Camping with Grandma and Grandpa

 

I have to start off saying camping is a lot of work and by the time we got home Mike and I were ready for another vacation.  We have been wanting to go camping all summer and haven't made it until now.  Mike was able to get 3 days off so we could go camping with grandma and grandpa O'Dell.  They asked us in the winter to go and we have been looking forward to this a long time.  I am so glad they were able to come out and have some time with the kids.  They haven't had a lot of one on one time and I am happy to report we survived and had a little fun too.
   
    
So the kids have been fishing a little but it has been a long time and they were so excited to attempt this.  Mike surprised us all by buying two fishing poles.  He convinced me to buy a year fishing license and even though Mike didn't fish he was out helping the kids.  I was so happy to see Mike helping the boys so much. I think he actually enjoyed it.
    

We had some success in catching fish but the kids had a hard time sitting and waiting.  Kaden and Elsie caught fish and even learned how to gut them.  Grandpa didn't make them do it but they learned for future fishing trips.  He even gutted my two fish I caught.  It was nice to not have electronics and tv around to fill our time.  Although there was sibling fighting we managed to make it.
    

Spinney was having so much fun helping the kids she went and bought a license the next day and caught some fish.

We took our boat out for the first time in the 8 years we have owned it.  Mike patched up a little whole and it worked beautifully.  We borrowed oars and life jackets from Chris.  Thank you so much.  The kids loved it.  We went for rides in it and even fished in it.  When I first asked Mike if we could take the boat with us I thought it was smaller than it was.  But we were able to get it around with some effort on my part.  By the end of camping Mike was beat from paddling everywhere.  He went out with my dad one morning and took him around the lake in the boat. It gave him a good workout. 

Two days we went and played in the water.  I think the kids liked the sand the most.  

  

 It was very pretty up at Payson Lakes.  The first night it rained nonstop for a long time making everything muddy.  We thought it was a fast storm but it went a long time.  We ended up going to bed at 8:30 that night.  The rest of our stay was beautiful and the kids stayed up way too late.  We are now paying for that and in our recovery stages.  We went on a scavenger hunt, saw a deer,  lots of flowers, chipmunks, ducks,  butterflies, and cows.  Have you ever seen a duck run on water?  They are so fast.  I have never been woken up by cow mooing.  Spinney claimed to talk cow and had a long conversation with the kids about cows.  They really believed her and when we heard the cows they asked Spinney to translate.   

 

You can't go camping without getting dirty.  I don't know if that is a rule but it sure happened.  There was a great place for the boys to dig in with their trucks.  Grandpa even brought some of his tractors for the boys to share.  I failed to get some good pictures but this one of Elliot face was on their faces all day.  Camden, I think was the worst.  He had dirt from head to toe.

  

This was our first family trip for more than one night and Mike is talking about going again so I am excited.   Next time I will try to pack lighter.  We did eat really well.  Spinney brought some great snacks.  We had a bbq, dutch oven pizza, and foil dinners.  The pizza turned out really great.  If you plans on going camping check out pinterest.  There are some great ideas I used and awesome recipes.  We didn't even get to use some.  I kept telling the kids "camping is so fun" even when things weren't so.  I hope they enjoy these times and see the beauty around us.  It will make it worth the effort. 

4th of July

With Mike working nights again I wasn't too excited about going anywhere with just me and the kids.  But since the parade was just up the street we went right when it started and came home after an hour when the kids got tired.  It was really nice to be close.  The kids wanted to get all the candy but I only let them take what the could carry.  Well, Rylan decided get as much as he could.  He ate all his candy right there at the parade.  The good thing is that he didn't bring any more candy home.  He was hurting later.

This is the float our stake put together.  It looked really nice but it also cost them a lot of money, more money than they thought. 

For lunch on the 4th Mike made us some ribs.  Three of the kids liked them.  Kaden thouroughly enjoys them.

Elsie spent her day making a modest dress for her Barbie doll.  She sewed it all by hand.  She has made a long dress and hair accessories since then.

For the 4th Mike invited the family to eat at our house.  Kathy was so wonderful, she brought everything we would possibly need.  We had more than enough food to eat. 

Camden loves to show me things.  Here is part of a hamburger he never ate.

Here is Elliot and cousin Taylee. 

We were planning on doing smores but since it was hot we opted for snow cones.  It has been a fun thing to have this summer.

We were so happy the family could get together and have some fun.

Rylan's Program

Here is Rylan singing in his kindergarten program.

This is our favorite. 

Kindergarten checked off

Rylan did it.  He finished his first year of kindergarten.  He gets to go to first grade next year.  He passed with flying colors.  If little kids could get a 4.0 he had it.  Now they just say he got all 4's.  Way to go Rylan.

The program included singing many songs for us and a movie of all the activities the children did this year. There were some songs Rylan loved to sing.  He was even practicing at home but then there were other songs where he barely sang. 

