Early in the summer I came up with a list of stuff to do, friends to call...basically a list of rabbits I could pull out of my hat when the day was getting long.  Recently I pulled that list out and the tub of stuff I had stashed.  (I am thankful it is mid July and I have not had to pull it out before now)  I told the boys to put on their bathing suits and swim goggles.  Then I each gave them a can of shaving cream.  Here is all the action.

JB was not too keen on the idea. He kept screaming when anyone would touch him and then he would run over to the ball sprinkler and try to wash everything off. All in all the boys had a blast. I accidentally bought the aloe shaving cream instead of the regular shaving cream that expanded when sprayed. Will have to make a note of that for next time. The only way we thought it could have been better is if we were at our cousins' house on their trampoline...then no one could run away and it would be slippery...(maybe an idea for summer 2013)

Seems like the busyness of the last couple of weeks is dying down.  The two math programs at the library that B has been participating in end next week.  So looks like the month of August will be only speech therapies for JB and hitting the pool.

The other day we were at a friend's house and JB was trying to say 'chip'.  Instead he would say 'bip'.  We would get him to say 'ch', then ask him to say 'chip'...he would say 'bip', repeatedly.  This so describes apraxia.  He can often say things in isolation, but as he puts it all together, it falls apart.  He is struggling with putting two words together at therapy.  So it goes, make some headway then regress.  Overall though, still very excited for his progress.

B has taken a liking to the game Mancala.  Boy, he sure gives me a run for my money.  He beat me the first couple of times we played until everything started coming back to me.  He will probably be my fiercest competitor.  He also loves Math Whiz.  Just amazed at how much he enjoys that game.  When the cousins were here, they spent a lot of time on the floor playing.  Anyone wanting to increase mental math for their kids, check it out...phenomenal game and really a lot of fun.  I even stumped my brother-in-law with a math equation...I was excited.

With family recently being here, I had bought several cases of water bottles to have on hand.  My precious Jbird has taken it upon himself to personally try to mutilate every empty bottle he can find.  He will squeeze it, twist it, step on it, bang it...whatever he can think of.  The constant noise around the house is like nails on a chalkboard.

While the family was here we also went tubing - or should I say floated the local river.  The first time I had ever done it in my 13 years living here.  Had a lot of fun but nothing I am brave enough to attempt by myself with the kiddos.  Tied up all the tubes.  Once you got in, the water was not too bad, until you got splashed.  Floated 6 miles in just under 2 hours, so a perfect speed.  I think the boys enjoyed it, even if they acted bored.  JR had a hard time staying in his tube.  He kept falling out.  One time he fell out and could not get to his feet quick enough to catch up with us...so we floated away.  Just after that, B was 'bored' and untied Jbird and my sister from the group.  Jbird did not like that.  We could hear him wailing across the river.  We were going just fast enough that it was not too safe to drag your feet, so I could not stop us.  JR finally got to the side of the bank of the river, he figured it would be quicker to catch up with us on foot than being in the river.  Then he found a tube on the bank.  He jumped back in and was able to get over to Jbird and calm him down.  We all made it out in one piece and no one really got sunburned, even though the sky was beautiful.

JR has been staying very busy with work.  He has even turned down a few side jobs.  When the time is right, I don't think he will have a problem launching a full time business.  I got a speeding ticket the other day...the first one in many years.  I thought I was in a 35 mph zone but it was 25.  I was in my own little world and the motorcycle cop caught me doing 39.  Fortunately he was very nice and knocked it down to 35 mph for the ticket.  He told me 10 miles over will cut the fine in half and it will not go on my driving record (thankful for that).  I was scared to find out the fine...I called today to pay it and it was only $20!!

Off to go play with the boys!

While on the road, we discovered a fun indoor pool/water park. It was actually like a community pool. B enjoyed the water slide

And for this guy, swimming finally clicked. He told me the key to him actually swimming without a life jacket was for me to hold his foot. So I did and he started swimming. He loves swimming now!!

I love this picture...you can see the swagger.

This was the cabin we stayed at the second night on the road. Much more rustic than KOA. There was no electricity, which meant it was very hot until close to midnight.

This is where my mom and a few of the kids stayed - complete with electricity, bathrooms and continental breakfast.

We finally made it to the entrance....

He loved playing in the snow....he did eventually have to get out of the snow because his feet were too cold - he had on sandals.

I love this picture of the two of them jumping.  Look closely at Jbird....can't see his feet or one arm/hand.

This was a place we stumbled upon on the drive home.  There was a steakhouse up the hill but this little burger joint on the grass by the lake. Perfect place to sit and hang out...good burgers too.

I made this picture a little bigger...look above the picnic table

The aroma of our food was obviously good, because this black bear sauntered in. He was probably 100 yards. He was not at all interested in us. At one point he looked at us, took a step or two toward us and then headed on uphill. The guy at the next table said he was headed for the garbage dumpster. He obviously did not find what he was looking for at the steakhouse because he head across the street toward the chicken place. While all this was going on, my precious B took off running - scared. Poor thing I found him in the car sobbing. I had to convince him that the bear was really harmless and it was safe to come out. All the other kids of course had gone to the bathroom, so they missed it totally. After dinner and ice cream we were able to track the bear down in the car. We made several u-turns but saw him running through a field, walking by the lake and then swimming in the lake. We finally lost him in the marsh. It was probably the highlight of our trip...seeing a bear up close.

