1st Day of School

Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 5th grade

Perhaps I should be reporting on their first quarter report card rather than document the first day of school, nevertheless, here we are 6 weeks into the school year already.... Backing up to July 26th, it was a bitter sweet Monday, not to mention a blazing 110 degrees. I had run earlier that morning and got what I think now, was heat exhaustion. I cut my 12 mile run in half and headed straight home. Thinking I had hydrated myself enough, it obviously wasn't enough. I was seriously sicker than a dog. I was burning up, my head killing and had the shakes. I was so nauseated that I couldn't even stomach making my kids their promised pancake breakfast. Thankfully, Doug was there to fill in the gaps until he had to leave for work.

The big 8th grader

I snapped a few shots of the kids and had a hard time standing up. However, Weston pleaded that I ride to school with them. Being the nice mom I am, I did. It wasn't easy, but it was his first day at the big school and I really wanted to be there for him.

Luke was so excited that he was back in class with his best buddy Magnus. Jared also scored ALL of his friends (5 to be exact) in his class as well. I was a little concerned for the teacher, but they seem to all be behaving, for now anyway. Weston followed Jared out to the playground and told me he was fine and that I could go home. I normally would have stayed, but my world started to spin and I knew I best be getting home before I couldn't even make it there.

I arrived home, plopped on the couch and within 10 minutes received a phone call from my friend Tiffany. She very calmly replied, I know you are sick, but I have Weston, he is a little upset and wanted to let you know I am walking him to class. My heart sank, I felt awful. Apparently, when the bell rung the kids ran from the playground and Weston lost sight of Jared and panicked. He somehow found his backback (which was in his line), picked it up and decided to walk back towards our house. Thankfully, Heather and Tiffany intercepted him before he got to far and got him to class. It was a rough start to a first day, but his teacher said once she was able to distract him, he did fabulous. Phew!

After the initial trauma was over and I knew he was safe in his classroom, I broke down and cried. Not only did I feel like a horrible mother for not staying at the school, but I missed my little guy. My house was almost too quiet. There was no more clanking of the candy jars, scoulding him to turn off the wii, no noise of rustling candy and gum wrappers, or complaining about being hungry. Just silence. I have since gotten used to the quiet, and I do still miss my little shadow. But, one thing for certain I don't miss is the trash that he used to leave behind. This is no joke what I found behind my couch. You would think I didn't teach Weston where the trash can was or perhaps he was just to lazy to throw it away. At first I was appauled and disgusted, but now I can't help but to laugh at how much he was able to stash and hide. Sneaky indeed! Here is to a great school year!!

League Of Their Own

I am always gently reminded that each of my children are different and unique in their own ways. Some parents start their kids out as early as 3 to play sports and claim they are wonderful athletes because of it. I disagree. For us, 5 years has been that magical number. (although with baseball 7 may be that number--t-ball is just too painful!) With each child that age seems to creep up faster than I remember. Personally, since I have watched both Taylor and Jared grow they don't really catch on to a sport or even the cognitive thinking of it until about the age of eight. Jared has definitely changed in just a few years. His games are FINALLY quite enjoyable to watch. He really thrives on trying to be a team player defensively and offensively. Just look at his concentration! And yes, he actually guards the other man.

Jared in action

I remember starting Jared when he was 5 and both Doug and I would be yelling, "Come on Jared, get the ball!!" I know Doug and I are guilty letting our competitive nature get the best of us. It's frustrating to see our children not use the aggressiveness we KNOW they have (at least horseplaying with their siblings not to mention all of that boy energy!) I have come to the conclusion that on most occasions it's the age and the readiness your child is before that "light bulb" kicks on. It's obvious Luke hasn't quite made that bulb switch on just yet, which makes good entertainment. I know I have been guilty of expressing my opinions about playing so young. You can often here me saying, THIS IS SO NOT WORTH IT! But, on the other hand my cute boy enjoys it, even if he stands there looking clueless watching his friend place his hands up (which he too should be doing) to defend the ball. This week Luke exclaimed "I only have two more games before it's over THEN I get my trophy right??" Whatever makes you happy honey. Just two more seasons and it will be worth it.

