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Kindergarten Christmas Program

2012-01-26T15:58:00.000-08:00

You gotta love a good Kindergarten program.

They had already performed for the older grades earlier that day, during which (as reported by older brothers) Gus had apparently been cuddling up to the girl standing next to him, and stroking her hair.......which sounds a little weird.......I'm not too sure that that's normal......and then there was allegedly some nose-picking.

So I was a little nervous to see what he might do during the big performance.

But he sang his little heart out. See him?

Here's the same pic zoomed in.....

And then the antlers went on.....

And I could barely see him the rest of the performance!

Although I got this shot......

.....of a mid-nosepick.

Through some antlers.

What's a Kindergarten Program without some good nose-pickin'?! I always say!

And afterwards, a little cousin-lovin' with cousin Kellen.

Good stuff.

Dear Mr. Werner,

2012-01-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

I just wanted you to know that my son, Zane, does have more clothes than

the black shorts and striped sweatshirt that he wears every. single. day.

Just in case you were beginning to get concerned.

In fact, he has lots of other clothes that he just doesn't want to wear, and

this is a battle that I'm choosing not to fight right now. I'm sure you

understand.

I can't guarantee that this outfit is getting washed every day (or two), but I'm

trying. Let me know if he starts to stink.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Mason

one cute chick

2012-01-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

Caroline was a yellow chicken for Halloween.

One of these days I'll get the rest of Halloween on here. But right now I'm just glad to get something blogged.

This was a Chasing Fireflies costume that I then stuffed the body inner lining, which I thought made it alot cuter.

And she was such a good sport about having it on! Hood & everything!!

She is so my most favorite fat little baby chicken ever!

Hors

2012-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is Hors.

Also known as Carter the Brown Horse.

And he is Gus's favorite stuffed animal at the moment.

Hors was zero years old until he recently had his birthday(which we all had to celebrate), so now he is one. He eats dinner with us & has his own bed, and is full of all kinds of ideas & opinions.

Too bad Gus wasn't a girl, because he'd be great at playing dolls. Marlee didn't give a rip about dolls, and so far Caroline's more interested in trains & balls, so I've felt a little jipped in that department. But maybe this will have to make up for it.

The other day I found this on the kitchen table.....

And this....

I'd have to give Hors a thumbs-up.

He never talks back to me.

Gus would definitely vote 'yes'.

Hors has been the favored one for some time now, which says alot for him.

And he's not lost yet. Well.... lost, then found, then lost, then found a few times.

Sorry, Hors. But it's only a matter of time.

school pictures

2012-01-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Now that the school year is half over, I'm getting around to posting these that I took back in August!

I'm not a big fan of the usual school pictures. Maybe I'd buy them just for the classic horrible-ness of them, except that they're ridiculously over-priced.

So this year I decided to take my own. I like them alot better.
And they're free! :)

Who needs toys?

2011-12-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

We bought a wagon.

And guess what gets played with the most.....

Boxes are the best!

Help me.

2011-11-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. I'm so behind. Makes me want to curl up in a ball in a corner somewhere.

But I can't. There's always too much to do & not nearly enough time to do it.

Just keeping up with this chica.....

.....seems to take most of it.

I put her in her highchair with a sucker while I took a shower, to keep the destruction down.

And I come out to find this.

So funny!

I can't tell if she is really the busiest, messiest toddler I've had, or if it just seems like it because I'm older & more easily tired. And out of shape. And haggard.

Hmmmmm.

Jen

2011-10-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

My little sister Jen is having a lot of fun right now.

She has two babies. Eleven months apart.

Baby Tate

And this guy......

Brock.

He's a month or so older than Caroline.

And boy does Jen has her hands full.

They came in town & we took some pictures.

Is that not the yummiest?!

Our goal was to get something with the two of them together.

But all I got were different variations of this.....

So we ended up with ones like this.....

Which I thought were so much more real!

Hang in there Jen!!!

Love you! :)

Time to lock up the Sharpies....

2011-10-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

(taken with my iPhone)

Anyone know how to get this stuff off?

Back To School

2011-09-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Marlee's first day as a Junior.

Jake's first day of 8th grade.

Max's first day of 6th grade, Zane's first day of 3rd grade, and Gus's first day of Kindergarten!

In all honesty, I've never been sad to see any of my kids off to Kindergarten thus far.

Until now.

This one was kind of hard. My littlest guy......

He wasn't terribly thrilled either.

But he put on a brave face & gave me a wave.

I think I would have been crying if it hadn't been so bleepin' hot.

Then Caroline & I walked back home.

Just me and her.

It was so quiet! It was awesome!! Until I started realizing how much I depended on the other kids to keep her entertained. She doesn't want to be in a room by herself, so I have to be right by her side all the time.

So this is our routine......

While I'm cleaning up after breakfast/school-lunch-making, Caroline gets into her toy drawer. And she literally gets into it.

When she's done, I pick it up while she starts on the arts & crap cupboards.

She helps herself to a little snack while she's at it.

So then I clean up that mess.

Meanwhile, she's moved on to the book basket.

She loves books.

And they all must be pulled out every time.

Then comes the very popular party-plates-and-napkins drawer.....

Yes, I know I need to dig up some of those cupboard lock thingys.

And then there's the bathroom cupboards, with fun things like tampons to unwrap, and the bandaid drawer, and the laundry basket, which is a favorite.

And so goes my day.

I love it.

Marlee Goes to Homecoming

2011-09-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

So who's her hot date?

It's Weston, her "best friend".

Mmm hmmm. Rigggghhhhhht. :)

And they went with these guys.....

Michelle & Seth

And Katie & Grant

Just the girls....

These three are bff's, and they play volleyball together.

And they are absolutely beautiful! I love them!

I'm so glad Mars has such great friends.

