Remember That Time...(a fun blog idea from my friend's blog)

Just write a memory you have with me or our family. If you leave one, we'll assume you're playing and we'll come leave one on your blog too... Happy remembering!

A Note to the Readers of This Blog

To those who have been wondering why I have recently dropped out of the blogosphere:

It's called 4 kids + Summer = 0 Blogging time. As you will notice, I have just written a rather lengthy blog wishing my firstborn a Happy Birthday. His birthday occurred over a month ago, and I have been trying to get to it since then. This morning, I decided that I would "stick to it until it stuck to me," to quote my mom. It took me about 3 hours, during which the following things happened:

1. Lots of fighting
2. Crying, flailing children feeling like I was neglecting them
3. Pajamas still on at 1:30 in the afternoon (the clock on my blog is off, does anyone know how to fix it?)
4. 29 items on the family room floor
5. Smashed bits of bread all over the kitchen floor
6. A table covered with various items that need to be taken care of
7. A sink full of breakfast and lunch dishes that haven't been loaded yet
8. Morning jobs are still not done
9. 3 loads of laundry needing to be folded and put away
10. A tired baby that went down for his nap 1 hour late
11. Shall I go on?

You get the picture. Needless to say, blogging is not going to be a frequent occurrence during the summer. Well, I'm off to make up for my morning indulgence. I think I'll be paying for it for the rest of the day!

Happy (really) Belated Birthday, Isaac!

Isaac turned 10 on June 7, and this blog is all about him. I really wish I could put some pictures from his early childhood, but alas, we've only had our digital camera for 1 1/2 years. Recent pics will have to do. I'll quote from his journal...

Aug 18, 1998 (2 1/2 mo.) "Swen and I have been so blessed by Isaac's presence. He is a wonderful baby... he smiles all of the time ... I love to spend time with him. He has Swen's olive skin. We took him swimming last week and he loved it. He splashed around like a fishy. ... Isaac was blessed on Aug. 4. ... He was blessed to be sensitive to the spirit, and with love for all people."

April 1, 1999 (Almost 1) "Isaac loves his daddy. When Swen comes home, Isaac instantly fills up with energy and bounces all over the place. They like to wrestle."

December 30, 1999 (18 mo.) At the end of a very hard day: "When we knelt down to say his prayers, right after I'd started, he leaned over and zuberted my arm. I couldn't stop laughing even though it was right during my prayer. I finally gained control, finished the prayer, and leaned over to adjust the sound spa. Isaac leaned over and gave me a big kiss on the cheek, then 3 on the lips. Then he gave me a big hug and went right to bed without crying. I felt so wonderful. Isaac seemed to know I needed some fun and some love tonight. He is so wonderful."

Jan. 12, 2001 (2 1/2) "Getting [Isaac] down for a nap has become a chore in the last few days. ... On Wednesday, I put him down for a nap around 1:00 or 1:30. Over an hour later, I heard a crash. I entered his room and found quite a sight. He had emptied 5 boxes of wipes (96 each) which were crumpled into a pile as high as his knees. Then he'd emptied 2 shelves of his bookcase (over 120 books) on top of that. It was a disaster! I scooped him up and put him straight into time-out. I was not pleased. When I called to tell Daddy, he laughed and laughed. He found it quite hilarious."

April 26, 2001 (almost 3) "Isaac is my little buddy. We have a lot of fun together. He's very active but he usually has a hug for me if I need one."

April 25, 2002 (almost 4) "Isaac is so smart. He amazes me every day with things that he says. ... He is so social ... and friendly. Isaac also loves to play with Jo-Jo. They get along great. Isaac teases Jo-Jo a lot, too. He loves to get Jo-Jo's pillow and blankie and run around our house with Jo-Jo running and screaming after him. His mom doesn't enjoy it as much as Isaac does."

May 14, 2002 (almost 4) "In the past two days, Isaac has brought me 3 bugs that he's killed with his bare hands. Two were flies and one was a moth. He's so quick. He gets very excited, 'I smashed it!'"

Nov. 16, 2003 (5 1/2) "Isaac began kindergarten ... He loves it! He's in the top of his class and he's beginning to read. He loves math. The other day he asked me to write out a bunch of problems for him-with 100's. He did all of them. I taught him how to add in columns and he picked right up on it."

Feb 10, 2005 (almost 7) "[Isaac] was very upset the other day when I had to get [Alyssa's] PKU test. He DID NOT want me to take her to get poked, and he refused to go with me because he didn't want to see her cry. He's very protective. He makes a wonderful brother."

Feb. 17, 2005 (almost 7) "You are so sweet and sensitive, Isaac. ... Recently there was a big tsunami that killed thousands of people. You felt so bad that you gave ALL of your money. It was over $5, and you had been saving it for months."

