Temple Night

 Last thursday night was the best.  I knew that it was going to be a wonderful night, but I had no idea how fulfilling, satisfying, and AWESOME taking your children thru the temple could actually be!  We were so blessed to be able to have Almost all of our family there along with some dear friends.  We filled the whole room. 


Just one last picture and update on Joseph and then, we will leave him alone!  This is one of my favorite pictures.  It was when Joseph FINALLY got his Eagle and the family was able to come and celebrate with us. 

Have you ever seen that movie, "The RM"?  There is a scene in there where the missionary gets home and he is catching up on all his sibling's lives.  He is talking to his twin brothers and says, "So you have almost got your Eagles?" And they say, "MOM, has almost got our Eagles!"  YEA, I can TOTALLY relate!

Where to start?!

Hello?  Anybody there?  Is this thing on??  I don't even remember how to get on blogger!

After much cajoling and pleading from my kids, I think that I may find some time to blog again.  Life, it gets in the way of blogging! : ) 
Ah, so much to catch up on, I won't even try to do it all.  The kids have grown, (after all it has been 2 years! What, 2 years?! You lazy bum!)

My mind has been on Joseph lately, He graduated, went off to BYU-I and LOVED it. 

 

Joseph with his brothers and sister after graduation.  Caden had already stripped out of his suit. 

He turned 19 on January 31st and anxiously awaited the most important mail he is ever to receive in his life.  IT came 3 days later and the family all joined us in the big open.  Unfortunately I only have video, so no pics of the reading of "THE" letter.  He will be leaving July 4th to serve the Lord for 2 years.  His destination: 

Teresina, Brazil. 

He couldn't be happier.  He really wanted to go foreign.  He has waited his whole life, (his words) to serve a mission.  His best friend, and cousin leaves in 3 weeks for Salt Lake City.  They are so excited to be out at the same time. 

Tonight we are headed to the temple with Joseph.  I am beyond excited for him to take this important step.  I am crying as I sit here. : )  He is the Best big brother that parents could ask for.  He is patient, kind, intuitive, and a wonderful example for his younger brothers and sister.  He is the kid that comes out to the car and brings in the groceries and sleeping kids without even being asked.  Man, I am going to miss this kid!!

Joseph, I love you.

Guess Who, Round #2

This actually happened last Monday afternoon on Labor Day.  Those dang trampolines are going to kill us yet. 

Poor Gabe did not get much sympathy from me that night.  I just figured he was milking it for all he could.  For some reason my kids like to do that.  The next morning he was hopping around the house like a kangaroo, so I kept him home, iced it up, and called the dr.  Sure enough, the x-ray showed a break in the growth plate.  The novelty of the cast wore off in about 2 days, and now I have to make him WALK with it.  He still thinks that he can barrel thru the house and up and down the stairs like normal.  You can always tell when he is coming though because he clonks thru the house like a peg legged pirate. 

Reason #263 I Love Living in the Country

You can run around in the front yard in your spiderman underwear trying to scare a flock (do they call them flocks, gaggles?) of turkeys and no one even bats an eyelash.

Random Ramblings and Whinings

I thought that when school started I would have sooo much time to get caught up on life.  I am ALWAYS in the car!  I have 6 places to be this afternoon, and only enough time to be at 4.  I need a cloning machine.  I woke up 15 minutes late this morning.  (Ok, I was totally awake, I just couldn't get that mattress off my back.)  That put the whole house in an uproar.  The boys were late getting out to the car for seminary.  They didn't get breakfast before they left.   I had to get Caden to make the sandwiches for lunches.  All the little ones needed a bath because we were out late last night and they fell asleep on the way home.  So then Abigail's hair was wet and there is not much you can do with it very quickly when it is wet.  I couldn't find all the lunchboxes so everyone had to brown bag it.  I forgot to wash Abigail's blanket over the weekend so that she could take it back to school for her naptime, so she was freaking out in the car.  Thank goodness Matthew had one in the car and she agreed to take it with her for the day.  The kitchen was a DISASTER, because NO ONE feels like they have to do their kitchen chores on Sunday. 

