Christmas Card and Letter for 2011

The Mack Family in 2011

What a year it has been!! I’ve already decided that this year has gone by faster than any other year of my life.  We’ve had a lot of fun. We went on trips to St. George, Graeagle California, Arches, Goblin Valley, Wildhorse Canyon, Scofield and Bryce this year.  Accompanying us on most of our voyages was  our “new” old tent trailer that we bought earlier this year. It’s been a blast! The kids are growing up so fast and sometimes I wish I could just make time freeze!

Tilson - We started the year off with a bang when Tilson Glen Mack was born on February 2^nd.  Except for when he decided to not breathe for a couple minutes when he was born, Tilson has been such a happy, healthy and good baby! I haven’t really been able to milk it from anyone this year. He is so good! He is all smiles and sweetness. He crawls around and plays, and is pulling up to things. It is such a fun stage. He LOVES his brothers and sister and they love him too. They all love to play with him, sing to him, hold him, make him laugh, and kiss and hug him until sometimes Tilson whines telling them, “Okay, that’s enough!” It’s been so fun to watch them all interact. There is a lot of loving going on with this little guy.

Ada- Or maybe you could call her “Mother Ada.” She certainly loves to act like one! Ada loves to tell the boys exactly what they should be doing. Sometimes it is in a loving concerned voice, and sometimes it is in an expectant demanding voice. She definitely still has her “Ada-tude!” But she is bucket loads of cuteness and fun too. She loves to pretend. She loves playing with ponies and her Dora people, and she waits for Hayden to get home everyday so that she can play “Super Hayden” with him. Hayden loves it because he of course is the expert when it comes to “Super Hayden” and Ada loves turning into “Super Ada” for a little while.  Most of the time she is just being a little princess though. She sings to herself in the mirror, flips her hair, loves pretty clothes, and always wants her nails painted. She makes life fun . . . and very girly.

Hayden- Hayden started Kindergarten this year and LOVES it! He is such a bright little boy. He reads like a champ and is obsessed with numbers. He will randomly tell us things like, “Do you know that there are sixteen eyeballs in this car?” Or, “Do you know what 10 groups of 10 is?” He is pretty smart. Hayden is also constantly making us laugh. He can say some pretty funny things.  I will be sad when he grows out of that! Hayden is very sensitive and is a deep thinker. Some of the funny things he says are a result of him being very sincere and serious  while saying something totally goofy or something that doesn’t quite make sense. For example, one time he lovingly put his arm around Tilson and said, “I hope you like it in this world . . . because you are going to be the last one in our family to survive . . . !” Another time we overheard him all knowingly tell Ada, “I know how you say ‘underwear’ in Spanish! . . . ‘Undies!’”  He’s a funny boy.

Andrew- Oh he is growing up too fast! He turns eight this next year and I can’t quite believe it. Andrew is an amazingly determined kid. When Drew wants something he will do what he needs to do to get it. He is quite the entrepreneur. He came up with ideas of how he could earn money ranging from having a lemonade stand to raking all the leaves in the backyard. He is such a cool kid. I am amazed at how smart he is, even though he doesn’t find school work quite as fun as his brother does. Drew is so amazing at figuring out how things work and how to put things together. He is a lot like his Dad that way. He will look at instructions on how to put together a lego set, and he will put it together without any help. He told us that he wants to be an inventor someday. He said, “All you need is a little ‘imagine’ and a little science.” And he’s got both!

Lamon- It’s no secret that Lamon is amazing! This year was no different. This year Lamon finished his Bachelors in Nursing degree, took the scouts on a week -long scout camp, and trained for and raced in a trail marathon,  the 100 mile Tour de Cure, and the Utah Half (half-ironman distance). He also did lots of projects (made bunkbeds, rocking horses, ripped out our hideous fountain, etc.) At work he also certified in a specialty area and made it in the IHC newsletter. He is well respected at work and his boss is constantly making it known to him that he wants Lamon on board for a long time. He is a great nurse. He is constantly bringing home little notes from patients who were thankful and pleased with the care he provided. I am very proud! Most importantly he has just been a fabulous Dad and husband! He is such a great provider for us all emotionally, spiritually, and physically! We love him!!

Mary- And as for me . . . I’m loving life.  It’s true that I am a little idealistic, but seriously, sometimes I really do wish someone would just pinch me to make sure that I am not dreaming. Life just seems too awesome. Not that I don’t experience the day to day stresses that go along with motherhood. I told my in-laws the other day that Heavenly Father just blessed me with memory problems! The hard stuff happens and then I forget it. It works out great! I don’t have a list of worldy accomplishments to share. I haven’t written a book yet, or raised a child prodigy. But I feel fulfilled when I see my children at different times playing and giggling uncontrollably, or at other times praying for something with childlike faith, or even after they have done something wrong and we have a teaching moment . . .  I feel like my life is worthwhile knowing my family is happy and we all love each other.  I feel blessed. Feel free to check out our family blog lamonandmarymack.blogspot.com. We love you all,

So Helpful

This year has gone by way too fast! I can't believe that Tilson is turning a year old in less than two months. HE has been such an easy baby. Part of that is that he is just simply good natured and a happy child, but part of it too is the fact that the kids are such great helpers! They all love Tilson. It has been so fun watching the kids interact with him.
Tilson definitely loves Drew the best. Drew is so good with him. There have been a few times that Drew has surprised us by getting up with Tilson and playing with him before we even roll out of bed. He loves to get Tilson out of bed when he is crying, and is really good at getting Tilson to be happy.

