Preschool!

Morgan has been waiting for this day since Carmen was in preschool 2 years ago. No joke. I am happy to report that her long awaited first day of preschool was all that she imagined it would be. She loved it!

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school for Graham and Carmen. I can't believe I have a 3rd grader! Graham is growing up! And it was hard for me to send Carmen off to school all day. I still feel like a full day of school is a little long for a small 6 year old, but she loves it.

Don't ask why Graham is so serious. He just started to pose like that in his pictures. I have to get him to shake that habit before school pictures roll around. :)

August in Rexburg

We headed up to Rexburg this last weekend to pick up Graham from his week long stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Graham had a blast. Mom and Dad made each day special for him. They did everything from hiking the R mountain, taking a canoe down the snake river, bowling, playing at the splash park, and many more fun things. They also made Graham's favorite foods like omelets and noodles. He also got to hang out with his cool uncle Sam. When asked if he was missing us he replied, "I don't miss my mom and dad one bit!" At least he's honest. Graham loved the one-on-one time so much, he can't wait to go back next year. I am sure Mom and Dad needed a long nap when we left.

The fun didn't end when we got there. Sam and Dad had set up the teepee in the backyard. I have some great childhood memories of the teepee set up at the ranch for family outings with my extended family.

Saturday morning Dad and I got up and went on a nice run. Can I just say, I love August in Rexburg. Just beautiful.

Sam, David, and I got to do a session in the Rexburg Temple at 9:00 am.

Saturday afternoon, we headed up to the ranch for a cook-out. It was fun to be up there.

Even though we weren't there for long, we just had a great time.

Late Sunday night when we had made it home and were getting ready for bed I asked Graham if he had a good time in Idaho. He said it was the perfect way to spend his last week of summer vacation. I agree.

Teepee.Mom and Morgan enjoying a beautiful sunset that the ranch.

Dad and Sam hiking on the trail out of the ranch.
David and Carmen (like his huge bill sailor hat? We borrowed our hats from mom and dad's stash.)

Front view of our family cabin. My Grandpa Packer built it.
Me and Truman.

Graham. He said he's going to pose this way when he's a little older and has big muscles.

Carmen and Morgan.

Pass of all Passes

If you live in Utah or Salt Lake County and you haven't heard about this yet, you've got to check it out. We got in on it yesterday when it was cheaper. The price went up today, but it's still a screaming deal! I don't know how much longer it will be offered, but we are stoked to have unlimited fun till Labor Day of 2011!! Thanks Chris for letting us know about it!

New Friends

We found some pieces of wood shaped like Little People at the craft store. We had so much fun painting them and making them come to life.

Morgan's family. Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, big sister, brother, little sister.
Carmen's family. Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, brother, sister, brother.

We're happy to have some new friends to play with. Now I just need my bro-in-law Jay with the woodworking skills to teach me how to make the bus they can all ride in.

Love This Little Guy!

One Whole Week

Graham has been mentioning this whole summer how he would love to go up to Rexburg to spend a week with Grandpa and Grandma alone. I was hesitant because I didn't know if he could do it. I was worried he would get home sick and want to come home. The perfect opportunity came when we heard that Grandma was going down to Logan to see Dan, Sadie, Thomas and their newest addition, Lewis. It would be perfect. We could make a day trip, visit with the new baby and family, and drop Graham off.
As the time got closer I learned that it wasn't him I was worried about. It was me. When I thought about him being 5 hours away from us I would get a knot in my chest, you know that home sick feeling. I said to Graham, "What if I will miss you too much." He replied, "Mom, you are going to have to let me go sometime. This is just for a little bit." Nice.
So we are on day three with out Graham. This has been great for him. He's loving the one on one attention he's getting up there. It's been great for us too. We miss him, but we are surviving. Thanks Mom and Dad for having him. It really is something he will always remember.

Lafe the Praying Mantis

Found this praying mantis on a pole in the drive-thru on our way up to Logan. Daddy took him and put him in our car. We named him Lafe (name close to leaf).

Enjoyed our cool new pet. Kids and Daddy each took turns holding him and teasing their mom as she shrieked. Concluded mom may need counseling for her phobia of bugs. Mom agreed.
Got to Logan. Found multiple bugs to feed to Lafe: little bug, not interested. Wasp, dropped him after he got bit. Grasshopper, success. They all watched closely as Lafe enjoyed his lunch one limb at a time. Mom is happy to report that they found a new home in the trees for Lafe. Daddy grew quite attached to the little guy. It was fun while it lasted.

Lazy Day

We have sure enjoyed many lazy days this summer, but we are all looking forward to school starting soon.

Still Creating

Graham's newest invention: magnifying glass.

Fried Eggs

Love that Carmen just learned to fry eggs on our griddle and surprised me with breakfast after my run the other morning.

Hate that when I needed a couple eggs on Sunday for my recipe the eggs were all gone.

My Cub Scout

And he loves it so far. Scouts is just up Graham's alley. It's perfect for his creative, inventive, hands-on, unique personality.

