The West Family

Busy. Busy. Busy

2015-09-24T06:43:00.000-04:00

After a few days of rest for Kai, and by rest I mean jumping on the tramp, climbing through the car window at piano, fighting with siblings, coach Pat finally let him practice! YAY! Of course I wasn't there to witness it, but I am so very happy for him!

Today was a whirlwind. I was planning to go to Natalie's house this morning to work on my quilt, but I had too much to get done around the house so I decided I better stay home. That decision proved to be wise when I got the phone call that my new kitchen table would be delivered tomorrow between 10-2.

I spent most of the day organizing, throwing stuff away, and listing things for sale that we don't use anymore. It was a quick $25, but I'm hoping for a few more calls for some of the other stuff! Got to pay off that new table... or get some chairs to go with it! HA

At 2:15 we left to get some gas and we didn't get home until 8:30. The middle three had piano this afternoon, then I dropped Kai and Luke off at Linder, Ethan at Graham, and then drove Olivia to Pine for her basketball workout, then back to get Kai and Luke.

Which brings us back to the beginning that Kai got to practice! I love having a super happy Kai!

Another Manic Monday

2015-09-21T06:48:00.000-04:00

Just another regular day in the neighborhood. Got the children off to school, played with Elle, cleaned the house etc. Zipped Ethan off to piano, the got home in just enough time to load Kai and Luke up to head to football.

I really needed to run a errand during football today, but since Kai's ankle was hurting last week, and now his knee is hurting I decided to stay for a few minutes just to make sure everything was normal. I was sitting and Luke's practice and looked up to watch Kai's team do their warm up jog. I was so relieved as I watched him run to the trash can that he wasn't limping or anything as was even a part of the front of the pack. Then as they went to round the trash cans a couple of the kids fell on top of each other, and of course Kai was at the bottom of the pile. He got up slow and then limped the whole way back up to the team! UGH! He spent the rest of the practice as quarterback handing the ball off. It was frustrating to say the least, but he has Tuesday off so he should be ready to go Wednesday.

Ankles Cont.

2015-09-16T20:24:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, Kai's ankle was just a weird step. He woke up this morning and it was swollen and very tender. I kept him home from school to rest it, and feed him Chipotle. I feel absolutely sick about him being hurt. I wish I would have just went downstairs to get the Windex myself! UGH!! We are hoping and praying it will be better VERY soon.

Other than having Kai home from school, it was a pretty uneventful day. Elle and I ran to get him an Ace Bandage so we could follow Brian's strict RICE orders. You know Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevate. A quick google search proved that I might be the only person on the planet not up on the RICE treatment.

Because of Luke's scrimmage yesterday he didn't have football, and obviously Kai didn't go to football tonight, so it was a nice quite evening at home for all of us except for Brian and Ethan.

Most importantly, Brian finally (its only been 3 days) found a supplier that carries the part of the dryer we need to fix it! As long as everything goes smoothly we should be back in regular laundry business tomorrow! YAY!!! Turns out hanging underwear to dry yields crunchy undies. Not good.

Ballet, Ankles, & Scrimmages

2015-09-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

It's finally Tuesday again so Elle was back in her ballet shoes. It was her third lesson and somehow the cuteness of the whole leotard, tights, skirt thing is just not getting as old as I thought it would! I've been trying to get Elle to call her teacher Miss Lisa, but I get the feeling she just prefers Lisa but her refusal to add the Miss. She was slightly distracted in class and kept looking at something behind her that seemed to be much more interesting than what was going on in front of her! Also, Elle doesn't seem all that into dancing with her left leg. When it is time to switch from right to left she just continues using her right leg, but crosses it over the left to go to the same side as everyone else. Bless (Miss) Lisa's heart, because I do not have the patience for all that!

After ballet we ran over to the UPS store to get a paper notarized so we can get Elle a birth certificate. Apparently, I never submitted the paperwork and now she's three and Brian's new job needs it on file for their records. It's now been almost two weeks since I submitted the request to get the birth certificate, so now $80 and a notarized paper later it should be shipped soon! UGH!

