Yep, we're still here

I did say this would be sporadic posting right? Good because that's about all that we've got time for these days. One day when I'm not PTA president, counselor in the Primary presidency with three busy boys in sports and activities maybe I'll have more time to write. However, by then it will just be Nick and I and I'm pretty sure life will not be nearly as interesting.

Here are a few pictures from our latest trip to the pumpkin farm. We are so lucky to have real pumpkin farms everywhere around here to go and explore. The boys could not get enough of taking turns swinging on a huge tire swing hanging from an old tree (of which we have no pictures because I was the one doing all the pushing). Oh to live a much simpler life and spend the days outdoors on tire swings and in the dirt....

Gets me everytime!

Is it just me or is kid spelling and drawing just too cute? Love notes, doodles or homework done by my Kindergartner melt my heart!

Close enough

It may not be ponytails or pink sparkly dresses but it is still pretty cute....

Back to Reality

And they're off!

We've got to remind Carson not to slouch when standing next to his "little brother"

3rd grader Carson

And the proud bus riding Kindergartner Spencer.

He could at least pretend that he's sad to be leaving me....

And my little buddy Jamison. He and I have hosted playgroup at our house this week which has made the transition from summer to reality a little easier. He still gets on his backpack every morning and asks to "go bus too". And in just a blink of an eye it WILL be his turn.

The days are long and the years are short.

Nearing the end

All day I've been trying to ignore the fact that this is officially the last week of summer vacation. In all honesty I can say I loved having these three at home the last few months. Let's be clear, I didn't say I loved every minute with them. I'm just talking about the summer overall. The school year is so rushed with homework, sports, and evening meetings and there never seems to be enough time. But summer is different. It's kind of like the weekend getaway with your husband. You look at him over a quiet dinner and think "oh, yeah I do like you!" These slow days of summer remind me I do love my boys, and they can take 2 hours to clean their room if they want to.

This summer we did things differently. There was no swim lessons or sports camps. Instead we made a list in June of all the important things we needed to get done this summer and went about checking them off. By important I mean sleeping in a tent, picking berries, going to a Mariners game, swimming in the lake, borrowing stacks of books from the library, roasting marshmallows, sleepover and Grandma and Grandpa's, riding bikes to the park, picnics. You know all the things there never seems to be enough time for September through May. I'm already brainstorming adventures to add to next summer's "to do" list.

Obsessed

Harry Potter has taken over our house, big time! Carson has had his nose in a book nonstop the last week. And this is is 2nd time reading them. When I say "them" I mean books 1 and 2. Because he has mean, cruel parents who won't let him read all the books or see all the movies yet. He'll tell anyone who will listen how deprived he is. We made a deal he could read the 3rd book in 3rd grade, the 4th book in 4th grade and so on. Suddenly school cannot start soon enough for this soon to be 3rd grader.

And it's not just Carson, "soon to be Kindergartner" Spencer is in on the craze as well. He's a pretty good Dr. Seuss kind of reader, but he won't let that stop him. I caught him on my bedroom floor with Book 7 opened trying to sound out some words. This made me laugh and made Carson livid to see Spencer got his hands on the "Deathly Hallows" before he did. I tried to tell Spencer he needed to find some books closer to his reading level. So he made himself comfortable on the couch with Book 1 and painstakingly sounded out each word in Chapter 1 for an hour. After dinner and soccer practice he was right back at it. The funny thing is he knows just enough words and (has seen the movie) to be comprehend what he is reading. If you ask me that is some serious dedication! Who am I to stop him?

Adventure

He's got an adventurous spirit.

He doesn't let fences (and then modified fences),

locks (and then more locks) stand in the way of his big ideas.

Keeping him safe is my full time job.

If you build it, they will come

Occasionally Nick and I have great ideas. Believe it or not the "rope lock" turned out to be one of them. We now have a toddler who both and naps and sleeps at night in his own bed less than 2 weeks after taking down the crib. I'm glad after 5 years as scoutmaster those knot tying merit badges are coming in handy! It is still a little awkward to explain it to a babysitter, so we are not completely out of the woods on that one. So moving on to genius idea #2 for the month...Lego birthday party. For Carson's 8th birthday party we thought it would be fun to let the boys build race cars and then test drive them down a track.

