A SLurPY kinda day...

My SMALL reminder.....of what's important...

Little arms make my BIG load seem light!

Today was one of those days....the weeds have overtaken the yard. I went to town with a bush trimmer, a rake and garden tools to get my yard into shape before the fall air hits our home front. My five year old got hold of the cleaning fever and ran back and forth between me and her dad. She sprayed off the cars and gathered weeds and debri to throw in the trash can. "I'm gonna help you and daddy today," she beamed.

Having been outside for half the day already she could see I was getting tired. "Dad...I need to help mommy some more"...as she gathered a handful of freshly cut bushes. We visited and visited and she asked me whose turn it was to do the dishes....mine I replied. "MOM, I'll be back in a minute." Twenty minutes later she ran outside to tell me she had done the dishes and cleared out the dishwasher. "Mom....I did the dishes for you so you can take a break....I even cleaned out the dishwasher!" As I about passed out she stated matter of factly," So, mom....does that mean, I don't have to make my bed tomorrow. Absolutely....NO bed making for you tomorrow, was my reply...as a smile hit my face.

She ran in to gather some tissue for my nose that began to bleed, due to the hot sun. " No worries mom....I will take care of you." We took turns going around and around our maple tree wrapping its trunk preparing it for the winter storms. We both laid down as Brooklyn stated, "Mom, let's be done today....how about we just lay here under this big tree and you hold me?"

What a trooper. I was amazed at her thoughtfulness , her desire to help others. I stopped.....we didn't finish anymore that day. But even better....we laid down under the shade of the maple tree. We talked and talked some more. A trip to get a giant slurpee was made...and we sipped our drinks on the porch, and we visited some more. I was grateful for such an awesome daughter, a great friend....little hands that wanted to serve others. I was especially glad to stop and be reminded of the little things along my day.... I recognized what a big heart my little one has. She has so much love to share. Weeding and pruning, can make a yard beautiful. Time with my daughter, holding each other under our big shade tree ,and a day to sip slurpies....even better!

My baby girl cracks me up!!!

Bows...Ribbons....and more....

Tomboy meets Princess... age 4

#1 Ball Hog- age 4

Lovin' the dirt....

Brooklyn- age 1

Okay, this is my daughter....she is now 5....and sometimes she makes me laugh SO hard. Because I like girly things, I tend to place them on my baby. Lots of pink, loads of hair bows, nail polish, sticker earrings....etc. etc. etc. It doesn't seem to matter what I place on her, if she finds dirt she will play. She not only will play,....she will squish it, smear it, wear it, and dump it on her head. She loves to wrestle and I had to tell her the other day that church was just not an appropriate place to do so. I catch her picking up BUGS....IICCKKK!!!! and loving it!!! She can ride skateboards, do jumps on her bikes, build tall building with Lego's, and anything else the boys love to do. I keep smiling and know it's gonna be okay because she has a bow in her hair. Today, I smiled however, when she missed her gymnastic class. I was exercising with a friend of mine. We both looked at each other and wondered who was carpooling? We both thought it was each other. Needless to say, Brooklyn waited home with her dad for a ride that never came to take her to gymnastics. When I returned home....I broke the news to her. I told her we would have to have a make up class. Well, to my surprise, she beamed! Oh Yeah!!! a makeup class....what colors will they have, do I get lipstick? I had to laugh. I'm so thrilled amongst all the boyish fun she is having....that makeup is still on her priority list....but hopefully not until much, much later.

The RAINMAN is beautiful....

Mr. Peek, Kim Peek, Kristy and Chad visiting with heroes

Kim Peek is the real life Rain Man whom the Dustin Hoffman character was based in the movie. Described as a confounding mixture of disability and brilliance, Kim is in love with knowledge. Kim Peek is probably the world's most famous savant. Kim was diagnosed as being mentally retarded at birth, but with father Fran's unflagging support he has developed a memory that is without equal.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kim has lived here all of his life. The local library is Kim's favourite place in the world. Kim devours books on anything and everything, as many as eight in a day. He reads at a phenomenal rate, a page that may take you or I three minutes will take Kim about 10 seconds. He reads the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye and will retain about 98% of it. He has 15 subject areas but about the only thing he can't do is, he can't reason out mathematical problems.

Kim Peek may be the greatest savant we have ever known, he is certainly the best known and more than entitled to be referred to as a mega-savant.
He can recall thousands of zip codes, phone codes, dates and countless facts and figures. He has a truly awesome memory. Is he autistic? Probably, but like Daniel Tammett, not in the conventional sense. He was originally diagnosed with autism but this was later changed.

Kim Peek's father shared his story with us today, before Kim passed on. We held his golden globe award that has been proudly tarnished and weathered by many who have held the great beast that he treasures. We enjoyed each others company and were grateful for the administering angels that kept him from being locked up in an institution somewhere. A love for Kim's father became a reality when he shared of the experiences he had for his son. The incredible sacrifices that was made, and the unconditional love he felt, in my eyes has won a greater reward for Kim. We wish him well in the new journey he has begun...

My diamonds in the rough

and....their MINE!!!