The notary was running late so we decided to head over to the Halloween store while we waited. I kept Elle far away from the princess side to rule out the possibility of a melt down, and it was a success. She tried on masks, hats, and a ninja turtle shell. By the time we got back to the USP Store the notary was there. Five minutes and eight dollars later we were on our way home, which Elle was NOT happy about because she wanted "to go downtown to eat with daddy!"

After school Elle was taking a bath while I cleaned my bathroom. Kai came up and I asked him if he would run downstairs to get the windex for me. Somehow in doing that he fell and hurt his ankle. It isn't too swollen and he is walking on it so hopefully it isn't a big deal!

Luke's coach set up a scrimmage today for the boys against Freedom, so we headed down there. Olivia was extra excited because Luke's coach needed her to babysit his two younger kids during the scrimmage, her first EVER babysitting job! It was all very exciting! Turns out the 2 year old wasn't excited about his dad not holding him the whole time, so he and I became fast friends. Fruit snacks, granola bars, and iPhone games once again win the day. So, Olivia played with their 5 year old. She got a little distracted at times, but I think for a first time it went well. I'm proud of her, she is growing up so quickly!

Luke played great during the scrimmage. He didn't play too much the second half because we were winning by quite a bit, but he had a great time non the less. After every big tackle he had he would jump up and do one big clap! At one point he came off the field and came over to the fence to tell us his couch had to take him out of the game because he was "destroying those kids!" He is hilarious! It was a good win for Luke's team because they have been struggling a little bit to get their offense going. I'm hoping this will be a turning point.

(ok I seriously wish the ref wasn't there, but I love this pictures anyways!)

Another crazy busy day in the books. So grateful for this sweet family of mine!

Ballerina Elle

2015-09-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago as we were preparing the children to head back to school I asked Elle if she wasn't to do ballet. Her response was, "Probably not!" then she ran off. I asked a few other times and got the same response so I didn't pursue it. Then she saw a picture of her little friend Addie in her ballet leotard and that was all it took to convince her she needed to be apart of the fun! Today was her first day. I know we are partial but we sure think she is the cutest darn ballerina that ever was! Brian left for work and about 20 minutes later walked back through the door. He decided life was too short to miss your youngest daughters first ballet class. Elle was please as punch that her daddy was there to take her. It was a darling class and she did great and had a blast!

Don't worry, she wasn't sad, just posing with a sad face!

And that bun, darn near put the cuteness over the edge!!

We are head over heals for you Elle!

Sunday

2015-08-09T09:20:00.000-04:00

What a blessing today was. Church was wonderful with wonderful speakers, teachers, and students.

In Sacrament meeting Seb, Melissa, and Levi spoke. It was Levi's homecoming and the topics were obedience and patience.

I taught Ethan's Sunday School class, and was not as prepared as I should have been (I'll be better next week!;)). It was fun to be in class with Ethan, to get to see how his class interacts, and how he answers questions. As class was winding down he somehow got his middle finger stuck in his phone case. We had to have a quick closing prayer so we could head to the kitchen to see how to get it off! HA Thankfully there was a bowl full of butter so after a few minutes we were able to get his finger free! Never a dull moment with Ethan around!

While in RS we discussed "The Sacred Callings of Fathers and Mothers" out of the Ezra Taft Benson manual. It was a lovely inspired lesson, and the comments from the women in the ward as they shared their experiences were profound to me. We spent most of the lesson discussing his lists of 10 specific ways fathers and mothers can effectively parent.

Fathers:

1. Give father’s blessings to your children. Baptize and confirm your children. Ordain your sons to the priesthood. These will become spiritual highlights in the lives of your children.

2. Personally direct family prayers, daily scripture reading, and weekly family home evenings. Your personal involvement will show your children how important these activities really are.

3. Whenever possible, attend Church meetings together as a family. Family worship under your leadership is vital to your children’s spiritual welfare.

