Bobby's Wedding part 1

Family weddings are really fun. I think when it's your own you are all stressed about everything going just so that you hardly enjoy the festivities. But I had a great time last weekend at my little brothers wedding in Seattle and Lacey Washington. And this weekend is the party in Bakersfield. Yes, I said party, not reception. Technically it is a reception, but we will make it a party.  We always do, as you will see from the pictures below. Walter and I flew in together Friday evening for the wedding and reception on Saturday, and then flew back home Sunday morning. It was a quick trip, but was very nice to be in the temple with all of my siblings(minus little Brado).

Here is the Happy couple coming out of the temple.

Kelsie and all the boys.

With my parents

So when there is a camera around we think we are really funny and entertain ourselves.

Don't worry, we bahaved nicely for the real photographer.These were at the reception.

Congratulations to Bobby and Kelsie! and in case you are wondering we will be differentiating between the two Kelsies with tittles. Neither of them wanted to be special K, so we are going with big and little ;)

The Big 30

That's right, as of today Thad is old. Even though we are there, and we don't feel old, 30 still sounds old. Weird. We had a big family dinner on Sunday to celebrate. 16 adults and 9 children. Those of you who have been to our house know that it was quite a feet to get all those people in. We've done it before, but we always eat outside. Over 100 degrees though makes that a little uncomfortable. So we banished the kids to a table outside and all the adults got to stay in.

Today, the kids decided that since it was Daddy's real birthday he needed balloons. So we picked some up and took them to work, which as you can imagine, he loved. And since he was in a meeting when we stopped by he had to carry them back to his meeting with him. Even more awesome.

I feel like I kinda failed at making this a big special birthday, but I'm hoping his favorite foods for dinner, and costco cupcakes for dessert will help. We(the children and I) love Thad and are grateful for all he does to provide for and entertain us. I'm sure the kids appreciate that I am able to stay home with them, but the highlight of their day is when Daddy comes home. They get to play rough, and get tickled and tortured till they scream, and they love it. Happy Birthday Honey!

Picture Update!

Thad was able to revive the camera enough to get our pictures off. We can't take pictures with it, but hopefully he's found a place to get it repaired. Anyway, here are some picture from the first two days of our trip and some randomness at home as well.

Here are the children chasing/tormenting Tenille's duck. Aunt Tenille's house might be the coolest place ever because she has all kinds of pets.

They were super excited about bunkbeds in the cabin. Too bad we didn't get to stay in that cabin due to skunk funk. 

Tara & Jacob brought some great blow up toys that we all enjoyed all week long.

Sammy actually slept like this on our drive, and Andi just wanted to be in the picture.

These are from home. The kids are getting better at finding good hiding spots, so Thad has been taking pictured of them in their tight squeezes.

Family Vaca 2011

We just got back from a lovely vacation with Thads family at Lake Siskiyou in N. Cal. All of his siblings, parents, and both sets of grandparents were able to come.24 of us in all. Sadly I have zero pictures. But it's not because we were lazy this time. We took Thads water camera with us and the first day in the water, either one of the seals went bad, or the battery compartment got opened while submerged. Either way it  means the camera is dead. So any pictures we did take are stuck, and we were out of a camera the rest of the week. Boo.
But we had tons of fun without documentation. We started the trek a day early so we could visit Tenille & Matt and see their cute house, and tow their boat to the lake. Once we got to the lake we had a bit of a fiasco getting settled, but once everything was resolved we had a great week. Lot's of swimming in the lake,building sand castles, fishing trips in the boats, walking in the pooky borrest(sam for: spooky forrest), campfires, crafts, and even a talent show. We ate way too much great food, stayed up late every night, and laughed a lot. We saw deer right behind the cabin, and had a nightly visit from a brown bear, which was caught on Billy's trail camera.
I learned some interesting things about my kids this trip. First, on the way up the DVD player wouldn't work. I did not pack any toys in the car because I just thought they'd veg and snack and sleep. So 30 minutes out of town I go to start a movie and panick a little when I realize we had 5.5 hours to go without entertainment. But they were fine. They sang songs, and played with each other and we only had to stop once for the potty. Then at Tenilles they were sharing a bed for the first time ever. I put them down fully expecting it to be a marathon night of putting them back to bed over and over and telling them to stop playing and go to sleep. I was shocked when they went right to bed and stayed there till morning. This new discover opens up a whole new world of travel possibilities with them. We also learned that we should never take them lake fishing again. Andi kept asking if there was a fish on her line about every 10 seconds, and Sammy just kept saying faster because he wanted the boat to get going again. We also found that Andi is insanely afraid of bugs. After a few freak outs that almost tipped the boat I had to hide her under towels so the mosquitoes wouldn't "suck all her blood out" and the dragon flies couldn't get her. Thanks Billy for putting up with them!
All in all it was a great way to end the summer.

