Saturday night was Guy's choice for movie. We started watching the new Dark Crystal tv series, but it turned out being a little too scary for Nico, so Guy switched over to Perry Mason. Nico said, "YES! I love Perry Mason!"
Sunday after church, the Grandparents Salisbury invited us over for lunch. There was a craft to do after lunch that the girls did first, and then we handed it over to the boys. Painting stones. It was fun!
Family picture taken by Grandma.
Thanks for the yummy food and the fun time!
Nico has been creating new video game levels using a game he has on his Switch called Super Mario Maker 2. He then uploads them so that other people can play them too. He also loves playing other people's levels. So this is a normal Monday night for us.
On Tuesday we went to visit GG and picked up Jimmu John's on the way home.
On Wednesday, Pa took the kiddos to Cabella's before he took them to Youth Group, and there was a Santa there!
Guy and I were invited to dinner by an older couple at our church, so we had dinner with them on Wednesday while Nico was at Youth Group. The couple lives over near the church where the Youth Group is at, so we picked up Nico from Youth Group on our way home. It was cool to see where it all takes place and to meet the youth leader and his wife. You can see Nico in his blue jacket here.
Today they celebrated "Friendsgiving" in Nico's class. Nico was able to eat some gluten free pumpkin pie thanks to the mom of another boy in his class who always makes gluten free treats for celebrations. Yay! Nico had two slices. He told us he drank wine, too. He he. Can't fool us!
Short and sweet update today! Forgot to take many pictures, which means I may have forgotten some of the stuff we did :)
Last Friday was our first trip to the Natatorium this year. It was an overcast day in the 70s, but Nico didn't get too cold. We purchased a summer pass for both myself and Nico. We took Evelyn with us. This was my view. I could get used to this.
On Saturday, Jeff and Allicia and the kids left for a trip, they will come back this following weekend. That night we watched Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse while we ate pizza downstairs, Guy's choice. It is an animated film that won an Oscar for best animated film. It was very good. I say that about all the movies, eh?
Tuesday was a Grandma Camp. Tuesday night Nico had a Cub Scouts meeting, talking more about rocks. On Wednesday I took Nico to Roaring Springs, which is a water park with lots of slides and pools. He had received a free ticket to Roaring Springs from school for reading, and it expired the 4th. Instead of going on July 4th, though, we opted for July 3rd. A lot of other people had the same idea. There were many there that were using up their free pass from school reading that expired on the 4th. I just bought a "Spectator" pass, and I sat and read a book while Nico ran around having fun. He said he wanted to stay there all day, but after getting wet and experiencing the wind, he froze up after about an hour and asked to go home. He was very sad that it wasn't as fun as he was expecting. We bought some Dippin' Dots ice cream on the way out. That made it worth it!
We "flipped the suite" this week. Since Jeff & Allicia are out of town and they had a guest arriving today, they paid us to clean the suite for the guests. We all worked together over several days to get it done. It's quite a task!
This morning we all slept in! It was great. We finished up cleaning the suite and spent a lazy morning around the house. Nico has started playing Zelda and it's been fun to watch him downstairs. This afternoon Guy and Nico went to Grandma and Papa's house for a July 4th BBQ. I have been sick this week with a cold and was not feeling well enough to go, but they had FUN! Uncle David was there also with Rory and Bruce. Nico has a swimsuit that he keeps at their house, so he's aways prepared for water fights.
This evening we did fireworks! Guy picked some up on his way home from work yesterday. We are very close to the border of "no fireworks allowed" since we are so close to the foothills, but we are still allowed to do it! One street over and we wouldn't be able to.
Last Friday we awoke bright and early as the kids started to wake up - Nico and then Avery, Ivy, and Evelyn. Jeff and Allicia left at 5AM that morning to catch their plane to Missouri, and we watched the kids for the weekend. Looking back, the weekend feels almost like a blur. Friday we played video games downstairs, and then after lunch we went to the park with our bikes, so we could ride around on the dirt loop. I told them to see how many times they could lap me while I was walking.
Saturday morning, Guy took Nico and Ivy to Free Fishing Day at the church. They met there at 7:30 and from there they drove to Arrowrock Reservoir. They didn't catch any fish but they had a fun time!
Evelyn, Avery, and I stayed home. Evelyn made chocolate chip pancakes, then we played some more video games and after lunch I even convinced Avery to take a nap!
Hanging out downstairs after his nap.
Sunday morning we attempted to ride our bikes to church. I thought it was going to work well, but there were a few hiccups in my grand plan.
1 - I didn't notice which shoes Ivy had chosen. Slip on shoes. She rides a Strider bike (a bike that has no pedals, you push with your feet), and she sweetly lost her left shoe every 15 seconds. I was riding behind her and would scoop it up and drop it right in front of her foot so she could put it back on easily, but it did cost us a bit of time.