And it sounds like they all had a good time, going by Marlee's "Bueno" when I asked her how it all went. She's not one for giving up details. That's all I got. "Bueno." She's strangely non-dramatic for a teenage girl. It's weird. And it's great most of the time. But not when I'm trying to get a lowdown on something like this. Don't they know that we live for this stuff?! Sheesh!

And what's also weird is that I can already tell that Caroline is not going to be like this. One day I'll be complaining about how I can't get her to shut up!

hula baby

2011-09-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

is yummy yummy!

The face of misery

2011-09-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Poor Zaners.

This is not his idea of fun. But we've all had to do it.

And Brian makes it even funner by telling him he's not getting back into the boat until he gets up. That's what his dad did to him, so that's what he does to our kids. I can't say that I'm on board with this method, but I'm not usually there to intervene anyways. I'm always at home with a baby.

So, after several attempts (with the help of Marlee's friend Weston), and apparently plenty of tears and exclamations of "I'm NEVER, EVER coming to the lake again!!!" (I wasn't there to save him).......

.....he got up! Sort of. Good enough.

And a very relieved Zaners was allowed to get back into the boat. Exhausted, but also proud of his accomplishment.

And before we know it, he'll be up & lovin' it like the others.

Gus will be next.

But for now, he rides on the tube & jumps in & swims around when the boat's stopped, & eats Cheetos & Sprite, & plays with his fave toy of the day, like Orca whale here.

Always the cliff-jumping, which freaks. me. out.

Another long hard day at the lake.

Ten years ago....

2011-09-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of 6-year-old Marlee before I walked her to school that morning. We were really late, because I couldn't pull myself away from the news on TV. It was so unreal. All I did was watch the news, flipping back & forth between stations, for weeks.

I remember how a kind of depression seemed to settle in after the shock had worn off. But I also remember never feeling such intense patriotism before in my whole life.

I can't believe it's been ten years.

Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday. But then at the same time, it's hard to remember that blissfully naive pre-9/11 world. So much has changed.

Marlee's changed a little too. :)

The Summer of 2011

2011-09-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

It was short. Not the hot weather, it's still here, but summer vacation. The few weeks we have to fit in scout camps & girls camps & basketball camps & youth conferences & swim team & family vacations & family reunions & EFY's & then have bumloads of "free" time to get bored out of our skulls while living in our swimsuits. It gets shorter every year. And by the time you fit everything in that just must be a part of summer vacation, there's no time left for the chilling out part, the getting bored part. I miss the getting bored part.

So it was short, but sweet, nevertheless.

Here's a summary of our summer of 2011..........

My beloved garden that I finally planted in the spring.....

.....which I then neglected in May & June, then was dead by the end of July.

Maybe I should use those tomato cages next year. Duh!

School ended and the Trek began a couple days later.

Right after that, I was able to go relax up in Deer Valley, Utah with my Mom & sisters & SIL's for a few days.

Man, I really needed that!

Then came Scout camp & basketball camps & swim lessons, then Coronado for the Fourth.

In between went like this......

swimming

Plants vs. Zombies

Caroline learned how to climb the stairs.

Then she learned how to play baby games on my iPhone (Happy Babies app is awesome!)

lake trips

staying in our jammies all day

The playroom looked like this. Or worse.

Caroline looked like this in the mornings. So excited to play with her brothers.

more swimming

scrumptious baby in a swimsuit

who's a total chicken about getting in the pool

not a fan

She just wants to steal shoes.

I looove how her hair gets curly when it's wet. Can't get enough of it.

Oh, and Marlee would look like this alot.....

Trying to make up for sleep she didn't get the night before.

Then.....

we went

HERE........

the Big Island of Hawaii.

For two weeks!

And did things like this.....

and this.....

And hung out in cool places like this.....

and this.....

And did some of this.....

and this.....

It was epic.

It was a trip of a lifetime.

And I have a bazillion photos to show for it! Bit by bit. Baby steps. That will be my strategy.

So we got home from our Hawaiian adventure just in time for Meet-the-Teacher nights & frantic back-to-school shopping. A bit rough on the re-entry to real life.

And here we are. September already. I need to get going on Halloween!

Zane turns 9!

2011-09-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

No big party this year. Just me and my Zaners heading to Toy'R'Us to pick up some much-anticipated Halo Megablocks sets.

And an all-you-can-play game day.

And his birthday cake of choice....the chocolate Texas sheet cake.

Happy Birthday Zane!!!

saddest moment of the week

2011-08-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Gus was tossed by Jake onto the living room couch, his head hit the fabric-covered arm, which did this to his forehead.......

*** Warning - next photos are a bit graphic ***

Here he sees that we're taking pictures of him & tries to smile for the camera. My poor, sweet baby!!!

Of course, Brian & I were not home when it happened, & we hurry home thinking it's probably not as bad as the kids had made it sound, since everyone tends to freak out when they see blood. But it was bad. Luckily we have a great family friend we could take him to so we weren't sitting in an urgent care all night. It took 20 stitches! You could see his skull. Which now he loves to tell people when they ask him what happened, "My brother threw me on the couch, and you could see my skull!"

He's healing up quite nicely & was able to play on the ipad no problem the next day while he stayed home from school. But it is no fun holding your baby down while he gets numbed up! No fun at all!! And I'm sure he'll have a nice little scar on that precious, beautiful face. So, definitely the saddest moment of the week.

But another sad moment this week was when I was stuck at home all day without a car (because I let Marlee take mine to school) and then realized that I was out of Diet Coke....and here comes the sad part..... I was panicked. I thought I could handle it. But I couldn't. I ended up texting my friend, begging her to swing by Sonic and bring me one. Pathetic, I know! And sad. So very sad.

brother from another mother

2011-08-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Jake's buddy Grant.

He's one of my favorites.

These two have the same weird sense of humor. Their brains are on the same weird wavelength. And I think they are HILARIOUS.

Some of my favorite pictures are when I grab the closest kid(s) to sit for me while I test my lighting before a shoot.

