School Pictures and Stuff

I actually paid for school pictures this year.  I don't usually do that because I'm cheap and I have a million pictures of my kids.  But I decided to make Randy happy by ordering them and since they will never go in a frame, I thought I'd post them here where they can be preserved for the eternities.

Marcus is a sophomore.  He has his drivers permit and a girlfriend and he LOVES lacrosse.  He is super responsible and gets up for early morning seminary without me having to drag him out of bed.  He works out regularly either with his trainer, his lax team, or by himself at the Y.  He is trying desperately to keep his grades up in a school that prides itself on rigorous classes.  The payoff is that he can write a thesis or a research paper like it's a walk in the park.  

Ethan is in 8th grade and counting down the days until he's done with middle school.  He is trying to earn a smart phone by getting a 4.0 and I think it's going to happen.  He loves Nuttella, biking, zooming around on his hover board, and watching The Office.  He is the best brother to Henry and is a great babysitter.  He's even babysitting for other people now which is getting him excited for a real job because "money is awesome!"  He is starting to grow too so puberty is right around the corner....finally!

Landon is in 4th grade.  He loves his teacher and has three best friends (Desmond, Ny-Ny, Artin) known as the 4 amigos.  He is obsessed with football, Drew Breeze, and Taysom Hill.  He is an avid reader, but only at school when he should be doing his work.  He is a typical 10-year-old in that he loves any joke that involves bodily functions and tries to use the word "butt" as often as possible.  He's playing basketball and despite being one of the shortest on the team, he is one of the best players.  I love when the other player's dads tell me how good my kid is, and I get that a lot with Landon.

Parker is in 1st grade and is my first son to get in trouble on a regular basis.  He loves school and being with his friends and can't understand why talking all through class, thumb wrestling during story time, and making everyone laugh is not appropriate behavior.  Go figure.  About half the kids in his class are Chinese or Indian.  A lot of the Chinese parents give their kids American names (because no one can say/remember their one syllable Chinese names) so I died laughing when Parker came home telling me all about his good friend Norbert.  Still laughing.....

He played soccer for the first time this fall, is happily not playing basketball this season (a first for any of my boys) and is counting down the days until he starts lacrosse.

Henry is still the cutest kid I've ever seen.

He LOVES macaroni and cheese and eats it with his hands or one fork in each hand for maximum messes.

Speaking of messes...

and more messes

He loves watching the deer in the backyard (while getting my windows filthy)

"Daddy Deer"

He loves our friend's puppy, Sadie.  And I love that watching them train a puppy has further convinced me that five boys is all the puppy business I will ever need.  Boys are like dogs in soooo many ways.

Grandpa Came

A couple weeks ago my dad came for the weekend.  Kathy was on a trip with her daughter so he decided to fly up to see us instead of sitting at home by himself.  It was a great idea!  He hasn't visited us in Seattle in two years so we were happy to have him.  I love spending time with my dad and I love that when he comes he jumps right in and helps me by making breakfast, doing all the dishes, and driving my boys to wherever they need to go.  He has a great sense of direction and never uses GPS to get around so I know they are in good hands with him.

I let Landon and Parker skip school so we could go into Seattle and do some sightseeing.  We checked out the Fremont Troll, which they loved.  I can't believe they've never been!  I have failed at embracing the Seattle life.  After the troll, we went to Red Mill Burgers for lunch.  It's a little hole-in-the-wall burger joint with amazing burgers, shakes, and onion rings that can't be beat. I'm not sure if it was due to the three years living in Japan where a good burger was impossible to find, but if I had to pick one meal that I couldn't live without, it would be a good, juicy hamburger.  I'm so classy, I know.

On Saturday we went to all the boy's games which is my least favorite thing to do, but that's life and at least Grandpa got to see Parker and Landon play soccer and watch Marcus in a box game of lacrosse.  In between games we drove up the canyon to hike Twin Falls.  It was an easy hike, packed with people who like us, were taking advantage of a beautiful fall day.  The waterfall was gorgeous as was the hike through the forest which reaffirmed my decision that I must get out and explore more because we live in such a gorgeous place.

That's a lot of boys! 

That view!

That smile!

