Birthday Boy!

Each year, Mason anticipates his special day for quite some time. He loves the excitment, attention, and surprises that birthdays bring. This year was no different! I'm not sure which he enjoys the most... the decorated kitchen with balloons and crate paper; choosing what we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner; not having to make his bed or do any jobs (which he loves to remind everyone all day!); the presents; the party; the special phonecalls from loved ones; or maybe it's simply because for one day, it's all about him! Whatever the reason, I love making him feel special and helping him know how much we love him.

Mason's 6th Birthday

Bike Birthday Party

Mason and his friends decked out their bikes with streamers, personalized license plates and noisemakers on the wheels.They loved this!

They were then ready for the bike parade.

They had fun racing on the chalk made roads, through the obstacle courses, and most importantly, seeing who could bike the fastest!

Of course, another favorite at the party..cake & ice cream!

We had such a fun day! Thank you to everyone who celebrated with Mason and helped to make this a fantastic 6th Birthday!!

Icing on the Cake

So I recently had "One of those Days..." when everything I did just didn't go right or something that should have been very simple, ended up being an ordeal. Here's what I mean:

First, paperwork needed to be sent. Simple right?...scan, save, email. 
Email would not go through to intended recipient.
After several attempts and frustration, finally sent to Alan's email who printed and faxed.
Got a call hours later to say fax was never received...
Alan's on his way to the sand dunes.
45 minutes and $6 later, the fax at FedEx finally went through.

Sending paperwork...not so simple.


Took Alan's car for emission's inspection for car registration.
Failed.
Bought new lid for gas tank.
Back to emission's inspection.
Pass!
Cannot register car...online program states car has not had emission test.
On hold for 48 minutes.
Discover the record number I'm trying to use to register Alan's car is actually for my car.
My car needs the emission test.
Back to inspections now for my car.
Failed.
Can't register car before deadline.
Looking forward to "late fee".

Car registration...not so simple.


Several packages needing to be mailed.
FedEx couldn't find Alan's business account anywhere in their system.
Wouldn't let me mail ground packages in "Air Mail" box.
Back home.
Found Alan's account info online.
Printed shipping labels.
Took packages to different FedEx store who WOULD allow me to use "Air Mail" boxes going ground.

Mailing packages...not so simple.



Noticed Madelyn left her homework folder....again.
Knew it had to be turned in before weekend.
Off to school to get homework to teacher before school's out.
Secretary wouldn't let me go to classroom...states too close to school getting out...teacher is too busy....
Too busy to have a folder handed to her???
Instructed to meet teacher out by buses.
Waited for kids to be released.
Walked with them through chaotic school parking lot, around to back of school to meet teacher.
Delivering homework...not so simple.

By the time I made it home, I was flustered, frustrated and exhausted! My neighbor sensing my mood asked if I was doing ok. After sharing with her of my day's experiences, she stated "At least it's Friday, right?" Right I thought. It is Friday, even though Alan is out of town, this day's done!

Well, it doesn't end there. Yesterday I got a phone call which put the icing on the cake. My sister called to say she had some bad news....they answered the door to find a package on the step as the FedEx truck pulled away. Aiden was so thrilled to see a box with his name on it. With much anticipation and excitement, he opened it up...only to be completely disappointed when he realized the items were for Liam, a former cub scout in my Wolf den.  That's right. I put the shipping labels on the wrong boxes. Aiden got Liam's box and Liam got Aiden's box. All I could say was "Are you serious?"

I guess we are just gonna have one of those days, every now and then, right?  Please tell me I'm not the only one! Hopefully I've taken my turn for awhile!

Say It Like It Is!

There's no doubt about it, kids say it like it is! Whether you want to hear or not, they don't hold back.  We've had a few of these moments lately....

Mason: You know Mom, Misty (our babysitter when I work and who we all absolutely love and adore) is a Real Mom.
Me: Oh really? What makes her a "Real Mom"?

Mason: Shrugs his shoulders.

Me: So am I a "Real Mom"?

Mason: No...you're just a "Half Mom".

Me: Oh...(feeling disappointed) what makes me just a "Half Mom"?

Mason: Misty's a "Real Mom" cuz she doesn't spank our tushies!

There you have it! I'm not the real deal! I didn't know how to react, besides laugh to myself. Although I couldn't help think where this was coming from because my kids don't hardly ever get spanked. Maybe yelled at a little and sent to time-out a lot, but spanking tuishies doesn't happen all that often. I guess I'll just have to be okay with being a "Half Mom!"

