Fun Day With Friends

We hosted a "thank you" party for Steven's Sunday School teacher, Bro McQueen, who was recently released from the calling. The class came over for a couple of hours of swimming and eating pizza.

They played lots of games like, "King of the Hill", "Who can make the biggest splash" (Emily won that), "Marco, Polo",  "Who can make the smallest splash" (Steven won that), etc. While trying to beat Steven's smallest splash, Bro. McQueen dove into the pool and ended up hitting the top of his head on the bottom. There was a superficial gash on his head that looked a lot like a lightening bolt (think Harry Potter). Now we're calling the poor guy "Lightening McQueen".

 Towards the end of the party, the kids decided to have a treading water contest. We were amazed at how long they endured this. After about 25 minutes of it, some parents began to arrive; so we called it a tie. 

 Kelli had come over to our house earlier so that I could help her make her mom a birthday dessert. She ended up hanging out with Steven's class and had a great time. Kelli's family call the dessert we made  "Watergate Cover up". But I know it as "Four Layer Dessert" and in Texas they called it "Yum Yum Dessert".

(Kirsten insisted that I take a picture of the cute little doggie before she jumped into the pool)

James spent the afternoon playing air soft guns at the Sundstroms, Justin moped around the house feeling sorry for himself that he had no one to play with, and Kirsten spent the day with her friend Jessica at Saratoga Springs. 

Loaded

(James, Josh, Matthew, Steven, and Ben)
These band of gun-toting brothers have gotten together almost every available day to have air soft wars. They play at our house, or the Sundstroms, or in forests, or abandoned playgrounds. The boys especially love to play against Justin. If they can beat him, than they crow like a rooster. James takes the safety precautions very seriously (as seen in the above picture). He wears a face mask (used for paint balls), a nerf  vest underneath his shirt, and if it isn't too hot he'll wear a sweatshirt. James is determined to feel no pain.

(James loves making and stringing up targets to practice on)

Watch out toddlers! They're recruiting them young these days.

Cuteness

There isn't a day that goes by when Dave-o's cuteness fails to get noticed. Everything he does is cute; even throwing a tantrum. I understand that the day will come when he will have outgrown this adorable-I-want-to-squeeze-you-so-tight-cause-you're-so-cute phase. For now, we're just taking it all in and enjoying every minute of Dave-o's growing up.

For example, I LOVE the way Dave-o sometimes holds his mouth to the side when he talks (just like his daddy). Or, the way his face lights up when he hears the garbage truck and tractor drive down our neighborhood each Tuesday morning. He will scream, "Garbage truck!" over and over until somebody (usually me) takes him out front to watch. The garbage men like the attention as well. They stick their heads and arms out of the window to wave and occasionally honk the truck's horn to a very excited Dave-o.

This evening I laid out a blanket on the grass for Dave-o and I to sit on while enjoying the cool summer breeze. We played lots of little games; making them up as we go. One game in particular made me laugh. I was laying flat on my back when Dave-o came charging towards me. I opened my legs and enclosed them around him (scissors style). Then I lifted him up and down using my legs. Dave-o exclaimed, "Garbage truck!" He apparently associated our game with the similar motions of the big claw-arm that reaches out to pick up our trash can each week. He's such a funny little boy...and very observant too.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

At the start of the Weller Family Reunion, we strangely had a lot of hurting ears. 

Kirsten was recovering from an inner and outer ear infection and Thavee, Dave-o, and I were tormented by plugged ears.

Now, fast forward to present day (three weeks later) and my left ear was still plugged. That is until I went to the doctors. I was 100% positive that my loss of hearing was due to the cold that I had had. But the medical professionals told me that I had wax build up (GROSS), which ended up being an easy fix. The nurse mixed hydrogen peroxide with warm water and repeatedly flushed my ear out using a fat syringe while I held a cup underneath my ear. The cup quickly began to fill with the rinsing solutions mixed with chunks of my lovely ear wax. 

I can finally hear sounds without feeling like I'm standing in a tunnel. It's a wonderful sensation. 

Waterfall Trail

The Zinn-Stroms (Zinns and Sundstroms) spent the day in Uvas Canyon. The beauty and peacefulness of this area was inspiring. A slow running creek, which provided the kids with constant entertainment, ran along side the Waterfall Trail that we explored. 

