Late July

July was a busy month. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Girls Camp with the Young Women in our ward. The theme was Everday Heroes and I learned a bit about the heroes that I work with in our ward. The young women in our ward offered so much service to one another. They worked hard when they had assignments and were commended for it. I was so proud of them. Our girls are amazing!!! I have been enjoying some time with the kids at the pool, though the weather this summer has n ot cooperated as well as I would have liked and we have had tons of rain this year. It has spoiled several of our pool days as well as other plans too. Oh well, there's not much we can do about the waether.

The boys all finished a second session of swimming lessons and all passed their second levels off this summer. Ryan completed level 5, Jake completed level 4 and Kyle completed level 2. Kyle went from being afraid of the water at the beginning of the summer to being a complete fish. He is swimming all over the pool with no floaties. He can dive to the bottom to retrieve his toys and he just loves it. Swimming lessons were well worth the money paid this year.

The boys are all looking forward to school starting next week and will have fun since it will be the three of them at the elementary school all day this year.

Tiffany finished up her season of softball. She had a great season. Her coach suggested that she try out for the Rage softball program here in town, but because of finances and the fact that they often play on SUndays we have decided not to do it. I hope she finds comfort in the fact that I am positive she would have made the team if she would have tried out. Now she is looking ahead to starting middle school and volleyball tryouts that are just over a week away.

Kaylee has had a crazy busy summer. She has done lots of babysitting and mowed the lawn for grandpa & grandma while they were on vacations, as well as our own lawn. So she has been able to make some money this summer. She has also spent a great deal of time with her friends and has enjoyed watching friends baseball games, playing in the river, walking all around town, spending the night at friend's home and so much more. I think she has had a fun summer.

As for Mike, he actually has had a couple of weeks at home. It has been really nice. He will be heading off again this week to Oklahoma for a couple of days. Since he is still in the preconstruction phases of the project, he hasn't had to travel quite as much. But the weekly travel will be starting up again all too soon.

Well, I think that pretty much catches us up to present.

Pics from reunion, almost stitches, turtle, and more

Okay so it's been almost a month and I finally got my pictures from the family reunion uploaded for your viewing pleasure. You can check out my whole album here. I am in the process of collecting pictures taken by other members of the family as well so that I can compile a book about our adventures.

I know I am a major slacker lately on this blog. The summer is so busy. This week we had a youth activity and we took the kids boating. It was a great time. The kids got the chance to go tubing and wake boarding. Kaylee enjoyed wake boarding a lot and can't wait to go again. We ended the night in the ER though. Kyalee cut her knee on the step in the water on the back of the boat. It was a pretty good slice so I took her in. She was so nervous about getting stitches so we said a little prayer that she would be comforted. A few minutes later the doctor came in and said "The good news is, it doesn't look like it will need stitches, I should be able to take care of it with steri strips." Keep in mind this is after the triage nurse had already said it would definitely need stitches. Kaylee was so relieved and grateful. I was relieved that I wasn't going to have to try and hold her down for stitches. I don't think I could have done it, she is as tall as me now. Here are a couple of pics. ( I know, it's gross) So she got a couple of steri strips to put her back together. They covered that with a big bandage and an ace wrap to keep her from bending her knee too far and splitting it back open. Believe it or not that took over 2.5 hours. We sat for over an hour after the doc finished waiting for a bandage and discharge papers. The doc came back in and said "Are you still here? I was finished with you an hour ago, let me see what I can do to get you out of here." Fifteen minutes later we were finally out the door.

On another note, I am getting ready for Girl's Camp next week and very excited to be able to spend a couple of days up at camp with the girls in our ward. It is going to be a fun time. I have been keeping busy with my scrapbook design work and am still selling quite a few shirts a day in my shop. That has been really fun. I am now trying to decide what I should do with my time when all the kids go to school next month. Even Kyle will be going all day as we were able to get him into the all day kindergarten program at our school. He is very excited, and so am I. It has been almost 14 years since I have had the house to myself all day every day. Whatever will I do with my time? Maybe it's time for me to go to school too. I guess we'll see.

