Kids

Funny little creatures. Born to be loved and to love. Love to be loud and noisy, rambucous and generally irreverent. And my goodness, do they do and say the funniest things.....

I asked J.D. tonight, "What did you learn in school today?" His reply had me in stitches. "I don't remember, but I know we had fun." I asked how he knew he had fun when he couldn't remember what he did. He launched a full detail report on the Star Wars game they played at lunch. Never mind EDUCATION, it's all about recess.

Tyson is irreverent. I asked him to kneel down for prayer and he said no, he didn't want to pray. Then he proceeded to lay there and softly tickle my face throughout the prayer. Super sweet.

Then I walked out of the boys room to see Piper laying on her tummy on the couch with her finger half way up her nose. Not bothered at all, just watching TV.

I love being a mom!

Sunday Blues

Okay, so J.D. is not blue. He's happy but the rest of my family.........

Tyson is hiding because he is ...................

ANGRY!! He did not want to tuck his shirt in and wear a belt.

And Piper is angry because she didn't want to wear her dress.

And pretty much every Sunday at my house looks like this.

STARVING

My children are starving for the attention of their mother.
They are also starving for a home cooked meal.
My house is starving for some cleaning.
You need a hazmat suit to enter my bathroom. It's true!!
My husband is starving for some one on one and
probably would appreciate a home cooked meal also.

And me..........................
I'm starving for a break. A break from reality, from chaos
and from the outside world. A break from PTO and other
people's chaos.

With that said, I have a lot of "feeding" and "nourishing" to do.
Be back in a few day's.

The Sun Will Come Out....

I live just up the street from one of the funnest and greatest stages in all the world.
At least, it's pretty famous for Utah. It's the Tuachan Amphitheater. Every year I take my kids to one of the plays. This was Tyson's first year and he was a little star struck. I asked him in the car, what he liked best and he said, "That girl!" Another girl crazy boy!

Mandee and her family were there, but they weren't sitting with us. Of course after, and during intermission the kids had to hang together.

The kids went through and had the play bill signed by the main characters. This gentleman, who played FDR was amazing! The whole cast was very well put together and they all did a phenomenal job.

Doesn't Tyson make a cute Annie?

The boys.

Okay, so Tyson makes a cuter Sandy and BayLee makes a pretty cute Annie!

Tyson was so into it. He kept leaning over to me and saying, he didn't like Mrs. Hannigan, she was a mean girl. He would clap and say, YEAH every time it was time to clap. Grandma Becky went with us and she thought it was a lot of fun also.

I want my boys to learn how to appreciate theater and have a little bit of culture in their lives. My hubby doesn't do plays. Especially musicals. So I hope they can learn to like them and appreciate the work that goes into each production.

If you live close by, it's definitely worth seeing! I think I might go to Aida, in the next few weeks. Footloose looks good too. I am so excited for next year because they are bringing Tarzan, the first non-Broadway stage to be able to perform it! It will be sooo Coool!

What Matters Most

I don't believe truer words have ever been spoken.

I love my family so much

I am so blessed.....

Our Week In Pictures

It's been so busy! Dang, PTO. But it's good. I'm glad I can step up and help out. Lot's of other parents don't, so it's good. My little rant today. Sorry, it's been a bad week for volunteers.

Piper got into my make up and made herself BeaUtiFulL!

Josh took the boys to the Dixie Round Up on Friday Night. They only stayed for an hour and a half! The boys were falling asleep.

J.D. in his elelment!

We went to Salt Lake for the Alisons Pantry food show. It was a blast!! Danny wrecked his car last week and now he's trying to fix his other Monte Carlo, and needed Josh to come help him.

Me & my brother. Why do boys always have to mess around when the camera is out?

We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Adam, Lindsay, Quinton & Danny. It was a lot of fun. Hanging out in the parking lot after dinner was a blast! Only Adam can make me laugh like that!

See this cute squishy face.........

I love it & I love him!

We played peek-a-boo across the table and bonded!

Me & Quinton.

made me miss my kiddo's and I was sure glad to come home to them.

Thanks to Maggie & Eric for watching my brood while we were gone!

J.D.'s First Football Game

Oh my heavens! Worst game ever! Not because of our kids, but the other team!! J.D. is usually the biggest kid, wherever he goes, and he was a little worried because these kids were bigger than him!!! They were all 8 almost 9 and a good 6 inches taller than J.D.!!! They actually have taken this team out of our bracket, because I think it was a mistake. Anyway, we lost horribly. Didn't make any touch downs, in fact we hardly touched the ball and J.D. got punched in the mouth in the last play of the game!!

