Breaking News!

On August 27, Caleb got his 2nd (the 6th so far for all the boys) broken bone. When people ask him how he did it, his response is "Sheridan launched me and I landed like this." Sheridan was (out of MY line of vision, naturally) laying on his back with his feet in the air, Caleb sat on Sheridan's feet, and Sheridan "launched" him. This is how Deren broke Kerali's arm almost 30 years ago. Note to all boys: This is NOT a good game! Anyway, Caleb had his arm in a splint for a little over a week, then on Thursday we went in and got the cast put on. He named it "Flame Solid." This is because when Marcus broke his arm almost a year and a half ago, he named his blue cast "Rock Solid." We've now had enough broken bones, that I'm pretty confident in diagnosing a break even without the x-rays. Luckily, this one isn't the worst break we've had, and he should be out of the cast before the end of the month.

Back to School (9-07)

After homeschooling last year, we made the decision to have Marcus and Sheridan attend a new Montessori Charter School this year. I will miss many things about homeschooling, but it was really tiring, and we're very encouraged by what this new school has to offer. The kids have gone for one week, and are really really enjoying it. The situation will only be improved when the school's new building is completed (hopefully by the end of October). Until then, we do have a bit of a drive everyday.

The boys are taking lunches to school, and Caleb was feeling somewhat left out. So one night while the big boys packed their lunches, Caleb packed one too, then then next afternoon, I found him in our schoolroom, eating his lunch. He was quite pleased with himself.

10-Month-Old Mitchell (August 07)

This Summer, Mitchell was the Incredible Napless Child. I guess he was just too busy figuring out stuff. For example, after showing no interest in crawling, in the middle of June he finally figured out a funny one leg, one arm scoot (he looks rather Gorilla-like, actually), and now he's so fast at it that he won't walk (even though he's taken several steps many times). With a little coaching, Mitchell has also mastered crawling up and down the stairs. He still makes me a little nervous, but he's done really well. I think he's only tumbled once (down the last 3 stairs at my Parents' house). Mitchell is quite vocal and loves to shout (where do you think he learned that?). He's big on dancing (wiggling, or crawling in a circle)and music and has even tried leading the singing at church along with the chorister. Kerali gave Mitchell his first haircut in July and he's already sorely in need of another. The development that I'm most pleased with is that the last couple of weeks, as our schedule has calmed down, Mitchell has been sleeping better. He's still not a reliable napper, but has had a few days of really good naps, and now only wakes usually once a night. Thank goodness.

CHEERS FOR CALEB!!!! (8-07)

If you look closely at this picture, you can just tell that Caleb is no longer wearing diapers!!! The Sunday after his birthday, Guy decided that we'd had enough diapers and that Caleb needed more incentive to potty train, so he started a plan with Caleb that he came up with and the short version is that by Wednesday, Caleb was dry and diaper-free. Here, Caleb is finally holding "Bounce the Schoolbus," a toy that he picked out and named many months ago, that was up on a shelf in the kitchen until he went poop in the potty. For being potty trained, he also finally got the bionicle we'd bought forever ago as incentive. Obviously, toys weren't enough of an incentive. Just call Guy the "Potty Whisperer." Um, on second thought, you'd better not. :-)

Charlie Brown

Caleb loves his Charlie Brown outfit my Mom made for his birthday. He put it on that night (Thursday) and wouldn't take it off until we insisted he take his bath Saturday Night. In the second picture, Drake is being Linus (in his Halloween costume from last year), Sheridan is being Schroder and Marcus is being Snoopy.

Happy Birthday, Caleb! (8-16-07)

Although Caleb will insist that he's 6 years old, we celebrated his 4th birthday Peanut's-style. In the first picture Caleb completes the Snoopy portion of the obstacle course (eating Kix like a dog). Next, Caleb opens presents (with Addie and Mitchell assisting) which included several books, Imaginext dinosaurs, legos, and the Charlie Brown shirts and shorts from my Mom.

Harding Family Reunion

We really enjoyed our visit to Omaha--sharing a rental house with Nate and Shawna, meeting little Jacob and Baby Zach, and getting to see many people we hadn't seen in two years. I want to especially thank Heather and Chelsea for all the effort they put into planning, and then all the work they went to to keep us fed and happy while we were there. Thanks, girls! It was great!

