Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

So the first week of summer was a bust for us.  My kids all ended up with hand, foot, and mouth disease and let me tell you it is awful!  I noticed the bumps all over Landon's legs first and although Dalin didn't get the bumps anywhere he was just so, so sick.  I took them to the doctor when I noticed the bumps because I didn't know what they were.  They almost looked like chicken pox, but my kids had been vaccinated.  The doctor confirmed hand, foot, and mouth disease and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it but let it run its course.  It comes with a high fever, extreme flu-like symptoms, and of course, the bumps in young children or the very old.  The doctor also told me it's extremely contagious so I had to quarantine my kids for a whole week.  That was the most difficult part, since it was summer and all their friends wanted to play.  Dalin got the worst of it and didn't get out of bed for about six days.  He wouldn't eat anything and just laid there being miserable.  

Here's the pictures of the bumps.  This was at the very end after it had pretty much run its course so the bumps were actually worse on Landon.  He had them completely covering his legs and all the way around his mouth.  Luckily the bumps didn't itch.  They would just form and break open then go away.

Braden's bumps bothered him more than Landon's did, but he only got these few around his mouth.  Not a fun thing to deal with, and not a great way to start out the summer.

Love to Fish

In the springtime when the weather gets nice we love to head up to the various lakes and fish and play.  East Park is one our favorite destinations because it's relatively close it's not usually super crowded.  This time of year the water is typically very chilly because of the snow-melt.  If you look in the background of the pictures you can still see some snow on the ground.  Braden could care less, Landon remedied this by wearing rain boots, and Dalin pawned some too-big waders off a neighbor that was throwing them out. 

It all works out until Landon goes in a bit too deep and the water goes over the top of his boots.

 Then, right after I took this picture Dalin tripped on a rock and fell face-forward in the water.  Waders only work if you don't fall in head first.

They all love to fish, but we didn't catch anything this trip.  Could it be the kids splashing around the lake?

Check out that dirty face.  

And that dirty forehead.

Remember how Dalin fell in the water face-first?  Since it wasn't really super warm we had to take off his clothes and dry them by the fire, but apparently wet waders are still fairly warm.  He totally looked like a little hillbilly.

Braden loves to be in charge of the fire.

We love our little camps, even if we don't stay overnight.  It's great to just get outside and smell the fresh air and cook on a fire.

Kindergarten Graduation

Braden had his Kindergarten graduation and they did the cutest little program.  He did such a good job.

Receiving his diploma.  He was just so cute.

Here he is with his class.  I will miss Kindergarten.  He did so good in school and had so much fun with it. 

Braden with his teacher Mrs. Tangren, who later became Mrs. Anderson after she got married.  She did such a good job and Braden has done so good in school because she was such a good teacher.  

Bring on 1st grade!

Springtime soccer

My kids really enjoy sports.  They loved indoor soccer and now they get to play outdoor soccer.  We had really great weather for most of the season.  Here in Vernal they only play in the spring rather than in the spring and the fall, so they each have two games and a practice each week.  It makes for some busy schedules but we all enjoy it. 

Braden had a really good team this year and a great coach.  I didn't coach this year because I was still in school and it was a bit too much to take on.  

What a handsome boy.

He hates to lose and loves to win.  If his team was winning he would start to taunt the other team with things like, "We're winning and you're not!" followed by some outrageous laughing.  I had to keep telling him he needed to tell the other team they were doing a good job and thank them for playing.  I had to tell him not to taunt the other team almost every single game.  Good life lessons I guess.

But it's fun to celebrate a goal.

They don't have goalies in Braden's age group yet but he liked to play defense and stand in front of the net and prevent goals.  

Having their huddle at half-time.  

And it's always fun to goof around a little bit.

Watching our brother play.  Landon can't wait until he's old enough to play.

Dalin also enjoys soccer and is getting really quite good at it.  At the beginning of the season he wasn't great, but after talking to him a few times about how he could get way more touches if he would dribble the ball up the field rather than just boot it he caught on real quick.  He and his teammates got pretty darn good at dribbling up the field and passing for the goal.

