house. The house has the most ridiculous and nonfunctional floor plan.  It was decorated in a style somewhere between Little House on the Prairie and Holly Hobby and everything that had been done to the house, was done on the cheap.  It only has three bedrooms - including the master bedroom - so it's not really big enough for a growing family.  I honestly don't know what I was thinking as I walked through it.

All I know, is that after walking through the house, I went out in the back yard and I saw my three little babies playing happily on an old apple tree.  I looked at the big yard and the expanse of grass and that wonderful old tree, and I felt the feeling I had been longing for: we were finally home.  I knew this was where our family belonged.

Over the years since we moved into this house, I have spent more time than I should complaining about  all the things that drive me crazy about our home.  My list of complaints is long and detailed and there isn't an easy solution for any of them.  However, the one thing that hasn't changed in the five years we've lived here, is the love and attachment we all have for that apple tree.

Abby swings high in the branches of the apple tree - August 2007.

One of the first things Andrew did after we moved in, was hang a rope swing from it's branches.  Countless hours have been spent whiling away summer afternoons playing on that rope swing.  The kids also love climbing the branches of the tree, finding a perfect perch to read or daydream. Whenever friends come over, the first thing they want to do is climb the tree and swing on the rope swing.  We have hosted birthday parties in the shade of that dear old tree the tree and have photographed family and friends in its branches.

Isaac swinging on the rope swing shortly after we moved in.  He was only 4.  

Abby's birthday party in 2008 when she turned 7.

Since moving into this house nearly five years ago, we have found reasons to love living here.  We love our street and our neighbors who have become some of our dearest friends.  We love the kids who live on this street and are such good friends to our children.  We love the old trees and the windy road and the view of the mountains.  We love watching the sunsets from our front porch and we love gentle breeze that blows down from the canyon.

I still believe Heavenly Father cares where we live.  I know he has a plan for each of us and I believe he puts us where he needs us to bless the lives of others.  I believe he cares who our neighbors are and where we raise our children.  I don't think he cares about floor plans or marble countertops or even having enough bedrooms for our children, but I know that he wants what's best for our family.

That's why I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for our old apple tree.  It was seeing my children climb in its branches the first time that drew me to this home where we have now put down roots of our own.

Abby and Lucy loving and swinging.

My five babies still play in the branches of the old apple tree.

Performances

Last week our family was inundated with performances.  In fact, Lucy was the only one not involved in the performing arts.

Peter had his preschool performance on Tuesday.  For months, he had been singing his songs as he went through the house, and when the day came, he was so excited for us to see him perform.  When I woke him up in the morning and told him we needed to get ready for Kindermusik, he said he wasn't sure if we had time for Kindermusik because we had his performance that night  - at 8:00.  I assured him we could do both.

Peter was proud and a little reserved as he made his grand entrance.

 It was a little hard to hear most of the kids sing, because one girl sang, yelled at the top of her lungs. 

 I tried to think it was cute.

I loved it when the kids sang, "Proud to be an American."

Peter's performance came at the end of crazy day with all the kids needing to be different places at once.  I loved ending my day watching my cute boy perform and it made me more than a little sad to think that this was his last preschool performance.  I am NOT ready for Peter to start kindergarten in the fall.  But, as he often reminds me, "at least you get Lucy for like six more years, or something."

Anyway, on Thursday and Friday of the same week, Abby and Isaac performed in their school's production of "Beauty and the Beast."  This was a play that they had been working on, two mornings a week before school, ever since October.  It was nothing short of fabulous.  

Isaac played the part of a villager.  He was adorable up on stage singing praises to Gaston, doing push-ups as part of a dance number, grabbing a plunger to use for a weapon as the villagers went after the beast, and fighting with the silverware and plates in the final scene at the castle.  

My own little villager - the most darling one on the stage.

Abby had a roll as a "Silly Girl;" you know those girls who flirt with and fawn over Gaston.  She was absolutely adorable in her roll, and while I have never known her to fawn over any boy (yet), she was very convincing up on stage.  

Abby conspiring with another Silly Girl.

Giving her dreamiest expression - far left.

Although Henry didn't get to be up on stage, (it was only for 3rd - 6th graders) all the kids in the school were taught a dance routine to "Be Our Guest." Then, in the middle of the performance all the students who were spread throughout the audience, did a sort of flash mob dance and performed along with the kids on stage.  Henry loved being part of it, if only from the audience and it was great to see so many students in the audience participating.  Henry's class also helped make masks for the wolves in the forest to wear.  He was so proud of his contribution.

As I mentioned, Lucy was the only one not involved in a performance last week - but that doesn't mean she didn't try.  All throughout the play on Thursday and Friday, Lucy stood in the aisles and danced along with the musical numbers.  Then, as the play progressed, she would walk up the aisle toward the stage.  At first it was just a couple of feet and then she would come back to our seats, but by the end of the play, she gathered her courage and went right up to the stage.

