for my middle child

Dear Jack,

Today was a good day. Grant went off to his first day of first grade, and after he left, you and I had a happy, splendid, “delightful and pleasant” day! I loved being with you today, Jack. This morning, we folded a little laundry and put Caroline down for a nap, and talked about sharks, whales, and tsunamis. You watched Diego while I ran on the treadmill, and then we sat down together in the playroom and made a zoo with your animals and the cardboard bricks. It was amazing! You made the coolest alligator cage, and I really liked that you gave the sea lion its own blue-brick pool.

You were excited that you got to play Stanley on the computer while I took a shower. You did a great job—all by yourself! We talked about animals and then you decided to make a cool picture of sea creatures to send to Uncle Andrew. Caroline woke up, and we made lunch—“exactly what Grant is having at school,” you said. So you had an Uncrustable (which you didn’t love), grapes, pear slices, and chocolate milk. You said the lunch prayer, and it was just you, me, and Caroline! Then, we went on errands. You got a sucker at the bank. You waited patiently in line at the post office. And then… we went to the park! What a great time we had! I pushed you on the merry-go-round, you held Caroline all by yourself and went down the slide with her, and then you pretended you were a jaguar on another planet! I got to be a human, and you promised you wouldn’t bite me. You used your super-duper sense of smell to sniff out poisonous bugs, and pushed Caroline around in her space-pod stroller. You were good-natured when it was time to go, and I was proud of you, because I knew you would have liked to stay and play longer.

When we got home and Caroline was asleep, we worked on your very first lesson in your reading book. You did great, Jack! You were so anxious and excited for Grant to get home, and when he did, you both played so happily all the way until dinnertime. You even “jogged” up and down the street with him while he rode his bike. That must have been hard, Jack. We promise we’re going to fix up your little bike with training wheels, so that you can ride, too.

Thank you for today, Jack. I loved talking with you and being with you—just you—almost the whole day. You are a wonderful, kind boy. Thank you for always trying to make Caroline happy. Thank you for being such a good friend to Grant. And thank you for bringing me so much joy. I will never forget this day!

Love,

Mom

a juncture

Goodbye-

fireflies

popsicles

swimming

friends all day

brothers in pj's until half past eleven

late night bike rides

early morning runs alone

reading piles of books in the afternoon on the "waiting bench"

serendipitous outings

sprinklers

Hello-

backpacks

sack lunch (thus, it begins)

new shoes

crickets

routine

the year of seminary for Nate (who thinks 6 am will be sleeping in, though)

soccer Saturdays

apple picking

football, of course (go, BYU) (did I just say that?)

biking with Caroline

and maybe,

a clean house!

time for a change

It's really quite remarkable what can happen when your husband has his research year during a surgical residency. Nate told me he couldn't stand "One More Day" of looking at the "pee-yellow" walls in our bedroom. 48 hours later, here's what we did:

Oh, I'm getting so spoiled this year. And greedy. If he's home later than 5, my rhythm's thrown off. Come next July 1, I'm going to need a therapist to help me deal with the withdrawal.

I've lost control

Watch out, all you first-time moms. Don't come callin' for any advice from me!

These are the days...

We just returned from a couple of weeks visiting our families in Utah. The boys will always think of Utah as synonymous with nonstop fun. Sunup to sundown, our dudes played-- played with cousins, played with grandparents, played with each other, played with mom and dad. To them, no one goes to work in Utah. No one has to do chores. No one runs errands, goes to school, or ever, ever goes to the dentist. The magical, mythical world those Utah pirates live, indeed! I wonder how long we can keep the illusion going. I must admit, it was a bit tricky to come back to the routine of reality!

These pics constitute a very meager assortment of snapshots taken when I remembered to have my camera with me, which wasn't very often!

The classic mom must-have: all kids naked in the tub. We were at my mom's Park City condo, and I promise I was one inch away from the camera shot, holding my breath that Caroline's floating head wouldn't be submerged!

Here is our little princess, making the face that has become quite her standard these days. We call her the Queen of Sheba, and she's got the whole family wrapped around her fingers. Somehow, we all are fine with it, though.

Reading with Grandpa Richards. This was a highlight, and one of the few down times in the midst of lots of activities and adventures.

Grant with his "best" cousins, Cort and Pete. I said to him one night as I tucked him in, "Grant, I feel like I haven't seen much of you these past few days; you've been so busy with Cort and Pete! I miss you!" To which he replied, "I'm sorry Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, but I don't really miss you."

This is a picture that will forever bring a smile to my face. I love the various emotional comfort levels on display here.

sweet car- oline...

My dear friend, Katie, just moved away and sent me these photos she snapped of Caroline a few weeks ago. I thought they captured her expressive little self so well. She is a growing girl... giggling, waving, giving "kisses", loving her brothers to death, and making her every whim and desire known to all! We love her.

By the way, Kate just moved to Utah and is a fantastic professional photographer. I'm sure she's booking up quickly, so for all you Utah folks who may be interested, check her out here. You will not be disappointed! Katie, we miss you!

jack's aspiring career

The following notice is currently posted on a piece of white cardboard, hanging on our front door:

Jack Docktor the greatest

no cure to high

open 10 am to 3:30 pm

wendsday to saturday.

18 Hastings Avenue

Junior Partner= Nate

We cure hickups, back ache, itchyitus, slide monster bite, and others.

I knew Nate secretly wanted to be Jack's junior partner on his research year.