I was just thinking

People have different opinions, of course. Matthew McConahay is hotter, no George Clooney is hotter. We can even have a difference of opinion on slightly more important issues. I can accept that. I can respect people with opinions that differ from mine. But then there are things that are not a matter of opinion. You are either right or you're wrong. For example (and I'm going to use a nice big heavy example to make my point) abortion is morally wrong. Now you might disagree with me, but that does not mean that we have a difference of opinion. It means that one of us is right and one of us is wrong. I don't pretend to have all the answers. in fact, I'm sure I have very few of them. But I'm tired of being told that I should be accepting and tolerant of  different opinions, when we're not actually talking about opinions at all. We are  talking about what is right and what is wrong.
Any way, these are just some of my thoughts today.
Last night we had a fantastic election party with our friends and neighbors. Of course the outcome of the election put a damper on our party. But I am grateful for the privilege of voting and the opportunity to teach my kids about the election process. I was very disappointed about my state going blue, but grateful to live and what was a battleground state. the extra attention that Colorado got and the opportunity to attend rallies for Mitt Romney were very exciting for our whole family. I believe that my kids will remember this election. They learned about the electoral college and campaigning and about some of the issues facing our country at this time.
I am proud to have had the chance to vote for Mitt Romney. I believe he is a great man and would have made a great president. I'm glad that the election is over and, as always, I am proud to be an American.

I love these faces!

We finally made it out to take some pictures, including a great one that will be on our Christmas cards that I already ordered and have every intention of sending out on December 1st. Next year perhaps Sam and I will make it onto the Christmas card.

I love these kids and their cute faces. I'm so glad that they're mine even if they are growing up after I told them a million times to Stop It!

Speaking of growing, Little Peanut weighed in at 11 lbs. 3 ozs. at her 2 month appointment last week. This week I had to choke back tears as I packed away her newborn clothes. When I came across the tiny pink jammies that she wore at the hospital I almost lost it.

And look at Nate. Who is that kid? And you should hear his voice, all deep and man like. I can hardly take it.

Bryce didn't go Trick-or-Treating this year. What's that? At least he still dressed up.

Seriously, no more blinking!

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Totally off topic-

Last week I was called to be the secretary in the Young Women's organization in our ward. I went to my first activity last night with the Young Men and Young Women. I don't know if I'm cut out for this. Teenagers kind of scare me. This calling will definitely force me outside of my comfort zone and also be a much bigger time commitment than the other callings I have had recently. I'm really quite nervous about the whole thing. What I am hoping that I gain from this experience is a greater ability to connect with my own teenagers, present and future. I also hope that I will be able to bring something to the youth that I will be working with. I don't yet know what that might be. After last night I feel that it might be even more difficult than I originally thought, but I have faith in the process, so bring it on.

I'm so behind on blogging, it's ridiculous! This first post might end up being a really long boring (for you not for me) post all about all of the Leah details. Feel free to not read it.
I said that I was not going to do a long detailed birth story post but I lied. This is the only place that I record anything and I want to remember some of the birth story stuff so that later on when she asks me about it I won't have to say, sorry I really don't remember, like I have had to say a lot to my other kids lately. So here we go. After days and weeks of doing everything I could to go into labor on my own unsuccessfully we woke up early on Monday morning of August 27th, after very little sleep, and headed to Sky Ridge hospital. We checked in around 6 am and got settled in our room. By 7:30 I was hooked up to monitors and an IV and waiting for my epidural. I was dilated to between 4 and 5 cm. I think by 9ish I had the epidural and that lovely warm tingling feeling that comes with it. I had the same issue with my blood pressure dropping that I had when McKay was born, but this time we were prepared and got it under control quickly. I'll have to ask Sam because I have already forgotten, but I think that is the first time I through up that day. First of many. Then it was time to wait and rest, not sleep but rest. At some point Heather came to hang out. I'm not sure what time that was, I've already forgotten so much, but it's not important. I got checked again and I was dilated to a 6. Then around noon I started feeling pressure. We called for the nurse and she checked me again. Still a 6. Lame. So we waited and I puked a few more times and we waited some more. Then I started feeling a lot of pressure, but I was afraid it was another false alarm so we waited a bit and then I really wish that I had not waited. We call the nurse in around 1:20ish and it was definitely go time. She called for Dr. Zart and we got the party started. Heather was still there and asked if she should go. I've always been a pretty private person and never thought I would be okay with anyone other than Sam and the medical professionals being present at one of my deliverers but I really didn't mind and I knew she wanted to stay so I told her to stay. Anyway, after the Dr. was all set up and ready to go I pushed through one contraction and boom I had a baby! I only held her for a second then they took her to the warmer and got her all cleaned up. I felt a little left out, stuck on the other side of the room without my baby.
While all of this was going on Grandma Marillyn was with the other kidos. She took them to school that morning then checked them all out of school before lunch and took them to KFC then they went to target then she took brought them to the hospital right after Leah was born. They were able to come into the delivery room and see her in the warmer then hold her while I did some more puking. They were all very sweet with her and very excited that she was here. Bryce even skipped his cross country meet to be there with her.
That night we had lots of visitors. Becky and her kids came, then Karen and her kids, then Heather and her kids. I sent Sam home around mid-night to get some sleep and I just sat up with my sweet baby until about 1:00am. She was so alert and sweet and cute and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She went to sleep around 1 and slept for about 6 hours, like the rock star she is. Then on Tuesday we watched Tangled together. Our first mother-daughter movie. Some time around 3, I think we left the hospital and came home. My parents were here to greet us along with Marillyn and the kids.