Lucy makes her way to the stage and tries to get Abby's attention.

Finally gets noticed by Abby.

Makes a run for it back to the seats.

I'm sure Lucy is already counting down the days until she can be up on stage.  She is already a little performer.

Anyway, the play was awesome and I loved every minute of it.  At the end of the night, the teacher who directed it and spent thousands of hours putting it all together (without extra pay), stood on the stage and talked about the importance of the arts in the lives of children.  I got really emotional as I was filled with gratitude for the experiences my kids have with the arts.  I am so grateful my kids go to a public school that emphasizes the arts in so many ways and I am grateful for teachers who work hard to make a difference in the lives of their students.  I know that the opportunities my kids are having, will last with them always.

I loved this past week seeing all my kids involved in various performances.  I loved the work that went into preparing for their performances and I loved the excitement and satisfaction they all felt when they were done.  Congratulations to all of you cuties

Easter

After a perfect trip to the beach for spring break, followed by a long, long drive, we got home at midnight the night before Easter.  The kids were all exhausted and I was worn out as we all fell into bed shortly after arriving home.

The next morning, the kids woke up and came running out to see if the Easter Bunny had come.  Andrew and I looked at each other and realized, that in fact, no, the Easter Bunny had not come. Hmmmm.

"I guess he'll come while we're in church," we said.

Sure enough, when we got home from church at 3:30 in the afternoon, the Easter Bunny had finally come and had hid Easter baskets all over the yard.  It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and the kids had a great time searching for their baskets.

My two girls... Pretty in Pink

My Isaac - as sweet as can be, wearing the tie he tied himself.

Peter seems happy with the sidewalk chalk he got in his Easter basket.

Lucy holding a chocolate carrot, poised for disaster.

Moments after this picture was taken, that chocolate carrot ended up all down the front of Lucy's brand new Easter dress.  I generally try to stay calm in such situations, but in this case, the photo shoot was cut short and within minutes I had that dress off of her and in the laundry, hoping to save it from a life covered in stains. 

Poor Henry who was searching diligently for his Easter basket, was left out of any Easter pics.  Luckily, later in the day, Abby took this picture of Henry so at least we know he was around that day.

Isn't he cute? Henry is in the process of losing several teeth all at once.  

You can see that one dangling just begging to be yanked!

Anyway, thanks to my quick actions and serious laundry skills, Lucy's dress was saved and all was well, but poor Lucy spent the rest of the Easter egg hunt and the afternoon dressed like this:

Later in the day, Peter, who likes to understand how everything works came to me to talk about the Easter Bunny.  It was obvious, he'd been pondering all day, wondering why the Easter Bunny hadn't come in the morning.   

"I think I get it. " he said.  "Either the Easter Bunny is real, or else the people who don't go to church on Easter just come and hide the baskets while we're at church."  

I guess that is a logical explanation - and I couldn't really argue with him.

Every year I feel like it's a struggle to teach my kids and testify to them about the real meaning of Easter -  why we celebrate it and why it is the most beautiful of all holidays.  I hope that somewhere in the midst of bunnies and baskets and chocolate and stained Easter dresses, they understand the hope and the blessing of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

"One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.... Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.  Truly the Redeemer of us all said: "I will not leave you comfortless: (My Father and) I will come to you and abide with you."

Jeffrey R. Holland

"None Were With Him"

Nine Months Later

Shortly after Lucy was born, I remember having the feeling that our family was complete.  I had Abby, my three boys in the middle, and as a bonus, I finally got another girl. It was a good feeling knowing that we were done - and it was the feeling I had been waiting for ever since Andrew and I started having kids.

So, imagine my surprise last July, when I found out I was pregnant again.

I was shocked and Andrew was totally overwhelmed, but suddenly our family of seven didn't feel complete.  As anyone who has ever been pregnant knows, once you see the lines on that pregnancy test, your life just isn't the same.  Within a matter of minutes, I went from complete shock to envisioning our life with six kids.  I pictured myself giving birth and bringing home another tiny bundle of perfection.  I knew the kids would be so excited and my heart was full of joy with the idea that one more spirit was intended for our family.

Only this isn't a birth announcement, so obviously it didn't happen that way.

Over the next few weeks, I was having symptoms of pregnancy but they were much too mild.  I was tired - but not tired enough.  I was a nauseated - but not nauseated enough.  I kept telling Andrew, "I don't think things are right with this pregnancy."

After a few weeks of wondering, I went into the hospital for an ultrasound.  Instead of seeing a little peanut with a racing heartbeat, they found an empty sack with nothing in it.  "Blighted ovum," was the phrase they used.