In between songs Rylan had to use the bathroom.  He was having trouble holding it in so he had to miss a song.  Mike took Rylan to the bathroom and said he barely made it. 

Mrs. Newbold, Rylan's teacher was great.  Rylan loved her and loved going to class.  After the program Mrs. Newbold handed out small memory books for each of 28 children.  She included their work throughout the year and tons of pictures.  She even had a video for the kids.  The most important thing she wanted her children to remember was that they are awesome.  The had a little chant they do every day saying "we're awesome, we're awesome".

After coming home Rylan was sad thinking about school.  He said he wanted to stay in kindergarten with Mrs. Newbold next year.  I am so happy he had a great teacher that taught him a love for learning.  I hope the years to come will be just as fun.  Congratulations young man!

To add to all the excitement Rylan lost his very first little tooth Sunday morning.  I woke up to him telling me he lost it.  About 4 weeks ago Rylan bit down on his fork too hard and as a result his two front bottom teeth

were wiggly. Rylan was very excited and carried around a Kleenex all day waiting.  He has seen the older kids loose their teeth but was still surprised when he started bleeding.

Rylan's birthday

Time has been going by while I forget lots of things.  I didn't forget Rylan's birthday with cake, presents and dinner but I did forget to set up a yearly Dr checkup, and schedule a friend to come over and play.  Rylan's birthday came and went.  The funny thing is Rylan didn't so much as care.

I decided that since Rylan was sneaking food he needed to be brushing his teeth more.  He loves his electric toothbrush and all the kids want one now.

This little bubble gum machine was empty by the next day.  The funny thing about Rylan is when he has a lot of something he likes to share.  He was great at sharing.

Rylan chose to go to Training Table for his birthday dinner.  He was all smiles.

This is the cake Rylan picked out.  Why did I try so hard to make fancy cakes before?  The kids have their own ideas and I love them.  Rylan decorated it with me.  He was so proud of it

If you have boys these are funny books.  Aunt Michelle found these books about a dog, Walter who farts.  What could be better than that?  Thanks aunt Michelle.  The boys get them out all the time.

Great grandma Fredrickson made this awesome afagan.  Rylan has loved it since the day he got it.  He sleeps with it every night.  Thanks grandma!

Rylan is full of surprises and energy.  He loves everything with construction and trucks.  He may not admit it but his brother is his favorite friend.  That is, when they aren't fighting over something.  They are constantly building forts, digging holes for bikes to go in, and getting filthy.  Rylan has grown a lot this year.  He is almost as big as Kaden.  He has loved everything about school except for homework.  He loves his teacher and there has been no problems in that area.  Rylan has had a problem taking food without asking and after trying a few things I think we nailed it with a sticker chart.  It has promising rewards every couple of days and Rylan has been doing wonderful.  After earning some money for his good works Rylan lost it at the park.  He wasn't too devistated about it which saddened me.   I guess he knows he can earn more.

Here are some things I love about Rylan

6  He cleans up other people's things really well

5  He loves to do secret service

4  Rylan shares really well

3  He loves to help others

2  Rylan is very aware of other people's feelings and wants them to feel better.

1 My favorite is when he wants to read scriptures and sing songs together.

Happy Birthday Rylan!

May & June

It has been a while since I posted and wanted to update you on the photos I have taken taken with my phone.  I still don't know how to put video from my phone on so I will keep trying. 

Here's Rylan entertaining himself and the little boys.  He has been off of school for testing this week and I forget how much energy he has.  They played with this snake until it had no more life left.  At one point I saw Rylan laying right next to the slimy thing.  After running errands we came home to find it lifeless.  Rylan couldn't resist playing with it still until Mike insisted he through it away. 

Rylan got nominated for leader of the week because his teacher said he was proactive in his work.  He was very excited although when I got a note saying parents were invited Rylan didn't want me to come.  Alright with me, one less thing to do.  So when the day came Rylan changed his mind.  I had to rearrange everything so that we could go.  I'm glad I could go, he was so happy. 

I am so happy to have my herbs this year.  My wonderful husband bought me all of these and another pot full.  Now my goal  is not to kill any of them. 

Elsie had a luau for activities day.  She was so excited words can't even describe it.  6:30 was a long time to wait.  She made these skirts herself for the party out of crate paper.  We walked all the way to the church with them.  There was no one else with such awesome skirts.

 For Memorial day we went to the cemetary to see grandma and grandpa Wertz's graves.  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  We went over to grandma Wilcox's house for brunch.  She makes the yummiest food. 

The kids decided to get the little pool out on a cold day in May.  That didn't stop them from getting wet.

Here is my mother's day present from Elsie.  She had been saving the Reeses for a month I think.  She made her very own abc book at school for me.

Here the boys are working on a craft project grandma O'Dell got them.  They had so much fun doing it especially since it was just for them.