Off to Jackson Hole

The day has finally come!  Maddi has been waiting for months for it to arrive.  This morning at 6:15 I loaded her up in Grandpa's car and away she went to meet the bus.  The GATE (Gifted and Talented) group is going to Jackson Hole for 4 days.  Grades 4 - 7 are going (I think).  They will stay in lodges and sleep in their sleeping bags.  We had a tough time trying to fit everything into one little suitcase.  They had to have all sorts of layering clothes and snow clothes.  We finally put all the bulky stuff (snow pants, rain gear) in to her backpack and told her to use that as a pillow!  It sounds like they will have a lot of fun.  It is supposed to be cold and snowy the whole time but I don't think that will bother Maddi.  They will be outdoors a lot of the time.  They may even get to go snow shoeing and stuff like that.  She is sooo excited!  I am excited for her, but a little nervous.  I have never sent one of mine away like this before.  If they have gone overnight anywhere it is to a friend's or grandparents' house.  I won't be able to talk to her at all over the next four days.  She will be fine.  My biggest concern is that she will lose her lunch money for the trip home Saturday and her gift shop money from my parents!  Here's a picture of Maddi all packed and ready to go this morning.

Bird Nests

Last weekend when we went home to Idaho, Michael's mom gave me this cute idea that she had found in a magazine somewhere.  Using peeps, jelly beans, pretzels and almond bark you make a birds nest with a bird and some eggs.  We were going to do it this last weekend with cousins but ran out of time so we did it tonight for family night.  The kids really got into it and used every last pretzel and peep.  We ended up making 50 of them!  Letting them dry took a lot of self control but I finally got them distracted until they were ready to eat.  Here are a few pictures of all the fun!

Maddi Made it to the Majors!

Being the insane mom that I am, I signed up four of my kids to play baseball this spring.  Zeke and Dillon will be on the same league and hopefully the same team.  They will play two games a week on one field.  Zane is in a different league on a different field.  He will also play two games a week.  Maddi is in yet another league on another field also playing two games a week.  Games are played Monday through Thursday.  Michael is gone two out of three weeks.  I have a feeling, there will be times when I will be a little frazzled trying to get four different kids to three different fields on the same night!  The kids are excited for it though so I guess I will have to make it work.  The most excited of the kids is Maddi.  In her league, once you hit 10 years old, you have to try out.  There are two leagues, majors and minors.  The coaches come to try outs and score you according to your performance and then they do a draft.  Those good enough to go to the  majors are drafted onto a team.  Those not, stay in the minors.  Maddi has never played baseball.  She played softball two years ago.  It's basically the same, but there are some differences.  The kids here all play minors when they are 9.  Baseball starts at age 5.  I wasn't sure how Maddi would do.  She is a great little athlete, but she hasn't had the exposure like some of these kids.  My brother Jon went with us to try outs.  Maddi did awesome.  He was really impressed with her ability.  I told him she was lucky because she didn't inherit my athletic disability!  She ran the fastest in her group, caught the best, swung the best and threw the farthest and straightest.  You would have never known she hadn't played in two years.  Yesterday her new coach called and said that Maddi had made the draft to the majors!  Her coach was very excited to  have Maddi on her team.  She said she grew up playing baseball and softball so she loves to see girls out there doing it.  Maddi was so excited!  She is one of two girls (according to the coach) that made the draft.  The majors is a more competitive league and the age range is 10 -12.  I am really proud of her, so is the rest of the family.  Practices start next week and games start in May.  If anyone is interested in an autographed picture, we will be distributing those soon :)

Naptime With Daddy

One of Zeke and Olivia's favorite things to do when Michael is home from work is to snuggle up with him and eventually fall asleep.  They miss him so much when he is gone.  When he is home they just want to be close to him.  Friday, Michael surprised us and got off early.  They were in between jobs so his work day was shortened by several hours.  At one point we all (me, Michael, Zeke and Olivia) ended up in our bed snuggling and watching TV.  Eventually I had to get up and Olivia followed me.  Zeke stayed with Michael.  When I came in later, I found this:

Isn't it so cute?  Later Michael managed to wiggle out of Zeke's arms and get up.  Apparently though, he didn't stay up for long.  I went to go find him to ask him something and I found him like this:

I'm not sure how this happened and how well Michael slept, but Zeke looks rather comfortable!   Zeke claims he was never really asleep, just resting his eyes.  He said he was trying to sleep but couldn't.  I'm not sure I believe his story.  I have many pictures of the kids sleeping with Michael.  From the time they were babies it seemed to be a favorite past time for them all, Michael included.  I love these little passing moments.  Nothing can replace naptime with Daddy.

