Adams Family Inferno

Funny how that happens...

2012-01-15T23:29:00.000-08:00

Do I sound like a broken record? I am for sure going to stay caught up on my blog. Starting now. Okay, really, I won't. I am editing tons of pictures for my annual "blurb book" that I give to the family for Valentine's day and so I am sitting and staring at pictures for hours on end. My kids love to look at these books, so it is all worth it in the end, but my eyes start to gloss over from staring at the computer screen for so long! I figured I'd add some to the blog while the other ones are uploading to my blurb book. Here are some favorites from the month of December, for a bit of a recap.
Over Christmas break we decided to learn how to skate, spent lots of time and way too much money at the skating rink, but it beat video games and 46 neighborhood kids begging to play all break long! Levi is wreckless and I can't watch him skate, Caden is a nightmare can't even get in one good stride, and the girls took right to it. We ended up getting them skates for Christmas, though ironically we have not been back since. Hmmm....

Caden turned 4 (this is out of order but I am too lazy to cut and paste).Those are spider web cupcakes though they are a bit pink and blue rather than red and blue. Fortunately, he didn't complain TOO much about it.

Gingerbread house decorating. Our annual tradition that I sort of loathe (remember how I feel about pumpkin decorating? This falls into that category...just going for fun mom points and I need as many as I can get).
Can't forget the annual employee party, where I get to sit awkwardly and make small talk with lots of drunk people who I don't know. Always an awkward night, though it is always a fun chance to dress up and go out on the town with my man!

This is a well known pose at our house. Caden has two group poses, he either squeezes your neck till you are near choking...or we have to point or touch a random object.
Another birthday picture (again, out of order, again lazy...but hey at least I am blogging).
The boys all got shot guns for Christmas (never seen my husband so excited about a gift in his life...despite his rather grim expression...), and after all was said and done my mom asks "you are okay with him having a gun in the house?" Since my mom also got a shotgun, a pigeon disk shooter thingy and a GLOCK, she is obviously more of a gun fan than I am (and she can really shoot too...not a fake gun fan, a real gun fan). But the boys have gone shooting several times now and their obvious delight has softened the blow somewhat...
All of the girlies in our matching Christmas outfits.

Short and rather boring post, but I am not going to promise anything more inspiring since I will clearly just not get around to it and it isn't like I need more opportunities to remind myself of my shortcomings!! Happy New Year!!

Whirlwind of Tday Bliss Day 1

2011-11-29T19:50:00.001-08:00

We managed to seriously squeeze in a lot over Thanksgiving this year. This post will cover our first day. After Spencer played some Turkey Bowl football, and I finished a beastly crossfit workout (my hands are still raw from so many dead lifts!), we headed to Olympia to visit Spencer's family. Even though it is only 2.5 hours away, we don't make it out there very often. This is particularly unfortunate b/c the kids absolutely ADORE their uncles and drive everyone a little crazy with the constant wrestling (though Matt and Nathan usually have their own style of wrestling that involves dogpile push ups, timing the kids to see how long they can stand on someone's back, or swinging, throwing or catapulting children in the air or middle of the room). The kids go crazy they are having so much fun, and the adults just try and talk over the mayhem.

Dishing up on the goods...

Benson and Devon...
Kiara and the cutest 2 year old EVER. Poor thing is bombarded by every aunt, uncle, and cousin in the room vying for her attention.

Some of the musically talented in the group serenaded us with music. The Adams family has some serious musical talent (and Spencer went and married me!!).

Me attempting a plate craft, that was decidedly done better by my more craftier girls.

A more or less failed attempt at a clever cousin group shot. No idea why Emma felt the need to cross her eyes, and poor Sula had had enough.

Almost succeeded with the boy only pyramid, Devon couldn't' resist the urge to burst off the top of the pyramid in every attempted pic.

Did I mention cutest baby ever???

Okay, so my baby is pretty cute too, and don't remind me...not a baby anymore. :( Too bad the only thing he ate on that plate was the roll, thus the devious grin.

Stay tuned...the next day we head to Ridgefield for more food, bowling, shooting range, and Leinenbach fun. Followed by Christmas tree acquisition (resulting in our largest tree ever), and a perfectly delightful Jon Schmidt piano concert. Might be the best weekend EVER!!

Cookie Backwash and Middle School Drama

2011-11-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Monday evening Levi came sheepishly downstairs, holding a poem he had written in class that day. He started his sad confessional with the words "the teacher put this poem in my file. She said my writing is unintelligent, a poor attempt at humor, and inappropriate". Apparently the boy who had to edit the poem found it offensive and brought it to the teacher's attention.

Naturally I panicked. What in the WORLD did he say in his poem that would have him put on "file" and caused his teacher to be this upset? I never should have allowed him to buy himself an xbox! Maybe b/c we let him watch Harry Potter movies and they were PG-13? Haven't we taught him anything? Immediately angry with him, I demanded to read the poem. He nervously and apologetically handed it over. I read it out loud for my husband to hear:

My Winter Poem

Winter tastes like cookies freshly baked. With eggnog to drink, leftover milk that Santa had not finished may not only taste like cookie backwash, but it might attract the reindeer.

Levi Adams (6th Grade Humanities)

I had to re-read it twice before the panic subsided. I asked if it was his reference to Santa that was offensive? No, it wasn't even THAT logical. This poem was put in his file b/c of the word BACKWASH.

Unfortunately, my panic, and fear turned immediately to RAGE. What teacher would tell a child his writing is unintelligent (ever) when he was cleverly (imo) describing eggnog? I spent the whole night drafting an email to send to the teacher. I could hardly sleep that night.

The best part is her placid and pathetic reply to my email. She claimed that she felt he was testing her to see how far he could go with inappropriate writing. She thought he was opening a door to push the limits. Not a single apology for her comments was made, but she did graciously remove the copy of the poem from his file and did also say (my favorite part) that she "may have" misinterpreted his intentions and that the fact he talked to me about it shows that he probably did not mean any 'harm or malice' in his remarks.

Two days later and my shaking rage is beginning to subside. Stripped of sarcasm, humor and creativity, his poem was finally acceptable to his classmates and teacher. Middle school in suburban America at its finest.

Halloween Part 2

2011-10-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

The girls invited some of their favorite friends for this year's trunk or treat. The giggling, wooping, and squealing could be heard from miles away when these girlies arrived.
Quite possibly my favorite of Spencer's costumes. We found this full genie costume it at Goodwill for $6! Love Goodwill!

Griping about Halloween Part 1 (Part 2 will be the classic, cheerful costume and aren't my kids adorable post)

2011-10-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Corn maze at Plumper Pumpkin Patch. Luckily I have Caders who is still my baby b/c...

We had to practically drag Levi in from neighborhood football fun outside to carve pumpkins this year (don't get me started), but once inside he remembered that he actually liked carving pumpkins. Well, I think he remembered, but looking at this picture closely his smile looks a little less genuine than I was hoping for!
Emma has a blue glow to her b/c she was at a friend's house who apparently has lots of blue eye shadow available. Or it could also be the fact that she is sad b/c we had to ground her just prior to carving for not coming home after her playdate (with blue eye shadow friend) and going straight over to neighbor's house without telling us and after almost 2 hours of wondering where she was and canvasing the area, she waltz' in the room like she just got home from the FIRST playdate. Missing the whole GUTTING portion of pumpkin carving (the best part of course!)

Deep breath, sweet baby who thinks the pumpkin patch is AWESOME and loves to hang out with me and thinks my fun ideas are great!
While at our ward's Trunk or Treat, I marveled at all of the Southern Bells, the beautiful princesses with fancy hair, heart-melting pink and purple ballerinas, lady bugs (with wings and cute hair buns!), and other adorably clever costume creations. Then I looked at my table where we had fought all afternoon on whether or not they could have blood coming out of the corners of their mouth (I hate bloody costumes). Fortunately, since I am mom, I won. However, they definitely weren't winning any beauty contests with these costumes. Kiara is a zombie cheerleader (she has pom poms and a skirt to match) and Emma was some sort of dead, zombie-witch, frankenstein bride combo of her own design. No more princesses at our house.

Levi wore his football uniform b/c he had to come late and straight from practice. He whined the whole way to the church b/c he claimed to have too much homework to go to Trunk or Treat. I told him he needed to live a little. Hmmphf.

Kiara finished her pumpkin just in time to play outside for a few more minutes before dark. Roasted pumpkin seeds anyone? Let's set these masterpieces outside and marvel at who made the scariest pumpkin! Anyone? Anyone? Let's sit on the bench in our PJ's after lighting the pumpkin candles and watch the flames flicker! Anyone? How about our annual after carving family picture? Clearly, no one. hmmphf.

Caden's creation won scariest pumpkin award this year. Entirely by default since everyone else was either playing outside, or in time-out for playing outside too long, or possibly, and most likely, no one else even cared which pumpkin was scariest! Sniff.

Oh, did I mention he wants me to read him stories and begs for me to play Legos and holds my hand when we cross the street, at the grocery store, and sometimes while I am cooking? Thank goodness for Spiderman. A super hero who is brave, caring, cute and doesn't have blood coming out of his mouth.

At least not this year.

Grouchy post today. :)

Negligent Blogger

2011-10-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I fell off the bandwagon pretty big time. Fall starts and my life gets so crazy I can't even begin to think about blogging or really anything I used to do. My life consists of volunteering in classes, taking kids to soccer, soccer, piano, piano, dance, dance, scouts, football, then helping with homework (times three!), and I am working a little part time from home now too so life just got super hectic. I am hoping now that sports are starting to wrap up (Emma finished soccer last week) that I can get into my routine again. I also injured my calf playing soccer last week, which sort of forced me to slow down which despite my craziness of not being able to exercise like i usually do, it is probably good for me to slow down a bit. Here is a little catch up of the summer, and the beginning of fall. I am hoping to pick up the pace and keep up with this a little better b/c my kids love it and it is my sole form of journaling anymore!

Summer and berries...my favorite combo. We have the best berry farms around here. SO much fun!
I bet no one can guess which legs are Levi's. :)

Levi got his much coveted BMX bike for his birthday with back pedals to give people rides. This is his adorable cousin Ella on the back.

Derek's daughter Ashley got baptized. These are all the girl cousins on my side of the family.

Emma really improved on her soccer skills this year, I didn't know if she had it in her last year, but I saw some of her siblings' fire in her eyes this year. Course, she still loves to dive into the goal and do cartwheels down the field, but there is a glimmer of hope!!

Emma first day of school in 1st grade. My days without Emma home are just not the same. Quiet for one, a little boring for two, Caden and I both miss her during the day.

Caden in 4's preschool. He is still 3, but he is so huge that he dwarfed all the three year olds. Youngest of 4 kids, he needed to be in the older class. Three days a week of preschool is delightful for both of us. I get a few hours to work, or run errands and he gets to play with his buddies. He loves it and so do I!
Levi took the leap into middle school this year. I may yet write a whole post about this. I had a hard time with it, and he has turned over a new leaf. He cares about his grades, wants to work hard, and just seems to be growing up right before my eyes. Middle school is also a little terrifying to me, when I take him to school I feel a little pit in my stomach of jumbled feelings and I have a hard time letting him go, but he is definitely ready.
Kiara first day of 4th grade. Her outfit fits her personality so perfectly. A little frilly skirt...with high top converse? Cute but spunky...definitely Kiara.
Levi is number 87, having a fun season. He has found his new favorite position: Linebacker. He isn't very big, but still manages to hold his own. We love football season in this house!
Kiara is still a little monster soccer player. I will be really sad if she ever decides to give this sport up, so much fun to watch her play.