As I posted before Leah was 8lbs 0.5 oz and 19 1/2 in long at birth
At 4 days she was 7 lbs 12 oz (55%) and 20 1/4 in long (70%) and her head was 14 3/8 (65-70%)
At 14 days she was 7 lbs 12 oz and 21 1/4 in long Head 14 3/4
At one month she was 8 lbs 12 oz and 21 1/2 in long

She was very jaundice for the first month. Not enough to need to be under lights but enough that they needed to keep pricking her poor little heel to check, and enough that the whites of her eyes were very yellow. To need light therapy her lever had to be 21. At 14 days she was at 19.5  then at 16 days 18.5 then at one month 17.5. Now at 7 weeks I don't know her number but her eyes and skin are much less yellow.

I don't know the exact date but we got her first real smile that seemed intentional at around 5 weeks and then another one just a few days later. Both were for me by the way. She doesn't smile much when she's awake but does a lot in her sleep. So, so sweet!

She still sleeps really good at night, any were from 4 to 7 hours (usually closer to 4) then she eats and goes back to sleep. In the morning she is usually pretty happy but she obviously has some issues with a gassy tummy that makes her pretty unhappy. She has not been the easiest baby but she is still supper sweet. I was spoiled by my last two babies. Gracie and McKay were perfect babies. So easy. So I may have had some unrealistic expectations. We are adjusting and accepting this new normal with a baby in our home again. It has not easy but truly worth every second. I love watching her and snuggling her and of course dressing her. All of her brothers and sisters can't keep their hands off of her. We are all very much in love.

Well, this post has taken me 2 days to write so I'm going to call it good for now and go eat before Leah wakes up, but coming soon will be "Blessing Day", "Mitt Romney Rally", and maybe some TMI.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.
last week I asked McKay's Kindergarten teacher how he was doing. She said, great. He's just really quite. Well that's because he is saving up ALL of his words for the second we get in the car. Today went something like this.

I made a puzzle with my book buddies today. It was of the earth. They grow pineapple in Hawaii. How far away is Hawaii? Does Santa live in the North Pole or the South Pole? There are polar bears in the North Pole. Where are we going for Lunch? What do they have to eat there? Are we closer to the North Pole or the South Pole? Which one is China closer to? Do we have to go over an ocean to get to the South Pole? Are all polar bears white? How long would it take if we could drive to Hawaii? Are we still in Castle Rock? Can I play on the computer when we get home? Do babies just fall asleep automatically? Leah just closed her eyes. How long til we get home? So, can I play on the computer?

And on, and on, and on. Then, when we were about 5 minutes from home he seemed to run out of words so he started singing, nananananananananananananananana. He is such a fun kid and so smart and he makes me really, really tired.

picture over load

 I won't bore you all with a long labor and delivery story. Things went mostly well other that a lot of puking before and after delivery, which was not expected. Then at 1:42 pm our sweet baby girl entered the world at 8 lbs 0.5 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. She had long fingers and toes and was so alert and bright eyed. She immediately started trying to get her hands into her mouth and scratched up her little face. I thought at first that she had red hair, which I must admit I was hoping for, but it turns out I only make blond girls.

