Summer Trip

Recently, we enjoyed a little time off visiting family. We had a nice reunion near Manti, then saw family near Lehi.  Finally, we enjoyed a cool 4th of July thanks to some timely rain.
We stayed at a place called Big Rock Candy Mountain on the way to our reunion. The kids went rock collecting on the candy mountain and found cool limestone formations and a geode.

 The reunion was at the Palisade State Park, where the kids couldn't get enough of the beach, swimming in the lake, and boating with cousins. We enjoyed catching fish in cups, as well as snakes and toads. We also saw lots of birds, lizards, and tadpoles. We also got to go to the nearby Manti pageant, which was a treat for our kids who had never seen it. As we were waiting for it to begin, I walked around with Eliza to keep her busy. I took the chance to take this picture, which I thought was cute.

 One other highlight of the trip was a visit to temple square where we saw the Joseph Smith movie, toured the visitors center, and conference center. N's favorite thing she saw was the scale model of the Salt Lake temple with cutaways so you could see each room inside.  We also had lots of fun in the kids section of the church history museum.

We went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, where the kids saw lots of cool dinosaur habitats. D's favorite part was the giant fossilized egg. A's favorite part was an interactive water and sand feature where the kids built dams and habitat for plastic dinosaurs.  

We also got to pick raspberries and eat them, along with other yummy food. We enjoyed these destinations with cousins who recently moved to Utah. They even let us stay in their house! :)

At our campsite on the way back home, we camped under a ridge that had a massive forest fire burning. We were a little worried until we heard that the evacuees were being sent to our camp. It was as interesting as 4th of July fireworks, although a little unnerving.  In the morning, the kids got to feed apple cores to the horses at the camp.  I've never seen such friendly horses.  We also stopped at the Grand Canyon since none of our kids could remember the last time we went there.  It was grand.  I actually spent most of my time chasing D around and keeping him from meeting every foreigner possible or from hurling himself off the edge. 

Speaking of D, a couple of nights after we returned, D decided to get up in the middle of the night because he was hungry. He ate a third of an apple pie, then was inspired to make his own. He poured out two packages of jello, some baking soda, three containers of red, yellow, and green food coloring, containers of almond, coconut, vanilla, and orange extract, as well as five packages of hot chocolate powder.  He forgot the bowl, so it ended up on the counter and floor.  The mess on the floor was about half an inch thick and pretty solid in the morning.  We were not pleased, but what can you do but laugh and cry?

I don't have pictures (dead camera),  but we also enjoyed the coolest 4th of July with family. It rained in the morning and was probably not hotter than 90 degrees, which felt remarkably cool. It was fun to go swimming and have the day off!  We were grateful that we saw so many of you and sorry that we didn't get to see all of you.  It was a great time!

Hi everyone,
We've been very busy lately finishing school, practicing music, and playing in our backyard. Here are a few pictures from our recent happenings.

First, our kids had several end-of-year concerts. First N, C, and the rest of the 5th grade band played a few songs including the Carnival of Venice. He plays the coronet and she plays the clarinet.  Then their music class and A's music class had a piano concert at the Mesa Arts center.  It was very well done and we were very proud of them.  The climactic (in my opinion) piece was "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Geraldi. The kids dressed up as the title characters, which was very funny.  A's favorite song he played was "The Entertainer" by Joplin. He worked so hard, and was very happy with his performance with a group of peers (a couple of whom are pictured here with him). For some reason, the pic we took with the big group of kiddos posing together with friends and cousin is missing.

Our little one just had her 2nd b-day! We had a very simple and short party, but it was perfect for her! She is such a character, and is a wonderful child to finish off a family--just clever, demanding, cuddly, eager to follow her siblings and loving enough to wrap us all around her tiny pinkie.

  This is little D hanging out at the park with four of his best friends (quadruplet sisters) in his preschool class. He is now graduating from two-and-a-half years of preschool with a group of teachers, aides and therapists that he got to know very well (and vice versa). "You tell me" is a quote for which he will be well remembered for there. He has progressed a great deal, and is begging to now go to kindergarten.  We looking at all of our options, hoping to find the best fit for him.