More to come, I have high hopes of getting my game back on!! :)

Fourth of July fun fun fun

2011-07-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

So over the years we have sold soda at the Ridgefield parade, and have never been terribly successful...no need for long details but we've never made a dime on the soda sales when all is said and done. This year, we tried a couple of different marketing techniques. First, we used a fancy lemonade stand, decked out with flags and advertisements. Perhaps more effectively we charged half the price of our competitors...50cents a can. The kids couldn't get the soda out fast enough. They made (after paying all the fairly substantial overhead fees) almost $70! AND, Levi made it into the Reflector for his soda stand. Overall, total success.
After adding baby soap and boogie boards, the slip and slide has been perfected. (Spencer was having fun here, I promise!)

Darn the strangle hold on Levi, b/c it would be such a cute picture otherwise!!
I made a beast of a fruit pizza, super yummy (if I do say so myself) but spent most of the afternoon preparing it so probably only be made on special occasions. Or not ever again (more likely scenario).
I never anticipated being one of those people who takes pictures of flowers, but I technically am one of those people now. Maybe I am officially aging...
Emma picking strawberries in Boppa's garden.
Emma...being Emma.
My dad has cherry trees, and even though they aren't all the way ripe (still down right sour...) the kids were eating them like crazy. Such a perfect summer evening!
It wouldn't be right if I didn't post a few pictures of the girls' hair???

The girls got their fingernails painted red and blue to match their face paint, and hair accessories, and patriotic outfits (I DO love the 4th of July).
Caders outside playing with Ashley and Ella's dog Zoey. He LOVES that dog. Pretty sure the dog suffers night terrors from being carried, poked, chased, and prodded by this adoring 3 year old!

Summer: Not quite, but almost

2011-06-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Jogathon at school. Emma with two of her favorite friends, Rainey and Sam. She was a great little runner, I was impressed!
Poor Caden is phasing out of his naps, but gets to stay up late with the big kids playing outside with friends. Finally took its toll when we were just finishing up dinner to notice Caders out cold sitting upright! So funny.

Disneyland

2011-05-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

We have been planning this trip for almost a year now, and have been anxiously looking forward to it. We decided we wanted to surprise the kids with the news. So after school, I told them we had to pick up dad from work. When Spencer got into the car, we put the DVD in and it was "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and after the intro song, I popped onto the screen and said a few words and then Spencer zoomed in on pieces of paper that said "We are..." "Going to..." "Disneyland..." "Right Now..." you could have heard the screams from another state! They were soo excited. The flight over went smooth, and our hotel was beautiful. The first picture is our view from our balcony of the swimming pools.

We went with our friends the Guse's, and their cute cute kiddos.

The kids each got a pair of sunglasses in their plane bags (we don't need things like SUN glasses in Oregon haha), and Levi was apparently pretty happy about these...
Caden's sunglasses were "Batman" and I am pretty sure he didn't take them off the whole trip. Inside, outside, awake or asleep he had them on!!

California screaming...yes, I screamed the whole time. This ride was definitely one of our favorites!!
We got two early entries as part of our hotel package, and Disneyland closed at midnight...needless to say, Caden was beyond exhausted. He was a really good sport though and his lack of height was an advantage b/c we didn't have to wait in very many lines for the bigger rides b/c of the stroller pass. Nice!

The most amazing balloon expert (hmmm...not sure the official title for this!) came to our restaurant and our sweet friends got the kids some balloons. They were amazing! Spiderman, aliens, crazy hats, pirate swords, you name it. We had a bit of an audience with all of the balloon dancing we did after dinner.
One of the highlights for me was seeing our good friends the Lauper's while we were there. Not only did the beautiful weather we enjoyed the whole trip make me miss California, but seeing Ryan and Arlene and their adorable boys made me miss it even more! We got to catch up for a bit, but it was definitely too short a visit!!

Imagine waiting in a 40 minute line to take a 30 second picture with Aladdin and Jasmine. I don't have to imagine such things...I got to experience it first hand. But, I did get to admire Jasmine's abs and Aladdin's eyebrows, which was sort of exciting. :)

Same long line, only this time no abs or eyebrows to admire, only Pluto.

Our flight home did NOT go smooth. We flew Alaska on our way home and they charged us for each checked bag (which we weren't aware of, and JetBlue on the way there did NOT charge for bags) so we last minute started consolidating and trying to carry on additional bags...which would have been annoying but tolerable except it ended up having all my toiletries, sunblock, and additional food items that we had to throw away. So $40 for bags, and probably $50+ worth of thrown away food/sunblock/etc. I was not happy. Then the flight was nearly two hours delayed, and we got home after midnight. Kiddos were tuckered out, but we made it. We definitely had the full Disneyland experience! Such a fun family trip!

Sisters Retreat

2011-05-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

This year I was finally able to make it happen and visit with my SIL's for their annual Sisters Retreat. It was on an island near Seattle, called Vashon Island. It was stunningly beautiful with the view of the mountains and the greenery and the water, very picturesque. We brought books and had a book review, did some crafty fun projects, ate lots of yummy food, did lots of shopping, played some games, and had uninterrupted adult chat time! WOW! It was super fun to get away, but I was definitely excited to see my familia when it was over. Here is just a small snippet of the pictures that were taken, but the only ones I have had time to edit/post.

Spencer's sisters Valerie and Gaylene.

Nora, Valerie, Gaylene, Jen, Roselyn at the lighthouse.

Nora and Gaylene

Group pictures taken with remote, while my camera was balanced on an ironing board and three books. :)

The Good Woman Part 2

2011-04-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

It is another rainy day here in the lovely land of Oregon. In my efforts to not slip into the pit of despair, I whipped up some play dough and withstood the temptation to turn on the TV. E and C played with play dough for over an HOUR! It was much better than "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" b/c I didn't feel guilty afterwards. :) I did have to spend 10 minutes on my knees plunking up play dough droppings, but I think it was still worth it. They made bugs and pizza, over and over, like 100 times. Childhood bliss and a happy mom!

Work From Home? E-book review

2011-04-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

My college degree sits dormant in a box somewhere in the garage. I don't regret or even mourn over the "lost" years staying at home raising my kids. I do, however, on occasion look forward to the day I can use some of my suppressed skills. I started several years ago doing a little freelance PR work and have absolutely enjoyed the chance to use some pent up brainpower and have a little budget-less spending money (oh how I adore having a little cash in my wallet!).

I am finding myself approaching a day where I might have FOUR children in school (Caden starts preK next fall. Eeek!) for a few hours during the week, and I can't help but daydream about all the possibilities!

I started looking into adding some more freelance work to my meager arsenal and came across an e-book titled "You Can Work in Your PJ's" by Sylvie Charrier. I asked if I could read the book and review it on my blog, and they kindly obliged.

I just finished this very lengthy book and will give my review below:

You Can Work in Your PJ's has a lot of great points. Sylvie didn't sugarcoat the amount of work required to start up your own business online, and she really broke down every detail required to do so.

Some good points:

The e-book has a money back guarantee, if you don't find yourself on board for starting an online business after reading her book, you can get your money back.
Upon ordering the e-book, you receive several other interesting articles, customer support, one on one online consulting, access to their member website, and quite a bit of additional material.
This book is HUGE, there is a ton of information. Really, it covers everything you need to know about telecommuting.
I finished feeling excited and having several good ideas on what I can do to expand my freelance business.
Straight forward, doesn't appear to beat around the bush about what is involved (tells you what you will like and not like about working from home, etc.)

Some not so good points:

Well, I mentioned previously, it is HUGE. I am not a fan of reading on the computer, but didn't want to print out a million pages, so that was a downfall for me. Though one can hardly complain about receiving too many tips and too much info about a topic you are interested in.
I wished there had been a little more focus on what to do for small time businesses (like mine), for instance a chapter titled "If You Don't Want to Work Full Time From Home, but Just Want to Make a Little Extra Cash" (maybe abbreviated a bit... :)). Designing my own website, and getting massive amounts of traffic, and customers and everything sounds awesome, but it is way bigger scale than I really ever intend to take my freelance biz.

Overall, if you are interested in starting a successful, full-time career from home, then I highly recommend this e-book. Click here to order.

Am I a good woman?

2011-03-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Day 189,765 of non-stop rain seems to have put me in a funk. I am desperately trying to pull myself out of it, but by evening (or mid-morning as the day may be) I am right back in! I always joke about how funny (sad) it is, that I don't need Satan to tempt me or beat me down, b/c I do a right good job myself!

Let's count the ways I am falling short....hmmm...that always brings a smile to a mother's face!? Why do I do this to myself?

I started last week writing one thing each night in my journal that I am grateful for. While looking for things to be grateful for, it definitely helps my attitude and gives me an excuse to take more pictures! Going to do the age old ad em of looking for the positive. So, today I made homemade honey wheat bread, and the sight and smell instantly put everyone in a better mood. Not sure what it is about homemade bread that makes me feel like a good woman, but it did the job. AND, just as I was pulling the bread out of the oven, the sun peeked out of the seemingly endless and very dismal clouds! A little sunshine never hurts either...

Will it be a bad sign if all my gratitude picture posts are about food? Hmmm....

Call me Crazy

2011-03-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite days of the school year...crazy hair day.

We love Sula!

2011-03-12T22:22:00.001-08:00

Matt (Spencer's older brother), Jen and their little 15 month old Sula came and stayed with us for a bit this weekend and the kids were more excited than ever. I felt bad b/c my kids were so excited I don't think Matt, Jen or Sula could even hear any of our adult conversations, but we were grateful for the fun visit. Uncle Matt spent the majority of the time throwing the kids in the air, playing rock/paper/scissors, and doing LOTS of wrestling.

(I should mention that this is a picture of the kids wrestling with U. Matt, not spencer! They look so much alike that multiple people at Kiara's basketball game mistook Matt for Spencer. From the haircut, glasses and facial hair they could almost be twins!)

Meet Sula... seriously is there a cuter baby anywhere? I pretty much begged them to leave her with me for longer. She is as yummy as she looks. Wish they lived closer!!

Kiddie pictures and Daddy Daughter Ball

2011-02-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

Our cute valentine cards this year (copied idea from my super creative friend Becky), printed these at walgreens with heart borders and poked a small hole in where his hand is and put a sucker in. Turned out SOO cute. Thanks Becky!

Daddy daughter ball. Required special hair prep, and fancy dresses, corsages and all. The girls went out on the town with Dad, Uncle Derek, Boppa and their cousins. Spencer didn't take any pictures of the actual event (grrr...but he was too busy dancing the Macarena with the girls so he is forgiven!) so we will settle with some hair prep photos. ha!

Randomness

2011-01-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

I usually only get to practice with the little kids b/c the big kids are in school all day. But, we are having surprisingly beautiful sunny afternoons this week so I got some of Levi.
Since we aren't cake fans at this house, and Spencer has a serious love for ice cream, we tried a sinfully good ice cream cake. Titled "banana split ice cream cake". I am playing Game On! so I didn't get to try it, but i heard rave reviews.

Happy Birthday Emma!

2011-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Bball and Girl Scout Cookies

2011-01-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

We started off the winter season of craziness. Three kids in basketball makes for a long Saturday! Spencer is either coaching or assistant coaching all of them too. Busy busy. But, I am grateful for more opportunities to practice taking different pictures!!

Kiara is in Girl Scouts and has to sell the infamous Girl Scout cookies. Only problem is, she wants the prizes and all the glory of selling lots of cookies, but she hates to actually do it (I do too!). Emma said in the car when Kiara was moaning about only having 7 boxes sold and how she wasn't even going to get any prizes: "I will wear your vest, and sell your cookies. I am not scared one bit!" So, she went to the basketball game, wearing Kiara's vest and sold......FORTY EIGHT BOXES! In less than an hour! She was 100% not afraid to ask anyone and everyone, and everyone was suckered into her cuteness. Now they are at almost 100 boxes, and we are officially one of the crazy Girl Scout sellers around here. Heaven forbid.

