Student of the Week

My Chase is Student of the Week!! I am so proud of him. He is such a good kid. Everyone loves him and Mrs. Morgan has said that she would love to have a whole class full of Chases... (she said that about Ethan too...) Chase is such a hard worker and I know I've said it a thousand times, but he has come such a long way in such a short time. It's mostly because of his hard work and his self motivation. He amazes me!! He is so enthusiastic about school and primary and scouts that it's hard not to be enthusiastic for him. I adore him... even if he doesn't wear a belt and he has to hold his pants up when he runs... silly boy!

Precious Children

Today it occurred to me, that predators we should fear where our children are concerned are not just those who physically abuse our babies, but those who emotionally and spiritually damage them. Those predators come in all shapes and sizes and claim to be Christians. They even come in our homes in their suits and ties with gospel messages and prayers they leave with our families. And yet, they do not practice what they preach. Those very people will actually lie to our children, hurt their feelings and send them home in tears. Those very people will be reasons why our children will not want to attend church or go to scouts or other activities. Those very people will plant seeds of doubt and anger in our children. Those people who are supposed to be members of our ward families, who we are supposed to turn to in our times of need and distress. Who should be helping us nurture these children and overcome these obstacles we face. I know I have done what I can to love the children in my ward. I have taught them in primary and welcomed them in my home and loved them as my own. I have shown them love and kindness. Sadly, that has not been returned to my babies.

I speak from experience when I say that words and actions can hurt young and tender feelings. I had church leaders say harsh and unkind things to me when I was young. Unwarranted things that I had such a struggle to overcome, even into my adulthood. One careless adult can derail a well intended youth, especially one that is hurting already.

We were placed in wards to support and uplift each other because no parent is perfect. I believe I am a good mother with good intentions and I think my kids are good kids. We are struggling right now, but I don't think my kids are acting out in unusual or destructive ways. However, if they feel abandoned by those they trust, they could. I feel my only option is to lock down even further to protect them the best way I know how. Lock out the bad and the careless. I already fear for them when they leave my home to go to school. I spend a lot of time at the school and on the phone with teachers. Now I'm worried when they go out to play with neighborhood friends because I obviously can't trust the adults in my neighborhood to make wise decisions in how they treat my babies. Will I be able to trust that they will be treated well in primary or will I have to follow them there as well?

I'm so disappointed right now. My children are my life. I love and value all children. How could anyone think to treat them badly?

The Sun Still Rises

It's not a shock, I'm sure, for anyone to hear that divorce sucks. I have days when I think I am completely fine and then I'll be in a store, or the bank, or at the kids' school and it hits me so hard that my family, as I knew it, is over and I can hardly breathe. What makes it worse is that I made the choice to end it. I tend to forget what I'm doing. Usually standing in an aisle or staring at a child. I snap back and collect myself and force myself to move forward.

People keep telling me I can't keep holding in my sadness. Honestly, I don't think I deserve to be sad. I did this. So I've started giving myself about an hour every night after the kids go to bed to cry and be sad. And then I pull it together. It doesn't matter how sad I am. My kids are more sad. And I have to show them that I can still create a happy and safe home for them. And that even though their dad is not living here, we can still be a family. A different kind of family, but a family nonetheless. We don't love them any less. This had to be done to stop the fighting.

It also doesn't matter how sad I am because I have to get up in the morning. I can't fade away no matter how much I wish I could disappear sometimes. It's so hard not to fade away when my kids are away for the weekend. Believe me, I desperately want to fade. But the sun still rises every morning and I force myself to get up and go about my business.

I may not want it to, but the sun still rises and I am so thankful for that.

Happiness is a Choice

I tell this to my kids all the time. Happiness is a choice. We choose to be happy. People don't MAKE us happy. No one can take our happiness away or give it back to us. I have to remember that. I find myself in circumstances that I've created and it's sometimes hard to get up in the morning and often hard to even breathe in and out. But I have to remember that I made choices and I can't have it all. So just like I have to choose to put one foot in front of the other when I don't want to, I have to make the choice to be happy. All the small decisions I make for myself and for my children and for our future have to reflect my choice to be happy. Like Leona Lewis sings in her song, "so what if it hurts me, so what if I break down... I just wanna be happy..."

