5.31.2009

Slippers & Cleats

Dance Recital 2009




Nora with a nervous stomach...

...but trying to make the best of it.

Will feeling left out of the action.

Switch gears and run over to the soccer game (notice that she's still wearing stage make-up)



Grandma Conna's wedding

Welcome to the family Grandpa Jerry!
Conna and Jerry with all the grandkids


Kristy and Kelly's fam

Scott & Lori's fam










After the wedding we took a moment to visit loved ones lost.
It was, after all, Memorial Day weekend.


5.30.2009

Trip to 'Rado (as Will calls it)

We recently took a weekend trip to Grand Junction, CO to visit our fabulous friends. Oh how we love the Vances and Jolleys! Good times.
me, Nate, Angie, Kennan, Tyler, Jeena

Tanner, Kaden, David, Tess, Nora, Will, Carson, Lauren, Carter, Preston





As part of the trip Jeena, Angie and I did a 12-mile muddy buddy run. (The people of Grand Junction as a whole are annoyingly in shape.) We all split up into teams of 2. One partner ran for a mile while the other biked and then we switched at each mile mark. (Or at least that's the idea. Some of the miles weren't very well marked.) Well guess what- I did it. (Yes, me!) And it was even uphill for the first 6 miles. I'm sure no one will ever believe me because I don't have any physical proof of this experience. But I was even smiling at the finish line. I drew a picture of it here:


Nate also got some great mountain biking in and he has the scars to prove it.
Thanks Vances and Jolleys for another FUN weekend!

Miss Tess Turns 8

I cannot believe I have an 8 year-old. Seriously when did this happen??


Tess made her own birthday banner. I would feel bad that she felt she had to make her own decorations except that this was on the wall about a week before the actual date. Tess likes to be prepared when it comes to her birthday. We talk of little else for 2-3 months prior to the event.
I made her wait while I took this picture of her presents. Pure torture for Tess.
Ahh, the moment she's been waiting for.


We had a fun party for her at Farimont Aquatic Center. 9 of her friends came. I forgot the camera. Surprised? Me neither. But luckily Nate was able to snap a few shots with his i-phone.




Things I never want to forget about 8 year-old Tess:
  • "Mom- Art is my passion!"
  • She will NOT let me throw away toilet paper/paper towel rolls, empty boxes or canisters, etc. "Mom I can create something with these!!" She seems to have a particular interest in 3-dimensional art.
  • She does the messiest schoolwork. (Love you Messy Tessie!) Her teacher and I have both tried to work with her on this, but she doesn't seem to care much what we think. I've decided that she believes every sheet of paper is a blank canvas on which to draw. She colors in her letters, adds embellishments, writes some words small and others big. It's very artistic when you stand back and look at it- it's just difficult to read. :)
  • She insists on decorating her room with gaudy toys and stuffed animals despite my protests... "But Tess that just isn't cute!" And there is no such thing as the phrase "less is more." More is always more with Tess.
  • She regularly goes through the garbage can and says, "Mom! You're throwing this away?!? How could you??" Honestly, I can't imagine what that child's house is going to look like when she's the boss. (Oh wait, she IS the boss.)
  • She waits for me in her bed, writing in her journal, while I tuck the boys in. Then we cozy up in her bed (me, Nora and Tess) for reading time. She reads the pages on the left and I read the ones on the right. It's a fun end-of-day routine.
  • Tess is very emotionally mature. She understands and processes feelings well beyond her years.
  • She's a great big sister! She invents games and activities that can keep the younger kids entertained for hours.

We LOVE you Tess! Thanks for keeping us laughing and guessing for 8 incredible years.

5.20.2009

New names

Please note: the 'triplets' have changed their names...

Nora....Aurora
Will.....Diego
And the boy formerly known as David will now be called.... Duck Duck Goose Head.


In other news...Miss Tess turned 8! Post on that to come as well as our trip to 'Rado.
And a BIG congrats to Dori and Brian on their beautiful baby boy, Harrison, born May 8, 2009.

5.04.2009

Coercion...denied & Best of April

I promise Nora has a song about how much she loves her mom. I guess no one will ever hear it but me. Sigh.








Other highlights of April:
  • Going to Women's Conference and hearing my good friend, the amazingly amazing Amy, speak on "Come What May and Love It." I was furiously taking notes and then she got up to speak and I was so completely captivated that I forgot to write anything after that. Amy will be a future Gen Relief Society Pres. Mark my words.
  • Helping my other cute friend, Katie, with the service project at Women's Conf. Katie is just a bright ray of sunshine. She's always smiling. What a doll! We made crowns and wands for little girls in hospitals and the foster care system.


(Amy and Katie are part of our "other family"- the Springers. We've known them since our days in Illinois. Love you Springers!!)

  • Seeing this name plaque outside the door of Nate's office for the first time:


Incidentally we had gone to the hospital to get the rhinestone removed from Nora's nose.

  • Seeing these lying around the house, always caked with fresh mud:
Nate bought himself a new mountain bike and it's been hard to wipe the smile off his face ever since. (Although he did have a hard time getting used to the clip in pedals. The kids kept coming into the house saying, "Mom- Dad fell again!" which they found pretty dang funny.)
  • Overhearing this conversation from the back of the car:
    Will (to David who was whining about who-knows-what): David, you need to be a peacemaker.
    David: I don't wanna be a peacemaker. I wanna be a troublemaker.
    Will: But David, it makes Jesus happy when we are peacemakers.
    David: But I DON'T WANNA BE A PEACEMAKER! I WANNA BE A TROUBLEMAKER!!!
    It just goes to show that all those times I thought my little lessons were in vain... the kiddos really were listening. And not just jumping on the couch as it appeared.
    Now does anyone have any ideas about the troublemaker part?? Do you think that the person that coined the phrase "terrible two's" never had a 4 year old?? (Or three of them?)
  • Oh and get this...Nate came home today and said, "Look! I got these 7 pairs of pants for just $45." "Wow, that's incredible" I said. And then I looked at the tag. "Oh no you did NOT." "What?" he replied, "There's nothing wrong with the D.I."

And yet another reason why I love my man. He's this humble, successful genius that can still look H-O-T in second-hand clothing.