Levi is super aggressive when he plays basketball. If there is a jump ball, he ALWAYS comes out with it. And everyone better watch out!

Even the scorekeeper on the other side of the court was not exempt to the prowling saleswoman. Love that girl!!

Godfather and New Years

2011-01-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

We decided to start a new tradition this year, we had an Italian food night and watched The Godfather (I should add here that the DVD's are edited, in case anyone was worried :)) until midnight. We added some fondue at the end for treats during games too. Over Christmas break we went to central oregon for some Christmasy snow and fun. Such a fun Christmas break, i almost don't want it to end (provided Spencer stays home too of course!)

My cute SIL and my cute Mom.

Ringing in the new year with some bubbly.

Authentic Italian Soda (sanpellegrino limonata y aranciata), the kids thought they were in heaven (some of the adults did too!)
The salad might have been my favorite part of the meal. It was so yummy!
Bruschetta, yumm-o.
My dad was not a little proud of his manicotti. He cooks probably twice a year (at the most), and takes great pride in his creations. This particular one took him several hours to prepare. So cute.
Insalada caprese. My personal favorite italian dish ever.
The chalet. We got 4 inches of snow and it was a little bit of Christmas heaven.
I came home from our trip and New Years festivities with a need to run (went over 6 miles, though it didn't put a dent into my holiday damage I am sure), and a need to CLEAN. Got all of my Christmas stuff put away, went a little nuts reorganizing and purging through our house and even went so crazy as to recover all my dining room chairs. I need order in my life NOW!!! I did enjoy the Christmas chill while it lasted though....

2nd Christmas

2010-12-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

Every year our family does our own thing for Christmas eve and Christmas morning, and then on Christmas day in the afternoon when we've had our naps and cleaned up we head to my parent's house for "2nd Christmas". We act just like it is Christmas eve, and do all of our normal traditions and wake up and open presents on 2nd Christmas morning. It is a great way to extend the holiday!We played spoons, which got a little violent. My little finger is black and blue and was swollen, and I still wasn't the reigning champ!

Ella, Caden, Ashley, Emma, Levi and Kiara. Naomi went to bed early so she is missing in this photo.
Me, Derek, and Trent listening to dad's recitation of "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. Unfortunately, Trent is the only one who followed what was happening. I liked to listen to the rhyming though! :)
Dad reading out loud from the Edgar Allen Poe book he got from Trent (the literary expert in the family) for Christmas.
Caden was beyond exhausted, two days in a row of Christmas fun and late night partying, but he perked up when he saw the cereal.

Sunday Best and Christmas Fun

2010-12-20T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ward Christmas party. Emma was so excited for this party b/c she could sing "Hosanna!" (which she did probably 87 times over the course of the week). Then I came home from Kiara's soccer game to see Emma dressed in blue and red and high heels with a matching snowman headband on all dressed up and ready for the big party. What could I do? She sang her Hosanna's with great gusto and held up her skirt very daintily.
Playing around some more with my camera and indoor shots (garage).

Proving that girls are more expensive than boys, I got the girls Christmas dresses and hair bows and the boys matching ties. D

I love Christmas!

2010-12-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, we get big ol' tall trees. It is tradition. If it isn't nearly touching the ceiling, it just isn't tall enough. It is the one time of year I appreciate vaulted ceilings!

My favorite ornament. I love Christmas ornaments.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-12-04T16:18:00.001-08:00

We set an Adams' family record of finding the perfect tree in less than 15 minutes! Last year, it took hours and two trips to the farm, and LOTS of grumpy tree hunters (I really like a perfect tree, it is an important part of the tradition). This year, in 25 minutes we had pictures, had it cut down and on top of the burb! Yay! Notice the smiling faces? Last year, there was NONE of that!

We have this tendency to get super large trees...this year was no exception. It took four men to get the tree on top of the burb, and then we had to drive about 5 miles an hour to get home. The girls would gasp every time they'd see too many tree branches out their side of the car and put Spencer and I into a heart stopping panic. Easy tree finding, scary drive home. We made it, and will decorate it tomorrow. If I can figure out how to take good indoor tree photos, I will post the final product. My house smells SOO Christmasy, I love it!

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

2010-11-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

You probably can't tell, but it is like 27 degrees outside. The things we do for a picture! This is me with my "little" brothers and my parents, all home for the holiday.
Nanna, Boppa and all the cousins on my side of the family. Had to do a little head swapping in Photoshop Elements to get a picture where all the kids were at least looking my direction!
My little bro and his shadow. Emma can't get enough of him. Wherever he would go, she would go. Literally.

What a fun weekend! I love Thanksgiving. Not just b/c Game On! was over so I could eat again (though I would be lying if I didn't admit that was a huge part of my excitement), but b/c we get to just hang out as a family. It isn't stressful, it is just fun! We had lots of great food, good laughs, and fun family time.

black and white

2010-11-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

I am still totally novice at this, and just when I think I figure something out (how to take color out of pictures...), I go to Skate World and Kiara's indoor soccer game and all my pictures are awful! Clearly time to sign up for another class! This is a frustrating, and potentially expensive hobby (I hear my indoor pictures would improve with a different lense....hmm....and of course another class on indoor photography would be so helpful :)), but despite that, I am totally enjoying it!

Photography Class Fun

2010-11-12T22:55:00.001-08:00

So after taking a photography class for several weeks, I went ahead and took the plunge and bought a real camera. I have had SO much fun taking a million pictures of my kiddos. Wish I had gotten it in the spring or summer when the weather was more predictable, but freezing or not, we are outside practicing photos! I still obviously have TONS to learn (haven't even begun the art of photo editing for instance...that is my next class!), and I never realized how much was involved in photography, it is a little overwhelming. Here's to the future of better pictures in my blog posts...hopefully!!! :)

Is it another mid life crisis?

2010-11-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

I am having another mid life crisis and I can't figure out the solution. Maybe you can help? Let me describe:

I am still weirdo around babies (like: "Can I hold your baby? I know I am a perfect stranger, but he is soo cute!",); I am obsessed with Game On! diet; I am now taking a photography class (seriously do NOT know how I have time for this); bought a nice, new SLR camera to play with; started practicing the piano again; started scrapbooking again; and I have all sorts of plans for future projects. Am I embracing the life of a middle aged mom, or is this a sign that I should have more kids? I feel like I am nesting, but I am not pregnant. I have my hands in about 1403 things, but can't seem to get enough! Whenever I think of having another little baby, it makes me feel scared and overwhelmed and I am constantly reminded of all the things i am miserably failing at as a mom of four (can I add another person to this massive amount of chaos?), but I still feel a pang of sadness when I see babies, or look at how grown up Caders is! Is this just how it is when you are "done" or do people who feel this way end up with 12 kids?

Late and Random

2010-10-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Some photography class practicing sessions. He isn't really a good sport, but since the rest of the kids are in school, he is my favorite subject!!
Pumpkin Patch at Lakeview Farms on our day off of school. Super nice day, and the kids loved it.
After pumpkin patch we made these cute little candy men. Definitely the highlight of the day for the kids (that and eating them after).

Caden. Couldn't get the boy to smile long enough to take the picture. But, I thought this was cute anyway.
5th grade, Levi has a man teacher for the first time ever. He seems really great so far.
Kiki in 3rd grade also has a man teacher, and I was nervous for her, but she loves him and we've been super happy with him so far as well.
Emma's first day of Kindergarten. Pretty sure she was more excited than any of my other kids have EVER been for anything EVER in their lives. It is so Emma to be this excited about everything!
Bus is definitely the highlight of the day.
Football season is in full swing. He is in the 5th/6th grade level and being a 5th grader he looks so scrawny compared to most of the other players, but he still loves it!

Life is busy in the fall, I am admittedly looking forward to soccer (I am coaching Emma's team) being over, and football too. An occasional just chill evening would be SO wonderful!! I enjoy watching their games (Kiara is a soccer playing machine, Emma still circles the ball three times before actually kicking it. Even if no one is on her.) and I love love LOVE fall...still an occasional evening. Just an occasional one, I wouldn't complain about at all!

Game ON!

2010-10-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

OKay, so I don't have a picture that actually goes with my post, but I am really tired of seeing that bloody fish-hooked toe every time I open up my web browser. This is a little cuter!

I have started doing the Game-On diet with some friends and I am in the middle of my third week. If you have never done this, it is awesome! You team up with a huge group of people and divide into small teams (my team has three people, and I think we have a total of 21 people participating). You pay some money (we paid $10 to join, the winning team divides $210 up between them, thus the smaller the team the better) up front and then you have to follow all of these rules to win points each week (rules such as eating 5 small meals/day, sleeping 7 hours/night, drinking 3 Liters of water, exercising, etc.). You total up your points each week and compete with the other teams for the money at the end of a month.

I have NEVER been this disciplined in my life! Exercise is easy since that has been my go-to health thing since the dawn of time. But, watching everything I eat is annoying at best. I am competitive, and I don't want to let my team down, so this has been really successful for me. Aside from the fact that 3 liters of water each day is cause for FAR too many visits to the restroom, I am mostly adjusting to the diet part. I do print out a LOT more recipes than I used to (pumpkin bread, chocolate anything, etc.) b/c you get one day off per week and well, I like to spend that day baking. :) Even with a day off though, the program works and I like it (well, sort of like it...tends to make me a little grumpy in the afternoons when I can't snack my way through carpooling heck for survival). Anyway, I am thinking of playing again when I am finished to get through the holidays without gaining anything so if you are interested in joining us, LMK!!! You can do it from anywhere, just have to form your own small team and pay up. Might consider reading the book "Game-On diet", but I hate to recommend b/c of a ridiculous amount of bad language. Rambling, but at least the picture of the toe is far enough down the screen I can't see it when I open up to google! :)

In Which We discover the Benefits of a clean room

2010-08-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

By some small token of luck, this is not MY toe in the picture. It is Spencer's. Going in to tuck Caden in bed (who unfortunately for all involved shares a room with Levi), Spencer made the mistake of not wearing shoes in their messy room. I get a holler from upstairs and I casually came up to to find Spencer stuck to the floor (the other end of the hook embedded in the carpet) with this barbed hook in his toe! Not sure who was more horrified: Spencer with the hook; me having to pull it out; or Levi knowing that his neglect in cleaning up his fishing gear earlier in the week was cause for so much pain. Yuck!

Grants Pass Adams Family Reunion

2010-08-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is Spencer's immediate family (minus Benson). His mom and dad are in the middle, and the TWELVE siblings (okay, 11 since Benson wasn't there...I get the feeling I am repeating myself here.) Is anyone else overwhelmed by the idea of 12 children? They are all some of the most opinionated, strong-willed, stubborn people i know so I am sure it wasn't an easy task raising them either! But, they are also some of the most honest, hardworking, generous, and intelligent people I know, so they obviously did a great job raising such a large family. I hope I can figure it out half as well with my FOUR children! Yikes.

Okay, there were better pictures of the whole group, but I didn't want to surf through my stock of like 589 pictures to find one of everyone smiling. This is a group picture of most all of the family. There was one family missing (Benson and his family), and a couple of my nephews who are serving LDS missions.
Emma got stung by a bee, about an hour after arriving. She was not happy about it either, that is until someone mentioned the bee must have thought she was a flower b/c of her yellow dress. This changed things in a terribly good way.
Many fun (and some not so fun, depending on who you ask) hikes. Pictured here, Gemma, Isabel, Aunt Kif, Daniel, Savana, Kiara, happy Caden, and Emma.

