Club or something else

The kids have some great friends in the neighborhood. Two of them live across the street. Some of the boys came over telling our kids (with much excitement) that they were all going to have a war- boys against girls. They were each going to have a clubhouse and throw "soft toys" at each other. :) The kids finished dinner and ran out the door. We told Ty to be home at 7. He walked in the door 3 before 7 breathless from running (he knows if he's late he's busted). So, he told me he was home and a minute later he was gone. The front door was open. I looked outside and there were 6 little kids standing close to the neighbors house with their faces towards it and they were all holding hands. What in the world? I kept watching and realized they were singing. Yep, holding hands and singing. Maybe a club meeting? Then the boy who lives at the house got up in front of the group and the rest sat down in front of him. They took turns talking in front and then they would sit down. After I was interrupted by a door to door bake sale, I called the kids home. ALL of the kids came home. I gave them each some of the goods I had just bought and had my kids come in. I asked Ty about the "club meeting" and he said it was nothing like that. It was, in fact, a funeral for the late pet of Travis. Yep, they had just buried his pet lizard and the singing, hand-holding, speech event was a funeral. It was like a picture out of history. A flashback to the 50's where kids could run barefoot, throwing balls, staying out until dusk with no fears, kind of moment.....pure and simple and full of childhood wonder. Anna even prayed tonight for Travis and the lizard. Tyson told me that in Travis' speech he was sad that the poor little lizard couldn't figure out how to live in a cage and instead died. I hope this little event stays in my memory forever.

Spring Clean-up

Papa Winslow came over today and we did some yard clean up to prepare for the summer. It needed some work and the weedin is still not done. Just so you know- I am not a fan of weeding the zero-scape section of our yard. The dang rocks are crappy to dig through and it hurts my fingers. Whine whine whine. Anyway, I took a couple pictures and then Tyson took the camera and took some too. He did a good job, though I don't know what the hand thing is about.

Bray LOVED helping test the sprinklers. Was soaked by 9:30 in the morning.

They have been playing in the back of the truck all the time lately. I remember doing this very thing as a kid.

Helping Papa check the water pressure. Nice undies Anna.

Bed Time

Brayden has been a pill for us at bed time/nap time. He goes to sleep, but has to vocalize his distaste for our decision to put him to sleep. Usually he just yells our names or throws his pacifier for us to pick up. Last night he was calling our names, and we ignored him and after about 10 minutes the yelling stopped and all was quiet. When we went up to bed later, we looked in on the kids and this is what we found........ PJ's on the floor....AND.....
An upside-down, mostly naked toddler. Love it.

"Happy crying"

For our anniversary, we didn't do anything amazing...at least not at a glance. We ate dinner and then watched our wedding video (something Tyson voiced his strong, yet negative opinion about). The kids sat down and the video started with the "life" photos that were shown during our receptions. Instantly the kids loved it! They loved seeing us as babies and kids and seeing us "before they were born". Then the wedding video of us at the temple came along and Anna was sucked right in. She didn't blink until after the reception video was over. When it was done she said "I wish you could do that in real life right now." She was so serious about it. She really wanted us to get married right then so she could be part of it. So instead of getting married, I told her I'd put on my wedding dress for her to see. They were all about that. So I put it on and the kids came up and Anna burst into tears. What? Tears? What's wrong? She told me that the video was just so good that she couldn't stop crying. She leaned up against my big puffy dress and cried on it. Didn't think my own daughters tears would be on my wedding dress. Anyway, she took a bath and then came back in and burst into tears again and asked if she could sleep with me because she "just wanted to be with me." We have a strict rule about no kids in our bed, so I said no, but went and tucked her in. Then I said good night to the boys and Tyson said, "Mom, I kinda feel like Anna. Sort of like I want to cry." I asked why and he replied, "Because it's a happy cry."

I had NO idea our video would have this effect on our kids. Wow. It made me happy to know that they understand how important our family is and how much we love each other. It was a great family moment...even if the emotions did run a tad bit on the high side :)

WARNING: This may get mushy

Today is our 8th anniversary. I remember getting married and thinking how WONDERFUL life would be. No problems- just smooth sailing. I was kidding myself. What a roller coaster it has been. Between the jobs, kids, and our various health issues, we have some how managed to stay married and we still like each other.....and even more....we are still in love.