Hayden is constantly looking out for Tilson too, and he cracks me up with the things that he says to him. Hayden will act all serious and put his arm around Tilson and given him some sort comforting thought. For example, one day Hayden told Tilson, "Someday you will turn five. Don't worry . . . You are going to turn five before someone. Lilke . . . you will be five before Tanner and Jenson!" Hayden loves his age and has the thought in his mind that Tilson is constantly wishing that he were five too.
Another night Hayden got really serious and turned to Tilson and said, "I hope that you have fun in this world. Because you are going to be the last one in our family to survive . . . " I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. But he sure is a deep thinker!
He obviously has been concerned for Tilson in all sorts of areas . . . like his love life. Yes, that's right. He told me one day . . . "I am going to get a date for Tilson."
I wasn't sure I heard him right. "You are going to get a date for Tilson? How old is she?"
 "Oh she is seven." Okay Hayden boy.
He is also very insistent that some day Tilson will get a new name. On more than one occasion he has whispered to Tilson . . . "Don't worry . . . when you get older you get to have a new name." Not sure what name he thinks Tilson's going to get . . . or why he doesn't like that one he's got!

Ada loves to help Tilson too. Ada loves to sing to Tilson. She never fails to climb into his crib and sing when he wakes up crying. I don't know that he necessarily enjoys her singing, but it is cute still the same.
They all love Tilson that is for sure. They all love to take turns trying to make him laugh. And they are successful. They sure know how to be silly, and it is fun to watch. I love my kids!
Here are some pictures of Tilson after I let Hayden feed him some bites of cereal. I went upstairs for a couple of seconds and when I came back I found Tilson covered in cereal. Hayden had just handed it over to Tilson. Oh boy!

Children of an English Major

I think that I could probably start an entire blog dedicated to our children's misuse of the English language. Whether it is misusing a word, mispronouncing a word or simply creating a word . . . our children are constantly keeping us laughing with what they say.

Mispronouncing words:
The other day at the table we asked Drew to do something and he flat out said, "No."
I then told him that the word "No" should not be a part of his vocabulary.
He very matter-of-factly shot back, "Yes . . .  the word "No" should be part of my "Cocabulary!"

Ada does her share of mispronouncing too. Drew has been using the phrase "You are a genius!" a lot lately. Whenever I help him figure something out he will tell me that I'm a genius. I haven't discouraged this. I don't get that compliment very often . . . okay so I have never had that compliment . . . Anyway, the other day at the table Drew said something and Ada turned to him and said, "Good Drew! You're a "Genior"! She was completely serious and genuine in this remark which made it even better.

Misuse of words:
A word that Drew has been mixing up lately is the word "interrupting". Whenever one of the other children starts talking over him, he gets pretty mad and will yell, "Stop "errupting" me!" In some ways I suppose the word "errupting"does sort of fit . . .

Hayden has been misusing the word "bragging" a lot lately. Whenever someone says something mean to him or if they say something he doesn't quite agree with he yells back, "Stop "bragging" about that." And no matter how many times we try to explain to him what bragging really means . . . he doesn't quite catch on and keeps saying it.

I can't really poke fun at my kids too much about misusing words. I unfortunately have done it . . . and still do it quite often. When I was younger there was a time that I was talking to my Dad in the backyard. We were talking about bad language (swearing etc.) I turned to him and said, "I've never said a 'profound' thing in my entire life!" You can bet that I have never lived that one down!!!

Making up words:
If you can't think of the word you are looking for . . . you might as well make one up right? My kids do. One word that all of them have used and completely understand the meaning of is "Chimp". No . . . not the cute primate. No "chimp" (their version) is a verb. They would say things like, "You just need to 'chimp' it like this."
Yes . . . "Chimp" "Chimped" "Chimping"who knows where it came from or which one of them said it first . . . but it is definitely part of their "Cocabulary."
Another word, also a verb, that Hayden was using the other day was  "Scrumple". He was telling Ada, "You just have to 'scrumple' it on your face like this."

And once again I can't just make fun of my children for making up words . . . I have done it too. It was only a few years ago that I realized that "Shallmenno" was not a word. I always sang the song "Love one another" and when it came to the phrase "By this shall men know . . . ye are my disciples" I thought it was, "By this 'shallmenno'" and I always wondered what a "shallmenno" was . . . "
I shouldn't admit to these things . . . I am an English major after all . . . (ha ha)! But I want my kids to know where they get their amazing English skills from!! :)

Super Dad!

It was a normal day today. It was a day filled with taking kids to and from school, helping kids with homework chores and piano, cleaning, taking care of a couple sick kids. It totally wouldn't even be blog worthy if it weren't for the fact that Lamon is pretty much Awesome!

