Love Letters from Jaxson to his Mom!

We had this sweet little exchange the other day. I love that boy!

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day 2011

I just informed Dave and I did not take ONE PICTURE of him and the kids on Father's Day this year. I'm so embarrassed. Of course, now that I'm typing this, I realize that I've yet to have a picture of me and my children on Mother's Day so I shouldn't feel too bad.
Anyway, we began our day cooking Dave up a tasty breakfast of homemade waffles, turkey bacon and eggs. Yum! We went to church together where the kids were able to sing to Dave too. After church, we celebrated with the Lindsays to honor Dale on this special day. I'm so grateful for the fathers in my life: Dad, Dave and Dale. Here is Poppi with his candy bar poster from the kids. He gets a big kick out of this each year we do it.

The kids know that Uncle Steve LOVES Kit Kats so we made him a little poster with Kit Kats taped all over it. Steve was a great sport- as always- about their excitement.

Going to the Park

Three to four times a week, we spend several hours at the park! I love to run around after the kids and take pictures. Again, trying to keep us occupied for the summer.

Strawberry Days 2011

Each year we love to participate in the local city traditions in our area. Each little city/community has its own celebration.

Strawberry Days

We love it! We took the kids to the rodeo one night and they loved it!

Here is Austin with his strawberries and cream. He loved it!

The Parade

On Saturday, I took the kids to the parade while Dave was off seeing his morning diabetic patients and before I was off to see Mama Mia with Uncle Doug. There were 107 parade entries so the entire "show" took almost 2 hours. We lucked out with Dana and Yolanda saving us a great spot on the parade route from the night before. We were joined with all sorts of fabulous people: Sten and Tomoko, Dana and Yo, Michelle and her family and some of the DuJardin's relatives. Great times AGAIN!

Ready for the parade!

(Here are my $5.00 sunglasses I bought on Friday. Today is Tuesday. Alyssa broke them today. That's 5 bucks I'll never see again.....)

We love the HULTS!

Recently during a telephone conversation with my dear friend Jenna, she exclaimed, "Jody- this group of friends you have? I have never seen such a close-knit group of couples and families! You guys have so much fun together and do the most fun things together." AND WE DO! Certainly this is an area where we have been blessed tremendously: with wonderful friends and our families. We have had several Family Home Evenings with the Hults in their backyard with marsh mellow pit and all.

And here is our sweet little Keaton turning 1! Wow- what a year for this talented family! Love you guys-

A Visit to the ER turns out to be a blessing in disguise

Here is Jaxson's right arm. See the huge hole between the shoulder and elbow? Although the hole/cyst wasn't a surprise, there was surprise involved.
In a nutshell, Jaxson was jumping from a rock wall to a trampoline and heard a pop in his arm. It hurt him badly and for the following 24 hours, the arm became more and more tender, swollen and seemed to bother him more than on the night he injured it.
Dave and I had just returned home from a date night with the DuJardins at the movies. Jax curled up on my lap and whimpered about his arm. I felt it and noticed it was swollen. We knew it was the arm with the cyst but the swelling seemed to be in the wrong place, so Dave suggested I run him to the ER. And I did.
In the past 4 years since his 2007 fall, thus the discovery of the cyst, it has moved down his arm from his growth. We are going to an orthopedic surgeon next week to see what and where we go to now.

Kids' Craft Day at the Lindsays- June 2011

This summer, I have been trying really hard to do something fun each with the children. I had an idea to do crafts and invite a bunch of the younger children in the neighborhood so their moms could have a break while their kids were having fun.

So, on this day, I invited a total of 13 children over to our home for two hours of crafts and lunch. That would be 13 children PLUS my own seed (which some of my children are like having 4 humans in one body)! The kids were awesome; it was my children who were the only ones who gave me several headaches during the 120 minutes together. Okay, need to keep it a bit more positive! So, we did chalk drawings on our driveway, we painted magnets and made our fathers/mothers candy posters. For lunch, the older kids helped me make Pigs In A Blanket, accompanied by french fries, sugar-free jello, watermelon and otter pops for dessert.

The chalk drawings were a huge hit! The kids loved tracing each other.

Time for lunch on the deck!

Meredith saved the day by staying and helping me. I had wanted her to go home and enjoy the two hours without two of her three, but in the end, it was a HUGE blessing that she stayed! Thanks Meres- love ya!

Wrapping it up!