Shoot the Kids? I'd Love To

Just wanted to throw out a brag-rag post with a few shots from this fun photo shoot. Hubby's ex had a birthday in August and she'd requested new pix of the kidlets. I jumped at the opportunity to have a mini-adventure, threw the kids in the car and drove out to Salt Air.It was a great night and a fun adventure for all of us. We laughed so hard we nearly wet our pants ... literally, but I love how these turned out! We'll have to plan another mini-trip soon and take all the kids.

Week in Review 8/5/10

Getting behind again??? I swear I don't know where the time goes. Here's our first week of August though - finally.OY! Another busy week ... but soooo much fun! We celebrated #2's birthday, for starters. He's 15 now - crazy. We started off the day with Monkey Bread, as per his request, and had a super mellow day. I felt horrible, because we didn't have everyone here. This means no presents. :( Lucky for him though, hubby and I were crazy ready to go actually find a little brother puppy for Izzy. We've been searching the ads for the last couple of months and couldn't wait any more. So Murphy was adopted and brought home on his birthday. This, of course, means that we had to send oodles of pix to the other chitlins in Colorado so they didn't feel left out. Murphy is the sweetest little puppy and has a great personality too.

Monday the rest of the fam showed up to spread birthday cheer and give loves to the new puppy. That night the girls and I drove down to Provo for Mindy Gledhill's CD release party ... followed by a quick stop at BYU to see #1's new beau and have a double scoop at the BYU Creamery. Yum. We finally celebrated the birthday in full on Thursday, complete with birthday dinner ... pancakes and sausages, strangely enough. The presents this year were kind of funny too since all he had requested was cash. Oh well. He finally got to celebrate and that made us both happy. :)

Week in Review 7/29/10

Hmm, this week had a rough start with #1 in hot water for ... not knowing how to be 16 yet. She lost her phone and driving privileges and was pretty much under lock-down except for work hours - needless to say, she pulled a double shift on Saturday to stay off my radar. ;) Sunday was the youth sacrament meeting and we got to listen to the youth tell us all about the different summer camps and youth conference. We also found out Sunday night that there was no way on Earth that #2 and Chandler were going to make it back from California anytime soon traveling standby into Salt Lake, so we had to adjust our plans.

Turns out the best fix was for #1 and I to roadtrip down to Vegas and pick the boys up from a flight there. Six hours in the car with my own daughter when we're barely speaking to each other ... let's just say neither of us were sure how we felt about it. I finished up my jetBlue shift, we each packed a bag, gave Izzy a quick bath and finished up the laundry and dishes and we were off. We topped off the tank and zipped through a carwash, grabbed some gross fast food and spent the next 40 minutes or so in awkward silence. Somehow ... thanks to my prodding, we were able to have cleared up most things between us by the time we pulled up to the Red Barn in Santaquin. We peeked around the shop and decided there wasn't anything we wanted so jumped back on the freeway. I have to say that being trapped in a car together without any other distractions and plenty of snack food isn't a bad way to work through some of these things and have a productive conversation with a teenager. (I'll have to remember that for future issues)

Anywho! We pulled into Vegas, checked into the hotel, grabbed dinner at Chili's and very quietly made fun of the couple who were sitting on the same side of their table. Next came the tricky airport business, luckily the boys were able to find us without a hitch. Back to the hotel ... kids texting and on iPods until who knows how late while I passed out. The next morning brought breakfast and the lovely drive home. Oy! Exhausting.

And believe it or not ... Wednesday was even more tiresome! I took the 3 bigs to a "Discover Scuba" class at Dive Utah and redeemed the groupons I'd purchased in June. It was a riot! The kids had a blast, but we were pretty worn out by the time we had to lug our gear back to the storage room. That night we had plans to go boating too. Scuba and boating all in the same day? Yup. Can I tell you I slept like the dead that night? Thursday we tried to keep the schedule more mellow .... it was dreamy.

Week in Review 7/22/10

We're desperately trying to get back on track here. For the most part we're back to a normal summer schedule, with plenty of play time. This particular week was a great one too. I was able to take #1 to go get her driver's license and she had her first few outings ALL ON HER OWN. (yikes) We took the littles out for a spin on the lake Friday night and went back again Saturday with all the boys + Chandler. East Canyon was definitely more crowded than we like ... and plan to go back to our mid-week boating schedule. Church on Sunday was awesome and we delivered a 'heart attack' to M that afternoon, to remind her that we love her.