 The first week has flown by. Which is sad and scary to a momma who thinks there is nothing better in this world than a new born baby and knows she will never have another one :'(, but it has also been a joy. She is a great baby. From the very first night she has slept between 5 and almost 7 hours at a time then she eats and sleeps for another 3 or 4 hours. I couldn't have even hoped to have it so good and I am super grateful. During the day she divides her time pretty evenly between sleeping and eating. The eating is another story. I don't mean to complain, but I have nursed 5 other babies and never have I experience pain like this. Again, I'll spare you the details, I'll just say it's ugly ya'll, super ugly. I hope things improve soon. She had a check up on Friday and weighed in at 7 lds, 12 oz and was about 20 1/2 inches long. She didn't grow an inch in 4 days, she was just easier to stretch out.

We spent her one week birthday/Labor day running errands. We went to AFW and got some new furniture then to the craft store to get the letters for her name, now that she has a name. Then to Target for a variety of things. Then we went to the pool for the last day of the summer. The big kids had a great time swimming with Sam and Leah and I enjoyed hanging out with Heather and Jeff. She was a trooper and it was a great day!

Her umbilical cord also fell off on her one week birthday. It was a big day for her.

So at 1 week she is a great sleeper, great eater, great pooper. She takes a pacifier, which is a first for my kids. She sucks her thumb and fingers occasionally. Hates being put in her car seat, but is fine once she's there. loves to be swaddled and snuggled. Sneezes a lot. Has hiccups a lot. She's a little bit yellow, but nothing to be concerned about. She's wearing a yellow outfit today and Gracie told her that her outfit matches her eye balls, which is kind of true.

 Here is proof that I do let other people hold her, but the truth is I'm not very fond of sharing her.

This was Thursday night before Gramma Mary and Grampa Hal left. I think Gramma has given all of the babies their first sink bath.

Leah Marie

I spent the majority of the last five days just starring at this sweet baby, trying desperately to memorize every ounce of her amazing newborn-ness.

 The puffiness around her eyes and wrinkles on her forehead

 Her perfect little round, blond head and her dark gray eyes. The way her top lip makes a perfect little bow

 Every streach and yawn and sneeze and grunt and coo

 That extra fuzziness on her arms and back and shoulders. That super soft squishy part of her neck that just begs to be kissed.

Her long little toes and her fingers that will surely serve her well as a basket ball player or a piano player someday (if she wants).

The way she puckers up her lips into a tight little circle. The way she tries so hard to find her fingers with her mouth and when she does she concentrates so hard on sucking on them.

every bit of her is so absolutely perfect.

There are no words to express how perfectly happy I am that she is here. I feel a completeness and a peace brought simply by her presents. She is pure joy.

I could go on and on and on, but the fact is she is hungry so I am needed elsewhere.

photos taken on Aug 28th courtesy of Bella Baby Photography.

pregnant me pictures

On this, the very last day that I will EV-ER be pregnant I thought I would go ahead and post some pictures. Sam and Abby helped me out with these last night and mostly I just look like a beached whale but whatever. I know it could be worse. I've gained about 21 lbs with this pregnancy, which is close to what I gain with all of the others except for Nate's, which I gained somewhere between 60-65 lbs and about half of that was in my face and legs. Yeah, I was pretty. Any way, here ya go. I even did my hair and put on make up for ya all.

Baby still doesn't have a name and I really don't care. All that matters to me at this point is that she gets her little self OUT of me! And that she's healthy and stuff of course. Unless my prayers are finally answered and I go into labor on my own sometime between now and tomorrow morning, the plan is to check in to the hospital tomorrow at 6 am, get myself an epidural, praise the Lord, then have this baby ASAP. I'm sure we will be post pictures and updates via Face Book so stay tuned.
Oh ya, my sister-in-law, Kacey had her sweet baby boy early this morning. I'm super happy for them and can't wait to meet my new nephew. I'm not jealous at all. Okay, that's a lie.

first day of school 2012

 Nate started 8th grade on Monday, August 13th he plans to wrestle duing the winter sport season.

 Bryce started 7th grade on Monday, August 13th. He is currently in Cross Country and really likes it. He also plans to do flag football, basket ball and track this year.

