It's Friday!!

Today we have a birthday party to go to for our neighbors babysitter. She is turning 31 I think. She has planned a party with about 10 children for her b'day. She is so cute and so fun. Her theme is a garden party so the kids are going to plant their own plants in pots. She is making potstickers and I am making pb&j sandwiches for 15. It should be fun for everyone.

Spring break is coming to a close. It was a hard week for me. I love the freedom to come and go and not have to worry about schedules but I think I do better on a schedule. When I am forced to get up early, I do more and get going sooner. It has been nice to sleep in this week since I have been doing this new workout regimen...P90X. I should say both Todd and I are doing it. I think he has lost a couple of pounds this week. He really changed up his eating. He is doing really well! Me on the other hand, the scale hasn't changed. Oh well, I want to see inches change the most. I love the program and look forward to a new workout each day. I did Yoga last night for 1.5 hours. Oh boy, that is almost too slow for me. It is much harder than I ever imagined. All of the balancing is tough. The stretching is incredible though.

Yesterday was eventful....Ellie got hit in the head with a bat. It just about killed me. I can't stand to have those things happen. Emily was up to bat and Ellie came up too close. What kills me is that the boys who were pitching to her and could see Ellie getting closer didn't stop the game and move her. It got her right behind her ear. It just split the skin barely. The blood pretty much just stayed on the cut. She was fine thankfully and this morning is telling me that her owie is all better and not hurting. She then was trying to be so helpful and help me with laundry. She had me follow her to the washer so that she could show me how she helped. There was a big pile of the powder on the ground so I just knew what I was going to find. She went right to the dryer and opened the door..."see Mommy" She had put cupfuls of powder all over the clean, dry clothes. It was too cute. She had the right idea. How cute is that. All I could say was oh, thank you Ellie. Todd later told her to have Mommy help her when she wants to do laundry. :)

I'm off to get ready and make a boat load of sandwiches for the party this morning.

How Could I Forget to Document This......

On Sunday, Ellie kept telling us she needed to go poopers and holding her diaper in the back. So we ran her to the potty which we have been trying to get her to do for awhile now. She has been telling us when she goes for a long time now. She will stop with whatever she is doing and hold her diaper and say "eee-eeee" That is wee wee. I know that she is aware of what is going on. Anyway, Todd ran her back while I was finishing some dinner and she went on the potty. YEAH!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I mean I knew it was coming but going poopers is usually the latter to click with the little ones. We were excited and made a big deal about it. For the last two days she is constantly telling me and we are running her back to the potty but no success. She is so funny!! It's like stage fright once she hits the seat. After she goes in her diaper she wants a new diaper. Ayyy!! It's coming I know. The light is almost completely turned on. :) She is a big girl and such a sweet girl. She is always hugging us and giving kisses. i love it. She loves to have a bear, a Barbie dog, a bunny and now a tiny baby in her bed at night to sleep with. So cute. Emily wasn't like that at all. When Ellie wakes up in the morning and comes into our bed, she is carrying her blanket and all of those friends to come lay with us. It's so precious!!! She still loves to sing Christmas songs at night and can sing Popcorn Popping and hums How Firm A Foundation. She is something else. Quite a pistol!! I love her and am so grateful to have her as my daughter. Both she and Emily are sweet and loving and I am thankful for each of them.

Day 2 of Spring Break/Day 2 of P90X

It was another crazy day. The kids did seem to play ball outside and keep themselves busy for the most part. I did take the kids and a friend over to a park/field to let them practice ball and let the little ones play on the equipment. It was so dang windy/freezing. Thank goodness for the sun or else we would have been ice! I could only stay for an hour and that was pushing it.

We came home and Casey made a dessert all by himself...brownies with Strawberry frosting. They turned out to be delicious!! He served everyone a brownie after dinner tonight. Very cute. The kids were tuckered out and asleep by 8:20. I just wish that they would sleep in. They are up before 7am. Even if they go to bed late, they still wake up.

Todd and I are on day 2 of the P90X fitness program. It's awesome. I love it that we are doing it together. Having this to do together is my dream coming true. I have always wanted us to do workouts together or both be on the same mission...stay/get fit. We're doing it! Anyone interested... just let me know. Tomorrow is another busy day...BBQ lunch at Todd's office with the family, Costco, baseball practice and grocery shopping. It should be interesting and fun at the same time. Time for a shower and rest!!

Easter 2009

Pics will have to follow on the next post. I don't have them loaded onto the computer and I have to write when I can.

It was a busy/nice weekend. Todd's aunt Nancy came to visit on Saturday and we had lunch at CPK...just a plug for the grilled veggie salad. It is very tasty!! Anyway, me and some of the kids ran some errands that of course had to be done before Sunday. Todd & Nancy made the See's candy run which is always a staple around here for Easter. It was a busy day with errands and putting my church stuff together (sharing time). I thought it was going to be somewhat of a "break" day since we didn't have baseball games...wrong! There really is no day of rest around here. The kids baskets were done and the easter bunny hid them all. I have to say that I think most of the chocolate/candy was gone before 8am on Sunday when we had to leave for church.Crazy I know. They behaved really well at church but then were going crazy at home later. The sugar had officially kicked in. We started right in with dinner when we got home and had halibut provencal, a little steak, baked potatoes, green beans and really good bread! We invited some friends over in our ward and Aunt Nancy was here to enjoy the tasty food. It turned out great. Our friends brought over a strawberry dessert that was excellent and of course we had the See's chocolate's to satisfy our sweet tooth. Before the kids went to bed we colored eggs. Todd had told Emily that we would do it for family night and she just about had a melt down...."you always tell me the next day and the next day isn't even Easter", is what she said. I felt bad and we both realized how bad is that to color eggs the day after Easter. We busted out about 16 eggs and they each did 4. It was perfect and they enjoyed admiring their own work. I was so busy with everything that I didn't even get a picture of all of us in our Sunday clothes. The boys ran in the house and literally were changed out of their clothes by the time I got all of our bags back into the house. The only pics I have are the kids coloring eggs. I hate that life seems that busy to not be able to get the camera at the right time and take a picture. I better slow things down or I'm going to miss too many special moments.

