Summer Fun!

So this summer has been a wild one, just kidding.  I've had half a brain this summer with the baby.  She is sleeping better now but it's hard having 4 busy kids and 1 not so sleeping baby.  Although we've had low expectations I've tried to do a few fun things throughout the summer.

Rick's Dad, Tracy and Emily came to visit us in June.  Here we are waiting to see planes take off at the Clow Airport Diner, it never happened but we had fun eating while we waited.

Here is all 6 of our grandparents.  We had everyone here for Jaina's blessing.  I don't think all 6 of them had been in a room since the wedding,

 oh so many years ago.

Our lovely Aunt Kristen was also here for the blessing.  Our "take my picture too" kid is always ready.  Jaina's blessing will be another post.

 Here is Grandma and Grandpa DeMille during their stay in June with Baby Jaina.

 Anson and Aaron went to a day camp at the end of June, Kati Kani.  It was pirate week and they learned lots of camping skills, did crafts, went fishing, swimming and so much more.  Here they are in the last skit of their week.

 

This year Aaron was on a coach pitched baseball team.  He had a great team, the Yankees.  We all enjoyed going to the games.  They made it all the way to the Championship game.  We had Amanda's family here that weekend so between our family, her family and both sets of grandparents, and Isa Aaron had quite the cheering section.  Here are a few pictures of the Championship game.

 They won the Bolingbrook Championship! Go team!

We also went to Cantigny with Amanda's family.  How many Blackhams can you fit on one tank gun!

 

We had girls/boys cousin swap.  Jacob came and watched Star Wars and slept over at our house.  Rachel went and watched a girl movie with Sarah at Grandma's house.

We also went to Brunswick Zone with cousins.  Here is Anson and Andrew fighting off the bad guys.

Sarah had an amazing influence over Rachel and she actually went on rides!

Cousins Andrew and Nathan loved playing together.

We had a friend get married in the Nauvoo, IL Temple in June.  We took advantage of the trip and took everyone down for our first visit there with kids.  There is such a good spirit there and the kids are old enough to know Joseph Smith and the important role Nauvoo played in our church.  For those who don't know Nauvoo was a town our church founded and built up in the 1840s.  After a few short years the Saints were again kicked out but while they were there it was a wonderful place to live.  Our church has restored many of the buildings there and you can go and see what it would be like to live there in the 1840s-1850s.

Here is Rachel dressed in pioneer wear.

  

Here we are watching the band play on the street outside the Red Brick store, their grocery store.

Last year we went park hopping the last day of summer before school started.  This year the kids wanted to do the same.  For park hopping we just set the timer for 30 minutes at each park and see how many parks we can hit before we are worn out.  This means we can hit all those parks we've wanted to try or see again or whatever before school starts and it just too hard.  This year the kids continually voted for new parks we had never been too.  Jaina wasn't a huge fan but the big kids love it.

We had a relatively slow summer.  Anson and Aaron made huge strides with swimming lessons.  We'll work on Andrew and Rachel next summer.  ;) 

"Oh, what do you do in the summertime?"

Branson 2013

We love Branson, MO!  This was our second trip to Branson, Missouri.  There is so much to do there we will probably go again.  We love it because it is a great Christian town full of talent and so much to do.  There are very talented entertainers and they all are clean acts.  We can take our kids and grandparents and everyone enjoys a good wholesome show or activity.  They always recognize God and those who serve or have served in the military.  This time we took Grandpa and Grandma DeMille and Emily.  We love having grandparents so we get extra help and even a night out!

This year was full of fun.  We arrived on Saturday, August 3rd, and stayed at French Quarter right on the strip, great location.  We went to church on Sunday and spent the day enjoying being with family.  Early Monday morning Rick, Anson, Grandpa DeMille and Emily went fishing with a guide. Here are some pictures.

They caught something like 60 fish in 4 hours but they were only allowed to keep 4 each, 16 total.  They also had to throw back any that were really big or too small.  We fried some of them up that night for all to enjoy.

Tuesday we went on the Branson Belle, a showboat.  This is our second time seeing it and it is a great dinner and fun dinner show.  This year Rachel was asked to help the magician with his act.  It was hysterical.

