A Day In The Life

I decided it is time to get back to blogging a little.  I may never have as much time to dedicate to it as I used to, but this is the best way I have found for keeping a history of our family.  So, hopefully I'm back.  I may or may not ever "catch up" on what I didn't blog, but I'm going forward either way.  I decided to write this post because life is crazy busy right now.  I remember not long after Dylan was born, pulling out a journal my mom had kept when I was a baby and reading through it.  It was so comforting to hear her life as a young mother.  She was on the phone one time and I had gotten into the garbage and was flinging banana peels all over the kitchen.  Another time, I'd managed to spill an entire  bottle of vegetable oil on the kitchen floor and was happily "swimming" through the mess.  It helped me realize "this too shall pass" and that she was real too.  Life is busy and it may not calm down any time soon, but some day far into the future, I want to look back at these days  and remember them with fondness.  So here is just a random day.  Nothing special.  Just a normal day in the life.

Caleb was super fussy going to sleep last night, which threw his sleeping schedule off.  I woke up at 1:30 a.m. to feed him.  As I was changing his diaper at 1:45 a.m., Marissa wandered in sleeping and whiny saying she needed to go to the bathroom.  Took her to the bathroom, got her a sippy cup of water, and put her back in bed.  At 3:30 a.m. I heard Marissa starting with a croupy cough.  She's apparently caught some sort of bug again.  Not bad enough to worry too much, but something to keep an eye on in the nights to come.  At 5:45 a.m. I hear Marissa scream.  I think to myself, "NO!  This cannot be happening again."  Stupid daylight savings time and kids waking other kids.  Preston has been WAY OFF lately!  A good thing and a bad thing (since it usually means he's about to have major progress developmentally, but it's difficult to deal with in the meantime).  I took Preston out of his own bed and put him in Marissa's room alone and told him to go back to sleep.  Crisis averted.  Marissa and Dylan settle back into sleep without getting up before 6 a.m. for the day.  I feed Caleb again and put him back to sleep.

Marcos gets up, showers, and heads out the door at 6:30 a.m. to give plasma.  Our tight, one-income budget requires drastic measures to allow me to stay home with the kids.  He heads back home to grab breakfast at 7:45 a.m.  I hop in the shower and head downstairs to make breakfast for the crew.  I'm exhausted, but it's time to get moving.  Marcos checks messages and scheduling for work while he inhales his food.  I attempt to keep the kids relatively quiet while they eat so he can multi-task.  Dylan packs Marcos a lunch to take with him (he loves being helpful like that).  Marcos finishes up his work and heads out the door to visit patients.

Dylan starts his piano practicing at 8:30 a.m.  It's supposed to happen while I make breakfast so I can oversee the process, but we don't waste time, but it rarely does.  Now I have to try to stick around to listen to him practice when I need to help Marissa get dressed, brush teeth, and do her hair.  I get her settled and go check on Preston.  He is supposed to be doing his morning chores, which include making his bed, brushing his teeth, getting dressed and emptying the dishwasher.  He hasn't done any.  He is either really quick and gets everything done or it takes me all day helping, encouraging, and reminding him.  Today was the latter.

Despite Preston dragging his feet, I gather the kids for morning devotional.  This consists of song, prayer, pledge, calendar and weather, scriptures (illustrated simplified version) and a story from The Friend magazine.  Caleb wakes up hungry so I feed him while we finish devotional and work on memorization.  Dylan pretty much has the theme memorized for his Knights of Freedom group so we work on Articles of Faith.  He knows them, but forgets a word here and there so we are reviewing.
Marissa smiles through her memorization of the first Article of Faith.  Preston starts to throw a fit and then decides he will do it, but his own way.  Oh dear, it's going to be one of those days for him.

Dylan gets started with his independent subjects.  He's getting pretty good at working on his own.  He knows if he gets going, the day goes better and he is more likely to get time with friends if they are available to play.  Marissa hops on my lap with several story books so I spend some time reading to her while I hold Caleb and Preston stands up by the dishwasher thinking about starting his morning routine.  After what feels like 20 books, I get Preston to at least get dressed and brush his teeth and come join me for his subjects (reading, writing, and math).  He fights it for a second and then gets excited all over again.  His reading goes well.  It's coming along much better than I ever expected.  Although he is probably between a kindergarten and 1st grade level, he is MUCH further than I ever expected him to be at this point.  It takes a lot of patience and dedication to work with him on a regular basis, but he is getting there.

Caleb gets fussy so I put him down for another nap.  Still no regular schedule of naps, but a pattern of eating, playing and then sleeping.  His play time was long and now he is ready for the next rest period.  Dylan finishes everything he can do on his own and we still have 20 minutes until I think about lunch.  That's just enough time to hit a language arts lesson and/or his writing lesson for the day (both which require my help).  They are shorter than expected so we get through both and I start lunch while I give him his spelling words.  Prayer is said, sandwiches eaten, and many words spelled correctly.  It's a Thursday so Dylan has a geography class at 1:00 p.m.  He finishes spelling and lunch in time to head out the door to his class.

