Christmas Card 2024

Chad: (middle-aged) survived a mediocre BYU football season...but they are in the Big 12 so at least there's that. He continues to love mountain biking, skiing, Traeger-ing (we love that too), our dog Rosie, Mary, and the kids...not necessarily in that order.

Mary: (slightly less middle-aged) nothing major to report, but let's be honest...she's making all the things noted above and below happen. She is happy to be back volunteering for the elementary school choir and is loving the last year of having all her kids under one roof before they start to leave the nest (insert cry face emoji here).

Jack: (18) busy mountain biking, college applying, cello + piano playing, soon to be ski bumming but STILL senior year class attending (right Jack?!!) He is also a much loved "high school helper" at the elementary school and the word on the playground is that he's the coolest kid in the 5th grade.

Marian: (16) had a great season on the mountain bike team, worked at Handel's Ice Cream (yum), and earned her driver's license!!!!!! We haven't really seen her since, but caught a glimpse of her singing in the school choir and heard she is doing lots of service through the Draper Youth Council.

Lucy: (13) also had a great mountain bike season! She loves our dog Rosie, baking, playing guitar, and skiing.

Grant: (11+1 minute) competed on the summer swim team, started mountain biking, beat every single member of our family in chess, and read approximately five bajillion books.

Grace: (11) crushed it on the soccer field this season and although her wardrobe suggests she is a BYU student-athlete, she also excels at baking, reading, piano playing, and movie making. Her latest film about BYU football was a huge success and earned a 99.9% on the Pughmeter.

Wishing you a Christmas filled with the joy of family, friends, and love. May this season remind you of the greatest gift of all—hope born in a manger, bringing light to our lives. Merry Christmas!

Mesa Verde

These pictures are going to be in no particular order but they do a good job of capturing our 

Fall Break trip to Mesa Verde.

The desert sky was gorgeous every day!

It was amazing!  The fall scenery and the cliff dwellings were unbelievable.  I seriously can't wrap my head around the fact that mothers raised their babies...on a cliff.  I would have had a heart attack.  

Climbing ladders to get to Cliff Palace

at the entrance to Cliff Palace (notice my death grip on Lucy's arm). Any time we were near a cliff...which was often...I was so worried that my kids were going to go over the edge.  Chad asked me if I really thought that they were going to just suddenly fall off.  

My response was a solid, "Yes. Yes I do."

Luckily no one did.  It was a miracle.

See the crowd of people off to the right?  The scale of this place was unreal.

More ladders.

I won't lie, after our full days of exploring the Park, there was an excessive amount of Disney Chanel going on in the evenings.  We did manage to force (I mean fit) in some games of Code Names and pool time. I'm fairly certain that on family vacations, the kids like staying in a hotel just as much...if not more than the actual things we came to see and do. Not pictured...about a million cups of hot chocolate.  The kids were THRILLED with the 24-hour self serve hot chocolate bar.  Strong work Holiday Inn Express.

One night at dinner the kids bet Gracie a dollar that she couldn't eat one of Jack's spicy fries dipped in spicy sauce.  She did it.  Then very calmly and collectedly PUKED onto her plate.  Dis.gus.ting.  I apologized profusely to the waitress and offered to clear the plate myself.  The waitress just laughed, Grace got her dollar, and everyone was happy!

More cliffs...yay!!!!!...

On road trips we pass the time rotating between books on tape...hah!  I mean audiobooks, taking turns playing our favorite songs, listening to podcasts- 6 Minutes is our VERY favorite and watching movies.  Apparently whatever they were watching here was hilarious! 

 It always cracks me and Chad up when our children who have been silent, bust out laughing in unison.  This trip I started making my kids listen to Stand'n Tall songs that I used to listen to when I was really little.  They are short songs and stories that teach values like; gratitude, happiness, honesty, love, obedience etc...  I LOVE them.  My kids can't STAND them...but I think they are getting the message.  A little cheesy 80's kids music won't hurt them too much.

Me: Grace let me take your picture
Grace: Ok, but take one with me doing my "Can you believe this face"
-True story

Highlights:

• Everyone practicing their Spanish with the waiter at the Mexican restaurant in Cortez
   

• Chad saying "CORTEZ" with a Mexican accent every time.  It never got old. Seriously.

