Labor Day Madness

This is little ol' me.  Thinkin' Im pretty cool catching some air!
We cruised up to Park City Monday.
It was MADNESS and utter CHAOS to get there, but once we were there, I did not regret it one bit.
I did not have the company of my husband
BUT
I am incredibly blessed to have met up with the nicest most mellow yellow people on Earth.
Right when I arrived, swarms of arms came running at me, grabbed the baby and my 3 other kids,
and sent me on my way with a bike (operation farrah)!
FOR REAL?!
We rode 'Trailside'.  A small hike with a bike to the top and complete exhilaration down.
I felt on top of the world.
Literally.
Park City is so beautiful right now.
Leaves changing.
Cloud coverage here and there.
With a slight breeze.
It was magical.
Plus...the bonus side to all this...
While I rode, the kids strapped on their helmets, grabbed a bike, scooter, or long board (I said it was madness prep for the journey) and rode on a really nice skate park just below the trail.  They could see me the whole time and I could see AND hear them the whole time.  Not one complaint from them.  Nor me.
 

My sweet pics were taken on our second destination.  Once we finished at trailside and the skate park, we headed to 'the jumps'.  After unloading at trailside and then loading back up to head to 'the jumps' I was debating with myself whether to call it a success and head home...or give 'the jumps' a whirl.
Give it a whirl I did.
As we were driving there the kids were BEGGING me to do the Alpine Slide.
That was another consideration but actually don't think it was even doable without another adult:)
So, onto the bike jumps we went.
And onto the bikes the kids went.
And there they found all the joy their little hearts could handle.
Serious.
Hours.
They rode.
Asking when we were going to return.

After the kids rode for a bit Raegan asked, as we made our way to the bathrooms, if we could put a house right there - pointing to the center of the parking lot.
Its been quite the process trying to figure out what makes this child sing a happy tune.
(She is too complex for my little brain)
Its definitely not center stage.
Its whatever she can do...on her own.  At her own pace.  With her own agenda.  Nobody breathing down her neck or heckling her from the sidelines.
Its this.
The challenge...by her big girl self.
And the victory...all on her own.
With the praise of her parents... hearing how fun it is to watch her...without saying a peep while in she is in her zone.
I absolutely love it.
Its freedom!
(I may be investing soon in a bike that doesn't sound like its gonna loose its nuts and bolts at any second!  She was serious as a heart attack and was taking the course to town.  Im sure her wrists and BE-hind are sore!)

Oh Evan. Oh Evan.
How much do I love you.
My heart races as I look at this.
You are always trying your hardest to keep up.  And most the time you succeed.
This day...you eventually did ; )
You took on the big hill after practicing for a bit on the mini course.
Turfed it.
Hard.
And you were so so frustrated.
Yelling. Crying. And beat up.
(he ate it so hard at the skate park too. hard. head bounced off the concrete...thank you helmet! landed in a puddle. soaking wet shirt. and pants - poor guy! - just whipped off his shirt and off he went - after a few scrapes and tears)
"Everyone can do it mom!  Raegans never been here either and she can do it!"
And so it has begun...siblings keeping up with siblings!
I challenged him to ride the mini course 15 times without falling and he can try the big one again, all while trying to explain to him that Raegan is older and thats why she can do it without practicing as much...all the other kids practiced just like YOU on the mini course.  For 2 years!
Lie : )
But around he went.  And I could hear him counting under his breath.
I would yell out occasionally asking how many times, and he would yell back..."8 mom! 8!"
He was in full concentration too. D.E.T.E.R.M.I.N.E.D! (i loved every minute of it)
Lets just say it was NOT easy for him.
But around 15 times he went.
And he was READY!
So up the hill we go, after strapping on Lennon's elbow/knee pads.  Adjusted the helmet a little tighter.  And there we stood.  Atop the mountain of doom!  He was shaking.  My heart was pattering.
But I encouraged.  YOU CAN DO IT!
He did.
He pushed off.  Legs shot straight out like sticks (don't mind the pedals) and as wobb-i-ly as he was...
HE MADE IT!
Why?
Why is that such a proud moment for me, so much so that I may have gulped down a few tears?
Maybe because he was SO Courageous.  Determined. Tough. And would not take NO for an answer.
  So no matter what he tries, he can be good ; )
He may have to practice just a little harder than everyone else...which isn't such a bad thing!

And this is what Mayci did.
Neglectful you say?!
Well, if letting a kid play in dirt all day is neglectful...then you were never a kid!
Between this dirt hill and a lovely park 10 paces away,
she was perfectly content.

