Potter Party

It's time for our annual Harry Potter Birthday Party! Harry's birthday is acutally July 31, but we celebrated it today. We kept it pretty low key.

We all held our new cousin, Marcus Scott Kelly. What a cutie!
We ate a yummy dinner of pizza, butter beer,
licorice wands and
pumpkin pasties.
We ate outside on the patio. It was so hot. Plus, the butter beer was warm, so we were all quite toasty. After dinner we visited and took a drive in Greg's new car. The Kellys headed home and Grandma, Gavin and Enoch watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
The kids spent some time out in the tent. Nobody sleep out there, but we put in up in honor of Harry Potter going camping in Book 7 (plus, the kids have been bugging us all summer to get it out).
It was a fun night. We love Harry Potter in our family. The books are so amazing. Gavin started rereading book 1 on Monday and just finished Book 6 last night. Enoch wants Greg to start reading the "Herry Potter" books to him at bedtime now. We can't wait for the last two movies.

Dunce Hats?

You're in trouble! All of you! Enoch, stop sticking your tongue out at me!

Don't Leave Her!

Let me preface this by saying it has been a really, really long day!

Tonight we were leaving a family birthday party when Kate decided to throw a fit about getting in her car seat. She was really kicking and screaming. You know, when you basically have to karate chop your kid to get them into their seat. Finally, Greg just gave up. He set Kate outside the car, told her if she wouldn't get buckled in that she could stay there, closed the door and started the car. Please tell me we aren't the only parents who have done this. I know it's totally ineffective discipline, but we were both at our wit's end tonight.
Kate, of course, was screaming and crying. When Enoch realized what was happening, he completely freaked out. He was screaming and yelling louder than Kate, "Don't leave her, Don't leave her, Don't leave my Kate!" He was crying and yelling at Greg, "If you leave her here, I need to be with her." While I was still frustrated from the entire episode, I was very touched by how much Enoch was worried and scared for Kate. He was willing to be left too so he could take care of her.
Enoch and Kate are best buddies. They spend most of their time together. They play together and fight together. They laugh and giggle together. They love each other. They look out for each other. One will seem a bit lost when the other is away for a long time. I'm quite concerned about Enoch leaving Kate to go to Kindergarten. I hope Kate survives. What a blessing they are for each other.

Volcanoes

This week for our reading, we read the Magic School Bus about volcanoes. It was quite interesting and we all learned something. Enoch really enjoyed learning about how new volcanoes are created. We read a chapter or two every morning along with our jobs. We also looked at pictures of extinct volcanoes in Utah (Enoch really want to visit them in person, but they are all in Southern Utah) and watched live video feed from the Kilauea volcano in Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. Kilauea wasn't doing much while we watched, but is was still fun for the kids to see it.
One morning we read about plate tectonics. We used our hands to demonstrate how the plates shift, crash together or pull apart to create volcanoes. Enoch really was fascinated by it. Later than day we made oatmeal chocolate bars. I dished one up for Enoch and gave it to him. He said, "Mom, look at this. The oatmeal part is like plates. See how they split apart and the magma (chocolate) is coming up through the crust to make a volcano?" I'm so happy to see my kids learning and applying things to their lives!
Our big activity was building our own volcano. We created ours our of paper maiche and a Gatorade bottle. It didn't take too long to put it together, but the drying time just about killed Enoch. He was so anxious to erupt it.
The kids wanted to paint to purple with blue dots. Okay, whatever.
We erupted it today with an audience of friends. Greg did the honors of pouring the vinegar into the baking soda. The kids loved it. It didn't explode out of the cone like a Philian volcano, but was slow-erupting like a Hawaiian volcano (see, even I learned something!). It was a great ending to our volcanoes book. I wonder what we will read next?

Cooking with Enoch and Kate

In efforts of trying to be a fun mom (I really have to make a conscious effort to be fun!), I decided that I would involve Enoch and Kate more in the kitchen. This summer we have cooked together every week making dinners, bread, ice cream, desserts and veggies from the garden. It has been a lot of fun and the kids have really enjoyed it.
Today we made chocolate oatmeal bars. The kids helped mix the crust and pat it down. We spread the chocolate mixture over the crust and then they sprinkled on the topping. They did a great job.
The hardest part of cooking with kids is the whiny waiting time while the food bakes. They stare at the oven and keep asking how much longer. Subsequently, we have had a lot of burned fingers and tongues trying to eat hot foot too soon! Today was no exception. It must have been good; we got a thumbs up from Enoch. Earlier this week, the broccoli from the garden got a thumbs down.
Maybe we will have some chefs (or cookers, as Enoch would say) in the future. Or maybe just some help in the kitchen for mom.