 Abby started 5th grade on Tuesday, August 14th. Her teacher is Mr. Rasavage.

Gracie started 3rd grade on Tuesday, August 14th. Her teacher is Mr. Jacobson.

McKay had his first day of Kindergarten today, and he loved it! His teacher is Mrs. Davis.

just thinking out loud

So School starts in just over a month and I'm starting to think about what our family theme for the 2012-13 school year will be. Here are some of the ideas for future themes I came up with last year.

-Be a light

-Find joy in the journey

-"by small and simple things are
great things brought to pass " Alma 37

-Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Involved, Be Clean, Be True, Be Positive, Be Humble, Be Still, and Be Prayerful. -Gordon B Hinckley-

-"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" d&c 88:119

I also just saw this-

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

Sam's cousin Amy posted it on Face Book and I really need this particular message right now.

I don't know how well I did on the follow through with our theme last year. It was "I can do hard things". We had a few visual reminders in our home and we talked about it occasionally, but over all I feel like we had a great start of the school year, family night and then the theme was kind of forgotten. I'm hoping to come up with some way to carry the new theme through the whole year more effectively. Any thoughts? I taking about small, easy to execute ideas. If we go with D&C 88:119 or with the Gordon B Hinckley quote we could break it up and focus on a different part each month. I don't know.
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So while I was composing this here post, I decided what the theme should be (it is none of those listed above) and got on etsy to order my star. It's the lime green one and it will have our theme in the center of it. Remember last year's star. Although I have not yet decided on the perfect place to hang it, I love it!

Any way, I need to get started on some planning, because what I have in mind for our special family night is going to take some work. Why am I doing this?

When there's Love at Home

Yesterday Sam and I had to run into Littleton to pick up my car from the shop. It took us a little over an hour. The kids were given the assignment of getting all of their jobs done so that we could leave as soon as we got home to go to Aurora Resivore for a family BBQ and a day of fun playing on the beach. As soon as Sam and I got home we left. There was no mention at that time of what went down while we were gone. Which is probably for the best.

We went to the Resivore and had a great time playing in the sand and water and visiting with Sam's aunt and uncle and some of his cousins. We come home and relaxed and then some how at bed time bits and pieces of a very interesting story stared to surface.

The action packed story included chases and slammed doors and shoes being thrown and light bulbs being shattered and clocks being knocked off of tables and hitting and yelling and faces being scratched.

The stars of this action adventure were Nate and Bryce with special apperiences by Abby and McKay. How Gracie managed to avoid all of the excitement, I'll never know. I understand that most of this is normal sibling behavior. I remember have knock down, drag out fights with my brothers when our parents were away, but it's still not acceptable.

Abby's role in the morning's activities got her a firm talking to. McKay earned himself 2 days of no iPad. Some of Nate and Bryce's consequences are still being thought through. However, fase one is currently taking place. Last night we talked about several things, including some of the responsibilities that Nate and Bryce have as big brothers, members of this family and young priesthood holders. The three responsibilities that I came up with off of the top of my head were: 1. Being good examples. 2. Helping to bring peace into our home. 3. Protecting each other and the other members of their family. Right now they have the assignment of writing a 5 paragraph report on what those responsibilities mean to them and what things they should be doing to fufill those responsibilities. Later tonight they will present their reports to the family.

The longer I'm a parent, the more clear it becomes that I know nothing about being a parent. I have no answers, zero, none! All I can do is pray for devine guidance, and then cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Last night was rough. The kids lost a lot of trust. There are times that I need to leave them on their own for a bit so that I can take care of other responsibilities, and after yesterday I'm afraid to do it again anytime soon. It's frustering to really feel like you are doing your very best as a parent and then to see that it's just not good enough. Bla, bla, bla.

Anyway, I'm not ready be done with Nate's and Bryce's punishments/lessons. So if you have any creative suggestions, feel free to share. I've already thought of knocking their heads together, and decided against it. I'm trying to stick with nonviolent consequences, even though some of them sound very appealing.

