Pancake Breakfast 2013

Fun was had by all!

 Someone took a tumble through the leaves!

Buddies!

Last Day of School

 Definitely time, right?

For some reason the kids were being super friends this morning so I took advantage of it!

Joy School Graduation!

Eliza and I ventured into the world of Joy School this year and thanks to a wonderful group we had a positive experience. 

The crew: Eric, Everly, Claire, Easton, Eliza, Lucy & Nora!

Future JS Crew: Abby, Sam & Bently! So cute!!

Memorial Day

We had a super relaxed Memorial Day and ended the day at Grandma and Grandpa's pool!

i do it!

Abby picks out her own clothes most days now among many other things that she must do herself.  Oh the joys of 2 year olds!

Bike Rides

We all finally have bikes (or a place to sit behind one)! We've been trying to learn to ride and use these awesome modes of transportation!!  It would be easier if Folsom wasn't a series of hills but we will get there!  This particular ride was in honor of Ben's birthday-we rode around town, rode to a park, to my folks and then to lunch. It was a GREAT day!

Happy Birthday Violet! #3

Violet was so excited for her birthday this year! I love when the kids start understanding excitement!  She woke up and was stoked for her birthday doughnut.  Then her request was super simple--she wanted to wear her pajamas ALL DAY.  So, we did.  After dropping Xander off at school we went to the park and from there the strawberry stands.  We had GG, Uncle Jake and Grandma & Papa over for dinner.  Fun was had by all!  Violet wanted hamburgers and cupcakes for dinner-done!  Mommy had a class to attend for lunch so i packed up her lunch and some cupcakes and Violet got to go spend time with her friend Drew.  What a great day!

Some things to know about Violet at 3 years old:
-I am potty trained and learning to live without a pacifier.  The last part being more difficult than the first. 
-I LOVE to sing, LOVE to sing and I pick up on lyrics and tunes quickly.
-I know lots of letters and numbers
-I love Lalaloopsy, Barney, Elmo, Mickey Mouse and can be talked into many other things as well
-I am the most petite member of the family-50% (we've never had anyone under the 80th!)
-I am petite but full of sass and personality and can be a boss at any moment

We sure love Violet and we are so glad that she is part of our life. Her facial expressions still melts our hearts--ah discipline is so hard with one so cute. Love you Vi!

Fun with Grumpy

Poor Grumpy cannot escape these two crazy girls! As soon as we get to his house, they want to push, ride, pull and wheel all at the same time.  We actually have arguments over whose turn it is ride or push.  And when Grumpy's basketball wheelchairs are out--watch out--its time for wheelchair wars!

Mothers Day

I like many of my friends really wanted a picture of me with my 4 little ones for Mothers Day.  Unfortunately, that was not meant to be this year.  At least Abby posed with me!  And she wore a dress made by my Grandma Sally that my sister Emily wore to my baby blessing back in October 1982!  Super special.

Mothers Day was wonderful...breakfast was delicious and every one really tried to be well behaved and happy.  The kids sang a couple beautiful songs to us at church-always a tear jerker. And we had dinner with the entire Webster family.  Fun was had by all!

Post edit: I was reading back editions of a newspaper and read this quote about Mothers Day and it sums it up better than I could EVER: "Mothers Day is not an expression of gratitude for 'perfect motherhood'.  Mothers day is an expression of gratitude for love--love "made flesh" in a hundred million selfless acts beginning with birth itself, to allow a soul to experience a sense of his or her worth and capacity.  It is an expression of gratitude for the generosity we have all at one point entirely depended on.  Indeed, it is a celebration of the self-sacrificing, love power that has bound together the entire human family-the love of mothers" -Jenet Jacob Erickson, for the full article, read here: http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865579670/Love-as-the-foundation-of-effective-mothering.html

Strength

Don't you just love how kids push themselves -- we could learn a lot from them! Instead of saying, I can't push this kid because he is bigger than me, or I can't lift this kid we should more often say, " I CAN"!

I've really been on one lately about this whole concept.  I was recently attending an LDS Church in San Diego and the lesson being discussed was on Pride.  (not directly but it got back to that) A gentleman made a comment that has really been digging at my core and making me reflect on myself and the example I'm showing my kids. And maybe I have been taught this before but it never hit me like it did that day.  Anyways, what he said was that pride is enmity between you and God and that it was in fact a 2-edge sword. There is the side that we slice through others as we promote ourselves and then there is jagged back side that we create enmity within ourselves by cutting ourselves (who are in fact children of God) down.  I am extremely hard on myself and never feel like anything I do is good enough. (I'll spare you a splurge on the details) But as I have realized that I am going to be raising my kids I need to teach them that it is ok to believe in yourself, that they are beautiful, smart and worth everything in the world.  I need to teach them more in line with the quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 Anyways, I know I'm not perfect but it is ok for me to believe that I am doing good, that I am pretty, that I am a good person.   I'm trying not to have a "diet" be part of our life but talk more about "getting healthy."  I do not want my kids to have some of the same anxieties and fears that I have.   I want them to have a healthy self-esteem.  So if you have any ideas on how to do that-feel free to weigh in!

BYU Womens Conference

Ben had a couple airline tickets he accrued and let me take them to go and see my big sister! I picked a trip to Utah because I could take a couple days and do something for myself by attending BYU Women's Conference.  What a fabulous weekend!!  I arrived late Wednesday and my cousin picked me up and took me to Em's.  We visited for a bit but I got to bed because I was going to have an early and busy day.  I woke up and visited with my nieces and nephews and then my ride picked me up.  Turned out that a Mom of a missionary back home was willing to take me with her to the conference and hang out with me all day! THANK YOU Sis. Vaughn! We made it and were extremely enriched throughout the day.  I attended classes on learning to be more grateful, learning to laugh more, forgiving more, and lots of other topics. It was a lot of fun to walk around BYU campus again and walk down memory lane.  On Thursday night, I got to try a JDawg-pretty good hot dog!  And then go to a concert that was awesome! There were 7 different artists but the one that stands out to me was a woman who had sung on Broadway in the Les Mis production and she did a song she called her love song of Les Mis. It was a mix of songs and it was WOW!  On Friday my sister and 3 cousins (who are all sisters) went together.  Fridays classes were even better than Thursdays.  And after we all went out to dinner.  I also got the chance to visit some old friends: Meri, Laura and Sarah Jane-so good to see friends always! It was a wonderful trip and I'm so grateful for the friends and family who helped with my kids when Ben had to be at work.  And especially grateful for Ben for allowing me some time to learn and grow and relax!  Thanks babe!

Wild Turkeys & Open House

 

Xanders first grade class did reports on animals indigenous to our home town and Xander was assigned wild turkeys. I learned more about turkeys than I ever needed to know.  But since they are ALL OVER TOWN its also kinda fun. This is the mural Xander made for the final project.  He got really lucky because a friend of ours hunts turkeys so he gave Xander actual pieces of turkeys-the skull, the feathers and a couple of the spikes from the back of their legs and a gobbler.  Here's to the turkeys!

 And here is the star of the classroom: Ms. Robles! Xander has loved having her for first gade--he is very sad to leave her but excited at the same time to move on!

I'm done!

I was packing for my vacation the morning before I left and the girls were all being quiet and calm so I let them alone. About 30 minutes later, Eliza came in and said, "I'm done babysitting Mom! Have you finished yet?"  That's my girl-always taking the most serious role in making sure everything is exactly as it should be. :) Gotta love it!