Caleb Turned 6 Years Old

Yesterday was Caleb's birthday. He got a new bike for his birthday. He had certainly outgrown his old bike.

He is such a sweet boy. I sure do love my Calebee.

In the evening, he had friends over for a swimming party. We just got out the slip n slide, and filled up the kiddie pool. I think everyone had fun. My mom even fed Alex a piece of cake. He is not quite 9 months old. I think by the time you have 4 kids, you realize that they don't die from eating real food before they turn a year old.

The 4th of July 2008

I started the 4th of July quite early. I went and helped with the Riverton 10K before it started, and then I ran the Riverton 10K. My goal was to run it in 48 minutes, and I ran it in 47:32. I was pleased with my time. Leslie and mom also ran it. Leslie didn't feel well, but Mom did well. Mom is always disappointed that she is getting slower each year. But I think it is great that she is still running. She will be 60 years old next year.

We ate lunch with my family. Then, in the evening we had Dan's family over for a bbq. It was fun to have them over. Dan wanted to show them what he had done with the yard.

Tonight we have been watching a movie called "Gettysburg". Actually, just me and Dan and Rachel. Caleb and Anna were up in my room watching "Land Before Time the 20th". I don't think there is a 20th.....but its a library movie and they made tons of "Land Before Time" movies. Anyhow, we were talking to Rachel a little bit about American History. She knows some since she is now a 3rd grader. She said, "If Abraham Lincoln was so important, why is his picture on such a worthless piece of money". Good question. A penny didn't used to be worthless.

When I went in to Smith's to get a few groceries, I noticed the price of gas was 4 cents higher when I came out. And I was only in the store a few minutes. Maybe we need to buy a horse and buggy. Of course, we couldn't afford to feed a horse with the way the price of everything is going up.

Anna told us that she wants to plant marshmallows in the garden. I thought that was funny. She loves marshmallows.

Alex has a tooth, and Caleb has one less

Alex got his first tooth. So far he only has one. Most of my kids had more teeth by now. He looks pretty cute with his one little tooth.

Caleb lost his first tooth. He thought it was great and is now wiggling lots of teeth.

I've been working part-time from home lately, so I have a lot less time to spend online. Everything is good here at home though. :)

This boy can sure push buttons......

And turn knobs, switches, and everything else too. I'm talking about Caleb. He is so mechanically inclined. I bit too much. Lately I am feeling a little crazy. He turns the water off in the bathroom (I'm not talking about the faucets), he has flipped breakers, turns the sprinkler system on, turns the fridge temperature up, turns on the headlights, puts on the parking break, locks doors just so he can pick the locks, puts toys behind the van tires so I will run them over and changes the kitchen timer when I am not looking. And probably some other things that I haven't listed yet. Caleb isn't really an adventurer. He just does little things here and there. I go to get the milk out of the fridge, and half the stuff in the fridge is frozen. I go to wash my hands in the bathroom and the water doesn't work.
What really has made me feel nuts lately has been the kitchen timer. I trade teaching piano lessons. Kathryn teaches Rachel, and I teach Kathryn's daughter. When I am teaching, I set the kitchen timer for the lesson time, so I know about when to end the lesson. I don't have a clock in the living room. This week when I was teaching, the lesson, seemed to last a really long time. When I finally went to see how much time was left, there was still about 2 hours left on the time. Kathryn had been waiting outside for quite a long time for the lesson to end. About 2 weeks ago, Alex had the stomach flu. I only had about half an hour until I needed to take Rachel to piano lessons. I was so tired from being up in the night, so I set the time for a few minutes so I could rest, and then wake up to take Rachel on time. Well, when the timer beeped, it was far too late for piano lessons. Believe me, I have learned my lesson about using the kitchen timer for things. Yesterday when I made cookies, I threatened him that he wouldn't get any if he got near the timer.
Caleb is such a cute boy though. He just got his first tooth out. Now he is excitedly wiggling the next tooth. He can work all the electronics in the house far better than Rachel. And probably some of them better than me. Right now he is watching the washing machine.
I never knew how hard having 4 kids could be. Alex is starting to get into things. Anna is always trying to go on an adventure by herself. And Caleb is always messing with everything. At least Rachel is at an easy stage. I wouldn't trade my kids for anything. I love them so much. I just feel really tired by the end of the day. As our lives change, we just get different challenges.

Rachel's Birthday

We celebrated Rachel's 8th birthday last week. It seems like we celebrated for a whole week. We had a party with my family on Tuesday, a party with friends on Saturday, and a party with Dan's family on Sunday. She got 3 birthday cakes, and plenty of presents.

On Sunday we met with the bishop about getting baptized. She is excited to get baptized. She was nervous to meet with the bishop though.

