My 9 kids

Alabama

2012-01-26T12:22:00.001-08:00

To celebrate Martin Luther King day we drove to Alabama. We went to Birmingham and went to the Civil Rights Institute

It was awesome! We had a good time and I know that the big kids learned a lot, and some of the little kids are starting to understand in their own way. Day trips are fun.

On the Road

2012-01-26T12:04:00.001-08:00

Seating chart, but Pete and I switched off.

Hotel fun, including Carsen arm tooting!

Eating at Olive Garden

Visiting MaKyla in Kansas City, MO

Visiting church sites... Winters Quarters Nebraska

Making them dress up... lol!

Our new state!

Norah's 2

2012-01-26T11:55:00.001-08:00

Miss Norah had her birthday during the move and she had a fun time opening up gifts! She was very serious about it. She also almost got burned from the candle on her cake so everyone yelled because we were scared she was going to get burned and that scared her to death! It was funny, but then she was nervous of her cake.
Norah is such a pretty little girl. She gives really tight hugs and holds on to you and cuddles so tight. She has such a pretty smile. She has a very feisty personality and she is VERY stubborn! She currently spends a lot of time crying and carring on about things because she isn't getting her way and she can't make us all do what she wants us to. She's taking after her big sister Mylie in that department!
I am so thankful that Norah is my daughter. She is a special little girl and can be so sweet. Happy Birthday my girl! I luv you so much beautiful!

Saying Goodbye

2012-01-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

Saying goodbye is not fun, but we tried to have fun while doing it. These are some of our most favorite people! We love you guys!

The Kelly's

The Thomas's

Josh!

Alexa!

Sammy!

The Jones

Maggie, Alexa, Abby, and Kara

The Brown's

Karalyn!

Jesse!

Before the Move

2012-01-26T11:47:00.001-08:00

Before the move we went to temple square to see the Christmas lights.

Kickball in the court!

Sliding down the stairs

Nerf/spy

Menchis with Alexa

Back to Work

2012-01-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

Our new home

Pete went back to work yesterday. It has been such a fun couple of months! It was hard to see him go, but it is time. He had a great first day and I think he's really going to enjoy working for Asurion. They are an awesome company and have great benefits. Plus, his commute is only 15 minutes!!!!

We are pretty much all settled in over here. Everyone is happy and they've told me so, except Savanah because she feels like she's betraying the State of Utah. But, I know she likes it here too, so I'm glad. Kam, Sky, and Sav have all made friends and had them over here and gone to their houses.
The big 3 on their first day at their new school

Thanks to our church, you can move anywhere in the country, and even the world and have an instant church family! It's amazing. Total strangers we had never even met emailed us and arranged meals for us right when we arrived. We got meals for 4 days! They invitied the big 3 kids to a New Years party and have come over to meet us and give us treats. I'm so thankful.

A couple of the neighbors in the neighborhood have been so nice too. They have come over to tell us "welcome" and give us treats and I wasn't expecting that at all! I think it's a south thing and it is really nice. The people here are so nice. Really. They don't just say hi to you, but they stop and want to get to know you and chit chat and you end up knowing TMI stuff about people you just met 5 minutes prior... the people are really cute and I love their accents. It's fun to listen to them talk.
I was a little worried about how we would be accepted with our multiracial marriage/family and our faith, but everyone has been really nice and we haven't had any problems at all.

The boys first day at their new school

The twins like their new school and their teacher. They have made a lot of friends and even ride the bus! The big kids rode the bus for the first week, but didn't like it cause they had to go to the high school and wait for like 20 minutes, so now they walk with some friends.

I surprised the boys one day and ate with them at lunch!

The weather is so warm and it's only been truly cold once. It's kind of funny, but they really freak out over the weather here and they closed the school last Friday because it snowed a half of an inch! I was laughing so much at the weather guy on the news because it showed a big map of TN and where it had snowed 1 inch was shaded one color and where it had snowed a 1/2 an inch was a different color, and every school district was shut down!

Before Pete started work, we researched preschools and found one we like. It was a little bit emotional for me because I had to sit down and talk to them about Mylie's special needs and kind of face it all again, and there's still a small part of me that is in denial I guess and it was just hard to say it all out loud and hear myself talk about it. Mylie really is doing a lot better, but the truth is is that she needs to be dealt with differently and that's just her, but it's hard. Everyday. Every single day. Her teacher has lOTS of experience and I feel really confident that she'll have consistant limits at school and that they'll do a good job. I'm actually really thankful to have found her teacher because she really gets it and understands what is best for Mylie. Another great thing about the school is the diversity. There are several other Black kids and a few of the teachers are Black too including Mylie's teacher and I think that is awesome! Utah was lacking.

Preston and Mylie's first day at school was yesterday and Preston had a great day! Mylie had a pretty good day, but they had to call me once for advice and she had a melt down when she got home. I think she'll be just fine once she understands that she's not the boss and that she isn't going to run the school and that when they tell her to sit in her chair, she needs to follow directions like all the other kids. I'm still hoping/praying she'll grow out of all her "special needs"

I'll be doing some back blogging in the next while. I have to catch up!

The Move

2012-01-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

It's all a blur now, but the weeks leading up to our move were busy/stressful, but SO fun! Events in pics...

Skyler had surgery to remove the metal plate and screws in his femur. Everything went well

Beautiful Moriah and Kams had their birthdays

FHE with the cousins! I love family gatherings

Kaley invited the girls for a sleepover! They had a blast and had some adventures with Dustiah too!

The moving van

After everything was loaded and our whole house drove away, there was nothing to do. So, I went and bought connect 4 and we played it A LOT!

Laundromat

2011-12-17T06:56:00.001-08:00

So, this week has been a wild one! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I cleaned the house. Rick and Bernie packed all our stuff and loaded it on the moving van. By Wednesday night we were sleeping on the floor, or air mattress and all we had was our suitcases and things to live with for the next two weeks. Plus 3 bags full of Christmas stuff. (luckily we went on the cruise cause that's the big kids main Christmas) No refrigerator. No washer/dryer.

Right now I'm sitting in a laundromat.
I haven't been in a laundromat for years! Family and friends offered their washers, but I just decided to go to the laundromat.

Today I'm painting 2 rooms. Yesterday I washed every baseboard in my whole house. I washed every wall and used a magic eraser on every scuff mark. I washed window sills and the window tracks, and painted 2 walls.

Pete says he's in denial, so he takes the kids around town. So far, one neighbor told me she saw him at target and another neighbor saw him at the mall! It's kind of funny, but the little kids are having fun with dad, and with them gone, I can get stuff done.

We are trying to rent our house out. It's just not a great time to sell. We'll see what happens. I hope anyone that walks through to see it, thinks its the cleanest house they've seen! Anyone want to rent a 10 bedroom house, with a huge backyard? Our house isn't exactly high in demand, but I'm praying for a wonderful good family to come along!

We are renting in Tennessee too, because in 12-24 months (don't you love that year long window?) we are moving to Asia! We are really excited and the older kids would rather just move straight there then live in TN first. I think they are going to love TN.

Anyway, I'm just taking one move at a time! I'm really over just buying a house and living there for 30 years, and I'm so exited to be able to have new life adventures and experiences with pete and my kids.

Just heard a "beep". I better go check the dryers.

Change/Emotion

2011-12-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Dec. 5th
At first I wasn't sad about moving and a couple of my kids were annoyed by it. It's because I know I'll see everyone again and I said that in my testimony in front of my church congregation on Sunday. But, then we had the Christmas party and as I looked around at everyone, I realized that my time here was over, and it hit me. Im going to miss it here. The people, and my house. I've planted every tree in my yard. All the flowers and strawberry plants. Everything. I've mowed the lawn a million times. I know this is just a house, but it's been our home. My last 4 babies came home to our house, and this past week I had to go into everyone's rooms and paint over their name. It was sad.

People you grew up with and laughed with are gone. Some people are horrible about keeping in touch. A couple of our birthmoms have moved on, and that's fine, but a part of me wants them to stay. Especially for my kids sake. People change. People grow. People leave and you leave. Life happens and sometimes I even forget for awhile. Sometimes it's easier and a lot less painful. It's sad. Some people won't forgive and they let precious years fly by and you can't make anyone do what you want. Sometimes, I wish I could gather everyone that I love and have loved into a room and not let them leave for while until I feel full again. Full from every single person. Missing people is hard. It never goes away. I know I'll meet great new people in TN, but until I see the people I've learned with here, in Utah, and friends that have touched my life in ways they don't even realize, people who have served my children and loved them and taught them things I can't, until I see these people again, I'll miss them.

Mostly, I guess I'm just really thankful. So thankful for all the people in my life. People who don't think they are in my life, but they are to me, and have lifted me in ways only they could. I love my family. I love my kids. I love Pete. I love my brothers and sis in laws and it has been so fun living close to them. I've loved our date nights and watching the cousins play together, and laughing so hard until I can't breathe! I've loved living here in Utah. It's where I needed to be to get my last kids. The beauty I've seen everyday from those tall mountains, I won't forget. The thunder during the rainstorms and the neighborhood night games! I miss you already Farm Lane Circle.

P.S. Pete, I'm not slipping away.

We are moving

2011-11-28T22:10:00.001-08:00

End of Nov.
I'm using the blogger app on my phone for the first time- hope I do it right.

I'm sitting in a hotel in Smyrna, TN and I guess I must be a little bit lonely. It's just so quiet. Too quiet, and Pitbulls and Parolees are all reruns. I wish Pete was here.

Today I drove all around the Nashville area looking at houses. I found one that feels like it could be home, but there is another family that wants it too. And so it goes!

