Scooby Joe

Joseph loves to eat and he eats all of the time. All of that eating seems to have worked because Joseph is also a very big 6 week old, thus earning himself the nickname, "Scooby Joe"

Are You Sure?

I heard, "Mom, I need a bath." I turned around and this is what I saw.

The Productive Robertson Family

Here are 26 of the 28 Jim and Judy Robertson Grandchildren. They range in age from 14 to 2 weeks. Back row: Jacob Brasher, Robert Brasher, Johnny Robertson, Ruth and Joseph Robertson, Joseph Brasher, Lizzy Brasher and Samuel Robertson, Emma Brasher and Maisy Tarkington. Sitting: Aunt Rebecca with Rockwell and Grace Clary, Matthew Brasher, Mariah Hansen, Rachel Robertson, Adam Robertson, Kate Robertson, Jonathan Hansen, Harrison Morrise, Anya Robertson, Uncle Jeremy with Ada Robertson, Aubrey Hansen, Elijah Tarkington, James and Sophie Morrise, and Joseph Tarkington. The two missing are Henry and Wesley Robertson.

This year was a particularly productive Robertson year. Five babies were born between March 14th and July 29th. From left to right: Maisy Tarkington, Sophie Morrise, Samuel Robertson, Joseph Robertson, and Rockwell Clary.

Yes, I did download these pictures from Rosanne's blog.

Kate Turns 10

Kate turned 10 on Aug 25th. The Saturday before, I took Kate, Ruth , and Johnny to Lagoon (amusement park) for her present. John took her out to lunch on Monday for her special meal, and then she had banana splits for her birthday. But because we have just moved and didn't know that we had no matches, we also had brownies last night so Kate could make her wish and blow out her candle. Happy Birthday, Kate!! You are a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend.

All For Me

When we sang Happy Birthday to Kate, Rachel sang, "Happy Birthday to me."

When John told Rachel they had to save the rest of the rice crispy treats for her brothers and sisters, Rachel said, "But I want to save them for me!"

School Begins

Ruth, Kate, and Johnny started their first day of school in a new state and a new school the morning after we moved into a new home (which we are renting, so it may not be permanent even though we have the highest offer on it). They got to bed around 12:30am and I woke them up at 7:15. We ate breakfast on the kitchen floor. (If Emily had not brought us milk and cereal, and Grandma had not given us paper bowls and plastic spoons we would have had no breakfast. So Thank you family for helping us. Emily also brought us 3 days of dinners and school supplies.) I had registered the kids and taken them to see their teachers and classrooms just the afternoon before. So I think in many ways, I had set my kids up for a very difficult first day of school. here is how things went.

To my surprise Ruth came home from school with a friend and a big smile. Ruth asked if she could go to her friends house to do homework, and since they live right in the same set of town houses and we were still drowning in boxes, I said yes. When Ruth got home she said that she made a lot of friends and that the girls are really nice and friendly. She also said that she loved her teacher. After a week, Ruth has maintained that school is great, she has lots of friends and she loves her teacher. I wanted to mention that before we left Wichita Ruth was praying that when we moved she would be able to find just one best friend that would like sports and not talk about boys all of the time. Ruth had a hard time with the girls in 5th grade in Wichita. They were often mean to her and called her a tomboy because she played football and basketball at recess, instead of sitting with the girls and talking about what boys they liked. This was hard for Ruth not only because it would be hard for anyone, but because these girls were her best friends the year before. Well, this morning, Ruth told me that all of the girls in her class like playing sports. She has been playing tag, four squares, and football with the girls instead of the boys this year. Plus, Ruth's friend, Hannah, who got off the bus with her the first day goes jogging with her. I am so glad that Heavenly Father answered Ruth's prayer. She is so happy here. If we don't stay in this house, we have every intention of staying in this community and school.

Kate came home saying she did not make any friends, she liked her morning teacher, but not her afternoon teacher. I told Kate to give her afternoon teacher another chance to decide if she liked her or not. We also found out that Kate would not talk to any of the girls, so everyday I told her to talk so she could make friends. Now Kate has a couple of friends. She even had a friend over for several hours after school yesterday. One funny thing that Kate told me was while she was sitting with a group of kids, she noticed that they were talking about their wards. She said she was surprised and thought, "You guys are all Mormons!! That is so weird!!!!!!" Kate has also said that she wants to work very hard to impress her teacher because she likes her teacher so well. I think Kate will do fine this year.

Johnny came home and said that his teacher is nice and he has one friend named, Andrew Smith who lives near us. I asked Johnny if any other kids in his class were as ahead as he is, and he said, "Well, no one is as smart as me. The teacher asked us how to get the number 7. I raised my hand and said 100 - 93. My teacher said that I am a budding mathematician. None of the other kids knew that 100 - 93= 7." Johnny also said that the only thing he doesn't like about school here is that his bus ride is too short. He can't even get through an entire level on his DS.

