Our Family 2009

My sister-in-law, Amanda, took our family pictures this year. Thank you so much Amanda!

Here are a few...

Are they really growing up so fast? Where does the time go and how is it that while each day takes it's time, the years fly be?

On The Run

I started running again a couple of months ago. I have to admit that I NEVER thought I would ever actually enjoy running. It has been such a great journey for me since I started about 3 years ago. I have gone through many stages from the "I can never make it to the next corner!" to the "I just ran 8 miles? I think I could keep going!" and everything in between. I was shocked at myself a few weeks ago when I was driving along in the car and saw a runner on the sidewalk. I truly thought to myself, "I wish I could be running right now."

Well, thanks to some amazing women and their enthusiasm and determination, we have gotten a team together and are preparing to run the Ragnar Relay in February. I am really getting excited for this crazy race. Here is the low down: 12 women, 2 vans, 200 miles. We will be running from Prescott to Mesa in a day or day and a half (depending on our speed). So there will be one person running at a time, each person to run 3 times. I have heard really great things about this race, some of which indicated that it will be an incredible/terrible experience. Fun huh? It will be a huge challenge anyways, and I am learning that it is always important to challenge ourselves and to continuously improve. (New Year's is just around the corner. Time for me to start thinking about other areas that need improvement!)

Give Thanks

Okay, so I am a little behind on my posts. I am just finishing up some old ones. Better late than never right? Right!

There were a few things going on Wed. with it being almost Thanksgiving and 4 kids in school (does preschool count?). TJ, Natalie, and Elaina were participating in the school's Turkey Trot and I thought it would be a lot of fun to join them.

They raced around the school and around the huge grassy field behind the school. Grade level by grade level the kids lined up to have their turn.

I decided to run with Natalie to begin with. I honestly thought we would catch TJ. Natalie has always been determined and steady. She did jog the whole thing (way to go Nat!) but we never caught TJ. After I dropped off Natalie, I ran back for Elaina, who was wearing an adorable turkey hat. She was walking by TJ's old 3rd grade teacher. Elaina and I took off and finished the race together.

When we got back to the school and found Elaina's class, I went to sit by TJ to check in. He said that he finished 2nd in his class! Wow, you always surprise me T.

I really enjoyed being with them.

I then headed over to Mrs. Sandy's backyard for the preschool Thanksgiving performance. I wondered how Tyler would do with several parents in the audience watching. I half thought he might sing out and say his part with total confidence. I knew I was way off when my little indian wouldn't even walk out with the other kids. He was finally coaxed out and sat in his chair and sat and sat. He didn't open his mouth to sing a single syllable. No hand movements for Tyler. Not a hint of a smile. The only interaction from the child was an occasional glare at the girl sitting behind him that kept tugging at the feathers in his hat. He did say his part when it was his turn, but we couldn't understand a word (and I knew what he was saying). I think when your mouth is opened over the microphone, it somehow makes it difficult to speak clearly!




After the program, I asked Tyler if he had fun. He answered with an enthusiastic "Yes!". I then made the comment that he didn't sing any of the songs. He said he sang them in class. There it is.

It is so fun to watch this little man and all of the preschoolers. Cute, cute.

Later in the day we had family pictures.

Thanksgiving Day we went bike riding in the morning and played at the park. Then we went over to Nana & Papa's house to eat a yummy meal, sing some thanksgiving songs and just enjoy being with family.

Later we went over to Grandma Laney and Grandad's. Our Lines cousins were there and we played with them.

There is so much to be thankful for that I am overwhelmed. How could I ever complain about anything? No, I have all that a person could need to live and be happy and so much more.

I hope to live life in the spirit of thanksgiving each day. The Lord is over all. Even the trials we must endure can be for our good and help us to draw closer to Him.

Too Cute at Two Months

On one of our walls at home we have pictures of the "2 monthers". Newborns change so much in 2 months! It seems to me that their personalities start to come through around this time. They are too cute. Here are pictures of the first four. Can you tell who is who?

And finally for the caboose...

