Bear Lake with the Iversons

We just got back from our big summer trip to Utah. We got to go to Bear Lake with Ben's family for their bi-annual reunion -- and almost all of us were there (we missed you, Paul and Brooke!). Let me tell you, the Iversons sure know how to throw a party!

New babies - Sam and Michael are 2 months apart, but they're wearing the same size! By coincidence, they ended up wearing identical outfits 3 times!

Ellis was spoiled with his own king size bed. Look how he chose to use the extra space.

Minute to Win It - we were the yellow team.

You would think that between Ben, me, and our gene pool, we would be able to conjure up enough physical skill and coordination to get at least 4th place (out of 5). Well, you'd be wrong!

We had fun anyway.

Woo hoo! Waterskiing on scenic Bear Lake!

Is that David Hasselhoff, by chance?

And wave running!

Henry's first time tubing. He was fearless!

At many moments 90% of the children were mesmerized by the TV. I loved how all of them got into Just Dance, even when it wasn't their turn.

Highland Games! Dan braved the kilt and showed off his AMAZING Scottish accent for this fun activity and tribute to Mom & Dad Iverson's mission.

We thought it was appropriate that this purple thistle (Scotland's official flower for significant reasons) was growing on the grounds of our Highland Games.

Wow! Who is that lady with the impressive Caber Toss skills?

These darling girls (mostly Sierra) offered to hold Sam about 4,000 times over the course of the week. He loved it!

Check out the three babies born this year: Samuel, Michael, and Sadie. This is why we appreciated Sierra so much. There was a lot of baby-holding involved with these three around.

Here's the whole group! I feel so lucky to have been adopted into this family!

July 4th on Cape Ann

So. We think we found the loveliest place to spend the 4th of July weekend.

We went up to Gloucester (say "Glosta"), MA after church on Sunday. We were delighted to have the Cooks join us for the fireworks (which almost got rained out, but the show went on and we made it just in time), and then to stay overnight at a little oceanside inn that night. The kids had a lot of fun running around the balcony and eating treats!

Then, for the 4th, we did a little touring of Cape Ann. We have felt surprisingly homesick on July 4ths of past years, so this year we decided to try something completely different that still felt patriotic. What could be more patriotic than taking full advantage of the beautiful country we live in?

Eastern Point lighthouse in Gloucester (the boys lugging their rocks to throw in the water)

Family picture by Jamie

Jamie and Bryson (I was impressed with their whole family's adorable red, white, and blue ensembles)

Actually, I was the only member of my family not wearing the patriotic trio of colors (my "nursing body" wardrobe is still pretty limited)

Just try to call that scene non-patriotic.

Rockport, MA (sigh). A place that just brims over with beauty. Seriously. Everything about this place was charming and delightful.

This red building is the oft-photographed "Motif #1."

Lovely small beaches here and there. We weren't equipped for a beach day, but it made for a nice dipping of the toes after being out in the heat all day.

Wandering around Bear Skin Neck. This place is a perfect balance of little shops, ice cream and lemonade suppliers, and little alleyways that provided glimpses of gorgeous ocean/sailboat views.

A very conscientious mother allowed her son to eat an "elephant ear" for lunch (basically just pie crust and cinnamon sugar). It was really yummy. And my camera had a big smudge on it.

Reward at the end of the street for the reluctant shopper set.

This seagull posed for us, so I snapped a picture (notice his lunch of fresh lobster. jealous?).

This very nutritious boy topped off his lunch with a patriotic cupcake.

And a blueberry Gatorade. (patriotic tongues - almost competing with Jamie's cute outfits)

The quarry (filled with water) at Halibut Point State Park (see the tower in the background? We wanted to climb to the top for an ocean view, but we were too late).

The boys heroically scaled the slippery rocks to get to where they could throw their little rocks in the ocean (as promised earlier by Mom & Dad).

Posing with Mom so everyone can see how cute Sammy looked in his Red Sox hat and little kangaroo pouch all day. People wanted to talk to him everywhere we went! He loves this position, because he can not only suck on his fingers, but his toes as well (his toes looked like raisins by the end of the day).

And don't miss Henry's new classic - the flamingo pose!

We haven't made any promises, but on the way home, Ben and I couldn't help but make plans for how to make this an even more perfect 4th of July trip for next year. It seems like it would be a perfect tradition, especially if we could have stayed in Rockport for the parade that night.

Would anyone care to join us? If so, reserve your spot now!

A Really Cool Story (with lots of exclamation points)!!!

