Bet You Can!

That is the title of a book I bought back when I was in college. I was an Elementary Education major and wanted this book to help with science classes. Its subtitle is: "Science Possibilities to Fool You." Nathan and Ryan are always asking to try out the experiments. On Saturday we tried one called "The Burning Question." You take tissue and roll it into a tube, using rubber cement to hold the edge together. You then take a match and burn the top of the tube. While it only worked once out of three times, the ashes from the tube are supposed to rise up into the air. When it did finally work, the flaming ash went straight toward Nate. It was quite exciting and the kids admitted it was a little scary.
Now Ryan has us eating yummy green olives since he needs the jar for the experiment he has chosen.

Happy Birthday/Graduation!

29! This is my last year of being in my 20's. I am feeling pretty okay with my age, and while I don't expect that to change when my next BIG birthday rolls around...we shall see. I had a great day filled with phone calls, emails and well wishes from family and friends. I also had to go to the Elementary school 3x and have a presidency meeting. Presidency meetings aren't bad though, I love the ladies I work with and the kids play pretty well together while we discussed our upcoming party. I got Cafe Rio and ate with a friend while she made lunch for Ryan. Annie was even at another friends house so it was pretty peaceful.

Both my little brother in CA and Greg's little sister here graduated today. Some people were surprised at my desire to go to a H.S. graduation for my birthday. BUT, since I couldn't be around for Jake I wanted to be there for Katie. Greg and I headed to the mall first. I really wanted my ring cleaned and luckily found out that my diamond was about to fall out. So now I am ring-less until next week. We rushed to the ceremony and then got to go out to dinner/dessert. We went to a place called "Spoon Me." It was a frozen yogurt place and since it was my birthday I got a free dessert. YUM! Funny story- while enjoying our dessert the waiters were trying to fix a broken door. My father-in-law is quite the handyman and he got up to help, and even fixed it. He tried to refuse the free coupons they gave him, but Katie insisted that it would be a great Graduation present. As you can see, a bunch of the brothers also thought they needed to lend a hand.
I had a great day and a big CONGRATS to Katie and Jacob!

Last Week of School

What a week!! I am happy it is over, though after today not so sure how I will survive summer.

I helped at Field Day this year. I thought I could be super mom and take the two little ones-big mistake. While yelling directions to 7-8 groups of k-2 graders I had to make sure Ry and Annie were okay. And a lot of the time Annabelle wanted to be held. I was hot and hoarse at the end, and while the kids weren't perfect, they did put up with the situation, so I took them to McD's for a ice cream cone. We maybe would have gotten lunch but it was SO crowded that we stayed for as long as it took to get the cones and eat them, playing in the middle.

Nathan had one amazing teacher this year. She told the class that when they divided the first graders, she got all of the best kids. Nathan has completely believed this all year long. He has also told me that his teacher is the "Queen of Mistakes," and I can just see how wonderful she is to help her students be okay with the mistakes they sometimes make. Having been in the teaching business I know I will always critique my kids' teachers more than most. I feel completely blessed so far, and hope that it will continue.

Magician or Batman

This week in school Nathan had a Magician come to an assembly and then the whole first grade did a Batman dance for the families.

First the Magician. Nathan came home so excited to tell me that he was picked to go up to the front of the assembly. He helped in a card trick that somehow ended with his name on some cards that got stuck on the ceiling. Nate came home excited to show us 2 of the tricks. First he drew a picture of a bowling ball in a notebook. Then he had to jump on the notebook and finally as Ryan and he were squeezing the notebook a bowling ball was supposed to fall out if it. They tried multiple times, seriously expecting that ball to fall from a notebook.

It was cute to watch. It wasn't until after the next trick that I tried to explain that a magician goes to a special school to learn these great tricks. The other trick was putting 3 pieces of paper (red, white and blue) into a bag, saying magic words and then pulling out an American flag. As you can see, Nate drew his own American flag so this time the trick would work. What a great mind, thinking he could do something that is obviously (to me) not going to happen.