Monday I took #2 + Chandler to the airport in hopes of getting them on a flight to Long Beach to visit Pops. There were 23 seats still available on the flight ... they were numbers 25 and 26 on the standby list. Tight - but somehow they made it on the first try. Yay jetBlue! Tuesday brought hiking with the Scouts. Wednesday I was finally able to finish up #3's book and give it to her. #1 chose the title "Embrace" ... because the whole book is like a big hug. :D I loved watching her reactions as she read through the book. She was really touched by how thoughtful her peers had been - it even made her cry. Twice. That's big. I count it as a huge success and will post more detailed pictures of the pages for you later. The week wrapped up with multiple trips to Top It to redeem our Groupons. Yum.

Family Props to Cam

Check out how cool my nephew is! This is Cameron Wood coming off that 6 foot jump. He's seriously the coolest kid I know. Love you Cam!!

Week in Review 7/15/10

It was about time for some downright happy moments! After what seemed like FOREVER ... we finally got had all the kidlets under one roof again, well almost. (#2 was still in Wyoming) Hubby and I had been really anxious about how the youngest 3 were, emotionally speaking. We hadn't seen them since D's service and had no idea how they were coping with everything. It was a relief to finally have them walk in the door and know we were going to have them for a whole week.

They were ... just fine. A little tender around the edges, but that was all. We planned an afternoon at the library ... a favorite for everyone. We love the Salt Lake City Main Library. It really is a place you could spend the whole day in. The architecture is amazing and there is always something fun going on there. We split up and each went to find our own treasure trove of books to take home. Saturday was a real treat too! We got to spend the morning at the Jordan River Temple where our niece was sealed to her husband and beautiful wee baby. It was a really emotional day for everyone - but very uplifting. #2 met us at home just after we finished for the day and a smidge after that, #1 left us to go to the Justin Beiber concert. Oy.

It felt so good to get everyone back on track. We played and laughed and ate loads of watermelon. I was also able to make some great headway on a book I was putting together for #3. Since she had suffered two losses so close together, I had all the young women from our ward send me letters, lyrics, scriptures or quotes that would help her find some peace. The leaders all contributed as well and before you knew it I had a whole pile of 'pick-me-ups' for her. I scrounged through all my stashes of paper to get inspired for layout options and finally came up with something that was truly beautiful. I'll post pics of the completed projects in my next week in review. I love how it all turned out!

Ooh-la-la-de-da!!! A CD Release Concert

I'm buying my tickets for this today! I've loved Mindy's songs based on faith and the gospel and am thrilled that she's exploring a new sound that is still completely appropriate for my whole family to listen to. She seems like she'd be so much fun and she even came and danced in the aisle with us at the last concert we went to. If you're in the area and want to have a fun night out with the girls ... go get your tickets here. It looks like there's still plenty of space left, but it won't last much longer.

All About Your Heart

I almost get sick from watching this sweet little girl spin around so much, but I love the song and am dying to make a tribute video for my daughter with it - something I can give her when she graduates from high school or something. Enjoy.

Week in Review 7/8/10

The reality of what has happened is starting to settle in now. We tried to have a normal day Friday and #1 and I did some running around together. We popped in and out of a few shops and I even gave blood at a local drive. It struck me as we were walking by the Red Cross trailer that it was the smallest way I could help someone in need that day - but may really save someone's life. It felt good to make some kind of contribution to the medical world after last week.

Saturday morning we stood by family tradition and attended the neighborhood 4th of July breakfast in hubby's home ward. My father-in-law, Sam, had actually been serving in their bishopric when the breakfast was first initiated some 30-ish years ago. We picked Mom up on the way knowing it would be difficult for her to be there - knowing it was another tribute to Sam to go. She did great though. She was able to catch up with a lot of old friends and seemed to talk about the events of the week with ease. She is my hero.

The afternoon was spent at D's memorial services and we were really touched by the stories that were shared about him there. It was actually a celebration of his life and focused quite a bit on the music he loved. The highlight of the service for us was getting to see Little D ... not sure when we'll see him again. I sure love that little guy.

The rest of the weekend was getting hubby and #2 ready for Scout camp. They left for the Carlisle Ranch in Wyoming early Monday morning for a week of fly fishing, whitewater rafting, horseback riding and aviation. You should have seen the stack of waivers we had to sign away on. Yikes. I can't take another tragedy right now. No sir!

Week in Review 7/1/10

My father-in-law's condition continued to decline Friday and Saturday. His breathing became more and more labored. We were all told that this was the end.

