Thunderstorm

Theisens!

It is early and I just awoke to a thunderstorm.  I am so happy it is raining because swimming lessons are probably cancelled!! I do enjoy taking the kids, and they love going, but it has been taking away my personal time in the morning that I use for blogging, etc. so I am enjoying this time to myself.

This morning I am feeling sad and anxious mostly because of the supreme court's ruling on Obamacare.  I want my children to know how opposed I am to this bill, and how worried I am that it might actually go into effect.  I am not going to go into all the reasons why I so strongly oppose this bill here, but my heart is heavy.

But despite all the political battles that rage around us, threatening our freedoms, I am doing my best to live my life as peacefully and happily as I can surrounded by my Dr. and little Robin and Rue.

Yesterday evening after Ryan got home we went to the city park so Rue could ride the train and airplanes-she has been asking to go for days now. It was unexpectedly closed due to high heat and humidity, so as a back-up plan we ended up at Jace's favorite store--Theisens.  It is the store that sells his beloved gooose neck trailor truck that he got for Christmas.

We came out of the store $2.00 poorer because Ryan bought a box of 200 water balloons for Christopher Robin. We then went to Lowes and Walmart and called it a night.

Mother of the Year

Eating breakfast from Walmart

Today swimming lessons started and today I earned my "Mother of the Year Award."  How? By feeding my kids donuts for breakfast at Walmart after the swimming lessons, letting Rue swim at the Athletic club in her underwear because I forgot her swimming suit, not noticing when she jumped into the deep end of the baby pool and started to drown because it was 2 feet deep and she couldn't get her feet under herself, and last, but not least, not even thinking about putting sunscreen on Jace, so tonight his back is bright red and burning.  Luckily we have two full weeks of lessons ahead of us, so maybe by the end we can get it right.

On a brighter note, over the weekend we did get our garage 85% cleaned, the Davis' did come over for dinner on Saturday, and we did try out our new Slip'n Slide.  Ryan is still waiting for that water balloon fight and when we have it, he is going down!  Christopher Robin has been planning it for weeks!

Jace practicing his kicking

Miss Rue in the baby pool.  When she saw it, she jumped right in clothes and all. So I stripped her down to her underwear.

She is such a dare devil and a quick little thing.  I am used to Jace who dreams and moves slowly!

Jace is helping Gracie stay out of the deep end! He didn't want her to drown again.

Lazy Summer Days

We have not been up to much lately at our house, which is exactly how I like it.  Jace and Gracie got invited to Ammon's house this week to swim, and it was so much fun!

They are still both talking about it.

Whoever invented this pool with the slide down the side was brilliant!

Jace learned how to jump into the water last year during swimming lessons, so he loved practicing that skill off the slide.

Today is Friday and we are going out to Kalona this morning to meet with the Mid Praire Home-school district coordinator.  The deadline to commit to either home school or kindergarten is drawing near so it is time to register Jace for home school as well.  Nothing like getting all your bases covered.  Both Jace and I are pretty sure what our decision is for school next year!

The rest of the weekend includes: Ryan taking call until tomorrow morning, having the Davis' over for dinner on Saturday night, Jace and I ganging up on Ryan for a water balloon fight, trying out the new Slip'n slide I bought at Walmart, cleaning and organizing the garage, and of course getting ready for church on Sunday.

Hurry up Saturday, I can't wait!

Father's Day highlights

The highlight of Ryan's Father's Day this year was the fact that he was NOT working!  He worked the Sunday before Father's Day, and he works the Sunday after, but not this Sunday. To celebrate he went to church and did his home teaching.  Isn't he a good man?

While Ryan was home teaching, Christopher Robin was hard at work making a gift for his Dad. He cut out 20 hearts from construction paper

and then I helped him write love notes on them. We wrapped them up in a white paper bag.

When Ryan got home Christopher Robin presented him with the bag. Ryan read every single heart

 and made a big fuss about each one.  Christopher Robin was delighted!

The other treasure Ryan received this year was this paper from Primary-also custom made by Christopher Robin.

