What does YOUR day look like?

Here's a little story about what my days are like - Think of it as a Picture Book!

Both little boys don't EVER keep their clothes on...Miles is ALWAYS trying to steal Landen's Kindle
and if you look closely enough, you'll see that Emerson has permanent marker ALL OVER his legs and body!

Having a laundry basket for all those socks I haven't gotten around to matching yet invariably
turns into Emerson's goal for the day: "How many times can I get those socks dumped out, and how far and wide can I spread them?"

This is only ONE Board game spread around in a matter of minutes - you should see what  the ENTIRE CLOSET of them looks like all spread around!

For some reason the landing of the stairs is a favorite place for the boys to congregate with all their trucks and stuffed animals and toys!

Unfortunately Miles has found the strength to open the freezer and the tenacity to grab the ice cream and just 'go at it' free-nilly sans consent. This is, like all these pics, only one small snapshot of the MANY times I have found this situation!

Emerson on top of the counter...

Covered in RED punch....

As was the counter, his clothes,two barstools,  and a HUGE percentage of  the floor
that of course had just been mopped the night before!

No words needed here!

But on the other hand - 

there are these types of moments that MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR IT....

Why are they SO MUCH SWEETER when they are asleep?

It makes me happy whenever I see the kiddos playing together and getting along....

Well - they were actually 'enemies' in this version of "WWII" they made up in the backyard, complete with fortified barricades and water guns!

Emerson was so very cute this day - falling asleep on the landing of the stairs with all of his "stuff" he had gathered and then hauled up there himself!

This particular day the boys fell asleep and the older kids began to "pose" him with lots of props -
So very creative!

It is so crazy that they will NEVER take a nap for me and then when they finally crash somewhere, they are so
deeply asleep that they can be posed like this and not wake up!

Little Outlaw Emerson! This one cracks me up!

So - if anyone is wondering...HERE is how I get through it all - with a few things to look forward to at the end of the day...

In other news....Landen has been working!

He has a 'real job' where he is gone at the crack of dawn for several hours and then again in the evening. He has been moving pipe and also he got to help hold down the calfs during branding...so he has been absolutely EXHAUSTED and nearly every day in the middle of the day he falls asleep for several hours. This particular day he was on the little love seat in the front room and he looked so uncomfortable...but he was so dead that I couldn't get him to wake up and move up to his own bed! It does my heart good to see him working so hard.

This summer we have decided to have a "theme" each day of the week. 

So we have:

Mommy Mondays - where we take turns and I take each kid out with me 1:1 to do something fun.

Temple Tuesdays - Where we do something centered around temples - either doing baptisms, initiatory,  or visitor center, or just read about or look at new temples we don't know well.

Water Wednesdays - where we do something centered around getting wet! This particular day we decided to drive out to Jensen's Grove in Blackfoot and play in the water. Unfortunately, we got surprised with a wind and rain storm about 2.5 minutes after we arrived - so it was an extremely short trip!

C.C. has been coming with us on most of our "outings".

Sadie made some delicious home-made oreos all by herself and brought them with us to eat!

Playing on the "beach" in Blackfoot for our 3 minute activity!

Thirsty Thursdays - where we try to do something active that will make us thirsty (hiking, running, paying sports together in the yard, riding our bikes, etc.) We also try out a brand new drink recipe.

Fun  and Food Fridays - where we do something just for fun - like go to the Zoo, or bowling, etc. And we try a new food or make a fun recipe.

Service Saturdays - where we try to do something of service for someone else.

Sacred Sabbaths - where we obviously try to do something to focus of Christ and to pass off something in the Faith in God booklet or the Personal Progress or Duty to God books.

So far it has been great because the kids look forward to doing something each day, and it's still flexible and open enough for a lot of 'free time' for all of us!

MAY RECAP

May is one of the two busiest months of the year, in my opinion. Not sure exactly why - but it must have something to do with end of the school year and all that accompanies it. Regardless, we are just glad to have made it through alive.


Things that Happened:

A: We decided to paint a wall in our house
B: Learning more about the horrible "Common Core"
C: End of the school year and sports activities

How I felt about them:
A: Greg left to Boise for a weekend for a continuing education thing, and so I pulled my usual 'surprise change" for when he leaves me, and decided last minute on saturday night to paint the large wall in the front room. The kids were excited and all helped me to do it. I chose a green that is called "jalapeno" and I think it turned out nice. Greg even liked it. It was the first time that I have painted anything in 3+ years since before we moved into the house! 

It's hard to see it here - but the color actually is one of the shades in the couches!

B:I have become involved (by my own choice) with a group of other parents who are also concerned about Common Core. This is a tricky subject as there are many people who either A) don't know anything about it at all or B) feel like 'it's already implemented so we can't do anything about it now' or even worse (in my opinion) C) those who think it is a 'good thing for our educational system'. If you don't know anything about Common Core - I would suggest you do some reading up on it - there is just way too much for me to explain here on this blog about it - but I would happily invite you to attend our next 'Cottage Meeting' where we will explain in a nutshell what is going on and how we can fight against it. Our goal is to get Idaho to stop it's implementation (that we realize has already begun) and give the people and the legislature more time to really investigate it and pull out the 'good parts' of it and get rid of the bad parts of it.  (data collection is so over-the-top it is like we are really living in a futuristic sci-fi book, I swear!)

