Bat Caves & 5K

We took 12 kids and 8 adults on a hike up to some bat caves on the North end of the valley. Some of the views. A really beautiful spot.
Picture below is after a 5K 19 cousins (+Mom) ran together.

SUMMER

Natalia

This post is all about Natalia. She has had an eventful month. She had a birthday, graduated from pre-school, split her chin open, face planted on the carpet at the church, lost her first tooth and most recently broke her arm. She's banged up but still smiling.

She always has funny things to say and is very entertaining. The other day she told me she was tired because she had blinked too much that day. We were reading scriptures and I asked her why babies and little kids didn't need to be baptized and she said, "Because they would drown in the water since they can't swim."
She also asked my mom if they had tornado's where President Obama lived and if she thought one could suck him up because he's not a good man.

She has had to sit pretty still the last 3 days until the swelling goes down enough that they can cast her arm and it has been pretty tough on her. She is not used to sitting still, but thankfully she really likes to watch "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" on Netflix. (There are 5 seasons.) She and Colton were racing from the sidewalk to the tree on Thursday and their feet got tangled up and she fell on her elbow. Unfortunately it is broken in a couple of spots. She will get it X-rayed again on Wednesday to see if the bones have shifted. If it stays put they will not need to put pins in. (Pray that that is the case.) As evidence of her rambunctiousness...she has 4 brothers and is the first one to ever break a bone! Dang girl. What a way to start off summer break. She is a joy and makes life very interesting. Let's hope the month of June is a little less eventful for her.

Ballet recital

This year they did a 'century of dance' for the theme. Natalia's class did the 1940's. They danced to " The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" in sailor outfits. They were pretty darn cute!

Some favorite pictures...

Daffodils and Dandelions

I love how little kids think everything is so wonderful. The other day Natalia and I were driving home and we passed our old house. I said "Look Natalia at our daffodils. Aren't they are pretty?" She tipped her head and said, "You know they aren't ours anymore Mom." Then after thinking for a few seconds she said, "But the bright side is we still have some dandelions." (We have a yard full of dandelions that she picks for me every day.)
I will forever after be more appreciative of dandelions!

Spring, Spring, Spring.

(I have the song from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' in my head now.) It is 58 degrees out today and there is NO wind!!! Amazing. It is officially Spring. The high school kids are playing a baseball game and I drove by our old house and saw my daffodils blooming. I LOVE Spring... especially after a particularly miserable early Spring with lots of wind and snow and more wind.

Pirates...

Natalia thinks quite a bit about what she wants to be when she grows up. Her list is long and changes from day to day. She came and laid down by me this morning and we were chatting. Here is a recap:
Natalia--"Actually, I don't think I'll be a pirate when I grow up."

Mom--"That's probably a good idea because pirates aren't that nice or honest."

Natalia--"Yeah, I know why they are bad, because the king put them in jail and they had to escape and then just like Noah they built a boat and then they start stealing from people"

Mom--"Yes, they usually like to take other people's stuff."

Natalia--"Where do pirates live anyway? In Hawaii?"

Mom--"Umm, mostly off the coast of Africa and over in that area I think."

Natalia--"They have water over there?"

Cody is 4 months.

He is such a happy and pleasant little guy. We are all thoroughly smitten.

Grocery shopping

So, I'm not sure why grocery shopping is such a major ordeal, all I know is that I won't do it with the 3 littlest kids anytime soon...if EVER again.
I decided to make a 'quick' trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and the stuff for our Blue & Gold banquet and narrowly escaped having a nervous breakdown.
Because Cody sits in his car seat in the front of the cart and all the groceries go in the basket there is no where for Austin to sit so that leaves him to roam freely which equals disaster. He has to pull things off the shelves, run his hands down the isles knocking stuff all over the place, and pick up whatever he finds on the floor that looks even slightly edible and try to eat it. To make a long story short by the time I'm checking out I'm exhausted and rather frustrated. About the time my nerves are totally shot, Cody starts to cry because he's tired of sitting in the car seat and Austin makes a mad dash to the fruit/vegetable section. Natalia being the very helpful girl she is, goes after him and gets lost too. I finish paying as quickly as possible, and start hunting with a sick feeling inside--Cody is now screaming. After looking for a minute I notice a trail of popcorn chicken heading to the clothing section (thankfully Austin ran off with his chicken in hand), and a lovely worker lady with Natalia in hand. She said "I saw your other little one but couldn't catch him," (the story of the Gingerbread Man comes to mind). Anyway, we found him a little bit later hiding under the clothing rack giggling. I found NOTHING funny about it. Finally, we get to the van...only to realize I can't find the keys. I really have no desire to grocery shop ever again and am wondering just how long we could live on our food storage! ☺

Friends

It's bedtime which is always a huge ordeal every night. Teeth to brush, prayers to say, drinks to get, pajamas to find, baths to take, hugs & kisses to give, forgotten stories from the day that have to be told right now, forgotten homework assignments, etc...Needless to say, by the time the kids all get in bed and finally quiet down, I'm exhausted! However, if I have the presence of mind to look at what is going on, it's a happy time for me. Taylor and Colton can not quit talking to each other. I can hear them in there laughing and giggling and silly stories they tell each other and it makes me glad they are friends and have things to visit about every night. Natalia and Austin generally fight like crazy but underneath it all, are also good friends. Austin can't go to bed without Natalia and vice versa. In fact, Austin generally likes to sleep in Natalia's bed with her. It's only a little toddler bed and they squeeze in side by side just as happy as can be. It's a huge paycheck for a mom when you see that your kids love each other.

