A little story

My kids got a hold of the camera and I'd like to use their pictures to tell a little story. 

 This is me. Wielding my sword and shield in a quest to survive the summer.

These are my troops. Sometimes they are for me. Sometimes they are against me.
It depends upon the hour. 

These are the bad guys. The Plants and Zombies. They are always against me.

 This is my trooper who becomes a Zombie when playing Zombies.

 This is what I look like while entertaining my children for 90 days in the summer.

 But this is what I often feel like!

So it's a good thing I have staff.

And a chipper, handsome, adoring husband.

And I know a princess in real life.

It's not always easy

fighting little mess-makers.

 

and dust bunnies.

So I could use a day at the beach.

THE END.

look-a-likes

Ashley - 20 months:

Claire - 20 months:

A look at big families - from a kid's perspective

Lots of people in this town have big families, say 5 children. A few on our street don't. We've got our next door neighbors who have a teenage daughter and a six year old boy, both parents work and grandma babysits. And another little guy Luke's age who has one little sister and and mom and dad who work from home when they're in town and travel the rest, grandpa watches him those times. Both these cute boys like to swing by our place often to see if my kids can play. We invited them in a lot. But when I can't, my heart  goes out to them. 

Take this morning for instance: I'm in my pjs in the kitchen, I hear a knock at the door, then a ring, then another knock and I peek out to see its one of them. He's got his face pressed against our window. He hears the music coming from the backyard and bets we're home. I can't answer the door cause I'm not dressed, and I don't really want to because I don't like turning the little guy away.  But I know if I invite him in, things are going to change around here, for us. Jake and daddy are in the pool shooting hoops and playing with the rocket. Ashley and Luke are in the basement together playing ping-pong. Claire is content hanging with me, and I with her.  If I have a friend in, something's going to change (there goes Ashley off the ping-pong table). 

But as I watched our neighbor boy turn back to his scooter and head back down the driveway, I felt sorry for him. Day after day he's riding down the street looking for somebody to play with. His mom has told me before, "When I'm home working, I like it quiet. I tell him go on and get some exercise, look for friends to play with".  It's the way they roll. And so he heads to our house.

How different would it be if he had nice, big plump family complete with a brother of his own to pal around with? Shoot hoops with. Cruise the neighborhood with. I wish for him he did!

I see what big families have - lots of siblings for friends and moms who are busy enough with all the kids to call that their complete days' work - and I feel glad to be a kid who came from one and a mom who has one!

I've made my decision: Big families ROCK.

Miracles

Last night I went to bed asking the Lord for help getting my kids to use fewer electronics during these long, hot summer days. By 10am our basement TV died, mid rock-band song! Just down and shut off and wont turn on again.

I had to admit to my children that I may have had something to do with this... Hallelujah!! :)


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More (and final) highlights from our Utah trip!

Hanging out in the yard with uncle Zach, Abby and Andrew:

 Temple Square with the gang:

 Luke high up in Nana's tree!, plus witches' stew time:

Visiting Grandpa Mark's grave:

Bridal Veil falls, in the rain again!:

Provo Beach Resort, Luke and Mikey surfin' and boardin' (my mom and aunt Kris):

The ZOO! Andrew and Jake's identical heads plus the new Polar Bear.

4th of July & Stadium of Fire

We had our street fireworks party with the cousins at Nana's on July 3rd this year. Started out the day with french toast at Kneaders, then dropping the wad at the fireworks stand. Ended with a delicious meal shared with lots of family - and topped off with a few illegal fireworks from Wyoming, thanks to Brett and Todd. No worry about the wildfires raging in the mountains beside us...right?  It was great all-American family fun.

On July 4th, we made it to the Provo parade (after sleeping in past the hot air balloons and the freedom day fun run!) but I missed seeing NeiNei opening as the grand marshall (bummer)! It was still cool though. Later we had a BBQ at grandma's in Provo then Steve, Shauna, Luke, Tyler and I went to Stadium of Fire to see the Beach Boys in their 50th year reunion tour.  What a blast!  I was mad I didn't drag everyone else there with us!!

The highlight of the holiday for me was singing the National Anthem in the giant BYU stadium filled with people in red, white and blue, and having fighter jets do a fly by overhead.  They were so loud and awe-inspiring and came right at the end of the anthem, I couldn't help but get a little choked up!  How blessed we are to live in this great land - the United States of America!! So blessed.