Somehow Preston gets a second wind and gets his dishwasher unloaded.  Hallelujah!  Since Dylan loading dishes depends on Preston getting his done, that cycle can become a problem in a hurry.  Now Dylan can maybe load dishes in the afternoon before there are even more added to the sink at dinner.

I feed Caleb again and read a couple books to Marissa and Preston.  Marissa brings me her cupcake fairy puzzle and we all put that together with Caleb cooing along with our conversation.  Dylan comes home and two friends join us.  Dylan is working with a new scout to help him get his Bobcat as one of his scouting requirements, and another friend joins us because her mom has an appointment.  We only have about an hour before our next commitment.  They quickly work on learning the scout promise and then commence playing.  The scout session/play date ends and Dylan walks one friend home after the other is picked up by her mom.  I get out a matching game, an Eye Spy preschool game, 6 books and a puzzle for Dylan to work with Marissa while I take Preston to music class.  I am helping with his class this year, which is awesome.  I knew I needed more time with him alone and it's been a bonus because his teacher is swapping our music tuition for the family in exchange for helping her.  Wa-hoo!  Free stuff is always good. However, Marcos recently got his Sons of Helaman group up and running and his second job overlaps with the time I am gone.  I didn't have a babysitter for Caleb lined up yet so I got him fed, and prayed he would sleep and be good while we were there so I could still be helpful.  Dylan is great with the other two kids, but I don't dare leave him with the baby just yet.  Marcos stops by for a paper he forgot and to change into his suit since he has a church meeting right after his group ends.  So he went from donating plasma to work all day, to his second job, to a church meeting.  I will see him again around 9:00 p.m.  Busy day!  I get Dylan settled with activities he can do with Marissa, feed the baby, and head out the door with Preston and Caleb.

We get back from music class, I feed Caleb again, and get dinner started.  Thankfully I've actually gone through to make a two-week menu since we are being super careful with money and trying to be somewhat healthy as well.  YIKES!  Dinner is a lot of work even with a plan.  Dylan loads dishes while I cook and we chat for a bit.  In the process he tells me I am one of his heroes.  I thank him, but he repeats it with more feeling, "No really, Mom!  You're one of my heroes.  You're one of the coolest people I know.   You can do everything so well!  You're such a good cook.  And, well, you can do anything.  I don't know how, but you just can."  One of the better moments of being a mom.  Makes all the hard work worth it somehow.  I feed the family (minus Marcos who will have to eat when he gets home), get fussy Caleb settled for his "mini-nap" before he eats and goes to bed for the night, and head upstairs to bathe Preston and Marissa (who have made many messes all throughout the house while I was making dinner).  I debate whether or not I will have the energy to clean up the tornado that occurred while I had to do a million other things.  I get lotion, essential oils (yeah, we use those too...we're the weird home school, natural birth, essential oil family now.  Mock if you must!) and pajamas on Preston and Marissa, read a handful of books to them while they alternate who gets to choose the next one, and say family prayer with Dylan, Preston, and Marissa.

Dylan hops in the shower and comes to talk to me.  Marcos gets home, I warm him up some food, he changes clothes, and reads to Dylan.  Knights of Freedom is with dads this month and they have one week left to finish their book.  Gotta get in reading whenever they can.  Dylan gets to stay up a little later, but at least gets a little one-on-one time with Marcos.  I'm completely spent and opt for listening to a general conference talk while I straighten up a bit rather than struggling to stay awake reading my scriptures and waking up to the complete disaster that is my house.  Marcos helps me clean up and we both head to bed, lucky to even get our teeth brushed for the night.

Yep, I'm exhausted just reading about the day!  Is every day that busy?  No, but in general there isn't much downtime for either of us.  It's a super crazy, busy life.  We don't fill our lives with extras that aren't necessary, but the things we have chosen that we feel are important for our lives keep us very busy.  We know these are the busy years that require sacrifice.  It's a crazy life, but it's definitely a great life!

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Caleb's Birth

I am overwhelmed with emotion as I think back over the past few days.  I like to plan.  I like knowing what is going to happen.  And in general, it has been difficult for me to move forward with faith during stressful times.  But I'm learning.  As I reflect on the past several years, it amazes me just how much trials have prepared me for the future and the direction my life is supposed to take.  I don't even like to admit that out loud, but it's true.  As I reflect on my pregnancy, labor, and delivery with baby Caleb, that is what I see.  God's plan is so much more perfect that we can even imagine.  It takes so much faith and trust, which do not come natural to me, but it is simply amazing to see how well orchestrated his plans for his children are.

