Ann Arbor Children's Hands-On Museum

The kids and I went to a children's hands-on museum in Ann Arbor last week. We had a great time together exploring the science center which was located in an old building right in the middle of the downtown. The big hit of the day was the life-sized ambulance that the kids loved to explore. They spent at least 45 minutes playing around in it. I brought a picnic lunch with us that we ate on some picnic tables outside. Afterwards, we went to a $1 movie - "Meet the Robinsons". We saw it in the spring but it was fun to see it again. Here are some pictures of our day ---

Logan liked being a fireman in the play area

Firemen in training!

Spencer and Jessica put puzzles together while Alex and Logan were putting fires out

Logan inside the ambulance

They pretended to be paramedics for a very long time. I had to drag them away!

Jessica played inside the ambulance too

A wild driver!

What a smile---He must be having fun!

Logan needs to get to the hospital quick!

Spencer on a bicycle beside a mirror showing him how his skeleton works while riding a bike.

Harry Potter Mania

Most people know we are HUGE Harry Potter fans, so with the movie and book coming out this last month, you may guess that it's been Harry Potter mania around here. The movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was rated PG13 so Joshua and I went to see it on opening night without the kids. It had a modest amount of tense and scary moments, but Spencer and Jessica were eager to see the movie too, so we took them a few days later since we figured they could probably handle it. Alex and Logan don't mind waiting until we buy it on DVD. They've done that with all the other Harry Potter movies and don't know any different. Most of the information goes over their heads anyway, but they enjoy sitting and watching the movies with us here at home. They consider themselves big Harry Potter fans too.

Spencer has read all the books, finishing the sixth one, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" last week and just in time for the weekend release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Josh has read all the books around 4 or 5 times, with the exception of the most recent one of course. Because he read the books so many times, I believe he sparked Spencer's interest in reading them too. They each have their own set of books. Don't know why we must have two sets, but we do. Spencer has been nice enough to let Jessica borrow his books. She just started reading the second one, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

Okay, Yes---We admit to being in line on Friday night at midnight to buy "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Our "Meijer" store had a good promotion on the book -- It was on sale for $19.99 but if you bought an extra $30 worth of merchandise between midnight and 6 am, they would take $7 off the book, making it only $12.99! I called around to other stores and most were selling it for around $26.99. So, Joshua and I came up with a plan. We got to Meijer at 10:45, and while Joshua, Spencer and his friend Chandler (who was spending the night with us) stood in line for the book, I did some grocery shopping. They were actually pretty close to the front of the line. But as I did my shopping, the line grew very quickly. By midnight, there were people wrapped around the store! Meijer was crawling with more people than I had ever seen there before. It was definitely a party atmosphere---Meijer was handing out prizes, refreshments and had games for the kids. They even had a costume contest. I tried to get Spencer to dress up in his Harry Potter costume from Halloween last year, but he was too embarrassed. I think someone dressed as Hagrid won "best costume".

When I was done with my shopping, I met them back in line and we split the groceries in two baskets, with at least $30 worth in each basket. At 12:01, the line started moving as the employees began passing the new Harry Potter books out. Both Spencer and Joshua picked up a book at the front of the line. Then Joshua took his basket and I took mine and we went to the front of the store to buy our merchandise. We thought we were pretty clever getting $7 off each book, as did other people who watched us split our groceries. One person told me they wished they would've thought of doing that.

Joshua started reading as soon as we got home and read until 4:00 am. He continued to read all day Saturday and was done by Saturday night---with all 37 chapters, 759 pages! He is a speed reader! He said it was really good book. I'll probably read it someday too but I don't read as fast as Joshua. I'm a slow reader. Spencer is already on chapter 9 and loves it already. He'll read about 2 or 3 hours a day. At this rate, I'm sure he'll finish in a few weeks.

My Healing Foot

My foot looks much better, the bruising is almost gone and the swelling has subsided, but my toes can't bend very far without a lot of pain. The doctor told me the muscles and tendons in my foot would take a while to heal. I banged it up pretty good when I fell on it. I think of myself as excessively clumsy. If you've seen the movie "Ratatouille", I think I'm very similar to Remy's wanna-be chef friend, Linguini. Our family went to see it on July 4th, and while watching it, I leaned over to Joshua and said, "That is totally me!" Joshua says "no way" but I think I am. I've fallen down the stairs before but somehow managed not to hurt myself until my birthday. I'm just lucky it wasn't broken. (KNOCK ON WOOD!)

