Strep...

Boston stayed home from school today. He ran a fever all night long and just wasn't himself lastnight. I had a busy afternoon and was running all over, and right after school the kids had Parent Teacher Conference. We had to have them early so that Morgan and Zach could go to football at 5:30. It was a crazy hour at the school trying to meet with all 3 of their teachers! During Bostons SEP I looked over at him and he just didn't look good! I felt so bad for not noticing earlier, and he didn't even have a chance after school to say anything! Sure enough we came home and he was running a fever and was on the couch the rest of the night. I kept him home today and by nighttime he had gotten worse. I decided to take him into the Dr. tonight so we wouldn't have another long night ahead of us! I was so glad I did, cuz his strep test came back POSITIVE!!! This is only the second time he has had strep in his life! My other kids had it all the time, but not this boy! That's how I knew something was wrong with him, he just wasn't himself! So, now he gets to drink the yummy pink medicine that he loves (he really does!) for the next 10 days! Oh the joys of starting school and your kids catching every germ that is out there! Now I just hope the rest of us don't get it! I'm going to keep my fingers crossed!

This little girl of mine...

This little girl of mine is turning into a little busy body!!! This picture above is a rare moment for her, so I soak up all the shut eye she gets!!! Because believe me, it's not very much!

Oh, is she ever busy these days!!! It is so fun to see her curious side, and she is oh SO SMART!!! She understands everything we say to her, and I'm sure if she could talk, we could have full on conversations! :)

The other morning after taking the kids to school, Boston was at the bar eating breakfast while I was doing the dishes. Since Halle doesn't like to sit in her high chair anymore (cuz her daddy spoils her everytime he eats and puts her on his lap and feeds her yummies) she was roaming around the kitchen and stopped to take a look at what was in the garbage can, apparently this cookie was sitting on top and she decided to grab it and start eating it! (smart girl!) I guess I didn't notice it for a bit, cuz THIS much was gone when I saw her! Ha ha! I asked Boston if he would grab the camera and take a picture of her since my hands were wet and this is what he took! I thought it was so cute how he just got her chubby little hands holding this half eaten cookie! Watch out, we may have a photographer on our hands! :)

Halle's new trick is CLIMBING!!! She loves to climb anything she can! This is one of her favorites, is to climb up the side of the stairs! This particular moment she thought she was pretty funny and was making the cutest squeals! I grabbed the video camera to record her and as soon as I did, she fell down! Whoops! She had never fallen before!

She was fine though...

this was her when she got up and looked at me!

I call this her teeth smile! Too cute!

Boston loves his little sister, sometimes a little too much! He is always wanting to hug and hold her (mostly to torment her) and she knows how to tell him to stop! He is so protective of her though, and is always watching out for her!

I think she was half laughing half crying here!!!

My little girl will be 15 months on the 21st!!!

Time for more shots! :(

Kitchen Table...

This is what my kitchen table looks like EVERY day after school!

Oh, and this is without any mail, usually there is mail piled in there somewhere too! When my kids went back to school it drove me crazy that the table would end up looking like this every day, even if I had cleared it off that morning, so that I could at least look at a CLEAN table during the day. It seems as though I have tried to figure out many times, a way to organize all of their schoolwork, papers, crayons, pencils etc. and it still looks like this!!! I have come to the realization, that as long as I have my little ones at home, I'm going to have to get used to it! :) We have had this table since we got married 13 years ago, I find myself table shopping every once in awhile because I want a new one. I think this one is old or ugly, or has too many sharpie stains on it, or easter egg dye, or scuffed up marks! But then I think about how nice it is for the kids to be able to do their projects on it and not have to worry about them coloring on the table or ruining it! We don't even lay down newspaper when we color eggs anymore, and the dye eventually comes off! :)

This table is old and worn and has many memories made on it!

I have a perfect picture in my head of the "perfect" kitchen table I will have

one day...

but for now why my kiddos are home and running around with crayons in their hands, I'm going to enjoy my old table

because I know one day when it is all cleaned off and empty I'm going to wish all those papers and crayons were still there!

4 is PeRfEcT!!!

My kids came home with their school pictures a couple of weeks ago, and I finally hung them on the wall yesterday. I had them up before, but had Halle's taken this year, so we had to move everyone around and make room for her! :)

I am loving the way my wall looks with 4 pictures!!!

I know it sounds silly, but look how perfectly they all fit together!!! That is the way we feel about Halle completing our family! There just needed to be one more! Brinley knew that there was a little sister waiting for her! She is a perfect caboose to our family train! We love her to pieces and wouldn't trade her for anything!

ClEaN WoRdS!!!

