A Big First...

 This Big First made me cry. Up until now all of our kids have worn clip-on or zip-up ties with their dress shirts (when they wear a tie at all.) S asked for a green tie to go with his green shirt, so I bought him a regular tie. Here is J, teaching him to tie his first tie:

 This is my favorite picture:

 My handsome boys. I promise they were all happy -- not just H.

September

We began September with a Praying Mantis...

 

 ...crawling all over S...

...whose freaked out face in the previous picture was just because it was tickling him as it crawled up his arm. He was so fascinated by it. Every time it tried to leave him, S would pick it up and place it back on himself.

 

Grandma Lundgren came to visit for Grandparent's Day at H and O's school. 

Who is that mowing the lawn?

Is that my 5-year old?

Impossible!

But true. 

H mowed the front lawn all by himself. Amazing kid!

And, to get in on the fun, O did the back.

He came into the kitchen to get a drink of water and said, "Whew! It is hot out there! I'm mowing the lawn, Mom! I'm going in circles and curves! I don't want it to be all straight like when S does it!" Sure enough...

I am a Jedi Master. Make me breakfast, you will...

Swim meet #1

S and O have been swimming with the OTAC White team for the Winter/Spring Season. We signed them up for the Summer season, which has been great for keeping them active and busy since school has gotten out. They had their first swim meet on Tuesday, July 3 -- the HAST mini-meet. O swam three events and S four. Here we are at the beginning of the meet, my monkeys worried and anxious about the unknown:

H was so good to hang around in the hot sun with us all day:

O getting ready to start his first event -- the 50 Free:

 

 

 I was so proud that he got in the water and swam, freaked out as he was.

He also swam the 50 Back and 25 Free

S started out with 100 Free.

S getting ready for his 50 Back:

S swimming the 50 Breaststroke:

S finished up with a 50 Free. 

Here are my swimmers, best buddies:

After each of their first events, their nerves calmed down and we had a good time. By the end of the meet, you'd think they'd done this 10 times before. J was able to be there for most of it, which the kids really loved and appreciated. Afterwards, I took them to lunch at the Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove as a treat. It was a great, long, fun, exhausting, exhilarating day!

Word!

Peace

Love

Understanding

More Night Wakings...

Last night (early this morning) -- 4:00AM to be precise (more on this later) -- jolted awake by piercing screams coming from S's room. I hurry in there, ask him what's wrong, and then turn the light on to see the BLOOD in patches all over his pillow. He's clutching his head, screaming, "Oweeee! Oweeee! Oweeee!" I get a washcloth, and, several wipes and rinses later, reveal an inch-long gash at the top of his head, courtesy of the corner of his nightstand. J's arisen by this time, so we do a little consultation, the result of which we decide to super-glue S's head shut. By this time, S is bravely sniffling and giving me interesting facts like, "You know, Mom, in colonial times, they used to put leeches on people to bleed them and pull the diseases out so they could get better. Except it didn't really work. Haha!" This after I told him that head wounds bleed a lot and that it was a good thing so the germs get carried away from his gash. We staunched the bleeding, gently combed his hair away from the cut, and held the sides of the gash together while super-gluing it back together. (Don't worry, medical folks, it was medical super-glue -- not Loc-Tite!) I tucked S in and kissed him goodnight. He slept till 8 this morning.

When he came down to breakfast, between the two of us, we spun a tale of blood, courage, and nighttime wakings (at which point S interjected, "It was 4 AM. It was exactly 4 o'clock. I checked." Who does that?! Who wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, bleeding and in intense pain, and checks to see exactly what time it is? Gosh, I love that kid!), the result of which all four of my boys have matching head wounds. It's about time S got his, right? J was first when, as a boy, his younger brother threw a rock at his head. O was second when he got pushed into a piano bench at Grandma's house by an older brother. H got his from falling off the back of a chair and landing with his head onto the vent behind the chair. And S from sleeping. Ah, life with boys!

May

The 3rd Grade put on their program a few weeks before school let out. It was entitled, "We Make a Rainbow" and was so neat! They had been learning their songs and practicing for weeks and it showed. S did so well. He was so serious throughout the whole thing because, during the performance for the school, he missed one cue to stand up and was still living in the shame of that experience. We tried waving and yelling and pointing at him, but he would not look away from the teacher in charge. Funny boy. I'll post pictures of the program and S with his teacher as soon as I am able.

(Now I am able)
Here is O waiting for the program to begin, wearing a hat that Grandpa Kim custom made.


J & H waiting. (And looking exactly the same, I might add.)


There's S in the middle. There are a number of girls who think he's cute and that's one of them right next to him.


Mother's Day was nice. J bought me a really soft pink fuzzy robe from Bath & Body Works. When I opened it, he asked me if I remembered what I had said a few weeks earlier when we were in the store just looking around. I didn't, so he reminded me, which totally explains why he bought the robe: "If I had a robe like this, I would never wear clothes!" Apparently that translates to, "Must buy wife robe. Must buy wife robe," in J-speak. Men.

Here are some pictures with the three stupendous reasons I get to celebrate Mother's Day:


Here's a picture of one of the best pizzas I've ever made. Mrs. Renfro's jalapenos make all the difference.

Jumpin' Jacks

S had a blast at his first ever "friend party" for his 8th birthday. This is seriously the only good picture we have of him playing at Jumpin' Jacks -- in the rest he's just a blur.


My two little adrenaline junkies:


Click on this one. J's hair is great and H's face is priceless. Don't be fooled by the apparent look of terror. H climbed up this one again and again. The crazier and more wild he slid down, the better!


This is J's sister after she made her way down that same 30' slide:


O too was a blur. He didn't have a favorite huge inflatable thing -- he just ran around to all of them, giving each one equal time:


S with the cake I thought would be too small, so I bought 20 extra cupcakes at WalMart. Turns out it was perfect and we were inundated with sugar for the next two days. Good times...


J's mom on the left, his sister on the right. And yes, that threadless shirt does say, "I listen to bands that don't even exist yet."


Happy Birthday, Dear S!