Summer Times

August 19, 2018

This week marked Addie's first foray into formalized education as she began pre-k. She loved it! It was a huge relief to us, and everyone was sad she had to miss her second day due to sickness. Hopefully she is back on track tomorrow. Hinckley is enjoying Kindergarten, though he has had some drama on the bus with one of his new friends. Fingers crosses that that settles down sooner than later. Greyson is starting to push himself up a bit and when you turn away from him for extended periods of time and then return it is amazing how he somehow travels without actually crawling. We are enjoying a few more scattered showers from the monsoon season and the slightly decreased temperatures those bring. The green and flowering of the desert is quite remarkable, and when you mix that with red sunsets and pink skies it is something to behold. We had fun as a family yesterday playing tennis (hitting the balls around sort of) and swimming later in the afternoon. 

Addie enters Pre-K

I've gotten back into a good rhythm of swimming a few times a week, and using those pulls/bouy I feel like my shoulders better be getting stronger with all the agony I feel like it gives me! I've almost met with every companionship in my district to distribute the ministering assignments, it is remarkable how difficult it can be to coordinate that. I'm hoping we can figure out a good system so moving forward these ministering interviews can happen at a frequent and quality pace. I learned at work that I didn't get that Program Manager position I'd applied to (a couple weeks ago), but this week my job title will be changing to "Learning Experience Leader" and from what I understand I'll be the accountable/owner person over all training of agents on QuickBooks Payroll products. It isn't really clear yet what that means other than I should have much more flexibility over the kind of work that I do, and I'll be interacting more with the requests for training. I'm excited to have a more involved level of work and am very optimistic about what this change means for my daily routine. 

Brother time

Painting time

Water playing time

August 12, 2018

Hinckley has been loving school, each day he comes home and says "today was the best day ever!" so hopefully that momentum can continue for a while. He was a little tired in the evenings, but overall he seems to be doing ok. He seems to like his class and teacher, so we are feeling grateful. Kassie hosted a small brunch and invited mothers to eat/chat on the first day of school after the kids were gone, a fun way to note and celebrate back to school for parents :) Hinckley will also be starting "Lets Play Music" soon and Kassie attended a parent meeting for that yesterday and was feeling excited about that. 

First day of school with teacher

First activity, draw a robot! 

Waiting for the bus

Addie begins preschool tomorrow and we are hopeful that she will stick through it. She still sits on a chair the whole time during nursery, only making brief escapes from her home base to play with bubbles or do some other activity...so hopefully Pre-K will help her get more comfortable with other kids. She continues to be very tender. She loves playing/bugging with Hinckley and thrives on his attention, so things go south pretty fast when he isn't in the mood for being kind with her. She had a great birthday and we are celebrating with a cake and more today with Kassie's brother's family coming down from PHX as well as her Uncle and Aunt who moved to PHX earlier this year, so it should be a fun gathering. Hard to believe we've got a 3 year old on our hands again! She grew about 5 inches last year, amazing. 

Birthday bagel - as requested (though she didn't eat it...?)

Birthday books (and Hinckley's cherished flossing advertisement he later lost and cried over...)

Greyson had some shots yesterday and was a little grumpy, but overall he seems to be doing well. We are working on sleep training him a bit as I've been conditioned to go in every time he makes a sound and plug him up with the pacifier...so the goal is for him to learn how to self sooth. He is eating even more solids, and has quite the chunky stature as he has become a very solid fellow himself. 

Things at work are in a constant state of change, and I'm hoping there will be some clarity on how our team will be working together as right now it is very unclear. Kassie and I enjoyed some Indian food for our Anniversary date, today marks 7 years of marriage! Time flies eh? 

Middle-aged married people

August 5, 2018

Kassie and the kids were busy this week, finishing the summer off with trips to the Children's museum in Tucson, a fun jump/trampoline place, trips to the pool, and more. We are all set to send Hinckley off tomorrow for his first day of kindergarten. He met his teacher this week and she seems really great. On Monday night Hinckley planned a "family fun night" and led us through a game of family tag on our back patio, a talent show, joke sharing, and more. He's a fun kid! Addie enjoyed copying every single thing he did. 

