Summertime in Franklin

I'm so glad I married This guy...

Because it means I can go to This place any time I want...

I love Franklin, Idaho in the summer.
I love it in the winter too but summer is really fun.

We finally realized that Rustin wasn't going to have time to come with us to  Franklin.  Missing two weeks of work with terrible eye infection took a big dent out of vacation plans for us so the kids and I loaded Beau up in the car and headed down ourselves.
It was a GREAT week.

Darren completely wore himself out keeping us entertained.  We built two awesome bookshelves {in the 100+ degree shop} for Jen and Jack's room {more on that later},we got to meet the new puppy Milly, we rode horses and went canoeing.
Loalee showed us how to spin wool into yarn and made lots of delicious food.  How's that for an awesome weekend!

All six of us got to go on a 'real' horseback ride.  We went three at a time.  Jenna fell in love with the new horse, Darksea, and spent some time riding both Darksea and MissQuito by herself.  Jenna and Benson still had their horses lead by Grandpa most of the time but they are both doing great learning.  Dallin and Landon are pros and spent a lot of time helping to saddle and brush horses.  Austin also does really well by himself.
  Not bad for city kids.  Don't tell them I called them city kids.

Beau proved himself a total city slicker as he bounced around the horses and got stepped on.  It cut the pad of his paw really bad--we are hoping it heals without getting infected.  He had a blast.

We went to Johnson's Reservoir (one of many in the area) to canoe and swim.  I don't have any pictures of that beautiful night.   Beau learned that he loves swimming and Jackson loved it too!   We were the only people at the reservoir along with Jotham and Jamie and their family.  And of course Darren and Loalee.   The cool water was perfect in the over 95 degree weather.

We came home tired and happy and ready to enjoy our last week of summer vacation.

Another one bites the dust

Poor little Aust is the latest to get the eye junk running through our house. So far Austin has had the worst case of us all.  He has both eyes hit at the same time AND he developed a complication called Filamentary keratitis .

This basically means that the mucus in his eye adhered to the epithelial cells of the cornea which causes the outer layer of the cornea to slough off when he blinks.  It hurts a lot.  Rustin had to numb his eye and peel the filaments off the cornea.  If you look closely you can see that his tears are bloody.  ouch.

Dallin hasn't had any infection so far.  Either he will get lucky or he will come down with red eyes just as school starts.  Knowing our luck I would bet on the latter.

We are busy enjoying the last couple of weeks of summer. Too much to do and not enough time for sure!

There are no changing tables at the Sun Valley symphony...

On Tuesday night we went to the Sun Valley symphony's performance of Mahler's 1st symphony.  While I loved the music, there is something about the Sun Valley crowd that is completely irritating.  I felt out of place.

 I would have fit in perfectly if I had whitened my teeth, tanned my skin a few shades darker, put on my giant diamond earrings and worn a white linen skirt with a sherbet colored sweater draped over my shoulders.

 And of course I should have thought to find a cute little dog to bring as an accessory as well because apparently I missed the memo that says that children aren't to be tolerated at concerts but dogs are totally welcome.  My goodness.

 The minute we stepped foot under the canopy I felt the collective 'snap' of the heads of every usher in the room sending me their "you wouldn't dare bring a child in here would you..."  looks.  One chartreuse-sweater clad gentleman grumbled "no babies allowed in here" as I ushered Jenna and Dallin and Landon up to the row where my parents were waiting.  sheesh.

 Jackson and I sat on the grass and completely enjoyed the concert without worrying about offending anyone.  Maybe I'm a little hyper-sensitive.


 Having complained about the attitudes of some of the concert-goers, I must say that  the symphony is extraordinary and the sound is just amazing.  We've been to a couple of these symphonies now and the music is definitely worth the drive and even worth feeling a little second class.

Last summer we went to see Itzhak Perlman and it was an awesome experience.  To see that great Jewish man whose body is crippled from the effects of polio play the theme song from Schindler's List was unforgettable.

