Now this next one here is downright embarrassing coming from the mother's standpoint.  Lily looks like a child right out of a Wal-mart shopping cart (and really I say that with all the tender feelings of one who frequents Wal-mart often. It's just the way it is.) - stained popsicle lips, underwear only at 4:00 in the afternoon, and black feet from running bare foot all day.







These pictures can only prove one thing...summer is here and decent bedtime happens about as much as we see temperatures below 100.

Look at Mr. Krabbs, the one-eyed swimming pool/sandbox now...

Maggie did a report at the end of of 4th grade on Hoover Dam so it was fun for all of us to go see what we had all been learning about. She was our personal tour guide - spouting off facts she remembered from her report.

Did you know over 100 people died in its construction? Workers called "highscalers" would suspend from cables from the canyon walls to chisel away and blast out rock. When the dam was completed in 1936 it began providing electricity to Nevada, Arizona, and a huge portion of the southern half of California.

And if the dam itself isn't amazing enough, in the last year or so, a bypass bridge was built next to the dam to help alleviate all the traffic jams that would occur due to too much traffic on the small two-way highway crossing over the dam.

Look at this crazy high bridge!!!

It's 900 feet above the river! We didn't have a chance to go up on the bridge. We want to do that next. I think...if I can find a way to chain all my babies to the railings first.

Lily really wan't as miserable as she looks. She was just mad at me for picking her up for the picture. She was loving the walk and feeling oh so independent.

This next picture makes me so happy. Maggie and Claire adore their big girl cousins. If they turn out anything as sweet, kind, and good as these girls I will be forever grateful to my nieces and their incredible parents. To Mailee, Hailey, and Brenna (and Emily, who couldn't be here) you will never know how much your example means to my little girls. We love you!!

It was a little nerve wracking being at the endge of sheer cliffs with 17 kids. If only I had a nickel for everytime I heard one of the adults yell "Keep both feet on the ground!!!" Here's more of the clan... and the cute boys who took years off their parents' lives while trying to get a better view of the river at the bottom of the canyon.



We all made it out intact and no one passed out due to heat exhaustion, so I'll call the day a success.

it just looks like a big ol' happy lovefest to me.

I'm now married to a man with a fresh off the printer Master's diploma! Reas has never been afraid to jump into something crazy hard if he felt it was the best thing for our family in the long run. He has worked his toosh off for the last 4 years all in the name of seeking a higher education and being a good provider.



While Reas was in graduate school:

he continued working full-time
we bought our first house
he served in the bishopric for 2 years
we welcomed our 4th child to the mix

...all the while he maintained a 3.8 GPA.

Not to mention the sheer stress of life raising a young family, dealing with health issues in our kids, balancing family, church, work, school, renovating a needy house, enduring intense months of sickness during my 4th pregnancy (that was as much his problem as it was mine). The list could go on.

Basically, had we known what life had in store for us, I'm sure we would have easily agreed to not go back to school at that time.

I am so grateful to him. I'm not sure he will ever know how much his efforts mean to our family, but if a little old blog post dedicated to him helps tell him, than I'll do it.

One thing we both learned is that there is never really a convenient time for accomplishing anything hard. If we would have waited for the right time, he would have never started back to school. You're never going to have "enough" money. You're never going to have "enough" time. Hard things always require sacrifice, but always yield the biggest blessings.

When we were trying to make the decision whether Reas should go back to school, I remember my oldest brother telling us, "4 years is going to pass by whether he's in school or not, so you may as well just do it!" Best advice ever. If there's something you want to do, you may as well just do it now. Stop waiting for that perfect time. Chances are, there never will be a perfect time and that thing is only going to get harder to accomplish the longer you sit and do nothing about it.

Maybe it's learning a new skill, having another baby, starting that diet, tackling that huge project. Whatever it is, if it's a good worthy goal, jump in there and start doing. And besides, the sooner you start, the sooner you will accomplish it. And that's a great feeling.

If there ever was a time to buy a bag of cadbury mini eggs it would be on ultrasound day!  So I did.  And we all sat around and sorted through the bucket of 0-9 month baby BOY clothes which we haven't seen in about 6 years.  And we made just a few phone calls.  And since I happened to be at Target strolling past the baby department, I just happened to glance over in that general direction.  I was innocently walking by, and then out of nowhere this outfit flew into my basket.  Really, I had nothing to do with it. It just happened...kind of like the way this cute little guy ended up inside of me.

Yes, I realize that second picture may be slightly offensive to my baby boy when he's about 13, but guess what - he's not here to stop me!  Love you, cutie boy!  Can't wait to smooch your neck in a few months.

These girls have been busy for over an hour now!  Never underestimate the value of water, a baster, a strainer, and a squirty ketchup thingy.

You would've thought I was giving them a big fudge brownie when I handed over the baster.  I think we need two of them...and turkey has nothing to do with it.




Whatever you do, don't forget the aprons.  Somehow it's the aprons that transform the whole process from a silly game into an extremely dangerous scientific experiment. Really. Try it!

