The Layne Family

Good, Better, Best

2011-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the talk by President Dallin H. Oaks about good, better, best. But didn't until today realize how I could apply it to myself. For the past several years, I think that I have been in survival mode. Running a day care was a lot of fun, but it took all of my time. I started at 6:30 am and didn't finish until 5 or 5:30 every day. When I had kids here that I was watching, I had to completely focus on them. My kids were here too, so it was great that I was always with them. But I rarely if ever got a free moment. Ok once or twice a day I was alone in the bathroom. =) Even when all my kids were little it wasn't as time consuming, because I could put them down for a nap, or turn on a movie, and take a break here and there. It was a full-time job that was done at home. Not to mention my own kids. Now luckily I had Chad here to help, and then I even had my sister helping, which was great. But even with both of them, I was almost always "on"

Then last year after my sister got married and Chad started working up in Los Angeles I was really flying solo. Which is why I decided to stop doing full time daycare and just do three days of 3 hour preschool. I abosuletely love it. The kids are awesome and I can't imagine doing anything else. Mondays and Fridays I don't have any set commitments except that I volunteer at the school on Fridays, but Mondays are almost completely free.

And thus we get to the point of my post. Today after the kids left preschool I had 2 hours until my kids came home from school. Because Mondays are mostly free, I get pretty much caught up with cleaning and laundry, with not too much left during the week. So as I sat here I almost couldn't decide what to do. The thought process was this, "well, I could wash the few dishes in the sink, or fold the two loads of laundry that's left, or I could just play the piano, or maybe I should take a nap." (playing the piano won). And thus the thought of the talk came into mind. "so this is what he meant about how we spend our time doing the best things, even if the other things are good. Because for the first time in a while I felt like I didn't absolutely have to do anything. When things are mostly caught up there isn't the same pressure to just keep plugging away at everything that "needs" to get done. Now don't get me wrong, the dishes piled up after the kids came home, and the family room is a mess again, and darn it if those kids didn't wear enough clothes today to make up 2 more loads of laundry. But the point is, I now feel like I can spend my time doing the best things. Like just holding Brooke tonight as she fell asleep watching Monster's Inc. Or talking to Dylan about things that happened at school. Or reading out loud to Spencer last week when he stayed home from school.

But most of all I feel like I can enjoy the most important thing in life...my family.

p.s. I should have figured this out and enjoyed the best things even when life was hectic, but as usual it took going through it and looking back to see how I could have done things differently.

8 months and 2 weeks

2011-10-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Brooke at the Temple

Brooke's Halloween Costume

Chase on his field trip to the Renaisance Fair. Standing next to a Knight.

Dylan at his field trip to Biz Town as the UPS Sales Manager.

That's how long it has been since I have posted on my blog. And I have finally found some time to write again. As most of you know, life has been a little crazy for the last, well, probably year or so. What with unemployment, full-time day care, sister getting married, sister moving away =( ,new job, a move down the street, the stress that comes with moving, and getting settled, especially with less space, (good excuse to get rid of stuff). So yes, with all of that going on, I just couldn't find a spare moment to write about it. But I am back, and hopefully for good. I have realized that although most of my friends here know what's going on in our lives , my family and friends that live far away do not, so I want to try to put pictures and videos on here more often so they can also see what we are up to. Also, as I was looking at pictures from just one year ago, I realize how much my kids have changed in that year. I feel sad that our families are missing it, so I want to do my part to help them see it. So here goes...Hopefully this will be the start of a new thing. =)

ok, so I can't move the text to the top, every time I highlight the words to move them the computer freezes for like 2 minutes. So this is what you get. It isn't pretty but it's here. =)

A good day!

2011-02-09T23:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. Even though there are only 12 or less minutes in this day, I wanted to blog about it before it was over. It started off like any other day. Early, with very little sleep for me. But it seemed like it was a good day. The kids and I played Wii, the little kids almost never get to touch the wii, so they were super excited they actuallly got a turn. Then we played in the playroom, then we played outside. As we had just sat down to eat lunch, Chad called. We hadn't talked all morning which is pretty unusual. We usually at least text something to each other. He asked if I had seen his text which I had not, when I went over to see the phone, I saw the text. He told me they offered him the job. I was so excited, I could hardly stand it. Although this job is in Los Angeles, and we probably won't see him except for the weekends, it is a really good thing. So after 2 years of underemployment, I mean let's not forget he was the culinary supervisor, schedular, and billing specialist for the day-care, he finally has a full-time, good paying job. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that the Lord has blessed us with this right now. The timing is impeccable, (but that is usually how He works). We just last night met with a couple that are buying a house in our neighborhood that want to rent it out as an investment property, they want to rent it to us and we want to rent it, so I think that we will pretty much be able to get it (Thank you Brad!) The house is more rent than what we are paying for right now, so I was really nervous about doing it just based on what I make with the day-care, but now with a Chad's job, that isn't nearly as big of a worry. I am so happy and grateful that things seem to be working out. I know that things could change, but if everything keeps going like it is, then we should have a house to live in and a job to pay for it. I will write about more details soon, but it is now midnight, and I have to get up in 5.45 hours.

Friends...

2011-02-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

What would life be like without friends? I am so grateful for the friends that I have. Between my last post and the post I put on facebook, I can't believe the amazing feeling of love that I have felt from friends and family. To all of you who have said such nice things, or offered words of support, or just ask how things are going. Thank you so much! I am so lucky to have such great friends and family. I saw this quote today and really liked it. "Friends are like walls, sometimes you lean on them, and sometimes it's just enough to know they're there." I am so glad to know that I have friends that I can lean on, but just to know they are there is comforting too. Thank you!!!!

Life...

2011-01-31T23:25:00.000-08:00

I am so infrequent with blogging that it is a little sad. But alas it is always good to start afresh.

For anyone that is reading this, they probably already know the drama going on with our life right now. Out of the blue in the beginning of January, our Landlords let us know that they would not be renewing our lease at the end of March. They had decided to sell the house they live in and move back into this one. Leaving us hanging just a little. Needless to say I was in panic mode for a couple of days, then slowly things started to return to normal. Well, I say normal, but what is normal really? But at least I stopped crying at night after I put the kids to bed. I don't remember the last time I cried so much in a three day period. Our house has been perfect for us, our neighborhood is great, the ward is wonderful, the elementary school is good, Chase can walk to middle school, and our next door neighbors the Dunns, are the best neighbors one could ever dream of having. Just thinking about them right now makes me sad that we won't be living next to them. Brooke can't just walk over there at the slightest whim, just to see them. Our families have become very close these last almost 4 years. If any member of our family can't be found, the first place everyone knows to check is next door. And Grandpa (well really he is their grandpa, but we claim him too) who lives their 6 months out of the year at least, comes over to see Chad at least once a day. And he always rings the doorbell twice, so all of the kids, even the day care kids hear it and yell out, "Grandpas here". So that is probably the part of this all that makes me the saddest.

