So we’re going backwards here.

I decided I wanted to get a grill. I generally dislike cooking but really like the taste of all things grilled. I wanted to learn.

John and I saw a Weber brand grill (which is a good brand) at Costco for over $100 less than regular retail price. We returned a few days later to buy it, after researching, and it was gone. All sold out here and at every Costco in the area.

I felt disappointed, but we decided to get a different, more expensive grill that was at least in stock. However, just as John was going to get the propane for it in the store we passed a special vendor that was selling Traeger brand grills. The company is based in Oregon and also has an office right here in the small town where we live. The price was right, about the same as the Weber one we had looked at. It’s not propane but fueled by wood pellets. Essentially it creates a little fire at the bottom of the grill and the heat is circulated by a fan. The wood pellets come in different flavors like hickory and mesquite and apple, and you can do additional things like smoke meat and make jerky or even bake pies and cookies. We went for it.

Today I became One Who Grills and made us some cheeseburgers, all by myself. I have to say, they tasted great! Nice and smoky and yummy. And it wasn’t hard.

I even tried a batch of cookies. The first batch I burned but the second came out just right.

My parents recently moved into the area. We’ve seen them a lot in the last week and a half, and my kids are in heaven. I think they think Grandma and Grandpa’s house IS heaven. Where else do you get tractor rides on the riding lawn mower?

(Elizabeth didn’t love it.)

(Wes liked driving.)

(Carissa loved everything.)

(Just look at her huge grin.)

Tonight at G&G’s I lost Wes and then found him and his cousin in the back of Grandpa’s truck.

The cousins played “house” together (which Carissa happily played with her cousins, making pretend dinners, while Wes tried to find ways to climb out of the truck). Savannah helped the four of them pose for a formal picture or two.

…and then a couple silly ones.

Meanwhile Elizabeth sat in the wagon, just hoping someone would come along and pull her in it. She sat there a long time.

(I think it is funny to watch these cousins playing “house” together. Wes isn’t really into playing pretend but he tried. I think the funniest parts to me are watching Carissa make noodles and hearing Ashleigh say, “Ok, I’ll be the mom” like it’s the worst job ever.)

Carissa finished her first year of preschool. This is the same preschool Wes attended. It’s taught by a special ed teacher and includes a mix of kids with special needs and “typical” kids like Carissa who can lend examples. She did so great at school. She started when she was just barely three years old, and she was a little shy and timid. She was too afraid to use the big potty at school for months (it flushes loud), and the teachers had to coax her with m&m rewards. She not only got over that, but she also lost her shyness. She loves preschool. At the start of the year she would come home and not say much (I figured because she was tired), but by the end of the year I would pick her up and she’d launch into telling me what they learned about or what she ate for snack. Her writing has improved a million-fold. She learned to write her name all by herself, then she reverted to writing it backwards all the time, but with some more practice she writes it perfectly now. I remember one time near the middle of the year she told me how she can write her name, but she’s not so good at S’s because they all come out like Z’s. But she’s got it now. She’s also become quite the artist, and her teachers would use her drawings as examples to other kids of how to draw people.

The end-of-year party was a cookies and milk gathering for parents to come and recognize the kids. Wes and Carissa loved the cookies!

When the class gathered for a photo, every time I looked into my camera to snap a picture there was Wes, front and center. I kept pulling him away and he kept sneaking back in while I picked up my camera. It’s amazing I don’t have a picture of Carissa’s class with him in it.

Meanwhile our Wesley graduated from Transitional Kindergarten. This is a special ed classroom where all the kids have an IEP (a specific contracted plan with the teachers) and some special need. Wes has done really well at school this year. He went from barely being able to write the letters in his name (they were very wobbly and never in the right order and usually all over the page instead of in a straight line) to writing his name really well, in a straight line. He usually plugs a “6” on the end because he’s “Wesley 6 my birthday.” He’s learned to sight read a bunch of words and was maybe the best kid in his class at reading sight words. His teachers told me that he is sweet, happy, and sociable, saying “hi!” to everyone. Sometimes I’d get bad reports about him wrestling or pushing, but overall his teachers had very positive things to say. Next year Wes enters mainstream school and regular kindergarten.

John and I went to his kindergarten program, and my parents came too. Wes looked so handsome and did a GREAT job singing (which he loves), dancing (ditto), and reciting “Humpty Dumpty.”

Hot weather calls for swimsuits and the wading pool.

Carissa likes to paint her nails. One day we both did our toes the same shade of green.

…and she did her own nails in sparkly purple (her other favorite color besides pink).

A typical scene at our house during summertime. All are holding a form of frozen treat in their hands.

Also a common sight in the summer: eating lunch on the front porch.

Carissa on her way to preschool.

One day Carissa’s class learned about stuff from the movie “Frozen” and she came home withe makings of a snowman like Olaf. I helped her put it together. And then faster than snow can melt, it was gone. Yummy.

