Future Fiddlers

Today, Jenn pulled out her violin and decided to start prepping for violin lessons.  Not only are Debany and Myanna wanting to learn, but a friend has a daughter who has been playing some.  They have asked me to give lessons.  I'm very excited!  

I want to give good quality lessons, so I've decided to just get to practicing.  At least 30 mins. every day.  Today, it ended up being at least 1 hour!  Didn't even realize it until the kids wanted to try it.  Then 'lessons' lasted another 2 hours.

Needless to say, I've put off folding the laundry for a while.

Myanna took to singing while she played.  It was way cute!  

Debany was already putting on her own recitals!  

She'd leave and come back 'a different person' just to perform again.

What? Not music to your ears?!  

Enjoy!

Freecycle & Craigslist

Have you ever heard of freecycle.org?

Or craigslist.org?

If you haven't, you've got to try it!  

If you're on a budget or always hunting for a great deal - or want to get rid of things that have been accumulating, this is a lifesaver!  

Freecycle is a yahoo group where you can post or read posts of things people what to get rid of. Only catch - it's 100% free.  I have a yahoo email specifically just for it because we get LOTS of posts every day.  It is everywhere!  And if for some reason there isn't one close enough, you can start one!

Craigslist, same idea, but not always free.  BUT great bargains.  

If you have more questions, or don't understand my explicit explanations, email me.

Enjoy!  And pass the word on.

It's the simple things...

Remember that it's the simple things that make all the difference.  

Stop and smell the roses.  Our children are growing before our eyes.  

Make sure you take the time to ENJOY them.  

After-all, we are to be child-like.  How are we to be like them if we never pause to admire they're qualities!

"Laughter is the best medicine.  Well, laughter and raspberries!"

--Jenn

The power of a sneeze.  

(You've got to read, "Because a Little Bug Went Ka-chooo!")

Picking Peaches

As a family, we went and picked peaches.  I, Jenn, have been wanting to can peaches so that we can have fruit for our biscuits and cottage cheese.  

Not liking to pay full price for anything,  I turned to our ever faithful freecycle.org.  We posted our wanted (peaches, pears, and canning jars), and received 69 jars and an address to someone's house with a peach tree that was 

LADEN with peaches (the branches were beginning to break).  

Myanna tried so hard to pick the fruit!

Porter joined in the fun as well!

What Does Your Daddy Do?

"Pest Control Spray Technician"

'Our daddy kills bees.'

That's our Daddy!

Dane works full-time spraying pest control.  He really enjoys it - which makes life at home much nicer than the other jobs he's had in the past!

Although it's not his passion, in his spare time, he works at a Chiropractic Clinic providing massage therapy.  Last Saturday, he went to the 'Walk for Diabetes' and worked on some 40 clients there.  Once they found out about the booth they were working, there was a long line for the rest of the day!  

Such a man of many talents!  We love you! You're our hero!

On the Water...

Here is 'the Cove' at the lake in the summer before the 4th of July weekend.  

It's actually the lowest we've seen in a long time!

Now it's all under water! 

Time to break out the new rowboat!

Safety first!  Make sure you've got your life-vest on! PFD's!

Ginger joined in the fun, too!

Can we do it again, tomorrow?!

FYI:  Watch out for poison ivy!!

Huckleberry Summers

These, here, are berry-picking hands...

It ain't summer at Gpa & Gma Gilson's without berry pickin'!  

These are REAL huckleberries - 

picked from bear & snake infested, forested, mountain hillsides!

It's a whole family event. 

(Minus the snakes & bears.)

Porter's WA Support Group

In Washington, we had an awesome Birth-to-3 group working with Porter.  The girls enjoyed going to Porter's school, "All Aboard Academy."  They accommodated Debany & Myanna so graciously.  The fabulous thing about a small town is how friendly it can be.  These people became as family to us.

PT Jenny working with Porter to crawl.

Connie & Porter at the mirror.

PT Susan & Porter working on standing.

Gramma Deannie!!!

Also for his support is our wonderful Occupational Therapist who would be able to get Porter to explore his artistic side!  Unfortunately, I can't find her picture, but we sure do appreciate her!  Thank you!

My Water Babies

My kids LOVE the water.  I can hardly keep them from it.  In Alabama, we put the kids in the beginning water classes because I worked in the same facilities.  It was free!  I got to sub-teach the classes for a time, as well (which was a lot of fun and very educational for future opportunities).  With all of our moves, it's been hard to get the kids into formal swim lessons. That'll happen some time in the future.  Like I said, they LOVE the water.  I want them to be safe with the object of their affection.  

Myanna's Spilled Milk

While deep in thought and multi-tasking at the computer, I hear a sound of rushing liquid not far from where I sat.  As a vision flashed through my mind of Myanna trying to pour her own milk, I jump up and run to the kitchen to find about half the gallon of milk on the floor.  By some power I am able to control my rage and decide to listen to the silent pleas of 'I'm sorry' coming from the mouth of my babe.  I thank her for her apology and tell her to run and get a towel.  Faster than lightning and after much of her huffing and puffing, she returns with a towel and immediately begins to sop up the mess.  Once completed, with a spot check on my part, I explain that we need to use a soapy rag to clean it or else it'll smell.  We get the rag all nice and bubbly, and she begins work on the floor and chair.  I then figure we should mop up the mess and then dry it all up.  Debany sees this as an opportunity for fun. (Mopping is fun, you know.)  'Can I help,' she pleas for her own pleasure.  'uhhh... no thanks.'  Myanna takes full responsibility.  All is done and they go off to play whatever they were before.  I stand there thinking of all the times I just felt like I couldn't get through to her.  And here, she was sorry for the mess and righted the 'milky' situation.  I guess that is what we as parents all hope for.  I thank her and ask her to have mommy help next time.  Maybe there is hope yet for her... and myself.  After all, there's no point in crying over spilled milk, right?

