"Miss Marsha"

I visit teach this elderly lady with other mental difficulties named "Marsha" (I changed her name for your reading pleasure). She's not able to drive herself anywhere, so once a month we get to take her to the store to buy her groceries. The kids....okay, okay, CAMDEN......actually was getting sick of doing this service and started complaining about "ALWAYS" doing it. Well, a few months back we were going to pick up Miss Marsha and Camden said in a voice of disgust, "I HAAAAATE Miss Marsha".

I then talked to Camden about service, and how it makes us feel good, it helps her out, it's what Heavenly Father wants us to do and every other thing I should've said at a moment like that (I can't remember exactly the words......but they were wise, let me tell ya).

When we got to her apartment and she saw us pull up she came to her 4 stairs to come to our car. I guess I do need to preface this by saying she's on the larger side and has plenty around her arms as well. As she came down the stairs, she took them slowly. She would take once stair at a time (right in front of the van/Camden) and hold the railing tight. When she went down one of the stairs her tricep "muscle"/extras would bulge up. When she did this Camden said, "WHOA, Miss Marsha has BIIIIIIG muscles." (which actually is the ultimate of compliments around here).

So for a while there and quite a few months after, I never did hear Camden complain about taking Miss Marsha anywhere, I'm sure because of her "big muscles" and the admiration thereof.

This all lasted until this month though, when on our way to pick her up Camden said,

"I'm ALLERGIC to Miss Marsha!"

SIGH, what to do, what to do?

Snappy

So Brooks took the kids (minus Iris) with him to cut cut wood. When he came back with all the kids they were carrying the chain saw case towards me. When I looked closer there were claws poking out of it. And BIG ones.

"All right", I said, "What do you guys have this time?"

Turns out, they caught "Snappy".

That's as close as the kids would get to him because.......well, he got his name for obvious reasons, he's a Snapping Turtle............a BIG one.

He would SNAP at anything close to his face (doesn't he make a great pet?)

It turns out, w/ my reading that

-they have big long tails, claws and a big head that they can't go all the way in their shells like most turtles

-they're aggressive in nature

-they have a jagged shell on the back

(you can see how big he is compared to the race car in the picture)

-COULD take off a small finger, according to the article I read (Since we don't have any small fingers around here, I think we're safe!!!!!)

-and once again, according to the article they do NOT make great pets.

(Like I couldn't have figured THAT out)

Turns out, I'm glad Snappy ran away during naptime, because I didn't want to worry about my leg being taken off everytime I went in the backyard.

But talk about a GREAT and memorable outing with Daddy.

"Eat Eat"

Not sure if it's hyphenated or not, but this new pet that Emerson caught today is named (by Emerson, the man himself)

"Eat-Eat"

Apparently because he eats lots of bugs.

He is obviously pretty proud of himself of his FIRST REAL CATCH.

My first date......continued

When I turned 16, I had my first date. My brother (then married with a few kids) told me that he was going to be my first date. He took me to the movie Anaconda. I was scared out of my wits and held onto his arm the WHOLE time. (He later told me he was glad no other guy took me to that movie.....however, I wouldn't have EVER said yes to any guy WANTING to take me to that movie).

Fast forward 15 years and we continued that date. Same brother, just an outing a little less scary this time.....well, parts of it anyway.

The date? Washington D.C.

Matt lives in Washington state but is out in D.C. a few times a year for conferences.

So I grabbed a rental car (if you THINK either of our cars would make a 6 hour drive, you're crazy) and went up BY MYSELF! The only problem? I got in at 1 a.m because I kept getting lost and asking scary people for directions and my cell phone was dead too (picture me backing up on the highway to get an exit I missed and you'll get the right picture).

I need to explain though, my brother is a genius. He know EVERYTHING having to do with history, govn't and especially D.C. Infact, he used to lead tours through downtown D.C.

