Say Cheese

I know I was just complaining about pictures to go with posts, but these were already on the computer from a couple of weeks ago. I love spring. I especially love spring in St. George. I am still wondering why I ever left this wonderful place. The weather is amazing. Instead of freak snow showers in March and April we get refreshing rain showers. I'm listening to the rain right now, and I love it.
I also really love my kids. I know that should be a given. We are just in a good place right now, and I really love each of their personalities so much. Some mornings, I'm actually excited for them to wake up so I can be with them. (not that I don't love them on the days I wish they'd sleep until noon). Hopefully you understand. :)

Where are the posts?

I don't write posts because I have pictures to go with them.

Sound confusing? There are five working computers at our house. Five. Not one of them will allow me to stick my memory card in, edit my pictures and post them onto my blog. Not one. two don't have memory card slots, one won't connect to the internet. Gunnar's is occupied 24/7, but now that I think about it, His is probably my best option. Anyway. It is annoying. So I am just going to post things that I want and put the pictures in when I can. There's only like 5 people that read this blog anyway, so I don't think anyone is going to be crying. So, this post I have been waiting forever to post because I have the cutest picture of Abigail asleep in our bike trailer and Abiagail and Gabe in the bike trailer. Maybe someday they will be here. For now, here is the joy I have for my bike trailer. I love my bike, but I was having a hard time using it as much as I'd like due to little ones. So... as you can guess, I got a bike trailer. ANd I love it. Gabe and Abigail and I ride down to the park to feed the ducks or explore different parks. Today, I tood Gabe to his class at the nature center on my bike and then went for a ride with Abigail and an hour later picked up Gabe, and rode home.

I feel like I have so much freedom with the trailer. I can go anywhere, and I don't have to depend on a car. It doesn't make a lot of sense because my car(actually van) is very dependable. But what if there's no gas someday, or I don't know. But I love knowing I can get where I want to go. And it's fun! Yea for the trailer! And yea that I finally wrote about it.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

It was Gabe's birthday last Saturday. Okay it was really on Sunday, but we told him it was on Saturday. We've learned it's just easier this way. When Emma turned four she had a party and then a few days later had her real birthday. It took so much conversation to convince her that she wasn't five now.

I can't believe my boy is Four!!! We decided to have a family party day. It started out with pancakes with whipped cream, and after Gabe wanted a bowl of Trix. Lisa, Todd and family came over and we opened presents. Whenever we asked Gabe wanted for his birthday, he always said, "a leash for Joe." Joe is his stuffed dog. Lisa also got him a dog house for Joe. We also got him a nerf gun. It was probably the cheapest birthday ever, but he was so excited, and loved his presents as much as he would have if we got him a pony.



My kids have been begging to go to the Wildlife museum, so I thought this would be a good day for it. Mark had a meeting, so I took the kids and Brenton and Dane. The kids had fun, but after an hour Gabe wanted to go. So we headed over to McDonalds to play for as long as Gabe wanted. Sooner than I thought, Gabe wanted to go home, so we picked up his cake and went home to put Abigail down for a nap. I wanted it to be Gabe's special day and do anything he wanted, but whenver we asked him what he wanted to do. We would say "Eat Cake!". We made cookies he's been wanting for a while, and actually everyone took naps (including Mark and I) -- amazing.




When we woke up, we decided to skip dinner and just have cake. After we watched Bolt and ate treats. We had a lot of sugar today. But considering that is Gabe's favorite thing that's okay.


Gabe is such a sweet boy. He is very quick to say, "I'm sorry mommy, or I love you mommy." He can lift my spirits so easially. He loves to play anything. A game of hide-and-go-seek and the boy is on top of the world. I love his enthusiam.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

Outings and Happenings

Living at my parents has actually many advantages. One: many people stay here, and leave stuff behind. You might think this to be a nuisance, unless it is stuff that is actually useful. Like . . . a camera. Yes, I found a camera my brother left here - his loss, my gain. So here comes some outings we've had lately.

THE POOL.
We've gone swimming a couple times now at the SHAC as we call it. We've loved it. There has been no one there. The first time, I had to BEG my kids to go down the water slide. This time, they were going down all by themselves and Mark or I would catch them at the bottom. Totally against the rules, but there was a lifeguard watching us and he never said anything. We didn't let Abigail go down by herself, but we set her on our laps and she loved it. I wish I took pictures of the kids coming down the slide, but we were too busy catching them and going down ourselves. -Next time.



