What a day!

Life with kids is always a surprise. What is actually a surprise is the fact that we've lived for 2 years with John Matthew and aside from normal bumps and bruises haven't had any accidents to speak of with him. And that my friends....is truly a miracle. We're talking this is the boy that sees a photo of a skateboarder or a snowboarder and the look of longing fills his eyes, because he wants to be that person living to the extreme!

Anyhow, this Wednesday past we decided to go up and visit Grandpa Lee, Aunt Michelle and the boys Lee cousins that were up camping in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I truly loathe camping at this point in life, because the kids are so hard to keep track of, so a day trip isn't too horrible. That way they still get the fun, and I maintain sanity since I can sleep in my own comfy bed at night!

It was a beautiful day and Sarah and I took some of the kids for a little hike. We also ate lunch and played some games.

After a few hours I had reached my limit of chasing the Chuzzle and decided to head down the canyon with the boys. The girls stayed behind so that they could have a little more fun.

All it took was one text from Tracey to mention Pizza Benders and I was a girl with a mission....to get to Italian Village.

Boy was it heaven.

After eating Pizza Benders, we had a spur of the moment jaunt to Wheeler Farm so that we could feed the ducks. We had been there with the boys just two nights before, while Tracey did some filming, but we didn't have bread, so decided to take them back.








The kids had fun and I had fun snapping off a few photos of my favorite boys.




On our way out Aaron and JM wanted to play int he playhouse for a few minutes. No sooner had Tracey and I sat down to watch the boys, did JM fall off of the stairs and fell about 3' through the railing. Of course it was all in slow motion yet neither Tracey or I could get there quick enough! We though he was just fine until his blonde hair turned all red! YUCK!

Luckily there was a nurse sitting right there and she helped us clean him up and told us that he would indeed need stitches, so off we went in search of an Instacare to sew him up!

Now THAT, my friends was NOT fun....watching your sweet little baby, strapped into a papoose board, screaming his guts out, eyes just about bulging out of his head looking at me like I - as his mommy should be doing something to help.

So sad.

He took it like a trooper and ended up with only two stitches. Luckily they are in his hair so you will never see a scar.




I can't wait to see what he thinks when we take him in next week to have them removed!!!

Who said pushing 40 was a bad thing?

I love this photo. Every time it surfaces it puts a smile on my face. Why do you ask? Well because I was a 25 maybe 26 year old in this photo. Isn't that the age that you are supposed to be in your prime of looks? I don't know about you, but every time I see this photo of myself, I think "wow....you've got to be kidding me!"

I'm not saying that I'm any super model or anything like that, but I do think that for a mom of 5, pushing 40 (Okay so I really have 3 more years...just turned 37 last week), that I'm not looking too shabby. Oh and please excuse the self portrait that I just took of myself. No kiddos were awake to push the button for me!




I love that I have a hubby that encourages me to exercise and is every bit as motivated to keep fit and healthy himself so that we can live a long life together. So many days I find it TORTURE to get up an exercise, but then I remind myself of how I once looked, and where I'd like to be and get up and just do it. (With a little pulling and prodding and ripping the covers off of my by Tracey. You shouldn't have gotten me such a comfy bed setup for my birthday! ;) ) Seriously Tracey, thank you! And thank you for telling me that I look better now than the day we met. Same goes for you baby.

Another new addition....or should I say....Additions

So last night we were strolling around the ol' Walmart, because that seems to be what we do when we are bored. Actually Tracey was looking for some furry fabric, and unsurprisingly Walmart did not have any. What they did have right smack dab next to their fabric section (strange if you ask me) was their fish.

There was some lucky lil' dude getting himself a goldfish and Aaron marches right up to the momma of that lil' dude and tells her that he would like a new pet too. I guess Gary wasn't too exciting or something. Maybe too snotty. Who knows. The mother laughed which I don't think Aaron appreciated, so he turned to the worker and told her that he in fact would like a new pet too. He quickly pointed out the fish he wanted and was shot down yet again when the worker said that he would have to ask his mom.

