We're off!

We are leaving bright and early for our first road trip as a family of 6!

We are headed north to the Bay Area to visit the Edmonds side of the family- Aaron's parents and brother/wife and cute kids. Car is packed, snack bags are packed, game/entertainment bag is packed and the kids are in bed! Now, we just need to get in bed and get a good nights sleep, it's going to be a long drive- especially with a 2 year old in the car. I'm not worried about the boys at all- it's Addie that will be our challenge. Good thing for lots of snacks and a DVD player. Have a great week!

P.S. Here's a very, very strange link for your viewing pleasure- or shall I say entertainment. It is seriously the most disturbing thing you will ever watch. Wait until the kids are in bed!
http://jezebel.com/389626/at-what-age-is-a-kid-too-old-to-breastfeed

Memories

I've never done a "tag" , but I saw this on my friend Amber's blog and I thought it looked like fun.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

#29

We just found out that Aaron (#29 when he played at BYU) has been nominated for the All Decade Football Team- through the Mountain West Conference. Pretty cool! You can vote as often as you like until July 18th. It takes just a couple seconds- so when have a minute, go vote for Aaron! Here's the link:

http://themwc.cstv.com/10/all-decade-voting-fb-fans.html

Scroll down to the very end, under "punters" and you will find his name. Go Aaron!!

s-w-e-e-t

That's the word that describes my big boy, Tyler. He did the sweetest thing this week, I just have to share.

I signed the boys up for a 3 day Summer Day Camp this week. Just to do something fun and different. Their first day was Monday. On the way there, I gave them a little talk, reminding them to watch out for each other and take care of each other. On the way home we were chatting about their day and how it went. After we were done, Tyler said, "I sat next to Jacob when he was alone today." I asked him what he meant and he proceeded to tell me that at lunch time he sat down with his friends and there were no seats left, so Jacob sat by himself at another table. Tyler picked up his lunch and went and sat with Jacob.

I can't even explain how happy that made me. As a mom, you work so hard to teach your kids kindness and compassion and it's hard to know if they are actually getting it. This little incident showed me that even when I'm not there, Tyler is choosing the right and watching out for his little brother. Tyler really is a very sweet and thoughtful little boy. He is great with babies and is always looking out for his younger siblings. I am so thankful that he is my oldest because he is such a good example in our family.

When Tyler was 6 months old and I found out I was pregnant (a day I'll never forget!) I was pretty nervous that I would have kids 14 months apart and even more nervous when I found out it was another boy! But, I couldn't be happier that things worked out the way they did. I love it that my boys are the very best of friends. They literally spend ALL day together and then when we check on them at night, they are snuggled up in the same bed. They definitely have their moments, but I hope that they are always close. Nothing like a brother to have your back!

The Best!

Do you like the new blog banner? I love it! Aaron's cousin, Holly, designed it for me She is so talented and creative. You can check out her funny, cute blog here. (plus she has great pictures of her 2 adorable boys!)

Also, a shout out to Joe, a wonderful photographer. He did the pictures on my blog- and I love them. He got some great ones of the kids- and especially little Carter. Here is his website if you are looking for a great photographer. Thanks, Joe!

An "Incident"

Let me start by saying that I am not very fond of crows. As far as birds go, I think they are kind of on the large side. They are too black, too shiny and they just creep me out. Not to mention that every morning at 6 am, on the dot, they land on the roof of my house and peck at who-knows-what. Could there possibly be worms on the roof of my house? If not worms, then what in the world is so tempting to them that they peck the heck out of the roof? It drives me crazy that at 6 am, all my kids are sleeping and these blasted crows are keeping me awake.

Now that you're caught up on my hatred/fear of crows, let me tell you what happened this morning. The boys finished their first day of swim lessons this morning and we were leaving the park. They were running around the jungle gym to get dried off before getting in the car. This large crow that was kind of hanging around during the lessons made it's way over to us. All of a sudden it started hopping/flying full speed towards Jacob. Jacob started screaming "Mommy!" and running to me as fast as he could. This bird didn't back away until Jake was close to me. Once I got him settled down we started towards the car again. At this point I turn around to look for Addie and sure enough, Mr. Mean Crow was chasing Addison. Not only was he chasing her but he had his sharp, mean, bird beak open and looked like he was trying to bite her. She was crying and running from him. I, of course, took off running to rescue her and this bird would not back down. So the three of us are running across the park, Addie in the front, Mr. Mean Crow in the middle and me in the back. I am looking like a nut case, clapping my hands and yelling, trying to scare the blasted thing away. Finally I get close enough to scoop her up and I can tell what she is yelling. . . "My gum, my gum!" In her haste to escape, she had dropped her gum from her mouth. Two maintenance guys come over and say "Was that bird chasing your daughter?" Yes sir, it was! They proceed to chase the bird away, throwing wood chips at him and yelling- making my earlier actions look not so dumb after all. The bird finally flies off. Then the swim teacher comes over and asks if Addie is okay- yes she is, he didn't bite her. He then says "Maam, could you please fill out an incident report?" Really, I think, we are already late for our next appt. and bringing 4 kids into an office to fill out a form is not really the best idea. "Yes- it's kind of weird and I think you need to talk to the pool manager." Fine- off we go. So I fill out the form and am not really sure what to write. I try to keep from laughing as I come to the part that says "Nature of Incident." I shrug and write the truth. . ."Large crow chased my 2 kids around the park." Hmmm- doesn't sound that scary on paper.

