New words...

Each day Alex learns a new word or phrase. Two days ago he picked up "Horrible" (Probably because I told him the combination of bright yellow and red he had on looked horrible-much like Ronald McDonald!) and the same day he learned "Just Kidding". So he spent the day saying something is horrible (like the food I prepared, my hair, someones clothes) and then in the next breath say "Just kidding!"
He has also leaned "delicious" which is a nice break from "yummy" which he says about 10 times every time we sit down to eat. ("Me yummy, yummy, yummy." Or just a string of yummy's while he's eating!)
He's also leaned "never mind" which he used non stop one day by saying "Mom!" me saying "Yes?" and him saying "Never mind!" and then laughing.
Today he learned "Good luck." I was working on the computer and he told me. "Me say you good luck work Mom" then later when I was trying to take a nap he came in and told me "Good luck you sleep Mom!" Which sounded more like an ominous threat then a sincere wish.
Each week I give him a list of spelling words as part of our studying. This week one of his words was "his" and aside from learning to spell I try to get him to use the word in a sentence. "His has Ipod" was his sentence.
But my favorite sentence of all time is "I loves you so much Mom."

Alex, Grandpa and The DI

So, Alex's new favorite store is the DI (Desert Industries) he has told me this repeatedly since purchasing his crappy walkie-talkies on Saturday. Luckily for him it's one of my Dad's favorite haunts too. I told Alex that Grandpa goes to the DI quite a bit, maybe next time he could go with Grandpa.
I asked him what his plans were for today after swimming lessons and he told me he was going to make a Grandpa a "prisint". I wasn't surprised because I knew he loved those huge Walkie-Talkies so much that he wanted to do something nice for my Dad. Alex made him a huge wooden "hold the drill bits" board and then took it down to my Dad's. Grandpa wasn't home. I guess he kept checking back until he caught my Dad home and then Alex came home and announced that Grandpa was going to take him to the DI this afternoon. ("Me talk Grandpa DI-him say yes DI afternoon!") I found out later that Dad said he "might" go to the DI this afternoon but "might" isn't a word Alex has mastered yet.
After lunch Alex asked me "What is afternoon?" I said anytime between noon and five. Then pretty soon I get a phone call from Alex from my Dad's house. He's all fired up, and saying something about the DI. I tell him "Alex, you are stalking grandpa? You should have stayed home and waited for grandpa to pick you up. He's not even sure if he was going he said he might go". (I can tell Alex isn't understanding a word of this.) Let me talk to grandpa. He hands grandpa the phone. I apologize that Alex is stalking him and Dad says not to worry, he's going to the DI in a few minutes and he doesn't' mind taking Alex.
Alex came home with a $1 cassette tape player/radio that takes yet more batteries! I told him he's going to have to start buying his own batteries and we don't even have cassettes to play in it. He asks "You mad me?" No I say-how can I be mad at him? It's just hard because he's buying crappy/junky things but it's his money. (Well, MY batteries!) And this boy is a saver of all things and I know this crappy-battery eating toy is going to be with us for a long time! Speaking of saving, he also wants me to save every picture and origami folded paper thing he makes. I on the other hand am not a saver, ask my other children. I LOVE to throw things out and I'm just not super sentimental about school work or every picture my children draw, call me calloused I prefer to call myself selective and anti-cluttered. I tried explaining this to Alex when he hastily folded a large paper in to a lopsided heart during church and told me to put it in his book. (I made the mistake of telling him I keep a book of special things my children have done and that I have started a book for him.) I explained that I only keep very special papers that they spend a lot of time on or write special things on. Things that are special to me. He then quickly folded a 3-D helicopter out of paper (yes, he is THAT creative!) spending about ten minutes to make it-which is about nine minutes longer than the heart he made- and told me to put that in his book. Good gravy....

Sunday

Here is Alex making Chocolate Chip cookies for the first time. I helped him quite a bit but he did most the measuring and mixing on his own.

What concentration.