Let's be clear on this, my idea for a track looked more like a piece of plywood propped up at an angle on the side of the deck. Nick's idea was a 21 foot race track that looked like this (keep in mind this was the "finished at the last minute" version). Guess it's obvious who's genius ideas are more genius.

Here are the boys finding just the right pieces to build their cars. How and when did Carson get such a collection of Lego's that 8 boys could build with them at the same time?

Don't they look bored?

Boy and parent heaven! They had a blast and we sat around and ate pizza while the party ran itself. Fortunately that track will be making an encore appearance at Spencer's party in a few weeks. And maybe again in March when Jamison turns 3. . . .

Eight

Carson turned 8 this last week and was baptized on Saturday. Where does the time go?

We love this boy for so many reasons....

He is the most fantastic big brother any two boys could ever ask for.

He's smart, creative and has a great imagination.

Thanks for 8 happy years Carson as I still figure out this mom thing.

Will Run for Chocolate

Did you watch the video and get all your questions answered? If not here is a little more in the way of an explanation. Here we go. . .

12 runners, 2 vans, 189 miles, everyone runs 3 legs each over a 27 hour period.

Here is our team "Will Run for Chocolate". Notice there are only 11 of us, someone is always running.

Everything happens in the van eating, sleeping changing clothes and lots of laughing.

Everyone takes their turn running and the van cheers you on, brings you water, honks obnoxiously (the locals love it I'm sure) and takes pictures. Because posterity definitely needs to remember you sweaty, sleep deprived and in need of a real shower.

Along the way you keep track of the teams "kills" the number of people you passed during your run. Yep, that's 2 big ones for me!

Our 1st van began at 9 am Friday morning and our last runner finished 2 pm on Saturday. So yes we run at night in the very fashionable (required) safety gear. My 2nd leg finished at 3 am, it is such a weird feeling running in the pitch black by the light of a wimpy headlamp. Don't worry mom it is VERY safe.

And finally all 12 of us finally get together at the finish line, smile, flex for the camera and then head for the nearest restaurant. The idea is to eat all the calories burned in one sitting. See it is "fun!"

I love my running friends and this annual race. I love that I did not have a stress fracture this year, made it way more enjoyable! I love that my in laws volunteered 5 hours at the finish line in the sun for our team. I love that Nick held down the fort and I returned to clean bathrooms and bathed boys and flowers on the table.

Not so "good" nights

Jamison learned to climb out of the crib.

For safety reasons we put him in a big boy bed.

He's 2 and constantly gets up.

We put baby locks on the inside of his door.

He got it opened.

We tried another kind of lock.

He laughed at us and then got it opened.

This what it has come to.

I don't know how to explain this new bedtime routine to a babysitter.

Nick and I will be the last people in America to see Harry Potter.

Do you want to run a relay race?

Here's a video to explain what I did this weekend. More to come!

Weekend Warriors

We've spent many a Saturday this spring and summer sprucing up the landscaping of our yard (and ruining our backs). Fun times include pulling weeds and roots, planting, hauling dirt and bark, fence building and endless trips to the hardware store. Surprisingly these 3 cheer when they find out it is another work day. Partially because they like to help and partially because they know we'll be too distracted to notice how many snacks and TV they've helped themselves to. Jamison is our right hand man and no matter the weather he insists on the yellow rain boots and work gloves. In my opinion there is no better feeling than working hard with your hands and then being able to stand back and have something to show for it. Maybe this is why I dislike laundry so.

Boy Heaven

Day 1 at Cub Scout Day Camp:

whittling with pocket knives, BB guns, archery and pirate sword fighting

Oh man, Carson is going to have a miserable week!

Summer Lovin'

This guy is loving the summer sunshine and all the outdoor playtime. Slip 'n slides, picnics, Popsicles, he's a fan already. Looks like we'll be adding stain remover to the shopping list this week.

Nauvoo

During our stay in Chicago we made a trip to Nauvoo and Carthage. Knowing that we were making this trip we've been studying Church History with the boys since February. They really took to learning about the Prophet Joseph Smith and other early saints which made the trip meaningful to us all. There is such a beautiful spirit in that place and I personally loved being there and sharing that experience as a family.

