The Party

This week was pretty uneventful. We mostly stuck around home. I did go grocery shopping with the two of them, which is quite a feat, but we did it with minimal amount of boredness, whining, etc. I only go shopping once a month so it takes a LONG time, they have to get out and walk for half of it, etc, so I totally understand why they hate it, but they did fine, and so did I.

Anyway, on to the best part of the week. We had Sam's party yesterday. We rented out the local town pool, brought pizza, drinks, and cake, and swam in their cool pool. We had about 40 people there and it was a good time. We were sad that a lot of people couldn't make it, but we had a really good time with all those that did make it. :) It was HOT yesterday so a pool party was just what we needed.

We started out by swimming for a while. After a little bit, people came and got pizza, and then got back in the pool, where there was a TON of diving board action. A little after an hour, we all got out and did the cake (the candles would NOT stay lit, so we had to sing really fast as they were being lit). He had a cool Hulk cake. Then he started opening presents (which he loved, by the way!). About half way through the present opening, AJ comes and tells me that they saw lightning and we had to leave!!! I was like, "What! We still have 30 minutes!" I looked up at the sky and it was perfectly fine. The lifeguards came over and said a huge storm is going to be here in 10 minutes and we need to get you out now. At that point, I was like, "Where????" On the other side of the building you could finally see where it was DARK and scary looking. So everyone started running around like crazy, stuff was being thrown everywhere, people were running around trying to gather up everything, running to the car, throwing stuff in the back, etc. It was CRAZY!!! I felt bad for all our guests because I promised them they could get back in the pool after cake and everything, and then they ended up being shooed out of their like crazy people. Oh well, at least we did all the actual party stuff, and everyone got to swim for a good while. The party went really well, and that just added to the excitement. LOL!

After the party, we went and let Sam spend some of his birthday money. Avery had a little bit of the Green-Eyed Monster coming out in him and didn't understand why he was getting even more presents after his party. He was pretty sad about it, and Sam (thinking this all by himself) came over to me and said, "Mommy, I would like to use some of my money to buy Avery a present." So he surprised Avery and got him his own little toy. What a sweet boy we have! Avery was very happy after that, and very appreciative of Sam. I also had a little talk with him about his yucky attitude on someone else's birthday. I think it got through to him.

Sam got a lot of neat stuff, including 3 more Webkinz. That boy is obsessed with those things, as are most kids his age, right now. :) He also got some Hulk and Iron Man stuff, which he was really hoping for, so he is ecstatic about how cool his birthday was.

I am glad it was a good day, and that we have done everything we needed or wanted to do this summer. Tomorrow is surgery day. I have to get up at 5:00 in the morning. Ummm, if any of you know me, even a little bit, then you know that I DON"T DO MORNINGS! WE haven't been getting up until like 9:00 this summer and I am loving it. 5:00 is NO good. I think the last time I got up that early was last time he had surgery 2 years ago. I do everything I can to stay in bed as long as possible. Sigh... Oh well, we are ready to get it over with and get him feeling better. So please be thinking about us tomorrow. I will post more after his surgery if I can.

Until then, here are some party pics!

All About Sam

Today was all about Sam. Happy Birthday to my 8 Year Old!!! He had a great day! Not only was it his birthday today, but he also got to get baptized as a member of our church. He has been waiting for this day for a long time. He got a couple of presents this morning, but the rest will wait until his party on Saturday. :)

He woke up to donuts, a rare treat. We even let him blow out candles on top of his donut. :)


Here is his present from Avery, which he loves. Excuse the morning hair. :)


We went to church, where everyone paid special attention to him. He got a new set of scriptures for his birthday and he was SO excited to take them to church. He said, "I don't just LIKE them, I LOVE them! " :) They played a game today, where they explored the scriptures looking for "treasure". The Primary President (the leader of the children) told us that it was so cute to see him so excited about his scriptures. He couldn't wait to look up scriptures, find things, etc. She said a light is definitely shining within him. :)

