He Strikes Again

WHY?

WHY NOT? This minor escapade was quickly followed up by the accused taking certain items of clothing from the laundry (i.e. bras) and hanging them up on door knobs. Again I ask, WHY? And again, I look at this little boy and answer myself, WHY NOT?

New Exercise Regiment

I know, I know, she is chubby. It's the comment I get the most about her, followed secondly by, "aren't you glad you finally got a girl?" Well...yes, but ... a beautiful boy would have been fine too. But she is a beautiful, albeit chubby, girl! So we pulled out the jumperoo! She loved sitting up right and looking around, she has yet to do any exercise with it! We'll work on that soon enough. Does anyone know of any infant personal trainers out there?

Tate is reading....

Yeah for Tate! He started reading this past week and has picked up on it so fast he is "flying" through the readers we borrowed from the library last week. We have to go pick up a few more today, because he "is so bored with these easy ones!" He thinks he is quite the big boy now! I am really proud of him, as he basically put this together on his own, with a little coaching ... next boy genius? I doubt it, but he is a smart little cookie!

Good Morning March 30th

I personally would like to thank Al Gore for solving global warming, at least here in Utah. I can't wait to see what he is going to do with world hunger next!

On Being 7

This is a fun age! Old enough to help out, young enough to still express love and kindness. Is it wrong to want him to stay like this forever?

Of course it IS nice that he can express himself through the written word, "Keep OUT, this is Evil Connor's room. Please don't come in why he's working and when you come in he will be angry." I bet you can't guess what he needs to work on in school - printing! It's the only thing he didn't get an A on.

But then this makes up for the other. "Dear Dad, I was reading Harry Potter last night and I also want to tell you something, I love you and Mom so much."

Please don't tell me at what age this stops, I don't want to hear it. I will live in ignorance and enjoy the moments we have right now. I love that Connor stays up long into the night reading and writing notes for us, all by his little book light so he won't get caught.

Fun, innocent times, please last forever.

Photo By Emilie... and Kara!

I am so crazy excited about my new job. Not sure what I am more excited for, the creative outlet, the fun learning curve, the meeting new people (I'm kind of social that way), or so many other new and fun exciting things.

Check out where I will be working, Photo by Emilie, she is so creative and talented. I am so excited to learn from her, plus she is super fun to be around!

So...if you want to schedule a photo shoot feel free to call me 801-446-6663 or email (kara (at) photobyemilie.com). I'd LOVE to do a shoot with your kids and family.

Did I mention I am SO EXCITED?

My Little Brother (one of five + one older one too)

Yes ladies, he is single, he is handsome and he is a cheese ball! Garyn (pronounce garren) inadvertently accompanied me to the Star Mill Antique General Store. He was elated to be there, as you can see.
About Garyn, well, growing up I was his favorite, probably still am. His first word was "puppy" and that is what he named me, only it sounded like "Pubby". I got called that for years afterwards, still do actually.
Garyn loves sports. Rugby, baseball, football, you name it and he is good at it. He was class valedictorian at graduation. He served a mission in Paris, France - that might make him a romantic, but I wouldn't know about that... he is pretty private to the family, probably knows he would be teased mercilessly if he were to divulge anything personal.
He is a great uncle and my boys love him, he is a great brother and comes over at least once a quarter! Apparently he has better offers from the femme fatals in the singles ward. If you want his number give me a call.
He is so going to kill me!

The Joy of DISCOVERY

I was recently tipped out about this place from my sister Karli, and I am so glad she found it! This is a must see in Utah. These pictures were taken outside of the buildings and there were so many great things to see! I have to go back when it is actually open and I can get in the building!
It is found in American Fork 147 E. 600 N. Or, you can just call me and we can go together... if only there were an old fashioned soda bar... now I'm feeling all vintage! But seriously, GO check this place out! It is my new favorite place.

I Rest My Case... an addendum to my future daughter in law

Not one hour after my previous post, this is what I found...