Adoption Nightmare

Now that my blog is private and I have gotten permission from my little sis Becky to share her story, here it goes.
It was just last week we were all so excited anticipating the arrival of a brand new bi-racial baby girl to Becky and Wes and kids. Mom was down from Idaho to stay with the kids so Becky and Wes could fly down to Az to pick up their new baby girl.
Tuesday night (Aug. 3rd) they had plans to meet with the birth mom for dinner and visit with her before the scheduled induction the next day. When they got to the place for dinner, there was no birth mom and really no sign of her showing any time soon. Their agent reassured them that it was fine and she would see them in the morning at the hospital. I can't even imagine what Becky was feeling that night, but I am sure a lot of emotion after the last time they were chosen, the 15 year old birth mom decided to keep her baby.
When I talked to her on the phone Wednesday morning she said she didn't know what to be feeling yet because she still hadn't heard from her agent. She didn't know whether to be excited because this was the day she was going to get a sweet baby, or to be sad because they weren't. Frustration set in on my end of the phone wondering why the heck the agent didn't answer their call that morning. She was supposed to be at their side pronto any time they needed her, right? I reassured Becky that the birth mother probably was just emotional and didn't want to meet them for dinner because it was a hard and emotional time for her as well. I made phone calls to my siblings letting them know the news and we all said little prayers for them. Hours went by and I still didn't hear from Becky. I didn't want to call her and bug her if she was in the delivery room (during a conference call a few weeks earlier, the birth mom requested that Becky be in the room during delivery). I called Mom and she still hadn't heard from her either. After a while I decided to call and get the scoop. No answer. A few minutes later she called back. I could tell in her voice there was something wrong. No, not again. She then explained to me that the agency found out that the birth mom was never pregnant!!! There never was a baby! And they didn't figure that out until the morning of the induction. The girl was scamming the company for money and poor Becky and Wes were the victims. She had forged doctors notes and the hospital even had her scheduled for the induction that day. We cried together on the phone and she said they were on their way over to her friends to book a flight home. She just wanted to get home.
As I called my siblings back we talked and felt for Becky and her situation. We also started to question this agency and why it took them that long to figure that out. Hello!! That's why you have an agency. To protect yourself from nightmares like this from happening! It was like a crazy show you would see on 60 minutes or something. Apparantely there are a lot of people out there that will pull adoption scams like this for the money. There is a lot of money involved.
Poor Becky and Wes. She went through all the stages of grief after feeling like she was going through a death of a baby that she never had or never even existed. My dad is an attorney and counseled them on a few things to be prepared for when the owner of the agency came to their house Monday. There were a lot of things that didn't add up with the agency and she really doesn't know who to trust. Was it the agency the whole time just scamming them? Was there ever a girl? She now has an adoption attorney working for them so they can get their money back and then some for all the emotional distress, travel, hotel, and Wes being out of work. My dad also warned her that this could get really messy and be a long drawn out process. She isn't talking openly with everyone yet because of all the legal stuff that could be going on, so if you are reading this and you know Becky, please don't mention it to her on her facebook or anywhere anyone else may see it just to protect her. She would love an email or a phone call though, I am sure.
Becky is looking on the bright side of things and every day gets she feels a little better. She is grateful that she does have three healthy kids and feels for those women who don't have any kids and have a hard time adopting a baby. It's times like these that you really do count your blessings, focus on the positive, and move forward.

Second Time's a Charm

Something has been nagging at me and I feel it important to go private....again....for good. If I don't already have your email from the last time and you would like to continue to see what we are up to, let me know. I will be making the switch in a few days.

Huge Milestone

Ran 11 miles yesterday. And even though I am a little sore today, I loved it! It feels great to have conqered that milestone. The first long run over 10 miles after having a baby is HUGE for me.

Precious Cargo

While grocery shopping with Graham and his cousin Isaac, a voice over the intercom announced a sale in the bakery: every doughnut 25 cents. We got a dozen. The boys felt it was important to get them home safely.

Lewis

We're so excited for Dan and Sadie! After a really fast delivery, they welcomed their newest addition Lewis to their family early this morning! Congratulations you guys!

Thompson Family Reunion Highlights

Instead of camping in tents this year, we decided to try renting out a cabin for a few days. The cabin was nestled up a canyon just past Park City. We had a great time spending time together as a family. But as always, the time went by too fast.

While we were together, we enjoyed:

Hot tubbing.

Bike rides.

Relaxing.

Playing in the sand box.

Foosball. Go Grandpa!

Pool.

Enjoying Jay's telescope. One night he found Saturn. It was amazing!

Talent Show. Graham being Jerry.

Talent show. Carmen showing off how she can walk on her toes while they are curled under. Yes, I know. We have some great hidden talents. ;)

Volleyball!

The Fam.

The view off the deck.

For 2011....cabin in Island Park. One whole week. Yay!

One of many reasons why I hate trampolines:

Day 1. Believe it or not, her lip got even bigger as the night went on. Poor thing.

And this was taken on day 3. Blasted trampoline.

Two New Additions

We are going to get two new babies in our family. Baby boy (Lewis?) to Dan and Sadie, she's due any day! And a girl (Ivy?) to Becky and Wes, they were chosen from a birth mom who is being induced on Wednesday in AZ! So I had to make some gifts in honor of this sweet occasion:

carseat tent for Ivy*.
Here is one of the wraps I was talking about.

Another carseat tent for Lewis*.

*baby names are subject to change. ;)