The kids are busy as ever. The boys have been doing swim lessons this summer and all three boys passed off their levels in the first session. Kyle has gone from being terrified to get in the pool to being a little fish in a matter of about 2 weeks. Both Jake and Ryan are improving and learning their strokes and having a great time. Aside from lessons, we have been spending a lot of time at the pool and I have been working on my tan. :] The boys also spend a lot of time in the park by our house. They love catching crawfish, snails, small fish and whatever living creatures they can find in the pond. They are learning to put them back into their environment at the end of the day, because they often don't last through the night in captivity. :(

Tiffany is playing softball again this year and it is fun to watch her play. She is trying her hand at pitching this year and is doing an excellent job. She is looking forward to starting at the middle school in August and hopes to play Volleyball in the fall.

Kaylee is a major social butterfly and is rarely home at all. She has been hanging out with her friends and babysitting a lot this summer so she too is staying very busy. She is rarely seen without a volleyball in her hands.

All of the kids are also enjoying the trampoline we bought this summer for our back yard. They have all learned all kinds of tricks and flips and spend lots of time jumping around. I just wish I could jump with them. (but that's another story)

Mike is traveling pretty regularly again. Right now he is going to Nashville as he is preparing for his job in Oklahoma which should start in the fall. We miss him when he is gone, but are enjoying being able to talk to him in the evenings using our new web cams and pack all we can into the weekends when he is home.

We had another 4th of July party this year and had a total blast. I have uploaded the pics from that party to my sharing site here.

Today we found and saved a turtle from certain death. (he was trying to cross the street just down from our house) He has been fun to watch but we plan to release him back to the park tomorrow (after a call to animal services to make sure that is the right thing to do) Here is a picture of the turtle.

Well, I think that is about it for now. It certainly is long enough, don't ya think? Anyway, life is fun, life is crazy, it's busy, but I wouldn't trade a day for anything different. (Except maybe a small vacation without the kids, coming soon :] )

An entire month gone by...

WOW, an entire month gone by with no post to my blog. I am getting really bad at this. I must must must try to do better.

Well, I finally feel as if summer has come. It is the 3rd week of the kids summer vacation and the temps are finally hitting what they should be for summer and the daytime rain seems to be holding off.

We have been busy. Tiff started softball and has had a couple weeks of practice and started games last week. She has pitched in two games and done really well. The boys started swimming lessons yesterday. Both Jake and Ryan are doing awesome. Kyle however is still afraid to get in the water unless he is holding the wall, so it will be interesting to see how he does.

Two weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to once again participate in Relay for Life. It is such an inspiring event. I walked in memory of my mother and in support of friends who have both fought cancer and survived and those who have lost family members to cancer or who may be dealing with it in their lives somehow at present. I had a great time with the ladies on our team and look forward to walking again next year.

This weekend we spent a wonderful four and a half days in Steamboat Springs with the whole Sims gang. (minus Kari and Deron who stayed home to have a baby). We had a great time and did some really fun activities. On Wednesday night, our arrival day, we played a friendly game of family bingo. It was a great way to help everyone to remember all the names and faces which we sometimes confuse since we don't see eachother all that often.
On Thursday we took a walk through old toen Steamboat lookin gin the shops and made a fun stop at Johnny B's for some ice cream and shakes. After lunch we headed to the Old Town Hot Springs and swam in the pools. The water was between 98 and 103 degrees in the various pools so even though the air temp was only about 65 degrees we stayed plenty warm while we were in the water. They had a 3 story water slide and the kids had a blast with that as well. That night we played games and had a really fun time. Susan prepared a game of bluff for the adults that we played after the kids went to bed and it was such a riot. Who knew some of us could lie so well. We also built up our vacabulary by learning the meaning of words like vidiot (a person who watches too much TV), sussarus (the sound of wind blowing through the trees), cadelle (a bug that eats smaller bugs), and I can't remember any of the others, but it was a total blast.
On Friday We took a little hike. It wasn't much since we had so many small children with us, but it was beautiful. After our hike we ate a picnic lunch in the park and then headed to the Alpine Slide. This activity was a huge hit with everyone. That night we had our fmaily pictures taken by Matt, our family photographer and brother in law. He did a great job as far as I could tell from the preview o the pictures we got later. I can't wait to put a new picture of my family up on the wall in my family room. The adults stayed up late and played phase 10 and had a ton of laughs.
Saturday was brunch and horseback riding which was so much fun. The trail ride was beautiful and the kids, even Kyle, loved riding their own horses. We ended the night with a BBQ dinner and gifts for dad for Father's Day.
Sunday we packed up, cleaned up and headed home.
The excitement of the weekend was that Kari's water broke on Saturday and little Isabella Marie was born on Sunday morning weighing 7 pounds and was 19 1/2 inches long. Congrats to Kari and Deron for their new little one.
Well, I think this post is long enough. I will do a picture post later today.

