FHE at Prove Temple

While TJ was out of town Tessa and her family asked us to join them for a picnic dinner at the Provo Temple and then for a lesson on temples. It was a lot of fun and good to be with family. 

Date with Lexi....date with Tallie

When Lexi and I are off running errands during the day while the older girls are at school Lexi is always asking to stop and get ice cream somewhere. My answer is always no because I am either always on a time limit to get Kasen back home for a nap or we haven't had lunch yet or there is just to much too do. So the other day it just hit me that I have all this time with her and I should be more spur of the moment and fun with her. So I told her one morning that we could go get ice cream wherever she wanted. She surprised me and said no...she wanted a slushee from 7/11. 

She was happy and thats all that mattered.

On Saturday Tallie and I went on a date. We took a bike ride to the library and she checked out a few books and then we shopped at the book sale and I bought her a few books. We rode down to 7/11 for a treat and all she wanted was a lunchable. On our bike ride she told me that that was the best day ever! She had almost scored a goal in her soccer game, got to go with dad to Wiggy Wash to get his car washed, and then on a date with me.

She is too cute.

Quality time with their parents is all they want and the only thing that makes them really happy and the one thing that makes them feel SO LOVED!

Baptism Pictures

On Sunday we took a little trip up to Salt Lake to take some pictures of Tallie in her baptism dress in front of the temple. I really wish that I was a PHOTOGRAPHER because then maybe I could take decent pictures or if I could learn to use my camera so I could take it off automatic mode...Oh well, we did get some good ones, even though a lot of the good ones the focus was on the Temple and Tallie came out blurry...But Tallie is BEAUTIFUL no matter what and she made everyone of these pictures awesome!

I still just can't believe my little girl is getting baptized in just two weeks!

Fun in the garage

Lately this is the game of choice. The girls call it playing house, I call it destroying the garage.

But it keeps them busy and at least they are using their imaginations.

Finishing up some projects

So remember that time I sold my bed...like 4 MONTHS AGO?! Well I FINALLY found another one and I am now so happy that I had made that stupid decision to sell our other one. I LOVE this one. I feel like its a "master bedroom" bed. Now I just need to buy some bedding to make it look better. And get actual nightstands, a dresser, move that mirror up, a bench for the foot of the bed and maybe some pictures on the wall. Oh and get rid of the rocking chair and get a cool chair for the corner.

One day.....

 Just one month shy of Kasen turning one his room is finally done. The $5 dollar canvas I found a yard sale while running is finally painted and on the wall. I still wish I could have found wooden letters of all different sizes but I guess this will do.

 I really debated on whether or not to get a coffee table for upstairs. Since the huge ottoman of the other couch has been downstairs it has been really nice to have such an open room and a nice cozy rug to lay and play on. But the stupid decorator in me knew that a coffee table would bring the room together and make it look "better". I found this one on KSL and it was just the look I was going for. A little rustic with an industrial look to it with the iron legs on wheels. I do love having it and it does make the room look better. I kinda do miss the open space tho. And I have never had a coffee table that was not SOFT before and so I am learning its not very kid friendly. Right now its okay because Kasen wears a helmet but once that comes off...I might be regretting my choice. And I can't stand the white couches! That was a bad choice like milk on a hot summer day. I so bad want to go to Ikea and get the Oatmeal colored ones.

Tallie is 8!

I swear this day just snuck up on me. WHERE has the time gone!?

My baby girl is now the BIG girl who is now accountable for her actions!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my sweet Tallie. She is everything I could have ever wanted in a daughter.

She is sweet and oh so helpful, making my load easier. She is the best big sister always wanting to mother and take care of her siblings. She is so great with Kasen. Always playing with him, making him laugh, holding him, dressing him, feeding him, you name it she does it. She is a good example to Chloe and a great protector of her at school. Making sure her day is going ok and waving to her at recess and eating lunch with her at her table. She is a great  teacher to Lexi. Playing school with her and teaching her things that she is learning herself. She has become very independent and branching out with new friends and trying new things. She is very eager to learn at school and has such a desire to learn new things. She loves to prepare Family Home Evening lessons and I am always surprised at just how much she knows and understands about the Gospel. She is the first to raise her hand to pray and never lets us forget to read our scriptures at night. She loves to play with friends playing house or school or just making a mess with Elena. She is doing great playing the piano and is learning to be more aggressive when she plays soccer. She has her occasional melt downs and tantrums and whiney days but mostly those come when she is running low on sleep. For the most part she is a great listener and does what needs to be done. She is funny and always coming up with silly stories. Which now we are focusing on the difference between stories and lies in FHE.

