Sunday, June 29, 2008

Indepence Day Fun

After my little experience at Old Navy (and the talks in sacrament meeting today), I am determined to teach my children the importance of our country and its history. We are going to have a fun-filled week centering around independence.

I LOVE the Sugar Doodle site and there are some fabulous week-long lesson plans that can even be adapted for little children. I found some fun ideas here that we are going to try this week. Wish us luck!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

I Declare!

I went to Old Navy's big hyped up summer sale today. I did love that the flip flops were all $1.00 since they are my shoe of choice. I generously bought a round of flip flops for the whole family. Willie will be getting a few new polo shirts that were $1.97 and a new swimsuit that was 50% off. What did I get for myself at the summer sale? Sweaters. Not quite what I was expecting to be purchasing today but I couldn't pass them up for 97 cents. I don't even think you can buy yarn at that price. The store was packed and the line was long (only two registers open) and while we were waiting not so patiently, they had a little game. A worker guy on a ladder (who I thought should be working a register instead of running a game) explained he would ask questions, we raise our hands, and he would call on somebody. (Man, I wish I had taken pictures...)It was all really high-tech. The good part was if you got the answer correct, you got a ticket for $5.00 off your purchase. I perked right up. (I mean really, that's five free sweaters!)The questions were about things like the origin of flip flops, the most common shoe size, etc. I was towards the back of the line and couldn't even hear really well and figured I didn't have a chance with all the eager ladies raising their hands. Then he asked the question, "What occurred on July 4th that we celebrate?" I quickly raised my hand along with ONE other lady. Huh? Only two of us know the answer? He called on me and I said, "The signing of the Declaration of Independence." Complete silence. I think I even heard a cricket chirp. He looked back at his paper. What the? Maybe he was getting technical* on me, but I seriously doubt it. He looked a little confused and said, "Yes." I don't know what the answer on his paper said but I'm guessing it was obviously something different than what I had said. I leave the three boys in line to go retrieve my prize (remember I was in the way back) and as I'm returning to my spot with the coveted ticket the lady behind me says, "Wow, you're really smart." I almost laughed out loud and held my tongue from saying what I was thinking. Please tell me everyone in that store knew the 4th of July is not just a day off work and for fireworks. I can't get over that only one other person even raised their hand! (Maybe everyone behind me was raising their hands and I couldn't see all the "smart" people behind me.)INDEPENDENCE. FREEDOM. It's a big deal, people. I'm really disappointed in my fellow Old Navy shoppers. BUT I suppose I should get off my soapbox; it is because they didn't know why we celebrate July 4th that I got $5.00 off my purchase. Let freedom ring!

*(The Declaration of Independence was officially adopted on July 4, 1776, but the signing of the "official" copy was August 2, 1776.)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Travels

We had a wonderful time visiting our family and friends in Las Vegas! Could we have possibly packed one more thing into our trip? I think not...

Here are the boys enjoying the car ride. Even their stuffed animals were excited to go visit grandma and grandpa! Hooray for Scott (my youngest brother) who graduated from high school!!!
Now with high school checked off his list, next stop is his mission. He will be serving and teaching the very lucky people living in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. We love you Scott!
Here are my future graduates trying the cap on for size.

