Cheer Camp

Bridget went to cheer camp last week and had a blast. She says she learned more in that week than she has all summer. Although she has been working hard all summer. They have practice two hours a day usually starting at 7 am. They are constantly doing fundraisers because this whole cheerleading business is expensive! Since she is the smallest (but not by much) she is the one that does all the stunts. She is always up in the air. On the first day of camp they dropped her pretty hard. But she wasn't hurt too bad and she went right back at it. They got to stay in the dorms at Central Washington University and Bridget got to have her friend Shaylee as her roommate. Their squad won a "Spirit Stick" everyday they were there. Apparently this is a good thing. She had a great time but came home exhausted.

Bridget and Shaylee

The whole squad

I hope you think they look like a million bucks because their outfits almost cost that much!Bridget is in the first row on the far left.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!

Samantha's Birthday was Monday, July 21st and she turned 20! No longer a teenager. This was the first year she wasn't home for her birthday. She was finishing up at school on the 18th and I was going to go get her but we had a change of plans at the last minute. It turned out that she needed to be in California for a job interview the day after her birthday. Lucky for us her roommate Kathryn happens to be from there and had room in her truck for Samantha and all her stuff. Thanks Kathryn! That helped a lot! Samantha was a little sad to not be spending her birthday with the fam but she was not neglected for sure. On Sunday Grandma Roskelley had a big bash with the whole extended family for Samantha and Hans (my nephew) who share a birthday. Then the next day she went out to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa and more extended family then that night she went out with her friends from college. The next day she had her interview with The Gap call center. (She got the job yay!) Then the next day she came home. She also went to church with Grandma Roskelley on Sunday. She says she always forgets how awesome she is until she hears Grandma brag about her to everyone.

So she is home now for a short time and will be back in California being roommates with Grandma. So if your ever in the neighborhood stop in the swingin single pad and see what is the haps.

Here is the picture of her from the hospital.

Everyone told me how their babies were not so pretty when they were born but I thought Samantha was beautiful. She didn't look scrunched or anything. Her original due date was June 23rd. Then they changed it to July 7th. Then she was two weeks late and had to be induced and then she still took 23 hours of labor to get here. Maybe she was a little anxious about the whole earth life thing.

I always hated this picture because I was fat and not dressed so beautifully. If I only knew. Looks great to me now.

Todd and I were the typical over the edge first time parents. We thought she was the best, smartest most beautiful baby ever. (And who is saying she wasn't?) Everything had to be perfect all the time. Now I lovingly call her our test child. I mean you gotta practice on someone, right? She has always been very smart and pretty. She learned to read at a young age and always did well in school. She has a quick wit and is very observant of what is going on around her. She picks up on things not everyone does. She has become our flower child. She is saving the world and loves politics and recently became a vegetarian. She likes to march to the beat of her own drummer.

She always loved to have her picture taken. Here she is at about 6. I remember this day. The photographer didn't have to pose her. She kept coming up with her own. I know this is one she posed all on her own.

Samantha is a complex being. I am not sure I can capture her completely in one post. For those who know her, feel free to make your observations about Samantha in the comments.

Dworshak Scout Trip

The boys went on a Scout trip to the Dworshak Dam and Reservoir. This is a really boring post because I have no PICTURES! This is what happens when you leave it up to the boys to document our life. Although there are some in existence that others took but I have seen them and you just might be better off, dear reader, having not had that experience. You see many of them include Garrett in a Speedo. Which of course you know is very nearly naked! I'm sorry to all those who had to witness it first hand. Otherwise it seems they had a great time. This was Garrett's last trip as a youth. Todd went up half way through the week. Dallin earned the water skiing badge. Which I thought was pretty good since he had never water skied before. You have to cross the wake 4 times on each side. It doesn't count if you cross 5 times on one side and 3 times on the other. You also have to dodge something that they throw out of the boat. We are really lucky because we have a really strong scouting program in our ward. Every scout trip has a strong spiritual aspect. Something I hope my boys take with them as they become scout leaders. One scary thing, Dallin came home with a major rope burn on the side of his neck and under his chin. Kinda like his head almost got chopped off while they were tubing. When I saw some of the pictures where they were all jumping on top of each other while tubing I thought it was a good thing I wasn't there.
This was the same week that Bridget was gone for EFY so I had some alone time with the little ones. This was surprisingly fun and relaxing. I thought it might be rough with out the help of the older kids but it was so peaceful and we got to hang out at the pool and eat NickDonalds.