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25452802&nid=1014&title=3-fla-schools-scanned-childrens-eyes-without-parental-consent&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-13

www.idahoansagainstcommoncore.com
www.tnacc.net
www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/02/26/why-i-cannot-support-the-common-core-standards/

C:If there is one thing that I try NOT to do, it is to brag. I know people get all wrapped up in how wonderful their children are and try to 'live through them' or whatever. But to be honest, I have mostly been surprised at how seemingly 'easy' it is for my kids to do well in school. I am happy about it, don't get me wrong, only just surprised at how so far they have all done so well. The oldest 5 children (all that are in school) managed to pull off perfect 4.0's. I promise I don't pressure them about it - they just all seem driven to do it. The only thing that I tell my kids is that if they are trying their hardest, then that is all that I expect of them. It is the one thing that I know was helpful to me when I was growing up - the 'no pressure' attitude of 'just do your best'. My parents wouldn't punish me for bad grades or reward me for good ones either. They just always expressed confidence in me and encouraged me to do my best. I hope that it is the right way to go about it all - so far it seems to be working well. We'll see what comes up in the future as I am sure things will always be changing and each child is different. 
   Anyhow - especially Landen is making Greg and I so proud lately. He has the most sticktoitiveness of anyone I know. He has worked so hard for several years to pass off what is called "Famous 1" through "Famous 3". It is a set of tests that they study for and take throughout the year - and you have to pass off one per year in order. He got the last one this month. He had to know and memorize so many things that I could never have done - and I consider myself a pretty decent memorizer. Here are a few of the things that he had to pass off: 

http://tceagles.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/4/9/6349044/famous_3.pdf

What a fabulous son he is. So proud of him and of all of my children for working so hard and doing so well. I am truly blessed.

The oldest four kids also did really well at their end of the year piano recitals.
In SPORTS - Landen finished off his season of Track-n-field and especially loved throwing the discus and Sadie finished off her soccer season by making a bunch of great goals.

Landen throwing the discus!

Not sure how to get this one turned around. Ugh! She is still cute though - even sideways!

Everything has it's OPPOSITE

        There is a famous scripture about 'opposition in all things'. Tonight it hit me. As I was begrudgingly doing the dishes that don't fit in the dishwasher, I was staring out the window to my backyard. I have been so frustrated with the inability that we have to be able to purchase fencing for the remaining two sides of our yard to be able to have a fenced in back yard for my kids and puppy to be able to roam about. I honestly feel like I am going to have a mental breakdown somedays about it. But, I digress. So - as I am staring out back with my hands covered in bubbles and hot water, I notice something. I see Seth and Sadie - and they are kicking a soccer ball to each other. It is quite frigid out.  The dog is curled up under the picnic table near them, and they both have red red cheeks from running and playing. The coolest part of the entire scene, however, is the expressions on their faces. They are totally and completely HAPPY. There is no other way to describe it. I mean - Sadie is laughing and her freckles are nearly dripping off her cute cheeks from joy. Seth is smiling so big and wears an expression of kindness in his eyes and I can tell that he is making her laugh.

   The irony in this situation is that just yesterday evening, those two were going at it pretty hard. I mean - not just an increase in the decibel level in our home, but hands-flying-and-tears-rolling fights. "She hit me first, that's why I slapped her" he says as I lift her shirt up to see a perfect imprint of his hand on her back - all five fingers clearly delineated and horrifyingly bright.

 I have to admit that although it was only a few hours after that fight, when Dad came home from work and invariably asked how things were at home, I told him of the sad events. All of the kids were present at the time.Then suddenly Sadie chimed in, "Well, it was actually pretty cool. I mean, not that he hit me, but that it left a hand print on my back!" Then they both snorted a little chuckle about it. And that was that. I was like, "Seriously, you guys?"

So watching them out there today, playing and running and making each other laugh, well, it made me realize with profundity that maybe we do need to have an opposite to every single thing in our lives. I don't think about it consciously all the time, but I do love the feel of a warm towel or blanket fresh from the dryer when I am cold. I think it is the immediacy of the contrast that brought that one to mind. However, there are many others that I take for granted.

I love to eat, really good food, and lots of it (as evidenced when I walk in front of the mirror *involuntary shudder*). I think that had I never tasted really nasty foods (i.e. caviar, liver, bananas) then I would not appreciate the sweetness and flavor-fulness of the foods I consume.

When it is super hot on a summer day and you are dripping sweat and it's hard to think, then you walk into a house with air-conditioning, and it's like you can't help it but say, "Aaaaah" as you sigh out a deep breath of relief at the improved ambiance.

I could go on and on about lots of different parallels and contrasts to make my point here - but I just feel  grateful for 'opposition in all things' and I know that it is only for our good.

