The fam!

We had a fabulous weekend with my entire family to celebrate my brother coming home from his mission.  It was the first time all six kids (plus four spouses, one girlfriend, and eight grandkids) have been together in four years.  It was a perfectly relaxing vacation, even though winter decided to roll in for the occasion.

We did a lot of talking and eating. 

When it got warm (over 40 degrees) we had a wienie-roast.  Turns out I really enjoy a chili cheese dog on a fall day.

Norah skipped the hot dogs and stuck with chips and... well, just the chips.

 We did puzzles,

 ...took pictures,

 ..cut hair,

 

 ...played guitar,

 ...played wii

...and played football.

Aiden turfed it pretty good,

... Norah maintained her hold on Pampa's heart,

...and Annie danced through it all.

It was a great weekend!  I can't wait to get together in another half-decade.

What a week

Last week was all over the map. 

I felt a little sick on Monday and spent the next few days getting blood tests, x-rays, heart echos, etc,. while they tried to figure out what was wrong.  Blech, not my favorite week.  Luckily I have amazing neighbors who watched the kids, brought me dinner, and made sure everything was okay.  After five days of a weird fever and sore shoulders,  I'm feeling 100% better and nobody knows what was going on. I don't have a picture representing this.  But you can close your eyes and imagine a very messy house and me sitting on the couch watching m kids create chaos. 

On Thursday my brother Mike got home from his mission.  Hooray! His flight was 30 minutes early and my parents were running late.  Bad news.  We got there and realized that my mom might not make it on time.  So Landon held up a camera sending real time video to my mom's phone.  Fortunately, Mike took his sweet time coming down to baggage claim and my mom made it with about 20 seconds to spare. 

On Friday Landon and my brothers headed down to St. George where Landon ran the marathon on Saturday morning.  I was still not feeling great so I stayed back with the kids.  But Landon sent his love on mile 24. 

Landon ran his marathon then headed straight out of town for work so me and the kids stayed at my mom's house for family time and General Conference. 

The kids snuck into the storage room for treats.  The day before they did the same thing in the pantry and Annie puked.  Good times.

Butterfly

I'll say this about kids.  They keep you on your toes.  Case in point: The Death of the Moth, or if you are under 5, The Death of the Butterfly.

It was a nice Saturday night.  We took the kids to the local Maverik to fill up the car and get a treat.  As I was getting out I saw a moth on the ground and, I am a little ashamed to admit, I stepped on it.  On purpose.  To kill it.  I don't know, I think it was some primal instinct.  I felt a little bad but was ready to move on.  Unfortunately the kids saw the whole thing and they were not ready to move on.  They scolded me on the way into Maverik.

Aiden: "Mom, why did you kill that butterfly?  That was not nice."
Me: "Mmmmm, mumble, mumble, sorry, mumble.  choose your treat."
Annie: "Mom, that was a beautiful butterfly!"
Me: "I know, I'm sorry.  Mumble, mumble. Hot chocolate or ice cream?"

We got back out to the car, hot chocolate (for Annie) and ice cream (for Aiden) in hand. We started driving home and Annie said, "Mom.  That beautiful little butterfly was just looking for her mommy!" Stab to the heart.  Seriously, what I thought was a simple smashing of a bug was a family drama of epic proportions in Annie's (somewhat crazy) head.   I apologized again.  And again.


I thought the whole episode was closed, but a few days later Aiden and I were talking in the car about making mistakes, bad decisions, repentance, etc.,  I was trying to teach him the distinction between a mistake (accidentally knocking down your glass of water) and a sin (picking up your glass of water and throwing it at your sister).  He understood the difference and gave me his own example.  "So mom, when you killed that butterfly, you did it on purpose, so that was not just a mistake.  And that was rude. "  Got it. 

Mmmmm... Peaches

 I love watching Norah devour a peach. And you do too.  I'm sure of it. 

Cloth Diapers

I have always wanted to try cloth diapers and I finally gave it a try.  I have to admit, I love it!  I love that I'm not spending money on something I'm just going to throw away, I love that I'm being nice to the earth, I love that it is healthier for my little baby's bottom. It was so much easier than I thought.  The washing isn't difficult and they look absolutely adorable...

That's a lie.  That is the blog post I dreamed of writing when I tried cloth diapering a couple weeks ago.  But, truth is, I hated every minute of it.  I hated the time it took to change a diaper, I hated the clean up, I hated the laundry, I hated the hassle.  Truly, a bad experience.  Except they were very cute.  That part was true.  And now that cuteness is stored away in our emergency kit.  Heaven help me if we have an emergency and I'm required to use them. 

First Day

 Today was Aiden's first day of "real" preschool.  Last year I did a co-op where I taught every few days and knew what was going on every other day that I wasn't there, so it was a little weird to drop him off and not know what happened for the next three hours.  After I picked him up I asked how it was and he said, "I don't want to say any more words".   I think he had fun.

I think there was a little trepidation before school started.  That or the sun was in his eyes.

Now that he is in preschool, he is automatically ten times cooler.

He is also quite the thinker.

Norah joined us for the photo shoot.  She forgot to wash her face.  Silly girl.

RC Park

We spent Saturday morning with my dad flying remote control airplanes at the RC airport.  Seriously, they actually have little mini airports set aside for flying toy planes.  Hilarious, I tell you. They even have air clearance so that real planes don't mess with them.  Aiden and Annie thought it was fabulous, and I enjoyed the beautiful weather and good company.

Aiden tried his hand at the remote.

And then Pampa showed them how a pro does it.

 They were impressed.

This is what the "non-pilots" did. 

An even more enthusiastic pilot explained his helicopter to his captive audience.  And then delighted us with a show.

 Aiden and Annie found the the rocks to be much more exciting.