Personalities

I have difficulty sleeping at times, so I've decided to begin writing more.  I have such a terrible memory that I'm hoping to be able to retain some of my memories through pictures and writing.  So please don't feel obligated to read all that I write.  I wanted to post a couple of pictures that depicted the personalities of my kids at home right now.  (Tali and Breck are in Cleveland with Kjirsti presently)  Rhyse is turning into a fireball.  She has been very clingy since I returned home and is quickly finding her voice and opinion.  Though her vocabulary is still limited to Kitty, Mom, and the first phrase to Mary's Lullaby sung mostly with voice inflection and tune- she verbalize much more with her own language.  She has mastered "don't leave me here" and "shut up" (which is always directed towards a loving but overbearing Capriel).  She also communicates "I want ice cream too" and "do not expect me to walk" and "leave me alone, my Mom is holding me" equally well.  This pictures depicts the type of path that usually marks where she has been.  Whether it is toys, grocery bags, laundry, toilet paper or file drawers-she is consistent in broadcasting their contents to impressive distances. 

Capriel has been deciding to pursue her artistic talents recently and has been trying out her skills on her dolls and herself.  As you can see in this picture she is still twisting her hair.  Sometimes she will even walk around the house like this just holding a twisted knot.  I'd love a diagnosis Trevor.  She is our incredible athlete and can do a toe touch like no other.  She has recently learned to skip and is working on her cartwheel this summer.  She blesses our home with her nearly constant singing.  She loves "how much is that doggy in the window" and "Lullaby" and also enjoys putting her own words to many of the hymn tunes.  She is always hungry. 

We have been enjoying our little fire pit on the deck recently.  Landen loves to start a fire and was teaching Craig how to successfully start one from his experiences with Uncle Dave.  This picture shows his creative attempts to get just one more smore while staying dry during a storm that cut our last "roast" short a little prematurely.  Finally, the bird below is a tanager and is one of his most prized shots.  We went to the store yesterday and got a field guide to Utah birds and he has been poring over it.  He is considering saving up for an SLR with a long distance lens so that he can acquire even closer shots!  We took our first long bike ride last night.  It was a glorious evening.  Landen talked and talked as we rode, once in a while just zipping off with his new found speed capabilities.  We stopped into our little cookie shop for a treat and got the privelege of locking his bike up for the first time.  It took a significant amount of time to work the combination, but he was very satisfied with the ability to lock and unlock his precious possession.  The evening ended a little (ok maybe a lot) sour as we realized the altitude gain from Main street to our house at the top of the hill.  His bike is very large for him and he is very light and he was absolutely furious as he struggled to pedal and then lug his bike to the top.