Now Batman. Every year at Nathan's school they have an end of the year dance festival. I think it is awesome that they make kids do this; something that is way out of their comfort zone, but at the same time teaching them that it is okay to do something silly. I love it. Each class this year was a different superhero. We had Spiderman, Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Superman, and of course Batman. Nathan gets into it and looked at us almost the whole time, which made picture taking easier. Next year I will have two kids to watch...and only one to keep happy on the sidelines. Way to go my Magician Batman Nate!

The Big Decision

Every time it is time to buy a dessert, either at a restaurant or at the supermarket, I am always faced with a difficult decision: fruity or chocolaty. Currently in my freezer I have a carton of strawberry and a carton of Moose Tracks. A lot of the time I will pick the one and by the end of the dessert I am wishing I had the other one. For example, I got a Mud Pie shake from Emmett's and while it was really good, it was huge and I was wishing for a different flavor by the middle. Last night I was faced again with this decision. I was staring at cookies and ice cream and deciding what to pick to make an ice cream sandwich. Then it came to me. I could have the best of both worlds. I got a milk chocolate chip cookie, a double chocolate chip cookie and strawberry ice cream in the middle. It was FANTASTIC. I think I may have to go and try it again soon.

Ryan's Graduation

Ryan was so excited for this day to come. He has really enjoyed preschool and loves to share the songs and cool facts he learns there. Even though I missed the first 5 minutes of the program (Annie wet her pants right after we got there), I heard plenty of songs and saw him get his diploma. I can't believe this guy will be in Kindergarten in the Fall. Where has the time gone?! Sometimes I wonder if Ryan will be able to handle the amount of time in school, and other times I think he will do awesome. Only time will tell. Way to go Ryan! You were one cool preschooler!

A Much Better Day

This week has been pretty crazy. I realized that I have allowed some outside issues (not even my own) to really wear me down and make me angry and extremely irritable. My kids have taken the brunt of my bad moods. On Wednesday night was when I finally realized what was causing this and made the goal for Thursday to work on it. Imagine my surprise that being stood up for visiting teaching would actually be the answer to my prayers and the cause to a much calmer and more peaceful day.
While a nice chatty visiting teaching session would have been great, I instead took the kids on a slow walk around the block. We were constantly stopping and looking at all of the rolie polies. On most days I would have rushed them on, wanting to just get home and move on to the next task. But for whatever reason, I took a deep breath and let them walk as slow as they wanted. It was soothing to watch them get so excited over the little potato bugs and then share their excitement with each other.

I kept that attitude the rest of the day. Annie took a nap so I was able to paint the laundry and bathrooms. No pictures until it is all done. I even let Ryan paint a section (he was SO excited and proud) that the vanity would eventually cover. We had a great conversation:
Me: You can't paint any more, but you will be able to paint your own house when you grow up.
Ryan: Me and my mom will pick out the colors and paint together.
Me: Your mom? I? Oh you mean you wife? Yes, that will be fun to do together. You will always be so nice to her, huh?
Ryan: Yeah, sometimes I might forget though.
Me: Maybe, but then you will bring her flowers, moms love flowers.
Ryan: Yes!


Later in the day I set up our umbrella out in the front and the kids loved it. They ate Popsicles, read books and just looked so cute together. I think that umbrella will be coming out a lot this summer. It really was just a great day. I hope I can keep it up.

A Long Day Outside

With a soccer game and pictures starting at 8:40am, we really did spend ALL day outside. The outside of our house looked fantastic at the end of the day. Here's what we did: mow, edge, plant garden (Green beans, beets, chives, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, crook-neck squash, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, strawberries, and some wild flowers), clean out the garage, put dirt around flower beds, and spray round-up on all the grass that is sneaking into said beds. I think both Greg and I felt quite accomplished at the end of the day, and sunburned. The kids wanted to run through the sprinklers so to keep them out of the way we said okay. They enjoyed this not only at our house, but our 2 backyard neighbors houses as well.