This was one of my favorite spots in Nauvoo. The statue is Joseph and Hyrum on horseback as they are about to leave Nauvoo for Carthage. This is where they stopped on top of the bluff to look one more time at the temple not yet completed.

Suzi watched the boys for us early the next morning so Nick and I could do a session in the temple. Both inside and out it is beautiful!

Brothers

Carthage Jail was our last stop before heading back to Chicago.

Jamison was a 2 year old. He had a hard time sitting still, listening and not touching anything. However, he would have loved being a pioneer child with all the open space, fresh air and walking!

Chicago 2011

This year we started our summer vacation with a trip to Chicago to visit Grandma and Grandpa Doll (aka President and Sister Doll of the Chicago Mission). What better way to celebrate the end of the school year than non-stop fun with cousins? Suzi flew in the same day as us from Utah. A few days later Jeff and Melinda drove from Indiana and Jana and Anthony from Baltimore. The boys loved being with Dylan, Alyssa and Zoe and turning the basement into their personal toy room. We went to the Shedd Aquarium, saw Cars 2 and made another visit to the Legoland Discovery Center. However, they were just as content to be at the mission home playing legos or Wii, swimming in the pool and telling ghost stories by candlelight with Grandpa. As we were driving home from the airport a very tired Jamison kept crying "Papa's house" over and over as he was falling asleep. I think we all agree we had a fantastic time being with family and wish we could do it more often.

Shedd Aquarium- Downtown Chicago

Legoland Discovery Center

Help yourself

As of today we are in the market for a child lock for the refrigerator.

How did I get here?

Tuesday was my birthday and I happily turned another year older. I may feel differently in the future but for now getting older doesn't bother me. However, I sometimes find myself wondering "when did I grow up?" There was a period of time that I felt like I was a teenager playing the life of an adult even though I was married, graduated from college and had a job. Even when I first had kids I felt like I was playing family. At some point that all changed, I'm just not sure when. Was it when I had more than one child? When we purchased a house? When I agreed to be PTA president? Most likely it was a gradual shift to real adulthood that I didn't even notice it. Either way here I am, an adult. I like to believe it has been a good 32 years. I don't dwell too much on "what have I accomplished?" thoughts. I have 3 boys who are healthy and happy (mostly) and the fact that I have kept all 3 of them alive, fed, washed, clothed and entertained is a feat. Besides at some point they will take on more responsibility for said feeding, washing, clothing and entertaining and then we'll talk. For now I like to think of all the ways that teenager Kati would be impressed with adult Kati. Like the fact that I met and married an amazing man. So much better than any guy in high school or college that I dated and mourned over. The fact that adult Kati is a runner would surprise both teenager Kati and any PE teacher in my past. It took a long time to make the mental switch from "I run" to "I am a runner". It has been 10 years since my first half marathon and I still love it and choose to do it nearly every day. And maybe the most shocking revelation of all for teenager Kati is that taste buds can mature as well. Who knew salmon, shrimp, Thai food and asparagus really are delicious. However, there are limits to taste bud maturity and some foods like broccoli will never be good. Lest you think I've reached perfection on my way to adulthood let me set the record straight. Just this week it occurred to me that I have still not figured out the daily scripture study thing. I am no better than I was 10 years ago and at times I'm probably worse. Ugh, here's to getting a handle on it THIS year and not letting another 10 years go by. Here's to liking who I was, who I am and all the possibilities of what future Kati can be.

Making Do

It is overcast and a whopping 59 degrees. But the calendar says June and only one more week of school (I swear we are the last district in America still in school). And these two know that means one thing- SUMMER! And summer means things like water fights, popscicles, bare feet, and no shirts. So they're making the best of it, even if it comes with a few goosebumps.

Someday

Someday we'll have a really nice garden.

But today is not that day.

Today we have a toddler who loves the dirt.

And well the garden is full of dirt (and seeds).

That is when I have to remember

we are in the business of raising little boys.

When they tire of dirt and bugs that's when

we'll be in the business of growing vegetables.

Until then I'll enjoy the view...

Multitasking

Who says you can't fight crime and make tasty plastic cuisine at the same time?