How We Beat the Summer Heat!

There is a new ice cream shop near our house. We love it. Here are some pictures.

Do you like my necklace? Sara made it for me at camp. The kids always get to pick a flavor for their complimentary cone. Sara wanted pink to match her shirt.

She produced some excellent faces for me.

My Emma girl.

This boy LOVES the camera. He is a bit of a ham, but he is so darn cute that I can't resist it. That is why there are a gazillion shots of him.

Ross and I usually share a banana split, and the kids help us out when their cones are gone.

Maybe this has something to do with my inability to lose those last 20 pounds...

The cherry! I am the only one who likes them, which is just fine with me.

I love this profile. So handsome.

Cousin Time!

Gena and Troy came to visit Troy's brother in Saratoga, which just happens to be 10 minutes from our house, so we demanded some time with them while they were here. :) Melissa and Jim came out with their crew as well, and all 11 cousins had a grand time!

The older boys kept showing me their Potato Head masterpieces, and little Brayden wanted in on the presentation fun. :)

It was a fun night. I was glad to get to spend some time with them, and glad to have them time their visit right when we were painting our living room and building a new mantel, because it forced us to rush through the project rather than drag it out.

I think the house still smelled like paint, but we had a good time anyway, and ended the night with some fireworks in the rain. I should have taken more pictures, but just got busy chatting and stuff. Sorry...

Eternal Stokers

I forgot I had taken pictures at the temple when Brittany and Steve were sealed. It made me smile (and maybe cry a bit- I am an emotional mess sometimes) when I saw them and remembered my feelings that day.

They got sealed a year and change after their wedding last year, and beat little Ophelia's birth by a couple of weeks. I am so happy for them! I love them so much. I had planned to write more about stuff that day but find I am far too unstable to at the moment. It was just a lovely day with the only downside being my far too little time spent with Brittany herself. She was all busy and stuff and I was all having to get back to my babies and stuff.

Annoying.

Please come and be my neighbor so we can avoid such madness! Love you guys!

How Do You Do Things At Your House?

I have a dilemma here, and would love to have the input of all the mommies who happen by this page. Ross and I have been trying to decide how to go about assigning chores and allowance for our children. They already have daily tasks that they are to accomplish (cleaning their rooms, making their beds, setting the table, picking up their bathroom, folding their laundry, etc.).

More get added as they get older and more able, and they are expected to lend a hand with whatever tasks Ross and I do. It has worked well, and they actually enjoy helping us and feeling like big kids (well, most of the time anyway). We have yet to really pay them anything, which is where the dilemma comes in.

I think it is super important for children to have and earn their own funds to spend as they wish. I think this teaches them a lot about counting money, making transactions, calculating purchases, learning the worth of a dollar, the joy of saving up for a big purchase, taking care of and keeping track of their own money, and many other things.

I ALSO think it is important that children not equate household chores with money. I feel that kids should do their chores because that is a responsible thing to do rather than because they will be monetarily rewarded for it. I want them to be rewarded with a clean home and usable skills. I want them to value the happy and tidy environment of the home more than the dollar store items that wait in store for them. I want them to do a good and thorough job of their chores because they care about completing their duties well rather than doing the bare minimum required to get their alloted amount of money per job. Does that make sense?

So, how do I go about marrying these two parenting ideals? How can my children learn to earn and keep track of money without looking to get something for every household chore they do? Do I have to let one of these go? What do you do in your house? What has worked, or NOT worked for you?