Dalin plays on a bigger field so I had a more difficult time getting good pictures of him in action.  So most of the pictures are of him just out on the field.

Dalin really likes to play defense.  He was good at it too.  He would go get the ball from the other team and then dribble it up the field.  He didn't ever score a goal, but he had a lot of assists and prevented a lot of goals.  He often requested to play defense. 

Here he is getting a shot on goal.  I really love to watch my boys have so much fun and improve year to year.

Mother's Day

Let's not forget Mother's Day and let me just start by saying I am so grateful for all the school teachers, primary teachers, and scout leaders who work so hard to help my kids make some great gifts for me.  Dalin planted a flower for me in a small pot and wrapped it in the cutest paper.  They brought home the best letters from school with their hand prints and some more flower seeds.  I loved the thought my kids put into it and on the actual day Dalin said, "Mom, I wish I had a million dollars so I could buy you whatever you wanted."  Made my heart melt.  I love my little family and becoming a mother was the best decision of my life.  It's not easy, but it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done.  Dalin and Braden gave me little fill-in-the-blank poems that are always so funny and cute.  

Braden

Let me tell you about my mom.

My mom is   33   years old.

She likes to take me swimming.

The best thing she cooks is macaroni and cheese.

Her favorite food is   waffles  .

Her favorite thing to do to relax is sit with me and watch TV.

We like to  go bike riding  together.

She is really good at cooking.

I my mom was a superhero, her name would be a cool girl.

As you can see, my mom is special because she loves me.

Dalin

My mom is   33  years old.

My mom spends most of her day at the store.

If my mom was a superhero, her name would be Super Woman.

The best thing my mom cooks is cookies.

My favorite thing to do with my mom is play.

My mom is the best at cooking.

I love my mom because she is nice.

My mom is sweet as a cherry.

My mom is as beautiful as a sparkle.

I love my mom because she makes my dinner.

What a great day.

Puzzles

Landon has been on a puzzle kick.  He plops right down on the kitchen floor, not underfoot at all, and works and works while I'm cooking dinner.  He's quite good at them.  He can do them all by himself and recently helped me complete a 100 piece puzzle with dragons on it.  

So proud of his achievement.

And so cute too.

Artwork

So I don't keep all of my kids' artwork.  I choose one or two really good ones that I really like and keep it in their files, but the rest I take pictures of  so I don't have a million papers all over the place.  We also showcase them on the boys' bedroom door for a while.  When we get new ones we pull an old one off the door and replace it with the new one.  The kids like this because they get to look at their work all the time, and I like it because once we pull it off the door we're done with it.  It works for us.  Anyways here are a bunch of pictures of their end-of-school work that got sent home all at once.

Braden drew a picture of our house.  He drew the big tree on the side of the yard and made sure to point out he included the roots.  He also attached the neighbors' house to ours, but left it white to show that it's not part of our house (we live in a duplex).  

He had to draw a picture of a flower and label all the parts.

This is his turkey, made out of his hand.  Although, by the time this one got home it had been torn and rolled.  He liked it because after he painted the background he got to draw clouds and grass by rubbing off the paint with a Q-tip.

Braden's butterfly.  He does like to paint and is glad they get to do this at school.

His little leprechaun.

This one was his favorite.  It's a ghost done at Halloween time drawn with white chalk on black paper.  He told me it looked like a real ghost and that's why he liked it so much.

First of all, I'm not sure why Dalin insisted on going bug-eyed on me.  I took this picture about five times and every time I clicked the picture to take it he would do it.  Apparently he thought it was funny and this was his way of getting back at me for making him take so many pictures.  Little stink!

Dalin's snowman made out of small ripped papers.  

His leprechaun.

He made his family tree.

I loved this one, done by dipping the tip of his finger in paint and then all over the paper.  

Dalin didn't have that much artwork because I had to pull him out of school early every Tuesday for vision therapy and that was right when they went to art.

We checked out a "How to Draw" book from the library and he drew all of these animals out of that book.  He had fun with it.  When I asked him which picture was his favorite he said, "None of them.  I don't like anything about art."  That's not true but at the moment he was giving me a bit of attitude.  What will I do when he's a teen?