This is a poster the kids and I made for Joshua when he had a gruesome fingernail injury.  He got his fingernail 80% ripped off by a catcher's shoe when he was sliding into home base.  We went to hospital for X-rays, 5 stiches in the torn nail bed, and a "Franken-nail" procedure.  They remove the dead nail, reshape it, and shove it back into the opening so it won't seal shut before the new nail can grow in.  They stitched the nail into the sides of his finger.  

I am quite capable of handling blood and gore but watching the nail bed being worked on made me a little queasy.

We went to Park City for a week in June and stayed in one of Jeff's Mom's timeshare condos.  We mostly swam in the pool (except Josh and his injured finger) but we were able to ride the Alpine Slide.  

This picture of the kids turned out great.  It's really hard to catch Caleb looking into the camera.  I think it is hard for him and his autism because it's like looking into someone's eyes.  You can see Josh's finger cast if you zoom in. 

We went to the Olympic Park for the first time and we were surprised at how much there was to see.  We watched some aerial skiers practice flips and jumps of the smaller ramps into a pool.  Here we are at the museum where the kids could try out the skeleton, bobsled, and luge sleds.

Caleb wanted me to take his picture on the sled like Blake.  He had a hard time figuring out the orientation.

9 months!

Our summer has officially started.  Do you want to know what we have been up to?  

BASEBALL

Dance Concerts

And of course, MORE BASEBALL!  Hours and hours of baseball.

Caleb graduated from preschool.  He's ready for Kindergarten.

I took 11 girls to Girl Scout Day Camp for 2 days.  I sure enjoy these sweet girlies.

We went up American Fork canyon to have a BBQ and play in the stream.  Caleb finally figured out this time that his pole doesn't quit look the same and Josh's and Kyle's.  He wanted a bubble and hook as well.

I love this picture.  I love these kids.

This one as well.

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Camp Floyd in Fairfield with our family friends.  The kids had a great time (except Josh and his fellow teenager friends) learning about old fashioned medicine, games and weapons.  The highlight of the day was when the kids were able to put on old army gear and take a lesson from a "General".  Caleb surprised us by putting on the clothes and keeping them on.  When he saw Josh sitting on the other side of the park, he took off running to show him his hat and gun.  His little friend Kyler followed him.  I was laughing so hard at watching these two teeny boys running across the field while the general kept hollering, "I didn't say advance!".  It took me some time to stop laughing but I was able to get a few seconds of them running back to the troop.

Here's some pictures of the other kids in their uniforms.

Here's some more photos of Zion and our trip.

Here are the kids drinking the drips from Weeping Rock in Zion National Park.

Caleb surprised us by getting over a lot of fears and participating with his siblings

I had to include this picture because its the cutest ever!

Guess who found this treasure?  Yep, Cactus!

We took a minute to drive through Kolob on our way home.  We are so lucky to live in such a gorgeous state.

The boys went golfing with their Daddy.  Katie and I got to go shopping for an outfit and we got caramel apples.  Yumm!

Spring Break and such

We took a fun trip to St. George for Spring Break and had a great time with our troop.  

Blake was quite tired after hiking and really enjoyed his thumb.

We went hiking on some red rocks at a park and the kids were in heaven.  Joshua was such a help by carrying Blake in the baby backpack.  

Caleb was quite proud of himself by climbing this rock.

It was super windy and the sand kept blowing in our eyes and mouths.

The Blake Effect

I am starting this blog again because Jeff's Great Grandma Venice is the coolest Great Grandma in the world.   She lives in California and doesn't get to see her grandkids very often.  She earns the "coolest in the world" title because she's so tech savvy on her iPad.  I've been sending her email updates about the kids with pictures and realized it wouldn't take much time to upload the pictures on here so I can share them with her and with all the other family as well.

I will not be trying to catch up because that many years is impossible to tackle.  We moved shortly after our last post and then the infamous SMOKE DAMAGE happened which took a long time to recover from.  (I still have one box of shoes from the dry cleaners that hasn't been unpacked.)  Jeff should just throw it away so it doesn't taunt me anymore.  Then we suffered from what we now call The Blake Effect.  Get it?  Lake Effect?  Blake Effect?  Google lake effect if you are lost.

I got pregnant with our fabulous Blake Gordon Carlson in December.  I quickly realized I'd suffer the worst pregnancy so far with him.  I had morning (all-day) sickness the entire 9 months.  I was completely exhausted and with 4 other kids at home, our household suffered.  After he was born, he quickly let me know who was boss.  He did not sleep, eat, and smile like the first four babies.  He ate, screamed, screamed, screamed himself to sleep, and then started the cycle all over again.  We finally learned he was sensitive to lost sleep and had a hard time going to sleep.  We tried every trick to help him fall asleep but he wouldn't stay asleep for long.  We admitted defeat and laid him in his crib every time he started to get drowsy.  He sure put up some monumental fights but soon learned to soothe himself to sleep.  He now is a champion thumb-sucker just like Daddy was.  He is now 8 months old and is such a joy.  I feel like I am finally starting to get a handle on not only my daily chores but my to-do list as well.  We also suffered from annoying computer problems and broken cameras.
We now have a new computer and a new camera.  I'm ready to go!  Are you ready to follow?
I will set a goal to update once a week on Sunday.  I'm excited because a blog is just like a family scrapbook mixed with a journal.  I LOVE going back and reading some of the old posts. 

Here is Kyle signing during his school's patriotic program.

Here is Caleb with his best friend Kyler Bonney.  Kyler is only 3 but we have found out that the therapist was right.  Caleb plays best with kids older or younger than him. 

This is a horrible picture of Katie's class singing the Songs of the Armed Forces.  She was so excited that Grandpa was going to be there and that HER grandpa could stand during the Army portion.

Poor Blake is a blur but I was teary watching my Daddy stand and I had a hard time getting a decent picture.