1st Graders Rule!

"Just follow my lead...I'll get us through this" he says!

He's growing up folks!

Ummmm...I'm reading "Class Clown" in our future!

A picture's worth a thousand words.

First Day of School

Welcome to the first day of school 2009. 1st and 5th grades will never be the same again!

General Update

Steve took the kids to CA for almost 2 weeks in August, and we're so happy to be reunited. Well, I'm so happy to have them home. I was very lonely without them. Even though the vacuum lines stayed in the carpet for 5 days straight, I'll trade the quiet for the noise and the mess any day.

We are deep into soccer practices and Steve is playing, too, so we have soccer on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. We love it, though.

Suzanne has been visiting us for a week, so we've eaten REALLY well, and we went for a drive to deception pass last Friday. The weather has been rainy this weekend, so we're having a low-key holiday weekend.

School resumes on Wednesday, and I think we have mixed feelings. It will be good to get back on a schedule and I'm sure the kids will enjoy seeing their friends again, but I've really loved spending time as an entire family this summer. I know our world is going to rock come November, but we made lots and lots of great memories this summer.

11-10-09

That's a cool birthday, don't you think? 11-10-09? Well, that'll be the birthday for the Layton baby #4 in a little less than 3 months. I went to the OB this morning, and after another discussion about my previous births and the issues, etc., she said, "Well, I feel good about inducing at 39 weeks - how about you?" I told her that I think 11-10-09 would be a cool birthday, and it's a done deal. The only thing that would change it is if I go into labor on my own (which has never happened before, so I'm not holding my breath). So - let the planning begin!

New Nephew!!

I have a new nephew born about a half hour ago.

Samuel Richardson Clay

10 lbs. 6 oz.

23 inches long

born in CT at 10:07 pm August 22, 2009 with NO PAIN KILLERS. Missy - you are a REAL woman!!

Welcome to the world, buddy. You officially hold the record for the largest baby delivered in our family. I think you deserve a little spanking for all you put your mother through, but we're so glad you're here, healthy and strong.

Fun in the Sun!

 

 

 

 

The group photo is missing one child - Sami's baby is not pictured.

They had a great time at the beach.

Separate Vacations

Steve says people are going to start to wonder about us if we keep taking separate vacations, but oh well. Steve took the kids to CA early on Wed. morning and they arrived safely in Fremont late Wed. afternoon. They went to the beach yesterday with their cousins, and today they're just playing the day away. Tomorrow is a special baptism, then Steve will probably move on to Sacramento - then to Fresno later next week. They will get to see all of Steve's family in CA and I'm sure they'll all have a great time. Steve says he got a really cool shot at the beach yesterday, so I can't wait to see it. This blog is overdue for some photos.

Home at last

We arrived home safely on Friday late afternoon. We arrived to a visitor from our good ol' days in Texas! It was so fun to see Aaron and visit with him. We shared a wonderful crab dinner, and proceeded to make plans for boating on Saturday. We put the boat into Lake Stevens for the first time - and we hooked up with the Allen Family - also Texas friends. What a fun time! It was just fabulous. We stayed longer than we ever planned, but time seems to stand still when you're out on the lake. It was a great day! We had Caitlin's birthday party after arriving home and we were thoroughly exhausted by the time our heads hit the pillows. We awoke early this morning to have hair cuts before our 9am church. Crazy, I know. Anyway, we got it done, and the boys look so much better. Well, if you ask Kenneth, I RUINED his hair and he was so mad at me he ripped off the cape and cried and cried. I THOUGHT I did what I always do, but apparently it's a little shorter than normal. Well, it looks good to me. I had no idea he was so sensative about his hair. I was very sorry to ruin his day. Elder Wickman was in our ward this morning, and it was so good to see him. He's a good friend of my folks' and Danny & Amanda. He's provided invaluable counsel to Danny through his many army decisions, and he even sealed Danny & Amanda in the temple. This afternoon we went for a walk (we took 4 soccer balls as everyone except me is enrolled in soccer this fall, including Steve). The weather was lovely and it is so nice to be together as a family again in Seattle. We get 2 days together before Steve takes off with the kiddos and they have a grand adventure in California. I'm not even bothering to unpack their suitcases!