While we were cleaning out the garage I decided that I didn't want to put the mattresses back inside. I had heard people talk about ksl.com and decided to try it out. I took a picture and went inside to put it on the web. When I came out Greg was getting ready to move things back in the garage. No joke, less than 10 minutes from placing the ad, and right when Greg and I were discussing where to put the mattresses back in the garage, Nathan brings us the phone. You guessed it, the mattresses were sold (they were free) and we have a much cleaner and emptier garage.

A Day in the Life of Me

On Sunday I am teaching a Mother's Day lesson in Primary and it has got me thinking. The lesson will talk about the many "hats" a mother wears. I had quite a motherly day yesterday so I wanted to document it for myself-don't feel you need to read it.

7am: I choose to sleep in today and so I got an hour+ extra sleep. I quietly read my scriptures and said my prayers before the rest of the family woke up. Lately my prayers have included something like, "Please help me make it through today without yelling or getting frustrated with the kids and their kidly ways."

7:30am: I decided muffins sounded great so I quickly made them, forgetting that they take forever to cook. Rushing around, trying to get Nathan fed breakfast and dressed before it was time to leave. Other kids wake up during this time (I even had an extra one this week) and want breakfast, to which I have to respond, "When I get back, When I get back."

7:56am: Finally out the door and drop Nathan off at 8:01 (one minute late is too bad, right?).

8:10-10:00am: Get three kids dressed, fed breakfast, take a shower, kiss Greg goodbye, come downstairs and see the huge breakfast mess and start cleaning up while the kids play around. Greg got my the music from Wicked so I was able to clean up listening to the play. I think we are becoming obsessed with the music, it is always on.

10:15am: Herd the kids out to the car so we can drop off my sewing machine for its 1 year birthday checkup (it was free). The kids disappear as I am talking to the sales lady and with rows and rows of fabric I am not quite sure where they could be.

10:45am: Find kids and head over to the back to get some cash for lunch at school with Nathan. Luckily the kids didn't realize I got suckers (they were for a much needed time later on in the day) and we headed to the elementary school.

11:15am: Waiting for Nathan's class to get to the lunchroom. Each of the kids pick their food, but since I am not the expert Nathan is, I forgot the spork package, and then the condiments. We sat down with a bunch of Nathan's classmates and enjoyed a perfectly healthy school lunch. The Cinnamon roll was surprisingly homemade and really good. I had to sneak bites of Annabelle's. Since the girls were taking to long to eat, Nathan and Ryan headed outside to recess. Since Ry is taller than some kids in Nate's class I figured it was okay. One thing I love about having lunch with Nathan is that I see so many kids from the neighborhood. They either to 1 of 2 things when I say hi. They are either really happy to see me and excitedly respond, "HI! Sister --!" or they look shyly at me and acknowledge me with a head nod or a quiet "hi." Either way, it is fun to see all the kids.

11:40ish: Mckenna and Annie finish enough of their food (we had to change tables we were eating so slow) and we head outside to find and play with the boys. They were playing basketball and so we joined in the fun. At one point the ball bounced away from us and an older girl found it and started playing with it. When Nate tried to get it back, she wouldn't give it. Luckily she was one of those kids from the ward that I knew and when I used her name to ask for it back she did so quite fast. I invited her to play with us, but to no avail.

11:50 : The bell rings and we all get hugs from Nathan before class starts. He loves the attention and we all, especially Ryan, love being there at his school (maybe he will do okay in kindergarten).

12:00pm : We head home for bathroom breaks and a little down time before preschool.

12:25: As I we are heading out to the car to go to preschool McKenna's brother, Josh, gets dropped off. Since I wasn't aware of this and had other plans, and luckily the lady dropping him off is so nice, she took him home with her and we headed out.

12:40: Arrive at a cute little copy shop which sells great ideas for Sharing time. I looked around a bit and finally found one that I thought would work well this Sunday (hats). We go outside to wait for Tomie and this is where those suckers came in handy.

12:55: Tomie arrives and we watch Hattie while she goes and gets something for her primary. Then we head over to Zupa's for some yummy lunch.

