June Trunkiness

I've loved year around school. However, I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to have school in June. There were mornings I would lie in bed and look at Steve and say, "I wish it was summer."  Steve, "It is."  Me, "I mean I wish the kids were out of school."  It was difficult to get up and get going those mornings, do breakfast, make lunch, and do timely carpool.  The last week couple of weeks of school was so hot--we had to pick the girls up in the afternoon which added to the trunkiness of it all.  Then there was the never ending softball due to make-up games because of all the rain we got late May/early June and I had signed the girls up for tennis thinking that softball would be over so June was a bit insane with softball Mon/Wed, tennis, Tues/Thurs. The shining part of June was Saturdays--we had no events on Saturdays and had done so much yard work in the spring we felt like we could take a reprieve.  So we spent Saturdays doing fun stuff like batting cages and the splash pad, running the bike car wash on the rv pad (so the excess water could run into our garden--poor garden it got so hot), playing with cousins, having the girls cook . . . yes Saturdays were just what we needed no pressure days.

And we managed to survive the end of school--Ellie did good on her spelling tests and studying a bit more on her own (trying to teach her some more responsibility and independence towards the end of the year).  On Monday, Ellie's softball team made it to the championship game and put up a good fight, but came in second. 

Lila had her kinder celebration and is officially going to be in school all day (don't know that I'm ready for that).  

Steve took the girls to the beach party at the Clearfield Aquatic Center after their final tennis lesson on Thursday.  

Game on the final day of tennis.

Popsicles from Pace after a hot day of tennis.

Then Friday we spent the day prepping for our big 4th of July party.

. . . I Am Your Father

Steve's big present was a free standing portable hammock.  He loved the hammock in Mexico so much I thought he might enjoy one here.

As you probably have noticed the girls are really into Star Wars right now and I found this great shirt for Steve and the girls loved the idea of it so I ordered it up.  

Here he is with it after opening all of the fun crafty things from the girls (a bonus of year around school-Dad's get some of the fun stuff from school).  He wore the shirt all Saturday, but I didn't take a picture.

I also found the perfect t-shirt for Russ in the process and ordered it for him--the delivery of his shirt spurred a hilarious group text from his family that went something like this:

which one of you funny people sent this to dad? It says "World's Greatest Farter, I Mean Father." Farting is a standing joke in the Moore household--joke or stench . . .

Stephanie: that hilarious, my boys want a shirt with just the top part.
Jessica: hilarious! wish it was from me.
Debbie: lol! so true.

We were camping and didn't have service when all of these messages came in so finally later that day we sent a message saying it was from us and Happy Father's Day!

Grandpa Stan also got a shirt.  He is always talking about how different things are and how different we all parent so I found this and thought it fit: "It's a Grandpa Thing-You Wouldn't Understand."  He wore it with pride all weekend.

We also found this survey on lds.org and discussed it with Steve for Family Home Evening and then Grandpa Stan indulged the girls by answering a few questions Sunday evening after dinner at his Mt Green house (unfortunately I was a little distracted with a headache so I didn't catch most of it).  I posted what I could remember:

Did your parents give you an allowance? How much was it? 

*Steve - no!

Where was the first place you lived away from home? Do you have any crazy roommate stories?

* Steve - BYU.  He did have a crazy roommate and the funny thing is my best friend and I got to know him through the FHE program the singles ward did and we nick-named him No Laugh Brian so when Steve and I started dating and he started telling me stories about this roommate I just chuckled and said you mean No Laugh Brian.  He used to write with dry erase markers on dirty dishes, "Wash Me" or circle crumbs on the countertops.

What do/did you love most about your own dad?

* Steve - how hard working and patient he is

What is the best Christmas or birthday gift you've ever received and given? 

* Steve - when my Mom let me order computer parts to work on our old computer, that's what got me started down the computer career path

Name all the jobs you’ve had. Which was your favorite?

