July 4, 2021We finished up the Colorado trip this week. The kids enjoyed time in the hot tub, hiking, and going to see
Peter Rabbit 2. They also had a treasure hunt sponsored by Grandma and enjoyed that between the spats of tiredness and argument. I had a really good conversation with Hinckley about baptism as we read from Mosiah 18 together and talked about how the Lord cares more about the direction we are going in than all we have previously done. It was pretty incredible to have that talk with him. I hope to have many many more at that level!
We drove home from Colorado on Wednesday. Greyson was very lethargic, quiet, and not himself and we were starting to get worried since he hadn’t peed or anything recently. Well, just outside of Grand Junction he vomited a good 3 or 4 times and while he didn’t have much in his little tummy he did have plenty of water and a chocolate muffin. That was a new experience for us. He's been fine ever since! We have given up on the tablets for car rides and tried a new setup with a dual-screen DVD player and RedBox DVDs. While a little retro (and fingers crossed they keep offering RedBox DVDs for the coming years) this plan seemed to work much better for everyone. Sure there was still fighting and screaming over small things, but I think it worked.
It was really good for everyone to have a few nights in their own beds and rooms as we gear up for the reunion in Bear Lake. Kas and the kids met many family members down at the Provo Rec Center and enjoyed that. On July 3 we woke everyone up early to drive down to Provo to see the balloon festival which was the biggest I ever remember seeing! We grabbed some Provo Bakery donuts afterward for good measure. We also did a quick visit to the Scera historical activities where the highlight was making yarn from sheep's wool. Shortly after we arrived they set off some artillery without warning which gave us all a small taste of where shell shock comes from. Addie and Hinckley both took turns helping me shop for reunion groceries. I think that is the most time I've spent in a grocery store in maybe 5-10 years!
 |
| Watching the balloons fill up |
 |
| Ready for launch |
 |
| With some winning glasses |
 |
| Greyson reluctantly agrees to be in a photo |
 |
| "It's so romantic!" - Hinckley |
 |
| Provo Bakery spoils |
 |
| Making yarn from sheep wool |
June 27, 2021
We've enjoyed this week in Colorado. I went with my brother-in-law and father-in-law to hike 3 "14ers" (mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation) in the first half of the week while Kas and the kids enjoyed time with cousins and Grandma in Colorado Springs. It was great to get outside and be away from the daily routine of things.
 |
| On top of Pike's Peak |
 |
| Preparing to summit Mt Sherman |
 |
| Top of Quandry Peak |
The kids had a blast and Hinckley developed a really tender bond with his young cousin Shep. Addie had a blast playing dolls and princesses with Lilah and Greyson enjoyed it all.
 |
| Cousin camp 2021 |
 |
| Addie and Rochelle in the boat |
 |
| Hinckley Fishing |
 |
| Video game gifts |
June 20, 2021We had an eventful week, Kassie took the kids to do many different things. They went up to hike Battlecreek Falls near PG and they all made it up and back. Greyson has been saying funny things, including “I see a waterfall, but it is turned off. Oh! There is a waterfall turned on!” (up Provo canyon). When they were hiking he fell down and as he got up he said, “Oh, that is why it's called falls!” Kassie took them to get snow cones and they all came back with red cheeks from the heat and big smiles. The kids enjoyed seeing Trolls: World Tour at the movie theater with Kassie later in the week, and then later they went swimming at the AF pool. They were very tired in the evening.
 |
Greyson visits with Grandma Dally
|
 |
Greyson in the stream with Grandma
|
 |
Grandma Dally and Hinckley in the stream
|
On Thursday we drove down to Capitol Reef and met Kassie's parents there. We enjoyed lots of hiking, activities, and other such things. Greyson's favorite thing was pulling on the water pump and watching the "stream". It was a beautiful time to visit despite some bugs and a little cooler there than at home which has been really hot lately. We made it safely to CO on Saturday after a long drive and everyone was excited to be out of the car and exploring the new changes at Grandma and Grandad's house.
 |
| At the "animal graveyard" at the end of box canyon |
 |
| Games with Grandma |
 |
| Little mermaid |
 |
| Glamping movie time |
 |
| Boys night in the tent |
 |
| Near Sulfer Creek |
 |
| Cooling off in the creek |
 |
| Epic lookout |
 |
| The shelves |
 |
| Breakfast oat pose |
 |
| Squeezing into Greyson's bed at Grandma's! |
 |
| Crafts in Grandma's RV |
June 13, 2021
This week we narrowly avoided a Blobby tragedy when the most beloved of the pair (the right) went missing. It may have been a blessing in disguise because we deep cleaned the entire house in an effort to find him but failed...until the next day! We found him inside Greyson's pillowcase on the bottom side. Losing a treasure is truly one of the most painful things, and it is especially hard to watch your child go through that. Hinckley was trying a variety of tactics to cope with his feelings of losing him but none seemed to work. It was a wonderful thing to find the beloved pink slipper! Gives a new perspective to the parable of lost things (coin, sheep, son).