Tiffany in the Talent Show

Tiffany was in the talent show at school today. She sang the song "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. I think she did a great job. Here is the video.

A terrible experience I hope to never repeat...

Yesterday was a terrible day. Well, not the whole day, but the effects of my experience lasted the whole day, so that is close enough.

The day started off pretty well. Kyle and I were hanging out at the house. We went for a bike ride around the park and came back home. He asked if he could have some of his birthday cake, so I set him up to the counter with a piece of cake and went in to the office to check email and do some scrapbooking. About 15 minutes later(no more cuz I knew when we returned from our bike ride), I thought "wow he's being really quiet, I better go check on him." I went to the kitchen and he wasn't there. He wasn't in the family room either. I called for him, no answer. So I went out the back door and called for him...nothing. I went out front expecting to find him on his bike in the front yard...nothing. I decided to check the park across the street, so I walked over to where he likes to play...again nothing. I was starting to get a really sick feeling in my stomach. I went to the garage and noticed his bike was there, but his scooter was gone, so I hopped on my bike and headed back over to the park. Maybe he had decided to go a bit farther than he is allowed on his own. I rode through the park checking all the kids favorite spots to play...still nothing. I went home and decided to check the house again more thoroughly. It wouldn't be the first time he thought it was funny to hide from me. I checked under the beds, in the closets, the basement...nothing. By now(it's been about 20 minutes since I started looking), I am getting pretty hysterical. I went back and checked the park one more time, the restrooms, the ditch. He was nowhere to be found. Now my emotions had the better of me and I called my in-laws to come and help. I think my exact word were "I can't find Kyle and I don't know what to do." Within a couple of minutes, David, Bjorg, and Kari were at my house to help. I told them the story and David headed off to the park in one direction, Kari got in the car and started driving the neighborhood, and mom helped me call the police then she went off into the park the other direction. The police told me to stay at the house and wait for an officer, so I sat (well, I paced) on the front porch while every possible scary scenario played through my head. Has he fallen in the pond and drowned? Did he go into the park and someone has picked him up and taken him? Has someone hurt him? Has he been hit by a car somewhere? Will I ever see him again? and How in the world am I ever going to tell Mike I lost our son? 10 minutes pass, 15 minutes pass, 20 minutes pass. Other people in the park are looking for Kyle too. I said a little prayer and asked my Heavenly Father to please help us find Kyle. Finally after about 25 minutes an officer shows up at my house. He said that everyone split in different directions to look for him, but nobody remembered to come to me, so he was there now. He asked me what happened, how long Kyle had been gone (now it's been almost an hour), he asked if he's ever run off before etc. About 4 minutes into our conversation he gets a call on the radio...they found him, at the swim beach. My first thought was how did he get to the swim beach and how and why in the world would he ever cross 29th street. A couple minutes later the officer came back and said "he's with a neighbor...she said she told him to ask you if it was okay to go with her and he came back and said you said it was okay." I had several thoughts hit me all at once...he hadn't crossed the busy street alone, he told a lie in order to go, oh my poor neighbor she must feel terrible, and he's okay!!!! The officer who found him, brought him home in her squad car. I think he was fine until he saw me and then he started to cry. Of course, I looked a mess and I think he understood how scared I was. ME, all I could feel was relief to have him back. After the police officer left, we said a little prayer of thanks and gratitude to have Kyle returned to us safe and sound.

That was by far the worst hour (or a little more than an hour)of my life. After he was home, I held him. I made him lay with me on the couch and I held him. I didn't want to let him out of my arms. It took several hours for my heart rate to return to normal and my eyes to dry out.

Funny thing about this is that Bjorg and Kari had just returned from their walk around the lake. They remembered seeing kids playing at the lake, but hadn't recognized Kyle. He saw and recognized them but chose not to say anything to them. Perhaps he knew he would be in trouble for not talking to me about it, who knows.

