What's in a name

We're Thankful For........

2012-01-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

So, a few months ago we celebrated Thanksgiving. (Yes, I am about to blog about Thanksgiving. And yes, it really is January 22nd. But that is just how I roll these days.) If you remember from this post, I adore Thanksgiving. We were with my family this year for Thanksgiving and participated in the usual traditional turkey weekend.

Years ago my parents decided that we were going to participate in a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. For weeks leading up to the race, we tried to talk my parents out of it. Really, 6 am on Thanksgiving? Were they crazy? Well, we knew the answer to that, but it didn't matter. They really were crazy, but there was no talking them out of it. No whining or complaining worked. (And being from a family of 6 girls, we had the whining and complaining perfected.) At least we were all in it together.

Maybe it was the stretching that my younger sister Collette decided to lead the whole group of a few hundred people in that left us all barely able to breathe from laughing at; maybe it was the turkey breakfast waiting for us at the end; maybe it was the whole race cheering as my 70 year old Grandpa crossed the finish line (after being slightly distracted by the gardener attending to some roses along the path); maybe it was the thrill of winning prizes at the raffle at the end; and maybe it was the joy of being together.

However, I never would have dreamed that 11 years later, we still go every Thanksgiving morning at 6 am.

And more than that.......

It is our very favorite part of the holiday.

This year was a monumental one. My 9 year old ran the whole 5k for the very first time. Words could not express how proud we were of him. He ran the entire time. He and Mark ran together and they did it 30 minutes. Pretty dang amazing for a 9 year old!

I was supposed to run the mile with Caleb this year. We started jogging together, however I figured out quickly that it was not going to last. NO, he didn't get tired. He started sprinting. I couldn't even keep up with him. Luckily, Layne decided to run with us and she was able to run and catch up with him. 8 minutes. Yep, my little 6 year old ran it in 8 minutes. I know I am bragging a little, but I think they deserve it :).

My three boys.

Layne, Nat, Dad, C, Claire, and Robert

Nat, E, Mark, Big E, Dad, Claire, Robert, Layne, and C's head.

Both my Dad and Little E won 3rd place for their age division. Pretty impressive!

Little E was very proud of himself. As well he should be.

Here are a few more pictures from the day for your viewing pleasure........

My parents neighbors, Christiana and Paul- who are very much like family, came over for dinner as well. After we were done eating and we were sitting around talking, Paul disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a surprise for the boys to see.

I am not an animal lover. These adorable baby tortoises that he rescued and was taking care of nearly changed me for a few minutes. We had so much fun holding and watching them.

(And don't worry. The spell soon wore off after he took them home. I am back to normal and we do not have any tortoises at our home, much to my children's dismay.)

Soon after, we went to our annual movie. This year it was The Muppet's. We loved it.

And then the Roskelley's came over for pie as usual.

I was so disappointed when the day was over. I really was. It was a perfect day. And I went to bed that night with even more to be grateful for.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2012-01-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

January is always a strange month. All of the anticipation and business of Christmas is all of a sudden over. A whole month of total and complete craziness it seems, and then....Poof! It is over and reality of our crazy every day life is back.

This year was particularly that way. We were in Boise for Christmas (which was FABULOUS) and didn't get back until the 1st. When we got back, it was a whirlwind of getting unpacked and putting our life back together. And real life happened so quickly (school, work, music lessons, sports, etc......) that we had Christmas up for a little longer than usual. We got our real tree and most of the stuff put away the first weekend after real life began. However, this very night, in our family room upstairs, we still have this view:

So the question is.....

total slacker or absolute Christmas enthusiast?

What We have Been Up to.....

2011-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

Time somehow escapes from me every day. Does anyone else always feel like that? And before I even realize it, December slipped right through my fingers. We have been crazy busy, as usual.

I wish I could say that all of December has been sitting by the fire with this view....

I did happen to find a few minutes one afternoon a few days ago where my taxi wasn't needed, homework was done, games weren't on the calander, instruments were practiced, and the laundry wasn't waiting for me. And so I sat on the couch and just enjoyed myself. (And who cares if we had pancakes for dinner that night after my momentery bliss, right?)

I wouldn't change anything about our crazy busy schedule. (After all, I am the one who books the calander!) However, I must say that those brief peaceful moments sure are appreciated.

And hopefully while on our 11 day Christmas Vacation, I will have a few more of those moments where I can sit and catch up on my blog (seeing as at this very moment I have 2 lods of laundry waiting to be folded, packing lists to make, bathrooms to be cleaned, a broken ornament to be cleaned up, dishes in the sink........I think you get the idea :)!)

Celebrating Nevada Day

2011-11-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

In Nevada, we celebrate Nevada Day on the last Friday of October every year. This year the kiddos got 2 days off of school. Ane you know what that means in the Elliott family. Yep, it was time to figure out where we were escaping to for the weekend.

We originally decided on San Diego so that we could take the kids to Sea World. Our plan changed the moment we found out that kids were free at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park the month of October. That is right, FREE!

(Sorry for the picture overload.)

The first day we went to the zoo.

Quick interjection here about the above photo. So, the boys had brought their wallets. The only thing worth shelling out their money for? Stuffed animals of course! And what might their names be you are wondering?

Those of you who have ever met any of my boys' furry friends can have a pretty good guess.

Well, we have the snow leaperd, so obviously he is "Snowy". E got a fox, so clearly his name is "Foxy".

So proud of how original my boys are.

The second day, we went to the Wild Animal Park. None of us had ever been there. We had mixed review on this one from others. So, I wasn't sure what I was going to think.

I am proud to report, it was all of our FAVORITE! It was so beautiful, and we really loved it.

We had such a wonderful weekend together as a family. I love traveling! Love love love it! And I am so pleased that my family loves it as much as I do. It is so fun to see other places and experience new things.
(Don't worry, I took LOTS more pictures. this is not all! I will post more pictures of some of the other parts of the trip later.)

'Tis a Gift To Be Simple

2011-11-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

A month? It's been a month since my last blog post? I can't even believe it is almost Halloween, oh wait, that is what my last post would have said if I had been on top of things. And now it is near my favorite holiday:

Thanksgiving.

No typo.

(I know, some of you may be thinking, "blasphemy.....what about Christmas?")

I LOVE Thanksgiving!

I adore Christmas. However it has turned in to such a BIG holiday. It requires SO much work, and it is a lot of stress. There are a gazillion things to buy for people; a million places to be; endless hours of wrapping. And I do love all of that.

(And I still love Christmas. This doesn't get anyone out of buying me gifts! :0)

But Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is simple.

It's remembering the things you have to be grateful for and spending time with loved ones.

It's taking the time to reflect on what you have been blessed with, and how you are able to share those gifts with everyone around you.

It's a holiday that requires little effort in way of preparation in comparison with the holiday that

precedes it.

I love the words of this little song:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

I am so grateful for this time of year. And I am very grateful for my new (even though it was already, it was re-confirmed) department store.

Hopefully you are all enjoying the stress free preparations for Thanksgiving as I am. (Although picking out our Thanksgiving movie this year may prove to add a little stress...)

2011-10-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

"I know your lives are busy. I know that you have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed; life will be better for you."

--Gordon B. Hinckley

A Perfect Sunday

2011-10-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend was wonderful. (We headed to Utah for about 24 hours) Overwhelmingly fast. But perfectly wonderful.
For two reasons.
The first was that we were able to take little E with us and attend conference. It was so incredible to see his face as he walked into the conference center. He has seen it before, but not on a Sunday Conference morning filled with people. He was pretty impressed.

One of the best experiences I have had. It was perfect. (Little E even took notes, I love that kid.) I was moved continually with everything that was said. And I was so emotional when the Prophet walked in and the entire enormous conference center was completely still. Nobody moved an inch. It was very powerful.
The most memorable moment for me was hearing the choir sing "I Believe In Christ" at the close. As tears streamed down my face, I felt the powerful strength and depth of my own testimony. I left with the deep desire to live up to the blessings that I have been given in life.

While we were at Conference, C went and hung out with his cousins Jackson and Andrew. Afterwords, we went and picked him up.
This leads me to the second reason we had such a great weekend.

We got to meet these two special little people.

Babies are one of the most precious things on earth. I could have held hem forever. That day little Alivia was able to go home. Little Conner still likes hanging out with the nurses too much to head home. But hopefully soon!
It was so great to be able to meet them.
And the kids loved being able to play with their cousins Jackson and Andrew.

We left for Utah after soccer games on Saturday and got there at about 9:00 pm. We left the next day at about 5:30 pm. Brief, yes. Am I glad we went? ABSOLUTELY!

A little Update

2011-09-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

In July, you may remember in this post, I had a friend from middle school pass away. I had a link to that friend's family blog that many of you read. She is a marvelous person, and I have loved continuing to read her blog. She is such a strength. To SO many people. I thought I might give you the address to her blog so that those of you who would like to, could get a little update. Here it is:
www.ourpursuits.blogspot.com
I try to only read her blog at night, after I wash my make up off. Somehow, I am always brought to tears. And am reminded of what I want to be like.

Another School Year Begins

2011-08-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

I have SO many things to catch up on from the last month of the summer. Reunion and wedding and shower, oh my! And I will get to that, I promise!
Today is a special day in our house. The first day of the school year. That means back to routines (and blogging) and early bedtimes. Every year that school starts, I can't help but have a sense of how quickly my little men are growing up. This reality is always a little hard for me to swallow (last year, you may remember in this post, was especially hard).

However, I also have a sense of excitement. One of my favorite moments for each of the boys this year: Caleb- when he was setting out his clothes to wear the first day said, "mom, I sure wish it was tomorrow already!
Ernie- Big E has a tradition of giving the boys Fathers blessings before the school year. I pray I will always remember how I felt when I looked over during Little E's and he was crying. He told me later that he felt like Heavenly Father was speaking to him. Oh, how precious little boys can be!

Here is the my favorite (but obligatory for them) picture I get every year. The before school shot. The one time a year they have clean and fresh shoes, backpacks, lunchboxes, and clothes.

Well, one out of two looking and smiling isn't bad!

We were so nervous because I had been in contact with a lot of his friends from last year and didn't know one kid in his class this year! But we were so excited when he ended up in class with a great kids that he knows from church and sports teams. He even got to sit next to Jordan.

Here is Ernie. Ernie was thrilled with his teacher. He has Mrs. Alger. He has LOVED her so far. You have absolutely NO idea what a relief that is! He had a rough year last year, and he absolutely needed a good experience this year. It was such a HUGE answer to my prayers.

Here they are after school. They survived! They both had a great day.

