China Day - Take 1

(photo of the 5 kids picking weeds in the garden Saturday night -

their goal was double allowance this week)

Sometime last week, Maxwell, Jonah, and Ruby

announced that June 27th is China Day.

(They have been watching Mulan, and are often

intrigued by anything they think is Chinese/Japanese,

but I'm not sure exactly what prompted this new holiday.)

While Maxwell and Ruby seemed to have some

vague ideas about a day of celebration, Jonah had specifics.

He wanted eggs for breakfast, pizza for lunch,

Chinese food for dinner (from a restaurant), streamers,

other decorations, friends over for games, and fireworks.

Oh yeah, he also wanted chocolate chip cookies.

After days of procrastination (on my part), we sat down

and negotiated the details of this new holiday.

Eggs for breakfast - ok,

take-out Chinese food for lunch - ok,

pizza for dinner - ok,

friends over for a party - nope,

streamers and balloons - ok (but didn't happen).

We also added in Kung Fu Panda 2 in the theater,

and as a last minute activity, the kids got to play in the

splash park at the shopping center by the theater.

And we had chocolate chip cookies for dessert tonight.

For the most part, I think Jonah was satisfied.

Maxwell and Ruby's expectations were exceeded.

Milo was sad to miss Kung Fu Panda - he napped at home

while John worked (and worked and worked).

Bentley was disgusted and a little embarrassed by his

family's silliness. He doesn't think that we should celebrate

a "made-up holiday." If we ARE going to celebrate something

like that, he thinks it should be "Quadruple Allowance Day."

That's not happening any time soon, but he did

earn the double allowance he hoped for this week.

Hopefully that will count for something. :)

They start really young around here . . .

Day Camp - Take 2

Last year Bentley and I went to Day Camp together.

He was a Wolf, and I was a brand new Bear Leader.

Yesterday, we went back to Camp Jeremiah Johnson.

We had 8 boys this year, and only minor injuries and

one lost sweatshirt. Not bad.

I got on the raft with the boys, and I was pretty

sure we were going to lose one in the lake.

Miraculously, they all stayed aboard.

This year Bentley got to make a sword and join a battle,

make a boat for the raingutter regatta,

learn about maps and practice using a compass,

archery, bb guns, and boating.

He says that Archery was his favorite,

despite the fact that he only got to shoot 4 arrows.

I'm a little sad that it is my last year to go with Bentley,

but hopefully I'll take Maxwell next summer,

and both Max and Jonah the summer after that!

Oh - one of the funniest parts of the day was

my kids' surprise that I had gotten up at 6am.

Ruby was shocked.

They all know that I like to sleep in. :)

Our Summer So Far . . .

Summer never ends up being as lazy as I hope it will be.

This year has been no exception.

The first two weeks of summer have been pretty full.

I had hoped to do posts about each activity,

but a collage and quick rundown will have to do.

Rooftop Concert Series

John's Birthday

Soccer camp for Jonah

Greg came home from Portugal

We got to meet Warren's boy, Bubba (Daniel)

Soccer camp for Jonah

Summerfest carnival for John and the 4 older kids

Last Track meet for Bentley and Maxwell

Amazing Race - Primary Activity

Ruby, Milo and I went to Idaho with Mikey

My Dad's Birthday

Basketball camp for Bentley and Maxwell

(hopefully I'll have a photo to share soon)

An afternoon with Laura and Ella

More Soccer camp for Jonah (a month long camp)

Pleasant Grove concert in the park

Karate - Bentley got his blue belt

Next up - more soccer camp, cub scout day camp,

karate (just a couple weeks left),

Kid History 5 Premiere.

(Kid History is hilarious and my kids love it.

Even Milo has part of it memorized.)

John's Day

Happy Birthday to my hard working husband.

I love you!

past birthday posts

2006

2008

2009

2010

The Favorite Child

(Milo eating a cookie on the swing out back this afternoon)

Sunday dinner wasn't a big hit with our kids last night,

especially the green beans. They did, however, like

the strawberries. Milo would have been happy to eat

the entire bowl himself, and would have, except

that John and I told the kids they had to eat everything

else on their plates before they had more strawberries.

Milo evidently hoped to be an exception to the rule,

because he kept asking for more strawberries.

When John told him to eat his green beans,

he said, "No, yucky." John answered,

"You don't get more strawberries

until you eat your green beans.

So say that they are yummy and eat them."

We were all more than a little surprised when Milo

looked at his green beans, said, "yummy," and ate them all.

June Five

John helped me get this photo of the kids.

