Fun at Grandma Burton's House

We have been living with my parents while we decide exactly where we want to be.  It has been great and really made our transition easy.

Charlie learned pretty quickly that he could open the pantry door and get himself a box of cereal.

We started keeping a chair in front of the door but it didn't take him long to figure out how to push it away and get to the goodies inside.  There is a recycling bin at the bottom of this pantry so I have caught Charlie pulling empty cereal boxes out and putting them back on the shelf.  

There were only a couple of months left in the school year, and we weren't in a permanent place anyway, so I decided to home school the kids to finish out the year.  This picture shows the day we made igneous rock (chocolate) over foil volcanoes.  

Home schooling has been. . .a challenge.  I am not sure if I would choose to do it again.  It took the kids a while to accept my role as a teacher.  At first they were resistant to any constructive criticism, but now we can usually discuss errors without anyone blowing their top.

Living with family has its perks.  One Friday, Joel took the boys up to the Johnson's house and left Ashley and me to spend an evening alone.  It was very fun.

We bought special treats and watched Racing Stripes on Netflix, after which Ashley had me video tape and time her while she pretended to be a zebra racing an obstacle course.  Ashley didn't quit until she completed the course in a time she deemed impressive.  

It was fun being buddies with her, and Ashley finally got what she had been asking for:  a night where she got to sleep in my bed with only me.

Another perk of living with family is that Joel and I can easily go out together.  Sometimes we even sneak out after the kids are in bed to do exciting things like run errands together.  But it has been a very long time since we were able to do that and we are really enjoying it, even if it means we share a candy bar in a grocery store parking lot after a purchase of diapers.  The above picture was when we rode bikes up the canyon, which is five minutes from my parent's house.

The kids slept outside in the playhouse one night, and even though it was a little cold, they lasted pretty well.  William and James joined us inside sometime during the early morning hours, but Everett and Ashley stayed.

I let them have lots of books and we strung up little battery-operated lanterns.  They were cozy and warm and entertained and I think they had a lot of fun.

William was skeptical about the whole thing, but I knew if he stayed inside, he'd regret it.  I finally convinced him to try it out and he ended up really enjoying it.

Ashley and Charlie share a room now, but sometimes she sleeps on an extra bed in the little boys' room.  I think she just likes having options, but she is very proud of being Charlie's main caretaker (at least, in her opinion).  But I still can't get her to change a messy diaper, so I'm going to have to work on that.

All of the kids are thrilled to be able to see their cousins more than once a year now, especially James.  He has latched on to a couple of his girl cousins who are several years older than him and are very sweet with him.  He often asks if we can go to their houses.

Our move has been the toughest for Everett, who misses his best friend (who he saw almost daily).  Everett also is not too fond of change, so moving has not been comfortable for him.  He is getting used to being in transition but still has his moments.  It is during those moments that I wonder if I am doing anything right to help him as a mother, but inevitably the steam dissipates and Everett returns to his loving, helpful self.

It will be fun to get more settled and keep re-discovering why it is so fun to be near family.