This Week at Our House #22

1. John and I had our 18th wedding anniversary today. We did sealings in the Salt Lake Temple and then went out to dinner to celebrate. 18 years has gone fast. I think we still feel young except when we look in the mirror.
2. School ended on Wednesday. Thursday was a bit rough because the kids were hungry all day and so I spent much of the day in the kitchen trying to solve that. I am astonished at how much food the kids eat now. I knew that for a long time we had been graced with a small food budget because my oldest two kids are girls. That has changed. To some of my mom friends with many kids on our Facebook group, I wrote "When we were first married, if I made a cake it would sit around for two weeks and then go bad. After we had about 3 kids, it would take a week to eat. Once we had 6 kids, we would eat a whole cake in 2 to 3 days. About 2 years ago, we would eat a whole cake in about a day. Now I have to make 2 cakes and they are both gone in 15 minutes. I have no idea how I am going to manage the summer."
3. Ruth got a 4.0. She has struggled with getting B's in either math or chemistry or both all year and at the end she finally conquered and got straight A's. She's worked so hard all year. Ruth's job began and she is enjoying it. Ruth got her YW personal progress medallion today.
4. Kate helped me in the kitchen all week long. I had a lot of evening activities, so she ended up making dinner about half the week. Kate got a 4.0 too making her accumulative high school gpa 4.0. Kate got her YW personal progress medallion today.
5. I made Johnny go on a 6 mile hike. He did not love it, but I plan to make him do it every week this summer. There are a lot of great hiking spots out here, and I intend to take advantage of them. Johnny got a 4.0 too. I think his accumulative gpa for the 9th grade is 3.996
6. Adam got straight A's for his last term in the 4th grade. He had 80 rocket math sheets that he had to complete to get his last grade up from a B to an A. He did not want to be the only kid in the family with a B.
7. Rachel got all A's too. She worked hard for that. On the last day of school, Rachel had a party at her best friend's house. Rachel had a great 3rd grade year. She started out behind and ended up ahead. She made friends easily, and she LOVED her teacher. 
8. Anya got all A's too. (I like that our school just gives the kids normal grades. It's easier to figure out what the grade means.) She's finished the first grade and is a great reader. She tried to make friends and make an effort to play with the other kids the last few weeks of school. I am so proud of her for being willing to talk about something that was bothering her and then make the effort to fix the problem. I really do have some awesome kids.
9. Joseph got all A's too. I know that we are a nerdy family and focus most of our time on academic pursuits, but I did not expect that I would have so many kids do so well in school. Joseph had a good kindergarten year. He has learned to calm down, sit and listen, and focus and learn better than I could have taught him. 
10. Joshua was kept out of primary today and he had to go to class with me or John. I think he did not like it, but I will be sure to do that for at least a month before I try to send him back. I think he needs to understand that Sunbeams really is a better alternative to Relief Society. But, Josh only wet his pants one day this week. That is truly a big deal!
11. Arwen did much, much better with potty training. She is mostly taking herself to the bathroom now. I reminded her some and she is still having a few accidents. taking her clothes away seemed to be the push she needed. I gave them back when she started going to the bathroom when she needed to. Hopefully, it will just be another week or two. 
12. Suzy can say, "Uh oh, hi, and yeah." She's such a cute little doll and at such a cute fun age.

This Week's Pictures

Kindergarten grad

last day of school cheer (they were tired)

9th grade grad

This Week at Our House # 21

1. I forgot that I had not written anything for last week yet. My mom called and reminded me. John is doing well. 
2. I made it through the last full week of school. The kids had very little homework and we stayed up very late most nights because the sun did too. In a way, we've already begun to enjoy summer. For memorial day, we just stayed home because John needed to work and there would be no room in the mountains to park a 15 passenger van for parking. But we made a fire in our fire bowl and had hot dogs and smores. The kids really enjoyed it, and have asked for more.
3. Ruth got a job. She job shadowed Saturday. She'll be a cook and kitchen gal at an assisted living facility. And she'll be working with her best friend. I think it is all a win for her. It looks like Ruth will have a 4.0 this quarter. She's finally conquering math and chemistry.
4. Kate has had a lot of finals. She is looking forward to being done. Getting her permit and beginning driving is the next thing on her agenda.
5. Johnny got to go to Lagoon day (local amusement park) for all the 9th graders in Davis County. He was seething with excitement as he I dropped him off and came home happy as can be. He's finished the 9th grade at 13 years old and has a 4.0. 
6. Adam said to me that he is not like other boys because he likes guns and sports, but later he said that's not what he meant, but that he did not know how to say what he meant.
7. Rachel loved field day and all of the fun last days of school stuff. She got all A's for the first time. Her first quarter she had all B's and 1 A. She's learned to work hard and study and is now becoming just as competitive as her siblings. 
8. Anya has all A's and she reads really well now. She had an oral book report that she did a great job at. She's relieved that school is out, as we all are.
9. Joseph also got all A's. In fact, he had a 100% in all of his classes except math. He never did his math homework, and I never made him because he is only 5 and since he was getting 100% on all of his tests, there really was no reason for him to have homework at all.
10. Joshua keeps getting kicked out of Sunbeams for playing with the lights or the curtains. Josh has always been good at knowing how much he can get away with. He has a new teacher and knows exactly what to do to get kicked out, so we will not be sending him to primary anymore. All he seems to be learning is how to misbehave. He has always been very tough in church. I will just make him go to the adult classes and not let him have anything fun to do.
11. Arwen was perfect at potty training and then completely relapsed. But once I really push it, I stay in for the long haul. If she poops her pants, I don't let her wear clothes and that seems to be convincing her. Hopefully she'll be willing and get it down in another couple of months.
12. Suzy can stand herself up without holding on to anything and she can stay standing on her own for a little bit. I suspect she is about 2 months away from walking. It's kind of sad. Her babyhood has gone by so fast.