My amazingly talented sister in law, Amanda, took this picture of Lydia. She has been busy with her new little sweetie, Gwen, and getting the pictures hasn't really been a priority for me. But it is so fun to have them now! Thank you, thank you Amanda. It is the perfect addition to our wall! I can't wait to frame it (it is taped to the wall until I can make myself venture out to a specialty store for a matte!)

I couldn't resist adding a few more of Lydia at 2 months...

Okay, enough is enough isn't it? I don't blame her!

I had some cute outfits picked out for Lydia, but she was only happy when I took the clothes off. Go figure. She still didn't last very long, but Amanda somehow managed to get the perfect shot for our wall.

Heroes

It may seem like I blog a lot about Tyler. He is so fun to write about, and I really want to remember his great personality as a toddler.

Tyler has a hero (in addition to Grampa Max and Daddy). His hero is Chief Captain Moroni. He loves to talk about Capt. Moroni, pretend he is Capt. Moroni, and pray for Capt. Moroni. Almost without fail Tyler will thank Heavenly Father for Jesus and Captain Moroni in his prayers. It is very cute.

I have a sneaky suspicion that he adores Moroni because he was a great war hero which translates to: he got to fight with a cool sword and was still a good guy. I try to emphasize that Moroni didn't want to fight. He fought only to protect his family, his freedom, and his right to worship God. Somehow I don't think he gets that yet. I love that he has such a great hero anyhow!

One day I thought Tyler would get a kick out of seeing himself as Capt. Moroni. So using my basic and somewhat embarrassing skills in photo shop, this is what I came up with:
We call this guy Captain Tyroni. Tyler loved the modified picture!

It is great to have heroes to look up to and try to be like. I feel like I am so blessed to be surrounded by heroes that I want to emulate!

Wall of Thanks

Last week we had our family lesson on all of the things we are thankful for. Thanksgiving season always provides a great opportunity to reflect on our blessings. A good friend says that we need to give Thanksgiving it's due! So true! We have much to be thankful for.
We decided this year to create a Wall of Thanks to help us remember many of our blessings.
We made a poster and stuck it on the wall. Then, each person got a pad of sticky notes. They have been writing the things they are thankful for on the note pad and sticking it to the wall.


I was impressed with all of there thoughtful notes on the wall.
Here some of the things they said:
clothes
brothers
shoes
seasons
tigers
books
moonlight
Cassie (grandpa's dog that recently passed away)
stars
friends
mom
Heavenly Father
my self
Italian food (okay, that was mine!)
scriptures
Michael Jordan
a car
dinosaurs
a bed
strawberries
eyes
a handful of thanks for all things Star Wars

I won't write all of them. It is fun to see how they write and try to translate kindergarten spelling! We will keep working on it and see if we can't fill the whole wall and maybe start another. It really shouldn't be that difficult...

Little Lydi

This Little Lady is so much fun. I know it is said so many times, and I should avoid the phrase altogether, but truly she is growing up so fast!!! Lydia is 5 1/2 months and is a wiggle worm to the extreme. It makes me laugh how she is constantly lunging to get at whatever is closest. She can't sit still on my lap for long. Then when I stand up, she is content looking around and around. She doesn't want to miss anything! She will twist in my arms until I turn her around, then she keeps twisting until I turn her again, until she is facing the way she originally was facing!

She sticks out her tongue. ALL the time. I love it! She is so slobbery and slimy and slippery. She blows on my neck and arms and hands, making raspberries and cooing.

This morning I was trying to get her dressed and she kept rolling over, trying to get away, trying to reach for the nearest thing she could grab and chew.

Yesterday I went jogging with my friend and we took our babies. I discovered that Lydia really likes jogging! She sat so quietly and so still. She even slept! When she was awake, she was so content! Good thing too because I am planning on doing a lot more running : ) I am glad she can keep me company.

I know that I say having children is challenging, exhausting, etc. Well, it is true! But, I love it and I love my little ones. How lucky am I?

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CA & MT

Last weekend Travis took TJ to California to celebrate reaching his goal of reading the Book of Mormon in less than 45 days. TJ has been asking to go back to Medieval Times (dinner & show) ever since we went back in '05. So we thought this was the perfect trip for the two of them.

