A Birthday, Easter and other Egg-citing Events

 Today is Easter and it has been a fun and special day.  But, lets not start with today, lets take an Easter bunny hop (bwahaha) back to the beginning of March.

The Provo City Temple completed construction and was open to the public recently.  We visited this historic and beautiful building as a family.  It was the first time all of us were in the temple together and it was great.  I want to say it was a highly spiritual experience for all, and there were times when it was.  There were other moments where say, one of the little people was bored and asking where the "play place" was inside!

I am grateful for the little glimpse of eternity we had that day.  

Brenna and I had tickets to Frozen on Ice.  It was a blast!  She may have covered my mouth when I tried to sing along, but all in all, it was a fun show.

We didn't get to meet the characters, I mean they were busy hobbling around on skates, you know.  But, on another occasion this month, the two littles and I got to meet Darth Vader.  

Harrison is obsessed with Star Wars, so our neighbor invited us to their elementary to be a part of their reading rewards event.  I thought he would be ecstatic.  Nope, mostly he was terrified, but he did hum the Imperial March for the remainder of the day...for real.  

Katelee and Brenna spent two weeks enrolled in community theatre school.  

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We love this program and were so happy to get to do it with friends from the hood.  Brenna was a little Siamese child in a scene from "The King and I."  Her dramatic scene was from 'Cinderella,' where she wowed the audience as a little mouse who exclaimed "Cinderell-y".  Brenna loved her acting debut and we loved watching her. Katelee was a bush, yes she was covered in greenery in a dramatic scene from "Wiley and the Hairy Man."  She also had a lot of solo singing parts in a song from "Flat Stanley" called "I Wish I Were."  She was a star!  It was spot on and fun.  She nailed it!

She had a really fun week because shortly after her performances-our lucky lady turned 9 on St Patrick's Day!! We always have a lot of fun on her birthday in our green motif.  She was awakened  earlier than normal due to the smoke detectors when I was baking her muffins (more on our kitchen smoke fiasco later), went to school for Grandparents Day and came home for dinner with Shannon, Grandma and our family friend, Linda. 

Katelee had been anticipating her gift for ages.  She had big dreams of owning a mini moped scooter.  We told her if she saved $100, we would cover the rest.  So, she did.  She worked, she saved and she did it! The response was as bubbly as we expected.  

She zipped around and has been riding it daily.  Her little bro and sis are always hitching a ride.  It is a lot of fun!

Of course, there was cake

 

and ice cream and other gifts from family.  We also got a surprise visit from Gage,so that made for a fun night.

It was an all around fabulous day.  Katelee decided not to have a friend birthday party, but to spend an evening with her familia at a new rock climbing center for kids.  Funtopia has all sorts of walls and adventures to explore. 

 

The big kids had a blast.  Dave ended up taking Harrison to the park and gas station because we knew that harness and scaling up a wall 

was not going to happen for him.  Brenna at age 2 probably could have done it (without a harness), but it just didn't feel right for him!  After our hour time slot was expired, we went out to the birthday girl's favorite restaurant-California Pizza Kitchen.  

Katelee is extremely dramatic-hence her success in theatre school!  She is so smart, kind, helpful and very goofy.  She is always there when I need her and very creative.  We love her dearly!!

Dave traveled quite a bit at the beginning of the month.  I thought I would start off our dad-less weeks with a bang...or with some flames, at least!  

This...

resulted in ...

Yea, I tried to clean that batter out, but most of it got into the slots where the gas ignites.  When I turned on the cleaning cycle, the entire oven was flaming.  The door was locked, so I couldn't use the fire extinguisher.  Smoke was coming out the sides, back and knowing it was gas, I thought I better just call the fire dept.  While smoke was filling our main floor, every detector beeping, Harrison was just laying on the carpet watching tv with his hands over his ears.  I told Grant to grab Harrison and run to the Taylor's so we could call 911.  I turned off the cleaning cycle, got outside and Grant expressed concern for all his stuff.  He told me it has taken YEARS to get all those legos.  I told him I was so glad he grabbed his brother instead.  In a truly touching moment, he said, "I love him more than legos."  That's a lot!  The girls came home from theatre practice to the excitement.  The fire burned down, no firefighters needed.  We slept with smoky eyes, but we were safe!  phew!  Plus, Grant said as he was running with Harrison in his arms, he felt like a hero.  So, picture in slow motion Grant shielding Harrison from the terror as he dashed to safety.  That's pretty much how it went down in his head.  

Speaking of super heroes...

There is this tough dude.  He loves Captain "Murica." 

Apparently, he also loves Elsa... hey, she is a hero too!

