Autumn, Shannon and I took these hulligans bowling to make the day out of school a little more exciting. It was a great time, especially because we mostly had the place to ourselves. Shannon bowled like a ballerina. My one and only strike was made by turning around backwards and bowling granny style. And Crew had a serious competitive side that won him the highest score of 99.
On the way home Milo kept asking through yawns and droopy eyes, “Mom, next time can we go back and roll the balls down the floor and knock over the sticks? That be sooooo fun.” It gave me that “Yessssss, I’m a good Mommy!” feeling. Seriously, Summer. Get. Here. NOW!
Crew was bummed out that a playdate didn’t fit into the schedule today. But since there is no school tomorrow we invited his friend over and had our very first “late night”. Lots of popcorn and candy and a great flick makes for a very happy crowd and one happy mom. I’m not sure why but this totally makes me crave summer break!
We took the family to school last night for Crew’s Open House. His classroom was amazing! Monkey and toucan art projects swinging from vines, jelly fish dangling in an ocean of self portrait scuba divers and cactus silhouettes against watercolored sunsets. It was a kick watching him lead Carl around the room to show off his hard work.
To say my boys like drawing is a gross understatement. They LOVE to draw, are even passionate about it. I am always picking up papers filled with ninja fight sequences and new angry bird characters. They’ve just discovered tracing and would spend all their free time doing it if we didn’t shoo them outside every now and then!
Jax is wrapping up his last couple of weeks in Pre-K school and couldn’t be more done with it. He’s so ready for Kindergarten he can hardly stand it, already talking about having the same teachers Crew has, eating school lunch (although not until 1st grade) and being dropped off in the morning with the rest of the elementary school mob. Jax is always comparing himself to Crew, always trying to be as good as Crew, doing just what Crew does. Up until recently, this has always motivated Jax to try a little harder and look forward to what his big brother is doing. But it seems the last few days Jax has felt defeated. He’s realized that no matter how hard he tries he can’t do things just like Crew, simply because he isn’t Crew. He’s Jax: 2 years younger, different body type, different abilities, different likes and dislikes, different emotions. Carl and I try to remind him that being Jax is nothing to feel sad, frustrated or defeated about. Rather, it’s something to be proud of and a chance to “do what you do and do it the best you can”. I’m the first born in my family so I’ve never known the feeling of living in an older sibling’s shadow but I can tell by watching Jax that it must be kinda hard sometimes. Crew is competitive by nature and often likes to prove he can do things better. So when your brother and best buddy has 2 years experience and development on you I’m sure it can be daunting. My heart goes out to Jax for his determination to keep trying, even when it seems to him that Crew will always outdo him.
But just you wait, Jax. Judging from the size of your hands and feet we know you’re going to grow up big and strong, probably more so than your older brother. And your sensitive nature and your consideration for others (“Mom, I really like your hair today.” “Mom, I love it when you laugh.” “Mom, why are you wearing your mad face? Are you mad at me?”) will earn you a place in everyone’s heart. You’re like my little bear cub growing into that big strong teddy bear type that everyone loves and adores.
Look at this kid. Boy does he have a hold on my heart.
I look at that face and see light, strength, humor, and a world of promise. Look out elementary school, here comes Jax!
I found Carl passed out on our lounge bed in the backyard, enjoying the last bit of sunshine after a long day of bishopric stuff. Oh how I love this man.
Carl played hookie from work yesterday and took our family to the beach. On our way, Carl said to me, “Remember when we first moved here [to California] and we would go to the beach saying, ‘I can’t believe we live here and can just go to the beach whenever we feel like it!’ and now we’re like, ‘Eh, let’s go to the beach’ like it’s no big deal?” I laughed because in all honesty, I still pinch myself every time I visit the ocean knowing I live so close to it. I still feel so incredibly lucky to live here after pining away about sun and surf while growing up and living in Utah my entire life. Back then my friends lovingly called me a California Wannabe thanks to my obsession with Roxy apparel, my puka shell necklace that I wore religiously, and my work cubicle walls that were covered in pictures of surfer girls and palm trees. This is embarrassing to admit, but when I saw Blue Crush in theaters for the first time (in the dead of Utah winter) I actually ached inside to live near constant sunshine and sea air. Funny huh! Don’t get me wrong, I love my Utah roots. And I actually love the snow too. But there was just something about living near the ocean that had me longing for it! So when Carl flat out stated once during a vacation to California, “Ha! We will never live here” I felt like a dream of mine was being crushed. But thankfully fate would have it another way. Because just over a year later I woke up to Day 1 of living in California with a palm tree waving at me through my bedroom window. And I’ve never been happier!
Carl isn’t able to join us for a beach day very often so having him there made it a perfect day. And seeing my kids explore and experience the beach so frequently makes my heart so,so happy.
