Family Pictures May 2014

 We had our family pictures taken.
I say this every time we do, and everyone argues me, but I don't love them.
Considering I spent about 6 hours shopping for clothing and we rescheduled twice.   and I spent weeks considering who to trust to do them. I don't have to tell you what a hassle family pictures are
And I know that I am looking at them at somewhat of a photographer myself.
Her clarity and color is great.  I just wish we had more than one picture where everyone is looking normal and like their adorable selves.  Our kids didn't help anything.  Some how (and I know all to well) the minute we ask my kids to take a picture they turn into monsters who cry and scream and purposefully disobey unlike another time in their lives- it is like I've asked them to cut off their own finger, or do all their own laundry by themselves before they go outside an play.
There was just a lot of build up to these pictures. And somehow we were out there for over and hour and a half. But at least we got one picture to put up above the mantel with all of our children.  Marianne always asks why she is not in the other one- she is, she is just a baby so she thinks it is Bethany :)
. So I'll try not to complain too much more about it and not think about family pictures until next year.

May 26, 2014

1, 2.  Bethy, Marianne, Sam and I get stir crazy (and hungry) by around 9am.  This seems early, but that is only because your kids don't wake up at 6am sharp every morning.  By 9 am the breakfast was hours ago, and we've already been doing chores or nothing for hours, So once a week lately we head to Kolaches.  They have delicious cheap breakfast and two Kolaches seem to hold off the hunger from the crew for at least until it is actually snack time.  This day it was so nice we took our post breakfast pre snack meal to the park... but seriously do anybody's else's children eat more than an adult male.... each one of them.  I feel like all I do is feed them all day.   Just to get my point across, we went to Kneaders for lunch today, and they each ate almost an entire whole turkey sandwich, some fruit cup, and some pasta and their own root beer. Thinking they wouldn't possible be that hungry for dinner, all three of the olders at about 4 oz of steak, three slices of watermellon, several handfuls of chips, and two ears of corn- EACH.  It is kind of like a non stop Hungry Caterpillar book around here.

3,4  Last week was Kate's art night at school.  The school puts on an art gallery of student and class work and you can purchase some of the art as a fundraiser.  This is Kate's self portrait she did.  Her teacher said people had been coming by and were surprised a first grader did this drawing.  It is good, detailed, and serious.  Then we grabbed a pizza and had a pizza picnic in our old picnic place.


5.  Sam and Marianne help me plant the garden.  We have all the plants in now and are happily attending to it every day.
6.  Cute selfie I found of Jake and Beth when I downloaded the pictures
7.  I applied to be a volunteer photographer for the LDS media a few weeks ago, and then they contacted me to see if I wanted to do a shoot with them in South Jordan a the temple last week.  I agreed.  And it was a new adventure.  But I found myself there with mostly full time church photographers and also found myself the most ametuer of the group.  They assigned you a model and asked you to creatively come up with a certain shot on the temple and ward building grounds.  It was challenging.  It was full sun, and also I had one of the worst models- a teenager who was trying to dress sexy??? for a church gig???   I met some new people and technically have a 1 in 12 chance I guess of them using my photo for an ensign or on LDS.org.  But I don't see it happening.  To be honest too, I much more enjoyed running an errand and eating at chik-fil-a by myself while I was on the other side of the mountain. When I returned home I had a mini melt down about how not worth it it was to give my entire day to something I wanted to do when it just meant I was an entire day behind on housework and laundry and all those things I can't every seem to escape- even if I want to pretend I'm a famous photographer for one day.

8-13. Our traditional Memorial Day hike up Bridal Veil Falls.  Well we hiked it last Memorial Day as well, so it is a tradition now.  We were ready to go easily by 8 am- again our kids this morning woke up at 5:50 am. So we went figuring we would beat the hot sun and crowds.  And we certainly did.  It was dark and cold still in the canyon and there was only one other family we saw there.  I bought the kids all water hiking shoes last week for the summer of hiking we plan to do.  They wore them and were excited to try them out.  At the top we fed the giant fish and walked in the stream with our "splashing shoes"- that is what Marianne called them.

14-18  The rest of our Memorial Day was mostly fun and games too.  Jake ran to pick up his new phone at the store and took Marianne.  They also picked up some BBQ food- mentioned above. She got a Ring Pop and was pretty pleased about that.  That is a picture of her sharing it with Samuel by our Memorial Day flag.  While they were gone Kate set up a rainbow loom store on the front porch.  She had a lot of fun letting her friends in the culda- sac decide what colors they wanted, then making the loom their for them on the spot.  We went out to lunch, and when we came back we got out the kiddie pool, slip and slide and water guns.  You can see the kids playing water guns, some chubby baby legs sunbathing, and the kids all by the tramp trying to get warm after being in the freezing hose water.  Neighbor kids were in and out with water ballons and other water toys.  Then  we cleaned up and made dinner- a traditional Memorial Day BBQ which we ate outside.