Today I am grateful for the ability to make that choice. That I can see past these obstacles and know that even though I've made huge mistakes that I still deserve to be happy.

One last thing... to all those people I may have hurt, either knowingly or unknowingly... I'm so sorry. I am not a person who seeks to offend. Recently I really don't know which end is up so I may do or say things without intending to. I have a quote I display in my living room that I try to implement in everything I do when I'm dealing with others. "Love me when I least deserve it because that's when I need it the most." I'm hoping others will extend this to me.

Sweetest Thing in the World

Carter entered a poem in this year's Reflections Contest. The theme is "Beauty Is..."

This is Carter's poem:

Beauty is...
by Carter Montrose

Beauty is
Jesus
My Mom
My Dad
My Grandpa
My Grandma
My Papa
My Nana

I don't have the words to describe how absolutely beautiful this is to me. Beauty to me is my six year old baby boy recognizing beauty in these people. Today I am thankful for that.

Grateful for Being a Woman

Normally, I'm not always happy about being a woman. I have had so many female problems and I honestly can't remember what it feels like to just feel good, to just wake up and not have something cramping or hurting. But today as I was talking to the mother of one of my friends, I started to think about how absolutely wonderful it is to be a woman.

I am reminded of the scene in Steele Magnolias with Sally Field as she is mourning the loss of her daughter. She says "As a woman, I realize how lucky I am to be there as that wonderful creature drifted into my life and I was there as she drifted out. It was the most precious experience of my life." Now, frankly, I could never fathom the loss of one of my precious babies, however, I realize how perfect that statement is. How lucky I am as a woman to be able to experience the miracle of being a mother.

I'm facing the decision of permanent birth control. Not just for obvious reasons, but because my female issues are getting more and more out of control. It's a surprisingly difficult decision to make. The choice to give up the ability to create and carry a baby is not easy. I probably wouldn't be able to carry a baby to term if the opportunity ever presented itself down the road and if I ever chose to do so in the future. And the fact that I'm now in my 30s added to my female issues just adds to the negative results of trying to even conceive a healthy baby. However, I am missing those days of feeling that growth inside me. Knowing for the first time that I'm pregnant. Feeling the movement for the first time. Watching my stomach grow. Preparing for the baby, or in my case, babies.

And then my favorite part, pushing my baby out and having him placed in my arms. Seeing him for the first time but knowing him immediately. I missed that with the triplets, they were rushed away from me so quickly after their births. But I remember finally being able to hold them and knowing them... knowing they were mine. Watching Ethan bond with them... he always wanted to hold all three of them at the same time. And later, he and Mckenzie would hold Carter constantly.

I loved the first few days of having babies at home. The sleeping and feeding schedules when I could do nothing but hold them. I miss that too.

Of course, I've loved every stage of being a mother and I'm enjoying this stage. I love when the kids come home from school. When we can do homework together and talk about their classes and their day. I love being able to have adventure days or playing at the park in the dark. It's so fun to be able to hang out with them and hear their stories and listen to them interact with each other.

I am so grateful I was born with a heart that can embrace others, no matter what their situation. I find it so easy to love other children and nurture them as my own. Being a Sunday school teacher and a primary teacher were callings I loved so much. And I love having my house filled with children. I never resent having my kids' friends here. It's so easy to love them. I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving me a heart like I have. I used to hate that it was so easily broken, but I've learned to appreciate it for what it is.

So today, I'm grateful for being a woman. I'm thankful for being a mother and a nurturer. It's the hardest thing in the world but it's also the best! I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Being Thankful

My friend, Nancy, is doing this on her blog... since it's November and Thanksgiving is this month, she is posting something she is thankful for every day. I decided to "steal" her idea because frankly, I need it! I need to be reminded of what I'm thankful for.

