The Pandemic continued...

 What a summer! I didn't know it was possible to love and fall in love and then fall in love again with my kiddies. The older they get they go from one phase to another and they are all so cute and fun to talk to. Maddy finally is chiming in with the rest of us. Voicing articulated opinions and whoever is the most passionate wins. Its been fun to see James and Maddy play make believe. Often something to do with a puppy or zombie. Ben chimes in between audible books and establishes that he is the alpha and they love the whole dynamic. Our kiddies are learning to become best friends. Its sort of my favorite thing. So last you heard we were in the middle of a pandemic. Unfortunately we are STILL in the middle of a pandemic. Its become a little less shocking/dramatic/difficult - we aren't afraid as much to breath on our relatives. Or stand on the same backyard porch as them. It was torture being separated from my brothers and sisters and parents like that. There are some people that really took to all the isolation and alone time but I just couldn't. It was really very hard. As the restrictions have lifted a little by little its like my stress lifted off bit by bit. 

By may School called it quits three weeks early and my kiddies and I went from some sergeant sub servant relationship to just being mom of three cute kids trying to do their best. Being vulnerable, learning how to swim, bike, get along with others, dealing with their emotions and all the sudden I'm just a coach watching as their greatness unravels - through all the bumps and hills and mountains they have to climb... 

We spent the summer camping, going to bear lake, swimming every other day at the Clearfield aquatic center and visiting my parents and sisters and brothers. Violet goes with us almost everywhere we go we love that cute dog!

Lets start with Ben. He is growing by leaps and bounds. I told Will the other day that I'm not ready for him to not be a kid anymore. He has to bath everyday and he often babysits his siblings. He is more responsible with the dog than I am. He is a great help around the house and he is kind and really turning in to quite the young man. He still has some angst of course- life comes at him a hundred miles a minute so he gets overwhelmed with new experiences of course. We just started group violin lessons and it totally sets him off to be in a new group setting- so hoping hat works out ok. 

Moving onto James - he is going to be baptized this next month and we haven't even figured out how we are going to baptize him during a pandemic... only a few people will come and I'm sure the program will be short... James continues to be our most outdoorsy kid. He loves to play with other kids and he will do so for hours on end. James is smart and happy and silly and chill and the perfect middle child for our family. I often think he in some ways completes his siblings as they do him. 

Maddy - my little angel Maddy. She has come so far the past few months. It feels like some of the fog is lifting. She is talking so much more and its so cute here are some of her maddisms:

She came up with a really big number: Googleplexaverse
After watching Sonic the hedgehog she says her stuffed animal penjuins new name was: Sonic Twinkie cause he is fast! 
She seems to starts everything nowadays with: "Just so you know twinkie..." and then says what she is feeling
The following is a conversations I over heard between her and James:

J- you thick zombies are real?
M- they are, they are real— I’m not lying
Stuffed animals are real and zombies are real - it’s not too much pretending
J - so they Can come to our house and eat our brains

M- ah huh - and they are invisible

Maddy's stress and the problems sleeping and the difficult transitions - everything seems to be rounding out. She is picking up swimming and biking like a champ. We've been in OT and cranial sacral therapy and are finding some of the tricks to calming her little overwhelmed sensory system. I don't know when the potty training piece will come in but I'm not going to get worked up over it anymore- it is what it is and we will beat it someday. She starts 1st grad in a couple weeks they will go 2 days on and three days off to split up the kids from COVID exposure - this year will be one for the books for a lot of reasons- I'm learning with faith and family we're going to make it- I feel that more now after sort of falling apart this spring with having to homeschool for two months... 

Will and I- I super love him. He is the perfect ying to my yang. He is always up for serving others and our family. Sometimes I wonder if he is ever tired. Always looking for the next project to help with. He made a wood shed, a balance beam and fixed the sprinklers in the last two weeks alone. He is the perfect partner and I are up grateful everyday to have him. We're hoping to move upward and onward with his job, as my hours continue to go down to support my concussion symptoms and more need for therapies with our kiddies. Fingers crossed. 

I'll leave you with some shots from the past couple months adventures... 

Keep with us, 

Love,

Summer