Parade Floats

Our family has never made the effort to attend the Days of '47 parade in person. It is just too convenient to watch it at home in air-conditioned comfort. However, we do try to go to the parade preview every year at the Sandy Expo Center. The kids love looking at the floats up close and it is something fun to do in July that is inside and free!
The floats are amazing. You can see how much time and work are put into each float. The kids love to pick out their favorite one, vote on it and then watch the parade to see if theirs won. This year we liked the dragon float and the float with the cow on top of the house shaking it's head.
Although the floats were great, the highlight was getting a homemade root beer sucker from a volunteer handing them out!

Pretty Pink Fingernails

Aren't they pretty? Okay, they are a bit messy, but not too bad for a five-year-old. Yes, Enoch painted Kate's fingernails. Grrrr!
We are in the midst of potty-training (again). Kate is great at going #1 in the potty. When she is done she gets some lip gloss. What a big girl! However, #2 is a different story. We are still struggling. For motivation, I told Kate I'd paint her fingernails when she accomplished this. We went to the store and picked out a few colors and put them up with her lip gloss. About a week later, I was still waiting to paint her fingernails.
When I got out of the shower this morning, everything seemed fine. I also do a quick spot check of the house to see what chaos occurred during the 10 minutes I'm in the shower. Everything seemed fine. Later that day I was quite surprised to notice not only Kate's fingernails painted, but also her toenails. She happily told me Enoch did it. I asked Enoch about it and he said that Kate really wanted her fingernails painted and I was being mean and wouldn't do it, so he did it for her to make her happy. I tried to be stern and discipline him, but really, how do I get after him for that? He must have done a good job because I can't find spilled nail polish anywhere. But, I did hide the polish until we really need it.

Double Prayers = Double Blessings?

Kate loves saying her prayers. In fact, she loves it so much that she believes that only she gets to pray - at mealtime, family prayers, for whatever. Nobody else gets to pray. If Greg asks someone else to pray, Kate immediately starts praying so loud that the other person has to wait until she is done. And then when Dad, Mom, Gavin or Enoch began their prayer, Kate will start her own prayer again, talking over whoever is praying.
Sometimes it is humorous, sometimes it is frustrating. We don't want to discourage her from praying, but we want to teach reverence during prayers. I'm sure she will stop soon. We are just hoping for extra blessings for all our prayers!

Bye, Bye Binky

You might recall a few weeks ago Kate fell out of her swing and landed on her face in some rocks. It was very traumatic. However, her face healed quickly and we thought we were done.
Yesterday afternoon, Kate ran up to me and gave me a huge smile and my heart sunk. Her front left tooth was turning gray. I was panicked that she was going to lose her tooth. I looked up gray teeth online and did enough reading to figure that her tooth was probably just bruised. After calling our dentist that evening at home (hey, he's our neighbor), he confirmed that she most likely wouldn't lose her tooth, but it might be gray until she looses it. My research suggested that to keep the tooth from further weakening we needed to get rid of sippy cups and also her binky.
I was so not ready to get rid of her binky. We had just moved her into her big bed and re-began potty training a few days earlier. It was too much change at one time. But, we wanted her to keep her tooth, so we explained to Kate what was happening and how she couldn't have her binky anymore. Wow! It was a long night. Poor Kate!
The next day, we took Kate on a special date to Build A Bear Workshop. We have never been there before. I have never seen a child in complete awe before. Kate was in heaven. We told her she could pick out a special stuffed animal just for her. She picked a soft gray kitty. She helped stuff her kitty and put a special heart inside of her. Before they closed her up, Kate kissed her binky good-bye and put it inside her kitty. It was pretty sad, but Kate seemed happy to do it. We gave Kitty (yes, I know, original) a bath and registered her at the computers. Kate was so happy with Kitty and had to hold her the entire way home. I was pretty proud of her. She only asked once to open up Kitty to get her binky out. We told her that her binky was now part of Kitty and if she missed her binky, to give Kitty a big hug. She then said, "Pink binky is inside Kitty. Where is purple binky?" Hmmm. That one is gone, too.
Kate sleeps snuggled up to Kitty every night. She carries her around and has tea parties with her every day. It was such a hard thing giving up her binky, but she did it and gained a new friend!