Pete got a new job... an awesome opportunity/blessing. I'm excited and know its right, it's just a VERY big undertaking and you know how life usually doesn't go all that smooth all the time... because we are suppose to learn and grow... etc. etc. Well, sometimes I feel tired of the process!

Tonight we did FaceTime FHE (family home evening) It was so fun to talk to each of my kids and ask them how their days were, and stick out my tongue and blow them kisses, and sing Preston his goodnight song. FaceTime rules! Then sweet Gracie climbed down off her cage and starting walking through the kitchen toward my voice on the phone to find me... I luv when she searches for me... It's so cute to see a parrot waddling along looking for their human. Gracie tries to get Pete so after we talked a little to eachother on FaceTime, she put her beak to the ground and started to waddle/run after Pete! It made me laugh as he yelled... "she's chasing me! Bye" and hung up!

I love my family! I miss them! After this house hunting week, I'm going to focus on Christmas and having fun with Pete and the kids. Whether I find a home or not, I refuse to be stressed. I'm making that choice right now. The move will happen and everything will fall into place... eventually.

Wow! This is one random post! Too much house hunting today! Merry Christmas everyone! Lol!!

Here's a pic taken by Mr. Mom aka Pete today while watching the kids swimming lesson!

Bernard

2011-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

We got our letter in the mail today from Amazima! Meet Bernard! He's 12 years old and in a Christian school and getting 3 meals a day now. He gets all his school supplies too. I hope they can send me another picture... this one they sent is cut off right above his eyes! He likes to play football and he wants to be a driver when he grows up. I'm sure drivers make a decent living in Uganda. I hope there will be even more opportunities that open up for him. Now, I have 2 connections to Africa! Melody and Bernard. My kids are writing letters for them for Christmas!

The Last Leaf

2011-11-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

One morning Carsen came running down the stairs and out to the backyard. I looked to see what he was up to, and had to run out to get some pics. He had been looking out the window upstairs and saw that one of our trees had one last leaf that hadn't fallen yet. He told me that the leaf was good luck and he was excited to get it. I don't know where he gets these ideas, but they are really cute. We talked about how it was shaped like a heart. Carsen is so cool, I love him. Later that day he gave me the last leaf and had written " I love you mom form (not from, I don't want to correct his spelling) Carsen" I put it in my journal and don't ever want to forget his randomness and cool view on things.

p.s. The note on the top right he wrote and gave to me last year. It says "everybody's awkward". ha ha!

Preston's B-day Pics

2011-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Prest had a great day! He had 4 little buddies over for a party and they had lots of fun! We played "pin the tie on SpongeBob" and other games and then had dinner and cake and ice cream and presents. He was really happy. Aunt Kaley came too! Here are some pics of his day!

Preston is 5!

2011-11-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Preston! I waited so long for you! Longer than the rest of my babies, and you are so special to me. I can't believe you are 5 years old! You are such a fun little boy. I love your smile and your laugh makes me laugh. You are so smart, incredibly smart, and when you were little and you didn't have the words to say what you wanted to say, I knew what you felt. You are wise beyond your years. You rode around on your spider man scooter at age 1.5! And have continued to amaze us with your natural athletic abilities and keeping up with your brothers. I love you so much Prest! forever! I am so thankful that you are my son. I hope you have a GREAT day! I know your party later will be fun! xoxo
At the hospital meeting our new son!

You went from this...

To this...

To this!

Mylie's B-Day Pics

2011-11-14T08:56:00.001-08:00

Mylie had a great birthday! We had a little family party at home and she LOVED opening her gifts. She likes when everyone sings to her, and she was excited about blowing the candles out on her cake. It took her a while to figure it out and it was hilarious! She basically blew/spit on the cake and couldn't blow them out...and they were not even "trick" candles! She was so happy that Aunt Kaley could come!

She got her princess bike!

Mylie and Aunt Kaley

Trying to blow out the candles.

Mylie got to talk to her birthmom on the phone and it was really cute. She was kindof shy, but excited too, and she spoke right up and answered her questions and told her about her day. It was fun to hear her birthmom on the other end talking to her. I love Mylie's birthmom. She's my friend and a very wonderful woman. I had a lot of fun talking to her too. I love her everyday for giving life to Mylie!
I love you Mymy! My princess girl!

Mylie is 4!

2011-11-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Mylie... just minutes after she was born.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl! I love you Mylie! I can't believe you are 4 years old! You are such a beautiful person and have taught me so much! You went from this...

To this...

To this...

Halloween 2011

2011-11-08T07:36:00.001-08:00

The week before Halloween, Pete and I took Preston, Mylie, and Lakin on a date. We went on the "Halloween Cruise". You basically get on a boat and float on the Provo river for a while and see pumpkins and lights and the headless horseman and a pirate comes in a canoe and gives you candy. The kids had a lot of fun and it was a perfect activity for their age. We drank hot chocolate and enjoyed eachother, because we missed them a lot when we were on the Mexico cruise.

Halloween night! It was Pete's year to take the little kids around, so I stayed home and passed out candy. Norah looked so cute in her tiger costume!

ALL my kids!!

Kaley and her roomate Kami came over to trick or treat with us! They drove Caden, Carsen, and Preston around after the little kids went to bed. They also met up with Kam, Sky, and Sav. They loved having Aunt Kaley over!

Kameron and Courtney

Tiger Norah!

Alexa and Savanah

Crazy for Africa

2011-11-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

I love Africa. I always have. I think when I was little it was because I knew all the "wild" animals lived there, and I like animals. When I was a teen, I thought my giraffe and zebra masks were cool, along with my random African figurines. I filled my room with knit knacks from Africa and I had never even been there! Now that I'm older, I'm still wondering why part of my heart is in Africa. I haven't been there, but I'm going someday. When I go, I'm taking a ton of pictures so when I come home I can look at them. I'll post them all over this blog.

Last night I went to MNO (mom's night out)It's always great to party with a bunch of moms! ha ha! It was with some friends from my transracial adoption group. After yummy food at Zupas, we went to a Mother Without Boarders boutique. There was a lot of awesome stuff there made by the people in Zambia. I got a few things, but then I came to the "sponsor a child" booth and I couldn't resist. Even though we just sent in our info to sponsor a child through Amazima They had pictures of all the children that need sponsors so they can continue to go to school and get food and supplies. There were so many brown faces looking at me and I knew I had to go for it and pick one. So I did. Here she is. Isn't she a beautiful girl!?

Her name is Melody and she is 8 years old. She is in 2nd grade. Surprisingly, she lives with both her mother and father and older brother and younger sister. She is not an orphan, but they are very, very poor. She lives with her family in a village close to the Mothers Without Boarders school. Here's a pic of everyone attending the school.

Most of them live at the orphanage, but a few of them live in the surrounding villages like Melody. The teacher is named Heather and she's in the pic too (upper right hand corner) I met Heather last night and it was awesome because she told me all about Melody. She said that she is always filthy dirty, but she is learning how to read and write in English. She also always wears this bright, little dress, when she is suppose to wear her uniform. I guess all the kids uniforms are getting too small and tight, and lately Melody only wears this bright dress. Ha ha! The little cutie.

I hugged Heather and told her to please give Melody a hug from me! It's so awesome to finally have a real connection to Africa. I'm so thankful we can be her sponsor.

Now, just a small note on my awesome husband. He was thrilled to see her picture and was really happy for me (us). Even though this isn't totally his thing he is so supportive and the best guy ever. He told me I was so cute that I was so happy to be a sponsor. I'm SO thankful that he's my husband. He has such a big heart.

My Hero Katie

2011-11-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

I love Katie Davis. She is one of my heroes. I'm currently reading her new book and someday I am going to Uganda to help her and meet her. You can learn more about her here.

We are also going to sponsor a child as a family and I'm excited!

Karalyn

2011-10-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

We love this girl! She is the amazing woman that took wonderful care of my babies while we went on the cruise. She is awesome! The kids had a lot of fun and were taken such good care of. I'm so thankful. If anyone needs an awesome babysitter, check with me. Karalyn rules.
She took pics of all the things they did together and then made me a little book! I love it! One thing I love so much is that I didn't take these pics! I always take all the pics in this family and it was just really fun for me to see my babies in pics I didn't take. Thank you Karalyn! we luv you!

The Cruise #6

2011-10-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Breakfast!

The housekeeping staff is amazing. They too know our names and always say "hi" and ask how our day was. They make up our rooms in the morning and then turn down our beds at night and leave the schedule for the next day, along with some mints, and a towel animal on our bed. The kids liked getting the towel animals!

Then they had a towel animal demonstration, so we all went to learn. Pete was really good at it and helped the boys... who would've known? It was a hidden talent!

Then Pete and I went to the 2nd art auction. It was fun and Peter Max is pretty much my new fave artist right now. Here's his response to 9/11. Very expensive though.

Savanah waiting to debark.

Driving home the boys just had to wear their Nacho masks,

But we only let them blow their whistles outside!

The Cruise #5

2011-10-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Pete and I swam with a dolphin. I have done it before, but this was Pete's first time and he enjoyed it a lot more than he thought he would. Our dolphin was a girl and she was 7 years old. her name is Meriann. We got to dance with her, she gave us all a kiss and then we all got into the water with her and she swam around us/by us so we could pet her as she swam by. Then she took us all on a ride. It was awesome.

We each held Camilla the Scarlet Macaw. She kissed us too. Savanah loved holding Camilla the most. Birds are awesome.

The Cruise #4

2011-10-28T11:25:00.001-07:00

While in Mexico, we got to hold a little lion cub. She was SO cute and it was an awesome experience. She was 4 weeks old and had a male twin. Her name was Kyda. I like animals and so do my kids and we were in love. Pete didn't think it was that big a deal and he didn't do it, but hey, how many people get to hold a baby African lion? Well, we did and we loved it!