So I got my personal tour. And BOY was it jammed with knowledge. Matt didn't know this but people would stop closer to us and listen to Matt of all the things he was saying in parts of it. We looked at maybe 4 exhibits in the Smithsonian before we sat down on a bench and he told me all about his adventures in Iraq where he worked with Iraq's leaders and when he was doing some interrogations at the prison Abu Ghraib (yes, that prison that later had that scandal). Next thing we knew it was 3 hours later and my pregnant belly was HUNGRY!!!!

I got an AWESOME turkey/avocado pita that totally hit the spot.

Oh, I forgot to say, he hasn't changed much. When I was younger (there's 12 years between us) he used to ALWAYS get on me for always having to stop and go to the bathroom. We both thought it funny how many times we had to find the bathroom for me, but this time, I was old enough to tell him I didn't want to hear his complaining. He just laughed.

Then we did a TON of walking around, more fascinating history facts, etc.

Next we saw the White House (this is the back) but when we walked all the way around front, he dared me to jump the fence and start running towards the White House. Which the young Baloo (that's what he calls me) would've done ANYTHING my older brothers dared me to do. Thankfully now, I have a little more sense and told him no.

So he did the next best thing to embarrass me. He walked right up to the guard at the gate and said, "My sister here is pregnant, and wants to know if she can come in to take a picture!"

I FELT my face going red and it got crimson by the second because of the look the guy gave us. After he told us no (duh), Matt just smiled and walked away.

Boy, do I miss my brothers.

Ok, ok, I KNOW this post is getting long, but I DO have to insert that I've ALWAYS loved this brother, his sense of adventure the the hikes he would take me on. But he LOVED to always tease me. I still remember walking the three boys' room where the laundry shoot was in my nightgown and all of them would point and me saying they could see my undies. They were ALWAYS teasing......especially this brother. Well, when it came for the time for me to get baptized my dad asked who I wanted to baptize me (my oldest brother baptized my sister right above me, so naturally I should pick Matt, right?). Well, I picked my THIRD brother because "Matt teased me too much." How funny is that?

After I dropped him off at the airport, I drove north a little ways to the temple.

It's quite a site to see driving down the highway.

It was huge, and yes, I got lost a few times. But it was the perfect ending to my trip.

Although my trip wasn't done yet.

I left the temple at 5:00 and didn't get home until 1 am. ARG.

Why? Well, traffic, returning rental car, and running into a HUGE rainstorm (that was producing hale the county over from where I was), that I couldn't even see enough to pull over on the side of the road. Crazy. Let's just say, I was pooped, by the time I got home.

But the trip was so worth it, to hang out with my brother.

I don't know about any of you, but my older brothers have ALWAYS been a sort of safe haven for me. They've always watched out for me! (Like the time when I would bring different guys home for future prospects of a spouse and they didn't like any of them......one guy just for the fact that he "threw like a girl"...then I brought Brooks home and they gave their approval....finally someone my brothers liked.)

There's really no way to describe how I feel about them and how much I just love to be hugged by them and be with them. I was so grateful he made arrangements to stay longer in D.C. so we could hang out.

And if you THINK that the kids missed me while I was gone, you're wrong. Apparently they just have a LOT more fun with Daddy. :)

Who is the cutest of them all?

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,

who is the cutest of them all?

You probably don't care, I'm sure. But according to CAMDEN there's an order as to WHO is the cutest in our family (and he never wavers from the order either):

#1- Iris. He always says she's the cutest in our family

But I'm skipping to the end-

Coming in the last at #8 is Brooks

#7- Me. (Nice, huh)

#6- Bronson

#5- Emerson

#4- Camden (odd, he puts himself in 4th)

#3- Aleeya

It's the #2 that bothers me the most. Not that the #2 slot got filled but that I'm BEHIND her and not only that, I'm FOUR WHOLE PLACES behind her. Yep you guessed it, Camden thinks the SECOND CUTEST in the family is:

Sally................THE DOG!!!!