Imagination is Overrated

At least I feel like it is at our house. Because imagination makes HUGE messes, or semi-life threatening situations. The kids like to pretend to be puppies. They take turns, one is a puppy the other is the owner. Of course the puppy needs to be walked so they need a collar and leash, which Andi fashioned out of a stretchy headband and ribbons. Ingenious, until it is used as a choke chain and becomes a tripping hazard all at the same time.

Yesterday Andi was the puppy and made it clear to Sammy that she was a thirsty puppy. Instead of grabbing a tea cup or any of the play dishes in Andi's room, he went to his room and grabbed his fireman's hat and filled it with water for a dog water dish. The problem was he promptly dumped it on the bathroom floor. Being a puppy(Andi does not break character) Andi could not tell me what he did, but proceeded to bark at me and wave her hand for me to see what was going on. By the time I got to the bathroom the hat was completely refilled, and almost dumped on the floor again.

So we had a flood. And I know it's just water, and no one has been seriously injured by the collar and chain choking/tripping. But I'm pretty sure one day their imaginations are going to cause some real permanent damage. I'm pretty sure it's already damaged me because I was trying to figure out how to permanently fasten the cushions to the couch so they could no longer be used to build forts and houses. My couch cushions spend more time on the floor than actually on the couch.

Rafting

I finally went rafting down the Kern river last night for the first time. I've only lived here my entire life, but somehow just never made it down the river. Bobby and his fiance Kelsie are in town this week so we went rafting as a family. Most of us anyway, Mom & Stef are at girls camp and the kids were too young. It was a lot of fun. Here we are getting ready to head out.

 

They cinched our vests up so tight I felt like I was wearing a corset. Unfortunately it did nothing to flatter the figure as a corset would.

Everyone jumped in for the "floating section", but I opted to stay in the boat and take pictures. I was fairly certain that my twig arms would not be able to get me back in the raft while it was moving.

 

Everyone took turns jumping off the tree. 

Thad had to show everyone up with a backflip.

And Bradon attempted a Karate Kid move, but this is how it turned out.

We were on the water for about an hour and a half and had a great time. We will definitely have to do this again.

When Daddy's away. . .

Okay, so last week with Thad being gone the kids got together and decided to make life really interesting for Mommy. Monday we had a dentist appointment for Andi. Her teeth were totally clean and healthy, oh except that while the dentist was cleaning one of her old fillings chipped. Yep, a little piece flew right off. So the options were, patch it, knowing that it would keep breaking and have to be re-patched, or crown it. So the next day we go back and Andi got a "shiny new tooth" as she calls it. I hate that she has a big metal crown, but it's on her very back tooth so you can't see it. But as you can imagine, dealing with the after effects and her mouth being numb for a while was not fun. She's so dramatic!
The next morning I was in the kitchen and the kids were in the living room, when I hear a crack, followed by  Sammy crying. They bashed heads, and Sammy chomped down so hard he chipped the corner off his tooth. Nice. Luckily the dentist said if he could still eat and brush teeth without pain, we wouldn't need to do anything about it. And thankfully it's not bothering him.That night they were chasing each other through the house and Sammy ran into the bathroom, then slipped and hit his head on the tub, so he has a nice purple welt on his eye brow.
Later in the week we were doing some grocery shopping. Andi has gotten into standing/holding on to the side of the basket, which make it really hard to steer, so I am constantly telling her to get off the basket. At the same time I'm usually wrestling Sammy to stay in the dumb seat of the basket. Again, their forces combined, and when I turned to grab something off the shelf they pulled the basket over right on top of Andi, and Sammy flew out. No one was seriously hurt, but you'd think every bone in Andi's body was broken from the screaming that went on. Yes, screaming bloody murder in the middle of Winco.
So now that Thad is home they get to rough house with him and seem content to do that instead of injure themselves. My mom and Stef and I took the kids to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie. It was cute, but thankfully only an hour long. Even for Pooh Bear and a bag of M&M's Sammy will not behave at the movie theaters.
I did get my chair project done. 8 chairs in total. I wanted a pattern on the back, and I have to admit it doesn't really go with decor in the rest of my house, but since they are only brought in when we have a large crowd to feed I think they will work just fine. Here is the before, and for some reason my grass is looking like neon green astro-turf. It doesn't look like that in person, I swear.

