Things to Remember Week of 5-18-14

MIA MAIDS
I taught the Mia Maids today, second time teaching them, and for the first time ever I felt like it went really well.  You wouldn't believe the preparation that went into that little 35 minute lesson, and the fasting and praying and worrying :), and I think it all paid off :).  I got really nervous when Bro. Jacox asked if he could sit in and listen, but he really did just sit there.  May have dozed off once or twice ;), but for the first time I felt really good about my lesson!!  It was so exciting for me :).  I hope this is a new page in the book of Christa teaching.  There were of course things that I had wanted to say but didn't get the chance to, as always, and I wish I could slip them in somewhere else, somehow :), but it's all good... there's just WAY too much in those lessons to begin with!  SO anyway.  Good Sunday :).  And to top it off we got to go on the walk about too :).  The kids act like it's Christmas or something when there's a ward walk about.  It's fun for them.  I lectured them about only eating one treat per house... apparently they've been gorging themselves because this was a drastic change... oh well... we'll work on it.  5-18-14

CARNIVAL
Our kids LOVE carnivals.  It's so exciting for them.  They decided to use their own hard-earned money for our school carnival.  They had SO MUCH FUN!!  They all kind of wandered around on their own and in small groups, helping each other get treats and play games with shared tickets.  I liked talking with Charity about how the place was run.  She liked the idea of doing something like that for Uncle Jared's Yard sale in August.  I wish I hadn't missed her on the rock wall, she is getting pretty good at that.  She had a few friends there that she stayed busy with.  Unfortunately her brand new flip flops only lasted a few days and broke during the first few minutes of the carnival... lame.  She didn't seem to mind going around barefoot :).  Poor Kelly got a bloody nose from the kids playing on the little fence that went around the Whizzer ride, along with her aching back and hip.  So her nose and head hurt, but I was proud of her for not letting it stop her from having a good time.  She was sweet to take Erika around and even went on the train- she admitted she was a little embarrassed- but totally enjoyed watching Erika experience it :).  She had decided to save money and just get the tickets, so she didn't get to go on quite as many rides and stuff as Luke and Brad and Charity, but she had a good time.  Bradley made it to the top of the rock wall!  He was pretty proud of himself :).  He ran around with friends and with Noah or Luke most of the night.  He was pretty cute on the Whizzer, pretending to barf off the side :).  He just seemed really grown up the whole evening.  Sharing his tickets, cotton candy, and winning all sorts of prizes.  Luke was Mr. Independent all evening too.  Took off with his tickets and wristband and we hardly saw him!  He was with a friend from his class, and they just did everything they possibly could :).  I loved seeing him with his pockets bulging with prizes and goodies :).  He was taking care of business :).  I did get to see him on the wrecking ball- that was a lot of fun- looked like his kind of playground :).  Noah had a great time, running around with Erika for the first part and Bradley later.  He was exhausted by the end of the evening.  He looked so cute on the Whizzer, just like a big kid!  I loved that he was about to do what he wanted and didn't have to do what everyone else was doing.  He usually just goes along, so this was his chance to do it his way :).  He loved the Shark Slide.  Erika had a great time!  I was happy that she found very little to complain about the whole time :).  She followed Noah around to all the bouncy things and then dragged Kelly around to everything else :).  She benefited from Kelly's tickets too I think.  She had a blast on the Whizzer too, and told me how scary the Shark Slide was :).  It's so fun to see her trying new things and being brave.  Fun girl.  Jack had Nate wrapped around his sticky little finger for the evening.  He did become quite content just playing on the playground  and rolling around in the wood chips :).  I love his methodical thinking (or at least that's what I'm calling it).  Everything he does is so well thought out and he plans so many of his movements.  I like how Nate put it- he is not just going to get by in life- when he wants something he is very determined until he gets it.  There's no brushing him off!  It's cute.  Reminds me of how Bradley and Noah were when they were his age.  All business too :).  He wouldn't have much to do with me all night unless I had cotton candy or a snow cone in my hands.  It's all good I guess- but I missed my lovies from him today.  He is a sweetie.  So anyway.  The Carnival was a big hit with the Maynes kids!  Who knew we could blow so much money on a school function :).  Good thing some of the money goes to the school.

BEES GAME
I had the privilege of going with Kelly on her Bees Game field trip.  What a FUN day that was!  We marveled at how fast they could throw the ball, how loudly the ball hit their mitts.  Walked around looking for dippin dots :).  Ate Kettle corn and soft pretzel.  And even watched some baseball!  Miraculously, we ran into some of Kelly's old friends from Holbrook and she was able to go catch up with some of them for a few minutes.  That was the highlight for Kelly and something she had planned and looked forward to doing :).  My favorite part was just spending time with Kelly.  It was more like a date for she and I than anything.  We were total buds.  I loved it.  Made us want to get the family to one of the Bees games.  If it hadn't been so hot, I'm not sure we would have been as exhausted at the end, but it was totally worth it :).  5-20-14

NO SCHOOL
Noah had no school for three days this week, and can I just say how nice it was to not have to take him to school in the middle of the day!  I know I sound crazy, but I canNOT wait til next school year when we do not have the broken up day that accompanies the Kindergarten schedule.  I will miss my Noah- don't get me wrong, I just will not miss the schedule one bit!  5-21-14

TESTING
Noah went in for his end of year testing and Mrs. Piper was SO surprised and SO pleased with how well he is doing.  She knew he was doing well, but he even surprised her with just how well.  It was a nice relief and actually kind of made my day to hear how good he did.  He really surprised us all with his achievements this year.  For someone who started out hardly knowing any of the letters and barely being able to say the alphabet it sure is cool to find out he's at a first grade reading level!  5-21-14

BIKE RIDE
For Mia Maids this week we went on a bike ride.  I loved it!  I was so worried that they would go too fast for me, or I'd slow them down or something, but it wasn't like that at all.  And I got to sit and talk with some of them along the way.  It was such a nice evening.  5-21-14

