Curse of the Ants Part 2

So, any of you following this blog will remember our adventures last year with ants. This year we started the spring in UT with nary an ant to be seen except a few here and there when the weather would warm up. Nothing serious and we didn't see too many in the basement, mostly in the kitchen upstairs.

At the beginning of June we moved in with Chase's family in the high desert in CA. Chase's family had no ant problems again, until we came. We were ok for a while, but then one night while looking for a pair of pajamas for Joelle in a laundry basket I had just washed, there they were. I was shocked! The laundry was clean, yet there they were crawling around in the basket and along the floor at the foot of our bed. Well, I panicked, because these are not UT ants that are just annoying, these are CA ants that bite. I didn't want them biting the baby, seeing as she is sharing our living quarters with us. Well, after my freak out session, Chase helped me clean everything out and he sprayed outside around our window. Well, that seemed to do the trick, for a while.

I am super careful not to bring any food type items into our room, I learned our lesson from last year. However, I didn't think about water. One night after coming back from somewhere I left the baby bottle (only filled with water) inside the diaper bag next to our bed. The next morning I retrieved the bottle and brought to the kitchen only to discover ants crawling around inside the lid...Arghhhhh! So, I ran back to the bedroom to see where else they were and they were swarming the bed, luckily we didn't get bit. Well, I guess Chase found one in his underwear and got bit on the "upper thigh" area. Anybody see the 'Everybody Loves Raymond' episode where Robert gets gored by a bull? Just kidding Chase. Anyway, so we did a more thorough cleaning this time, shaking our bedding outside, vacuuming out everything, doing all the laundry in the room, and spraying outside again.

Well, it's been quite a while since that episode. A couple days ago, I killed a few ants in the bathroom adjacent to our room, but didn't see anymore. Then, this morning I found more ants crawling on our bed. Chase killed them and we figured there were just a few rogue ants this time and that was it. I came in to try to take a nap with Joelle, but she wouldn't cooperate so I got her out and noticed ants swarming the dirty clothes basket this time. However, they were mostly swarming a very filthy barf rag that Joelle had completely soaked. Turns out, ants are attracted to baby barf everyone! How do I take care of this problem? Joelle isn't going to stop barfing, and she has a touch of acid reflux. Do we sleep on plastic sheets to eliminate any trace of baby barf or drool? Do I seal every barfed on outfit and burp rag inside plastic bags? Arghhhh, the humanity! Well, I will try to stop being melodramatic and try to be more practical. Chase has started a load of barfy clothes and baby sheets. I'll keep you updated on our battle with the ants, they sure have it in for us.

Free PCC Concert (5-27-2010)

Many of you know my love of the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) and Polynesian people and culture in general. I visited the South Pacific in high school and attended B.Y.U.-Hawaii. The PCC is basically connected to B.Y.U.-HI and is where a lot of the students work. I had friends that worked there and I loved visiting there and watching the awesome performances, dances, and learning about the cultures. I wanted so badly to be a drummer for the night show at the PCC, which you can see the drummers behind the performers in the pictures and videos below. Sadly, they didn't want to hire a white girl from UT with know percussion experience, I can't imagine why.

Well, I read in the paper that the PCC was pramoting a new night show performance called "Ha, The Breath of Life" and would be putting on a free performance in West Valley. So, Chase being the good sport that he was went with me to see it. We dropped the kids off with Rachel (cousin), except Joelle who came with us. A huge thank you to Rachel for watching our crazy kids! Our kids absolutely love Rachel, they always have a blast at her house. Emery was even singing about Rachel in the car ride home.

We arrived fairly early, since I knew there would be a large crowd for a free PCC concert. We waited in line to get in, but the line moved fairly quickly. There were so many people they ended up turning people away. There were only a few seats to be had so we ended up on a spot on the grassy hill. Except for my allergies, back hurting a little, and behind falling asleep it was alright. It took forever for the actual PCC performance to start, but when it did it was very good. The 2 opening acts were horrible! They were local area high school students. One group was a bunch of boys dressed in drag performing as a drill team to some music. The second group were some kids singing to songs from Greese (can't spell it, don't care, I HATE Greese, the musical that is!) . The girl had an ok voice, but the boy was awful and the songs were horrible. I cringed through those first performances.