* Steve - working for Dad painting apartments etc, a rock store I can't remember the name of (he got fired from that job--you'll have to ask him about that), BYU IT before and after mission, University of Ariziona as a Phd student, and currently MGI (Moore Good Ideas)

  

What was the first car you drove? Who taught you how to drive?

* Steve - Honda Civic and Mom

* Stan - Blue Volkswagen Bug (he still talks about buying one for fun)

What was your reaction when you found out you would be a dad?

* Steve - excited and nervous all at the same time

* Stan - terrified

 

What is the most surprising thing you enjoy about being a father?

* Steve - tickling the kids (they love being tickled by their Dad).

What is a food or dish that reminds you of a specific place or person?

 * Steve - lasagna--I missed a trip to Disneyland because I didn't eat all of my lasagna one night for dinner (audible gasps from the girls--now you know why Daddy always try to get you to eat your food. girls yes we will try to be better.)  also when mommy was pregnant with Ellie she made a huge batch of lasagna and it made her sick so I had to eat the rest by myself--not so fun

Did you do any sports or clubs when you were a teen? If so, what are your favorite memories?

* Steve - did track and field--the triple jump was his favorite event

* Stan - softball--he remembers the only game his parents came to he managed to hit a homerun 

What is your favorite thing about your hometown?

* Steve - the curvy hillside roads to drive on

* Stan - I grew-up their so I know it so well and all the people there 

Did you ever get really sick or have to go to the hospital? What happened?

* Steve - broke my back at Lake Powell in a jet ski accident

What kinds of things did you collect as a kid?

* Steve - coins

* Stan - coins 

What is the best part about being a husband?

*Steve - having someone to come home to and helping each other

My response to this question: having someone to share everything with--I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime ;).  Someone who listens to me without judging, offers advice when asked--but knows when to just listen.  Someone I can leave the kids with without worrying.  Who supports me in my personal craziness which includes volleyball every Wednesday--a night where he is already committed to scouts, but will take the kids along if necessary.  A man to work along side, to dream along side, to play along side, laugh, and cry (which if you know me is quite often).  Seriously who knew a husband could mean so many things to me.  He is the first person I want to tell things to and the man I'm excited to grow old with.  Happy Father's Day Steve!

Our First Camping Trip

The ward has been planning a family campout for almost 18 months--it got rained out last year and moved dates this year.  Last year it was just going to be Steve and the girls that slept in the tent while Andrew and I went back to Mimi and Grandpa's place in Mt Green to stay the night, but this time we decided to try the whole family.  We bought a new 6 man tent that practically pops-up, seriously sets up in 60 seconds.  It fit two queen air mattresses perfectly with space for baggage still.  We planned to sleep the 3 kids on one air mattress laying width wise while Steve and I slept on the other mattress.  We arrived there about 5:30pm, picked our spot, setup the tent and then the girls went and played with friends.  Ellie's friend Tyler Morehead and his family were next to us so they played all weekend in the stream together -- it was about ankle deep so it was perfect for the kids to play in without too much parental supervision.  We roasted hot dogs, ate fruit, chips, and we brought stuff for smores, but decided to just eat a few of the yummy smores cookies we had made to share with everyone.  Lila played mostly in the tent and kept asking if it was bed time and saying that she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.  I think the excitement of sleeping in the tent made bedtime fun for her.  At 10pm after a little fireside with the ward we tried to go to sleep.  Andrew was so tired, but he was so excited to be sleeping with everyone that he just bounced around the tent laying on each of us.  Steve took him for a walk and he was asleep in minutes so we laid him down and for a moment I dreamed of other camping adventures with my family and then at 12:30 Andrew woke-up screaming and would not be consoled.  We tried a movie on our phone, we tried taking him for a walk, nothing worked so fortunately I had Steve park the van away from the tents in case of such a situation.  I loaded him in the car and drove home.  The two of us had some errands in town Saturday morning anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.  I think he must have been having some tummy issues because he screamed even when we were at home.  After our errands we drove up to hangout--we were hoping the super fun slip-n-slide would be going but do to the drought it was not up and running.  We brought otter-pops to share while everyone finished packing up camp.  Then we headed down the canyon, grabbed some food a J's drive through (yummy Tangee-homemade sorbet) dropped Ellie off at softball practice and unloaded the car at home.  The girls were a bit cranky from lack of sleep and I had a long talk with them about working on controlling our emotions even when we are tired because if this happens after we go camping then we won't go camping any more.  It helped a bit.  All in all it was a beautiful weekend full of fun memories.