Lamon had the day off and had a bunch of things he had to do today. He had to bid out some homes for Christmas lights, run some errands that had to do with preparing for Ironman training, and work on putting up some Christmas lights here as well. Well Lamon took the kids to school on his way to do his bids. And after finishing most of the homes he went and picked up Hayden from school and then took him with him to go do another bid and to go on a couple of his errands. When  they got home Hayden came in the house beaming with an icecream in his hand saying, "I went on my third date with Dad!" Lamon took Hayden out to eat and got him an icecream while they were gone, and  Hayden informed him that it was their third "date" together. He then recounted the other "dates" they had been on. For the rest of the day Hayden kept referring to their "date" and one time yelled out loud cheerfully, "It's a great day for a date!"
Lamon tries to take the kids out individually as often as he can to have a "date" and the kids love it. One time Drew and Hayden were a little upset when me and Lamon were going out together saying to me, "How come YOU get to go on more dates with Dad than us?!" I thought it was pretty cute. They love their Dad!

Well Lamon wasn't finished being amazing. He then took Hayden and Ada with him to Draper to get a watch that he wanted,  then came home and helped Drew and Hayden with Piano, and let the kids help put up some Christmas lights in the front yard. He gave a sweet lesson for Family Home Evening, and then helped me put the kids to bed. Did I ask him to do any of these things? No. I would have been just fine doing it myself. But he WANTED to do it. And I was so grateful for the help.  I can't think of anything that makes me love Lamon more than watching him with our kids. He is such a good Dad.

Perhaps the sweetest Daddy moment I witnessed today, was in the middle of the night when I brought a sick crying shivering feverish Ada into her Dad who wrapped her in his arms. He took her into her room, set her on her bed, annointed her head with oil and gave her a blessing. I watched a sick little girl relax and fall asleep beneath her father's hands. I don't think there is anything sweeter. I love Lamon so much.

I have an addiction

 I know that admitting to yourself and others that you have an addiction is part of the recovery process.
I feel pretty embarrassed about it, and have tried to hide it but,
 . . . . I have an addiction to taking pregnancy tests.
It is totally true. I don't know how many tests I have taken . . . it is impossible to know. It's very close to impossible for me to even get pregnant right now . . . but does that stop me? No.
There have just been some days that I have felt totally sick to my stomach and I think to myself, "I wonder if I'm pregnant?" Forget the fact that I had just eaten a quarter gallon of ice-cream or a

 dozen cookies . . .
But yes. Deep down I know that I'm not, but there is something very Las Vegas-ish in taking them! . . .
It's pretty pathetic I know. I have tried to keep my stash of pregancy tests hidden . . . but Lamon has found me out a couple times now. After the last time he found a stash of pregnancy test hidden in our game closet he yelled out, "Mary . . . are you still buying these?" . . . .Uh . . .
So I am announcing to the world. Or the 5 family members who read my blog . . . that I am not taking another pregnancy test until I can meet at least three of these criteria:

1. I am actually TRYING to get pregnant.
2. I am not on some type of birth control.
3. My belly is expanding and has nothing to do with my ice cream consumption.
4. I can feel kicking
5. Lamon actually starts calling me "Belly"

So there you go. I have 4 pregnancy tests in my house right now . . . Will there be four of them left at the end of next year when we start trying again? That is the question. Will they be there next week . . . ? . . . . Yes! I can do it!

A Love Affair with the Dentist

 I love my kids. They are so cool. I think they are cool for so many different reasons, but one of them is that they have a positive attitude when it comes to going to the Doctor or to the Dentist's office.

Okay . . . positive attitude is a little too mild of a description. They are pretty much crazy tough, and they LOVE to go to the Dentist. And yes, this is even after having gone before and having cavities filled. I have no explanation for it really. The only thing I can link it too is our use of reverse psychology on them. I remember the first time that I took the kids to get shots I acted all excited for a couple of days saying, "You guys get to go to the Doctor tomorrow and get some shots! . . . These shots are cool . . . they are going to make it so you won't get sick!" etc. etc. I told them that it would hurt for just a second, and then it would be done. "And you are going to get a cool band-aide and maybe a prize! Wahoo. This will be great."
I can remember the day of the shots we went to homeschool with the cousins and my kids were bragging to all of the other children how they were going to go to the Doctors to get shots. They were so excited. The other kids just looked at them like they were crazy. I think one or two of them told them they HATED shots. But that didn't phase them. And  the cool part is that during the whole experience not one of them cried. And they didn't look away either. They stared at the needle going in and didn't flinch. Well, Ada flinched after the second one. But she didn't cry. Afterwards Drew said, "Mom . . . that kind of hurt!" . . . But that was the beginning of the love affair . . .
A couple days ago we went as a family to the Dentist. For a couple days Drew kept saying things like, "In two days we get to go to the Dentist . . . " etc. The kids were excited. The day of the appointment Hayden grabbed his jacket and said, "It's time to go to the Dentist . . . Come on let's go." Lamon just looked at him and said, "No Hayden. We have awhile. Why don't we start your homework?"
This started Hayden off on a big tantrum. "NO! I want to go to the Dentist . . . !"
"Hayden, we are going to the Dentist . . . just not right now."
Hayden started wailing and started saying, "I hope I have cavities so I can go to the Dentist . . . "
"Hayden, we are going to the Dentist . . . and you don't need cavities to go to the Dentist . . . "
I was in the kitchen doing the dishes during the whole ordeal. Hayden kept on going with his little tantrum and all of a sudden I hear Lamon do what we at times resort to doing during a tantrum . . . he pulled out a big threat. "Hayden . . . stop it! . . . Hayden? Do you want to go to the Dentist or not? . . . "
What? Am I really hearing this? Lamon is threatening Hayden with not going to the Dentist?  But it worked. Hayden stopped crying. Seriously though . . . How many parents can use that as a threat to turn their childs tantrum off. Oh my kids make me laugh.
On the way to the appointment we checked Drew out of school, and when he got to the front office he was filled with excitement. He said, "Are we going to the Dentist now?" And in the same excited tone he asked,"Are they going to pull my teeth out?"
What? I just thought, "You are excitedly thinking about them pulling out your teeth? . . . What planet are you from?!" The scariest nightmares I have ever had in my life had to do with me losing my teeth . . . Anyway . . .
Well, Hayden got his wish. None of us had cavities except for him. He had a grand total of SIX!! He has three appointments scheduled in one month. All of his wishes have come true . . . We'll see if he still likes the Dentist by the end of the month.