4. Go on daddy-daughter dates and father-and-sons’ outings with your children. …

5. Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children.

6. Have regular one-on-one visits with your children. Let them talk about what they would like to. Teach them gospel principles. Teach them true values. Tell them you love them. Personal time with your children tells them where Dad puts his priorities.

7. Teach your children to work, and show them the value of working toward a worthy goal.

8. Encourage good music and art and literature in your homes. Homes that have a spirit of refinement and beauty will bless the lives of your children forever.

9. As distances allow, regularly attend the temple with your wife. Your children will then better understand the importance of temple marriage and temple vows and the eternal family unit.

10. Have your children see your joy and satisfaction in service to the Church. This can become contagious to them, so they, too, will want to serve in the Church and will love the kingdom.

Mothers:

[First,] whenever possible, be at the crossroads when your children are either coming or going—when they leave and return from school, when they leave or return from dates, when they bring friends home. Be there at the crossroads whether your children are 6 or 16. …

Second, mothers, take time to be a real friend to your children. Listen to your children, really listen. Talk with them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, play with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them. Yes, regularly spend one-on-one time with each child. Be a real friend to your children.

Third, take time to read to your children. Starting from the cradle, read to your sons and daughters. … You will plant a love for good literature and a real love for the scriptures if you will read to your children regularly.

Fourth, take time to pray with your children. Family prayers, under the direction of the father, should be held morning and night. Have your children feel of your faith as you call down the blessings of heaven upon them. … Have your children participate in family and personal prayers, and rejoice in their sweet utterances to their Father in Heaven.

Fifth, take time to have a meaningful weekly home evening. Have your children actively involved. Teach them correct principles. Make this one of your family traditions. …

Sixth, take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible. This is a challenge as the children get older and lives get busier. But happy conversation, sharing of the day’s plans and activities, and special teaching moments occur at mealtime because parents and children work at it.

Seventh, take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family. … Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy Ghostas their constant companion. I promise you that the Book of Mormon will change the lives of your family.

Eighth, take time to do things as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Whenever possible, attend, as a family, events where one of the family members is involved, such as a school play, a ball game, a talk, a recital. Attend Church meetings together, and sit together as a family when you can. Mothers who help families pray and play together will [help them] stay together and will bless children’s lives forever.

Ninth, mothers, take time to teach your children. Catch the teaching moments at mealtime, in casual settings, or at special sit-down times together, at the foot of the bed at the end of the day, or during an early-morning walk together. …

A mother’s love and prayerful concern for her children are the most important ingredients in teaching her own. Teach children gospel principles. Teach them it pays to be good. Teach them there is no safety in sin. Teach them a love for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a testimony of its divinity.

Teach your sons and daughters modesty, and teach them to respect manhood and womanhood. Teach your children sexual purity, proper dating standards, temple marriage, missionary service, and the importance of accepting and magnifying Church callings.

Teach them a love for work and the value of a good education.

Teach them the importance of the right kind of entertainment, including appropriate movies, videos, music, books, and magazines. Discuss the evils of pornography and drugs, and teach them the value of living the clean life.

Yes, mothers, teach your children the gospel in your own home, at your own fireside. This is the most effective teaching that your children will ever receive. …

Tenth and finally, mothers, take the time to truly love your little children. A mother’s unqualified love approaches Christlike love.

Your teenage children also need that same kind of love and attention. It seems easier for many mothers and fathers to express their love to their children when they are young, but more difficult when they are older. Work at this prayerfully. There need be no generation gap. And the key is love. Our young people need love and attention, not indulgence. They need empathy and understanding, not indifference from mothers and fathers. They need the parents’ time. A mother’s kindly teachings and her love for and confidence in a teenage son or daughter can literally save them from a wicked world.

