Family Pictures

 

I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going mom in most ways, but I am a family picture nightmare mom.  At least I am willing to admit it.  I tell my kids it's because I am going to miss these days so much, and I want to document their cute little faces while they are in this phase of life. I tell them some day many years from now when they are all grown and gone I will sit and look at these pictures and cry because I miss them and want them to be little again. They laugh at me and tell me I won't miss all of it, I won't miss how Sam screams at me or when they wrestle and hurt each other.  I tell them I most certainly will, I will miss all of it.  Family pictures are very important to me, I just want everything to be perfect.  I want everyone to smile and be happy, and if it means I have to bribe and scream in some cases to get it, I will do it!

The day of family pictures this year came, the clothes were ironed and hanging in the closet, we were all ready, and I was ready to have them over with.  When Carter woke up his entire face was swollen, another side effect from the terrible baseball accident that knocked his front tooth out in May.  The tooth was infected, and he looked like one of the characters from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I wanted to cry, I really wanted to get these pictures over with.  I wanted to stop stressing about them and just be done with it!  We got Carter on an antibiotic, loaded him up with Motrin, and got the swelling down enough to do the pictures.  If you look you can tell he doesn't quite look like Carter, but it was good enough.  We did the pictures, they are over, and everyone is happy!

The Never Ending Birthday Celebration!

What could be better than a birthday spent at Disneyland?  It seems to us that Carter has been celebrating his birthday now for about a month.  He had a birthday party at the park, two sleep overs with friends, a birthday dinner, family party, and we spent his actual birthday at Disneyland with the Paulsons and Burrs.  What could be better!  We love you Carter!  I would say we can't believe you are seven, but you have acted seven for almost a year now so it seems about right.  We love your craziness, we love your zest for life, and we love your sense of humor.  We hope you never outgrow it!

Camping

Oh how we love a good camping trip.  We don't get much sleep, but the kids absolutely love it.  I'm so glad Laura brought her 95 pound baby to sit on her lap around the camp fire. 

Sam's Sleeping Habits

After we put Sam to bed at night he often roams around.  It may be because he takes a three hour nap pretty much every afternoon, and he's not quit ready for bed when Jacob and Carter are.  He usually heads down to the kitchen for an apple, goes to the bathroom, gets a drink....he usually goes back to his bed but sometimes we find him the next morning in an unusual spot.  These are two of my favorites.

First day of school

I am totally anti-character clothing, so why do I love this Batman shirt? I love it, and so does Sam. I took him to Target to pick some clothes out that he would actually wear. I am so sick of seeing that BYU shirt I could scream. He tried to talk me into a Toy Story shirt which I quickly shot down, but when he asked for the Batman shirt I went for it. We ended up with a Superman one just like it.

We take this picture every year, I wasn't sure we would be here to take it this year. Hooray! We are still around!

Fourth Grade-Mrs. Spiking

First Grade-Mrs. Gretlein

We fought for these four to be together in the same preschool class this year. They better behave! I love these crazy best buds!

The next generation. Typical that Natalie is standing in her stroller. What a bad mom.

I'm going to miss this.....

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How can I leave this? How can I leave any of it? My friend said it was sad that I was taking so many pictures at the beach today, she knew it was because I know this may be one of our last beach days. School starts on Wednesday and this summer is the last for me in San Diego. Going to the beach with these good friends of mine and their kids has become such a regular occurrence that we rarely think to take pictures anymore. Today, however, I was a little camera happy. I need to record these precious memories (you should have been there Sunshine, I of course didn't have my camera on Tuesday. We'll have to go back). I love the beach, I really love the beach. It's such a perfect place where all my kids are happy, I get to enjoy the beauty of the beach, watch my kids have fun, and talk with my friends. What could be better?

I think I am still in denial over moving. At first I cried a lot, I thought of all the things I would miss, the people I would miss, now I am just in denial. I thought my house would sell quickly, which it didn't. We are going to start school here, we put the boys in soccer, we are going on with life as normal, but things aren't normal. We are moving. I know we are making the right decision to move back to Utah, but that doesn't make it any easier. I will miss the weather, oh how I will miss the weather. I am used to taking my kids to the park in July or December, it doesn't make a difference, we are used to taking family walks after dinner year round. I will miss Disneyland, the beach, my school, my house, my neighborhood, living a short drive away from the Paulsons, the list goes on and on.