Last nights game went much better. I didn't get to see it, but J.D. made a touch down and he got the flag off of several kids! His coaches are AMAZING! They've even taught the kids some plays and they really know what they are doing!

I don't know how J.D. is going to choose his sport. He's way athletic and so far has excelled at every sport. I'm not trying to be a bragging mom, but he has. I've had other people tell me how good he's going to be when he gets older. I want to try out basketball and I am hoping and praying that atleast one of my kids wants to play :).... That's a sport I can sink my teeth into. I told J.D. one more year of all the sports and then he has to pick 2, that he can concentrate on. He'll be old enough next year to start going to summer camps!! Yeah, I just don't want to become a crazed mom and push him, but I also want him to excell and he is really good. Oh, the things we do to and for our kids!!

Excuse us, please.......

I am trying to catch up with my life! When I do, I'll let you know! Until then, know that we love you all!!!

TYSON CAN DO IT!

Tyson has a favorite phase, "I can't do it." I don't know if it's a fear of failure, that promotes that phrase. Or maybe fear, but it's Tyson's mantra in life. He's also a kiddo who requires a lot of patience and love.

Last night Josh took off his training wheels. He said it was time for him to learn how to ride like a big boy. Well 10 minutes into the teaching, I took over. Josh's patience was already spent. There was ALOT of crying and ALOT of falling.

Breaks a mom's heart!

I told Josh to let me do it and I took Tyson in the subdivision behind our house. It's full of empty lots, but the road is done. We went on level ground and we pushed it for about an hour. Tyson told me he was scared, because he would fall. There were lots of hugs, tears and lot's of talking, but we did it, Tyson and I!! He can now ride it, but he doesn't get the stopping concept! We'll work on that.

He was so excited! It's such a big self-esteem booster, when your kids accomplish something that they didn't believe they could do. I am so proud of you Tyson!!

Football Practice

J.D. had his first football practice today. It was interesting. I am so glad that a couple of dad's are coaching. They actually know what they are doing. They were even teaching them plays!! One of the coach's wives and I were laughing, they are only 6 and 7! They loved it though!

Lining up for some sprints. J.D. is the one in red. The coaches wanted to see who had speed.

That is my boy, kicking butt! He won both sprints!

Oh, dang it! Missed that one. Good try, though!

These little guys are going to love Glen. He'll be a great coach. I love that the guy's don't put up with crap. I saw J.D. get put in his place a time or two. I love it. I got walked all over when I was the Soccer coach this year. Kid's need to learn respect and how to listen and play as a team! I love that there are so many options for them to be involved in. I'll post pictures next week from our games!!!

First Day of Preschool

This day has been eagerly awaited for the past 4 months, since the day school let out for the summer. Not just by me, but by Tyson also! He was so excited to go back and be the "big kid" this year. He is so lucky and gets to go to 5 day a week preschool this year. Expensive, but the kiddo needs it.

This was the emptying of the pockets when we got to the school. They each had pocketfuls of matchbox cars. This will be a daily ritual.

Handsome little guy! He was so mad that I made him wear this shirt. He wanted to wear a wrinkley old shirt. Good thing that little boys have momma's to dress them.

That's my group of little guys! They sure are handsome and they sure have fun together. Look at the 3 very different expressions on their cute little faces!! They are all so different and so cute!

11:30 PM

And were still awake. Piper took a late nap so we took adavantage of daddy being gone to snuggle in my bed. She was being so silly so I pulled out the camera to take a few pictures.

Ah, look who is sleeping and who isn't ......

Our nights are crazy. I don't make a big deal about it though, because it means I get to sleep in on Saturday morning if I'm lucky. Not so lucky this morning! Oh well, it was fun!

J.D.'s Image

This morning J.D. and I were having an argument over what to pack in his lunch. We were out of bread and he was arguing with me, about why he wouldn't eat a sandwich on a hamburger bun. I listed several options, the whole time he is looking at me like I am crazy. So I get upset and I say, "Fine, you'll just have to eat a Chicken Fajita at school.!" He looks at me with this teenager look on his face and says, "Mom, that is so bad for my image." And then he walks away. Image, what image?

So I asked him today how his fajita was and he said, "Mom it was so tasty!" I guess it didn't hurt his image to bad. I guess I'm forgiven.

The things kids say!

