Life as a Yowler

Brandon has been busy this week doing store training and having sales meetings, while the rest of us have been parked at his cousin’s house. His cousin is married and they live with her parents. They all run a family business together in Utah. They have full RV hookup right at their place.

My kids love coming to the Bybee’s house. They have a nephew from the other side of the family with two young boys. My kids love playing with them. Joah gets along really well with Gunnar. They are both 5 years old and will both start Kindergarten this Fall.

The one afternoon, Joah got to go to Gunnar’s house. He felt really special. It’s not often he gets to do things without his siblings.

Isla also has a little friend who is only 6 days older than her. I should add too that they were both born to Carla’s.  Her family is neighbors with the Bybee’s. It’s fun to see the babies play together(although I forgot to take any pictures).

My kids have been spending lots of time catching grasshoppers and other bugs.

There are so many of them around here.

We looked up what grasshoppers eat, and Joah is convinced he can keep them alive until we get to Michigan. Now to figure out if I’m going to break his heart or let him travel home with bugs in the RV.

We’ve been riding lots of bike.

Mr. Bybee also bought two power wheels vehicles for when my kids and his little nephews visit.

We’ve been eating lots and lot of popsicles to try to beat this Utah heat. No one panic. Isla doesn’t eat popsicles. She only chews on the bag. The cold feels good on her gums. She’s been teething.

Mrs. Bybee was a school teacher for a lot of years. She has given me a lot of creative ideas to do with the kids….to keep them busy and also to teach them. She had Caed sorting colors with just Pom pom balls, tongs, and a lego box lid(a muffin tin would work also).

Mrs. Bybee tested Brielle to see where she is at with her letters and sounds. I was a little nervous because I haven’t been working with her as much as with Joah. She turned 4 in February. Brielle got all but 6 letter sounds. I’ll take it. Mrs. Bybee told me her strengths and her weaknesses. It was very helpful and I’m excited to work with Brielle along with Joah this fall when he starts Kindergarten.  They are so close to the same age, and Brielle is so close to reading. I plan to teach them both together, so that they can compete against each other and motivate each other. They are both very competitive.

The kids have done lots of painting.

They’ve even been balancing books on their heads. Tip of the day from Mrs. Bybee: when kids are causing trouble and being wild give them something to do….like balancing books. It teaches them balance, self-control, focus, and how to hold still. She also had them walk a line(along the hard wood floor) like a balance beam by putting one foot in front of the other and focusing on walking straight and balancing.

We’ve had root beer floats twice this week as a treat in the evenings. Joah gets a clip board out and takes everyone’s order. Then he prepares the floats and passes them out to everyone.

We are having a great week. We so appreciate the Bybee’s hospitality and generosity. They have been feeding us amazingly well. They homemake everything and invite us to join them for our meals. The older three kids have helped with food preparation and are learning all sorts of things.