First Crush

Ethan is attending an awesome summer camp and it has become clear that he has a crush on his adorable counselor, Joey. Joey is 24 and she's a First Grade teacher. The developing story:

"Joey says it's okay if we trade food with other people at lunch, as long as the other person wants to trade."

Another day I found something in Ethan's lunchbox that I hadn't packed that morning. I commented that he must have traded with someone and he said, "Yeah, Joey. She likes the pretzels you packed for me."

Yet another day while packing his lunch: "I want to pack some Dunk 'Ems because Joey likes to trade those with me. She doesn't ask anymore, she just trades what she wants when I open my lunchbox." (I could tell by his small grin that he likes this daily ritual.)

On Sunday I made brownies and asked Ethan if he'd like one in his lunch the next day. He said, "Yes but can you please pack two so I can give one to Joey?"

Then on Monday I knew for sure . . . we were talking about how many colleges there are around the world--SLCC, U of U, BYU, etc. Then my little Ute said, "I don't really care about Utah or BYU anymore, I mean who wins." "Why not?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to act casual and said, "Well Joey went to BYU." He said he still likes the Utes and will wear his red "U" shirt so all is well.

Further evidence . . . pictures from the camp website . . . he adores her and I'm so glad. It makes my heart swell to think of the affection he feels for her and how sweet she is to him.

Emma, where is your _______ ?

Several times this week I found myself looking for items that had mysteriously "disappeared." A few examples: Emma's soccer shorts, headbands, sunglasses, swimsuit, cropped leggings and earrings. I asked Emma if she knew their whereabouts and without a hint of guilt she shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know."

A major discovery was made tonight. We know Emma likes to stuff things, such as stuffed animals and toys, in the crack between her bed and the wall. David told her to clean it up tonight then a few minutes later she asked me to pull the bed away from the wall. Shortly thereafter, I went to check on the progress and this is the pile I saw on her bed.

You can't get the full effect from the picture so I'll provide an inventory of the items she has stashed in the past two weeks:

soccer shorts, 10 headbands, 1 pair of sunglasses, 1 pair of cropped leggings, 1 bikini top, 3 pairs of earrings, 12 necklaces, 1 bracelet, 12 hair clips, 1 hair scrunchy, 6 tubes of lipgloss/chapstick, 2 toy ponies, 1 lego guy, 1 rock, 1 rubber band, 1 dirty pair of pajamas, 3 shirts, 2 dirty socks, 1 pair of leg warmers, 2 stretchy bugs, 1 flip flop, 1 "Emma/Utah" license plate, a box of push pins (emptied), 3 tubes of lotion, 1 hat, 5 sticks of unchewed gum, 4 wads of chewed gum, 2 rice bag/pillows, all the stuffing from a small pillow, the tag from a pillow, about a dozen stickers, chapstick tin, makeup bag, jewelry box, 1 hat, an empty Kleenex box, the wadded up Kleenex from the box, 3 pairs of clean underwear and a black Sharpie.

Emma knew she had been caught. Neither David nor I were angry but she still knew she had been naughty and apologized again and again (especially for the gum). She is a little stinker!

I Gave Birth to Spongebob Squarepants

The new school year is quickly approaching and Ethan needs a new backpack and lunchbox. I opened the Land's End catalog and asked Ethan which color of backpack he would like. "Yellow! I like yellow!" Okay, now which lunchbox would you like? "Yellow!" "Are you sure? These will be yours for a LONG time and I thought your favorite color was red." "Yes! I like yellow!" Then I turned the page to some fleece jackets and guess which color he picked? Of course, yellow! I said, "Ethan, why do you want everything to be yellow?" "Because I LOVE Spongebob!" I ordered the backpack and lunchbox according to his wishes. As for the jacket, I will have to be creatively convincing so he'll be happy with another color. My fashion sense shudders at the thought of monochromatic YELLOW attire, plus I am pretty sure he would get teased by older kids (they can be so mean). So here's to Spongebob . . . whether I like it or not!

Durango 2009

We enjoyed a fabulous trip to Durango - the weather was perfect and we kept busy with all kinds of fun things. I have driven by "Hole 'n the Rock" (shouldn't that be 'n instead of n"?) about a thousand times but have never stopped to check it out. Traveling with kids is a different story so we decided to stop and take a break.
Emma wanted her picture taken next to the pretty flowers.
Our first two nights were spent with my sister's family, the Patchecks. Pictured here are Ethan (7), Mitchell (15), Baylen (11) and Alex (4). I haven't seen them for two years and Mitchell has turned into a handsome young man. His voice has changed and he shaves every other day! They are both as sweet as can be.

They also have a sister, Jessi (15) and brother, Wyatt (12) who are also great kids! My kids LOVED playing with their cousins, riding the 4-wheeler, playing with dogs and cats and drinking Kool-Aid out of big cups. My mom made a special request that I take a picture of all her grandchildren together so she can put it on her computer. What a great bunch to be proud of!

Uncle Michael is an avid hunter and has a number of his prized animals mounted on the walls. Emma was very perplexed by it. She asked him why he shot the bear and he told her he needed something to eat. She said, "Why didn't you open the refrigerator?" She would be running by the bear, stop, look up and say, "I didn't want that bear to be shot!"

On Tuesday we continued on our way for a visit to Uncle Mac (Macky Doodle) and Auntie Sharon's house. The kids were so impressed by the fact that they live ON A MOUNTAIN.

They took us on a lovely walk by this stream, perfect for cooling off hot tootsies. Or if you're a dog, perfect for lying down. That evening the kids picked fresh veggies from their AMAZING garden and Sharon spoiled us with a delicious dinner. She gets a huge brownie point because the kids ate TURNIPS and liked them! Emma sat down to eat and after sampling everything exclaimed, "Yum! There are FOUR good things to eat!" Make that five because we had root beer floats for dessert.

We can't go to Durango without a visit to Main Street. Alex is turning into the jokester of the family. Even though I didn't say to make silly faces, this is what I got. Emma was still trying to figure out if the guy was real. Ethan was ready, just in case.

On Thursday we boarded the train and headed to my aunt and uncle's resort, Tall Timber, where they completely spoiled us. David and Ethan spent the day soaring while my Aunt Judy took the rest of us exploring. She took us to all the perfect picture spots so I could photograph David and Ethan. I'll post some video clips.

David snapped this picture of Emma. She looks so grown up with all that hair.

Other favorite activities were picking wild strawberries (and learning that elk poop is bigger than deer poop), watching the trains go by and throwing rocks into the river. Smashing pennies on the railroad tracks was also exciting. I used to have a collection of flattened pennies--I wonder where they are?

The cute little blondie is Keira, my cousin's daughter. I think that makes the kids second cousins, once removed.

A perfect trip!