Dog Days of Summer

In case you don't live here and don't watch the Weather Channel, it has been blazing hot here. When you throw humidity on top of the 100+ degrees, feel free to add 10-15 degrees to the original temperature. We have sequestered ourselves at home in the afternoons and evenings and have only ventured out for small adventures in the mornings. We watched plenty of movies the past week. But that's what summer is about, right?!?

We have had fun at splash pads, pools, and playing water games with friends and cousins, though. Sam is completely confident in the toddler pool. He would actually prefer for me to just let him go when we go in the regular pool too. We had a fight about that yesterday. Abby, on the other hand, has a healthy respect for the water and wants to try new things, but only while holding on to the edge or a parent. With both hands.

For several months, Abby has been making up names for people and objects. It isn't unusual to hear, "Mom, have you seen my hubojah?" Substitute hubojah for any syllables that might be ever thrown together and you've got Abby's favorite words. She hasn't had a true imaginary friend yet, but I think that Pepperoni Pizza is developing into that friend for her. Pepperoni Pizza is one of the friends that should be friends with Strawberry Shortcake, you see, but was just forgotten except by my child. In fact, Pepperoni Pizza is so grateful to have been remembered that she has decided she can also go by Abby. It's very convenient when I forget which friend Abby is talking because once I say Abby I'm covered.

Abby has delved into the world of joke-telling. They aren't very good, but we laugh at the creativity and the made-up words. She also teases us all the time. The other day I was entertaining the kids with a rendition of "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly" when Abby started in on a verse: "There was an old lady who swallowed a (dramatic pause) SHIRT!"

Sam is growing up so much. I trimmed his hair the other day because we were a little tired of the crazy professor look he was sporting. But since I just couldn't say goodbye to the curls, I trimmed about a half-inch off all the way around and a little extra off the side. Now he looks more grown up and doesn't have wings.

Sam's favorite word is still "MINE!" Today at church we heard a little girl say "mine" a few rows away from us and Sam had to join in shouting "MINE!" even though he had no idea who had started it. He's a little bit of a biter these days, but it's something we're working on. We've got to train him not to bite so he can actually stay in nursery at church in 2 weeks (hurray!).

Sam has a smile that could melt any heart. He has also learned the power of the kiss. When we say goodbye to friends he usually tries to plant one on them. The moms all ohh and ahh, the kids aren't as thrilled, but who can say no to this face?

And just in case you didn't think anything else was funny, check out this face:

Accomplishment of the Morning

My kids appreciate the humor of a whoopie cushion. The rocking-back-and-forth belly laugh of Sam and the shriek of laughter from Abby that happens every time we hear it was totally worth the dollar I spent. It'll only get funnier when Dad gets home and it is planted on his chair for dinner. :)

The Week of the Fourth

There's not a story behind the first two pictures, but I love what they say about how Abby and Sam get along. They are frequently on the couch together and usually touching. It's adorable. They just have the best friendship and we are so grateful for that.

Enjoying the fireworks!

Oh, Cami, you're so kind and . . . (sorry, unless you're a Freebairn you won't get it). My parents and sister came to visit. I'm lame and got no pictures of the grandparents. I hang my head in shame. The kids had the best time with them, though! And both kids were totally comfortable around Cami. I don't think I want to hear the word Virginia ever again, though. We must have heard it a thousand times. Sorry again, but unless you know Cami you will never know the utter truth of how she latches onto a word and endlessly repeats it. And we love her for it. Especially when the word gets shouted out during prayer, as answers to questions that others are being asked, and at pretty much any possible opportunity. It's honestly hilarious! This is about as relaxed as Cami got during the trip, though she did do great. She even let Sam drive his cars up and down her legs.

At church we had a Freedom Breakfast this past weekend. We had pancakes, eggs, and fruit and then all the kids brought their decorated bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc for a parade. It was a lot of fun! The kids and I had a great time decorating bikes with red, white, and blue and Woody from Toy Story and Tinkerbell and Fawn. Here's Abby waving hi to the camera and Sam squinting into the sun!

Flashback

I have a fuzzy memory of being 3 or 4 and getting out of the car after going grocery shopping and having a gallon of milk drop on the driveway. I can't remember if it broke and spilled or just bounced, if I did it or it was one of my siblings. I just remember that awful feeling of "Oh no!"

As I was leaving a grocery store today with an extremely full cart, we hit a rather large hole in the parking lot and several things came shooting out of our cart. Including a gallon of milk and a big bottle of Gatorade, both of which immediately exploded and gushed liquid through the nooks and crannies of the parking lot. Abby felt guilty and upset and started bawling, which I later found out was mostly because her favorite skirt was now wet with a strange mix of milk and purple Gatorade. So I am halfway to our car with our cart filled to the brim with groceries and stuck in a pothole, Abby is crying hysterically and apologizing, and Sam decides to join in with sympathy tears. A nice gentleman who saw what happened yelled over to ask if I needed anything. I'm not even sure what I said, but I must have sounded like I needed help because he dislodged our cart, cleaned up the now-empty bottles, and laughed with me. I needed that. Even 5 minutes later during the obligatory retelling to Roy, my tired body and mind were ready to cry over that spilled milk.

It's still not funny, but it's getting there.

Moments That Matter Most

We watched this video last night several times. It is a nice reminder of the tiny moments that make happy memories. I especially enjoyed the reminder that, "Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."

Don't Be Captain Hook

We all learned some important things this week:

• Abby started drawing faces and bodies this week in her pictures--this is a big deal to no one but me and her, but I'm excited that she's moved on from scribbles to drawing people. And yes, I am saving her first picture because I'm proud and because it's of the five cousins at the farm.
• Sam learned how to yell, not just say, "MINE!"
• I learned that super glue can put wheels back on toy cars (it was Mater so ultra-important that he be working) and if you're really careful, the wheel can still even turn. That's right, awesome mom right here.
• Roy learned how fun it is to take 2.5 hours to get to work and still get work done while creeping along in the HOV lane. He wasn't driving, in case you were wondering.
• While we were sitting in church today, Sam was looking through our Sacrament meeting book and said "Jesus" and "temple" while looking at the appropriate pictures. So proud!
• Abby taught us all a new thing this week. While we ate lunch yesterday, she looked across at us and stated, "Captain Hook doesn't follow Jesus."

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to dads, grandpas, and father figures! We're lucky to have you in our lives!