Summer is here!

It's officially summer now, and with summer came of couple of great traditions. First was a (four hour) drive to Grandma and Grandpa Pauls. Drives go better with an arsenal (iPod) of kid music, and I enjoy hearing the kids sing along.


What a difference an hour makes - by the end of the drive, there is not much to amuse Marina. Although Lincoln is good whenever he can play an iPod.


Once we were at Grandma and Grandpa's, first order of business was to check out Lincoln Lake. Marina loves to play with water on the beach, and I only avoided being soaked by using my most serious 'mom' voice. I am sure in a few years, even that won't work.
Here is Daddy hanging out at the lake with us.
Later that day, the kids helped Aunt Kara wash her car. What says summer more than a car wash?
Marina is one cool chick - whatever she is doing!

We had a great weekend, although Ryan and I both had a touch of a stomach virus for part of it. Then, the kids were off to Maine for the summer. They were so excited, and once again proved to be great travelers. Marina made friends with the other kids on the plane (luckily they were seated right by us). Lincoln tore through some books we got him for the trip (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). The kids are having a great time in Maine and will be home in August.

Once last photo though, Marina really really wants curly hair. So, we tried curlers again. She looked so cute in her curlers, lining up her stuffed friends! Unfortunately, her hair was not dry yet when she went to bed, and she could not sleep with curlers in. We still have not successfully achieved curly hair for her, but I will try again!

Park City and BUGZ

Grandma Valene and Grandpa Bob rented a cabin (a big one!) in Park City for the weekend, so we got to spend lots of time with family lately.Marina, with her cousins Jane and Carter, were playing Walk the Dogs, but decided it would be more fun to just play with the little dogs.
The adults played more than a little Rock Band, so Marina and Kyle decided to get in on a little of that action.
All the girls enjoyed the princess dress up - there were a lot of costume changes throughout the day.
This is when Carter, Marina, and Jane decided that it would be fun to throw things from the balcony into the hot tub below - with their Aunt Karlene and her boyfriend, Jesse, in it!


We all visited the Olympic park at Park City, and toured the ski jumps and bobsled tracks.
All the cousins got into one of the bobsleds for a photo, and there was about one split second before there was crying involved. Here is that quick moment: Marina (left), Alice, Carter, Jane, Lincoln, Kyle, and Ella (with Grandpa and Steve helping out).
Playing on the skeleton sleds.
We all decided to go to Wheeler Farm, and the kids had a blast - here are Kyle and Marina checking out the baby goats.
The Pauls on a wagon ride around the farm.
Marina and her daddy on a smaller wagon.
Lincoln, Jane, Marina and Alice playing in the treehouse. I actually remember that treehouse from field trips when I was a kid. I think my whole class crammed into that treehouse.
The kids were so cute, I was snapping photos for most of the trip. It was difficult to get all the kids in one photo (we did not learn from the bobsled). Between the two photos, you can see most of the kids.
There were 20 of us in the cabin, and the kids had a blast (we did too)






Lincoln had his second grade musical, BUGZ last week. He was an army ant. Here are parts of the program. The flashlight song is called "Fireflies."







Here is the proud army ant.
This is Lincoln's best friend AJ.

This is Lincoln with his second grade teacher - Ms. Jenson.

Butterflies and more

The kids received a butterfly canopy (thanks Bunker and Ducky!), and we finally got some caterpillars to go in it (thanks Aunt Kara!). We watched as the caterpillars ate and ate for a week, then they formed their cocoons. After another week or so, butterflies came out! We watched and fed them for a couple of days and then let them go. Marina named all five of them Goldie.

When we first were letting them go, two of the butterflies were 'connected,' and they were not at all interested in flying away. Ryan and I smirked a little and told the kids that we would have to wait a while before the last two butterflies would fly away, thinking that the kids would not really know what was going on. But Lincoln, took one look at them and said, "Oh, they are mating aren't they?" He watches way too many nature shows not to know what that was all about.



Last week, a morning news anchor decided to broadcast from Frontier Homestead State Park (Ryan's museum), and Lincoln got to go with his dad and be on TV! Here is a shot of him with the anchor, and when I figure out how to get the footage here, I'll post it. Lincoln won a log sawing contest, and received his prize on the air!
Marina has broadened her movie watching in the last few weeks. She and I have watched both versions of A Little Princess (they are known as 'the one we have seen' and 'the one we have not seen,' even though we have seen them both repeatedly). Marina likes that show a lot, but her favorite movie of late is Oklahoma! (the Hugh Jackman version, of course). She asks to watch it with me about once a week and watches it on her own a lot too. Here she is performing one of her favorite songs from the show:



If you can't tell, that was "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No."


I realized that I never posted a photo of Marina's Easter dress, even when I showed Lincoln's Easter clothes. So, here is Marina's Easter dress, only a couple of months late.


For Mother's Day we had a bunch of photos taken, here are a few more. Thanks for a great Mother's Day!

Dance, Dance Baby!

Lincoln decided (the day before!) the second grade talent show that he would participate. He decided to dance. So, last night, he picked a song - a French rap song set to the music of "oh What a Night. He was so brave, and the dancing was a hit!



We have two dancin' fools in the family - here is Marina dancing/helping me clean the house.



Lincoln passed a pretty big milestone this week . . . He learned to ride a his bike without training wheels. He has wanted to do little other than ride his bike since then. Here is the novice speed demon.



Marina has also been enjoying her bike. We go on bike rides almost every night now.



Marina has also decided to change her name to Annika. Just so you all know, if you call her Marina, she will correct you. I am asked several times a day, "Don't you remember? I changed my name to Annika!" I'll have to let you know when she decides to change it back, or changes it to Eunice.

A Trip and a Field Trip

We got to go spend the weekend with the Pauls in northern Utah last week. We all had a great time! With Ryan's dad and sister, we visited a couple of museums in Park City. First, was the Park City Museum. Lincoln, Marina, Will, and Ryan posed for this photo there. The kids got backpacks and helmets, just like the first miners in Park City (almost).
We learned how miners would have to go down amazingly long elevators, how some underground transportation happened, and had a great time!
Next, was the Alf Engen Ski Museum at the Olympic Park. The kids tried out the sled, just to see what it was like.The kids were really good in the car - they really rode in style!

While we were driving, we asked the kids what they would wish for if they had a wish. Marina said she would want a fairy costume and an Easter party. Then she said she wanted to be a mom with two kids, named rainbow and unicorn. Nice. Lincoln's wish was that we stop endangering animals. Very nice.

Lincoln got to go on a a fishing trip with his grandpa, aunt Melissa, and cousin Will. He had fun but his favorite part was when the boat went fast. I don't think you can catch many fish that way. They didn't catch any.

We had so much fun - thanks for a fun weekend!

We let the kids watch movies to go to bed on weekends, on trips, and other exceptions. Marina has caught on to the idea of exceptions, and she asks for one almost every day. Only she asks for an "exsheption." It's so cute the way that she says it, it's hard to say no!

Lincoln had a field trip last week too. He got to go to the Shakespearean Festival's Bard's Birthday Bash. He got to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday by having cake with queen Elizabeth (the first, he emphasizes), doing a maypole, having a tug of war (and winning), and learning about swords and stage combat. He even got to see some other second graders do a 10 minute version of Twelfth Night. We was so excited about that field trip, he got up at 6 a.m. that day!