This face captures pretty much what we go through each week.
Luke are you paying attention??

Competitive At Heart

We have had the most beautiful spring like weather here over the past week. The minute my kids get home from school (unless there are activities) they immediately get on their bikes/scooters and play until the sun goes down. We have about 5 boys in kindergarten on our street so my little boys are in heaven. We invited one of Luke's friends over to play yesterday. He just adores Nathan.

Nathan, Luke & Weston

I am certain my neighbors think I am the mother who doesn't exist. Often times I leave the front door open, so I can "hear" what is going on. We don't have a lot of traffic on our street, so I feel completely comfortable allowing my boys to roam the front yard. Yesterday I parked my lawn chair on the driveway and soaked up the sun with them.

I found when I am present, they often come to me seeking advice what to do? Apparently they lack imagination when their mother is "watching?" We started out with a home made obstacle course. That wasn't FUN enough, so my next suggestion was to have a race from the stop sign to our house. They seemed to like that idea, except for the one that lost. Luke is a by the BOOK kinda boy. So, if one person didn't start at the same time as him they automatically were cheating. AKA meltdown. Do you sense I have a highly competitive person in my house?

The best part was watching the younger one finish as the winner, yelling ha, ha, I won! Luke didn't like that too much. I did make sure each got a chance at a victory. (phew)

Weston claiming his victory, loud and proud!

Then when the big brother arrives back home, well that is an entire different competition all together.

good deed: gave the man at the car wash extra tip $$.

Sweet Nectar

Today I decided to take advantage of the last day of vacation to trek into Mesa and pay a visit to Grandma Dorothy and my Grandma. I noticed we were down to the last drops of jam in the fridge so I quickly made a run to Sam's Club to obtain some fresh strawberries. I loaded up the four key ingredients (sugar, pectin, strawberries, and some empty jars) and off to grandma's we went. My boys were quite eager to assist in the pure' process. Grandma made sure each of them got a turn to press the button to smash up the strawberries. We whipped out 4 batches in just a matter of an hour. I guess that is what happens when you make it with the professional jam maker. Due to lack of freezer space at my house I took half of the jars with me and left the other in Grandma's freezer.

Such a pleasing site.

Luke and Weston picked two big bags all by themselves!

Our second fruit stop was down to Lehi. We were fortunate enough to have 10 orange trees to pick from in her back orchard. My grandma has a huge lemon tree, a few navel trees and a juice tree (which contains seeds). I don't have a juicer at my house so I took the opportunity to stay and juice about 60 oranges. Again, with extra hands to wash and cut we were done in no time at all.

The assembly line--wash, cut, juice, and pour!

My favorite 80 year old grandma.
Love you!

Happily filled with orange juice

I think we are pretty much stocked up in the fruit department around our house. This is definitely some orange juice I can appreciate. It's hard to believe that it took over 60 oranges just to produce 1.5 gallons. No wonder this sweet nectar is SO expensive!

good deed: picked and delivered a few bags of oranges for friends.

Laxidasical Saturday

We were greeted by Mr. C himself this morning at our ward breakfast. It wasn't just your typical flap jacks with syrup. We had a full buffet of food that included, eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy, AND pancakes. I helped take the Santa shots of all the kids (which I was happy to do). During the breakfast there was also "live karaoke music" It didn't take long before Jared decided he would take over the mic. Oh, my. My son happened to be the star of the morning singing with all his heart 12 days of Christmas. Let's just say music is NOT our family's strongest talent.

After the breakfast we had absolutely no plans. I am beginning to appreciate the non-eventful weekends we seldom get as a family. My Christmas present arrived a few weeks early (except for the lens--which I am borrowing). So while the boys played, I too got to play as well. I am still in the beginners phase using natural light not using a flash. Hopefully, after my class and a few books I will begin to improve.

It never fails when Doug is home my boys are all fighting for daddy's attention. The legos breakout so the ships, airplanes, and other imaginary cars can be built with perfection.

Of course their has to be a little competition over WHO gets the most attention. I am not sure if this is hugging or just little boys wrestling. I'll let you be the judge.

