Hero worship

3 and 45

I just realized it has been a while since my last annoying post and it was definitely time for another. I believe this makes three. The first two being this one and this one. I am so kind that I gave you two numbers this time. Have at it.

Oh and someone recently asked how many more days until this is over. Too many for me for sure. It was a seriously doofy idea, but I've got to see it through. So to answer your question, I believe there are ninety-three days left. Which is less than ninety-four. Phew.

Caption please

Memorial Day hike

We spent the day with some fabulous friends slash family at a place called Purgatory Chasm.
Sounds happy doesn't it? Actually it was absolutely awesome. We are definitely headed back
sometime soon. Jacob said he could have spent several more hours there for sure.

And now on to the reason you are here...pictures.

One of the first shots of the hike. This is how the entire hike looked (although this was
one of the calmer spots). Huge rocks and cliffs and crevasses. Kind of like a chasm.
 But only one you would find in purgatory.

Sweet Ben did great. It is a bit difficult to carry around a seventeen-month old, while
traversing huge boulders, but Jacob did just fine. If it tells you his arms or shoulders
were tired, I think he is just dramatic. It really didn't look that hard to me.

Our little GQ mountain goat. This kid is not only cute as can be, but climbed up and
down gargantuan rocks like they were small pebbles. Or his little brother.

This little one is still as sweet as she looks. But don't let her incredible cuteness fool you.
She is tough. Seriously tough. Pink hat, rainbow on her shirt? All for show, folks.

It is a miracle we actually have a shot of handsome Cam (thanks to Jacob) as he was
moving too fast the entire time to photograph. I'm not sure there was a bottomless
pit that he didn't climb into. This boy was just plain awesome.

The kids during snack time. You didn't know climbing over rocks for hours turns your
teeth orange did you? Neither did I. You also didn't know that trying to come up with
funny captions for several different pictures makes you sound like a dork did you?
Neither did I. Until now.

The whole crew, minus the beautiful and talented photographer. But don't worry, seeing my
incredible skills is enough. Actually witnessing a picture of me would take away from my
awesomeness. Not that these people are any less awesome because they are in a picture.
They are really awesome. Truly they are. Ahem, I'm not sure that went very well.

Thanks so much guys! We sure had a great time!

Lost

Do any of you watch the television show Lost? Jacob and I are not huge TV watchers. I have a hard time sitting through it when I have other things to do. (Okay, so Jacob would argue I have a hard time sitting through it in general and he would be right. I don't like to do only one thing at a time and sitting and watching TV or a movie often annoys me.) Jacob will occasionally watch TV, but more often than not, if he has the TV on, soccer is being played. But several years ago, we started watching a show (well, we watched DVDs of a show) that everyone told us was fabulous and we really enjoyed it. If I remember correctly, we watched three or four seasons and liked it super much.

So thinking that would be a fun thing to do together again, we decided to request the first season of Lost from Netflix and tonight we watched the pilot. And now I am curious how many of you out there are Lost fans. Because I'm thinking I might be watching this for a while yet. All I can say is what in the world...?

Balloons, wishes and cuteness

How much do I love our backyard?

In the front yard

Prayer and patience

Rather than our regular church meetings this morning, we were able to watch the broadcast of a meeting that was being held in Salt Lake City, Utah, but came to us by satellite. The first speaker, Elder Bruce D. Porter, gave an absolutely incredible talk. I have no doubt it will remain one of my favorite talks ever. And not just because of the following story he told at the beginning.

A Primary teacher gathered her class together at the beginning of the lesson. One of the young students was asked to give the opening prayer.

The little boy began.

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the letter A. And thank you for the letter B. And thank you for the letter C..."

The teacher, realizing where this was going, wondered what she should do. This could turn out to be a very long prayer. She decided to be patient and let him finish it out. Sure enough, he went through every letter of the alphabet. The teacher breathed a sigh of relief as the letter Z was said.

And then the little boy continued.

"And thank you for the number one. And thank you for the number two..."

The teacher really started to panic. She didn't know how high the boy could count. But patiently, she let him continue and was relieved when he stopped at twenty.
And then these words closed his prayer.

"And Heavenly Father, thank you for my Primary teacher. Because she is the only grown up who has ever let me finish my prayer."

Matt's 5th birthday party

Matt's 5th birthday party finally happened. His birthday was back in March, but we had talked to him about waiting for several weeks until the weather was good enough to use our back yard. I think we were all glad we did as it made for a super fun time!

