Release

Well, after 2 and 1/2 years in the relief society presidency, I was (finally) released today. I served as both the Enrichment and the Education counselors (they moved me to Education after Ben was born). Enrichment was a lot of hard work and it seemed like there was always something going on, but it was fulfilling when I finally felt like we got the program running as it should be. It was nice to feel like the activities and classes we provided might actually benefit somebody. Education counselor required so much less of me because we have reliable teachers and music people. I was just starting to take a look at literacy a bit closer when I was released. The relief society president that I have been serving under has been in for 4 years and she was ready to be released. I think she rubbed off on me and I was more than ready as well.

So, you say, what is your new calling? Well, I am the new Valiant 12 teacher in primary. I am so excited. The youth in that class are awesome. I visited their class today. In fact, one of them has been sitting with me in sacrament meeting since Lizzy was born, to help me out. Almost every Sunday I have to leave her with some of the kids while I deal with Ben, and sometimes Lizzy in the hall (deal with them sounds kind of harsh, but you know what I mean, take care of them, help them be quiet, keep them away from other people so they won't disturb anyone). It has the added bonus of being able to go to Relief Society once they all turn 12 because they go to YW and YM instead of primary sharing time. Yeah!! That rocks. If you can't tell, I am excited. I'll let you know in a few weeks if I am still excited, or if they have put me in my place.

Now, Greg says, "When is it my turn?" He's had his calling 4 years (and 2 months), but who's counting. Greg has just informed me that that is 5o months. I think he's ready. Should I send a link to our blog to the bishop?

Bix

This is Bix weekend in the QuadCities. Bix Beiderbeck (sp?) was a famous jazz musician years ago. Davenport has hosted a jazz festival every year for a long time in honor of him. Back in the 70's a road race called the Bix7 was added to the festivities. Our family has participated in the Bix most years since we've lived here. On Friday evening was the "Jr. Bix" consisting of a bunch of shorter races for kids. Adam and the 6 year olds ran a half mile race. Anna and Lizzy each ran a 70 yard dash. (See pictures below for more details about each of their races). After the race there's a big party where they serve free hotdogs, drinks, ice cream, and other healthy stuff. There's also a carnival for the kids. I think there are somewhere around 5000 kids and their parents that participate every year. Adam and Lizzy even made it on TV during their races! We all had a very fun time!

On Saturday morning, I ran the Bix7 road race. It's a seven mile race up and down the hills of Davenport. It's a huge race and this year drew over 20,000 runners including some of the best in the world - I think there were a few Olympic medalists running this year. This is the fourth time I've run the race and I ended up with my 3rd best time. I wasn't quite in the shape I should have been in to be running seven miles, but I had a good time anyway. The first mile you practically have to walk - there are just too many people to really be able to move much. I finally got through the first mile in about 12 minutes. The second mile is usually my best one - the crowd is thinning out enough to run some and it's mostly downhill. I finished that one in a little under 8 minutes. The third mile continues downhill for about the first 3/4 mile - then comes the killer hill - it's only a 1/4 mile, but very steep. That hill always wipes me out completely. At about that point, I started sputtering along just trying to keep going. At the half way point (3.5 miles) I was at 32 minutes total (by the way - that's about exactly the time the winner was crossing the finish line). Miles 4 and 5 I was hurting so bad and moving so slowly that I might as well have been walking. They're both almost all uphill and not very fun at all. Mile six levels off for the most part and I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel so I picked up the pace a little. Mile seven is the funnest one - not only is it the end of the race, but it's a steep downhill for most of it. I was able to finish the last mile fairly strong and even remained concious when it was all over (barely). I think I came in about 5500th place.

The rest of yesterday I was kind of numb - headache, sore muscles, exhaustion, but I'm feeling quite a bit better this morning. Below are some pictures of our fun time this weekend.

Ready to race! 

Here's a shot of Adam after his race. He was actually looking much worse a few minutes before. This was the first long distance race Adam has ever run. The six year olds run a half mile. In case you've forgotten how far a half mile is, it's two full trips around a standard track - quite a trek for little legs. There were about 200 or 300 six year olds running this year and Adam came in around 15th or so place. He crashed around the turn around point, but picked himself up and kept going. We are pretty proud of him! 