Along with legos, this has become the newest "toy" in the house. Doug decided to use his birthday money to purchase a foos ball table. If you asked him a week prior (when it was just in a box) I think he honestly thought that it would be a pretty straight forward assembly. Wrong. It ended up taking an entire evening and I seriously have never seen such a complicated mess. It was literally in hundreds of pieces. Thankfully his patience paid off. Doug assembled it and it has already brought hours of fun for the basement.

It seems that Luke and Weston seem to be quite serious about the game as well.

Betcha Can't Catch Me

It never fails that each day when my kids come home from school they are immediately looking for forms of entertainment. Most of the time I feel like a broken record giving them ideas, but on some occasions they use their imagination and just play like kids are supposed to. Last Friday I happened to catch them in their element playing hide go seek. Luke thought I was Taylor so when he saw that someone was coming he immediately shut the door for fear he was caught in the act.

It then became a game that I was the monster coming to get them out of the closet.

Ah, ha caught red handed. This face is such a classic Luke face, I love it.

Little did I know that when I opened the door I would find his partner in crime aka brother Jared. Holding not one, but two illegal items that don't belong in my craft closet. 1). A ball. 2). Eating candy in a place other than the kitchen.

Weston didn't quite make it to base and is getting stopped by his big sister.

Boy Oh Boy(s)

The Wises, Clouse's and Adam's Family

Ironically, every where we have lived my friends have had little girls. We definitely were surrounded by a lot of pink. Taylor was fortunate enough to benefit from this and always had a little playmate. When Jared was born it seemed that the girls just kept coming. Because of this he never really knew or realized the difference. His first little friend was Amy's daughter Sophie. They were just a few months apart and probably don't even remember each other.

Jared and Sophie

This was our attempt at trying to get them in a shot together for Halloween. So cute. After New Orleans we immediately connected with the Gordon's who had girls as well. I actually am really glad my boys learned to play with them and interact, because playing with the same sex, well can get rather rambunctious.

Maci and Jared

I know my boys never felt sheltered (nor did I) that they had nothing but girls to play with. And what better thing to teach your young boy than to play gently with little girls. Honestly, I think my boys will hold a special place in their hearts for these little girls that have touched their lives. I know I miss them!

Weston, Luke, Maryn and Abby

Moving to Arizona has been a little different. Taylor some how seemed to luck out AGAIN, finding friends her age quite quickly. Today we had half day due to the end of the grading period. Zoie and Taylor did their "girl" thing and baked brownies. Little girls are SO different than boys. They can shut the door and talk for hours, make up dances, and well, giggle.

Taylor and Zoie

On the other hand, I am not sure what happened in the year 2000, but we have a supply of boys that surround our area. In fact, Jared's ratio of boys in his class is 17-10 . According to the teachers it's that way in the entire 3rd grade class. Those poor, poor teachers. You can imagine how excited they are when they get together.

Doing what boys do best. Dog pile! Luckily my basement is the prime location for these spirits full of energy. I am beginning to think not having furniture downstairs is a blessing. They have been playing 4 square and kickball to their hearts content not to mention wrestling and running around like wild people. And you know what? I could care less, because that is the beauty of a downstairs.

Weston, Ryker, Magnus, Luke, Jared and Thayne

And for those of you who have boys, you know that playing brings out the appetite in these guys. 6 bowls of cereal to fill those tummies. Good thing I stock up on that stuff. The best snack ever!

Rainbow Connection

Last Saturday the youth in our stake put on a "Play in A Day" and literally they spent the entire day learning parts to perform later on that evening. They had about 7 musicals they took several familiar musicals (Little Mermaid, etc) and mormonfied them (is that a word??). Some of them were quite cleaver which wre mostly all written by the leaders. Unfortunately, there were also some we couldn't hear a word due to the youth not speaking loud and clear. There was about 200 that participated. Too me, that is an impressive number coming from Doug's Sunday school class of 6 active youth. I was most amazed with not only little time, but the costumes and props they had. This particular skit that discussed food storage cracked me up. Check out the cans of green beans--those boys were wearing green swim caps. Too funny!