Every Thursday night my kids have practice spelling tests for the next day. Well Brinley's teacher sent home a list of fun things that they can do to practice for their test. She is supposed to choose 2 from the list and do them at home! So I let her choose the 2 SHE wanted. Well, one that she chose was to write her words in SHAVING CREAM! She had so much fun! The boys were at football practice, so she had her own time to do it! (Until Boston came home and saw what she was doing, and wanted to join in on the fun!) There were some fun cute ideas that we will be trying this week again, I'm sure! :)

Halle eating a cookie in her high chair which she hates to sit in now! She would much rather mom or dad hold her and share their food!

We had to let Boston join in, he had fun writing his name!

I put the kids in the shower after and even let them do it on the walls in the shower, it was nice cuz they could spray it off after. I think I let it sit on the counter too long before I wiped it up, it was all hard and greasy and wasn't real fun to clean up! :)

Conference Weekend...

I always love Conference weekend! It is so relaxing, and a great time for each of us to get a little boost! Sunday morning we were eating breakfast together around the table (which never happens on a regular Sunday because of Morgan's morning meetings) and as Boston said the prayer he blessed that we would have a good time at church. When the prayer was over Brinley said to him, "Boston, we're not going to church today, it's General Conference". His eyes got big and he said in a loud voice... AGAIN??? And started doing a dance around the kitchen!!! ha ha ha! It was really funny! I went to sugardoodle and printed some packets for the kids of activities to do while they were listening... they LOVED them! My kids listened to more of conference this year than they ever have! Boston is totally loving the writing/coloring since being in kindergarten! He is always wanting to write, and is constantly asking how to spell things! After looking at their packets I realized they REALLY were listening and coloring pictures about the stories that were being told! I was so impressed! As we were all veged out in the living room Zach mentioned that it was harder to concentrate when watching at home v.s. the church (he learned from going to the priesthood session with Morgan the night before) he said there are too many distractions at home... as his itouch is in his hand... go figure! :) I was thinking about how spoiled we are today with the technology there is. Watching Conference is bliss with DVR! It was so nice to be able to pause the t.v. if we needed, to rewind if someone was talking or Halle crying, or her toys making too much noise that we couldn't hear! :) Or fast forwarding through the music to get caught up... no actually I love the music in between speakers, I love to hear my kids sing along if they know the words! Saturday morning we were at football and weren't able to watch/listen, but with the click of a button on the computer I am able to listen to the talks I missed! It really is amazing! I love hearing our prophet speak, the kids always get so excited to hear/see him! I just bought the book "To the Rescue" the Biography of Thomas S. Monson. I wanted to read it with Zach.

We truly are blessed!

Turning into a Young Man...

This is how we started our morning... on the FOOTBALL FIELD where else?

Today my little boy turned 12! I can hardly believe it! It seems this is a birthday we have been talking about for a long time now. We have always talked about when Zach would turn 12 and receive the priesthood. I always wondered what our lives would be like at the time...

So, here we are today! This is it!

Right now Zach is at the priesthood session with his dad, Halle is asleep (which is amazing) and the kids are playing night games outside with the neighbors (I can hear them yelling and laughing outside the window) and I have been thinking alot about this boy of mine. He is such a good kid, I just love being with him! I just wish he was home more! :) His days consist of school, homework, physical therapy, and football practice almost every night! And I think we may be crazy but he just tried out for a 6th grade basketball team that is playing in 3 different leagues during the week and he MADE it!!! But that's just what we do at this house, we move on from one sport to another! :) No really, Zach LOVES it and he wouldn't have it any other way! I know we have to have a happy medium somewhere, and I know that Zach can get overwhelmed if he has too much going on at once, we just really need to be careful. Usually MY happy medium and Morgan's happy medium are 2 different things though. I will have to say though, that I would much rather have him busy playing sports, than getting into trouble cuz he was bored or had too much time on his hands.

And this is how the day ended...

Zach finally got to go to the Priesthood session of General Conference tonight, for the 1st time

ON his birthday! Zach's birthday always falls on the weekend of General Conference. So, this is something he has been looking forward to for a long time! He was so excited to go with his dad tonight! We got him this new suit for his birthday, he was so excited to wear it! He will be getting ordained in a couple of weeks and be able to pass the sacrament at church!

I remember the weekend we brought him home from the hospital it was Conference and it was so neat to have this healthy newborn baby in our tiny little one bedroom apartment and be able to listen to conference and just hang out and hold our new little one who was the first to make me a mommy! Oh, we were new at parenting, and he was so patient with us! (Still is)

I love this candid picture of Zach, this is how you see him MOST of the time! He always has a smile on his face! Oh, he looks so old...

Z hangin out with a few of his friends!