Now, at the same time, my step-children's step-dad, D, was also struggling with cancer. He was diagnosed last August and had been through chemo and radiation, but the cancer kept spreading. He had been admitted to the hospital the week prior and was now back home with the news that he may only have a few days to a week left. So when the phone rang around 4:30 am Sunday morning we weren't sure what the news would be, but we knew it wouldn't be good.

It was hubby's parents' number. His dad was gone.

Monday morning around 10 am there was a call from the other house. D was gone.

Two men.
Two fathers gone.

Tuesday afternoon my mom arrived. She was planning a visit anyway, but it was sad that there was so much tragedy surrounding her few days here. The rest of the week held viewings for both and the service for my father-in-law. We tried to keep the kids' spirits up by taking a trip out to the Kennecott Copper Mine and Thanksgiving Point. We joked around and laughed about silly things. A quick trip to the park seemed to be refreshing for a few of the kids and Izzy too. The kids even ended up building a monster fort in the basement that they all slept in Tuesday night. We sprinkled in a few store-bought fireworks and yummy treats and tried to enjoy our memories of both men. The service Thursday night was truly beautiful. It made me think of the poem by Linda Ellis again, The Dash. They both did truly admirable things with their dash. They lived and loved and worshipped the Lord with enthusiasm.

What am I doing with my dash???

Week in Review 6/24/10

The last day of girls' camp was ... short. I got up around 6 am to start packing up my stuff. We had torn down our makeshift kitchen area the night before, so the bulk of our work was going to be getting the girls up and ready ... fed and packed - yes, it was like moving mountains. All in all, it took about 5 hours start to finish. We had a few minutes to take some group pictures and then pulled out and headed home. I was lucky enough to only have one person ride with me, a sweet girl named Malati from Nepal. I really connected with her, perhaps because my mom had also emigrated from her homeland. It was interesting to learn that they both had misconceptions about what life in the U.S. would be like, based on Hollywood's portrayal in films. We talked about things like arranged marriages, education, job opportunities and divorce. I love this girl!

After getting all the troops to their own homes safe and sound, we quickly unpacked, washed up and tried to start and finish Father's Day. Luckily, hubby was more than happy to offer up gift ideas for the littles. The kids all got up early Sunday to decorate before breakfast. We made him a hearty meal of eggs, sausage and country potatoes, then let him open all his presents before we got ready for church. We had to split the family later so hubby's kids could spend part of the day with their step-dad, D, and we went to my in-laws to share hugs and kisses with Grandpa, who hadn't been doing so well. He was definitely acting strange when we got there and seemed even more tired than usual. He wouldn't get out of bed to sit with the kids, so we spent most of our time in the bedroom with him. The following nights he was so agitated that his kids needed to come and help care for him over night. They paired up and took turns each evening allowing my sweet mother-in-law to have a much-needed break.

Growing old certainly doesn't look easy. I'll admit I'm not looking forward to it ... at all.

Easier said - by Someone Else

Love and hard times

The light at the edge of the curtain
is the quiet dark
The bedroom breathes in clicks and clocks
The heart's uneasy, it can't relax
your hand takes mine
Thank God I found you in time
Thank God I found you in time
Thank God I found you

~Paul Simon

These next few posts are going to get more difficult. Wish me luck.

Week in Review 6/03/10

Still trying to catch up here, but I love these pictures!!! I wish I could see my family more often. The boys are just growing up too fast and I'm missing out on a lot.So this is my family!!! My mom and sis both live in Vancouver, Washington. They are two of the cutest women I have ever known ... and they make me feel like a giant, which doesn't happen very often when you're only 5'4" tall. My 'big sis' is only 4'6" and Mom is all of 4'10" on a good day. #1 and I got to spend almost all day Friday shopping with Grandma. We love to hit the Goodwill stores when we're in town - talk about bargains! Then even had all these Indian sari's that made me want to host a Bride and Prejudice party. We also ran to the Korean store to buy more delicious goodies. That night we picked #2 up at the airport and had another ginormous Korean feast. The baptism was Saturday morning and #2 was the first speaker. He did an amazing job while Grandma and I kept blotting the tears away. We try to look tough, but are softies through and through.

