...and the livin' is easy.

Well, it is not quite summertime yet. But don't tell my kids. They have been swimming in our pool since we moved in four weeks ago:) it has been so tempting for me too- I LOVE swimming - but the water has been just a few degrees on the cold side. Yesterday I came home from going to the zoo with Maddie to find Jeff and the three youngers in the hot tub. I hung out with them for a while but then I just had to do it. I ran straight to the diving board and jumped right in. It was cold. Really cold. But I climbed right back out and jumped again. And again. Jeff braved up and jumped once but he was a little wimpy and ran right back to the jacuzzi;) It was fun. And today we went out again and I spent about an hour in the pool with the older kids. I am pretty sure I had more fun than any of them. I had to force myself to come inside.

Did I ever mention how much I love our new house? Yes, it is 37 years old and needs some updating. Yes, the kitchen is kind of small and the dining room is carpeted. But I really don't think there could be a more perfect layout for our family. It is cozy and fosters togetherness yet it is roomy. It has all kinds of awesome built-in storage that I don't even fill up. It has a pool in the backyard. And a hot tub. It has a big great room that is perfect for family time. I love it and I feel so blessed.

One other thing, I am married to the best man on the planet. Hands down. He works so hard solving all kinds of problems at work, comes home and solves all kinds of problems at home, plays with our kids, listens to me talk, and then he somehow manages to fit in time for his school work. I am lucky. Our kids are lucky. I love him.

Humility is a virtue...

I went outside to shoot a few hoops with Cole and Cade this afternoon. I was feeling like my boys should be pretty proud of their old mom since more than a few of my shots were making their way into the basket. But then I remembered the laughable way I look when I shoot. Apparently my form isn't normal. At least that is what I have been told. A few times. So then I worked on my form and tried to make myself look better. I don't think it worked.

I moved on to the trampoline and tried a few front flips. I couldn't land a single one. I got close though. Once. And it wasn't very many jumps before I remembered how unpleasant jumping on the trampoline can be for a person who has given birth to six children.

At that point, I gave up on trying to be totally awesome and came inside. Then I thought about this past Saturday's Cub Scout Day Camp. The boys did an obstacle course and I thought I would impress them by my abilities so I tried it. I did ok but my big shoe got caught for several seconds in the gunny sack (jumping in a gunny sack is a lot harder than it looks, by the way) and I did a little belly flop onto the grass that was apparently pretty funny when I got to an obstacle that I needed to crawl under. I think I was good comic relief. Needless to say, I didn't break any records.

This I what I realize: getting older is humbling. Or maybe, just being me is humbling. Because let's face it, I am really not that old. I guess the trick is to keep getting out there and playing and pretending like I am 12 again. I want my kids to someday be able to tell their friends what my little brother told his, "my mom might look old and tired, but she's just old."

Golden Birthday

So Madlyn turned 10 yesterday- I can't believe a decade has flown by so quickly! We celebrated by having chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and orange juice for breakfast. I was so happy when Cole said, "this is kind of our tradition, isn't it?" Yes, we do have chocolate chip pancakes for birthday breakfasts! Then I felt a little deflated when Cole said that "mornings on birthdays are always like this" (meaning chaotic and rushed). Oh well. At least we have some traditions:)

After school, Madlyn got to go to get frozen yogurt with her grandma (perks of living one minute apart), to her new activity day group, she made her own birthday cake (her request), and she helped me make her birthday dinner of homemade orange chicken and fried rice. Grandpa and Grandma L. joined us for dinner and then her cousins who live nearby joined for cake and ice cream. Our gift to her was a new bed and bedspread and freshly painted bedroom furniture. She is working on her Paris-themes bedroom and we gave her a good start.

It was such a fun day and she said she felt loved and appreciated so I think it was a success! I did, of course, reminisce about her birth and am just so grateful that she decided to join our family 10 years ago! We love our Mads!

P.S. At 10, Madlyn loves cooking, music, and planning. She is in her school's production of Seussical and is enjoying that. She takes piano lessons and plays the viola in the orchestra at school. She is very talented and is coming out of her shell. Madlyn really is an extraordinary chef. She LOVES to cooks and will often make entire meals by herself with absolutely no help from me, aside from sometimes helping her find the recipe. It is so much fun to cook with her and it is especially awesome that she loves to chop! She will come ask me if I need anything chopped and loves to do it!