Isn't she so cute?

The Cruise #3

2011-10-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Cabo San Lucas Mexico

Goodbye Carnival Spirit.

The first thing Pete and I did was go parasailing. It was awesome and so pretty up there. We went up 600 feet.

The ship from way up high.

Then we got the kids and went on a water tour of the area and got dropped off on Lover's Beach. On the other side of Lover's beach is Divorce beach and we walked over there too. It was really pretty, and the water was so warm and clear.

Pelicans

Sea lions

Carsen by a rock formation that looks like an owl... because we both love birds. He told Caden to bend down and be out of the picture! ha ha!

Pete swimming in the Sea of Cortez

The Cruise #2

2011-10-27T08:51:00.001-07:00

On the ship! There was a basketball court and mini golf. There were 3 pools and hot tubs. There was a spa which I got a massage at. There was a gym and art auction. There was too much food everywhere and endless ice cream. They had an ice cream bar somedays and a chocolate fountain day. There were two funny comedians on board who did family comedy as well as adult later in the night. There were stores and you could go shopping. My kids loved Camp Carnival. There were counselors for all the different age groups and they had a lot of fun activites for the kids to do. The kids had their own room and loved it!

Every night at 6 we had our reserved dinner in the Empire room. We had the best servers and they really get to know you and it's cute. They always had C and C's kids menus on the table and they knew that we don't drink so they quit asking if we wanted alcohol or coffee. They knew Pete always wanted a Coke. They knew all of our names and asked us about our day etc. Here's the kids with our waiters.

Some nights Caden and Carsen were having so much fun at Camp Carnival that they wanted to stay through dinner and eat there. So it was just the big 3.

Everynight at dinner the servers had a little entertainment for us. It was funny. They would sing in broken english and get us up danc'in with them. One time they had props like feather boas and wigs and sang to us and everyone in the whole place would swing their napkin over their head. ha ha! Fun times!

Camp Carnival rules!

The Cruise #1

2011-10-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

We went on a cruise! It was so much fun! Here are the vaca details.

We got into Las Vegas around 11pm We stayed in the Treasure Island Hotel which Pete booked and thought was "kid friendly" I don't think anything in Vegas is "kid friendly". Here we are going into the hotel. We were quite a sight with all the kids rolling their bags in and we had to have some talks about how other people choose to live their life, and where some of those life choices can lead. I had to tell the boys to look away a few times and the girls were very offended. I hate Las Vegas, and really learned my lesson about even staying in a hotel there.

Las Vegas is sick. You can't even walk down the "strip" and look around without seeing porn cards on the ground or other inappropriate people and things. There was a sick nasty old man that I wished I had punched in the face for yelling something out to Pete and Kameron.

Las Vegas is nasty. Seriously.

The kids swimming in the pool at our next hotel in San Pedro Ca. right near the port.

Pete and I went on a little date that night and ate at the cutest Thai place. It was yummy.

The next morning we walked around a little before we could board the ship. We saw 2 dolphins swimming in the ocean. Caden saw them first.

It's our turn to board the ship! Fun fun!

Alpine Loop

2011-10-11T22:28:00.001-07:00

Today I took the 3 little kids on a little adventure. We drove the Alpine Loop and saw all the pretty colors up in the mountains. The aspen trees were so pretty. All these pics were taken with my phone and they look pretty but I want to take the rest of the family up there and bring my real camera. I know the colors won't last long.

Winter is quickly approaching and Pete and I are not happy about it. Winter is pretty hard on our family because everyone is inside and cabin feverish and it is hard. I guess it's time to bust out my indoor mini trampoline and get it ready to be jumped on, by every child in this house. And Pete too. I also need to renew our Dinosaur Museum family pass.

Caden's Commercial

2011-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

My brother Devin saw Caden's commercial on TV last night. The whole family was pretty excited.
You can see Caden's commercial here. Ha ha! he's so cute!

My Scout

2011-10-08T23:01:00.001-07:00

Sky has had such a fun summer! He's had so much fun on his scout camp outs. He has the best leaders and I am so thankful for them. They do so much for the boys and make their experiences so fun!

Some of these pics kind of freaked me out, but my son is growing up and when he's on the camp outs, he's in great hands. Being able to do stuff has made him extra thankful that his femur healed and his body works again. luv you Sky Sky.

Nachoooo!

2011-10-07T11:59:00.001-07:00

Soccer 2011

2011-10-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

The kids had a fun soccer season. It was Preston's first year and he rocked it, like I knew he would! His first game was hilarious because he didn't want to take the ball from anyone and he would stop in the middle of the field and look around and pick grass and watch the kids running toward the ball... it was funny! After that game, Savanah and I played in the backyard with him a little bit and told him it's good to steal the ball so you can make a goal for your team. With each game he improved and understood the game even more and by the end, he was making lots of goals! He's such a cutie! here he is with his best buddy McKade.

The boys had a fun season and it was especially fun this year to watch Carsen run like a mad man and push himself so much! He did so awesome this season! He made lots of goals and just really got into the game. Caden's always been pretty intense with sports and he did so good too! Their coach usually put them in together and a lot of the time it was my twins out there, passing to each other and getting the ball down the field into the goal! Fun times watching their games. Here they are with their buddy Nick (McKade's big brother) I love these boys!

I will be adding some pics of Savanah as soon as I get them downloaded. She's a soccer star and had a fun season too!

Kaley!

2011-09-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

My little sister Kaley lives here in Utah now! It has been so fun to have her here! She's come to the kids soccer games and comes over sometimes to hang out. She even came to an art class with me which was a major adventure and really funny! She's going to take my kids on little dates and they will love it! We love you Kays and are so glad you live here!!!!

Speak Now

2011-09-29T09:00:00.001-07:00

I took Kam to the Taylor Swift concert last night for her b-day. It was all Kameron wanted and we got the tickets a month ago and the concert has been sold out for like 6 months so it was expensive and I was lucky to find some tickets, but I made all her dreams come true and that's what I wanted.

It was a lot of fun! Great concert. Seriously. I embarrass myself a bit when it comes to my fondness of Taylor. She's awesome and I feel like a preteen, but I don't care. I sang my heart out right along with the rest of the 14,000 fans that were there, and it was fun! I think I should win the "mom of the year" award for painting my face and showing so much wild support with all my glow sticks...Kameron loved it! Kam with Dev and Brett

My brothers, Devin and Brett, took their wives and got the best seats through their work. They surprised us in the middle of the concert and traded seats with us so Kam and I could sit with Kim and Emily for a while up close. Thanks brothers!
Kam with Emily and Kim

Taylor!

After the concert, we went out for crepes and got the 24"er! I love you Kams! Happy early b-day!

Real Salt Lake and One Republic

2011-09-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

My good friend Dena and I loaded up Big White and took some of our kids, plus a cousin, and of course beloved Jesse and we went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game and One Republic concert!

Savanah loved the game... we all did. It was really fun to watch and I want to get more tickets and take the twins. Those guys are so good and it's incredible how many headers they do and how far the ball flys afterward... don't they get headaches?

Zipping

2011-09-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

There is a new zip line course up Provo Canyon and it was lots of fun! My big kids babysat all the cousins and Dustin and Moriah babysat the 3 babies. The weather wasn't too hot and it was a pretty day. Mostly though it's just always fun to hang with my family! The guides would radio over to each other when the next person could come or was coming saying... "zip on" or "zipping".
Brett doing a demo...

Emily

Julie and Kaley

Devin and Kim

Zip on Pete!

Pete and Kays

Dev

Play Doh Party

2011-09-13T20:33:00.001-07:00

A couple days before school started, when everyone was bored, we busted out the play doh and had a play doh party. It was pretty fun... even for me.

Gracie's days

2011-09-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

Gracie has happy days. She goes on walks with us and sometimes she has the stroller all to herself.

Here she is up in a tree looking all exotic and jungleish.

Seven peaks and the Scera pool

2011-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Seven Peaks with my cousin Renae! We went to the one in Salt Lake cause we hadn't been there yet and the kids had a blast! Pete and I even got to go on two slides and it was fun. The purple slide was kind of violent at the end and the pool current pulled me under and made me swallow pool water. It was gross and made me feel old to get pretty much wiped out on a water slide! Gone are the days of my youth... oh well.

The Scera Pool

It's a fun little water park. It's smaller and more geared to little kids. There are a couple of water slides, but mostly just lots of fun stuff for little kids to do. Plus, they have "family night" and families get in for $20. Can't beat that price with our big family! The workers kind of look at us for a minute and wonder if we really are 1 family... because of all our different races... it's funny.

Preston's Buddies

2011-09-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Preston has had a GREAT summer! His 2 best buddies live right here in the cul-de-sac! This summer he got to play, play, and play! He was allowed to give me a kiss, say "goodbye" and walk out the door all by himself to play with his friends. He loved feeling like a big kid and doesn't know that for a good couple of weeks I would spy on him and watch him walk next door, just to make sure he got there safe.
Preston has a late b-day so he is doing one more year of pre-school and both his buddies started Kindergarten this year. Kind of a bummer, but I don't think it will make much of a difference in the years to come. I guess as boy, it does help that he's bigger than them both!
I took this cute pic and then noticed that his buds had their shirts off, so I told Preston to take off his shirt too... and he did! And whoa... that boy of mine has such big muscles! The first shirtless pic is just a natural shot and look at my son!

They played outside a lot and played the Wii. Ate a lot of otter pops and laughed a lot! They even got into a couple of arguments which were good learning opportunities for apologizing. I'm so happy for my Preston, that he has such good friends. They are such cute boys.