Today I am thankful for my healthy and happy kids. They are the light of my life. I look forward to hearing them walk through the door when they come home from school. One of my favorite things is our dinner time tradition. I ask them what their favorite thing of the day was and what was the worst part of their day. They come up with some hilarious and sometimes insightful things to say. And always, always, always, my Chase asks me how my day was. I love it! And not only does he ask, but he listens.

I'm so thankful for my friends. For their love and support. And especially their comfort. Even though I know I lock myself down, they are persistent and always there.

And as much as I love the sounds of my children, I'm grateful for the quiet time of my day after the kids go to bed. Sometimes it's lonely, but most of the time it's good to decompress and plan my next day.

Cute Carter

Carter was a Biker Dude for Halloween. He was so dang cute. At the trunk-or-treat, our friends, the Johnson's, pulled up on their bikes and I just had to get a picture of Carter on Byron's bike!! He is so adorable!! I love it.

He's been such a stinker lately. He was throwing huge tantrums for awhile. I'm such a mean mom... I'd ask him to do things like eat his dinner and that would induce an all out, on the floor, kicking and screaming fit! We've gotten the huge tantrums down to a minimum, he now goes into his room to throw them. It's kind of funny, he'll get mad when I tell him something he doesn't like. He'll hold his breath and stomp off to his room and slam the door and then let out a scream or a grunt like a mad bear.

I've noticed he hasn't been sucking his thumb as much lately. Maybe that's contributing to his dramatic behavior. Who knows?

He's still darling when he's asleep though. I just sneak into his room at night to watch him sleep. He is the most beautiful child. It's so hard to watch him grow up. My baby.

Halloween Costumes!!

My kids are so fetching cute!! So here's the low down on what they are this Halloween:

Ethan: US Marine (His face make up is sooooooo cool if I do say so myself. I'll post better pics later.)

Garrett: Ninja (his face make up is cool too)

Chase: Rockstar (he has a super cool guitar which was the major part of his costume)

Mckenzie: Glitter Ghost (She is sprayed from head to toe in glitter. Too cute)

Carter: Big Bad Biker Dude

They were so so so so so excited. I love how excited they were. I hate Halloween, but seeing how cute they are gets me all excited! Love it so much!

Chase

NO! I DID NOT PUSH HIM OUT OF THE CAR....

Poor baby Chase!!! He started out having a great day but it didn't end so well for him!

He had his 3rd grade IEP this morning and we found out that he will be done with speech by Christmas break this year!! How exciting is that? We were pretty sure he'd need speech therapy for the majority of his elementary school experience but coming this far in 4 years is phenomenal for this kid! I am just BURSTING with pride.

Chase is a super hard worker. He knows he has struggles, but it NEVER stops him. I never have to ask him to do his homework. He just does it. He is the best helper to me. When he was sick this week, he voluntarily did his homework while I was in the shower instead of watching TV. He thought it was a better use of his time. How awesome is that?!?! All of his teachers have loved him. And who doesn't love him? He's almost perfect. (He just won't let me kiss him in public)

However, on his way home from school, he was running after his brother and fell. He must have face planted or something because he has totally scraped up his nose and forehead. He also scraped his shoulder and knee. I felt so bad. According to him, he was lucky Conner Scoubes saw him fall, so Conner ran home to get Sister Scoubes who rescued Chase and brought him home. So, thank you Sister Scoubes for saving Chase!!

Today

I try not to post negative things.... but the last 10 days have been less than fun. It started when I did something to my back. I'm not sure what I did. We were playing around at Bridal Veil Falls and I slipped on a rock. It didn't hurt or anything. But on the walk down to the car, my back started to tighten up. We drove down to Canyon View park for a picnic and I could really feel some pain. I decided to lay down on the grass while the kids played. That was a BIG mistake!! The next thing I knew... I couldn't get up! It hurt so bad. And it was like that for about a week. It's still stiff but I can function.

