the face of five

There is nothing that makes me happier than waking up to this cute face every morning. 
Every day I  am reminded of the blessing she is in my life and in our family.
 Our little caboose.
 Our little baby.

  Our little baby who is not so little anymore.

She could not wait for her 5th birthday.  From the moment she ate her requested dinosaur egg oatmeal with chocolate milk she had this perma grin on her face. 

She could not believe her luck that she just happened to be the president at pre-school.  With that grin still on her face she sat in the special presidents chair and led her class with all of her five year old heart.

That little five year old face could hardly contain her excitement  as she was led blindfolded into the living room to be surprised with a big girl bike.  She rode around and around the house (yes, inside) until we were all dizzy.

Her little face danced with happiness as she opened up her gifts which included a teenager barbie, a Rapunzel dress, squinkies and of course, some books.

This cute face peered eagerly out the window waiting for birthday guests to arrive. 

 She loves her friends. 

 And she loves her family even more.

My baby is five. 

 I guess that means she's not my baby anymore.  She is ready to be a big kid.  She is ready to grow up.  She is ready for all the fun that lies ahead of her.  But I'm not.  Whether she likes it or not she will always be my baby.  I hope she will never be too old to snuggle with me in the mornings or to kiss me on the cheek so willingly.  

Yes, she will always be my baby.

She will always be my little gift from heaven.

My angel.

My Ashie.

Happy Birthday Baby!

my buddha

If Kara wasn't LDS she says she would be a Buddhist. 

 Maybe that is why she makes the pilgrimage to the festival of colors every Spring that is held at the Buddhist or Hari Krishna temple in Spanish Fork.  Every year she convinces more and more people to come with her and join in the fun.  And every year she leaves looking like this: 

And she returns home looking, well, a little more colorful.

(She had actually already washed her face before I could snap the picture)

Her clothes get ruined, we can't get the stains off the car, she can barely breath from all of the chalk dust that has settled in her lungs, and I have heard there are lots of drugs and hippies mingling around this colorful temple.

And she's already counting the days and recruiting more innocent people for next years festival.

Should I be worried?

Greased Lightening

Kara asked a boy named Adam to Sadie Hawkins this year.  She gave him a bag of gummy worms, saying something like "The early bird gets the worm.  Will you go to Sadies with me?"  One night we came home to find a big black crow (fake, or stuffed I have no idea, but it was creepy) with a big sign that said "yes" made out of birdseed.  These two were bound to have a fun time together.

The theme was decades and obviously they chose the 50's and went as greasers.  Kara put on this bright red lipstick and we all laughed at her at church the next day because it didn't really come off and her lips were still very red.  She kind of looked like a floozy.

What you can't see in this picture is that half of our living room furniture is gone.  That is one of the joys of having a child in Student Government.  She gets to set up and decorate for each dance, and sadly, for all of her dates, take down too.  For this dance she took end tables, lamps, plants, benches and I think a few frames that she put pictures of some BeeGee looking guys in.  Trevor stresses every time muttering to himself, "do you know what a bunch of crazy high school kids will do to our furniture."  Luckily, aside from a few misplaced extension cords, our furniture and decor has all been returned safely.

And that  black crow.  It is still sitting on her dresser, looking as creepy as ever.

I don't know how she sleeps at night with that thing looking right at her.

But she does.

a clean house

Some people might call me a clean freak. 

OK, even I call myself a clean freak.  I will admit it.  I like things clean.  I like things tidy.  I hate clutter.  I have been that way for as long as I can remember.  I even had a clean room as a teenager.  (Are you reading this Kara?!)

And it just so happened that I married a fellow clean freak. 

(He was the recipient of the "Neat Pete" award multiple times as a child, no wonder I fell in love with him.)

My poor children. 

 They never stood a chance.

 Every Saturday we deep clean our house.  Every one of us working.  It took years to train them, but now, they are pretty proficient,well most of them are anyways.

One Saturday, as all my kiddos were cleaning I grabbed the camera.  Mostly, because I thought to myself who actually has pictures of their kids cleaning.  I didn't and I wanted some.  I wanted them to be able to show their kids.  I wanted to be able to look back and remember their little hands doing important work.
  My kids can clean, they really can.
 And here is the proof. 
  

Ethan and Alyssa take out all the rugs, dust the stairs, wipe down all the bar stools and chairs and then move them into the family room so Trevor can wash the floor, they sanitize the banisters, and wipe down the doorknobs and cupboard handles.

They are a good little team.

I wish Alyssa's face always looked this pleasant while she was doing chores. 

 I think this was a little staged for the photo shoot.

Each of the kids have to deep clean their rooms each Saturday.  This means they tidy, dust, clean out under their beds and tidy their closets.  I have tried to teach them that if they keep it clean during the week it makes the deep cleaning much easier.  I wish some of them would listen to that advice more closely.