MONKEY BARS
At playgroup on Thursday, Erika got brave and attempted the monkey bars!!  She just needed me to get her started and then she was off!  It's so exciting!  She tried a second time without my help and ended up falling and getting a million little cuts on her forehead from the sand when she hit the ground, but it was all in the name of being awesome... which she is... so she keeps trying!  I'm so proud of her.  She really is so brave and learning and doing new things is so fun for her. Fun for me too.  Cool Stuff.  5-22-14

PICNIC ON THE PLAYGROUND
I got to go to the school for picnic on the playground this week!  Noah, Erika, Jack and I made some yummy fruit dip, cut the stems off strawberries, grabbed some Little Caesar's (cheap/easy to carry), and made our way to a nice shady spot behind the school.  I enjoy seeing my kids in their element.  They all just ran around doing whatever they wanted- I like that.  I sat and talked with Jami a little, but mostly just sat :).  Kind of relaxing really.  I wasn't sure how it would all go without Nate's help like last year, but Noah and Erika helped carry stuff, so it was all good.  Fun tradition.  5-23-14

MOTTISHAW ANNIVERSARY
I guess Grandma and Grandpa Mottishaw moved to Utah from Pocatello on Memorial day of 1964, because this was the 50th year reunion.  My Mom thought we needed to celebrate.  It was a pretty cloudy (and even rained a little) day, but we managed to have a really good time.  Nate made pulled pork.  I enjoyed visiting with Nancy a little.  After food, we all played a game of kickball!!!  SO fun!  It was only the Widdisons, Hatches and us, but sure made for a great time.  I hope Grandma and Grandpa were there.  I miss them.  5-24-14

Uploaded from my phone- hope there aren't repeats

Falling asleep on Daddy- feels so good.

Helping Daddy work out

He worked so hard to get this one out!

Got these from my Dad for sibling day... couldn't resist posting them on here.  Brent's wedding reception. April 2007

Sequoias end of the summer- 1992

Not sure when this was... looks like 1994 or 95, look how little Steve is!

Of course, our wedding day!  (not sure why nobody's smiling... )

Another from Brent's wedding day

Our awesome gigantic snowman we built with Grandpa in Eagle Mountain.  I'll never forget how much fun we had doing that!!  Best. snowman. ever.

Jack.  Just the way he is :).

Soon after Misty had her kittens, following one of many long searches for them, we found Misty and her kittens snoozing in Kelly's drawer :).  Crazy kitty.

awwww!  I think this is tiger?

More teeth missing :)

Cute Noah made this little flier when he was going to put on a puppet show.  This is what it means:

for show, either puppet show, dance show and parade and air plane show, magic show.  Bradley help. :)  So adorable.  I love little kid handwriting.

This is Luke's cool owie from the baseball during practice- I only took a picture because you can see the seams from the baseball on his cheek!!  pretty cool right?!

One of the fun things about letting Charity have an Instagram (accessible only through our phones) is all the cute little things I have saved on my phone from her.  Here's one of her cute selfies :).

Our fun Young WOmen's rock climbing activity at iRock.  That was so much fun!  I wanna take the family for FHe or something.

Charity had a blast

Misty's babies

This was one of the things Charity got off her instagram.  Fit perfectly with my RS night speaker.  I love that she saved it though... 

milk mustache selfie :)

cute little Oreo (or Morgan as Kelly named her the last day we had her)

I wish this wasn't sideways!  This is the candy gram Charity made me for Mother's Day.  I loved making these when I was little, sure was fun to get one :).  It says, "You are a 'sweetart'!  I Love you to 'pieces'.  Thanks for wiping all my 'Goobers'.  After having 7 kids you're still 1 'Hot Tamale'

Love Charity.  Cute girl.

This adorable little picture and letter was made my Erika with the help of her older sibs... so sweet.

I think this was a post teeth pulling selfie

Another funny YW activity. I think I already mentioned that I laughed harder than I've laughed in a very long time.  Crazy girls.  Yes, that is broccoli and carrots taped to her garbage bag dress.

We had to go out in public after :)

Me and Bradley at his movie field trip.  He's such a sweet boy.

Another masterpiece from Erika

love it.

Things to Remember Week of 5-11-14

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME

I LOVE Mother's day!  It was so awesome this year!  As usual.  The kids woke me up with the Happy Mother's Day song, and breakfast in bed.  Nate decided to just bring everyone's breakfast since everyone usually ends up eating it, and so we all had breakfast in Mom and Dad's bed :).  So fun.  They showered me with gifts.  I love reading their cute little homemade cards and seeing all the work they put into the gifts they made at school.  This year some of them got me treats and other gifts at the store too.  I think my favorite part this year was before presents, while we were eating, Nate had the kids go around and tell what they love about me :).  It was so cool to hear things other than that I cook for them.  And not that I don't appreciate that, it's just cool to know that there are other things :).  My heart skipped a little beat at some of their answers, "that you love me" -Luke, "that you care about me" -Bradley, "that you play with me" -Noah.  I can't put all of their answers but sweet right?!  It was comforting for me to know that they know I love them.  That is my main goal as a Mom.  Sure made my day.  We slowly got ready for church.  I love this ward's tradition of feeding the Mom's some yummy food during the first hour.  Such a great time!!  I sat and talked with Emily and the new lady, already forgot her name... Sis. Porter :).  Then finally had a chance to pick Liesl's brain about Common Core.  I respect her opinion.  I feel much better about it all now.  I hate feeling like I am just misinformed and that's why I'm not ranting and raving like everyone else.  I'm really okay with Common Core and now I feel like that's okay :).  Sunday School was great- we're going to the Marriage and Family Relations class again.  It's been about 7 years, but we really loved it the first time.  Hopefully it picks up a little and people start commenting and stuff... that was where we got the most in the Russian Jack Ward.  Sacrament meeting was wonderful as well.  I just love the motivation of Mother's Day accompanied with the happiness that I have been blessed with children and that I do get to be a Mom in this life.  It's such a great blessing.  I know I'm not perfect, and I know that there are things I can work on, but it's nice to feel so much love from the people who I live for and know that I still have time to become the mom that they need.  Chocolate doesn't hurt either :).  We decided not to go up to the Family Meeting this year.  We spent the day at home!  It was so heavenly.  I played cards with the kids a lot, made yummy meatballs, Heidi and John stopped on their way home from Idaho... it was just a great day.  It's been a while since I really got to just sit around and enjoy being a mom on Mother's day.  It's usually all about Nate's Mom.  And that's okay, I just enjoyed the change.  I love my kids so much!  I'm so grateful that I get to experience life through their eyes and have their shining examples constantly lighting the way for me.  I'm especially grateful that Nate has made it so that I get to be at home with them.  I can't imagine life otherwise.  5-11-14