The night of the graduation my parents got a suite at the Mandalay Bay. Wowee! It was sure nice. Two rooms, dining room, living room, view of the strip...Did I get any pictures? Nope. I did capture a bit of the shower in our room while the boys were rinsing off after spending the morning down at the pools.A visit with grandma and grandpa would not be complete without a trip to Chuck E Cheese ("Where a kid can be a kid" as Jake likes to remind us). We actually celebrated Auntie Lizzy's (my brother Jason's wife) birthday there. Jake's always such great help when it comes to blowing out the candles. We totally scored with a TON of tickets. Too bad they don't have the Deal or No Deal game there. I know I could have raked in even more...Let's see what else did we do? We went to story time at the outlet mall. The boys enjoyed the stories and I enjoyed some shopping. Pretty smart on the mall's part if you ask me. Tempt you in there with an innocent free activity and the next thing you know, you're reeled into some shopping. (Yeah for the Gymboree outlet store!)After story time all the children were treated to a free ride on the carosel, which was a good thing indeed.I got to visit with a good friend of mine, Sophia. We taught school together back in the day. We had a blast swimming at the club. It was here that Jacob learned his thrilling new trick...a "backflip" under the water. Here are the boys checking out the basketball players. (I know it's a picture of their backs...but unfortuneatly it's all I got.)The boys got an up-close and personal tour of Truline Trucking. It was fun for them to see their uncles and Grandpa Truman at work. Uncle Clay showed them a truck that needed the motor fixed. Uncle Paul let them get in this truck and check it all out. It was pretty high but we were all brave enough to climb on up.Josh liked riding in the chair while Uncle Paul made it go up and down. My hip attachment and I (Nathan is SUCH a mama's boy) even tried it out. Pretty cool stuff. There was a little computer in there for the drivers to sign off on their loads. I had no idea how technologically advanced it all is. Jake and Josh even tested out the bed in the cab too. All in all they came away from Truline thrilled with their adventure and totally sugared out. Candy at the reception area by Uncle Scott, Grandpa Truman pointed out the donuts, and Uncle Rod had a big jar of candy too. Fun times at Truline!Had enough? Well we're not done yet! We ran away to the circus one afternoon. The tigers were fierce.I liked the elephants the best. (I liked the ladies with bicycle handlebars built into their costumes the least.)The boys liked booing at the ringmaster when he wouldn't let the clown blow bubbles the best. At least Nathan was on my side. He liked the animals and would kick his legs and get all excited whenever he'd catch a glimpse.Josh likes to push Nathan almost as much as Nathan enjoys Josh running him around. I was trying my best to just keep them happy so I could shop!Here's the crew (my mom, my grandma, and my boys) posing at the District. We also enjoyed catching up with extended family at the Nelson family reunion in St. George, Utah. Of which I have no good pictures. I guess I was just planning on getting copies from everyone else that was snapping pictures all day (please send them my way). Here is Josh and Great-Grandpa Nelson.I LOVED shopping at the home decorating store in St. George I'd heard so much about, Tai Pan. Wonderful things at wonderful prices. I even got to visit a Cracker Barrel restaurant for the first time. Nathan enjoyed rocking on the front porch of the restaurant.At last, after all of that, you'd think they'd be ready to go home. Jacob was trying to be brave and shed only a few tears. Luckily they did really well on the long journey back home and back to our boring (compared to vacation) life.Sorry to all I didn't get a chance to catch up with. As you can see, it was a busy trip. There's always next time. We love our family and friends!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Blog Stalker

Apparently I'm not a very good blog stalker. Imagine my surprise/horror when I clicked on over to a blog I randomly read and never comment on (hence the "stalking" status) and found THIS.

Hilarious! This made me laugh out loud. Talk about a blast from the past! I had almost forgotten about the Sarah Jones episode. (Thanks for a good chuckle, Drew. Might I mention Sarah Jones is just the tip of the iceberg...you have no idea.)

Obviously I know people read my blog without commenting and I have to admit I do the same. I almost feel sneaky, like I'm spying on their life or something.
So here's my burning question:
Is "blog stalking" a sin?

(If so, please forgive me Drew...and the other 20 blogs I read without chiming in.)

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A Boy and His Bike

***To see Jake in live action check him out here!***

This boy has more determination than any I know. Lo and behold Jacob can ride his bike without training wheels. I burst with pride. He begged me for weeks to take the training wheels off and I told him to keep practising. I wasn't ready yet. I knew it would be hard for him (and me, running along side). I thought he would fall and cry and want the training wheels put back on, but this is the kind of thing where there's no turning back. Finally I gave in and asked Will to remove the tiny wheels. He did fall and it was hard. BUT each time he got back up and wanted to try again. I truly was impressed with his strong will.That very same night Jake was able to ride short stretches on his own. And he's gotten better and better from there. I only have to steady the bike for him while he gets on now. I should know better than to doubt this boy. Once he has his mind set...watch out!
Nathan is intrigued with watching him.
Look, look, look! He can do it!
Jake's not the only one that can ride. Check out Josh's speed racing!Josh prefers his "motorcycle" because he can go faster on it than on his bike with training wheels. He has a need for speed.Nathan may be little but he can ride too!He loves being big like his brothers.Jacob did not want to stop riding. Over and over again we'd go. So while he rode, Nathan and Josh played on "R2-D2." (All fire hydrants are called R2-D2 at our house.)

Joshua is often timid when it comes to climbing (something that seems uncharacteristic for him...) so he was very courageous to climb to the top of the fire hydrant.This picture truly captures the moment. If you look closely you can see content baby Nene, Josh climbing on "R2D2," and Jake crashed out in the street. Each boy so different and each so wonderful.