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Now, we are to the end of the month.  March Madness is appropriately titled because I kind of feel like that's how our past 30 days have been!  We have been focusing on Easter for the past week.  We had a small egg hunt at grandma's last week when it was family dinner, went to the city egg "hunt" (which is just chaos, but they love it!), had a family devotional this morning, basket finding and a special day at church learning about our Savior.  Here are the peeps all ready for Easter service...

 Dave did a photo shoot with  them while I was at choir...I'm laughing at this one below because he was trying to be all professional cheesy photo staging, telling the big kids to look adoringly at the little people.  Of course, Grant couldn't do that.  I can only imagine what face Brenna is making.  

They bring me joy.  Pull my hair out, 'I don't know if I can hold it together some days' kind of happiness.  I am thankful they make me grow and want to be better, to access the grace of God and be magnified in my roles.  I am eternally grateful for our Savior and his miraculous, charitable life.  He gave himself willingly, He is perfect.  He loves unconditionally.  Because of Him, all things are possible.  

 His gospel gives me perspective and peace that can't be duplicated.  I hope my kids all come to know He is the world's true hero.   

Love is a Battlefield

Everyday our house is a danger zone..you are in peril as you walk by Harrison who sings the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme) while swishing a light saber.  He has even made me change the words to the "Wheels on the Bus," substituting the cute preschool words for Katelee's gun or Grant's light saber, followed by sound effects that just sound pitiful coming out of my mouth.  We have a constant Nerf gun zone in and out of our house.  These events are mostly fun.  Then there is the real battle of parenting...which frequently ends up looking like this 

(I may have been the one in this position a couple of days ago) 

It's amazing that role that encompasses unconditional love in a way I couldn't explain, incurs daily battle scars.  There is also the struggle of who is the actual leader on this front?  I'd like to think it was me (partnered with Dave, of course)  but each child seems to want to usurp my "authority."  This little lady in particular wants to rule the roost.  

Here Brenna is on her birthday, posing as the self declared "Queen of Shopkins."  She recently told me she would like to live in another family.  When I asked if it was because I don't let her do everything she wants, she explained it is because, and I quote, "I don't let her rule the world."

We had a great time celebrating the Queen of Shopkins' 6th birthday.  We had a yummy dinner with drumsticks, peas, chocolate dipped strawberries, chips and she chose a merry go round cake.  

We  were all flattered that Brenna chose a family party this year instead of a friend gathering.  So, for an evening of family fun, we went to dinner at Zupas and then spent a couple of hours at Kangaroo Zoo.

Brenna is such a fun girl.  She provides a lot of comic relief to the house and a lot of mischief as well!  Brenna is outgoing and friendly, silly and extremely smart.  She is a fabulous performer and always has something to say.  We love  her so much!  

Harrison is big enough to climb up and down the slides now and he enjoyed every minute.  

Everyone had a great time going down the inflatables...except for Dave. He recently dislocated his shoulder (on the bunny hill for his first run snowboarding with Grant one Saturday! Yea, not something to be bragging about!).  He had to have Grant run to the medical clinic, carry all the gear and four people helped pop that stubborn shoulder back into its socket.  It was painful and a bummer-snowboarding season done for Dave this year.  But, I did dust off my skiing abilities and joined Grant a week later for a week on the slopes.  It was good times, except for the portion of the day we overestimated our abilities and ended up on runs that we should not revisit for a couple of years! 

Of course, in this season of love, there was Valentines Day.  The older kids made their Valentines boxes...

Grant's was a waste management garbage can.  Katelee's was pretty cute:

I can not even say how many times this box startled me.  Katelee had it sitting in her room for a week or so and when I would walk in or kiss her good night I would see this large body-less face staring at me.  I may have screamed a time or two!  Lucky for me, Brenna made her little bag in her class to collect Valentines cards.  

I didn't use to enjoy Valentine's Day.  I mean why do we need a designated day to tell people we love them?  But, you could argue that with many holidays...Thanksgiving-shouldn't we be grateful everyday?  4th of July-can we honor our country daily?  Christmas-the light of Christ can burn brightly wherever we are.  But, these days are good reminders of virtues and what is better than LOVE?! So, I embrace it much more now.  

We decorated the kids' doors and got them a tiny box of chocolates each.  Dave got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the girls a couple flowers too.  We had our special Valentines breakfast commemorating the momentous morning our fates met and we went on our first date, the two of us went out to dinner that weekend and on Valentines night we had our special candlelight dinner with the fam.  

The ladies are escorted to the table by the gentlemen and we talk about love...how we show love, about serving and maybe even about our crushes.  

We spotlighted each family member and said what we love about them.  Brenna had to stand up each time and give a small speech about each of us.  It was really thoughtful.  I had to try not to laugh out loud when she went on about Katelee-how she plays with her, how nice she is and how she is "almost as smart" as Brenna!