It's Monday and Spring Break for us this week. Casey has been asking me, "Mom, where are we going for Spring Break?" He did say last week, "We should just go to Hawaii for Spring Break." To be a kid again. :) Hopefully we can make the best of our week together and find something fun for everyone to do. I better get back to my normal routine...changing sheets and finishing laundry.

Daily Happenings....

I got up early and was able to work out and be ready for the day before the kids were off to school. I love it when I can do that. Lately, I have been staying up too late to want to wake up that early and so I don't. I end up doing my workouts in the evening which I don't love. Anyway, I walked this morning on the Bob Jones Trail with a friend and that felt so good to get outside. The air was refreshing. Not a bad way to start out my day. I enjoyed the company/conversation with my friend.

Today and tomorrow are minimum days so I am enjoying the calm before the storm right now. :)haha Just stating the facts of life with 4 young ones. Later today we have 2 baseball games at the same time and a pack meeting that I have to bring a boat load of cookies to. Since I've taken care of the cookie making, let's see if I can finish the laundry and vacuum out the truck. It gets so bad so fast!!

I'm looking forward to the weekend and Spring Break next week. Not that I have anything planned but sometimes that is just how I like it. I have things planned all year long so when I'm not forced to I tend to enjoy not having a schedule. I am on for sharing time this Sunday so I need to finish up on that and make another boat load of Easter cookies for the kids.

I better get busy with the rest of my chores for today. I better set the timer and see how much I can get done. I love it when I stick to something like that.

Where Has The Time Gone??

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last wrote. You can see by my last post what I have been busy with. I can't feel bad about not writing but can only start writing again. I miss documenting for my children's sake what our days are like around here. I will start fresh again...2009!

Baseball season is in full swing. Mitch is in Minors AAA on the Blue Jays and Casey is on the Angels. They are having a great time. Mitch was a bit intimidated playing with older boys but he is really coming around and doing well!! Casey is doing great and hits the ball so well. It is really fun to watch! It has been a juggling act on some days to get the boys where they need to be. Last Saturday I was in the car driving back and forth for about 5 hours. Thank goodness Mike was up here to watch the boys games and was able to watch the girls at one field while I took Casey to pictures at another field, his game at a different field and then back to watch the last of Mitty's game and then take the crew to watch Casey's game. Mike was great company and it was fun having him up.

Barbie and Jim came to visit on the weekend as well and we had a great time. I miss having family live closer. That is the biggest bummer about living away. When you want them to come hang out on the weekend they just live too far. Oh well, i enjoyed the time that we had to be together. Wish it could be every weekend.

We are approaching Spring break next week and I am hoping to do something with the kids. I'm not sure our weather is going to be good..it's a bit rainy outside right now. Where has the school year gone? The year is almost over and I can't believe Emily will be entering 1st grade next year. Why does that amaze me? It has been really fun watching her learn to read and spell on her own these last few months. She is doing a great job. I have to write down some of her words....they are just too cute. Meer (mirror), eastr (EASTER), woc (walk), flawr (flower). I am so happy with the kids progress this year.

Ellie is just too fun to watch. She is such a little mommy. She sets up her bears, bunnies and dolls in chairs and gets out her play dishes and serves them. Emily didn't play so much like that on her own. Emily was more interested in doing something with her brothers. Elle Belle has a bear and a bunny that have to get in bed with her at night. One is the mommy and one is the baby she tells us. She gets the wipes and diapers and then will change the bears diaper using a wipe. Very cute! She runs the household just like her sissy. I always say to myself that if something happened to me, Emily and Ellie could keep the place running as usual. They know where everything is, how to do it and keep their things picked up. Emily has been packing up the boys lunches in the morning. She wants to write their names on the bags and put the stuff in it and then deliver to their backpacks. IT's pretty cute. I can only hope I am still saying this when they are 14.

I'm off to clean up the house...make my bed, finish dishes, put in a load of laundry, fold 2 loads and watch the rain through the windows. :)

My New Church Calling......

PRIMARY PRESIDENT.....Am I really qualified for this? Today was my first day in charge..I'll just say I wore many hats. :D I don't mind, it's good for me. I just look at it all as a huge learning experience and testimony builder. How can that be so bad? I am excited. The primary children are so special. They are the greatest. These are our future leaders!! I am excited to do so many of the things I learned in Primary as a child. I feel that I grew up in a wonderful stake with excellent leadership. I lived in a ward for 6 years before moving to where I am now that had such strong members and unbelievable leaders. It was a great place to learn how to be a leader. I love the ward I am in now. I told Todd the other day that I would have the hardest time leaving this ward if we had to move. I wasn't saying that when I first moved here. It's funny how attitudes change. I love the people in my ward, I love that they are "real" people. It has been a great experience living here. I look forward to many more wonderful experiences.

