Back to School

The last week of August, Emma and Weston went back to school and my baby started school. I asked Andrew is he'd miss me and he said, "no, I'll be having too much fun!" I guess that means he's ready and I'll take it as a compliment that I raised an independent kid. My kids like school. They like to learn and see friends and the resources available.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Shark boy

When I was getting serious with Jamie I was very happy to note that he had perfect teeth and good blue eyes. I needed that to balance out the genes I was bringing to the table with my years of glasses, contacts, retainers and braces. But I'm worrying my teeth gene might be winning out. Weston's front tooth was loose for a long long time but wasn't going anywhere. It's replacement gave up waiting and decided to just grow in behind it instead. He looked like a shark with his layered teeth. So finally the dentist did an extraction and showed us the long root on that baby that was not ever gonna give up and come out on it's own. After some bridges and tooth wrestling Weston's tooth is moving up into place so maybe we dodged some expensive orthodontia later down the road. But I still hope one of our dental school brothers will come live close to us.
 

Quincy

The day after my brother's birthday, his little boy was born. We got to play with Maisy while her parents went to the hospital to change her life forever. We took Maisy that evening to meet her little brother, Quincy Russell Cannon. Maisy calls him "Winky" and it's the cutest thing but so is he. Glad they are nearby so we can snuggle him and brainwash him into thinking we are his favorite.

Andrew's Cake Design

We were starting to talk about plans for Emma's birthday and Andrew ran off to draw this. It's his plan for his birthday cake. You may remember Andrew's hot dog cake he begged for last year, well this year he wanted a hamburger cake. The green "lettuce" inside he tells me will be made with minty gum and the top has a monkey on a chocolate stick (what?). And the red square on the right is a gift bag with minty gum for him. His aunt Shayla gave him minty gum this summer and it has been his heart's greatest desire ever since. Such a nut. I'll tell you now I didn't end up making the hamburger cake but he did get his own pack of minty gum and was pleased as punch.

 

R.I.P. Sweetie

Emma's poor little hampster died in a tragic playdate accident. It was traumatic but Emma was a brave girl. We found a little wooden box for Sweetie's resting place and Emma picked a spot in the yard with some flowers to bury her (anyone that comes to our backyard, please do not pull that weed up). We said some words and payed our respects and Emma made a gravestone. Sweetie was a good little pet and will be missed.
 

"You were my first pet. I will always remember you. [broken heart], Emma"

"Sweetee- the one who taught this family responsibility. You will always be remembered."

 

Savoring Summer

The rest of the summer wasn't as exciting but we made the most of the casual schedule and hanging out with friends.

Tea party with Madison Wagonner.

Laughing with the Porters- Eden, Delia, and Gwen.

Weston's new book obsession- jets and military vehicles. Oh boy. He reminds me of my little brother Rich at this age. My aunt used to say "I don't know if that kid is going to save the world or destroy it." Rich is a dentist and a dad now so I'm not too worried about Weston's hobbies. Maybe he'll work at Lockhead Martin with my other brother Jesse.

And Emma, she reads everything. She would get a stack like this when we'd go to the library once or twice a week and always be done with them and ready for another stack by the next visit. Anne of Green Gables, Percy Jackson, and Sammy Keyes were some of her favorite series this summer.

Forts with friends. The girls did this one so of course it had furniture, decorations and accessories.

Andrew art. This might be scarier than Weston's military books.

Weston the paper airplane expert. He's checked out every paper airplane book he can find, some many times and has a box full of his creations in his room. He really is quite good and loves it so much! I used to help him with tricky folds when he first got started but his skills have far surpassed mine and he's got it all figured out on his own.

Weston giving Andrew T-ball lessons. Weston has a couple of baseball seasons under his belt and has taken pride in his game. Andrew wanted to give T-ball another shot and asked his dad to sign him up. He's not interested in practicing or developing skills though he just loves the snacks and Gatorade.

The Curse of Poetry

I still have catching up to do on the blog and journaling but I didn't want to lose this poem Emma wrote. They're doing poetry in her class and writing original poems. I loved this one:

The Curse of Poetry
by Emma Steed

Oh woe is me, for as you will see
Be it lake, book or tree
It will be written about in poetry!