So he asked.

I said "Maybe, but not today."

Tessa then quickly says "Maybe means never."

Am I really that reputable with my "maybe" answer.

I decided that yes, in fact I WOULD agree to having a goldfish (even though Aaron just broke our goldfish jar all over the driveway a few days ago).

So this morning, I packed up Tess and Aaron and off we went in search of our goldfish.

Somehow our GOLDFISH turned into "Plankton" and "Shrimpy...."Ug" and "Sunny". Oh and let's not forget "Fire" and "Ice". I mean, why NOT get a cute fish tank with a filter for $10 when a regular stinky goldfish jar would have been $7. Sure, maybe not the BEST of setup, but for the sake of seeing how it goes with more pets in the fam, I think it's great.

JM? He thinks they are the total bomb. Hopefully he wont try to take them out! Amazingly enough it's been 5+ hours and no one has died yet!

Meet Gary

I guess there is one thing to be said for the prizes that the kids claimed for themselves at Chuck E Cheese....we now have some "Fancy Livin" quarters for bugs.

What is it with little boys and bugs? Sheesh...what is it with little KIDS and bugs? Tess is equally as excited about "Gary" as the boys are.

We've already given Aaron the discussion how it would NOT be a good thing to feed Gary salt. Gary does not LIKE salt. Really, we don't know what Gary DOES like, other than Salt & Vinegar potato chips would likely be a bad choice.

Well Gary, I hope you enjoy your moments of captivity. I know the kids sure are enjoying having you around!

Baptism, Birthday & Campout.....OH MY!

Wow! What an incredibly fun filled weekend we had. Sooooooooooooo busy, and not what I would call relaxing by any means, but most definitely one that will be remembered for sure!

Saturday, June 6th, Tessa was baptized by her daddy bright and early in the morning. We had to be at the church at 8:20. It was no problem getting there on time, since Tessa was so excited for her big day!





We had quite a few of the relatives from each side of the family in attendance. It just seems so strange to me that Tess is already 8 years old. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was a little squirt.

I was so proud of Tessa and her decision to be baptized. I know it's more of a "thing to do" at her age, but her face was literally glowing with happiness. I hope that she will always remember how important this step is in her life and how as she grows older she will realize more and more the importance of her baptism, and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

After the baptism we had a little shin dig at our house. Lots of food! I felt like quite the Martha Stewart after having made a million and 10 puff pastries for chicken salad sandwiches.




We also had a less than eventful for JM birthday party moment since JM's birthday was on the 7th. (Poor kid having is birthday on a big weekend for Tess. Oh well. He's 2. He won't remember....right?) Grandma and Grandpa Lee got him the one and only thing that I could think of that he would like, since he's a loopy kid and doesn't play with toys. They got him the Fisher Price Bubble Lawn Mower. The kid loves being outside and loves bubbles so what better combination could there be?!?!




After the party, we took the little kids to Chuck E Cheese for their very first time....EVER! Maddi and Sarah will be sad that they missed out on the fun, but I guess spending time with Grandma and Grandpa is more appealing! ;)




JM was a crack up. The way he'd pump a token into the machine, press a button and wait for the tickets to come out. I don't know what the thrill is of collecting tickets to buy junk, but they LOVED it.

After that we went to Cabella's on a whim. Another place we have never been. Again...too funny watching the kids like they were hyped up on full doses of caffeine, Zipping from one animal to the next to the next!




We woke up on Sunday morning and the kids were excited to sing happy birthday to their brother. I was the total slacker mom that didn't really want more junky food in the house, so opted for JM's birthday cake to be a left over piece of Tessa's baptism cake. Nice. I promise baby, I'll make it up to you next year! I'll make you a groovy cake. No left overs. OK!

JM #2 from Tracey Lee on Vimeo.