Carissa drew this picture of me and wrote my name “Mom” all by herself. I think it’s the first word I’ve seen her write independently besides her name. Since then I’ve also seen her write “go.”

I don’t know what Elizabeth is doing. Probably following the example of her older brother and sister.

Didn’t I say that heaven is at Grandma and Grandpa’s? This was the first time we took the kids to visit after my parents moved here.

Carissa’s preschool class at their Easter Egg hunt. I asked Carissa if she knows why we celebrate Easter, and she said “So the Easter Bunny can come.” There’s a little boy in her class with Down syndrome. I know the boy’s family because his older brother is autistic and was in Wes’s preschool class. I asked Carissa about this boy and she said, “He is silly. He doesn’t listen to the teachers or help clean up.” Sounds just like Wes!

Carissa’s winter gear in spring.

I bought Carissa this book that she picked out from the BYU Bookstore. It came with an ink pad. She makes fingerprints, and then follows the directions to turn the fingerprints into cute animals or objects. I was unsure if she was mature enough to really get it, but trust me–she really got it. I love looking through the book and seeing her creations. Carissa is very creative and getting more creative all the time.

She gets a little carried away sometimes, though. I’ve also noticed Elizabeth starting to draw on herself, which I’m sure she’s learned from her big sister.

One day we made blue Jigglers from a zoo Jell-O mold.

Elizabeth has learned self-reliance. She is often seen toting a chair around so she can reach something she’s expressly not allowed to get into. I’ve started stacking the little red chairs on tables out of her reach so she can’t do this anymore, but she can still push the big kitchen chairs where she wants them.

One day I needed to get out of the house so I took the kids to Kiwanis Park near BYU. The kids had so much fun. There was a little neighborhood girl who was selling Otterpops, but she was giving them away free to kids three and younger. So Carissa had a little treat.

Carissa loves goggles. And all accessories. She also loves her swimsuit. Sometimes she’ll wear it to bed, either by itself or over her pajamas.

John and I had this crazy idea to take our kids backyard camping. We wanted a practice run before we go real-camping.

Wes and Carissa were BEYOND excited. Carissa helped Dad set up the tent.

We put Elizabeth in the playpen in the tent for bedtime. Which didn’t work at all, but Carissa took care of her without me asking her to by running back and forth between the other tent (the “toy tent”) and the playpen, getting toys she thought Elizabeth might like. When it came time for her to really fall asleep, John held her until she did. The kids slept really well in the tent, even though it was a chilly night.

Once it was dark we gave the kids new little flashlights and explored the backyard. It was so cute to hear them say things like, “Look! A rock! Mom, check out this stick!” Everything is cooler in the dark, with flashlights. Wes kept saying, “Spooky!”

Then we roasted marshmallows.

This was their first time making and eating s’mores. I even found pink marshmallows for Carissa.

We sang a song together (“Row, Row, Row Your Boat”–in a round, even!) and then it was bedtime. We will probably do this again sometime. The kids loved it.

The day after camping was our annual Easter egg hunt at BYU with Wesley’s Down syndrome group.

Carissa knows she’s allergic to nuts (or, at least, that they “make her sick” and she can’t have them). So with every egg she opened she showed me the candy and asked, “Does this have nuts?” Good girl.

Carissa loved chasing the ducks in the stream. There was a mama duck with about fifteen ducklings. Fifteen!

We walked through the Wilkinson Center and posed by Cosmo Cougar on the steps. Wes loves BYU football.

Then we got ice cream at Baskin Robbins and ate it outside. Good times.

The big news around here is two new scooters. John took Carissa for her inaugural ride down our street.

The park by our house on another day when I just needed to get out.

Carissa has great poses.

Native American Baby. Carissa says she didn’t do this, but I’m not so convinced.

Eating cereal.

Carissa made this lion. I think it kind of looks like one, too! She’s getting better with scissors and glue and tape.

Easter! During the Easter egg hunt Carissa insisted on only collecting purple ones. She helped Wes find all the rest. Wes and Carissa both got watches in their Easter baskets. Wes’s is Angry Birds (his favorite game) and Carissa’s is…well, can you guess? Hello Kitty.

Carissa has finally mastered writing her name. I thought she had it down a while ago, but in February when she was signing her name on Valentines I discovered she writes her name backward. It was perfect, just backward (even her S’s were backward). Her preschool teacher says it’s really common, and they worked on it at school. This week is the first time I saw her write it correctly (even her S’s!), so I snapped a picture. (Then, the next day or so I saw her write her name backward again. But now I know she can do it forward.)

Oh, and check out her picture. She told me this is a picture of herself. She has bangs, and a rainbow on her shirt like the one she’s wearing. What a great artist!

Elizabeth enjoys the sandbox.

Wes is really liking bubbles lately. This is great because blowing bubbles was a really hard skill for him to learn. But he can do it now all by himself!