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, RUTH

To celebrate with Ruth, we took her and Russ out to dinner.  She chose Litza's (of course :) ).  I absolutely love spending one on one (or 2 on 9 whatever it is) time with them.  I love that the kids get their undivided attention, they get to talk with them and get to know them, and likewise, the kids get to know their grandparents.  It's so different with the whole family around.  Watching Nate and his dad talk, and listening to Nate's mom teach the kids... it's just so heavenly.  We really need to do it more than once or twice a year.  Sounded like she had a nice Mother's day.  5-12-14

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY MOM

I gave my mom the choice of us visiting her on Sunday, or going out to lunch later on in the week.  She chose lunch!  So Tuesday we got to go to Cafe Rio, just my Mom and me.  It was great!  I think it's been a few years since we did that.  Good times.  5-13-14

PRICELESS

RS night this week was a guest speaker.  I forgot his name already, but he is a family therapist.  What a great evening that was.  That whole meeting was made for me!  The night before, Nate and I had come to the conclusion that our kids needed help building up their self-esteem.  You can imagine the thrill I felt when the speaker decided, among SEVERAL other topics that had been suggested and written on the board, that he would focus on "self-esteem"!  What a blessing!  I got chills just hearing him announce his choice.  It was an incredible meeting.  I hope I can remember it all and teach my kids about their pricelessness.  It's cool to think that innately we all know our worth and that if we can just tap into that, we can conquer so much more.  I loved the meeting.  I loved the reminders.  And chatting with everyone afterwards was pretty great too.  I love my ward.  5-13-14

CRAZY DAY

After finalizing my 2010 blog book (yay!!!) I've realized that some of my favorite posts are the ones where I talk about a bad/busy/hard day that I somehow managed to survived (and unfortunately there are a lot of them :) ).  I realized how far I've come!  I look back at those days, four years ago, and just laugh.  Life was so much simpler :).  Yet at the time.... So anyway- I guess I wanted to post about my most recent crazy day so that in a few years, I might be able to look back and think that these days were so easy and that I've come yet another long way :).  It helps to think that one day this will seem like nothing.  It's also motivating to know that even though things are going to get harder- I will be able to adapt and overcome it!  Just like I have in the past.  SO here's my crazy day: Wednesday, May 14, 2014:  6:00 wake up- I'm not waking up at 5:00 this week because I slept in everyday for almost 2 weeks since Nate was home... it was an awesome 2 weeks, but I destroyed some of my best habits, so we're doing 6:00 this week to ease back into things :).  Shower, Scriptures, Get kids up, Breakfast, Lunches and a little laundry.  8:30 Charity's dentist appointment- trouble tooth pulled- wahoo! and we didn't even have to trick her into anything!  She laid right down on the chair and toughed it all out like a champ! Go Charity!  PROGRESS!!  Ran to the store for Kelly's "birthday" treat then dropped her off, came home for a minute with Nate and a few dishes.  10:00 Visiting teaching- this ended up being my one relaxing moment of the day- just sitting in Diane's beautiful backyard visiting.  I love visiting teaching!  Back home, changed up the laundry, then took Noah to the dentist at 11:30.  Found out that you can actually pay someone a dentist wage to pull popcorn kernels out of someones teeth... how embarrassing... he did have a cavitiy too, but Dr. Swan things the pain was from the kernels... rats.  Came home for lunch and a little Erika drama.  Then checked out our latest sproutings in the garden and flower beds... so fun!  Nate and I have been sharing a strawberry at a time as we find ripe ones in the patch :).  I am loving the whole gardening thing this year.  Although I feel like I'm stretching my faith to some serious lengths.  Knowing that these things can't possibly grow because of us... we're such amateurs... Little green miracles are popping up out of the ground though and that makes me happy :).  Nate left at 1:30 for work and then we left at 1:45 to take Kelly's ice cream sandwiches and then checked out Charity for her eye doctor appointment.  While we were sitting in that tiny little office and echo-y room, I had flashbacks of her appointment 2 years ago when I thought I wasn't going to make it through that little appointment with all my children still alive :).  Thankfully we did NOT relive that experience.  On the contrary, the kids did really well.  Even Jack.  I was pleased and felt that feeling of moving on :).  That stage was over I guess :).  Charity picked out some cute frames, we will all be seeing a new Charity in a couple of weeks when they are done.  She's hoping they are done before school gets out.  We'll see!  On our way home we stopped at Walmart for some things I'd forgotten for the Widdison's dinner, and then Little Caesar's since I'd failed to get dinner in the crock pot earlier... darn that not thinking ahead!  We got home, put the Lasagna in the oven, cut up some fruit for dinner (we're doing so good at eating all 5 of our fruits and veggie servings!), sat and watched a little tv with the girls, then it was off to deliver dinner, and then to my YW meeting.  Charity was in charge during my meeting, then Kelly was in charge during the actual activity.  What an insane rush those last few hours were.  Course our activity totally made up for it, I watched the Mia Maids make garbage bag dresses and just about died laughing.  That was the funniest thing I've experienced in a very long time... those girls are HILARIOUS!!  It was a nice end to my crazy busy day.  I screwed up on picking up the kids from school and Kelly ended up having to get a ride with Stacey since she had waited for Noah who had stayed home from school.  I will count that as one less drop of awesome in my bucket for the day :). I survived!!  5-14-14

HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY!!!
We celebrated our 13th Anniversary on Thursday!  That was a really nice day.  Nate wasn't home during the day, so we just sent each other little love texts throughout the day :).  But Nate surprised me with not one, but TWO bouquets of flowers!!  He said he wanted to get roses because that's what you do, but he thought I would really like this other one too because it had so many of my favorite new daisies in it :).  What a sweetheart.  He knows me!  I love it when I realize how well he knows me.  I love the flowers!  There's something really wonderful about looking at them and knowing why they're here :).  He's always so thoughtful.  We hurried and ate some Chicken Enchiladas, then rushed off to Luke's baseball game.  Heidi and John showed up to watch as well, that was a fun surprise!  Luke's team won again, then we played a little baseball together before we left.  When we got home I gave Nate his present- some yummy Mrs. Cavannaugh's Chocolate covered caramels :).  mmmmm.  He shared :).  We ditched everyone including Heidi and John and went out on the town :).  Just kidding, it was already almost 10:00 so most of my plans (it was my year to plan) had been out of the question, so we decided to go to Yogotogo for some yumminess, and then picked up Saratov Approach at Walmart along with some much needed groceries (we didn't do our biweekly shopping so we've been scrambling for meals everyday... lesson learned).  We came home and watched our movie and cuddled :).  I love cuddling :).  It was a great day.  I LOVE Anniversaries.  I love thinking, "What were we doing at this time 13 years ago...?" and remembering that day.  It was such an awesome day.  So many things to look back on.  It's funny to think about how little we knew each other back then.  Sadly, but true, I don't think we really knew each other at all :).  But it's fun to think about how much love we had for each other only to realize how much deeper that love is now.  It's such a different kind of love.  Makes ya wonder what our love will be like in a million years... "eternity won't seem that long cuz time will fly when it's you and I.... together".  aaahhh.  I'm so happy I chose Nate.  I'm so happy he chose me and that he chooses me again every day.  He's mine forever.  5-15-14

BIRTHDAY TABLES
Kelly's birthday table this week.  Fun stuff!  We actually had our hands a little full that day, running things to Charity for her Sweden report, then playgroup, then picking up some Arby's, dropping off Noah and then having lunch with Kelly.  It was a lot of fun though.  I enjoy sitting with my kids in their environment.  It's fun to see them interacting with their friends.  I'll admit that I feel like birthday tables is a funny thing, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.  Especially knowing how much it means to them.  We got to visit with Kelly's friend Sara Jane and my friend Emily :).  Win win :).  Good times.  Then we went out to the playground to play four square with Kelly and her friends and surprise! surprise! Charity and Noah are out there doing their "buddy time"!  They were making seltzer bombs, big bubbles, and drawing with chalk!  Erika and Jack had to get in on that action!  Bradley just happened to be out for recess as well so the only person missing was Luke :).  Mrs. Piper got a kick out of that.  Have I mentioned how much I love her.  She is the best Kindergarten teacher I've ever met.  I think she's getting tired of me saying that :).  I have to get her for Erika.  Anyway. Fun time!  5-16-14

FATHERS AND SONS/GIRLS NIGHT OUT!
The boys got to go camping, so the girls and I decided we needed to do something fun as well :).  We had just found out that Charity's sixth grade dance was going to be formal and she of course needed a dress, so a shopping trip was in order!!  We headed out after having a fun little afternoon with Heidi and Sarah and her boys, and got some dinner at Dairy Queen.  We went to about a billion stores before finding the perfect dress and in the meantime found Erika and Kelly some new outfits and even some shorts for Brad :).  So a very productive trip!  We finally pulled into the driveway around 10:00.  We got ready for bed, then ate our yummy Kneaders tarts while watching Pride and Prejudice (the cute little mormon version :) ).  When that got over we made our way out to the trampoline!  Kelly and Erika were really excited to sleep outside, Charity, not so much.  We talked her into it anyway :).  It was a teensy bit cold and I worried about that most of the night.  Everytime I woke up someone else was stirring.  The moon was so bright and beautiful though!  We all couldn't get enough of the moon.  It seriously felt like a flood light halfway through the night.  Around about 5:00 I couldn't sleep anymore, and knew we needed to be up by 9:00, so I dragged everyone inside and up to my bed for some warmer sleep.  We all snuggled in together- loved that!- and slept for the rest of the morning.  I can't express how much I enjoyed the evening!  I was so relieved to hear that Jack was going to go and didn't quite know what we were going to do with ourselves (without Jack, the options were endless), but we managed to have so much fun together!!  It was such a fun little glimpse into our future.  I could just see us all shopping together for wedding dresses, or mission clothes, or baby stuff!!  Gets me all excited :).  We had a lot of fun, lots of laughs, even helped Charity through her sad little moment when she received the pictures of her friends at a pj party without her!  (found out it was a girl she didn't know that threw it- but still!  Kind of a bummer for her) We had a good time though, and made some sweet memories.  I can't wait til the next Father's and Sons campout!!
We should have them write about it, but since I know they won't I'll just say what I remember from Bradley's narration.  They fished, they played in the fire until Bro. Leaver made them stop :), they "hunted" for asaparagus (really delicious asparagus apparently), talked about how crazy Nate was for bringing Jack, and his Father of the year worthiness, roasted marshmallows, watched the men shoot, played with their friends, slept in the tent, Nate helped make breakfast with Jack in his arms, and then came home!  Sounded like they had a lot of fun.  Especially Jack!  Playing in the dirt and throwing sticks into the river and almost taking a head dive into the mud... boys.  I love that this ward does those... my boys loved it!  5-16-14

TRANSPLANT FUNDRAISER YARD SALE
For the past few months Becky has been putting together this yard sale to raise some more money for Jared's transplant.  Everyone worked really hard setting up and getting things donated.  We showed up around 10:30 and did what we could to help sell things and keep traffic to a minimum.  We had a really great turn out.  I couldn't believe how much stuff they had!  The hamburgers were a big hit!  The kids helped with a few of the candy stands and selling toys.  Kelly had spent the last week or so making duct tape wallets, so she was selling those like hot cakes.  It was a lot of fun for everyone really.  Unfortunately we still had a lot to do that day so we didn't get to see it out to the finish, we left around 2:00.  But it was a neat experience and we found out they brought in around $5,000.00!!  Pretty cool.  Generosity.  5-17-14