My pregnancy with Caleb was my most difficult by far.  I had a miscarriage before getting pregnant with him, which was very difficult emotionally.  To my surprise, finding faith to move forward and trusting that there was another child waiting to join our family after the miscarriage was very difficult for Marcos and I to come to terms with as a couple.  But when we took a leap of faith together, it was very apparent that Caleb was supposed to join our family and that he had been waiting for that opportunity.  The pregnancy was great until about month seven, when the previous back/hip problems I had had with Marissa began to surface.  It was a very long 3rd trimester with a lot of aches and pains that I hadn't experienced in my previous pregnancies.  By the time week 36 rolled around, I was counting down the days until Caleb's birth.  A little bit before that, I learned that my midwife would be having knee surgery and would not be back until a few days before my due date.  I felt the need to find another provider to see me so I would know the person who ended up delivering my baby.  I didn't connect emotionally with the provider I ended up choosing, but she had come highly recommended so I decided all would be fine.  It was...only not in the way that I originally thought.

A week before my official due date, I woke up and had some bleeding.  It was Sunday and Marcos was at bishopric meeting.  I had been told to go to the hospital if there was blood so I texted Marcos, called my mom to come get the kids, and packed a bag.  We arrived around 10 a.m. at the hospital and my mom kept the kids outside while she waited to see if I would be admitted.  As we walked up, Marcos said hi to one of the nurses.  It turns out that he works with Stacie.  Stacie's full time job is in labor and delivery at the hospital, but she works PRN for hospice.  She became our nurse.  I was dilated to a 4, but wasn't having many contractions so we decided to walk for awhile.  When she checked me again, I was dilated to a 5.  They were definitely admitting me.  I'm not sure if it was the lavendar essential oil she could smell on my feet or just a look on my face, but she asked if I was considering having a natural birth.  I actually had thought a lot about it, but never quite had the courage to address it fully or take a class or anything.  I told her that I hadn't taken any classes or prepared in any way, but that I had considered it many times.  She said that if I wanted to try, she was the person to help me through it.  Marcos immediately started figetting and getting nervous just at the suggestion of a natural birth.  I really appreciated Stacie helping him see his nervous reaction and put it in check.  She said, "Marcos, you are way more nervous than Maria.  You are going to need to relax if you want to be there for her and help make this happen."  And he did.  I'm not sure how, but he calmed himself quite a bit after that.  I was admitted and ended up in the natural birthing room, Rm 4504, which had a big soaking tub.  Awesome!

I was bummed when I learned that the "new" provider I had been seeing for the past few weeks was checked out for the weekend so I would have the OB who was on call.  I couldn't believe it would still end up being a stranger who delivered my baby.  We started walking laps again though and we saw her charting in the hall and eventually introduced ourselves.  She was awesome!  Just seeing and talking to her put my mind at ease.  I knew she was meant to be the one who delivered this baby.  It was just another tender mercy from the Lord.  First Stacie was on shift and ended up being our nurse and now Dr. Houpe would be our doctor.  It felt right and I felt very much at peace knowing the Lord had answered my prayers that everything would happen the way it was meant to happen.  We did laps and chatted for quite awhile, which was fun.  Marcos and I were joking and laughing and I'm sure everyone on the floor thought we were nuts...but it helped pass the time and relaxed me even more.  Eventually Stacie hooked me up with some Pitocin since my contractions weren't coming very regularly.  I was nervous for that part because Pitocin can make your contractions come on so strong all of a sudden, but she started me with a low-level and gradually increased it so my contractions were steady and getting progressively stronger.  I'm so glad she knew what she was doing.  She told me towards the beginning to focus on her and to trust her and she would help me through it.  That is exactly what I did.  

Stacie got out an exercise ball for me to sit on to help with the pain and pressure of the contractions.  It did help quite a bit.  At this point, I think we had decided to stay in the room.  Marcos turned on the TV I'm sure with every intention of finding something sports or news related to watch.  When he turned it on, the first channel that came on had nature scenes and relaxing music playing.  I thanked him and told him that I really thought that the pictures and music would help keep me calm and focused.  So here's the thing.  Nurturing comes more easily to some people than to others.  And men in general don't always get it.  They may need a bit more than a vibe to know what you need or expect of them.  For me, this experience helped me recognize the give and take that are required, and the need to find middle ground.  Sometimes I find myself ignoring things that are bothering me instead of addressing them until it is to the point I want to scream about some little thing that happened.  Marcos and I have been married 14 years.  You learn a lot of give and take in that period of time.  You learn to compromise and negotiate.  But I have to say, this was definitely a reminder to me about how important it is to communicate well and to make sure your needs are known and heard.  And there is a good way and a not so good way to do that.  This time, I was able to find a good way to do it.  Anyway, we watched the nature channel to help me focus and take my mind off the monotony of labor, and we saved Fox News and soccer for the recovery room.  It worked for both of us.  