Birthdays

Austin is 3 now--through no fault of his own--and Jeff is...well, older anyway. Mandy (my sister) shares the same birthday with Austin so they usually celebrate together!

Smiley guy.

Some pictures of Cody at 2 months. He is a real smiley little guy. I just love it. I spend a lot of time sitting and watching him and anytime he makes eye contact he'll give you a big toothless grin. He is such a pleasant baby! He sleeps great and is awfully good-natured, especially considering he lives in a world of loud noise and constant chaos. He's an awesome little guy.

2009 In Review....

Merry Christmas!! 2009 has been an eventful year for our family full of mostly good things. It's hard to believe it's winding down already. Some of the more memorable events of the year, not in any particular order, are:

We unexpectedly sold and moved out of our house in eight short days, moved in with my Mom & Dad for a month then moved again--which also happened to be the first week of school for the boys!

Early in the year we found out we were unexpectedly expecting and now have a new sweet little boy--for which we are SO grateful--not so much the first 16 weeks of being extremely tired and nauseous or during all the packing, moving, painting and cleaning.

We revamped our shop plans into house plans and have been building on it for the past several months in the hopes we can move in this Spring.

Natalia started school--which was much harder than I thought it would be. She is my best little helper and sidekick and I really miss her when she is gone, however, Austin does scream quite a bit less.

Taylor turned 12 in September and was ordained a deacon and started Boy Scouts. It's been fun (and a little sad) to watch him transition into a young man. He seems to really be enjoying it.

We flew to Fresno for Jeff's Grandpa's funeral in April and then my Grandpa passed away in August. Both of them were such good men, we were glad to be able to be there. We also celebrated my parent's 40th Wedding anniversary the end of August--way to go Mom & Dad.

Jeff just got released from the EQ and put in Scouts. He's still on the town board and had another busy year with Construction-- a real blessing in the current economic state.

The kids are healthy and well and never slow down. Taylor loves any kind of ball and riding his 4-wheeler. He is still in piano and while he complains quite a bit about taking lessons he's really good at it. He and Colton are just starting guitar lessons and much more excited about that. Colton's favorite thing to do is read. He can't find enough good books or enough hours in the day to read them. He loves animals and science and talking to his cousin Ethan. Natalia loves everything and enjoys whatever she's doing--School, playing with her friends, playing (or fighting) with her brothers, riding her bike, dusting the piano--she is always happy. She is our little 'sister sandwich' with 2 brothers on either side. She handles being the only girl pretty good most days. Austin...well I wish I could say he was getting in less trouble but he just likes mischievousness. He is his happiest self when he's making messes or getting into trouble, i.e. climbing over the neighbors fence into the cow pasture or chicken pen, or meandering from home on his trike, drawing on the walls, or dumping out every canister in the pantry, or flushing blocks down the toilet or throwing the keys, flashlights, silverware, books, or whatever else he plays with in the garbage, or emptying the bookshelves, or cramming toys and pens in the copy machine. Needless to say, he is a VERY happy little boy. (sigh) Cody is a wonderful baby. Very easy going and good-natured and such a joy to have in the family.

Overall, it was a great year and we are all still smiling. Life doesn't seem to slow down for one minute and I've decided the trick is learning to love whatever kind of day you're having because it's gone and a new month started before you know it. We are looking forward to a new year.

Cody's blessing

Cody was blessed on Thanksgiving Day. We were so glad to have both our dads, some wonderful brother-in-laws (Thad & Cord), a great uncle (Kim) a cousin (Mike) and our Bishop here for it.

Hiking/hunting on Flat Top

Jeff took Taylor and Colton hiking on Flattop the other morning. They got up about 5:00 AM and hiked for a couple of hours to get this awesome background. They had a great time and didn't seem to mind the early hour. I sent the camera so they could get some pictures and I guess Jeff thought THREE was sufficient because this is all that came back--LOL.

Mysterious Cameraman

So, lately I've been finding all these pictures on my camera that I didn't remember taking but mostly chalked it up to just being tired and simply not remembering. However, the other day I became very suspicious when I came across several pictures that I was SURE I had not taken. They consisted of a pair of feet, a block on the tile, the top of a head only showing some blond hair, the zipper on a pair of jeans, a piece of black tape on the floor, the can of shaving cream on the counter, a close-up of a nose etc...and then this one...

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!

Halloween 09

We had our little rock star who was not shy at all about singing!!

The other three boys were black karate guys. Austin thought it was great to look like his brothers.

Cody thoroughly enjoyed his first Halloween. He slept the day away and stayed totally konked out all during trick-o-treating. (He and I stayed in the van while Jeff took the kids around.)

Cody Joe

Well, after a long wait, the little squirt finally came. He is the only baby we've had that has come post due date. He also had a long and slow delivery. Maybe that means he will be really easy going and not so high-strung as some of the rest?? (Yes, this is wishful thinking). He is 2 weeks old already and seems to be adjusting to his life as #5. He's already a big part of the family and we can't imagine what it would be like without him now. I'm afraid he does not get much peace and quiet unless the other kids are all in bed. There just always seems to be lots going on. He's a terrific baby and is very good natured. He doesn't cry much and so far just likes to sleep--especially in the day! We are trying to flip-flop his days and nights so mom can get a little more sleep. Some say he looks like Austin but to me he has his own little look and doesn't really resemble anyone in particular. He has a fair amount of fuzzy dark hair and a cute little button nose.
The kids are crazy about him and there is never a shortage of willing hands to hold him.
We are just grateful he's here!