The Randomness that is my life

This is probably my 2nd longest post ever, so feel free to skip. Im journaling.

Here is whats been happening...

While we were in AZ last month, Lani thought it would be funny to put some small, styrofoam balls into her ears. I told her to take them out, and while she did that, she managed to push one in so far that no matter how hard we tried, we couldnt pull it out. I figured that since she wasnt in pain and since it wasnt causing her any hearing loss, I would take her in to the Dr when I had time. She was due for an immunization, so I killed two birds. The Dr brought this mega suction machine and had it all the way against the ball and it wouldnt budge. He sent us to an Ear Dr and Lani was so terrifed of the long thing he had to stick in her ear that she was shaking and she couldnt sit still. He was nervous about puncturing the ear drum so he said she would have to be put under. Are you kidding??? So the next day, we went to the hospital, got it out and were on our way home in an hour. Lani is a funny and VERY talkative girl as it is, but she seriously was soooo funny when they gave her a sedative. She was slurring her words and cracking up at nothing. She couldnt believe that she couldnt remember them taking it out. She tried to stand up to get dressed after it was all done and fell flat on her face. Hilarious. Cant wait to get the bill!!!

(I forgot to put the picture right side up)

Our other car has been snowed in since Christmas. A guy in our ward gathered up some youth in the ward and they dug it out for us. So nice!!! We had a guy Bill knows come over with his tractor to dig it out, but the car wouldnt start, so these kids finished the job. Gotta love snow.

Noah was in his first science fair. It was kind of an easy experiment considering we started 2 days before the fair and Bill was taking the Bar. He didnt win anything, but he did a good job and had fun doing it.

The kids are enjoying the snow before it melts and they play outside as much as they can. Its not so horribly cold anymore, so they actually have fun. Noah decided to make the ultimate sleddng hill and set his ramps up in 2 different spots. He got so much speed that we had to have him use a smaller sled and put on a helmet. Noah almost killed himself and Tyson ran into the house.

I just realized that I never posted AZ pictures. The kids had so much fun and they never left outside.

Avery loves my moms floor.
These 2 crazy kids got into all sorts of trouble and loved every minute of it.
I long for the days of eating outside in the sunshine!!!
(These kids all got haircuts right after they ate lunch)

Its so much fun to have a scout. Noah got his Bear award and the whole family was there to see it. Isnt he soooo handsome.
This night was also a cardboard car derby. It was so fun to see all these creative boys and their cars.
They had to run around the obstacle course 15 times. These poor kids, I dont think I could have done 3 laps. They all looked like they were gonna die.
Noah did!!!




We got a pass to the Thanksgiving Point Museum. The kids love it and they seriously could go everyday. They love all the HUGE dinosaurs and all the fun, hands on exhibits.






I finally was able to get Tyson into a preschool. I guess its technically not a preschool-just a few moms taking turns teaching the kids. Its been so fun for him because he gets to go to his friends houses and learn. Its been awesome!!! This week, we went to the Discovery museum with his class. Caleb loved that he got to tag along.

( Forgot this picture too)

Tyson loved to pretend he really worked on a ranch.
Caleb was in heaven with this horse. I think he thought it was real.
Tyson is such a climber. This was the perfect place for him. Caleb even got the hang of it and now hes climbing all over the house.

So much crazy stuff going on, but not too much out of the ordinary. Just trying to survive this so called "Spring". (It has snowed the past 3 days)

Sweet Baby

I am so bugged right now. My computer is acting crazy again and I cant upload more of these cute photos. I think its time for a new one!!!

ANYWAY, while I was in AZ I decided to take Averys one year pictures. My sis in law Jackie if a good photographer, so I asked her to do them for me. She brought her black background and I had everything all set..only thing was the baby wasnt cooperating. She had been sick all week, she was tired, hungery and not into it at all. But Jackie was able to get some really cute ones despite all of it. I spent 3 hours editing the pictures and what do you know, Lani decideds to turn off the computer while I still had them up and I hadnt saved them yet, sooooooo, all that hard work for nothing. And now, for some reason, blogger wont let me upload the photos. Total bugger. I happend to take a few, so thats what these are-unedited, but still ok. I love the pictures and maybe I will try again when she doesnt have snot running down her nose. She is still my sweet monkey, snot and all!!!!

She is so cute I could just squeeze her


I love this picture because it shows how long her legs are
(dont mind her hair, by this time it all fell and I had no bow that matched)
This pretty much summed up the day.

Proud Parent Moment

I sure hope that im not the only one who one day takes a look at her kids and says "What am I doing wrong? Where did I go wrong?"

