George's visit

George is one of our seriously cute nephews on Chuck's side of the family. He's almost exactly two years older than Clyde, putting him at just shy of eight years old, and the two of them are good buddies.  So naturally we were delighted when the possibility came up of George coming to stay with us for a week in June! 

 The first day George was here was a Sunday, so I had to get a picture of all the boys after church. I got to sub as the teacher in George's primary class that day, which was extra fun :).

The main reason for George's visit was so that he could attend a fun science/imagination day camp.  Here are some pictures of his creations at camp and some of the different outfits he wore each day based on the 'theme' for the day.

One day was space/alien day, so we turned him into an 'orange alien' - coinciding with the color of his group at camp. Thanks to Grandma Izatt for giving me the orange hair color spray a few months ago; now we know it works!!

The boys got lots of video game time in after George came home from camp each day (and sometimes beforehand!).  They alternated between Kinect games, NCAA football, and Lego Star Wars.

More good times - playing catch, playing board games, window shopping in the toy aisle at the store :).

It wasn't all fun and games though; we put the boys to work washing the van...

which turned into a water fight.  Maybe it was all fun and games!

On Thursday night I had Pack Meeting for Scouts, so George tagged along and represented his family by making a family flag.  Then we all changed into our red 49ers shirts to go support Chuck and the rest of Nampa 2nd Ward in their softball game!

George was a great fourth son for the week - sweet, helpful, fun, cute.  He loved baby Jack and was always there to help him or play with him :).

I miss you smoothie buddy! Come back and stay with us again - next summer maybe??

Baby Jack nostalgia

Remember when I had a wee baby with . . .

dark, dark [occasionally awesomely-styled] hair . . .

a completely [darling] gummy smile . . .

 who always stayed [albeit sometimes grumpily]

exactly where you put him?

.......

Well, that baby is now just a few days shy of six months old and now has . . .

 light brown hair . . .

two [hard to photograph] bottom teeth . . .

and the cutest little bum-in-the-air-scoot/army crawl I think I've ever seen:

Happily, we all love and adore every version of our 

sweet baby Jack!

TWO grandmas and ONE cousin

As I mentioned in the previous post, our nephew George came to visit us earlier this month and attend a summer day camp in the area. It worked out that Grandma Izatt and Grandma Thomas were able to bring him up to Nampa and then stay for a couple of days and visit! 

 (Will spent most of their time here happily counting how many grandmas and cousins were at our house, hence the title of this post.)

It was pretty special for Grandma Thomas and Jack to meet. 'Jack' is a name I've always really liked (I recently found a notebook from high school where I doodled baby names and Jack was on there!) but another reason we used it is that it's a last name on Chuck's side of the family - Grandma Thomas' maiden name to be exact! 

 

 Our schedule was a bit constricted during their visit (George had camp every day and Clyde and Will had swimming) but we managed to fit in a lot of fun - snuggling, baking, reading, iPad playing, etc.

 Will was very interested in Grandma's camera and checking out the pictures of Jack she had taken.

 Grandma Izatt was a good sport and tried out the Kinect with Chuck; the little boys thought it was so cool and coached her from the sidelines :).

Chuck and I took advantage of having babysitters and went on a couple dates; we were excited to come home after one of them to find that the little boys had helped Grandma Izatt make pies!  Will was the assistant for the coconut cream pie and Clyde contributed to the chocolate cream pie and the strawberry pie.  YUM!

Thanks so much for coming to see us Grandma Thomas and Grandma Izatt!  We love you lots and lots!

A rare moment of bandwagon-jumping...on...ness

What I should be blogging about: having a fourth son for a week (our nephew George came to stay with us), Grandma Izatt and Grandma Thomas visiting for a few days (they brought George), Melissa and the girls visiting for a couple of days (they picked George up), our anniversary (I beat Chuck at tennis!), and Father's Day (dads are great!).

What I am blogging about: Downton Abbey. 

(spoiler alert - there are some vague and one not very vague spoilers in this post, so if you have serious plans to watch the show and don't want to know anything, leave now or forever hold your peace).

