July 2014

It's been over a year since I blogged.  I've thought about it many times but put it off. Facebook is just so much easier to upload to than the blog and the things I have wanted to write about haven't been things I really want to put out for public consumption on the web.  I know that I should try harder to keep some sort of a journal but I am really good at procrastinating that kind of stuff.  

Here is a snapshot of what's happening in our lives right now.  

JJ  -  He's almost a teenager (Ahhhhhh!) His current passions are Marvel superheros -specifically Spiderman, his dog Jax, LEGOs, reading fantasy and science ficition, eating massive amounts of food and drinking about a gallon of milk a day (no joke).  He is very good at getting his chores done quickly in the mornings - provided they are the chores he likes doing.  He is good at musical theater and has had several leading roles including Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella's prince in Into the Woods, Fulton in High School Musical 2 all at the Lehi Arts Center and Daddy Warbucks in Annie, a Lehi Elementary production.  He has the ability to memorize lots of lines when he puts some effort into it but often puts it off until the last possible moment causing his mother to stress quite a bit.  JJ is very smart and capable of high honor grades.  He made the honor role at the end his 6th grade year but because he slacked off at the end of the year he didn't get on the high honor role.  He loves math and computers the most but has also enjoyed an obsession with Greek and Egyptian mythology sparked by his love of Rick Riordan books.  He loves the color purple right now (it's a Lehi thing), wears basketball shorts and t-shirts with tall basketball socks, a baseball hat and runners pretty much every day.  He hates having his hair cut but will let me style it occasionally.  He is very good at passing the sacrament, enjoys scouts but complains a great deal about doing service projects and fast offerings.  JJ likes to be given responsibilities that set him apart because he is older - like baby sitting the younger kids but doesn't always want to fulfill the responsibilities the way his mom and dad want him to.  His perfect day would be sitting in his favorite spot on the couch Wii U in one hand, DS or tablet in the other, his buddies Josh Price and Garrett Purser playing along with him or challenging those same friends to a couple of rounds of laser tag at Trafalga.  He is a BIG teaser of his younger siblings and often takes his "joking" too far.  But when he does he often tries to make it up to them by doing something nice for them.  He still loves wrestling his dad although he is almost as big as dad.  One thing about him has not changed - his perseverance when he wants something. Bargaining is like breathing with him. It can be exhausting for those of us who live with him.  He will pester and push non stop until he gets what he wants.  My hope is that he retains this quality in adulthood and uses it to push him to be a better person and help the world around him.  Lance and I struggle everyday to push beyond our frustration with him to help him want to be the person we know he can be.

Hannah with baby Bridger Jeppson

Hannah - She is our 10 year old drama queen - in more ways than one.  She lives and breathes musical theater.  We often know where she is because she is singing either songs from plays she has been in or more often making up her own silly songs.  She has been known to spend most of a day singing every word opera-style.  She giggles a LOT and keeps her friends and siblings laughing too.  Her passions right now include musical theater, reading, the family dogs and cats, LEGOs, her never-ending rubberband necklace, and musical theater (ya I know I already mentioned that).  She hates having her LONG hair brushed and fixed but wants to wear mascara on a regular basis.  Her goal for the future is to be an "in demand" baby sitter.  She loves babies so much and is very, very patient and careful with them.  She is a bit jealous that all three of her best friends (Annabelle Mckinnon, Abbi Price, and RegAnn Zeller) have a baby for a sibling.  This last school year was one of the harder ones for her.  She has never quite measured up to JJ's skills academically although there are many things she is much better at in school than him.  She struggles with her spelling but her writing is extremely entertaining and creative.  She is very capable in math and science but is easily distracted and struggles with remembering what she does with her assignments.  She missed out on better grades often because she forgot to turn finished homework in or lost important pieces through her own disorganization.  She differs from JJ also in that she is a selfless friend who watches out for others and is very sensitive to their needs and feelings.  She has taken a boy in her grade under her wing and he ADORES her.  He struggles socially but knows he is safe with her.  This year she had the opportunity to take part in an after school ball room dance class at the elementary.  She had to sign up with a boy in order to be in the class and her friend Connor said yes to taking the class with her without a moment's hesitation.  It was a great experience and she hopes to do it again next year.  Where JJ often gets big roles in plays, she struggles to demonstrate her abilities in an audition but was cast as Molly in the elementary school production of Annie - this role was perfect to showcase her whacky sense of humor and amazing talent at drama.  There are no end of blonde tween girls who want the big roles at the Arts Council so the competition is fierce.  She get discouraged when she doesn't get a bigger role but loves the theater so much she always accepts what she gets and makes the best of it.  Where JJ waits until the last possible minute to memorize his lines, she spends hours every day practicing not only her lines and songs but everybody else's too.  She loves riding her bike (a hand me down bike from JJ) and climbing the walnut tree in our backyard.  She is not too keen on doing her chores but will on occasion buckle down and get them done if we dangle a carrot in front of her like playing with friends etc.  She generally does a good job at her chores when she does them.  She enjoys playing piano and is close to passing up JJ simply because she is willing to practice a bit more.  Hannah is our thrill seeker - she likes to climb the rock wall at Trafalga and ride roller coasters.  My hope for her in the near future is that she gets a 5th grade teacher who will help build her confidence and that she will continue to mature into a responsible young woman with out loosing her silly, fun personality.

