Treasure Hunts

So I know it’s time for an update and although last week was busy, it was a normal everyday non-thrilling busy and the week ended completely pictureless. This week we are commitment free… no classes or speech therapy for J, no summer camps or swim lessons. Although I love the option of staying home (which we did most of today) we have lots of fun options for the rest of the week.

Yesterday we got together with the Fletcher family to visit with three of Justin’s Aunts who are in town for the HUGE quilt hop in western WA… I believe it’s becoming an annual tradition for the sisters. And once again his Aunt Joann organized a treasure hunt for the kids to enjoy. Clues were hidden all over the yard and each kid had their own clues to follow with lots of fun prizes, treats, and even a personalized goodie-bag. I hope she knows that since she’s done it two years in a row that the kids are already looking forward to the great treasure hunt of 2010.

These two are becoming great little buddies – they also participated in the treasure hunt, but were much more interested on eating the prizes and running around

School's Out for Summer!

Yesterday marked the 29th consecutive day that Seattle has not received any precipitation, tying the record for the driest May-June ever. It’s been an absolutely beautiful spring… ironically until today when school lets out for the summer and we had plans to spend the afternoon playing in the sunshine.

Today was the last day of school (if you can call 2 hours of school an actual day… which, according to our school district you can). We spent the morning at the end of year assembly where Abigail was recognized with an academic honors award. I received a letter from the principal earlier in the week notifying me she would be recognized in the assembly, but I didn’t know what the award would be. Apparently each teacher is allowed to choose two students from their class to present honors to. We are so proud of Abigail and all her hard work. Abigail was born with a desire to learn and she is always striving to be better. I couldn’t be happier with her achievements. Her teacher wrote a note which I’m hesitant to share for fear of being “one of those Moms”, however since I already shared Carly’s sweet note from her pre-school teacher I feel like I shouldn’t leave out Abigail’s note.

“I have really enjoyed having Abby in my class this year. She is extremely smart, caring, and has a sweet personality. She has continued to make tremendous social and academic gains this trimester due to her good working habits and determination to be successful. She has become an amazing reader, writer, and mathematician. Way to go! Abby is always pushing herself to a higher level. She is a special person and should experience lots of success in the second grade. Her teacher is going to be so lucky to have her next year. Thank you for sharing her with me!"

Abigail and her awesome teacher

Our Graduate

It’s official, I have a kindergartener. Carly’s last day of pre-school was today and her teacher had both her morning and afternoon classes meet at a local bouncy house to celebrate.

Carly and her fabulous teacher

Carly had lots of fun climbing, sliding, and bouncing with her friends. Jason thoroughly enjoyed himself as well and I was surprised that he was able to climb up all the toys by himself… before I know it I’ll be sending him off to school too. {sniff sniff}

While I wasn’t looking Jason climbed up this steep slide completely on his own.

Miss C and Miss C – these girls played non-stop (well, except to eat pizza and cake)


Carly’s teacher wrote each of the kids a special little note:

“Carly is awesome! I enjoy her serious nature with her bright, beautiful smile. She is so incredibly smart, well advanced of the rest of the class. She is good at everything, always gets right to work, and is one of the first ones finished with her table work. She is a great example for everyone. Carly is one of the kids whom I use as a leader for others to follow and as a helper. I love Carly’s questions about things that are going on. It’s been fun to see her love of babies earlier in the year… I will seriously miss her next year while her Kindergarten teacher will be lucky to have her in class!! I love you Carly!!”

It’s always wonderful to hear how much people love your kids. I completely agree. Carly is bright, inquisitive, and so full of personality. She is a friend to everyone – younger, older – boy, girl, it doesn’t matter. She’s such a joy to have in our family! Congratulations my sweet girl!

There wasn’t an official graduation ceremony so I pulled out Abigail’s pre-school graduation cap and bribed Carly into letting me take her picture.

the only Fletcher men

Three generations
and my favorite shot

Family Pictures

Justin’s sister’s sister-in-law (which I suppose could be me, but it’s not – maybe it’s better to say our brother-in-law’s sister) was visiting over the weekend and took pictures of us and the extended family on Saturday. She’s posted a small sample on her blog with more to come. Here’s some of our favorites so far:

She asked him to “blow” which Jason interpreted to mean “eat”

We went with a totally casual look - so I told the girls to wear their flip-flops. It wasn’t until we got to the photo location that I noticed Abigail was wearing her big ole clunky black shoes… oh, well.

As I was saying...