I (Man of the House) also finally got a chance to build a pergola, which I've been planning to do for a very long time.  It wasn't as easy as I anticipated. I had it framed and 90% complete one Tuesday night, with plans to put up the final braces and bury the foundation piers the next day after work. Well at 4:30 pm the next day, a huge dust storm rolled in, blew down the pergola, and scared my kids who valiantly scrambled to rescue bikes, balls, and tools from the sudden rain. I felt like we'd been visited by the big bad wolf.  Anyway, I took the pergola's remains apart and found that only the metal connectors were bent - the wood was still in good shape.  I started over by redigging the holes for the piers, leveling everything, building the structure again, and this time not waiting to put the corner braces on!  Only time will tell if it lasts this time, but it sure is nice to have a solid shade structure in the yard for the kids to play under.  It's made of redwood and bamboo. It was fun to show our kids what good things can come from a little work.

Saturday morning pancakes!

Have a great Memorial Day! We're celebrating 13 years since our family began! :)

Well, friends and family, we have sad news and good news. My beloved Camry wagon was taking me home from scouts a few nights ago when I heard a clunk sound. I got home without noticing any problems, then checked under the car. I was surprised to see a small section of the left front strut had fallen off and balanced nicely on the boot covering the axle. Although it still drives just fine, I know that it will eventually mess up the alignment. I also noticed a few other parts that seem to be getting old because they have gone 145,000 miles. The repair costs are gradually getting higher, so decided that the time has come to replace the car. You may recall that I named my car Tightlikeuntoadish when I got it 12 years ago (four years old already). That was because it was a Camry and was "tight." It was also a barge.  Well, it is still a nice barge, but no longer so tight. 

Anyway, I did a way too analytical spreadsheet based on inputs from E and my own thoughts. I estimated total cost of ownership for 20 cars based on purchase price, gas use, cost of repairs, reliability, likelihood of getting in an accident, then added in number of seats, and "coolness" from the wife and oldest 3 kids. After all of this was calculated, the model popped out the ideal car for us based on our needs:  a Toyota Sienna.  Of course, this is completely unhelpful because we already have one and sure aren't going to get two of the same thing. Our next 3 cars were the Toyota Rav4, Mazda5, and Subaru Forester. After doing some test drives, we finally found the perfect car for us. 

Presenting our new-to-us car: a black 2009 Rav4 with room for 7 so we can all fit in a pinch.

We're just grateful that our Camry lasted so long, especially given its forced role as a scout vehicle. We're also grateful that we were able to save up so the transition won't be as painful. My first day coming out of work and not seeing Tightlikeuntoadish in the parking lot, I actually got choked up and felt a sense of loss. It's not like losing a loved one, or even a pet, but I have been very grateful for that car.

Here are a few pictures from my latest project. It is a Chinese-style concrete bench so kids can take shoes off easily at the trampoline.

Last night, we went camping, so I thought I should include a picture from our campout at Oak Flat. Our kids sure loved cooking tin foil dinners!

Finally, I'm including a picture of yummy treats that Emily made recently. 

Ways to chronicle memories

I've been staying up way too late recently working on a few projects, mostly trying to chronicle our memories and sorting through all of the zillions of photos I have on computers (yes plural, which makes it harder because one is becoming a dinosaur, partly because of all the photos on it).

I know most people don't scrapbook on paper anymore because digital is so convenient and versatile. However, I began scrapbooking while I was in high school, and thanks in part to a sweet aunt who had connections, I got a great stash of scrapbooking supplies before I moved to Michigan, where there were fewer supplies. This started me on some family albums and a baby book for my twins.  I had some awesome friends there who even hosted scrap parties, my Mom in law gave me some nice supplies, and I thought it was fun to create albums while my toddlers entertained each other occasionally, so I was entrenched in this medium long before digital was an option.

These days I have very little time for any albums, online, digital, printed or paper scrapped. I still feel this need to touch actual photos, trim them, find perfect papers and embellishments, so I have these baby albums that I want to be consistent--all of my babies should get a handmade album.

There are some nice supplies out there now, but I can see that the paper industry is not the same anymore, so I struggle with how much I should invest in it. I do have a friend in my ward who owns a business where she chooses papers and embellishments and then ships them out to people all over the world.  I think if I didn't have to pay the shipping when I live less than a mile from her, I would probably sign up, but I can just see my husband cringing at the idea of more "stuff". :) I wonder how long my handmade albums will last versus the digital printed albums I've made. I've tried to decide if I should print previous years blog posts, though it seems like once it's online, it's permanent somewhere.

I guess I'm struggling to decide if this is a hobby that is worth anymore long term investment, or whether it's better to just be finished with handmade when I'm done with my baby books.  Will my handmade efforts be appreciated in the long term? Does anyone else out there still scrapbook?