• The kid's reports that I made them write before we left on our trip.  Jack did a report on Ancestral Puebloan culture (he informed us that the term Anasazi is offensive), Marian - Four Corners, Grant- Cliff Palace, Lucy- Ancestral Puebloan food, and Grace- Mesa Verde in general.  Their reports were short and simple, but still, I was glad that at least knew something about what we were going to see

• Grace taught us in her report that there was a USS Navy Warship named after Mesa Verde National Park and was very excited (hard to tell with that hat...gotta love it) to see a replica in the visitors center. 

• Getting another stamp in our National Park passports.

• Picnic lunches out of the cooler in the trunk and games of catch with the football afterward.

• Grant asking if we'd just driven through a "poop force field" when we drove passed what was actually just a boring old herd of cows.

• Four Corners

A lifelong dream fulfilled!

Our picture taking skills are top-notch!

• Have everyone stare directly into the sun- CHECK!
• No one look at the camera. In fact, turn away if you want to - CHECK!
• Cover your face if desired - CHECK!
• Ask a random person with no picture-taking skills whatsoever to take our once in a lifetime never coming here again photo. CHECK! (Why HELLO random woman in the background :) )

 I am so glad I didn't hold to my previous vow to NEVER take a family road trip again because 

Mesa Verde was super impressive and being with my 6 favorite people made it something I will never forget.  And thank you, kids, for not falling off any cliffs!  

A New Phase

I'm potty training Grant this week.  To be fair I should probably say that LUCY is potty training Grant this week.  She's all over this.  It's awesome.  As I am on the verge of having no kids in diapers (as opposed to having at least 1 kid in diapers for the last 10 and a half years...at one point 3 kids in diapers!!!!) I realize that a certain phase of my life is closing.  I don't mean the diaper changing phase specifically...that I am not the least bit sentimental about.

 The baby phase however, THAT I am crazy sentimental about.  I LOVE babies, their smell, their smiles and giggles. Their physical milestones of crawling, walking, even smiling!  It is so full of joy and miracles.  It is equally if not more so full of physical exhaustion, messes, insurmountable logistics, and worries.  But it has been and is WONDERFUL.

 I want to capture and hang on to as many memories and day to day little things as I can because just as the baby phase is slowly drifting into the past...this new phase...I don't even know what to call it...sort of young family life?...it is going to pass just as quickly if not more so.

For Example:

This is what packing for 5 kids (just the kids) looked like in 2014. notice the 2 port-a-cribs there on the left? When we went down to St. George a few weeks ago I packed ZERO porta-cribs, not 1 stroller,  no bottles, formula, burp cloths or baby bjorns etc...It was CRAZY!  The kids could get into the car without stepping on luggage and Chad could actually see out of the rear view window!

So, just to capture a few snippets of life right now here are a few pictures from my phone (let's just ignore that fact that I have an incredible DSLR camera that I never use and my children's childhood will mostly be captured on a little iPhone ok?)

These three are like the 3 Musketeers.  They are ALWAYS together...as you can see in this little gem of a picture.  Lucy was adamant that Grant should have his hair brushed after bath time just like hers and Gracie's.  Grant was THRILLED and held perfectly still for the entire 10 minute styling session.  Lucy is the Pied Piper for these two and they will follow her lead everywhere we go.  When they go to childcare at the gym Grant and Grace- who LOVE the gym- won't step foot into the kids area until Lucy goes in first.   I love their little threesome and although it is of course not all love and kindness...there is going to be a lot of sadness when Lucy starts all day 1st grade in the fall.  Assuming I let her go!  I'm not sure I can do without her!

Jack is obsessed with erasers.  Not regular end of pencil erasers. but toy erasers that apparently come in every shape size and style.  Food erasers, car erasers, animal erasers, iPhone erasers...you name it, it comes in the form of an eraser.  Jack is a master trader because he comes home with new ones every day and I have yet to actually buy him one...how is he getting these?  Any way the kids are all enamored with his collection and were thrilled when he set out each and everyone for them to ooh and aah over during our post FHE dessert.  Dessert just happened to be our favorite cookie ever...ROLO cookies!!!!  I could pretty much each those all day every day and never get sick of them.  It's a toss up which part I like more; eating them or watching my kids' little fingers unwrap each rolo (eating only a few), rolling them up in the dough (tasting only a little), and then rolling them in the sugar (licking their fingers only a few times). Awesome.  

