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 Tonight we went to "Read Night" put on by the PTA at Gavin's school. They had activities & challenges set up all around the school. Gavin showed me his classroom & his cubby, & I snapped  these pictures before my phone died (during an attempted re-take at the cubby). Gavin had started telling us these verses yesterday as he wrote his numbers on a homework sheet--pretty fun! Meanwhile, Darin took Ellie & Greyson out to the playground while Gavin finished up, then we somehow ended up at the McDonalds Playplace where we enjoyed a hot apple pie & one of their new caramel apple sundaes (delish!).

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Tonight we went to Bounce! (the pictures are self-explanatory). We were there till closing time (8pm), were the last ones to leave... and we didn't go quietly. We had to drag Ellie out, kicking & screaming--literally. She LOVED it. We already knew she was brave, adventurous, ok, dare-devilish! But she proved it again tonight. Gavin had to be coaxed onto these things at that age.

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 Yesterday afternoon at the bus stop, we finalized the purchase of this pre-owned "Sit N Stand" stroller from a friend. This morning, we had to try it out! We took it to the park, & since it fits all three kids at once (though a little snug), Gavin observed, "Actually, it's a Sit N Stand N Lay."

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 Out for a morning walk on Relief Society business (just dropping something off). It was a beautiful day to be outside, & as I walked, watching these two "big" kids up ahead & this new little one in the stroller, I had such an overwhelming feeling of love for them... just so grateful.

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 Cute kid. FHE tonight included a LOT of singing. We sang all the songs Ellie knows: The Wheels on the Bus, Once there was a Snowman, Jesus said love everyone, Tiny Tim (I had a little turtle...), If you chance to meet a frown, I am a child of God, & her favorite... after we'd finish a song, she'd say (every time), "How 'bout Sunbeam?" This pic below is as if Greyson's saying, "Again?"

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 Sunday dinner... Darin got the camera to capture Greyson's first time sitting in the Bumbo, but he caught us a little off guard by snapping this one of all of us... It's nice having Greyson join us at the table now, & I think he likes it too!

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 Boise got a Kneaders! We went for a late breakfast of chunky cinnamon french toast, followed by a trip to Target. The afternoon included a baby shower, Gavin's soccer class, then these guys got some good outside time while I attended our stake's "Soup, Salad & Satellite" for dinner & the General Relief Society Broadcast. It was wonderful--President Uchtdorf's "Forget Me Not" talk was especially good.

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Gavin is a good big brother to Greyson. He can get him to smile & "talk" to him. After Gavin got home from school today, we headed to the Scentsy carnival--the culminating event of the past 4 days' celebration. They had bounce houses, carnival games, face painting, food, live music & of course, the teeter totter. The Scentsy owners, Heidi & Orville Thompson, rode it the last hour of the 84 hours total (1 hour for each month they've been in business), then some kids got to ride it, including Gavin. We were there from about 5:30 until almost 10:00, but only got a few pictures--too busy!

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My cute guys! (Ellie wouldn't lie down for a picture). The weather's been so nice these last couple of weeks--highs in the 70's & 80's. Tonight, we hung out in the backyard for awhile after dinner. Gavin & Ellie did a little swinging, & Greyson loved lying on the blanket, kicking & looking up at the sky.

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Darin did his time on the teeter totter today, from 1-2pm! We had just dropped Gavin off at school, but Ellie, Greyson & I got to go see him in action. Later tonight, we all came back for dinner (several restaurants served food from booths set up around the parking lot) & enjoyed music performed by some local high school kids. Gavin & Ellie liked the giant Scentsy bar guy the most though!

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We went down to the new (partially finished) Scentsy campus, where they are holding an 84-hour TeeterTotter-a-thon to benefit 7 local charities & celebrate Scentsy's 7th birthday. While the huge teeter-totter was impressive, the kids were more excited about the fountain outside the new building & these "climbing rocks." In this picture, Gavin's wearing the shirt he tie-dyed at school, & Ellie's wearing her new Minnie Mouse shirt Dad brought her from Paris. Oooh la la!

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 Greyson likes his swing... sometimes. We have it in the dining room/living room, & he has to be in the mood, but when he is, you'll know! (It's nice to have our good camera back... Darin had it with him on his trip. He really did get a ton of great pictures, which I'm sure he'll be sharing soon.)