My new thing

This is how I've decided to start my days now. Right when I wake up. Before I wake up the kids. :)

This girl made me laugh so hard!

I love it how w/ her curly hair she has all of the detangling spray in her bathroom. What a funny kid.

Studio 5

Okay, I know it seems a little silly that I might be posting about this, but my cousin is so awesome and apparently a little famous now. I just love her. She recently made an appearance on Studio 5 (a major morning show in Utah News) where she talked about infertility, her book, and her website to help others:

http://www.ldsinfertility.org/

I really tried and tried to embed the video clip of her on the news, but it just decided not cooperate. But here is the link:

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=54&sid=10736966

She's an AMAZING lady who is so open and caring about a subject that many suffer from. I know many people draw strength from her and I'm in awe of all the good she does.

Now this is a first for us......

I have NEVER had a child have a run in with poison ivy/poison oak (I STILL can't tell the difference) until now.....................

Did he get it while on a hike? no.

Camping? no.

Park? no.

Get this, he got it when he went GOLFING with Brooks. I'm thinking he may have a hit off the course, what do you think?

Here are the kids before going to Brooks' softball game. I let them dress themselves......

(oh, and notice the cool "caterpillar playground" the boys made under the slide. :) )

Yes, Aleeya is something else, but just so you know, you will ONLY see Aleeya with that hairdo from now on......well at least for the near future anyway. Because this is the ONLY way I can do her hair that hides the big old chunk she cut off.

Or I guess, THIS hairdo might hide it as well. (Here she is saying she's "Daphne" on Scooby Doo with red hair and wearing purple)

And what post would really be complete without my little Irisita and her cute face?

Year book

So there's this website HERE that seriously made me laugh. You upload a picture of yourself and you see how you would look with the most popular hairdo of that year. I always tell Brooks I was born in the wrong era (meaning, I should've been when the GOOD music came out in the 40s and 50s. (I know, wartime, but I just LOVE my dad's stories when he was little of his life then). Taking a look at these pictures though made me VERY grateful I was born when I was. :)

1962 1964 1978

1982 1984 1990

OK, and the SCARY thing is, in 1990 I really DID have that hairdo but in 5th grade. I'll spare you the pictures. Let's just say, we decided to omit that era of my pictures during our wedding video. But I could go brunette, right? Um, maybe not.

I couldn't resist seeing what kind of couple we would make as well. All I can say is WOW.

1968 1978 1982

1986 1988 1990

Putting my 1990 picture together with Brooks' 1990 one and we would've made a KILLER couple. Okay, on to my 2010 life. THANK GOODNESS I LIVE NOW! :)

I forgot

HOW could I forget Aleeya's wonderful quote of my first trimester nastiness..........

I'm sure I've mentioned Aleeya's LOVE of the song, "The wheels on the bus". Infact she changes the words in the song to suit whatever need she has at the time. The other day she sang to me,

"The Mommy's on the bus say, 'I so sick', 'I so sick', 'I so sick', ALL through the town."

I just love her.

Surprise Guest

APPARENTLY is isn't so much of a surprise to anyone else, to Brooks and myself, this guest was indeed a surprise...........albeit a pleasant one.

(This is actually not a picture of MY baby. Anyone that knows me would know that I wouldn't have gone to the doctor yet! That would be silly.)

Even though it WAS a surprise we still got that excited feeling inside when we found out the news. I was so excited that after I took the test I ran into where my son was getting ready for school and said, "GUESS WHAT BRONSON! Mommy has a baby in her belly!!!!" The kids are soooo excited and think we can get a limo now (thanks to Daddy telling them)...but that's a WHOLE other post.

Famous 1st trimester quotes from the kiddos:

Bronson: "If the baby is only the size of a grape, how come your belly looks a LOT bigger?"

Camden: "How come you always go like this (makes a gagging sound) when you eat?"

Emerson: (while I was puking in the bathroom) "Quit being so noisy!"