It was a really quick trip. They left Friday early and had to be back early evening on Sat. But, they had a great time. They went to the beach, which TJ couldn't get enough of. There is something about chasing birds and watching them flap away in terror that really appeals to 9 year old boys! They enjoyed a nice hotel (thank you Priceline!). They went to Medieval Times and cheered on the yellow knight during their finger licking chicken dinner. TJ bought a cool light up sword (I think this was the real reason he wanted to go to medieval times!!). They had front row seats which, I am sure was really exciting. Travis really liked the horses and show. They also had fun on the drive talking and listening to Harry Potter

I love that the two of them got to do this together. We try to have some one on one with the kids, but it is challenging when you have 5 little ones. I am sure TJ will remember this time with his dad for years to come.

*just a side note: I am proud of Travis for taking pictures!!! Thank you : )

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Funny or Not?

So, is it funny to make your baby cry? Probably not, but I couldn't help laughing!

This was taken a month ago or so. It was really bothering Natalie that we found Lydia so funny when she did the "lip thing". Mean ol' dad and mom!

*It is interesting that Lydia's Dad is her favorite person. She doesn't smile a lot, but always has one for Dad! It is a good thing that he doesn't make a habit of scaring her or she might decide Mom is her favorite!

Halloween Highlights

This month seemed to fly by. And despite feeling very exhausted, we still did some fun things for one of my funnest holidays: Halloween!



One night, after our Family Home Evening lesson we did a fun mummy activity. Tyler, Natalie, and Elaina were our models as we wrapped them each in a role of toilet paper. After we mummified the kids, we went next door to scare our neighbors (Grandma & Grandpa)!

Mrs. Sandy asked Tyler if he wanted to come to her preschool's Halloween party. He isn't in preschool yet but he said he wanted to go. Tyler is pretty shy when he is in a big group so I was surprised he wanted to do it. I had to laugh when they broke the pinata and he retrieved 2 pieces of candy (after I coaxed and prodded!). He loved the bounce house and going fishing. He even caught a Superman toy!!

The last day of school before Halloween, the kids had a spooky meal in their lunch boxes. Thanks to the kids for helping make our ghoulish delights and to many of the fun ideas on the internet, we ended up with mummy dogs, bread stick bones, jello worms, and witch finger cookies.

Halloween night we went to the church for a hot dog and chili dinner and the annual trunk or treat. We were feeling a little wicked this year and all the kids went as villains. TJ was Hades, from Hercules. Natalie was the evil queen from Snow White. Elaina was Cruela DeVille from 101 Dalmations. Tyler was Captain Hook and Lydia was the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I made all of the costumes except Hook's, which we bought. Mom helped me with the finishing touches. By the time I got to Travis and my costumes, I was out of time and energy. No Maleficent and Jafar! We had to settle with a Mime and a Referee.

*Note to self: next year, plan more than one hour to get a pot of chili and 5 kids ready for Halloween!

Roosevelt Lake

My kids are on a modified year round school schedule. I absolutely love this. They have a 2 week vacation every nine weeks. As a former teacher, this is an amazing concept and a much needed break. As a mother, I look forward to having the kids all to myself for a couple of weeks. No homework, no set schedule, no bedtime (okay, we do try to stick to our bed routine or else I am the one to pay the next day!).

This intersession was quite a bit different for us. We usually stay close to home and spend time with friends and family and maybe go to the zoo or somewhere close by. The first week we went to see my sister in Safford and had a great time. Last week, we headed over to Roosevelt Lake and spent a few days enjoying the weather, the views, and the great company. We had a blast!

Travis' sisters and 3 cousins came along with us. We stayed in a house just off the lake. One day we rented a pontoon boat and went fishing. No one got even a bite!!! We saw several fish peek out of the water, teasing us. But, the kids loved being on the lake and driving the boat fast. It was such a beautiful day. Maybe next year we will get in the water!

One of the funniest parts of the day was the worms! We bought some worms to fish with and Natalie became a little possessive, maybe even obsessive. She didn't want us to put any on a hook and she wanted to keep them as pets. She convinced everyone to hold them (I don't think Tyler and Elaina enjoyed it very much.) TJ was in his element though. I can't believe how LONG those worms were. The kids definitely liked the worms more than the fish did!