But I have learned and grown already from this experience and it isn't even over yet. We will be sad to leave, but I think that is part of life, to have sorrow and sadness, but to find joy and gladness in every situation. I think of all of the pioneers and what they had to leave when they left their homes, and they didn't even have a "stay with parents till we figure it out" back up plan. They just left everything and walked for months to get to someplace they hadn't even checked out on google maps. I can't imagine the faith that that must have taken. I take for granted so much of what I have, and I am so blessed.

I have realized with this though that everyone is going through some kind of trial right now, and we all need to help each other, and keep our faith strong to make it through whatever we are going through. I hope we find a place to live soon, but I truly feel that the Lord knows what he is doing, and in the end everything will work out.

Sunkist Skin

2010-09-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Dylanism for the week:

So you know that Katy Pery song that goes "sun kissed skin so hot it melts your popsicle" Well, the other day Dylan was getting something out of the fridge and saw some Sunkist Orange Soda. Then he said to me "Mom I want to do an experiment. I want to see if you pour sunkist soda on your skin and then hold a popsicle up to it, if it would actually melt the popsicle... Ahhh the innocence of youth.

First Grade Takedown

2010-09-07T22:52:00.001-07:00

So I am still trying to figure out how to feel about the following story. Spencer came home from school and told me this...

Spencer: "Mom, today I got in a fight with another first grader"

Me: "What?! What happened?

Spencer: "Well I accidentally kicked the ball over the fence, then this other kid called me the s- word" (I am hoping that it was stupid). "So I said to him, did you just call me the s-word", and the boy said, yep, so I said to him, "Oh no you didn't", and then I tackled him, and then he tackled me and then I ran as fast as I could to the yard duty, and he had to sit out for the rest of recess.

Me: Trying as hard as I could to not just bust out laughing, said "Spencer you shouldn't tackle kids, even if they call you a bad name"

Spencer: "OK, fine." (and then he was off to play)

The funniest part was the way that he was talking when he said, "Oh no you didn't". It loses its effect when typed, but it was hilarious. So I wasn't sure if I should be proud because he stood up for himself, or upset because it sounds like he tackled some kid he didn't know (I do think it might have been a bad word, because I don't think he would react like that to the word stupid) But then should I be upset because a first grader was saying a bad word? I don't know. I am just going to hope for the best, that it was a minor word, and the tackling was nothing more than playful playground behavior. If I get called in to see the Principal tomorrow though, I guess I will know why. =)!
Hopefully that is the end of any tackling at school!

p.s. Tomorrow is Brooke's first day of Preschool. I will post pictures soon.

Middle School!

2010-08-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

So my first born son has entered the very grown up world of middle school. A world where parents are supposed to be behind the scenes, where the kids know more about life than adults, a world that is totally foreign to me except for fleeting memories of when I was there myself. I have very mixed feelings about this new venture we are in. On the one hand I am so excited for him to be doing new things and meeting new people. On the other hand I worry that I haven't done enough to prepare him, that there are going to be scary things that he may be exposed to. I am sure he will be fine, but I think it is just in my nature as a mother to worry... just a little.

Spencer and Dylan also started school today. Last night after Spencer's shower I handed him his frog towel and he said "Mom. I am in first grade now, I can't be using that baby towel anymore. Can you just get me the big towel?" He was very excited to get to school this morning and was the first one up and dressed. Dylan we had to practically drag out of bed, although he is very excited to have Mr. Pon who is a huge football fan, and who Chase had two years ago. I think it will be a good year for everyone.

So we are back to the routine. Early bed times, no sleeping in, homework, driving to and from school. In some ways it will be good to have a regular schedule, but on the other hand summer sure was nice.

p.s. I know it has been a long time since I have blogged, but hopefully I can be more regular about it. It is pretty lame though, I think I say that every time I post a blog, which has been on average every 3 to 4 months. Oh well.

p.p.s For your enjoyment I have added a picture of all four kids from 3 summers ago. (I accidentally added it and don't know how to get it off, so on it stays.) But aren't they cute...kool-aid faces and all.

Baseball Anyone?

2010-05-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

As many of you know we are deep in the middle of a busy baseball season. All three boys are playing this spring, which has been a little hectic at times, but we have loved it. This is Spencer's first year, and it could not have come soon enough for him. Unfortunately the t-ball division started later and is already over. I guess they think that the typical t-baller would be tired of baseball. Spencer is anything but typical. This kid showed more dedication than any one I know. All we would have to do would wake him up Saturday morning and remind him it was game day and he was up and fully dressed in 2 minutes. Sometimes even hours before his game started. Chase and his field were pretty close so if Chase had a game before him, the moment Spencer saw someone get even close to his field, he would grab his bag and say "okay mom I'm going to my game". He would get to the dugout, hang up his bag, take out his helmet and bat and put them in the proper spot, get his glove on and either sit down on the bench to wait for another player or go out and started playing catch. He could hit the ball into the outfield almost every time, and he could hit great off of the coach pitch. He ran at top speed between bases, and almost never missed sliding into home plate. He was focused on every play and knew where to throw the ball every time. (Now mind you this is t-ball, where there are no outs, no points, and everyone wins), but he knew where the outs would have been. The other day Chad took the boys to the batting cage and Spencer was hitting the ball 45 mph (the same speed as Chase) off the pitching machine. We are hoping that he will be this enthusiastic for everything he does. It was a fun season to watch and we can't wait until next year. Good Job Spencer! Here are a few pictures of this season.

Random Pictures

2010-04-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. The first three are pictures of pictures. They were the spring school pictures our school offered. Lets just say I couldn't get myself to buy them (Well except for one for Dylan because he is wearing the shirt that I wanted him to wear for fall pictures, and he refused on that day, but was willing this day and it matches the other boys fall school pictures) But that is the only reason. I am not sure why anyone would think these backgrounds would look good for school pictures, and Spencer is practically falling over. But the photographers told them to do that. Oh well, the boys actually were all smiling nice, so I just had to take a picture of it.

One of Brooke posing on our rock. The kids all love that rock. Probably because it is an adventure to get there winding through all of the cactus.

This next picture is of a cute little elephant at the Wild Animal Park. He was so little, and was just standing there nursing. It was just about the cutest thing ever.

Brooke also started her first ever team sport. She is playing with I think 8 other little kids, almost all from our ward. There are two boys and the rest are girls. They play on an enclosed field, so the action is nonstop. It is the funniest thing you have ever seen. They are getting better though, and they are scoring less goals on their own goalie than they used to. Brooke usually touches the ball 2 or 3 times each game, but she sure gets to run a lot. She sleeps really well on Friday nights, after the games. It has been fun for her to have "her" thing now that the family comes to watch. She is so grown up.

One more picture... This one was before we went to the game so she didn't have her green shirt yet. She was borrowing one from Spencer from a previous year.