We took a thousand family pictures after the service and then had lunch at my sister's where we could FINALLY break out our surprise for the birthday boy! We brought him a giant custom fortune cookie from a fantastic shop in Salt Lake ... that I didn't even know existed until the day before. Rufus, the owner, was a dream to work with and was able to make our custom cookie with about 4 hours. It was beautiful and their whole family couldn't wait to sink their teeth into it. The giant fortune read,

"I'm learning how to choose the right.
I'll do my best both day and night.
But when I'm not sure what to do,
the Holy Ghost will help me through."
Congratulations on your baptism. We love you.
May 29,2010

He was so cute reading it out loud to everyone and the cookie really was delicious. The rest of the trip was spent playing Korean cards, eating more Korean food and admiring Mom's perfectly manicured yard. It was a short trip, but filled with lots of great memories. I just wish I could have brought all the kidlets and hubby dearest along too.

Week in Review 5/27/10

Oy to the vey ... how can it get any more busy???

It seems like things should really wind down at the end of the year, slowing down to a nice easy pace ... things I could handle with my eyes closed. Why then did I end up double booked with kid activities almost everyday??? So not good. So hate to pick which even to go to first and which I would only catch the tail end of. Uck. OK. Here's the recap.

We started out the weekend with the big guys leaving for a scout camp out at the sand dunes, followed by several loads of sand-encrusted laundry. Fun. After that, hubby left for Idaho on a business trip and I got slammed with the rest of the week. There was a one-night-only cross country parent meeting for the oldest scheduled at exactly the same time as the pack meeting where #4 would be receiving his arrow of light. Luckily, his mommy was able to attend ... so we sat impatiently through all the cross country mumbo-jumbo and then raced down the hill to Scouts. We missed the presentation by about 3 minutes. Dang. #2 was able to snap some photos for me though.

Next, there was a full day of Airports Training for me followed by ... the mixed chorus concert and mother/daughter church activity ... scheduled at the same time again! So, I high-tailed it up for the concert and then raced down the hill to the church just in time for refreshments. One of these days I'm going to get a ticket on that hill - knock on wood. Thursday started off with a double whammy. There was the 9th grade awards assembly and 8th grade SBO skit assembly ... same time. At least this time they were in the same building. #2 opted to skip out on his own ceremony to come to watch the skits and cheer for his little sis with me. We also let big sis sluff morning classes to come and scream with us. Let me tell you, my 8th grader has got some serious moxy. She performed her own rendition of The Evolution of Dance ... solo. If you don't know it, you should definitely watch it here. Her courage paid off too. She was the only girl elected!!!

So I ran from the assembly, home to pack for my weekend trip to Washington. Got the last bit of laundry done so hubby would be all set. Waited for #1 to get home from school and we were on our way. We made a quick stop at hubby's office as he'd just gotten back into town from Idaho. I saw him for all of 4 minutes, 2 hugs and 3 kisses, then off to the airport, in the air, into PDX, whizzed back to my mom's house where we shoveled down her delicious Korean food and raced to my nephews' baseball games. Yep, 2 games ... same time. What the heck???

Busy, crazy-crazy busy. Whew!

The Count Down is On

Only nine more days of school left. What? Lots of mixed feelings about this realization. I love summer - boating with the kids, sprinklers, sidewalk chalk, long days with the kids building forts or making a lemonade stand. But what I fear is a lot of this ...You know, those days where you can actually see your kids getting ... shall we say, less smart? I hate those days. Last year, I had a plan of attack. I started the summer with a schedule. All the kids were required to read for 30 minutes a day and the 'littles', as we call them, had worksheets to do that I printed myself from the internet. This way I was in control of their curriculum and could vary it to keep them thinking. We did lots of math ... lots and lots of math for our upcoming 5th grader and loads of spelling and reading exercises for our soon-to-be first grader. I made sure they each had things like mazes, word searches or coloring pages too and #4 even learned how to play Sudoku.

The work paid off and they both had a great school year because of it. They never hit this point where they completely shut their brain down and it made it a lot easier for them to learn new concepts right from the begining of the school year. Now, it's time for me to get back on my game and start searching for activities and worksheets. If you have kids at home this summer and want to give them a headstart for next year you should take a few minutes to check out these websites.

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/ (great for designing your own work)
http://www.tlsbooks.com/ (used tons of these last year)
http://www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/worksheets.htm
http://www.homeeducationresources.com/FREE1.htm
http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/utah/families

http://www.uen.org/k12student/interactives.shtml (fantastic online activities)

This year there will also be organized activities for the 'bigs'. #2 will get to start and finish his Eagle project. #1 will be increasing hours at work as well as picking up driver's ed so she can finally get her license. I think I'll also have #1 and #3 start a charitable effort making hair accessories for the Center for Change. I can't help but want them all to really know how to do things ... and to be involved in doing things for others. I think we'll also look for some local opportunities here. What are your plans for summer?

