Slip 'N Slide

 Nate surprised us one day and brought home a slip 'n slide! How fun!!  So we set it up on our hill and enjoyed a hot summer day out in the water.  We have the perfect size hill for the ages of my kids for rolling, sledding, or slip 'n sliding!  Even Kaylee thought it was great!!  She tried out sliding down a couple times, but was a little unsuccessful.  Cooper would slide down full on head first into the pool at the bottom.  Jaxton was a bit more conservative sliding only on his bum sitting upright.  I love fun activities like this at home with just our family because it soo brings the kids together.  Jaxton and Cooper started some kind of game where they would take turns sliding down and high five one another as they switched turns.  They were laughing and enjoying one another so much!  It is so great to see what wonderful buddies they have become!

Fourth of July 2012

Happy Fourth of July 2012!!!  We had a wonderful family day on this great American holiday.  Nate didn't have to work, so we spent the whole day just playing together!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa in Utah, the kids were decked out in their American holiday outfits!  The boys were very proud to wear their "flag shirts" and made sure they were clean and saved for this holiday!  

The day before, we came across a bike trailer through craigslist that was practically brand new!  We got it and decided to take it for a family bike ride on July 4th in the morning.  This was during the Fort Wayne heat wave, so it was about 95 degrees by the time we got out on the trails.  So needless to say, our ride was short, but well enjoyed!!  Kaylee loved her new "ride" and happily ate snacks and looked around as Nate pulled her behind his bike.  Its a double trailer so the new baby will be able to ride too.  And now we can take the kids on bike rides, which we never have really been able to do all together before!  

We took the bike trails around the college campus of IPFW which was beautiful.  The trails wound around one of the three Fort Wayne rivers and had dirt trails that led to the river's edge.  We took one of the dirt trails to park at the river's edge and eat our snack and take a break before heading back the way we had come.  It was beautiful!  The kids just loved it and I can't wait to do it again!

That evening, we went to a friend's home for a fun BBQ and gathering.  The kids played with all the other kids in the sprinklers and kiddie pool, sandbox, and playset.  The adults got to spend some time hanging out and catching up.  After our party, we headed over to the LDS church parking lot which happened to be the very best seats in all the city to watch the city fireworks!!  The fireworks were let off at the college IPFW and the church sits right behind the college.  There were cars and people everywhere around that area of town; it was such a crowded mess.  BUT, not in the church parking lot!! People didn't think to go in there, or maybe they thought it was off limits or private property.  But we took advantage of that!  There were a handful of cars and people in the parking lot and I do believe we had the very best seats!!  We will remember that for next year!  Kaylee was so intrigued with the fireworks, and so very tired from the days' events, and from it being 10:00 at night, that she was almost hypnotized by the lights and sounds and started to doze off right in the face of the fireworks!! It was sweet!  We all had a good time and made some fun traditions for future Fourth of July Holidays!!

Science Central

 One of the kids' favorite places to go is Science Central.  There are so many fun hands on activities and experiments for even the smallest children.  We spent one fun day here this summer.  They do demonstrations every hour or so and the kids wanted to sit in on this particular one about solids, liquids, and gasses.  Of course it is all a little bit above their heads, but they enjoyed it anyways.  Jaxton was picked to be a volunteer helper.  He had to wear science goggles and gloves.  The worker was demonstrating how liquid nitrogen could make a rubber ball smaller as it froze it and Jaxton had to use a tool to see whether the ball would fit inside it before and after the liquid nitrogen.  The worker also showed us how a balloon becomes when put into liquid nitrogen and being blown up with nitrogen gas.  

 They have an entire area dedicated to toddlers and small children through age 5.  They can touch anything they want, play in the water table, blow giant bubbles, build giant creations with blocks, see their strobe light shadow, look at strange sea animals and touch them with a worker, play a giant piano with their feet, and climb up an obstacle course and slide down.  It is so much fun!!  Kaylee of course loved the water table.  She couldn't get enough of that!!