He/She is due December 4th. Which makes me 11 weeks now. But we ALL know the grand appearance will probably come around mid-December as an early Christmas gift!

Thankfully, this last weekend, I STARTED feeling better. But I do have to share one quick story.

Smells were driving me nuts. I mean they were INTENSE and every room made me sick. So I told Brooks, " I know why Heavenly Father doesn't give us THIS much smell all the time, because he knew we couldn't ENJOY life!"

The next day, my nose was stuffed and I couldn't smell a thing. Heavenly Father was mindful enough of me to give me one day to recover before facing the smells again.

Okay, so this is little, but there have been quite a few little instances and prayers that have been answered for certain times that I didn't have a choice and I NEEDED a certain amount of energy or health. And for that allotted time, it was granted.

How INCREDIBLE to be on this journey with Him and to be a "co-creator" in bringing this new little one into our family.

I hope she/he knows what they're getting into...................

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Okay, so this recipe is actually from my friend Heather's sister, who I've only met once.....but considering I've made this recipe A GAZILLION times, that makes us good friends right?

Well, if you ever need something refreshing, this is it! We had it yesterday for Mother's Day and it reminded me that I should share the love.

This makes 2 quarts of juice.

2/3 c lemon juice
1/2 cup of sugar (can use honey or fructose, but I haven't tried this one with honey)
1/8 tsp. salt
Frozen Strawberries

Fill blender fairly full of strawberries then add remaining ingredients. Fill blender with water and blend until smooth. Pour into pitcher and add water until you have two quarts. (the first few times I made this I forgot to add water up to the 2 quarts mark and it was SUPER concentrated!) Depending on your blender and how frozen you want the lemonade to be, you may do two batches of frozen fruit with water to fill your pitcher.

Happy "Mental" Mother's Day

I have a sister who plays this "mental" game with herself. In the past, there have been times that Mother's Day, birthdays, etc. haven't been too celebrated for her (birthdays are big deals in my family), so she has started having a Happy Mental Birthday....or whatever the occasion may be.

So when I got the text from her that said "Happy Mental Mother's Day" I couldn't help but smile.

What it means is that no matter how your day goes, in your mind you just feel awesome because it's your day and you keep telling yourself how special it is instead of waiting for some event, present or celebration to make it such.

I actually had a great Mental Mother's Day. I was glad for her reminder though, because through church, I would look at my kids and just smile and get that warm feeling inside and just think how lucky I am.

So besides the fact I had a GREAT mental one......everything else actually went really well too!

-I got breakfast made for me (my favorite, muffins, fruit and juice)

-I didn't clean a THING today

- got to snuggle each of my kids today

-I have the cutest kids

- didn't really lift a finger today

-got plenty of cards and homemade gifts (but the best part is their smiles as they give them too me!)

-got to go on a fun walk with just my boys

-rested after church

-got this PERFECT plaque from my mom:

(Isn't it wonderful for Mother's Day?!?! I have a feeling that this will be a great reminder for me that home with these fun kids truly IS where I belong)

-and Bronson "cleaned my whole house" for me. Once again, his face was priceless.

Ok, ok, so I guess there were TWO things that I could've done without on Mother's Day, namely

-washing/scraping the poop off the dog

-having Aleeya cut off a big chunk of hair in the middle of her head

But WHO CARES right? Even if I DIDN'T have a great Mother's Day (which I did), even these two events couldn't have ruined it...............because I had a

GREAT MENTAL MOTHER'S DAY TOO!!!!!!!

It's only 9:00

And LOOK at all we've accomplished today:

-slid down the neighbors hill in the wading pool.......

(over and over and over and over)

-Made Iris wear a headband ALL morning (much to her chagrin) so she can learn to STOP yanking them off. Part if it I guess could be considered punishment for soiling her WHOLE crib and blankets this morning.

