Superman

Superman Landon, age 2 

"I wish I could fly!"

I've been hearing several variations of this same wish from Landon in the past few days. I wish I was a bird! Oh! I just wish wish wish I had wings so I could fly!

This morning I heard a cry from Landon in the guest room downstairs. Ellie met me on my way down with a 'Come help Landon!'.

I walked in to see Landon - complete with superman cape -- sitting on the floor at the foot of the desk with a toppled folding chair beside him. Of course my first thought was of a crash landing in flying lessons.

This time however it was just a climbing mishap -- with the folding chair on top of the desk he thought he could scale the king size mattress currently on end nearby (while we rearrange).

I'm glad his adventure didn't work out more smoothly, since the height of the mattress may have inspired some irresistible flying practice - with greater hurts to follow than his toppling had brought.

Baby Jaden

Baby Jaden

Isn't he beautiful? We're just thrilled for Kelly and Josh and their newest little one. Jaden was super sweet and mellow and happy and we just loved holding and watching him for a few days last week. What a sweet time that newborn stage is. 

Catch up

A few fun pics from the last little bit --

Exploring the hotel on our  trip last week to see baby Jaden

A trip to the aquarium with the kids and Grandma Maureen (Landon loved the giant octopus, Ellie was a happy discoverer, and Owen loved climbing in and out of the stroller :)

A sunny picnic at the Kimball's 

Landon riding the electric horse -- I can't believe somebody thought of this and made it! Landon had a blast with all of the great toys and space to run and play and tumble and ride and slide and jump and swing at the Kimball's house. :)

Our first raspberries of the year!

Brainstorming for Jordan's birthday present

Week 3 - Colors

marron, preto, amarelo, verde, vermelho. roxo, rosa, azul, laranja 

We've taken the week off of school time for vacation while Jordan was in New York and the kids and I were visiting family and seeing brand new baby Jaden :)  But, here's an animoto of last week's learning -- as cores

Father's Day

Matching Buddies!

Happy Father's Day to my sweetheart :)

A fun Animoto from the kids --




Ellie asked me a few weeks ago 'can I email this song to Daddy?' and has since asked me every few days, 'is this the day I can email my song?' She was so happy for the big day to arrive! Landon planned a backyard scavenger hunt for Jordan after church complete with a prize of 'Happy Father's Day' coloring pages, a beaded necklace, Landon's favorite treats, and 'Dads' rootbeers from primary. His take on Father's day - "I've been waiting all year for this day! I just love Father's day and my birthday  - those are the best days ever!!"

Watching the Animoto from the kids (and sporting his new Landon made bead-necklace)

"I sang so well on Father's day, the Bishop let me cut off a piece of his tie!"

Ball!

my little boy! by me :)

Owen loves playing ball. He is often happiest wandering in the garage, emptying our shelf full of balls one by one onto the garage floor, then kicking and chasing one until it is stuck in a corner under a bicycle, step ladder, work bench...

Also, he loves to go.  If he hears the word 'go' he heads straight to the garage door and knocks/calls/otherwise lets us know he is ready. If he can get out the door, he'll manage to climb himself into the bike trailer and he's ready to "go, go, go!"

Garden

Think of having a garden - to dig and smell and put new slips into and - garden gloves! Old grubby ones, but still, what they do suggest!  (from Bring me a Unicorn)

These fun labels we made make the garden look cheerier while we wait for things to grow

Our garden is just getting started, but it's pretty fun to see things growing out there. Watering the garden while the kids play in the backyard has turned into a fun part of our summer days.

Anxious to get started on our garden, Landon started digging holes :)

Wall Art

The latest addition to my bedroom wall's fine art collection

From Ellie this morning

I made this for you! It's a picture of scribbles. And it's our family - that's Owen, and that's me, and that's Landon, and that's Mommy, and that's Daddy. It's our whole family hooked together! And they're all hugging each other. And they're not scared, because there are no animals in the room...

School time Week 2

We're loving our summer school time!  Here's an Animoto of this last week (the kids picked out all the props for the middle part :)

Slip 'n Slide

Jordan was excited to try out a new slip n' slide on Saturday with the kids -- here's an Animoto of all the fun :)

Adventures

On Friday night we adventured to Gaucho Grill for a delicious Brazilian dinner out on their patio on the river's edge. I loved the beautiful evening and the Brazilian lemonade, Jordan loved the great outdoor spot and his favorite foods, Landon loved the lemonade and throwing rocks in the river during dinner, Ellie loved the pineapple and the wandering ducks and Owen loved the fried bananas.

As always, Jordan helped Landon and I up the tough hills. But Landon was such a trooper.  We got home and mapped our route -- 8.3 miles! (I don't think I even knew how to ride a bike when I was five!)

The next morning we rode to the Farmer's Market - Jordan on his rollerblades, Landon and I biking. I pulled the trailer in case Landon needed to ride, mostly it just meant that Jordan spent more time pushing me up the hills while Landon rode up ahead!  We took a different route home with steeper hills that at one point had Jordan pushing both the Bob stroller with Owen and the bike trailer with Ellie while Landon and I rode our bikes up on our own. At another spot Landon and  I walked up the hill pushing Owen in the the Bob while Jordan rode my bike pulling Ellie in the bike trailer with Landon's bike strapped on top. (We are quite the downtown parade, I'm sure!)

We do love our adventures! :)

School Time

School Time

I'm excited about our Summer school plans. On Friday the kids were a bit crazy so we ended our school time early -- Landon in tears said "But this is my favorite part of the day!!" I'll take that as a vote of success for our first week :)

from ChildrenInspireDesign

Our school time this summer is focused on learning some Portuguese. We have a different theme each week (numbers, animals, shapes...) and the we're learning some Portuguese words around that theme, with a little bit of other practice on the side. We spend about an hour and a half, and the plan is to have school time 3 or 4 times each week.

Here's a sample of a school time plan from one of our days last week (learning the Portuguese alphabet)

And here's a short Animoto of Landon and Ellie's first week -- hooray for these great little kiddos!

Provo House Update

We got the paperwork back from the Church this week and our Provo house is officially under contract! As long as we don't stop to think too much about the details we love in this house, we are feeling very grateful to be moving forward. Just a few more weeks!