Madlyn is such a joy to have in our family and we all love her!

P.s.s. Madlyn had a fun surprise and had a new cousin born early in the morning on her birthday! My little brother and his wife had their first baby, little Carson Boyd. We are so excited and happy for them and can't wait to meet him!!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we did it. We finally bought a house. We closed two weeks ago and are feeling pretty settled in by now. Of course, I have lots of decorating things I want to do but boxes are unpacked and most everything is where it should be. It is AMAZING to have our own space again- and so much more than we have ever had- we are in heaven!

We are so thankful that it worked out so well for us to stay with Jeff's parents for as long as we did (8 months) - they are so good to us- but we are so so glad to be living two streets away now instead of with them!

We are in the same school and (barely) in the same ward and I, for one, am so glad that we don't have to make that adjustment all over again! I have been lucky enough to make some good friends here and like that we get to stay!

I miss Texas and my friends there still but this is home now. I did retain a little bit of Texas with me- both my new home phone number and my cell phone have the numbers of our TX street address in it, 349. I totally did that on purpose.

Life is good and we are blessed!

Too sick too long.

I think someone in our household (grandparents included) has been sick for over a month. We had a little break around Christmas but we were sick in December too. Someone gets sick, it slowly makes it rounds through the entire family and right when we are almost done, someone else starts it all over again. We are currently working on round 4. 2 rounds of stomach yuckies and 2 rounds of colds, fevers, and coughs. It is ridiculous. We all went to church together for the first time in a month on Sunday but I think it was a little premature because Lane's fever came back that night and Maddie woke up this morning and her fever was back. I am more than a little frustrated. The weather is starting to warm up a little this week so I am really hoping there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Funny thing...while EVERYONE in the house has gotten sick, I have not. I have felt a little off some days and know my body is fighting it off but I have never gotten down and out sick. What a blessing that has been!

Here I Am!!!

Little Callie is our little ham. If she ever feels like she is not getting the attention she deserves, she will start doing little tricks so we can't help but look. She has been this way since forever. It is so funny. Tonight we were spending some quality family time and wrestling/doing gymnastics, etc. After awhile, the kids were chasing each other around the house and the grown ups were left chatting in the living room. It was at this point that Callie came running into the living room, looked at us all, and excitedly announced, "here I am"! Then she proceeded to do a few tricks, including spinning in circles and throwing herself to the floor. Too funny.

Speaking of Callie, she is just a tiny bit dramatic. She is pretty good at coaxing a few tears when she needs to. Her bottom lip pout is stellar as well. The other day she came up to me holding her arm and she tearfully said, "Cade Blade (she always calls him that). Hit. My. Leg"! I could hardly contain myself.

For this next story, let me give you a little background. When my kids are in the bath, I will hand them a bar of soap and tell them to wash themselves. They will then proceed to wash their bums and legs, etc. So lately, Callie has been referring to her bum as her "self". I guess that is what she notices being washed the most in the bath:) so anyways, a couple if times she has very dramatically told me that Cade Blade or Kimber hit her self, as she points to her bum. Cracks me up every time. No pun intended. Haha.

We sure love our Callie girl. She is so cute and funny and we can't imagine our life without her:)

Oh and Callie reprised her role as Thing 1 for Halloween this year. Here she is with her sidekick, Thing 2.

Latest Happenings

Well I had the surgery and it all went well. I spent the night in the hospital and came home Saturday morning. I have enjoyed a lazy week hanging out with my kids and reading:) my mother-in-law has been great and I didn't cook all week!

Jeff and his dad took the four oldest camping in the mountains last night. They were cold. But I think they had a good time. They came back all dirty and smelling like campfire so I'd say it was a success:) Michelle and the little girls and I went to dinner and shopping. We stayed out too late and had lots of fun. The girls were troopers and Callie learned the word "shopping". They are definitely little girls- they loved every minute of it!!

We didn't really do our fall snacks this week since I was recovering but we did manage to make some Oreo ball eyeballs and some football whoopie pies! The eyeballs didn't look too great but we know what to do differently next time. I thought the footballs were cute-and they tasted yummy as well!