Arches National Park

Drove through Arches on our trek home through southern Utah. I noticed it was on our way as I was planning our drive to the ranch so we took some time to drive through and see the sites. Most these pictures were just driveby shots as we flew through the park but we stopped and took the quick hike to the delicate arch viewpoint (where Weston is in the bottom rt photo). It was super hot out and we had a lot of miles to cover that day so I wasn't too disappointed we couldn't stop and hike longer. But now we can prove to the kids that we did stuff and took them places.

The Ranch with the Cannons

My family wanted to get together for a fun reunion before sending my parents off on their mission for 18 months. We've outgrown the Ranch house so my parents rented another cabin close by in Oakley to accommodate our growing family. It was a nice, big cabin with lots of beds, good kitchen space and appliances and real rustic charm but we still spent a lot of time at the ranch for sentimental traditions sake and the open space.

Water balloon battleship, where Jamie told the kids to take the last of the balloons and go get the adults and Nana's new ipad got it. The device survived but Pop was not too thrilled. And more lazy floats down the ditch. Jesse used a little baby tube and just looked like a dead body floating down the creek, creepy.

Day in Salt Lake City where we met my parents coming out of more training at the church office building. We went up to the top of the building for the view.  Did temple square, Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Beehive House, conference center and Freedom Park for pizza and play. Met up with Ned and Kay there. It wasn't just a last chance for my parents to see their kids and grandkids but a lot of their siblings up in Utah too.

Nate, the family photographer took some family pictures for Nana and Pop to take on their mission and get all the new additions to the family. Just missed Angie's baby by weeks. And my sister had some news not long after this trip. 

Another lovely day in the Uintas. Hiked further down Provo Falls this time. Weston treaded on some dangerous ground and about got sucked in. The child is determined to drown himself, this was his third save.

Had a girls afternoon and headed into Park City for a baby shower lunch for Angie and checked out the downtown shopping.

Tried out Rich's new motorbike creation where you lean the seat to turn the bike. Amazingly, we survived two reunions with bikes and rope swings, ditches, hikes, waterfalls, and crazy kids and no injuries the whole trip. My parents hadn't even left on their mission yet and we were already receiving the protective blessings.

Glad we brought our volleyball net. We got some great use out of it. Rex and Rebecca and Heidi (Hendrickson) Malloy joined us for dinner and fun one night.

Evan is the balloon man and entertained the kids with his balloon artistry.

My parents got ipads for their mission. Pop sparked the kids interest with his copycat voice modifier app and Nana and Andrew were in stitches playing with the face distortion thing, pinching, stretching, enlarging parts. They were both red-faced and crying with laughter.
We had so much fun and such great memories that will hold us over for the next 18 months until we can do it again. I love my family and I love that we have opportunities to do this kind of stuff and that my kids get to have so many wonderful people to love and be loved by!

Steeds at the Ranch

We reserved the ranch house for a few days for a Steed family reunion. The ranch is a halfway point between Jamie's sister, Shayla in Seattle and us in Austin and the other Steeds in Las Vegas were good enough to make the trip up for us. We've spent lots of time with the Steeds in the past and I've been to the Ranch many times but I've never combined the two before. Verdict- Awesome combo!

Spent a day in Park City to try out the alpine slides.

Threw the kids around on the rope swing.

Shayla and Brent brought a slip n' slide that proved to be a fun addition with some experimental runs.

Played some volleyball and water balloon battleship (a game of Jamie's creating). Cameron brought his pal Indie. The kids enjoyed ninja moves and warrior games with some great sticks they found. There was a great new swingset by the pond. And the big boys made up a new game they call Keifer Ball or Keif Ball- like Keifer Sutherland (and I'm sure I spelled it wrong). I enjoy the Austin area but it's great to escape in the summer and enjoy this weather and outdoor playtime

Tubing and wading in the ditch. Brian was a good sport, paddling upstream with Andrew on his back.

Don't tell the kids but after they went to bed we had a great time playing games and munching. Laughed so hard playing Telestrations with these guys. But the kids did a couple fun rounds during the day themselves and enjoyed some puzzles and games Grandma brought.

Enjoyed a perfect day up in the Uinta mountains. Beautiful!

Thanks Steeders for coming where we wanted you when we wanted you, that's pretty special of you! Love these guys!
(speaking of special, I can't explain Weston in this pic)