Something new that we have never done before is the Moon Walk.  They put the kids in these silly harnesses that allows them to bounce at their will and feel how it feels to walk on the moon with less gravity.  This was by far Cooper's favorite and he had a hard time leaving it.  I'm sure it felt really strange to bounce and feel lighter and he loved it.  It was a fun time with the kiddos.  We always enjoy Science Central!

The Storm

The kids and I experienced the most terrifying storm we've ever had.  We experienced it first hand.  We were right in the middle of it and completely stuck.  I took the kids to Kreager Park to play.  They have a splash pad there so the kids were playing in the water and the playground having so much fun.  Our friends left to go home, but my kids were still super happy and having fun that we decided to stay for a while longer.  It was sunny, hot, and humid.  All of a sudden, there are dark black clouds in the distance closing in on the sunny weather.  I didn't know we were going to have thunderstorms this day.  Cooper excitedly suggested we get under the canopies and play in the storm!  What fun!!  I assumed it would just be another of the same summer thunderstorms that would blow through and it would be sunny again and we could keep playing at the park.  So I said, "sure, lets stay and watch the storm."  All too soon, it got really windy and those dark clouds were moving faster than I could believe.  I quickly changed my mind as everything began to blow and told the kids "lets go!"  In another moment, I became frantic telling the kids to "hurry! hurry! we gotta go now!  NOW! LETS GO!!"  We ran as fast as we could to get to the car.  By now, the wind was so strong, I could hardly load up the car and get the stroller in the trunk.  The car started to sway!  I was terrified!  The kids were too.    By now, most cars had taken off from the park.  There were 3 left including us.  One family ran into the bathroom at the park.  Another family decided to drive off. I thought we better go in the bathroom too, so I started to drive a bit closer to the bathroom so we could run there easily.  But I realized that there was no way I could possibly get all 3 kids, being pregnant too, safely into that bathroom.  It was a short distance, but I imagined Kaylee being blown away, the boys crying trying to run against the wind.  It would be impossible.  So I stopped the car and we sat there.  We were all terrified.  I tried to call Nate but the phones were not working.  Finally we were able to text.  I told him we were at Kreager Park and he flipped out!  He was in a customer's basement nearby and he braved the storm and drove to meet us.  That was the scariest 10 minutes waiting for him, thinking that a tree could fall on him or something terrible during the drive.  All the while I was singing primary songs for the kids at the top of my lungs, trying to overpower the sounds of the storm around the car and the sounds of the boys crying and screaming.  Trying to ignore the car swaying and the possibility that it could flip over.  It was absolutely terrible.  I imagined the car being struck by lightening, what would that feel like?  After what seemed like an eternity, we saw Nate's truck pull up.  I started to cry!  At least we could all die together as a family.  We waited it out, feeling the car sway back and forth in the wind.  Eventually the wind died down and everything was calm again.  The storm had passed.  As we slowly drove home, following Nate all the way, we witnessed very tall sturdy trees that had fallen down everywhere.  On houses, on cars, blocking the roads.  It was devastating.  Power lines down, the city a complete disaster mess.  Later we learned that the storm had winds of 91 mph and that the worst of the storm hit right in the area of Kreager Park.  We had been right in the worst of the storm and in our car nonetheless!  Our power was out for 3 days after that.  We about died in the heat of our home.  Nate started up the generator and worked all day to make it so we could have light, refrigeration, and a couple other essentials.  It was an experience that none of us will forget!

PAWS To Read

 Our Library system is pretty amazing here in Fort Wayne.  There are about 15 library branches that are all connected and they offer so many  neat activities and programs for children.  This summer, we have been taking advantage of many of their fun programs, especially this one: PAWS To Read.  Dog owners bring in their dogs and the children get a chance to read to them.  Most of the dogs that are brought in are in training to be handicap dogs and it gives them a chance to practice sitting and listening to people.  Of course the kids think its great!  And now that Jaxton can actually read some books all by himself, it is a great opportunity for him to try reading.  One of the dogs that always comes is named Cooper.  He is a giant dog!  And of course Cooper loves to read to Cooper!  He enjoys just telling the dog a story based on the pictures of a book he chooses, so even non-readers can read to the dogs.  