Ernie requested that I take a picture with the school in the background. You can't see it very well, but there are a TON of basketball courts on their playground. He was thoroughly impressed.

We were so lucky this year! Big E's parents were here for the weekend (which we LOVED, but I will get to more of that in another post) and were able to be part of our annual first day of school ice cream treat. We went to Yogurtland.

I love being a mom. I will continue to say it constantly, but every year I am reminded that me my years with these amazing little people are so brief. It makes me want to hold onto every memory.

I couldn't imagine my life without them. I am so excited for them as they grow up and slowly become the men that they are meant to be. But that dosen't mean that I don't get to look at pictures of them when they were wearing much smaller shoes and get a few tears in my eyes.

Tennis Camp

2011-08-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

My boys got to go to a tennis camp a few weeks before school started. It was such a great opportunity for them. They both really enjoyed it. Ever day for a few weeks I would drive them down to the Las Vegas Country Club for 4 hours a day. They swam, ate lunch, and played a LOT of tennis.

(It was a busy few weeks. We had tennis, basketball, and soccer to get to. They were very ready for bed by the end of the night!)

Here are a few pictures from a random day, and then at the end form the last day.

Our children lead a very fortunate life. Ernie and I have always wanted to do everything in our power to allow them as many opportunities as we could.

One of the best things about being a parent are the moments when your children recognize the fortunate life they live and are appreciative of it. I am not only grateful that we were able to provide them with this amazing opportunity, but grateful (probably even more grateful) that they appreciate and love that they are able to participate in so many fabulous things.

Beautiful In White

2011-08-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

My sister Claire got married last weekend. My little Claire Bear!
Sitting there at the wedding, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with happiness, excitement, gratitude, just to name a few emotions. She looked radiant. I think one of my favorite parts was seeing the tears in her now husband, Robert's eyes during the wedding. It was an amazing day. I wish I had more pictures. Here are a few form the luncheon before the wedding.

I wish I had more pictures, and that I could share some of my memories of that amazing evening with you. Hopefully we get pictures from the photographer soon! (Or if any of you have pictures, send them my way!)

One Last Hurrah

2011-08-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Ernie and I decided that we needed to take advantage of no basketball, tennis, or soccer and before school starts, take one last trip to hang out at the beach.

The morning we got there, we surprised Ernie with his early birthday present......

A surfing lesson! He was beyond excited. He LOVES surfing.

Here he is riding in on a wave. He was so fun to watch. I am so proud of him. It's so amazing to see your child accomplish what they set out to, even huge waves.

After his lesson, we went and got some boogie boards. I couldn't help but take a picture of my boys running through town like local Laguna Beach kids. We walked down to his surf lessons barefoot, and the instructor told them that none of them wear shoes when they are walking around town. And that was it for them. They were converted to the care free, shoeless way of beach town living.

Big E and I couldn't resist. We used the boogie boards a ton. And I must tell you, they are a blast! One of my favorite parts was the two of us riding the waves. The kids loved them too.

We have some friends that we have a habit of running into (in the shoe department at Macy's for example). It is a whole new thing when you run into them in Laguna Beach, California! It was so fun to see them and they spent the afternoon with us. And Neil happened to bring a boogie board too! He and the two E's had a blast riding the waves in. And Kensie was so excited to see the boys. It was so cute!

I have always loved to travel. Time goes so quickly that Big E and I decided a while ago that we have to take advantage of every moment we can to do things with them.
This weekend was perfect. We weren't there long. And the only thing we did was hang out at the beach. It was the PERFECT weekend. I will always treasure these special moments and hope we have many more like them.

HenWixom Reunion

2011-08-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

My mom doesn't have a huge family. Just one sister that is still here. As we have gotten older, the times we get to see the Henricksens have become rare it seems. I actually hadn't seen some of my cousins for 2 years! Crazy!

Last year we decided it was time to plan a reunion. With that much planning, there can be no excuses, right? :) Everyone was able to make it. There were a lot of us. I have 5 sisters, and although I am the only one with kids, when you add husbands and fiances, it adds up. Aunt Julie has 3 kids, two of which who are married with two kids each. Yep, it was a party!

Thanks to the family photographer (Aunt Julie), I have a lot of pictures.

Shocker, Ernie got Claire ad Robert to play a game with him.

Spencer, Kade, C and little E on the way to a hike.

Here are some of the rest of us, all ready to go into the caves, but the entrance was blocked by a HUGE bee/hornet nest. Hundreds of them!

Aunt Julie did a little craft with the boys one afternoon.

We had SO much fun riding in this awesome thing! Although, I wish we had gotten a picture of our little family when we went for a ride. (Thanks Ryan and Jill!)

Caleb lost a tooth while he was riding on the ATV! That was one crazy ride!

And shocker again.....yep. He's playing a game again. He now love Battleship!

Grandpa Mike and Little E wading through the little river/stream thing.

The whole Wixom clan, minus Co and Justin. Don't ask me why I'm not standing by my own little family....they must have smelled:).

Little E and Kade

Caleb

I love watching Micah with my boys. She even brought up their favorite story books from my mom's to read to them at the cabin!

More family game time.

This picture with Ernie hanging out the side of the moving ATV is very comforting.

My boys at smore time.

Here are Micah and I with our cousin Gina.

We love to play speed Scrabble. (Although, Ernie, Mr English major, seems to always win )

Here is some more of the fam playing.

One of the moments you know they are loving brothers.

Claire giving Caleb a piggy back ride, giving Robert a piggy back ride.

We went on a beautiful hike, and Caleb was ready to strike a pose.

After the hike, The Ernies went back to Vegas because Little E had a game (that Big E was coaching).

Caleb and I stayed. I am so glad. He is such a sweet boy, and we had such a good time. We had a little night out on the town together. We went into Cedar City to the Shakespearean Festival. Our first stop was Bullochs of course!

MMmmmmm . We love that little place!

Caleb requested that I take pictures of him to send to his Dad.

Love the obnoxious flags that you carry to cross the street.

Caleb and his ticket for his first Shakespeare play. We saw A Midsummer Nights Dream. Oh my heavens, he LOVED it! He was dying of laughter. There is a lot of physical comedy in that one, and so I hoped he would enjoy it. However, I did not anticipate how much he would LOVE it. Caleb has a remarkable laugh. When he thinks something is humorous, he can hardly contain himself. There is no way to describe to you what watching this play with Caleb was like. In fact, the lady behind us commented during intermission on how much more enjoyable the play was with his adorable laughter. It was a priceless evening.

The Midsummer Nights Dream gang.

It was so much fun to get to see all of my cousins and their growing families. Hopefully it isn't another two years!

Claire's Birthday

2011-08-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Claire recently had a birthday (well, a while ago, but I just realized I never posted about it). My parents were out of town, so we decided to have a little party for her at her favorite resteraunt, BJ's. (I know, awesome sister award!)

The Car Wash Business

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few Saturdays ago, I was out running some errands, and my husband texted me this picture:

to inform me that my boys had started a car washing business. Big E was fortunate enough to be their first customer.

They were so thoughtful. They told him that they would wash his car for him for only $25! Big E quickly bartered the price down to $13. (Which actually took great skill. Little E can be quite the negotiator. Just come by our home at dinner time when we are determining how much he needs to eat and you will see what I mean.)

I wish the picture showed the job they did. The boys were so very proud. And I was proud of their effort.......but Big E and I couldn't stop laughing whenever we would look at the big streaks across the door, or on the hood of his car.

The Entrepreneur

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ernie has never been the kind of kid to sit back and hope good things happen. He is definitely a "do-er". This summer, he decided that he needs to start earning money.

His first plan was to have a lemonade stand. He has asked me for months to let him have one. (For which I continually came up with good excuses because we live in a gated neighborhood and it's kind of hard to draw a crowd.) A few weeks ago, the boys were going to my mom's house for the day. He knew that this was his chance. He called and asked my mom if he could have one at her house. (All of this I was unaware of until the night before.) The morning of, with the recruitment of his brother, he was up way before the sun and put everything together; lemonade mix, cups, and pitcher. When they got to my mom's house, my mom had just finished working out and still had to hop in the shower. By the time she came out, the lemonade was made, the glasses set up, and the signs were ready to go. (Still wondering how the lemonade must have tasted. He said that he did follow the directions.....)

After a little while of only selling a few glasses, he decided it was time to take action. He went and found my mom's cooler, loaded everything in it, and decided to go door to door. What a kid. It worked. He raked it in. (Oh, and he also decided to add the homemade Popsicles my sister had made to his lemonade stand. Thanks Micah, I'm sure you were thrilled those were gone :).

Faith In a Seed

2011-07-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Caleb was eating an apple a few days ago. When he got to the seed, I could tell he was analyzing it carefully.

A few minutes later he came traipsing through the house with a shovel in tow and gloves on. I asked what he was doing and he replied, "Mom, did you know that an apple seed can grown into an apple tree?" I responded that I did, and asked, "what are you doing with the shovel?" He then said, "Well mom, I am going to plant it so I can have an apple tree", and he then proceeded to plant it in the bak yard.

The next morning, I heard little footsteps at 5:10 am. I love those pitter patter steps, however they were not as sweet sounding when they wake you up an hour early form your precious sleep. I asked him to come in my room and informed him that it was too early and that he needed to lay down for a while longer. I noticed he had something with him, and assumed it was one of his stuffed animals. After another hour of him kicking my back, stroking my hair, and bouncing his feet impatiently, I finally sat up to talk to him. I spoke to him about how important it is to get enough sleep, especially when you are a growing boy. He thought about that for a minute and then said in the sweetest voice that I wish I could keep forever, "Mom, can I start that tomorrow?" Holding back laughter, I told him I supposed that would have to do, since it was apparent he was not going to be going back to sleep that morning.

I then thought to finally ask why he was so excited to get up. He pulled out what I assumed was his stuffed animal from under the sheets, and I realized it was a water bottle.

"I need to water my apple tree!"

Later that night as we were driving down the street, I noticed him staring longingly out the window quietly. A few minutes later he said, "I bet it's growing roots right now."

Oh, I know, sweetest boy ever!

As American as Apple Pie

2011-07-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

I love the Fourth of July. I always have. There is something that feels so wonderful about eating watermelon, barbecuing, and staying up late into the night watching fireworks go off in the sky as you hear some country rendition of "I'm Proud to Be An American". We always wear patriotic outfits (No, not hand knitted flag vests or beaded American flag broaches) of red white and blue of some sort. (And luckily my children and husband don't even question. They just go with my American spirit and adhere to my request.)

