We used to know a family who had several teenage boys. When the fighting got out of hand the punishment was that they had had to sit on a bench in front of the house holding hands. We
thought that was the best idea and mentally filed it away because we knew it would come in handy someday. Yesterday, Carson's pestering and followed by Baden's screaming brought to memory that punishment for fighting. Since we don't have a bench, I decided to kick it up a notch and have them walk down the street and back holding hands.


Haven't had to break up a fight since.

I love being a mom.

treasures

Water balloons, rocks and smarties wrappers. A sampling of the surprises that come with doing laundry around here.

Clara's first swim

she liked it.

Priest Lake 2009

(click to enlarge)

Next year's reunion can't come soon enough.
We had fun, fun, fun! Despite the cooler temps.

We've been back for awhile, but loads of laundry, yard work, tomatoes, catching stupid mice (AHHHHHH!), and everything else have kept us busy. Why is coming back to reality is so hard? My kids don't know what to do with themselves. Bored out of their minds. Maybe it's time for school to start.

before every family trip the car MUST be cleaned out

you know . . . to make room for the new crumbs as well as all the sand and pine needles we will bring home with us

It really stinks when the forecast for your yearly vacation to the lake looks like this:Stinks big time.

Clara @ 3 months

Where has the time gone?

Reunion

Yesterday we had a big family reunion. Those unable to attend were missed. See you next year!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the belly flop competition.
Or the doggie paddle relay. (participants ages 7-50+ !)
I don’t even have a picture of my cute cousins who held and played with my girls, so I didn’t have to. I’ll return the favor in a couple of years.

But, I did get a picture of this. An aunt and uncle pyramid with Grandma in the front. You can see why we have so much fun together.
And this picture of my cheeky baby.

How about this one of my kids lip syncin’ and air guitarin’ it to Barbara Ann? Some like to perform more than others. . . Our family was embarassingly “out-talented” in the Family Talent Show.

3 observations

1.
apparently, finally, having your own room isn't all it's cracked up to be

2.
lounging in a bathing suit on the rocks is only comfortable when you're two


3.
the mother of this darling baby is

definitely not losing weight as fast as she is gaining

I look out the window and what do I see?

Oh, that would be my boys taking turns sitting in a dirty old bucket filled with water.

And to think I'd contemplated purchasing one of those big fancy schmancy water slides.

Sometimes I forget they can be so easily (and cheaply) entertained.

When she's not eating yogurt with her sunglasses upside down,
she's waking up her baby sister or begging for some ice cream.
Either one is a pretty safe bet.

Things that made my day (yesterday)

With Chandler being in school all day I think I've been missing out on some of the humor he has to offer. So summer has reminded me of how funny he can be. Well, at least to his mother. Here is a sampling of things he said today that made today so worth it.

When I saw that Michael Jackson died, I told the kids and Chandler said, "I can't believe Michael Jackson died! He's was like my favorite singer. At least the Beach Boys are still alive."

Somehow Chandler "accidentally" pushed Baden off his bed and so Baden was hurt. Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of the teeth. I was feeding Clara so I couldn't help Baden out, so I told Chandler that I wanted him to console Baden. He kept refusing to do it and finally I ask why he won't obey me and he starts crying and in-between sobs says, "Because I'm a man! And men don't do those sorts of things." (it was really funny and I lost all sensitivity and started laughing, but really I'm gonna bust the chops of the macho man who is feeding him such lies. And I know it's not Brian.)

I was trying to pull a fast one on them tonight and skip reading scriptures, but Carson set me straight so I repented and summarized the story of Abraham and Isaac. When I finished Chandler said, "Mom, don't you read the Bible? That is not how it ended." Then he proceeds to tell about the sheep in the thorny bush etc... Then he asks me if I need to borrow his Bible stories. I've been sufficiently humbled.

Stop the clock!

My babe is 2 months old.

Growing, growing, growing!

We love her overpowering cheeks and her serious nature (she's got some Lybbert genes).One thing we know for certain. It is virtually impossible for a baby to get too much lovin'.

She's a keeper, that's for sure.

My saving grace

I'll be flying solo for half the week so my cousin, Katie Sue, has come to the rescue. She arrived yesterday and I don't think she's left Kate's side since she got here. She even slept on the floor by her crib! It's got me thinking that adopting an 11 year old might be a brilliant idea.

Wednesday Letters

I love reading the weekly emails from my brother Andrew who is on a mission. But, I have to say the one he sent today is my favorite. He's right. It's all about obedience and sacrifice. Good lessons to remember.

