31 and Proud!

I have no problem with my age. 31 just doesn't seem as old as it did 10 years ago.  I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life and I am proud of all I have done.  The day started out with fabulous cinnamon rolls from my favorite little bakery.  The night before Greg had taken the kids, with their own money, to the dollar store to pick me out some gifts.  Nathan got me kitchen shearers, Ryan got me a potpourri type thing and Annabelle got me socks (she loves colorful socks!).  I love how proud they each were to give me their gifts. They had such ownership of them since they had spent their own money.  

During the day we did LOTS of housework and yard work.  Heck, it was Saturday and that is what we do at our home.  Nathan mowed half of the lawn and even did a great job.  I am excited to have him start doing this more regularly.  The baby birds are finally gone.  Greg opened the BBQ and the birds at first were just standing there looking up at Greg.  Then they took off.  HOORAY!  Greg burned up the nest and washed all the poop off our patio.  I look forward to getting a new BBQ so we can start grilling again.

In the middle of the day we went furniture shopping for our family room.  Why we thought taking kids to a couch store could be calm and fun is beyond me but we survived and in a couple weeks I will be posting what our beautiful couches look like.  Friends came over throughout the day and family called, all making me feel special and loved. 

In the afternoon Greg's dad called and offered us some tickets to the Desert Star Theater that night.  Their friends they normally go with couldn't go.  Thankfully we were able to find a sitter last minute (Uncle Jeff and Aunt Bri are SOO AWESOME!), and were able to go.  The play was as cheesy as can be, but it was funny and great to laugh.  My father-in-law is a regular at the theater and knew to let them know it was my birthday.  After the play they recognize birthdays, anniversaries, and such.  When the emcee called my name he congratulated me on my 21st birthday.  Since I am not ashamed at being a decade older than that, I said so.  He gave me a hard time the rest of the night.  It definitely made my face red, but it was all in good fun.  One person they recognized had just returned home from Iraq.  The whole audience arose and clapped.  It made both Greg and I, the emcee, and probably many others, tear up.  It was just so powerful, the respect and gratitude to those brave and strong enough to risk their lives for me and my family.  My older brother is one of those such men.  I hope he knows how much I respect him for his bravery.

Overall it was a great birthday.  Now I can say I am "in my thirties" and while I don't know when my age will start getting to me, I am happy to be where I am.  Thanks to everyone who made this such a great day.

 

Dance Festival

 Friday the 27th the boys' school had their annual Dance Festival.  I love that they have the kids do this.  It helps them get out of their comfort zone a little and do a little dancing.  This year the kids all had matching shirts (per grade) and while it made it hard to keep the camera on my sons, it looked fabulous!  Annabelle and I walked to the school for the performances while Greg took Callie to the doctor.  She had been REALLY fussy all week with what we thought was just teething.  While the doctor wasn't able to tell us anything conclusive, Callie had a 105 temperature and so he gave us antibiotics for a possible UTI.  Thankfully the meds have helped and while she is still fussier than normal, she no longer has a fever.

 

 I have an amazing mother-in-law who called me up and told me that she had this Friday off and would love to come and help out.  It couldn't have worked out better.  I was able to go and help out at the school without the girlies.  I got to help out at the "Treat Walk."  It was a lot of fun and I loved seeing the boys.  Ryan stayed at my station nearly the whole time.  And since Greg works from home on Friday's, we were able to go and get some Red Mango frozen yogurt afterwards.  The kids are always so happy to see Grandma Pam and so sad to see her go.

 Sometimes I hear about these cool new toys that come out and I think to myself that I have to come up with some reason to buy them for my kids since we don't have birthdays or holidays coming up.  Since it was my birthday next I told the kids that the Beyblade stadium is my present to myself and that the first 2 Beyblades are mine.  The kids can earn some with their Felix Bucks, but for now the new toy is mine.  We have had a lot of fun with this.  Beyblades are metal tops that you battle.  It is a lot of fun and I love how we have to say, "3, 2, 1 Let er' rip!!"

