Back to School 2009!

Rebekah is an 8th grader? How did that happen?

Price and Josh are 6th graders

Can you tell how tall they're getting?

Ethan's a 3rd grader- there was no question what shirt he was going to wear for the first day (Pokemon)!

I think Emma was the most excited- 1st grade, all day, and she gets to bring lunch! That new lunch bag had to be in every picture we took.

Walking to school.

Price and Josh waiting for the bell (See what a nice mom I am? I took the picture from way across the playground.)

Ethan in front of his classroom- just impatient for me to leave so he could go!

Emma and her new teacher- what a difference from her first few days last year!

And then it was just Annie- who got a ride back up the hill on Dad's shoulders. She's a little bored by herself at home, but preschool will start soon.

The big hike!

Maybe I shouldn't call this the "big hike"- but for us it was. When we hiked to the Battle Creek canyon waterfall earlier this summer, the boys just wanted to keep going. I promised that we would come back before summer was over and do the whole loop- up one canyon and down the other. So finally, on the very last day before school started, we did it. Price, Josh, Mom and I hiked up Grovecreek Canyon, around "G" Mountain, and down Battlecreek Canyon. Including a little "detour" (we had to be able to say we'd been lost, right?), we figure the hike was about 8 miles total. Not being hiking speed demons, it took us about 6 hours. Mom and I still have stiff legs. Price and Josh, not at all. They must be young or something.

The view from the top of the canyon - we made it!

Mom, hiking in the canyon, talking on her cell phone.

Almost done- back to the Battle Creek waterfall! We were amazed at how much water there still is in the canyons- all the waterfalls and creeks were still running fast.

Price and Josh are great hikers- we had a fun time, and it was a good way to end our summer vacation!

Last Days of Summer

Saturday, we decided to take a "last fling" trip before school starts. Tim is done with classes for 2 weeks, so we had originally planned an overnight trip to Ogden. When we more closely examined our finances, we turned that into a day trip to do free stuff. It was fun anyway.

We started by meeting Grandma and Grandpa Walker at the Air Force Museum on Hill Air Force Base. Grandpa is very handy to have along in such situations, since he was a fighter pilot, and thus has a wealth of information and great stories!

Pigeons roosting in the bomb bay.

Future astronauts?

Pilot in training.

Ethan in the cockpit, Rebekah as back-seat driver.


Flight simulators- it was hard to pull the twins away from this. I think we need to find one for home.


After the museum and lunch (Greek... mmmmmm), we drove north to visit the Golden Spike National Monument.



I made Josh and Price walk through the grass so I could get a picture of all the grasshoppers jumping around them. Unfortunately, they didn't show up in the picture, so you'll have to trust me. There were a billion grasshoppers.


At the end of the afternoon, we got to watch while the engineer put the trains away for the night. That was definitely the coolest part- and that train whistle is loud!

We got home around 7, and then Rebekah and I left for the Scera Shell Theater, where we saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". It was fun, and we had a good time together. Now, however, I think it is time for a nap. Long day!

Best Doctor's Visit Ever!

The first week of August was full of doctor appointments: Josh went to the orthodontist, Annie had her follow up with the ENT, and all kids had their well-child visits.

Now, I've had lots of good doctors over the years of raising kids, and I'm always somewhat devastated when they move or we move and we have to start over. Right now, we are on BYU student insurance, so we have to go to the clinic on campus. We have had good experiences there, but haven't really had one specific doctor that we go to. When I called to make appointments for the kids, I just had them put me with whoever had time.

Price and Josh had their check-ups together, and it turned into the best doctor's appointment I have ever been to. Working for BYU does have its benefits, even when you're a doctor, I guess. Dr. Fairbanks did the usual exams on the boys, and then had a long talk with them. He talked to them about all kinds of things: how to avoid and shun pornography, not to talk about sacred things with friends (he told them to ask their parents instead), how important the sacrament is and how, when they turn 12, to hold the sacrament trays to show respect for Christ. He then told them that their mother is their best friend, and will never knowingly do anything that is not for their good. That was pretty scary for me- it made me think about what I do and say as a mother.