I just love it.  And hate it.  And everything in between. 

Around the end of April I asked Chuck to reserve it for me at the library; there was a looong waiting list and I figured by the time it got to me it would be late fall and I could watch both seasons just in time for the third to air starting in January. I was therefore quite surprised when they both became available for us in May (apparently we get priority on the copies specifically owned by our library and the majority of the waiting list folks must be Boise or Meridian card holders. Sad for them). We watched them at an agonizingly slow pace since Chuck is "responsible" and "employed" and refused to stay up all night and watch seven in a row at a time... sheesh, some people. 

We still made it through in about a week per season with a one week waiting period between them.  I'm not sure if it's because we watched them one right after another or not, but I was really intrigued by how my opinions of some characters changed by the end of the second season. A time span of just under eight years is covered, so it makes sense that the characters grow and develop and mature during that time.

 Obviously these two are my favorite characters.

  Which is probably why this result on a random fansite quiz made me so happy!

Speaking of fansites, if you want to die laughing, check out this 'cheat sheet' for the show: 

 Ohh poor Edith. . .

So after indecisively holding both seasons on dvd in my amazon cart for three days, I finally bought them last week and was delighted to learn that included in the purchase was a digital copy of the show as well, so I can watch them on the computer or TV (through the XBOX) any time!  So that would explain what I've been doing the last few days... and tonight... and some tomorrow :).  

When I'm not re-watching the show or "mothering" my "children", I've been spending a lot of time focusing on how I can use my favorite quotes from Downton Abbey in real life.  Here's what I've come up with so far:

"I'm not a lady, and I don't pretend to be."  

I've already used this one a few times; it comes in handy if Chuck questions why I'm wearing athletic shorts at 6pm and have yet to shower for the day.

"The only ruin I recognize is to be without you."  

I'm going to wail this dramatically when Chuck leaves for Scout camp in a couple of days. . . followed by:

"Such good luck!!"  

Definitely in a (falsely) bright, cheery tone.

 "One way or another, everyone goes down the aisle with half the story hidden." 

 I'll probably jot this inside the card for any future bridal showers I attend.

"I... I.. was just polishing it before I put it back." 

 My response when the little boys wander in the kitchen and ask why I'm holding the ice cream carton.

"Oh, good; let's talk about money." 

 Haha, I'll throw this out melodramatically when Chuck innocently asks about any purchases I make :).

"I'm a woman, [Chuck]. I can be as contrary as I choose." 

 Obviously this will be useful on a regular basis, regardless of the specific situation.

"Really. It's like living in a second rate hotel where guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave."  

This I will mutter to myself on those early mornings when I find myself inadvertently snuggling with Clyde and Will, who apparently both prefer to climb in on MY side of the bed and not Chuck's.

"You'll find there's never a dull moment in this house."  

 To anyone who happens to be in our home when the boys are wrestling... or jumping off couches... or lightsaber-dueling... 

"You are my stick."  

 I'm still trying to figure out how I'll set Chuck up in a conversation so that this can be my reply without actually waiting until I'm 90 and use a cane for real . . . 

Well, I'm pretty sure I could keep rambling about DA (I love this abbreviation because it reminds me of Harry Potter.  Man, British people are awesome!) but I'd rather go watch a few minutes of it instead.  Good night!  Such good luck!!

"Fabulous, Harry, I love the feathers..."

In Relief Society a couple of months ago, they announced that our June activity would be a talent show and encouraged us to start thinking of how we could participate.  I figured I had two options: attempt to develop an actual talent in two short months or go for something silly.

Obviously I went with Option B - and here I am with the cute girls that I got to be crazy with me!  L to R: Grace, Kirsten, me, Kristen.  I recruited Grace first off since she's an awesome performer (and singer, just in case we lost audio) and she recruited Kirsten and then we all peer-pressured Kristen into doing it :). We put together a lip sync to 'Prince Ali' from Aladdin, and considering we spent more time trying to decide which song to do than actually rehearsing, I'd say it went pretty dang well!

