I love you Derek! Thanks for 14 fun years.

Disneyland 2007

Last March we headed to Disneyland with my brother Jim (and his family), my brother Josh (and his family), my sister Carol (and her family), and my Uncle Larry (and his family). We were quite a bunch! It was chaotic at times, but seeing the pictures it was obviously well worth it. Besides kids remembering going on rides with cousins and aunts and uncles. Oh yeah and parents and biblings, blah, blah, blah

Enjoy the Slide Show.

DIsneyland 2007 Slide Show

We are Totally Twisted!

Twister is the best game for a family. (Thus the reason we had 5 kids - Twister is just more fun that way!) We play without the spinner, which adds a new element to the game because the caller can call out anything. Which ends up pretty Twisted! I think all of our kids have learned their "right and left" from playing this together.

Twister with the kids

Happy Haunting!

So many SLide Shows, I know. WHat can I say? I love pictures (especially of my family(s).

Here is our Haunted House we made together for family night and last years pics of the kids. I have not yet got this years Halloween Pics on here yet. (I have a good excuse, I have 5 kids and I am having 25 houseguests for Thanksgiving Weekend. I'm busy! It will be so much fun though. The Excitement outweigh the STRESS!)

Happy Halloween 2006 and 2007 pictures

TRICK OR TREAT?!

Happy Halloween??

Tomorrow is Halloween and today was Kason's birthday, Austin had a court of honor, Derek was in charge of the Court of Honor, I was in charge of pretty table and refreshments at the court of honor and then Kason had wrestling practice. AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
I am so so tired! And the thought of getting up and getting the kids into costumes and face painting at 7:30am. Sounds so far from fun, I just cannot tell you. I really do like Halloween, I just hate HECTIC!! Austin is not dressing up for school. (bless his heart, one less person to help get ready.) Kason is going to be a BAT! Megan is going to be a "Dead" Cheerleader. Jaxon is going to be a Pirate at school and a Dinosaur during trick or treating. (The only reason I am letting him do both is because, I all ready have the Pirate stuff and a friend lent him a big warm Dinosaur costume. All you have to do is take your shoes off, climb in zip up and put your shoes back on.) He could not decide which one he wanted to be, so he will be both. Ryan is going to be a King, which is fitting since we named him Ryan because Ryan means King. My friend had a King costume and Ryan loved it. (It has a long cape and he just LOVES that! But he keeps telling me he needs a sword. I will be going as my usual haggard tired mother of 5 attire and make-up is not necessary for dark circles under the eyes. Lucky me! Derek and I usually do not dress up. Just getting the kids ready is so much work. Maybe when the kids are a little older and they can kind of do their costume makeup on their own. I have always wanted to go as Miss Piggy and Fozzy the Bear (She dumped the Frog, the Bear made her Laugh!)

Another reason my child might need therapy

Ok, so I have to give a little back ground before I tell you of the conversation I had with my 6 year old. I am LDS and in our church we usually refer to people in our church as Brother (last name here) or Sister (last name here).

I have Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS). (I know I had no idea what that was until, I was diagnosed by my OBGYN this last June. After 9 years of thinking I was just having Severe IBS and Kidney Stones, we found out that we and 12 other Dr.'s were wrong. (if you would like more info here is a helpful website my doc. gave me to learn about it: http://members.aol.com/fibroworld/mps.htm (I hope that works)

So, I had picked up a 13 inch TV, without thinking about it (I am not suppose to lift thins over 20lbs. It is a Trigger point for a whirl wind of pain. This was Monday night and by 1:00am I was hurting pretty bad. It was weird because sometimes when I have not had the pain for a while, I start thinking was the pain really that bad? Maybe I could have toughed it out. Then Monday night it hit and by 2:00am I was thinking, this is kind of like Labor. You forget what it feels like and then Transition hits and you say "Oh yeah that's how it feels!" My hubby woke up @4:00am when he heard me downstairs and he was able to think clearly and get my medicine. We know if I take the medicine I will be out of it for at least 6 hours and feel very sleepy, especially since I hadn't slept. So we called a wonderful neighbor who is in our church and my 2 youngest boys stayed with her. I am going to call her "Sister Smith" (I don't want to use real last names) So my son came home after having a great day with her and said, I think I am going to call Justin's mom (Justin is his buddy) Mom Smith! I said, No, honey you don't need to call her Mom Smith, she is not your Mom. Just call her Sister Smith! Ok, how confusing is that to a 5 year old?? After I said it my Husband and I laughed. I love when I can find Humor even when it feels like I am having a horrible day. I just have to remember, I am not having a bad Day, I am just having a bad moment. There can still be humor just around the next moment!