P.S. I started a different blog today.  I'm not sure exactly what possessed me to do such a thing, but I've had some ideas swimming in my head for awhile and I wasn't sure that putting them on this family blog (that I haven't been updating well) was the place for it.

Can't we all just get along?:)

I love to see imagination blossom in my little ones.  She just loves her babies, stuffed animals, cars, books and people, and is busy constantly.

She is learning how to navigate her world while learning an ever growing vocabulary. Some of the words she says are hilarious like car which sounds like tarccccgg. 

It's the ___ _______ time of the year!

I have had a goal for weeks to write something meaningful on here, but if I am at my computer, I usually get a couple of items accomplished and then I'm interrupted with no chance to finish the other tasks. Today cleaning, meals, laundry, shopping and more will wait.  My growing up baby has her hand under her chin and is breathing loudly, though soundly in my arms, asleep. (I'll take advantage of the rare nap in my arms and just type one-handed!) She has had another round of Dr. visits and will be getting some lab work done this week.  The GI dr. thinks she will be getting a bariatric x-ray on my tiny girl soon, but the concern of exposure to radiation to us is higher than my concern of problems for this happy, active, intelligent, willing to eat most foods, strong willed little person. Does that even make sense?  I go back and forth daily on what I should do and whether there is anything wrong. I don't want to spend my time ranting about a dr. who makes me feel less than I am whenever we visit (which is not often thankfully).

I also don't want to complain about a bureaucratic system that cannot help children with delays because they are not delayed enough or don't fit into the right parameters. I am grateful that for now my four year old is "highly functioning"ish. But I realize that he is almost five and has a low chance of fitting into a normal classroom environment and being happy and actually learning there.  But, he is progressing. He is enjoying a structured preschool environment with teachers with whom he has a strong, happy relationship, great therapists who want to see him succeed, and a family who is learning strategies of patience, cooperation and love. He has his own gifts and abilities that will help him get through life.

I also have worries about my "spirited" now seven year old.  But while some of the dylexia concerns are starting to be allayed, I wonder if there are ADHD issues playing into his struggles, or if he is moving toward the "gifted" spectrum which has such a variety of parameters too, and character traits that aren't always typical.  He is a wonderful kid who tends to keep us all moving and loud enough to match his constant volume and exuberance.

And on to the almost 11 year olds (now 11, since once again I was interrupted before finishing something!) who have been officially categorized as gifted for the past two years, but are just finally seeming to find their niche among peers and gaining confidence in some of their abilities. They had such a great time at science camp recently and they really enjoy their teacher and her style of exciting teaching. Their class recently performed another set of plays (these were not a musical this time), and they performed in a school band concert, playing the clarinet and the trumpet (you may guess which child played which instrument). They are also transitioning into a new level of abilities in their music/piano instruction and they are leaving me in the dust with chords and styles I have never learned.

Since I can't even keep up with the normal daily tasks anymore with our household of busyness, I have a hard time justifying any extra time sitting at my computer, so I apologize if I don't update this blog or check facebook or call, or any of those other nice ways to be in contact with others.  I figure this crazy phase of life may not last forever, so I'm just focusing on the needs of my little mess-makers, trying to convince them that no one wants to live with a slob (though at times I wonder if that's what I am when I set down a half finished meal to chase an escaping child out the door, or throw an item out of the way as I scramble to pull someone out of a predicament, or stuff one more item into the trash because I don't have time to empty it because we're already late for somewhere). 

Life has been crazy for our breadwinner lately as he scrambles to meet suddenly decided deadlines, attend late night, early morning and out of state meetings, and not feel isolated while surrounded by people in cubicles, but we're looking forward to the chance when he can bring home some bacon and actually eat it with us too. He's always great about jumping in and helping out with homework, dinner, dishes, bedtime, etc. when he can.

Staying healthy has not been easy now that winter has actually sort of arrived here (our garden is now mostly decimated), but at least I seem to be the only one who has no voice, even though the congestion just seems to linger for everyone. It is a humbling experience to go Christmas caroling and just have to mouth the words. I have more sympathy for croaking frogs now, and I hope that I don't sound like this forever (especially since I'm supposed to teach a Relief Society lesson next week in church about the Savior).