I absolutely love all of these ideas and suggestions. It is always nice to see things you are doing in addition to the things you can add to be better. During the discussion Laurie Long shared that when her children were growing up Ed had monthly "PPI's" with the children and they called them their "blue chair discussions." Each month Ed and Laurie would sit together to discuss their children individually, then Laurie would leave the room and Ed would call them in one by one. This idea immediately resonated with me. What a blessing to have the spirit so strong in the room. I know that Laurie was prompted to share that and I KNOW I needed to hear it. So this evening Brian and I discussed Ethan and Olivia and Brian was able to have great one on one time with them. We started a little late in the evening to get through all the children, but it was in immediate answer for our family. Lately I've been noticing Ethan apprehensions about junior high school, and my attempts to bring it up were turning up fruitless. But Brian and Ethan were able to have a wonderful conversation about that and so much more. It didn't occur to me on my own to go this route, but my Father in Heaven knew better. It calmed my mothers heart as well as my 12 years heart about all the unknowns that are coming our way!

Toward the end of the lesson Linda Johnson made a wonderful comment about not worrying about or waiting for perfection in the things we are trying to achieve as mothers. She shared that although the ideal is to have the WHOLE family together for scriptures, family meals, etc it is better to do it with who is there then to forgo doing it all together. I feel like I struggle with this so very much. I want things to be perfect and as a result I tend to put things off until they are "ready" instead of going ahead with what I have or who is around. I need to focus on making constant (consistent) efforts instead of waiting for perfect moments that never really come anyways.

We ended the day playing Hide-and-Seek in the dark as a whole family. We all had such a great time. It was a last minute unplanned thing. I thought of it and then just did it! It is a baby step, but I will prayerful work harder to find fun, and uncomplicated things for us to do together to enjoy each others company!

It was a "perfect" Sunday!

Ethan Passes the Sacrament

2015-07-05T12:21:00.000-04:00

It was so awesome seeing Ethan pass the sacrament today. The morning started off a little rushed. Getting home after midnight from all the 4th of July fun translated into everyone sleeping in. At 9:07 Brian woke me up and the frenzy began from there. Ethan our child who's sense of urgency is that of a turtle he was NOT ready when the first car left, although that "first car" was for him! HA

After I realized that he had been left behind turned our "hurry up" in to full on rush out the door. We arrived with about 2 minutes to spare. Ethan got himself all tucked in and he went to sit with the other Deacons and Teachers.

As luck would have it he got our row and handed the bread and water straight to Luke. So grateful for that sweet moment, and I hope to never forget it!

We are so very proud of Ethan. Although he takes as along as a teenage girl to get ready, all his other awesomeness makes up for it!

Sadly because of the rush we didn't get our Sunday Picture.

Who's ready for some Football?

2015-06-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

Someones' excited for fall.

Sunday

2015-06-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday from our little family of three. We sure are missing the big 4!

Friendship Enrichment

2015-05-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

I've been so nervous about tonight for a good week. It was the first Enrichment in my new calling, and I just wanted everything to go well. This month for Enrichment we had two speakers who spoke to us about the importance of friendship, how to be a good friend to others, and the blessings that come when we develop true lasting relationships with others. I'm so grateful for my sweet friends Luanna and Bridget for being willing to share their hearts with us, and I am so blessed to call them my friends.

As the sisters arrived they picked a table number out of the owl to encourage people to get to know someone new, and to get everyone out of their comfort zone a little. Before the speakers started we had some get to know you questions on each table that were discussed while we ate the delicious summer salads that everyone brought to share.

And our "on time" prize was Melanie Shackles Nobody's Cuter than You which is a book I absolutely love and went right a long with our theme.

It turned out to be a beautiful night and I'm grateful to everyone who came and helped make it a success. I hope that we will all move forward with a resolve to be better friends and neighbors, and to love as the Savior does.

#ellegoesonafieldtrip

2015-05-18T21:31:00.000-04:00

Sixth grade must be desperate for field trip volunteers because a few weeks ago I got an email from Ethan's teacher asking if I was available for their Phipps field trip and that Elle was invited too! I hadn't originally said I would go because I had signed up for Kai's and Luke's and I didn't want to have to find another person to watch Elle, but since she could go I accepted right away.

