Shawn's Schedule

So we have lived here 3 months now and have just this past week figured out a schedule that functionally works for our family. Since Shawn has to work evenings, when customers are home, my days were long. He would go into work at sometimes 10 in the morning and not get home till 9 or 9:30at night. I was losing steam and he was not having very much family time. Recently, we organized ourselves and his schedule to work better for us. Shawn now works from 12:30pm-9pm. Instead of having family time in the evenings like a traditional family, we have our mornings together. We get to have breakfast and lunch together and Shawn helps gets kids put down for naps before he leaves (that makes bedtime easier for me). We miss having dinner together as a family, but I will take lunch! We seem so much happier now that we are figuring out a routine! Along with that, just this week too, we figured out that Maverick won't sleep while Lanie is awake because she is so noisy that he can't stay asleep. So we have them nap at the same time. This is going well and gives me a nice break in the day. Mav still gets up in the night, so breaking that will be our next hurdle to jump over. Shawn is a wonderful daddy and husband and gets up with Mav most nights. I know....I'm spoiled! Thanks Honey!

Family Home Evening

We are just learning how to hold family night with Lanie. We are trying to get into a habit of having it consistently. Last week for Family Home Evening we learned about the Prophet. I showed Lanie pictures of the prophet and asked her over and over who it was. She said, "Pwopet!" Shawn joked and asked, "Puppet?" We had fun and sang, "Follow the Prophet." Lanie seemed to enjoy it and we try to reinforce the lesson throughout the week. Tonight I think we will learn about missionaries (since we had them over for dinner last Saturday). I am going to pull out my mission tag and let Lanie try it on. Then we will write Tavan letters and sing "Called to Serve." Hopefully it goes well. :)

Our Busy Busy Busy July

4th of July

We spent the 4th having breakfast at church, had a BBQ at our house with Gayle, Tom, and my mom. We had our traditional flag sheet cookie. My mom played with the kids and gave Lanie change for her piggy bank. Good Old Maverick threw up all over Shawn. We stayed home and watched New York City's fireworks (Boston's were postponed because of weather).

July 8th - I spoke in church on Patriotism.

After my mom went back to Utah, we started potty training. I did a 3-day method which was ruthless, but has paid off. Lanie has spent the month of July learning to use the potty. She gets M&Ms for going #1 and money for her Piggy bank for going #2. She has loved the rewards and is doing so well.

Saturday, July 14th, Shawn took the day off of work and we went to the Southwick Zoo. Lanie liked the turtles and deer the most. We got to walk with and feed the deer. Lanie called each one of them "Doo-Rolph" which is Rudolph to her. It is so cute! We were disappointed they did not have an elephant, but overall it was a great zoo. We stopped at a local diner on the way home for shakes and fed the missionaries that evening. Fun day!

July 15th - Shawn spoke in church on Inspiration and we had Sunday dinner at the Pitcavage's. Lanie had multiple potty accidents there. It was awful. The next day I asked Lanie if she was ready to go back into diapers. She quickly responded with, "NO! Diapers are for babies...Underwear dry!!!" The diaper threat worked pretty well because she has made great improvements.

July 17th, we went with some ward friends to the Assabet Park splash pad. Lanie did not like the splash pad but she absolutely loved the playground. She played in the sandbox with dump trucks, made fake food out of wood chips at the picnic table, and climbed the slide. Her cheeks got so rosy and sweaty cause it was a very hot, humid day.

July 18th, we went to the Ecotarium in Worcester. During story time, Lanie sat right in front in the yellow dress. She liked playing Jenga and the Pig game. The outside bubbles were fun too. This place is similar to the Treehouse Museum in Utah.

July 19th, we went to the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough. I wanted to check out their movie theater and play area for kids. Lanie loved it! The piano was very cool. We went to the food court at the end and got some fries. Lanie loves fries, especially ones that are giant like these ones.

Saturday, July 21st, we had plans to go spend the day at the Children's Museum in downtown Boston. Lanie was all excited and then when we went to start the car it wouldn't start. All the car shops were closed, so we weren't able get it checked till Monday. Needless to say, we did not go to Boston (which was disappointing) and we spent the day at home. Bummer! Come Monday, we found out that we had a bad battery and the car was fixed very easily. Hooray!

      

A day in the life of Maverick!!!!

Typical Sunday for Bug...Morning curlers and yogurt, hair done and in the car for 9 o'clock church, and a nap on the way to church. That's our girl!

Typical car ride for Mav...#1 Worry, #2 High Pitched Dinosaur Screaming, #3 Calm, #4 Happy and Smiley

A day in the life of Lanie!!!

Our two little lovelies. Lanie has started to interact with Maverick more and it has been so fun to watch. We woke up one morning to her reading stories to him in our room (this was at 6:30 am). She kisses him, holds his hand, plays on the floor with him, and often time rough houses by kicking and slapping his tummy (so it's not all sweet). And recently, when Maverick cries in the car, Lanie will say, "Baby, stop crying or go to your room." I giggle knowing she learned that from me trying to discipline her.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD

July 24th: Pioneer Day

Shawn and his co-worker, Bill, had some appointments on Martha's Vineyard. It is about 2 hours from our house. I decided to take the kids on the adventure and hang out while the boys worked. It was a lovely day!

Ferry ride out to Martha's Vineyard. About 45 minutes. We loaded the car on the boat and shipped it over to the Island. So fun! Maverick is playing with his boat toy as he takes his first boat ride. Lanie hated the wind that day and freaked out a bit.

Bill hit it off with Lanie which is hard for most people to do. And Lanie was very sweet having Mav sitting right next to her. She demanded that they hold hands.

The views on the Island were breathtaking. I felt like I was mixing Seattle, Hawaii, and Park city. Our favorite was that mansion with the red roof, it was amazing!

When Shawn and Bill finished up at their appointments, we went to dinner and the beach. Look at all the gear it takes to spend time at the beach. Lanie loves playing in the water and in the sand with her daddy. We were there all of 10 minutes, when a torrential storm came in. We quickly packed up as we saw the ocean turn from blue to a dark green almost black. It was eerie. As we got to the car, it started to rain and then a downpour hit. Luckily our Ferry ride back was not canceled. 

The rain cleared up and left us with a very enjoyable boat ride back. There were hardly any people on the Ferry. Lanie had her own special view from this little window meant for the anchor ropes. It was the perfect height for her to look out and see the water. She had a ball.

The sunset on the ride back was to die for!!! We look forward to making this trip again...maybe next time to Nantucket.

Grandma Judy flew in the day after we went to Martha's Vineyard. We ended July just as busy as we started it. Felt like a month full of vacations. Pictures of her trip are up next....