We have been fortunate enough to go to Ernie's Grandma's house for quite a few of the 4th of July holidays since we have been married. It is the picture perfect celebration. As I see the American Flag kite flying high in the sky as we pull in along their drive, and then pull up to multiple pathways everywhere lined with American Flags, I can't help but feel patriotic.

It's a full day event. And this year did not disappoint.

We started with strawberry waffles for breakfast.

We swam.

(That is Ernie way back there. He was very proud that he was climbing the high wall.)

We played on the water slide

(The above picture, I'm afraid, is the closest I have of the two of them together. I was lucky to even get this.)

We played kickball.

Well, some of us watched and cheered.

We talked and laughed. For hours.

And some of us even snuck in a little bit of a nap.

Grandpa let the younger kids light some smaller fireworks off in the front. Yes, he let THEM light them. I tried to close my eyes :).

We ate prime rib, potato salad and had watermelon, of course.

We celebrated Grandma's birthday.

We had delicious shakes made by Uncle Jeff.

We ate festive cupcakes.

And then we got ready for Grandpa's fireworks show.

We started with (the world's longest, I am sure) sparklers.

And got our glow sticks ready.

If you look carefully in this poor quality picture above, you can see part of the family.

And in this equally as poor of quality above is more of the family waiting for the big show.

Caleb loves hanging out with Zack:

Ernie has always loved the cousins in this age group, and luckily has gotten past the endearing nickname of "Poopy" for one of them :)

Of course, my boys found the Rose kids and Caleb stuck to Heather like glue.

Caleb was curled up on Heather's lap the whole time, and it was adorable.

Here is a little example of the fireworks show put on by Grandpa.

It was awesome. (And completely legal :)

And I did get at least one picture of Ernie that night. He was there. He was in the pool during the sparklers.

What great memories. Especially for my kids. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to go.
I am grateful to live in this great country. I am grateful for the freedoms we have. I am grateful that we have family that we love to be around.
And how can you help but feel as American as apple pie on a day like that?

Better Late Than Never

2011-07-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

I realized as my son was looking through my pictures earlier tonight that I missed posting a few events. Well, I am sure I have missed a myriad of things. However, tonight I will just talk about one.

No, I am sorry to say that we do not celebrate Mothers Day every Sunday into July in our home.

I'll just be honest and confess. I never got around to posting about my own Mothers Day, and then I just forgot.

My children have taken it upon themselves to be the sole "breakfast in bed" providers.

Luckily they happened to mention to Big E that they were going to make me a smoothie and he was able to persuade them into letting him just buy one for me.

(Could you imagine what kind of mess that would have been? It would have provided a wonderful story for years to come, however the morning itself would have been a little, well, let's just say more eventful than one would prefer it to be.)

I feel so blessed to be a mother. And I am so grateful for the mothers in my life. I am also beyond grateful for a very sweet spouse that never fails to impress me with his goodness. And I am so grateful for the example he is to my boys of how to treat a wife. They will have some lucky women in their life someday.
(Although, I do not believe they will have the privilege of having cold toast that is a little on the crispy side. But I am more than happy to take bites as they watch intently and ask, "is it really good mom?")

I can not help but mention what Ernie got me this year.

I have longingly looked at these knives for years now. I was so surprised when I unwrapped them. Even when I saw the wrapped box I didn't suspect such a sublime gift. I was ecstatic!

(And Ernie gets to hear about what a perfect gift it was every time I slice a tomato or cut into a watermelon. At least he knows how much I really do appreciate them!)

As I have been remembering how great Mothers Day is
(hand made cards telling you of your beauty and kindness, dinner provided by someone other than myself, cold burnt toast, children happily taking out the trash and lots of "you really are the best mom I have ever had" comments, to name a few), I decided that we should officially have a Mothers Day in July as well as May.
Since that won't happen, I will tell you how fabulous I believe motherhood is. And I will leave you with this thought from James E. Faust,

“There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation”.

Happy Mothers Day!

Full of Faith

2011-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday a friend I first met years ago in middle school passed away.

His body had been battling brain cancer for the last 5 years. He was young. 30 years old. He left a young wife, also about my age, and 2 young children.

I couldn't believe how effected and devastated I was when I heard the news. A lot of it was the realization that it was someone my age, with children my kids ages. How could that be? We are SO young still.

I had only been in contact with him through the wonders of facebook and hadn't actually seen him since my teenage years. I haven't met his wife or kids. That may help give a better understanding of why I was surprised at how deeply I was effected.

I wept as I thought about what his final years were like as I read through his wife's blog (especially this post).

I cried because I could not imagine what it would be like to try to help my young children understand.

More tears came. What would it be like to have to say good bye to a best friend that you still planned on having so much time to figure this whole "life" thing out with.

It was so depressing. I could envision what it would mean to lose so much, because I am at such a similar time in my life.

I started thinking of so many questions. I especially couldn't understand why it had to be somebody so young. With so much ahead that he was supposed to do. How was he supposed to teach his kids everything he could? It didn't seem fair. Not to his wife. Not to his kids.

All of a sudden I noticed something. As I had been reading through Lor's blog, I never once read any questions from her. She had worries and concerns. But she mostly had faith. Amazing, perfect, unyielding faith.

I was so taken back.

All of a sudden something changed.

I still had questions.

But they were different now.

How strong is my faith?

How deep are my convictions?

I remembered that during a Conference meeting last April, a sweet lady asked this question, "How do you and I become so converted to the truth, so full of faith, so dependent on God that we are able to meet trials and even be strengthened by them?"

In other words, my question became,

how do I become more like his wife Lori?

As I thought more and more about how sad I had been at the thought of my friend's young children not being able to have their dad around any longer to teach them, I remembered this thought that Elder Eyring had. He said,"The child who sees a mother or a father pass through the trials of life with fervent prayer to God and then hears a sincere testimony that God answered in kindness will remember what they saw and heard. When their trials come, they will be prepared."

Both Wes and his wife could not have been better teachers than they were these past few years to their children.

The past week I spent a lot of time sad and wondering.

It turned into hours of solemn contemplation on how deep my faith was and where my testimony stood.

It turned into a greater desire than I have ever had in my life to become better. To be even more faithful and devoted.

To be a better mother, a better wife, a better daughter, sister, and friend.

To pray more fervently.

To cherish every moment.

To take in everything around me. To be grateful for everything I have.

To try to become everything I should be.

And to keep building my faith.

To be more like a woman I haven't even met, but has given me so much.

A Few Hours of Heaven

2011-07-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

Last week I was watching a friends baby. The minute she got there my boys sat down next to her and didn't move for at least 45 minutes. Who knows how long they would have sat there playing with her and entertaining her if it wasn't dinner time. It has most obviously been WAY too long since they have been around little babies. Big E and I had such a good time watching their reactions to her. Ernie was so good at entertaining her, and Caleb cracked us up with his constant laughter at everything she did. Especially when she made any noise at all. He thought it was especially hysterical when se would communicate with a high pitched scream. I couldn't help but take some pictures.

These pictures were all taken about 20 min apart. They sat there playing with her for much longer than I ever expected.

I was so taken back with how much I missed having babies around. I don't have any nieces or nephews near by, and only a few friends with little ones. I miss them! I should probably clarify that this most definitely is NOT an announcement :) It is however an invitation to bring your little ones by any time. Our whole family was in heaven!

The Harvard Dilemma

2011-06-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

The other day we were driving in the car and my older son, who is the mature age of 8 years, mentioned he had a little bit of a dilemma. He seemed pretty overwhelmed with this. Out of curiosity, I asked him what that was. He said that he has always wanted to go to Harvard for college. However, he now is deciding if BYU would be a better choice. Why is this? Well, because BYU costs much less and so he feels like it may be the smarter financial choice.
(My first thought was, since when have you researched the different financial costs of Educational Institutions? In between reading The Lightening Thief books and playing the wii?)
My younger son responded that he IS going to go to Harvard. I asked him why he wants to go to Harvard. His timeless response, "So I can work at McDonalds!".

If they only knew the amusement that they consistently provide.

Catching Waves

2011-06-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting to post about our Memorial Day trip until I had all of the pictures developed (forgot my phone, and therefore camera, so we went the disposable route. Yes, they still make them.), however I decided to just give you what I've got. So, we went to Santa Monica. We had SO much fun. We decided it was a great way to celebrate a few birthdays. It was Ernie's b-day a few days before, and my sister Micah's birthday was that weekend so we invited her to come along as a b-day gift.
Ernie has ALWAYS wanted to go surfing. I surprised him by getting surfing lessons for Big E and Little E. Little E was AMAZING. He was really good and he absolutely loved it.

Here are my 3 boys with Samantha, the surfing coach. I have so many great pictures of Caleb playing in the ocean. Of course, he made friends. And I have a bunch of Ernie actually surfing. I will make this a more complete post when I can.

Room service helped us provide a thorough birthday experience with breakfast in bed.

We had a great time. Ernie is now saving every penny for a surf board :)

Can't wait to add more pictures. And talk more about what we did. So tune in shortly.

Glimpses of Hope

2011-06-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

It is summer. I have great kids, I really do. And I am grateful every day for everything that they are becoming. But it is summer. This means that there is often a little, well irritation with each other. General exhaustion coupled with it makes some moments very interesting in our home. Most of you parents, I am assuming, know what I am talking about.
Yesterday I had one of those rare moments where you think, "hmmmm maybe I am a decent mom." (I am sure there have been more, but I have tried to remember a few of them. A few years ago now I wrote this post, and a few months ago I posted this).
And this may not be a big deal to a lot of you. But to me, this was a moment of utopia. I walked into the kitchen last night and one son was taking out the trash. The other one was unloading the dishwasher. And for a moment, before I am sure they started to argue again about something ridiculous, I was the happiest a mom could be.

My Best Friend

2011-06-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I made the best decision I have ever made.

I married this guy. He was cute, and we were SO in love. But I really had no idea what kind of a man he had yet to become. I know how blessed I am. He is amazing.

This past week has been one of those weeks that my admiration for him has grown even more.

He hasn't complained once this week. He has kept up the laundry, made lunches, gotten homework done, "trained" with the kids in the mornings, read scriptures, kept the house cleaned (even vacuumed) , made dinner, and the list could go on and on. To top all of that off, he has come home nearly every day at lunch to check on me and make sure I have taken all of my medicine, etc.

I definitely don't feel worthy of him, but for whatever reason, I am blessed beyond words to have him.

Ten years ago I had no idea what having a best friend meant. Now I do. Ten years ago I thought that I knew what love meant. But now I realize what it really means. Ernie has showed me.

April 9th

2011-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

April 9th was a big day for this guy (my Dad).