Annie's Recital

 

The best part about the recital was that just hours before I learned that I didn't have to curl Annabelle's hair.  I just had to make a cute little bun.  It was SO much easier with SO less fussing.  And, she LOVED it!  The recital itself was cute and fun.  Callie didn't want to sit still for long, which came as no surprise. Sometimes she would become mesmerized by the dancers, but most of the time she jumped back and forth between Greg and I.  Annabelle did as well as she could for a four year old and before it was half over we snuck out so we could eat dessert with Grandpa before bedtime. The boys tried to coerce him into a game of chess before he left, but they ended up just playing each other.  They are surprisingly really good.  I wish saying that they can beat me meant more than it does, but they can beat me and they can keep up with Greg, until he beats them.

 Here is the said book shelve that I made just recently.  The boys have had a smallish book shelf in their room for years and lately the books were just piled on top.  It was hard to find books and often a mess.  A lady at the library told me about this idea and the boys loved it (I did it all while they were at school).  Nathan especially loved the bricks.  Now there is lots of space for books, even new ones, and since I rearranged their room a bit as well, there is a lot of space for playing or lounging with a book.  The boys especially love that I took the Harry Potter books which were on our family book shelf and put them in their room.  Nathan just finished book 7 and Ryan is on book 1.  Nathan is really excited to come with Greg and I and watch the final movie in the theater.  I am excited to, it is really fun talking to him about the books.  I am amazed at his memory.

 Yesterday we turned on the TV for some America's Funniest Home Video.  I think the kids have seen it a few times, but it was fun to all laugh together.  We did our own funny faces, too.

Soccer Saturdays

Soccer Saturdays are now a thing of the past.  Not only is the season over but both of my boys have decided they don't want to play next year.  While Ryan's decision is because he wants to try Flag Football (AGH!), Nathan just doesn't want to play (he isn't that into sports).  I think they both will try it again in the future, but a break can't hurt anyone at this age (I know I am not complaining).  I didn't take many pictures this Spring, but here are the ones from Ryan's final game:

 

 

 

 

 

Mother's Day

 

 Well, I may be a week or two late posting about this, but at least I am doing it, right.  Motherhood.  What an adventure!  What a crazy, happy, sad, up and down, exhilarating, monotonous, life-changing, life-creating, amazing, exhausting, fabulous choice I made nearly 10 years ago.  

Yes, I could have chosen to be a teacher.  I always dreamed of having my own classroom and setting it up so neatly and having bookshelves and reading corners and fun name tags and a cool job chart.

BUT, I chose differently.  I chose to be a mom.  I chose to raise these amazing 4 kids to the best of my ability.  And the funny thing is, I have set up my home, made book shelves for my kids and even made a few job charts.  I love my choice.  I love being a mom.  Some days I cry and some days I laugh.  Some days I just can't imagine surviving while other days I can't imagine myself anywhere else.  These four kids have changed my life for the better.  I know I am a better person because of them.  They teach me every day.  They are so full of life and energy that sometimes I am just barely trying to keep up.  

While I hate that I don't get to see my mom nearly as much as I'd like to, my grandma arrived in town on Mother's Day and stayed with me for a couple days.  The kids had fun having another person around and I loved having an adult to chat with during the day.  Greg made the day special with a yummy breakfast of Felix French Toast and then a fabulous dinner-a lemon pasta and an oatmeal cake.  They were both fantastic and made with love.  The kids had an assortment of cards made at school and at home.  I have a HUGE card in my room that the boys made.  I love seeing it.  I will probably keep it up as long as I can.  Here are some pictures of the day.  It is definitely not easy taking pictures with so many little faces, but we try.

 

 

 

 

 

I Beat My Fear Mom

Flash back to Wednesday, day 6 of swim lessons, and my post about how horrible Ryan was dealing with these new swim lessons.  He yelled at the coach, he peed his pants as they told him really loudly to just dive in and not worry about it.  He cried before and after lessons.  On the drive home Wednesday I remembered something I learned or read about or saw somewhere and decided to try it out.  I talked to Ryan about his fear and how he is letting it get the better of him.  I told him that he was bigger than his fear because his fear was inside him.  I told him that he could beat his fear because he was bigger and stronger than it.  We talked for awhile about this sort of thing and then came Thrusday lessons.  I was worried when at first Ry didn't even want to get out of the car.  The whole way over I had been talking again about squishing the fear and being bigger than it.  He reluctantly got in the water and I don't know what happened, it just clicked.  When he got out of the water he exclaimed, "I beat my fear, Mom!"  I could not have been more happy.  Today's lesson was even better.  He did fabulous without even a tiny bit of hesitation or tears or even a scared look on his face.  He beat it and I am SOOO proud of him!