Leo Jr. Soccer League

Jaxton played on his first real soccer league this spring.  It was with the Leo Jr. Soccer League and he was on the purple team.  He was on the same team as two of his friends, Coby and Kye Stump, which was a lot of fun.  The ages on the team went from Pre-K all the way through 1st grade, so some kids on the team were almost 8 years old!  And Jaxton is only 5, so you can imagine the difference in ability and maturity amongst the team.  He struggled a little bit at first because he was the very youngest as well as the smallest player, and he compared himself to the bigger kids.  That was a challenge.  We explained to him that because he is the youngest, by the time he is almost 8 years old, he will be so talented and skilled in soccer that he will be the best on the team.  He understood that and after the first couple weeks, he decided to just go out have a good time.  And he did!  He loved it!  He loved being a part of a team and being with one of his very best friends Kye.  He and Kye actually probably enjoyed sitting on the bench together playing around while they waited for their turn to play.  For his first real soccer league experience, he really enjoyed it, and he says that soccer is his favorite sport!  

His coach was Coach Sam Stratman, a great coach that gave lots of encouragement and praise to Jaxton to make him feel so needed and special as part of the team!

Jaxton with his two friends, Kye and Coby Stump, holding their trophies at the end of the season.

Jaxton and Kye sitting on the bench, enjoying their ice cold water and playing around while waiting their turn. 

Jaxton on the move during one of his games.  They had a 20 minute practice followed by a 40 minute game against another color team.  

Early Summer Fun

We can hardly wait for summer to be here!  Everything is green and beautiful and blossoming all around us!  I love the nature of Indiana.  Cooper has started a new hobby: climbing trees!  He loves to climb trees.  He wants to try climbing trees everywhere we go.  Our trees in our woods are surrounded by poison ivy, so we don't spend much time in our woods these days.  Hopefully one day we can clear all the brush and poison ivy out so we can go play out there.  But, anywhere else that Cooper sees a decent tree, he gives it a whirl!  This was after one of his friends' birthday parties, he found this perfect climbing tree outside the house and up he went!  No help at all.  He's like an animal! 

Even though it wasn't super warm with summertime heat yet, the boys were dying to go camping.  So we set up camp in our backyard and I camped out with them all night.  However, it happened to be one of the colder nights of the week, only in the 70's during the day and dropping into the 40's at night.  They were determined!  So we bundled up and slept together real close.  Nate "took care of Kaylee" back in the house during the night.  :-)  The boys were so excited to use their flashlights and read books by lantern inside our tent.  Originally, they came out in summertime jammies, shorts and t-shirts.  I made them change for warmth and to wear socks.  We all fell asleep all cuddled together around 9:30.  We slept soundly and warmly till about 3:00 in the morning, when I woke up to feel Cooper shaking!  He was shivering so hard!  He had inched out of his sleeping bag and was laying half awake on the tent floor with part of the sleeping bag covering him!  Oh my goodness!  So I got him up, took him inside to go potty (which was half of the shivering problem), and got him a warm hoodie sweatshirt to warm up in.  He was determined to sleep the rest of the night inside that tent despite the cold, so we went back outside and bundled up real close.  Real soon, our body heat caught up with us, and he was out asleep again and warm.  Jaxton slept well all night as usual!  We had a great time "camping" and I hope we get a chance this summer to go on a real camping excursion with our whole family!!

On Memorial Day, the Routsong Family gets together for a family reunion.  All of Nate's brothers and sisters come out to Kendallville to swim and BBQ and play together.  Grandpa Routsong always gets the pool ready and the kids get to swim!!  Oh what fun!  They loved every minute of it, especially being with their cousins and spending time with them!  