Mothers day was full of whimsical nick knacks that my kids made at scouts and school as well as homemade cards pieced together. My husband who is so sweet, offered to buy me a Mothers Day gift last minute....comments were shared as to what would I like??? I really, honestly don't NEED anything, but really wanted a tiller so I could plant my garden in freshly churned soil. Wrestling with the clay patches every year in our backyard was enough to want anyone to cement the entire backyard in. A last minute trip to Sears and wallah.....my wish was granted and my back will not go out this year trying to till the garden up by hand, thanks sweetie!! My husband laughs at me and joked that maybe I will get him flowers or a spa treatment for Fathers Day. mmmmm....maybe not a bad idea.....

My favorite thing was the letter that my husband wrote that he does each year for me and for his own mother. I love the sweet gesture, and the time he takes to really put some thought into how he feels, I absolutely look forward to it every year.

The kids put a giant smile on my face as they brought home Primary letters on what they thought they knew about me.....such as....Did you know that my favorite dessert is frosting. And favorite restaurant is Arctic Circle, I am apparently NOT good at wrestling and I am having a good time having fun, and don't enjoy working. But hey, my favorite thing to do is play play and then play some more. My favorite song is Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, and I am a mere 31 years old?? I got an uplift at knowing I am good at EVERYTHING. ha, ha...and oh, I am definitely awesome and the bomb according to my second child who loved to draw bombs all over his Mothers Day tribute. Alas, my children might not know EVERYTHING about me, my favorite color, or even what my choice of flower is....but they do know I LOVE THEM. I know they know it, and I can see it in their faces as I reach out to hold and hug them over and over and over.

Gratitude hit me hard this Mothers Day. I recognize the sacrifices mothers make for their family is all worth it. The sacrifices are nothing compared to a lifetime of beautiful memories and precious lives that we get to help raise.

A New Favorite: Cello meets Piano: Love Story Meets Love Story by Jon Schmidt (Taylor Swift Remix) Love It!!!!

Monster Concert

String Instruments Blared through the night...

Violin lessons....carrying an instrument back and forth from school...early mornings...practicing...

Oh, how I thought this might be a short term fetish....but I was wrong.

The day Jaren craddled his new instrument in his hands....a love affair almost instantly began. Jaren came home after his first day of class and said his teacher wanted them to only pluck the strings for a while....but not this boy, he heard his teacher say that soon they would play songs that will become favorites. A mention of Jaws...the shark coming out of water was definately something Jaren couldn't wait to get his hands on, ...so, he came straight home, with bow in hand and started scaring everyone with the Jaws performance he plucked out just like he had been playing the violin for years.

Honestly, I REALLY wanted him to perfect the piano first. But doing both was fun for him. After all, life is short and should be played hard. The hard work to get to this point has been fun to watch. A talented ear, plucks out beautiful music. Keep on playing Jaren. My only fear now, is...he has visions of an electric guitar, and maybe, just maybe the drums. Yikes!

More Cheesie Noodles......Please!

Mac & Cheese is ALWAYS a winner at playgroup.

Ashlyn, Abby, Brooklyn, Klair, & Sienna

Enjoying Mouthfuls of the gooey, yummy cheese laden noodles that fill small tummies. Without fail, it almost seems like they are having their own little noodle party. These girls go CRAZY over macaroni & cheese. So,basically, this has become our staple and almost a tradition every time the girls get together. They are SO darn cute!! YUM-O!!!

Exploring Cache County

This Is The Place

Dressing Up to present San Juan County

Cade and Austin showing off their floats....It was fun to see their eyes light right up when you asked them about their projects. Cool floats, guys! Way to go!

Double Digits

Look Who's 10!

Cade loves to tinker with pinballs and old game machines,so he chose to take a few friends to Nickel Cade...he jokes about the name, and says they named it after him. Cade was taken out of school on his birthday to go to lunch with his Mom and Dad at his choice of Crown Burger...he loves their pastrami burger, and hey, the fry sauce is so worth getting checked out of school for. We enjoyed visiting with him and he loved having an escape from the ordinary.

Ethan & Cade

What would a party be....without cousins?

An all out punching balloon war ensued the moment we got to home base.

Coin cups, racing, and telling quirky jokes while eating tacos made this day worth remembering. Cade is such a sweetheart, I love the life he breathes, the little sparkle that is in his eyes each day. I absolutely love this little boy who is growing up. I will continue to celebrate Cade. What a blessing it is to have him. I am so grateful he is a part of my life. Happy Birthday Cade.

JAZZ rocks the HOUSE!!!

FOUR BOYS & FIVE TICKETS later...

Gearing up for the Big WIN...Purple & White....

Jazz...vs. L.A. Lakers...

A date night with MOM and the boys...

Cade, Corbin, D.J., and Jaren wanted to get there early for the Jazz playoffs. Balloon swords were made, racket clappers were hit so many times, they fell apart. The concession stands had way too many options... We were poking at our rival team that was screaming behind us the entire time with our balloon swords. They laughed and screamed louder.

The boys wanted to see the players, reap from the free handouts and get prime seats. At the end of the game, however, I made a run for it, with a tied score and only one and a half minutes on the clock. A nervous mom....driving among party animals and drunk drivers in an overpopulated city was very scary for me. We raced to the car radio to hear the final score....WE WON!!!! My husband, just about died on the spot in unbelief that I didn't watch the grand finale. Well,....it was an awesome game, but time out with my boys was the highlight in my book. Go, Jazz!!!