Mini Van Mama

Jer and I took a big step this week...we bought a mini van! I have never really wanted a van, but once we had three kids the reality of having them all sit right next to each other set in. Not that I wasn't getting a great bicep workout lifting Ian into the middle seat and all but enough was enough. Poor Ian was being mauled everywhere we went! I have only had this since Friday, and I think it is going to be the best purchase ever. There's lots of room, no one can touch anyone else, and it is much better on gas than our Jeep. (If anyone wants a totally sweet Jeep Commander we have one for sale!) We have been searching for almost 2 months for a reasonable deal on a used Honda, and Jer's friend finally found this beauty for us. I'm all about practical, so I'm going to embrace my inner mini van mom and enjoy!



We broke the van in with a trip to Tony Grove on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun. I took the camera but in was in Jer's backpack and between the baby, rocks, dropoffs, water, and two rowdy boys I was too busy to get it out. I love taking pictures, but it was actually nice to just enjoy instead of having a million photo ops. (You can see how much Seth did enjoy the only photos we took!) We had a great time, and I took some fabulous pics in my mind's eye:
**Seth running his 2-year-old run along the trail trying to keep up with Luke (and taking a few eggbeaters along the way).
**Luke wanting to (and doing it) climb every big rock in sight and Jer being the Nervous Nellie instead of me.
**Luke and Jer having some serious pine cone and snowball fights.
**Watching the boys eat their PB & J's perched on a big rock.
**The boys having fun playing in snow in the summertime.
**Ian sleeping peacefully in the Baby Bjorn the whole time (have I mentioned he is world's best baby)!
**Seth chasing after all manner of chipmunks with his hands out saying "hold." (He apparently has not heard Grandpa Steve's chipmunk story that ends with a finger nearly bitten off!)
**Cruising home in the mini van with dirty, happy, tired kids!

Here's to many more memories in the new wheels.

Buzz Boys

The summer is flying by. I can't believe June is almost over. Despite the rain, we've managed to have lots of fun playing outside. About the only nice day we had last week we had practically the whole neighborhood over here slip 'n sliding with us and the kids had a blast. The boys and their friends are plowing through the Otter Pops at light speed. Luke and Seth are becoming such good little buddies, and it is so fun to watch them playing together. Amost anytime Seth gets hurt (even sometimes if Luke was the cause) he wants Luke to give him a "hu" (hug) and kiss it better. He is such a little copycat of everything his brother does, and he's picked up words like "cool" and "hey dude". We've been talking to Luke about being a good example because he sure has a little follower!


Since my boys always look like they have bedhead, we decided to buzz their hair off for the summer. I was a little nervous about it, but Jer was totally stoked. He hates when he has gel duty on Sunday morning. Luke doesn't look too much different, but it changed Seth a lot. His hair looks a lot lighter, and he somehow looks older and bigger (not something he exactly struggles with anyway)! I was doing double takes the first few days, but I'm used to it now and think they look so cute. Jer also has very short hair and Ian hasn't grown any yet, so I live with a whole family of bald men! I need to get a shot of Jer with all his buzz boys soon...maybe when I get around to that Father's Day post!


P.S. Don't worry--Luke does not have a horrible eye injury or anything, he is just patching again this summer. It went less than smooth the first week, but he has resigned himself to the fact that he has to do it now and even reminds me in the morning. It is only for 3-4 hours a day and hopefully by August his eyes will be equally strong.

Guy Smiley

I still haven't taken a great smiley picture of Ian even though he is cheesing it all the time. I thought I should post anyway since he turned 2 months on Sunday. He had his check up Monday and weighed in at 12 lbs. 14 oz. He is a healthy boy! He has the cutest little soft hair growing in on top. It is really blond, so I think he might have the white blond hair. We'll see. He is cooing and saying "ah-goo" now and his brothers love him. He gets lots of attention...way too much when sandwiched in between them riding in the car. He has brought lots of joy to our family, and we love him so much.




Funny/Gross side note: On Monday after we had been outside all afternoon Luke started telling me a story. It was basically that he really needed to poop and while rushing inside to take care of business, he had a bit come out and roll out of his short leg. He described it as a "ball" of poop. I thought he was kidding but after questioning him he said it really happened. So we went outside to look for the deposit. He couldn't seem to remember where it might be and we couldn't find it, so he suggested that it "melted." I assured him that poop would not melt--at least not under those conditions. I pretty much gave up on it and then I overheard him talking to Jer after he got home. I know he must have got the same story because I heard Jer say, "it wouldn't just dissolve." I dissolved into laughter and have since urged Luke to head to the bathroom just a little sooner. I may never know the truth behind this fecal matter incident. I wouldn't suggest walking outside our house in bare feet right now. Kids!!

Steeplechaser

On Saturday Jer ran the Wahsatch Steeplechase again. He did awesome and beat last year's time by about 15 minutes. This race is so hard. It's almost 18 miles and is basically straight up a mountain, across the "crags" at the top, and then straight down. I'll admit I was a little worried because he hasn't trained as hard as he would have liked with the new baby and all! Anyway, he was crazy enough to do it a second time because he's tough and does something once he's committed. Ian and I went to the finish line to cheer him on. His friend Brian brought a few friends to run and one of them was Jer's good friend from his mission, so it was a fun little reunion for him. You may notice Jer is back to his fighting weight again. He was kind of like a bear and hibernated over the winter and then had to reshed the pounds. A woman would never get away with that strategy. I have suggested to him that it would be a better plan to just keep it off in the first place. Anyway...go Jer.