My Version of Spring Cleaning

I guess you could call what I am doing spring cleaning.  It's not washing the house form top to bottom and making the windows shine, but it is spring and I am cleaning :)  I have organized clothes for six children, getting rid of 3 garbage bags of clothes in the process.  I have organized the books in the toy room and put all the toys in the proper bins.  I even vacuumed the toy room.  That is something that isn't done as often as it should be because in order to vacuum the floors in the room would have to be clean.  Yeah right!  I rearranged furniture.  I hung up all the coats in the coat closet.  Short people (as in my children) can't seem to quite reach high enough to get the coat hangers on the rod so they end up in the closet floor.  I put all the hats and mittens in the hat and mitten bucket.  From the looks of things my kids will never be basketball players because none of them get their things in the bucket when they run by and toss.  I emptied three more boxes and hid the rest behind the wet bar :)  Unfortunately our garage door is stuck shut so I can't get the empty boxes out of the house.  I also started hanging up pictures on the wall.  That has been slightly frustrating because my landlord only wants me to use a certain kind of nail and hook so the hooks show and the pictures don't lay completely flat.  At least we have pictures up though!  It is a work in progress and I am sure I will get sidetracked some where along the way, but for now it's working and what I have finished looks kind of good!  I think I will celebrate my successes with some chocolate and a diet Dr. Pepper!

Is This Your Best?

The other day I took the kids to the track.  They ride their bikes and play ball while I run.  On this particular day Makenna came riding up alongside me on her bike and this is the conversation that followed:

Makenna:  How many laps do you have to run today
Me: 9
Makenna:  How many have you done already?
Me: 3
Makenna:  Oh, so you have 6 laps left.  Are you going to run any races this year?
Me:  I hope so.
Makenna:  Is this as fast as you are going to run in your races?
Me:  Maybe.
Makenna:  Is this your best?
Me:  It is today.
Makenna:  Oh, that's okay then if you come in last - as long as you do your best!

Then away she went.  Maybe I should start doing some speed work, you think?

Trip to Idaho

This last weekend we decided to go to Idaho since Michael had the weekend off.  Maddi stayed here with my mom and dad.  She went to school with my mom on Friday, which she loved.  Friday night she and my dad watched John Wayne movies.  Those are a favorite around here.  There was supposed to be a track meet on Saturday (the reason she wanted to stay) but it got cancelled so she just hung out with them for the rest of the weekend and had a great time soaking in all the one on one time!  The rest of us had a great time with family.  We visited Michael's grandma Friday afternoon before heading out to his parents house.  Saturday the boys and Olivia went with Michael to an auction.  Michael's dad works for one of the auction companies in the area.  Later Makenna, Michael's mom and sister, and I went there too.  We ate auction burgers (always good) and then took Olivia with us and went to town to do some shopping.  It was a nice afternoon.  I have a new favorite store but unfortunately it is not easy access for me!  Michael will appreciate that though.  We spent Saturday evening at home.  The kids all piled on Kelli's king sized bed and ate M&Ms while they watched TV.  Sunday we went to church and got to see a lot of old friends.  I love going back there.  Even though we haven't been there for 5 years now, it still feels like home.  The kids had so much fun running around the farm, enjoying the freedom that they have lost since living here.  The boys went out one evening to help Michael's dad with the chores.  Zane got to drive the feed truck.  He was in heaven!  It's all he has talked about since then.  We do miss the out of town life style.  I love being able to live in town close to school, church, and shopping, but I have decided that it does not out weigh the space of country living.  Anyways, it was a lot of fun.  The kids had a great time and so did Michael and I.  We are looking forward to going back at Easter.  Maybe next time I will remember my camera so I can take pictures!

A Night With Zeke

Last night, since Michael was working, I let Zeke sleep with me.  We also slept with Scat the Cat, Bridgett the giraffe, momma and baby raccoon, a puppy and an alligator.  We had a very emotional discussion about animals we've had that have died.  Zeke was in tears as he asked why certain ones died and if they were in heaven and how he would find them when he got to heaven.  They never came when he called while they were on earth so he assumed they wouldn't come when he called them in heaven either.  I assured him that they would.  Then he went on to talk about when I died.  He didn't want me to die.  He wanted us to die at the same time so he wouldn't  have to be here all by himself.  I told him I would wait for him.  That settled him right down and after a hug, a kiss and a giggle about sleeping in daddy's spot, he was sound asleep.  He is such a sweet little boy, but he is very tender.  He gets very upset during sad parts in movies.  He gets very sad about people and animals dying.  He has always been very aware of that and has talked a lot about heaven and seeing Jesus again.  At the same time he is a huge goof ball!  He is always doing something silly and making some one laugh.  He is my best buddy.  Since we have kissed, that means we are married and that thrills him to death!  We are going to spend our lives together.  He will never leave me because I am his best buddy and he would miss me too much!  If that just doesn't melt a mother's heart :)  I know it's not true but I love it right now!  This morning when we woke up I noticed he was clear over on the far edge of the bed.  When I asked him why he was over there he told me that he had gotten sweaty next to me and so the bed had gotten wet.  I pulled back the covers - it was not wet from sweat!  We put a towel on the wet spot and he went and changed.  He got a little nervous about wetting Michael's spot.  He asked me if daddy would know it was him who wet the bed or if daddy would think it was me!  I told him daddy would know it wasn't me.  "Oh, because the towel is there he will know it was me?"  "Kind of," I told him.  He got all dressed and then insisted that I take a picture of  him to send to everyone.  I did.  Isn't he handsome?  He holds a very special place in my heart and I am so thankful to be able to spend my days with him.  He'll always be my little Zekie (I'm the only one who can call him that :)  He gets mad if any of the kids do.)  Love, love, love him!