I was sad to be sure - but not totally surprised - I'd had my suspicions all along.  Even still, in an instant, the future I had imagined evaporated and I was back to being the mother of five kids.  I went home and that night I cried and cried.  Then I went and got my "baby" out of her bed and made her sleep with me so I could nuzzle her neck and feel her warmth and be reminded of how blessed I am.

So here I am nine months later - in the week I would have been due with baby #6.  I'm not pregnant.  I'm not anxiously anticipating labor.  I'm not eating Tums like candy and wishing away my heartburn .  I'm not waddling around my house wondering how much longer I have to feel so uncomfortable and complaining that I am too old for this.

There is a part of me that is grateful that I'm not going through all that this week, but truthfully, even more than my gratitude for what I'm NOT experiencing, is the realization that my arms and heart are feeling a little empty today as I imagine what could have been.

On an Afternoon in Fall...

The other day the kids came home from school bound and determined to play in the leaves.  You know, make a big pile - jump in it - throw leaves in the air.  There was only one small problem with their plan.

As Isaac and Henry looked around the yard, they decided that we were lacking in the fallen leaves department, and realized that they would have to look elsewhere for the needed leaves.  "Great, " I thought.  "Go play in someone else's leaves."  Little did I realize what the kids had in mind.

A little while later, I looked out the window and saw my kids walking back and forth carrying shovels full of leaves.  Instead of playing in the neighbor's leaves like I had assumed, they were scooping up leaves from our neighbors yard and carrying them into our yard.

For nearly an hour this continued, until finally they had created a suitable, jump-able pile of leaves.

It was a beautiful afternoon - probably one of the last sunny warm days until spring.  It was a day for my kids to soak in the warmth of the sun and jump in the leaves and enjoy the fleeting fall weather.  And, it was a day for me to watch my kids work and play together - even if the end result was an unexpected yard full of leaves.

Back to School 2011

We have survived the first two days of school and I am already counting down the days until summer vacation - only 178 days to go!

The first day of school was a big success.  All three kids were up and dressed early, the Converse laced up and ready to go.  Breakfast was eaten wearing backpacks and there was a definite excitement in the air.

Uncle Peter's "friend", Sarah, had graciously offered to come over and do Abby's hair for the first day of school.  Abby was thrilled to have her own personal hairdresser help her get ready for school - and I was thrilled to not have to try some fancy hair-do while making lunches and feeding four other kids breakfast.  Thank you, Sarah!!

When the kids were already, we took the mandatory photos and then went over to the neighborhood breakfast.

The neighborhood breakfast is such a fun tradition.  It's always great to see the kids greet their friends and it gives them a boost of confidence as they head off to the great unknown.  I just don't know how Abby and her friends have gone from this:

to this......

In what feels like the blink of an eye?

I still remember on the first day of first grade, Abby was so nervous she wouldn't eat any food at the neighborhood breakfast, and then chewed on her backpack straps all the way to school.  This year, she and her friends just strolled casually over to school without a care in the world.  

Isaac was excited for school to start and was excited to see his friends at the neighborhood party.  I can't believe he's starting third grade this year.  As Andrew looked at these pictures of Isaac he said, "He doesn't look like a little boy anymore."

Waaaahhhhh.  Andrew should know better than to say mean things like that to me on the first day of school.  Doesn't he know, Isaac will always be my little boy?

Henry has been so excited to start first grade.  I tried to convince him that another year of Kindergarten was a great idea, but Henry wouldn't hear of it.  So, despite my protests, on Monday morning, Henry strolled confidently and happily to first grade.  (There was a little meltdown because he didn't get a Sunny-D at the breakfast, but he recovered quickly.)

Okay, so maybe he doesn't look totally confident in that picture, but he actually did great.

So, the back-to-school transition has been pretty easy this year - at least for the kids at school.  Those of us at home are less than thrilled.  I spent the day on Monday feeling melancholy.  I wasn't ready for school to start.  I wasn't ready to say good-bye to summer or to my babies and I'm not ready to acknowledge that my kids are growing up much faster than I am comfortable with. 

Peter hasn't been very happy with school starting either.  On the first day of school, he asked at 11:00, how much longer until Henry got home.  And on the second day of school, he asked, "Can't you just go to the school and tell Abby, Isaac and Henry that they HAVE to come home now?" 

Lucy hasn't faired much better.  I think she's a little bored having all the big kids gone too.  On the second day of school, while I was ten feet from her cleaning the kitchen, Lucy found a pair of scissors and very quietly shredded the dress she was wearing.  Isn't that a cry for help from a girl who doesn't know what to do with herself?

Contemplating what she has done.

Anyway,  I'm glad the kids are doing so well.  I'm glad that at least they are adjusting to school and to the new routine.  I'm just still trying to get my bearings as I wonder where the time has gone and what happened to sleeping in until 9:00.