Can’t turn your back on this guy
Looks like we’ll be having a wet summer

Waterboy

Jason loves water. He’s always loved taking baths and is fearless in a swimming pool. When Justin waters outside Jason will run through the water and even when he is soaking wet he doesn’t want the fun to end. Here’s what I found Jason entertaining himself with this morning.

Can you tell how wet he is? He just kept spraying himself in the face over and over again.

"All Done"

Jason has asthma and while I realize there are much worse health issues my boy could have besides allergies and asthma, it can still be difficult to deal with. Every so often his asthma acts up and he sounds like Woody’s friend Wheezy from Toy Story. After his last episode I bought a nebulizer so we would be able to treat him at home. Yesterday was especially bad so we broke out our new contraption only to realize we were missing an essential piece to use the face mask. We attempted to stick the provided inhaler into Jason’s mouth and struggled unsuccessfully to get any medicine into our strong, hysterical little boy. By the time we got home from church at 4:30pm he was completely wiped out from having to work so hard to breathe that he quickly fell asleep and slept til 8:30 this morning (that’s even after sleeping for two hours before church).

This morning he was still wheezy, but much better and he was VERY happy (who wouldn’t be happy after sleeping 16+ hours?). I called the pediatrician office and picked up the missing piece to the nebulizer. While we were there the doctor wanted Jason to do a treatment in the office. What a workout. I literally had to wrestle with him to try and keep the mask on his face. The only time he wasn’t trying to pry the mask away was when he’d hold his little hands up in the air signing/pleading to be “all done.” Thankfully, the doctor came in after five minutes and told me we could stop even though we hadn’t finished all the medication. Jason and I were hot, sweaty and grateful to be done…very traumatic for us both.

Isn’t it wonderful how quickly children forgive their parents? But just to be safe (and since I still hadn’t eaten breakfast) we swung by Jamba Juice and tried the new Blackberry Bliss… just what we needed. Jason is once again a happy (wheezy, but happy) little boy and is sleeping it off.

Outdoor Fun

Memorial weekend was awesome. In addition to a great camping trip we managed to fill the rest of the weekend with even more fun. We had a BBQ with Justin’s family on Sunday after church. The weather was perfect so we walked back to the river.

The BIG kids

and the little kids

We enjoyed another BBQ on Monday, but this time with friends. A couple recently moved into our ward who just so happened to be in my singles ward at BYU. In fact the wife was my Relief Society president. She organized a little reunion with one of my college roommates. We had a great time – so fun to catch up after all these years.


and who doesn’t love a little badminton?


Monday night we enjoyed another pizza dinner at a local park
(Papa John's this time... much better!)

These girls really are best of friends - I hope it stays that way forever!

Tuesday evening we had an amazing Dutch oven dinner prepared for us courtesy of Justin’s parents (they were the winning bid at an auction). It was so yummy that we are even more committed to improving our Dutch oven skills.

The rest of the week and this past weekend has continued to be busy, busy. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. Although, I must admit I am already VERY grateful for my little air-conditioned haven. Happy June!

Camping

We look forward to camping over Memorial weekend each year. This was our sixth year – we’ve camped in the pouring rain (unfortunately, more than once) and the hot sun. We’ve camped with kids as young as 2 months old and we’ve camped when I was enormously pregnant. Even in the most miserable of circumstances (wet sleeping bags, muddy everything, and swarms of mosquitoes), we have always had a good time. A lot of the fun comes from spending time with great friends.

We wanted to be back home for church on Sunday so we took Abigail out of school early on Friday so we could get a jump start on the weekend. The food is always a highlight of camping. We had a great Dutch oven dinner, peach cobbler, and smores… yummy!

Yummy Watermelon

Just after our kids went to bed and we were ready to relax by the campfire, two large vehicles pulled into the campsite next to us and out poured a group 10-12 teenage boys. Thankfully we were at a church campground so they had a few responsible adults with them to help keep them in line. They proceeded to set up camp and act as teenage-boys do until well after 1am. I thought for sure our kids would wake up in the morning before them (when I was a teenager I could sleep til noon without a problem), but at 5am the boys were up chopping wood and having a good ole time. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most restful night for me, but to my surprise Jason (and the girls) were completely unfazed by the noise and slept til 8am.

This year we tried a different campground that offers lots of fun activities.

We went a canoe ride.

We spent most of Saturday enjoying the giant slip-n-slide.