One of the fun things Alex and I get to do is go to the airport to greet the other children that have been recently adopted from Alex's school. On the way to the airport to see Kayta & her family arrive, I was asking Alex what he likes about America. He said, "Everything!". I know I said but what is your favorite thing? (Thinking he'd say video games or walkie-talkies or having a bike to ride) And he said "Having a Mom & Dad & family!" Yep, I almost teared up....
Since we brought home Alex there have been six other girls adopted from Alex's orphanage and Kayta is girl number seven! Here's Alex (we left church after Sacrament Meeting to go to the airport-hence his Sunday clothes but doesn't he look great?) at the airport.

With Lena and Sara waiting for Kayta's arrival. The bag Alex is holding contains his homemade chocolate chip cookies.

And here's Kayta... in the red shirt. Funny, when we get these kids together they go right back to caring for each other. That's Lena's Sprite that Alex is drinking. When we were all in Ukraine together we all shared everything.(In fact when I go to lunch with Amy, I try to catch myself before I eat off her plate-we just shared like the kids did and besides that way we got to try many different foods!) Alex still hands out candy at home and makes sure everyone has some of everything. It's a good trait but not when he forces me to eat candy I don't want and mostly don't need!

Sara, Kayta, Lena and my Alex!
(He doesn't seem to mind he's the only boy!)

(Amy & Ann-feel free to copy and paste any of my pictures of your children.)

I'm Walking and Talking....

As mentioned, Alex bought himself some crappy Walkie-Talkies for a dollar at the DI earlier today. After him sneaking them into my office for the third time-trying to talk to me on them-and me hearing nothing and if anything not understanding it at all-we walked down to my Dad's to see if he might have the missing Motorola Walkie-Talkie we already own. (We really do have some nice Walkie-Talkies but having only ONE doesn't do much good.)

Well, we went to the right place. No, he did not have our missing Walkie-Talkie but he gave Alex these:

They're CB radio type Walkie Talkies that my Dad also bought from the DI but for $3 each but they don't work with his boats radio frequency. They are clear as a bell and have a huge range-how huge we just haven't figured out yet but so far you can talk from my Mom's house to ours. Alex was so excited that I think he's still grinning! Luckily we got THREE of them. One for Alex, Brach & Tyler. Each take TEN batteries each. OMGoodness!
I can't decide what is huger, the Walkie-Talkies or Alex's grin!
THANKS GRANDPA!
While I was typing this I looked out to see Alex with his new treasure and his neighborhood friends. I made them pose for me! With their weapons and walkies!

Ward Campout

Friday night was our ward camp out. Thinking we had rehearsals Saturday morning we did not plan to stay the night but just went up for dinner.
Here's Kam & Aug who enjoyed hiking for the second time that day-to Donut Falls

Alex who really enjoys playing in the fire and eating about TEN desserts after two plates of food! (Where does he put all this food?)

Austin-probably being bit by a mosquito-there were a ton- and Kam & Dev and their cheesy smile pose!

And the only picture I got of Rylee. (I really didn't do a good job on photo's. My parents and Kam and her family were there too but did I take a picture? Nope. )

Hiking Up Millcreek Canyon

My sister-the awesome Kammy-organizes a hike each month during the summer. Last month it was so rainy I didn't take my children but this month we went. She decided on Millcreek Canyon on a little hike called Rattlesnake Gulch. Brach was worried that there would be rattle snakes but Kammy assured him there wouldn't be any.

This is our party from the rear view during a shady spot:

Syd loves to hike-see why I refer to my sister as awesome? That's an additonal 22 pounds on her back! Cute pounds but heavy all the same!

Water break!

Short cut cliff part and Rylee striking a pose!

All our kids on another shady break

At the top of our hike notice the sign
RATTLE SNAKE GULCH TRAIL

And one of the TWO rattle snakes we saw on our hike!

Waiting for Dev and Brach as they take a "short cut" down.

The beautiful scenery on the way down....

Syd a little hot and tired towards the end, Kammy still smiling.

And the hot and goofy kids in the van on the way home. Nice picture Austin!