I love this time of year, but many of the traditions we have done in years past have not been happening this year.  We'll see if our advent calendar opening, treat making, party attending, music playing, mega shopping, card writing, picture sending, gift creating, movie watching traditions are what make our season bright or if we can be happy even if we don't do it all.  I am still okay with keeping a tradition of celebrating my birthday later in the day, but I'll even let that one go if it's going to detract from the real reason why this time of year is special.  It really needs to be all about our Savior and remembering the gifts he has given to us and continues to give to us, and gifts we can give to him to keep him as the focus in our lives.

Have a wonderful holiday! (Maybe I'll actually post some pics on here sometime--we'll see!) :)

There are many reasons I don't get things done,

and these two seem to be the biggest....

This little episode with the permanent marker occurred during dinner prep.  A certain older brother had supposedly put away this marker, so either our budding artist climbed up and got it, or someone didn't really put it away.  I have scrubbed with a washcloth during bathtime, used some baby oil to lighten it up and rubbed their skin off and on, but I'm not as motivated to go to the grocery store now.  Can I please put it off another day so no one assumes these children have had a tattoo artist attack them? :)

It's that time of year...

No, not my very favorite time of year yet, but exciting nonetheless.  The kids are back in school.  They have excellent teachers and friends in their classes, but we all miss having our summer play time.  We're adjusting, and we'll be loving it soon, it's just an adjustment time. I like having my big kids around, and the younger two get a little lonely.  Next year will be super quiet with four big kids in elementary school.

At least this girl likes her mama, and she has friends and cousins who will still be around in the middle of the day. I'm sure she'll be excited to see everyone after school as she often is now (she especially adores her big sis, much to the brothers' dismay)! 

Right now, I'm blogging when I was planning to clean up the tornado that cycloned through my house. It's much easier to type one-handed than to clean with a feverish cling-on dozing in your arms.  My poor baby is on ear infection #6 and my have to see an ENT specialist along with the GI doc we're already seeing.  I spend too much of my life at offices waiting for my two little ones to have someone else help them.  I guess they knew to wait to be a part of this family or they might not have made it here.  My older three had their share of challenges, but didn't seem to be as helpless or in need of constant visits to specialists, therapists and doctors.

Overall, it's a great thing to be Mom to these five energetic, bright, motivated little people.  We have  moments everyday that show us we're supposed to be a family, and that we are being watched over and taken care of. It just takes everything we have to get through the days sometimes!

Goodbye to another great year of school!

Someone in our house is excited to be finished with Kindergarten! He had a great year with a teacher he adored and he especially loved the social aspect of school, though he learned lots, and had fun while doing so, even if he didn't realize it!

 Our fourth graders had a great year too! This is one of the last projects they did in May.  They composted lunchroom leftovers and built a garden bed out of compost.  They wrote about the benefits of composting and gardening, and they had fun nurturing the little plants. I'll claim the two guys wearing shades and the girl standing in front of her daddy! Yup, Dad even helped make this classroom project a reality with his building skills! :)

 Here they are with their teacher showing off their compost bins.  My kids were experts since we've been doing this stuff at home for a couple of years now! heehee!

When it rains, it pours.....

We got to be with family recently for a reunion w/ Darren's side.   See Mark and Beckee's blog for pics of our actual reunion.  We didn't pull our camera out the entire time we were camping, mostly because it was pouring rain and blowing wind at us for the majority of the time.  We only got a few other pics at random times.  However, the kids got some great time w/ cousins and it was neat to have the entire family together for awhile. Here are a few shots of the trip:

The other girls their age were gone or getting family pics.

The whole clan above.

Posing with Grandma (or not posing for some)!

Since blogger isn't really my friend, I'll just quickly explain. On our way home, we wanted to divide our trip so we weren't driving all of those hours in one exhausting day. We chose to camp in Zion's National Park. We got a zillion nice landscape shots, many out the window of a moving vehicle.  Above are the few we are posting.  We loved the whole place and wished we had much more than just a late afternoon to explore the whole park, but we were on a tight schedule. The tunnel carved through the mountain was made in the '30s and is more than a mile long and they even carved out windows (see above). Our kids also enjoyed our campsite with friendly horses right over the fence!

Family vacations are memorable, but also take sooo much energy!  We came home and soon discovered a broken A/C, broken washer and broken van rack and pinion.  All three were major repairs that took us quite by surprise.  When it rains, often we are poured on many blessings, but there are often big trials at the same time.  We are grateful that this was a trial we were able to weather without too many setbacks (the purpose of a rainy day fund at work).