Summer Vacation is here!

Saturday, June 13th: Matt was able to mow our lawn. :-) We all went to the library. We went to the grocery store 3 different times. The first time, I picked up 5 candy bars to make a candy bar poster for Eleanor's teacher. When we got home, I left Eleanor with the candy bars because she wanted to help make the poster, so I told her that I would be right back after I got Noah out of the car. When I went back inside, Eleanor had unwrapped all of the candy (Kate was eating some of it) and she had it neatly organized and ready to make the poster. She wasn't supposed to unwrap the candy, so Eleanor and I headed back to the grocery store to pick up more candy bars and I bought enough for Zoe and Emily to make a poster for their teachers. Eleanor did a lot of writing for her poster and she did a great job! She actually made it Monday evening, but here is a picture of it.
It says: (the bold words are candy bars)
Dear Mrs. Pelletier,
What a joy to have you for a teacher in Kindergarten. You taught me rhyming words like love, dove, and glove. You let me be star of the week, which I loved! You brought me to Vance's Tropical Fish. You showed me how to write my m's and other letters and numbers. Thank you! Love, Eleanor

I took the kids to the park Saturday afternoon and then we all went to Dodie's house for The Lee's going away party. Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor went home with Aimee to spend the night, so Matt and I brought home Zach, Kate, and Noah. It was a less hectic evening getting the kids bathed and in bed than we anticipated. My parents, Philip, and Aly arrived home safely. :-)

Sunday, June 14th: Matt left around 7:45am to go to Belfast for their conference. I rushed around to get myself and the younger kids ready and to pack dresses for the older girls who were going to change at church and I was out the door at 8:30...right on time. The Yukon broke down on the Russell Hill road. Not good. I didn't have a phone, Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor were arriving to church in shorts and I had their dresses, Zoe was singing in Sacrament meeting, so I knew she would be freaking out about not having a dress on, I had my class to teach and if we walked all the way home (between 3 and 5 miles) than I wouldn't be able to call and let Jerry know I wouldn't be there and my family would be wondering where I was, and it was raining lightly. I got the kids out of the car and we started walking. I was pushing Noah in the stroller, carrying Kate, and Zach was walking behind me. We were getting ready to cross route 46 when a sweet, sweet woman named Vicki Osborne (my niece has a similar name) stopped and asked if we were boken down and if we needed a ride. YES! I am so grateful that we didn't have to walk far and that we didn't have to walk all the way home, and that someone stopped to help in this day and age. I think the fact that she passed the broken down Yukon helped. I called the church when we got home and I called Matt in Belfast to let him know what was going on. The kids and I watched Liken the Scripture movies all day. Aimee brought Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor to my parents' house and my mom picked up Zach and Kate while Noah and I waited for Matt and then we went over to my parents' house for dinner and to celebrate Philip's 14th birthday. What a day!


Philip likes ice cream cake, so we turned this congratulations ice cream cake into a birthday cake. It was delicious!



Monday, June 15th: Eleanor had a field trip to the Dairy Port and Zoe had a field trip to Moose Point State Park. Zach, Kate, Noah, and I came over to my parents' house in the afternoon. I had taken my mom's car home Sunday night, so I could get back to her house today. My mom was home, so we played a game of Phase 10 together and then we played Phase 10 with Philip. He kicked our butts! Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor took the bus to my parents' house and we stayed until Matt arrived at 4:30. Matt took the older girls with him and my mom brought the rest of us home. We ate dinner and we had FHE. Eleanor made her poster.



Tuesday, June 16th: Eleanor's last day of Kindergarten! She went on a field trip to the creative playground and she met her 1st grade teacher, Ms. Gould. Ms. Gould is a new teacher, so I'm hoping to meet her before school starts. We kicked off Eleanor's start to summer with a movie and treats, thanks to Aunt Donna! We watched the new version of "That Darn Cat" and the kids ate popcorn and candy. I spent my time keeping Noah away from the food. Matt worked late.