The after. 

It looks plain black, but it's actually oil rubbed bronze, so up close you get to see this lovely-ness.

 

I also managed to read a few books in Thad absence, one was a story of Charlotte Bronte's life. And now I feel the need to read her other novels, and well as her sisters.

Kid City, and Lot's of Firsts.

Every few weeks Andi likes to hit up the Children's museum with Paige. Tara is always prepared with a camera to catch all of their cuteness, and last week I finally was too. They love playing in the "Kid City". Here is Sammy in the fire-station.

Taking the 911 call.

Driving to the fire.

Breaking out the hoses. 

Andi ordering lunch from Paige's Restaurant.

This was funny. Hannah and Andi were arresting Nate for something. Hannah is doing the interrogating, and I believe Andi is the guard.

And yes, she is running around this place barefoot. She takes her shoes off everywhere these days! It's weird, and a little gross when she does it in public, and consequently her shoes are always lost. We are always hunting down shoes.
Last Saturday was full of firsts for me. I took my first trip to the Tulare outlets just up the road, as well as my first trip to Hobby lobby and Panera Bread.  All three were just minutes from each other. Hobby Lobby might be the best craft store ever, and though I wish we had one here, I'm also pretty sure it's a good thing we don't have one here. It would get me into trouble. Panera Bread lived up to all of Kelsies hype, yum. I was not super impressed with the outlets. They do have a Loft store, which made me very happy, but other than that it was the same old stuff we have around here. The whole purpose for the trip was to find outfits for Bobby's wedding. Don't worry, none of us found any wedding attire. But I did come home with stuff ;)
Thad is gone this week at scout camp, so we have been super lazy. Lot's of pool time, and hanging out, and lot's of late night reading for me. I picked up two new books on Monday, one of which I've already finished. I was tempted to start re-reading the 7th Harry potter book before we see the movie Saturday, but I'm not sure I could cram it in in the next 3 days.
Project of the week. Spray painting old metal fold up chairs that the church was getting rid of. Hopefully when I'm done they won't look like old chairs that were being discarded. Crossing fingers.

Happy Birthday . . .

To Me, and America. It has been a crazy busy, fun weekend. Friday evening Thad and I were able to go down to the LA temple together, which as always, was lovely. On the way down he told me my birthday present was on the seat behind me, but I told him it could wait till Sunday. He insisted I open it right then so I could use it over the weekend. He got me this cute little guy, complete with dust collector and carrying case.

Yes, I did ask for a sander for my birthday. I asked for a mouse sander, but I think since it was going to live in the garage with Thads tools he didn't want anything with such a dainty name in there. I broke it in Saturday and love it! I really should have used one of these the first time I re-finished the table, then I wouldn't have had to do it again. But the top was in horrible shape due to children scratching and stabbing it with forks. Today it's all finished and looking lovely.

Sunday was my birthday and our turn to host Sunday dinner. We cooked, but took all the food down to my parents to eat. Usually when we host we eat in the backyard because we don't have room for that many people in our dinning room, but as it was 106 on Sunday, we thought we'd keep it indoors this time. We ate too much and I was spoiled, so it was a great day.
Monday we partied all day. Seriously. Our friends Micheal and Cari Jackson were in town with their two cute boys so we hit the pool with them around 10 am. It was almost 100 degrees by then so it was time.

 The little guys on their snack break.

Andi & Anthony liked diving and posing for the camera. 

She was this happy all day.

After a lunch break and a short rest we went back to my parents for the big party. Since Michael and Cari were here we had a BBQ with our "back in the day" friends. Lot's of food, more swimming, and the totem pole of fire.  Here is the whole gang right before the fireworks. 

Michael, Tarin, Spencer and I have been friends since we were kids, and it was so nice to be together with our families all these years later and still enjoy being together.  Here are almost all of the kids lined up for their sparklers. Only the two babies are missing .

Sammy sat like this for the entire show. He kept telling me it was too loud, but at least he wasn't crying this year. Ignore my horrible posture.

Not bad for a homemade show ;)

This picture has nothing to do with the weekends festivities, but I wanted to post it because these two are constantly making forts, everywhere, out of anything.

It was such a fun weekend, but now we all need a nap. Too bad I have to bake and vacuum seal 120 brownies in the next few days. Yay scout camp.

