July 2014

Happy July from Elk Grove. What a hot and dry summer we are having. Our grass is dying but our family is growing, so lets focus on the important things :) The month began with Darryl's birthday. To celebrate Canada Day/34th Birthday, Darryl worked on the big "Go Live" day for the state of California's new software program. It's been a huge project and Accenture has been working tirelessly to get it going. The full program began mid month, but July 1st was the time to get it rolling. Things went smoothly, so Darryl is breathing much easier now. It was nice to have a few days to celebrate the 4th. We got to really celebrate the birthday and had a patriotic trifle for the birthday cake.
We had ice cream cones out in the 100 degree heat and then started some fun fireworks in the front yard. We celebrated the day with the Valdez family and the Robinson family. We had a BBQ in the back yard, then watched The Lego Movie while we were waiting for it to get dark. When we did start the fireworks, the kids had a great time writing their names with sparklers on the street. We did lots of fountains and played outside until it was too dark to see and the kids were exhausted. Lots of fun for all.
July is another time for all of the annual check ups. Tanner and Parker got a clean bill of health from the dentist. Tanner has his new teeth coming in and has had a few visits from the tooth fairy. Alyssa wanted to join in the fun and she got a checkup at the dentist as well. She explored the entire office and even found the dentists freebies. She we very excited to pick out a butterfly toothbrush. Our summer fun is now very close to home as we wait for a new baby. Alyssa has been making friends and when the girls get together it's all about dressing up and having dance parties. Alyssa had a very choice outfit and loves to have her picture taken. She has even learned the art of the "Selfie". Recently I had to delete more than 100 photos from Alyssa and her antics. Tanner discovered an app that will oldify himself. When we started playing with it, we couldn't stop laughing. Now Tanner will "oldify" as many people as he can.
In preparation for the coming school year we have decided to create a co-op preschool for Alyssa and her friends. We have 7 families that want to participate, so this month we had a BBQ at our house to plan and organize our ideas. We are planning to use a curriculum called Mother Goose Time. We hope that having the curriculum already planned will help us have some structure and enough to do with the kids to keep their attention and maybe learn something. The kids get along great and we have a good mix of boys and girls, so we are really looking forward to a new school year.
The Moms Club gained some new members and some momentum on activities this month. Recently we went to the firehouse for a tour. The Captain was amazing with the kids. My favorite part was when he put on the fire suit and let the kids climb all over him and check out all the gear. They were far less afraid of all the sounds and clothes when they got to talk to him in the suit.
Our cute neighbor Kate came up with a fun afternoon snack and game. The apples are coming into season, so she strung up the apples and all the kids had to catch the apple with their mouth in order to be able to eat it. They had a lot of fun setting it all up and munching on the apples at the end.
 My due date for Baby #4 was July 21st. On July 26th a very nice Deaf man was baptized into our ward and I was there to support him and interpret for the meeting. His name is Cornell and he is fantastic. It's great to have the sister missionaries helping in our area and it made me feel like this is a throwback picture from New York :), but instead here I am 12 years after my mission. Wonderfully the feeling at a baptism is still wonderful and I'm so glad for this great guy.
Now the big news of the month. Baby Jenna Louise. Born July 28th at 6:28 pm after a full day of labor. I was induced and she finally came after 11 1/2 hours. She weighed in at 9 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long. She is marvelous in every way. Within minutes of delivery she was sucking her thumb and had her eyes wide open. We all totally enjoy her. After the delivery I stayed in the hospital exactly 24 hours, just enough to make sure Jenna could come home safely. The hospital in which I delivered still has shared rooms, and my roommate had people visiting at all hours and quiet was not to be had. I was happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed. Luckily my sweet mother in law was able to fly out and help us for those first few days. Darryl has been wonderful and takes the night shift so I can get a few hours of sleep. So far the family is adjusting and loving this sweet new baby.