Like several times the last few weeks, this morning I tried again to take a jog around the neighborhood. At least I could actually run this time but I didn't go as far as I had hoped. It's been difficult not being able to exercise. Before my fall, I was in a good habit of running 4 - 5 times a week for thirty minutes a day. Most of this last year, I've been enjoying running on my treadmill downstairs or if the weather is nice, running outside around the neighborhood. Hopefully soon I'll be able to run more and farther. I'll try a little more each day. I think it's the best way to rehabilitate my foot.

Favorite Summer Activity

Here's a short video clip (with no sound) of the Dyal children's favorite summer activity. Whenever they get a chance, they'll beg to go outside to jump on the trampoline. You'd think it was new by how much they love it but it's actually the third summer that we've had this trampoline. They never get tired of jumping! On a really hot day the kids will put on their swimsuits and jump with a sprinkler underneath. They've been known to jump in the water for hours. They literally have dozens of trampoline games they've either learned from their friends or have invented on their own. They especially love to jump around with as many bouncing balls as they can find. It's a great way for them to get thier exercise and get some much needed energy out. I love it! I'm a big fan of the trampoline! Every once in a while the kids will find me jumping on it too. I say---jump on kids, jump on!!


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Here is Spencer doing flips!

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A Visit to the Museum

A few pictures from our trip to a children's hands-on museum in Toledo, Ohio. We went down with our friends, the Selthofers. It was a fun day!

My Attempt to Tame Monsters, Brawls & Bugs

It's been a very relaxing summer so far. Just what we needed after going non-stop all school year. I've noticed the children needed it as much as I did. We don't have any huge vacation plans this summer---the first summer that's happened in a while. We actually used all our vacation time during the children's breaks during the school year. But, we've made a special effort to go on occasional outings and day-trips around the area to see and experience new things. We also have a weekly library day, park day, and Friday is our adventure day. We usually invite friends with us on our adventure day.

Anyway, it's been nice to see everyone, especially Spencer and Jessica, more laid-back and at ease this summer, although we still get the very common sibling BRAWL. Those never take a vacation. But I had an idea a few weeks before school got out for the summer. I decided to make an attempt, or some may say bribe, to get these battles to lessen. So far, it has helped. I made a "Star Chart" that I introduced at FHE the Monday night before school was over. The chart is on a dry-erase board that has each one of my children's names on it. It's posted it in the kitchen where everyone would see it frequently throughout the day. I told them I would watch them all week and if I saw or heard them do something kind, thoughtful or respectful to one another (including their parents), they would get a star by their name. But, if they did something rude, disrespectful or unkind, one of their stars would be wiped away. If by the next FHE they were able to make it to their minimum requirement (each one is different because of their age), they would get to do something fun of their choice, within reason of course. Some of their individual rewards have been sleepover parties, a trip to the movies with Mom or Dad, a game night with Mom & Dad, etc. They have loved it, especially the individual attention they have received, and it's been a great motivator! Every once in a while someone hasn't reached their star limit by the end of the week but usually, it encourages them to do better next time. This has been a life-saver for me this summer. A complete turn-about from the last year!