Disneyland in Heaven?

2010-03-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

This past week my mom came to visit, Yay! It was totally fun. We went to the temple, watched baseball games, got our nails done, watched the newly released New Moon, went out to dinner, lunch, and best of all we took her to Disneyland! It was her first time to Disneyland in 30 years. I know, crazy considering my kids have been more in the few short years they have been alive than she has in her whole life. So it was a great treat to be able to take her. She loved it. Unfortunately it was pretty busy, but with fast passes we were able to go quickly through some lines. All in all it was a good day.

On a side note, as we were walking in Disneyland Spencer and I got into a conversation. I am not sure where it came from, he must have been talking about it in primary last week. Anyway this is how the conversation went...

Spencer: Where do we go after we get resurected?

Me: Well, we go to heaven

Spencer: But what about the other times that we get resurrected?

Me: (Trying to figure out where this was going) Well, honey, we only get resurrected once, after we die, we get resurrected and then we go to heaven.(Trying to keep it simple)

Spencer: After a long pause and looking quite upset...Mom, is there a Disneyland in Heaven?

Me: (How do you answer that to a six year old while walking among thousands of people in Disneyland) Ummm You know what, I think there will be...Or something like it and even better... =)

Man they can come up with some thought-provoking questions.

Pt. Loma

2010-03-05T21:34:00.000-08:00

On Presidents day a few weeks ago we went down to Pt. Loma and walked around a little. It was a pretty fun place with great views. Next time we will definetely have to spend more time there, and also go at low tide so we can see more of the tide pools.

It was nice to be able to spend the day together. I am so grateful for days like this. It reminds me how much I love being with my family. Not to mention the fact that I love that it is February and we are at the beach in shorts and sandals.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-24T22:13:00.000-08:00

Although belated I needed to start somewhere... These are a few pictures of the boys valentine's day parties.

Chase with his friend...
Dylan...notice the look of enjoyment that his mother has come into his class and taken a picture...
Spencer with Brooke...she got to join the party, and loved it.
It was a fun day of parties that started off the week long break from school. We had a great week and even got to spend 2 days at Disneyland with some great friends. It was very hard to go back to school Monday morning.

Hello!

2010-02-23T22:20:00.001-08:00

Well, I have certainly been absent from the blogging world for sometime now. I haven't posted since September, Spencer's birthday. But I just got out of the habit, and it seemed like blogging was taking my time that could be spent otherwise. However I feel like I don't know what is going on with people's lives that I used to frequent their blogs. I also needed to reevaluate why I blog. I don't know if I have it figured out yet, but I have been learning so much lately that I think it would be a good place to share with people things that are important to me. I also want to print a book each year, and this is a good way to journal for my family with fun pictures as well. So I will try to post again soon (even if just to give hope to those who have completely given up on me ever posting). =)

Happy Birthday Spencer!

2009-10-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Spencer's birthday was a week ago, but as I am going to try to blog a little more, I didn't want to miss one of the major milestones. Spencer turned 6 last week. Wow! Six years. I can't believe that it has been that long, and then again, it seems like longer than 6 years ago. He was born in Utah, but was only a few months old when we moved to Hawaii. You could always find him because he was the only one with snow white hair. Although he probably won't remember much about it except from pictures, I will always have fond memories of that time because 1. It was Hawaii, and 2. That was where he learned how to crawl, walk, swim, surf...ok maybe not surf, but he was on his way.

Here are some fun facts about Spencer.

*He loves Star Wars
*He loves Legos
*He especially loves Star wars legos.
*He loves little kids, he always has to say hi to all of the kids we watch when he gets home from school.
*He is in Kindergarten
*He has some amazing Guardian angels, they protected him when; He toddled into the middle of a busy road stopping traffic on both sides, he swallowed a penny and it got stuck in his throat for two weeks, he fell into our fish pond, and now that I think about it all happened in Hawaii, oh the memories =) (I wasn't sure if I should write about all those things, it sounds like I was neglectful, but I really wasn't, they just all happened to happen to him, he was and is my most...challenging child)
*He is our little bottle rocket. He has a lot of energy and never stops going.
*He loves to cuddle more than any of our children.
It has been a wonderful six years, we are so lucky to have him in our family. We love you Spencer!!!

Football, Soccer, and Ballet

2009-09-20T21:23:00.001-07:00

I realized that I don't have many football pictures on here, even though that sport is a huge part of our lives right now. Somebody has practice every day. Chase is Mon Wed Fri, and Dylan is Mon Tue Thurs. Then they both have games on Saturday. Its a good thing we like football. If nothing else it is keeping my boys in great shape, and they eat and sleep amazingly. Here are a few random pictures of their games. Chase is number 43, and Dylan is 88.

Dylan excited to be playing football

Our cheering squad. We watched almost 3 whole football games in one sitting. Go Broncos!!

Chase contemplating his upcoming game

We went to Rancho Bernardo Highschool this past Friday night for Pop Warner night where all of the kids playing pop warner, walk in front of the stands and then watch a varsity football game. It is a lot of fun.

Chase was watching the "big kids"

Dylan and Chad

On a side note Brooke started a little dance class that our wonderful next door neighbor is doing.

She is a freshman in highschool and loves dancing and kids.

Brooke loves to go to "Danana's house"

Here she is practicing a ballet move I think. I have never danced ballet, and know absolutely nothing about dancing... after 3 boys it is exciting to try something different.

Back to football... Chase waiting to go in.

Chase is the one second from the left blocking.

This is a shot of Chase right before he made an amazing tackle. Of course I didn't get a shot of that. But they had just kicked off the ball, and Chase ran up and pulled the guy to the ground. It was great.

Dylan running through the tunnel the parents create after the game. His team is so far undefeated. They are doing great.

Here is Dylan 2nd from the left, about to block maybe?

Spencer loves putting on the pads. Maybe next year.

Although right now Spencer is not involved in anything outside of school, he did do soccer this summer. Here he is with his "team". It was actually a soccer class, but he did do something. I don't know how I am going to manage 3 boys in something at once, but I am sure that I will find out soon enough.

So that is our football, soccer, and ballet updates. There is so much more, but all I have time for right now. I just discovered this cool thing that you can do. You can actually have your blog published in a soft or hard cover book. So cool. So I am going to try to update more often to have a great journal for our family to enjoy hopefully each year. What a neat thing to be able to journal, have pictures, and get it all printed out into a book. Technology is so amazing sometimes.

Birthday Treat!

2009-09-08T23:03:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was my birthday, and Chad took me to the beach to eat dinner and watch the sunset. We had a great time! It is a whole new experience going to the beach with out kids. We even got to see a family of dolphins swimming by. We are so lucky to live 20 minutes from a view like this...

Amazing...