(Becca and Steven crossing over the creek on a fallen tree...Ben helping Dave-o up some boulders)

(Michele...Ben and Dave-o)

Michele, Dave-o, and I stayed on the path while the rest of the gang used God's stairs (boulders) to reach our destination. They even spotted a Diamond-back baby rattlesnake sunning itself on one of the boulders. Becca patiently stayed behind with a cautiously-slow-moving-Kirsten.

(Becca and Kirsten)

Dave-o's favorite part was throwing rocks and sticks (that he called boats) into the water.

We finally reached the picnic table that the map promised us. Our packed sandwiches gave us the boost we needed to make it to the big waterfall.

(James and I discovered this really awesome tree...Steven, Josh, and Matthew)

The kids spent a lot of time climbing up and down the waterfall. Then they settled on the top and had fun throwing huge rocks down the side of it.

Before heading back down, Becca, Kirsten, Steven, and Josh painted their faces with mud.

(Steven, Josh, and Kirsten)

We are all in agreement that this place deserves many more visits.

Celebrating a Holiday and Justin's Return

Branham Ward's Pioneer Day celebration was a lot of fun. There was yummy food (barbecue, Dutch oven cobblers, fruit, etc), wonderful friends to talk to, and a park to play at.

Halfway into the activity, we had an injury. The back of Kirsten's legs (behind her knees) were sliced from a dog leash. A friend that she had been playing with was walking a dog and when the dog took off running, its leash gave Kirsten a nasty rope burn. I took her to our blanket underneath the shade of the Redwood trees and had her lay down with cold, wet paper towels placed on her wounds. Dave-o liked this idea of some R&R time too.We laid there for a while and chatted while eating peach cobbler. The rest and first aid did the trick. Kirsten was back on her feet in no time.

Some of the games that were played were, softball, kickball, water balloon toss, and stick pulling. The boys loved ganging up together to try taking down  the adults. 

I think everyone had a fun time.

*****

A half an hour after returning home, David and I (with Kirsten) hopped back in the car to pick up Justin from the airport. We were all anxious to see him again after his fun EFY trip. 

Justin had a great time, but was happy to be home (he better be). He made a lot of friends despite the fact that he was in a separate group as the boys he went up with. I am grateful that the experience was a positive one that will hopefully be repeated (he has expressed an interest in attending EFY next year, which says a lot).  My brother, Douglas, was nice enough to pick Justin and his two friends (Kyle and Megan) up from the dorms at the early check-out hour of 7:15am. He took them out to breakfast, then to Temple Square to watch the new Joseph Smith movie, and to the Visitor's Center. This was the perfect ending to a spiritual and uplifting week. Thank you Douglas.

I find it interesting that the theme of EFY was based on the 13th Article of Faith (Believe, Hope, Endure). Our Stake Youth Choir adopted this same concept for their performance earlier on in the year and it is now the theme of Zion Choir for the year 2011-2012.

Bombs Away!

(Steven)

 James, Steven, and Kirsten stayed up pretty late last night filling up water balloons for today's Pioneer Day activity that our ward has organized. David (the Elder's Quorum) was put in charge of the games. He didn't have to twist anybody's arms to help out with the daunting task of filling a hundred or so balloons. 

Steven claimed the back yard hose and James and Kirsten went to work in the front yard.

(Kirsten and James)

It wasn't long before James was hearing "SPLAT" at his feet. Water bombs were mysteriously being launched over the roof of our house. They had so much fun!

A Little Privacy Please!

 Dave-o loves his train set, especially since moving it into his room. He's even discovered that driving cars on the tracks is as much fun as the trains. 

Dave-o loves his subjects coming in every now and then to play. But NOT when he's pooping. We always know when he's feeling the urge to go because he'll run to his room and refuse anyone near him. If Dave-o sees us at his doorway, he'll say, "Bye!" and close the door. It think it's the cutest thing when toddlers need their privacy. 

I'm afraid though that this means Dave-o is ready to be potty trained. Ugh!