DON AND SHERICE
Also on Saturday, we had the pleasure of witnessing Don and Sherice receiving their endowments!!  What an exciting trip to the temple that was!!!  It's just not something you get to witness everyday.  Quite a change from how they were when we first met them back in 2011.  I'm just so happy for them.  They've changed so much and you can see so much light in their eyes.  They are just different people.  It's so awesome to see what effect the Gospel can have on a life that hasn't had it.  Just awesome.  I will cherish that opportunity.  I hope they invite us to their sealing too :).  We celebrated at Pizza Pie Cafe afterwards :).  It was a lot of fun to sit and talk with them and hear some of their thoughts on the whole thing.  They really are incredible and seeing them making these righteous decisions just makes me so happy.  5-17-14

Noah's Kindergarten Performance!

On May 2^nd we had the pleasure of going to Noah's Kindergarten Program. They worked SO HARD on those songs! It was a lot of fun to hear Noah practicing at home and getting into the songs and showing me all the actions and talking about the sign language :). Such a cute boy. I love those programs. He was on the front row in the very middle, so right in front of us! (would have been better to get on the other side of the room, but that's just getting nitpicky) He knew all the words and motions so well. I was so proud of him. What a cute little Noah.

He memorized his part so well!  I was so pleasantly surprised :)

My Life

The drive back home, from dropping the kids off at school, is always one of the strangest most telling times of the day.  It's the moment where I come to grips with how the morning went.  Today... not so good.  I didn't get mad, didn't have any earth-shattering events, but it just wasn't a good morning.  The kids were fighting and bickering a lot, Erika had been whiny and crying ever since she woke up, I had not managed to decipher Jack's grunts, so he was not a happy camper- regardless of my attempts, Charity had been late for Math and Science Olympiad practice, Bradley was getting out the door late to ride with Josh, and we were out of chips... talk about devastation!  After feeling the guilt for the first part of the drive, then asking for Heavenly Father's help with moving past it, I had the thought to write down some of the things that I enjoy about my life right now.  This is always a good thing and since I needed to update the blog anyway, I figured I'd do it here.
Things I enjoy about my life:
- Friends.  Good ones that I get to hang out with frequently with whom I feel very comfortable with.
- Pelicans.  Mainly the fact that no mater how many times we look over and see them in the ponds, the kids still get excited about them and point them out to me :).  They really are quite fascinating.
-There's always something to do.
- That I do not resort to games and time wasting apps to keep myself entertained anymore.
- Being at home with my kids.  Nate is my hero.
- Kaysville.
- A beautiful house.
- A comfortable yard.
- Garden!
- Lots of time with Nate.  My fear of him dying has subsided.. that is an answer to my prayers.
- Friends for my kids.
- Regular scripture study.
- The Come Follow Me Program.  It has revolutionized the way I study the Gospel.  I love it.
- Helpful happy little people that call me Mom.
- Peace and quiet during the day.  Most days there is at least 20 minutes or so that I am able to just sit and sit.  It's priceless really.  I have loved it.  I love not filling it with anything.  Sometimes taking a little nap, but nothing else.  It's really been beneficial.
- trying to get pregnant and hoping for a new little member to our family
- Having my little sister as a best friend.
- Knowing that what I am doing right now, being a mom, is the most important work there is.
- schedule. routine.
- Knowledge that the Gospel is true.  That there isn't anything that can change that and that doubting my doubts is a lot more peaceful than doubting my faith.
- My future.

That's all for now.  Feel better already :).

Things to Remember week of 5-4-14

YW
I experienced the coolest thing on Sunday.  There is a new girl in our Mia Maid class and so Amy had us go around the room introducing ourselves and saying something about ourselves.  I could not get over how much chatter and giggling this brought on!  These girls are all mostly friends, most of the time- from what I can see- obviously it's not all the time- but anyway- I had never seen them interact so well and so loudly :).  I loved it.  They were so cute to offer nice things about each other when one of them couldn't think of something to say about herself.  It was really cool.  Got me all excited about Girls Camp :).  5-4-14

WALK ABOUT
We had our first walk about of the year (the real first one was when Steve and Jauslin came over), LOVED IT!  I just love our ward.  The kids ran around like crazy people at the last house playing tag and stuff with everyone.  It was heavenly.  5-4-14

PRIEST LUNCH
Nate invited all of his Priests over for some smoked Chicken Wings on Monday during their school lunch.  It was so cute to see him all excited about it and wanting to impress them with his wings.  They ALL came (plus a few :) ) and LOVED them.  One of them asked me if I felt "so lucky to be married to him!".  Of course I do.  And not just for the wings :).  It was a bit of a whirlwind, since their lunch is so short- 40 min- but lots of fun :).  I hope they do it again.  5-5-14

CHARITY
Charity and I turned her doctor appointment into a date :).  It was a pretty heavy trip to the doctor.  Charity is 12 so they had a questionnaire for her to fill out in a separate room from me (which I'm still a little bugged about- that they didn't even ask me!  I would have said yes, but the fact that they just hurried and did it without my permission kind of irks me.  Afterall this is the doctor's office, not the school.).  Then they did a few other new things, cholesterol test and to top it off, her booster shot for the Gardasil.  So, not her favorite.  It was probably good though.  Afterward we stopped at Keva Juice for some Orange Obsession.  Then shopped a little too.  It was a nice time for Charity and I.  I enjoy her company so much.  She's pretty much an adult when it comes to conversation.  She's really easy to talk to.  She's just such a sweet girl.  We had to hurry home for dinner and FHE.

