No Bikes / No Hair

Joe and I went for a bike ride the other day. We usually just ride around our neighborhood, or go to a park, but this time we decided to go downtown. There's a river that runs through down town, with a nice trail that runs next to it.

It was a great ride, very scenic and peaceful. We passed people fishing, jogging/walking, BBQing, feeding the ducks, etc. Really nice. When we got to the end of the trail, we turned around to head back. That's when we saw a sign that said "No skateboards, No rollerblades, No scooters, No bicycles!" It deflated us a bit, but not our tires, so we rode back on the road instead of the path. The road runs along the river too, but somehow it didn't seem quite as fun as the path. Oh well. In other news, Alex got his first real haircut. His hair was getting really long - this before picture doesn't do it justice.

It was really cute, but just getting too long. Well, we pretty much buzzed it, but with the longest clip.

He looks like JT, but with blond hair. Every time we look at him now it freaks us out just a little, because we're not used to it. But he's still just as cute as ever. We cut JT's hair the same day, as well as Madelyn's bangs. I guess Madelyn got the hair cutting bug, and stupid me, I left the scissors in the bathroom, and....well here's what her hair is supposed to look like.

Notice that her ear doesn't show in that picture. And here's what it looks like now on one side.There's a chunk or two right above her ear, that's covered with semi-longer hair, that she cut almost to her scalp. It's kind of hard to tell in the picture. Cora and JT never cut their own hair, so I've never had to deal with this before. It's pretty sad, and we're not sure what to do about it, like if we should cut her hair really short or just leave it. It definitely could have been worse, I realize that. This is about half of what she cut off; maybe a third.

It's sad, but it's funny at the same time. At first we didn't realize how bad it was. Then we kept finding clumps of hair all over, and even pulled a few more clumps from her head that somehow hadn't fallen yet. I guess we should expect things like this from Madelyn, but she still catches us by surprise every now and then.

Soccer

Cora loves soccer. So far we haven't put her on a team, but for the last two years she's done a soccer camp on base during the summer. It's been fun to watch her. One of the drills they do is all of the kids have their own ball, and they have to try to kick the other kids' balls out of bounds, while protecting their own ball. The other kids mostly worried about getting away from each other, but Cora was going after everyone. She's not the best player, but she's not afraid to be aggressive and do her best. The first time they did that drill, she was the last one left with her ball.

JT and Madelyn had fun too, running around the track and football field.

I was the proud soccer mom (I have a mini-van too, so I fit the stereotype). And even though Joe was on the swing shift that week, he was able to take his dinner break during that time and come out to watch Cora. I'm still not sure if we're going to put her on a team, though. I'd like her to try some other things too before she makes a decision, and before I have to spend a lot of money on it.

I've Been Tagged

One Word Tag You're It....
1. Where is your cell phone? Factory
2. Your significant other? Joe
3. Your hair? Rebellious
4. Your mother? Strong
5. Your father? Humble
6. Your favorite thing? Food
7. Your dream last night? Forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? Cold
9. Your dream/goal? Italy
10. The room you're in? Dining
11. Your children? Loud
12. Your fear? Hurt
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Utah
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you're not? Immaculate
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Kitchenaide
18. Where you grew up? Americn Fork
19. What are you wearing? Pink
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pets? None
22. Your computer? Used
23. Your life? Full
24. Your mood? Happy
25. Missing someone? Family
26. Your car? Experienced
27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
28. Favorite store? Convenient
29. Your summer? Busy
30. Like someone? Yes
31. Your favorite color? Blue
32. Last time you laughed? Yesterday
33. Last time you cried? Unknown

Peaches

No, it's not clown makeup. Apparently Alex is allergic to peaches. I suspected he was several months ago. I gave him peaches once and he got a little rash (nothing like this though), and I hadn't given him peaches since. But my other kids like fresh peaches. Madelyn had one today, took two bites, and left it on the kitchen floor so she could go play. Well, Alex's one objective in life is to find things he can eat off of the floor. When I found him, his mouth was buried in that peach, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. I took it away, and about 10 minutes later he'd broken out. Nothing that Benadryl won't cure. It didn't even seem to be bothering him - but it looks a little sad.