Jeff is finishing up one class and getting ready to start another next week. That man is amazing and I love him.

Fall Break is officially over and I have to start making lunches again. It was a good break. Next week we get to have Lane's birthday - big 4 years old on Wednesday! Time flies.

Oh and just for fun, we girls went to a little boutique today and I saw the cutest saying, "a good cook knows that it is not what is on the table that matters; it's what is in the chairs". Love it! It is definitely going on my wall. When I have a house. Which will be someday.

Today's Adventure...

Last night, as I was getting ready to go to my very first Round Table as a Cub Scout den leader, I started feeling a little achy and my tummy started hurting. This was about 6:45 and by the time I got to my meeting, I felt terrible. I barely sat through the two hours- I was so cold and achy. By the time I left to come home at 8:45 the pain had settled in the lower right side of my tummy. After a few hours of misery, the pain subsided somewhat and I was able to sleep a little. Long story short, I have spent a good portion of today in the ER and will be having my appendix removed shortly. Not exactly what I wanted to do today but what can ya do, right?

Jeff is on his way here now and his mom has our kids. I am so grateful to her. I only hope I am up to doing some fun things with the kids next week for Fall Break!

Too much fun

Today the younger ones and I headed to the park. I think we are finally getting into park weather but it was still a little warm today. But we had lots of fun! Kimber definitely loves the swings, Callie prefers the slides, and Lane just has fun with everything. It was so nice to be outside with the kids and I am loving that I don't have a tiny one or a big pregnant belly! I can actually play more with the kids and I love that. There is joy in every stage, I guess:)

Today's snack: witch broomsticks! Lane thinks they are pretty awesome - I hope everyone else does too! I am having lots of fun with this themed snack thing:)

I love fall!

A few weeks ago I decided that I should try to have a snack ready for the older kids when they come home from school. They always eat anyways but I figured maybe this would keep them in the kitchen talking to me for a while and maybe they would be able to focus on their homework right away. Well, they LOVE it! And I love having that time to chat with them after their day.

So in October, I thought it might be fun to have fall/Halloween snacks every day. This is what we are having today: candy corn cheesecake mousse. Yesterday we had deviled eggs with olive spiders on top and Monday we had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. So far the kids are having fun and I am too! It is fun for me to think about it ahead of time and try to be creative.

I am having so much fun getting ready for the holidays! We are working on Halloween costumes and Christmas stuff as well. We were at Hobby Lobby the other day (love that store) and I am pretty sure Callie and Kimber love it too:)

Lane's birthday is coming up and he is so excited about his Halloween birthday! He says he wants a telescope which would be pretty awesome.

I may be wrong but...

It might be just me but I'm pretty sure my kids are about the funniest around. Take the twins, for example. Kimber has started this thing where she closes her eyes and thinks that we can't see her. I'm sure that is pretty normal for someone her age but there is something about the way Kimber does it that makes you want to about die laughing. She shuts her eyes tightly so they're all crinkly around the edges but then her eyes aren't really all the way closed so she can peek through.Then she gets this huge smile on her face and turns her head back and forth while you "look" for her. Sometimes she ducks her head and other times she will just throw herself on the ground and try to sink into the carpet:) It's pretty hilarious.

Callie is our little talker. You can even understand her when she talks; it is not just blabber. And she says some pretty cute things. Yesterday she wanted a banana. As I started peeling it and the actual edible banana became visible, she said, "Oh! There you are! There you are, banana!" So stinkin' funny:)

Lane likes my hair. Always has. I think it is getting worse. He really only likes it when I have a ponytail and then he grabs the whole handful of hair, right where the hair band is holding it, and pulls on it and tugs it every which direction. Lately he has started telling me that, "I need yours hair." One night I finished singing to the boys in their room and was leaving when they all started telling me how awesome I am (I know, I'm so lucky). Lane pipes up, "Yea Mom, you have nice hair." I think that my hair may be my only redeeming quality in his eyes:)

Cade is loving school, now that it is his new normal. He is so funny and such a blessing because he likes everything done the proper way and in order and so on Monday afternoons, he gets his whole week's worth of homework out and finishes it all by himself. No direction from me. Just him. He always chooses orange to color with, unless he doesn't have a choice. And his coloring consists of scribbles. The first few days of school, he was not happy because "all we do is color, cut things out, and glue." What can I say? I don't blame the kid.