Expecto patronum!

Asher - He is our loving, sensitive little buddy.  He hates it when we are having "loud" conversations with JJ.  He gets his feelings hurt easily.  He asks for lots of hugs from both Lance and I throughout the day.  He loves to wrestle with Lance and pounces on him the minute Lance is in sight.  He still has a huge love for animals but is currently fascinated most by birds.  He is most happy when he is learning and exploring outside.  He got glasses this spring but doesn't like to wear them much.  We found out at that time that he is color blind - something I had suspected but wasn't sure of.  He has difficulty with specific shades of green and red.  The blue green eggs that our adopted chicken Connie lays look like the same color as the tan eggs that several of the other chickens lay - to him at least.  It has been surprising how much this effects his everyday life in small ways.  It is not the end of the world, it just makes us appreciate something the rest of us take for granted.  Asher loves order and clear rules.  It makes him uncomfortable when he sees people breaking the rules.  He spent quite a bit of time by my side, as I was a recess person this last school year, pointing out kids breaking the rules.  He even went so far as to ask if he could have an orange vest and a whistle so he could be a recess person too.   Ya, I know he sounds like that annoying hall monitor kid you hated in jr. high.  Hopefully he will grow out of this a little by then!  One thing that I think has helped is his new passion for Hapkido, a Korean martial art.  He started this summer and has really taken to it.  I think he likes the physicality of it (and he is very good at that aspect) but mostly I think he enjoys the clear rules and consequences.  It is strangely comforting to him, I believe.  He struggled greatly this year with reading but had a wonderful teacher who got him working with a "reading recovery" teacher who was amazingly helpful.  He made a leap from reading on a level 15 to reading on a level 22 -at grade level!  He still struggles with liking reading but as long as I sprinkle in plenty of science non-fiction I can get him to read.  Asher's best friends are JJ and Hannah.  He really would rather play with them then anybody else - except maybe Carter Zeller (the 14 year old son of my bestie Missy).  He is nearing his 8th birthday and is very excited to take part in getting baptized and starting cub scouts.  Some of his favorite things are hiking, fishing and camping with his grandpa Jake or the family, LEGOs, video games, going to the aquarium, zoo, aviary, watching "Too Cute" on tv and bird spotting. He enjoys watching Harry Potter movies, Hobbit and some Marvel hero movies. He is very reluctant to do his chores but will help out if asked to assist mom or dad as a "special helper".  He worries a great deal about the people and pets he loves.  He still runs and hides sometimes when he is angry or hurt.  Fairness is very important to him.  He can be very considerate and is often the first to think of doing some thing kind or helpful.  He loves spending one on one time with Lance or I.  He has a great singing voice and can dance really well but no one outside our immediate family will probably ever know because he is very shy about it around anyone else.  Asher has been taking a cue from Hannah and trying to be more adventurous.  He tried the rock wall at Trafalga and even the frog jump ride - which he HATED! See the video!  He went on all the roller coasters that Hannah went on at Disneyland but didn't love them nearly as much as she did.  He still has a fear of heights.  It's my hope that in the coming years he will find a close friend outside the family and that he will grow to love reading more.  He is such a sweet boy - I can't imagine life with out him.  

In the next installment: updates on Lance and I.