When we moved here we didn't have any kids. I have become a mom here. All my life I couldn't wait to grow up and be a mom. I know it sounds corny, but it's true. You know that song "When I grow up I want to be a mother, and have a family....." that was always my favorite. I began that part of my life here, and I have loved it so very much. Now I have to leave. I know most of what I will miss are the wonderful friends who have truly become my family. We have watched each others kids grow up. When we all met we had one or two little kids. These kids are now getting braces, starting middle school, and growing taller than their mothers (almost). I have seen babies born who are now getting baptized. I have watched families with one child turn into families with three, four and five kids. We spend our summers together, spend holidays together, Sunday dinners. We go camping, we swap kids. We know each others history. They know me. They know all my faults and quirks, and they still love me. When we've had enough kid time we go to book club, Women's conference, or go out to lunch or dinner. We throw a party. We support each other in every possible way. I can't imagine living without these people in my life. I don't know how I'll do it. I know I should be happy. We are moving back home, back to our families. We love Utah. I know I will love living in Utah. For now though, I am just sad.

My New Maid

Selling a house means cleaning. A lot. I feel like I am always cleaning my house. Natalie has caught on and since she's at the stage where she wants to do everything we do, she is now helping out. She loves stealing my rags and wiping things down. She's pretty cheap, but I must admit she's not very good! I especially love it when I clean the windows and then she follows with a nice wet rag. Very helpful Natalie!

Arizona in August

Adam, Mitch and Jacob using the pee bush. We do have toilets, they just don't like to use them. Fine by me, it keeps the pee off my bathroom floor and all around the toilet.
Right before we left I told the boys to go to the bathroom, this is where they go. They call it the pee bush. Lovely. It is interesting though that it has grown better than anything else I have planted in my yard.

This is so classic Sam. I love it!

Who wouldn't want to go to Arizona in August when the temperatures don't dip below 110? Honestly, it was such a great get away, and Saturday was even cool, for Arizona. We got some nice rain and the temp went below 100!! The kids didn't mind the heat because my sister has a pool and they spent most of their time swimming with the cousins. Natalie loved her floaties and we are pretty sure the girl thinks she can swim. Thanks for a great trip Jacobson family!

The Ranch, The Election and Utah

THE RANCH

The fishing gang. It's amazing how many hours these guys could spend at the lake!

Carter stuck by Dad for fishing, he learned he caught more when he stayed just with Dad!

There is no place like the ranch! It's a kids paradise filled with swimming, fishing, cliff jumping, shooting, snake/frog catching, canoeing, and playing with cousins all day and night. The parents have a pretty great time too talking late into the night, eating, sitting out at the pool and watching the kids have fun. These memories will last forever!

THE ELECTION

The Tuesday after returning to Utah from the ranch, my brother Michael had his Senate election. It was honestly one of the most fun nights of my entire life! During the day we went and held signs at 106th South. Jacob and Carter loved it, and got very excited and involved yelling at every car to vote for Mike Lee. Sam, however, did not have such a great time. I know the pictures are small, but if you look close you can see that Sam cried the entire time. He was hot, then he was hungry, then he was thirsty....it was rough for our Sam.
That night we went to the election party, luckily we were ahead the whole night, but just barely which made it so exciting and fun. We danced, screamed, cheered and celebrated with my brother. I am so proud of him, so happy for him, I know he will represent Utah well. He of course has to win in November, but Utah has not elected a democrat senator since 1970, so his chances are very good. I only wish my dad could have been there, I hope he was able to have a glimpse.
The next day my oldest brother, Tom, was put in as a justice in the Utah Supreme Court. It was once again a very proud day, and once again I wish my dad could have been there. I missed him so very much over these two days. He would be so proud of his sons, and they would have loved to have him there with them. I know he knows what they are doing, and he is happy for them!
We stayed nearly the whole night right by the big screens which published the election results!

Brett, Steve and Ryan tried to calculate stats all night and predict what would happen next

I was a looser with my camera this trip. I didn't take any pictures of our time in Utah. We had a wonderful time with our Wimmer side too. Grandpa took the kids out to the desert to look for rocks, which is always so fun for them. Eric and Laurie were fabulous hosts letting us take over their house and showing us such a great time. It's so nice to have cousins our kids love so much, and a brother and sister in law that we love so much! Natalie still wants to know where Mollie dog is and Jacob, Carter and Sam want their friends back!

It was a wonderful two weeks!