It was his birthday. And what better way to start out the day that by doing this:

That's right. Running a 10k. Nothing says "you're doing alright even though you are a year older" like coming in first for your age division in a VERY difficult race. The last 4 miles were completely straight uphill. He's amazing.

These two love bugs ran their first marathon together that morning as well. We went to cheer them on as they came in at the end of mile 26. I was so proud of them. It was amazing to watch them push each other to make it to the very end.

I love my Dad and I am very grateful for everything he does for now not only me, but for my husband and two boys as well. And I'm grateful that I got to celebrate his special day with him.

Class Pet

2011-06-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

I adore Caleb's kindergarten teacher. She is wonderful. One of her latest adventures was letting the kids incubate some chick eggs. The boys would ask to go and see them often after school. One day, right after spring break, Caleb was SO excited. We ran in and the eggs had hatched while we were on Spring Break.

There were now a bunch of baby chicks (Well, I think 3). Mrs. Buelle let the boys play with them a little that afternoon. They LOVED Caleb! No joke, they were jumping up on him and all the kids were in hysterics watching.

Ernie thought is was pretty funny too. Especially when they kept trying to eat his shoe laces.

Caleb, one of the chicks, and Caleb's look-a-like Zachary. People always get thee two confused. It's pretty funny.

I am so grateful for afternoons that I get to spend like this with my boys.

The Eiffel Tower

2011-06-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

One afternoon a few weeks ago Caleb wanted to build something with popsicle sticks. I got out all of the supplies and he knew exactly where he was heading with his little project. I had to take a picture.

What little boy decides he wants to build the Eiffel Tower with popsicle sticks and then goes to town? That's my Caleb.

Always A Great Day For A Picnic

2011-06-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

A while ago Ernie and Caleb had field day at school. Parents were invited to go and have a picnic with them for lunch that day.

I grabbed the food and Big E brought the blanket, and we were all set....

well, minus Little E's sunglasses. We improvised.

As a side note, I think the grass at the boys' school is some of the best grass ever. Don't you agree?

The Boren Fam

2011-06-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

A few months ago (I checked the date a few times to makes sure it really was that long ago) our long time friends, The Borens, from Boise came and stayed with us for the weekend. We had a BLAST! We love their kiddos and it was so much fun to stay up until all hours of the night talking.

We went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage one afternoon.

Austin, caleb, Ernie, and Cambria

Caleb and Austin

These two were so cute. Austin wanted to hold Caleb's hand and be right next to him the whole weekend they were here.

I thought I did a better job at getting some pictures, but obviously not. Still, we have a few memories :)

We LOVE that we have room for friends and family to come visit. So, here is your invitation. Anytime, just let us know when!

The Perfect Surprise

2011-06-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going in to get my tonsils removed. I know, sounds like a blast right? My ENT asked that I take a week off. A full 7-10 days of rest to recover properly. He must know me well enough to request that I get work off and pretty much stay in bed.

What am I the most nervous about the night before my surgery?

Boredom.

I am absolutely not complaining, because I really do have a very fortunate life. However, just so you get an understanding of why in the world that was my biggest concern.......

I am not the kind of person that like to sit around. I like to be on the move. I am wondering what in the world I am supposed to do with myself for that long. My mom and dad are taking the kids for the weekend, and then they are in school. You can only read so many books and watch so many movies before you loose it. I can't eat anything. And I had no lap top to even try to catch up on my blog or take care of the bills.

And then my husband left a surprise for me tonight on my bed.

It is what you think it is.

I know, I know. I say it all the time. But how amazing is he? I really have the most amazing and thoughtful husband ever. I am very blessed.

And thrilled that I now have a world of endless possibilities as I sit in bed unable to talk for the first little while and sipping vitamin water.

Although, I also now have ZERO excuse for not being caught up with blogging, bills, and emails.

Unless I pull the whole, "the pain pills made me sleep" excuse. Hmmm, then again I might be so excited with my new toy that I may not have to reach for that one.

More Spring Break and Easter

2011-05-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

How Boring of a title can I have, right?
One night during Spring Break we went with my Dad, Claire and Robert to a Las Vegas 51's game.

Who in the world would think of an alien to be a team mascot? Only in Vegas.

Caleb LOVED the peanuts. We went through two bags. Sometimes he would just suck on the shell and spit it out. He also liked to eat the entire thing, including the shell sometimes. I know, probably should have stopped him. He was just enjoying it so much.....

We had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful night.

The three of us also flew to Boise for Easter weekend while Ernie was gone. We missed him. We had so much fun seeing family while we were there.

Because we were getting back on Easter Day, Caleb helped us set out the Easter baskets before we left so the Easter Bunny could visit while we were gone.

Some of the cousins came over to Ernie's parents house and we died Easter eggs. Here are some of the boys. I love Caleb's muscles.

Really, how did he get so lucky? Muscles and a smile to die for.

The Easter bunny visited Caleb and left him some candy at Grandma's house. Lucky kid!

Here is Caleb and his cousin Jackson who was staying at Ernie's parents house as well.

Caleb and Grandma Angie

Ernie's Grandma Doreen and Grandpa Bill have some awesome traditions for holidays. Easter, they have the best Easter egg hunt known to man.

There are different age groups for the hunt. Caleb was part of an older group this year. He had no idea that the Easter eggs had quarters in them in the older group. I will never forget the look on his face when he found his first one and realized it contained more than candy. It was priceless.

There was also plenty of candy to be found. I know he missed his brother because he was being very particular about the candy he was trying to find and he finally told me he was finding all the candy that Ernie likes. It was SO dang sweet! (And one of the moments that I realized they DO love each other!)

Caleb found about $36.75 in all. We had him save half, but you will never guess what he bought with the other........nope none of you have a clue, do you? Well, here is a hint. It might start with an "l" and end with an "egos".

Here is Caleb with his Grandpa Ernie, Aunt Karli, and Uncle Abi.

Caleb and Grandma Doreen. We love Grandma Doreen. I love being able to spend time with her. And she has done an amazing job with her family. It is such a great family. I am very blessed to be a part of it, and I know my boys and husband wholeheartedly agree.

We are excited to go back in July, and this time have the whole family, not just 3/4 of it!

Once Upon a time, Caleb had a Spring Break

2011-05-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Don't worry. Ernie is not the only one that had a great Spring Break. During their spring break, Caleb had a blast as well. It was strange to only have one child, but we took advantage of it and did some really fun things with him. In fact, one day Big E took a day off and let Caleb pick what they did all day. He sent me pictures from everywhere they went.

Their first stop was the driving range.

Then they went and got him new shoes, but the picture didn't get through to me of that one.

Then lunch. Shocker actually that he picked McDonalds. These days it's all about Cafe Rio for Caleb.

This one killed me. So they went to the driving range and hit golf balls in the morning. I guess he didn't get enough of his fill of golf for the day because then he wanted to play miniature golf.

And the last stop I was allowed to join them. We went to Uswirl.

He had such a great day. He has a fabulous father, and I feel blessed ever day that I have Big E to help me raise these two incredible boys.

Once upon a time, Little E went to Boston

2011-05-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

For Ernie's birthday last August, my mom gave him a trip to Boston. (I know, awesome gift!) He had been excited for 8 months. And that gave him ample time to read up on the Revolutionary War, our Founding Fathers, ect. He really enjoyed learning about Sam Adams in particular. Not sure why.
Over his spring break (the week before Easter) he headed off.

Here is Ernie looking very grown up. Ready to fly across the country. Not what most 8 years old kids get to experience.....

My mom and Sophie were his traveling companions.

They did so much. They had such a good time. This post won't be complete, because I don't have a ton of pictures. But a few of his favorites parts were:

- Playing games with his Uncle Justin

- Getting around on public transportation (particularly the subway)

- the Museum of Science

- Six Flags

-The Pirates Museum

-The Freedom Trail

Those are just a few of the things they did. My mom is great at planning trips, and they were able to see a ton and had a wonderful time.

Here is Ernie making cookies with Co.

Here is Ernie making pizza dough with Co.

Ernie won this monkey at Six Flags. Meet Monkey. (My boys have always been so creative with names.)

The day he won it, we received a call from a strange voice that said, "this is Monkey. Can I talk to Caleb?" And for about 10 minutes we heard uncontrollable laughter from Caleb. We received many more phone calls similar to that, and every once in a while we were even lucky enough to talk to Monkey. I hope I can remember Monkeys voice for a long time, because it was pretty amusing.

What an amazingly blessed kid. He learned so much, and had a great time.

One of the hardest parts for me is that he is old enough to go on a trip like that all the way across the country without me. But I am so genuinely grateful that he was able to have an experience like that.

It's officially spring

2011-05-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Our home has a little courtyard in the front and when we bought it, we were so excited to create a little garden escape. Nearly a year later, I bought some pots. And FINALLY tonight we planted. I am so excited that I had to post some pictures. (Even though there are probably WAY more exciting things like our friends visiting, Ernie's trip to Panama, and Easter.)

There are still two areas to the left of what you can see in the picture that need pots as well. And hopefully it doesn't take a year to get those done! But I am SO excited I had to share. (I guess first we'll see how our green thumbs do........)

And I promise more exciting posts will follow shortly; well I won't go as far as to promise. How about I just say I hope :).

The Leprechauns Came!

2011-04-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

The night before St. Patrick's Day at our house we leave a shoe by the front door. While you are sleeping, the Leprechauns come and fill your shoe with candy.
My kids are always so excited. (In fact, when Ernie learned about the true identity of the Easter Bunny when my sisters failed at being quiet last year while they were filling in while we were on our cruise, the first thing he said was, "that means the Leprechauns......." with a very sad face. Not any other major character one would assume a child would think of first.)
And they must have been good kids, because their shoe was filled this year.

Skiing

2011-04-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, when Caleb was only 3 and Ernie 6, my boys had their first skiing experience. (And yes, watching a 3 year old ski had to be one of my favorite all time moments.) Since then, we have tried to take them at least 2-3 times a season. They LOVE it. They are fearless, and it is adorable.
This year, with basketball and our change in cabin locations for Christmas, we just weren't able to ever make it up to Brian Head. Until a few weeks ago. It is one of my absolute favorite thing to see.

Caleb:

Ernie:

I can't wait to be able to take them again next year.

Just Another Birthday

2011-04-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

So, this year I got an amazing birthday gift. Drum roll please........Strep throat! I had never had it before, and it was the best birthday surprise a girl could ask for. Despite the misery, how could one not still have a great day when they wake up to this:

And it was all on their own. (I know, because the husband was sleeping next to me :) They also made me this card:

They are such sweet kids. I am pretty blessed. Luckily the weekend before, my sweet husband had planned a little night away at the Mandalay Bay. (And the next day, I got a late check out, and after basketball stuff, I brought the boys back to swim.)

