Dressed for a day out on the town

I know I put a lot of pictures of Princess Lala on her, but she just provides so many opportunites. So here's another one of her. At one point during the day I did have her in clothes that matched but she has a mind of her own and decided she didn't like what I had put on her. She put on Susie's pajama pants, Zeke's boots, and her yellow vest. Then she wanted to go outside and find Daddy. We took her picture instead. At least she picked stripes that went the same way!

Basketball clinic

Here are a few pictures from the basketball clinic this last weekend. They had a lot of fun and Zane has switched his favorite sport from football to basketball. He looked so little out there with everyone else but he had a great time.

Blessings through duty

Before I start I want all who read this to understand that I love being a mother more than anything in the world. That being sadi, being a mother is also one of the hardest things in the world. With motherhood comes responsibilties that you can't just walk away from. Sometimes things come up in life and because you are a mother, you have to let the opportunities pass by. Just recently (like 2 days ago), I found out that my grandpa's cancer has spread through his body and it's not looking like he will have much longer to live. He will be turning 90 years old this month and he is all right with the thought of leaving this earth. He has lived a good, long life and has fulfilled his responsibilities. Now this grandpa is very important to me. Through all the changes that have happened in my life, he was one of the constants. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I moved a lot growing up and no matter where we were or how old I was, he and my granny always came to visit. It was something we counted on almost every summer. He was one of the males in my life that had a huge impact. I was always shy and felt out of place. My grandpa always made me feel loved and accepted, no matter what I looked like, how good I was at sports, how popular I was or anything else. Anyways, Saturday I found out the news and also found out that my siblings and parents were going to all try to meet in Nashville one last time and visit him. Unfortunately, we just moved (which is actually a good thing, just bad timing) and Michael just started a new job (another good thing). Because of that, we don't have time off, extra money or babysitters for the kids. My heart sinks at the thought of not being able to do this. I would give anything to see him one more time, especially while he still has a little energy. Being a mother makes it a little harder to pull off a trip like this. I have to worry about my children and their well being. They have been through a lot of change lately that has been hard for them and I feel that I need to be with them and not elsewhere. As I was going through all this in my mind this morning, still trying to figure out how to make it work, I had a small voice come to my mind that told me to stay home and I would be blessed. I know that is just what I need to do. I still want to go and be a part of my family next weekend, but I know I need to be here. I have responsibility to my own family first, everything else comes second. I hope my grandpa knows how much I love him and my thoughts will definitely be in Nashville as I stay home to fulfill my duties.

I am connected!

Yes, I now have access to the outside world again! It has been a crazy week filled with emotional times and fun times. Friday the 23rd, the girls got to have a sleepover at the Johnsons. I guess they had a great time, but I'm not sure Makenna got much more than a couple hours of sleep. I guess she spent the night wandering from room to room until around 5am. When she gets worked up about things she get full of energy and doesn't know what to do with all she is feeling. Saturday morning, Pam came and got the other kids and they spent the day with friends at both the Olsens and the Johnsons. With help from others, Michael and I got the truck loaded and unloaded and our old house cleaned. When we went back to Hendricks to get the kids there were lots of tears (luckily it was dark and no one really saw me cry), Makenna especially. She cried herself to sleep. We got home and let them explore a little and then put them to bed. Church didn't start until 11:30 so we had time in the morning to relax and get a little bit done. The kids (except Olivia) all liked church. It is much bigger than Watertown. There was a potluck afterwards so the kids were really excited about that. Sunday night Michael gave them all a father's blessing. We talked about any questions they may have and then they went to bed. The backpack fairy came during the night and left them a little poem and a basket of treats and a new shirt to wear on their first day of school. That helped to start the day off on a good note. I took them to school and dropped them off after they met their new teachers. All the teachers seemed really nice. When the kids got home they were very happy and excited. They had all met a new friend and really liked school. It is much different than Hendricks but they are getting used to it. There were a few issues on the bus but Maddi told her teacher and the bus driver and it seems to be taken care of. This last weekend we went to Brookings adn spent the night in a hotel with the Olsens. The kids were so excited. It was a really fun time. The hotel had a pool and a water slide. We spent about 3 hours Friday night swimming. Saturday morning we got up and the older kids had a basketball clinic at SDSU. Michael took Olivia home in the van and the rest stayed with me. There were several kids from Hendricks at the clinic. It was fun getting to see them all. After the clinic we went back to the hotel and swam for another hour or so. Then we had to say our goodbyes and off we went. Sunday morning we got halfway through bath time and ran out of hot water. We also didn't have heat. I took the 5 oldest to church while Michael stayed home and waited for someone to come help fix it. He got there after sacrament. After church we talked to the bishop. We both got new callings. Michael is the Young Men's president and I am in the nursery. I'm not too sure about that because I know that Olivia will spend the time crying and wanting me to hold her. It will be a long 2 hours. We'll see how it goes though. Today starts another week. Hopefully it will go as good as last week. We are still getting used to the changes. I am loving being 10 minutes from any store I want. I do miss the social interaction I had in Hendricks but at least we have our phone working now and our internet. Now we just have to wait and see what adventures come our way here in Sioux Falls!