Cascade Springs

We spent a lovely weekend at the cabin. We had pizza for dinner, watched TV and then went to bed (notice I said went to bed, not went to sleep!). The next morning we got up and headed to Cascade Springs.
It was so beautiful. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The kids had a wonderful time; Enoch was so excited that he was literally jumping up and down! Kate loved picking dandelions and Gavin was determined to find some fish. We were the only people there and it was so peaceful. It was a wonderful morning.

Summer Jobs

I'm back (and I'll be backdating my posts). We had to send in our computer for repairs. After we got it back, I've just been lazy. My kids have sucked my energy this summer!

Speaking of no energy - am I the only mom who feels like having your kids do jobs is about five times as much work for mom as it is for kids? Geesh! I have my kids do jobs because I know they need to learn how to work and, quite honestly, the clean-up fairy does not visit our house very often. Gavin, Enoch and Kate need to learn to clean up after themselves. But, good grief, it takes time to teach your kids to clean.
I've tried many different incentive programs (bribing), sticker charts, yelling, you name it, I've tried it. I think I have finally hit upon something that works for us.
Gavin does not have daily jobs, but weekly jobs. It was just too much arguing, fighting to have to check Gavin's jobs everyday. Now he is in charge of his own jobs and he does them when he would like. He can do them all Monday morning, do them throughout the week, or wait until the last minute to finish them up. They must be done by Thursday night or he owes us $1 a job and he must do the unfinished jobs on Friday. It has worked well for both Mom and Gavin.
Enoch and Kate have daily jobs. I wish I could remember what blog I copied this idea from, but I can't. Enoch and Kate picked their favorite color and marked the top of jumbo Popsicle sticks. Their jobs are written on the sticks.
Enoch's jobs include:
1. get dressed and sunscreened (yes, putting on sunscreen is a job at our house),
2. clean room,
3. clean bathroom (wiping down toilet with Clorox wipe),
4. job jar (a random mix of jobs like clean Kate's door or wipe down baseboards in hallway),
5. weeding and
6. reading.

Kate's jobs include:
1. get dressed and sunscreened,
2. clean room,
3. put away clean silverware from dishwasher,
4. reading.

It takes a good long while to complete jobs every morning. If the kids would just do them they could be done in 20 minutes, but you know how it goes. When they are done with a certain job, they turn that stick upside down. We know all our jobs are done when there is not colored sticks left.
Kate and Enoch's favorite job is definitely reading. We read the Book of Mormon scripture reader together, then Enoch reads to me from one of his early reader books and then we read a chapter from a Magic Treehouse or Magic School Bus book. We end with repeating the Pledge of Allegiance.
After our reading we do some sort of activity that goes along with what we read. The first book we read was a Magic Treehouse book about Castles. We did different activities like building a Lego castle, playing games online about Medieval life, playing with Gavin's trebuchet, making a Medieval tart (the kids really liked it) and learning about different castle jobs during Medieval times. Enoch especially like learning about how the name Fowler came from the person who took care of the King's hunting falcons and hawks.
To celebrate Independence Day, we read the Magic Treehouse book about the Revolutionary War. We did activities like making crepe paper flags (where you wrap a square of crepe paper around the eraser of a pencil and glue it to the page), learning flag etiquette, making red, white and blue chocolate dipped strawberries. We talked a lot about the flag and pledge and I hope my kids caught some of it!
We are having a lot of fun with these activities and I hope the fun balances out the jobs! I have to keep telling myself that someday all of this will pay off, but until then, it's still a work in progress!

Kate's Big Girl Bed

Kate was so excited to get her big girl bed! She has been climbing out of her crib for about a year. Now she will stand up on the top bar, stand straight up and jump. I knew it was time for something else.
Kate and I went out earlier in the week and looked around a few stores. Greg, Kate and I went to Ikea today and found this lovely bed. Kate loves it and I think it is very pretty and girly. We spent the day setting it up. Kate was a bit upset when Greg started taking down her crib, but we talked up her bed and by nighttime she was very excited.
She did very well sleeping in her bed. She loves it. I think she looks so small curled up in a big bed.
PS - I'm working on her new quilt now. Stay tuned.

