Complete Spontaneity

One random Saturday morning Adam and I were talking when he suggested I cut my hair. I've been growing my hair since I was pregnant with Charlotte. A fee trims here and there but nothing big. Whoa! The thought surprised me but also intrigued me. So I thought about it and went up to my friends house {who cuts hair} to see what she thought. "I think you'll regret it," were her words. Which of course became somewhat of a challenge to me- "I think I want to!"  She said we could do locks of love- they don't like dyed hair but they will take it. Perfect! I justified the donation of my hair as the perfect reason to do something totally spontaneous! So we did. I was so nervous. Right as she was about to cut off my pony tail she said, "Are you sure?!" Yes!! So she cut of my pony tail and the last 5 years of my life. Weird  

I came home and surprised Adam- he loved it and even more he loved that we didn't have to have a 3 month discussion about to cut or not to cut! 

In the end I'm glad I did it- we all need to shake things up a bit right?!

The Golden Day

On October 7th Quin turned 7. Which as rule declares we celebrated Quin's Golden Birthday! We started the morning out with pancakes and special homemade buttermilk syrup. For his lunch he requested Zupas. He wanted the oyster crackers and the chocolate covered strawberries and of course the Wisconsin cheddar soup. So after a yummy lunch we headed to target where Quin was FINALLY able to pick out his mountain bike. There was a lot of debacle about whether to get a "peg bike" or a "gear bike". Both choices had great pros but we all agreed the mountain bike would make him the happiest longest!

Riding out of target! Quin was anxious to get back to school because he didn't want to miss music class so we hurried back and he ran off to finish his day. When he came home he played on his bike and then we went to the Smoking Apple for dinner. Quin's favorite is the macaroni and cheese, pulled pork, and the French fries.  Adam had young men's that night so the kids and I went on a bike ride and then went over to the ward where they were doing the combined youth activity. They were playing soccer while inside life-size bubbles which was hillarious to see kids being bounced all over the field. I actually go to try it which was fun but way more work than I had anticipated!

 

I encourage Quin to have the same minute to win it birthday party as Anna did. He obliged. But the guest list kept getting longer and longer. It wasn't until 30 minutes into the party that I realized I am a complete lunatic. The boys had the patience for about 3 games and they they were on the trampoline tackling each other and running around like crazy. So I scraped the plan and took them to the big section of the yard and made them run! We played lovers leap and what time is it mr. Fox and wheelbarrow races. We finished the games that I had planned but nixed the pizzas- what was I thinking?? Finished up with icecream and presents and determined that next year we will have a break from parties. Quin however, has an awesome time! He and 14 of his little buddies were able to wrestle and run to their hearts content. 

Happy Golden not-so-little Quin!

Young Love

I don't know why I laughed so hard when I found this little paper in Quin's back pack. When I asked him about it he gave me the whole story- so apparently David likes Dolly but Dolly likes Quin but Quin doesn't like Dolly because he is friends with David and because he thinks girls are gross and he is never getting married until he is at least 75...ok maybe 20. 

Anna turns 9!!

Anna had been asking for a full year if she could get her ears pierced. After many months of debating if she was responsible enough to take care of them by herself we decided her birthday would be the day. 

I checked her out of school and we went to the mall. She was so nervous! Her little hands sweating and conversation was lite. "How are you feeling?" I asked when we got in the car. "Like I'm going to barf!!" Was her response.  We decided it was smartest to get her ears done first and lunch second. Which is what we did. 

The anticipation was grueling!!!

She took it like a champ and was so excited but too embarrassed to look in the mirror! We picked out some cute earrings and headed off to chick-fil-a for lunch. 

For her birth-day we celebrated as a family. I am going to just go ahead and admit right now that I totally sucked at taking pictures this year. Like bad. I have no proof that we went to Nicoitalia Pizza for dinner as a family and then we spent the evening conquering our fear of heights on a ropes course at the Provo Beach resort. And I don't have the picture to show that Anna received her first mountain bike!! She loves it! So of course we went on a bike ride to the lake. The only hiccup to the perfect day was when Quin realized Anna got the bike.  "How could you do this to me??" He screamed! Uhh Quin your birthday is in like 3 weeks- you can have a bike too if you want one. "But mom you should've known I would've been so jealous and you should've given one to me too!" Birthdays are so hard for the ones left behind. Such a hard life. 

