Happy Halloween

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!

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

 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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

All Dressed Up

Today was a very exciting day for these two. Kai was going on a field trip to the Orchestra, and Brian had an interview for another group where he works. Both of them were very excited and looked super sharp.

One of them came home disappointed in how the day went. Spoiler Alert... It was Kai, just like Ethan and Olivia before him. The second grade trip to the Orchestra was a let down. It was hot and "boring" but at this point the torture this day brings seems like a right of passage.  We were all excited for Kai, knowing it wasn't going to be quite what he had imagined! So the plan for now is to do the same to Luke and Elle. ha

That of course means that Brian's day went great! We are so proud of him! Good Luck working in your new group! 

Tonight we had two games. Brian took Olivia to hers all the way in Butler, and I took Ethan and the rest of the children to his game just down the street. He had a good game and is getting better at baseball with every game he plays! On the way home these three cuties really twisted my arm (HA) to stop to get them Ice Cream. I mean come on, who could say no to those faces or a pistachio coconut with a waffle cone. Obviously not me! 

It was yet another late night and the children weren't in bed until almost 10, ugh! Can't it be summer already!

Mother's Day

 Another fabulous Mother's Day is officially in the books! When I originally decided to run in the Cape Cod Ragnar I had no idea it was Mother's Day weekend. Imagine my surprise about a month out when someone causally mentioned it..... SHOCKED I tell you! Who doesn't even glance at a calendar before committing to something like that??? Ha

 I arrived home from the airport at 9:00am to my front door covered with love from my sweet babies. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes as we drove up and  I saw Kai quickly tape the last one to the door before hurrying inside to hide for the big "WELCOME HOME".

The children wanted to do presents before church (and so did I) but since I like to leave the house promptly at 9:30 it had to wait, and so did our Sunday picture. So sadly my sweet dad, who came up to help Brian out for what turned out to be a VERY busy weekend, had already left! Thank you so much dad. Brian couldn't have gotten the children everywhere they needed to be without you!

 Sweet Luke wanted to be first. He quickly rewrapped his gift to me, which he had already opened before church to show me, because the mere thought of waiting until after church was more then his five year old heart could muster.

 Going from youngest to oldest put Kai up next. At school this year he made the sweetest book. I love reading what things about me stand out to them. Although it can be a little nerve wracking! HA The first page were things Kai knows about me. I love that he wrote "I know my mom is the best mom that I could ever have and the only one I will ever have."

 Also, I do the laundry and try to keep him safe. TRY is very accurate!

 Olivia wrote me a sweet poem. She stated at least 5 times that I am funny and pretty. It's obvious she knows the way to flatter this lady!!

 Then Elle jumped in and gave me a spoon!

 Ethan was last and a little stressed out. I guess once you get to 5th grade it's all business, and the teachers don't carve out any time for Mother's Day gifts. HURTFUL! Ethan's love language is giving and receive gifts buy a landslide. I could tell from the second I got home he was stressed out about not having something for me. He worked hard before and after church to create something for me. I'm so grateful for his thoughtfulness and love. He is such a great kid and a huge blessing to our family.

Then Elle was done! It was clearly nap time for us both!

I'm so grateful to Brian for holding down the fort while I was gone. He truly is the best. It's because of him that I'm able to be the type of Mother I want to be.