Gabe's first Kindermusik performance.

So cute!

Hiking

We took the kids on their first real hike over Memorial Day weekend. It started because Dave and Nathan wanted to go Geocaching and Dave saw that there were some Caches in this area but it was a bit of a hike. I said, well, why don't we all go! So we packed some water and sandwhiches, lathered on some sunscreen and off we went.

I LOVED it. Truly. I'd forgotten how much I love hiking. I was raised hiking every summer and it's just in my blood. Compared to what I used to do, this was mild but considering I havn't hiked in probably 9 or 10 years and I had 4 kids with me, one of whom spent the entire time on my back...it was perfect.

I considered taking my SLR camera but knew that would be a dumb idea. It would likely get broken or at the very least be way too heavy to carry so far. So I brought my point and shoot which has a broken LCD screen (thanks to one of my kids dropping it off a balcony onto concrete) but it still works I just can't see anything. It's like a throwback to film. I literally pointed and shot and then found out what I got when I got home and put them on my computer.







The kids were really excited about all the little things like looking for 4 leaf clovers and finding a snail.







It was a 3 mile loop and much steeper than we were expecting. About halfway up we were considering turning around but a couple came up behind us and I asked them how the rest of the trail was. They said they had hiked it a lot and we were almost through the worst of it and once we got to the top it would level out for a while. They also said there were a lot of little trails leading off the main trail and that they'd mark the path for us. They left sticks laid down like arrows and the kids loved looking for them to make sure we were going the right way.





Clara fell asleep near the top and slept the whole way down.


The whole way up was following a creek and we were surrounded by trees and shade. But once we rounded the top it opened up and we had gorgeous views and lots of sunshine.









The rocks were so pretty. They were all sparkly and glittery with this silver stuff and I commented on it. I said something about it looking like silver and Nathan heard me. He said "That's not silver Mom. It's Mica." I had never heard of Mica so I just said okay then I cam home and googled it. Turns out, it was Mica.

Smart kid.

Nearing the end. We loved Dave's camel pack. It really came in handy.


When we got to the car, Dave and I started cheering and congratulating the kids for making it. Gabe burst into tears and just sobbed and cried because he didn't want to get into the car. He wanted to go back to the trail. Guess I have a little outdoorsman on my hands!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Dave's GPS wasn't cut out for wooded areas so they didn't find any of the geocaches. Bummer!

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day this year! I got to go to Aria's class where I was spoiled with presents food and a program.

I love this picture because Aria usually works very hard to stay controlled and proper and she let herself go briefly during this song. It was so cute to see her get into it!



Together. I sure love this girl! I'm wearing the shirt she made me. I pt the bow from the gift in my hair. She liked that.



I didn't take any pictures on Mother's Day itself, but Gabe got me fake flowers so they'll last forever. The kids all made me cards with handwritten notes and Nathan made a clay owl in school. Breakfast in bed and a lazy day topped it off. It was wonderful!

Nathan cooked for us

He brought home a library book last week that was a kids cook book and decided he was going to cook for us.

He decided on homemade mac and cheese.

He only needed a little help and it was super yummy!

Clara especially loved it.

I'm so vain...I probably think this blog is about me.

Because it is.

And because the beautiful Alissa told me to do this.

And I must obey.

Because it's important.

So important, in fact, that I've blogged about it before.

But not with pictures.



So I got prettied up today.



I had a little help. My gorgeous and talented sister gave me a hair cut. We figured out it's been almost a year since my last cut. Cause I'm lazy about scheduling things like that.



She also styled it fabulously.



I was feeling great, so I did a shoot of myself. Took lots of pictures. It was fun.



I kept my reading glasses on because I had just been at the computer. I like them.



In fact, I think I'm pretty awesome and everyone should feel that way about themselves.



So go get pretty and take pictures of yourself. Or have your kid do it. Or your husband. Or if none of them are capable/willing, then you call me. We'll have some fun.

And don't forget.

YOU ARE STUNNING!

Life is way funnier with kids in it

I have all sorts of blogs bouncing around in my head but I'm having issues collecting my thoughts. In the meantime you can giggle at my kids playing with the copier. I certainly did.

I thought this was fitting after my primary incident the other day.



and Gabe just kept counting his 11 fingers followed by his actual 10 fingers and laughed and laughed.

Found this one on Nathan's bedroom door.

A little funny

We have gotten into Geocaching lately. If you don't know...


Geocaching
Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.

Apparently within the Geocaching world a non-geocacher is referred to as a Muggle (just like in Harry Potter).

So Dave took Nathan and Aria out before school the other day. They were on their way to a cache and Aria is running towards it. Nathan sees someone he doesn't know and yells "Aria! Stop! It's a Muggler!"

Make Toast...Not War!

Nathan has coined a catch phrase.

Today when I dropped him off at karate, his sensei pulled me aside and said she had to tell me something. She proceeded to tell me this...

"We were huddled up and talking about Self Confidence. I asked the kids what they do when they get angry so that they can calm down and Nathan said 'I make toast.' I thought I misunderstood so I asked him again. He repeated himself. He said 'one time I got really mad at my sister so I went over and made 2 pieces of toast. I spread jam on them and took one back to her to share. By then I wasn't mad anymore.'"