At the risk of sounding over-the-top cheesy, I will say that I am living my dream! I love living in California and raising my family here. Thanks Lee and Jana for sharing your day with us. The beach spot was perfect and we’ll definitely be back this year for more sugary sand and blue waves. We loved it! As we packed up to leave and were walking back to the car, I happened to turn around and catch sight of the amazing ocean view. I must have stood there awhile because soon I heard Carl call out, “Hey, Tel! Are you ok?” I turned around with the biggest smile and just said, “Yep.”
We were able to hang out at home and watch General Conference this weekend. I always love hearing the talks but it’s really hard for my kids to sit and listen. Usually they don’t at all. Our bishop encouraged all the mom’s in the ward to look for ways to help our little one’s listen to the talks or at least have them sit in the room with us. My kids LOVE to build (me too) with blocks so we bought a K’Nex set to try out. We rounded up all our Trio Blocks too thinking these would be good quiet fun for the kids during the two hour sessions.
The K’Nex turned out to be a little too difficult for Jax and Milo but Crew, Carl and I loved them. They helped spread out the fun.
I figured we’d better have some treats too. Really, it was just an excuse for us to eat junk!
Crew threw a huge tantrum when I asked him to take out the garbage (when do kids grow out of that?!) and missed out on the treats. I hope he learned his lesson. They were yummy!
Then we got out of the house. Carl and the boys rode their bikes to go feed some pets while their owners are gone.
I drove the support vehicle full well knowing they’d all want a ride home.
It was a relaxing, kick-back kinda day. I love hangin out with my little fam.
Hi! I was starting to think I’d never make it back here to post again. Sharing a computer with a masters degree student who also happens to be working all the time is proving to be very difficult! But I’m not complaining… too loudly, anyway.
So how about some random pics of what we’ve been up to lately, hmmm? Ok, then. Here we go!
We took a trip up to Big Bear with some friends of ours with all the kids in tow. There were lots of laughs, late night games, sledding, snowball fighting and ipod time. Oh, and a Happy Birthday to me too! It was just what we all needed for the weekend.
{Milo’s in the all yellow coat, Crew’s in the red and grey, Jax in the green camo}
Crew’s school held a Variety Show and he sooooo wanted to be a part of it. But each student wanting to participate had to audition for a part. I didn’t have the time or energy to think up something for him so I was thrilled when some friends recruited him for their dance to Smooth Criminal. He was a cop with two other boys.
He took his part very seriously. He even pulled off a flawless performance when I got my days of the week mixed up and didn’t get his costume to school for him in time for a performance. (Let me tell you, I felt like dirt!) But he had a great time and kept telling me how happy he was to be in the Variety Show. I owe Jen, the choreographer, A LOT!
{That’s Crew front and center with the neon shoes}
I’ve been neck deep in planning Stake YW Camp. I love, love, LOVE this calling and will forever appreciate those who plan such big events like this for the church. Milo “helped” me sort through the hundreds of registration papers to get a count for the camp. So far we’re at 297 campers (not including the stake staff)! Yowza!
Milo is definitely a third child. Between drop offs and pick ups, meetings and errands, he’s learned how to grab a nap wherever and whenever he can. The only challenge is stacking the groceries strategically around him without waking him up! The only thing worse than a tired Milo is a woken up Milo!
Every Tuesday Milo has a playdate until noon leaving Jax and I home alone together. I quickly realized I needed to take better advantage of our time together if we were going to survive the school year. So we go hiking. Just the two of us. We pack a lunch and head out as soon as the others are dropped off for the day.
It’s been so, so fun, for me especially. I love sharing the outdoors with Jax. It’s been an answer to this frustrated Momma’s prayers. And finally, FINALLY our conversations don’t revolve around video games!
Carl’s car was in the shop so we went to pick him up from work and ended up with a grand tour or Quiet Cool. I was so worried about disturbing the other employees but Carl was patient and pretty much just plain awesome with the boys. Only Carl can turn fans into something magical.
Spring Break is here and again I find myself with two weeks of “what do I do with the boys?!” We’re one week into it and it thankfully hasn’t been bad at all. We’ve had our fair share of ice cream cones.
We spent a chilly afternoon at the beach.
But it’s ok, we came prepared! What can I say, I LOVE the beach.
Now we’re gearing up for conference weekend and Easter. I thought I’d take the boys to the mall and brave some shopping.
We hit up three stores and pickings were slim so we settled for ties this year. Then we rewarded ourselves with treats from Rocky Mountain Candy Co. Delish!
Carl and I have been training for Ragnar and doing what we can to get in shape for summer. My boys like to workout “with me” which really means I get to do the workout twice. The more training, the better I guess. It’s so funny to see their interpretations of pushups, burpees, and squats. And to hear them pretend to be out of breath like me. Haha!
I love that they notice our effort to eat and live healthy. Carl has lost 20 lbs. Crew has joined the running club at his school and ran 5 miles one weekend with Carl. Holy.Cow! This morning I ran 8 miles, the farthest I’ve ever gone and my boys were there to greet me at home and ask how I did. Aw, it makes me so happy.
Welp, that’s about it. It feels super to have things caught up so I can start posting again. Have yourself a scrummy weekend!