  In addition Bryson takes out all of the trash and tidies the mudroom.

The three older kids each have to clean a bathroom.  Trevor is the bathroom guy.  He trained them.  And I am serious when I say it took him 3 weeks to teach them all his tips.  They were dying.  He showed them how it was to be done.  He then did it with them and then the final test was to have them do it with him watching over their shoulders.  I think they all passed after 3 weeks. 

 I think. 

Every once in a while Trev will give them a refresher coarse.

The four older kids each rotate and deep clean a different main room of the house each week.  They will each do either the family room, the kitchen, the basement or the living room.  This way I know they all know how to clean all the rooms in a house, including bathrooms.  At least I hope they do.

Kara decided to entertain me while cleaning with a back kick.  And it was actually pretty entertaining.  I have a quote above the cleaning charts in the hall.  It says, "With every job that must be done there is an element of fun."  (Mary Poppins)  Kara takes this advice to heart.

And this wee one, well, she is a really good helper to everyone.  But the one chore that she owns is rag folding.  You won't find a better rag folder around. 

 She is meticulous and takes her job very seriously.

And after all of the cleaning that goes on around here, she has got herself a lot of rags to fold.

It takes us a couple of hours all working together to get our house in shape.  It feels so good to have it all clean, even though it doesn't last very long. 

And I hope my kids are learning.  I hope that they will remember the teamwork and the music and the pinesol.

I hope they will thank me someday.

And if they don't, I'm pretty sure their spouses will. 

Green

A trap was set.

A leprechaun escaped.

Gold was left.

Kids were happy.

Green was worn. (Alyssa's green shirt was in the dryer after a spill)

Pinches were given.

A table was set.
A green tablecloth spread.

Green candles were lit.

And green food, although unappealing, was eaten.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

jurassic park

Another day home alone while all the siblings are at school for little miss ashlyn.

 

Today's activity:

Dinosaur sorting.

It takes a lot of time and patience to arrange all of her prehistoric friends into the proper families, each with it's own kind.  The Long Necks with access to the trees, the T-Rexes leaning on each other because she couldn't get them to stand alone on those tiny back legs and....

 ...the Pterodactyl's perched safely in their nest on top of the glorious dinosaur mountain.

And this little paleontologist, after a long day, was quite proud of her work.

goodbye corn on the cob

The first time Brandon got his braces on, two years ago, came as a surprise to both of us.  We were at the orthodontist for an adjustment on his expander and the doctor said, "Let's just put his braces on today." 

And so we did.

 As we were driving home Brandon said, "Mom, I didn't get my last meal!"  I had given both of my older kids a traditional last meal the night before they got their braces on and he had been totally gypped.

  Luckily, (or I should say unluckily) Brandon's teeth were pretty messed up so this was just phase 1 on his long road of teeth torture.  I promised him that for phase 2 he would definitely get his last meal. 

And I am a woman of my word.   

 

Today Brandon is scheduled to get braces on for the second time.  He only has to have them on for, oh, a little over 3 years!
  Yep, I think he really deserves this last meal.

He ate every last bite.  And then the next day he hopped willingly into the chair.

And braced himself for the next 3 years.

 

It's going to be a long road, but he's up for it and personally I think he looks totally cute as a brace face!

make a note

This is what I find on Brandon's bed every morning after he leaves for school.

Let's take a closer look.

That's my boy.

Making a list (or 2 or 3 or 6!).

And then checking it off. 
There is no better feeling.

Here's my list.

1.  I love this boy.
2.  He is organized.
3.  He is dependable.
4.  He gets things done.
5. He needs a new pad of paper.
6.  He is adorable.

Check.

february random

Another winter camp. 

 Another year of asking myself, "who would ever?" 

They had an absolute ball, as usual.

Kara went to the Winter Waltz with Carson. 

 A very tall, very nice boy with pork chop sideburns. 

 He is 6'7". 

 She said her neck hurt after the slow dances. 

But, despite the sore neck, she had a blast!

We hosted the Laurel's "Date Night" mutual activity. 

 They each had to bring a date and they played games and made homemade ice cream. 

 I loved the houseful of kids, the laughter, and the energy that only 16 and 17 year olds can produce.

Um, hello Kara was asked to a big ole College dance. 

It was the black and white ball at UVU. 

She was excited to go, but a little devastated to miss the big rival High School basketball game where AF finally beat Lone Peak. 
I kind of don't blame her.

And for some unknown reason Kara decided to decorate some eggs. 

 (She claims she is doing something very special with them in Stu Co.) 

Her favorite, and mine too, is the eyeball. 

And I really should have just called this Kara random.