On the road....again.....

And we're off.

We're headed to Boise today, and Utah tomorrow. We'll be back next Friday. Steve is still off with the scouts on their high adventure and he'll return this Saturday. We can't wait to see Elise and her family (especially little Luke) in Utah, and Angela's going to be there, too! What a fun week we'll have. Meanwhile, Missy is due in 3 days with her baby, so we'll probably get some fun news while we're there as well!

Family Friendly

I cut my hair!

Well, the heat got to me and I had a moment of insanity yesterday. I cut my hair. It hasn't even been trimmed since January and it was getting quite long. I cut it from the sides, then made (note the word "made" - he was not very happy about it) Steve trim up the back. It feels much lighter and maybe it will make this heat more bearable. Steve just took a photo, so when I get one, I'll post it to share.

Happy Birthday, Kenneth - 10 years old!

Well, yesterday was Kenneth's 10th birthday. It's hard to believe we've been parents for a decade.

Sunday just about killed him dead...it was SOOOOOO hard to wait ONE MORE DAY. Then, once yesterday came, he was so happy! We made him wait until everyone was awake to open his presents (that just about killed him, too). Our schedule has been very "off" due to the weather. It's just too hot to sleep at a reasonable hour, so we've been staying up late and getting up late. Steve was up especially late on Sunday night getting a project done. Anyway, by about 8am Caitlin woke up and she was the last one. Steve gave Kenneth his Optical Calcite (a rock), and the display stand we bought him while we were in Hawaii. Then he asked him if his birthday was good, and if he was happy. While you could see the look of disappoitment in Kenneth's eyes (he REALLY wanted a Nintendo DS), he was very grateful and sweet about it. Steve then asked him to get something from up stairs for him, and lo and behold there was another present on the stairs. You should have seen his sweet face when he opened it and saw his new, black, Nintendo DS. It was reminiscent of Elise's 1st kiss, actually. I wish I'd have had the video camera on. He was SOOOOOOO overjoyed. He received 2 games from his friends, and he got some $ from another friend which he used to purchase another game, and we gave him 1 game, so he now has 4 games. He's pretty set up, I think. We spent the day shopping (Aunt Julie's gift card was burning a hole in his pocket - it turned into some Star Wars action figures), and we went to Panda Express for lunch (one of Kenneth's FAVORITE places to eat). Kenneth had requested Beef Strogenoff, Green Bean Casserole, and Strawberry Dacquaris for dinner. It was a yummy dinner and we topped it off with a family movie of his choice (he chose "Ant Bully"). I think he was pretty happy with how the day turned out, and now my son is 10. How does that happen?

I survived!

I survived the Cub Scout camp this week. It was quite a venture. I'm glad I did it - I won't do it again. There were some definite hiccups in the days leading up to it that took a lot out of me emotionally. Fundamentally, however, the camp was successful and the boys had a great time. There were 154 scouts, about 30 siblings in our TAG program, and almost 100 parents each night. It was no trivial undertaking, and I couldn't have done it without the great team I had - and especially Steve. His support was unending and made such a difference.

I have been having more and more contractions as the week progressed, and I have heeded Elise's warnings and taken it VERY easy for the last 2 days. We've pretty much decided to put me on bed rest until the contractions go away. I have a doctor's app't on Tuesday and I will have another ultra sound then, as well, so it will be nice to get an update. Tomorrow is Kenneth's 10th birthday. He's counting down the minutes. He had his birthday party yesterday - pretty low key - we had 5 boys over and they played Guitar hero and enjoyed pizza and birthday cake.

Thank you all for your prayers on my behalf. I'm sure that's the only way I made it through the week.