EFY

Well Bridget made it safely to Idaho. On the first leg of her first plane ride (that she remembers), she is sitting by herself and the girl across the aisle from her starts vomiting and she doesn't have an airsick bag so the guy behind her hands her one. But not before there is puke all over the wall of the plane. I have never seen this happen but on her first flight it happens right next to her. She got to spend some time exploring the Salt Lake Airport and made her connecting flight just fine and when she got to Idaho Falls Samantha was there waiting for her. So she spent the weekend pretending to be a college student and everyone just treated her like she was one. She and Samantha went to the movies and she went to church with her and to work and to one of her classes. So she has now had a little taste of college life. On Monday afternoon she started EFY. It was a little lonely at first because she was alone but then a group of guys asked her to eat lunch with them and from then on she met all kinds of incredible, awesome, wonderful people that she loves, loves, loves. (Including a EFY fling and a new EFY BFF but don't tell her I told you) She had a great time and then Saturday it was back to Samantha's apartment. She spent the day with Samantha then at 4 she went on a date with a boy she use to play with when we lived in Ohio. Our good friends from Ohio live in Rexburg now and I have enjoyed getting to visit them when I am in town. These two don't remember Ohio much but Bridget really enjoyed her date. They went skittles bowling and then to a party. It was really interesting for Bridget to get to see what it is like to live in a town with lots of LDS kids that have a lot of fun together. Here she is with some of her new EFY friends.

On Sunday they visited Rachel and her precious new little guy. It was also Rachel's birthday. Rachel is one of Samantha's best friends since she was 11. We all love Rachel. You just can't help it. Hard to believe she is already a MOM!
All in all it was a most excellent week.

PROGRESS

Todd spends every spare minute working on the shop. I'm talking EVERY spare moment. But he is making progress. Here you can see he got the trusses up.

Here are our very own amber waves of grain.

He has even started putting the roof on. And he is loving every minute.

In the Good Ole Summertime

Girls Camp
The week after school was out Bridget went to camp. This was her fifth year at camp so she was a YCL. I'm just guessing that means Youth Camp Leader. Some of her responsibilities were leading daily devotionals, searching for lost girls, taking girls for rides in the canoes,

and doing crazy skits. Here she is dressed up for one with her friend Shaylee.
She had a great experience as usual despite the fact that she was not feeling well for most of the week.


FUN IN THE SUN

Nothing says summer fun like a snow cone at the pool!

These guys have been loving the swimming pool this year. Elijah will spend most of the day on this frog slide. He usually gets airborne on his way off the end. I bought him a Spiderman kick board that looks just like his friend Micah's. He loved it so much he had to sleep with it at night. Then he got in bed with me and whacked me in the head with it several times. When he started riding it down the slide the lifeguard came over and told him that was against the rules. Well he has this little anger management problem. He started to scream throwing a huge tantrum sitting on his board at the top of the slide with a whole line of kids behind him. I was sitting nearby and the lifeguard had this scared, what do I do now look. I contemplated pretending I didn't know him and letting her deal with it. I mean she did it, right? I gave in, took him off the slide, explained rules to him, sat him on a bench until he was ready to follow the pool's rules. Well he wasn't ready for about a half hour while he screamed full volume. Finally he was ready to go back to having a great time. But every once in a while he would sneak the board back on the slide. Then he would come to me and confess and promise to follow the rules from then on. The temptation was just too much for his little three year old brain. Not surprisingly that lifeguard never noticed again.

Here is Lydia the bathing beauty. She also loves the pool and never has a tantrum.

After we have been there about 4 1/2 hours and the pool is closed, Elijah has to be the last person in the pool and then the lifeguard must come to tell him he has to leave now. Then sometimes he can leave without crying. We're working on it. From that moment on they beg to go back to the pool until the next time.

Swimming Lessons

Lydia and Elijah have also been taking swimming lessons. They take them at a pool at a local college with a brand new facility. It is really nice. I guess that is why it costs a small fortune to go to school there. The first day is always a little iffy. Lydia lucked out because one of her teachers was Garrett's friend Ethan. So she jumped right in and felt perfectly comfortable because she knows him. Garrett was also lifeguarding there. Elijah isn't as shy as Lydia is but he still didn't really want to get in the pool with those strangers. It took a lot of convincing to get him in. Once he got in he loved it. He thought we were there for the day like when we go to the pool. So when the lesson was over he didn't want to get out and then that anger management problem kicked in. This is an indoor pool and his screams were echoing all the way out. Garrett just pretended he didn't know us. After that day he was okay because he knew what to expect. I took these pictures on the last day of class which is a play day and you got to bring friends or family members. So Dallin got to swim with them. This is a shot from up in the spectators section. Dallin has Elijah on his back and Ethan is talking to Lydia.

Here is Dallin and Elijah with his beloved Spiderman Kickboard. If only I could make all my kids that happy for a dollar. That's right, one dollar for all that joy.

Here is Dallin carrying Lydia from one end of the pool to the other. From the looks of how she is chewing on that fingernail she might be nervous he is going to drop her.

Here is Lydia with her friend Maddy. We stayed an extra half hour since her lessons were right after ours so they could play together. We are starting a new session this week and they will be in the same class as their friends this time.