One amazing Saturday morning, two adorable little boys woke up to find a secret note on their fridge.

They ripped open the note and started on a treasure hunt!

Upon reading each note, they did their morning chores at Lightning speed, racing to find the next note!

The final note instructed them to "eat losers for breakfast." I . . . am . . . SPEED. They raced downstairs and found CARS 2 CEREAL IN THE CUPBOARD! Inside the box were three tickets to the movie Henry has been waiting YEARS to see! Cars 2! It was amazing. They got to go to the movie theater with the coolest dad ever!!!

And their mom got to go swimsuit shopping with only one baby.

And they all lived happily ever after.

THE END.

Joy School Graduation

Ah, Joy School.

The very thought of it, to be honest, just makes me feel very very tired. It's kind of wearing on a mom to plan and carry out 3+ hours of "joy" for six 5-year-olds, three days in a row. I really am feeling slightly lethargic sitting here recalling the late nights of cutting out pictures, making shapes on the floor with masking tape, cutting drinking straws and toothpicks into 1/2-inch segments, and practicing the actions for silly little songs. And then after the late nights, the long days of one joyful activity after another with six little ones each trying to talk louder than the others. And then, when they all go home and you're ready for your nap, you still have to be a mom for the rest of the day (and plan for tomorrow!).

Was it worth it?

To see how much Henry (and Ellis) thoroughly LOVED Joy School, I would have to answer with a resounding "definitely."

Henry never once complained about going to Joy School, and he never asked to stay home (which is saying something because he complains about going ANYWHERE else). I think he loved his friends and his teachers; he loved being in nurturing homes and learning fun and meaningful things.

Ellis loved being an honorary Joy School student every time it was at our house. He loved sitting on his special circle mat and singing the songs with all of the other kids. They all treated Ellis like he belonged at Joy School, which made him feel special.

The picture above is of Henry and Ellis singing their favorite Joy School song (Willie Winkie Went a Walkin') at the graduation ceremony.

Here is Henry with his diploma and report card! Never again will he be able to get good grades for learning about sharing, honesty, and trying new things!

Here is the joyful bunch!

And the silly pirate version . . .

Family photo time!

I will say that (despite my grumpiness at the top of this post) I really loved Joy School too and feel like it was the perfect thing for us. Once everything was prepared and the teaching was actually in motion, it was so much fun to see the kids in learning mode, be part of the action, and sort of act the part of the Super Mom who actually plans fun activities to do with her kids. I will miss lots of things about Joy School as my little boy enters Kindergarten next year. More on that later . . . (trying not to think about it just yet!).

4 Month Sammy

Doesn't this just look like the kind of guy you want to be friends with?

He's 4 months old

He's adorable

He's irresistibly kissable

He's content and happy most of the time

He's starting to laugh (the cutest, tiniest little sighs of laughs)

He makes friends everywhere he goes

He's making me want to rethink the phrase "I'm not a baby person."

Did I mention that I really really love him?

Secret Agent Ellis

I have to follow up the post about Henry's imagination with a quick nod towards Ellis' own ingenuity. Thankfully, Ellis has not yet entered in to any Why or What If phases just yet. Instead, he loves to pretend that we are all other people. Recently, this means that each morning he will assign one of us the identity of one of the Apostles, or, in Jenn's case, one of the Relief Society, Young Women, or Primary General Presidency members. Today, for example, I was Elder Holland, Henry was Elder Nelson, Ellis was President Uchtdorf, Sam was Elder Cook, and Jenn was Sister Wixom. If we aren't prominent Church figures, we're often U.S. Presidents (Jenn gets to be my first lady!). Ellis is good at this game. He never forgets who anyone is, and if he catches you calling someone else by their real name, rather than their assumed identity for the day, watch out! He will insist that your correct yourself and repeat the entire sentence with the correct alias. I swear this kid's going to be a double agent when he grows up.

Aside from apostles and presidents, Ellis has cycled through a few other great sets of characters for us all to be. A few of these actually lasted for days on end; Ellis would wake up in the morning and instantly be in character and would expect the same from us. He's a professional. Anyway, here's a list of some of the good ones:

- Leo (Ellis), Quincy (Henry), June (Jenn), Rocket (Ben) (from Little Einsteins!)

- Woody (H), Buzz (E), Jessie (J), Bulls-iah (B) (Toy Story--note that the horse is really named "Bulls-eye"!)

