"What I love is near at hand."

Monday, June 30, 2008

Happy Birthday, Scott!!!
Today Scott turns 46. Yikes that is sounding so close to 50! We've known each other since we were 14 years old!
Things I love about Scott...
1.) He works hard to support our family.
2.) He's nice to the under dog and is not judgemental.
3.) He coaches his kids teams.
4.) He plays a lot with his kids.
5.) He takes me out every week.
6.) He's selfless.
7.) He's handsome and gets more so the older he gets!
8.) He's athletic.
9.) He can fix anything!
10.) He let me have so many kids even when he was feeling done long before #7.
11.) He's very, very funny!
12,) He changes diapers, feeds, bathes, and dresses kids, does throw-up duty, and anything else required.
13.) He's not demanding and is self sufficient.
14.) He keeps me updated on what is going on in the world.
15.) He's a good teacher.
Happy Birthday! I love You!

Goodbye June!
It has been a whirlwind around here since school got out. It started with a bang when we left for Utah the day school got out to go to our Nephew's wedding. A week later I left for girl's camp. After that Johnny went to Scout camp for a week and Greg went to youth conference. Everyone had something going with Swim teams for Matt, Jake, and Tim. Summer School for Matt. Baseball for Tim & camp for Greg. Basketball for Greg and John. Swim lessons for Sam. Sports camp for Tim. Movie day on Fridays. Oh, and well visits and dental checks for everyone! I swear I've been in and out of that car a million times! The gas is a killer! Things will slow down just a little now that July is here and summer school and swim lessons are over (just taking away two things makes a huge difference!)

We are all looking forward to some down time next week when we go to the Arizona Grand Resort. I've never been there before, but it looks really fun with their water park and golf course, and not to mention the housekeeping service! A bonus for everyone!

Sunday, June 29, 2008


Three!
 
Sammy turned three!!! His birthday was last month, but we didn't actually celebrate until one month later. He didn't know the difference, so it's o.k. He loves anything to do with cars, so he got a lot of "Cars" things.  (A beach towel, a chair, a truck, and sandals.) We love Sammy! He gives the best hugs and kisses, has started talking like crazy, is a great napper, is learning to swim (is fearless around water and trusts that his brothers will save him every time!), and is content to be home playing with his brothers. Sam's favorite friend is Brody Fuller. He refuses to have anything to do with potty training and still sleeps with Mom and Dad at night. Happy Birthday, "Angel Baby." We all love you immensely!
More Happiness! This time I found Johnathon reading without being reminded to do so. I don't know if he is actually enjoying the book or wanting to collect his $5 (Maybe a little of both). But both he and Tim say the book "Flight 29 Down" is a good one. However John just told me the ending was "kind of gay."
Arizona SunsetJohnny called me outside tonight to see how "beautiful" the sunset was. My camera doesn't do it justice, but it really was spectacular. And I thought it was cute how enthralled John was by it. I especially noticed how he used the word "beautiful" to describe it instead of "cool", "awesome", or "sick". He even went on the roof to take this picture.

Monday, June 16, 2008

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM - JUNE 2008
Corporal Michael Scott Romney

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Johnny returned from his scout camping adventure late this afternoon. I sent him with a disposeable camera, so I have no pictures to post. I took this one of him holding the double ball stick he carved and painted for his Indian Lore merit badge. He made lots of leather crafts, received two pocket knives, and his favorite part of the trip was the accomplishment he felt when he was the first scout to reach the top of Mount Baldy!
Havasupai Falls 2008. (Cade Clark, Alec Kleiner, Greg, Cameron Clark, and Casey Mack)
Greg is home from hiking Havasupai Falls. He says it was a lot of fun and wishes they could have stayed one more night. He got home at 4:00 this morning, took a shower, and slept until 3:30 this afternoon. I guess it was really cold at night, so they didn't get much sleep. I'm thankful that our church provides opportunities like these for our youth!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Just the "littles" and the "middle" until Saturday!
Mike is where he is, Greg just left today to hike the Grand Canyon with the Young Men and Young Women, and John has been on his 50-mile Scout hiking trip since early Monday morning. Life is feeling easy peasy with just four kids. I think I'll put everyone to bed at a decent hour, and Scott and I can have some quiet time watching a movie.
Those nights are hard to come by, and I'm looking forward to it (Oh, I hope the Lakers aren't playing tonight...).

Thursday, June 5, 2008

This makes me happy... Timmy doing his reading without being reminded to do so!
I make the boys read during the summer. I say "make", because (unfortunately) it is not something they would choose to do. They have to read for 30 minutes each day (the bigger boys). As an incentive to get them to be happier about it, I pay them to read. A chapter book is worth five dollars and Matty gets a quarter for every little book he reads. Money talks around here. Thanks Tim, for remembering to do your reading. He's currently reading "Flight 29 Down."