A few years ago, the Elder's Quorum President decided that it wasn't fair to have only a Father & Son outing (he has four girls and one boy) so he renamed it to Father's & Kid's Outing.

Well, needless to say, Jacob wasn't pleased about it initially. He really has wanted time alone with Rob (well, alone with Noah, too). But slowly has warmed up to the reality that girls ARE going to be at the camp out.

This year, in addition to Rob taking Jacob, Gabrielle, & Noah; Steven took Indigo & Kiara. It really was a Father's and Son's (and kid's) camp out.

From what I can gather it was a lot of fun. (You know, since I wasn't there, ahhh so nice to be alone - hee hee hee.) It was really cold (Gabs left her jacket at home so she wore Rob's and both of them stood by the fire). There was crawling on the dirt in an effort to hide from the Flag Capturing fiend, s'more eating, Stinging Nettle rashes, and hot dog roasting to name a few things.

I went out to dinner with a bunch of women folk from the ward and had scintillating conversations about numerous topics, one of which me telling the bishop's wife and one of the counselor's wives the detriments of staying at church longer than three hours. (Seriously? Our church is supposed to let out at noon, and on average by the time the closing song and prayer are said, it is 12:15 [really, not kidding]).

I told Christy (the B's wife) to ask her husband to give me a calling to hold up a sign to tell people that their time is up - hey! we do that at work to the professionals that speak for us. That would be soooo cool. We wouldn't have to sit in the hallway anymore to leave church on time. (Before you think that I am going to hell for saying such a thing, try sitting in church for longer than three hours 98% of the time; especially on fast Sunday. I know that several of the people in my ward feel the same way, I am just the one to actually state it OUT LOUD.)

Yours in a very warm place,

Jessica

P.S. Well, at least I won't be cold all of the time, right?

Noah was washing his hands with warm (well, hot) water tonight. He doesn't like washing his hands with hot water - he says that it is too hot. He then proceeded to turn the hot faucet off.

I told him that it doesn't do any good to wash your hands with cold water. Hot water kills bacteria.

"No, Mom. It doesn't. Cold water kills it. What happens is the cold water freezes the bacteria and traps it in ice cubes and they fall off of your hands."

Quite frankly, I think that he is on to something. Hmmmm.

Tonight, while a commercial came on for the news, it showed a newborn baby that was born under two pounds. The lead in was how it is a miracle that he (the baby) is alive and [meet] the doctor that has given them hope.

I nonchalantly stated, "That is how big Kayli was. That is what she looked like." I really didn't think much of it (my mourning period tends to be in January nowadays) - it was just matter-of-fact.

Jacob stopped what he was doing and looked at me and said, "Are you OK, Mom?"

What a kind and considerate son I have been blessed with.

I think that my sweet babies are growing up! Honestly, I think that it was a thoughtful thing to say. It tells me that he cared more about my feelings than whatever else was going on.

Gabrielle came over and gave me a hug and said, "I am sorry, Mom. You can have me for a daughter." (Jacob then chuckled and said, "She already has you for a daughter!") Gabs is glad that she is able to fill that role of daughter (but she has told me on more than one occassion that she wishes she had a sister). I am glad that she is my daughter and I can 'have' her as such.

If there is only one thing that I hope for, for my children in this life, it is that they grow up to be empathatic adults. To know that I have taught my children to show love, kindness, sympathy, and empathy for another human being really is the greatest gift I could give them.

It doesn't matter what kind of "job" they end up with, but it is the way they treat others. Emotional intelligence really far outweighs just plain old intelligence. It is not what you know, but how you treat people.

There is a huge gravel pit (more like a mountain) on Wasatch Blvd by Dan's. It is very unsightly. I assume that they are "making" the gravel for all of the bridges UDOT is building.

Noah wanted to know what gravel was. He asked if it was what kept us from floating into outer space. I told him that gravel was little rocks; gravity is what keeps us tethered to Earth.

That explanation was not sufficient for him. He started getting frustrated. Jacob, Gabrielle, and I - were trying to give him the definition of gravity. Physics and other explanations did not work.

