Memorial Day and Beyond

I have been a little big slacker on the blog lately.  I need to get with the program, mainly because my kids love looking back at the pictures, and I look back and think, "huh, that happened?"  Someday I know they will love to read about the adventures of their childhoods.  At least I hope so.

Memorial Day we stayed in Moses Lake for the first time ever.  Dax posted flags in the morning with the young men.  We after lunch we headed to the sand dunes for a monster truck show.  It was...a different crowd than I am accustomed to having my children around.  Thankfully alcohol is against the law out there, so I didn't have to explain to my kids reasons for people doing crazy things.  They call alcohol "the drink that makes you dizzy and act weird, and it's not good."  I didn't realize how loud the monster trucks would be.  We are talking like my ears were hurting.  Thank goodness Dax thought to bring ear protection for the kids.  We were the only parents I saw who busted out the ear protection when the monster trucks came out.  We are cool like that.

 

 The kids were the most excited about getting french fries at a restaurant when it was all over.  They are a big deal around our house.  I don't even remember what we did for the rest of the day, sad I know.  Dax took flags down in the evening.  I am so grateful to those who gave their lives so that our country can be free!  I hope Americans can do their part in this day to continue those freedoms.  People these days seem to want less freedom and more dependence (bondage).  They want the government to do everything.  Sad.  Why should someone be entitled to receive a cell phone from the government??  I shouldn't go down that road in this post.  Moving on...

Strawberry season!  Oh how I have waited for this time, since I put those dead looking little starts in the ground last year.  It has been so nice.  The birds got quite a few, but luckily there were tons so I didn't miss them.  No time to build a net system this year.  Next year maybe?  No promises.  I was so excited when it rained for days...until I went to pick strawberries.  It ruined the majority of a picking, and half of the next.  Plants and soil that are constantly wet equals bad news for strawberries.  I had no idea!  Looking on the bright side, it was nice not to have to water the rest of the garden for 2 weeks.  I love strawberries, but I am ready to not have to spend 7 hours picking them.  I will miss a big bowl of strawberries in my fridge and fresh strawberries at every meal.

We have been letting the chickens out in the yard to roam and eat bugs, but they have taken a liking for the few raspberries I have.  Needless to say their roaming privileges have been revoked. 

The garden is coming along.  It seems so hard to get out and get it weeded, but we cranked it out in 2 hours for FHE a couple of weeks ago.  It needs to be weeded badly again.  The sugar snap peas are on!  I picked a gallon bag the other day.  They are divine.  I love using produce from the garden for meals. 

Kyra is a growin' girl.  She has grown nearly 5 inches since her birthday in September.  She told me nearly once a day for a month that her legs hurt.  It took me 2 weeks to realize it was growing pains.  She has been falling asleep at like 5:30 on random days as well.  I am amazed that she is growing with how little she eats.

I took the kids to the movie theater to see "Escape Planet Earth."  The theater does free movies during the summer in the morning.  The kids loved it.  Haley took Taylee for us and we took Kyree.

 

 

As I type the kids closets are emptied.  We are doing customized closets this weekend.  I should take a before and after photo of them.  I am so excited to put in bars that are low enough that the kids can actually reach!  Meanwhile, the kids rooms look like the closets threw up on them.  At least it is temporary. 

Uncharted Territory

I feel like I'm in water that is too rough for my swimming capabilities these days.  My head bobs up occasionally for a quick breath before I am pulled back under and feel like I am losing it.  I have never raised a 4 year old.  My 2 year old is so completely different than the 2 year old that I had 2 years ago.  I have a house now, that comes with a lot of responsibilities.  Most of which I love, but I never feel like I am on top of the laundry, let alone on top of the whole pile of things I am responsible for. 

It's a hard stage.  I love my family, and I have never felt closer to Dax than I am now.  I love that.  I love that marriage just gets sweeter and sweeter with time.  I love being a mom, and I adore my children.  I WANT to stay home with them and be doing the things I am doing.  That doesn't mean it isn't hard.  My challenge right now is to "do (my) best and forget the rest."  Thanks Tony Horton (P90X anyone?).  With my personality, it's hard to let things go.  Well, whether I let them or not, they go.  It's hard to ACCEPT that they go.  Most days at the end of the day I wonder how I didn't do anything on my to do list.  My Mom told me to write down the things I did do at the end of the day, so I can realize all that I get done. Now is as good a time as any to get started:

We went to the movie theater today for the free summer movie of the week:  Escape Planet Earth.  The kids loved it, and it was nice to get out and do something fun together.  Today I took the time to wrestle and relax with my kids for a good hour straight. It is good medicine for all of us.  We ate cookie dough out of the fridge.  Dax went sturgeon fishing with the young men for mutual, and our Wednesday night ritual while he is gone is ice cream cones.  I got dinner cleaned up--minus the floor (yikes).  We had scriptures and prayers.  I still need to work out...sometime.