Journaling

After Alex's three day grounding from video games he got up early and played Wii for about 20 minutes on the 4th of July before we got up for the parade. I had instructed him the night before to take a bath before getting dressed and had laid out his clothes for the day. When I came down and saw him dressed with plastered down wet hair, I asked if he'd showered. Yes, he said. Funny, I didn't hear the shower run. But I'm running around trying to get everyone up and ready to get to the parade. I then asked again, Alex, are you sure you showered? Yes, was his reply. I smelled his hair and arm and it didn't really smell clean but it didn't smell dirty either so I went upstairs to check the bathtub and it was bone dry along with the bar of soap. "Alex Benjamin Richhart, you tell me the truth, did you shower?" Yes, again he says. Then I tell him about the tub & the soap and ask him to tell me the truth, did he shower? He looks down at his feet and says in a very quiet voice "no". I told him no more video games for three more days. His eyes filled with tears. I tell him"If you had said the first time you hadn't showered, I would have said go take a shower and you would not have been grounded from video games but your grounded because you lied to me." I made this point very clear, he was not being punished for not showering but for blatantly lying.
During the next three days he was very sad-at one point I found him crying at bedtime, I asked what was wrong and he told me that he felt something was wrong with Ivan, that he doesn't speak English well, and he "No listens when Mom talk." Which I take to be that he doesn't obey me. I explained we could Skype with Ivan tomorrow and make sure he's okay, that he does speak English very well and that all he has to do is listen to me better and tell the truth. I then asked if there was anything I could do to help him feel better (he's still sobbing) and he says "Video games?" (Ah-ha! I knew it!) Nope, I said, you have one more day and I left him crying. I went back in about two minutes later to hug him goodnight and he was miraculously done crying. We hugged and I haven't heard a word since about Ivan, or any of the other things he was supposedly sobbing about.
I have now set up some guidelines about video games with the best being NO video games or TV before nine am. I mean, good gravy, he was getting up at six thirty to start playing! This newest set of guidelines has been genius! Now he wakes up around eight, does his jobs, breakfast, gets ready and patiently waits for the golden hour of nine and every day we have either tutor or swimming at nine-thirty so he gets in a half hour. This breaks up his two hour limit and makes it much easier to pace himself.
He's also taken to playing with friends in the neighborhood-in fact he tried to build a clubhouse for his friends-that was a scary phone call:
Alex: Me make house my friends.
Me: What? You want to make a house for your friends? What are you going to use to build it with?
Alex: Umm....
Me: Alex what tools are you using?
Alex: Umm... Me no remember, Brach talk you.
He then hands to phone to Brach. Brach tells me he has two saws, a hammer and a drill out. I cringe and ask if they're being safe and Brach tells me "We have on safety glasses and shoes, you can't be safer than that!" I told Brach we'd be home in ten minutes. By the time we got home the idea had been abandoned and the only signs of the so called house was a small hole in the grass and some small pieces of wood. Oh my, I think we have some projects to look forward too.
Monday while doing laundry I noticed that Alex only had ONE pair of underwear in his clean clothes. I called him and showed him the four of five undershirts (he wears to bed each night) and the one pair of underwear and asked if he is putting on clean underwear each night after his bath? He started to say yes, then hung his head and in a small voice said no. I put my arm around him and said, thank you for telling me the truth, from now on put on clean underwear every time you bath okay? He nodded. I think he thought I would ground him from the Wii again so I made a big deal about how I was so happy he told the truth. I know he's probably had to lie his whole life to avoid trouble and this telling the truth is a new concept and a hard one too.
Today we went shopping at the DI and Alex was in heaven! We went looking for clothes for Austin to wear on Pioneer Trek next week and Alex found a pair of Walkie-Talkies for $1. He was ecstatic! They're very crappy and you can hardly hear them but he is so excited. He told me he had asked Ivan for Walkie Talkies in Ukraine but Ivan said no. (Not that it would have mattered much-it seems everything Ivan or I gave Alex got lost, broken or stolen at the orphanage!) Alex told me how much he loves the DI, "Big store-little money!" He's so easy to please sometimes.
Earlier this week I went to lunch with the other mom's who have or are adopting from Ukraine. (We always have such a good time catching up and talking!) Alex asked where I was going and I told him. Then he said "Me scary." I asked why he was scared and he told me "Grandma eaten Cafe no come home." What? Your grandma was eating at a cafe and never came home? She just disappeared? He nodded yes. He was truly frightened, this isn't the first time he's told me "Me scary" when it comes to me leaving. Hum...I wonder what really happened to this grandma. He said it was his Dad's mom. I wonder if Ivan knows more about this?
Austin has had a hard time this week. He told me he just can't get full. He eats and eats and he's always hungry. And when he's hungry he's cranky. He must be growing...again. He's now taller than James and he's thick like James too and I'm always thinking he's James or James is Austin, it's like having giant twins in the house.
Kambree has been nannying for Kammy and starting to get things lined up for dance company. Grease rehearsals haven't been as fun as she thought they'd be as "there just aren't any really cute boys" but she's been very busy going out almost every night with friends or on dates. She's bummed today as she wanted to go to Lagoon but all her friends were working or broke. I told her she could take Austin but she doesn't want to take Austin as everyone thinks they're dating when they're together. I never had this problem with my younger brother because he didn't grow until late, but apparently this mistake happens often to Kambree and Austin. How funny.
Devee LOVED Oakcrest camp. I worry about her as she stays home so much. She just doesn't have a good friend to hang out with. She is in "Annie" and has rehearsals a couple times a week but she really needs to find more things to do. She needs a nanny job like Kambree!
Rylee and Alex have been in swimming lessons and Rylee is at the top of her class. We're always approached about her joining the swimming club after she completes her lessons but she's not really interested. I put Alex in beginning swimming and he has loved it. I decided to sign them both up for another three weeks and Alex's teacher suggested he move up to the advanced class.
We all went to the dentist and I'm happy to report we had NO cavities! Alex has lost all but one of his rotten/ground down teeth and since it's a baby tooth and not bothering him-the dentist said to just wait for it to fall out! Hurray! Everyone got ten dollars for no cavities.
James is gone for three long weeks. We miss him terribly. I try to make myself feel better by thinking of all the worse jobs he could have, like going to Iraq for a year, or working as a secret service agent on assignment for months at a time but we still just miss him. Next to me I think Alex misses him the most. He's always talking about his Dad. I don't know though, maybe Austin misses James just as much. Alex needs to get bigger so he and Austin can wrestle and rough house more-maybe then it won't be so hard to have their Dad gone? Probably not, when they're that big I'll want James around always to monitor their rough playing!
Summer is half way through and as much as I look forward to having my days to myself when the kids are in school I love this unstructured time. Rehearsals were canceled at the last minute for this morning so we all slept in until almost ten and then in our pj's we drove through the McDonald's drive through for breakfast! Ahhh..summer!