She wanted to go ice skating for her birthday and so I told her she could invite a couple of her best friends that she always plays with: Maili Wilkins and Elena/Callie Wakefield. She has been branching out with a couple of new friends and TJ and I are really hoping that one of them could become a really good friend. So since she has been playing with Ella Welsh and Avery Peterson at school a lot TJ said we needed to invite them as well. Easy for TJ to say since he had to be out of town for work on her birthday which left just me to handle all of these kids. SO I got a sitter for Kasen and took: Elena, Callie, Ella, Avery, Chloe, Lexi, Tallie, Maili, and Jade ice skating. Tessa was awesome to come and be my extra chaperone and help me lace up like 9 pairs of skates. All of the kids did great and I was so impressed. Chloe was amazing and off doing her own thing with Elena. She never fell and was just gliding around like a natural. Lexi was also whizzing around with her little walker. Jade of course was fearless and going extremely fast which meant some hard falls. We came home for presents and Jell-o cake.

That night Tallie had another birthday party to go to which some of her friends would be at. She decided not to go because she didn't want to spend her birthday celebrating someone else's. She choose to go to McDonalds for dinner and then we came home and watched "Teen Beach Movie".

I love my Tallie and I am beyond excited for her to be baptized.

8 year old birthday questions:

favorite Movie: Teen Beach Movie

favorite book: Magic Tree House

favorite food: pizza

friends: Maili Wilkins, Ella Welsch and Elena Wakefield

favorite thing to do: color and play house/school

what makes her happy: going to school

what makes her sad: not being able to play with friends

 She wanted a Hello Kitty cake so instead of making a cake that looked like Hello Kitty I just put Hello Kitty stuff on top. Don't you just love the massive cup? They are always wanting to buy those cups at Walmart and so when I found this huge one I had to get it.

A lot of rain

It has been raining like crazy for the past week or so. And normally I don't like rainy days that are dark and gloomy but its been kind of nice to know that every afternoon the clouds will roll in and it will rain. It feels good to not be so hot and to not have to water the yard.

Today Tj came home from work early to get ready for his scout overnighter and so I was able to leave the little kids at home while I picked up the other 2 at school. It was kind of sprinkling but I rode my bike anyway thinking we would be fine. Plus I really didn't want to put the girls' bikes in the van. Well by the time the girls got out and we started for home it all out just started to pour on us! It was cold and we could barley see. We were all loving it! When we got home we were literally soaked! 

This morning I ran my 20 miles.

I left at 5:30 am and TJ was in charge of getting the kids up and ready and then take them to school. I was lucky that I didn't get rained on. It was super muggy and humid tho and my hair looked like it had been raining. This time I wore a head lamp since it is so dark. I ran in the dark for about an hour and a half. It was a pretty good run except my knees were really hurting. I made it in the time I had wanted 3 hours and 10 min. I hope to keep that pace to make my time at the marathon 4 hours. I think I can do it but really after 20 miles you never know just what your body will do and how fast you'll be able to push yourself. If I were to make it 4 then that would be shaving 38 min off my last marathons time!!

I almost got hit by a car on my way home! I was stopped at the intersection by the library waiting for the cross walk...once the cross walk came on I started to go, I was about 5 feet into the street when a car turning right, obviously not looking and going way too fast, slammed on his brakes and stopped just inches from my legs. It happened so fast I didn't even have time to like jump to the side or move. All of a sudden a car was just there. Had he not stopped, my legs I'm sure would be broken. It reminded me of the time in college when I was out running with Tessa and we crossed the street prob a little too late (just 1 sec on the cross walk timer) and just as I was in front of this lady's drivers side she started to go..she obviously didn't look too well or she would have seen me and it was a good thing she was not going too fast but she did hit my outer thigh which did knock me onto the hood of her car. Best part was that instead of asking if I was ok she threw her hands up at me and was super mad I made her hit me...that was awesome. 

I should really be careful out there.

My little trouble maker

I guess I forgot just how busy little bodies can be.