I love Abigail in this picture. She has started "cheesing" for the camera

Party of Five

I usually don't write random posts like this. Our lack of an unbroken camera makes the blogs of us going swimming, the park, the cute little things the kids do during the day seem not very interesting, so beware, here comes some thoughts.

I've always wanted a big family. ALWAYS. I have never considered having less than five kids. (Granted, when Mark and I got married, we were thinking 8, and with each child we have, the number of children we want drops)

I've always known that this matter is a good one to have Heavenly Father's approval on, but I like to have my own plan too. My baby is almost 18 months old. It's hard to believe, so much so that I have counted the months on my fingers like 5 times. Soon I will be able to go to church, and actually go to church. This milestone also begs the question, when should we have our next child? After much thought, I am surprised and satisfied to tell you - now is not the time. And for the first time, the thought has entered my brain that I may have just three children. I don't think so, but the thought was there. And it was okay with me. At least for now, I think it's best for our family to just stay the way we are. So until I become a better person - more patient and able to give my family the attention they deserve - we'll be a happy family of five. And that actually makes me happy.

25 Random Things About Me

TAG! You are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. I'm posting this for friends who don't do facebook. :) Come on guys.

1: I love basketball. I love anything competitive and physical. I have started to really enjoy working out because it's the only time I can be competitive these days. I challenge myself. My dream job would be playing basketball professionally.

2: I hate to cook. I have nightmares about it sometimes. Really.

3: My favorite foods are Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers, Cafe Rio Salads, and Jimmy Johns subs.

4: I am pretty shy, and tend to analyze everything I say. Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that it's usually better to keep my mouth shut.

5: I am most comfortable playing ball, and this is the setting my true personality comes forth. I can't help it. Other instincts take over. This is not always a good thing. If I play with Mark, I usually have to ask him if I was annoying while we were playing.

6: I have been married for almost 7 years. I've learned that letting go of pride and letting the spirit into my heart will heal most conflicts. Also, honesty is the best policy.

7: I love to make to do lists and cross the things on them off. I've done it since I was little. If we are going on vacation, I make lists of the clothes we'll wear, I make lists of the exercises I am going to do in a week, and lists of daily activities. I write them on 3x5 cards, so I have lists floating around everywhere

8: I love love love babies. I love most stages in my kids lives, (like Abigail is just starting to talk. I love that) But I still get sad when I think about how big they're getting. Even when I have a newborn, I get weepy because I know that it'll grow up so fast. That could just be the hormones though.

9: I've always wanted to be a mom. It was usually my answer for "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

10: I loved high school.

11: The movie "IT" traumatized me when I was little, and sometimes I still get scared in the bathroom. Especially when I have to close my eyes to wash my face.

12: I don't usually crave having girl time, but after a play date or girls night, I realize how much I love it, and how much I need it. I have some really amazing friends who are uplifting, fun, and supportive.

13: I am super self-conscience of my walk. I am really pigeon-toed, and have been teased about it most of my life. Yeah, you know who you are. Do you feel bad yet?

14: I have never broken, tore, or sprained anything. This is probably why Mark says I have invincibility syndrome. I scare him sometimes when we go snowboarding or mountain biking. Why take it easy if I never get hurt right?

15: I am allergic to metal. Snaps from jeans will give me a rash.

16: I hate sleeping. I seems like such a waste of time. It bugs me that I get cranky or sick if I don't get enough sleep.

17: I don't take my contacts out when I go to sleep

18: In the past four months, I have seen and interacted with people differently, I've seen their true colors. I am amazed and uplifted to see how good people can be. How forgiving, and thoughtful and compassionate they are. It's very cool.

19: I can't open my eyes under water

20: I have a testimony of Jesus Christ, and His Gospel. They're here to help us be happy- in simple terms. I also have a testimony of Satan. He is very real and very powerful, and should never be underestimated.

21: I always do the dishes right away. almost

22: My dream house would be on a mountain with a ski resort. It would have to be big enough to have lots of friends and family visit.