Wednesday, June 17th: This was Eleanor's first day of summer vacation and I think she had a fun day! We went over to Jenn's house in the morning where Jenn, Hayden, Connor, Lauren, Colby, Harry, and Victoria were. The kids had fun playing together and we stayed for lunch. Then we went over to our house for some sprinkler fun. Hayden, Connor, and Harry joined us and then Jack, Victoria, and Andrea joined us later on. It was perfect weather for the sprinkler. Emily joined the fun when she got home from school. Andrea brought over popsicles for the kids. Zoe went to her friend Lauren's birthday party after school. It was a pool party, so I'm glad the weather cooperated for their fun, too. :-)







Zoe and Emily made their posters this evening. Here is Zoe's poster...

It says:

Dear Mrs. LaLonde,

You bring joy to my life! I have had you for two years. In the first year we learned about the milkyway and all the planets. In the second year we learned about habitats. Fish live in the water! You are bursting with fun! I am so glad I had you and I will miss you very, very much. I Love you!

Love,

Zoe

Here is Emily's poster...

It says:
Dear Mrs. Wight,
What a joy to have you for my teacher this year! I am glad you will be my teacher next year, too. I wonder if we will learn about the milkyway or more about fish in 3rd grade. I guess I'll find out after summer vacation. I am so ready for summer, I could burst! I hope you have a great summer.
Love,
Emily

Thursday, June 18th: Zoe and Emily's last day of school and it was a half day! Zoe had her step-up day, so she went to the middle school to meet her teacher, Mrs. Gormley. We really liked Mrs. Gormley, so I'm glad she is Zoe's teacher next year. The kids turned on the sprinkler when Zoe and Emily got home, but it wasn't as warm out, so they didn't last very long in it. The younger kids had a picnic.





Matt picked up the Yukon. Yay! It needed a new fuel pump. We went over to my parents' house for dinner and to watch "Wipeout". Fun!

Friday, June 19th: Zoe and Emily's first day of summer vacation. It is rainy, but it makes for a good lazy day at my parents' house.

Random Notes: Kate likes to say "Yes Sir" to me. The first time she said it, I replied, "I am not a sir, I am a ma'am." Then Kate replied, "No, you're mommy!"

Zoe's picture of the week:

TGIF

Let me start with a few things I have forgotten to mention. Eleanor bore her testimony in Sacrament meeting for the first time this past Sunday! I was in the Mother's room with Zach and Kate when I heard Zoe sharing her testimony. Then I heard Emily and then I heard Eleanor. I love to hear their testimonies.

When I am outside with the kids and the sun goes behind a cloud, Kate says "Oh, the lights went out!". It is so cute.

Zoe found a tick on her head Wednesday night. It was all blown up and firmly attached. I got it out, but I didn't think I had gotten the head. I saved the tick and I brought Zoe to the doctor's after school with all of the kids. It was a wood tick, so Lyme disease wasn't a concern and I did get all of the tick out, so that was good to know.

Emily and Eleanor had fun with Daisy and Anna after school on Wednesday. They took a ride to Castine where they looked at a display of miniature sculptures and they got ice cream. The kids get ice cream in Castine when they go there in Don's boat, so I guess Eleanor mentioned that there was ice cream there, so they got ice cream. They also stopped at the Blue Hill library and they each brought home a book. I picked Zoe up from school since Emily and Eleanor weren't going to be on the bus and we went home to watch the Redbox movies I had rented.

Emily had her last baseball practice last night, so we are officially done with baseball, softball, and T-ball. :-) Eleanor missed her last practice last Saturday with everything going on with the soil delivery, soil raking, seed buying, fixing the lawn mower and water heater, etc., but she hasn't mentioned T-ball, so I guess it's okay. Matt took Emily, Eleanor, and Kate to Emily's practice. They had a scrimmage and then they received a certificate and a package of baseball cards.

