This too shall pass

Love,
The Karper's

Look at my new creation! Aren't they cute! (this was made by Katrina)

My baby turned twelve!!

She has had several days of birthday fun. Thursday we went to dinner at Five Guys Burger and Fries, Katrina's pick, and had Death by Chocolate bundt cake.

Friday I took Katrina out of school early and we went to Carlucci's bakery for lunch and then birthday shopping. Saturday she had a bunch of friends over for a birthday party.

They made bracelets and decorated cupcakes. Katrina had Jim and the boys judge the decorated cupcakes on originality, creativity, and beauty. The rainbow one on the top was the winner.

So fun! SO yummy!

Here are some pictures of the kids this Halloween.
Katrina is an Egyptian princess. (She has been studying Egypt in school, hence the costume idea.)


Caleb is Indiana Jones.

Here he is demonstrating his mad whip skills. I just hope he doesn't whip himself in the face like the young Indiana Jones does in the movie.

And here's Christopher. Can you guess what his costume is?

Yep, Influenza, not the swine flu, just regular flu. I took him to the dr. Saturday morning. He cried when the dr. said no trick-or-treating. It was so sad. Katrina took his bucket around and told people she was also getting candy for her brother who was sick at home. People were so sympathetic and generous. As you can see, he probably actually benefited from being sick.

Yeah, whatcha think now huh? Don't you wish YOU had a lemon tree in YOUR backyard so that you could make fresh squeezed lemonade??
That's right! I planted a lemon tree this summer. I enjoyed it's fragrant blossoms and delicious fruit, in Utah.


I do have to admit though, it might not survive the cruel winter. I have done everything possible to prepare it for what is about to come. I bought an improved Meyer lemon that is hardy to 20 degrees. I planted it against the south facing wall where it will get full sun reflected off the house and absolutely no shade. Yesterday, I made it a little green house out of field fence and frost guard vegetable fabric. Now it's just wait and see time. I hope that it makes it!

On Monday, we picked the lemons and the kids and I made this wonderful lemonade. It was Katrina's idea to use fancy glasses with sugared rims and Caleb's idea to put on a wedge of lemon. It was so fun! And delicious!! I even cut up a lemon and let the kids dip it in sugar. That is such a wonderful childhood memory of mine. Walking around with a fresh lemon and a bag of sugar or salt to dip it in. I am so glad that my children have had that experience. Even if my little lemon tree doesn't make it through the winter, it was totally worth it!

It is a right of passage at our elementary school to shoot off rockets in the 6th grade. Only the 6th graders are allowed to participate while all of the younger kids watch in anticipation. A kind man donates his time and teaches the kids about rockets then lets them purchase rockets to decorate and launch. So much fun!

Here's Katrina with her rocket.

I was suprised at how high they went.

Thank goodness the parachutes deployed and the rocket is safe to launch another day!

I just made these ghosts for my porch. Do you think three is enough or should I make two more? I have such a large porch. Hmmm... What do you think? Should I put one more on the other side of the wind chime and one more by the single one by the garage or is that ghost overload? It seems a little uneven somehow. Any suggestions?? (Ignore the brooms and rakes that didn't get put away and I need to put away the wicker chairs for the winter.)

Katrina started 6th grade orchestra today. She is so excited!

Grandpa Karper gave the boys his model train set that he received as a boy. The boys have had so much fun playing with it. He and Grandma have sent lots of new track, transformers, and even a depot kit to go with it. Hours of fun are being had here! We are so grateful to Grandma and Grandpa Karper for their generosity!!

Christopher is taking and narrating this video. They had just had a major cowboy and indian war.
We took the kids to the Train Museum in Ogden. Here is a link if you're interested. http://theunionstation.org/
The kids are so excited about trains right now!

Another summer has come and gone. Back to school they go! Here is a cute pic from the first day back to school.
Katrina is in 6th grade, Christopher is in 5th grade, and Caleb is in 3rd grade.

