Happy Birthday Nate!

We had another birthday around here.    

It's hard to believe that this guy is 6!

He had a good day.  His birthday was on a Monday but the kids actually had the day off of school so that was nice for them.  I did have to work in the afternoon but Marsha stayed home with them.  The girls woke up early with me to make the cinnamon rolls he requested and decorate the house.  They actually did pretty much all of the decorating while I cooked so that was nice.  Then we woke him up for breakfast. 

The kids had a fun day doing pretty much whatever they wanted.  I worked on his cake that morning.  We were looking up ideas for what he wanted on his cake and he found a picture of the Gryffindor seal and he somehow settled on that.  So, it was a tricky one but I did my best.  I had a problem with not all of it freezing, unfortunately, but it was still OK:

Nate wanted to write his own name and did a great job.

We had his requested beef stroganoff with rice for dinner.  Then it was presents time!  I can't find any of those pictures right now and I'm really hoping they aren't lost.  I need to check Joe's phone later.

Nate got a few things he asked for including a new car tracks set, two new Elephant & Piggie books, a candy-gram (Natalie made him a really cute one, with some help from Elizabeth), and a green lightsaber.  Elizabeth picked out a few things from the dollar section at Target and made him a fun little treasure hunt.  Eli was supposed to give Nate the lightsaber but cried the whole night about it being his.  Poor guy.  It reminded me of this post when Elizabeth was 7 and Nate was the two year-old.  I can't believe that was 4 years ago!

In just these last few weeks since Nate started kindergarten it seems like he has grown up a lot.  Now he is talking about kids in his class that have crushes (he won't admit to one :).  It's kind of terrifying to me thinking of him growing up and liking girls.  He is still my sweet little boy, though.  He always gives me big hugs and kisses when the school bus comes to pick him up.  He still loves to snuggle up and read stories or just relax.  He still sucks his thumb and doesn't seem to want to ever quit.  We're going to need to work on that soon.  He is so sweet and always making things for people.  Just recently he made Joe and I these cute signs and hung them up above our bed (someday I'll actually hang something up there--these are great for now).  

Nate still really loves Star Wars.  We're all excited for the new movie to come out.  He really loves Super Mario Bros. too and is better than me now.  He and Joe have almost beat the new version we have, plus they've beaten all three old versions.  He loves to ride around the plasma cars with Eli outside.  He still loves all sports.  He doesn't complain about watching BYU football like the girls do.  In fact, he is out golfing with Joe right now (another of his birthday presents).  He loves climbing poles and is kind of a monkey.  He told me proudly one day that he is one of the only kindergarteners that can go across a hard monkey bars set at the school.  He loves Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, Sesame Street, and will still happily watch The Backyardigans with Eli (we all will :).  He is a great eater and very rarely throws a fit about eating something.  He loves yogurt, oatmeal, ham sandwiches, pretty much all fruit, peppers, and beef.   He loves to read with me but can get along pretty well by himself now.  He got a flier at school that said if he read 20 books a month he would get a free pan pizza from Pizza Hut every month and at the end of the year he would get a free pass to a local water park.  That was enough to convince him!  He kept asking and asking me to read books and he got it all filled in by yesterday--the 9th!  :)  Nate has the BEST laugh when he really gets laughing.  It cracks us all up.  He can be so silly and does some awesome silly dances.  He is a wonderful brothers to his siblings.

We sure love our Nate!

Back to School

Going back to school was a little bit busier this year than in past years.  That is because not only did Nate start kindergarten, but Joe and I headed back to school as well--as teachers.  Crazy, right?  Yes, yes it is.

Joe had been going a bit crazy working from home and not really interacting with anyone all day, except for through email and occasionally over the phone.  So, while he was getting plenty of business, work was not ideal for him.  He has always wanted to teach and now felt like a good time to give it a shot.  He applied for and was hired as the middle school ESL teacher in his hometown.  