 The "You are Special Plate" was out in honor of Jack and Marian going 2 whole days without fighting once!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are currently on day 5 (knock on wood) and though I know there will of course be squabbles again eventually, this cease fire has been a breath of fresh air.  Every morning this week I have told Marian and Jack how much my heart is exploding with happiness with the way they are treating each other and what a difference it is making in our family.  Because really people..this has been huge!  

This is me just about every day.  Not the hiking back pack and red rock nature scenery part...but the other part.  The part where my kids are surrounding me, wanting to be right by me.  Expressing their independence (hence the empty back pack) but still wanting to stay close.  Chad jokes that they just follow me around like ducklings and it's pretty true.  Alone time is rare...hence the new membership at the gym! This picture also captures my typical appearance... tired but mostly happy...disheveled hair and thank goodness exercise clothes are at least sort of acceptable attire for going out in public because most days that's what I'm wearing...need to work on that.   Life is so so good!  I am constantly amazed at all our blessings amidst the chaos of daily life and so grateful for Chad and our rowdy crew that keep our hands and hearts full.

Motherhood

I have FINALLY been going through pictures from my iPhone and camera.  Pictures from FOREVER ago.  I've been sending pictures often to my parents in Australia to keep them apprised of the happenings and appearances of their grand babies.  But I really want to have a consolidated record of this family of mine.  I know I won't remember half the things that I swear I won't forget... so hopefully this blog will help fill in the gaps some day.

I came across these gems from Easter. As in 6 months ago...half a year ago...basically forever ago. But as I scrolled through the sequence of shots I thought it told a pretty accurate story of motherhood.

I'd given all the children new spring pajamas and wanted to capture a picture of all of them together.

 

No easy task with 5 kids (two of them 16 months old) 

But with a little...ok a lot of patience, time, and effort... 

I came away with this sweet photo of happy faces looking for the most part in my general direction. Such a sweet memory!

Motherhood feels a lot like that.  

Things are hectic and chaotic and it takes a lot of time and effort and patience to have things run smoothly.  But then for a moment things fall into place and it was all worth it.

This next series of pictures is from later that same day.  We'd just gotten home from church and I wanted to capture everyone in their new Easter clothes (the acquiring of said clothes in correct sizes and coordinating colors had been no small task and I wanted to document my success...and my adorable children).  After church is never a good time for pictures (or anything constructive for that matter) but we of course hadn't had time BEFORE church so this was the best option I had.

Just like the pajama pictures, it was not easy to get everyone to sit still,

...or sit at all

...or cooperate in any way,

...even with a different setting

But with a little patience, (which I had none of at this point), and more time and more effort 

...it was still a total disaster 

Motherhood feels a lot like that too...

Sometimes everything goes wrong, everyone is mad, the house is a disaster, we're running late, and chaos is king.  There are some things no amount of patience and effort can fix at that moment and you have to know when to cut your losses.  Especially for things that don't really matter. Like maybe trying to take a picture when little people are hungry, tired, and done being in church clothes.  (Seeing how adorable the dresses and vests are together...and Grant's pinstripe pants!!! you can at least see why I really really wanted to get that picture right?)

6 months later I'm not sure I like the "everyone looking" pajama picture any better than the "total meltdown" Easter pictures.  Both tell stories that are 100% accurate of this phase of life.  And besides, how awesome is Lucy's face in the 2nd to last photo?  

Classic.

Father-less weekend

Chad has been gone on a business trip and it's a total bummer for the rest of here.  To be fair he won't have even been gone 48 hours when he gets in late tonight...but Sundays without Chad just aren't near as great as they are when he's here. 

This is from the rousing game of UNO last Sunday.  Anyone who knows Chad knows he is 

compe-ti-tive 

He does not "let the kids win" (except for maybe Lucy).  And I keep telling him we are going to raise friendless children if they use as much trash talk with their friends as Chad does with them but the kids eat it up.  It makes their victory all the sweeter if they ever do beat their dad!  Sunday card games with dad is a highlight around here and we really missed it yesterday.  I tried to fill in as best as I could but it just wasn't as fun.  Chad makes everything more fun.  So glad traveling is not a usual part of his job!

What families do

Being a part of a family really is an incredible thing.  By choice or by birth…all 7 members of this household are stuck together and have to learn how to navigate all the ups and downs of life together. 

  Sometimes…sometimes it is joyful and easy.  

Sometimes…especially among the kids… it is epically bad.  