4 weeks down

for real? Almost a whole month of summer gone. I really can't believe it. I also am having a hard time remembering what we did this last week.
My parents came up on Thursday for my Dad's Dr. app on Friday. They brought Diesel, my Dad's new 7 week old puppy and the kids were in heaven playing with him. He's super cute and tiny and spunky.
Sam and I took my parents to the Melting Pot for dinner on Saturday to celebrate Father's day and my Mom's 60th birthday, which is today! It was fun and delicious but my Dad wasn't feeling well, which was kind of a bummer, but we still had a good time.
On Wednesday and Thursday night we had the tent set up in the back yard for the kids to sleep in. The girls had friends over on Wednesday then Bryce and Gracie and McKay slept out there on Thursday. That is likely the only camping that they will be doing this summer because Sam hates camping...always, and I am in no shape to go camping right now.
On Saturday we did some landscaping and cleaning up of our back yard and it looks really nice. However, as usual I did more of the manual labor than was good for me, which isn't hard to do because the amount that is good for me is NONE, and I was in lots of pain for the rest of the weekend. I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. I just want to be able to move without hurting. It's nice to have the yard done though. Done for now anyway, there will always be more we can do.
Sunday of course was Father's Day and I being in my weakened state (see above) did pretty much nothing special for Father's Day. Sorry Sam. In fact, Sam and the kids got up and made a big breakfast for everyone, eggs, bacon, pancakes. He rocks!! The kid's gave him some Father's Day gifts earlier. Nate's gift to Sam was Nate getting a hair cut. Bryce gave him a cool Bronco thing that he got at the Sunshine Festival and McKay gave him a picture frame that he made at school with a picture of him in it. My gift to him was helping to get the yard finished which is something that he has wanted for a long time. I even let him through away some stuff that I wasn't sure I wanted thrown away. That's big for me. I know, overall pretty lame on my part as far as making it a special day goes, but it is what it is and Sam seemed happy anyway.
So 7 more weeks of Summer! We still need to go to Pirates' Cove, and The 24th of July Celebration, and Breckenridge, and.... I can't remember. What else was on the list?

Week 3

I have all of my kiddos home! We had a great block party on Saturday that included a huge water fight. The kids filled 300 water balloons and I tied 300 water balloons the night before. Unfortunately we did not get a single picture the entire day. It was super hot outside so the highlight of the day for me was when one of my neighbors filled up a tub of water and brought it to me to soak my feet in. Another neighbor added bath salts to the water and the little girls got spray bottles and a brush and started fixing my hair. I was very pampered, almost to the point that I was a bit embarrassed... almost.
We went to target and got most of what I still need for baby and yesterday Heather came over and we got the baby's room mostly set up. Last night I went into the room with Sam to show him what I had bought and what we had accomplished. I was pointing out different things and when I got to the diaper bag that I had just packed he got this "look" on his face and said, "We have a diaper bag! This just got real for me."
That kind of cracked me up.
Today the kids and I got the house all cleaned up and looking pretty so I feel much calmer now. They also have been asking for extra ways to earn money. We have tried different systems of allowance over the years and haven't stuck to any of them. The kids have their daily chores, and actually do quite a bit of work around here, but I feel like that is just part of being a family and taking responsibility of our home, so they don't get paid for those things. How ever, I love that they are wanting to earn their own money, so I came up with a list of extra jobs that need done and last night Sam and I sat down and assigned a dollar amount to each job. This is what we came up with:


Clean and Organize Kitchen drawers $1/per drawer
Fold Socks for 15 min $2
Dust $2
Clean Trash Out of Car $2
Wash out Trash Cans $2/per trash can
Sweep Front Porch and Side Walk $2
Organize Towel Closet $2
Clean and Organize Kitchen Cupboards $2/per cupboard
Clean and Organize Bathroom Cupboards $2/ per cupboard
*Wash all Light Switches $2
*Wash Hand Rails On Stairs, (including basement) and upstairs hallway $2
Clean Bird Cage- $3
Pull Weeds for 15 Min $3
Cleaning Coat Closet $3
Wash Upstairs Doors $4
Wash Downstairs Doors (including basement) $4
Vacuum Under Couch/ Chair Cushions $5
Vacuum Car $5
Cleaning and Vacuuming behind and under couches $5
Pick up/ Sweep Garage $5
Wash Window Sills and Tracks $5
Sweep Back Patio and Side Walk $5
Wipe seats and all Surfaces in car $5
Clean Kitchen Refrigerator $7
Clean Garage Refrigerator $7
Clean Kitchen Freezer $7
Clean Garage Freezer $7
Mow Lawn $10

*These Jobs are for McKay only



All jobs must be approved by a parent in advance. Dollar amount is subject to change depending on the level of work the job requires at that time. All jobs must be recorded and signed off on by a parent at time of completion.

