June update

Samuel is now approaching 7 months.  He is sooooo cute!  Two Sundays ago he began saying Mama.  It was actually on Mother's Day.  Scott was gone to Moab with his Relay team running the Moab Red Rock Relay.  I was busy getting us all ready for church, getting my lesson set, and getting us ready to go to Mom and Dad's after Church. I have a calling now of teaching the 12 and 13 year olds in Sunday school with Sister Atwood.  There are 14 in the class.  All great kids, it's just that there are 11 boys and only 3 girls and with all those kids in a small classroom--well, it gets a little loud and a lot chaotic.  But so far I'm loving it.  The church has new curriculum to follow called Come Follow Me and I really like teaching this format.  In my mind I'm teaching future missionaries and I try to approach each lesson like that.  I did ask who was planning on going on a mission and every single hand in the room went up.  This is a great ward with very strong youth.

Samuel can now sit up for a few minutes on his own.  He loves to sit and play with toys.  It's so cute to watch his jerky movements and efforts to try to get toys and control and manipulate them.  Eric and Rubie can totally entertain him and make him laugh and at the same time terrify and annoy him.  He has started to get mad when they kiss and hug and poke him too much.  He is now on 3 weeks of eating food.  I still don't think he likes it.  He tolerates sweet potatoes and butternut squash but does not want to eat the acorn squash.  I keep hoping he likes it because I'm not sure I am producing enough milk for him to be full.  Although his little body says otherwise.  He is chubby!!!  I have had to bring him to my Sunday School class because Scott has been gone or has Sunday School Presidency responsibilities.  All the kids in the class want to hold him.  They are cute with him.

Eric and Rubie are done with school for the summer.  They have been so looking forward to going to the pool but the two days after Memorial Day have been cool, cloudy, and rainy.  Memorial Day was sunny and nice but both Scott and I wanted to bike and then we went to the Tullet's for a barbeque.  Also Sunny and James Lawrence and their kids were there.  I am following a diet and exercise program called Lean Mom's.  I am really liking it and in just one week I lost 6 pounds and inches off my arms, legs, waist, and hips.  I am confident that if I can stick with it by the end of the summer I should be well on my way to getting back to pre-pregnancy shape.

Scott is going to AT this weekend.  He will be gone for 18 days.  I need to get some play date trades set up for the kids so I don't get too overwhelmed.  We are stopping karate for the summer and Rubie's dance will be done in a couple weeks after her performance.  They are going to be playing t-ball, coach pitch ball, and soccer for the summer.  Between those and things like the library, pool, museums, and play dates; hopefully some hiking and camping we should be able to stay comfortably busy.  I hope to catch up on some projects that I am way far behind in not the least of is this blog.

Letter to Noah from Eric

(All written by Eric)

Sunday May 26, 2013

Dear Noah,

My school is out for the summer.  You and Max are coming to my house.  We will play with Fay and Kimball too.  On my last day of school I had a field trip.  We went to a park.  Noah are you playing soccer and baseball?  I am.

Sincerely, Eric

Letter to Aunt Brandee from Rubie

26 May 2013

(First part written in Rubie's handwriting),

Dear Aunt Brandee
We got a new trampoline.  My Dad too us to see the movie the Croods.

(Now in Scott's handwriting)
We loved it.  One part was scary where the ground was breaking.  I was scared, and I wanted to sit on my daddy's lap.  I like your house because it is pretty.  We love to jump on our new tramp.  We have some friends in our neighborhood.  I love you.  I think your back yard is awesome.

I love you Aunt Brandee,

Rubie(signed her own name)

Letter from Aunt Jessica to Rubie

May 10, 2013

Dear Rubie,
What a fun surprise it was to receive your letter in the mail.  It made me feel so special that you would take the time to write me such a nice letter.  It sounds like you have a lot of Barbie's to play with.  When I was your age I had two Barbie's that were really special to me that I had fun playing with.  One of them was "Jazzercise" Barbie.  She had long blonde straight hair and came with a cool blue leotard and ballet/dance shoes so she could dance and work out to stay in good shape.  My other Barbie was part of a Rock group called "Barbie and the Rockers", she was awesome!  She rocked tons of blonde curly hair and wore cool funky clothes.  I always had fun mixing and matching her different outfits.

I'm glad that your dad took you to see the Croods.  I remember seeing the previews for it on TV and thought that it seemed really funny.  It's always fun to go see a movie that you can laugh at.  I think that's cool that you have a trampoline...I bet you can jump really high.  Maybe one day I can come to your house and jump on the trampoline with you...I think that would be fun.