 The entire place was absolutely silent while Mr. Perlman painfully and slowly walked out on to the stage with his crutches and took a few minutes to get situated.  Once he began to play the place was transformed.  It really was so. beautiful.  I don't know how they engineer the sound under the canopy but I've never heard anything like it.

The Mahler symphony this summer was stunning as well.  We saw/heard the Utah Symphony play Mahler's 1st symphony a couple of years ago and we were completely impressed but I have to say (my dad agrees!) this was even better.

Overall I have to say that I am grateful to the Sun Valley community for providing and sharing beautiful things with the world even if I have to sit on the grass.

Plain old summer. August 8-14

We had a great plain old summer week. We ate lots of purple potatoes from my dad's garden and lots of raspberry jam from my mom's raspberries.

We had a visit from Trevor and Ashlee and Collin and from Emily and baby Sam and of course Beck,Jer, Ethan and Mia..

We went to our favorite water park..er..canal {the drops in Shoshone} and we went to see the movie "The Help" which is still making me chuckle.

Summer is wrapping up way too early.

Jackson is rolling all over the place which makes me sad for some reason. Little pill bug.  Is it just because he's the last that I feel this way?  We are still loving nursing which is a big milestone for me.  I have always lost my milk at about four months with the other kids so this little guy is going to have to nurse until he's five to make up for lost time!

Sometimes the thought of backpacks and papers and homework makes me hyperventilate.  I am in the process of reorganizing all our school stuff and I have a million plans to organize all the closets in the house.  I'll report if we actually have success!

If at first you don’t succeed…

Watching Jackson lately is like watching a caterpillar hatch from a chrysalis.  It is complete torture not to reach in and help.  That moment when he is just  about all the way over  but his little arm is still stuck underneath?  That is the moment when I can barely stop myself from reaching in.  The only thing that keeps me from intervening is that look of pride mixed with surprise when he does it all alone.


I think the times I spend watching my kids do difficult things alone are my hardest mothering moments.  I am one of those moms who goes through the whole house covering everyone up because I woke up cold.  I always will.  And I will probably always be proof reading papers at 10 pm and combing knots out of Barbie’s hair…


 I have seen the growth and compassion that comes from struggle—learning to read, ride a bike, tie shoes, talk to a new friend—my kids have been through all kinds of painful experiences that have helped them grow and I wouldn't change it.  I love watching them grow in every way but I wouldn't mind if they would slow down a little.

Cold Turkey. {August 1-7}

Sometimes we need to detox from electronics.  There’s no easy way to do it so we just pull the plug. Anyone who knows us knows for which child this is most difficult (and necessary).  Can anyone guess?

Getting rid of video games makes us really productive. 

The kids make their beds without being asked…

They pick up all their toys…

And they smile all day.

Just kidding on this picture.  Jenna took this self-portrait for fun—she’s actually been having a blast playing with Benson (and Rustin!) this week.

Dallin and Landon were at EFY this last week.  I actually sent them to EFY just so we could have the music CD.  I’m listening as we speak. 

A few outcomes of a week of EFY—

Both boys have learned to text {that unlimited text plan is on its way…last night Rustin asked Dallin who he was texting with and he said he wasn’t sure—two girls at the same time}.

The boys gave a great family home evening tonight about “becoming.”

We have been practicing swing dance moves all week in anticipation of the next stake dance. Jenna is going to get more dance practice than any girl I know with all these brothers!

  Jack still has an infected eye but the rest of us are doing much better.  Viva la summer!

One little, two little, three little cyclops...

Our adventures with adenovirus a.k.a. EKC (epidemic keratoconjunctivitis)

And possibly the saddest hing I have ever seen--a baby with his little eye glued shut in the morning.  

  Rustin's eyes aren't red anymore but his corneas are full of white blood cell infiltration which is the precursor to corneal ulcers so he (we) will all be using steroids for the next few weeks.  Wish us luck!