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Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
March Swimming
My poor little blog is so far behind...these pictures were taken back in March. The water was freezing of course but my crazy kids were out there in the pool the first sunny day that came around.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
Daddy's Tuck Tucks
Rachel is a very sweet 8 year old. She is number five of six children ranging from ages 27 to age 5. Every night when it's time for bed, Rachel comes to me and asks,"Daddy, can I have tuck tucks?". She rarely goes to bed without asking and I try to always tell her that I'll be there in a minute. Tuck tuck time a very special time for me and Rachel. Mommy can do it if I'm out of town or camping with Jared, but she tells Mommy that she doesn't do it right.
First is Rachel's Prayer. She lies in bed and I have to kneel down with my head on her tummy and listen to her prayer. I love to hear her pray. She hardly ever prays for herself- it's always about those around her. She is thankful for the little things. Things like going to Gymnastics or piano - Sometimes it's my first idea of what she did that day. After she says her prayers, sometimes she says "was that a good prayer daddy?" I always say yes, because I'm sure that Heavenly Father loves to hear them as much as I do. After her prayer, it's a good time to say my prayers since I'm kneeling there anyway. She uses her fingernails and scatches my head while I pray. Sometimes she intertupts my prayer to tell me something about her day and that's fine. After my prayers I have to tuck in her covers and it's important to say "tuck, tuck, tuck" as I do it. Then it's kisses and I have to whisper "Daddy loves you" in her ear. Any small variation in this part of the ritual will result in an immediate "Daddy…" until I do it right. The final part has developed in the last month or so. I did it once and now it has become of the ritual. As I leave the room she says "I love you Daddy" and my response is "Love you more".
There are some nights when I'm not home in time for tuck tucks with her. On those nights, I still give her tuck tucks and whisper "Daddy loves you" in her ear. Just so she knows that I didn't forget about her on those nights, we have developed our own special little game. She has to look around when she wakes up and find something a little out of place. Tonight it was Coyote rides Piggy, the night before Piggy was off of her shelf above her bed-wearing her bracelet for a necklace. The next day, usually when I kiss her goodbye in the morning, I ask her "Did you get tuck tucks last night?" She gets a big smile and usually giggles a little and says "yeah…" and I ask "How do you know? Do you remember? She says "no, you took down my piggy and put my bracelet around it's neck".
This is one of the favorite parts of my day. I've had similar rituals with the other kids growing up. With Jared each night I had to make up a nightly adventure of a boy named Jared and his brown horse named "Chocolate". The one thing that they have had in common was we always ended with "tuck, tuck tuck…Daddy loves you." Amanda is 24 now and she still gets tuck tucks occasionally when she's staying over. I've told Lisa before to just put these words on my tomb stone when I'm gone. "Tuck, Tuck, Tuck, Welove you too Daddy."
Coyote Rides Piggy
First is Rachel's Prayer. She lies in bed and I have to kneel down with my head on her tummy and listen to her prayer. I love to hear her pray. She hardly ever prays for herself- it's always about those around her. She is thankful for the little things. Things like going to Gymnastics or piano - Sometimes it's my first idea of what she did that day. After she says her prayers, sometimes she says "was that a good prayer daddy?" I always say yes, because I'm sure that Heavenly Father loves to hear them as much as I do. After her prayer, it's a good time to say my prayers since I'm kneeling there anyway. She uses her fingernails and scatches my head while I pray. Sometimes she intertupts my prayer to tell me something about her day and that's fine. After my prayers I have to tuck in her covers and it's important to say "tuck, tuck, tuck" as I do it. Then it's kisses and I have to whisper "Daddy loves you" in her ear. Any small variation in this part of the ritual will result in an immediate "Daddy…" until I do it right. The final part has developed in the last month or so. I did it once and now it has become of the ritual. As I leave the room she says "I love you Daddy" and my response is "Love you more".
There are some nights when I'm not home in time for tuck tucks with her. On those nights, I still give her tuck tucks and whisper "Daddy loves you" in her ear. Just so she knows that I didn't forget about her on those nights, we have developed our own special little game. She has to look around when she wakes up and find something a little out of place. Tonight it was Coyote rides Piggy, the night before Piggy was off of her shelf above her bed-wearing her bracelet for a necklace. The next day, usually when I kiss her goodbye in the morning, I ask her "Did you get tuck tucks last night?" She gets a big smile and usually giggles a little and says "yeah…" and I ask "How do you know? Do you remember? She says "no, you took down my piggy and put my bracelet around it's neck".