I have a dog named Charlie.  He is small but he can bark really loud. Charlie likes it when we throw his Frisbee and he can jump really high and catch it in his mouth.  Charlie also loves going to the park.  He can run really fast and loves chasing the squirrels and the little bunnies that live at the park.  Maybe one day you can come to visit you can bring your swimming suit so we can go swimming.

I think you dress really cool!  Whenever I see pictures of you I can tell that you like to take the time to put together really cute outfits.  The way you accessorize your "look" is very original.

I work at Belvoir Federal Credit Union.  A credit union is like a bank...it is a place where people can open a savings account to save money.  I printed this letter on the paper that we have at our Credit Union so you can see our company logo.

Summer will be here soon, maybe in your next letter you can tell me all the fun things you have planned!  Love you Rubie!  You are such a sweet little girl!

Aunt Jessica

Letter to Eric from Uncle Emmanuel

Friday, April 26, 2013

Dear Eric,

How's my favorite nephew named Eric doing?  To answer your question from your letter: I would love to visit you sometime and jump on your trampoline.  That sounds like so much fun!  In fact, next time your Aunt Jessica and I are in Utah I promise we will come down to see you and jump on that trampoline!

It sounds like you are a very busy boy with lots of friends to play with, and that is great!  Sometimes I even wish I was a kid again :-).  But enjoy every minute of it kiddo!  You've got a wonderful family, and great, loving parents and of course...the trampoline! :-)

I like the Gold Ranger too.  I like all of the Power Rangers.  I like it when they work together to beat the bad guys.  If you notice when you're watching them, they each have their own individual talents and when they work together to combine their talents and skills there isn't a villain they can't beat.  Being able to work on a team is a very important skill to develop.

I love spelling also!  I used to love competing in spelling bees when I was in elementary school.  Keep up the great wrk and keep getting those great scores on your spelling tests!

I have been busy with a new business I'm working on.  It has taken a lot of my time in the past couple of weeks which is why it took me so long to respond to you.  I apologize, and will be more timely with my next letter.

Besides hanging out with your Aunt Jessica and our dog Charlie, I've spent a lot of time doing different drills fro the various martial arts I practice.  I practice Brazilian or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (which is a grappling martial art) and Filipino Kali ("Kali" is short for the Filipino words "KAmot" and "LIhok", which roughly translated into English is "body in motion").  I have lots of fun doing both!

I had a pretty bad wrist injury that lasted for almost three months and so in order to stay sharp I had to train without using that wrist.  At first it was very challenging but I was able to strengthen other parts of my body because I could not use my right arm, and particularly my wrist.  It is now almost 100% better so I will be able to return training regularly at the academy.

(Pictures of Emmanuel with Charlie in his training area in his house)

Sometimes our dog, Charlie, likes to interrupt my drilling sessions, so I'll stop to give him a hug :-)

When I'm not training at the academy I train in my basement where I've set up a training room for exercise and martial arts!

I hope we get to know each other more.  I really enjoyed your last letter and hope you enjoy mine!

Till next time...

Your Uncle,

Emmanuel Soltes

Letter to Heidi and Meja from Rubie

(Italicized words are words written in Rubie's own writing)

Dear Heidi and Meja,

We have a new trampoline.  It has a zipper in the net.  We went to the Tulip Festival yesterday at Thanksgiving Point.  There was a bingo game to identify many different tulips.  We got to feed fish.  The Croods.  (some stick figure drawings of Heidi, Meja, and Koen )

Love Rubie

Letter to Uncle Emmanuel from Eric

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Dear Uncle Emmanuel,

We just got a trampoline.  Can you come visit us sometime?  This is our phone number 801-623-8149.  Our address is 1130 N.  This is a yellow lion megazord. (Eric included a picture he colored on the computer of a megazord.)

I had six friends over and jumped on our tramp on Saturday.  Our house is cool now.  You should show off some of your moves on our trampoline.

The Gold Ranger is my favorite.  My favorite color is black and red and blue and white.  My spelling words in school last week were all the colors.  I always get 100% on my spelling tests.

I have a friend and his name is Brock.  We like to jump on his tramp and play ninjas and hunters.  And I have a friend and his name is Logan.  And I like to play with him.  I have a friend named Riley.  He just moved.  I have a friend named Crew.  I have a friend named Tyler.  And a friend named Preston.  He just went to Florida.  And he just came back on Saturday.  Just a few (then the rest of the letter was cut off in the scanning when Emmanuel sent it back.)