Recital Extravaganza

The last two weekends have been full of fun around here. Last Friday our good friend and favorite babysitter Ashlynn threw a princess tea party at our house for all of the little girls she babysits. Ashlynn is headed off to school soon and wanted to say good bye to all her little friends. Isn't that sweet? So we had 10 little girls in their princess best getting their nails done and make-up on and eating dainty sandwiches and snacks. Here's the whole gang, I think.

Andi was Rapunzel, and she totally challenged me on the fact that Rapunzel is barefoot in the movie. After she checked the DVD case she was okay running around without dress up shoes. 

The next day began the recital marathon. We had ballet run through at the studio Saturday afternoon, a rehearsal at the theater on Monday afternoon, and then dress rehearsal Tuesday afternoon. She has loved playing with all her friends in the big theater. The studio s actually doing 4 shows this year, and Andi's class is in two of them. Last night was their first performance and they did so well. Plus the looked great in their adorable costumes.

Andi and I before heading to the theater.

  Some of Andi's class with one of their teachers Miss Victoria.

With Cathy before the show.

During dress rehearsal.

After watching the big girls in the ballet this year Andi was inspired. She just kept staring at the girl who played Snow White and asked when she was going to be able to dance like that. We also started a charm bracelet for Andi this year. My parent's gave one to me, and added a charm for every recital and big event in life. So now Andi has one to continue the tradition. When she got up this morning I told her we had to put curlers back in her hair because she had another show tonight. She was so excited, "I get to do it again!?" This girl loves to perform.

Dear Journal

Sometimes I'm amazed at how smart my children are, sometimes I can't believe how insane they are, and lately I'm amazed that I'm still as sane as I am.
Andi is trying to be so grown up these days. She has always been pretty independent, but recently we've reached the point where she thinks she can do everything herself. Like climbing on the kitchen counters to get a cup down for a drink, a glass cup of course because she has decided she's careful enough to use a glass cup now. She has mastered the two-wheeler, starting, turning, braking, all without a single injury. That might be because she wears a helmet, knee pads and wrist guards when she rides. And that is at her insistence, not mine. She's terrified of falling off and scrapping her knees. But now that she can ride without training wheels, she thinks she should be able to ride out around the block by herself, because she sees other kids on two wheelers all the time riding by themselves. She has a calendar white board that she fills in all the time with things she is going to do that week. It really bothers her when I don't go along with everything she's written on the board. But to be fair, she doesn't run her event planning by me before she writes it down either. She asks me all the time to teach her big words, and then she actually uses them. She loves to color and do crafts and paint. She also bosses and bullies Sammy constantly.
 Don't worry, Sammy holds his own against her. She takes something, or get's in his face and tells him no, or something equally as frustrating to Sam, so he hits, kick, or throws something hard. Then there is crying, everyone is in time out, which leads to more crying and banging on bedroom doors. Eventually I let them out and everyone hugs and apologizes, and some days it's not five minutes before the cycle repeats itself. Sammy is starting to fight back verbally now as well.(no, stop it, mine, let go, go away.) He's talking so much more now that I'm still surprised at all the new words he uses daily. We have full on conversations now, which I thought was never going to happen. Sammy loves cars, and planes, and basketball. He's just such a boy. Always climbing and running and jumping off of things and throwing things. It's a rare moment when he'll sit down for a story, or even a tv show. He loves to ride his tricycle, and wear his swim suit(whether he's swimming or not). He's become a little OCD lately, especially with his lunch/nap routine. Everyday he asks for macaroni, and everyday we read the same curious george story before his nap, and he has this whole routine I have to do before I shut the door. Hugs, kisses, eyes(eyelash butterfly kisses), nose(Eskimo kiss), then another hug. He will not go to sleep unless we do it all. If I leave off the last hug he sits there and yells "HUGS!" until I come back. When he's not being a terror, like right when he get's up, or if he's hurt himself, he's very cuddly.
When they are screaming at each other and fighting I can't help but feel like I'm failing at my job, but every now and then when they are building a fort and giggling together I think maybe I'm doing okay.

Andi and I had a fun conversation the other day.
Me: "Andi, did I tell you that Uncle Bobby is getting married?"
Andi: "To who?"
Me:"Remember his friend Kelsie?"
A: "Yes. (long pause) When they get married is he gonna kiss her?"
me: "Yes."
A: "That's yucky. When they get married is he gonna live with her?!"
M: "yes."
A: "That's weird. Why would he do that?!"
M: "Because he loves her."
A: "He still doesn't have to kiss her."

Let's hope she keeps this attitude for a good long while.