Exploring

She continues to improve with her potty habits, and she has run out of the reward Skittles which should mark the end of the training journey...but we'll see. Grayson has two big teeth now, and may be getting more by the way he's been acting lately. He is full of joy and wonderful smiles IF being held and stared at. Otherwise, he has really learned to express his unhappy feelings at remarkable decibel levels and for astonishing lengths of time. Everything goes into his mouth, and he hands are ever outward, aiming to net in any passing debris he might be lucky enough to snag. 

July 29, 2018

This next week is the last week of summer for Hinckley as he preps for Kindergarten. Kas and the kids have been doing fun things each day to try and make the most of it, despite the heat. He has really gotten into the lego sets he received for his birthday, and has also continued to develop his obsession with Pokemon and gems. There was a primary talent show during the day on Friday and Hinckley shared some facts about his rock collection. It was awesome! 

Addie enjoyed going to the talent show and watching all the kids. She went with Kassie to meet her preschool teacher who is a new move in to our ward and lives a few blocks away. We are a little unsure how that will go, but figure we can always pull her out if things go south after a month or two. Greyson is doing well, and has another tooth poking through! 

Williams Men

July 22, 2018

This week Greyson had a tooth come in! Also, did I mention he is eating solids now? He LOVES them. Every dinner time when we set him in his chair he starts waving his hands around and gets a very hungry look on his face. It is very cute. He rolls over all the time now, which causes him (and by extension, us) some grief at night when he can't right himself. 

Ready to rumble

Addie has done some more serious flirting with potty training and we are crossing our fingers that it is the real deal this time around. We are feeling good about putting her in preschool this year. We'll see as it gets a little closer. She continues to vacillate between extraordinarily cute princess to pathological Hinckley-agitator. She has loved wearing some of the clothes Abi gave us when in Utah, calling them her 'Sadie shoes' among other things.

 

Hinckley is preparing for Kindergarten and tomorrow marks our first attempt to begin getting the whole family into the routine of waking up earlier and going to bed earlier too so we can be ready to get him off to school on time. It is a big routine shift! Including scripture time moving to the morning and so forth. I suppose it is a shift that will, for the next decade or two, continue to evolve and change as kids go to school and do lots of other things. He has all his school uniforms, new fresh Pokemon boxers, and more than enough energy. He had a "kid's camp" this week at the community club house which he loved. They ran around (he boasted of his 6 laps around the field multiple times), did some crafts, and on the last day went up to the Tucson Children's Museum which is one of our favorite places. He made lots of friends and had a good time. We hope that is a good sign of what is to come when school starts. We had a fun day yesterday doing some yard work and then going to the pool. Hinckley can go down the big slides without a life vest now - he is really getting to be self-reliant at the pool!   

Some Arizona golden hour

July 15, 2018

It was an eventful birthday for Hinckley - 5 years! They went swimming at the clubhouse this morning, and then he went with his friend Nolan to a library story time where they had some snakes for the kids to touch. Unfortunately Addie nearly immediately broke a toy Dan and Sam sent for H’s b-day, so that was hard for him. The birthday dinner was interrupted by the episode described below....but Hinckley and Addie both got to sit in the firetruck's driver seat!

During dinner, Greyson let all the air out of his lungs while in a very sad mood, and then instead of screeching out the big cry we were all expecting, he just kept not breathing. It was terrifying. As he began to turn blue, then gray I pulled him from his high chair seat and gave him to Kassie. The kids began to scream and cry, “I don’t want my baby to die!”. I called 911 and dispatch sent the paramedics. Kassie got her finger into his mouth and opened up the airway and he began to breath. We don’t know how long it was - it felt like forever. We were all really shaken by it. We later learned that babies sometimes just don't breath...? Apparently it is a really common thing. They don't breath for whatever reason, the black out, and then they come to and all is good. It sure didn't feel like normal or common event to us. By the time first responders arrived we had calmed the kids down and Greyson was breathing again, though not his regular self. They checked him out and he slowly came to. Everything was ok.

