School, Barbies, Gym and School

The kids are off to school! Yay! Abby was super excited for school to start, and Jake, not so much. He could have easily done another 2 months of summer. But we met the teachers and when Jake saw he had a boy teacher, Mr. Ludwig, he suddenly became excited and has come home every single day since happy about school. Abby is loving Mrs. Parra, she says she is funny and super nice.
I love the excitement of the first day: packing all the school supplies, getting blessings the night before, the lunches, and the best - the first day outfit. This year, the craze was skinny jeans. I thought Jake was going to die if he didn't get a pair to start the year. So the night before school started, both kids got their outfits ready including their new skinny jeans, or as Abby calls them, tight pants. As you can see from the pics though, that Jake didn't last long in his. He got ready, got a few pics taken outside and then realize how freakin' hot it was. So at the last minute he ran in to change into shorts, but he came out with his favorite black and red basketball shorts, but still wearing the new plaid button down shirt. Oh Jake, you are such a boy. I made him change again into his last year's first day shorts that I don't think he's worn since, because they were not bball shorts - So much nicer looking, don't ya think?

Hannah started pre-school this week too. I stewed for a long time about if I should spring the big bucks for Discovery Club, and in the end, decided it would be worth the money. She loves her teachers and has happily gone every day (all 3 days that is) - knock on wood. She is so fearful of new situations that I worried she would freak out about going, but good teachers that truly care make such a difference. As the poor middle child, I think she often gets the shaft in many things so I'm indulging her in the great pre-school. Isn't she darling in her new outfit? And look at the mullet, it's practically all grown out!

Barbies - I think they are going to be the death of me! Hannah and Annie are definintely on a Barbie kick. They play with them all the time. But I swear if I had a nickel for every Barbie outfit I've changed, I'd be a millionaire - or at least 5 dollars richer. I think Barbies are 2nd most annoying toy - I'm giving the most annoying award to Transformers. It takes a Phd in engineering to figure those things out. Anyway, I hate Barbie outfits - they are all tight, immodest (which my girls always point out), and frightfully difficult to put on. If it wasn't for the flexed feet, spread out fingers and immovable elbows, they might be a little easier to dress, but wowee, they sure annoy me!

I am officially a sellout. After years of not having a gym membership, I finally got one to the new LA Fitness. After I miscarried, my dad mentioned that I could hike the Grand Canyon with them in Sept. 5 weeks to train, no prob! Now that Alex and I are working out so faithfully everyday, I just might make it out. It's great having a friend to get me to the gym each day, even though most days we end up cursing our insane instructors and the machines that are making us sore every day.

On a final note, I have decided to go back to school. I'm now enrolled at Rio Salado taking classes to get my reading endorsement. I'm also in the process of applying to MCC for their nursing program, but not to worry, the wait list is about 2 years which gives me plenty of time to change my mind, and knowing me, I'll probably change it about 6000 times between now and then.

Summer's Over!

The other day Jake mentioned how quick summer went by and how we did nothing. WHAT? NOTHING you say? So I made him start down the list of everything we did and it seemed quite long, including:

Basketball camp

Summer sports camp

Chores

Reading

Arkansas

Canoeing in Arkansas

Rafting in our side yard after irrigation and rain

Big Time Rush - the new favorite annoying Nickelodeon show of Jake and Abby

Playing Big Time Rush with Jack and Jay R.

Swimming at Stapley pool

Swimming at The Wood's house

Swimming at Maddix and Bronson's - thanks Alex!

Camping

Spending the week at Grandma and Grandpa Platt's house (I haven't blogged about it yet, oops)

Slip'n'sliding

3 Movies - a record for a family that averages one movie every 2 years.

As far as I'm concerned it was a pretty good summer. The kids had fun, got bored at times and that's when ICarly came to the rescue with her same 5 episodes played over and over again. I'd love to say I'm a better mom, but sometimes I needed a break and a nap and ICarly was the perfect babysitter as irritating as the show is and as loud as it can get. But I think the kids enjoyed themselves and had a great summer and their hair didn't even turn green!

here are a few random pics from slip'n'sliding and the rafting in Lake Platt

Annie Makes me Smile

Here are a few things Annie's been saying and doing lately to make me smile:

All summer she has had an obsession with baby dolls. She carries them everywhere wrapped in blankets, towels, t-shirts, you name it. But today she has replaced her babydolls with her new found toy, a stuffed ladybug, (I'm not even quite sure where it came from), and she's been carrying it and cuddling it everywhere calling it her 'lazy bug.'

When I came back from my d&c, my bro Joe was mowing my lawn, which was wonderful, thank you. Annie says to me, "Mom, Joe lawned our grass."

