Summer Fun Begins!

Another summer, another visit to Plumpton Park Zoo!

We decided to swap Elijah out for Brie (at least for this picture).

We decided to join the Aberdeen pool again this summer. It was a chilly weekend when it finally opened, but Catherine insisted that we NEEDED to go. I wasn't looking forward to the pool with a baby, but seeing this chub in a swimsuit brightened me right up:

We even stopped on the way to the pool to buy him a floatie.

He hated it.

A failed deep-end swim test combined with chilly water made for a very unhappy (and cold) Catherine. When we got home it was straight to the tub for some warm soaking in the bubbles. Seth is still disappointed that he's too big to join them.

Catherine is still my little cook. I can't even remember why she wanted to make cookies this day. Quite possibly there was no reason: she just wanted to make cookies. And, as always, she had lots of help from Aaron & Elise.

Sometimes a mom is so desperate for a shower that she brings the baby in with her. And sometimes the three-year-old finds them in the shower, strips down, and joins them. It was a very cozy shower/bath for all of us...

Looking forward to a fun (and hopefully relaxing) summer!

Moments

Just some little things I want to remember:

-When we ask Elise what she's doing (usually suspiciously), she replies, "I'm doing anything!"

-Many times for FHE we play a version of dodgeball in the basement. It's all great fun and everyone enjoys it. But when it's Aaron's turn to throw, things get serious. He'll laugh and smile at everyone as he throws...except Elise. When Elise runs past he clenches his jaw, furrows his brow and throws with all his might.  Thankfully the balls are soft and his aim is not that great, because he's out for vengeance.

-Seth and Catherine have discovered Pig Latin and it's simultaneously adorable and obnoxious.

-During spring almost every day the kids would come inside with small bouquets of flowers for me. Many were wildflowers, but I'd also like to apologize to all the neighbors whose flowerbeds my kids probably raided. 

-Elise loves all things Elsa/princess and will frequently dance "like a princess" while listening to Disney songs.

-Aaron is at the fun phase where he descends into the depths of hysterical despair if he loses a game. He also has extraordinarily bad luck and loses frequently. It's rather hilarious when it's not just obnoxious.

-He has memorized how many zeros are in one septillion (24) and a googleplex (100). He can also quickly calculate all the other big numbers when asked. It's a little freaky. 

-Seth is creating a fantasy game full of various races with different strengths. It's call Mythica. I haven't seen any actual gameplay yet, but there are tons of pictures of the races, and lots of rules, and a chart telling you what each colored die represents. I think he needs to start playing some D&D. 

-Catherine is loving summer break and spends her days happily creating all kinds of art or engaging in imaginative play. She is not at all motivated by electronics, so she generally chooses not to complete her jobs. She only cares about getting them done if she gets to play with a friend in the afternoon.

Happy Birthdays

For my birthday, all I wanted was a nap.

Elijah was happy to enjoy it for me:

It was worth it just to stare at that chubby deliciousness while he slept.

Mom, Dad & I braved taking all five kids to Broom's Bloom for some birthday crab soup and ice cream. I love this picture of my little stairstep lineup of children!

Catherine & my dad made my birthday lemon bars, which were delicious!

It was so nice having my parents around so I didn't have to make my own birthday dessert.

I also saved all my co-op teacher gifts to open, 

so I had some fun birthday presents to look forward to.

Jon also had a birthday, complete with a coconut cream pie. We didn't take any pictures because it was a crazy night (as usual) and we barely got him off his computer long enough to sing to him. Such is the life of busy parents, I suppose! 

Memorial Day

We love our ward Memorial Day breakfast and kayaking tradition. We had perfect weather for it this year: warm, but not too gross and humid yet. I got a break from holding a chubby baby thanks to Brie. She adores him and literally held him the entire time (unless I was feeding him):

After eating too much delicious food, it was off to the kayaks! My mom snapped all these pictures since I was busy making sure Brie's arms didn't fall off from all that huge baby holding.

Catherine LOVES solo time with her daddy.

It's her favorite thing.

Grandpa was on duty with the little ones.

Brave soul, that Grandpa Russell.

A terrifying sight.

Not sure who let Seth, Benjamin & Gabe on a kayak together, but I was impressed they never tipped.

Please note that Gabe is the only one doing any kind of work.

Seth forces Grandpa into a canoe.

