ANSWERED PRAYERS

Yesterday started out basicly like most days. Get the big boys off to school. Ryan is sleeping since he has to work tonight. AJ and Levi are vying for my attention and I'm trying to get things done. Thankfully Wednesday is playgroup which gives all of us something to look forward to. We went to playgroup and came home and Levi was still crabby but I figured it was due to a bad nights sleep the night before and we were both due for a nap. I put him down and went to lay down with Ryan but he awoke screaming and grabbing his stomach only 30 minutes later. That kept up the rest of the day with him playing one minute and crying and grabbing his stomach the next. Long story short after deciding to take him in to Good Night Pediatrics, LOVE THEM, we ended up at children's hospital in the ER. Here is where the Lord's hand became more obvious. The first Dr. who saw us at GNP was sending us home when while we were waiting for his insurance to be verified, he had another fit. The dr was standing around the corner and saw and heard and decided we should go to the hospital immediately. We did. Once at Children's he was immediately triaged and put into a room, immediately seen by a nurse and Dr and an ultrasound was ordered to check to see if he had intussusception. I've never seen everything go so smoothly. He was getting his ultrasound immediately AND immediately the radiologist was in the ultrasound room giving me the results. Immediately after that he was in a different room in xray getting it reduced with an air enema. Again the Lord's hand is clear, it worked, no surgery needed. Levi was not happy about the enema but since he doesn't understand the alternative, oh well. He woke up this am screaming don't and no and kicking and punching me poor guy but other than that, you'd never know that last night he was in the worst pain of his short life and only a short while from bowel surgery. I'm so thankful for the Lord's watchful care. It couldn't have gone any smoother, no delay anywhere. No waiting for Dr.'s to be called in. No waiting for tests, no waiting for a room, no waiting for anything and best of all... NO SURGERY! Today he is running around and causing problems and eating again! I was so relieved that I couldn't avert the tears last night as we went back to his er room after it was over. I'm so thankful for answered prayers especially the short and quiet ones last night.

Our 2009 Family Christmas Photo

Alright I waited and waited for a good time to take a REAL family picture. It never came. I gave up and asked Ryan if he minded if I just took one of the kids and sent it off for our Christmas card. He didn't so here it is. I actually didn't intend to include the dogs but they kept getting in the picture so we decided to let them. This is the one I ended up picking. These are my favorites but I decided they probably shouldn't be sent out.
I love AJ hugging his dog and who couldn't love that look on Levi's face! And Caleb hugging him! Too bad Jake looked away just as I snapped the pic. BUMMER!!! I was completely set to send out Levi's nose picker pic but alas... How about Jake's face. My mom thinks he looks like someone is poking him. I love Caleb's smile! I'm sure Ryan would have killed me.

Sinking in

As I'm sitting here posting my last post my boys are building a fort in the front room with cushions and blankets. As always there are some heated "discussions" about how it should be done and from there I hear Jake say " No fighting on Sunday!" I'm choosing to be happy about the fact that he is in some form observing the Sabbath and trying to be a peacemaker. I did think it was funny the implied you can fight on the other 6 days of the week just not Sunday. I love my boys!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEVI

My sweet Levi turned 2 this past week. We had a small birthday party for him yesterday and it was fun. It was very laid back but the boys seemed to have a good time. They definitely enjoyed the cupcakes. I made an "Elmo" pull apart cake with cupcakes that I was very pleased with. It turned out a lot better than I was afraid it would. Anyhow the boys shoved the cupcakes in their mouths and I heard Reed say more words than he's ever said in nursery the whole time I've known him when he said, "I want more cupcake" after he licked the paper and picked up every crumb he dropped. It was definitely one of the highlights. I hope that Tiffany doesn't hate me forever for giving it to him. Myron shoved his into his mouth pretending to be Cookie Monster but Levi wanted to make sure he didn't lose sight of his truck he got before he would eat his.

All in all it was fun to watch and I'm glad I didn't let Levi's birthday get swallowed up in all the Christmas celebrations which is basicly why I really wanted to have the party in the first place. I know, I'm really paranoid about it. It was worth it. Sorry Tiffany about the cupcake, I hope you forgive me!

