Beaches here I come!

First I need to let you all know that I have decided to make my blog private. I would still love to share my happenings with my family and friends so if you want you are interested in reading my randomness please email me or leave a comment. I will wait till after I get home from our trip to do this so drop me a line.

I am going on vacation! We are taking our family on our first big vacation to Oahu Hawaii. For 2 years we have been talking about taking the kids and we set it as a goal and now we are finally going. What is even funner is that we get to go with Ryan's two brothers and their families. And even better? My SIL is bringing along a babysitter so that we can all ave a few nights without the kids. How cool is this? And to make it even better? We get to stay in a rental house with a pool just minutes walk from the beach.

I really have had a stressful year and I can not want to do nothing! I am sure we will do more then nothing but I love the fact that we don't have to do anything. We get to eat our meals at home and eat out if we want. Since there will be 17 of us we get group discounts when we go places. Really I feel like a little kid waiting for christmas.

So today is filled with last minute to-do's. All the laundry is finally done, the bills are paid, I have started to pack. Yeah us!

My washer broke two weeks ago, this is shrotly after our gas was finally hooked up and we got to use our dryer again. What I had forgotten about my dryer is that you have to do three cycles before it gets dry. So when my washer broke I felt excited because now I could get a new washer and dryer and I have been doing wash non stop for a week. Every towel, sheet, blanket, has now been washed. I have been putting of a lot of it since I had to go to the laundry mat for about three months now. Yeah for simple pleasures.

So there is the exciting and the not so exciting. I will be posting tons of pictures when I get back.

Happy Windsday!

Where have I been

I have been spending my time on the computer playing with pictures our doing my calling. Other then that I just don't have much computer free time. So here are a few pictures I have taken while trying to learn about my camera. I have also taken a bunch for my family. I have posted a few on delightedphotography.blogspot.com.

I think of things all the time I want to write. Like yesterday when Joseph told me to eat another baby vitamin so that we could have three babies. Baby Joshua, Baby Jacob, and another baby. I don't think vitamins are all that are needed for that one.

Ramblings on a Wednesday

I can't believe I am posting again so soon. Yeah me! I have a moment because the older three are in school and the little boys are watching cailou off of netflix. We finally got a tv that works from my brother-in-law. I priced TV's the other day and was shocked by how expensive they are now. They don't even make cheap tube TV's anymore. Score for my husband because we know have a big screen and the computer hooks up to it so I can now watch my internet shows on a real tv. Who knew?

Ok not the reason I was posting. Because it is just the little boys and I today we dropped the kids off and went straight to run errands. Target is the best place to shop at 8 in the morning. Then I realized I was starving so we sat in at Jamba Juice and got a smoothie and bagel to share. The music was kinda 90's retro and Joseph said to me,"Mom this sounds like he is chewing gum." This kid cracks me up because he is always thinking outside of the box. I hope he never loses his individualistic thinking. It is endearing. When it was time to go Joshua got so mad at me because he wanted to hold the smoothie. I got him buckled then walked around the car and sat down. Then something flies by me and my once screaming child gets quiet. "What was that?" Then he, with tears still on his cheek, throws another small piece of bagel and starts to laugh hysterically. I cracked up. He turned his anger in to constructive play. That's a good thing, even if it does mean I now have to clean up small pieces of bagel out of my car. It was a good start to the day.

Then we head over to the book store where there works the best book lady ever. She has a website where she reviews kids books books4kids.com The reason I love this lady is because she know about every single book in the store. Se call tell you the author and give you a review. Want a book for your child's reading level and interest she has 10 suggestions. My kids love her because she is so good at putting together your ability with your likes. While in the store Jared calls and he has forgot his lunch, which means no nap for Joshua before karate. I am hoping he does ok??? On the way to get Jared's lunch I get pulled over. I guess I crossed double yellow lines to get into the turning lane and that is a moving violation. He was nice and only gave me a fix it ticket for my back light that is broke, It broke when my tire blew out on the freeway. SO no big deal.