2009-08-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, look at me. I have just done three posts in less than one week. That's more than I have done in the past 5 months. I finally got a new camera, so now I can put up pictures that are decent. It is really fun to have a camera that can zoom, and change lighting and stuff, instead of the camera on the phone. So prepare to see a lot more pictures. (unless the newness of a new camera wears off, and I get back into the habit of not posting anything for months). I also decided to update my blog. The pictures I have on the side are like 2 years old, and although I love the theme (it matches my family room) it is time for a change. So hopefully soon I can find a background that I like...

First Day of School

2009-08-20T20:52:00.001-07:00

We had a great first day of school! The boys all got great teachers, and they are very happy. Chase was very excited about the things that he will get to do as a fifth grader. Dylan had a very organized binder that he came home with, and Spencer was very happy that his teachers name is very piraty...Picture him saying in the most pirate voice Mrs. Scuuuuuuuur. And the kids had to keep reminding her that was her name because she just got married 5 days ago. All in all a very successful first day of school. And on the way home Chase said, "hey tomorrow is Friday". I guess there are some good things about starting on a Thursday.

You can see Brooke walking in behind Spencer. The only picture I got of her today.

More Pictures

2009-08-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures from our summer. They are all pretty random, but fun anyway.

Eating otter pops in the backyard on a warm summer day...

Hanging out with the Wicked Witch...

Brooke's 3rd birthday with a few of her princess friends...

Playing at a local splash park with friends...

Dylan's latest pose with his new football gear on...

Brooke and Spencer in a rare hug...

Brooke just being cute...as usual...

Chase and Dylan in an even rarer hug...notice the lack of actual physical contact...

A car that Chad and I saw on our date downtown...it was just too funny to not take a picture, I mean really, who still drives these kind of cars?

Where does the time go?

2009-07-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, so it has been like 3 months since I last posted. We have had a super busy summer already. I currently don't have a camera, just the one on my phone which actually takes somewhat decent pictures. So I haven't really been taking many pictures.

Since the last post we have finished baseball, finished school, had my dad and wife and kids visit, have my mom and sister and her baby visit, gone to disneyland, planned a baptism, gone camping, been to the beach at least once a week, done swim lessons, had Brooke's birthday, celebrated 4th of July, and in the meantime we have been super busy with watching kids. So needless to say we have had a lot going on. But it has been a fun summer, and it has been super fun visiting with family. I will try to post more often, and hopefully soon I can post more pictures too. Here is one with Brooke and her uncle...

What we've been up to

2009-04-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

These pictures show what we have been busy with lately. The backyard used to be all cactus and rocks, and now we have beautiful grass. This was a great family project, the boys (and Brooke) helped a lot. It was really fun to see the boys having such a great time. They mostly loved the digging, the dirt, and the trips to the dump. Chad has been working so hard on this project, and now that the grass is all in he is building the fence. Yay! The backyard looks great, and I can't wait till the grass can be walked on (they said to wait 3-4 weeks, I don't think that little feet count do you?) Thank you Chad!!!!

2009-04-26T23:36:00.001-07:00

Rock, paper, scissors

2009-03-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

So it has been very long since I have posted. It is like the longer I wait the harder it is to write. We have been quite busy with Baseball, both of the older boys are playing and having a great time. My camera has officially broken, so the only pictures are from my phone, but I will post some later. But the real reason why I just had to post...

So today on the way to baseball Dylan started a conversation with me. I love his conversations, they are actually quite insightful. Here is how it went from where I started listening,

Dylan:(talking to Spencer) so we are all Layne's except mom, she is a Jordan (my maiden name)
Me: No, I am a Layne now too
Dylan: Well, I guess. So when two people get married, whose name do they use, is it the mans?
Me: Yes, the wife changes her last name to the husbands.
Dylan: (after a few minutes of thinking) So if there was no prop 8 would they just do rock paper scissors to decide whose last name they would use?
Me: (trying not to laugh) I don't know, that is a good question Dylan. I'm not sure how that would work. (Seriously, how does an 8 year old think of questions like that?)

I can't wait for the questions he asks as a teenager =)!!!

Yo Ho, a pirates life for me

2009-02-23T13:10:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure what the boys are doing here, but it looks dramatic. I think they have seen one too many pirate movies. Maybe Spencer has a future as an actor. Notice how realistically he draped himself over the treasure box. Maybe that could be our backup plan for income, have our children become child actors and then use their money.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes"

2009-02-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland for two days this week since the boys are out of school. This is who Brooke got to see...Cinderella!

A friend of mine who also has 3 boys and then a girl was with us, and the two girls had so much fun seeing the princesses. We had to stand in line for over 45 minutes to see the princesses. What we won't do for our girls. By the way, this was the longest wait we had all day.Posing with the princess hats that they wished their moms would buy them.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...Brooke loved looking in the mirror with the princess hat on.

And a big surprise...Brooke was actually tall enough to ride on the Matterhorn. We couldn't believe it. She had her hands up the whole time.

Chad was mid-cough when I took this so he looks kind of funny, and they took off too fast to get another picture. Brooke was so excited to go on a "big kid ride".

The kids had so much fun with their friends that happened to be there on the same day. Our kids are all pretty much the same ages so they all have a buddy. The girls are the farthest apart at 2 and 3 years old. It's great. Yes, the boy in the middle is about to cry. The 6 boys squished together a little too hard.

Why is it so hard to get all 4 kids looking at the same time. Oh well...

This was Spencer as he went to go hug Goofy. Goofy turned around right as he was coming up to him, and then he was playing with Spencer and then put his shirt over his head, it was pretty funny.

As usual we had a great time playing at Disneyland with the family. One good thing about Chad being out of work is that he can spend all this time with us, and especially when it is at Disneyland.

p.s. The quote of the week was made by Chase on this trip. It went something like this...We were eating breakfast at Denny's before we went into Disneyland and Chad said that he had gotten an email about a job fair that he should go to the next day. After we were talking about it for a few minutes Chase said this "So dad this is for people that are jobless" and Chad said yeah, then Chase thought about it for a few minutes and then asked "So people that don't have jobs just go and play games? What kind of games do you play?" We were laughing so hard. Get it? He thought it was like a fair where you play carnival games. Hilarious.

Snow Day!

2009-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas we went up to Chad's grandparents house in Tehachapi. Lucky for us there was still snow on the ground. The kids had a blast playing in the snow. For Spencer and Brooke it was their first time seeing snow.

Yes, you are seeing right, the boys were in shorts. I know crazy Californians. Dylan of course never wears pants and this was no exception, but I couldn't figure out why Spencer wouldn't. Oh well, they were the cold ones.

The boys remembered really quickly how to have a great snowball fight.

Being in the snow and the numerous times the boys went outside to play almost made me wish that we lived where it snowed again...and then after I had 3 pairs of clothes for each child wet and cold, and dripping wet shoes, I remembered why I am glad that I don't live where it snows.

Brooke thought the snow was great.

And what better than a swim in Grandma and Grandpa's hot tub after a cold day in the snow?