I am on this spring cleaning kick.  I guess you shoud call it fall cleaning.  I already have 4 laundry baskets filled with stuff the kids have outgrown, don't want, or I don't want.  I love to dejunkify. 

9 people + 2 bathrooms = not enough bathrooms

Joe was getting ready in our bathroom this morning.  I needed the bathroom, so I ran upstairs to snag that one before someone else did.  I am no sooner in there, than 3, yes 3! people are banging on the door, demanding the door be opened.  I told 2 of them to go use a tree, and let the little girl in.  I miss my house in Virginia with 3 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, an actual garage that you could park a car in, gasp!, and a mudroom.  Ah, the glorious mudroom. 

We got a new toy.  We have not had a video camera, since the days that they were the size of a toaster oven, and just as heavy.  It is unbelievably small and light.  We were able to video Joseph at the football game Friday night.  I am so glad that we got one before he leaves us next year. 
I ran a 10K on Saturday.  I was so unprepared for it.  I ran ONCE the past month.  And it was for 2 miles.  And I was SO winded, I thought I was going to puke.  I had no business running a 10k. 
I ran it in 1 hour 5 minutes.  I am slightly proud of myself. ; )  I never stopped.  Not even thru the water stations.  Maybe if I get my rear in gear for the half next month, I might beat my time.  Got to get moving.   Anywho, got to get back to the laundry and fall cleaning. 
I will leave you with this cutie.  He was exhausted last night!

Jacob "Reading" a Book

Jacob has been LOVING preschool.  They are very big into repetitive lessons.  They have been reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" for 2 weeks now.  Yesterday as we were on our way to school, he pulled out his book and started reading to me.  I was absolutely floored.  Coupled with the fact that he has never been able to hear well, and he has the most incredible underbite that you have ever seen, (It makes his smile oh so cute, but the boy just has the Hardest time pronouncing certain sounds), the most he ever really talks is a few sentences at best.  Even then you have the hardest time understanding him, therefore he gets frustrated, screams, and then you get frustrated with him.  It's a unending cycle. 

That is why when he read me this story, I felt such hope for him.  He has had to read it to everybody in the family.  Repeatedly.  : )

(if you couldn't see the pictures, you would still probably not be able to tell what he was saying) ; )

Are you allergic to poison ivy?

Last Saturday Joseph and Parker had a chance to go with their cousins, aunts, and uncles on a big church trip.  They floated down the river on a canoe and had a wonderful time.  Half of the way down there was a bluff that hung over the water.  They temptation was absolutely too great to resist.  They dove, jumped, and flung themselves off that bluff into the water below numerous times.  Then they found a rope and swung out and dropped into the river.  After they exhausted themselves, they then had to swim down the river to where they had left their canoes.  All in all they had a wonderful time.  They came home pooped and sunburnt.  The next morning I kept hollering for them to get up and get ready for church.  Everybody had made their appearance except for Parker.  After a while he came stumbling down the stairs, his eyes all puffy, nose swollen and lips all red.  I figured maybe he had some massive allergies flaring up so I let him crawl back in the bed and we headed off to church.   When we got home he was not much better, so I gave him some benadryl, told him to rest up because he WAS going to the first day of school tomorrow. 

Bright and early Monday morning I woke up the boys and Parker rolled over at me and I just about died.  His face looked like this.....

And this.....

We couldn't figure out what in the world he had gotten himself into.  It took us a while but we finally realized that it had to be poison ivy.  If he walks outside and so much looks at a poison ivy plant it literally jumps on him.  There must have been some on the bluff they were climbing and I can just see him wiping the water off his face every time he dove into the water with poison ivy infested hands.  I took him into the Dr. and they gave him a good ole shot in the rear of some massive steroids.  They kind of chuckled and said that they had Never seen anyone look that miserable.  Leave it to us to get some weirdo disease or some bizzare battle wounds.  Since school started on Monday, there has been at least 1 to 2 people home sick with something.  When all 6 of them finally get in school, I won't know what to do with myself!