Week 6/20/11 at a glance...

This baby abruptly ran out of gas!

We had some friends spend the night while their parent's were at youth conference. They were mesmerized with anything and everything that Blaze did. He loved all of the extra attention - he's a little ham. He seems to know when he impresses people, and he'll smile and do his "tricks" over and over, encouraged by our reactions. Alanna was thrilled to have a "big sister" for a day and night.

We invited Grandma Leslie to picnic with us at a

local park. It was such a nice summer day - FINALLY! I love being outside and it puts us all in a better mood.

What? A normal smile from James???? This one is a keeper!

My four babies in a tub! Seeing the tub reminds

me of an incident that happened recently. Paul and Alanna thought it would be fun to unwrap 20 rolls of toilet paper from Costco and throw it in the tub and turn the water on. I caught them as the water went on, but it was a little late. The rolls were already water logged. We (James) being the frugal family we are, dried out the rolls and are currently using them. So, if you come to our house in the next few weeks, make sure to use the bathroom before coming over. Or, bring your own T. P.!

A balloon on a string can keep Blaze very excited and happy for about an hour.

I have organizing the kitchen cupboards on my "to do" list. I think that one is going to have to wait - what's the point?

Happy Birthday Paul!!!

Happy Birthday Brotherl! We miss you tons. Can't wait to see you again!

Father's Day 2011...

This year we got to spend time with both of the grandpas during the weekend of Father's Day. Unfortunately, I meant to get a pictures of all the kids with their grandpa's and dad but didn't. We went to the Mayan Restaurant with the Williamsons who happened to be in town. The kids, as always, love playing on the structures outside, especially the dragon.

It's fun living so close to cousins - the kids love to run around with their little cousin, Kaia, who is Alanna's age.

On Sunday, we had my side of the family over for dinner and to celebrate Father's Day/my mom's birthday. We had fajitas, chips and salsa, awesome guacamole, delicious fruit etc. It seems like there is a reason to "pig out" every weekend lately!

It is so fun to watch Blaze and his cousin Peter play together and interact more every time they get together. I'm hoping that Peter can teach Blaze how to do a traditional, proper crawl rather than the awkward scoot :)
I made my mom a chocolate mousse crunch cake, and my dad always loves Key Lime Pie. The kids made homemade cards for everyone, and Jackson made his dad a stamped key chain at school that looks really cool. I took Paul and Alanna shopping with me earlier in the week to buy James some new shoes for Father's Day. I reminded them that the gift was a surprise to be revealed on Sunday. Sure enough, the first thing Alanna did when James got home from work that night was spill the beans. Not only could she not wait to tell James what we got him, but she described the shoes in detail! I guess I shouldn't mind too much - James loves to ruin his surprises and looks for his gifts anyway. He ended up finding the shoes and checking them out shortly after Alanna told him about them. Consequently, Father's Day wasn't too eventful for him as far as gifts go this year! Although, he is looking forward to using the Cold Stone gift card my mom gave him!

I feel so lucky to have men who are such great providers of love and strength to our family. I hope we can raise our boys to be just the same!

Fun Filled Weekend...

I'm too lazy to put the pictures I uploaded in order, so I will just write about events in chronological order. On Thursday, I took the kids to a gym with lots of fun bouncy activities to get all of their energy out. Uncle Caleb and Grandma Ce Ce were nice enough to meet us there and join in the fun. Adults were free to get in and play with the kids, and I loved bouncing and sliding with them since my mom could take care of Blaze. It certainly wore the kids out since we were jumping for 3 1/2 hours! On Friday, entry to Heritage Park was free, including the pony and train rides. The kids were in heaven. Cousin Peter and Aunt Andrea met us there, and it's fun to watch our babies start to interact a little bit. Jon Huntsman was providing free ice cream, and since James was there with us, he had to give Blaze his first ice cream cone! I probably don't need to mention that he absolutely loved it and threw a fit when he had eaten it all gone.