2 - On the way to the greenbelt I told everyone to stay in a line, which no one liked, so when we reached the greenbelt I told the bigger kids that they could ride ahead, but since I was the only one who knew the way I asked them to stop every time there was a choice between which way to go. So Nico, Evelyn, and Avery rode on ahead. Ivy and I plodded on behind dropping and scooping shoes. The big kids stopped at the first road split, way to go! I told them to turn right, so off they went. And went. And went. They missed the next split, and the next, and we missed our turn. Since they had ridden on ahead, there was no way to tell them to stop. They stopped a ways ahead, and once we caught up with them it was too late to turn around and make it to church on time, so instead we headed home with the intent of driving to church late. We had inadvertently made a huge loop so it was easier to head home than to turn around.
We arrived home at 10:30, the time that church starts. I contemplated skipping church but then I was overcome by resolve to not miss this important opportunity to have a bit of time to myself in the church sanctuary during the service. We hopped in the car. It was the closest I got to raising my voice during the weekend. Imagine a car full of bickering children that would not stop hitting each other and refused to buckle their seatbelts. After my stern command, Avery looked at me and said quietly "Ok, ok, I'll sit down." Zoom!
We arrived late. No surprise there. We got into the children's room, which was dark and loud because they had a music video playing on the screen and all the kids were singing and dancing along. Avery looks at me and says, "I don't want to go in there, I don't like dancing!" I told him it would be ok and that he didn't have to dance. Evelyn grabbed his hand and stayed with him which I was grateful for. As we were getting their name tags printed out, Avery again looks up at me and quietly asks, "Are you sure this is a church?" 😂😂
Ivy was young enough to be in the little kids room so I dropped her off there, she went right over to the other kids and started playing.
The church service was... amazing. I'm so glad I didn't skip it. We had a guest speaker and it was one of the best services we've had.
Sunday afternoon was Rory's birthday party. I left the other kids at home with Guy while Nico and I went to the party. Guy and the kiddos finished watching some shows and then played video games while we were gone.
Rory's birthday party was at a painting place, the theme was flamingoes, and all the kids got to paint! It was super cool.
After they finished painting the background, the kids took a break to eat cake and ice cream so the background could dry completely before painting the flamingoes over it.
It was super fun. Happy Birthday Rory!
Monday morning I created chore lists for all the kids. Their parents were returning that afternoon, and I wanted the house to be as clean or cleaner than it was when they left. Each kid had 3 chores. Despite the complaining, they all got through the chores, and were rewarded with some video games.
Right before they came home, Ivy and I were sitting on the couch, and she looks over at me and sweetly says, "You're not the boss of me. My parents are." It wasn't a malicious statement, but a matter of fact. I looked at her and said, "You are totally right. But while they were gone I was taking care of you huh?" and she said "Yep". Their parents arrived home around 3PM and Nico and I retreated to the Clubhouse, leaving them to decompress. Allicia and I caught up that night when we took a walk around the neighborhood to exchange weekend stories.
Tuesday was my birthday, I received so many text messages and/or calls, it was very sweet. Nico was the first to say Happy Birthday that morning! I drove him over to my parents' house in the morning for the very first Grandma Camp of the summer! This summer there will be Grandma day camps, Tuesdays and Thursdays most weeks.
I had told Grandma about the Pokemon League at the library every Tuesday, so she tried out bringing all the kids to the library for it, and they loved it! She was even able to pick up Evelyn to bring her along too. Afterward they went to Pizza Pie Cafe.
Wednesday Allicia took Nico again to the summer dollar movie with the kids. Despicable Me 2. In the afternoon we put together a puzzle. I'm sure we did other things too but if I don't have pictures of them then they didn't happen!
This afternoon we visited GG. We brought our new Travel Scrabble game with us and we played it. Nico won by a lot! It was fun. GG gave us one of her Scrabble dictionaries. Yay! Nico really likes to plan his words well and get the best ones possible.
There are 2 videos below, one of just the time with Jeff & Allicia's kiddos (a separate one so I can share with Jeff & Allicia), and one that has a few snippets of just Nico at Rory's birthday party.
Saturday was a fun and full day. We celebrated Grandma Salisbury's birthday at Smokey Mountain Pizza. Our private gathering room has its own door to the parking lot, so I took a video of the kids after they ran out to greet Grandma and Papa when they arrived. Watch the video and beware when Nico starts running back toward me, WHACK! Yeouch!! The video is at the bottom of the blog post!
Happy Birthday (today!) To Grandma Salisbury!
Straight from the party, Guy drove Nico over to JUMP (Jack's Urban Meeting Place) for a Chess tournament/party. They went a little early because JUMP has a slide from the 5th floor of the parking garage that goes all the way down to the ground and Nico wanted to try it. But it was closed! Instead, they climbed on the jungle gym until the party started.
This afternoon I received this email from his chess coach:
We already signed him up for next year chess.
Saturday night we rented Mary Poppins Returns from RedBox, it was my choice. We all loved it. After the movie was over, Nico asked, "I want to watch ALL the Mary Poppins movies, are there any more?" Nope, shucks!