I am so glad we went. Even with the setbacks: sleepless nights with a restless baby, hard beds, bedding forgotten at home, Africanized bees, tarantulas, and rattlesnakes. It was worth it!

Several days after we got home, Natalie asked when we can go again. Mission accomplished : )

A Weekend with the Cousins

Because we have finished the first nine weeks of school and are now enjoying intersession, I decided to take the kids on a little trip to visit my sister in Safford.

Alissa was so sweet to take us all on. We added six to her household of 8! Between us we have eleven kids ages 12, 9, 9, 7, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 1, and 4 months. We have a great time together, but wow, that is a lot of kiddos!

Thursday night, we stayed at home and Alissa made us a very yummy dinner and the kids settled in.


Friday we went to a parade. We got there a little late, but the kids saw some a couple of bands, some horses, the fire truck, and just enough to have a great time and not get bored.

After that, we went to the duck pond and had a picnic. I think they could have spent a lot of time there, but we had other plans!

After filling our bellies we headed over to the county fair. We had a great time together. I don't know if Alissa would agree because I ended up getting a ride bracelet so that Carolyn and Tyler could go on some rides, but she stayed with the babies on the ground.

I had a fun time on the kiddie rides with the little cousins and then riding on the scary rides with the big kids.

TJ and Brian jumped on the upside down ride called "The Ring of Fire". I watched with Lydia from the ground.






I was surprised at TJ's bravery. Maybe it helped to have his cousin encouraging him. During the ride, I think his bravery abandoned him because he looked terrified! I felt bad for him because I know that scary feeling, but I still laughed the whole time! When he got off, he declared the Ring of Fire the worst ride he had ever been on!! He still did choose to go on a couple other big kid rides, but no more upside down ones!

After the rides, we went to look at the animals. The kids really loved that and I am sure they would have loved to stay longer, but we were all tired and ready to go home and relax.


Saturday, the kids spent most of the day outside jumping on the trampoline, having a great time being together. Here are some fun trampoline pictures:




Natalie practicing her russian!
Take a look at Alissa's back yard. Peace and quiet at it's best (well, as quiet as it can be with 11 kids running around!)





T.J. is so fun!




I had to get in on the action with my back flip!




Elaina and Allen teaming up.




Cami. What can I say? She is too funny and such a character. Love her! This picture captures her personality quite well!!




And here is Brian. Impressive!



What a memorable time we had. I know I will be hearing about it for weeks from the kids. They didn't want to leave : )

Thanks for having us Alissa and Joe. We love you guys!!!

Witch's Brew

We have been brewing up some good times at our house this week. Halloween is such a fun time of the year. As long as we don't let things get too scary, the kids have a great time!

We spent part of Family Home Evening talking about general conference. What a great conference!!! Some of my favorite talks were Elder Scott on seeking the spirit, President Uchtdorf on love, and Elder Holland (incredible!).

After that, we spent some time decorating for the season.

Both of these ideas came from the blog of a super fun mom in Colorado.

This is the scene out of our front room window. It is a fun witch silhouette. It is made with black poster board. While I worked on the witches, the kids made bats and spun spider webs.

These are some spooky snapshots of the kids. Come closer my dear...


I had fun playing with pictures and Photoshop. I had to make a moustache on Tyler! He's my little man & it makes him look suspicious!




Elaina was mad that I would even think about altering her face. I guess she was a little embarrassed. I tried to make it as sweet as I could. I think the spider adds just the right touch!

I thought Natalie turned out really cute. Wish I could catch a ride!

TJ has a wild elf look. He loved it!

I hope to give the kids a new look each year. It was such a fun thing to do and very personal and inexpensive.

One of our favorite Halloween books is "Big Pumpkin". It is a fun story with great illustrations. The truth is, we read it all year round!

I have been wanting to watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with the kids. It has been so long since I have seen it though. Is it really as scary as I remeber it? I will have to rent it and preview it or we may have nightmares in our future!

Super Ty Guy

This little man is a super hero in my book!

A day doesn't go by when Tyler doesn't say something that cracks me up. He really makes it fun to be a mom, well, most of the time.