One of the rules of the slide is that you have to wear water shoes. Justin wears a size 16 shoe so finding water shoes for him with only a few days notice was impossible. And since I wasn’t feeling any desire to use the slip-n-slide Jason was going merely spectate. I was curious if Jason would enjoy the slide so I asked a friend to take him down with her. I half expected him to refuse to go with her (he can be quite the mamma’s boy) but he completely cooperated and…

He LOVED it!

Of course then he wanted to go again, and again. As soon as he got off the tube he signed for “more”. Justin borrowed water shoes a few times, but a size 11 on a size 16 foot is quite awkward. Thankfully we were able to pawn Jason off a few more times with friends.

Lots of work for only one night, but once again we had a great time and look forward to next year. Hopefully we’ll actually make it on another campout before then.

First of Many

Before we had children I imagined we’d have a house full of boys. To our surprise (and my relief) our first child was a girl… two years later we were blessed with another daughter. Even though Justin said he’d be perfectly happy if we only had daughters, I knew he’d love to have a son. Justin loves to be active, play sports, and go camping. When Abigail was just a toddler he took her to the annual Father & Son church campout. They both loved it and I thought it was sweet that he wanted to experience that with her. Last year both of the girls joined Justin on the campout – they thought it was great fun to sleep in the van with their Dad. Now that Justin has a son of age, the girls have seen their last Father & Son campout. I didn’t really expect Justin to take Jason this year since he’s still so little (only 21 months old), but after throwing together a few necessities they were ready to go. Although Jason had no idea where he was being whisked off to, he was thrilled. Apparently Jason had a great time and was still happily soaking it all in at 11pm (WAY past his usual bedtime). Justin decided sleeping in the van didn’t sound so comfy after all so they headed home for the night, but I’m still considering this the first of many more Father & Son campouts to come.

We sure love this guy!

Family Fun

Man, have I been missing out or what? I’m loving having a bike. We borrowed my sister-in-law’s bike trailer and have gone on several family bike rides.

Our new family hobby has come with quite the wish list: new bike for mom, bike trailer needed for Jason, bike rack so we can take the show on the road, and a hitch for the van so we can attach the needed bike rack.

Mother's Day Tea

This afternoon was the Mother’s Day Tea for the first graders at Abigail’s school. Over the years I’ve heard from friends about how wonderful this event is and Abigail and I have really been looking forward to it. I was greeted at the classroom door by my sweet daughter. She gave me a tissue paper corsage and led me to a chair right by her desk. The desks looked adorable and I immediately wished I would have brought my camera. Abigail then served me a delicious plate of goodies. We ate our treats as she showed me all the projects she’s been working on for this special day. I opened a card with this adorable picture in it and the following poem:

I miss you when we’re not together
I’m growing up so fast
See how big I’ve gotten
Since you saw me last?

As I grow, I’ll change a lot,
The years will fly right by.
You’ll wonder how I grew so quick
When and where and why?

So save this card in a safe place,
And take it out each year.
The memories will come back of me,
When I was small and dear.

I was so touched I almost couldn’t finish reading it. Then there was a slide show presentation. The first part displayed pictures of the kids throughout the school year, then “Let them be little” by Billy Dean started to play and pictures of our first graders were shown as well as pictures of them as toddlers. To top off the afternoon all five first grade classes and their moms gathered in the gym to watch the kids’ performance. They did a phenomenal job. Excellent choreography, music, and costumes. As we walked home hand-in-hand I couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful to have this sweet girl in my life.

I can’t wait to do this again in two years with Carly!

New Wheels

Justin and the girls go on bike rides a lot. Sometimes they are gone for hours while I get left at home (usually I don’t mind). As Justin previously mentioned we recently decided it was time for me to get a bike.

My last bike – age 6
(Hey Bird, can you believe how little that tree is on the right)

The guy at REI basically only showed us one bike. Based on what I would be using it for (riding around with the kids) he thought it was the perfect bike for me. After explaining its features (which I still know nothing about) he told us they encourage customers to take it for a ride in the parking lot before making a purchase. I hesitated while Justin quickly told the employee to get me a helmet. I was nervous – butterflies in my stomach nervous. I hadn’t been on a bike for decades and this was a nice new one. I thought for sure I would fall, and even worse that I would fall in front of my kids. I was very cautious and to my surprise I didn’t fall, in fact I really enjoyed it. REI’s big anniversary sale started this past weekend and we picked up my new wheels on Saturday. Too bad it rained all day, but I did manage to take it for a spin around the block a few times – so much fun. Now all we need is a bike trailer for Jason (if anyone sees one at the community garage sale next weekend let us know).