Two of the videos I have posted are a Tahitian dance (where they wiggle the hips fast), and the other is my absolute all time favorite the Samoan Fire Knife dance. The guy ends up dropping it a few times, but overall it was very impressive. I was dissappointed that they didn't have the Samoan Slap dance or the Maori Haka (sp ?), but it was a fun night out and Joelle behaved very well. Thank you Chase for doing something I know you didn't want to do, I had fun with you!
Samoan Fire Knife Dance

Fire Knife Dancer lighting the other end of his torch with his bare hand.

Fire Knife Dancers

Chase feeding Joelle before the performance started. Doesn't he look very excited to be there?

Me and sleepy Joelle.

Joelle with Mommy during the PCC night show.

Hangin' With Grandpa

Emery and Joelle with Grandpa Beebe (5-22-2010)

It takes a brave man to sport a burp rag like that : )

Bailey's 4th Grade End of Year Program

Bailey had an awesome year despite all the upheaval and changes. Bailey was very fortunate to make some really good close friends. Her teacher always had great things to say about Bailey and what a hard worker she was, how parents had commented to her that they were glad Bailey was their student's friend, and what a silly and fun girl she was. Bailey loved her teacher and loved 4th grade. Bailey always did her homework and even went the extra mile on every project she did, her teacher was always impressed with her book reports and projects she turned in. I would have to keep Bailey in check sometimes because she would easily get carried away and spend hours on fine tuning her projects. I'm so proud of Bailey and all that she has accomplished this past year.

Bailey with her 4th grade teacher Mrs. Shepherd.

Bailey showing off her self portrait, intestines included.

Bailey with the baby chicks her class hatched, her teacher lived on an egg farm.

Bailey with her crazy friends Jessica and Bethany.

Three cute best friends...Jessica, Bethany, & Bailey.

Bailey standing up on the left end side. Friends Jessica, and Bethany standing next to her.

Addie's 2nd Grade End of Year Program

Addie had some bumps here and there for 2nd grade, it was kind of a rough year for her. She had a lot of growth especially in learning responsibility, finishing and turning in her homework, and being truthful and honest. Some of those we're still working on, but Addie is doing better. So, I am very proud of her perseverance and improvement by the end of the year. Her teacher always had some great things to say about Addie. Addie was also a very good friend even to those who didn't deserve her friendship.
Addie with her 2nd Grade teacher Mrs. Hulet.

Cam Graduates Kindergarten

I think a Kindergarten graduation is ridiculous, but our last school had one. The only thing more ridiculous is a preschool graduation. I guess it is tradition at Larsen Elementary to have each grade put on a program at the end of the year, which is fine I guess if it's short and sweet and doesn't drag on forever. I truly miss the dance festival we had in Lehi, each grade did a dance, and that was it.

Cam's program went on and on, meanwhile Emery was getting antsy. Fortunately Joelle cooperated. I think maybe a couple of songs would have been fine, but they decided to do a slide show and hand each of the kids in 3 Kindergarten classes a diploma and say some cutsie thing about each kid also. Cam was a "Remarkable Reminder", now don't get me wrong, I'm just as sentimental as the next person, but this was just a bit much. Cam's class went first and he was about the 6th kid in line to get his diploma, so I thought we could grab him when he was done and sneak out, but they made each kid sit back down on the stage afterward. So, we endured 3 classes full of Kindergarteners receiving their diplomas.

All in all I am proud of Cam and he is one handsome little dude. It was a hard year for our family with a lot of adjustments and Cam handled it like a trooper. He is a crazy little guy with so much energy and so much humor, he cracks me up quite often. He has grown so much this year also and amazes me at how fast he learns. I love ya Cam, even though I detest Kindergarten graduations!
Cam with his diploma in front of Grandma & Grandpa Beebe's house.

Cam in front of his classroom.

Cam on the stage with his class.

Cam with his teacher Mrs. Hyer.

Hangin' With Dad

Joelle 2 1/2 Months Old (5-12-2010)

Crazy Hair Day-Larsen School-5-21-2010

Bailey's Birthday

It's official, I now have a child in the double didgets. Bailey turned 10 on June 28th. I can't believe Bailey is that old. It seems that it wasn't so long ago that Bailey was a baby rolling across the floor until she hit the wall. She'd get so frustrated and keep trying to get out of her predicament, but she couldn't figure out that she had to roll back the opposite direction to be able to move again. My mom has an old video of it and it is so funny to watch.