The Summer of....

It's hard to believe but here we are one day away from school starting.  Usually, right about now, I start getting excited for school to start.  I look forward to the structure and the routine that necessarily invade our home with the advent of school and fall.  The pencil boxes, and markers and crayons have all been bought and are organized carefully in the backpacks.  Usually, we are all ready to go.

This year, I feel like I am being dragged, kicking and screaming right towards the first day of school.  This summer has been way too short and too relaxing and I am not willing to let go of it yet.  I'm not ready to surrender my children to their teachers and their friends and their homework.

This summer has been perfect.  It has been the summer of....

Swimming: We joined the neighborhood pool this summer and it has been heavenly.  All the kids except Lucy took swimming lessons and stroke development lessons and they have all turned into little fish.  Even Lucy, has spent most of the summer wearing floaties, but with her face under-water, kicking and blowing bubbles like a seasoned swimmer.   We have loved evening swims as a family, and the kids have loved night swims with friends.  Swimming has been a huge part of our summer this year, and I am not ready to let it go.

Avatar: The Last Airbender:  This was the summer that my kids discovered this animated TV show. On afternoons when it was too hot to play outside they would watch an episode or two of the cartoon series and they fell in love with the characters on this show.  Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph have become familiar names in our house as my kids have spent hours discussing them and the plot developments of the show.

Reading:  At the beginning of the summer, Abby, Isaac and Henry set goals for how much reading they wanted to do this summer.  Abby wanted to read over 5000 pages.  Isaac - over 1000.  And Henry wanted to read 50 books this summer.  Here we are the day before school starts and they have all reached their goals.  There have been many nights when lights were on until almost midnight as Abby and Isaac read away.  Reading was always one of my favorite parts of summer and I am thrilled that my kids share that love.

Lemonade stands and Bake Sales:  Abby has raked in the cash this summer as she and her friends have had lemonade stands and bake sales here in the neighborhood.

This picture actually has nothing to do with bake sales.  It's just Abby and her cute friend.

(Abby borrowed my glasses so she and her friend could look like "sisters".)

Youth Conference and Girls' Camp: Between the two, I spent almost ten days away from my family with the youth from our ward and had more fun than a wife/mother should really be allowed to have without her family.

Cooking and Crafts: Abby took two cooking classes and a sewing class this summer and discovered she has a real knack for cake decorating.  One of the summer's saddest moments occurred was when she was bringing home her perfectly decorated cake, anxious to show the family, and the car she was riding in stopped suddenly.  Her beautiful cake ended up all over the back of the passenger side seat and Abby came home broken-hearted.  (The cake may not have looked too good, but it tasted amazing and was devoured within minutes of getting it home.)  When she wasn't busy cooking or baking (or reading) she could be found working on crafts: headbands, rings, bracelets, etc.  This girl definitely has the crafty gene.

Legos: Isaac especially has logged some serious hours constructing a Lego city.  He loves, loves, loves Legos and is very creative with them.  Although I often find myself cursing legos, especially when I step on one with bare feet, it is fun to see the creations my kids come up with.  So much down time in the summer = lots of amazing lego projects.

Parades: Abby, Isaac and Henry got to be in the Salt Lake Children's Parade on July 16th.  The theme of the parade was "Press Forward Pioneers" and my kids had to dress up like the Roaring 20s.  They were less than thrilled to get up so early but ended up having a great time.  Isaac was especially excited when he realized that he had a close-up on television.

Isaac was much happier when he came home a few hours later and realized he'd been on TV.

Father and kids: Andrew took the four oldest kids (and several neighborhood kids) on the ward campout. They had a great time eating fried chicken and burned marshmallows, sitting around the campfire, sleeping in a tent and hiking to Donut Falls.  They all came home with the knowledge that their dad is pretty much the coolest dad around.  

(Lucy and I used our evening alone as an opportunity to go to dinner with Oma, Laura, Peter, Sarah and Emily and I found myself wondering how many more years until ALL the kids could go on Fathers and kids.)

This was the summer of California, of cabin trips, of lazy evenings in the backyard, of watching sunsets from our front porch, of evening swims, of last day of summer water fights, and of lying on our backs watching the clouds.  

It was the summer of popsicles, lemonade, barbecues with friends and family, trips to Ice, Ice Baby, sleeping-in, and staying up late.  It's been the summer of skinned knees, rosy cheeks, fat lips, and buzzed heads.

It has all gone by too fast, and I am NOT okay with school starting tomorrow.  Luckily, we went school shopping last week, so all my kids are ready to start the new school year.

(There's nothing like a new pair of shoes to put a spring in your step -- and this year all the kids wanted Chuck Taylors in different colors.)

Bring on the new school year!