I wanted to mention a couple of the changes in schools. In Wichita, the kids got on the bus at 7:45 and home at 4:20. In Lehi, UT the get on the bus at 7:30 and off at 2:30. The kids love it. I think it is better for them, but I miss my lost free time a little bit. The other real noticeable change is recess. In Wichita it was against the rules to play tag and often the kids weren't allowed to play organized sports because they fought over who would be on whose team and they had indoor recess if it was a little bit cold, too hot, or wet, and they weren't allowed on the playground in the mornings. Here they can play tag and whatever sports they want and they can play on the playground in the mornings. On the whole, I think my kids are happier here.

I'm Back

We have moved into our own place, and it took more than a week to get the internet and the phone running. I am glad to be back online and in touch.

Antelope Island

I wanted to do something fun with my kids on Friday. Things have been stressful with trying to find a home and the kids will be starting a new school very soon. So I wanted to take them all out for a little day's adventure. At first I thought I would take them to Temple square and do that sort of thing, but then I thought that it might be boring. Ruth and Kate had learned about the Salt Lake while we still lived in Kansas, and they were excited to try out floating in the Salt lake. So I decided to take all 7 of my kids to Antelope Island. We packed our swimsuits, sunscreen, and a bunch of snacks and took off for Antelope Island. When we got there, we decided to go to the beach part first and maybe hike near the Buffalo part later. I thought it best for us all to use the bathroom first. The lines were kind of long, so that took about 15 minutes. Then we started down the hill toward the Salt Lake. Unlike most beaches (ocean and lake beaches) I have been to, the parking lot and amenities were very far from the water. I was carrying Baby Joseph, but we hadn't gone more than a few steps when I realized that the sand was too deep for Anya to walk through. So I picked up Anya too. The sand was very deep and hot, and the sun was very hot too. Right away, we were all thirsty. But I had left all of the water bottles in the car because I thought it would be easier to walk back up for drinks and snacks rather than trying to carry everything down. So I carried two kids through thick hot sand, then through hard rocky, prickily salt flats, and then through millions of flies to get to the water. Joseph wanted to eat at this point, so I had to sit on the nasty salty sand to nurse him, while all of my other kids except Anya ran into the water. When Joseph was done, I went into the water carrying Joseph and holding Anya's hand. Anya was excited about the water at first. She ran in, sat down, tried to lay down, but then she got some water in her mouth. Anya then started crying and gagging while I picked her up. I thought, "Well, this is not good for you." I told her to get out of the water. But Anya really wanted to swim, so she repeated the above steps again and again. I kept trying to get her out of the water, but she would not. Ruth, Kate, and Johnny all tried floating in the Salt Lake, and just like they were told, the water has so much salt that it does make you float with no real effort on your part. At first, they thought this was really neat, but after a few minutes Ruth declared that all the salt was making her skin burn. Kate said the same thing, and Johnny said that the water was really disgusting and he just needed a bath. Adam and Rachel still seemed to enjoy splashing around, and they liked that they could wade far into the water and it still did not get very deep. So I let them play a few more minutes before I suggested we go back up to the car. I told everyone to get their shoes on and start walking back. I grabbed up Anya (I was still just carrying Joseph) and decided to get a head start. But Rachel started crying because her feet were too hot from the hot sand. I told her to get her shoes on, but she could bot I find them. I looked for Rachel's shoes, but I could not find them either. So I carried Anya and Joseph up as far as Kate had walked. I had Kate hold Joseph and stand with Anya. Then I traveled back and carried Rachel up to Kate, Joseph, and Anya. Ruth came running up at that point and asked to help me. I gave Anya to Ruth to carry, and then I carried Rachel and Joseph. Ruth was obviously having trouble carrying Anya. So I traded Rachel for Anya. So Ruth carried Rachel piggy back through the yucky salt flats and up the steep hill covered in deep soft sand. I carried Anya and Joseph. Since Ruth and Kate were still saying their skin was burning from all of the salt, Ruth, Kate, Rachel, Johnny, and Adam went straight to the showers. I took Joseph and Anya to the car to get some water and then I drove to the showers and got the other kids. They said that the showers were freezing, but I think that was probably good after the long hot walk back up to the parking lot. After everyone rinsed off a bit, we sat at a picnic table covered in part by bird poop and the kids had a big junk foody snack while I fed the baby again. After I cleaned up the food mess, I buckled my 7 sandy, salty kids into the car and we left. We decided not to do any hiking given that Joseph, Anya, and Rachel could not walk. (Rachel could not walk because she had lost her shoes.) We did drive around to see the buffalo, but we did not see any. So then we drove home through Salt Lake City during rush hour. When we got home everyone took real showers and sat down for a movie. I think the movie was the highlight of the day. I do not think I will attempt a trip like Antelope Island again until all of my kids can walk through deep sand in the hot sun. I'd have to say that while it was hard and not at all fun, Ruth was a very big help with the little kids. She was really like having another adult along. So thank you, Ruthy for making my life easier and happier.

