Mormon Temples

I just saw this link on Facebook and loved it.  This link is to a blog, but has a video that our church has produced for people curious about our temples.  I love the temple and the peace I feel there.  If you've ever been interested in knowing about it please take the time to watch this the video on this link.  It's great!
http://wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-video-taking-mystery-out-of-mormon.html

Pack Meeting

Zach helped with the flag ceremony for his pack meeting and did a great job.

 He earned his Aquanaut Badge, because the only thing that scouts want to do in summer is swim.

Landon sat with Erin and was so much better behaved for her than for me.  That was nice for a change.

Friend Swim Lessons

We did another round of swim lessons at the end of June and beginning of July.  This time all the kids except Landon took lessons.  A friend of mine did lessons and it was great because the other kids could swim at the other end of the pool while they took turns in lessons, including Landon.  They learned so much more than they ever have before, so I was very happy!  Jacob, Zach and Savannah all swim, but mostly just under the water.  They can all swim freestyle now and do somewhat of a backstroke.  The main issue they all have is that they want to put their whole head straight up out of the water to breathe, which slows them way down.  They also didn't have much endurance, which improved a lot in just a short time.  Hopefully they'll continue to practice during the rest of the summer.  It also worked out well that both Zach & Jacob were working on swim badges for scouts at the same time, so they were more prepared. 

 

 

 

Frenectomy

Connor has been "tongue-tied" ever since he was born.  But since it never affected his eating or speech the doctors never did anything about it.  Just recently I noticed it starting to affect his speech a little, since his mouth has grown larger and his tongue had a harder time reaching the roof of his mouth.  We went to the dentist in April and he brought it up and said that it had gotten to the point that we needed to get it checked out.  Over time it can lead to other problems with his gums and teeth.  So in May I took him to an oral surgeon.  He said it was definitely a bad case.  He doesn't usually do them that young (under anesthesia), but he wanted to try.  He said usually the kids will freak out though, which is why they usually wait until kids are a little older.  But Connor was not freaked out at all and even asked him some questions, so he decided to try.  Connor was so excited when I took him to the store to pick out popsicles and ice cream.

Here is the "before" shot of his mouth.

 We went in at like 7:30am since he had to fast for 12 hours before.  They gave him some sleep syrup about 10 minutes before they took him back, just to get him all relaxed.  I couldn't go back with him, but he was totally fine without me.  Gave me a wave and walked back smiling.  They numbed the area and they came to tell me that Connor was totally fine and holding still so they wouldn't even need to put him under all the way.  It was over quickly.  The nurse and doctor were AMAZED at how calm he was.  They said they haven't had a patient that good in a long time, let alone one that young.

When he tried to stand up to leave he ended up just sitting on the floor.  He was pretty out of it from the sleep syrup, so I carried him to the car.  As soon as I got him strapped in he looked at me and said "Is that it?"  I told him "yes" and he yelled "Poth-i-uls!" (popsicles) and immediately fell asleep for about 30 seconds.  I was laughing the whole way home watching him in the rear-view mirror trying to stay awake.  He's trying really hard to open his eyes for the camera in this picture, but just couldn't quite do it. 

 He lived on popsicles, ice cream, yogurt, and applesauce for 2 or 3 days.  His mouth was sore for a week or so, but he was so good and hardly ever complained about it.

 The first day he was also feeling pretty nauseous, so he had his own spot on the couch.

Now he can actually stick out his tongue some and lick his upper lip, which he couldn't really do before.  Hopefully this will help prevent some future problems with his teeth and gums.

Newspaper Tour

Zach, Savannah and I went with a friend on a tour of the Austin-American Statesman, which is the huge newspaper in Austin that does all of the printing for newspapers all over the area.  We got there a little early so we walked along the lake downtown.

 Zach spotted this crane.  He loves being out in nature.

 We couldn't take pictures on the tour, but it was really neat.  The room that the printing presses is in is HUGE.  They recently had to add an extra story to accommodate a new press that they got.  The kids' favorite part was watching the hanging newspapers that were done and folded being rushed through the air on special tracks.  It was also neat to learn about the various jobs that they have there, and see the entire process from start to finish.  Zach's favorite fact was that the rolls of newsprint are 7.4 miles long.  He thought that was so amazing and kept bringing it up on the tour.

 I asked if we could take home the extra end of a roll for coloring and they let us! 

Jacob wasn't too excited to go, which made it easier for me!  He stayed home to babysit.  We have had SO many appointments this summer, and with swim lessons every day as well we have not stopped going.  It doesn't even feel like summer break, other than the fact that we melt every time we step out the door.

Father's Day & 38

Father's Day was just a couple of days before Dallin's birthday this year.  The kids wrote nice things about their dad and we gave him a basket of his favorite snacks.  When Dallin saw Connor wearing this outfit he changed into his matching shirt and shorts.  Connor thought that matching Daddy all day was just about the coolest thing ever.

We made Dallin his favorite apple pie on Father's Day too.  This was the first time that Savannah helped me from start to finish, and she did a great job!

 The kids made Dallin this sign for his birthday to hang on our long empty wall.

 Dallin is getting a new tablet for his birthday in a couple of months, but Connor picked him out a new workout shirt for the gym.

 

 Jacob loves the video camera lately.  He's been shooting stop motion lego videos with an old camera, so he loves any chance to use my video camera.

Bassetts' Visit

My friend Kristi was in town for the month of June, living in Austin while her husband is doing an internship.  They were in our ward a few years ago and it was fun to have some friends over so that we could all see her and her kids.

Lauree, Ish, Sheyenne, Kristi, & Robin 

Savannah was in heaven with all the girls to play with all afternoon.  She was also excited to have Gwen come to our primary class the next Sunday when they came to the ward for a visit.

 

I later found this picture to prove to her that they really were friends way back when.

Connor & Ben had fun hanging out too.

 

Although I'm sure they probably don't remember these fun times.

City Swim Lessons

Connor & Savannah did swim lessons through the city parks and recreation for the first two weeks of summer.  They started the Monday after school got out.  They both had fun and improved some.  It was nice for me to have Jacob be able to babysit Landon, so I didn't have to bring him to sit in the heat every day.

(Side note:  I searched high and low for a swimsuit for Connor that didn't have to be tied in case he needed to use the restroom.  But they all just fall off his skinny little body.  I finally found this one that stayed up and was long enough...it's 3T.  He has worn a 3T swimsuit for the last 4 summers.)

 

 Connor's absolute favorite part of swimming is jumping into the pool.

 The best part of swim lessons - getting candy on the last day.