Kasen is everywhere getting into everything. The older kids are constantly forgetting to shut the pantry door which equals food everywhere, and he is always finding their books (as you can see in one of the pictures be completely took every page apart from their DisneyLand scrapbook from Grandma) And I think I will now need to purchase a couple of books from the library...

Today I found him in the bathroom (someone left the door open) and he had one arm in the toilet with the lid closed down on top of it with his other arm smashing it and the toilet paper was un rolled all over the floor, the entire roll. He has fallen down the stairs a few times which I can blame that one on TJ since he is in charge of installing the gate. All I have to say is thank goodness for his helmet which has saved his little head from a lot of damage. I'm sure he will have to adjust to not having it on when he finally gets it off for good. Which might be hard because I think he actually really likes it now. I think it is a source of comfort and whenever he has it off he is doesn't seem too happy with his head if that makes any sense.

A couple of weeks ago the girls buckled Kasen into the neighbors car (which really should just be ours since it is constantly parked in my front yard) and took him around the block. He was just as happy as could be feeling like a big boy. I love Lexi in this picture with her Cheezits in hand.

The unnatural mom

This morning on Facebook I read an article entitled "The Unnatural Mom".

A woman wrote it about her birth experience. She wanted a natural birth. Eating all the right foods, exercising, breathing classes, no meds, a written birth plan, just everything so perfect.

And she prepared that way for 40 weeks.

And then she went into labor.

And in that moment things happen you didn't have on your written plan. There are complications, and pain you never thought possible and from that moment you might do things you never thought you would do, beg for an epidural, beg to be induced to just be done with being pregnant. 

Everyone is different and will experience the process differently.

For me I wanted nothing more than to give birth to my kids complication free, to feel good after and be able to hold my babies. I wanted to visit with family and friends and go home the next day. And its something that when I hear friends or family talk about how "easy" their delivery was I have to try really hard not cry.

My deliveries could not be more opposite from a "natural" birth.

And it makes me really sad that I couldn't experience it that way.

I'm very drugged and so so sick and just out of it that I don't even get to hold my babies for sometimes days. And sometimes the first taste of milk they get is formula from a bottle from some random nurse.

I would LOVE to not feel like death and to be out walking my baby the following week and right back into the swing of things. But that has yet to happen for me.

The important thing is that my kids are healthy and have made it to our home.

But still its something I think about often and wish I could change.

Lexi thoughts

Lately Lexi and I have been having these deep conversations in the car while driving. It's usually just us and the little man.

The other day she is telling me about a time that happened long ago....

"Mom, remember when a long time we were in the car and the I was all alone because you left me. The car was off and I was scared and crying and finally dad came back to get me. Well I was sad and mom, that is STUCK IN MY HEART!"

I'm sure she had just fallen asleep in the car late one night coming home and we left her to carry up the others to their beds. 

I could feel the tears almost spill out of my eyes! 

I had left her and she was terrified and that memory will forever be STUCK in her HEART.

She will now be the first I carry into the house whenever she has fallen asleep.

That hurt my heart.

Yuba Lake Triathalon

On Saturday morning at about 6:30 I am packing the kids in the car to drive an hour down to Yuba Lake to watch TJ's Tri. I will say it again that it is tough to watch someone do a race with 4 kids following behind. But they thought it was cool to go watch and TJ I'm sure appriciated having them there to cheer him on. I was able to find him before the race started and get a pre race pic. He told me that it would take him about 25 min to finish his swim so the kids and I hang out over by the dock and the kids throw rocks in the water to pass the time. We head over to where they would exit the water at 20 min just so we wouldn't miss him. It was hard to spot him because everyone was in black wet suits and yellow caps. We continued to watch and look for him until every swimmer had cleared the lake...um did we miss him?? Turns out he killed the swim and did it in 17 min. I felt so bad not seeing him finish the swim. We headed up to where he would come in on his bike and I would have missed him there too had it not been for Chloe pointing him out. So no I didn't get a pic on the bike either. I am soo lame. I did however get a pic of him transitioning into running.  We did catch him at the finish line thankgoodness. For not training, he did an amazing job and it just kills me to think just how amazing he could be if he actually TRAINED! I am proud of him and glad he did it and so glad he had fun and am so thankful he didn't have a seizure in the water swimming. I always worry about that.

 TJ and his boss Spencer