I started my morning off thinking, "well, it's just another birthday". But it most definitely is not just another birthday when you have so many people that love you, even when you have strep throat. I feel pretty spoiled.

The End Of a Season

2011-04-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

This one was particularly enjoyable this year. Ernie coached again, and had a great couple that helped out as the assistant and the team mom. And they ended up in 3rd place, which was a HUGE improvement from the summer. And they only lost two games the whole season.

But then, they barely lost in the semi finals of the play off tournament. It was so sad. All of the kids were crying and very emotional. They loved the game, and they loved their team. When I asked Ernie about why he had gotten so emotional (because that is very unlike him for a sports event) he said, "Mom, that was the most important game I have ever had. Ever. And we lost. I have never felt this miserable." I loved that a little group of 8 year olds cared that much about each other! Above is the team with their 3rd place trophies.

Caleb was very supportive of the team.

He spent most of his time making sure all of the other siblings of boys on the team felt welcome and had someone to play with and talk to.

We will surely miss them. This was the best team we have ever been a part of. They were very, very good. But it was a lot more than that. They were so kind to each other, as well as the other teams (even if there were some pretty, well, not as nice of kids) and had a blast with each other. We only knew one of the kids going into the season, but we sure hope to end up with them again.

Remember when a loss seemed like the absolute end of your world?

Ah, the simpler times of childhood.

Our first 911 Experience

2011-03-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

February 26th. A day to remember. The day every parent hopes will never come. We had our first encounter with paramedics being called.

Ernie had his last game before the playoffs, which he won, and big E was still fishing. I went to get gas. My kids love to help. And every once in a while I will let them assist me. I told Ernie that he could help me take the pump out when the gas was finished pumping. Right as it finished, my sister in law called and I turned to answer the phone. And so I turned my back to him. My fault, I know. As he pulled the gas pump out, the lever was still pulled up and it sprayed all over him. I mean ALL over him. It went straight into his face, including his eyes. He started screaming, with good reason. I immediately started to poor water in them to help wash it out, unsure of what else to do.

The gas attendant came running out in a major panic and yelled that she had called 911. Of course, that put Ernie in an even worse state because he was more worried about having to go to the hospital than anything else. I was trying so hard to remain calm, while completely freaking out inside. A sweet man next to us came over and suggested that Ernie hold his eyes open rather than hold them shut to help the air get in them. To which Ernie sweetly replied, "Thank you so much sir" in between sobs. I still kept silently praying that I could just stay calm because the gas attendant was frantic enough for everyone, which just made Ernie more and more upset. Then another guy came over who worked with chemicals and was able to help tell me what to do to help him. He didn't think 911 was even necessary, but it was a little late at that point :).

By the time the paramedics get there, Ernie was still having a hard time letting me wash it out like I should. So it was nice that they were there to help him stay calm and figure out how to wash it out.

WOW! That is all I can say. It was quite the day. I am grateful for a few things though. First, that it ended up being okay and was not as serious as I originally thought when the lady came out yelling. Second, I learned a huge lesson about how important it is to remain calm. If I had started freaking out, it would have made the entire situation MUCH worse. A calm head makes everything so much easier. And ever since then, I have made a much greater effort to always try to remain calm.

And I am also grateful that after 5 washes, I was able to get the gas smell out of all of our clothes and shoes.

(And in case any of you ever need to know: My mother in law is always right. Coke cures everything. I read online to wash the clothes in coke. And After 3 washes in everything else I could imagine, coke did the trick. One more wash with regular soap, and they were good to go!)

While Dad Was Gone

2011-03-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

Ernie recently went on a trip to Panama with his Dad and Uncles to go fishing. He had SO much fun! He was gone for 12 days. While he was gone we partied! Okay, well, I will be honest. It wasn't a party mode the whole time. In fact, the night before he left, son 1 came into our room with a fever. Yes, again. He had just gotten over pneumonia a few weeks before. So, needless to say, I was less than thrilled. Poor little guy. (Of course the first thing he was worried about was worried about was missing school work. He just did not have time to be sick!) So after a few sleepless nights, son 1 was much better. However, don't you worry. The very night that son 1 was feeling better, son 2 come in my room with a fever. Yes, it was a wonderful time. Don't worry, we were still able to manage some fun.

We went bowling with my family (Ernie's EXTREMELY nice Aunt Layne stayed home with him while we went.)

Micah, Claire, her friend Robert and his sister Kristy, and Sophie hanging out at the table eating the food we weren't supposed to bring in. Whoops.

My man Boogs. He LOVES bowling and he is adorable to watch.

My Dad is so lucky. Caleb was coaching him on how to bowl the whole time.

Here is Claire in one of the gazillion pictures that Caleb took.

The Globe Trotters were in town, and despite Caleb's not feeling well at that point we went with some of our friends to see them.

Before we went over, I rewarded the boys for their GREAT grades with Macayos for dinner. (One of my favorites from when I was younger!)

I had a hard time getting their picture, but at least I kind of have one.

The boys were so excited to finally get to there to see the infamous Globe Trotters.

Here are the boys anxious for the game to start.

It was a really fun show. Caleb was in hysterics the whole time. He could barely breather sometimes because he was laughing so hard. And if he wasn't laughing, he was getting his dance moves on. He is quite the boys.

And yes, I think it wore them out!

Ramblings

2011-02-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Just two quick things I wanted to share.

First- A few weeks ago, I came downstairs and found this note on the pantry door:

No explanation needed. I love that he thought of that. What a kid.

The second thing is just something funny that Caleb said. His dad had been gone fishing in Panama for quite a few days and he said, "You know mom, life just isn't quite as fun without Dad around."

Hmmmmm. There were two directions to take with this comment. My first instinct was, am I really THAT boring? But I chose to go with the second one which was that I am so glad he enjoys his dad that much.

Also, I decided, for certain this time, that I hate how indecisive I am. Just ask my wall painted with a gazillion different paint color samples and it will agree whole-heartily.

Basketball, School Projects, and Other Life Happenings

2011-02-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

We have been busy lately, just as all of you have I am sure.
A few weeks ago we went through a really bad spout of the flu and were all out of commission for aver a week. Little E ended up with pneumonia, and that was just a blast! Here is what we looked like for over a week (and luckily one of the days Layne came over to help with the boys since I was so sick as well. She is SO thoughtful!)

Luckily we all recovered and live to tell the story.

And then it was back to real life, very quickly. Ernie had to make a model of a tarantula for a school project.

We all know what that means. Yes, that means I had a few late nights.

And of course, Ernie is not okay with mediocrity. His ended up being about three times the size of all of the other students' bug projects. What a great kid.

Last week I got to go on the school field trip with Caleb to see the dolphins at the Mirage. And was very lucky to be able to go for two reasons. First, I am able to get the time off of my job to do those sort of things. Not very many people who work get to work hours around their kids. Second, there were only a few parents from each class that got to go at all. They even sent home a nasty letter asking parents to stop calling the Mirage and asking if there was any way more parents could be allowed to go. Ha, and they picked me! I guess I made a good impression with his teacher :)

Finally, we have been VERY busy with basketball this season. Big E is coaching both Caleb AND Ernie's team. Yes, our life has revolved around practice and games lately. But I am so grateful that he is such an involved and fabulous dad.

I have more pictures that I will post later. (But I am writing this during my lunch break, so I have to go with whatever is on my phone.)

Life is good. I love that we are so busy, because there will come a time I am sure when we will miss the days of chaos and business.

V Day

2011-02-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

If you don't remember, I really love Valentines Day. And I am majorly cheesy. Luckily, I have an amazing valentine (who spoiled me this year). The night before, as we were filling out Valentines for people, and making last minute touches to school Valentine Boxes, my son said, "Mom, I sure LOVE Valentines Day! It is so much fun to get nice things for people." I am so glad that he has grown to love it already as I do.
Yes, I got a beautiful surprise..........

And it's easy for me to say because I do get treated so well, but my absolute favorite part is being able to surprise other people. The boys had a blast dropping off flowers at peoples houses and picking out bouquets to send to their Grandma's. I am so grateful that I have such sweet and thoughtful boys. All three of them.

The King of the Day

2011-01-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

Caleb turned 6. I know. I wished the day to stay far away, yet it came anyway. I love that my boys look so forward to their birthdays. One of their favorite things is to tease me a little. It is cute that they have picked up on my being sad that time goes so fast, and they always inform me that it won't be long and they will be on a mission, in college and we will soon be celebrating our grandkids (insert current birthday year here) birthday. Yes, as you can guess, little E has started that tradition. And yes, he is a little too much like his father. :)

We started out the day with the traditional birthday chair. I went to our favorite little Donut place, Dee's for breakfast donuts and got some for his birthday treat for school as well.

Caleb is REALLY into Knights right now, which I think is adorable. His Grandma Angie and Grandpa Ernie got him the Knight castle and some little action figures for his birthday. It was perfect. He was so excited!!

The boys had a half day for school, and so we went to his favorite restaurant Olive Garden for lunch.

Big E came too. We are so lucky that we are able to have been able to meet up in the middle of the day like this. We won't be this lucky every year!

We couldn't think of a better birthday present for our little knight fan than to go to this castle.

And see this show. Full of knights in shining armor, swords, horses, jousting, among many other things. He was in heaven!

He was in absolute heaven.

Despite how perfect and fabulous the show was, I could NOT get him to pose with the King we were routing for after the show. I even tried to bribe him, which of course did not work (after which Little E reminded me we are not the Hecks and he couldn't believe I thought an Elliott boy could be bribed!).

He would, however, stand by this guy while we were waiting for our car :)
We had such a great time even though he would not pose for a picture with the real knight.

It was a perfect day. He loved every minute of it.

As you may remember I dreaded him turning 5 as well. It must be that he is my youngest. To be honest, it is also because he has always been such an easy boy to raise. Every stage is perfect with him, and I suppose I just don't want that to change. I love him dearly, and am so grateful for such a sweet and wonderful little boy. ( And yes, despite my whining, he still qualifies as a little boy.)

Snow.......in Vegas?

2011-01-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

No, you are not seeing things. This is snow. No, we didn't move. It was so incredible to wake up to snow!

It actually ended up snowing more than this. However, what day did the "heavenly white stuff" (thank you Caleb) decide to grace us with it's presence? On their first day back to school after Christmas. Yep. They didn't even have a chance to build a snowman! The school did cleverly have "Walking In a Winter Wonderland" playing when I dropped them off. As luck would have it, when we got home that day, it was all completely melted. :( Wouldn't that have been a great memory; to build a snowman in Vegas? Well, here's to hoping for more Global Warming. Isn't that what people blame the crazy weather on?