That weekend we has a celebration for Anna with all of her friends. (So this one picture I took is after the party was over and half of the girls had gone home...I know!) But they did have a fabulous time!! I divided the girls into 2 teams and we had a minute to win it compition. They laughed and screamed, jumped and giggled. A few complained about inequality but all ended right. We made home made pizzas and per request had icecream sundaes for "cake". It was a perfect party and I was glad it was over. 

I dare say Anna successfully turned 9!!

Big Cottonwood Half

So for months {and months} my dad and I anticipated running this race together. I was totally prepared for it until a few weeks before the race when Talmage. Got sick. 

I was out for a long run after a sleepless night with a sick baby when I got a call from Adam. We needed to take him to the ER. Adam came and picked me up and we headed over to the hospital. I was SO nervous they were going to admit him but luckily he responded well to the steroids and we were able to take him home a few hours later. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and was given an asthma inhaler- which I was so grateful for. So I spent the next week nursing my little one back to health. With only a few weeks before the race I started coughing and coughing and coughing. Uncontrollably. When I was in the drs office getting Quin's arm casted( we seriously couldn't catch a break) I asked the dr if it was normal for a cough to last this long. He listened to my lungs and diagnosed me with walking pneumonia. Ugh.  The race was on Saturday. I was devastated. By Saturday I felt just ok but not fantastic so I met my dad at mile 9 and ran the last 4 miles with him. Oh how fun races are!! The excitement and adrenaline... So much addicting! We ran together and I just talked to him. When we got to the last mile we picked up our speed and started sprinting together. I couldn't believe how fast his time was for his first half. I was so proud of him!! And of course the competitive side of me knew that I could have PR'd which made me even more disappointed! I will run it next year!! And I will get my best time!! And hopefully I can do it with my dad. 

First Day of School

We has such a fun summer but after 10 weeks of non-stop living with each other we were all ready for some breathing room...

I've always been a little bit more worried about Quin...will he be ok? Will he pay attention? Will he listen to the teacher? Will he stay on task? Can he handle 6 hours? I have seen a pattern though- although he is very different from his older sister Quin continually surprises me- in a really good way. He just handles things- and usually with minimal drama or worry. Oh wait he is a boy. But really I have been so So proud of him. 

Going off medication was a little bit scary but also proved to be awesome. He has great focus and determination that was sometimes suppressed by the meds. He is smart and a great reader! He is a perfectionist (who would've thought) and very obedient oh and quiet!! When I had the SEP meeting I asked- "are you sure??"  Awesome!! I am so proud of this little boy and all he has gone through and all that he has become! Here is to a grade 1st grade year!

Miss Anna is now in third grade. I have been so lucky to have her. She is completely self motivated. She studies for her tests and she always aces them. She is helpful so helpful in fact that I found out that she is incharge of helping a group of 8 peers- making sure they understand their math. She is an amazing little reader- well ahead of her grade. I'm still wondering if she reads faster than I do... 

I am so proud of Anna and I know she will have a great 3rd grade year!!

Oh and we can't forget little Charlotte who has waited for years to have her turn at kissing me goodbye and jumping out of the car with her little backpack over her shoulder. I love this little one. I really wish I could keep her home- she is such a joy to have around. 

And tally- well he still has a few years so he is only eligible for half of his head to be photoed...poor little guy, just never quite big enough. 

We've has this tradition since Anna started kindergarten to have fruit pizzas for after school snack on the first day of school. They love them and it is a great time to hear all the details of the first day! 

It is going to be a great year!!

A Cast for Quin

So on the first day of school Quin came home grinning from ear to ear. School was great. His teacher was awesome.  He loved eating lunch at school. He was so excited to see and play with his friends at recess! Life was good. 

On the second day of school Quin came home crying. "I'm never going back! This was the worst day of my life!" After asking 20 questions I learned that at recess he was playing on the monkey bars and decided that skipping 2 bars was for babies and skipping 3 bars-- well that is just awesome. But alas Quin's small wing span is not suitable for the 3 bar skip trick. So he fell and his arm caught him. 