23: I am not a good speller. I copied this over from facebook (which did not have a spell checker), and spell checked it. I misspelled like 12 words. Yikes! I told you.

24: I wish I could be good all the time.

25: I think that is more than enough info about me.

I tag everybody. I enjoy reading these random things about people.

Am I grown up yet?

I have a few things on my mind that I'm thinking about writing about. I had an amazing run through the desert, and Abigail's personality is just so crazy she scares me sometimes, and I had quite the temper-tantrum/meltdown at my old high school last night. I think I'll go with #3 because my face is hot with ebarrassment and anger just mentioning it. I think I need to get it off my chest. But, I was quite the baby, so be warned. Sorry in advance for the vent.

Let me preface this by telling you about my weird emotional attachment for my school. I love my high school. I love the memories I have from my time there, especially those involving the athletic program. When I walked into the empty gym the other day when I was taking Emma to practice, I cried. (This was different than what comes later in the story) I have a very strong bond with my coaches. They taught me discipline, class, devotion, morals, work ethic, the list goes on. I love them for it. They were like Dads to me. With that bond, came joy when I did something to make them proud, and shame when I did something wrong (which usually led to tears). I actually cried quite a bit in high school. I was so emotional, and things were just so darn important to me. Looking back, I remind myself of my little Emma. So many times a week, I want to tell her, "it's not the end of the world, It's okay if Abigail broke a pencil that you have 10 more of in your drawer (for example). So my school, basketball, coaches, the environment - all really important to me.

Emma has been doing a drill team clinic at Snow Canyon. (It's like a three day thing where they teach the girls a dance, and then they preform it at half-time during a game.) The night of the game, the school is alive. And flowing strongly are memories and emotions. On my way to take Emma to her pre-game practice, one of the secretaries (who I clearly remember) says that I can't take Emma any further until I pay for the game. What? Since when do you have to pay for a high school basketball game? Okay, I know I have been out of it for a while and it doesn't sound that unreasonable. Except, I have no cash, Emma needs to get to her practice, and I have Gabriel, and Abigail with me, all by myself. I tell her this and get no sympathy in return. (I never really liked this particular secretary) She grabs two other dancers, and tells them to take Emma for me. Emma won't go with them because she doesn't know them. Finally, I sigh rudely and ask her if I can just take her to her practice and figure the money thing out later. She says fine. This story is turning into novel, so I will skip to the good part. I figure they have to let me into the game. No one told the parents they would have to pay to get into the game, I have three kids with me. What do they expect me to do? I was prepared to state my case, and I did with a little bit of an attitude. I could have been more nice. The "bouncer" tells me to talk to Mrs. Ward (no relation, but I do know her) who is taking the money. I got nothing. I was pretty bratty too, I raised my voice. (I'm sorry Stephanie that I yelled at your mom.) I said, "no one told me I needed to pay to get into a game to watch my daughter preform, don't you think they should have put that in the note they sent home?" She said, "yeah, they screwed up, but I still can't let you in. You can wait in the hall until halftime and then go in and watch her." I said, FINE! and went to stand against the wall with my eyes filling up with tears. Can you tell I don't get into conflicts very often? This probably seems so tiny to some people. Emma wanted to go in and sit with the other dancers, so after glowering for a while, I asked if I could just take her in. The "bouncer" said sure, and I gave him a mean look and I brushed by him. (I didn't mean to brush him, he was just really big, and blocking the door) He got mad and started yelling, "why are you getting mad at us, it's not our fault you didn't bring money." I yelled, back (we were really yelling now, and there were lots of people, it was quite the scene) "Yes, it is your fault! Why didn't someone tell the parents they needed to pay, etc. etc." Finally Mrs. Ward, said, "Just let her through." And then it was over. and then came the tears. Imagine, I was walking into my gym on game night, exactly how I remembered it. It was loud and crazy. Excitement was everywhere, coaches were prepping, the band was playing, and I was bawling. Again. Have I not grown up at all? Am I still the emotional teenager who carried everything on her sleeve? I really hope not. I'm blaming this on stress and emotions in overdrive. After running into an old coach/friend, I was able to laugh it off, and enjoy the game. I still feel guilty though. I wonder if I should send an apology or go to the school and pay them 6 bucks for the game. All I know is that I still have a lot of growing up to do.