Another big day for Tim

Tim was baptized! It was a whirlwind weekend, because Mormor and Morfar were able to come but only from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. It was great to see them, but way too short. The baptism went very well. I played the piano, Grandma lead the music. Dad and Grandpa gave the talks. Dad baptized and confirmed Tim. We are proud of Tim!

I think the very fact that I posted this photo proves I love my son. It's the only one from his baptism day, so I had no other one to share. But this picture scares me. I can't believe how much weight I've gained in just two years. It's so depressing, after having worked so hard to lose that weight. I wish I could figure out what is going on. Ah well, life goes on and good things are happening, so I won't dwell on it too much. Only when I see photos like this one.

Court of Honor

Jon got 4 merit badges (should have been 8, but 4 of his cards didn't get turned in on time).
Ben got a couple of merit badges too.
Then all 5 of our boys got to participate in their father's award ceremony
because Charles earned his Woodbadge ticket. Yay for my boys, and yay for Scouting!

Sleeping Beauty

I remember that he had stayed up too late the night before. That is, we had put him to bed on time, but he kept getting out of bed and running around. So it's no surprise that he was tired. I really enjoyed watching him sleep. He is my baby, you know.

Chucky Cheese

In my world, this is more like torture than a birthday party, but apparently for an 8-year-old boy, this is next to heaven. Tim, two of his brothers and four of his friends all enjoyed the location.

Good food...
Ok, that face would make it heaven for me. Just to see that thrill makes it all worthwhile! (Greg does not look thrilled, however!)
That girl? That's Gracie, Tim's bud from soccer.

I didn't even have to go. Charles covered it, and even took photos. Instead, I chauffeured Ben and Jon to X Country meets.

Timster's birthday

I came home just in time to celebrate Tim's birthday. He hit the big 8! We bought him a kids' digital camera. He was only excited about it when he discovered that it also plays 8 video games. Go figure--he had been begging for a camera for at least a year. Oh well, at least he ended up being excited about the camera too.

Olympic gold

On my flight back home, there were two Olympic athletes on board, one from the Men's Volleyball team, the other from the Men's Basketball team. Both teams won gold medals in China. The guy from the Volleyball team allowed a flight attendant to walk up and down the aisle of the plane with his medal. Everyone got to touch and take pictures. (The hand is the guy sitting next to me, a nice young LDS man traveling with his wife and baby to check out a new home for their job relocation. No missionary ops for me!)
A tidbit I learned--the white part is jade, and each medal (gold, silver, bronze) had a different color of jade on it.

Leafbug's blessing day

More pics from the quick trip home. Above is my nephew deep in thought... rare for him?
Leafbug, held by my sister (his aunt).
The proud new mama (that's my youngest sis)

Adorable babies

I went out to Utah for a very very brief visit (I was only there three full days) because I had to see all my lovely new nephews. I got to meet Max first. My baby brother is a father. I used to get up with him when he cried at night, and now he is the one getting up with his own son. Max has THE best hair that stands straight up. He is a happy giggly little guy and smiled for me every time I talked to him.
I also got to see Chubby, who was around 8 months old. That age is the beginning of stranger anxiety, so it took me the three days to win him around, but I did and he became my friend by the time I left. He has very kissable cheeks! That's his mama texting.Then there was the newborn baby, Leafbug, whose mama is my youngest sister. Leafbug was a month old, and I got to attend his baby blessing. He wasn't really smiling yet, but he was very snuggly.Here are two cutie cousins, just because I love this photo.
And I visited my baby's grave. It's looking good. They do a good job there keeping the grass from growing over the stone.

Greg starts school!

He started fifth grade a month ago, and so far it has been a very positive experience! He gets 100% on most of his assignments, he actually writes down all his assignments in his planner, he puts his homework in his homework folder, and his teacher says he is very good-natured.

He just needs to learn how to put his backpack on properly. :)

Inflatapool

To replace the broken pool, Grandma and Grandpa gave Tim an inflatable pool for his birthday. It's not nearly as big (10' across) and it's not deep (maybe 2'?) but the boys sure enjoyed it! We had planned on paying Ben to give his brothers swimming lessons this summer, but that didn't work out at all. He was willing to try to teach Nate in this little pool, and it may actually be a better pool for Nate to learn in! Ben was a great teacher, and all the boys had fun in the pool. No, Nate can't swim yet, but at least now he'll put his face in.

Eagle project, finally

Ben agonized most of the summer over what he could do for his Eagle project. Our goal had been for him to complete it during the summer before he started high school, because we knew life would only get busier at that point! (which it most definitely has...) Finally, in August, he discovered a project he is excited about. A local campground, frequently used by Scouts, has historically significant remnants of a brick-making company. Ben's project will be to clear a path to the remains and to post a plaque describing the history of it. Now it's a matter of getting the project written up!

