My bald boys

Compare

I thought it would be fun to compare pictures of the kids and Ken and myself so here is the first one that I found. It is of Ken and his family. Ken is the bottom left kid. He is the one second from the right on the other picture. The twins are looking more like Ken when I look at this picture except I got a big surprise when I came home from washing the car windows of people attending the temple for mutual. Ken had told me that he was going to cut the boy's hair and I said "go for it" before I left. HE SHAVED THEIR HEADS. I didn't know what to say when I walked in the door. I was thinking if they were still going to be bald for school pictures in two months. I was too flabberghasted to take a picture so I will get one tomorrow. By the way, KEN SHAVED HIS HEAD ALSO. I am not sure what to think. I have never seen him with no hair. I don't know that I like it or hate it yet. Tomorrow is test day for swimming lessons so we will see if Conner and Cadin join Sebrina in level three.

Reading, Reading, Reading

There needs to be a Summer Reading Program for adults. Ken just finished the last Harry Potter book and I finished "The Host" which was better than I expected. The kids on the other hand are out of the habit of reading everyday and would rather be outside which makes it easy for me to read, but not them. The kids are almost finished with the reading program and I am trying to get them geared up for school to start again. I have pictures to post, but I don't have time now. We have went to the library a lot lately to see little programs which included reptile man from Monroe which is near Seattle. The kids got to see a cobra, viper, sea turtle, tortoise, iguana, and a baby alligator. Abree was fascinated and she touched the alligator and the tortoise. The tortoise also peed on the library carpet which of course made the kids say "gross". It was funny when Ken got home from work the kids all pitched the reasons that we needed to go to the Serpentarium. Some things they said were: "there is a two headed turtle there" and "it is only four hours away dad". I am really considering on going. I miss not having a zoo nearby. Abree is old enought to be fascinated by the animals. Last week the library had a band called the "Recess Monkeys" from Seattle. They consisted of three men who are K-2nd grade teachers and they sang songs about monkey bars, pools, and roller coasters. The kids enjoyed it and Abree even started dancing at the end. They did a monkey bar conga line and she just ran after them squealing. Next week is bugs that bite and I am sure that the kids will enjoy that one. Tonight we are going to a Pioneer picnic that is potluck and dutch oven desserts. We may have to skip dessert to make it to Conner and Cadin's soccer game. They love playing and can't wait to sign up for it again. I have been trying to get pictures of swimming and soccer and I will post them when I get a few more. Conner and Cadin want to sign up for flag football, soccer, and basketball. Sebrina wants to do soccer now and I think she will enjoy dance. I miss soccer, but it is either on Sunday here or on mutual night so I am holding off for now. I will live vicariously through my kids playing.

I am also amazed at the way the Spirit whispers to us. I have had several experiences lately especially with a friend losing a full term baby. I had a thought on Sunday and then my friend asked me something and I knew then that the thought that I had was not my own. The Elders were at our house and noticed that the people across the street were building a fence and wanted us to call them for them to come help. I just happened to be in the same swim session with them so I saw them and I asked them if they wanted help. The Elders were over there for three days helping them and they are hoping for potential investigators. What a crazy and wonderful life. The church is amazing and we have seen so many miracles happen with people. Our callings have given us many blessings and opportunities that we might not have been able to have.

Summer of fun

The boys can't come inside if they see bugs. They got out of the car today after swimming and saw grasshoppers jumping so they had to catch some. Cadin found a baby "planter ray" as he calls it. In our terms it would be a praying mantis. Sebrina is out there catching bugs as well. Abree really wanted in the pool today when the kids went down the slide. We are going swimming tomorrow with our neighbors. Sebrina is having a sleepover tonight with her friend and she was invited to another birthday party tonight. The boys are begging to have a sleepover so we may be losing Sebrina tonight and gaining another boy instead. We have the missionaries coming over tonight with our old neighbors. Speaking of missionaries, they were in the right place at the right time on Monday. I saw that a neighbor was giving a lot of things away to move into an apartment and they had a swingset. She was leaving so it was first come first serve as posted on freecycle.org and so I didn't know how I was going to claim the swingset and keep it ours until Ken got off work. I had told another neighbor about it and she walked over there as I drove in the hopes of somehow fitting it in the van if we wanted it. The Elders just happened to ride by and they offered to carry a slide to my neighbor's house and they disassembled the swingset and carried it around the corner to my house. They also put it together since they took it apart they knew what went where. It is funny how things work out.

Sebrina treated Caesar and Bentley like royalty. Abree and Caesar were buddies also. Bentley is the black dog. The kids miss having dogs and loved to take these guys for walks and throw balls to them.

The girls were exhausted after two days of swimming and the fireworks. They fell asleep at 5:30 P.M. right before a neighborhood barbecue. I sat on the couch and read my book while Ken went to the BBQ with the boys.

This is the pool at the hotel where Grandpa Ford stayed at. The boys loved jumping in the water and they were diving for sunglasses and money at the bottom. The next week in swimming lessons they dove for sunglasses and they did very well at that skill with their previous practice. All three of the kids are in the same class which can be hard trying to get three open spots when I want them.

This is 4th of July weekend. We were busy with pool parties. People from the ward invited four families to their house for swimming, food, and fireworks. Grandpa and Grandma Brown watched the kids for Girl's Camp and the kids loved having them here. They love seeing their grandparents. Then we got a visit from Grandpa Ford and Teresa and the kids loved seeing all their grandparents. We saw Grandma and Grandpa Hemmer in May which is nice that they were able to see all of them in such a short period of time.

Conner likes to water his plants from school and Abree decied to use the tub as a mini swimming pool instead. She gravitates to any amount of water and splashed in it. Sometimes it is a little scary how comfortable she is with water. After being gone I loved the simple things in life like seeing Abree feed herself yogurt and finger painting at the same time. These are some of the leaders that went with us. I love the girl's personality. They are so fun.

I know that I am slacking, but after being at Girl's Camp for a week without electronic devices I am not as dependent on them. I loved Girl's Camp and would love to go back. It was amazing that we had a ward that was the smallest and we ran over on testimony meeting. I loved being there and the activities were awesome. I was glad to not have the distractions of phones or tvs and I have come back reading a ton of books. I am into a Mary Higgins Clark book right now that is intriguing and "The Host" is next on my list even though the first 250 pages are slow. I still want to say that I read it. The kids are gung ho in swimming lessons and soccer and I will get picture of them on here soon. Sebrina is asking to be in dance, swimming, and soccer. Thank goodness that swimming will end before dance begins. The twins want to sign up for soccer again as soon as they can. They had a game last night and even though there is not an official score the twins told us they had won 4-0. Cadin and Conner both played goalie and other positions also.