A BIG thank you to Sami for sacrificing her time and allowing Steve to stay here with me. It really meant the world to me to have him here. Besides the support, he had to load and unload my car every day as we had to take the Tahoe in for some repairs. (I know - terrible timing).

I'm very glad to have last week behind me, and I'm looking forward to a much more relaxing summer. However, I'm NOT looking forward to the heat wave they're predicting for us....mid to upper nineties??? WHAT??? We live in SEATTLE for crying in the soup! And we DON'T have air conditioning!!! Well, I'm sure we'll survive the heat.

Crazy

I'm sorry I've been so lacking in posts lately. I'm Camp Director for a Cub Scout Twilight Camp (like day camp, but held in the evenings) this week - Monday - Friday. There will be 160 scouts, about 60 siblings in our "TAG" program, and almost 150 parents/leaders. It is a HUGE undertaking to say the least, and one I will not repeat in the near future. My family has not seen much of me for the last 2 weeks and we will all be glad when it's over. I will say this, though. It's going to be AWESOME!!

Anyway, I'll resurface next week! Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday to 2 of my favorite people!!!

My sister, Elise, and my sister-in-law, Amanda, share today as their birthday. I wish them nothing but a lifetime full of happiness and love! I hope they get spoiled rotton today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ladies!!!

Happy Birthday, Steve!!

Today is Steve's birthday!! Yay! Happy Birthday to you, babe.

"Week" explained

Well, you might wonder why I put "week" in quotes in my last post.

It's because we drove to Utah (14 hours) on Saturday, June 27th, and returned home to Seattle (another 14 hours) on Friday, July 3rd. So, it wasn't really a week afterall. All the children saw fit to point out the fact that "Grammie's Week" couldn't be over since it hadn't been a week yet! Well, they were right, but everyone wanted to be home with their spouse for the 4th of July holiday. We did jam pack a LOT of fun into the 5 days we had together...here's a brief run down - photos yet to come (when I get them from Angela, I didn't even take a camera...why bother when Angela's there and you know her photos are going to be 1000 times better than anything you could attempt anyway?)

Sunday: We arrived at 3am and hit the hay. It took me a while to settle down since I was driving. My brother, Ben, waited up for me and helped me get all the kiddos in - THANK YOU BEN!!! My friend, Heather, with whom I caravanned, talked to me on the phone until I was about 30 minutes out...THANK YOU HEATHER! And thanks to everyone who offered to chat with me in the wee hours to keep me awake. I nursed a diet coke from Boise to Ogden and that seemed to do the trick. I hope my baby isn't any worse for wear. :)

Church was at 11am. Choir practice was at 10:30am. We made it for choir (my mom's the conductor) and we sang a beautiful rendition of "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy". My Dad was one of the speakers, and he gave a profound sermon on a couple of sections in the Doctrine & Covenants. I always enjoy hearing my dad speak. He is very polished, for one, and has deep insights from his extensive scripture study that I enjoy learning. I wish I could hear him expound on the scriptures more often. My mom taught the Sunday School lesson and it was fabulous, and I learned even more. The Relief Society teacher took a jab at one of my comments and I felt like walking out (my sisters agreed that her attack was out of place), but I didn't. I dutifully sat through the rest of the lesson. Oh, well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, eh?

Our afternoon was lazy and relaxing. While I didn't take a nap, I enjoyed the company immensely. Heidi was there, my Grandma Noble, David, Jackie, and Jaxon, in addition to all the "live-ins" for Grammie's week - which included: Darin (he left on Monday morning), Missy, Nathan, Benjamin, Gilbert Clay; Angela, Alex, Johnathan, Zachary Webb; Emily Adams; Joy, Kenneth, Daniel, Caitlin Layton; Teva, Kid, Shelby, and a cat whose name I never learned. Teva, Kid, and Shelby are dogs. Teva stayed with my folks when David & Jackie moved out, and Kid is their long time pal. Shelby is Angela's dog who came up from Vegas.