The Rest of the Cabin

2011-01-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun the rest of the time we were at the cabin. Here is the rest of the time we spent there.

Christmas Day we had a traditional turkey dinner. It was really good.

The boys spent a good majority of the day right here.

They finally moved.

But only for a minute. Caleb was especially enthralled with them. That child is obsessed with them. Ernie at least did a few other things. We had to force Caleb to leave the legos to get dressed, eat, and go to the bathroom.

We were so surprised and extremely excited when it snowed!!!

We enjoyed the snow before we headed into Zions.

We went and saw Zions. It was beautiful. It only rains a few times a year there like it did. It created these absolutely amazing waterfalls.

Don't worry......Ernie found a chess set. What a funny kid! This was at the Zions lodge.

We found this darling little theater in a town close to the cabin.

We saw Gulivers Travels. (We were all pretty disappointed that it wasn't a better movie) But it was so much fun to go to such a quaint little old town theater.

Sophie took some family pictures for us. She does such a great job! Thanks Sophie!

Mom and Dad got these Wixom University shirts made for all of us. I know, they are awesome.

Here we all are in the pajamas that Truck Grandma got for us. We LOVE them!

Christmas was SO much fun! We are extremely blessed. We love that we have so much family to share it with and that our kids are able to create such wonderful memories.

As for the mouse..... Oh, and I tried to get a picture of the capturing of the mouse, but I was always laughing too hard. But following night after the first sighting, Big Eyes showed himself again. Ernie and Mark's manhood were shamed when the fast big eyed nasty thing could not get caught! A broom was even broken trying to get him. I will always have the vivid memory of all of us screaming and hollering while they tried desperately to catch him as he scurried through the kitchen. Ah, memories.

The next day, while in town for the movie we went and bought a trap. Shortly after setting out a piece of caramel popcorn, we caught Big Eyes. He no longer haunts my dreams.

Christmas Morning

2011-01-19T19:01:00.000-08:00

I really thought I would make you wait maybe a day for the rest of Christmas.........whoops. Once again the business of life has taken precedence (which is probably how it should be :). Well, we will start from Christmas morning.

Caleb's pile of Santa's gifts (And he got a stuffed reindeer from Dasher. He must have made a great impression with him when we were at the reindeer farm! )

Ernie's gifts

Yes, that is a Justin Beiber doll. He had told Caleb every time he saw one that Santa was going to get Caleb a Justin Beiber doll. Ha! It was pretty funny when Ernie saw it. And I love that he is old enough to joke around with like that.

Here are some of the crew waiting to see if Santa came. Minus those who were primping (uh hum, Collette)

The boys waiting.......

Caleb was so excited! Can't you tell? :) He had asked for a lego city subway station thing. What a lucky kid....he got a lego castle as well and a stocking full of books, a movie, a wii game, their required Christmas underoos, some knight figurines, and a few other little things.

Ernie asked for a lego kingdoms castle set, and he was SOOOO thrilled when he got this chess set as well. He LOVES chess. And he is really very good. We don't even have to let him win (kind of embarrassing, I know) And his stocking was filled with similar things to Caleb. Oh, and how could I forget.....the doll was his favorite thing I am sure :)!!

And this my friends is proof that nobody went without this year........

Micah swimming in the wrapping paper.

Not a creature was stirring.........not even a

2011-01-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, wait, yes even a mouse. But I will get to that.......
This year it was the year to be with the Wixom clan for Christmas. We were all set to go to Duck Creek again, but a snow storm prevented us from even getting up there. So, at the last minute my mother found us a cabin. We decided to go ahead and rough it for a few days in a cabin in Zions. You will see in the pictures just how rough it was. We really know how to roll up our sleeves and tough it out.

Many a Foosball battles were had here. And I must say, we were all impressed with Sophie. She was the reining champion.

On Christmas Eve Day, we went to I am pretty sure was the most unique museum/cave that we have ever seen.

And this was the friend that we made whose dad came from a long line of polygamy. Well, a friend to those of us that were kind enough to let him talk about his dad for about an hour and didn't literally run out (Hmmm, Collette and Ernie) and then do the Charlie Brown dance while the rest of us had to look interested or our friend would stop talking until he had our full attention.

When we got back, the boys talked us into opening their stockings from Grandma Doreen and Grandpa Bill.

They loved all of their stuff! And we have had flying helicopters around our ceiling endlessly.

And then it was time, for the long awaited, Christmas PALOOZA!

Everyone contributed, and it was a fun night. Ernie made poutine. And Collette turned poutine into a verb, and it will never be the same.

We then got our Christmas Eve jammers.

Here are all the boys, and yes, they are all Posing as Grandpa Mike.

After that we had a Christmas devotional.

We are all grateful for the spiritual examples that our parents are to us. They have wonderful in sites, and great testimonies of the Savior.

The kids think that we all went to bed after that. Nope!

It was then onto the white elephant gift. And this is I think the winner of the night.....

That's right, they are handerpants. The best part is that my mom was really excited about them!

And, of course we ended the night with more games. Yes, it was VERY late when we went to bed.

One of the best parts.....those of you who actually read through this to the end get to hear about the creature that WAS stirring. That's right, we had a mouse. A creepy little guy with HUGE beady eyes. It made an appearance Christmas Eve. It was quite the site to see a lot of people screaming and jumping onto furniture. And running everywhere. It eventually ran far away and we luckily didn't hear or see it again until the next night. But don't you worry, we were prepared by then.

Summer?

2011-01-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

In September I planted these flowers in hopes of being able to enjoy them though October and maybe into November. A few day before Christmas, I stopped and took a picture of my gorgeous, still thriving flowers. How lucky, to get to enjoy the vibrant colors all the way into the winter months!

January, already? Well, here is a tribute to December

2011-01-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

As usual, the month of December came and went and before I knew it, it was ten days into 2011! Wow. Where to even start....... I guess I will start with the last few December activities before Christmas.

We let the boys decorate a gingerbread house. A tradition I guess, because they asked us when we were going to let them do the tradition of building a gingerbread house :) We may have found little pieces of frosting and bits of candy for the next few days, but totally worth it!

This year I let the kids have their own tree upstairs! It was so much fun.

We put all of the ornaments that they have made for us as well as all of the ones that we have gotten from the vacations we have taken together. I love that we started that tradition almost ten years ago on our honeymoon. It is so much fun to pull out the ornaments and remember where we have gone together. It brings back so many memories and the kids love it as much as I do!

As for the downstairs tree (aka the "real" tree so that we can have a "real Christmas"), I never got any pictures of us decorating it. But it was beautiful. And I do love that it smelled so incredible every time we walked in the house.

The kids had school off the week before Christmas, and I was going to take the time off, but my sister Layne wanted to hang out with them for the three days. I am so grateful for her. She did a ton with the kids and they had so much fun with her (Although, it was selfishly hard for me because it was the first time ever, in their whole lives that the kids had a vacation from school and I was working. I missed partying with them. But they had a really really great time with her.)

This is a picture of when they went to the shark reef with their Aunt Co, Uncle Justin, and Aunt Layne.

We were lucky enough to get to go to the bowl game that Boise State played in. The "men" of the family and Nat and I braved the poring rain and went.

We had a GREAT time. Dad got us awesome seats! We were about 5 rows up on the twenty yard line. This picture isn't even zoomed. That was the great part. The not as great part for at least Mark and Ernie was that my Dad is Uof U alum, so he got the tickets through his connections there and pretty sure we were sitting with all U of U's family members. That made it a little hard to cheer as loudly as usual for BSU :)

I love that Ernie is trying to oblige me in this picture, just like my kids. Hey, I guess it was win win. I got a picture of him smiling, and he didn't miss the play.

The Polar Express

2010-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago we took our first to the North Pole via the Polar Express. We had a wonderful time! There is nothing like seeing how magical Christmas is for children..

We met a whole bunch of people from Lake Havasu there. (There were 79 friends that all ended up coming!)

We started out the night having dinner with some of our friends. The boys had so much fun hanging out with them.

Once we got to the train, the first stop was to visit Mrs. Claus. The boys dropped off their letters. Ernie was particularly thrilled with this because it was a great way to get them directly to Santa without the possibility of error from the post office.

Mrs. Claus signed our Polar Express book.

Caleb, of course, would not be in the picture.

Some of the men with Mrs. Claus.

Here they are, finally on the Polar Express!

The family, ahhh.

The memories of watching especially Caleb as he watched out the window anxiously waiting for the magic of stories and movies to come to life in front of him will forever be in my memory. I wish I could have captured the anticipation and magic that were in his eyes.

Santa actually got on the train! When we drove by the North Pole the first time, he was there, but then as we were headed back, he wasn't there anymore. And then, all of a sudden he was on the train!

He talked to both our boys, but he was going through so quickly that some of the pictures didn't turn out great.

Santa gave them each a bell!

We were able to get a quick picture right after we got off train. Man, they are so cute. And the bathrobes were purchased especially for the train ride. When Caleb heard we were going, he got so excited. And the first thing he asked was if we could please get him a bathrobe like the boy in the movie, but without the hole in the pocket. (How cute is that? And, yes, I promptly went out to find them each one!)

Elmer

2010-11-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

It is time to introduce you to the newest member of our family:

This is Elmer.

He is the elf that we have adopted into our family.

My friend told me about this tradition, "The Elf On The Shelf" that they have, and I couldn't resist starting it as well.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much my kids have loved it.

OK, OK, I will fill you in.

So after you "adopt" your elf, (Barnes and Noble or Pottery Barn Kids) you give him a name. Your new elf flies off to the north pole every night to fill Santa in. (How else do you think Santa could know everything?) Every morning he comes back and is in a new place and the kids have to search for him.

I hear them in the morning talking to Elmer and explaining the lego sets they are dreaming of receiving Christmas morning, or just life in general.

You see, you may talk to your elf all you want, but Santa's rule is that he can't speak back to you and children must never ever touch him or his magic will disappear.

I love the innocence of youth. And I hope I am able to help my children hang onto it for as long as possible.

I had no idea how into this my kids would get. It is absolutely wonderful. Elmer is going to help us hold onto that magic of Christmas for much longer than I ever thought it would be here.

Thanks Elmer.

Santa Season

2010-11-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

We are the folks who don't breathe Christmas in until Fall is officially over: The day after Thanksgiving. As much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas time, I adore fall. However, starting in September, it's hard to even find fall decorations. They already have Christmas stuff up. I feel so bad that so many people cut it short. Poor Thanksgiving. I still love you.

