The Costco Trip

Sunday

I played with Sam today, one-on-one. We did the Thomas alphabet cards and then he got out the Magnet School. He was sounding out the three-letter words pretty successfully. It is fun to see kid learning how to read and how excited they get.

After dinner, we talked to Grandma and Grandpa Jackson on the computer. The kids had fun with the video effects for a while. While we were talking, the kids worked hard at destroying the house. Kaylie's favorite way is to get out the Connect Four and then throw the pieces down the stairs. Too much fun.

Jana's had a few contractions today, so she rested while I cleaned up and put the kids to bed. Afterward, we sat and talked for a while until I almost passed out. In my defense, I reminded Jana that I didn't have a nap today. She replied, "I know, but you're the last adult I get to talk to for another week."

Tuesday

Sam and I watered the garden and picked a carrot and a beet to see how things were going. He was totally grossed out by the dirt still clinging to the bottom of the carrot and didn't want to get close until I had washed it off. Funny, since he plays in the rocks a lot. I guess dirt just looks different.

Jana took the boys to the store to get some shoes. Dallin initially picked out some gaudy shoes that he knew he had to have. Jana let him try them on, but was really grateful that he didn't like them after all. She found a nice pair of shoes that looked like hiking shoes (or trail runners) and told him, "Daddy would probably like a pair of shoes like these." That was enough for him to get them. I wonder how long Dallin will respect my idea of cool. Sam got some shoes that light up, his first requirement, and had Spiderman on them, a bonus.

When I got home, we had a nice dinner and then Jana went to the PTO meeting. I cleaned up dinner and the kids played really nicely together. They have really enjoyed playing "space" with the R2D2 and Dallin's LEGOs. When I was done, I played a game of Memory with them. I haven't played it with Sam for a long time. Dallin eventually won, but Sam got as many matches as I did (with a little help, of course). Then I got ready for my temple recommend interview and got the kids in the car. After Dallin put on his shoes he insisted that they were "too big and too weird." I told him that they were a little big because his feet are growing and they have to last all year. I also told him that I thought they were cool and that I would like to have a similar pair. For some reason that resonated with him and he calmed down.

We were pulling out into the driveway as Jana drove up. She raced upstairs, inducing a contraction, and got dressed. We made it to the stake center with 1 minute to spare.

Wednesday

After dinner, Jana and Sam went to the open house for preschoolers. Kaylie hung out with me while I cleaned up the kitchen. She likes to be close to me or Jana even if she's not hanging on to us. She took forever to eat her dessert and then she "washed the counter." While I finished up the dishes

Thursday

Sam woke up this morning at 3:00 crying. I went into his room and he threw off the covers as if escaping from something. Their nightlight had burned out and he had had a bad dream. After I got him calmed down, I noticed that he had a bloody nose too. After we took care of that, he settled back down. I went back to bed a was laying there, trying to get back to sleep when I was creeped-out by a very small sound near the door. Sam was standing there looking in at us. He was still frightened. After a hug from mom, I took him back to bed and rubbed his back for a while. Later today, he told Jana that he had a dream that he was being covered in hot lava.

Jana went to the doctor today. Everything is going well. She is 28.5 weeks and hasn't started progressing toward delivery yet.

When I got home, we had dinner and then I took the boys swimming. Dallin really impressed me tonight. He's getting the feel for heads-up crawlstroke and for backstroke and for bye-bye backstroke. Sam back-floats like a champ and can front float for a few seconds. It is still hard for him to relax with his face in the water. Still, he loves to paddle around underwater, he's just not quite experienced enough to swim in the deep-end on his own. I'm feeling pretty good about our lessons this summer.

Friday

After dinner, I walked Dallin down to the Elementary school to meet his teacher. He starts school on Monday. He was pretty excited and kept running ahead of me. Mrs. McNichols seems very nice and he has a nice new room. She had a scavenger hunt set up for us to discover the important places in the room.

Saturday

Jana was feeling well this morning and we went to Costco for our monthly shopping trip. I was pretty reluctant, but she seemed fine. It was pouring rain and I got soaked just walking everyone to the door, which was partly due to Jana's umbrella dumping water on me as I tried to hold Kaylie under it. It is interesting, in a sort of surreal sort of way, to watch the boys at the store. They walk around completely oblivious to other carts or people about to run them over. There weren't any super close calls or anything, but I got my share of stern looks, as if they wanted to say, "Please control your children." What they didn't realize was that I had already told them fifty times, just since we got into Costco, to watch out for other carts, and to stay close to our cart, and that this isn't the park, and that they need to stay close to our cart, and they should not run in to people, and that they really, really need to stay close to our cart. Finally, right before we were about to check out, the worst part of the whole trip, I pulled out my trump card. I promised them ice cream if they would walk right behind me the entire time. They were really cute. Sam even started making train sounds as we walked single file to the check out.

We drove home and had lunch, then the boys and I headed out to run a couple of errands while Jana and Kaylie napped. When we were getting our shoes on, Dallin reminded me that I needed to tie his shoes for him. I figured now was as good a time as any, so I sat down and taught him how to tie his shoes. He did a really good job, and we tied them three or four times together. We did get tears for a little bit, when he discovered that the loops weren't exactly the same size, but he choked them down and we got through it. In the car, he worked on evening out the loops and even at the church, while I was printing out the Home Teaching statistical reports, he kept practicing until he was satisfied. He is actually doing it and I am extremely proud of him.