Just Keep Swimming

We spent A LOT of time with swim team this summer. My kids LOVE it and can't get enough pool time! They all made it to the Championships. It was a great season for our 3 swimmers!

 Caite made some really cute friends. It help pass time when you have someone to goof around with.

 Victory Smile. She placed 8th over all for her age division in our league. We are happy for her.

Isaac swam freestyle, back stroke, butterfly, and breast in the medley relay.

He's still a rock star swimmer placing in the top 7 in all his events for his age!

 Hayden has worked hard and come a long ways from his first attempt to get across the pool.

 By the end he was swimming with ease (with no breaks...see earlier posts) in both freestyle and back stroke.

And this little girls is always ready for a party! We were at this swim meet from 6:45am til 6pm. She's a trouper. At one point we were SUPER HOT so I dipped her in the deep end fully dressed to keep her cool. She thought that was pretty funny.

Remember When....

...we went on vacation in July? This is what we did and I finally have time to blog it.

 We picked up Nana and Papa and headed to some Church History Sites. They had never been to Kirtland, Ohio, so we started there.

Kirtland Temple

 

Then we headed up to Palmyra, New York where our Church history began back in 1820 with a young Joseph Smith and his quest to know which church was true.

He and his parents were faithful people who did their best to live the true principles taught in the Bible. He knew God would answer his prayer of which church to join. He went to this grove of trees and prayed. 

We call it the "Sacred Grove", because what happened there changed the world. In response to Joseph Smith, God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared and told him not to join any of the churches. Joseph Smith would later be counseled by Heavenly Messengers about the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. and become the first Prophet established in the Later Days, just like Moses and Abraham of old. Walking on sacred grounds is a special feeling. The kids knew to whisper and I could feel the Spirit strongly testifying of the truthfulness of this event. Although God didn't appear to me, I received a witness long ago that it was true. It was nice to have that confirmed again as we walked around that day.

 

We stopped by the Palmyra Temple

Then on to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It's a huge outside production depicting different events in the Book of Mormon. It was my favorite part of our trip. I was really amazed by the production and the special effects. The kids thought it was "awesome".

Although we didn't take pictures of the Pageant, we had great seats.

 

The following day we headed to Niagara Falls. The highlight of the day was our hike right up to Hurricane Bay. The park gives you special shoes and ponchos in hopes that you don't ruin your own things.

 

 

 

We still got wet...really wet! But it was fun. At one point Isaac put his hand out and touched the falls.

We had a great day. It was so nice to be on vacation and have Aaron with us. It was made so much sweeter with Howard and Vicki with us.

The next day was supposed to be our Cedar Point day. Due to a bad storm passing through, the park was closed! Isaac was crushed. He had been looking forward to that day for months! We tried to make it up by shopping, then going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

 

Family time is special to us. We don't get to spend much time with Nana and Papa and we don't get to spend much down time with Aaron. It is nice to get away from the business of our daily lives and enjoy each other.

 

Tuesday Mornings

On Tuesday mornings while my big kids are off at swim team, I have 10 little kiddos playing here. 10 kids under 6! CRAZY...trust me I know, I'm in the house with them. To be honest, it's really not as crazy as it sounds. They play so well together. And I have been super picky about what kids I watch...not just anyone is allowed in my daycare.  For things to run smoothly this is what I do.

 I have to keep the shoes lined up so they don't get lost

The babies stay upstairs in the living room so they are protected from the other little "mothers".

And the other Crazies play downstairs or outside. Today we were having a dance party.

(I am missing one in this picture...potty break...glad she made it!)

Lunches are all planned out for the week, so I know exactly what I need from the store.

Most of them take naps from 1-3:30. A few of my big kids have rest time with pillows and blankets downstairs and get to watch a movie.

We also LOVE music time and coloring time.

I'm exhausted by the end of the day and feel like it should be Friday already, but the rest of my week isn't so bad. Busy, but not as busy as Tuesday!

With all the "homemade, from scratch" baking I do (and I do A LOT), this little pink cupcake is still my favorite. From a box.  Betty Crocker. Cherry Chip cupcake with her cherry frosting. It's the only store bought frosting I like. I have loved it my whole life. It brings out the kid in me.

Tonight we had dessert before dinner...gasp...because I couldn't wait. Don't tell me you've never done that before. And it just might be my breakfast...before the kids get up.

Resurrection

The other day during lunch I overheard this conversation between Halle age 4 and my day care boy age 5.

H: Did you know Jesus died and came back to life and now lives in Heaven? That's resurrected.
B: I think He's my Mom's Dad...Papa. He died and went to Heaven.
H (looking VERY confused): Papa is not Jesus!

We try our hardest to teach truth to our kids so they gain their own testimony. I was proud that Halle knew and understands (on her level) this simple truth. And apparently she's doing a good job teaching others!

4th of July

I love small town 4th of July Celebrations. We started out with my near death experience at the 5K, then headed out to the parade. It was short and sweet (and HOT) and the only thing the kids really cared about was the candy that was thrown. We have mastered parade candy collecting over the years. The key is to sit towards the beginning of the parade, that way the participants are excited to start and they throw lots. If you sit at the end...the candy is gone.

Our patriotic little group

Did I mention Aaron was working...again?! He misses out on all the fun.

For fire works we met up with the Allans and found a great grassy area outside the park grounds where we could see perfectly, but not be squished by too many people.

I'm grateful for our freedom and I am honored to be an American. I am humbled by the sacrifice and service so many men and women give to keep our country free.

My Big Race

Like I've mentioned before, I'm trying hard to like running. I'm not there yet, but I'm trying. This might just be one of my life's struggles.  I told Isaac I would run in our town's 4th of July 5K with him. When you run on the hottest day of the year, even when it starts at 8 AM, it still too hot! Let's just say I was ill prepared for the heat and the monthly cramps. Those two are not a good combination! It did not go as well as planned, I had to walk a few times, but I finished and I can cross it off my bucket list. I'll keep working on it and do another one in the fall.

Isaac kicked my tail and beat me by 8 minutes (or more). He said he struggled with the heat also. So I didn't feel like such a pansy. The fun part about this race was we had about 30 members of our church volunteering (checking in, passing out water, pointing people in the right direction, and cheering the runners on). It was fun to see my friends along the route cheering for me, maybe next time I can make them proud...or join them in the cheering section.