To add to my fun, every single one of my children has been sick. Of course, they don't all get sick at the same time. They get sick one at a time. So one child or another or several have been home from school. Doug helped a little by taking the kids to his house for an extra night last week but I still had kids during the day and WOW!! My poor babies... they just hung out in my room, many times both of us ending up crying. It was pretty sad.

And to top it off, as much as I love fall, I HATE Halloween. And Ethan just added the cherry to my sundae today. He wanted to be an army guy for Halloween so we've been gathering things for his costume. I was supposed to take him to Uncle Sam's Army Navy Outdoor store this evening while Mckenzie was at dance but we passed Halloween USA. He HAD to go in. He found this Master Chief costume from Halo and wanted it so bad but it was $40!! There is no way I'm spending that kind of money on a cheaply made costume that has a mask that he can't even wear to school! I said no. He threw a fit. He called his dad. His dad said no. He threw an even bigger fit. Fun. I wanted to push him out of the car on the way home, but I didn't. And not just because there were witnesses... but because I do love the kid and I knew I would eventually feel bad.

It's very hard to come home at the end of a crappy day, put cranky kids to bed and sit alone in a quiet house. Usually I clean or something until I'm exhausted but tonight I'm just sitting here. I would cry but I can't. My friend lost her husband recently and I feel guilty for feeling sorry for myself. I made this choice to be alone. Her choice was made for her. So I shouldn't feel like this.

I am frustrated at the turn my life has taken. Or at the turn I've allowed it to take. Part of me would like to push the rewind button. But it's a small part. I've read my partriarchal blessing a hundred times over the past several months and I think that even though I made some mistakes and I veered off the course, I'll be ok. Everything happens for a reason and everything can be turned around for my good and for the good of my precious children. We'll be ok. We'll be better than ok.

I just keep thinking that I made it through another day and I still have 5 out of my 5 original children. I didn't have to replace any.

Fall

I love fall! It's my favorite time of year!! This past weekend the kids and I did tons of yard work. We made a contest out of it, the winning team got slushies. (Kenzie and Carter worked their tiny butts off!) While cleaning the backyard, we found a baby snake that Mommy picked up with her bare hands!! We now have a new pet named Fluffy. It's actually kinda cute!

We decorated for Halloween and bought pumpkins, ranging in size from super big to teeny tiny. And then after church on Sunday we went up the canyon for a hot dog roast. It was so peaceful and relaxing!

Their Mother is Out of Control!

So, I'm doing the single mommy thing. It's been super fun. I'm exhausted. Ha ha. My children are awesome and they are holding up very well with the whole separation thing. I have to give kudos to Doug and I because I think we've tried to keep things as normal as possible. However, apparently since Dad has been gone, Mommy has taken over the household and I've begun to torture everyone. Here is a list of things are my children consider to be torturous:

Taking baths
Cleaning rooms
Picking up anything and putting it away
Eating only one snack after school
Waiting till after dinner to play Wii
Cutting finger nails
Putting laundry away
Wearing socks with shoes
Brushing teeth
Wearing clothing that matches
Feeding and/or taking care of their pets
Doing homework
Drinking water instead of Koolaid or soda

I have been informed I am out of control. During a bedroom inspection with Carter on Saturday, I informed him that shoving everything into his closet was not how we clean rooms in our house and I told him he needed to clean his closet. After flopping around on his floor for awhile and screaming at the top of his lungs, he finally calmed down enough to ask me for my phone. I asked why he needed it, assuming he was going to call his dad. He said no, he was going to call 911 because I was the meanest mom in the world. Ethan informed me on the way home from church as I was instructing everyone what to do with their church clothes when they changed that I was out of control because I was insisting on keeping everything like it was Spring Cleaning day or something like that. Argh!

Do they still sell Calgon?

Back to School

The kids started school today! Garrett and Carter were up first and dressed by 8 am, complete with backpacks, and waiting in the living room to go to school. They don't go to school till 9:30. I did have to remind them to eat breakfast, brush their teeth and put socks on.... They were so cute. Anyway, everyone did eat breakfast with their backpacks on. It was hilarious. I loved it.