Week in Review 4/29/10

Ah, yes, the big weekend! My baby girl turned 16 on Saturday. 16? How is this right? We actually celebrated Friday so all the kids could be here with her. We had our traditional birthday breakfast with placemat and chair decorations from her siblings. She went off to school and came home to more decorations as we got ready for her party. I found an absolutely beautiful cake at Baskin Robbins that was perfect for her. For the party, we rented out the bounce side of Classic Skate in Sandy and invited just about everyone she knows. The turnout was pretty sparse, but we all had a blast ... including Wanja who so graciously came along to help chaperone. (I have the best friends) She even raced me through one of the inflatable obstacle courses ... where I almost wet my pants because I was laughing so hard.

Aside from birthday celebrations, the week also contained a trip to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to visit a very special patient who was struggling with pneumonia. After that we spent a sunny Sunday afternoon with hubby's sweet parents, started the soccer season for #5, had our girls' camp kick off meeting and made a delicious creamy chicken and wild rice soup. Oh! I almost forgot that Izzy also had a 'friend' over for a few days and was able to get some good girl/dog time in with Maddie. It was really cute to see how they interacted with each other and it's made me start thinking about getting a second pup ... who have I become anyway?

Week in Review 4/22/10

Well check me out! I'm actually posting this one on time! I know the timing seems weird, but my weeks run from Friday to Thursday for a couple reasons. First off, January 1st was on a Friday this year ... and Friday is when our week ends with the kids, as in they flip houses every Friday. So let's see what happened over the last 7 days.

We received news that my father-in-law's health is failing pretty quickly, so the next few weeks may be a bit shaky. My brother-in-law has been in the hospital for his own health reasons. Needless to say there were lots of good-cheer-spreading visits to those we love. I got to actually have a lunch date with hubby dearest, which was way overdue. The cub scouts got to clean the church grounds Tuesday night ... allergy alert. I admired more of the gorgeous spring flowers in our neighborhood ... allergy crisis. I finally made a big dent in planning for girls' camp thanks to a quick shopping trip to Robert's.

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for the big birthday party tonight. (Heaven help us) The guest list was close to 50, but we really don't have any clue how many people to expect. I just hope it's everything she hoped for. You only turn 16 once. Wish me luck!

Week in Review 4/8/10

It seems our oldest has some friends that don't think highly of us. We got egged again. Uck. This time she had manage the clean-up on her own, so she could learn why we don't egg people ... or hang out with people who egg us. Easter weekend was much better after the clean-up was finished.

General conference is always a treat for me and this year we started a new tradition. We each packed up our own 72 hour kit in our own backpacks during the last conference. This time we started eating from them and will repack them with new food items as soon as they're empty. I want to make sure that these kits stay usable and that we're not putting things in them that the kids won't eat ... or that don't keep well. It was funny to see the kids get so excited about the whole event.

We went to a baby shower for a cousin on Saturday and got to bring a new appliqued baby blanket and set of cute burp cloths. I'm not sure why I have such a thing for making handmade gifts ... I just can't help myself. Sunday we did an indoor/outdoor egg hunt with our nephew. The rest of the week was fairly mellow, no major mishaps and no one was grounded for life. I even got to teach my scouts how to make a few quick desserts for their families. All in all it was great. Now, we're really headed into spring - allergies and all. Yikes.

Out of His Mind

Where is the guy that would write this for my oldest? Just about to turn 16, as beautiful as can be, who gives a new meaning to the word 'spirited'. She seems to pick some real losers who end up treating her like crap.

Hey, Mr. Good Guy, you're welcome here anytime.

Week in Review 3/18/10

The third week of March was ... full, to say the least. It was my first week of Crew Support training. We had final dress rehearsals and sound checks for the play. #1 had her first track meet of the season. #3 was diagnosed with strep on Monday, missed 3 days of school and we found out it had developed into pneumonia by Thursday, the opening night of Hello Dolly that she and #2 were both in. Talk about a bummer. She made every single practice and wasn't able to perform once for the public because she was so sick. On the other hand, we flew the 'ex' in from Cali as a surprise for our 2 oldest. It had been a long time since they'd seen their daddy and it was somehow fitting for him to be here for this. Aside from all that, we tried to squeeze in some relaxation and actually had dinner in the park one night and as well as a quick trip to our favorite library. We also enjoyed celebrating our niece's birthday my sister-in-law's house where eating is an art. I wish I could accurate describe the BBQ ribs they make ... and the cake. Heaven!