Then a few days later she asked me if I was going to swim with her, I said no and she said, "When you're done sicking can you swim?" "Yes, or course I will when I'm done sicking." Then she wrapped herself around me, hugged me and kissed me and said, "Now you're done sicking, you can go swimming." Oh Annie, I love you.

This year, for at least part time it will be just me and Annie. I'm kinda excited and hoping for a lot more cute Annie-isms.

Polyanna, Pioneers and Perspective

I love my mom. She always tried to teach us to be positive, to always look on the bright side of things and always find the good in any situation. Her favorite movie was Polyanna and whenever we got in trouble we had to watch that movie and then play the Glad Game.

In the past few months I have decided to read the Work and the Glory books. I know, I know I'm only about 15 years behind the trend of reading them. Who know maybe in 10 years I'll finally read the Twilight series. Anyway, back on track. I always thought I wanted to be a pioneer. I thought those women were amazing. They worked their buns off and were so faithful. I used to say I could be a pioneer crossing the plains if I had a good pair of running shoes, a good sports bra and tampons. I loved Little House on the Prairie and wanted Laura Ingalls life. I was much younger then. Then I started reading the WatG series and I've seen better what their lives were really like. They suffered so much persecution and pain. Most women lost more than one baby in childbirth and there were so, so, so, many miscarriages. Jake would have never made it through my potentially long childbirth. I was blessed to be in a hospital with a fantastic doctor, heartrate monitors, and a spinal block for my c-section, not ideal, but the outcome was perfect, and the miracle happened 3 more times.

Last night I spent the night cramping and crying as I miscarried at 11 weeks. I cried and cried 'poor me'. Then as I was sitting in the ultrasound room hearing the sad news that I had obviously already figured out - that I'd miscarried, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to live in these days. I was for sure devastated and I will be for a while, but grateful that I could be in a hospital with an IV giving me morphine, a wonderful woman that did my ultrasound (Pam Brown - Abby's friend's mom), very good nurses, a fantastic PA and a supportive husband that was right there for me. In the pioneer days, I'd been soaking my bedding and crying with the other women in the room as Jeremy would have been outside in the other room, the only person I'd really want next to me.

I love that I get to live today. I'm grateful for the conviences that are there for me because as much as I want to believe I'm tough, I'm really a sissy with a very low pain tolerance. I know Heavenly Father saved me for these days. I don't have to suffer the physical difficulties that the pioneer women did, there are other trials for me and my family, but the basics are the same - have faith, hope, love and pray hard. I'm grateful, as I'm trying to be like Polyanna, for my new perspective.

Christopher Creek- The year of new traditions

Every year growing up I looked forward to our annual family vacation - Christopher Creek. Same creek, exact same camp site - never, ever changing. The lot on the corner where we once saw a rattler in camp, we had a wicked fun mudslide after a huge monsoon storm, a never before seen flashflood (I've only seen one since - last year at CC), countless games of gin, hiking, chopping down a tree and almost getting sent to jail for it (atleast that's how I felt as I was getting lectured by the ranger with my little bros), getting to drive up early to the campground with Grandma and Grandpa Taylor - the ultimate campers...

After about a 15 year break, we decided to reignite the old tradition, so in 2005 we returned to CC. This time we had to go the the group site, but it quickly became the new tradition. I look forward to it every year. Always new memories made and fun times to be had. This year was no different. We broke from the last 5 years tradition and went camping in July not Sept. which I very much liked. We got to escape the heat, more people came and the kids got to enjoy the water.

Here are a few of the favorites from this year:

Jake spent most of his time catching crawdads, he even got pinched this year - it's amazing it doesn't happen more.

Annie carried her camping chair around all weekend calling it her baby. I think it was so no one else could sit on it. At one point she had it wrapped in a blanket.

The kids got to play with their cousins they hardly see anymore (Ella and Kimball who are in Snowflake). The girls got to shadow their favorite big cousins Taylor and Kyley who are absolutely perfect in their eyes.

Eating delicious food. Anything cooked with bacon grease has to be flavorful.

Heading to Box Canyon - another break from our normal tradition, and going cliff jumping. The boys were fearless. Definitely a place to return to. (I'm not putting in the picture of me jumping, I'm not a very graceful jumper or ladylike for that matter)

Finding a closer water hole ("the water hole - what's so great about the water hole?" quoted about 50 times every year) with a rope swing. Not very intimidating and therefore so much fun for all the kids.