April 10 2005 (almost 7) "You and Jo made a "Marvelous Mud Mixture" in the backyard, then you played in the bath for about an hour. You and Jo spend hours doing pretend games. You set up forts ... It's so cute. Your "games" last a whole day sometimes. It's amazing. You guys are really good buddies (most of the time). You're always on the go. In 5 minutes tonight, you brought out the football, the baseball, and the soccer ball. You're a great friend. You're always concerned when someone gets in trouble or gets called a name. Sometimes you beg to take Joe's punishment for him, or you get mad at me and Dad when we discipline him. You especially love Alyssa. You kiss her constantly. Sometimes I have to ask you go give her some space! You are a good brother though, and we all love you very much!"

Jan 11, 2008 (9 1/2) "The funniest thing happened this morning! In the middle of the night, Alyssa came tearing out of her room flaming mad, yelling "Isaac, give it back, you stinkin' monkey!" It was so hilarious! We had to convince her it was only a dream, and that you hadn't really taken her toy. We all know why she dreamed it, though. You've loved to tease since you were born! Just kidding, not quite that long. But our constant lectures are: 1. 'Isaac! Stop teasing. Joseph! Stop reacting.' OR 2. 'Isaac! Stop teasing. Alyssa! Be nice." You're getting a little better at being a peacemaker, though! (Here's hoping! :) ).

Feb 8, 2008 (9 1/2) "Isaac, you are a truly amazing person. I went to your parent teacher conference with you on Tuesday, and your teacher is totally impressed with you. Not only are you smart, but you're a good example and you're helpful. Your teacher said that if she ever has a student who is having a hard time, she can sit you down by them and you help them. You have high grades... But the reason that I'm most proud of you is: a couple of weeks ago you came home and said that some of your friends say the Lord's name in vain and it bugs you. You asked them to stop and they teased you at first, then mostly stopped. 2 days ago, you came home and said that some of your friends say the "F" word. At first I was VERY concerned and said that maybe you ought to find new friends. That didn't feel quite right, however, so we looked up "friends" and "swear" on lds.org in old Friend magazines. All of the articles we checked gave examples of people asking their friends to not swear and they continued to stand up for what they believed. Yesterday you told me that you had asked your friend to stop swearing and saying the Lord's name in vain and he said he would stop! I am so proud of you for standing up for what you believe."

Isaac we love you for your faithfulness in the gospel and for your playfulness. You are a great big brother. Your name means "child of promise" and "he laugheth". It fits you perfectly.

Joe's Special Day

Joseph was baptized on May 31. We were blessed to have so many people who we love come and support him.

He was baptized on the same day as his cousin, Ellie.

It was a special day we had been looking forward to for a long time.

Joseph is grateful that his dad was able to baptize and confirm him.

He felt "minty fresh" after his baptism.

Isaac and Joe have led the way, and Alyssa and Lincoln will follow in a few years.

We were very proud of Joseph and his decision to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a wonderful day for all of us.

Aiden is here!

We have another baby in the family! Little Aiden Matthew has arrived. We never would have guessed that my sister-in-law, Sarah, his little tiny mama, could manage to have a 8 lb. 9 oz., 20 1/2 baby! We get to meet him tomorrow, and we are all excited. He looks nice and cuddly. Next to arrive: Baby Boy # 5 for my brother, Jared. and my sis-in-law, Trina. He'll be making his appearance sometime next month, my parents' 25 grandchild.

Just havin' a bit of fun

I've been a little obsessed lately with my newly remembered mission in life: TO FOCUS ON THE RELATIONSHIPS IN MY FAMILY. Translated: Getting our bunnuchies out of the house and doing as many fun things as possible. That means I've been trying to get the work done during the day, therefore, my computer time has pretty much been eliminated. But it's worth it. I can feel the love growing. My house isn't any cleaner, but I'm trying not to care as much. Anyway, here's some of what we've been doing:

I've lived near the Great Salt Lake my WHOLE life, and I've never actually seen it. So a couple of weeks ago, we packed our hiking gear and went for a day of hiking along the lush, wooded trails of Antelope Island (At least that's what I was expecting). When we got there, I was sorely disappointed. There is not a tree on the entire island, and our hiking consisted of walking along a mile of flat, salty sand to get to the water. We still had fun, however, in spite of the bugs that seemed to be immune to our bug spray. I felt the mama bear instincts arouse in me as little bugs constantly bit my babies. GRRRRRR!



This is our newly adopted member of the family, Allison. Not really, but we do try to get her to spend as much time with us as she can stand.

We love having a nice park and pool close by. We've been able to do late evening swims a couple of times, and it's awesome!

Allison and I took her nieces and my 2 little ones to Gateway. Lincoln was the only one brave enough to go into the cold water fountains. He was so cute with his wet T-shirt clinging to his chubby little belly.

I have some other blog ideas cooking, but this will have to do for now. My laundry and kitchen floor await...

Comfort or Style?

My sister in law sent me these pictures and I just had to share them. Joseph asked me why I wanted to be "gruesome" and I told him that they were too shocking to keep to myself. How willing are you to sacrifice comfort for style?