1:10: With the two of us and our four girls we somehow manage to order, sit down and start eating. Unfortunately we picked the worst table in the place. It was right next to the door that was broken, such that when it was opened it flew open and let a bunch of chilly wind in. Plus, the table itself was broken and so if the girls touched it just the slightest, it would spin a bit. Between bathroom breaks and the girls eating my chocolate covered strawberry, Tomie and I were able to have a nice conversation over some really tasty sandwiches and salads.

2:00: I realize they have a delicious dessert that I must have been get it to go since it is getting close to time to pick up Nathan. But, Tomie and I keep talking and I hate for the afternoon to end and for me to go back to "life."

2:20+: I finally get in the car and race to the school. The kids were nowhere to be seen and so I figure they probably start walking. Which they did and they sure got far in the 15 minutes of lateness. The last couple days two extra kids have been wanting a ride from me, to which I can't say no-although were I to get a ticket since my car is completely packed, I would be devastated.

2:45: After dropping off three sets of kids I pick up Josh from the "nice lady's" house and take them to their dad. Then I race home before Nathan has an embarrassing accident in the car. We relax for a couple minutes (I sneakily eat my million dollar bar since I don't want to share) and then head out to go and get Ryan from Preschool.

3:15: We arrive home, with one extra kid (it was no problem Mandi) and take a breather. Once Maci was picked up we decided to look at our seeds and start thinking about the gardening we will do on Saturday.

3:30: We plant some wild flower seeds I found and then head over to Lowe's for some plants.

4:00: I decide we should probably stop at the bathroom before we shop-and good thing too since they all seemed to really have to go. We walked around the garden area and found most everything that we needed. The boys really love planting and were a great help. I don't think I had to raise my voice even once. Then we head over to Wal-mart for just a couple things so we are ready to go on Sat. Luckily we passed some Capri Sun drinks and I remembered that Nathan has snack at his soccer game on Saturday.

5:15: We are finally back in the car. The boys did great at remembering what aisle (9) we were on and we jump in the car and head home. Popsicles were deserved all around since the kids were great at the stores. Grandpa is already there working and while I put things away the kids just play outside.

5:30: Greg starts calling (he is at Home Depot) and asks me questions about what sort of sheen I want on the ceilings versus on the walls. Those are the kinds of things I know nothing about. I could care less, as long as it matches well enough with the rest of my house. I finally hand the phone to Raymond who is much better at things like that.

6:00: I realize I have to get to Roundtable in a half hour and so I start dishing up leftovers for dinner. I make everyone a plate and get Annie and I fed. I clean up as best as I can, less work for me later.

6:30: Greg gets home and is pretty flustered with the things he bought at Home Depot. His dad is trying to assure him it is okay while I am getting the boys fed and throwing on my Scout shirt.

6:40: I head over to Roundtable, which takes forever since you have to go on 25 mph back roads. I luckily make it on time and get to put my name into the drawing. My sole purpose in going was to get information on Webelos Woods.

7:00pm: The fun begins and I even get asked to participate in the flag ceremony. I sit next to a lady I recognize from my Stake and talk with her about the ups and downs of cub scouting. Ups being that it is a great program and can be a lot of fun. Downs being having leaders that just don't get too excited about it and there always being more things to do. I watch as three ladies who are completely secure in who they are goof around and sing crazy songs about Raisin Bran.

7:30: I am thinking it is almost over when they have their drawings. I won!! I won a set of 4 marshmallow cookers and two jiffy popcorn things. The kind that you hold over a burner. I chatted with an old friend a bit before I headed out-no I didn't stay for the other training.

8:00: I get home, hoping the kids are in bed, but they aren't. However, they are all happy and content and there is no screaming or crying going on. Greg starts working on the basement again while I get the kids to bed (the things I have to do so that basement gets finished).

8:40: I come down stairs and start cleaning up dinner. Luckily it was leftovers so everything went into the dishwasher-I love not having pots and pans.

