Saturday, July 14, 2012

Piercy's Blessing Day

Yes, we've been calling him Piercy.  Almost exclusively.  Either that or Piercy-Piercy-Piercy-Pierce.  Sometimes Pierce-olas (short for Pierce Nicholas).  I don't imagine that any of those names will stick past puberty.  Better call him them while I still can.

Pierce was blessed in church two weeks ago.  For those of you not of the LDS faith, this is our equivalent of a christening.  Being summer, much of the extended family that would normally attend this occasion were out of town, so we had a nice, quiet day with just the grandparents.  Nick's grandpa along with an aunt and uncle attended the service and blessing, but were not able to stay for dinner afterwards.

Scheduling a blessing is always a little risky.  You never can be sure that the baby won't cry through the whole thing.  We tried to have him well fed and rested at the moment of, and he did very well.

I can't say as much for his behavior at picture time.  Well, he's in them.  That's what counts.
 Usually, the father of the baby pronounces the blessing.  Nick did a beautiful job.  All in all, it was a perfect moment to be a mother.
Dinner afterward was so nice.  A small crowd, if such a thing exists.  At some point in the planning, I realized that this dinner would be just a few days before the Fourth of July, so I pulled out a Pinterest board and made a star-spangled watermelon salad.
Dinner was really good, and I don't mind saying so.  My mom asked what time dinner would be tomorrow.  I told her it would be any time if she planned on staying until then.  I had a mountain of laundry that we could fold in the morning.

Before I knew it, my mother-in-law had the whole group folding loads and loads worth of the sweet-smelling stuff.  I was a little disheartened as a hostess, but overwhelmingly grateful as a mother of four. In fact, I am ready to host the same kind of dinner party right now if you get my meaning.

For dessert, there were red, white, and blue rice crispy treats.
And Fourthy-Festive, personal size Trifles.
I let the kids construct their own, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
 Rigby is pointing to the features of the face on his.  In keeping with the theme, let's say that it is Paul Revere's face.  Or James Madison's.
 Bethelle quickly topped hers with a face after seeing Rigby's.
And Curie's face (and hair) pulled this little number all by itself.  Good thing I had a camera handy.  Love those crazy curls.
Thanks to the grandparents for making this day extra special for all of us.

Summer Fun in the Backyard




Father's Day

I would like to start this post with, "Happy Father's Day to the greatest father a kid could know!" but it's not Father's Day any longer.  However, the rest of that sentence remains true.

For the occasion, the three big kids and I made German pancakes and a breakfast fruit salad (for the record, the only difference between a breakfast fruit salad and a regular fruit salad is the time of day that it is consumed).  He opened hand-crafted cards and presents from us all.
Bethelle made this plate for him at school.
And this little Nick-ditty contained a picture holder that she made.
Rigby had the honors of telling him that he and Bethelle had been working on something for him for weeks.  They had spent hours and hours weeding a section on the side of the house and trying to keep him away from their pile when he was home.  Their idea and effort were really touching.

That evening, we went to my parents' for dinner.  It was the first large family gathering we have had in their new home.  It was a gorgeous day to eat on the deck, which overlooks a beautiful wetland greenbelt.  Among other things, I gave my dad a Costco-sized box of York peppermint patties.  Last year, I had given him a grocery store sized bag of them.  How will I up the York-ante next year?

Friday, July 13, 2012

Uncle-Love

Nick's brother, Kyle, had a little birthday gathering with some particularly cute children, so it must be documented.

The cake:
 The kids:
Playing dress-up:
And I am saving this one for her wedding reception reel.

Fathers and Sons

Each year, the men from our church take their sons on a campout.  I'm not sure when or where the tradition started, but I always looked forward to it.  On that weekend, my mom and I would craft together or go shopping in some little town that my brothers would loathe.  Then we wrapped up the evening by meeting my aunt and her daughters at Plush Pippin for some delicious pie.

Now it is Nick's turn to take our son (just one for now), and I am left to manage the girls and baby.  He and Rigby went last year for the first time.  Since then, this annual outing has become the highlight of Rigby's young life.  He talks about it weekly.  There was rain in the forecast this time around, but there was no way that Nick could get out of going.  He knew a little heart that was set on it.

As you can tell from the pictures, the weather actually behaved nicely for them.  There was something of a torrential downpour when they first arrived, but the clouds worked themselves out and eventually gave-way.

Here is one happy kid roasting a marshmallow.  That is my favorite smile.