11 Years

2011-09-06T12:45:00.001-07:00

Savanah had a wonderful 11th birthday! She wasn't going to have a friend party this year, but two of her best friends and Kameron planned a surprise party for her! She had a really fun time. It was a "sports" theme and I got to be a part of one of the planning meetings and it was really cute! One friend had a dry erase board and was writing down ideas and it was so cute to see how well they really know Savanah!
They played a bunch of games that they had planned. Broke open a pinata. Opened presents. Ate cake and ice cream and laughed a lot!

I love you so much Savanah! Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter!

A Day in the Life of Dad

2011-09-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Early one summer morning, Dad didn't go to work. Instead he woke up all of his kids and told them they were going on an adventure with daddy. The big 6 kids were excited and confused and wondered what was going on. They left the house and walked and walked.
They kept walking until they came to a bus stop.

Then a bus came, and they all got on! They got "transfer slips" and learned what they were. Dad taught them all about the bus system and told them stories about when he was growing up. Dad took the bus everywhere. It was either the bus, his skateboard, or he walked. Dad sometimes missed the bus and then he had to wait and wait until the next one came. When that happened, he was late for school. Dad was embarrassed to ride the bus in front of his friends sometimes, but he had no choice.

There are interesting people who ride the bus. From all walks of life.

The kids had an eye opening experience and learned a little more about their dad and his life. It made them stop and think about something they take for granted... parents who drive them to and fro to their activities and a car that gets us where we need to go. Then Dad took them to breakfast!

Yummy adventure with Dad!

Caden's Commercial

2011-08-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Caden did a shoot for a commercial. For the Utah Education Savings Plan. He did a great job and followed all the instructions. He's getting paid some big $ for a couple of hours of camera time. They always have a snack table with different treats and that's what my kids love the most... it's like we don't feed them or something! Anyway, he loved eating his Cliff bar and getting to drink a soda. I was a little worried because both he and Carsen auditioned for it, and Caden got the job. Carsen was fine with it though and Caden brought a soda home for him. It will air sometime over the holiday season. Caden is feeling pretty cool about being on T.V.

Caden's "pretend" mom and dad. During a break Caden said... "my fake mom and dad are really nice" lol...lol... it was funny.

Here's a funny pic of Pete and Sky and Kam in the background on a poster! She's a total photo bomb! Kameron's sweet face has been in Rite Aid and Golden Corral and maybe more places that we don't know of. How we found out about her being on posters was funny... Pete and I went to Rite Aid to pick something up and as we walked in Pete screamed Kameron's name. Well, the front doors of the store automatically opened and I looked at Pete and asked him what he was screaming about. He pushed me back from the doors so they would close and there was Kameron on the front door of Rite Aid! It was funny. Then friends at school started telling her that they had seen her at Golden Corall and sure enough she was there too. Now, I have some cool posters in my kitchen!

First Day 2011

2011-08-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

8th grade

7th grade

6th grade

1st grade

Preschool

Preschool

Boys Turn 7

2011-08-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Caden and Carsen!

These boys are SO fun! I can't believe they are 7! Nerf Dart Tag!

Nike's!

Getting ready to dart tag eachother

Spy gear! The boys have been sneaking all around the house! Pete and I will know they are there cause they're not that quiet and we'll put our finger up our noes or in our ear just so they can spy on something... and then we'll hear little giggles... it's really cute!

Kameron spying and she got her braces off! Pretty girl!

Gracie

2011-08-12T15:29:00.001-07:00

This is Grace. She's a new member of the family. A Yellow Naped Amazon and she's awesome! She is a lot of fun and makes us all laugh everyday. She's 8 years old and knows her name, so I didn't want to confuse her and change her name. I like the name Grace, but more for a human, so we are going to call her Gracie most of the time.

Her back ground is very unknown which bothers me. I know she was purchased 6 months ago from a Nevada pet shop and brought here to Utah. That's pretty much all we know. I got her from a lady here who runs a rescue for parrots. She's a sweet bird and is in love with me. She has chosen me as her person which is great because Pete got her for me for my b-day! She'll let Kameron hold her too. She doesn't like men and has tried to get Pete and Sky a couple of times, but they don't mind and when I'm not around she will talk to them. (eating ceaser salad)

I think she was taken pretty good care of and whoever had her as a baby taught her a lot. I hope she wasn't in the pet shop for too long. There is evidence that she broke her wing at some point and it just healed on it's own. I tried to get a good video of her talking but she was kind of camera shy, so the video is o.k. but to hear her in real life is pretty fun.

I was going to wait until Norah was like 5 or 6 to get a big parrot. But, they make me happy and really are a lot of fun. The kids feed her treats. She hangs out in the backyard and takes her shower out there. She'll walk around the house after the kids go to bed and right now she is really into stalking the parakeets. She climbs the stairs to get closer to their cage and looks around trying to find a way to climb to them. She cuddles with me and loves me to pet her behind the ears and on the cheeks. She's a sweetheart. Birds are cool. I would take a bird over a cat or dog any day.

Here's a list of some of what she says...

whatcha do'in?
ohh...ooh (voice fluctuation) that's bad
she does the cat call whistle and ends it with "wow"
hello Grace
hi pumpkin
hello cutie pie
shut up bird
don't bite, I'm upset
I'm not stupid
smart bird
she sings... "yankee doodle went to town ride a pony"
look at that
what's that?
bye bye
hello crazy bird
ohh...ooh (voice fluctuation) that tickles real bad (i hate it when she says this!)
code red
house call
what's up
mommy
let me out
are you working?
intruder (with a siren noise)
keiko keiko keiko... good boy (i think keiko was a dog cause it's followed by barking)
ohh...ohh (voice fluctuation) that's nice

More Summer Shots

2011-08-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

Kameron's home from Girls Camp dogpile!

Caden lost a tooth!

Hotwings!

Kam, Sav, and Sky's Park City date with mom and dad. The coaster!

Lots of summer thunderstorms.

Lightning

Mustache mugshot

Otter pops and shaved heads

Playing outside

Holding the birds

Summer Shots

2011-08-06T13:39:00.001-07:00

Kameron's 2011 Summer Camp! Sky and Sav helped too.

C and C's Park City date with Mom and dad

The coaster!

Cade finally did a backflip! whoo hoo!

Horsey rides

Kam's theatre camp production!

Seven Peaks!

Jumping on the tramp with dad!

BOYS

2011-08-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

*Due to the graphic nature of this post, reader discretion is advised.

I love my boys. All 6 of them. (really 5, but Pete you are under suspicion!) They are awesome, fun, and keep me exhausted. They cuddle with me, give me flowers, and never cease to amaze me with their sweetness. But, I am getting sick of all the urine. I know for a fact that if I had a penis I would be able to aim perfectly into the toilet. I just know it. Somethings you know, and that is one of them. It would become like an art form and it would be easy. Because I know this about myself, I just don't understand why they have such a huge problem with their aim! I understand that sometimes when you wake up in the morning you have to go real bad, or sometimes if you wake up in the night to go you might be a little disoriented and still half asleep. But, what I don't understand is the perfect aim into the garbage can, or bathtub, or side of the toilet. What is up with that? An accident here and there is no biggie, but I've been the mother to boys now for 12 years and something has to give!

Dear sons,

If you "tinkle" in the garbage can or bathtub again you will be busted. If you splash and dribble in large amounts... larger than what I think is an accident or normal, you will be in trouble. You will be cleaning all 4 bathrooms for a week, everyday. Then maybe you will learn to aim a little better and help make our bathrooms smelling fresh and being clean. I don't really care if you are 3, almost 5, almost 7, or 12 (or 35) just aim my beautiful angels. AIM! I know you can do this!

love, mom

p.s. I luv u

Wallowa Lake Reunion -part 4

2011-07-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Smores and the campfire!

Girls Tea Party!

My dad trying to whistle to get everyone's attention... it did NOT work! lol!

4th of July on the Lake!

During the family dance party, Skyler and my cousin Matt tied in the Limbo contest! I never knew Sky had it in him! Even after his broken leg...whoo hoo!

River Rafting!

Wallowa Lake Reunion -part 3

2011-07-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Trail rides! My kids really liked riding the horses. Mylie and Lakin were so scared at first but after talking to "King" and "Charlie" and petting them for a while they got right on. It is beautiful up there.

Getting unnaturally close to wild animals!

Our cabin

Wallowa Lake Reunion -part 2

2011-07-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Cousin Love

Beautiful and scary rushing river

On the boat!

Dad with his head lamp!

Husbands take the kids for ice cream!

Wallowa Lake Reunion- Part 1

2011-07-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Everyone streching their legs and jumping. Almost there. It was a long drive!
Having a snack and waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Cousin sleepover! the girls

Cousin sleepover! the boys

Glow sticks

The first night we had some wild fun! Laughed so hard! These pics are kind of annoying with everyones open mouth! lol

Denae and Landon go to pose for a pic and Denae slams him with her head!

Breakfast

Bird Update

2011-07-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Out of the 8 eggs that PD laid, 7 hatched. The last little baby hatched way after the older ones and he was just too little and he died. So, we had a funeral for him, but the other 6 babies grew and grew!

Just this week we set up a new cage for our big bird family. The babies are out of the nest box and trying to eat seeds. They are really cute.

Proud mom and dad bird.

Baby Parker

2011-07-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have a new nephew! Welcome to the world little Parker! Congrats to my bro Brett and sis in law Ems. I got to hold little Parker today and he's the sweetest baby! We love you Parker!

Braces

2011-06-29T16:51:00.001-07:00

Birthday Boy!