After church we rushed home, made brownies and cookies, ate dinner, and rushed back to the church for his baptism. It was a really good service. He loved it and we were so proud of him. I got to sing for him. He specifically asked me to a few weeks ago, and I couldn't say no, even though I was nervous. I couldn't look at him though because he had this huge smile on his face every time I looked and it was so cute I had to look away or I would cry. His Grandma, G, came and he was so happy about that. It was just so cute to see him listening to what everyone said so intently and really taking this seriously. He did have to get up there and say an Article of Faith (the basics of what our church is about)because the Bishop (the Leader of our particular church) found out he could recite all 13 of them. That embarrassed him a little bit, he is so shy, but he did great. We had so many people there, not even everyone could come in and sit down. It was a special, special day in all of our lives. Avery even got to take part in it, by saying the opening prayer. :)

Sam, today was such a special day. Thanks for being such a great kid. You are more than we could ever ask for. 8 years old, I just can't believe it. Every year I tell you you just can't grow any more. I want you to stay my little boy forever, but at the same time, I love to see you growing, learning, and maturing every day. You are one of the sweetest boys anyone could meet. You think about other people's feelings, you put others before yourself. You try hard to do the right thing. You are quiet, and shy, but very friendly. You are so smart. At 7 years old you were reading and understanding the huge Harry Potter books. You do excellent and school and try hard. You can't stand to not get something right and you do everything you can to make sure everything you do is perfect in every way. You rarely get in trouble, but when you do you feel really bad and try to make it up to whoever each and every time. You are the first one to listen the first time someone gives you directions. You are always alert and ready for the next step. Even though your whole life you have been sick and not 100%, you wouldn't know it. I don't know that anyone else could go through all that you do and still be as happy and cheerful as you are. Even though you don't understand why you get sick all the time or why you can't do things that other kids can, you do the best you can and don't complain. You are an example to all of us. We love you so much and are so happy that you are our kid. I love you, Sam Sweeney. :)

Here are some more pictures of his day.

Sam and G.


Avery jumping in.


Our Family


G and Family

The 4th

Yesterday we ended up having some families over for a pool party. We grilled, swam, and ate. It was a good time. After that we did some fireworks and then watched the rest that our cool neighborhood did. I think everyone had fun. Here are the pics!

Pools, Pools, and More Pools!

All we have done this week is swim.

Monday Lindsay and her kids came over to swim in our pool for the first time. They played in the house for a while, then we had lunch and went out to swim. Wellll, it has been a pretty mild summer for the most part and this week has cooled down some. So the water was pretty cold. Sam was the only one that was fine in it, the rest of us were freezing. It didn't help that the sun was behind clouds most of the time and there was a cool wind. I think it would have been fine if the sun would have been out. So we only lasted like 30 minutes. The kids came in and played some more and then they left. After that we just got ready for the day and I went to rehearsal that night.

Tuesday we went to Mrs. Gunder's house (Sam's teacher) and went swimming in their neighborhood pool. Avery was GRUMPY most of the time. Sam loved it. The water was pretty cold there as well, but the sun was out so we got accustomed to it pretty quickly. We got to see Autumn, Mrs. Gunder's baby, who we hadn't seen for a while. We love her and were used to seeing her a ton since Lindsay babysit her. It was fun and a nice day. After that we went to get Sam's allergy shot. Then Lindsay and I went to the Y and did Advanced Step 3. I think I will like it once I get used to the steps more, but I think I overdid it after being sick this week. I got tired quickly and very hot. I was feeling sick towards the middle. We finished and then both of us collapsed at a table for a little bit. LOL! I called AJ and we decided to go to a mexican restaurant for dinner. I really didn't feel like cooking after that, and I could feel a too much exercise headache coming on. Whenever I am sick I always crave mexican food for some reason, so I had been dying for it for a few days, so this was just a good excuse to go. When we got home AJ and the kids went in the pool. I knew it was definitely too cold for me, so I lounged on the couch, nursing my headache, and watching America's Got Talent. I really don''t like that show at all, but I am watching it to see if I catch a glimpse of us being on it. I did! It was only a 3 second thing, but I saw a guy we know hugging a girl on the front row with me. They haven't done Nashville yet, so hopefully that will come soon, and maybe they will show us so I can quit watching. LOL!

Today we went to one of our favorite summer places. It is a 1 foot wading pool, complete with mushrooms, sprayers, etc. The kids love it. Well, Avery forgets that he loves it for the first hour usually, and then he realizes he does and never wants to leave. We got there at 10:00, played for a while, had a picnic lunch, played at the cool playground, and then went back in to swim. We stayed until about 2:00. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!