Gone Fishing

My dad had a meeting in Atlanta earlier this week so he stopped by to see us on his way home. He was only here for about 24 hours, but living on the other side of the country like we do we will take what we can get. It might have been on 24 hours, but we packed in as much Grandfather fun as we could. In the short time he was here the boys and my dad hiked to the pond, went fishing at Bass Lake and finished up with a swim at Jordon Lake. It was pretty much a dream day for my boys, but I'm pretty sure their first fishing outing ever was the highlight.

I must say I was a little skeptical of how much they would enjoy actual fishing because my understanding was that fishing and waiting have a lot in common. I was shocked when after only a few minutes of sitting on the dock My dad and Max pulled in a nice catfish.

I thought that might have been the miraculous moment of the afternoon until a few minutes later Reed pulled a blue gill. I wish I could have gotten a picture of their faces when they reeled in their catch. It was a combination of surprise, elation and for Max a little hesitance. His face said, "Uh...I got this---now what do I do with it?"



Reed tried to be patient, but his preferred method of fishing included casting his line (which I thought he was surprisingly good at) holding it for a minute or two, setting his pole down on the dock beside him and then running up and down the dock saying, "can someone let me know when my bobber is twitching?"



My dad and Max did some great "team" fishing. Max didn't really have a problem waiting for the fish, but he'd get so excited when the fish would nibble at his worm that he would forget to reel them in quickly. Having my dad give him a hand sure helped the fish come in faster.


After a few Grandfather -assisted catches Reed successfully cast his line and pulled in a blue-gill all on his own. He couldn't have been prouder.


Ruby was mostly content (even in the blazing heat!) to hang out with me. She didn't get to do any fishing, but she knew just what to do with the extra bobbers.


The bobber was nice, but blue gill #6 is what she really wanted to get her hands on.


After 7 fish we were ready to call it a day. The boys were so excited to bring their line of fish home. Suprisingly enough Reed was most anxious to get home and eat his fish. "Too bad we didn't catch a tuna because I'd really like to have a tuna fish sandwhich. "

Middle Child

Recently I think Max has felt very much like a middle child. As a middle child myself I think I'm especially sensitive to any of the negatives associated with that position in the family. I am certainly not saying that I was actually ever neglected in any way. It's more just the nature of being a middle child--you aren't the oldest and you aren't the youngest and there is nothing you can do about it.

I know I am sensitive to this issue, but there have been a few times in the past week or two that I have felt like Max feels neglected. Yesterday I felt it most strongly when, after oohing and ahhing over how cute Ruby's new dress was, Max said, "Why don't I have ever have super cute clothes? Ruby always gets the super, super, super cute clothes." I immediately tried to comfort him by telling him how cute he looked in his outfit but obviously failed when he said, "but they are not super, super cute." (which he said with a super, super cute sad face.) When I asked him what he thought would be super cute he said, "I don't know, ribbons or something." Now my Max is a "boy's boy". He's the picture of rough and tumble and takes every opportunity to show that by taking down his older brother with wrestling moves that I think he must have been born with. So the fact that he was considering needing ribbons made me realize that he was in need of a little extra attention.

As hard as I try, I may not always be able to perfectly and evenly distribute my attention, but I do want my children to know that I love them all equally and to the absolute maximum of my ability. Since it's Max that has needed a little extra attention, I will record a few things about him that I don't want to forget.

He talks with a lot of excitement and emotion. I often think Max makes regular statements like they are the punch line of a joke. He also has the facial expressions, sound effects, and actions to go with whatever he trying to say. It's not unusual for him to say something like, "Mommmm. Reed was doing Pshhhhh Pshhh (while punching his hands back and forth) to scare me (makes a very scared face) and I almost fell like Booooom (falls flat on his back and goes limp.) "




This past Fast Sunday Max really wanted to go and bear his testimony. He kept asking me, "Why don't I ever have a turn to go up there?" I told him that there weren't really "turns". Anyone can go and share their testimony when they wanted to. Whenever someone would finish and another member of the congregation would get up he would say in a slightly whiny voice, "Awwwww...SEE they never let me. They keep taking my turn." I told Max that if he went up to bear his testimony he would have to know what he was going to say because I would not be going up there with him. When I asked him what he was going to say he said, "I'm just going to tell them something my Mommy tells me. " "And what does your mommy tell you?" I asked, interested to know what gospel principle that I had attempted to teach had connected with him. "I am going to tell everyone that my mommy says that if I take the Jolly Rancher out of my mouth one more time she is going to take it and throw it out the car window." Not exactly the nugget of information I hoped had stuck with him, but at least he has the desire to share even if the total concept of bearing a testimony is lost on him. It's a start.

Bad picture, but it's the only one I have that will remind me of when Max was looking through the conference Ensign. When he came to the page of all the general authorities he said, "Is this a matching game?"


Max has been learning to read and loves to show off all that he knows. I recently taught him that when you see a question mark your voice needs to go up a little to let people know it is a question. He really took to that rule and now when he gets to the end of a question not only does he draw out the last syllable as long as possible, but he also reads it in a voice so high only bats normally use it to communicate. He loves it and thinks he is sooooooooooooooo funny. I think he is pretty funny, too.

Here he is showing off for my Mom after her sleepless red-eye flight.



You are such a joy in my life Max. I couldn't love you more...not even with ribbons.

So long Kindergarten...

Two weeks ago Reed had his last day of Kindergarten. I'm a little behind, but the wrap up of this past school year was too important to miss recording.