Lots and lots of pool. Turns out, I am not half bad at pool. Too bad I didn't know about this earlier in life, it might have altered my future in many interesting ways.
Slingshot (compound bow, bow and arrow, hand gun, though not pictured to avoid overwhelming my small group of viewers :)) fun.
Levi's birthday was celebrated while on reunion. He is now 11 years old! How did this happen?
Pull up contest. Uncle Nathan won with a whopping 19 pull-ups. I lost with a whopping 1/2 (can't get myself all the way up, despite all my best efforts!).
Pebble Beach California. Kiara and cousin Isabel freezing their patooties off in the ocean. It was an uncomfortable 56 degrees on the beach, not sure the temp of that water, but you couldn't have paid me money to swim in it. The girls were in the water the whole day! Crazy kids!

Family reunion was a total blast for my kiddos. I am so grateful to have married into such a big, fun family. My kids look forward to family reunion more than just about any vacation we've been on. We are so blessed!

Oregon Summer?

2010-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

The delay in summer weather really took its toll on my spirits for a while, but we have finally been blessed with some sunshine. It is sporadic at best, and not what most of the country would call "hot" but we are outside every possible minute of every day. Gotta soak it in where we can!

We found the BEST new park. Every time I go, I stay for hours upon hours. It is just too perfect for all my kids.
Kristin and I have been training for a triathlon, and I recently had my first clipped in bike ride (with several near death experiences via semi-truck, white jeep, and a humiliating four way stop in which I couldn't get myself started for an unacceptably long time getting some amused smiles and chuckles from waiting cars). More details on triathlon to come (maybe with pictures of my plague of misquito bites. Park ranger said the misquitos were at "biblical levels", and not to brag, but I must have awesome blood...26 bites and still counting!).
Could it be summer without popsycles? And endless popsycle sticks in my yard and driveway? I mean ENDLESS.
My husband is a good man. I wouldn't have stepped in this pond to save a drowning child, nevermind just for kicks.
Oh how I love 2 year olds. LOVE LOVE them.

One of the best days at the beach ever. The weather was perfect, the kids had so much fun we had to drag them away and we had been there all day. One of those "I love the Oregon Coast" days that we will for a long time treasure! :)

Kristin and I at "Circle Park" another favorite afternoon pass time. And farewell to my good friend and neighbor Nancy who saved me on many a "I just need an egg" occasions and will be sorely missed.

Swim Lessons, Dance Recitals, and Summer Fun (Catch up)

2010-07-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Every year we travel really far daily for two weeks straight so we can swim with our beloved teacher curtis.

Red, White, and Blue

2010-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July might be up there as one of my fave holidays. It turned out to be a beautiful day here in Oregon (yes, this is noteworthy, all things considered). Good food, friends, weather, family, fireworks, contests, and races. Practically a perfect weekend! The girls were also featured in Washington's newspaper (The Columbian). A hair mom's proudest day. Click here to see their big debut. :)

4th of July sparklers. Pretzels with white chocolate and sprinkles.

Levi signed up for the pie eating contest. I said sure (it was free!), but said to him, "Just know, there is no pride in winning a pie eating contest." Well, I ate my words. He won. I was proud and so was he. He got a huge trophy with a PIG on it. He was also in the Lewis River news (they haven't posted their link yet, I will add it when they do). With all the family we had there, we had a group chanting "LEVI!" and it might be one of the highlights of his whole 10 year old life.

Is this really my child??? Really??

He gagged at least five times, and no one else's face was covered in whip cream. He took this challenge very seriously!!

Ashley and Kiara
They were actually having a blast, but since i asked them to smile for the picture, the sun was suddenly extremely painful for them, and they all look grouchy here. Ella far left, Ashley, Kiara and Emma.
My dad's office is in the heart of the Ridgefield parade, so every year we get there like 5 hours early and sell soda (by we, I mean Levi). He made over 30 dollars this year. An all time record!

Aunt Jaymie painted everyone's face, and I painted everyone's nails. They were festive to the absolute max possible!!

Spencer REALLY loves parades, can't you tell? At least Caden was enjoying himself. :)

In Ridgefield, they have a kids parade before the actual parade where all the kids march down the street and wave to everyone. Caden and Emma were in heaven. They did get some extra big cheers and waves since they were so obviously enjoying being center of attention.

Kiara and Levi ran their first real (non kids run) race. They did a great job on their 5K finishing super strong.

Trent and I ran the 10K, and finished strong too. I got a personal best on my time, which was exciting for me (though not a brag worthy time, per se, it was still exciting for me!). Trent was kind enough to stay back with me through the whole run. It was great to run with him!

It was a wonderful weekend and I am so grateful for all the people who have sacrificed so much so that I can raise my family in this beautiful country. Happy 4th of July!

Great to be Eight!

2010-05-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Kiara gets baptized in 2 weeks, so we got her a dress and took some pictures. Can't believe how fast they grow up!
Caden kept dipping his finger in the open ice cream carton for the picture, we couldn't figure out why his fingers were in his mouth for every picture. Definitely takes after his dad in this regard.
We don't much like cake in our family, so it is usually popcorn cake (my personal favorite) or strawberry pie or something like that.
The spanking machine is an annual tradition passed down from Spencer's family. You crawl through a long line of people as fast as you can and they spank you as hard as they can as you pass through their legs. As long standing tradition holds, the birthday person ends up in tears due to an excessive spank from an older sibling. Or, someone in a defensive tactic knocks over a standing someone in their rush to get through without a spank. Or, someone tries to run rather than crawl through and their head ends up ramming uncomfortably into awkward areas of the body (thus the attractive photo). Ah, good times.

Another tradition. Birthday person sleeps in the playroom, and gets breakfast in bed (or on the floor, on a blanket, with a cookie sheet and a place mat since I get major anxiety about this every birthday). Love to document birthday bed head!!

Easter dresses and Spiderman

2010-04-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

I always envied girls who got Easter dresses growing up and for whatever reasons it wasn't a family tradition of ours. But, never fear, my girls will never feel that deep set level of despair (okay, I didn't really care that much about not getting an Easter dress...but still...).

More importantly, take note of the few budding flowers and greenery that is, in fact, my yard. I did take the photos in key locations in the yard, so don't be disillusioned into thinking that anything else grows so well. I have an innate ability to kill all living foliage. Someday, however, my yard will be the envy of the neighborhood, just wait!

Finally, I couldn't resist the blackmail photo-op of Caden in his spiderman pajams (that he wears DAILY. I wash it by letting him put it in the wash machine while its running b/c he thinks that is cool, and he removes them promptly when the cycle is done), undies, and some random purple bug boots we found in an old bin in the garage, presumably Kiara's. This is Caden showing us his muscles. A little less intimidating in undies and purple boots...

Can Can

2010-04-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if it is the weather (should be spring but still raining) or the its-almost-summer feeling in the air or what, but this time of year I always get a crafty bug. i usually burn myself out in a few projects and vow never to touch my sewing machine again. Then it hits me again late summer/early fall. I definitely do NOT heed the admonition of "Moderation in all things". Anyway, found this skirt pattern on Dana made it (one of my in crafty mode FAVE sites), and had to make it! It pretty much screams Emma. I finished it on Sunday night and she has worn it every single day this week. I have to bribe her to take it off at bed time. Unfortunately, that only fuels my crafty flame, so I will probably be making this in several different colors. :)

I finally downloaded over 400 pictures, and hope to rejoin the blogging world. Since I am clearly an all or nothing kind of gal, you just never know!!

Valentine's Shmalentine's

2010-02-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

In all my efforts to establish fun, long lasting traditions, I think the only real success I have ever had is in, of all the holidays, Valentine's! Every year we eat heart shaped pizza (Papa Murphy's, we are your biggest fans), on heart shaped plates, with heart napkins and placemats. We have heart shaped (or at least they are sorta heart shaped) pancakes for breakfast, and we eat a romantic dinner on the floor by candlelight in front of the fire place with champagne flutes filled with pink soda. It really might be one of my favorite holidays! And so little preparation is involved, hardly any money (those pizzas are $6.99!), it is clearly just my kind of holiday all around (plus, who can turn down pink and white peanut M&M's!?).

And the Sun came out in Oregon

2010-02-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

So it is a rainy, nasty, thoroughly typical Oregon day today, but just a few breaths earlier it was a gloriously warm/sunny week and we had to get out every possible SECOND that the sun was out. It was soo fun, though I got some serious spring fever and now the rain is more painful than ever! Anyway, in order to stave off my despair from the loss of Vitamin D, I am browsing through my pics of our special Oregon in February week and thought you might want to enjoy the memory of the sun with me:

Potty Training Woes

2010-02-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

So for the sake of peer pressure and really no other reason, I decided to forgo my sanity for a spell and potty train Caden. Things have NOT gone swimmingly as I am just so busy I end up putting a diaper on him and moving on with my life. He is pretty hilarious about it though. He loves to sit on the toilet, get the whole family excited (the kids are as into this as anyone), and ahh to spin the TP roller and flush the toilet is truly a highlight in this little man's life. BUT, despite all he's apparent heroics on the toilet (he pees and poos on demand while sitting on the pot), unless I am there to enforce the pot as the potty alternative, he will matter of factly pee/poo anywhere and everywhere he has to go. "Mom, I went pee pee on the floor." Not even a sad, guilty face. Just a "mom, I wet. Pee Chair." Really? We now go through a whole routine of all the places he's pee'd or poo'd by asking him: "Caden, do we go potty on the coffee table? Noooo.... Do we go potty in the garage? Nooo....do we go potty in our highchair?" Finally, after listing the OH, 26 places he has peed, I ask him "Where do we go potty?" and he is SOOO excited to say "IN THE TOILET!" So cute, if only it actually meant something to him! BUT, just think...if I can get him potty trained it will be the last giant box of Costco diapers I will EVER have to buy!! I am willing to wipe up pee off my bar stools for the 4th time in one day, if it means I may never ever have to do that again!! :) Course, ask me how willing I am to pay for diapers if this oblivious pee strike continues for too much longer and even the strongest of us can break...

My New Hair

2010-02-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

So after poling some of my friends and family, I went for a new look today. My mom wanted me to email her pics and since I haven't updated my blog in oh, 2 months I thought I'd kill two birds! Oh, and that is a LIGHT fixture coming out of my nose in the 2nd picture in case you were wondering... Levi took the pictures, so I can't be too picky. :)

Play with Me

2009-12-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

I have a confession. I don't know how to play. I mean, seriously, what happened between the ages of 5 and 32 that causes the play chromosome to disappear? Spencer still has it, but I don't. Nothing makes me cringe like a whiny: "I have no one to play with." b/c I know what is coming. Usually: "Mom, will you play Barbies with me?" Ugh. I try. Really. I sit down, I stare at the nasty haired, scribbled on, grungy dolls and I throw a few "will you dance with me?'s" out there, but really, I am bored and somewhat tortured in about 30 seconds. I keep thinking about the million other things I need to do, or I'd rather be doing, and I can't concentrate. I feel super guilty about it. What kind of mom can't bring herself to play Barbies or Polly Pockets with her daughter for more than 2 minutes?

This afternoon, however, I made a serious breakthrough! I stared at that hair and thought, if only Emma's hair was this long and thick...imagine what I could do! And well, a little research later, discovered that even barbie can have a hair mom. We gave the Barbies a full on hair salon day, full of shampoo (dish soap), conditioner (the real stuff and a little fabric softener) and serum (baby oil) and a little trim (don't worry, Emma doesn't know about the trim...you know our history with scissors...but I couldn't look at those split ends for one more second). Half hour of combing through rats, and a few elastics later and we knocked the socks off all of those Prince Charmings at the ball. Yeah! Anyway, anyone who needs some tips on how to bring Barbie's mojo back, I think I figured it out. AND we had fun doing it!

