Getting older

Len's been in Lake Powell with his work having a L O N G meeting! Ha! His boss takes all the managers on a retreat every year & this year it happened to land on his birthday. We wanted to celebrate with him when he got home too, so we decorated, cooked & waited all day yesterday for him to come home. The kids were elated to see him :)

I made our new favorite meal: honey-lime chicken enchiladas, cilantro rice, cafe rio dressing & carrots to dip! Can you say YUM?!

Daddy brought t-shirts for the boys & they looked so cute walking out the door this morning all in their bright green. Bella got a Halloween shirt, since she's our Halloween girl :)

Happy Birthday Lenny! We love you & Sam said it best, "it doesn't matter if you're old."

Someone else is getting older too...Bella blue! We love our little lady & are getting ready to teach her a big girl trick. Wednesday is our official "potty party," where I will teach her how to use the potty. I am gearing up by loading up on her favorite dry & salty snacks, lots of juice, a dolly she can teach, party favors to make it fun & cute girly panties! :) Maybe the kids will stop calling her "stinkerbell" soon!

She's already showing lots of interest :) Out of 4 kids, she's the first that loves Sesame Street. So, we picked Zoe to train on Wednesday & got lots of Elmo & Abby cadabby snacks & treats :)

We can't wait for our big party!

I'm HOPING that she gets it as fast as her brothers did. She likes to say "no" & is a bit more sassy than they were at this age! Keep your fingers crossed :)

Miracles never cease

Ok, maybe it's not REALLY a miracle, but it felt like a miracle when I realized this morning that I slept through the night. Then, I went running, came home at 7:20 & the house was still quiet. At first I was afraid a mass murderer had crawled through the window I reluctantly left open last night. I peeked in Bella's room & found her silently, peacefully, adorably sleeping with her many stuffed animal "babies". I didn't know what to do exaclty.

So, I ate cereal by myself.

A few minutes later, this cutie woke up with bed head & an armful of "babies".

We finished my cereal together. Me in my sweaty running clothes & Bella in her pj's & a sunhat. Whatever. I'm just happy I got sleep. Ahhh!

I have nothing interesting to say...

...only cute pictures to share! Bella enjoying a cupcake, while Daddy enjoys a cuddle.

My Mom & I took the kids to Oktoberfest at Snowbied last weekend.

We had tons of fun, but this was the start of my body & brain pooping out! I seriously am updating our blog out of guilt for not keeping it up for the kids to look back on someday. I don't want them to say I never took pictures of them or wrote down any of their cute sayings. I wish I were happily keeping it up with lots of creative & interesting things to say, but really...It just want to go crawl in bed & read! Sam is sick, Bella's been waking up lately, we've been going 100 mph, the kids started soccer & Len started school. It all adds up to a dead tired Momma! Don't get me wrong, they are all so cute I want to pinch their chubby little cheeks all day. I just need to s l o w down!

We couldn't resist playing in the beautiful mountains though!

Mack crawled up this rock wall before the lady working there could get Sam snapped in his gear. She was very surprised, but I told her he was climbing out of his crib at 9 months practicing for this very moment!

1 little gingerbread girl didn't find this as interesting as the polka band!

Guten tag!

Monkey's in the middle!

My cute boys are in Kindergarten! They are so big & didn't hesitate to run into their new class. Mack was really excited to find out that there's another Mack in his class! Now he refers to himself as "Mack A"! Sam told me his new best friend is the boy in the blue shirt! :) I love these characters! Can't wait to watch them grow up this year.

Bella toting "Rosie" & her cookies to school, expecting that she was starting too! She's now happy to discover that not going means lots of one on one time with Mommy :)

The Grand Finale

The boys finally got their camping trip in before school started. They camped at Albion Basin for 2 nights, hiked to Cecret Lake, roasted hot dogs, & got filthy! Fun boy time :)

We also made it to the zoo.
We saw the bird show, until one of the hawks flew into a tree & wouldn't come down! It was pretty exciting for the kids.

We played until we dropped!
We also went to the Ogden Dinosaur park the same week. It was crazy & we were so tired. It was all so much fun though!

This weekend we took Noah out for a special night of fettucine alfredo & bread sticks. He acted like he was starved!

Waiting for the Grand Finale of our summer to start with Grandma...

The broadway version of the Lion King!

It was a m a z i n g !!! The costumes especially were fabulous.

Noah couldn't wait to run to the first day of school this morning. I could hardly get him to stop for a picture! It was a great summer & I hope it's an even better school year :)

Last child syndrome

Bella had her nap yesterday at my parents house, because we had no power & it was getting very hot. We took the boys to a movie while she slept. When we picked her up, my Mom looked at me & said, "she has last child syndrome!" My mind starting thinking about what she meant & then she explained that Bella peed through her clothes, her blanket, sheets & mattress while she slept because her diaper was so full!

Immediately I said, "no- I changed her....didn't I?"

I guess getting lost in the crowd is part of being the last child! There is another symptom of last child syndrome that makes them the luckiest kid in the family too. It is best said by Barbara Kingsolver in her book, "Poisonwood Bible." I just finished it last night & it is beautifully written, so I'll just quote her rather than trying to convey the feelings myself:

I took one deep breath for every step they took away from me. That's how it is with the firstborn, no matter what kind of mother you are- rich, poor, frazzled half to death or sweetly content. A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out. You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world. But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after- oh, that's love by a different name. She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she's gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away. So instead you rock by the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. Your heart bays to the double crecent moons of closed lashes on her cheeks. She's the one you can't put down.

Slow down time!

While making dinner Sunday, my mind began wandering & I got so sentimental. It probably was because I went to a very touching funeral the previous day for my Mom's best friend, Claudia. She was truly an angel walking the earth; she raised, loved & cared for her 2 severely handicapped sons, was a wife, worked part time, past relief society president & of course, took care of her home & all the other womanly duties that often go unnoticed, but count for a lot! She did it all without complaining & with the most adorable sense of humor. She was always a character in my life & I loved her. The only good thing is that I know she's at peace, probably for one of the first times in a really long time.

While I stuffed manicotti shells, I thought of the future & how I hope that my kids will come home to eat Sunday dinners forever. I decided that I could easily triple this recipe for my 4 kids, their spouses & dozens of grandchildren. I hope I'm around to see all this. I know life is fragile & it doesn't always work out like we hope. I tried to enjoy every previously tedious or chaotic thing we did this Sunday & see it as something to hold on tight to, because I know it won't last long. These kids are growing up fast & time is speeding by!



It's so much more fun to steam cute little dresses than large blouses for myself!



We flew..



explored...

dreamt...

imagined...

then we worshipped. It was a beautiful day.