 

 

Wednesday we went to White Waters.  It was so much fun and the best part is finally after years of swimming lessons Anson and Aaron finally went down BIG slides.  I was amazed that Anson was so brave to go down some major slides.  He seemed to really like the tube slides.  We couldn't get him off!  Unfortunately, we had to split up to keep someone with Jaina so we didn't get any pictures of the boys on the slides but here is Rachel going down a small slide.  Andrew also found water cannons and between those and his pool toys he stayed busy the whole time.

Thursday we went and saw the Acrobats of China.  It was great!  Rick and I went last year and wanted the kids to see it.  They are so much fun to watch, everyone loved them.

Sorry blogger won't flip my picture correctly.

Thursday night Rick and I got to go out for date night and we went to see Shoji Tabuchi, the violinist.  He had a quick wit and was very talented.  The bathrooms were crazy amazing.  It was almost worth it to see them.  It was a great show and great company!

Of course we also fit in as much pool time as we could.  It was VERY rainy the week we went.  We got around 8 inches of rain in one so many of our plans were delayed.  Our resort had a great pool, although it was freezing, the kids loved it!

Friday Rachel wasn't feeling well so Anson, Aaron, Emily, Rick and his Dad went mini golfing.  There was a great dinosaur place we passed several times that week.  

Our last night we wanted to go out somewhere nice for dinner together.  We went to Olive Garden for the first time with kids.  We had a great meal.  Jaina tried so hard throughout the trip but it was pretty difficult nursing her on the fly and getting decent naps in. 

 

 

What a cutie!

We had a great trip and have already made our list of what we want to do next time.  It is great to be able to spend quality time with each other and family.

Garden Lesson #1

So my Grandpa Allred and Grandpa Blackham had amazing gardens.  I remember working with both of them in it and enjoying the produce they provided.  My own father had a garden as we grew up in Georgia that we all worked.  My Grandpa Allred is the master gardener in the family and it is well worth the trip in August to get some of his famous corn.  Even in his old age every year I ask him if he is going to plant a garden and he says he is not up to it.  Yet, every year he can't resist planting just a few rows of corn and a few tomato plants. 

I had a really small garden in Urbana and once we moved here to Bolingbrook we landscaped a small 5 x 20 foot garden in.  We have really enjoyed the produce every year, even as small a garden as it is.  Every year as I tend the garden there are so many lessons I learn about life.  It is truly therapeutic for me.  I know we're suppose to let our kids learn and work with us in the garden but it is my time to think and work there. 

I am going to record a few lessons I learn there, more as a journal than a blog but I feel they are so important for me to remember.  This morning I tended to my garden.  I have really needed to cage my tomato plants.  Tomatoes are a vine and so they do best when they have something to climb up instead of crawl all over the ground.  Some gardeners cage them from the get go as seedlings.  This year with the baby I'm running really late and have not had a minute to run out and fix them.  When I went out this morning they were not looking so great but once I started putting the cages around the plant and adjusting the branches I was amazed with how much they've grown even in my neglect. 

I was thinking how we are here in life dealing with the hustle and bustle and sometimes we are thrown a curve ball.  We have an unexpected challenge and as much as we don't want it we are forced into a situation.  As I moved some of the branches to climb up the cage I broke a few of them.  I thought I bet this is how God feels.  He knows what is best for me and it is very painful sometimes but as the master gardener He is helping me grow and be a better person.  As the summer progresses I know these tomato plants will grow taller than the cages and be huge.  If I don't cage them and fix their branches to grow properly will over take the whole garden and the tomatoes will be all over the ground and choking other plants. 

Another part I couldn't do this morning because I need Rick for is to stake the cage.  I have him hammer a large wooden stake into the cage and deep into the soil to anchor the cage against the storms we have here.  I thought how that is like faith.  If we have a deep anchor in God and the gospel he will anchor us against the storms in life.  I am so grateful for my little garden, for the produce it provides, the therapy it provides, and the lessons God teaches me there.

Rachel graduates Preschool, Pre-K

Rachel was in Pre-K, for kids with late birthdays, this year.  They met 4 mornings a week at the Park District.  It has been a great class for her and she has loved her teachers, Mrs. Veronica and Ms. Joni.  They held her Preschool graduation May 17th. 

 Here is Rachel hamming it up before graduation.

 Here is Rachel graduating, whew, we were worried she would pass!  Just kidding, she loves school.

 Grandma Blackham came with Andrew, Jaina, and I to see the graduation.

Here are her great teachers Ms. Joni and Mrs. Veronica.