Kids say the darndest things . . . in Spanish . . .

My children are obsessed with spanish. They have cousins who speak Spanish almost exclusively; and they think that since they watch Dora the Explorer they are also fluent Spanish speakers. We will go to a family gathering and Drew will talk to Kimball and say, "Hola." Or he will try to interject spanish words that he knows into his sentences as if he is really helping Kimball understand what he is saying.

Ada does it too. Just yesterday I was cleaning upstairs and Ada kept saying "Para!" to me. She wanted me to stop cleaning and play Dora people with her. It was so funny. It took me a second to understand what she was saying. But she meant it! She kept saying it over and over. And if she doesn't know how to say something in spanish, she will just make it up. She will say . . . "Do you know how you say hippo in spanish?" And then she will make up some word.

Hayden is no exception. Just the other day me and Lamon were talking to someone in the garage and Ada and Hayden were playing inside. All of a sudden we overhear Hayden say to Ada, "Ada . . . I know how you say underwear in spanish."
We all stopped talking to hear what he would say.
He said, "Undies."
Funny kid.

Perhaps with an Uncle, 2 Aunts, and a Father who all speak spanish . . . maybe we should actually teach them how to REALLY speak it . . . since they obviously think they already can.

Kids Say the Darndest Things Part 1 (Hayden)

Hayden cracks me up pure and simple. If I could only write a 10th of the funny things he said . . .  It's not just what he says . . . it's how he says it. Too bad I can't really show that. But I will at least share some of the funny things he has said in the last couple weeks.

Prayers: Hayden thinks so deeply when he prays. And he tries to use big impressive words that he doesn't always know the meaning of. The other day while praying Hayden asked Heavenly Father to "please bless Drew . . . that he can have ETERNITY . . . to be in second grade." I thought it was so funny. Let's hope that God doesn't answer that prayer! :)
A few weeks ago before Lamon went on a trip with a friend to the Grand Canyon we said a prayer as a family for his safety. Hayden got to say the prayer and he said, "Bless Daddy on his trip that he can be safe and that he can meet lots of creatures . . . and learn about the animals." He was so serious.
In another moment of spiritual reflection while in the car driving to school Hayden blurted out, "You know what Mom? . . . I am so happy about myself." I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it sounded good. Then he continued, "I am so happy about myself! . . . The spirit told me that." I liked it! It's good to be happy "about" yourself.
He is pretty confident. He came up to me yesterday and told me, "Ya . . . I was just downstairs practicing my new skills. They're pretty great.

Here are a few of the other comments from him lately that have made me smile:
"Man, I have a "drink" ache! . . . Do you know what that is? . . . It is when you haven't had a drink in a whole day . . . and you are really thirsty." . . .

"I am so hot! . . . I'm hotter than a mole!"

On his way home from school with Aunt Lizzy he exclaimed, "Lizzy? Today at carpool I got lost when they called my number . . . but then I found myself because HELLO . . . it was me!!"

I asked Hayden how his day was one afternoon and he said, "Great!!! I got a yellow card and I got to sit in the power chair!" (Hint: those are not good things. But you wouldn't have guessed it by the way he said it!)

"Mom . . . I am teaching Tilson all sorts of things . . . like when he can eat a sandwich."

Yesterday Tilson was jabbering away saying, "Da, da, da, da, Na, na, na, na" and Hayden who was sitting right next to him turned to him and very big brotherish put his arm around him and said, "Good 'Na' Tilson!"

Oh Hayden, Hayden . . . how could I ever have a miserable day with you around?

Kids say the darndest things part 2 (Drew)

When it comes to "quantity" of funny things said, Hayden takes the cake.  But he isn't the only contributor. All of my kids can say some pretty funny things.