When Stacie came back in to check on us, she mentioned I could get in the tub if I wanted.  I told her I would like to do that.  I am SO glad I did!  The hot water took the edge off of the contractions.  I sat in the soaking tub and listened to Marcos and Stacie talk a little bit about work and added a comment here and there.  In general, it was just nice to take the focus off of the pain while I tried to breathe through the contractions and remain calm and focused.  Stacie had one other patient so she was in and out of the room during this time.  Marcos had picked up a magazine and started reading it.  Again, I realized the importance of communicating my needs to him.  I just said, "Can you just put the magazine away and sit with me?"  I told him to just talk or tell me a story, but you know how when you ask someone to talk, they automatically cannot think of one thing to talk about.  So we sat in silence for a bit and he just held my hand.  I stayed in the tub until I was dilated to an 8.  At that point, Stacie told me I should probably stay on the bed in case I transitioned quickly.  

I remember my stomach dropping all of a sudden and thinking, "Oh my heck.  This is really happening.  There's no turning back now."  And I remember telling Stacie, "I'm really starting to get nervous."  I'm pretty sure that at that point I had something between the look of sheer terror and a deer caught in the headlights going for me.  I later learned from a friend who has had all her children without medicine that the "look" happens every time during the transition phase.  Good to know I wasn't completely crazy!  Stacie told me it was okay to be nervous for a minute but then I needed to pull myself back together so I could relax and focus again.  So that's what I tried to do.  The contractions got much harder.  At one point Stacie turned to me and said, "It's okay.  This is as hard as they will get.  They just need to get closer together until you can push and then we will meet your baby."  As the contractions started, she would count, "Breathe in, 2, 3. Breathe out, 2, 3."  It was so hard to be calm and relaxed with such intense contractions, but I did my best.  I remember feeling my eyebrows furl or my jaw clench and hearing her say, "No, relax your face.  Breathe in, 2, 3. Breath out, 2, 3."  So hard to do.  To keep everything relaxed instead of tensing up with the pain.  But I did it.  At one point, the contractions weren't coming any closer together so she had to turn up the Pitocin.  She turned the machine away from me so I couldn't see what she had done.  It made me laugh a little.  It's true.  I could handle it, but my mind was playing games with me.  The idea of more Pitocin scared me so she didn't want me to know how much she gave me.  But she knew I needed it so I wouldn't wear myself out completely with the labor and then not be able to push when it was time.  So I trusted her.  It got to the point that when a contraction would start if Stacie didn't know, I would just quickly blurt out, "I need you to count" so she would know the contraction was starting and I needed her to be the one there to listen to and keep me focused on my breathing and not on the pain.  When I was finally dilated to a 10 they told me it was okay to push when I felt ready so with the next contraction I pushed.  It was intense!  It burned...A LOT!  But it was awesome.  I know that seems strange, but it was.  

On August 18, 2013 at 5:54 p.m. Caleb Roberto Uboldi was born.  He weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long.  He had a ton of hair, which was a shocker considering our other three children had been completely bald.  He looked blue because his face was bruised.  The cord had been wrapped around his neck.  He had long fingers and toes.  I remember thinking this kid could probably scale a tree with no problem with those long toes.  He was BEAUTIFUL!  He was absolutely PERFECT!!  I was EXHAUSTED!  But it was such a peaceful moment.  I sat there breathing with my eyes closed for a few moments more.  I could not believe what I had just experienced.  A new baby is a perfect, pure, innocent creature.  Birth is miraculous.  But the entire birth process I had just experienced with my husband and this amazing nurse was INDESCRIBABLE.  I knew I could do hard things, but this experience helped me to truly believe it.  I knew that your thoughts and beliefs can have a huge impact on your life.  This experience showed me just how true that was.  Being present, trusting, knowing it is okay, and relaxing while life happens is so hard for me, but that is a lesson I learned throughout this process.  The body's ability to do something difficult when the mind is determined is absolutely incredible.  

I must have done a decent job remaining calm because the comments I heard afterwards shocked me a bit.  The doctor said she could not believe how calm I was right before giving birth.  She said if I had been in triage waiting to get checked at that point, she wouldn't have believed I was even in labor.  Strange because I was drenched with sweat by then.  Several of the staff from the nursery said they had never seen anything like that where the mother didn't scream or make any noise at all throughout the whole process.  I wasn't sure what to say.  Um...thanks?  I just did what she told me to do.  But I'll admit it was kind of cool that everyone was talking and whispering about the lady in room 4.  :)  I guess I'm tougher than I thought.

Welcome Caleb Roberto!  You are loved more than you will ever know!