After that introduction, you will love what this post is about.

We participated in our first Christmas activity this weekend. It was purely by accident, I swear! We were shopping at Town Square (a fabulous mall here that they created to resemble a small city, with cute streets and a fun center with a park). It happened to be the first Christmas parade that they do through the streets there during the Holidays. The kids got so excited, and I had no idea what a fun ting it would be.

They aren't the best pictures ever of Santa. But I am pretty sure he was the real deal. None of this helper stuff for this parade. And Mrs. Clause was there too. So much fun! I was so glad we happened upon it.

But here is to a great Thanksgiving............

Sweet Moments

2010-11-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

I enjoy motherhood. Some moments more than others :)

Yesterday night I finally sat down on the couch after a very long day. My sweet and adorable 5 year old must have sensed that it was a long day. He brought over a blanket and then stood behind me and gave me a shoulder rub. *sigh* And that my friends why I have had a hard time with him growing up. What a relief that he is still that sweet amazing little boy, just a little older so more apt and in tune to things.

I know it may not seem related, but that night I remembered a funny little story about Ernie. (Well, I will be completely honest. He may or may not have been one of the reasons for the LONG day, so the memory came as an effort to remember the wonderful things about him.)

When he was a little younger, he was very hospitable. He has always been a VERY early riser. When we would have guests stay, he would go downstairs at a very undesirable hour and poor them a bowl of cereal. Milk and all. He would then deliver them breakfast in bed. Sometimes he would make them toast. Those lucky guests would sometimes even get their breakfast fed to them weather they were ready or wanting. That's right, spoon directly in mouth. Ah, the memories.

I am grateful that my boys are not boring. I am grateful they keep me on my toes. I am also grateful for the hugs, I love You's and shoulder rubs at just the right moments.

Two Knights and a Castle

2010-11-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Apparently my boys are really into the Knight and Shining Armor thing right now. I was really surprised at their costume choice, but couldn't have hand picked a more perfect one. It was so adorable.

Their favorite part of the whole Holiday was passing out candy. They were so funny. (I wished I would have video taped it) One of them would stand here, by the gate and raise their sword and say, "welcome to our castle." Then the other one would hand out the candy. I was dying all night. It was too funny.

So, now I will go back through the weekend events. My Grandma came, and it was so wonderful to see her! Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling very well, but we did get this picture of her with the boys.

We just love Truck Grandma! We are glad she is feeling a little better.

This year was probably the best pumpkin year ever. Nat and Mark drove down with Grandma and we had a little carving party the night before Halloween.

Some of the gang with their creations. Mine is an owl, and I thought it was the best. However, the judge deemed the WIXOM pumpkins the winner. The judge was my dad. The WIXOM pumpkins were his.

My mom was helping out with a get together at their church, so we popped over for a little bit.

Cowgirl Layne and Cowgirl Sophie (My parents Exchange student)

All the pumpkins at the Trunk or Treat.

I must say that I was very impressed with my dad's life long dream of carving Wixom pumpkins. They looked pretty awesome!

And here it comes, they did deserve first place.

The Finer People In Life

2010-11-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

The past little while, I have been contemplating the people in my life who have made me who I am. I have mentioned often that I am grateful and feel very blessed for the family that I have; both my own and the one that I married into and now claim as my own.

The past six months, I have been especially aware of my Dad. My admiration for him is deep, and I wanted to share just a couple of things that I have thought about often.
I always knew that I had a very special person as my father. Anyone that meets me and knows who my father is has nothing but absolute praise and admiration for him as a person. I have never left one of those conversations without it generally going as follows; "you must feel so blessed and proud to have such a man as your father".
I remember one day a year or so ago, when he was serving as the Chairman of the Board of Regents, I was able to attend a meeting where they were presenting him with a gift of appreciation. I remember so distinctly the words that one of the other Regent's said. He said, "I have never and will never meet someone for whom I have more respect, nor a finer individual than Michael Wixom."
And he is MY Dad.

He is absolutely the finest father any of us girls, and now 3 sons could ask for.
Life is so precious, and the time we have with the people we love and admire so dear. I am blessed beyond words could ever express to have the parents and siblings I do. I will never (I pray) ever take for granted any of the incredible opportunities that we have to be together.

Citizen of the Month

2010-11-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, our son earned the Citizen of the month Award for October. Let me tell you what the Award was for, and you can guess who it was. This month is was for Responsibility. Hmmm, any guesses? I bet you only needed one :)

Here is the "Responsible" student. Two things about the picture. First, it was the day the kids got to wear their Halloween costumes to school. What is Ernie? I'm thinking he was dressing up as himself. All of our requests for him to wear his actual costume were to no avail. He informed us that he did not want to wear it because he did not feel it would be the best representation of himself for pictures of getting this award. Yes, he I'm thinking they gave it to the appropriate child.

Second, no, those are not kids in a younger grade. All 2nd graders.

One kid that did not need any persuading to wear his costume.......

He was a little disappointed. He is a Knight, and I am pretty sure a lot of the reason he wanted to be one this year is because they carry a shield and sword; neither of which were permitted at school.

We have the two most amazing boys. We love them to pieces!

Fall Fun Fair

2010-11-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

We took a trip down to Havasu recently to be there for our friends (the ones that my family would gladly invite to any family gathering) son Max's Special Day. He didn't even get sick or anything :)

We LOVED seeing all of our friends, and we miss you guys! We didn't get to see everyone, but we saw quite a few people, and it was so nice. You really have no idea how much like we felt like we were part of a huge family there. So many GREAT people that we hope we are like when we are all grown up :)

Afterwords, we went to Red Robin with some of our friends.

Here are a bunch of the kids. Notice which one is not looking at the camera....that's right. Leave it to Caleb to not cooperate with the picture taking thing. He doesn't even acknowledge that I am talking to him.

But if I encourage him to pose, then all of a sudden he can hear me.

Here are a few of the grown ups. (Yes, May Lee totally counts as a grown up.)

We chose the perfect day to go. It was the Fall Fun Fair in Havasu. I think it is now a tradition to go. Two years in a row definitely means the start of a tradition.

The first thing Ernie asked about when we told him we were going to Havasu for Max's Baptism was if he would see Dewey. Dewey was his favorite friend from school last year.

They had so much fun together. They ran around for a few hours at the fair, and Ernie could not have been more thrilled to get to see him!

Last year, Ernie and our friend Dan had a little contest. They raced through the blow up obstacle coarse. Last year Dan won, and so as soon as they saw that it was there again, they decided it was time to face off again.

Here they are waiting, and I even got some video for you to enjoy. But I think I should warn you that I am very loud. I need to learn to stop talking when I am filming things, but I just completely forget that I am being recorded as well. So, you were warned. Turn off your volume.

Caleb with Tyler and Logan while they were waiting fora turn in the bounce house

Ernie with Dewey and Max

Missionary Spaghetti

2010-10-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

My Dad's favorite thing, and my Mother's least favorite, when we were growing up was to make Missionary Spaghetti with us.
The other day, my Dad invited us over for an installment in "Grandpa School"; making Missionary Spaghetti. I never got any actual shots of them making the spaghetti, and I desperately wish I would have thought to take some.
When I brought Ernie home to meet my family 10 years ago, he noticed something that nobody else had noticed on my parents 20 foot ceiling. (Except my mother.) Dried spaghetti noodles. That is when I got to explain to him how we checked noodles in our house. My dad taught us to check to see if the noodles are ready the way that he did when he was on his mission, by throwing them against the wall. If they stick, they are done.
My dad tends to really get into things, and when we moved into that house he thought it would be fun to see if we could get them to stick to the ceiling. Oh, we got them to stick all right. And nobody could get them down. They stayed up there for a few years. You couldn't see them, they were so high and they blended right in. We had honestly forgotten them until Ernie noticed them. Whoops.
And now you know why mom sat by not entirely thrilled with the boys learning the trick. And they totally did it. Two noodles on the ceiling. It was impressive, it's a long ways up.

I did get pictures of their after dinner adventure. Mustaches with markers. They didn't show up as well as I hoped, but you get the idea.

Yes, it was a little work to get them off their faces, but we did it. And it was worth it. They still laugh about it.

Fall Traditions

2010-10-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

I love fall. This year hasn't been as hard to get used to the unchanging weather. But I must say, there are times when I truly miss the beautiful changing leaves and cool crisp air.

One of our absolute favorite Fall Family Traditions has always been going to the Pumpkin Patch. Unfortunately there is no Linder Farms here. And not having anything like that here brings out the nostalgia in me and I can't help but long for a little bit of weather change.

So we found a pumpkin patch. Meaning, pre-picked, washed, and very expensive pumpkins lined up. We let the kids pick out some pumpkins, and we at least got some cute pictures.

And let's face it, pictures, that's what really counts, right?

And yes, we are still wearing shorts here. This week it has been raining and so the highs have been in the 80's and I think it may have only gotten to high 70's today- but don't quote me on that. It has been wonderful!

Soccer Season

2010-10-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

Caleb started soccer recently. He is so amazing. Seriously, he not only loves the game, but he is naturally good at it. At the last game, he scored a goal about two minutes into the game. I'm sure I will post more pictures as the season goes on, but here are a few to give you an idea of what a soccer stud looks like. And what his fans look like as well. :)

OK, so Ernie might have taken a few of those pictures, and there really aren't a ton of him actually in the game, but it's better than nothing, right?

I came across this picture as well. I thought it was so cute, and deiced to throw it in there as well. His Grandpa and Grandma had to leave right before we went to the game, but we got a picture of them as they were leaving.

I love that it has cooled down a little and we will actually get to enjoy the games with out sitting in the blistering heat!

The Happiest Place On Earth

2010-10-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

This week I took the boys to Disneyland. A friend of mine was taking her three kids, and we decided to tag along. I was a little nervous about not having big E with me. And we did miss him. And I can't wait until we can all go as a family again. But there is no denying it, we still had a GREAT time! The kids are at great ages, and they are the same ages as her two oldest. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to take them. I have always loved to do fun things with them and take them on fun outings, but life has gotten SO busy that I haven't been great about that lately. It was fun to spend so much time with them.

Ernie and Caleb with their friend Ethan. The first morning, the little girls went to a princess breakfast, and the boys opted for Ihop. These are there "we are so excited we can hardly stand it" faces.

This was a huge year for Caleb. He was big enough for Indiana Jones!!!! This is a picture of him in line, right after he passed the height check. He was SOOOOO excited!

Caleb right before he got on the ride.

The kids on the Jungle Cruise.

Caleb still loves to have his picture taken. No, he was not picking his nose. He was animatedly telling me that he did not want a picture taken.