Belated Halloween

Ok, I know I'm almost 2 whole months late but I uploaded the camera today before Levi's b-day party(a seperate post to follow hopefully before I'm two months late) and I found these pics. Halloween was a marathon event. First we had the ward Trunk or Treat. The next night was actually Halloween and we had friends over and went trick or treating in our neighborhood and then in the next neighborhood since ours was pretty sparse. The boys had a great time and got way too much candy which we donated to Nana's work. As you can see even Jazz and Neptune got into the Halloween spirit and enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood.

Plum tuckered out!

Don't ya just know when yer wore out yer wore out. My sweet cowboy was too tired to take off his boots and hat or even put down his gun.

TROUBLE WITH A CAPITAL T

If you ever hear laughing from the kitchen... run don't walk into the kitchen! I didn't. I knew it was going to be bad and I just didn't have the energy to face it. When I did...my floor was covered with water which Levi and Caleb both went skidding in and just to make it interesting I guess, there is alot of ice mixed in too. ALOT of ice. The picture is from after they, not me, they started cleaning it up. WOW. That's all I can say about that. I could have gotten a wider shot but it covered most of the kitchen and into the front room. Does this fall into the category of boys will be boys? Now it falls into the category of things they don't want to do again. It took a long time to clean up and I didn't do any of it except wring out the towels into the sink so they could reuse them. To be honest, I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen, it was bound to sooner or later with the ice/water dispenser right on the front of the fridge calling to them. It could have been worse, I know that from past experience.

Our Adventure

We had a grand adventure this week. Our power went out with the storm Monday night, what a storm. Check out the display sheds at Lowe's. It's hard to see but the bigger shed was moved into the light pole and it was blown so far that there were sheds behind it also. The other one was missing panels. I love the weather and when it's fantastic I get so excited. Monday was so exciting!!! Our power flickered several times throughout the day and evening. Monday night it went out and stayed out. Thankfully we were up so we bundled up the kids with extra blankets and went to bed wondering if it would come back on by morning. It didn't. Levi came into bed with us freezing in the middle of the night. The rest of them were good until 5:30 when Caleb and AJ woke up and couldn't get the lights to come on. AJ came into our bed, I got up to light the candle I had left next to my bed and Caleb went to wake up Jake. My favorite part of the morning came when they all got back to my room and Caleb and Jake were starting to panic. Caleb, " MOM, THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY IN THE WHOLE HOUSE". Me, " I know. The storm knocked out the power." Jake, "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" Me, " We get to have an adventure! We get to use candles and pretend we are pioneers for the morning." This was followed by a long pause and then a chorus of "COOL!" Normally I'm not that creative so I know the Lord was helping me that very cold and dark morning. My kids had a great time. Even my awesome husband who isn't a morning person, out of necessity, got up cheerfully and took us all to breakfast so we could have a hot breakfast. On our way to the restaurant we could see that some neighborhoods had power while others didn't. Caleb lamented that it wasn't fair. I agreed and said, "You're right, they don't get to have an adventure and use candles and go to the restaurant for breakfast on a school day." That stuck with him all day and when I picked them up after school they were disappointed the power was back on and asked if we could pretend the next morning. I love my family!! I love the adventure we are living!!! I'm thankful we had so many candles since the batteries were dead in all of our flashlights because AJ likes to play with them. I'm thankful we have a warm home to protect us from what were amazing winds and a very cold bunch of nights lately. I'm thankful we aren't really pioneers living like that everyday, I'm thankful that there are and were others who were willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make our comfortable and blessed way of life possible. I'm thankful we got to have that adventure to remind me again.

My new body

I have recently discovered muscles I forgot I had and apparently haven't used, for a long time. I started an aerobics/weights class on Wednesday. It was great and I sweat like a... well I sweat alot. My physical therapist told me last year that when you sweat you sweat out fat too. I hope he was right. Today I worked out again, I used the tape Chantil loaned me saying it's her favorite. She must be significantly more coordinated than I am. I looked more like a seizure I'm sure. By the end, yes I actually finished, I was again sweating and soaked, more fat out I hope. I could barely lift my legs, running was not an option anymore, and my previously sore muscles were screaming. Right now as I sit and crave chocolate and ache I'm questioning my sanity. It's worth it right? I want smaller jeans for Christmas. It'll be worth it. I want to look better than I do in this picture!

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!

