Fun on the Fourth

Our Independence Day this year started out with Benjamin's first official race: the Sandy Classic 5k. I had prepared myself mentally this time to be left in the dust by my boys like I was at Benjamin's Fun Run, and I was even looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it wasn't Benjamin's day. He'd been limping around the house for about a week after hurting his foot at the splash park, but I really thought he'd be better for the race. Be it his foot injury or staying up super-late at the Stadium of Fire with his Dastrup grandparents and cousins, we could tell from the very beginning that something wasn't right. Brigham and I had to coax him along almost the whole race. But he still took 6th place in his age division, so he was happy about the race even if it wasn't his best.

After the race we went down to Provo for the parade. Grandpa and Grandma Dastrup were heroes once again-- putting out chairs on the parade route super-early before coming up to watch us run the 5k. (I don't know where they get their energy!) Jacob did much better this year with it than he did last year, and to my surprise, Ty was the one asking to leave after an hour or so. We may not have seen the whole parade, but we saw the BYU float (making Benjamin happy), some tractors (making Jacob and Ty happy), and several city royalty floats (making Brigham happy), so it was a good time.

After visiting my Grandpa Haslem for awhile, we then went to a Dastrup gathering at Brigham's Uncle Neal's house, which is a dream come true for kids. They ran around with their cousins playing basketball, jumping on the tramp, chasing the dogs, and watering the plants with water from the cooler (Ty).

That evening we had a family movie night and then decided to save our fireworks for the 24th since Ty was exhausted and Benjamin had seen a great fireworks show at the Stadium of Fire.

It was a great day and so nice that Brigham had it off this year!

June Summary

Having been overcome by a combination of busyness and laziness, I failed to post anything in June, and for that I am ashamed. So here is my sorry attempt to keep the month of June from fading into the obscurity of our memories.

The annual Dastrup Family Reunion was this month, and it was great to reconnect with so many of our East Coast relatives. The best part was seeing all of the kids running around together like a pack of wolves. So much of my childhood revolved around my cousins that it makes me happy to see our kids bonding with theirs.

After the Family Olympics-- Benjamin was quite the competitor and won many races!

Ty's first Creamie. He was a BIG fan.

Benjamin and his cousin Caleb-- I love how they fell asleep facing each other!

We decided to take advantage of the abnormally cool weather and go to the zoo. Jacob wasn't a big zoo fan in ABQ, so I was a little nervous about how he'd do, but I didn't need to be-- he loved it! Especially the elephants-- he watched them for a long time. They have a "Zoorasic" theme going on right now, with dinosaur models that move, roar, and even squirt water, and they scared the pants off of Ty! Our fearless little boy would come running to me, saying, "Scary, scary!" and insist on being carried whenever we came across a dinosaur. It was actually quite helpful in keeping him corralled!

Brigham ran the Wasatch Back Relay again this year-- this time with friends from high school including Jake Martin, his brother Sam, Jess Brereton, and Todd Allen. They had a good time-- except when Brigham ran hard reached an exchange station and found no one from his team there. The other van was at the wrong exchange station!

Jacob getting comfortable with his computer from Gramps and Grandma Groneman. This is before he urinated on the monitor.

My sister Cambrie was visiting in the middle of her move, and we had lots of good times together, including a carnival in Pleasant Grove. Jacob liked watching the rides, but did NOT want to go on them. Benjamin had a good time, and Ty was in heaven. It was hard to keep him from running onto rides without a ticket!

Pudding painting-- a hit with both little boys!

On June 30, my handsome husband turned 32. He started the day with a round of golf with his parents and brother, Sam. Then most of the rest of his family came over for grilled pizza and his birthday cheesecake. We all went to see Cars 2 together, and it was definitely the best movie experience we've had as a family in a long time. Jacob was bouncing up and down on the seat and clapping madly, so I think that he liked it. Ty liked it too, although by the end of the movie he got a little restless and started running around the theater. That evening, Brigham and I left the party at our house and went out for dinner and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Hale Center Theater. It was a good day, and I'm happy that it looks like Brigham is only a year younger than I am once again.

I know that I've left out a lot of fun and wonderful June events, but hopefully I'll do better in July. (I wouldn't bet on it, though.) Blogger has been acting up for me and keeps shutting down in the middle of my post. If any of my computer nerd relatives have tips for me, I'd be happy to hear them!