Tagged ABC

I've been tagged by Bethany and finally have a chance to follow through.

A-Z's all about me

A- Age: 33
B- Bed size: Queen
C- Chore you hate: laundry and everything about it; sorting, washing, folding, ironing, hanging, putting away, etc. (I copied and pasted this and it sounds about right, though I have to add cleaning behind the oven as well.)
D- Dog's name: No dog and have officially decided never to get a dog.
E- Essential start of your day: morning chores
F- Favorite color: green
G- Gold or Silver: usually silver
H- Height: 5'9"
I- Instruments you play: Piano
J- Job title: Mom
K- Kids: 7
L- Living arrangements: Will finally have a home of our own again in about 2 weeks and I just can't wait!!!!
M- Mom's name: Pat
N- Nicknames: Deedee
O- Overnight stay in a hospital other than your birth: when kids were born
P- Pet Peeve: dirty sinks and toilets
Q- Quote from a movie: can't think of any
R- Right or left handed: right
S- Siblings: 1 bro, 4 sisters
T- Time you wake up: when my kids do in the summer and 10 minutes before them during the school year.
U- Underwear: yes
V- Vegetable you dislike: peas
W- Ways you drink your coffee: I don't, but I love really dark chocolate hot chocolate
X-rays you've had: lungs
Y- Yummy food you make: spaghetti sauce
Z- Zoo favorites: Gorillas and Lions when they are active

Now pass this on to three friends you want to get to know better.
I am tagging: Becca, Rosanne, and Monika
Have fun!

Adam and Mariah

I finally got some pictures of Adam and Mariah-- thanks to my big helper, Ruthy. Adam has become very good friends with his cousin, Mariah Hansen. Adam has told Mariah that he has powers and she believes him and sticks up for him despite any real proof. Adam is often asking when he can play with Mariah again, and Mariah refers to Adam as "Prince Adam". Everyone thought that Rachel would be jealous. But Rachel loves mariah too, and says that Mariah is a princess like her. They are all such cute kids. We are so glad to have moved close to so many cousins.

Wind Storm Fun

We had a pretty good wind storm that blew down a bunch of branches. Our kids took this storm as an opportunity to create some pretty neat things. Kate with a small amount of help from Ruth and Johnny made the fort and Johnny made this shady hat.

Adam comments during a movie

From a movie we were watching: She said she wasn't hungry.
Adam (sounding a bit surprised): I'm always hungry.

Really Sick

Wednesday night when I got home from a shopping trip, I thought that I must have just really overdone it because I felt really sore and tired. In the middle of the night I woke up freezing. I thought that it could not be a fever because I had taken 800mg of ibuprofin only four hours earlier. But the chills persisted so I took 2 extra strength Tylenol. In about an hour I felt less uncomfortable and went back to sleep. About two hours later I was shaking so bad I could hardly move my body, but I still had another hour before I could take ibuprofin again. This went on all of the next day. I called the OB thinking that I must be getting a breast infection, but they made me talk to the nurse and the nurse just said, "this is common. It will go away in 24 hours." It did not go away. But I realized that I had a very bad sinus headache, so the next morning I went to an urgent care clinic and got an antibiotic. But I still felt very sick most of the day and just laid down until after 7pm when the second antibiotic seemed to kick in some and I felt well enough to sit and talk. This morning I finally woke up without a fever and without a headache. But I still feel really weak. I have not been this sick since 2003. I've never had a fever with a sinus infection before either. I am afraid that I really have done too much after having a baby. I am used to everyone being sick around me all of the time and never getting sick myself, or being so mildly sick that it is hardly noticeable. Anyway, those were a terrible two days, and I feel much more determined to take it easy for another week or two. Everyone always tells me I do too much. Maybe I should listen more.

Joseph Smiles

This morning I played patticake with Joseph and he gave me a genuine smile. So I tried it again just to be sure and he smiled again. About three hours later, we played patticake again and he smiled again. He is such a cute, sweet baby.

Irony

Adam stole a CTR ring from the store yesterday. Of course we had a long chat and had him return the ring. But I had to be very careful not to laugh at the item Adam stole from the store.