Cole loves going to the same school that his dad went to. One of the first days that he had P.E., the teacher came up to him and told him, "I know who your dad is." Then he took him into his office and showed him a football that his dad had signed, back when their after-school football team won the championship. So fun. Another thing Cole likes is that he might get to be a Mountain View Toro in high school. Sometimes he and Jeff ride their bikes over there to "see what the Mountain View Toros" are up to. This morning, we stepped outside before school and he heard the marching band practicing. "Mom! The Mountain View Toros are practicing - can I stay out here and listen?"

Maddie is an aspiring chef. She loves to watch cooking shows with her grandma and is always trying new recipes. Some recipes she finds on the internet, others she makes up. A couple of weeks ago, she made a batter, poured it into some mini loaf pans with some canned peaches and made her own version of a cobbler. She made up the entire recipe by herself and it wasn't a disaster. She made deviled eggs the other day and mixed up the mustard, mayonnaise, etc. and just put it on top of the egg yolk instead of mixing them all together. When I told her how you really make them, she smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, "I thought there was something a little funny about them."

All right folks. Here is the evidence; you be the judge. Aren't they about the funniest kids ever? I love them and I am so lucky to have them.

Bittersweet

I keep telling Jeff how much I am loving being here in Mesa; I love getting inexpensive produce, I love the grocery store sales, I love swimming in the backyard, I love getting Utah fruit and canning them with my sister-in-law, I love making day trips up to the mountains to visit my parents, I love spending so much time with Jeff's parents, I love our new ward, I love it ALL. But I miss Hewitt. I miss my friends. I miss my ward. I miss the small towns and the green fields. I miss the Cameron Park Zoo and the Mayborn Museum. I miss Movie Night. I miss the fireflies. I miss the Texas accents (I plan on saying y'all for the rest of my life, hehe).  I miss playdates with friends. I miss it ALL.

I think one of the reasons this move has been so hard for me is because I know we won't ever move back. When we moved there, we knew that if things didn't work out or if we didn't like it, we could always move back. The thing is, things did work out and we loved it. Our time there was just done.

I am so grateful for Jeff's new job and the opportunity we have to be here in AZ. I will forever be grateful for the years we had in Texas and for the friends and memories that we made. Like I said, bittersweet.

Westward Ho!

After three years in my beloved Hewitt, TX, we have moved home to Arizona. Words cannot express the heartbreak I feel about leaving my dear friends and tender memories behind. A lot happened to our little family while we were there and I experienced so much personal growth; it has been life-changing. A little piece of my heart will always belong in the heart o' Texas. I will miss you!

On the other hand, we have been so amazingly blessed to find ourselves back in our home state close to our parents and much of our extended families. Jeff was able to get a good job with a stable company and we are so excited about this opportunity! We know the timing is right and have felt the Lord's hand guiding every step of this journey. I am continually awed and amazed at our Heavenly Father's love for us and his willingness to bless us in ways that we never thought possible. I have felt and seen it too many times to doubt it.

We are currently staying with Jeff's parents while we try to figure out where we want to live exactly. I have been somewhat stressed about this but I know that as we continue to pray and seek guidance, we will know what we should do. The kids start school next Wednesday and so we are working on getting them ready for that! But mostly right now, we are having so much fun with cousins since most of Jeff's family is in town!

It has been a busy summer and lots of changes for our family but we are optimistic and excited about the future! Life is beautiful and we are blessed.

What do you get when you combine strep with pneumonia?