I took Zoe, Zach, and Noah to the middle school for the open house where we toured the school, met the 5th grade teachers (Zoe will know on the 18th who her teacher is), and we met in the gym to listen to the principal and vice principal explain some things about the school. Well, I did a retarded thing and it really bugs me that I did it because I know better. I followed Zoe up the bleachers and we sat in the middle of the crowd. The principal started talking...and so did Noah. I did a mental headslap and tried to keep Noah quiet. Then Zach started whining at me. Noah was embarrassing Zoe because he wouldn't be quiet and it was hard enough to hear what was being said without a babbling baby in the crowd. I asked Zoe if she wanted me to take Noah out, but she said no. After awhile, I ended up getting up and I sat on the bottom bench until Zach came down with me. I stood near the teachers by the door, but Noah was still babbling and Zach was really whining at me then. Mrs. Gormley, one of the 5th grade teachers, asked Zach if she could take him for a walk. He agreed after she asked him a few more times, so they left and then I just needed to keep Noah quiet. No such luck. I didn't catch much of what was said, but I was assured later by the teachers that I would get a handbook with all of the information that I needed to know. Zoe wanted to look around upstairs one more time, so we did that and then we left. Zoe didn't want to leave, but I was ready to go. It WAS fun to watch Zoe and her friends as they walked around the school. This is a very exciting time for them as they graduate on to the middle school. I just kept thinking how time flies and before we know it we'll be taking a tour of the high school. Yikes! Let's enjoy these middle school years first.

Zoe woke me up just before midnight to tell me that she threw up in her bed (which means she threw up on the floor). I cleaned it up while she took a bath. I wonder if the big dinner that she ate and the excitement of being at the middle school were just too much for her stomach to take. She felt fine when she woke up this morning and she went to school.

While I was cleaning the bathroom this morning, Kate decided to pour herself some milk in her cereal bowl. I feel like I've been cleaning up more messes than usual lately. Fun!

Zoe's class walked to Mrs. LaLonde's house today where they ate lunch and then they stopped for an ice cream at the Dairy Port on their way back to school. I passed them as they were getting their ice cream. We had a rainy morning, so I'm glad this afternoon was nice enough for them to go ahead with their lunch/ice cream plans.

I can smell our yummy chicken casserole baking. Matt will be here at my parents' house at 4:30 (we haven't seen much of him this week with him leaving early most mornings and working late Wednesday) and we will eat and then watch "Wipeout". We're excited for the 2 hour special, and if I set the DVR correctly, we'll get to watch it on the big screen tv in the living room. I love Friday evenings when we have something fun planned. :-)

Have a great weekend!

Recognizing the 4th Graders

It has been an early, busy morning. I was up at 5am to get ready for the day. I dropped Zoe and Emily off at school and then I brought Eleanor into her school with Zach, Kate, and Noah. I talked with Mrs. Pelletier for a minute and Noah let her hold him. She walked down the hall with me and when we passed the teacher's room, all of the teachers looked our way and said, "Awwww" because Mrs. Pelletier was holding a baby. It was so funny. Zach, Kate, Noah, and I got back in the car and went back to Miles Lane for the recognition assembly. All of the students and staff members were there and Zoe led everyone in the pledge of allegiance, we sang "My Country Tis of Thee", and those who knew it sang the school song. It was a nice start to the assembly. It was a pleasant surprise when Matt showed up. He had to be at work at 7:30 for a phone call, so I didn't think he was going to make it to the assembly at 8:30. I think the most touching moment of the assembly was when music from Bruce McKeen was played and he was remembered. Mr. McKeen was a 3rd grade teacher who died unexpectedly during this school year. A girl from each 4th grade class was picked to make an art piece to keep in the school as a tribute to Mr. McKeen. The artwork turned out really nice! I left my camera in the car, so I don't have any pictures of the assembly. Zoe's friend, Hailey Betts did the artwork for Mrs. LaLonde's class. Also during the assembly, a few other students were recognized for their artwork that was selected for a traveling show and all students, including Zoe and Emily, who participated in the math-a-thon were recognized. The librarian recognized a couple of students who helped her during morning recess throughout the year. Then the "Tissue Ceremony" began for the 4th graders, which was not as personal as I expected it to be. I suppose that if they said something about each 4th grader that we would have been there all day, but I was expecting more than the 4th graders stating their name into the microphone and then they received a notebook and a hug from their teacher and a certificate from Mrs. Marble, the principal. I'm glad we were able to be there to support Zoe anyway. It is a big deal to be moving on to the middle school!

