Shakespear Shuffle

May 2014

As part of his cub scouting Hyrum was supposed to prepare a meal.  I thought it was going to be a struggle to convince him to do it but I should have known all I had to do was offer to let him use the knife & cut everything up & he was 100% on board!  We had so much fun I think I'll have him help with a meal once a week in the summer.  There's nothing quite like bonding over food :)

One weekend Jeremy took Hyrum, Hunter & Justy on the Father/Son camp out with the church for two days.  I guess Dallen doesn't count as a "son" in this sense until he's 3 :)  So I got a sitter for Dallen & then Em & I & some friends made a girls night of it with tickets to the Snow White ballet.  It was so much fun!  Completely different than our Nutcracker experience.  This time around she was glued to the stage asking questions the whole time & asking to take a dance class at the end.  It was kind of funny the wicked queen was her friend Brady's older sister & it took some explaining for her not to be confused about how that could be.  

I love the Goodwills around here!  Scored these beautiful shoes for 20 bucks the other day.  The Goodwills in Hillsboro/Portland are even better.  

 

Here is Dallen with his two best buds Tommy & Jaron.  He really does love his friends.  He is my first kid to be so social at such a young age but it may help that he has a bunch of older siblings around too.

  

Hunter got a new scooter & he has been riding like a crazy man

(& having lots of crazy crashes too!  Luckily nothing too dramatic yet)

Another scout project for Hyrum was to plan & carry out an outdoor meal.  We had some super warm or hot (depending on who you're talking to) days this past month.  On one of them we went to Cullaby Lake where Hyrum treated us to hot dogs, pears & chips for dinner - yum!

Poor Justy had the worst sunburn ever.  One day we had spent all day outside swimming in a kiddie pool & at the lake with friends.  I greased him the same amount as everyone else & all the other kids were fine but of course Justy wasn't.  It was like he had 2nd degree burns all over his face.  Hence the hat.  He will now always wear a hat when we're outside for a long time.

Climbing trees

I have to share while I'm remembering.  We have been having trouble when Emma has a friend over she excludes Justy for some reason.  Justy & her are inseparable normally but when a friend is over she doesn't really want him around which is confusing & sad for him.  So we had a long heart to heart one day.  About two weeks after our talk she had her best friend Grey over to play.  Grey told Justin he couldn't play their game & Emma completely stood up for him & included him & I couldn't have been more proud of her!!!  I wasn't even in the room so she didn't know I was listening & we hadn't talked about it in days.  I'm so glad I heard it & I made a huge deal about it with her later after her friend had gone home.  She is such a sweet girl!

 

Here is what occupies hours & hours & hours of our time - bug watching, collecting & befriending.  Dallen told me that his ant was his best friend the other day.  Luckily it's only been watching with all the abundant snails & slugs - no one has attempted to collect or befriend them yet!

  

The older boys are playing on a baseball team together.  They have been having more fun than I anticipated.  Hunter seems to be naturally more athletic but Hyrum has really taken to this sport & wants to practice all the time.  He has really improved a ton out there!  When I ask Hunter if he wants to practice he says 'I'm already good enough' haha funny boy!

 

Over Mother's Day Jeremy & I & the kids went up to Washington to visit Pa & Darlin.  I was so excited to be able to spend the actual day of Mother's Day with my Mom for the first time in years & years.  We took the kids out of school Friday & went to the Children's Museum for the entire afternoon.  That place is awesome.  We celebrated my 35th birthday that night - Darlin' made carrot/pineapple cake which is my all time most favorite cake ever!  Saturday I got up really early & ran 10 miles.  Pa ran part of it with me & I had forgotten how fun it was to run with him - years ago we used to run together.  And then we spent about 4 hours walking around NorthWest Trek - a wild life preserve.  We saw all sorts of indigenous animals close up.  My favorite were the caribou & Dallen's favorite was the porcupine :)  I was really tired that night!!!

My friend Amy & I ran a Prom on the Prom (promenade along the beach) 5k.  We got to dress up in prom dresses & we bought cheapo tiara's to complete the look.  We opted to leave the heels at home.  Fun times!

 

Dallen is sporting one of my souvenirs from the race.

Memorial Weekend we had Pa & Darlin' down again to play.  Brigg & Hava & their boys joined us for part of Saturday too.  The boys had a baseball game that morning & it was fun to have Pa & Darlin there to watch.  Pa spent a lot of time outside with them practicing that weekend & he was even able to coach 1st base for a bit.  Can't wait to go to a Mariner's game this summer!  We tried to get into Indian Beach but it was too crowded so we hung out at the beach by Haystack Rock.  Jeremy made this "canyon" out of the sand just by pouring water over it over & over.  It was really cool to watch.  I loved Hyrum's snowman & Hunter's city of castles.  I love how long we can last at the beach.

 

Monday we played more baseball & went for a walk along the prom in Seaside.  No trip to the prom is complete without ice cream at the Candyman apparently :)  At least if you're a Turner or part-Turner or married into the Turner family!

  

We thought Justy looked a bit like a hobbit or small version of Gandalf with his large hat & Pa's sweater on.  Lesson: No matter how warm & sunny it is always pack sweaters when you leave home if you live at the Oregonbeach!

After Pa & Darlin left Jeremy polished all of our teeth - exciting I know!  But it's actually so conveniently awesome to be able to do that.  We also bought our belated birthday presents at the bike shop in Astoria.  I can't tell you how excited I am to own a bike again.  The last time I owned a bike was when I was 18 (yup that was like 17 years ago) when I was a nanny.  I got hit by a car & haven't had a bike since.  Jeremy & I went on a super long date last weekend & went bike riding.  So fun.  Although I thought it was really weird we were the only adults wearing a bike helmet.  What's up with that?  Anyway we also bought a little scooter for Dallen & he has been obsessed with it & just may be a natural scooterer.

Hyrum went on a field trip to the Portland zoo last week.  I signed up to go & arranged babysitting for the other kids & then thought how fun it would be if Jeremy could join us so he got Dave to cover for him at work & it was a date for the three of us.

Part of the mating rituals of the lorikeet bird is to regurgitate food into each others mouths.  Interesting...

Some friends had a new baby this past week so we took care of their other two girls for a few days.  Summer is handicapped in several ways so I was a little nervous about caring for her for so long.  I am so grateful that we were able to watch her.  She is the sweetest, most loving girl I've ever met!  She had this amazing calming influence over our whole home while she was here. It's hard to explain but it was impossible to be upset about anything or at anyone.  I loved seeing my kids play with her, be kind & learn to love having her around.  Although she can't walk or talk she sure can communicate & get around!!  I don't think anyone has gotten into my heart so quickly before.  Everyone has asked several times 'Where is Summer?'  'When is Summer coming back?'