Golf Camp

Spencer and Jessica just finished golf camp. A little reluctant at first, they actually enjoyed learning a new sport in the end. They had an award ceremony on the last day. There were five different awards for each age group: "Best Driving", "Best Putting", "Best Chipping", "Best Ironing" and "Best Sportsmanship". Spencer won "Best Chipping" for his age group. (Don't ask me - I'm not familiar with golf --Spencer tried to explain it to me.) Jessica won "Best Sportsmanship" and I wasn't surprised. Whenever I got the chance to watch her, she'd be joking around and laughing with her counselors and friends about not getting the ball close to the hole, etc. She made friends with everyone in her group and seemed to be very well-liked. That's my little Jessica!

They provided lunch everyday and even offered one to Alex and Logan. On the last day, Spencer and Jessica also received a golf shirt. They had a fun time! In early August, I've signed them up to participate in a tennis camp with the same sports organization. They are looking forward to it.

Spencer's group was trained by experienced golf professionals

Spencer and his group are learning to "drive" the ball

Spencer likes golfing

Jessica and the girls in her group

Jessica had a good time at golf camp even if it isn't her best sport

Alex and Logan hanging out while we waited for golf camp to end

Spencer eating the lunch they provided & showing off his "Chipping" medal

Jessica with her "Sportsmanship" award

Julie's Birthday

My sister Kim surprised me by coming up to visit for my birthday this year. Well, it wasn't a total surprise as she actually gave me a day's warning, but it was fun to see her and her children. The kids always love seeing their cousins and her baby Ethan had grown so much since I saw him last April.

On the morning of my birthday, Kim and I took the kids to IKEA for breakfast. IKEA is a giant new furniture store in town but they also have a cafeteria that sells yummy breakfast plates for $.99 - A pretty good deal! After we ate, Kim and I put our kids in the supervised play area so we could browse the store. Allison was very sad because she wasn't tall enough to go in the play area. She cried for a long time until Kim bought some candy to help take her mind off it. It worked! We had an hour until we needed to pick up the kids and when we did, we noticed that they still had a lot of energy. So we went to "Caesarland" to eat pizza and let the kids play. They played for several hours and never seemed to get tired! By about 3:00, Kim and I were pretty tired so we went back to the house and let them jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath the remainder of the afternoon.

A little later, I injured my foot as I was walking downstairs to put the wet swimming suits and towels in the washer. I lost my footing and fell down pretty hard on my foot. Joshua wasn't home from work yet and my sister and I were in the middle of getting ready for my birthday BBQ dinner. I think I sat on the stairs and cried for awhile. By the time I made it back upstairs, my foot was starting to swell. I thought it could've been broken but I wasn't sure. It hurt really bad and I couldn't walk on it. When Joshua got home, we decided he'd take me to a nearby Urgent Care. I slowly hopped to the car with Joshua's help. He eventually carried me because it was too hard to hobble or hop. They took X-rays of my foot at the Urgent Care and the doctor said it wasn't broken, probably just some muscle damage. By then my foot was pretty bruised, turning black and blue. The nurse wrapped my foot in an ace bandage and told me to keep it elevated the next few days. Since then, I still keep it in an ace bandage and it's still really bruised (I don't like to look at it). I haven't walked very much on it because it swells really easily. Most of the time I stay off it and keep it elevated. The kids and Joshua have been very helpful! I hope it gets better soon because I'm ready to run around and have fun this summer! I'm just thankful it's not broken and extremely glad it happened after our trip to Cedar Point.

Since I didn't slept very well the night after it happened, the next morning I was so exhausted! I'm so glad Kim was still here. She was extremely helpful with my children and took them out most of the afternoon so I could rest. She also helped with dinner and other things around the house that day. I felt bad that she came to have a fun couple of days with us but ended up spending most of the time taking care of me. But I'm sure grateful to her! Thanks Kim, for helping me out!

Thanks to everyone who called for my birthday. I was touched that all my siblings, my parents, in-laws, and Joshua's brother Joseph called and/or left messages. It meant a lot. I'm also grateful to those who sent well wishes through email and e-cards. I also have a few friends taking me out this week to celebrate. It's nice to be remembered on your birthday. It really means a lot!

(Enlarge the picture by clicking on it -- You can see some of the bruising on my big toe! Yuck!)

CEDAR POINT!!

We (meaning Joshua, Spencer, Jessica and I) went to Cedar Point last Monday, June 18. Our bishop's family was kind enough to watch Alex and Logan so we could spend the whole day riding rollercoasters that they wouldn't be tall enough to ride. Cedar Point has a record-breaking 17 rollercoasters, more than any other amusement park. We had a total blast!! Any family and friend thrill seekers are encouraged to make the trip up here next year and go with us. We have decided to make it a tradition and go every year as soon as we can after school lets out for summer. And, all of our children must be at least 48" tall if they want to go with us. That is the minimum height for all but about 6 of the rollercoasters. Alex may be tall enough next year -- We'll see!