This is one of the favorite parts of my day. I've had similar rituals with the other kids growing up. With Jared each night I had to make up a nightly adventure of a boy named Jared and his brown horse named "Chocolate". The one thing that they have had in common was we always ended with "tuck, tuck tuck…Daddy loves you." Amanda is 24 now and she still gets tuck tucks occasionally when she's staying over. I've told Lisa before to just put these words on my tomb stone when I'm gone. "Tuck, Tuck, Tuck, Welove you too Daddy."
Coyote Rides Piggy
Barbie needs a shave... Rachel knew Daddy had given her tuck tucks this morning!
David Swam All the Way to the Waterfall
Jared helped David swim all the way from the shallow end steps to the waterfall. David was so proud of himself in this picture!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sweet Big Sister
Rachel is such a sweet big sister to her little brother David. When we are all getting ready to go somewhere I can count on Rachel to patiently help her brother get dressed and get his hair combed. She takes such pride in getting his part straight and bringing him downstairs for my "inspection". She is a little mommy in the making and I can't describe how proud I am of her for being so helpful and kind. David can be a little buggar sometimes and she has learned how to coax and motivate him to get ready. She is an awesome big sister and an incredible Mommy's helper. Thank you Rachel- Your Mommy LOVES you!!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A Day in April
Yesterday while Julia and Jared were at tutoring for math, I took David and Rachel to Patriot's Park in Fair Oaks. So funny to me how one of the concerns people always bring up about homeschooled children is "socialization". Yet David went to the park yesterday and easily struck up conversations with two little boys, one younger and one older, and had fun with both boys. 
Rachel took this picture. David and his new friend played pirates, starwars and avoided stepping in the "hot lava" all around the park.
Zoe's Aunties and Uncle adore her...
Zoe with her Great Grammy Lynn.
Watching "Guardians of the Owls" yesterday at my Mom's with David and Zoe while the other kids were at piano/voice lessons. Zoe was watching the owls and I would say, "Oh, look at the pretty birds, Zoe, see the owls...." Then a few times I thought I heard her try to say "bird". I turned to my Mom and said, "Mom, Zoe's saying bird!" My Mom looked at me in total disbelief until I again said, "See the pretty birds" and she repeated it again. In this video Rachel gets back from her lesson and when we tell her about Zoe saying bird she says to her "Owls, Owls, Bird. Can you say bird?" and guess what she says? She'll be 8 months old in three days. In the beginning of this video she gives Rachel one of her big slobbery kisses like she usually does but Rachel had just put lotion on her face; so funny when Zoe gets a taste of the lotion! Be patient and wait until the end of this video to hear her say "bird".
Rachel took this picture. David and his new friend played pirates, starwars and avoided stepping in the "hot lava" all around the park. 
Zoe's Aunties and Uncle adore her... 
Zoe with her Great Grammy Lynn. 
Watching "Guardians of the Owls" yesterday at my Mom's with David and Zoe while the other kids were at piano/voice lessons. Zoe was watching the owls and I would say, "Oh, look at the pretty birds, Zoe, see the owls...." Then a few times I thought I heard her try to say "bird". I turned to my Mom and said, "Mom, Zoe's saying bird!" My Mom looked at me in total disbelief until I again said, "See the pretty birds" and she repeated it again. In this video Rachel gets back from her lesson and when we tell her about Zoe saying bird she says to her "Owls, Owls, Bird. Can you say bird?" and guess what she says? She'll be 8 months old in three days. In the beginning of this video she gives Rachel one of her big slobbery kisses like she usually does but Rachel had just put lotion on her face; so funny when Zoe gets a taste of the lotion! Be patient and wait until the end of this video to hear her say "bird".Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Competition Cheer 2/26
Julia has taken tumbling and now tumbling/cheer for a little over a year now. She has been having fun being part of the competition cheer squad the last few months.
Zoe
This picture of Zoe was taken February 9th. Her smile with those two bottom teeth is just too cute! 
Zoe Sitting, Bouncing and Giggling
This picture of Zoe was taken February 23rd. She is a 6 months and 6 days old. Her fluffy chick hair is so soft and smells sooo sweet. 
Grandpa Harry Takes the Kiddos to a Movie
My Dad came over today and took all the kids to a movie. It is amazingly quiet. My homeschoolers heart is having an argument with my head that it could be so almost everyday, at least for a little while...
My heart always wins that I would miss all these gorgeous smiles
if they were gone from me most of the day.
if they were gone from me most of the day.
Sweet things my baby boy has said or done in the last few weeks:
While counting... one-teen (11) or tooty-two (22) alway makes him break out in giggles when I point out his funny mistake.
His happy sigh when we get to the end of "Are You My Mother?" when the baby bird finds his Mother at the end of the story.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Primary Thank You
David gave the prayer in Primary and his Primary President sent him a sweet little thank-you card with a piece of gum inside. David was thrilled to get something in the mail and was super happy when he found his piece of gum.
Friday, February 11, 2011
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