I know that I'm a Christmas junkie but it's not the gifts although I do love giving and to be honest, getting is fun too. I love the entire season! Most years there are so many people who are completely engrossed in themselves and what they have to get done that going to the store is even worse than usual but this year people have been different. I see a lot more kind people, more courtesy, more smiles, more merry wishes basically more of what Christmas really means! It makes it so much easier to keep in mind the REAL reason we celebrate. Maybe it's just that I actually have been reading my scriptures DAILY even when I'm too tired. Maybe it's just that I'm closer to the spirit because I actually get on my knees to pray instead in bed where it's warm and soft. Maybe it's because the longer I'm married to my fabulous husband the more I love and appreciate him and enjoy doing things with and for him. I don't know but I do know that I'm happier this year and able to feel the spirit easier and more often and that makes me appreciate the holidays even more. We always decorate the day after Thanksgiving, this year I enjoyed it more. I can't wait until Christmas but I'm enjoying the season more than ever. I'm so grateful for this time of year and for our Savior and his life and mission. I'm thankful for my family and friends and the gospel in my life. It truly is a wonderful life!

Thanksgiving prep

Three dozen rolls made from scratch, four pumpkins to bake tomorrow for pies, seventeen yes that's 17 pie crusts made from scratch (it's a very large recipe), one large ham defrosting in the fridge and 6 pounds of bacon to cut and fry for green bean casserole, 15 pounds of potatoes to peel and boil and mash. Let's just stop there and don't get me started on the house! Thanksgiving is only 2 days away!!! I love the holiday season! I love cooking. I love family and friends coming to visit. I actually love a full house even when it's crazy and bustling, maybe it's the ER nurse in me, who knows but I love it. I can't wait to sit down to dinner with some of the people I love the most in the world!

CRAAAAZZZZYYYY BUSY

We have been so busy and the worst part is I haven't taken any pictures!!! I know... I'm a horrible mom. We haven't spent a Saturday at home in I can't remember how long. We've been to the zoo, the Heritage Festival, Lowes/yard sale cruising/Hobby Lobby shopping, the Hometown Holiday Boutique (small but great craft fair) and I can't even remember what else. Fridays have been busy too since the boys don't have school on Fridays, which I love! This week they are off all week for Thanksgiving and they couldn't be more excited. I'm excited about not getting up at 0545 every day to get them out the door on time with a hot meal in their tummies. It's been busy and fun and I'm thoroughly enjoying spending time with them and making memories, like the light rail and Art museum on Veterans Day! Somehow between making wreaths, thanks Bridgette for hosting and teaching us and helping with my bow, Love and Logic class, Jake's scouts, he got 3 more arrow points at the pack meeting this week, Caleb's class Feast for Thanksgiving, that I/Caleb volunteered stuffing for, and our adventures I haven't had time to get on here but hopefully now you understand why and would've done the same thing.

Thanks to all my friends who wished me happy birthday and Happy birthday to Elder Sweeney who shares the best birthday of the year with me. Happpy Birthday to my mom, today!

The Zoo

Saturday we went with my mom to the zoo. I love the zoo. We never ride the train but this time we did. It was sooooo worth it and from now on, we'll do it everytime! You learn alot more on the train and give your feet a break, plus you can get off and on over and over again! We got off by the kids land and petting zoo. The kids had a blast milking the cow and playing not to mention the animals! I think my favorite is the giraffes, Jake's favorite is the poison dart frog. Levi loved the monkeys but I think he loved all of the animals to be honest. AJ's favorite is probably the lions, Caleb's favorite is the rhinoceros but really... I don't know because it took him sooo long to pick just one. Clifford went with us this time and I hope he had fun. He was sad we had to leave before we could see more but another day...

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES II

My kids have no filter. Anything and everything they think comes right out of their little mouths. It's often quite enlightening and sometimes funny. Usually it's funny in a demented sort of laugh or cry sort of way. Yesterday was no exception. First AJ, I don't know about other people's kids but AJ has no concept of male/female sex. We are trying to explain to him and he is finally starting to comprehend that I don't have a penis. He still thinks he will grow up to be a mom and nurse his baby too. So to yesterday, He is carrying around his "baby", aka his Woody doll, and decided that he needed to nurse him so he layed down on the floor in the bathroom where I was finishing my makeup to "nurse" his baby. Levi was asleep and I thought maybe AJ would nap too so I suggested he go lay in his bed and nurse his baby. He said he couldn't, he had to do it that way because his boobies aren't "long" enough. LOVELY. Not they aren't big enough, they aren't long enough. As I almost fell over laughing I was glad I could laugh about that. Later Caleb was having a rough day and wishing he were a grownup that could do anything he wanted to. I reminded him that his dad really doesn't want to go to work and miss out on all the fun stuff we do and that I don't really want to get up all night with a sick and grumpy baby and then get up early to make a breakfast everyday and lunch and make sure the house is clean and they have clean uniforms to wear to school etc. Then I reminded him that when he is a grownup I won't be there to do all that for him his completely candid reply, "My wife will." Again I found myself laughing, much to his irritation. Sorry Caleb. I love my kids.

