Our house

Hurray! We no longer have a dirt yard. This week we had the sprinklers and the sod installed in both the front and back yards. It was a nightmare trying to work with 3 different companies and having to rearrange schedules due to rain but it is now done. We also had the front porch railings painted this week as well. It was a busy week, but I think it looks nice. One day we will finish with plants and all our plans for the back yard but this is how it will be for now.

Lemonade stand

The Kids wanted to do a lemonade stand with the neighbor girls. I do not really like the idea but they were very persistent. The neighbor girls provided the lemonade and we provided the paper cups. They sat on the corner for 30 minutes and made over $10.00! I was shocked. Most of their customers were the construction workers (we have several houses being built around us right now). It was a hot day and I guess they picked a good time. I told them not to expect that big of a profit next time. They split the money and each walked away with about $1.50. My kids never earn their own money so they were sooooo excited!

Summer is here

Summer is here. This is the first time we have been on traditional school since Jacob was in first grade. We are not used to having 3 whole months of fun. I sat down with the kids the day our visitors left and we made up our summer rules and a list of what they wanted to do this summer. It was interesting to see what rules they came up with. One of the rules Jacob thought of was to have to do a variety of things in the day and not play video games or watch tv all day. I was surprised, but was very happy with the idea. He also added to clean his room (only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) which was funny. Alison came up with: making your bed every day and getting dressed before they could eat breakfast (I think I helped her come up with that one since she would stay in her pj's all day if she could). We also decided to do one activity together during the day. Yesterday we went to the neighborhood park (see pictures below). Today we went to the library. So far they are following all the rules but it is still new. We are going to have a great summer.

Fun with Family

We have had so much fun this last week. Ryan and Heather came with Sarah and Becca. Along with my dad. Mom has been here since the beginning of May. We went to Mall of America. The kids thought Nickelodeon Land looked fun. We will have to save up for that one. We did let them play in Legoland for a while. Then spent some time at the Rain Forrest Store where the kids loved the alligator and mist. We ate lunch and window shopped. Jacob bought some games so he was happy.
We also spent a day at Como Zoo and Comotown. Como zoo is free. It is actually pretty big for being free. We all said they had everything we wanted to see except elephants. They also had a sea lion show. We had a picnic lunch on the grounds before we entered the zoo. There is an amusement park attached to the zoo called Comotown. The kids really enjoyed riding rides (especially because we didn't let them at Nickelodeon land). It was really fun.
We really enjoyed having family come and visit us. We played games, watched movies, and ate lots of food. Ali and Sarah were inseperable. Ali cried for a couple of hours when they left.
I couldn't decide what pictures to post, so I did a slide show (below). Enjoy.

Bath time

This is my first child that actually liked her first bath in the big tub. She did not cry at all. It was a quick one because Rylie was trying to climb in and Joshua is sick and wanted me to hold him, but she enjoyed the little time that she did have.

Memorial Day Weekend

Our weekend did not turn out as we had planned. Rylie woke up Saturday morning (May 23rd) with the flu. She was the sickest she has ever been. She could not keep anything down for a little over 3 days. She was so weak she had a hard time holding up her head. She is finally better and is going in for her surgery/dental work this Thursday (June 4)

Alison played outside all day on Memorial day. Darren took them to a ward activity at the park for lunch. She then played the rest of the day outside with the neighbors. I was so busy with Rylie I did not think about Sunscreen. That night she was showing signs of sunstroke. She slept off and on all day Tuesday with a head ache and didn't eat very much. We didn't know if it was the same thing Rylie had but realized what it was when she felt fine the next day.
Poor Josh started with the flu that Rylie had on Friday night (May 29) at the Fathers and sons camp out. Sleeping in a tent with the flu was not fun for him or Darren. He is still sick and we hope he will be better very soon. We are hoping no one else gets this because we have Ryan and Heather's family and Dad coming on Saturday. Cross you fingers.