We have had a mellow morning/early afternoon. I also have been doing laundry non-stop since last night because I once again have a dryer. I forgot how wonderful having a dryer is. It makes me happy! Now off to their first Karate lesson. I am very curious how they are going to get my 2 year old to learn karate.

And a random picture just because I can and I have no idea why it is underlining my statement.

Quick update

Why is my life so busy you ask? School has started and I am actually loving it. I am finally schooling the way i have always wanted. It requires more of me but I feel my kids are getting a superior learning, at least until Jacob arrives. Which leads me to my next topic. We have arrived on a name for our sweet baby boy, Jacob Hyrum. I love it. The kids all helped in picking out his name. They all love Jacob. Hyrum is a favorite from everyone but Joseph. He told me to change it. But has since decided that Hyrum is a suitable middle name.

I moved the kids rooms all around last week. Joshua has been waking everyone up at 6 in the morning. The older kids were not so happy about this. He was laying in their beds yelling at them to play with him. He would run around in his room (the three boys were sharing) until he literally crashed. We would find him in the weirdest places. One night I got worried when I could not find him. He ended up being tucked right up against Jareds dresser. It is a little dark corner of the room. Silly boy.


I decided to take away the toy room and make it baby Jacob's and Joshua's (Josh will only will be there till he learns to sleep better) Since Josh was still taking naps in his crib, even though he could climb out, I moved it into their new room along with a toddler bed we had in the attic. He only slept in the crib for naps so I thought he would be excited to have his own bed. For the first couple of days this seemed to work but now he keeps climbing in it. Funny the things they get into their heads.


While speaking of Josua. He speaks so good now. He seems to be very good at communicating his thought. He was watching Legacy with his Uncle Tyler yesterday and he would consistently tell him the different emotions of the movie, sad, happy. What two year old does this? He has a need and ability to be heard and I am excited to see how he uses this in his life. Sarah is much the same way but being a girl I imagine they will use this gift differently. He loves to sing and sings often. We love it and encourage it.

The little boys are signed up to start preschool karate next week and they are thrilled. The are already practicing.

Joseph is starting to out grow his shyness a little. Not completely, but a little. Since he was 2 I have thought that he looks a lot like my brother Clark. I have always believed that Clark could be anything he wants to be. He has greatness within him. I say this because as I have seen Joseph's personality come out I see so much more of my brother. Once they decide on something they are determined, creative and artistict, not to concerned about seeking approval, Once they except and love you they are fully loyal, Pretty layed back most of the time but when angered to boiling watch out. I am sure there are so many differences but it is interesting to see the similarities in these two people who have met maybe once.

Emma is doing so great in school this year. Her reading ability has improved tremendously. She loves anything artisitic. She will do extra school each day just so she can have something to color. Jared hated to color from as early as I can remember so it is refreshing to watch Emma color beautiful pictures for me. She also has decided that she loves to organize. Kind of funny. She is such a happy little girl with few worries. Her biggest worry is that her sister calls her weird. (I'm working on that one)

Emma and Sarah are starting a show choir next week as well. It is similar to the group I was in when I was little called Kids R Music. They even wear similar outfits. White shirts with red skirts.

Sarah is growing up way to fast. She just finished basketball and her time one the championships. She is an aggressive player and helped her team retrieve the ball several times. She has also just started to wear a sports b.r.a. The girl is only in 3rd grade. It is not necessary yet but she is at the beginning stages. She has always been physically older then other kids her age so I guess this was to be expected. I am just not ready for this.

I am going to sign Jared up for Guitar. We are all taking a break from piano for a little while.

Jared also won his championships. He got so into every game and is passionate about basketball. He starts a new session this month. Ryan is trying to be his coach. I think that will be fun for them. Boy bonding. He seems much older the past month. So ready to take on new challenges and to face the world.