Every year on the kids birthdays we let them choose their "special" place to go eat. Zach chose Tepanaki! Yummy! A place we all love to eat at! Well, Halle didn't love it so much!

My happy boy!

I was going through some old pictures of Zach from when he was little. Well, when he was LITTLE was before we had digital camera's. So all of his pictures are in books. I was so good about getting them developed and putting them right in a book! He would love looking at them, I miss that with my other kids, cuz now days all our pictures are just on the computer, I rarely even print them out anymore! :(

This is a picture of Zach in the 1st grade, they had COWBOY day at his school, this was all we could come up with! He looks more like a farmer to me! Ha ha!

This is Zach on the first day of pre-school. He went for 2 months while we were living in St. George and then we moved to Phoenix and I never put him back in there. He was my only one to go to pre school, if that even counts! I think I just thought he HAD to go, cuz that's what everyone else was doing... silly mom!

When Z was in kindergarten and 1st grade (and a little bit of 2nd) he wrestled! I thought it was cute when he was little, but it was so stressful for me when he was out on the mat! I didn't like it! Luckily he injured his back and we had to take a break from it and just never put him back in!

I will never forget when Zach was in the 2nd grade and ALMOST broke his nose!!! Yes, he was playing catch with his dad in the backyard and was going to catch a pop fly and missed! It got really swollen and bruised, but healed up fine! He just had a REALLY fat lip for a long time!

I know he will kill me for posting this picture, but I think it is so cute! When he was little he loved to sit on the toilet backwards! Well, I guess he sat a little too long this time and actually fell asleep! It must have taken him awhile to get it out! ha ha!

These were our family pics in '05 the year Boston was born! I loved this one of he and his sister walking and holding hands! :)

The boys! Zach was so happy to get a baby brother!

Zach swimming with the dolphins at Sea World

July '05

I had fun going through these old pics of him tonight! Me and my sister were talking today about the happy kid Zach was and still is! There is really no one else like him! He was the most vibrant happy baby ever! He is so fun to be around! I just love this kid!

So, Happy Birthday to you bud! You are growing into a Young man, and I can hardly stand it! I'm going to enjoy every step of the way!

12 things I love about my 12 year old...

1. his smile

2. his laugh

3. his kind heart

4. his enthusiasm for sports

5. his enthusiasm for reading (NOT)

6. his willingness to help (when Morgan's not around, he is always so sweet to help me do things, like getting my door, pushing the cart, carrying in the groceries, carrying my bags so I can hold Halle, I don't even have to ask... he is such a gentleman!

Every morning when I take the kids to school I love to watch Zach as he walks into the school, he ALWAYS holds the door open for whoever is going in, (a teacher, a mom, a student) it is so sweet!

6. he loves to stay up and talk at night

7. his innocence

8. his smelly self after football

9. his love for food! ( just like his mama)

10. his love for music... and ability to sing the words to a song after only hearing it a couple of times!

11. his love for his family

12. for wanting to choose the right and be a good example to his friends

I am so proud to be your mom Zach! I love you!

FoOtBaLl FuN!!!

I can't even explain how fun it is to watch these little ones play flag football! I absolutely LOVE it! I was recording the game on Sat. cuz Morgan was at Zach's game and couldn't be there, and I found out that you almost have to record the WHOLE thing, cuz you never know when something good/funny is going to happen! :) These little kids are so cute and innocent and just want to have fun! Then you have (some) of the dads just yelling on the sidelines going crazy!

It is nice that they can just have fun playing and you don't have to worry about injuries at this point! Not too much is going to happen to them out on the field!

Boston just loves feeling big like his brother and is so happy to be out on the field! I'm pretty sure he needs to learn the fundamentals before we put the pads on this kid! ;)

Standing with his treats after the game! Happy to be here!

Morgan taped his ankles before the game, cuz they really have been hurting him, but once again I think he kinda likes being like his big brother! :)

Aren't they cute? (his taped ankles)

Zach is fun to watch too, but he is at a whole different level! Man, this 6th grade team is like playing in the NFL! They are into it! I love seeing him out on the field, giving his ALL, and SO into it! I always worry that he is going to get hurt though, as I think every mom watching their 12 yr. old would be! Zach already rolled his ankle at the beginning of the season, and has been icing,taping, doing everything he can to get it better! Morgan got him an ankle brace to wear during the games, plus it being taped. Well, he had to wear a long sock on it so it wouldn't rub against his skin. (He hates to wear long socks in the games, so he just wears short ones) well, I loved it cuz I could actually tell which one he was out on the field because of his socks! Ha ha!

Zach # 33

sock v.s. skins ha ha ha

Zach hangin with his friends Cody and McKade after the game.

