About Last Night

We are still loving our snuggies.  Especially on lazy Sunday evenings in the basement.  We got a new camera last month and I am so excited to figure it out and learn to take good pictures.  However, I am learning that good pictures=good lens and good lens=lots of money.  The camera already cost lots of money so good lens is not an option.  I am going to have to get down to the nitty gritty and do the best with what I've got.  I am excited to take more classes.  Lucky for us, we can take as many as we want for free, and I will be needing all the classes and help I can get.  

Among other things, last night I learned to do this to pictures in my camera.  Pretty scary huh?

This is what the original looked like

And while I was in class, Kirk was in Chicago eating this:

That would would have tasted really good last night.  

Time For A New Post...(warning, this is very random)

First of all I will start with something post-worthy.  And a picture.  Last weekend, my mom, sister, sister in laws, and grandma went to Park City.  We only spent one night (you might think otherwise because of the picture) and it was great fun.  My mom loves to make cards and tags and lots of crafty things.  So we set up in the living room and went to work making all kinds of Christmas tags, listening to Andre Bocelli's new Christmas CD (the one from Costco and it is really good).  Since we were celebrating my mom's birthday, we did something she loves, it was fun and I think we all loved it too:)  The next morning we got up and headed for the outlets.  It was definitely a good shopping trip with too many things to buy and not enough time and money.  

Eventually we had to come home.  I went straight the twins' play-off game.  They lost.  But I never would have predicted their reaction, tears, tears, and more tears that lasted a LONG time.  The tears were not so much for the loss as the official end of the football season.  I NEVER would have guessed they would have loved it so much.  But they did.  And we will be doing again next year, with 3 boys.  I dread the practices.....

So the flu is all over the place.  And so is talk about the vaccinations.  Who picks which strand of flu that they will vaccinate against?  Is is like a lottery and they just pick a strand out of a hat?  I have written in the past about my mixed feelings regarding flu shots in general, and they haven't changed.  But add to the mess the H1N1 business and I think it is crazy!  In the beginning I heard the H1N1 was so dangerous because of it's mutation.  If that is the case, how do you vaccinate for it?  I never know what to believe anymore.  This year I will not be in line for shots.  I think I am about the only person.  So tell me why, why do you get flu shots?  I really want to know.

Early this week the kids had a late night and invited over a few friends.  Kirk was running to the store, so I asked him to pick up some popcorn and licorice.  I should have been more specific.  What I ended up with was a box of snack size popcorn packages and cherry flavored red vines that tasted like cough syrup.  I didn't even know they made such a thing!  I was beside myself that he could mess up a request that I thought was so simple.  We laughed about it, he told me at least I would have something to blog about.  I wasn't planning on writing about it, but I decided to include it because despite him being unable to buy groceries, he is an amazing husband.  Last night he let me buy a little something for our house that I am so excited about!  Maybe when it arrives I will tell you about it.  I can't wait, I hope it lives up to my expectations.

The kids have been off track and so have I.  I forget about everything when they are home with me all day.  I forgot preschool, piano lessons, play groups, all kinds of things.  I am really looking forward to them going back, because I need to get back on track, I am driving myself crazy....

Kids

*pictures coming soon, is anyone else having problems posting pics?
Tyler learned to ride his bike and literally took off.  I can't believe how quickly he picked it up.  We tried once and before we knew it, he was a pro.  He rides his bike around the block about 50 times a day.  He is rarely home anymore because he is always on his bike.  Since we switched schools this year, the boys can now ride their bikes to school and they have every single day.  I think this helped motivate Tyler.  

David is sick today.  After getting the kids off and drying my hair, I came into the family room to see what he was watching, it was ESPN news.  And he kept watching it for about 15 minutes.  I finally asked him to change the channel.  I don't know if it is totally appropriate for kids.  Isn't he a little young for ESPN?  Whatever the case, he totally gets it from his dad.  