This little old blog here is suffering.  I feel it.  Everytime I sit down at the computer I think, "huh." ...and then nothing.  Not sure what it is.  Maybe the fact that Christmas is over, the festivities have ended,  it's cold outside...really cold.  It's 35 degrees right now.  WHAT the?! It's never that cold here!

Whatever the reason for my major blogging blahs, it's high time for a little excitement around here.

So, here you go. Either...




Last year one of our family Christmas gifts was a bucket.  Not just any bucket.  Not just the kind of bucket that as you all now know, gives me anxiety.  This was a happy bucket with $200 in it...the start of our Disneyland fund.  The older kids have been talking about Disneyland for years now, with oh, maybe a hint of bitterness in their little voices.  Saying things like, "so and so's family is going to Disneyland, and they've already been there TWICE." Or "when are we ever going to go to Disneyland?" in a way that somehow made me feel like I'd been accused of not feeding my children.  Yes, they have a way.

So Reas and I decided it was time.  Not that we don't like it ourselves or that we were intentionally avoiding it.  We were just waiting for the right time.  You know, like when there weren't too many little little kids who would be more miserable than appreciative,  time off from work and school, and let's face it, money.  I find it kind of ironic that for the cost of letting our family experience the happiest place on earth, we could buy a used car...maybe a pretty crappy one, but still a car.

We told the kids we'd go to Disneyland when our bucket was filled with enough cash to pay for 5 tickets for 2 day passes, parking, hotel for 2 nights, and gas to get there.  Needless to say, Disneyland felt like a long way off.  So, the saving began.  Pennies, dimes, dollars...everything spare went in the bucket.  Occassionally, the kids would dump it all out and count,  literally taking a good hour...plenty of time for improving their math skills (hidden perks to our plan).  They'd  then announce some pretty huge number in the hundreds thinking surely that'd be enough.  We'd say it wasn't, they'd put it all back in, and we'd keep saving.  These guys were pretty great sports about the whole thing actually.  Then, a few months into the saving we had a great surprise.  Disneyland was doing their Give a Day Get a Day program, which in the matter of 2 hours for a fun little community service project we were up 3 free tickets.  Blessings for trying to stay out of debt.

I've tried to pass on my thriftiness to my kids.  I've never hidden the fact that things cost money, that comes with hard work, and sometimes we have to make hard choices when deciding whether to spend our money or not.  They're aware of sales, checking out thriftstores first, and looking for green tags while walking down the cereal aisle.  I hope they're learning early how to be smart and that it will stay with them as they get older.

It really only took about 4 months to have our bucket bursting with more than enough to pay for our trip.  I was pretty amazed actually, how fast we could save when everyone was committed to the plan. 

Our trip was within reach, which was great, but more importantly throughout the whole process came other teaching opportunities.  One day a couple knocked on our door.  They had a story, like they all do.  Somehow they'd been stranded here without a car, not knowing anyone, and having nowhere to sleep. They asked if I had any work they could do for any kind of small payment in return.  Something about this couple was different.  My heart ached for them.  I could tell they were honest, and were truly just trying to survive while holding onto some degree of self-respect.  I let them sweep my garage and front porch.  Sweeping didn't really need to be done, but that was all I could think of for them to do.  I went inside to get money, and panicked when I realized I didn't have any cash.  The kids were home from school at the time,  so I went to them and asked how they'd feel about giving up some of their Disneyland cash to this family who needed it more then we did.  It was a pretty substantial amount of money that I was asking from them, especially considering they're kids.  I was a little worried that they'd not want to, and I'd end up having to talk them into it.  To my joy, they were excited about sharing.  It made them happy.  It made me happy.  After the couple left we talked about how it made us feel to be generous with others and how important it is to help when we can.  We talked about how Heavenly Father must be so happy that we did our best to serve his children.  It was a great moment.  I went in my room and cried a little.  Cried for that couple, but grateful that my children had the opportunity to make a choice, and grateful that they made a good one.

Later this week we're heading to Disneyland.  We've been looking forward to it for almost a year.  I'm so glad we did it this way.  It required a little sacrifice on everyone's part.  Some patience and some work.  But we can all feel good knowing it's 100% paid for and that every member of this family worked to get us there.