Been Busy, Will write soon.

Ok, so I have to just say alot has been going on. My health has not been so great, but I don't want to really talk about that. My Husband's aunt has been in the hospital the last couple weeks with Congestive Heart Failure. She died this morning (Oct. 2nd at 2:00am). Although, they do not live close, it feels like our energy and thoughts have been with her family. She was only 56. (We will miss you Berta!)

Baby Blues (Ryan, you'll be in my heart)

Ryan is my baby. He is the 5th and final addition to are herd. Ryan celebrated his 3rd birthday and is officially wearing "Big Boy Underwear". He is very proud of this accomplishment, as am I. I was so excited to finally be free of Diapers after 12 consecutive years! And I am. But it feels kind of sad to see my little man running around in his "Fruit of the Looms". I guess with most milestones our children make, is Bittersweet. Ryan is a very hard headed 3 year old and will test the boundaries and then some. But he is my baby. I LOVE the way he says, "I lub you too!" Or after his bath, "Mom, I need a Talow." I LOVE IT!! I know that his speech is becoming better and he will not say those cute little things to me anymore.
I also have to admit, I am probably a better mother to him then I was to my oldest, just because I worried about everything back then. I still do, but not as much. Now, I feel like I know how to relax a little more and know which battles to pick. Not that I have this parenting thing down. Not even close! But I do feel like I am learning to enjoy it more, Take the little moments in, Sit down and play trains with them and Just be their Mom.

We had a lazy morning today and watched Disney's Tarzan together. I have seen this movie many times and it is one of my favorites. But today as I laid down next to my little guy as we watched it together, I felt almost emotional. You know, the song, "You'll be in my Heart" it just got to me, I guess.

"Did I sign up for this?"

Do you ever have one of those days where, the house looks like a bomb went off and nothing you do makes your toddler happy? And then you ask yourself, "Did I sign up for this?" I've been having alot of those days lately......hmm.... for the last 10 years (when my oldest was 2) OK, I'm lying I've been having those kind of days for the past 12 years!

Not, that my kids are awful kids, on the contrary they are pretty good kids. I just remember being a young newlywed and saying to myself, "Hey, Derek is great with kids. We should have a baby! I mean, I think I could have one of those little bundles! It will be so great!"
(I know,......silly, silly girl!)

I was just thinking, "Let's have a baby!" Not "Sweetheart, (me speaking to Derek) I think we should have a baby and then have four more after that one. Because I want to have days, when I am horribly sleep deprived from being up with a crying baby. I want to have so much laundry that there is no way I will ever have it done, EVER! I want to have days where it takes me one and a half hours to get a toddler dressed and into the car. Because the child will of course go limp when I try to help him get dressed because he does not want to go to to the store."

"Derek Darling, I just don't think my life would be complete if I didn't have a 2 year old who loved to be naked and because hos older siblings will reliably leave the front door opened, so he can escape. Then as I am pass a window, I will see our naked toddler riding his bike, having the time of his life. As I freak-out, because it will have been the eighth time that week and our neighbors will wonder if the child has any clothes."

"Derek you do not have to worry. We will not have children who pick their noses and then eat it (eww), yet they are picky eaters and won't eat anything we make for them. (picky eaters -get it? I know, gross) We will never have children who will not come out of the ball pit, at the local Fast Food Play land, when their mother asks them to. They will not sit their and giggle while their 11 months pregnant Mommy tries to crawl in to that tubular contraption to show them she means business!"

"Not to worry Derek, my dear. I know exactly what we are signing up for!"

I didn't think that. Did you?