Seriously have you ever seen something as cute as a 6th grade riding the bus with his 2 year old sister, me either! Elle was so very excited to be on the bus, but Ethan was just as excited.

Me on the other hand, could have done without the bus part! YIKES! It was SO very hot out and the kids all wanted the windows open, and I didn't want to be a party pooper so I looked like this the whole. drive. down.

We had a great time exploring Phipps with the fabulous kids in our group. I realized pretty early on that because my group had Elle the kids were way more exited about everything they saw, they were excited to play and have fun. Overall, I think they had a better time then any other group because they got to see Phipps through the eyes of a 2 year old. They weren't worried about what was cool and what wasn't. They just played with Elle, and had the best time!

The field trip proved to be more then Elle could handle and she passed out on the bus ride home,

and apparently it was a big day for Ethan too! ;)

I'm grateful for this fun day and the fun memories we created with Ethan before he goes off to the Junior High. He is growing up so fast and we are so proud of him, but boy oh boy do I want to hold onto every second I can. It was a fabulous day!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2015-05-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

Tonight was the Daddy Daughter Sock Hop. Sadly Olivia was out of town at a basketball tournament this weekend with my parents so she didn't get to go. Elle had a great time with her daddy dancing the night away! So grateful for these pictures!

Take Your Child(ren) to Work Day

2015-04-23T21:07:00.000-04:00

A big bonus for the children of Brian's new job is that they observe Take Your Child to Work Day for children younger than 12. So they FINALLY got to go, and they were so excited. In fact Luke had a field trip planned, that I was chaperoning, but he decided he would rather go to daddy's work, and boy he did NOT regret that decision!

Everyone came home all smiles, including Brian! I'm so grateful for this new job for so many reasons, and this great day might top the charts!

YM/YW Dinner Auction

2015-03-27T10:18:00.000-04:00

It was a bittersweet night. I put on a spaghetti dinner auction with the proceeds going to the Young Men & Young Women's camps this summer. It was an insane amount of work, especially since we only had a month to plan it, but I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. We ended up raising just over $7,000! I'm so happy and excited for these sweet kids to get to do some really fun stuff, but I'm a little sad I won't be apart of that fun stuff. It's a little selfish I know, and the young women will be in great hands, but still it was hard to fully enjoy the night knowing it was the end of an era.

I made this Elsa cake to auction off and the cute Morley girls won it! I couldn't be happier it went to such a fun house!

Love those cuties, and Mr. Grant!

Happy Halloween

2014-10-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

Halloween is kind of my jam! I love everything about it starting with candy and ending with, well..... candy!

Since the 5/6 grade middle school doesn't dress up for Halloween I was left with only one kid to great dressed in their costume. Kai created his own costume and hadn't come up with the name of it when he left for school. All I know is that this is the toned down, school version. All I know, is I better rest my face painting hand!

Since Luke is in PM Kindergarten we had plenty if time to get him dressed and ready to go. We had one small wardrobe malfunction, the mask. I'm sure it was one of two things either Luke has a huge head, or someone made the mask EXTRA small because that thing was squeezing the life out of his face! In a moment of mom genius I decided we should just paint it on and boy was that a success. He looked great and didn't have to spend the whole afternoon fiddling with his mask.

In fact after we took this picture together he asked to see it, then laughed and said, "I forgot I had the painted mask on!" ha

His whole cute class

After school it's always a rat race to get everyone fed, dressed, and ready for trick or treating. This year I opted for the easiest dinner on the planet, pizza. So with that checked off my list I was off to help everyone get dressed. While I was talking to Ethan about his plans for the evening Olivia got wind of the fact that Ethan would not be going around with them this year. So, immediately she wanted to go with her friend too. The problem, it was only 30 minutes from starting time and too late to call anyone. With that news I had ruined her night and she decided she would not be going trick or treating this year, but would instead hand out the candy at the door. We finished painting Kai's WHOLE face and then zipped downstairs for a family (minus Ethan) picture. Here we are: A Nerd, Winifred Sanderson, Kai's still unnamed but very scary X man, Max Dennison, a spider, and of course Dash.