Isn’t she a beauty?

Happy May Day

Jason has started working with a speech therapist and has also been attending a toddler playgroup to work on his communication skills. Although I can’t necessarily credit his improvement to the early intervention program (this is only our second week), we have definitely seen some improvement. No new words, but he’s making different sounds and has picked up a few animal noises, etc… He loves going to his class and quickly became a favorite of his teachers.

Here’s a clip from earlier this week. Pay special attention to the fierceness in his eyes when he growls. Oh, and yes he loves to tackle, which we all think is kind of fun, but doesn’t go over so well with kids his own age.

You may also notice our new rug arrived this week (my anniversary present to Justin) which I love, love, love and can completely credit to my ubber-talented-beautiful-home-decorator friend who just so happened to have a sample of the rug in her car and didn’t mind that I completely copied her. Now I just need to see what she picks out for curtains and pillows. ;)

Justin had meetings every night this week so we are looking forward to a date night tonight and a fun weekend with the kiddos.

"It's like riding a bicycle..."

I found out today there is truth behind this saying. This morning we went to REI to look at a bike for Holly. I think this was the first time I had ever seen her ride a bike (10 years is a long time), at least one not stuck in front of a tv at the YMCA. Here is a picture. She did pretty well on a test drive in the parking lot.

10 Years!

Happy Anniversary Fletcher!

Picnic

Tonight Justin met me and the kids at the park. He brought Pizza Hut for dinner. The girls and I agreed that Pizza Hut pales in comparison to Papa John’s (I’m pretty sure Jason also agreed); nevertheless, we were grateful for the greasy grubb.

We have an amazing view of Mt. Rainier from our house and the weather was perfect!

After we ate, the kids did their thing, while I started my third book this week (very unlike me, but that’s what happens when all the books you’ve placed holds on come in at the same time).

Abigail was excited to show us how much she’s improved on the bars. I was very impressed that she can do a flip while hanging on to the bar.

Jason was just excited to be outside.

Sharing

(Jason would now like to trade in all his binkies for ring pops)

More from Utah

Another highlight of our trip to Utah was spending the day on Antelope Island. Apparently we visited Antelope Island every year when I was a child, but because my memory totally stinks, it was a new adventure to me. It was really beautiful.

The Great Salt Lake was absolutely still so the mountains reflected perfectly on the water.

We walked around an old cattle ranch. It was fun to walk through the old buildings and see all the old equipment and appliances they used. Our wildlife sightings included bison, antelope, rabbits, birds and horses. Jason enjoyed playing with a large beetle we found on our hike (please send me that picture B).

Jason really wanted to go play with the bison

We let him play with this one instead


We also hiked up Buffalo Point.

The older kids reached the top of the mountain first


The kids participated in a city-sponsored Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

This is basically the extent of Jason’s egg gathering this year – not too interested


The girls also participated in the Easter Dive at the local aquatic center.

Abigail loved playing in the pool afterward with her cousins


Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. After church we had a delicious dinner at my sister’s house. The kids participated in their third Easter egg hunt. I think we hid as many eggs for our 11 kids as the city did. Most of the kids’ baskets were overflowing. Once again Jason completely missed the idea of gathering eggs... maybe next year he'll catch on.

Jason was much more interested in eating candy

Carly’s basket was heavy even without any Easter eggs.

Being the outdoorsman that he is, Jason spent the majority of the afternoon and evening playing outside under the watchful eye of his sisters and cousins. That’s one of the great things about having a big family - lots of people to play with. I seriously saw very little of my kids this past week.

A bonding moment between Jason and his cousin Griffin

My brother in Iowa made a last minute decision to come to Utah for Easter weekend so we had all six siblings together. The only family members missing were three of my nieces – we sure missed seeing them!

The kids and their loot

We broke out the Wii Fit for a little entertainment/embarrassment. The ridiculous contraption gave me a Wii Fit age of 44, three years older than my not-so-little little brother and 11 years older than my "overweight" husband... what's up with that!?!

Justin ski-jumping

The adults also played a little badminton. I can't say I'm any good, but I had a blast and I'm looking for someone to play tennis with me - anyone game?

Great action shot Justin – I think I even hit this one!

Spending Easter with family was wonderful. Of course the true reason for the holiday is to remember the sacrifice of our Savior, this is a wonderful video clip. As we tucked the girls into bed Sunday night Abigail teared up as she expressed how sad she feels every time she has to say good-bye to our family. We sure miss them! Thanks for the great time!