Here's Anna lining up with the other four year olds before her race. The four year old race was 70 yards. Anna dashed out of the blocks and ran fast about half way. Then she realized she was getting uncomfortably far ahead of me and slowed down so I could catch up. (The parents run with the little ones!) 

Mom with her three gold medal winners. 

After cheering on his big bro and sisters, Ben relaxes to enjoy his first popcicle. 

Here's Lizzy enjoying a hot dog after her grueling 70 yard dash. When the starter said go, she kind of looked around confused (as did most of the two year olds). I finally grabbed her hand and helped her race to the finish line!

Here's a shot of me running up the first big hill of the race. I'm the one on the right in the dark colored shirt. Can you pick me out? 

Papa Power

I don't know if this is true of other's families, but it sure is the truth in our family. Greg seems to have some power over the kids that I do not possess. He often can get them to do things that I cannot. He takes them in a room and talks to them and then they do it. I always say, "What did you tell them?". He says, "I just talked to them about it." Other times he makes up a silly game or whatever. Everything with papa is exciting and fun, and everything with mom is boring and tedious.

Greg really put his persuasive powers to the test last night though. He came home a little earlier than usual because he had to go back to work in the evening after work hours to put out a new computer system. Anyway the kids were of course excited (he also has this wild and crazy effect on the kids; whenever he comes home they start running and screaming). Things were beginning to escalate and it was time to sit down for dinner. We sat down and still things weren't settling down. So, Greg says, "Shh. Shh. Tonight we are going to have a very special quiet pancake dinner (yes, we were having pancakes for dinner). " Then he began to talk in a whisper and told the kids that we could only talk like that during dinner. He even had Lizzy pray in a whisper. Amazingly the kids went right along with it. Anna is the only one who even questioned it. You know the groan and the "Why do we have to....?" . Even she went along after Lizzy, Adam, and I all were doing it. Adam talked quite a bit, but he did it all in a whisper. Amazing. If I would have made that suggestion, I am not sure anyone would have even heard what I said! Well that is the mighty power of papa.

Motherhood and Ben

Well it has been a while since I have posted. I have felt buried lately, with little to no time to myself. Greg has been busy and gone a lot which means I am also busier, and my "job" lasts a little longer each day. There really are very few breaks when you are a mom, and I must say that has been truer than ever before with four children. I expect it rings even truer with each additional child. Man, am I tired.

Motherhood also has its perks though. I know I said I wanted to post about the other children (and I will), but Ben has been so cute lately, I had to let everyone know what he is doing right now. He is still getting around with his belly crawl (the marines would be proud to have our boy) with great speed. Lately he has started to get up on his knees more, and will go a few paces on his knees before flopping to his belly. He is also pulling some, and can move along the furniture, but I wouldn't exactly say he is cruising, it is more like shuffling. His favorite pastimes include grazing under the dining room table and playing on the fireplace (is this something we should discourage?). He is so full of smiles and laughs that it makes you happy just to be around him.

In addition to these things, he has added waving bye-bye and playing peek-a-boo to his repertoire. His wave is a fast and furious whole arm wave, but he is working on opening and closing his hand. His blanket peek-a-boo is great, but he is still working on doing it with his hands. Right now he usually only covers one of his eyes, but still finds great joy in playing. His enthusiasm for the game has also rekindled Lizzy's love for it, so they can entertain each other for quite a while, if I am even half way involved.

