Ben's Days

I'm lumping Ben's birthday and Father's Day together since they are pretty close to each other.  We had fun with Ben on his birthday by "surprising" him (as much as you can, when 4 kids are in on the surprise) with a squirt gun.  He'd missed the beginning of the squirt gun excitement because he was out of town, but he learned about it pretty quickly.  Jack took him on a long scavenger hunt that eventually led to the squirt gun, which was full of water and waiting in the back yard.  As soon as he found his new Super Soaker, the kids opened fire on him.  It was pretty great.

The most exciting thing about Father's Day was what Ben chose to have for dinner.  A crab.  He bought a crab big enough for everyone to share, but the kids were so grossed out by the whole thing that nobody ate any amount worth mentioning.  I had one leg.  Ben was able to enjoy the majority of the crab himself.  Maybe that was his plan all along?

Ben also received an good-natured but particularly messy breakfast (fail) by the kids (while I was gone to choir) and spent quite a while cleaning up the fallout.  He did appreciate the cards, notes, and Father's Day coupons, though.  I took the following pictures right before bedtime and they are a great illustration of one of Ben's best fathering qualities: he wrestles and tickles with the kids and they all love it (until someone gets hurt, as has been known to happen).  Once the younger kids went to bed, Ben spent some time with Cat helping her learn how to do family history research, which means we were simultaneously celebrating Forefather's Day.  (Ha!)

We are so thankful to have Ben at the head of our family.  He is good, honest, faith-filled, hard-working, smart, loving, helpful, funny, and so many other things.  He blesses our lives every single day.

A Provo Saturday

At the beginning of the summer we had a fun Saturday excursion to the far-away land of Provo, where we all signed up for the summer reading program and found a few books at the Provo Library's book sale.  Then it was off to the Pioneer Village for a blacksmith demonstration, stamping leather, sitting in a school desk, playing Pioneer games, and making requests of the bluegrass band.  Fun!

Track Wrap-Up

Jack and Eliza thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Track Club this year.  I just have a few pictures from the last two track meets and a highlights video to share.

These first few are from a meet at Lehi High.  It was on a Monday evening and Ben came after work to help me cheer on the competitors.

Jack was worn out trying to finish this longer-distance race.

Standing and Running Long Jump in Action:

The last bunch of pictures are from the final meet of the season, which was held at Provo High.  I have a couple more jumping action shots, then you see Eliza ready for her 4x100 relay, and Eliza tying Jack's shoe so he could run in his 4x100.  Finally, there are some posed and not-so-posed final pictures we took right before we left.  I love Eliza's big smile in the first family-except-mom picture, but Luke's grumpy face in the last picture is pretty great.

We found out after the final meet was over that Jack's 4x100 relay team took 4th overall and Eliza's took second.  Very cool!

  

Pool Time!

We spent a few sun-filled hours at a nearby pool on Friday afternoon, and Ben even arrived from work in time to do the water slides with the kids a few times.  We don't often venture out to the outdoor pool, so this was a big deal and we were thankful for the warm, sunny weather.  We all had a blast!  I might even be coerced into going back before the summer's over.

2017: Summer of the Squirt Guns?

In an effort to encourage the kids to use the spending portion of the money they've earned from doing jobs around the house for things that will last and provide quality fun, I suggested the kids buy squirt guns.  Cat agreed right away and bought herself a good squirt gun with some of the money she had available.  She promptly shot it at Jack.  Taking him completely by surprise.  While he was in the house.

So I took the squirt gun away.

In the interim, Jack and Eliza decided to buy squirt guns, and the three of us plotted to teach Cat a little lesson.  While she was at YW one Wednesday evening, we locked the door so that she would have to knock for us to open the door.  Then Jack and Eliza would immediately begin squirting her with their squirt guns, taking her by surprise while she was unarmed.

Unfortunately, she'd brought her key to YW so our original plan didn't work.  But I convinced her to go outside again and ring the doorbell again and this time, Jack and Eliza got her.  Be sure to watch both videos.

These videos are representative of the obsession the kids had with squirt guns for the beginning of the summer.  We even planned a play date with some friends where the kids could play with squirt guns and water balloons.  What's more fun than water play on a hot summer day?

Jack looks like quite a bully in this picture, but they were just playing
good-naturedly when Eliza simply fell over.  Promise.

The interest in squirt guns seems to be waning at the moment, but I expect there will be a resurgence before too long.

Jack Plays Baseball

Jack has been wanting to play baseball for years but has never been on a team for one reason or another. This year we decided to sign him up for a brief baseball camp put on by our local rec center. It was just 2 hours a day for 3 days but it was exactly what he needed: basic baseball instruction in a fun, non-threatening atmosphere. He loved it! He has a better understanding of how to play now, and I have a better understanding of how to help him.

But I'm pretty sure that if you ask him what the best part of camp was, he'd tell you it was the giant slip & slide they played on at the end of the last day.

  

Summer Reading

Four Little Fishies

The kids kicked off the summer with some long overdue swim lessons.  They all had a great time and learned a lot.