How dare I sit down for 10 minutes, seriously a scanty 10 minutes, to feed the baby. You know something is wrong when there is beautiful silence around 5:15 pm. After feeding the baby and on my way to get dressed for enrichment tonight I found my bedroom door locked. Darn kids... locked my door... no big deal. But then when my bathroom door was locked I started to worry, even more so when the overwhelming scent of acetone wafted through the door. I quickly unlocked it and found my sweet, innocent Gage all painted beautifully. He quickly flashed me his million dollar smile and said, "it's washable mom!" WOW!

This may be the first time I was composed enough to get my camera out and document the damage. Thankfully it was mostly on him and a small bathroom rug. Not sure what he was thinking, if anything at all!

To top it off, my boys informed me at dinner that Dad is "the bomb" because he tells them yes when I tell them no. Sounds like we will need to be having parenting 101 classes.

Please send help quickly, this is my cry for help, is anyone out there listening... please, save the children!

To my future daughter in law...

I know you are out there somewhere and probably are not reading this right now, if you are you are a freaking prodigy, as you are probably under the age of 3!


But I want you to know that Gage has tried my patience to the nth degree so it should be out of his system by the time you get him. I know I won't be the perfect mother-in-law, that role has already been filled, but I will try. But regardless of how "good" I will be, you will owe me for eternity. My sweet little boy is a true menace, every waking moment is filled with intrigue, mess making, scandals, and insanity. This will some day be your husband. But rest assured I will have taken care of more or less of his finer points by the time he gets to you, so please don't complain about the toothpaste on the mirror, or socks left out, or the toilet seat left up. I am working on bigger things!


I am pretty sure he will be out of his "hide everything in crazy places" stage, i.e. his blanket in the vegetable crisper, baked potatoes in the back of cupboards (wrapped in dishtowels of course), microwave popcorn under his bed (wrapped with a bow, just in case he needed a present for someone later), his shirt somewhere at grandma's (we have yet to find that one!). Yes, he is a stinker and some days I grit my teeth and search every nook and cranny, other days I want to hide and wait for his Dad to come home (I won't tell you which day today is!).


He may or may not be out of the "change my clothes 17 times a day" stage. I am trying, but the closet calls his name all day long, beckoning him to try on just one more outfit. You may not know this is possible, but one can wear 7 pairs of underwear and 5 pull ups all at once and not be in any discomfort at all. I promise to also work on the cross dressing with him ... he should grow out of doll clothes eventually, right?


But then there are nap days, and may I suggest you use these to your advantage, because he is never more angelic!

Then when he wakes up with his big smile, snuggles and hugs and kisses, enjoy the moment ... oh and make sure he gets to the bathroom right away or you will be washing bedding! Best wishes, I love you already!

I got a JOB!

Doing what I LOVE! Yeah for me! I am so excited to be working as an associate photographer, so excited to learn, discover, experiment and create! I feel so very lucky! So, of course today I decided to practice a little, thanks to my kids and husband for their patience! I even get to upgrade my camera and add a new lens! I hope that as I learn and grow some of you will let me do a photo shoot with you and your family. What is not exciting about this?

Happy St. Patricks Day

Don't you just love St. Patricks Day with kids? Being woken up in the morning with paws pinching you all over the place because you didn't think to sleep in your green pajamas, assuming you had any! Well, that is how my morning went.
Gage was a little un-aware of the "significance" of St. Patty's day and did not know about the entire green thing. So when his brothers filled him in on the necessity of wearing green, he quickly went to change into something green. This is what he came out wearing...

Two shirts! His reasoning, "but I don't have any green pants MOM!" As we had to go out this morning, he was unable to wear two shirts and I forced him into jeans. We will see how long those jeans stay on now that we are back home and he has disappeared and is all to quiet.

Casa De Sion

After months of gathering and packing items for Casa de Sion, an orphanage in Guatemala, it was ready to be shipped out! Special thanks to Neil for doing such a great job collecting the vast majority of these items and Danielle for bringing several car loads of donations as well. It was enough to fill an entire U-Haul to be sent down to Guatemala. My boys helped to sort and pack all the items and then got so excited that they gathered up whatever they could of their own to donate. For more information regarding this great organization visit their blog, Casa de Sion.