These guys knew just what to do. They worked it like no other.

Natural models, I tell ya.

Labor of Love

2011-08-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog, I know. I didn't die. I've been a little busy. And out of town.
So now I shall attempt to catch up. Although it might take me til Christmas. Wish me luck.

Going through the approximately 1500 pictures I took on our Stake Pioneer Trek as our ward's photographer has kept me just a tad busy this summer.
Then I made a slideshow movie out of them, which I had never done myself before, which I had only a week to do. I had to learn how to pan & zoom on the pictures & how to splice music. I should have taken a picture of my computer room afterwards, which I pretty much lived in. Empty Diet Coke cans everywhere, used paper plates. It was bad. But I loved every minute of it. I loved learning how to do something new. I loved having the music stuck in my head. And I loved being completely absorbed for a week in the re-living of the Trek with all of these kids & adults that I love & admire so much.
Good times. Special times.

I posted the slideshow on YouTube, with the help of my genius brother, Benj.
It had to be split in two parts.

Part One:

Part Two:

And some of my favorite random shots.......

OK, this one is not one of my favorites. I just thought I'd better include the only picture with me in it.

Having been born and raised in the Mormon church, this pioneer thing is something I'm used to. I grew up learning about our pioneer ancestors who traveled across the plains & mountains in the mid-1800's, in covered wagons or handcarts, to settle the west, including Salt Lake City, UT, and including where I live now, Mesa, AZ. They did this to escape religious persecution in the east at the time. They gathered their few precious belongings & set off in groups for a new land where they could live & worship in peace, which allowed our religion to grow & flourish. We know of their tremendous hardships from journals that were kept on these journeys. Getting caught in early snowstorms, burying babies who had died in shallow graves, then continuing on the next morning. Can you imagine?!! And I don't think they had any comfy walking shoes either. Or sunscreen. Or Advil. Or foam sleeping pads. So every 24th of July we Mormons celebrate our faithful pioneer ancestors & all they did for us. And we hold these Pioneer Treks for our youth to remember & celebrate them also. It gets us out of our comfort-zone, and having to go through just a smidgin' of what they went through helps us appreciate them so much more. It's a great bonding experience & spiritually-strengthening experience for our youth groups.

The preparation that goes into these things is mind-boggling. Our Stake does this every four years, and they go all out. And I stood there that first day of the Trek, pondering the fact that here were all of these adults....busy, successful, perfectly normal adults....that had taken all this time out of their busy lives to dress up in pioneer-wear & pull handcarts with teenagers for three days. Why else would they do this unless they knew of the absolute truth of this cause? Why else?

Our awesome Stake President & his awesome wife.

Our fabulous bishop & his fabulous wife.

This is just our ward. And only the 14 to 18-year-olds. Our ward totally rocks!

I hope I can do this again in 4 years. Jake will be a senior then! And the thing is, it'll probably be here before I know it!

shake it baby!

2011-08-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

We've got a dancer.

She loves a good beat.

Even if it's a cell phone ringtone.

She just can't help herself.

And I'm totally diggin' her new red track shorts.

More Coronado.....

2011-08-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

Finally!

Our whole lovely group.

the Garns

the Barneys

the Tanners

the Brians

the Christensens

the Pothiers

the Oklands

the Heatons

the Zaharises

This is what a beach pick-up looks like.

It's bound to happen with girls this cute.

Til next year Coronado......

Coronado 2011

2011-07-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Aaaaahhhh. Another fun-filled Fourth at Coronado.

It comes & goes way too fast.

Here's Part 1 of

CORONADO 2011 !!!

To be continued........

baby steps

2011-07-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

My baby is walking!

I don't think she could have done it without all of the support from her brothers.

As you can see, she's very proud of herself.

Oh, I'm sorry.....

2011-06-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Got some new refrigerator magnets.

And I heart them.

I die laughing every time I look at the one above.

My kids don't get it.

Which is a good thing.

And today, I especially love ones that climb into bed with me in the middle of the night, then wet my bed. Me included.

beach escape

2011-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

I had vowed to make it to Rebecca's beach house this year, as hard as it is to drop everything & leave for a few days in May. But if she can do it for a month, then surely I can do it for a few days. And I'm so glad I did!

The real world just melts away when you can feel those ocean breezes.

I got to hang out with two of my most favorite people.

Just me & my four youngest drove over.

And played all day.

I plopped Caroline down on the sand. Then I realized this was a new experience for her. She tried pulling her feet up off the sand, not sure what this stuff was that she was sitting on. So funny!

She quickly made friends with the sand. But wasn't so sure about all that loud water.

She didn't try to crawl around on the sand & sat in the same place the whole time. So unlike her brothers at this age. They would have been wandering around with sand glued to their faces. She's so cautious. Such a little 'fraidy cat. And I love it.

We chilled.

We did puzzles.

And took walks down to the train tracks.

Gus got to hang out with his favorite girl friend, Addy.

Aren't they the cutest?

Addy let me take pictures of her.

So did Jarom, one of the cousins in the beach house next door.

And Caroline warmed up to this beach business.

We had such a great time. Can we come next year, Bek?

The Birthday Girl

2011-06-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hating the party hat.

There. That's better. Now let me at this thing!

You guys really aren't going to stop me?

Is this a trick somehow?

Why is everyone looking at me?

Oh! It's my birthday!!

I thought I made it clear that I don't like this hat!

Yum!

I think I'll eat this thing too.

Oh boy! Is this the best day ever, or what?

Who needs a fork?

I can't believe they're letting me do this. This is amazing. But I could use a little icecream.

OK, I'm done. Where's my bottle?

May Madness

2011-06-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

December has nothin' on May.

May is always nuts.

But this year it seemed even more nuts than usual.

I'm so behind in all of my editing & blogging from everything that's been going on that I'm tempted to self-soothe with Haagen Daz Chocolate Peanut Butter and online shopping.