Picnic break

I love green, furry trees

After the hike, we split up.  Randy and Ethan drove an hour further to Ensign Ranch so Ethan could get his paperwork signed for his Eagle project while we drove back home, stopping at Triple XXX for root beer floats.  Henry's first time!

He drank half of that giant thing on his own

The perfect way to end a hike

Landon taught my Dad how to make his delicious peanut butter cookies.  Of course Grandpa cleaned up all the mess.

It was a great weekend.  The great thing about having visitors is it forces you to get out and do fun things.  I definitely don't do that enough, especially on Saturdays.  Sunday was rainy so after a day spent mostly inside we tried to go outside for a quick walk because the boys were bouncing off the walls.  My Dad said, "Your house is so loud."  He was right.

Things My Mom Never Had To Say

No weapons at the table.
Go take a shower.  You smell.
Please flush the toilet.
No, you can't bring a sword to church.
Put the toilet seat down when you're done.
Stop bouncing balls in the house!
Take your underwear off your head!
Why doesn't anyone flush the toilet in this house?!
Get off me! (my boys are always jumping on me especially if I'm on the floor or bending over)
I'm not taking you to the bathroom, find a bush.
Calm down before you break my house!
Stop wrestling in the van and buckle up!
No sticks allowed in the house.
Be nice and pretend you have manners.
Flush the toilet!!

OK, this list could be a lot longer but I think just writing it has been therapeutic.  And yes, I say most of these things daily.  DAILY, people.
And now I'm going to go find some chocolate.

Getting Real

This post is for Cheryl, my best friend and roommate from my college days.  Like me, she also has four boys but she's got a set of twins to make things extra chaotic.  We were talking on the phone the other day and she said my blog makes it looks like everything is great and my kids must be very well-behaved to host so many things at my house.  While I think I do a good job of capturing the chaos of our lives, you'll never really understand how chaotic things are without video so you can appreciate the sound of chaos.  It is loud.  Dinners are loud.  Getting out the door to go anywhere is loud, especially if it's getting out the door to go to church.  I'm working on that one.  Mornings are loud and busy while I make breakfast, pack lunches, monitor jobs, help with piano practicing, and constantly shout out how much time until the bus comes.  My kids are generally pretty good in these moments but someone is always upset about something and depending on the kid that means someone is either quietly pouting {Marcus}, sobbing {Bean}, or throwing a temper tantrum {Landon}.  Parker is a toddler so he can do all of these at the same time. 
Whenever we're out in public and someone says something like, "Wow, you have four boys!  Are all of them yours?"  My sarcastic response is, "Yes, and our house is sooo quiet!"  This always gets a laugh.  Our house is never quiet.
 I like to host things at my house for a few reasons.  First, because Parker can have his nap or go to bed if we stay here which allows me to enjoy socializing without a tired toddler.  Second, I've discovered that if I don't plan something then most often nothing happens, or I wonder if someone else planned something and I wasn't invited, and the third reason is that it gives me an excuse to clean my house.
I've also learned that having boys is like having dogs.  You've got to feed them, walk them, and make sure they get plenty of sleep.  Boys have to get their energy out or things get really bad really fast.  The trampoline saves me when the boys get so wild someone or something is bound to get hurt.  Last Sunday I sent the boys outside just as it was getting dark and it was probably fifteen degrees outside so they could get their crazy out.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts letting my kids play outside in the freezing darkness but whatever.  No one got frostbite and I got the kitchen clean. 

Our basement is never this clean and now there's a huge basketball hoop thing taking up a ton of space but it's a boys paradise and my saving grace

I also banish the boys to the basement a lot.  It's a beautiful thing to have a place where they can run wild and I pretty much don't have to hear them do it.  Parker can sleep through all this noise due to my most favorite baby invention ever. . . the noise machine.  Get one, it is life changing.  It plays lullabies or different types of white noise, and also shines moving images on the ceiling which is a great night light.  This little machine has accompanied us on every trip or late social event since Parker was born.  I adjust the volume according to the noise level so Parker can sleep blissfully unaware of the chaos outside his bedroom door.  A happy, well rested baby makes for one happy mama.

here's the link on amazon.  buy it now!