In other news, we had a semi sleepover by having the 3 eldest Kays over on Friday. Sadie made it to 10:30 or so, and Logan I don’t think ever fell asleep...our upstairs bedrooms are certainly warmer and brighter than that cozy basement at 1220. Despite the lack of sleep, everyone seemed to have a really good time, and we went over to see the AF house the next day which was exciting (only 7-10 min away!).
 |
| Pizza dinner with Kays |
 |
| Jack helps with Saturday morning chores |
Hinckley and Addie decided many moons ago to pool their resources to save enough money to foot a large contribution towards a Nintendo Switch. Hinckley is very excited about it, and despite some of our concerns, I think things will be ok as we have clear boundaries. He has shown he can be responsible with his time when playing Minecraft and I think it is an important thing to learn how to manage things like that before your reach adulthood. The Nintendo Switch arrived this week and there was much rejoicing. We've entered a new era.
Greyson has a new hobby which is running outside to turn on the house and make mud. It is pretty frustrating that he will go out and turn it on whenever he wants and it makes a huge mess every time. He is also resisting putting his own pants on and enjoys taking them off regularly. He can be very sweet though and he and Addie have had a few exchanges of sharing comfort and forgiveness with one another.
Swimming lessons came to an end this week, and all three kids had really positive experiences. While Greyson still has deep fears of "the bucket" he really loves splashing around in the water and looked forward to class every day. We are in the thick of summertime here!
June 6, 2021
We had a great Memorial Day! At first, things looked bad when we hit a wall of traffic going up AF canyon, so we turned to the side and went up Provo canyon and it was much better. We were able to build a small fire and roast marshmallows for S’mores and eat sandwiches. We walked around and enjoyed the perfect day before coming home, where I spent many hours setting up the new bed Kassie and I purchased. That wasn't so bad as it helped me get through many hours' worth of Brandon Sanderson's epic 4th book in his Stormlight series (57 hours of audio...!). Thank goodness for triple speed or else I'd have to wait on hold for another 7 months at the library haha. The kids watched Big Hero 6 and really enjoyed that, and also did water balloons out on the tramp with minimal drama.
 |
| Lunchtime up the canyon |
 |
| Greyson tries his hand at burning marshmallows |
 |
| Smor'es girl |
 |
| Hinck and Mom getting the right roast |
 |
| Goofball waiting for more chocolate bars |
 |
| Screen time on the new bed |
Summer has begun in earnest. Everyone had a great week of swimming lessons. Greyson was telling me all about his lesson with excitement. “I did bobs and I drowned too!” ha ha ha, his experience at the pool near Bryce Canyon was quite memorable. He is really loving jumping off the side into the shallow end and seeing the splashing water. Hinckley is learning the strokes and said he had to do butterfly across the whole pool. Yikes! I think I've buried those memories if that was something I had to do at his age. Addie is going underwater and much more confident than last year which is so so nice. I had a really fun date with Addie to IHOP on Wednesday evening, and we got a Crumble cookie afterward that we ate at the “tree park”. She delighted in just about every part of the date and it was so much fun to see her laughing and joying in the simple things such as how the silverware was wrapped up with a napkin and sticker, the mad libs, and tic tac toe games on the child’s menu that we could color on with crayons, and of course the food itself. She was so excited at the large roses out front and we took a minute to look over them and decide what colors we loved the most. It was really wonderful, and I really cherish these dates.
 |
| Daddy Addie date at IHOP |
On Friday we met as a family to council about how to manage big emotions and what can be done after media time, and it went ok. We’ll see how things work moving forward, but I’m confident that if even just 2 or 3 of us can learn how to step away when we are starting to spin out of control the impact will be massive. I’m hoping this will help with all the explosions in our house. Saturday didn't prove super promising but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can keep trying. This stage of parenting/life is really challenging for me but I imagine it is only preparing the way for what is to come. Saturday Kassie took Greyson and Hinckley out separately for dates and they had a really wonderful time.
Comments
Post a Comment