So lets sum up my fall schedule.
Monday: school and FHE
Tuesday: School and scouts for Jared
Wednesday: the kids go to school and Josh and Joseph have Karate and then I have Mutual. every other week Sarah has activity days.
Thursday: School and show choir for girls
Friday: Guitar

Sarah wants to take tennis lessons but I don't see how I can fit it in yet.
Plus trying to keep my house clean, fun activities to keep the kids excited about school. Try to give individual attention to each child and fit in somewhere being YW's pres. So as you can see something had to give.

Unfortunately it has been blogging and creativity. But after taking those fun pics of my nephew I realized how much I love to take good pictures. Then making the announcement, it made me feel happy. How I seem less stressed. How my Migraines were gone for the whole weekend. Tuesday school day went so well and we were all happy. Then Wednesday I allowed myself to feel stressed about unexpected news and I had a really bad migraine that I am still fighting. My point? Umm what was my point? oh yeah, simply that I need to take time for me regardless of how stressed my life feels or how much I have going on. Even if that means I just walk outside and take pictures of the flowers. Not much but it sure does make me happy. I stopped walking since the migraines so I bet if I work that back in that will help me also. There is something so healing about walking for me. Maybe it is the quiet time to think while my blood is pumping or simply the joy of doing something that I know is so good for me.

I have also realized how important it is for me to take time to recognize the things in my life that I am grateful for. I have a big poster board on my wall and every time I walk by I write something I am grateful for and sometimes I have to really think and yet other times the words just flow. Oh blogging I have missed you! I thinking writing helps me to work things through that are going around in my head.

Dear fellow bloggers,

I want you to know that I have not forgot you. I often will read your blogs but my spare time has become so few and far between that I never leave comments. I do think of you and hope you are all doing well though. A while back my son made a comment about me always being on the computer and I took it to heart. I very rarely open the computer when they are around. This makes me sad because I am not recording all the wonderful things that happen daily in my life. I will do better then I have. I have not yet figured it out though but at least I am trying.

Sincerely, me

Easton

Baby Easton

My Sister in Law let me play with her baby yesterday. These are just a few of my favorites.

It's a...

...boy! I had my official ultrasound today and I am so excited! Joseph and Josh will have a little buddy to play with and get into trouble with. I can only imagine how my grocery bill will go up when they are teenagers. 13, 15, and 17. That will be dangerous. I will have a missionary out for 6 years. Thats a long time.

More good news for me? They moved my due date up a week! Every day counts in the end so I am excited about this! The kids and I went to the mall and Joseph picked out these cute shoes.
He called them cowboy shoes. As Ryan said we don't NEED anything but it is still fun to buy a few cute things. I will post ultrasound pics when I learn how to use my scanner.

Right now I like the names Jacob and Adam. Not sure on a middle name though.

I am the mother of a double digiter!

Is that even a word, digiter? (Jared touched up this picture! I was impressed. He asked me how to do what he wanted and I told him but he did it. He wants to know all their is to know about photoshop)Jared is now 10. He has seemed 10 to me for some time because he is so responsible. It was his year to have a big party. Being a boy it was a simple party and he was thrilled. I took him, his uncle Tim, and Cousin Luke to Boomers for free play. We went there because Jared thought Laser tag would be cool and this was the only place around that does it. It turned out to be kinda lame. It was inside this blowup thing with out good air ventilation and the boys said it was way to hot. But they loved minature golfing and went twice.It was fun to watch th boys be non competitive with each other. They wanted to do their best but they were cheering each other on the whole time.
They also went on the bumper boats that spray water at each other and the race cars twice. We also stopped by the arcade that sucked their money so fast it wasn't even funny.
When I asked them what their favorite part was they said the bumper boats. Their was this old guy with his grand kids that got a kick out of squirting everyone. I think they enjoyed being able to get him. They were soaked when they got off. Good thing it was warm out. A round of miniature golf warmed them up.

Then we headed home for pizza and cake. It was gettin late and the cake didn't sound good so we saved it for the next day. Ryan and I set up the tent and started the fire in our backyard while they ate. Once we got them settled with smores they were so excited to get into the tent. Our backyard is so great for little, while they aren't really little anymore, boys. In the morning they told me how they think they heard a snake and maybe even a dog. They were so excited.