We're excited about everyone's teachers. I think we'll have a good year!! We've had Carter's teacher and Chase's teacher before, so we know we'll love them!

So here's to a good year! Go Windsor Wildcats!!

Wordless Wednesday:

The Big Day!

Our triplets were baptized on Saturday, August 1st. It was the most incredible day! I can't even explain how amazing the spirit was and how sweet my children were.






Doug baptized all three kids and then he confirmed Garrett, Chase was confirmed by his Grandpa Rick and Mckenzie was confirmed by her Grandpa Jim. All three children were given incredible and very specific blessings. The kids planned their own program, choosing whom they wanted to speak and calling those people and asking them on their own. They were so excited for this day, as were we. I hope they will remember it. I know we will never forget it. These babies whom we waited for and prayed for and agonized over. Garrett who wasn't supposed to make it through his first 24 hours and Chase who had struggle after struggle after struggle and and tiny Mckenzie who amazed every doctor who ever touched her. We just can't believe this day has come and gone and they are so big and gorgeous. We're proud of the decision they made to be baptized.

Mckenzie

Today we bought Mckenzie's baptism dress. She tried on about 10 or 12 and finally decided on the 3rd one she tried on that we both fell in love with. Of course, Mommy was holding back tears the entire time. Kenzie even told me I was being ridiculous..... ha ha. I just can't believe that my baby girl, who weighed 3 pounds when she was born, this baby girl who could fit in her daddy's hand, is now 8 years old and getting baptized. I am overwhelmed.

I am not trying to take away from the face that Garrett and Chase are being baptized too. I am just as overwhelmed over them as well. But I haven't been shopping with them yet. And they are too rowdy to have a sweet experience with. Mckenzie is precious and sweet. From her perfect little spirit to her beautiful green eyes. I just can't wrap my head around this!

Wordless Wednesday

BIRTHDAYS!!!

Super Long Post Ahead....

As most people know, Carter and the triplets have birthdays within 3 days of each other. It makes for a very busy July. To top it off, my mom and dad also have birthdays very close to my kids' birthdays, my mom's is a week before and my dad's is smack in the middle of the kids. YAY! It's like Christmas is July.

For the past several years, we've gotten away with celebrating ALL the birthdays together. We'd go to Chuckee Cheese or a water park and the kids loved it. However, this year, everyone had something different in mind. So we did four different things and the kids had a ball. We did too but we were a very tired mommy and daddy!

Carter's birthday is the 16th. He chose to go bowling at Fat Cats with his friend Richard. Thank goodness for free kids' bowling this summer! Then in Montrose family tradition, we broke a pinata at our house and let the kids swim.

Carter getting ready to bowl

Knocked down 6 pins on his first try! Better than Mommy!

Carter and his buddy, Richard
Carter HATES cake so we do a "donut cake"

Mckenzie decided she wanted to have a girl's day with her BFF Jasmine:

We started the day at McD's for breakfast

After loading up on bling, we got pedicures at Le Nails
Our super cute toes!


We did some light shopping and got the girls pics done at Kiddie Kandids.
It was a super fun day!
Here they are looking like serious shoppers!

Chase chose to go to Trafalga with his friend Tre. Once again, thank heavens for free passes! Woot! We started the day at McD's and then headed to Trafalga where we went mini golfing, played at the arcade and took a ride on the go-karts. It was soooo fun!

Tre & Chase at McD's. Getting excited to start the day!

Chase getting ready to shoot his first ball....

Waiting for the go-karts... it was so hot, but we were so excited.
Doug and Chase won. I think they hid a power boost button in the go-kart.
Tre and I tried and tried to beat them but our go-kart sucked.

Enjoying some slushies after the go-karts! YUMMY!!

Garrett got to have a pool party at the new Lindon Aquatic center with his friends Christian and Kaleb. It's a way cute place and the boys had a blast! I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was afraid of getting my camera wet.