Ethan is very competitive, I may have mentioned this and if you know him, you may have noticed.  Yesterday was a busy day.  I was hosting an etiquette dinner for the young men and we had a bazillion kids at our house right up until the last minute.  The kids were all having fun and being good and I attended to readying the house.  The dinner went great and my kids behaved themselves for the whole thing.  It was late by the time everyone left, so the kids bathed and went to bed.  This morning Ethan was getting ready for school and asked me to sign his planner.  He had written in 20 minutes of reading, only yesterday was so crazy we didn't do reading.  I reminded him of this and he totally lost it.  He cried and was so upset.  He makes it a point to always have above and beyond the required reading minutes and I guess missing one day really upset him.  I dried his tears and told him I would help him read 40 minutes today in order for him to catch up.  He settled down and went to school.  I know this is not normal because my twins could care less about reading minutes.  

Jacob for the most part has been my normal child lately.  He is a happy child who likes to please his friends and mom.  He has recently discovered the benefits of wearing a watch.  Yesterday he wore his watch to the tennis courts so that he could come back at a certain time.  There are a few good things about having them grow up.

What A Difference A Year Makes (or a couple of years)

On Saturday I ran the Provo Half Marathon.  It was my second time and it was sooo much better than the first time.  First of all, I was injury free, the course was way better, and the weather was incredible.  All of this resulted in a much better finishing time for me.  It was actually fun and I am looking forward to doing it again.  And it got me thinking, what a difference a year makes.  It feels so good to know that I have improved as a runner.  And it feels even better to be injury free.  It's been a good year.  Our camera battery died, so I am still waiting for someone to email me some of their pics.  

Later that night we went out and bought Guitar Hero.  We stayed up late playing it on Saturday, but man it is fun, I love it.  

Sunday I had promised the kids we would watch some old family movies.  We picked out the ones where each of the kids was born.  We have four boys and there are 4 years between the oldest and the youngest.  First up was the twins.  It wasn't too long before I was teary-eyed.  I had forgotten what their cries sounded like and how beautiful they were.  They quickly filled out into fat little babies, which is great, but they were the most beautiful babies as newborns.  I had forgotten so much.  It was fun to see old surroundings of places we used to live.  I thoroughly enjoyed taking care of those little babies, we were so happy.  

Next up was Ethan.  He came only 15 months after the twins were born.  He was such a good baby.  He came with a head full of black hair, the twins were barely starting to grow hair at this point.  Heavenly Father loves us and I know this because He sent us such a good baby in Ethan.  He had long skinny legs and spent lots of time in his swing as I chased the twins around getting them out of trouble.  It was a difficult transition for the twins and for Kirk and I as parents.  I remember with the twins, there was always one of us for each of them.  When Ethan came along, there were never enough hands.  

Lastly was Tyler and it was so fun to watch this movie.  All of the boys could talk by the time he was born.  The twins were 3 and Ethan was 2.  They each took turns holding their new baby brother and they each sang him a song.  Their little baby voices were so stinkin' cute.  They were all old enough to kind of know what was going on.  And they were all growing up so fast, we had moved the twins into the basement at this point and Ethan was already in a big boy bed.  I can't believe how time flies.  

Looking back, it seems like I was pregnant for about 4 years or I was nursing.  I am grateful that stage is over.  Pregnancies were always so hard for me and so was the delivery for that matter.  Having just ran the half marathon, I gained some new respect for my body.  It has been through a lot in the past 8 years.  It has given us 4 beautiful boys, it has nourished them, been depleted, recovered, and now it is running.  And it shows the battle scars from all of this.  My stomach has been stretched to the point of never being the same, my legs are lined with thick veins, and nothing is as firm as it used to be.  Oh well.  I love my life.  I love my little boys and have vowed to record more home video.  I plan on running some more and who knows what the next couple of years will hold.

Lessons in Deprivation

My mom's comment on my last post reminded me about my"deprived" childhood:)  After finishing high school, I was off to the big city of Provo to attend BYU.  I was so excited!  I had always wanted to go to BYU and I was excited to be leaving the small town where I grew up.  I loved it there, but I was ready for a change.  

My parents both went to BYU.  They both had fond memories of the university.  I even lived in the exact same dorm building as my mom.  I am sure they thought my experience would be like theirs.  In trying to mimmick their experience they thought I did not need a car.  Now this is probably true.  You do not need a car.  Everything you need, you can find by foot or a bus.  However, I had a car in high school.  That same car was going to sit at my house.  No one needed it.  It just sat there.  It seemed so silly to me to have my car sitting there, when I could have been using it in Provo.  I really wanted my car.  And I wanted my car for good reason.  I wanted to go to Food 4 Less where groceries were half as much as the on campus store.  And I wanted to be able to come home once in awhile.  Just so you know, my car was really nothing to get excited about.  It was an old Dodge Colt.  And it was also a stick shift.  And it also broke down less than a year later.  

