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.