Ready To Go Now Mom

My new pin up! I just want to grab and squeeze him, which I do alot! His preferred clothing/shoes, if he must wear clothes, is boots and "my cowboy stuff". We get lots of giggles in the stores when he is wearing his chaps and vest and hat and the whole smash.

Anticipation

MMMM cookies. Levi couldn't wait for them to come out so he stood at the door and watched them cook. I love him!

COWBOY UP

This weekend was the Heritage Festival in town. We hadn't gone before and it sounded like fun. It also sounded like something to keep the kids out of the house so Ryan could sleep without the screaming and fighting of bored kids. It WAS fun. There was a craft fair, I LOVE craft fairs. There was a hayride, the boys love hayrides! There was a petting zoo and kids crafts and roping dummies and stick pony barrel racing! There was even a tractor pull! There were antique engines, running I might add and tractors, old and new, as far as the eye could see, at least Levi's eye. Levi loved the petting zoo but mostly he loved the free candy he got everytime his brothers did something, like roping. Levi really wanted to ride the stick ponies but everytime the girl handed it to him or looked at him he hid behind me instead. So of course AJ did it...

In case you can't see him, that is AJ under the massive pile of cotton looking for coins, he found a nickel. Caleb found alot more than one, I don't know how much Jake found.

I love living in a small town!!!!

Here comes TROUBLE

At least he wears a helmet right? I have never been a big fan of skateboards, I'm still not. It took alot of work on me to agree to the boys having them. Now they all have one thanks to a couple of gifts from neighbors and friends. Once Jake and Caleb got them, the little ones had to have them too and their friends obliged. Thankfully no broken bones yet. So here is my daredevil Levi following in his brothers footsteps.

GOOD WORK JAKE!

One of Jake's goals for the summer was to get his wolf badge by the September Pack meeting.



He got it and with time to spare actually. Now he has 6 months to work on more arrow points. As you can tell he was very excited!!! All of the boys worked hard and got lots of badges and belt loops and beads for their efforts. Good job boys.

Home Made scripture totes

My sister in law sent me this link for the most adorable scripture totes. I immediately thought of all of my friends with adorable little girls, of which I have none. I decided to post it for you guys. They are absolutely adorable and I thought would match alot of the adorable bows I see in your beautiful girls hair. The best part is they are awesome for little girls and even more awesome for big girls. It looks like she even takes orders so here is the link and I'll post it with my other blog links too. ENJOY GIRLS! http://scripturetotesbyloree.blogspot.com

ALL BOY

One of the easy things about boys is they can go pee ANYWHERE! No such luck for me but it makes traveling alot easier especially since we tend to spend alot of time in rural areas. My boys were so embarrassed about this picture but I think it's hiliarious, 3 of the 4 on the side of the road (Levi isn't potty trained yet)

Another Week Gone By

Despite my best intentions it seems that my blogging has become a weekly endeavor instead of daily. Not a very good journal but better than nothing I suppose. I haven't decided if I should do many posts about all of the adventures this week or one long one but I'll start with my epiphany last night. I finally realized that all of the commotion recently has affected my boys more than I thought. They seemed to settle into the new routine smoothly, during their waking hours at least. Night time was a different story, they started having nightmares and other signs of stress that they didn't talk about during the day time. In isolated incidents it seemed like no big deal, it wasn't until last night that I realized there seemed to be ALOT of incidents recently, pretty much the last 2 weeks. DUH!!! I wanted to smack myself on the head with a huge Homer Simpson DOH! how could I have missed those signs! My only defense is that I have been so busy getting us settled into the house myself but since my family should and does come first, it really is no excuse at all. Anyway I decided that we needed a family outing, soon. Huge credit goes to my wonderful husband who took time off work and researched something we could do as a family! He is the best husband in the world!!! We talked to the boys today and they are so excited!!! I can't wait! Stay tuned for more details! Now it's my job to pay more attention to the big picture and not just what is in front of my face right then.