Bowling

We took the kids bowling on Saturday night and had a blast!! The kids loved it and we really should go more often, but it sure is expensive. Only Josh and the boys bowled and it cost $18.00. That seems like a lot to me!! Oh well, it was worth it for the fun they had. Piper slept most of the time, but woke up an dhelped Josh bowl the last 3 frames of his game. We topped the night off with an ice cream cone from Artic Circle!! It was a great night!

Daddy's Little Princess

Oh my gosh!! She's pretty cute. And he's pretty good-lookin' too!!

I Gotta Write This Down

Funny story! It happened like 10 minutes ago. I was trying so hard not to laugh.

My cell phone rings and I pick it up thinking, it's my friend Julie. Well, it's actually her little girl, Elle. She asked me if J.D. could come and play at her house with her and Shaylee, a girl from J.D.'s class. It's like 5:15, which is kind of late, but I asked her if her mom knew she had called me. She said yes, and so I told her that I would let J.D. play for an hour and I would bring him down to her house.

Shaylee teases J.D. at school. I keep telling him that girls who tease boy's do it because they like him. She chases him around and throws grass on him, those type of things.

So Elle is holding her mom's phone and I realize right off that something is not right. Elle fesses up to not having asked her mom, because her mom isn't there, she is being watched by her older brother. She said she tricked up because Shaylee wanted to say hi to J.D. so they called. I'm still trying to work out how they knew which number was ours.

So this little Shaylee walks over and hugs J.D. who stands there straight as a board and has his arms crossed with this awful scowl on his face. He's soooo embarrassed!!! I'm trying as hard as I can not to laugh. So I let him say hi for a minute and then we came home. He was of course mad that he couldn't stay and play and even madder that Shaylee hugged him!

It was hysterical. I wasn't even upset at Elle for calling. What will the teenage years be like if this how my grade school years are starting???

5 Things

Some day's I feel like I don't accomplish a dang, darn thing!! Ever feel that way? And then I wonder, what did I do with my time today? Well, I did the dishes, washed laundry, folded laundry, swept the floor, and vacuumed. Those are the 5 things that I do EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE! It seems I don't accomplish much because, well, I did those five things over and over and over!!! Some day's I do them more than once! You know those kind of day's. The ones when you want to throw your hands up and lay down and cry!! Throw in wiping cute baby bums, wiping noses, kissing owies, washing marker off the wall, potty training, cooking, chauffeuring, playing referee and the many other duties of a mom and you know where my time is spent.

I do not spend my time making money or doing great things that those in the world can praise. I don't look for glory or fame. Heck, there are day's when all I wish for is a shower and maybe to put on a little make up!!! But what I do matters to my children! One day, they will thank me for my efforts. They will remember picnics in the park and board games on Sunday night. They will remember making play dough and baking cookies. One day.........................................

But until then, life sure is messy, but it's fun!!

8 Years Ago Today........

I married my best-friend!

Josh carved our initials in this tree the day after our wedding. I went looking for it on Sunday and was so glad that it was still there! It was a little nostalgic to go to Kolob this weekend, as that was where we spent the first week of our married lives.

The time flies by so fast. 8 years!! 3 kids!!! Lot's of memories and lot's of first in those years. It's not alway's been smooth sailing, but we get by with lot's of love and lot's of prayer. It's been an amazing experience, being married to my best-friend.

I love you Josh! Thank you so much for all you do. I know you work so hard for our family, so that I can stay home and I appreciate that. Thanks for loving me and for putting up with me!!
Happy Anniversary!

A Sunday Drive

We took a Sunday drive up to Kolob and went over the top of the mountain and came down in Cedar City. It was such a pretty drive and it was fun to just all be together and laugh and have a good time. With Josh working six day's a week, it's a rare treat to get to just hang out!!

The red rock kinda grows on ya!

Some more rocks!

These sleepy heads missed the whole first 1/2 of the trip! We woke them up when we got up to the Ranches. We went to see the changes the Posts had made to the cabin.

Oh, look who's awake now! Look at Piper's face. She heard the Cheeto bag open!

Kids and rocks. Not a good combination, but they somehow alway's end up in the same sentence.

Tyson is alway's just happy to be along for the ride!

chewing on a piece of grass. His cud, to quote the boy.

picking wildflowers

Josh telling us stories about the cabin.

It was a great day! Lot's of memories. Josh and I used to go that way all the time.

We honeymooned at the cabin 8-years ago. Hard to believe it's been that long

Atleast it will be officially that long on Tuesday.

Holy Crow! Love you babe!