But, you try being 3 feet tall and being chased around the park by a mean, ugly, hopping crow with it's mouth open. I don't think you'd like it either!

ps- Now that I think about it, I guess it is kind of strange. It most likely was sick, something had to be wrong with it. It was much too brazen to be a normal bird. Not sure what my "report" will do , though.

July 2, 2008

I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but a couple recent events have given me the motivation that I need to get it done. Two families that we know (one not personally, but through a friend) have both lost their one year old babies, in the last few weeks. We were in the same ward as the Kunz family in our married BYU ward. A couple weeks ago, they found their one year old son in his crib with the cord from the blinds wrapped around his neck. This was their 3rd baby. I can not imagine their grief and pain right now. About a week after that my friend/family photographer, Elizabeth's one year old niece, drowned in the family hot tub. I have been faithfully reading their blog because the honesty and openness with which this mother writes is amazing. Her strength, faith and testimony have all helped me to look at my own testimony and where I stand in my beliefs. Where and with what am I spending my time? Am I making time for the truly important things? Do my children know how I feel about them and about the Savior? They are little for such a short amount of time and after these 2 tragedy's I am realizing that I am not going to have 4 kids under the age of 5 for long. It feels like it now, but I know that when I blink my eyes, it will be over and they will all be off at school. In one of the posts on these blogs, the father encourages parents to take pictures, write things down and use the video camera. Not just because, heaven forbid, something like this might happen to us, but because we can- and will someday look back and be thankful for the memories.

I want to remember.

I want to remember that at breakfast, they all ask for me to feed them their cereal like it's a choo-choo train- and they laugh hysterically and say "Again Mommy!" I want to remember that Jake comes into our room every morning at 7 on the dot and says "Guess what guys, I didn't wet my diaper!" and then climbs in our bed for a quick snuggle before morning cartoons. I want to remember that Tyler always comes over while I'm on the computer and kisses me and puts his head against my shoulder. I want to remember that Addison sits on my counter while I am getting ready in the morning and watches me and wants to do everything that I do. I want to remember that Carter laughed for the first time last night when I was rubbing his legs- and that sweet, pure sound made me feel like my heart was going to literally burst with happiness.

I want to remember this day- July 2, 2008. A random summer day. Nothing special. Stayed home all morning, took Tyler to the dentist, babysat my friends kids while she went to the temple with the youth, and did laundry. But it was a perfect day. My babies were around me all day. They kissed me and I kissed them back. We laughed, they cried, I comforted owies and hurt feelings, we read books, we ate meals together. They are here. They are healthy and they are mine. I couldn't ask for anything more. (this next part is long- you don't have to read- but this is for me to remember someday)

7 am- Carter wakes up (after sleeping through the night- been doing that since last week!) I make him a bottle, bring him in my bed and feed him. Jake comes in and snuggles for a minute.

7:15- wonderful husband takes boys downstairs so I can go back to sleep for a little bit. Heaven!

8:15- Aaron comes into shower. Go get Carter from the swing and put him to bed for morning nap. I go get Addie out of bed and gets kids clothes out for the day. Make bed.

8:40- check email. Say goodbye to Aaron. Put in a load of laundry.

8:45- breakfast for Addie and Tyler (Jake ate with Aaron). Tyler eats rice krispies with cheerios, Addie eats a bowl of blueberries and strawberries and an english muffin and I eat a bowl of cheerieos with a banana.

9:00- Do dishes, get everybody dressed. Change diapers. Brush hair. Sweep kitchen floor. Do more laundry.

9:30- Play with kids outside for awhile. Help them build a "house" out of the box that we just took our new backyard patio swing out of last night. Tyler fills it with furniture and a chair for each of the kids , then makes a chimney out of red blocks.

