What has happened?

Maren started school and is doing well.  She seems to like her teacher quite well.  Eliza is stuck with her mom as her teacher for another year. She is doing well and is starting to get the idea of reading down.  Henry recently got to see an uncle "crash cars" in a derby and now he loves to talk about and reenact it.  When he does he gets so animated!  Emiline has been on the move the last couple months and has figured out how to go from sitting to army crawling to sitting again.  She is starting to try to pull herself up to things, but hopefully it will be a little while before she masters that.  She likes to wave "hi", jump, and put things in her mouth.

Emiline tried and ate her first bowl of spaghetti about a month and a half ago.  I was holding her and had just got myself a bowl of spaghetti when a child needed a piece of buttered bread.  So, I sat down my bowl and my baby on the counter by the bread so I could keep an eye on her while I got the job done.  After she had a good start on the bowl I noticed what she was doing.  She was so cute and messy I had to get a picture...

The first part of October we were able to have some cousins over.  The kids seemed to have a lot of fun.  It is kind of crazy to think my children have 33 first cousins, so far, with the latest that was blessed the following weekend.  We are exited the have little William be part of our family.  We really enjoyed our visit.  When we got back from our trip we decided that Lady (our lab puppy) needs more than we can give her at this point in our lives.  So, after finding a nice family that wants another puppy, has an older lab, and has two big girls that love playing with their dog, we decided to give Lady away.  Maren was heart broken, but I am sure when our kids are a little bit bigger we'll give the pet thing another chance.

Eliza turned 5 years old in the middle of last month.  She told me she had wanted an "Alpha and Omega" cake (from the cartoon wolf movie that came out in 2010).  I couldn't find any cheap wolf figurines so she found some glow-in-the-dark butterflies at the dollar store that we used instead.  For a gift she told me after going window shopping that she didn't care what she got as long as it was "girly".  She had a nice day a now she feels real big.

The last weekend in October I got to go down to Ogden for a "Time Out for Women" weekend with some friends from Vegas.  Jon kept the three older kids and I took Emiline with me.  I had such a nice time and got to hear several good speakers. 

Halloween was fun.  Maren was a bunny, Eliza was a swan, Henry was a fireman,
and I dressed up as a farmer.  I brought Emiline to show off my good crop this year.  Of course, we experienced too much candy passing through all of our hands.   

Maren turned 7 years old the day after Halloween.  She wanted a "my little pony cake" and a new art kit.  That is what she got. 

We are looking forward to parent teacher conference next week and getting to visit with Maren's teachers.  I have been able to volunteer in Maren's class once a week.  I enjoy getting to see the teacher and how she teaches and the children and get to know their personalities.  There is a neighbor who also likes to volunteer in her oldest child's class.  We are able to swap babysitting so I don't have to take my younger children.  I am grateful.

So the question isn't "what has happened?" it's more like "what hasn't happened?"

Summer Fun

Prelude

           In the end of April, I took Eliza's preschool class on a field trip to the Idaho Falls Zoo.  It was crazy, but I think the kids had a good time.  Later that week, I was able to be a chaperon for Maren's field trip to the Museum of Idaho Dinosaur Exibit.  Being a chaperon is not the best way to experience the Museum (or where ever the fieldtrip is to), but it was a lot of fun and I think it made Maren feel special. 
          In the end of May we finnished up Eliza's preschool for the year with a graduation ceramony about the same time Maren had her last days of first grade.  At the very end of the month and leaking into June, Jon left for a week long National Drug Court Convention in Nashville, TN.  He seemed to have fun, but missed the kids.  Of course, the kids missed him.  Henry kept talking about daddy being on an airplane the whole week long.