Pity me everyone. Please.  It's Friday night.  The kids are sleeping soundly...a most happy time of the day.  I love a good Friday night...maybe a movie...icecream of course.  Generally speaking, I never make it to the end of the movie without falling asleep, but I get to fall asleep with my head in Reas' lap, or in his armpit.  Whoa! that doesn't sound pleasant, but his deodorant works pretty good actually.  Speaking of deodorant, when Reas was on his mission and I was in one of those moods where I was missing him so much it actually hurt, I could literally smell his deodorant...from Bolivia.  Anyway, I'm not out to talk about deodorant.  I'm seeking sympathy.  The problem is that on this lovely Friday night there is no movie, no icecream, no lap, no armpit.  Not even a trace of a husband.  Reas fell asleep before the kids were even in bed.  He konked out while we were reading scriptures before bedtime.  He had dozed off even before his first turn to read.  Maggie woke him up, but by the second go around he was out cold.  It was no use.  We left him on the couch, I put the kids to bed, and then came down to wander aimlessly...all alone.  You know where I ended up?  Well here, obviously.  But before that?  I was reading my old blog posts for fun.  THAT is how pathetic I am.  I actually found myself laughing out loud at myself.  I'm a nerd...a lonely one, remember.  I'm not the least bit annoyed at Reas for sleeping.  He's just about worked himself into the ground.  He's working 55 hours a week AND going to grad school AND doing homework AND being ward mission leader at church AND being a dad and husband.  Tonight he was playing SkipBo with Ty and it kind of just made me want to cry for him.  He was SO tired.  Like he looked like he could've used someone to hold up his eyelids.  But he kept on playing 'cause that's what Ty needed.  Now that I think about it, he did the dinner dishes too because that's what I needed.  And he fixed Cosmo's hamster cage because that's what Maggie needed.  And he cuddled and played with Claire and Lily because that's what they needed.  When does he do what he needs?

I don't need sympathy.  I need to get my bootie in gear and decide how we're going to thank him.  Tomorrow's going to be awesome...

I'm pretty sure Vegas schools are the last on the planet to start school.  It seems everyone else has been back for at least a week or two, and my school-loving offspring have been jealous.  I can't figure it out - in so many ways Maggie and Ty are both pretty shy and hesitant about doing new things.  But when it comes to starting a new school year, they're both out the door and running without looking back.  I'm not complaining, just confused.  Although, I'll admit it might be a little nice if one of them clung to my hand for just a second before sprinting away.  Really, was home THAT boring over the Summer??

Either way, I'm so happy for them and glad they're excited about another year.

              
We have about 5 colors to choose from to wear at this school, but they both thought it would be so cool if they were matching for the first day.  Can I say how happy it makes me that in 4th grade Maggie still thinks it's cool to dress like her 1st grade brother??





                            

Today I spent 9 hours in the car with 4 kids and my sweet grammy.  Great company no doubt, but it would have been nice to have seen Reas for more than 10 minutes at 5:30 in the morning.  It's our anniversary - 10th anniversary...that's kind of a big deal.  I think we're an officially semi-old experienced married couple now.  I'm pretty sure at 10 years we deserve to be bumped up a notch.  Since we weren't together all day (and won't be for a few more days), and since I had lots of time to think in the car about the perfect romantic blog post, you'd think I'd be able to whip this baby out in no time at all.  I'm pretty efficient at writing about nothing, but when it comes to substance I don't always feel like I have what it takes.  I tried to write him a poem, but I couldn't bring myself to hit "publish"...it was way too cheezy.  Maybe someday I'll post it for a really good joke.

I'm not really a mushy and sappy kind of girl.  I like flowers and I like kissing my husband, but I don't think that makes me mushy and sappy.  That just makes me a girl.  So what I'm saying is that putting into words what I feel inside for my best friend, husband, and father of my children isn't easy for me.  What I do know and what I can write, is that he is absolutely everything to me.  And even saying that now doesn't sound like enough.  His joy is my joy.  I cry when I see him hurting.  He completes me. He brings clear thinking and a rational mind when I need it most. He  teaches our children.  He loves them, he loves me.  He is dedicated to our family, loves the Lord, and dutifully provides for us giving us all that we need and more.  I knew I loved him when I married him, but really I had no idea who that man was to become.

Thanks babe, for the best 10 years of my life.  Can't wait for more.

Snack time is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!  Having the kids home all day, day after day is great except for the ghastly amount of time I am spending in the kitchen.  Today I had had it.  Usually I ask what everyone wants for a snack, but I'm tired of them not wanting anything I suggest.  This morning as I was throwing things out on the table and saying to myself, "They're going to EAT it and they're going to LIKE it.  And no one better complain.  grumble grumble,"  I began to feel inspired by the colors, the textures, and the geometric detail of each type of food.  No, I haven't been watching Design Star.  WHAT in the world would make you think that?

And at that moment,  SNACKTIME DESIGN STAR was born.

Each contestant would be judged individually on their execution of a snacky design inspired by a particular food item placed before them.  Ok, not really.   The only rule:  you have to eat whatever you create.   So um... you might not want to glue chocolate chips to your carrot sticks with peanut butter.  Or maybe you do. Whatever.  You just have to eat it and pretend to like it.



Claire's design (a peanut butter snowman,which I found completely adorable):


These happy cuties were entertained for like an hour!  And the best part...I just overheard Ty say, "I can't eat anything else or I'm gonna blow up!"  My hope precisely.  Er.  Not to blow up my children, but to stuff them so full of goodness that I decide when it's time to eat.  Not them.

Who says you can't learn anything good from T.V.??