We celebrated Bailey's birthday early because Chase and I had to drive Joelle back to UT on her birthday for a well check with the pediatrician. We didn't want Bailey to be stuck in a car for 8 hours on her birthday. I made a special birthday dinner of Shredded Beef tacos and homemade tortillas on Sat. Sunday morning she got her birthday breakfast of bacon and puffed pancakes. Monday morning (her actual birthday) before we left she opened her presents. The camera was dead so I have no pictures of that. Grandma Fox also had previously taken Bailey shopping for her birthday and she got some cool shoes. Bailey also got to go to a friend's pool and play all day in the water and had a sleep over as well. Then on another day Aunt Ceri came and took her and Aunt Molly out to breakfast and shopping. I can't count how many days Bailey got to celebrate her birthday, but she had a lot of fun.

There are so many things I love about my Bailey girl! She is super sweet and smart! I always get the best of compliments from all of Bailey's teachers. Bailey is also a super good friend and is always thoughtful and kind. She makes an excellent big sister and daughter and is usually always willing to help out. I can always count on Bailey to help me with things around the house or helping entertain the baby or her 2 yr. old sister when I'm trying to get something done. Bailey has a sweet spirit and tries to choose the right. One time at school a friend of Bailey's found a pack of cigarrettes on the playground while they were at recess. Bailey knew just what to do. One of them stayed by the cigarrettes so no little kids would get them and the other ran to get a teacher. I am so proud of Bailey and the choices she makes. She is very studious and smart, talented, and creative. Bailey also has a silly side and can entertain you with her crazy stories, big plans, and ideas. I am so thankful that Bailey is a part of our family and we love her so much!
Aunt Ceri took Bailey out to eat for breakfast and then on a shopping spree. Bailey loves her Aunt Ceri and they had a lot of fun together along with Aunt Molly as well. Molly's birthday is just 2 days after Bailey's. Bailey is lucky to have such a fun aunt to spoil her.

I didn't make a cake this year, but Bailey picked out a special Costco cake instead.

Here, dad is lighting the candles with grandma and grandpa's cool torch thingy.

Sweet Bailey with her fun cake.

Blowing out all of those candles, there are so many now.

Mmmmmmm, Costco cake : )

Joelle Turns 4 Months

Joelle all dressed up for her 4 month old pictures. I know there are a lot and that's because I couldn't decide, so I put up a lot of the ones I liked.

Always the hands... Joelle really likes to chew on her fingers and hands right now. She even sucked on her wrist so much, she left a raw, red patch. She usually ends every smile with both fists fighting for a spot in her mouth.

All these photos are the result of Molly's ability to make Joelle smile and laugh. I think maybe she should rent herself out at photo studios to get the babies to smile.

This is 'The Beast'. Don't be alarmed she is only smiling.

Side view of 'The Beast'. Aunt Molly and Joelle (4 months old).

I should have measured this string of drool.

Catching some Z's.

Joelle 3 months old with Mommy and Emery.

I love my sweet baby cheeks : )

Joelle 3 months old.

My little booger turned 4 months on June 26th. It still amazes me how fast time goes by and how quickly kids grow. She weighs 15 lbs. 14 oz. and is almost 25 in. long. The doctor was impressed with her development and was amazed at how social she was for a 4 month old. I guess the way she was smiling and interacting with the doctor is normally done at 6 months. Joelle smiled early like most of my kids have done. I know I have pictures of her smiling on her blessing day which was 6 weeks, but I believe she started before that. She started laughing a lot sooner though than the other kids, I think she probably first laughed late 2 months, maybe 3 months, not for sure. She is so funny though when she laughs and so the kids all try to get her laughing quite often. If we're lucky she'll oblige us with a round of cute baby laughs, or one of her crazy open mouth smiles which we have dubbed 'The Beast'. We have discovered that Joelle really likes Aunt Molly and so Molly can usually get Joelle to favor us with laughs and smiles. A lot of Joelle's 4 month pictures were the result of me enlisting Molly's help. I am going to post some 3 month pictures as well, just because I like them. One of the videos is kind of long, but I'm leaving it, because I think it's cute and Joelle doesn't really start to laugh until the end.