One sick girl. And no, this is not a joke. Madlyn has been sick for 12 days now. She was diagnosed with strep throat 8 days ago and was just not getting better. She was still running a fever and was so tired and fatigued and didn't have any energy. Every time she would get up and do something, she would get winded and have to rest. On Monday I called the doctor and they changed her prescription and told me that if she wasn't better in 3 days to come in for another appointment. This morning she woke up with a fever still and even though it hadn't been 3 days, I felt like she needed to be seen so I called the doctor again and took her in. I told the nurse practitioner my concerns about her breathing (which were validated by her oxygen pulsometer?? and her heartrate and listening to her breathe, etc.) so we did a chest X-ray and a breathing treatment to see if that helped anything. After seeing her X-ray, the NP's words were, "Your X-ray is quite impressive. You have pneumonia. You have a pretty good case of pneumonia." Apparently her left lung was particularly bad. Poor girl. No wonder she has been so sick and so unlike herself. It makes me feel so bad that we didn't catch it earlier. I feel so frustrated because her breathing was what had me worried in the first place - she didn't even ever have a sore throat! I should start listening to my mommy instinct because I am almost always right on the money! (OK, not always. There was the time I was convinced there was something terrible going on in Madlyn's mouth - turned out she had a canker sore:) Dumb mom moment for sure.) Anyways, she has an additional antibiotic to take for a few days and hopefully she will be good as new by the time we hit the road for AZ next weekend!

It's Raining

A couple of months ago I realized that I needed some good music to listen to while I clean the house. If I have something good then I start dancing and actually can get quite a good workout in at the same time that the chores are getting done! It is so much more fun that way! I had to think and think about what kind of music I like because it has been years since I have really listened to anything other than what is in our CD changer in the car and the random songs Jeff plays for me. I decided that I just really like show music. So the first album I chose to buy was "Grease". I knew that it would get me dancing. It does, by the way. I am pretty sure my kids think I'm a little crazy busting my moves as I wipe down counters, load the dishwasher, and fold clothes:)

Today, it's raining. I love the rain. Especially today because I woke up to a pretty clean house (not always the case, I assure you). I can't stand a messy house when it is raining or overcast; I'm not sure why but it depresses me. So today I am feeling pretty good about being cozy inside my nice clean house while the rain comes pouring down.

I feel like I almost always have a song for every occasion. "Mister", my 5th grade teacher, was the same way. You could say one word and he always had a song to go with it. Of course, it was a song none of us had ever heard of but he would sing it anyway. I like that I am growing up that way. I don't always sing my songs out loud but at least I think of them.

Naturally, the song that came to mind this morning as I am gazing out my window at the lush green grass and the dark skies with the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance is,

It's raining...on prom night.

My hair is a mess.

It's running all over 

My taffeta dress.

It's wilting the quilting

on my maiden form.

And mascara flows

right down my nose

because of the storm.

 Nice. I can't even think of another good rain song to go with this beautiful day. Maybe I'll have to branch out a little with my listening choices:)


I just realized I need the soundtrack to "West Side Story" so that I can dance around the house singing, "I Feel Pretty"! Haha.

Busy Happenings...

Yes, we have been busy. Yes, it has been challenging. This being a mom is not an easy job. Rewarding, yes. Easy, no. And frankly, I have been pretty much living in survival mode and not even doing that very well for a couple of months. I think I am past that. At least I am blogging, no? Here are a few things that we've been doing at our house: 

getting visitors from AZ -  we loved it!

playing at the park

getting strep throat (Madlyn & I both had it and it was no bueno)

getting haircuts and being too handsome for words

getting temporary mohawks:) nope, I couldn't let him keep it:)

and yes, we are lucky enough to have 3 handsome boys!

learning how to climb on big sister's desk and get into all her stuff

trying on shoes (lots and lots of shoes - doesn't matter what size) and running around half naked

camping (thank goodness for fun dads - such a great weekend and I needed it)

I love this shot of the kids playing in the lake at sunset!

the kids had so much fun and got so incredibly dirty:)

trying out the new tent at 2pm

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of all-time! It captures Kimber's personality so well

I will say this: I am a lucky mom. And wife. Sometimes I get to feeling sorry for myself because I have so many dishes to wash or mountains of laundry to keep clean or because I have two toddlers running around and wreaking havoc on my house. Shame on me. I am so grateful to have such beautiful, amazing children who love me and make me pretty pictures for Mother's Day and give me lunch in bed and every single day of my life make me smile and laugh. I am so incredibly grateful for a husband who is NEVER critical and who so patiently encourages and supports me, especially on my hard days. I know I don't deserve them but I sure am glad they are mine:)

A Little Fall of Rain

One of my very favorite songs from Les Miserables is sung by Eponine and Marius - A Little Fall of Rain. I love it. The lyrics are heart-wrenching and the music is haunting and beautiful. Here are the first few lines:

Don't you fret, Monsieur Marius
I don't feel any pain.
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now.
You're here, that's all I need to know.
And you will keep me safe.
And you will keep me close.
And rain will make the flowers grow.

