Mother's Day 2015

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day this year.  It started out on

Saturday afternoon when I received roses in the mail from Greg, Lizz, and the girls.  I love getting flowers in the the mail! And they came in a pretty blue mason jar that I will use over and over again!  Chocolates were also in the package!

On Sunday Mike, Carina, and Sebastian came over.  Scott grilled some

carne asada and Carina made beans!  Mike and Carina gave me a rose

plant and a gift certificate to Daisy Nails!  Nice, nice!

Timmy also gave me a Daisy Nails certificate and some of my favorite

protein bars.  So very thoughtful of him to do that for me!

Matty made me a keychain in his shop class at Stapley Jr. High.  So cute!

Sammy carved a candle in cub scouts and made a darling card in his  4th grade class.  Those are always the best gifts!

Scott spoiled me with brand new luggage!  Pink luggage!  I love it!

My friend, Michel, hooked him up real good!

And the best part of Mother's Day was getting to Skype with my

Johnny Boy in Chile! He's so dang cute!  It's our last Skype before he comes home at the end of the year!

Happy Mother's Day to me!!!!

Thanksgiving in Utah

It's been tradition for Scott's side of the family to

take turns hosting Thanksgiving.  For

the past four or five years, we've been rotating 

back and forth between Utah and Arizona.  We used 

to include California in the rotation,too.  This year

was our turn to travel to LaVerkin, Utah.  It's always so fun

to pack up the car and get out of town for a few days. 

The weather in Utah this year was just perfect!  We didn't need any 

of the heavy jackets, gloves, or hats that we packed.  Well,

I needed my winter things at night, but no one else did!  

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner outside with those

beautiful trees and mountains for scenery! Megan decorated

the table so nicely, and it's always so much fun cooking and

preparing together in the kitchen with my sister-in-laws

and nieces.

        

Family pictures with Scott, me, and the three youngest boys.

Timmy had basketball going on back in Mesa, so he chose to

stay behind.  Life sure is easier with just three children!

 Greg, Lizz, Rosy,and Mady were able to come up, too, for a couple of nights!!!

Me and my girl, Rosy!

Sammy got some quality game time in with Evan.

We were able to make a quick trip to Cedar City to visit

our good friends, Steve and Mariana Remington.  We all

lived in the same apartment complex when we were

newlyweds in Santa Monica, California.

After visiting our friends, we took the boys 

to see the temple lights at the Saint George 

temple.  It's such a pretty temple, and it 

wasn't crowded at all!  Loved it!

 A baby blessing

Baby Madasyn was blessed by her daddy on Sunday, November 9, 2014.

This is baby Gregory on his blessing day, Oct., 1990.

Pretty Rosy.

Day 18:  My extended Romney family

 

After Scott's parents passed away in 2003, (within 3months of each other!) we all decided that we would keep up the tradition of meeting together at least once a year for Thanksgiving.  We've been rotating between three homes in California, Utah, and Arizona. We always look forward to our visits, and tomorrow we're off to to see our family in Utah.  I'm gathering all our winter clothes, and the boys can hardly wait to see some snow!  I love Scott's family, and I'm grateful to be a member of the Romney clan.  I know that Del & Van are smiling  with joy to see that their children are meeting together at this special time each and every year.

Day 15:  My "village"

 

 

 

I believe that it does take "a village to raise a child."  And I'm so thankful for mine.  I have a most amazing support system in my church that helps me instill the same values that we are teaching at home.  We back each other up, and the boys know where we stand.  I appreciate the many hours of time that their leaders put into their unpaid callings.  There are primary teachers, cubscout and scout leaders, young men advisors, our bishop and home teachers. These men and women are "my village," and I appreciate all they do for my family.