How is summer over already? Where did it go? This has been the shortest summer! June was miserably wet and with Christopher being out of commission for 2 weeks this summer seemed so short! We tried to cram in as much fun as possible, but it still seems strange that the kids go back to school tomorrow. I am going to miss them. I know, that is something I never thought I'd say, but this morning it occurred to me how quiet it is going to be around here during the day. No one will be bugging me incesssantly to invite a friend over or have a turn on the computer. No one will need me to run them to the store to buy candy or the craft store for beads. No one will want to ride bikes or jump on the trampoline. No one will be constantly sticking their head in the fridge for a snack or the freezer for a popsicle. No one will be fighting with their siblings. No one will be fighting over the phone or for a turn on the Wii. No one will be crying or whining. Oh wait, it will be nice not have the constant "MOM! MOM! MOOOMMMMM?? MOOOOOOMMMM?!" It will definitely be quiet. I am happy to have them go back to school though so that I don't have to be the entertainment committee.
Friday the kids and I had lunch with Jim and then I took them to the Utah Museum of Natural History. That was a lot of fun. They are having their Toadally Frogs Exhibit with lots of live frogs and bugs. The kids loved it! Saturday we drove up to Bear Lake for a day of fun in the sun.


So, tomorrow it's back to the grind. Rising early, fighting over the bathroom, packing lunches, homework...Where did summer go??

For the past week, the boys have been going to ride their bikes with friends in the church parking lot by our house. They make up races and ride for hours. It has been really fun. This afternoon I was talking to a neighbor and watching the boys ride to the church for yet another day of fun. Caleb was already at the church and I watched as Christopher waited for a police car coming down the street to pass and then he headed across the street to the church. To my surprise, the police car flipped a u-turn and pulled into the church parking lot. Uh oh! I quickly walked up to the church thinking that one of the neighbors must have called to complain about the boys. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to say. I really hate confrontation! As I got to the church, the police officer exited the parking lot. Huh? The boys were hurrying towards me on their bikes saying, "Mom! Mom!" Ugh! My palms were sweating. Anxiety does that to me. So annoying!
Christopher came up to show me that the officer had given him his business card and a Subway gift card. What?? You're not in trouble?? He said that the officer wanted to reward him for looking both ways and crossing the street safely and for wearing his helmet. Unbelievable! This is yet another reason why I love living here. I called and left a message for the officer to thank him for what he had done. That was totally unexpected and greatly appreciated! It was such a proud parenting moment. It is nice to know that all of the nagging to "look both ways" and "don't you dare ride your bike without your helmet" are paying off.

Today we took the kids and hiked the Secret (Cecret) Lake Trail up Little Cottonwood Canyon. You start at the Albion Basin Campground and hike up to Secret Lake. It was a beautiful hike.


At the lake we had a picnic lunch and the kids skipped rocks. The wildflowers were beautiful and it was cool and refreshing.


In the lake were these weird looking creatures. Are they the missing link?? Does anyone know what they are?

The kids wanted to climb on every large boulder we saw.

At times they got a little too high.

I told them not to get too high!!

Just Kidding! They thought it would be funny to pretend they were sliding down.
The lake is at 9570 feet. You're up so high you can actually lick the clouds. Jim said it tasted like coconut vanilla cream pie. YUM!

We had a wonderful day together.

Katrina and her friend are having a jewelry party on Saturday, Aug. 8th from 10-12. They have lots of styles of earrings and bracelets for sale. They will also be making custom pieces at the party. Just pick out the style and colors you want and they will do the rest! The prices range from $2.50-$5.00. If you're interested, call me and I will give you more details.

