We have been super busy living our best summer life this past month! When we got back from Hershey Sean got started right away with Granger and it was clear from the very first day that he made a great decision. He was excited that they gave him a nice backpack and have ordered him a bunch of work shirts with grangers logo on them.
Brett and Eli have spent HOURS building all sorts of fun creations. This was Brett's rocket ship.
Sean and I worked on cleaning out and organizing under our stairs and I found this sweater my Grandma Webb made me. Alana looked so cute in it!
We had planned a camping trip with our neighbors the Ellis' a few months ago, but as it got closer and closer we chickened out and decided to do a fun day extravaganza. We started the day with a trip to the bowling alley because we had a flier that said kids bowl free, but then of course we still had to rent shoes. We had a ton of fun and Sean bowled worse than he ever has and was very funny about it! I was the only adult to use bumpers and I am confident in my need for them. After we bowled we decided to do a game of laser tag. Then we went to Pizza Pie Cafe for lunch and ate so much yummy food especially the dessert pizza. We came back to our house and played the gingerbread house game while the kids played, then we did some tie dye. It was very fun but we were a little bummer that we forgot to prewash the shirts. we made a huge mess of our hands and then we grilled up some yummy burgers and hot dogs for dinner. The kids kept playing and we talked with Nick and Kari for a long time. Nick told us super hilarious stories about snooping on people and Kari acted completely shocked. I am so grateful they are my neighbors!
We went to dinner with our friends the saffrons and I had the biggest baked potato in my life (I was a bit sad it wasn't more cooked, but the pulled pork on top was delicious!) We chatted and then went to their house to play some games. The next day Lizzie wanted me to curl her hair for church and it turned out so cute. As we were sitting in Sacrament Meeting I noticed that her tooth looked funny, I touched it and it was about to fall out! I didn't even know it was loose and it happened so early! She wiggled it all day and finally at bedtime she let me pull it out. Alana also lost a tooth that day!
The kids love making art with spaghetti noodles:
Alana took this picture of us one night because she thought we were cute =)
Part of cleaning out under the stairs has included getting out all the retro game systems and having them out on display and for playing.
Sean has a super fancy office which he mostly uses for lunch:
Here are his patient rooms.
His fancy office with his fancy view
Here is his station right outside his rooms and right next to his MA Tara, where he actually does his work.
These kids are goofs!
Hair cut!
Brett lost another tooth super late one night and came up to us kinda tearful. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the growing he's been doing. He ended up sleeping with us that night and I was grateful for our king size bed.
Setting up a train in the kitchen:
I baked an apple pie for Pioneer day. We had Mom and Dad Z and Mom and Dad P over for a nice lunch and some fun disneyland shows.
The kids also decorated little cakes since they don't like pie:
Doing hair after baths:
Breaking boards in karate:
My Uncle Gary (Moms oldest brother) passed away. My parents went to Missouri for the funeral and didn't have time to get Winston in a pet hotel. We decided to try and keep him here at our house. They fought for the first few minutes Winston was here but they figured it out and were able to start playing and having fun together. It was really cute to see them play together so much. They got the bare minimum amount of sleep so that they could spend as much time as possible wrestling =) Oreo had a bit of stress with resource guarding, but we were able to keep enough of both dog food out that they could both have as much as they wanted. Winston took turns sleeping in the kids bedrooms which they all enjoyed a ton! We discovered three of Winstons teeth had fallen out after he left which was fun and Winston did a pretty good job at using the backyard as a bathroom (although the loft and basement seemed like great places to poop and he peed on Alana's bed once). Alana loved playing with both dogs and especially loves taking Winston on walks. We were all excited when my parents came home and Sean and I took Winston to the airport to pick up my parents.
Lizzie had her friend Millie over for a playdate and they helped make some no bake cheesecake.
I made this blanket for my nieces 12th birthday:
They would get so tired but still wanted to play so they'd just lay there and wrestle:
Grandma and Grandpa sent home rock candy from Missouri. My parents were unfortunately
exposed to covid on their trip since my Uncle Dean turned up positive after he got back to Utah. My parents were both tested twice because my mom was having lots of awful cold symptoms, but luckily they were both negative. We still didn't visit for over two weeks though because my mom felt so crummy and we didn't want to share germs. We missed them a lot!
The world has been so chaotic and crazy! There have been some terrible fires in California and we have had so much smoke in the air. There were crazy winds and rains last week (worse than I've ever experienced) And even with the storms there was still smoke. The corona virus has a new variant called Delta which ravaged India a few months ago and has now spread the the USA. We have gone back to masking in public indoor places to especially protect our kiddos who aren't eligible for vaccines yet. The ICUs are full, the cases are high, and the deaths are piling up again in our country. Its heartbreaking and even more heartbreaking that wearing masks and vaccinations are so politicized that people can't stop arguing about all of it. The US left their occupation of Afghanistan this past week as well and they have been there helping the government keep peace for 20 years. As soon as they left the Afghani government fell and the Taliban took back over. People are fleeing for their lives and their are huge concerns for the safety of the citizens especially the women who are treated so poorly under Taliban rule. It all feels so heavy and I can't help but hope the Savior will return soon and bring peace.
The kids have been crafting with cardboard again and have made ships, airplanes and busses for their stuffed animals.
Glasses because of the smoke. I am so grateful for contacts. Glasses give me a headache and make me dizzy.
We hired a trainer named Taylor to come help us with some problem behaviors with Oreo. She came to our home for five 1 hour session. She taught us about reading Oreos emotions better to help him be successful with the anxiety he feels. She taught us how to heel ( which is challenging still and we need more practice). She also taught us the command place. I had already taught Oreo that when the doorbell rang he was to go in his crate and I would close the door. But he would often bark at the person when they came in and and as soon as I let him out he would run over and pee because he was so scared. He would also become aggressive some because of his fear and anxiety. Taylor taught us the "Place command". We direct Oreo to this little cot and he is to rest there until he is released with the command "break" He understood the concept very quickly and has been practicing when people come over and when the doorbell rings. The hardest time for him to hold place is when kids run to the backyard and so we still need to stand fairly close and reward often when we have extra distractions like kids. He is doing so well though and we are so proud of him. He has worked on his come and stay commands as well as "leave it" with other dogs and people on walks.
Another Winston tooth:
Going to the splash pad for the first time this summer...oops!
Oreo even went with me and the kids to the park during a pretty non busy time and he did so well at sitting or laying next to me and leaving other kids alone. He didn't pull or tug, but just stayed close for the most part. It was challenging when another dog came because he really wanted to go check it out but he listened and left the dog alone.
The kids all did one more round of art camp in July. Alana did a famous Artist camp, Brett did a caterpillar camp and Lizzie did the Little Caterpillar Camp.
Here is a butterfly by Brett:
Dot art by Alana:
Flower by Lizzie I think:
Splaters by Alana:
Balloon family by Alana:
Heres Oreo with his trainer Taylor:
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