Garrett is the one coming down the slide.
The boys spent most of their time in the lazy river and on the slide.

Christian, Garrett and Kaleb

After we got back from the pool, we got ready for the triplet's birthday party! We had the best cake made at Macey's:

It had a Scooby Doo for Chase, Tinker Bell for Mckenzie and Star Wars for Garrett!
We loved it! We had originally decided on a Scooby cake but when we went to buy it,
they had sold it. I was so bummed that they girl at the bakery offered to just
put some toys on a cake. I had no idea she'd decorate like this!
I was so excited!! Especially since it was still in my budget and everyone would be happy!!

After cake, we opened presents and broke not one, not two, but three pinatas.... yes... we have triplets who have minds of their own! Garrett had a monkey pinata, Mckenzie's was a Tinkerbell and Chase's was a Darth Vader head. The whole neighborhood will be sugared up for days!! You're welcome.



All in all, it was a blast! But I'm super happy that we have a year to recover! I can't believe my babies are 8 and 6!! Where does the time go?

Oh No! I'm one of THOSE people!!

I got to looking at my page and I realized something. It looks like a scrap book. An online scrapbook! A freaking scrapbook! It's finally happened! I've crossed over.... pretty soon you'll see me at those parties, cutting things out. I'll be talking about scrapbooking stuff. No.. I can resist. No offense to those women out there who can be the scrapbooker. It is a creative thing to do and I admire those with the patience to do it. I tried it once, I even went to a little party where they were selling things. I even tried to keep the mocking to a minimum so I wouldn't embarrass my friend. However... I just can't do it. But look at my Blog. It's all cutesy and stuff. And what's worse is that I LIKE it! This is what living in Utah Valley has done. Either that or it's because I'm getting older. I'm going soft. I need to go find me some leather pants and a biker. Man oh man!

Things I forgot!

I didn't necessarily forget some of these things, I just couldn't find the camera and thus, get these pics off the camera to post them! I've been using my phone for pictures. So, I'm finally able to post these cute pics!

Carter's Graduation:

Yes, my baby graduated from Kindergarten this year! We are officially out of the baby years. It's both sad and exciting. We'll miss Mrs. Vitters! She is a great teacher. She has been so good to our family. She also taught the triplets when they were in Kindergarten and I wish we had more kids to send to her. Maybe we can talk her into just moving grades as Carter does!

Carter with Mrs. Vitters

Carter with Richard McAlliser and Bryton Tanner, his two best friends in his class! They were way too interested in their popsicles and everything else that was going on around them!

My little man with his diploma. He'll be a big 1st grader!!

Ethan's Pioneer Day:

The 4th graders had Pioneer day at school which Ethan was so excited about it. It was very special for him because his class was reading Among the Shoshone. It's a story about his great, great, great, great grandfather, Elijah Nicholas Wilson who lived with the Shoshone Indians when he was a boy. He is my grandpa Bill's great grandfather. We had Nick Wilson's cabin on our property in Jackson.

Anyway, Ethan was excited to dress up like a cowboy and tell his teacher about our relationship to Nick Wilson. It was very cool!




Playing at Bridal Veil Falls:
Every year we take the "hike" to Bridal Veil and take pics on our first hike. It's one of our favorite places to go in Utah Valley. This year, our first trip to the falls was kind of late because it's rained so much, but we finally got there in June between rain storms and took some great pics.

4th of July

Doug and the boys at the pancake breakfast.

Ethan and Garrett fought it out with gigantic boxing gloves.
Garrett ditched his gloves and jumped on Ethan's back! You can kinda see his head.

Garrett on the bouncy slide

All of us got our faces painted. We all looked super cute and very festive!

Daddy and Uncle James were right there on the slip and slide with the kids
totally racing them all.... too funny!!