Here's a recap of the past month......

Let's start with baseball. It's always fun, but I'm glad it's over.

Brian, during a moment of temporary energetic insanity, signed up to coach Zane's team. He really should do it more often. He's such a great coach & they had a great season. Zane played against his will, but he ended up really liking it.

I took a bunch of pictures at one of the games, but I must have deleted them off my memory card without getting them downloaded. Hate it when that happens.

Max played baseball too. And he improved alot through-out the season, especially once he got his glasses & could actually see the ball. That's always helpful.

He's some kind of ball magnet. He was always getting beamed!

Max's cute team, the Thunder.

The guys went on the Father's & Son's Campout!!! Woo hoooo!

Marlee & Max had their end-of-year orchestra concerts.

Brian turned 42.

Marlee went to Prom.

Cousin Jessie married Greg Heap.

They had a super-fun reception.

Caroline loved the lights.

Max enjoyed the open bar.

And all the boys were gettin' down poolside.

They were cracking me up. Crappy pictures, I know. No flash.

Caroline turned one.

Much more on that later.

Jake continued to morph into a man-child right before our very eyes.

Mars & her friends painted Gus and took him to the MV guys volleyball state game as some sort of pet mascot. I didn't go, but I heard he was quite popular at the game. He got pictures taken with the team (who won), and he would stand up & dance & cheer, and then go help himself to the players' refreshment table. And I mean, who's going to stop him? Look at him!

So funny! I wish I had gone.

Jake & Max had their end-of-year piano recital.

Marlee finished up her track season.

Then she mangled the side of the Suburban pulling into a parking space.

We finished up Scouts for the summer.

This happened most nights.

Zane had his 2nd grade play/musical.

He pretended to be mad that I was taking pictures of him, but he actually really liked it.

So stinkin' cute.

Then I took the four youngest to the beach for a few days.

We stayed with Rebecca in her Oceanside rental she gets every year.

Mom's Day

2011-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

All I asked of my children for Mother's Day is to cooperate for a picture of me with them.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

It's pretty much my favorite day of the year.

The precious love notes from my favorite little people. No cooking or cleaning or doing anything I don't want to do.

After a nice Sunday nap we hung out in the retention basin to enjoy the last of the cooler weather we'll have for a long while.

364 days til next Mother's Day.

Smitten

2011-05-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Oh man, are we ever head-over-heels in love with this baby.

I swear, I don't think a day goes by without either Brian or I saying how glad we are that we had this one.

She's 11 months in these pictures. And I'm crying thinking that she's almost a year.

We delight in every girly thing she does.

How she loves necklaces & tries to put them on. How she loves playing with shoes. How she watches me so intently when I'm putting on makeup. How she loves to dance. How she gets scared & startled so easily. How she loves to be chased. And how she cuddles up to her Daddy.

Oh yes, we're smitten.

The Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim

2011-05-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

I survived Doomsday 2011....barely.

What were we thinking???

The day I almost died.

The day I wanted to die.

The Pain and the Glory.

Duct tape. My new best friend.

Just a few other titles I was throwing around. But man, what a day! And so fitting that it was the big predicted "Doomsday", because for a while there at the end I was sure it really was my Doomsday. I knew it was going to be hard. I was expecting hard. And honestly, I was feeling pretty good until those last three miles. Which also happen to be the steepest part. And I was already beyond my limit. Here I am, wanting to cry and die.....

I tried to go to a happy place in my mind, but there was no happy, only deep and dark, but for the glimmer of a shiny diet Coke at the end of a looooong tunnel. I had to reach deep, my friends. But I triumphed in the end. And here today to blog about it.

But let's start back at the very beginning.

I've always wanted to hike the Grand Canyon. I've stood at the top a time or two as a kid, but I don't remember it. I have felt like a disgrace to my state for never really experiencing this Natural Wonder of the World that is right in my backyard. So it's been on my bucket list.

Then a few months ago I overheard Emily talking about putting this trip together and invited ourselves. I heard 'Grand Canyon' and 'hike', and really had no clue what 'rim to rim' entailed, until it was too late to back out & save face.

It's 25 miles! And half of it's uphill! And all in one day!!!

But I had to do it.

Here we all are at the top of the trail. North rim.

So fresh and perky.

The temperature swing was crazy. About 30 degrees up top, to 80's at the bottom.

Jared & Michelle Cox

Greg & Jacqui Arnett

Eric & Jonni (Jacqui's sister), who came down from Utah.

Ryan & Pam Brown, who were the only smart ones, who hiked down a couple miles, then turned around & went back up, then drove the car around to pick us up.

And for some reason I didn't get a picture of Ben & Emily LeSueur.

So that was our group. Some of them we didn't really know before this trip, but are now forever bonded.

The first part was so fun. We were all so psyched & chatty & so glad to get going. So ready to tackle this beast.

Lots of little bridges.

And spectacular views.

I was always falling behind, trying to take pictures.

The rice-paddy hat.

And yes, there are alot of pictures of Brian's backside.

We took pretty frequent rest stops to eat to keep up our energy.

About 14 miles to the very bottom. To Phantom Ranch. There's a lodge & rental cabins & bathrooms & a place where you can get cold lemonade, but not much else. We sat & ate our lunches. A smashed, day-old PB & J never tasted so good!

Brian's look here says, "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this. I could be skiing right now. I never really wanted to do this in the first place. I was hoping you would get sick or something so we could back out. *#a*g$#!!"

Then back on the trail.

A mere 10 or so miles to go.

Crossing the mighty Colorado.

We came across things like caves....

....and pretty watering holes....

...and lots of cactus, and fairly large lizards, and chipmunks, and bats when it was starting to get dark, and lots of foreigners. Probably half of all the fellow hikers we came across were from another country. A Polish couple, a pack of Chinese guys, people from Colombia & Guatemala & Switzerland & France.