I'm ready to go, Mom

Here Olivia has decided she wants to go somewhere. She has on all the necessities, boots because there is snow on the ground, a jacket because it's freezing outside and a hat to keep her head warm. She also has on clean underwear (doesn't mom always say to wear clean underwear?). And she was really smart about how she put on her jacket. It's upside down. She doesn't need the hood for her head because she has on a stocking cap so she put it on upside down so her little bum stays warm. Underwear isn't near as warm as a diaper! Yes, little Lala has decided that she want's to be potty trained. She knows how to go into the bathroom, put on the potty seat, put the little footstool in front of the potty, call for someone to help her on. Then she'll sit there and talk. ask for some toilet paper, wipe herself, get help getting off, flush the potty, push the stool to the sink,wash her hands, go out and shut the door and then ask to do it all over again in two minutes. She's had some success, but not enough for me to be wanting to deal with it in the middle of a move. Maybe once we get moved and the pressure is off, then I can focus on trying to potty train a hard-headed little girl. By the way, for all of you who are wondering - she gets it from her father! Michael of course will ask who her father is, but we all know!

Zeke's birthday

Here are a few more pictures from Zeke's birthday. He got a package in the mail filled with Thomas tracks and a remote control train. Dillon had gotten one for Christmas so they put all the tracks together and played with their trains all afternoon.

Sunday best

As you can see I am playing catch up tongight with all my blogging. I am just taking a few minutes of relaxation before I start loading the truck tomorrow. Anyways, here are a few pictures of Dillon and Olivia the other Sunday. I had gotten Dillon some monster socks from the dollar bin at Target and he loved them - so much that he wore them to church the next day. Don't they go well with his loafers, black pants and maroon shirt. He looked so handsome and was so excited to show off those bright green socks! Olivia is the perfect picture of a princess and angel (if you look closesly though you can see little horns starting to grow!) She can be quite the handful during church. Thank goodness she is old enough to go to nursery now.

One last trip down the stairs

Poor Olivia has had the hardest time with the stairs. I think it's because she wants to go up and down them like a big kid but she doesn't always have the balance. She has taken several falls down the stairs but this last one was the worst. I will be glad to get away from these steep wooden stairs.

Pictures from the party

Here are a few pictures from the party the other night. As you can see there were lots of kids and they were all having lots of fun!

Party All Night Long!

What a party! We went to the Olsen's last night for our goodbye party. It was so much fun to get to visit with everyone. There were 24 kids there and 20 adults. There was food, dancing, dress-up and lots and lots of talking. We got home around 11:30 last night. The kids were wiped out and went to sleep very quickly as did Michael and I. This morning we were still pretty wiped out but we managed to make it to church and survived the potluck. Now it's back to business. Michael leaves tomorrow for Arkansas and won't be back until Wednesday so there are a few things we have to get done today before he leaves. Unfortunately that means no Sunday afternoon nap, but we are doing a countdown to 8:00 bedtime! We will sure miss all the wonderful friends we have here and the comfort that we feel in this community. The school is wonderful, the families are wonderful and the friends are amazing. Thank goodness we are only an hour or so away and we will be able to keep in touch and continue to build these friendships here. I will post pictures of the party later. I'm not sure if I have all the pieces I need to download pictures right now.