Laughing as the loudest thunder EVER cracked and sent all the kids scurrying and crying to their parents. I think the lightning hit only a few hundred feet away. And then huddling under our creatively rigged awning trying to keep dry as the rain and hail pounded us and ultimately soaked us (not because of the tarps - they were soundly made, but because the wind was blowing the rain sideways)

It was a great camping trip. And I'm already looking forward to next year when our tent has been waterproofed.

Arkansas in Pictures

This post is going to be a two parter. I just published my Arkansas trip, but blogger wouldn't let me upload or downloand the pictures - whichever way they load, so I had to do the pictures in a separate post. Oh, and these are in no particular order.

The girls - man are we hot

Drew and Cyndi and gang on the hayride - minus the hay, with our matching t-shirts

Victoria, Annie and Parker. The girls all adored Victoria, who wouldn't - she is so dang cool.

Jeremy on the airlplane

Karrie, Annie and Eli in the backseat of the plane

Abby and Hannah took the first ride in the plane

The whole crew at the caboose after eating yummy bbq

It was a bit of a struggle to get the boys to be a little animated.

Abby and Hannah at the Peabody in Memphis watching the ducks

The group in downtown Memphis, minus me and Whitney who were behind the cameras

Waiting to tour Elvis' airplane

Jeremy could win a rock skipping championship if they even exist.

The kids before we started canoeing.

Our fam at Carlsbad Caverns

Arkansas

I know we've been back almost a week now and I'm just getting around to blogging about our wonderful family vacation, so sorry. We had an absolutely great time. If it wasn't for the humongous state of Texas, the trip would have been a breeze. It seems like you get going and are making progress in your driving until you hit Texas and then it's like you are running in place, going nowhere. Nevertheless, we had a good time hanging out, eating, canoeing, quad riding, Graceland, BBQ, airplane rides, peabody ducks, fireworks...

So here are the high and low lights from the trip. Don't worry, the hightlights way out do the lowlights.

• Getting to tour Carlsbad Caverns on our way out.
• Not getting to see the bat flight at Carlsbad because of an apparent "lightning storm" though there was no lightning to be seen ANYWHERE!
• Driving across Texas - see above
• Hanging out with the cousins
• Lots of 4 wheeler rides around the ranch, including Jeremy's first solo venture of the trip when he got the quad stuck in a rut and had to try to dig it out of the mud and then ultimately walk the long 3 miles back to the house to get help. For him that was definitely a bummer, good thing he had been running regularly and was in pretty good shape.
• Seeing fire flies lighting up at night - so cool.
• The other bugs, bugs, bugs! Cole threw a centipede on me when he was trying to get it out of his kayak - I freaked! Not to mention the bug that crawled down my shirt, I freaked again and poor Justin had to see too much when I pulled my shirt down to get it out.
• Canoeing with my best canoeing pal Eli. (my kids jumped ship on me when I kept bouncing off every bank and running into every tree and rock, but Eli jumped in my canoe and stayed with me, even when I drove him continually into every tree along the river bank (he learned how to duck really well).
• Dinner every night as a group ending in fun games and get-to-know-you activities.
• Going to Graceland in Memphis to see Elvis' home. It was a good experience, but didn't make me more of an Elvis lover, maybe less so.
• Eating BBQ with Whitney, Josh and Millie. They were so fun and so kind to let us all crash their home. Thanks.
• Going to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis to see the ducks walk the red carpet. Short show, but the girls laughed. Jake thought it was a waste of time.
• Swimming at Cori and HJ's - such a fun pool with fun water guns
• Fun airplane rides around Texarkana (thanks HJ for the adventure)
• Shooting guns at the ranch. Jeremy brought his new shotgun and had fun getting to test it out shooting skeet. I, on the otherhand, am a gun sissy and choose not to shoot if I can, much to Jeremy's dismay.
• Trying to talk Lawson to go home with me. The kid is so stinkin cute with the biggest bluest eyes I have ever seen. He kept telling me I was just teasing and he couldn't go with me. Oh well, I tried.
• An awesome fireworks show compliments of Brad, way better than fighting traffic and even more exciting.
• Going on a hayride with the whole crew. Lots of songs and laughter and we all had matching Rolling Hills Ranch - Big Green Tractor Tour t-shirts. Thanks Brad.
• Staying with Brad, Suzanne, Victoria and Cole. Thank you guys so much for your generosity and great hospitality. You guys sacrificed so much for us and we really appreciate it.
  

We had a super great time on our trip. We had talked about going for years, I'm so glad we finally did it! I can't wait to see all the AR cousins next summer in St Johns. It makes me sad that we only get to see these great people so seldom. But in the meantime, we'll just enjoy them when we can and remember the fun times in Arkansas.