Father's Day and the U.S. Open

For Father's who love golf, the U.S. Open is great because the fourth round falls on Father's Day every year. But what happens when it's the mom who loves golf? I (Ruth) admit it, I'm addicted to golf. I'm sure most of you

didn't know this about me. And yes, poor Joe is a golf widower every Father's Day (as well as for the other majors, the world golf championships, the player's championship, and sometimes a couple of others. I can't help myself, but it's not like I totally ignore my family - family comes first!). I think I'm slowly converting Joe though, and he does like to play with me on dates, even though we both stink. In fact one of our very first dates was playing golf. This year's U.S Open was so awesome, and went to a playoff on Monday, and then a sudden death. But for those of you who don't appreciate golf, I won't bore you with the details. And for those of you who love golf, I'll assume you saw it for yourselves and know the joy. Okay, back to Father's day. Joe and I usually celebrate Mother's and Father's day on Saturday AND Sunday. So, on Saturday we tried to get in a bunch of stuff before the third round started. We got up very early to go see a hot air balloon launch. It wasn't anything like the one I've seen in Provo in July. There were only about 8 balloons, and they didn't lift off at the same time, and we got there late, so we only saw the last two lift off, but the kids were excited all the same. Across the street was where they have the farmer's market on Saturday mornings, so we stopped and got some banana bread.

We had an early lunch at Double Dave's, our favorite pizza buffet. Then we went for a short bike ride to work it off. We love riding bikes as a family, but it is a real chore loading up everything in/on the car to drive to a park that has a path. Our neighborhood is not exactly conducive to a ride with small kids, so we really can only go up and down our street. Joe especially likes riding his bikes (yes, that's bike in the plural form). That's his addiction. He's even started riding to work to save gas money, and for exercise too. Sometimes we bike for our dates. After our family bike ride on Saturday we went to the pool to cool off. This is the first year we've bought a pool pass on base. All our kids love swimming, even Alex (but only in the kiddie pool where he has the control). [I just have to point out here that Joe is the one who suggested that we go biking AND swimming. Usually I have to drag him to do anything, especially swimming. When he suggested it, I just looked at him, and wondered who he was and what he'd done with my husband.] Anyway, the rest of the day we watched golf, and I did all the diaper changes, grocery shopping, refereeing the kids, etc., because Joe kept reminding me that it was Father's Day. Don't worry, I do the same thing to him on Mother's Day:) I am so grateful that Joe is the father of my children. I hope they always appreciate how lucky they are to have him as their dad. All-in-all, it was a great weekend!

Swimming

Hot weather came early this year. We've been having high 90's and low 100's since the beginning of May. We needed relief from the sun even before the public swimming pools opened, so we bought a small pool for our back yard. The kids use it almost every day, and sometimes twice a day. We buy a small pool almost every year. They never last to the next year, but I think they're totally worth it. I don't know if Joe agrees. He always tries to talk me into buying a huge pool, but that's what a pool pass is for, right. Speaking of which, do we need a pool pass for this?

School's Out!

Well, summer vacation has finally started. Cora and JT have successfully completed 1st grade and pre-K. The pictures below are of some of their artwork from this year.

I've looked forward to having all four of my kids home with me. Now that's it's here, I'm wondering what the heck we're going to do. If I think real hard about it though, I know we're going to stay busy. First of all, I officially started potty-training Madelyn today. One of my least favorite things to do, but the end result is sooooo worth it! Cora is actually going to be going to summer school for a few weeks to work on her reading. She is not at all excited about this, but we're trying to put a positive spin on it for her. The three older kids will be getting swimming lessons, and Cora might do a one-week soccer workshop. One of the ladies from our ward has offered her swimming pool for a weekly swimming play-group. We'll be going to the library each week (hopefully), and a scrapbooking/craft club, and maybe volleyball. Yeah, I'm sure we can entertain ourselves well enough. And by the end of it all, I know that Cora and JT will be excited to start school again.