Another Sunday gone by

I guess I should catch up... Jake and Caleb started school and it's been crazy busy with the move and school and all but everything is starting to go back to normal again. Jake and Caleb love it at their new school. AJ asks everyday when we can go pick them up and never wants to wait for them, I think it's cute how much he misses them. It's amazing how much quieter it is without them home all day. I still don't feel like I get anything done though, I feel like I work all day but I'm spinning my wheels and don't see much progress. Oh well, I think I need to get organized again. Caleb gave a talk in Primary today, he did such a great job! AJ went to nursery without crying and kicking, he walked right in! I was so happy I could've danced a jig. Jake's teachers made a point of telling me how good he was in class, YEAH!!!! Levi goes into mine and Ryan's nursery so he is fine. I even got a nap today!!! Ryan didn't get much sleep and he is working tonight but it was almost a perfect day. Life is great! I love Sundays! It's amazing how following the commandment to keep the sabbath holy and make it a day of rest really makes a difference in my home and gives me the strength to do the daily grind the other 6 days of the week. Someone told me how they thought I was so good because I take the boys to church even when Ryan can't go. I must confess, I go because I need to go. If I don't go my week just doesn't go well AND I don't have the gumption to handle it either. When I do go I get my spiritual battery recharged and my week goes better and I feel better able to handle what comes at me and with 4 very boyish boys, I need all the help I can get. So I guess my point is it doesn't show how strong I am that I go, it shows how much I need to go.

Back in The Saddle

I got back at exercising yesterday. I started hurting last night and haven't stopped since. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to laugh. This is good pain though... I know it has a purpose and an outcome. It will be worth it but until then... OUCH! I took today off but back at it tomorrow. If I can move that is.

Empty Well

Ok so I know that I have heard it said many times that Moms need to take care of themselves or we aren't taking care of our family. I know that and I have always understood that but just the same when it comes to doing things for myself I feel guilty. My little ones don't understand and I feel guilty leaving them behind, especially if they are upset about it and they often are. I also hate coming home to "manland" which is Ryan's name for the mess I get to clean up when I come home to my 5 men. So... I rarely do anything for myself. I encourage Ryan to but I don't. I know, I'm a hypocrite. That being said...tomorrow I'm getting a pedicure. I need to be pampered. I need to refill my well. I guess I finally got it through my head that I need to do something for myself then I'll have more to draw from to give to the people in my life that need me. Here is where I feel like an idiot because I've been told so many times by so many people including Ryan and it's finally sinking in. My kids will be fine. The house will be fine and even Ryan will be fine. Truth be told, I'm not sure who to worry about more, the kids left with Ryan or Ryan left with the kids. I'm going to do it and I'm going to keep doing something(s) for myself to keep my well full.

MOVING DAY

So the reason I haven't written is that I have been incredibly busy... moving. I didn't want to move so combine that with the heat, I wasn't looking forward to it. The thought of leaving MY house with my big back yard and wood floors depressed me. I am so grateful for my wonderful friends who encouraged me like Tisha who helped us find a great house that we like alot and then helped us move and set up and even hang pictures. Like Carrie and Nancy and Bobby who came to help us move and clean, in the heat of the day mind you. Like Scott and Joel and the young men and their leaders Daniel and Chris who moved almost our entire house in one load including the boys swing set in the back yard, THEY ARE AWESOME!!! and by the way, what a great example they set for my boys. They were joking and cheerful and hardworking! What great people we are blessed to call friends and to know!!! The new house is nice and almost everything is put away. By next week we should be back to normal, I think. I have ALOT of cookies to bake and thank you cards to write!

ADVENTUROUS BOYS

Boys will be boys right? I never cease to be amazed by their creativity and adventurous spirit. They wanted to build a volcano in the sandbox. My only stipulation was they had to take off their clothes, I'm tired of hosing down crusty, muddy clothes and then washing them twice. They couldn't find a pipe to put into it and I wouldn't let them use the bike pump for fear of never being able to use it on the bikes again so they decided to bury the hose into it. To make it erupt they turned it on full blast and then stepped on it. When they got off the hose, water came shooting out. I thought that was pretty creative. I think this one wins the McGyver award though. In prep for our move this week we emptied our water barrels from our food storage into the grass. Who can lift 300 lb barrels and who would want to? Much better empty. Anyhow... I looked outside to see this yesterday...They took the double swing off the fort and made it a see saw on the water barrel. I especially liked that the older ones sat on the outside and helped the younger two to get on and be safer and still have fun. I'm so proud of them for including them and helping them have fun too. What great kids they are. Nevermind the complete disaster the yard is since they also built a teepee and many other adventures. It all cleans up and the memories are worth it.

a recipe for DISASTER!

