The Boys' Backyard Adventures

This week was HOT! Really hot!!! It has been in the high 90's, but with the humidity, it's been well over 100, and just suffocating when ever you walk out the door, even at 11 o'clock at night! So there is only one thing to do when it is that miserably hot out- play in the water!

The kids had a fun day outside yesterday. We were watching some of our friends kids since they are moving soon and needed some uninterrupted packing time. And then our neighbor, Javin, came over when he saw the big inflatable blowup slide go up, so he stayed and played as well. Paul stayed pretty busy keeping the kids wet, wiggly, and wild! It's a great way to pass a hot day!

The downer to the afternoon was when Harry slipped on our wood floors and did a "Megan" by catching himself with his face, instead of his hands : ) I did that when I was 7 and broke my front teeth when I fell! Luckily, it was just his chin that did all the work, so it wasn't quite so hard to fix! We used a trick that the ER doctors taught us in McMinnville when Paul split his lip open: Superglue! It binds it quick and as it heals, just falls off like a scab. So Harry has a little bandage on his chin, but came out better than we thought! Especially since it bled pretty heavily at first and pulled about 1/2 inch open since it is on his chin. He was relieved to not need a needle and thread!

Eli just got to play for a little while outside since he was too little to climb up the slide, but he loves to sit outside and eat Mr. Freezes until his little hands go numb! He is a Popsicle eater through and through! Here is a photo of him climbing on the table. What a sweetheart!




We received some news this week, as well. Paul is doing a management training program that generally requires 3 rotations to 3 different divisions of John Deere. We did his first rotation here in North Carolina. And it has been a wonderful year! We anticipated doing our next rotation here as well, but he got word from a new water development group near San Diego, California, that they would like him to join their team. One of his co-workers from his first assignment in Moline, IL, just joined the group a few months ago and has recommended Paul for a rotation there. And while moving closer to family has always been appealing, if it meant moving close for a year, but then moving again, it just seemed a little too unstable for the kids and me.

But after speaking with the management there, it seems that there is a high chance that Paul could do his second rotation there and then skip his third rotation and just join the group permanently after the year is up. So we can move closer to family, and most likely make it a permanent move! That is something we feel really good about. And when we asked Harrison what he thought about moving to the beach he said,"Would it be closer to Pa and Punka's house?" When we said yes, he was thrilled and asked if we could move "this day!" We haven't made a final decision yet, as we still need to fly out there and meet with the group and check out the area, but it is something we are going to seriously and prayerfully consider and are excited about the choice! Harrison seems pretty sure that it is the right choice seeing as he announced today in primary that he is going to be moving to the beach : ) I guess we will see...!

Harrison at the Primary Talent Show

This week we had our ward Primary talent show and it was pretty fun to see all the cute and creative things that the kids did. Paul and I asked Harrison what he wanted to do for the talent show. He asked if he could give the Pledge of Allegiance again, and I said that he should probably show one of his other talents since he showed that one last year :) Here is a glimpse from last year. So after we talked about some different things Harrison could do, he decided he wanted to sing a song. And Paul had an idea. He thought Harrison should sing the song that every girl in North Carolina loves: Carolina Girls! Please note that the song refers to girls that live in North Carolina, NOT girls that go to the University of North Carolina! We are definitely still avid Duke fans : ) It is one of Harry's favorite songs to listen to when we are driving, so he already had most of it memorized. But he didn't want to sing it all by himself. So we asked if Brigham and Eric Aldrich would like to sing it with him since they are his best friends. Then we asked the two girls that Harrison is best friends with to walk past the boys while they sang the song so that the song could be directed at them. It was a hit, and everyone was talking about it afterwards. They were just priceless, and so innocent about their performance. I thought it was adorable. So here is Harrison's online debut! Sorry- the video is too large to post! You'll have to just see it in person some time!

This is a first!

So, here I am typing my first blog post and all I can think of is that I swore I would never do a blog! And yet, here I am :) I guess it is mostly because there has been so much hype among my friends here about blogging, and I have just wanted to stay out of it! But I have wanted to do a blog for my family because there just isn't a better way to keep in touch with each other when we are so far apart. And I think it is so much easier than scrap booking, not that I have ever attempted that, either! So for all of you far away, this is for you!

Also, I have so appreciated Jaime and Andrew Vance's (Paul's cousins) updates on Jared and his tumor removal. It really seems that in keeping a record of your family, it is easier to recognize the blessings in your life, and to keep a clearer perspective on life. I have also thought so many times that if something were to happen to me, I would like our kids to have something besides my journal that only talks about my life. This way, I would talk about us together.

With that being said, please don't laugh at my attempt to keep you all up to date with our family! I am not good with words, and I am not very computer savvy, either! But hopefully I can figure the basics out!