Christopher had his tonsils and adenoids taken out last Tuesday. Any parent who has had to go through that with a child knows how I feel and what we are going through on day 5 post surgery. But first, before I get into what's happening now, here is a little of what we have already been through.
Christopher was a little apprehensive going into surgery, but Primary Children's is an amazing facility. He was totally pampered. He got to color and play on the play station and kind of forget what he was there for. During the surgery, I waited in the parent's waiting room with lots of other anxious parents. After the surgery, a nurse ran in to get me, which totally freaked me out. I began imagining every possible horror that could of occurred. Why were we hurrying? The nurse explained as we hurried down the hall, that he was having a hard time after waking up. He had a panic attack coming out of the anesthesia. When I got there he was crying and looking around wild eyed. When he saw that they had put in an IV he totally freaked out and started throwing up. We finally got him to recognize who I was and he sobbed and clung to me. It was horrible! Because he had been throwing up, they wouldn't give him his pain medicine until they knew he would be able to keep it down. This led to thrashing and more crying because of the pain. Finally, they took pity on him and gave him some anti-nausea medicine and then his pain medicine and he fell asleep. As I sat there in the room watching him sleep, I could hear other babies and children crying. It takes someone with a strong will to work in pediatrics. When he woke up, we were free to go home. That's it?! All said and done in 4 1/2 hours. Off we went. A few blocks away from the hospital, Christopher says. "Mom, I don't feel very good. I think I'm going to throw up." Aaahhh! I quickly grab a baby wipe tub, that we had bought to take on our camping trip two weeks before, and dumped the contents on the floor and handed him the tub. He threw up twice on the way home. I called the nurse at the hospital while stopped at a red light. She said that happens all the time. Kids coming out of anesthesia get kind of car sick on the way home. Well, I said, you should send parents with a barf bucket if that happens all the time. I have him throwing up in a baby wipe container!!!
Surprisingly, he did better at home than at the hospital. He only woke up once the first night and ate really good the first day, scrambled eggs and soft white bread. We have two bags of popsicles, multiple kinds of jell-o, applesauce, etc. and he didn't want any of it! The nurse told me that some kids want cold and sweet and some want warm and salty. Christopher is definitely a warm and salty kid. He won't eat anything sweet. He only wants Sprite, scrambled eggs, and macaroni and cheese.
I began to think, this isn't so bad when he slept 12 hours the second and third nights. Then he started eating less and sleeping less and whining more on day four. They warned me at the hospital that days 3-7 were the worst as the scabs dry and tighten. They were not exaggerating! He is miserable and keeps drooling because it hurts to swallow. It's all going to be worth it, right? This is the stage where I second guess. Anxiety does that to me. And then I remind Christopher and myself of how great it is going to be for him to not have strep throat 4-5 times a year and all of the work it is to catch up on his missed school work. We can make it!
So, today I am staying home with Christopher and thanking my Heavenly Father for the power of the priesthood and that Jim is worthy to give him a blessing of healing and comfort. That may be the only thing that gets us through the next couple of days. Christopher is really rebelling against taking his pain meds because it hurts too much to swallow. It's going to be worth it, right??

Last night we had our block party. As much stress as it was to plan, it was a very fun night. We started out with a BBQ and lots of yummy potluck side dishes. The kids had a water balloon fight and then a watermelon eating contest.



Our winners-Isac 1st place and Isaac 2nd place.

After dinner the adults sat around and talked while the kids rode bikes and played in the tree house, fort and sand box. It was a very fun and relaxing evening with lots of great food. When it got dark, we moved out front for a great firework show! Thanks to all of the guys who provided the amazing fireworks!!


I already can't wait for next year! Who's planning it??!! LOL!

Next Tuesday, Christopher is finally having his tonsils and adenoids removed. He gets strep throat 4-5 times a year, so we opted to have them removed. He will be down in bed for a week, no strenuous activity for two weeks (ie. riding bikes, jumping on the tramp, etc.) and no swimming for three weeks. He silently cried huge tears as the doctor told me all of this. It was SO SAD! I felt like the worst parent even though I am doing it for his own good. Well, because of my guilt, we have tried to cram in as much fun as possible into the past few days. On Thursday we went to the Bountiful Handcart Days Parade. Here are some fun pics. Jen and her kids and Grandma Carver came too.


On Friday we took the kids to Boondocks Fun Center in Draper. It was SO MUCH FUN! They have go-carts, miniature golf, bumper boats, laser tag, an arcade, and a 4-D movie theater that simulates roller coaster rides (one of our favorite things to do there). Our kids were the perfect ages for the fun they have there. They could ride on the rides by themselves and everything is really close to each other so Jim and I sat under the patio and ate ice cream while the kids rode the go-carts over, and over, and over. Laser tag was a total blast! The bumper boats were perfect for cooling us off because you could spray people. The 4-D movie theater was an experience to remember. Picture Star Tours and California Soarin' at Disneyland, only way better! Seriously, you feel like you are on a roller coaster! The wind is blowing, your seat is moving, and you have 3-D glasses on. You get all of the fun and excitement of a roller coaster without the anxiety of actually being on a rickety roller coaster. SO COOL! Ask Jim who won mini-golf, that's right, it was me! The last time I played mini-golf, Jim and I were dating, 14 years ago. I was pretty impressed with myself.







Tonight we are having our block party and fireworks, so the fun continues...