Back to school!

Can't even believe it's that time already.......

Mars is in 9th grade this year! How did she get so old? How did I get so old? Her grades now count for college admissions. She's in Seminary. She's basically a high-schooler, she tells me.

She also got up 3 hours early to get ready this morning.

Jake is a 6th-grader this year & is so ready for the social scene. And he got a nice teacher this year. And wears contacts now. Good stuff.

Everyone was pretty ready.........except Zane.

He's not a fan of anything that interrupts his Wii playing time, especially school.

So this is what he looked like on the first day of 1st grade.

Not exactly overflowing with excitement.

And he had a lip-licking clown face going on.

But, he has his buddy Davis in his class and his new Pokemon shirt on, so come on , it can't be that bad!

Max has graduated into the I'm-totally-embarrassed-that-my-Mom-is-trying-to-take-pictures-of-me stage. With girls around nonetheless! Get used to it.

Max is in 4th grade this year. Gotta love this age when the girls out-grow the boys.

Max plans on playing the cello this year. Hmmm.

So now it's me & my Gus. He's going to be so bored! Heaven help me!!

You'll never guess what we got......

........that's right!..........a money machine!!!

Through a CocaCola connection, we got this baby. Too bad the money's not included.
We tested it out last night. It was a hit. I'm thinking chore motivation potential. A turn in the money machine at the end of the week for good behavior. Totally brill.

The Fab Four

These 4 little cousins were all born the same year. My Gus being the oldest (and fattest).
So we call them the Fab Four. And whenever we're all together, which doesn't happen too often, usually at Christmas, we like to get a picture of these guys.

They're 2 to 10 months in these first 2 pictures.......


.......this one being my FAVORITE. I laugh hard every time I look at this picture. My giant porkchop plowing over the smaller, helpless babies. He sat there until he realized it was 'MaMa' behind the camera & headed for me.
So. Funny.


And this was the following year.
I have about a hundred outtakes of alot of screaming & crying & drooling & 'I'm outta here's' until we figured out to just give them candy canes.

And this was last month, at our family reunion. They're all about 3 years old now.

The last day of the reunion we realized we still needed to get a Fab Four shot, so we pretty much herded them like little sheep against this fence to get one.

They love to play together now. So it's a bummer we don't all live in the same town. Especially since every day Gus asks me at least twelve hundred times (not exaggerating) if he can go to Bronson's house........which is in Prescott. Maybe one day we'll all live a little closer. But until then I'm hoping Gus will completely forget about his cousin Bronson so I can have some peace & quiet around here. Sheesh!

Updated Crack

That was then.............

.....and this is now.

Gus cracks me up.

This is.......

........my nightmare!

Just when you're trying to get the he** out of there.......
The ticket redemption counter.
I get anxiety just thinking about it.
The gleaming rows of plastic shiz.
The attempting to explain to a 3-year old that he doesn't have enough tickets for the big car.
The indecision.
The whining.
The headache.

The pure joy a 2-cent parachuting alien guy can bring.

So there you have it.

I was just laying on the floor letting the kids climb all over me, when I realized a few things........



First, that my house is a sty & I need a serious deep-cleaning. The view from ground-level is horrifying!



And secondly, how my blog is looking more like a travelog lately & am feeling the need to record some daily life. Since this is the only journal I keep. And I might want to remember this stuff one day. Who knows?




So I made a list of STUFF THE MASONS HAVE BEEN UP TO LATELY:





getting my Suburban fixed after I mangled it backing into a boulder.



being stuck in my house for 2 days straight while my Suburban was being fixed.



actually paying my kids to leave me alone.



being totally amazed each day to find that Mr. Bunny Buns isn't dead. Yet.



Mars turning into Miss Oral Hygiene since she's been going to work with Brian lately.



pathetic, inconsistent potty-training attempts.



Sonic slush runs.




being totally impressed lately with Zane's advanced vocabulary. For example, yesterday, as I handed him his daily PB & J,......."Mom, this sandwich looks delectable."



thenI found out he learned it from SpongeBob.



pretending to be off Diet Coke when I'm really not.



making an entire Thanksgiving dinner (minus the yams) just for fun.



wondering how many swim days in a row we can get away with before one has to take a real bath.




Brian reminding me how strong he is now from his workouts.