Funny Enoch

A few things Enoch said today:

1. While doing a maze in his Lego magazine:

"Mom, I got out of my unstuckedness! I did it!"

2. Greg and Kate like to play a game that goes like this: Greg says, "Who's my Kate?" Kate yells, "Me, me, me!" Then Kate runs to Greg and jumps up and down until Greg picks her up and smothers her in kisses and hugs.
Today I was teasing Kate.

Greg, "Who's my Kate?"
Tresa, "I am!"
Kate, "No, me!"
Enoch, "Mom, you're not Dad's Kate. You're Dad's honey!"

3. Kate and Enoch were supposed to be picking up some Styrofoam in the front yard and putting it in the garbage can. Enoch came to the window and yelled,

"Kate is glittering!"

Really, she was throwing the Styrofoam around and not picking up and Enoch was tattling that Kate was littering. Hmmm. Greg wondered if Kate had turned into a vampire!

Independence Sunday

I really can't remember the last time the Fourth of July was on a Sunday. When I discovered this fact back in February, I was so excited to make a dress for Kate and ties for the boys. I wanted them to be red, white and blue, but not so Fourth of July that they couldn't wear them later as well. I think they turned out very cute!
I also made some fun pinwheels for my nursery kids.
Grandma and Grandpa Randall came to church with us. This was the first time they had seen Gavin passing the sacrament. He did a great job and I'm glad they could be there to see him. My dad also bore his testimony. It was wonderful.
After church, we all scattered and our family took naps. All of us took naps. It felt great. For dinner we met back up here and had a great barbecue of hamburgers, chips, baked beans, fruit and Gavin's festive chocolate dipped strawberries. You can't see very well in the pictures, but they are red, white and blue stripped. It was all so yummy. After dinner we tried to do sparklers, but couldn't light them because it was so breezy! Oh, well.
After dinner, Grandma and Grandpa taught us their favorite senior missionary game, Mexican Dominoes. We all sat around the table and played, talked and laughed. It was so much fun. It was a busy weekend, but so fun.

Fourth of July

As many of you know, Independence Day is my favorite holiday. How lucky that it fell on a weekend and we could prolong the party!

We always go to see the hot-air balloons in Provo. When our alarm went off at 4:45 am on Saturday the first thing I registered was the howling wind. Darn! We debated if we should wake up the kids and go down and hope that the wind wasn't as bad in Provo. We texted family and called my brother who lives across the street from the launch site. He said the wind wasn't too bad, so we got the kids up and headed to Provo.
Only a few of the balloons launched and then quickly floated way Northwest, so they weren't any balloon games, but it was still fun to see the ones that did go up. The wind wasn't too bad, but very noticeable for the hot-air balloons. Kate was terrified of the hot-air balloons. She was clingy and shaky the whole time. She wanted someone holding her and she would cover her ears every time things got noisy. She kept saying, "Balloons scary. Kate scared. Go home now!" We still enjoyed being with family and eating breakfast on blankets.

After balloons, we all headed to our house for lunch and games. The weather was still very cool, but the kids were determined to play in the water. They had a great time! They discovered they could really fly if they hosed down the slide and put the slip-n-slide at the bottom of the slide. All the kids loved that. The boys had a great time with the squirt toys and the little girls loved playing in the pool. Kate would just sit in the pool while Brynnley would kick and splash.
After water fun, we ate a yummy lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, fruit and chips. After lunch, Ford's headed home and everyone stayed around for naps, board games and relaxing. Kate was so beyond exhausted. She would not go to sleep, just screamed and screamed. Finally Grandpa Randall took pity on her and rocked her to sleep. Now, it's all about Grandpa; she always wants to know where Grandpa is all the time! We met up again for a pizza dinner, s'mores in our backyard and Cul-de-Sac of Fire! Gavin was old enough to start some fireworks and love it. It was so chilly that we spent the afternoon and evening wrapped up the blankets. What an odd Fourth of July! So windy and cold.
It was such a fun day! We loved spending it with family, especially Grandma and Grandpa. We are so blessed to live in the USA. I love our country! I love to live here! I love raising my children here! We are truly blessed.