Interviews

I decided instead of putting a video on for the kids in the car for our trip, that we would have interviews instead. In hind site, maybe that is why Tate got car sick? Oh well, I would do it again and just have his bowl ready this time.... This is how our interview went...

Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Connor: A scientist because I like building things and I will get paid $50 a day! Oh, and an air force pilot with a painted jet. Are there scientists in the army?
Tate: An army guy, I want to fly the Apache's and be the guy who shoots the guns, I think I would make $20 a day!
Gage: An army guy.

Q. Where do you think you will go on a mission?

Connor: New Mexico at the Cafe Rio Mexican Grill
Tate: Chile, because uncle Kasey is there
Gage: Another place, probably Walker's house and jump on the trampoline.

Q. Where do you want to live when you grow up?

Connor: Down in Canada
Tate: Right by Mom so he can walk to my house on Sundays
Gage: Where we are right now in the green house

Q. How old should you be when you get married and what kind of girl do you want to marry?

Connor: You should be 30, I want to marry a mormon girl who believes in the scriptures and obeys the commandments. Oh, and she doesn't have to know how to cook waffles because I can.
Tate: Maybe 26, I want the girl to obey the commandments.
Gage: You should be 5 and I am going to marry mommy and daddy.

Q. How many kids are you going to have?

Connor: 3 or 4
Tate: 100
Gage: 4

Q. Who is your best friend?

Connor: Coleson
Tate: Bridger
Gage: What's a best friend?

Q. How old should you be when you first kiss a girl?

Connor: 30, but I am going to make someone else do it because that is gross.
Tate: I'm not going to kiss a girl anytime!
Gage: Ewwwwwww...

Q. What do you do when you are married?

Connor: Have babies, kiss each other sometimes, but nothing else.
Tate: I'm not getting married...
Gage: Was there a question?

Q. How are girls different from boys?

Connor: Girls chase boys, boys don't chase girls, girls have long hair and wear makeup, boys don't.
Tate: Sometimes boys have long hair and look like girls.
Gage: What's a girl?

Blissful Day in Manti

My aunt Lauri was gracious enough to host us for a full day of fun at her adorable home in Manti. Also there were my aunts Keli and Cheri and my grandma! I was so excited to head out the door in the morning, kids in tow... We stopped at Krispy Kreme to bring a treat down for everyone. We were in the drive through when Tate yells out, "Mom, I'm going to throw up!" Hmmmm, frantic search through the car turns up a Ziploc bag, apparently all good parents carry those! (Sorry inside joke). Anyway, he filled the baggy and we were lucky enough to be close to Walmart where we purchased a lovely red bowl that will now remain in the van for other encounters such as these.

So we continued in our journey. Stopping several times to empty and rinse the magnificent red bowl. Amidst howls from McCall. We made it to Manti, still excited for our day!

I dropped Ryan off, along with his mom and dad, with my uncle Jay who was taking them on a tour of some different farming methods, I know, exhilarating! I then continued on...and on...and on. To far for my liking, so I called and got directions...how did I miss the turnoff 10 miles back? At this point, Tate was still throwing up, McCall was really screaming and I had only pulled hair out on one side of my head, I had to keep my other hand on the wheel after all.

I found the turnoff and it was then I realized that was where Tate started throwing up again, so I was turned around, while driving, and passing him the glorious red bowl again...that's how I missed it!

We showed up in all our glory, one boy packing a, you guessed it, red bowl filled with treasure. Me packing a screaming baby and Connor and Gage just happy to have arrived after asking, "are we there yet?" for about the 139th time.

HI LAURI, et al.... Thanks for having us over! Oh, can I wash this great new red bowl? Thanks again!

Such Fun & Such Talent

Okay, we made it to Manti, Tate rested for an hour and felt the car sickness depart, McCall was fed and changed - but still decided to fuss all day... but oh well, it was on to cake making! Oh what fun was had by all...

This is my grandma...ain't she a cute little tart? And, she's single...just so all you elderly gentlemen who read my blog so faithfully know.

And what did we make you may be asking... feast your eyes on these little beauties!