Young Eagles

Our local little airport has a Young Eagles Saturday about once a month. On that day, volunteers take kids up in their small planes, for free! Charles worked with a guy who does that, and he took Ben up in his plane. He also was going to take Nate up, even though Nate was technically too young, but Nate chickened out after he got all strapped in. He said it was too loud. Jon got to fly in a plane with no doors. When he got off the plane, he exclaimed, "That was the best experience of my life!" Greg, Jon and Ben all loved it. They each got a certificate and are now registered in the Young Eagles flightbook. Perhaps one of them will take after their maternal grandfather and become a pilot! Either way, it was a terrific experience for them.

High Adventure, indeed

Ben went on a High Adventure camp to the upper peninsula of Michigan. On the last day there, they were at a sand dune digging a cave. Some young kids began throwing rocks from above. One big rock hit Ben on the head, and caused enough of a wound that the leaders had to take him to the hospital where he got staples. He couldn't wash his hair very well for 10 days. Luckily for him, he has so much hair that you couldn't even see the wound unless he parted his hair. Here, I took a picture so everyone can see: They were staying in cabins that were fully furnished, complete with beds, kitchens and cable tv... The joke now is that Ben made it a High Adventure.

And our other family joke--we wondered for days why they used a stapler instead of stitches. We pictured the stapler being put on his scalp and the noise (ka-chunk, ka-chunk). When it came time to remove them, we were picturing those little staple-remover claws and we cringed. Finally we asked a friend who is a doctor why on earth they would use the stapler and not stitches. He said that staples were better for skin that moved a lot, like on your stomach. But when it's on your head, he said it had to be because it's just easier for the doctor. So now we know. Say it with me: Staples! That was easy!

Tornado

Yes, we did! We had a tornado touch down in our neighborhood. I drive through this part (I call it the back end of the subdivision) often, because it gets me to the middle school and high school. In fact, the night it happened (back in August) Charles had gone to pick up Ben from some activity or other. It was pouring down torrential rain, of course. Luckily, Charles didn't go that way to the high school, because he would have driven right through the tornado.

Mostly the damage was to tree limbs--you could play connect-the-dots with the tree branches that were downed. One really lovely old tree had to be completely removed (you can see the stump in this photo, but that stump is now gone).

And one house lost their entire back fence, which you can't see because of the pile of branches that are in the way.

Webelos Day Camp

Greg had a great time at Webelos Day Camp. Even though he was the only boy from our pack who went, he didn't feel uncomfortable. He went up to the other boys and introduced himself. He participated in sports that he had never played before. He struggled a bit with the BB gun, even though he has fired one before!

Pathways to Eagle

One of the merit badges Jon wanted to work on for Pathways to Eagle was the Photography badge. For that, he needed to take photos that told a story. These photos are part of that--he called the story, "The TermiNATEr." Basically it was the story of the building of a town and the speedy destruction by the Terminater.Jon ended up earning four merit badges at Pathways, which added to the four he earned at camp and the two he has earned in Scouts made for a good merit-badge summer.

Pool demo

Turns out the ripped pool liner was the least of our pool worries. The pool walls were damaged because the filter wasn't grounded. The current had reversed and created little holes in the walls. To replace the pool walls was nearly $4000, but a brand-new pool is around $5000. So we decided we aren't going to have a pool any more.

Right now, we have a 30x15 sandpit...

Here is Nate playing in the rain. Makes you want to sing, "Standing outside with my mouth open wide, uh uh-uh uh uh-uh uh uh-uh uh, if all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be."

The joy of reading!

I love going to the library. I love checking out a pile of books and reading them over the next week or two or three. I love reading! And apparently my boys love that too. Yay!

The doctor's office

Today the plan was to go visiting teaching in the morning and then take Ben and Tim for doctor's appointments at 1:15. Ben needs forms for school, scouts, and sports physicals filled out, and Tim needs a followup on the tetanus visit from a couple weeks ago.

However, a half hour before I was to leave to go visiting teaching, Nate came and asked me to take something out of his ear. It was one of those little watch batteries, and I could not get it out with my fingers nor with tweezers. So I called the doctor's office, and had to leave immediately. No visiting teaching. I'm back from that visit (which was successful), and am waiting for an hour or so before we go back again.

Good thing I had a good book to read.

Update: Ben is now 5' 7 3/4" and Jon is 5' 1 1/4". Supposedly all 4 boys are tall for their age...

They're camping where?

Charles and Jon are gone this week at Scout Camp. Nate was asking me where they were. I told him scout camp, but he wanted to know where that was. I said, "It's in Wisconsin." Nate said, "Oh, Swissconsin."

Ben leaves Saturday for High Adventure camping in the UP. I'll bet you're wondering where that is! It's the Upper Peninsula, aka northern Michigan.

Free Summer Movies

Our local movie theater has been offering a free movie each week at 10 am. You usually have to get there at least by 9:30 to make sure you can sit together and get a decent seat. So far this summer we have seen The Water Horse, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Surf's Up, and Shrek the Third. We look forward to Horton Hears a Who and The Veggie Tale's Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. It's been fun for the kids and for me! And it's free!

Artemis Fowl

Today, Ben and Charles went to hear Eoin Colfer speak. (We now know that the first name is pronounced Owen. Go figure.) He writes the Artemis Fowl series, and Ben is a big fan. Ben brought the first five books for Mr. Colfer to sign, and got the newest book hot off the press. Six signed books. Ben says he will be staying up all night tonight to finish that sixth book.