Fun with Hair

Lately, with the patience of the girls, we have been trying new hairdos.  The girls do actually seem to enjoy it, especially Makenna.  Maddi has even gotten into it and lets me do her hair.  Here are a few pictures from the last week or so.

Olivia before church this morning.  After two braids she was tired so we left it at that!

Maddi's hair this morning.  She likes her hair in ponytails so we found a fun way to do it.

Makenna's hair.  I wanted to curl the back but ran out of time.  It turned out cute though.

Makenna's hair for St. Patrick's Day.  We put three hearts around the pony tail to make a shamrock.

This was last Sunday's hairdo.  I did all three girls the same.

I Need a Nap

My house is a mess, Olivia's knees are all scraped up, Michael is asleep, laundry needs done, my house is a mess, groceries need put away, pie dough needs made, my house is a mess, every toy in the toy room is dumped out on the floor, I have a dozen young women coming over to my house this evening and MY HOUSE IS A MESS!!  Slightly overwhelmed today.  I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night.  I got more than Michael, but he gets to sleep today - I don't.  He got home around midnight I think.  Olivia woke up crying shorftly after that. She has been having growing pains in her legs at night.  She and Michael ended up on the couch last night and slept there.  She slept more than Michael.  I tossed and turned in bed, going in and out of sleep until the alarm went off.  Michael got up long enough to see the kids off to school and then he went back to bed.  I cleaned one bathroom, folded three loads of laundry and started more.  I also made the apricot filling for the fried pies tonight.  Then I went to the store to get the last few things I needed for tonight.  When we got home, Zeke and Olivia helped me carry the groceries in.  As Olivia was going to the door with her arms full of gatorade, Jack kind of circled her with his leash and she fell on the cement.  She had a dress on so her knees got all skinned up and she started screaming.  I yelled at the dog, picked up the gatorade and helped Olivia in the house.  Zeke and I finished the groceries and I cleaned up Olivia.  I had bought a big pail of ice cream for tonight to go with the fried pies.  It was the only vanilla pail left in the store.  I put it in the freezer but I guess not good enough.  When Zeke and Olivia went to put the milk in the fridge, the freezer came open and the ice cream fell out.  The pail broke and ice cream splattered all over the floor.  I cleaned up the mess, put the ice cream in a bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and put it back in the freezer.  Won't that look nice when I serve the girls this evening?  All this happened before 10:30 this morning.  I'm not too sure I want to stay up to see what the rest of the day brings.  I am still worn out from my emotional draining over the weekend.  Yesterday was nonstop.  I got the kids off to school, got Michael to bed, went to the library then to Rock Springs.  I got home at 3:15, brought in all the bags, the kids came home from school, Michael went to work, I loaded the kids up, dropped Maddi off at the track, dropped Makenna off at a friends, took Olivia to dance, took the other kids to the park, came home, cleaned up dog poop, ate supper, took the kids to school for a meeting, walked home, loaded them up, went to my parents to drop some things off and pick up Maddi, came home, got the kids ready for bed and started soaking the apricots.  Today, I am tired.  I never got to exercise yesterday and I'm not sure how I am going to fit it in today either.  That gets me frustrated.  I need that time but so often, that time gets pushed aside when there are other things to do.  Today I still have to finish the laundry, make pie dough, clean the kitchen, vacuum the house, clean the other bathroom, and get everything ready for tonight.  Plus I would like to get the yard cleaned up before it snows again.  On top of all that, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and the kids are expecting the leprechauns to come and do a treasure hunt like they do every year.  I have the treasures ready, but I don't have the hunt ready.  I wonder if they will be upset if the leprechauns just come in the night and leave the treasure on the table?  I know they will because the hunt is their favorite part.  I guess I know what I will be doing after I put the kids to bed tonight!  Sorry, this is probably kind of a downer post, but that is what I am feeling today.  This is my life right now - crazy!  I hope I can keep up with it!