During our little vacation, I kept telling the kids how good they were being and how respectful and well behaved they were. I really was so happy with them. Im sure a lot of it had to do with the fact they could play outside all day. My kids are such outdoor kids. They were even good in the car on the way home. (we left at 8am and got home at 11pm). When we got home, all that changed in an instant. I thought I would give Bill some last minute quiet time before his big test today, so I took all the kids to Costco. They were good at first, but after a while it was like the monkeys were loose in the zoo. Holy cow. I have never been so embarressed in all my life. I seriously wanted to duck under the table and hide. You know how you go somewhere and you see some kids totally out of control and you wonder where are the parents? Yea, those were mine. Without going into tons of detail, just imagine pure chaos and thats how it was. When we were finally in the car, I told them how dissapointed I was in their behavior and a lot more parent talk, and what do I hear in the back, LAUGHING. Are you kidding me????? I just had to remind myself of when I was younger and I had the giggles and I couldnt stop laughing no matter how much trouble I was in-it was either that or drop them off at the nearest exit. After the whole im so dissapointed speech, they still were laughing. I knew right then and there that I had lost all control. I seriously wanted to cry, but I knew if I did I would be admitting defeat-that and I would probably have crashed because it was foggy and snowing. I know with Bill studying these past few months has been hard on all of us. The kids really miss their dad. Thats what im guessing anyway-or cabin fever or winter crazies. Im hoping its one of the above and not because I really have lost all control. Anyway, they all went straight to bed. About 10 minutes later, Lani comes downstairs crying. In between sobs, she tells me how sorry she was for acting that way and that she wont do it ever again. She then says that she said a prayer and sang a song to help her be better. I asked her what song she sang and she said it was called "its ok to be punished when you do something wrong." I almost died right there. I had to hold it all in to not laugh. As hard as I try to teach them right from wrong and especially how to act in public, its moments like that that make all the failures worth it. I love that she went to Heavenly Father for help. It shows me that she wants to do whats right. Thats what matters to me. She is still grounded, but at least she is learning. Now if we could just pass this on to her brothers!!!

Anyone else excited for American Idol tonight???

What in the heck was I thinking

I think that I woke up one morning and thought to myself, "self, what would be the craziest thing I could possibly do today"? Hey I know, I will drive to Arizona with all 5 kids and no husband. That sounds awesome!!!! What in the crud was I thinking??? Can you say pure hell. I think anything that couldve gone wrong did. My sweet hubby who is studying for the bar woke up early and took the car to get an oil change and get some snacks for the car and fill the ice chest with drinks. I was all ready to go when he got home, so we loaded up, I did some last minute things and we were ready to go. I got in the car and went to start it...and NOTHING. Bill left it on when he was setting up the TV screens and it drained the batteries. In case I havent mentioned how much I hate my driveway, this is another prime example. Bill had to coast it down the snowy, Icy path over the big ice stump and what do you know-it gets stuck. We are literally blocking the entire street. We waited for the next car to come so we could get a jump. After all that, I was FINALLY on my way. The kids were great for the first 30 minutes or so until one had to go to the bathroom, Avery was screaming, and they were fighting over what movie to watch first. I didnt realize how hard it was to try to meet everyones needs and not being able to do anything about it. Needless to say, we stopped about 8 times just on the way to Kanab. For some odd reason, all the kids started coughing and noses were running all over the place. (I credit that to the lovely ER a couple nights before) Avery didnt stop screaming the last hour of the trip, and Tyson was about to have an asthma attack because he was coughing so hard. We finally got to the hotel in Kanab, ate dinner and lounged for a while. The kids had so much pent up energy, they were literally bouncing off the walls. I gave them all a bath and during Averys, she stood up and tumbled over the bathtub onto the hard bathroom floor. Her nose and mouth were pouring out blood. Yea... another night in the ER with all the kids? Thankfully no. Her nose kept bleeding and Im pretty sure she ripped that thing that goes from the top of your lip inside to the gums by your two front teeth. Poor thing was so miserable, i could tell she was in pain. I gave her some Tylanol and she fell asleep. The only thing was, besides not having a crib for Avery, the kids didnt want to sleep. Trying to keep Avery asleep and the kids quiet was not working-she was up and down so much that by the time they all did fall asleep, she was wide awake and NOT HAPPY. I have never tried so hard to put her to sleep, but its kinda hard with all the kids taking turns having coughing fits, grinding their teeth, and talking(screaming) in their sleep (that was Lani). She didnt go to sleep until 4:30. The only light spot in this was that Tyson woke up at about 2 and decided to pee all over the front door and carpet (which he thought was the toilet). Me and Avery did a little early morning cleanup!!!! The kids were awake by 8. After a shower, we ate breakfast and headed out for another fun 6 hour drive. By this time Avery was so tired and cranky and not feeling good at all. I stopped at the store and picked up some medicine. This is so bad, but I thought that if I got the nighttime one, than it would knock them all out. Nope. It only made Avery more cranky becasue she was soooo tired and couldnt sleep in her carseat. Who could with the kids screaming that they cant see the TV's, or that they want another game for the leapster or a drink or the bathroom or a snack or what have you. Thanks to massive amounts of caffine we finally arrived at my parents house (7 hours,a pair of peed in pants, a sick baby, a tired mommy and 5 hungry kids later).