So what is the message in these words today? I will tell you.

We have had pretty much nonstop rain here for the past 4 days. When it first started, I was so excited! Living most of my life in the desert has made me love rain! After 2 full days of gray skies, I started feeling dreary. I know it wasn't just the weather but the clouds, the rain, and the lack of sunshine were oppressive. I became unmotivated, irritable, depressed, guilty, and felt like a failure as a mother and wife. It didn't matter what I tried (I even took a morning jog around the block in the drizzle yesterday), I could not pull myself up out of the dumps.

We made it to church today. Barely. I really dislike springing forward. I think it messes up my whole schedule for 6 months. Anyways. We made it. We heard 1 1/2 talks in Sacrament Meeting (out in the foyer) and I think they were talks given just for me. The lessons in Sunday School and Relief Society were amazing and so pertinent to the challenges I am facing. Toward the end of Relief Society, I had to excuse myself to change a dirty diaper and met a friend in the hallway. She started talked about my twins and how big they are getting, etc. and then she started telling me nice things like how amazing I am with my 6 kids. I felt badly for her because she was completely unsuspecting and I totally started crying to her! Wow - I never do that. I told her that I have been feeling overwhelmed and the conversation that followed was just what I needed. I left feeling uplifted and hopeful and inspired.

I came home and spent some precious hours with my kids, worked hard alongside my husband, and now in a few quiet moments, these lyrics came to my mind,

A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now.
You're here, that's all I need to know.
And you will keep me close.
And you will keep me safe.
And rain will make the flowers grow.

I know that even in our hard times, The Lord is with us. He keeps us close. He keeps us safe. I know that if I put my trust in Him, I can weather any rain that comes my way. And in the end, rain makes the flowers grow.

I'm a Proud Momma:)

I must admit, I thought I was pretty funny when I was a teenager. OK, so I still think I'm kind of funny. Hehe. It's perfectly fine for a person to laugh at their own jokes, right?

Back in high school, almost every day after school, I would hang out with my mother who was usually in the kitchen cleaning up dishes or getting dinner ready. I would often walk up to her and rub my hands through her hair like I was washing it and bust out singing, "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair...and send him on his way!" I'm telling you right now, it was pretty hilarious. If you don't believe me, just ask my mom:) She is a great mom, by the way.

Fast forward a few years and every time I wash my kids' hair in the bath - I sing the same song. I started with Maddie and I still do it with Callie & Kimber. Most of my kids have not even noticed my singing/washing rituals, unless it is Lane telling me that "I not a girl - I a boy!" (I change the lyrics appropriately for the boys:)) So nobody ever noticed, let alone thought I was clever or funny or anything. Until now. The other day I had the babies in the bath and I grabbed the shampoo. Immediately, Kimber started groovin' and singing in just the correct rhythm and intonations - I knew exactly what she was singing even though I couldn't understand her words! She was dancing, singing, and laughing -such a proud moment for me! Not to be outdone, Callie joined in the fun and now we all share a few minutes singing & dancing during bathtime - I love it!

Kimber is very musical and never fails to bust her groove every time she hears music - even if it is just music from a toy. She does this little wiggle from side to side and it is so cute! It's kind of like a little hula dancing - nothing really moves but her little hips - hilarious! Considering the fact that I can't keep from dancing when the music hits - I'm a proud momma!

What a Week!

We started off the week with a trip to the doctor's office for Callie & Kimber - they both had ear infections - yuck! No wonder they have been so grumpy:( It doesn't help that some big fat teeth are trying to come in - it has been a rough week for them.

Callie learned this trick first and likes to scavenge all of the food off the dinner table after we eat. Unfortunately, she taught her new skills to her sister and now they both move to the top of the table as soon as I let them out of their chairs. Funny girls. Thankfully they are pretty good about not trying to get off by themselves.