We are pretty simple in the party department, but I still felt like it was fun for everyone involved. Matt chose to invite all of his friends from preschool and most everyone was able to make it. The general theme was animals and we had a fun animal hunt (choosing to use photos rather than real animals), sticker tag and pin the beak on the toucan. We opened presents from his kind friends and then had birthday cake. There were even a few minutes left at the end for the kids to run around and become completely exhausted before going home with their parents. His little friends were so darling and it was just a happy day for all of us. Thanks to everyone who came and made his day so wonderful!

We sure love you Matthew boy!

Show up

My sweet friend, Michelle, posted this story a few days ago.
It made me cry.

I've thought about it almost constantly in the days since. And it has filled me with profound gratitude.
Because nine, seven, five and one years ago, my babies showed up. And that really is enough.

This man I love

In just a few minutes, I am headed to bed. Only about an hour later that I should be. But I couldn't go to bed until I wrote about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. He goes by the name of Jacob. And he means everything to me.

Tonight, when my head hits the pillow, I will be lying in an absolutely spotless house. Jacob spent Saturday (while Annie and I were off with the horses) cleaning the house from top to bottom. I mean vacuuming, dusting, mopping, bathrooms, everything. I'm not sure any mama out there could tell you a better gift they have received.

And if that wasn't enough, he spent this entire day making sure I had an amazing breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh, and of course dessert, because I definitely needed more to eat. He also insisted I have a nap and take some time to just read. And as I type these words, the dishwasher is going and the entire house is completely clean and tidy. Ready for me to wake up to its loveliness in the morning.

And while I appreciate all of the above, and you better believe I do, guess what is the absolutely best thing he did for me? He married me. And then gave me four incredible souls. I know, overwhelming isn't it? I'm doing my best to be grateful, but there are days like today that I'm just not sure I am even close to there. But don't fret, there is fabulous news.

I have eternity to keep trying.

And seriously, he is super handsome too.
Boy oh boy did I win the lottery.

The reason I celebrate today

Can I tell you why I love this picture?

Because I get to be mom to these four incredible souls. Because they are smiling and happy and oh so very cute. Because not all of them are looking in the same direction, as usual. Because each of the above darling kids came to me separately with something they had made me for my special day. And it was made with their own two hands and with paper, markers and some tape. Because the look of anticipation and happiness on their face when I opened their present, made me both laugh and feel emotional at the same time. Because when I woke up from my Mother's Day nap, each of them had left a message on our answering machine about why they loved me. And they tried so hard to pretend like it wasn't them, but their sweet face couldn't help but give it away. And their messages made me cry.

And one of the reasons I will love this picture forever is because sweet Annie is smiling her best, in spite of having the stomach flu the night before and a fever and bleeding nose this very morning. And this picture reminds me that her sickness didn't ruin my Mother's Day, but truly made it all that more meaningful.

When sweet Jacob came into the bathroom this morning and told me he would take care of it because it was my day off, I wanted to do it. I wanted to take care of my little girl. It was Mother's Day after all and that is what I signed up for nine and a half years ago. The fevers and the bleeding noses and the falls and the heartaches and the nightmares at midnight. And the joy and the happiness and the first words and the first steps and the overwhelming gratitude. I would not trade it for the world. Not a second of it.

Especially this mismatched-looking-two-different-places-some-kids-in-church-clothes-some-in-pajamas-smiling-at-their-mom picture. Because these four sweethearts are the reason I celebrate today.

The happiest day of Annie's life

This morning, Annie went horseback riding with her darling best friend. Instead of a big birthday party, this cute friend decided she would rather spend the morning horseback riding, just the two of them. I'm telling you, it was, without question, one of my favorite mom moments ever!

The girls were so happy and so sweet about the whole thing. The instructors were absolutely awesome and had the girls controlling their horses perfectly within minutes. They taught them to ride correctly, then had them go through several obstacle courses, then took them out into the woods for a trail ride. Ahh, it was just amazing.

Yes, I have attached several pictures. And while nine may seem like a lot for a blog post, please be impressed that it is far less than the original number of photos taken. Like 426 less. Cut me some slack please. My baby was riding a horse, for goodness' sake.

Happy, happy, happy day for sure!

Please hold your applause

Thank you (bowing). Thank you very much (more bowing). I am really just speechless.