The kids all had fun spending time with grandma and grandpa. Here is Brooke with her Great Grandpa Layne.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a fun trip!

"Cinerella"

2009-01-28T21:14:00.001-08:00

So for the fourth time as a mother I am at the "I wanna watch it again" stage. As I write this I think that Brooke is on her fourth time of watching Cinderella...today. Ok, so not four times all the way through, we have just had it on four times. But she really loves it. And so far it has only been "Cinerella" as she calls it. And I love the fact that it is Cinderella. I love Cinderella and have never once had one of my boys ask to watch it. So finally I get to watch Disney princess movies over and over and over again. Chase's movie was Toy Story. I can't tell you how many times we watched that movie. Dylan's was... (okay now picture me embarrassingly shrugging, cause for some reason I can't remember much of Dylan's early childhood, but I am sure that he had a favorite movie.) And Spencer's was The Incredibles. So it is so fun to finally have singing and dancing and pretty dresses. Funny though today she was watching it and all 3 of my boys plus 2 other boys that were over playing all sat and watched most of it. So maybe the boys will like having a whole new genre of movies to watch.

Chad's chance to shine

2008-12-18T14:18:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Fun Dance

2008-12-17T22:36:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Favorite Brother (in-law) with a nephew

2008-12-17T21:34:00.001-08:00

What a month!

2008-12-10T23:45:00.000-08:00

So the month of November was a whirlwind of activity. Here are a few of events that happened.

Chase had his 10th birthday and Dylan had his 8th

We went to Arizona for Thanksgiving.
(Playing at the park)

Chad got laid off from his job.
(Here he is singing to my playschool kids)

Dylan was baptized

...and started cub scouts

Chase got his Bear scout award.

And my sister had a baby (She was actually born in October)

All in all it was a very busy month. We were so excited to welcome a new cousin, Alysa to our family. And although I can't wait until Chad finds another job, I have totally enjoyed having him around more. I sure wish that he could just stay home with us all day (and somehow have a steady paycheck at the same time =)! )

How I can tell my baby isn't a baby anymore.

2008-11-12T22:08:00.001-08:00

I found her like this the other day

She was actually hiding under a blanket and trying to open a piece of candy.

Her prized piece of candy. A huge suckerHow she reacted when I took it away.

Yep, the days of hiding things from mommy have begun. I just can't believe that she is actually old enough to think of that. How did she grow up so fast? And just so you know, I didn't give in right away. Later in the day she found it again, and I just couldn't take it away the second time. Fortunately she didn't even really like it, so she didn't eat it for long. I can't wait till all of the halloween candy is gone (but I can only eat so much each night =).

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

This Halloween we had a great time. Our next door neighbors had a portable fire pit in their front driveway and we roasted hot dogs, and had chili and goodies. We all ate dinner and then the dads took the kids trick or treating while the moms stayed and hung out at the fire pit. It was lots of fun. The kids came back with way too much candy, but it was a good night. Chase was a football player, Dylan was a clone trooper, Spencer was Obi one Kenobi (is that how it is spelled?) and Brooke was a princess at our school fall festival but decided to wear the pumpkin costume on Halloween. I actually forgot to get a picture of them all standing together since we all kind of congregated next door at different times, but this one actually has them all in one photo.

Who would have guessed a Jedi's favorite food was a hot dog?

Dylan in one of his more contemplative moods (probably planning his attack on the Jedi)

Chase sitting on the rock Ghost.

Brooke trick-or-treating. She loved it.

A rare photo of myself roasting a hot dog. In case you couldn't tell, I was a cowgirl.

Brooke looking cute earlier in the day

All in all it was a fun filled day. The kids didn't have school the next day so it was even better. And we had so much fun hanging out with our neighbors and friends. It is too bad that we can't all just slow down a little bit and gather around a fire every night. Oh well, at least we have Halloween.

Pumpkin Time

2008-10-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today after Chase's football game we went to a pumpkin patch that our friend owns. There were rides, jumpies, a petting zoo, and of course pumpkins to pick out. The kids had a blast, and it was really good to spend some fun family time together. Here are a few of the fun things we did...

This was by far Brooke's favorite ride. She was laughing the whole way around.

Brooke's first encounter with a goat.

The very very spinny ride. I saw more than a couple of kids getting off of this ride, not looking well.

Brooke loved it, but she looked a few shades paler when it was all over. It could go around very fast. Chad actually got dizzy and had to walk away just watching it.

Loading up the wagon with some big pumpkins

Brooke taking a rest, trying to decide which pumpkin to pick.

My Little Padawan Jedi

2008-09-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Fighting Darth Vader!

Padawan Jedi Training

Last Thursday Spencer and I did something totally fun. We went to Disneyland all by ourselves. Just me and him. It was so much fun. One of the things that he really really wanted to do was the Jedi training. We made sure and did that first. I was so glad that he got picked because he was so excited to do it. After the Jedi training, we just went wherever he wanted to go. We went on the cars, the Matterhorn, the "Indiana Jones" railroad (our name for Big Thunder Mtn., he is too short for the real Indiana Jones ride), Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mtn, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's wild ride, the carousel, and the finding Nemo Submarine ride. It was just great, there were almost no lines on any rides. We just walked right on to some of the rides. On the way to one of the rides we stopped and got ice cream and walked while we were eating them, and then he wanted to stop at the petrified tree to finish eating. While we were sitting there in front of the water, the big steamship came around the corner. He was so surprised because it was so big. It was so fun to just do whatever he wanted to. After we got off of a ride, I would say "ok, now what?" and then we would go there. We were celebrating his birthday so he got to wear a special birthday pin. All of the workers that saw the pin would say happy birthday to him. He was so excited every time they said it. It was an amazing day.

Spencer driving

Eating Ice Cream while watching the big boat come around the corner

He was so surprised. It was fun to watch his amazement

What a smile

Contemplating the remarkable size of this rather large lollypop!

Nice Sword!

I love this little guy!

My little Sweetie!

I didn't want this day to end. We had such a fun time. I realized on this day that I need to spend more one on one time with my kids. It gave me a chance to really just hang out with Spencer instead of running around doing all of the stuff we usually have to do during the day. It was so nice to be able to just stop and lean down when he was talking and actually listen to everything he had to say instead of trying to listen to all 4 of the kids talking at once. I just loved being able to give 100 percent of my attention all to him for a whole day. I can't wait to do it again. (And believe me, the boys keep talking about when "their" day will be). Thank you Spencer for a wonderful day!!!