Zane losing a tooth just minutes ago while eating CocoPuffs.



Jake honing his incredibly-annoying-nonsense-noise-making skills.



attempting some pet portraits.

The kids thought this was so funny.

This is them trying to get Daisy into the tutu.

laughing with Brian at Extendz commercials.

enjoying the brisk 100 degree night-time weather.

Gus talking non-stop. I find myself remembering fondly those days not so long ago when he still couldn't talk & we thought he might be retarded.

Those were the days.

being in denial that school is about to start again. I'm not that normal Mom who can't wait for school to start. I like the carefree summer days with the kids around. I'm not ready for the structure.

having deep conversations with Brian about how time's flying by too quickly. I'm feeling like my youth is rapidly slipping(slipped) through my fingers & what have I done with my life besides wiping countertops & noses? I know. I know. What's more important & rewarding than motherhood.....yada yada yada......I just wish there was time to do more. Our good years are spent on the kid stage & by the time we're free to do other things, we're worn out & on anti-depressants. I would suggest to Heavenly Father a 9-lives Plan where I could do the super-mom life, then a doctor-saving-lives life, then a cool world-traveling archaeologist life or something like that................one life-time doesn't seem to be enough...................Do you feel me? Do you get what I'm saying? I'm wondering if this is how a mid-life crisis begins..............You know I'm just venting, right? ..... Where's that Diet Coke? ...... So I'm thinking there may be great truth in the phrase "Time flies when you're having fun". Time is flying by, because we are having fun (most of the time) . And I am most thankful for that!

and then I spent the rest of the day opening popsicle wrappers.

So there you have it.

Yay for Girls Camp!!!

.....and Yay for Girls Camp being over & sleeping in my own bed.......and air conditioning.......and shower access.........not that it wasn't totally fun!

Because it was.

I laughed harder than I have in a long time.

And I danced harder than I have in a long time.

And I saw more gigantic bugs than I have in a long time.

And we ran into more skunks than I have in a long time.

And this was the first time I've been at camp with Mars. In fact, it was the first time I've been to Camp LoMia since I was 12 years old!!!

......And I don't believe there has been any improvements to the cabins since then.......nothing........nada. A little too rustic for my taste.

To be honest, I really had to fight the urge to secretly pull out my cell phone that first night & call Brian & beg him to come up & get me & take me home, like a little girl. Pathetic, I know.

But it was good for me. I feel I'm much tougher now. I've grown.

But the truth is......I absolutely love these girls!!!

They are all so talented & clever & sweet & smart & hilarious & seriously super fun!

Brekyn killed me with her bug net she wore the entire first day.......and she'd be constantly spraying bug repellant around her......so funny.

We had a day of awesome classes. The preparation that goes into all of this is amazing. I was so impressed. And I'm also really hoping I never get called to be a Stake Camp leader.

Getting ready for.....

Glamour Night!

Ready for the big dance.

I learned some new hiphop moves & pulled out some of my old 80's moves. Good times.

I'm also lovin' that I was always the one taking pictures so that I'm not in any of these.

Smokin' hot! ...especially the scab on her forehead from running into the side of the swimming pool.

We love our super-cool bishop.

Camp Sunday fashion.

Aaaawww! Our awesome sweltering, bug-infested cabin. I even got a top bunk. So sweet.

Did I already mention how amazing these girls are??? Because they are.

And my fellow leaders....

......we had so much fun.
What a great, spiritually strengthening experience it was. And such great bonding time with these fabulous girls.

I'd do it all over again.

Gus: In Real Life

This is Gus as he usually is.
No attempts were made to clean him up (obviously) or any wardrobe help.
This look is typical for him.
Pull-Up. T-shirt. Messy face. Fave toy-of-the-day. Aftermath of candy or gum he's found from either rifling through my purses or searching Marlee's room.

I love this little face!!!

He likes to hang out by me on Tuesdays when I'm taking 'Wall of Fame' headshots......
.....like this.

So I usually end up taking test shots on him.

He's all for it, but refuses to ever look right at the camera.

I just got back from back-to-back Family Reunion & Girls Camp, and holy crap

it's great to be home!!!

Even if it is 110 degrees!

And I've got hundreds of pictures to go through........after we go see Harry Potter & hit the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!!