-Camden caught a lizard (that bit him....but apparently it doesn't hurt) because he said it himself, he's the "sneak man"

(Check out Aleeya's face)

(you might note that his tail is pretty short. Everytime the kids grab him by the tail he sheds that part of it, so now it's like a stub and the kids think he keeps pooping. )

-And last but not least Iris ate a caterpillar and I could NOT pry it out of her mouth before she swallowed it.

I love my kids. They just know how to be kids and it's quite entertaining.

Like I said, IT'S ONLY 9:00!!!! Wonder what the rest of the day will bring!

It is done.

Preschool, I mean.

And doesn't Camden just look so old and ready to start kindergarten?!?!?

I would be lying to say I'm heart broken it's over, because the last month has been a little tricky, but I really think my boys will miss it (and Aleeya since she thinks she's in preschool when it's at our house).

My Privilege

Mother's Day is quickly approaching. I watched the below movie and she mentioned how being a mother is her "Privilege". I like that. Because it is mine too.

I can't help but think of my first Mother's Day gift. It's been my favorite as well (not counting my kids of course). On Mother's Day of 2003, when Bronson was 4 months old, Brooks gave me a "Mother's Day Journal". I'm supposed to write in it every Mother's Day, with my thoughts on mothering, the kids, etc. I pulled it out after watching this movie and smiled at the memory of some of the things I wrote down. I am honest when I write in it about the hard times, the good times and the tricky/sticky times of Mothering. It's amazing to see how I've changed in the past 7 years of being a mother. For example, here's an little snipit from each year to give you an idea. Sorry if this seems a little to personal for you.....reading my journal and all! ;):

2003- "I never realized how selfless the role of a mother is. I'm not saying I'm a selfless person or even selfless in nature, but you HAVE to be. There really isn't much of a choice. I think I haven't had a full night's sleep since November or December! That's something I thought I'd NEVER be okay with.......Motherhood really is a 24 hour job!....Motherhood is about sacrifice. Sacrificing your wants for your child's (and husband's) needs and wants."

2004- (I still only had one child)"...It's true when they say motherhood is the least appreciated and underpaid job ever. However, I also feel sorry for the moms who don't get to stay home with their kids. Their child only lives that one day once and the mom missed out on it. Bronson is constantly doing new things that I would have missed has I not been home. It definitely has it's rewarding times. It is extremely hard work too. The world sees the stay-at-home mom as lazy, non-educated and with a "that's all you do?" attitude. Thankfully, I KNOW who started all of that. Satan tries to get the world to devalue one of the most important jobs for Heavenly Father's children! That in itself shows how important it is."

2005- "Sometimes I feel I need to be more passionate about mothering and enjoy it more. Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of the time, I love it, but if I decided to do this forever, I really need to enjoy it all the time and count my blessings. My dad always told men to go into the field of work that they're passionate about and they'll be happy. Yes, they'll have times of trial, but if they love it, they'll be happy. Well, this is where I need to remind myself that I CHOSE to do this and be more loving towards my role as a mother. I DO love it though, sometimes it's hard to think though that a mother's work is never done...........I have been blessed with more patience this year. Sometimes I really think it has been easier having 2 then just 1."

2006- "I was asked to speak in church on Mother's Day. I called my mom and she told me this, 'We are living in the reality, but the Lord can see the eventuality of what we are doing.' (referring to Mothering of course). I liked that. Motherhood forces you to become better and learn attributes and qualities we didn't already have. It's a crash course in becoming more God-like. There's no way NOT to learn them. It brings you closer to Heavenly Father because 1) he WANTS to help me raise His children, 2) it helps me understand His qualities more and 3) mothers are 'co-creators' with Him. In essence, Heavenly Father has loaned me HIS children to raise. I thought, if I had someone watch my kids, I would want them to show the same love and patience and I have for them. I'm sure Heavenly Father feels the same way for the children he sends to me."