Caution: Images Are Disturbing

2009-11-13T11:47:00.001-08:00

Every mom has their good and bad days, but this might have been up there for me in the bad department. Emma walked downstairs this morning her usual chipper self, and in the midst of lunch packing, paper signing, piano practice nagging, and breakfast pouring I glanced up and thought "hmmm...she had a rough night last night, look at that hair!" but went back to my morning regimen. A few minutes go by before I finally get a good look at her...and THIS is what I see:

I am pretty sure I lost mommy of the year award for what I said/did after that. No need to expand upon those ugly details in this pretty little blog. Tears (from both her and I) and a LOONG time out (for both her and I) later, I made her take a bath and wash her hair so I could see how bad it really was...and it was THIS BAD (remember, long, one length, curly locks):

Who is feeling the love right now???????? Oh and I better add, that her lips are black and blue b/c she found the black halloween frosting in the fridge...

I'm feeling just a small TWINGE of guilt looking at this sad face. But really, the mountain of hair...on the floor...in her bedroom...don't judge me!

I then made an emergency 911 call to my SIL's hair person (who is now officially also my hair person) who made me feel a little better and made her hair "layered" so it is still long and I can still "play" with it (though no long braids, side twists, buns, or much of any of my other hair mom's favorite do's). Though I can still play, she looks much like a 45 year old woman now instead of my 4 year old American Girl.

Words can not describe the sadness I have felt all morning long over the loss of the days/months of hair fun I am going to miss out on due to my scissor wielding child, but thank goodness I can still pull her bangs back and put flowers in. The throw up finally went back down when i sent her off to school today, with a smile and a hug...forgiveness had come (from her anyway, I am not sure when I will forgive her for this...).

Oh and thanks to Kristin who reminded me (in the midst of my tears of anger and sadness) to grab the camera and take some pictures. B/c this *might* be funny someday. It might be funnier knowing I just got done spending over $100 last night on matching clothes for my whole family b/c we are taking Christmas pictures TOMORROW. Ahh the life. This hair mom has been officially humbled.

Bulemia: Candy & Pics

2009-11-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

I am a bit sick of eating Twix and Snickers (give me an hour, I will start raiding the candy bags again), so I thought I would take a minute and catch up on our pictures. I have been a major blogging slacker lately, too lazy to upload (or is it download?) my pictures onto the computer. Is Halloween a 2 week holiday these days? I swear we nearly wore out our costumes before the 31st even arrived! We've had open season to candy at our house for over a week and I am so irritated that I don't have the will power to resist eating it!

Spencer dyed his beard black for this year's costume. I still do a double take when I look at him, he looks so strange (even without the red makeup and the horns!). Kids are still coming up to him and looking at him funny; they were so disturbed by him at our ward's Trunk Or Treat. Now that Halloween is (FINALLY) over, he can shave and I can have my normal looking husband back!!
Kiara was a duchess, b/c she isn't "into" princesses anymore, but still wanted to wear a fancy dress. she did make a stunning regal something.

Emma was a "very beautiful, but very wicked witch". She had planned this one for months, and she practically glowed in her beauty and wickedness.
Joker from Black Night.

Batman from Dark Knight. This is his "mean" face. He figured out how to charm his way into more candy pretty quick.

Runningbacks and cameras

2009-10-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Our Westview football season is approaching an end and for the first time, I am a little sad! Levi loves football, but I haven't shared his passion due to the long practices (requiring loads of driving, nagging to get homework done before and/or after, loads of laundry, no family dinner, etc.), BUT this last Saturday I shared a bit of his enthusiasm. He's played Linebacker all season long and has been BEGGING for a chance to "run" the ball. He always comes home disappointed b/c he wants to run, but at the very end of this very sad game (they were losing by 2 touchdowns) he got his big moment of glory and he was awesome! Here are a couple of clips of his first run, and his second that our savvy cameraman (Spence) captured with our brand spankin new video camera. I can't find the other one (he ran 45 yards and the final play got them a touchdown, but of course I can't find that one! grrrr), but you get the idea...proud mama. He is now the starting runningback for his team! Go Cats! :)

PS: He is number 78.

Hair Tutorial

2009-09-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to list some of my favorite hairblogs on my sidebar for those of you who have asked me or might be interested. SO much fun. My favorite is probably the Adopt a Do or Cute 2 Try hair blogs. Check out the adopt a do link b/c she just did a video tutorial on this french braid that is SOO pretty and easy to do. SO if you have girls with longish hair (I can do it on Kiara's hair and hers is pretty short) give it a try! If you do try it, send me a picture or post it on your blog. Good luck! Click here for video tutorial.

Midlife crisis or no more baby blues?

2009-09-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

At this point in my life of motherhood (Caden will be two in just less than 4 months) I usually start contemplating pregnancy. It is the time in my life where I either look anxiously or dreadfully towards trying to get pregnant again. Here I am now, quite confident that I won't be having any more children and I feel kind of lost. My lostness has translated into some over the top weirdnesses. I decided to sew Halloween costumes this year for the girls (would have done the boys too if they cared at all, which they don't) and went over budget just to get all the material (those of you who know me, know this is weirdness in and of itself), I spend hours researching and creating HAIR accessories and styles, I even try and make sure my kids CLOTHES match. (Keeping up with four kids wardrobes, all with VERY definite tastes of their own, is quite a feat before the bus comes at 8am). Kiara has hair bows that match her soccer uniform.

I used to be so chill and relaxed about stuff like that. Maybe b/c I was overwhelmed by pregnancy and kids? Or, am I just getting more controlling now that I can? Perhaps I am holding on to the few small things I can still control b/c I am feeling like they are growing up too fast? I think I have spent so many years now (going on 12) either anticipating pregnancy, pregnant, nursing, and chasing 2yo's that I don't know what to do with myself now that I am rapidly closing that door. Am I going crazy?

Don't get me wrong...when I am not mourning over another pair of outgrown baby shoes, I am giddy with the idea of not having to swap kids to volunteer in the classroom, or eventually going out on a date without paying a babysitter (only 2 more years!), or eating lunch with a girl friend, during a (gasp) WEEKDAY, but I still feel like I am losing a bit of my identity now that I am "done"!

So is it midlife crisis? Is it no more baby blues? Or am I just going crazy?

A (long) week of firsts...

2009-09-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy first week of September. We started it off canning pears on Labor Day, which I somewhat regrettably say I will never do again. WAY too messy and not enough cans of pears to show for all that work! (well, we got about 2 dozen, but I don't know if 12 dozen would have been worth the sticky mess and the dishes I had to do after). But, I did feel domestic, my kids got some hands on "this is how it is done" experience and my food storage looks a little less peaky. (The non-intestinal looking ones are pear PIE filling. Yes, I am a domestic diva.)

Then Tuesday was the first day of school at a BRAND new, beautiful school (Springville elementary school). The kids were SO excited (and well, I was a little excited too).

Okay, so the front door was facing the sun, not the cutest expressions, but the only one they'd stand still in front of the school for.

Remember, I am a hair mom. Gotta take note of these monumental hairdo's. :)

Emma at Little Green apple on her first day with two of her favorite friends, Lilly and Max. She woke up at 6:30am and got dressed, put on her back pack and proceeded to ask me if it was time to eat lunch every 5 minutes till noon when it was (finally) time to leave (I had previously told her we'd go to preschool after lunch...my mistake). I guess we were ready for school to start.

This is Sam (yes, THE Sam that Emma gets batty eyed over...click here to read that post) and then some kid I don't know and Caleb on the very end.
The sad part about the first week of school is that it is also a week full of soccer, dance (X2), scouts, piano(x2), back to school meetings (X3), enrichment night, football and (deep belly breath) it was crazy! I forgot why I look forward to summer so much...not nearly as much running around. This is Levi playing center at his first game (or linebacker, I can't tell which is which most of the time, spencer just tells me). He's in the red jersey number 78. He did great, got several great tackles and two sacks!
Kiara's best friend, Taryn, is in her class by some stroke of divine luck. She couldn't have been more excited for school to start. AND they got to sit by each other! Yeah! (we'll see how long before the teacher realizes THAT is a bad idea). :)

First soccer game. Kiara is a machine...

Wow. It sure wasn't as quiet and peaceful as I thought it would be when school started, but hopefully things will slow down a little bit...SOON!

Hood to Coast

2009-09-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

This picture is before the fun really began, and when I had major butterflies. My first run was almost 6 miles, but it was hot at 2:30pm. I don't run well in the heat so I hated this run. Luckily for me, it was my only hot run.
This is Spencer after his first run, he did awesome every run and came in super strong. The running pictures are all a little fuzzy as I brought my small camera to H2C.
This is Jim from Spencer's law firm. He enjoyed writing inappropriate comments on our suburban so I thought I'd have proof of who was responsible for the comments when we got grilled by our children when we got home. This one isn't bad...it says: "1 Girl, 4 Boys, 1 Conrad".
This is me during my first run, the only running picture we got (particularly since the second run was in the middle of the night and by the third run none of us cared anymore we were too tired!)
This is just our van (Van 2). We had a great time, and these guys are hilarious. I was laughing pretty much the whole weekend. I was the only girl in Van 2, and though I didn't like the idea initially, it ended up being fun. I did hear more "dude" and "this blows" (along with several other unmentionable explitives) than I have heard in a LONG time, but they were all supportive and great to be with for the weekend.
I only include this picture b/c this is how every stop looked...a line up of honey buckets and worse yet, there was ALWAYS a long line just to get to one of those things. But thanks to Spencer we have me exiting a honey bucket on record. hmmmm....

This is after both of our third runs, just after we sent off our last runner (yeah! no sleep for well over 24 hours), when we are pretty much trash, but so happy to be done!! Can't WAIT to shower!!

This is our whole team at the beach after John finished and we got announced and got to run as a team across the finish line. So much fun. A guy from their firm owned a condo a few hundred yards away from the finish line and so we got to SHOWER!! Yeah!! It was a great weekend and so much fun. I am still a little sore a few days later, but other than that I loved Hood to Coast this year.

After being gone for two days, we came home to a clean house, BATHED children and a poster on the wall made by none other than these darling little kiddos. The Thelins took my kids while we were gone and I must say, I am certain they had more fun than we did! What a great weekend!

Summer Lovin'

2009-08-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a little of what the Adams family does in the summer time:Roasting Smore's in the backyard with friends and family.

Eating Sand at the Oregon Coast.
Playing at the park with friends and family.

A little boating...

Swimming with Uncle Matt.
Winning Craziest Hair at Summer Soccer Camp.
Getting black eyes from brothers who play way too wild for inside activities when they are bored.
Lots and lots and lots of Legos.

Posing pretty for pictures.

Reading outside by the garden. Look at all that basil!
Shooting airsoft guns at Targets...for hours....and...

hanging out with mom. As much as I love summer, I think I am worn out and ready for some schedule and some sleep and a little bit of quiet. Since football and soccer has already started, I don't know if that will ever happen!

(Another) Hair Mom Moment

2009-08-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'd like to hope it isn't pride that is the cause for this particular blog entry...but I guess I have built up hair mom envy for so many years that i have to just have a moment (or two) to relish in my new hair mom self. Here are a couple of new do's (with my homemade ribbons and bows and flowers that i am equally obsessed with). Combine a little OCD with CHEAPSKATE and you get hair bow making mania at the Adams' house. I just wish I could do it in less time so that I could still fix my own hair, tidy up the house and make dinner. Moderation in all things? Obviously that was NOT for hair moms. Hmmphf.

Double Digits!

2009-08-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today is Levi's 10th birthday. I can hardly believe I have been married 11 years, let alone that I have a child old enough to be in his double digits. My life is just cruising by and I am trying to occasionally come up for air.