The truth is Brian was only Max Dennison by accident and was clearly thrilled when I started calling him Max. He was a good, ok semi-good sport, and took a picture with me!

Elle only lasted 20 minutes trick or treating. After a few houses she was less excited about the fact that someone was giving her candy and just ready to start eating all that candy.

She was especially giggly tonight so we sat in my bathroom and laughed together for a while before washing our faces and heading to bed. She was a cute little spider!

Happy 10th Birthday Olivia!

2014-08-11T11:26:00.000-04:00

Today my sweet Olivia turns 10 years old, and is officially a member of the double digits club. She is the greatest girl in the whole world. So, in her honor I'm going to share my 10 favorite pictures of her, and then my 10 favorite things about her.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Ok so I clearly can't get enough of a 3 or 4 year old Olivia!

Dear Olivia,

I am head over heals in love with everything about you. Since the day you came into our family you have been the perfect fit. These are some my favorite things about you:

1) You work extremely hard at your school work and always give a little extra,

2) You have the greatest smile and a laugh that is contagious,

3) You are the most organized and deliberate girl I have ever know and there is so much I can learn from you in this department,

4) You have been blessed with tons of athletic ability and you are amazing at every sport you've ever tried, and the best part is that you are extremely humble about it,

5) You are a wonderful friend to others,

6) You crack us all up with the hilarious, off the cuff things you say,

7) You are bound and determined to be just as good as (if not better than) the boys at anything and everything you do,

8) You are a fresh breath of sensitivity and sweetness among the rough and tumble that our home seems to have plenty of,

9) You are such a great helper, and are mostly cheerful about it,

10) You are so beautiful inside and out!

I love your guts Olivia, and think you are the greatest girl on the planet! I'm grateful every that you are apart of our family. I hope you have a great 10th birthday! You truly are the best!

Love,

Mom

T-Ball Wrap Up

2014-06-28T11:31:00.000-04:00

For some reason unbeknownst to me, t-ball starts a whole month after baseball and softball, which leaves Luke feeling more impatient than ever. Once it did finally start we found out 9 of his 17 games were scheduled for Sunday leaving, in some cases, 10 days between games. He didn't complain one bit, but when it was game day we all knew about it! Keeping track of that gold hat proved to be more difficult then I imagined with such lulls between games. Other than the hours of my life wasted searching high and low for that darn hat, the Sunday games worked out in our favor with an already full spring schedule.

The last few games the coaches finally came to their senses and started coach pitch. It was all Luke really wanted out of life, or at least the season, and he was thrilled to bits when they finally made the change.

His coach was so great, and for the games he did attend he put Luke right in on the action. He spent a good amount of time at 1st base, pitcher, and short stop. In one game he caught three kids out! It was then I realized he didn't fully appreciated the "everyone is safe" rule as he made sure to let every one of the those kids know he got them out! He also played the outfield a little. Outfield play in t-ball has little to no rules (or at least that was the kids' understanding). No matter whose side the ball went to it was a mad dash to see who could get to it first. And if they didn't get their first no problem, they were just as happy to wrestle someone for the ball!

Luke wasn't afraid to be a coach out on the field, tell his teammates where to throw and to "just get it in" to the pitcher. He might have also impatiently yelled, "just throw it to first" a time or two! When he had a big hit or a great play he always looked over to make sure we saw it, and he wasn't afraid to let us know when we didn't cheer loud enough. We got our fair share of thumbs up from him at first base, and we tried our best to be the overly impressed parents he wanted us to be!

I think Elle was his favorite cheerleader. Every game he would call her over to the bench to sit with him while he waited for his turn to bat. She might have loved it as much as he did!

Although he only played in a handful of games he had a great time, learned a lot, and most importantly he got a trophy. Cause when your 5 hardly anything else matters!