FUN

Napoleon style

Thanks for the Costco tip, Debie!

Last Day of School

Some of us are more excited than others.
I'll let you guess who's who.


Chandler 2nd grade Carson Kindergarten

I have approximately 67 hours to figure out how exactly I will keep myself these bundles of energy busy all SUMMER LONG!

Care to share what you will be doing to keep your children entertained?
I'd love some ideas...

So happy to have her around.

Clara's Day

Yesterday was Clara's blessing day.
It was a special day for our family.
Brian gave her a beautiful blessing.
She wore a beautiful dress my mom made her. (based on only a picture!)
After church we had a delicious meal and enjoyed the company of family.
You will just have to believe me that the day was wonderful because the pictures that were captured towards the end of our day don't do it justice.

See what I mean?


We are going to have to try again another day.

Help

(so nice to have another helper when I need it the most!)

Life is beautiful

(if only they'd bloom all year long)

Doesn't this little video make you want to keep a little notebook and a pen by your bed?
Sure makes me want to.
In fact I'm going to.

to do this weekend:

• kiss my one month old's cheeks (oh those cheeks! can they be any cuter?)

• and if there's time get a handle on all this laundry (again!)

happy warm weekend!

Lucky

My sweet neighbor Marilyn knocked on my door Friday afternoon. As I opened the door the 3 boys and Kate barreled down the stairs to greet her. She looked at them and then me with Clara in my arms and said, "Natasha, you are so lucky! Look at them. You are so lucky!" It lifted my spirits. I needed that reminder.

After she left I thought how different I would have felt had she come in and said, "You have got your hands full!" or "Five kids! What were you thinking?" I'm sure I would have felt overwhelmed and crazy!

But instead, I felt lucky. And I am!

So when the going gets tough, I'm going to remember: I am lucky!

I'm also going to remember: Positive remarks can make or break someone's day.

Keep it positive. We're all lucky. Don't you think?

4 year old logic

Baden:
It would be a lot better if everyone in the world was a bee.

Me:
Why?

Baden:
Because then whenever they went by a plant they could pollinate it.


Makes perfect sense.
Everyone needs a Baden in the family.

Thankful

that croup isn't contagious.

that my 5th baby likes, no, LOVES the swing.

blue cups

simplifying things around here

loaded in the dishwasher at night
unloaded from the dishwasher in the morning
no longer do we have a bazillion blue cups everywhere

the next best thing to having a drinking fountain installed

Would you believe these two darlings robbed me (and Brian) of sleep last night?
Well, believe it!

Thankfully, joy cometh in the morning.
(I read this talk last week as suggested by my father. When I was done reading I knew why he'd offered up the suggestion. It's helping me through this "transition". So, listen to your fathers.)

Day 10

See?

She really is a bundle.
She just fell asleep on my shoulder, I better go put myself to sleep as well.

11:02 pm

Miss bright eyes doesn't know we are suppose to be asleep at this hour.

Chandler turned 8 on Tuesday!Luckily, Clara and I came home from the hospital so we could join in the celebration.
I love that he got all decked out in his new scout uniform for the festivities.
He wanted to wear the get-up to school, but dad wouldn't let him.
Next Wednesday can't come soon enough for this new Wolf.

But what he's the most excited about is getting baptized on Saturday.
He said "when your 8, you get the best present. The gift of the Holy Ghost."
I couldn't agree more.

head over heals...

Update

I've got myself about 5 more days of pregnancy thanks to a body that's not quite ready. And no, I'm not disappointed. I'm relieved. Now I have time to get a few more things done. Because we all know how much time I'm not going to have after next week. However, I do believe a certain 4 year old is going to be very distraught when I pick him up from preschool.

Time to get to work.

We had to take advantage of this rare opportunity to snap a picture of all three sisters pregnant at the same time.
It is very likely to not occur ever again.


Can you see the HUGE growth spurt I underwent these last two weeks?
The million dollar question is this:
Will I still be barefoot and pregnant tomorrow?
Stay tuned to find out.
Frankly, I'm dying to know myself.

Easter snapshots

After church family picture. Probably our last picture as a family of six. I know it looks really weird how I'm holding on to Carson's pants, but he kept trying to leave.

Customary before church picture. As usual ended up with me frustrated and asking aloud, "why can't we ever get a decent picture of you kids!" This one is the best one, and would be even better if missy would quit untying her bow.

This is my favorite picture of the day because apparently Carter thinks that getting your picture taken with your cousins and Nana & Papa is painful.

