A Funny Threat

A few days ago I had to leave Target early...the boys were racing each other up and down the aisles, and I just couldn't take it anymore.  So we abandoned our whole cart and left.  Tommy, who thought leaving the store was pretty bad, calmly told me the following:

"Mommy, I'm going to tell the bishop."  Me: "Why?  What are you going to tell him?"  Tommy: "I'm going to tell him that you made us leave Target early, and then he won't give you a temple recommend."  

Where do they come up with these things!?  

I told him that the bishop is also a dad, and that I was sure he'd left Target early when his kids were wild too, but Tommy wasn't convinced.  So then I offered to dial the bishop's number and hand the phone to Tommy so that he could tell him, but he changed his mind.  :-)

Samuel discovered crayons...

Just a quick note that after several months of occasionally trying to interest Samuel in coloring, he finally "discovered" crayons today...on the kitchen floor!  I tried to interest him in a piece of paper, but his imagination was just too big for one little 8 1/2 x 11 space.  The kitchen floor, walls, and refrigerator interested him so much more!  Uh oh, I guess I'll have to hide all the crayons and writing utensils from now on!

Happy Summer Days

Today was momentous:  Tommy began first grade, his first experience with all-day school.  And Joey began preschool for the first time.  What an exciting day!  But it marks the end of our "Happy Summer Days."  We had a really great summer.  We made a half-hearted attempt at chore charts, a whole-hearted attempt at the library's summer reading program, and another whole-hearted attempt at going on some very fun excursions.  We filled our summer with great memories!  Although I didn't take many pictures, I still wanted to make a list so that we can look back and see what a fun summer we had.  I'll try to put these in somewhat chronological order...if I can remember everything.

• The Father-Son Campout, enjoyed as much by Christy as by the kids!  (the boys especially loved canoeing!)
• Tommy & Joey's joint birthday party with a race car theme
• A busy family vacation to Utah and Idaho to celebrate Papa & Nani (Tom & Bonnie)'s wedding anniversary.
• T-ball for Tommy (He absolutely loved it and made a lot of progress, and it was usually pretty fun to be at the ball field together as a family)
• Swimming--indoors several times, including lessons for Tommy and Joey, and outdoor twice with the Banninks
• Como Zoo (a long-time favorite)
• A visit from Grandpa (Jay), who helped us create a vegetable garden (Joey loved helping plant the seeds and both boys enthusiastically harvested vegetables throughout the summer)
• A visit from Paul (we had SUCH a blast learning Paul's swimming techniques at the YMCA, hearing his fun jazz trombone music, going to the MN Science Museum, and just generally enjoying his great company)
• Teddy Bear Park (another oldy-but-goody)
• A four-day visit from the Dan & Debra Butler family over the Fourth of July (including a really refreshing afternoon at the Lakes in Blaine where the kids enjoyed the sand and water, and a cheesy fireworks display in our front yard which was perfect for the kids)
• A Pioneer Day walk at Coon Rapids Dam with the boys' friend Seth--one of a few trips to the Dam this year
• The Jackson Street Roundhouse, a train museum where we got to ride on an old, very slow caboose
• Bike rides!  (Tommy learned to ride without training wheels and Grandpa gave us a new bike for Jon...Jon's rides included a 65-miler with friends Jason & Tiffany Moses)
• Another visit from Grandpa and Grandma (Julie) too, including an afternoon of go carts and bumper boats for the boys
• A healthy eating/healthy lifestyle kickoff for Jon and Christy (after a few motivational and practice runs earlier this year, we are now trying to follow the Mayo Clinic healthy lifestyle guide).  This eating change also led to Christy's new hobby--healthy, delicious cooking!
• The YW Campout for Christy--24 hours of fun and a nice break from parenting
• The YW Regional Conference for Christy--another nice 2-night break and a wonderfully fun experience exploring Duluth with friends Shelley and Amber
• An impromptu trip to the MN State Capitol and the farmers market with friends Caroline and kids
• Springbrook Nature Center (we always love nature walks when the boys get restless)
• A summer movie (A Sharks Tale) at the cheap theater (all three boys were amazingly good, probably thanks to popcorn and suckers) with friends Allison and kids
• Jon & Christy's TENTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!  We celebrated in Duluth and had a marvelous time walking along the beach, hiking in the beautiful woods along the North Shore and eating at some amazing restaurants.  Thanks to Papa & Nani for providing a wonderful weekend for our boys here at home.  
• Bunker Beach Water Park (Tommy & Joey LOVED the wave pool.  We also enjoyed the lazy river, (though we had the frightening/funny experience of both Tommy & Joey having to be rescued at the end--one by a lifeguard, and the other by me...and I'm still not sure how I even managed to get out of my inner-tube with Samuel squarely propped on my pregnant belly!)
• A very-mini-family vacation to downtown Minneapolis, where we got ice cream, stayed in the Hilton Hotel, enjoyed the swimming pool, hiked around in the beautiful weather at Minnehaha Falls, and went to the top of the Foshay Tower to enjoy the downtown sights from the outdoor observation deck
• And of course, to celebrate the last day of summer, the MN State Fair!  The highlights were the foods (deep-fried spam curds, awesome corn dogs, cotton candy, deep-fried candy bars on a stick, deep-fried cheese curds, and mini donuts...YUM), the rides (a motorcycle carousel and the BIG ferris wheel for Joey and the big slide and bumper boats for Tommy), and the kid activities (the Little Hands Farm where the kids get to play the part of a farmer, the BMX bike show that engrosses the boys, and new this year, the Bubble Zone, which is like a huge bubble bath for the kids to play in!).  The low-light was losing Joey for about 20 minutes...we were very worried, but he was found and taken to a Fair Office, where we retrieved him with the help of the police.  

I'll probably think of more stuff, but we really did have a WONDERFUL summer as you can see from this list.  It helps that Christy has more "free time" now that she's no longer working part-time for an outside employer.  We have been so blessed and are so grateful for this season in our lives.