There was one evening this week (I think Sunday night) when Nico was very sad. We had said no to something he wanted. So here is Guy snuggling him on the couch. Guy sang to him the song he used to sing to him several years ago when we lived on Krall st. "The sun is sinking in the west...." Nico remembered the song and started crying. It was a very sweet moment. I'm surprised Nico remembered the song! When Guy put him into bed, he whimpered in his bed and started crying again and said "Daddy I want to spend more time with you." So Guy got up into Nico's bed and they hung out for a while.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, swimming nights, if we get to the Y a little early, Nico is able to play in the kiddie pool. Here's a shot of those shenanigans.
I love the Y swimming lessons. There are 4 life guards on duty. And, the air is very warm, not just the water, which means Nico doesn't get cold and shivery! He's able to make it through the entire 30 minute lesson. I am hooked and will probably never go back to lessons at the Natatorium.
Tuesday night at Cub Scouts, the Birds of Prey were there!
Cub Scouts snack.
Nico has been on a nacho kick lately. He made these by himself.
Nico's friends across the street are moving in June, and I chatted with their mom about it and asked if she'd be willing to share their landlord's phone number with us so we could potentially move in after they move out. If across the street doesn't work out, we plan to move somewhere else THIS SUMMER! The time has come! We would love to stay in this area so we are hoping for the house across the street. We are super excited and being very dreamy about it. We are working hard to make it work!
This week was Nico's first standardized testing day for 3rd grade. It was a math test today. 1-2 hour tests, about 7 tests total in the next few weeks. We ordered him a vibrating wrist band that vibrates every 5 minutes to help keep him on task. I am looking forward to hearing from his teacher how it works for him at school. It will arrive on Saturday!
Last Friday, Nico pulled out his pocket knife and started carving his soap figure for Cub Scouts. He decided on a horse.
For Saturday movie night, Nico chose Ferdinand as the movie to watch. We couldn't find it available to rent on Amazon Prime, but we did see that it was available at the RedBox at M&W Market. So Nico and I walked over there to rent it. As we were leaving I hear someone yell, "Joanna!" and it's Guy, he had stopped at M&W to get gas after he was done running errands, so we rode home with him.
Ferdinand is a VERY good movie. And the pizza, was VERY good.
Earlier on Saturday Nico and I completed his shelf by adding book ends, a pencil holder, and wrapping the edges with a bumper so that he wouldn't bonk his head at night. Here's how it looks!
On Sunday we celebrated Papa's birthday at Smokey Mountain Pizza. I can't believe I got NO pictures from it! But it was fun, Nico and Lexie played games in the arcade, and it was fun to get together, have some food, eat some cake, and celebrate PA!
Bright and early Monday morning was Nico's Auditory Processing testing. We drove out to Amity Elementary school to meet with the audiologist. She remembers Nico from Madison Elementary, where she had come to test all the kiddos' hearing.
Nico went into a soundproof room, and the audiologist went into a different one that was connected by a window they could see each other through. I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but I did have a pair of headphones next to me that let me hear what Nico was hearing. He had to go through a gamut of testing.
He had to pick out what someone was saying in one ear, with background noise coming in to the other. He had to identify "High" or "Low" for a series of tones, repeat words that were said in one ear, at the same time as a different word in the other ear. "Which word did you hear in your left ear?"
She said this kind of testing can be hard on kids and that they often take breaks, and indeed we did. Nico needed two breaks. The first one, she came out of her room first and said, "That last one was hard on him so we're going to take a break." He was discouraged that he couldn't get them all right and it was really getting him down. She told us while we were on the break that from what she was seeing that he's actually doing better than most kids his age. That seemed to cheer him up a bit.
The final report was what she had reported earlier - that for all the tests he did, overall he was testing better than kids his age. This means he has NO auditory issues!
The only somewhat "off" thing is the reflexes in his left ear. Like you can test your knee reflexes by hitting them, they test ear reflexes by sending sound into the ear and measuring the reflex response. She said that the reflexes in his left ear are not quite what they should be.
Alos, throughout the testing she saw that he favored his right ear and could generally understand things better when heard through his right ear. She said typically kids tend to favor their right ear. The language center is on the left side of the brain, and when someone hears something in their right ear it goes straight to the left side of the brain, so the response is quick. When something comes in through the left ear, it goes straight to the right side of the brain, so in order to get to the language center it has to cross the hemisphere over to the left, which takes a bit longer and is more pronounced in children.
I think they're mostly done with all the testing at school, and we'll talk about the results in a few weeks at another meeting.
On Tuesday, Guy took Nico to Cub Scouts only to find out they weren't meeting that night. Doh!
Wednesday morning I left on a trip and am still there - in Northern California at a conference. I will return home next Monday.
Nico stayed with Guy Wednesday, and today my Mom picked him up from school after Drama Club. Nico wanted to show her his classroom, so he took her in there, and his teacher was still there, so she was able to meet his teacher. Grandma said she was sweet and that she loves Nico.
Bruce and Rory are also staying the night tonight at Papa's and Grandma's. Mom sent me a picture of a snack bar she made for everyone tonight that was a hit!
And here is Pa reading to Nico before bed. From here it looks like a Richard Scarry book!