We toasted, had a dance -it really was a night to remember!

So, cheers to love!!  No matter the injuries involved, the battlefield of love is where we are.  The squabbles and pain are worth it.  Many times when the kids fight, I have them spend time together, maybe serve each other, and very often I make them hold hands and sing "We are a Happy Family."  They have to hug after and they typically HATE it!  But, we all need reminding that we do indeed love one another!  Ha!  Thanks Valentines day for the reminder!

A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Sometimes I feel like I live in a world of strange creatures. One of these beings is this one:

She feels things deeply and never wants to be in trouble.  She recently was shockingly sassy and I couldn't believe what she said to me.  Covered in apologies, literally plastered in 'I'm Sorry,'

 she had to win back my favor.

There has never been any doubt this one is from another planet, so we will just skip over her this time!

Then, there is the small one. 

 The one whose age appropriately clings to the description, "Terrible." One minute he is making us crack up, or astonishing us with his love of broccoli, when he refuses most food that doesn't include high doses of sugar; 

 The next minute he is screaming bloody murder, chucking things across rooms, or insisting on underwear when he really just wants to potty train for one day.  

Who can resist Yoda undies? I don't blame him.  He is obsessed with the Star Wars galaxy.  He can do every weapon's sound effect and demonstrates a light saber demise impressively.  While he was pseudo potty training and I had to place him on the throne, he was so mad, he passionately cried, "YOU DARF VADER."  Apparently, I was his sworn enemy.   

I feel like we entered hyper speed when I think of this one...

Did he just turn 10?  Actually, wasn't he just the size of the little guy behind him in the photo?  Well, despite the light speed that has carried us to this point, he just turned 11!

Gone are the days of cub scouts (which really is a whole other world in itself, who likes doing cheers where you pretend to spit watermelon seeds?! It is an odd universe, indeed!)

 He is growing up before our eyes, and yet we are experiencing deja vu because I know 5 years ago he had a Star Wars party, and here we are again.  

Dave took our eldest Jedi to see 'The Force Awakens' (for his second time), along with some of his buddies-Cameron, Tyson, Easton, Kyle and Matthew.   

Of course, a battle ensued when they returned and I felt grateful they can still be 'little' padawans.' I know these moments are becoming few and far between...eek I just realized that uses the word 'tween.'  Yea, we are there.  

This boy got his first personal electronic device and couldn't be more thrilled.  He has taken up Snowboarding a little more this season, and loves it.  He did not enjoy his trip up with Dave yesterday, which was supposed to be for Grant's birthday.  On their first warm up round, just going down the bunny hill, Dave biffed it and ended up in the resort clinic with a dislocated shoulder.  Ouch for him, bummer for them both.  Luckily, I am going to dust of my skiing skills (which haven't been tapped into for 10 years) and  take him up again this weekend.  Grant loves to tease, hates to do homework and piano, but he is a great student at both.  He has enjoyed junior jazz this season, has grown into a fun tennis player, and is excited for soccer to start up again.  He is a loyal friend with a tender heart and a desire to be good.  He will never join the dark side!  

Grant loves the winter weather and it is so fun to see all the caves/tunnels/forts that dot our yard and the Taylors' across the street. 

We are so happy Grant is a part of our family.  He is so important to us all.  His little apprentice in combat looks forward everyday to their battles...then Harrison ends up screaming, but soon, it will be fun for all! 

I swear I exist in a galaxy far, far away, where I am in a perpetual 24 year old loop.  How I came to be 35 with kids and responsibilities that are far reaching into eternity, I cannot grasp.  So, I just take it day by day, seem to play house with Dave and enjoy my birthday creme brulee!  Because, hey, what else can ya do?!

Holiday Hoopla

Well, despite the lack of posting or capturing with photos, Thanksgiving did indeed happen in 2015.  We were in Utah for Thanksgiving and enjoyed dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's.  My favorite tradition in November is writing our 'thankful-fors' (as Brenna says) on our chalkboard every night. We are each color coded and each evening we share something we are grateful for.  While the comments range from indoor plumbing to family, each gift is such a blessing.  We start the Christmas holidays with full hearts as we have paused to see all we have been given.  December is always so busy.  Somehow this time around, I wanted to ignore that fact.  I didn't get around to family pictures, Christmas cards, some of our yearly goodies or shopping with any time to spare!  But, even if I didn't move forward, all of our activities still did.  

Brenna had her ballet recital.

She had her perma-grin plastered on her face and had the cutest part in the dance.  All the other little girls jumped into a Jack-in-the Box and she bent over and blew a kiss.  She loved it.  