Angela had bought some beads in Hawaii, and Heidi did an AMAZING job making necklaces for Angela out of them. I brought the tools, but all I did was cut wire and crimp the clasps on - Heidi did all the work - and they turned out lovely.

Sunday evening came to a close with a Family Home Evening on Priesthood blessings. David had asked my dad to give him a blessing, so Dad gave a lesson on blessings and the priesthood and the importance of being worthy to give blessings to all his grandsons who were gathered there before he gave the blessing. Both the lesson and the blessing were beautiful. It made me want to ask him for one, too, but the kids had had enough.

Monday: We got up and going and headed to the Bean Museum at BYU. The kids loved all the animals on display and we even caught a demonstration of some sort so they got to see a lizard, snake, turtle, etc. We headed over to the CougarEat for lunch, then to the Bookstore for BYU trinkets. After that we went to Grandaddy's office and he had a BYU pencil for each grandchild. We wrapped up our BYU stay with a stop at the Museum of Art which had an "I SPY" display that was quite amazing. We then headed to Grandma Noble's house (she lives with my uncle & aunt in Lindon) for swimming, snacks and popsicles. My cousin was there with her kiddos and it was so great to sit and visit while the children swam. The sun was hot, and the water was fun. They had all been looking forward to swimming.

Tuesday: We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Before the Church dedicates their temples, they are open to the general public. We got to tour the temple together, and that was a special experience. Then we headed to the Kennecot Copper Mine: the largest man-made excavation in the WORLD. It is very impressive and we enjoyed seeing it, and visiting the visitor center and watching a short video about it. It runs 24/7/365 and mines quite a bit of copper, gold, silver, and another metal that I could never figure out how to say, much less spell. :) We went back to my folks' for lunch and swimming and later that evening I snuck out with Daniel, Caitlin and Emily to see one of my dearest friends, Shari and her family. We had a nice visit and it was good to see her newest addition, Peyton. What a cutie pie!!

Wednesday: We went to Lagoon. Are we crazy or what? The kids had a great time, and the adults were hot, but we were glad we went. We almost shut down the park...we didn't leave until 9:15pm. Wowee did we make great memories that day!

Thursday: Since we knew we were all traveling on Friday, we had planned Thursday to be a "down" day of swimming, doing laundry and just hanging out together at the house. I, however, got an idea in my head that changed all of that for me. My parents have an amazing "circle" in front of their house with a fountain in the center. The fountain is taller than I am. Every year they spend a mint on annuals (flowers) to go around the fountain that they put in in the spring, and dig out in the fall. Last summer Elise & I talked them into investing some money into bulbs that would come back year after year and reduce their work load a little and give some variety to the "circle". Well, most of the bulbs had bloomed and most of the circle was just dirt. After having looked at that all week, I couldn't help myself. I talked to Missy and we went to Wal-Mart and got a bunch of perenials and mulch and some jasmine bushes to spice up the place. We did it as a surprise, and it worked. My mom cried when we showed her our "proposed" layout (asking for feedback before we actually planted anything). Well, needless to say it wasn't a "restful" day, but I wish I had a before and after photo. I know Angela took an "after" shot...I'll see if I can get my hands on it. I think it turned out pretty well, and I know my parents were pleased. Now, hopefully between the bulbs and perenials, that area will beautify their home for many years to come - during the spring, summer and fall. A big THANK YOU goes to Shauna for being willing to spend our precious little time together planting flowers with me. Talk about a true friend. Thanks!

I guess that about sums it up. We had a fabulous time. I do have to insert here that I think it's a raw deal that EVERYONE arrived at their homes hours before I did...even my sister in Connecticut. It is a long drive (not as long as it was when we were in Texas), but it was well worth it.

2100 miles and we're home safely

We had a wonderful "week" in Utah and we made it home safely.

It's a BOY!!!

We just had our ultra sound....it's going to be a BOY!!! He was NOT shy, and Caitlin burst out crying and cried through the rest of the ultra sound. The boys are excited, and Caitlin's coming around. :)

Here they are...!

The Manly-Men Of The Islands!