Playing Catchup

I cannot believe I haven't posted in a year.  AN ENTIRE YEAR!!  It makes me want to cry...especially since I was using this blog as a journal/family history of sorts.  The fact that I haven't documented very well while Marissa was a young toddler is weighing on my mind as the arrival of our new little one approaches.  I'm just going to have to get over it and try to do better in the future.  Sometimes the raising of the children is more important than the documenting of such...but I really do hope to be able to do both simultaneously.  :)  I feel the need to at least throw some pictures and a couple words up so I can remember what we've done this past year in hopes that if/when I get around to making this blog into a book of some sort, I will have some memory of 2012-2013.  Basically, homeschooling and sensory learning, and church callings took priority over everything else this year.  And although all of those things will still be a big part of our lives in the future, I'm hoping that I'm a little more organized and able to stay on top of things that matter most to me.

July 2012

Here are some more of the Uboldi happenings the month of July.  All I have to say is when did life get so busy?  No matter how little I try to schedule, life with three kids is less than dull.   

Dylan's scout leader asked if I would join them as a parent helper at Camp Keisel.  It was fun being involved in scouts for a moment and watching all the boyish things they do.  Archery, guns, rope course, games, canoeing, leather crafts and of course a sling shot from the trading post.

4th of July
We decided to bag the parade this year with all the afternoon and evening festivities we had planned.  Dylan's dance group was performing at Kaysville City that afternoon.  My mom and sister came down to watch.  We let them play on the bounce houses for a few minutes and then decided to bag it because it was so dang hot.  We came to my house for some red, white and blue popsicles and trampoline time.  I also made a fruit pizza that looked like a flag.  Yep, sometimes I'm a cool mom.  Not often, but once in awhile.  Dylan asked me if we could do something fun like that the night before so I went for it.  Those are the things kids remember forever.  :)

Later that evening we met up at Farr West Park for our annual 4th of July celebration with the family.  They always have good food, music and fireworks.  I love watching the cousins play and make memories together.  They all get along so well.  Preston did not love the fireworks again, but tolerated them better than last year.  He started on my mom's lap with her hand plugging his ears and ended up under a blanket to muffle the noise and lights even more.  He has made such progress with his abilities, but it was obvious we were still dealing with a child with Sensory Processing Disorder.  Some things he just does not tolerate well.

Dylan was in the "Empress Bride" put on locally this summer.  He loves everything to do with performing and really got into his part.  It was a darling show and I really enjoyed watching him on stage.  The pictures speak for themselves.  The kid is pure drama!

Princess Marissa turned 2 on July 16.  The Birthday Bear came the night before and decorated the house.  She was thrilled and walked around the house saying "happ-a birt-day" every time she saw one of the decorations.  I'm not sure she understood it was her birthday for most of the day.  She sang to grandma, grandpa, Dylan, Preston, mommy, etc. but may have figured it out when she actually got to open presents.  My mom watched the kids while I went to an appointment.  Marissa opened tons of cute outfits from grandma and a Dora doll grandpa Barney decided was a perfect gift.  It was a goodnight Dora and had big eyes that close.  I think he liked it because it was bi-lingual.  Marissa was TERRIFIED of Dora!  Her exact words were "No like it, Dora.  Put back in bag."  We ended up exchanging it for a regular soft baby from the store that she adores.

She was also a little nervous about fire being right next to her.  Apparently I finally got a somewhat cautious child.  It's about time.  Two wild ones are about all I could handle!  She loved the singing and frosting, but didn't care for the blowing out of the candles part.  We lucked out because my friend, Jamie, was getting rid of their kitchen set so that is what she got from mom and dad.  Yay to free birthday gifts.  She ran in and was so excited to see something new in the family room.

We had a surprise when a summer shower hit suddenly.  At first I attempted to keep the kids dry because we had friends coming over to bring a gift and have a cupcake with us, but I decided it didn't matter and sent the kids out to play in the rain. They LOVED every minute and had to be persuaded to join us for the party after so much fun splashing in puddles with rain boots and umbrellas.  Talbots brought her dress-ups which I'm certain she will completely wear out and Hannah (one of her favorite people ever) brought over a soft, squishy stuffed animal.  Abuela joined us later to bring a couple gifts for Marissa to open.  She loved stacking the blocks and was so cute when she opened a gift from bisabuela (Marcos' grandma) that she made.  She said "ooo".  It was darling!  Pretty great, low-key birthday for baby girl.  Gotta keep that in mind for future party planning.

I originally grabbed the camera to take pictures of Marissa's fancy hair my sister, Alicia, had done.  It soon turned into a documentation of toddler emotions.  From happy to complacent to completely distraught.  I couldn't help but share the process here.  Gotta remember the good, the bad and the ugly I suppose.  :)

We made a spontaneous decision to visit the dinosaur park.  We are attempting to use several of our passes that will be expiring in the next few months.  My sister and her kids were in town but leaving that day and decided to join us with grandma as well.  It was awesome!  The kids loved the dinosaur park, played well together and had a great time.  We finished off the day with a trip to McDonald's for kids' meals (something my kids never get so it felt like such a treat for them). 