Take a deep breath

2008-09-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today started of normally, but this afternoon got a little interesting. First of all Chase has had a cough for a little over a week. Yesterday he started having breathing problems to go along with it. So today I called to make an appointment for him to be seen. He has had a history of asthma symptoms in the past so this is nothing new to me, when he seemed like he was really having a hard time, I decided to make an appointment. Well, apparently even though we do have health insurance (Kaiser mind you), there are no available doctors in all of San Diego County. So I ask (a little sarcastically, I have had so many bad experiences with Kaiser, some good, but many bad) so what should I do with my son while he is having breathing problems, and we are waiting for his appointment tomorrow. The nurse replied, "oh we have just been telling everyone to go to the hospital". I still just can't believe that there weren't any doctors available, and I called at 7:30 am. So I say thank you very much and hang up. Well after a few hours, and watching him struggle to breath, I call in again and ask, ok so the nurse said to go to the hospital, do I go to an urgent care or the ER or what, just in case he gets worse. So then they put me through to the advice nurse and miraculously find an appointment. Well, we go, the doctor listens to him breath, and immediately does a breathing treatment, then does another one. The doc says that he sounds better after the second one, he was thinking about having Chase stay over night. WHAT?!? I was a little surprised by that one, I have seen him worse than that before. He said that it was asthma. I still am not sure if he actually has asthma or just illness induced asthma or if those are the same thing. But at least I felt justified in dragging 4 kids down to the doctor by Qualcomm Stadium after a dentist appointment, and stay there for over 2 hours. It made me feel that maybe I do know what is best for my child not some lady on the phone who doesn't seem convinced that he is really that sick. And I am sure that we made people's days while waiting 1/2 an hour for the prescriptions to be filled while my kids were "forcing" (Star wars terminology) the automatic doors open and closed for people. Even Brooke was getting in on the standing with feet apart arms in the outreach position and moving them to get the doors to open. I am sure that it was also amusing to see me try to get all four kids to sit still, and then accidentally bump Brooke's pacifier into her mouth causing her lip to bleed, having to leave the pharmacy(and the kids) to run to the bathroom to get a wet paper towel. Someone even gave me my favorite line "boy you have your hands full" Gee, I didn't notice. Anyway, it all turned out ok because we are home now, and Chase seems to be breathing somewhat normally, and all of the kids are sleeping happily in their beds. And even though I have this thing for Kaiser, I am grateful that if you just can get in to the doctor, they really do seem to take good care of you. It is just the phone people that I am not so crazy about. But I am grateful that we live in a place where my kids can get the health care they need (even if I do have to push for it once in a while).

Six Quirky Things About Me

2008-09-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Jenny tagged me so I thought I'd play along.

Here are the rules:1. Link back to the person who tagged you. 2. List the rules on your blog. 3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of your own. 4. Tag 6 bloggers to complete the meme.

Here are six quirky things about me:

1) I have this very strange almost obsessive paranoia about burning down our house. I routinely go back into the house just to "check" to make sure nothing is left on. I have been known to go back two or three times because I might have left a light on, and then I might have left a light on when I was checking so I go back again. Once I even left a sacrament meeting because I couldn't remember if I turned off the hair straightener at my in-laws house, and I didn't want to be the one responsible for their house catching on fire. Just FYI, not once have I ever returned to "check" if everything was off to actually find it on.

2) When my throat itches, I do this weird clicking thing with my tongue to scratch it, people always make fun of me when I do it.

3) I love baby equipment. I always have. I just love to look at it. When I was a kid I would go straight to the baby department just to look at all of the stuff, strollers, car seats, playpens etc... Then when I had babies, I was in heaven, because I actually got to buy it. I still do sometimes just stroll down the baby section in Target or Wal-Mart just to look.

4) I love to rearrange furniture. I have always loved to do that too. I would routinely change my bedroom around as a child. It is a little harder to do that now, there aren't very many options for our furniture in the house we are in, but I still do think about how I could move stuff around constantly.

5) I just have to see any movie with Matthew McConaughey in it.

6) Unlike most women I never crave chocolate. I like it, and I will eat it, but it is something that I could live without if I had to. I do however love sweet candy, especially jelly bellies.

I tag my sister in laws Lisa and Mary, three playschool moms Amanda, Jessica, and Laura, and finally Michelle (you can't get out of this one, I put your name on it =)).

Another Football Picture

2008-09-05T22:23:00.001-07:00

I know, I just put up football pictures, but I just found this one on Shutterfly that other parents contribute to and liked it. I just can't believe how big my little boy looks here (number 30, first one in the line). Ohhh, they grow up so fast.

Playschool

2008-09-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the second week that I have been doing playschool for a few small children. I just have to say, it has been a ton of fun. We get to sing and play, and the kids are just too cute. And then when our mornings are over, I still have the whole afternoon to do mommy things, like clean the house, help with homework, and do laundry. Things that I wouldn't even get to start doing till like 5:30. It has really been a big change, and it was really hard to say goodbye to the full time little boy that I had, but I have been much less stressed and able to be there more physically and mentally for my kids (not to mention drive them around everywhere like school and activities). I have also had a lot of fun preparing for my playschool mornings. Even though I am much busier and in the car much much more this year than last year, it is starting off to be a good year (knock on wood).

One of the projects we did this week.

Dancing during music time

The girls playing dolls (I still can't believe Brooke is old enough to be doing that)

Football!

2008-08-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Chase's first football game. They get to play on the Rancho Bernardo Highschool Football field, so it was really cool. The boys looked so big. Chase was really excited to play. They won 6 to 0.

Chase looking tough

Now that he has a number and name on his back, I can tell where he is

Chase (and Chad) going onto the field

Chase got to be one of the one of the team captains who did the coin toss at the beginning
(If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see number 30, Chase)

Chase standing on the sidelines

All in all it was a good day. Chase was part of the first tackle, and he played a lot. I didn't get too many pictures of him in play, one because my camera doesn't zoom in anymore, and two I was too busy trying to keep track of the other 3. These are a few that Spencer did manage to take.

Tag

2008-08-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

I have never been tagged before, here is my attempt at it -
The Alphabet Meme

A is for age: 30 for one more week

B is for burger of choice: In-n-out.

C is for the car I drive: A blue Kia Sedona, which has lasted us for 8 years and is totally paid off!

D is for your dog’s name: No dog, unless you count Fluffy the stuffed dog that we got at Build-A-Bear for the boys, we told them that is their pet dog.

E is for essential item you use every day: Computer.

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: I love to watch John and Kate plus eight, it makes my life seem easier.

G is for favorite game: Right now it is apples to apples, but I always love a good monopoly game.

H is for home state: California, funny that now I am back here after 28 years

I is for instruments you play: Piano, although not that great in front of others.

J is for favorite juice: Kiwi Strawberry snapple (does that count as a juice).

K is for whose bum you’d like to kick: My youngest brother, maybe if I kicked it, he would get off it.

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Quiznos last night while we watched Chase scrimmage another team in football.

M is for your favorite Muppet: I have no idea, I can only think of Kermit and Miss Piggy, but I don't really know if they are my favorite.

N is for number of piercings: Two - one in each ear.

O is for overnight hospital stays: 5-one for each baby, and once when Chase had to spend the night when he was a baby

P is for people you were with today: Chad, Chase, Dylan, Spencer, Brooke, plus 5 other cutie pies who came to my house for playschool, and their moms and one dad.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Reading.