It is so fun to have had a boy first, it certainly adds spunk to our lives. There isn't a quiet moment at our house and I really do attribute that to having a wild boy first! His mind is always going and he always has big ideas and plans (for instance, he has been working on a book of "inventions" that he plans to edit and send to Bill Gates. He already has his speech planned and what he'll wear when he meets him). He is a dreamer and I love it. Levi has a great sense of humor, he is an awesome big brother, and he keeps us on our toes (always). The younger kids all LOVE it when Levi is home b/c he is always up for a wrestle or to read them a story. He's growing up too fast! When he is 10, does that mean he is a "tween"? I hate that word, so hopefully not!! :)

Here is a glimpse of Levi before he was all grown up!! :)

Hair Mom Envy

2009-07-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Let it first be said that I have always been a little annoyed with moms who walk into the store, gym, preschool, whatEVER with their children all in bows, ribbons and curls. I refer to those perfect mothers as "hair moms". But as of a few short weeks ago, I am a hair mom. Okay, not really. I still can barely master a simple braid (and french braids? NO WAY!), but I am making an effort to play with the girls hair every morning this summer and I found some super cute blogs that have different ideas with step by step tutorials for low life mothers such as my (previous) self who felt that a bathed and brushed head of hair was as much as a person could handle. My husband was horrified at the amount of money I recently spent on hair bows, hair FLOWERS (yes, i am a true convert), and flowery bobby pins. I hope to make them in the future since it cost me a small fortune to buy like 6 things. Anyway, I hope to turn a lot of heads and cause a lot of envy from any of you NON hair moms, but if it makes you feel any better...now that their hair is done every day, I rarely get a shower and my house is a wreck...and a lot of cursing, crying, and gnashing of teeth occurs during hair prep time. Just think of that next time you feel hair mom envy at the grocery store! :)

I am woman...

2009-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that I made a trek to Utah BY MYSELF (as in without my husband). I have to give credit to my Garmin as she helped me get there without a glitch. My kids were pretty much awesome the whole trip (a few exceptions, of course) and we had an AWESOME time. Next time, I won't pack so much and I might have a suit case for each house/hotel we stay in as unloading and loading and then unloading and then loading again 6 large bags FIVE times by yourself while carrying an 18 month old is less than fun. Oh how I appreciate a man to carry my overzealous packing after this trip!! Here is a recap with lotso pix:

The new Smith Family Living Center. I can't believe how different BYU looks!! This is with Sam and Val's family. We had so much fun hanging out with that cute family!!
In front of the BYU law library where I spent many of my days studying (in hopes of hanging out a little bit more with a favorite law student).
At the creamery where Levi is wearing his newly purchased BYU beanie...I spent way too much money on brainwashing BYU paraphanelia...with ice cream to seal the deal.

On another day of our trip we visited Kif and Stirling and gang and went to "Color me Mine" a pottery store and the kids painted plates and mugs and absolutely LOVED it.
Had to document the lovely cheapskate hotel I splurged on. Here was the first time I nearly lost it on the trip as I had 6 bags a stroller, 4 very tired, hungry and wound up kids and went to find the elevator to take us to the top floor where our room was...only to discover that $40/night hotels don't HAVE elevators. Hmmmm....
The pioneer village MIGHT have been our favorite part of the whole week (though it is impossible to choose one favorite as we had so much fun everywhere!). The kids dressed up in pioneer clothes and had free reign to roam all over the village. They had "Deseret bucks" that they handed out to hardworking kids and then a town store where they could buy candy and toys with their money. This was highly motivating to Levi! There was a train they could ride at will and games, crafts, it was so much fun! (Mostly b/c of all the older kids, I got the chance to sit and visit with my SIL's).

all in all, a great trip. I hope to do it again in the future, and though trips with Spencer are a million times more fun, I am happy to know I am not housebound when he can't take off work.

Our Hungarian Missionary Returns!

2009-07-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

The long anticipated arrival of Uncle Trent finally came two weeks ago (June 25th to be precise) much to the joy of my family. We waited forever with our 15 signs at the security gate and you can see the look of awe and amazement on the faces of my star-struck kiddos. They were so happy to see him. Even Caden joined in for big hugs for the never before seen to him uncle. It was a great reunion and we are so happy he is back and I am so grateful for the example he is to my kids.

Two wheels?

2009-07-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

My darling, brave, little Emma started to ride her bike without training wheels this w/e. At first it was wildly successful as she had encountered a cousin who (briefly) younger than she was quite good at navigating a two wheeler. Emma had some decent balance, speed, and agility on her initial attempts. After a multitude of both painful and painless falls she would bounce back up with a tear in her eye and say (with thumbs up) "I am fine. Let's do it again." Things were going more or less swimmingly until (I have to add here that it was ME who brought this fatal thing to her attention) we taught her to use the brakes to stop rather than her shoes and consequently her knees and hands...which unfortunately resulted in both RAPID and CONSTANT braking. Now, for those of you who try and ride your bike, balance, and hit the brakes repeatedly at the same time, you are probably well aware that it is substantially more difficult to make forward progress. After many (many) inch long "retries" we put the bike back in the garage. Hopefully she will forget about the newly discovered brakes soon and we can move on to bigger and better things!!

Family Easter Pictures

2009-04-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

For various reasons I became obsessed with trying to coordinate our family for Easter this year and then when we did finally all match, I had to document the effort! Other than the pouring rain, it worked great to have friends take our pictures before church (to avoid the matted down "I just survived sacrament meeting" look that we had for the rest of the day). We were hoping for some spring time pictures, but with the rain and then the wind (which kept blowing my white skirt all the way up) we settled for the very spring-like brick building background. In addition, if you are wondering why I am a few shades darker than the rest of my family...details regarding my exotic solo vacation might have to wait till a later post...

Spring Break Fun

2009-04-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

We went to Eagle Crest for Spring Break and it was SO much fun. It always amazes me how much more fun I am on vacation. The kids dont' irritate me, there is less fighting and whining and impatience from me. What does that mean? I wonder if I am just too stressed and perfectionistic at home so I am the cause of all the grief we have on a day to day basis. I really wish I could learn to relax and enjoy regular life as much as I relax and enjoy vacation! For me, the appeal of a vacation isn't just the exotic location (which didn't qualify for this vacation, though it is certainly a nice place, we had a hot tub in our house and it held to about 60 degrees and sunny the whole week...quite a step up from 45 and raining at home), but just the shutting off of outside pressure and life! No phone, calling, homework, and who cares if the kids watch more TV than usual? I don't get paranoid when they eat some candy in the afternoon. Wear your swimsuit all day. Sleep in. Don't clean up your room. Who cares if there are a few dishes in the sink? NO GUILT! Ahhh...I love it.

Quick Catch up

2009-03-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

My mom and I at the Oregon Culinary Institute after our appy class. We made Louisiana Shrimp, Caviar Torte (yikes), and salmon cakes. It was so fun!!

Kiara came home from school before the night of the school Talent Show and said "Mom I have to make a bug costume for our bug parade" and I with Levi's homework and running kids to everything there was just no way that I could make anything. Meanwhile, she spent hours in the office cutting and gluing away. I let her have at it till I had two minutes to help her. Before that two minutes arrived, out she comes dressed up in her paper bug costume that was probably 10 times better than what I would have made for her. It had sleeves and everything! So fun when they can start to take care of themselves (occasionally). I personally thought she was the cutest bug there...

This weekend we went to see the much publicized "Wicked". I was a little skeptical just b/c of all the hype...but after, thought it was awesome! We went with my parents and Derek and Jaymie and had a great time.

In an effort to win "Dad of the Year" Spencer not only made a Pine wood derby car for Levi (who took 2nd place by like 1/100th of a second or something ridiculous), but to be all-inclusive, made one for the girls too. They only got to race theirs one or two times, but both of their cars won as well. The girls and Levi were thrilled with their derby cars. (Grey car is Emma's, Camo is Levi's, Orange is Kiara's). Such fun.

Boy Crazy?

2009-03-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

While Levi appears to abhor all women of any age, size or adorability (excluding his mother, of course), Emma will be giving us a run for our money.

Due to a number of factors, I decided to switch Emma from morning preschool to afternoon preschool. The transition has gone virtually flawlessly, except for one small glitch...Emma has fallen for a boy in her class. She seems to have fallen pretty hard too. First day, she starts naming her dolls after him (much to the poor boy's chagrin), then the next day of preschool when I come to pick her up, both teachers are nearly in tears telling me the story of Emma's persuit tactic of the day. She changed from her preschool clothes into a revealing little princess dress (that is a gripe for another entry...why in the world do they make clothing for toddlers so skanky?) and kept putting her cheek to her shoulder (see picture) and batting her eyes. When the teacher asked Emma what she was doing, she replied that she was "calling for her Prince". They asked who her prince was, and she said "Sam". Emma explained to them, quite frankly, that if you want to get a boy to be your prince, you needed to "call them. Like this." (again, see picture). Later that day, I asked her what Sam thought of her provocative come on and she said very matter-of-factly and with zero remorse: "He just threw a stick at me." AHHHHH!! Not only boy crazy, but NOT READING REJECTION CUES. Does it get any worse than this?

At church today, the same boy (Sam) has an older brother (also a very cute boy) who picks up our fast offerings, and passes the sacrament. She would not stop bouncily waving to him and I was practically threatening her with her life to be reverent, when by some stroke of bad luck he ended up passing it to our row (with Emma sitting at the very end...more bad luck) and handing Emma the tray. She literally looked star struck. She blindly grabbed the bread as she could not take her eyes off him and her grin was nearly bursting her face. I tried to ignore her bubbly bouncing in the seat, and passed the tray down, but after the poor guy (who handled the whole thing remarkably well) moved to the next row, she puts both her hands together and squints her eyes while smiling (again, rather wildly) and says: "This is the best day EVER! Dallin gave ME the sacrament."

Did my child turn 13 overnight or something? Have we watched too many Princess movies? I am in awe of her sudden fascination and pray it is a short phase that she will soon grow out of. Please little girl, start star gazing over soccer balls and Nancy Drew books...and by all means, NO MORE PRINCESS MOVIES!

Treats at the Temple?

2009-02-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

In the car today Emma asked if we get married in the church. I said some people get married in churches, but that I got married in a temple. She thought about it for a minute and then I told her I was married in the Portland Temple and asked her if she wanted to be married there. She is still quiet and thinking about this (if you know Emma, she is NEVER quiet). Finally, she says: "Well, mom, I am not sure. Lots of people get married in churches." I said, yes, they do. She then said: "Will there be treats in the temple?" Hmm.... "No, no treats in the temple, but you can go to a restaurant across the street afterwards, if you want a treat." At this point, she sighed in relief and said "yes, I want to get married in the temple too."

It is what makes you you...

2009-02-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

On Friday after school Levi had a dental appointment. As I am getting kids into the car and ready for the appointment, my mom surprises us and knocks on the door. Not trying to be rude, I chatted for a bit before she hit the road but we really had to leave. When she was gone, I looked at the clock and it was less than 10 minutes till we had to be there. Well, we are frantically loading, I am shooing everyone, throwing purses, shoes, after school snacks, etc. into the car and we go on our way. I say, after we are all buckled and the engine is running with a sigh: "Just imagine a time where we are not rushed to an appointment or activity." And Levi says, "Mom, it is cute. it is what makes you you. We will always look back and remember you saying 'hurry up guys, get in the car'." It made me laugh at the moment, but that is certainly NOT what I want my kids remembering about me. Rarely do we just chill as we casually get in the car and casually arrive at any activity, we pretty much always do so half hazardly as we run from one thing to the next to the next to the next... We are just a little overscheduled, or things seem to come up last minute. I guess as long as he looks back on it fondly, it won't be too bad. Right?? :)

Defiance

2009-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

(Emma and her cousin Ashley at Out of this World Pizza yesterday for her bday)

Help! I am running out of patience with my adorably defiant FOUR year old. I never dreamed her strong-willed, stubborn-extraordinaire personality would extend beyond the three's. Okay, so she turns four tomorrow...I will give her a few days to transform into a mild, well-behaved four year old.

