Feeling Pretty In Pink

I'm sure that you've noticed that our normally 'basic in black' blog has turned a new leaf to it's 'pretty in pink' color. No, pink is not my new favorite color, and no, we're not just celebrating Easter or spring with the new happy color. But we are celebrating something...It's a GIRL!!! Derrick and I went over to his work tonight and checked out the gender situation, and were both very pleased with our discovery! It's sure convenient to have access to an occasional ultrasound.

The boys were all very excited with the news too, and when we have a more official ultrasound, I'll post a picture. We are mentally prepared for the possibility of a boy (since we have been there before, talk about a shock!). But for now, we'll keep our blog PINK!

Happy Easter!

We love Easter. It's almost like two different holidays all packed into one. We had such a great and fulfulling day at church with great talks and music, etc... It was really very nice.

And then there's the other holiday that's all tied in with Easter. For me, it's more of a celebration of Spring. We love spring, and look so forward to spending more time outdoors. It's so much fun to see the plants start to grow again. So today we had an Easter egg hunt out in the back yard and had a nice dinner together as a family. We wish we could have joined our extended family, but we really felt like we needed to attend our ward. It turned out to be a very relaxing day. So Happy Easter and Happy Spring to all of you!

Making The Most...

I guess that if we can't wish winter away, we just as well enjoy what we've got, right??? So Friday afternoon, I took the kids skiing. Derrick was at work, so the kids and I went by ourselves. I didn't think it would work out too well to have all of the kids on the mountain by myself, so Skyler and Zac enjoyed the skiing, while Tannon and Myah and I spent some time in the lodge together. We played UNO for an eternity (I remember when I used to like UNO)! We all had a fun time!

Derby Daze

We had our annual Pinewood Derby this week for scouts. It's always such a great time for that father-son bonding thing...and its ALWAYS a great big headache! So Zac is our current cub scout, and since we were out of town for the derby last year, he and Derrick made his first car. He did really well and although he didn't take first place, he was such a great sport. I was pretty proud to see him go out of his way to congratulate the winner.

To add to the fun, we actually had 'double derby daze' this year...since our young men and young women also held a derby on the same night. That means that Derrick was a 'double derby dad' (say that ten times fast)! Skyler also did well, and mostly built his car by himself. It was all fun, and now we can put away the tube of graphite until next year!

My Very Own Theme Song

So I was driving around yesterday and a song came on the radio that just seemed to fit my life at the moment. So I'm adopting it as my very own theme song! I don't really know what the whole song was about, and although I'm not a big 'Green Day' fan, I liked the song. The chorus said...'Wake me up, when September ends'. That about sums it up for me! Just wake me up when this whole 9 month thing is over...'Wake me up, when September ends!' Sounds like a plan!

Oops, She Did It Again

After my last post about our ski day, my little brother commented about the craziness of letting Myah ski...with her track record. It made me laugh, and reminisce about that little track record.

A year and a half ago, while I was out of town, Myah had a little accident...and I got the phone call that no parent wants to receive. While she was playing hide-n-seek with her brothers, she stepped on the shop vac hose and fell on the hard wood floor, breaking her femur. The femur is supposed to be the hardest bone in the body to break. Not so for our little Myah! So I raced home and by the time I arrived, she was just coming out of the OR (although we were lucky and they were able to set it without cutting) with her hot pink spicah cast on. She was casted from just below her armpits all the way down her body and her broken leg. She was to remain that way for 8-10 weeks, which made for a very long winter for us. We had just finished potty training her, and needless to say, we had to start over with that after the cast came off. But our little girl was a trooper. Her world consisted of the couch for 8 weeks and she tried her very best to stay entertained. Near the end, she learned how to lay on the floor and use her upper body to pull herself around, or to roll her body in the general direction she wanted to go. She got the cast off the day before Christmas and got to spend her Christmas learning how to stand and walk again.