 

Lila's Dance Recital

The last two years Lila's recital has ended up on a crazy day--last year it was Ellie's birthday and this year Ellie had a double header softball game (make-up for rained out games which went way past their bedtime on a school night we didn't get home until 10:15pm).  I think this time of year most of the recreation programs assume school is out, but my poor kids still have 3.5 more weeks with their year round schedule which makes things a bit interesting.

She had her dress rehearsal Tuesday evening which went smoothly.  We decided the lipstick she got at her birthday party went well with the outfit so she took care of putting it on on Wednesday before the performance. :)  Steve made it home early yesterday so we could all hit the rode at 5pm for the crazy night.  Mimi met us there and enjoyed the show with us.  Lila performed beautifully.

I went and got her right after the dance and then we met the rest of the family in the parking lot where Mimi gave her some flowers which Lila had been saying she really wanted (when she woke-up this morning and saw that I had put them in a vase after I got home last night she was so excited and even asked if I used the flower food for them).

We slipped out right after her performance to go get some dinner before Ellie's softball games.  We went to the Burger Bar which was near the Roy High School and has been featured on the Food Network's Dives, Diners & Drive-Ins.  We tried there special Big Ben burger and an Elk Burger, Mimi had the Sea Ben sandwich which was pretty good then of course way too many french fries, onion rings, and milk shakes (it was a pity that a lot went to waste at the baseball field).  It was fun, but probably not something we would make a special drive for.  

The softball games never run on schedule which means her 7:30 game didn't get started until 7:55 so after about 30 minutes Steve took Andrew and Lila and went home to put them in bed.  Mimi and I stayed and cheered on the team through the late late game.  Ellie loves softball--I have to keep reminding myself this is her first year playing and start at the pitching machine level is difficult she'll get the hang of it.  It was a fun evening.

But I'm not gonna lie everyone is dragging a bit this morning including me-hopefully we can get some good sleep tonight right after their tennis lesson (when I signed them up for tennis, softball and dance were supposed to be done but because of the rain out schedule Ellie has one more week of softball)--life is good and busy.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

On the way to school the kids were talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up and Lila said, "I want to be a Chinese character unless I do something in English then I'll take care of animals like at the zoo."

The girls on the way to softball were talking and Ellie said, "I think I only want one boy because they are hard and probably 2 or 3 girls."  Lila said, "I want a bunch of girls like 90 and maybe only 20-30 boys."  Ellie, "Lila if you had a baby every year you would die before you had that many children."  Lila, "Well maybe only 2 boys and take that away from 9 so 7 girls."  Lila has always been a nurturing person and always the first to ask when we are going to have another baby.  She loves playing with little cousin Anson.  So cute!

Andrew loves music.  He'll dance to it, it calms him down, it distracts him.  He starts waving his arm around any time he hears music that reminds him of Church or General Conference.  And as soon as Ellie hits the first note to start practicing he immediately stops what he is doing, runs to the piano, climbs next to her and starts playing until Steve or I get him and move him away so she can keep practicing.