We had the coolest 4th off July. We went up to Layton to spend the holiday with my family, as has become our tradition. We took part in the Layton Liberty Days, enjoying a big pancake breakfast put on by the scouts, watching the local parade and shopping the many booths at the festival. It was so much fun. The kids got to get their faces painted (and Mommy did too) and we let them play on all the bouncy slides and stuff in the park. Later that afternoon we had a BBQ at my aunt's house where we set up the 3 lane slip and slide and wore out the kids and stuffed ourselves full of all kinds of good junk! That night we lit off fireworks in my aunt's cul-de-sac. It was awesome because we could see the Layton fireworks, the Clearfield fireworks and the Syracuse fireworks all from my aunt's house. Way cool!!

Then, we went back to my grandma's and the grown-ups stayed up till 3 am playing cards. Doug kicked our trash. In my defense, I was exhausted and off my game! Ha ha!! We tried to have a rematch on Sunday and he kicked our trash again! Gotta love him.

The best Daddy

Last week was Father's Day and I've been slow to write about the best Daddy ever, the Daddy to my babies. We tried to give him the most relaxing day we could and ended up having a fun day. My sister-in-law and I made Doug and my brother a HUGE breakfast (actually a late, late brunch) and then my grandma came from Layton. We played card games and then just lounged around and visited. It was a great day. Doug was honored with some golf clubs. He joined a beginners golf team at work and I'm all for anything that takes him away from playing World of Warcraft. He bid on some clubs on Ebay and won them, so he got a terrific deal on some nice clubs which his dad chipped in on. So Doug got pretty lucky. He deserves it for being a great dad. He's very involved with our kids and he's a great example to our boys on what a Daddy should be. I hope they all grow up to be just like him. He's also the best Daddy to our little girl. Mckenzie is totally her Daddy's girl. She'll know how to be treated by a man when it comes time for her to look for her own prince charming.

I'm honored to have good men in my life. My own dad who is amazing in every way. He is hardworking, determined, optimistic, hopeful, cheerful, giving, kind, compassionate, creative and he never gives up. My grandfather, whom I loved dearly was talented and creative and literally made his dream come true by turning his family's home stead into a successful chuckwagon dinner show. My father-in-law, Rick is kind and gentle and my husband's grandfather, Paul is intelligent, sweet and a great teacher. I am the beneficiary of all of these men because my husband is the product of all of these influences. Doug is my source of strength, he's my calming influence, he's my better half. I am so blessed to be his wife. And I am so blessed that he is the father of my children. (well, most of them anyway...half the triplets, I think... just kidding!!)

Shoe Therapy

The last week or so have been emotional and most people who know me know that I'm not good with emotional. So today I decided that my friend, Kim and I needed some Shoe Therapy. I had a little money put aside from my birthday so we hit BOGO at Payless. I have added to my family of shoes and my collection of purses. I feel it's important to do this particular type of therapy to spare my children from such things as yelling, throwing objects, tearing out of the hair, slamming doors, and other such things that result in frustration or anger at actions such as leaving shoes in the middle of the floor, using all the paper in the printer for comic books, drawing pictures on the clean windows with brand new lipgloss, throwing dirty laundry on top of clean, folded laundry, taking bathes and not actually washing body parts, using words such as ball or nut for things that are neither a ball or a nut in front of their grandmother. You see, I always feel it's better to say "Hi babies! Mommy's home!!" Instead of "Mom is home! Run and hide!"

Yes, shoes are good therapy.

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

For FHE this year, we've been trying to follow the Primary's theme of Family's are Forever. (not sure if that's the actual theme, but that's what we're going with...) So this week for FHE we talked about the importance of temples and we took the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house. It was so amazing to be able to take the kids inside a temple and show them the different rooms where different ordinances are performed. The rooms that meant the most to them were the baptismal font and the sealing rooms.

Doug and I were sealed to each other and to Ethan when Ethan was 5 months old in the Logan temple. It was neat to be able to explain to Ethan and the other kids about the signifance of that day in the setting where the sealing ordinance takes place. The kids really liked the mirrors and how they were a symbol of families being forever.