Labor day.
A success.

Kade and Mayci

Kade.
Rockin' his shorts.
Backwards.
Unzipped.
Unbuttoned.
And pockets hangin' out.
Love him.

Bless her.
Falls asleep anywhere.

See.
Its rough bein 3!

Closing days of Summer

Ya, Ya, Ya...I'm sure you have all heard enough about this lake and our awesome neighbors but it feels like it may soon be over so we had to take every chance we get to head out there.  These pics were too cool to NOT post.  Shawn doing some work on perfect glass.  Your ski makes a hissing noise that only glass on the lake can create.  Music to a skiers ears.

The Hansens are probably the greatest neighbors and even better friends.  They are unbelievably giving and gracious.  It just happened that Scott and Karalee came by our house while they were there and the rest is history.  Let me tell you how it went.  Shawn introduced Scott to Trever with something along the lines of, "This is Trever, he's our neighbor that takes us to his lake." and that was all Scott needed.  He was on that faster than I could finish the introduction.  The Hansens made mention of going that week and sure enough, we got a text on the mentioned day from KJ wondering if it was still on. Yes it was!!!!  Scott enjoying the view.  Stoke level...as high as the scale can reach.

 Evan doing his thing.  No big deal.

 Lights got installed since we were last there....skiing all night if you are up for it...and we were.

 Karalee getting busy under the lights.  She was screaming out loud she was so excited.  Oh yeah, we were the only ones up there that day.

 And here is Shawn putting a stamp on the end of summer under the lights.  We may get away one night now that there are lights, the Hansens are awesome and even mentioned it tonight, but if we can't we will always have these killer pictures too look back on.  A nice carve for an even better summer full of water and good peeps.

Randoms

We attempted the Alpine Slide, but as soon as I put my car in park,
Rae was sick.
Pale.
Gonna throw up.
For sure.
She made me sit in the back of the car with her for almost an hour because she was sure she needed me to help her make it in the bucket.  I was coaching her the best I could, but I have never seen a child so incredibly terrified of barfing as my little Rae.  She was shaking. Begging me to be the one to be sick...not her. Asking over and over when it was gonna happen.  How much is it going to be? Why her? Why can't dad be sick? Or Evan? Seriously, she was so terrified I felt horrible.  She went into the typical cramp up, feel ok, cramp up again, feel ok, wave.  She asked that we say a prayer.  That we did.
She begged that Heavenly Father would answer her prayer.  Help her.
I told her (because I was sure she was going to at any second barf *ye of little faith*) that sometimes our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be answered.  Maybe Heavenly Father helped us get to Park City before she got sick so that I could be with her.  Help her.
She didn't like that.
I sat with her.
Rubbing her back.
Tying her hair up.
Gearing her with a couple bags.
And we waited . . .
and waited . . .
and waited . . .
Finally I said we are going home.
I lined the carpet in front of her with a new blow-up raft...just in case...and off we went.
She was quiet.
The whole way home.
SHE NEVER THREW UP.
I am thoroughly convinced Heavenly Father intended for this to be an experience this freshly baptized 8 year old will never ever forget.
I told her she had way more faith then me and that she must be a very special girl to our Heavenly Father.
She was so unbelievably thrilled...she will never forget that day!

The picture above.
Although we weren't able to experience the Alpine Slide
we were blessed with a beautiful drive...
and a beautiful teaching moment.

**Sorry for the novel, but then again who am I sorry to.  Pretty sure nobody visits my blog...totally fine with me (I understand with FaceBook and Intsagram...the blog world is ancient social media: ). Its purely for my journal purposes only.   Truly.  And Im actually so glad I have it...for myself and my kids!**


 

Yes.
We are doing Karate.
With sparring gear and all.

"C'mon stupid knees. . ."           "Almost there!"                     "Got it!"            

The squat.
Who knew it could be so difficult.
Evan has knocked-knees.
He may look special here...bless him ; )
He was working so hard on that squat.
The more he worked the more knocked his knees went.
Like I always say...glad he is smart!
It was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed!
These are the moments I Really Really Really appreciate being a MOM!
And feel so so so bad dad has to miss out.

This was the most glorious Sunday nap ever.
Mayci truly fell asleep like that.
Best spoon.

As I predicted.
This girl is mobile.
And this girl is SO much happier.
Thanks to the crawl.

Whenever we can have her we will take her.
My kids worship auntie buggy.
Wonder why?  Nobody worships bug.
Maybe its because she lets them drive the go-cart through 100's of people . . .
at age 8!!