Until next year!

The Thing About Hot Water

2014-06-26T08:04:00.000-04:00

Rain and thunderstorms were forecasted all day so I came up with the brilliant plan to spend the whole day cleaning. Frankly, with Ethan and Kai gone for 10 days, the rest of us gone to Kentucky this past weekend, and the general craziness that the first couple weeks of summer bring, we were overdue. My grand plan of course was met with nothing but smiles and yes ma’am’s. Well, at least that’s the way I will record it and therefore remember it for the rest of my life!

Just as breakfast and the children’s “school” work was finishing up Olivia (who has made it her business to read my emails and check my calendar for anything I may have forgotten) kindly reminded me that Kai had a dentist appointment in 20 minutes. In all fairness I wouldn’t have forgotten the appointment, my phone would have dinged 10 minutes before the set time and we would have just been a few minutes late. Note to self; set the reminders on my phone for more than 10 minutes before an event is supposed to start.

The dentist appointment went well. That is if "well" means you leave with all the teeth you came with, which is how we now judge the success rate of all trips to the dentist. We’ve clearly set the bar very high.

After we got back home I’m happy to report that most the jobs did get done. However, sometime between cleaning out the refrigerator and cleaning the cabinets I noticed the hot water was no longer hot. Being the self-sufficient woman I am I grabbed my phone to call Brian at work, and marched down to the basement to solve the problem. When I got to the water heater it was clear, from the rusty water leaking from it, that I wasn’t going to be able to fix it, even with the best YouTube video at my side.

The lack of hot water completely knocked the wind out of my cleaning sail to the point that I was completely paralyzed by the thought of doing any household chores. It was as if vacuuming, cleaning windows, or even mopping were worthless without hot water. The children took my lead and somehow we got going on a Full House marathon. Then, as if being a couch potato was my life calling, the mail lady rang the doorbell with a delivery of Cheryl’s Cookies. Just like that everything was right with the world again. Or at least as good as when we had hot water.

Happy 11th Birthday Ethan!

2014-06-20T22:48:00.000-04:00

This cute kid turned 11 today while away from us visiting family in Colorado. Knowing he would be gone for his birthday I asked him if that was ok with him before finalizing the trip. I knew the answer would be "Yes, it's fine" but I asked anyway.

Now today as I head to bed without this cute 11 year old in the house I can't help but think about what a big year this is, as it precedes 12 which for members of our is church is a very big age. Only 12 short months to prepare him to hold the priesthood, pass the sacrament, and attend the temple. We have so much to do and to teach him, but I know he will be ready.

I see so many Christ-like attribute in this young man. One thing that I'm most proud of is his ability to notice and seek out others who might be in need of a friend. I've seen it time and time again, yet each time I witness his love for others, strangers even, I am completely overwhelmed. He is the greatest example to me.

11 AWESOME things about Ethan:

1) He is a very hard worker, and gives everything he does 110%
2) He is the greatest big brother
3) He HILARIOUS! His comedic timing is blessing to us all
4) He is handsome, but humble
5) He is a great friend
6) He is extremely athletic
7) He is a talented piano player (although he tells me he would be better/practice more if the piano was tuned... I'm getting on that!)
8) He loves to learn
9) He is sensitive to others
10) He is very responsible
11) He has fabulous manners

Ethan,
Your dad and I are so very proud of you. You are such a talented, kind, fun, smart young man who blesses the lives of everyone you come in contact with. People are constantly coming up to us telling us how impressed they are with you and what an awesome kid you are, we couldn't agree more. Part of what makes you so awesome is that you are willing to acknowledge what you aren't great at and you make an effort to be better. That is such a difficult thing to do and you do it well. You are such a blessing to our family. Olivia, Kai, Luke, and Elle love having you as their big brother. The way you love them and cheer them on is unmatched. We love you to the moon and back! Have a great day without us! ;)

Love,
Mom

Living the Dream

2014-06-11T08:10:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to report that summer is in full swing around here. We spend our mornings busy with chores, school work, and piano so that we can spend the rest of the day playing at the pool.