The Star Chart

So, because we've been doing so many fun things this summer, the house chores have become one of the lower priorities on my list. Anyone who knows me very well knows I'm a clean freak! Especially about tidiness. When my house is cluttery, I can feel myself become unhinged. My whole person becomes deranged and crazy. Josh would probably tell you I turn from "Jekyll" to "Hyde". But, I've resolved myself not to let it become a huge issue this summer. I've suppressed my feelings of insanity. Hopefully that doesn't come back and bite me in the rear end. But, to make sure things don't get too out of control around here, I've been trying to do a chore each evening, usually after the kids go to bed. My biggest and worst "MONSTER" chore is, has and probably always will be THE LAUNDRY! I absolutely detest doing laundry, yet, it is never-ending!! I've tried to have a good attitude about it but how? What can I say good about spending a whole day doing laundry? Normally, because I'm doing SIX people's week-long laundry, it takes me an entire day. During the school year I perfer to get it done on Monday so it'll be quickly behind me. But this summer, it takes me several evenings to accomplish. The only thing good about laundry is the tremendous load off my shoulders once it's done! I have disliked laundry ever since Joshua and I first got married. Josh's least favorite chore is doing the dishes, so after we made this discovery, he decided to make laundry his weekly chore and I always did the dishes---until Spencer was born. Then I had to stop working and Josh took on a full-time job while also going to school full-time. So, ever since then, it's pretty much been up to me. Sometimes Joshua will help me fold the laundry in the evening after the kids go to bed but I've become pretty particular about the way I fold laundry too. Joshua thinks I'm crazy. He thinks since I hate laundry, I shouldn't be so particular when someone offers to help. He has a point. I guess I'm a little obsessive-compulsive about it.... Me? You think?

My "MONSTER" chore!!

As I was making dinner in the kitchen the other day, I listened to my boys play downstairs in the basement. I suddenly heard all of them running around saying:

"I'll get it!"
"No, I can get it."
"You got it last time. It's my turn."
"But I saw it first!"
"Wait, let me go get my shoe."

I didn't know what they were talking about until Spencer appeared from the basement to get a kleenex from the bathroom. He said that Alex had killed a big spider in the basement and he needed a tissue to clean it up. For some reason, this struck me funny. I suddenly had a flood of memories from when I was a child. I grew up in a family of mostly girls, so whenever we saw a spider or any kind of bug, we would scream and hide! I'd run and tell my Dad to come kill it. He was our hero, our exterminator!

A particular memory sticks out in my mind when I was 5 or 6. We were living in Annandale, Virginia and I was in my bedroom upstairs. I don't remember what I was doing, I just remember seeing a wasp flying around the room. I guess the first thing I thought of was hiding in my closet because that's what I did. After I closed the door I started screaming and hollering for someone to come help me for who knows how long, but as a young girl, it seemed to be forever. No one was coming and it started getting really hot in the closet. I decided to peek out to see where in the room the wasp was. I couldn't see it but was really tired of being in the closet. I sank to the floor and crawled my way to the bedroom door for my escape. I quickly closed the door behind me and waited until my dad got home from work. He inspected my room from top to bottom and somehow found and killed the wasp. My hero!

A little more dramatic than the spider situation with my boys, don't ya think? It's been fun learning about boys! I'm glad I have 4 of them to kill the BUGS that get in my house!

Warren Sand Dunes

Joshua took the day off work yesterday so we could made a trip out to Warren Sand Dunes State Park with our friends, the Larsen family. The Warren Sand Dunes are located in southwest Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get there. Several families in our ward recommended this destination, especially for the nice sandy beaches, so we decided to check it out. We had such a great time playing on the beach and climbing the dunes. I was disappointed my foot wasn't healed enough to climb the dunes, but Joshua took the kids up and even Logan climbed the steepest dune all by himself, but with a lot of effort! Most everyone crawled the last few feet before reaching the top. They told me it was quite steep! Before we went home I tried to climb the sand dunes but didn't even reach the middle. You can see me, a little tiny speck of a person, in a couple pictures on the sand dunes below. See how tall they are? I can't wait to come back and climb them next time. I've heard that on a clear day, you can see the Chicago skyline on top (most likely with binoculars). We also want to hike the trails around the parks. Joshua and I love to hike.

It was so relaxing just laying around on the beach, talking to friends and watching the kids play in the sand all day. The water was very cold so the children spent the majority of the time playing in the sand. We were there from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm. The weather was great! It wasn't too hot - the high was only in the mid-80's.

After shaking all the sand off, as much as we could anyway, we went to dinner and then to "Culver's" for ice-cream before heading home. The Larsens reserved a hotel room and stayed an extra day because John had a "mandatory" week off work. They are still playing and sight-seeing around the area today. But Joshua needed to be back to work today so we went home on Monday night, getting home by 10:00 pm. I thought I did a good job putting sunblock on the kids and myself but everyone has a sunburn somewhere on their body today. We've been smothering aloe on ourselves all day. Hopefully it'll fade in a few days.

Here are some of the pictures we took ---

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!