The police officers had a talk with Kyle about always making sure to ask or tell mom before he goes anywhere and to never scare me like that again. I also had a talk with him and let him know how much it scared me when I couldn't find him and told him he must ALWAYS tell me before he goes anywhere and he is not allowed to sneak out of the house anymore( I was crying as I told him these things, so I am sure it had a huge impact on him). We also talked about the fact that he told a lie to the neighbor and that was very bad. And while I think he liked the ride in the police car, I don't think he will do anything like this again. At least I hope not. I don't know if my heart could take it.

I was so grateful to be able to call Mike and tell him that the lost was found. I was also very grateful for Bjorg, David, and Kari for coming to my aid. In addition, the Loveland PD was so awesome. They jumped into action and found him very quickly. I feel very blessed that this incident turned out the way it did, but when I think about how I felt yesterday, the emotion is so fresh, that I tear up.

End of an Era

As the school year is starting to close down and amazingly fast as this school year went, I find myslef contemplating the end of an era. We are soon to be finished with our last child in preschool. It is so wild for me to tink about that. We have been at the same preschool for 6 years and 4 of our 5 children have attended there. And I worked for 4 years on the Board of Directors. It will be weird for me to leave there for the last time ever in two weeks.

Along the same lines, I am having a really hard time with the fact that my "Baby" (he gets mad when I call him that) will be turning five years old this week. Where does the time go?

The Influence of Music

I was just wondering why it is that the most terrible songs are the ones that stick with you. Yesterday, I had the unfortunate experience of hearing a song on the radio that I found deceptive, and vulgar. Some of you may have heard it, it is "If You Seek Amy" by Katy Perry. (I don't like her choice of songs anyway, the last one I hated was another that is so catchy I hear people singing it all the time. You may know that too "I Kissed a Girl".) Anyway, I am getting off topic here now, so let me bring this back. Yesterday, early in the morning, I hear this song on the way to take Kaylee to school. She always wants to change the radio to "her" station for the 5 minutes it takes to get to school, whatever. Anyway I had never heard it before and once I got into it, I changed it because I thought it was so terrible, but can you tell me why the minute I spent listening to that song left such an impression on me that I found myself thinking it; the words (yuck) and the tune all day long. And it is a TERRIBLE song.

This experience really made me think about the influence that music has on us and our children. People say they can listen to certain types of music and not be affected by it. I am not judging anyone for their choice of music here, just making a point. I think that music really does influence us more than we realize. Now I am not saying that someone who listens to gangster rap is necessarily going to join a gang or start killing people, but it must soften us to that somewhat. Does it make it seem like those things are okay? How about songs talking about sex, drugs, alcohol. I am sure that we listen to some of these songs without even realizing what they are talking about, but they make it commonplace and acceptable.

My daughters are at the age when they are really getting into music and are less under my influence for choosing what they like. I still have control to some extent as I do not let them buy music that in my mind is unsuitable. But I cannot control what they listen to when they are with their friends or when they listen to the radio. It is my hope though that they will choose not to listen to music that can have a negative impact on them.

I have experienced in my own home the power of music. Sunday mornings can be very hectic for us as we prepare and get ready to go to church by 8:45 am. I have found that on the days I play soft music it has a huge impact. There is less fighting, arguing, and more cooperation. I like to play Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and church hymns, or even piano music (my favorite, Jim Brickman). Sometimes I get wrapped up in getting ready and forget the music trick and those days definitely seem more crazy. I also notice that my kids are more prepared to sit quietly in church when we have played church music rather than watch TV on Sunday mornings.

Music has been proven to have great affects on us. About a year ago I helped to do a Sunday Evening Discussion for the Youth of our church about the impact of Music. We called it "An Experince in Music." We played different clips of all types of music and asked questions throughout about how they were feeling. It really is amazing to see how the feeling in a room completely changes based on the type of music being played. I was amazed that even the youth were able to feel it. (I am working on getting that presentation to self play through all the slides and music clips. When I do, I will get it posted as it may interest some of you)

There are so many types of good music out there. I challenge any of my readers to evaluate the types of music they listen to and the impact that music has or can have on their lives. and to make a change if necessary.

Post Note: So I guess I have the artist listed wrong. It is actually Britney Spears who sings the song, not Katy Perry, so I will just add Britney to the list of artists I don't like.