Then I also made a record sheet so that jobs could be recorded and payment could be made at the end of each week. I'll let you know how it goes.
That's about it for week 3. I am officially in my 3rd trimester and feel very pregnant, but all is going well.

Summer Week 2

Last Friday my dad called and said to meet him half way that day and give him the boys. So we did. Well, Sam did. My parents built a new garage this year and had to have their giant wood pile moved. They had someone come in with a bulldozer and just push it all out of the way. They offer the boys the opportunity to earn some money this summer by coming and moving/ stacking all of the good wood and separating out the old, bad wood to be burned. I think the job took them all around 11 hours to complete. They did two big days and then about an hour today to finish it up. They are tired and sore and I hear they worked very hard. They also got to have some fun. They spent a day at the Sand Dunes, and some time playing in the canal. They went to a festival and saw a firework show and tomorrow they are going swimming. They will be home on Friday and I really can't wait. I have missed their cute faces so much.

We have not worked quite so hard here but we did work. On Saturday we had a garage sale and finished cleaning out our garage. Then  hauled away all of our extra junk. Our garage has never looked so good. It's kind of awesome.

Abby and her friend had a lemonade stand on Saturday and sold $44 dollars worth of lemonade. After expenses and splitting the profits Abby made $15. They also started a weeding and watering business and had their first client last weekend. They are great little business women.

The Girls also started a Literacy Program this week and Gracie starts being tutored in reading tomorrow. We've had some fun too though. 5 hours at the pool, trip to the library and today a movie and lunch. We saw Chimpanzee, then ate at CB&Pots. Tomorrow we'll do another pool day if the weathers nice. Right now we are under a tornado warning.

first week of summer vacation

I sill have so many blog posts to catch up on; last day of school and cruise stuff mostly, but now summer is in full swing and I don't feel like looking back at the moment. I will got to it eventually though.
The last day of school was Wednesday. We spent Thursday and Friday unwinding. Then Saturday came and we hit the ground running. Between Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we spent at least 20 hours with the whole family working our little fingers to the bone. We cleared out and organized the garage which is now almost finished. Just awaiting the instalment of overhead storage shelves. Then we cleaned out, organized and moved furniture around in all 4 of the bedrooms that are occupied by the kids. McKay is now in Abby's old room. Abby and Gracie are now sharing McKay's old room and Gracie's old room, which still needs some clearing out, is going to be ready for the baby soon. Nate and Bryce share a room and not much work was done there. Just the changing of sheets and clearing and removal of an old dresser. Nate's dresser was replace with Abby's old dresser, which isn't that old, because Abby and Gracie got new dressers, part of the bribery that took place to get them on board with the idea of sharing a room. So much work and so much hauling of furniture up and down stairs, which I swore I would not be involved in, but in the end I helped with a lot of it because I just needed it done.
There is still soooo very much to do, but for now we are taking a break from projects. Tuesday we spent 3 hours playing at the park. Well, the kids played, I sat and chatted with some friends.
Wednesday we spent about 2 1/2 hours at the pool while our home was being cleaned by...not us. It was lovely. The 4 older kids are all able to pass the swim test, so they can play in the big pool without an adult by there side. That just leaves McKay who is mostly happy to play in the kiddie pool and when he wants in the big pool it gives me the chance to cool off. Otherwise I just get to sit in a pool chair, soaking up the sun and watching from the side.
Today we went to the library. Now I'm sitting in my clean house while kids are quietly reading or playing with the neighbor kids outside.
So far summer is going well. There has been quite a bit of bugging and tattling and McKay is having a little bit a hard time with not getting his way all of the time now that the other kids are home all day, but mostly they have been super helpful and playing nicely together. Abby and Gracie have even been getting along while sharing a room.
I think we're going to enjoy this summer.

My Little Triathletes

 Last Weekend Bryce, Abby, and Gracie participated in Tri the Rock, a youth triathlon. They trained with volunteers from The Rock Tri Club, three nights a week for the last 4 weeks. They were excited and ready the morning of the race. Maybe a little nervous but for some reason not as nervous as I was. I hardly slept at all the night before.

Here we are waiting at Butterfield park for the race to start.