Tony, Connor and Dylan were so cute together.  Tanner and Preston are like best buddies and walk hand in hand everywhere they go.  They had a field guide the kids could fill out for a special treat at the end so Angie (the teacher) lead the kids around filling out their field guide.  So cute!  It was so much fun to have grandma and Angie on a field trip with us.  That was the best treat of all!

Do your kids climb the walls too?  Dylan has gone from climbing walls to hanging from them.  ;)

Melissa had her baby Kyler Ethan on July 31st at 1:58 a.m. He was 7 lbs 9 oz.   He was breech so she was scheduled for a c-section the next day at noon.  However, after a day of running errands and apparently laboring most of the day, her water broke around 12:30 a.m.  She got to the hospital and by the time they checked her, they could see a foot.  She was in the hospital for 28 minutes before Kyler was born and only 6 minutes elapsed from the time they first checked her until he took his first breath. Crazy! It was an emergency, high risk delivery with no medicine, but everything worked out fine.  She really did not want a c-section and said a prayer that if it was possible, she wouldn't need to have one.  She got her wish, although I'm sure it was not exactly what she had in mind.  We are thrilled with the new baby cousin in the family and can't help but admire Melissa, our real live pioneer.  Marissa has yet to meet baby Kyler in person, but is already obsessed seeing pictures, saying his name and telling stories about what he is doing.  She's a little mother at heart!

April-June 2012

Well, apparently I blog quarterly.  And I take pictures when I remember so there are a lot when I remember and none the rest of the time.  Oh well, such is life.  The priority is raising the kids, not documenting them.  Hopefully I have something for them to take with them when they leave my house though and something for me to look back on and smile when life is hopefully a bit less chaotic.  

Spring Dance Recital - 2012

My friend, Jamie, has a dance studio in her home.  Last year her daughter decided she really wanted to take violin lessons so we did a trade.  My boys signed up for dance and I started teaching Taylor violin.  It worked out really well because Dylan was in a class with three other boys since I knew he would be a little embarrassed about doing dance.  And Preston got to take dance with his buddy, Owen, and his cousin, Kylie.  Dylan did surprisingly well and the dances were great.  I was quite impressed with the entire show.  Preston was hilarious!  He is the biggest kid in his class and the one who completed the fewest actual moves during the dances.  He is the kid who for sure was the entertainment for those not watching their own child dance.  Marissa went up on stage to hug them afterwards while I attempted to snap some pictures and the girl is a natural.  She was dancing around and completely comfortable on stage.  She cried when I made her get down.  Dylan has decided to skip dance this coming year, but Preston is way excited to dance with Kylie and Owen once again.  And Marissa will be joining them.  I now have the smallest and tallest kids in the mini class and can't wait to see what the recital looks like.  It's bound to be pure entertainment for all!

Home School Conference
Family Ball - 2012
We attended the family ball again this year.  It was way fun, although the attendance was down from last year.  We still had a great time watching our kids learn to dance with others and boogie their little booties off half the night.

The Slades are homeschoolers and ended up not being able to attend the family ball (except for two of their kids who rode with us).  They decided to do their own little version and invite ward members over to party on down.  Some dressed up, others didn't.  My family did.  It was fun to watch Dylan dance with the little girls.  Taylor (my violin girl) wins the award in my book.  She danced with lots of boys her age (10, 11 or 12ish) and didn't feel embarrassed one bit.  She was able to get the most wall flower-types on the dance floor smiling.  Gotta love her!

We headed up for the Golden Spike reenactment again this year.  Much less stressful with great weather this year.  We saw trains, watched the play and picked out a cheap souvenir to take home.  I packed lunch and we ate on the grass.  It was a great day!

Abuela wanted to get pictures of all the grandkids so we attempted a photo shoot at the Bountiful Temple.  I think they turned out pretty good considering we were dealing with 11 fairly young children, but they weren't her favorite.  Oh well!  Luckily we did manage to get a couple really cute ones of her with my three kids.

Preston's preschool graduation.  I had such mixed feelings about preschool graduation.  I cried during Dylan's.  I loved his teacher and couldn't believe he would be started kindergarten.  With Preston, I sent him because he needed the extra help.  But I'm not sure it was what he needed.  I do think he enjoyed his time in preschool, but I believe the progress he made academically was thanks to sensory learning and lots of prayers and patience on my part.  But...one of his teachers, Miss Mona, was a gem.  She loved Preston and he really responded well to her.

  
We headed up to Idaho to visit my sister and her kids when they had young animals - pigs and pheasants.  My boys were in heaven!  They got to ride dirt bikes and four wheelers, shoot guns, get dirty, play on the playground at their cousins' grandma's house next door, watch lots of movies, roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire pit, and just be kids.  We did put them to work shoveling rocks into the wheelbarrow for Justin.  That's the kind of thing I wish they had to do the whole time they were there.  Tanner and Preston are only three months apart and they play perfectly.  There is never a problem when the two of them get together.  They spent most of their time with butterfly nets in hand searching for ladybugs (which Tanner calls Joeys) out in the tall grass.  They also spent a lot of time on the four wheelers.  Tanner, who wasn't even 5 yet, drove the four wheeler around like a crazy man while Preston giggled and shouted faster.  We finally had to tell them to ride with the bigger boys. Geez!  Sometimes you have to let go of your fears a little as a parent so your kids can experience life.