Most of the funny things that Drew says are funny because he is so serious! He really is trying to solve a problem or figure something out . . . and sometimes his logic is just funny. 

The weekend that Lamon went to the Grand Canyon I wanted to have fun with the kids. So we planned on going to McDonalds, having a sleepover downstairs and watching a movie etc. etc. Well we went over to Grandma Neuberts for a while and when it was time to go we needed to clean up and I was telling the kids, "Come on! Let's hurry and clean up. Remember we are going to have a sleepover tonight . . . and watch a movie . . . ?"
Drew just turned to me quite aggitated  and asked me, "Why do we always have to celebrate when Dad leaves?" I thought it was so hilarious I started laughing. But he really was truly concerned about Dad missing out on our fun.

Drew is a problem solver too. The other day I was having a hard time remembering something and Drew sat there thinking and he turned to me and said, "Mom! I know how you can NOT forget about things!" He looked like he had just come across the most amazing idea. He said, " . . . Just write it on a piece of paper and then stick it on your face when you sleep!" He was completely serious. But hey . . . I bet that might work!

Drew does like to try to solve problems and make things better. Hayden and Tilson stayed home from church a couple weeks ago because they were sick. Well at church Drew walked up to a mother of one of Hayden's friends and very seriously told her, "Um . . . I would really appreciate it if you would have your son write Hayden a letter." It was pretty funny. She was a little puzzled. I explained that Hayden was sick. The way that Drew said it though just made both of us parents laugh. He was talking to her as if he were an adult. "I would really appreciate it if . . . " I love it. And the sweet thing was that her son Jayden did in fact bring a letter by just as Drew requested.
Oh Drew I love you!      
       

         

Kids say the darndest things part 3 (Ada)

I already recently did a write up on Ada, but she is always making me laugh. She is just so full of personality.
Without another little girl in the house to play with she is constantly looking for a play mate. One of my favorite things that she will say is "That is thee plan." She says this after a description of what we can do together. She will say something like, "Mom . . . how about we go and play with Dora people. Ya? We will play with Dora people and then with Ponies. Okay? . . .That is thee plan!" It's hard to say no to her cute little voice.
Yesterday while I was feeding Tilson Ada was downstairs trying to get the boys to play with her and she came up to me and said, "Mom? . . . I have a dream (like Rapunzel). My dream is that someone will play with me for forty minutes."

Ada's voice is so cute I thought I would try and capture it. Here are a couple videos of her. One she is singing in, and the other one she is "reading". Whenever the boys read, she likes to read too even though she doesn't really know how. She likes to point to words as if she is reading them and even mimicks sounding them out. It is pretty funny. I love this little Girl!

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2306824011402747213#editor/target=post;postID=8797940503519965845

Halloween

Some people love Halloween so much they start planning what they are going to be for Halloween months in advance! . . . We are not so much one of those people. Halloween is fun, but we are more the  type of people who look through their costume box days before Halloween asking the kids what they want to choose to be. We have some great costumes that I have picked up at garage sales. Unfortunately kids actually have an opinion about these things! It worked when they were young . . . but for the last few years Drew has had something specific he wanted to be. At five he was Batman. Last year he wanted to be Percy Jackson. Lamon spent a whole day helping him put that costume together and even made him a lightning bolt. This year Drew wanted to be Harry Potter. The other two little munchkins didn't really care. Hayden did want to be a vampire at first but then went for the cape instead and chose to be Batman. Ada was an M&M along with me. Lamon took the kids out trick or treating for awhile, and then I took them over to the grandparents house to show off their costumes. We went to Grandma Barksdales house first where Holidays are always rockin and the house is always decked out, and then we went to the Macks and decided to do a little trick-or-treating at the "good" houses. We banked! It was a fun night!  And the best part of it was . . . knowing that the next morning would officially start off the Christmas "Season!"The day after Halloween Ada informed me that next year she knows what she wants to be. She wants to be "Nail Polish". Am I even the least bit surprised?! I guess we have a year to figure that one out! :)

The Boys' First Big Race

So earlier in the school year Drew, Hayden and their cousins Kimball, Justin, Carter and Abbie all participated in a race at BYU. For weeks their school sent out newsletters encouraging the scholars to participate in the race. The more students who participated in the race the bigger chance there would be that they could win the big school trophy. They had won for two years in a row.

Well Drew had never run before, but we asked him if he wanted to go and do this mile race, and he did. I told him that a mile is a pretty long distance if you have never run before. We decided to let him do a practice run. We took him to the Junior High to run around the track and see how he fared. We told him not to start out too fast and to just go slow. He totally surprised us by running a full mile in 11 minutes and 45 seconds without stopping. Pretty good for his first try. For the next few days before the race Drew delighted us with all sorts of talk about how he wanted to win the whole race. We told him that it didn't matter if he won. We explained to him that in all of the races that me and Lamon have done, neither one of us has ever "won" a race. That isn't why we do it. But he was certain. We didn't want to tell him that we had looked at the results from last years race and the first grader who won it ran a 7 minute mile!