When he came home he was crying but he wasn't dying...so {in my most sympathetic but really just-stop-being-so-dramatic voice} I told him he was fine. We put some ice on it and he was ok. Over the next couple of weeks he would randomly complain but never long enough for me to think it was broken. I figured he bruised or sprained it. Finally he was playing volley ball in the backyard and hit the ball in the same tender spot and he just cried. It wasn't until then I decided we needed to get it checked. 

So the next day we went in for an X-ray and the dr determined what I figured- no break just bruised. So we went home; one of us relieved and one of us bummed he didn't have a cast to show off to his friends. 

The next day I received a phone call from the nurse- "the radiologist looked at the X-rays and he has indeed fractured his arm and we would like him to be casted immediately." Ugh. 

So I went to the school- checked him out and learned for the first time how a cast is applied. 

He thought it was awesome until about 30 minutes later when he tried to eat his in-n-out burger. Then he was just plain mad... Until he got to show his friends 30 minutes after that. And then around dinner time that night he decided he was done and ready to have it off. That was a rough convo. 

{Luckily}I had waited so long to have him casted he only had to wear the cast for 2 weeks. We would've died if he had to do the full 6 weeks- so help me!! But after 2 weeks he was back at it playing and even making up for lost time...

At the hogle zoo on a field trip the day after his cast came off. 

And so begins the adventurous life of a boy...

First Day of Dancing for Charlotte

Being the middle child you anticipate when it is going to be your turn to do what the big kids get to do. Charlotte is no exception. She is my little social butterfly who is still very shy but loves to be around friends. She has waited for what seems like forever to start dancing from grandma! The day finally came!

This is cute little Lucy, one of Charlotte's best little friends which happens to work out perfectly because I love her mom! Lucy and Charlotte love to dance together! But most of all we love grandma for teaching us!!

Summer Fun

For the past couple of summers I have tried to plan as many fun activities as I can for the kids. I rotate between crafting and science experiments. The kids love love science and they love the crafts which is a win for both because I love my kids happy and even more happy when they are learning. Here is our summer schedule:

Some of the favorites were Gak: made with Elmer's glue, borax, water, and food coloring. They loved the texture of the slime-- and of course the fun noises they could make with it when they put iron a cup!

These were so cool- we made our own lava lamps using alka-seltzer, oil, water, and dye. These were so pretty and so fun to watch. The only complaint is the explosion ended when the alka seltzer dissolved completely- but still very cool. 

This science experiment made me laugh so hard-- we did the coke and mentos explosion which was fun but kind of over rated because it happened so fast. So I decided to add a little bit more excitement and challenged them to put the mentos in their mouths and then ass the coke. It was really funny!

We did the traditional canvas painting which I always love the end product. I thought it was so cute to watch Talmage paint. He loved it!! Anna decided she was too old for this and wouldn't participate- so sad. 

This was called elephant toothpaste which was so cool to watch but ended up in a great big foam-fight!

Father's Day

I love this man more than words. This picture was taken on June 15th- just before Father's Day. I came out to talk to Adam and I got to witness this tender moment between a little boy and his daddy. 

I love having a garden and I love that my husband does too. He spends countless hours planting and weeding and watering and orchestrating to ensure we have a beautiful and bounteous harvest. I love him for his hard work to provide for our family and even more I love that my children are so blessed to have such a kind and tender father. I hope I can capture many more of these moments in the future...I am sure I will. 

I

My First Half Marathon- American Fork

In June I ran my first half marathon. I loved it!! The race started at 6 am and we had to be on the buses by 4:00. Hugh Pinnock was running too so we decided carpool. After a long bumpy ride up American Fork canyon we reached Tible Fork. It was still dark and very cold. We had a little over an hour before the race started to stretch, go to the bathroom, and build up as much anxiety as possible in one hour. 😉 

Hugh and I split up as soon as the gun shot. I started about 4 mins after the official start- which I liked because I was able to pass people the whole race- which somehow helped my adrenaline! I had a great run. Unfortunately I drank water on the bus ride and I needed to use the bathroom once but other than that I ran the whole time. I felt strong and full of energy. It was awesome! One mile in I saw my neighbor Grant. We ran for about 7 miles together. It was nice to have someone to talk to because I didn't have any music- I totally forgot I wouldn't have access to pandora. At about 8miles I saw Heidi Conrad, who I run with during the week, she ran with me for about 2 minutes to see how I was doing. It was so nice of her to come! At about mile 9 my dad jumped in and ran with me. It was so good to see him! By that time I was getting pretty tired so I put my headphones on and just focused on running. I felt like I was running so fast at the end. I was so surprised how much energy I had- so awesome! I sprinted the last half mile to the finish line which was such a crazy feeling. It almost felt out of body- my legs were numb and I couldn't really feel anything any more. My finish time was 2:03:00. Which is awesome and also a total bummer. I wanted to finish in under 2hrs but I thought that might be a little unrealistic but the fact that I got so close to 2 makes me sad that I had to go to the bathroom!! I could have done  it! I guess I'll just have to run again!