A few months later when the family was up for a football game, they brought my car.  I was so excited!  And I also couldn't believe they hadn't done it sooner.    I am still not sure if this lesson in deprivation really taught me anything.  But at least my parents were trying.  

And now for some updates-Ethan was climbing up on the fence and "found" his bike.  He was very excited.  He proudly moved his bike to the middle of the backyard and it has been there ever since.  At least he was excited.  I went back to weight watchers and I had gained .4 lbs.  I was down 9.2 lbs, but not any more.  I need some motivation for this week.  My husband was out of town all last week and I am so glad that he is home!  Alfredo came and worked on the garage door last week.  When he stopped by, I couldn't remember his name.  He is the nicest guy and I knew it was an Italian, food related name.  As he was leaving, I called him Linguini.  I am such an idiot.  But I gave myself a really good laugh!  And I said it as he was driving away in the car, I really hope he didn't hear me.  

Spoiled Rotten

My kids are spoiled and I know it is my fault.  Now I am paying for it.  I am ready for change and I need some help.  I don't know how to teach my kids to appreciate and take care of their things.  They don't understand the value of things or the importance of taking care of things.  Yesterday as we were getting ready for school, the phone rang.  It was the mother of a friend of one of my boys.  She was concerned because my son had given her son (at school) $5 for 2 Pokemon Cards.  I hate those blasted Pokemon cards.  I swore my kids would never have them.  However they started acquiring them on their own.  I was so grateful for her phone call.  I had no idea.  My boys are not supposed to take money to school.  And obviously they don't really understand the value of it.  I told her to keep the money and let my son learn from his mistake and then we had a nice talk about things.  It was a good lesson for him and all of my boys.  

Last night I was tired.  I wasn't a very pleasant mother as I made my rounds tucking everyone in.  When I walked into Ethan's room, I looked out his window and noticed his bike laying on the grass.  We have left bikes out before and have been fortunate enough to find them there in the morning.  Well, last night I told Ethan, "Go get your bike and put it behind the fence."  And his reply was, "No, I don't want to get dirty." (He had taken his bath already)  I asked him several times and warned him that it would probably get stolen.  He just got his bike for Christmas, he hasn't had it very long.   He still would not move his bike.  After talking to my husband, I decided to go ahead and "hide" it myself so that he would think it got stolen.  

So this morning I said something about his bike being gone.  His reply was, "Well I still have my scooter."  He has no idea that his bike was not really stolen.  But I was so mad at his reaction.  Maybe by the time school is out it will have sunk in a little more and hopefully he will be sad.  

Also last night the boys all had piles of laundry to put away.  David and Jacob always shove their clothes in their dressers without re-arranging stuff.  It results in the drawers not being able to even close.  It looks awful.  Their dressers are trashed.  I told them I was going to take them away and they could just put their clothes on the floor since that is where they always end up.  

How in the world to I teach my kids to take care of things?!?!    

Here Comes the Sun, and....

Dandelions-When the sun came out yesterday, so did the weeds.  It was like they appeared out of nowhere overnight.  I spent a little time removing them from the grass and I know I will be doing it again.

Lack of clothing-If you didn't know better, you might think it was a sweltering 100° outside.  When I went to pick up the kids from school I passed all the middle school kids walking home from school.  There were boys with out shirts, girls with their shirts off, proudly displaying camis, and people laying out.  And my boys are begging me to get out the water slide.  "Not yet," I say.  "It's not that warm!"

Eating outside-My boys have been begging me to do this since Sunday.  Lucky for them, they got to eat outside last night with their cousins.  I think they all had a good time.

Grass stains-I am not talking about grass stains on clothes (although those can be messy too) but I am talking about grass stains on knees and bare feet.  As I was bathing my baby last night, I had to make sure the green got washed away.  

I love the sun and I am so glad it is finally here!  Here comes the sun and here comes the fun, I say.  I told the boys I was going to check them out of school for some fun this week.  Any good ideas?  