2011-06-27T23:32:00.001-07:00

Skyler and Savanah took Lakin on a date for his birthday. They took him to see a movie and he was beyond thrilled to go on a "date" with them. They saw Yogi Bear.

My faves about this pic are the silly bands he's wearing and that he clutched onto his movie ticket all morning before the movie! So cute. Look at my little 3 year old!

He had fun opening his presents and his big gift was a new bike. He was really happy about it.

We had a family birthday party for Lakin and cousin Wyatt. Wyatt was born 1 day before Lakin and all Lakes wanted for his b-day was to have Wyatt and his other cousin Bennett over to play basketball! Here they are up on the table while we all sang to them!

Cousins and buddies!

The 4 three year olds in the family! Bennett, Wyatt, Lakin, and Mylie!

Happy Birthday Lakin! I luv you SOOOO much!

Baby Cooper

2011-06-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have a new nephew again! Congrats to my bro Devin and Sis in law Kim. Cooper is beautiful and I can't wait to hold him! Welcome little Coopes!

T-ball and Swimming Lessons

2011-06-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Caden, Carsen, Preston, and Mylie took swimming lessons. They did great! Mylie was terrified of the water at first but she's a social butterfly and LOVED her teacher and the other kids in the class and that's what pushed her beyond her water fear. Every lesson she would be physically shaking with fear, but give me a kiss and have a smile on her face while trying to talk to the other kids. It was pretty cute and at the end of the 2 weeks she was jumping into the pool by herself! Yay MyMy!

Preston was a wild splash of excitement in the pool and I had to tell him to settle down and listen to his teacher more than once. He has endless energy and it is hard sometimes, but a good attribute to have as an adult. Luckily, I have a secret weapon that helps calm him down and it's the ONLY thing that works. T.V., or Movies... NO! Video games... for a few minutes... but, when I scratch his back he becomes a weak and subdued rag doll and he falls into a relaxed trance and I think I will be scratching his back his whole life!!
The boys are all on the same T-ball team and it's been a lot of fun to watch them! Preston could care less, and would rather climb the dugout fence, but he's a great hitter. Caden is my "lucky lefty" (left handed) and he hits the ball out of the park! He's fast and a great catcher. Carsen is a speed demon and he runs the bases like a superhero! Last Sat. he caught a pop fly and was as surprised and excited as everyone that witnessed it! Go Golden Eagles!

5 Babies!

2011-06-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

My Man

2011-06-10T12:31:00.001-07:00

A couple things to say about my man. He's the best. For realz. Pretty much everyday he says to me... "How'd I get so lucky?" I feel the same way... I'm lucky to have you Pete. I luv u.

My Grads

2011-06-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Caden and Carsen graduated from Kindergarten and they were the CUTEST kids up there on that stage! They have had a wonderful year and were the smartest in their class... thanks to me! They have an August b-day and instead of sending them to kindergarten barely 5 years old, I waited a year. It was kind of a tough decision because they had a lot of buddies start that year, but I felt good about it and I'm glad I went with how I felt. School work has been easy for them, therefore less demanding for me, and I just think it's better for a boy to be older and bigger than his peers than smaller and younger. Anyway, they were humiliated a few times while they sang their Kindergarten grad songs up on stage for all the parents... when they would have to sing an animal sound or something like that, they would look at me and laugh and have a look on their face as if to say... "I'm SO beyond this!"
Carsen had to sit next to a wall and during the program, the kids slowly moved toward the wall while doing the actions to their songs and Carsen was squished! It got a lot worse then this pic! It was funny! I'm proud of my twinners. They are so much fun and I love the relationship they have with each other. I wish I had a twin! Luv you C and C.

Skyler graduated from 6th grade and Elementary school... He'll be in middle school next year! Weird! Since he was President of the school, he had to give a graduation speech and he did great! Here he is with his best buddies. I luv these boys... they are great kids. Also, Sky had an appointment at Primary Childrens and he is cast free! Someone came and took the wheelchair away the other day too! Yay! His leg is doing great and he can participate in all activities and needs to try to get his strength back in that leg. He still can't bend it all the way and he walks with a limp but he's healing and will just get stronger. In 9 months, they will take out the plate and screws. I'm proud of my Skyler for being a good student, a good friend, son, and person. Luv you buddy... congrats!

Hatch Day!

2011-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our parakeet laid an egg. Well, 1 egg turned into a clutch of 8 eggs and today, the first little baby bird hatched out of it's egg! Yay for PD and Prince! (bird mom and dad) I think it's adorable and so tiny. We have a new baby over here and everyone's excited! I even got some smiles out of Pete over it...he's excited too!

Last Few Months

2011-05-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

I've been the worst blogger but I can't give it up cause it's like our family journal. So, here's some of what's been going on at our place, in pics.

The boys learned how to climb the shed and it's now the "secret hideout"

I made birthmom cards with the youngest 4 for Mother's Day. Cute little hand prints!

Kam and Prest writing in their journal.

Our guppy had babies! It was pretty cool! They are "live bearers" so the fish just came out alive and swam away.

Beautiful Norah!

Happy Birthday Sky! My Skyler turned 12 and Grandma and Grandpa and uncle Lands were here to celebrate! Too bad he got a new basketball hoop, and bike... can't really use them for a while, but his new cell phone is something that will pass the time!

I love this pic! Savanah has been such a sweetheart to Sky during this whole broken leg time and whenever I would look out the window and see her pushing him to school or home, it just made my heart melt. It's so cute and I finally got a pic of it... only they didn't want me to take one so she started running!

Family walk

Spring Break 2011

2011-05-11T11:31:00.001-07:00

It's been so busy around here that I'm behind on our life documentation!
We had a fun spring break. My good friend Dena and I braved the open road alone with 8 kids and we had a blast! We loaded up "Big White" and drove down to St. George!
Pete stayed home with the youngest 4 and finished up some work he wanted to do. I took the big 5 kids, plus Dena and her 2 kids, and the awesome Jesse. We really had a lot of fun! Here are some pics...

Cove Fort

Swimming!

Cupcakes!

Showing "Big White" some love!

Old building

St. George temple

All of us

swimming and water play

Food!

BEST moms ever

Ghost town

Fave Pic

2011-05-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

12 year old!

2011-04-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my Skyler!!

Dear Sky,
I hope you have a happy day today! I'm so thankful and happy to be your mom. You're an awesome kid!! I can see the future you, if you continue to make good choices. You will grow to be an honorable and good man. I love you so much! You're a great big brother and example to your siblings. I love your smile and I love seeing you hanging out with your buddies... Jade and Jesse! You boys are awesome and it will be so fun to watch you grow up!

You're the best Sky! I luv you lots! Happy 12th!! I'm one lucky mom!

Broken Femur

2011-04-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Skyler broke his femur during his soccer game on Saturday. It was extra sad for me because I wasn't there, and Pete wasn't either, but thanks to some GREAT friends he was well taken care of. Thanks coach, Rob, and especially Dena!

Dena drove him to the hospital and Pete was there waiting. Then he had to be transported to Primary Children's in SLC which worked out good for me because I was at a Power of Moms retreat in N.Salt Lake and was able to meet them at the hospital pretty quick.
It was very hard to see him in so much pain. He had surgery a couple hours later and had a metal plate and 6 screws put in. He'll get all that hardware out in a year or so. The surgeon was awesome... the nicest guy and really good at what he does.
Pete spent the night there at the hospital with him and the next day I took all the kids to visit. It was really sweet. A few siblings cried as they gave Sky a hug. It's always neat as a mom when those moments happen and you see just how much your kids love each other.
Sky also got a visit from his uncles Chad and Brett and Aunt Emily and cousins Clayton, Conner, and Bennett. He really enjoyed that. Thanks guys.

He's home now and he has such great friends! Lots of people have come by to see him, give him treats, cheer him up, or call him. He has been surrounded by love and I'm so thankful for the friends and family we have. Thanks to all!

Baby Miles

2011-04-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

I have a new sweet little nephew! He is so beautiful and perfect! Congrats to my bro Chad and sis in law Jules. It was heaven on earth holding him. We all love you Miles! Welcome to the family!!

Baby Mack

2011-04-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have a new little nephew and I'm so excited! He is beautiful! Congrats to my sweet sis D-Dawg Miracles happen and we are so glad Mack is FINALLY here!! All the Abilla's love you sweet baby!

Technology

2011-03-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

The big 3 kids have the basement all to themselves and lately they have been so naughty about going to bed! Staying up way to late and laughing and mess'in around. Then they are tired and cranky. So, tonight I had Pete sit in the hall way with his IPhone so the big 3 would go to sleep and get some extra needed rest.

Well, so much for that! I went down to tuck them in and give them a kiss and I found Skyler on his IPod touch emailing Savanah. When he saw me he tried to give me a big and dramatic hug and hide his electronic device by the side of his bed... but I had already seen it.

Then I went into Savanah's room and she too tried to hide her IPod touch, but the bag of chips on her dresser that she was eating out of, was not so subtle. Hello! It's bed time people!

Then Kameron who had heard the other two kids get caught and get a lecture tried to pretend that she wasn't involved, but she had been emailing them too!

What is the point of Pete? Oh well.

Here are some old pics of these 3. Kids these days with all their technology! They may not get any extra and needed sleep but at least they are creating some pretty fun memories!!

p.s. Kids if you are reading this... GO TO SLEEP!!! or else.

"Yo, I only kiss my mama"

2011-03-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Preston = Hottie

I have a 4 year old son that's a hottie! He is seriously so cute and he's had muscles (ripped, definition) since he was 2! He is extremely intellegent and I'm afraid that with his natural charm and beautiful smile that all the ladies are going to want to smooch with him. So, I've developed a plan for his future and to my delight he is enthusastically following the plan so far!