Je--l-ll--0 Song

Monday I invited a few friends over for lunch. Kelly just recently moved here from Oregon (such a small world eh?) It's always fun to meet up with imaginary friends after communicating via blogging for nearly 3 years. We all seem to have a connection of some sort, the most common one all being graduates from Mountain View. Go Toros!

Apparently Gavin was the villian whom they were running from.

Miss PQ, Davyn, and Gavin

My Weston wasn't so sure at first about these "new" little people coming over to play, but after a while he seemed to warm up some. I officially met Davyn and Miss PQ (whom are both darling). I think the highlight of the day for them was running back and forth chasing one another. Hey when you have the room why not?

Our self timer shot (courtesy of the ledge in kitchen)
Sam, Courtney, Bella, Jennifer, Amy, Kelly and Jenny
(left to right)

Since moving into our new house I am constantly looking for cheap decorating ideas. (using the old and turning it into new). You can see by my bare walls I have a lot to do. My dad came over today to hang a few more shelves that were formerly in our living room in San Antonio. The beauty of cheap is taking what you have to create a new look. I took a simple can of spray paint to Taylor's purple pig and turned him green. I did the same with these plain white letters (which I bought for super cheap at Hobby Lobby--months ago).

Doug has recently taken our old dining room table and sanded it completely down to the natural wood color. He then took and stained it to be a dark espresso. I am LOVING the way it has turned out. Even better it only cost $8 for a new look! He is going to paint our old chairs black and I am considering putting a cushion on them to "dress" it up for a more formal appearance.

When I went to check on the boys one last time I found them all gathered in the same room. It cracks me up that Luke was using his pillow for his feet and a blanket for his head. I love that my boys all look out for one another (it seems mostly at night). Don't get me wrong there are definite days they fight, but for the most part they really do love each other. It dawned on me last night that we have been in our new home for almost two months. So much has gone on and changed. My kids now each have their own room (can you tell they still like close quarters). We have been lucky to have so many connections moving back. Meeting up with old friends and discovering new ones. I do miss my Texas friends, but most of them will be moving on at some point and no longer call that place home. It made me realize how much we truly live a colorful life. The best part is no matter where we are, that connection remains the same.

Moving On....

It's hard to believe 3 months of baseball is already here and gone. Last Thursday Jared had his Little League baseball party. His season flew by incredibly fast (as every thing else has). Despite their loosing season we met some really great people and Jared had a wonderful learning experience.

Luke being silly

Wednesday was Luke's official last day of preschool. They had a mini graduation for all of the 4-5 year olds. They even played the traditional graduation march. It was hard to fight back the tears seeing his big smile walk down the middle of all the parents. He will no longer walk the grounds of a preschool. He is now moving forward on to the big elementary school. Luke has definitely come along way since he started preschool 2 years ago. My once timid, shy child has grown up to be outgoing and playful.

At the beginning of the year Luke would not even pose with his teachers so his confidence has grown. We will really miss Ms. Sheila and Ms. Michelle. I am always in awe of women and men who teach this age. They really are a special group of people who do an amazing job working with little people.

With our house selling (phew) and getting through the option period.... Doug and I moved on to the projects the buyers wanted us to repair. At first they seemed overwhelming and ridiculous, but after talking to people that have bought and sold we feel very fortunate to have considerate buyers. Ironically they are LDS so our ward will be gaining another couple to replace us. They only required 4 major things off the list (which was obnoxious if you ask me). The funny thing was the inspector noticed things I never knew was wrong and didn't even pick up on the things I as a home owner noticed. Go figure.

We have made umptine visits to Lowe's and Home Depot. I had to snap this shot at my 8--12ft boards and 5 pieces of 12 foot siding fit in my van. Pretty impressive I may say! I am thrilled that our projects around the house will be finishing up this weekend.

Good mail from Becca

Good mail from Natasha

I saved the best for last and didn't want to seem ungrateful for the kindness I have been surrounded with. I have gotten several phone calls, emails and these pieces of good mail in honor of my stress selling my house. Thank you all for your kind words, gestures, and goodies! It looks like we are officially moving on....let the packing begin!