There was more, but I was so grateful for what he said. As 11 year old boys, I think they need to hear those things, multiple times, from lots of different people. I expect it from their Primary teachers and Scout leaders, and we as parents tell them all the time, but it was amazing to have their doctor think they were important enough to take the time. Guess who we're going to next time we need a doctor?

Catching up... last week of July

After we got done with Cousin's Camp, Family Reunion and other various adventures including finding places for 21 people to sleep here, everyone went home, and Mom and Dad left for Iowa, to see Amy's new baby (who arrived 9 days late), so the house felt pretty empty. To add to the emptiness, Price and Josh left for the week to go to Clear Creek Camp. I probably should have sent a camera with them, but I wasn't sure they'd even remember to take pictures, so I didn't. So, no pictures.

While they were gone, though, I took the rest of the kids to Discovery Gateway. We stayed 3 hours, but could have been there much, much longer. As I collected kids and tried to get out, I kept losing kids to different activities- it took quite a while to actually leave the building!

Emma and Annie learning how to be cartoonists.

Ethan's favorite part- the life flight helicopter on the roof!

Filming a stop-motion film- this was really fun. I need to have a set-up like this at home!

And last, Emma in her true calling- working at a grocery store. I kid you not, she spent 2 hours in there. She totally hogged the jobs from all the other kids. When I finally made her give up her post as a cashier, she moved to the deli and made sandwiches to order. She was very competent and very busy. I sometimes think she has the organizational genes of my Grandma Steele, who was known to organize lines to the bathroom at the movie theater. Emma knows how things should be, and tries very hard to make us all comply. I can't even hold her hand anymore- she doesn't just holds hands, she moves me where she wants me. Pretty funny. I think (hope?) this will serve her well as she grows up.

The boys came home Friday, tired but very happy and excited- Clear Creek is the best!

Saturday morning, we went slip and sliding with our friends the Phelons- they have a great set-up! My camera ran out of batteries, but I did get a few pictures:

The morning ended rather abruptly when Rebekah ran into Price, who was stopped at the bottom. No lasting injuries, though, and everyone wants to do it again sometime!

Annie's Surgery- and Results

I have lots of catching up to do, but not yet- that can wait until school starts. In the meantime, though, I need to write about Annie's surgery, since I didn't take any pictures and thus it will not exist in my memory in a few years if I don't write it down. Did you like that run-on sentence?

Anyway, a few months ago we got Annie's hearing tested (bad), took her to the pediatrician, who thought there might be something seriously wrong (really bad), and were referred to a pediatric ENT at Primary Children's for further evaluation (good). He said the first step was ear tube surgery, and then we'd see what happened.

Annie had the surgery on July 2nd. She did great- it was easy. We were expecting an afternoon appointment, but they called us the night before and asked us to be there at 6:30 a.m. That made the no eating before surgery thing really, really easy- we just woke her up and took her to the hospital. She was brave, cooperative, and all that, and the surgery was over in about 20 minutes.

At her follow-up appointment with the surgeon, he said her hearing tests are now perfect and everything is normal. Come back in a year. (Awesome!)

Now, five weeks post-surgery, we have seen amazing things. Annie went from being a little kid in our family to being just one of the kids. She seriously seems to have grown up about 2 years in the last month. I suppose hearing what's going on around you will do that. Also, her speech has improved a ton. I am totally enjoying conversation with her.

Here's a little example:

(walking home from the park)
Annie: I have been to two places.
Me: Where?
A: Azores, and that place I grew up.
M: You mean Manila?
A: Yeah.
M: What about here? Do you know where we live now?
A: Um....
M: Do we live in Pleasant Grove?
A: Yeah, but some people call it India.
M: ???????

Next conversation, a few minutes later- I was trying to help her ride her little bike with training wheels, but she hasn't ridden it outside of our driveway much, and the narrow sidewalks with driveways cut into them were giving her trouble. I was getting a little frustrated trying to get her to go straight and not pedal backward.

Me: Annie, you have to pedal and steer at the same time!
A few minutes later...
Annie (under her breath as she rides): Pedal and steer. Pedal and steer.
I'm still laughing.

I'm glad we finally got her ear problems taken care of, and I'm so grateful she doesn't have additional problems. She is a true blessing to our family.