A little Family R&R

Conference weekend--one of the best times of the year! Some good friends, the Otts, were kind enough to let us borrow their cabin for the weekend. Seth has been working on a "big huge" paper (to quote Gabe), and we haven't seen him all week, so this was a much-needed getaway for our little family.

We went on a 4-wheeler ride, played games, enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL fall colors, and revelled in the fact that our daddy was home with us. The only flaw in the weekend was the little accident Jacob had . . . he tripped on the steps and split his chin open. We bandaged it like crazy, and I hope it will heal okay!

Good Pals, Good Helpers

Eleni, Gabe & Jacob have really missed their big sister while she's at school, but it's been great to hear them playing together, making compromises such as, "Okay, Eleni, I'll play Barbies with you, but only if it's Star Wars Barbies, okay?"

Eleni and Jacob are both really good at "babysitting" Gabe (which means playing with him and keeping him entertained). He is definitely a free spirit, though! If he doesn't like what they're doing, he just pops them a good one. We're working on that . . .

And here we have everyone "helping" Mommy peel potatoes. More peels ended up outside the garbage can, but I know it'll be worth it when they are older! (Or at least, I keep telling myself that . . . )

Something Really, Actually Fun!

Jacob doesn't get very excited about most things. After a fun day of playing or going to the park, etc., we'll ask everyone, "Was that fun, guys?" Eleni will exclaim, "Yeeesss!!!" Lydia dutifully replies, "Yeah!" Gabe repeats what everyone else says, and then Jacob calmly says, "Well, not that fun . . ."

But now we have found something that is "SO FUN!" Jacob came home from playing with Seth and Eleni in the nearby river and didn't stop talking about it for two days. "I loved swimming in the river with Daddy." "Did you know I went in the deep part all by myself?" "I wish we could go to the river again--it was the funnest place ever!" So of course Seth was anxious to repeat the fun trip and this time they took Lydia with them.

But Eleni decided she couldn't go in the water this time; it was too murky. She sat in the mud and threw rocks; hence the sandy bottom. Gabe is way too dangerous, so he and I came to pick the kids up. He took off down the bike trail, which is frequented by lots of swift bikers--all the kids felt they needed to go to the rescue . . .

. . . which didn't please Gabe too much!

This one is of Jacob & Eleni inspecting their shadows--too cute to pass up. Poor kids have their mom's knock knees . . .

Cute candids

I loved this shot of Gabe coloring--cute little crossed club feet!

I snagged one of Seth and Gabe hooked on a basketball game in the NBA Play-offs . . . two-of-a-kind, those boys!

To celebrate school getting out, we held a family Star Wars Marathon, starting with The Phantom Menace all the way through Return of the Jedi . . . It took us a couple of weeks, but we had a lot of fun and some surprisingly good discussions about the choices we make (we even kicked it off with a family night lesson about Anakin's bad choices and how they affect his life . . .). Well, the series made quite an impression. Jacob and Eleni now play "Star Wars" nearly every day, Eleni switching between being Princess Leia and Padme. In this picture I talked her into letting me do "Princess Leia Hair" for church--she usually loves her hair down "and beautiful," preferably curly from a braid or bun. She HATES pony tails because she can't see the beautiful hair. But this braid was a hit. The only problem is that she wants me to do it all the time now, and I don't have that kind of patience! :)

Eleni is related to her mama--she can decide to sleep anywhere and then do it. I don't even know where we caught this picture of her, but isn't she a lovely little doll?

In this shot, Eleni had decided that Primary was too boring, so she took a nap on one of her favorite people, Elsa Picklesimer.

Sunny St. George Summer

Having Lydia home for the summer is just like heaven! The kids love her company--she makes everything more fun and involves them all. She's also started tending for little chunks of time and really seems to enjoy it. In fact, she'll ask me if I can go somewhere because "I have a really fun craft I want to do with Jacob & Eleni while I babysit them." I love having a daughter this age! :)

Jacob, Gabe, and Eleni loved their days at the park this spring. The sad thing about St. George is that you can't really go out much once summer rolls around. Luckily we've had some really nice cool days, but now it's too hot. At least, to hot for me . . .

Gabe gets a kick out of Jacob! I'm so glad when my kids get along. I found myself saying this morning, "You guys, all I want for my birthday is for you to get along--for there to be no screaming or whining or fighting, okay?" Didn't my mom say those exact words every birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas, etc.?

Lydia the Tattoo Lady . . .

My precious, lovely Lydia--what would I do without this girl?

Crazy Hair Day at school--we put a cup in Lyd's pony tail to make it stick out.

Lydia's school sponsored a Kite Festival last April, and we had a lot of fun trying out the "rides." Here's Lydia on the bungee stretchy thing--I don't know what you call it.

And on a family hike--Lyd has become such a good sport about going on hikes with our family. It's not her favorite thing to do, but she grins and bears it because the little kids enjoy hiking so much. I have memories of being so cranky about going swimming for family night and of spending the evening on the side of the pool doing my homework or reading . . . I'm just grateful my good daughter is a better woman than I am!

We've had a bit of sadness in our neighborhood; Lydia's friends (Elisa & Emma George) since age 2 just moved away last week. These guys were three peas in a pod, and we're going to miss having such good neighbors. But a new girl Lydia knew in Kindergarten is moving in, so that's helping to soften the blow.

"Spring is here, the cold has fled, the flowers bloom and raise their heads"

These beautiful pictures are now outdated, since our peaches are ripening, our roses have been fried in the sun, and the sun is baking this old city . . .
But we loved the flowers while they lasted!

Our favorite thing to do in springtime St. George (from about February to May) is to go on little family hikes. There are Indian Petrogliphs not 100 meters from where we live, and the kids love hiking the mountain to get there. Their favorite is to go on a "picnic hike," where we get to eat half-way through. Now that school is out and the heat is scathing, we'll have to wait until fall to pick up on our hikes again.