Jessica's favorite ride was Top Thrill Dragster which is one of the tallest and is the 2nd fastest (120 mph) rollercoaster in the world. She also loved the Millennium Force which is this massive, colossal rollercoaster and voted no. 2 of the "Best Steel Rollercoaster in the World" in Amusement Today (Top Thrill Dragster was No. 7). Joshua, Spencer and I loved the newest ride that debuted last month, called the Maverick which has a 95 degree first drop, two separate launches, 10 banked turns and reaches a speed of 70 mph. We were glad to be at the front of the line when the park opened because as soon as it did, everyone raced for the "Maverick". It was the farthest ride from the front of the park so even though we started out running with the crowd, we ended up race-walking and huffing & puffing by the time we got there. But it was good we rode the Maverick first because the line was horrendous the rest of the day.

Another of my favorite rides was Skyhawk, a gigantic swing that goes back and forth up to 125 feet in the air at a speed of 60 mph. in both directions. I could've ridden that over and over. I also loved Wicked Twister, a U-shaped, 90-degree steel rollercoaster that launches without warning up to 72 mph and goes up and down a twisted track about 5 times back and forth. Spencer and I got in the "front row" line (separate from the other line) for Wicked Twister. In our opinion, the best place to be on a rollercoaster is the front row! When it was almost our turn, the coaster had a malfunction and needed to be shut down. The operators told us they didn't know how long it would take. We were disappointed but decided to stay close and keep an eye out so when it reopened, we'd be right there. We went on the Giant Ferris Wheel which was next to Wicked Twister. After that, we went on the Space Spiral, also next to the rollercoaster, and as we were coming down we noticed Wicked Twister was running again. Spencer and I ran and got in the "front row" line again, which was really short by then. Daddy and Jessica decided not to go with us. They were getting a little tired of riding rollercoasters all day. It was probably 8:00 pm by then. We had been going for 10 hours straight! Whew!

It's nice that Cedar Point is only 2 hours from our house. It makes it possible to drive there and home in one day. We talked to some people in line with us for Millennium Force that traveled all the way from Seattle just to ride the Millennium Force after seeing it on the Travel Channel's "Best Rollercoasters in the World". They are big-time thrill seekers and travel all over the U.S. to ride the biggest and best rollercoasters. Sounds fun!

(*Anything in blue is a link)

Liberty Fest 2007

One of our favorite family activities of the summer is Canton's annual "Liberty Fest". This year it took place on June 16 - 17, 2007. It included many activities such as a Friday night "movie at dusk", a parade, fireworks, games, rides, an art fair, a car show, performances, food and much more at a local city park. I took many pictures as we enjoyed all these activities. See below!

Joshua and I were interviewed for a local newspaper as we waited for the Liberty Fest parade to start. See the link here -- http://hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070621/NEWS03/706210556/1020/NEWS03

Logan's First Year of Preschool

Logan had a great first year of preschool! We discovered that he is a very friendly, social and outgoing kid and he really flourished this last year in school. In March, I wasn't sure if he'd still want to go to school after his best friend Connor moved. They went to school together every Monday & Friday and were two peas in a pod. His teachers were concerned as well since they were connected at the hip in the classroom and Logan regularly told everyone that he'd be moving with Connor. But he did fine after Connor left. I prepared him for several months before he moved so it wasn't such a huge shock to him. It was good to see that he was able to adjust to a big change in his life. Most of my other children have a hard time with big changes so it was refreshing to see that Logan handled it well and continued to look forward to going to preschool every week.

During Logan's last week of school, he went on a field trip to the farm, had a Father's Night party at school and had an end-of-school family picnic at the park. He's sad it's over and wants to go to the same preschool again next year. He liked his teachers and some of the same friends will be in his class again next fall. I volunteered in his class twice a month and each time I took him to school he'd say, "Are you going to school with me today?" I loved seeing him interact with his friends & teachers and will volunteer in the class again next year. (His last year before kindergarten!!)

The 2006 - 2007 School Year Has Ended

Another milestone has come and gone, especially for Spencer and Alexander. Last night we went to Spencer's 5th grade BBQ and graduation at his elementary school. I can't believe he'll be going to middle school next year! I've shed a few tears the last few days. It's been nice having Spencer, Jessica and Alex in the same school this last year. I never had to worry about Alex with his two older siblings in school with him. It was nice having them on the school bus together and Spencer was the "safety" for Alex's kindergarten class.

I had a long conversation with the school principal at the BBQ last night and she told me how impressed she was with our children. She said they were always well-behaved. She was especially impressed by how seriously Spencer took being a "safety" this last year. She supervises the 5th grade "safety squad" and said he was probably her most responsible and dependable leader on the squad. She also told me that she appreciated how involved Joshua and I were in the school and what a big difference that makes to the teachers and most especially our children. It was a really uplifting conversation and I'm glad to have talked to her. It's nice to know what others think of your children once in awhile (especially if it's positive).