Day 8:  My neighborhood

 

Man, do I love the neighborhood I live in! My house backs up to a great little park, the elementary school is directly across the street, and I know and love all of my neighbors.  I always wanted my children to grow up in a nice neighborhood full of kids.  They all go to school together, go to church together, and play together.  One of my neighbors teases me that I live in a bubble.  And I know I do.  But with all the craziness in the world, I like it that way.  I feel safe letting my boys run back and forth between homes, and we rarely lock the door until we shut down for the night. I'm grateful for this blessing of raising my family here in this little corner of the world.



Day 6:  My family

 

  "Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside Your House."
   -James E. Faust

Halloween 2010

The boys and me...

went to the play, Mulan. I like to take them to live shows like that. It's not Scott's thing, so it's always a mother/sons date.

The sun was super, shiny bright when this picture was taken!

Back to school.

Johnny: 10th gr.
Timmy: 8th gr.

Jakey: 6th gr.
Matty: 3rd gr.
Sammy: Kindergarten

*While I cried a little about Sammy being gone all day, every day, and the fact that this marks the end of a stage of life for me, I did LOVE the total quiet at my home. They all seemed to have a great experience. Matty said his class loves their teacher so much, that no one wanted to go home at the end of the day!

Another way to expend all that boy energy...


Px90 (I know, I know...P90X - The boys are always correcting me!)
Greggy use to always do the ab ripper workout, and he was pretty cut before he left on his mission. That's all history now! Anyway, I'm running out of ways to keep them busy in this 115 degree heat. Is summer almost over yet?

Twenty Laps.

Whenever the boys are getting too rowdy,

fighting excessively, or
complaining that they are bored,
I tell them, "O.K. twenty laps."
It really works (for awhile anyway).

On Saturday my mother was baptized.
She is so happy!
It's been a really great experience.

Our summer "Point System."
I've had the boys doing this great little system
for about four weeks now. They have daily responsibilities
that need to be completed before they can play or go anywhere.
This system works great, because it really cuts down on the nagging
to get their "stuff" done. They just refer to their paper, mark
it off, and they are good to go. I love it and so do they. They
can cash in their points for things like grab bag pick (candy), Sonic run,
friends pizza/swim party, date night with mom and dad or save up for something
they really want.

Jake saved and earned 191 points for this
Diamond Backs hat that he had been coveting.
He was so excited when he finally had enough points to
get it! It took him exactly three weeks.

They can earn extra points by playing a board game with Sammy,
babysitting, extra chores, being reverent in church, working on their
scouting, "Faith in God," or "Duty to God," writing in their journal,
reading church magazines, finishing a chapter book, etc.

*This post is for you mom...(she asked me why I hadn't posted in a while!)

Scott and the boys watching
the Lakers' NBA
Championship!!!
(Now maybe we can think about something else.)

Goodbye!
Have Fun!
Be Safe!
Don't Hurry Back!
(Ahhh! Now for some serious quiet time!)

Scott and the boys (all six of them!) are off to a father and sons overnight camping trip.

We got a call from Mr. Mike today.
(That's Scott in the background talking to him.)
I went on a fun bike ride with my favorite Young Women girls.
In T-Dog's game tonight, he "went yard!"
And the weather was perfect.
It's been a good day.

I guess we're not sleeping in our own bed tonight.

This is how we found our boys after our date tonight.
(Dinner at Costa Vidas, Barnes and Noble shopping, and
eight loads of bedding at the laundromat!)
The bed is totally unmade, because everything is
being washed clean from camping. I'm too tired to
move them all, and make the bed, so we'll each be in twin beds in Greg's room.
(Scott doesn't mind because the Bruins won some big game!)

I'll be posting our Spring Break in Rocky Point pictures soon.

The family that works together...

Gets ice cream together!!!
(our family night last night.)

This is where I'll be for the next three months...In the bleachers watching baseball games.
Five of my boys are playing.
Greg - Varsity @ Westwood
(John opted out this year)
Tim - Majors in Little League
Jake - Minors in Little League
Matt - Machine Pitch in Little League
and
Sam - Neighborhood T- Ball!

It's always a crazy time for us and
marks the winding down of the
school year.

You can catch me on my cell phone!