May 26, 2014

a few pictures from this past week
1,2.  Marianne has mastered her new bike in a matter of days.  I wanted to go to a big garage sale last weekend.  Marianne was the only one who wanted to go with me.  I was looking for patio furniture- but lucky for Marianne, all we found was this princess bike for $5 and a helmet to go with it.  I bought it for her, and a doughnut, and she thought she was the luckiest girl on earth.  She was most excited to show off to the other kids.  And though she has always loved her crazy car, she is loving her bike and being able to keep up with the big kids on the street.  We have never had a two year old be able to ride a bike so well.

3-6.  Sam's preschool graduation.  The whole family, minutes Kate who was at school attended Sam's end of year program.  He seemed a bit nervous always looking to the girl next to him for help.  Trying to do his best.  He jumped up when they did the month of the year and you were suppose to when you got to your birthday month-  I hadn't realized until then, that he was the oldest in the class. Each kid got up and Mrs Duke told a bit about the student.  She had such kind thing to say about Sam.  About how he was a dream student who always did what he was told, and how everyone always wanted to sit next to Sam at circle time because Sam is everyone's favorite.  I loved that.

7,8.9  Bethany, and Bethany and Marianne together in the bike trailer.  You can see that Bethy is much more pleased with the idea of a family bike ride.  Marianne actually enjoyed it just fine, she was just sad he didn't get to rider her own bike to the park and had to ride in the trailer.  We spend part of this Saturday morning getting all the bike in tip top shape and then riding to the neighborhood park to play.  It has been a long time since we family bike rode, but with Sam and Kate both finally perfect non training wheel riders, we are looking forward to a summer of riding

10.11 We hiked Dutch Hollow last weekend with the kids.  A new hike.  We packed a little lunch,  and thankfully it was over cast.    I consulted google, and found a hike about 1 mile long that would get us to a nice peak.  So we set out.  The trail was suppose to be a loop, so we kept following it.  We got to the peek and rested and ate our lunch. The kids were excellent troopers.  Super happy without whining.  We could see the entire valley from the peek.  Then we headed down.  I wasn't sure were headed in the wrong way and was a bit worried we were going to have to send Jake to find the way back while I sat on the mountain with four very tired children, but we found our way!  and it was a great hike.  Mostly because the kids were happy and looking at all the plants, disappointed they didn't run into a bear, and excited about the lunch.

12. 13  Sunday church.  Marianne is getting older by the minute.  I let her wear her hair down in a headband for church and suddenly she looked both adorable and way to old all at once.  Then Kate and Sam wanted a picture too, and why not, my kids have ketchup and watermelon all over them most the time and their hair is hardly combed once a day, but on Sundays we manage to clean up nice.  It is actually important to me that the kids look nice on Sunday, and me too, mostly because we spend the week in play clothes and not doing hair.  I have cute kids- and they are cute all the time, but I like them better with clean faces and matching shoes.

Bethany is One April 18, 2014

showing off  little red eyelashes that go for miles.

My darling Bethy turned one.
It has been a fast year, and she has fit in perfectly.
If I had to describe her in one word it would be sweet.

I feel like of other kids her start was rough.  A few trips to the ER and the hospital for illness.  We spent a lot of time cuddling in my bed together which I miss terribly. And a constant rash on her chin we have fought all year too.
Maybe it is that or maybe it is because she is my baby, or maybe it is because of the way she looks at me with so much love.  But she seems to need me.
She certainly is more of a mama's girl than any of the others for sure.
She even would cry for me when Jake had her sometimes.  And lean against me and suck her thumb.

At one she is

weight 28.5 30 %
height 28.5 inches- 33%
head 4 cm- 76%

she has several words.
Mama being the first, followed by Dad, dog, baba, nigh nigh,
She has four teeth- a record for any of our kids at this age.
She doesn't walk, but will walk along furniture.
She loves to clap, and wave, and giggle and giggle and giggle.
She loves to eat ice like me,  and blueberries and grahm crackers.
and read books
and have her siblings dance and entertain her
and her blankie, especially while sucking her thumb.
and music.  Boy he is a dancer, bouncing to even the few seconds of jinggle that play on the tv when a commercial is on.
She also crawls up to kneel at the ottoman and half way folds her arms for family prayer at night.  It is incredible. and endearing.
I think she is our first kid to not really like being in the car though
And she only will sleep in her bed or my bed, not in my arms or the car or at church or something.
And she still wakes up a time or two or three even at night.  I pull her into my bed and nurse her and she seems so content.
And she is very curious.  And crawls and disappears in seconds to rooms with open doors exploring the toliet paper, or her sisters books, or Sam's trasnformers he has hiden under his bed, or the finger nail polish in my bathroom drawer.
She also ha the least hair of any girl at this age, but is a sweet red pink color that I love and most everyone else does too.
She is so loved.  By me, and her dad and all of her siblings, who are always bringing her toys, singing her tons and tying to make her laugh.
After four kids, I feel like I have realized how much of a child's personality can be seen in these first 12 months.  I can see Bethany's o much too.
Eager to please, and eager to have fun and laugh. Loving and smart, and content and curious. She seems to have pieces of all of the other siblings personalities.  Smart, curious and silly like Kate, giving, obedient and spiritual like Sam, Loving and happy like Marianne.
No wonder she feels like she fits in so well.
We call her our dear, our fox, our darling, Bethy, Beth-a-roo, Roo, our turtle, our butterfly, Dot, Thee Thee,