To Grandmother's House We Go!

This Summer, The kids and I got to go to North West Washington to visit my parents for 2 1/2 weeks, and then Benson met us there for the last 5 days and flew home with us. This was a record stay for us, and a lot to ask of anyone-=), but we kept busy and I think my parents survived fairly well.
To start off, due to a car accident (thankfully not ours) and the traffic it caused, we missed our 5:30pm flight by 5 minutes and were rescheduled for the next morning's 5:30am flight. We drove home, left all of our suitcases in the car and slept in our clothes. So when the alarm clocks went off, we literally rolled out of bed and into the car. I have to admit that I was already nervous to fly solo with 5 kiddos, but then to leave that early, I had no idea what kind of moods the kids would be in when they were that tired. But thankfully, my kids did better than I could have even asked for!

The first week my brother Ian and his wife, Bonnie drove up from Cali to see us and my sister (currently in Seattle) and her two little boys drove up and we spent the first week together. We kept very busy! We went on a fairy around the San Juan Islands, we picked
strawberries, visited Canada, swam at the wave pool, played in the ocean, held star fish, climbed trees, played with puppies, ate cherries, celebrated the fourth of July on the lake, lit off fire works, and drove to Portland to see Benson's grandma Smith.

Luckily on the way home, Benson was able to take Kennedi with him and somehow we all ended up @ the airport about the same time! Whew! We were tired, but had a blast! Thanks for showing us a great time Mom and Dad!

Some people in my parents' ward had St. Bernard puppies and baby goats. I think that was one of the highlights of the trip. Kennedi kept grabbing them by the face and kissing them - I know I should have stopped her sooner, but it was too cute not to capture it.
More puppies, luckily we had a plane ride home, so no one could try to beg Mom to take one home.

Peyton and Grandma hit it off from the start. When we ask him where he wants to go on his mission, he says, I'm going to get on an airplane and go to Grandma's house.

Kennedi, trying to see what was the baby goat found so yummy.

Dallin, showing off his hard work.


Kenndi, not sure what really goes in the bucket.


We literally did spend hours in trees, something we can't do so well here.

Us, taking off on our first fairy ride. And, yes, that bright, red head in the back is me. That's a whole 'nother story.

Much to the mother's relief, the kiddos instinctively laid on their bellies to look at the jelly fish.

Peyton and London were inseparable the entire week. 3 year old boys, have everything in common.

Kayaking anyone?

I'm guessing that's Ashy's new picture pose.

Talie, who loves all animals, had a blast with the star fish, until a very concerned parent discovered that she had put one of them in her back pack. Talie was finally consoled when I convinced her that they would just dye and stink really bad.

Us, My sister Laura and her two cute boys on the beach in White Rock, CA.
The two little 1 year olds, loving the beach!

More fun on the beach.

7 out of the 15 grand kids.

Kennedi discovered mascara, luckily she has a few years to perfect her technique.

We got to drive to Portland to visit Grandma Smith at her nursing home.

Soccer Star

Ashlynn was our latest child to try a sport or any sort of extra curricular activity. Now, this may be because she is #3, and mom has run out of steam, or it could be because whenever I asked if she wanted to take a dance or gymnastics class, Ashlynn would quickly reply, "No, I don't like sports, Mom." Well this winter, she started talking about playing soccer. The idea sounded great in theory, but keep in mind Ashlynn is my child who would walk for a couple of minutes, and then climb in the stroller because her legs were so tired. In fact, when she was five, and we were still in NC, we would walk to preschool. After walking part way, she would climb in the double stroller, and I would push Ashy, Peyton and Kennedi (in utero). I had to keep reminding her that when the baby was born, she would lose her spot in the stroller and have to walk all the time. So as Ashy is begging to play soccer, these flashbacks are flickering through my mind.
Well, of course we sign her up for soccer. She is with a team that has been together for atleast two seasons before this one, and her first practice consists of kicking the ball to the other teammates as you take turns shouting out their names. Saturday comes around, and before the game, Benson (who is not a soccer player) takes her in the back yard and teaches her things like, in soccer we don't touch the ball, and kick it towards the net which is called a goal. You, know, very advanced skills like that. We race off to the game, getting ready for a game full of funny memories. Well, to our utter astonishment, Ashlynn takes off and leads her team to victory by scoring the most goals. Benson and I, in shock, wonder if it is beginners' luck, but this luck stays with her the entire season.
It was fun to watch her focus on the ball and come out of a pile of girls kicking at the ball, with the ball in foot. Their team came out of the season undefeated; they did have one game that ended in a tie 2 to 2, but guess who scored both goals? It was fun to my little soccer star, but it still makes me laugh, as the other day we were walking home from kindergarten and she says, "Mom, can I please ride in the stroller, my legs are soo tired." I guess some things don't change.