*******

Justin comes home from EFY tomorrow. I can't wait to pick him up from the airport and hear his tales.

The Good Life is...

 Clapping in delight as Dave-o practices doing somersaults on my bed (with Steven coaching him on)...

 Laughing at Dave-o wearing sunglasses for the first time that we purchased from the $1 bins at Target...

 Being the lifeguard while watching the kids play rough (yet nicely) in the pool with each other...

 (Kirsten, Josh, Dave-o, Steven, and James)

 Knowing that Dave-o was saving me a seat next to him so that we could dangle our feet in the water...

 while eating Popsicles together...

Playing around with the settings on my camera...

And listening to Kirsten tell me about this cool bendy paper that she saw advertised on TV and how she really, really wants it but can't remember the name of it and wants to pause the station when she sees it on again so that she can show me it. 

This is the good life. And I love being apart of it ALL.

Small, Yet Troublesome

In the middle of our family reunion, my washing machine decided to go on the fritz. Perfect timing, right? Loads of people = loads of laundry. The machine would work for the first twenty minutes or so, but then I would hear a beeping sounds. After a bit of investigating, I learned that the water wasn't draining.

David, who is usually my "Mr. Fix-it" texted me from work to call a maintenance man. He felt this problem was beyond his capabilities. 

I tried calling a guy, but I never received a call back. Meanwhile, the laundry pile was growing and multiplying.

With a sigh of annoyance, David put on his Mr. Fix-it hat and with the aid of the internet, was able to figure out and solve the problem. (Never underestimate your potential.)

Parents of teenage boys...BEWARE! Our culprit? AIRSOFT pellets which wedge perfectly into the drain holes. 

Changing Gears

When one grows up with lots of siblings, there aren't many opportunities that one gets to do by oneself. Life's activities tend to revolve around everyone with little room to breathe in between. 

After our early afternoon of naps (for Dave-o) and music lessons, James had a rare moment of doing something that he wanted to do. We hopped into the Mazda and headed to the deserted church parking lot for a lesson on driving a stick vehicle. James did a great job! He only stalled the car twice with one of the times being my fault (I had forgotten to tell him to push down on the clutch when stopping). Since we were in a confined area, James was only able to open it up to 2nd gear. For the most part, his driving was smooth (I'm not suffering from any symptoms of whiplash). 

When we returned home it was nearing 5 o'clock. James asked if we could have my home made pizza for dinner. I said sure and taught him how to make it; from the dough to the sauce to the assembly part. The pizza was delicious! 

It pleased me to see James beam with the self satisfaction that he learned something new and did a great job doing it. I love your confidence James.

Downsizing

At 4 in the morning my household went from 13 to 6. I awoke to say goodbye to a very sleepy Douangaphiavong family as well as an excited 16 year old boy headed to EFY for the first time. Justin left with his friend Kyle to fly to Provo, UT for a week of spiritual and uplifting fun. I am praying that Justin will be open to everything that is available for him to grow in his faith and love for the Savior. Last year, Justin had no desire to go to EFY. Oh, how he's grown in one short year. All week long he has been talking and planning for this adventure. I've never seen him so excited for something of a spiritual nature. I find myself already missing his sweet smile and annoying antics.

My house is too quiet now!

Denial

(Dave-o, Kamea, Steven, Aaron, Leeah, James, Kirsten, and Sean)

 Today has been an emotional day for most of us. We are all aware of the fact that this is the D15 family's last day with us and yet none of us really want to talk about it. Even though I can see them packing to prepare for an early morning departure, the reality of their absence hasn't hit me yet. I love having my sister and her husband and darling 4 children close by. Curse my brother-in-law for being in the Navy! (Thavee knows I love him.)

It's been a blast! From Slurpies to making pedestals to coloring hair. From tantrums to laughs to chick flicks to Legos. From 15 minutes clean ups to dirty dishes to lots of grocery trip runs. I will miss it all. I will miss you!

Dress Update: This evening I received an email from the Loft (the store where Deborah's dress was found) advertising a 12 hour sale. The entire merchandise via the online store was 40% off!
SCORE! As Deborah and I scrolled through the online site (while drooling, I might add) she spotted an even cuter dress. I believe she ended up getting that one,