This is our carpool buddy Andrew.  Carpooling saved me the last little bit of my pregnancy and when Jaina was born.  Thanks Mrs. Barb and Andrew Preimesberger.

Mother's Day 2013

For Mother's Day this year we had the stomach bug but the kids (and Rick) did their best to "shower" me with gifts.  Each kid made something in a class for me.

Rachel's preschool class had a special Mother's Day Tea Party for us. 

Anson's 2nd grade class also had a Mother's Day event for us.  We played a cute BINGO game and they sang songs.  Aaron made a cute bird picture in school.  Andrew even made a cute plate in nursery that I had lunch on that day.  He was so proud of putting stickers on it!

Rick cancelled meetings, yeah Bishop, so he could make me breakfast and dinner.  I also got a 2 1/2 hour nap in there, which was amazing!  We had his parents, Medalith, Alex and Isabella over for dinner and my parents over for dessert. 

I love being a mom.  It is the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I will ever do.  These past couple months as a mom with a newborn have been difficult but I remind myself of how many years I prayed for this exact experience.  I am so lucky to be mom with such full arms!

Baby Jaina is born!

The day we, especially me, had been waiting for, for 9 months finally came Monday, April 8, 2013.  Jaina DeMille was born at 2:57 a.m. weighing 8 lbs, 1 oz and 20 inches long.  The last few weeks of the pregnancy and of course since have been a blur of inactivity on my part.  We are trying to get relatively back on course since the baby was born.  Every week we seem a little more normal, even if very sleep deprived.

Just a few labor details...my water broke, unlike all the rest of my kids, here at home.  Usually I have crazy long labors and they have to break it at the hospital.  So Rick called my mom at 9:30 Sunday night and told her to come over.  My labor started at the hospital about 11 that night by itself.  I watched a movie and Rick did some work until about 1.  He suggested I get the epidural since I've had terrible epidurals in the past.  I was concerned about slowing the labor down since I was between a 2-3 when I was admitted.  They administered the epidural at 1:30 and I was a 4.  At 2:30 I told the nurse I wanted the meds increased because I was having to breathe through each contraction.  She checked and told me it was time to push, no more meds.  So the epidural didn't really work, for the important part, bummer.  Good news it went really fast because I could feel every part of it.  So my normal 24+ hour labor was only 4, yeah!

Here we are right after she was born.

The kids came later that morning with Grandma Blackham to meet Jaina. I have to mention Andrew's first impression of her was to ask why she wasn't talking to him.  He was so excited to meet her.

Rick brought me home from the hospital on Wednesday.  The kids, especially Andrew, were really excited to have me and Jaina home.  They were all itching to hold her and play with her. 

Rachel can't get enough of her.  She is always in her face ready to hold or play with her.  She loves her to pieces!  She has increased her hand washing 5x just to be ready to hold her if Jaina is available to be held.

Aaron was a little more reluctant to hold her just because he was worried about not doing it right.  It took a few days and a prod from his school teacher for a picture and we got one.  Funny part was a soon as he held her she filled her pants.  She has since been held and again filled her pants only for him.  That's love!

Anson is always wonderful with babies.  He has a gentle and quiet way about him when he's around them.  He has proven to be a big help with holding her so I can get things done.   

Here is Andrew holding Jaina.  It is a continual "taking turns" around here to let the big kids hold the baby.

 

And Jaina a week old having some wake time.  "Hello world!"

 

We love our new baby girl.  It has been very hard with 4 plus a newborn but hopefully as she gets older we'll get better at everything.  I try to enjoy every newborn stage because I know it goes by so quickly.  Even still it is exhausting and so time consuming.  Rick has been a help as much as his schedule permits.  He has been great to take her whenever I need sleep, even if that means no sleep for him.  We've also had a lot of Grandma help trying to juggle the big kid schedule and running errands.  Our ward and a few friends have also been so much help from running kids around to helping with meals.  I don't know how people do it otherwise.  We look forward to resuming life in the coming weeks.  We've tried to keep her home and healthy as much as possible but it can't last forever.  We'll just have to do the best we can and have low expectations of everything on the homefront.  

It is such a blessing in my life to be a mother to such beautiful children.  There were so many years I didn't have this blessing.  I remind myself of that on a regular occasion so I don't get too overwhelmed.  They are each such a blessing from God.  I love being their mom and being able to bring them into the world.