Baby Blessing

Sunday was a great day for our family. Jer blessed Ian, and we had a little shindig after with lots of family. Jer did a great job on the blessing and although it was pouring rain we had a fun get together. Ian was just his cute, sweet self all day. I set up the tripod the night before and made everyone pose for some pictures before church. I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I was a total slacker after and did not take any pictures at the lunch. We are so grateful though to all the family that came to support us and for all the food and help with the party. Special thanks to my mom who has been such a great help with all the parties I've been hosting lately! Sometimes I still can't believe I have three boys but here's the proof. They are a handsome bunch if I do say so myself.

Big Five

It's party central around here. Here are a bunch of pics of Luke's 5th birthday bash. He had a party with 10 little boys over (crazy I know) and then grandmas, grandpas, and cousins for pizza and playing. It was a great day. I really can't believe Luke is five and starting kindergarten this fall. It really does not seem that long ago that he was the one I was snuggling and rocking in my green nursery chair. Crazy! He's a great kid and although he gives me a run for my money he is sweet, loving, and so fun.

Luke wanted a superhero party. I had no clue how to do that kind of a cake, but I managed some cupcakes. They were very basic but turned out cute.


The boys decorated their goodie bags and masks while everyone was rolling in. They all went heavy on the glitter glue.


Despite some moans and groans I got a few pics of the whole gang.


Jer's cousin Kelli came and helped out which was awesome. Between Jer, Kelli, my mom, and I we managed my kids plus the party. It took all of us! This was the web game.


Taking a drink break after the obstacle course. Luckily it was a beautiful, hot day!


Seth got in on the action...especially the treat action. These two were way messier than any of the other kids there.


This is a good action shot of Luke. Luke spends tons of time each day burning a path around, over, and down through these rocks a million miles an hour. It is a fun playland for him and his neighbor friends. It is going to be a sad day when we undertake the landscaping of this huge area and he can't "play in the dirt" as much.


Snowcones with Jace and Carter. Everyone seemed to have fun at the party and no one bled or got lost, so I call it success. Luke got some really fun presents including a kid's digital camera from my parents. He loves it and had over a hundred pictures taken in like 30 minutes. Today we went back through to delete some and according to him they were almost all keepers...even the ones of the clothes in his closet, his shoes, and every other object he saw. I actually love birthdays (other peoples). It's fun to make someone feel really special for a day.
Happy Birthday Luker!

Ramblings

Warning: Ridiculously long post--for my own therapeutic benefit.

This post is a mish mash of what has been on my mind lately. I feel like I only operated on about half a brain for most of last week. Ian had a cold and ran a little fever and slept horribly. No offense Seth, but I was having some bad flashbacks to your baby sleep habits. It seemed like the more tired I got, the more overwhelmed I felt with this job of mine...motherhood. I had some serious moments of self doubt where my kid's arguments and misbehavior seemed like a direct reflection on how bad a mom I am. I'm glad to say that with Ian returning to being a decent sleeper (for a baby) I am again gaining some perspective. Being a mom is hard. Anybody who says it's not either isn't really doing it or has some magic I don't know about. I think it's so hard because I truly want the best for these amazing little people I have been blessed with, and I don't want to mess this job up. I am realizing though that I make mistakes (all the time), but it really doesn't do any good to stew about it. I just have to move on and try to do better. Luckily while they can be incredibly frustrating at times, they are also the light of my life and a lot of what I did before they existed seems pretty unimportant by comparison. Phew...I'm getting deep here. Cid gave me a book for Mother's Day that I have read a minute here and a minute there and really liked.



I'll admit it...I skipped most of the poetry...but some of the essays really hit home with me. Some of the messages are serious tearjerkers, but most of them were pretty uplifting, and I could relate. Being a mom is the most amazing, challenging, frustrating, fun...the list could go on...thing I've ever done. So are my kids now behaving perfectly and my house running like clockwork...of course not...but they are mine and the craziness seems doable again. I'm thankful for answers to prayers and inspiration found in all kinds of places these last few days to give me a new take on being a mom. With that said, Luke is having a birthday party tomorrow with a bazillion boys and Sunday is Ian's blessing, so my return to craziness may not take too long.

Here are some guys I love. (Luke is not featured here, but he'll have his own birthday post soon.)

Yesterday, I left the boys at my mom's house to escape with Ian and do something I do not love...shopping! I had a bunch of errands to do for the party, and I was attempting to find something new to wear on Sunday. The party stuff was easy, the skirt not so much. While I was nursing Ian in the dressing room at Kohl's I had some time to reflect on the changes in my life over the past five years. Before Luke the thought of taking an infant shopping would have seemed like a monumental task..now it is second nature even considering the fact that Ian had a massive blowout and I had to do a full diaper and clothes change plus wipey bath. Shopping was another story. I could not find anything that was cute or fit and definitely not both. I seriously considered the rack of old lady shorts and skirts with elastic waistbands but left the store with just a t-shirt. I did later after looking harder than I ever have and going to yet another store find a skirt...hallelujah. I left the store having crashed Ian (in the double stroller) into pretty much every clothes rack I encountered. I then got a chuckle out of the bumper sticker next to me that said, "You should see me topless." (I had to laugh because I did see the owner of that car and the mental image was humorous at best.) I said this post was rambly, right?

Mr. Ian. He smiles a lot, but I do not take as many pictures as I should. I guess that's third child syndrome. Some smiley pics to come.

My hubby Jer. We are busier than ever but working together better than ever as well. He is such a good dad and I could not manage without him! We took the kids up the canyon the other day and as he and the "big boys" laughed and threw rocks in the river I felt so lucky to have them in my life. (There has to be something genetic about males and throwing rocks in water.)

So I'm glad to have this crazy life, and I'll remind myself of that next time I'm frazzled!

FYI: In the above pic Jer is tilling our muddy garden. Among other things, we have massive landscaping projects going on this summer. There's always something major that needs done! Good thing I have such a talented, hard working hubby.