Then, as soon as we got home, we were reunited with our best friends: Maryann, Preston, Pyper, and their brand new baby Ellie! Maryann and I got to go out with some other awesome friends for a girl's night while James watched the kids. I love these shots of Alanna and Pyper - they kept kissing and hugging and dancing together. Alanna still prays every night that Pyper will come to our house, or that we can go visit her in Salina. Her prayers were answered! It was so fun to meet baby Ellie who is just 3 weeks old. Blaze and Alanna were enthralled with her, and I'm thinking that it's a good thing Alanna was younger than she is now when Blaze was born. Pyper has picked up Ellie and carried her to Maryann before! Yikes!

This weekend our city was celebrating it's founding, and we got to attend a parade on Saturday morning to catch loads of candy. We finished out the boy's soccer season and they got huge trophies for the 8 games they played :), each earning "MVP" status. I had been so excited to watch fireworks that night, but after being outside for the movie in the park Friday night and all of the other festivities, my allergies made me feel too sick to even move!

Consequently, James had to get the kids ready for church this morning, and I didn't really get a good look at them before we left. When I went to pick up Alanna from nursery, her cute teacher asked for a hug and kiss, and I was wondering how she could stand to be close to my abandoned orphan looking child! Her hair was in tangles all over her head, her white dress was dirty, she had "painted" her own nails and toenails, her shoes were on the wrong feet. To top it all off, James let her wear her brother's Finding Nemo boy's underwear which I'm sure she flashed around since she wasn't wearing bloomers! That's embarrassing!

My Little Scooter...

I just can't believe that our Blaze-a-roo will be 9 months old on the 22nd! He has been slightly demanding and irritable as of late, due to his top two teeth cutting through. The corner of one side finally popped through yesterday, so it shouldn't be too much longer before he calms down a bit. With all of my babies, those top two teeth seem to be the only ones they complain about coming through. It looks like Blaze might take after his sister's "crawling" style, that is scooting in an upright position. He hasn't gotten as fast as Alanna did it yet, but he definitely gets to where he wants to go by inching his way on his little butt. He's also trying to pull himself up on toys and furniture - yikes! Yesterday, I was cleaning the bathroom upstairs and had Blaze playing with toys right outside the door. I looked over, and he had scooted himself over to the balcony and put his chubby arms and legs through the railings and was laughing at the older kids playing downstairs. The boys had a friend over and they were playing cops and robbers and quickly decided that Blaze was the "jail keeper". It seems like he has been wanting to get up and play with his siblings from day one, and it won't be long before he perfects his method of transportation! I just can't squeeze and kiss the little guy enough - and thank goodness he loves it for now.

Atonement

I doubt I will even scratch the surface of depth and meaning that the Atonement of Jesus Christ offers each of us in this life time, but I have been pondering the subject of pain relating to it lately. The older I get and the more experiences I have it becomes apparent that no matter the choices we personally make, we will inevitably experiences pain in some form - not once or twice, but over and over again. Today in church a good friend who has had a really tough year of challenges, I can't even imagine going through, related a pioneer story I hadn't heard before. It was of a little girl whose father would have her run beside their wagon day in and day out, and wouldn't let her walk. She grew tired of running, but later on realized that he had her run so she wouldn't freeze in the cold temperatures on their journey west. It's much like in our lives when we feel as though we are running from one challenge or heart break to the next - wondering why we must suffer. Sometimes it is only in retrospect that we realize a loving Heavenly Father had a plan in mind, and kept us running for a greater purpose. I love the talk "The Atonement Covers All Pain", by Kent F. Richards from this past General Conference. I keep reading it and absorbing more and more each time. He quotes Elder Orson F. Whitney who wrote:

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.”

So, when it is easy to get down about all of life' hardships that befall, it is comforting

to know that they do serve a purpose. We know that we can turn to our Savior who

has infinite love and knowledge, and know that he truly does know exactly what we

are going through. I get frustrated that much of the pain I have experienced, and

pain that I see friends and loved ones experience is due to no fault of their own.

Elder Richards says : "Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault. Unexpected events, contradicting or disappointing circumstances, interrupting illness, and even death surround us and penetrate our mortal experience. Additionally, we may suffer afflictions because of the actions of others. ³ Lehi noted that Jacob had “suffered … much sorrow, because of the rudeness of [his] brethren.” ⁴ Opposition is part of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. We all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father’s love and of our need for the Savior’s help."

So, we did really sign up for this - it's all part of the plan :) The challenge is to keep that eternal perspective in mind each day, and find the joy in the journey.