FHE
The park over by the Splash park here in Kaysville is our new favorite.  The kids request it a LOT.  So that was Bradley's make up FHE lesson this week.  The kids and I played tag all over the playground.  (Nate played Jack's Slave most of the time, helping him climb up the scary- seriously, this is a sorry excuse for a way to get up to the slide! It's really not LITTLE kid friendly, so not Jack's favorite park)  It was a blast.  Luke ended the trip with a slam into a pole- knee first- that was a bummer.  But it was time to go home anyway.  Erika picked the treat again and picked Dippin Dots this time.  She was so excited about her treat idea, before we left, that she made a little sign announcing what the treat was going to be.  When Nate asked her what we were going to get (because we hadn't bought anything yet) she wanted to go home to get her sign and show it to everyone, and THEN go to the store.  It was late, so we vetoed that idea, but how adorable is she!  She's so funny.  Noah was depressed that he didn't get to pick the treat like he had been expecting (he missed the memo that we were having a redo FHE) so he helped Erika pick it :).  Fun stuff.  5-5-14

LEMONS
So Tuesday morning started out WRONG.  We had scheduled an appointment with Mr. Hughes first thing in the morning.  I was more than done with the whole Charity/Tagon drama.  I had heard enough and had come to my conclusion of how things were and that Charity was being wrongfully dealt with.  I spent most of Monday night ticked off at the school and everyone in it, even threatened to homeschool the kids... yes, I do sound crazy.  I was just so mad.  I guess I should keep the details private- unless Charity wants them out there, but she had had some issues with a girl in her class and the "solution" that they had come to on Friday with Mr. Hughes was not working.  I really just hated the whole thing.  I felt like they had handled it wrong, I felt like Charity was being blamed, I felt like the other girl and her mom were running things... anyway- I was being a victim- lame.  So I was mad.  We went to our meeting with the Principal and it really didn't take long before I realized that I was wrong.  Not that Charity was all at fault or anything- I still can't believe that what she had done was being scrutinized, but whatever- I want her to behave and I want her to be respectful of her peers and teachers.  So ANYWAY!  Long story short, I came home just feeling like a failure of a mom.  I couldn't help but scoop up the mess from Monday at the Doctor's office, and pile that on top of that morning, and all of it was just too much for me.  I hate those times when it hits me that I have not done EVERYTHING.  I always know I cannot do everything, but for some reason it hits really hard every once in a while.  I couldn't stop making mental lists of all the things I wanted to talk about with the kids, and things I wanted to change about how we were running our family.  It was a LOT of stuff.  It was heavy.  I felt myself sinking into that hole that I hate.  I kept praying about it and asked Heavenly Father to help me, but I was not being receptive.  I needed something to just yank me out.  THEN, it hit me, I was being handed "lemons".  Ya know how we always talk about trials being beneficial and that trials make us stronger and that we can benefit from them... aka: make lemonade- I was being handed "LEMONS"!!!  Small ones, but lemons nonetheless.  I realized that this was my chance!  I didn't need to dwell on this.  Yeah, it's embarrassing to sit in meetings with people and hear about all the things that the child whom you've raised has not been taught enough of the right things.  Yeah, there are things we need to work on, but it finally occurred to me how little this problem really was.  It occurred to me that things like this are going to happen and I need to be able to bounce back, brush myself off and get on with life.  This was a minor setback.  A TINY setback.  If I couldn't handle this one, how could I expect to handle something bigger.  So... almost instantaneously- which NEVER happens for me!!! (sorry, just really happy about that :) )- I changed my mood :).  I put on a smile and sucked it all up.  I moved on!  I made lemonade :).  Hopefully it will happen a little quicker next time.
The great thing was that this change occurred around noon and the rest of the day ended up being one of my favorite days!  Nate had the day off, so we decided to go get some of the things we'd been wanting to get for the yard, and took the time to plant those.  We were just having so much fun together.  The feeling was peaceful for the rest of the day.  Such a blessing.  I'm glad I didn't miss out on that.
That evening we all joked and laughed as we sat in the pouring rain at Luke's baseball game.  He had a good hit and made a point for his team!  After we got the kids in bed, we sat and talked with Kenni Cole for a little while- she brought over some shoes for Bradley- and then went to see Heaven Is For Real.  It was a fun day for us.  I just love Nate.  I love that he lets me make my changes and doesn't question how I could be crying and angry one minute and then spouting sonnets the next :).  He let me be mad, let me be embarrassed, let me be sad... then let me be happy... still loving me through it all.  He's so good to me.  I should mention how much I appreciate his wisdom and his ability to talk and listen.  He worked wonders with the whole principal situation. He is amazing.  It would have been a totally different experience if he hadn't been there.  So anyway.  5-6-14

NATE'S WEEK OFF
This is one of Nate's vacation weeks.  Stinks that it's also the week of testing at school.  We've decided to make it a nice relaxing week where we get a lot of yard work done and hanging out together :).  So far it's been awesome!  I've loved it.  I'm glad he didn't decide to go back and turn in his vacation time like he has in the past to save PTO.

JACK'S TALKING!!!
SO!!  The post we've all been waiting for (okay, maybe it's just me, but still!) Jack is finally trying out some new words!!  I had to post about it.  Here's what he can say now:
Mom or Mama (pretty much all the time, and this one is not new at all :) )
DadDY (NEW and oh so cute!)
Ba (Ball)
Fow (Flower)
Dee (Drink)
Mo (More)
Aye (Yes)
Mine (a definite must for a seventh child :) )
I think that's all- but I'm so excited that he is trying!  We have gotten him to attempt a few of the kids' names, but he quit the last few days.  The "L"'s stress him out a little :).  Makes saying "Kelly" very intimidating.  He is such a sweet little joy in our lives though- I don't know what we'd do without the little monkey!  5-8-14