I am now wasting the day away at my parents' house. They are still in North Carolina. They'll be back Saturday night with cousins in tow, yay! The kids will get to spend some time with Aly (age 10 1/2) and Phil (age 14 on Sunday). It is cold and rainy outside today. The perfect day to watch movies (we stopped at Hannaford to pick up a couple of Redbox movies..."Scooby Doo Ghosts on the Go" and "Bolt" since Zoe hasn't seen it yet and Emily and Eleanor will be playing with Daisy and Anna this afternoon at their grandmother's house) and to play on the computer. I am not a fan of 50 degree weather in June!

I put Noah in his highchair yesterday morning with a magnadoodle, so he would stay out of trouble while I got ready for the day. I was not happy to find him like this...
That would be green marker all over him. I think Kate left the marker within Noah's reach. I had put the pen/pencil basket on the table for Zach and Kate to use and the marker must have been in the basket. Into the bath Noah went, which he loved, and the marker went into the garbage.

Emily didn't go to her baseball practice last night because it was a bit rainy when we were supposed to leave. We were able to eat together as a family. We had pizza again...without any huge messes to clean up afterwards. :-)

Matt and I watched "Marley & Me" last night. What a great movie! Matt and I both agreed after the movie, though that we are glad we don't have a dog. I loved the family theme of the movie. It was a good, clean movie.

We planted our garden Monday night. Zoe gardens like a pro since her teacher, Mrs. Lalonde has had Zoe and her classmates taking care of the school garden for the past 2 years.





Noah turned 11 months old on Monday! I cannot believe he is going to be a year old next month!

Zach is demonstrating what we were all dealing with...black flies!




Planting the garden with everyone went better than I expected. I thought the little ones would be running wild or be bored, but all of the kids were anxious to help out and to be involved. Now grow garden, grow!

Taste of Freedom

I am at my parents' house ALONE! Noah fell asleep while I was nursing him and when I put him down on a blanket in the living room, he stayed asleep, so I left without him. Hopefully, he will stay asleep or wake up content to be with Matt until I get home. It is so quiet here. :-) I came here to pick up Eleanor's backpack that she left here Friday. I couldn't leave without updating my blog!

Our Friday evening was fun. We ate yummy chicken fajitas and brownies and then we cleaned up before watching "Wipeout". The kids LOVED the show! Zach played by himself at the beginning of the show and then he came into the kitchen, where the computer is, to ask me a question. The show caught his attention and he laughed and laughed along with the rest of us. It was cute to hear Kate laugh and talk about everyone falling into the water and even Noah laughed because that's what everyone else was doing. Now the kids want to watch the show with us every week.