My thoughts today after I got home was that I am so happy to be serving the Lord and doing what I know is right. This is where He wants me to be right now for whatever reason. I feel touched that I was called out of inspiration to be the President. I have been in tears most of today. It is so wonderful to know that my Heavenly Father trusts me enough and my abilities to carry out the responsibilities of teaching the little children. I am thankful for the gospel and the happiness that it brings to my family. It makes me so happy to have so much service going on in my house for my children to witness as they watch their dad serve in the bishopric and me serve in the primary. I know my family is blessed by me accepting the call to serve. I sure hope I can come up to the call and fulfill my responsibilities. It's been a wonderful day. I am blessed to have Todd who supports me so much. I am so grateful for the priesthood in my home. It was so awesome being set apart today and just feeling the power of the priesthood in three great leaders of our ward(nice having one be my husband). The power of the priesthood is such an amazing thing. What comfort it brings. It is such a safe feeling being around such wonderful priesthood holders who honor their priesthood. I couldn't ask for anything more. Is there really anything better? Thanks Todd for being a wonderful example to your peers and to your family (children). You are a wonderful dad and husband. Love you!!

Miss Ellie

I haven't written much about Miss Ellie and her little 2 yr. and 4 month old self these days. She is a character. To start out, she is OCD if I have ever seen it. She is so particular and obsessive about things, it cracks me up. She is so capable and can do so many things.

** Her most recent activity is to go and get the lunch size chip bags out of a box in the garage, come in and find the small pair of kid scissors in the drawer and cut the top off of the bag so that she can have a snack. She puts the scissors away, cleans up her trash and she is good to go. Her cutting is very neat...i was very surprised.

**She is obsessed with her hot pink pair of Crocs. She puts those shoes on with anything and everything. I'm surprised that I am able to put on something different for church. She will wear them around the house all Sunday morning with her dress and then I change them just before we go. She can get them on/off by herself and will not wear them if the strap is not around the back.

**When it's time to go pick up a child or just walk out front to get the kids from the bus, she has to turn off the tv (if it's on), get her Crocs on, and put the toys that she was just playing with away (as if we aren't coming right back). It is so funny.

**She has a blanket that cannot be replaced with any other. None of my other kids were attached to blankets or anything of that sort. She rubs the corner of the blanket with her left hand and sucks her right thumb while sitting with it or going to bed with it or riding in the car with it. She is now ok with me washing it. I would always have to sneak it to the wash the first thing in the morning without her seeing me or she would cry about it being in the wash until it was done. She now will get a stool, take it to the washer and put it in herself. Very cute.

**Last week, while in the restroom at church, she and I came out of the stall and while I was washing my hands, she was making sure every door was closed. She shut every one. She is that same way about drawers. They can't be left open. She goes around and makes sure everything is locked up tight. :D

**I have noticed that if I take my shoes off while in the house, she will take hers off and leave them right next to mine. It is pretty cute.

**She has to have her door shut once we lay her in her bed. She even says "door" when we lay her down. It's funny on some nights because Emily will be telling her I want it open and she is crying "no". They are both fine with it shut.

**Ellie likes us to lay down with her on her big girl bed first before we put her into her crib for the night. She cuddles so close when we lay down together. I love it. She is so cute and so lovable.

**She will get out a little plastic snack bowl, put some crackers or dry cereal in it(she has gotten them down out of the pantry by herself) and then come and show me. She sometimes puts the box of crackers/ceral back in the cupboard or else leaves the box right by where she gets out the bowls.

**She has a "safe zone"in the house where she will go and sit if she hears the trash truck coming down the street or the gardeners. It is where she can't be seen from any windows. It's the same spot every time. It's pretty funny. I have found that she takes her toys to play with them in this spot, or the Nintendo DS will be right there where she was laying down to play it.

**She can get out the Nintendo DS, put a game in and play with it. I watched her get it out, plug the charger into the DS and then into the wall. She knows just what to do...it's so amazing. I guess not so amazing when she is watching everyone else do these things everyday.

**When the other kids are taking showers and getting pj's on, she will go into her room, take off all of her clothes, take off her diaper and bring me out many pairs of her pajamas to put on. She is so funny!!

**I can ask her to go get me something out of the bathroom or anywhere and she knows just where to go, gets it and brings it back to me. She can be a great little helper.

**When she is finished eating her cereal at the table, she will carry the bowl and the spoon and drop them into the sink. It's funny because she is short and can barely make getting the bowl over and into the sink. She did it with my glass bowl and of course, it chipped. Oh well.

**She will only watch one thing on tv...(she calls it "BABY"). It's a movie from the Baby Einstein collection. She will watch any of them but it has to be one of those or else you will not hear the end of it until "Baby" is on. She asks for it multiple times a day. Thank goodness it isn't a ridiculous cartoon that you can't stand to have on.

We all love having her in our family. I can't imagine life without Miss Ellie. I just hope she doesn't start the "I can't step on the cracks in the sidewalk".

She is fun to be with and I enjoy the time spent with her. She is a happy baby but is loving to shout out "NO" when she doesn't like something. She did throw a fit the other day at Wal-Mart. She was going to literally eat the entire sack of goldfish that you can buy in the bags unless I put the bag away. She didn't like that at all. She let everyone know it too.