Thursday was such a beautiful day and so I got all excited and decided to take the kids for a walk and to the park. When I told Lane what we were doing, he started to cry and didn't want to go. I realized that he wasn't feeling well and since he has a history of ruptured eardrums and has been sniffly for a few weeks, off to the doctor we went. Sure enough...another ear infection. Poor guy.

Report cards came home on Thursday and both Madlyn & Cole continued their A+ streak - awesome! I am so proud of their hard work and diligence. They are both very good students and so smart. Also, Cade's pre-K teacher sent a progress report home a couple of weeks ago and he is doing great! He knows above and beyond everything that he is supposed to know. Also, Madlyn (who has taken upon herself the role of Lane's teacher) sent home his report card on Thursday as well. He has all A's and is a "pleasure to have as a student". I couldn't be a prouder mom.

Madlyn has been taking a recreational gymnastics class for the past 6 months or so and has been invited to step up to the preteam class. It is the next step if she wants to compete although she doesn't have to - she can just go learn the new skills and spend more time at the gym. At this point she is pretty sure she doesn't want to compete but would like to learn new skills and have more class time. We are proud of her accomplishments - she definitely loves gymnastics and is improving lots all the time.

Wow - this post was all over the place! And I'm pretty sure I mentioned some things that I already covered in my last post. Oh well. It happens.

Just because....

Did I ever mention that we are a little busy around here? I stopped doing facebook and I figured I would have lots more time and motivation to blog since I'm not on there anymore but no, still not very many posts. Life just flies by sometimes. OK, all the time. But I love what I am doing and where we are right now and I am so happy. Blissfully. How can I not be with these three darlings hanging out with me every day (most days I get Cade too)?? Seriously, does it get any cuter?

Someone told me the other day that Jeff had told him that having twins is so much fun! I absolutely agree but I thought it was very sweet for Jeff to say that to someone else. I really had no idea how much fun it could be having two at the same time, learning the same things and doing the same things. Yet they are so absolutely different and endearing in their own unique ways. Callie & Kimber have been such a blessing, such a tender mercy to our family. How we love them!

Our little Cadeson Glen turned 5!! I can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that this kid is 5; it seems like yesterday we were white-knuckling it up Ironwood to get to the hospital in time to have him:) He is such a special part of our family. For at least 6 months before his birthday, he asked me almost every day how many days until his birthday (He has already started asking for next year). Cade is such a good-hearted boy who likes to play ball, likes numbers, counting, and dates, likes to be obedient, likes to help with his sisters, likes things in order and looking nice, and likes to play Wii. He got Wii Sports Resort for his birthday and has been having so much fun with it (we all have - even me)! Cade is amazingly talented and smart and we LOVE him!

Like I said before, we are keeping ourselves pretty busy. We spent the past 3 months doing basketball with Cole & Madlyn and while it was fun, we are happy to be taking a break from team sports for a while! Madlyn & Cole are working on piano, taking lessons from me. We are working on establishing good practice habits and I am happy to report that we are getting better. Madlyn is moving right along and is getting quite good and Cole actually has a very natural ability to play....just no motivation:) Cade is having fun in pre-K and can't wait to go to kindergarten next year! Lane is getting bigger and smarter every day and is so stinkin' cute! Callie & Kimber are learning how to talk quite a bit and it is so much fun. One of my favorites is when they wave at each other and say, "Hi!" They just got diagnosed with ear infections on Monday - thank goodness for antibiotics and pain relievers - they are much more cheerful today:)

I am excited to say that we are getting some visitors in a couple of weeks - yay! Two of my siblings and two nephews are coming for a few days and we are so pumped! Cade keeps asking me how many days until Layton & Parks come, hehe.

Just a quick end note: I think this must reflect some character flaw of mine, but I really can't stand politics. Every time Jeff turns on a debate or political talk show, I almost feel ill and can't hardly stand to be in the same room. I think it is because I just don't know who to trust or what to believe, but it gives me the same kind of sensation as listening to fingernails scrape on a chalkboard. Really. It is that bad. I know that I should care deeply about who runs our country and I do. I just think that I shouldn't have to listen to any of their mumbo-jumbo but that if I sincerely pray about it, I will be inspired as to who I should vote for. Can't that please be how it works? Sigh.