AWESOME DAY!
I just wanted to document my awesome day :).  It didn't start out as awesome as it could have, we stayed up so late the night before (second night in a row) that there was no way I could wake up early.  But the rest of the day was just so nice.  I got my scripture reading and some housework done before Playgroup.  Nate did the Costco shopping while we were at the park (which I totally blabbed everyone's ears off, the whole time, totally unloading all my drama from the past week- which then dug up a lot of frustration I had already worked through- so that was the wrong thing to do- lesson learned), but it was a nice relaxing time at the park, the kids played pretty well.  Then we came home and since Jack was asleep and Erika was at Kate's, Nate and I both took a nice little siesta :).  Then after a half hour (or so), we got outside and did the work we'd been planning to do the day before but couldn't because of the rain.  It was so nice!  I cleaned up the garage, which always feels good- I wish I would just get out there and do it more often, it's not that hard.  I remember when I was little, I totally loved cleaning out the garage and I did it pretty often.  Nate edged the lawn.  I fixed a yummy dinner and had it ready in time!  And then the sad thing that happened today was Luke falling and hurting his tailbone!  He was hurt pretty bad, but we're still not sure if it had anything to do with him not wanting to go to baseball today.  Which really stinks because he's been loving it so much, I'd hate to have him not enjoying it anymore.  So anyway- the plan to sit and watch his game was out, so after a little while, I fixed Bradley's bike tire (put on a new tube! go me!) and once Luke's tailbone was feeling better, we all hopped on our bikes and went for a ride!  It was SO NICE!!!  I just love that we can all get out together (can't wait til Erika is riding her own bike, and not riding in the trailer of course :) ), it's just so peaceful!  We didn't really have a set destination and not really enough time to go anywhere real spectacular, and since our usual trip to get slurpees didn't seem like a good idea after all of our talk about taking better care of our bodies, we decided a simple little ride to nowhere and back would be good enough :).  Some of the Maynes kids disagreed, but that's okay :), we still had a good time.  I think it's interesting how in charge of things Charity and Kelly are in those situations.  They really like to take care of everyone and remind them of the safety rules and keep them all in line and I think it's really in the name of protecting them in this instance.  It's kind of cool.  I remember being like that too.  Too bad it annoys the littles.  Anyway.  So we came home and got the house all cleaned up while blasting some of our favorite tunes, and then scriptures and to bed!  Then, Kelly remembered that she needed to go to the store still, so she, Bradley and I all went to Bowman's.  Again, a very nice time.  And again, we blasted some of our favorite tunes on the way home :).  I finished a few loads of laundry once we got home and I am just feeling SO FULFILLED RIGHT NOW!!!  It's a great feeling.  I have decided to be content with feeling good about many things I'm doing right and not let the few that I'm doing wrong drown it out!  Drops of awesome :).  Good night!  5-8-14

GRANDPA HATCH'S BIRTHDAY
I can't believe my dad is really 59.  Kinda weirds me out.  We celebrated nonetheless :).  Nate spent the day smoking ribs and we took those up to my Dad's for dinner with everyone.  It was a nice evening.  It's really been too long since we did anything with my Dad.  Kinda stinks when I think about how much time we used to spend with him compared to now.  It's all because he doesn't work from home anymore.  Bums me out.  Anyway- he's getting older and supposedly wiser, although he constantly tells me the same stories over and over again... it was fun to see him :).  3-10-14

Things to Remember- week of 4-27-14

STAKE CONFERENCE
I LOVED this Stake Conference (or Regional Conference, or whatever it was called)!  It was broadcast from the Conference Center, so a pretty big deal.  We got to hear from several General Authorities, which is always awesome.  I loved the Spirit that was there.  The kids did good, that was nice.  Nate took care of Jack.  I sat there and enjoyed most of the meeting.  Well until I almost died.  I got the worst pain I've ever felt (outside of having a baby).  It was SO intense!!  I was ready to just leave, but I wanted to hear the rest of the last talk.  It was so crazy.  I was sweating and my head started pounding... it was really just awful. Then I realized I needed to go to the bathroom.  I passed a blood clot the size of a golf ball!!  It was SO GROSS!!! (sorry to my only reader, Emily- I have to document this stuff somewhere.)  I am still wondering what it was.  I'm hoping it's just that my uterus is humongous or something.  We'll see I guess.  Hopefully it wasn't something important.  I hate the thought of it being a miscarriage, which doesn't make much sense anyway.  I'd take a pregnancy test, but I"m too afraid of what it will say.  So anyway.  Kinda crazy.  The pain stopped shortly after I got home though, so that was a relief.  And I haven't had much pain or bleeding since then.  4-27-14

MOM AND SIMON
My Mom and Simon came over for dinner.  It was REALLY laid back and relaxed.  I think my house may have scared them, we didn't really clean up much.  It was a nice time though.  We showed them the kitties and talked about "Cuthroat Kitchen"... good times. 4-28-14

FHE GONE BAD
FHE this week went was not really what I would call a success.  It probably started with the Lacrosse game.  I had heard that one of my young women would be playing her last game (along with some of the other girls) that afternoon.  I thought it would be the perfect pre-dinner-FHE (we usually do it after, and I should know better than to try to shake things up with these guys- they don't do change without warning).  Well, that didn't fly with Bradley.  He had other plans for FHE (plans that changed a few times, but plans nonetheless :) ).  So we decided to go to the game AND do something else after dinner for FHE.  It wasn't the worst idea ever.  Just cramming a lot into one evening.  So anyway.  We all went to the Jr. High for the Lacrosse game.  It was a lot of fun.  I have never seen a girls Lacrosse game.  We ended up talking with one of the Young Men, Ben Smith, through most of it.  What a fun conversation that was!  I just love the Young Men and Young Women in this ward.  They're so fun.  He was there to watch "a cute girl" play.  He's hilarious.  ANyway.  So we couldn't help but stop and play on the school playground after that... which took up even more time.  I think we got home around 7:00.  We hurried and ate dinner, then we were off to the park for kickball.  It was a little chilly out for kickball at the park.  We had only played half of one inning (I don't think the boys team ever made it up to kick) when Nate twisted his ankle and totally toppled over on his way to tag someone on second base.  We ALL thought he was playing around.  It was a pretty graceful fall if you ask me.  We learned quickly that he wasn't faking it.  His poor ankle was already SO swollen!  I was worried.  Totally thought it was broken.  We ended our game, much to Bradley's dismay, and carried Nate home.  It was so sad.  The kids were so amazing though!  They were so sweet with him, everyone helped to get ice packs and pillows and propping up his feet... it was just really cool.  Nate doesn't get pampered too often.  So anyway.  Our evening was done for... along with Nate's week!  He was out for a few days.  Kind of a bummer.  Kind of not ;) (I enjoy his company even when he's laid up on the couch :) ).  4-29-14