**She loves to jump all over the place. She will then fall down while cracking up all the while.

This is Miss Ellie in a nutshell right now. She is fun, loving, tender and feisty. She loves her Daddy and wants him to hold her while he is home at anytime. Todd is great with her and all of them.

Everything has its place in Ellie's mind and don't try to tell her otherwise. She is a fun little girl!

"MY EIGHT"

8 Shows I watch: (I don't think I can come up with that many)

*Fox News
*The Office

8 Things I did yesterday:

*clean kitchen/washed dishes
*folded 3 loads of laundry
*grocery shopped with Miss Ellie
*went for a run and then later a walk
*made Todd cookies
*helped with homework
*read scriptures
*went to bed too late

8 Favorite places to eat:

*Taco Rico
*Grinder shop (here in SLO)
*D'Elias Grinders (in Riverside, CA)
*Mom's kitchen for New Mexico style enchiladas
*Fish Taco at Cracked Crab
*Taco Mesa (preferably the carrots and the blackened chicken tacos)
*CPK
*Max's (Stanford Mall)

What is sad is that only 3 out of the 8 are places that are close by me.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

*Thanksgiving dinner and my family being here
*Having Todd home tomorrow (his Friday off)
*Not having to buy diapers for the first time in 9 years
*A date with Todd...or a weekend away.
*Watching my children go through the temple for themselves for the first time. :D What a day that will be!!
*When I don't have to get a babysitter to go somewhere
*Carefree summer days

8 Things on my Wish List:

*Digital SLR camera
*My own home :D
*A home gym
*Furniture in my living room
*To take Taekwondo or Karate with my children
*A housekeeper to come and help me do the work.
*To live closer to the temple. (2.5 hours each way makes for a looooonnnnngg day when you have little ones.)
*To not have bills to pay :D Wouldn't that be nice.

This was fun. I'm off to run some errands with Miss Ellie.

Fall is here.....or not quite yet

You wouldn't know it here by the weather. It has been beautiful the last few weeks. Temperatures in the 80's. That is not typical for this time up here. I haven't had to turn on my heater yet this season. YEAH!! There is a bonus to the warmer weather. Less money out of my pocket. I love the weather here. There is no smog so the sky is so clear and the ocean is so big and beautiful. Eventhough I am completely terrified of any ocean activities, I love to look at it. A nice sunset isn't bad either. I was not scared at all of the ocean as a child. I have watched too many shows/documentaries that the people had such horrible experiences out in the water that I have no desire to do any activities out in the ocean.

Anyway, lots has been going on and yet I put too much time into Facebook and not into posting over here. I haven't written anything about Halloween or posted pics. I don't even think I wrote about Mitty's 9th birthday at the end of October. The problem with posting pics is that I can't find my camera. Not good!! I have a bunch of pics on it. I have been keeping busy with scout schedules, primary calling, visitors (my sister and her kids...we had 9 kids between the two of us here in the house. it was great!!), homework packets for each child weekly, cleaning, laundry, fixing food, etc. You all know the drill. There is never a dull moment around here. Now, I'm getting ready to have lots of family come for Thanksgiving next week. My parents, 2 brothers, one sister and her husband and Todd's aunt will be here with us. I have not had Thanksgiving with my side of the family for probably 4-5 years. The kids are excited to have it be more of a party than just a "bigger" dinner. I love the food that is prepared for Thanksgiving and can pretty much taste it everytime I think of the menu. I love it. I'm looking forward to the few days off that the kids will have.

Emily has been singing her Thanksgiving songs that she is learning for a show they are going to do at school for all of the parents. I love Kindergarten. They do so many fun things. They are having a feast and a little program next Tuesday. I look forward to all of those shows/events.

I made pumpkin bread yesterday for some friends and boy does the house smell good. I love that smell and taste. I'm trying hard to stay out of all of the good stuff. It's so hard at this time of year. I remember when I was pregnant during Thanksgiving that I gained 10lbs during the month of November and another 10lbs during the Easter months. It all worked out in the end. I never gained more than 35-40 lbs. I'm happy to have those days behind me.

Before the season gets away from me I do want to write down some things that I am thankful for at this time.....

-Todd's job
-Healthy family
-health insurance
-the Gospel in my life
-that Prop. 8 passed
-that I have food in the cupboards
-that I can go to the temple
-that gas is cheap for a moment. :D
-that I have nice neighbors
-that my children associate with good friends
-that Mitch loves scouts
-a wonderful, helpful and caring husband
-good parents/siblings
-a latter day prophet, Pres. Monson
-desire to do what is right
-that I understand the importance of family
-that I am grounded in who I am and that I'm aware of my purpose/role here on Earth.
-good friends
-sisters
-my calling in the Primary presidency-opportunity to teach the children
-primary children
-church music
-piano
-good kids
-good ward
-gift of faith
-my testimony
-
I have many things to be thankful for that I take for granted. I am thankful for my savior, Jesus Christ.

Life Is Just Busy....That's All There Is To It!!

I need a nanny to do the cleaning. I don't mind doing the running around with the kids but boy a cleaning lady would be the ticket. It's a busy time of year and especially the day before Halloween. I am grateful for many things at this time also. I wouldn't trade doing these things for anything. It is a fun type of hustle and bustle. I love my calling and hope that I can make a difference for the children in our ward. The next couple of days are going to be busy busy!! I need to make a list of things to do right now and things that are going on so that I don't forget ....