Here is Bryce in his Transition area.

Bryce had to Swim 100 Meters, Bike 8K or about 5 miles, Run 2K about 1.25 miles.

His times for each event were Swim- 3:31, Bike and Transition- 26:59, Run- 9:03 for a total of 39:32. He placed 17th out of 43 boys his age group of 11-12 year olds.

When he crossed the finish line he was totally wasted. He started wheezing and crying and had to get to his inhaler fast. He pushed himself so hard and did a great job. Swimming is not his strength so he wants to work on that this summer. But overall he's a great athlete.

Abby at her transition area

Abby had to Swim 50 meters, Bike 4K or about 2.5 miles and Run 1K or about .6 miles. Her times for each event were, Swim-2:05, Bike and Transition- 17:59, Run- 4:34, Total 24:35. She place 36th out of 90 girls in her age group of 9-10 year olds.

She was also completely wasted when she crossed the finish line. The kids PE coach, Mr. Ford, helped with their training and was at the race to cheer them on. He was waiting at the finish line when Abby came in. After she finished he said to me, "I was wondering if any of these kids knew how to waste themselves to finish a race and then I saw Abby come around the corner. Now that how you're supposed to finish a race."

Gracie at her transition area.

Gracie's age group did the same distance as Abby's 50 meter swim, 4K bike and 1K run. Her times were, Swim- 2:10, Bike and Transition- 17:35 and Run- 4:56, Total- 24:40 and she placed 13th out of 62 girls in the 8-9 age group.

She was a trooper. I was the most shocked at how well she did, because of the three of them she is the least competitive. She also came across the line the least worn out, but her time was fantastic. She has a lot of natural athletic ability. She's a rock star!

I love when they have come to my races and cheered me on but I loved even more watching them compete and cheering them on. They all work so hard and did such a good job. I am so proud of them and I love seeing them relize again, that they CAN do hard things!



School Stuff

Every year the kids' elementary school holds a Grandparent's Tea. It's an event for the kids to honor their grandparents or some other special person in their life. This year Sam's parents were out of town and my parent's were coming to visit the next week for Gracie's baptism so I got to be their special person. I got to spent time with each of them in their classroom and receive a special gift from them then join them in the gym for yummy cake. In Bryce's class each kid got to go to the front of the room with their guest and tell the class what they love about them. Then the guest could tell every one what they love about their kiddo. Bryce is so tender hearted. He got a little choked up as he told every one that he loves me because I support him in everything he does. I encourage him to practice in sports and do well in scouts. He is so sweet. I said that I love him because he always works hard and does his best in everything he does, and because I love his freckles!

Last week they had their last Top of the Rock assembly of the year. Gracie got an award in Technology and Bryce got an award from his teacher for exhibiting the IB traits in the class room.

I have great kids with great teachers. They have all had a positive year, but we are all ready for it to be over and enjoy us some summer time. McKay graduates from preschool on Friday and Bryce graduates from 6th grade next Wednesday. We have one more field trip and 4 class parties then we are done!

Gracie Girl

We've had some pretty big events take place around here lately. Things that need documented, you know. At the top of that list would be Gracie's 8th birthday last month. Notice that her presents are wrapped. :) We had a bowling party with some of her friends at Brunzwick Zone and she had a great time. Along with turning 8 Gracie made the decision to be baptized. She got to pick out a beautiful white dress for the occasion. She was baptized and confirmed by her Daddy, and was joined by her grandparents and some other family and friends. It was lovely. The day got a little stressful afterwards when we had a BBQ at our house. Sam went to pick up the desert tray from Chick-fil-a and it was not ready so I started getting burgers on the grill and then the toilet overflowed for the second time that day and then we realized that the hamburger buns I bought only had 4 buns per pack instead of the usual 8. Then Nate had a major wipe out on his bike.  But eventually things calmed down and even I was able to enjoy the afternoon. Talking about the toilet overflowing though reminded me that the baptismal font also overflowed that morning. Who ever was filling it did not keep a close enough eye on it and it flooded the men's restroom. Sam and the other dads were mopping up as much water as they could before the service started. Anyway, it was a great day and we are so proud of our Gracie Girl. She is funny and silly and lots of fun. She is creative and smart and friendly and outgoing. She brings extra excitement and energy to our home and I love her to pieces.