Here is Garrett in all his lifeguarding glory. He is actually on his way out in this picture. That's why he doesn't look like he is working. He loves this job, it's indoors and has very little physical labor. He actually did have to patch someone up the other day. A dance camp was using the pool and one of the teenage girls dove in and smashed her face. She had a bloody nose and her teeth went through her lip and her chin was hurt. He patched her up as best he could and sent her to the ER. He found out later that she broke her nose and her chin. He is hoping that is the last time he has to do that. He actually just got assigned to an outdoor pool so no more temperature control but it means full time which is good news.

First Flight

Okay well the first flight she remembers. I was going to take Bridget to EFY in Rexburg and then she was going to stay with Samantha for a week. Well Bridget decided that she can't miss that extra week of cheer practice because it is the week before cheer camp blah blah blah... So there was no way I was driving down there every weekend for three weeks. Not to mention that gas prices make flying seem very attractive. So long story long she needed to fly there. Here she is looking a little nervous about going on her first flight all alone.

And yet she was super excited too. The only thing I was worried about was the layover in Salt Lake. First of all, cute sixteen year old girl all alone, sounds like a creep magnet to me. Second, what if she didn't find her connecting flight or something? Well she had time to explore the airport and she made her connecting flight okay. When she got to Idaho Falls Samantha was there to greet her so all was well. The funny thing is that on the first flight she was sitting alone and the girl across the aisle from her started throwing up. She didn't have one of those air sick bags so the guy behind her gave her one. But too late she already threw up on the plane. I have never seen that happen and it happens right next to her on her first flight.

So she is staying the weekend playing college coed with Samantha and then on Monday she will go to EFY. Then she will go back to Samantha's Apartment and stay until she comes home next Sunday. Bridget has been a busy girl lately. She gets up early to be at cheer practice at 7 am and then she comes home and exercises. She started a new job making deliveries for the bakery/cafe that her friend, Shaylee's, parents own. And then there is her social life. Well that is a full time job on it's own.

Fourth of July

Here are the kids in their 4th of July outfits. Too bad we were the only ones to see them. Todd and the boys went to help with the city fireworks helping man the gates to the off limits area. The boys earned money towards their scout trip this year. So the little kids and I just watched fireworks out the window while Bridget got packed for her trip. The kids got really excited about the fireworks but then they got bored and wanted to watch a movie. But I did go out early that morning and picked blueberries. I picked nine pounds and came home and made some awesome blueberry pancakes. YUM! The rest I froze for later.

Happy Birthday/Fathers Day

Eighteen! An official adult yet still a teenager. After the last weekend being all Garrett all the time. The next was Garrett's Birthday. Good thing he had to share it with Father's Day just to keep him grounded. Garrett was born June 15th 1990. He was my biggest baby (9lbs 9 oz) and the quickest labor. He was five days late which was a relief after the last one ( two weeks and induced). I woke up at just after 2am with a strong contraction. Ten minutes later another one. Five minutes later another one. From then on two minutes apart. I just got up and did some things to see what was happening. After being induced with Samantha I wasn't sure what to expect. In any case since her labor was so long I was sure I had plenty of time. I woke up Todd and leisurely got ready to go. We took Samantha next door to Grandma and Grandpa Roskelley and drove very slowly to the hospital. We were thinking we would be very embarrassed if they sent us home. By the time we got there I was having trouble getting the gown on I was in so much pain. By the time they checked me I was in transition. I was not in my room very long and the doctor barely made it before Garrett was born at 6:16 am. Four hours from first pain to baby. Garrett is squished between two intense girls. (I had all three in three years and three months). How is it that he is the most laid back kid in town? Garrett likes people and can get along with just about anyone. He has a great sense of humor, loves music and film making. He has a great sense of who he is, he doesn't need to be the center of attention but people are drawn to him. He is not afraid to pull someone up when they are down. He is very compassionate. (Although this can be hard to believe when he is driving you crazy just for fun.) He has high standards yet he is still "cool". He has a great testimony and is a wonderful mentor for his younger brothers (who idolize him). I love the person he has become. It's amazing to watch the growth and at this time of life. When it's time to let your kids go you have to wonder, did I teach him everything he needs to know? Is he ready? Did I do everything I wanted to with him before he goes? But I know he is going to be fine. I'm just not sure I will. He will be missed around here.

Anyway, enough mush, he had a fun birthday beside the fact that he had to spend that day , and the two days previous, learning how to be a lifeguard. The good news is he is now a certified lifeguard! He works for the city lifeguarding and does farm work on the side when he has time. He got some clothes and stuff and a gift card to Best Buy for some cool stuff to go with his new lap top he is getting for school.

It was also Father's day. So here they are together. Unfortunately someone in the ward passed away so Todd spent most of dinner in his "office" (his car) on the phone. Todd got the thing he got me for Mother's day and then stole the next day. It is a GPS with a MP3 and bluetooth. He decided he wanted to keep it for Father's day and my camera died so I bought myself a new one for Mother's day. Todd doesn't even know how to find this blog so he doesn't read it. But I must say he is a wonderful Father. He is a great example to his children, he is hardworking and does so much for us. We are so blessed to have him.

I know this is really late but it is summer and school is out and computer time is scarce.