A few funnies:

On Monday night we were all sitting around getting ready to have Family Home Evening and Tyler walked in carrying a baby doll. He was holding the doll so sweetly and carefully. He can be gentle, I thought. He came over and gave me a turn to hold the baby. We cuddled and cooed and then, noticing that it was one of those babies that talks or cries when you squeeze the tummy, I pressed down. Nothing happened. I told Tyler that it didn't work anymore. "Yes it does Momma," he says excitedly, "Watch!" Then before I knew what was happening, he grabs the baby doll, throws it to the floor and jumps on it vigorously! I laughed so hard, I cried. Then I wished I had had the camera! (by the way, the doll did work after all!)

Later in the week, we were waiting in the car for the kids to get out of school. Tyler rolled down the window stuck his head out and said, "It is a beautiful day!" He is too cute.

Last week, I was going to put Tyler in the bath and thought I might as well bathe Lydia as well. I figured Tyler would like the idea because he adores his baby sister so much. Well, I guess he prefers to bathe alone because he told me so. He suggested I put her in the dishwasher instead! Oh my! I think he probably meant the kitchen sink, where I used to bathe her, but he was determined that she could get clean in the dishwasher!

This morning, Tyler was playing with Lydia. He always likes to get right up in her face and sing, or poke, or shake his head. Well, she just happened to sneeze at that moment. Tyler called to me and said, "Momma, Widia ("L"s are hard to say!) bwess you-ed on me!"

I love that kid!

Well, I didn't get the "jump on baby" video, but this one makes me laugh too! He had told Grandma that he wanted to race her and I was trying to catch some of that conversation. However, as is evident in the video, he gets distracted easily! It looks like he is going to whack Grandma, but he is just trying to get the bug.

I wish I had recorded all of the funny things Tyler has said. I could compile it into a book and it would probably become a best seller! I hope someday, in the next life maybe?, I will have a perfect memory of Tyler as a toddler. That would be heavenly!

Sweet, Sweeter, Sweetest

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One of the SWEET things about living next door to my wonderful grandma is that she teaches me a lot of new things (usually involving the taste buds!!). This past weekend we bought two boxes of very yummy peaches and spent a few hours doing this:

Peaches are one of my favorite fruits and these ones did not disappoint. They were so juicy, and extremely flavorful. Wow! All the kids love them, which doesn't happen a lot. I wish they would stay fresh for weeks, but home canning really captures that amazing peach yumminess. Thanks Grandma!!

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The next, even SWEETER news of the week is that TJ accomplished the incredible goal of reading the entire Book of Mormon in 45 days. He actually finished it a day early. This boy really loves to read, so Travis decided to challenge him to read all 531 pages of The Book of Mormon before 45 days were over. What a great thing to do at age 9. It was a great experience for me as I had the opportunity to answer a multitude of questions as he read and wondered what things meant and as he tried to understand better. He underlined many passages that were powerful and touching and I could tell that he was thinking about what the words meant. I am proud of him for wanting to know the Savior and understand the gospel.

Maybe we will challenge him to read the New Testament next. I suppose someday we should do the Old Testament together, I could use all the help I can get!!

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The SWEETEST part about this week, so far, was going outside for foot races and football! The weather isn't exactly cool yet, but I think we are getting closer. Travis took the kids out front to challenge them to a race. The reason he did this is because they like to race him as he drives by every morning on his way to work. Well last week, I happened to have my running shoes on, so I raced Travis with the kids. I gave them a head start, of course, BUT I couldn't pull ahead of TJ. I think I barely squeeked out a win at the very last second, but I was so surprised. Did I mention that TJ was barefoot??? Well, Travis wanted his turn, so they took things outside. I figured I would need to stay inside with Lydia because she was getting fussy. Then Travis poked his head in and invited me to come out.
I am so glad I did. I had a great time watching the races and the football. Grandma came out, the neighbors came over, and a good friend stopped by. What a nice night! Travis has a great time with the kids and they love playing with him.
This video was pretty cute. Natalie said it was embarassing, but I thought it was great:



This was a fun shot. Please don't notice that Elaina is way behind. She is very sensitive and doesn't lose happily : )





This picture doesn't have anything to do with my post today except that she is my SWEETIE!