They are in the jungle that is our back yard,

and there is no fence behind them.

The home owners association for the condos behind our

house tore the fence down last week, and are in

the process of putting up a new fence.

It's strange to have things wide open back there.

Here's the quick run down on the kids this month.

Bentley - Just finished 3rd grade. Still likes basketball,

but has lately been playing football and baseball as well.

Mindy left her Mario Brothers game here last week,

and Bentley has been practicing piano and doing his

chores quickly so that he can play Mario each day.

He has one month left in karate, and should

finish up with a blue belt. He is ready to try something new.

Maxwell - Just finished 2nd grade. His head injury healed

quickly and without any complications. The kids at our

elementary school split up to attend two Jr. High Schools.

Yesterday we learned that one of Maxwell's friends

lives on our side of the divide. Hurray! All of his other

friends will attend a different Jr. High (unless our school

district mixes things up in the next few years.)
Jonah - Just finished kindergarten. He still loves soccer,

and he starts soccer camp this Tuesday.

I hope it can live up to his super high expectations.

He and his siblings have been introduced to one

of my favorite childhood TV shows -

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - via Netflix instant play,

and they can't get enough. It's fun for me, too.

Ruby - Likes her hair curly or wavy, so most nights

she sleeps with curlers or braids. She likes to play

Elmo games on sesamestreet.com and she is teaching

Milo how to ride her bike.

Milo - Still insists on doing most things himself.

This is usually not a problem, but lately he has been

trying to change his own diaper. We're not crazy about that.

Continues to talk A LOT. One of his brothers

likes to make him angry because he loves Milo's "mad face."

School's Out!

The boys had a whopping 1 1/2 hours of school this morning.

We took pictures with their teachers,

they signed "autograph books" and exchanged phone numbers,

and then Ruby, Milo and I met them and we walked home.

John and I gave each of the kids a book to start summer.

They chose books out of Jonah's last book order,

and I saved them for today.

Bentley got NBA Megastars 2011

Maxwell got Encylcopedia Horrifica

Jonah's book is Owen and Mzee

Ruby chose Pickalicious and the Pink Drink

And Milo's book is A Kiss for Me

I wasn't sure how the books would be received,

but we had a nice morning reading our books together.

Here's to a great summer!

We Crashed the Teddy Bear Picnic

As Milo, Ruby and I left Jonah's class last Friday

(I've been teaching Jr. Achievement for Max and Jonah),

Jonah's teacher asked if we were coming back

for the Kindergarten Teddy Bear Picnic.

That sounded like a lot of fun to Ruby and Milo,

so we hurried home, made lunches, gathered bears

and went back to the school. Unfortunately,

we just missed the picnic. Ruby was pretty upset,

but she agreed to a private picnic,

and was eventually persuaded to join Jonah

and his classmates on the park toys.

(You can see her sad face in the first picture below.

Milo wasn't phased by being late to the party.)

When the picnic/playtime was over,

Ruby and Milo lined up with Jonah and the

other kindergarten kids and walked back to school.

We had rain most of last week,

I'm so glad the sun came out for the picnic.

from the newspaper, 38 years ago

Viola Warren says vows with Garth L. Haws

Viola Joyce Warren of Winters became the bride of Garth

Haws of Springville, Utah, at a family ceremony in the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in Oakland on June 1.

The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Virgil Alton Warren of

Winters and the bridegroom is the son of Mrs. Len Chapple

of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Garth R. Haws of Burbank.

Gayle Morgan, Christine Clark and Penny Williams, all of

Winters and nieces of the bride, were bridesmaids. Kristen

Crum of Winters was flower girl.

The bridal gown was styled and sewn by the bride and her

mother. It was fashioned of delicate white cotton eyelet

with a softly ruffled neckline, full sleeves, wide cuffs,

empire waist and a gathered skirt with ruffles at the hemline.

The bridesmaids and flower girl wore gowns of orange gingham

checks with empire waistlines and puffed sleeves.

The bridegroom's grandfather, Floyd Fisher of Idaho Falls,

Idaho, stood as best man.

Lime and orange decorations were used in decorating for the

garden reception at the Morgan ranch in Winters where

approximately 100 guests enjoyed a buffet and dancing.

The bride graduated from Brigham Young University in utah in

1972 where she majored in English and has received her secondary

teaching certificate. The bridegroom will graduate from BYU in

August 1973. His major is advertising. They will make their

home in Springville, Utah.

***HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!!***

I wish I had photos of the wedding party to post.

Mindy - that is your next assignment. Okay? Thanks.