It's a hard life, but someones gotta live it!

Maleficent

2014-06-09T09:19:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago Olivia's class had an end of year party that happened to be on the same day she had a softball game. The Plan A was her class going swimming, and if it rained Plan B was seeing Maleficent. With Plan A she was going to be able to swim for a few hours with her class before leaving to her game, however Maleficent was right smack in the middle of the game and there was no way she could make it. I gave her the option to miss the game, but she didn't want to. So we just hoped the weather would hold out so she could enjoy a few hours swimming with her friends. Of course it rained, but only for long enough for them to cancel the pool party and go to plan B. On the drive home from the pool disappointment Olivia asked if we could just go as a family, and naturally I obliged.

The day came to go to the movies. I had wanted to get a babysitter for Elle, but since it was the first day of summer break everyone already had plans. At that point I was ready to bag the movies (and almost did) but I really wanted to start summer break out on the right foot. I came up with a genius plan to go to a showtime that was in the middle of Elle's nap time hoping she would fall asleep. Spoiler Alert: she didn't fall asleep until the last 5 minutes! She really wasn't too bad though, I saw nearly the whole movie with less than 5 minutes out in the hallway.

It got terrible reviews, but we all really enjoyed it. I love to see the "other side" to stories.

Once Elle did finally fall asleep she wouldn't let me cradle her, or rest her head on my shoulder. She had to be held out like this:

It was actually pretty hilarious since we were coming from watching Sleeping Beauty. She really got into character.

It was such a great day and we ran into a bunch of friends. I'm so glad I didn't throw in the towel when it didn't go EXACTLY how I wanted it to go. It was the perfect first day of summer!

Last Day of School

2014-06-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

It's finally the last day of school. This year seemed to drag on, although I'm pretty sure I say that every year. By Memorial Day I've usually been over school for 2 months, so any days past June feel like pure torture! I'm so happy to have these crazy's all to myself for the next few months!

I had big plans to have the children's teacher gifts done before Memorial Day. I hate waiting until the last minute. Long story short, I waited until the crack of dawn this morning to get the stuff and make the gifts. Next year I'll have them done before Memorial Day! HA

BRING ON SUMMER!

Late Night Games

2014-06-05T09:38:00.000-04:00

We've had quite a few 8pm games this season which basically means that Elle doesn't get to bed until around 10:30pm. An hour of night I would NEVER had allowed Ethan, Olivia or even Kai to be awake at. She takes it like a champ and is usually very go with the flow.

Not tonight! This adorable picture might have been the only time she smiled all night! She spent most of the night whining and crying as Brian and I stood between two fields, Olivia playing at one and Ethan at the other.

I guess being this families caboose isn't always fun and games!

Time is a Funny Thing

2014-05-14T09:39:00.000-04:00

There was a time, not that long ago, that I thought these three would be babies forever. I couldn't even fathom a time that sleeping, eating, and showering could be done alone.

I couldn't imagine grocery shopping or trips to the mall without 100 treats and the promise of great rewards. And the idea that they might one day be able to carry their own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, impossible.

There was a time that they would wear whatever clothes I laid out for them. A time when I thought hugs and kisses would never be lacking. A time when getting from the car to inside the store took an Herculean effort.

There was a time I really, truly thought these three would be babies forever.

Then I blinked.

1 Week

2014-05-13T09:41:00.000-04:00

Only a week left of preschool for this handsome kiddo, and then he is officially a Kindergartner. How in the world did this even happen!

After 2 weeks of constant begging I finally found a few minutes to take these three to get a hair cut. Ethan has been obsessed with having his hair just perfect lately. Today on his way in the house from the bus stop I saw him rubbing is head really hard. I thought that was weird until he came in the house saying, "Mom, look how bad my hair looks by the end of the day! Can I please get a hair cut tonight!" HA Then it all made perfect since! Being the good mom I am I obliged but only got a "before" picture!