The last couple weeks

A lot has been happening, which I guess is what happens when school gets out and kids begin to go crazy with pent up energy...errr...I mean when kids are home all the time. This year, as most summers, I have A Plan. I've tried to keep it simple, knowing how Plans tend to fall by the wayside after a couple weeks, so basically I'm spending time in the morning trying to teach the kids the right way to do simple chores around the house and then have them spend time reading and doing other school-ish things to keep their minds from melding into the computer or tv over the summer. Felicity had a rough time with her multiplication tables this year in school (I did at her age, too, so I'm sympathetic), so we've challenged (yes, that means bribed) her to have them memorized by the time school starts in the fall. We made flash cards and she's working on it. Caleb is very science-y and I'm trying to find simple experiments we can do with him. Any ideas? We tried our hand at making sugar crystals, but they don't seem to be doing much, so we're going to have to do more research. I'd like Joseph to be a little more prepared for Kindergarten, so we're working on letters with him. Seth has been very involved with his cars and toy dinosaurs and Felicity's princess figurines. The last I saw he had the princesses lined up against the door with a line of toy cars pointed right at them. Yup, he's a boy. So far our Plan is going well, with a few disruptions that have been fun.
Last week my mom ans sister came from Idaho and we met them at my aunts house (well, actually In N Out, but then we went to her house) and had a fun time with cousins. On Saturday my other sister came up so we went yard selling, and then to the Utah Festival of Books. We got there for just the last hour, so we didn't get to meet Brandon Mull or any of the other authors, but we did meet Curious George, Madeline, and Tigger. So cute to see Joseph give Curious George fist bumps and then dash back for a huge hug around George's knees. They also had bounce houses and other inflatables, crafts--Felicity and Caleb made their own books, balloon animals and face painting. Next year we'll have to get there a little earlier, there was a lot we missed.

The biggest news this week has to do with our cats. Farris has had an on again, off again cold for awhile and finally went to the doctor to find out what was wrong. Luckily nothing serious, but he's allergic to cats. I put them on KSL, and within an hour we had a family call for them. They picked them up on Friday. We didn't want the kids to be mourning them for days, so I told them a few hours before the family came to get them. Felicity and Caleb were especially sad. Caleb cried at bedtime because the cats would always sleep on his bed, he loved it. I know how it feels to lose a pet, so I feel bad...but on the other hand, I'm relieved. I was getting worried about having two cats and five kids. They were really good with the litter box, only occasional accidents (yuck) but they both had long fur and it was everywhere, and I didn't want to be cleaning up after them and taking care of brand new baby and everything else. They've also be slowly destroying things around the house, knocking things off shelves and tables, poking holes in the curtains, ripping up rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. It was like having another two year old. I wasn't looking forward to cleaning out the litter box, potty training Seth and changing newborn diapers. I know, I know, it can be done and I'm a wimp about it, but I'm glad I won't have to. Joseph has already decided he is getting a dog and naming it Jack. Not sure where the name came from, but I'll let him name the dog before I'd let him name the baby sister.

We've also planted flowers, planted our garden (not too big this year), done other yard stuff, watched a hot air balloon (didn't get there early enough to ride in it =( ), had dentist appointments, played with friends, took off Joseph's bike's training wheels (that kid took off with no hesitation. It's the stopping that's still a problem), learned how to make beds, clean and wash counters, sweep, do a quick straighten of bedrooms, sort laundry, the correct way to fold clothes (!!!), and rinsing out dishes so we don't have food all over the kitchen sink and counter. Yes, we're still working an all that, and Joseph is doing better with his bike than with the broom. At his size, it's to be expected, though. I'd like to get them pretty efficient at all that so the house won't fall completely apart when the baby comes. I've been trying to do deep cleaning too, so I won't have to worry about it when I'm waddling too bad. Also, it's been wonderful weather outside, not too hot or too cool so we've been enjoying having a lawn. Awwww, love the grass.

All in all it's been a pretty good beginning of summer. What's going to happen the rest of the summer? I have no idea, we're taking it one day at a time for now!

Funny Joseph quote: He fell down and came to tell me about it, sobbing the whole time. Then he brightened and said "But I didn't sustain any serious damage!"