Getting There is Half the Problem (not fun)

Steve, Dad, and Marcee signed up to do a century ride in Bear Lake this year.  However, due to health concerns of the director the event was cancelled.  We still had the lodging scheduled and decided to keep a mini family vacation.  We were excited to go, but to be honest it was a miracle we got there.  Life was pretty stressful last week due to Lila's UTI situation again.  There was a urine sample drop-off Monday then coordination with her local doctor to get it tested and started on an antibiotic, updating her urologist at Primary Children's hospital, then Thurs morning I found out that it was an ecoli strand so she had to start a new antibiotic that was supposed to be called in the day we left so we could pick it up on our way out, I spoke with the urologist again on that day to determine how to move forward with Lila's treatment--she said since there was no fever with this infection that indicates the kidneys were not currently being affected by that infection so we decided to do another low dose antibiotic for a shorter amount of time 6 months vs 1 year and allow her body a bit more time to recover and continue with good bathroom habits so she called in the low dose antibiotic to start immediately after she finishes the treatment antibiotic. It was a miracle I got anything done that day to finish getting us ready--we did not get off as early as a I hoped and stopped at the pharmacy to find out that the doctor did not call in the new treatment antibiotic so I went back to the car to call the doctor's office which I was grateful was still open at 5:30pm and while on the phone with them decided to have them send it to Logan to be filled so we could pick it up on our way instead of waiting for it to be filled there at that point I sent Steve back in to get the low dose antibiotic.  We started driving again when I looked at the prescription Steve got and realized it was twice as much as usual so I called the pharmacy and figured out what happened there--they wanted us to turn around and come back, but at that point we were in Brigham City 40 minutes away so I told them we couldn't and they agreed to resolve the issue on Monday when we returned (which they should have--sometimes I wonder about customer service, they should be looking at medical history to make sure there isn't any bad drug interaction and they should have seen that she had been on that antibiotic before and that the insurance covered it and called to figure out what to do--besides the fact that I had spent close to $500 there in the last 3 days with Lila's meds and Andrew's asthma stuff).  So you can see why I was frazzled when we arrived at Bear Lake and tired and grumpy only to be kept up the first night until 2am by Andrew.  Steve had gone to sleep on the couch earlier that night so at 2 I went down and told him I was getting a migraine and needed sleep so he went up to take care of Andrew who of course managed to sleep most of the rest of the time and I was awoken by fisherman at 4am (not their fault--just my luck).  The weekend ended up being a bit dreary, sprinkly so needless to say we spent lots of time in our pajamas relaxing playing around the house, eating yummy food, watching Jakey entertain the kids with robot arms, bubbles etc., and watching movies (we watched Star Wars V Empire Strikes Back where Lila explained to everyone that Dark Vador was the prince of evil--then we showed Grandpa the trailer for the new Star Wars movie VII coming out Christmas--he hadn't heard about it yet--Lila came around the corner during the trailer and said "What Dark Vador's dead"--oops love how she says Dark not Darth).  Steve and Dad did go for a shorter than a century ride--26 miles, Ellie managed to touch stinging nettle right outside the house where we were staying, but all in all just a relaxing weekend.

We drove home through Evanston with Nessa and her girls.  We had to make a stop in Evanston so Venessa could throw-up poor pregnant mama--I made her sit in the front the rest of the way.  We managed to come home, have lunch, get ready for church and make it on time and my sharing time even went really well--I had prepared in advance and was grateful for Heavenly Father's help to make it all come together as it did.  Lovely day!  We even had a nice testimony meeting for family home evening after church and our home teachers managed to timely bring delicious cinnamon rolls for our dessert.

Treasured Moments

Andrew, bless that little scallywag, is growing up way too fast.  The last two Wednesdays he decided he would like some cereal.  Last week I didn't notice until it was all dumped out in the front room and he had picked all of the dried strawberries out of the Special K.  This week I caught him running by with the cereal container and squealed at him so he got distracted tripped and the cereal split onto the kitchen floor.  I got a plastic bowl and we picked it up into the bowl--yes he helped me pick it up.  I then gave him the bowl, he put it on the table, climbed onto a chair, grabbed this spoon he'd been using to mix dried beans with and started eating his cereal.

Yesterday, Lila and Andrew had some chips as a snack to try and happily wake Lila up from a nap (poor girl has not been feeling well--another UTI after only 5 days off the antibiotic--coordinating with doctors to discuss situation).  She had fallen asleep on the couch in the front room and it happened to be about the time Ellie would be scootering home from school so I opened the blinds and they giggled and looked out the window for Ellie then as soon as they saw her they ran to the garage to greet her.