I am grateful that I believe in a God who knows me and my family.  Who can help me and give me peace and bless me and sustain me.  Life would be so depressing without that faith. 

As hard as things can seem, I am so grateful for my life and the immense blessings my family has been given.  My family is healthy, and happy (for the most part...we are in the terrible twos mind you).  My kids bring me so much happiness each day. 

Hayden the adventurer is just curious about everything in life.  He is into pushing the limits to see just what the limits really are.  He remembers everything.  He is the. biggest. tease. ever.  He is very thoughtful of other people and shares better than any child I know.  He is losing his baby chubbiness and while I am glad he won't be chunky for life it is sad to see it go.  The beginning of the end of being a little boy.  He is good at remembering that no matter how big he gets he will always be my first born baby.

I hear Kyra's shrill screams constantly during the day.  Mainly as a result of Hayden's teasing.  She is also just extra sensitive.  With a big extra. :)  It will be such a blessing to her and those she loves someday.  I can hardly get her to eat dinner these days.  She is on a meat strike.  Dax jokingly asked her when she will eat meat again.  Her reply:  "On my birthday."  Oh goodness.  She tells me nearly once a day that her legs hurt...it has been over a month now.  I finally measured her.  She has grown nearly 5 inches since September, which is a wonder considering her eating habits.  No wonder her legs hurt though.  She is as dark skinned as ever.  I love her hugs.

Taylee girl just makes me smile.  Every time I look at her chubby cheeks I can't help but feel happy.  Today she has finally mastered crawling, which worries me considering we have a Lego lover and a rip-into-as-many-pieces-as-possible-on-the-carpet-and-leave lover in our house.  She is 10 1/2 months though, so it is time for progression.   I just want her to stay little.  I am no where near ready for more babies (although I do want more), so I just want her to stay little for as long as possible.  She is my sweet strawberry shortcake (Dax's nickname for her).

Life is good.

Birds

Yesterday I was in my room and heard Hayden and Kyra come up the stairs.  I heard Kyra exclaim, "Baby birds!"  I walked in to their room to discover Hayden holding a birds nest, WITH BABY BIRDS IN IT.  They were so brand new that there was one egg that had yet to hatch.  I have never seen baby birds so tiny.  I repressed the urge to freak out and tried to calmly explain that when we touch the nest and the baby birds the mama probably won't come back and the birds will die. 

At first Hayden tried to convince me he could take care of them.  I didn't remind him that he has a hard time feeding the 9 chickens we already have.

We carefully put the nest back in the bush that Hayden took it from.  I felt a twinge of guilt, seeing such helpless babies.  Then I looked at my strawberry bed, and the guilt was swept away.  The little devils have been eating my berries. 

Scriptures in the Tub

I was reading scriptures to the kids in the tub this evening.  Not the best way to do family scripture study, but by the time we all get inside at the end of the day we are exhausted and the full on bed time routine takes over an hour.  Hence, scriptures at tub time.  Anyway, the kids asked what prosperity meant, and it led to a good discussion about heaven, and how we chose to come to Earth and others chose to follow Satan and will never be happy.  It was wonderful. 

Then Kyra started touching her private area.  She does this frequently when she is naked, and my "talks" don't seem to be helping.  I explained to her for the first time that her private area is where babies come from, after she grows up and gets married and that Heavenly Father has asked us not to touch that area except to wash or wipe it clean.  Hayden then proceeded to tell her that her private area would stretch and stretch and stretch for a baby to come out and it would really hurt.  Nice.  He asked me when he would get married, and I told him sometime after he went on a mission, after he was 21.  I told him he would find a nice girl who keeps the commandments, who he could take care of like daddy takes care of me.  He said, "but will you help me find the right one and make a good choice?"  My heart melted.  I am sure that boy will melt many hearts in his quest to find the one.  But I don't want to think about that for a long, long time.  Today I just want my babies to stay little.

*I should probably start splitting them up at tub time, but once again, another step in the process, and I just seem to have too many processes and not enough time lately.