Sawyer Experience Air Show

Summer Reading Kickoff Party at the Library

In Which We Watch Jets and Dump Water Down the Drain

Monday night we went to the Summer Reading Kickoff party at our library. Jackson planted a seed, looked through a magnifying glass, made a kaleidoscope magnet, and he and Grant made maracas with paper plates. Jackson got a chart to record the books he reads, and he’s already up to about three dozen. The more he reads the better chance he has to win a prize, like a trip to France or a pencil or something.

Yesterday, we went to the Sawyer Experience Air Show. It was a little warm, but we had a nice breeze and we all have new tan lines. Jackson loved to look at all the planes. The F-18 and F-16 scared him a little because they were so loud, but after a few minutes he thought they were awesome. Grant reacted by squirming, looking nervous, and laughing. Brian was so excited he almost signed both boys up for the Air Force.

Grant has begun rolling toy trucks along the floor, sticking his tongue out and making what could be rumbling motor sounds. He has also said both “Mama” and “Dada”, but whether he knows what they mean is unknown. On the way to church today he was babbling, and Hailey said, “Grant, say Mama.” Jackson said, “Grant, say Ja-ja”—for “Jackson.” Unfortunately, Grant didn’t cooperate.

Potty Training Update: Jackson today went into the bathroom and filled a cup with water from the faucet, then dumped it out, and repeated the process a few times. When Brian asked him why, he said, “To make more pee.” He hasn’t made the connection that he has to drink the water to make the pee.

Note: Brian has been called as the new Brian McMillan Family Historian.

Father's Day Tie

You can see Jackson's little pink handprint on the bottom and right above, the white blob, is Grant's handprint.

Trying to Walk

Grant officially took a few steps. He’s taken 2 or 3 a couple of different times. We’ll try to get a video of him sometime soon.

We’ve had a crazy time trying to cool our house down. (It’s been 80 in the living room.) We’ve gone through 3 window air conditioners and finally decided to keep none of them. They were either too small or required us to change the outlet to one with more power. In the end we bought a bunch of big fans and are trying to push the cool air up from the basement to the rest of the house. It’s been working pretty well so far; we’ll see when we have a hotter day.

In addition to the heat, we’ve been blessed with biting black flies. So we all have bites; Jackson’s have been bugging him; Grant doesn’t even know they’re there and Brian doesn’t have any. I have tons and they’re driving me crazy. We’ve used bug spray, but apparently not enough.

Brian finished up his poetry class this week. It was only a two week course but it kept him pretty busy. He only has two more weeks of teaching his freshman and he’s done for the summer!!

We decided to start a photography business called Avenue Photo <www.avenuephoto.com>.We had our first paying session this weekend and it went well.

We had a Primary activity on Wednesday. Jackson made a tie for Brian to wear to church today, and Brian wore it the whole time—what a trooper.

Friday night I got to leave the family behind and go to a Mom’s Club banquet. We had catered food, dressed up, and enjoyed a night of childless bliss. It was greatly needed.

Jackson’s been throwing tantrums lately. It seems like he needs a nap, but he hasn’t taken one in over a year. So hopefully it’s just a short phase that he will grow out of. He also never tries anything new to eat, instead eating chicken nuggets, French fries, pizza (with no cheese or other toppings), and cheese crackers with peanut butter. Does anybody have any tricks we can use to make him eat?

Grant's Feast

Our Week

Tonight, Grant ate some baby food, then he ate some cheese crackers, then he enjoyed some graham crackers, following those he ate a Nutra Grain bar, and he finished his grand meal off with graham crackers with chocolate frosting. This bounteous feast took about 2 hours to consume.

The other day, we were driving down the road and Brian spotted some tractors hard at work fixing a road. So he quickly pulled off and he and Jackson hopped out of the car and spent a while watching them up close. I was waiting in the car with Grant. When Jackson got back I asked him what he saw, instead of telling me he just started to make tractor sounds. Lately if we ask him about something he just makes the sounds and expects us to guess.

Friday night Brian flew to Las Vegas. His mom’s family was having a reunion honoring the one hundredth anniversary of his grandmother’s birth. They had a devotional where all her kids shared memories and then they gathered for a picnic lunch. He got on another plane Saturday night and I picked him up around noon today. So he was a little tired, but we’re glad he’s back.

Tonight Brian was rolling a ball on the ground to Jackson who would hit it back to him with a small bat. Grant crawled behind Jackson as if he was going to be the catcher. After a little of that Brian picked Grant up in order to help Grant be the pitcher. Surprisingly Grant didn’t need much help. He would throw it and 3 out of 4 times it would make it to Jackson.