Sisterhood

 I am the second of 6 children.  The oldest of 4 girls with a brother older than me and one after the four of us girls.  I live here in Utah and have since 1998.  2 of my sisters live in San Diego and another one lives in Sacramento near my parents.  We don't usually get together unless there is a wedding, a funeral or some type of family reunion.  All of those events are stressful and don't lend themselves to much relaxing. 
We had planned on going to Yosemite with my parents and one sisters' family, but with our side yard project it just didn't work out.  But they was just how it should have happened since right before we would have left my sister Tara told me she was going up to Sacramento for a week and maybe my other sister, Kayley, was going to go, too.  That meant that Wendy, Tara AND Kayley would all be toegether.  I was currently reading the final book of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and all wrapped up in sisterhood and friendship and I knew that there was NO WAY I could miss this opportunity.  When I decided to make the trip it meant missing a few things for my boys.  (State baseball tournament for Nathan and Ryan's last baseball game).  They were initially upset, but I think okay in the end.  I tried to explain to them how special and important this was to me.  I may blog with my sisters, and Skype occasionally and talk on the phone every now and then, but I am not around them much.  I hadn't seen Tara or Kayley in nearly a year and a half.  Tara was pregnant the last time I saw her and now she had an 11 month old!!
So, on the 15th I drove out to California with the 4 kids by myself.  Some people think I am crazy, and I am, but the drive really wasn't that bad.  We stopped 2 times and made it there in 10 hours and 15 minutes.  The kids read books, watched a lot of movies, ate a lot of snacks and played with toys.  Ryan was an amazing helper with Callie since it was his month to sit in the middle seat by her.  We were all VERY happy to arrive at Nana and Grumpy's house.  Especially since about 10 minutes before we got there an engine light came on.  It went off the next day and my dad said it wasn't something to worry about unless it came on again, but for those 10 minutes to my house I was pretty worried.

 Between the four of us sisters we have 13 children.  Ranging in ages 11 months to 10 years.  There is one other cousin that couldn't make it, my brother's daughter, Ashley.  We definitely missed her!

 We celebrated Jak's 2nd birthday.

 

 We had lots of fun at a splash park and a swimming pool.

 We spent a morning at the zoo.

 We got to go to our church's Pioneer Day celebration.  They had pretty amazing snow cones.  Not only were they HUGE, but they had ice cream on the bottom!!  Mine is all white but I did get flavors-Silver Fox (vanilla and almond) and Pina Colada. YUM!

 The kids got wet and wild in a slip-n-slide and sprinklers.

 We were brave and took us all out to dinner.  Preparing food and doing dishes for so many people just got too much!  One night the youth in my mom's ward were doing a babysitting service project so we were able to drop all the kids off there and all the adults went out to dinner with my aunt and uncle.  It was SO nice!

 We were able to sign the 4 oldest boys up for soccer camp the entire week we were in town.  They got shirts and balls and learned all about Jesus and sin and repentance.  The camp was put on by a local Bible Church and each day the kids would learn something about Jesus.  It was fun to talk about what they learned.  One day the leader said a prayer (which Nate said was a weird prayer) and in the middle he stopped and asked people to raise their hand if they had felt the spirit for the first time.  My boys both told me that they didn't raise their hand since they had felt the spirit before.  They boys came home sweaty every day but still wanted to keep playing with each other outside.  I loved watching them all be such good friends. 

 My mom bought a rock painting kit and we split the group in half and let them paint the rocks.

We spent a lot of time just playing and playing.  The moms got a lot of chatting in the middle and taking care of so many little bodies.  I have never had much time to chat with my sisters and it was wonderful.  I feel SO much closer to all of them.  I am so very lucky to have such amazing sisters for my very own.  I wish we lived closer but I think this trip has inspired a few things.  First, we want to get together more, next time without the kids.  Second, we are a great inspiration and support for each other.  I am more aware of my sisters and their struggles and while I may not live near them, I hope that I can help more than I was doing before.  I will definitely talk to them more and understand who they are as adults.

Crafting and Corn

 Some days things go smoothly and my kids get along and we all have fun.  I love that the boys can pull out their science experiment set and do things on their own.  They make a mess, but they help clean it up and they work together and get along.  It is great.  The colors they made the crystals this time were amazing.  So much brighter than any other time. 

 Annabelle has this bead making kit she got from a cousin and it is always a hit with friends.  You get to pick the colors and roll the clay into a bead, poke a hole and then let it dry overnight.  It is pretty fun for moms, too.

 While the kids were busy, and Callie was sleeping, I worked on a project of my own.  I mad magnet boards for the girls' room.  When I went to the scrapbook store to pick out paper, I was overwhelmed with all of the colors and options.  There was no way I'd be able to pick out a few pieces.  And that is why some smart person made these great books.  There are 20 prints that coordinate together and poof! I was done.  I didn't use all of them, but most of the colors look great in their room.  I'm almost done with the project and then I will post some pictures.

 We love corn on the cob.  Callie doesn't like eating plain corn, but she'll eat corn on the cob.  Such cute kids!

 

Summer Work Party

 Greg's company, Central Logic, had a fun summer party.  Their company is still pretty small so it was just nice and cozy at a park near their office.  We had a bounce house, a dunk tank, volleyball, a balloon lady and a fancy face painter.

 

 Nathan and Ryan loved the dunk tank.  They loved getting dunked and dunking other kids.  It was even raining a bit and they still hung out at the dunk tank nearly the entire three hours we were there.

 The balloon lady made the girls happy with their kitties, monkeys, dogs and turtles. 