The show was called Fairies, Fiends and Flatulence. Tonight was the first stop on his US tour which includes 9 cities. The show tonight was simulcast to 40 other bookstores, the first time Disney has ever done a simulcast for an author. Ben said it was funny, and the technological stuff made it cool.

Read more about Colfer here: www.eoincolfer.com

On a Clear Day...

you really can see forever! This afternoon, it was beautiful day--warm, bright, sunny, but not hot and humid, like July often is in Chicago. We decided to take a drive to the Scenic Overlook, which we usually call Trash Mountain. It's the highest point around here, and it really is a mountain of trash. It was the dump at one time, and it had reached maximum capacity. So they planted grass on it, stuck in pipes, and now they generate electricity from the methane gas. Pretty slick!

Anyway, we packed a picnic dinner of parmesan drumsticks, deviled eggs, watermelon, apricots, Pringles, and cookies and headed up there. We had been curious as to how scenic the overlook could really be. After all, this is Illinois flatland, and it's mostly covered in trees! Well, as is so often the case, a change in position can really change your perspective.

Here's what we saw at first, which is looking towards our house (although you really cannot see our house, so don't look for it).

Then we walked to another side, and discovered this view:

Yes, that is downtown Chicago in all its glory. Mind you, Trash Mountain is about 30 miles away from downtown!

We spoke to a forest ranger there about how impressive that view was, and how we were surprised that the hill was high enough to get us that view. She proudly exclaimed that it was 190 ft high! We waited until we were in the car to start snickering. (Guess we're a little snobbish about elevations, having lived in a mountainous area.)

I'm a bad mom

This is an up-to-date post, not a catch-up one. I've been sick all weekend with a nasty head cold/cough/aches, etc. I'm finally feeling a bit better, but not 100%. Last night, Nate came in my room and woke me up, probably somewhere around 2:30. Don't know for sure, I was way too groggy. The conversation went something like this (read my part in a mumble and Nate's in a whisper):

Nate: I feel like I'm going to throw up.
Me: Then go in the bathroom.

two minutes later...
Nate: It's too dark in the bathroom.
Me: Then turn on the light.

a minute later:
Nate: The light is too bright. Can I go in your bathroom?
Me: Yes, but close the door so I don't see the light.

Note: Closing the door doesn't completely block out the blinding glare.

a minute later:
Nate: That light is too bright too.
Me: Then don't turn on the light. Now go back to bed.

five minutes later (or maybe 30, I have no sense of time when I'm asleep), my door opens again :
Nate: Can I get in bed with you?
Me: No, go back to bed.
Nate: But I just want to snuggle.
Me: And I just want to sleep. Go back to bed.
Nate: How about Dad?
Me: No, he's sleeping. Go back to bed.

shortly thereafter, I hear Nate's voice, this time not a whisper, in the hallway and I realize he is talking to a brother. Great, who has he awakened?? I fly out of bed, run down the hallway, just in time to discover that he is in Jon's room, and the door is locked. Apparently Jon said that Nate could snuggle with him. I pull Nate out of Jon's room and send him back to bed. Nate starts to sniffle. I take him in the hallway and explain to him that he cannot go waking people up in the middle of the night to snuggle. People need to sleep. I tell him to give me a kiss and go back to bed. He does, but I hear him begin to cry. I stand in the doorway of my room and say, "Don't you dare cry!"

I climb back into bed and try to go back to sleep. Charles is snoring, as he has been throughout this whole thing. And then I hear:

Holy Ghost/voice of reason/conscience, all at the same time: He's only five. He's just a little guy. In not too many years, he won't want to snuggle any more. Charles would have snuggled with him [ha, retorts me, he's too busy sleeping to even notice]. Just go give him a little love and then get some sleep.

So I throw back the covers, walk into his room, crawl into his bunk, hug him and kiss his sweet little cheek. And realize that he has a fever.

I am a bad mom.

Nate's actual birthday

March 26, at home. We had a homemade cake that Tim and Nate decorated. Nate really wanted a number 5 candle, so we got one of those for him. This was probably the funniest present. It came from Mormor, and made both Charles and I laugh out loud. If you don't get why, I can give you the full explanation, but the short of it is that my parents are not Al Gore fans. Does that make sense?

Nate's birthday with the Worltons

We celebrated Easter with the Worlton clan. Dan and Nate share a birthday, so we also celebrated that. Nate had asked for some very specific things, so when Grandma and Grandpa asked what Nate wanted, we said, "a duck plushie that says quack and a ball that looks like an eye". Well, they found both those things and more. Turns out that the ball that looks like an eye is the EyeClops, which is essentially a magnifying glass that hooks up to the TV. It really does a good job magnifying things, especially the carpet. lol! Not sure how Grandma and Grandpa figured it out from Nate's description, but we're glad they did! Nate also got art supplies and a colored pencil sharpener that looks like a monster and burps when it's done sharpening.