The Fun Begins

          On the 2nd of June (while Jon was gone), Emiline perfected rolling over from back to tummy.  She started to really giggle as well.  My sister-in-law Suzie and I also made and canned most of 6 flats of Strawberry Jam.
          Then we flew the nest and left on our summer vacation on the 10th of June.  My sister-in-law, Theresa, and her family volunteered to watch our dog, Lady, while we were gone.  Jon had quite a bit of vacation time he needed to use from work, so we planned a 1 1/2 week long road trip. We left early Sunday morning and drove the 5 hours to Ben's home in Riverton, WY.  We made it in time for lunch and to attend Sacrament meeting with him.  The kids were all tired of sitting which made for a fun meeting. Some of Ben and Jeanna's friends from out of town were coming and we needed to get back on the road, but it was so nice to see their beautiful home and enjoy the yummy hamburgers and cheesecake.
          We made it up to Rapid City, SD.  We stayed there in a hotel for three nights, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights.  While there we visited Mt Rushmore, Reptile Gardens (a reptile zoo), the Journey Museum (had a lot of dinosaur and Indian displays), a cement Dinosaur park, and Storybook Island (an amazing park for kids).  All of it was so fun, but Storybook Island took the cake!  I can't put up enough pictures or write enough to give an accurate account of the experience.  There were themed play areas like "The Three Little Pigs", "Peter Pan", "Noah's Ark", "The Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs", "Rapunzel's Tower", and lots more.  They had a live children's theater with actors who sang and put on a play for the kids, a train to ride on, an old firetruck and train engine to climb on and explore.  It was so fun!
          We left Wednesday morning for Burlington, IA and got to the hotel late.  Thursday morning, we went to see the cemetery where some of Jon's 'Robbins' ancesors are buried, then spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon touring Nauvoo, IL.   We drove to Girard, IL and spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights with my sister-in-law, Martha, and her family.  They joined us on Friday for a trip to the St. Louis Zoo.  My girls loved the butterfly house there and all the kiddos loved the carrosel.  Saturday, we went to the Illinois State Museum with Jon's mom.  Sunday, we went to church with Jon's dad and Sally, then went to Petersburg, IL with them to stay at their house for the remainder of our trip. 

We had a tea party with Grandma Robbins, visited with Sally, and enjoyed wonderful breakfasts made by Papa (Jon's dad).  One night we went to Pizza Hut for dinner and got to watch a smoking car pull into a nearby parking lot before it burst into flames.  The fire truck came and put it out, but it was quite the entertainment.  Henry loved it.    We left there about 5:30 am on Wednesday morning and drove straight through back to our home in Idaho.  We got back about 4:30 am Thrusday morning and spent the day resting and settling back in.  It was a fun trip.

The following Monday (the 25th) Henry turned 2 years old.  Emiline had learned to slowly roll all over the floor space she is given. Jon's sister, Beth, and her family moved to
Pocatello at the end of June. (This put 4 of the Robbins' six sibblings within about an hour drive or 5 sibblings within about a 3 1/2 hour drive.  All of the 22, soon to be 23, grand kids are 13 years old or younger.)
          July was filled with Family!  It was so fun to see everyone and spend so much time with family. Jon's cousin, Manda, came up from Arizona to stay for a little over a week.  She arrived at our house on the 28th of June and stayed with us until the evening of Saturday, July 7th.  Jon's sister, Martha, and her family came out and stayed with Suzie for almost 2 weeks (June 30th until July 11th).  This provided a Robbins' kids a reunion of sorts.  We packed as much fun as we could into those days.  We had a cook-out up the canyon, watched fireworks, stayed at the Boone Lodge before driving up and touring Yellowstone National Park, attended Robby's baptism, did temple work for Jon's  Grandparents, went boating on the lake, visited, and visited some more.
We really enjoyed our time together.   We had about a week break and then Jon's Mom came out to stay for awhile.  She house hopped and was able to enjoy a more layed back and one-on-one experience with each of the families.  It was really fun to spend that time with Mom Robbins.  She left today from Michael's house in Utah for her home in Illinois.  We hope she has a safe trip back.
          Last night, Jon finally got to go down and see Beth's new house in Pocatello.  She had Suzie's and Theresa's families, as well as our family down for dinner and to celebrate Jon's upcoming birthday.  The kids all seemed to have had a great time and the food was DELICIOUS!  Beth made chicken burritos with ALL the toppings plus two beautiful cheesecakes!  Beth really went beyond the call....and her house is beautiful.  We really enjoyed the visit.
          August. We decided to tear up part of the garden and make a mud pit.  Maren loves it. Eliza doesn't.  Henry isn't sure.  Emiline has no idea it exists.  We had some cousins over one afternoon and had loads of fun with mud and popcicles.
           Maren has kept the toothfairy hopping. She lost her two top front teeth about a week apart from each other.
Today Maren and Eliza decided they wanted to give each other a make-over.  Maren started on Eliza's hair which was quite tangled and the tears started.  I came in to help and we got the girls all done-up and had a photoshoot.
            Now we are going to enjoy a fairly quiet week and a half before we head to Utah to see my folks before Maren starts 2nd grade on  the 27th.  I have decided to not do a preschool with other people's children this year and just focus on Eliza.  We will focus on reading and simple math.

