One of Those Days

Today was one of those days where I was ready to "throw in the towel" or "turn in my two weeks notice" or just plain old give up.  There was yelling.  There was crying.  There was slamming of doors.  And unfortunately those actions came from both me and my kids.  Why?  You know, I am not really sure.  It all started with more toothpaste found on the ground with no one taking the blame.  Then it went to me having to step over backpacks and papers strewn all over the kitchen.  Honestly though, it was just me making a mountain out of a molehill because of my wanting to have things neater, cleaner and more organized, plus me wanting a little gratitude and appreciation for all I do every single day.  What is more important?  I know I know, my kids and the peace and the happiness in my home.  But sometimes I forget and things go crazy.  But then I remembered Sunday and the cute little things that Greg and the kids did together:

And I remember how much I love them and how much I love that they will forgive me and we can try again tomorrow to have a better day.   So I take a deep breath and put them to bed early and give myself a pat on the back for surviving one of the hard days.  Such is parenthood.  And if it weren't for days like today, I would not appreciate those like Sunday. 

Fancy Nancy Night

 

 I LOVE having girls.  I think that I am truly blessed to have not one, but two, adorable girly girls.  Not that they are girly all of the time--Annabelle can handle a light saber like the rest of the neighborhood kids and I am sure Callie will have to be tough being the youngest.  My friend Tomie heard that the library was putting on a Fancy Nancy night with books and crafts and thought we could make a night out with it.  First we headed to Zupas for dinner.  There were about 12 of of us, and all the little girls were dressed up (and me) and the people at Zupas could not stop smiling and telling the girls how pretty they looked.  One lady complimented me on dressing up and I have to admit, it was a lot more fun getting ready with Annabelle.  She loved it.  She picked out what nail polish we should wear to match.  She picked out my clothes.  And when I showed her my idea for the hat her response was, "It is beautiful!"  I love that she wanted to have a purse and I love what she put in it: an old compact, a fan from a kids meal, and her camera.  She was prepared.  We even put Callie in a tutu which made a lot of people smile.  While the library was absolute chaos, we had a good time and I look forward to doing it again.

Nathan Earned His Wolf

Nathan has been working so hard to get his wolf done.  He was so proud to earn it and we were so proud of him.  I love that he sees scouts as a fun and awesome experience.  

See Dad, I tucked my shirt in!

Grandpa Time

I love that Greg's family lives close.  We don't see them as much as I'd like, but we love it when we do. When we told the kids there was going to be a guest for dinner and told them it was their next favorite person to mom and dad, they guessed Grandpa Ray.  Sadly, Grandma Michele was out of town, but we had a fun and relaxing evening with dinner and games and of course, a yummy dessert. 

5K and 1K Fun Run

 This year the kid's school got smart and did a great fundraiser-a 1 and 5K Fun Run.  Greg wanted to do the 5K and so the kids and I signed up for the 1K.  Of course this was the first Saturday that the kids slept in and so I had to wake them all up in order to be at the school by 7:45. 

The boys were broken up into grades, but I was sad to see that 1-there was no preschool group and 2-it was on grass so I wouldn't be able to push Callie.  Luckily a neighbor and his preschool daughter were running with Ryan's group and were nice enough to take Annabelle. 

Both Nathan and Ryan were exhausted when they made it through the finish line.  They both were closer to the front than the back of the group.  They were a little disappointed they didn't win, but luckily each got a ribbon and lots of snacks to make up for it. 

Greg is not a runner.  He plays volleyball a couple times a week on a good week, but this was his first race and I was so impressed with his finish.  Poor guy though, all three kids raced towards him before the finish line (even though I had said not to).  While he will probably be sore for a week, I know he is glad he did it and maybe it will spur on a desire to run more.

4 Month Checkup

My Callie had her 4 month check up today and we found out she has a double ear infection.  My poor children have suffered through so many ear infections through their short little lives.  I was hoping that Callie would have somehow not gotten that gene.  The doctor felt so bad telling me what I was fearing to be true.  Not only did we get to start those meds today, but she also had some immunizations and has been a bit fussy.  I was toting her around all morning and finally just put her in a swing.  While she wasn't smiley, she was content, and as you can see eventually fell asleep.  Poor little thing.  I pray that tomorrow will be a better day.

Heber Valley Campout

This last weekend Greg's family had a little reunion up in Heber.  The three older kids were great!  I didn't have to have my eye on them at all times.  I didn't have to worry about them much at mealtimes.  And they all slept through the night.  Callie had started to show signs of the cold her cousins in CA had and this weekend only made it worse.  She was a trooper though and did okay.  However she did throw up all over the place on the way home and has been completely hoarse ever since. 

The kids were the wood gatherers.  I was really impressed with how well they were able to handle that wheelbarrow.

 

Here is Callie in her Bumbo.  Thanks to a facebook plea I got this for free from a neighbor.  She seemed to like it okay.

 

Mealtime was crazy with so many little cousins.  I think they all ate enough.  If not, there were s'mores later that night to fill them up.

 

I'm not sure who found this huge stick/branch.  But Nathan was proud of it and wanted a picture.

On Saturday morning we did a challenge course.  The first part was to climb a pole, walk across a log and then zip line to the bottom.  I missed Greg and Nathan but got there in time to see Ryan.  He, like Nathan, didn't make it to the top but was able to swing back and forth after climbing about halfway.

 

 I really wanted to be able to do this.  I was really nervous and wanted to stop a couple times.  The nice missionaries there, plus my family on the ground, helped me have the courage to keep going.  Greg took a video of the climb and my zip line.  I might have him fix those up and put them on later.

 

One of our challenges was to walk on these wires that spread away from each other.  It was really hard and even though they told us not to stick out our bums, I obviously didn't listen.

 

This challenge was to get all of our family from one side of the "boat" to the "island" on the other side. Greg and his brothers first had to use belts and a hoodie to lasso the swinging rope.  Then everyone took turns swinging across.  I didn't hold on high enough or keep my legs up high enough, but we all eventually made it across to safety.  Annabelle tried her best to swing like the rest of us.

 

All in all we had a great time.  I made it known to everyone that next time we have to go for more than 1 night.  Getting things packed and ready to go combined with all the clean up, makes a 20 hour trip a little crazy and almost not worth it.  The kids were all sad to go. 

4 months and California

Our little Callie is 4 months (last week).   She is rolling, eating rice cereal, sleeping great and smiling and laughing a bunch.   I can't believe how time flies. 
Speaking of flying, little Callie and I flew to California this last week.  We got to see some aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and lots of cousins.  She was an angel on both flights and pretty good the rest of the time.  Her hair and her smiles had everyone ohhing and ahhing.  We celebrated my Grandma Bonnie's 80th birthday.  The party wasn't a surprise but 4 or so guests were and it was so fun to see Grandma cry and feel so special.  She is an amazing woman who does so much for her family.  This was finally the time when she was in the spotlight.  It was a nice time away with only 1 child to worry about, but I was happy to come home and see Greg and the rest of the rug rats.

My Uncle Earl and Aunt Denise.  She LOVES babies!

My dad, Grumpy, with Callie and Jak.

My mom, Nana, holding Violet and Callie.

My sisters, Wendy and Kayley with some of our kids.

My little brother Jacob with Callie.

Xander and Eliza LOVED playing with Callie.

Christine and Booklyn met me at La Bou for a snack. (She moved to Oregon but was visiting her sister the same weekend I was there.)

Callie has the biggest smile sometimes.  I love it!!