We had such a nice day and it was a special treat to have Devin & Kendra and Candace and her boys to spend it with. (Cody spent his Easter on a plane to Japan.)

Can't please 'em all

Monday night I made stuffed shells for dinner. It was no secret that Chandler didn't like them (big surprise). As we were cleaning up the dishes he muttered, "The only thing good about this dinner was the water."

Hey, at least he's honest.

Whoa Baby!

(Proof for those strangers who said a couple months ago, "you must be due any day now," I do get bigger.

2 weeks left for Brian and I to agree on her name.
Have any to throw our way?

Good lesson for Family Home Evening tonight.

Miss Smarty Pants

Trouble I tell ya!

And just when I didn't think I could take the cold weather another day...thank you warm(er) weather. Much nicer for walks along the river.

It's our semi-annual favorite time of the year again.

General Conference.
We all, minus Kate, wrote down our questions and readied to hear the answers.
(some for longer than others)
We have heard some answers come, and the rest will surely be heard during tomorrow's sessions.

This little cozy fest was take during the first 3 minutes of the morning session.
It quickly dispersed and was never seen again.
Good thing we snapped a picture.

This family of 6 is thankful for the wonders of modern technology that allow us to watch and listen to the words of the Prophet and apostles 600+ miles away.
See for yourself, here.

Spring...what?

I'm just trying to figure out where the whole "Break" comes in, cause I'm not seeing it.
I've got three words for next year,"get outta here."
You too???

My babies

Will the next one break the mold?
Doubtful.
We'll be finding out a little sooner than we thought.
Like 12 days sooner.
I might just have to outsource my honey-do list.

Letter

Sunday afternoon the boys were going a little nutso, so we gave them the task to write Uncle Andrew. Chandler wrote the following letter all by himself. Possibly the cutest letter I've ever read (but I am biased).
Andrew's going to love it!(click to enlarge)

Giving in

Baden has had his birthday party planned for months now. I have no option, but to give him one. He's so excited he can hardly stand it. Just a simple birthday party. Since he's 4 I'm thinking that 4 little boys will be the limit. For starters I got the invite done (how great that I had the perfect picture filed away). I'm thinking a dress-up clothes relay would be appropriate (think Clark Kent) and maybe some relays with superhero capes, to get them good and tired before they go home. Any other ideas for me?

Bingo!

So excited to find exactly what I've been looking for to put in "The Girls' Room"... at Wal-Mart no less!
Free site-to-store shipping is the bomb.
So is shopping while sitting with feet up and laptop on my lap.

Remarkable

Look who fell asleep with me holding her this afternoon.
I don't remember the last time she did that.
Almost made me forget the 15 minutes of tantrum preceding this sweet moment.

How the day went down.

• Got out of bed at 8 am (daylight savings fault)
• Serenaded Brian “happy birthday” (32!)
  
• Sent Chandler to school without combing his hair
• Searched and found a bench (for a deal) to replace buckets in suburban
• Googled “how to cut your own hair”
• Took a Pepcid
• Told Baden his drawing of bears was really cool
• Reminded Carson 1.2 million times to put his shoes on
• Ate lunch and ice cream cake
• Cut (not trimmed) my own hair impulsively
• Sent the birthday boy to catch a plane (sorry your birthday dinner was going through the drive-thru of Wendy’s for chicken sandwich)
• Picked up children from school
• Watched it hail
• Waited for both boys’ soccer practices to be canceled
  
• Recruited some help for Relief Society Birthday Dinner
• Made appointment to get hair fixed
• Fixed dinner consisting of waffles and strawberries, and maybe we didn’t eat till 7:30 pm (hey the light was throwing me off)
• Watched it snow
• Put Kate to bed
• Put boys to bed
• Issued threats to boys not going to bed
• Enjoyed the peace & quiet
  

It would appear I didn't accomplish much. You got to have a day like that every once in awhile. Right?

Now, I’m going to bed with Pepcid within arms reach.

Look who's two!

(tomorrow)

(since typing this post she has undone her hair-do, demanded another bath, changed into another outfit and different pair of shoes. got me wrapped around her little finger? maybe...)

The good news is she's a completely normal 2 year old. She throws a mean tantrum (all credit goes to Kate for me not blogging this week. "close it" she says. i place blame on the 3 molars cutting through), says hi to strangers, REFUSES to sit in the cart at the store and thinks it's funny to hide from me, likes to go anywhere but home, and thinks that a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes and by golly all of them must be tried on every day!

We are set to party this weekend. There may or may not be pictures forthcoming. You know how that goes.