Give Ellie a bath

Do the dishes (empty clean and put in dirty)

make beds

clean kids bathroom

finalize costumes (it keeps changing)

call surgery center (finalize time and date of minor procedure for Mitch)

make cookies for Casey's class tomorrow

put snacks together for Casey's game on Saturday that he won't be at(I have to give them to the coach tonight)

Go to Casey's class to watch there skit for parents today at 2:30

Find costumes for Todd and I (Bobby and Cindy Brady)

Attend all 3 children's Halloween parties tomorrow starting at 10:30-12:00, 1:00 and 2:00. Help set up at Trunk or Treat pretty much right after school.

Bring string cheese for Mitch's class party tomorrow

Make another Costco run (I'm getting all of the food for the Trunk or Treat tomorrow) We combined with another ward. :D

Laundry

Homework for all of the kids due tomorrow. Casey finished his homework packet on Monday for the entire week. Way to go Casey!!

Trying to do my part in Prop. 8.

How can I get some Visiting teaching done by tomorrow? I may end up going crazy by the end of the month. Ha ha :D

I know that it will all work out and be over in just 2 days. We will have fun on Halloween and I'm going to make sure of it.

Life just keeps getting busier as each day goes on. I am relieved that Sports is over after today. We are free again!!! I love sports but I then love knowing I don't have to be somewhere right after school a few days a week for the next few months. Ahhhh!

I'm off to check some of these things off of the list. It's getting cold again. Winter may be here to stay. It looks like rain tomorrow. Not on Halloween!!!

New Haircut....

It feels good to get a new cut.

Happy 5th B'day Miss Emily (the 17th)

I am way behind on posts. With school starting and fall sports in full swing, we have been very busy around this house.

A week ago Emily turned 5. Where does the time go? You would think she just turned 25 by some of the things she says. She definitely has an opinion and lets it be known. I wonder where she gets that?? Hmmmmmm. :D

We decorated with balloons and streamers in the house. Apparently, I had hung 4 streamers from her door which she quickly came and asked, "Why did you just hang 4 streamers up....I am 5, there should be 5 on my door." Excuse me little Miss, I wasn't even counting. She is so funny sometimes. She is very quick with comebacks and can have us laughing so hard.

Last Thursday, she didn't want to go to soccer. She said she didn't really like running all over with a ball. I told her that we had signed her up because she wanted to play so lets go have a good time. She replied with, "Well, can't you just sign me down?" I was cracking up. It was so cute and so realistic in her mind to just sign her down and she's off the hook. :D She ended up changing her mind and said she wanted to go. She has fun once she is there.

A couple of days ago she said, "Mom, I just want to have a baby in my tummy right now. I just want to be a mom." I thought that was so cute. I was painting her nails on her b'day and she asked, "Mom, am I going to have girls when I'm a mom?" She said she wants to paint her girls nails and make tacos for them for dinner. It's really cute to see her thinking so much about being a mom. It's just natural for girls to have those mother instincts. :D

For her b'day she chose to have me make her a strawberry cake. She added the candles and Mitty lit the candles. It was a family affair. :D She picked for us to go to Taco Loco for her b'day dinner. She loves that place. She orderd her standard steak taco, rice and beans. She was happy. I think all of the kids ordered that.

She requested chocolate chip cookies for her class. This house is always happy to make a batch of cookies. :D

After school I painted her fingers and toes with her new nail polish. It was so cute when Casey walked in he saw her cookie sitting on the table by her and asked if she wanted him to feed it to her. He could see that her nails were wet and she couldn't do it. I loved that and had to get a picture of it. So sweet!! I have to add another sweet thing that Casey did...at school he earns tickets for doing good things in class or for getting 100% on spelling tests. He earned 5 tickets which meant he got to pick out a prize out of the prize box. It was on Emily's b'day and he turned in his tickets for a pink head band for Emily. He said he knew she would just love it. And she does! I thought that was the best. As a mother, those moments make all that I have done to teach my children worth every hard moment.

I think she had a fun day. Mission Accomplished!! I didn't hear any complaints so I guess it was up to her standards. :D haha

Emily is such a fun little girl. She loves her family and loves to play with her brothers and sister. She loves kindergarten! She is so independent it's scary. Sometimes I really wonder if there is anything this girl can't do. She is so capable and loves to help. I appreciate all of her little hugs and squeezes throughout the day. I love to lay down with her each night and have her tell me things. We sing songs and then hug and kiss goodnight. She is so obedient when it comes to going to sleep. She loves to tease Ellie at times but boy howdy Ellie gets her back. She is a sweet daughter and I can't imagine our family without her. I love her little sweet face with her precious glasses and her beautiful curly brown hair. I love you Em Em!!

She told me the other day that a boy on the bus said that she was ugly with her glasses off. I thought to myself...is that really starting up already in kindergarten? I had to tell her that what he was probably thinking is that she looks different with her glasses off. Poor girl. I don't want the "4 eyes" comments that are bound to be heard at some point to haunt her.