Greg gave us hourly altitude reports.

I think this was called Indian Springs. Our last real watering hole.

Only 4.5 miles to go. Which doesn't sound like alot when you've already gone 20. And I was hanging in there pretty good. I was excited to finish it up. But little did I know that those last few miles would seem like a hundred!

And it didn't help that I had some major chafing issues, in places where the sun don't shine, and Bodyglide & Vaseline & moleskin couldn't cut it anymore. It was time for the last resort.

It was time for the Duct Tape.

And blessedly, it did not disappoint.

By the way, every sign at the Grand Canyon says DO NOT attempt to hike rim to rim in one day!

Almost to the end!

It's quite amazing to look back at what you've accomplished.

I wish I knew how to draw arrows on my pictures to point at where we started our hike that morning. It's that farthest back ridge you see. The top of it. The camera doesn't really do it justice. It looked way more than 25 miles. It looks like you just hiked through half of Arizona! Such a sense of accomplishment. And relief that it was almost over!

But it wasn't over yet. And I really struggled those last 2 miles. I must have been dehydrated. I was light-headed & kind of out of it. Greg gave me alot of pep talks to keep me going. And Michelle kept me from teetering off the edge. And just as it was getting completely dark, we went up our last switchback to the top.

I have never been so sore in my life as I was the following 2 days.

But Brian & I are both so glad we did it.

In fact, I would totally do it again.

The agony of it is already fading in my memory.

Just like childbirth.

and more Easter....

2011-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

We really get into our egg-coloring. Not that we're very good at it. We just think it's so fun.

Meanwhile......

Then the egg hunts.

There are usually several, since it's just as fun to hide the eggs as it is to find them. So everyone wants a chance to do both.

I liked this spot.

Gus hid this one.

And since it was so nice outside, we brought dinner out to the front yard.

It was a beautiful, peaceful Easter Sunday.

With so much to be thankful for.

Three Blind Mice

2011-05-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Neither Brian, nor I need glasses. Yet all three of our oldest kids are practically blind! What up?

We just recently realized that Max was blind. He told me he was having a hard time seeing the chalkboard at school, so I started testing him, having him tell me when he could read a sign as we walked up to it. And I couldn't believe how close he had to be before he could read it!

Thankfully, a pair of glasses solves the problem. And he loves his glasses!

So far, Zane's eyesight is good. And he's very proud of that fact, like he's the bionic kid or something. He says he has good eyes because he eats alot of carrots. I told him, "Good thing! You better keep eating those carrots!" And he nods in all seriousness.

Good morning sunshine!

2011-05-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we pulled ourselves out of bed at 4:30 & hiked Camelback Mountain.

It was amazing. The fact that we actually got our booties up there, that is.

It's pretty much the only thing we've done to prepare ourselves for our Grand Canyon hike next weekend. We need to make sure our will is in order because we're going to die!

Wow. I can't believe I'm posting this nasty picture. Who let the dogs out?

It's not a long hike, but you climb 2700 feet.

The temp was perfect. And the view was awesome. And I was reminded that the desert is beautiful in its' own special way.

Then we high-tailed it home to get kids off to school.

Easter Sunday

2011-05-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

My kids' favorite thing to do on Easter Sunday! Get ready for church early so Mom can take pictures!

My little Easter princess in her super-cute Target dress.

Gus would only let me take a picture of him if Turtle the Pillow Pet was in it.

Princess had a hard time crawling in her pretty dress......

And she was a little upset about it......

Is that just the saddest face ever?

But I laugh so hard every time I look at it! Holy drama queen!!

And probably my favorite picture.......

All of my guys.

Love it.

The Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2011-05-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

The ever-shrinking group of neighbor kids.

Notice how Caroline is the only baby. She needs some friends.

(Fun fact: the house right across the street from us is for sale or rent)

And the hunt is on!

The upside of so few babies around.

Max found The Golden Egg! Which makes him $10 richer!

Caroline worked on getting this egg open for awhile. Then she's all smiles when she realizes what's in it. I think babies are born knowing that there's good stuff behind those crinkly wrappers.

I really love our neighborhood. I honestly can't think of another place I'd rather be. So many kids. So many great families. So many grass yards for Easter egg hunts. It makes my heart smile.

Then we were off to baseball games & a volleyball tournament.

One of these things is not like the others.....

2011-05-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

That would be man-child Jake trying to snag a few Easter eggs in the little-kid area. Caught ya.

I have a ton of Easter pics I'm still working on. Life would be a whole lot easier if I would just stop taking so many pictures!

Prom Night

2011-05-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

After a fun morning of cleaning out the garage, Mars gets ready for the big night.

Glittery shoes and a fresh pedi.

And the prom date.

His name is Brad. He is a senior. He plays volleyball. And I'm not allowed to disclose any personal information on this blog pertaining to the private lives of my teenage children for fear of disownment. But Brad seems to hang out at our house quite a bit. I'm just sayin'.

Here they are being a little awkward at first....

....until they warmed up a bit.

They went with a big group. Had dinner at Charleston's. Actually danced at the dance. Then came home & changed for an after-prom party at someone's house.

She looked absolutely beautiful & had a great time.

And the whole time I'm thinking, 'I can't believe I'm old enough to have a child going to the Prom!'

I was just buckling her into a carseat just yesterday! Weird!

Pine Wood Derby 2011

2011-05-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Brian's hard work paid off this year. And he should be pretty good at this by now!

Zane's 'Black Hornet' took first place!

Caroline was a little tuckered out by all the excitement.

I somehow never got a picture of just Zane with his winning car. But I love this group shot. Because I'll blink, and all these little guys will be leaving on missions.

So, five Pine Wood Derbys down, three to go. Woohoo!!

42 years and 4 weeks

2011-05-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Brian turned 42.

I texted him 42 things I love about him throughout the day.