Three kids on a couch.

With the holidays fast approaching we’ve been enjoying the season.

I tried taking photos of the kids for a potential Christmas card but they all basically turned out like this. No Christmas cards for us.

We bought a pile of hot chocolate for a church activity. Wes and Carissa liked using it to build a giant tower.

Wes is really improving at his art and writing skills. As his mom, I am Super Impressed and Proud. And so I share:

He did this picture AND the word all by himself. ALL BY HIMSELF. (I just told him how to spell “spider.”) Did I mention I’m Super Impressed and Proud?

Elizabeth is 13 months going on 13 years.

This afternoon the sun was shining and it was above freezing, so when Carissa asked to play outside in the snow I couldn’t object. For the first time, both kids got to make snow angels. Carissa did one and was happy (“Just like Kipper!” she said, referring to the dog on one of her favorite shows from Netflix), but Wes made about six. He really liked it!

Carissa was my helper decorating our goodies for neighbor gifts. She was in her element and did a good job. She helped decorate, Wes helped eat them.

Tonight our neighborhood grocery store was having a holiday open house, with lots of tables with free samples and activities like face painting and banana car racing.

I was going to take Carissa, because she loves riding in the grocery cart that looks like a car. But she fell asleep at 6 pm while watching “Star Wars,” so we plopped her in bed and I went with Wesley instead. He was a perfect companion, and we had so much fun.

He pulled his green trolley cart behind him as we walked. He figured out real quick that if you stopped at a table, they would give him something. So we roamed around the store trying sample after sample after sample. Some Wes would eat right away, and others he collected for later in his green cart. We got cereal bar treats, mango lemonade, chocolate kisses, apples and caramel dip, an orange slice, mini hot dogs, a mini Snickers bar, peppermint ice cream, egg nog, rolls with honey butter, birthday cake, doughnut holes, bread slices, Oreo cookies…and the list could go on. They seemed to have run out of balloons, but a young man in a suit passed by us and asked if Wes would like his balloon, so then Wes had his own. And he clutched it as a prized possession the rest of the evening.

There was a race station where kids could decorate a banana in Mr. Potato Head parts, stick it on wheels, and then send it down a sloped track for a race. Wes won! He earned a bottle of True Moo chocolate milk, delivered by the sweet Miss Utah.

This was a fun night. Wes clearly had a fun time, and since he got to stay up past his bedtime he came home and crashed right away without even brushing his teeth. Could life be any better?

Instead of putting Wes into summer preschool I wanted to make sure we had time for lots of summery things. Like swimming lessons. Wesley started swim lessons when he was three at a local home with a swimming pool in their backyard. The classes are taught by the homeowner’s adult children. I like it because the lessons are 45 minutes with two kids per teacher. Wes likes it because he has time to sit on the steps of the pool, splashing and just being in the water while the teacher takes a turn with the other student, plus at the end of class he gets to go down the water slide and jump off the diving board.

I’d say Wes likes EVERYTHING about being in the water. When it was time to get ready for swim lessons in the morning Wes would stop whatever he was doing and miraculously start doing whatever I asked him to do. He just wanted to get in that pool. He especially loves splashing and would yell, “SPLASH!” (“SPWASH!”, actually) on the way to the pool.

Last year, because Wes was in summer preschool he only had time for one week of lessons. This year in June I kept him in for three. Wes was in heaven.

At the start of the first week I observed Wes in the pool, and observed the other kids in the pool, and I wondered if Wes would ever really learn to swim. He loves being in the water, no question, but I didn’t see him making progress like the other kids were. He mostly liked to look over his shoulder as his teacher pulled him across the pool so he could watch the splashes his feet made as he kicked. He also liked splashing bystanders.

In the middle of the second week Wes started putting his eyes in the water. This was progress!

I bought him (and Carissa) goggles, but he would not wear them. Carissa wore them more than he did, and she wasn’t even in the water. They were her accessory of choice.

At the end of the second week I told his teacher I was signing him up for one more and that I hoped that was OK with her. Her response surprised me. She said that she was glad because Wes was one of her favorite students and a joy to work with. I guess I had thought that since Wes wasn’t making a lot of clear progress that he wasn’t a star student.

In the third week Wes started jumping off the diving board by himself. He used to sit on the edge and wait for his teacher to pull him in. This was progress!

As the third week neared an end his teacher said she really enjoyed working with Wes because he was willing to do whatever she asked him to do and was very sweet. (This is true; I saw some kids throwing fits and crying, but Wes–fearless as he is–was willing to do whatever his teacher asked.)

So swim lessons were a success. Wes had so much fun.

I have to watch Wes like a hawk when we’re grocery shopping together. The other day he was “helping” me in the produce section when I glanced over and found him taking bites out of a head of broccoli I hadn’t intended to buy.

We bought it.