Annie is a little fish.  She loves to dive in the water and float on her back.

Nathan loves to "torpedo" through the water and do the back stroke.

 Callie LOVES these duckies and always has to hold them while at the pool.  She is hard to watch and keep still but she has been a trooper.  Two more days.

Swimming, Decorating, Puppet Shows and More

I haven't been that great at getting all of the pictures I take on this blog.  We have been as busy as usual.  Here are some fun pictures from the last week:

 Annabelle's hair is getting SO long!  I wish I could say the same about my hair. 

 

 

 Ryan's class did a puppet show a couple nights ago.  They have been working on it for a long time and they did a fabulous job.  Ryan played the part of the silly monkey in "Little Red Riding Hood."  Notice how many desserts he took after I told them each, "just one."

 Have I mentioned how much Callie loves babies?  She loves to walk around with them.  She isn't big enough to do this though and she usually ends up in tears since she can't hold them all and walk.  Going up the stairs with them is also tough.

 I have wanted plants in my kitchen for a long time but it was never a necessity so I just put it off.  Greg got me these for Mother's Day and I love the way it looks.

 A month ago I got mad at the kids for putting weeds in our barbecue.  They all swore they didn't do it, but I really didn't believe them.  After our trip to California Greg went out to see the BBQ and when he lifted a lid a bird flew out and start squawking at him.  Now, a couple weeks later we have little baby birds chirping away in there.  Good thing we were already planning on buying a new BBQ this year.

 

 

 

 We started private swim lessons about a week ago.  Nathan and Annabelle are doing fabulous.  I am so impressed with their progress.  Ryan on the other hand is doing worse than ever.  For some reason he has gotten REALLY scared of the water.  He yells almost the whole time, "You are killing me!"  "I am suffocating!" (not sure where he learned that word) and even "Mom, help!  I am going to die!"  It is really hard to watch, but I guess I am mean and we are pushing through.  I don't want him to be afraid of the water, and he hasn't been before, but this class is a little stricter and he can't seem to handle it.  I have tried bribing and threatening and loving and praying.  Nothing has worked so far.  Today we are going to go and buy a toy and see if that can help him be happy.  Hopefully this weekend I will have a spare hour or so to take him to the rec center and help him remember how much he loves swimming.  Until then, we have 2 more lessons this week and I am not looking forward to them.

 

We have had some beautiful weather, along with some cold and rainy days, and so we have tried to be outside a lot.  Callie loves being outside with everyone.  She loves finding dirt and rocks to put in her mouth or pulling my flowers off of their stems.  It will be a long summer, but I am really looking forward to warmer days.

Our Family Laws and Motto

Remember back in April when I went on a Power of Moms Retreat?  Well, ever since I have been trying to establish some things I learned in our home.  It is always tricky starting new things, but one of the phrases that stuck out to me during the retreat was, "Begin with the end in mind."  That just really hit me.  I need to know how and what I want my kids to be like when they leave my home, and then provide ways for them to get there.  We had some meetings together where we talked about just that.  We asked the kids what they wanted to do and to be when they were older.  They talked about going on missions, going to college, being nice adults and being parents.  Then we talked about how to accomplish those things.  We have adopted the Eyre's 5 laws and they are now part of our family:

Each of these laws we talked about and came up with consequences if the law is broken.

