The 4th; HOT HOT HOT; The Many Looks of Cruise; Dis not DAT; Field Trip; and "Reading"

Time to catch up!

First of all...He's just adorable. Nuff said.

The 4th
For Independence Day this year, since my folks were out of town, we had my sister and her husband over for dinner and then did fireworks with the kids. Earlier in the day, Dave took Cruise to the pool while Jett napped and I cooked. That was pretty much the extent of the festivities, but then again, that was enough for me.

Jett wasn't a huge fan of the fireworks. Since his super auditory sensitivities have increased, he's not one for fireworks, thunder storms, or windy days. Poor kiddo. But Cruise was all about the "fiberworks" and anything that went "boom". Such a pyro.

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HOT HOT HOT
As usual, it's been hot! But the boys always seem to keep cool. It could be the fact that Cruise is constantly wetting a newly donned outfit every hour in the kiddie pool, it could be perhaps that they spend a good 8 hours of their day partially nude, but either way, they've been enjoying their summer.

The other day it was so hot outside and Cruise was really wanting to go to the big pool; but Daddy wasn't home. So I rigged up this lovely set-up with a waterslide and all. It wasn't as fancy as the big pool's slide, but it did the job and Cruise was willing to settle.

Jett has been slightly wary of playing in the pool due to Cruise's splashing, but lately Cruise has been coercing Jett into playing with him which is DYNAMITE! So exciting.

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The Many Looks of Cruise

The Good

The Bad

and The Messy

Dis not DAT
Well, Dave took the DAT again. After studying so hard and doing everything right, his test scores just didn't cut it for dental school applications. I'm sad mostly because being a dentist was the only thing he wanted to be. But God works in mysterious ways. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. So now we're back at the drawing board.

I'm so proud of Dave. Sometimes I find myself getting upset that despite all the work we do on a daily basis and the sacrifices we make and have made, we just can't seem to cut a break. But then I look at all we have and the many blessings God has given us, and then I realize that life isn't about "cutting a break" or choosing the easy way over patience and hard work. Life is about work! And if there is no work, there are no lessons. No lessons, no growth. And if there is no growth, then why on earth are we here?

So far I see my life like a backpacking trip. I feel like I've been trekking for the past 5 years, experiencing many adventures, heartache, frustration, happiness, and complete joy. And I think despite the rocky times, I realize that it's all about those who are hiking along with me: my family. There is no one else I'd rather be "backpacking" with than with Dave and our two wonderful little boys.

So I guess what I'm saying is, despite life's disappointments and frustrations, as long as you have your family, everything is going to plan.

Field Trip
This morning, Cruise and I got to go to the Children's Discovery Garden at Thanksgiving Point with his Bridges class. I can't believe I've lived in Utah most of my life and didn't even know the place existed! It was absolutely awesome and Cruise gave me the sure sign of enjoying it: screaming and fighting me all the way back to the car.

"The weight room is THAT way."

Entering a cave.

"Reading"
I just had to record Cruise "reading" before bed. He has memorized most of his "David" books. Unfortunately Jett tore up the 3rd David book, so we didn't get to read that one. Here is Cruise reciting "No, David" and "David Goes to School":

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Daily Updates

Dave and I decided to say good-bye to facebook for awhile (if not forever), so I decided to do daily updates here on my blog under the above heading "The Daily Update". It will take place of our "status updates" from facebook. So don't forget to check them out!

Some Updates

Cruise:

*Cruise has been practicing his prayers lately and here is one recent one that I just loved!: "Father...dadaduguda...Daddy...dadadugudad...Jesus...dugu...Bye!...Amen."

*Cruise, as always, loves to be read to, but lately he's been memorizing some of his books and will try to read the books to me instead of the other way around. He's really good at the books, "David Goes To School," "Go, Dog, Go!" and "Froggy Learns to Swim." It's amazing what he memorizes.

*Cruise has really been into painting lately. He'll pull out the finger paints and ask for me to get him some paper. The first picture he painted I asked him what it was. I pointed to the first blob on the page,
"What's that?"
"Paint!" (Duh, mom.)
Then the second blob I asked,
"What's that?"
"Spaceship!"
And you know what? It  looked just like a rocket ship.

*Despite the fact that the boys are always fighting, we've learned that Cruise actually likes his little brother. We were leaving Scera pool last week when Jett threw a fit and sat on the ground. So Dave and I said, "Okay, bye Jett!" And started towards the car. He just sat there, but Cruise hurried and ran over to him saying, "C'mon Jett! Let's go!" "More Jett! C'mon Jett!" It was so cute that Cruise was so worried we'd leave his little brother.

*Cruise has inherited from his dad the incredible ability to solve problems. Last week, I was sitting on the grass with Jett in my lap, looking at the mail, when a gust of wind blew a bunch of it across the lawn. Cruise, without hesitation, ran after the mail, picked it all up, and returned it to its pile. But then, seconds later, here he comes with a 2x4, and put it on top of the pile so it wouldn't blow away again. I was blown away! (No pun intended).