2007- "Someone that knows me pretty well mentioned this year they think I enjoy being a mom 60% of the time. I was shocked when they said that because I always pictured it being 95-100% of the time. Sadly, they were probably right percentage part, but wrong about one thing. It's the mom + housework/bills/laundry/dishes/constant cleaning/always something to get done that I enjoy 60% of the time. The mom part is 100%!!! But you get the whole package w/ a stay-at-home lifestyle. Even so, even if I enjoyed it 0% and I was doing everything Heavenly Father would want me to do with my kids, it would be worth it knowing and having the peace that I KNOW for sure I'm doing what He wants me to do. Not to many people can say that. I'm where He wants me to be EVERY DAY, which if asked for, entitles me to His constant help and Spirit if my attitude lets it."

and I just had to add this paragraph because it made me laugh..... "The boys are my life, my comfort zone and my warm fuzzies in my belly. If this is how fun and sweet boys are------ I NEVER want a girl!" (I was pregnant with Aleeya at the time and didn't know her gender!)

2008- (This Mother's Day Brooks was gone for a week, I didn't get a nap that day, the house was a disaster and we had frozen pizza for dinner......you can imagine the "pity party" I threw myself at the first of this entry.) "I just put the most beautiful little girl to bed. Aleeya (6 months) brings me so much job and fills me with this warm feeling that makes my belly and heart jump. Gosh, now my pity party REALLY sounds ridiculous. What can I say....I'm human and selfish in nature..... I'm learning more about Heavenly Father and His parenting though. He is the ultimate parent and an example on how to deal with children.....As you can see, I guess I have the life. 4 kids, 7 years marriage, 27 years young and I like where I'm at......now I gotta go clean the ENTIRE house before Brooks comes home tomorrow. Happy Mother's Day to me!"

2009- "I got a nap today and kept hearing, 'It's your day, sit down!" Which I needed to hear because my body just gets plain tired with only having 2 weeks left until my due date......Now it's not all smooth sailing and especially at the end of the day my patience is thin, but I AM trying and I DO feeling Heavenly Father's help.....daily actually. I don't think I would ever forgive myself for not taking advantage of every second of their little ages. I'm glad I chose to not miss out on their lives and I want Heavenly Father to know I'm taking this stewardship seriously."

Before I finish typing this NOVEL, I had a few thoughts last Sunday as I was sitting in a Relief Society lesson on Mothers last Sunday. I'm at a different place now then I was 7 years ago (thankfully) and I couldn't help but think, I'm happiest and MOST content when I forget myself. I'm far from perfect in this area when it comes to being a mother and wife. But the times I get most discouraged and "bogged down" (as my mom used to say) is when I'm thinking what I want to do or get done and MY needs and projects. I'm happiest when I think of how I make my kids or Brooks happier. Funny how that works. Now, if only I could remember that always, because there isn't an OUNCE of me that would take back a MINUTE of the last 7 and a half years (my happiest years yet!), because it truly has been MY PRIVILEGE and I thank Heavenly Father EVERY DAY for the ride!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO YOU!!!!!!

Caterpillars like Church

I'm told by Camden that caterpillars like church.

Which would make PERFECT sense as to why he tries to bring them.

This week, it actually worked.

We were traveling and decided to go to our old church in Tennessee. Because I spent the whole time packing for the trip, I didn't pack a diaper bag and things for church.

So when we sat down and after church had started Camden looked at me and said, "I know you'll be mad."

"What are you talking about?"

Then he pulled out 2 caterpillars out of his pocket. Great.

But inside, I was secretly grateful. Just THINK of the possibilities..........a WHOLE hour and ten minutes of entertainment for the boys......and they'll sit still.....and keep their hands down.....and to themselves........

And guess what, IT DID JUST THAT. The boys sat ALL through sacrament meeting captivated by these caterpillars and I hadn't even brought in ONE book!

So to you little caterpillars......I say THANKS. And could you PLEASE try to teach my boys to like church too like apparently you do.....that would be MOST helpful.