Harding Talent Show (8-11-07)

Saturday night we took family pictures (which I will post if I ever find the missing disc) then met at the Institute building for a bbq and talent show. These pictures aren't the greatest. . .

Picture 1: Marcus and Sheridan dance the Shmeerskahoven (from Pinky and the Brain)

Picture 2: Caleb and Guy do "Hi, My Name is Joe" (I think you'd have to see this one to fully appreciate it--but Caleb thought it was great).

Picture 3: Mitchell hangs out with Uncle Jake.

Picture 4: Little Jacob does "If You're Happy and You Know It" with some help from Chelsea, Brooke, Heather, Brittney, and Brenna.

Winter Quarters Temple, Mom's Gravesite (8-11-07)

On Saturday morning we were up early to go to the temple with Dad, Chelsea, Nate and Shawna. I think it's such a neat temple, and it's really nice to be part of a smaller session after so many packed sessions at Utah temples. After the temple everyone went out for an early lunch, then we visited Guy's mom's gravesite. We didn't stay too long (the heat!), but we did get a picture of almost the whole gang.

Wildlife Safari (8-10-07)

On Friday morning we went to the Wildlife Safari off of I-80 between Lincoln and Omaha. There was a heat advisory out that day so the big animals (elk and bison, especially) were hunkered down in the shade and near water, and weren't doing much, but we all had fun riding the tram together.

Picture 1: Chelsea with Heather's baby Zach, and Zoey.

Picture 2: Mitchell and Guy and elk.

Picture 3: Pelicans and green water.

Picture 4: Caleb and the cranes.

Girls' Night Out (8-9-07)

The tradition for Girls' Night Out began in 2001 when Carol, Shawna, Heather, Chelsea and I drove out to Beatrice, NE for Tina's bridal shower. It was a bit of a long drive, but we had a blast just hanging out together. So Thursday night we left the husbands with the kids and all the girls (Hannah included) went out. We went to dinner, hit a couple of stores at the mall before it closed, and finished up with a stop at Coldstone. It was a lot of fun--even when Shawna, the not-so-juvenile delinquent, insisted we do a Chinese Fire Drill or two on the way home. I think Hannah thought we were all a little nuts--she's right.

Picture 1: Carol, Megan and Heather all had their cell phones out comparing pictures.

Picture 2: I know the flash kind of ruins it, but here's Shawna, Hannah, Tina and Chelsea in Old Navy.

Fun in Dad's Garage (8-8-07)

Chelsea and Heather decided that, with everyone around, we needed to finally clean out the garage with the goal of letting Dad actually park in it--something that hasn't happened for a couple of decades, I think. We (I use the term loosely because I mostly stayed in the house with Mitchell) took everything out, dumped a good deal of it, sent other things with the kids who they belonged to, then swept it all out and Shawna headed up painting the walls. Guy and Dad bought some new shelving, and once the dumpster was gone, Dad could indeed park in the garage. While the grownups were working, the kids mostly entertained themselves--either in the kiddie pool Heather put up, with video games, or like Marcus, by climbing on some spare tires.

Henry Dorly Zoo, Part 2

Picture 1: Caleb was pretty excited to find his favorite animal in the jungle--the sloth.

Picture 2: Porter, Sheridan, Hannah, Brooke, Brittney, Caleb, Tina with Dylan, Spencer, Marcus, Me, by the waterfall.

Picture 3: Caleb bonded with the Gorillas when we visited 2 years ago, and I think they must have remembered him because they put on a pretty good show while he was there.

Picture 4: What's bigger than a lemur, smaller than an orangutan, and has more energy than both animals combined? A Marcus.

Henry Dorly Zoo, Omaha (8-7-07) Part 1

We love the zoo in Omaha and have to go every time we visit. First we went to the Lied Jungle, which is where we took most of the pictures.

Picture 1: Porter, Sheridan, Marcus (Raptor), Spencer, Caleb, Brittney, Hannah, Mitchell (in the wagon he wasn't fond of), Brooke, Jonah

Picture 2: Sheridan, Shawna, Brittney, and Grandpa on the rope bridge.

Picture 3: Guy with all the kids.

Picture 4: Caleb and Grandpa check out the Macaws.