Three Cuties Starting School

A 4th grader, 2nd grader, and Kindergartner...wow! I can't believe my oldest 3 are in school all day! They are each ready and (mostly)excited, so I can't be too sad.

The morning of the 1st day Jake and Austin ran up ahead. I kept calling to Austin to "wait" because I really wanted to walk him to his class, but off they went. Taylor and I took our time. She went to her class and I knew Jake was fine, so I went to check on Austin in his classroom. He was already sitting at his desk ready to go. I stood at the doorway saying things like "have a great day" and blowing kisses! He hardly even looked over :( He seemed so grown up.

I walked home with feelings of sadness and excitement at the same time. How does the time go so fast??? (After a few days of school Austin said, "we have to do bubbles and duck tails all day". If you don't know what those are just ask).














































































Yep...this is what Matthew looked like on the morning of the first day of school.

Olympians Jason Lezak and Josh Davis

Taylor had the opportunity to participate in an Olympic Swim Clinic over the weekend where she was able to meet and swim with Jason Lezak and Josh Davis! Josh Davis is a 5 time Olympic medalist and Jason Lezak is a 7 time Olympic medalist.

If you watched the Olympics at all last summer Jason Lezak was the anchor in the 4x100 Freestyle relay. He helped the Americans with an AMAZING comeback to win the Gold over France. Click here to watch the clip.

These two men were so inspiring and great teachers. They actually got in the water with the kids and gave them drills and great tips. My favorite part was when Josh Davis said, "Remember that you are loved! We love you, your parents love you, your coaches love you...most of the time, and God loves you. Never forget that"!

Taylor loved every minute, especially wearing their actual medals :)

HAPPY 11th

I can't believe it's been 11 years since we were married. What a perfect day that was! Some highlights: 4 kids, our college graduations, Valley Fever, new jobs, 3 moves, 6 wards, 2 dogs, and lots of fun. Thanks for the greatest years. Happy Anniversary!

What Kind of a Mom are You?

School is officially out and yesterday the house was roaring with 5 extra kids besides my 4! It was a day of good old-fashion fun. Slip n' slide out, sprinklers on while the kids played baseball, boys chasing girls and girls chasing boys, squirt guns, pink lemonade outside and screams of delight billowing in the yard.

Three things happened yesterday that made me think....hard.

1st: Some boys were joking around dialing 9-1-1 and one actually hit the green button and then hung up...the call still went through! Since this is the 3rd time this has happened since living in Texas...I was fully aware that the policeman still had to come out to the house (even though I assured them that all was well here). I had the boys stand out in the front and let the police officer tell them why we don't dial 9-1-1 if it's not an emergency. Those 4 boys were nervous as can be, but I can tell you, not one of those boys will ever do that again. I thought about how grateful I am for law enforcement that is here to keep us safe.

2nd: I was making dinner and an older neighbor boy was following me around the kitchen talking away. (I loved it).

He said, "Your house is way more fun than mine...trust me. It's like your a family from a TV show."

I started feeling pretty good until he said, "You know the brother and sister don't always get along. My sister and I get along perfectly."

I thought...hmmmm...OK.

Then he went on to say, "You guys just have good fun. I have Nintendo DS's and a lot of other electronics, but you guys just play and have fun together."

I have thought a lot about this and I'm so grateful for families! I'm happy that we don't just spend our time separated by technology, but that we try to have "good" fun with each other (even if brothers and sisters don't always get along :)

3rd: Once again I was in the kitchen and Taylor's friend asked...."What kind of a mom are you? A home mom or a work mom?"

I proudly said that I'm a home mom.

She asked more questions and told me more about her feelings of having both parents work all day. This friend has a live-in nanny and spends most of her time with the nanny.

I have thought about this question a lot since yesterday.

If ever asked the question again...What Kind of a Mom are You? I don't just want to be a mom that stays at home. My hopes are that I can be the kind of "home mom" that takes the time to listen, teach and love her children unconditionally, creates an atmosphere where the spirit can abide, puts her home, family and the Lord first, raises her children in righteousness, plays with her kids, has fun, and LAUGHS A LOT!

That is the kind of mom I hope to be.

Trying to Catch Up...Baby Steps

Can you set "New Year's Resolutions" in May??? Well, if you can then mine is to be better at posting more often. So...I have not posted anything in 3 months. I really have not mastered this blogging thing.

My theory is that when I have moments to myself it's usually late at night after other things are done and my kids are in bed. I admit that's when I just want to curl up under the covers and get ready for a new day.

Even if it's just a line or two. With 6 people in a family there are milestones and adventures happening every day. I don't want to miss a thing.

Louisiana Air Show

So our family loves Air Shows...thanks to Sean. I missed out on this one because Noelle was in town, but all of the kids got to go with Sean and Grammy. They loved staying at the hotel in Louisiana and spending time at the show the next day. I think the favorites were definitely taking a picture of the guards (even though they didn't want you to), the big guns, and Blue Angels. "Go get 'em boys"!

Kenny Chesney Concert

For Mother's Day Heather bought us tickets to the Kenny Chesney concert! The forecast for the night was a severe thunderstorm, but we decided to go anyway...along with thousands of other people.

The groups before were great and finally Kenny got on stage. The weather held out for awhile, but finally it was not giving up and we were wet. No, not just wet...soaked. No, not just soaked...completely drenched all the way through! We had jackets, panchos, plastic bags and still were soaked. We had a fantastic time, until the lightening got worse. At this point the band had all left and he was the only one on the stage in the pouring rain. In the middle of a song there was a huge lightening right above us and he said, "Folks, that lightening was right there...we'll take a break." He ran off the stage and 5 minutes later they announced that he'll come again with ticket discounts and everyone needed to leave.

After waiting sometime crowded in the ladies bathroom, we ran to the car and joked most of the way home. What a memorable night. Heather, I swear we have some of the best luck ever...especially with buses, rain, Black Friday shopping and high chairs:)