Play Date!

2011-03-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Lakin had his first play date and he was beyond thrilled!

He bragged for 2 days that HE had a play date and Preston and Mylie were not going and it was only him! Then as I dropped him off he started to get nervous. He had a great time playing with his 2 cousins, Wyatt and Bennett.

Now, he won't stop talking about how he wants to play with his cousins... everyday!
Thanks Kim for having him over!

This is Wyatt and Lakin! Wyatt is one day older than Lakin...so cute!

Costco

2011-03-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Costco and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it because how can you not with their free samples on Saturdays and the food I can buy in bulk for my extremely large family. But, I hate it because I spend A LOT of money there and I feel like a dork the whole time using 2 carts... and as I age, I am in serious pain during and after my Costco experience.

Costco loves me because I spend A LOT of money and help teach their employees the most affective way to load a Costco cart. Getting the most stuff in, while using the least amount of space...and don't forget the art of item weight and how to distribute it, so nothing gets crushed. They seriously want me to work there one day because of my talent of cart loading and every time I go and they exclaim "how did you fit this all in?" or "you are so good at loading carts, want a job?" I feel like an even bigger dork because I have these talents and I am standing there with my 2 carts and a ton of food. Costco hates me because you have to unload EVERY item from your cart onto the conveyor and then because of my talents I have to load my cart while teaching cart loading lessons and everything is HEAVY and I'm not getting any younger and my whole body hurts!

Today, I went to Costco. I always go by myself. It's easier for me because when I don't have any kids with me, I am fast! I know where everything is and I can be outta there in a little over an hour. (depending on my energy level) But, I might soon be taking some of my big kids with me to help.

Today was extra hard at Costco. I didn't have extra items or anything, just the usual but pushing and dragging my 2 carts around really hurt. Loading it and unloading it hurt too. I think I hyper extended my elbow somehow and NO ONE helped me load my cart at all because it was really busy and the cashier was frazzled and laughed and said "I don't know how you do this... you load it better than me! I'm just going to let you do it!" Lol! Lol! I smiled and loaded my carts.

As I was struggling to get to my car an old grandma came slowly walking over to help me. She said she was just waiting for her husband and I looked like I needed some help. She had such a pretty smile and I made some joke about how I have a lot of kids and thus a lot of food. She said she could tell I had a big family from all the milks in my cart. We joked and laughed a little more about how now I needed to find my car. She was so cute and I almost got emotional right there in the parking lot because she reminded me of my grandma who I love a lot, and her kindness was so real and sweet.

Somehow, loading all the stuff into the car didn't feel so heavy and I vowed that when I'm a grandma and I see a mom who needs some help, that I will help. I seriously love that lady... what a sweetheart.

I have also decided to graduate myself from Costco cart using to flatbed using, to try and ease my burdens. I'll still feel like and I'm sure look like, a big dork, but working the best way to load and stack a flatbed cart should be exciting.

P.S. if anyone out there wins the lottery of has some extra cash flow and wants to donate for a good cause, consider our family food budget. Thanks!

Sistas Weekend 2011

2011-03-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a fun weekend away with the sistas! My mom and 2 sisters, and 4 sis-in-laws. We had a blast and ate and laughed a lot! We went down to St George (southern Utah) and stayed in a condo. We got pedicures and manicures. We watched some chick flicks and did a little site seeing. It was a lot of fun. I'm SO thankful my brothers married such wonderful, sweet, and awesome girls! And of course my sisters are awesome and my mom so I'm pretty darn lucky!

The pregnant 4... they are all having BOYS!!!

Breakfast... YUM!

At the Jacob Hamblin home.

In front of the St. George temple.

Black History Month

2011-02-22T11:48:00.001-08:00

Every year we go to the BYU Children's Fair that they put on to celebrate Black History month. It's a fun time for everyone! This year they had new and different booths. My favorite one was the underground railroad. It was awesome. We had to be quiet and sneak through a tunnel and jump over things and look at the stars to guide our way! I think the kids learned a lot and I learned a few new things to. This year they did tribal paint! I also saw a blogging friend and we met in real life! So fun to see you Sydney! Enjoy the pics.

Happy V-Day!

2011-02-14T20:34:00.001-08:00

Today, I love that I got to go to the 6th grade Valentines dance and watch my Skyler. He's such a handsome and awesome kid. Seriously, he is SO cute!

I love that Preston was thrilled about his preschool Valentines party ALL weekend and that he was so excited to show me all the stuff he got. He also told me that I was his Valentine! Awww... that little sweetheart!

I love that my twins Caden and Carsen came home from school wearing this necklace and I got 2 big free kisses from my boys! The other day I asked Carsen if he was going to ask someone to be his Valentine. He said "C'mon mom, my only Valentine of course is you!"

I love the family Valentines dinner we had together tonight. We had pink pasta which the kids think is so cool and I'm glad they love it but I'm not that into food coloring, but hey... it's Valentines!

Most of all, I love my Pete. here's an old pic of us in 5th grade. He's the Skater boy and I'm the little girl wearing a teddy bear sweatshirt. This was the school 5th grade picture and it just so happened that there was just one girl in between us. I would have NEVER guessed that day that I was so close to my husband to be. Isn't he the cutest?

Here's us in high school, in love...

and again, our senior year...

I'm the luckiest girl in the world! Pete takes care of me. He takes care of our family. He loves all of our kids. He loves me, despite my imperfections and mistakes. He does the dishes and read books to the kids... he's the man of my dreams! I love you Pete! xoxo Happy V Day!

Love Week day #6

2011-02-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

I love my big girls! We had a fun and long date together shopping. We ate out and searched for the perfect shoes for them. Kameron found her beloved TOMS and Savanah is my Converse girl! I feel so blessed to be their mom. They are the sweetest girls and I love them so much. I love being with them.
Kam and Sav... I like your shoes!! I love you!!

Love Week day #5

2011-02-11T20:52:00.001-08:00

I love my birds. Last month, Pete surprised me with a little parakeet. Then I got Lovie the Lovebird. Lovie laid an egg and since my sister and 3 sis-in-laws are pregnant and having new babies (which we are thrilled about!) the kids and I want to find a "bird husband" for Lovie so we can have new babies of our own at our house! Our new birds are really fun to watch. Carsen loves them and asked his teacher if he could bring PD (the parakeet) for show and tell. She of course told him that he could and a few days later I found myself trudging through the snow into the school with a parakeet!
Yesterday on my bad day, both birds bit me. It made my day worse and even though I really like our new birds, I don't think I'll ever love any bird as much as I did my old bird babies Sayjen and Bindi. I hand fed them and I still miss them!

I love my new aquarium! I finished setting it up tonight and the kids are excited to pick out a couple of starter fish on Valentines Day. I had an aquarium in my room growing up and they are pretty and soothing. I love the sound of running water/rain and with my new aquarium I'm feeling very calm right in my family room!

Love Week day #4

2011-02-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

(always a day behind!) Yesterday was a bad day... I lost that lov'in feeling... oh that lov'in feeling....

but, I love my sis D-dawg and I laughed my head off on the phone with her! Here are some pics of us from back in the day. (I am wearing my "swatch" and I have my awesome "new wave" NY shirt on! cool.

I love you Denae!

I also love my bed and thank goodness for my bed. I went to bed at 8:30 pm and just layed there until I fell asleep. Here's to a better LOVE day #5.

Love Week day #3

2011-02-09T23:37:00.001-08:00

I love my Dyson. It is the worlds greatest vacuum! I use it every single day, and sometimes a couple times a day and it always does the job!

I love my Blendtec. I use this everyday too. It is amazing and can do so many cool things. I make green smoothies and the kids love them. It's a great way to get some spinach in their diet! I sneak some flax seeds in their smoothie too! shhhh......

Love Week day #2

2011-02-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

I love Carsen's pictures! He knows that I love birds and he likes birds too. This is what my bedroom door looks like right now. I don't think I'll ever take them down!

I love Savanah's thoughtfulness. She asks me everyday if there is anything she can do for me. Out of no where she'll ask if I want a massage, and then the other day she gave me these coupons! For no reason... it's not my b-day or anything. She is the best and such a sweetie. I love how a few of them are "reuseable forever"

Love Week 2011

2011-02-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

My sis D-Dawg does Love Week every year. I thought I'd play along this year to help me remember all the things I love and just how blessed I am!

I love brown little bums in the bath!

January 2011

2011-02-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

I know this sounds dramatic... but I had all these hopes and dreams for the New Year and all we have done this whole month is be sick. It has been a very thumbs down kind of month. I'm happy that Feb. is here. It's the month of LOVE so I hope it's better.

Caden got his tonsils out. He was brave and recovered well, but they found something they wanted to take a closer look at and he had to have a CT scan. He's ok but going to see an allergist.

We ALL got sick. ALL of us and it wasn't at once which might have been a better deal because the family sickness lasted 2 full weeks. A day or two after one kid would get it, then another child would fall victim. It was a nasty flu/cold with a fever for 3 days and cough. It was horrible and intense for a couple of people who struggle with delusions when they have a fever.

Savanah thought FOR SURE there was someone in my bed. She was so scared and so convincing that I went and checked my bed... no one was there. And then she saw a blind girl coming out of the wall... freaky! Poor girl. Then Pete fell down in the middle of the night in the bathroom and hit his head on the shower door. I guess he was moaning in there for a while but I had been up with different kids all night and I never heard his cries to rescue him. Poor Pete. At one point we had 5 kids sleeping on our bedroom floor! There wasn't any room to walk but the kids prefer to sleep close to us when they are sick and that's fine with me.