I'm not going to lie. It got a little challenging right around #27.

It's just that 42 is alot of things to come up with.

But he loved it. Love texts & German chocolate cake. What more could you want on your 42nd birthday?!

And 4 weeks.......

It took Marlee 4 weeks of having her driver's license to crash the car.

Yep.

And it's totalled. Brian's old BMW.

Luckily she wasn't really hurt. And it wasn't her fault.

We're trying to look on the bright side.

2011-04-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun!

2011-04-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

We must be having alot of fun, because time sure is flying by. I swear it was Christmas just yesterday, and now we're getting ready for the beach!
I've been a neglectful blogger lately, so I'm attempting to catch up.
Here's the latest........

Caroline turned 10 months.

She's so happy crawling around, that she's had no interest in standing or trying to walk. Which is totally fine with me.

She loves being outside, especially in her swing. Loves Daisy. Loves to eat. Loves being chased by her brothers. Loves ripping apart wet wipes with her teeth. Loves playing with my necklaces. Loves her silky blankies. And loves it when her brothers get home from school.

And she hates getting dressed. Hates getting her nails trimmed. Hates getting water poured over her head. And hates it when Mom leaves the room.

We went to the Drive-Ins one fabulously cool spring evening. Saw the second Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and loved it. And we loved taking the new truck, too.

Brian & I signed on to hike the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, in one day, later in May. With a group of friends. Most of whom are triathletes. So we're desperately trying to get in shape so we don't humiliate ourselves. I don't know what we were thinking.

Max hit his very first home-run!

Way to go Max!!!

Jake got an A on his book report diarama, of which he was extremely proud.

It's awesome, isn't it?

Speaking of books, I just finished 'Escape' by Carolyn Jessop, for my Book Club. She's the one who escaped from her polygamist husband in Colorado City. If everything is how she says it is, that's some seriously whacked business.

Now I'm reading 'Water for Elephants'.

Gus spends his days either at preschool, running around the neighborhood with his buddies, or coming up with some kind of imaginative & messy project, one right after the other. It's hard to keep up. One minute he's making sprinkles soup for Dolphin's lunch.....

And then the next minute he & Jasper are making orange juice on the front porch........

He's one busy guy.

We made Rice Krispy treat nests. And getting excited for Easter.

I finally finished my garden, and I'm in love with it. Gardening is such great therapy. But Turbo the tortoise is now banished to the pool area after he mowed down all of my canteloupe plants. Anyone want a tortoise?

It was 'mis-matched day' at school.

Max and his best buddy Noah, won our school's Battle of the Books contest. Now they're getting ready for the district competition next week.

We had a big 50th Anniversary party for the office.

Brian was a little glad to have it overwith. It was alot of work. But I think it all went really well.

I had to take a picture of Zane's front teeth......or rather, one tooth, and one hugely-bulging-gum-front-tooth-trying-to-bust-out-of-there-for-months-now.

And Marlee got asked to Prom! So now we're on the hunt for a non-skanky Prom dress. Wish us luck!

Spring Break!

2011-04-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Summer break is just around the corner & I'm just now blogging about Spring Break! Sheesh!!! I need a nanny.

So we took all of our loinfruits to Utah for a little skiing.

It's one of those 'vacations' where you need a real vacation afterwards.

Marlee tried snowboarding that first day, and spent alot of time like this....

Poor baby's not used to falling.

We spent the day at Snowbasin with the Garns.

Check out the Snowbasin lodge! It was deluxe!

The first few nights we stayed at the Grand America, which we love!

Here's Caroline in the lobby, ready to head to ski daycare.

We crashed at the Heatons for the rest of the trip. The kids had a blast. And we met up with the Brians and Christensens and Barneys for dinner a couple of times. We're so lucky to have such great friends!

Then we made the Heaton boys ditch school to come skiing with us at Brighton. Totally twisted their arms. :)

We skiied with Gus & Zane the whole day. I have to admit, it was way fun. These little guys improved a ton during this trip.

Zane was rockin' by that last day!

On Sunday, we slept in, then hit Temple Square.

Here's Max in the Visitor's Center trying to figure out how he can make something like this at home.

The only family picture we have of this trip.

Taken by a cute sister missionary from Romania.

We were a little too early for the tulips, darn it! They're my favorite.

When it was time to head home, we did the usual.

I drive with the older kids, while Brian flies home with the baby.

This time we stayed a night with the Proctors (my sister & her fam) in Farmington, then drove home. Fun, fun times!

Laugh of the Week

2011-04-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Gus taking Orca Whale on a walk around our neighborhood.

When they came back, he told me that Orca Whale was tired.

I told him I think Orca Whale might need a bath in the washing machine, his white underbelly was now black. And he said it was OK, because Orca Whale likes the color black.

He kills me!

Oh, but it's so true......

2011-04-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Caroline is spoiled.

This is her "Mom, what are you doing & why aren't you picking me up" face.

It's no big surprise. She's our little princess & she knows it. And I'm helpless to do anything about it.

She wants me, and only me, and I secretly love it.

She's already learned that being loud is the only way to be heard around here.

And look out if you take something away from her that she wanted!

Man, am I in for it!

"Oh calm down, Tiger Mother"

2011-04-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is what Marlee likes to say to me or Brian when we get after her about something.

Teenagers are so much fun.

This is like an I Spy picture.

Can you find Marlee among all the mess?

We put it off as long as we could, but she's finally legal.

This was a great day for Mars. Driver's license and took her final for her on-line American History class. The blasted thing's done! Such a relief for her!

I can't wait to put her to work running errands for me.

Yesterday she wanted pizza after she got home from track, and Jake was dying for some Filibertos (Yuck) , so she, Jake & Max got in the car & drove off. My three children. Driving away. Without me. It was plain weird.