What Made Me

When I was 13, almost 14, my mom was in the stake young women's presidency.  That particular year our stake did a pioneer trek.  I grew up near the mountains and therefore we literally started our trek from the Lion's Park (I think).  I really didn't want to go, none of my friends were going.  Most of them were too young, but because I was turning 14 that year, I was eligible.  And my mom was making me go.  We had to wear the long skirts and bonnets.  The only thing we were allowed to take was a sleeping bag.  We really were roughing it.  We were divided into families and given a deer cart to haul our sleeping bags and allotted water.  After a grueling day of hiking, we arrived and had chicken broth for dinner.  I was so hungry and tired!  It was not fun.  Later that night Indians raided our camp.  They were painted, dressed up, and may have even rode bareback on their horses.  They tipped over our things and made threats.  Of course the whole thing was staged, but no one knew it was coming and it was a little scary.  

The next day we had boiled wheat for breakfast.  I don't remember much else we did that day except the part where they put us all in a big circle and let loose a bunch of chickens.  Each family was responsible to catch one, slaughter it, pluck it, and cook it.  Those chickens were fast.  But eventually there was a lot of blood.  This excited most of the guys.  Especially the part where they took the ax and chopped off the heads.  I did some of the plucking.  We later cooked our chickens and ate them.  

We also returned home that day.  Since the first day was mostly uphill, it didn't take us too long to get home.  And I think we were all anxious for a shower, toothbrush, toilet, and food.  Up to that point in my life it was the hardest thing that I have ever done.  

At this point in my life I had never thought about going on a mission.  My mom didn't go and I just never really thought about going myself.  When I was 19 years old, I met Nicole.  She had always wanted to go on a mission and had life all planned out, she's really organized like that.  We had an experience together where I felt the spirit so strong.  I was 20 years old and my testimony was burning inside me.  I knew that I knew the church was true.  I wanted to shout it out and I thought, "How can I not go on a mission?"  From that point on, it was decided, I was going on a mission.  

My mission later replaced the pioneer trek as the hardest thing I have ever done.  And later having 1 year old twins and a newborn replaced my mission as the hardest thing.  And sometimes Ethan alone can replace them all as the hardest thing I have had to deal with.  Leading the music in Sacrament Meeting is right up there too, but that has gotten easier.  But they are all so precious to my heart and I would never change those experiences for anything.  

They have shaped me into who I really am.  I remember how devastated I was when my mission ended.  The last day I had in my area, my companion finally got after me.  "Sister, you have got to stop crying, your eyes will be swollen shut!"  I can't wait for the day in heaven when I will be reunited with the people of Brazil.  I love them so much.  It brings tears to my eyes as I write about them now.  I can't wait.  I am so grateful for my mission.  

It was such a scary thing to do.  I was all on my own, no family, no phone calls, no friends, no familiarity.  But it was there that I really learned to depend on the Lord.  It was there that I gained confidence in myself and learned to make personal covenants with the Lord.  I would do it again in a heartbeat!  It is like that feeling you get when you finish a 1/2 marathon (or any other big accomplishment), you feel so empowered, like you can do anything in the world.  Only better because the work you do is for eternity.  It amazes me how much strength a mission can give you throughout your life.  It was the perfect spring board for the life ahead of me then and now.     

Sunday Smiles

Jacob sporting his best Crystal Light mustache!

Just Observing

Today we went to visit my grandma.  She lives in an area where the majority of the population is closer to her age than mine.  We used to live there.  We lived with my grandma for awhile and then we lived in a little house just around the corner from her.  Whenever we visit, we like to drive past that "white house" where we used to live.  Today was no exception.  As we drove past, Ethan said, "Wow, that is little."  I loved living there and we have great memories.  

I also love living where I am now.  I love that my kids can go out to play basketball at my house or that neighbors, or that neighbors.  And the kids just gather in the street, someone's yard, or a driveway.  They all have lots of great friends.  Everyone has lots of kids, we are surrounded by families and it is wonderful.  

