Better that Mom doesn't know...

So, we were enjoying a nice cool Conference weekend at the cabin with Justin and Shari's family. In the back of my mind, I heard a chopping sound, but it didn't really register. It would stop periodically, then re-start again. Finally, I realized that the sound was coming from the little ravine where the kids were playing, so I went to check it out.

I got out there just in time to see Adam give the last big whack to fell his first tree!


(Ian helped with the chopping, too.)

I don't know if they were trying to keep it secret from me or not, but it's probably just as well. If I had known, I would been down there micromanaging, worrying, sure that the next stroke would mean a lost finger. As it worked out, they got the satisfaction of doing it by themselves, and no one got hurt! Good job boys!

Snake Charmer

Adam hiked up to Seven Falls with the eleven-year-old Scouts on Friday. He said it was the hardest hike he had ever been on (7 miles round-trip), but really cool at the top. One of his leaders captured perhaps the coolest thing in this photo:


Yes, that's Adam with a water snake on his head! He also caught tadpoles and frogs (which they tried to feed to the snake!), slid down rock slides, and swam in the pools. Sounds like he's going to enjoy Boy Scouts!

First Day of School

We had the longest summer vacation ever, having been out of school since May 20, but all good things come to an end, so Adam, Ian, and Heath returned to school on September 7. Adam's first day in middle school went well. It may have helped that this middle school is 5th-8th grades, so Adam's 6th grade class never had to be the youngest. Ian and Heath also seemed to enjoy their first days, and have really fun teachers. The only disappointed one was Luke, who has been insisting all summer that he would go to 3rd grade with the boys (because he's 3 years old, of course). However, once we started setting up a little desk and classroom for him to be "home-schooled," he got over it.


Only homeschoolers get to go in their bare feet!

Screen-free week

On July 24, we announced to the kids that it was the first day of our "screen-free week." The rules were:
* No TV, movies, video games, or computer usage.
* The only exceptions: Dad could only use the computer at work, and Mom could only use the computer after the kids were in bed, only for necessities.

Instead of their usual reward of Wii time for getting their jobs done, the kids got to go swimming or play a board game. Personally, I think the kids liked the change, and I heard little to no complaining, plus none of the meltdowns that regularly accompany bad performance on an important Wii task.

Traditionally, Friday night is family movie night, but on screen-free week we had fun camping with Justin and Shari's family up on Mt. Lemmon instead, and were treated to an adventure as exciting as any Wii game as a roaring thunderstorm dropped 2 1/2 inches of rain on us overnight!

Here's what the kids had to say about the week:
Adam: "I didn't hate it, but it wasn't really my favorite thing. I liked not having to worry about who got a turn to play and when they got to play. I just liked it when nobody was staring at the screen all day."
Heath: "I didn't really, really, really hate it. It just seemed like a normal week when we didn't have the Wii or any screen."
Ian: "It pretty much seemed the same as any other week, except not the thrill that you unlocked something on a Wii game."

The eye-opener for me was how much time I spend staring at a screen. Workout videos or Wii Fit first thing in the morning, then email, online shopping, paying bills online, reserving and renewing library books, tracking money on Quicken, keeping a record of memorable things the kids do and say in Word, looking up phone numbers and addresses, keeping shopping lists on Cozi, listening to Pandora, of course keeping up on everyone's blogs, and maybe something on my Netflix instant queue before bed. Of course, each time I connect with the computer, other useful or entertaining distractions are likely to pull me away from my real life for some period of time.

The verdict: It was not that difficult for the kids. They felt good about spending more time on other activities and having more quality family time. There were fewer meltdowns. I loved the time I saved by only getting on the computer once per day (and the fact that my kids didn't have to compete with the computer for my attention). This is definitely a tradition we'll keep.

We love Ladybug Peak!

Where else can you literally scoop up handfuls of ladybugs?

Acrobats and Tigers and Contortionists, Oh My!

On July 1 we went to the circus and were all blown away. Adam and Ian both, separately, said in awe: "It really is the greatest show on earth!" Our entire group, ages 3 (Luke) to 77 (Dudley) were spellbound the entire time.

June

I made a goal to post once a month this year, so it's about time for June.

On June 3-4, Adam and Ian went to Cub Scout Day Camp up on Mt. Lemmon. They had a lot of fun, with their favorite parts being the BB gun shooting and archery. Here are some photos of them working on the special staffs they made and ornamented while at camp:




Our biggest event of June was our trip to Utah. John had to work, so Michelle and the boys picked took Aunt Shari, Annie, and Sara instead. Luke and Annie especially enjoyed each other's company, as they always do. Here are the kids at a picnic with Grandpa Tex:



And here are some of the fun costumes they put together with Grandma Hansen's dress-up box:

Adam wore this purple hair nearly the whole time we were up there.



This is Ian's "lacker" costume. (I don't know what it means either, but I think that's a "lacker" look on his face!)



And this is Heath, a knight in shining armor and shiny gold harem pants.




Then, on Father's Day, another mysterious heart. I made a glaze to go on the pork tenderloin for dinner, and when I took it out of the microwave, this is what it looked like:


It must mean that Dad = Love!