Eliza gave the family prayer tonight. This is as much as I can remember:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for a sweet little cute Gideon, thank you for a fun time today, thank you for cool awesome spy penguin team leader Micah, thank you that Danielle jumped on the trampoline with me, thank you for Kyle to sew, thank you that Gideon can like teddy bears, thank you for Mama to make yummy food, Amen.
I think she covered all the basics...she even threw in a thumbs up in the middle for Gideon because he was folding his arms.
Our week has been very busy with family, but very rewarding.
We have spent quality time with Gina and David at our house and the park. She has been preparing for the arrival of her baby girl Alyson Ruth
Sorenson, who was born on Friday. We were able to take David Friday and Saturday. He was a good boy. We took him to the company BBQ downtown. He enjoyed sitting on Micah's lap watching Scott play flag football. Our kids took turns playing in the volleyball pit and hitting the baseball off a tee. Scott and I took turns visiting Gina in the hospital so we could see our newest niece.
Kadie and Mary played with us the past couple of weeks. We did everything from ballet, library time, parks, ice-cream outings,
pre-school, water fights and bike rides. One night Grandma took us all out to
Chuck-E-Cheeses! Janette, Mom and I were in a all out battle with the baseball pitching game. We went back and forth raising the bar with high scores. Kyle stepped in near the end and asked if he could try. He beat us all on his third go. High Score 405 for any frequent
Chuck-E-Cheese fans.
Check out Danielle's cool flying braid! These kids are so happy to have their trampoline back.
Micah has a natural trampoline style and can really bust the moves. Here he is attempting a nice looking Superman.
Kadie spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the hot tub or sitting under the trees. She was just like one of my own and we loved having her. She and Eliza spent hours in the bedroom trying on different outfits, setting up doll parties and using Gideon and Mary as pet puppy dogs.
We really missed James Kyle this past week. He went out to Washington to spend time with his cousins. He had a fantastic time. He slept in a tree house, went to the
OMSI, learned how to crochet, sewed his own shorts, went to the low tide ocean, took golf lessons and played the whole time. He took his first solo flight home on Southwest. He loved every minute in Washington with family.
Can you find the baby? I couldn't either initially when I heard the
MAAAA MAAAA over and over. Gideon manages to climb everything. He threw all his clothing onto the floor and sat on the shelf until he realized he couldn't get down.
He is a live wire. He is definitely one to keep your eye on!
We were feeling bitter/sweet with the closing of our home in Eagle on Monday. We are so grateful for the extensive labors of love that Scott's parents Jim and Lori and his sister Janette have shown. They did everything to make sure we got our house sold this week. We could never repay them all that they did. We felt deep sorrow at the closure of this chapter in our life but also truly grateful for the many blessings associated with change. My parents moved out last weekend into a little home in Eagle with my brother. They will also be starting new with us. We have many fantastic memories in our home shared with my parents and extended family that we will always cherish. (My mom, Elizabeth is enjoying Europe with her sisters. Not a bad house selling celebration party.)
Grandma Stevens had a successful surgery this week. She is so healthy and positive that she already is bouncing back. We are relieved to see her walking around a little bit. She is a strong woman.
My favorite activity of the week was Thursday night. It was the only time all week we only had our children. We loaded 5 bikes and a running stroller into our van and drove to the Greenbelt. I had read in the paper that the city had completed two new bridges connecting our favorite spots. We road a long distance with the kids. Micah, Danielle and Isaac took off on some gravel trails with jumps and turns. Eliza and Thomas were so fun to watch. Eliza is a speed demon on her two wheeler. She is the bravest of any 5 year old I have seen. Thomas is not too far behind her. We rode around 5 miles (Scott and I had to jog at times to keep up with the Thomas.) Merrill park had their sprayers and water fountains going. That felt great after the heat. We stayed until 9 at night. It was about that time that the
mosquito's came out to play. Despite that I ran and Scott rode on Micah's handles to get to our van a mile away, we all got eaten alive. I am so happy my children love the outdoors, that we have a beautiful river running through town with parks and fun paths.
Isn't everybody re-living their childhood Michael Jackson memories? Leave it up to Jay and Leah Walker to have a Michael Jackson block party! Scott and I were late but showed up in style! Those are size 4 black pants Scott found in my closet. Looking very "Black and White" Scott. I was definitely impressed with his moves. He has the spin and leg kick down.
When I checked on the kids last night I was a little frantic when I could not find Eliza. Scott went through the whole house looking for his Tweety Bird. He came to me laughing and said "Didn't you see her? She is in her room!"
Only a 32 pound 5 year old could sleep comfortably in a Rubbermaid tote!