So the day of the race came and it was so fun to watch. Hayden decided that he wanted to run too. I was a little worried about how that might turn out. All I could think about was Hayden's soccer season when he would flop on the ground and lay there and tell the coach he needed a break after running half way down the field! But he did it. He ran with Kimball, and the two of them shuffled along together the whole way. They were all the way in the back, but they did it. It was so cute.

And as for Drew. In his very first race and his second time running a mile ever he ran a 9:10 min mile. He ran it more than two minutes faster than he had a few days earlier. I think he might have some runner's blood in him. And he is a bit competitive too. He was so dissappointed at not winning it all, but he has a little bit of a drive to practice and do better next year. And I have a feeling he will. I am so proud of my boys!

Family Pictures

We Finally have put Family pictures on our wall. We have lived here for three years now and finally took some family pictures! My sister Liz took the pictures and I think they turned out great. I printed them off at Costco and put them in these cute barnwood frames that I found at . . . you guessed it . . . a garage sale. I put them up myself. I was so proud of my work that for the first few days every time I went in the living room I had to stop and look. I was so proud. (I'm sure all who know the extent of my decorating skills can understand.)

I think it is pretty amazing that any of the pictures turned out. There was only one family picture that had all of us smiling in it. I had to post some of these pictures that didn't make it on the living room wall. One of the pictures is to just show what family pictures are REALLY like. It is the picture with all of the kids being crazy and Lamon turned getting mad at Hayden for being goofy, while I'm just smiling staring into the void with Tilson just laughing at it all. Classic!

Power of Persuasion

A week or two ago the neighbors came over to play. My kids LOVE Jonah and Nicole, and they get pretty excited when they come over. Well, the boys and Nicole were all playing downstairs, and Ada was pretty excited to have some friends to play with too. She went downstairs and grabbed a puzzle and on her way up she confidently called out "Who wants to do a puzzle with me?" She said it in a very sure voice like she was expecting the whole lot of them to immediately drop what they were doing and follow her. But instead Hayden matter of factly responded saying, "No one."

This was not the response Ada was hoping for and she started to cry. I thought it was kind of funny, but I felt pretty bad for her and I am always a champion for the underdog. I told her . . . "I'll do the puzzle with you Ada!" So we got the puzzle out and we started to put it together. Hayden was so adamant that the last thing they all wanted to do was do a puzzle so I wanted to prove to them just how fun a puzzle really was. So we started putting the puzzle together, and every time I put a piece in I would excitedly shout out some sort of exclamation like, "All right Ada! Wahoo! We did it!" And then I would give her five. It was pretty ridiculous. I admit it. But it was pretty fun. I was doing cheers for us each time we put something together. "Go Ada . . . Go Ada . . . It's your birthday . . . " etc. etc. And sure enough . . . as much fun as they were having downstairs . . . One by one each of the children made it to the kitchen to see what the commotion was. And yes . . . all of them DID end up wanting to do the puzzle with Ada . . . And I slipped away and finished the dishes! I am pretty talented!

Dinner Compliments

Kids are the biggest critics when it comes to cooking. I mean come on . . . I'm an award winning cook! ;-) But I've got myself some pretty picky eaters. It is not very often that all of them will like what I make for dinner simultaneously. I mean There are a few meals that they all like, but usually at least one of them will struggle wanting to finish their food and we have to do the "Okay . . . five more bites" thing.

Well not tonight I tell ya! They were dishing out the compliments tonight. I didn't really think that Lasagna was going to be that exciting, (especially since I've made it a billion times)  but for some reason tonight they decided they liked it. Here are some of the things they were saying:

Drew: "Look how fast I'm eating!"

Drew: "Mom, no one in the world would say they don't  love this food"

Hayden: "I love this dinner more than I love light sabers." ( I know . . . I had to have a moment of silence at the dinner table after that one and I told Hayden that he almost made me cry)

Ada: She didn't so much say anything . . . she just actually ATE. Which for her is pretty impressive.

Drew and Hayden both had 5 helpings each, and Ada actually cleared her plate. Wow . . . that is blog worthy!

What can I say . . . I make a wicked Lasagna! I've come a long ways since grilled cheese and marshmallow sandwiches. Although . . . that is a winner . . . don't knock it until you try it.

A day in the life of a Diva

 

Before I had Ada I don't think I had one thing of nail polish. Sad I know. But I just wasn't really into it. Well I tell ya, things have changed since then! I mean I'm not more into it, but things have changed in that we now have a whole bag full of nail polish. Ada has me do her nails and  she does my nails it seems like on a daily basis. Ada loves nail polish!

Even more than nail polish Ada loves to play with her Dora people and her Pretty Ponies. And seeing that she is surrounded by boys . . . Mommy is her favorite playmate. So I have certainly been brushing up on my Pretty Pony playing skills lately, and it is amazing how fast it comes back. You'd think that without practice for so long . . . it would be hard to just jump back in . . . but it really isn't. I have eased back into it just fine. I am pretty much awesome at it actually. The pretty ponies are mine and my sisters from our youth. So when me and Ada take turns dividing them out I find myself picking the same ones that I played with when I was little. When she picks one of my favorites . . . I totally am manipulative in somehow getting her to trade me . . . it's terrible I know . . . but their mine! Just kidding. Anyway . . . it's her favorite thing to do right now, and it's been fun playing with her.