April Fools Fun

2011-04-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

I had these waiting for the kids when they got home from school. Just some chocolate bonbons I had made. With sprinkles. What kid can pass up sprinkles, right? First Zane. Then Max. Then Jake. They all fell for it. My chocolate-dipped cottonballs!

It was another April Fools victory for mom & dad.
Last year, Brian had the boys flying out the door, half-asleep, "late for school". They were running down the street before they realized they'd been had. When they noticed that it was still kind of dark outside. They stopped running, and turned around.... to see dad on the front porch, with the video camera, laughing his head off.
It was so great.

Wear your rubberbands.......

2011-03-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

or else!!!

Just a little orthodontic humor for ya.

I'm trying to think of a way to incorporate this into the office somehow......

I took some photos for the Mesa Easter Pageant program, and had a little fun with the soldier costume afterwards. That sword is legit! Brian just couldn't help himself.

hoping and waiting.....

2011-03-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is my best friend's little sister.

She & her husband are hoping to adopt a baby. They are absolutely adorable.

If I were a baby, I would want these guys as my mom & dad. Who wouldn't?

I told them they could have one of mine. Like the thirteen-year-old. But they wouldn't go for it.

But seriously, they're the cutest, most loving couple I've ever seen, and they're desperate to be a mom and dad. These pictures are for their adoption portfolio. If anyone out there knows of a baby in need of some loving parents, please e-mail me at nikmmason@yahoo.com.

Max turns 11!

2011-03-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

It was an off year for birthday parties for Max, but that doesn't mean we didn't celebrate!

I pulled him out of school for lunch at Panda Express, his favorite, then let him stay home the rest of the day to build his new Lego sets.

He didn't have to do any jobs & could play his Nintendo DS all he wanted. Then we went on a little shopping trip to Toys'R'Us.

Then he ate as much vanilla Texas sheetcake as he possibly could.

It was a pretty darn good day for an 11-year-old kid. Who needs a party?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!!!

Updates

2011-03-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

First of all, I loved reading every single comment from some super-awesome blogfriends. I don't know if I could have made it through this latest mothering meltdown without you. I feel supported and validated and am now the proud owner of a Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD. Thanks guys!

And then, about my strike.....

I wasn't kidding. I truly went on strike, refusing to pick up, put away, or clean up anything! It was freeing. It was empowering. And it was a mess.
Brian couldn't handle it. (anal-retentive) He'd call the house before he was coming home & get Max or Jake to clean it up for $5. I did manage to get some things done that I wouldn't have otherwise. Like getting my garden going. I would focus on what I wanted to accomplish & then not let myself get sidetracked by dirty countertops & Oreos all over the floor. Notice how I'm writing this in past tense. Yeah, it couldn't last forever. But we did make some changes. A new-and-improved job chart for the kids, lowering Brian's expectations, me learning to overlook some messiness in order to focus on more important things......

And this leads me to my favorite new quote:

"An immaculate house is the sign of
a wasted life."

Amen!

So basketball ended, and now we're into baseball. Max got on a great little Minors team, and Brian is coaching Zane's coach-pitch team.

We're spending alot of Saturdays at volleyball tournaments.

Gus & his besties were found the other day skinny-dipping in a front-yard fountain down the street. Three of them. Buck naked. And I don't have a picture of it! Dang it!!!

Max advanced from Cub to Boy Scouts at our Luau-themed Blue & Gold Banquet.

The entertainment was.........entertaining.

The boys performed the 'haka'.

We were so happy to have the elementary school carnival overwith. Brian was in charge of the silent auction again this year. It's a ton of work & we're always relieved when it's over! It went really well, though. And no one came home with any live animals, so that's always nice. Speaking of animals, would anyone out there want a charming, handicapped cat who likes to poop all over patios?.........Anyone?............

This crappy picture is the only one I got at the Carnival.

In my quest to keep my thighs from rubbing together, I've taken up running.
I've lost some of my baby weight, but I still have a ways to go. I'm just not at my Ideal Lovemaking Weight yet, and running is the best way for me to get there, since I'm not about to stop eating sugar & white flour, or something crazy like that. Consistency is my problem. I'm good at making excuses. It's either too hot or too cold, too early or too late, too tired, too headache-y, too menstrual, too many kids at home to leave unattended, you name it. So my new motto is, "No More Excuses". I was doing pretty good until Spring Break.
Time to get back out there.

My baby girl is crawling all over the place now.

And opening cupboards and drawers. And then eventually bonking her head or face on the cupboard or drawer. Which is so sad. And just the other day, she pulled herself up to standing! I'm so not ready to have her walking & doing other grown-up baby things like that yet. She'll be one in two months and it's freaking me out!

She's such a messy eater!

And we just got back from spending Spring Break skiing in Utah.

Now I need a real vacation. Family ski trips are not exactly relaxing. More like exhausting. But it was fun. I picked up a super-nasty cold along the way, though, and am still trying to get over it.

Much more on this trip later!

I wish I were an octopus.

2011-03-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

Or better yet, cloned!

I'm feeling stressed and sorry for myself today.

Yesterday I was a little early dropping Gus off at Preschool. I sat down on a bench while Gus played on the little playground, waiting til he could go inside.
Gus's teacher came out and sat down next to me. We exchanged a little small-talk, then she got to the point. "So, how is Gus doing with practicing his letters & reading books at home?" I pause, thinking of how very little of that I've done with him. And she says, very nicely, very gently, "Is he kind of falling through the cracks a little bit? I know you're really busy...." Guilt. Shame. The sting of impending tears in the back of my eyes. "He's just really behind in his letter sounds."

Now, I know it's just preschool, but this is the ivy-league preschool we're talking about. I really think they're expecting them to be reading Harry Potter by the end of the year. But still!

I'm stretched too thin and I don't like it. But I don't know what I can cut out and keep my sanity.

I see it like this:

You have the Good Young-Child Moms and the Good Teenager Moms.