Saturday, we had a wonderful day together as a family.  Nothing special . . . we washed windows, cleaned the blinds, ate lunch, took Ellie to softball practice, Steve installed more lights in the garage and then the girls asked if we could watch Star Wars so we watched A New Hope and they loved it.  I love when we can work together to accomplish things and then continue to enjoy each others company into fun things like a movie.

The girls made breakfast both Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday they made muffins and eggs.  Lila fried her own egg and thought it was the greatest thing ever (which was a amazing since she had recently decided she doesn't like eggs).  Ellie scrambled eggs for herself, Andrew and me.  Sunday they made french toast.  Ellie sliced the bread and Lila cracked and mixed the egg mixture then they each flipped a few.  I think someday soon we may sleep in and let the girls cook breakfast. ;)

Memorial Day was the same kind of fun and productive.  We got up and took the girls to get donuts with their report cards, then we went to the batting cages, and then came home to finish up a few projects around the house.

I am truly blessed!  I have a patient, hard working husband--who doesn't get frustrated when his wife gets all project oriented and must finish, girls who are growing up to be lovely young ladies so helpful around the house and with Andrew.  And our little man who is so smart and animated that is a true miracle in our lives!  My life is full of joy!  The trick is to remember it when the cereal messes are made or the girls don't quite agree on how something should be done or Steve can't see the wisdom in my reasoning--hehe.  Life is good.

Ellie's Officially 9

Why, why do they grow-up so fast?  This is my last year with all of my children in the single digits.  She woke-up and was sitting at the bar looking at her present while Steve cooked her favorite breakfast eggs benedict.  I came out and said, "What you think it's your birthday so you can get up early?"  She laughed and smiled.  I told her she could find an unwrapped present for her in our room.  She giddily ran off in search of it.  When she saw it she said, "Are you kidding Mom?"

She has been using Jake's old TeeBall bat because it was the lightest one she had so while at Walmart the other day I decided to look at bats and bought this one then when I realized how close it was to her birthday I decided it could be a present. :)

When Lila woke-up they opened the other present together--roller blades.  The girls she scooter's home from school with have been roller blading home so she has been wanting to get a pair for a while.  There was also a cute owl coin purse taped to the top of the package.


I took lunch into the school again for both of the girls.  Since it was Ellie's birthday she chose not to skip recess to eat with Lila so I spent a little time in the lunch room by myself with Andrew. :)  After school she opened the traditional birthday card from Grandpa and Grandma Moore then she put on her roller blades and practiced around the house.

Mimi and Grandpa came just in time for dinner.  Ellie opened their present--a beloved owl beanie boo and a bag for her softball gear.

We have been talking about going to the batting cages since the weather has been so rainy that they girls haven't had a softball practice yet so we decided it would be a great birthday activity and we loaded up and went up to Swan Lakes.

Ellie took 50 pitches then I took a turn then she took another 25 pitches--she did good and it was good practice for her we'll be going back. Then Grandpa and Steve took a turn at in the baseball machine.

Mimi and Lila kept Andrew entertained in the stroller.  At one point someone let him out of the stroller and he tried to run out into the cages.

We came home and stuck 9 candles in a cupcake and sang to Ellie.

Then we watched an old video of when I turned 8.  It was fun to spend some quality time together celebrating Ellie.  She is an amazing big sister who is learning how hard it is when siblings grow-up and don't follow your every wish/command--we're learning how to compromise more and listen to everyone's feelings.  She is still reading the Book of Mormon every night and has a true desire to learn and do what is right.  We love her so much and are so grateful she is a part of our family!

Ellie's Night Owl Party

Ellie really likes owls so we decided to have a night owl party to celebrate her birthday. Ironically, the previous two friend parties she has had have been in May 16th so when we looked at the calendar we decided to avoid Memorial Day weekend which was after her birthday and yep do the party on May 16th again.