He is working on his top four, front teeth right now, which has messed up his sleeping habits a bit (part of the reason I am so tired). It sure does change a baby's look once he or she gets teeth. All in all he is seeming really grown up right now, and really he is. He will be one year old in like 6 or 7 weeks is all. This year has flown by. We love our Benner boy, and have enjoyed watching him grow so much this last little while.

eBay Blues Update

Just wanted to post an update on a previous post about our troubles with an eBay puchase. We had filed a claim through eBay/PayPal (the two companies have merged and so have their complaint processes). They, like us, were unable to contact the seller and ruled in our favor. Unfortunately, the limits of the eBay Buyer Protection Program are $175, so that was all they refunded us. [Something to keep in mind next time you're shopping for big ticket items on eBay.] Fortunately, we had used our Visa check card to make the purchase and Visa has a zero-liability policy for internet shopping. So our next step was to file a complaint through our bank. They promptly refunded the rest of our money while they continue the investigation. I expect that will be the last we hear of it. The seller, meantime, after robbing about 10 or 12 of us unsuspecting eBay shoppers, was kicked out of eBay. We won't know if eBay or Visa will take any further action against them. It was kind of a pain to go through all that. We did end up buying an armoire off eBay (are we foolish for trying again?). This time it was delivered on time and in good shape - plus it was $150 cheaper than the one we had so much trouble with. So, all's well that end's well I guess.

Dog Days and Long Nights

This has been the hottest, driest summer we've known here in Iowa. I remember summers like this in Kansas, but those miserable summers hadn't really made it this far north since we've lived here. All the grass has died and everything is brown (most people don't irrigate around here - usually no need). The only bright spot in all this is that I haven't had to mow in over a month.

A few weeks ago our stake was asked to provide a bunch of volunteers to the Nauvoo pageant. Tammy volunteered to coordinate that effort for our ward and did an excellent job! She was able to round up almost 80 volunteers from our ward to work this week. I figured I better do my part, so I've spent the last two evenings in Nauvoo. Aside from the extreme heat and the late nights, I had an awesome time.

On Wednesday me and a couple of others brought a group of 14 youth down and turned them loose in the parking lots. When we arrived in Nauvoo at 5:30 p.m. it was 98 degrees and 80% humidity (heat index around 108 degrees). Couple that with all the dust in the parking lot and you'd think it would have been a miserable night, but once you got used to the sweat and dirt, it really was a lot of fun. I think the youth all had a great time - it seems like the youth of our ward are more united than we've ever had - it's really fun to be with them when they're together. I was stationed at the entrance to the parking lot waving people in. That wasn't all that exciting until the show was over and I had to direct the hundreds of cars out into the street. A new and somewhat fun experience. I got home that night around 1:50 a.m. only to get up at 6:00 for work the next day.

After working a normal work day on Thursday, I headed back to Nauvoo, this time with a bunch of friends from the ward. We were all signed up to work security. The day was just as warm (I think they said it was 99 degrees when we started at 6:00) and being security we had to wear ties. It kind of reminded me of my Arizona missionary days. My assignment was to work in the cast area behind the stage and make sure that only cast and crew members went in there. It gave me a good chance to visit with some of the cast members. They have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into the pageant this year and seem like a wonderful group of people. It was also interesting to watch the show from behind the stage - gives a new perspective to what all goes on in the production. I was fortunately able to keep my eyes open while driving home and we actually arrived home by 1:30 am (I think the adults were a little easier to round up than the youth the night before when it was time to head home).

All in all, it's been a fun, albeit very hot and tiring week. We've heard the heat indexes are going to be close to 115 over the weekend, so I think I'll be staying inside and reading a book (and maybe taking a nap) this weekend (Tammy finished the new Harry Potter book, so it's my turn).

Anna update

I feel like I often report on the progress of Ben, but don't often say how the other kids are doing, so I thought I would talk about my sweet Anna. She is really growing up. She finally seems to be blossoming. She understands things around her more, and is finally getting some confidence (although slight) in the shadow of her older brother. She can be shy and she definitely likes to have some alone time each day, where she can be in her own little world. She can make anything into a toy, and will improvise when needed. She is very, very sweet. She is so much more aware of people's feelings than Adam has ever been and she will often help Lizzy when she is in need of attention, love, or whatever. She also has an amazing ability to get along with people. She seems to play well even with the hardest, craziest kids, and get along just fine. She is a quiet leader in that way. She always has something in her hand, either her green blankie or a toy of some sort, ready to pretend whatever needs pretending. She is very girly (she didn't get that from me!). She loves pink and purple. She loves princesses and princess dresses. Even though she is girly, she is very low maintanence. She likes her space. She is probably the easiest of our children to parent currently because she is so agreeable and easy to get along with. We sure love her. She brings a lot of sunshine into our home.