I wanted to have some school routine during the summer so we decided to do a little bug unit.  We ordered ants, ladybugs and caterpillars and had a great time watching them, studying them, and in Preston's case, hauling them around until they all died.  Totally worth the money!

Random summer pictures.  I love these because they illuminate the personalities of each of my children so well.  Dylan with the bucket in the pool, my curious, little scientist.  Even in play, the world is a place to be discovered a mystery to be solved.  Preston with his swimsuit and floaties on (even though the pool is only a foot deep).  He is sitting in the back of a big plastic dump truck with a jar in his hand for catching bugs.  Gotta love that kid!  And Marissa...filling up and emptying a bucket, screaming in a high pitched voice when anyone attempts to take the hose from her majesty, and trying on shoes that do not belong to her.  Such a girl!

There are a million reasons I love Marcos!  I'm not going to attempt to list them here.  He happens to be one of the best dads I have ever met...and I'm not just saying that.  He loves his kids and loves spending time with them.  Dylan was dying to go to the zoo after Rocky Shores opened.  And guess what.  Marcos took them.  On opening day.  In the crowds and chaos.  And didn't even make me go with him.  Now that's an awesome Papi!  These are a few of the pictures they took while they were having dad time at the zoo.

 
My dad and step mom have an annual get together, which they are now calling a family reunion.  It usually takes place in May or June and involved lunch, water, and lots of grandkids.  The kids had a blast playing on the slip and slide and tossing water balloons with grandma Suzanne while the adults sat under the balcony and sipped Diet Coke.  :)

I was really sick the beginning of June and called my mom in desperate need.  Marcos had to work and I needed help.  My mom had plans to get together with my aunt, but ended up stopping and getting my kids and taking them with...to Boondocks.  Lucky kids and lucky me!  I'm so grateful to have a mom I can share anything with and know she will love me no matter what.

More time with grandparents.  Grandpa Barney helped Dylan with some scouts stuff and taught him how to fish.  Then he took him to a fish farm and spent WAY too much money letting him learn to fish.  Thankfully Marcos loves fish so at least we got a good meal out of it.  If you can't tell, Preston LOVES Mr. Potato Head.  He now has Mr. and Mrs. and can play with them for hours.

Ward Girls' Camp 2012

I was called as camp director again this year.  I was pretty nervous flying solo since last year was a stake camp.  Also, I really wanted to do an overnighter with the 4th years.  And we did.  Yay!  Everything turned out awesome!  I know most of you probably don't know these girls, but I sure love them dearly!  I feel like I have watched some of them grow up for years and it makes me feel like a proud parent.

The rest of camp was no less amazing.  Our theme was BOOT Camp (Buiding on our Testimonies).  It was such a fun theme and so awesome to tie everything into the war that we are fighting.  It was so much fun and a very spiritual experience for everyone.  We WAY over-planned activities and ended up not having much time for most of the crafts we had scheduled, but we managed to fit them in during a post-camp activity.  Brilliant!  We had an obstacle course, did skits, made crafts, had DELICIOUS food, went boating, shot guns, went hiking, and had many incredible testimony-building experiences.  And I got a lesson in cheering from a few of my most girlie girls!  Gotta love that!  I'm so the opposite of the cheering type.  But I held my own and even did a pretty decent-looking toe touch.  That's right people!  I got skillz!

January-April 2012

Here are some pictures from the last few months. Hopefully it gives you a glimpse of what life is like right now. I may or may not ever be a good blogger again. :)

Snow. There wasn't much this year, but we managed to get out a few times. See our pathetic attempt at making a snowman? It was good enough for Preston though. Dylan is at the "let me see if I can nail you with a snowball age." Gotta love that! Marissa loved getting into snow clothes, but then could barely move. And they all ate plenty of what was on the grass. Hopefully it wasn't yellow. ;)

The train museum. My kids love this place and my Ogden Nature Center pass gets us in for free. BTW, that is a good pass if you are looking around. Gets you into the nature center, train museum, dinosaur park and the Tracy Aviary once a month. I took my friends' kids with me. It was a big adventure going into the train museum with 7 kids. YIKES! It is actually a very easy place to go with a ton of kids and not lose anybody. And they had a blast!

Hill Air Force Base Museum. One day in February we just needed to get out of the house so we headed to the HAFB museum. The kids had a blast look around and then playing in the learning center for hours on end. Look how alike Preston and Marissa look when they are both wearing orange outfits and a helmet. Crazy! Almost can't tell them apart.