Other than ponies and Dora, Ada loves to sing to herself in the mirror, and changes her clothes multiple times a day. She loves to color,be read to, and paint. I have to admit that it's hard to fit in cleaning and other household chores with that kind of rigorous schedule. But you know I am an advocate of putting first things first . . . Ponies come before dishes and laundry right? :)

It's hard to get rid of stuff!

 We have too many toys, plain and simple. My Mom saved all of our toys and gave them to us to keep as keepsakes, and so part of me feels guilty that I just want to get rid of my kids toys, but it is pretty ridiculous how many toys we have. There are plenty of kids who could use them who don't have as many toys as we do. So I went to the kids today and told them, "Kids . . . we need to get rid of some of our toys." And of course they were totally fine with this. Ya Right! But I reassured them that they didn't have to get rid of their very favorite toys . . . but to choose the ones that they don't play with as much.

"Let's start with the stuffed animals. Put all of the ones you want to keep in this bin, and the ones you don't want to keep in this pile."
Drew started going at it immediately. He started throwing animals into the bin. There was only one stuffed animal that he put in the give away pile . . . a monkey that was mine from when I lived at home. My favorite.
"Drew . . . are you sure you want to give away this one? . . . You don't like this one?"
"Ya . . . you can give that one to the DI. I don't want that one" he said.
Who came up with this idea anyway? I couldn't do it. I threw my monkey back into the bin with the rest of the animals. "Okay then . . . " So much for that great plan.
I need help!

Little boy of faith

I have tried to teach my children about what it means to have faith. And I think that if you were to ask my kids what it means to have faith, they could answer you. At least I think so . . . I will ask them . . .

Okay,  I just asked each of my kids seperately (so they won't influence eachothers answers) what it means to have faith.

"What does it mean to have faith?"
Ada: "It means to not be dead." Okay so there's some work to be done there. . . but hey . . . she's three. I'm pretty sure that comment probably had something to do with 'Faith without works is DEAD.'
Hayden: "It means to listen to God"
Andrew: "It means to believe in something that you can't see. You feel good inside and know that it's true."

Although Drew was closest to the textbook answer, I told them that they were both right in a way. Faith does mean believing in something unseen which is true. But if you have faith in God . . . you will listen to Him, and keep His commandments. So Hayden is right too. Faith without works is Dead. So there you go . . .
But regardless of whether or not they can give me a perfect definition of what faith is, they SHOW me what faith is. Sometimes I just need to close my mouth and let my kids teach ME what it means to have faith.

There have been quite a few incidents in the last few months where Drew has shown us what faith really is. In August we took a little trip to Scofield. The first night we were there me and Ada stayed at the cabin painting nails and doing girly things while the boys went out to do some fishing. The plan was for them to go for like a half hour, but a half hour came and went and they still didn't show up. Which isn't completely out of the ordinary. It wouldn't have been the first fishing trip that lasted a little longer than planned. But we waited and waited . . . and no boys. It got dark outside and still no sign of them. I was wondering why in the world they were still fishing in the dark!! Then finally I heard voices outside and I went out to find the boys approaching and they were all covered head to toe in mud.
     
They had driven the car out to the lake and were trying to find a good spot to fish when suddenly they got stuck in the mud. They never even casted their fishing poles, they spent the entire time trying to get the car unstuck. Lamon told me that he was frustrated and Drew made the suggestion to say a prayer. So they did. They did all that they could to no avail. The car still was stuck, and they ended up walking a mile back to the cabin in the dark. After we got the kids cleaned up and put to bed, Lamon went back to the lake and was able to get the car out of the mud. In the morning Drew was very excited to see the car back at the cabin. He was thinking that a miracle had taken place and that it had miraculously been transported back to the cabin in our sleep . . . but we told him that Dad went back while they were sleeping and got it out. We thanked Drew for his prayer and talked to him about how sometimes our prayers are not answered when and how we think they will, but God does answer our prayers. We did get the car out and God helped us. But sometimes we have to do some hard work before our prayers are answered!

There have been more incidents since that one where Drew has prayed to God for things and has had his prayers answered. There were a couple times that Drew lost toys around the house and said a prayer and was able to find them.

One time when we were on our way to the park it started to rain. I said, "Uh oh. Guys . . . if it doesn't stop raining we might not be able to play at the park."
Suddenly without any warning Drew starts praying out loud right there in the car. He asked God to please stop the rain so we could play.  . . .and he was completely confident that everything would be fine. The cool things was . . . that it did stop raining and we WERE able to play.

