Tanner Art

Before we took down Tanner's art walls, I took a few pictures of my favorites:

Doc Ock

Green Goblin

The red spider is the radioactive one.

Ouch!

Sandman

Iron Spiderman

Bat Spiderman



Super Spiderman



Sandman becoming so.

Wolf

July 4th, 2012

We had another great 4th this year. I think my favorite thing about it is that it is such a family day. It is special and there is no hype about presents. Everyone just wants to be together and have some fun.

On Monday, we went to get fireworks.  The kids were very hands on with the decisions, especially Dallin.  For the first time we ended up foregoing the bargain package and going a la cart. We got less fireworks but learned that for the same amount of money, you can get a few really big ones instead that last a lot longer.  So we had 3 big one's, some piccolo Pete's and smaller ones, sparklers and of course snakes. The next morning, Dallin went back with his own allowance to get a couple more.









Tuesday night we set them off because we were not going to be home on the 4th. 




























Ha ha, his jammies say "Ho-ho!"  His clothes are off by a few months since the other boys birthdays are all in the early summer and he is in the fall.







We saved the biggest one for last and it was a wowzer.  The kids went ahead and slept right there on the trampoline after.  I fully expected to have a bed full of kids by morning with fireworks going off all night, but they all slept great all night.

On the 4th, we started the day by going to the parade.  Tanner and Carter wore costumes.

He wears this costume every day.

Peter's brother Larry and kid were in the parade promoting Sean Lindsay for re-election.









Waiting for candy.

Little Lukey got tired of the bright sun and fell asleep on grandpa.



Later that afternoon we headed to Grandpa D's and enjoyed the lake and a great barbecue.





We took our annual family 4th of July picture. Lest you think life is all smiles and giggles, here is our best outtake ever! It was an all out brawl.
This one really epitomizes life.  Peter and I working together with little people EVERYWHERE! It's a good life.

  Dallin has been begging to fish lately.  That's all he wants to do.  The first time we went out on the lake this year we kept seeing fish jump and Dallin's imagination went wild.  So on the 4th of July, he dug up some worms and gave it a try from Grandpa's dock. There were so many people out and fireworks and music the fish were not biting.  But Dallin is a determined little soul and stuck with it for a couple of hours. He said he was praying to catch a fish.  Worm after worm he kept on casting and got some good practice.   Finally, I went to break the news to him that it was getting dark and time to go out in the boat to watch the fireworks.  I told him to reel his line in one last time and that he would have many more chances later.  We could not believe our eyes when all of the sudden there was a little tug!  Sure enough he reeled in a little baby catfish.  Yay, triumph!  He was so happy.  We finished the night by taking the boat out to watch the fireworks.  The crack of the echoes, the way the water lights up, it was just as awesome as ever.  Lily was the only one that fell asleep half way through, but all the kids really enjoyed it.

Backyard Campfire

One night we decided to have a little campfire with s'mores. We had a great time eating, singing and telling stories.

Even Luke had a great time.

"Going on a bear hunt!"

I told the kids some of the kinda gross "scary" but really funny stories from when I was a kid.  They were so into it and laughed so hard that their mom would use potty humor.  I like to surprise them sometimes.

Going to work now....

Bye bye, see you later!

Summer Rain

A couple of weeks ago, it suddenly rained. So naturally, trampoline jumping ensued:  

Have you seen these?

 

 .

  .

Click on the pictures to watch on Hulu for free. Very informative and inspiring.  I haven't written about nutrition for a while, but continue to work toward the Green Smoothie Girl's 12 steps to whole foods program. It is a daily challenge and some days/weeks/months I do great, others, I slip back into the SAD (standard american diet).  But I love my green smoothies and salads! One day I hope to eat enough raw food for long enough to feel that source of boundless energy that I keep reading about.  Seriously, only needing 4 or 5 hours of sleep? No sluggishness?  I want it!

So have you seen these?  What did you think? 

Running

I have begun to kick it into high gear with my running since we are getting closer to the Hood to Coast.  I am struggling to get my average mile time under 10 minutes(its a hilly run though).  But I think I found my secret weapon.

His name is Dallin.  He loves to run and always takes up any invitation to go with Peter.  I have never run with him before so tonight I asked him along.  He DID NOT slow me down but quite the contrary.  I could not keep up with him.  He had to keep slowing down for me and never wanted to stop.  The kid wore me out and chatted away the whole time like it was nothing.  He even got a side ache but refused to slow down.

He just loves to run.  As I watch him, it just looks like his body feels good.  Like he is getting sensory input that he craves.  He even moves his head back and forth sometimes to add to it.  It was neat to see him enjoying himself so much.  I am sure seeing Peter get really into running has been motivating for him too.  He thinks his daddy is the man.

We were going to do a long 7 miler tonight, but Peter got home very late so we only went about 3.  Dallin was totally bummed out when I told him we had to do a short run because it was getting dark.  He kept asking if we could do it anyway.  He has never run that far, but was very sure he was up to the task. After this run, I have no doubt he could do it no problem.  Crazy!

He gave me a hard time for being slow and said "When I run with dad, he lets me choose the pace and he stays with me."  I explained to him that my body has had lots of babies and that it is going to take me a while to get strong enough to keep up with him. He was not very impressed. But he did say he wants to run with me every day so I guess I am better than nothing.

What a cool kid.  I love how the older kids are becoming our best friends.  We have some common interests that don't involve going to the kiddie play-land or play-doh.  It's a nice perk.

*I should say that Eden and Tanner love to run too.  I am not sure they have the same tenacity or not. I will have to test them out and see.