We went to a friends wedding on Saturday and something stuck out to me. Advise was given by a few people, and at the end of one of the toasts, a person said that they hoped the couple could look back on that day as the day they were the least in love. I can say that I was very much in love with Mike the day we got married, but there is so much more to it now. There is much more substance to it now and I can say that we are much more in love now than we were 8 years ago. We have been through things together that have made us stronger people and we have needed to rely on each other more than ever with raising a family and having jobs and dealing with the health issues that have come our way.

8 years ago I didn't know Mike like I know him now. I've seen him grow as a father, as a teacher, as a friend, and as my husband. He has helped me grow as a wife, a mother, and has very literally saved my life. I love him very much. I love to make him laugh, I love to see him happy, I love to watch him with our kids, and I love to watch our kids become like him. He was a good catch then and an even better one now. I won't ever be able to express in words what he means to me, but I hope he can feel it. I love you Mike! You are still my hero.

Ahhhh

The end of the week finds me in a much more sane condition then the beginning of the week did. I have been able to accomplish a lot in the past few days and that has helped me.

SUPAF is almost done :) YAY! That's a big one. The Music Composition entries will be judged this weekend and the Awards Night is this coming Friday. I reported to the Exchange Club yesterday.

Mike and I have been working on food storage. We have close to no storage space in the house, so we've had to make some adjustments. All of the kids toys have been moved to the bedrooms and out of the playroom closet. We are putting what little food storage we have in the closet and plan to build it up now that we have a place for it. I went to the cannery for the first time on Wednesday and filled 12 cans with a bunch of different things. It was great and cheap. I paid on average just over $4 for each #10 can. Compared to the commercial rate of $12-$20 per can, I'd say that's a good deal.

We have to have 40 volunteer hours per year at the charter school that Tyson attends. I haven't had many hours so far this year, so I decided to help the kindergarten by sewing some book bags. Someone had started them last year and they were done so badly that I've had to take them all apart and start over. So I've finished half of the bags and have about 8 hours behind me. Hopefully I can finish the rest in the next few days.

Today, Mike and I took the kids out for breakfast and then for a hike. We went to 'The Egg and I' and the food was great. Brayden had a great time playing with the water and ice in my water cup and the older two couldn't stop talking about how much fun they were having. We then hiked about 1 1/2- 2 miles. The kids were beat by the time we reached the car, but it was so beautiful outside- we couldn't cut the hike short.

Tomorrow we are going to Cedar for the wedding of a good friend- Josh Stavros- and then back to the grind on Monday with teacher meetings. Should be fun. If I remember my camera tomorrow, I'll post some pics. Good day all!

Holding on....

I've lost it. I've hit my breaking point. I am just not doing well with the balancing act that is my life. The stress has finally conquered me physically and mentally. Today has not been a pretty one. There are many good things in my life, but there are many things that just aren't working. The continuous conflicts- both external and internal- that moms of today have to deal with are really tremendous. This working/kids/husband/schedules stuff isn't for the light at heart. I am not light at heart and I as for today, I can't handle it. Maybe tomorrow I will. But I have to remind myself of the good things. That's hard to do when I feel like I'm close to a mental implosion, but here are some things that will hopefully keep me going a little longer......... Sophie Cat. What a funny little ball of fur. She makes me laugh.
Having the smartest kids on the planet. This is Tyson's Science project. Moldy bread. It's been fun thus far.

Count down to D-day. Disney is coming fast....thank heavens.

Little discoveries.....as slimy as they may be......

At the risk of sounding cheesy....

I was driving to work today with about a million things on my mind: talking to my student teacher, setting up class, getting SUPAF finished, etc, etc. So, I'm driving down this rather open road and as I turn onto the street towards my school, a man in a truck waves at me. It was just a courtesy wave as we passed each other. I instantly looked up at these beautiful red rock cliffs and a rush of patriotism washed through me. I felt so grateful to live in such a beautiful place with friendly people. "America the Beautiful" started playing in my mind and all of my worries turned off. It was a great moment. Even though it seems life as we have known it is fading away and a lot is going wrong in the world, there is a lot of good going on too. I still love America. I still have faith in my country. I still look at those mountains and cliffs and see hope and majesty. I still look at my kids and see the future....a good future. I know times will get harder- we've been told it will, but it's all do-able. Just thought I'd share that....even if I do risk getting a few chuckles thrown my way.