Porter's Bum Scootin' Boogie

Here is Porter's means of transportation.  He's pretty fast!  As you can see, he can keep up with his sisters in his own way.  He'll bump into things at eye-level at times, but that's pretty rare.  Something not so rare is how fast he'll go through a pair of pants ($$$)!!!  All of his pants get pretty 'holy' within just a week of regular use!  So much for cute onesies.

 

Triplets

Blue Robin Eggs - the real ones!  

Don't eat!

While at Gpa & Gma's place (the Cove), we got to watch the evolution of baby birds.  First, it started with a nest, one egg, two eggs, then three eggs.  

Look what happened after the momma bird sat on the eggs for a long time!

Looks like they're hungry!

They grow really fast.  Here come the pin-feathers!

They're pretty in their OWN way.  

Watch out.  Those momma and daddy birds are VERY protective!

I was dive-bombed several times trying to get this picture.

Enjoy.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see them flying from the nest, but...

The first egg was laid July 5th, the 3rd egg was laid July 9th, they hatched around July 20th, and got their pin-feathers July 25th.  All this in less than a month!  

Amazing!

Myanna's Namesake

This is Mianna Sanderson - to the left of our Myanna Gilson.  Mianna lived in Hawaii with her parents when Dane and I were there.  She is who we named OUR Myanna after.  Pretty special for Myanna to meet someone she was named after!  And she lives right here in the same town!  Let me just say that it's very difficult to know which Myanna/Mianna we're talking to when we get together.  It's Big Mianna or Little Myanna.  

The Trouble with Boring Food...

Maybe it's time to spice up our meals???

Eating 'Right'

Porter has no vision in his right eye and uses his right arm very little.  Now that we are more or less settled in our new place, we have been getting lots of help with Porter in what ability he has.  One of the therapists recommended that we give longer things for Porter to eat to help with his gagging of mixed foods.  We were just EXCITED when we saw him eating with his right hand!  This was his second set of breadsticks.  He ate really well, too!

Biking to the End of the Trail

Dane had the afternoon off and we decided to get out of the house and do something!  So, we decided to pack the kids into the trailers and biked the trail right across from out house.  We were hoping to get to the lake, but as we got to the end of the trail, there was just a creek.  Hmmm.  But, we were close to the lake, so we took a picture of it.  We also took a picture of the 'Y' on the mountain - it was a lot further away than we're used to!  All the kids had fun.  

Let Them Help

In our home, I've been noticing Debany asking to help out as I do MY chores around the house.  So, I decided to let her help out even more than she already does.  It amazes me how close she watches and how well she does!  And she even had fun doing it!  Her other chores:  making her bed, brush teeth, get dressed, pick up toys, folding & putting away laundry, unloading the dishwasher (and putting dishes away), and setting/clearing the table.  Myanna is always there close by to lend a helping hand, too.  No child-labor laws here - it's mandatory! 

Porter's Haircut

Okay, so this is Jenn's first time giving Porter his haircut - even went solo as I did it.  Dane was at work.  But it didn't turn out too bad!  Here's our little man!

Our Garden

When we moved into our new home, there was already a garden growing.  Did we hit the jackpot, or what?!  All we had to do was keep it growing (while we moved in).  Next year, are excited to grow a garden from the beginning and teach the kids about 'biology' and regular maintenance.  This year we had all kinds of veggies - corn, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, pumpkins, peas, and cucumbers.  We need to can all the cukes that we picked.  Another lesson in storing/preparing for the seasons of the year.  

Also in our backyard are some fruit trees:  2 apple, and 1 white plum.  yumm!

Praying Mantis

Our 'humble' visitor decided to grace us with its presence in our home.  So, we decided to learn about the praying mantis.  We learned that the praying mantis is great at camouflage - it blends in to look like other things around it (sticks, leaves, grass, dead leaves, flowers).  They eat other insects like grasshoppers and spiders, even lizards and mice.  They only live to be one year old!  It has 5 eyes!  Two big ones and 3 small ones.  They can turn their head 180 degrees and can see their prey 60 feet away!

Ducks of Utah

Every morning we go for a walk to the park.  On the way, we feed the ducks.  When we came home one day, Debany asked about what ducks eat and where they sleep.  Another perfect opportunity for learning.  This is what we learned about ducks.  Male ducks are called Drakes, Females are called Hens.  Babies are called ducklings.  The ducks we see every day are called mallards - they have blue feathers that are sooo pretty.  You can tell the male ducks because they are much prettier.  When they are young, you can tell them apart from the females because of the white ring around the neck.  We also learned about 'migration'.  When it is cold at their home, they fly over 900 miles south to a place that is warm.  We plan on drawing pictures of their feet and practice for ourselves - having webbed feet!  Too much fun!

Our next project:  Alert the city and organize a clean-up of the river for the ducks!