The whole activity was SO neat; I loved learning about other sisters in the ward and their talents.  Liz sang opera (beautifully!), Lori paints and does incredible collages (neither of which I knew about and I'm her visiting teacher!!), Annette and her daughter did a fun skit, Sister Garland quilts, Abby sang a cool country song (and looked awesome!).  And there were a few more - artists, knitters, cross-stitchers, bloggers (Wooo Emily!), bakers, etc.

Brother Murphy told a hilarious joke at the beginning and then came back up to show off his tongue twisting skills with a cute story.

The theme of the night was 'America's Got Talent', so our RS Presidency was recruited to serve as the emcee and judging panel.  Sister Holm was 'Chick Cannon' (not pictured) and Sisters Barnhill, Kirkendall, and Greathouse were Huggie Mama, Sandy Jackson, and Karen Osbourne, respectively.  They were all SO awesome!!  The RS activity committee (Emily, Teena, D'Arley, etc) did such a great job on the whole night.

Here's the video of our little routine.  Feel free to watch for my favorite parts - the part where I start doing monkey arms and then stop to make sure Kristen is doing them too, the part where we prove we can't-can't do the can-can, the part when Kristen misses her cue to crash the 'cymbals' and freezes, the part where I do the exact same swaying moves the whole way through, and all the parts in between :). 

Awesome, right?  That's what I keep telling myself at least :).  Thanks so much Grace and Kirsten and Kristen for being my co-performers and making me look good; I'm sure we'll be contacted by an agent any time now...

eight IS great!

On June 12, 2004 ...

 Chuck Izatt put these two rings on my (then-skinnier) finger and made me the happiest bride in the world.

And now, eight years later,

 (even though he sometimes plays hard to get . . .)

 there's no one else I'd rather have at my side

(both in life in general and as we take awesome 'reaching-arm' self portraits of ourselves... 

such as this selection, all from the last year).

And, luckily for me,

my [sometimes evasive] husband always comes 'round in the end.

HAPPY anniversary babe!  I can honestly say our eighth year of marriage has been our happiest to date and I'm so, so excited for the next eight (and more!).  I love love love you.

Recent family outings

In the last week and a half, the Izatt family has ventured out and about on a few exciting adventures.

The first was a road trip to southern Idaho to visit Grandma Pam's classroom and attend the Twin Falls Temple.

We took advantage of Chuck's Friday off work coinciding with a workday at Grandma Pam's school, meaning she had to be in her classroom working but didn't have students, and had her keep the boys there while Chuck and I went to the temple.  Really, whose efficiency wouldn't skyrocket when three small boys are thrown into the mix?

White boards are irresistible to wee children; Clyde and Will were excited to draw [fairly accurate] self-portraits.

Clyde helped keep Jack happy (while he wasn't rolling and getting stuck under desks and chairs) and Will created an apartment complex for some of Grandma Pam's flamingos. 

In the meantime, this cute boy and I had a lovely time at the temple (and getting Cafe Rio afterwards). Sure can't wait until Boise re-opens and we can go more often again!

Our next outing was the next evening, to the Boise Zoo.  They were holding a special after-hours event for kids with autism and their families, which was perfect: it wasn't too hot, it wasn't too crowded, and they had free carousel rides and face painting.  Grandma Pam was able to come too, which made it even more fun!

Round and round and round we went . . . and I most definitely felt sick afterwards.  Such a lightweight.

We weren't in any hurry, so we ambled around from area to area.

We found the face painting before there was much of a line and Will chose a sun.  He flinched a little during the painting process but overall did really well, which is great considering his sensory issues!

In our wanderings we found a plethora (just for you Mom!) of pretend animals to pose with, even one that sprayed out water on a very amused Will :).

And then we found some real animals to post next to as well, including Will's beloved giraffes.

My arch-nemesis: a big bunny rabbit.  I know most of you don't understand my fear, but look at that thing!  It's huge!  Imagine it up on its hind legs; it's probably taller than Will.  Yech.