On Saturday morning, I met Peter (President Dauk), Tiffany, and Nathan at Hannaford in Bucksport to head to the temple. I had no intention of going to the temple until Noah was 1 year old and could be left behind, but ever since this temple trip was announced, I have felt like I needed to go. I would decide to go and then talk myself out of it, but then I would hear a talk at Stake Conference or something would be said at church and I would make up my mind to go again. Well, a couple of Sundays ago I was back to my decision to not go when Tiffany announced to the Relief Society that if someone wasn't going because they needed a babysitter then she would be willing to stay behind to babysit. I couldn't leave Noah behind, so that wasn't going to work, but then she added that she would also be willing to ride down and babysit at the temple. I knew right then that she said that for me, so I talked with her about it after church and I committed to going and didn't change my mind again. I worried about how Noah would do during the ride and with Tiffany while I was in the temple, but I had nothing to worry about. He did great and the Dauk's 5 year old son, Nathan went with us, so Nathan and Noah had each other to play with. It really worked out perfectly. Noah cried himself to sleep once on the way down and once on the way back, but he didn't cry for too long either time before he fell asleep. He loves to nurse when he is tired, so I worried that he would just cry and cry and cry when he was tired and we were in the car, but he didn't. Nathan said that Noah was being so good that day because Noah was at the temple and I think Nathan was absolutely right. Noah was very good for Tiffany while I was in the temple. It was a beautiful day, so they were able to be outside in the sunshine and enjoy the beautiful temple grounds. I was nervous about doing baptisms for the dead since I haven't done any since I was a youth, but I felt like I needed to do the baptisms and confirmations for the 2 female names that I had brought to the temple. The male names I brought with me were done as well. On the way home, President Dauk mentioned to me that when we did my family file names, he had a strong impression that the people were near. I felt the spirit many times during the trip. Today during testimony meeting, Tiffany said that she knew I was supposed to be at the temple yesterday. When she was on her way out of the temple, she stopped to talk with a sister from our stake. Tiffany told this sister that she was on her way out because she was mainly the babysitter for the day and when Tiffany said that, she felt the spirit strongly. I was supposed to go to the temple yesterday and I went and I'm so glad I did. It is always a long trip, even more so with a baby in tow, but it is always worth it.

Matt and the kids had a very busy day at home getting things ready so we can plant a garden.
The soil was delivered.

Our grass has been growing and growing since the lawnmower quit working several weeks ago, so Matt also fixed the lawnmower. Here is what our lawn has looked like.

Here is a close up view of our very long grass.

I personally think this grass is where the ticks have been hanging out. It looks like snakes have been hanging out in the grass, too.

The cut lawn looks so nice!

But the lawnmower quit working again, so the lawn now looks like this.

Besides raking out dirt (which I think Zoe and Emily did a lot of) and fixing the lawnmower and trying to mow the lawn, there was also a trip to the grocery store and Lowe's and Matt fixed our water heater, which stopped working Friday morning. I took a very cold shower Saturday morning and it was miserable! But I took a nice hot shower this morning. :-) I got home last night a little before 8pm, so I was able to tuck the kids in bed and listen to them all at once tell me about their day. I was exhausted and ready for bed, but Noah was wide awake. I ended up feeding him in my chair where I fell asleep and I finally went to bed at 1am.

It was hard to get up and going this morning, but we did. Zach has been refusing to wear his tie lately, so this morning I told him how I had saw some young men at the temple yesterday and how they looked so handsome in their white shirts and ties. It was just what Zach needed to hear. He marched to his room, grabbed his tie, and I put it on him. Of course I told Zach how handsome he looked because he did. :-) Just about everyone who went on the temple trip yesterday shared their testimonies during Sacrament meeting today. It was a great meeting! Matt went to Rockland for their conference. They had originally scheduled the conference for Father's Day, not realizing it was Father's Day, so they changed it to today.

Noah is trying to walk more now. He takes a couple of steps and then falls down, crawls a bit, stands up and takes a few steps and then falls down... It's fun to watch him and the kids are excited that Noah is walking more.

Computer Day

I am having a computer day today. Fun! I cleaned yesterday, so today could be a guilt-free play day. My parents left for North Carolina on Wednesday, so we are taking over their house today. Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor are going to ride the bus here after school, and Matt is coming over after work. The plan is to watch the latest episode of "Wipeout" with the kids and eat chicken fajitas tonight. Our kids are finally at the point where they don't whine and complain every time we eat fajitas. They have just learned to live with it and (gasp) some of them even LIKE cheese fajitas.