Notice the traditional giant baptism cookie made by Grandma Mary. Which reminds me I still need to clean out the bottom of my oven where the cookie overflowed so that I don't continue to smoke up the whole house every time I use the oven. Which isn't very often lately or I would have already remembered to clean it out.

Today

I was thinking today about how my life right now is pretty close to exactly want I want it to be. And it's clear to me that this positive state of being that I am currently experiencing has very little to do with me and so very much to do with the people in my life. Did you know that I have the 5 most amazing kids on the planet? Well, I do. Each one of them is exactly what I need. I also have a super great husband and peace and joy in my marriage. That's huge! I have an amazing best friend who I can always count on for like...anything and everything. I also have a large circle of other super supportive, caring, fun, totally awesome friends. My kids have fantastic teachers who I adore and I fell blessed to be able to send my kids to them each day. I have fun neighbors, caring visiting teachers and a great ward.  I have loving, supportive parents and siblings and in-laws that I enjoy spending time with. Oh, and I can't forget the wiggly little baby inside of me who I am over the moon about. I really have been blessed by the people in my life. I don't deserve it but I will gladly accept it. That's all. That's what I was thinking about today.

My boy

I know I've said it before, but McKay cracks me up everyday. He heard me talking to our neighbor today about having a block party, so tonight he asked me who was coming to it. I told him that everyone on our street was invited. His eyes got real big and he asked, "Everyone on East Weston Avenue?" Yap everyone, which is 10 whole families by the way. He then went to the kitchen and informed Nate that we were having a block party and everyone on East Weston Avenue was invited to it! Then he came back to me and wondered if we had already sent invitations to everyone on East Weston Avenue.
His four favorite things to say lately are "Oh, no you didn't", "I'm out", "You should be ashamed of yo self", and "shut yo mustache". For example when I told him to go get dressed yesterday, he responded "Oh, no you didn't just say that to me." When I start assigning chores he simply says, "I'm out" and leaves the room. When Gracie yelled down the stairs that she couldn't find her shoes, he yelled back to her "well, you should be ashamed of yo self." and then "shut yo mustache" is just used all of the time for random reasons. Sassy, sure. Rude, ya... a little. Hilarious, I think so. He's mostly the sweetest kid on the planet, and all of his mouthiness is done in good humor and he mostly understands the situations when it's not appropriate and he knows to cool it. It's also true that he knows that he has me wrapped around his little finger and can get away with just about anything.

Pregnancy can make me a little extra crazy. Sometimes I wonder if it's the normal kind of crazy that every one is going to say "oh ya, I felt that way when I was pregnant too" or if it's the "Men in white lab coats are going to show up at my home with a straight jacket and haul me away to the loonie bin" kind of crazy. When I'm pregnant my anxiety is... a little elevated, and I experience extra doses of paranoia. Like when Sam was out of town and  about 80% of my brain was about 99% sure that we were all going to be killed in our sleep, either by the murderer that snuck into the house earlier that day or by carbon monoxide poisoning, because we hadn't changed the filter in our furnace in who knows how long. Somehow the 20% of my brain that was still somewhat rational won out and I was able to fall to sleep. By some miracle we all woke up alive the next morning. As soon as Sam got back home we changed the filter and bought 3 carbon monoxide detectors (one for each floor of the house). And I have started locking the doors to the house more often during the day. Of course those are good things, I just wish that they didn't come about due to my panic.
Before my ultrasound last week I was having moments of being mostly convinced that I was going to go to my ultrasound appointment and  be laying on the ultrasound table with all of my kids around me excited to see the baby and instead of finding out the gender we would find that there was no heart beat. Maybe it's because while we were in Texas we spent a day at NASA, but I kept imagining the phrase "Huston we have a problem". Then I would imagine the pain of all we would have to go through following that news. Now that we have had the ultrasound and everything is perfectly fine I have moved on to the next possible horror. Last night I became so worried that I was going to me murdered and my baby stolen that I was in tears. Poor Sam, I don't know how he deals with me. I know part of it is that I stayed up too late and I was exhausted, but still. Now today, I'm more rested and for the moment more rational and I wonder, what in the world was wrong with me last night?, but last night it made perfect sense that I would be freaking out over something like that.
Okay, this is the part where you tell me that this is all totally normal and I probably don't need to check myself into the psych ward,.... or that I'm crazy and I should seek help. What ever.