Alexander had his kindergarten graduation this morning at school. The kids demonstrated some of the things they learned this year and sang some songs. Alex has had a wonderful year, full of great friends and an unbelievably supportive and compassionate teacher. Boy, will I miss the children's teachers this year. They were very lucky to have such amazing and terrific teachers. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Spencer, Jessica and Alex gave their teacher a bouquet of flowers this morning with a lovely card they made. I also took a picture of each child with their teacher (see pictures below). At the end of the day, all the classes (K-4) lined up in the halls and waited for the bell to ring so they could give the traditional "5th grade clap-out". When the 5th graders came out of their classroom, all the school kids, teachers and parents clapped as they walked the halls. I was in tears!! I can't even believe I caught a decent picture of Spencer as he walked by since I couldn't even see straight.

It's been an amazing and memorable year for me and the children. One we'll always remember. I've had a pretty emotional day today thinking about it. I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and to see a movie after school to celebrate the end of the school year (it was a half day) and the beginning of summer vacation. I'm excited for the summer. We have some fun and exciting things planned. I'll keep you updated throughout the summer so keep coming back to my blog to see what we're up to.

Soccer Season Has Ended

Spencer's last soccer game was today. He's sad that it's over for the season. But I believe they only lost once out of about 12 games. They smashed almost every team. Spencer scored several goals each game and many of the parents on the team commented to us about his athletic talents on the field. After the game today, there was a team party with an award ceremony at Pizza Hut. His coach gave him "The Terminator" award because he said Spencer was the "toughest player on the team" and "never had any reservations about going against other strong players from opposing teams." He also said he was the "fastest player on the team." Pretty good compliments, huh? They sure made Spencer beam from ear to ear.

One of the parents told me at the party that they overheard Spencer on the sidelines today impatiently tell the coach, "You need a good player in there now! I need to go in!!" He exudes confidence when he's playing soccer. I love it! He wants to try out for the middle school team next year.

Spencer is the "Terminator"!

The coach and assistant coach giving Spencer an Award.
Spencer's trying not to smile.

Getting a handshake.
Coach Barron is also our bishop.

State Quarter Update

Thanks to everyone who has donated state quarters to Spencer's collection! He now has a total of 39 state quarters.

BUT WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP! Keep an eye out for these remaining 6! They have been hard to find. (Updated 6/14 -- The two states in red we have found thanks to a parent of a student in Alex's kindergarten class!)

California
Idaho
Indiana
New Jersey
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming

(2008 is the release year for Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Alaska and Hawaii)

HELP ME!

Alex's Kindergarten Farm Fieldtrip

Alex's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the farm last week. I helped chaperone and Logan tagged along too. We took a wagon ride, milked a cow, held baby chicks and fed & pet a lot of baby goats. The farmer showed the children how to sheer a sheep. Then he asked if someone wanted to be sheered -- Alex volunteered! The farmer stood behind him and told him to face forward. He started snipping away behind him, pretending to cut his hair, but Alex didn't flinch. The farmer laughed and said that most of his volunteers ran away, so he took a tiny snip off Alex's hair! (See picture below)

We ate lunch at the farm before returning to school. It was sweet seeing Alex with the friends he talks about all the time at home. He seems very well liked in his class. There were 4 boys who fought to sit next to him at lunch!

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Jessica turned 9 years old this last Saturday, June 2. We had a laid-back Saturday morning. That week (Thursday May 31 - Saturday June 2) our neighborhood advertised a sub-division garage sale that we decided to get in on it since our basement was filling up with tons of baby stuff, clothes and toys we had outgrown. It was lots of work getting it organized and pricing everything but we thought it would be nice to make a little money with it instead of getting rid of everything. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had and most of it was still in really good condition! We filled up our garage and most of our driveway with our second-hand goods. So, even though it was Jessica's birthday on Saturday, we decided to keep it open that day too since Thursday and Friday we had averaged about $150 a day. We thought Saturday would bring us just as much money.

We opened our garage sale at 8:00 and Josh sat outside waiting for customers while I made the breakfast Jessica requested -- Pancakes, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs with cheese. After breakfast, Jessica, Spencer and I walked down the street to look at some other garage sales since it was a neighborhood garage sale and lots of other homes were also having yard sales. We wanted to size up our competition and see if we could benefit from other people's junk. Right away, Spencer found a scooter for $5 and Jessica fell in love with a small teddy bear priced at $0.30. When we got home, Grandma and Grandpa Williams called and Jessica opened their present while talking to them on the phone. She was so excited to get 2 Webkinz pets from them -- A Chihuahua and a white Persian Cat.

In the afternoon, Spencer had a soccer game and Alex had a birthday party to go to. Jessica and Logan stayed and helped me with the garage sale. We closed the garage sale around 3:00 pm (just in time for a pretty big storm to hit) and Jessica's best friend, Emma came over to go with us to "Shrek the Third" for Jessie's birthday. We really liked the movie. There were parts that I thought were hilarious! Spencer sat next to me and I embarrassed him by how much I laughed during the movie. He kept looking at me and sighing while covering his face. Oh well, I'll have to get use to that. He's getting to that age where parents are embarrassing.

After the movie, we went home and I made Jessica's favorite dinner, Hawaiian Haystacks. Afterwards, she opened her presents and we had chocolate cake and ice-cream. I forgot that she had requested chocolate pudding instead of ice-cream but she was forgiving. She's not much of an ice-cream kid. Can you believe that? The rest of the kids can't get enough of it!