She takes dance with her friend Kinley.  Dave may have snoozed through the performance, saying ballet is not his thing, but what he saw, he was impressed with!!  

We crashed our neighbor's family Christmas party because they are friends with the real Santa whom we have had breakfast with the past few years.  

Santa brought his book from the North Pole that his elves put together that tells him what the kids are needing to work on to get on the NICE list.  Harrison looks BUSTED!

Every night Brenna would wonder if she would make it on the nice list, she was convinced she wouldn't.  Last night, when putting her to bed, I asked her, "Will you be nice to me tomorrow?"  She said,"I would like to.  But that's just not something I can do."  

Katelee's big requests were earrings and gumballs...Santa was pretty sure he could arrange that.  Grant sat on Santa's lap and decorated the gingerbread houses the hosts had planned.  His consisted of murdered gingerbread men who were dismembered and beheaded, we were so proud.  

And of course, the month was filled with holiday festivities...viewing the lights at temple square, touring the Candy Cane Corner store, sitting in line for an hour to see the Thanksgiving Point lights (because it was free night, I mean we saved $5-Dave thought he was going to go insane), the Mormon Tab choir concert for me, Christmas caroling at a care center with friends, a BYU bowl game for Dave,

 holiday movies and parties, cookies and candy...

Just lots of fun!  Of course, our busiest weekend ended up with two Instacare visits (kidney infection for Katelee, croup for Harrison-which resulted in missing a diving meet..that was a big deal).  The same day, Brenna came down with the pukes, our car wouldn't start and AAA had to come jump it, Dave was gone at a BYU basketball game some of the day, but we made it through those 24 hours.  Then, we all got the stomach virus.  Tis the season!!

A big highlight for Grant was seeing Star Wars.  I know this impressed upon his soul because after we came home from the movie, he said family prayer and it went a little something like this...

'We are so grateful we got to see Star Wars tonight.  We feel so honored.'  Dave also took the older three to Goosebumps over the break.  It is a PG rating and I had seen it, so I wasn't worried about Brenna, but she has been concerned about the villain (a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy) since she saw it.  The other day she said to me, "mom, you remind me of Slappy." I was taken back and could not figure what Slappy and I have in common.  When I asked her how and why, she replied, "well, you are kind of a dummy."  WHAT?!!  She calmly explained to me that's what he is called.  I'm so sure that was all she meant.  Honestly, she is five folks.  I am in trouble.  

We had lots of snow the week of Christmas so the kids enjoyed the winter wonderland for hours on end.  Christmas Eve we went to the Petrick's for a party and came home watching Santa's journey on the internet.  The kids went to bed without a fuss (we thought we were all going to have melatonin that night!) and got up bright and early,but they knew they couldn't come into our room until 7.  Harrison had no clue what was going on, but it was magical for everyone.  Grant got a snowboard and gear, nerf gun and legos to name a few gifts.  Some of Katelee's highlights were: a karaoke machine, legos, earring and gumballs (THANK YOU SANTA!).  Brenna loved her lego set, ever after high dolls and crafts.  But, I'd say her favorite is her white board and markers.  Go figure.  Harrison got a few toys but once he found his mini Captain America doll in his stocking, nothing else mattered.

We had our quiche breakfast, 

lounged around most of the day till after Harrison's nap.  When he woke up, we went sledding with Brandon, Malia and Jack.  The sledding fun lasted .3 minutes for Harry.   He was not a fan.  But, the others seemed to enjoy it.  Amy and Mark came over later for dinner and games.  It was a fantastic day!

I am so glad that we get to carry on the fun through New Years.  We had a New Years Eve party with the Sorensons.

We had a ton of food, games, activities (musical chairs, bingo, minute to win it challenges) and stayed until a little after 10.  

Harrison seemed to be going strong, but I wanted to put him to bed, so off to sleep he went and the rest of us awaited the countdown.  Brenna asked if she HAD to stay up till midnight, luck for her, I let her fall asleep at 11:40 ;).  She was oh, so close.  And now, we are trying to recover and get back to the day to day routine.  The kids were so not happy about going back to school, but they seem to have survived the last few days! 

As another year ends and one begins, naturally I reflect on where we have been, what we have been through and where I am going on my journey here in life.  I can say I had a realization that while we have had some really tough things the past year or two, I know I will look back and remember these as my fondest years...having all my kids home, enjoying the magic of the season, seeing their joy, experiencing and feeling love and service together.  I know that I am living the best years of my life and I am overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude.  I know marriage, motherhood, life happens.  But I don't want it to just happen, I want to make it happen, to be a part of whereever I am.  For now, I am not letting the best days of my life go by, but I am making  them the best years of my life...I hope!