A few weeks later, we heard from Joe's aunt that the high school was having a hard time filling open math positions.  She asked if I'd be interested.  I thought about it and decided I wouldn't want to work full time but if I could just work afternoons I might be interested.  The principal called me and said that would be possible.  They really were desperate, I think.  Keep in mind, neither Joe nor I are certified teachers.  Anyway, I thought--well, I might as well interview and see if I even get the job.  So, I updated my 11-year-old resume (started from scratch, actually), filled out the application and went in for my interview.  I did my best to answer all of their questions about how I would teach when I have no experience actually teaching.  I obviously do have experience from these last 11 years working with kids, although much younger than high-schoolers.  I am passionate about math education, especially after teaching my own kids all these years.  Anyway, I wasn't sure what they would decide but sure enough--they offered me the job!  Then came the tough part of decided what to do.  That was hard--I was back and forth constantly.  

One day I dropped the older kids off at golf lessons while Eli stayed at home with Joe and I had some time to think.  I walked on the canyon path I love and just thought and prayed through everything.  

I took this picture:

When it came down to it, I decided to take the unique opportunity of getting to teach the math that I love, get some work experience, and really step out of my comfort zone.  Boy has that been true.  I had no idea how hard teaching really is.  I am learning!  And I'm only teaching part-time!

The biggest thing holding me back was that I wanted to be at home with Eli.  Nate goes to kindergarten while I teach so I don't miss time with him but I do miss time with Eli.  It was heart-wrenching to decide but we felt like the cost wouldn't be too much since he naps for a lot of that time anyway.  We found a great babysitter with a little girl his age and with a room he can nap in and he has been doing great.  He's not always so enthusiastic to go but he has yet to cry or really cling too much when I drop him off.  That might be coming--who knows?  For now, I feel like this has been good for all of us, although it has definitely been hard.  We're all adjusting.  

Thoughtful little notes like this one from Natalie really help:

I love my family and that they support me so well.

OK, now on to the kids because it was a big year for them, too.  It's the first and only year all three of the older kids are in the same school.  Nate started kindergarten and managed to survive it alright.  He was not looking forward to it.  I knew once he gave it a chance he'd like it.  He was happy to have a friend from his t-ball team in his class, and a close neighbor girl too.   Eli and I took him to school his first day and he did great.  He got right in line with no tears from either of us (although a little part of my heart broke knowing there was no turning back to the carefree days at home for him).  We were both ready.  I tried to get him to pose for some pictures and this is what I got:

Eli sure loves his big brother and misses him when he's gone.  He can't wait until he gets to go to kindergarten. 

Nate walks home with his sisters and he was happy and excited when he got home so I think it was a good day.  He also came home with this paper:

The little stinker.  

For a while he wouldn't admit he liked kindergarten but he's less stubborn about it now.  He loved dressing up in the color of the day every day one week and he loves to show me all the things he draws.  He does complain about having to write his name "100 times", though.  

The girls both had a good first day.  They seem to like their teachers.  Elizabeth's work load has picked up a little bit this year but she is doing great.  Natalie is doing a lot of online work in her class, which is new but I think she is liking it a lot.  

Here they are in all their first-day-of-school glory:

I love those beautiful girls.

We're a month in and still doing pretty well.  Yay for school!

Eli-isms

Joe, Elizabeth and I have all independently commented that we really need to record some of the cute things Eli says lately on the blog.  That's one of our favorites things about this blog--the record of the cute stuff my kids used to say.  So, I've been mentally keeping track of some of these for a while now.  I'll probably have to keep adding to this post as I hear things.

Eli can't say his "l"'s so he always replaces them with "y"'s.  It's adorable.  He also has trouble with consonant combinations at the beginning of words that start with "s" like "st" or "sc".  He pretty much always drops out the "s".