It says: 

My Dad's name is   Ryan.

My Dad is 13     years old.

My Dad's job is   to fix people at the hospital.  

My Dad likes to  play with toys and games.

My Dad does not like to  drink alcohol.

My Dad helps me when I fall down the stairs.

My Dad is best at  lifting a couch.

My Dad likes to wear his church clothes.

My Dad does not like to wear his underwear!

My Dad likes to eat apples and bananas in his cereal.

My Dad does not like to eat  pizza (cheese).

What I love most about my Dad is when he takes me on boats and trucks.

This paper is so important that it is going on Ryan's desk in the resident room.

Being a father is the Dr's favorite job, hands down!

Utah Trip Continued - Part I

The entire Swigert Clan, plus my sister Calista and 4 of her children at the Maddox Restaurant in Brigham City, Utah April 18, 2012.

Remember how I traveled to Utah in April?   We were there for 2 wonderful weeks and Jace still talks about our trip a lot and asks when we are moving there.  Since I have been back home in Iowa I have been suffering with home sickness.  I can honestly say this is the first time in the past 6 years since I have moved away that I have felt such a pull towards home.  I can't figure out if it is because my children ask when they will get to go see their Poppy, Grammy, and cousins again, or if it's because my parents are old and I want the freedom to see them more than a few days a year, but alas, no matter the reason, this has been my aliment for the past few months and I have to live with it for now.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of our trip. On our first evening in Salt Lake City we went to see the new City Creek Mall in downtown. It is amazing and beautiful.  We all had a fun time there.

Jace with his cousins Nathan, Ellie, Becky and Lizzy.

Here is Uncle Adam and cousin Norah.

Jace loves Ellie and talks about her all the time, so it was a treat to hold her hand as they walked through the mall.

Jace and Norah as they wait at the Maddox Restaurant for lunch.

Ryan and his brother Jeff holding his little son, Henry Abram- "Hal."

Poppy (Will), Miquel, Hal, Jeff, Grammy (Jill), Aunt Mary and Becky at Maddox.

 

Our room this year at the Sherwood Hills Resort had this cozy little cove with bunk beds and our kids loved it! Jace slept on the top one and I thought he would fall off, but he didn't!  Why wasn't there a railing??

Little Rue was not amused that she did not get to sleep in the bunk bed. She climbed that ladder a bazillion times, and sure enough each time she got to the top Ryan and I would promptly get her down!

The pool at Sherwood

Ryan's brother Jason with his daughters BreeAnn and Aubrey.

Nathan Day!

Thanks to Aunt Kate who does all the planning, the kids had water guns to play with!

Three little cousin sitting in a row!  Grace, BreeAnn, and Aubrey.  We did not plan matching swimming suits in advance!

The game room at the Resort. 

It is always so much fun.

Jace was old enough this year to have some success at ping pong.

He actually hit the ball a few times! 

This is the end of part I, but more is coming soon!

A little story

Can you find the white water balloon in this picture?

Yesterday when I was starting to make dinner, Jace came up to me with an empty, white balloon left over from Gracie's birthday party.  He asked me if we could put water in it.  I told him sure!  He has never made a water balloon before. So we filled it up and he named it Freddy.  He carried it around with him for about an hour being very careful not to break it.  I suggested that he hide on the deck when his Dad got home so he could throw it at him.  Oh, it was a fun plan.  When Ryan walked through the deck door, Christopher Robin gave that balloon a toss, right at Ryan.

But the unexpected happened.  The balloon hit Ryan, but didn't break, and then rolled off the deck and splattered on the patio below.

This event left Ryan happy, and Jace distraught.

But Ryan, being the good sport and fun Dad that he is, helped Jace fill up another balloon.

And sure enough, he let Jace have another shot.

Which produced wonderful results for Christopher Robin.

Then Gracie got a turn too!

Ryan handed her a little balloon, and when she went to give it a swing right at her Dad,

she squeezed it too hard, and it exploded all over her,

leaving her absolutely mortified!

And this is the story of how our first water balloon fight went down!