At this point she was almost in tears. His story really touched her. She went on...

"So, I told my adult class about it and now it's become a catch phrase! Any time somebody gets worked up, somebody else says 'make toast!' We all laugh and move on. We want to make t-shirts. Make toast, not war."

Cool, eh?

So, after karate is over I told Nathan what she told me. I told him how much she liked his story.

His response?

"Yeah, that didn't really happen. I read about it somewhere. I think in The Friend."

But, either way...he coined a catch phrase at his karate school. And apparently at home, too. Aria has begun leaving me post-it notes on my computer screen. (she knows I stare at it a lot, lol). One of them says, "wehn you get mad you yell. make toast not wor." *smiley face*

Primary...

I think I mentioned before that I have an eternal calling of anything related to music.

My callings for the last 12 years have been...

~Ward Chorister
~RS Pianist
~Primary Pianist
~Fill in Organist when the Real organist had hand surgery. (She taught me how to cheat on the organ. I still don't actually know how to play the thing.)
~Institute choir pianist
~Primary Pianist
~Choir Pianist/Co-organist
~Choir director
~Primary Pianist/Organ sub
~Ward music chairperson/chorister
~Choir director
~Co-organist

Don't get me wrong, I've loved my callings. Not only are they easy, but I have such a testimony of music within the church and in our homes for praise, worship, teaching, even prayer. Nothing brings the spirit close like music.

But then a few weeks ago I got a call from one of the counselors in the Bishopric asking to meet with me. I knew it was going to be a calling and had a hunch that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be one of the music ones.

Sure enough, I was asked to teach the 4-5 year olds in Primary. But to please still keep my calling as co-organist. lol.

So, after a few weeks, I'm loving my new calling! The kids are rambunctious, but so sweet. In those moments that I can get them engaged, I'm amazed at what they know and understand. And the rest of the time, it's just fun. I do the Sesame Street thing where I try and change it up every 5 minutes or so to keep them interested and it's working pretty well!

I have a sock puppet friend that comes to class with me, we play games, we sing songs and I tell stories.

But this last week I really caught their attention. Class was nearing the end and the kids were getting rowdy. I thought of that song "I Have Two Little Hands". It's all about folding your hands quietly and being reverent, right? I started singing it and realized I had no idea what the words were. All I could think of were the words to John Bytheway's parody. So, I sang that instead.

"I have 5 little fingers on one little hand. I have 6 on the other, I don't understand. During all the long hours til daylight is through. There is nothing at all for one finger to do!"

Uh...you should have seen it. They all stopped. They all thought. They all were like...what did you just sing? So I sang it again. And then they laughed and laughed.

Then I taught it to them.

Wonder what their parents think.

Happy Birthday, Darling Girl!

It's been a whole year since I gave birth to my sweet Clara right here at home. I know it's cliche, but I honestly can't believe how fast it's gone!

Today, she's perfectly healthy. 20 lbs, 29 inches, right on track with milestones and just the sweetest little thing you could possibly imagine!

We had a party for her on Saturday. I'm lucky enough to live in an AWESOME ward full of awesome people that are willing to trade their talents for mine. (I love doing that!) So, Jessica, baker and sewer extraordinaire, was willing to trade a cake for a shoot and look at the amazing cake!



Seriously! How lucky am I?

So, I had this image in my head. Gorgeous day, gorgeous cake, gorgeous baby, all our friends at the park for a "teddy bear picnic". Doesn't it sound sweet?

I should probably point out, I can get a teensy bit stubborn at times.

So, I have this image in my head. I was all ready to go. I woke up and looked out at a beautiful day! Blue sky, no wind, warm sun...

Aria had a soccer game at 11, followed by a birthday party at 1, so I was outside from 10:30 to 2:30 and the weather was great. I even got a little sun burn on my face.

But then the clouds started rolling in. The wind started blowing. I was sure it would be no big deal. It would stop and I'd have my lovely party. So, we went to the park. We unloaded the cars and the kids started to play. I probably should have gotten a clue when we had to anchor everything down, but the cake showed up and it was so amazing that I was sure the sun was going to pop back out. No problem.

So, amidst the grumbling (from the grown-ups...well, some of them...) and the whining (the kids...they were cold), I decided we could do the party in fast forward mode. Everybody huddled and we sang to Clara.



I lit the candle a couple times during the song because of the wind. Then the other kids helped blow it out.


But since we pulled Clara away from burning herself on the candle...she got a little upset....sing it with me now...."it's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!..."


I'm a sucker for this face, though.


So I gave her the candle. All better.




Then we dug into the cake! How cute is she with her Papa?




Buuuut....it wasn't getting any better outside. People were cold. The sun never came back. I think the wind just blew something in Rachel's eye here.


So, we packed everything up and went home for presents.




I'm not sure that anyone but Clara and I really enjoyed it. But it was her first birthday and we made a memory.

Here's to the sun coming out next year!