This Week's Pictures

This Week at Our House #21

1. John is doing the web development part for the company he has been working for this year and he really hates javascript and HTML. Like. a. lot.
2. We're getting there... one and a half weeks left of school and only 7 actual school days. Many of the projects and a lot of the performances are done.
3. Ruth had a good week. She's trying to see the positive in herself and her life. She feels like she is finally making some good friends. And she has an A in ap chemistry. Oh and I got to take Ruth and Kate jean shopping and out to dinner. It was so fun. We witnessed a car accident too.
4. Kate's funny and so sarcastic. John and I were wondering who would fill that humor spot in our home when she moves out. We agreed that it would probably be Joseph. When we went out to dinner Kate had a hamburger that she just cannot forget. She feels like she must have more and has reminded me about that everyday.
5. Johnny had his final orchestra concert. It wasn't our favorite because he played the same song that he still had memorized from last year's final orchestra performance.
6. Adam's tall or at least tall-ish. I went to another one of his performance and he is one of the taller 4th graders. That's big for our family since most of the other kids are either the shortest or close to the shortest kids. Adam is on living room duty, which is the hardest chore, because he can be so physical with his siblings. I am also making him repeat to me about 5 times a day why he is being punished.
7. Rachel argued and fought all last week.We're working on it and working and working and working. But she has so much that is good. She keeps buying candy and sharing with everyone.
8. Anya likes to do secret service. She leaves notes and pictures and money or candy or food up on everyone's beds. 
9. Joseph is reading really, really well. His primary teacher was very proud of him because he read a scripture easily without any help and was reverent the whole time.
10. Josh spent the last week drawing pictures of robots. He would disappear for hours at a time and then come out with a large stack of paper full of his robots, each with a name. Some of the names were funny like, vacuum robot 6, or the destroyer.
11. Arwen brought a couple of swords to Ruth, out one in her hand and wanted to sword fight.
12. Suzy gets into the garbage all the time and looks for something to eat. It's a disgusting mess. She's 11 months now, which makes me sad. They grow too quickly.

This Week's Pictures

This Week at Our House # 20

1. John is plugging along and about to get to the part where his job is really hard. His final deadline is at the end of this month and he still has a lot to do. He was originally hired to write a prototype that accurately measures things from photos taken from airplanes and satellites. He finished that, and then they asked him to stay on and get the prototype up and working on the internet with thousands of photos. He said yes, but he has never done front end web development before now. He's learning as he goes. 
2. I had a busy, tiring week. I am definitely counting down to summer vacation. Two and a half more weeks to go.
3. Ruth had pms. Every month for a week she thinks everything in her life is horrible and that she is a miserable failure, everyone hates her, and that she is fat, ugly, and stupid. I am always relieved when that week is over.
4. Kate and Ruth read what I write on my blog every week. Kate said it was not fair that I said all of these wonderful things about Ruth,but just said, she is smart. So Kate's turn. Kate is a hard worker. She had a hard time learning to read and as a result, she learned that she can work hard and still do really well. Kate is oh, so, so good. She knows the scriptures very well.  In Kate's seminary class, each student has to take a turn standing in front of the class, and the kids that want to can raise their hands and say something nice about that classmate. When it was Kate's turn to stand in front of the class, instead of saying how she makes the class better like he has for every other student. He simply said, "It is obvious that you read your scriptures everyday." Well, that may not have made Kate feel all flowery good and loved, but it did make her parents proud. Kate knows that scriptures. I think of this quote from the Ezra Taft Benson manual that says, "The honest seeker after truth can gain the testimony that Jesus is the Christ as he prayerfully ponders the inspired words of the Book of Mormon." And that is Kate. She is an honest seeker of truth, and she has a very firm testimony. Additionally Kate is good. In her seminary class, she raises her hand to say something nice about all of the quiet kids in her class when everyone else doesn't. Oh and Kate and Ruth are on the same pms schedule. For Kate her whole life isn't awful, but people definitely irritate her.
5. Johnny's such a good boy. I ask him to do a lot and he just does it without complaint.
6. Adam had his end of the year art and music program. John and I snuck into his class when he did not know and we saw him flirting terribly with a girl. Whenever the teacher was not looking, he would tell her to punch him in the stomach. She would and Adam would proudly act as if it did not hurt him. That was awesome to see. (Spying on your kids can be fun.)
7. Rachel is just fun to watch on stage, She dances and sings with vigor.
8. Anya told me that she is trying to make friends by playing with the other kids. She is just very shy. I am glad that she trying to get out of that so that she can have the friends she desires.
9. Joseph was funny to watch on stage because he was just so much himself. Between songs and when he just had to stand still, he did not. He wiggled and fidgeted and touched the kid beside him. But when the music was playing and he was supposed to be singing and dancing, he did just that. He sang and danced with all his might.
10. Josh loves and needs lots and lots of physical affection. That little boy just loves to hug and kiss and cuddle a ton.
11. I potty trained Arwen this week. I think that in another week she will have it down perfectly. She tells me when she has to go already. She pooped on the floor Monday morning, but told me when she had to go every other day. She wet her pants a few times on Monday, but only once the other days. She stayed dry during church and even told me when she had to go. This is such a relief after potty training Josh who still pees his pants on a regular basis.
12. Suzy likes to sneak off by herself and play in quiet places. I think that must have something to do with being baby # 10.

This Week's Pictures