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Taken from inside our sliding glass door with my phone, this is one of the many sunflower plants growing along the back wall of the house. It's the view I have from the couch, as I'm feeding Greyson. I've been noticing the change in the flowers every day--they just came into full bloom.

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We got to pick Darin up from the airport today after his 10 day trip to France & Italy!

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Ellie's been talking about going to the bathroom like a big girl... never actually done it yet, but she is somewhat aware of the process. So, in hopes of getting to that point, we bought her a few pair of big girl underwear--she chose Minnie Mouse ones. She hardly wanted to give them up at checkout.

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 Gavin got this puzzle a couple weeks ago & we just did it over the last few days... It's 3 parts that fit together, & each part has different size puzzle pieces (large, medium & small). It's a fun one!

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Gavin's friend, Cade came over in the morning, & they enjoyed some Lego Star Wars before school.

It wasn't all play though... I quizzed them on their letter sounds while they ate lunch.

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While Gavin, Ellie, Greyson & I attended "Tie-Dye Tuesday Night" at Gavin's school, where Gavin tie-dyed his own shirt to use for field trips & other special days, Darin was enjoying Paris. He'll have a separate post with more amazing pics from his trip.

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No need to get a Bountiful Basket this week--we're feeling quite bountiful already with zucchini, crookneck squash & cucumber that Grandma & Grandpa Bishop brought us in Fillmore, & Becky stashed some peach freezer jam & this bag of sweet peaches (I've already eaten two) in our car before we left yesterday. Thanks all! The Roma tomatoes are from our own plant in the backyard. Today it was back to our routine... Gavin was glad to go back to school--he missed 2 days last week!

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The kids had had a good time together while we were gone... and Ben survived! We went to church with them (Stake conference), had lunch & let the kids play a little longer, then got back in the car for our 6 hour drive back to Boise. Again, the kids did great--they're ALL good travelers. Again, one emergency stop for Gavin, and a dinner stop at Subway near Twin Falls, dictated by Greyson waking up for his one mid-trip feeding. We got home around 8pm, giving the kids some time to become reacquainted with their toys & run off some energy before bedtime.

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In the midst of our "scrapping," we enjoyed a nice Skype video chat with Mom & Dad. These are screen shots during the call--kind of funny talking to them on screen, across the country, while we're in their own house! One of the best things about the weekend was just being together with all these girls. It's a rare opportunity! Special thanks to all the dads (& double for Ben) for allowing us to make it happen (& to Patty, the local, for making sure we were well fed!). It had to end though... we were excited to reunite with our little families again. We packed it all up & left around 5pm. Chrissie & Kristi-Lynn caught flights home, & Susie, Becky & I started back towards Utah... until next year!

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Greyson enjoyed his first & only year of being invited to scrapaway. He got to be held & admired by all his Gibson aunts, although he did slow me down just a bit. Scrapaway has evolved... 2 of the 6 of us never even  touched a printed photo. Kristi-Lynn worked on her laptop, organizing their photo library, posting blogs, etc. Chrissie brought her tiny slide/negative scanner, along with a pile of slides & negatives (spanning over 10 years) to convert to digital images. Prints, paper & stickers at these "scrapaways" may one day become a thing of the past!

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Darin left today for a 10-day "business" trip to Paris, France to do some trend research & attend a home decor trade show. He'll spend about 5 days in Paris, then head over to Milan, Italy for 3 days. Tough job! Becky & I (& Greyson) left Orem at about 9am, leaving Ben with 5 kids for 3 days. He's a saint... and very brave. We stopped in Fillmore to meet Grandma & Grandpa Bishop so they could get their first look at Greyson in person. He's their 14th grandchild (5th grandson), and I think they approved. We headed on & picked up Susie in St. George & made it to the Las Vegas airport with about 20 minutes to spare before Chrissie's plane arrived. We went back to Mom & Dad's house, where Patty & Kristi-Lynn (who had flown in earlier) met us shortly after to commence our 5th annual sisters scrapaway!

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Greyson is 2 months old! At his 2-month well-check today, he weighed 10 pounds, 8 ounces & measured 22 inches long. He has started smiling & cooing just in the last week or so--big smiles when you get up close & talk to him. We like him... we're keeping him. After we picked Gavin up from the bus stop, we loaded up & headed to Orem for the night. The kids did great! We stopped in Burley for dinner at Arby's & made one other emergency roadside stop for Gavin, arriving around 12:30am.