Whew, what a novel. That felt good. Complaining aside, they really were good kids and very helpful when I really needed it. I am so happy to be here where the sun shines and where family and friends are. The kids are so excited to play outside and maybe go to the zoo and go to parks and have picnics. We really miss Bill (and Caleb misses hammie) and wish he was here. Have a good week of studying honey. Enjoy the quiet while it lasts!!!

Now the ride home will be a different story-we are driving straight through-12 hours. YIKES

My last two posts ive noticed have been venting ones. I will end this one on a good note. Im choosing to look at the bright side of this road trip. We had no throwups, no poopy diapers, no driving tickets, I got to listen to MY music the whole time while the kids watched their movies, I drank pop the ENTIRE time ( for the caffine only of course :) and the best...I didnt have to hear any backseat driving from the hubby!!! (love ya babe)

So Happy to be here

More Winter!!!

Thanks to Mr. Groundhog for giving us weeks more of winter. What a winter this has been. My neighbors have said they havent had a winter like this since the late eightys. It seriously has been snowing for 2 weeks straight. The snow piles on the sides of the road are getting so high that soon there wont be anywhere to put it all. I was looking back at some old blog posts and saw a picture of the house with no snow. What a difference. I cant tell you how anxioius I am for this snow to start melting. I think it may be a while.

BEFORE

AFTER

Our back yard before...

AFTER

(notice the square fence thing on the top corner and compare to the picture above. You can almost see the fence peeking out from the snow)

The kids had their very first snow day ever. We got a call at 6:15 in the morning telling us that there would be no school. It was the best feeling knowing I didnt have to wake the kids up and I could go back to sleep!!

They all played outside all day.

These are some of the boys that live in the neighborhood having a massive snow ball fight. Since the snow is so high it was perfect for building snow forts to hide behind.

This is Tyson making the trek up our driveway. See how narrow it is. There is just enough room for our car to squeeze through.

Noah likes to think he is survivorman and he wanted to know what it felt like in a snow cave-so he spent like an hour building a cave that went from our driveway all the way through to the middle of the lawn. This is Noah peeking out from the lawn part.

This is Tyson squeezing through.

Noah and Caleb in the driveway entrance

I love this picture of Caleb. He loves to be outside in the snow and he LOVES to eat it. He will sit in one spot and just bury his face into the snow. He is such the funny kid!!

These 2 were the first to come inside. After some warming up, they fell asleep watching their favorite-Cailou.

The Newest Member of our Family!!!

This is Hammy-Tysons new hampster. YUCK!!!! I protested this one all the way to the end, but Tyson finally won out. He really did earn this creepy little thing. The kids love him and think he is the coolest thing. We took him out of the cage tonight for the first time and Caleb was so scared that he dropped him and it bit Bill. I think all the noise and craziness that is a constant at our house scared it and it tried to get away. I dont blame it!!!

Avery wasnt too sure of the thing. Its a good thing Bill doesnt mind this because this is one animal that I will have no part of.

Welcome Hammy!!!

Lets see how long this one lasts.

X Games- 2017

What a hottie this little boy is. I finally got the chance to go up to the mountain to take some pictures of Noah in the elements. He freakin loves to snowboard. I am so proud. Im so happy that Noah got the chance to take some lessons and now he is ready to hit the "big" slopes.

Such form!!

Noah and a friend in his class.

"Air"

I had to laugh at this one. He asked if I would take a picture of him jumping so high. He's like 2 inches off the ground. When I got there, his class was already walking down the hill with their boards off. I made him walk back up, strap back in and come back down so I could get some pics. He was so proud this day because he said he tore up "bunny hollow" Since he is in the begginer class, they only stayed on the bunny hill. He got to go up the lifts quite a few times, but they would get off on the first exit. Noah seriously has no fear. He was ready to take some jumps and go all the way to the top of the mountain. Bill plans on taking him after he takes the bar, so we can see what he is really made of. Im so proud of him for doing this and trying so hard and listening to his instructor so he can learn the proper techniques. (we had an issue the first day with Noah thinking he knew it all and didnt have to listen)

X games, here he comes!!!

My First Cake

Here are some pictures for Family that couldnt be here to celebrate Averys first birthday. I have never seen a baby more happy to be eating cake. She went to town on this thing.

I feel bad for the clean up crew who had to take on this table

Yea!!!! What else can I eat.

She was throwing her hands in the air and laughing. I seriously have never seen her so happy and carefree!!

I think by the end of this party she had had it with the camera. This is her telling me no more!!!