Views from the Window - Friday

Evidently the ice cream man thinks it is still summer. Friday afternoon, the kids were home from school and enjoying the nice weather outside when we heard little song of the ice cream truck. They all ran from the back year to the front and looked on longingly as other kids brought ice cream. Mind you, they were all eating *spice sugar cookies which had just come out of the oven and somehow they knew not even to ask for money to buy more treats. Still, it did not stop them from looking longingly.

We have some really nice kids in our neighborhood. I caught Sukriti sharing a lick of her ice cream treat with all of my kids (they had shared cookies with her).

I think this may be the last we see of the ice cream man this year.

*I substitute 1/2 butter, 1/2 trans-fat free shortening in this recipe and under cook them slightly.

Today

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Sophie (had a hard time making up her mind):
1. First Lady
2. Explorer
3. Painter
4. One of those scientists who studies rainbows
5. A regular scientist
6. Paleontologist
7. Singer
8. Librarian

Calvin:
1. I want to be like you and Dad
2. Astronaut
3. Race Car

Sophie-loo-who

Sophie's hair is finally getting long enough for me to play with - though it is also long enough to be getting some serious tangles. I had long hair my entire life and I remember the tangles I would get at the base of my skull that felt like a woven mat. They hurt like the dickens to get out! This is her homage to Princess Leia look.

Her hair is very much like mine - fine and silky and straight as a board. She can hold a braid, but only if her hair is wet. She also has those wispy hairs around her hairline that fall down as her hair starts to dry. Whenever I take her in for a haircut, they always ask if they want me to trim her bangs - to which I reply, "she has never actually had bangs." By the time she came home from school, one side of her hair-do had fallen out. We'll keep trying!

Soccer makes us happy!

Sophie is working hard again this year on her soccer team. We had a game this morning in the rain, and though they lost 7-4, Sophie did come home with some very dirty knees!

She has a very close working relationship with her teammates.


She always has her eye on the ball.


She rejoices her teams successes - actually she seems to rejoice whether they are winning or losing!


She is sensitive to the inevitable smell of all of that running.


She rejoices much.


Sometimes, just for fun, she kicks the ball!

Her brother does not rejoice as he cannot seem to stay in his chair.

Another first day of school

Calvin and Natalie started fall preschool this week. They are in the "Just for 5's" class for kids who will be starting kindergarten next year. Calvin's good friend Luke is also in class with them. Calvin adores preschool. He loves the whole routine of bringing his backpack and hanging it up just so on the hooks, getting his name stick and putting it in the attendance basket and all of the other great stuff kids do in preschool. I love the 2 1/2 hours of time with only ONE kid! The first day of preschool, I ran 6 errands in record breaking time. It is truly amazing how much faster one can get things done with a single child!

These two shots were taken at the open house. I asked Calvin what his favorite thing was to do in preschool, and he said "painting".

You can see the remnants of Calvin's glued lip. It is healing really well though at this stage it looked like dried up boogers.

Temple Fire

Some sad news this morning from Minnesota - I was actually at the gym when our local temple appeared on the TV screen showing a scorched front entrance. So very sad. We actually had a RS Temple trip planned for tonight - I assume the temple will be closed today due to the investigation. You can learn more about the importance and sacredness of temples here.

"Fire broke out early Wednesday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Oakdale. At this point, officials believe it may be a case of arson. The fire started just before three Wednesday morning at the church, located on 2140 Hadley Avenue. By the time crews arrived, the fire had run its course and had self-extinguished. The fire was mostly confined to the front doors, but Anderson says some light smoke got into a front room. Church leaders estimate the damage at $25,000. Investigators found no signs of forced entry, and authorities don't believe the case is a hate crime."

Late Night Field Trip

On the second night of school I had the kids up in the rooms in the pajamas reading while I (also in my jammies) was picking up downstairs - or maybe I was reading too - whatever. Suddenly there comes an ear-piercing scream from upstairs and a few moments later Max comes running downstairs yelling that Calvin has been hurt. Sure enough, Calvin has a bloody nose and a jagged little cut above his lip.

Having several friends in the medical profession, I call Susan and ask her if she thinks I need to take the kid in for stitches. She recommends going to an insta-care to have the cut glued since it is on his face and will likely scar. I admit to debating that thought for a few minutes - it was late, we were all in our pajamas on a school night and just how noticeable would the scar be really? Then, I came to my senses and threw all the kids in the car and headed out to the closest insta-care (7 miles) which was - closed. Actually it closed two minutes before we arrived so I loaded everyone up again and drove to Apple Valley to the next closest insta-care.

We ended up being there until about 9:30 pm. When the doctor asked what had happened, I looked to Max to answer as I was not in the room at the time of the accident. Max says "well, you see, Calvin was sitting on my head . . . "

The doctor glued up Calvin's face (where can I buy me some of that stuff?!) and even washed out his ears when Calvin told him he had a boo-boo in his ear. All of the kids thought that was great fun to look at the disgusting "potato" (nurse's word, not mine) that came out of Calvin's ear.

Lovely, educational field trip on the second day of school. We are off to a good start! And yes, my camera was actually in my purse!! I have taken to carrying it with me for moments such as these.

I think I've Been Twice

Last summer, I stopped by the farmers market almost every week on Thursdays after "garage-saleing" all morning. This year, they moved the location to farther away and the time to Wednesday evenings. I have made it twice. At the new venue however, they do have fun free crafts for the children and live music which livens the place up a bit. Here we are stopping by on our way to soccer. Pretty cool looking fish huh? It was actually hysterical to watch as it was a windy day and the kids had to glue tiny pieces of tissue paper to the fish. The ground around the craft tent was blanketed with tiny pieces of tissue everywhere. I'm glad I didn't have to clean that up!