But…because we are a family we keep trying to learn to love, and to forgive.  Scenes like this prove my point better than words ever could. 

Here is Jack, happily reading books on his bunk bed to Marian and Lucy…when only hours before he had nothing but harsh words and total rage for one of his sisters (whether or not it was deserved I won’t get into).  And the amount of screaming and shrieking on the sister end was almost unbearable (and I must say I have developed a pretty high tolerance for that over the years).   And during Family Home Evening when we were writing what we loved about each other on little Valentine hearts, there was more than one person who loudly proclaimed they couldn't possibly think of anything to write. It blows my mind that pictures like this are even possible after days like we had today.  But I guess it shouldn’t.  I’m learning that this is what families do.... at least our family.  

We try to love one-another…we often fail in a big way 

(myself very much included)…

but then... we try again.  

Amazing.  

So now the big question is how long do I let this moment of sibling love continue? I put them to bed an hour ago…9:00 is creeping up and I know I’ll have grumpy children in the morning if I don’t put an end to their sibling love-fest soon.   Truth is, they might be grumpy tomorrow anyway so I think I’ll go watch the DVR’d  Downton Abbey instead.  Plus…with the rate at which our basement is getting finished the kids aren’t going to be sharing a room together for much longer!  Now there is something that will really increase sibling love…separate bedrooms for all!!!! 

(Grant and Gracie are exempt from previous statement)

...unless Gracie finally gets fed up with Grant throwing every.single.item. from his crib (often including his pants) into her crib whenever he wakes up.)

Little Things

Lately I have been feeling the "totally overwhelmed mom" feelings.  I feel completely maxed out with all my responsibilities.  The fact that my biggest responsibilities are also my greatest blessings adds a bit of guilt into the mix.  It seems that from the minute I wake up to the minute I crash at night there is almost always someone needing to be fed, changed, comforted, bathed, dressed, disciplined, practiced with, loved, listened to, read to, tucked in, etc.. There is an endless amount of laundry and dishes to be done and for some reason  Cheerios for dinner just doesn't seem to cut it.  Some days it feels like there is non-stop fighting, teasing, bickering, whining, crying, complaining, and total dis-respect.  I realize that in the grand scheme of things these are happy problems to have and I am SO SO SO much happier being in this stage and not back in the bed-rest phase...but last week I was beginning to feel totally rundown.
5...or maybe 10 chocolate chip cookies helped a little,
a supportive friend and listener helped even more,
a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a frozen pizza for dinner from Chad helped a ton,
but surprisingly the thing that helped the most was when I happened to go through some pictures on my computer that I hadn't really looked at since I took them.  The saying
"the days are long but the years are short"
kept running through my head.  I realized that a midst all the chaos and craziness...I need to try to remember the little things that make raising children so special.  As I looked at the pictures...mostly from the summer, I decided that I want to do a better job of remembering those little things when I feel like my task is too big.

And really, I do not want to forget...

that thanks to her Great Grandma Marian, at age 5, my little Marian can make banana walnut bread by herself from scratch....seriously she does it all...chop, mix, bake and serve!

I want to remember that Jack and Marian don't always fight and terrorize each other
(and yes that is a rock in Jack's stroller)

Grant and Grace used to hold hands in the porta-crib together

Jack was a total nerd....for nerd day at school

My kids actually do enjoy being together!  (at least sometimes)

I want to remember that when Jack started scouts I thought he looked so handsome and grown up (and I was unreasonably proud of the fact that I sewed the patches onto his shirt all by myself!)

I don't want to forget that during lunch, Marian and Lucy dance around the kitchen singing and acting out the same "Standin' Tall" songs I used to sing and act out with my sisters.  Anyone remember "Welcome to the Land of Obey?

We only have one baby jumper...and Grace's feet can't reach the ground when it's at Grant's setting.

How cute are those toes?

It's too much of  a hassle to change the settings back and forth so we improvise...

She loves it

I don't want to forget that Lucy LOVES to play with the babies on the floor in the family room and they usually love it too.

As he as done with all our babies...Chad is obsessed with kissing their cheeks and telling me every five minutes that they are the most beautiful babies in the world.

When he's home....Chad almost always has at least one baby on or around him

I've heard that someday we won't have to buy diapers any more and so I guess someday I might forget that once a month the UPS guy would deliver a box the size of Jack filled with diapers and wet wipes....I guess I could forget that...but I doubt it.