july

This has been such a fun and busy month for us!

It all started with me leaving the kids for 4 days and going to YWs camp. What a blast!!! I felt like I was seventeen again. Probably acted like it, too. My highlight was getting dunked by a fellow leader into the lake. Love immaturity like that. I know the kids enjoyed their time with Dad lots, too. Not sure how much Josh enjoyed it, but he survived quite well and never complained.

Then we went to Montana to spend 10 days camping. We camp right on Flathead Lake. The weather was great and the water warm. My highlight would be training for my tri with a swim that didn't require turning around twenty times. Thad was quite grumpy the whole time; he hardly slept, and acted pretty impossible on the most part. By day 7 or 8 he finally started to feel at home and enjoyed playing in the dirt and swimming and splashing in the lake. Levi loved getting to play with all his cousins, and Enoch loved the hills he could ride his bike up and down. Monet (she's asleep, but I am assuming) loved playing with Jaymeson and having big cousins dote on her. I had a really fun tube ride with Josh that ended with a few crashes but no sore vertebrae, so that would definitely be another highlight.

Next in line we just finished a week of basketball camp. My parents came down from Calgary with a car loaded with 6 kids. We carted them all (including Levi) to Magrath everyday for camp, and then came home and went swimming in the pool here in town. It was crazy but lots of fun at the same time. All these city kids thought the way things are done around here were a little odd. They were amazed that if you wanted a snack, you could go outside and pick some fruit or grab some veggies from the garden and indulge.

Oh, and somewhere in all this we had our first ever Settler Days that we were able to attend, inlcuding a 5k race in my pyjamas and Josh's band playing during dinner at night. We also had a niece get baptized and a youth temple trip. I will add some pictures to this post soon. I just wanted to write something before nothing ever happens.

ode to ten

Awhile back Josh and I celebrated 10 years. I tried to post about it, but everything was too corny and cliche. All ya'll can thank me later for sparing you the drive on the cheesewagon.

One of my favorite things about being married for 10 years is that I am still learning awesome things about Josh. Last year around this time, Josh sung a solo in his school's musical. This year, he has impressed me with the following:

I have wanted matching night tables forever! Well, maybe just 10 years or so. And now we have them!! This photo is before the stain and varnish, and believe me, they look even better now.

right now

Last week of school looms before us. Call me crazy, but I said yes to Levi when he asked to have a year-end school party. There are 26 kids in his class. Sounds a little daunting but I have awesome YW that are coming to help, and what good is a big backyard if we never use it, right??

Thad refuses to go down the stairs. He is great at climbing up, but when he wants down, he just sits at the top of the stairs and screams and waits for me to come and get him. Yesterday at church he crawled up the stairs to the stage and clambered back down like he'd been doing it his whole life. This past week he has started taking steps, the most being 5 in a row to Daddy the other day.

Father's Day was yesterday. It was pretty low key- Josh had to speak in another ward and was gone most of the morning, but the kids all tried their best to be super good just for Dad. So in a sense we both got a break.

A week ago I was busy in the garden weeding and it was bedtime for Monet. Levi offered to put her to bed for me. He did an amazing job, reading her a story and making sure she said her prayers. Enoch did it last night, even remembering to make sure she brushed her teeth. He read her 3 stories. I love that they are enjoying taking care of their younger sister.

I am training for a half marathon. Never thought I would, but here I am. Ran 12k on Saturday and not feeling too bad. It is much more fun running with other women outside instead of on my treadmill by myself. The other highlight for me would be women's soccer. We play every Thursday night. We are terrible but it is so fun!

Despite all the storms and weather warnings last night, doomsday has come and and my baby is one. In one year he has gone from this:

to this:


Thad, your sweetness is beyond reason. You bring a smile to anyone who sees you. Your big brothers and sister absolutely adore you. You are such an important and wonderful addition to our family. Happy birthday Thadman.

doomsday

In high school I was in learn-as-you-go physics. My physics teacher had different tests so that we couldn't cheat and copy off each other etc. He always labeled his tests Doomsday A and Doomsday B etc. Tomorrow is Doomsday D for me.

My lovely, perfect, solid, crawling, hairy, soft, sweet-smelling, busy, standing, hungry, beautiful, toothy-grinned, everything-in-the-mouth baby will be one. That's 12 months since he was born. Everyday I tell my kids they should stop growing. And no one listens. I don't love the pregnancy stage, but I really really really really really love the baby stage. And it is disappearing all too quickly.

!!!!!!!!!!!!

I so did not know that I could do this. Download my scrapbook pages onto my blog. SWEET!!!!

catch up

No this is not a post about how I need to write about all the things we have been doing. This is how I feel every morning. Just tryin' to catch up. I'm usually up before the big kids but never before Thad. I take care of him and play with him and slowly the other 3 wake up until I am outnumbered 4 to 1. I get Levi ready for school and send him on his way and then look around me, and even if I did do the dishes last night, the kitchen is a disaster. Did I really just sweep the floor last night? Food and pencil crayons are all over the floor. The family room is a mess. There are toys everywhere. Thad's hands are super sticky, not to mention his hair. Monet's hair is even worse and looks like it has never seen a comb before. I have diapers to change. Kids to dress. Shoes to find. Beds to make (OK- only one). Highchair to wipe down. Calendar and email to check. Bank statements. Phone calls. Trampoline. Games to play. Songs to sing. I am just so popular around here EVERYONE wants me to give them my complete and undivided attention. I feel inundated with peoples needs and almost dizzy sometimes. I feel like I can't spin around fast enough to breath. Motherhood is overwhelming. To say it is busy is an understatement. I think it is slowly melting my brain into nothing.

But then there are cuddles on the couch as we read (and re-read) a favorite story. There are soccer games in the backyard. Reading and riding and loving to be taught. Tight hugs and sticky kisses. Moments where the kids actually seem to not only like but love each other. Accomplishments like using the bathroom by oneself and getting dressed. Silly songs and dances. Discovering bugs and new foods. My kids might be disintegrating my brain, but every day they find a way to melt my heart and make it all worth it.

This is not easy. It is not flashy or dazzling. But it is necessary, and as much as I think (and hope) I am building these little people into spectacular and amazing, caring, empathetic, and hard-working beings, I really think it is the other way around. How will I let my kids help mould me into something better today?

Love the spring. Love our yard. Love my kids.

enoch can ride!

We've been working on getting Enoch to ride a two-wheeler for a while now. I am convinced that training wheels totally ruin kids as far as bike-riding is concerned. That and the fact that Enoch is convinced he can learn bike tricks before he can even ride. He would try to look sideways, stand-up, one-hand it and anything else you can think of before he could even pedal. It took him forever to get the balance thing. Well, it was taking forever, until my friend suggested we come over to her place and try riding down the small hill by her house. 3 rides down and Enoch had his balance in place. Just like that. His poor little legs had the hardest time pedaling on the grassy field, so we moved our bike learning operation back over to "the pad" and he continued to improve. He really got it once we switched to a smaller bike and he could touch the sides comfortably with both feet. Now he rides his bike to school. Enoch plans to open a school this summer for teaching other kids to ride a bike. The cost is only $2 and he will teach the whole world.