View from the window

Look at this beautiful little guy who was resting outside my window this week. I have taken to leaving the camera in the living room so I can snatch photos of our visitors from my favorite spot. I should really spend more time cleaning the windows to get clearer photos! Today Calvin and I spend some time watching a tiny hummingbird outside the window. I wonder how much longer they will be around?

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . .

School started!!! I love the start of school because it means having a routine again. I am fond of routines.

Bright and early (much, much too early - the whole family has been enjoying late night reading sessions the whole summer!) Tuesday morning, school was back in session for Max and Sophie. In honor of the first day, we actually sat down and had breakfast together as a family, read scriptures and then walked the kids over to the school. Pretty impressive, except we were a bit late! I would love to make that a habit for our family this school year (except the late part).

Sophie is so excited to start school again! She has Mrs. Mehlhaff this year who was Max's 1st grade teacher. She is wonderful and I think Sophie will have a great year. This is the backpack she chose for school this year. Tacky, but she loves it!

Max chose a relatively subdued backpack, but on school open house night, I noticed it already had a hole in it! We exchanged it for a new one the day before school started. Max has his 3rd grade teacher that he had for language arts last year as his full-time teacher this year. I think he should have a good year as well. His 4th grade teacher seems really nice as well though I am concerned that his desk is right next to several bins full of books. I can see Max reaching over and grabbing a book to read every time he is in class instead of paying attention!

At breakfast, we spent a long time talking to Max about his responsibility to walk to Sophie's class after school was out to walk home with her. We went over staying together, crossing the streets together with the crossing guards etc. So, on the first day of school, I hear the kids getting home and go to the back porch to let them in and it's only Max. "Where is Sophie?!" I asked Max. He looked at me with a completely blank stare and said "Um, I don't know; maybe she took a bus?" Needless to say, I freaked out a little, sent Max running back to the school while I threw the other three kids, sans shoes, into the minivan and raced over to the school. After picking up Max on the way, we arrived to find little Sophie sitting on a bench in front of the school, abandoned on her first day. So sad!! She was not crying, and Mrs. Mehlhaff came over from where she was watching the buses leave with the other teachers to say good-bye to her. Luckily, she had Max as a student and knew it was likely he had forgotten his sister and assumed I would come for her. We had another long talk with Max , had Mrs. Mehlaff talk to Max's teacher and sent notes to remind Max, and he has managed to bring her home every day since. The end. I hope.

I'd like to mention that it turned really cold after these photos and the kids have been wearing coats to school every day since!

My Birthday Party AKA: Eagan Ward Picnic

Our ward decided to honor my birthday this year by having a ward picnic on September 1st - just kidding! It happened to be my birthday on the same day as the annual Labor Day picnic. This is always the best ward event of the year. We are lucky enough to have Brother Backer in our ward who organizes the games every year and they are truly phenomenal! The kids, and the adults all had a great time!

Funny things kids say

Max's school project: Right now I'm just a kid, but when I am 100 . . . .

"I'll own a checkers set, a Chinese checkers set, and 2 chess sets. I'll write letters to all of my old and new friends and I'll read wonderful stories and bake and cook scrumptious food. I will sleep for hours at a time, even during the day!"

Calvin, repeating after his Mommy while saying the prayer:

Mommy " . . . and please bless Grandpa with his retirement . . . "
Calvin "and please bless Grandpa to change his tires . . . "

Sophie as we are loading the car to run errands:

Mommy "Sophie go grab more books; we are going to be in the car a long time today."
Sophie "it's ok Mom, If I read all of my books, I'll just play with my imaginary friends!"
Mommy "Who?"
Sophie "I have a couple of imaginary deer friends. The husband is like the Daddy in Bambi: Prince of the Forrest except my husband deer is more frisky! They run along the side of our car while we drive so I can talk to them!"

Corners of my Home - My Favorite Spot

The bay window in the living room is my favorite spot in our house. There is a very comfy couched pushed into the window and above the couch are five globes. I love globes. I look at them and think of all of the places I would like to see someday. I love the globes in the window and all of the other globes in the house. Garage sales are a great place to find globes - all of the globes in the window cost $8.50 plus $5.00 in hardware to hang them.

This is my favorite spot, because it is my reading spot and I love to read.

If the kids are outside playing, I can stretch out on the couch with a good book and watch them out the window. This is what I can see.

Sometimes when the kids are naughty, like using the hose to water the driveway, a sharp knock or two on the window is enough for them to remember that they are being watched! If Max need to practice his piano which is also in the living room, this is the spot I sit to make sure he stays on task - otherwise Max daydreams for LONG periods of time.

We have flowers growing under the window. Right now, the strange huge black stinging bugs are back.

I think we identified these last summer, but I cannot remember what they are really called.

We also get hummingbirds almost daily feeding on the bee balm under the window. Hummingbirds are hard to photograph.

This is what is in bloom right now out the window.

Of course, if the kids are in the backyard, I cannot see them at all. I still love my reading spot - it is going to help me get through winter which is coming all too soon (high of 69 today)!

It takes so little

It takes so little to keep the kids amused in the summer. My friend Lori gave Calvin a bag full of little toys for his birthday and the kids have gotten a lot of mileage out of them!

This little thing is a plastic octopus that grows in water. The key to all fun in the summer is to include water in any form. All of the kids have been watching this thing for a week now. They check it every day. It has stopped growing now, but sometimes I sneak out at night and dump out the water and throw the octopus out in the grass where it shrinks. That way, the next day the kids spend all sorts of time looking for the octopus and setting it up again in a watery home and the fun starts all over again! I'm going to miss summer.