The Good Young-Child Moms will actually sit down at home with their child and practice letter sounds, they do play-dates at the park, take their kids to the zoo on a random Tuesday, play Candyland & Chutes and Ladders (instead of paying an older sibling to do it), volunteer for every Kindergarten fieldtrip, make home-made playdough, sign up for Mom & Me swim classes, spend hours making a Star Student poster, and maybe even coordinate matching Easter Sunday outfits.

I don't do any of these things. I used to. But not any more. Because I'm either over it, like Tee-ball, or I just don't have the time anymore. Because I'm busy trying to be a Good Teenager Mom too.
I'm trying to play in both courts at the same time & feel like I'm losing bad! Fifty percent at both ends.

So then you have to sit by the Good Teenager Moms at your junior highschooler's basketball games.

Good Teenager Moms don't have any little ones at home any more, so they can devote all their time & energy to their teens. They do things like make it to every game/recital/tournament/concert their child is in. They'll even have their hair & makeup done and be there on time.
Good Teenager Moms will do things like bring their Jr. High student lunch from Sonic so they don't have to eat the cafeteria food, and take their 14-year old & a car-load of their friends to a movie on a Friday night. They stay up late to chat with their teenagers who are most talkative late at night. They're always available to take them to the mall, and know all the ins & outs of the high school graduation requirements. They're on top of the whole Scouting thing, put team parties & banquets together, and always have their cell phones on them so they can text their teens back & forth.

I'm not doing well in this category either.

I'm trying to keep in mind one of my favorite quotes:

"You don't have to do everything there is to do,
in order to become who you are meant to become."

Comforting........except when you have a child "falling through the cracks".

So maybe I'm being a little dramatic, a little hard on myself. But this mothering of a wide agespan is harder than I thought it would be. There are so many positives, but so hard to do it well.

I'm feeling much better now.

I think I'll pull out the Candyland.

Uh-oh........

2011-03-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

Look who's decided to take up the binkie.

and..........

Look who just passed her driver's license exam yesterday!

Swish!

2011-03-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

It's been interesting watching Zane go from Halo-obsessed couch potato to hoopster madman these past couple of months. Now that video games are gone, he's had to channel that energy & obsessive behavior elsewhere. Luckily to basketball.

A bunch of his buddies had a team put together & he was able to join it. He had never played before. Had never had any interest in it. Would only go to Suns games with his Dad for the pop & icecream. But when I told him he was going to join a team, he was very concerned that he needed to be good at it before the practices started. I told him not to worry, that the practices are for learning how to play & then improving. But he was determined to get this basketball thing down. He started shooting out in our driveway as soon as he'd get home from school. For hours. Every day. And he morphed from awkward to awesome right before our eyes.

It was such a great little team.

Now he begs to go to Suns games, and he's totally into it the whole time.

And when he was out shooting in the driveway the other day, he goes to make a shot and says, "I was born to play basketball."

I'm so relieved.

I've been afraid he was born to play Halo.

Who knew?

2011-03-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

Mars the sprinting star.

We're cracking up that Marlee decides to do track this year, after a mediocre season last year in junior high running the 800, and this time gets put in as a sprinter, running the 100 meter dash & the 200, and is doing awesome!

After the first meet, she did so well that they moved her up to Varsity, and was able to compete in an Invitational last Friday for the best runners of eight high schools in the valley. And she did awesome in that! Second in her heat. Not bad for a little sophomore.

She always was a fast little sucker.

So these days, she has track after school til about 5:30 every day, unless there's a meet, which can go until 8 or 9. And then she has volleyball from 6:30 til 9 two days a week & tournaments on Saturdays. Young Womens on Wed. nights. And then trying to fit in studying for all of her AP classes around all of that!

Busy times! I like it. No time for boys.

When thigh rolls are cute.....

2011-03-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is actually her new swimsuit. I couldn't resist.

I love having a baby girl.

Going postal

2011-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

This has been coming for a looooong time.
And it happened on Monday. Because Monday is a special day. It's the day we recover from Sunday. At least around here it is. Everything is at its' most disorganized & messy from a whirlwind weekend of activities, then everyone hanging out at home on Sunday. So Monday is usually a mess.
And last Monday was no different. In between feeding & diapering & changing & holding Caroline and catering to Gus's every need, I was picking up, vacuuming, switching laundry loads, wiping countertops, doing dishes, cleaning the highchair, folding clothes, and putting away countless displaced items. By the time the other kids started coming home from school, things were looking pretty good.
I still hadn't showered. Still in my exercise clothes & had never made it out for a run. I hadn't even checked my e-mail yet. I hadn't done one thing but clean up & take care of my little ones. Now, this is nothing unusual. This is how most of my days go. Some days I can see the beauty in it. Some days I can't. Last Monday was the latter.
I ran to the grocery store, then decided to go outside & do a little weeding before I start dinner & oversee homework. And while I was out there, I was bemoaning the fact that I probably won't have time to get my vegetable garden going before it gets too hot.
I come back inside about the same time Brian gets home from work. He walks in & looks around & says something like, "Man, it's a mess in here." I look around the room that was in perfect order a couple of hours ago that now looks like a tornado went through it. My entire day's work. For what? For nothing! You know what it is? It's soul-crushing. That's what it is.
Then my entire family witnessed Mom's nervous breakdown right there in the kitchen. Crying and yelling. Yelling while crying. It was bad. But man, I've never seen those kids clean up a room faster!
I'm just so sick of 99% of my time being used up by tasks that are undone within hours, or even minutes, of my doing them! It's pointless! It's insane!
So I'm done. On strike. We'll see how long it lasts.
I love order. And I love cleanliness. But right now I have to choose my sanity.

And because I can't do a post without a picture....

I sent the boys out to pick some oranges. I come out to find this. Not seen, is Zane eating Doritos in the treehouse.

Here we go......

2011-03-01T08:21:00.000-08:00