BYE BYE
I put the ad on KSL for the kittens on Tuesday.  The first three went very quickly.  Only a few people stood me up, but people just came and left with one of our little babies.  It was hard!  Poor Noah, Tiger was the first one to go.  He was Noah's favorite. Lots of tears were shed for him.  Smokey was next.  We were sad to see her go too.  I have never charged anything for kittens before- I was a little surprised that people were paying for them.  I think it was a good idea though, of Liz's, to make sure we get people who are serious.  Makes sense.  And makes me money :).  Well, not really me because we decided since Kelly and Luke have done all the work with them, they should get it.  Minus a little for food.  But anyway, I think Elliot was next.  He was so cute.  Not the cuddliest.  The last two, Cozmo (slash millions of other names) and Pinky stayed with us one more night.  Then they left Wednesday afternoon, together, with a couple who were giving them as a birthday gift to someone.  I liked that they took two of them together... kitties have so much fun together.  Anyway.  I was definitely too attached to the little guys.  It was sad to say goodbye.  Now we just have a couple more weeks for the other batch to go.  I'm trying so hard not to like them, but they're so stinkin' cute!  4-30-14

GLOW PET
Erika has been saving up her money for the last few weeks, with the hope of buying a Glow pillow pet.  She finally had enough so we took her to pick one out!  She was so excited!  I'm so proud of her for being disciplined enough to save the money!  $20 isn't easy for a 4 year old to come up with!  She got a cute seal one.  So far it's name is Seal-y Cuddlebug.  4-31-14

"THIS IS A HAPPY DAY!"
Noah got to go to school in the morning twice this week!  He was SO thrilled about it!  He woke up and screamed out, "THIS IS A HAPPY DAY!" It was adorable.  Minus the waking up Jack part.  He had rehearsal and school performance on Thursday (which the big kids LOVED!  I was so happy they were so fun about it and made Noah feel all cool), and then the parent performance on Friday.  5-1-14

MONSTER CONCERT
Thursdays have been a little strange for us lately, kind of full.  It always works out okay and everything is spaced so that nothing gets skipped.  This week though... I screwed up ROYALLY!!  So we had to get Charity to her concert rehearsal at 4:00.  The thing that really messed up the whole evening was the location of her concert.  I was under the impression that it was at KJH.  I was wrong.  It was clear out in West Layton at Legacy Jr. High.  I really should have adjusted my plans when I learned this, but I didn't..  Bradley had to be to scouts and Luke had to be to his baseball game at 4:15.  Luke's game went late, so we didn't get done until 6:00 which is when Charity's concert was supposed to start.  I was freaking out.  I was so mad that I had screwed the evening up.  I wish so badly that I could go back and just ditch the game and go to the concert by myself.  Me and my need to have everyone at everything... so anyway.  We got to Legacy Jr. at about 6:28.  I walked into the school and heard, "And thank you to all of you parents.... Have a good night."  It was over!  UGH!!!  I had no idea it was really going to be only a half hour long.  I was so mad at myself.  Charity was all cheerful and I wanted to badly to tell her that I loved the concert and just pretend that I had been there.  She asked a few questions though, and it all had to come out.  I couldn't lie.  I felt (still do) so bad!  Her only cello concert.  So anyway.  Kind of depressing really.  We did get done with dinner in time for Charity to go to dodgeball.  It was a lot of fun to watch her (and Kelly :) ) play.  She has a lot of fun with that.  We went out to ice cream after dodgeball to celebrate the monster concert, Charity liked that :).  5-1-14

TGIF
Friday was another packed day... we had Noah's Kindergarten program at 9:00.  Then Playgroup at 10:00.  We left there around noon, came home and cleaned up a little, then took Charity her lunch and met up with Heidi at 1:00.  We had lunch at Bajio (fish tacos.... mmmmmmm), then came home and talked for the rest of the evening :).  It was a fun time for me and Heidi.  She gave me this really cute wreath that had to have taken her forever to make, it's so cute!  I need to find the perfect spot to hang it.  Charity and Kelly kept us all running the rest of the evening with Kelly and her friends' outing to Dairy Queen and Charity going to her Dare Boondocks day.  We had Heidi over for dinner, talked some more, and then said goodbye to Nate to work the mid.  I was still driving around at 10:40 at night picking people up and waiting for them to come home!  Fun day though.  5-2-14

ARBY'S, GARDENING,  POTATO SALAD
Becky and I went to the Stake Women's Conference thing together.  It was a really cool meeting.  I feel all motivated to memorize The Living Christ now.  I LOVED President Taylor's talk. She didn't like the way the salad looked, so we ditched the luncheon and had Arby's :).  Becky and I have had so much fun together lately.  It's been so nice.  I love that we are still friends.  I came home and worked in the yard a little.  Planted a bunch of seeds in our planter boxes finally.  I don't want to list all that we planted because I'm worried none of it will come up.  Call me a pessimist, but it's hard for me to believe we will actually have anything to show for all my hard work :).  I'm praying for them regularly :).  Hopefully whatever I lack in gardening skills, I can make up for in faith.  I do believe in miracles :).  Nate and I weeded the other side of the yard for a while too.  Getting things ready to plant some other stuff, possibly some raspberries and strawberries.  It was a relaxing day for the most part.  Even though I will be sore tomorrow.  Then I got busy making the potato salad (in honor of Pres. Taylor's talk) for dinner with the Widdisons!  I still can't believe I screwed up Friday's plans, but we had such a good time eating yummy Stuffed Peppers and potato salad, and talking together (about radars hA!).  It's really fun for me to be able to get our two families together and just hang out.  The kids did great and I got to hang out with my favorite cousin.  Good times.  Jack hugged Sarah goodbye too :).  Oh, and I taught Jack how to say banana. :)  5-3-14