August

Asher can pretty much always be found emptying a cabinet.

 On our anniversary we went to the Kierland Resort overnight.  It was a lot of fun, despite the fact that Ethan was throwing up at the Johnson's and Mike and I took turns with stomach aches.

My favorite part was the pool because it had a cooler!  Cold water!  I read two books in the time we were there.  My kind of weekend!

 Running is HOT right now!  I get up at about 5:00am.  This day it was like 94*.  I tried jumping in the pool before I went running.  It didn't help for long, but running through crops really helps!

Sleepy baby loves his blanket!

 We are trying to do tile for our bedroom, but our tiler cancelled on us, so we are stalled.

 I have to wake up Benton and Asher almost every day to pick up Ethan from school.  Poor kids!

 We bought a keyboard on Craigslist and Ethan started piano lessons with my friend Stacey.

 We hired an electrician to come out and put in a doorbell, closet light, and drop down kitchen light.  Next week, basement ceiling fans!

 We started a preschool co-op that has three week themed units.  At the end of each unit we have a field trip.  Our first unit was on water, so we went to the splash pad.

 The school had its first Scooptacular night.  I'm glad we got there before the line got this long!

 Mike is making sunscreens for the windows.  He was nice enough to let Asher help!

Talent Show

Asher is getting a bigger vocabulary. I forgot to ask him to say no ("BO!").  It is completely accurate that he can say "diaper" but not mama. Sigh.

Take 1

Asher's Anatomy

One Last Hurrah

We were able to celebrate our tenth anniversary several times.  This weekend, which would be the actual anniversary weekend, we went 30 hours without kids and stayed at the Kierland Resort.  They gave us an early check in and late checkout, so noon until 4 the next day.  I took one picture the whole time.  It was a record breaking heat weekend with both days over 115*. My favorite thing about the resort was that it had a cold pool! It made me wish for a pool cooler!  I read two books in two days, so obviously it was a relaxing trip!

The Little Day to Day

Pump It Up trip before school started.

 Can you spot all three?

 Third day of school picture because his new shorts weren't here for the 1st day of school.

One day I got to take these three cuties to story time at the library.  They sat so nicely with their books while I checked things out.

 The other day Ethan was reading and I timed him and told him how long he'd been reading so he could put it on his reading log.  He said, "I was just reading for fun."  I started teasing him about how he just said reading was FUN.  It was a funny moment, but he has found some books he really likes reading and has been excited to find time to read.  Yay!

Tonight, Ethan stopped playing with the iPad to read a new book he was excited I got for him from the library.  After awhile Benton came up too saying, "Mom, I want a book.  I want to read like Ethan!"  He went and got one of his Biscuit books from Grandma Abegg and read it.  Asher climbed up on the couch with a milk carton from the recycling bin to sit with Benton.

 Ethan in church on Sunday when he heard his teachers had been released.

Our kitchen is a dream for little guys (there are two in this picture).  I get to restock the cabinets all day.

 On our anniversary I made a birthday cake for our family.  I explained to the boys that our family started when Dad and I got married.  We looked at our wedding photo album and watched a slideshow I made for Mike of the last 10 years.  Of course all of this was squeezed into about 10 minutes before I had to run to a PTA meeting.

Primary

Benton gave his first talk today. The subject was Jesus Can Heal the Sick.

Since you can't really see the pictures:
1) Jairus' Daughter
2) The man by the healing pool
3) Ten Lepers
4) Jesus blessing/healing in America
5) Benton in the hospital

Disclaimer: yes, I shushed the kids, but I was conducting the meeting, so it wasn't just as a parent.  :)

Asher in the Pool

Asher finally got the nerve to start jumping in the pool by himself.

This is how he usually gets in.

And here are some other fun videos and bloopers.

Down Time

Keeping a busy schedule helps me be more productive, but it also makes me bad about just enjoying downtime and playing at home with the kids. If I have a free morning I rush to fill it with an activity or a chore.  So, when I had nothing going on this morning, I made a point to just spend some time playing with Benton.  I think my new schedule (that has Ethan getting picked up for school) will allow me to have an extra half an hour in the morning, and I'm making a goal right now, and writing it down, that I will spend that time with Benton.