Sarah chose to continue home schooling. She's half-way through 2nd grade (we got "ahead" of our schooling while in Alaska) and is now reading well-above her grade level. I think they both made the best choice for them, for now.
With Katherine at school, Sarah, Ben and Christian watching Word World, and Sammy sleeping, I have a rare moment to reflect on the summer and update our blog. It's been such a great summer, idyllic really. Here's a brief recap.
Of course, the highlight of the summer was the arrival of little Sammy.
Love the arm resting on the cushion on this one!
First day home from the hospital - Sammy sleeps a lot. We love Sammy.
Our church had a Pioneer Day celebration in July. It was so much fun! Potato sack races, one legged races, cookout, etc. We all had a blast - Sarah loved the potato sack race!
Here are a few of the kids learning the rules for a game. Our Bishop is the "Gnarly Harley" dude in the red bandanna. We've known Shane for 5 years now and love him as a good friend and an extremely cool Bishop!
"Mommy!" Christian knows how to make my day!
More fun: LAKE DAYS!!
Here are our sand babies - the kids (and a few parents) took turns burying each other in the sand. WAY too much fun! Check out all the grinny faces!
Sarah and Paige
Ben really got into it, but Christian decided to just bury his feet.
More friends at the lake - our favorite thing to do this summer, it was pretty much an every day occurrence.
We had a lot of fun this summer. I've had many people ask how we did so much - with me being so pregnant and four active kids. The primary reason we were able to do so much is that I was blessed with truly wonderful kids. They make being a mom of 5 much easier then it looks. The key, for me, is logistics. Getting everyone ready, diaper bag packed appropriately for the day, and out the door can be tricky sometimes. To help with the logistics, this summer we implemented Operation: Teamwork.
Team #1:
Team Captain: Katherine (age 8)
Special Agent: Ben (age 3)
Team Captain Katherine was in charge of getting Ben dressed each day, helping him clean up any potty training accidents (luckily there were very few), set and clean-off the table for their team for each meal, and keep a general eye on him during the day.
Katherine and Ben both have very similar personalities. They are very smart and independent thinkers. Katherine decided quickly that Ben should do more chores then what mommy makes him do, so she trained him how to set the table, get completely dressed, and even help her with her chores. It's been fun watching them work together.
Team #2
Team Captain: Sarah (age 7)
Special Agent: Christian (age 2)
Team Captain Sarah was in charge of getting Christian dressed each day, changing him, setting and cleaning off the table for her team, and overall keeping an eye on Christian throughout the day.
Sarah and Christian have similar personalities as well. They both love music and were able to accomplish more when they put it to song or did their "marching music" while picking up clothes or toys. She had a harder time changing Christian - more then once she would run around after him saying, "sit DOWN Christian!" but once she made it into a game, it went much better!
We "practiced" being in teams all summer so that when Sammy finally arrived I would be able to focus on him for a short while knowing the kids were alright. It worked out really well. The kids got along better and I think both Katherine and Sarah have a better appreciation for obedient children!
Operation Teamwork, and our summer was a great success!
1 comment:
Debbie -
As you know, I witnessed this first hand in July when I was visiting you and it was really something to see. You have done an awesome job with your children. I never saw such fun loving and well-behaved children as these kids. I am so proud to be their Grammy.
Love, Mom
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