Rachel is getting to be such a big girl. I am forgetting what she was like as a toddler now that she is getting older. She likes Hannah Montana. She is really good at reading. For her birthday, my in-laws gave her the book "Anne of Green Gables". It was an easier, 150-page version. She finished it in a day.

Rachel is a sweet, friendly girl. She loves to be social. She is such a good helper with Anna and Alex.
I am so proud of Rachel, and I love her so much.

Anna goes missing.....

On Friday, I went to Ogden with my mom and sisters to run the Odgen Marathon relay. About an hour after leaving, I called Dan to see how things were going. He said that Anna was missing and he would call me later and hung up the phone. Of course, I was really upset. The thought of ever losing my curly-haired, brown-eyed girl was such a horrible thought to me.

I thought about some of the last moments I had spent with my "Anna Girly". She wanted me to read the Little Mermaid to her. I was busy changing Alex's diaper and packing up to spend the night in Ogden. She fell asleep in the rocking chair with her book whie she was waiting for me. She looked so cute curled up and I felt bad that I hadn't read to her. It was already time to go to school to pick up kids, so I had to carry her to the van asleep. When we got back home I put her in her bed, but she didn't stay asleep. I looked down at her and her hair was extra curly since it was a hot day. I kissed her cheek and told her that I loved her. She cried when I left, but I gave her a hug and told her I would come back. I love Anna, and all my kids beyond words to express it. Well, back to the story...sorry for the ramble.

I was about to call the police from my cell phone, but I decided to wait a few minutes all then call Dan back. Back at home, Dan asked a neighbor boy if he had seen Anna. He said that he had, and she was riding her pink plastic tricycle. Dan went down to the end of the street looking for her. Then a guy from our ward pulled up to tell him that he had seen Anna down a different street. He was driving home from work and he saw her but didn't notice her (does that make sense?). I'm not sure how much time elapsed, but he told Dan at church that the image of Anna on her bike came to his mind. She had made it all the way through our neighborhood, and then down 2200 W (the nearest real street near us). We live near 2600 W. She had also gone south a bit. She was still pedaling away when he got there. There is an open canal right next to the sidewalk.

I called Dan back, ready to call the police, and he had found her. I am so thankful.

I was so mad, I demanded an explanation how Dan could not notice she was gone. He had turned on Sleeping Beauty for her in our bedroom, and was resting while she watching. Rachel came up and had something to show Anna. So Anna went downstairs to Rachel's room. Rachel thought she came back upstairs, and Dan thought she was still down with Rachel. Anna can get the doors open unless the deadbolt is locked. She sneaks outside whenever she can if the deadbolt is left unlocked. The regular lock doesn't deter her at all. And she loves pedaling that plastic tricycle. She is quite athletic for a 2 year old. She is such a fearless child. It worries me so much. I hope that she has a lot of guardian angels watching out for her. We do our best to keep her safe. I am so thankful that this didn't end up one of those sad stories on the news.

San Diego....without the kids

We spent a few days in San Diego this last week, without the kids. Dan had to fly to San Diego for some business meetings, and we decided to make a vacation out of it. My sister Becca watched the kids part of the time, and Dan's mom watched them part of the time. Actually, Dan's mom probably watched them more of the time.

On Monday morning, we got up early and went to the airport. We got there about 1 1/2 hours early. It took about half an hour to get through security. So then we got to sit and wait for about an hour.

When we were getting on the plane, Dan hit the exit sign with his carry-on bag and it fell off the wall. The flight attended said not to worry about it and tried to put it back on while we went to our seats. Well, it was time to take off, and we were not leaving. Then the pilot announced over the speakers that the flight was delayed because of a broken exit sign. Dan and I just looked at each other and smiled. About half an hour later, the sign was fixed and we were on our way.

After arriving in San Diego, we rented a car. Dan, being a true guy, wanted a Mustang. So we rented a nice, shiny mustang. It actually was fun to drive a nice, fun car instead of a min-van.

We toured the USS Midway, and went on a boat tour of the harbor, and then the next day we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It is much easier traveling without our kids. We both missed them and pointed out all the things that each kid would like. Caleb, my little button-pusher would have loved the control room on the USS Midway. I really missed the kids, and cried a little. But I haven't had a break in so many years. It was nice.

We stayed at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in Escondido. That is where Dan's work was having meetings. I am a frugalite. I am used to Holiday Inn. The hotel was really nice. When Dan was gone to his meetings, housekeeping came to turn my bed for me. Maybe I should have had them tuck me in too. I kept myself occupied by watching tv, shopping, and going for a pedicure.

We were happy to get home. Our kids have many welcome home signs and gifts made for us. I really love our kids.