9:00pm: Greg and I start sweeping out and cleaning the basement. We wiped down the washer, dryer, and windows since they had mud all over them. The bedroom and storage room are still a mess but I guess Greg and Ray will finish that tonight, and then we get to paint.

10:00: After folding a little laundry, I grab my box of cookies Greg got me for my anniversary and a big glass of milk and I sit down to watch the news (something I don't do very often). I don't know why I just sat there. I don't like listening to all the craziness that goes on around me. I think I just wanted to sit and not think. It worked. I was relaxed by 10:40, or I just couldn't stand any more of Leno's crude humor, and I went to bed.

10:40: I began the nightly routine of washing face, brushing and flossing (our dentist has convinced us to floss regularly now) and writing in my blessings journal.

While the day was busy and I didn't get to stop and put my feet up until after 10 at night, I love my life and I choose this over anything else. I love the go go go of my days and, don't get me wrong I do love calmer days, I feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of a day like today. I chose to be a mom. I chose to spend my days cooking and cleaning and worrying about 4 other people besides myself. I had a great mom who set an example for me and I am proud to be a mother, just like her.

8 Wicked Years!

Greg and I have officially been married for 8 years! Wow! That seems like so much! Today we are lying low, but last Saturday we went to Wicked at the Capitol Theater. It was amazing. I really didn't know too much about the story, but loved it. We have read the Wizard of Oz recently with our kids, and watched the movie, so it was really fun to see this different point of view. We went with my cousins Brandy and Sarah and their spouses. First we hit the Cheesecake Factory (an early lunch is the way to go) and then headed up to the Theater.

It seems like only yesterday Greg and I were falling in love. It was such a whirlwind of an adventure! Especially with college, getting pregnant only a month after we were married, and the ups and downs of learning to live with someone else. I wouldn't have changed a thing. I love Greg still, more than ever, and appreciate all that he does for me and our family. Here's to many more babe!

Family Close to Home

For some reason I take a lot of pictures when I travel or when someone travels to me, but I forget about the fact that I have Sunday dinner with Greg's Mom every month and not too many pictures to show for it. Here are some highlights from last night:

Uncle Devin surprised us all by coming down. He made the boys day by fixing the trampoline net. Those boys were all red in the face, but loved every minute of playing together.

At first the boys and girls were separated, but eventually they all ended up outside together, it made for a much quieter dinner for us adults.

After dinner Mike and Devin wanted to show us a new game. At first Annie was sitting on my lap. Thank goodness for Grandma and her dollhouse. As soon as Annabelle heard that word she jumped down and I didn't see her again until I was done.

Aunt Katie and Uncle Devin are awesome at the sport of Frisbee. Our kids wanted to take part and would try to run and catch the Frisbee before their Aunt and Uncle. When that proved to be a bit difficult Katie and Dev were nice enough to give them a try.

These people didn't make it into other pictures, but family dinners wouldn't be the same without them. Jeff gets tackled by our boys every time they see him and also gets roped into serenading us with his great guitar playing. Rich and Laurette are finding out today what their first baby is going to be. I wonder if they know now??
I love my family that is close. I wouldn't mind seeing them all more often. My kids love their cousins and their Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. While my immediate family is far away, I am so thankful to all of these guys (and all the others who didn't make it this time) who have always made me feel at home.

All About Lainey

This past week we were able to have my little sister Kayley and her baby, Lainey, visit. The kids LOVED Lainey. As the time of their arrival got closer I would mention that Kayley was coming and they would always respond with, "and Lainey, too?" It was fun to see all three of them so enamored with a little baby. They could make her laugh and never minded when asked to play with her so Kayley could get away for a moment. Personally I loved having my baby sister to chat with. Being 7 years apart and my moving away when she was 11 made our relationship sparse over the years. However, since she has married and entered my phase of life we have really connected and I can't imagine how I let those years pass without knowing her better. I love my family, I love that even though we all live so far apart, when we are together we are closer than ever. While there were some tears at their departure (Nathan), it is nice to know we are family and are just a phone call, or a skype call, away.