Annual Strawberry Picking

 As a summer tradition, we went to our local strawberry patch where we got to pick lots and lots of red ripe strawberries.  It is always a fun tradition for me and the kids!  This year, Kaylee was old enough to toddle around on her own a little bit, and I thought she'd love finding little red gems and popping them in her mouth, which she did!  However, the dirt was more exciting for her to sit in, dig in and every once in a while pop in a red strawberry covered in dirt into her mouth.... She was a filthy mess when we were done, but she had enjoyed every moment!  I would just plop her down in the dirt and go picking on my own while she played and dug in the dirt and leaves and found spiders and bugs with excitement!  The boys of course loved picking, and every year it seems to be a totally different experience when we go.  I always look back at last year, and remember how the boys' buckets were full of half eaten strawberries that were no longer edible by the time we got home.  This year though, they filled their buckets well, snatched a few for their bellies, but their contributions to our strawberry picking were great!!  It's fun to watch them grow up and mature and see them work hard in the fields!  What a fun day!!

 Here is our strawberry crop!  Yum yum!  A few days later we crushed them all up and made strawberry jam.  I messed up a little, so I decided to try cooking it, and I even lowered the sugar amount that it called for, which worried me, but I was trying to be healthy.  By cooking the jam and then canning it, it turned out to be the best strawberry jam I've ever made!  All my jars sealed even!  Super fun!  Now we have 6 or seven jars full of strawberry jam for us to use for the rest of the year.  Though its so yummy that it may not last that long!!  

Fort Wayne History Museum

The kids and I went to visit the Fort Wayne History Museum.  Surprisingly there are lots of hands on activities and things to touch and see that are pretty exciting.  It's fun to learn a little bit about our city and the people who were the first ones to live here.  One of the most fun parts was this train exhibit.  It was made to look like a real train track and showed the map where the train traveled through the midwest.  The kids could dress up like real train conductors (but the costumes were the size of an adult, so it was pretty funny when Cooper put on the conductor's shirt and it went down to his ankles).  The kids put the map puzzle together multiple times and pushed the button on the train light.  On the floor was a lever where the kids could manually "change" the track to turn right or left.  They had a lot of fun pulling on this lever.  

In another room were old instruments.  I came across this old flute.  It's a wooden version from the 1890's!  I wonder if a wooden flute would sound the same as a silver one?  It was really cool for me to see it!  

Down in the basement of the History Museum is the original jail that Fort Wayne used to use many years ago.  Criminals would come and get locked up in this very building!  Now they have preserved it and turned it into a museum for people like us to come see.  There were about 8 different cells and each one had benches on the sides and a gutter next to the wall, probably for them to go to the bathroom in.  The kids couldn't believe that's where these bad guys had to live!  There were scribbles all over the walls from the original criminals who were angry to be there.  On the far side, they had 1 other cell that was for females.  It had a little bathroom stall in it, which was unique.  The museum put a mannequin in  one of the cells that looked soooo real!  At first we all were taken by surprise that there was someone locked in the cell!  It scared us, till we realized it was fake.  The boys were a little bit concerned at first that this was the jail, especially Cooper, and he kept asking me whether bad guys still came here.  So I reassured him that they don't, but that bad guys go to a newer jail somewhere else now and this is safe for us to come visit.  It was fun!

Family Fun

One Friday evening, we thought it would be fun to try something new as a family.  So we went to a small Thai restaurant so the kids could experience Thai / Asian food.  The funnest part was finding the longest noodles and trying to slurp them down.  Of course we were almost the only visitors at the restaurant and so we probably were quite the scene for the employees :-).  Cooper slurped up his noodle and it got caught down his throat and he pulled it back up.  At first he was upset about how he was choking, till Nate told him that he used to do that all the time as a kid.  Then Cooper started trying harder to get the noodles caught down his throat.  :-)  The kids tried real hard to use chopsticks and we told them that the people in Thailand (they are familiar with China from movies) only use chopsticks and don't know how to use forks!  They thought that was pretty unique!  So they did their best with their sticks.  Even Kaylee enjoyed eating super long noodles!  We talked about Grandma in Utah and that she went on a mission to a Chinese place and had to eat with chopsticks.  She also had to eat weird foods like fish eyes and duck feet and the kids thought that was crazy!!  It was a fun evening!

After our yummy Thai experience, we went down to the Jefferson Pointe Mall where every Friday night they have a fun band playing.  Jaxton took Kaylee out to the middle where they danced and danced and had a ball!  It was a fun family evening!!