Having four growing boys means that I occasionally shop at Costco.  And I usually have at least one of my boys, if not all four, with me when I go.  As we look at all the fantastic things there are to buy and sample the yummy food, I notice that everyone around me has a couple of kids in their baskets or hanging on the side.  No one ever says things like, "Wow!  Four boys!"  or "Are they all yours?" or "What cute kids you have."  And that is fine with me, I would rather not attract any attention.  But I have found my experience to be very different at other Costcos.

During Christmas I was shopping at a different one.  Tyler was asleep in the basket.  There were a couple of people (complete strangers) who would stop and say things like, "I can't believe he is sleeping!" or "What a sweet little thing."  My sister was with me that particular day and while I was waiting for our cheese pizza, I returned to find another stranger talking to her about Tyler.  This is the exact same Tyler who accompanies me all the time to my "regular" Costco.  And no one ever says anything about him there.    

Just today I had all four boys with me.  We were at my grandma's Costco.  As Ethan snuck away to gather another sample, I looked up to see an older gentleman discussing BYU with him (because he wears his BYU hoodie wherever he goes).  And then he later comments to me.  A sales associate kept asking about them and their ages and commented how handsome they all were.  Another time a lady grabbed one of their faces and wanted to see their eyes.  "The girls are going to like that one," she says.  

Now I am not saying all of this because I think my boys need all of this reinforcement or even deserve it for that matter.  I am just saying it because I can't believe the difference.  We are a novelty as we travel a few miles to another part of the valley.  And you know what?  Sometimes it is good to know that people think your kids are pretty great.  I could get used to that.  

Another thing that I notice repeatedly about my grandma's area of the valley are the number of Subarus.  Honestly, what is so great about a Subaru?  I just don't get it.    

Weekend Update and then some...

On Saturday we had the twins' baptisms.  It was a great day.  We had lots of family who traveled to be here.  It made the day even better.  Everything went smoothly.  It was perfect.  Except that I forgot to take pictures.  I snapped a few before the baptism, but that was it.  I totally forgot, oh well.  The day reminded me of the day that they got blessed.  I don't know why.  I think it is because it literally seems like we did that yesterday.  And seeing Kirk bless one after another reminded me of that.  He is such a good dad and did a great job.  

A couple of weeks before the baptism the twins mentioned something about all of the presents they got for their birthday and how they were going to get even more for their baptism.  We immediately reminded them that their baptism was not a birthday and they would not be receiving any more gifts.  We did not want them to expect anything.  But everyone was so generous and they did receive a lot.  But they were genuinely surprised and equally grateful.  They are such sweet boys.  It was a beautiful day.  

Monday night we went to dinner and the Jazz game with Kirk's boss.  I have met him and his wife a Christmas parties, but that is it.  I am not very good at these kinds of social situations.  And I don't feel very comfortable either.  Kirk does so good in social situations, I am glad I married him.  And he obviously knows these people way more than I do.  So they all chatted about politics, sports, and stuff that I know nothing about.  His boss's wife recently ran for mayor of slc and is very intelligent and involved.  Being with all of them was a good reminder to me that I am totally out of "it" by being a stay at home mom.  Oh well.  I love being at home.  This other couple has 2 young boys who are cared for by a nanny.  I couldn't help but feel bad for those kids and for their parents for missing out on so much.  Another person I felt bad for was the 3 WEEK old baby who was next to me at the Jazz game.  To make it worse, it was the grandma who was holding him.  You would think at least she would know better, but I guess not.  He slept through most of the game, but you could see him start to cry when it got real noisy.  

Yesterday I was talking on the phone with one of my good friends.  We were talking about none other than all of the yummy Easter candy out there, when all of the sudden my doorbell rang.  It was the neighbor boy with a brand new bad of Reese's Pieces Peanut butter eggs.  You know the ones that I couldn't stop eating the other day?  Obviously Janice is trying to sabotage my diet.  It doesn't take much though.  With all the yummy food on Saturday (baptism), strawberry shortcake on Sunday, out to dinner on Monday (luckily it was sushi), strawberry spinach salad with fried won tons and brownies (I had to make a salad and dessert to take to a family) last night, and tonight?  Well I am making salad and dessert again to take to another family.  It has been a rough week.  I weigh in tomorrow.  Tune back in and I will let you know how it went. 

I did take one picture on Saturday after we left for the baptism.  I like it a lot.  It is Ethan and Tyler with their uncles, who they also resemble, don't you think?