Mitch's First Football Game

Isn't he so cute??!! I think all of the boys are just too cute out there on the field. I love how at certain times during the game, the coaches will tell them to lock up. Which means they hold hands. When they walk out for the coin toss, all 4 boys hold hands. It's a fun sport. I have really enjoyed watching the kids play. They won their first game last Saturday 12-0. Mitch plays center and is having fun. I chalked up our windows with Go Eagles for their game and Mitch thought that was awesome. As I was painting the windows, I was flooded with Cheer memories of making posters for the game and at school back in high school. I had fun. I had Go Ghostriders on one side for Casey and Go Eagles on the other with their # on it. The kids had smiles from ear to ear to see their team name and # on the car. Casey scored 2 goals on Saturday as well. This is all I have time for.....gotta run. The afternoon taxi is about to start. We'll be back in and done with running around at 7:15.

Random Post/Ran 47.5 Miles/First Week of School

We loved the first week of school. No complaints from anyone. :D They have all wanted to go back. Phew!!! To start, Emily is loving Kindergarten. By her attitude and her matter of fact way, you would think she is running her own household. She could do it! I have no worries about this girl. She loves the bus and is so grown up about it. The neighbor boy is in her class at school and the oldest in his family and he cried all week getting on the bus. His mom had to meet him at the school a couple of times. Today, his mom asked if Emily would walk with him to class. I made my boys aware of the situation and asked that they walk him to the class with Emily. They did so I hope the neighbor boy will want to get on tomorrow. It's hard to be 5.

The bus is the best thing that has happened around here. I am so glad there haven't been any problems or issues that I'm aware of. Mitch and Casey are both loving their classrooms. I couldn't ask for more. Only Mitch had homework last week so we'll see how this week goes with both boys bringing home homework.

The long weekend was great. My sister Barbie and her husband came up and stayed a couple of nights. I have seen her twice in one month now. I love it. We BBQ'd and enjoyed some good food. We, of course, hit YC for a perfect treat to top off any day. We loaded up on the goods. :D They left Monday morning early to avoid any holiday traffic. They were good and didn't hit a bit of traffic. Ahhh! We went down to Santa Barbara to exchange some shoes at the mall. It was fun but somewhat crazy with 4 kids at a mall. It was a quick trip but nice to have the kids tennis shoes squared away.

I can't express how much I love the fact that I don't have to worry about the time during the day and if I'm late to pick up the boys from school. It's wonderful because I can lay Ellie down and not have to worry about waking her up to pick them up. The beauties of kids getting older. :D

I was on a real kick this last week. I realized today that in one week, I logged 47.7 miles on my own two feet running different routes around town. I amazed myself on Saturday and ran 8.5 miles. It felt good to do it. I am wanting to do a 1/2 marathon or even a 10k sometime soon. I better go....the boys should be walking in any minute. :D I'm so glad we are off to a great start at school. I couldn't ask for more.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL....Kindergarten, 2nd grade, & 3rd grade

I know the pics aren't in order but I can't stay awake any longer or spend the time on putting them in order.

I am exhausted from this first day.....

The race was on this morning. I don't know why we were running behind. Oh maybe because I have one more that needs to be completely ready with the others. The kids were up and ready. I couldn't just have Emily jump in with her pajamas on like we had done many mornings last year. She needed to be ready with hair done and all. That alone can take some serious time. She had her outfit picked out and on and I did her hair and then she came out to the kitchen and acted all disgusted and told me that I didn't even get her a new red backpack for today. If looks could kill I tell you. I couldn't find a red one and then one that was a decent size for her small frame. Anyway, she sweetened up and was fine about it. She used her purple one and was just fine. Stupid me didn't account for the busloads of people at the school this morning so of course I can't find a place to park down any street even remotely close to the school. I felt bad but I had the boys jump out and go to class so that they wouldn't be late and so I could take off and find a street to park on and get Emily to class. Her class had just walked in and so i opened the door and she just went in like this was nothing new. She is so grown up...it scares me. :D I felt bad about the boys but I think they were fine to go to class without mom holding their hands.

Here is Ellie at the barn watching the animals. She was so cute. It was fun just having her alone. That doesn't happen too often around here.
I left and met some friends at Avila Barn. We were celebrating the first day of school and a little new found freedom we were feeling. It was fun. Ellie loved the animals after she warmed up a bit to them and played with some friends. I left from there and went back to the school to pick up Emily. I had to be early for the pick up at leat. It was so cute to see them all walk out. She loved it and is all of a sudden 25 around here. Now that she is in kindergarten she said that she isn't going to get in my bed tonight. She always comes in in the wee hours. She asked me why I didn't just drop her off today. Oh, she wants to be so grown up and do the same things as her brothers. She was also a bit mad when I told her that she wasn't riding the bus home today. I was going to do the first day or two and then she could ride. They are all geared up to ride it tomorrow. The bus only picks up 15 minutes earlier than we would be leaving so it isn't so bad. Emily told me that she could go to the bus stop all by herself. Mitch told me he didn't need me to walk him to the bus stop. They are big now. We'll see how it goes. I want to meet the driver of course and hope that Emily is not stuck on the back of the bus. Emily also told me that I didn't need to go meet the bus driver that I could just wave at him/her as they turned to go down our street. She has a reason/answer for everything. Her teacher painted her hand and she made a very cute hands picture of her first day of Kindergarten. She had a good time and is looking forward to going back tomorrow. The following pics are of her when I picked her up. She had a great day.


Casey had a great day and was so cute this morning. He told Mitty on the way to school..... "Mitty, I'm not nervous at all for today. It's because dad gave me a blessing. I love that! That's my boy Caser!! Todd gave each of them a blessing last night to start off the school year. It was very nice and the kids enjoyed receiving them.