What do you get when you mix 4 boys of various ages and agility levels, sticks, fresh air, and 4 very active imaginations with time on their hands? I don't know what you get but I get ALOT of "Kung- fu masters", "I'm dying, save me" 's, some sword fights complete with "Watch it, you hit my fingers!" and a home made teepee in the backyard that they are upset they can't campout in. By the way, I was not the rain cloud preventing the teepee campout, it just isn't big enough to sleep in and we don't have any bigger sticks. I'm pretty used to Jake and Caleb and even AJ sword fighting with sticks but when Levi picked up the broom and AJ was forced to defend himself I had to laugh. I'm probably a horrible mom for not intervening but I figure AJ has picked on and pestered the rest of them for so long... well it was funny to watch anyway and luckily for AJ and me, Levi wasn't in it for blood, just fun. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy my boys!? They are so much fun to have around and so entertaining!

Firehouse Visit

Jake has only one thing left to do to finish his wolf badge. This is from the second to last thing he had to finish. We went on a firehouse tour today. Can I say again how much I LOVE living in a small town. I called the town fire department last week and I had 3 return calls to schedule a tour. The fire captain gave worked with me even when I had to cancel and reschedule a couple of times. He gave me his personal cell phone number so that I would be able contact him easier to schedule a tour. Today, our rescheduled day, I called and he called me back after training and we came in for wonderful tour with not just Jake of course but all 4 kids. The guys were awesome! They got to sit in the firetruck and check out all of the equipment and the bunks and the "cave"/tv room. Thanks so much to the guys at Buckeye fire 701! You guys are awesome!!!!

Trace Adkins!!!

We listen to the radio ALOT. I much prefer the radio to the TV, probably because I can't stand still long enough to follow an entire tv show and the 30 second bits I catch as I walk through the room are pointless. Anyhow earlier this week while we were listening to KMLE they announced that Trace Adkins would be at Cabela's today for a couple of hours. I'm not one of those people who idolizes celebrities since I figure they are just normal people with no privacy. Anyhow, the boys got all excited about it and begged to go and see him. Caleb, "Mom, I've never met a country star, I really want to." Jake, " me too." Suffice to say I was not relishing the thought of standing in a line for who knows how long with 4 children to get an autograph, nevermind that it was around lunch time and nap time. That being said, we went anyway with the understanding that if they misbehaved, we would leave immediately. They didn't misbehave and we got to take a quick pic with him. He signed Jake's hat and a picture for us. I love that he makes me look small!

Happy Birthday Caleb!!!

Don't laugh! Caleb wanted a camoflage cake and this was my first attempt. It looks pretty gross but it actually tasted pretty good and Caleb loved it. I should have taken another picture after I moved the soldiers around and spread them out, it looked better then but oh well. Caleb had a great time with his friends and like I said really liked his cake.

I love Caleb so much. He is such a sweet spirit and a great big brother. I often hear him comforting AJ and Levi and even this morning after Levi hit him with some unknown object, I was out of the room, I heard him start to get mad, then stop and calm himself and when Levi started to hit him again, it's a game for him lately, he told him calmly and gently, "no, that hurts brother." Last week AJ got in trouble and they were in their rooms for bed alone and AJ was crying and I heard Caleb singing "I Am A Child Of God" to him and telling him the story of Daniel in the lion's den, his favorite bedtime story and to calm down that I would be in the room soon, I was putting Levi to bed in his bed. I thought it was so neat that without me there, he kept up our bedtime routine. It amazes me how Caleb can sometimes completely exasperate me and drive me to the brink and sometimes he is the best thing in the world. Every night he gives me a carefully orchestrated series of kisses, it's always the same pattern ( a little OCD?) and always close to 15 kisses before he goes to sleep. It's sort of like our secret handshake. He is tender and sensitive and tough as nails all in one. I love him so much and thank the Lord for sharing this little spirit with me every day. Happy Birthday Caleb!

CONGRATULATIONS KARLA AND GREG

Ryan's sweet sister was married on Saturday August first in Alpine Arizona to a wonderful man named Greg. She looked like a princess and he was her dashing prince. We are all so happy for them and wish them the best in their new adventure!!! We have decided that Alpine is heaven on Earth.