R is for biggest regret: I don't really have any regrets, but I do kind of regret not staying in Hawaii longer than we did (2 years was just too short)

S is for status: Tired, but happy .

T is for time you woke up today: 6:05 a.m.

U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I have a stepmom that is younger than me, not many people can say that =)

V is for vegetable you love: I love brocolli

W is for worst habit: Staying up too late at night.

X is for x-rays you’ve had: Only at the dentist

Y is for yummy food you ate today: An Italian Ice from this little stand by Home Depot

Z is for zodiac: Virgo

Now are you supposed to tag other people? Well, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.

Saturday! YAY!!!

2008-08-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering, yes, the day after the second day of school was better. No puking, no blood, very little crying (from the kids, not me =)), and all around better. I even got to watch a little two month old for a couple of hours. Ohh I love holding babies that age. So we made it through the week all alive and relatively happy. Today is my last day to get ready for my mom's morning out playmorning which starts next week. I am so excited. I am going to go to the Lakeshore Learning Store to get a few last minute supplies. I just love that store. I also might stop by toysrus. It really is fun to have a job where you get to buy toys. Chase is at his football weigh in right now. I think it is ridiculus that he has to drive up to Temecula to prove that he is between the weight of 45 and 95 lbs. Weighing in at around 78 lbs he has no worries, but I just think that it is funny that every boy in all of San Diego, Temecula and whatever else area that is around here has to weigh in on the same scale. I mean come on, but I will save my rantings on football for another post.

Second Day of School

2008-08-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the first day of school, and I had somebody come over to stay with the kids I was watching so I could do all of the first day of school stuff without a lot of kids. It was wonderful. Today however was a different story. I was all by myself and it was a pretty crazy day. To give you an idea of how my day went today I decided to do a play by play;

6:00 am-Alarm went off for first time

6:09, 6:18, 6:27-Alarm goes off until I finally get up, realizing that I have to hurry because I have just slept in.

6:30 am -start the process of waking kids up, feeding them all breakfast, finishing putting lunches together, making sure all are dressed with shoes and backpacks and lunches and get them to school.

7:30 am-drop off Chase and Dylan at school, the traffic was not too bad yet thank goodness.

7:40 am-pick up one of the kids (A) I was watching today.

7:48 am-arrive at home meeting two other kids (M and B) I was watching today.

8:15 am-pack up all five kids back into the car to drive to another elementary school for Spencer and B.

8:25 am-get all kids out, put two in the double stroller and start walking toward the school.

8:27 am- Spencer trips and falls scraping his elbow and hands, he starts crying. We walk to the office, the office ladies are quite busy so we help ourselves to the bandaids in the health room. About that time B tells me he needs one too, I look at his big toe which is actually very bloody apparently he must have bent his nail back, I have no idea how or when. So we fix him up too.

8:45 am-Say goodbye to Spencer, who waves and runs to class. B decides he doesn't really want to go to Kindergarten after all and would really rather stay with us. We walk away after his teacher peels him off me while he is crying. We go home.

9:30 am- O arrives for the day, for a couple of hours we all play, sing, read books and go in the backyard.

12 pm- Load 4 kids into car to go pick up Spencer. He runs into my arms as happy as can be.

12:15-Change carseats with Brooke and M because Brooke won't stop hitting Spencer.

12:25-We get home, Brooke is asleep, I am holding her, Spencer offers to help M get out of the car, he is on the ground M is about to jump down to Spencer when all of a sudden "Blagh"(not sure how to write a word for throw up =) all over Spencer. Spencer is now crying, M is crying, I am crying (ok I wasn't but I felt like it). I run Brooke into the house, and run back out with paper towels in time to catch more throw up, then get him out of the car to throw up yet another time. Yummy

1:20-Load all five kids back in the car to go back to Highland Ranch, sit in the ridiculusly crazy traffic for almost half an hour before I actually pick them up.

2:00-3:00-feed snacks to 7 kids, help Chase do homework, and supervise a hockey game in the house.

3:15pm- say good by to A

3:30- say good by to M

5:00 say good by to O

5:15- send Chase off to football with Chad, and get the other three kids into the car for gymnastics.

6:45-get home and feed the boys a very nutritious spaghettios with meatballs.

7:30-get Spencer and Brooke to bed.

8:15 get Dylan to bed and realize that I still needed to go shopping for a few school supplies that I hadn't gotten yet, and few other neccesities.

8:30-go to Staples only to find the store a madhouse with people all thinking the same thing as me. Uggh. I got all the way to the line with 10 minutes to closing and upon seeing 15 people in front of me just left my small basket with 4 things in it, no way I am standing in that line for 4 things.

9:00 pm-go to Target and find everything I need and more.

9:30 pm-get home to do more laundry and clean the kitchen.

11:30-write this ridiculusly long post. I am sure that everyone has days like this, but it sure was a doozey for me. Needless to say I am quite tired. I really need to go to bed so I can do it all over again tomorrow...hopefully without the puking.

First Day of School!

2008-08-20T23:03:00.001-07:00

Well, the boys had a great first day of school. Chase was less than thrilled at the prospect at going back, Spencer was totally excited and Dylan very fittingly was right in the middle.

Can't you just see the joy on Chase's face? Actually he is happy about his teacher, I think that he will have a good year. He has another male teacher, which was great last year, so I think that this year will be a fun. I can't believe that he is in the 4th grade. Wow. Dylan has one of the two teachers that he had last year, so he is happy. Spencer started Pepp this year, which is a program they offfer in our school district for kids with later birthdays. Basically it is a two year kindergarten. Spencer has loved being at school.

This was Chase at his first football scrimmage. I don't have a closeup of him yet, but he is the one standing up in the back on the right. Crazy that I have a son playing tackle football. I still don't know how I feel about a game where all they do is run into each other as hard as they can, on purpose. But he seems to really be enjoying it. It was a busy first day of school, but we made it.

End of Summer

2008-08-18T22:51:00.001-07:00

So, tonight is the night before school starts. I should be getting lunches ready and make sure all the clothes and shoes are ready, but I am instead reading emails and watching the Olympics. We just got back from our camping trip yesterday and I will post those pictures, but I was too lazy to go out to the car to get the camera. I am feeling a little sad that summer is over already, it seems like it just started. But I am also excited to get back into a routine. And hopefully I can finally clean the house and have it stay clean for at least a couple of hours when no one is here =)! Okay I will still have Brooke, and four days out of five I will have 5 extra kids from 9-12 but somehow it seems different. I decided to do a moms morning out/playschool program in the mornings instead of full time day care. I am really excited to start this next week. It has been really fun making plans and getting ready to have a little more structure and themes and singing and such. The best part about it is that I will actually have time in the afternoon to focus more on my own kids. Trying to get homework and dinner and sports all done while juggling 2 or 3 day care kids got a little tricky. I am pretty excited. I really can't wait. Okay, so I really have to go finish getting school stuff ready, the boys start school at 7:45 am, and that is going to come really fast.