• Peace: When this is broken the kids are required to apologize and say what they did.  They need to ask forgiveness, say "I love you," give a hug and promise to not repeat the offense.  
• Respect: If someone says something disrespectful, instead of Greg or I losing our cool, we simply say, "Start Over".  Sometimes we say start over quite a few times. 
• Order: The kids are required to clean up their messes and help with the family messes. We have a "Gunny Bag" or "Grunk" that can come through the house whenever it please and "eat" up toys for a few days.
• Asking: If the kids do something without asking, the next time the answer is for sure "no."  
• Obey: Like respect, the kids are required to obey the first time we ask and if they don't we will ask them to "start over."

I can't say that we are perfect or even close to being perfect with these new laws, but we are working on it.  I think my favorite thing is hearing the kids apologize, ask forgiveness and then say "I love you" to each other.  While I wish they didn't have to do it so often, I think it is good for them to say those things.  The next picture is our motto.  Greg and I came up with this little saying and talked with the kids how each of the words means something. 

• Fabulous: We need to be fabulous at everything we do.  Scouts, school, ballet, relationships, homework, chores, etc.
• Friends:  People always treat their friends better and in the end we want our kids to be best friends with each other.  
• Forever: Greg and I are married in the temple which gives our family the opportunity to be together forever, for time and all eternity.  If we want to enjoy our eternity, we should probably work on enjoying our time together now.

What I want most is my family to be more unified.  To be working toward becoming who we are together and helping each other and loving each other.  I know it will never be easy, but hopefully with these new ideas in place things can go a little more smoothly.

Has it Really Been 10 Years Already?

What can I say?  Ten years ago I married the man of my dreams and I am SO lucky and happy to be married to him today.  He makes me smile everyday.  Greg knows me more than I know myself and while it is a little unnerving in one way, it makes me feel so special and loved.  For celebration I went up to his new office and met his new coworkers before heading to the Market Street Grill for lunch.  We tried oysters (not my favorite) and had other yummy fish entrees.  Greg surprised me with blue topaz earrings and a necklace.  It is very delicate and I love it!  After that relaxing lunch we had a whirlwind of a day with soccer, swimming, scouts and church callings.  On Friday night we had a baby-sitter and went to Buca Di Beppo for dinner.  We had baked rigatoni and pesto pizza and LOVED every bite.  Next we headed to the driving range, Red Mango and then the bowling alley.  We tried to fit everything in.  I love watching Greg do sports.  He gets so focused and without that much practice he is just SO much better than me.  I love watching his form...good thing I am married to this handsome guy!  At the bowling alley they turned the lights out and at first I thought, "this is cool", then they turned the music up and both Greg and I hated it.  We couldn't even hear or talk to each other.  Maybe we are just getting old, but seriously, it was LOUD!  The thing I love about Greg is that we can spend all this time together and talk and just hang out with each other.  I have had 2 free movie passes for months and we just haven't used them yet because we would rather be together and talk.  I LOVE that he wants that as much as I do.  We have a crazy and busy life between 4 kids, a home, a job, cars, lawns, church, family, friends...the list goes on.  I wouldn't trade any of it.  I love having Greg right beside me and loving and supporting me through all that we go through.  Here is to another 10 or 50 years!

My Baby is One!!

 

 

 

 

 Happy May Day!!  What an amazing and exciting and crazy year.  We have had so many fun times watching our little Callie grow and learn and become a walking, talking, opinionated little girl.  Callie is such a mover these days.  She goes up and down stairs (down still scares me a bit).  Callie loves to try on shoes, hers or other peoples.  She loves babies and animals and anything that Annabelle is playing with.  She loves music and dancing and has started singing and leading music (we think) whenever she hears it.  She says lots of words and animal sounds.  Callie's smile is hard to get.  She does a really scrunchy face when she smiles, and while it is silly, we love it.  

For her birthday we opened a couple of present and then headed to Tooele for a baby blessing.  It was great to be around family and we all sang Callie Happy Birthday and watched her attempt to eat a red velvet cake.  I am not too strict with my number 4, so Callie has had her share of sweets.  The problem with the cake was that she kept putting her fingers in it and then not liking the mess on them.  Once I put her fingers in her mouth she liked it better.    As you can tell, her brothers and sister were VERY excited for it to be Callie's birthday.  They loved helping her open the presents.  While we didn't throw a big party, I think our baby knew she was the special girl of the day.  We love you Callie!