I blinked

And now she's off to her first YSA fireside.

 

I hope I've learned my lesson.

It's the little things...

Like seeing my 3 youngest snuggled up together while watching a show.

 

 

#heartfulloflove

Once upon a time

Once upon a time there was a Sunday afternoon that was peaceful at our house.  The kids mostly played nicely together.  There was a hopeful little (blurry because she never holds still) princess

 

 

who was fortunate enough to find a couple different dance partners



 

 

 and a big brother that took the time to play a favorite game with a dapper youngest brother.

 

It's like the Primary lessons of the day were on being a peacemaker or something.  Except not, because I was actually in Primary that Sunday and saw how it fell on deaf ears.  But once upon a time on a Sunday afternoon, the kids got along. 

 

At least while Mom took a few pictures.

She's got spirit!

Hannah is determined to get through college by paying her own way - or at least by getting others to pay for it for her.  She applied for her first scholarship this spring and was awarded $200!

That's a good bunch of kids up there and we're pretty glad that we get to claim one of them as our own.

Congratulations, Hannah!  This is the first of many, I am sure.

Play Ball!

Last Dance

It wasn't until after all of the date dances were over that we learned from a good friend that he always takes a picture with his daughter dressed up for prom or homecoming or whatever it may be.  Great idea!  And while that season of life is now over for Callie, we still did a daddy/daughter picture for the senior dinner dance - the final dance of Callie's high school career (and the most fun one, too).

 

 

Fathers & Sons

Fathers and Sons planning...it's intense.  Check out the package of Oreos that Tyler is using for a clipboard.

 

 

This year they camped at a ward member's family farm.  My boys declared it to be the best father and sons campout EVER.

 

First of all, Big Sad Puppy got to go and Brother Finch didn't even steal him!

This is part of an on-going jest with Camden.

 

 

It was beautiful!

 

 

They got to climb the raised railroad bed.  Look closely to see Jacob on the right to get an idea for how tall this is.

 

From the top:

 My favorite is seeing the video they took when a train when under the bridge while they were on top.  Tyler did a pan from left to right and at the end you see Drew peering over the edge and hear Tyler telling him to sit back and then saying under his breath "your mom is going to kick my trash".  Glad we're clear on boundaries!

 

There was also s'mores,

 

baby calves and helping with farm chores,

 

and a real farm dog named Fast Runner.

 

Can life get any better?!?

Evidence of a Good Day

I had to smile when I came across this pair of jeans in the laundry.  Do you think Camden had a good day?
 

 

3 in 10

That's how many trips my sweetheart and I got to take.  Just the two of us.  This year marks  twenty years of marriage and we have no big plans, but I decided that just the fact that we enjoyed 3 get-aways together in 10 months is pretty special in and of itself. 

We had so much fun in St. George sitting by the pool, swimming in the pool, eating food from a different country each night, sitting by the pool, getting smoothies every day, sitting by the pool, updating our wardrobes, sitting by the pool, and me almost beating Tyler in racquetball for the very first time that we didn't take any pictures. 

That is the sign of a true vacation.

Except on the way home we did take pictures in front of the temple - so glad that Tyler's parents began their family with a simple and sacred ceremony that meant that their family would last forever.

 

 

Mock Meet

A few years ago I put Drew into the local gymnastics classes.  After 2 classes the coaches recommended bumping him up a level, and by the end of the summer they were saying that he could be ready to compete in the upcoming season.  We weren't ready to commit to that financially or time-wise:  practices went past Drew's bedtime (he was only 6!).  It hurt my heart to end classes but I knew it wouldn't be forever. 

Last summer the time was right to start again, and this time we knew what to expect.  He has different coaches this time and he spent the fall and winter building muscle and stamina.  He was super excited to announce that in May they would hold an exhibition and if he did well he'd make the team. 

There were times when I would peek in on his practices and wonder if he took things very seriously - he always seemed to be goofing off - so I wasn't sure what to expect, but we were excited to see him perform and went as a family.

He was all seriousness at the exhibition.  They had a few boys on the team perform and that was really fun to see.  Out of the pre-team boys, Drew really did outshine them all.  He executed everything so cleanly and well and all of the audience applauded really loud for him.

We had technical difficulties which meant we didn't catch his vaults on video - first a handstand flat back, and then a front flip.  They were beautiful.  After that I got serious and took more photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always loved gymnastics and it is pretty fun having my own handsome gymnast to cheer on - competition season, here we come!

Life, of Late

My heart is fuller than my camera memory these days and that's okay.

Truly it felt like an epic event recently when I was able to replenish all four of my younger children with a solid supply of underwear and socks.  I was on a high for days afterwards.  Logistics in a family of eight keep me busy.

And then there's the emotional roller coaster.  I feel like I have just gotten used to the fact that our family will no longer be growing with sweet babies and now we're about to start shrinking as far as the household body count goes.  Times when Callie graces us with her presence are precious and we love the lovely lady that she has become.

Life glimpses per the camera:

When she's not doing homework, prepping for 2 AP tests, working as a piano teacher or a pizza maker, hanging with friends, attending a mission call opening, being the Laurel's president, or playing for the ward choir Callie might be doing this on the couch:

On Sunday she went to her first YSA activity (!)



 ...and then ran to the nursing home to sing to the residents with friends.



Jacob went to an overnight camp with his grade and perfected his selfie skills.

There was a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when he was showing me his pictures.  Since when did he decide to grow up?!?

Big D was super excited to wrap things up and earn his Wolf.  We talked about what his duty to God is and some things that he can do.  He chose one to work on for a week - being kind to his siblings.  I love the signs that he posted around the second floor to remind him of his goal.  He did a GREAT job and actually has continued to be a sweet big brother even after his week was up.

 

It's still a party almost every night at bedtime, no matter what we do.  These two were tucked into their respective beds, but when we checked on them later, this is what we found.

Quite the set-up.  Contrary to how it looks, Drew really was asleep.

We have family in a sunnier place who love us.  Mandi came back from a visit down south with oodles of delicious grapefruit.  It is so tasty that my kids will eat it sliced like oranges.

One night after cleaning the kitchen I set out the fruit for the next morning's breakfast.  (We didn't get through all of it - not that my kids couldn't, or wouldn't - it's just that the novelty was wearing off).

 Saturday morning cartoons are a favorite tradition.

 

I love seeing my four youngest kids all snuggled up together.

Last fall Tyler and I were at the local gardens and picked up 5 dozen of their tulips that they had dug up.  We put them in the garage and I forgot about them until January.  The one lovely day we had when the snow was mostly melted and it was sunny and warm Emmie and Camden helped me plant them and we crossed our fingers that they would bloom.  Well, they sure did and they put on a great show!  Emmie loved checking their progress every day.

He's a thinker

 

Even in his sleep.  No wonder this boy is so smart!

 

#weheartCamden

#theresonlyoneCamdenTyler