I wanted to cry when I dropped Reed off for the first day of Kindergarten almost a year ago and again I found myself feeling a little emotional on his last day too. This has been a big year for Reed, and I was a little sad for it to end. He has grown up so much during this past school year that, although I was hesitant to send him, I am so glad I did. I really believe that we were blessed to get just the right teacher for Reed. I couldn't imagine a better teacher for him than Mrs. Dabrowski. She took such a individualized approach to teaching each child and Reed was no exception. She appreciated his special skills and talents, enjoyed his goofy personality and was patient in the areas that still needed a bit of work.


It has also been fun this year for me to watch Reed's personality develop outside the realm of my constant care. He is a confident and sensitive little boy who loves to learn, be silly and make people laugh...especially himself. I am very happy to note that he did not inherit my super shy student personality. Whenever I would help at school I would watch him and think, "He is sooooo not me." He is comfortable with (and really enjoys) the attention he gets from his silly antics. He is fine running around the playground alone at recess, but also has no problem leading out in a game that he just made up, inviting others to join in, and convincing them to play by his rules.

Leading up to the end of the year the school had a field day. Reed was in heaven and particularly enjoyed the water balloons and any other game that involved water. I'm pretty sure it was his goal to get as wet as possible that day.


Mission accomplished.


Having a child in school also made me feel old at times. This was especially true when Reed became interested and involved in some of the kid fads like Silly Bandz. It was interesting to experience a kid craze as an adult. Sam pointed out how appropriately named Silly Bandz are because they are just that---silly. We held out for a while until Reed claimed he was the only kid in his class that didn't have any. I made him 'earn' them and when he finally did get them he was thrilled. It was so funny to listen him make plans of the which ones he wanted to get on his 7th birthday, 8th birthday...etc. Who knew rubber bands could be so exciting?


At first Silly Bandz reminded me of 'friendship bracelets' from the 80's, but now when I see them all I can think of is ramen noodles.

For the last day of school Reed's teacher put together a very sweet little Kindergarten Celebration program. They sang some of their favorite songs, had a slide show and each child got a special award acknowledging a specific aspect of their personality that added to the class. Reed's award was for being a "Living Encyclopedia....no a Wikipedia, no a Reedipedia" and sharing all kinds of interesting facts and information with the class. It was the perfect little award and Reed loved it.


Most of the songs they sang involved some kind of movement or dancing. I was so surprised by what a performer Reed was. I'm pretty sure he was one of the the most into it and I really do not know where he got all his dance moves.



All in all Kindergarten was a great experience. And while I am a little sad to see it end, I do share Reed's excited for what first grade has in store.

7 months

Ruby turned 7 months this Friday and I can hardly believe it. I feel like I just recorded her 6 month milestones! It's ridiculous how quickly this past month has flown by. Although it was quick it was still full of new experiences and discoveries for our sweet baby girl. Here are a few of the highlights from the past month of Ruby's life.

1. She does jigsaw puzzles. At least she looks like she does when she is hunting for just the right Cheerio to pick up off her tray. This picture is actually from a few weeks ago. She is now a Cheerio-picking-up aficionado and makes quick work of any Cheerio within reach.



2. She makes sure our floor is clean--in two ways. #1 She does her part to keep the floor clean using her mouth. (Who needs a Scooba?) #2 This in turn motivates me to actually keep the floor clean.


(I normally put a little shirt on Ruby underneath this outfit, but on this 100+ degree day I couldn't bear to. Max asked me, "Why does Ruby look nakedish?")

3. She tries to put clothes on...her head. She loves to grab at clothes while I'm folding laundry. When she has a secure grip on it the first thing she tries to do is put it on her head. She may be a little clumsy, but she's definitely got the right idea.



4. She is obsessed with the phone. If I ever need a quick fix to get a happy baby or a minute to run and do something, I can count on the phone to get the job done.



5. Ruby had her first ear infection ever this month--double ear infection actually. I had no idea until I took her in for her 6 month appointment. I don't' know if that means she has a high pain threshold or an unaware mother. One thing I did learn from the experience is that she is either a future hypochondriac or future bubble gum addict because she LOVED her bubble gum flavored amoxicillin. She would flap her arms and legs like crazy whenever her medication was in sight and cry when the dose was done.


6. A couple weeks ago she so proudly pulled herself up on the dishwasher. It didn't last long enough for a photo op, but she was pretty proud. She continues to try, but hasn't been successful again. Since there is no photo of this, this cute picture will do instead.



7. She's on the (backwards) move. This girl is no longer content to sit still, not even for one second. She is working so hard at crawling, but has really only mastered scooting backwards and in a circle. I have a feeling in the next few weeks she'll work it out.



8. She will eat ANYTHING...really anything. She has not met a food she doesn't like. I even gave her a half of a leftover lemon thinking I'd get a reaction from her and...NOTHING. She happily sucked away without any hesitation.




9. She got her first hairdo. She still has crazy hair. It's stopped falling out, but now it's an uneven little mess and mix of long and short hair. Long on the sides and right down the middle and short most everywhere else. When my mom was here last she was dying to take some scissors to the sides. I couldn't bear the thought of a haircut, so instead she settled for pinning the crazy pieces down with this hairdo.


10. She loves to play and explore. I love to watch her little mind at work as she explores the world around her. She loves to play (grab, look and eat) with toys and learn about everything she can.


I can't wait to see what 8 months has in store, but I have a feeling it will be here before I know it.