The best part of the race was seeing these beautiful people at the finish line. They were so cute and tired! It was 8am and they waved to me at mile 8 too so they got up pretty early. 

This race was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done. I loved the rush of adrenaline that I felt and the excitement that was in the air- I definitely have caught the runners bug...And I love it!

Stomach Pain for Anna

Well I can now say that I've been admitted to the hospital with every one of my children. It's not something I should brag about- it still makes my stomach sick but it is what it is!! 

So Miss Anna got sick at the end of July. She started complaining of a stomach ache which isn't terribly uncommon for her so I told her the usual run down for what she should do and sent her to bed. The next morning, Saturday, I got a call from a friend who was hurt and needed help so I rushed to help get her to the  AF ER. By the time I got home Anna told me her stomach hurt really bad and Adam agreed we needed to take her in. So back to the hospital I went this time to UVRMC ER. We waited for a while and after a blood test and an ultrasound the ER dr told us she had appendicitis and they were paging the general pediatric surgeon to do surgery on her that night. I called Adam and updated him so he could make arrangements for the kids and come to the hospital. By 10pm they admitted us and told us the dr should be here shortly to evaluate Anna. At this point I was getting frustrated. It had been hours and no one even said a word to me before they admitted us to the ped floor. Unfortunately I know how it works and i know how much it costs to stay nights in the hospital and I would've appreciated being made Aware of this decision which was only made worse when the dr showed up at 11:15 pm and evaluated Anna. "This kid does NOT have appendicitis!" Excuse me what?! "There is no way I'm taking her in to surgery. Had I have evaluated you in the ED I would've sent you home and seen you back in the morning for more tests. But since you are here we will just monitor you and we will do more testing first thing in the morning." I was SO angry. They wouldn't let us leave so we stayed. The blood test and ct scan came back normal the next day despite the pain Anna was still in. They ruled out all things with the liver, pancreas, intestines, tumors, kidney stones etc..  So at 11am the next morning we were discharged with nothing but a charge for Tylenol every 3 hours!!! So we went home and unfortunately Anna's pain got much worse Sunday night. The worst she had had. She was awake all night just writhing in pain and we had no idea what to do. I started to worry that maybe it was appendicitis. Around 3am we were finally able to calm her to sleep. The next morning I called the dr and he was concerned she was worse so we went again. Again he declared it was not appendicits but he wanted a second opinion so we headed to a pediatrician who confirmed it was not appendicitis. Anna was in pain and tired. We spent all day Monday with drs and in the hospital doing more blood work. After 3 nights of no sleep we were both running on empty. "It could just be an awful virus that could be 7-10 days" said the ped dr. So home we went to wait more. Anna was becoming very sullen and depressed. She was so sad. "Will I ever feel better mom?" The next morning she didn't say much. She was emotionally depleted. I had 2 piano lessons that morning and the first one happened to be Anna's good friend, Hannah. I pulled her aside and asked her if she would spend some time with Anna. I explained that she had been through a lot and it would be nice to have someone to talk to. She gladly accepted and when I was done teaching the girls came out and Anna had a light in her eye! She asked for some food which was major progress and then asked Hannah if she wanted to watch a movie with her. They spent the afternoon together and soon I heard laughing and giggling from the basement. "Mom it feels so good to know what I'm not alone." Slowly her pain started to fade and within about 3 more days she was back to her normal self although much more humble! When she felt well enough she told me to go lie down and she took care of Talmage and did a craft with Charlotte. She was so concerned about my lack of sleep. So I guess we are deciding it was a terrible virus. Yuck!! I am so proud of how well she carried that trial. I love her so much and I'm so glad she is feeling much better!