*Just as there is good, there is always...not so good. Cruise, since the school year ended, has become more and more aggressive and less and less attentive. It's been incredibly difficult and frustrating for everyone. He has been going to summer school, but I think the change in schedule has interrupted his progress and caused him to regress a bit. We will be starting another program to help us all get back on track again. So hopefully that will help.

Jett:

Doesn't he look just like David?

*Jett is still quite the Daddy's boy. He gets so upset when Daddy has to leave and so excited when he comes home! It's adorable.

*Jett now can climb up the rope wall on the tree house, as well as the yellow slide and the gang plank. He tries to do everything Cruise does, but lacks the balance, which scares the daylights out of me. He thinks it's great!

*Jett makes the funniest/cutest facial expressions! It's amazing the range of expressions he posses. We can usually tell what's on his mind of what he's feeling because his expressions say it all. I love his annoyed expression.

*Jett, I have come to learn, is very tender. and when in trouble, feels horrible. Sure, he may do it again, but at the moment when being corrected, he falls to pieces. I need to be better about being more soft with him since it doesn't require a lot to help him understand what is not appropriate. It's amazing how each kid is different.

*Jett, we've also learned, is driven more using relationships and people he's close to. He's not so much into the toys, as Cruise is, but would rather spend the time just snuggling and being paid attention to.

*Jett's SPD has gotten a little more intense lately. He is scared of the sound of the trees blowing in the wind and scares quite easily when motorcycles and cars drive by. Poor kid won't let me put the headphones on him to help damper the noises, so I have to help him slowly desensitize, as I did with Cruise. Ugh! So exhausting.

*Jett loves his big brother and thinks everything he does is amazing and funny. Which gets him into trouble more often than not. But it's adorable. My friend Ally pointed out to me how amazing that relationship is of the younger, typically developing child and the autistic sibling. The younger doesn't know any better, doesn't judge, and doesn't really care. They just idolize their older sibling for who they are, and not for who they aren't. It's beautiful.

A Good Sign If They Cry

Here are our separate accounts of our Payson Lakes trip:

Emily: Saturday evening after Dave got home from work, we decided out of the blue to take the boys up to Payson Lakes to do a little rafting and let them jump off of the dock. We picked up KFC before leaving and had everyone eat in the car on the way down. 

Dave: Emily and I took the boys up to payson Lakes yesterday night after I got off work at about 4:30. We had a lot of fun!

(Since the boys love water, we knew they'd like it. However, Jett was a little more reluctant.)

Emily: We each took a boat with a kid and tried to paddle to the other side, but I'm a wimp and Cruise kept jumping out of ours, so we tethered the boats together and paddled together to the dock. Once at the dock, Cruise was in heaven! I, for one, was not super thrilled. Dave got me to give it a go, but once I was standing there ready to jump, I changed my mind. However, since Cruise jumped, I had to jump in after him to help him swim to shore. So I still ended up jumping and...it was FREEZING!

Dave: We brought two rubber rafts and we had a little race across the lake to the dock! Emily and cruise only made it about half way when they gave up because cruise kept jumping into the water so she would have to stop and pull him back in.  We all had life jackets on of course!  so I ended up roping the rafts together and towing them to the other side. once we got to the dock Cruise had found his new favorite sport of all time! Jumping off the Dock! This kid has some serious Thrill Issues!  We did that the rest of the time we were there which was almost till 8:00 p.m. Jett and Emily tried jumping once but after that they were done. I jumped every time with Cruise to make sure he made it back to the dock alright. The water was cold but it felt good. 

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Emily: After jumping, I decided to hang out with Jett, who has become our determined complainer. I followed him around the lake and he was pretty happy until he fell and got a bloody nose, and then later when he fell and scraped his back on a rock. I swear that poor kid is the most accident prone! But he sure is cute, ain't he?

Dave: Cruise was shivering but kept saying "more jump" every time i suggested we get in the rafts or go play with emily and jett who were walking around the lake exploring. I was so proud of him he even told me he had to go poop and he held it until we could run half way around the lake to the out house! then we went back and did more jumping off the dock until the sun went down. 

I'll let Dave finish off the story:

Dave: I had to drag cruise back to the rafts crying because he wanted to keep on jumping off the docks!  I tried to take him in the raft with me but we only made it a few yards and he jumped back in the water and started swimming for the dock again. I towed emily close to him and she grabbed him and just held him tight in the other raft with jett and I towed them all across the lake. Jett and Cruise were both crying and emily and I couldn't help but laugh at them because they seemed so pathetic. Cruise wanted to jump off the dock more and Jett just was crying because cruise was crying and he wanted to be the only on who was getting attention.  Emily and I just looked at each other rolled our eyes and started laughing at the ridiculousness of the entire situation. There we were, two rafts tied together, she in one holding both children tight because otherwise cruise would jump in and swim back to the dock and the other crying because his older brother was taking up all her attention and I was towing them across a lake. You would think they would be entertained enough to just be sitting in a raft going across a lake up in the mountains!!! but no.

So I guess we'll rate this trip a success. Afterall, it's a good sign if they cry.