Marissa is a total girl. She LOVES helping mommy. Drives me crazy sometimes, but I try to let her. All part of the learning process.

Museum of Natural History. My friend, Liv, has passes and got us in to the Museum of Natural History. My kids are older than hers and could have gone all day, but hers were done early so we headed out and grabbed lunch with her. It was a fun day and the first time we had been to the museum. It really is awesome! Dylan was darling with the babies (Liv's baby was 8 months old at the time and she had her niece, who had just turned 1). It's so cute to watch an 8 year old boy be so gentle and loving to babies. Melts this mom's heart.

Marissa's Owie! Marissa was on the counter and dived for me just as I turned to help Dylan make a smoothie. She went head first onto the tile and this was the result. A HUGE bump, followed by a good week and a half of a swollen, black eye. Poor thing! It's a miracle kids survive all their bumps and bruises!

Bailey's birthday party. Bailey shares a birthday with Preston, but we celebrated Dylan and Preston's birthdays together at my mom's house. When Angie was down with her kids, we had a celebration for Bailey. Truly it's a miracle she lived to celebrate her first birthday with the ordeal she went through. Marissa thinks she is her care-taker and followed her around putting her binkie in and helping her out. So funny! Bailey was a lady with her smash cake at first, but eventually went to town leaving very little on the high chair. What a fun day!

Dylan turned 8 and started attending boy scouts. This is something totally foreign to me, coming from a home of all girls. I must admit I was pretty intimidated. Grandma and grandpa bought him his uniform and he came home the first night telling me all about learning marbles. He went to bed studying his wolf manual every night. I just had to smile! He earned his Bobcat the 2nd week and his first pack meeting was the Pinewood Derby. Talk about "baptism by fire" into the scouting program. Thankfully grandpa knows what he's doing and has a bunch of tools so he graciously offered to help Dylan build a car. I didn't bring a camera when the car was being built, but my step dad has a bunch on his phone if we ever figure out how to get them to my computer. But...sure enough the kid took first place. There was one car that was really fast and it was pretty close, but he won both times. He was so excited and proud and I know my step dad was excited. I have to say I wish we wouldn't have set the bar so high. I'm afraid now he'll expect to win every year. Oh well, fun moment for him.

We went to baby animal days up in Logan the Thursday before Easter. We went with a family from our ward. It was a great day! We all got to pet a lot of animals, had some lunch and got plenty of sun right before Easter. It was a great day!

Dylan was baptized Saturday, April 7. Two other friends (Kambrie and Shannon) from the ward were baptized that day. It was a special day since all three of them were blessed on the same day as well. There were a few glitches during the baptism, but the spirit was strong and it was a beautiful occasion. We had a big joint luncheon at the church after the baptism. It turned out great!

Easter weekend was a little chaotic because of the baptism. We didn't even die Easter eggs until Sunday afternoon. Oh well. Somehow the bunny found our house and hid a few plastic eggs and left some very practical loot for the kids to enjoy. Marissa found one egg, discovered it had candy in it, and decided not to look for more eggs. She was too busy devouring candy. Between her candy-drool face and her "cheese" smiles, we got some very interesting pictures. Well, I should say I got some very interesting smiles. Marcos had bishopric meetings and I knew waiting until after church wasn't a good option for my kids so I hosted Easter morning solo. That's why the boys were already dressed for church. There is a process to getting everyone ready in time when you have 9:00 church and three kids to get ready yourself. We had a beautiful day at church (although my kids were a bit loud after the sugar high) and then had dinner at my mom's house.

Dying eggs on Easter. Hey, better late than never!

Semi-annual clothing fiasco! You should have seen the disaster the day I did the boys' clothes. I saved Marissa's for another day because I had run out of steam. It was a completely different experience. I asked Dylan to try on a couple pair of shorts to see if they fit. He whined and complained and finally tried on a couple and then told me they were all fine. Preston wanted to try on anything with a logo on the shirt, but that was about all. No pants or shorts trying on for him. But Marissa. Oh, this little girlie girl! She took every item of clothing as I sorted it and brought it to me to help her put on. When I told her no, she would proceed to put it on without help. At one point I think she had 5 outfits on. Two dresses, a shirt, a skirt with bottoms underneath and a swimsuit. And don't even get me started with shoes. The girl will not keep shoes on to save her life. The second we are in the car, the shoes come off. But she will try on other people's shoes all day long and wear them around the house, twisting her ankle several times in the process. Geez! It is such a different world having a little girl!

Jett. My step nephew turned 7 on April 11. My mom had a Star Wars birthday party for him. We had pizza, cake and an amazing goodie bag that the kids couldn't wait to open. Preston was quick to try out his new bubbles. They are his new favorite thing! He can blow bubbles for hours! Marissa again found some candy and ditched the bag while she went to devour the goods. Gotta love these kids!