Baby wish...

Life has been so incredibly busy that I've only posted pictures but I just had to take a minute this morning to write about Alex. (I should be getting dressed as the tutor and all our Ukraine friends will be here in minutes!)
This morning Alex wrapped his arms around me and laid his head against my chest (which is nothing new-he does this at least three times a day) but today he looked up into my eyes and said
Alex: Me wish me little baby.
Me: You wish you were a little baby?
Alex: Me wish me little baby in yous tummy.
Me: (Scrambling for the right words-picked him up like a little baby-luckily he is very light-and held him just like a little baby) "Oh Alex, maybe you didn't grow in my tummy but you grew in my heart and now you will be my baby forever."
Then he made this statement:
Alex: Big baby.
Me: Yes, you're my big baby.
Then I smothered his forehead with kisses and put him down and he proceed to tell me about the big (tall) man he and James must have seen at the auto parts store.
It was just a minute out of the day, this wish that he had been born to us and it came out of no where but I think it's just about one of the most precious moments I've ever had with Alex.
I have so much more to write about but since I have three minutes until everyone arrives, I'll have to save everything for another post!
Happy Thursday!

Sweet Alex Prayer Tonight....

Father In Heaven

Bless me good boy

Bless me smile

Bless me no cry

Bless me good English

Bless me good brother

Bless me good cousin

Bless me good friend

Thank you all of ‘em

Thank you love my Mom so much and my Dad

In the name….

Learning to Drive the Lawn Mower...

Little do they know, this is work and not fun!
(Austin was elated to see Alex take such an interest in lawn mowing as it's his job each week. Yeah, I know, "Oh poor boy, having to sit on a driving lawn mower!")

Alex learning

And if Alex can do it than Rylee wants to too!

Doesn't he look like a country boy?