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.

February 29, 2012

Today we celebrated this cute boys 4th birthday.

Although he's not really a boy anymore.
 He is practically a man.

He is sixteen.

And it is a leap year!

I felt a lot of pressure this year when planning his sweet sixteen (do they even call it that for a boy?). A 16th birthday on a Leap Year- to me that is huge.  I felt it had to be memorable.  I felt it had to be impressive.  I felt it had to be big. 

 But that is not Tyler.  Tyler doesn't need huge and impressive. Tyler didn't want big or over the top.  So I took a step back and scaled down my ideas for a grand celebration and Tyler got what Tyler wanted. After all, it was his birthDAY!

I had to at least let the passerby's know that Leap Year 2012 was a day to celebrate at our house.

  So there were balloons. 

 Of course, there were balloons. 

Balloons and signs that barely survived the cold winter morning.

Leap Year 1996, Leap Year 2000, Leap Year 2004, Leap Year 2008 and Leap Year 2012.

We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, Texas Roadhouse style.  And Tyler practically died of embarrassment when the singing and the mandatory saddle sitting took place.

He came home to a pile of presents.  I had offered him anything he wanted.  A huge friend party, a big dinner out with close friends.  I think I would have done whatever he wanted. 

 What he wanted was simplicity. 

What he wanted was family.

  And his family came. 

 Aunt and Uncles, Grandmas and Grandpas, and cousin after cousin after cousin.  They came on a busy weeknight.   They came because they love Tyler.  They came and they surrounded him with good old fashioned family love. 

 And he was happy.  

And I am happy, because this boy is mine. 

And once every four years I get to relive that wonderful Leap Year day.  I can still remember how surprised I was when they said, "It's a boy!"  I can still remember being alone in my hospital room holding him in my arms.  I can still remember looking at his sweet face and literally feeling my heart open up as I looked into those big brown eyes.  I can still remember snuggling him tight as we stepped out into the cold winter wind to take him home and promising that I would keep him safe and warm forever.

  I can still remember.

He will be on his mission on his next birthday. 

 He will be gone the next time Leap Year rolls around.

I can't even wrap my brain around that one. 

 I don't think he can either.

He will always be my little boy. My little Leap Year boy.
 And my love and devotion to him is huge and impressive and big.
I hope he knows that.

Happy Birth DAY Tyler!

liscenced

The picture.

The signature.

The wait.

The result.

Who's gonna drive you home.....TONIGHT?

Tyler is.

A Lovely Day

Love: Valentines Day!



Love:  Watching them rip into their boxes after school with so much excitement.
Love: The boys going straight for the candy.

Love:  That my girl takes the time to admire each card and carefully read who each one is from.

Love:  Balloons and treats and heart boxes filled with chocolate adorning my table

Love:  This day to celebrate with the ones I love the very most.

Happy Valentines Day!

the boxes

I love almost everything about Valentines Day.  I love the cute valentines, the parties, and of course, the candy.  I love heart shaped meatloaf and pink mashed potatoes.  I love my kids excitement and I love focusing on love in our home.  But there is one thing I do not like at all.  And that is making the Valentine boxes.  I don't like the pressure since there usually seems to be a contest involved.  I don't like having to be creative when I really don't want to be.  I don't like that I usually have to make 3 or 4 of them. I just don't like Valentine Boxes.
 Never have and probably never will.

 So,  I thought I was in heaven this year when Alyssa set out to make hers all by herself.  She came up with the idea, gathered her supplies, enlisted her older brother for a little technical help and created this beauty.

I didn't lift a finger to help her and she didn't ask me. 

  And she was proud as can be over this little dog.

Bryson remembered he needed a Valentines box about 20 minutes before school started.  He quickly cut and shaped a cereal box, slapped on a piece of yellow paper, cut out some holes

 and Voila:

The big cheese.  

He left pretty satisfied himself.

I could have kissed Ethan's teacher who sent home a note saying they were making their "envelopes" in class.  

Hallelujah!

And then of course there's Kara.  

Yes, she is a Senior in High School.  

And yes, she is still making Valentines boxes.  She worked on hers for days.  The Student Council was having an old fashioned Valentine exchange and so she created her bookshelf box.  She found different sized boxes, cut and shaped and re-glued them to look like boxes, painted them, and then as only Kara can do added a few details.

