crazy 8's & a lego star wars party

Peter had his 8th birthday party with some of his good friends from here in Nashville in June since we were out of town on his actual birthday in May.  After the party, he said it was great and thanked me profusely.  He said his friends had so much fun!  I think it was a success!  We played "Don't Eat Pete" Lego Star Wars version, then the kids ate snacks and played downstairs.  Overheard at one point "If Bella kisses me again..."   The highlight of the party was the water balloon launch which I didn't get any photos of.  I drew a picture of Darth Vader on the driveway with chalk and we launched water balloons at it from the deck.  Later, they wanted me to fill more water balloons and it seemed this was the preferred activity.  We also destroyed a Death Star pinata and the kids played the new Lego Star Wars game that Pete's friend Garrett gave him.  Here are some photo highlights:

 

 

 

 

may=fun

Between a house-hunting trip to Phoenix, a baptism, two birthdays, 8 extra family members staying in our home, lots of fun activities with family, preschool graduation, the end of 2nd grade, and beginning of summer break, it has been a busy month of May!

Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins came to have some fun.  The kids loved catching fireflies!  

catching fireflies

Peter and cousin Brielle (They absolutely LOVED playing together).

Caught one!

Playing.

 

Couldn't get a better picture than this!

 

They filled the jar with fireflies!

 

Letting them go.

Storytime with Grandma V.

peter's baptism

 Peter was baptized on May 26, 2012 in Nashville, TN.  His Grandma and Grandpa Van Horn, Grandma Leslie, Aunt Corrine, Uncle Brandon, cousins Brielle, Aria, and Gavin all came to attend the service. Many ward and school friends and families also attended.  

 

2nd grade, the end

 

Mrs. Hamacher's 2nd Grade class, May 2012.

Receiving "Most Improved Reading" award (cuz he only started the year out at a 4th grade reading level!).

Mrs. Hamacher and Peter.

The last day of school, May 24, 2012.

Pete goofing around with some of his classmates.

This year is particularly sad because we will be leaving Gower Elementary and all of his dear friends.  We've had some fabulous teachers at this school during Kindergarten and 1st grade as well!

kindergarten, here we come

 And boy are "they" going to get a run for their money!  I just pray that both Jack and Ben get really loving, patient teachers who understand boys and their need for movement and silliness.  Here they are with their preschool friends.  I am so grateful to the moms of all these great kids who loved and cared for my boys despite their "energetic" personalities!  I'm really going to miss the great friendships we've made through preschool with the kids and moms.  I got to learn from some amazing mother's/teachers/friends and I will always remember them fondly.

All the monkeys.  They really are a great bunch!

That's more like it!

mom, look what I built!

Add caption

country music marathon

I ran/walked/jogged my way through 26.2 miles for about 5 hours and 45 minutes.  It wasn't pretty, but I did it.  I knew going in that I had some post-tib tendonitis (partly from old shoes and partly from over working my poor legs!).  I had trained pretty well ensuring that I didn't increase mileage too quickly and getting in a lot of long runs over the months before the race.  If I had it to do over (and I'm not saying I would do it over) I would train even more, specifically doing more cross-training, strength-training, stretching/yoga to improve my overall fitness.  I'd also replace my shoes about a month or month and a half before the race to get some training in with the new ones.  I also wish I had applied sunscreen!  What was I thinking?  The race went well overall, I drank and ate everything they gave me (GU, Gatorade, Water, Salt Packets, orange slices).  I never felt de-hydrated and never felt like I couldn't take another step (other than from pain in my tendon/calf).  I did have to stop many times to stretch my legs (particularly the right posterior tendon).  Even without the tendonitis, I don't think I would have sprinted over the finish line. :)  

My friend Julie and her husband Rich also raced and it was great to get to see them for the weekend.

Wade brought the boys and they all ran with me at about mile 25. 

Peter also ran the kids rock marathon.  He ran 25.2 miles during the Fall and Spring with us and at school (usually a mile at a time with mom or dad).  Then on Friday night, he ran in the race with 7,000 other school-age kids for one mile.  I was so proud to see him take off the finish line and run as fast as his little legs could carry him!  He really did great!

Pete and I after his run at the Kids rock marathon.

cub scout camp

Cub Scout Camp 2012 was at Bell's Bend Campground.  The boys had a blast!  We could have done without the NINE ticks I picked off the boys, but other than that it was perfect.  The weather was great, and festivities included fishing, hiking, bird-watching, "stick-gun wars" (invented by the boys of course), playing in the woods with friends, an old barn as a make-believe fort, tent sleeping, campfire stories, marshmallow roasting, skits, star-gazing, tinfoil dinners, and more.  Needless to say, our boys were in heaven the whole weekend!

Jack, Pete, Ben.

Bell's Bend, Nashville, Tennessee

Camp at Bell's Bend.

Ben in a wagon.

Ben bird watching.

easter 2012

Jack found one!

Pete

Ben sharing with friends.

Pretty handsome if I do say so myself. Left to right: Jack, Pete, Ben (who dressed himself, wearing an undershirt over his shirt :).

Hunting in our yard.

Pete, Ben, Jack

booger fingers

I must document some of the funny things my kids have done/said recently.  I taught Ben's primary class today and I wish I had taken notes on his hilarious commentary and attitude he displayed in class.  During the opening free-discussion time, each of the children can share whatever they would like to talk about.  When Ben's turn came around, he stood up, insisting that he needed to stand, stretch, and clear his throat in preparation for the amazing things he was going to say.  Then he proceeded to talk about Super Mario.  He told about how he beat the sand level and then, turning to Eli, matter-of-factly suggested, "Eli, you can say 'Wow'."

I've also been night-training the boys (and washing a lot of bedding in the process).  One night about midnight, I went into the boys room to wake them up for a potty attempt.  When I went to get Jack up it was too late.  His bed was wet so I just picked him up and started undressing him without even speaking to him.  I stood him beside his bed and without any words exchanged, he immediately said, "It's all Peter's fault!"  I busted out laughing and couldn't stop, which I think woke him up a bit, and then he gave me the pouty bottom lip and acted a bit offended by my laughter.  It didn't last long and he went back to sleep pretty easily after a change of clothes and bedding.  We all had a good laugh about it the next morning.

Recently, when Jack went to work with Wade on a Saturday, he was introduced to an acquaintance of Dad's.  When introducing himself, Jack said, "My name is Jack, there are two of me."

Jack and Ben have recently invented a new game.  I've seen them playing impromptu games for a few weeks, but today I caught them in a very serious attempt.  I overheard Jack say, "Let's play booger fingers," to which Ben replied, "Yeah, booger fingers."  Hearing this, I looked over at them and watched them each, very seriously, start to put every finger, one-by-one, into their nose.   At that point, I decided to intervene and told them, "No booger fingers! Go wash your hands right now."  From the impromptu games I've seen in the past few weeks, I know that the game continues by wiping their own booger fingers on each other and laughing. So much fun.