August rocks

A couple of things:

1st. Paul took his second boards test on Friday. He took two weeks before to study like a banshi. We're lucky that we have a study/ studio so that he can study at home or we would never have seen him. It's one of those tests that takes like 6 weeks for the results to come in. How can it take 6 weeks to score an online test??? So they make you sweat while you wait, but Paul feels like he did pretty good. Way to go Paul. We're that much closer to that enviable derm spot we're hoping for!

2nd. I just finished

and I'll just say that I was NOT disappointed. (except in myself for being a sucker for a teenage vampire book!) I am just so proud of Stephanie, a BYU grad with two boys at home, for showing that as moms we can make a difference in the world and come out with something pretty darn great. I love that it is a moral book through and through and yet still so intoxicating. Yeah for Stephanie! I hope she just keeps on writing!

3rd. Just some tidbits about our day and some pictures from this month:

It was a relaxing Saturday. It was good to have some of the anxiety of boards out of the house and our Paul back. He made a bow and arrow with Eirik that actually really shoots pretty far. Pretty impressive. Eirik was needless to say, very impressed and I'm sure he won't put it down for weeks. We went to a bunch of garage sales this morning. I found a big life size castle for Eirik for $10.
I also bought two huge bags of games and great toys for another $10. I got a new pressbox to make art out of for $1 and a whole bag of shirts for Eirik $6- just what I was looking for! I also found this sweet barn for $1! I love this. I think I'll paint it red and put turquoise and green and cow patterened backgrounds in the squares and use it as the inspiration for Eirik's next room... that is if he still likes horses when we move next. :)

Garage sales are so fun. I love the deals and I love having new things for my kids that barely cost me anything. For what I spent today I could have bought one new toy or game. Bargains rock!

The weather was gorgeous today. It was an easy 78 degrees with a soft breeze. We have 53 ducks in the pond in our backyard and for some reason they were playing all kinds of games today. It was like a cacophony of ducks and splashing and quacking all day. It was like the ducks had gone crazy. We had fun watching them. The day I took this picture there were about 13 geese too.
Around 5:00 I noticed a dark spread of clouds rolling in. I took my boys to the front lawn to watch the darkness roll in. The clouds were amazing swirling and spreading and changing so fast. We stayed out on the lawn until the raindrops started falling. I'm sure it will be a fun memory to look back on. Paul has been craving chicken wings so we went to Happy's Pizza tonight, and on the way we drove by a house with flames shooting out of the roof!! I have never witnessed a house on fire before and what a sight it is. As we were heading out for a fun happy night someone else's life was being burned up. Crazy how fast bad things can happen. It seems so fragile, this little life we have. I want to soak up every little drop of this time with my Joren while he is still little and before he starts crawling which will be any day now. It seems like as soon as he can crawl, he's just not quite so dependent on his momma for every little thing. There are so many moments in our little family life that I want to record so firmly that I will never forget, like today when Eirik charged through the door of his new castle decked head to toe in his homemade weapons and armor to fight the fiery dragon and save the princess. Or today when we pushed the furniture to the the edges of the room so that we could all demonstrate to Joren how to crawl and then when he pushed up into plank position we all erupted in clapping and he looked like the happiest and proudest little baby in the world. Or yesterday when the boys were taking a bath together and Eirik asked me to help Joren stand up so he could give him a big hug and Joren of his own accord pulled his little chubby arms up around Eirik and hugged him back and then they splashed each other in utter joy for the next 5 minutes.

Here are some photos of the past few weeks:

I taught a little summer art class in July for a few of the kids of some of my friends. I LOVED doing this. They are such great kids and I loved seeing the unique approach that they each had. I loved seeing their talents. I had to work hard to not direct too much and just let them work. I wish I had pics of all the talented kids that have made art in my house. I hope to continue this and open the classes to more kids. I miss it already.



For some reason I thought that the horses, weapons, dragons and knights were just a phase and that it wouldn't last very long, but I was wrong. It seems that they are here to stay... and stay and...... stay...
This was what he created as a make-shift bow and arrow. pretty clever I thought.
all his "things" he can't live without.

For once I wasn't the one playing swords with Eirik. We had friends over and I made them all shields and it was SO fun for all of us!

Peter Pan / Robin Hood costume. His makeshift whip.
Anything can be a weapon.. and if you're tricky like I am it can be used to get the dust "really hard."
Eirik informed me right before he went to sleep that this is how cowboys sleep. I had to get a picture!

We got to go ride the pony's at the park as a reward for some good potty training progress. Eirik named the pony spirit and acted like he had never not been an experienced equestrian.
Although 99% of Eirik's play has something to do with the aforementioned weapons and horses, there are those rare moments where other creative play happens. This was so cute when I found Eirik making a tower out of my bracelets that he explained to me he had "planted" in the cup and was now watering to make them grow. :)
This is our cute little friend Cooper who has truly learned to love books from his wonderful mother.

And I couldn't post without a few pics of this little angel!