Today at church, my sweet little thing adamantly refused to go into sunbeams. "It is boring" she says...out loud...to the teacher...who, I might add, MIGHT just be the sweetest, most creative, wonderful teacher to walk the earth. How can she be my child? Seriously, I am a person who gets myself into trouble b/c I am terrified of offending anyone. I am a people pleaser. Emma is NOT. To illustrate, we will go back to my blessed Sunday morning. I finally peel her off my skirt (I am the primary chorister teaching music in the front of the room with a 4 year old leech stuck to my leg) but she won't sit in her chair b/c she doesn't want to sit by anyone. At one point, I peer over my music stand to see her sprawled on the floor. After plunking her (forcefully) back into her chair, I turn around to tears and near tantrums. THEN, the counselor in the primary tries to take her to class (b/c clearly peeling her off of me wasn't working very well in singing time, let alone to get her to class) and she openly rebels! My tomorrow- is-going- to- be- a -four- year old child threw a tantrum IN THE HALL!! IN THE CHURCH! I really might die of mortification.

Luckily, the counselor got Spencer (as I might have just started to cry in the hall with her) who quickly plunked her in her carseat, where she and he remained for the remaining HOUR of church. We are really good parents, right? :)

I am sure the rest of the blogger moms out there have perfectly behaved almost four year olds, ESPECIALLY at church, so I'd love some advice. How can I get my sweet as sugar (but only when she wants to be) child go to Sunbeams? I am perfectly open to bribary, threats, and punishment, just give me some ideas!

The Big Arctic Blast 2008

2009-01-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it doesn't compare to anything in the midwest or east coast, but wow was it fun! (Well, at least for the first few days...then when we had THREE, yes, three weeks of no school and were virtually homebound due to the road conditions, it got a little old...). Anyway, I am determined to be more vigilant in my blogging efforts in 2009, be ye warned.

Last baby woes

2008-11-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been getting so weepy about my little baby growing up. Since he is 99.9% most likely my last child, I am just not ready for him to get big. I know it is what everyone says and goes through, but I can't get over how fast he is growing up. He'll be one in just over two weeks! AHH! The question remains of whether it makes me so weepy that I'd be willing to go through it all one more time....hmmmm.....????????

Fell off the blogwagon

2008-11-11T11:33:00.001-08:00

Okay, I have not done much with this lately, but I hope to get caught up here and then get back into this! We had a fun filled, candy gorging Halloween (the gorging was done primarily by me, as I wouldn't allow the kids too much candy, of course). Levi was a mummy and so was Spencer (or some kind of masked mummy that made Caden cry every time he looked at him. To be honest, I knew it was Spencer and it still kind of freaked me out). Levi managed to keep his eyes crossed for every picture that day, and he really was a sight. Kiara was a witch who lost her hat and did her own hair. Emma was an angel ballerina or a fairy princess depending on who asked on what day.

Caden started walking (if you can tell from the pic below) and I am so sad, my baby isn't a baby anymore. It is so adorable how excited my whole family is though. When the other kids learned how to walk, none of the kids cared b/c they were too young...this time there is giggling and whooping and clapping and mass excitement. Caden is really going to have a big head when he gets older I fear. He is just absolutely adored by his whole family.

We also got our family pictures taken, and I will put one or two of them in, but I'll save the rest for our annual Christmas card.

Oh, and football and soccer are over. I was Kiara's coach this year, which was a lot of fun, but made the fall sports season even more chaotic. I don't know what to do with myself if I am not running one kid to or from practice during the week. We get a break until basketball starts in a couple of months. Luckily I don't play basketball and won't get suckered into coaching, but Spencer won't be so lucky. :)

This is Derek and his wife Jaymie and their kids. We took this to frame and give to my parents for Christmas.

Caden walking. Is he proud of himself or what?

The things nightmares are made of.

I won't take credit for this adorable hair do. she did it all on her own.

I am blessed with a husband who actually likes carving pumpkins b/c I loathe the activity. It is messy and sticky and smelly and did I already mention messy? I find pumpkin seeds for weeks after. Ugh. don't let this angelic looking face fool you. There is a devil within. Trust me.

I'm so Quirky

2008-10-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

I don't normally participate in tag, but out of due respect for one of my favorite friends, I will do it this time. Love you Meliss! :) Anyway, more info than you ever wanted to know but here goes:

My 6 unspectacular quirks:

1. I must have a blanket on my face to sleep. Even if it is 90 degrees in my room, I have to pull the sheet up over by my face to sleep. It must be from having a "blankie" as a bambina.

2. I am an overly obsessive budgeter. I don't even like gifts from my husband b/c I know where it has to come from. I am also terrible to shop with, b/c I will spend hours collecting things I want, only to leave them at the store, or worse come home and have to bring all the kids to do returns. ugh.

3. I make a menu and a grocery list EVERY time I go to the store. People think it is b/c I am organized, but it isn't. I can't shop without a list and I can't cook without a menu. I am NOT exxagerating about this. My pantry and fridge can be completely stocked but if I don't have a menu telling me what we are eating that night, we will have grilled cheese. if I go to the store without a list, I get cereal, milk and animal cookies. I am totally dependant on my lists!

4. Cooking. I love to try new recipes. This is good in some ways b/c we are always eating new and different things. It is bad in other ways b/c we never repeat (too boring) and Spence and/or the kids will ask "can we have...like we did...." and I can't bring myself to do it. It is also bad b/c I have large amounts of precious storage space used up in cookbooks!

5. I love to read. but, I never have time to do it...so when I finally get a book and decide to read, NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING gets done. My kids don't eat (unless they find their own granola bar from the pantry), dishes don't get done, the phone doesn't get answered, and the TV stays on for longer than it should. Equally bad, I don't go to bed until it is finished. I have stayed up till 3, and 4am just to finish a good book! Haven't I learned about "moderation in all things"? Apparently not when it comes to a good book.

6. Food. I do not like any food on my plate to touch any other kind of food on my plate. The worst is if fruity stuff touches vegetably stuff. And dessert can NEVER be put on the same plate that dinner was eaten on. Ever.

I am now tagging: Nancy, Michelle, Kim, Mari, Havva, and Mikayla.

Rules:1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4.Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

I DID IT!

2008-09-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Okay so running marathons are HARD. Is anyone else surprised by this? Holy cow, I was shocked at how difficult this feat was for me. I am SOO freaking proud of myself, it is probably sinful, but you have to know...I am just NOT a runner. I don't love doing it, I am not driven by this innate need to move quickly for long distances...hmmm....don't get me wrong, I love to exercise, but really running for over four hours straight? that is just plain craziness!

Okay, so for the dirty details: My girls weekend was SO much fun. We got in on Thursday night, stayed up (foolishly) late chatting and watching 27 Dresses. Then we went to the Salt Lake temple on Friday morning (well, closer to afternoon since we were sort of exhausted from staying up so late), and one sleeping pill and a decent night sleep later it was 4:00am and time to head up the mountain! Unfortunately, the altitude was a bit more exhausting than I had predicted and I was plagued with side aches from mile 3 on, but other than that the exhilaration and adrenaline of what we were doing got me through the first 18 miles fabulously. I started to feel my two blood blisters, loose toenails and and aching feet about then, but trudged on and was facing what I had anticipated in weariness...until we hit mile 24. The phrase "hitting a wall" came freshly to my mind at this point and the last two miles seemed to last like 4 hours. I started to feel nauseous (I think due to altitude...and lack of oxygen adjustment), but managed to plug on. If one more side liner said "you are almost there" I MIGHT have hurled my Ipod at them, but we eventually rounded a corner and I saw the finish line and like any normal sane person I started to cry, like the hiccuping cry and laugh at the same time kind of cry. Oh brother. As if I had any energy or non-evaporated water left for tears! But crossing that finish line was a feat more difficult than I could have imagined and i was so so so happy! More importantly, I beat Oprah.

Okay, so moving on...after the marathon we were exhausted and sore, but that didn't slow us down...it was a girl's weekend after all, so we had to eat, shop, and get a hair cut...so now that I am officially a marathoner, i thought it appropriate to drastically alter my style:

After all that partying was done, we stayed up ridiculously late again (I mean really we have to enjoy every moment of non-child-interrupting time don't we?) and we tried on all of our new clothes, ate our deserved extra calories in skittles and Peanut M&M's and laughed (gossiped, but just a bit...)and had a great time.

I am purposefully not mentioning the few glitches that occurred during the short weekend (losing cell phones, PUMPING every several hours or not getting to pump every several hours and having bowling ball boobs, my mental breakdown over not getting my suitcase packed in time for church and scaring everyone with a burst of unexplainable and quite laughable tears at the sight of the mess of my stuff, losing boarding passes, and questionable Sabbath day activities) but overall I wouldn't change a thing (okay, next time I am NOT breastfeeding) and had a great time. I learned a lot and got to know my friends even better. Here is us at the airport after all the fun was coming to an end, looking forward to our next big adventure (which may involve husbands and a half marathon in some exotic place if we can talk the men into it!).

Top of Utah!

2008-09-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, this weekend is my big marathon! Yeah! I am sooo excited for this to be overwith mostly. I can move on with my life and not spend every weekend running, sore, and blue toenailed. I don't have expectations of time, though I will be admittedly disappointed if I don't beat Oprah...but even if I don't, I'll be happy to cross that finish line! :) I have trained, so now I just hope it all pays off and it is a good experience. I leave tomorrow for Utah, and we get to hang out Friday, run on Saturday and come home Sunday night. It is my first EVER girl's weekend away. I have never left my kids and I am weirdly sad about it. Caden is so little and Kiara cries every time she thinks about it (though Emma point blank told me she won't miss me and she won't be sad...hmmmm...). I need them to miss me and I really need to miss them! I have the greatest friends I am going with and I can't wait to have some me time, it will be SO much fun (well, if I survive, forecast shows snow on the mountains and between the cold and the altitude there is potential for disaster here...ahhhh...excited but nervous...).

I'll take lots of pictures and do a real post when I get back!

The WinCo Miracle

2008-08-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, for those of you not familiar with this particular grocery chain...let me indulge you. It is huge, it is crowded, it is cheap (no comments about why this would attract me there please), and it is a mother's nightmare. It is one of those exciting places where you not only drudge through the giant warehouse, but you unload all your groceries onto the counter, you pay, then you bag your groceries, load your cart, load your car, drive home, and unload your car and inevitably need a pill or at the very least a nap immediately following. I have not ONCE entered this facility without anxiety, grouchiness, a little sweat and I have more than once shed a tear or two in the produce isle (coincidentally the first isle you enter when coming in the store).

Now, if you are concerned that I might have some kind of clinical grocery phobia (I am not denying this), it would be different if I shopped alone, but lo, I rarely do. Since Caden was born I go on weekends, weeknights, or (bless him) send my husband. I am quite literally terrified of what might happen if I bring more than one child into this particular store.

This brings me to the point of this rambling...this weekend, while my husband (and nearly all my closest friends, I might add...) were off running Hood to Coast, I was stuck at home without any food. What is a good mother to do? Let us all eat Pork and Beans for every meal since that was the only virtually edible thing in our pantry? No...we bribe. That is what we do. We bribe our children. With candy. Or popsycles. Or in my case...both.

I gave them the lecture of "no racing, no climbing, no yelling, no begging, no fighting, no throwing..." (all of which are done on a regular basis while at WinCo). Not one ounce of me truly believed I would survive this hour of torture, but we had to eat and I was desperate. Heaven was looking out for me this particular Saturday afternoon, however. My kids were absolute angels. I kept pinching myself so I'd wake up...are these really my kids? When Emma was looking at some Scooby Doo fruit snacks and I said "come on Emma" she said "okay mom!" and walked RIGHT NEXT TO MY CART. It was honestly, truly better than Christmas.