THE LAVA TUBES

On our way home from UT we stopped in Flagstaff for a night. I LOVE camping, it's so relaxing and free for the kids to be able to play and make noise and run all over and just be boys. That being said, a night in a hotel was welcome after sleeping with spiders for 3 nights. The next day we went to the Lava Tubes. This was as far as AJ would go even with flashlights. It didn't help that it was downright COLD in there and we were not prepared for that.AJ had plenty of fun climbing on the rocks outside of the cave in the daylight.

Caleb loved it.

Jake loved it too.

OnE CrAzY BuSy JuLy!!!

So I was incredibly excited about our Maher family reunion and then shortly before that we found out that my sweet Sister In Law Karla was engaged and getting married August First!!! That is another post! We camped in Hatch, UT. So beautiful. The weather was beautiful, just when it would start to get hot, the clouds rolled in and the breeze kicked up and cooled us all off. We hung out and ate ice cream at Henri's in Panguitch, I highly recommend it! We went to Bryce, see my stud husband at one of the lookouts. Getting all the kids looking in the same direction at the same time is impossible but thank you to Karla for trying! I love just hanging out and camping with friends and family. Pioneer Day in Utah is nothing to miss and so of course there were fireworks which the kids loved, most of them at least.We roasted marshmellows, had dutch oven cobbler and laughed ALOT!!!We hiked to a cave and waterfall where the kids and parents alike had fun in the water. It was amazingly clear and beautiful.
Mostly we just spent time together and had a good time. I'm so glad we went. We are already talking about where to go next year. HMMM!

FAITH

I think I have strong faith but sometimes it's challenged. This was one of those weeks. It's not that this was a particularly difficult week or even the roughest I've had this month, just that when you feel like you are doing the right thing, sometimes it still doesn't go the way you expect it to and well... you know. So Ryan bought a truck 2 weeks ago tomorrow. It was a big deal for us since it's a lot of money for us, maybe not for others but for us it was. He looked at it on Friday and we prayed all weekend whether it was THE right truck. We both felt like it was. He bought it on Monday. On Tuesday it broke down. The readers digest version is we've now spent even more money we weren't counting on to fix the truck we thought was the right truck. Ryan has been very upset and even I, the optimistic one, have been having a difficult time. Until Thursday night. I decided to get over myself and realized that just because it seemed confusing doesn't mean we were wrong and I needed to be more faithful and less worried. On Friday morning things started happening and looking up to dip again on Saturday evening but up again today. It's amazing how the Lord knows what we need and when we have faith, everything works out somehow, usually because of other people in our lives and promptings followed. Again today, my faith is at full strength and I am humbled one more time.

BUTTHEAD

My wonderful husband has a dysfunctional way of showing affection, for example, if he isn't pestering me I know he is mad at me. He rarely calls me by name, even when I'm in trouble he calls me HONEY instead of honey. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago he jumped all over Caleb for something, I can't remember what but I'm sure he deserved it. Anyway afterwards he sat down with him and talked it out and made up so to speak and then rustled his hair and called him Butthead. I explained to Caleb after Ryan left for work that his dad has a weird way of showing affection and that when he calls him names like butthead and goober and stuff he is really saying "I love you" and that he does it to me too. Ever since then, I have 3 little boys running around the house calling me and everyone else butthead. It's AJ's new favorite word, that and slimo. So... now what do I do?

Swim Relay Finals

Jake and Caleb had their relay finals last night. I was so disappointed that I couldn't go but my awesome friend Kaci took them since her sweet Bristyn was also swimming, even though it was for a different team, traders! just kidding! It killed me to not go, the only meet I've missed but I knew Levi wouldn't be able to sit through it or AJ and we didn't have way there since Ryan's truck is in the shop and he had to work. Anyway... as you can see.. the boys did awesome!!!! Caleb got second place for backstroke in his first relay and first place for his freestyle relay!!! He cracks me up in this picture. He was trying to look cool. I think he looks like the Fonz. Jake got third place in his freestyle relay and seventh in his second relay for breaststroke. That surprised me because his breaststroke is really good, one of his best. He cracks me up, he was so excited. I was excited to hear all about it when they got home, they were excited to stay up late and tell me about it. GOOD JOB GUYS!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU FOR DOING YOUR BEST!!!!