Happy New Year!

I've decided the way this world celebrates the new year is dreadfully awful! What a way to start out a new year; with a clean slate and new resolutions in mind - by sleeping in, eating too many sweets, and feeling groggy and gross all day? If I could only be strong enough to change this tradition for myself, I would, and I just might....next year.
However, I am very excited about a new year and have some big plans for myself. They are a number of things, but all fall into one motto: FOLLOW THROUGH. That's my motto for this year. I am going to become a new person, and I'm rather excited about it. No more wishing I did this, and hoping to do that. Flaking out and not committing to things because I want to do it all and can't. I'm picking what is most important, and simply doing those things. It's called sticking to my priorities, really, which I've been failing at miserably as of late.
So you dirty 'ole house and undone projects. You will just have to wait for your day. 2011 is about doing the things that matter most to me and following through.
Here is a wordle I did online:

A Great Book

I just finished what may be one of my favorite books - Daddy Long Legs. I just need to say, "Oh, Jerusha Abbott, I'm so glad you're happy! I'm also glad to hear that someone else sometimes fears to be and yet hopes to be so very ordinary." I suppose when all is said and done, it's the happy memories we make for ourselves that count - whether they be grand or just simple, it may not matter a whole lot. Thanks Mom for giving me the book a year ago, and Sarah for inspiring me to read it!

Holiday Updates

Ahhhhh. It's Thanksgiving day, I'm at my mom's house, turkey's in the oven, and everything is simmering, waiting to be served at exactly the right time. All the planning, shopping, chopping, and cooking are about to bring their sweet rewards. The table is set with my Grandmother's beautiful china. Family recipes have been brought out of their books, and the 5 pies for the 7 of us (3 of which are under 5), are bringing with them memories of Thanksgivings past. This is what the holidays are all about - family, gratitude, and love. As the next few days (is it 39 now?) come before Christmas, I hope I remember this moment right now. Thanks, Mom for letting me sleep in this morning and for all your work in the kitchen and help with the kids. Oh, they just put on Christmas music. This is too much, I'm F.L.ed.

Since I never did a Halloween post, I thought I'd throw in some pictures now. My sister, Becky and her family came up and we had a great time! We managed to squeeze a lot in on Halloween day. Perhaps a bit too much, but Becky, Micah, and and Eden rolled with things very well. We even made homemade Spudnuts. Oh, they were delicious! And we watched a scary movie - Coraline. I'm still scared when I wake up at night. Those stupid buttons. Anyways. Elsie was Blue's Clues (sometimes with wings), Peter was Tigger, Kimball was a cute caterpillar, and Eden was a duck with a waggly tail.

Eyeglasses

Peter got his first pair of glasses last Thursday evening. We were all chomping at the bit, wondering when they would come. At 4:30 the phone rang, and I though could it be Peter's glasses? Sure enough! I hollard at Peter, and all the kids scrambled to get shoes on and climbed into the car. We were hoping to be able to pick them up, in the middle of rush hour, before they closed at 5:30. Whew, we made it just in time, and Peter was thrilled!
So here is the story of Peter's eyes for those of you who are interested. Apparently, his eye doctor said he has a bit of a far-sited problem and a severe astigmatism. The poor little guy has never been able to see very well. Mike and I thought glasses would be revolutionary to Peter, but it's on the contrary. Peter tells me, "I can see good with the glasses, and I can see good without the glasses." Hmmm. I'm confused. I responded by telling him, "Well, you might get lazy eye if you don't wear the glasses, so wear them anyways." I think I scared him a little bit because he never takes them off. When I am cleaning the lenses he has his eyes closed so he won't get lazy eye. Oops, I hope I haven't scared the poor kid. More importantly, I hope we get everything resolved with these crazy glasses.

1st Haircuts

Yes, it finally happened... Kimball got his first haircut a couple weeks ago. Just before school started, everyone (except myself), got haircuts.
People I ran into were starting to refer to Kimball as a "she", and I realized it was partly because his hair was long enough to tuck behind his ear. I just love his strawberry blond hair though, so it was hard to get myself to take the first snip. I took a deep breath and plunged into the task. This was the first haircut I've ever given since I was 9 and did some awful numbers on my barbies' hair. Those images kept coming to mind as I kept cutting, so after a while, I just stopped. I have no idea if it is even or not, but I didn't want him ending up freakish like those poor dolls. Afterwards I decided it would be pretty hard to ruin as cute a face as this though.
It was also a first haircut for Elsie as well. Because her hair had never been cut, there were parts that were very uneven. I was worried I was going to cut off some of the curl in her hair, but it still has plenty of curl left in it, at least for now. It looks much nicer now, and she looks more grown-up to me.

Kindergarten

September 2nd was monumental in our home as it was the first day of Kindergarten for Peter. I can't believe it's already come to this! The first day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think it's because Elsie had the melt-down for me. Peter and I rode our bikes to school, and I put Elsie and Kimball in the Burley. Elsie saw Peter getting ready and thought she would wear her back-pack as well. I kept reminding her all morning that only Peter was going to school and she got to stay home with Mommy. When she tried to follow Peter into the school with back-pack and all, I realized the concept had not hit her. She cried and cried, and I comforted. Peter didn't even want me to walk him to his class - he was too big for that. There, not so bad.
The first day wasn't so bad, nor the second day either. On the third day the teacher had them meet in a reading lab before they went to the classroom. I was not fully aware of this, or where the lab was. In the confusion, I lost Peter. I got nervous, thinking he was lost in this big school and could be in any classroom. Finally I found him, and he was right where he needed to be, doing what he should. About half an hour after coming home, I burst into tears. I guess I finally realized how big Peter was, how independent he's getting, and how I need to let go a little bit. As a mother, I'm always preparing my kids for the future: kindergarten, 1st grade, teenage-hood, mission, college, marriage, etc. I guess a mother should be excited when these monumental markers come and your child succeeds. However, as the days fill up with chores, errands, and fun times, I forget the days are coming and going, and can never be relived. So, when Kindergarten came smacking me in the face, I was shocked. Could enough days have passed already for this? Could he really be ready? Have I taught him all I should? Yet, I'm proud of Peter and all that he has become in these past 5 years. He shares, he's thoughtful, he's obedient (usually), he's super inquisitive, and he's a great older brother. I couldn't ask for more. Motherhood can be so heart wrenching and so fulfilling all at the same time.

Ward Campout

The first weekend of the month we went to our ward camp-out. It was a great spot: lots of grass, a volleyball net, and best of all - a super steep, long slip-n-slide! You can imagine how much fun we all had. Mike took the kids down it that evening. Sometimes he would take both of them at the same time. Elsie, our thrill seeker, loved it, and Peter (the dare devil) also had a blast!

Here they are about ready to take off. You can barely see it dropping off, but it is quite steep.

Peter would slide around like crazy! No matter what position he took off on, he always landed on his belly going backwards.

In the morning I took the kids down. It was kind of scary the first time, as Elsie and I's face show. I promise though, Elsie was loving it.
As Mike was taking down the tent that morning, he found a mouse underneath. Yikes! Undaunted, Mike decided to capture the mouse in one of our water bottles. Peter had a great time carting the water bottle around, showing the mouse off to everybody. After a while, Mike was wondering how we were going to get rid of the mouse. He had an ingenious idea: give the mouse a ride down the water slide!

Here they are getting ready to let the mouse have the ride of its life.

Can you see the mouse in this picture? It's near the top. It was a great distraction to the reality of letting the mouse go, and it made a vivid memory for everyone at the campground that morning. We may have made ward history.