After church we gave Matthew his basket ball hoop and I was sad that it wasn't the same one that he loves playing with in Nursery. Well, loves playing with it providing I am right there with him. The kid is just not too fond of nursery for sure. Anyhow, he was a little frustrated with not being tall enough to make baskets, but he will grow into it....right? Nothing like getting a bang for your buck!

It's just kind of sad to me that my baby is now two. These past two years have really flown by. As difficult as Matthew is with his speech delay, I know these times are precious and I try to enjoy each moment. Some moments are far better than others, but I know this time will pass all too quickly.

Having gone to Cabella's gave the kids the idea that they would like to sleep out in the tent. So we set up the tent, and they went camping for the night.







Honestly, back yard camping is my style. Dad gets to sleep out with the kids, and I get my comfy bed....no Aarons feet kicking my face....no Tracey snoring....just peace and quiet!

What a great weekend.

Sadly...I have to take JM for shots today. At least he will be accompanied by Sarah having shots as well. Happy birthday kid.

A girl has just got to love a NEW DO!

I can't believe that Maddi actually took the plunge to whack off her hair. She's been talking about it for quite awhile and both Tracey and I have been begging her to do something with her hair. Yesterday she finally did!

I can't believe how big and grown up she looks. I'm so grateful that she could care less about boys, cause heaven only knows, we are going to need all the help we can get when she does think that they are okay!







Here is also a photo that I took of some of the different varieties of iris that we have blooming in our yard right now. Don't ya love the nice chalk background. LOL!

Purple Cauliflower....who'd a thunk?

So today I was at the grocery store shopping for veggi's for the chicken pasta salad that I volunteered to make for our Relief Society Enrichment dinner tonight. You should have seen me stop in my tracks when I came to the purple cauliflower! I mean, honestly! Isn't it great! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a little purple fun to the salad so into my cart it went.

I think the veggi producers must be onto something when it comes to kids. ALL of my kids were standing in line to try the "grape flavored" cauliflower. Much to their disappointment it tasted like regular cauliflower, but oh so much cuter.

Truth be told, I don't think grape cauliflower would be any good anyway!

Oh and the best part? It was actually CHEAPER than the regular cauliflower! Next time I'm buying the orange one!

Oh yeah. It MUST be summer!

I mean, what is it....barely 8AM and I offer ice cream to my kids for breakfast? Yeah. It's true. I did.

Nothin' more to say about that than HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO summer!

:)

One girls trash = another girls treasure!

So my DIY-er friend Natalie had THESE CABINETS that she yanked out of her laundry room. I was so fortunate that I happened upon her post announcing that she would be selling the cabinets at a yard sale for $15.00 each. You can bet I snatched those babies up BEFORE she even had the chance to put them out for sale! Why? Well let me tell you....because I've been on a MAJOR organization binge (not that you would really be able to tell by taking a meander through my house, but I'm trying!), and I have wanted cabinets for our laundry room for ages!

When I got the cabinets I knew I wanted to paint them since I had so much fun painting the cabinets in our bathroom black. I didn't want to do black and had almost settled on a nice pumpkin color, when I decided on a whim to go with the "Monterey Bay" blue. I mean it's a laundry room....lots of water in laundry rooms, right? Maybe not as relaxing as spending a day at Asilomar but maybe if I'm staring at the tranquil blue while I'm sorting through way more laundry than I want to, I can sort of pretend that I'm at the beach. Okay. Yeah. Long shot, but hey, it was worth a try.

I'm still somewhat second guessing painting the cabinets blue, rather than the wall blue, but I figured in such a small room I might not want to be overpowered with blue walls. No matter what I find myself walking past the laundry room...stopping myself and thinking "wow! those are happy looking cabinets". And you know what makes me happy? I don't have to see the laundry soap, or the dryer sheets, or the sock basket, or the cleaning supplies, or the rags, or the swim towels, or the....or the....or the.....

Organization.

Bliss.




Next step....white knobs and maybe a little vinyl lettering on the wall beneath the cabinets. Maybe. Just maybe. Or maybe a photo of the beach. Now we're talking.