Mckenzie and my neice, Edil loved the Bridal room. I told them that temples are where princesses like them are supposed to get married and made them both promise to get married in the temple. Of course, Mckenzie got all embarrassed but she promised me but Edil was all wide eyed and completely impressed.

We were going to take pictures when we were done but when we walked out there was a HUGE storm brewing and we got caught in it on the walk back to our car. By the time the little shuttle thingy got us back to our cars, we were completely soaked. It was hilarious and will hopefully make the event very memorable for our kids! I hope it made an impression on them and it will be important to keep themselves worthy to go to the temple some day.

Mommy Moment

Recently we had a precious neighbor go through an extremely difficult struggle and our family has been praying for them and looking for ways we can help. Last night, in the mayhem of getting kids in bed, I walked into Garrett and Chase's room to tuck them in and there was my little Chase, kneeling by his bed. He was praying for our neighbor by name and asking Heavenly Father to bless her that she will feel the comfort of the Holy Ghost. That was my mommy moment for the week and probably for the year. I think my heart was about to burst from how much I love that kid. He is the sweetest boy and others don't get to see that very often because he is so shy. I love every moment of being a mommy, but these moments make it all worth it!

Princess Me

So it was my birthday on the 27th (in case you didn't hear my yelling it from the roof tops...) My husband and best friend, Kim made it an amazing day! My office was filled with pink balloons and flowers. Soon afterwards, I received my pink tiara and a ring to match which I wore for the entire rest of the day, of course. Kim treated me to a massage and a facial at Salon DeLeon (I think.) It was PURE heaven. Then my husband took me to see Angels & Demons which was my FAVORITE Dan Brown novel and really close to one of my favorite books ever. I also got to buy a new dress and a shirt to go with my white skirt. So all in all, I had a heavenly day. I just had to brag. My husband spoils me a lot, but it's not every day that I get to wear a tiara. This picture is not the most flattering but it's the only one I have with my beloved pink jewels. Ha ha!

Memorial Day Weekend

Chase's boredom often leads to creativity.....

Of course these boys fell asleep 10 minutes before we got to my parents' house.
They were driving us nuts before that!

The kids at Weeping Rock. I have no idea what Chase is doing with his shirt!

My cute mom and dad when we were walking along the river

The kids overlooking the valley at the Weeping Rock

Our whole cute family at The Patriarchs

We went to visit my parents in Mesquite over Memorial Day weekend. It's been our tradition since we've been married to go visit my parents over the holiday weekend because it's my birthday weekend and my mom and dad make our birthdays and event! This weekend we went to Zion's National Park and took the shuttle thru the park. We did the short walk to see the view of the Patriarchs. Then we did the trail up to the Weeping Rock. That was the coolest! We tried to get some good pictures of that. It was so lush and beautiful, with water just dripping out of the sandstone and flowers and plants growing out of the stone. It's one of those reaffirming moments when you know without a doubt that there is a God and He lives. Our last stop was the River Walk where we saw lots of different micro-environments, desertscape, swamps, etc. It was really amazing. I grew up in the shadows of the Tetons in Wyoming and Idaho but I do believe that Utah is the most beautiful state!!

We had a wonderful weekend and I had a wonderful kickstart to my birthday. My parents took us to see Night at the Museum, Battle for the Smithsonian. The kids loved it and it cracked us up! It was hilarious. We made snow cones and played in the gorgeous weather. My mom is her ward's Relief Society president and she took me along with her to visit a couple sweet sisters in her ward and I was able to listen to her wonderful lesson that she taught on Sunday. All in all, it was perfect and rejuvinating. I love to spend time with my precious kids without the pressure of work and school and all the other nonsense we have to deal with. And of course, I love to spend all the time I can with my amazing husband!

Of course, we remembered those who have passed on. We play in memory of my grandfather, whom I still miss with every beat of my heart.He is the one who taught me to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. And now Matt who's passing is still so fresh and still so painful, but he would have been the first to join the hiking in Zion's this weekend. He loved the outdoors. I know they are well and doing work for us on the other side.