 

The girls and I had quite the artwork done on our faces.  I was amazed at how still Callie sat for the lady.  I can never get her to hold that still at church or anywhere.  But she did awesome and they both loved it!  My face was also done up but when I surprised Greg with some water balloons I got a little smeary.  Oh well, it was worth it (it was hot so any cooling off was appreciated).

The Side Yard

For the last year Greg and I have watched some great friends and neighbors move to new neighborhoods.  They sold their homes at amazing speed and found wonderful big new homes that were just perfect.  Everything, for them, fell into place perfectly.  A few months ago we thought that maybe it was a sign for us to do the same thing.
We spent over a month scouring homes and talking to agents.  Every time we would find a house we liked, we would call and it would already be under contract.  It was very frustrating!  I was stressed and on the computer more than I wanted to be.  Talking to more real estate agents than I wanted to be.  They were nice, asking what we were looking for.  But as I would describe my wish list they would be a bit surprised at how extensive it was.  When they recommended building so that we could have everything we wanted, we stepped back and realized we didn't want to put in another yard and start all over.  We started to question our reasons for moving.
Like anyone, our house isn't perfect.  There are a lot of little things that bug us, but we built this home over 8 years ago when we just had the two boys.  It is our home.  We went from having white spotless walls to green, pink, blue, orange, red, and yellow walls with dents and scuffs from our eight years of living.  I/we have put so much work and love into this home.  Aside from the house we love the location, right between valleys and equidistant from both of Greg's parents and siblings (making it ideal for parties).  We live on a quieter street with lots of amazing friends and children.  I like the school the kids go to and I like their friends and my friends.  When we started praying about it, we knew that now wasn't the time for us to move.
As soon as we told the realtors to stop calling and that we were not in the market any more, it felt fabulous.  We bought a peach tree and started planning our side yard.  We decided that if we were going to stay we needed to make a few changes.
Our garage is tiny.  We have no back door besides the one in the garage that my car blocks.  So we poured a bunch of concrete and Greg built a shed in 2 days (no joke).  I did the girls' room and have a couple other inside things I'd like to do.  It was exciting to think about having a new home, a bigger and better home.  But we decided that it wasn't for us, at least for now.  We like our smaller payments every month.  We like being able to travel.  We like our home.
Here are the steps we have taken for the side yard:

 First we took out all the grass, from the front to the back.  We were lucky enough to sell it for $300.  The people who bought it loaded it up 2-3 times and then said they didn't want the rest.  We were able to help 4 other neighbors with what was left.  It would've cost us money to have it thrown out, I am so glad we got some money and were able to help so many people.

 The first pour of concrete was for our shed pad, sidewalk and basketball court.  The kids loved watching the trucks and have loved playing on it ever since.

The second pour gave us the rest of the basketball court.  Eventually we will get a new built-in basketball hoop, but our little one is okay for a few more weeks.

The third pour finished off the side yard.  Greg now parks his car on that side so I can park on the right side in the garage and we can get outside easier.  And into our deep freeze easier.  

 When Greg was so adamant about building the shed with his dad I knew I had to be okay with it.  His dad used to build homes and so I knew the expertise was there, I was just worried about time.  I didn't want a shed half build all summer.  Greg decided to call a brother-in-law who currently is in the building business.  They discussed things for a bit and then set a date to get together.  On Friday the 6th they got together at 12:30 in the afternoon, after the lumber had been delivered, and got to work.

 The picture below was taken around 8:30-9pm the first night.  Can you believe it?!  I certainly could not.  I was amazed at how quickly they built this!!  They finally quit for the night, both being a bit dizzy up there.  I sent home cake to thank my sister-in-law for allowing her husband to come help.

 The next day Greg worked on a couple of little things during the day.  His dad came back and helped install the door.  Then At 6:30 Josh came back to finish the roof.  They worked until 10:30!  Luckily there were fireworks still going off so they didn't feel too bad about the hammering.  This time I sent cookies home.  We are SO grateful to Greg's dad and Josh for helping us get this thing done so fast.  Now we are going to have someone come and put siding on.  I am so amazed that something I thought would take many late nights and long Saturdays was done in two days!  I guess if you know what you are doing than it can get done.  Hooray!!

The Quilts are DONE!

 All of the hours of cutting, planning, licking out fabric, sewing, stitching, pinning are finally done.  I love how the quilts came out.  The girls love them, too (they better!:)).  I think they look great in their room and I love how it is all turning out!

 

 

 

More Baseball

 It is now Ryan's turn on the baseball field.  According to Greg, Ryan is "a natural."  I think he likes playing, but gets bored every now and then.  His games are only 1 hour long which is so nice after Nathan's 1.5 hour minimum.  Ry has had some great hits and some great throws.  The girls love getting treats, hanging on mom, dad or Grandpa, or playing at the park.  Nathan loves to watch the game.  He watches it more than I do, mostly because I am chasing the girls.  We have the rest of this month with baseball, for both boys since Nate's team made the State tournament.  At least they are having fun and trying something new.

 

The Fourth

 We spent the Fourth of July with Greg's brother Mike and his family, and some of their friends.  It was a lot of fun.  The kids played, even Callie, and the adults chatted and got to play a fun new game.  I made a yummy spinach artichoke dip that I couldv'e kept eating and eating.  Someone guessed my age at 36 and that has kind of killed me the last few days.  I don't mind being 32, but being told I look 4 years older was a big blow.  Greg made me feel better saying it was probably because we have 4 kids and he is balding.  OH well.  I need to just move on.  We didn't have too many fireworks, which to me was the perfect amount.  We didn't get home until close to 11pm but we all slept in the next morning.