So, here are some of his cute sayings:

-"Yimbo yo-down":  translation: limbo low-down.  This comes from an episode of the Backyardigans.  Eli loves doing the limbo and loves putting one of the lightsabers across two chairs to do it.  He also has started saying it whenever he sees anything going across other things.  For example, the other day he was climbing from the top of the toilet onto the bathroom counter the other day and he said, "Yook, Mom.  Yimbo yo-down!"
-"Cool bus": translation: school bus.  He loves pointing these out and talking about people going to "cool".
-"top sign": translation: stop sign.  He always makes sure I stop at stop signs.
-"Dar fo-fo":  translation: Darth Vader.  Sadly, we watched the last Star Wars movie the other day and it was the very first time that Eli said "Darth Vader" instead of "Dar Vo-vo".  It made us so sad--hence this post.  When Darth Vader comes on the screen, Eli always says, "Yook!  It's me!"  He is always Darth Vader when he and Nate play with lightsabers.  He will even say, "Yuke.  I am your father!"  Eli knows all of the "Tar Wars" characters.  He can even tell the difference between Jango Fett and Boba Fett.  "Kenobi-Wan" is how he says "Obi-wan Kenobi".  "Troom-tooper" is how he says "stormtrooper".  And of course, "Yuke" and Yeia". :)
-"I yuv you": translation: I love you.  No explanation needed.  Pure cuteness.
-"I yuv yemen yogurt!": translation: I love lemon yogurt!
-"Help us to be strong yike Superman": Eli often says this in his prayers.  He still loves say he is Superman, not Eli, and that "Superman saves the day!" or "Superman saves people!"
-"Yib-a-bef": translation: Elizabeth.  He usually calls her "Yizzy" but sometimes he will say this instead and it cracks us all up.
-"Brekist": translation: breakfast.
-"I'm cared of the dark.": translation: I'm scared of the dark.

July

I really need to catch up on more of our summer now that school is in full swing and life is crazy.  Here are some highlights:

Finding an itty-bitty frog at one of Nate's t-ball games:

I completed a 30-day Book of Mormon reading challenge in July.  I loved it!  It was just what I needed.  If you've ever thought about doing something like that, give it a try.

This spoke to me one day:

We had a great 4th of July.  There was a mini-Atkinder gathering here and it was so much fun.  We hung out eating food then played some water kickball and had a slip 'n slide:

In the evening we came back to our place for dinner and then watched the fireworks from our backyard.  We sure loved seeing everyone.

I found this one morning:

I love my sweet goal-setting daughter.

Speaking of her, here she is reading at the park:

That cracked me up. :)

One day I up and decided, "We are going on a hike!"

I got some resistance from the clan but I pushed through.  We started off great.  Everyone was having a great time:

Sadly, soon after that picture things devolved into chaos.  The trail we were on was very bushy and we were fighting our way through.  Also, we were getting attacked by mosquitos and I forgot to bring bug spray.  So, we turned back.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted (I thought so, at least :).

We did visit the falls and had fun around there.

Can you see my tiny children?

We had a fun couple of days visiting Tom and Lorna while they were watching Chris and Regina's kids.  Here is Eli and Maddie pretending to be each other's "cute baby":

One of Eli's favorite things is to ride bikes in the driveway.  We spend a lot of evenings like this:

Or like this:

He must play hard during the day to sleep like this at night:

Since Eli has older siblings who all receive allowance, he also gets some allowance.  He decided that he wanted to use his money to buy ice cream for everyone in our family.  He talked about this constantly.  After quite a few weeks he finally had enough!

Such a cute, generous guy.

One Saturday when Joe was out of town, and our house was in bad shape, we were cleaning machines.  I just had to text him this picture to get some praise for all our hard work:

We had a fun visit from Richard and Archer for a week (Toni came later, too).  The kids sure loved playing with Archer:

Nate was actually especially sweet with him although I didn't get any pictures of that.  He has always been so good with babies.

Joe and I and the older three kids drove to Rexburg one day to go to Simon's graduation.  We had a lot of fun eating their delicious food and letting our kids run around at their house before the graduation.  I sure loved their adorable little Genevieve and got as much baby-holding time in as I could:

At the end of the month we got to have Joelle and Randon stay with us for a week.  It was so much fun and they were so easy.  One day we took them back to the falls:

They had a cousin sleep-out on the trampoline one night.  I don't think Nate lasted but everyone else did. 

It was a great month--with some major developments.  More on that next time....

Grandma Stone

My grandma passed away a couple of weeks ago.  She was 97 years old.  She lived a very full life.  She had been bed-ridden for years and was ready to go so we were hoping she'd be released from her pain.  Still, it's always hard when someone you love is no longer here.  