They built the bionicles I bought as party favors and played on the tramp until it was time to take Tim to Grandma's (he had piano lessons) We then hung out till lunch, sung happy birthday, and ate cake there. Jared found this cake online and asked me to make it. We spiced it up a little by adding oreo cookie dirt, chocolate covered raisin rocks, and a graham cracker road. I also put gummie worms in the middle of the cake, they were supposed to be snakes because of Indiana's fear. The kids thought that was cool. The cake tasted so good. It had a few layer because I used this cool pan my mom gave me that takes out the middle of the cake so you can put a filling in. I put frosting, cake, gummies, and crushed oreos. Yum.. I only had a little taste but yeah, it was that good.!

I think he had a great day!

Jared is such an amazing boy and I feel privileged as his mother to be a part of his life. He is so caring towards me and is always the first to give me a hug and ask how he can help if he sees something is stressful to me. He Loves so fully! He works hard at whatever it is he wants to accomplish. I remember when he wanted to read the Lord of the Rings serious last yea
r and I thought for sure it would be to hard for him. Because all his friends had seen the movie and he had not I think he wanted to see what was so interesting. He did it and understood it.

He has been playing basketball this summer and I have been amazed at how good he has gotten in such a short time simply because he wants it. He set some amazing goals this last week and I have no doubt he can achieve them. I think the world off this kid and I wish for all parents to have a son to love and be loved like Jared.

Sequoia National Park

Ryan surprised us with a trip to the Sequoia National Park. He planned the whole thing and it was so amazing. I thought it was so wonderful of him to do this as planning trips can sometimes be stressful. It was so relaxing because I didn't have any expectations of what the trip should be. We drove up Thursday and got there about dinner time. We ate and then laid around in the hotel. Then went up to the park on Friday and had a great time just being together. They have a fun hands on museum the kids really loved being able to touch really animal skin and see the findings of the park. They even had a place to put on a puppet show.

We then walked around the park and found Great Sherman, one of the oldest and largest trees. Once we all felt sufficiently tired we headed down the windy road and found a cute little candy shop/ice cream parlor. We had been eating healthy snacks all day so I figured this would be a fun little stop. Some of us were still suffering from car sicknesses. The roads were really windy. Jared could not even go in the store with out feeling sick. Once we went into the ice cream parlor a little kitten followed us. Joshua loved it and tried to grab it by pulling it's tail. I stopped him and then he tried to pick it up again. The cat didn't seem to mind. But boy oh boy did the owner get annoyed. She picked that cat up and assured it out. After the kids were done with their ice cream we realized we don't remember her washing her hands???? Kinda a gross idea.

We enjoyed a nice mellow dinner at chilli's and played fun games while we waited. Then we went straight to bed. Well we tried. Joshua had no desire to go to bed. I laid with him for sometime until around 10:30 he finally fell asleep. It was kinda nice to get to watch the opening games of the Olympics since we don't have cable.

We woke up the next day and checked out the town. We went to the outlet stores. The local radio was doing their version of are you smarter then a 5th grader. My kids entered their names and wanted so much to win. They didn't but they did enjoy watching. We then ate lunch and took naps. When we went out again we went to Down town. It was supposed to be this cool tourist spot. It was so hot we didn't really enjoy it like I thought we would. It did have amazing architecture but I forgot my camera in the hotel room. So sad for me. We then went to dinner and then Ryan took the kids swimming. The next morning we went to church there and headed home.

All in all it was just nice to have one last get away before focusing once again on school and all the preparations required (I have been working all week to get the whole year in order so that when baby is born I am really prepared and home school won't be stressful).

Thank you honey for knowing exactly what I needed! Your the best!

And here are a ton of pictures in no real order.



Quick explanation of this picture. Ever since Field of Dreams came out I have wanted to run through corn fields. Since I didn't think this was appropriate I simply took a picture. Before I die though, I will run free in the fields!

This man is such a hottie!

This look cracks me up.

This was the length of the near by tree laid out on the ground. The kids enjoyed pretending to climb the tree.