Evan.
On his first day of the big bad first grade.
He booked it out of the car before I even put it in park.
Ran around the school looking for his door.
Without looking back.
I pretty much had to tackle him down to get a hug and a kiss from him.
He couldn't be more ready.
I missed him a lot.  But it helps the emotions when they are so dang excited to take on the world.
I love him.
So much.

Evan.
The button up got the better of him.
He was so close.
Ha!

This poor girl had to miss the first day of school.  That stomach bug sure was a bugger.  Knocked her flat for 5 straight days.  No throw-up, just very weak.  Tired.  And sick to her stomach.  I felt really bad she had to miss out on day 1.  But she survived and was more than excited to gear up and head out on day 2.
Im so happy my kids LOVE school.
The night before the first day, Shawn gave them amazing blessings.
When he was through I wanted to bless them too with my own thoughts.
And that I did.
Be a good friend.
Be a helper for your teacher.
ALWAYS include the outcasts : )
And always help those that are being picked on.
Thats all.
Then they asked if I cared that they do their homework?
I said...sure :)

*PS . . . Its not okay that Mayci is tightening a bungee around her neck*

UPGRADE!!

Say it aint so!
I UPGRADED.
Out with the slider and in with the Samsung GFX 2000!!
(have no idea what it really is called : )

I feel like I need a class on how to use it.

BUT

I know how to use SnapChat.
And I love it.

Do I ever make a normal face while taking a "selfie" (just learned that term and how to use it : )

Nope.

Just haven't found my good side yet.
Pretty sure I just don't have one,
so when all else fails...
make a face!

Glad to be a member of the upgrade.
Its kinda fun.

Getting ready!

Doesn't happen that often around here that the kids get new clothes.
Walked in to this.
Raegan.
Laying out her outfits for day 1 and day 2 of school.

Evans clothes . . .

 still in the bag.

HA!

Freedom. Liberation. Sitting. Crawling!

Love her scrunch-nose smile.
With all my heart.
And I love the bulging of the upper nose when she does it.
*May have to ask the pediatrician bout that : )* 

Really?!
She is mine.
All mine.

From sitting . . .
To crawling . . .
All within the last month.
L.O.V.E

Legs and arms AT WORK!

And finally she is content in her carseat . . . as long as there is a bottle and an arm in the picture.
Literally ; )
This here was a pleasant ride.
After a long day.
At the pool.
And thats why we have lived in the water.
All summer!

August. Really?!

Rae and I came down with the July flu.
Mayci got the August one.
Ugh. 

Why is it torture to see your kids suffer like this.
I. HATE. IT.
She woke up not feeling well, but I chalked it up to being tired.
Took the safe route and hooked her up with a bowl...
thank you sixth sense: )
I was bustling around in the kitchen,
and not a peep/wince/or cry from her mouth other than an unusual barfing noise.
I ran over to her and bless this most precious three year old ever,
she had her face in the bowl.

I wanted to cry for her.

Turf Toe

Nasty.

Always happens when I decide to pick up the good ol' game of soccer.

: )

Alpine Days!

We woke up and jumped in the car to catch the Alpine Days parade.  Literally.  We were all in our pj's.  Didn't plan on staying all day, but ended up doing just that.  Once the parade ended, the blow-up bouncy houses were a must for the kids.  So...we participated.  It was $5/pass for unlimited access...and we certainly got our money's worth (5 hours later)!!
It was easy to stay.
Wesly was amazing.
Company was fantastic.
And as long as their is shade and a chair,
Im happy:) 

Wesly chilled in the wagon and was thoroughly entertained as the parade hustled by.
See...
I wasn't lying.
She is in her pajamas :)

And after all the fun and games were done for the kids . . .
I enjoyed some of my own fun.
This evening with these ladies was just what I needed at just the right time.
An unbelievable ride.
With an amazing view.
In the fresh mountain air.
Exhilarating.
Cant wait for the next one.

Summer...

Best part about summer time are these!
Evening summer storms.
Took a moment to enjoy this one from my backyard:)

Love spending time with this dream.
Lucky to call her my friend!
 

Cousin time is always fun times!
These two are gonna be some serious trouble!
HeARt BrEaKeRs!!!!

__________________________________________________________

The summer is coming to a close...and to be honest...Im ready :)
But let me also say it has been an amazing and adventurous summer.
I had a really bad attitude just before school got out and felt defeated before summer even began.  Trying to imagine what I was going to do with all the little ones ALL DAY LONG was a bit overwhelming.
-BUT-
once we got into a rhythm...
and once I tweaked my attitude a bit :) ...
it all worked out so well.