Finally, he groans and says, "You are not understanding me! I want to know what gravity is. Is it a flower? A tree? A rock? What is it????"

We decided that we needed to get home and look up gravity in the encyclopedia. Clearly, it would be much easier to explain it if it were a flower. A very beautiful flower with an incredible scent. Yes. That is what gravity is. It think that it is orange with a blue center.

The other night as we were eating dinner (hot dogs without fertilizer AKA sodium nitrate) Jacob was reading the ingredient list to the relish bottle out loud.

"Cucumbers, sugar, vinegar, salt, spices, and dehydrated red peppers."

Gabrielle said, "Cucumbers? I thought that relish was made out of pickles!"

We then gave Gabby a lesson in the art of pickle making. (They start out their life as cucumbers and then grow up to be pickles. Just in case you didn't know....)

Chad had asked if we made 31 flavors for our ice cream selling - the answer is no. There is a special flavor each Friday. The first week was key lime pie and Friday was mint chocolate chip. On the eleventh of July the kids will sell chocolate ice cream.

Chad, Jacob wanted me to tell you that, "No, we do not sell apple ice cream." Tee hee hee.

Our kids are in heaven to have Kiara and Indigo here in Salt Lake. They cannot stop talking about them and how happy they are to have them visiting us for a WHOLE month! Jacob informed us that they have to see them every day.

Oh, I thought that you might enjoy a picture that was taken about five minutes ago. Just in case you have forgotten what we look like.

We (Jacob, Gabs, and Noah)are making homeade ice-cream to sell every Friday. It is fun and awsome to sell ice-cream. Gabrielle is having a birthday soon. She can not wait for it (Double-digits).

The above was written by Gabrielle.

The article below is something that Rob sent me. (Sorry, I cannot get the hyperlink to work properly. You will have to copy and paste...)

His words: "The article is kind of lame but the picture is amazing."

http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=b79801a5-6864-40b8-b415-3aff93d3964a

Update
Kids are out of school! YAY!!! I couldn't be happier. I am looking forward to spending as much time as I can with my cute little ones.

Rob is doing well. His school is keeping him busy. For one of his classes, he can review the content by watching the course via a webcast. So he was watching it and a balding guy goes in front of the camera to turn in the homework assignment. He thought, "Nice head of hair. That guy really doesn't have much hair!" The guy turns around and LO AND BEHOLD! It is Rob! Hee hee hee hee.

He was a little upset to find out that he is losing all of his hair. Please! He lost a lot more hair than that while going through chemo. I think that you may see Rob with a lot less hair. I thought it was very humerous.

Jacob is flying through piano right now. He has been practicing a ton and is doing very well. Additionally, he borrowed from the library a book on drawing. Every day he comes home with another amazing drawing.

Gabrielle jsut returned from a fun-filled trip to Durango, Colorado. My mom took Dominique, my niece, and Gabrielle to Colorado for a weekend trip. They ran down the Colorado River in a big raft, they did a soaring adventure (a huge zip line through the trees and over a river), and saw a movie "Kung Fu Panda"! When she returned, the three explorers hiked Mt. Timpanogos all the way to the cave. They had a great time.

Noah has been busy with playing and pretending and making all sorts of cute comments. Last week, he came home from the library with a book on how to make gingerbread houses. It really is a fascinating book. It is incredible - way better than the graham cracker houses I make. So, as we were looking at it, I wanted to view a page a little bit longer. Noah tried to turn the page and I told him just a second. He tried again - I told him the same thing. A third time - the same thing happened, but he put his head on my shoulder and started snoring. Really? Like I was taking THAT long!!! He is soooo funny.



Two nights ago, we had the windows open to let some of the cool air into the house. Before he went to bed, he asked, "Mom, are robbers like bats? Do they sleep during the day and come out at night?" I had to reassure him that we would shut and lock the windows prior to going to bed.



I am still working three days a week (really? nothing has changed for the last seven years!). I am busy with school (well, I will be again in the fall - August). I still love doing my Arbonne business. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Anyway, I just wanted to do an update.

later, gator.