Naturally we had to test out the boys' driving skills in the safari jeep and also make a few runs down the giraffe slide.

And then we checked out some more pretend animals :).

Snap, I have cute kids!

The last line of this information about cranes made me laugh.  Let's hear it for the binding ties of co-parenting!

Snap, I have a cute family!

Our third and final outing was to the church-owned orchard in Caldwell with our ward to thin the peach trees.  The High Priests always put together a barbeque dinner up there, so it ends up being a really fun ward event.

Of course the night we went was randomly chilly and windy.  Luckily Jack got some warm snuggling time in with Sister Holm!

The other two boys were in heaven - Clyde teamed up with Seth and they played Harry Potter for two hours and sweet Korena helped me out immensely by playing with and keeping track of Will.  She tried to teach him how to pat his head and rub his tummy, which was pretty cute :).

Jack was pretty fussy, so I ended up holding him pretty much the whole time, so Chuck was the only real laborer that our family provided - luckily he's an excellent worker!  I walked around and chatted with people and tried to get Jared to stay on task and quit throwing peaches at other people, so I feel like that was a pretty valid contribution :). 

May Recap: School Edition

The school year is allll done, hooray!

 Feel free to hug a friend as a celebration! (Or your brother as an apology for hurting him.)

But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. The first couple weeks of May, both boys went to Play School at the nearby high school.

 It's put together and taught by high school students in the child development classes and they do all sorts of fun activities and such and naturally both boys had a great time. Naturally I had a great time only having one child for a couple of mornings a week :). 

Will's preschool class had an end of the year field trip to a little bounce-house place and the kids all wore super cute tie-dye shirts, as half-heartedly modeled below.

He was mostly excited about the sun he had painted on his hand.

And then it was Will's last day of preschool!

Will was a good helper and signed all of the thank you cards for his teacher, teacher's aide, and bus drivers/attendants.

I think I mentioned this at the beginning of the year, but we love the bus staff on our route.  Katie (left) and Tammy (top right) are in the morning and they are SO incredibly sweet.  Will struggled in January with wanting to go to preschool (thanks to the the combination of the two-and-a-half week Christmas break and the separation from me while I was in the hospital after the c-section) and Katie and Tammy were always so reassuring and took over when he didn't want to get on the bus.  It made me feel SO much better.  Elizabeth (lower right) and George (not pictured) are on the bus home and take such great care of Will as well.

Back to Katie for a minute - she was so excited about my pregnancy and Jack's arrival.  She very patiently waited for a morning that wasn't too cold and that Jack was already awake so that he could come out and meet her.  On the last morning of school I made sure Jack came out with us and she sweetly asked if she could hold him while Will was getting buckled.  Jack was apparently a little hesitant at first, but I think he warmed up pretty well :).

Clyde didn't really have an 'official' last day of school, but here's how I found him doing one of his very last math lessons:

Hopefully it isn't too tough of an adjustment for Clyde next year when he doesn't have his blanket and little brother to snuggle with during math!

Here's my cute little scholar right after we finished his final language arts lesson and officially completed kindergarten. I was pretty excited that one of the last books we read was Tikki Tikki Tembo, especially since I discovered I could still recite the entire name!  It was so cute to hear Clyde and Will practicing it all evening.  Homeschooling this past year was definitely a challenge but was a good experience and the right choice nonetheless... but mostly thank goodness we're done!

To celebrate the end of the school year, we threw ourselves a party:

It's amazing how much joy some crepe paper streamers and cake can bring to two little boys :).

We decided to get ambitious and use food coloring to dye the cake to go along with our primary-colored bash.

Will proved to be an excellent helper in making the cake and both boys were equally participative in eating it.

So far our summer has consisted of sleeping in, video games, swimming lessons, and staying up past bedtime.  And a couple family 'field trips' (to the temple in Twin Falls and the zoo) that will hopefully make it onto the blog pretty soon.  YAY for summer!