Countdown to School-Day 14

School starts in two weeks, and since our summer has been pretty low-key, I decided to make the last two weeks special. I've planned an activity or playdate every day before school. Trust me, we all sleep well at night!

The day started off with painting, which was a big step outside the box for me. I don't like art activities that require a lot of preparation and clean up, but the boys were so excited to paint that I finally relented. They got these wooden leaf puzzles from their pediatricial (weird, I know) and they wanted to punch all the leaves out and paint them. Eventually we'll get a poster board and draw a tree and glue the leaves on the tree (Hayden's idea) but for now, they sit in a bowl on our dining table as way-early-fall decorations. And yes, I know they are without clothes...again. They had worries that paint would stain their clothes.

Can you tell which side is Roman's and which side is Hayden's? Here's a hint...Hayden's a bit of a perfectionist. Roman is more of a free thinker.

Aubrey decided to pick out her own outfit today. Down to the necklace and winter boots.

We went over to Nana Lafranca's for dinner but got there early enough for some sprinkler action. They were playing some game about ninjas and lava, I couldn't keep up.

Aubrey watching brothers. She had no desire to get near the water and was even slightly offended when the wind would bring some mist our way.

Proof my boys sometimes get along!

Here's the face I love so much.

Aubrey is totally infatuated with apples. She asks for them daily and will snack on one for hours. In fact, she chose an apple over M&Ms today.

Hayden also had soccer practice at a local elementary school in the evening, so we got there a little early so the kids could play on the playground. Aubrey went for the safe slides most of the time, except for trying to follow brothers down the fireman's pole. I'm pretty sure I pulled a hamstring just running fast enough to get to her in time.

Check out this slide...well, at least we think it's a slide...with no sides! Hayden had to straddle it and go down. I'm thinking it's a bit of a liability!

So this net thingy made me a bit nervous. Especially with Roman who is prone to accidents. They were pretty high up! In fact, Roman spent most of his time on there.

Hayden at his first soccer practice. There are only about 8 kids on his team, all boys (poor kid refused to play with girls, so luckily he's on an all-boys team!) and his coach is pretty awesome. Hayden learned a lot in his first practice and is excited to start playing games next week. Roman is also on a soccer team but we have yet to actually hear from the coach.

After practice we got cones at Arctic Circle and dropped Nana Lafranca back to her house. I was tempted to skip baths until the morning, but Aubrey looked like a little Indian princess, she was so dirty! So we all took showers and, best of all, they all slept until 9am the next morning!

Swimming and Crashing

The boys started two weeks of swimming lessons in the last week of July. At first the idea of dragging three kids to the swimming pool every day for two weeks straight seemed daunting, and there were days we were late, but it was a nice break from the day and it gave the kids a chance to be outside. Best of all, Aubrey got over her fear of water and tried many times to join the boys in the pool. However, she developed a fear of lifeguards after one burly guy helped me retrieve her when she went in too deep for me to reach. After that, anyone with a red shirt with a white cross was avoided.

Roman was in a preschool-age class, and his teacher was awesome. Roman can be really shy, especially when he is not with Hayden, and his teacher allowed Hayden to come into the pool and play games with Roman's class for the first five minutes of every class. Hayden was great at getting Roman in the water and leaving him when the teacher told him to. Roman learned water safety, floating, kicking, and the front stroke.

Here's Roman learning to "dive"...aka bellyflop to his teacher. Hayden is next to him.

Roman's class was first, followed by Hayden's class. So while waiting for Hayden, Roman usually found a sunny spot to hang out and dry off.

Hayden is in a level 2 class, meaning his classes are a lot more teaching and not so much games. He was bummed at first because he wanted to play games like Roman's class did, but he also loved that he got to go in the deep end and swim around. He got a lot of one on one attention because he was only one of two kids in the class. He still does a bit of a doggy paddle but he is getting more confident in the water.