Mitch enjoyed his day but I think he was tired tonight as he was getting ready for football. I think he is worn out.

After I picked up Emily, we met Todd and then I ran an errand and then I went home and literally only had about 25 minutes before I had to get back in the car and pick up the boys. It was fun being right up by their classrooms when they came out. So far so good with the teachers.

Once we got home, the kids were hungry, they did a couple of chores and then it was about time to get ready for football. The day just kept going. After practice, I ran to the store and then home to quickly whip out a dinner and get these children into bed. I topped off our night with Root beer floats for family home evening while we discussed the day. They were happy about the root beer floats. I thought they would love it.

Tomorrow the kids will take the bus to and from school. Let's hope this works out! Ellie has a dr.'s appt. in the morning. Darn it. I'm just sure there is going to be a shot involved. I need to get to bed. I am falling asleep here at the computer but made myself type out some of the funny things that were said and just the comments from today. They are all happy as of right now.

Emily's Kindergarten Tea/School Starting Soon :D

We are 2 days until school starts. I am getting excited for my new schedule and the kids are very excited about starting. Yeah....we are all happy about something.

Emily had her Kindergarten Tea yesterday and that went really well. I love Kindergarten rooms and how fun they are. How could a child not love Kindergarten? :D That is a time of life that I will never forget. I remember everything about Kindergarten. I loved it and loved my teacher. I hope Emily will have a great experience this year. We saw many kids from the area that are starting Kindergarten as well. She has quite a few kids that we know in her class and in the neighbor class. She will have fun and feel right at home. I don't worry about Emily. She can totally handle everything on her own. Sometimes I can't believe she is only going to be 5 and not 15. I was commenting to a friend that it is so nice how the 3rd child going to Kindergarten is so easy. She knows the drill from her brothers experience(nothing is new) and she wants to be going because now she is big like her brothers.:D

I am hoping for a good year. It seems that the boys got teachers that are awesome. Everyone loves Mitty's teacher(Mr. Danielson) and I have only heard good things about the teacher Casey got (Mrs. O'Connell). Mitch is loving that his teacher is a man. So far we know of a couple friends that are in there with him. I can't believe I will be able to run errands with only 1 child in tow. This is a milestone for me. Sometimes when the kids were younger there were many days that I felt I would never see this day. Time flies and so much changes in such a short time. I can only hope that I have taught and am teaching them what they need to know for them to have happiness in their lives.

The house is going crazy this Saturday morning so I better go.

Football/School starting soon/random catch up...

I am hoping that I will find a minute to blog more once school starts. I don't know why I think I will have more time but we'll see. This sports season and school starting is going to throw me into a spin I'm afraid.

Mitch is enjoying football. He is timid about getting in there and hitting hard with the pads. We keep telling him to pretend it is he and his brother. He never seems to shy away from Casey. He said he doesn't want to get hurt. I think it takes a bit for the new ones to get used to going for it and hitting hard/tackling like you mean it. We'll see how it goes. We're on our 4th week of football everyday for 2 hours and it just about put me over the edge last week. I had to boycott a practice. I dropped Mitch off but I had to go home and get dinner ready. I had to take a break from that field/juggling the kids with other kids and the wrong kind of kids, etc. I had Todd go over after work and watch for a bit and then bring him home. It felt good to stay home. Of course the first thing out of Mitty's mouth when he got home was that he missed me not being on the sidelines watching him. That pretty much has put me right back on the field. :D Hopefully he won't feel too nervous about playing and get in there and have some fun.

I can't believe school starting is fast approaching....Monday is the big day. This Friday Emily has a kindergarten tea to go to and meet her teacher and see the classroom. I was so excited to read that she got Casey's 1st grade teacher this last year. She had told me that she was teaching Kindergarten this year and that many of the kids siblings were starting kindergarten this year and so maybe we will get some of the same parents. I am hoping for Mitch to get his kindergarten teacher because she is teaching 3rd grade now. That would just be great. I love when teachers know you and you know them and there isn't anything new to get used to. It makes the year a bit easier.

Emily has been with my mom this week. My mom and sister, Barbie, came up last Thursday night and stayed the weekend with us. It was very fun and I always enjoy having visitors. We went to our ward beach party, had Yogurt Creations twice in a few days, hit Taco Rico, went on a walk through the village, watched many exciting races starring Michael Phelps (He is awesome!!!) and just relaxed. I loved every minute of them being here. My mom agreed to take Emily home with her on Sunday and let her stay this week. She has never been away this long. We are all sad and missing her here at home. THe house is so much more quiet when one child is away. It's amazing how it makes such a difference. The boys miss her and are anxious to have her back. They keep telling me how they love it when she is here and rides bikes with them. Mitch told me how he missed her getting up in the morning and coming out to say hi to he and Casey. Very cute. It is good for the kids to be away from each other so that they can appreciate how much they love their siblings. I will go and meet my mom in Camarillo on Thursday evening to pick her up. I am excited to see Miss Em Em!! She has told me that she misses me on the phone but I really think she is doing great and having a good time with grandma and grandpa. Thanks Mom!! It is so easy with just 3. It has been a real break for me.

Football rules our evenings these days and so it's about that time again to get going and pack up the bag for our stay on the field. Pictures will have to come later.

We Are Half Way Through Hell Week (Football) :D

We made it half way through hell week or should I say Mitty has. :D He is doing so well and handling it like a champ. He is so cute to watch. It's so fun to really see him trying his hardest. All of the boys are so cute. They are truly being worked out.