The last experience was probably the coolest one. It was a Saturday and being the crazy mother that I am I woke up all of my children at 6 in the morning and dragged them along with me garage saling. There was a huge Neighborhood sale in Lehi that I didn't want to miss. And boy was it huge!!! There must have been like  50 homes participating. We had fun and found some cool stuff, but Tilson was definitely done by the time we got home. We pulled into the driveway and all of a sudden Drew yells, "Oh no Mom! I left my light saber at the garage sale!" I did not want to drive all the way back to Lehi in search of a light saber that could have been anywhere and most likely had been picked up by some other kid or even sold by an unknowing garage saler. And we had no clue where he left it. There were more than 50 houses it could have been at! But this wasn't just any light saber. It was the light saber that Drew saved up for and bought with his own money. I personally was doing the math in my head and figured that with the gas we would be using to go all the way there and back . . . I could probably buy him a new light saber . . .but he was so sad  and I knew that we had to at least attempt it. So off we went. While we were driving Drew again thought to say a prayer. I can't even explain how impossible it seemed to be able to find this light saber . . . but amazingly enough we drove straight there! Drew walked up to the house we stopped at first and asked the homeowners if they had seen his light saber. And sure enough they went into their garage and came out with it. They told Drew that a kid wanted to buy it, but they knew it wasn't theirs. Drews faithful prayer worked once again. He was one happy boy. And I have to admit that for Drew to have an experience like that with prayer . . . I was one happy Mamma, and  it was worth every penny we spent in gas!

Ants in my Pants

So I've wanted to post about this for awhile, but I was waiting for video footage of the event. The only problem  is that the camera wasn't quite working so the video is a no go. Which is really too bad. The clip was pretty much a perfect combination of athleticism and grace. Okay . . . not really.
Anyway, everytime there is irrigation at Grandma and Grandpa Mack's house the whole family comes over for some splish splashin fun. All the grandkids get their swimming suits on and go play in the water while the parents visit and walk around with their shoes off. It's pretty fun.

Well the last irrigation party we had was no different. We were all outside, and the kids were playing and Marybeth and Janie came out and demonstrated to the younger children how to run and slide in the irrigation like a slip n slide. They slid right on their bellies and it was pretty impressive. The other kids had fun trying. Well, it looked like fun to me! I wanted to try too. So I did. I even got my son Hayden (who isn't a fan of irrigation because it is "dirty" water) to do it with me. I ran and slid and am quite sure I looked awesome. It is too bad that I can't show you how awesome I truly looked while I did this.
Anyhow, after such a successful first attempt, I couldn't resist trying to do it again. So I went and got in line with the other children. While I was standing there I was thinking, "I am such a cool Mom! I'm so glad I am so fun . . . " (You know . . . Really humble thoughts like that) When all of a sudden one of the kids turned to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Um . . . you've got ants on your leg."
I looked down and sure enough my leg was covered with ants. And I'm not talking about a couple of ants either. It honestly reminded me of a horror movie or something. I couldn't even see my leg! There must have been hundreds and hundred of them. Well, I did what any cool, awesome Mom would do. I totally freaked out and started running around screaming. Then I dropped to the ground in the water and began to roll around kicking my legs and splashing water on them. All the rest of the adults were sitting in the shade and lucky enough to witness the entire ordeal. When I came over and explained what had happened Lamon's brother complimented me on my "Stop, Drop, and Roll" technique. Is that what they teach you to do in an "Ant Attack" situation? I don't know . . . but it may have saved my life. Okay fine . . . so the ants weren't exactly dangerous. Thank heavens for that too! Because when I went in the house and took off my drenched clothing there were tons of ants all the way up my pants, and in my underclothing . . .Ya,  it was pretty bad. I swear every time I am thinking how cool I am . . . something like this happens. Okay fine, things like that happen even when I'm not thinking I'm cool.

Our little exaggerator

It's crazy how different each of my kids are. They all have different strengths and different things that they struggle with. Well, Drew is my little exaggerator. He totally reminds me of Uncle Rico on Napolean Dynamite.

Like Uncle Rico Drew loves to tell me stories of his great feets that are a bit embellished. For example, he came home yesterday from school and told me that at recess he was playing basketball. He said, "And you know what Mom? The basketball hoop . . . It was as big as that Pine Tree and I made it in the basket like 100 times." . . . . 

"Uh Drew . . . Maybe it was as tall as that second branch . . . "
"No Mom . . . really."

I kept eyeing him doubtingly. You see, a few weeks ago after he had repeatedly told me things that weren't completely true I told him that every time he starts to tell me a story and he realizes it's not true, and that he is sort of telling a lie, if he stops and says, "Oh wait . . . that didn't really happen" I would give him a Wii buck. 

So now usually all it takes is my looking at him doubtfully, and he usually will admit his embellishment. This happens a lot though. I don't really know why he likes to make up stories or make them bigger than they are, but he does. Somebody asked him if he caught crawdads when he went fishing with his Dad and he said, "Ya, the first time we caught like 2 million and 100 or something like that. The second time we only caught like 300." After the tall as the pine tree claim yesterday I taught him the word E-x-a-g-g-e-r-a-t-e. 

Drew, Drew . . . I hope he realizes how awesome he is, and that the things he does are awesome and he doesn't even need to make them sound better than they are. He is an amazing kid. Anyone with suggestions on how to help him with this exaggeration problem feel free to unload. I would love to hear!