Steve was wonderful and helped me setup and decorate in between rainy soccer games which weren't canceled because they were the final games of the year and him working so he would be ready for his trip to Yuma the next day--let's just say it was a full day.

 

Here are the girls awaiting the party guests.  We passed out boas instead of party hats since every owl needs some feathers.  On Ellie's I stapled some letters that said "Birthday G'owl" you know like Birthday Gal--she thought it was fantastic.

The girls made pizzas and then played just dance while we cooked the pizzas.  

After dinner they picked the game Apples to Apples to play and it was quite humorous to listen to them play that game.

Then we opened presents.

Had cupcakes.

 





Played Hoot like an Owl--where one girl is blindfolded and sits on someones lap and tries to guess who it is by having them hoot like an owl or make other animal noises.

We watched the TinkerBell short, "Pixie Hollow Games".  Then played Mafia Murder with the girls while we waited for the parents to show-up.  Note: I think the girls really liked the games because Ellie went to a friends house almost a week later and came home and said they played Hoot like an Owl and Mafia Murder. ;)

It was a lot of fun!  The girls just went with the flow, included everyone, and giggled and danced a lot!  We are so grateful for all of the wonderful friends Ellie has.  She passed out these cute owl totes with an owl pencil, owl slap bracelet, owl chapstick, and bubbles as a thank you.  It was a wonderful evening!

Final Break of the School Year

It has been a busy break.  We loved our trip to Tahoe then we came back and it was straight back into soccer, Ellie started machine pitch softball, we all had our teeth cleaned and a few cavities fixed, Lila had her follow-up appointment with Primary Care Urology and all of the tests that go with that which I found a bit frustrating because they did a different test than last time and then had the nerve to tell me things look better--how can you tell me that when you cannot compare directly--well it looks minor--you said it was minor last time and we had 10 UTIs in 10 months needless to say we are stopping the antibiotic that she has been on for the last year in a few days (they told us do to a few more days since she had had a catheter for the test that day) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it all works out, Andrew also had his 18month checkup where after visiting with the doctor about his chronic cough that leads to throw-up more often than I would like--decided to treat him for viral asthma with an inhaled steroid.  We also had normal piano and dance classes, scouts, and volleyball so we managed to stay busy.  The weather has been rainy rainy rainy which has made us all a little stir crazy and ready to go back to school on Monday at which point soccer will be over (the only reason why I decided to sign Ellie up for softball while soccer was still going was because the overlap time happened to also be our break from school).  Oh the good life!

This past weekend for Mother's Day the kids and I decided to drive to Idaho to visit Mimi.  Steve was out of town at a grad school friends wedding in New Jersey and it was raining here so all of the girls activities got canceled so we loaded the car and headed to Idaho where the weather was absolutely beautiful.  We met Mimi & Grandpa at Burgers Etc for lunch then went to visit Grandpa Olenslager where the kids tried to figure out there new spinny toys from the kid's meal.  It was a nice visit.  Then we stopped at Burgers Etc on the way home for ice cream--they make the best fresh lime shake--yumm!  Then we flew kites at Mimi and Grandpa's house.  The girls rode the lawn mower with Grandpa and got in the hot tub with a pair of Grandpa's water proof headphones.

Sunday I did Mom's hair for her since she hadn't been able to do it since her surgery on her hand on Monday--she probably wished she would have done it herself, there may or may not have been a point where a piece of her hair was sticking straight up. ;)

We enjoyed a lovely sacrament meeting where about half-way through Andrew kept pointing to the door and saying, "GO! GO!" as loud as he could.

After church we visited Grandpa and Grandma Merrell which is always fun.  The girls talked Grandpa into playing darts with them while Andrew ran around trying to interfere.

We left straight from their house for our home which was a bit of an eventful drive (Andrew coughed and threw-up a little within the first 15 minutes of the drive, the CD player we were using to listen to a book stopped working (since then I have figured out it was a user error--oops), and Lila had a little melt down, but we survived and had a quick bowl of cereal before going to bed.