We had a large and successful Halloween themed birthday party for Hinckley yesterday. We had about 12-13 kids here and Kassie was comfortably over-prepared so we had plenty to keep the kids preoccupied. We created pom-pom shooters, had a “ghost hunt” (counted the ghosts around the room), had a mummy-wrapping contest, played “pass the pumpkin”, ate food, ate cake/icecream, opened presents, and more. I think Hinckley enjoyed it tremendously, besides a small meltdown moment when he felt like everyone was interrupting him as he was counting the ghosts. It was pretty cute to see them all doing the activities, some in halloween costumes and some not. Addie had a hard time not getting much attention, but we made the best of it.

Birthday party friends

Addie's corner during the party

Ready to celebrate 5 years, with Halloween in July! 

CO/UT Summer Trip

We had a wonderful time in Colorado and Utah with family. We did so much and were so busy I didn't really keep a good record of what happened. But here are some bits of evidence that it all happened! 

Joy in Nana's arms

Treats at the Creamery 

Tommy's labor of love

Grinning with George 

Goofing with Tommy

4th of July parade cooking with Tommy and George

Cuddles with Owen

Lounging family 

Addie's favorite seat in Utah

The love of the game with Lu, Kendall, William, and Ryrie

Sandbox cousins n critters

Helping Nana (eat) in the garden

Grandpa Rides

Grandpa Great Rides

Hanging with Jack Attack

Posing with Grandpa

Little Vittles Success (Candy Drop in Spanish Fork)

Kids holding still (and being cute)

Greyson Joy

Addie Smiles

Hinckley Cackles

A sample of family pics

June 17, 2018

We started off the week with my taking Monday off to go to the Tucson Children's Museum and clubhouse pool with the kids. We had a great time! Meanwhile Kassie packed things for the trip and Naomi came on Tuesday to help with the drive to Colorado. They pulled out Wednesday and I've been sitting at the empty table (near empty chairs) for the last few days. 

The kids have been having a blast with Grandma and Grandad in the Springs, going fishing, playing in the backyard and hot tub, eating chicken nuggets, and showing off their many talents. Greyson is so close to rolling over and we think he'll pull it off in the coming days and weeks if he keeps at it! 

Learning about Pokemon from Aunt Liana

Twin grins

Gardening/Eating

Meanwhile I've been plugging away at things at work, and finding productive things to do at home. Some work friends invited me to go do a "cross fit" workout up in Tucson so I did and it was enlightening. I don't think I'll ever do that again ha ha. I was in the temple yesterday and was able to do some baptisms and initiatories for names I found myself. I don't think I've ever done that before, and it was pretty cool! When doing the initiatories Brother Pat Eyler of Oak Hills 1st ward happened to be right behind me, and I wouldn't have known it other than he caught me in the hall and said he thought it was me. I guess they are down here for a wedding this weekend. It is a small world after all! 

Our stake has been fasting and praying for rain the last few weeks and this weekend brought nearly 48 hours of straight rain. I think that is the first "moisture" since... I can't remember. 

Father's day gifts

Wearing moose hats with my coworker (long story)

June 10, 2018

This weekend we have Elder Klebingat and Elder Patrick of the 70 here reorganizing our stake presidency. Kassie and I enjoyed some Mediterranean food before going to the adult session last night and enjoyed Elder Klebingat's forthright German approach to the session (he also gave this talk which I recalled later and remembered really liking). The kids did really well with the baby sitter and we think Greyson is getting used to being able to go down with the help of others, and with a bottle. 

Hinckley finished swimming lessons this week. His teacher said he is probably not ready for the next level because it would require him to swim the entire length of the pool without support, and he may not be strong enough. So he has taken up to using some of my strengthening bands at home to "exercise" during his quiet time to strengthen himself. He really wants to be able to do the next level even though they said the average age is like 7-10 year olds. I went to a birthday pool party with him yesterday and he had tons of fun swimming and jumping around there. He has gained a deep love of his little turtle stuffed animal the hospital gave him during his surgery a few weeks ago, and has begun creating paper versions of it to give to Addie much to her delight. It is very cute. He also made one for the girl whose birthday we attended yesterday. He continues to be interested in everything, and it is a joy for me to watch his mind contemplate things. We've talked about metaphors and similes (Addie IS a cute little bug), why perspective makes big things look small (see, my finger is bigger than that shoe over there!), and how Heavenly Father is the REAL father of our Spirits and how we can gain love for him. 