Our All-Stars

Today is a proud day. It is a day that I knew was coming, but I pictured it to be many years down the road still. Today Benjamin totally smoked me (and everyone else) in his two-mile Fun Run! Brigham (pushing Ty in the stroller) and I ran with him, and when he started out fast we warned him to slow it down or he would probably burn out. He assured us that he was running as fast as he normally did, and kept it up. Actually, not long after that he turned it up. I know because it soon became a challenge to keep up with him! After awhile I stopped trying, thinking that he would burn out soon and that I'd catch up easily. But my theory was shot to pieces as I watched his back getting farther and farther away from me. After awhile I thought that even if he didn't burn out, he must be tired, and if I could only catch up, I could run with him the rest of the race. So I picked up my pace, but still-- he kept getting further and further away. So I eventually gave up and felt silly running in an elementary school race without a student with me. Brigham did manage to keep up, though he said he had to work to do it. He estimates that Benjamin was running about 7:45 miles! He was so fast that his Dastrup grandparents at the finish line didn't even have their cameras out and ready since they weren't expecting him to be done yet. They ran the race in waves, starting with the 6th graders, and then every minute or so letting the next grade start. His grandma Dastrup said that only about 3 fifth-graders had finished when Benjamin came blazing in and took first place in the whole second grade! The second and third place finishers weren't even close behind-- it was a couple more minutes before they came in. Brigham and I were completely blown away! We had no idea he was so fast! I could see the running-coach light gleaming in Brigham's eyes as he gazed in awe at Benjamin after the race...

After watching Benjamin's awesome win at the Fun Run, we raced over to Alta High School to watch Jacob's Sports Day. Kids with different disabilites from all over the district came to participate, and it was neat. It started with an Olympics-like opening ceremony in which all the kids marched around the track with banners announcing the schools they came from. Brigham, Grandma Dastrup, and I all got choked up as we walked with Jacob (who was very excited) and saw all the high school kids cheering their loudest for these sweet kids. It was a very neat moment.

Jacob participated in a sprinting race, a game of tag, and an obstacle course before he decided that he was done with the whole thing, so we left.

What a great day! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup for coming and being the best cheerleading squad ever! You guys are great!

Missin' Dentition

Jacob lost tooth #5 today, and like his last several teeth, it has vanished completely. Swallowed? Vacuumed up at school? Camouflaged in the carpet? The Tooth Fairy is a little unsure of what to do in these situations.

Benjamin is happily sporting a new wiggly tooth himself. This is only his third (much to his chagrin), but with some imagination one can see a little movement in a fourth tooth as well.

Celebrating 10 Years of Marital Bliss

Last Thursday was our 10th anniversary, and we celebrated by spending the week in Oahu. What a great trip! Snorkeling, hiking through rainforests, along the coast, and up a volcano, Pearl Harbor, boogie boarding, strolls along the beach and romantic dinners at sunset, sacred Hawaiin sites, the Bishop Museum, and an aquaruim. Our trip had it all. And the whole time I couldn't get over how lucky I am: Ten years of marriage to the most wonderful man on the planet! And Hawaii to boot. How could it get any better?

A MILLION thanks go out to Mom and Dad Dastrup and Mom and Dad Groneman for watching our crazy kids so we could get away. You guys are heroes! Thank you for making such a wonderful trip possible! We love you!

Our "Rockin'" Spring Break

After years of being held hostage at home by Jacob's passionate hatred of camping, we finally got to sleep in a tent again-- thanks to Grandma Dastrup. Jacob stayed home with Grandma and had a fun time going to the children's museum, Wheeler Farm, the library and just enjoying some one-on-one time. We took the other monkeys camping at Goblin Valley. It was awesome! Talk about a little boy's paradise: tons of dirt to play in, rocks to climb, and hills to run up and down. Ty and Benjmain were in heaven. We had a great time playing hide-and-seek games in Goblin Valley, making tinfoil dinners, roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores, telling "ghost stories" around the campfire, and hiking at Capitol Reef. I was worried that maybe our family just wasn't a camping family, but to my relief I learned that the only non-camper is Jacob. It was glorious to be out in nature again! But I must admit the trip was a little bitter-sweet. (Those who are only here for light reading should stop reading at this point because I'm about to bare a part of my soul which can get a little awkward.) It was so incredibly liberating to not have to worry about keeping Jacob from trying to vomit in the car every 10 minutes. We didn't even take our portable DVD player on our trip! And it was EASY and FUN without it! It was great to be able to particpate in whatever was going on instead of trying to keep Jacob happy. But whenever I found myself feeling free and like we were enjoying ourselves as a "normal" family, I'd quickly be struck down by feelings of guilt. I mean, what kind of parents take a family vacation and leave one of their children behind? I know he would have HATED every moment and that we couldn't have done it with him, but still... What kind of mother enjoys the absence of one of her children? I fervently wish that Jacob loved camping as much as the rest of us, but he just doesn't. It's sad to know that we may never enjoy camping as a whole family in this life, and that any time we want to let our other kids experience the joy of camping that we must impose on someone else to care for Jacob for us. But I guess that it is just all part of the package that comes with Jacob. I guess we have to pay for that unconditional love and those endless hugs somehow. We wouldn't trade our Jacob for any number of camping trips!

Viva Hogwarts!

This gave me a good laugh. I hope it can do the same for you. http://youtu.be/ySN8Q4U6wys