Emily's Music Showcase Entry

Emily created this video to submit for the K12 Music Showcase contest.  This probably her favorite song, we hear it almost everyday and Josh was singing it spontaneously in the grocery store.  I love her enthusiasm and smile.  It makes me a little sad she's not in gymnastics anymore, but she picked piano as her top interest :)
Opening credits got chopped off
INTRODUCING...

That's the jazziest lullaby I've ever heard!

It's been a neat experience hearing her learn the simplified hymns this week. 

Super Fun Father's Day Weekend

Having a new sister in law has totally spiced up the fun for our kids at the last family get together over Father's Day Weekend.

 Tifani brought these fun dart guns, a bubble machine, a giant parachute with balls and loads of water balloons so that we could launch a surprise attack on the boys when they returned from their hike up the canyon. But my favorite memory was playing a competitive game of foursquare with the kids and cousins.  I loved this game growing up and haven't played it since grade school.  It was a totally fun and easy way to end the evening and I think we'll add it to our family night fun list.

The Adventures of Joshua

I love preschoolers, even though they can get into some serious trouble and messmaking.  I love their natural delight in everyday life, their funny exclamations and affectionate greetings.

Josh loves to crawl out of bed abour 6:30 and then join us in our bed to catch some more zzzs.  The other day he peeked his head in, saw me sitting up in bed with the lamp on reading and grumpily shut the door.  He did it a few seconds later.  The third time he came in super grumpy and lamented, "I wanted to lay by you."  He was pretty distraught that I had "gotten up" before him and he'd missed out on his early morning snuggle time.  So... I went back to bed for a few minutes :)  He quickly returned to his naturally happy disposition.

 

He loves to change his clothes as much as his sisters and was pretty excited about these "Speed jammies" he spotted at the DI.  But a random assortment of church clothes  complete with tie are definitely his favorite.

 
Next favorite would be his swimsuit.  He is a daring little fish.

 Whenever  I go anywhere he begs to come with... he especially loves the fun orthodontists office.

 His favorite partner in crime lives just down the street.  Yesterday Jared discovered that they had put a few additives in the gas chamber of his fourwheeler... DIRT!  A very sad day :(  They love to speed through the house racing their trucks with sound effects.

When he's not changing up his attire, or prepping for a wedding or anniversary playing "husband" with Alyssa as his bride, he likes to make a quick getaway barefoot on his speedy strider bike which unfortunately ends up locked in the back of the van or on a high shelf too often when he crosses the safe boundaries.

 

 Lately he has decided that his "Best Friend" is Jacob.  He likes to sit next to him in the car, watching movies, or eating dinner.

Laughing Your Head Off

LOST HEAD

   I love how Jacob always makes me laugh.  I was sorting through my "school" cabinet and ran across several of the kids school reports about lions, presidents, book reports debate, etc. I ended up discarding some, but each time I read Jacob's I just couldn't bring myself to throw them away.  Instead of a perfect grammatical organized (boring) report like  I repeatedly regurgitated in my school days, he entertains with his witt.  This picture that he staged on the San Diego trip is indicative of his humor.

We celebrated Jacob's first "teenage" birthday this year by heading to the park for some iceblocking  and bocci fun.  Instead of buying ice blocks at the local gas station, we froze our own in plastic containers and the broad flat shape worked even better!

Triathalon

Jared finished the spudman full triathalon today without any stops! 
But not necessarily without any pain...

He hit his foot on something sharp coming out of the river, but finished the rest of the race without feeling much pain :(

He amazes me with his disciplined healthy eating habits and consistent exercise.  Maybe he'll outlive me afterall.