- Father (B), Mother (J), Son (H), Bomgwomgwomgwom (E)

- King of the Dinosaurs (B), King of the Dinosaurs (J), Henry (H), King of the Dinosaurs (E)

- Ben (B), Jenn (J), Henny (H), Ehngph (E)

- Puffin (B), Vulture (J), Finch (H), Penguin (E) (I love that Jenn, of all of us, was Vulture)

Between this, and Henry's What Ifs, you can imagine the kind of circus we're living in around here! And yes, I love (nearly) every minute of it.

What if?

Long-time readers of our blog might remember a classic post that Jenn wrote a couple of years ago entitled "Why Me?" When I put our posts together into a Blurb book a few months ago, I re-read that post and Jenn and I have been laughing about it ever since. I'm happy to report that the "Why?" questions have died down considerably over those two years (although they could be just around the corner again if Ellis follows in Henry's footsteps), so we can now look back and laugh at the hilarious things we were forced to explain to a 3-year-old.

Unfortunately, the Why Phase has been replaced by another, perhaps worse one: the What If Phase. For those of you that haven't yet had the pleasure of living with a child in the What If Phase, let me give a brief description. Your 5-year-old has an imagination that knows no bounds, and NEVER stops. He has decided that the best way to use this imagination is to conjure up wild scenarios, precede them with the phrase "What if..." and then DEMAND an answer from his parents. He will not rest until he has gotten some response. It is his quest in life to know exactly what you think would happen if that wild scenario actually took place. It does not matter if his parents are trying to talk to each other, deal with another screaming child, navigate a new area of Boston, purchase groceries, or flee a burning house. He needs to know, NOW. When your child is in the What If Phase, you can say goodbye to uninterrupted anything.

But the real problem with the What If Phase is that there is no good answer to the questions your child asks. Jenn and I collected a sample of the What Ifs that we have gotten over the past 72 hours or so. How would you respond to some of these?

What if...

- it was 2,000 and a zillion degrees?

- 22 million ants and 1 queen plus 32 quadrillion queens plus 32,000 workers went marching in to town?

- there was an intersection with way more than 4 roads, and you were just driving in circles in the middle of it?

- there was a place that had no moon or stars?

- the boss of the Motts Company told everybody in the whole company they were fired?

- there was a crouton as big as our house?

- there were dinosaurs in the clouds, and then the clouds broke up and then the dinosaurs went out of the clouds?

- you and I were walking to Joy School, and every time we saw someone we knew, they gave me some bread, and on my bike I had a basket, and we put the bread in the basket, and then we got to have the bread for afternoon snack?

- we baked some bread shaped like you, and every time you did something nice, we got to put cinnamon sugar in it, and we spelled "I Love Jenn" with butter and cinnamon?

- there was a car that didn't have wheels, but it just rolled because it was shaped like a wheel!?!

- they kept feeding us candy and it never stopped?

- I did all of my jobs before and after the timer?

- 3002 became known as the treat-weather year?

- I was an astronaut and I need to use the toilet?

Okay, so that last one you might be able to answer. But the rest of them? We find ourselves saying things like, "wow, that would be crazy," or, "whoa, that would be scary!" over and over again. At first, naive little parents that we were, we tried to imagine along with him, thinking this was a great game and a good way to interact with our kid. But after about 75 What Ifs, my imagination just breaks down. I just can't keep it up any longer, so at this point as soon as I hear the "What if..." my brain literally shuts him out, and when it sounds like he's done with his question I muster a, "that would be wild, Henry," and usually that's enough for him until about 30 seconds later when he comes up with another one. My other go-to option is to retort with something like, "what if there was this boy named Henry who actually got his pajamas on when I asked him to?" Shockingly, that has yet to actually get him to put his pajamas on! :)

Henry's other recent use of imagination is to invent new games. I think this stems from the fact that I got an iPod Touch a while ago that I let him play games on occasionally. Now, he invents his own games, complete with levels and points, and the whole family gets to play them! "Playing" them basically consists of us trying to act things out, while Henry makes up a bunch of rules that (a) don't exactly make sense and (b) ensure that he wins. Here's a quick sampling of some of the titles:

- We Are Shooters

- Kill Game Route Shoot

- Blood Vessel Defenders

- Star Killers

- Route Number All War Game

- Animal Savers

- Spy Action!

Lastly, after studying up in his Children's Encyclopedia (easily the most-read book in our house), Henry came up with a game called "Questions of the Human Body." The way this game works is I get to name a body part, and he has to tell me what system of the body that part is in. This is my favorite of all the games, because I get to ask him what system of the body the liver is in, and he actually knows it (often when I don't)! I guess suffering through all of these questions from this most quizzical kid really is worth it!