Ernie on the carousel.

I like how neither of my kids are looking at me in this picture. But, Ethan and Cate were willing to oblige.

Caleb and Cate had a fun time playing on Goofy's car. They took turns being the "parent" and driving the other one around.

Ernie hopped in on the fun.

Caleb on Autotopia. I think this is such a boring ride. But the kids like it. And Ernie was tall enough to drive his own car!

This is near the end of a long day while we were waiting for the parade.

Here is one of my kids favorite characters.

Cate and Courtney are out there dancing away. So cute!

It made me sad that my boys are past the dancing stage. They used to dance like crazy whenever they heard music. *sigh* But they are stilll cute :)

This is what they thought was the end of the day.

Somehow the day slipped away, and before we knew it, we realized that dinner time had passed and we hadn't ever eaten! We stopped to try to eat on the way home. I was in line getting subway for Ernie, and had the exhausted kids sit down. Before I knew it, I looked over and saw this. He is REALLY asleep! I mean completely passed out. Poor kid!

My failed attempt at getting an obligatory picture at the Disneyland entrance. In their defense, the sun was in their eyes :)

Ernie was so excited we found Buzz! They brought their autograph books from the last time we were there, and this is the only autograph they got.

The closest thing I could get of a picture of Caleb with Buzz.

Ernie got picked to be trained to be a Jedi.

Not the best picture, but that is him fighting Darth Mal.

Ernie and Cate, Me and Caleb, Ethan and Liz on Space Mountain.

Yep, I totally took a picture of the pictures that you are supposed to buy.

Ernie wanted a picture of the Halloween Goofy, but he didn't want to wait in line.

Ah ha. I finally got a picture. You can kind of see the fall decorations. I have never been there in the fall before. So fun!

Ernie and Ethan and their "scared" face before Tower of Terror. Which we literally walked onto twice. Seriously will always try to go in the off season form now on. We rode Thunder Mountain Railroad five times the first day without waiting in a line!

Ernie, Caleb, Cate and Ethan. They informed me that they felt like adults because they got to ride this ride by themselves. They loved it! (And they went three times in a row!)

Ernie and Caleb at their favorite store ever. So, when I said that they could buy one souvenir with their money, I was thinking maybe something "Disney ish" to remember their trip. But the second they saw down town Disney, they remembered this store.

So, I very much have a love-hate relationship with Lego's. But I had an epiphany watching them as they were in the store.

They absolutely love them. They live and breathe Lego's right now. And as much as they drive me crazy, that will last for a total of maybe 2 more years. (I pray). And then I will only remember the times that they loved Lego's so much and wish they were that little again.

After that side note- I Cherish the times I get to spend with my kids like this. Completely worth taking off work and pulling them out of school.

Last night Caleb was saying his prayers and he said, "Thank you for the chance we had to go to Disneyland. And thank you for letting me have the Best Mom Ever."

Enough said. I think I will make whatever needed sacrifices to go every year.

Take Two

2010-09-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we got another run at Ernie's baptism. This time, we made it healthy and in one piece. We are so grateful that Ernie's parents made the drive to be here. It meant so much to Ernie and I know it is not an easy quick trip. And I am also grateful that my sisters and parents drove ALL the way across town :)

Afterwords we took everyone that came out to Mimi's for brunch. It was a lot of fun! Thanks again. We really had a nice day!
And I am so proud of my son Ernie. He is a remarkable young man.

A Weekend Getaway

2010-09-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ernie's cousin Nick got married last weekend in Oregon. He married a darling woman and we are so excited for them. We were so grateful that my parents watched the kids for the weekend and we flew up.

It was a beautiful wedding. It was cloudy and raining, which is OR pretty much most of the year :), and I thought it made the setting even more picturesque! She looked gorgeous, and they both looked beyond happy. And luckily, with it being an outside wedding, they had enough tent coverage that they didn't get soaked.

Luckily we were under the tent, so we didn't get soaked. I wish we would have gotten more pictures. The scenery was breathtaking.

The wedding was Saturday, and on Sunday our flight didn't leave until the evening. We were so glad. Sunday we were able to slip to church in the morning, and then we headed over to the coast. We had SOOOO much fun!

Both of us absolutely love the Oregon Coast, and it had been a few years since we had been there together.

I have always wanted to go whale watching, and have never gone. So figured, why not?

It was not the best weather to see whales because of the clouds and rain, but we had so much fun! And we still

saw a ton of stuff.

We were definitely not prepared weather wise because we really didn't think we were going to have time to go over to the coast. So we both ended up with OR jackets. We are definitely official tourists now.

So, Ernie snagged a picture of the best mullet either of us have ever seen. This picture does not do it justice.

After we were done with the boat, we grabbed something to eat at Mo's. (We enjoyed Mo's, but I wish we had had time to go to Depot Bay and go to The Sea Hag. MMmmmmmm.)

So the last time we were in OR, my sister Nat came with us. She and Ernie shared fish n chips a lot. Every. Single. Meal.

So, this is a picture mostly for her.

What a great weekend! And don't worry, I'm pretty sure the kids didn't miss us at all.

Basketball

2010-09-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

This summer Big E coached little Ernie's basketball team. (Well, it started in the summer, but they just had their last game a week ago.) They had so much fun! The kids had a blast learning, and Ernie did such a great job with them. He was so patient as these little youngsters learned the game. I am so grateful that I have such an involved parent. He is really an awesome dad.

Remember the Sicko?

2010-09-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, remember the little guy in the picture from my last post that wasn't looking like he was feeling so great? Well, by Monday things really headed south and we ended up here:

Well, let me back up a little and give you a better idea of what lead to that.

Wow, what a weekend. It definitely did not go as planned. As you can imagine, I was VERY stressed the whole weekend, but tried to appear as calm as possible. I hope I was at least kind of successful at appearing to be somewhat put together.

First of all, I figured out a valuable lesson. I hate quick care places! At least here in Vegas. The stupid doc, or MA, or whatever she was told me that she was worried that Ernie had appendicitis. That or the flu.

He hadn't actually thrown up anything in a few days at that point. So we decided to hope it was the latter and he was still just fatigued from it. If his symptoms did not improve, then I needed to take him right in to the E.R.

SO, we gave it another day.

We even tried to do something fun with Ernie's parents. We went to the Sigfried and Roy Magic Forest. (Which is actually really fun, and I can't wait to go back and actually enjoy it!)

Here are the adorable dolphins. SO fun to watch! I really would love to swim with some someday.

Another stop to attempt getting Ernie hydrated. And it was pretty hot, so we didn't mind the refreshment.

More dolphin watching

And some more.

There was much more to see, but I was so worried about Ernie when he wouldn't even walk, and was lifeless and in a ton of pain.

SO......

We ended up in the ER. The poor kid got an IV. (Well, he got an IV after THREE tries! Poor kiddo. He was such a trooper though!)

Luckily, the second the doctor saw him, he informed me he did not have appendicitis. Not even close. Phew!! And that was before any tests. Sure enough, he was severely dehydrated, and luckily that is very curable.

After he was feeling better, he requested french toast from Mimi's Cafe. We were happy to oblige and thrilled that he felt like eating something!

Here is his first bite of food in a few days. What a relief!

There is NOTHING worse as a mom than feeling completely helpless when your child is ill.

It was quite the weekend. But like one one of my friends said, there is nothing like a good story at the end of all of this, right?

What Should Have Been

2010-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Ernie was supposed to get baptized over the Labor Day Weekend. Ernie's parents, his sister Amanda and her family, my sister Co and her husband from Boston, and my sister Nat and her husband Mark all came into town to show their love and support. Oh, and our awesome friends, the Vetters from Lake Havasu. The Thursday before, Ernie got sick. I mean all night, couldn't even keep down liquids sick. He seemed WAY better on Friday morning, and so we didn't call if off. He was doing well all day actually. And then Friday night it all began again.

We weren't quite sure what to do, since it was in the middle of the night. Saturday morning, we were hoping that he could just push through it and since everyone was here we could just make it work. Saturday morning, he looked horrible, and there was no way we could make it work.
Everyone was there, and we had a ton of food. SO we figured, why not still have everyone over to celebrate what would have been?

Here is a bunch of the group eating lunch.

Some more of the group enjoying the BBQ.

Layne bonding with MayLee.

My brother in law Justin loves card games and this was a perfect gathering to have people play with him.

The sick little guy. He was quarantined to our room most of the time, but I finally felt guilty and let him come hang out for a while. I'm so glad I did, he looks like he is having such a great time, doesn't he?

Since Ernie couldn't pose with his cake, his Aunt Amanda graciously offered to take his place.

Well, congrats on your now future event.

Logan racing a Lego ship down the stairs. He won.

That night we were supposed to get a sitter and hang out with the adults, but circumstances didn't allow it. I am actually glad. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my nephews.

Here is Caleb with his cousin Jackson. Caleb is still into the whole posing thing in order for me to be allowed to get a picture of him. Jackson was very willing to adhere to his stipulations.

Andrew wanted a posing picture as well.

Well, it wasn't quite the weekend we had planned on. But we had a good time nonetheless and I am SO glad everyone came. Thanks you everyone! We appreciate all of you.

And the Vetter's are a blast, and we had so much fun that they are officially invited to all of our family gatherings!

One Year Older and Wiser Too

2010-09-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

So, my son turned 8. I know, I know. I am nearly a month behind. His birthday was August 30th. He such a funny kid. We love how determined and motivated he is. Teachers always adore him, and kids always want to be around him. He loves to read. (Especially the Harry Potter series right now.) He loves all sports. This year he has played tennis, baseball, and basketball. His favorite thing to do when he has free time is to write stories. He has notebooks full of elaborate stories, sometimes with artwork to go with it. He is thoughtful, and has an emotional depth that I can't even believe possible for a young boy. I love the conversations that come when he asks questions and wants to understand more. I know without a doubt that he is going to be amazingly successful and I pray every day for the ability to be the right kind of mother for someone that is surely destined to do many great things. We love this kid!

We had a birthday party for him at the bowling alley with about 10 kids, and everyone had a blast!

The big 8 year old.

Some of the kids.

Pictures were difficult because they were having so much fun bowling. But, every once in a while I got a semi- decent one.

I thought I got pictures of the cake, etc. Apparently I didn't.

His actual birthday was the first day of school, and this was the Saturday before that. Great birthday present, right? Actually for him, it was! He LOVES school and was thrilled that he could spend his special day at school! And he got to bring donuts in, so he made friends right away :)

And for dinner, we planned to do something elaborate and exciting. He wanted to order pizza and get ice cream from McDonald's. Hey, and who am I to argue that?