Isn't she beautiful?

She was beautiful inside and out.

We drove to California for her funeral.  It was really nice seeing so much family there.  I hadn't seen a lot of my cousins in like 15 years.  We stayed with Chris and Lisa two nights.  We had fun having dinner and letting the kids swim at their place.  I was a little stressed practicing my song for the funeral.  I was asked just on Thursday by my aunt if I could play "Savior Redeemer of My Soul".  I love that song and I really wanted to be able to do that so I said yes.  Then I worked like crazy practicing a pretty tricky song for me in one day, basically, since we drove most of Friday.  I ended up simplifying it a lot and that worked much better.  I should have done that sooner.  Anyway, my cousin's daughter sang and she did so well--she has such a beautiful voice.

The service was beautiful.  I liked hearing some stories I hadn't heard before.  Everyone that spoke said that they had never heard an unkind word from my grandma.  I feel the same way.  That was just the kind of person that she was.  

One thing you have to know about my grandma is that she raised five daughters.  

Five fairly dramatic daughters. 

(My mom is the cute little baby)

According to my mom, that qualifies her for sainthood right there. :)

Those five daughters had 22 grandchildren.  Here are most of us:

Sadly, Brad & Katie somehow missed both pictures but they were there :)

We had a good visiting at a luncheon, then we went back to my parents' house to swim and have some Dante's pizza.  It was fun having that time with everyone. 

This guy loved the pool:

 

 

I love watching the kids swim where I had so much fun swimming as a kid.

We went to church with my dad the next day and enjoyed spending Sunday with my parents.  Then, we drove back the next day.  It was a great weekend.

My grandma was such a wonderful person.

I love this picture of my grandma and grandpa around the time of their marriage:

Max & Maxine.  Isn't that awesome? :)

Here's one from right before they left on their mission to Germany:

It's hard to even describe the sweetness and kindness of my grandma.  I think you can get a glimpse of it from these pictures, though.  She was very quiet.  I don't have a lot of memories of talking to her but I do remember her telling me she loved me frequently and I clearly remember feeling that love and how special I was to her.  She always wrote beautiful cards and letters to me.  My mom got that trait/habit from her, too,  and I hope to not fail as a daughter/granddaughter and to keep that going. I sure treasured all of those cards.  Even though I was the second youngest of 22 grandchildren, I was lucky enough to grow up in the same city that my grandma lived so we had lots of opportunities to see each other and spend time together.  

I remember playing at her house when I was young and she'd watch me for my mom.  She lived right next to what was then a Toys R Us and I remember walking over there with her.  She would let me wander all around the aisles looking at the toys.  Then, she'd let me pick out a Pez dispenser on our way out.  I loved that.

I remember going over to her house to make gingerbread houses at Christmastime with some of my cousins.  I always loved that, even though I was young and probably couldn't contribute all that much.  Those are happy memories for me.  

I loved everything about her house.  I loved the gigantic metal swing in the backyard.  I loved hiding in the bushes.  I loved playing in the bedrooms and with her actual sit-down, old fashioned industrial hair dryer like they have at salons (she did have five daughters).  I loved playing with her Russian dolls.  I don't remember ever feeling like she didn't want me to mess with her things, even though she had a lot of nice things.  

I remember how well she'd feed me.  I remember her giving me cookies and treats from her special drawer.  I remember her always wanting me to eat more.  I remember the delicious roast beef dinner she'd make on Sundays.

I remember one time when she was staying at our house to watch me as a teenager.  My parents must have been on a trip.  I think she made us a roast beef dinner.  Then, when we were finished, she made up a plate of beef with gravy on it for our dog, Buddy.  No measly scraps for him--she treated him like a king! :)

I remember her always working, serving, and helping--not resting very much.  I remember how much she loved listening to me play the piano at their house and how much she encouraged me to keep playing.  

She gave me this CTR ring when I turned 16 and I still wear it:

She taught by example how to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.  This scripture says it better than I ever could: "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matt. 23:11)

She was definitely one of the greatest among us.  I hope I can somehow measure up to her example.