And a special thanks to my friend, Jenn, for her nomination (still bowing).

Choosing favorites

Tonight at the dinner table we covered an array of subjects. Somehow the topic of China came up.

"Did you know," Jacob asked the kids, "that in China parents can only have one child?"

The kids were rightfully shocked and asked several follow-up questions.

And then from Annie, "Dad, if we lived in China, which one of us would you keep?"

Baby names

Tonight I was talking to my grandma on the phone and we started
on the discussion of baby names. We were laughing at some of the interesting ones we have encountered. And not just outlandish and crazy, but some poor children who have parents that seemingly did not say their first and last names together enough times to realize how it sounded. It made me wonder what are some of the best you have heard? And remember, please keep your remarks tasteful, this is a family blog you know.But really, if it is too inappropriate to share on this blog, I pity the poor child that carries that name around their whole life.

Bowling baby

Yesterday morning Matt asked me if I wanted to play bowling with him on the Wii.
Well really, who wouldn't want to? It was great fun and once again, I was schooled by a
five-year old. While we were playing, Ben showed up and decided he wanted a part of the
action. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. Because they sure made me laugh.

I really should have been on Broadway

I very much love music. And I love a variety of music. But there are a few songs or CDs that make me especially happy and have the ability to instantly bring back memories.

I recently bought the Les Miserables CD on Ebay for the grand amount of six dollars. I'm not a big Ebayer, but was reminded of this CD recently and went looking to see what I could find. Do you know how much I love the music from Les Mis? A lot. It reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of standing in my room, with the music up as loud as possible (but only when my parents were gone), singing at the top of my lungs. And to my dramatic teenage self, I had a good voice. No, actually a GREAT voice. For those that have heard my voice, this is funny on so many, many levels.

Anyway, the second I put the CD into our player a few days ago, I went back in time. Back to a time when the drama of high school was super real and deathly important. Back to a time when I thought my life would end if I didn't get straight A's in every subject, every semester. Back to a time when I drove a small gray truck that would stall at stop signs and shake convulsively whenever you drove above fifty miles per hour. Back to a time when Jacob Allen playing soccer made my heart beat fast (still does). Back to a time when I would listen to songs on this particular CD and think they were the most romantic songs I had ever heard. Back to a time when life was incredibly simple, but I was too young to realize it.

Happy memories, funny memories, embarrassing memories, just plain fabulous memories...

Speaking of Les Mis, I have this huge desire to read and watch it again. Reading no problem, but which movie version is the best? I'm not sure I've seen any of them and I'm not planning on attending the live show anytime soon. Any thoughts?

My boy

This morning my baby sat on my lap while I answered some emails. He was wearing his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt that looked a little small on him. I knew this because his chubby little belly stuck out above his diaper. Although that could just be because he seemed extra hungry this morning. His hair stood up in the back, in every place that his pillow had touched. He had crumbs on his cheeks from breakfast. He kept pointing and laughing at the computer. Over and over, he would turn around to look at me, his big blue eyes looking out from under his insanely long eyelashes. And I had one of those incredible moments of complete happiness and teary emotion—all mixed perfectly into one.

From the deepest part of my heart, I love being a mom.

Like father, like son

Some of you might remember this post. Apparently this is a gene. Last Friday, Campbell came home from school with a treat from his teacher. Before they left school that day, she had given each of them a piece of candy and told them to have a wonderful spring break. After arriving home, Cam showed me what his teacher had given him and then proceeded to take it up to his room for later. (Later? My life handbook says there is no such word when it comes sugar.) And there it sat, in plain site, for seven days. Unopened. (Seriously, there are times like these when I wonder if I am truly his mother.)

This morning, I went to check that his room was clean and noticed that finally, his spring break reward had been opened. And a bite had been taken. (One bite. I mean really, where did I go wrong?) And as of this evening, there has still only been one bite out of that piece of licorice. To be honest, I really shouldn't be surprised. He has candy in his treasure box that has been there for months and months. I once had a piece of candy that went uneaten for two hours. But I think I was away from the house and couldn't get to it.

So near as I can tell, the moral of the story is...if you have anything that contains sugar that you need "watched" for a minute, you might want to avoid using me as your sucrose babysitter. I would highly recommend Jacob or Cam though. They seem to have some crazy, nonhuman control when it comes to food of the sugared variety. Skinny little punks.