So while that was tramatic, that doesn't account for the 'track record' that my little brother referred to in his comment. But only a couple of months later (2 days before our disneyland trip), Myah was playing with her brothers again, and fell off of a piggy back...breaking her collar bone. So yes, there really is a bit of a track record!

I'm happy to say that we've been accidentless for a whole year now...so it's time to ski, right???

Our Pictureless Playday

I always 'just knew' that my kids would be great skiers some day. Unfortunately, I never 'knew' that it would cost a fortune each and every time we wanted to take them skiing. So with their once or maybe twice a year ski trips, my kids may turn out to be average skiers. This year just wasn't looking good for them at all since it's already the middle of March and we haven't been at all. Good fortune smiled down on us Saturday though. First of all, we found out that our local ski resort which is only a 30 minute drive, was offering free skiing every afternoon for the rest of this month. The problem is, they aren't exactly known for having a lot of snow. But that was where good fortune smiled down again...it snowed a couple of inches just before we arrived, and at least three more inches while we were there. It was absolutely lovely...and FREE. They didn't even charge us for Tannon and Myah's rentals. Yep, Myah tried out skiing for the first time. She did great, considering she's only 3 years old. Tannon, on the other hand... Looking at the positive side, I'm really not worried about Tannon giving in to peer pressure...not ever. He won't even let me pressure him to do something that he doesn't want to do. Last year we had him skiing and this year he wanted NOTHING to do with it. Maybe next year. So all in all, we had a great ski day! After we got home, we made TONS of homemade fries with fry sauce, and managed to eat ourselves silly! Unfortunately, we enjoyed our fun family day without taking even a single picture! Bummer.

Lesson Learned...REALLY

So isn't it funny how sometimes we're taught a lesson, and yes, we get it...but then we have to learn it over and over again!? Before Christmas, my sister was really struggling with her pregnancy and morning sickness. I was teasing her because she was walking around like a zombie. So my comment was, "Gee Whiz, you're PREGNANT, not DEAD!!! Suck it up and get on with life." I know, so kind of me, right??? So before I knew it, I was the one with the morning sickness, and boy did it kick my butt this time! Hate to say it, but I think I was walking around like a zombie, and that is only when I could pull myself off of the couch to walk around at all! So yes, I think that I was taught a little lesson in compassion. Yep, lesson learned...isn't that enough? So then, last week, the same sister caught the flu. No, not the stomach flu, but the BIG flu. The one that we should get immunized for, but never do. This time, I was feeling so very sorry for her. The compassion was there, it really was. But apparently I must still need to have that lesson pounded in to my skull, because before I knew it...I've been knocked flat with the flu! I guess we learn through repetition. Right now, while blogging is the first time I've been awake or alert enough to do anything in 4 days. And then there's Zac...teaching me my own lesson. He has cleaned and vacuumed and washed and cooked and cleaned some more. He's a very compassionate person, and for that I am grateful! So that's 3 times I've been taught...is that enough???

Play Time with Parker

I got to babysit my crazy little nephews last weekend while Tyson and Mandi went up to Boise to watch state basketball playoffs. We had lots of fun, and I just wanted to post a couple pictures of little Parker because he is my affirmation that I really could do the 'boy thing' again. I gotta say, so far Myah is much easier than the boys were, but there are lots of variables there. Maybe it's just because there is a bigger space between her and the rest, but maybe it's just because she's a girl. Don't know. I sure love all of my kids, and Parker is such a cute little punk that I really think I would be ok if I find out it's another boy! Thanks Parker!

Go Heels and Heat!

Basketball season is officially over...just in time for soccer season to start! We had a successful season this year. I don't mean that by the number of wins and losses (which turned out great for both teams), but by the overall experience that both Skyler and Zac had. They both got lucky with really great coaches this season, and that can make all the difference. Skyler and Zac have both become known for their hard work on the court. They are great defensive players and somehow it seems like they always manage to be open themselves. It's sure fun to cheer them on!



The picture of the basketball was one of Zac's shots. It landed on the rim, and stayed there. It was pretty funny. I think they should have counted it for three points...at least!