So what have we been up to the last week or so? Let's take a look...

Last week's artwork was Eleanor's snowman. "Snowman!", Kate declared when she saw it. Then Kate and Zach spent the day singing "Once there was a snowman". I'm glad we won't be building a snowman for awhile.


Thursday, May 28th: Noah took 2 steps in a row! Emily had her first baseball game, which really is just a scrimmage with her teammates. She is on the green team, which she was happy about because she would rather have a green shirt than a black shirt. She played in the outfield and she actually had several balls hit to her. She struck out the first time she was up to bat (given about 10-12 chances), but the second time up right before striking out again, she hit the ball past 3rd base. Yay, Emily! Noah had a great time playing in the grass. He likes to pick dandelion stems, but after a taste of one, he doesn't put them in his mouth anymore.

Matt made pizza while I was at Emily's game. We came home to yummy pizza...and a big mess. I had put the basket of crayons on the stove earlier and Matt didn't notice them until the pizza was almost done. Crayon wax ended up all over the stove, counter, doors to the cupboards, floor, and a strainer. Big mess. The pizza was yummy, though.


My crayon basket has new character and a story to tell.

Friday, May 29th: Zach and Kate played well together for most of the day. I take special note of this because it is rare. Matt and I came over to my parents' house to watch the last 3 episodes of "The Office" and we watched the first episode of the season of "Wipeout". We also watched Glenn Beck. Noah kept climbing the stairs. I should videotape how happy he gets when he is at the top of the stairs because he gets the biggest smile on his face, he claps proudly, and he squeels with delight. I have a bench in front of the stairs now because he climbed the stairs right when we got here, but he paused halfway up and then tumbled down. He was not proud of that!

Saturday, May 30th: Don turned 50, so the kids made him cards and we brought him some store bought cookies. The original idea was to bake him a cake, but then we decided to make brownies because it would be quicker, but we didn't have all the ingredients for the brownies, so Don ended up with delicious cookies from the store. We went to visit him at his new house which is being built about 3 miles from us. :-) Zoe wasn't with us, she was with my mom getting haircuts. Zoe met us at home and we went to Camp Bravo to cook hotdogs.






Eleanor was humoring us with her presence. She didn't want me taking her picture, so she kept tilting her head back and closing her eyes.









Usually on Saturday, Matt and I are off in different directions, so it was nice to spend time together as a family. We ended the day with a family movie, "Bedtime Stories". I was a bit concerned about an Adam Sandler family movie, but our hairdresser recommended it and Zoe's friend said it was really good, so I got it. We made a bed in the living room for Zach to lay in while watching the movie because after dinner, after Matt telling him not to jump from my chair onto Eleanor's chair, Zach did it anyway and he hurt his back. It hurt more when he was standing and sitting, so after his bath and after deciding to wait to take him to the ER, we got him settled into his bed before the movie. He immediately fell asleep. By the end of the movie, I liked the movie, but it took me awhile to like it.

Sunday, May 31st: Zach ended up being alright and I made it to church with the kids. Matt and my mom traveled to Machias for their conference. I noticed a tick in my leg and got it out. My first tick bite. There was an immediate bullseye rash, a sign of infection. Great.
During Family Council the week before, I recognized Emily's choices to help when she wasn't asked to and I called her the superstar of the week. Zoe's competitive spirit led her to be more helpful with Noah and chores, so she was a superstar at today's Family Council, along with Emily. It's nice having them help when they see a need. Even Zach is noticing their example and he put his flip flops away last week when he saw them in the middle of the floor. :-) Not leaving shoes in front of the door was also addressed at our last council. When we went over our calendar for the week, it was brought up that I am going to the temple tomorrow. Zoe and Emily put up a fuss and I asked them why I was going to the temple. Their answer was to get away from them. Then Matt said he should go to the temple. I brought up how absurd that sounded that I go to the temple to get away from them, so Zoe came up with a better answer..."You need to be rebaptized because of your anger issues?" Ha Ha. The kids thought that was super funny!