We recently attended a church meeting for Madelyn because she has a very exciting birthday this year...turning 8 and getting baptized. We had been in church from 2-5pm and then returned at 7 for this meeting.  So the boys were tired, restless and of course irreverent.  We finally got Jalen to sit still when he chose to sprawl out across the chairs, lying down. At least he was being quiet!! And actually, he was being so still, I thought he might actually fall asleep! The bishop was talking to the kids about the Holy Ghost and His purpose.  He was asking them, "Can your parents always be with you to make sure you're making good choices?" No..the kids responded. The question was thrown out there, "So then if your parents can't always be with you, who can?" The room was dead silent. Then Jalen yells out, "the babysitter!" It was so hilarious! I guess he really was listening.

Last night, the State of the Union Address was on and therefore, American Idol was not. Madelyn was disappointed and just couldn't understand why they wouldn't show American Idol but we could see the President's speech on every other channel! She didn't appreciate this. Jalen overheard Madelyn's frustration and looked up from coloring to simply but very matter-of-factly state, "American Idol got canceled Maddie. Someone got sick and threw up!"

I have been receiving cute little notes left behind from a "secret" person. I have a pretty good guess of who it is, but hey it's a secret so I shouldn't try and guess, right?!  Here is how the last one went...
"You have Rosey cheeks. Your voise is like a cherping bird. You smell like blue blosums. You are the best Mom!!"
Madelyn also is so quick to apologize, to forgive and forget.  When she is sent to her bedrooom for something she does wrong, I almost always get a sweet little note saying something like, "I am so so so sorry. Will you please forgive me? I promise I will do better at listening and not sassing. I love you! Please forgive me."  After reading her sweet words, my frustrations or anger with her completely go away and I truly appreciate her example to quickly and sincerely ask for forgiveness.
These little notes remind me how simple it is to not only express love and appreciation to others around me but more importantly how easy it is to forgive and forget. Whether it's laughter and fun into our home, or love and humility, I appreciate my kids for Just Sayin It Like It Is!!

Family Pictures

I've caught myself several times lately thinking, "Am I really a Mom of 3 kids, one of which will be 8 soon??" How did I get here so quickly? Where has the time gone? Am I doing things right? And even more so, am I really prepared to continue this journey because I realize life's challenges will only increase as my kids get older.  Will they continue to be excited after school to share their day's experiences? Will they still be cuddle bugs and give loves and kisses? How long will Friday movie and pizza night home with Mom and Dad be the coolest thing ever?

There's definately no answers to these questions.  As for now, I cling to my children's unconditional love, easiness to forgive my mistakes, their innocense, and their sweet and precious spirits.  I do treasure them.

We recently had family pictures taken.  Here are just a few of my favorites....

Photography by Bella Bean Photography

Girls Only!

Last month, I experienced one of the best weekends of my life!  I met up with my Mom and sisters in Seattle for a Girls Only Weekend. It was a blast! Although I am a little bias, I do think that I have the greatest Mom and Sisters ever.  I only wish I could see them more often...it truly makes me appreciate the time we do get to share and makes me love them even more.

Kera, Kristyn, Mckell, Meagan, Mom, Me, Natalie

Seattle...one of the most beautiful cities

I have ever visited

My older sister lives in Seattle so we all decided it was definately time to take a trip, visit and celebrate her birthday with her.  Kristyn was the best host! She was the cook, innkeeper, chauffer, and tour guide.  Not an easy job.  Her husband Thomas was such a gentlemen...making sure the fridge stayed stocked with Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper, assisting with transportation and most of all, being Dad so that Kristyn could enjoy the weekend with the girls.  Of course, I can't leave out Aiden. What a sweet boy! I wish I would have had room in my suitcase to take him home with me! He is the smartest, most kind-hearted and one of the cutest boys I know. I am a lucky aunt!

We had so much fun not only touring this amazing city, but also enjoying being together. Our first outing was seeing the sites of Seattle first class style...in a Duck Tour Bus/Boat Ride.  It was a BLAST!! We really had so much fun.

So this bus goes down into water and becomes a boat. First we saw many of the attractions down town on a bus ride and then went to the harbor, down in the water and floated around there.

Aiden with his quacker

We seriously had the best tour guide ever! He was the man with many hats, had clever stories and music that went along with all the sites and attractions. He was a riot!