Having a good time with the family and can't seem to get all the pictures from Glacier posted. The day before they flew in, the boys and I spent a night at a KOA campground. I had never stayed at a KOA, but I know it will not be my last stay. Really was impressed with the KOA community. We played at one of their little parks. I love taking pictures of the boys jumping......

JB loves to jump off things, until I get my camera out, then he plays the cautious, careful child.

They were having so much fun on this tire swing. When the other kids left, they asked me to push them. So, I start pushing them around in a circle. Well, I guess I pushed them harder because they started freaking out and then they would allow their body to swing in and out and this only caused the swing to go faster and faster. By the time I got to them, they were all crying and very upset with me.

At the KOA they had these banana bikes you could rent, pretty inexpensively, so we did. There are no handle bars or steering wheel. Instead you turn by swinging your hips and shifting your weight.  It took Jbird a few minutes to get the hang of it as he almost ran into a car and a shed.  The only option I had was to put JB on my lap...very challenging, since he provided extra weight with every pedal.  I finally got smart and had him face me and lay into me, versus having him look forward.  If they were not so low to the ground and hard to been seen, would maybe consider getting one.

Here are two pictures of our cabin. Very quaint and close to the bathrooms!

Hopefully I will get the rest of the pictures up very soon and still tell you about the most exciting part of the trip.

Just a few pictures from our quick trip up to Glacier. A lot more to show and some cool stuff to tell, but it will have to wait. Love the reflection at Lake McDonald

Spent lots of time throwing rocks down at the lake - this was a calm quiet moment

Lunch break at Logan's Pass

There was still a lot of snow up top and the kids loved it!!

The most exciting part of our trip is still to come......

Still on the road. I am thankful I have had a functioning washer for so long. You never realize it until it goes down, but hauling clothes around is not fun. Coming out Friday for a full diagnostic. Hopefully it is the lesser problem and not the more expensive, extensive possible problem. For the first time in my 8 years as a parent, I had someone recently tell me to 'quiet my children down.'. Oh, I grumbled for about 10 minutes in my head and thought of all kind of things I could have told her. They honestly were not being that loud. We were just sitting at the table eating and having conversation. I think JB would periodically get a little loud with his grunts. I can understand if we were in a nicer restaurant, but we were in Pizza Hut...Pizza Hut!. After my mindless grumbling, I started feeling sorry for her. That she could not enjoy the conversation of children, even if it were a little loud. JB continues to do well with words. One thing he has started doing, when he sees something he likes, he will say the word over and over until you acknowledge what he is seeing. If you cannot guess the word correctly, he gets irritated and raises his voice a little louder each time! Both therapists are very pleased with his words. When my mom was here last, he had very, very few words. He exploded with vocabulary just after she left, so will be fun for her.

I have been so good about posting every two days...I can't stop now. Up late preparing for family's arrival soon. My sister, two nieces, brother-in-law and mom are headed this way on Wed. We are taking a two day road trip, so will be silent a few days :-). A road trip complete with swimming, rustic cabins, magnificent mountains and hopefully a little cooler weather! Not that I don't have enough to do, turns out I am headed to the laundromat for the first time in 5 1/2 years. Yep, doing laundry tonight and it appears the drum bearings on the washer are going bad. My dripping wet clothes are in a hamper for the night when I will get my workout carrying it around tomorrow. Food to pack, cameras to charge, bathing suits to grab....then hopefully off to bed before the clock strikes midnight.

Recently we were headed somewhere. I began early telling the boys to get their shoes on. After several requests...this is what I got from my oldest and youngest.

Wool socks (in summertime) with crocs and a rain boot/spiderman slipper combo. They just crack me up. Every time I look at this picture, I just smile! Yes, I let them leave the house that way. Glad I know that my kids attire/appearance in no way reflects my parenting abilities. I have just learned to let them be their own individual!

I took the boys the other day to the 'big' BMX track. Other than it was hot, they had a great time! I timed them on the track and it was about 1 minute 20 seconds, so great workout for them.

Poor JB. He just did not have it in him to try riding down hill (thankful!) but he sure struggled getting his bike uphill. I found him getting so frustrated that he would get his bike to the top of a hill, only to want to push it down and watch it crash.

JB had had enough...decided it was time to ditch the bike and just walk/run

and walked

and walked some more

\ And I finally got all three of them in one shot.....

On Friday we had B's party. Everyone showed up, so we had 8 boys, a younger sibling and then our 3. Quite the houseful. I was nervous since we made it 3 hours. However, as soon as they got here they all grabbed guns and started running around the house playing "Halo". I am not real sure how to play Halo, but they sure had fun and were entertained for close to an hour. Then it was pizza, presents, cake and ice cream. Then we did sculptures out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Then we all headed into the field in the back of our house! They again, ran around playing Halo. All in all a great time had by all. B got a Paper Jamz guitar, Halo stuff, fireworks (which I had never thought of before as a birthday present) and money. He had a great day. Here is his cake I made, which the boys like and I think turned out pretty good. 4 Lego bricks.

A quiet week ahead. Not much on the schedule except therapies and B's math classes at the library. Looking forward to a slower week, since the last two have been busy with morning stuff.