Then, I got a salivary gland infection... I guess it can follow a cold and it was horrendous. Never heard of one before. I woke up and my neck was the size of a grapefruit! I felt like a lady from the 1920's who had a "goiter". The image below is an exaggeration, but that's what I felt like!

Mylie is on billboards all around town! It's pretty fun to be driving down the freeway and see your daughter on a billboard. So far we know of 5 and Carsen and I got a fun surprise when we discovered a new one while driving to SL. I started yelling "MYLIE" and Carsen yelled it too and then we laughed!

January ended with an x-ray for Norah. She is fine, just bruised up after the table bench landed on both legs. I thought nothing was broken but she wasn't putting any weight on one leg so I wanted to be on the safe side and get it looked at. She is such a drama queen and was SO mad that the doctors were looking at her legs that she worked herself all up and then barfed her dinner all over me! It was gross and embarrassing. I'm glad she is just fine.

Ready for Feb. and I hope it's a BORING month!

My Cute Kids

2011-01-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

A while back we joined a talent agency...because we are SO full of talent...lol. The main reason is to get some cash flow into our kids bank accounts for college. The kids have a lot of fun (so far) doing it and it's something we can do as a family.

Here are some pics I took at a shoot they did a few months back for the Children's Miracle Network. I also included the links that they have put up on their site of my kids. Skyler isn't in any of them because he chose to go to a birthday party that day... the kids can do it if they want to, or not. Norah wasn't invited (too little) The kids had fun! What they loved the most was seeing themselves on the website and the little video! Fun times over here.

Some links... here, here, and here.

For T

2011-01-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

BRAIDS!!!

Looking in his Christmas stocking!

Random

2011-01-06T05:02:00.001-08:00

ok, so here are 10 random thoughts, in no particular order, to ring in the New Year...

1. My annoying super tooth. So, I had to get my first root canal recently and after the whole procedure and a sparkling new crown I still was in pain! Every time I would drink cold water or take a bite of hot food, pain. So I went back into the dentist and now I am on antibiotics for NO reason and after that if I still "feel" from that tooth then I have to go see a "root canal specialist". wow. What a pain... in my tooth! It's got me thinking and maybe I really am a vampire and this super tooth that won't die is really a fang. If I am one, I'm joining the Cullen family... It's true that I love 'em all. Cross your fingers for me that my super tooth will die and be like everyone else's when they get a root canal. Thanks.

2. Two years ago, we spent extra money on an awesome prelit Christmas tree. Well, this year a section of the lights wouldn't turn on. So, I got some lights and strung them around in that area so the tree would look half decent. What is the point of having a PRELIT tree when you then have to mess around with tangled lights? There's noway I'm searching for the fused out light. Oh well.

3. Health. 2011 is MY year. I am going to focus on health. Health all around, in every facet. Physical health yes, but mental health too. Let's face it, I'm a stressed out woman! I've been looking into buying a light, for light therapy. When I think of myself laying on the bed under a light I laugh, cause that's funny, but I've heard good things about light therapy and my Dr. recommended it. Anyone have a light? Did it make a difference? We shall see...

4. Carsen. I know I talk about Carsen a lot. But, I can't help it. He's so fun! The other day he was telling me about when he went with his class to an old folks home to sing Christmas carols to them. He told me how all the old people were staring at them and it was "awkward". I asked him, "what did you do?" He said "I went and stood by Caden and said "Ahhhh this is so embarrassing... Caden, be my shield" and then I hid behind Caden." lol lol

5. Caden is getting his tonsils out next week. I'm worried about him. He'll do fine I'm sure but I'm still worried. He's such a good boy. I told him that I'm going to buy all different kinds of ice cream and he can eat as much as he wants for a whole week. Luckily, I've been through this before with Lakin so I know what to expect, but I want it done and over with.

6. Norah is FINALLY getting a tooth! Hooray! She is over a year old and at her well check visit her pediatrician told us to bring her back in 3 months if she still hadn't grown a tooth. He said he would take x-rays to make sure she had teeth up there. Well, she has at least one cause I can see it coming up. yay!

7. I'm currently painting the kitchen and living/family room. Our kitchen has been bright red for the last 5 years and although we have loved it, Pete is feeling claustrophobic. He says he needs light and he feels like he's living in a cave. All not good things... and if I get my therapy light then I am making him lay under it too! So, I've been painting and it's been fun. I like it but it takes a while and I feel like my right arm muscle is waay bigger than my left... which makes me think of that guy in the "Lady in the Water" movie. lol.

8. Preston gets up so early in the morning and then we all pay the price later in the day cause he's so cranky and tired. He won't take naps anymore, but we do have "quiet time" everyday. "Quiet time" for me lately has consisted of me telling Preston that quiet time isn't over yet... every 5 minutes. Even when I put him to bed later at night, he still gets up at the same time in the morning, and it's early. This is not my favorite stage.

9. I watched a couple of movies to motivate me for the year. Supersize Me which was gross and Food Inc. which was also gross. I'm motivated for sure and may never eat meat again.

10. Last night a friend called up and offered 2 Jazz tickets that he wasn't going to use. Pete and Sky jumped in the car and went to the game! they had fun and the seats were awesome. 15 rows up and center court. I'm so glad they got to go. Sky's favorite player... mine too! D-Will

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T12:32:00.001-08:00

You know it's Christmas time when you wake up and eat a big 'ol piece of fudge for breakfast! Merry Christmas everyone... the Abilla's love you!

She's a Teen

2010-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Kameron had a birthday and she is an official teenager. So weird for me! Isn't she beautiful?!

She had a friend party a couple of weekends ago and 24 kids came over to celebrate! They had fun playing games and eating and had a whip cream fight outside at the end.

To celebrate Kams day and Christmas too we made and decorated sugar cookies. Yum!

I love you so much Kams! xoxo

Thanksgiving '10

2010-12-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast! We ate over at my brother Devin's house and it was fun to be with everyone. The cousins love to play together! Some wii, football, and great food!

Lost Tooth

2010-12-10T12:42:00.001-08:00

Carsen lost his first tooth and he is so cute. I love the air that whistles through when he talks!

GUILTY

2010-12-10T12:19:00.001-08:00

I am SO happy. I'm not a hater type of person, but I do HATE Brian David Mitchell. I have been watching his trial very closely. Sometimes I know it wasn't good for me and Pete would be mad, but I just had to see it through. Elizabeth Smart is an amazing woman and I love her. She is a beautiful girl who has been incredibly strong, and she made it! She didn't let him take anymore of her life away. I can't imagine all that she has been through. Not just the 9 months she was kidnapped but all the years following, and it is a miracle to see her today. Her spirit shines! To me, it's as bright as her blond hair! She is confident and she knows who she is and she owns her life. Go Elizabeth... you seriously rule and are so awesome. It is wonderful and so refreshing to see her survive...and live!
I hope her kidnapper burns in Hell like I know he will. He is a weirdo but so NOT insane. His evil doings were premeditated and he used religion to get what he wanted. He is evil and I am so happy to see some justice in this case for Elizabeth, her family, and me!

Funny Carsen

2010-11-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Carsen is my funniest kid. I think I've mentioned it before. What is so awesome about this kid is that he is hilarious and doesn't even know it. He's just himself. He's my imaginative child and he plays with toys. He really plays with toys. It's so cool. He gets on the ground with some figures and makes up a big story in his mind and makes big noises with his mouth as the bad guys and good guys fight. It's so fun to watch. He won't even notice you are watching for a long time because he is so focused. I've set the video camera up more than once during his "play" walked away and left the camera rolling. It is awesome!

One of my faves was when he took the magnetic letters on the fridge and pretended they had a football game. It was all the yellow letters against the other colors. Then all the yellows "betrayed" the yellow letter "A" and joined the other team, But letter "A" ended up winning the game anyway some how!

Last night I went through the toys with Carsen since I value his opinion the most since he's the kid that plays the most. We went through all the cars and figures and he told me what he still liked and what we could get rid of. It was funny and fun! He would tell me his reasons as to why something is still cool and what he likes to play with it. Then I started to notice a disturbing trend. A lot of his Star Wars figures were missing their heads. That's right, we lined up a bunch of guys who were decapitated. Pete and the girls helped Carsen search his room and legos for any missing heads, but they all kept coming downstairs with more decapitated figures! Carsen was laughing SO hard! I was like asking him "where are all of their heads??" He said they fall off easy and he had no idea! We searched and searched and only found 3 heads, but he insisted on keeping all the other headless figures. What a funny boy he is. He is seriously so cool and so fun to be with. Here's a pic of some of the headless figures and Carsen's head!

He's 4!

2010-11-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

Preston had a birthday this week! He turned 4! This pic is blurry but I still love it cause that's what his smiled looked like when he opened up his nintendo DS. He was SO happy, which made me happy.

We went to Pirate Island for pizza and games and tokens and tickets! Then came home for cake and ice cream. Preston had a happy day!

Dear Prest, Remember how much I love you! You are such a sweet little boy and I'm so proud of you and all the good that you do in our family. Your smile lights up our whole house! You'll always be my baby boy and I am so thankful!! Love you forever! Happy 4th birthday my son. xoxo

She's 3

2010-11-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

Miss Mylie turned 3 years old yesterday. She was SO excited. She kept singing "Happy Birthday" to herself all day! She loved opening her gifts and after she'd open one she'd turn her head to the side and say "saynks" (thanks) it was pretty cute! She was also feeling really popular with all the loving phone calls she got. She talked to a lot of people, including birth-family members and sang to them too! Here are some pics...