On Saturday's game I got a text from Morgan saying that Zach twisted his ankle again and was out for the rest of the game! After Boston's game was over we ran up to the High School to see how he was. He wasn't very happy. Poor kid. Right as he was getting his foot feeling better, he hurts it again! So, he spent the whole weekend like this! Morgan played physical therapist all weekend icing and stimulating his foot for him. He had to keep it elevated and we even borrowed some crutches so he could stay off of it till we took him to the doctor on Mon.

Getting the ice treatment!

Needless to say he got to read lots of books to his little sister (this is the way to her heart, she LOVES books being read to her!) And got to watch lots of football! I don't think he minded it much! But I'm sure he would have rather been PLAYING football!

So, we took Zach to the Physical Therapist yesterday after school. He wanted him to get an x-ray to make sure there wasn't anything broken, or fractured. So we ran across the hall and found out it was just sprained! So, they are going to work with him as long as he needs to get it feeling better! Morgan can retire from his second job now! I told him he went into the wrong profession! He is going to be living there this week, so we can get it feeling better! I even have to check him out of school today, cuz they couldn't get him in any other time! He was real sad about that! We don't want to rush things, as far as getting him back on the field playing, he has his whole life ahead of him to play football! We just want to get him feeling better!

My LittLe KiNdErGaRtNeR!!!

Sigh...It is surreal to me now that this little guy has officially started kindergarten! It is something we have been talking about for the last year, but it actually happened on Wed. Boston was so excited to finally be going to the school with his big brother and sister! It is the only year that all 3 of them will be at the same school together! For that I am thankful that Middle School doesn't start until 7th grade! Brinley's class is right across the hall from Boston's, and that just tickles my heart to know that she is right there, if he ever needed anything! I think Boston was a little overwhelmed the first day, as I think every other kindergartner was... he told me it was a lot LONGER than he thought it was going to be! His teacher Mrs. Christensen was the first one out there to get her class, and I was still taking pictures... hence I didn't get as many as I wanted, I wanted her to be on MY schedule and let me soak it all in. But before I knew it my little guy was off in line with his backpack on and she was whisking them away! I didn't even get to tell him good-bye! Let alone give him a hug and a kiss! I wanted to walk into the classroom, but Morgan wouldn't let me! I was having all these mixed emotions as we were walking back to the van, and then I saw my friend and she looked like she was crying. I asked her if she was o.k., and she said "No, it's sad" and the next word that came out of my mouth, I started crying! So, we talked and cried for a bit! Our husbands were making fun of us afterwards, but we sure felt a lot better! :)

I just feel like once they start kindergarten they loose everything...

like their BABY TEETH, and their CHUBBY LITTLE CHEEKS! I always love my kids pictures when they start school, cuz they look so little! And then by the end of the year they are all grown up and have to start going to school ALL day! That is one thing that is getting me through this is knowing he is only gone for 3 hours during the day! I've gone through this with my others too, you would think it gets easier, but I think it only gets harder! The night before his first day, I was laying by him and we were talking. I said "Buddy, do you know how much mommy is going to miss you during the day?" He said "You'll be o.k. mom, you'll get the hang of it after a while!" Well, o.k. then! My little 5 year old is trying to console me! I had to laugh at that one! He says the cutest things!

He was actually happy to get his picture taken before we left for the school. He didn't complain one bit, he knew I had done it with the other kids, so he was all smiles! I had to zoom in on his shoes for the one picture... cuz Boston kinda takes after his mamma, he wore flip flops ALL summer long... never had a pair of tennis shoes on! When I took the kids to get their school shoes, we actually had a hard time finding shoes that would fit his feet comfortably. He wanted Puma's like the other kids, but he couldn't fit his fat little feet inside them! So, we had to get Nike's, I just hope he can break them in! The second he comes in the house he takes his socks and shoes off! I don't blame him, who wants to wear those sweaty things? I told him he could wear flip flops today, but he didn't want to, he said he wanted to look cool! :)

So, plus starting school he also had his FIRST flag football practice, his first game is on Saturday! He is so excited! I love watching flag football with the little kids, it is so cute to watch! I have been waiting for him to start! Morgan is coaching him, along with Zach... so he spends many hours on the football field right now! He wouldn't have it any other way, he is quite happy there! Boston has been so tired at night, completely worn out! He has been complaining of his ankle hurting (when he runs) and I think the whole flip flop thing hasn't been good for his little feet. His ankles totally turn in from having no support. I feel so bad, I think we may have to take him to a foot/ankle doctor and see what can be done!

Here is Boston with a few friends from the ward... it's always nice to see a familiar face!

Boston walking into the school. He looks so big!

I get teary eyed just thinking about it!

So, heres to you my big kindergartner! I hope you have a great year, and learn lots!

I love you!