summer swimming

Somehow it looked bigger in the store...

Time Out for Women

In our first ever sister's retreat I met up with my Mom and sisters and s-i-l in Pittsburg for Time Out for Women. It was such a wonderful weekend -- the only thing that would have made it better was if Sarah had been there. Next year, Sarah!Emily, Ang, Kris, McKay, Miya and Mom playing "Settlers" at the hotel and feasting on delicious popcorn (thanks, Em!)

Downtown Pittsburg was really pretty. This advertisement for PNC bank was made out of different plants--quite creative. (This one's for you, Seth!)

Kris, McKay, Lani and Mom



Kris, Ang and Mom by the same fountain

McKay got to borrow one of Miya's outfits after having a blow-out at the Chinese restaurant--what a cutie (but he still looks like a little man, even in ruffles)

I LOVE McKay's expression in this one!! Fierce!

Sisters, sisters...there were never such devoted sisters :)

Running into Danielle, a dear friend from Indiana was the icing on the cake!

They kept trying to hold hands. Cousin bonding taking place here.

My favorite quotes/thoughts of the weekend:

"Selective Neglect"

"The hardest part of being blind is...not seeing"

Hilary Week's "Climb every mountain" song, laundry version

listening to beautiful music and being inspired and filled with hope and joy,

and laughing a lot, because laughter heals the soul.

Can't wait for next year!

attempted photo shoot

I thought I would take some photos of the kids for Father's Day.

What was I thinking? Getting 5 kids to all look and smile at the same time proved nearly impossible. The last one is my best...i think.

Notice Garrett's face. He wanted to hold Miya and refused to smile without her.

Now notice Ty's face. Now look at Garrett's. Oh, and how about Miya's happy face.

I wanted to cry, too.

It didn't help that Miya was tired and hungry.

Train...

Train wreck

Almost all of them are looking at the camera...notice Miya pulling Shayla's hair

Shayla was crying a milisecond after this shot.

They are all kind of smiling, and almost all looking.

Success!

terrible horrible no good day

Yesterday we were playing out back when Grant got attacked by a wasp, and then it turned and started stinging Garrett, too. Grant ended up with just 1 sting, but Garrett got 4--two first and then two later in the day when he bravely visited the site of the earlier incident. Notice his puffy lip and right eye. Poor kid. He was so brave about it too (after the initial blood-curdling screaming, of course). Tyler and Ty went on a wasp hunt and found and destroyed the nest with about a can and a half of wasp poison later that day. Hopefully that is our last wasp incident of the year.

On a lighter note, we have been enjoying all of the fresh fruit of the season. Raspberry, blackberry and strawberry picking and lots of fresh melons from the store. We were having honeydew with dinner and Grant said, "Please pass the honeydude, Dad!"

I know I've got a real sports fan on my hands when Ty's complaint while practicing the piano was "But Mom, I don't want to use the Metrodome!!!"

Firsts

First Tooth! just kidding :)

First 5K for my s-i-l Holly--she did awesome! Running, talking, smiling, soaking up the whole experience--a great family weekend.




First time riding a bike without training wheels for Garrett. He basically taught himself while he waited for me to finish feeding Miya. Then I just got to run along side him as the spotter more for moral support. He rides!!!



Miya sits up now! Not that she loves it too much because I think it hurts her tummy being folded in half like that, but I'm excited because it will give her bald spot on the back of her head a chance to grow in now :)




Shayla lost her front tooth! Not the first one, but a big milestone nonetheless.


Ty placed 4th in the pinewood derby this year and scored a sweet trophy/car display stand.

Ty's first pocket knife. He is a whittling machine now!

Grant playing in the rain. Not the first time, and certainly not the last.

Happy REAL Mother's Day!!!

In the spirit of REAL mom's everywhere--I'd like to share my adventures of my REAL Mother's Day today.

I woke up to breakfast in bed--a culinary masterpiece of some of my favorite things--fresh berries and yogurt, granola, bagels and cream cheese and my new favorite drink--Odwalla mango smoothie. It's like liquid heaven. Flowers, homemade cards gallore--it was so wonderful. And lucky for me ninja Garrett's kick did not knock the tray over and we got through breakfast with just a few kid conflicts.


Breakfast was so nice that we almost missed church--just squeaked in during the sacrament hymn, so things were getting a bit stressful. I was supposed to teach Relief Society, so I was trying to make sure Miya was fed and happy before hand so I'd be ready to teach. So during the end of Sunday School, I was walking Miya at the back of the room trying to get her to sleep when she let out the LOUDEST and LONGEST toot ever! Everyone turned around and looked at me. Very fun. So, with a sheepish grin, I grabbed a diaper and headed for the mother's lounge to change her. When I got there I discovered that she had a huge blow out all the way up her back. Yes, it went through her tights, onsie, slip, dress and blanket. It was everywhere! I had no wipes, so I was in the midst of cleaning her up with wet paper towels when she started peeing all over the place. By this point I was laughing hysterically (on the verge of tears more like it...) at the situation and Miya was just smiling and being adorable, oblivious to the mess she was creating. I hadn't restocked the diaper bag from the last blowout, so I wrapped Miya in the clean half of her blanket, and took her out to find some clothes. It was my lucky day--I found her pj's in the bottom of the stroller from the day before when we had gone swimming. Yes-victory! The miracle of all of this is that somehow my white shirt remained clean through this whole fiasco--THAT miracle was Miya's mother's day gift to me, and I am so grateful I didn't have to teach my lesson with yellow baby poop on me :)

So on the drive home the kids were fighting so I gave them the mom speech about how what I wanted for mother's day was for them to be kind to each other and not fight. Have you ever given that speech before? Does it seem like too much to ask for? Well, obviously it is because we had barely pulled into the garage when Shayla and Garrett had a knock-down roll on the ground fight over my mother's day flowers. It was a doosie--they both got sent to their rooms and later had to do 3 services for each other (one was a 30 second hug--I've never heard kids count that fast in my life :) to repair the damage to their relationship.

So, after the fight was finally resolved, I started making mac-n-cheese for the kids when I hear Grant yell, "I gotta go!" I started running to the bathroom to help him and before i get there I hear, "Oh, I gotta go poop! ...Uh-oh..." Yes, he pooped his pants, which is CRAZY because he has been doing so good potty training. By now I just kept thinking about Marjorie Hinckley's quote about laughing her way through life because crying gives her a headache. And I laughed. And I was proud of myself for choosing to see the humor in all of it instead of crying in a heap on the floor.

Tyler got home early from church and took Miya so I could take a nap and things just got better from there on out. He made me the most delicious dinner of steak, asparagus and mushrooms, fresh bread and fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. It was divine.

We topped off the night watching some home videos and skyping family. All in all, it was a wonderful day. I felt cherished and loved and like a real Mom. I hope your day was just as special (but without all of the poop :)

This is what Miya thinks of sweet peas

This is how Miya feels when I stop trying to feed her sweet peas

Two of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any around!" I would add, the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache." — Marjorie Pay Hinckley

HAPPY REAL MOTHER'S DAY!!!