My attitude changed quickly when it dawned on me (in the very first week of summer-so grateful) that this could potentially be one of the last (not saying last yet:) summers I am able to cruise with NO schedule.
I see...once kids get older...schedules take over...and "taxi mom" begins.
And as I was toting all my gear with all the little ones into the pool this thought truly hit me like a hammer (gratefully)!
SO...
I embraced this summer with both arms.
To be able to pack up all the kids, enter the pool with all the kids, and stay as long as my little heart desired on any given day with all the kids...I know is short lived.
And I get that:)

Isn't it always all about your attitude!

I found, also, to take care of myself too.
Doesn't ALWAYS have to be ALL about the kids.
While I made sure the kids had friends and cousins at every outing,
I also made sure I was in good company too.
Definitely makes a huge difference.
And it really is the only way to go if you end up spending 6 solid hours at a water park!
Its been amazing.
A summer full of laughter.
And water!
And on those 'catch-up days' that you have to sneak in between all the water fun to do a few loads of laundry,
maybe clean a toilet...
 the kids would play catch up at home with all their friends.
And boy did I luck out with that!  We couldn't live by better neighbors and friends...
For me!
And for the kids :)

So, to next summer...
Remember your attitude.
Embrace moments.
Surround yourself with good company.
Laugh.
Stay busy.
And wet:)

7 peaks!

I had to go extra large on this photo.  Wesly...you are perfect.
You love love love the water.
And I love love love that I can just plop you down in it and know you won't go anywhere:)
Remember when I was begging you to crawl.
DONT!
Your content enough to be able to sit and play.
I love it:)

Dear Raegan,
You are crazy.
You went down this thing...
HEAD FIRST!
I think I was more nervous to WATCH you go then you were to go.
And poor Evan.
Begged and begged with tears in his eyes.
Thank goodness he isn't tall enough!!
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU CHILDREN!
I told your dad that I grew up all summer long going to this water park and only went on this particular slide ONCE!
And only once for a reason:)
But if it weren't for knowing that you could do it
AND
dad yapping in my ear all night about going on it...
I wouldn't have done it!
But I did.
And I screamed.
Really.
Really.
Loud.
My throat hurt:)


Fun times at the annual BYU 7-peaks event.
They reserve the whole water park for the athletic department and it really is dreamy.
Stinky, but dreamy:)

**I think that green turf is green for a reason:/ **

We, literally, were the last ones to leave.
Literally!

Wondered when this would happen...

Came upon this scene...

 

...and then I saw this dream.
Guess her bangs weren't quite short enough to her satisfaction.
Took matters into her own hands.
And we all got a real. good. laugh!
What can do...but laugh.
Still the cutest little face I ever did see!

These are a few of my fave O rit things...

On our way to tinfoil dinners and roasted s'mores.
In the fresh air of our backyard we went...
the beautiful American Fork Canyon.
Spent many a nights there while growing up.
Truly is my place.

Evans pretty relentless.
Couldn't stop asking when we were gonna be there.
That 20 minute drive was agonizing.
He. Loves. Camping.

Raegan.
In her element.
Well, on her way to being in her element.
But the motorhome ride is just as fun as the camping itself:)

This here is proof of a long, fun, and adventurous summer for this 3 year old.
Didn't know she was capable of gaining big, dark circles under her eyes.
Thought that was only for tired, worn out adults.

Shawn at the wheel with my replacement.
She did take the front seat.

This doesn't happy too often but when it does it is worthy to post...
LADIES NIGHT.
AND THE FEELIN'S RIGHT!
This is how it started off.
Dinner.
Yum.

And this is how it ended.
A soccer game.
At 11:25pm!
I don't think I would have made it to the game had we not planned some shopping and dinner around it.
Kept me awake.
And kept me laughing.
Hard.
My jaw hurt the following day.

Although it was a loooong night.
It was so fun.
No better way to recharge your 'mommy' batteries,
then a good night of good laughs with good buddies.

*Note to disbelieving children that mom ever played...or even ran for that matter**

**Yes, children, that is me playing keeper in yellow.  Had to preserve the knees a bit considering we had another game the next night at 10:40pm!  And yes, children, that is me with my hands in the air celebrating a goal.  Still exciting.  And yes, children, that is me in the top picture resting my hands on my hips trying to catch my breath.  Forgot how fast that little game of indoor is.  I hope you are enjoying this game as I have.  Its a good one.**