Wicked!

2008-07-27T22:19:00.001-07:00

This weekend I went up to LA to see the play Wicked with my Mother-in-law, and sisters-in law. This was the second time I have seen it, and it was just as good as the first time. It is so amazing. The story is fabulous, the set and costumes are awesome, and the singing talent is phenomenal. It is so great. After that we went to eat at Benihanas. That was a cool experience. They cook the food right in front of you, and then put it on your plate. The food was delicious, and it was so cool to eat it seconds after it was cooked. Yummy.

This is my sister-in-laws, and mother-in law in front of the Pantages Theater.

Mary, Chad's sister played barber and cut most of the menfolk's hair. They all wanted buzz cuts. This is actually the regular haircut for some of the older guys. Chase and Spencer love their buzzes. Dylan did not fall for the peer pressure, and chose not to get his hair cut. (See earlier post to see what he did the last time he had a cut, not fun =).

A close up of Chase, wow it is so short. I can't believe that I let him get it cut so short. He actually stayed up in LA this week with his cousins and grandparents. It is the first time we have let him do that. It is going to be weird without him here. He will have so much fun though. I was afraid that the other boys were going to be very mad about not being able to stay, so a sister in law came up with an idea. (Chase of course was in on it) We started to leave and Chase was poking Spencer and making him mad, and Chad said "If you do that again I will stop this car and you will walk home" So he kept doing it and we went around the block, stopped in front of Grandma's house, and Chad told him to get out of the car. (I am not sure if the "I'm going to stop this car" threat will ever work again, they might think this is a reward now) Then we left. I really had a hard time trying to be serious, and of course I couldn't stop laughing. Anyway, we were driving away and Spencer was like "Yeah, we are leaving him!" So we stopped at the gas station, and when we left the boys asked "are we really leaving him?" I was relieved to see they were actually a little concerned about him. But then I explained that he was staying at grandma's for a few days and they both asked "can we get out at Grandma's and walk home too?" All in all the plan kind of worked, cause they were so distracted they didn't realize that he got to stay and not them. Phew.

2008-07-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

This was a video I found of Brooke from a while ago. It is pretty dark, and hard to see, but I thought it was pretty funny. She loves to dance.

Summer Days

2008-07-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't been very good about updating my blog since I started doing it. I will try to post more often. Here are a few pictures to show what we have been up to this summer. We just got back from Utah, but these pictures go back a little farther than that.

Hiking around Poway Lake with Grammy

Going to the Beach.

Building sand castle forts

Watching the Cirque de la Mer show at Seaworld
(Spencer really wanted his picture with these guys)

Riding bikes with friends around Lake Miramar

Brooke turned two!!

Visiting Sea World with friends
(notice the angelic glow around the kids,

I am sure it had nothing to do with the lens)

In Utah, we visited Park City, for those of you who know what the alpine slide is, you will understand; This is the look Dylan had on his face at the top, I should have known by that look
that he wasn't too excited to be on this ride. The ride to the bottom took Spencer and I about 3 or 4 minutes... I kid you not, Dylan did not appear at the bottom for at least 10 minutes after we got there. I was about to start walking up the hill when slowly we saw his head, it was stop..go..stop..go..stop..go, it was pretty funny. I think the operator must have seen how slow he was going because about 3 other riders came down the other slide, giving us updates on his location. It was the funniest thing. He did figure out later on that it was much more fun to go faster than you could walk.

This was the top of the track

Also in Park City an airplane ride. Notice the look of
absolute excitement in Chase's face. Actually he was
a good sport to go with Brooke, who really was absolutely
excited to be on the ride.

Here is Chase being a nice brother and pointing
out a point of interest on the train ride.

Visiting Kennecot Copper Mines, the largest open pit copper mine
in the world. This was a tire from one of the trucks, the boys
loved this stop.
You can't really tell in the above picture that Spencer
was quite mad about not being alone, so here is his alone
picture.

We stopped by Temple Square, and went to the visitors center
This is always a treat. The boys quickly discovered however that
this room echos amazingly well. We didn't stay long after that discovery.

Riding bikes again.

Finally, we discovered that pull-ups in fact do not double as swim diapers. They may actually be worse than just regular diapers as you can see in the pictures. I was a little skeptical about using a pullup, but we had a friend who told us that this would work, so when we ran out of swim diapers, I thought what the heck, lets give it a try...Strangers at the pool were actually laughing when she first got out. It was pretty funny.

Sea World

2008-06-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Seaworld this past weekend. We have had passes since August, but have only gone once during the school year. They have a new kids section that has some rides in it. One of the rides is a tea cup ride which we took Brooke on, who was excited to be on it until it actually started, then the look on her face was priceless. It was about as close you can come to crying without actually crying. It was sad but kind of funny. But then after she was all smiles again.

The next ride was a little milder, and she had fun on that.

But this is where she was the happiest of all!

The kids had a lot of fun getting soaked. It actually wasn't that warm, and Brooke wouldn't get near the water spurting up, but Spencer and Dylan were completely drenched.

First Day of Summer Vacation!

2008-06-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is how we spent our first day of summer. At the pool (in our backyard). The kids all had a great time splishing and splashing in the little pool. I think that the older kids actually had more fun than the little kids (and it probably had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the little kids could hardly stand up because the big kids were so rowdy =).
This was a rare moment that Brooke actually had the pool all to herself.

Great Job Chase!

2008-06-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

These are Chase's Coaches this Year. Rick Mitchell, Jeff Holcomb, and Steve Quis. Good job guys, and good job Chase. Chase had quite a year this year playing baseball for the Yankees. This was the first year of kid pitch, so unfortunately that means that the pitches aren't always accurate. Needless to say, Chase was hit several times with the ball when he was up to bat. He stuck in there though, and had a great season. He also got runover while playing catcher, that was quite a hit, but we said that it was preparing him for football this fall. I still am not so sure about this football thing, but I have heard it is a lot of fun, so we will just wait and see.

Sports finished for another season!

2008-06-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Spencer's first Soccer Team. The kids had so much fun. Go Bulls!

Dylan's first Soccer Team. They placed first in their division, so they get their picture on the wall. Go Manchester United!

Chase's baseball team got first place in the regular season, and got 2nd place in the tournament. Go Yankees!

We are excited to be all done, and take a break (just in time for summer)!

2008-06-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Chase got the shortest cut of all.

Haircut Anyone?

2008-06-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

Dylan was not too happy about getting his hair cut. Spencer had a great time however.

2008-06-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

This was Brooke on Easter Day, what a cutie pie!

First Blog entry

2008-06-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first attempt at "blogging" it looks like fun, so I thought that I would give it a try. I will have to do a little more, after the kids are in bed.