A flood of company

We've had a flood of company visiting with us the last couple of weeks. Starting on July 4th eve, we had a friend of ours stay with us a couple of nights. Then arrived Tammy's Auntie Ann, Aunt Sue, and three cousins - Mark, Pete, and Quin. We enjoyed their visit very much!

We spent Saturday with them in Nauvoo concluding the day with a visit to the new Nauvoo Pageant. The pre-show activities started a few hours before the show with a good old-fashioned 1840's celebration. There were tons of games for the kids (and everyone else) tug-of-war, gunnysack races, stick pulls, handcart races, square dances (with a live band), live entertainers, log saw races, and so on. We had a ball. Finally we settled in for the show. The pageant itself was much less of a pageant and more of a play than the old City of Joseph pageant. The stage and the cast were smaller than previous years. The story was more serious and pretty touching - it brought out much more plainly the trials that the original citizens of Nauvoo went through. All-in-all it was very good. It's showing through August 5th for anyone that can make the trip out to see it!

Ann, Sue and the boys stayed through Wednesday and we enjoyed their company very much. Thursday (yesterday) we had a new set of visitors arrive. Our stake is hosting a tri-stake youth conference. They've brought together 375 youth (ages 14-18) from the Peoria, Iowa City, and Davenport stakes to spend the weekend. We, along with many other families in the ward, volunteered to have some of them at our house. It's been a lot of fun. We ended up with some kids from Bloomington, IL. They're very well behaved and have been very considerate of our home. They will be here until tomorrow.

So, it's been a busy couple of weeks for us, but very fun at the same time.

A shot of ever changing ever growing baby Benjamin. He's getting to a really fun (and really mobile stage). Yesterday he made his first attempt to climb the stairs. The gates will be going up soon. 

Well, this shot didn't turn out so well, but I promised Ann and Sue that they would make it to the Internet and this is the only shot I got of them. They were kind enough to get the kids some toys while they were here (including Adam's long-coveted indoor basketball hoop). Here the sister's are working together to assemble it. 

Here's Adam trying out the hoop in the basement. Cousin Pete in the background. 

Here's Adam anxiously waiting for his three pointer to go in the hoop. 

Last Saturday was our ward Nauvoo day. In addition to other activities, the primary kids had a primary activity. Here's Anna with her friend Daniel on the lawn of the visitor's center. 

This is a picture along the Mississippi. While we were in Nauvoo, the girls got some bonnets to wear. This is Anna (her favorite thing to do in Nauvoo is go to the river at the end of Parley Street). In the background are some lily pads that were just starting to bloom. There was also a couple of storks and a pelican flying around but I didn't catch either of them in the picture. 

Old Fashioned Fourth of July

Well we had a wonderful 4th of July. Our little town of Bettendorf has a parade every year. We got an awesome spot to watch from. The weather was great. It was drizzly all morning and not the oppressive heat that we have had the last little while. The kids loved all the candy that was thrown out to them. We saw several people we knew in the parade (that made me realize we have lived here quite a while now, 7 years now). To top it all off, Greg and Lizzy made the 6 0'clock local news because they were having such a good time. I guess we looked like the All-American family. It was so enjoyable. Then we came home and had lunch and while the kids had quiet time Greg and I were able to read for a little bit (Adam helped entertain Ben, while the girls slept). Then Greg took the kids to a little carnival, where rides were only 50 cents and where the kids got a free jump rope. Ben and I stayed home so Ben could have a nap (I got to read some more!). Then we went to our friends house for hamburgers and hot dogs and root beer floats. We even managed to play a little Settlers of Catan while the kids played. Lastly we went to the city's fireworks display in the park. The finale was awesome. There were so many fireworks that went off at the same time. It seemed like someone had blown up an arsenal of them or something. It was such a great day. One of the most relaxing and fun days we have had in a long time. It was wonderful to just have fun for one day. We love our town and are so grateful for all of the family friendly events they have each year on the fourth of July, and other days of the year. Bettendorf, Iowa rocks man!!