Nick and Rigby took some friends, Adam and Beckett, with them.  They palled around together for most of the campout.  At night, Beckett (five years old) told a ghost story that Nick could not quite recall exactly.  It had something to do with zombies and kidnappings and the moon, I believe.  Then Nick told a ghost story that went like this:  "One day, Rigby and Beckett went camping with their dads.  At night, they snuck out of their tents and went down to the river.  It was very dark.  Rigby and Beckett fell in the river and drowned.  The end."  The point was taken.  Everyone slept well.  Or, as well as could be expected in a tent.

I was not there, of course, but I think these next pics were taken the following morning.  I'd like to narrate them for you, but I'll have to let the pictures do the talking.



And what of "girl night"?  With the baby in tow, I decided to save the tradition of pie at a restaurant for another year.  I took my little crew to Fred Meyer, where we picked up some treat ingredients and a movie.  We came home and watched the Chipmunk Squeak-quel with smoothies.  In the morning we had pancakes and made cookies.  The girls seemed pleased at not being included in the camping.  We'll do pie the first year that Pierce is deemed old enough to camp.  Any of you ladies out there are welcome to join us!

Last Day of School(s)

Again.  Late.  I know.

But I am catching up.  Someday we will be live again.

 Bethelle's school wrapped up the year with a family carnival.  It was not technically on the last day of school, but who's keeping track?  I again stayed home with Pierce, but when Nick and Grandma Patsy brought my original three back home to me, they were wild with prizes and painted cheeks.  I'm sure this will be an annual event for us.


On the actual last day of school, I waited as usual for the bus at the usual time.  But there was nothing usual about the bus.  As it neared, there were bubbles lifting away from it, and we could hear the emanating screams from a good distance.  Apparently, the kids have to keep relatively quiet all year, so they get to let it all loose on the last day of school.  Man, can they scream!

Here is the crew from our street on the last day.  Looking good, ladies!
 Rigby's Joy School also wrapped up with a final event: a picnic, concert, and graduation ceremony at a park.  Pierce was not formally "out" yet, so this was a chance for some of my friends to see him for the first time.

Curie seemed to think that she was one of the students, but that was cute and no one minded the way she joined in.
Does anyone else have trouble getting their kids to eat when there are friends and fun to be had?  We loaded up plates of hotdogs and veggies, only to throw them away after being abandoned by the kids and embraced by flies.  Of course, everyone was hungry in the car as we left the picnic!

The kids sang a couple songs for us.  This clip is a couple minutes long, but I suggest listening to the first song.  It is very simple and sweet, but I get choked up thinking of the message of the song.  It's so true!
Here is Rigby receiving his diploma from one of the moms.  This preschool program is a co-op that rotates through our homes.  Each mom teaches for a week, then passes it all to the next mom.  It has been great for Rigby, as he seems to be my least adventurous at this age.  He is able to get out a little, but also to stay home some and know that I am a part of what he is doing.  Big thanks to Janea, below, for organizing us all and keeping us on track.  That was her lovely voice and guitar in the earlier video as well.


 Next year, Rigby will just miss the cut-off for kindergarten, so we have decided to do Joy School again with many of the same kids.  Curie will be old enough to officially join!  She is thrilled.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Memorial Day

Late, I know.  It was weeks ago.

On Memorial Day, Pierce took one of his first outings.  We introduced him to his great-grandparents, in a Memorial Day way.
Bethelle knew my grandma well and remembers her passing.  Rigby can only look at the pictures of her holding him as a baby.  Not even Nick met my other three grandparents, who all died just months before he joined the family.

Grandfather was a veteran of WWII and now resides in a beautiful veteran cemetery, just a few minutes from our home.  The stones were all adorned with flags.  We brought the flowers.

 We had a good talk with the kids about quiet respect.  They did pretty well.  I hope that it made a lasting impression.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Costco with Four

I thought it would be hard to to my shopping with four kids. Then I got an iPhone.  I just pass it to them.

Easy.





It Just Happens Sometimes

Some people have all the luck.  Like this girl.



A Day at the Drive-in

I have four children, one of which wants to be held all the time. Make that "two of which." You can imagine how easy it is to keep my house clean. Saturdays are vital.

As an end of the year party, Bethelle's class hosted a drive-in movie party. Each student made a car at home to watch their movie in.

It took four of us all day to construct, paint and decorate the car, but it was a day well spent. Everyone was so happy in the project. I guess I should do things like this with them without being compelled by a teacher.

But then again, the house was messy for an extra week. Sorry, you don't get pictures of that.