          We have had so much fun this summer.  I am sad it is about time to give up all the crazy fun for the more predictable school days. 

How Time Does Fly

February flew by. March included a baby blessing. In April,life was crazy for about a week. First, we traveled to Utah for a baptism over Easter weekend. We really enjoyed the baptism and got to see most of Sunny's aunts and siblings while there. After the baptism, Dick + family & Ben + family headed out to the Aagard Ranch for a little fun. We colored Easter eggs, rolled them down a "hill", and had a "cook out" in the creek bed. It was a lot of fun to see the nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters. We got back to Idaho Falls Sunday afternoon. Theresa and LeGrand were so thoughtful to have us over for dinner that night. Monday after Maren got out of school we went over to a old neighbor's home to pick up our new puppy. We named her Lady. Then we joined the Boones' again for dinner and a Easter egg hunt on Monday evening after Easter. Tuesday was Sunny's 30th birthday. Suzie and Theresa arranged for a babysitter and took her out for a nice lunch at Olive Garden. That evening Suzie watched the kids for a little birthday date. We went to Red Robin and did a little shopping. Wednesday evening the Elders quorum held a rule less pinewood derby. Jon simple taped a brick to a "fresh out of the box" car and called it the Robbins' Racer. He got 5th place and a $20 gift card to Texas Roadhouse.

Maren is getting excited about the warmer weather. She can't wait to get the old bike wheels a turnin'. Maren has lost her second tooth. The first one disappeared and never ended up under her pillow, but this one made it. She had quite a shock about the responsibility a puppy is, but is doing very well. The last time her teacher tested her reading she was at a 4th grade level; however, she only likes to read the chapter books with a lot of pictures.

Eliza announced today that she doesn't want to learn to read. She just wants Maren to read to her. Every afternoon she want some mommy cuddle time. She is doing well in joy school, but doesn't seem emotionally ready for kindergarten. I am grateful she has another year. She is a little frightened of the Lady, but is doing better every day.

Henry is a sponge learning so much. He recognizes his capital letters + a few lower case and the ASL signs for the alphabet. He is a tease and often does naughty things because his sisters laugh or he thinks it is funny. He is a little frightened by Lady's puppy like behavior, but loves her so much. He likes to look out the window and watch her.

Emiline is getting so big. She is 3 months old and filling out nicely. She was just under 12 lbs at her 2 month check-up. She smiles and interactive. She is a pretty good tempered baby. She does well with Henry climbing on her, poking her eyes, and trying to carry her, but will squawk at the seemingly smallest things. She refuses to take a Binky and loves sucking her thumb. She is beginning to think about rolling over with no success as of yet.

Lady's father is a yellow/white Labrador mix. Her mother is an American Boxer. She scratches, jumps, nips, and gets right under foot. She likes to chase balls when someone is kicking one, plays tug-of-war, and will jump to grab her toys out of my hand. Lady does not care for walking on a leash, but is improving. She got her name due to the resemblance to Girl (Jon's childhood dog) and the whining she did the first few days. She sounded just like Lady on Lady and the Tramp. We will see how long we end up keeping her...

Jon's job keeps him on his toes and will do for now.