Goldfish and cake - lunch of champions

Addie is still healthy and we keep knocking on wood. She is consistently napping again which I I think is a real boon for everyone, her included. She is starting to come up with more of her own thoughts though she still enjoys sticking with just repeating everything Hinckley says or does. Her main interest other than what Hinckley is doing is squeezing Greyson and fawning over him. She still throws countless fits each day when she doesn't get exactly what she she wants, but has started saying things like "I'm sorry for my behavior Daddy" a few minutes after the fit has subsided. It is really cute, and she is certainly not hard to forgive! 

Greyson continues to grow in all directions. There isn't much more to say about that guy! Whenever each of us encounter him we are overcome with his cuteness and can hardly resist kissing his Michelin legs and bulldog cheeks. He grins and, when you rub his belly  and tickle his chest, lets out an irresistible laugh. His size is also lending to building of muscle in Kassie and my arms as well. 

Kas and the kids take off to CO this week and I will be a lone man in the wilderness. I've set a goal to gain 18 pounds and am almost halfway through that journey. Its been fun to learn more about my body in the process and I'm impressed once again with the miracle that our bodies are from Heavenly Father. 

June 3, 2018

Building memories while engaging in Home Depot's genius content marketing program

Summer is here in its full splendor. The week zipped by and we are gearing up for summer-time travel. Work is going well and I finished a big project and am hopeful there will be some good consequences from that in future assignments. Kassie ordered a spice organizer for our spices and now they are ordered in a most remarkable and clear way so we both gloried in that. Hinckley had his first series of swim lessons start up this week and has been loving learning how to float on his back and do a few other things. He has also been learning about money and how to save and spend it responsibly. Addie continues to wake up too early and copy everything Hinckley does. She continues to flirt with the idea of going potty in the toilet rather than her diaper. Greyson had a doctor's appointment and was about the 85% on weight and height, he did well with the shots too. Saturday I ventured to the Home Depot craft with both Hinckley and Addie and no one got hurt! We made wooden cars. 

Cat Girl descends on an unsuspecting humanoid squish ball

Fish out of water

After-swim tunneling 

May 27, 2018

On Monday evening I met Kassie and the kids at Peter Piper’s Pizza for the small celebration of little people "graduating" preschool. We entered the fray with grim determination. The graduating preschool kids got to make their own pizza and many were surprised that Hinckley only wanted a little bit of parmesan cheese on his dough and that was it. No sauce or pepperoni or anything else! Ha ha. One mom remarked “very healthy!” and I said to Kassie that that was a really nice way of putting it. I’m amazed at his pickiness. Then again, he is my son so I shouldn’t be too surprised. After eating, and receiving their binders with all their work, the kids were given tokens to go use on the games. They were in heaven. Everyone had fun, and everyone got some trinkets they could take home and enjoy. It was a success all around!

Eating Cake at Peter Piper's

Graduated Pre-Schooler and Mrs. Amber

The rest of the week zoomed by and Kassie is adapting to the new summer schedule of no school for Hinckley. They kids have been doing some reading time and "summer school" activities with her, and I think that has been going ok. It will be nice when kindergarten gets started. 

Hinckley and I went on a Dad/Son date to the clubhouse pool where they opened the splash park and waterslides! We had a blast going down slides and running around the freezing water toys. Afterwards we went by Micky Dees for Hinckley's favorite dessert: a vanilla cone. He says it is the best thing in the world saying, "these people really know how to make ice cream! They must have worked really hard to learn how to make it so good." At least he has a good appreciation for hard work and a growth mindset :) 

Addie continues to wake up super early for no apparent reason. It is taxing to the soul and body...Greyson is teething full force now, slobbering everywhere and biting everything he can. Poor guy is in pain lots of the time and Kassie has to wake up with him a little more than normal. 

Capt Cutie Squishy Cheeks