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that explains this feeling way better than I can:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. "




 

APRIL RECAP

We ended April off with the saying 'April Showers Bring May flowers" coming to pass in the form of SNOW showers! Emerson could NOT get enough of that crazy snow coming down on the driveway - after it had literally been warm that same day. He kept running out and looking up into the sky and sticking his tongue out.

(Yes I can see that he is barefoot and pantless  - See earlier post about being a *leftover mom*)

So - what happened throughout April this month....let's ABC it, why don't we?

THINGS WE DID...

A: Spring Break/General Conference Quick Visit to Utah
B: Campouts for the Boys
C:  Ward Boundary Changes

HOW I FELT...

A: For the last weekend of our Spring Break, we went on a quick trip to Utah - down on friday and back on Sunday! It happened to be General Conference weekend - so Greg took Seth for his first Priesthood Session. He went with Grandpa Bailey and Landen and Seth - and a few other family members as well. They had a good time.  On Friday night we were able to have a quick visit with our dear friends, the one and only Lee and Liana Kinikini family!  They are so awesome that our two youngest children would have happily gone to live with them after only meeting them for about 5 minutes! No joke! We also had a fast visit with Greg's mom and a few of his cute sisters in Draper. It is fun to see the younger sibs and their cute babies. We also heard for the first time the story of how Greg's mom and his youngest sister were home alone during the day on April 1st, when a man escaped from Police Custody during an interrogation at the police station that is just up the street from them. Well - turns out he decided to run and hide. He did just that - running INTO my MIL's house and hiding INSIDE of her son's bedroom closet in the basement. But, never fear, the brave Paula Bailey grabbed a pair of scissors and chased the perp out of her house!! It was quite the tale and had Greg riled up for a while and wanting to press charges against the Price City Police!

Check out this link to the newspaper article about it....it's legit dude!

http://www.sunad.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=27730

During the other sessions we mostly just hung out in Bountiful and watched them on TV. Here are a few candid shots from the morning session...

Even with Emerson on top of him, Greg was able to catch some ZZZZZ's  inspiration!

Getting some more 'deep pondering' time in!

During the break between the 2 sessions on Saturday - we made a trip to the park with all the kids and with my niece and nephew (Madeline and Paul). We played ball, set up a slack-line to walk on, and just let the kids play at the playground. The weather was beautiful - and thanks to Maddy and her camera, we got some great shots! She is just great at capturing those candid and raw moments of life....
Enjoy!

B: Greg is really enjoying being a scoutmaster and he once again took the 12-13 year olds on another campout. They try to do them around once a month (give or take). This last one was fairly close by and Seth said he had a great time. Landen went on a biking campout with his age group where he was able to participate in a bike race. He actually took his dad's bike with him since he doesn't really have one of his own right now. Well - imagine my surprise when he came home the next day sporting this new bike.

I was shocked that he had borrowed someone's brand new bike and I was like, "Who's is that?" He just grinned really big and all proud-like and said, "It's mine! I won it!" Turns out that he took 2nd place overall in the race and since the first place was a leader - he was the first youth to cross the line and therefore he WON that brand new bike! I want to just cry sometimes at how providential life seems to be. I am so happy for him and can't think of a soul who deserves it more than he does!

A few days later I was working at the hospital and was there until 4 am.  Before he went to bed for the night, Greg called to tell me not to lock the back door when I got home that night as the boys were "camping out" in the back yard. I guess that they just don't get enough of it with all the camping they do as a Boy Scout troop that they have to forego a comfortable bed inside a warm house for even more time in a tent! Silly kids. So the next afternoon - this is what I see in the backyard....it makes me a little bit frustrated that they can't even clean up after themselves for cryin' out loud.

I was about to yell at them to come and clean it up right then! And upon close inspection of their mess, this is what I found...

So - then it just melted my heart. I felt so happy that my child would have gone to the effort of taking a little flashlight with him to read his scriptures in the tent in the backyard!

It's moments like these that I know that my kids are better than me! (Not hard to do - but still....)

C: "Ward Boundary Changes" is another way of saying that our ward was divided. In the LDS church this means 2 things - first that there is GROWTH - which is exactly how the Lord wants things to progress in His kingdom (and that is a good thing), and secondly that there is some PAIN that comes from the inherent 'separation' and 'good-byes' that accompany any changes to a Ward family. That is exactly why we call them Ward Families - because you attend church with the same people week after week after week. You have your kids play together. You go to activities during the week together. You play and worship together  - and you end up feeling a great deal of love for those in your ward family.  This change was like a 2 edged sword for me as a Primary President. When the ward changes happened - I "lost" exactly half of my Primary - including a bunch of teachers and leaders. It was sad for me to know I would not be seeing those sweet children every week at church. The other side to that sword is that it lessened the numbers which inherently makes it a more manageable group - less classes to have to staff and easier for me to get to know each child by name and to learn about and love on them even more!  I decided that the best way for me to have closure was to write each child/ teacher a little note and take it to them - so I did! I went around on my bike with kids in tow and handed them out over 3 days. I still miss them, but I have faith that they will really excell and grow in their new ward. What a wonderful thing it is to be a member of this Church!