Aubrey always found a way to entertain herself, whether it was playing with the other little kids on the grass or wading in the zero-entry pool (as long as no lifeguards were around). She's not very modest, though. Doesn't matter, I usually stripped her down to her diaper because she would get her clothes soaked in the pool. The boys made sure to get her nice and wet. Nice, eh?

Aubrey loves "wa-ee" or water. Even in church she yells for "mo' wa-ee" when the deacons bring around the sacrament, demanding they give her more water.

Nana Lynda, Nana Lafranca, and Jeremiah came to watch the swim lessons, too. The boys loved showing off for them. On the last day of swim lessons, the Scera pool was open for all participants and their families until noon. Jeremiah and I switched off between watching Aubrey and watching the boys. Jeremiah loved throwing the boys in the water, and Aubrey loved jumping to us from the wall. It was her first time in a swimming pool (sad, huh) and she had a blast.

As many of you know, I got into a car accident with our Corolla on July 31. I had just dropped my mom off at the airport and was headed to meet Jeremiah and the kids in Lehi. Steve and Melanie were going to watch the kids while Jeremiah and I went on our first post-bar date. Dinner and Salt Lake Real game. I was so excited...until I totalled our car. Traffic stopped suddenly, and although I wasn't tailing the car in front of me (I swear I wasn't!), I took my eyes off the road for a second and when I looked back, it was too late to stop. The car in front of me was trailing a big metal pole, which pretty much stabbed my car through the grill and into the engine. I called Jeremiah, who was only a minute or so behind me, and he dropped the kids off before picking me back up. The cops were amazing, as was the guy whose car I hit. They were very concerned for me because I was so shook up and crying. I barely damaged the guys car, the pole went through his license plate and probably bent his bumper a little. We didn't make it to dinner that night, but we made it to the game. We got the news a few days later that the car was totalled. The alternator, radiator, and air conditioner were gone, and we were pretty sure the engine was, too. We are learning to deal with one car.

So you can see where the pole went into the grill by the light. The squarish part on the frame underneath is where my car hit his hitch. And to think we just filled up the tank earlier that day and just put $100 in repairs to it two weeks ago! Although I wasn't really attached to my car, it was a great car for the past 12 years. We never had any issues with it, except for the color. In fact, I had just told my mom earlier that day how reliable the car was. Think I jinxed myself? :)

Summer birthday photos

I got the boys' pictures taken through Cheapshots Photography a few weeks ago. I love this photography company, especially because I get to choose where I get the pictures taken. Without a doubt, I knew I wanted the pictures taken at Sundance. For those who haven't been up there, it is absolutely beautiful, even if most of the events are quite pricey. The pictures were supposed to be for the boys' 4- and 6-year pictures, but I had to add a few sibling shots, even if Aubrey wasn't interested in cooperating and the boys were more interested in trying to dip their toes in the creek.

Maybe I should have put more thought into their shoes? I didn't think about full body shots!

I love this photo. You'd never know how ornery he was just by looking at him!

So Jeremiah makes fun of me because I'm always moving my toes. Notice Roman's toes? Totally my child.

Hayden was doing this silly smiles, so I had to stand next to him and tickle, or at least threaten to, and we got some great mid-laugh smiles. Aren't they great? They brighten my day.

In this pose, I was trying to get everyone to smile, so I cheered "Yeah!" and Aubrey started clapping. Not what I was going for, but at least two of my kids figured it out.

Notice both boys are holding onto Aubrey? She thought it was safe to try to jump down. They were about three feet off the ground, with rocks underneath, and with our luck, she would have landed in just the wrong way.

Although I wasn't super impressed with my photographer, I think she got some great shots. My kids were really good about posing for her and smiling on cue. I wish some sibling shots had turned out better than they did. So, note to self: bring another adult next time, I need some help wrangling children! And put Hayden in jeans. He's too skinny for shorts. And don't put Aubrey in white. She's blessed with my fair skin, that dress just blends in. :)