Later, forces Mom into a short kayak trip between Elijah feedings.

Another trip with Gabe.

This time he was a little more helpful.

Those who weren't kayaking were enjoying playing on the 'beach'.

We found this little mermaid lounging on the rocks in the sunshine:

We wore ourselves out with all that food and fun.

Good thing Elise let Grandpa borrow Softie Blanket so he could catch a nap before we headed to the Knoxes for some grilling and chatting! A perfect Memorial Day. 

Blessing Day

Blessing day arrived and we prayed Elijah would still fit in the blessing outfit my mom bought for him. Thankfully their 'newborn' size was enormous, so other than some tightness around his amazing thighs, it fit perfectly!

Not impressed with his outfit

"This is hot and scratchy and I hate it!"

Rather Dashing

The Elvis lips

The full ensemble

Of course, if Elijah is around, Aaron will be found nearby.

Very, very nearby.

Aaron would literally do this all day if I let him.

Queen Elsa & Princess Anna made an appearance before the blessing.

I can't remember the last time I saw Catherine in a princess anything...

Despite my fears, Elijah didn't poo-splode in his outfit or scream through his blessing. 

His dad gave him a beautiful blessing.

In the circle were Jon, Timmy, our friend Craig, and both grandpas.

The entire Blood/Mikesell clan

(thanks for doing pictures for us again, Melissa!)

Please note that while Elise wears her sparkly Sunday shoes every other day of the week, 

on Sundays she opts to wear her tennis shoes. It's not worth fighting her. 

The Bloods

Just our Bloods

The menfolk

Elise got to do her own photo shoot with Grandpa.

He clearly has a soft spot for redheaded girls!

When Grandpa(s) Come

Grandpa couldn't be there for an entire month, but we got to have him for a week! I think he may have spent the entire week with the kids swarming all over him like this. 

We finally remembered to pull out the model rockets to assemble while Grandpa was here this time (he's a professional model rocket maker/launcher). There might have been some frustration/tears on Seth's part when it wasn't always super easy, but he did it! And then made repairs when Elise messed with it before it was dry...several times...  Aaron's was much simpler to assemble: just clicking pieces together. Perfect for a 5-year-old. 

We headed to a local park, far from people who would be inclined to call the cops on us, and set up the launch pad:

Seth got to launch first:

First attempt: meh

Second attempt: awesome, minus the part where the parachute failed to deploy

Aaron was nervous about pushing the launch button, but finally did it!

First attempt: decent

Second attempt: went so high that it drifted into the woods and was lost forever

The crushed rocket

Grandpa Mark & Grandma Sara were here for Elijah's blessing and got to watch, too!

Is there anything better than grandpas holding grandbabies?

Grandpa Mark & Elijah Mark

Napping on Grandpa's chest: a Mikesell family tradition

School's Out!

Our last day of co-op was May 20th, which was a full month before public school got out (crazy!). Instead of regular classes we got to do some fun things like a science fair and a big potluck lunch. It was a lovely way to end the year. 

Catherine working on her experiment

Someone decided to start the day extra early by pooping on himself and me.

And here I was worried about having time to shower before co-op...

Seth had big plans for a science experiment involving blood detection. Unfortunately, it's rather difficult to get ahold of blood without looking very suspicious online. We ended up using the phenolphthalein as an indicator and testing various household substances. He had lots of fun showing everyone the color changing as he mixed acids & bases with the phenolphthalein.

Explaining his experiment to Ms. Sharon.

Catherine changed her mind about 30 billion times, but finally settled on balloon science. We did a lot of fun things with balloons that sometimes hilariously failed (we could NOT get that balloon to stick to the wall, no matter how much hair rubbing we did!). She seemed to have a good grasp on why the balloons behaved that way (stripping of electrons), but she either really didn't understand that well or just couldn't explain it to her class without it sounding like a bunch of nonsense. Oh well! It is a little above a second-grader's pay grade...

Elijah's experiment was seeing if we could still shove him into this crab outfit.

Celebratory Cold Stone ice cream that night!

On to 6th grade and middle school for Seth (what?!),

3rd grade for Catherine,

Kindergarten for Aaron,

and Pre-K for Elise.

Best part of the year: burning all the paperwork and books!

Having so many fire assistants is a bit terrifying.

We are SO ready for summer!