Mylie, you are such a beautiful person. Never forget how much I love you. You're always my baby girl. I'm so thankful you are my daughter.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:13:00.001-07:00

We had a fun Halloween! I didn't get pics of Sky and Sav... they ran off to trick or treat with their buddies too fast. I was loving Lakin's bright and colorful costume the most, because I love birds. That cute little parrot boy. I took Mylie and Lakin first to a few houses and then they went inside to eat some candy. Then I took the 3 boys around and they wanted to get TONS of candy so we were out for a while. Then all of the sudden one of them had to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW and another one of them claimed their leg was broken so I ended up holding their heavy candy bags all the way home! Everyone stayed up late trading candy. Halloween 2010= success!

Longest Blog Post Ever

2010-10-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

So, I think I'm going to start blogging again. I think it's good for me. I don't know how often it will be. 2010 hasn't been the best year for us, but we're still standing, in all our glory. The best thing about this year is that we got to take Norah to the temple! She was so pretty that day and I am so thankful that she is my little girl for forever. I love my family so much.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the last 6 months and what we've been up to.
My brother Dustin got married to the wonderful Moriah. We love her and are glad to have her in the family. This is a pic of us all! The girls were thrilled to dress up and they looked so pretty!

My baby girl started solid foods. She's my last baby so I'm trying to enjoy it all and it's always fun to watch a baby taste food for the first time.

Beautiful Kams and Lakes

Carsen looking for underwear in our giant laundry pile. I call it "Mount Everest" and it is usually never ending.

Skyler got an airsoft gun and I've never seen him so excited. What is it about boys and guns? Come to think of it, he hasn't played with it at all in a loonng time. Why do we buy toys??

Preston and Lakin with their hair all twisted up. We got the NuDred and had a fun twisting party! Aren't they the cutest?!

The boys at the Scera pool. They love that place.

Mylie with Daddy playing in the dirt. I'm not sure what they were playing or talking about but it is such a cute picture. Pete is the best dad in the world and my kids are SO lucky to have him.

Walking in the hills with my little (15 now!) brother Landon. The kids love their uncle Landon.

Playing "London Bridges" with Grandma and Grandpa!

My Kameron right after she got off the bus home from Girls Camp. She had so much fun and I'm so glad. It was only a week but I sure missed her.

The scariest day of my life. Lakin had a Febrile seizure. A call to 911, an ambulance ride, and the whole sha-bang. I love that little boy with all of my heart and I'm so glad he is ok. Now I know what I am like during an emergency involving one of my children... let's just say it is NOT a pretty picture. I hope to be much more calm next time, but hopefully there will never be a next time.

C and C on the first day of kindergarten! So excited and ready to be in school.

My sister Denae from HarlowPhotography took our family pics. Thanks Denae! This is one of my faves. She also took the header pic at the top.

Lakin and Mylie after a bath. So cute.

On a bike ride alone with Pete. Going up Provo Canyon. Love hang'in out with my hubby.

My baby boy Lakin getting a Tonsillectomy - Tonsil & Adenoid Surgery. He was so brave and such a trooper.

Mylie got stitches on her ear. The first stitches in the family. I can't believe we've lasted this long! It's no surprise that she is the first to get them, that wild, funny, girl!

With the big 3 on our way to Washington to visit my Grandma. I just wanted to send Pete a little message made out of rocks.

With my Grandma Blodgett. I love this amazing woman. She might be getting older and a little frail, but her spirit is strong. She is one of my kindred spirits. Love you Grandma!

My sweet baby Norah! She has grown up so fast and will turn 1 next month!

To end this LONG post, here is my new favorite song for now. I like Taylor and it's good. She has such a pretty voice. Pete has pneumonia so I'm gonna go take care of him.

2010 MTV Video Music Awards - More VMA Video

CRAZY BUSY

2010-05-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had to put the title in all caps to emphasize the busyness around here! Plus add some serious stress in the mix and that equals NO blogging for me and I almost ditched my blog for good! I don't know how often I'll post, but I'm still going to try! I'd like to take this moment to thank my sis D-Dawg for being such a dedicated reader...I guess she still checks my blog like everyday so thanks sis!

Miss Mylie with her micro braid extensions... done by me. She looks so pretty. She is doing SO much better, and so am I. She has been diagnosed with something that I don't believe she 100% has, but the new parenting techniques that we have been taught and are implementing are working! No more hitting, biting, throwing stuff, etc. She is happy and the extra tight structure is just what she needed and what I needed too! I have learned more from this little girl and her behavior than I could have ever imagined! She's only 2.5 years old! Who would've known??!! I have learned more about love, faith, and the human heart. I really love Mylie so much. I know I will continue to learn more from her too.

Doing their family job...the dreaded weeding! Good job guys and you sure are cute!

On Mother's Day, I took Preston to the hospital that he was born in. He had been asking to look at his baby book a lot and just seemed to be kind of fixated on his birth and maybe struggling a little bit about understanding that he was adopted. I told him over and over again about the first time I saw him through the nursery glass window and how I cried and told pete "there he is... that's our son". I told him about how I felt the first time I held him and that the warm, tingling feeling that I felt in my heart was the Spirit, confirming to me that his adoption was the right situation and that he was meant to be my son. He loves to hear me tell stories about him. He loves to look at his baby pictures of all the kids holding him and loving him up. Visiting the hospital brought some kind of peace to his little heart because he hasn't talked about it since. It was a little date, just Preston and me. I love my Preston.

I took Kameron to the temple for the first time as a 12 year old. She was so excited! She is such a pretty girl. I know I'm her mom, but she truly is just a beautiful person, both inside and out. What a good, sweet girl she is. We had a good time at the temple together...mom and daughter.

Kameron helping Lakin ride a bike! He loves it!

Carsen spilled his Cheerios one morning... we had a good laugh.

Skyler got his Arrow of Light award! He's such a good boy.

Happy 11th b-day to Skyler! He got a bunch of sports stuff, including the beloved D Will jersey! His little brothers look up to him so much...you can feel their love! I love you Skyler!

Cookies and my buddy

2010-03-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

Today my Lakin and I made some cookies together! We had a lot of fun!

Lakin is my little buddy and he is such a cool kid. He really is just so enjoyable and such a fun little guy to have around. He is so beautiful with his long eyelashes and big puppy dog eyes. I keep telling him that he better start being naughty or something cause I just love this kid so much!

Lakin has been talking a lot and he always says the last word that I say to him. Example: Me- "Lakin, good job on making those cookies"
him- "cookies"

Me- "C'mon it's time to go Bye bye"
him "bye bye"

Me- "hop in your car seat"
him- "seat"

When I tell him I love him, he smiles and says "of ewe" and then usually leans into me as sort of a half hug. He is just so cute. He was a great helper and made some good cookies! His face was so cute and curious as he would pour an ingredient in. I love you Lakes!

Black History Celebration

2010-03-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we loaded up "big white" (my awesome 15 passenger van) and went to the BYU Black History Celebration! We go every year and it's always a fun time for all.

This year, the musical group African Voices performed and it was awesome!

The kids walked around to the various booths, played games, and got candy. I hope they learned a few new things!

It was a lot of fun! Thanks BYU for encouraging cultural celebrations and for putting on this event every year. It means a lot to our family and as the years go by, I hope it will mean something to my kids of African decent.

This guy is named Alex. We met him last year and it was fun to see him again. He is from Kenya. He talked to my kids all about culture. Their culture, and our family culture.

On our way home, Pete and I were talking to our kids about the day and Kameron said that she was so proud to be Black. I asked her to tell me more. She said that even though she isn't of African decent, she still feels apart of the Black culture. I told her I feel the same, because it is so important to me. It's important to our family.

"Culture and Race... shape our beliefs, traditions, attitudes, consciousness, customs, values, thoughts, behaviors, norms and knowledge. They define our society and clarify our worldview."

"An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning. The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group"

I love our family culture. It's made up of 3 different races. Our religion and adoption play a big role in our family culture. Growing up in and being apart of a large family deepens our human experience, and is apart of our family culture.

As a mom of a diverse group of kids, I am trying my best to establish and celebrate our family culture. To help each of my children feel a strong sense of self and feel solid in their identity.

I also want my children to understand the importance of character, and that one of the most important things in life is the kind of person you choose to be.

The Skate Off

2010-02-21T10:08:00.001-08:00

The last couple of weeks, Kam and her friends have started to hang out with boys. Two of them ride their skateboards to my house. They are darling boys and I'm glad I can provide a supervised safe place for them to hang out. It has actually been very entertaining for me! One day, they played "truth, dare, double dare, promise and repeat". I had to monitor their "dares" a little bit, but it was pretty funny and awesome that they wanted me to hang with them! A few of their dares were, to lick the carpet, lick the inside of your shoe, "pants" yourself outside in the middle of the court, one boy put on Kameron's make-up, and Skyler had his fingernails painted!

They play ping pong and basketball and eat a lot of food. The little kids love having new people outside to play with and it's nice for me to look outside and see everyone so happy, active, and having a good time.

My favorite activity they did this week was when a couple of the boys that skate, challenged Pete to a skate off. Of course I didn't get any pics... thought about that later, but it was awesome! My Pete on his board showing up these kids!

A skate off is kind of like HORSE in basketball, but you spell SKATE. Pete got so serious when he was challenged and said..."fine, I'll spank you boys and send you home" Well, he did just that. Had a hard time landing a few tricks cause he hasn't skated forever, but just some of the attempts he made had the boys feeling unworthy! Go Pete!

Caden has been really interested in skating and he has really good balance. He thinks he knows how to do an "ollie" but he's not quite there yet. It's cute cause he's asked Skyler a few times if he wants him to teach him some skateboard tricks. Isn't he cute?!!