Monday, June 1st: Every year Matt tells the girls that they don't have to go to school in June and every year the girls ask me if that is true and I say no. They only have to survive a few more weeks. Eleanor gets out on the 16th and Zoe and Emily get out on the 18th. I am looking forward to summer. I plan on living at the pool. I went to the doctor for my tick bite and I got a prescription for an antibiotic. I couldn't fill it yet though because I didn't have any money. The younger kids and I went for a walk along the waterfront after my appointment. Zach had a great time pushing Noah in the stroller. Zach always insists on pushing Noah. Then we went to the park before going home. We had FHE in the evening. Zoe missed her softball awards banquet because it didn't sound like a fun family activity. Keeping little kids quiet for a long time is not fun! Her coach dropped off her trophy, medal, and certificate at school for her a few days later.

Zoe found a tick stuck on her this evening. Enough with the ticks! She didn't have a bullseye rash, so we have just been keeping an eye on it.

Tuesday, June 2nd: I can't remember specifics about this day, except that Zoe had a rough afternoon when she got home from school. Emily had baseball practice and Matt worked late, so the kids played on the playground at the school where Emily practices. A man was at the playground and after awhile he came over to talk with me while I was on the teeter totter with Zoe. He was looking for an eyeglass lense which belonged to his 7 year old grandson and he said how crazy it was to think he was going to find it. He had been there since after school and he had been arond the playground many times. Well, I looked at the ground and saw something shiny. I walked over, picked up an eyeglass lense, and asked him if that was what he was looking for. Just like that. He was so happy of course and thanked me many times. After the afternoon I had had, it felt good to have something go right. My mom stopped by to say goodbye to us since she was leaving in the morning. We saw Kristen, Kayla, and Alex Speranza at the school, so Zoe was able to play with Kayla for awhile. These evenings are crazy because the kids need baths when we get home and they get to bed around 9pm. Too late!

Wednesday, June 3rd: I was able to pick up my antibiotic, register our Yukon which was supposed to be registered in May, go on a walk along the waterfront, and pick up Zach's pictures at Walmart. I did some shopping at Walmart, the last half with Noah crying. We had NOTHING planned in the evening. It was so nice. We had a leisurely dinner and the kids got to bed at a decent hour.

Thursday, June 4th: Cleaning day! I had 3 major goals to accomplish. Laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning the bathroom. I had laundry to put away this morning, but I accomplished all of my goals. :-) I even had time to push the kids on the swing and I brought the kids to church last night, so Zoe and Emily could attend Activity Days. They had an Asian Day with Sunshine. This was one of her last activities to be in charge of because she is now a counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. The girls and I had our first taste of Sushi. The girls had to eat some and then Sunshine told them what it was made of. Zoe insisted that I eat the Sushi, which I knew what it was, but had never tried it before, so I played along and ate a few bites and then she told me what I was eating. I didn't like it, but I hate wasting food, so I ate all of it. The other kids had fun playing in the gym with Kai and Koa. Zach was in a whiney mood and screeched every time one of the other kids played with "his" ball. Fun times! It WAS fun to see Noah walk. He tentavely put one foot in front of the other and just kept going. He did it twice. We had another late evening with Matt at his High Council meeting in Waterville. I put up a new piece of artwork after the kids went to bed. I stayed with the Asian theme and put up Emily's Chinese lettering.


Zach is now insisting he have a turn on the computer. He is internet deprived as well. A few random notes and then I will hand over the computer.

Here are the flowers that Emily and Eleanor made for me for Mother's Day.



Here is a picture of Eleanor and her doll, both in their pj's.


Noah is finally getting some top teeth. Noah laughs at us when we are funny, which is so cute! Kate says "Of course" when I ask her a question like "Do you want milk in your cereal?" Cute.