10:00- Hurry and shower and get ready while Carter is still sleeping. Kids come in just as I'm finishing. Carter wakes up.

10:45- Feed Carter outside on new swing- love it! Help kids fix cardboard house which Addie knocked down. Make snack- goldfish crackers and apples. More laundry. Change another diaper. Carter has tummy time.

11:00- Get an art project ready for kids. They draw a forest scene on construction paper and then paint it with water that has salt partially dissolved in it. (supposed to look like ice when it dries) After forest scene, the painting with water keeps them busy for a long time. They each want me to draw on their paper. Tyler: a "forest tree" Jake: a penguin, lizard and bat Addie: a "wizard'" (lizard) and some trees.

12:00- Start lunch. Make veggie corn dogs, pretzels, carrots, and cucumbers with hummus (love Trader Joe's!) and Capri Sun. Take out to kids so they can eat in their house. Carter is fussy. Feed him again and he falls asleep. Put him down for another nap.

12:45- Eat my own lunch while they are busy outside (veggie corn dog- not bad and only 2 weigh watcher points). Tyler is trying to catch a bee- I warn him that he might get stung- he doesn't care and forges ahead.

1:00- Wash Addie up. Put her down for a nap. Come downstairs and realize I could take a quick nap before dentist appt. Turn TV on for boys. They watch a Tivo'd episode of Stanley's Big Book of Adventure. I go lay down in guest room and can't sleep. Wierd. I can usually always fall asleep within about 5 minutes, then sleep for about 10-15 minutes and I'm done! I lay there for a few minutes and enjoy the quiet.

1:30- Get things ready for Jessica (neighbor babysitter) and get Tyler ready.

2:00- Dental appt.

3:30- Tyler was such a good boy (he had to have some painful work done) so we head to Target for a little compensation. Feeling very guilty that he has a cavity. I should have had that taken care of months ago, but I kept putting it off. Note to self: don't do that again!

4:00- Get gas. In a hurry. Lackey kids are coming over in 15 minutes.

4:15- Get home. Pay babysitter. Boys get new Hot Wheel track out. Tyler picked out a sparkly pink Polly Pocket car for Addie and a blue How Wheel for Jake. Put Carter down in crib. Won't sleep. Wants to be held.

4:30- Lackey kids come over. Our kids play great together. They all head outside. I start dinner. Feed Carter. Put him in swing and he falls asleep. More laundry. Get bills ready for paying tonight- (oops- I'm blogging instead! tomorrow.)

5:00- Put pizza in. Cut up watermelon. Pour 7 cups of juice.

5:30- Dinner. Carter wakes up. Put him in bouncy seat. Supervise kids eating. Get lots of seconds- everybody loves pizza and watermelon.

6:00- Clean-up and distribute cookies outside.

6:30- Address and write some graduation cards and checks. Megan and visiting cousin play with Carter. Dang- why can't I have a 9 year old daughter- what a huge help!

7:00- Put Carter in bath. Empty dishwasher. (I bathe him in the sink- this is great for multi-tasking!)

7:30- Clint comes and picks up kids. Power goes out. By the way- it was 103 degrees here today. Quickly gather PJ's and diapers and flashlights and batteries. Get Addie washed up, brush teeth, diaper and jammies.

7:45- Call boys in. Wash up, brush teeth, diapers, jammies. Read Sitting Ducks on couch with flashlight while feeding Carter. Boys are confused about power outage- why can't we turn on TV, light, computer- how about the AC? Say prayers.

8:00- Put Addie down. Then boys. Still asking questions. Why isn't fan on?

8:15- Give Carter some lovin before bed. He likes the flashlight on the ceiling. Put him to bed. He doesn't make a peep. Falls right to sleep.

8:30- Aaron is at temple with youth tonight. What to do on a powerless July night? Go water the plants and flowers out front. Check batteries again. Lock up. Start having anxiety- how will I sleep with no fan tonight?

9:00- Feeling very smug that I had my laptop on the charger all day. Hooray for me. Can't blog, but start doing some other "housekeeping" business on computer.

9:10 Power comes back on. Seriously want to cry. I would've made a terrible pioneer women. LOVE my AC! Start this post.

9:20- Power goes out again. What??

9:30- Comes back on. Aaron walks in the door. More blogging. Talk about funny things the kids did today. Aaron makes a couple calls for church.

10:00-Aaron falls asleep in recliner. Still blogging.

10:45. Time for bed. Go check on kids. Look at their perfect faces. Kiss them. Say prayers with Aaron. Snuggle. Fall asleep- no problem this time. Get lots of sleep so I can start all over again in 8 hours.

I am so blessed.