Ashlynn, crashed one Saturday afternoon, after a game.

My Big Three Year Old!

Ok., I know that no one can believe their kids grow up as fast as they do, but man, does time fly! My little man, just turned three, and although his name is now being taken over by the girls, he is completely boy. Benson and I say that we could not afford another Peyton. If a day goes by that he has not broken something, we count our blessings! He writes on everything (thank goodness for magic eraser, or I might have craigs' listed him=), has broken parts to the dishwasher multiple times, has broken the silver ware drawer, several parts of my clock, well, you get the picture.
Peyton does have a studious side as well. He has a long attention span and loves to sit and read books. He and Kennedi are two little partners in crime - when ever they disappear together, I know that I will find trouble. He calls Kennedi "babe" and whenever she is napping very long, he will ask me, "Where's babe, mom?" and go in and wake up his little side kick.
That kid keeps me busy! He is Mr. Independent, and is always climbing up some cupboard or freezer shelf to get a glass of water or a bowl of ice cream. He also considers himself a master chef. Today, he decided to warm up a Hot Wheels car in the microwave. Luckily, I caught it in the first few seconds, unlike the shrivelled up dorito bag wrapper I discovered in the microwave a few months ago.
Before Peyton came a long, I used to wear cute, tall shoes. I have long since traded them in for running shoes. Peyton's favorite thing is to be chased. In the store, he will ropel down from the cart, yell, "run!" and take off! He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. I've taken up running again just to keep up with him=).
Just in case you're wondering if I even like my boy, I have to say that one of my favorite things in the world is to snuggle and read stories with him. His BIG cheeks, dimples, never ending smile and gorgeous blue eyes melt my heart any time I want to get mad at him. And, I love his little comments that sound wise beyond his years. The other day he was on fast forward mode, and I asked him, "Peyton, when are you ever going to grow out of this crazy, busy stage?" To which he replied, "Nobody knows, Mom."

Peyton, singing "Happy Birthday" to himself.

Ode to Cloudy

A few months after we moved to Colorado, Talie, our resident animal lover, adopted a Teddy Bear hamster and named him Cloudy. He was a good little hamster - pretty calm and hardly bit anyone, but like any pet, unfortunately, his time on earth did come to an end. Of course Talie was distraught, so we held a little funeral service for him in our back yard. Not trying to be insensitive to the loss of Cloudy, but it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. First, we scheduled a time that Dad could be there to lead the ceremony and dig a proper hole. Then the girls created a cute and very comfortable coffin for Cloudy to rest in (with his favorite wheel).
Talie wrote the sweetest letter to Cloudy to bury with him, and Dallin sang a solo of "I am a Child of God" (not sure what that has to do with hamsters, but it was very cute to watch him sing). Then Benson said a prayer, we said our good byes and with a few scoops of dirt, the funeral was over.
Here is the letter Talie wrote Cloudy:
Dear Cloudy,
I love you sooooo much. I miss you. You were so soft and white just like a cloud that's why I named you cloudy. You were so sweet, kind and I enjoyed playing with you on the Barbie house. I hope you loved me and thought I was a good owner. I picked you from the store because I knew you were different. Today is the day you died (Apr. 27, 2009). Tomorrow we are going to bury you. I have been crying for 1 hour straight and will probably cry myself to sleep! I promise I will never forget about you. Just remember you're the best hamster anyone could ever ask for. I hope you're in a good place.
I love you soooooo much.
Love, Talie someone who really, really loves you.

. . And now, a little over a year later, Talie has a new hamster, Macy, and has been able to find happiness again.

My Pretty Boy!

The other day, we had a freak snow storm in the end of April (which seems to be getting pretty common around here), and Dallin was at a friend's house, down the road. There was over a foot of snow on the ground, and Kennedi was asleep, so I asked Ashlynn if she would sit with Peyton while I ran to the neighbors to grab Dallin. I turned on a show for them, locked the doors, and ran. When I came back in, I went straight to the family room where the TV was still on with Ashlynn glued to it, but no Peyton to be found. "Ashy, where's Peyton?" I asked, when who should come around the corner? Yep, Peyton. Proudly showing me his new, hot pink toes. (A good reminder why 6 year olds don't babysit).


Of course it was a pretty cute moment, but before I could totally enjoy the moment, I had to dash to my bathroom and see what kind of damage was done. I looked around and to my amazement, there was only one tiny spec of bright pink polish on the tile - easy to clean up - and he even put the toe nail polish back in the basket under my sink! He's much cleaner than my girls are when they do their toes. After the quick check, I ran back and could enjoy the moment - complete with a photo shoot!


*Tonight, I was tucking the boys into bed (they are in bunk beds, but of course like to pile up in the same one), and as I was trying to tuck them in, Peyton says, "I want to sleep in the punk bed, Mom." (meaning the top bunk).