Her favorite was her triple combination, complete with ridges on the binding, a ribbon coming out of the top for a bookmark and...

...the glittery pages with tabs.  

 Her kids are going to be so lucky on Valentines Day!

If I was really smart I would just save all of these creations and reuse them through the years.  But, I'm  not that smart and where's the fun in that.  So I will continue to stress and continue to sit back and watch in amazement the creativity of these great kids of mine.

my 2 sons

Step out of your comfort zone for one whole week. 

 That was the assignment. 

  One kid decided to dress like a Goth.  One girl didn't do her hair for one week. One boy put on a big ole magnetic diamond earing and wore it around for 7 days. One boy dyed his hair red.  Most kids took the easy road and just talked to a member of the opposite sex that they didn't know each day. 

But not Tyler. 

And not his friend Ben.

 They took the assignment seriously.  They decided to switch houses, live in each others bedrooms, do each other's chores, ask each other's moms for rides and meals.
They decided to be uncomfortable.

 And so, one Sunday night right before Valentine's Day, Tyler packed up his belongings, hugged us all goodbye, and stepped right out of his comfort zone, right out of his safe place. He stepped into a life with 5 sisters, no brothers, a dad who is running for governor, and a dog.
A dog who slept on his bed each night.

      

And Ben stepped into our home and our lives. 

He slept in Tyler's bed.  Showered in Tyler's shower (which was a little tricky with Kara trying to get ready in the same bathroom each morning)

.

Ben joined us for our traditional Saturday morning pancakes and eggs. 

 He did chores and he didn't even complain.

He read scriptures and had family prayer with us each morning and night.

Ben embraced his new siblings, giving them piggyback rides, playing football with them, jumping with them on the tramp.  He taught them card games and tricks. 
They didn't want him to leave.

Ben ate dinners with us and celebrated Valentine's Day in our home.  He attended our weekly mutual night and our ward on Sunday.  He even participated in a mean Book of Mormon BattlesTournament with the boys. 

 He fit right in.

Ben was a good son and the week was really anything but uncomfortable. 

The next Sunday, exactly one week later, Ben packed up his belongings, hugged us all goodbye and headed back to his house, his comfort zone. 

We told him he was welcome back anytime.

And we welcomed our real son back.

 Tyler had missed us.  He had missed his bed.  He had missed his bathroom.  I think he even missed his siblings.  He had definitely been out of his comfort zone at times.  He fed the dog, the dog he was totally allergic to.  He rode the bus.  He did chores in an unfamiliar kitchen and bathroom.  He talked (or tried to) a lot with Ben's mom.  He watched a lot of TV.  He learned to love raw oatmeal and grape nuts with lots and lots of sugar.   

He got a lot of good material for his paper on stepping out of your comfort zone, for he truly did just that.

Hands down, their teacher said, the best project in the class.

And Tyler and Ben, for a week of uncomfortable, they earned themselves some pretty comfortable A's. 

 

shattered

DO NOT

AIM A SQUIRT BOTTLE AT A HOT FIREPLACE!

JUST DON'T DO IT.

SERIOUSLY.

Candy Gram

Our kids all did well in school again this semester.
 They worked hard and deserved a good grade reward.  

So here is what we did.

We called them in one at a time.
We handed them their empty sack and then as Trevor read them the letter, I threw the candy at them as he read.  

They loved it!

The other night I went in to Ethan's room to kiss him goodnight.  He was reading his letter.  He smiled at me and said, "Mom, I get it now!  Reeses is like recess at school.  I totally get it now."  He continued, "Thanks for this letter mom, I really love it."  I asked him why he was reading the letter again (we had given it to him about a month earlier).  He looked up at me and said, "Mom, I read it every night."  

My guess is that he will continue to work hard in school so he can earn another good grade reward.

And that's exactly why we do it!

she's in

Bad picture (darn camera)......but great news!

Brigham Young University 
Freshman Class of 2012!

With a
full tuition 
academic 
scholarship!

Now that's something worth bragging about!

So proud, so excited and so very thankful for this amazing, brilliant, hard working girl of ours!