Being the birthday girl, Kristyn got to (had to?!) wear a duck hat and dance up and down the isles. (I know...just what you want to do for your birthday!) But she was such a good sport and definately had some pretty good moves!

Some of the attractions were Safeco Field, the building where Grey's Anatomy is filmed, the Space Needle and the famous Sleepless in Seattle home.

So I'm going to share a blonde moment I had.  While on the duck tour, one sign caught my attention: "ALL CLOTHING 100% off! Free admission"   I thought, Wow! They're having a great sale and it's free to get in! I leaned over and said to the girls, we need to check that out. Probably some great shopping in there.  Kristyn's response, "I don't think we want to go in there." Why, I ask. "Because it's a strip club!" Of course it is! Now, I do have to say that I couldn't see the top of the sign, the "Lusty Lady's" part. Being in the duck bus blocked the entire view! At least we all got a good laugh about that one. 

We absolutely loved the duck ride tour

The next day we drove to a beautiful city north of Seattle called Leavenworth. It is a cute little shopping and tourist German town.

We ate lunch in an authentic German restaurant. I was the only one not brave enough to try the food...I stuck with a chicken salad. I know boring huh. But the others got the real stuff... wienerschnitzel, bratwurst goulash, and sauerbraten. (I was glad I stuck with a salad!)

We had so so much fun shopping...very cute and original purses, jeans, jewelery, and our biggest treasure the "Beanie Band". We're not sure the real name, but that's what we named them. They are so cute.  My sweet mom bought us all one and we wore them the rest of the day.  We got so many compliments and people asking where we got them. Seriously, when we bought them there were like 30 in the store. When we left to go home we stopped in the store to say goodbye and tell them everyone loves the beanie bands and they already sold at least 20 more! The plan is for us to go into business...we shall see!

More fun shopping...

Thanks Leavenworth for the beautiful and quaint town, fun shopping day, and lasting memories!

So in the van, Natalie found a strap to pull, which surprised us both...it flipped the seat backwards and down we went! We had a good, long laugh!

The first night we were at Kristyn's, we were discussing missing our cousin Mckell and wanting her there with us. She truly is one of us.  So we got planning.  By 1:30am, we had a plane ticket purchased, thanks to Kristyn so willing to share her hard-earned sky miles. "Anything for Mckell", she said. Mckell was pulling an all-nighter studying so that she could be prepared to take a test Friday before leaving for the airport.  Call us crazy, I know, but it was so so worth it! The big surprise was that my mom had already gone to bed when this planning took place, so we decided to not tell her and just surprise her.  We made up a little story...I realized that I had forgotten a gift bag on the airplane. (It was Kristyn's birthday afterall.) I pretended to call the airport and discovered that they had it, so we took a trip back to the airport to retrieve this "special package." My mom believed every word. Here is the anticipation on our ride to the airport...

I went into the airport to retrieve the "special package" and came out with Mckell!! My mom was shocked!

Oh, how I just love surprises!!

We were all so happy to have Mckell with us

The next morning, we visited Pike's Street and the market.

Of course we watched the buying and selling of the fresh fish, which entails the fish being thrown around.  Nat wanted a little more excitment and she got what she asked for! The workers placed a bottle on the top of her head and then threw a fish over her head to the worker behind the counter, with the goal to knock over the bottle but hopefully not smack her face with the fish! It was suspenseful, but good to report the workers were successful...they knocked over the bottle and Natalie didn't leave with a fish smelling face!

 I was trying to stay in the back, out of sight because there was a little old man creeping around scaring and startling people with this crawfish.  Because I was so occupied with avoiding him, what I didn't see was one of the workers pick up a giant squid and start walking towards me. Yikes! It freaked me out! I started running away...and he followed. That was enough for me, we were out of there!

 

There is a famous "gum wall" downtown.  Years ago, they tried removing all the gum and cleaning it up, but people kept coming back and putting their gum on the wall.  Now, it's just accepted and attracts people to add their own gum to it.

Of course, Nattles had to contribute!

One day we took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. It was beautiful.  The green foilage is unbelievable (especially coming from the desert!) And all the fall colors...very pretty. By the way, isn't my mom so beautiful? She is such an amazing and talented person. I love her so much! I feel so blessed to have her as my Mom. It is because of her that we as daughters and family love to be together. So thank you, Mom and thanks to my sisters as well for making this trip and all our time together so wonderful!