I came through on my end. They got to EACH choose a box of popsycles (okay, they had to choose from the green sale labels only...I didn't totally go crazy here...), and they each got to choose a candy from the checkout isle. I tried to explain to them that when they make mom happy, THEY are happy. I am not sure they heard me between chomping of Bubble Tape and slurping of suckers, but I think the point was made...mom can and will be bribed.

Camping Fun

2008-07-31T19:00:00.001-07:00

I love summer. I love the lack of structure, the warm summer nights, camping, sleeping in, staying up late, swimming, the whole shebang. I do grow weary of the whining, fighting, MILLIONS of Popsicle sticks in my grass, 13 extra kids in my backyard, and the laundry that has officially tripled in the last two months. We went camping at the beach this last weekend. It was really fun. Caden wasn't a HUGE fan of sleeping in the tent (thus, neither was I...Spence still managed to snore through it all...), but other than being a wee bit tired, we had a great time. Here are some pictures of all our camping fun:
I carried Caden around in our backpack most of the time to keep him from eating dirt, bugs, and leftover hotdogs...he would just crash right on my back!

The Hornet

2008-07-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

I am actually a bit numb with shock just TYPING this blog post since I never dreamt I'd be a wife of a motorcycle man...but what do you know? Here I am, wife of a motorcycle man. It all started with the rising cost of gas (he drives a suburban to work every day), my neurotic complaining of budget problems, and my husband's desire to drive a two wheel death defying machine. I said no the first probably 35 times he asked, but when he did a full spread sheet on how much gas money it would save (sick that this is what had me sway slightly on the topic...) I managed a "hmmm...we'll see" instead of a "are you crazy? NO WAY!". Well, my husband took the "we'll see" as "go on Craig's list the next day and BUY ONE". I was visiting up the street with my neighbor when I see my husband driving up the road followed by a motorcycle and the guilt was written all over his face. You should have seen my march home AND the look on the poor bloke who drove the motorcycle when he saw MY face. Well, a few weeks and lots of practice later (oh and a new jacket and helmet...which is why I now affectionately call him "The Hornet") he is officially licensed and on the road. Heaven help us all!!

My little fatbaby

2008-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

A day at the park...

He does not love peas, just like his mama!!

Sleeping fatbaby at the pool.

Elvis or John Travolta?

2008-07-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

Okay Caden woke up with the funniest hair the other day and we couldn't get over it! His bedhead is pretty glam.

half marathon, father's day, and the last day of school

2008-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

The last week has been busy! First of all, it was the last week of school and all the assorted parties and hoopla that entails. I seriously can't believe I have a third grader and a first grader now! We are all so excited that it is summer. I love not having such a rigid schedule and a million things to run around to. Now I just need to embrace the chaos and try and remain calm amidst the arguing, fighting, whining ("I'm bored...what can I do?") and running back and forth to swim lessons.

For Father's day I got Spence a firepit, some roasters and marshmallows (and graham crackers and hershey's chocolate). We had a blast making smores in our backyard. Who says you can't have outdoor fun when you live in suburbia????

Finally, it is my half marathon! I finished and felt strong...it was great. I can't even begin to comprehend running 13 MORE miles, but I can't really think about that, or I will get very discouraged. In the meantime, I really enjoyed the race and was surprised at how NOT unpleasant it ended up being!

I'll throw in a few other pictures of the zoo, swim lessons, Kiara's first piano recital and some friends and anything else I can find since I haven't posted in ages.

Birthday and Running (again)

2008-06-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Okay so you might be sick of me talking about running all the time, but it seems like that is all I am doing as of late. I will not drone on about it for too long, other than to say I am up to 11 miles and I am surprisingly enjoying myself. Yesterday the weather was gorgeous, we got up early and ran in a really beautiful area. The entire run was flat (yeah!!) until the end where there was about a half mile stretch up hill. I plugged in both headphones (usually we talk the entire run, but I needed some Creed to push me up the hill) and made it! I was so proud of myself! It wasn't like I was smokin' fast or anything, but I have to say, running long distance is such a great feeling. Pushing your body longer and harder than ever and realizing how strong you really are... I love it!

Okay, I will quit droning on and on about running...but it is a bit all consuming! Better topic...my birthday!! I turned 31 and let's be honest, is there a more boring number? It wasn't a dreaded birthday or an exciting one, just a boring one. BUT, I did something a bit unprecedented...I hired a house cleaner to come and I left and took the girls to our gym where we swam (Caden sat and watched) and then I ran a few errands and came home to a sparkling house. Spencer thought I was crazy to not spend my birthday money on clothes or something more exciting, but you have NO idea how happy having a clean house made me! I sang "happy birthday to me" ALL afternoon long (much to my children's chagrin). Then, a friend of mine gave me the all time most coveted guest pass to the Nike Employee store and I spent a little too much money on running gear (probably not a good idea to go shopping on one's birthday b/c suddenly I felt very justified in making more purchases than necessary). I have a bag full of returns (the ever present "buyer's remorse" that I am painfully cursed with), but the day of shopping and house cleaning was glorious. There was a bit of guilt as I went to bed thinking about how I was living like a rich person when I don't have the paycheck of one, but it was my birthday and we all need to live like the rich on occasion, right????????? (Everyone nod and say, "Yes, Chelsea", I don't need any more guilt on the subject). Anyway, some of my great friends took me out to lunch at Panera bread (my all time favorite lunch hangout) and so it was an all around great birthday. Who ever said turning 31 was boring? Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...hee hee.

Da Scoop

2008-05-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was very surprised by my disappointment of not getting selected in the St. George lottery...so disappointed, in fact, that I ended up researching another Saturday run and signing up for the Logan marathon. I have heard it is relatively flat and well organized, so I signed up and booked my flight. My girlfriends and I are already planning the massages, the Mustang convertible rental car, sleeping in, and the hot tub after. Sad that a marathon is my excuse for a fun girl get away...next time it will be shopping, eating out, and pedicures fo sho! I told my girls about getting into the race, and Kiara (my 6yo) enthusiastically says: "Mom you are a rockstar!", I was pleased that I was getting the respect I deserved for this until Emma (my 3yo) says: "Yeah mom, you are a BIG rock!" Unfortunately at the speed I run, Emma might have been more accurate in her compliment.

So the picture has nothing to do with my post, but I like to look at pictures, and well, he's just so cute!! :)

Marathon Insanity

2008-05-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get in shape this summer, I joined a running "group" (Portland Fit) to train for the Helvetia half marathon. The group actually trains for the Portland marathon, but that has been of NO interest to me. (Who knowingly CHOOSES to subject themselves to such painful torture???). Well, after agreeing to run in the group with a few of my good friends, I somehow managed to succumb to a whirlwind of peer pressure and sign up for a marathon.

I am in the lottery for the St. George marathon, which with any luck I'll get denied and then I can get the aching pit in my stomach to quit reminding me of my stupidity. I am not a runner, and though I have run hundreds of miles in the course of my life, I still can't claim to be a runner for two reasons: 1. I am slow. 2. I hate it. The ONLY things that keep me running are that it is great for losing baby weight, and I really love the feeling of being DONE running. We find out whether we made the lottery on May 8th. Then I get to look forward to spending my ENTIRE summer and EVERY weekend for the next 4+ months pounding pavement...really, seriously, I mean what in the WORLD was I thinking? I better look pretty freaking HOT in my swimsuit this summer...

Cutie Patootie

2008-04-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't had five minutes to spare to post anything of interest, but I thought I'd put up some pictures so all my blogging friends don't totally give up on me. These pictures are all courtesy of my adorable SIL (Jaymie Leinenbach) who is a really great photographer. Lucky me to be related to someone of such talent! :) Oh, and Levi was at school the day we took pictures, just in case you are worried that we love the other kids more...

Finances

2008-04-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

In our house, I am in charge of the finances. This is a double edge sword, so to speak. I don't ever have to ask permission to make purchases and I can also "hide" unnecessary ones. However, those benefits are VERY short lived. I often wish my husband would just hand me my weekly allowance and I wouldn't have to fret over every penny spent or saved. The whole equal ownership in the money does nothing for me. I'd love it if I had no idea where we stood financially.

Every morning, I balance the books, check and enter it into our budget, rearrange where money can and should go. I also spend several hours a month researching investments, finding better ways to spend, save, earn. Every afternoon when I walk to the mailbox I am filled with a loathing disdain for what awaits me...more bills. Will it ever end? The supposed benefit of "hiding" unnecessary purchases is a myth, b/c I see the bottom line every day and I know that we can't or shouldn't make that purchase, so I rarely do. I think it would be better if I just didn't know.

I am working on an emergency fund these days and I finally transferred money from our savings into a money market account where I am making a whopping 3.5% interest...which is about 3.48 more than I was making at my savings account! I also opened up 529's for my kids. Now I need to research some mutual funds and an IRA b/c I have heard those are good to have too. It just never ends. It is always haunting me that we won't have enough to pay for college, missions, retirement...never mind all the things I want to spend my money on right now!! My goal is to be so on top of our finances that I don't have to go to work to make money, but b/c I invest, save, and spend so well it will be almost as good as me bringing in an income. If only I didn't love to spend money so much, my goals would be much more easily attained!! :)

2008-04-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

I am on a bit of a kick right now...this is Emma in her pillow case dress. They are super easy and way fun to make. I am in a constant look out for cute pillowcases to make dresses out of for my girls. This one came in a set of two for $4 at Ross. Since I have two girls, it makes for perfect matching sister dresses...Love it! Then, my SIL taught me how to make adorable headbands and bows and so now the girls have a matching hair thing to go with each and everyone of their outfits. Since I can never find five minutes to do anything big (like quilt or scrapbook like I used to), I am enjoying small scale projects I can finish in a short period of time despite a million and one interruptions.

Thumbs

2008-04-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

My fourth child, and I have my first thumb sucker. It is the most adorable thing, as if he could be any easier than he already is! Now when he gets the least bit uncomfortable he just pops his thumb in! Of course, when he is 12 and headed to highschool that won't be as cute, but for now I am enjoying it.

Sunriver

2008-04-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

Spring break this year we hit Sunriver. After spending hours online researching the perfect cabin for a week of biking, hiking and swimming we arrived to the perfect cabin to find several inches of snow. Living in Portland, one gets a wee bit sick of the constant drizzle and my immediate response was dread...we didn't escape wet weather for SPRING BREAK...for the LOVE! I wanted sunshine and outdoor play! But in the end, we had a fabulous time. Come to find out, outdoor activity in the snow is about as fun as it gets. We went sledding, ice skating, built snow men, had snowball fights and best of all went hot tubbing in a near blizzard. The kids had so much fun that when we drove past the Sunriver elementary school, they begged for us to stop and check it out so we could someday potentially move there. Though we didn't investigate in SR real estate or anything, I will definitely not be disappointed if we end up in a blizzard over spring break again.

Nicknames

2008-04-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

It is somewhat ridiculous the number of nicknames I have for my kids. They are going to grow up not knowing their own first name. Hunny bumperkins, Lover Dovey, Scrunchy Munchy, Mr. Magoo, Leby Jones (Levi), Keekaroo (Kiara) Emma Lou or Emma Sue, Caders (Caden), budders, the list really could go on and on, it is kind of embarrassing. It helps though with my new inability to say any of my children's names right...particularly when I am yelling (yes, I do that) at them. "Levi, I mean Kiara, I mean Emma QUIT squeezing Levi, I mean Caden". It has gotten out of hand. I honestly NEVER get their names right. Is it a sign I have too many children? Or is it because I am now 30 (rapidly approaching 31)???