On Monday, I was a bit worried because after his 2 hour practice Mitch's face wasn't looking so hot. He told me that the helmet was hurting his head so badly. He even went as fas as to say that he didn't want to go back and wear that helmet again. I felt really bad and reassured him that he just wasn't used to wearing a helmet and that it needed to be somewhat tight for his safety. Tuesday before practice we went and tried on different helmet but ended up keeping with what he had. A coach told him the same thing about it needing to be tight to be safe. I told him to try it out again and see if it was any better after Tuesday's practice. After Tuesday's practice, he came running to tell me that his helmet was fine and that he got used to it and it didn't bother him anymore. Oh blessed day!! He had a big smile on his face. Mitch told me that a coach told him that he couldn't tire Mitty out. Mitty just goes and goes and never acts a bit tired. Oh I wish I had the energy of an 8 year old. Mitch keeps telling me he likes it. They really are working these boys. It's 2 hours straight of doing lunges back and forth, running laps around the field, doing push ups, stomach exercises, running sprints and more drills. Today I thought some of these boys were going to die. Coach Mike (the tattoed guy) had the boys running 6 laps around the field before they even started the drills. The boys had to stay in a single file line without any gaps in the line as they ran their laps. If they didn't, they had to run another lap until they got it right. Mitch was just going around and around with a smile on his face. He is so excited to have his head sweating (that is a real sign of being an older boy I guess :D) After each session of drills the group would run another lap around. Mitch said that by the end of practice he had ran 10 laps around the field. That's my boy!! He said a coach today told him again, "we just can't seem to tire you out." Good job Mitty!! I just love that he gives it his all. That's all that I can ask for.

Friday we will know what team he is on and Saturday he gets his equipment (pads, etc.) I am so proud of MItty and his endurance. He really is working hard and I love to see that. Next week is going to be a new experience..hitting with pads on. Oh boy!

Today was a busy day for me in the kitchen. I made dinner/dessert for a friend who had surgery on her neck. I also planned ahead for my family and put some chicken in the crock pot with salsa, onions, and garlic to be ready for us tonight after practice. The chicken turned out great. Some had chicken enchiladas, some had chicken nachos, others had bean tostadas and one had a chicken soft taco. It was a circus at the table this evening. It's nice to hear the house quiet at this hour after a long day. Thanks to Todd for doing the dishes while I laid down with each child (nightly ritual). I ended up falling asleep with Casey and woke up an hour later. I can hardly stay awake with each child. They are usually asking me mom, mom, what did you say? I will be dreaming I guess. Mom, you know exactly what I am talking about. I was singing a song to Emily tonight and I guess faded before the end of the song. She woke me saying, Mom, you didn't finish the song. Too funny!

I'm off to bed so that I can get a bit of sleep before the alarm is going off so dang early.

We Survived the First Week of Football/New Church Calling

Mitch started his first year of football a week ago. Oh boy is it different than any other sport we have been involved in. Casey's comments right off the bat after hearing this man yell so that all of the boy's could hear him was, "Mom, he is a very mean coach." It was the whole intimidation factor for sure. It worked with Casey the first day. After a couple of days of watching on the sidelines, Casey is wanting to play next year

The man really is a nice guy and handles the group well. I was a bit skeptical of the whole crowd that football brought out to the field. A bit rough around the edges to say the least. It was nice to see a bunch of family's from the other ward that I know out on the field. What I have learned so far is that there is no messing around in football that's for sure. Don't even think about getting there a minute late. Football is all about being there and ready to play/practice 15-20 minutes early. I have to admire anyone trying to teach kids to be on time. I try to do that everyday. Not always successful. It has been really good for MItty. He seems to love it so far but this week starts "Hell Week". Last week was Clinic Week where they learn about the basics of football, do different drills at different stations and soak it all in. We'll see if his attitude changes after tonight.

The hours have been a bit rough for us. It has been from 5-7pm every night and will continue to be that for the next few weeks. Oh boy! Talk about trying to plan dinner and be the super mom. It's been hard to get the kids to bed at a decent time since we are eating dinner so late. Good thing they don't have school to wake up for. We'll see if I can do better with dinner this week. It's called crock pot or make our dinner in the morning so that it is ready to bake when we get home.

It has been funny to see Mitty wanting to do so much exercising during the day. He takes his shirt off and wants to run on the treadmill. He and Casey ride their bikes and do laps around the block. How much is too much for an 8 year old on a treadmill. He doesn't seem to tire out. How can I not encourage good habits of exercising? The problem is that Emily and Casey then want to run on the treadmill. It's not such a big deal having Casey walk on it but Emily is just too young and little to be on it. I have tried to tell them to just get outside and run around and play. That is how kids exercise. If it's not one thing it's another.

This week should be a bit more exciting to watch. The boys got their helmets last Saturday and will be using them this week. Still no pads. That comes this weekend. We will find out his team this Friday as well. It's exciting to be in a new sport. I'm excited to watch the games.






It is so funny to have Todd ask me if I would serve in a new church calling. He called me to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary. I was released as Mitty's teacher and yesterday was my first Sunday in the new position. Not bad at all. I'm excited! I have sharing time in 2 weeks and feel good that I know what I'm going to do. Now, I just have to get to work on it. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas of what works in your ward, please pass them on.

Time to go, the kids are up and in full swing.