Hard Work=Monkey

For the past two summers, we have been doing a chore system that involves the kids earning buttons for the chores they do. The buttons can be turned in for various rewards. They have daily chores they must do that are worth two buttons per day, then there are extra jobs worth various amounts of buttons they can choose to do. The rewards vary from three to fifty buttons. Over the past year when I was shopping, I picked up all sorts of rewards for the prize drawer, getting good deals on all sorts of things. At the beginning of the summer Bella saw this monkey and went nuts. She loves Littlest Pet Shop, and she loves monkeys-see the other one in the back ground.

She was overwhelmed at first with the idea of earning fifty buttons. She would turn in buttons for smaller rewards and such at the beginning of the summer, but she kept really wanting the monkey. A few weeks ago, she determined that she would go for it. She did a lot of extra jobs, worked really hard, and persevered.


The monkey has been her constant companion ever since. She can't seem to come up with a name though, I suggested Blossom, to which she grinned, but said "Oh Mom!" in a slightly patronizing way. So suggestions welcome, especially ones from other people who are less lame.

Recap!

It seems as though a lot has happened this past month, and it has flown by. So I will just give the high lights.

• Good 4th of July BBQ with Tim and Vanella. The best firework of the evening as determined by Jack-the parachute men.
• We went to Oregon for five days to hang out with the Grandparents. Sophie is still talking about their Border Collie's Luke and Leia. There was much fun at Pendleton Water Park.
• Jack had Scout Day Camp. He bought a pocket knife while there, 'nuff said.
• We all had dentist's appointments. Nate has some very strong enamel, the kids had no cavities, so hopefully he passed that strong enamel down. I on the other hand have two cavities and need to start getting ready for a few crowns. I blame my so-so teeth on the kids.
  
• Nate and I went to see Jack's Mannequin and The Fray at USANA amphitheater. We started the evening at the Cheesecake Factory where there was so much food we could not finish. The concert was great, we need to go more often.
  
• We saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I need to see it again to really solidify my opinion. I always spend the first viewing putting in all the parts of the book the movie has left out.
  
• Jack had his opthamologist appointment up at Primary Children's. His eyes are continuing to improve and he will get new glasses in January.
  
• My birthday was great, we looked for a serger for me, still working on that. My neighborhood had a BBQ because it's Pioneer Day, here in Utah, and it was a lot of fun. We had some very yummy tenderloin and lots and lots of good food.
  
• We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. So beautiful.
  
• In the mix of all that, we had t-ball, gymnastics, scouts, football, and young women activities. July has flown by.
• The above picture of Jack cracks me up every time I look at it.
  

T-Ball has begun

This is right after she hits the ball, check out the bat flying through the air. We need to work on the not throwing the bat thing. After coming to Jacks baseball games for the past four years, Bella is finally old enough to play. She is terribly excited about the whole thing. And I think all the baseball watching she has done is paying off, she seems to have some idea of what is going on. I must say, t-ball is incredibly fun to watch. There is a lot of infielders. They all pounce on the ball. No one is really strong enough to throw the ball from one base to another. There is a lot of confusion about which way to run. And whoever hits last always gets a home run.

Bella much prefers these games to any of the minor league games we have been to. She is terrified of the mascot, and as long as one isn't there, baseball is fun. The mascot shows up, and she is ready to go.

Dark, rainy, rainbow

Nate and I were out on a date a few weeks ago when we noticed a giant rainbow arching across the night sky. It was so strange, because it was really getting quite dark and it seemed so ominous and murky outside. So, Nate snapped a few pictures while I drove. I have a bad habit of occasionally taking pictures while I am driving, so I am glad he was there. This is just on Main Street in Lehi around 8:45 p.m.. You can tell how cloudy it is because there are massive mountains in front of us that are clearly not visible. It was just nice to see a rainbow after all the rain we had been having. I don't remember it ever raining so much in June before.

Picnic in the Park

Nate had a wild hair and wanted to try and make some borscht. He pulled out his Russian cookbook and started trying to figure out and translate the recipe. I suggested we head to a farmers market to get some fresh ingredients. It always seems we are heading out to go somewhere just before lunch. Instead of going out, I threw some sandwiches together, put some stuff in a cooler and stashed it in the car.

Nate translated ingredients all the way there with hopes of finding them all at the market. However, when we got there, there wasn't as much produce as we had hoped and all we would have really been able to get is beets. So borscht is on the back burner right now. I think he is hoping to find a less complicated recipe, and I am hoping to find a farmers market overflowing with produce. I suspect there is more earlier in the morning.

But the day was not a bust. The kids love having picnics and were thrilled when they found out we would be having one. The blanket is one my mom made me when I graduated high school, and it has been used and loved so much, that it is starting to come apart. But it's really large and makes a perfect blanket to have in the car.

Nate tried to take a little nap after we ate, but he didn't have any luck with that (shocking, I know). So we headed out for a little dessert and then home for the day.

Suessical The Musical

Midvale City put on a production of Suessical the Musical the last few weeks in June. Since we were Midvale residents for four years, we happened to know a couple of people in the cast. We surprised the kids by going up and watching their friends perform. It was a cute little production and we had a lot of fun! The kids keeps singing about all the Thinks You Can Think!

The musical was performed outdoors. It was perfect, Sophie had a little room to wander and dance, and there were a lot of kids, so we didn't seem to be too disruptive. The evening wasn't too hot or too cold. It makes me want to hit more outdoor productions. I have really fond memories of going to Woodminster when I was little with my family. Something about being outside with all the lights and music is so fabulous.

Tree Of Life

The kids love it when we go down to BYU and take them around our old stomping grounds. A few weeks ago we met up with the Utah Valley Miskins for lunch in the Cougareat. Arriving early, the kids and I took a little tour around campus. They wanted me to take their picture with each statue, sculpture and display we came across. Particularly they loved playing hide-n-seek around the tree of life sculpture. Sophie thought it was great fun.

After lunch we went to the Erying Science Building with Roger and Cassie and the kids looked at all the fun displays. I don't even think I did that when I was there. Then we took a tour through the new Smith Family Living Center building, I think it has a new name, but I didn't catch it. In the building is a museum of education and the church. They had all sorts of replicas, old photos, and video displays.

I always get nostalgic when I go down to campus. I had so much fun going to school there and like to tell the kids about it. But it is always disheartening when the students look so young. I mean, I was just there!